Moods or Selves?

[Federica]

Is Gergen right to conclude that our very sense of self--rather than just our current mood--depends on those around us? 

Does he effectively demonstrate this with his experiments?

[gerrberr]

I think he depicts it very effectively by those experiments. I think it is true that our mood changes depends in what environment we are. For instance, if I am in an environment where people argue I become insecure and weary, and in a way intimidated by the situation. However, if I am in an happy, positive environment I adopt what is happening and what to be part of it, and become more eager to participate. I think mood is to a certain extend like a culture, if you go to a different country you want to abide the laws not to be punished and behave like the citizens so you fit in and become accepted. Similarly with the mood in my option. 

[chunnu]

I actually think Gergen did a fascinating illustration with his experiments. His arguments reflected that we are always affected and inspired by those around us, no matter on our perception of self, or our fluctuating moods. When we interact with others with different personalities, we learn about our similarities and differences, as well as our strengths and weaknesses. Through these interactions with our surroundings, we then undergo a self-reflecting process as we are inspired by people and other encounters.

I think this kind of cyclic change of self is making us better persons with flexible personality, which also make us open to new things and ideas.
What do you think?

[Tiffany]

As Gergen stated that it is pervasive that people expirences shifting masks of identity, which depends on which mask people would like to wear in different situations.
mask is a sure sign of a person's deep-seated character, when motives change, mask will change as well.  there is a close relationship between masks and motives.
secondly, masks change with personal feelings, mask imrpove when people think positively. therefore, Gergen's experiements rule out an important issue: the level of felibility of individual is extrmely high.
 "we are made of plastic, and molded by social circumstances."  it is not a bad idea that we have various moods or selves, which encourage to find out  our potential selves .

[jessbeat]

I think Gergen's experiments were unique in the way they captured people in different environments. They made it clear that the environment surrounding a person can effect mood and the mask being worn. The job interview was particularly interesting to me. I have been in the position where i have felt slightly better dressed and prepared to a fellow applicant which has given me a confidence boost and affected the way i have behaved. I believe that it was not only how prepared i was for the interview that landed me the job but the positivity i had.

[mgh_88]

I think Gergen has conducted convincing research, in which his results show that the candidates felt good about themselves when given a positive remark. However I think there are limitations with this study. I think that the interaction needs to happen face to face in a natural enviroment as I believe the most important thing is how genuine the comment is. As Gergen mentioned, respondents could have been inclined to say things which they didnt mean if they thought it would benefit the study. I would be interested to see a more in depth paper maybe one which would include a transcript of responses. Overall in short I believe that people react positively to favourable comments however the credibility of the comments is the real key.

[fourtwenty]

As Gergen mentioned, respondents could have been inclined to say things which they didnt mean if they thought it would benefit the study.

I agree with you here mgh_88, I believe that the individuals involved as part of this experimental process could have their behaviour altered as they‘re aware that they’re being watched. If there was a means as to monitoring the individuals without them knowing that certain situations are under surveillance - this may perhaps produce more accurate results. However, would implementing a study like this present any forms of ethical problems?

According to Gergen, his findings demonstrate the ease of altering identities from mask-to-mask. Although, the women involved perhaps were misleading to the researchers by saying one thing when secretly thinking something different. This is possibly where a covert observation orientated system may benefit the experiment. Not that I consider his results to be inaccurate...

[07016311]

I agree that Gergen effectively demonstrates the sense of self and the influence of mood by those around us through his research, in particular the Mr. Clean and Mr. Dirty experiment. But I believe this especially demonstrates the idea of self worth, I think it is fair to say that everyone must have experienced at some point in their life, feeling better after you see someone who is not dressed as nicely as you. With something like a job interview taking place, people can often feel uneasy about how they look and the appropriateness of what they're wearing, and should they see someone less appropriately dressed than themselves one's mood does tend to lift when their self worth increases and their views of the other person decreases.

[ToYz]

Definately, I think our surroundings bring out different characteristics of the self and our surroundings are the reason we appear to have certain moods to begin with. I think there is an unconscious relationship here in which we have become moulded to react a certain way to a particular situation that surround us and when we revisit a similar moment again, the same mood is drawn out that was released from the previous experience; even if we learn new ways to control our mood when we are in that particular surrounding, on the inside, we still happen to react the same.   

