Keisha Forde

1
How can a hostile student affect the workshop
experience?
Keisha Forde Sandra Pirela - Peer Leaders The
City College of New York
OBSERVATIONS
HYPOTHESIS
RESULTS
Case 1
Case 2

• The student adapted quickly to the new
  environment
• Workshop ran smoothly again
• The hostility was personal
• The workshop experience was improved for everyone
  

Hostile is defined as having an intimidating,
antagonistic, or offensive nature. A hostile
student affects the workshop experience because
tensions arise between the hostile student, peer
leader and rest of class. These tensions will
eventually hinder the learning processes for
everyone and create a hostile and uncomfortable
environment for the rest of the class.
Before No interest Rude Belittling Antisocial Disr
espectful Cheated
Before Belittling Asked rhetorical
questions Loved attention distractive
After Dominant Showed off Used resources inquisiti
ve
After Inquisitive Tried to be tricky Shy Quiet

SUPPORTING THEORIES
CONCLUSION
EXPERIMENT

• The following theories were used
• Deci and Ryans Motivation Theory Lack of
  motivation played a part in the students
  hostility.
• Glassers Control Theory In both cases the
  students tried to be in control.
• Weatherly Scapegoat Theory One of the students
  did not want to blame themselves for no being
  prepared so he/she displaced his/her anger by
  trying to make the workshop leader look
  unprepared.
• Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion Emotions due to
  hostility, caused physiological changes

Since both workshops had a hostile student,
we believed that the hostility was personal and
due to negative feelings the students had towards
us. As peer leaders, we decided the best solution
would be to switch the students and observe if
their behavior changed.
We concluded that even though the students were
hostile in the first workshop setup, the switch
made him/her more comfortable with the other
leader. This changes may have been caused by the
motivation the new leader gave to the switched
student. Also, one of the problems that caused
this attitude towards the leader, might have been
the student felt a lack of control from his/her
part.
References Weatherly, D. (1961) Anti-Semitism and
the expression of fantasy aggression, Journal of
Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62,
454-457 Glasser, W (1984). Control Theory -- A
New Explanation of How We Control Our Lives.
Harper and Row, New York Deci, E. L. and Ryan, R.
M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and
self-determination in human behavior. New York
Plenum Press Cannon, W. B. (1927) The James-Lange
theory of emotion A critical examination and an
alternative theory. American Journal of
Psychology 3910-124.
Acknowledgements Thank you AE Dreyfus and Camisha
for your help.