Survivor and Group Diversity

Woah! What a way to shake things up in the middle of the show and throw everyone off with a tribal switch. The switch completely changed the complexity of the game, putting three couples together on the Coyopa tribe and Josh and Reed as the only couple in the Hunahpu tribe. This shake up among the tribes and the opportunity to experience new tribal ways offered a perfect opportunity for the tribe members to see the diversity between the two tribes.

The most obvious aspect of diversity after the tribal switch to me was the fact that it put Keith as the only single in the Coyopa tribe. The diversity that this creates for Keith puts him in a very vulnerable position because he is left as the odd man out and makes him a very easy target to vote out. As diverse as Keith’s situation is, Josh and Reed’s is equally as diverse as they become the only couple in the Hunahpu tribe. This also puts them in a situation in which they could very easily be targeted by the majority of the singles and voted out.

Another perfect example of diversity comes into play when Dale and Missy reach a misunderstanding involving the rationing of the rice. Dale is very keen on rationing the rice and is extremely frustrated when Missy and Baylor help themselves to more than the accepted ration amount. When Dale’s daughter takes him on a walk to cool him off, he explains the diversity dynamic among himself and Missy. He describes Missy as spoiled and somewhat of a diva which is very different from the hardworking farmer that he represents. In the conversation between Dale and his daughter, Dale seems to be much more of a thinker as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator would suggest because he is thinking of the rice in a logical and objective manner in terms of rationing which fuels his frustration. His daughter, seeing his frustration, represents much more of a feeler as she explains that it is much more important to ignore the frustration to promote and sustain harmonious and peaceful relationships.

I also think it would be fair to pin the previous Coyopa tribe as more of a collectivist tribe because they rationed their rice appropriately for the future and benefit of the tribe as a whole. Hunahpu on the other hand may have seemed much more individualistic because they could not ration their rice effectively for their own individual needs.