I.Ê
INTRODUCTION
I am experimenting with a new
educational tool which I call instructional singing. This is a readily
available but little used natural reinforcer which instructors can utilize
profitably. The popular culture in which students are embedded occasions a
common cognitive and affective focus. This is particularly important in the
community-classroom approach because that instructional context requires
achieving successful levels of culture-simulation. (James & Gordon, 1977,
1978, 1979 a, b, c; James & Nahl, 1981; McDonald 1971; Skinner, 1957)
1.11ÊÊÊÊ THE
COMMUNITY-CLASSROOM APPROACH
The name ãcommunity-classroomä
signifies a classroom environment that successfully simulates a community.
Turning a group of students into a community means modifying their
interpersonal relations so as to show a high level of integrated behaviors such
as one sees in closely-knit family, friendship, and neighborhood groups;
namely, knowing each other, sharing themselves, building liking and trust,
mutual aid in tasks and concerns, etc. Such are the behaviors that
community-classroom students report when asked to describe how the course is
affecting them (DRA 1976-80--Student Progress and Discharge Reports).
The techniques used for
culture-simulation in community-classroom are well known in the social science
literature and include:
i.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ small group
dynamics
ii.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ managed
information diffusion
iii.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ingathering
and bonding activities
iv.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ generational
and oral focus
Deutsch (1949)
shows that members of cohesive groups are more attentive to one another,
understand each other better, influence each other more, are more likely to
change, and show more internalization of group norms than members of less
cohesive groups. Festinger (1954) shows that people have a strong motivation to
maintain correct belief systems, and so use others for setting comparison
levels for self-appraisal and evaluation. Perception of differences arouse
pressure towards change. Perception of similarities have bonding effects.
Self-location on ability scales and lists provides a rational and objective
basis for planning change. Diffusion of information within the class regarding
student reports in the social lab exercises is an instructional method that is
justified by Festingerâs social comparison theory. Jourard (1964) asserts that
self-disclosure to another is essential for cognitive and affective growth of
the individual.
All culture-simulation conditions in
community-classroom are applied according to contingency management principles.
Desirable activities are encouraged through a grade credit system or ãtoken
economy.ä Progress is rewarded and successive approximations are allowed and
encouraged. Oral exchanges between students is facilitated through
interpersonal involvement in the topics of social psychology and the self.
Physical space is also altered so as to counteract anti-social forces (Soniner,
1967, a, b). Thus chairs are moved around and placed in strategic locations.
Social strata are created through the participation of numerous others in class
so as to form mixed company behavior settings (Barker, 1968). These include
Alumni of the course, advanced undergraduates working on an independent
research credit (Psy 499), graduate students working on theses, and
visitors.Ê When the class is transformed
from a mere group into a cognitively interconnected community, then the
culture-simulation is effective and the learning capacities are enhanced. The
potential value of singing as an instructional tool lies in the fact that it is
a cultural channel known to be an influencing agent for community-building
forces.
I.2Ê ÊHOW SINGING IS A CULTURAL RESOURCE
I have observed
that when I sing a song to the class students later tell me that they recognize
it or that they sing along in their heads. They say this with enthusiasm and a
lot of positive affect. There is thus a synchrony achieved in the class,
which acts as an integrating and focusing force. There are two reasons for
this, first, they all over-practiced the same singer-models (massed exposure
effect), and second, popular culture involves the fan's sympathy and
empathy. Given this emotional hook-up the students in the classroom
listening to a song they know well, experience a conjunction or consociation
with each other involving synchronous behavior in the following modals:
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ i.ÊÊ body rhythm (motion and breathing)
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ii.Ê feeling coloration (affective dimension)
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ iii.
identification of social self (lifestyle and ideology)
As a
result of this synchronous and integrated activity the students experience
bonding forces, forces of community, group solidarity, sentimentality,
relaxation of interpersonal barriers, and others which improve the learning
climate in the classroom (DRA Reports, 1976-81).
A recent example
where community building was achieved through singing is given by the civil
rights marches of the 1960's. The complex synchrony demanded by immense
coordination efforts of many thousands of people was affected through the use
of singing. Unruly mobs were transformed into an organic crowd or demonstration
through sympathy and empathy which was made available through that singing.
(James 1966)
Ê
INNER SINGING:ÊÊÊÊÊÊ ITS
INTEGRATING FUNCTIONS
Singing occurs in two modalities, an
external and an internal; the external mode is performative while the internal
mode is functionally autonomous and does not depend on any external
performance. There are two phases involved in the social psychological process
of singing. Phase 1 is repeated listening through an external input
(record, radio, etc.). Phase 2 is repeated listening through an internal
input. Phenomenologically it is felt as follows:
i.ÊÊÊ I canât stop humming it to myself.
ii.ÊÊÊ I
keep hearing it inside.
iii.ÊÊ It just comes by itself.
iv.ÊÊ Itâs not me doing it.
v.ÊÊ It
sounds just like the record, but inside me.
vi.ÊÊ I
can hear parts and then nothing in between.
