29
Sep 14

Oz The Great and Powerful

DrOZ

I was on my computer and ran across a news article that features Dr. Oz on my home page. He is a cardiothoracic surgeon and a television personality made famous by Oprah. In the article, he was asked to speak before the Senate for potentially deceptive advertising for weight loss supplements (Firger, 2014). I was curious about this so I watched the video that accompanies the article. I won’t comment on whether he did or did not use deceptive advertising but something caught my attention. In the video, Sen. Claire McCaskill tells Dr. Mehmet Oz, “with great power, comes great responsibility” (Firger, 2014). I asked myself, where does this power come from? Lots of people try to sell weight loss supplements and the Senate does not see them as a threat. What makes him so special? I think the principles of applied social psychology can help explain why.
In my opinion, Dr. Oz exerts a large amount of social influence. Social influence being defined as the interactions with others that leads to changes in our attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavior (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, pg 171). So in other words, when Dr. Oz interacts with others, it can lead to changes in their attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior. When he is trying to interact in this way through his television show, it is called persuasion (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, 171). So the question became, what makes him so persuasive.
First, we need to understand the kind of message he is giving. I would define it as an informational message. An informational message provides facts and arguments for why people should be engaging in certain health behaviors (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, 171). Now, the Senate has called into question whether his advice is actually healthy (meaning they might not be facts) but that is not my question. His persuasive technique is built around an informational message and that is what matters. With this as my assumption, there are certain criteria that applied social psychology can use to predict how persuasive this informational message will be. Using these criteria as measurements of his persuasiveness, I intend to show why Dr. Oz is so powerful.
So lets begin with the criteria that make an informational message persuade. In order for an informational message to be effective, it should come from a credible source. Dr. Oz is a heart surgeon, which gives him substantial credibility. Also, the person should be attractive and similar to the audience (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, pg 171) because attractive faces tend to be thought of as more sociable, extroverted, and popular (Aronson, Wilson, &Akert, pg 275). Furthermore, people tend to prefer faces similar to their own and it may come from a feeling of “familiar is safe” and “unfamiliar is potentially dangerous” (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, pg 274). Dr. Oz can be thought of as “good looking” and is like the target audience. Even though attractiveness seemingly has nothing to do with anything, there seems to be an “attractive is good” stereotype (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, pg 275). So these qualities combine to make him trustworthy and thus help him be persuasive.
Another important aspect of an informational message is whether people take the message to heart (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, pg 171). Dr. Oz does a great job of this by grabbing attention with “fear appeals” (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, pg 171). Using headlines and phrases like, “Dangers of walk-in medical procedures” and “Could a common fibroid procedure cause cancer?” (www.doctoroz.com). He also combines this fear appeal with specific recommendations (to lose weight, use this pill for example), which increases effectiveness of the fear appeal (pg 172). This seems to be because you cannot just scare someone, you have to give him or her a way to ease his or her fears in order for the message to be effective and Dr. Oz appears to be a master at this.
With all this in mind lets review and see how Dr. Oz measures up on the criteria shown to increase his persuasive ability. Dr. Oz is credible, attractive, and familiar. He uses fear appeals to grab attention so people attend to his informational message. He then follows these fear appeals with specific instructions on how to reduce the fear. Dr. Oz scores extremely high on all of these criteria and applied social psychology principles would predict that he would be persuasive. This is inline with Sen. McCaskill’s comments. Applied social psychology therefore, provides a good theory (based on research and not opinion) as to why Dr. Oz is such a powerful influence on the substantial number of people who watch his show and the Senate has good reason to be watchful of him.

References

Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. M. (2013). Social Psychology (8th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Firger, J. (2014, June 17) Dr. Oz Defends Weight Loss Advice at Senate Hearing on Diet Scams. CBSNews. Retrieved from:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-oz-defends-weight-loss-advice-at-senate-hearing-on-diet-scams/

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, CA: Sage Publications.


28
Sep 14

Psychology Influence On Health

Health is an important part of everyone’s lives. It is what keeps illness away and gives us a chance to live longer.  The problem with society is that not everyone knows how to live a healthy life.  Through applied social psychology, people can learn how to have a healthy life.

Healthy lives are promoted by schools, society, and other influences. In order for people to be promoted by health, influences often use the idea of prevention.  To do so, the social influences target ways to reduce unhealthy lives and behaviors (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012).  When the ways to reduce unhealthy lives is shown, people are able to understand what they can do to live a healthy life.

What is important to know about health related to applied social psychology is the importance of social influences.  Social influence is when those around us affect our behaviors and beliefs (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012).  With that being said, the beliefs of those around us will affect our health both negatively and positively.  The way media is portrayed is also important on our beliefs.  We should want to be healthy, but we should also not expect to look like a model or be extremely thin.

When thinking about the media and health, TLC channel has a show “My 600 pound life.” This show portrays what can happen when people do not have healthy lifestyles.  Informational appeals, or facts about health, are used to promote the need for healthy lifestyles.  In this show, the overweight people on the show not only explain their health problems and journey after having gastric bypass surgery; they also speak about how those around them affect the way they gain or lose weight.  Positive emotional support from families is often a benefit and increases weight loss.  For most of the people on the show, there is weight loss when their family supports their choices and promotes positive eating habits.

Our lifestyles and those around us will affect how healthy we are. It is essential to promote positive health and implement ways to become healthier, live longer, and have less illness.  Applied social psychology gives people the understanding of how to become healthier and how to promote healthy lifestyles to others.

 

Refrences

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


28
Sep 14

Schools promoting health

Applied social psychology is a branch of psychology that can help people in many aspects of their lives. When looking at one’s life, their health can be affected mentally and physically. While health can be looked at personally, family and friends can also influence health. The health of society is a factor in the schools which can be influenced by applied social psychology.

Healthy body figures and minds are the focus of many people in society. To promote healthy living, prevention is often highlighted. This prevention is a way to decrease chances of developing a disorder or illness (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). Most children are influenced by those around them such as family, peers, and media. These social influences use persuasion to try to reduce and unhealthy lifestyle.

My niece just started preschool this fall. Since it is her first year, my sister and I try to make this experience as special as we can for her so we decided to make Halloween treat bags for her classmates. While we just started gathering out items, we had to keep in mind that the children are no longer allowed to bring in candy or any other type of treats.

To help promote healthy lifestyles to the children, the school does not allow sweets. This type of intervention would be considered a primary prevention. This is when the prevention focuses on healthy individuals (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012).  For children, this is important because they are able to learn what healthy eating is and why it is important. For my niece’s school, they had broccoli on the menu for Friday’s lunch. Most young children do see that as a healthy food, but giving it as an option without any sweets allows them to try new types of food.

When considering other ways to promote healthy living, the model of windows of vulnerability is used by schools. This is when young people are influenced by social influences when it comes to healthy lifestyles and beliefs (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). Schools use this model to educate our youth and give them the opportunity to choose healthy living. While it would be easy to make treats and candy for my niece’s classmates, her school takes the time to show children better options.

Through the knowledge of applied social psychology, schools are able to promote healthy lifestyles in society. While children learn from parents, they also learn from others around them. Schools use different models to show the children how to be healthy and explain the importance of health. The children are then able to spread knowledge to others around them.

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.


28
Sep 14

The toxicity of stress

A recent CNN article titled, “’Toxic stress’ can harm your child” by Nadine Burk Harris, discusses how chronic stress in childhood due to adverse experiences can cause a slew of health concerns.  According to Harris, a Pediatrician who works in one of San Francisco’s low income neighborhoods, chronic stress can affect brain and body development; increasing the chances of developing chronic pulmonary obstructive disease in addition to other chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.  She states that research has discovered that these same children will possess increased inflammatory markers as adults.

Stress has been defined as “a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being” by Lazarus and Folkman (as cited in Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, p. 183).  Their view is called a transactional model of stress (Schneider, et al., 2012) and supports Harris’ claim that “toxic stress” is chronic stress caused by negative experiences.  Lazarus and Folkman would call these experiences “stressors” since their model states that some experiences induce stress and others do not (Schneider, et al., 2012).

