30
Jun 14

Value of Action Research

(Source: Google Images, 2014)

(Source: Google Images, 2014)

The ability to remain objective in scientific research is important, but some issues require involvement and action to reach desired outcomes and drive change. Traditional research would be inefficient (or too time consuming/expensive) to fully reach an understanding of some of our most complex and evolving social problems. So, while traditional scientist scoff at the idea of a researcher jumping into a social problem to drive change, it is necessary to solve particular problems because the researcher can be flexible and adapt to the situation as they research through action. The difference doesn’t make the approach flawed it makes it practical. After all, the point of any research is to improve lives (Schneider et al, 2012).

To highlight the power of research to drive social change, I introduce two social problems where traditional research would be inefficient. First, global women’s rights are a complex social issue that is unique in each culture and stems from and evolves with social and environmental pressures. Traditional research will be ineffective at collectively researching this phenomenon and thereby ineffective at pinpointing causal and perpetuating factors needed for communities to move forward with interventions. Action research (or social action and activism) can gain the collective resources needed to understand and resolve issues of this magnitude and complexity. First, there is a close relationship between the research and actions. Ideas turn to research plans, which determine actions to solve the social issue. Actions are continuously evaluated and research plans are revised based on real-time findings, or other variables. Most importantly, research and actions are carried out with the target audience. Research that drives social change is focused, whereas traditional research seeks to produce generalizable results (Schneider et al., 2012).

The first example is a movement called The Girl Effect; it has organized individuals, corporations, and government agencies across the globe to solve issues of poverty and women’s rights. They hypothesize that if girls around the world are given access to education, are free from forced marriages/child birth and other forms of oppression and abuse, they will be a catalyst for change… ending poverty, improving global economic conditions, and the overall human condition. Essentially, when a girl is taken out of the equation through oppression, they are unable to contribute to the economy/community, resulting in significant economic losses and the perpetuation of poverty and cycle of abuse/oppression. They have made significant strides by influencing policy through their research, as well as gaining momentum by educating the public on the needs of girls. I encourage everyone to browse the site and find out more (linked above) (Girl Effect, 2014).

The second example is the idea that businesses can actually solve many of our global social issues. In this Ted Talk by Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor and business strategist, he argues that businesses, which are often seen as the cause or sustaining factors in our social problems, are actually the solution. For social change to work it must be brought to scale, that is, it must be large enough to actually change the factors that are causing the problem and mass produce the solution. We fail to make progress on big social problems because we rely on organizations (i.e. traditional research) that do not have the resources necessary for this. Businesses have the resources necessary to produce large-scale solutions because they actually produce profit, whereas other organizations consume resources (take tax dollars, donations, etc.). By allowing businesses to profit from solutions they can drive the innovation and mass production necessary to create large-scale change in society, and sustain it (Porter, 2013).   As an example, we have serious issues with our current energy consumption. It is damaging our climate, it creates global and national tension, and it is also unsustainable. Businesses have made considerable profits by “going green”, and those profits have helped to innovate new technologies and products to solve our environmental and social issues. Wind/solar energy and electric cars are just a couple examples of how business can drive such large magnitude changes.

In closing, there should be a distinction between traditional research and action research, but those distinctions should not make assumptions about the value of the approaches. Each has it’s own unique contribution to society and individuals. While there is bias introduced in action research, there is undeniable benefit to being involved in the research and outcomes for social change. Matter of fact, social change (real social change) isn’t possible without this approach (Schneider et al, 2012).

 

References:

Girl Effect. (2014). Taking the Girl Effect to Scale. Retrieved from http://www.girleffect.org/explore/taking-the-girl-effect-to-scale/

Google Images. (2014). Image Search: Collective Power. Retrieved from http://www.pachamama.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/collective-action.jpg

Porter, M. (2013). Why Businesses Can Be Good At Solving Social Problems. Ted Talks. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_porter_why_business_can_be_good_at_solving_social_problems

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381


29
Jun 14

Bullying: Instinct or Social Cognition?

In recent years, much has been written about incidences of bullying. Some of this incidences involved young people on school property, while others extended to their homes through social networks in cyberspace. The reason why these incidences of bullying have raised concern is because some of them have led to tragic consequences. Much is known about the victims of bullying, and rightly so. We need to understand that these victims regardless of age, race, gender or sexual orientation, are someone’s child, brother, daughter, sister even mom or dad. Incidences of bullying among young people have been well documented, maybe because adults have been there to make a stand against it, or alternatively because in spite of the shame that the victims may go through, there is no stigma attached to being a victim. As far as the few cases of adult bullying, these have mainly been in regard to parenting styles or activities that some parents may have shared with the public in social websites. I believe that more subtle incidences go unreported because of the fear of embarrassment among adults.

The question that is yet to be asked and answered is why do kids become bullies? Is there some inborn trait that makes someone a bully? Could it be something else in their social environment? Can we look at bullying as just an instinctive act or part of social cognition…or maybe the bullies are victims themselves? Some of these questions are addressed in applied social psychology, which Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts, (2012) define as “the science that seeks to understand how people think about, feel about, relate to and influence each other.” Social cognition on the other hand refers to the self-perception and self-concept (Sherman, 2014) where people are inclined to view themselves in a certain way. So even as the problems created by bullies are addressed, it is important to note that they may be end results (or outcomes) of some deep rooted issues that the perpetrators are dealing with.

A young person will not just instinctively become a bully. From a social psychology theory perspective, it must be seen as an attempt to influence others, or to create a type of relationship with power and influence at the center of it. It may also come from the fact that the perpetrator, much like their victims, have been victimized before. Thus their actions are driven by anger and a need to retaliate. Maybe the perpetrator is driven by jealousy (as the case is often true) that they have been shunned and excluded from activities that should be normal to social development. A self concept of being unworthy can sometimes be reinforced by social exclusion by peers, and this is the point at which bullying turns deadly. Whether the victim retaliates by lashing out, or by becoming a vicious bully in cyberspace, there is nothing instinctive about it. This is why interventions are necessary and must address the underlying reasons, not just the outcomes.

References

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks,


29
Jun 14

Stimulus Poverty In Deed

”Are We Living in Sensory Overload or Sensory Poverty?,” by Diane Ackerman

Milgram’s concept of stimulus overload is quite intriguing. As was cited by Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts (2012), stimulus overload is the idea that our society today is much too much for our hunter-gatherer nervous systems. We weren’t ancestrally prepared to deal with booming cities, overly crowded schools and the bombardment of the world at our swiftly moving thumb tips. So what did we do? Did we adapt and overcome? Of course we didn’t! We developed apps for that. We have cell phones, I pods, I pads, mp3 players, wireless headphones, and Google glass. There is no need to feel overloaded because we have found ways to take the world in at moderations that we (at times) can control. However, Diane Ackerman wrote to the New York Times proposing a very fair question. Are we today still facing stimulus overload or are we subjecting ourselves to stimulus poverty? If you have taken a psychology course, you may be familiar with concepts such as conditioning, and if you have taken any courses in anthropology, you may be familiar with concepts about evolution along with learned behavioral traits. Basically, we see, we learn, we pass it on. Do it often enough and it becomes second nature. So why did we as a species not adapt to the growth of stimuli in our surroundings? Was it growing faster than we could to evolve in order to handle it? Darwin could argue that technology has allowed for the survival of the weak. Perhaps the generations of watching our elders swoon in fascination over fast past technologies has led us to be the monkeys that saw and now do. I often catch my son happily sitting next to me, Mario game in hand while I myself am playing a game. But are we hurting ourselves by using stimulus overload as an excuse to continue living socially withdrawn? Is this what we are going to use for the answer to, why don’t we talk anymore? Maybe if we looked up at the world with our hands devoid of any devices and our ears free from plugs, we would find by the end of the day that the world isn’t all that overwhelming after all. We just might like it.

References

Ackerman, D. (2012, June 10). Are we living in sensory overload or sensory poverty?. New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2014, from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/are-we-living-in-sensory-overload-or-sensory-poverty/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2005). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.


29
Jun 14

Jigsaw Classroom Project

Education is such an important part of our life.  Education begins within the first moments of life.  We have some instinctual knowledge, but we are guided to learn to walk, talk and problem solve.  I work at a private school for students with autism.  Our school includes students from kindergarten through twenty one years of age.  Each student has strengths and weaknesses, just like typical students.  Some are non-verbal, which brings its own unique set of challenges, and some are Asperger students, a high functioning autism and every level between.

During one of my earlier psychology classes I first learned about the jigsaw classroom project.  (Schneider, Gruman, Coutts. Pg. 208). An interactive project that requires cooperative learning to be successful. Our class which was composed of eight male students was experiencing dissention due to the social deficits and varying ability levels.  I thought about applying a modified jigsaw project in our classroom to see if we would see an increase in tolerance levels following the project. I checked with our school psychologist and she thought it was a great idea,  Each student worked independently on a component of their social studies lesson, then they each had an opportunity to teach what they learned to their classmates and the lesson ended with a test. We included a small incentive that would be based on their effort, because most of our students have very low intrinsic motivation, they are not rewarded by internal feelings of accomplishment.  (Schneider, Gruman, Coutts. 2012).  The jigsaw project was a success, the students were motivated to do the research and enjoyed the opportunity to “play teacher” for the rest of the class.  The students learned the material and were a more cohesive group at the end of the project.  This turned a potentially bullying atmosphere into one of cooperation and learning.

 

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Kindle edition.

 


29
Jun 14

My Husbands Community

I didn’t always understand my husband’s desire to play video games. He’s played a few over our 14 years of marriage, nothing I’d call an obsession or and addiction but for sure something I found annoying. Honestly though, I just didn’t know what benefit he was getting from it. I tried playing one once … World of something … just to see what it was like. I thought it was a waste of time. After all, I had real friends and real things to do.

A couple of things about my husband first, he doesn’t like crowds of people or going out dancing (he does it usually only for my benefit). He would prefer a small backyard barbeque with a couple of friends instead of an all-out party environment, I could go either way.

It wasn’t until I decided to go back to school to get my BS in psychology that I really started to understand the psychological benefits he was getting from it. I often heard him laughing and talking with others, just enjoying himself and his little bit of free time he took to do something he enjoyed doing. This week’s commentary discussing online communities drove this point further home for me. A world where someone can limit and monitor the about of stimulation that they allow in doesn’t seem so bad after all (PSU, 2014). The games foster a sense of belonging and being a team player is important as they must all work towards a common goal.

I came across some interesting research. The Social Benefits of Computer Games by Peter Forster. Forster conducted an online self-nominated survey to try to ascertain benefits people get from participating in online gaming. What he and apparently other researchers have found is that people who play computer games, especially role playing games, have a higher psychological sense of community within the groups that they play with. The psychological sense of community can be beneficial to the development of identity (Forster, 2009). Obviously studies that use self-nomination are limited in their external validity but one can admit that a correlation makes sense. The availability of online communities forces us to reevaluate our definitions of community. The mold of the American community is changing and can take on many different forms. Face to face communication and relationships that demand physical proximity are not the only available ways for us to engage in activities anymore. If the computer gaming takes over all areas of life and creates a degeneration of actual physical and emotional relationships then it could become a problem. As with anything, a healthy balance is necessary in order to reap the benefits that online computer gaming can afford to those who play them.

I’m comfortable in groups and love face to face interaction, strangers, friends, or whatever, I say bring it. My husband, not so much, and you know what? That’s okay. I’m happy that he is seeking a sense of community and that he engages in life. Just because it is not the way that I choose to engage in life doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Don’t worry though, the moment he starts demanding sandwiches and locks himself in a room with his computer … I’ll pull the plug!

 

References:

PSU (2014) PSU.edu Retrieved from: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/12_lesson/04_page.html

Forster, P (2009); The social benefits of computer games Proceeding of the 44th annual APS conference pp 62-65 Retrieved from: http://www.academia.edu/705294/The_Social_Benefits_of_Computer_Games


29
Jun 14

Hot Cognition and the bystander effect

Watch this video. Caution- VERY GRAPHIC

http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2014/06/mom_beaten_as_toddler_tries_to_intervene_salem_police_seek_assailant_video.html

 

On display you will see a very angry woman acting very aggressively and her actions are a perfect demonstration of her hot cognition. Hot cognition you will remember is action-oriented cognition (PSU, 2014). How the aggression was antagonized by the victim should be of little importance in the shadow of how the aggressor chose to act. Apparently angered by rumors that the victim was allegedly spreading about the assailant, the assailant pursued and preceded to assault the victim. Based on the theory of hot cognition this assailant did not take the time to rationalize her actions and acted instead on her emotions.

At one point in the attack you will hear the assailant demonstrate concern about losing her job. Had she been rational in the cognitive process to pursue the victim she may have realized that assaulting the victim could also lead to her losing her job, especially since she was still wearing her work uniform. After the assault was over and she witnessed someone videotaping her she rationally told the recorder not to post the video- knowing it could cause harm to her reputation (Gallo, 2014).

Now let’s turn our attention to the obvious bystander effect that was taking place. Aside from the victim’s toddle son, no one tried to intervene in the assault. The bystander affect occurs when, even if there are many people around, no one does anything to intervene in an emergency situation. I counted six individuals around the area watching and commenting on the events that took place and witnessed no one stepping in to try to reason with this woman. It seems we live in a society where there are only a few answers to the question of why no one tried to help. Either people are too afraid of getting involved and possibly getting hurt themselves, or we have become too desensitized by the violence we see every day in media and everyday life that it doesn’t cause us to rise up in defense anymore. Another option, and I hope it is not the case; people are more concerned with getting “hits on the social media pages”. This video could have very well just have been turned over to the police without being uploaded to someone’s social media outlet. It wasn’t the recorder that alerted the police to the video but a viewer who did.

Was it rational- cold cognition that persuaded the bystanders to do nothing? Or is this a twisted form of hot-cognition where the inaction of simply recording or watching attacks like this becomes the action part of the hot cognition? If hot cognition is action based and emotionally driven then I suppose it does make sense that inaction is the action. People are so afraid of getting sued, getting shot, or getting involved that the fear drives them to do nothing. This inaction takes place every day. People make the cognitive choice to not get involved even when they can clearly see that a situation calls for action. We all have a media driven fear of the “mean world” that we expect every dark corner to hide a mugger and every assailant to pull a gun on us.

This “you never know” mentality of society drives us to be bystanders, it demands us to stand idly by for our own survival. Furthermore it confuses the cognition. We can’t assume that no one wanted to do anything just because they didn’t. They could have rationalized and weighed the benefits and possible risks of getting involved. I contend that if no intervention occurs for this social problem a continued breakdown in social cognition is not only plausible, it’s inevitable. Our actions and inactions sometimes are fear based. Something should be done about this.

References:

PSU (2014) https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/13_lesson/01_page.html

Gallo, B. (2014); Mom beaten as toddler tries to intervene; Salem police seek assailant; South Jersey Times Retrieved from: http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2014/06/mom_beaten_as_toddler_tries_to_intervene_salem_police_seek_assailant_video.html

 

 

 


28
Jun 14

Community and Diversity

A training seminar I recently attended for work focused on diversity, stereotyping, and stigma, which really resonated with the readings from this week.  Our seminar began with an activity, in which each participant received a page of photos and a list of professions.  We were asked to match the profession of the individuals to each photo.  The exercise was very interesting because we all felt very strongly about the career choice we chose, yet many of us chose different careers for the same individual.  It really goes to show that your experiences shape your perceptions and that no matter how alike we may seem, we are all very different.  Embracing difference and diversity allows us to open ourselves up to new ideas and new experiences through the eyes of others.  We may learn new things or gain a new perspective.

