In a Northern California high school, school official ordered students wearing American flag T-shirts to turn the shirts inside out during the Mexican heritage celebration of Cinco de Mayo. A group of students who were ordered to turn their shirts inside out sued the school/school district saying that the students’ freedom of expression rights had been violated. The case has now gone to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court has ruled that the school acted appropriately because the school officials had concerns of racial violence and those concerns outweighed the students’ rights. The school feared the American flag shirts would enflame the passions of the Latino students who were celebrating the Cinco de Mayo holiday. The school has a history of problems between white and Latino student on May 5. The court unanimously ruled that these past problems gave school officials sufficient and justifiable reasons for their actions. Typcially, courts have ruled that schools have the right to do whatever actions are necessary to maintain order and control. The attorneys for the students have planned to appeal the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court if necessary.

How do you feel about this case? Do you believe that the courts are correct in their rulings about the suppression of students’ freedom of expression in situations that could lead to violence and loss of control at the school? Do you think the school officials could have handled this volatile diversity issue in another way? If so, how?

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Visit the TED Talk website and search for a talk on the subject matter of psychology. Watch one of the talks that interests you, as long as it is a minimum of 8 minutes in length. At the top of your response, include the title of the TED Talk, the name of the presenter, when it was filmed, along with a link to the video.

In a post respond to the following:

Give a summary of the TED talk, emphasizing the speaker’s main points

What did you find most interesting about the talk, and what will you most likely remember from the talk?

What type of data or evidence did the presenter show to back up his or her information?

Read the biographical information and do some basic background research on the presenter. What area of psychology do they work in? More specifically, which psychological perspective would you say best fits the type of work they do? Why?

What other questions would you have for this presenter if you could have a conversation with him or her? What else would you like to know about the topic?

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How was the school of thought known as behaviorism a paradigm shift within the field of psychology, and how was it different from that which was seen before?

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Describe one of the following well-known social psychological studies:
Asch’s Conformity Study
Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study
Darley and Batson’s Good Samaritan Study
Festinger and Carlsmith’s Cognitive Dissonance Study
Landsberger’s Hawthorne Effect Study
Milgram’s Obedience Study
Nisbett and Wilson’s Halo Effect Study
Ross’s False Consensus Study
Seligman’s Learned Helplessness Study
Sherif and Sherif’s Robbers Cave Study
Zimbardo’s Prison Study
Other options may be suggested or approved by your instructor.
Explain how the research study you selected illustrates social thinking, social influence, or social relations.
Apply this insight regarding social psychology to an experience or observation from your own life (personal or professional).
Relate the relevance of your newfound knowledge of social thinking, social influence, or social relations to your current or anticipated future career.

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