Drowning in the endless deadlines accompanying academic life, it is often easy to lose sight of how our academic pursuits fit into the ways of the “real world”. When journeying down such a path, a little reminder of how learnings from our courses figure in everyday findings kindles a newfound curiosity.
This short piece aims to bring us to the realisation of how the world around us shapes them while we simultaneously shape it. Each one of us has a bit of the college in us and we too make up the college.
A crucial experience in college life is often making friends and finding the ones who match your “vibe”. Even the current buzzwords that your peers just “get” because everyone’s algorithm is pushing the same few trending reels, are studied as a part of sociology. The concept of ‘Symbolic Interactionism’ emphasizes words and the meanings we ascribe to them. These meanings are not inherent to them (yes, “tea” did not always mean the latest gossip exchanged excitedly); they are learned and re-learned through social interactions and receptions by the social group. This means we often build our social worlds with our words.
The ‘Social Learning Theory’ points out that we learn from our observing environment, cognition, and peers. This subtly manifests in precisely which snacks of the day to order from the Cafe and which places to sit, when at the Science Dhaba to avoid the menacing monkeys.
The different experiences and perspectives that we bring out in every act of our day, is what makes us uniquely human. The theory of ‘Social Phenomenology’ brings this to the forefront.
For example, based on your previous experiences in life and how they have shaped the realities you build for yourself; you will face the different challenges that come with college life in your own way. For some, settling into a life away from home comes naturally, while for others not so much. There is no right or wrong to it, just unique people finding unique pathways to work through. Thus, your experiences will be a valuable addition to our college, which the perspectives of those before you have also shaped.
Queuing up in front of classroom doors before the previous class leaves, just to secure the best seats. The society talk that never seems to end, the fervour and heat with which discussions regarding events, activities and volunteering tasks take place are all testament to the immense influence that we as students within this college and outside exert on each other, albeit unknowingly. Fitting in is hard, especially when you are in that phase of your life where you are expected to make the best memories, find your true interests, and make a path for yourself.
‘Herd mentality’ is something else that may emerge when people are in new and unfamiliar situations. It can be traced back to John Keynes, who described it as a response to uncertainty where people may follow the crowd because they think that the rest of the crowd is better informed. However, after Keynes, economists have tended to ignore these socio-psychological influences and have retained rationality assumptions.
It would be a mistake however to gloss over the impact that herding behaviour has on moods, personality, and emotions. Research done on cognitive psychology has shown that humans differ from other species in the development of social norms and mutually shared expectations which inform them about what actions are normal, appropriate or just given any situation. The Asch experiment where subjects were found to have conformed to the erroneous majority view, has shown that the human mind is built to be receptive to social norms and self-censor actions in advance to avoid deviating from the set norms.
Overall, it's safe to assume that college life is a blend of both individual and collective experiences that the student body faces as a whole. How we adapt and learn from these experiences plays an important role in our mental and personal development.
Therefore it’s essential to recognize the role we play in each other's life and be mindful about these subtle influences. This will not just transform the way we look at social interactions in general, but also nudge us to be inquisitive about how the learning in classrooms spills over to the life beyond it.
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