Queuing: Chat And Cut

1. How do you feel about queuing? What was your longest wait? Which institutions in your country are notorious for long waits?

2. How do you feel if someone pushes in? When is pushing in justified?

3. Has mobile technology made queuing (looking at your phone etc.) more tolerable?

4. What positive events generated queues in your country?

Watch video here: Chat And Cut Video

Read script: Chat And Cut Script

5. What happened? What is chat and cut? Is it something you have ever seen yourself? Is it something you have done (maybe with a genuine friend). Have you seen anyone caught doing this?

6. When queuing for food in school canteens, teaching staff are often advised by management to push into queues for lunch - is this form of hierarchical queue jumping acceptable? Does this sort of thing happen at your workplace with senior management?

7. Do you feel comfortable correcting people in public? Do you always do it, or are you prepared to let things go?

8. Would you act on your own, or would you prefer to be a part of a group complaint?

9. Do you know someone who is good at calling out minor social injustices? What characteristics do they have? What is their technique? Larry (video) is seemingly eloquent when accusing someone, but much less so when he is the accused - how important is it to be eloquent when calling out bad behaviour?

10. What are the downsides of being known as a person who is strict on etiquette?

11. Complete the sentence: "If people have made an honest mistake, ..."

12. Rate the following advice for correcting people : useful or useless?

a) Ask yourself the question: "Can he or she handle the truth?"  If the answer is an unqualified 'Yes,' let them know they're wrong, right there and then. If "No," then say nothing.

b) Trying to soften criticism with qualifications like "With all due respect," "No offence," or "Don't take this the wrong way" only confuses your message.

c) Focus on behaviour, not character (if you know them). You should focus on the facts and not your opinion of that person.

d) Show them the way. Criticism without an action plan is worthless. Give them direction or keep quiet.

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Situation

You are queuing at your company restaurant for lunch. The queue is lengthy. You see your teacher attempting a chat and cut ahead of you: Deal with the situation using the appropriate techniques.

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Discuss quotes

"Waiting is so unusual that many of us can't stand in a queue for 30 seconds without getting out our phones to check for messages or to Google something."

--- Julian Baggini

"Life's greatest comfort is being able to look over your shoulder and see people waiting in line behind you."

--- Chuck Palahniuk

"Waiting in line is a great opportunity to meet people, daydream, or play."

--- Patch Adams

"It is strange that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting."

--- Elizabeth Taylor

“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.”

― E. V. Lucas

Student Handout PDF: Chat And Cut

Survival Of The Friendliest

1. What do you associate with the concept of 'survival of the fittest'? Generally speaking, who are the proponents of this theory? Are you familiar with any books or films where survival of the fittest plays a central part e.g. Jack London's 'Call of the Wild' or Leonardo DiCaprio in 'The Revenant'?

Watch video here: Survival Of The Friendliest

2. Dogs are a great example of the survival of the friendliest, right? Can you think of any other species (animal to human, animal to animal) that use friendliness as a means of survival?

3. Are our pets genuinely friendly towards us, or have they just learnt certain behaviours/gestures that allow them to get what they want? 

4. Being friendly is great news if you are a cuddly puppy, but what if you are a mosquito/cockroach? What approach would you adopt? Is there a hierarchy of survival techniques? Where would 'cleverest, strongest, most handsome, most virulent' etc. come in this hierarchy?

5. Why aren't wolves extinct now?

6. In terms of communication, are dogs the closest species to humans? Is that simply because of their proximity to us, or is there a genetic trait that allows communication to take place?

7. In Spain, apes have been given special rights, in part, because they are genetically close to humans. Do you agree? Should apes and monkeys have more rights than other animals?

8. The video suggests that it is collaboration between humans that is one of the major factors for mankind's success. What other species collaborate in a similar manner?

9. When did we become a 'winner-takes-all society', do you think? Is humanity thriving in all of its different social contexts?

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Situation

You are Dr. Jennifer Crocker. You have granted an interview to up-and-coming journalist (your teacher) who works for the magazine 'Psychology Today'. Outline some of your theories on 'egosystems' and ecosystems', and answer any questions he has.

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Discuss quotes

“The biologists are a ruthless bunch, and quite devoid of any particular regard for doctors. In theory they don’t even want a surgeon to patch up a man who has been hit on the head with a brick, the argument being that it is better for the human race to be able to dodge bricks. Which is correct, I suppose, unless it happens to be your head and your brick.”

― Dr. Blake F. Donaldson

"Survival of the fittest is over. Get over it. We need survival of the wisest."

- Deepak Chopra

“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”

― Groucho Marx

“Dogs never bite me. Just humans.”

― Marilyn Monroe

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.”

― Mark Twain

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Student Handout PDF: Survival

Photo: Patrice Schoefelt