31
Oct 19

Self-Concept

In reading about academic self-concept, I think back to my earlier years of education. These years were intensely frustrating, and they only grew worse with each passing assignment. I couldn’t concentrate, comprehend, or keep up with my classmates. By second grade, the humiliation peaked as I still could not read, and my disability was becoming apparent to everyone around me. Shamed into silence, even bullied for my cognitive delays, I was growing depressed and losing self-esteem. Soon after, I was diagnosed with ADHD and a learning disability. Unable to process words at an average rate, my verbal comprehension issues were magnified in the classroom. After receiving my diagnosis, my parents appointed various therapists and instructors to help me learn tools to succeed. Although these professionals helped me immensely years of struggling, my education left me feeling defeated, and my perception of my academic abilities was diminished.

Academic self-concept is the attitudes, perceptions, and feelings that a student has about their academic ability (Coutts, Gruman, & Schneider, 2017). Based on my negative track record, I felt that I would NEVER be able to succeed in school and that I was just “not made” for it. Gruman & et al. (2017) explains that good academic self-concept has the effect of academic achievement and that there is a reciprocal relationship between the two. So as I continued to believe that I was not made for school, I continued to fail, and as I continued to fail, it further confirmed my perception of my abilities. It was a vicious cycle that went on through high school. Although I was fully capable and was instructed on learning techniques that worked best for me, I continued to beat myself up and fully believed that I would ALWAYS fail. As this went on in high school, I chose to go out with friends and get into things that I wasn’t supposed to instead of working on my homework. In doing this, I was self-handicapping, which is when “people handicap their own performance on a task so that they have a ready excuse for failure” (Gruman & et al., 2017). The whole situation was headed for disaster. Although I didn’t want to apply to college, my mother forced me, and I was accepted to every school I applied to. Even though I had these letters to promote academic self-concept, I doubted myself. I eventually went on to start my freshman year out of state. I dropped out within two months. I gave my friends and family every excuse in the book “I’m just not intellectual enough,” “ I am not made for school,” “school isn’t for everyone,” “I’m street smart, not book smart” (Ha!). I spent six years working jobs I hated and desperately searching for my passion. Upon finding that passion for occupational therapy, I knew I had to face my biggest fear, which was going back to school.

The first semester back was absolute hell as I continued my vicious cycle of self-doubt and hatred of myself. It wasn’t until I spoke with one professor about my concerns. Those talks would become the foundation from which my strength would rise and elevate me finally have faith in myself and leave the excuses behind. I stopped choosing a social life over my education and started putting in the work to succeed. When I ended a semester with my first A (ever!), something changed. My academic self-concept and my passion for occupational therapy gave me the motivation to strive for bigger and better things in life. It truly is fascinating the effect that our ideas and beliefs of ourselves have on our outcomes.

Reference:

Coutts, L. M., Gruman, J. A., & Schneider, F. W. (2017). Applied social psychology understanding and addressing social and practical problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.


30
Oct 19

Youth and prejudice

After reading this weeks module and lesson commentary 10 regarding the frontline video of Miss Elliot and her class it made me think of a similar incident that happened at my sons kindergarten. One day when I picked my son up from school he said to me that he wanted curly hair like his friend Koda. Mind you my son is the only person of color in his class. He has curly hair but Koda has long blonde ringlets and resembles a California kid who surfs haha. When I asked my son why he felt like he needed to look like Koda when he has his own curly hair his response was everyone says Koda’s hair is beautiful.

While I don’t think this is a sign of prejudice I do think this is how those negative and discriminatory thoughts and perceptions are formed. I had to remind my son that just because other people my have attributes that are complimented it does not take away from him. I reminded him that people say he has the best smile and that he actually gets quite a lot of special attention from certain teachers. I could tell that there was a level of jealousy that sparked in my son and it’s sad that this is a normal response to something pertaining to appearance. I think that it’s important to start looking at peers as equal and to focus on things not based in vanity even at a early age. Additionally, I jokingly said to my children as we were getting in the car “get in losers we’re going shopping”… my son kindly reminded me that was a “bully phrase” and could hurt peoples feelings. Never had I been so proud that I was raising someone who cared how words effected others.

