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Mark Allen
导演, 编剧, 作曲家
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Misunderstanding Role Models

I think there is a huge misunderstanding of how role modeling works.

There is an inordinate amount of worry spent about the images presented to children, the assumption being kids should be exposed to heroes and good behavīor in order to become good people.

What this theory totally misses is that role modeling is about how more than what.

As humans, we search for definitions for ourselves.  This is pretty clear if you think about how many fans at games wear the team colors, how many music fans buy the T-shirt of the band, people at religious gatherings, and so on.  Just as we learn to speak by learning that making certain sounds gets a certain result.  We learn to act in the same manner.

When anyone (whether it be a child or an adult) is searching for definition - they emulate others with whom they feel identity.

That is the key to my point - so I'll provide an example:  A child feels they are not living up to their parents expectations - so they feel like an outcast.  They will seek out the "outcast" identification behavīor from their surroundings and adopt it.  It is almost as though they are buying the outcast T-shirt. 

This could be a friend from school they adopt the behavīor of just as much as a character in the movie.

This is just as true with adults. 

While we have the capacity to see someone do good things and think "Wow, I will do good things too;" we have the tendency to subconsciously search for a behavīor which represents what we are feeling about ourselves or our state of being.

大约 16 年 前 0 赞s  14 评论s  0 shares
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I think there are conscious and subconscious role models. Conscious role modeling though is really mentoring. Mentoring can happen informally as well as formally. In mentoring, you are absorbing information from someone. Generally it's not how to do something (like how to play guitar) as much as how to be something (like how to be organized or healthy).
大约 16 年 ago
Photo 22998
zj... that's not what I'm saying. I am saying that you emulate the people who you feel like consciously or subconsciously. For example... (and I don't know if this will translate cultures or not)... lets say someone is gay. In the US, there is a cliche effeminate "gay" personality. There is nothing biological that would possibly make a man act in an effeminate manner. However - many men would adopt this for the sake of identification - whether it be conscious or not. Not every gay person would though. But quite often stereotypes are formed by people adopting aspects of a culture in order to identify with the culture... i.e. be a part of the "team."
大约 16 年 ago
Photo 22998
Sorica7 - Kids will be influenced by everything they see whether it's in the movies or from their friends. I don't think we disagree on that. What I think is a mistake is to assume that you can promote good role models for children. I think if they feel a certain way - they will seek out the role model they want to immitate. The only defense against this would be for the children to have the empowerment to learn to make choices for themselves and evaluate choices. Maybe that's what's missing. Critical Thought teaching in children. Instead of just telling them what is right or wrong, give them the skills to learn to equivocate this for themselves. Because those 10 year olds who are drinking their parents alcohol are doing it because they're parents do it and they're at an age that they feel like they want to test being an adult. There is one kid there who isn't sure it's a good idea, but if everyone else is doing it, no additional "peer pressure" is neeed unless he's learned to make decisions for himself. I think if people learn at a young age to evaluate circumstances and come to conclusions of their own, the world would be a better place.
大约 16 年 ago

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语言
english
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Los Angeles, United States
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male
加入的时间
April 13, 2007