While Harris mainly refers to negative experiences common to low-socio economic areas, they are not confined to those areas alone.  Lazarus and Folkman state t  hat experiences are appraised by the individual and that “no two people will experience [a situation] in exactly the same way” (Schneider, et al., 2012, p. 183).  Additionally, some researchers argue that stress is not only a result of negative experiences, stating that positive experiences can also cause stress (Schneider, et al., 2012).  For example, a study involving couples planning their wedding illustrated high levels of stress when compared to other typical couples (Schneider, et al., 2012).  These findings could imply that children may experience “toxic stress” even when involved in positive experiences –again, if the individual appraises the experience as stressful.

If stress is perceived by the individual, the next step in the transactional model is coping –which “refers to thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that people engage in when trying to reduce stress” (Schneider, et al., 2012, p. 184).  Similar to the way in which each individual appraises an experience as stressful or not, so too will be determine their coping mechanism (Schneider, et al., 2012).  However, coping mechanisms can be generalized in two categories: problem-focused and emotion-focused (Schneider, et al., 2012).  Problem-focused coping refers to when an individual is direct in dealing with the issue; whereas emotion-focused coping refers to when an individual adjusts their emotions to offset the feelings of stress (Schneider, et al., 2012).  Harris suggests that by simply interacting with children in positive ways such as talking and playing, it will support healthy development.  Her approach aligns with problem-focused coping since it is action based and deals directly with the problem.

Ultimately, research agrees that stress can negatively impact health; which agrees with the last stage of the transaction model: health outcomes (Schneider, et al., 2012).  Harris’ argument also aligns with these findings, indicating that children with “toxic stress” are more susceptible to many chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.  Research findings by Sarafino (2002) and Brannon & Feist (2000) concur, illustrating higher incidences of health issues that ranged from headaches and asthma to respiratory diseases and infectious diseases (Schneider, et al., 2012).  It is safe to say that stress is something everyone should be wary of.  When faced with a stressful experience, it is imperative to control the situation through a coping mechanism of choice.  If stress levels are controlled, it can positively impact one’s health and longevity.

References

Burke Harris, N., (2014, September 26). “Toxic Stress” can harm your child. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/26/opinion/harris-toxic-stress/.

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


28
Sep 14

What Work Should Really Be: Work Engagement

Companies are always searching for ways to become more profitable and increase productivity, but at what cost? There are many issues that result in overworked and stressed out workers that can lead to health issues and other problems such as depression and alcohol abuse. A more recent concept to help battle this type of burnout is work engagement, which can be described as workers “who approach their work with energy, dedication, and focus” (Association for Psychological Science, 2011). So how can work engagement help?

The goal of empowering your employees with work engagement is to give them the sense of purpose and fulfillment in their job. When an employee feels engaged in the work place they tend to produce more and be more innovated while taking initiative to help improve the work environment and the service and/or product they are working for. Arnold Bakker (2014) mentions that “research has revealed that engaged employees are highly energetic, self-efficacious individuals who exercise influence over events that affect their lives,” this can be beneficial not only for the company but also the employee (Bakker, 2014). If employees are willing to go the extra mile and feel satisfied in their work place no matter their position then one may guess their livelihood may be more satisifying as well. If you were happy and enthusiastic about your work that would carry over into your everyday life, and when you feel better about yourself you tend to make better decision in your life.

These choices can lead to healthier lifestyles and more active as well which can lead to less time sick. With less time being sick means you are out of office less and go to the doctor less, a win win for reducing cost in healthcare and increasing productivity in companies. So many illnesses are stress related and a main trigger of stress is work. Since the majority of people work at least at some time in the life it would seem like a great place to start would be in the workplace. The best way to improve the overall health and well-being of a population is promote healthier lifestyles and prevention of stress and illness (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012). A model to back up the support for work engagement is the theory of planned behavior or more importantly perceived behavioral control, where a person believes they have a certain amount of control or influence over their behavior and this is an important element in employee engagement.

When employees feel like they have control over their work and are a part of something bigger they tend to give more. And when an employer gives the same energy back the mutual effect is a bonus for both sides. After reviewing some of the top companies to work for Google is up on top a lot, but why? Maybe it’s they give their employees the freedom to choose when they work, incredible perks and stimulating work environments, and also a say what happens in the company, while these kind of things may not be able to be offered from other companies the point is that they may hold “the future of workplace leadership” (Crowley, 2013).

This type of intervention in the work place could affect the population is such a positive manner. Not only is it studied in health psychology but also in positive psychology, work engagement can be a powerful tool for the future of people’s life quality. “Employees’ own personal resources- such as self as self-esteem and optimism- also contribute to work engagement” so imagine if this influence could start in the work place where almost everyone goes on a daily basis (Association for Psychological Science, 2011). That really is an inspiring thought to think that everyone could enjoy going to work and stop dreading Monday’s, I only hope that more companies will start adapting this type of thinking for society as whole, for we might all benefit in our daily lives as well as a population.

 

References

Association for Psychological Science. (2011, July 20). Work engagement, job satisfaction, and    productivity: They’re a virtuous cycle. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 27, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110720142459.htm

Bakker, Arnold. (2014). Work engagement. Retrieved September 26,2014 from             http://www.arnoldbakker.com/workengagement.php

Bakker, Arnold & Leiter, Michael. (2010). Work Engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research. Psychology Press 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2014 from http://www.media.routledgeweb.com/pp/common/sample-chapter/9781841697369.pdf

Crowley, Mark C. (2013, March 21). Not A Happy Accident: How Google Deliberately Designs    Workplace Satisfaction. Fast Company Inc, Mansueto Ventures, LLC 2014. Retrieved  September 28, 2014 from http://www.fastcompany.com/3007268/where-are-they- now/not-happy-accident-how- google-deliberately-designs-workplace-satisfaction

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

 


28
Sep 14

War On Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder, (PSTD), affects millions of Americans.  The roots of this disease stem from traumatic experiences.   After being involved in a life threatening experience, some people develop systems of PTSD a month or so following the incident.  I have a neighbor who suffers horribly from this disease and understand the implications of not receiving the proper intervention for it.  More social psychology intervention needs to be brought into this field to assess and help the patient.

 

My neighbor is a 60-year old Vietnam War veteran, and it behooves me to see how he still suffers from PTSD to this day.  His past veteran history has been compounded with a recent divorce that has become devastating and overwhelming.  He frequents the veteran’s psychiatric unit where he was clinically evaluated and prescribed medications.  He has sessions with a psychiatrist and social worker more than two times a week.  From my observations, these evaluations that have been ongoing for years are mere trial and error sessions.  His medications include antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs in an effort to keep him sedated and calm.  Suicide has been attempted multiple times, and he always fear that his neighbors are plotting to kill him.

 

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has done research on PTSD and related studies on fear and anxiety to aid people in coping with trauma.   Studies have been conducted on the brain, its functions, and chemicals released as a result of fear and trauma.  Early intervention focusing on disturbances in the memory, such as, bias, memory formation, and saliency can help in slowing down the development and maintenance of PTSD.

 

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been used to help individuals think and reach to frightening experiences that can trigger PTSD  and help them cope.  Also, by using these measures of therapy, the NIMH researchers have been able to study the brain response to certain medications while responding to CBT.  Sometimes an individual’s core cognitive schema is inconsistent with the patient’s traumatic event.  He has difficulty integrating his past experiences into his existing schema.  This disintegration eventually manifests and can lead to behaviors and symptoms of PTSD.  There are structured forms of psychotherapy including, exposure therapy, cognitive restructuring, and stress inoculation training.   Some forms of research attempt to enhance personality, cognitive and social protective factors and minimize risk factors in an effort to prevent full-blown PTSD after trauma.  The identification of certain factors and their response to an individual regarding PTSD is still being researched (Brewin, 2005).

 

Another form of clinical research by the NIMH is to create approaches via the Internet and telephone to promote self-help therapy and telephone-assisted therapy.  There are also research programs where a person with PTSD can meet their therapist face to face on websites.  A therapy session can be conducted this way.  This can help lower the stress and aid the patient in dealing with his fears and problems.  Intervention programs are being studied in order to respond to risk factors of PTSD before they become full-blown.  The aim is to develop more effective and personalized treatments for the patient.  Other psychological interventions that have been studied and utilized include coping skills therapy, eye movement desensitization, reprocessing, and debriefing interventions.  These interventions have not been fully successful and effective.  Interventions need to be expanded and more programs involving exposure and interactions should be promoted.

