Firstly, to define a contact hypothesis this “is a suggestion that the contact between people of different background, under certain conditions, can melt away conflict.” Both political parties are at agreement that violence should be overwhelmingly rejected as a violence tactic. This way of thinking can help individuals open their minds and think of newly improved and innovated ideas to help the public instead of giving people boundaries. Boundaries will be broken and limits will be set what these limits are will be up to the people to decide but resorting to violence will never work.

As Powell in the article said “If we don’t learn to share the planet with each other… we don’t survive.” I believe this is very important for our country especially during an election year among us so not too many riots will be breaking out. The way they wanted to do this is by proposing the idea that “we’re going to try to convince the country that it’s our patriotic duty to see the humanity in people that we disagree with.” To be able to do this we have to lower discrimination rates in the country first. By some educational course or community roles that lead individuals in the right direction upon diversity.

To further add to how this contact hypothesis would work you would have to explain the social identity theory and how people are influenced by different aspects of their individual selves at different times. How this influence works and what kind of influence triggers certain outcomes in peoples minds. How bad triggers can be avoided or talked through upon bigger issues that are contradicted in each political party.

In conclusion, people need to be able to make up their minds upon their beliefs and what they stand for. This would be the only way of how the social identity theory would work and how people would be able to share concrete information with one another to express their ways of thinking as well as persuasion towards their beliefs.

In our evolving world, the significance of diversity and inclusion can’t be overstated. It’s the basis of different cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds that enrich the collective experience. Navigating this experience though, comes with its own challenges, particularly when it comes to uncertainty avoidance. This term refers to the extent at which people of specific cultures are made worried or anxious by uncertain situations. It influences how societies maintain cultural norms, approach change, and deal with the unpredictable.

Cultures with high uncertainty avoidance tend to have strict rules, seeking to minimize the unknown. This can sometimes lead to a resistance to diversity, as what is different or new, will often be perceived as uncertain. On the other hand, cultures that are often more tolerant of differences, hold an environment where diversity is not just accepted, but celebrated. These societies view uncertainty as an opportunity for growth, rather than something to be feared.

However, embracing diversity goes beyond acceptance. It’s about active engagement and understanding. It involves creating spaces where diverse voices are heard, and are important to the decision making processes. This is where uncertainty avoidance plays a crucial role. By acknowledging  our discomfort with the unknown, we can open ourselves to new perspectives.

By educating ourselves about different cultures and lifestyles, we can reduce the unknowns that drive anxiety. Dialogue allows for the exchange of ideas and fosters empathy, breaking down the fear of the unfamiliar. It’s through these exchanges that we can build more inclusive societies, where diversity is expressed and embraced instead of feared.

As we continue to mingle and influence each other on a global scale, our ability to thrive amongst diversity will depend on how well we manage the challenges that come along with it. By being inclusive, we can transform that uncertainty from a negative, into a positive.

Sources:

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., and Coutts, L.M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Uncertainty avoidance. Uncertainty Avoidance – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/uncertainty-avoidance

The social identity theory refers to how an individual defines themselves into a group based on self-categorizing. This can include race, gender, religion, as well as ethnicity. They share the same “category” as others in the group. Minorities are individuals that may or may not consider themselves as so, which refers to being subordinate to a more dominant group in a setting. When a minority does consider themselves as so, they may experience feelings of exclusion, and higher awareness of their identity when around a “more dominant” out-group (Harwood, 2020).

Negativity that a minority group may face can lead to feelings of exclusion, and can also lower self-esteem. This is because they may evaluate and compare themselves to the majority group, based on standards that are set by the majority group. Although, they do not try to change themselves to conform to the majority group because they are committed to their social identify. Being committed to the identity is a main component of it (Gruman, 2017).  But still, these feelings can be damaging to their mental health if it’s experienced on a regular basis.

Since minorities that are committed to their social identity do not try to conform to the majority out-group, they may try to maintain a positive social identity to others by enhancing the good things about their group, and distancing themselves from the out-group to avoid judgement (Harwood, 2020). In a job where this exists, the minorities may try to find social similarities between others within the same social identity to have a support system in order to eliminate the negative feelings that I’ve mentioned above.

In conclusion, the social identity theory allows us to know how individuals define themselves within groups. Even though minorities can experience negative feelings that can lower their self-esteem, they can find ways around it by finding others that hold the same social identity in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, or religion. Overall, it is important to know that minorities still experience discrimination, and it is important to provide inclusivity by reducing it, and by making them feel a sense of belonging.

References

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., and Coutts, L.M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Harwood, J. (2020). Social Identity Theory. In J.V.D. Bulck (ed.) The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology. Wiley. https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/doi/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0153

Prejudice and discrimination are two intertwined phenomena deeply rooted in the fabric of human interactions, shaping our societal dynamics and individual behaviors. They can be impossible to avoid and are prevalent in daily interactions between people in everyday life. In the realm of social psychology, understanding the mechanisms behind these phenomena is crucial to unraveling their complexities and moving towards a more inclusive society.

At its core, prejudice refers to preconceived judgments or attitudes held towards individuals or groups based on factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or socio-economic status. These biases often stem from stereotypes, cultural norms, and personal experiences, influencing how we perceive and interact with others. Despite efforts to promote equality, prejudice persists, manifesting in subtle microaggressions or overt forms of discrimination. Discrimination, on the other hand, involves the unfair treatment or exclusion of individuals or groups based on their perceived differences. Whether in employment, education, housing, or everyday interactions, discrimination reinforces power dynamics and perpetuates inequality. Its effects ripple through society, marginalizing certain groups and hindering their opportunities for advancement and social mobility.

Social psychology sheds light on the underlying psychological processes that fuel prejudice and discrimination, from cognitive biases to social identity theory. By recognizing our innate tendencies to categorize and simplify complex social information, we can challenge ingrained prejudices and strive for more equitable attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, fostering empathy, promoting intergroup contact, and advocating for inclusive policies are vital steps towards combating prejudice and discrimination and building a more harmonious society.

Here, I’ll focus on how the social identity theory contributes to prejudice and discrimination in everyday interactions. The social identity theory states that “that an individual’s self-knowledge is based on two types of identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). One type, known as personal identity, reflects an individual’s sense of his or her own personal qualities and characteristics….The other type, social identity, reflects a sense of identity based on the social groups to which individuals belong or with which they identify” (Gruman et al., 2017).

In conclusion, prejudice and discrimination are multifaceted phenomena deeply embedded in our social structures and individual psyches. Through the lens of social psychology, we can delve into the intricate mechanisms that drive these phenomena and work towards dismantling them. By teaching awareness, empathy, and collective action, we can pave the way for a future where diversity is celebrated, and equality is upheld.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE.

Reflecting on the essence of Social Dominance Theory (SDT) alongside privilege in our societal hierarchy is like peering into the mirror and noticing for the first time the subtle, yet pervasive, threads of privilege interwoven into the fabric of our daily language and actions. Imagine the metaphor of the “community table” — a notion often celebrated in discussions around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It’s a lovely image, isn’t it? Inviting everyone to the table, ensuring every voice has a chance to be heard. But pause for a moment and ponder: Whose table is it anyway? Who extends the invitations, and under whose authority do some ‘allow’ others a seat, a moment in the spotlight?

This is where the teachings of SDT hit home. It tells us that society is a tapestry of hierarchies, with some threads more prominently displayed than others. Those at the top, draped in layers of positive social value, often fail to see the advantage of their elevation — the power, resources, and status cradled in their lap. Recognizing this privilege can feel like a threat, unraveling the very threads that hold their world together. It’s not merely about who gets to speak at the table but understanding the systemic imbalances that dictate the seating arrangement in the first place.

When confronted with the reality of our position, it’s common for individuals perched at the top to cling tighter to privileges, fearing the loss of their comfort and security. It is akin to realizing one is speaking a colonizer’s language without ever intending to —  words dripping with an unconscious assertion of dominance. Acknowledging this doesn’t mean silencing your voice but rather questioning the space it occupies and the air it consumes.

This journey of self-awareness, sparked by the uncomfortable yet crucial conversations about our unintentional perpetuation of systemic inequities, is a step towards dismantling the hierarchies that SDT outlines. It’s about recognizing that “invitations” and “allowances” are steeped in a history of dominance and subordination, and challenging ourselves to rethink how a table could be created where everyone truly has a place — not by anyone’s granting, but by real equity in action. Equity in action is difficult to attain. The subject is not only important to activists; academics have much to say on the subject. Researchers assert, “All too often, allies fail to help or even do more harm than good. Adopting a relational perspective sheds light on how power can undermine ally trustworthiness by compromising allies’ benevolence and competence. Likewise, a relational perspective provides a platform for understanding the role of expressed humility in establishing trustworthiness. By taking themselves off a pedestal, dominant group members can invert traditional power dynamics. . .” (Knowlton, Carton & Grant, 2022).

During a podcast last year, I heard Dr. Yaba Blay discuss the difference between being an ally and being an accomplice, and how she wants accomplices, not allies. Dr. Blay is a scholar-activist, author, and cultural consultant. She said, “When you say to me, “I want to be a better ally,” I don’t need an ally. I don’t need your support from a distance. What are you willing to give up? What are you willing to lose? You’re not willing to lose anything? Stay over there, talk amongst yourselves. I don’t need you. But when you come at me like, “Yo, how? Let’s go. I want to be your accomplice.” Oh, okay. Let’s go then. Let’s burn this shit down. Now we can talk. And that’s me. That’s how I roll. Somebody else will roll differently. But for me, I feel more supported, more affirmed by the idea that somebody’s willing to lose something because they know that it needs to get done.” She continued, “Nobody has to teach folks that animals’ lives are valuable. If you see an animal being abused – People jump. There is no conversation. We don’t have to go back and forth about history. I don’t have to hold your hand. The puppy is being abused, the people didn’t feed him, you’re ready to jump because it’s not right. Why we got to have all this conversation about inequity? Why do we have to have all of this conversation about inequity? Why do I have to prove it to you? And then why do I have to hold your hand to do something different? That’s what it feels like with allyship. Not only do I have to have the experience, not only do I have to organize my own self, my own folks to fight against it but now I also have to tell you how to fight against it too.”

Dr. Blay identified how dehumanizing performative allyship can be, and how important it is to go beyond supporting from a distance. Yet, Social Dominance Theory unravels the comfort blanket of performative allyship, revealing it as a cost-free gesture. Worthless virtue signaling. This theory unveils our deep-seated impulse to shield our circle, ensuring its embrace remains firm around us — a dance choreographed by evolutionary psychology that underscores our need for belonging as vital to our survival and flourishing. When those perched atop the societal ladder are nudged to confront the reality of their privilege, it’s as if a mirror is held up, questioning the foundation of their elevated perch. To acknowledge privilege is to admit that this height wasn’t reached by merit alone but is also propped up by the scaffolds of systemic advantage, crafted and solidified over time. Such an admission doesn’t just nick at the surface; it slices into the very core of a group’s esteemed identity.

Grappling with SDT and the concept of privilege is an invitation to engage in a deeper, more introspective dialogue with ourselves. It’s about questioning not just the words we use, but the underlying structures they support. By doing so, we can begin to unravel the threads of privilege and reweave the tapestry of our society into one that reflects true equity, not just the illusion of inclusion. It will require those of us who occupy positions of privilege to move beyond performative allyship into something more…

-Laura Gamble

Reference:

Knowlton, K., Carton, A. M., & Grant, A. M. (2022). Help (un)wanted: Why the most powerful allies are the most likely to stumble — and when they fulfill their potential. Research in Organizational Behavior, 42, 100180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2022.100180

Sexism is the bias against a group or individual due to their sex. This of course can both go ways: males being sexist towards women and women being sexist towards men. Throughout history sexism is often noticed and more recently noted. Although as a society we have become more forward thinking, sexism exists from the top down ie. Government to household. 

One thing I didn’t expect to be influenced by sexism is therapy. The roles of psychologists were initially made of primarily men, and now that has shifted to more women in the field, I thought having that shift would create a more unbiased environment at least when it came to sex. The Society of Clinical Psychology put together an article talking exactly about this issue. The author states that girls/women that live in an oppressive environment have a greater chance to have poor physical and mental health. 

In the study that was conducted they stuck to strictly structural sexism “norms, policies, and laws that create and sustain gender inequality in power and resources” (Price, Skov). Even though gender and sex is not the same thing they are often related when it comes to scientific entries. The authors noted a therapy known as feminist psychotherapy when they focus on their biological sex and that connection. This has been known to empower women and address oppression that they may feel. 

When originally seeing this article I was excited to see that there was an issue that I didn’t know about but it was actually being addressed. Then I read more into the experiment that they conducted and the researchers used gender and sex interchangeably. This article was written in 2021, there has been a huge revolution in how people are viewed and how they identify since 2018, so seeing a scientist inaccurately address something that I am passionate about is frustrating. I hope to see better research in the future. 

Sexism makes it harder for girls to benefit from therapy: Society of Clinical Psychology. Society of Clinical Psychology | Division 12 of the American Psychological Association. (2021, December 3). https://div12.org/sexism-makes-it-harder-for-girls-to-benefit-from-therapy/ 

Alessandra DeVito

2/15/2024

Why is Prejudice often confused for Discrimination?

What is Prejudice?

Prejudice is a bad judgment about a person or group, without actually knowing the them.  It’s known as a dislike for someone because of their race, sex, socioeconomic status or, religion.  This includes having negative stereotypes or beliefs about the group.  It also is what leads to unfair treatment and discrimination.  Overall, it is based on stereotypes or generalizations.

What is Discrimination?

Discrimination is unfair treatment of a person or group based on characteristics.  It means you are purposely treating some people differently from others in a negative way.  For example, unequal employment, resources, education, healthcare, and harassment.  This comes from biases and prejudices.  Overall, it is based on actions that result in unfair treatment.

How are they different?

Prejudice is an internalized belief, while discrimination is an external behavior.  Another example is, prejudice could happen without intentional harm towards others.  While discrimination is deliberate actions that result in harm of others.  In the article, ‘Prejudice Vs. Discrimination In Psychology’, it states, “Prejudice is more focused on the emotional response and judgment of a particular group, while stereotypes are more focused on cognitive processes of categorization.” (https://www.simplypsychology.org/prejudice.html).  This shows how a prejudice person might not act on how they think.  Also, how they might not actually discriminate against the person.

What can you do to help make a difference?

They both come from biased attitudes about certain groups and have negative impacts on society.  Prejudice is a psychological basis for discriminatory behaviors.  To make a difference, you can reflect on your own biases and see if you can chat;lemnege any prejudiced thoughts you have.  You could also speak up against discriminatory behaviors when you see it happening.  Another way is to support diversity and inclusion in the community.  Lastly, you can vote for change to help equality, social justice, and human rights.  This all creates a more inclusive society for everyone.

On the backend of Valentines Day, what better topic to explore than love. In this post, keeping in line with our class’ lesson topic of intergroup relations and diversity, I’d like to reflect on how my understanding of my sexual orientation has changed over the course of my life, and how social stigmatization has played a significant role in this process.

For the majority of my adolescent life, I identified as bisexual, but felt a stronger orientation towards women than I did men. When I think back to that time, it’s clear that this orientation was largely influenced by societal/familial shame regarding same-sex attraction. My family is Slavic and Uzbek/Bukharin, and I never felt comfortable being myself or sharing details about my life given that those cultures tend to be misogynistic and homophobic (Martsenyuk, 2012). I also experienced some instances of discrimination, or behaviors expressing one’s internal prejudice towards a member of a group (Gruman et al., 2017),     throughout grade school, where peers would shout homophobic slurs at me within and outside a school setting. The implicit and explicit prejudiced messages I received from my social environment certainly made an impact on how I interpreted myself and the world around me. However, after high school, things started to change for the better.

Between the ages of 19-23, I found myself exploring or acknowledging aspects of my sexuality that didn’t feel accessible earlier in my life; I was studying at West Chester University at the time and likely felt supported and encouraged by the liberal atmosphere. I dated both men and women and participated exclusively in monogamous relationships. However, I did find it harder to maintain long-term same-sex relationships during my early 20s, though I attribute this to still not feeling secure in my sexuality. There were also short periods of time, namely during the ages of 19, 23, and 24, where I fully identified as gay. These periods coincided with negative and painful experiences with previous female sexual partners and seemed to be a psychological response to cope with the guilt and shame I experienced.

The most recent shift in my understanding of my sexual orientation occurred over the past 3 years, while I’ve been dating my fiancé, Evan. Prior to entering into a relationship with him, I had likely not acknowledged that I was attracted to people that were transgendered. Just as I had experienced in adolescence, it’s quite possible that I unconsciously suppressed those feelings because I had received messages from society that it was wrong to feel that way. At this point in my life, I resonate most with the label “queer”, though I ultimately don’t find labels to be very important. In my experience, trying to align yourself with a label, and all the societally and self-imposed parameters that go along with it, bring about more turmoil than empowerment.

Over the past three years that I’ve been with Evan, I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of ‘housecleaning’ regarding these limited and conditioned views of myself. Through the help of therapy, a supportive network of friends and family, and having assertive conversations with my dad (who has historically been unsupportive), I’ve been able to feel more comfortable in my skin and increasingly compassionate towards myself for the bumpiness of this journey. It’s still an ongoing process, but, overall, I feel less ashamed for being attracted to whoever I am, and for loving in the way that comes naturally to me. Evan and I plan to get married in May of this year, and I’m so unbelievably grateful for the opportunity to love him. This journey has been fraught with a lot of suffering and confusion, but I’m confident that whatever arises will be easier within the life that we create together. In the words of the Sufi poet, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī:

“Your task is not to seek for Love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” (Fernandez, 2021).

References

Tamara Martsenyuk (2012) The State of the LGBT Community and Homophobia in Ukraine, Problems of Post-Communism, 59:2, 51-62, DOI: 10.2753/PPC1075-8216590205

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-6973-0

Fernandez, E. (2021, February 15). The Most Inspiring Rumi Quotes About Love and Loving. the Positive Mom. https://www.thepositivemom.com/rumi-quotes-about-love

In the intricate tapestry of human interactions, prejudice and discrimination weave through the fabric of society, casting shadows on the lives of those deemed different. Rooted in attitudes molded by group membership, prejudice morphs into discriminatory behavior, perpetuating inequality and social division. Social psychology delves into the complexities of these phenomena, exploring their origins and repercussions with a keen eye.

“Where does prejudice originate? Some believe that prejudice stems from our thoughts and belief systems, or from cognitive sources” (Pg. 402). At the heart of prejudice lie stereotypes, ingrained beliefs about the traits and behaviors of specific social groups. These stereotypes often stem from cognitive processes, where the mind erroneously links unrelated traits due to repeated exposure. For instance, witnessing several instances of red-haired individuals displaying anger might lead one to falsely attribute this trait to all redheads. Such cognitive shortcuts not only shape individual perceptions but also contribute to broader societal biases.

Prejudice thrives in the preference for people who are similar to oneself, leading to negative views of those perceived as different. This bias, possibly rooted in our evolutionary history, highlights the intricacies of human social interactions. While favoring those in our group may have been beneficial in the past, it now often leads to discrimination and exclusion in today’s world.

Stereotypes hold significant sway over individuals, impacting their actions and interactions. Stereotype threat, for example, illustrates how individuals from marginalized groups may experience heightened anxiety over confirming negative stereotypes, leading to performance impairment and reinforcing societal prejudices. However, stereotypes aren’t exclusively negative; they also include positive traits associated with different social groups. Recognizing this dual nature is essential in understanding stereotype content and its effects. By acknowledging the complexity of stereotypes, we can challenge ingrained biases and promote inclusivity.

To conclude, the exploration of prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes unveils the intricate layers of human social cognition. From the cognitive origins of stereotypes to the pervasive influence of stereotype threat, each facet offers insight into the mechanisms driving societal biases. By delving into these complexities, we equip ourselves with the knowledge necessary to challenge prejudice, fostering a more equitable and inclusive society.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

In lesson six, we learned about prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice involves having a negative attitude towards a group, while discrimination is more specifically a behavior that expresses a person’s prejudice. In my life, I have been discriminated against many times on the basis of my Autism, and I believe that that behavior sprung from prejudicial attitudes of people towards Autism. For example, when I was in middle and high school, I was often left out of things and made fun of in a usually explicitly ableist way. I know my Autism had something to do with it because everyone in my small grade knew about my diagnosis.

I think that Social Dominance Theory helps explain some of the behavior of previous middle and high school peers towards me. Because there weren’t really any neuro-divergent people that I knew in my high school, I was left out of most activities, especially outside of school. The aforementioned theory says that people often act in a way that protects whatever social group that they are in. This is relevant because my peers may have seen me as a sort of threat to the hierarchical structure of the group. Further, since people like me who possessed negative social value, which stigmas surrounding Autism fueled, and other traits not considered beneficial for the group, I was ousted from most social activities.

I also think that stereotypes about Autism have aided in encouraging discriminatory behavior towards Autistic people like me in middle and high school. The textbook defines stereotypes as “beliefs about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviors of members of certain groups.” This is very unfortunate, since stereotypes are often useless to describing people on an individual basis. The same is true for Autism, since it expresses itself differently in different people. Because of the stereotypes, I often have had fears of behaving in a way that would be in accordance with these claimed stereotypes. This is known as a “stereotype threat.”

When I went to college though, things were much better, both in terms of how I viewed myself and how other people view me. I have gained many good friends and have been involved in many social activities since then. I think education has helped some people come over many of the stigmas and prejudices that they may have once had towards Autistic people. In a word, psychology, in its hands, holds the capacity with changeling and helping change society’s attitudes towards Autism, and this starts with understanding why negative attitudes and behavior towards Autistic people occur, some of which was reviewed in Lesson six.

Bias is something that can be often unavoidable and there’s little exception when it comes to psychologists and clinical diagnosis and decisions. Bias can be a result of a few different factors such as stereotypes, the labeling effect, confirmation bias, etc. Here I’ll talk about the effects this has on clinical decisions, different studies done pertaining to these factors, and how it could possibly be prevented or minimized.

Stereotypes

“Clinicians work hard to be objective and try not to let individual stereotypes and biases get in the way of providing clients with the best care. However, all people are susceptible to stereotyping other groups, and it is unfortunate that stereotypes may lead mental health professionals to misattribute or misdiagnose their clients’ symptoms. As we will see, the sometimes unconscious nature of culture- and gender-based stereotypes can make it difficult for clinicians to take preventive or corrective steps aimed at guarding against racism or sexism (or other forms of bias)” (Gruman et al., 2017). While I’m sure many of us would like to think we are invulnerable to stereotyping bias it’s unfortunately something we all deal with whether we’re aware of it or not. A study conducted by Jenkins-Hall and Sacco (1991) they had White male and female therapists watch a tape of a therapy client. The tapes were taken of different clients with a variation of race, the presence of a disorder, and gender. Therapists were then asked to analyze these clients. The results showed that “White therapists were more likely to make false-positive diagnoses for Black clients. In particular, White therapists incorrectly rated nondepressed Black clients as having more depression than nondepressed White clients. Depressed Black clients were also rated more negatively than depressed White clients on an interpersonal rating scale that assesses assertiveness, attractiveness, social skills, and other factors” (Gruman et al., 2017).

The Labeling Effect

The labeling effect is best described as the tendency to perceive clients in erroneous ways as a result of an existing psychiatric label or diagnosis. In the clinic this would mean that the clinician may perceive a clients symptoms differently having known their prior diagnosis compared to having not known the prior diagnosis. While there can be stigmas around mental health and psychiatric labels, mental health practitioners are much less likely to fall victim to these stigmas. Instead, they can develop stereotypes that are associated with different diagnosis. For example, In a study that examined judgments of mental health service providers, Burk and Sher (1990) found that children of alcoholics were perceived by clinicians as having equally poor emotional health regardless of whether they were described as “class leaders” or as having “behavior problems””. Although clinicians make every effort to remain practical and impartial they and usually are, they can still fall victim to bias that can effect their clinical decisions.

Anchoring and Confirmation Bias

“Labels and culturally based group stereotypes can act like psychological “anchors.” Like anchors on ships, labels and stereotypes can have a constraining effect. Anchoring effects influence people’s judgments and decisions in every sphere of life” (Gruman et al., 2017). “The anchoring effect is defined as a bias that occurs when a therapist’s first impression about the nature of a client’s problem artificially constricts the therapist’s subsequent assessments (Meehl, 1960; Tversky & Kahneman, 1974)” which can be closely tied in with the confirmation bias which is defined as a process in which people will search for evidence and information that confirms their initial perception or diagnosis in this case. Both of these can lead clinicians down a path that works towards what they think the problem is while getting farther away from what the actual problem is. These effects are often what happen during diagnosing off of stereotypes or prior psychiatrics labels. As stated before, clinicians try very hard not to hit these obstacles and are trained extensively about these biases and how to avoid them which is what we’ll talk about next.

Reducing Errors and Biases

Clinicians are still susceptible to falling victim to the same decision-making biases as someone who isn’t trained but being complacent isn’t an option. In order to prevent these biases from running rampant we need to understand them and learn about them to understand how to avoid them. This can be seen in not only the studies previously mentioned but in addition to an experiment lead by Chen, Froehle, and Morran (1997) in which trainees studying to become counselors were separated into three groups. “One group received specialized education on attribution processes. The second group received specialized education on how to be empathetic toward clients; that is, members of this group were taught how to adopt their clients’ perspective so as to feel what the clients were feeling. The third group formed a control condition and did not receive any specialized education.” it was found that “Trainees in the first two groups were less likely than those in the third group to commit the fundamental attribution error and make dispositional (internal) attributions for clients’ symptoms” (Gruman et al., 2017). This study shows that as long as we understand these biases, the different effects they can have on clinical decision-making, and how to remain impartial to these biases then they will be much less likely to occur.

It’s clear that no one, not even the professionals, are safe from the dangerous pitfalls of stereotypes and biases. However, we have the ability to study, understand, and hopefully overcome these attribution errors which allows for the best possible treatment for a given patient or client.

In the realm of mental health treatment, understanding the intricate interplay between social psychology and clinical psychology is pivotal. As we delve deeper into the treatment and prevention of psychological disorders, it becomes evident that social psychological processes play a significant role in both the onset and alleviation of such disorders. From unraveling the cognitive determinants of depressive symptoms to elucidating the mechanisms underlying social anxiety, social psychology has contributed immensely to our comprehension of emotional distress.

One of the key areas where social psychology intersects with clinical psychology is in therapeutic interventions. Social psychologist June Tangney and her colleagues highlight the importance of incorporating social psychological insights into the design and implementation of therapeutic techniques, particularly in the context of anxiety and depression treatments (Pg. 111). By understanding how clients change as a result of therapy, clinicians can tailor interventions more effectively to address individual needs.