I work for a non-profit organization that provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities and brain injuries, as well as their families.  The training seminar was valuable in that it focused a great deal on stigmatization of our clients.  We were forced to take new perspectives and see the world through others eyes, and what I found is that things that may seem different, really aren’t so different at all.  For instance, we talked about how many choices we get to make through the day.  Many of our clients live in residences with 24/7 caregivers who do not allow them many choices.  Although the caregiver may have the best intentions, forcing a routine upon another person would make anyone angry.  I have a routine in the shower.  First I wash my hair, then I apply conditioner.  While allowing the conditioner to soak in, I shave my legs and wash my body, and then wash the conditioner out last.  If I had an accident, suffered from brain damage, and could no longer care for myself (as is the case with many of our clients), I would appreciate having a caregiver who recognizes that something as small as allowing me to choose my shower routine is huge.  Often our clients do not get these choices, and as a result, display inappropriate behavior.  That behavior leads others to stigmatize mental illness because it is different from social norms.  Yet in the grand scheme of things, if you put yourself in their shoes, you would be upset, too.  We are often so quick to judge the disabled based on a defining characteristic.  We begin to treat that person as though that part of them encompasses their entire being.  Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts (2012) identify this mentality as “master status.”  Master status is a feature that we pick up on about an individual, and then judge the person through the lens of that feature, while ignoring other aspects of their person.  It is so easy to judge an autistic clients’ strange emotional behavior as deficient, but if you really take the time to search deeper, it isn’t so different from you or I at all.

References:

Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Coutts, L.  (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.


28
Jun 14

Bullying in the Cyber Age

I recently watched an inspiring TedTalk video by a woman, Lizzie Velasquez, who was diagnosed with a rare syndrome that inhibits her body from gaining weight.    Lizzie was featured on a medical television show when she was eleven years old.  In the video, she discusses that years later she was scrolling through music videos on youtube when she saw a thumbnail in the related videos that looked strikingly like herself.  She clicked on the video and found a photo of herself on the screen for eight seconds with no sound. The title of the video was “World’s Ugliest Woman” and even labeled her as an eleven year old.  Lizzie describes realizing that the video had more than four million views and thousands of comments.  She describes painfully reading each and every comment and not finding a positive one.  Viewers encouraged Lizzie to kill herself, offered suggestions on how to kill herself, and made comments about how sighting her may cause blindness.  It absolutely breaks my heart to know that people can be so cruel to anyone, but especially a child with a disease.

I began to ponder what could lead someone to do something so despicable and heinous. The process of deindividuation described by Schneider, Gruman and Coutts (2012) came to mind.  Deindividuation occurs when people engage in behavior they might normally be inhibited from under the guise of anonymity.  A prime example of this phenomenon is the Ku Klux Klan.  Donned in white robes and pointed caps, people participated in truly disturbing crimes because they lost their sense of self.  It is a mob mentality.

I believe that cyber-bullying is often fueled by the effects of deindividuation.  Lizzie’s story is a great example of this occurrence.  Complete strangers, who knew nothing about her, took the time out of their day to beat down a child hiding behind the anonymity that the internet provides.

This can be a factor in other cases of bullying as well.  The internet allows public access to so much information and in the click of a button, information can be spread about a person that they never wanted anyone to know.  In cases such as these, the masses can attack an already vulnerable person and make the damage worse.  Reading up on bulling and watching Lizzie’s video (as well as Ryan’s video) have really put things into perspective for me.  Lizzie was lucky in that she chose to embrace her experience and use it to bring about positive change; however, not all are so lucky.  Words can really make a difference for better or for worse.  It is so important to make sure that what you put out isn’t going to change someone’s life in a detrimental way.

A link to the video is provided below:

References:

Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Coutts, L.  (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 


27
Jun 14

Taking part in many communities to give and to take

Talking about the midterm test results last month, my son talked about how he felt. My son told me that one of his classmates said to him, “Why are you studying, stupid? You are going to flunk anyway!” He said that made him angry and he didn’t feel like studying after that. Last year, he worked really hard to be accepted into one of the top music academies in Japan as voice major. When he selected the high school to apply for, I had hoped that once accepted, he would be proud of his exceptional voice and singing ability and make use of it. But amongst other students who are excellent both in music and the standard academic subjects, his confidence is low. He is depressed.

Once again, as I did 8 years ago when my son was diagnosed as dyslexic, I have gone to the Internet to seek out helpful information. I was pleased that compared to 8 years ago, there are much, much more useful information concerning dyslexia, both in English and Japanese. The interviews on YouTube of famous people who are dyslexic like Steven Spielberg (YouTube, 2012), Orlando Bloom (YouTube, 2010) and Whoopi Goldberg (YouTube, 2014) give hope to both the dyslexic young people and their parents that watch them. These videos are what Juliana Rappaport (2000) calls things that  “turn tales of terror into tales of joy” (Schneider, 2012). However, these videos are only in English now, and if a person does not understand English, they can not understand the message. At this time, there is no such real life famous Japanese dyslexic person interview available. Here, I feel I can help as English-Japanese bi-lingual. I have recruited some people to help me translate these interviews and subtitle them. Another thing I can do is to get together with other mothers of dyslexic children, and interview famous dyslexic Japanese people and post them onto YouTube.

Dan Savage (2011) who has started up the YouTube channel to help LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and, stransgender) teens help cope with their difficulties during youth in the It Gets Better Project is not a community psychologist, and neither am I. As of today, no single definition has yet been articulated for community psychologist.  One version of definition is by Dalton, Elias, and Wandersman (2007), and it states that for holistic wellness in society, community psychology aims to affect real change at community level while helping individuals to cope, and the empirical research and ensuing action are to enable these two to happen (Schneider, 2012). Like many non community psychologist people throughout the world now, I have taken part in several community works via Internet in the past years. I took part in Twestival to help provide safe drinking water to communities in Africa, helped with mothers keep in touch with their early teenage sons through creation and management of social network community site for mothers of local boy’s basketball club.

Many years before the Internet, when a person became mentally depressed, the solution may be to have gone to a library to check out books about it, or see some movies or TV drama about it which were not always constructive in overcoming the depression. Sharing information and learning of problems that was not yet open or common were extremely difficult before the Internet (Schneider, 2012). With all the problems that it has, Internet offers self help through sharing of information (Schneider, 2012).

Resource

Dalton, J., Elias, M., & Wandersman, A. (2007) Community psychology: Linking individuals and communities (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Rappapport, J. (2000). Community narratives: Tales of terror and joy. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28 (1), 1-24.

Savage, D., & Millet, T. (Eds.). (2011). It gets better: Coming out, overcoming bullying, and creating a life worth living. New York: Penguin.

Scheneider, Frank W., Gruman, Jamie A., Coutts, Larry M. (2012) Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Second Edition.

YouTube. (2010) Orlando Bloom offers advice to kids who have dyslexia. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/WDBVsghh4z0

YouTube. (2012) Steven Spielberg – Dyslexia Interview. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/-lGr840jE_0

YouTube. (2014) Whoopi Goldberg talks about her dyslexia. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/ZWGINKlhst4


25
Jun 14

in-Justice

The United States of America is the most litigious country in the world. That’s not exactly something people should be running to the hills screaming about now is it? In our prisons alone, there sit more than 2 million prisoners (www.statista.com, 2003). There are more criminals in America than in China, a country with 1.3 billion people (1.6 million prisoners) compared to the 300 million on America (2.2 million prisoners). What is the reason for this? One of them is the incredible amount of wrongful convictions due to suspect evidence. How often have you turned on the news and heard that a convicted felon was released due to DNA exoneration? How many times have you heard that a star witness had provided misinformation that unfortunately led to the incarceration of an innocent person? Reviews have shown that the incidence of wrongful conviction can actually be in the thousands, there is a lack of accountability for those who do not prove beyond a reasonable doubt – the result? An innocent man/woman goes to prison, and if they’re released they sue the state and are awarded million dollar lawsuits. But there are ways to reduce this.

I’m going to be investigating the incidence of imprisonment of child sex offenders by improper evidence. Children can often be engaged in an activity or relationship that might be deemed as inappropriate by an individual then the state investigates. This is heralded – indeed, one of the responsibilities of our government is to protect the weak. But it’s the manner in which these investigations are carried out that I think, really cause unnecessary headaches for the accused and taxpayer. As you guess from their being missing from the victims list, the state prosecution is often the chief culprit due to what I can only term as underhanded tactics. Children, like every other human beings, can recount things that happen o them, their memories are true, but they are also very suggestible, their brains are still developing so their ideas of right and wrong all the way to consequences are erratic at best (Frontline, 2010). Leading them with questions like ‘Where were you abused, as opposed to where were you touched, created a scenario in which the investigators already presume guilt, and they’re conditioning the child to think in this manner as well (Myers, 2005). There are no laws prosecuting the use of such language so how exactly are investigators who infringe on them supposed to be held accountable? Fair enough, you hate someone, find them reprehensible – but to send them away for a crime they didn’t exist? I think it’s downright despicable. Innocent people can die under the death penalty. You can free an innocent man, but how do you bring a dead one back to life?

But that’s not the only downside.  If they’re lucky, and by lucky I mean being one in tens of thousands, this individual is set free after review by a non-profit like the ACLU. Then they sue the state and the burden of their incarceration is put on society. This it a double slap in the face – one, one of our own is falsely accused and imprisoned due to charged questioning. Second, once free, our tax dollars have to subsidize him for the heartache they’ve suffered. I’m not against the released being paid a handsome sum, indeed it’s their due – no amount of money can give back lost years. Death Row inmate Glenn Ford was released after 30 years of being wrongfully imprisoned (The Guardian, 2014.) This black man was sentenced to death by an all-white jury, his team was led by a lawyer two years out of law school and another who focused on oil and gas cases. Such incompetence from the state is a detriment to us, as society. We deserve better, no we DEMAND better. OR this will keep going on unabated.  Innocents will die, and these remaining states that have actually expedited the death penalty shall have blood on their hands (The Guardian, 2014.)

http://www.statista.com/statistics/262961/countries-with-the-most-prisoners/

Myers, John E.B. MYERS ON EVIDENCE in CHILD, DOMESTIC and ELDER ABUSE CASES. 2005.  Aspen Publishers. Iowa

Frontline,2010:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/12/death-row-inmate-glenn-ford-released-30-years-after-wrongful-conviction

 

 


25
Jun 14

Media: Friend or Foe?

Here we are, it’s 2014 in America and crimes involving children are way up, why is this? What has caused this seemingly insane increase in violent crimes by children? Come on, we’ve all watched the news – a teenager kills themselves after they’re insulted or victimized online – they get depressed and take their own life(http://www.usatoday.com, 2014). Students gang up on their peer and assault them (http://www.psychcentral.com, 2012). A gay college student at Rutgers is recorded and takes his own life. Suicide isn’t a new phenomenon in and of itself; it’s been around since antiquity and the Catholic Church says that doing so will land you in a pretty bad place. But, getting off the tangent and coming back to the matter at hand, the numbers in Contemporary are staggering if not downright unbelievable One of the possible explanations to this increase in violent acts, is the prevalence and by proxy easy access to media. Social cognitive theory states that people survive via imitating what they see, that children learn from seeing things be done. (Schneider et al., 2004) The media is saturated with all sorts of heinous acts – are the children conformingly simply to what they see?

Two Wisconsin Middle School girls were charged in June 2012 of stabbing their classmate 19 times with a knife. The reason? They were trying to show their allegiance to Slenderman – a mythical entity borne from meme’s that among other things, abducts and terrorizes children The girls said they did this because they were trying to become his apprentices. (www.jsonline.com. 2014). This horrific incident is a classic case of social cognitive theory. The girls were intrigued by this figure found in the bowels of the internet. They read about this urban legend they believed lived in North Wisconsin and read that others had killed to pay homage. They wanted to imitate other people and gain acceptance somewhere. The result was a near murder. Social cognitive theory speaks about replication being integral for the proliferation of an individual (Scheider et al., 2005). So these girls replicated what they read others had done, via replicating what they can see in a variety of websites on the internet that – they could have simply google ‘HOW TO STAB – PROPER TECHNIQUE” veterans of combat would write down the perfect weapon and how to proceed. It is well known that the

Children, as has been shown by research, react to situation very emotional compared to adults. The part of the brain that rationalizes is less active, and the emotional part of the brain is more active – this is why children make poor decision due to not really thinking about the conseuences (Frontline, 2010). This means that when children are bombarded with media, such as the girls who stabbed their friend, the joy of being acolytes of Slenderman, far outweighs the consequences of their friend dying or punishment. The girls were unsure about who would stab their friend, which means they pondered the consequences, but still felt that joining Slenderman was more important than her life. The influence of social media is strong even on adults, but for children it is even worse because their brains aren’t fully developed well into their teens. Another problem is the fact that when children keep focusing on the same thing, such as these girls did on Slenderman, and this sort of behavior – it is reinforced in their brains and the connections of other sensibilities die (Frontline). This means the girls began to identify more and more with Slenderman, leading one of the girls to say ‘They wished to prove he was real.”

How then do we solve what is no doubt only going to rise as media becomes more ubiquitous? There has to be some limitation on the media with regard to children. The fact that their brains are still developing alone, means that they are susceptible to a wide range of influences. Parents need to step in, but not only parents – because they can’t be everywhere at once. Children have to constantly be reconditioned I believe, after whatever they see, they shouldn’t be condemned such that they shut down and not share but continue to revel in their newfound passion – but they must be made to understand that it is wrong.

 

Schneider, Gruman, Coutts (2004). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. California:  Sage Publications.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/02/social-media-raises-fear-of-teen-suicide-contagion/8641457/

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/waukesha-police-2-12-year-old-girls-plotted-for-months-to-kill-friend-b99282655z1-261534171.html

http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/08/28/leading-researchers-find-media-violence-ups-risk-of-teen-aggression/43762.html

Frontline,2010:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/

 

 

 


24
Jun 14

Larger vs. Smaller Communities

The term “community” has become more versatile over the past few decades. Our perception of a community has grown a great deal from when it was originally thought of. A community used to be considered a close-knit group of individuals who had the opportunity to interact with one another whenever they wanted. Recently, communities have grown exponentially and the individuals making up said community don’t necessarily enjoy such large communities. Individuals have found ways of creating their own personal communities whether it is through the Internet or simply relocating to a smaller populated area. Communities can also be formed when a group of individuals gather for a purpose and choose to stay connected.

I have personally identified myself in a certain community for the last example. The Delaware National Guard Youth Camp volunteers, campers, and even parents have come to form our own community. Everyone came together for the purpose of our week long camp and a community ended up forming. Individuals within our community reach out to each other through out the year in multiple ways. There are opportunities to meet up, text, call, e-mail, and even Facebook. Being able to have a supportive community no matter what time of year is important to our camp. Our community has become so close-knit that is almost like extended family. I think it is important to have smaller communities that each member can benefit from.

