Application 2
Engaging Others Unlike Me
You may want to familiarize yourself with the MSL Application Rubric Weeks 1–5 before you begin this
Application Assignment, and then refer to it as needed throughout the week. The rubric is located in
the Rubrics area in the left navigation bar. Read Levine, Prosser, Evans, and Reicher (2005), "Identity and Emergency Intervention: How Social
Group Membership and Inclusiveness of Group Boundaries Shape Helping Behavior."
Levine et al. (2005) “. . .provide evidence for the importance of social group membership and the
inclusiveness of social category boundaries for helping behavior” which could have significant
implications within organizational contexts.
Then, consider the following questions as you write a 1- to 2-page paper. These questions serve to
provide a framework for you to begin your thinking process (do not answer them individually); you must
explain your reasoning as you formulate your formal response. As you contemplate your engagement with others who are not in your in-groups, how do you
respond to them? Do you use avoidance behaviors or engagement behaviors? Are you proactive toward crossing boundaries; or reactive, waiting to be invited across
boundaries? Are you eager or reticent to help others who are not a member of one of your in-groups? Have you ever intentionally not helped someone because they were not part of your in-group? Under what circumstances do you socialize with people who are unlike you? How diverse is your social network? What could you do as a leader to help include diverse members in the in-group? Be sure to cite specific examples to explain how you function across group boundaries.