It’s essential to recognize the subtle yet crucial differences between clinical psychology and counseling psychology. According to the article Implications for the profession and combined-integrated training, While clinical psychologists often specialize in treating individuals with severe mental illness, counseling psychologists adopt a more holistic approach, focusing on the well-being of psychologically healthy individuals (Cobb et al., 2004). However, these distinctions shouldn’t overshadow the common goal shared by both disciplines: to enhance the psychological well-being of individuals through evidence-based interventions.

The gap between basic social psychological research and its practical application in clinical settings has long been acknowledged. Tashiro and Mortensen (2006) shed light on this disparity, emphasizing the inherent differences in research methodologies between basic and applied research. While basic research prioritizes internal validity, applied research emphasizes external validity. Translational research aims to bridge this gap by applying theoretical insights from basic research to real-world therapeutic contexts, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of mental health interventions.

In conclusion, the synergy between social psychology and clinical psychology holds immense promise for improving mental health treatment outcomes. By integrating social psychological principles into therapeutic interventions and fostering collaboration between researchers and clinicians, we can enhance our understanding of the complexities of psychological disorders and develop more tailored and effective interventions for those in need. As we continue to navigate the intricate landscape of mental health treatment, acknowledging the invaluable contributions of social psychology is paramount in fostering innovation and progress in the field.

Cobb, H. C., Reeve, R. E., Shealy, C. N., Norcross, J. C., Schare, M. L., Rodolfa, E. R. . . . Hall, M. (2004). Overlap among clinical, counseling, and school psychology: Implications for the profession and combined-integrated training. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60 , 939– 955.

Garb, H. N. (2010). The social psychology of clinical judgment. In J. E. Maddux & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Social psychological foundations of clinical psychology (pp. 297– 311). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., Coutts, L.M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications

Tashiro, T., & Mortensen, L. (2006). Translational research: How social psychology can improve psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 61 (9), 959– 966.

Health psychology is a specialized field that focuses on understanding how psychological, behavioral, and social factors influence health and illness. It examines how people’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors contribute to their overall well-being and how these factors can impact their physical health. One key aspect of health psychology is studying the ways in which stress, coping mechanisms, and personality traits affect individuals’ susceptibility to illness and their ability to recover from it. By exploring these connections, health psychologists aim to develop interventions that promote healthier lifestyles and improve medical treatment outcomes.

In addition to investigating the psychological aspects of health, health psychology also delves into the role of social factors in shaping health behaviors and outcomes. This includes examining how cultural norms, social support networks, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors influence individuals’ health-related decisions and experiences. Understanding these social determinants of health is crucial for developing interventions that are effective across diverse populations and addressing health disparities.

Another important focus of health psychology is the study of health behavior change. Health psychologists explore the factors that motivate people to adopt or maintain healthy behaviors such as regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and smoking cessation, as well as the barriers that prevent them from doing so. By understanding the underlying psychological processes involved in behavior change, health psychologists can design interventions that are tailored to individuals’ needs and increase the likelihood of long-term success.

Furthermore, health psychology plays a critical role in the field of chronic illness management and prevention. By examining the psychological factors that contribute to the development and progression of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, health psychologists can develop strategies to help patients cope with their conditions more effectively and improve their quality of life. Additionally, health psychologists work to identify risk factors for chronic illnesses and develop interventions aimed at preventing their onset or reducing their impact.

https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/health#:~:text=Health%20psychology%20examines%20how%20biological,and%20improve%20health%20care%20systems.

Individuals with chronic illnesses such as cancer, could often experience depression after diagnosis. The hopelessness theory would be responsible for these outcomes. The depression from chronic illness is explained by this theory based on vulnerability and negative environmental circumstances (Gruman, 2017). The biopsychosocial model also plays a role in understanding depression that coincides with chronic illnesses. This includes biological, psychological, and social factors (Gruman, 2017).

            First, vulnerability in the hopelessness theory could cause depression from cancer diagnosis because individuals believe they were vulnerable to the illness based on genetics, therefore they do not necessarily consider that they had any control over the diagnosis (Alloy, 1988). In some cases, this is true, such as people receiving the diagnosis of lung cancer when they never smoked a day in their life, or were never exposed to cancer causing agents from the environment, such as a job where they inhale harmful substances all day. In this instance, it does seem to be uncontrollable. This could make someone develop depression because they may think “I did everything right, how could this happen”, which is where genetics are blamed. This could make an individual feel less motivated to undergo treatment recommendations because of the hopelessness theory (Alloy, 1988).

In other cases, where an individual develops lung cancer because they smoked for several years, they may consider social/environmental factors and think “I wish I never smoked because this would not have happened”. This is also true in instances where someone had a career that could have resulted in their diagnosis. This is where negative environmental circumstances come into play for the hopelessness theory. Self-blame could take a toll on their mental health and result in depression. These individuals may also engage in negative cognitive patterns (psychological aspect of the biomedical model), such as catastrophizing and overgeneralization regarding the illness. Cognitive distortions such as believing in the worst possible outcome, and perceiving the illness as a never-ending pattern, would also result in depression (Alloy, 1988).

The aspects explained above are how the hopelessness theory and the biomedical model could play a role in developing depression for someone diagnosed with cancer. Vulnerability involving genetic (biological) factors, negative environmental/social circumstances, as well as psychological factors play a huge role. It is important for these individuals to have a sufficient support system in order to not give into their distorted thoughts, and to undergo the treatment that they need, despite what they personally believe about the illness.

References

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., Coutts, L.M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications

Alloy, L.B., Abramson, L.Y., & Metalsky, G.I. (1988). The Hopelessness Theory of Depression: Attributional Aspects. The British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27(1), 5-21. DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1988.tb00753.x

Mental health is a complex interplay of various factors, ranging from individual cognitive processes to broader environmental influences. Recent research published in the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science delves into the relationship between learned helplessness, psychological flexibility, and depression symptomatology. This preliminary study sheds light on how these factors interact and potentially impact mental well-being.

Learned Helplessness
Learned helplessness, a phenomenon where individuals perceive themselves as unable to control adverse circumstances, has long been associated with depression. The theory posits that repeated exposure to uncontrollable situations leads to a sense of helplessness, ultimately contributing to depressive symptoms. This belief system, characterized by pessimistic attributions and reduced motivation, creates a cycle of disengagement from valued activities, exacerbating depression.

Psychological Flexibility
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) introduces the concept of psychological flexibility, the ability to consciously engage with the present moment and align actions with personal values. It emphasizes the role of language and cognition in shaping behavior, suggesting that interventions should focus on changing the function rather than the content of thoughts. Psychological inflexibility, marked by experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion, has been linked to poorer mental health outcomes, including depression.

Connections to Applied Social Psychology
The study’s findings resonate with principles from applied social psychology, particularly regarding the role of social environments in shaping cognitive processes and behavior. Chapters discussing health psychology shed light on how individual behaviors and mental well-being are influenced by social factors, such as learned behaviors and social support networks. Understanding the broader context in which learned helplessness and psychological flexibility operate can inform more effective interventions for depression.

The exploratory study conducted by Inês A. Trindade, Ana Laura Mendes, and Nuno B. Ferreira aimed to investigate the moderating effect of psychological flexibility on the relationship between learned helplessness and depression symptomatology. Using a community sample of 84 Portuguese participants, the researchers assessed levels of learned helplessness, psychological flexibility, and depression symptoms. The study revealed a significant interaction between learned helplessness and psychological flexibility, indicating that individuals with higher psychological flexibility exhibited fewer depression symptoms, even in the presence of learned helplessness. This suggests that psychological flexibility may serve as a protective factor against depression, particularly for those prone to learned helplessness.

Understanding the interplay between learned helplessness, psychological flexibility, and depression has significant implications for mental health interventions. The findings underscore the importance of targeting psychological flexibility in therapeutic approaches, as it may mitigate the impact of learned helplessness on depressive symptoms. By fostering greater acceptance and commitment to valued actions, interventions can empower individuals to break free from the cycle of helplessness and depression. This preliminary study offers valuable insights into the complex relationship between learned helplessness, psychological flexibility, and depression. It highlights the potential of psychological flexibility as a buffer against depressive symptoms, paving the way for future research and interventions aimed at promoting mental well-being.

In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of considering psychological flexibility in understanding and addressing depression, emphasizing the need for holistic approaches that integrate individual cognitive processes with broader contextual factors.

Trindade, I. A., Mendes, A. L., & Ferreira, N. B. (2020). The moderating effect of psychological flexibility on the link between learned helplessness and depression symptomatology: A preliminary study. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 68–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.12.001

While I was reading about the methods and challenges of health psychology (Gruman et al., 2017), I began to wonder about the limits of using scientific knowledge of applied psychology to influence others. Let’s say, for example, that we are designing an intervention to encourage people to quit smoking. It is a valid public health goal. It has the potential to save many lives, if successful. A nagging question, however, bothers me, somewhere on the back of my mind: what if a person does not want to stop smoking? How far are we going to go to design a successful intervention before it stops being a fair-minded encouragement and starts turning into mind control?

Some may think such concerns are ridiculous. We are far away from being able to control what someone thinks or feels. Aren’t we? I believe the very success of some of the interventions described show that to some extent it is possible to influence other people’s decisions. It is not hard to imagine similar techniques so improved that the subjects of such influences would not even notice being influenced. What happens then to free will?

I can easily imagine such development happening very gradually and with the best intentions. Gently directing people to healthier choices with respect to food and exercise.  Influencing them away from breaking laws. Encouraging them to abstain from premarital sex, drugs, and alcohol. Motivating them to vote for a “better” political party.

Stop, stop, some would say. This will never happen in this country. This kind of thing happened in the Soviet Union (van Voren, 2010).  As much as a third of political prisoners were subjected to forced psychiatric treatment there in the 1970s.  While it is not likely to see someone forced to take psychiatric medications for political reasons in the US, more subtle forms of persuasion seem fairly likely. It could be painted as protecting the children or doing public good. And very likely it could indeed save or improve millions of lives. At a small small price of freedom of choice. When then, help goes too far?

References

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology. Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems.SAGE.

van Voren R. (2010). Political abuse of psychiatry–an historical overview. Schizophrenia bulletin, 36(1), 33–35. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbp119

Chances are, most of you who are reading this sentence know someone, or at least know someone who knows someone, that has struggled with addiction. Over the past several decades, there have been more and more stories and news reports about substance abuse and how it’s affected the lives of American individuals and their families. It’s no surprise that substance abuse and addiction is a very real and very serious problem in our modern world. However, what most people may not have known prior to this post is how prevalent and pervasive addiction is with the LGBTQ+ community.

Consistent with minority stress theory, which states that one’s experience of discrimination and social stigma can lead to the development of psychopathological disorders (McConnell et al., 2018), a handful of research has emerged over the past decade connecting this psychosocial phenomenon to a host of issues found within the LGBTQ+ community. Studies have shown that members of the LGBTQ+ community are uniquely prone to developing substance abuse disorders as compared to the heterosexual majority (Kerridge et al., 2017). It seems that the community’s elevated stress experienced from sexual minority-related discrimination often results in a diminished capacity to effectively cope with emotional hardship, leading to chemical dependence on drugs and alcohol (Hatzenbeuhler, 2009). Aside from the evident physical and mental consequences of substance use and dependency, this maladaptive emotional-focused coping mechanism also starves the individual of the opportunity to effectively process the psychological experience of stress, which can lead to health consequences beyond substance use (Gruman et al., 2017).

As one might expect given the severity of this circumstance, several studies have been conducted over the last few years aimed to investigate which social psychological interventions are most effective in addressing addiction in the LGBTQ+ community. Like most findings within applied psychological fields, there isn’t a “one size fits all” answer. Nonetheless, there certainly seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. One longitudinal study (Pachankis et al., 2018) demonstrated that cognitive-behavioral techniques helped reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in queer individuals when applied to the cognitive distress that resulted from sexual minority-related discrimination. Given the significant association between these psychopathologies (Esmaeelzadeh et al., 2018), the effectiveness of CBT treatments for members of the LGBTQ+ community is a promising piece of the puzzle. Some researchers have aided in the development of holistic models for clinical interventions for addiction amongst LGBTQ+ individuals (Dyar, C., et al., 2023), while others have identified the benefits of targeting one’s motivation for maladaptive coping (Belvins & Stephens, 2016).

Overall, it seems as though the most effective interventions for addressing the LGBTQ+ community’s elevated risk for developing addictions involves a combination of alternative coping skill building, addressing minority-related stress, and conventional substance abuse symptom treatment (Dyar, C., et al., 2023). Of course, somehow preventing the individual’s participation in the addictive behavior from the onset would be the most effective approach but that doesn’t seem to be realistic in this day and age. Many solutions to widespread social issues often start via educational means (Gruman et al., 2017), so perhaps blog posts like this one are a decent alternative. All things considered, there is certainly hope that as further research is done on addiction and the factors that lead to its development within certain populations, people will continue to be equipped with coping strategies and therapeutic resources that help them live healthy and meaningful lives.

References

Kerridge, B. T., Pickering, R. P., Saha, T. D., Ruan, W. J., Chou, S. P., Zhang, H., Jung, J., & Hasin, D. S. (2017). Prevalence, sociodemographic correlates and DSM-5 substance use disorders and other psychiatric disorders among sexual minorities in the United States. Drug and alcohol dependence, 170, 82–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.10.038

McConnell, E. A., Janulis, P., Phillips, G., 2nd, Truong, R., & Birkett, M. (2018). Multiple Minority Stress and LGBT Community Resilience among Sexual Minority Men. Psychology of sexual orientation and gender diversity, 5(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000265

Hatzenbuehler M. L. (2009). How does sexual minority stigma “get under the skin”? A psychological mediation framework. Psychological bulletin, 135(5), 707–730. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016441

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-6973-0

Pachankis, J. E., Sullivan, T. J., Feinstein, B. A., & Newcomb, M. E. (2018). Young adult gay and bisexual men’s stigma experiences and mental health: An 8-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 54(7), 1381–1393. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000518

Esmaeelzadeh, S., Moraros, J., Thorpe, L., & Bird, Y. (2018). The association between depression, anxiety and substance use among Canadian post-secondary students. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 14, 3241–3251. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S187419

Dyar, C., Lee, C. M., Rhew, I. C., & Kaysen, D. (2023). Sexual minority stress and substance use: An investigation of when and under what circumstances minority stress predicts alcohol and cannabis use at the event-level. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 132(4), 475-489. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000819

 Blevins, C. E., & Stephens, R. S. (2016). The impact of motives-related feedback on drinking to cope among college students. Addictive Behaviors, 58, 68–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.02.024

Persuasion comes in many forms and is used throughout many professions. Most people may think of persuasion associated with professions such as being a lawyer defending your client, being a business person promoting a deal or selling something, or a politician campaigning and persuading people to vote for them. However, these are not the only professions or ways persuasion is strategically used. In social psychology we often use persuasion to promote the overall well being of others through social influence. Social influence is the interactions we have with others that persuade us to change our values, beliefs, and or behavior (Gruman, et al, 2016). 

There are many types of persuasion that social psychologists use for the greater good. One type is informational appeals. Informational appeals are giving people evidence and facts on a topic that they can understand to persuade them on this topic (Gruman, et al, 2016). For example, If you had been to your local doctors office during the times of COVID you may have seen posters with facts on them about wearing masks. These posters would have stated evidence in a way that is easy for the general public to understand on how wearing masks helps prevent the spread of germs and in turn the spread of COVID. 

Another type of persuasion is fear appeal. Fear appeal uses fear inducing elements that in turn engage the audience and scare them into changing their ways on the promoted topic (Gruman, et al, 2016). Research has shown that fear appeal using factors of emotional interest, concreteness, and proximity has a significant impact on attitude change, specifically using emotional interest (Sherer, et al, 1984). A great example of fear appeal is the packaging of cigarettes throughout Europe. In America, cigarette packaging is the normal logo of the brand. In Europe the packaging of all cigarettes is required to have a disturbing real life photo of what smoking cigarettes can do to someone’s health. For example, a picture of blackened lungs or a person with a hole in their throat. These photos are meant to strike real life emotional fear into people and persuade them not to smoke cigarettes for their well being. Research has shown that these tactics have made a difference in stopping people from continuing to smoke (Kahnert, et al, 2020). 

Persuasion is an effective technique that can be used in many professions and aspects of our lives. Social psychologists use persuasion for the greater good of our health. They can persuade us in subliminal ways to change our behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and or values. Social psychologists are able to use multiple ways of persuasion such as informational appeal, to give us the facts in a way we can understand to change our ways. Or by using fear appeal to scare us into changing what may be dramatically impacting our health. Overall, social psychologists’ use of persuasion is very strategic and arguably one of the most important uses of persuasion as it helps us become overall healthier people. 

References 

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353968 

Kahnert, S., Driezen, P., Balmford, J., Kyriakos, C. N., Aleyan, S., Hitchman, S. C., Nogueira, S., Demjén, T., Fernández, E., Katsaounou, P. A., Trofor, A. C., Przewoźniak, K., Zatoński, W. A., Fong, G. T., Vardavas, C. I., Mons, U., & EUREST-PLUS Consortium (2020). Effectiveness of tobacco warning labels before and after implementation of the European Tobacco Products Directive-findings from the longitudinal EUREST-PLUS ITC Europe surveys. European journal of public health, 30(Suppl_3), iii84–iii90. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa039 

Sherer, M., & Rogers, R. W. (1984). The role of vivid information in fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of Research in Personality, 18(3), 321-334. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(84)90016-3

In a world where environmental concerns are becoming increasingly urgent, one of the most pressing challenges we face is reducing our carbon footprint. Among the various contributors to environmental degradation, vehicular emissions stand out as a significant culprit. With over 240 million registered vehicles in the United States alone, finding effective ways to encourage people to drive less has become imperative.

A study conducted by Graham, Koo, and Wilson (2011) sheds light on a promising approach to tackle this issue. Their experiment targeted college students, a demographic often heavily reliant on personal vehicles, and utilized online interventions to encourage reduced driving behavior. The key intervention involved participants reporting the number of miles they had avoided driving over a two-week period. This simple act of record-keeping, independent of the feedback received, proved to be effective in reducing driving behavior, as evidenced by the participants’ self-reported reductions in car usage.

However, what truly stood out in this study was the impact of feedback on driving habits. Participants who received feedback regarding the pollution avoided and financial gains from driving less reported driving less than those in the control group. Moreover, those who received combined feedback on both the environmental and financial benefits reported the greatest reductions in driving behavior.

This finding underscores the importance of providing individuals with personalized feedback that resonates with their values and motivations. By linking the decision to drive less to both prosocial goals, such as helping the environment, and personal benefits, such as saving money, individuals are more likely to be incentivized to change their behavior.

So, how can we apply these insights to promote driving less on a larger scale? Here are some possible strategies: Utilize Technology through the development of mobile apps or online platforms that allow individuals to track their driving habits and receive personalized feedback on the environmental and financial benefits of reducing their car usage; Public Awareness Campaigns that promote understanding about the environmental impact of excessive driving and highlight the personal benefits of alternative modes of transportation, such as cycling, walking, or using public transit; Incentive Programs that reward individuals for driving less, such as offering financial incentives for carpooling or using alternative modes of transportation; Community Engagement to foster initiatives that encourage carpooling, car-sharing, and the development of walkable neighborhoods, making it easier for individuals to choose alternative modes of transportation; and Policy Interventions advocating for sustainable transportation options, such as investing in public transit infrastructure, implementing congestion pricing schemes, and incentivizing the use of electric vehicles.

By employing a multifaceted approach that combines personalized feedback, public awareness campaigns, incentive programs, community engagement, and policy interventions, we can create a culture shift towards more sustainable transportation habits. The study by Graham, Koo, and Wilson (2011) highlights the potential of feedback interventions in promoting driving less. By tapping into both prosocial and personal motivations, we can inspire individuals to make greener choices for the benefit of our planet and future generations.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). (Pg.365). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

The last step of promoting behavior change is evaluation (Gruman et al., 2017). If the earlier steps were always unfailingly successful there would never be any need for evaluation. So, the possibility, or even a necessity of occasional failure is an integral part of the process. The goal of social design is to create buildings and public spaces which offer something more to the people living or visiting there than merely ornamental value. It is a very admirable goal but aiming for it does fail sometimes.

The new communities project was started in 1968 with the purpose of helping disadvantaged groups in fast growing areas to improve their social and economic opportunities (Edwards & Rodwin, 1979). The project was supposed to provide a mix of income, ethnic, and social groups with modern style planning and technological and social services breakthroughs. 13 projects were approved, and 6 of them were actually started. In 1975 the program was closed to new applications and by the late 1970s it was widely admitted being a failure.

A similar project called “new towns” was running in the UK at approximately the same time (Peiser & Chang, 1999). Its main social objective was “to provide decent housing in pleasant communities for large numbers of families.” Among the innovative (for that time) features was a concept of “green field site” – a town built in the middle of farmland.

One of the more successful of such new towns Milton Keynes had its share of troubles and went through a big loan write-off in 1987 to the amount of over five hundred million British pounds. The financial issues were the reason for the shutdown of the US program as well where most of the communities that were actually built had to go through bankruptcy.

Their sad story underscores a useful lesson – no matter how noble and well-intentioned the designs are, how lofty their goals may be, good intentions cannot substitute for a lack of cold hard cash. The evaluation step after the fact should help to point to the problem: the original design was not financially sound on its own. Money is not usually one of the aspects of applied psychology interventions, but it should not be overlooked completely. Big projects need to be paid for by someone. If the goal is to help the poor and the disadvantaged the funds are not likely to come from those groups, therefore they must be extracted from the wealthy. The nature of such wealth extraction can vary from case to case but failure to do so will guarantee that the most beautifully designed social projects will fail. And so sometimes we fail. Hopefully, not all the time.

References

Evans, H., & Rodwin, L. (1979). The New Towns Program and Why It Failed. Public Interest.

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology.
Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems.SAGE.

Peiser, R. B., & Chang, A. C. (1999). Is It Possible to Build Financially Successful New Towns? The Milton Keynes Experience. Urban Studies, 36(10), 1679–1703.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098992773

Alessandra DeVito

2/4/2024

Looking to help stop food waste? You’re in the right place.

What is food waste?

Food waste is when the left over food is thrown out or recycled.  This can include the following, intentional and unintentional spoilage, leftovers, and packaged food waste.  More ways are also by, overproduction, and food that has been served but not eaten.  This is a huge global issue with environmental and economic consequences.  Food waste contributes to the depletion of natural resources.  It also generates greenhouse gas emissions which is very harmful to the Earth.

How can you help?

Food waste undermines efforts to address food insecurity.  One of the ways to help reduce this is to volunteer at a local food pantry.  For example, in the article, “Want to volunteer at a food bank?”, it states, “Your donations make it possible for millions of families to share meals and memories.” (https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-blog/how-volunteer-food-pantry-during-holidays).  This shows how important food drives are for the community and one of the ways to help eliminate food waste.  It also shows how overall, food bank volunteers pack food, sort food, meal prep, give out meals, and deliver meals.

Solutions

In order to reduce harmful environmental impacts, there are the following ways to do this.  This includes a combination of prevention, reduction, and the correct disposal.  You can make sure to plan meals carefully, which will lessen any overbuying problem.  Another way is to donate extra food to help those in need.

Even composting, the waste can reduce the environmental impact because it will be used to help soil.  You can encourage recycling, educate businesses about the benefits of reducing this, and encourage sustainable food choice.  Lastly, by making food recovery problems with restaurants to collect the surplus food will help.  Using all of these strategies will significantly reduce the harmful impacts of food waste to the environment.

The application of social psychology to personal relationships is what I would consider the bread and butter of much of my professional work as an outpatient psychotherapist. In this setting there are various presentations and although diagnoses may be similar the intricacies of each client can be vastly different. One common theme I have encountered is clients who report concerns related to the navigation of interpersonal dynamics. Many times, their reactions reflect the content described in the lecture handout summarizing the work of Allport (1985) who described hot versus cold cognitions. The theory proposed that hot cognitions are those fast-paced cognitions that elicit action or emotional reactions. Cold cognitions move a little slower and integrate rational derived from previous experiences or other stored information (as cited in Nelson, 2023). Another concept from the lesson was adult attachment styles which expanded upon the idea that developmental attachment styles were the end of the road for attachment. Instead, Bartholomew (1990) proposed four adult attachment styles: secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing. A secure attachment style for an adult is portrayed by a healthy amount of reliance on others, willingness to trust others, and a degree of comfortability with intimacy. A preoccupied attachment is composed of more anxieties regarding being abandoned and a person is hyper reliant on others. Being closed off from others, fearing rejection, and lacking trust in others would delineate a fearful attachment style. Finally, the dismissing attachment style would describe someone who is independent and sort of aloof when it comes to connecting with others, but not altogether concerned by it (as cited in Weber & Dobson, 2017). The essence of this discussion will be to integrate the concepts of hot cognitions and maladaptive adult attachment styles, as they have presented in a specific case I encountered in my work.  

A former client of mine, we’ll call her Laura for the sake of anonymity, embodied the preoccupied attachment style mentioned by Bartholomew (1990) to a tee. She often reported worry her partner would leave her, doesn’t love her anymore, and pulled virtually all her self-worth from positive interactions with him and would be devastated at anything perceived as discontent within their dynamic. In sessions, she would stew and puzzle over seemingly minute interactions that overwhelmed her thinking there was some sort of clue within that would either justify her fear or assuage it.  

When I would see Laura, it was in the context of therapy. I was hardly ever privy to what she called meltdowns wherein she would be overwhelmed by an intense rush of emotions, hopeless, helpless, worthless, to name a few. She would berate herself in the mirror and would be inconsolable. She would beg and plead with her paramour to not leave, to forgive her, but also to humiliate herself, why would you want to be with someone so stupid/ugly/useless?” Reader, when I tell you Laura was her own worst enemy, I am not hyperbolizing. Allport would probably agree, she was a victim of her own hot cognitions. There was very little cognitive time or distance between the trigger for emotional instability and the hot cognitions that led to extreme reactions.  

As I am sure the reader can imagine, this was not a new pattern for Laura. Since adolescence her relationships with muddled with fast, intense reactions and hyper dependency on the current paramour. It was clear to Laura; the long-standing pattern was no longer sustainable, and she wanted to live a happier life with reduced anxiety and smaller scale reactions. Straying away from social psychology for a moment, potential interventions for symptoms like those Laura experienced could be mindfulness, cognitive reappraisals, and implementation of controlled breathing practices. Her attachment style would be addressed if we could just transition her away from hot cognitions and rely more readily on cold thought processes where she could objectively consider an event without immediately reacting. Once she was able to include rational from cold cognitions into processing stressors, that opened the door for looking deeper into the attachment style and how to remedy another complex, pervasive issue.  

The concepts from this lesson have helped me in my creation of conceptualizations of clients. Although specific factors are likely to change, the general outline of processes remains the same, be it the cognitions described by Allport or the attachment styles from Bartholomew. These concepts have been essential to how I approach my clients so that I am able to meet them where they are and provide individualized, empathic, and effective care.  

