In Roger Caillois' book, 'Man, Play and Games', Paidea is defined as 'wild, free and improvisional play' (p.36). When we get bored or playing a game and following the rules of the game we tend to divert from that and find new things to do in that game without any second thoughts of the rules of the magic circle we would be breaking. John Huizinga's Homo Luden says, 'The spoil-sport shatters the play-world itself. By withdrawing from the game he reveals the relatively and fragility of the play-world in which he had temporary shut himself with others. He robs play of its illusion-apregent word, which means literally 'in-play'. (P.11).
Rationalizing It First, know that students realize cheating is wrong—they simply see themselves as moral in spite of it. “They cheat just enough to maintain a self-concept as honest people. They make their behavior an exception to a general rule,” said Dr. David Rettinger, professor at the University of Mary Washington and executive director of the Center for Honor, Leadership,. Vonn Bell gets revenge on JuJu Smith-Schuster with nasty hit (Video) Bengals troll ‘TikTok star’ JuJu Smith-Schuster for costly fumble Steelers fans want Ben Roethlisberger benched for Mason Rudolph.
This question that this can lead to is if Paidea (which is exploring games) is actually the same as cheating as you are not following the rules of the game but looking to expand on the boundaries. Titles given to 'spoilsports' and cheaters are generally hackers that are looking for something new within a game to make it more interesting for them.If we explore the rules of a game without breaking those rules but just understanding the boundaries, that can be known as Paidea as we are not changing anything but knowing the game more. If we intentionally search for glitches within a game, knowing that we are not staying within the boundaries and breaking the rules, that can be known as hacking due to the fact that we are searching for something that the designers of the game has not intentionally put in, meaning we are not suppose to find them.
People will also use walk throughs to help them complete a game as they find it too difficult and do not find satisfaction in finding ways to complete a particular 'mission' but just completing it, itself.
This can tell us that game players are finding it more difficult to follow game rules as they can become distracted and what to create their own rules of the game.
I remember playing various board games as a kid with my family and friends…games like parcheesi, The Game of Life, and Monopoly. And of all the games we played, it was that last game on my list that I liked the least (although I would be initially enthusiastic about playing it).
Even though I was young (and lacked the technical vocabulary to describe the phenomenon), I would quickly become aware that the game, as it progressed, seemed to cause a change in the behavior of those who were “winning” (as to my behavior: I cannot recall ever winning the game, and I mostly found it boring)…a change that I would later identify as more cut-throat (or ruthless), and, they were less likely to forgo collecting their due rent from those who had little capital. And, of all the games we played, Monopoly seemed to be the one in which people were more likely to “cheat”, if only in small ways.
But as I was no psychologist or sociologist, I just chalked that all up to the nature of the game…but I retained my distaste for Monopoly (and monopolies) to this day.
A Game of Privilege
Now comes social-psychologist Paul Piff (of the well-known research team of Keltner and Piff) who focuses most of his research on social hierarchies and how these impact our lives and society in general.
In this TED Talk held at TEDxMarin (as in Marin County, CA), Piff discusses a recent series of behavioral experiments centered on the game of Monopoly. These experiments –conducted at the UC Berkeley campus — involved the secret recording of multiple “rigged” games of monopoly in which one randomly-chosen player in a randomly selected group was given certain a priori advantages…such as: twice the money, greater ability to move around the board (more than two dice!), and more access to resources (higher bonuses for passing ‘go’).
According to Piff, the goal here was to study how “a privileged player in a rigged game behaves”. After just fifteen minutes of play for each game, the researchers began noticing “dramatic” behavioral changes in the advantaged players…observed changes ranged from louder, more forceful movement of their game piece (and other “displays of power”) to seemingly trivial things like eating more pretzels.
In one humorously shocking (or shockingly humorous) example, one of the advantaged players, after successfully winning the game, was heard explaining what he had done, strategically, to succeed and win. This example speaks to “how we make sense of advantage”, says Piff
Over all, the most consistent behavioral change observed is one that may not come as a great surprise to those of us with more worldly experience…manners, or rather, the lack thereof…
The Impact of Social and Economic Hierarchies
According to Piff, the dramatic changes observed in these Monopoly experiments corroborated well with other research he and colleagues had conducted on wealth and what’s known as prosociality (our tendency to cooperate with others and generally concern ourselves with others’ well-being). These previous studies sought to answer a basic question: of two groups — rich and poor — who is more likely to help a stranger?
Using money games (in which some were given more money than others), jars of candy (reserved for sick children), and even hidden camera experiments with real automobile traffic (which cars were more likely to obey the law — stop at a cross walk — for a pedestrian), results of all of these showed a general tendency for wealth and hierarchical status to increase one’s sense of entitlement (and are “more likely to prioritize self-interest over the interests of others”) …while simultaneously decreasing one’s empathy and concern for others.
What’s more, as this hierarchical inequality increases, the impact on individuals and societies — in terms of health, education, social trust, community, incarceration, etc — is profound…general social inequality has a way of spreading and increasing in tandem with the increase in economic inequality.
But do not let all this dishearten you…Piff concludes his talk with a surprising quote from one of the world’s richest men and some inspiring efforts by the privileged class to alleviate this growing social inequality.
So then, watch this truly absorbing and provocative TED talk entitled ‘Paul Piff – Does money make you mean?” (and see my Author’s Comment, below).
Author comment:
Two quick comments here…As a fair-minded individual, I note that a certain “game psychology” operates with Monopoly (and perhaps every other game)…that is: when we consent to play a game, we also consent to the rules, and to the goal, of that game (which is to monopolize)…we also consent to the idea of a winner and a loser…and who willingly consents to a game to become a loser in that game? (for a great reference work and a philosophy of games, see ‘Finite and Infinite Games‘ by James P. Carse…it might change your life).
Why Do People Cheat In Relationships
Lastly, as to the charitable organizations noted in the video (“helping to alleviate the impacts of social inequality”)…this effort (assuming that it is sincere) would be far better served — in terms of quickly reducing inequality — if the “privileged” members of these groups spent their time and money pressuring Congress to raise the income tax rate on the richest Americans (and their corporations)…and increase the capital gains tax while they’re at it The tax revenue can be earmarked for social programs. This will more effectively reduced income inequality, which is the source of all these other inequalities noted in this video.
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