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AN ANALYSIS OF MALCOLM GLADWELL’S ARGUMENT OF THE POWER OF CONTEXT
An Analysis of Malcolm Gladwell’s Argument of The Power of Context
Maria Lopez
CSU Monterey Bay
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AN ANALYSIS OF MALCOLM GLADWELL’S ARGUMENT OF THE POWER OF CONTEXT
An Analysis of Malcolm Gladwell’s Argument of The Power of Context
A question that people ask themselves is whether people are good or evil, and how did
they become that way? In Malcolm Gladwell’s chapter, “The Power of Context” (2000) from his
book the Tipping Point, he argues that context matters, small elements in the environment can
serve as Tipping Points, and therefore affect the way we act. His goal is to question the reader
about how his theory has affected one owns life. He uses different strategies to tie to the central
theme that there are specific situations so powerful that they can overwhelm our inherent
predispositions. In this paper he writes for an audience of collared educated people. In this essay
I will analyze, and explain his claims, evidences, strategies, and how he uses them to persuade
the reader to believe that the Power of Context has many key factors.
Glawell’s first claim is the Broken Windows Theory. “Broken windows theory and the
Power of Context are one and the same. They are both based on the premise that an epidemic can
be reversed can be tipped, by tinkering with the smallest details of the immediate environment”
(2000 pg. 185). In this sentence he states that the Broken Windows Theory and The Power of
Context are the exact same thing, this is significant because when he compares the two he allows
the readers to see his point of view in a new perspective. When comparing the two ideas we can
see that in order to make things clearer for the reader this is a useful strategy. He uses this claim
because the Broken Windows Theory validates his idea with someone else’s known theory. He
also uses this claim because it introduces the very first Tipping Point of his argument that crime
can be contagious if one sees something done, and that there is no consequence to them then they
will do the same. His second claim is, Law of The Few, Gladwell (2000) states, “There are
certain times, and places, and conditions when much of that can be swept away, that there are
instances where you can take normal people from good schools, and happy families, and good
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AN ANALYSIS OF MALCOLM GLADWELL’S ARGUMENT OF THE POWER OF CONTEXT
neighbors, and powerfully affect their behavior merely by changing the immediate details of
their situation” (2000 pg. 189). He uses the Law of The Few to explain that no matter what we
may think of ourselves, it has no effect on how we behave if we are placed in an unfamiliar
situation. This is important, because it shows us that there is more than one factor that causes us
to act, or think a certain way. He uses this example because this is another tipping point to his
idea of the Power of Context. Together the Broken Windows Theory, and the Law of The Few
state, that not only do small crimes cause us to create bigger crimes, but also the environment we
are in pressures us to fit in a certain circumstance. We react to our surroundings, and that is what
the Law of Few is. “That the conviction of your heart and the actual contents of your thoughts
are less important, in the end, in guiding your actions than the immediate context of your
behavior” (2000 pg.192). The final claim he uses is the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)
which means that when we consider other people’s behavior human beings make the mistake of
over estimating the importance of fundamental character traits. ”Character is more like a bundle
of habits, and tendencies, and interests loosely bound together and dependent at certain times, on
circumstance, and context” (2000 pg. 191). He uses this quote to explain that when we see
someone commit a crime we are quick to claim that they have a personality disorder of some sort
to conclude why they committed a crime. All though in some cases it may be true Malcolm
argues that there is a little bit of each factor that can cause a person to commit crimes. Malcolm
believes that all three claims Broken Windows Theory, The Law of Few, and the Fundamental
Attribution Error work together as Tipping Points that cause people to change their normal
predisposition.
