WWBD?

What Would Bandura Do?

In our first weeks of class, we learned that Bandura might suggest that ignoring bullying behavior is the best way to achieve change, and we mostly agreed that is much easier said than done. Last week’s class discussion became a fairly heated debate that has spilled over into topics on the blog this week. I’ll admit, being the author of the post that was read following Ryan’s was a bit of a buzzkill… my post certainly did not elicit the same type of response, which was something I was very cognizant of. After seeing the reaction in the blogosphere though, I am glad my post did not elicit such debate. I am not one to put my nose where it doesn’t belong, however, the debate that is taking place may have unintended consequences that I think warrant recognition. Demeaning others is a dangerous way to express your argument. One of the things I have the least amount of self-efficacy for is speaking up in class and voicing my opinion, but in graduate school a lot of my grades now depend on doing just that, so I make a conscious effort to participate. The judgement that has been expressed about the opinions of others can stand to have deleterious effects for more than just the people directly involved. Shared purpose becomes difficult if people don’t feel like they can share free from judgement. We are all well-educated adults capable of constructing an argument or counter argument that does not need to make it feel like an unsafe space for sharing. I am all for voicing opinions and even disagreeing, that’s part of life—you won’t always agree with everyone you meet, and we can learn a lot by disagreeing and arguing. While I am of course speculating, I doubt that Bandura, in the promotion of a burgeoning theory of self-efficacy, told those who questioned or challenged him that they were being closed minded. Dr. Glassman, who clearly adores self-efficacy, did not belittle naysayers for voicing challenging opinions; in fact, the questions and challenges only seemed to make him more enthusiastic about self-efficacy. You are always able to debate constructively and without demeaning others; being kind and arguing do not need to be mutually exclusive. There are few things I will get on a soapbox about but being kind to others, even if you vehemently disagree with them, is definitely one.