There is a phenomenon in psychology called the "broken-window syndrome." If a house has a broken window and no one fixes it, before long more windows will be broken. Or consider the fact that if grafitti appears on a wall, very quickly the wall will be completely covered with mindless, filthy scrawl. Another example of this phenomenon is that people are generally embarrassed about putting their garbage in a sparkling clean place, but as soon as somebody does so, others will unfalteringly add their refuse to the growing pile.
Research on the broken win-dow syndrome is concerned with the threshold at which the syndrome kicks in. How dirty does the ground have to be before we think, "Well, it's dirty anyway -- it won't matter if I make it a little dirtier?" How bad does the situation have to get, before people totally let themselves go, and make a complete mess of everything?
Before the Taipei City Government began urging residents not to leave garbage indiscriminately around city streets, one bag of garbage left on a street corner would, in less than two hours, be transformed into a veritable mountain of refuse. Everytime I came upon such scenes I was reminded of an ancient saying: "Don't do something evil just because you think it's a small evil."
While one might feel that it is OK to do something that is only moderately "bad," once the deed is done, one's psychological state has already been altered, so that thereafter, the action is performed with increasing boldness. "Bad" behavior that is not stopped in the very first instance can develop into common practice, at which point it becomes almost impossible to change -- just as a small flaw in a dam that isn't fixed in time could bring about the collapse of the entire structure, creating damage far greater than the original flaw.
Crime results from a loss of order. During the 1980s, New York City was a hotbed of muggings and murders, where merely walking around during daytime hours was potentially dangerous. The same could be said for the subway system. One felt unsafe riding in the dirty carriages covered in scrawled obscenities.
Although I have never been mugged while in New York City, I know of one professor who was attacked in broad daylight. The head injuries he received in the assault caused him to go blind and effectively ended his research career. For several years after that, I went pale at the very mention of New York City, not daring to attend any seminars there alone.
I was greatly surprised recently to find that the "face" and reputation of New York City have both been improved considerably. A city that had sunk so low had managed to bring itself back from the dead, and was on the way up. Visiting the city for a meeting, I happened to meet a criminologist and immediately asked him to explain how all this happened.
As it turns out, the self-improvement method used was basically rooted in the "broken window syndrome" theory: first improve conditions in crime-prone areas to make people less inclined to commit crimes, then slowly start arresting the offenders and bringing back order. At the time, this method was criticized as being hopelessly slow, like mopping the deck of a sinking ship.
Despite the criticism, the city kicked off its program by cleaning up the subway. In addition, turnstile jumpers were handcuffed together and made to stand in a line on the subway platform -- an open announcement to the public of the government's determination to rectify things.
As expected, the police discovered that people were less likely to commit crimes in clean places. It also turned out that rounding up all the turnstile jumpers yielded a considerable bounty. For every seven people arrested, one was a wanted criminal, while one in 20 was found to be carrying a weapon. Following this discovery, the police became even more eager to crack down on turnstile jumpers. With the increased risk of being caught, people no longer dared either to cop a free ride or to carry a weapon. And so, beginning in the easiest place of all, a key link in the crime process was smashed -- and the downward spiral stopped.
Of late, I have been pleased to see Taipei City beginning to plant flowers on some of its streets. Cleanup efforts in Holland were initiated in this very way. I hope that before long, Taipei will begin to have the appearance of its European counterparts and become a city in which springtime blossoms fill the air.
Daisy Hung is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at National Yang Ming University.
Translated by Scudder Smith.
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