Peer Pressure
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peace
Okay, so my friends and I play cricket in a parking lot. If you don't know how cricket is played, it's a game where you have to hit a ball with a bat and if the ball crosses the boundary of the field, you get extra runs (points).
Cricket isn't traditionally played in parking lots, they have their own pitches and the boundary is defined with a rope.
We don't have a long enough rope, so we always have trouble defining the boundary of the "field." We use markings on the pavement or a conveniently located tree, which aren't replacements for good, hard working rope.
Well, that's not the only thing we have problems with...Anyway, so this is the problem Whenever the ball goes near the boundary, there's always confusion about whether it crossed it or not. Was it in or out?
The only person who can guess correctly is the fielder stationed near the boundary. He's the only one who actually knows.So I thought this to avoid the confusion and the arguing why don't we just let the fielder decide whether it crossed it or not. It's not like we're playing for money, the fielder will have no reason to cheat, so we can just trust his answer. And I know that when people are given responsiblity, they always come through.
But then I realized, we can't trust him. He, as an individual, has no reason to lie, but if he is honest, he might be letting his team down.
The pressure from his teammates prevents him from doing what he would normally do.confused did you get what I just said?
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Thanks for grasping.
I dont really care about the boundary thing...not important.
What intrigues me is that we even when we know what the right thing is, we don't do it because of others. And not just because of what others will say, but because you might care about them and don't want to disappoint them.
But then, sometimes you avoid doing the wrong thing for the same reason. -
Ahh, you delivered us a spin bowl... bowling Saqi... shahbash.
People will tend to do what you described because of many reasons
desire to win
want to better another
wanting to be liked
wanting to be envied
wanting to be disliked
wanting to fool another
wanting to feel superior over another
to avenge a past injustice
caught up in the moment
selfishness
afraid of failing
to wind up fellow players for the fun of it
to impress a girl watching from the other side of the car park
more disturbingly, to impress a boy watching from the other side of the car park
etc.Did I hit your question for six?
ok, no more cricketing lingo..... I'm out.
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waleed, sometimes, for the betterment of the situation, seek a path in between or don't play at all.
if you can't beat 'em, avoid 'em.
NEVER JOIN, THAT'S A MISLEADING CATCHY PHRASE
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The pressure from his teammates prevents him from doing what he would normally do.
confused did you get what I just said?
I understand what you are saying you Lobster. I have a popular quote to help "If you can't stand the heat stay the _____ out the kitchen" lol, thats applicable to your friend, the item providing the heat can be the pressure cooker.
It's your friends choice to give in to the pressure, he could take time out to develop his 'moral fabric' (like someone lifting weights would work their way up) or just choose to be honest and not blame the pressure for lying.
He could ask himself, "What exactly would happen if I am honest" and then have a good laugh at the answer or enroll in the witness protection program ?