Where I grew up in Philadelphia, we called out race and often made fun of each other. When we had children of other races in our classroom we made it a point to target them. While this is not appropriate it was something that was the norm. For instance the one White kid in class was given the name White Boy.  We hadn’t viewed that as being discriminatory but now as I get older I notice how those same people I went to school with only see color. In a country that’s headed toward mixed race majority in the next 100 years, seeing color seems like a mute point.

 


30
Oct 19

Upskirting and privacy

Elaborating on this weeks lesson module 9 on cellphones and privacy invasion I thought I would shed light on an interesting article. In an error of Edward Snowden and laptops with a power off button for the camera, privacy concerns are at a all time high. An article from April, 2019 describes a New Jersey man who worked for Citizens Bank who recorded women in the bank’s bathroom. The tool used to record the women was a smart phone concealed in a envelope hidden in the ladies room stall. When a customer found the device she tried to take it to the bank staff but the employee intercepted it and ran out of the bank.

Issues like this have been occurring all across the country. Most people will be so consumed with their own devices they will simply ignore their surroundings. As a result people are unaware  that their privacy is being invaded. Working for Apple I often get calls where people want us to track their devices or retrieve lost data. When I kindly explain we don’t have that access they are enraged. It makes me think why are we so comfortable allowing strangers to monitor,judge,and ultimately watch over us? What does this do to us psychologically in the long run? This generation is growing up recording every move via Snapchat,Instagram,and YouTube. These platforms have glorified privacy invasion and have contributed to a new group of victims. From the women being secretly recorded in bathrooms, to the teens live streaming suicides on Facebook live. The craving for attention or the need to see others and their lives has effected how we perceive the world and most of all how we communicate with others. This desire results in poor social skills, the inability to separate reality from online, and the unwillingness to practice restraint as it pertains to utilizing technology in negative ways.

Sources Cited:

https://www.phillyvoice.com/man-recorded-women-bathroom-phone-charged-citizens-bank/


29
Oct 19

Knowing Without Learning

Have you ever heard a song on the radio, recognized it, but couldn’t quite remember the title of the song or name of the artist?  Have you ever had the name of an actor from a movie right on the tip of your tongue?  What this usually results in for me is an exclamation of “Wait, don’t tell me!”, followed by a long while of concentration, eventually leading to a weirdly strong sense of accomplishment, joy, and pride when I finally realize what it was I was struggling to figure out.  Unfortunately, since the advent of smartphones, we are robbing ourselves of this feeling.  Now that we are able to access nearly any piece of information at the touch of a button, there is no sense of accomplishment that can be taken away from googling the name of that actor or using Shazam to find that song.  Additionally, this lack of effort means that the information we discover will most likely not be retained long-term; we haven’t actually learned anything.

Since we have access to all this information, it’s as if every one of us knows everything there is to know.  However, we haven’t actually learned anything because of it.  We rely so much on our phones to provide us with information instantaneously and this can lead to a lack of appreciation for learning.  Similar to how teaches used to say that we all needed to learn basic math skills because we weren’t always going to have a calculator handy in the real world.  Now that we actually have that, I have personally noticed a decline in the basic mathematical ability of the people around me.  The same is true for every piece of information now.  People put so much faith in the fact that their phone will be able to figure everything out for them that they don’t bother learning anything for themselves.  This attitude towards learning in generally can be a major hindrance for not only the individual, but to society as whole.  So, the next time you can’t quite remember what the name of that song is, take a second before you pull out your phone and see if you can work it out on your own.


28
Oct 19

Social Media & Eating Disorders

During an internship last year, I worked alongside a girl my age who had recently published a book. I enjoy reading in my free time so I ordered her book off Amazon and a couple days later, started reading it. It’s journal entries she wrote during her struggle with anorexia. The daily entries start on the day of admission, through hospitalization and end with her discharge. In high school, there was one girl in my grade who had developed anorexia, but we weren’t close friends. So I personally never knew someone who had struggled with an eating disorder before I met Kirsten. In her book, she discusses how social media, like most teenagers, changed her perception about herself. She goes on to discover what the true meaning of beauty is, and that “there are so many better dreams to dream than for a perfect image”. Not only does an eating disorder effect you physically, it also effects you mentally and socially. A lack of food can destroy your mental health, so her entries also include her daily struggle with rebuilding hers. An eating disorder, is just one of the problems that can arise from social media. It’s so important for teenagers to be taught how to view themselves realistically and not with a perception that social media can  provide.