Smaller communities that have a common interest can be more beneficial for everyone involved. Contrast to larger communities where individuals can slip into the cracks or do anything to avoid contact with anyone, smaller communities help move towards a common goal. Individuals are a part of something they truly want to be a part of which can make the experience that much more positive. The more positive an environment can provide within a community, the more positive members can feel. A community is about building and growing within individuals as well as the environment. They balance each other equally. I feel this can be better accomplished within a smaller community rather than a larger one.

 

Reference:

Penn State World Campus (2014) Media Communications Technology – Lesson 11


23
Jun 14

“Booth or table? Smartphone section or other?”

Study 1, article 1

So here are two links to a quick little article and its study I found online about cell phone users and our perceived concepts of privacy. In a lesson given by Professor Yarwood of Penn State’s World Campus Psych424 Applied Social Psychology class, the point that cell phone use in public has compromised the level of privacy for others was made. It is true that “privacy in public” can be in the eye of the beholder, or the eye of the smartphone-holder. According to a study done by Tel Aviv University, a fair majority of smartphone users will say that their devices provide them with plenty of privacy. But most of us know this is not true. Just the other day I was picking up a pizza order and the women behind me was on her cell phone. I can tell you this about her and her life.

  • She got caught lying about where she just was, then again lying about whose house she was staying at.
  • Her brother doesn’t feed his children.
  • If it wasn’t for her courageous, covert trip to the pizza shop, her nieces and nephews would starve.

There I was, waiting for pizza, and my ears were being forcefully violated with someone else’s business. That woman and many other smartphone users seem to be oblivious to the reality of their so called public privacy. I’m not sure she would have had that same conversation with complete strangers. So why did she have that conversation where complete strangers can hear her? Should I have to forfeit the rights of my ears in public because smartphone users can’t confine their own privacy to themselves? Do these smartphone users really expect others to respect their privacy when it isn’t being handled in a private way at all? Well at the end of the first link I provided, the author suggests an idea, which was also brought up in the original study that could lend my ears some relief. Imagine walking into a restaurant and being asked, “Booth or a table?” Now imagine the hostess’ next question being, “smartphone or other?” Well the researchers from the university anticipate the possibly of the public being redesigned around communications technology, the way it was years ago for smokers and non-smokers. One problem with this though. I am a smartphone user. Yikes. Will I have to be categorized before I make myself more aware of the reality of my own privacy in public? I hope not. I already worry about bad seating options in restaurants and airplanes just for having a child!

Communications technologies appear to be changing our social behaviors and the way we interact (or don’t interact) with others (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). We interact with each other differently and avoid each other in new ways. We let voicemail and auto responses like, “I’m driving” reject others, instead of just taking incoming calls. We are letting entire lobbies full of strangers know, you want pizza for dinner, and that you’ll be late because you have to pick up that cream from the pharmacy for that thing you got. Well as interesting as all that sounds, some of us would rather fresh, crisp silence than have clouds of pesky, private conversations be blown into our ears. Perhaps further research, like those being done at Tel Aviv University surrounding the behavioral habits of communications technology users will bring the public to a more communication-conscious state of public awareness.

 

References

American friends of tel aviv university; smart phones are changing real world privacy settings. (2012). Telecommunications Weekly, 1038. Retrieved from         http://search.proquest.com/docview/1015615980?accountid=13158

Perry, D. (2012, May 14). Smartphone Users Less Aware of Lack of Privacy in Public. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smartphone-privacy-study-smartphone-users-public,news-15182.html

PSU 424. (2014). Applied Social Psychology. Lesson 9: Media/ communications     Technology. Retrieved June 20, 1014, from       https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/10_lesson/02            _page.html

 


23
Jun 14

Proper Outlet

Technology has become such a large part of individuals’ lives. Wherever you turn it is likely you will see someone on his or her smart phone, tablet, or laptop. This trend has hit even youth. Some parents are tempted to pop their child in front of a TV or laptop with a game to entertain them. Media and technology have somewhat played a role in the formation of our youth. As they get older, young adults have used technology and media as an outlet for expression and self-identification.

It is becoming more common for parents to place technology in their child’s hands and call it babysitting. Children are almost being raised by technology now a day. Because of their exposure to so much technology, it is no surprise that, as they get older they tend to almost depend on technology and media for self-identity and expression. Young adults are more common to pick and choose what they want to public display on social media depending on what they think others will think of them. Having the capability to portray yourself in only the positives paints only part of the picture of who you are.

Manago et al., 2008 suggested that Myspace gave individuals a medium to express themselves however they wished to. There are now several websites that provide that same opportunity and young adults are taking full advantage of them. It is easy for someone to express whatever he or she wants online because they have the power to choose what is shared. Social media websites can be beneficial for youth because it does give them this outlet for expression. Youth today feel more comfortable opening up via Internet than in person. What is it about technology and media that they feel more at peace with who they are? Perhaps it is the idea of being protected by a keyboard or maybe because they are able to shape their identity to fit that of the image of most other individuals on that particular site they are on. Having an outlet to express yourself is beneficial; just have to be careful as to what you put public on any media site.

 

References

Manago, A. M., Graham, M. B., Greenfield, P. M., & Salimkhan, G. (2008). Self-presentation and gender on MySpace. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29, 446458. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.001.

Penn State World Campus (2014) Media Communications Technology – Lesson 9


22
Jun 14

Are the SATs a Disadvantage to Minorities?

The SATs have played a very important role in the college admissions process for many students who are hoping to continue their education past high school. The test’s objective is to standardize the admissions process for colleges (WVIA 2011). The SATs were taken by high school students for the first time in 1926 (WVIA 2011). However, as with many other aspects of life, things change. Society today is constantly advancing and creating new solutions as problems arise. Unfortunately, the SATs have created many problems over the last few years, more specifically problems involving disadvantaging minority students. Although there have been minor changes made, society has yet to fix the major issues caused by the problematic test.

Nearly two million students spend $2.5 billion dollars total on test preparation, tutoring, and the test itself each year (Hechinger, 2011). The pricey test inevitably puts minorities at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, the SATs are a big part of the college admissions process for many schools and many minority-grouped students do not have any other option but to take the test. Whites on average score higher on the test than minorities (Hechinger, 2011) Perhaps that’s why only 32% of minority students are enrolled in undergraduate programs (Hechinger, 2011).

Minority students may experience stereotype threat, thus fearing that they will confirm negative stereotypes that others may have towards one’s group (i.e. scoring low on the SATs) (Schneider et al., 2012). If one already has a poor academic self-concept (feeling like one has poor academic achievement), one may self-handicap to relieve the feeling of disappointment if he/she does indeed do poorly on the test. For instance, suppose a latina girl decides to go out with friends the night before taking the SATs. If she does poorly on the test, she may not feel as negatively. This is because she can easily excuse her failure by blaming her low score on her going out the night before instead of on poor academic ability (self-handicapping) (Schneider et al., 2012).

The difference in test scores between minority students and non-minority students are causing colleges to struggle to find ways to remain racially diverse (Hechinger, 2011). Luckily, some colleges are taking action to ensure their applicants a fairer chance to gain admission to their schools. In recent years, the SAT optional movement has become very popular. More and more schools are making the SAT voluntary instead of mandatory. In fact, more than 280 of the nation’s 2,600 four year colleges and universities do not require SAT scores (Christian Science Monitor, 2008).

The SATs have long been used in the college admissions process, but it is time to reconsider them. The standardized test clearly causes problems with its unfairness to minorities taking the test. Every student deserves a fair chance to be accepted to the college of their choice. The SATs are one of the major problems minority students face when applying to college. Taking the SAT optional approach is a good method, however, eliminating the test completely and offering alternative options to students could possibly be the best method in predicting college success.

References

Hechinger, J. (2011) SAT Coaching Found to Boost Scores – Barely. Business News & Financial News The Wall Street Journal Dow Jones and Company, Inc,

History of the SAT: (2011). A Timeline. WVIA. WGBH Educational Foundation

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381

Shelve the S.A.T? Christian Science Monitor (2008): 1. The Christian Science Publishing Society

 


22
Jun 14

Social Media

Ahhhh where to start when it comes to social media… Things that could be discussed are false advertising, magazine issues having effects on the young with body image, or Facebook. Well I decided to not choose any of these. I instead chose to discuss the effects of social media on the young.

Television violence can have a significant impact on children. Even though movies suggest that children do not watch R rated movies they will still find a way to watch them. Not only violence on movies but also violence in video gaming. There are so many video games that all you do is try and kill the opposing player. What effect does this have on children that play these games? It may suggest to children that it is okay for them to kill and shoot at one another. Maybe violence in schools of children bringing weapons in seem to be okay with them since they play it everyday. With Banduras bobo doll experiment why did they test the children on violence they saw from their parents? Why didn’t they test the children on sweet nurturing things their parents did to the bobo doll? However with the experiment at hand it was obvious that whatever the children saw their parents doing they imitated afterwards.

 

Reference:

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.


21
Jun 14

Media’s Depiction of Substance Use and Children

Many studies have shown that there is a correlation between media exposure and increased substance use in adolescence, but I wondered if media exposure to children would correlate to later use of alcohol and/or tobacco use. I work with students with autism and one of their favorite activities is using the computer lab. They are typically given 15 minutes to use the computer. During this time they can play games, watch approved music videos, you tube videos or look up anything of interest, all under the watchful eyes of the teacher and aides. Many of the student in our class choose to play a multiplayer online game called Roblox, (www.roblox.com/landing/animated) it is made up on the lego theme and there are many different types of games within this website, most are made by the users themselves. Roblox is targeted to reach youth ages 8 through 18. The students asked me to play with them so I signed up for a free account and joined them. I was very surprised to see a Maker’s Mark advertisement shown before one of the games loaded. Maker’s Mark is a brand of whiskey and even though the advertisement did not name it as alcohol I wondered if it could influence the students.

I found a study; The Impact of Media-Related Cognitions on Children’s Substance Use Outcomes in the Context of Parental and Peer Substance Use, that found that there is a correlation between media exposure and increased risk of tobacco and/or alcohol use among children when they get older. (Scull, Kupersmidt, and Erausquin. 2014). The study included 649 elementary students in grades 3 through 5. The students were given a choice of preference between merchandise with an alcohol related logo or soda pop related logo. They were also asked to rate on a 1-5 scale how wrong they think it is for someone their age to drink alcohol or use tobacco products. (Scull, Kupersmidt, and Erausquin. 2014). This question tested their moral beliefs about substance use. They were also asked questions about whether they planned to use alcohol or tobacco products when they were older. Another line of questioning inquired about parental and peer substance use. Previous studies have shown a correlation with parental and peer substance use and substance use among adolescents so the study was set to control for that. (Scull, Kupersmidt, and Erausquin. 2014).

The study included some interesting facts; The average American youth is exposed to some form of media for 7.5 hours on average a day. (Scull, Kupersmidt, and Erausquin. 2014). Besides direct media through advertising they are also exposed to substance use through product placement in movies and television. Even 52% of G rated movies included scenes with alcohol use. (Scull, Kupersmidt, and Erausquin. 2014). This amount of exposure to substance use may give them a false social norm about the widespread incidents of substance use. (Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts. Pg.71).

After reading this study I am going to send an e-mail to the creator of the Roblox site and ask that they remove alcohol ads from their games. When concerned citizens take a stand and hold others accountable for the media that influences our children we can affect change .

Roblox, www.roblox.com/landing/animated

Scull, T. M., Kupersmidt, J. B., & Erausquin, J. T. (2014). The impact of media-related   cognitions on children’s substance use outcomes in the context of parental and peer substance use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(5), 717-728. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0012-8

 


21
Jun 14

Social Media and Self Identification

Since the invention if the telegraph as the first form of information media, people have increasingly become dependent on media for various reasons. Among these are dependency for news and information, for entertainment, for education and ultimately for the objective of decision-making. Since the telegraph, media has evolved from a one sided information broadcast to interactive communication between the sender of information and the recipient. These changes have been gradual, but the impact has had far reaching consequences. The telegraph was only read to the audience at the point where it was received. The radio on the other hand was mass broadcast to people in different places (Penn State World Campus, 2014). Since then, the invention of the TV came and continues to be very important as a media outlet, and latest media tool has been the internet.

The importance of the internet and its significance cannot be separated from the tools that it has helped to create. Specifically, the internet has led to the creation of social media tools that today prove to be difficult to resist. Through this technology, the creation of social media sites like MySpace (although its influence is waning), Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, and YouTube among others has been possible. These social media sites on their part, have become part and parcel of our everyday interactions. There are a couple of underlying roles that social media sites continue to play. The first of this is in making friendships. These range from casual contacts, to making friends and building relationships. The other major role of social media has been to provide a platform for presenting our self-images to the rest of the world.

In regards to this aspect of self-image, sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Pinterest facilitate the sharing of information on things people have, things that they do, friends that they make and events that people participate in. Bardone-Cone, and Cass (2007) writes in regards to weigh issues among emerging adults, those who visit pro-anorexia websites are clearly showing behavioral expectations, which are likely to inspire them to exercise watch their weight.Whether consciously or subconsciously, the sharing of such information has become a way for the pursuit of identity exploration and development (Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008). Thus by presenting their self-images is to a great extent an attempt at self-identification. One would ask why use social media to self-identity? There are a number of reasons given by Manago et al. (2008) in explaining this, including the fact that for some, social exclusion and gender norms among some cultures leave the social media as the only outlet for full self-expression. Social exclusion occurs where because of others perception of a person -whether it is gender, race, ethnicity, disability or other aspect of who a person is, they are either shunned or not given an opportunity to interact. Gender norms on the other hand are mostly discriminatory aspects of the way women are perceived or the roles that they are given in a communication setting.

Because of access to social media, people have found ways of communicating their desires for friendships, intimacy, professional aspirations, and role models to emulate. These are aspects of social identity and group membership processes (Manago et al. (2008) but the consequences can be quite different. For example, lately YouTube has become very helpful in identifying ne musical talent among kids in their teens, the most prominent of which is Justin Bieber (Adib, 2009). Facebook on the other hand has had negative impact upon vulnerable especially when they come face to face with cyber-bullies. Such was the case of Lewis Thelwall (Arkell, 2013) who committed suicide after repeated malicious information was posted about him. Whether we accept it as fact, social media is influencing how we choose to self-identify, and ultimately the people we chose to associate with. Given this importance, people should be more careful in considering the implications of what they put out to the public domain.

References

Adib, D., (2009) Pop Star Justin Bieber Is on the Brink of Superstardom Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/teen-pop-star-justin-bieber-discovered-youtube/story?id=9068403

Arkell, H., (2013) Coroner warns of dangers of Facebook after student, 19, targeted by young women bullies online hanged himself. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513782/Facebook-bullies-led-suicide-student-19-hanged-himself.html#ixzz35J0zKCYX

Bardone-Cone, A., & Cass, M., (2007) What Does Viewing a Pro-Anorexia Website Do? An Experimental Examination of Website Exposure and Moderating Effects International Journal of Eating Disorders 40:6 537–548 2007—DOI 10.1002/eat

Manago, A. M., Graham, M. B., Greenfield, P. M., & Salimkhan, G. (2008). Self-presentation and gender on MySpace. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29, 446458. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.001.