These various phenomena show what is the nature of inner
singing.
Another feature of instructional
singing which would be of interest to explore is in connection with the hearing
impaired and the issue of the best compensating curriculum for them given the
social psychological restrictions or curtailment of range of experiences which
these special individuals encounter (see Powers, 1981). Because inner singing
does not require hearing it may offer promising new teaching techniques and
usages for the hearing impaired. Bach is reported to have composed his best
works after he had contacted severe hearing loss, yet he is said to have
reported that the music lived within him, that it was ãinner melody.ä
Similarly, Helen Keller1 reports that she was able to appreciate
music through the movement and rhythm of dancers, thus evolving an inner sense
of music. Instructional singing can thus use inner singing as a technique for
the hearing impaired to produce intersubjectivity in the classroom. This is
especially advantageous in the special education setting where more than an
average culture simulation atmosphere is needed because of the impairment in
social channels of interaction and hence, growth. Inner singing for the hearing
impaired may be achieved through earphone aids, through dance and movement
accompaniments, rhythmic clapping in unison or in choreographed sub-groups, and
so on. I have written to Dr. Des Powers to have his reactions to this idea.
ETYMOLOGICAL
STUDY
Table 1 indicates the information culled from a standard
dictionary (OED; Webster's; American Heritage. By summarizing this
information and arranging it in a certain order, I can draw the following useful
hypotheses about them.
Empathy. This is a feeling, but a
"feeling in", which reminds me of a "feeler" or an
instrument or method for feeling your way around something. Thus, empathy is an
instrument for feeling or cognizing another's feelings more accurately.Ê In Greek drama of two millennia ago, the
idea of "passion" was similarly conceived, namely a strategy the
spectator used to know what the actors were port raying. Thus they cried when
they were supposed to (according to the actors' gestures and face masks), and
as a result they could understand that the actions portrayed were saddening,
and so on. Greek drama was thus an educational experience for learning
appropriate emotions. Hence also in art and drama today where the artist is
viewed as teaching the public about human feeling. We thus use empathy as a
tool to understand art, drama, song, and as well, each other on the daily
round.
Synchrony.Ê
By aligning synchrony with empathy, I get deeper information about the
mechanism of empathy (as long as the correspondence is valid). Thus, synchrony
(see Table 1) signifies a togetherness in timing of appropriate movements.Ê Hence, empathy would also possess these
attributes, i.e., the method we use to know others' feelings is to feel them
out with our feelers, which is to say to synchronize with them, which is to say
to operate at the same time, to follow the same rate, to have an identical
period or phase, to be simultaneous or contemporary with somebody, etc. This is
then how we empathize as a form of interpersonal behavior.
Sympathy.
This is a feeling
about a feeling, or a reaction to another's feeling. The dictionary specifies
that when we sympathize we correspond; which is to say that when we sympathize
our feelings are complementary, not similar! Thus, suppose A and B sympathize
with each other, or form a sympathy group or dyad ("mutual admiration
society"). If A now has a feeling (a), B will have the feeling (b) such
that (b) and (a) are complementary. For example, if A falls down and says
"Ouch!" and B is present, then B will experience alarm and say
"Are you all right?" That's sympathy.
Harmony.
By putting harmony
under sympathy, I once again gain information as to the mechanism of sympathy.
Harmony specifies an agreement that is a joining (Table 1); thus, accord,
congruity, agreement, satisfying, etc. This indicates about sympathy (if the
correspondence is valid) that A's feeling of (a) and B's feeling in response to
it (i.e. (b)) must be in agreement, in congruity, etc. to create harmony. That
is then what it means to feel sympathy.
Intersubjectivity, and Melody. The result of
moving or developing from empathy to sympathy so that both are present is the
new state I call inter-subjectivity. This is the process of bringing under
consideration what is common among the group. By following the musical formula:
SYNCHRONY
+ HARMONY = MELODY
and applying it
to correspond to the social psychological formula
EMPATHY + SYMPATHY = INTERSUBJECTIVITY
I am able to discover
information about the mechanism of a social psychological phenomenon (e.g.,
Intersubjectivity) from knowledge of a musical phenomenon, just as long as the
correspondences are valid... which is what research needs to prove or disprove.
Hence what I am presenting here may be viewed as an empirical hypothesis.