 

Anyone can develop PTSD. It is not exclusively a disease for war veterans.   It can be brought on by an unexpected death, a traumatic loss or even extreme fear.  Most children and teens suffer from this disease if something traumatic has occurred in their lives. Children who are exposed to domestic violence can also suffer.  Clinical studies for this type of treatment presently involve trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) as opposed to child-centered therapy (CCT).

 

My focus regarding PTSD is mainly geared toward the veterans of war.  I feel that their disease is not as controlled as it should be.  We as a society should not let our thinking fall into a group bias situation, but instead attempt to recognize these individuals and help to promote the funding and therapy that they are deserving of.  A recent occurrence can prove my point.   Omar Gonzalez, a war veteran, broke security and attempted to enter the White House.  Authorities later found 800 rounds of ammunition, hatchets, and machetes in his car.  It was determined that he too suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and his family has stated that Gonzalez not only has lost his home and material belongings in his life, but has lost his mind due to serving his country (Fernandez, et al. 2014).

 

I feel that with all the monies that are spent by our country for research in the medical field, this disease should be given more priority for prevention and keeping it controlled.  The clinical studies and health issues that are involved in PTSD are vast and still in progress.  Research is constantly being improved to help these victims and survivors, but not enough.  I feel that this disease should be intercepted before it reaches its full impact on an individual.  Hopefully, the proper interventions and research will cure this problem and assist the sufferers of these dreaded disease.  An attack on the roots of the disease for each individual should be assessed and conquered so that our veterans can live their daily lives to the fullest.

 

 

References

Brewin, CR. (2005). Risk factor effect sizes in PTSD: what this means for intervention. J. Trauma dissociation. 6,123-130.

Montgomery, D., Fernandez, M., (2014). Omar J. Gonzalez, Accused of White House Intrusion, Is Recalled as Good but Troubled Neighbor. The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/us/omar-gonzalez-veteran-white-house-fence.html.


28
Sep 14

Pursuit of Happiness

What is happiness? Happiness, although experienced by many on several different occasions is a concept that cannot be equally defined across cultures. Modern psychological studies measure happiness on three levels. This is most commonly called the measure of “subjective well-being” and include an individual describing whether they feel good, bad, or satisfied with life (Chang, 2014). Countries can be ranked on this three measures of happiness.

Screen-Shot-2014-09-10-at-7.35.11-PM

As described in this particular article, in our Western culture we see happiness as one of the highest and most treasured human goods. This article definitely gave me quite a few things to think about in terms of the culture that we live in and the values that I was taught to hold as a child and even now as an adult. Growing up we always sought out the things that made us the happiest, most of us were told to do whatever we wanted with our lives as long as it made us happy. Growing up in this culture, it is hard to comprehend that in other cultures there is a certain level of fear that is held towards the feeling of happiness.

A man by the name of Mohsen Joshanloo, a published author who holds a PhD in Philosophy and Social Psychology, writes that there are many forms of fear that can be held towards happiness.  This can be shown by hate displays, anxiety, and looking down upon those who pursue happiness (Chang, 2014). When it comes to the Eastern culture it has been found that they tend to hold moral actions and social duties higher than the euphoric state of happiness (Chang, 2014).  A possible reason for this shift in attitudes about happiness can be thought that happiness is seen as fragile. I can recall several times in my life where my potential happy moment was overcome by sadness or disappointment over something so simple as a change in plans or even weather. This behavior leads me to wonder if the pursuit of happiness is healthy for our culture as a whole? Several clinical studies have been done to study the fear of happiness and they have found that the pursuit of happiness can actually help people to overcome depression, although not all people who hold a fear of happiness are at a risk for any mental illnesses (Chang, 2014). Although a study done by mental health researcher Paul Gilbert concluded that the fear of happiness had a strong positive correlation to depression and other depression-related beliefs (Chang, 2014).

Although cultures do hold different views of happiness, the positive psychological movement has become a pop-culture phenomenon in our Western society which has paved the way for an overproduction of self-help books. Learning such things made me analyze my own value placed on happiness and I have found that I fall in a small percentage of those who believe that unhappiness follows happiness, so I do hold a certain level of fear for the sensation. I feel that this has come from several situations in my childhood where I held high expectations of a good situation and became disappointed afterwards since it never met my expectations or that something incredibly bad always seemed to happen on the days that I was feeling good and happy. As with everyone else in this world I have gone through several bad moments in my life but the cure for this was always the pursuit of happiness, even if it was in something small like a walk outside or drawing a picture.

Happiness, a concept that has no one true definition, is something that helps us understand how complex and diverse the cultures of the world truly are.  Although not entirely universal, the sensation of happiness has been found to have an impact on our mental well being as well as our physical well being. It is hard to understand how an emotion can have such an impact on our mental condition or how it can make a major difference in our everyday lives.

 

 

 

Chang, Bettina. (September 2014). Hating Happiness. Pacific Standard: The Science of Society. Retrieved from http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/hating-happiness-who-is-afraid-different-cultures-western-psychology-research-91269/


28
Sep 14

Coping with Veteran Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Before continuing to read this blog entry, I highly encourage you to go to take 3 minutes and watch The Present Trauma on Project Green Light found at the following link:

The video eerily depicts the thoughts, behaviors, and actions of a combat Marine veteran who clearly is struggling with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from his time spent in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The Marine is a husband and a father who has been kicked out of his home by his wife because of his PTSD. In the video the husband and wife can be seen talking to one another about him being around his son more but the wife states only if he begins to take his medications again. While in the park, his son spots a stray marked up pit-bull that appears to have been in a fight. The son would like to take him home and his mother instinctively says no. The father reaches out to the pit-bull to show his wife that the dog is harmless despite his marks and his breed. On his son’s birthday the father goes to the house where he and his wife have an altercation once again over their son and visitation. What happens next is heart wrenching. The father has a very nasty flashback to war in his tiny apartment and he picks up a loaded gun and begins aiming it around the room. His wife and son show up at the apartment and his son opens his door to find him pointing the gun at the wall. The wife closes the door as she walks in and pushes their son out. Despite desperate please, the wife is unable to break her husband from his flashback. He then takes the gun and places it under his chin – dropping to his knees. She continues to plead but the please continue to fall on deaf ears. At that moment the pit-bull runs up, starts licking the Marine’s face, and it breaks him out of his flashback where he sees his wife and then asks for help. The final scenes show the family driving to the hospital where he will be able to receive the proper care and treatment.

PTSD develops after the individual has experienced a traumatic event in their life that has either caused physical harm to the person, or there was an extreme threat to cause physical harm (National Institute of Mental Health (NHIM), 2014). A person can also develop PTSD by witnessing a traumatic event take place where physical harm was done not just to the individual’s loved ones, but even strangers (NHIM, 2014). Traumatic events that can cause PTSD include, but are not limited to, the following: car accidents, sexual assault, natural disasters, bombings, torture, child abuse, and robbery (NHIM, 2014). One of the biggest forerunners to PTSD and most likely one of the widest known causes of PTSD today, was also the first reason to break into the public attention sphere is veteran PTSD dating back to the Vietnam War (NHIM, 2014).

The commentary this week stated that one of the key factors for applied social psychologists is stress when they are engaged in working on problems related to health. Stress is a natural process that aids us as humans to cope with events in our lives that challenge us, but what happens when the natural process of our “flight or fight” response is damaged and broken? With persons suffering from PTSD, this process is often times severely damaged and broken which creates the feeling of being constantly stressed or frightened even when the individual is not in any real danger, or there is no threat of physical harm (NHIM, 2014). An example of this would be when the Marine veteran in the video is safe in his apartment but his flashback creates the illusion that he is in danger and his life is being threatened.

In Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress, there are four stages that each individual goes through to generate positive health outcomes; 1) Identifying stressors, 2) appraising the stressors, 3) coping with the stress, and 4) health outcomes. Applying this model to a veteran suffering from PTSD would almost look like the following in his/her mind:

1) Identifying the stressors:
Flashbacks can happen at any time and can be triggered by a magnitude of things: fireworks, vehicle exhaust backfire, a loud banging noise, loud noises in general, etc. Anxiety can occur in loud areas, around many people, having to think about going to the store, etc.

2) Appraisal:
Stressors are perceived as harmful, and their stress is continuous.

3) Coping:
Drug abuse. Alcohol abuse. Isolation. Aggressive behavior.
The coping mechanisms applied here are quite common to veterans who are suffering from PTSD, but obviously are not helpful.

4) Health Outcomes:
Suicide.
In a report released by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 22 veterans commit suicide a day which equates to one veteran every sixty-five minutes (VA, 2013). To make that an even clearer picture – in two days and nine hours we lose 53 veterans to suicide which is an entire National Football League team, and in two months, two weeks, three days, and two hours we lose 1,696 veterans to suicide which is the total amount of players in the entire National Football League.

Veteran Suicide Rate

22 a day is too many. How can we change the coping aspect for a veteran so that we can save his/her life? The stigmatization that is associated with seeking help for depression needs to be addressed and changed first and foremost. In the military you are trained to be tough. You are trained that sadness is a sign of weakness. Through the years, however, these thoughts have been attempted to be changed through suicide prevention classes, but are they effectively working? With suicides on the rise in the active force and with veterans, I am not so sure.

Other programs and resources need to become more readily available to our national heroes suffering from PTSD in an attempt to change their coping behaviors as well. One program that is triumphing in helping our veterans cope with PTSD is the Paws4Vets program based out of Wilmington, NC. The program screens and works with veterans suffering from PTSD to “bump” (place) them with trained psychiatric service dogs for free once the service member has completed successfully the necessary training with their service dog.

Martin Seligman developed the learned helplessness model of depression after an experiment with dogs who became depressed also became psychologically helpless (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). Helplessness is a factor in veterans suffering from PTSD. The Paws4Vets program aids in reducing the helplessness factor through the use of the psychiatric service dogs by creating a shift in the veterans’ state of mind so that they can change their circumstances. The dogs are attentive to their needs and aid them in reducing stress, and anxiety which allows the veterans to work towards becoming functional parts of society once again.

Unfortunately, the dogs come with a heavy price tag to train – $30,000 per dog to be exact. The program runs on donations but is unable to solely provide service dogs to all of those in need. Other programs have developed for training service dogs to place with veterans as well. The Department of Veterans Affairs has just kicked off a random control trial to effectively test the use of psychiatric service dogs and hopefully in the near future the VA will be able to place psychiatric service dogs with veterans suffering from PTSD.

Lastly, I close this blog with the below photograph from Paws4Vets containing the following quote because I believe it goes hand in hand with the coping stage of the transactional model of stress :

“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”

Paws4Vets Strength to Overcome

References:

Kemp, J., & Bossarte, R. (2013). Suicide Data Report, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2014 from http://www.va.gov/opa/docs/Suicide-Data-Report-2012-final.pdf

National Institute of Mental Health (2014). What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Retrieved September 28, 2014 from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml.

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


28
Sep 14

Hopelessness Theory Of Depression

When we were told to create a blog based on a subject which may occur in our lives which we could apply some of the theories we have been learning about I immediately thought of an occurrence which happens almost everyday at my work. I work as a certified drug and alcohol counselor. When clients come to me they normally have a few commonalities. First they have a diagnosis of a substance abuse disorder that has had a very serious negative impact on their lives. Second following the diagnosis of substance abuse they normally have a diagnosis of depression. I see these two diagnosis’s working against one another. They use substances to help cope with their depression but the substance use causing negative consequences makes for more serious depression. In drug and alcohol counseling we call this being in a state of terminal hopelessness where a person can not imagine life without the use of drugs or without being severely depressed and feels trapped. I would like to identify how the hopelessness theory of depression and the self-efficacy theory could help bring about hopefulness for these clients.

depression

The hopelessness theory of depression has a causal model associated with it which ends with hopelessness. Hopelessness is defined as “the expectation that highly desirable outcomes will not occur and that one is powerless to change the situation” (Schneider).  In the causal model my clients generally would experience something like this. First they would start using drugs and alcohol either to cope with an earlier negative life event or as a social coping mechanism. As time goes on negative outcomes of the drug use such as being arrested begin to build a pattern starting to establish a negative view of oneself. As this pattern continues the client begins to believe that these events are of high importance and are creating who they are. As this goes on there drug use begins to effect others and they begin to lose social support. The client begins to blame others for the negative circumstances in their lives because they are trying to fight off the negative views of themselves. This ends up as a negative view of the world and people who used to be their primary support. As this pattern continues the client begins to believe that the future will hold more of the same negative outcomes. These negative views of oneself, the world, and the future brings about the hopelessness theory of depression. Also associated with hopelessness depression is a low self worth, low self esteem, lack of motivation, and a overdependence on people or in this case drugs and alcohol.  The client believes they are stuck in a cycle which is impossible to get out of. So the question is how can a hopefulness therapy and self-efficacy help improve the functioning of these individuals.

Hopefulness therapy is designed to help people set goals and help people find ways around barriers to achieve them (Cheavens). Setting small goals also help raise a persons motivation which is much needed in a person with hopeless depression. An example for my clients would be beginning to plan their day setting a few small goals.  Returning in a week show the clients how much those small goals helped them achieve in just a week. Another example would be if a client did not have transportation to find employment help them look into public transportation schedules and resources for free bus tokens to remove that barrier so they do not continue to feel stuck. It also helps people identify their strengths and use them for a new direction in their lives.  There has been studies done on this type of therapy done at Ohio State University which have shown improvements in functioning for people with this therapy.

In conjunction with hope therapy with my clients, the use of the self-efficacy theory which was developed by Bandura seems to be a good application. Self-efficacy helps people believe in their capabilities to overcome difficult tasks rather than avoid them (Bandura Pg. 231). Which overcoming a drug and alcohol addiction and depression can be extremely difficult.  Research has shown multiple ways to improve self-efficacy and I will focus on one.  Seeing others that are similar to the client that have succeeded in sustained success in overcoming addiction and depression helps improve self-efficacy. With my clients the group setting motivates them to feel they are not alone in trying to overcome there issues but I have found that suggesting a client to attend 12 Step meetings lets them experience people who have sustained success which helps them find hope and therefor raise self-efficacy. It also helps that 12 Step programs have been showed to be successful for over 80 years now. I find that knowing that it has a long history of being successful means that clients will get to experience people who have had long term success.

The application of these two theories as modes of therapy will bring about lessoned symptoms of depression, lower drug and alcohol use, and therefore overall functioning. Because both of these approaches have research which shows success that these are good theories to apply to a current life situation that I have working with my clients. It helps also that these practices have already been being used. It helps understand where research has been done and has seen success to use these approaches more often and gain understanding of how they can be applied in a more successful manner.

Bandura, A. (1991a). Self-efficacy mechanism in physiological activation and health-promoting behavior. In J. Madden, IV (Ed.), Neurobiology of learning, emotion and affect (pp. 229- 270). New York: Raven.

Cheavens, J. (2014, August 16). YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE HOPE: STUDIES SHOW “HOPE THERAPY” FIGHTS DEPRESSION. Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/apahope.htm

Schneider, F. (2012). Applying Social Psychology to Clinical and Counseling Psychology. In Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications.

 


23
Sep 14

The Beast and I

Standing on a small path surrounded by trees, where the only noise is the occasional excited conversations of strangers passing by, the thunder of wood and metal clashing and my family screaming. My heart pounded as I waited, terrified of what could have happened to my family and how long it would take them to return to me. I looked up again at the sign of which I had tried so hard to avert my gaze: two huge paws with long claws appeared to be tearing apart the words that read, “The Beast”. I looked back down and thought, “If they survive this roller coaster, we are never coming back again.”