Penn State World Campus (2014) Media Communications Technology – Lesson 9


21
Jun 14

Is Growing Up Online a Bad Thing?

Many people are dependent on the internet in today’s society. The internet is used by various age groups for a plethora of activities such as reading forums, playing video games, and social networking. Young people, in particular have grown up being surrounding by this amazing technology. Although the internet can be beneficial to users, it can also promote feelings of inadequacy by comparing oneself to others.

“Growing Up Online,” is a video documenting how the internet has affected some teens in New Jersey ( http://video.pbs.org/video/1082076027/ ). Manango et al., 2008 suggests that the website MySpace, allows users who are going through identity exploration, an opportunity to try new identities through virtual reality. Unfortunately, in “Growing Up Online,” a girl named Jess created a fake online identity through MySpace. In the video, Jess describes how she did not want to portray her true self online because it reminded her of not having friends. She states that she was constantly teased because she did not fit in. The Social Comparison theory suggests that we compare ourselves to others who are better than we are in certain traits or compare ourselves to people who are not as well off as we are (Schneider et al., 2012).  As a result of feeling inadequate by comparing herself to others, Jess created a MySpace page where she self-presented herself as a girl named “Autumn.” Jess applied heavy makeup and posted suggestive photos on her page (i.e. wearing lingerie). Through this fake persona, Jess finally got the attention that she craved in an unhealthy way.

The video also interviews a girl named Sara who is suffering from an eating disorder. She uses pro-anorexia websites to self-disclose to others and to gain advice, tips, and inspiration to be thin (i.e. encouraging anorexia). The website clearly affects Sara’s social and personal identity (i.e. identifying herself as an anorexic) (Schneider et al., 2012). According to Bardone-Cone et al., 2007, viewing pro-anorexia websites influence women’s level of self-comparison with female images (i.e. social comparison theory) and their reported probability of participating in numerous behaviors and thoughts connected to food, exercise, and weight (Schneider et al., 2012). The video states that users of these pro-anorexia websites call anorexia “Ana” and link it to the goddess, “Ana.” Users of these websites use the sites to be thin in an attempt to feel good about oneself.

Despite the internet’s perks, the technology can be a harmful environment for users, which sometimes promotes feelings of inadequacy. As seen in “Growing Up Online,” the internet allows users an opportunity to engage in unhealthy acts such as creating fake online identities and using websites to promote and encourage eating disorders such as anorexia. Interventions to these problems is a must. It is important for parents, as well as teachers, to educate students about risks and dangers one may encounter on the internet. Interventions should also include educating young people about the health risks associated with eating disorders and should encourage healthy eating and exercise habits. As with any intervention, however, it is important to evaluate the intervention’s success and adjust it accordingly.

 

References

Bardone-Cone, A., & Cass, K. (2007). What Does Viewing a Pro-Anorexia Website Do?. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40 (6), 537-548.

Manago, A., Graham, M., Greenfield, P., & Salimkhan, G. (2008). Self-presentation and gender on MySpace. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 29, Issue 6, November–December 2008, Pages 446-458, Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.001. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0193397308000749)

Growing Up Online (2008). PBS Video. Retrieved from http://video.pbs.org/video/1082076027/

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381

 

 


20
Jun 14

Where were the parents?

“My TV made me do it” is not a defense we haven’t heard before when people commit violent acts against other people. Very often in society people do not want to or are not capable of taking responsibility for their actions. The theory of cognitive dissonance can help to explain why we make excuses for our actions. Most people do not want to be viewed as bad but they know that sometimes their actions make them appear that way so they may try to find a way to excuse the behavior.

A recent news report indicates that two twelve year old girls violently stabbed a girl their age in order to please the fictional character “Slender Man”. Thankfully the girl survived the attack and was able to crawl to the road where a passing motorists found her and was able to get her some help. Stories like this are an unfortunate upward trend in today’s society. The question of how violence in the media affecting today’s youth and how we can prevent it, is a question that can no longer go unanswered. Almost since the introduction of television and other media sources psychologist have been studying these affects and trying figure how these affects play a role in the violent actions such as these.

A study by Olson, Kutner, and Warner (2008) collected data from 42 7th and 8th grade boys. They wanted to see how the boys viewed video games and if their engagement in those video game contributed to violent thoughts of behavior. The general results of the study indicated that the boys used video games as a way of identity exploration and that the influence of the games on their way of thinking was generally positive. The boys indicated that they were able to separate reality from fantasy and that ability was a contributing factor to the non-negative influence of the game. It should be noted that this study was conducted in a closed setting and relied on self-disclosure in collecting the data. What this study did not take into account was parental involvement. However, it does bring us into the minds of children the same age as the girls (and many other adolescence) who play video games.

I’m sure I’m not along when I hear tragedies in the news about children acting violently when I ask first “where are the parents?” It’s a legitimate question. Did the parents of these girl know, care, or monitor the girl’s behavior? Would it have made a difference?

Unfortunately I have had difficulty finding studies that have been conducted that relate directly to parental monitoring and media’s effect on children. Many studies have shown the effect that parental monitoring has on reducing the incidences of childhood injury, substances abuse and behavior problems. It is not a far stretch to assume that a correlation between parental monitoring of media use could have the same effects on children. More research should be done to try to determine how parents can reduce the effect media has on the cognitive development of children. Perhaps with more study social psychology can find intervention models to introduce to society ways of curving these violent trends.

What we do know from research is that people can become desensitized to the continual exposure to certain subject matter. If you’ve ever gotten a shot of Novocain at the dentist before his drill hits your tooth you can be grateful for the desensitization it gave you. Cognitive desensitization, a Novocain for the brain if you will, suggests that the more you see something, such a violence, the less you react to it. Just as you do not react to the pain of the drill. Priming has also been correlated between media and behavior. Priming suggests that exposure to subjects in specific context, such as a gun in the context of violent and aggressive acts, can cause our behavior to become violent or aggressive in the presence of a gun (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012).

Of course other concepts can be applied to this case as well. Were the girls desensitized to the violent act they committed because of continuous exposure to violent images depicted on the “Creepy Pasta” website? The suggestion that everyone who is desensitized to violent media can and will act out in aggressive ways is obviously an over generalization of the concept. One must also ask if these girls (one or both) had other personality factors or life circumstances that perpetuated the violent act.

Perhaps in many instances media can take the fall for putting ideas into children’s heads. The concepts of desensitizing them, priming them, and creating pathways in their head that lead to higher instances of aggression and violence combined with the media and lower parental intervention should also be considered as contributing factors as well.

References:

Wallace, K., (2014), Slendman stabbing case: when can kids understand reality vs. fantasy; CNN Living June 5, 2014 Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/03/living/slenderman-stabbing-questions-for-parents/

Olson, C. K., Kutner, L. A., & Warner, D. E. (2008). The role of violent video game content in adolescent development: Boys’ perspectives. Journal of Adolescent Research, 23(1), 55-75. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0743558407310713

Gentile, D. A., Nathanson, A. I., Rasmussen, E. E., Reimer, R. A., & Walsh, D. A. (2012). Do you see what I see? parent and child reports of parental monitoring of media. Family Relations, 61(3), 470-487. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1314536670?accountid=13158

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381


19
Jun 14

Strong, Effective and Ethical Lessons

“You’ve got to be carefully taught” is Rodgers and Hammerstein song form their musical, South Pacific, that was on stage during the1950’s (Norris, 2014). The musical is about romance, but it integrates issues of race and discrimination (Norris, 2014), and the song is about how discrimination is taught carefully, in long term. That phrase came to my mind when I watched the video, A Class Divided, about education experiment to teach stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination (Frontline, 1985). These issues have been around for a long, long, time, and some people who realized that these are social problem have been working hard to eliminate them. But the world changes slowly, and we seem to make real changes only through children.

Back in 1962, immediately after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jane Elliott experimented on teaching her third grade students about discrimination (Frontline, 1985). For two days, she  made each of them experience real discrimination through provoking stereotyping and prejudice with usage of social psychological phenomena like cognitive errors, self-perceptions and bystander effect. Elliott first created stereotyping situation among the children by separating them into two groups by easily recognized physical traits as blue eyes and brown eyes. She started to make negative statements about one group, and the children easily accepted these new values associated with each group. They developed prejudice against another blue eyes or brown eyes depending on who was on top for the day. They alternated their discriminated role for one day each. And in those two days bystander effect took place that no one seemed to rescue another, that friends just accepted and watched when a person was being abused verbally, being told that the cause for bad performance was of the color of their eyes (Frontline, 1985).

As  I watched the section I through 3 of the program, I thought how dedicated Ms. Elliott is in adhering to the value of equality and trying to teach her children in the most effective way. With skilled editing of the video, when we see the expression of these children and hear what they said, we hurt with them when they are discriminated and are so relieved when children seem to understand the lesson but are happy again after the lesson is over. But when the program was applied to adults, the learning was not so straightforward. Some of the adults seem to have difficulty in accepting their new found truth that they discriminate people. It was painful to watch the experiment on adults, and it reminded me of Stanley Milgram’s experiment on obedience that adults was traumatized because they felt powerless against authoritative figure and that they could not find the courage to stop doing what they felt was wrong (Elliot, Timothiy, Wilson & Akert, 2010). And with adults, it was likely that belief perseverance, ignoring the evidence and keeping one’s own belief, happened to many participants.

Neither Elliott nor Milgram kind of experiment will be permitted in today’s academic world, because of ethical reasons and rights of the participants. I am glad of that, because I think I will carry the hurt and scar from these kinds of experiences, no matter how valuable the lessons are. But how else do we teach each other these important things in life? Without evoking powerful emotion, the learning may not last. I would like to suggest that for the most effective and slow but sure way to have stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice controlled society is to teach children through activities like Elliott’s experiment, but integrate the coaching aspects into it. Introducing a new office that they can go confidentially to ask for advice when they are upset a week or so before the lesson takes place.  At this office, children will receive advice on how to handle discrimination situation, such as getting together with other like minded children to refuse together to do what they felt was wrong. This maybe more of self defense lesson, but maybe teaching self defense to children is slow but fastest way to decrease prejudice, stereo typing and discrimination in the world.

Resoucre

Frontline. (1985). A Class Divided. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/

Norris, Michelle. (2014). Six Words: You’ve Got To Be Taught’ Intolerance. NPR. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/308296815/six-words-youve-got-to-be-taught-intolerance

PSU WC. (2014). PSYCH424: Lesson 10, Education. Retrieved from; https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/11_lesson/01_page.html

Scheneider, Frank W., Gruman, Jamie A., Coutts, Larry M. (2012)  Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Second Edition.


17
Jun 14

Are Business Leaders Today Jerks?

Throughout the human civilization, people worked in teams and organizations. It is fascinating how people and organizations in power affected countries, and how they used power to create empires. The Business Insider is an Internet site that is not a reliable source for information, but it does have interesting articles that are thought provoking, and one article is “The 10 Greatest  Empires In The History of The World” (Rogers & Johnson 2011).  The ranking and reasons may not have solid proofs, but the empires listed are certainly well known: the British Empire, the Russian Empire, the Turkish Empire, the Qing Dynasty, to name a few. I can imagine in their days, leaders who were bullies, or jerks, using violence was very common. Today, in advanced countries, physically abusive bullies are not tolerated. But are business leaders today jerks?  From my experience in the global business world, and according to Bob Sutton (2007)  many business leaders are in fact jerks.

We hear and read plenty of things about the greatness as well as their negative traits of.famous leaders such as late Steve Jobs of Apple, Jack Dorsey of Twitter, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, or Richard Branson of Virgin Group (Williams, 2012).  I have never worked with them directly, so I can not say for certain how they are, but I have worked closely with managers of dozens of global companies over the past 25 years, and I can definitely say that some of them were bullies and narcissists. I am only glad that we live in today’s world, since at least, they will not be physically abusive. And if they are jerks, we have the option to leave the companies with leaders with traits like those described by Robert Sutton (2007), who are yell at individuals, talk behind individual’s back, or make an individual feel invisible by ignoring him.

Why do these jerks behave like that at workplace? One of the factors can be their need for power. According to McClelland’s need theory, people have the three needs in the workplace, Achievement (nACH), affiliation (nAff), and power (nPow) (Penn State University, 2014, McClelland & Burnham, 1976). When it comes to people who become leaders, often in the U.S., their need for power is most noticeable by people who work for them. There are two types of need for power, and one is personal power which is desire to control and influence other people (Penn State University, 2014).  The other type of power is socialized power which is desire to gain power for the group (Penn State University, 2014). Effective leadership and positive relationship that promote long term success are associated with social power (Penn State University, 2014). From my limited experience, the ratio of leaders who wish for social power seem to be much higher than the leaders who wish for personal power. Perhaps this is what Sutton describes as effective jerk situation, where there is one jerk in an organization to remind people how not to behave. However, what I found is that when there are very few jerks around, the people within an organization do not know how to deal with them. Such is common case in Japan, and I feel that the damages a jerk can do to an organization is bigger there.

As I was listing the names of those leaders Forbes ranked in 2012 as some of greatest leaders, it struck me that these are the leaders who either started up companies to become global giants, or brought very small operations to mega global ones. So what did their companies have to do to become empires? They may not last like the great empires that last for hundreds of years, but how do they become sustainable? Sutton (2007) described his experience that company like Pixar which was started up by Steve Jobs, who was notorious for being a bully, that the company did not tolerate jerks. Sutton (2007) also gave an example of the owner of a major private company admitting he and his son were jerks, asking for help to change that. They seem to understand that in order for their company to stay in business for a long time, they need to have socialized power (Penn State University, 2014). How did British Empire, Spanish Empire, Russian Empire last so long? We can learn so much from history, especially from recent one such as British Empire where official literature is easily available. Who knows, we may uncover strikingly new things about power and leadership.

Resources

Penn State University (2014). Psychology 424: Applied Social Psychology Course. Chapter 6 : Intergroup Relations. Doi :https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/11_lesson/01_page.html

Rogers, A. & Johnson, R (2011 November 9). . “The 10 Greatest Empires In The History of The World”. The Business Insider. Doi: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-greatest-empires-in-history-2011-9?op=1

Scheneider, Frank W., Gruman, Jamie A., Coutts, Larry M. (2012)  Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Second Edition.

Sutton, R. (2007, May 30). Audio Podcast: The No Jerk Rule. Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Lecture. Podcast retrieved from http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=1715

Williams, D. (2012, July 24). “Top 10 List: The Greatest Living Business Leaders Today”. Forbes. Doi: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2012/07/24/top-10-list-the-greatest-living-business-leaders-today/


16
Jun 14

Where is the justice in the criminal justice system?

There is no question that America is a Nation of laws, at least that is how we understand it and what we hear from our leaders. Like many Americans, I am proud whenever I hear these kinds of reminders because I feel that should anything happen to me or my loved ones, there is always the legal system that I can depend on for remedy. The truth is that compared to many other countries around the world, at least we have a system of justice that is within the reach of American citizens. Compared to some countries in Africa, Asia and even South America where justice is openly denied to many citizens I cannot find fault with the American criminal justice system.