References  

Nelson, A. (2023). Lesson 12: Relationships/Everyday Life [Class Handout]. Canvas.  https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/fa23/22381–16042/content/13_lesson/printlesson.html  

Weber, A. & Dobson, J. (2017). Applying social psychology to personal relationships. In Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition ed., pp. 417-434). SAGE Publications, Inc, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591 

Alonzo Richardson

PSYCH 424

Get Off My Bench…Or Not?: An Understanding of how Social Psychology Influences Social Design

In recent years, a term by the name of “hostile architecture” was created to describe how cities are designed to keep the homeless population out of certain areas. For a long time, civil engineers and architects have designed room layouts, buildings, roads, and other outer spaces to be conducive to a certain type of environment. The culmination of these constructs are what makes up an area’s social design. Environmental psychologists analyze and evaluate these spaces in order to determine how effective they are at being spaces conducive to growth, from large and small scales. In the case of hostile architecture, it seems to emerge from a type of social design called defensible space. Defensible space is a common technique that civil engineers within a given municipality or city will employ in order to deter crime (Gruman, 2017). So this begs the question: at what point does our protective nature go too far? 

Defensible space is an important development in societies. For example, let’s take design differences on crime rate. Environmental psychologists claim that, even when removing people, the architecture and maintenance of project housing gives more rise to crime because the environment is dirtier and less maintained, and living spaces are more boxed in and close together. This design increases the confidence in potential criminals that they can get away with more. The opposite effect occurs with well maintained apartments, townhomes, or single family homes, where the environment appears to have its own area, meaning the space is more defensible. (Cisneros, 1996). It’s a reflection of how community leaders understand social psychology, and how the environment itself can increase the hostility of a social environment

Hostile design takes the principle of defensible space and gives it too much defensibility. Examples include “anti-homeless” spikes, or putting metal studs on flat surfaces to reduce the ability of homeless people sleeping or lodging around certain areas (Esner, 2021)., It’s a type of social design geared against the homeless population, reflecting. Outside environments not conducive to. This type of social design is influenced by implicit biases about homeless people.

Social design has been proven to be able to influence community behaviors and social perception. Encouraging a more positive environment requires careful thought to be placed in a given area, such as increasing recycling or reducing household energy usage (Gruman, 2017). One example of social psychology applied to the environment in a positive way is a study conducted in 2011, an online intervention directed at reducing driving in college students. For two weeks, the students would report how long they drove each day, how much pollution they contributed, and how much they avoided driving. The result suggests that the process of keeping track of this served as an effective intervention strategy, and reduced driving greatly independent of the feedback received. There is a profound connection between environment/social design and human behavior and well-being.

References

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology. Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. SAGE.

Esner, R. (2021). Hostile Architecture: How Our Cities Attack The Homeless. The Current. Nova Southeastern University https://nsucurrent.nova.edu/2021/02/17/hostile-architecture-how-our-cities-attack-the-homeless/#:~:text=The%20problem%20with%20hostile%20architecture%2C%20and%20the%20source,purposefully%20restricting%20these%20individuals%E2%80%99%20access%20to%20an%20area.

Cisneros, H. G. (1996). Defensible Space: Deterring Crime and Building Community. Cityscape, 15–33. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20868434

Alonzo Richardson

PSYCH 424

Guilty By Association

Picture yourself, on trial for a crime you did not commit. The night you were arrested, you were driving home from work, and got pulled over. You, thinking you might’ve gone a little over the speed limit, turned to pick up your license and registration, but a voice yelled “put your hands where my eyes can see them”. Instantly, you were thrown out of the car onto the ground, and some hours later, you were sitting in a holding cell. That cell turned into months, and after trial, it turned into years. Some of the judges and jurors even looked like you. 10 years later, more conclusive evidence comes out that incriminates a completely different person, and you’re released. You don’t have much going on for you in the outside world, as most people you knew and loved stopped associating themselves with you once you were convicted, despite there being no evidence. 

Now, why is this situation possible? What is it that made you so suspicious to the point that you became culpable for someone else’s crime? Jurors are people. Police are people. People not only make mistakes, but also have biases. We can only hope that fairness can be upheld by police or within a court of law, but arrests and verdicts don’t always end up that way, and limitations of fairness differ in every single case. There are a few ways in which social psychology can explain this phenomenon, and even serve to help some.

Firstly, I’ll analyze how the police can make this mistake. One way, simply put, is that they might not look like you. Although this might not sound very…sound, this occurrence is made possible by a phenomenon called the “cross-race effect”. A 2012 study conducted by Young, Hugenberg, Bernstein, & Sacco defines this effect as “the tendency for individuals to be better at recognizing and identifying faces of their own race than faces of a different race” (Gruman, 2017). You can literally just look guiltier when you have members of a different ethnic group making your arrest and placing you into criminal investigation. 

Secondly, I’ll analyze how jurors and judges can make this mistake. The reasoning behind your conviction could be due to an expert persuading the jurors of your guiltiness because they might not like your gender or sexuality. It could be due to a judge not liking your race or religious background. For jurors, the verdicts they will reach are influenced by pre-trial beliefs, cognitive biases, and biased interpretations from “experts” (Curley, et. al, 2022). Implicit biases are scarier than explicit biases, as it’s become increasingly harder to openly admit bigoted beliefs. Moreover, research shows that judges usually don’t alert jurors to potential implicit biases that could arise (Kirshenbaum et. al, 2020) so it’s generally up to the jury to maintain a level of honesty and fairness.

To prevent scenarios like this from happening, there is no easy solution. Curing people of bias is impossible, but there are ways to better equip the legal system for these scenarios. For example, the deliberation process to reach said verdict is influenced by jury size, demographic backgrounds of the jurors, and many various other things. Jury size is typically 6-12 people chosen at-large from their community, based on the current American standard for trials, called the “adversarial model” (Gruman, 2017). Research shows that larger and more diverse juries tend to deliberate more than smaller ones and take more time to reflect on evidence (Gruman 2017), so that alone can reduce groupthink and really emphasize the importance of deliberating. Police and judges could benefit from more education on implicit bias (Kirshenbaum, et. al, 2020) and careful investigation, but it’s generally a pretty slow process.

References

Kirshenbaum, J. M., & Miller, M. K. (2020). Judges’ experiences with mitigating jurors’ implicit biases. Psychiatry, psychology, and law : an interdisciplinary journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 28(5), 683–693. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2020.1837029

Curley, L. J., Munro, J., & Dror, I. E. (2022). Cognitive and human factors in legal layperson decision making: Sources of bias in juror decision making. Medicine, science, and the law, 62(3), 206–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/00258024221080655

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology. Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. SAGE.

Alonzo Richardson

PSYCH 424

Is attraction learned or inherent?

Environmental Psychologists say the fittest go first. Cognitive Psychologists say it’s about shared beliefs. Freud said it’s your mom. Or dad. Whatever the case may be, we as humans can’t get enough of what we’re attracted to. The same part of our brain activates when we see a sunset or a supermodel (Yang, et, al, 2005). The source of that attraction is highly debated, but there are key similarities that we all share in regards to physical attractiveness, according to modern social psychology. Social dynamics are affected by our standards of attractiveness as well, providing benefits to those we consider more attractive and vice versa for those we consider less attractive. So it begs the question: is attractiveness more a matter of socialization or is it universal? 

Well for starters, First, I’d like to explain the evolutionary side. Across cultures, people share similar interests in attractive people to almost an innate level. From an evolutionary perspective, factors that influence this include but are not limited to, face shape and the shape and size of facial features, height, weight, shoulder length (in men for women), or hip width (in women for men) (Little, et. al, 2011). Although this research does seem to be decently conclusive, it is generally limited to certain places and cultures, even within relatively diverse countries. For example, in a cross-cultural study in 2021, men and women from five different countries (China, South Africa, India, France, and Japan) were tasked to assess attractiveness and health in women from those respective countries from different age groups and health backgrounds. These ratings generally showed people tended to view women from their own background as more attractive and healthy, in all places, but India, where raters showed statistical bias against South African and Indian women. The only metric by which women were universally deemed less attractive and healthy were the older women (Voegeli, et. al, 2021).

Next, I’ll describe the social dynamics of attractiveness. On the internet, I’ve come across two terms that have gotten quite popular recently on social media, called “pretty privilege” and “lookism”. These terms are used somewhat interchangeably depending on a range of contexts. “Pretty privilege” is generally what is used in pop culture to describe what is known in the psych world and academia as the “halo effect” phenomena, or the “physical attractiveness stereotype” (Gruman, 2016). The halo effect describes a social situation where someone who is perceived as very attractive is often assumed to have more positive “angelic” qualities, like being smarter, more confident, and more likable. The reverse of this phenomenon is called “lookism”. Similar to racism and sexism, ”lookism” is a way that others discriminate against those deemed less physically attractive. Both are usually unjustified and unsubstantiated, but statistically these issues rein true. For example, in a 1994 study conducted by Hamermesh and BIddle concluded that employers generally prefer attractive job applicants (Gruman, 2016). 

In all honesty, I believe when it comes to an innate or it’s a bit of both. Even though attractiveness isn’t universal, it is usually pretty generalizable. It doesn’t take a scholarly article or university blog for most people to distinguish between those we find as highly attractive and not very attractive at all. But when we evaluate the intersections of society that lead to certain biases, then human attraction becomes much more complex.

References

Yang, T., Formuli, A., Paolini, M., Zeki, S. (2022). The neural determinants of beauty. Eur J Neurosci. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15543. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34837282/

Little A.C., Jones B.C., DeBruine, L.M.. (2011) Facial attractiveness: evolutionary based research. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0404. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130383/

Voegeli R, Schoop R, Prestat-Marquis E, Rawlings AV, Shackelford TK, Fink B. (2021) Cross-cultural perception of female facial appearance: A multi-ethnic and multi-centre study. PLoS One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245998. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7822532/

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology. Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. SAGE.

If there is one lesson I will take away from this course, it is that social change can occur in a variety of ways. Its flexibility allows for it to affect many different groups of people and be applied to a myriad of situations in the hope of improving the community. One manner of social change that I have always found interesting and have heard second-hand about its benefits is that of Community Gardens. Community gardening allows for a group of people to connect in a mission of growing food and beauty while fostering positive personal and interpersonal effects in the process. In a world where much of our daily connection to others occurs online, a communal garden would offer an outlet to connect back with not only improving the environment but also improving interpersonal connections as well. The purpose of this blog is to look at why people start community gardens and the potential group and personal benefits that could result from participating in such an initiative.

The community gardening concept developed in the 1970s through grassroots initiatives to improve community morale, encourage self-reliance and work, dispel social tensions, and have positive soul and body results (Wang, 2006). Similar gardens served other purposes prior to this time such as addressing unemployment concerns and food scarcity in a time before food stamps were offered to those who needed them (Wang, 2006). Something that was first intended to support political concerns seemingly had a wider impact throughout the community in ways that would be interesting for social activists and psychologists alike. Today and for many years now, community gardens have served as an empowering force in society for both their food production and environmental impacts as well as their positive interpersonal and individual well-being benefits.

As mentioned previously, I have been able to see second-hand the individual impacts of working in a community garden. My sister moved to Colorado in 2016 to pursue her education. Following her graduation, she found herself longing for a sense of community to replace what she might have lost when she left the school. She found herself getting involved in a community garden, and while the work was nothing short of hard, she found that it had many positive effects on her mood and well-being. She experienced most if not all of the positive benefits typically found in those who partake in regular community gardening such as increased social ties, lower stress levels, and improved self-efficacy. She was able to connect with other members of the community that she might not have had the opportunity to know otherwise, found peace in the process of gardening, and felt more confident in herself after putting herself out there to join the cause and help take care of the garden. This was my first experience with a community garden and intrigued me to pursue learning more about community gardens and their impact.

The purpose of community gardens is to “build community, foster social and environmental justice, eliminate hunger, empower communities, break down racial and ethnic barriers, provide adequate health and nutrition, reduce crime, improve housing, promote and enhance education, and otherwise create sustainable communities” (Wang, 2006). This certainly aligns with our lesson on Participatory Action Research (PAR) as they both aim to assist those in underrepresented or oppressed communities and directly provide them with tools to assist their situation and create positive social change. These community gardens have a long-standing history in the political benefits for urban areas and the overall well-being benefits are still being researched and monitored as they continue to be used to foster positive social change and interconnectedness.

References

Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory action research: Psychology and social change. Journal of Social Issues. Retrieved from https://spssi-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1997.tb02454.x

Wang, D. (2006). A study of community gardens as catalysts for positive social change. University of Chicago Environmental Studies Program. Retrieved from https://www.csu.edu/cerc/documents/CommunityGardensasCatalystsPositiveSocialChange.pdf

One of the most well-known activist research done is from the dairy business; however, the most sinister research comes from the tobacco industry. Activist research sits in between participatory research and self-interest. This is because the researcher thrusts themselves into the world of which they are studying, while also pushing certain values into their research. (Nelson, 2023). We can see this type of research-development-marketing in almost any field or industry, such as meat and dairy, pharmaceuticals, and the wellness market. 

Large companies, even today, hire their own researchers for their products, campaigns or projects. While acquiring research helps create legitimacy for the company and determine need, it also comes with issues of intent. Throughout the early 1900’s tobacco was marketed as healthy. Doctors, nurses, and even dentists promoted the products and there were no questions until the late 1950’s. By then smoking was becoming associated with lung, throat and mouth cancer and there was compiling evidence to prove it. The tobacco industry was scrambling to fix the public’s hysteria that had ensued after this information came out. The idea came about that they would lean in towards the skeptics of the smoking-cancer hysteria, with their own evidence so doubt was created in the general public. This is when the tobacco company research committee emerged. The tobacco industry had major control over what was research, how it was interpreted and how it was translated to the public.

The entire research committee that was made was a complete conflict of interest, and there was motivation to put out what was needed to be heard from the tobacco industry because researchers were being paid and employed by them. Although the researchers had an ethical obligation, they were limited on what they could research and how it could be said, to ensure that the tobacco industry remained in the clear of more accusations of health risks. This is one of the first activist research that showed the sneaky strategies of these large industries. 

Work Cited:

Brandt AM. Inventing conflicts of interest: a history of tobacco industry tactics. Am J Public Health. 2012 Jan;102(1):63-71. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300292. Epub 2011 Nov 28. PMID: 22095331; PMCID: PMC3490543.

Nelson, A. (2023). Lesson Overview: Activist research. Canvas. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2283102/modules/items/38851166

The acceptance and research on mental health has greatly increased over even just the past few years. In the year of 2021, roughly 22.8% of the U.S population has suffered from a mental illness. Now if that percent seems low we can put into how many people that percent represents, which is 57.8 million people in the United States. What better way to address and study mental health than to have those who have lived through it themselves be a part of the research.

Now, there have been multiple studies done where those who have suffered from any mental health illness have been participants in research, but rarely have they been co-researchers in the research process ( Vescey et al., 2022). Being able to participate in PAR you must have knowledge in the area, and who has more knowledge than those who have lived through it themselves. Allowing those who have suffered or are currently being affected by a mental illness can allow their voices to be heard, give them a purpose, or even learn new strategies along the way. They can also give great insight into new interventions to help the community as they know what did and did not work for them personally. Although there is still a huge stigma around mental health and there might be some questioning of if someone who is currently being affected by mental health, how reliable they may be. No matter what or who, they can still be of benefit especially if there are accommodations made for their needs. They can be vital members to community-based participatory research ( Corrigan, 2022).

References:

Corrigan, P. (2022, January 28). Involving people with mental illness in research important to addressing social determinants of health. Psychiatric News. https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2022.2.32

n.a, N. A. on M. I. (2023). Mental health by the numbers. NAMI. https://www.nami.org/mhstats#:~:text=Across%20the%20country%2C%20many%20people,2021%20(14.1%20million%20people).

Vescey, L., Yoon, J., Rice, K., Group, M. of P., Davidson, L., & Desai, M. (2022, December 5). A return to lived experiencers themselves: Participatory action research of and by Psychosocial Clubhouse members. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.962137/full

Social change is a powerful force that drives progress and transformation in society. Throughout my life I have seen how social change has impacted so many movements or changes. For example, a study conducted by Oxfam found that participatory approaches to social change, such as community-led initiatives, have been effective in addressing poverty and inequality in various contexts around the world (Oxfam, 2019). By actively involving communities in decision-making processes, these initiatives have led to more sustainable and impactful outcomes. I myself have been in community groups that involved making changes in my community and helping ones in need due to coming from a lower income community.

Now what is Participatory research? well it has been shown to generate contextually relevant and meaningful findings. While doing research  I found a study published in the Journal of Community Psychology found that participatory research projects conducted with marginalized communities have provided unique insights into their experiences and needs (Minkler et al., 2018). By them involving community members as co-researchers, the study found that the research outcomes had a better impact on policy and practice, which lead to positive social change.The collaborative and empowering nature of participatory research can lead to sustainable social change. Research published in the American Journal of Community Psychology highlighted the benefits of participatory research for community mobilization and advocacy (Israel et al., 2018). The review found that participatory research projects have empowered marginalized groups to assert their rights and challenge systemic inequalities, resulting in long-lasting change. This comes to show how participatory research has helped a lot when it comes to social change.

Participatory research has been recognized as a powerful tool for social change by leading organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates for the use of participatory research in addressing health disparities and promoting health equity (WHO, 2020). According to the WHO, participatory research approaches have been successful in engaging communities and fostering sustainable solutions to health challenges, highlighting the potential of this method to drive social change. This is great because it allows people from communities to be heard especially when it comes to important things such as health disparities. By participatory research it helps the people doing research get the proper information that they need and they have the exact people they are trying to find research on participate.

In conclusion, social change is a powerful force that drives progress and transformation in society. Participatory approaches to social change, such as community-led initiatives, have been effective in addressing poverty and inequality. Actively involving communities in decision-making processes leads to more sustainable and impactful outcomes. This collaborative and empowering approach empowers marginalized groups to challenge systemic inequalities and assert their rights, resulting in long-lasting change.I was also able to recognize how participatory research is  a powerful tool for social change in World Health Organization advocates when they address health disparities and promote health equity. By engaging communities and fostering sustainable solutions, participatory research drives social change by ensuring that the voices and experiences of those directly affected are heard and valued.

References:
– Israel, B. A., et al. (2018). Review of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. American Journal of Community Psychology, 51(1-=32, 3-21.

Minkler, M., et al. (2018). Participatory research for health equity: Evidence and strategies for effective engagement. Journal of Community Psychology, 46(7), 909-924.

Oxfam. (2019). Participatory approaches: What works? Retrieved from https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/participatory-approaches-what-works

World Health Organization. (2020). Knowledge, evidence and learning for development (K4D) helpdesk report: Participatory research in health. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research-outputs/knowledge-evidence-and-learning-for-development-k4d-helpdesk-report-participatory-research-in-health

When thinking about social change, I immediately think of the color pink.

But what is social change? It is the evolution in this blog on behaviors and thoughts. A whole shift in attitudes, practices, and policies in a community, but for this discussion, a Country. Social change was done with the affiliation of the color pink.

Why, though, of all colors pink?

Well in the Philippines 2022 elections on October 7 2022, the color pink was the sign of hope; it is the color of the groundswell of an individual’s volunteers’. Pink was the campaign color for a potential candidate’s stance against the other color red. There were two contestants running head-on-head.

The first contestant is Leni Robredo. The vision is to “free” the nation from its hardships and challenges, especially during the pandemic, help the less fortunate by creating “Angat Buhay”(Lifting Life), a social campaign and to promote human rights and end the “culture of violence”; which relates to the Rodrigo Duterte mission of killing all drug users and lords. Besides that, she is a figure to help end domestic abuse. She is a symbol to empower women to be financially independent to avoid abusive relationships and environments if the woman feels trapped. With that in mind, the emphasize of the importance of education is highlighted in her campaign. Social action demonstrates bringing awareness to particular issues to create change (Gruman et al., 2016), which is what Leni Robredo was and is doing today.

The next candidate comes from a controversial family with a dark and rich background. As the former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos comes his son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., who was mainly against Leni Robredo in the 2022 elections. His primary focus was to unify the country and with the support and popularity of his vice president comrade Sarah Duterte, daughter of the previous president Rodrigo Duterte. In addition, with the help of social media, he beat the pink movement’s popularity. He says, “judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions.” He gained the title of president on June 30, 2022, as he won by a landslide in May 2022.

Despite the loss of Leni Robredo, the color pink still holds to be the color of social change in the Philippines. “The spirit of the campaign should never die out, “she said last May 13, 2022, as she formed a non-governmental organization, “Angat Buhay NGO”. Hundreds of volunteers were eager to help out the runner-up presidential candidate. This week’s lesson in participatory action research shows that her vision of helping people still lives on even if she did not take the place of the head of the Philippines, as her supporters are committed to working with many communities for a positive social change to put our psychology to work in support to their political values (Brydon‐Miller, 1997).

Resources:

• About | President Bongbong Marcos. (2023, April 18). President Bongbong Marcos. https://pbbm.com.ph/president-bongbong-marcos/
• Brydon‐Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 657–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.15404560.1997.tb02454.x
• Cepeda, M. (2022, May 14). After election defeat, Robredo to lead “biggest volunteer movement in PH history.” RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/after-2022-election-defeat-robredo-lead-biggest-volunteer-movement-history-philippines/
• Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353968
• Leni Robredo: The woman leading the Philippines’ “pink revolution.” (2022). BBC News; BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61318519
• Punzalan, J. (2022, May 13). What’s next for Pink Movement? Getting up from the fall. ABSCBN News; ABS-CBN News. https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/05/13/22/whats-next-for-pink-movement-getting-up-from-the-fall

Growing up, we base our ideas of science and scientists on what we see in the media we consume. For me, being a scientist meant either digging up dinosaur bones or conducting psychic experiments in the basement of Columbia University. Then, when the University grew tired of their antics, a real scientist would buy an old run-down fire station, develop nuclear reactors that they could wear on their back, bust some ghosts, and save New York City.

As you grow older, your ideas of what a scientist is changes. You begin to see the scientist as an objective observer. One who conducts experiments on others, and watches to see what happens. Then, after evaluating what they see, a real scientist makes changes to their study to see just how miserable they can make their subject.

Everyone’s idea of what a scientist is differs, but the root of the belief is that the scientist is meant to be separated from their subjects. They are detached. They are aloof. Like gods playing with their creations just to see what happens. Like the Hebrew god and his adversary making a wager with each other, then taking away Job’s blessings to test the nature of his devotion and faith. The Science Council’s definition of a “scientist” leans into the detached and “other-ness” of scientists. They state on their website that: “A scientist is someone who systematically gathers and uses research and evidence, to make hypotheses and test them, to gain and share understanding and knowledge.” (The Science Council, 2020) This definition clearly draws a line in the sand between the scientist and their subjects. The subjects or phenomenon are there to be observed, and the main goal of the scientist is to gather and use the information that results from their research. It places the scientist above the thing they are studying.

Not everyone in the scientific world agrees that the researcher, and those being researched, should be separated, and detached from each other. Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator, believed that the researcher and the researched were equal and active participants in the research process (Freire, 1970). He believed that the research process was a two-way street. He was teaching something to those he was researching, and they were returning the favor by teaching him something back. He was a champion for those he was researching, believing that the only way to truly combat the social and economic inequalities of his research subjects was to fully empower and include them in the process (Freire, 1970).

Freire’s work was revolutionary for many reasons, but its greatest contribution was to the creation of the concept of Participatory Action Research. This type of research declares that people have the universal right to participate in the generation and expansion of knowledge (Brydon-Miller, 1997).

Through this participation in the process, researchers and those being researched can help facilitate personal and social transformation. One PAR study asked both mental health providers and those seeking help for mental health issues to define recovery, then shared the results with both groups so that there could be a better understanding of treatment goals (Rempfer & Knott, 2012). It’s a collaboration between all parties involved.

Another PAR study used community members in a rural Australian Aboriginal village as researchers, empowering them to identify the main issues affecting their lives and giving them the resources they determined that they needed in order to take action to improve their circumstances (Tsey et al., 2004). Instead of someone observing and determining what this oppressed group needed, researchers gave the people in the community the power to determine what they needed. This cooperation is what makes PAR such a valuable and powerful tool to help create social change.

So, the next time you imagine a psychologist or a scientist, think of Paolo Freire and the other pioneers of Participatory Action Research. Instead of a stuffy old man in a white coat making notes on a clipboard (or, parapsychologists shocking people in the basement of Columbia University because they couldn’t correctly guess the symbol on a card), think about the studies where those being researched were empowered and included in the research process. If we are truly serious about creating positive social change, then Participatory Action Research methods should be explored.

References:

Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory action research: Psychology and social change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 657–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00042

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.

Our definition of a scientist. The Science Council. (2020, March 3). https://sciencecouncil.org/about-science/our-definition-of-a-scientist/#:~:text=A%20scientist%20is%20someone%20who,or%20data%20(data%20scientists).

Rempfer, M., & Knott, J. (2012). Participatory action research: A model for establishing partnerships between mental health researchers and persons with psychiatric disabilities. Recovery and Wellness, 157–171. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203049457-13

Tsey, K., Patterson, D., Whiteside, M., Baird, L., Baird, B., & Tsey, K. (2004). A microanalysis of a participatory action research process with a rural Aboriginal men’s Health Group. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 10(1), 64. https://doi.org/10.1071/py04009

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a unique research approach that involves the researchers being part of the community or social situation they are studying. This method allows for a deeper understanding of the issues at hand and the development of more effective interventions. A prime example of PAR in action is the urban revitalization project in Flint, Michigan, USA.

Once a thriving industrial hub, Flint had been facing economic decline and urban decay for several years. The city, known for its automobile manufacturing history, was grappling with numerous challenges, including job loss, population decline, and deteriorating infrastructure. A group of researchers, city planners, and residents collaborated on a PAR project to revitalize the city’s urban spaces. The researchers, who were city residents, were deeply invested in the project. They started by conducting surveys and interviews to understand the community’s needs and aspirations for their urban spaces. They also organized community meetings and workshops to involve as many residents as possible in the planning process.

Based on the insights gained, the team developed a comprehensive plan for urban revitalization. This included creating green spaces, improving public transportation, and developing affordable housing. The plan was then presented to the city council and, upon approval, was implemented with the active participation of the community.

Throughout the process, the researchers continuously monitored the interventions’ progress and impact, making necessary adjustments based on community feedback and observed outcomes. This iterative process is crucial to PAR, ensuring the interventions remain relevant and practical.

The project led to physical improvements in the city’s urban spaces and helped foster a sense of community and empowerment among the residents. By actively involving the community in the research process, the researchers could develop and implement solutions tailored to the community’s needs and have the community’s buy-in, thereby increasing the likelihood of success. This case study illustrates the power of Participatory Action Research in action. It shows how PAR can effect positive societal change, providing a practical, hands-on approach to solving real-world problems. By combining rigorous scientific methods with a deep understanding of the community’s needs, PAR offers a promising approach to tackling complex social issues and fostering sustainable development.

