Blog #2

In class the other day, we did an activity that involved sixteen students fighting for their 'lives' on an abandoned ship. Each student was given a role to play and each role had unique attributes. Each seemed to have something positive going for them (like they have a large family or are well educated) as well as something negative (like being overweight or having one leg). As they sat in  the middle of the room, they had to, as a group, decide which seven people were going to be thrown off based on their roles. I decided not to be on the boat when Ms. Breuer was asking for volunteers but I ended up enjoying watching everyone. There were a few things people did during the activity that really struck me. First of all, there were some people that really stood out. I'd say there were three people who seemed to take charge basically either because they could talk the loudest or because they had good points. I think this is expected when a group of people get together. It seems that in even a random group of people, there is always going to be at least one person who likes to take charge. What was most interesting was that the people that seemed to take charge of the situation were not even questioned about being thrown off. It was as if they were untouchable.Even if someone did ask whether or not they should be on the boat, they were quickly shut down. Another thing that caught my attention was the reasons people gave for kicking others off. When I was deciding who I would kick off by myself, I mainly looked at whether or not the person had family. When everyone was in a group, though, people looked at their physical attributes. For example, one of the roles was a successful business woman who happens to be overweight. The others spent a lot of time arguing over whether or not she should stay- simply because she is overweight! I couldn't believe it. Another person didn't have hands but I kept him/her because she/he had a family back at home. In the group though, everyone wanted that person gone because of his hands. I guess it just shows how people act differently while in a big group under pressure. I really enjoyed watching this activity and I feel like it helped me better understand what we are going to be learning in this class and what it really means to observe a social situation.