The Hat Game
Purpose
This activity is designed to enlighten the members of a chapter. The “ah-ha” moment
at the end should be that we treat each sister differently based on preconceived
notions that we may have about her. Participants are given a topic to discuss. The
focus of the activity should be in the way the sisters treat each other, not on planning
a new program for their chapter.
Time
20 minutes
Supplies
One hat for each participant
Sticky labels that have descriptors either written or typed onto them; Enough for
each participant.
Instructions
1. Give each participant a label—tell them they cannot read this label but should stick it
on the front of their hat.
2. Explain to participants that we often times treat each other differently based on the
preconceived notions that we have about one another. During this activity we are
going to be brainstorming ideas for a professional development (or philanthropy,
sisterhood, etc.) program. Your job is to treat everyone based upon the label on
their hat. For example, if their hat says “always has a bad attitude” how might we
stereotypically treat this person?
3. Divide them into small groups of 5-7. Give them 7 minutes to plan the new
professional development (or philanthropy, sisterhood, etc.) program. Stress to
them the importance of really living up to the stereotype of what is on someone's
hat.
5. After the groups have discussed for a few minutes bring them back together as a large
group. Encourage them to compile their ideas, even though the point of this
activity was not to plan a new program, there might have been some good ideas
that came out of the program which we don’t want to lose!
6. Debrief with the following questions:
What did it feel like to be treated like what was on your hat? Some will
say good, some will say bad depending on their card.
How does this relate to the way we treat each other on a regular basis?
What can we do differently to overcome these stereotypes and preconceived notions.
IGNORE
ME
REJECT ALL
OF MY
IDEAS
I’M RUDE
I THINK
SIGMA
ALPHA IS A
WASTE
OF
TIME
TREAT ME
LIKE I’M
STUPID
DISAGREE WITH
EVERYTHING
I SAY
I’M ALWAYS
NEGATIVE
AND
CRITICAL
I LOVE
SIGMA
ALPHA
COMPLIMENT
ME
I’M AN
ALL-STAR
I HAVE A
4.0 GPA
TREAT ME
LIKE A
PRINCESS
I AM SEEN
AS A LEADER
THIS YEAR I
WAS
HOMECOMING
QUEEN
ASK FOR MY
OPINION
I AM THE
OLDEST
MEMBER IN THE
CHAPTER