References:

: Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 657-666.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (n.d.). Imagine Flint Sets the Stage to Move the City Forward. Retrieved from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_featd_article_022414.html

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (n.d.). Cultivating Vital, High Opportunity Places Flint, MI: Master Plan for a Sustainable Flint. Retrieved From https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/FLINTCASESTUDY.PDF

“Nothing about us without us” first became a mantra of activists in support of disability rights (Wilson et al, 2022). It has since become adopted by D-Justice advocates for education justice in Detroit (Wilson et al, 2022). This mantra succinctly sums up the goals of participatory research and societal change. Participatory research and societal change involves community members actively being involved in gathering information and making decisions about making positive changes in their community (Brydun-Miller, 1997).

D-Justice was started in response to the profit driven direction that Detroit has taken towards education (Wilson et al, 2022). As a result, the majority of schools in Detroit are charter schools which are granted more autonomy than public schools (). Although the reason cited for the closing of public schools is low test scores, the charter schools have not outperformed the public schools. The loss of funding and availability of public schools in Detroit has disproportionately affected people of color (Wilson et al, 2022).

D-Justice used interviews with members of the community regarding their experiences including their positive and negative perceptions regarding the state of their community and feelings of being ostracized throughout their schooling (Wilson et al, 2022). Sharing these thoughts and feelings helped to cement the feeling of connectedness and community. This participatory research approach has increased the participants sense of empowerment (Wilson et al, 2022).

D-Justice is an excellent example of how participatory research seeks to positively influence societal change. Community engagement, review, and revision are the cornerstones of participatory research (Brydun-Miller, 1997). D-Justice employed all of these in its pursuit of educational research.

References

Wilson, C. M., Nickson, D., Hetrick, C., & Wilson-Clark, D. (2023). “Nothing about us without us”: Tending to emancipatory ideologies and transformative goals in participatory action research partnerships. Qualitative Research, 23(5), 1319-1341. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1177/14687941221087869

Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 657–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1997.tb02454.x

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In the mind of an involuntary celibate, being physically attractive is what gets everything for you. By everything, they mean women, money, status, and social power. “Lookism” is what this is referred as, the belief that a good life is given to those who are physically attractive (Halpin, 2022, p. 814). Incels are primarily made up of an online community of men who believe themselves unable to attract women for sex or a relationship (Halpin, 2022, pp. 813-814). This has resulted into misogyny, pushing of toxic-masculine ideals, and even self-loathing while encouraging and perpetuating violence against women (Halpin, 2022, p. 814). These beliefs and values held by incels has also been linked to numerous mass murders (Halpin, 2022, p. 814). This ideology is based on the pessimistic self-loathing of individuals who have developed a hatred for women based on their perceptions from society.

Incels have developed a loathed sense of self that makes them too subordinate to be powerful, but far too misogynistic to be subordinate, specifically subordinate of women (Halpin, 2022, p. 814). This makes their masculinity that is presented as a man of no credit that justifies his subjugation of women and overall misogyny (Halpin, 2022, p. 814). The incel community espouses sexism, and violence towards women, while also endorsing the ideology around men’s rights and criticizing feminism (Halpin, 2022, p. 814). They do not allow the discussion of romantic or sexual experiences, nor any gay or trans content (Halpin, 2022, p. 815). Halpin (2022) uses hegemonic masculinity and subordinate masculinity to define the dual masculine identities that define Incels (pp. 815-816). Hegemonic masculinity is defined using practices that uphold the subjugation of women by sanctioning patriarchal values (Halpin, 2022, p. 815). Subordinate masculinity focuses on stigmatized practices of masculinity that are socially degraded by authority, specifically toxic-masculine authority (Halpin, 2022, pp. 815-816). By putting themselves in a position that perceives them as “victims of feminism”, incels appear as the subordinate masculine type, while holding power over and subjugating women with hegemonic masculinity and enjoying the advantages of patriarchy (Halpin, 2022, p. 816).

Incels are under the belief that women seek men who are physically attractive and of higher status, which make women shallow and uninterested in them due to not having those qualities. They also believe that the only reason women would even consider the unattractive man would be if they held high status or who were able to financially provide for them. Regardless of how “committed” unattractive men are to women, the more attractive, potentially abusive man will be chosen. The incel defines physical attractiveness and high socio-economic status as the only preferences for women.

In research from Kreuzberg (2018) incels perception of women’s preferences do not line-up with actual mate preferences of women (p. 13). While incels believe that women only value physical appearance and social status, women prefer interpersonal skills and emotional commitment in long term relationships (Kreuzberg, 2020, p.13). Women tend to go after looks for short term mates, but not for long-term relationships (Kreuzberg, 2020, p.13). Women hold more value to emotional stability and dependability of their relationships over sexual desire, contradicting the incel notion that “good guys do not get women” (Kreuzberg, 2020, p.13).

Incels utilize subordinate masculinity with attributes that are internal (their unattractiveness and lack of status), stable (women’s attraction towards attractive, high-status men), and global, while utilizing hegemonic masculinity with attributes that are external (feminism), unstable (only status can lift the unattractive), and specific (gaining more power over women). The attributes fall in line with the attributes of a pessimist. The incels pessimism is where their toxicity and misogyny derive from. It is also why incels are easily manipulated by influencers who “speak their language” and educate them in the ways of attractiveness, which is essentially blatant patriarchy. As we allow these communities to form and grow, we also increase the risk for women and LGPTQ+ members. Diminishing the power and spread of incel propaganda from social media influencers and disrupting patriarchal institutions that allow for these beliefs to develop are essential to disrupt incel communities.

References

Halpin, M. (2022). Weaponized Subordination: How Incels discredit themselves to degrade women. Gender & Society, 36(6), 813–837. https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432221128545

Kreuzberg, M. S. (2020). Perceived Motives and Mental Health Characteristics of the Incel Men: What Incel men think Women value in a Mate vs. Women’s actual Mate Preference [Bachelor Thesis Positive Psychology & Technology]. University of Twente.

Is the glass half empty or half full? Do you see the world through rose-colored lenses or tinted in a fog of cynicism? Do you have a general idea that good things will happen to you if you let them? Would you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist? I believe each of us can fall to either side of the spectrum depending on the circumstances and situation, though in general, we tend to lean more one way or the other. Personally, I would consider myself to be an optimist with some pessimistic tendencies, having the consensus that everything will work out in my favor and nothing is truly as bad as it might seem in the here and now, though I might share differently if you ask me before my cup of coffee. My caffeine addiction aside, why is the topic of optimism and pessimism important to consider? Well, it might just be the difference between life and death…

Pessimism is related to negative outcome expectancies, where individuals doubt their ability to attain a desired goal (Gruman et al., 2017). They tend to be more likely to quit when faced with an obstacle rather than persevere to find a solution. A pessimist will most likely view the world and negative circumstances as a direct result of themselves and have the notion that the circumstance will be long-lasting and hardly if at all improve (“Optimism”, 2008). In studies, these individuals were found to be more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease with frequent re-hospitalizations, develop high blood pressure, and even die sooner than their optimistic counterparts (“Optimism”, 2008). Pessimists are less likely to engage in the positive health behaviors seen in optimists, probably because they do not see a positive future for themselves in general. If you truly believe that you have no control over your life and bad things will happen to you regardless of the actions you take, why would you take part in positive health behaviors or spend a significant amount of time working toward your goals?

Optimism refers to the idea that good things tend to and are very likely to happen (Gruman et al., 2017). It is typically associated with positive outcome expectancies that assist in goal-setting and attainment as optimists tend to set desirable goals that have incentive values for the individual (Gruman et al., 2017). These individuals are more likely to abstain from smoking, partake in regular exercise, have stronger social networks, have a stable spouse, and follow medical advice (“Optimism”, 2008). In measuring optimism over 30 years, it was linked to improved mental and physical health compared to pessimism (“Optimism”, 2008). The glass-half-full concept seems to be more than just a concept of volume. A positive life outlook could lead to an actual positive life. While it is not fool-proof, of course, disease and other uncontrollable circumstances can always arise, but even then, having a positive outlook has been linked with better recovery in fighting against infections (“Optimism”, 2008). The proof is in the pudding: optimism has been linked to more positive life outcomes, so why would not everyone hop on the optimism train?

Changing one’s entire outlook on life is a daunting challenge, but clearly, one that might be attractive to any pessimists who value their well-being or might be interested in a better way of life. Attribution retraining interventions are coaching exercises that rework pessimistic causal attributions to turn them into optimistic attributions (Gruman et al., 2017). It has been used to prevent depression and improve academic and professional performance, familial and intimate relationships, and motivation (Gruman et al., 2017). A pessimistic explanatory style is where one tends to accept negative events as a result of their own doing that is generally unfixable or changeable. When a negative event occurs to someone with an optimistic explanatory style, they tend to find reasons in the environment that are one-off or adaptable, offering improvement for the next time (Gruman et al., 2017). An individual is not tied to a life of pessimism, destined to find an early death at the hands of high blood pressure. There are exercises and resources available to help rewire one’s explanatory style and improve their overall well-being, one just has to seek them. Considering the health benefits of being an optimist and the possible consequences of a cycle of negative thinking, it would be imperative that one does if one finds oneself in a consistent pessimistic headspace.

References

Gruman, J., Schneider, F., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Sage.

Optimism and your health. (2008). Harvard Health Publishing School. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/optimism-and-your-health

Relationships typically are between two individuals with an emotional and physical bond that has mutual understanding and similarities that connect the two to each other.

Before in my mom and dad’s time, they met in university. My dad approached my mom, and the first words he said to her was, “So when are we getting married.” It was a straightforward approach, I would say, but it worked! That type of meeting is still seen today; however, there is a new online dating method. Online, usually, the first thing you notice is the profile photo of the individual, which is a form of primacy effect, a tendency that would influence a person’s thoughts that are initially presented. Online physical attractiveness is a person’s first impression of those on the other end of the screen. Still, it looks to extend more than the importance of an individual’s physical appearance in relationships. It extends to various aspects of interaction and social dynamics.
For this post, we will focus on online dating, where the first impressions are made from photos, bios, prompts, and likes; there are times when people find themselves liking others abroad or who are miles away from their location.

In long-distance relationships (LDR), you must be secure and trust your partner. What makes people drawn into a person sometimes dismisses where they are. Like a typical relationship, there is an emotional bond, mutual understanding, and similarities but a lack of physical connection (Gruman et al., 2016). The attachment style that was thought of immediately by Bartholomew is the first attachment: secure, trusting, comfortable with closeness and able to find a way to navigate interdependence (Gruman et al., 2016).

Communication is vital for this LDR to be successful. Though LDR has a new set of challenges with the absence of physical proximity, which is the tendency for physical and psychological nearness to increase interpersonal liking (Gruman et al., 2016), people in LDR make up more emotional depth and closeness to create a strong bond, to comprise the lack of physical closeness the relationship lacks(Gruman et al., 2016).

A study found that most people saw that geographically close relationships are ideal, as LDR is not the preferred circumstance for others (Maucione, 2023). The takeaway is that the ideal relationship can differ for many people, but the most common factor is communication, trust, commitment and emotional bond. Love can happen in my head from near or far, but that might just be me.

Resources:

-Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353968

Maucione, K. (2023). Perceptions of Long Distance Relationships Perceptions of Long Distance Relationships.https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4720&context=honors_theses

Have you ever wondered, ‘why am I attracting the same types of people over and over again, even though I know it doesn’t work out?’ Part of the answer may lie in our own attachment style. Before we dive into how these things can be correlated, let’s first give a run down on what attachment styles are. An attachment style is what can be used to describe the emotional bond and connection that starts in early childhood between the infant and the primary caregiver (Rabinowitz, 2023).  There are 3 different attachment styles introduced by John Bowlby and later on Mary Ainsworth, they are best known as secure, insecure-anxious, and insecure- avoidants. I will now break down each one and then dig a little into how our attachment styles could be leading us to the people we are attracted to.

A secure attachment style stemmed from childhood in the way that your primary caregiver was able to be responsive to your needs, you could rely on them majority of the time due to their nurturing and loving manner and this was shown inside of the home. This as a result leads you as a person to be trusting , have a secure and authentic connection with others without feeling threatened (Rabinowitz, 2023). As a person you also learned how to healthily regulate your emotions and can address your feelings. In return if you have a secure attachment style, you are more likely to also pick a securely attached partner.

Having an insecure anxious attachment style means that in your childhood your primary caregiver was inconsistent in meeting your needs. They were more often than not busy with other things and people, leaving you feeling unsure if they would be able to care for you. As a result of this the person in a relationship could be more clingy, moody, and anxious and could always be needing reassurance from the other in fear of being abandoned or rejected (Rabinowitz, 2023). Feeling a push-pull dynamic in a relationship (“i want to be close to you, but I don’t want to be close to you”) could mean you or the other person is an insecure anxious partner.

Lastly we have insecure avoidant, this is where the person might have grown up in a home where they didn’t receive a lot of attention and when there was attention it was more focused on achievements such as school or sports, rather than emotional connection (Rabinowitz, 2023). Insecure avoidants as children learned to be independent and how to take care of themselves. As adults an insecure avoidant needs to be independent, they like spending time alone, they are self reliant and have difficulty asking help from others. This can affect relationships in the way that they struggle with intimacy, closeness, and expressing emotions.

The age old question, “do opposites attract?” well, they do..initially. Overtime though the clash on opposing sides can be too big and ultimately lead to the demise of the relationship. So why are we attracted to certain people and maybe they even all have the same attachment style? Well, it all stems back to our childhood once again. Certain kinds of people or just anyone in general that we are attracted to somehow in some way triggers a core memory wound (Rabinowitz, 2023).

So, after exploring what each attachment style is ,are we starting to look inward a little more and questioning the behaviors you may exhibit or the person you are with is exhibiting? Now, although the secure attachment style is obviously the one we want to strive for, if you or your partner are not there yet this does not mean throw in the towel or that you will forever be the way you are. Recognizing why these behaviors are occurring is the first step to get you to where you want to be.

Reference:

Rabinowitz, L. (2023, June 8). Why are different attachment styles attracted to each other (even when it causes stress in the relationship). Rabinowitz Counseling. https://counselorforcouples.com/why-are-different-attachment-styles-attracted-to-each-other-even-when-it-causes-stress-in-the-relationship/#:~:text=As%20an%20adult%2C%20they%20shape,it%20is%20familiar%20to%20you.

Cyberbullying? well what is cyberbullying it is the act of using electronic communication tools, such as social media platforms or messaging apps, to harass, intimidate, or harm others. This issue has become a widespread issue in today’s digital age, with serious consequences for the mental health and well-being of those involved. One of the significant impacts of cyberbullying is the development of anxiety disorders in its victims. Anxiety is a common psychological response to stressful or threatening situations. In the context of cyberbullying, individuals who are targeted often experience extreme levels of anxiety due to the constant fear of further online harassment. The internet can amplify the impact of cyberbullying, as victims may feel like there is no escape from the ongoing attacks. This chronic stress can lead to the development of anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The impact of cyberbullying on anxiety is not limited to the immediate distress caused by online harassment. Victims may also experience long-term psychological effects. Persistent anxiety can affect various aspects of a person’s life, including their relationships, academic or professional performance, and overall well-being. The constant worry and fear associated with cyberbullying can lead to a decrease in self-esteem and self-confidence, making it challenging to engage in social interactions or trust others. A longitudinal study conducted by Hinduja and Patchin (2018) further supports the link between cyberbullying and anxiety. Their research followed a large sample of adolescents over time and found that victims of cyberbullying were more likely to develop anxiety symptoms as they aged. The study also highlighted that the duration and intensity of cyberbullying experiences were positively associated with increased anxiety levels. Another study I also looked at published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology revealed that victims of cyberbullying were more likely to experience offline anxiety symptoms as well.

For individuals already predisposed to anxiety, cyberbullying can further their symptoms. Those with pre-existing anxiety disorders may experience extreme levels of anxiety, panic attacks, or even a relapse in their recovery. The constant exposure to negative and hurtful online content can trigger intrusive thoughts a, perpetuating a cycle of anxiety and distress. It is important for individuals with anxiety disorders who experience cyberbullying to seek support from mental health professionals and find healthy coping mechanisms to manage their symptoms. Furthermore, cyberbullying can result in a negative cycle of anxiety. A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence mentioned that individuals who experienced cyberbullying were more likely to develop higher levels of anxiety and, in turn, engage in more avoidant behaviors. These avoidant behaviors, such as withdrawing from social interactions or avoiding certain online platforms, which these things can cause isolation and steer them away from even being social.

In conclusion, cyberbullying has a significant impact on the mental health of its victims, particularly in terms of anxiety. The constant fear, stress, and worry associated with cyberbullying can lead to the development or exacerbation of anxiety disorders. It is truly important to raise awareness about cyberbullying, provide support systems for victims, and promote responsible online behavior to create a safer digital space for everyone. So everyone can feel safe and their mental health can continue to be healthy. Throughout my research multiple studies have demonstrated the extreme impact of cyberbullying on anxiety.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4126576/

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Published By: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers

I am sure anyone reading this blog could make a list of people they know either in real life, celebrities they like, or people on social media, etc., of who they find attractive. But have you ever wondered what made you so attracted to them? Is it purely the way they look? Or is it more about their style or interests? Thinking deeper into why people are attracted to individuals, you would find that it is not completely surface level. It is more than just looks, although that is a big part of it, there is more than meets the eye. Attraction consists of three different aspects, the proximity effect, the familiarity effect, and physical appearance. 

In person, the initial driving force of attraction, when it comes to relationships, would be proximity. The proximity effect is “the tendency for physical and psychological nearness to increase interpersonal liking.” (Gruman, 2016, p.422). First signs of attraction occur when someone is simply in close quarters with another person, like in a classroom. They see that person, they hear how they talk, see how they interact with others, and overall get a good observation of who they are, while in close enough proximity. A study done by Back, Shmuckle, and Egloff showed the significance of proximity when they had classmates introduce themselves to each other in the beginning of the year and a year later asked them to rate their friendships with the students in the class. This resulted with the students rating the classmates who sat near them as closer friends than classmates who sat further from them in the classroom. 

Taking a step past proximity, the familiarity effect is another important element in attraction. The familiarity effect is the idea that “Increased exposure to someone generally enhances preexisting feelings toward that person, whether positive or negative.” (Zajonc, 1968, as cited in Gruman, 2016, pg. 423). The more you are around someone the more familiar you become. For example, if your schedule lines up with someone else’s and you see them at the same time everyday. You get familiar with the person, and the more familiar you are with someone, the more comfortable you are with that person. It has been shown that “Since the original research on familiarity and attraction in the 1960s, dozens of studies have tested this effect. Most studies have supported the claim that familiarity promotes attraction.” (e.g., Reis, Maniaci, Caprariello, Eastwick, and Finkel, 2011 as cited in Gruman, 2016, p. 423). In short, when someone is familiar with another person they are more likely to perceive them as attractive.

On to what is seemingly to be the most important component in attraction, physical appearance. There have been studies that resulted with the consensus that people value the quality of looks the most when finding a dating partner. Overall, it has been found that physical attractiveness does matter, however it is deeper than that. People perceived to be attractive have further expectations on them, “People associate good looks with other good things about the person. In a seminal study, Dion, Berscheid, and Walster (1972) found that attractive people are expected, purely on the basis of their looks, to be better people: sensitive, sexually responsive, interesting and sociable.” (Gruman, 2016, p. 424). People find good looking people attractive because of their looks and also the belief that their good looks entail other good qualities. This assumption that people have for good looking people is an additional reason for their attraction to them. 

In all, people find others attractive because of proximity, familiarity, and physical appearance. People are likely to be attracted to someone who is physically close to them in proximity. A person is bound to find one person around them as attractive. The mere fact that they are around them makes them familiar to them and familiarity in itself promotes attraction. Physical appearance is the leading factor in most cases of attraction because they are pleasing to look at and good looking people are assumed to be elite. 

References

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. 

Indeed, physical attractiveness matters. This is proven by a study which found that attractive people are judged more positively than ugly people are, including a higher social appeal, but also in various forms of competence (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 424). Yes, that’s right folks, people think you’re smarter if you’re pretty; how stupid is that!

This did raise a curious inquiry deep in my soul, however. How in the hell did Jeremy get Justine? Allow me to explain. Jeremy was a friend of mine from college. He was a great guy. No, really. a great guy. However, he was… how you say… attractively challenged. He had a full head of hair, which you could see because he was so darn short. He had definition all over his body, mostly because he was skin and bones. His smile absolutely lit up the sky… Because his braces could be seen from Mars. In short, my buddy Jeremy was an utter dumpster fire.

Justine? A complete 150 out of 10, immediate transfusion-requiring nosebleed knockout. Earth’s magnetic field shifted around this woman’s sheer radiance, and men just glided in her direction wherever she went. Justine was (and is) madly in love with Jeremy.

As I read this week’s chapter, I wondered whether it was the “T-Shirt Study” that could explain this phenomenon, since their interests and values seemed to match well (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 430).

However, this also seemed not to be the case, as Justine fell hard for this man (not via fainting from the shock and horror of his volcano face) before she ever had a chance to know him. This is one of those bizarre instances of Beauty and the Beast  Naked Mole-Rat that I simply couldn’t get through my head.

But I began to really analyze what made Jeremy attractive, and found something pretty compelling. His presence. I have yet to totally conceptualize what makes up a person’s presence, but I’ve narrowed it down just enough for a rough idea.

Jeremy is incredibly substantive in a way that only Jeremy can be. He has almost an entirely internal locus of control. In addition, he is quite the optimist, which is somewhat described with the theory of attribution; optimists attribute positive results with internal factors, and negative results with outside factors (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 461).

Jeremy is one of those guys that is full of both pathway thinking, meaning that he knows which steps to take in order to reach his goals, and agency thinking, which is high willpower/mastery (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 472).

Perhaps most importantly, Jeremy was a fully actualized man. The book sort of glosses over the topic of actualization, but my idea of actualization kind of corresponds with Carl Jung’s theory of the shadow, which can be summarized as the realization of whichever aspects of the self are hidden away from not only others, but also the self (Perry, 2015).

Jeremy had confronted his stepfather, who was beating his mother, earlier in his youth through a physical confrontation in which he won (with the help of a frying pan that now bears a nice mold in the shape of his stepfather’s face). Afterwards, he had confronted the guilt of not only his actions, but also how much he enjoyed beating his stepfather into a bloody pulp.

He found the malevolence within himself and had to reconcile that with his desire to be good. In doing so, he not only took responsibility for himself, but also for his potential for destruction. The funny thing is, as paradoxical as it sounds, Jeremy became optimistic and found his internal locus of control by examining his own malevolence.

So while our peers were rambling on about political ideologies and proclaiming moral superiority during college rallies, Jeremy was quietly building himself 1% better every day. That 1% per day meant that every 3 months, Jeremy was double the man he had been.

In the words of the often controversial (but in this topic, spot on) psychologist Jordan Peterson, “There’s a difference between being harmless and being good.”

Jeremy understood his potential, realized that he too possessed malevolence, and was choosing to be good whenever possible. Justine didn’t see a short, pimply, brace-faced nerd. Justine was looking at a monster who had tamed himself and protected his family using the very same potential that he could’ve used for destruction.

It took me entering a career in war to learn and become what Jeremy achieved in high school through nothing but a dented frying pan and a “Give ’em hell!” attitude.

You know, on second thought, I’m starting to think Jeremy is one sexy dude.

Sources:

Gruman, J., Schneider, F., & Coutts, L. (Eds.) (2017). Applied social psychology. SAGE Publications, Inc, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591

Bullying has always been around, and in my opinion it was easy to keep an eye on it and control it, if parents, schools and teachers worked together. Unfortunately with the introduction of internet and rise of social media platforms, a new kind of bullying, called cyber bullying  was created, which is much more damaging and harder to control than the regular bullying.

Cyber bullying has become very common, and I have seen fully grown adults being brought to tears, and being severely affected, and subsequently damaging their mental health. Can we imagine how it effects a young person who maybe targeted or signaled out to be bullied online. As there are more and more online platforms to communicate, similarly there are more areas to cyberbully someone, and in majority of cases the bully benefits, and chooses to be anonymous, the bully can only be one person, but they can assume different identities, and bully one person, making it more intense and damaging to the victim.

Effects of cyber bullying are far reaching and dangerous. Victims can suffer from, anxiety, depression, loneliness and suicidal ideation (Nixon, 2014). Constant and long term cyber bullying can damage the mental health of the victim so much, that they start believing, that somehow they deserve to be bullied, and thus it can have long term effects on a young person’s self-esteem, and confidence. I think a lot more that needs to be done, not only to combat the incidence of cyber bullying, but we also need to make it easier for the kids to report it, so they could be helped in a timely manner, before it effects their mental health.

Nixon C. L. (2014). Current perspectives: the impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health. Adolescent health, medicine and therapeutics, 5, 143–158. https://doi.org/10.2147/AHMT.S36456

Young entrepreneurs and recent college graduates are flooding to low-income neighborhoods as a means to revitalize and maintain an “authentic” look to established communities (Zukin, 2008, p. 727). Cities normally offer a life that is convenient and with a copious number of things to do to enhance the quality life. This fact is not always the case for many individuals and families who live in low-income areas. Communities, especially established communities, are forced to adapt to the changes within their community. Whether these changes were wanted or not, the upgrades are built for an exclusive type, and the established community members are unable to utilize the shops and markets within the community. As a way to increase attractiveness and increase consumerism, new hip shops and markets featuring ethical and organic items, as well as consignment items that make use of “upcycling” (Zukin, 2008, p. 725). While these changes are environmentally friendly and encourage a different outlook into consumerism, it makes it difficult for low-income families to be able to utilize these goods and services. What ends up happening is that these households are forced out of their homes due to increased cost of living.

To uplift a community, these gentrification projects have displaced low-income individuals and families and have forced a specific demographic to fill in the spots, changing the economic concerns that were faced by the community by simply pushing those struggles to another area without consideration to community disruption (Qiang et al., 2021, p. 4). While a community is developed, another one is eradicated. Communities that have been there for multiple generations, with homes staying within the family. Unfortunately, these communities most likely had no support from the city government and were left to their own devices to survive. This either isolated the community or encouraged the community to come together and work with one another, regardless of the conditions that made this achievement difficult.

These communities have communicated with local officials, investors, and community liaisons to establish a community uplifting project that benefits community members while increasing the attractiveness of the community (Qiang et al., 2021, pp. 3-4). These efforts have gone by the wayside with capital gain and increased consumerism being the main priorities for these development projects. When these neighborhoods are gentrified, all the attempts to provide city funds to uplift the community are suddenly cared about. The attraction from upper and middle-class residents provides a multitude of changes including investment into housing, adequate public service, a rise in property values, reduced crime rates, and a bettering of the city’s public amenities (Qiang et al., 2021, p. 2). All of this is directly correlated with gentrification. This attention from the local government is devastating to the established community members who were ignored for generations.