[jbird]

I agree, for example i can wake up in a really good mood, then perhaps if i go to work and something has gone wrong soeveryone else is in a bad mood, this is bound to have an effect on my mood, it will definitely become less happy if i am surrounded by unhappy people. likewise if i am not feeling great, the people around me will have an effect on how long my mood stays like that. our surroundings may not be solely the people around us but also our environment, the weather, nature etc... With regards to Gergens experiments i think he showed his results brilliantly, and showed effectively how others around us can make an impression on our mood and self esteem.

[Karla]

I think that Gergen is right to consider the influences around us and the effects of these influences on ourselves and our mood. Subconsciously or not, we have particular feelings about certain people, environments and motives which either reflect positively on us, enabling us to lose our masks and develop our sense of self. Or they can reflect negatively meaning we remain hidden behind our masks.
Gergen's experiments interestingly show us how others have an influence on us, whether we are comparing ourselves against them in terms of personality, behaviour or physical appearance, from this we draw conclusions about what we are like ourselves.
In terms of our mood, I am in agreement with what jbird said about the weather and nature having an influence. On sunny days everyone feels happy and bright, whereas rainy dull days people can be more irritable and moody.

[ilikethequeen]

I think that Gergen is right in saying that our 'self' has a great deal to do with the people we are with and the environment we are in. For example, if I have negative feelings and I am on my own I will wollow yet if I am surrounded by people, even when I am in a situation that I wouldn't choose to be in like being at work, then I will feel obliged to put on a 'mask' for that situation. Even if it does not initially make me feel better after a time rather than 'performing' the role I find that I often forget that I was ever trying to pretend that I was ok and I am actually ok.

[sberry]

Yes, I do think that the environments that we are in bring out our different moods; and self and he has shown it effectively in his experiments. There have been many times that I’ve met up with my friends in a bad mood and ‘not myself’ to find them all smiles and happy. And in the course of the day, my bad mood somehow gradually changes to theirs. Most likely, because I didn’t want to be a downer and although I still felt in a bit of a bad mood on the inside, I put a mask on for my friends.

[Tea and Cake]

To an extent I agree with Gergen, that our 'sense of self - rather than just our current mood - depends on those around us', as explored in the previous student's comments. Yet I believe we are conscious of those changes as we adjust to the social situation we are in, depending on the type of etiquette expected of us. I think we are in control of our 'masks' and adopt them when we feel that we need to.
Although Gergen's experiments seem to conclude a valid hypothesis, which I do find interesting, I also think it induces stereotypical behavioural patterns. For example, I was sat in room not so long ago waiting to be called through for an interview, and as they were running behind schedule I got chatting to other girls also waiting. I quickly found that they were also very friendly, intelligent and somewhat more attractive than myself. However, although I was initially a bit intimidated, I concluded that everyone's different and if the interviewers were so shallow as to hire someone based on their looks then that isn't the type of company I want to work for. I continued to enter the room with confidence and gave it my best shot, not shaken by the competition sat in the waiting room. My point being that Gergen's theory doesn't exactly apply to everyone and I believe it can vary depending on what type of person you are and your strength of character. Obviously if you felt threatened, you may have reacted differently. Yet who's to say that you wouldn't have been driven by this strong competition and gone into the room with even more self-assurance to really impress the interviewers.... Or it could possibly reverse the situation and impede your capability in that you are now feeling more nervous.... Surely that depends on each individual??

[supernoodle275]

I do feel that those around us have a huge impact on the way that we are. It may not even be intentional or conscious, but we all at the end of the day want to be excepted, and therefore doing things that we think will help us fit in with those particular people, will make our lives easier.

Especially for example, if you come to university and you live with complete strangers who may be completely different to you. You will have to adapt to these people in order to get along with them otherwise you would be miserable. From this, you may even discover that you do have similar interests and that you can get along and make friendships with a whole array of people.

Gergen's experiments do seem to show this quite well, in that people reacted in the expected ways given the influences of the given factor for each.

So long as you don't try and be a person that you simply are not, then adapting yourself to be around lots of different people is a positive thing because you can become a much more sociable person.