This is it! The final blog entry. I cannot believe that this is the last one. It is a bittersweet feeling. I have enjoyed the concepts that have been taught in this class, as some of the topics that were discussed have really given me a broader perspective on group dynamics and leadership. Here’s my top three concepts that will be useful in my future career in business, were enjoyable to learn about, and were really intriguing.

1. Prisoner’s Dilemma Game
   • This social interaction concept between two or more individuals was really interesting to learn and discuss about. The concept is used in not only psychology, but economics and politics as well; it is very versatile in its conceptual use. In the example below, it is obvious that it would be of the best interest for both participants to cooperate, as this equally gives them the least amount of time they would have to serve in jail. However, due to our selfish tendencies we have as humans, it would be of better interest for one of the prisoners to confess and the other to stay silent, and then one of the prisoners go free. This great example of game theory was perfectly executed in the game we viewed in class, Golden Balls, where one of the participants backed the other in a corner and came outright with his stance, no matter what the other had thought. This would be useful to me if I ever decided to commit a crime and have a partner during this crime. It would also be useful if I have a career in economics or politics. This concept is just a part of the conflict chapter that I thought was very interesting, as it requires a lot of cooperation and mutual trust.
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2. Bystander Effect
   • The rape and murder of Kitty Genovese was the perfect, and rather morbid, example of the bystander effect. While this woman was being attacked and raped in her own home and there were witnesses around, most bystanders took no action. Instead, they thought someone else would take action, as they did not want to get involved. While this attack went on for many hours, not a single soul out of the 38 witnesses said a thing. Because the witnesses thought that there were others that were capable of helping in the situation, they did not act. If it had just been a lone bystander, he or she would have been more likely to help as a single person feels like they had a duty to act accordingly. I’ve even seen this countless times before. The situation wasn’t as brutal as the Kitty Genovese case, but it was when a student was asking for help on their homework and no one helped that student due to the feeling that someone else might help them. This is just another example of this effect. Social influence at its finest. Another time that I have seen through this was when I witnessed a carjacking at Phipps Plaza near Lenox Mall. There were plenty of witnesses to the carjacking, but no one called the police due to the fact that the assailant had a lethal weapon. It isn’t necessarily something that can contribute to my success in the business world, but it is still a useful concept to touch on.
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3. Babble Effect
   • I feel like this one pertains to me the most. As an avid talker, I can relate to this one hundred percent. This is the tendency for individuals who talk more have a higher chance to emerge as leaders in a group setting as opposed to those who do not talk as much. I have seen this firsthand in my classes that have group projects, particularly last semester in my Honors Principles of Microeconomics class. We had a group project report on a business that had to be a minimum of 20 pages. At the beginning of the semester, I was nominated as our group’s project leader due to my copious amount of ideas I spewed out at our first group meeting. This led to me doing the majority of the work as far as drafting and editing goes. That class taught me that quantity matters more than quality through my immense amount of discussion and the fact that I drafter 15 of the 20 pages single-handedly. This would be the most useful moving forward as I now know that I can always talk a lot and move up in leadership capability within a group. This would be great during the brainstorming stage on a marketing or business team, as the more you talk, the more you contribute, according to the babble effect.
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All of these psychological theories and effects I have learned throughout this course on group dynamics has changed my perspective, as the theories discussed were intriguing, interesting, and outright fun to learn about. Some of the theories will also be useful in my prospective future career and leadership position in the business world.