But what attracts these young entrepreneurs, artists, and intellectuals into these neighborhoods? As Sharon Zukin (2008) puts it, it is the aesthetic that appeals to them (p. 727). With the fetishizing of cultural diversity and an “authentic urban experience”, neo-bohemians, or hipsters seek out low-income, close spaced, and easily traveled (whether from walking, cycling, or public transportation) communities (Zukin, 2008, pp. 727-728). Sharon Zukin (2018) puts it simply,

“More than using their neighbors as models, some [hipsters] take delight in finding a parallel between the involuntary marginalization of the poor and of ethnic minorities in their neighborhood and their own willed marginalization from mainstream consumer culture” (p. 729).

The connection with the downtrodden in relation to the hipster “starving artist” experience provides an adequate backdrop to the community that they hope to establish. It also makes it easier to build from bones than to start from scratch.

Are we benefitting community development by gatekeeping life from lower-income families? Are ethical changes to a community that displaces established community members truly ethical? We encourage community growth within the US to provide the necessary support systems for individuals to be able to survive and thrive, yet we are so willing to step on the backs of the established community members to make it a “better” place. By interrupting and displacing the community and community members who have lived and survived in the area, we are creating future problems that will continue to“affect”communities. The pink collar, new collar, no collar, open collar, and gold collar individuals garner more attraction to neighborhoods while leaving blue and black collar individuals to continue performing the dirty work with little to no appreciation or recognition to their community influence. This creates tension among the two groups who fight for the liberalization or conservatizing of the community. Unfortunately, only one group receives the support.

References

Qiang, A. J., Timmins, C., & Wang, W. (2021). Displacement and the Consequences of Gentrification. Unpublished Manuscript, 1–49.

Zukin, S. (2008). CONSUMING AUTHENTICITY. Cultural Studies, 22(5), 724–748. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380802245985

Attachment styles, a concept pioneered by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, develop deep emotional bonds between two people. These styles, which originate from the bond between an infant and their primary caregiver, significantly influence future social and intimate relationships. In other words, this early bond creates a template for building and interpreting relationships as an adult.

There are four primary adult attachment styles: secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing.  These styles develop along two dimensions: attachment-related anxiety and attachment-related avoidance. Individuals high in attachment-related stress tend to be insecure and worried about their partner’s availability and attentiveness. On the other hand, those high in attachment-related avoidance often struggle with opening up and being vulnerable to significant others.

A secure attachment style is characterized by low scores on both anxiety and avoidance. Individuals with this style trust that their close relationships will provide support and security when needed and are prepared to offer the same in return. They can communicate openly and honestly and believe they are worthy of love. They are transparent about fears, desires, and insecurities and provide consistent support and warmth.

Preoccupied individuals are often insecure and worried about their partner’s availability and attentiveness. They need closeness, and they are concerned about abandonment. They are characterized by a negative working model of self and a positive working model of others. It can affect intimate adult relationships and cause a need to belong, fit in, or feel accepted.

Fearful individuals are afraid of rejection; therefore, they are mistrusting and often shy. This type of person usually craves the feeling of closeness and support; however, they distance themselves from others. Often, this attachment style is linked to childhood trauma. They strongly desire close relationships but distrust others and fear intimacy.  They are characterized by both high levels of anxiety and avoidance in relationships.

Finally, dismissing individuals are “self-reliant, independent, and uninterested in intimacy.”  These individuals often avoid closeness and intimacy because they do not feel a need to rely on someone else. They are very independent and find it hard to be comfortable enough with someone to trust them with their intimacy. They are characterized by a positive internal working model of attachment of oneself, described by a view of oneself as competent and worthy of love, and a negative internal working model of attachment of others, characterized by one’s belief that others are untrustworthy or undependable.

It’s important to note that attachment styles can change with major life events or even with different partners. For instance, an insecurely attached individual could form a secure bond when they have a securely attached partner. Understanding one’s attachment style is the first step toward developing healthier relationships.

(2022, December 26). How to Change Your Attachment Style and Your Relationships. The Attachment Project. https://www.attachmentproject.com/blog/attract-secure-attachment-partner/

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.

Lancer, D., JD, LMFT (2021, April 1. How to Change Your Attachment Style and Your Relationships. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/toxic-relationships/202104/how-change-your-attachment-style-and-your-relationships

Cyberbullying, regular bullying, both the same and both horrible.  They have been on the uproar since technology has excelled in its finest.  Personally, I could not tell you how many times a week I hear my daughter upset because of a friend’s Tic Tok or Instagram post, or how they message her through Snapchat or via text and are mean.  Or to say the least when they hang out how she gets ditched for no reason.  Now of course I have taught my daughter to try and be tough, try not to let things bother you but as a parent you can only succeed so much.  Since I myself and a parent who intervenes a lot, I feel that an intervention for this type of behavior is well called for.  A prime example that I can use is just last weekend my daughter came down crying because her friend made an appreciation video on Tic Tok but used a bad photo of her, of course I thought she was being dramatic like any pre-teen girl would be.  However, there was more to the story of how the other young girl knew it was a bad photo and told her that she knew she would get upset, that’s why she used it.  So, me as the mother I am, “involve parental engagement (Hendry et al., 2023)” to the point that I called the girls’ mother, and we had our own discussion about it.  We felt that intervention for the two girls regarding bullying behavior, which can “include teaching social skills such as friendship, empathy, and anger management in one-on-one settings, not in a group setting. Discipline should be addressed in private. Interventions focus on identifying the expected behaviors. (Bullying prevention and intervention strategies)” but all in all, I felt the initial intervention of parental engagement was appropriate.

Reference

Bullying prevention and intervention strategies. Bullying Prevention and Intervention Strategies – Nebraska Department of Education. (n.d.). https://www.education.ne.gov/safety/bullying-prevention-and-intervention-strategies/#:~:text=Bullying%20behavior%20interventions%20may%20include,on%20identifying%20the%20expected%20behaviors.

Hendry, B. P., Hellsten, L. M., McIntyre, L. J., & Smith, B. R. R. (2023, February 13). Recommendations for cyberbullying prevention and intervention: A Western Canadian perspective from key stakeholders. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1067484/full#:~:text=When%20cyberbullying%20instances%20occur%2C%20it,technology%20used%20by%20their%20youth.

When talking about communities, we often think about our neighbors, friends, family, and maybe our peers at work or school. What gets overlooked is the online communities we participate in everyday. A community can be made up of a group of people that share a space together, or share a common interest. Outside of real in-person connections, is the online version. This mostly looks like facebook feeds, reddit groups, gaming streams, or school discussion boards. The latter is what we all, as students, participate in every week and it is considered to be a community. These online groups help us learn, socialize and grow in many ways; however, there could be a darker side to being a part of too many online communities. 

As I mentioned, the internet keeps us informed, and helps us keep up with the changing world. As our technology advances faster than it ever has in history, we know that to stay off the internet and swear off iphones is to not progress with society and can be detrimental to your career or social standing. We have access to every question and answer you could possibly ask, right at our fingertips and that goes for friendships and social groups as well. In this age, if you really want to, you don’t have to leave your house to talk with a group of likeminded people, speak with friends, catch up on gossip or share your opinion. Behind the tiny 13” x 5” screen, you are protected from true scrutiny, from embarrassment, from fear. Online communities can help you reach likeminded people, family or friends that are far away. “Establishing a sense of community online can be advantageous for particular subgroups who may experience specific barriers to communities of interest offline.” (Gruman, 2017). All of these factors are incredibly positive for users, and may be why so many flock to online communities like never before. 

Despite the advantages of anonymity, it’s also a disadvantage to all people on online platforms. Having this identity shield gives users a different type of confidence to voice their opinions, but it can mean that many things said are things they would truly never say out loud. This can leave a massive cavity, where bullying and negativity fester. Myspace, one of the earlier social media platforms that created a massive online community, caused issues for so many teens. Myspace led to many of its users having more drama, misunderstandings with friends and creating aggressive behaviors. (Gruman, 2017). This is because online, there is an emotional disconnect. In person, we see others’ expressions, the tone in their voice, along with choosing our words more carefully out of empathy or compassion, there is a sense of real connection. Online, we can’t get that, and that leaves room for negative emotions, and behaviors. Online communities, while helpful in ways, arent a substitute for real life interactions and face-to-face community. 

Gruman, J., Schneider, F., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Sage Publications.

For the following commentary to be comprehensible, there must first be a discussion of relevant terms and definitions. First, the reader should consider the components of a community. Gruman and colleagues (2017) refer to research by community psychologists who proposed four components of what makes a sense of connectedness to others, and thus a community. First, there is membership. In order to have a community, there needs to be inclusion and exclusion criteria to determine who is in and who is out. Second, is the concept of influence, which is based on the idea of individual power within the community and inversely, the community’s power over the individual. The third component is integration and fulfillment of needs. This means that a person feels they can and are dependent on other members who are also dependent on the individual to share and receive what they need from each other. Finally the fourth component is a shared emotional connection which is exactly what it sounds like in the bondedness of members that usually is a result of some sort of shared experience or ideology.

Taking these components of what makes a person feel a sense of community, we can consider their application to a different type of community, the online community. Although they have been in existence since the early days of the internet, online or virtual communities became a pervasive reality in a big way recently. The concept of virtual communities was something that became prevalent in an unexpected way during the COVID-19 pandemic, when shutdowns were frequent and persistent. Folks often chose precaution over physical connectedness and whether it was using previously established communities or there was creation of new, online communities were thrust into the spotlight.

Yet another twist to the concept of communities and online communities is the idea that not all people use them in the same way. Gruman et al. (2017) discussed how this might be the group that could benefit from an online community the most, and it has been demonstrated that there is a connection between their presence in and online community and their wellbeing. Having a way to work around potential barriers to connectedness can increase satisfaction and again, be beneficial to people who live with disabilities.

To introduce another twist, online presence is not only about community and its connection, but potentially a romantic connection. Mazur (2022) has been at the forefront of researching how people with disabilities utilize virtual formats to date. It was found that discriminatory experiences were still had by those using online dating, but that this was balanced out for some by availability of interested parties. The disparity of experiences in online communities versus online dating could indicate the complexities that arise from being vulnerable when looking for romantic connection.

Overall, increase in popularity of online communities was seemingly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Like communities that exist outside of the internet, there are multiple components that allow for someone to feel connected to a group. This connection might be more readily available for those with disabilities who use online communities to circumvent the barriers between them and in person connection. The benefits seen in online communities for this group does not have a direct translation to online dating, which research indicated was balanced by positive and negative experiences for people with disabilities.

References

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591

Mazur, E. (2022). Online dating experiences of LGBTQ+ emerging adults with disabilities. Sexuality and Disability 40, 213-231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-022-09726-2

Learning about communities this week had me wondering why online communities are so important, especially in today’s society. We have gone many centuries without online communities, even the internet. It is with the technological advances in our country and the world that have made the online communities come alive. We can probably all agree the importance of face-to-face communities and in my opinion an online community could never take away from those, but that does not mean that online communities don’t serve an important purpose as well.

A big example that could probably hit home to most would be during 2020 in the midst of COVID during lockdown. During this time it was hard for me to even see my parents and grandparents even if I had wanted to they all work in healthcare and were exposed to it everyday they were mandated by their company to take extra precaution that was already in place. To add some light to the dark my family and I would tag each other in funny or relatable things we would see on facebook. Now although my family is already part of me, if it weren’t for the app and online community of facebook that 2020 year could have gone a lot differently than it did. According to Forbes being a part of an online community allows a possibility of  a quick answer to a question you may have (Richmond, 2020). Also even if they are people you do not know personally an online community also can offer a support system, and sometimes not knowing the person directly can help some people open up more due to less fear.

Reference:

Richmond, S. (2020, August 25). Council post: The importance of online communities in 2020. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/08/26/the-importance-of-online-communities-in-2020/?sh=527be207ba9e

Cyber or virtual communication has become a convenient type of communication, basically 24/7.  Being able to communicate to someone at any given time of the day thanks to technology has been a wonderful thing.  “We live in in a world where technology grows and changes a lot faster than some of us can manage to keep up with. But the one thing about technology that doesn’t change is the concept behind it: It’s a tool we can use to make what we’re doing both easier and better. (Account, 2020)”

Now, when talking about communication, I am not meaning a response right away. But rather being able to communicate to someone, whether that be sending an email or text just stating a fact, asking a non-urgent question, etc.  However, “saying something through text messages is a lot different from saying it in person. The latter lacks the body language, the eye contact, and the emotional connection in the face-to-face moment. (Sermaxhaj, 2023)” Since communication in these types of ways happen on a daily basis it is more common that miscommunication or misunderstands happen.  Therefore, technology can be a great thing but at the same time it can cause many issues.  Regarding work or within personal relationships as well.  A simple text t my husband can be miscommunicated just as much as a simple email to one of my coworkers.  Those on the receiving end might not understand the tone of the message which can cause majority of the issues.  I’ve personally learned over the years that even if you do not use short hand messaging and tend to type things out, it still has the chance of a miscommunication.  Technology I find to be great in the sense that it is at the tips of fingers and allows easy communication.

References:

Account, M. (2020, February 28). The misunderstanding of using technology. AZCOMP Technologies. https://www.azcomp.com/blog/the-misunderstanding-of-using-technology/

Sermaxhaj, G. (2023, September 20). Online communication and misunderstanding. Youth Time Magazine: News that Inspires, Updates that Matter. https://youthtimemag.com/online-communication-and-misunderstanding/

I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I love social media, but the more I use it, the more thoughts and feelings I have of self-hatred. I can remember the exact day I first downloaded Instagram and was immediately able to connect with all of my friends through pictures and captions. Then, I was able to see what my favorite celebrities were doing and keep up with their lives. As an early teenager, I do not believe I could understand what access to these people’s lives was doing to me, but as an adult, I feel so sorry for doing that to myself. Now having the ability to understand how fake social media truly is and the false sense of community it offers, I can look back and see how much time I have wasted (and sometimes continue to waste) on social media sites, and how detrimental it was to grow up with that access.

Social media can be a powerful tool or weapon depending on the context. It can help companies promote their brand, connect family and friends across continents, and be a creative outlet for many individuals. On the other hand, it can promote unrealistic comparisons and expectations, spread misinformation rapidly, and is designed to prey on addictive tendencies. That last part is where I struggle the most. Growing up, I was always told by my parents that addiction runs in our extended family, so I stayed mindful and away from the obvious vices: drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc. I never once thought that social media could or would be my drug of choice. I was not aware of how dangerous and addictive social media can and is designed to be. These sites that were originally created to connect us to others are actually working to disconnect us from ourselves. Studies have found that as time spent on social media rises, so do rates of depression, substance abuse, stress, and suicide (Hansen, 2022). As any addict, my social media use follows a cycle. I start perusing the platform, trying to keep my time to a minimum and monitor my use, enjoying the pretty pictures and videos. Before I know it, I spend hours a day checking the app, comparing myself to people I idolize (even people I do not idolize), until the point where I feel like garbage. Once I have hit rock bottom, I do a detox from social media, feel great, wonder what people are up to, check it, and fall right back into the same cycle.

Why do I do this to myself? Why does anyone who can see the negative effects of social media continue to use it? My guess would be the false sense of community it provides and the lack of knowledge about the dangers of seeking out community in social media primarily. A sense of community is made up of four elements: membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection (Gruman et al., 2017). My membership on social media is harder to see than that in real life. I do not have a badge or t-shirt that states I am part of a community, but simply having a presence on social media can create a feeling of membership. One reason I refuse to delete an app I know is detrimental to my mental health is that I do not want to lose the sense of membership in that app. It is the “norm” these days to have a social media presence and not having one can automatically make you feel excluded from that group (even though the perks of membership are not that great).

Influence is the power a community has over an individual and the power they have within the community (Gruman et al., 2017). In terms of social media, likes, comments, shares, etc. are all ways someone can show their influence within the community. “Influencers” are now actual careers for individuals who have many followers, and therefore, more power in the community. Being able to follow and “interact” with these people offers a false sense of connection and value that is hard to replicate in the “real” world. I can confidently say that (while I know I am not even close to the “influencer”-level) if I did not receive the positive affirmations of likes, comments, or followers, I would not participate in social media. I would not feel connected to the “community” and therefore, would not participate. These minuscule and truly pointless behaviors and affirmations keep me tied to the platform that can be so damaging for me. This also plays into the integration and fulfillment of needs where likes, comments, shares, and follows are an exchange of goods and resources within the social community. If someone interacts with my postings, I am much more likely to return the favor and interact with theirs. In reality, we are not exchanging anything important or valuable, but it is made important and valuable within the context of the site and “community”.

The final component of community is that of shared emotional connection, where individuals feel a sense of shared bond with others (Gruman et al., 2017). Followers do not automatically equate to friendships. Following your favorite celebrity can give a false impression of a connection with that individual that we might not feel if our interactions were kept solely to seeing them on the big screens or doing interviews. As for anyone on social media, we see deeper into their lives and can feel a sense of connection to them as a result. Unfortunately, however, the “reality” portrayed through social media is anything but. If we reserve our social connections to only those online, our sense of reality can be completely misconstrued. We see highlights, smiles, and maybe the occasional “no-makeup” selfie. Social media more often than not does not provide a true sense of emotional connection or bond that we might experience if we focus more on the actual community around us.

Writing this out, I realize even more how dangerous and deep my relationship with social media is, and cannot help but wish more information about these dangers were shared with me when I first created my social media accounts. Media literacy is so important for all of us as we attempt to navigate multiple communities across different platforms, and hopefully, it will help us to appreciate the real sense of community that we can find around us rather than seeking the fabricated version online. A whirlpool of dopamine and embellishment, social media can be an exciting outlet, but it should be used wisely and with care.

References

Gruman, J., Schneider, F., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Sage.

Hansen, K. (2022). Our social media addiction. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2022/11/our-social-media-addiction

In recent years, the internet has become a valuable resource for individuals seeking emotional support and assistance. Online platforms have emerged as safe spaces where people can find solace, share their experiences, and receive guidance from others facing similar challenges. This essay explores the benefits of seeking emotional help online, supported by evidence from reputable websites.

The internet provides a vast array of support networks that cater to different emotional needs. Websites such as 7 Cups and SupportGroups.com offer platforms where individuals can connect with others experiencing similar struggles. Online support groups allow people to share their stories, receive empathy, and gain valuable insights from others who have overcome similar challenges. A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research indicates that online support groups can significantly reduce feelings of isolation and increase emotional well-being among participants. One of the advantages of seeking emotional help online is the ability to maintain anonymity. Many individuals feel more comfortable discussing their emotions and personal experiences when their identity is protected. Online platforms provide a level of confidentiality that encourages open and honest communication. A survey conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that 80% of respondents felt more comfortable discussing their mental health online due to the anonymity it offered.

The internet’s accessibility and availability make it a convenient option for seeking emotional help. Many online platforms provide round-the-clock support, allowing individuals to connect with others and access resources whenever they need it. This accessibility is particularly beneficial for those who may be unable to access traditional forms of support due to time constraints or physical limitations. A study published in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare found that online mental health support services reduced waiting times and provided more immediate access to emotional assistance, improving overall mental well-being. The internet offers a wealth of expert guidance and resources related to emotional well-being. Websites like PsychCentral and WebMD provide comprehensive information on various mental health conditions, self-help techniques, and treatment options. These resources empower individuals to educate themselves and make informed decisions about their emotional well-being. A review article published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research highlights that online mental health resources can enhance individuals’ knowledge and self-efficacy in managing their emotional health.

The internet has revolutionized the way individuals seek emotional help, providing access to diverse support networks, anonymity, 24/7 availability, and expert guidance. The evidence presented demonstrates the benefits of seeking emotional assistance online, including reduced feelings of isolation, increased accessibility, and the empowerment of individuals to take charge of their emotional well-being. As technology continues to advance, online platforms will likely play an increasingly vital role in supporting individuals’ emotional needs

Reference:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4183915/

https://www.nami.org/Press-Media/Survey-Reports

Click to access pep21-06-02-001.pdf

I wanted to expand my thoughts from the discussion because one particular term stuck out to me from Reich’s 2010 study, “Networked Individualism” (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 331). The study found some connections were positive in that people would honor and provide support for each other, and even collaborate in pursuit of certain activities; this means that at least two of the four aspects of community were at least somewhat fulfilled. However, the study also recognized that the connections could be considered by some as superficial rather than sincere (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 331),

This is a very curious topic for me that I’d like to spend some time thinking through. On one hand, mutual emotional support and collaboration seem to be quite important when it comes to creating a sense of community. However, I still can’t shake the feeling that there is something seriously wrong with it when the boundaries and influence portions are weak (especially boundaries). The reason why I place so much emphasis on “boundaries” is that I actually believe boundaries are what generates freedom. Sounds quite paradoxical, but hear me out.

There are two parenting styles within basic psychology: The duck and the elephant. For the purpose of this conversation, I will imagine up a new one, the lizard.

1. The duck leads her brood of ducklings by swimming in front, and the ducklings have no choice but to follow her. This is not quite a “boundary,” per se, as it has no notable form whatsoever; the ducklings have what seems like a single, arbitrary line they must follow if to avoid being left behind.
2. The elephant walks behind her calf, and allows it to explore; when the calf begins to stumble into something too risky, the mother uses her trunk to save/remove the calf from the situation before they are actually harmed.
3. The lizard abandons her eggs in the wild, so the baby lizards fend for themselves once they hatch. As you may guess, a good amount of them just die instead.

The duck would be what you can call the dictatorship, or the overbearing mother who raises her child without any sense of direction. Her way is the way, so when the child grows up, it merely finds the next way to follow without question.

The elephant is the currently recognized “healthy” form of parenting. By creating clear boundaries which the calf learns not to cross, the calf is able to have total freedom within the boundaries that its mother set. This allows the calf to take calculated risks (with the knowledge of what lines it crosses at its own peril), which can allow it to develop and even surpass the mother’s own progress.

The lizard is, well, the internet. Without boundaries, we revert to what comes natural to us: Fending for ourselves. We will commit every logical fallacy possible to support our beliefs. We will subconsciously practice cognitive dissonance to preserve our self concept. We will use fundamental attribution errors to boost our own value above others. We present only the best (or subjectively most impressive) versions of ourselves in an effort to be accepted, which creates a cycle of perpetual narcissism. Everyone is right all the time because we only talk to people who are also “right”.

The lack of boundaries, to put it simply, is not freedom nor the power to create great communities; it is chaos. Combine that with a lack of influence that people can have on each other (due in part to what is described above), and you have a recipe for a totally self-centered society without anything resembling a social contract that binds us together.

That brings us to today… A world full of ever-radicalized ideologies that worsen over time, propogated by people who call for war without ever having felt the whisper of death’s wind whipping by their ears, socialism without ever having tasted the bitter bile of starvation, or capitalist prosperity without ever having watched a child in Guadalajara with three missing fingers pressing the leather on a handbag. They argue amongst themselves for their whole lives, blissfully unaware while the real-world marches on in silent agony.

Having been to the real-world and returned licking my wounds, all I can do is study and ponder; to what degree is online communication actually useful and beneficial to an evolving society? More importantly, at what cost?

Sources:

Gruman, J., Schneider, F., & Coutts, L. (Eds.) (2017). Applied social psychology. SAGE Publications, Inc, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591

Historically, support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) have gathered in church basements or other dedicated locations. Anyone with a history of addiction or a family member who has battled addictions know how important AA is in helping a recovering addict achieve and maintain sobriety. When COVID hit, in most states, gathering for an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was no longer a possibility. Recovering addicts had to find alternate ways to “go to a meeting”. This is when the importance of online communities became evident.

Online AA meetings provide the same sense of community that face-to-face meetings provide only they do so virtually (Gruman et al, 2016). They provide information and emotional support (Gruman et al, 2016) that some members would not have otherwise. These meetings may have become much more common during COVID but have continued to be important to people living with disabilities (Gruman et al, 2016) for whom mobility is a challenge.

As the wife of a recovering alcoholic, the Alcoholics Anonymous online community has been an integral part of my husband’s and my life. It allowed my husband to keep the twelve steps in his life during the pandemic. He has continued to attend meetings primarily online long after COVID. Without this virtual community, I do not know if my husband would have over two years of sobriety. For that, I am forever thankful.

References

Coutts, L. M., Gruman, J. A., & Schneider, F. W. (2016). Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Sage Publications.

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Every person thrives in a different type of environment. It would be nearly, if not completely, impossible to find two people who are a part of and enjoy the exact same environment and lifestyle. This is why I found the “Life in the City” portion of the textbook reading so interesting. This concept highlights the person-environment fit, meaning that it is important for every individual person to find the environment that is best for them so that they can thrive mentally and physically.

The Life in the City section explains how every person has a preference when it comes to where they live and spend their time. Some people choose a rural environment while others choosing urban living or suburban living. The overall idea of this section of text is how city living has effects on many people and how it can lead to being de-individuated. Furthermore, this can lead to stimulation overload and then psychological retreating. When living in a city compared to a rural area there is much more going on in the environment around you and it can become nearly impossible to pay attention to everything which is referred to as stimulation overload. For instance, i lived in Manhattan, New York City for a few months and while I was there I was having such a hard time sleeping because there was never a time of quiet. When they say New York is the city that never sleeps they really do mean that. It became very hard for me to fall asleep due to the traffic noises that continued all night long, the conversations that can be heard from the street throughout the night, and the construction that tended to begin very early in the mornings. Due to all of these factors, I was very easily overstimulated in that environment.

After only a few weeks I moved out of New York City, mostly in part to the constant overstimulation and the effects it had on my mental health. During the day, walking along the streets, there are thousands and thousands of strangers outside with you. Stores are bustling non-stop, cars and bicycles are zooming past, you constantly have to pay attention to street signs and crosswalks, etc. Manhattan is home to about 1.6 million people, and I assume that many of those people are very comfortable there and find a good sense of belonging in the city life. Yet, this is no the case for many people and that is alright. the textbook is very descriptive in explaining why finding the person-environment fit is so important. Moving out of the city and back to suburban/rural life was very beneficial for myself mentally. I found more time to relax, better sleep habits, and less stress.

Keeping yourself away from the wrong environment is crucial in order to avoid psychologically retreating. psychologically retreating can have a lot of negative effects on social skills and mental health and it is important for people to avoid this and feel happy and safe in their environments. I believe everyone is destined for a particular environmental fit and it is best when someone actively searches for their most comfortable place.

References:

Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems, edited by Jamie A. Gruman, et al., SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pensu/detail.action?docID=5945490.

