English 3 Assignment

From the womb to the tomb, individuals in any society are conditioned to respond to cultural stimuli. There are plenty of different ways that humans are conditioned. Parents condition their children to believe in what they find ethical, schools condition children to learn under their rules and regulations, and society conditions every single one of us to see certain things as acceptable.

As a child, I was conditioned by my parents. They had their ideas of ethics, and taught them to me since I was very young. I have been raised to always be courteous to others, and give people I may not like the benefit of the doubt. Because of this, I always hold the door open for strangers. I always say “please,” and “thank you.” When meeting someone, I always give them a firm, respectful handshake. Rote adherence to these types of instinctual protocols leads me to be kind – sometimes too kind – to people I have barely met. I have been taught to believe it’s better to give someone a chance, than to be disrespectful to them right off the bat. As I grew up believing that respect for others met the necessary social protocols, I was effectively conditioned to operate under these protocols without wavering.

Public school conditions us to behave on their campus. Students are expected to take hats off when entering the building, because wearing hats is considered disrespectful otherwise. Students are told to raise their hand and be called on before they are allowed to speak. Students are conditioned to dress a certain way, or else they are declared indecent for our learning experience. The school enforces these regulations by using punishments as consequence. SWEEP is a good example of reinforcing the rules they condition us with. If we are late, we’re not allowed in the classroom, and instead are sent to SWEEP.

Society has to be the biggest part of being conditioned as an individual. Many countries have a society that conditions their citizens entirely different...