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(C) 2015 Mato Lagator

The First Day: A Journey of Indoctrination

Mato Lagator
2015
Sound Installation

“We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” John Dryden

The First Day: A Journey of Indoctrination examines how
slight but constant social pressures rapidly change an
individual’s behaviour to fit the group’s norm. Such a journey of
indoctrination is often unconscious and automatic, and before
we know it we become like others in the group, sometimes even
adopting types of behaviour that we disagree with.
The work examines such a process by emulating actual
experiences of young doctors during their first days at work
in a new hospital. The interactive sound piece explores the
mechanisms of indoctrination, in particular the worry and
stress that come from a position of low self-confidence and are
emphasised by the burden and ever-present perception of being
judged by colleagues.

The avoidance of harm and negative social interactions are
shown as the driving force of adoption of social norms. The
ubiquity of anti-social, and often less humane, behaviour in a new
environment makes the acceptance of such norms rapid and
unnoticeable.

The journey of de-indoctrination must start by recognising that
we, in fact, are indoctrinated.

The project was realised in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Franz
Kainberger from the Medical University of Vienna and the Vienna
General Hospital (AKH).

Fact Box

The First Day: A Journey of Indoctrination
Date
May 26, 2015