Fix your ‘broken windows’

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Philip Zimbardo, an American psychologist and sociologist conducted an experiment in 1969 that later became one of the most famous examples in criminology and in the social sciences in particular.

Zimbardo parked two cars with doors open and with no license plates in two different areas, one in a run-down neighborhood and the other in an affluent area.

Within a few minutes the car in the run-down was stolen and was completely destroyed within three days.

It took longer for pedestrians in the affluent area to start destroying the car; therefore Zimbardo smashed one of the car’s windows. Soon, passers-by were joining in and within a few hours, the car had been turned upside down and utterly destroyed, and turned into scrap.

In 1982, two other scientists continued Zimbardo’s study and his observations by conducting similar research on other buildings and properties in different regions developed a theory they called the ‘broken window theory’, which is that neglecting to address any environmental problem will have a negative impact on people’s attitudes and behavior towards it, which leads to more and more problems. The opposite is also true. Addressing small problems in a quick time will lead to a better environment and better behavior.

What is interesting in these studies is that the people who deliberately destroyed cars and buildings were not criminals, but rather the general public and law-abiding citizens. However, the broken window sent a subtle message that no one cares, and probably no consequences for damaging what was already damaged.

Imagine there was a broken cup in your house; would there be any consequences if it was broken into piece? Or will you be careful not to break it further when tossed in the trash?

This theory can be applied to many other areas of life. For example: if we leave rubbish in a public park, and it is not removed in a reasonable time, and no penalties are applied to those who dump it, this will lead to other people throwing their rubbish on it.

If a teacher allows a student to cheat in an exam, cheating will be accepted in other exams and by other students at all levels of education.

At home, if you don’t wash the dishes right after eating, it will lead to a buildup and possibly major health problems in the future.

A small disagreement with your partner may lead to bigger problems that end in separation and family disintegration that may last for several generations.

Therefore, ignoring the small problems today will lead to the bigger problems tomorrow.

In fact, many of the health, environmental and social issues that we face today were the result of accumulations of small wrong actions, behaviors and circumstances that were ignored and not addressed in the past, such as the bedoun problem and naturalization.

Therefore, it is imperative that government, companies, and above all individuals fix the broken windows in their lives so that sons, children, the people, and future generations can have a better future.

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By Ahmad alsarraf

This news has been read 13459 times!