Questions and Answers
What is a Social Trap?
Define a Collective Trap.
A situation where individuals think their small negative effects on resources won't matter, but collectively they result in significant problems.
What is an Externality Trap?
A situation where a person's action has negative effects on others, but the individual decides to proceed because they do not feel the consequences directly.
What is the Sliding Reinforcer Trap?
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Describe a Time Delay Trap.
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Education can help avoid social traps.
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What is one pro of using Rules/Laws to avoid social traps?
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What is a drawback of paying up front to avoid social traps?
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What does the term 'Technological Fix' refer to?
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What is Rosy Optimism?
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Define Gloom and Doom.
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What does the Frontier Attitude imply?
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What is the principle behind Sustainability?
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What does Anthropocentrism center around?
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What is Biocentrism?
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Define Ecocentrism.
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Study Notes
Social Traps Overview
- Social traps involve choices that may seem beneficial in the short term but lead to negative consequences for society in the long term.
Types of Social Traps
- Collective Trap: Individual actions perceived as negligible can accumulate, resulting in significant negative impacts when many contribute.
- Externality Trap: Individuals justify harmful actions because the adverse effects do not directly impact them, often affecting others, including future generations.
- Sliding Reinforcer Trap: Initial benefits from an action may diminish with repetition, leading to escalating costs that eventually outweigh benefits.
- Time Delay Trap: Immediate actions are taken despite potential future harms to oneself or society, emphasizing a lack of foresight.
Strategies to Avoid Social Traps
- Education: Informing individuals about long-term consequences can enhance cooperation to avoid social traps; however, not everyone may comply.
- Rules/Laws: Establishing regulations can deter harmful behavior, though enforcement can be challenging due to potential law-breaking.
- Pay Up Front: Charging individuals for long-term societal costs upfront encourages responsible choices, but assessing costs accurately is challenging, and compliance is necessary.
Attitudes and Their Impacts
- Technological Fix: A belief that human innovation and science will solve impending issues, potentially leading to complacency.
- Rosy Optimism: An attitude of assurance that everything will resolve favorably, which can result in ignoring pressing problems.
- Gloom and Doom: A defeatist outlook that leads individuals to feel powerless in combating problems, fostering a sense of futility.
- Frontier Attitude: The perspective that resources are inexhaustible and solutions will emerge naturally, downplaying sustainability concerns.
Solutions and Ethical Frameworks
- Sustainability: Advocates for living within ecological limits, avoiding the depletion of resources faster than they can regenerate.
- Anthropocentrism: A human-centered viewpoint prioritizing human needs and desires over other life forms and ecosystems.
- Biocentrism: A life-centered philosophy recognizing the intrinsic right to exist for all species, promoting their protection.
- Ecocentrism: Emphasizes the value of ecosystems as a whole, prioritizing the health and functioning of ecological systems over individual components.
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Description
Explore the concept of social traps through flashcards that illustrate key definitions and examples. Learn how individual choices can lead to collective negative outcomes and the implications for society. This quiz aims to enhance your understanding of these critical social phenomena.
