William Isaac Thomas – Thomas Theorem

Introduction:

“If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” Does anyone can guess
what does this statement means? Well basically, the statement means that the outcome of a
situation depends upon an individual's perception of it, and not on the situation by itself. It’s the
content of what the “Thomas Theorem” really means. Thomas theorem is a sociological theory
formulated by William Isaac Thomas, and his wife, Dorothy Thomas in the book “The Child in
America” that was published in 1928. It is based upon an observation made during a case
study about a mentally disturbed prisoner. The prisoner overhears his fellow inmates
mumbling, and believes that they are insulting him so he violently attacks them. It does not
matter what the other inmates are saying. The mentally disturbed prisoner bases his reaction
of his perception of the situation.

There are many examples of the Thomas theorem that we can spot in our daily lives. The
simple statement that 'if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.'
holds true in several instances, some of which whose outcomes have shocked all those who
have heard of them:

 For an example, a child who is told by someone that monsters live in the dark, or under
his bed, will actually begin to fear whatever it is that exists under his bed or in the dark.
It won't matter that the "monsters" don't really exist, and that there is nothing under his
bed in reality. The child's mind strongly believes that he has something to fear in the
dark, that something is waiting to harm him, and hence, really begins to fear the dark or
his bed. Thus, the situation is defined real only for him, and the consequences of it too
are real only for him. The child will continue to get scared of whatever he feels lives
under his bed, regardless of the truth.
 Another very popular example of the Thomas theorem is the oil shortage of 1973, and
the toilet paper shortage that followed. A rumor began to circulate among people that a
toilet paper shortage was expected soon. Panic spreads, and everyone started stocking
up on toilet paper to be well-prepared when the shortage arrived. The demand for toilet
paper actually became much greater than the supply, leading to a real shortage as
 stocks ran out. The rumor wasn't true, and a shortage of toilet paper wasn't expected.
However, people's perception of the rumor was enough to cause the consequences.
 This example is given by most sociology professors the example of the infamous killing
of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch
coordinator (George Zimmerman) in Florida, on the grounds that he "looked suspicious
and up to no good." The truth was that Martin was just heading home from the nearby
store after having bought something, and was completely unarmed. Zimmerman had
already perceived that the 17-year-old kid was a threat to the neighborhood, and shot
him without actually assessing the whole situation as it really was. He based his action
on his individual perception of Martin, and not on the reality. Thus, he defined that
situation as a threatening one, and reacted accordingly, which had severe
consequences.

The aforementioned examples explain how the perception of a situation has dramatic
consequences, regardless of the actual nature of that situation. The Thomas theorem is also
closely related to the social construction of reality, and the self-fulfilling prophecy, as we will
see in the next sections.

What is the Social Construction of Reality?

What is reality, really? There can be no concrete answer to this, as reality too depends upon
individual situations. What may be the reality for one person may not necessarily be the reality
for someone else. Social construction of reality thus says that individual perception of reality is
based upon individual beliefs, individual backgrounds, and individual experiences. Sociologists
feel that what an individual perceives to be 'reality' is based upon individual experiences and
individual beliefs, as well as the culture norms that individual was raised with. However, it is
also true that an individual's construction of reality agrees with the society's construction of
reality in short, it is acceptable by the society.

For instance, a rich man hires a chauffeur to drive him around whenever he has to go
anywhere. The chauffeur is a poor man who has to work hard in order to give his family a
decent life. The rich man's extravagant spending may make him happy, and may be to him his
idea of reality. The chauffeur is jealous of the economic gap between the two of them, and
cannot believe how much the rich man spends on silly things. For the chauffeur, the rich man's
spending is unrealistic. These two constructions of reality are also acceptable to the society, as
there indeed is a divide between the rich and the poor. Thus, social construction of reality does
depend upon each individual situation.

What is the Self Fulfilling Prophecy?

Self-fulfilling prophecy has originated from the Thomas theorem. As the term itself suggests, a
self-fulfilling prophecy is actually a prediction that comes true due to a strong and intense belief
about its validity, in some way or the other. As the Thomas theorem states, if a person believes
a situation is real, the consequences of that perceived situation are also equally real. Similarly,
a self-fulfilling prophecy comes true because the belief in the prediction is so strong, that
actions based on the prophecy are taken unknowingly, thus causing the prediction to come
true.

What can we learn about the true meaning or intention behind the phrase “If men define
situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”? This phrase helps us to have an
insight and an understanding as to why some “tragic events” occur. For an example in an
experiment pranksters called a hotel room and pretended to be authorities and convinced the
people that the only way to survive was to break the sprinklers because of a gas leak. The
experiment shows us the way the reality we accept can have very real consequences. This
phrase helps us understand the reason and deep seeded reason why some people do the
thing they do, and how we can go about trying to prevent such thing from taking place. Using
this approach and idea we can apply it into rehab programs and into prison programs, to help
people see the “real” reality, resulting in the possible avoidance of tragic situations.

The Thomas theorem can help us understand clearly how so many aspects of our lives are
nothing but social constructions. It helps sociologists understand certain aspects of social
behavior like bias, prejudice, and discrimination and while it certainly does not justify these
aspects, it does help us to get a clear, rational perspective so that we don't easily base our
reactions on individual bias or prejudice and don't react in a way that might hurt someone
unnecessarily.

Reference:

“Thomas Theorem.” prezi.com, 24 May 2015, https://prezi.com/wslxqkh2sf8f/thomas-theorem/

“The Thomas Theorem of Sociology Explained with Examples.” PsycholoGenie, 24 July 2019,
https://psychologenie.com/the-thomas-theorem-of-sociology-explained-with-examples