Carousels, face painting and food: this was my idea of a good time as a child spending the day at an amusement park. Unfortunately, my parents and older brother could only stand it for so long. They took to the more thrilling rides, while I opted to sit by myself and wait for them to get done. Roller coasters were always something I had a phobia of as a child, or according to Bandura, an irrational fear (Bandura, 1986). On this day at the amusement park, I got over my phobia of roller coasters and until now, I had never realized that it was through Bandura’s way of observational learning.

According to Bandura, observational learning is “watching someone else perform a behavior and then the observer performs a similar behavior in a similar situation” (Bandura, 1986). In my example, I watched my family have a great time while riding a roller coaster called, “The Beast” and realized that it is something I can also do without being afraid. However, this process was not as simple as it sounds. There are several components to observational learning, which include attention, retention, motor production, and motivation or opportunity.

According to Bandura, the first step, or attention is “the ability of the learner to actually observe the behavior in action” (Bandura, 1986). For the first step of overcoming my phobia, I waited outside of “The Beast” and observed my family ridind the roller coaster. Although it was a little hard to see my family on the roller coaster because of the turns and loops, there were a few points where their train was in my view and I could see them laughing and having a great time. Once they got off the coaster, they immediately asked me if I was ready to try going on one. This brought me to the second step in the process of observational learning.

According the Bandura, the second step, or retention, is “the ability to actually remember what one is observing” (Bandura, 1986). As I stood in line to board the roller coaster with my family, I saw a few upset children preparing to board, as well. In order to regain my own confidence, I needed to recall how much fun my family appeared to be having while riding the roller coaster. I stood in line as we waited and thought about how I should be excited because I was about to have a lot of fun, not afraid. I told myself that riding the roller coaster would be easy and fun because all I had to do was strap myself in and enjoy the ride. This brought me to the third part of observational learning.

According to Bandura, the third step, or motor reproduction is “the actual physical ability to engage in the behavior” (Bandura, 1986). Fortunately, riding a roller coaster does not take much aside from a height requirement and the ability to sit. I easily met both of those requirements, so this part of the learning process was not a problem for me. The final step quickly arrived as the train of the roller coaster screeched to a hault in front of my space in line.

This was the moment I had been waiting for. In order to accomplish the last step of observational learning, I had to have the motivation and opportunity to overcome my phobia. According to Bandura, this means that I needed to have the “desire and chance to engage in the set of behaviors and hone in on the skill set” (Bandura, 1986). The empty train car in front of me represented the opportunity to ride the roller coaster. As I declared, “Let’s do it!” to my family, this represented my motivation to finally overcome my phobia of riding roller coasters.

Nowadays, our family trips to amusement parks are much more exciting because we can all ride the rides together and bond over having fun doing the same things. It is strange to think back on events such as this in my past and realize that I was taking the steps of observational learning to overcome a phobia. Overcoming my phobia of roller coasters has opened the door to more exciting opportunities in life such as my senior year trip to Cedar Point and some of the most fun dates I have had with my husband.

 

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

 

 

 

 

The Beast Sign

The Beast Sign


22
Sep 14

A deeper look at stakeholders and perpetuating factors in American Racism

In the steps of creating an applied social psychology intervention the first and second are identifying a problem and coming up with a solution. That sounds so simple and matter of fact doesn’t it? In practice though it is clearly not that easy, yet there are some social problems so devastatingly powerful and serious that identifying and coming up with a solution is a literal matter of life and death. Racism in America and the ongoing murdering of black men in America is an ongoing nightmare that has not abated since blacks were freed after the Civil War. I feel a new fresh and honest look at the stakeholder and perpetuating factors aspects of the first and second steps of intervention creation is more than called for in creating more effective programs to deal with this issue.

Identifying a problem is usually built around the idea of stakeholders who have a vested interest in program development. To say that racism in America is a problem and that there is a huge need for intervention is abundantly clear but I don’t think that all those who are stakeholders are aware of their position or relation to this issue. There are people in our country who actually believe and say that we are a post-racial nation now. There are people who with all the sincerity in the world consider themselves to not be prejudiced and go about their daily lives feeling good about themselves for it. And there are those whom even in dense urban settings feel that racism doesn’t affect them and they have no part or stake in it. Truth is I feel that every single person who stands on US soil is a stakeholder and should be aware of that fact. Slavery was an unspeakable social evil created and supported in the light of totally contradictive rhetoric that stated All men are created equal while simultaneously enslaving and debasing their human brethren. The cognitive constructs or schemas built around quieting the cognitive dissonance of doing these horrible actions and keeping them in place for hundreds of years has created a viral like existence to racism in America especially against blacks that I dare say everyone gets exposed. It’s rampant and insidious. Considering that blacks were used as the financial foundation to build the wealth and power of the US and that they we considered not human but living currency to be used at the will and whim of the white men in power called for staunch suppression and repression of cognitive/emotional processes that might undermine the business of slavery and inform those that supported slavery that they were doing something immoral, wrong and evil. The famous Doll Studies done by Kenneth and Mamie Clark and subsequent versions of the study done show the sad truth of how people of all races and in various locations pick up the virus of racism even as little children. If you are not familiar with it please visit this CNN link. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/13/doll.study/ This particular schema that the children display which has deeply affected their perceptions and therefore their choices and behaviors is I feel the force that perpetuates racism against black in America and negative self hate of blacks towards themselves.

In the creating a solution phase of social interventions I feel that engaging the issue of racism should be done at the level of the schemas currently playing in the minds of almost everyone in America. Specifically finding ways to first illuminate or expose the schema and then dismantle or extinguish it. There have been many studies showing that often time whites, in particular white males are unconscious of their racially biased behavior towards blacks and this is a key problem. The structure, laws, institutions and more seem to be designed with protecting and keeping what I call the white male schema in place. This insures keeping the power, keeping the status quo, and it also insures not having to deal with the cognitive dissonance of emotions of sadness, grief, guilt etc that come along with enslaving, murdering, raping, using and abusing a race of people for your personal benefit. It’s a very deep and hellish thought of being hit with the emotions that those acts would create and this add considerable strength to the walls of these schemas. Black people have their work cut out for them when even the Supreme Court acknowledges that blacks have no part or parcel in the benefits of being an American citizen nor do they have any rights the white people should care to respect. Please watch this video to see the Supreme Court ruling in this matter. This mental position is what put slavery into place from the beginning and has driven governmental policy ever since. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/16/melissa-harris-perry-black-men-killed-by-police_n_5684588.html Breaching the emotional walls however is I feel the route to take to make change. Beyond laws and policies being created, beyond marches, speeches, lofty intentions and platitudes humans need to feel in order to experience deep lasting and genuine change. My research project is designed around this very idea, of engaging the problem at the level of the schemas and along with cognitive acknowledgment, design an intervention that taps into emotional and physiological awareness to phenomena that surround the existence of racial schemas in America.

The items of stakeholders and perpetuating factors have a very salient existence in regards to the specific topic of white racism against blacks in America because of the high level of denial and cognitive dissonance involved. These factors are as common in the American way of life as the air we all breathe here. It’s almost impossible to escape. It’s not that racist attitudes are impossible to change, but when there is monumental fear of losing power and status and exposure for evils done against others, stakeholders and perpetuating factors both become more deeply infected and entrenched in the sickening madness of hate. The so-called Founding Fathers of this country were either very stupid, very evil or very selfish when deciding to go this route when designing their “free” country. If they thought that treatment of other human beings in this manner would have no consequences or repercussions they were not very wise and don’t deserve all the praise they seem to engender.

 

References

Billante, J., Hadad, C. (2010). Study: White and black children biased toward lighter skin. Retrieved September 20, 2014 from http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/13/doll.study/

Mirkinson, J. (2014). Melissa Harris-Perry’s Searing Tribute To Black Men Killed By Police. Retrieved September 20, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/16/melissa-harris-perry-black-men-killed-by-police_n_5684588.html


22
Sep 14

Intervention: Using Cognitive Dissonance Theory to quit smoking

Good morning fellow Applied Social Psychologists in the making…

For my initial blog I couldn’t think of a better starting point then where I find myself mentally and physically – craving a cigarette at 6 am. “I’m not having coffee” because habitually I would have one with the other. I want to keep busy but refrain from being outdoors other than having to go from coordinate to coordinate. And I don’t even want to be near one. I actually bought a pack and never buy packs and gave it away.

