wrongturn
Elder Lister
The broken window theory states that visible signs of disorder and misbehavior in an environment encourage further disorder and misbehavior, leading to serious crimes. Philippe Zambardo, a psychologist and a meeting scientist, conducted an experiment in 1969 that later became one of the most famous experiments in the studies of criminology, particularly in social science in general. He left two cars with unlocked doors and missing number plates in two different areas: one in a poor neighborhood and the other in a rich neighborhood.
The passersby in the poor neighborhood started stealing and vandalizing the car within a few minutes, and it was completely destroyed in three days. It took longer for passersby in the rich area to start destroying the car, forcing Zambardo to intervene by breaking one of the car windows before people started breaking more windows and stealing the car. It took the same time as in the poor neighborhood to turn the whole car into scrap within a few days.
In 1982, two other scholars followed the researcher Zambardo and his observations by conducting similar studies on buildings and other properties in different areas, talking about a theory called the "Broken Window Theory," quoted in many studies and books of sociology. Summarizing the theory: That neglecting to address any problem in an environment, no matter how small it is, will negatively affect people's attitudes and behavior towards that environment, leading to bigger and bigger problems.
The opposite is also true: addressing small problems quickly will lead to a better environment and better behavior. What is interesting in these studies is that the people who intentionally vandalized cars and buildings were not criminals; most of them were law-abiding citizens. Yet, the broken window sent a secret message saying "no one cares, and probably there are no consequences for destroying what was already broken."
This theory can be applied to many other areas of life. For example:
1. If someone leaves some rubbish in a public park, and the rubbish is not removed in a reasonable time and no penalties are imposed on whoever threw it. It will result in other people doing the same in the park and elsewhere, turning parks into trash bins that visitors run out of, as is the case in some public parks today.
2. If a teacher allows a student to cheat in a subject exam, cheating becomes acceptable in other exams and among other students at all levels of education and at home.
3. If the corrupt officials are not properly punished, it encourages everyone in a society to be corrupt and by the time you discover, the whole society is rotten.
4. You are a businessman and you are cheating customers Infront of your kids, then you are training future thieves and dishonest leaders.
So ignoring the small problems today will lead to much bigger problems in the future. The broken window theory is a reminder that even small problems can have significant consequences. If we want to create a more peaceful and orderly society, we need to be proactive in addressing problems as soon as they arise.
The passersby in the poor neighborhood started stealing and vandalizing the car within a few minutes, and it was completely destroyed in three days. It took longer for passersby in the rich area to start destroying the car, forcing Zambardo to intervene by breaking one of the car windows before people started breaking more windows and stealing the car. It took the same time as in the poor neighborhood to turn the whole car into scrap within a few days.
In 1982, two other scholars followed the researcher Zambardo and his observations by conducting similar studies on buildings and other properties in different areas, talking about a theory called the "Broken Window Theory," quoted in many studies and books of sociology. Summarizing the theory: That neglecting to address any problem in an environment, no matter how small it is, will negatively affect people's attitudes and behavior towards that environment, leading to bigger and bigger problems.
The opposite is also true: addressing small problems quickly will lead to a better environment and better behavior. What is interesting in these studies is that the people who intentionally vandalized cars and buildings were not criminals; most of them were law-abiding citizens. Yet, the broken window sent a secret message saying "no one cares, and probably there are no consequences for destroying what was already broken."
This theory can be applied to many other areas of life. For example:
1. If someone leaves some rubbish in a public park, and the rubbish is not removed in a reasonable time and no penalties are imposed on whoever threw it. It will result in other people doing the same in the park and elsewhere, turning parks into trash bins that visitors run out of, as is the case in some public parks today.
2. If a teacher allows a student to cheat in a subject exam, cheating becomes acceptable in other exams and among other students at all levels of education and at home.
3. If the corrupt officials are not properly punished, it encourages everyone in a society to be corrupt and by the time you discover, the whole society is rotten.
4. You are a businessman and you are cheating customers Infront of your kids, then you are training future thieves and dishonest leaders.
So ignoring the small problems today will lead to much bigger problems in the future. The broken window theory is a reminder that even small problems can have significant consequences. If we want to create a more peaceful and orderly society, we need to be proactive in addressing problems as soon as they arise.