Comments:

As I have read the papers, listened to presentations, and engaged conference participants in conversation, three loosely related items come to mind as important:

       I. The psychology/sociology of conference participants
      II. “Making critical connections” in social & behavioral science
     III. Understanding self in context

I. The psychology/sociology of conference participants

Although I have limited experience of being a member of the majority, I feel that in the place where I work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I participate in the majority political, social and intellectual climate.

In such a context I have noticed that self-deception can occur about how common one’s views are. So, for example, I know many people who were shocked by the outcome of the recent senatorial and presidential races since everyone they knew was voting for the candidates who lost.

Those of us who are here and advocating the involvement of undergraduates in research and the commitment of our faculty to this goal may be in danger—in danger of being affirmed by an unrepresentative group. Most of the presenters here speak with one voice about the importance of integrating education and research, about the valuable contribution of faculty members who do this. I experience, feel affirmation. I agree with most things said. Indeed, I have thought or said them myself -- although less eloquently. But, is this really the tenor of our campuses? Are we hiring faculty members who have this point of view? Are we rewarding and promoting faculty members who spend their time this way? Are we practicing what we are preaching here? Do we have the most experienced faculty teaching the least experienced students?

This is not an explicit topic of the conference, but I think it is important to note it and for us to try to create the environment in which the goals outlined here a re pursued and rewarded.

II. Making critical connections in the social and behavioral sciences

The theme of connection that we have happily expressed here is consonant with a theme we selected at Chapel Hill for our campus planning: making critical connections. We have chosen to look at making critical connections in three ways

A. Across the curriculum: Encouraging students to enroll in a cluster of courses in different disciplines, but with interrelated themes, e.g. courses in history, philosophy, literature of the same period; courses in psychology, biology and philosophy addressing the mind-body debate.

We expect these connections will foster a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of complex questions.

B. Internationalization: As a means to facilitate understanding of other cultures and nations and to help us perceive our own society in context

C. Research: Making critical connection from the classroom to the field, laboratory, whether in the natural sciences, social and behavioral sciences, humanities, arts or professional areas. I want to underscore Dr. McDaniel’s emphasis on “elaboration,” not mere repetition, as an important component of learning, understanding and memory. It seems to me that research (and its application) can be seen as the ultimate form of elaboration and thus a prized way of learning.

In the social and behavioral sciences, almost every topic is interdisciplinary; most can only be comprehended by cutting across fields of study. In the social and behavioral sciences, most topics are international or address issues (group conflict, political systems) that are universal. Thus making critical connections is an ideal theme for social and behavioral science researchers to emphasis with undergraduates. Among the many topics that students might examine, I will mention three:

(1) Internationalization. Increasing globalization will make it more important to study the interrelations among cultures (e.g., the “clash of civilizations”), political systems, societal institutions, etc. (International terrorism would fit nicely under this general topic.) The social and behavioral sciences are uniquely positioned to investigate these kinds of issues since they study how societies work, how cultures and groups shape behavior, and how people are affected by their social, economic and political contexts.

Examples of undergraduate research projects:

--Study how people from different cultures interact with one other in the local community (e.g. in stores, churches, and schools).

--Examine how and why a single company such as Wal-Mart is involved in many countries. What are the advantages for Wal-Mart? What are the consequences for people in the various countries? Who suffers economically and socially from the existence of a company like Wal-Mart and who benefits?

(2) Social and behavioral aspects of biology. It will become increasingly clear that biological processes have important social and behavioral causes and consequences. At the same time, behavior has many biological consequences. The dividing line between the “social” and the “biological” will also become less clear with regard to a number of important issues, e.g. the extent to which aggression is a sociological and psychological, as compared with biological, phenomenon.

International terrorism is a topic that illustrates the connection between individual behavioral phenomena (aggression) and the importance of an international context. Is aggression best understood as individually, sociologically; or culturally determined? Does it make sense to talk about the biological basis for terrorism in the same way that we study biological contributions to aggressive behavior?

Although it is more difficult to involve undergraduates directly in the study of international terrorism, there are proximate examples involving the United States to which faculty members and students might again access. In an article on “How Social Science can Reduce Terrorism” (Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/10/2004, Plous and Zimbardo) suggest that reducing intergroup conflict, creating incentives to reduce terrorism, and socializing the young to reject violence as means of problem solving are all important interventions and avenues for additional research.

(3) Polarization. There has been a growing polarization in the United States along a number of different dimensions. This polarization is reflected in the greater inequality that now exists among groups with regard to phenomena such as voting behavior, earnings and wealth, work effort, and health. Such high levels of inequality which are often symptoms of people being treated unfairly, represent challenges for societies.

Examples of undergraduate research projects:

--Study how one’s class position (defined by type of job, income level, where one lives) affects ones’ political party affiliation and choice of candidate for whom to vote.

--Study the nature and consequences of racial composition of poor vs. rich people in the same city.

III. Understanding Self in Context. Studying the nature and consequence of racial composition, brings to mind my third point: It is important that students of social and behavioral sciences learn to understand self in context

Professor Gardner asserted that he has come to believe that character is more important than intellect. I am tempted to subscribe to that view —which would mean that in the final analysis my mother was correct. I want to expand here on one feature that I think is important to the development of character: self-knowledge and knowledge of self in context. I’ll use the example of a student who traveled to Eastern Europe to conduct a study on the role and status of the Roma in the local society to make my point. The student read about the Roma people, interviewed many, and also interviewed educators and politicians. She learned that the Roma had been treated like outcasts, subject to legal exclusion; their children received inferior education; they were relegated to certain geographical locations; were not fully integrated into society. She was indignant that in modern European society a group of people could be so severely mistreated. When she presented her work at a research symposium, her comments indicated not only indignation, but also her sense that she had never seen or been a part of anything like this before. As she expressed her indignation, all of the adults in the audience began to exchange glances with one another, thinking is it possible that this well meaning student did not see parallels between the experiences of the Roma and a number of groups in American society. It turns out that she did not. It became apparent that the student perceived the Roma situation as foreign, unlike anything she had observed or as a member of the majority in US society experienced. She did not recognize the parallels to the experience of several minority groups in the United States.

The comments and questions in reaction to her presentation helped to close the circle for her. I believe some of her best learning came from her presentation and the feedback she received, which compelled her to probe her own work.

Obviously, character is more than understanding self in relation to others, but it is critically important for our students that they understand who they are, to what groups they belong, how groups interact with one another, how groups resolve conflicts without conquering one another.

This is the important contribution that social and behavioral sciences can make to the advancement of knowledge and improvement of society.