A lot of problems with this justice system are however revealed when we shine the spotlight on the justice system and compare it only to what we believe and expect of it. Issues of injustice, miscarriage of justice, wrongful convictions etc. quickly come to mind. These are not just imaginary questions but real events that affect real people. Not a day passes before we hear or read in the news about some rich person getting a slap on the wrist for a crime or misdemeanor, and a poor person getting many years for a drug use conviction. Where is the justice in this criminal justice system? Take for example the case of Ethan Couch (Ford, 2014) who driving drunk, caused a crash which killed four people and injured two others. What did the judge do? Couch was sentenced to 10 years’ probation because in hid defense, he was a victim of “affluenza” (Ford, 2014). That is to say that Couch could not understand the impact of his actions because his family was too rich!!In 2012 Marissa Alexander was jailed for 20 years for firing a warning shot during a dispute with her estranged husband (CNN.com). This in spite the fact that no one was injured and that she had invoked the Florida “Stand Your Ground Law.” It is the same law under which Trayvon Martin lost his life and George Zimmerman was acquitted for his death.

Statistics show that the US is the country which leads in incarcerating its citizens (Tsai & Scommegna, 2012; Wing, 2013). In regards to these incarcerations, many of the convicted are from minority communities who also have a large share of the death row inmates. The problem in the case of death row, is that new investigations and challenges by the innocence project have led to the exoneration and release of people who had been wrongly convicted. Using DNA testing many of these ex-convicts were found not to have committed the crimes for which they had been accused. Unfortunately, there have been others who have been executed before exoneration. The question that many would ask is how were these people convicted in the first place? There are many different answers to this question, including false confessions, coerced confessions, lack of proper representations etc. These all come down to one thing: there is a lot of miscarriage of justice in the justice system. Should we be worried?

References

CNN Staff (2012) Florida woman sentenced to 20 years in controversial warning shot case Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/11/justice/florida-stand-ground-sentencing/

Ford, D., (2014) Judge orders Texas teen Ethan Couch to rehab for driving drunk, killing 4 Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/05/us/texas-affluenza-teen/

Wing, N., (2013) Here Are All Of The Nations That Incarcerate More Of Their Population Than The U.S. Huffington Post Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/incarceration-rate-per-capita_n_3745291.html

Tsai, T., & Scommegna, P., (2012) U.S. Has World’s Highest Incarceration Rate Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx

 


15
Jun 14

Communication and Gender

Last year I took a course about gender and psychology.  In that course I was assigned to read an article by Karin A. Martin that talks about the way our bodies become gendered.  According to the article, from a very early age we are taught and reinforced to act in a socially acceptable, gendered way, especially in school.  Little boys are allowed to stretch and sprawl out while sitting, while little girls are chastised for not sitting with their legs crossed.  We allow little boys to play with army figurines and trucks, but discourage them if they want to play dress up.  Little girls are sent to school is dresses which can be both physically and behaviorally restrictive.  The implications of “doing gender” last a lifetime.  At a young age men learn to stand up tall and appear confident while women are taught to shrink themselves (Martin, 1998).

It is very interesting to think about the implications of this learned behavior later in life.  Learning subtle gendered body language can lead people to be more or less effective communicators in adulthood.   For instance, if a woman makes a statement while sitting with her legs crossed, she may appear less confident and more closed up than a man who is sitting with an open, tall posture.

According to Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, a large portion of encoding and decoding communication is expressed and perceived, respectively, through body language (2012).  If such a large portion of effective communication is conveyed through body language, does learned body language cause women and men to communicate differently or with varying degrees of effectiveness?

 

References:

Martin, K. (1998).  Becoming a gendered body: Practices of preschools.  Edited and reprinted in R. Weitz (Ed.), The politics of women’s bodies, 2nd edition (pp.219-239).  NY: Oxford University Press.  Originally published in American Sociological Review63, 494-511.  ISBN 978-019539063

Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Coutts, L.  (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.


15
Jun 14

Care

Have you ever taken care of an older individual for so long that you just are not able to spend anymore time and energy towards taken care of them? Hospice Care is the organization to call when you feel like you just cannot take it anymore. Hospice care is considered to be an end of life care organization. Recently, however, they have changed their caring aspects and turned it into a care that the person still has many more years to live but just need the extra help to get by. They are seen in residences, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Their job is to make the individual comfortable not only physically but psychologically as well.

Growing up and living with my grandmother she received hospice care in our home. Everyday someone from hospice came in and took her vitals, bathed her, and made sure she had a nutritious meal. Recently my grandfather has been a patient of hospice care and they come in and do the same as they did with my grandmother. Their care is exceptional; the way they take the time to listen to my grandfather is such a blessing. Now do the nurses that come in really enjoy what they do in taking care of older individuals or is there some kind of external factor that motivates them to continue doing an exceptional job. Job satisfaction is a person’s attitude toward their overall job. Years of schooling and graduate school can improve the job satisfaction completely.

In all, this organization provides extreme care for individuals of the elderly population. Such a strong performance of the nurses could be due to high job satisfaction to want to strive and do better for all their patients.

 

References

“Hospice Care: MedlinePlus.” U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 15 June 2014. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hos

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2005). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

 


15
Jun 14

Are Schools Really Safe?

While reading the textbook material and supporting lesson on the criminal justice system, it became increasingly apparent to me, in light of the number of recent school shootings, that an adequate discussion was lacking on how to help the perpetrators of such violent acts before they act out.

A number of these perpetrators have been described as having “evil” tendencies before any violence has occurred, yet they are not given adequate help.  In an interview, Peter Lanza, the father of Adam Lanza who is responsible for the Sandy Hook shootings, admits that he wishes his son had never been born and that he believes his son would have killed him.  Lanza had been diagnosed on the Asperger’s spectrum, yet clearly there was much more going on.  His father was scared for his life, but failed to have his son reevaluated or treated (Moran).  Why did this discrepancy between fear and action occur?

I believe that a huge part of this discrepancy is the stigma associated with mental illness in our culture.  The stigma associated with mental illness allows people to go untreated. Although most people who are mentally ill are not violent, many perpetrators of horrific crimes are mentally ill.  Parents don’t want to believe that something could be wrong with “their baby.”  But the real trouble, is ignoring the facts.  By allowing our society to continue to stigmatize mental illness, many cases go undetected or ignored.  Crimes, like the recent series of school shootings could be prevented if only society would step up.

Social psychology has a real opportunity to design and implement intervention strategies to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the future.    By reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and increases services to mentally-ill or at risk youth, we could bring about a real change.

References:

Moran, L. (2014, March 10). Adam Lanza was ‘evil’ and would have killed me ‘in a heartbeat,’ says his dad. NY Daily News. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/adam-lanza-evil-killed-heartbeat-dad-article-1.1716359


15
Jun 14

The Story of Earl Washington Jr.

It is terrible to think what it would be like to go to jail. Imagine going to jail for a crime you did not even commit. Unfortunately, this is what happens when someone who is innocent makes an interrogation-induced false confession. According to the Innocence project, the average time of incarceration for an innocent citizen convicted of a crime one did not commit is 13 years. Thirteen years is a long time to be put in jail for a crime one was not even responsible for.

One may ask how this happens. Why would someone actually admit to committing a crime they were not actually involved in? Lassiter (2010) states that research shows that even mentally stable suspects may incriminate themselves as a result of certain police interrogation tactics. For instance, in circumstances where police lie to obtain implicating information from suspects, innocent suspects sometimes submit to the accusations of their guilt (Lassiter, 2010). In around 30% of DNA exoneration cases, innocent defendants made incriminating statements, delivered outright confessions, or pled guilty (Innocence Project, 2014). Lassiter (2010) suggests video recording suspect interrogations. In an attempt to prevent the fundamental attribution error from being made by jurors (attributing guilt solely on a suspect without taking into consideration environmental factors), it is suggested that the video interrogation show the suspect as well as his/her surroundings (i.e. police officer, holding cell, etc.) (PSU WC, 2014).

Unfortunately, in 1982 a man named Earl Washington Jr. falsely confessed to a number of crimes including the rape and murder of a nineteen year old woman. Despite confessing to the crime, Washington did not even know the race of the victim during questioning or where she lived. It was later found out that he had an IQ score of 69 (the average person’s IQ is around 100). The man was not only supposed to spend life in prison, he also was on death row. After serving 17 years in jail, DNA evidence was able to exclude him as a suspect in the case and he was eventually released (Innocence Project, 2014).

An innocent man, who had mental handicaps served 17 years in prison as a direct result of police coercion. The suspect was only able to point out the scene of the crime after police took him to the crime scene three times prior (Innocence Project, 2014). As Lassiter (2010) suggested, video recordings of interrogations should be shown to jurors and should include the suspect and his/her surroundings to confirm if the confession is one of truth or if it is false. Do you think there should be a law passed requiring video recorded interrogations during court? Are there other ways society can reduce the chances of one falsely confessing to a crime? Perhaps, police detectives should have to undergo various trainings with social psychologists to minimize false confessions?

 

References

Know the Cases (2014). Innocence Project. Retrieved from http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Earl_Washington.php

Lassiter, G. D. (2010). Psychological science and sound public policy: Video recording custodial interrogations. American Psychologist, 65, 768-779. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/psycinfo/docview/763254229/fulltextPDF/1C1F057D079C445EPQ/61?accountid=13158

PSU WC. (2014). PSYCH424: Lesson 6, Intergroup Relations. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/07_lesson/01_page.html


15
Jun 14

Technology in the Workplace

The use of computers and other technology has become so common in the workplace that people fail to realize that these devices can sometimes actually hinder one’s intellectual abilities and competence, as well as deskilling users. In the modern world of technology, computers are heavily relied on day in and day out. Technological devices are used in jobs such as retail, healthcare, construction, and financial services to name a few. Despite these technologies being used to enhance job performance and efficiency, they are actually making society dumber and may be harming businesses.

For example, users have developed a huge dependence on these devices. Technology may be used for research, production, transportation, etc. (PSU WC, 2014). Users who depend on technology to complete work-related tasks lack certain skills that people generations ago would have been better-equipped with, including writing skills. In today’s society computers encourage the use of programs such as Microsoft Word and Email. Not only are humans relying on Microsoft Word for formatting their writing, they also rely on this program’s ability to detect spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors for them (PSU WC, 2014).

The use of Email not only reduces users’ writing and social skills by discouraging face-to-face contact between individuals or groups of people, the common technology also leads to miscommunication between users (Kruger et al., 2005). Email may be a fast way to communicate, however, that does not mean it may be used to communicate effectively. Businesses who rely heavily on Email communications may experience problems regarding encoding and decoding messages (Kruger et al., 2005). This in turn creates havoc. When messages are misconstrued, businesses may experience several problems (i.e. unhealthy work relationships, financial problems, etc.).

In one of my classes that I took last semester, we discussed how technology is taking over the business world. Workers used to be skilled and masters at what they did. Now, however, workers are being replaced by machines and as a result, workers are becoming incompetent and deskilled (PSU WC., 2014). In some cases, technology is even taking worker’s jobs away from them. In factories, for instance, heavy machinery is used to produce products that would have taken several workers to make. Unfortunately, these factors decrease job satisfaction and work motivation in workers (Schneider et al., 2012). Employers may also place blame on workers for errors that were beyond their control, such as problems with machinery (i.e. fundamental attribution error) (Schneider et al., 2012).

Overall, technologies used in the workplace decrease thinking for oneself and discourages problem-solving abilities. It is clear that businesses rely very heavily on these technologies which is in turn weakening the skills and abilities of the individual. Unfortunately, these problems come at a major cost to businesses. Do you think that businesses should rely so heavily on technology? Should technology use be limited in certain workplaces?

 

References

Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z. (2005). Egocentrism over e-mail: Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 925-925-936. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.925

PSU WC. (2014). PSYCH424: Lesson 6, Intergroup Relations. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/07_lesson/01_page.html

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381


15
Jun 14

Finding the Balance

Leadership has always been a term of integrity and respect. Being a leader is something that sets an individual apart from a crowd. The qualities and characteristics of a leader gives them a degree of power over others. Knowing how to use such power is what becomes important. Leadership and power can easily be taken advantage of. I have come across a particular situation within a camp I volunteer at that leadership has been abused.

French and Raven (1959) constructed the idea of the five bases of power. Reward, coercive, expert, referent, and legitimate are considered to be the bases of power that can help guide leadership. The first type of reward is the kind of power that has the capability of influencing another individual by in turn offering an enjoyable result. Coercive power is more negative with its influence due to reprimand. The next type of power is expert, which is influence by the idea of great knowledge or experience. Referent power is similar to expert power except instead of influence by knowledge, it is influence through approbation. Lastly, legitimate power is more literally with it’s influence through position within an organization. Each base individually can be seen as different types of leaders. Some more favorable than others. However, by combining some of these types of power, it can lead to a more favorable type of leadership.

The camp I volunteer at struggled to find a leader with an equal balance of these five bases of power. Because it is a children’s camp, it would not be beneficial to have a leader with that exhibit more coercive or legitimate power. All the volunteers work together as equals so there really is no legitimate power and we would not want to have a leader that is feared by the campers. Finding a balance of the remaining reward, expert, and referent power took time. As any other group, our camp volunteers went through developmental stages to find the right combination to make us all work together efficiently. Forming, storming, norming and performing all occurred in our group. Nothing can be perfect the first time or without putting effort into it. Teams function best when everyone contributes with their best.

 

Reference

PSU WC. (2014). PSYCH424: Lesson 6, Intergroup Relations. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/07_lesson/01_page.html


15
Jun 14

Criminal Interventions

I admit, I enjoy watching COPS, but at times the program really hits a nerve. I can’t tell you how many shows I’ve watched where cops arrest a drug addict and tells him or her you’re lucky, we’re probably saving your life by arresting you and sending you to jail… The fact of the matter is, they are not lucky and jail is only compounding the problem.

According to the most recent data from Bureau of Justice Statistics, drug offenders accounted for 50% of the male federal prison population, and 58% of the female population in 2012. 17% of the state prison population was serving time for drug offenses, many for simple possession (Carson & Golinelli, 2013). These numbers exclude those in local jails, under probation, or in other types of correctional monitoring. The most important thing to keep in mind with these numbers is that these percentages account for those convicted on drug offenses alone, or as the most serious of their offenses (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2014).

Crime, as an offense, is inherently social as are the development of criminal behaviors.   From the perspective of social psychology, criminal behavior arises as result of both proximal variables (influences, opportunity, triggers) and distal variables (facilitating situational and environmental factors). Of course, it is biologically possible for someone to be predisposed for criminal behavior, but activating that behavior requires the right circumstances and environment (Schneider et al., 2012).

To be rehabilitated (that is to restore individuals ability to be healthy and productive in society) treatment must focus on both proximal and distal variables of criminal behavior. That includes personal, social and environmental factors that cause and perpetuate criminal behavior. Incarceration is not an effective intervention because it does not follow scientific models of criminal behavior. The prison system places offenders in a concentration of fellow offenders. This social environment heightens criminal behavior (Schneider et al, 2012).