References:

Cunha, K. J. (n.d.). Food For Thought.


28
Oct 19

Narrowing The Digital Divide

A recent segment on National Public Radio, “Dating Apps Can Help Older Adults Meet — No Time Machine Necessary”, relates the story of Anna, a senior citizen who made the decision to use online dating apps in her mission to meet a romantic partner.  Anna jokes that she may be one of the first people to ever use online dating.  In 1978, while in high school, Anna was assigned to work in her school’s computer lab.  The computer she was using was connected to a mainframe computer in a neighboring town.  Other high schools were also connected to this computer which made it possible for students at different locations to communicate with each other electronically.  One such interaction led to Anna finding a date to her senior prom.  This experience made Anna comfortable singing up for a dating website decades later.  The NPR segment goes on to detail Anna’s online dating journey and how the experience can be particularly challenging for someone in their later years of life.   This story made me consider how senior citizens navigate the rapid advances of technology and if the “digital divide” between older adults and younger people is narrowing as technology becomes increasingly more necessary.

The “digital divide” is the social, economic, and demographic factors that exist between individuals who use computers and those who do not.  The divide between the younger people and the elderly may exist due to a number of reasons.  The elderly may not have the dexterity to operate technology.  They may dislike change which restricts their adoption of new technology or feel as if advances in technology is more of a young person’s initiative.  Also, elderly individuals are subject to age-related declines in visual and auditory sensory processes, motor skills and cognitive abilities.  This can present a challenge since most technology devices employ very small plugs, wires, keyboards. interfaces, mouse, etc. that may be difficult for seniors (Peng, 2010).  These issues as well as the fact that most technology is not designed with the elderly in mind are all contributing factors to the of broadening the “digital divide.”

In the United States. seniors (aged 65 and over) are the fastest growing proportion of the population (NIH, 2016).  With an increase in the proportion of elderly people comes an increase in health concerns related to that group.  Access to readily-available online health information specific to the needs of the senior population is another factor that should be considered when developing strategies to narrow the “digital divide”.  Making online health information more usable and making computers and the internet more accessible can help to improve the health and wellbeing of seniors.

 

References

Roman, L., & Brown, A. (2018, January 30). Dating Apps Can Help Older Adults Meet – No Time Machine Necessary. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/01/30/581043485/dating-apps-can-help-older-adults-meet-no-time-machine-necessary.

Peng, G. (2010). Critical mass, diffusion channels, and digital divide. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 50(3), 63-71. doi:10.1080/08874417.2010.11645408

World’s older population grows dramatically. (2016, March 28). Retrieved from https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/worlds-older-population-grows-dramatically.

 

 


28
Oct 19

Donald Trump Screwed Up My Sunday

I wake up every Sunday morning around 7:00AM, make coffee for me and tea for my boyfriend. While everything is brewing and steeping, I walk outside with the pups while the beau is snoring away. The two dogs, the beau, and I snuggle back in bed and turn on CBS Sunday morning at 8:00AM. We sip our morning rituals and see heartwarming stories about celebrities, children helping others, renovations at art museums, historical figures revisited, and at the end we get 60 peaceful seconds of nature, our favorite segment.

Not this morning. Not even 10 minutes into our Sunday morning haven, Margaret Brennan from Face the Nation chimed in that Trump was going to tell us that we killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Okay, she told us, can we get back to the heartwarming stories?

