Psychological Effect Theory: New Strategies for Guidance and Education in the New Curriculum

Author: Ren Shunyuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: 8 Don't Wear Colorful Glasses! — On the Love-Hate Effect
When people have biases of love or hatred, they often misinterpret additional information to support their own views. This phenomenon is known as the Love-Hate Effect. It was proposed by Edward Riso, a marketing professor at Cornell University in the United States." In fact, it is an expression of the Matthew Effect in terms of love and hatred. This effect is still common in school guidance and education. For example, teachers often give positive evaluations to excellent students, labeling them as active learners, civilized students, or model students. They also show more care, affirmation, help, praise, and opportunities to these students. In short, teachers "rationalize" even the flaws of favored students, turning them into praise, while criticism or punishment is often disguised as "×× and others" (×× refers to underachieving students). This is like someone explaining a beauty's freckles, saying, "Without freckles, she wouldn't be beautiful," implying that actually unattractive freckles on a beauty's face become attractive freckles. This is a typical example of the Love-Hate Effect. The Love-Hate Effect is also evident in the treatment of underachieving students. When underachieving students do good deeds alongside excellent students, teachers deliberately withhold praise, calling them "×× and others" (×× refers to excellent students). The good deeds of underachieving students are thus ignored, which is deeply unfair. When excellent and underachieving students commit the same mistake, the names of excellent students are omitted, and they are criticized with the phrase "×× and others." Conversely, when underachieving students do good deeds alongside excellent students, their names are omitted, and they are praised with the phrase "×× and others." Isn't this the Love-Hate Effect? So, why does such a Love-Hate Effect occur? The reasons are as follows:
First, teachers have fixed biases toward their subjects. That is to say, in the minds of teachers, who they love and who they hate are already predetermined. They cannot treat all students equally but instead favor some while distancing themselves from others; some they like, others they dislike; some they leave alone, others they control; some they forgive, others they punish. They categorize students into unequal "grades" or types based on their own love-hate standards, leading to greater love for the loved and greater hatred for the hated. This is the result of teachers' favoritism.
Second, teachers have prejudices against students. Teachers should evaluate students' behavior objectively and realistically. However, prejudiced teachers do not do this. They always believe that underachieving students cannot do good deeds and that excellent students would never do bad things. In reality, underachieving students can do good deeds, and excellent students may also commit bad acts. But some teachers, regardless of the situation, adopt the practice of "treating excellent students with care and underachieving students with indifference," which perpetuates the Love-Hate Effect. Favoritism-induced Love-Hate Effect can easily lead to the division and disintegration of student groups. Due to teachers' favoritism, students are not treated equally, and members of the student collective are divided into different ranks, with some being close and others distant, some being warm and others cold. This leads to friction, division, and opposition among students. Once division begins, it inevitably leads to the disintegration of the student collective, and the greatest consequence of disintegration is the loss of the best environment for student development. For example, a few students favored by teachers are often "isolated" by their peers, and their textbooks, notebooks, and are frequently "disappearing without a trace," leaving them anxious. No wonder these favored students strongly urge teachers, "You are good to us, and we will never forget it! But please stop, and pay more attention to those who perform poorly in studies, or our lives will also be difficult."① Additionally, favoritism can easily create a conflict between arrogance and inferiority, leading to distorted personal development and strained or distant teacher-student relationships. Favoritism-induced Love-Hate Effect can also lead to unfair evaluations of students, pushing underachieving students down the path of self-neglect. Therefore, we must take measures to prevent it.
Strategies to avoid the Love-Hate Effect in guidance and education mainly include the following aspects:
First, teachers should be lenient toward students who hold grudges against them. In school guidance and education activities, it is inevitable that some students may hold grudges against teachers, develop distrust, or even show resistance. In such cases, teachers should be tolerant, magnanimous, and understanding, avoiding petty grievances, direct confrontations, or lingering resentment. They should not retaliate but instead actively listen to opinions, engage in heart-to-heart talks, and eliminate grudges. As long as teachers are sincere and communicate effectively, they can bridge gaps, resolve issues, and gain trust. Otherwise, if grudges are met with grudges, they will only deepen, leading to the Love-Hate Effect, which will become increasingly severe.
Second, teachers should be stricter with students who are particularly close to them. In the process of guidance and education, some students may be the children of the teacher, classmates, or villagers, creating closer relationships. This is understandable and normal. The key is that other students pay attention to whether teachers treat everyone equally and fairly, without mixing personal relationships with educational relationships. Teachers should treat students without discrimination, selecting the best people regardless of their connections, focusing on actions rather than individuals, and never showing excessive favoritism toward close acquaintances, as this can lead to the Love-Hate Effect.
Third, teachers should not listen to or believe selectively when students are particularly fond of them. In a class, there are always some students who are particularly close to teachers. Teachers should maintain a calm mindset about this. Most students are genuinely concerned about class development or share similar personalities and interests with teachers, but some may have ulterior motives. Regardless of the situation, teachers should be cautious, not be swayed by a few students' words, not let their emotions be affected by their proximity to them, and not judge students' academic performance based on whether they like them. Otherwise, the Love-Hate Effect will inevitably occur.
Fourth, teachers should actively approach and care more about students who are distant from them. In a class, teachers may overlook some students if they are not attentive enough. These students may not actively interact with teachers, avoiding contact whenever possible. If teachers do not take the initiative to approach and care for them, their "forgotten" status will only worsen, and the Love-Hate Effect will be unavoidable.
In summary, teachers should not show excessive love to those they favor or excessive hatred toward those they dislike. Instead, they should foster a loving environment where they love the good, the true, and the beautiful, and hate the false, the evil, and the ugly. They should care about every student's learning, life, and growth, and this care should manifest differently in different students but not differ in quality.
9 Have Grievances to Express, Anger to Vent — On the Safety Valve Effect
In organizational behaviorology, the phenomenon of allowing different opinions and emotions to be expressed, achieving psychological balance, which helps to alleviate and resolve internal conflicts within an organization and promotes physical and mental health, is known as the "Safety Valve Effect." This is because the channels, means, and methods of venting are like a "safety valve." The term is borrowed from other disciplines. For example, in water conservancy engineering, experts design and construct dams with "spillways" to allow water exceeding safe levels to overflow, ensuring safety. Similarly, industrial boilers are equipped with "pressure relief valves" to control the pressure inside the containers within safe limits. All these serve the same purpose: to ensure safe operation. Imagine what would happen if there were no safety valves—unthinkable! This safety valve theory has been applied to corporate operations, effectively resolving internal conflicts and maintaining employees' physical and mental health.
Organizational behaviorologists believe that when subordinates have grievances, they should be allowed to vent in a certain way—"let it out," as much as they want, even if they make mistakes. Even overly harsh or extreme words should be allowed to be expressed fully. Then, at the right time and in the right way, guidance and education should be provided. This venting can play a positive role, keeping the entire organization vibrant. Many enterprises today use this effect theory to motivate employees, and Konosuke Matsushita is one of them. It is precisely because of this that Panasonic has gained worldwide fame.