When it comes to taking action during an urgent situation, you can either be a bystander or an upstander.  When a person witnesses an emergency occurring, it is natural to go into fight or flight mode.  However, in a community, you could also be someone’s hero by simply making a phone call or stepping in.  When an emergency occurs where there are multiple witnesses, but no one intervenes due to the diffusion of responsibility, it is the definition of a bystander. On the other hand, someone who recognizes an injustice or an emergency who steps up and takes action is the definition of an outstander.     This decision could result in negative consequences such as death or serious bodily harm.

The bystander effect is a social-psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer a victim help when other people are present.  This effect implies that the more people who witness an emergency or an injustice occur, the less likely that person is to receive any help or support.  In other words, if there is only one witness, the victim is way more likely to receive help and have that witness take action.  It seems logical that if someone witnesses a situation like that, they will step in, so why does the bystander effect happen, and what can we do in our communities to prevent it?  This is not to cast a perception that bystanders agree with what they are witnessing or don’t want to help. They perceive that since so many other people are involved, it is not their responsibility, and someone else will take action and help the person or persons in need.  This is referred to as the diffusion of responsibility.  Research suggests that when there are groups, the bystanders feel like they don’t have to take personal responsibility in the situation and won’t be blamed for not reacting or taking action.

Along with the diffusion of responsibility when it comes to the bystander effect is the fear of embarrassment if someone does decide to take action in a situation.  Society has become filled with judgment and ridicule; to back it up, someone is always recording.  Individuals are often worried about doing something wrong or being judged for how they are reacting to the situation.    This could lead to being embarrassed in front of others simply because they are the ones who decided to step up and try to do the right thing and help.  Another significant and layered factor in this phenomenon is group conformity.  Individuals are social creatures by nature, and it has been proven that we conform our behaviors to our group.  If no one else reacts due to fear of embarrassment or any other factor, everyone else who’s a witness will tend to conform to the same behaviors.

What can we do as a community to help reduce this effect?  It would be safe to say that most humans do not wish harm on anyone and would not sit back in an emergency and do nothing to help.  Research suggests why this phenomenon is occurring; now it’s time to fight back and implement the necessary changes to combat it.  An old cliché saying is knowledge is power.  No matter how silly the phrase is, there is truth to it.  Local and even national channels can air commercials sharing information about the bystander effect and help people gain an understanding of the effects it can have.  There is a strong chance that people do not understand the definition and how they can become upstanders and take action when needed.  Knowledge can be empowering, so helping communities understand this actually happens can help reduce the occurrence that it does—on the community level, increased public awareness and community leaders acting as role models to increase the effects of changing the social norms.  Institutionally educating our workers and students on how they can help reduce the effects and make a difference.

The bystander effect is a social psychological anomaly that can devastate people’s lives.  Humans, by nature, are empathetic and helpful to one another, so the concept itself seems illogical.  Increasing the social awareness of the problem could cause a drastic decrease in how often the bystander effect occurs.

“Bystander Effect.” Psychology Today, 1 Nov. 2022, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bystander-effect.

“Bystander Intervention Tip Sheet.” American Psychology Association, 1 Jun. 2022, www.apa.org/pi/health-equity/bystander-intervention.pdf.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed., p. 230). Sage Publications, Inc.

In reading this week’s lesson, I was brought to a sudden realization of some of the ways in which I hold myself back in the academic sphere. Particularly, under the procrastination and self-handicapping section, I found myself relating to many of the negative attitudes out of self-protection. However, I was not always this way. I used to have an excellent relationship with school and saw a direct correlation between the effort I put in and the results I would receive. I have always prided myself on being a good student and receiving good grades, and while that is still somewhat the case, I can feel how procrastination and self-handicapping are holding me back. I would like to use this blog as an opportunity to address the ways in which I allow self-handicapping to affect me today and how I can go about fixing it. Hopefully, if anyone else has experienced this, this blog can be a resource to them as well.

Self-handicapping refers to the barriers a student will use as excuses to prevent them from achieving academic success (Gruman et al., 2017). If the student fails, they have an easy extrinsic excuse to use to explain the failure, and if they somehow succeed, they feel an inflated sense of self because they managed to succeed despite the handicap (Gruman et al., 2017). I have experienced this many times. I can offer weekly examples of how self-handicapping makes its way into my academics. The action of pushing off one course for the sake of another, or for the sake of pushing off the course is referred to as procrastination (Gruman et al., 2017). With a variety of due dates popping up throughout the week, it can be difficult to prioritize which courses to dedicate time to first in order to balance each assignment and not submit multiple late. At times, decisions must be made. If two courses have due dates set for the exact same day but one offers a late policy whereas the other does not, I am automatically left to focus on the one with less leniency (and please trust me, the ones with more leniency are much appreciated for reasons past just this type of case). While procrastination is a temporary reprieve from the work to be done, papers still need to be submitted and the stress is only pushed further and longer. Any poor grades I receive are simply a reflection of the assignment being submitted late rather than my work itself. This creates a cycle of negative attitudes throughout the week as different classes are pushed to different dates and late work is juggled. How can one go about ending such a cycle?

I have a deep love for the Harvard Business Review, and as such, decided to see if they had any articles about overcoming self-handicapping to compare to the strategies outlined in our lesson. Susan David (2012) offers a couple of tips for overcoming self-handicapping and negative behaviors that combined with our lesson could give me a great plan to make it through the rest of the semester.

Her first step is watching for the warning signs (David, 2012). David (2012) stresses the importance of identifying the most common excuses made and typical distractions that keep one from succeeding at a task. In my case, this includes social media. I use social media as a typical distraction when I feel overwhelmed by multiple due dates and assignments. What feels like a few minutes of scrolling can quickly turn into hours of distraction and rabbit holes of media that keep me from being productive. I plan to mitigate this by setting time limits on apps that I cannot go past 15 minutes per day of access. This will allow me to manage my time and energy better and stop procrastinating on the completion of assignments.

David’s (2012) second tip is to focus on generating goals rather than excuses. By focusing on what factors are in my control to set goals for performance rather than looking for outside excuses for performance hindrances, I can begin to motivate myself rather than detriment myself. In my final semester of school, finding motivation has been a challenge. Recalling my final semester of high school, the feeling is not unfounded, though the stakes and investments are a bit higher at this stage. If I do not have motivation now, I need to find it quickly as the light is at the end of the tunnel and momentum cannot slow. The work I do is less of a concern at the time it is submitted. I absorb information from lessons well and understand the information, I just need to find the motivation to complete and submit assignments on time. I have begun to use extrinsic forms of motivation to combat this such as buying myself a coffee or article of clothing for every assignment that is submitted on time. I find enjoyment in learning new information, hence I am intrinsically motivated to study. I do not find enjoyment in completing assignments (unfortunately), so I am relying mainly on extrinsic factors to motivate me in this regard. This is a new intervention, so I will monitor it to decide if it is effective in motivation and adjust if necessary.

With these concepts in mind and other concepts from our lesson, my goal is to begin submitting assignments on time and focus on the factors that are within my control until I can complete my semester. Finding a balance between school, work, and health can seem nearly impossible and lead me to engage in negative self-handicapping behaviors. This is not how I want to spend my final weeks prior to graduation, so I am looking forward to applying the concepts outlined by Susan David (2012) as well as our lesson in an effort to find a more stable routine that involves more action and less juggling.

References

David, S. (2012). Don’t sabotage yourself. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2012/05/dont-sabotage-yourself

Gruman, J., Schneider, F., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Sage.

Bullying in school is something we all were a part of, whether that was getting bullied, being the bully, or simply being a bystander to it happening before us. It’s everywhere, in every school across the nation, and it’s been happening for longer than we have studies for. Bullying is a form of youth aggression that is acted out on others, often as means of coping. In this essay, I’ll be going over the other possible reasons for youth aggression and the ways in which it can be prevented. 

Bullying often occurs during middle school, ages 12-14, and decreases as they transition into high school. (Gruman, 2017). During this time, kids are going through big life changes. This can include puberty, new social groups and norms to learn, and the stress of school work. Hormonal changes can make a big impact on mental health, as this shift occurs the brain makes changes and the body is under stress as a surge of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone surge. This can lead to a feeling of unease while so many changes are being made, many kids look to fit in, as to not stand out and be ostracized, by trying to follow the descriptive norms. 

Descriptive norms are what the individual perceives to be the typical behavior, even if it is not correct. (Gruman, 2017).  Following these norms is important for teens as being an outcast or not fitting/following these perceived behaviors can result in bullying and alienation. As social groups separate farther from one another it’s easier to pick apart the opposite group/person. To help prevent this, a jigsaw classroom technique could be implemented throughout schools on a regular basis. This would help students from different backgrounds, ethnicities and social groups get together and work on a common assignment or project together. Problem solving and creating something together with a new person can help create new bonds, friendships, and empathy for this person. As more kids learn about one another and create meaningful memories, it’s more difficult to pick apart one another. 

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. 

Belief perseverance and cognitive error are two psychological phenomena that can play a significant role in racism. Belief perseverance is the tendency to stick to one’s beliefs even when faced with contradictory evidence. Cognitive error is a mental process that leads to inaccurate thinking. One way that belief perseverance can contribute to racism is by making it difficult for people to change their racist beliefs, even when they are presented with evidence that those beliefs are wrong (Baron & Byrne, 2016). For example, a person who believes that Black people are less intelligent than white people may be reluctant to change that belief, even if they see evidence that Black people perform just as well as white people on intelligence tests.

Another way that belief perseverance can contribute to racism is by making it difficult for people to recognize their own biases. For example, a person who believes that they are not racist may still hold racist beliefs without being aware of it. This can lead to them making racist decisions or statements without realizing it. Cognitive error can also contribute to racism in a number of ways. One way is through the use of stereotypes. Stereotypes are generalizations about entire groups of people that are often inaccurate and harmful (Baron, R. A., & Byrne, D. 2016). For example, the stereotype that Black people are lazy can lead to people believing that Black people are less likely to work hard, even when there is no evidence to support this belief (Pettigrew, T. F., & Meertens, R. W. 1993).

Another way that cognitive error can contribute to racism is through the use of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms one’s existing beliefs (Kruglanski, A. W., & Ajzen, I. 2009). For example, a person who believes that Black people are criminals may be more likely to notice news stories about Black people committing crimes, even if those stories are not representative of the reality of crime rates among Black people (Gilliam, F. D., & Iyengar, S. 2000).

Finally, cognitive error can also contribute to racism through the use of mental shortcuts. Mental shortcuts are heuristics or rules of thumb, that people use to make decisions quickly and efficiently. However, mental shortcuts can sometimes lead to errors in thinking. For example, the heuristic of availability bias is the tendency to base judgments on the information that is most readily available to us. This can lead to people overestimating the prevalence of stereotypes, such as the stereotype that Black people are criminals. It is important to note that belief perseverance and cognitive error are not unique to racism. They can also play a role in other forms of prejudice and discrimination. However, they are particularly relevant to racism because they can make it difficult to change racist beliefs and behaviors.

References:

Baron, R. A., & Byrne, D. (2016). Social psychology (13th ed.). Pearson.

Pettigrew, T. F., & Meertens, R. W. (1993). Attitudes: Representation, measurement, and change. Brooks/Cole.

Kruglanski, A. W., & Ajzen, I. (2009). Basic concepts in social psychology (4th ed.). Psychology Press.

Gilliam, F. D., & Iyengar, S. (2000). Prime time and prejudice: How television frames racial issues. Princeton University Press.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Do the outcomes that other people have in their lives happen because of you? It is a strange question and seems obvious at first thought. However, what if there was a chance that the belief you had towards people’s future actions caused those people to do what you thought they would? Sounds like a superpower, but it is just an example of a Self-fulfilling Prophecy. This phenomenon affects many people, from kids to adults, employees to employers, and could also explain why some of our fears come true.

To be clearer, a self-fulfilling prophecy is the effect your expectations have on someone, and how it influences that person’s behavior around you (Gruman et al., 2017, pg. 237). The outcome from these expectations can be positive or negative depending on the attitude/belief of the one holding expectations. In addition to this, this can only happen when the belief is plausible, if your expectation is your neighbor turning into a giraffe, then the outcome is you being silly. On the other hand, if your expectation is that some of your students are geniuses, and others will not make it through the end of the year, this is not only plausible, but has been put to the test.

Researchers in Germany made a study where they would measure the teacher’s expectations and their student’s current/prior achievement, to see if the teachers’ expectations would affect (or predict) the outcomes of the students’ results later in the year (Gentrup et al., 2020). The results showed that teachers usually had some inaccurate expectations, that either did not match the students’ current achievements, abilities, or prior accomplishments. When the teachers had inaccurately elevated expectations, the students would have higher grades overall in math and reading. While when the teachers had inaccurately low expectations, the students had much lower scores than compared to those with higher scores, especially in reading.

These results show how our beliefs, and in turn our actions from them, form our relationship with others and our realities. Another example of self-fulfilling prophecy affecting our perception of reality and others is the police and the communities that interact with them. On July 4th of 2023, Jadarrius Rose, a truck driver, was pursued by police officers for a missing mud flap inspection (Press, 2023). After pulling over, Rose noticed that the police had their guns drawn, in fear he drove away and called 911. After explaining to the police operator his fear of how the police were “trying to kill him” and the confusion of the drawn weapons he finally pulled over (Rosales, 2023). When he got out, with his hands up, two different forces were at the scene, one with a dog unit (Circleville police department) and another with just guns drawn (state troopers). After conflicting instructions from both the troopers and police, and the state troopers urging to then ordering the police to NOT release their hound, a police officer by the name Speakman released a hound on Rose. This one case is a prime example of how the initial guns drawn on Rose changed Rose’s behavior to match the police’s belief of him being a threat, causing Rose’s fears to come true.

To put it briefly, our expectations hold more power over our behavior and actions in accordance with others. This can be a strength that can help improve those around us, or an unintentional weapon that causes a decline in achievement or harm in worst cases. Schools, communities, and people in general should invest in interventions that take hold of this phenomenon to avoid the consequence of negative expectations and hone positive aspect Self-fulfilling prophecies can do to our reality and perception of others.

References:

Gentrup, S., Lorenz, G., Kristen, C., & Kogan, I. (2020). Self-fulfilling prophecies in the classroom: Teacher expectations, teacher feedback and student achievement. Learning and Instruction, 66, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101296

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Press, A. (2023, August 23). Charges may be dropped against black driver who was mauled by police dog while surrendering. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/charges-dropped-black-driver-mauled-police-dog-ohio-rcna101317

This week’s lesson had focal point of education and stereotypes. This blog will be dedicated to gender stereotypes across education. Gender stereotypes refer to widely held belief and expectations about the characteristics, abilities, and roles of males and females. Gender stereotypes are important to challenge as they can influence opportunities and experiences students have, leading to unequal treatment and limiting potential of students.

When individuals deviate from gender stereotypes, they may be penalized by others—especially when their behaviors are prescriptive for the opposite gender (Boutyline, Arseniev-Koehler, & Cornell, 2020). Popular gender stereotypes envision women and men as categorically distinct and hierarchically different, with men seen as more competent and higher status than women. Girls and women thus risk social sanctions for displaying leadership qualities like competence and confidence. (Boutyline, Arseniev-Koehler, & Cornell, 2020). Unfortunatley, gender sterotypes are promoted to children at a young age, making them even more rooted in the ways we perceive differences in gender. Gender stereotypes have powerful consequences for adolescents’ academic outcomes. Because of a lack of systematic repeated measures of gender stereotypes across the years (Boutyline, Arseniev-Koehler, & Cornell, 2020). With such a large effect on academics, it is so important we see a change in these dynamics across genders.

Slowly but surely efforts are being made to challenge and disrupt these stereotypes to create a more inclusive and equal education for all students. In years to come hopefully we see these barriers broken down and equal treatment among all genders.

Works Cited

Boutyline, A., Arseniev-Koehler, A., & Cornell, D. (2020). School, Studying, and Smarts:  Gender Stereotypes and Education across 80 Years of American Print Media, 1930-2009. doi:10.31235/osf.io/bukdg

I think I am  the biggest procrastinator of all time, and no I don’t think there is something wrong with me, so much so that I sometimes feel it is ingrained in my  genetic DNA and, I have passed it down to my 3 kids. t I don’t think procrastinators are lazy or irresponsible. In fact I think all creative people are procrastinators to a certain extent. Creative processes require time to think and mull over. In this day and age, we are constantly surrounded by distractions of all sorts, it’s not like we can sit in a chair like a painting of a great thinker from the past, and spend hours mulling over out thoughts. In today’s world we are on the move constantly, even if are not moving physically, we are moving mentally, continuously  trying to focus on the important, and immediate things, and trying not to get distracted with people and media bombarding us fighting to get our attention.

Take this blog as an example, I been thinking about it since Monday morning as soon as I read just a few pages of my assigned reading, from that moment on I been writing this blog constantly in my mind, while cooking, driving, brushing my teeth, it’s just putting the pen to paper or rather fingers on the key board that I am procrastinating. I don’t believe I have a choice in not procrastinating, many a times I have resisted the temptation, and did my work in advance, but I was so disappointed with it, that I ended up completely deleting it and starting again. Procrastination can work wonders for the creative endeavors, but of course I would never procrastinate for things like paying my bills, or getting ready to reach somewhere on time, or picking up my kids from school, why is that? Because delaying these things can be detrimental to me, or my loved ones, or even my self respect. Similarly I would never procrastinate in revising for an exam or a test, because it requires continuous effort in small chunks. I am also aware that deadlines are a big motivators for procrastinators like myself, if I didn’t have to publish this blog by 12 pm today, I would most probably will be still thinking about it, instead of typing, so yes there is a limit to every procrastination too, you can’t just keep procrastinating, eventually you have to make peace with your thoughts, and put pen to the paper. I don’t believe that all procrastinators are bad student, and  get bad grades, I always get reasonably good grades, and so do my kids, so yes at the ripe old age of 49, I have made peace with the fact, that I am a procrastinator, and I am proud of it.

I also think that we as parents, and educators need to go easy on, kids who struggle with procrastination, I think there is a very fine line in being irresponsible, lazy or being a perfectionist, and a procrastinator. I know that I have seen it in my kids, that it is vital for them that they are not late for their assignments, and they are extremely conscious of the fact that their teachers respect them, so what’s the harm than, if they procrastinate in finishing their work, but still hand over good quality work on time?

Coutts, L.M., Gruman, J.A. and Schneider, F.W. (2016) Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210319-why-procrastination-can-help-fuel-creativity

Procrastination is an obstacle that anyone can experience with virtually any task one faces. Someone can experience procrastination towards something they simply don’t want to do, be intimidated to do, and so on. More specifically, for students, procrastination can be the demise of their academic ambitions. It is a common hurdle for students, but it can be more difficult for some than others. For some people it could be a passing difficulty, while others struggle with it consistently. There are a couple key factors that contribute to the development of procrastination, which are the lack of intrinsic motivation and social comparison. 

Procrastination is a self-defeating strategy, and is defined as, “delaying the completion of a task or intended course of action, can be either an adaptive or maladaptive coping strategy depending on one’s reasons for engaging in it and the type of student that you are.” (Gruman, p. 226). Students frequently experience procrastination when they feel apathetic towards school. According to researchers, they have found “that procrastination is primarily a motivational issue, related to the self-regulation of behavior.” (Gruman, p. 227). A couple reasons why students procrastinate is because they feel they are not equipped to complete their assignments or they feel the assignment frankly is displeasing. Because of procrastination, students often turn in less than proficient work, submit assignments late, and in turn receive lower grades. Students fall into these effects of procrastination due to having a negative perspective on school, then believing it is pointless. If students do not become aware of the seriousness of this mindset, it is possible they can drop out of school as a result of their procrastinating tendencies. 

In order for students to overcome this self hindrance so that they can succeed in reaching their academic goals, they need to realize the root of the problem. A root problem in procrastination in academics would be that education is externally rewarding. This encourages students to be motivated by external rewards, which then is depleted rather quickly. Regarding this, researchers claim “The unintended message conveyed to students is that working on academic tasks is not interesting or is of little value, and that rewards are needed to get people to learn.” (Gruman, p. 230). It is difficult for students to become or remain motivated to stay consistent with their studies because they are not interested in the tasks or they feel the tasks are not worth doing. 

Another factor in procrastination for students is social comparison. An example, a student can have motivation for their entire academic career because they have been satisfied with their performance in grades. Problems can arise in their motivation if they get a lower score than expected and see another student excelling as they could have been. Simply, a student comparing their academics to another and seeing someone else doing better can cause them to feel less motivated. In other words, “Comparing your performance with that of your classmate, you may end up feeling bad even though the grade you received was a fairly good one.” (Gruman, p. 235). Of course, it seems almost innate to compare ourselves socially, however, it is important to make an effort towards using it in a healthy and helpful way instead of it becoming something negative. 

Overall, procrastination is something that everyone experiences, however, students should carefully monitor their time so they don’t fall victim to their own self-defeating  tendencies. They should be aware of what they need to stay motivated and what behaviors they should avoid to stay focused. The external structure of education is not ideal for students’ motivation because motivation is intrinsic. And social comparison can deplete motivation when a student is already lacking self confidence. Both intrinsic values and positive self-comparison are important to keep procrastination at bay so students can strive for success. 

References

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. 

In the film “The Blind Side,” the protagonist, Quinton, has experienced a tumultuous journey within the education system. The narrative underscores the critical significance of providing support and guidance within a team or family unit to facilitate personal growth and maximize potential. Throughout the movie, the Tuohy family exemplifies effective communication and understanding, fostering a strong bond with Michael, and emphasizing the pivotal role of trust and a sense of belonging in enhancing individual well-being and performance. 

​​In response to the challenges faced, the coach, in collaboration with Michael’s legal guardian, orchestrates a series of team-building interventions.​ These interventions include targeted Team Building Workshops, which prioritize the cultivation of trust, communication, and collaboration among team members. Additionally, engaging bonding activities, such as outdoor exercises and friendly competitions, are implemented to fortify camaraderie and establish a supportive team environment, thereby elevating teamwork, and on-field performance. 

Recognizing the importance of mental resilience in the context of football, the coach introduces interventions focused on visualization, goal setting, and stress management. These strategies are designed to bolster players’ psychological well-being, foster confidence, and improve focus, ultimately enhancing their performance and resilience during competitive play. By integrating these comprehensive team-building interventions, football teams can cultivate a unified and supportive atmosphere that nurtures effective communication, mutual respect, and a shared dedication to achieving collective success on the field. These efforts contribute significantly to the team’s overall performance, resilience, and triumph in the realm of competitive football. 

Hancock, J. L., Netter, G., Johnson, B., & Kosove, A. A. (2009). ​The blind side.​ United States; Warner Bros. Pictures.  

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). ​Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ​ed​.).​ Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 

Have you ever found yourself thinking about characters on TV as inspirational models for your efforts as a student? Perhaps Hermoine Granger, Elle Woods, the boys from Dead Poet Society. If the media has the power to influence how we perceive the world and what we think about, it has the power to make us better students. The modern student lives in a digital age where technology has become integral to their daily lives. The positive impacts of technology on education are undeniable. A student today has easy access to the internet and a plethora of online resources they can use to enhance their learning experiences like never before. 

As the world changes at a rapid speed, the education system seems stuck in the past. Yes, there have been additions in the classroom, from utilizing videos to teach a subject, interactive games to review subjects and Google Classroom. However, we can no longer deny the larger influence technology plays in the lives of students that may be interfering with the development of students if they are not used properly. Students need education on digital literacy and critical thinking suited for the 21st century. This adaptation is vital because technology is fundamentally altering the way we access and process information, collaborate, and solve problems. 

Many critics worry about the negative consequences of technology and their worries have validity if the system does not adapt. A prominent concern that comes with the digital era is the concept of self-handicapping. Self-handicapping is the idea that students adapt behaviors that make up excuses and set up barriers to protect themselves in the case of failure (Gruman et al., 2017). The digital age provides students with tools to mask their efforts and avoid academic responsibility. For example, a student might blame technological mishaps for bad grades and failure to understand the course. A student might plug a prompt into an AI platform to write an essay and turn it in without additional effort. All these harmful behaviors are made as an attempt to have a crutch to lean on when things do not go their way.

To conclude, tools like AI and the overwhelming amount of information a person comes in contact with while surfing the internet are an indicator that it is time we rethink the education system to match the demands of young minds today. We must begin to discuss and find better ways to approach education as we live in a world that does not look as it did 40 to 50 years ago. Through the correct use of technology can enhance the quality and efficiency of education. It can provide personalized learning experiences, accommodating different learning styles and paces. By integrating technology into education, we can create a more engaging and dynamic learning environment that not only prepares students for the future but also makes education more accessible and inclusive for a diverse range of learners.

References 

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Violence in the media is such a complex and important topic to consider. There is a numerous of research that examines the potential impact of violent media content on individuals, especially children and adolescents. Yes exposure to violence in media does not automatically lead to real-life violent behavior, as there are multiple factors that contribute to an individual’s behavior and attitudes. However, studies have shown that repeated exposure to violence in the media can desensitize individuals to real-life violence, which then increase aggressive thoughts and behaviors. All this lead to a distorted perception of the world. This is particularly true for young and impressionable minds, as they are still developing their understanding of social norms and consequences.

Long-term studies have shown that exposure to violent media in childhood and adolescence can predict aggressive behavior later in life. For example, a longitudinal study by Huesmann et al. (2003) found that childhood exposure to media violence was associated with higher levels of aggression in adulthood.It’s worth mentioning that the media landscape has evolved significantly, with various platforms and forms of entertainment now available. Parents and caregivers play a crucial role in guiding children’s media consumption, helping them understand and critically evaluate the content they are exposed to. Setting age-appropriate limits, discussing the potential impact of violent media, and encouraging media literacy skills can all help children navigate the media landscape more responsibly.

Research has also shown that exposure to violent media can lead to desensitization, where individuals become less emotionally responsive to real-life violence (Funk et al. 2004). Desensitization can lead to no remorse or no feelings when others are getting harmed or violence is occurring. It may also diminish empathy for others suffering or a blurring of the line between fantasy and reality.  The media does also have cognitive effect on children the constant exposure to violent media can interfere with a child’s cognitive development. Excessive focus on violent content may reduce attention span, impair critical thinking, and mess with children problem-solving abilities

In conclusion, while violence in the media can have potential negative effects, it’s essential to approach this topic a certain way. By promoting media literacy, responsible consumption, and thoughtful content creation, we are able to  help mitigate the potential impact of violence in the media and foster a more positive and informed media culture.

References

Click to access EJ1186998.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393354/

Think about this instance:

Its 1pm: You think to yourself I’ll start my assignment at 1:30pm

You go to TikTok watch some reels.

You go to Instagram to check what’s on the stories section.

You go to Facebook to look at new updates on your family and friends life

Looking at the time you see its: 1:45pm

You think oh well, I’ll just start at 2pm then…

This continues on and on… until the final hours of the time a person has for the assignment must be submitted.

