A psychology course should be mandated for all high school students in the US.

Er, I will first admit that I'm confused that the Con put an argument in Round 1 when I asked that arguments wait until Round 2. Still, onward... == What Transactional Analysis is (a brief summary, but entirely skim-able)== Transactional Analysis is a branch of psychology that got a good movement going during the 70's. Since then, it seems to have flown under the radar. Transactional Analysis is psychology that is both easy to understand and make use of during daily activities, and also more relevant than what people consider psychology to be. Freud (the classic symbol of psychoanalytical thought) said that the human mind is made up of the Id, Ego, and Superego, right? He said that we "subconsciously" slip into those roles. Well, that's not very useful knowledge... (If you did something today, it's because you subconsciously decided you would do it. The answer is in what you weren't aware you were thinking and didn't do.) So, TA proposes 3 new circles: Parent, Adult, and Child (1). The reason that this is a much better taxonomy is that you can SEE someone shifting gears between them; these are real features. -The Parent is a collection of all the data that your parents or other important authority figures told you from birth up until 5 years of age (includes beliefs such as all cops are bad; you can never trust a woman; treat others as you'd like to be treated). The physical signs of someone in the Parent include hands on hips, sighing, and a pointing index finger (don't tell me you haven't seen this before). The Parent will use words like "always" and "once and for all." -The Child is the recording of internal events in relation to Parent dictates until 5 years of age. Here are the memories of glee, fear, and excitement. Some physical signs include giggling, pouting, and lip-biting. Some vocal clues are "I wish," "I guess," "bigger," "best." -And finally, the Adult is first formed at 10 months of age. That's the time when babies are first able to understand cause-and-effect (the food is delicious, the pan is hot). This is the data-processing center that will make most of our decisions throughout our lives. -The importance of recognizing these 3 areas is to also recognize what happens when someone speaks from a different circle. Very often, someone who is stressed and tired will forgo the work of the Adult and will shift into the Parent, answering conversations with whatever their archaic data has deemed to be true and without considering cause-and-effect (the mailman must have screwed up; this new technology is too complicated and is crap). They may also speak from their Child, and respond either with naive and dangerous glee or with fear (this tastes great! I should drink a lot of this!; why me?! I can't do this...) The goal of TA is to hopefully acknowledge where you're coming from and to acknowledge where others are speaking from. == 2 reasons why learning psychology is important== 1. Students who learn TA in psychology classes will more actively fight prejudices and discrimination. -Ideally, the 3 circles are completely separate, but frequently they overlap. One dangerous scenario is when the Parent and Adult complexes overlap: "We all know how difficult it is to reason with a prejudiced person... The Parent in these people steadfastly dominates a portion of the Adult, and they will surround their prejudicial cases with all kinds of irrelevant arguments to support their position... The only ways to eliminate prejudice are to uncover the fact that it is no longer dangerous to disagree with one's parents and to update the Parent with data from today's reality."(1) -By having every high school student in the US learn TA, they will be more astute at recognizing when they believe something without a reason underneath. A much larger percentage of our growing generation will be able to reconsider old positions on issues and declare a newer, more just way of viewing issues, rights, and peoples of all types. 2. Studying the application of body language will help students lower conflicts and develop better relationships, increasing the effectiveness of business done through any language. -Businesspeople who can effectively incorporate body language techniques are more successful when dealing with others. "Dominance through height is a truism that works from the animal kingdom to man... The same positioning occurs with humans. We are all aware of the tradition of abasement before a king, before idols, before altars. Bowing and scraping in general are all variations of superiority or inferiority by height... A young man I know, well over six feet tall, was extremely successful in business because of his ability to show empathy for his associates. Observing hm in action in some successful business transactions I became aware that whenever possible he stooped, sloped his body, or sat, in order to allow his associate to achieve dominance and feel superior."(2) -The opposite is also true; businesspeople without knowledge of the psychological importance of space are more likely to commit blunders. "A businessman who was trying a bit too hard to wind up a very profitable deal found that he had misread the signs. 'It was a deal... that would have been profitable not only to me but to [him] as well. [He] was... from Bountiful, which isn't far away geographically, but is miles away culturally... Deep down, he was convinced that the deal was right for both of us, but he just couldn't trust my approach... I tried to cut through his image of the big city businessman by putting my arm around his shoulder. And that darn touch blew everything.' What my businessman friend had done was violate [the person's] barrier of defenses with a nonverbal gesture for which the groundwork had not been laid." (2) == The clash== So far, the Con has argued that psychology should only be a mandated class for students in the Reserve Officer's Training Corps and for students with serious issues. The Pro is interested in hearing some more reasons and arguments in the coming speeches. The Pro argues that instead of only these two groups, all students should be mandated to learn psychology for an increased effectiveness in fighting prejudice and in making personable relations. The Pro welcomes the Con to make more arguments (hopefully expanding this debate to a much bigger discussion) and reserves the right to make more points in the next Round should it be necessary. (1) Harris, Thomas A. "I'm OK-- You're OK: A Practical Guide to Transactional Analysis." New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.: 1969. 65-67, 98-99 (2) Fast, Julius. "Body Language." New York: M. Evans and Company, Inc.: 1970. 51, 13-14.