name: ______________________________
Each person in your group is responsible for creating a profile of an individual with a distinctive personality and set of traits. In other words, you need to determine certain essential features that tend to contribute significantly to the sort of life a person can expect to lead. To do this, you must choose specific features for your individual: sex, race, marital status, sexual preference, religion, education level as an adult, socio-economic class, profession, political viewpoint, special talents, and other characteristics you deem relevant. (Age is not a factor to be considered, because we are concerned about the person’s overall life prospects, not the sort of life they can expect to lead right now or in, say, the next year.)
Within the set of individuals whose profiles are created by the people in your group, there are certain requirements and limitations you must observe. You are encouraged to be creative in defining your individual, but the following must be true of the individuals whose profiles are created by the people in your group:
| category | requirement |
| sex | There are at least 2 males and at least 2 females |
| race | There is some variety. |
| marital status | There is some variety (see options below). |
| sexual preference | There is some variety (see options below). |
| religion | There is some variety. |
| education level as an adult | At least one individual did not finish high school or anything beyond. No more than one individual has an advanced degree (e.g., J.D., M.D., Ph.D.). |
| socio-economic class | At least one individual is poor. No more than one individual is rich. |
| profession | At least one individual has a badly-paying job. No more than one individual has a well-paying job. |
| political viewpoint | There is some variety (see options below). |
| special talents | could be an opera buff, or a cigar aficionado, or a devotee of monster-truck rallies |
| other | could have a disease, or a disability, or a special talent |
Now create your individual’s profile by choosing among the options, or filling in the blanks, for each category.
| category | options/blanks |
| sex | male female |
| race | ____________________ |
| marital status | single married divorced widowed |
| sexual preference | straight gay bisexual |
| religion | ____________________ |
| education level as an adult | ____________________________________________________________ |
| socio-economic class | ____________________________________________________________ |
| profession | ____________________________________________________________ |
| political viewpoint | far left left middle of the road right far right |
| special talents | ____________________________________________________________ |
| other | ____________________________________________________________ |
(This activity is based on Deborah Heikes, “Teaching the Veil of Ignorance,” APA Newsletter on Teaching Philosophy vol. 99, no. 2 [Spring 2000], pp. 268–269.)