The Rules of Influence

[nelson]

I've been reading the book "The Rules of Influence by William Crano and ran across some interesting comments. One comment was on the concept of "Self Fulfilling Prophecy" the other was the concept of "Group think." Both may have some applicability in how we perceive ourselves and how we react to those who share perceptions that our not identical to others who are thought to be "outsiders".

In the matter of "self fulfilling prophecy" the following statement was made: "The groups that form our social identities become part of the background, the psychological scenery, but their importance in determining who we are is difficult to overestimate. The membership categories others have assumed you belong to will have a strong effect of your view of yourself, and that image will certainly affect your consequent behavior."

This "label" set by others and accepted by oneself can have an enormous effect on ones achievement or lack of same in many fields of endeavor of which the martial arts is no exception in my view. Continuing to view oneself as a "follower" of a man or system is a perfect example of this as it inhibits one's ability to think on an "original" basis in the mistaken belief that "loyalty" trumps truth.

Group think is another example of we view and discriminate between "us" and "them". Whether it's Tracy vs. Parker Kenpo, Kenpo or Kempo we do what we do because it's it is rewarding for us to do so. As the author goes on to say" "When we differentiate ourselves from other groups we usually single out dimensions that tilt the evaluation in our favor. How rare it is to hear "I could be wrong about this." to be expressed by anyone myself included!

Winning psychological "contests" may be rewarding to the ego but how does this advance the study of the martial art or any art for that matter.

The recent arrival of Ras and his "renegade" views comes to mind here as many, at least at first, dismissed him as a man with "nothing new to say". It has been interesting to watch how the discussion has evolved to the point where almost everyone, including myself, have found great value in the re-consideration of many preconceived notions that we have all taken for granted over the years.

Is Ras still a "renegade"? Am I nothing but a "keyboard warrior" as I have been branded in the past? As a great philosopher once said, "To thine own self be true". I would hope that for each of us such q question would be continually in our minds as we embrace or dismiss the thoughts of others.

[Entryteam]

Sometimes it's good to be a renegade.

[MarkC]

Sometimes posing as one is just trying to be cool.

[jdinca]

Depends on your definition of "renegade". I have no problem pointing out the emperor has no clothes, but I feel that if you choose to do that, you need to make sure you're not naked too. The last part is what I find most people tend to forget.

[MarkC]

Depends on your definition of "renegade". I have no problem pointing out the emperor has no clothes, but I feel that if you choose to do that, you need to make sure you're not naked too. The last part is what I find most people tend to forget.

This is exactly true.

[DavidCC]

the boy may be naked, but that doesn't put clothes on the Emperor!