Beginnings Of Conscience (1957)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] your name is James Bryce and you're in a hurry you didn't really have to stop for that sign there wasn't a policeman in sight no cars coming the other way but you did stop almost mechanically without thinking I [Music] it began a long time ago James price when you looked like this things happen to you then a whole series of things that told you the same story little incidents like this one Jimmy look who's come to play with you hi Wow aren't you glad to see Henry get up and say hello Henry go play with Jimmy while mommy's gone they'll be okay Helen well thanks a lot G noise stop that what's the matter with you that's very naughty Jimmy it's not your fire engine it's Henry's I love it it's not yours you can't have it unless Henry gives it to you making give it till II know it belongs to Henry you'll go play with your truck that belongs to you I don't why well don't play with anything then but behave yourself I'm ashamed of you [Music] [Applause] you're Jimmy Bryce and you're angry you wanted something and somebody said no just because it belonged to someone else and so now you're being scolded too bad if only you weren't a human being if you were a monkey for example this problem would never come up if you wanted something you take it and may the best monkey win no mother monkey around safe naughty or you know better or I'm surprised at you or if you'd been born a social insect like a bee there'd be no problem either the social behavior of a bee is largely fixed by heredity and instinct no moral problems no trouble no rebels no criminals no non conformists and a beehive but back here in human society there are problems social behavior has to be learned usually the hard way the moral rules that govern human society are transmitted to the young through speech and writing [Music] animals society when it exists is founded on instinct physical differences and imitation these play a part in developing human society - but words and other symbolic means that the communication are more important and parents are not the only teachers of moral norms the group to which a human being belongs from his very earliest years is also responsible for some of his social education you're Jimmy Bryce and you're five years old now like it or not you've become a part of a social group today James Bryce doesn't even remember an incident like this one and it was one of many it was just one of those days those bad days life in the kindergarten was pretty toe finger-painting seemed like stuff how about a little action you're feeling pretty strong this morning anybody wanna fight there that ought to start something same old story grown-ups always spoil the fun all the old words to be a good boy ashamed of you how would you like it if somebody did that to you [Music] but Jenny's still looking for trouble and if at first you don't succeed well [Music] words haven't worked very well on Jimmy and so now the teacher tries enforcing moral norms punishment by separating him from the group [Music] Jimmy is pretending that he doesn't care but he's looking to the group for their reaction most of all he wants attention but he's not getting it now the other children have become suddenly indifferent and Jimmy is disappointed at recess time Jimmy's formal punishment was ended but then the children took over they didn't like his bullying behavior and they let him know it they applied one form of social sanction against him exclusion exclusion or withdrawal is an informal kind of punishment used especially by children and adolescents but fear of it continues to exercise a restraint throughout adult life [Music] another kind of sanction is forced and Jimmy has gotten so far out of hand now that the teacher of climate she tells him that the other children don't like him right now but they will if only he'll behave a little better [Music] but by the time mrs. Brice came to get Jimmy after school that afternoon some of his cockiness had returned as a result he is about to have another sanction applied to him by his group ridicule which in this case takes the form of mimicking his strut in some situation ridicule is highly effective like withdrawal or exclusion it is a sanction ordinarily applied by children and adolescents but the threat of it continues to operate in adult behavior the fear of both exclusion and ridicule learned in childhood remains a powerful motivation for adhering to moral norms in later life fortunately the learning of moral norms is not always an unpleasant experience as Jimmy learned at recess a few days later [Music] [Applause] Jenny didn't know it at the time but he was beginning to learn something essential to the whole basis of order in human society a member of society must cooperate in order to participate give in order to get Jimmy didn't learn all the rules from this one experience many incidents of the same kind were needed for his social education for example not long afterward there was that business about the tricycle sure I just want you to remember one thing to me I don't want you ever to cross a street not any street understand it's dangerous because of the automobile so you mind what daddy said but a few days later temptation confronted Jimmy one afternoon he and his friend Betty were racing each other on their tricycles [Applause] the forbidden territory across the street suddenly seemed very inviting over there a whole world of excitement lay waiting the call of adventure proved stronger than the rules laid down by Jimmy's father [Music] but Jenny's father came home from work early that afternoon and the culprit was caught red-handed Bettie fields highly virtuous says she sees mr. Brice reprimanding Jimmy for a misdeed that her own conscience had not let her commit and so once again Forrest is applied to Jimmy and he's brought home once again he listens while his father explains the danger of crossing the street the next day Jimmy received his punishment he was not allowed to use his tricycle and play with the other children Jenny is learning that if he breaks the rules he gets punished and punishment is an important factor in moral education in childhood however in adult life the educational aspect of punishment is relatively unimportant its main purpose is not to reform the criminal its real value is to reaffirm the moral standard for everyone else when Jenny's punishment was over and he was allowed to ride his tricycle again temptation presented itself once more [Applause] [Music] again the life of forbidden joy calls to him and he would probably get away with it this time not a grown up in sight why not why not because jenny has begun to grow a conscience and it is beginning to take over in making decisions between right and wrong it will continue to operate often unconsciously throughout his life you're James Bryce now not Jimmy aged five and most of the time you stay within the moral norms of your society your conscience is no longer just a barrier now it's a part of yourself expression relating itself to the various roles you play in your society the roles of husband and father demand that you provide for your family the role of businessman demands that you get to work on time and the roles of friend and neighbor require you to be courteous even when you're in a hurry you're James Bryce a social being at long last because your parents teachers and group did a good job of socialization without this socialization and without the sanctions used to achieve it there would be no basis for moral order in human society [Music]