How to break the stereotype - a lesson for the Tiges

[pahoffm]

In my regular readings, I frequently come across excellent articles from the magazine Scientific American Mind. You may recall an article that I posted last year regarding the "learnability" of leadership.

I've found this article in the current issue that deals with how groups, from either intellectual or sporting concerns, can often become hamstrung by their past. An example of such could be Collingwood and the Colliwobbles. It deals with how these groups can break free from these self or externally imposed stereotypes.
It may deliver an important message to the RFC organisation. May be not!

How Stereotyping Yourself Contributes to Your Success (or Failure)
People's performance on intellectual and athletic tasks is shaped by awareness of stereotypes about the groups to which they belong. New research explains why— and how we can break free from the expectations of others
By S. Alexander Haslam, Jessica Salvatore, Thomas Kessler and Stephen D. Reicher

Key Concepts
Sterotypes and Success

Faults in performance do not necessarily signify a dearth of skills or abilities, social scientists have found. Instead the failures may arise from awareness of stereotypes that others hold about the groups to which we belong.
Social identity research examines not only how we both take on (internalize) and live out (externalize) identities that are shared with our peers but also how these things can change.
This research can help us identify ways of responding to others’ stereotypes so that human talent and potential are not squandered. Although stereotypes can promote failure, they can also lift a person’s or group’s performance and be tools that promote social progress.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-stereotyping-yourself-contributes-to-success

I hope you enjoy it.

 

[tiger1960]

In my regular readings, I frequently come across excellent articles from the magazine Scientific American Mind. You may recall an article that I posted last year regarding the "learnability" of leadership.

I've found this article in the current issue that deals with how groups, from either intellectual or sporting concerns, can often become hamstrung by their past. An example of such could be Collingwood and the Colliwobbles. It deals with how these groups can break free from these self or externally imposed stereotypes.
It may deliver an important message to the RFC organisation. May be not!

How Stereotyping Yourself Contributes to Your Success (or Failure)
People's performance on intellectual and athletic tasks is shaped by awareness of stereotypes about the groups to which they belong. New research explains why— and how we can break free from the expectations of others
By S. Alexander Haslam, Jessica Salvatore, Thomas Kessler and Stephen D. Reicher

Key Concepts
Sterotypes and Success

Faults in performance do not necessarily signify a dearth of skills or abilities, social scientists have found. Instead the failures may arise from awareness of stereotypes that others hold about the groups to which we belong.
Social identity research examines not only how we both take on (internalize) and live out (externalize) identities that are shared with our peers but also how these things can change.
This research can help us identify ways of responding to others’ stereotypes so that human talent and potential are not squandered. Although stereotypes can promote failure, they can also lift a person’s or group’s performance and be tools that promote social progress.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-stereotyping-yourself-contributes-to-success

I hope you enjoy it.

I hope I enjoy it, too!​

 

[chislop]

Phantom, another Bertrand Russell appreciator. My favourite quote of his: "Everything is vague to a degree you do not realise till you have to make it precise." Would apply to coaching footy I imagine.

 

[pahoffm]

Phantom, another Bertrand Russell appreciator. My favourite quote of his: "Everything is vague to a degree you do not realise till you have to make it precise." Would apply to coaching footy I imagine.

Ha! Yep!

Coaching, yep, keep the message simple.... and focused.

 

[IanG]

Interesting reading, although I've just browsed it at this stage it seems to be saying that if the group culture is strong then the performance will be strong but if the group has weaknesses in its perception of itself then the performance will tend to reflect those weaknesses. Its interesting to apply it to the ongoing debate about Richmond players creating their own culture or having former players around. My guess is its somewhere between the 2 extremes (as most things are), take the best values from the past but put their own stamp on it.

I can't help feeling that having some sort of a sense of history would help give the players a sense of belonging to something special and that this is a good thing in moderation and with the right club values espoused.

 

[pahoffm]

Yes, I thought it had two facets:
1. As you've posted, if the group culture & self esteem and stereotype is strong then the performance is strong.
2. Also, that if you can enforce an image of a poor stereotype upon your opposition. then that can negative implications for them, postive for us - possibly sledging.

It's the main reason why some teams do well early when a coach is changed. "This is a new Richmond." And that's great for a while, circa 2005 & 2006, but if the fundamental culture of the place doesn't change then the overiding culture returns.

Conversely, if you know the opposition has a fundamental weakness and you enforce that weakness upon them, there's every chance that they may buckle.

An interesting anecdote.
My son was a guest allrounder for a Sunday team a couple of seasons ago. One match they played the undefeated Toorak team. (Toorak, in Melbourne, is like Norwood, Adelaide, or Double Bay, Sydney.) My son's team batted first and had a bit of a collapse which was restored when he came in at no. 5 or 6 and knocked up a few 6's. I think he scored about 40 off 20 balls, which left the Toorak team with 150 to chase. Very gettable, considering the ground size.
During the chaneover, I took the opportunity to address my son;s team and make them aware that the Toorak team was full of soft, spoiled, private school boys who'd crack if they were put under enough pressure. The boys went out with the intention of conveying that message to the opposition.
Sure enough they did crack and were left a handful of runs short.
They were beaten again in the same manner, by the same team, in the grand final.

So in a nutshell, it's how we really perceive ourselves, as a group culture, and what message we give outside that counts.

That's how I see it.

 

[smasha]

Thats got to be the best oxymoron I have ever seen. :rofl

Even better than Military Intelligence and Airline Food.

LOL.

 

[pahoffm]

Off the top of my head - Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Robert Oppenheimer, Jonas Salk - just to name a handful.

But it's interesting.
If enough people in the world keep calling Americans dumb, does that reinforce itself within the American psyche?

Does the white, blonde haired, blue eyed aryan assert his/her authority by reinforcing that stereotype over other races & peoples?

On the other hand, does the stereotyping of Jews as intelligent wealthy entrepeneurs & artists reinforce itself within the identity so as to strengthen their group's econimic & cultural performance?

On a football level,

Did the constant deriding of the Sammy Newman era Cats as "handbags" reinforce itself in the performance of the Cats?

What about the Colliwobbles?

And didn't the constant reinforcing of the point that Richmond could "belt" Carlton out of a game affect the latter's mid-70s performances.

And was StKilda as "born losers", in the 1980s, a self-fulfilling stereotype.

What implication has this for the Tigers?

What is needed to crush the stereotype built up through the 80s, 90s & 2Ks?

Chicken poo, again, maybe?

Positive thinking?