Malcolm Gladwell's Argument Essay

In most times, when a person is asked about the development of one’s character, one would respond by relating their characters with life experiences. Character develops through the entire life, and each situation comes with a lesson. Family, friends and peers, among others, are external forces that shape a person’s character. However, according to Malcolm Gladwell in his essay, the streets we walk in have as much effect on a person’s character as well. Gladwell reviews aspects of people’s behavior development, how and what shapes their character. Through the analysis of psychological and social experiments, Gladwell communicates her arguments of the effects of cognitive associations and physical surroundings on the behavior of a person. In the theory of “The Broken Window” and the New York City Anti-Graffiti Act, the surrounding is given more prominence as the one affecting people’s behavior. However, according to …show more content…
However, before we experience what the environment has to give to us, there are the preconceptions and opinions that people have about the reality, either based on reason or experience. This is known as prejudice. Before we are influenced by the environment, we have prejudices that impact on how we response to the environment. That is to mean that, even before the environment influences us, we usually have preconceptions and expectations about the reality of what the environment has to offer. Despite that the prejudices that we have might not be based on just grounds, experience or knowledge, our cognitive association makes us believe that they are real and justifiable. Therefore, people can use their prejudices to shape the environment instead of the environment shaping them. For example, we can be expecting an unfriendly environment, but we behave in a manner to influence the people around us to behave in a friendly