According to social facilitation theory the mere presence of others heightens our senses and leads to increased performance on tasks we know well (Schneider, et al., 2012, p248). We like to show off our skills and mastery when we’re being observed. Prison is a social facilitation breeding ground of peers that have mastery in various criminal behaviors. This environment encourages the demonstration and betterment of criminal behavior rather than deterring it. Furthermore, social learning theory tells us that criminal behavior develops from our interactions with our social environment. Offenders live in a niche of like-minded criminals. Their social environment is nothing but criminals. The interactions reinforce criminal behavior and instead of tackling the sustaining factors of deviant behavior, it encourages it. Yet another theory, self-fulfilling prophecy, tells us that a persons expectations influence behaviors of others in such a way that confirm the expectation. Being labeled a criminal categorized as prisoner and treated like one by the institution and society influences criminal behavior, which confirms the belief that an individual is indeed a criminal. Furthermore, this aids in the publics positive opinion about the need for prison systems and their effectiveness (Schneider et al., 2012).

I am far from an expert in social psychology or criminal justice, but it is clear that the interventions we currently use do not have a theoretical foundation. I find it hard to believe the public and our government continues to throw support and money at this broken and ineffective system. Drug offenders in particular will never be rehabilitated through incarceration. This type of behavior is situational, environmental, and socially influenced. Treatment and rehabilitation of drug offenders needs to happen in our communities, not behind bars.

References:

Carson, E. & Golinelli, D. (2013). Prisoners in 2012, Trends in Admissions and Releases, 1991-2012. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p12tar9112.pdf

Common Sense for Drug Policy, Org. (2014). Drug War Facts, 6th Edition. Retrieved from http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/#sthash.YCOOaaCC.dpbs

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381


15
Jun 14

A Common Problem

Tragedy of the commons refers to a concept about the exploitation of resources that are perceived as limitless. According to Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts (2012), this concept derives from areas known as commons. My hometown, Lynn, MA, still has a portion of its once vast commons preserved. The commons was a public field for animal owners to bring their livestock to graze. Because there were no set rules, the grazing fields were in essence, limitless. As more livestock provided more food source for a larger population, and larger populations owned more livestock, more of the commons were being used, and the commons were found to be very limited. Eventually, resources were diminished, fewer livestock could be provided for, and less food source resulted in a decrease in population.

As resources appear to be limitless, they are exploited. This exploitation causes a ripple effect that does more harm than good. We are still seeing this problem today. Although each household no longer needs its own cow and sheep, each person does need his own living space. Land is a limited resource. Yet it appears by the way it is being used, that we are not all fully aware of this resource’s limits. As more and more people are born, more space is needed for living, agriculture, business expansions, etc. We see people of wealth building bigger and better homes with more rooms than they have members of their families and grand, pointless, entryways of wasted ecosystems (which is another problem entirely). As habitable land becomes scares, we witness wars, famine, and migrations. Our history is full of examples of the struggle between living space and populations (the potato famine, immigrants coming through Ellis Island, NY, etc.).

Over populated regions cannot sustain the numbers of people that multiply continuously. People die from overcrowded living conditions, and lack of nourishment. We can begin to see these effects in places like New York, where land is so scares that we look to a new “limitless” space to live in; the sky. Projects, skyscraping condos and office buildings are riddled across the overpopulated parts of our country. Although Pruitt-Igoe (as cited by Schneider et al., 2012) was unsuccessful in addressing the tragedy of the commons dilemma in St. Louis back in the 50s, architects, along with the whole growing population, should be mindful of our limited spaces, and should continue to seek solutions to making the best of the space we have.

Perhaps regulations should be put into place, where there are restrictions against excessive land ownership in regards to purpose (conservation, warranted use, status symbol, etc.). If we are not careful, we may be witnessing the turn of events that will lead us to the rebirth of new commons sooner than later, and this does not involve the continued birth of our species.

References

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2005). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.


14
Jun 14

Vigilante Justice?

vigilante sign

The lesson 8 discussion post assignment led me to an article titled: Community participation in crime prevention: Informal social control practices in site B, Khayelitsha Township which can be found in the Journal of Educational and Social Research, 4(3), 121-127 at http://search.proquest.com/docview/1442990028?accountid=13158 .   This research touched on the “buntu courts” in South Africa. These courts were community courts and were outlawed by the South African government due to the high rate of “convictions” often with very little evidence. This was seen as vigilante justice. (Manaliyo, and Muzindutsi 2013).  Vigilante justice is when an individual decides to take the law into their own hands.

This led me to wonder about why vigilante justice happens. I came upon this article titled: Vigilante Behavior and Attribution Bias, in the June 1987 issue of Criminal Justice and Behavior, pgs. 123-137. (Neapolitan 1987). Vigilante situations are construed differently depending on the person. Both internal and external attributions can affect people’s objectivity. The research provided written scenarios and the respondents had to rate the vigilante situation and say whether the vigilante’s actions were justified or whether the actions of the vigilante were not justified. The study showed that the biggest factor in how one responds to a vigilante situation is whether they identify with the vigilante or the victim of the vigilante. (Neapolitan 1987). The environment of the situation plays a role as well. When a familiar environment is invaded by a threatening stranger the act of the vigilante is seen as justifiable.  This would be an example of an external cause due to the behavior of the stranger. When the traits are seen as coming from inside the person it was  often vigilante act was seen as not justified. (Neapolitan 1987). The study also showed that even prosecutors sometime make the decision whether or not to prosecute by the internal attributions of the accused, such as social status. (Neapolitan 1987).

Neapolitan, J. (1987). Vigilante behavior and attribution bias. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 14(2), 123-   137. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/617447428?accountid=13158

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Kindle edition.


14
Jun 14

Self-Empowerment through Informal Teams: Black Girls in Urban Settings

Many urban black girl face many challenges including poverty, abuse, violence, and lack of opportunities. To add to these problems, many have to deal with single parenthood when relationships do not work out as expected after a child is born. That is not to say that all is lost and that urban black girls will always end up poor and dependent. Growing up, my mother was always a role model for me and I tried as much as I can to figure out how I could follow in her footsteps and come out as a strong black woman. Part of what I remember from my mother’s many advises is that I should always be aware of my circumstances and my surroundings and make use of the opportunities that come my way. At first it was never clear what she meant, but I assumed that I understood it anyway. To put everything in context, I must point out that my mother was always a hard worker. In spite of the fact that she did not make much money, she always took care of her bills and her responsibilities. After wondering for many years how she managed to keep it together, my mom explained to me about a group that she is involved in. This group has women from Africa, Caribbean and of course African-Americans. They have this concept that originated from Africa called a “merry-go-round” in which meet once every month and contribute a certain sum of money to each person in turns. This is what helped her keep up with financial obligations.

I had not thought that I would become part of a formal team at a young age, and it is surprising that as I look back I find many examples of these situations in my life. I was prompted to write on this topic given the fact that teams clearly relate to groups or organizations. But what is a team and how does it differ from a group or organization. While groups and organizations are formed around formal structures, teams are formed around specific objectives. According to Rao (2013) “the primary difference between groups and teams lies in the process of how the work is managed to achieve a common goal.” Therefore as I look back to one group that I helped form a couple of years back I see it as a team- specifically formed around the objective of self-empowerment of the urban black girl. Many of us young black women are not very good at saving money especially when we do not have enough income, or have other obligations as single parents. That is not to say that we do not want some of the good things in life. Taking a vacation at least once a year if we could, or fulfilling certain common social and family needs were driving factors behind my desire for self-empowerment and I can see how without noticing, we Tuckman’s team development process steps: (i) forming (ii) storming (iii) norming and (iv) performing. Before I illustrate how some of these steps were achieved, I must add that Tuckman latter added a fifth step to this process: adjourning where “group and team members finish their task and end their association” (Rao, 2013).

In the forming stage “group and team members get to know each other” (Rao, 2013). Therefore when I shared this information with two of my friends and asked them to invite at least one other friend each, we were in the forming stage. On the day of our first meeting, I remember everyone was excited about the idea. In fact among the group of five that met the first time, there were additional ideas about what else we could do. Not knowing what everyone had in mind and without any formal roles, I asked my friend Lynnette to formally introduce everyone and lead the discussion. Suggestions were made including saving for Birthdays, Christmas gifts, and I even came up with the same concept as my mom’s group. This meeting clearly was a storming stage because we were trying to identify goals and objectives to focus on.

Our first meeting did not conclude very well because some people felt that it would be difficult to take vacations given their family obligations. Instead they were more supportive of the Christmas gift idea. During the course of the next couple of months, we continued storming as we invited additional participants into the group. Some of the initial attendees also dropped out because they did not feel like things would work. Finally after about five months of storming, we settled on the idea of saving for birthdays and Christmas gifts. Among the eight girls who decided to form the team, Lynette became the chairperson, I became the treasurer and Lakeisha became the Secretary. We decided that we were going to contribute $50 each month, of which $20 would go to birthday gifts and $30 would go to Christmas gifts for our own families. The performing stage has not been the easiest as would be expected. It always turns out that people are not able to do what they start out to do. Commitments are broken and problems come up. In our case some team members have fallen back on contributions or even dropped some members have dropped out but that has not yet stopped our progress. We are not yet at the adjourning stage because the team is still together.

Reference

Rao, M. S. (2013). Teams: A competency based approach. Anvesha, 6(4), 51-52. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1534142720?accountid=13158


12
Jun 14

Standardizing Leadership

No two people are the same in the world and while this makes our existence richer, it also presents problems for organizational cohesion and ultimately, goal attainment. I am of the belief that organizations function on controlled chaos and conflict. They standardize what they can and harness the power of what they can’t. I also feel that most organizations fail to reach their full potential because they do not define and adopt a preferred leadership style for their organization.

An organization is a social institution that involves “established patterns of behavior organized around particular purposes” (Shaw & Lee, 2011, p49). Leadership plays a crucial role in how those patterns of behavior are established (i.e. tailored) and organized. Leadership has many definitions, but it is best summed up as the process of influencing a group of people to achieve a common goal (Northouse, 2013, p. 5). Those common goals are derived from an organizations vision and core values. The vision and core values capture what the organization stands for and what they hope to achieve; the character and principles that guide the organization throughout its existence (Collins & Porras, 1996). Without these ideals, an organization will fail. So, you would think that careful attention would be given to how these ideals are transformed into goals and eventually into objectives, policies and procedures…. You would be incorrect.

Image Source: AFS, 2013

Image Source: AFS, 2013

As a social institution, communication, social perceptions, schemas, attribution processes, all play a role in how an organization functions and how individuals shape their work behaviors (Schneider, et al., 2012). Leadership in particular does not occur without the ability to influence others, which is a social function in and of itself (Northouse, 2013; Schneider, et al., 2012). The model of communication tell us that the very nature of communication lends itself to a message being eroded as it is translated over and over into goals, policies and procedures. Since messages are constructed from an individual’s thoughts, they are subject to the perceptions, attitudes and cognition’s of that individual (Schneider et al,. 2012, p. 233). These influence how a message is encoded. The influence is the same for how a message is decoded. Nonetheless, even if a message is clear, being socially inclined, humans will look to others to see how they behave and align their behavior with what is perceived as the norm. Easily, your patterns of behavior are misaligned with your organizations core values and vision (Schneider et al., 2013).

I’ve spent a great deal of time developing my point here and hopefully it is clear where I am heading with this… Leadership styles vary, some leadership styles focus on serving followers needs, others are transactional (only focusing on outcomes), and others don’t even attend to business related matters and instead focus solely on the wellbeing and development of their followers (Northouse, 2013). These styles represent the perceptions and attitudes an individual leader has toward work and their environments. They will use these perceptions and attitudes in their communication to influence and establish behaviors of followers. So, if you want your organization to reach its full potential (that is, operating inline with core values and vision), establish a complimentary style of leadership and develop it internally (Schneider et al., 2013).

Before you dismiss this idea as outlandish, consider Southwest Airlines. They have been the only airline to report a profit every year since they started, 41 years ago, even when ALL other airlines in the industry struggled with losses, bankruptcy, and layoffs. Furthermore, they are consistently voted as a top company to work for in the US, and one of the most admired companies in the world (Southwest Airlines, 2013). You want to know why? They adopted a single style of leadership and develop it organically within their organization (Southwest Airlines, 2013). Servant leadership is expected, and fostered in the company (Hess, 2013). Their core values: Live the Southwest Way…With a Warrior Spirit, A Servants Heart, Fun-LUVing Attitude, Work the Southwest Way (Southwest Airlines, 2014). Leadership style in line with core values…

Through the dynamic social processes in an organization, leaders establish behavior. If you want that behavior to be established and aligned with your core values and vision, standardize and develop a complementary leadership style. It’s the signature of successful organizations!

 

References:

AFS. (2013). Google Images:  Leadership Influence Picutre. Retrieved from http://www.afs.org/blog/icl/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Leadership-picture1.jpg

Collins, J., & Porras, j. (1996). Building your companies vision. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/1996/09/building-your-companys-vision/ar/1

Hess, E. (2013). Servant leadership: A path to high performance. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/servant-leadership-a-path-to-high-performance/2013/04/26/435e58b2-a7b8-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html

Northouse, Peter G. (Ed.). (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Paper ISBN: 978-1-4522-0340-9

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381

Shaw S, Lee J. Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings 5th edition ISBN:007351232X, ISBN-13: 9780073512327

Southwest Airlines. (2014). Culture. Retrieved from http://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/careers/culture.html

Southwest Airlines (2013). Southwest Airlines One Report. Retrieved from http://www.southwest.com/html/southwest-difference/southwest-citizenship/one-report.html


11
Jun 14

Mothers as promoter of health

Mothers everywhere are generally concerned with their children’s health. In Japan, the responsibility rests upon mothers to manage and care for the health of their children and for other family members as well. In fulfilling this role of management and care giving, the Japanese mothers need to apply health psychology, holistic way that combines science, education, and clinical psychology related to health, to help in dealing with this challenge (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012).

In order to practice healthy life style to be healthy and enjoy life, as adults, we are conscious that we should eat right and exercise regularly. For lucky some in Japan, tradition of healthy life style was part of their upbringing where at home either mother or grandmother regularly cooked traditional low cholesterol, high soy protein Japanese food, and exercise was built into their daily from walking to schools and belonging to one or more of many youth sports club such as baseball, karate, soccer, basketball, etc. But for many of us, as Japanese lifestyle changed dramatically for the past 50 years, we have been eating massive amounts of highly processed food with high cholesterol contents like food like hamburger and fries from McDonalds, really tasty cakes and ice cream from Seven Eleven. Temptation to sit around and just play video games and watch interesting YouTube videos are all around us now. As the statistics show that one out of five Japanese suffer from lifestyle disease such as high blood pressure and diabetes (Japan Preventive Medicine of Lifestyle Related Disease, 2014).

To help ourselves to begin with, understanding biopsychosocial model would help immensely, as in addition to biological factor in science of selecting and serving good nutritional value food, and value of exercise, we must seek understanding of psychological and social factors about eating and exercising to design intervention plan to change unhealthy habits. For food, it could be something as simple as finding friends who are eating healthy and have lunch with them regularly. For exercise, it could be practicing regular exercise routine such as finding enjoyable nature trail near by to walk for 30 minutes a few times a week with friends or community acquaintances to achieve healthy life. The social influences encourage us and keep us motivated to build and continue routines (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012).

