Having studied Reader 3 I'm finding it difficult to get my head around some of the concepts. In this blog post I'm going to look into a few of these ideas and see if I can expand and deepen my understanding.
The Prisoner's Dilema and Cooperation
As I have understood so far The Prisoner's Dilema game needs you to cooperate with the other player, abiding by the rules in ordered to reach the end success.
But this brings up the simple question of 'how many people are willing to cooperate with others?' and 'how many people are just playing the selfish game?'
Asking these questions Robert Axelrod learned that most people do things on a "tit for tat" bases. He also noted the importance of cooperation to achieve an end goal.
"Cooperating fully with others until you reach a point of maximum benefit and then to defect"
(R. Axelrod, 1984 Pviii)
So the idea is that you cooperate and work with someone until they are no longer useful to you.
The most useful definition of Cooperation I found was this,
"An act or instance of working or acting together for common purpose or benefit;joint action"
I thought about this for a while.
Really we reach out and try to connect with people for our own gain, however in doing so we are making ourselves able to be contacted by others.
I like to think I would try to help and cooperate with someone as much as possible, without necessarily expecting something immediate in exchange, however if said person were able to help me in the future I would hope that they would return the favour.
As professional in any field we all benefit from helping and being helped by others, by making connections and knowing the right people. After all it's not what you know but who you know.
"Cooperation based solely on reciprocity seemed possible."
(Axelrod, 1984 Pviii)
In several previous blog posts I have stated that I'm not one for making full use of social media sites and have actually had my first experiences with some on this course.
I didn't understand why I should participate more than I needed or wanted to, as I was always doing it for my own use.
But now I can see that it's not just about what you are able to get out of networking as an individual but it what you can put in and share with others. It is beneficial to both parties.
Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene believes that this kind of cooperative behaviour isn't instinctive and that as children we are generally selfish.
He then develops to say as we grow cooperation is something we learn as it becomes beneficial to us.
This ties in to the fact that Axelrod believed that cooperating is "strategic rather than genetic" (Axelrod,1984 Pviii)
I found the idea that cooperation is 'learnt' not 'natural' very interesting as it is a behaviour you can really see doesn't exist with children.
Over time we have learned via networking and working in groups that helping yourself to also help others is a very logical thing to do.
I also found extracts of this paper Cooperative Strategy by Richard P. Nielson extremely interesting as an extension of the theories by Axelrod and Dawkins.
Affiliation
Affiliation can best be described as,
"A network of support that will help us when we are in need."
(Crisp & Turner 27, pg 266)
This looks into the way all humans enjoy or even need to be linked to others in some way. It can be a social or business relationship.
Reader 3 mentions that psychologies believe looking to form close relationships is an "inherited trait that helps us to survive"
An American psychologist David McClellan created the term Need for Affiliation (N-Affil) which he describes as a person's need to feel a sense of involvement and 'belonging' within a group. This is part of his work on motivation called the Need Theory.
He describes affiliation as "a need for open and sociable interpersonal relationships. In other words, it is a desire for relationships based on co-operation and mutual understanding."
Understanding why people "need" to create this bond and chose to spend time in the company of others is something Crisp and Turner write about.
They found all people thrive and work better when in groups or with someone they can communicate and socialise with. Or as they describe it, people are "happier, more alert, and more excited when in the company of others than when alone." (Crisp & Turner, 2007. P266)
Of course I can relate to this, I am someone who very much enjoys working with a group and the company of other more than my own.
They also reveal that different people have different needs when it come to how much affiliation they feel in necessary for their individual survival.
This would begin to explain why some people use social media sites more often that others and why some people enjoy their own company from time to time.
People who use networking sites for social purposes more often than others could be seen to have a greater need for affiliation. But does that mean people who don't often use social media don't have the same need? From my personal point of view, as stated previously, I am someone who much prefers the company of others and working in a team, however I rarely use social media sites. I feel this may come for the need for different types of affiliation.
Another interesting point made by Crisp and Turner (2007) is the idea that there is also a negative side to seeking affiliation. The possibility of rejection can make people stressed or anxious and if the desired affiliation isn't received it can make you lonely and despondent.
When I do use social media sites, for example Facebook, it is always with positive intention to affiliate and socialise. But I am aware that there are people who use such sites for destructive purposes. I have been looking at a study done by the psychology department of the University of Michigan which looks into the detrimental destruction to our mental heath than can occur with over use of Facebook.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0069841
The idea is that people only post things about their lives that they want others to see, they are able to create and mould an image of the "perfect" life they lead.
This video "What's on your mind?" really highlights how posting these false images can lead to negative emotions.
So, although social media and networking has opened many doors for us professionally and social there are also dangers to be aware of. I'm interested to find out more about how people have negatively reacted to this online affiliation.
The last thing that really struck me about the reader was this quote,
"Your effective engagement of your Professional Network may well impact on success, promotion and development, your sense of worth and fulfilment, and even enjoyment in your working life."
I had always been aware of the fact that good networking can help equal development and possibly success within my social and working life, but I had never thought of the possibility that it might aid my enjoyment!
References
WBS 3730 Module 1 Reader 3 BAPP Arts, Middlesex University, Page 5
http://s-f-walker.org.uk/pubsebooks/pdfs/Richard_Dawkins_The_Selfish_Gene.pdf
http://www.wiggo.com/mgmt8510/Readings/Readings12A/nielsen1988smj.pdf
WBS 3730 Module 1 Reader 3 BAPP Arts, Middlesex University, Page 6
http://www.whatishumanresource.com/mcclelland-needs-for-affiliation-power-and-achievement-theory-of-motivation
Crisp & Turner 2007
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0069841
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y
Your are letting the research take you places - thinking places I mean - testing these ideas out and seeing the debates will be useful in Module 2. Networking and enjoyment - yes - good idea to take forward.
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