If everyone's at it...

In this interesting article of the BBC it is shown that our behaviour is easily influenced by external factors. We all have our own moral code, our own sense of what is right or wrong. Unfortunately, that code is not unbreakable and this is shown by a very interesting experiment that has been done in Holland. The first group of people was told to park their bike in a very neat parking shed. There was also a sign forbidding graffiti. When these people came back to take their bikes, there was a leaflet hanging on the handlebars. Everyone took the leaflet and littered it in a trash bin.
The next group of people got the same assignment but now the shed was dirty and there was graffiti everywhere. The same leaflet was left on the handlebars. When the people came back, they took the leaflet and chucked it. This experiment shows that even we have our sense of what is good or wrong, when one rule is violated, we do not feel obligated to stay loyal to our own code anymore. Once someone has been “bad” before us, we follow that example.

My reaction

It is a pity that humans are so easy to influence, we really are herd animals. But I think that humans are dragged by the idea of the less effort. Why should you walk to the trash bin when you can chuck a paper on the ground? If everybody chucks it everywhere, it is not going to matter if I do the same! I honestly have to say that I do not do that. If I would have been on that experiment I would have thrown the leaflet in the trash bin, even if the place was a mess. It sounds very proud maybe, but I become really nervous when I am in a messy environment, my internal wellness becomes disturbed and I become grumpy. It also makes me a little bit mad when I hear that graffiti is associated with bad behaviour. The paintings on the walls shown in the article on the BBC site do not deserve to be called graffiti. One of my best friends is a graffiti artist, very well known in Greece, and his paintings are really pieces of art. Lots of people go to see his paintings and take pictures of it. He also has won several prices. So, dear all, graffiti is an art. Messing and ruining walls is a shame.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8133834.stm