Class Personality

According to some members of the Class of 2006, my class is too serious. Apparently, we are not getting kicked out of enough bars, getting drunk too seldom, leaving clubs too early, and, in general, acting too mature. Apparently, law school students have a reputation to uphold, and the Class of 2007 is not perpetuating the legacy.

I'm not going to comment on the appropriate behaviour of law school students. My interest is in class dynamics, or, as I have titled this entry: Class Personality. It strikes me as odd that the above comments can hold for a group of about 160 adults. After all, shouldn't this sample size be large enough to include a proportionate number of so-called "nerds" and so-called "jocks" that the ratios within our class are pretty much the same as other classes? (BTW, I have no idea if "jock" came from Queen's, but the sports arena here is called "Jock Hardy Arena.)

My own answer is that despite the class size, dominant characteristics do emerge that might be described as "personality traits." I experienced this as a teacher with my students. I taught classes of about 40 students and it was blatantly obvious the differences between one class and another. Then, on a larger scale, the grades (sample size of about 200 students) also appeared distinct from each other. I have no idea why this is. If any Psyche majors are reading: is this a well-documented phenomenon? I'm thinking it might hold similar roots as the Stockholm Syndrome - after a period of time we all start to empathize with one another. Who knows.