February 25th, 2020
Ryan Desnick, period 7
Sophomores 2020
Aim: By synthesizing diction, tone, and characterization, how is “group polarization” and Stoner’s “Risky Shift” demonstrated in the jury room?
We started off the lesson with a poll on Menti: “I wish we could switch teachers every semester: yes or no?” This poll (as well as the subsequent discussion about both our English class and the school at large) eventually segwayed into a conversation about group mentality and why it is so hard to break with a large consensus. Relating to “Twelve Angry Men”, the herd mentality of the jury and their willingness to take extreme solutions (like declaring the defendant guilty and dooming him to death) becomes increasingly obvious as the deliberation continues, with Juror 3 especially becoming more steadfast in his opposition as the debate continues on. After our discussion, we proceeded to read the final portion of “Twelve Angry Men”, and last but not least we took personal notes and summarized our entire lesson,
WHAT I LEARNED: Today, the focal point of the lesson and the big takeaway of this lesson was the concept of “risky shift” or “group polarization”, which is the phenomenon in which individuals may exercise caution and restraint in regard to a situation, where as groups of many people are more likely to choose more extreme, reckless, less cautious solutions to a problem.
WHY?: We learned about “group polarization” today because it helped us students delve into the psychology behind the juror’s actions in “Twelve Angry Men”. By understanding why the jurors did what they did and why they seemed to just go along with whatever the consensus was, we can better understand the tension and the story at large.
HOW WILL I USE THIS?: I will most likely use this information that I learned today the next time I am forced to solve a problem with a group of my peers. By knowing that we would be more likely to take a riskier solution just by human psychology and the “risky shift” effect, I could be more careful in how I approach group problems to try to minimize this effect.
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