What is Procrastination? A lot of students fall under this, and it is the delay in doing a task and it depends on the reason for using it and what kind of student you are; it can be an adaptive or maladaptive coping mechanism (Gruman et al., 2016). There are two types of people based on our book that do procrastinate: (1) one of them is that they take pleasure in working under pressure to meet the deadline, making them pull an “all nighter” (2) The other is that the person with a task is afraid of failing they don’t know how to complete a task it is unpleasant to them to finish the assignment (Gruman et al., 2016).

Self-regulation is linked to Procrastination; task management, planning, and completion depend on one’s capacity for self-regulation of behavior and motivational factors (Gruman et al., 2016). There is a negative view of students dealing with this. Research by Hailikari et al. (2021) has shown it is associated with lower academic performance, more stress, and a lack of mental health—individuals who deal with this need to work on self-regulation, as the long term can be harmful. For example, more stress, low quality of work, relationship complications regarding their schedule messing up their plans with others, and even health issues can arise due to the high-stress level. 

But how do we procrastinate? Nowadays, we are in our digital era. The internet is to inspect this phenomenon on the issue. One study found that in part due to their design features that encourage immersion and continual interaction, it lures them into digging deeper into the media (Alblwi et al., 2021). An example is if let’s call this girl Erika, she does her assignments and submits them just in time for the deadline to close. How did she get there? She was using her phone, scrolling through Instagram or watching YouTube videos on her phone. She sets up a timer that in 10 minutes she start, but it never happens until it is stretching close to the deadline. Luckily, she made it on time with a few seconds to spare. The internet can be good and bad. It’s just the time management of how a person can behave and have self-control.

So, what can we do? One could be to set a realistic goal; this can be I’ll read a couple of chapters in (How to Stop Procrastinating: Tips and Techniques for Overcoming Procrastination, 2023). Two can be do something in your list that is the easiest; if you can’t do your primary assignment, what is a small step into tackling your task? The action can be reading the lessons on the site or researching the topic. Another could be a change in your environment, such as working in your bedroom and switching it to a place that wouldn’t distract you from what you need to complete, so find a quiet place that can help you be in a better state of mind (Bokari & Larson, 2021). 

Resources:

(1) Alblwi, A., McAlaney, J., Al-Thani, D., Phalp, K., & Ali, R. (2021). Procrastination on social

media: predictors of types, triggers and acceptance of countermeasures. Social Network Analysis

and Mining, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-021-00727-1

‌ (2) Bokari , D., & Larson, J. (2021, April 20). 5 Ways to Stop Procrastinating. Mechanical and

(3) Biomedical Engineering; Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering.

://www.boisestate.edu/coen-mbe/2021/04/20/5-ways-to-stop-procrastinating/

(4) Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.).

SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353968

(5) Hailikari, T., Katajavuori, N., & Asikainen, H. (2021). Understanding procrastination: A case of

a study skills course. Social Psychology of Education, 24(2), 589–606.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09621-2

(6) Jones, I. (2021). Year two: Effect of procrastination on academic performance of undergraduate

online students. Research in Higher Education Journal, 39.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1293903.pdf

(7) How to Stop Procrastinating: Tips and Techniques for Overcoming Procrastination – Solving

Procrastination. (2023). Solvingprocrastination.com. https://solvingprocrastination.com/how-to

stop-procrastinating/

‌

We all perform some sort of cognitive errors within our own lives and certainly have in the past more than once. We can investigate our own belief systems and explain, at least in part, why people perform, behave, and interact in a certain way in certain situations. Cognitive errors, by definition, are thoughts and beliefs that usually cause predictable actions and outcomes during interactions with others or while making judgments (Smith, 2016).

The first type of cognitive error is Fundamental Attribution Error. This is where an individual makes judgments based on a person’s internal characteristics or their feelings about the person themselves, while not considering outside causes for the behavior (Smith, 2016). A simple example of this is if one of your classmates shows up late to a class. You attribute the tardiness to laziness, or that she was likely out late last night partying instead of preparing for class. She, in fact, had a flat tire on the way to school and had to speak with her parents before class to solve an issue. You would be committing Fundamental Attribution Error by concentrating on personal characteristics of a person and weighing them more heavily than situational factors. Most people believe that they are less likely to perform Fundamental Attribution Error because they believe they do not judge a person harshly and take all factors into account (Smith, 2016). To overcome this type of error, one should gain additional information regarding the situation, make a conscious effort to overcome the error, and delve into the true motivations behind a person’s behavior (Smith, 2016).

The second type of Cognitive Error is Belief Persistence. Belief Persistence is where people discredit, ignore or give less weight to information that does not confirm, or further their own beliefs (Smith, 2016). One easy example of this is having a favorite teacher for class and believing what they teach you despite later revelations that these topics taught were later proven false or outdated. The same would go with students who overestimate their own future performance despite poor past performance. You can also see this in students who take a subject once and believe that knowledge of a specific topic or subject will result in elimination of a certain belief. Only after a person is repeatedly exposed to extensive information that does not coincide with their beliefs does any real change even start to occur (Smith, 2016). Simply being open-minded and embracing alternative theories minimizes the risk of Belief Persistence and facilitates intellectual growth (Smith, 2016).

The final type of Cognitive Error is Social Categorization. This type of error essentially sorts people into categories and pits groups against one another based on “social characteristics” (Smith, 2016). We see this in school as evidenced by the “us vs. the teachers” mentality, or “my clique vs. your clique”. Even students, who were divided into groups randomly, rated members of their own group higher in pre-selected characteristics than the other group’s members (Smith, 2016). Social Categorization error is partially due to out-group homogeneity bias (Smith, 2016). This bias means that when we look at a certain group, outside of our own, we tend to think of their members as a single unit, with almost identical characteristics and traits, which is obviously not the case (Smith, 2016). The most influential emotion that all participants felt while performing Social Categorization bias and out-group homogeneity bias was anger (Smith, 2016). To combat this, interaction and communication between socially different groups should be fostered to create a positive foundation. Also, if the problem to be solved is more important than any group or individual outcome, then that encourages cooperation and reduces negative attitudes (Smith, 2016).

While Cognitive Error can be difficult to overcome, it is not impossible. All we need is conscious effort by individuals and groups to be both inclusive of others and mindful of their own beliefs and shortcomings. People need to view others as their equals and partners in learning and achievement rather than as adversaries. Cooperation and communication are essential in overcoming Cognitive Errors both in the workplace and in society at large.

References

Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems, edited by Jamie A. Gruman, et al., SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pensu/detail.action?docID=5945490.

Smith, R. (2016). Applying Social Psychology to the Classroom [Review of Applying Social Psychology to the Classroom]. ProQuest Ebook Central; SAGE Publications, Incorporated. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pensu/reader.action?docID=5945490&ppg=452

‌

Although the national dropout rate has significantly declined from 2005-2021, dropping from 12.5% to 5.8% (Iriondo, 2023), we can still do better.  There is an old saying that the children are our future.  Why are we willing to stand back and let 5.8% of our future generations fall behind and not succeed?  The argument can be made that it’s their choice or not everyone can be saved.  However, isn’t it also our nation’s responsibility to step up and help our troubled youth?  As they are still minors or children under eighteen, why is it so accepted in our societies to not do something more about it?

Research shows several common reasons why so many youths drop out of school.  Reasons that are based on Individual factors, family factors, school factors, or community factors. Many potential dropouts can struggle with a lack of future orientation, not seeing their potential to be something great and rise above their current situation.  This can lead to low attendance rates and lower levels of academic achievement.  These factors are layered in with the institutional factors such as lack of learning opportunities for the student or standardized learning plans for all students. Suppose a student faces academic challenges to overcome daily, mixed with the blurred perception of their future and the potential family and community factors; Why should they feel compelled to earn their high school diploma?

Another old saying is that it takes a village to raise a child; we need the villagers’ help to overcome the nation’s dropout rate.  When high-risk youth were asked what they didn’t like about going to school, most of the answers were what could be expected. However, some answers are incredibly insightful to the national average of dropouts.  Many adolescents who are unengaged in school don’t necessarily have a disciplinary problem, even though it may come across as such; they are just that, unengaged.  Most schools have a curriculum that is taught to the majority of students.  This is an ironic thought that this would work when we know that not all children learn the same.  What would happen if we gave the students their autonomy back and allowed them to have a say in what classes they will attend?  Everyone would win if students, especially high-risk students, could learn in an intrinsically oriented institution (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 230).  Intrinsically motivated students are not there for rewards or recognition but are genuinely engaged in learning the curriculum or task.

Where do the villagers come in?  Many corporations donate money to schools to help or show their support.  What if they donated their time or knowledge instead?  If a disengaged student only wanted to play video games, is someone in the community willing to run an after-school program about video game programming (YouTube TEDx Talks, 2016, 6:40:00)?  If a youth kept skipping school because he wanted to be a rapper.   Is there a local artist who would donate their time after school to work with the students?  Sometimes, to come up with a solution, we need to think outside the box but get back to basics.  Even though they are minors, their opinions on their education and life trajectory matter; these programs have been implemented in schools, with the community’s help, drastically improving their high-risk students. Attendance and engagement rates.  They come to school with fresh eyes because they have their autonomy back and feel heard and seen.  The village stepped up and is working together to save their youth who are getting lost and need a helping hand to find their way.  Ultimately, the business donating their time could be training one of their future employees and helping get their life back on track in the same step.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed., p. 230). Sage Publications, Inc.

Iriondo, J. (2023, June 8). Census Bureau Releases School Enrollment Report. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/school-enrollment-report.html

Smink, J. (2013, February 1). A Proven Solution for Dropout Prevention: Expanded Learning Opportunities. Expanding Minds and Opportunities. https://www.expandinglearning.org/expandingminds/article/proven-solution-dropout-prevention-expanded-learning-opportunities

[YouTube TEDx Talks]. (2016, April 18). Hands-on-Projects: The key to reducing dropout rates [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bENGE5GguQI

Media and violence research started back in the 1960s; growing up in an environment with violence raises the danger of them acting violently, diverse media, such as the internet, video games and social media, enhance the risk of violent behavior on the part of the viewer (Huesmann, 2007)—seeing that nowadays. There is roughly an estimate that 90% of movies include some portrayals of violence, and 68% of video games, 60% of TV shows, and 15% of music videos show violence ‌(Media and Violence: An Analysis of Current Research, 2013). 

Though numerous factors can influence how much violent media affects the watchers. Factors such as age, intelligence, and aggressiveness when the child perceives the media as realistic and identifies with the aggressive characters and their environment (Media and Violence: An Analysis of Current Research, 2013). These factors interplay and cause effects on individuals who are susceptible to the impact of violence to the youth. Media can indeed form attitudes and behavior to the youth; knowing this, we can prevent a bad-case scenario from happening.  

When discussing the consequences of watching violence in the media, what happens to people who get paranoid and scared afterwards? Some children become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others in the media; the children become fearful of the world they live in, and children are more likely to behave aggressively towards others (American Psychological Association, 2013). The fact that watching more violent TV as a teenager did not predict being disruptive as a child raises the possibility that TV viewing may be the root cause rather than the result of aggressive behavior.

What else could happen when watching violent media? Could it be fear as well? Using the cultivation theory, which is the heavy exposure to media, it would be the primary socializing agent in today’s society (Gruman et al., 2016). That is how a person would learn about their world. One of the penalties of media violence is that people begin to see the world as more dangerous and mean (Gruman et al., 2016). Just recently, I saw some violent clips taken and put on TikTok on violence on Asians in the America. It makes me hesitant to go in fear of what if that may happen to me? Its hard to separate the occurrences of what happened in the videos and what can happen in real life. 

Besides the fear, what can be done about the number of violent media affecting children? One can be public awareness. Educating the parents and the children about the issues a child may face when watching these types of shows can be a direct way to lessen the violent shows, movies and so on for the child’s sake. Having rating shows is also a way to identify what media is too much for a child. Respecting the rated “R-16 and PG-13 or R-18” movies should just be given to those allowed to watch that movie as it has been reviewed already. I know this comes off as censoring, but it is for the time being. Children are impressionable and can be swayed to a certain point. I also think communicating the reasons to the child would be most effective as you are telling them the truth and being honest. In addition, it helps clear out concerns and misinformation in the media.

Resources:

• American Psychological Association. (2013). Violence in the media: Psychologists study potential harmful effects. Https://Www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/video-games/violence-harmful-effects
• ‌Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353968
• Huesmann, L. R. (2007). The Impact of Electronic Media Violence: Scientific Theory and Research. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), S6–S13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.005
• ‌ Media and Violence: An Analysis of Current Research. (2013). https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/media-and-violence-research-brief-2013.pdf

On the 17th of October around 19:00 in Gaza City, a local hospital al-Ahli Hospital had been struck that caused a blast that would kill hundreds of civilians (Reuters, 2023). This goes against several of the Geneva Convention Articles, all that discuss the protection of citizens, hospital and safety zones, as well as hospital staff and patients (American Red Cross, 2011). The ongoing conflict in Gaza has come full center as an attack from the organization Hamas had caused the death of around 1400 Israelis (BBC News, 2023). Following this attack, IDF have been barraging Gaza City, targeting as many believed Hamas outposts as is known (BBC News, 2023). These IDF air strikes have caused the death of numerous amounts of civilian casualties including multiple healthcare workers and UN colleagues (Shamdasani, 2023). This most recent attack has had major conflicting reports on who was responsible for the al-Ahli Hospital attack, with both the IDF and Israeli government, as well as leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad claiming that the others are responsible for the attack. The coverage of the event, and other events that have been taken place continue to dismiss the reality of the situation; civilians are being killed under the guise of warring against terrorism, a very familiar practice that has been going on for over several decades (Jaffee, 2016, p. 490).

But how is the media presenting these incidents? Comparing the least biased sources with sources with a left or right biased source there are some considerable differences. American media outlets are either outwardly supporting Israel like Fox News or are keeping a more “both sides are bad” approach like CNN (Herb, 2023; Richard et al., 2023). Reuters, one of the least biased resources has been giving basic facts without going into detail or referencing potential opinionated material, which is good, but it fails to include viewpoints from different angles and waters down the conflict (Al-Mughrabi, 2023). Compare this to how international news has been discussing the conflict in a more center left to left aspect. Al Jazeera, while not the most reliable source, is very pro-Palestine and has not been holding back on presenting all information that puts the IDF and Israel in the negative light (Al Jazeera, 2023). One thing similar among the left sources is the general supporting of Palestine. This does not mean that they are supporting Hamas or Islamic Jihad, but rather the Palestinian people who are stuck in between this conflict (Ganguly et al., 2023). Unfortunately, all that most sources have been discussing is who’s in the wrong, and not enough on the people impacted.

Mainstream news outlets continue to issue frames and appeal to the specifics of this conflict, without disseminating the nitty gritty of what is happening. When they discuss killing and destroying, they discuss it in a somewhat desensitized way, believing that these things are “just what happens”. Throughout the imagery surrounding the Global War on Terrorism, death and destruction was so mainstreamed and apparent that thinking of Iraq and Afghanistan as anything other than a wasteland felt unreal (Achter, 2016, pp. 1-2). With a westernized focus on the conflict in Palestine, westerners are coming face to face with the realities of the situation, and its comparative situations witnessed for two decades. To think of a military force as doing anything but issuing “justice” to the enemy is foreign. Seeing the IDF airstrike potential Hamas and Islamic Jihad areas reminds the western viewer of how we targeted terrorist organizations as well and decimated them. Regardless of the civilian lives taken, the US was never in the wrong for the average “Patriot” (Achter, 2016, pp. 4-5). Now, without engaging in large western media outlets, the viewer/reader must look at the travesties occurring upon the civilian population. The sources of media that many people get their information from come from Instagram and TikTok. Raw, unedited, real-time footage from the airstrikes is being shown globally. There is no narrative, no headline, no bias, just raw, uninhibited carnage. These are no longer terrorists and enemies. These are women, children, the average person, engaged in the worst times of their lives.

We had the luxury of disengaging with the Global War on Terror if you didn’t serve in the wars (Achter, 2016, pp. 1-2). We were able to play video games where anyone who spoke Arabic was an enemy to kill (Mirrlees & Ibaid, 2021, pp. 38-39). Where anti-westernization was paramount, and where hating errorism reigned, where only weaponized democracy could save them. For years media has been desensitizing violence towards Arabs and Muslims (Mirrlees & Ibaid, 2021, p. 35). In hopes that these same attitudes would be had towards Palestinians by heightening Hamas and Islamic Jihad in place of the citizens of Palestine, an extensive campaign to support and uplift Israel has been had. What occurred in Israel was a travesty, and an unfortunate reaction coming from a people who, due to their conditions, had radicalized and reacted. To believe that an outright onslaught from the IDF is permissible is treacherous, and many people globally have waded through misinformation to understand that what is occurring in Palestine is completely unethical and pseudo-extermination.

What about the hospital? Who do we blame? We blame NATO, EU, and the UN for pressing misinformation, whilst simultaneously being nonreactive to war crimes happening from an established military, one that is liberally funded by the three. It has become increasingly difficult for major media corporations to be able to sway the narrative, and sling to social media outlets as an attempt to broaden their reach. There is an immense amount of misinformation spread daily from all over several social media platforms, including those coming from these major media outlets. It has become increasingly difficult to believe any news that is presented anywhere, and if people are not looking at live coverage from the citizens, they are being misled in some fashion through fringe media outlets who thrive off the disinformation. This is a time for people to demand accuracy in reporting, in information, and in nonbiased media. It is also imperative that we reexamine bias, considering the least biased sources still refrain from presenting information regarding human lives. When we allow the social psychological manipulation of media, we become complicit to atrocities that occur globally.

References

Achter, P. (2016). Rhetoric and the permanent war. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 102(1), 79–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/00335630.2016.1135544

Al Jazeera. (2023, October 18). What is Israel’s narrative on the Gaza hospital explosion? Israel-Palestine Conflict News | Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/18/what-is-israels-narrative-on-the-gaza-hospital-explosion

Al-Mughrabi, N. (2023, October 18). Hundreds said killed in Gaza hospital blast, protests erupt. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/diplomats-renew-calls-gaza-aid-iran-warns-israel-2023-10-16/

American Red Cross. (2011). Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Their Additional Protocols. In American Red Cross, International Humanitarian Law.

BBC News. (2023, October 19). Israel Gaza war: History of the conflict explained. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396

Ganguly, M., Graham-Harrison, E., Morresi, E., Kirk, A., Swan, L., & Burke, J. (2023, October 20). Al-Ahli Arab hospital: piecing together what happened as Israel insists militant rocket to blame. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/18/al-ahli-arab-hospital-piecing-together-what-happened-as-israel-insists-militant-rocket-to-blame

Herb, J. (2023, October 19). Between 100 and 300 believed killed in Gaza hospital blast, according to preliminary US intelligence assessment. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/19/politics/us-intelligence-assessment-gaza-hospital-blast/index.html

Jaffee, L. (2016). The materiality of virtual war: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the disabling effects of imperialism. Policy Futures in Education, 14(4), 484–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478210316637971

Mirrlees, T., & Ibaid, T. (2021). The virtual killing of Muslims: digital war games, Islamophobia, and the global war on terror. Islamophobia Studies Journal, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.13169/islastudj.6.1.0033

Reuters. (2023, October 18). Gaza hospital blast: what we know about the explosion. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-hospital-blast-what-we-know-about-explosion-2023-10-18/

Richard, L., Hagstrom, A., Casiano, L., & Pritchett, E. (2023, October 18). Israel continues to issue evacuation warnings in northern Gaza, hundreds killed in hospital blast. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/october-17-2023-israel-hamas-war

Shamdasani, R. (2023, October 17). Latest: Occupied Palestinian Territory/Israel. OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2023/10/latest-occupied-palestinian-territoryisrael

In 2006 statistics of pornography, it is said that every second $3,075.64 was being spent on pornography, and in every second 28,258 internet users were viewing pornography, and in that same second 372 internet users were typing adult terms into search engines, and every 39 minutes a new pornographic video was being created (Ropelato, 2014). Since then, pornography has only gotten bigger, and in 2023 it is estimated that between 50-99% of men indulge in porn consumption and 30-68% of women (Lampe, 2023). With such high rates of pornography consumption, it is quite the wonder how these statistics effect our personal relationships. This blog will provide a basis of understanding to the effects that pornography consumption is having on relationships.

First and foremost, it is important to understand the relationship between porn and our brain. When we enjoy an experience, taste, feeling, etc. dopamine the neurotransmitter for our reward center is activated. To put this in a way that is easy to understand, when you have your favorite piece of candy domain shortly increases baseline by 50%, when you have sex, it increases baseline by two times (Lampe, 2023). It is likely that the act of pornography is extremely similar to this two-time baseline increase. The problem occurs when repeated use occurs, and this high dopamine release makes it more difficult to do so in other interactions to be equal or higher than pornography consumption (Lampe, 2023). Overall, this can lead to issues in a relationship when one cannot enjoy the physical feelings due to a sense of numbness created by overconsumption of pornography. This can lead to lack of excitement, arousal and overall dopamine release.

Pornography can lead to unrealistic expectations in relationships, as well as strong sexual urges, infidelity, and decreased intimacy. In some cases, it could lead to infidelity. It is important to note that if individuals learn from observation, and pornography often is of fictitious scripts including infidelity, aggression, etc., wouldn’t you be led to believe that pornography can certainly have negative effects on your behavior? The sexual script theory theorizes that sex and relationships are informed by sexual scripts—cultural and interpersonal cues about normative sexual behavior (Rasmussen, Millar, & Trenchuk, 2018). So, when pornography viewers see sexual abuse, aggression, etc. on websites, they could very well be led to believe that this is how their behaviors should be during sexual encounters. A study done on the content of 190 pornographic videos concluded that only 9.7% of sexually implicit videos portray committed relationships, and 25.3% of videos portrayed infidelity (Rasmussen, Millar, & Trenchuk, 2018). Nearly twice the amount.

Overall, it is likely that behavior learned in pornographic videos can overflow into real life relationships. Ultimately, destroying intimacy and commitment. Additionally, there a notable change in dopamine levels that with repeated occurrence make it more difficult to reach such levels. Leading to lack of enjoyment in real relationships and during sexual encounters.

Works Cited:

Lampe, K. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.brainmatters.nl/en/pornography-a-closer-look/

Rasmussen, K. R., Millar, D., & Trenchuk, J. (2018). Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-018-9574-7

Ropelato, J. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ministryoftruth.me.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/tmbvsburzynski.pdf

Social media’s impact on self-esteem is a complex and multifaceted issue. Research has shown that the relationship between social media use and self-esteem can be influenced by various factors, including individual characteristics, the nature of one’s online interactions, and the platforms themselves. While social media can have both positive and negative effects on self-esteem, the overall consensus suggests that it can indeed impact self-esteem.

Firstly, social media can positively impact self-esteem by providing a platform for self-expression and social connection. Engaging with social media can help individuals showcase their achievements, talents, and experiences, leading to increased self-esteem. For instance, receiving likes, comments, or positive feedback on posts can boost self-esteem by providing validation and a sense of belonging (Vogel, Rose, Roberts, & Eckles, 2014). Moreover, social media can offer opportunities for individuals to join communities with shared interests and experiences, potentially enhancing their self-esteem by reducing feelings of social isolation (Perloff, 2014).

On the flip side, social media can negatively impact self-esteem. One common concern is the cultivation of social comparison. People often curate their online presence to highlight their best moments, which can lead to upward social comparison, where individuals compare themselves to others they perceive as more successful or attractive (Tiggemann & Slater, 2014). Such comparisons can lower self-esteem, particularly when individuals feel they fall short in comparison to their peers. Additionally, cyberbullying and online harassment can severely damage self-esteem, as they involve negative interactions and criticism that can harm an individual’s self-worth (Wright et al., 2016).

It is important to note that the impact of social media on self-esteem can vary depending on individual factors. People with pre-existing vulnerabilities, such as low self-esteem or mental health issues, may be more susceptible to the negative effects of social media (Primack et al., 2017). Therefore, it is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. The extent to which social media influences self-esteem will depend on personal characteristics and how individuals navigate and perceive their online experiences.

In conclusion, social media does have an impact on self-esteem, with the potential for both positive and negative effects. It can enhance self-esteem through self-expression and social connection but can also harm self-esteem through social comparison and online harassment. The influence of social media on self-esteem is complex and can vary greatly depending on individual differences and the nature of one’s online interactions. As social media continues to play a significant role in our lives, it is crucial for individuals to be mindful of how they engage with it and to promote positive and supportive online environments.

References:

Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social media effects on young women’s body image concerns: Theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles, 71(11-12), 363-377.

Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Sidani, J. E., Whaite, E. O., Lin, L. Y., Rosen, D., … & Colditz, J. B. (2017). Social media use and perceived social isolation among young adults in the U.S. PLOS ONE, 12(8), e0182145.

Tiggemann, M., & Slater, A. (2014). NetGirls: The Internet, Facebook, and body image concern in adolescent girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(6), 630- 641.

Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206-222.

Wright, M. F., Wachs, S., Morrison, K. L., et al. (2016). Adolescents’ experiences of and responses to online and face-to-face bullying: An examination of psychosocial and physical health outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(3), 305-311.

This week we have learned about the damaging effects of violent media, even though violence is in almost every single show and movie you see on tv or in theaters today. Although not a huge fan of the fighting and the gore, I love being scared, whether through tv shows and movies or even better, a good haunted house. Typically those types of media have some sort of a violence factor to them. So the question I have is when is it too young to be allowing our children or adolescents to view certain media, and do the age restrictions on movies and tv-shows actually have a valid reason for doing so? 

According to our textbook around 2/3 of all children’s shows contain violence ( Gruman et al., 2017). If this is the case then is it better to try and avoid the inevitable or should we allow our children to get the exposure? According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry American children watch an average of 4 hours of TV a day, leaving a lot of opportunity for violent viewing (AACAP, 2017). There have been numerous studies done on media violence with children and teenagers and the findings have been the same with that they can become immune to the horror and violence, they can start to believe violence is a way to solve problems, and they can even imitate the characters they have seen doing the violent acts. Now we know that tv-shows and movies provide us with some guidelines on how old someone should be when viewing the specific content. These are not only made to provide security to the companies releasing the media, but it is for the health of those viewing as well. 

So when is a good age to allow a child to view any kind of violent content, or maybe not allow it, but to be less restrictive? According to Tufts Medical Center, you should never allow a child who is under the age of 13 view a rated R movie, show, or game. Now rated R is not for anyone under the age of 17, but between the ages of 13-16 this is a very sensitive time and a time of maturity and the information that is being taken in at this pivotal point is very important (TMC, n.d.). Although violence is almost impossible to not view in the media it is still important to be aware of the consequences of age and exposure. 

References:

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.  

n/a, A. (2017). TV Violence and Children. TV violence and children. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-And-TV-Violence-013.aspx 

n/a, T. (n.d.). Movies (R-rated): Protecting your child. Tufts Medical Center Community Care. https://hhma.org/healthadvisor/pa-rrmov-hhg/  

The authors of the chapter focus their attention on pornography and the consequential attitudes associated with viewing pornography. As there were experimental designs discussed, we can infer causation of differences in attitudes from viewership which leads to the question: is it such a bad thing if attitudes are different?