What brought on this needs assessment in a preventative manner was when I started feeling health-compromising effects and the toxins at work. You have probably read all about the disastrous side effects, and not just to one’s self but, in retrospect, its an applied course of action by a participant, done almost second nature. It’s also a disregard to everyone directly around while he engaging/indulging in that behavior.

This entry is not an excuse to state the obvious; I wanted to capture a chronological approach – a self-report to monitor my progress. Yesterday was Day 1 and this morning is usually when people usually relapse.

While attempting to focus on successfully creating a decent blog and sharing an example of how I applied what we have been learning I decided to use my life as guinea pig to display what I believe are some theories working in conjunction. I started noticing a number of symptoms that I haven’t ever paid attention to until I started taking not only this course but also Health Psychology and combined to the two courses, absorbing so much new information and processing it, and applying it to myself in areas that are indeed applicable to better understanding how they function and we could be guided by them.

“According to cognitive dissonance theory, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions (i.e., beliefs, opinions). When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance.” – Festinger, L. (1957)

How could I exercise and see results but not be as satisfied? Smoking affects muscle growth. How could I feel so tired or unmotivated, drink a coffee or energy drink for energy and have a cigarette that is proven to cause fatigue? How could I go for “air” and use my 15 minute break at work to wait for an elevator and rush outside to have just enough time to have at least one cigarette? Sounds unnecessary, doesn’t it? How about being hungry and needing energy, and choosing a cigarette over food because it’ll curb your appetite? Oh that developing smoker’s cough, hacking away and making you sound older than what you are? Smoking too.

Looking at the inconsistencies between attitudes and behavior, there are certain people I won’t have a cigarette around – I don’t need to, don’t think of it, or anything. If I’m home I don’t smoke around my Munchkin, she never sees me smoking or even smells it on me. But why would someone willingly want to hold a “cancer-stick”, appropriately nicknamed, as an agent of death. Why would anyone invite such harmful products into their lives? Or share it?

In the past when trying to quit, I’d battle between what I knew was wreaking havoc on my lungs and stamina, emotionally and mentally causing all kinds of dependencies, etc. but I’d say “I don’t smoke a lot at all”. I look at my brother buying a pack every other day, and see how strong he looks and how normal and happy he seems, and would pull up right next to him and join him.

I started seeing the skin on my pointer and middle finger looking a little discolored, slightly different than the other fingers on my right hand. It made me paid attention a little more when my inner middle finger, where the filter and its residue build up, and poisons accumulate, holding the back end – was starting to crack. I thought it was the cold last winter, but hardening and bleeding only on that one finger? Right, pretty normal. Due to the weather and not me smoking, right. Wrong.

This summer the crack was back. Skin was hardening again and I even felt the superficial layers of skin desensitized. So guess what I did? Yes, I switched hands. This was the beginning of the end for smoking. I knew my smoking days were numbered because it took away the “enjoyment” for me – the recklessness or careless, nonchalant motion of feeling free or “cool”. I didn’t feel like I looked cool smoking with my left hand, never mind me thinking “I’ll keep all 10 fingers a little longer”. Now I was outside worrying about my health and all my fingers. But it was not until I decided to “switch hands” that I decided to look into implementing my assessments and seek proven evaluations for interventions that as I’m writing here now, setting my goals for Day 2, I’m working to quit for good.

You can’t factor in all these variables and see a direct correlation and ignore that data. Even proven methods show track records of relapsing, but only combining the psychological to the behavioral and applying it cognitively has lasting effects. “Once you know better, you do better.” And I know myself well enough to know that it would not be “just one cigarette” with my coffee in the morning. I’d use my work break and stress and an excuse to gauge levels of physical stress I’m willingly to apply to myself and choosing that as a “lesser poison” than dealing with stress at work in a productive manner? I’m choosing health-enhancing thinking now to match my attitudes and behaviors. I’ll keep you posted.

 

Reference:

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

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Cognitive Dissonance. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html

Brannon, L. & Fiest, J. (2007).  Health Psychology.  Belmont, MA: Wadsworth Publishing


22
Sep 14

Re-associating Recycling with Objects of Beauty and Value

The environment has always had a great importance to me from an early age I had role models such as Smoky the Bear and Woodsy the Owl, “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute!”  One of the most influential people in my life was my aunt Charlotte.  Her being a “Hippie” she taught me great ways to help the environment.  I still hold strong to those tips and use them in my daily life.  One of the ideals she taught me was ‘buying used rather than new’. This form of recycling helps the environment and can be quite a bit of fun in the process.

The waste management idea of buying used rather than new is a growing idea of recycling in many communities.  When I speak of waste management, I am talking about the packaging that newer items usually come wrapped in, like plastic wrap, cardboard boxes, and the dreaded Styrofoam.  According to the chapter Applying Social Psychology to the Environment (2012) “recognizing that a variety of environmental problems represent threats to environmental sustainability and that many problems have their roots in human behavior” (p. 306) shows that people’s habits are the initial problem.  Therefore, buying used not only helps to change people’s habits but also can save you money while keeping that money in your community.

First Monday Canton

First Monday Canton

The best places to shop secondhand are thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales, antique shops, and the ever-growing flea markets; such as First Monday Canton (2013), that takes place in the town of Canton, Texas, takes up most of the town, and runs first Monday of every month.  This event established back in the 1850’s is still going strong today. You can buy everything from housewares to automobile parts and antiques.  Some of the local thrift stores actually donate to local organizations or employee disabled workers.  Shopping with thrift stores helps local economy and helps to reduce the waste that these outlets would use if they were selling new items.  Garage sales are tax-free and once again, you are buying used and saving money.  Estate sales and antique stores are a great place to find treasures or one-of-a-kind items without supporting mainstream industries that use natural resources to fuel their factories.

Windsor Chair

Windsor Chair

One of the growing ideas currently is that antiques are green.  The website Antiques are Green (2014), says “they help and advice to businesses and consumers on reducing their carbon footprint and dependency on fossil fuels and becoming greener.” On this website, they discuss how an antique chair, the Windsor chair that was made over a hundred years ago and was made by hand using no fossil fuel run machines can still be used today from any antique store rather than purchasing another chair from a big name department store chain. Therefore, someone could hand it down or sell it to another environmentally minded consumer continuing the cycle of waste management through the use idea of buying used rather than new.

ricks-boothI am an avid antique shopper and 98% of my home consists of antique furnishings and accessories, which is one of the largest contributions that I do to help the environment and lessen my carbon footprint in the world.  When seeking out items for my home the first places that I go are the local antique stores or the Dallas area antique stores to try and find what I am  needing otherwise I go to garage and estate sales for items regularly.  Fiske (2014) stated, “We need to dis-associate recycling from empty soda cans and bottles and re-associating it with objects of beauty and value.”

References

Antiques Are Green – Antiques Trade Association Promoting a Valuable Heritage Industry and Embracing Green and Ethical Issues. (2014). Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://www.antiquesaregreen.org/

Applying Social Psychology to the Environment. (2012). In F. Schneider, J. Gruman, & L. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.

First Monday Canton. (2013, January 1). Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://www.firstmondaycanton.com/

Friske, J. (2014). Antiques are Green. Retrieved September 22, 2014, from http://www.fiskeandfreeman.com/antiquesaregreen.aspx


21
Sep 14

Birth Control and Global Injustice to the Environment

Residing in a suburb of New York City, experiencing the daily challenges of bumper to bumper traffic and elbowing my way through crowds, I have been given a wake-up all.  Overcrowding is not a healthy existence, and one of the main cures for keeping the numbers of people in check is simple–birth control.   Birth control can be a key factor in the overall existence and health of our population and environment.  To maintain and control the population and its growth patterns, individuals should adhere to some form of birth control.  Whether it be the use of condoms or birth control pills and other methods that reduce reproduction, we can be on the path to eliminate the threats to our public health and environmental issues that are suffering due to overpopulation.

