Rosa Dubisette Home: Choices and the Brain

Seat Selection Among African American Youth

The Implications
By Rosa Dubisette

Behavior and Choices

There is hardly a time when people are not involved in decision making. Decision making involves thinking, and thinking takes time. How involved is the brain in decision making, and how does decision making affect one's behavior? What about the choices and behavior of youth? For example, they put a lot of thought into where they will sit in class. What part does the brain play in seat selection? Are there measurable outcomes (academic outcomes)as it relates to decision making? In an attempt to better understand the brain and decision making as it relates to seat selection, the following questions are posed to high school students(ages 14-17).

Behaving White

Self Image

1. Do you have a preference of where you want to sit in class?
   
   A. Yes
   B. No
   
2. How does where you sit in class affect your participation in school?
   
   A. Contributes to more partipation in class
   B. Contributes to less participation in class
   C. Does not influence my participation in class
   
3. From what you have observed, what kinds of students prefer to sit in the back of the classroom?
   
   A. Geeks/nerds
   B. Popular students/school athletes
   C. Students with low grades
   D. Students with high grades
   
4. From what you have observed, what kinds of students prefer to sit in the front of the classroom?
   
   A. Geeks/nerds
   B. Popular students/school athletes
   C. Students with low grades
   D. Students with high grades
   
5. How would your behavior change if you moved your seat from the front to the back of the class or from the back to front? 
   
   A. Would improve
   B. Would get worse
   C. Would not change at all 
   
6. How similar are your grades to those among whom you sit? 
   
   A.  Very similar
   B.  Not similar at all
    
7. How different is your behavior than those among whom you sit?
   
   A.  Very different
   B.  The same
   C.  Slightly different
   
8. How would you catergorize your behavior in class?
   
   A. Good
   B. Not good
   C. Needs improvement
   
9. How would you categorize your academic standing in school?
   
   A. Good
   B. Not good
   C. Needs improvement
   
10. Which of the following best describes you?
    
    A. Geek/nerd
    B. Popular student/school athlete
    C. Student with low grades
    D. Student with high grades
    
    
    
    
    
11. What is your age?
    A.  14
    B.  15
    C.  16
    D.  17
    
12. List your gender?
    
    A.  Male
    B.  Female