In
this fashion then I can say that intersubjectivity (as is the case for melody)
is an organic unit, a composition with a new meaning, a new whole. Thus, when
two people in a relationship move from an empathy dyad to a sympathy dyad, a
new whole or a new constituent is formed. I might thus predict that creating
intersubjectivity in groups creates solidarity and bonding through sympathy and
empathy. Hence also the prediction in this study that my instructional singing
in the Psych 222 Community-Classroom will facilitate the culture simulation
intent to create a true learning community. Intersubjectivity created through
instructional singing thus becomes a valuable tool in the classroom where the
instructor wants to foster a learning community marked by solidarity,
cohesiveness, sociality, sharing, mutual identification, operational
efficiency, and so on to the other attributes of organic groups or communities.
LOOK AT TABLE 1
II. THEORY
11.1Ê INSTRUCTIONAL SINGING AS A
TOOL IN THE CLASSROOM:
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ INTRODUCING A DYNAMIC MODEL
As stated in
the previous section, people learn songs in two ways, external and internal.
The external approach is called imitation and may be likened to
impression formation or prints-in-the-sand, where a repeated pattern gets to be
imprinted as memory-knowledge. The internal approach is called modeling
which involves absorption or the filling in of interior spaces by immersion or
osmosis. This process of learning a song through internalizing it involves the
personâs affect, especially sympathy.
Sympathy is involved
due to the process of social identification. The person sympathizes with the
ideology in the song, so much so that definite preferences, positive and
negative, are established and which differentiate people into ãfanä groups and
preferred styles of music. Empathy is involved due to the necessity to
sound like the model. Thus empathy involves factors that are external to the
self, those of external appearance and behavior. External imitation cannot be
achieved without empathy since empathy is putting yourself in the other
personâs place and thence knowing what feeling is being portrayed. In this
case, imitating a popular song involves adopting the performing artistâs
gestures, facial expressions, and voice modulation. These psycho physiological
posturings, when accurate, produce empathy.
The
distinction that I drew above between empathy as external and sympathy as
internal fits a rational analysis as well as a psychoÐlinguistic one. However,
I am aware that in Rogerian counseling empathy is often seen as internal and
even resonative; but r rather believe that the Rogerian view contains an
unexamined mixture of empathy and sympathy. Jourard (1964) states that Rogerian
empathy is an analytic fiction since the other only knows the self through
self-disclosure. This agrees with my position since self-disclosure would
ordinarily evoke sympathy. Hence, it is that Jourard can conclude that without
self-disclosure there is no real intimacy and actual growth. In the light of my
analysis it is clear that this is because only through sympathy (i.e., inner
resonance and feeling) can intimacy take place.
It can be seen
therefore why fan groups feel strong bonding forces for each other, since they
are interconnected by the affective forces of sympathy. These bonding forces
constitute a powerful and natural reinforcer and thus can be used in instructional
settings to raise the capacity for learning in any subject or course, at any
level of education from kindergarten to graduate school. Singing creates
enthusiasm and inter-subjective consciousness which reduce viscosity or
antisociality and facilitate retention.
A DYNAMIC MODEL FOR COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
INTER-SUBJECTIVEÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ SYMPATHYÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ +ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ EMPATHY
IDENTITY
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ InternalÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ External
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ModelingÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Imitation
DYNAMIC STATE
2
The
accompanying diagram explains how instructional singing could [MLT1]act as an
integrating influence in the classroom. At the beginning of the semester the
students form an empathy group; which means that they have acquired through external
imitation an appearance of conformity in behavior. Thus they sit in silence,
they take appropriate notes, they hand in things, take quizzes, etc.; these are
student role behaviors previously acquired through external imitation. Let us
call this beginning period Dynamic State 1. This State characterizes the
usual college classroom throughout the semester and includes non-integrated
attributes, such as, zero-sum game competitiveness, grade anxiety, negative
imaginings about each other, and related symptoms of antisocially. (DRA
1976-81)
Mixed with
this interpersonal alienation is a sharing of fate, so that they feel empathy
for each other when their rights as students are in jeopardy. In the community
at large empathy groups also form political alliances, either short-term (e.g.
demonstrations) or long-term (e.g. unions). According to my analysis empathy
groups are only externally united and members do not necessarily form lasting
or intimate relationships.
In contrast to
an empathy group stands the sympathy group, which includes external
empathy but adds a new inner element. This new element stems not from external
imitation but from internal modeling. Thus people that are united together in a
sympathy group are integrated internally as well as externally. That is why
they can form lasting and intimate relationships (e.g. families and neighbors).
Let sympathy groups be termed Dynamic State 2.
The reason
family and neighborhood groups constitute sympathy groups is that the members
of a sympathy group communicate to each other about their inner feelings through
internal modeling behavior. Thus internal modeling is the mechanism which
allows members to sympathize with each other. This dynamic mechanism was a
central concept of Sigmund Freud and George H. Mead. Freud called it
"unconscious role identificationä while Mead called it ãinner rehearsalä
and ãself-reflection.ä Skinner also deals with this concept calling it ãinner
audience control." Staats talks about it as ãcomplex hierarchies of
responses under the control of common discriminant stimuli.ä