Using the “hypocrisy” manipulation for individuals may aid in the usage of such control methods.  With the arousal of dissonance, individuals may take heed in their past behaviors and focus more on the outcomes and shortcomings that may arise for oneself and others in the environment. In studies regarding the use of condoms, it was noted that the hypocrisy manipulation offered the results of greater intentions to utilize condoms as opposed to past behavioral patterns  (Aronson et al., 1991).

I was devastated to discover that in my community alone the life expectancy is lower that the other five surrounding boroughs.  Staten Island, New York has the highest death rates per 100,000 people in the five boroughs due to cancer, chronic lower respiratory, disease, and heart disease (Donnelly, 2012).  These illnesses have been attributed to the environment where I live.  The abundance of people have afforded crowded conditions that cause extreme situations that affect one’s personal health.  When it comes to exhaust from vehicles that crowd the roads, fumes from ferries that transports thousands of people per day to their jobs, and overall pollution due to the supply and demand to keep the city functioning, a person’s health is at risk on a daily basis.  On a brighter note, if these people and generations before them had practiced some sort of birth control, the population would not be so devastating today and the quality of life in my community would not be so unhealthy and filthy.  To drive into a shopping plaza and have another driver threaten your life for the parking spot proves that there is definitely devastating effects of overcrowding and human existence.  This has happened to me on more than one occasion and has become an acceptable norm.  There have been deaths related to this topic in my community.

Not only can overpopulation affect one’s health and living conditions, but also it can have a devastating impact on our food and water supply.  Overpopulation can also pressure our coastal ecosystems, fisheries, and forests.  Our biological diversity is compromised regarding agriculture and medicine.  Plants and animal species are forced into extinction due to the population boom and demands.  This problem reaches a global environmental problem.  Demands for food, irreplaceable depletion of natural resources and harmful effects to our entire ecosystems are just some of the problems that are encountered with human overpopulation.   Depletion of the stratospheric ozone, along with systemically polluting our soil, air, water, and food supply is another effect of overcrowding in the environment.

Studies have suggested that if the population growth was curbed, global poverty and even a simple reduction of carbon emission per year would be reduced.  Global problems such as climate change, poverty and lack of resources can be resolved if family planning is encouraged (Kristof, 2011).  Not only does overpopulation lead to greater poverty and lower standards of living, but exposure to pollution, environmental hazards, toxic substances and other health risk factors rise to deadly levels.  If the process of reproduction is curtailed through the use of birth control practice, our environment can take a breath and improve its living standards.  Investments can be utilized to boost productivity and help the economies flourish.  Our supply for natural resources can be offered time to replenish itself and not be diminish due to high demands placed on it by overpopulation.  The water supply can be conserved more, and the agricultural and industrial areas can better themselves by increasing productivity and supplies.

In conclusion, birth control methods can help in slowing down the population growth.  With this in motion, the living standards will improve, along with the protection of our natural resources.  The population size will stabilize and individuals can sustain a more favorable standard of living.  With the population growth being curtailed through birth control, our resources, environment, and sustainable development can be maintained and improved.  Whether on a global scale or as experienced on a smaller scale in my own community, the impact of overpopulation can be harmful and unhealthy, both to the physical and mental capacities of a person.   This is an interesting parallel, but the end result can help us live a longer, healthier existence.

 

References

 

Aronson, E., Fried, C., & Stone, J. (1991). Overcoming denial: Increasing the intention to use condoms through the induction of hypocrisy. American Journal of Public Health, 18, 1636-1640.

 

Donnelly, F. (2012) Want to live longer? Staten Island may not be your place. Staten Island Advance, pp. 3, 4.

 

Kristof, N. D. (2011, November 2).  The Birth Control Solution. The New York Times, pp. 24, 25.

 

http://www.silive.com/relationships/index.ssf/2011/09/rules_for_getting_along_in_our_overcrowded_borough.html


21
Sep 14

Challenging Energy Companies to Compete

by Amy Caraballo

Since the dawn of time, humans have thrived on competition. Today, countries continue to compete for dominance in both the financial markets and for total power. Competition isn’t limited to national governments, however. In the United States, entire weekends are devoted to televised sporting events and children, as young as toddlers, compete in sports (Sports Connection, n.d.). Even the performing arts have become televised competitions. It seems only natural then to look at the power of competition to change our energy consuming ways. What about our options, though? Few companies offer much renewable energy. Even those that do offer only a small fraction of the energy produced through renewable resources (American Physical Society, n.d.). How can consumers meaningfully change our consumption when the options are so severely limited? But, what if we used this naturally competitive streak of our human nature on the actual energy companies, themselves?

What Do We Need?

Nearly 40% of the world’s electricity is produced by burning coal (Nijhuis, 2014). The burning of coal is one of the main contributors of greenhouse gases, specifically CO2 (Nijhuis, 2014). And coal isn’t the only problem. All fossil fuels, including natural gas, capjerimum_Greenhouse_Effectpropane, gasoline, even butane give off CO2 as a byproduct of their use (EIA, n.d.). In fact, 84% of all the world’s power is created through fossil fuels. (American Physical Society, n.d.). These resources are also severely limited and we are destined to run out (Riddel, Ronson, Counts, & Spenser, n.d.). It is obvious that we need to find renewable and ecologically safe alternatives and we need to do this soon. But with such changes come costs and there has been little financial incentive for energy companies to change their ways. After all, consumers still need energy regardless of where it comes from.

What Do We Know?

In 1996, Siero et al. studied how a phenomenon called comparative feedback influenced industrial employees to conserve energy while at work. Basically, the scientists found that when a group of workers saw how their own conservation efforts stacked up against another group’s efforts, they worked harder at conserving energy (Siero et al, 1996). This comparative feedback idea has also been used successfully in getting individuals to reduce energy consumption at home (Midden, Meter, Weenig & Zieverink, 1983). Knowing that competition also drives much of our capitalistic economy, it would seem that using comparative feedback to stir up competition might also work on the energy companies, themselves.

How Do We Do It?

From a financial standpoint, there is very little reason for an energy company to scrap current technology and know-how to convert resources to renewable energy. Conversion is costly in both time and resources. Though we can make many moral and environmental arguments for switching, the bottom line is usually about money. In order for energy companies to change, there has to be financial incentive. One way we might incentivize the industry is to create government sponsored competition. Though thispowerplants idea might incur public costs, these costs could be minimal if in the form of advertisement. Using the idea of comparative feedback, the government could create public advertising campaigns that gave statistics about how well each energy company was doing in terms of changing to renewable sources. This advertising could serve as a financial incentive for companies who were working harder at switching to renewable energy. Consumers would be able to know which energy companies were more dedicated to saving the planet and thus these companies could outsell their competition.

What Does This Look Like?

Much like other United States Government sponsored campaigns (think The Ad Council), there could be multimedia campaigns that ensured that people knew which companies were changing over to renewable resources. This could be updated on a monthly or semi-monthly basis and be part of the national news, for instance. In order for it to work, this information would have to be consistently sent out and updated. People would need to know when to expect the information and where to get it. As long as the information was flowing, consumers would have choices and the energy companies would have to work hard at keeping the consumers happy.

But Will It Work?

A program is only as good as its evaluation process. There would have to be a way to measure how much positive change was happening in the form of continually more available renewable energy and less available fossil fuel sources after this comparative advertising campaign took flight. We would have to measure how much renewable energy was available in the short-term of the program and then how much was available in more of a long-term time frame. Because this intervention also presumes that consumers want renewable energy, more studies should be done to gauge the public’s knowledge about the dire circumstances of our continued reliance on fossil fuels. The knowledge or lack thereof could affect how much or little change happens in terms of energy production from the industry. In other words, they might build it, but will we buy it?

For those who are aware of the dire circumstances of global climate change and the limited supply of fossil fuels, switching to renewable energy is, well, a no-brainer. If we want the Earth to support life a little while longer we must find a way to reduce our usage. For those who are hard to convince, however, we might need some incentives. Competition is as old as we humans, ourselves. Perhaps we can use that competitive quality to push everyone, even energy companies, to save our species.