Mothers in Japan have key position in affecting health of Japanese as promoters of health of three generation within their families, because they have strong influence on their aging parents, their spouse and their children. They can also influence other children through active participation in PTA and sports club volunteer work. Mothers of modern time may not be able to cook regularly, but they when they do eat with their family, they can choose healthy food and talk about fun facts while family meal time. Media and peers influences our desires for food, drinks and how we exercise (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012), but in Japan, often mothers still control what young children eat and do. Rather than using persuasion through informational or fear appeals after the children are older and rebellious, strongest and lasting persuasion is best when they are young, and reinforced throughout life at school, for lifetime of health.

In Japan, the responsibility of teaching and training of young children rests heavily upon mothers, and that is the same in many countries globally. Perhaps efforts in promoting health and teaching simple preventive measures such as nutrition and exercise on Internet through trusted media to mothers all over the world would be good alternative next step in intervention.

Resources

Japan Preventive Medicine of Lifestyle Related Disease. “Lifestyle Disease Research and Statistics.” In Japanese. June 7, 2014. Retrieved from http://mhlab.jp/malab_calendar/

Scheneider, Frank W., Gruman, Jamie A., Coutts, Larry M.. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Second Edition. 2012


08
Jun 14

Prejudice in the military

Intergroup relations are defined by our attitudes toward anyone who is not in our group.  (Schneider, Gruman, Coutts. Pg. 6).  These attitudes may be positive or negative in nature.  When negative intergroup relations develop it can be a precursor to prejudice.  Many influences can shape personal intergroup relations.  The media, social contact, and personal experiences just to name a few.

When I was eighteen I joined the National Guard with my sister.  I am from a very small, very rural area of central Pennsylvania.  I had never flown in an airplane, rode a transit bus or subway, or even a taxi.  We arrived at Fort Dix, New Jersey for basic training, late in the evening we were assigned our housing and went in to discover we were the only two who had arrived.  We went to sleep and in the morning when we awoke there was a group of about eight women, all of whom were Black, standing around our bunks.  I smiled and said good morning.  One of the women asked us if we were prejudiced, (we are White), and I said no I don’t think so.  They asked me what that was supposed to mean, and I told them that we had never met a Black person before.  They became visibly upset and asked if that was because Black people weren’t allowed to attend our school.  I said no, we don’t have any Black people in our school district.  They were a bit more upset and said is that because they are not allowed to live there, and I said not that I know of, I just think they don’t want to live there.  I told them I have seen Black people on television though.  That did not seem to make them any happier with us.  I was truly out of my element and every time I opened my mouth I just seemed to make matters a bit worse, but I truly didn’t know why they found me so upsetting.  I finally said that I don’t know if I like Black people or not but that I know there are a lot of White people I don’t like.  I told them that I imagined there would be some Black people I would like and some Black people I would dislike, because that is how it was with White people.  They seemed to accept that at face value.

I became friends with some of them and remained just a fellow soldier with others.  When discussing the events of the morning later with my sister in private, she told me she had wished that I would just be quit talking because I seemed to be making everything worse.  I told her that I needed to be honest with them and let them know how I felt because if not we would always distrust each other. She agreed and said she was just happy it all worked out.

I learned a lot about race relations in that fifteen or twenty minutes of my life.  I think sometimes we label ourselves with our social identities and our intergroup attitudes and this leads to limiting the positive relationships in our lives.  I have found that my life can be enriched from the most unlikely of sources as long as I don’t place limits or restrictions on others.  Racism is still a major concern in the military, while I was researching I came across this article:  http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/10/31/pentagon-training-manual-white-males-have-unfair-advantages/.

Fox News online: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/10/31/pentagon-training-    manual-white-males-have-unfair-advantages/

Schneider, F.W., Gruman J.A., Coutts, L.M. (2012).  Applied Social Psychology:   Understanding   and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.

 


08
Jun 14

Clinical Counceling – Getting High on Helping

I came across this article from the Ruidoso, NM news and it made me smile.

The article details how clinical psychologist are linking the act of helping others to longer and happier lives. If you’ve ever taken a philosophy class one of the first things you will be taught is the idea of altruism. Altruism is the act of doing something for the benefit of someone else and not receiving something in return or benefiting from it personally. Obviously the implications of this article and other articles and studies like it wouldn’t indicate that receiving a “high” from helping would be considered altruism. Volunteering- is it altruistic? Not according to the definition, but could it possibly it is a form of pseudo-altruism? I may have just made that word up, but more to the point. We volunteer because we want to help someone else benefit and don’t necessarily expect anything in return. This idea of “helper’s high” that we get from volunteering is what breaks from the idea of our actions being altruistic, because, according to some clinical psychologist, we do benefit. Greatly. James Martin (2014), the clinical psychologist who wrote the article I am referencing makes note of an article in the Arizona Republic that says that elderly people who get involved with helping others actually live longer and healthier lives. I was intrigued. To my dismay I was unable to find the specific article that sparked Dr. Martin’s interest, however with the right idea you don’t have to search long to find other articles that convey the same message.

Dr. Christine Carter (2010) outlines how some statistics have shown that for people over 55 volunteering can have as much of an impact of living a healthy life as quitting smoking can! That’s an amazing statement to make. This form of pro-social behavior can help to increase feelings of self worth which can also decrease the feelings of depression (Carter, 2010). Elderly people who volunteer experience a boost their overall sense of self worth and well being. It could be that feeling better about oneself and having something to live contributes to the longevity experienced by those who volunteer.

The reason we cannot be truly altruistic in volunteering is because our brains release endorphins (pleasure hormones) when we engage in charitable activities (Baraz & Alexander, 2010). When we contribute to charities or engage in volunteer work the pleasure centers of our brain light up and our brain gives us something in return, “the helper’s high”. This research used FMRI’s to show that the pleasure center of the brain lights up when a person thinks about giving money to a charitable cause. If the pleasure center is activated at the thought of being helpful to other people then the action of helping is sure to create a response as well.

Taking all of this information and putting it together the bigger picture begins to emerge. It is no secret that happier people tend to live longer. If it is true the volunteering makes people, and their brains, happier and if it is true that happier people are less depressed, they circular pattern of volunteering shows itself in true form.

This information wouldn’t be complete without a little bit truth serum. An extensive research by Li and Ferraro (2005) wanted to lend credence to the theory that volunteering reduced depressive symptoms in elderly people. The evidence is there too that volunteering does contribute to a decrease in depressive symptoms. However, evidence also suggest that a person must already possess certain pro-social attributes that enable them to volunteer in the first place. It makes sense when you think about it. A person who does not want to volunteer probably won’t and if they do they probably won’t get the same results as a willing person would, especially if the unwilling volunteer does so begrudgingly of those they are volunteering to help.

What have we learned? Clinic counseling and research lend credit to the theory that volunteering can contribute to the over all health of human beings. Using this research and other research like it we could find non pharmaceutical ways of aiding in mental health while creating a sense of community and extending the length and quality of our lives.   If you have the willingness to volunteer the benefits of your pseudo-altruistic contributions will far outweigh any consequences. So my advice would be … go get your “helper’s high”.

References:

Martin, J; (2014) Clinical counseling: rings of life record a person’s development, Ruidoso News June 5, 2014 retrieved from: http://www.ruidosonews.com/ruidoso-news/ci_25908570/clinical-counseling-rings-life-record-persons-development

Carter, C; (2010) What we get when we give, Psychology today February 18, 2010 retrieved from: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/raising-happiness/201002/what-we-get-when-we-give

Baraz J., Alexandre, S; (2010) The helpers high, Greater Good February 1, 2010 retrieved from: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_helpers_high

Li, Y., & Ferraro, K. F. (2005). Volunteering and depression in later life: Social benefit or selection processes?*. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 46(1), 68-84. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/201666479?accountid=13158

 


08
Jun 14

The Birds and The Bees

It is quite undeniable that culture in the United States largely revolves around sex and sexuality. Unfortunately, teenagers in society today sometimes fail to acknowledge the health risks involved when one engages in unprotected sex practices, particularly the risk of contracting an STD. Teens in this day and age are largely influenced by the media. Sadly, a staggering 75% of prime-time TV programs contain sexual content. Of these programs, only 14% mention any risks involved in sexual activity (Strasburger, 2013).

Programs, such as those mentioned previously, may cause teens to become desensitized towards sex. When viewers are repeatedly exposed to subjects such as sex, it becomes normal and thus, teens may falsely believe that everyone is having sex. During adolescence, many teens also experience feelings of invulnerability, known as personal fable (Roda, 2014). This term is used to describe teens who think that nothing bad will happen to them, including the risk of contracting an STD (Roda, 2014). The Health Belief Model states that the behaviors one engages in to protect one’s health are influenced by several factors. This includes: general health values, perceived susceptibility to illness, perceived severity of illness, expectation of treatment success, self-efficacy, perceived barriers and benefits, and cues to action (Schneider et al., 2012). A teen’s personal fable may be closely linked to the Health Belief Model. For instance, if a teen thinks that nothing bad will happen to him/her, he/she may perceive one’s chances of contracting an STD as being minimal and as a result, may fail to engage in safe sex practices (risking the chance of contracting an STD) (Schneider et al., 2012).

Numerous amounts of misinformation regarding sex are conveyed to teens from a young age. It is important to properly educate adolescents about the risks involved when one engages in sex and how to be sexually responsible (i.e. wearing a condom, abstaining from multiple sex partners, getting tested for STDs). Informational appeals and fear appeals are two tactics which have been used to prevent adolescents from having unprotected sex. Fear appeals, as the name suggests, are used to evoke fear in teens (Schneider et al., 2012). This method usually involves telling teens that they should abstain from sex altogether, and/or scaring teens into thinking that one will definitely get pregnant, impregnate someone else, or contract an STD which is not always true. For instance, one may contract an STD from one contact or not contract an STD after many contacts (Roda, 2014). In order to prevent teens from spreading STDs, (primary prevention), teens need to be properly educated about sex (Schneider et al., 2012). It is important for adolescents to be informed about the risks involved in unprotected sex, how to engage in safe sex practices, how to use contraceptives, and where contraceptives are available.

In my experience, fear appeals are not an effective method to prevent teens from participating in irresponsible sex. Unfortunately, in my high school there were numerous teen pregnancies and it was known that at least a handful of people had an STD. When sex education was taught to students at my high school, fear tactics were used in an attempt to scare the students into abstaining from sex. Unfortunately, the opposite effect happened (i.e. resistance occurred in some of the students) and the teens were not actually informed about how to have sex if one did choose to engage in it (Schneider et al., 2012). Informational appeals should be used instead. When a teenager is better-informed, he/she has a better chance of making educated decisions and it is also important not to push teens towards resistance if one feels like he/she is being told what to do (Schneider et al., 2012).

References

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381

Strasburger, V. Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media. (2013). Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 107 (1).

Roda, J. (2014). Sexual identity. [PowerPoint slides].


08
Jun 14

Millennials: Turning Intergroup Relations Theories Upside Down

(Image Source: WordPress, 2011)

(Image Source: WordPress, 2011)

We hear a lot about the millennials – also known as the “me” generation, self-centered and “entitled” (Williams, 2013, para. 1). An Internet search will render countless horror stories about their work ethic, attitudes, and a million other reasons they are our favorite generation to hate. As Williams (2013) points out in her article, taking a stand for millennials, they also have a great potential to change the way we think about equality and break the mold of existing social identity theories. Adding some theoretical framework to her CNN op-ed piece, it becomes clear that Williams’ presumption has some meat to it and the implications would be far-reaching.

Social Dominance Theory is a good example. This theory “focuses on both individual and structural factors that contribute to various forms of group-based oppression.” (Sidanius, Pratto, Van Laar, & Levin, 2004, p. 846). Group-based oppression occurs within social hierarchies and is perpetuated by social institutions and individual need to be part of, or maintain, the dominant groups power and resources (PSU, 2014). Furthermore, social ideologies and systems (like classism, racism, patriarchy) reinforce the actions and beliefs of individuals and institutions that control and distribute resources (Sidanius et al., 2004, p847). In simple terms, when you are part of a dominant group you have access to more resources (wealth, education) and have the power to control those resources (limiting access). The protection of ones group (and thus resources) often manifests in prejudice, discrimination, and oppression (Sidanius, 2004).

Each generation learns from the mistakes of previous generations. Our parents teach us the lessons they learned from their era, and gift us the power to change things they couldn’t. As a generation X’er (I was born on the cusp of the millennials era), we learned a lot from our baby-boomer parents and our greatest generation grandparents. However, we grew up in a society that preserved social roles and hierarchies; made possible from the previous generations presence in institutions that helped sustain those ideologies. We witnessed the continued fight for equality, specifically for the LGBT community, race and gender. Millennials, on the other hand, have been brought up in a very different world. They have been empowered to be individualist, to be open-minded, to be accepting, but never accept the status-quo (Rotella, Abbott & Gold, 2000). The millennials are diverse and have reaped the benefits of exposure to different cultures and working with one another without inherited stereotypes. As individualism and expression is valued for their generation, they are not likely to tolerate or participate in group-based oppression (Williams, 2013). The ‘Occupy’ movement was driven by millennials and speaks to their ideals and their perception of the world and equality (Manson, 2011). Checkout this infographic highlighting the social-activism trends of millennials. They have perhaps the most humanistic and holistic view of society, made only the more powerful with their effortless global reach.

What does this mean for theories like Social Dominance? Simply, I predict millennials will be closer than any previous generation to achieving equality and fair allocation of resources, the traditionalist perspective of intergroup conflict and oppression will become irrelevant. Our institutions and public policy are being shaped as this generation comes into power, and will reflect their values (Williams, 2013). This will call for a new, global, perspective of how intergroup conflict arises and is sustained. It will also call for a shift in research from explaining intergroup conflict, to how it can be effectively tacked in entire societies.

 

References:

WordPress Milllennial Image. (2011). Image source: It’s All About Learning. Retrieved from http://henriksenlearning.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/leading-the-millennials/

Manson, J. (2011). Occupy Wall Street: A New Generation, A New Kind of Leadership. Retrieved from http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/occupy-wall-street-new-generation-new-kind-leadership

PSU WC. (2014). PSYCH424: Lesson 6, Intergroup Relations. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych424/001/content/07_lesson/01_page.html

Rotella, M., Abbott, C., & Gold, S. F. (2000). Millennials rising: The next great generation. Publishers Weekly, 247(33), 339. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/197060195?accountid=13158

Sidanius, J., Pratto, F., Van Laar, C. and Levin, S. (2004), Social Dominance Theory: Its Agenda and Method. Political Psychology, 25: 845–880. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00401.x

Williams, E. (2013). Opinion: ‘Me’ Generation Aims to Change the World. CNN. Retrieved from http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/07/opinion-me-generation-aims-to-change-the-world/


06
Jun 14

Contact Hypothesis at Penn State

America has been known as the melting pot of the world. There are people from all over the world that come here to start a new life. Unfortunately there can be a lot of prejudice and discrimination that comes along with such a diverse country. Prejudice can be defined as the mind-set of individuals within a group. This does not necessarily meant to be in a negative manner. There can be constructive prejudices found in individuals’ views on sports and athletes. Prejudices are usually more subtly used and sometimes less recognizable. Discrimination, however, is more obvious. Conducting negative behavior toward an individual because of their association with a group is discrimination.

