The Thomas Theorem states that if individuals define situations as real, they ar

The Thomas Theorem states that if individuals define situations as real, they ar

The Thomas Theorem states that if individuals define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. What this means is that people’s behavior can be determined by their subjective construction of reality rather than by objective reality. There are many ways to illustrate this concept. In the recorded lecture for this chapter, l argued that when a person yells fire in a theater it will cause panic whether a fire exists or not. The panic in this case is caused by a subjective construction of reality (somebody yelling fire) rather than an objective reality (an actual fire). Similarly, if somebody were to consistently watch news reports featuring violent crimes, they may go out and purchase an alarm system, iron bars for their windows, a large pit bull, and a weapon to protect themselves because they think that they may be a victim of violent crime. Violent crime may actually be decreasing in their city or neighborhood, but to them it doesn’t matter because their behavior has been shaped by a subjective construction of reality (news reports that focus on violent crimes) rather than objective reality (decreasing violent crime rates). What are some other social situations where people act a certain way based on a subjective construction of reality rather than objective reality?