In his text he utilizes examples as a type of evidence. One example is the story of a man
named Goetz in the 1980’s who shot four young black men on the subway he was significant
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AN ANALYSIS OF MALCOLM GLADWELL’S ARGUMENT OF THE POWER OF CONTEXT
because his background, and at home environment pushed him to in a psychopathic path to
commit this crime. He uses this story to explain that there were many factors that contributed to
Goetz shooting those young men on the subway. Some of the factors were that he had a strict
disciplinarian father with a harsh temper and many people reported that he was a lonely child;
this causes him to have issues with authority. Goetz moved to a high infested crime area to clean
up the neighborhood. He believed that the best way to stop the crime was by getting rid of the
black people in this community. After his father died he shot those young black men on the
subway, and they turned out to all have criminal records. Gladwell, uses this example because it
shows us that not only does our character cause us to act a certain way but also our environment,
and our bias of what kind of person he was. Goetz had psychological issues due to his father’s
behavior; he moved himself into an environment that he was unfamiliar with; and he went onto a
subway that was vandalized connecting all three factors together a killer is produced as an
outcome. Another example he uses is the Stanford University study by Philip Zimbardo he
created a mock prison, and took random people and made them prisoners, and guards. He wanted
to see if it was our environment that made us ugly people. He had to end his study after six days.
An inmate stated, “I realize now that no matter how together I thought I was inside my head, my
prisoner behavior was less under my control than I realized” (2000 pg. 189). Gladwell uses this
quote, because he wants us to see that the Law of The Few is correct in this study people were
put into a new circumstance that they were not used to, and it affected their thoughts, and
emotions. He uses the Prison study to show an example of the Law of the Few scenario. The last
example is the Princeton study based on the biblical story of The Good Samaritan. Malcolm uses
this study to prove that the Fundamental Attribution error is true. In this study students who were
studying to be Priests were late to an exam and on their way they passed a homeless man.
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AN ANALYSIS OF MALCOLM GLADWELL’S ARGUMENT OF THE POWER OF CONTEXT
Morally we believe that if these students are studying to be priests that they will stop and help
but because they are running late there situation caused them to ignore what was the right thing
to do. ”This was an experiment very much in the tradition of the FAE, and it is an important
demonstration of how the Power of Context has implications for the way we think about social
epidemics of all kinds not just violent crime” (2000 pg. 191). This study is important because it
shows us although we may have a loving heart when we are rushed or we have better things to
do we do not consider helping others instead we look like savages in a rush to do what is best for
us.
Malcolm also uses strategies to persuade the reader that there are different factors that
contribute to the Power of Context. The first strategy he uses is that he starts with a captivating
introduction, and constantly refers back to the introduction. The introduction is the story of the
Goetz shooting, and he uses this story to lay a foundation of the Context. The reason he refers
back to the Goetz story in every paragraph is because he wants is to connect to the message that
Goetz was a victim of the Power of Context. Another strategy he uses is the organization of his
chapters, this differs from the other strategy, because this strategy captures the audience’s
attention with a mind blowing crime scene. He starts off with a story, then he explains some
research, then he decides to explain what the power of context is, and then he uses support and
constantly refers back. He also organizes his stories to show a multiple point of view of his
stories. For example, he uses the Goetz story to grasp any reader’s attention of the scary crime
incident on the subway station, he uses the Prison study to capture an audience of educated
people because it is done by the Stanford University, and lastly he uses the good Samaritan to
capture readers who focus on moral issues. The importance of his organization is that he tries to
not only capture a specific audience but he is able to guide us to understand what he is trying to
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AN ANALYSIS OF MALCOLM GLADWELL’S ARGUMENT OF THE POWER OF CONTEXT
say. He uses this organization so that we can see the different perspectives of research and
connect them together to explain that our character, or our morals have no input when were put
in situations that can alternate out inner state of mind.
Finally, we are able to conclude throughout Malcolm Gladwell’s text that there are
different scenarios that work as tipping points in our life that cause us to change who we
normally are into someone else. Malcolm uses The Broken Windows theory, The Law of The
Few and the Fundamental Attribution Error to explain that there are different factors that work
together and that is the Power of Context. Together with claims, examples and strategies
Malcolm Gladwell proves that the Power of Context matters.
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AN ANALYSIS OF MALCOLM GLADWELL’S ARGUMENT OF THE POWER OF CONTEXT
References:
Gladwell, M. (2000). Title of work: The Tipping Point. Location: Boston, Little Brown.