The world is nowhere near perfect and by no means is it place where everyone gets along one hundred percent of the time. America’s melting pot is full of very unique and diverse individuals all coming from different backgrounds. There inevitably will be difference among different ethnicities, races, ages, and genders. There can be something done to reduce the presence of prejudice and discrimination. Gordon Allport’s contact hypothesis proposed contact between the majority and minority groups with the intention of a shared goal should help elevate intergroup pressure and even expose shared interests.

Although this is a solid idea, it can be difficult to execute. Sometimes the conditions of contact are so easily accessible. In an article from Social Psychology Network it was stated, “under conditions of competition and unequal status, contact can even increase prejudice rather than decrease it” (Plous, 2002). In other words, some times the attempt at contact can lead to worse effects. Contact hypothesis has to be conducted in the right circumstances. Where there may be a risk at failure, there is also the possibility of great success.

The Blue and White Society at Penn State does just that. The contact hypothesis can really be seen within this group of individuals. All members of the Blue and White Society are brought together to focus on one common goal; better the Penn State student’s experience. Different events and gathers are held throughout the year to bring students together. The executive and chair members of Blue and White society are a very diverse group of individuals. Members vary from all ages, genders, academic standing, and ethnicities. Because members have so much contact with one another to move forward with the goal of enhancing student experience, prejudice and discrimination is at a minimum. I can say from experience as serving as Blue and White Society Photography Chair that due to excessive amount of contact with each other, it is easy to oversee any prejudice or discrimination and view everyone as an equal individual. We are all in it for the same reason; Penn State’s student’s experience.

Reference

Plous, S. (2002, October 22). UnderstandingPrejudice.org: The Psychology of Prejudice. UnderstandingPrejudice.org: The Psychology of Prejudice. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/apa/english/


04
Jun 14

Body Image and Health Psychology

One cannot turn on the television or walk down the street without being bombarded by messages about health, “fitness”, and obesity.  Our society has become so obsessed with unrealistic ideals of body image and beauty.  But at what cost?  The rates of eating disorders are staggering.  And even more frightening are the statistics that show small children (as young as five years old) being dissatisfied with their bodies.  We are putting Barbie dolls in the hands of young girls and teaching them that to be beautiful, one must be white, blond, tall, and dangerously thin.  According to studies about the real-life dimensions of Barbie, her neck would be so long and thin, it would not be able to support her head.  Her wrists would be so thin, they would render her arms and hands useless.  Her feet would be so small that she wouldn’t be able to walk on them (Garcia, 1998 & Goldstein, 2013).  Yet every second, two barbies are sold around the world.  Compared with a normal BMI range of 19-24, Barbie, at 16.2, would be considered anorexic.  She would be so underweight that she would be unlikely to have a menstrual period (Slayen, 2011).  The sad and shocking truth is that Barbie only represents one example of millions showing how our culture is bombarded with messages to seek dangerously low weights.

More recently, the government has sought to place regulations on foods it deems unhealthy such as sodas and other sugary snacks and beverages.  What implications does this hold for our society?  When we place such an emphasis on fat being “bad” and “gross” and teach children to fat shame, we are headed down a slippery slope to promoting eating disorders.  Of course, people should be encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle, eat well, exercise, get enough rest, and cope with stress in healthy ways.  Yet, any food eaten in excess will cause health problems.  And any food eaten in moderation can’t be linked to serious health risks (Murr, 2014).  As a culture, we need to stop this obsession with weight and body image and instead, focus on promoting a well-rounded, healthy, lifestyle.  One way to achieve this goal is through a health psychology intervention.

One of the largest problems our society faces is that people are very uneducated about what “healthy” really means.  Women think that being healthy entails being comparable to a stick person.  Not only are people obsessed with unrealistic ideals, but they will go to extreme lengths to reach their goals, including disordered eating.  Social psychologists have a great opportunity to create a positive change in the area of health and nutrition.  Using the stages of change model, interventions could be created to help educate people about nutrition and what it truly means to be healthy.  Different interventions could be created based on the target group.  For instance, for people not really interested in health and wellness, educational tools could be implemented to show this group the consequences of eating an unbalanced diet and abstaining from exercise.  For people who are interested in making healthy changes, the education could focus on providing them accurate information.  Instead of people being enticed by fad diets and cleanses, we could make a real change by informing people about eating a balanced diet and having junk food in moderation.  This intervention strategy should have a well-rounded approach, teaching people to love their bodies (even if they are not perfect) and to focus on living healthy on day at a time, rather than obsessing over fad diets.  Using the stages of change model would be ideal because it allows people to constantly work towards a goal without feeling defeated.  If they have a bad day, they won’t be starting over from the beginning.  Instead, the stages of change model represents an ongoing process with room for error (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012).

It is critical to the self-esteem of future generations that a real change occurs in the way society promotes unhealthy ideals as an ideal form of beauty.  The field of health psychology is in a great position to make a change in peoples’ overall health and self-esteem by educating people about how to make positive healthy changes in their lives that do not promote disordered eating and unattainable standards of beauty.

References:

Garcia, L. (1998, March 31). Life-size, Barbie Wouldn’t Be Much Of A Doll. Sun Sentinel. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-03-31/lifestyle/9803300122_1_barbie-circumference-waist

Goldstein, S. (2013, April 14). Barbie as a real woman is anatomically impossible and would have to walk on all fours, chart shows . NY Daily News. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/barbie-real-womaan-anatomically-impossible-article-1.1316533

Murr, V. (2014). Government Regulation Places Excessive Emphasis on Being Overweight. In R. D. Lankford, Jr. (Ed.), At Issue. Should the Government Regulate What People Eat?. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Another Hazard to Government Regulation of ‘Unhealthy’ or ‘Fattening’ Foods, ladyphilosophy.com, 2013, March 22) Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010896209&source=Bookmark&u=psucic&jsid=79ec5938f64562d62eabe115db31c30c

Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Coutts, L.  (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Slayen, G. (2011, April 8). The Scary Reality of a Real-Life Barbie Doll. The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/galia-slayen/the-scary-reality-of-a-re_b_845239.html

 


02
Jun 14

Positive Psychology for Treatment of Mental Disorders

(Source: Google Images)

(Source: Google Images)

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans are on psychiatric drugs, majority for treatment of anxiety and depression are using these drugs long-term (Wang, 2011). Commonly, sadly, the intervention stops with the prescription of medication. The combination of medication and therapy is vital to resolution of these psychological disorders and patients’ ability to find true relief, not just a medical masking.

Thanks to contributions from social psychology, clinical practitioners understand the underlying causes of social anxiety, which is marked by low social self-efficacy and high motivation to impress others (social perception theory).  Those suffering from the condition have a tendency to catastophize social situations, clinically defined as negative automatic thoughts and irrational beliefs leading to anxiety.  Thus traditional interventions teach patients a range of skills to use when they encounter social triggers in hopes that they overcome the negative and irrational thoughts (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012).

Ask yourself, does this treatment really help individuals overcome their anxiety and reach a state of wellbeing or have they just learned to manage it? 

The absence of anxiety (or illness) is not an indicator of wellbeing (Biswas-Diener, 2011). Enter positive psychology.  Unlike general psychology fields that focus on abnormalities, positive psychology focuses on wellbeing; In other words, the science of cultivating and sustaining wellbeing, personal strengths, and resiliency. Positive psychology is relatively new and has yet to build a large enough repertoire of scientific theory to take hold as an independent field. However, the scientific advancements that have been made have greatly enriched existing knowledge in other subfields of psychology, including social psychology, and have the potential to change the way we view and treat mental illnesses (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011).

A notable contribution from positive psychology is the definition and measurement of psychological wellbeing. Specifically, the Psychological Well-Being Scale developed by Carol Ryff, which identifies six dimensions of well-being. This information is applied in therapy to improve the psychological wellbeing of patients by focusing on low-scoring dimensions, such as purpose in life. In studies, well-being therapy has shown to have a significant advantage over traditional cognitive-based and pharmaceutical therapies. In treating anxiety, it has shown to have greater long-term effects including increased personal growth, higher life satisfaction, lower instances of relapse, and successful cessation of medications. This is because the therapy not only fixes what is broken, but improves overall wellbeing of the patient… their ability to cultivate positive emotions, satisfaction from life, and sustain this wellbeing over time (Biswas-Diener, 2011).

It is important to understand that the ultimate goal of clinical/counseling psychology is not only to understand and treat mental illness, but also to improve it. Interventions in public health must shift focus from the negative and broken to the positive and whole. We must mend what is broken, and then grow what is not (i.e. help others recognize and utilize their strengths). This will improve the lives of patients in the long run and ensure that treatment leads to true rehabilitation and a state of wellbeing. Positive psychology is the catalyst for this shift.

References:

Biswas-Diener, R. (2011). Positive psychology as social change. Dordrecht: Springer. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/book/10.1007%2F978-90-481-9938-9

Google Images. (n.d.) Mental Health Image, retrieved from http://adamdtechnology.com/websites/tucsonholisticcounseling/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/73-hb-lead-mentalhealth.jpg

Hefferon, K., Boniwell, I. (2011). Positive Psychology: Theory, Research And Applications. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved from http://www.pensu.eblib.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=729517&echo=1&userid=pmcubgV3Qi9vJnXpqCU1Xg%3d%3d&tstamp=1401737940&id=CF647711361F6A1672C866134BAFBB3A49B538EB

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381

Wang, S. (2011). Psychiatric Drug Use Spreads. The WallStreet Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203503204577040431792673066?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052970203503204577040431792673066.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_WSJ_US_News_5


01
Jun 14

Environmental Concern

We read stories about happy faces on electric bills, creating cognitive dissonance, or attempting to plead to the better senses of people in order attempt to create a sense of concern about environmental issues. What happens when those senses are much more ingrained in human nature? How would those happy faces bode in the midst of a sea of frowning faces? Psychologist’s have been looking into the reasons why tactics to create environmental awareness are falling on deaf ears. The possible answer, they say might be no further than our own brains.

While the human brain is magnificent it may not have been evolving as quickly as the world around us has been evolving. Our environment has been rapidly changing especially in areas of technology. Our brains, on the other hand, have continued to be hard wired in what is becoming known as the Stone Age bias. Our unconscious, Stone Age brain seeks status and social imitation because ultimately fitting in and having higher status in a community could have been the difference between surviving and not surviving in the Stone Age.

How does that transgress into environmental concern? You would not have wanted to be the one person running towards the mouth of a hungry saber tooth tiger while everyone else was running away. That is where imitation became not a form of flattery but a life or death decision. Stone Age bias attempts to explain imitation as a learned behavior that became so important to the human condition that it became inherent in all of us. If our Stone Age brains are continuing this form of imitation; unconsciously, then we are more likely to litter if we see many other people litter. What’s more, the Stone Age bias also posits that we became conditioned to survival by consuming all available resources “today” for the purpose of our own survival without thinking about the implications that consuming all resources could mean for “tomorrow”. Social psychologists wonder if we could use this Stone Age Bias in our favor to design and implement environmental interventions.

Simplistic as it may seem we see this type of imitation happening every day. As a negative example of this imitation; a drought warns against using water to wash cars, but our neighbor is doing it so we wash our car too because if he has a clean car, we should have one too. On the other hand; if our favorite movie star buys a high priced electric car we may be more inclined to purchase the same car as a status symbol.

I wonder how long it will take policy makers and environmental awareness groups to figure out that appealing to these Stone Age biases could produce better results. I hope to see changes in advertising and awareness programs that are able to get down to the innate nature of all of us because I think that they’re onto something. When I see a billboard that boasts the Prius is the next Escalade … I’ll know what they’re doing, will you?

 

References:

Shulins, N; (2014) Can appealing to Stone Age brains help save the environment? Huff Post, Green, May 31, 2014 retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/27/social-psychology-climate-change_n_5400061.html


01
Jun 14

Environment ASP

Having a thriving environment is essential in maintaining the lives of humans, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, our resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. There are several problems with our environment caused by land and air pollution. This is not just an environmental problem, however, it’s a huge social problem as well.

In today’s society, humans are all about convenience. Unfortunately, this comes at a major cost to the environment. Transportation such as cars and planes for instance, emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases poke holes in the ozone layer, trapping heat in the atmosphere (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). In 2012, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation contributed around 28% of the total U.S greenhouse gas emissions, making transportation the 2nd largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). Sadly, greenhouse gases cause global warming. Some of the effects of global warming include: an increase or decrease in rainfall, negative effects on human health, changes in forestry and ecosystems, and potential impacts on our energy supply (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.).  Electricity is the number one contributor of U.S. gas emissions. Unfortunately, U.S greenhouse gas emissions from electricity have increased 11% since 1990 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). Homes and commercial buildings use large amounts of energy for heating, cooling, lighting, and other functions. We face tremendous resource dilemmas because people tend to think selfishly instead of for the greater good. This is exactly how we deplete resources and continue to do so. We are consuming resources faster than we can replace them. As a society, we should use more energy generated from wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal sources instead of nonrenewable resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas which also further harm the environment (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.).

Land pollution is another major problem posing a threat to our environment. In 2012, Americans generated about 251 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste (trash) (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). It’s important for consumers to reduce, reuse, and recycle if we want any shot at keeping our environment stable. One way we can do this is source reduction. This can be done by designing products to reduce the amount of waste that will later need to be thrown away (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). An example of this is water bottles being made out of less plastic. Many companies that bottle water, now do so using less plastic than before, therefore leading to less plastic being used and potentially thrown away in landfills. Another way we can cut down on land pollution is by recycling. Instead of throwing out items that can be reused (such as the plastic water bottles mentioned), it’s important for our society to recycle them so we can reuse them later and prevent the depletion of valuable resources (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.).

At my campus, there are several attempts being made to combat our school’s contribution to these environmental problems. For instance, in most buildings the lights are motion-activated. If someone forgets to turn off a light, the lights will turn off automatically instead of wasting electricity when it’s not being used. The gymnasium at my school does not have motion-activated lights, however, there are signs above light switches asking people to turn the lights off when not in use. Despite being a small request, students and faculty take responsibility and turn the lights off in rooms when no one is in them. My school also provides several sidewalks and public transportation to students. Although, it’s not a perfect solution, public transportation is better than people driving separately, which would add more greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Finally, not only are students and faculty encouraged to recycle paper and plastics (bins for paper and plastics are provided next to all trash cans on campus), students are only allotted a certain amount of paper per semester that may be printed. This forces students to think wisely about what they need to print and reduces paper consumption on campus overall. Protecting the environment is directly linked to applied social psychology because we influence the environment tremendously. Humans hold the power to change the environment- by protecting it or depleting it. Can you think of any other ways campuses can “go green”? Are there any ways that we can encourage people to be more conscious about the depletion of resources?

Resources

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (n.d). Muncipal Solid Waste. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (n.d). Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources/electricity.html


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