Making Inferences The chapter suggests that society functions because social patterns are usually predictable. History records that John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil Company, was so...

Making Inferences The chapter suggests that society functions because social patterns are usually predictable. History records that John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil Company, was so rich he would walk down the street and pass out dimes to children. Allegedly, he gave out three million dollars’ worth of dimes before he died. Let’s say you decided to go to the mall and hand out a dollar to all the children who passed by. How do you think people would react? Would they be suspicious? Do you think mall security would be concerned by your behavior? What has changed since the days of Rockefeller that would make your behavior suspect?