We are constantly exposed to a culture of negativity. Within my vicinity, I have overheard several statements of negativity. For example, I’m such a failure. Why is this so hard to learn? I wanna give up. What am I doing with my life? I’m hopeless. I propose four ways by which influence is delivered: 1) through the impressions given by everyday actions and behaviors (even without any interaction), 2) through greetings and superficial conversation (saying hello or having small conversations), 3) through communication where an emotional connection is made (talking about passions or obstacles), 4) through donation of time to work or services (such as counseling service). I will pose that the strongest influence is exchanged by the first two, which constitute a significant portion of our (in)direct interactions with others and can efficiently change the community. The impressions and greetings level of influence are subjected to thin slicing, a well-known phenomenon in psychology. Our brain naturally makes associations so that we can give context to our experiences. We can alter the way we thin slice by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions, by placing ourselves into environments that prime us to think and act in positive mannerisms.
Those exposed to the dominant culture that is negative will be affected in their adaptive unconscious. Malcolm Gladwell, author of <Blink>, states “there can be as much value in the blink of an eye as much as in months of rational analysis.” When faced with a situation, we make a conclusion based on the thousands of assessments made in our subconscious. Although we cannot control our judgment process during that instant, we can train ourselves to assess differently in the future. In order to train in the first two levels of influence, one must have self-awareness, the knowledge and awareness of one’s own character, and the awareness of social influence due to factors like thin slicing. Social influence is based on the idea that every action taken by one individual influences the wide network of other people surrounding that individual (in our context, mainly due to impressions). Thus, we are inevitably influenced by dominant culture, positive or negative depending on the social niche. As one of the four ways of influence, POSTECH has a counseling center that provides an excellent service with the hope of changing the community environment. However, I believe severe depression can handled better through the influence and outreach of friends or surrounding students. An active change in the dominant culture to one that is conducive to personal and interpersonal growth is dependent on the drive of the students.