The contrast in attitudes is between what the authors describe as family values wherein there is a familial love and that is where the ideology implies is where sex belongs. On the other hand, the shift away from family values disregards the family centered ideology and toward a more selfish (not in a bad way, I would argue) view of sex that is fulfilling needs without forming an emotional connection.

The authors specifically refer to a study completed by Zillman and Bryant (1986) who found that compared to those who watched not pornographic videos, men and women who watched pornography for the study reported being less sexually satisfied, more accepting of myths (that were not explained in the chapter) related to health risks of sexual repression, more accepting of nonexclusive sexual intimacy, more accepting of premarital and extramarital sexual intimacy, and judged the importance of being faithful (also not explained) as less important. They went on to add these people also reported wanting fewer children (pp. 174).

Are these shifts in attitude morally wrong or are they sex positive? Are they a negative consequence of viewing pornography or are they more accepting of lifestyles that do not play by the Puritanical rules for sexual behavior? Sex positivity is explained as not a promotion of sex, but an ideology of acceptance that experiences and interests should be able to be explored without judgement (“Sex-Positivity,” 2023). It is my belief that this section of the chapter read as overtly not sex-positive and instead in a slut-shaming tone. Goblet and Glowacz (2021) define slut shaming as “the stigmatization of an individual based on his or her appearance, sexual availability, and actual or perceived sexual behavior” (p. 15). With theses definitions in mind, I would like the reader to consider the following example, the definition and explanation offered for nonviolent pornography by Ewoldsen and Roskos (2017)

… is nonaggressive explicit sexual activity typically among casual acquaintances. Neither men nor women are ported as having feelings of compassion and empathy… let alone self-respect. Instead, participants are portrayed as having one primary interest – satisfying their sexual desires and fantasies… (pp. 171)

Again, I would ask the reader, is this an unbiased definition/explanation of the concept? I would argue that it is biased against those who see sex as a basic human need, be it between a married couple or a pair who just met at a bar. Of course, the reader can make their own interpretation of the highlighted information and the section overall. I would urge the reader to consider if the shift in attitudes is as negative as it is framed by the authors and form their own conceptualization of acceptance of others’ experiences, interests, and actions.

References

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017) Applying Social Psychology to the Media. In Ewoldsen, D., & Roskos, B. (Eds.), Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (pp. 155-188). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591

Goblet, M., & Glowacz, F. (2021). Slut shaming in adolescence: A violence against girls and its impact on their health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126657

Sex-Positivity. (2023). Sexuality Education Resource Centre MB. https://serc.mb.ca/sexual-health-info/the-basics/what-is-sexuality/sex-positivity/

Violence in TV and video games can cause people to imitate violent acts they’ve seen by increasing their ‘repertoire’, so to speak. It rewards people for being violent, and also has a very subtle effect of pushing people to choose violent behaviors when they could have made better choices (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 170).

According to Cultivation Theory, heavy exposure to TV is a primary socializing agent, which means that people learn their schemas and view of the world through it. This means that the exposure to violence, stereotypical portrayals of women and races, as well as materialistic advertisements, affect heavy watchers subliminally and that they tend to view the world as more dangerous or hostile than light watchers (Gruman et al., 2017, p. 169).

This does bring up a curious thought in me, however. Could this be a reason why police officers seem prone to violence or ego posturing rather than law enforcement? Could this also be a reason why the defense and intelligence community is increasingly hypersensitive?

As a defense contractor, I’m often shown the effects and aftermaths of war. We are constantly interacting with people who have seen true atrocity, and in some cases, we experience it ourselves as a fact of our career choices. It is possible that our exposure due to the nature of our jobs is a part of why we are slightly more prone to violent thoughts or behaviors. It would be interesting to see the effects of having served in the military or as law enforcement on the way that these people see the world.

I, for one, believe the world to be a dark, horrible place that is buffered only by civilian society’s ignorance of what it takes to create their comfort and perceived freedoms. Could my worldview have been in part the creation of my exposure to the violence of war?

Sources:

Today, we as a society across the world consume media in what seems to be at all times of the day. Whether we see a TV at home, at work, at a restaurant, a gas station, etc., it is always around us. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing until we realize what kind of material is being showcased to us. How often is it that we see an act of violence? In real life or in the media? Of course there is a big difference between the two but there still are effects on us from being exposed to that image in the media more than we realize. Studies have shown that watching television violence has effects in people such as increase in aggression and increase in violent crimes such as homicides. 

There was a quasi-experimental study conducted in 1973 which took place in “Notel,” Canada. Children were analyzed after being exposed to television for the first time in their lives. The results throughout the experiment in this town were compared to two other towns “Unitel”  and “Multitel” which had both already been exposed to television before Notel was. After the comparison of  “both before and two years after the introduction of TV to Notel” (Gruman, pg. 159) the analysis was concluded. They found that “rates of both physical aggression and verbal aggression increased dramatically in Notel children after the introduction of TV.” (Gruman, pg. 160). This study displayed regular TV of its time and not just violence, however, the amount of violence within regular TV broadcasting still resulted in increased aggression in children. 

Another quasi-experimental study on TV violence effects was conducted by Centerwall in 1989. They had compared the U.S. and Canada’s early exposure to TV from the 1950’s  to South-Africa being introduced to TV in 1975. Their study had shown that “following the introduction of TV in each of these three countries, the homicide rates remained fairly constant for roughly 10-12 years, but then doubled by the 15th year.” (Gruman, pg.160). They claim that TV was responsible for this increase in homicides in these three countries. And their answer for the 15 year gap in the doubling of homicides is “the effect of the introduction of TV on violent homicides may have been delayed until children who were 3 or 4 years old when TV was introduced were old enough to be committing acts of violence – typically in their late adolescent years – approximately 15 years after the introduction of TV.” (Gruman, pg.160). However, Ceneterwall did overestimate the responsibility TV had on the homicides and did not consider factors that could have changed the results. Nonetheless, I still believe this experiment provides proficient evidence of TV violence having the influence on people committing a violent crime like homicide. 

In conclusion, these studies have shown that TV influences people’s actions after they have been exposed to it. We have seen from the experiment in Notel that TV promotes increases of aggression in children. And we see the later effects of that in Centerwall’s experiment in South-Africa where children are exposed to TV and in later life they double the amount of homicides when they are old enough to be physically able to commit those crimes. These quasi-experiments have proof that the violence in TV influences people to be more aggressive and more violent. 

References

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

The Internet age has made it easier for us to flirt online and more difficult to do so in person. Of course, this has a great impact on human behavior for the formation of the modern family. In previous generations, finding a partner was a subject that required a certain amount of art, even more complicated for those who were more shy. New technologies allow those who are not so attractive in the art of conquest to find a potential partner couple, this has no limits, and the positive aspects must be balanced with the negative aspects. The truth is that as technology advances in our modern era, personal tape is being lost and we only use technological tools to avoid making the effort of socialization so important for the development of human behavior

Some important data to illustrate how the human approach is being managed through social networks: the online dating services that are now responsible for introducing 1 in 5 current couples and 1 in 6 married couples to each other (Chadwick Martin-Bailey, 2010). According to some studies carried out by newspapers 10 years ago, they reflect that in 1995, people who found love through digital platforms accounted for only 2%. and almost 40% of couples are known through the Internet. According to a study carried out by sociologists Michael Rosenfeld and Sonia Hause, from the University of Stanford, and Reuben Thomas, from Arizona State University, 39% of heterosexual couples and 60% of homosexuals met thanks to the Internet.

The Internet has broken barriers such as class or ethnicity. On the other side of the coin, we find that flirting from home also means not having to show emotions or, being able to be more daring. This is a topic that still has a lot to cut since it is real data, but what is certain is that the impact on human behavior and the complexity of the nature of couple relationships is something that is a permanent topic among psychologists. The changes are rapid and overwhelming not only in the way we behave but also in the way we communicate, using these technologies can reinforce new social behaviors and ways of thinking, including both desirable and undesirable behavior. This phenomenon of social networks continues to grow, and the data says so as of August 2011, there are 750 million active users of Facebook, the largest of the social media websites with roughly 50% of those users logging in on any particular day (Facebook, 2011), that means that on a day, roughly 375 million users are logging into a single website connecting with other people. This phenomenon of the new generations, of course, has a large number of detractors but apart from that it does not stop and the young people of the future are likely to know their partners in other countries very far from where they originate, certainly among the benefits that we can mention. It is that social networks help break down cultural and racial stigmas, which is a great advantage for societies of the future where these types of barriers do not exist, which will contribute to the development of humanity where prejudices do not exist.

Reference
Chadwick Martin-Bailey. (2010). The Evolution of Dating: Match.com and Chadwick Martin Bailey Behavioral Studies Uncover a Fundamental Shift. https://www.lavanguardia.com/tecnologia/20190214/46454394015/ligar-parejas-internet-aplicaciones-tinder-sociologia-tecnologia.html?facet=amp

Facebook. (2011). Statistics.

Media coverage plays a significant role in shaping public perceptions of the government, influencing how individuals view government policies, initiatives, and actions. This influence can have a discouraging effect on political engagement and civic participation, potentially leading to disengagement from the political process. The framing of media stories, therefore, becomes crucial in determining the overall impact on public attitudes.

For instance, consider a scenario where the media extensively covers a government’s plan to implement social welfare programs for disadvantaged communities, but primarily focuses on the program’s perceived shortcomings. This negative portrayal can significantly diminish public support for the program, fostering resistance to similar initiatives in the future.

Exploring the effects of media framing and its influence on public attitudes and behaviors is crucial in comprehending how individuals interpret negative media messages and how these interpretations shape their perceptions and actions regarding government policies. By understanding these dynamics, policymakers and communication experts can work toward implementing more balanced and informed media narratives that foster a more nuanced and accurate understanding of government actions among the public. This, in turn, can promote active civic engagement and support for policies aimed at social welfare and community development.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Aside from being a college student, I work full time in a nursing home, and truthfully it is a very eye-opening experience. My residents are mostly aged 70-100 and every time I use my cell phone at work at least one of them mentions how they would never be able to understand how to use it. This is because when they were younger, they did not have access to the internet at all, and if they did it was very few and far between and not at all to the degree in which we use it today. Seeing how so many people live their lives with no technology, aside from a TV and possibly a flip-phone, has made me realize how addicted the younger generations are to technology. Now, this is a concept that has been brought up for years, especially with the developments of social media apps. Yet, I think that many people fail to realize how detrimental the internet could be for mental health.

In this weeks lesson we learned about miscommunication and how the Fundamental Attribution Error can lead people to have incorrect views about others and their messages. I think that this can also be a major contributor to cell phone addiction in young adults. Think about how many times you have seen a post online or a news article where you second guessed the meaning behind it, or what the writer was actually intending to say. It can be very hard to properly interpret online messages without the inclusion of emotions or body language. This could potentially be a reason why so many individuals are addicted to their devices. Perhaps you see a post about a new celebrity couple and you are curious to know if it is true. You can then read the article, look at the social media pages of the individuals, message your friends, read public comments, etc. Yet, consider all of the time you just spent researching a topic that truly has no importance to your life. The desire to be “in the loop” with not only celebrities but also people you know leads to more time spent online.

Another way that people spend excessive amounts of time online can also be related back to the Fundamental Attribution Error. For example, if you message a friend, family member, co-worker, etc with a question and the response needs further clarification you could end up spending way more time online than you initially intended. Unfortunately it can be very easy for people to become encapsulated by the internet and the end up losing track of time. This could lead to lack of productivity, forgetfulness, and in some cases depression and anxiety. The Economic Times released an article explaining how using cell phones can cause your brain to release dopamine and oxytocin which can create a sense of attachment, essentially explaining in a scientific manner how people are dependent on technology. Unfortunately, while these “happy chemicals” are released, the world is still moving around you and a lack of productivity and consumption of negative content online can increase depression especially in young adults, explained further in an article by Butler Hospital.

To conclude, the addiction to technology can have many negative affects on mental health and your overall life. Overuse of the internet and social media can cause depression and interfere with the quality of relationships. Miscommunication can also be derived from addiction to devices and can cause further issues. It is very important for people to take breaks from technology and enjoy physical activity, brain stimulation, and nature to fully develop a strong quality of life outside of the internet.

References:

England, C. N. (n.d.). Is your phone affecting your mental health?. Butler Hospital. https://www.butler.org/blog/phone-affecting-your-mental-health#:~:text=A%20study%20among%20teenagers%20on,part%20in%20non%2Dscreen%20activities.

True crime stories infiltrate our lives. Between news stories, podcasts, documentaries on every streaming service, and entire television stations devoted to true crime, we are bombarded with tales of murder and brutality. The people most drawn to these stories seem surprising. Overwhelmingly, women are attracted to true crime stories. The question is why are women so obsessed with true crime and is it negatively impacting our lives?

Studies indicate men are more likely to commit violent crimes (Gruman et al, 2016). They are also more likely to be the victim of crime (Vicary & Fraley, 2010, p. 82). So why are women so invested in true crime documentaries and podcasts? A recent study (Vicary & Fraley, 2010) may have some answers. Based on the results, one reason women seek out true crime stories is self-preservation. The study reinforced the hypothesis that women choose true crime to understand the psychological motives (Vicary & Fraley, 2010, p. 84) of the murderer as well as learning tips to defend themselves in the event that they become victims of crime themselves (Vicary & Fraley, 2010, p. 84).

While depictions of violence in the media have negative consequences such as short-term increases in violent behavior in people (Gruman et al, 2016) as well as desensitization (Gruman et al, 2016), this study shows there are positive effects, too. If women are learning survival techniques, as the study suggests, then there are some benefits to viewing violence in the media.

References

Vicary, A. M., & Fraley, R. C. (2010). Captured by True Crime: Why Are Women Drawn to Tales of Rape, Murder, and Serial Killers? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1(1), 81–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550609355486

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Coutts, L. M., Gruman, J. A., & Schneider, F. W. (2016). Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Sage Publications.

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Most of us are familiar with pornography, whether it is online or offline. The popularity of porn has grown over recent years due to online accessibility. If you do not know what pornography is, it can be defined as “any sexually explicit material that you can find offline (magazines, DVDs, peep shows) or online on the Internet (text, audio, visual)” (Gruman et al, 2017). There are many different forms of pornography, but in this essay I will be focusing on three forms; erotica, nonviolent pornography, and violent pornography. As we will see in this essay, certain forms of pornography can be extremely damaging to the viewer.

Erotica and nonviolent pornography are not as damaging as other forms. Erotica is “nonaggressive sexual activity between willing, sensitive, and caring partners” (Gruman et al, 2017). Erotica is probably the most popular or well known form of pornography. Nonviolent pornography is “nonaggressive explicit sexual activity typically among casual acquaintances” (Gruman et al, 2017). These definitions may seem very similar, but unlike erotica, nonviolent pornography does not show the men and women as having compassion or empathy for one another. Lastly, we have violent pornography. Violent pornography ‘portrays violence or coercion that is juxtaposed with, or an integral part of, explicit sexual activities with an underlying theme of dominance” (Gruman et al, 2017). All of these forms of pornography can have damaging effects to the viewer.

How is nonviolent pornography damaging to the viewer? The U.S. Department of Justice produced a report that showed that substantial exposure to nonviolent pornography is related to increases in sexual violence and sexual coercion. If there is no violence of coercion in erotica or nonviolent pornography, why is there an increase in sexual deviance? Many people become desensitized to what they are viewing, causing a need to find more intense videos. The more intense these videos become, the higher the likelihood of developing deviant tendencies becomes. Pornography makes horrible situations appealing to viewers, and causes the person to believe that these behaviors are normal and common. As we are beginning to see, any form of pornography can be damaging, not solely violent portrayals.

If nonviolent pornography is damaging, how much worse is violent pornography? Combining sex and violence is especially harmful to viewers. Effects of violent pornography on viewers includes “a) increases in sexual arousal, b) increases in rape fantasies, c) decreases in sensitivity to the embedded violent sexual acts, d) increases in acceptance of rape myths and violence toward women, and e) increases in tolerance toward rapists” (Gruman et al, 2017). All of these effects are extremely damaging, not only to the viewer, but to the women whom they are close to. Even though viewing violent pornography does not cause actual violent acts, these thoughts are precursors to committing violent acts against women. Since porn is so accessible, it is very dangerous for young adults to view this content.

Although pornography does not directly cause violent acts, it can be the push that sets violent tendencies in motion. Men are most affected by these videos, so it is important to monitor what you are viewing and think about the consequences that may occur. Informing individuals about the consequences of viewing violent pornography is a step in the right direction, as it causes individuals to have more empathy towards the women involved.

References:

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W. & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. (3rd ed). Thousand Oaks; CA: Sage Publications.

Although I vaguely remember when me, and my siblings watched the original Exorcist (1973) movie , maybe I was too young to even understand or comprehend what I was watching. Fast forward 20 years in the future I am having a conversation with my brother, who is only 4 years older than me, and he tells me how scared that movie made him and how it still effects his mental health, I was shocked to hear that my grown up adult brother is still scared of a movie, which I thought was so stupid and unbelievable.

It all came back to me in a flash when I was reading the textbook on the effects of violent media on kids. It made me think why is that that although I was younger, it effected my brother much more than me. It makes me think that Horror and disturbing media can effects kids differently, everyone has different personalities and mental capabilities, and although some kids will not be effected by the disturbing material, and will be able to process the information as not disturbing, There will be other kids might get deeply affected and might have long term effects of stress and anxiety.

As we read on our textbook Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems, children who get frightened of the media can experience nightmares, sleeplessness,, extreme stress and even depression. Movies like Exorcist can effects peoples mental health very deeply, people have experienced denial and numbing, and extreme stress after watching horror movies. Kids have also experienced fear of the dark, and ghosts, nightmares and panic attacks.

Although these ramifications are serious, research suggests, that these are just the short term effects of  exposure to horror. Not everyone suffers from the  long term effects of exposure to horror, usually it only effects people who may have underlying mental issues, and exposure to disturbing media works as a  catalyst. (Martin, 2019)

Therefore it is necessary that we take caution when consuming horror, or exposing young kids to horror. I wish there were parental guidelines when I was a child, and my brother wasn’t exposed to the media he wasn’t capable to comprehend.

Coutts, L.M., Gruman, J.A. and Schneider, F.W. (2016) Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications.

Martin, G.N. (2019) (why) do you like scary movies? A review of the empirical research on psychological responses to Horror films, Frontiers in psychology. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6813198/ (Accessed: 18 October 2023).

Media, in all its forms, influences how we perceive the world around us. Whether through television, social media, or print, media has the power to shape our perception of events, people, and issues. As with many things, its effects are complex and impact our understanding of reality positively and negatively.

Media also plays a crucial role in setting the agenda for public discourse. The issues and topics the media cover can shape public perception by emphasizing certain subjects while ignoring others. Media’s influence on perception is evident in the way it can magnify or trivialize issues. For instance, coverage of specific events can lead to overemphasizing their significance, while critical issues may be overlooked, affecting how people prioritize and perceive these topics. An excellent example of this is discussed by Gruman et al. (2017), in the early 1980s in the United States citizens was not at all concerned with drug use as a problem in the country. Coincidentally, from the mid to late 1980s, media coverage of drug-related issues spiked, as did public concern for it. On the national political survey, drug use concerns went from zero mentions to the number one concern for over 50% of people.

Furthermore, the media can influence our perception by framing stories in particular ways. The framing of an issue in a news story can dictate how people interpret and respond to it. For example, if a newspaper article writes about a robbery, the choice of words influences how we react to the story. If the article states it was a white man who robbed the bank versus a black man, or they mentioned the robbery happened in a low-income area versus a low-income area, our reaction will vary depending on your personal experiences and the media you have been exposed to. 

In today’s digital age, social media platforms add a twist to perception. Before social media, a viewer had limited control over the content they saw. Of course, you could choose which shows and movies to watch, but you could not control them. Now, these platforms allow “people [to] customize news portals on the Internet so that they receive news stories on topics that they are already interested in instead of the media outlets determining what stories are given the most prominence” (Gruman et al., 2017, p.182). Consequently,  individuals find themselves in echo chambers, where they are only exposed to information and viewpoints that align with their existing beliefs, reinforcing preconceived notions and potentially fostering polarization. The ability to curate one’s own media consumption can lead to information bubbles that limit exposure to diverse perspectives, which can significantly affect one’s perception of reality

The effects of media on perception are multifaceted. It can reflect and shape societal values, beliefs, and attitudes. To navigate the influence of media on perception, individuals need to engage with media critically, consume a diverse range of sources, and remain aware of the potential for bias and framing in media content. Media organizations and platforms are also responsible for ensuring that the information they share serves the public interest rather than distorting or polarizing public perception.

Reference

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

What is antisocial? When thinking of it, some would think they’re not sociable. They even make merchandise such as “Anti Social Social Club,” giving people a sense of belonging to not being an extroverted person.

Besides all that, antisocial in a psychological perspective is the disregard of social norms and responsibilities; those who have antisocial tendencies tend to have a deeply ingrained and rigid dysfunctional thoughts that can lead to them being delinquent or having criminal behavior who would not have remorse (Fisher & Hany, 2023). Some studies show strong evidence that antisocial personality disorders represent a significant clinical risk for violence (Filov, 2019). But is antisocial behavior the same as an antisocial personality disorder? Well, it can be in a general term, though antisocial personality disorder is a diagnosis in clinical psychology. They can be mistaken for the same reason, but one is a more severe condition.

In this post, we will focus on antisocial personality disorder. Though to note that people can exhibit antisocial behavior because of having abnormalities in the brain, making them have issues with their judgement, planning and impulse control (Aggarwal, 2013). In our book, it was mentioned that there is a correlation between antisocial attitudes and criminal behavior, and it is in the range of .35 to .40, making a positive relationship between the two issues (Gruman et al., 2016). 

Before going on TRIGGER WARNING, for an example below, proceed cautiously. Mental disorders and violence have been a reoccurring topic. By watching many crime documentaries, I have seen a ratio of people with mental disorders to get a lighter sentence due to their case. For a case, we will discuss a male named Bobby Joe Helm. In the 80s, he was stalking, breaking into their house, and doing non-consensual activities with females. Before the incidents, he had no criminal history, but when interrogated, he displayed several warnings of antisocial personality disorder; after the incident, he had no remorse or guilt, and, in the end, he was given a light sentence (Bowling, 2016).

What can be done to lessen it? Studies have shown that a way to manage a person with antisocial personality disorder is by early treatment intervention with conduct disorder in children as it is the least costly and most effective with treating antisocial personality disorder; it also states as of right now, there is not much evidence of intervention that would help in the case for adults (Fisher & Hany, 2023). But some studies show (1) cognitive behavioral treatment; patients are urged to identify harmful or violent mental processes and determine the reality of those processes as they examine antisocial tendencies and potentially improve the approaches to their behavior and thoughts (2) Schema-based treatment, which promotes swapping out negative thinking patterns for positive ones. These treatments could be effective for those with antisocial tendencies (Aggarwal, 2013).

In the end, there is some way to help people who have these antisocial personality traits by having therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, schema-based treatment and early intervention for children that are under suspicion they might have. These thoughts and behaviors can be managed by getting help. I hope it won’t be too late to change their behavior before having a criminal offense that needs to be taken to court. It is always a good thing to have a barrier to stop the proceeding of a crime in the future.

Also in addition, I would like to clarify if a person who shows antisocial behavior or has antisocial personality disorder, doesn’t mean they would be criminals that isn’t set in stone, this is just a notice that other individuals have realized when they do assess people who committed crimes.

Resources:

• Aggarwal, I. (2013). The Role of Antisocial Personality Disorder and Antisocial Behavior in Crime. Inquiries Journal, 5(09). http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1658/the-role-of-antisocial-personality-disorder-and-antisocial-behavior-in-crime
• Bowling, D. (2016, July 4). Antisocial Personality Disorders and Criminal Behaviors. ResearchGate; unknown. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304784217_Antisocial_Personality_Disorders_and_Criminal_Behaviors
• Filov, I. (2019). Antisocial Personality Traits as a Risk Factor of Violence between Individuals with Mental Disorders. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 7(4), 657–662. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2019.146
• Fisher, K. A., & Hany, M. (2023, May 8). Antisocial Personality Disorder. Retrieved October 13, 2023, from Nih.gov website: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546673/#:~:text=Antisocial%20personality%20disorder%20(ASPD)%20is,criminal%20behavior%20with%20no%20remorse
•  Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353968

This week’s lesson covered multiple approaches/theories to explain the behavior of criminals. One theory stated that criminal behavior could be partially accredited to genetics, psychophysiology, neurological functioning, and biochemistry (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2017). This biological approach can be a route of examination to uncover the question, why? One intense criminal whose actions can be accredited to the biological theory of criminal behavior is Charles Whitman.

In 1966 Charles Whitman went on a killing rampage, he first murdered his wife, mother, then climbed the University of Texas at Austin’s, clock tower where he committed a mass murder spree (Darby, Horn, Cushman, & Fox, 2018). While this mas killing was a shock to all, an even more shocking discovery was found when a tumor was located in the prefrontal cortex (Ferguson, 2010).  Each region of the brain has different roles, and the amygdala is highly connected to our emotions, especially fear, and processing emotions. It believed that this tumor applied pressure on certain brain regions (amygdala) potentially contributing to these violent acts. (Ferguson, 2010) According to the biological theory of criminal behavior, it is a wonder that Whitman, a student and an ex-Marine, suddenly committed such a heinous act.

The question remains, is this tumor on the region of the brain known as the amygdala the cause of Whitman’s spree. It is very well possible that this tumor made changes in his brain function making him angrier and more irrational then otherwise before. Although, it still can be hard to pinpoint if this was the true cause.

Looking at other cases, it leads to believe that biological aspects of health attribute to a pattern of criminal behavior. For instance, Ted Bundy mass serial killer claimed that pornography molded him into a killer, Andrea Yates who drowned her children was found not guilty for reasons of insanity, professional wrestler Chris Benoit, strangles his wife and son to death, then committed suicide, was presumed to have had “roid rage” which was never confirmed, but after an autopsy it was clear Benoit had serious brain damage (Ferguson, 2010). While it is not every criminal that you can pinpoint a biological explanation, there does seem to be quite the apparent trend.

All in all, many believe that violence is a learned behavior, but the truth is that it is very well possible that biological defects can greatly affect the way we behave. So, although the murders of 1966 perpetrated by Charles Whitman was a huge loss, it also opened the eyes to the possible effects of biological implications on criminal behavior.

Works Cited

Darby, R. R., Horn, A., Cushman, F., & Fox, M. D. (2018). Lesion network localization of criminal behavior. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5776958/

Ferguson, C. J. (2010). Violent crime: Clinical and social implications. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles: SAGE.