Sociology 3701: Worksheet--"Being There"

As we pick up the movie, Chance, a man of limited intellect who has lived and worked for years (as long as he can remember) as a gardener in the home of a wealthy benefactor, has been cast adrift in the larger world by the death of his benefactor. Exquisitely dressed, in clothes that were presumably passed down to him by his benefactor, he wanders briefly in a world he doesn't understand (his main source of information about the world has been television), and then through sheer luck and misunderstanding finds a new home.

1. How does Chance come to be a guest in the home of another wealthy man?

2. How do his clothes play into the misunderstanding that soon takes place in this new home?

3. How does his name get transformed to "Chauncey" and what is the importance of that transformation?

4. How does his very simplicity get him a reputation for wisdom?

5. Why does the president of the United States come to assume that Chauncey is important and powerful?

Sociology 3701: Groups--"Being There"

1. Why do people in this movie make such drastically mistakes in their understanding of who Chance really is?

2. Compare and contrast Chance's situation with:

a. That of the pseudopatients in the Rosenhan article

b. That of the severely retarded child in the Pollner/McDonald-Winkler article

3. How do these extreme situations (in the movie or the two articles) help us understand aspects of the attribution process in everyday life?