American Physical Society. (n.d.). Fossil Energy. Retrieved from http://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/energy/fossil.cfm

Midden, C., Meter, J., Weenig, M., & Zieverink, H. (1983). Using feedback, reinforcement and information to reduce energy consumption in households: A field-experiment. Economic Psychology, 3.1, 65-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0167-4870(83)90058-2

Nijhuis, M. (2014). Can Coal Ever Be Clean? Retrieved from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/coal/nijhuis-text

Riddell, A., Ronson, S., Counts, G., & Spenser, K. (n.d.). Towards Sustainable Energy: The Current Fossil Fuel Problem and the Prospects of Geothermal and Nuclear Power. Retrieved from http://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/trade_environment/energy/hfossil.html

Sports Connection LLC. (n.d.). Lil’ Kickers Soccer. Retrieved from http://www.sportsconnectionnc.com/details.php?Lil-Kickers-Soccer-40

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (n.d.). Energy – Carbon Dioxide Emissions Coefficients. Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/co2_vol_mass.cfm


21
Sep 14

An Effective Energy Conserving Intervention

Several years ago, as a way to reduce their energy costs, my parents decided to participate in a local competition that challenged participants to reduce their energy consumption. The local contest lasted for three months and encouraged participants to track their energy consumption through a tool located on the local electric company’s website. The first three households to show the most significant reduction in energy consumption were awarded a discounted rate on their electric bill. In addition to the discounted rate, each of the top three households were also awarded a gift card for the overall amount of monetary savings they produced by reducing energy consumption.

At the start of the program, every member in each participating household was required to sign a pledge promising their effort to conserve energy. During the contest, participants received weekly letters in the mail that offered advice on how to reduce their energy needs and helpful behavioral modifying tips to reduce unnecessary energy consumption. Any household that included children received additional information with their weekly letter that was intended to educate children on the importance of saving energy. In addition to the weekly letters, each household was required to track their energy consumption behavior over the course of a week and log their information into an account setup by the local electric company. Every week, each participating household’s information was updated on the website, which provided a graph detailing their usage in comparison to other participating households.

The local contest was an overall success. Several community members participated and, within the three-month period, energy rates dropped significantly. Despite the competitive nature of the challenge, the relationship within the community, oddly enough, tightened, and many participating households began to work together in an effort to conserve energy. Months following the contest, many involved in the challenge, including my parents, continued their efforts in reducing energy consumption. In the end, the contest proved to be a very effective way to modify energy-consumption behavior. As with any effective intervention, the implemented program was structured to address an immediate issue, it demonstrated established goals, targeted specific behavior and influenced positive social change (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012, P. 63-65). In addition to resolving the immediate issue, the intervention, intended or not, also fostered a positive community relationship.

Reference
Frank, S. W., Jamie, G. A., & Larry, C. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed., pp. 63-65). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.


19
Sep 14

Making Changes to Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

I am sitting here brainstorming, thinking of a good environmental issue to write about and how applied social psychology relates to it.  I could write about how human dependence on fossil fuels is causing global warming, but I won’t.  Instead I’m going to write about my own personal experience as a consumer of natural energy resources, and the changes I’ve made to reduce my family’s carbon footprint.

I wish I could say that it was my concern for the environment which urged me and my family to make the changes initially, but it was not.  Eight years ago my husband lost his job as a production manager at the manufacturing plant he had worked at for ten years.  This was a major impact on our lives, our income changed drastically.  The first thing I did was research on all the ways we could reduce our monthly spending.  Some major things our family could change that would reduce our bills were related to the environment; we could reduce our consumption of electricity, water, natural gas, and petroleum.  I came up with a list of all the changes we would make that would save us a bundle of money and also help to reduce our carbon footprint.  We had a savings, thank goodness, or we would not have been able to make some of the changes required.

First we reduced our use of gasoline; my husband traded in his gas guzzling SUV for a more economical sedan.  His MPG went from 15 to 27.  Then we went out and bought the energy efficient CFL bulbs and changed all of the light bulbs in our home.  We also began getting in the habit of turning off lights when not in use and turning of the TV when nobody is physically watching it.  Another way we reduced our carbon footprint was to conserve water.  I’ve always been thoughtful about that, but we made a few more changes.  For instance our dishwasher has an economy setting which uses much less water, so we began using that setting.  My son, who loves to dilly dally in the shower, with our encouragement, reduced his shower time from twenty minutes to ten minutes.  We changed the shower heads in our two bathrooms to water conserving ones.  Another change I made was creating a way to collect rainwater from our gutter system to be used to water our yard instead of using the water hose.  Another change we made was using our tap water for drinking water, instead of purchasing bottled water.  Which after research I learned that bottled water does nothing but line the pockets of whoever sells it.  We also had our furnace changed from the original one that was a good fifty plus years old with 45% efficiency, to a new model that cut our natural gas consumption nearly in half with a new furnace that has 90% efficiency.  This cost a little bit upfront, but has greatly reduced our monthly natural gas bill and was definitely worth it.  With all the changes being made, we felt it was important to have a family meeting to discuss the importance of being more thoughtful of the energy we use.  In order to help our children make the changes we got them involved and made the good energy saving behaviors part of their reward chart.  We also assigned them jobs; my son was put in charge of recycling, and our daughter is the one who makes sure we are turning of lights and not leaving things on that are not in use.  They are good little energy conservation law enforcers.

Even though we are back on track economically, the new changes that we made are still with us and have encouraged our children to participate actively in reducing our carbon footprint and coming up with ideas to be more thoughtful consumers.  My son is in charge of the recycling that goes on around here.  He’s like a little recycling policeman, making sure that anything that could go in the recycle bins gets put there and not accidentally put in the trash.  He even finds interesting new uses for items that would normally get tossed out; for instance an old plastic shelf that we were going to throw out has become a display shelf in his room for all his favorite toys.

I found that as these changes were being made in our home, I began talking about it with my friends.  When I told them about the cost savings we experienced after making these changes, some of my friends began to make some of the changes also.  This relates to the idea in the book that people with common interests and beliefs tend to socialize with and influence each other (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012).   It seemed that the more conscious we were of our use of energy and water, the more thoughtful we became about other areas we could make changes.  For instance, I now use nothing but reusable grocery bags when I shop.  I also is try to make errands as efficient as possible, so I’m not driving all over using more gas than necessary.  At first it takes a bit of an effort, but then over time becomes habit and though initially these changes were motivated by the need to reduce our costs, it is a good feeling knowing that with a few simple acts that we are reducing our carbon footprint.  These habits will carry on with our children, as I’m certain that by the time they are adults it will be an important part of their daily life.

 

 

Reference

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


02
Sep 14

tips for writing a blog post

The Technical

The first step is to make sure that you have access to posting to the blogs here at Penn State. To do so, you need to get your webaccess ID.

The second thing is to try out a test entry. You can do this in your own personal blog or in our shared blog space. Click on “+ Post” towards the top of the page. You can then create an entry using the form. plusI recommend trying out a few different things such as including a link and inserting a picture as these are things that you will want to do with your regular entries to enhance the content. Make sure to title this test something like “test entry”.

It is recommended that you write the entry using word processing software (such as Word or Pages) first and then copy and paste it over as the spellcheck is not great here.

Hit “Publish” towards the right side of the page. publishBut also don’t forget to proofread both before you do that and after your entry is published so that your entry looks professional.

Feel free to ask questions if you need help. Your instructor is happy to help, as is the blogs support team.

 

The Content

Think of an idea that you want to write about. Research the idea and take some notes. Create an outline and then draft the entry after you have a thesis . Otherwise you run the risk of your entry sounding like stream of consciousness writing or a rant. While blogs are less formal than say term papers or academic essays, you still want them to sound intelligent and be informative to your readers. To that end, you want to include your references and cite where your information is from so that your readers can find out more information if they so choose and can hopefully engage in you in an intelligent conversation about your topic by reading the information that you are basing your ideas from.

Have fun and get creative. Add things like videos, charts, pictures or links that demonstrate your point. Feel free to add some humor and make the entry personal (obviously remain professional as the information is public).

References

The Pennsylvania State University. (n.d.). Sites at Penn State. Retrieved at: http://sites.psu.edu/support/

Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University. (2008). How to write a thesis statement. Retrieved online at: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml

 

An earlier version of this entry appeared in the Applied Social Psychology Blog.