Instead, Trump gets on TV and tells the nation about his great success of killing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. I turn off the TV because his face incites a panic attack. I later read his account of the leader being chased into a tunnel by dogs with three of his children, ignited his vest, and he was whimpering, screaming, and crying (Whitehouse.gov, 2019). That was such a violent picture to broadcast on a Sunday morning (anytime, really). Cultivation theory says that TV is our main socialization agent (Gruman, 2017). So where before we could hear President Obama talk about the death of Osama Bin Laden with respect and reverence, is it that Trump has been so “successful” at engaging his core base by giving raunchy accounts of situations? Personally, it incites fear in me because I’m not sure how ISIS will react to his remarks and he does not seem fit to respond in a way that will actually help the United States.

From our text, we read that as males are exposed to more and more violent content, there is a higher likelihood of violent behavior (Gruman, 2017). Looking at this presidency, we have seen an uptick in hate-related violence. According to Rushin & Edwards, counties who voted for Trump with the widest margins in the elections have experienced the largest increases in reported hate crimes (2018). They also saw on a time series analysis that there was a significant surge in hate crimes since the election, which has been dubbed The Trump Effect (2018). An article in the Washington Post remarked that counties that hosted a Trump rally had a 226% increase in hate crimes (2019). The article also included that the New Zealand shooter called Trump a “renewed symbol of white identity” which had to stem from Trump’s rhetoric.

What is coming across our TV screens matters, as it is showing what is socially acceptable behavior. Years past, we could count on our presidents to have class and decorum. We did not need to worry about the president inciting violence and describing raids in gruesome detail. A good friend of mine said that she makes her grandchildren leave the room whenever Trump comes on TV because she doesn’t know what he is going to say. It is amazing that we have come to a point where people are uncomfortable allowing their children to be exposed to our president.

We kept checking back to CBS every 10 minutes or so but Trump was still tooting his own horn for the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. We didn’t get our heart warming stories while snuggled in bed with our warm beverages and puppies. We missed a tribute to Prince that we were really excited about. Instead, we got up and started our week with a little anger in our hearts.

Resources:
Ayal Feinberg, R. B. (2019, August 6). Analysis | Counties that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226 percent increase in hate crimes. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/22/trumps-rhetoric-does-inspire-more-hate-crimes/.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles ; London ; New Dehli ; Singapore ; Washington DC ; Melbourne: SAGE.

Remarks by President Trump on the Death of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. (2019, October 27). Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-death-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi/.

Rushin, S., & Edwards, G. S. (2018). The Effect of President Trumps Election on Hate Crimes. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3102652


27
Oct 19

Social Media and Terrorism

In light of the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, it feels fitting to analyze how social media has facilitated the radicalization process as well as potential intervention strategies.  Before getting to the fun part, it’s important to identify the radicalization process. Due to the complex nature of radicalization and variations of the definition “terrorist” there are many variations of the radicalization process. For the sake of this blog, the radicalization process shared will be simplified for the sake of provoking discussion.

According to Leistedt (2016) there must first be certain risk factors within the individual’s personality, background, or shared experiences or goals. Most group-extremism relies heavily on group-think and collectivist ideals to persuade individuals to adopt extremist values. These ‘persuasion techniques can occur face-to-face or through some form of media (Leistedt, 2016). If radicalization is successful, the individual will then carry out specific acts for the sake of ‘the cause’.

One of the most effective radicalization methods is through social media platforms. The use of social media platforms is relatively low-risk for the terrorist organization while simultaneously allowing for mass dissemination.

Now, it should be noted that this mass dissemination occurs primarily in regions where there is little to no government regulations over the internet or the freedom of speech is protected on the internet. How many individuals have been radicalized by Al’qaeda in China? How many Russians were radicalized by ISIS? What do both of these countries have in common between them? Both Russia and China censor content on the internet. While the number of people who have acted upon their radicalization is up for speculation (Duchatel, 2019), even the hypothetical numbers are still significantly less than their Western allies. As such, a possible intervention strategy could be regulation limiting the freedom of speech pertaining to the spread and radicalization of terrorist ideology.

Many countries that exhibit Western idealism and the freedom of speech will not cater to the possibility of limiting the freedom of speech. However, short of providing better education to mitigate the risk of radicalization, social media will continue to be the most effective, primary tool utilized by terrorist organizations for recruitment purposes.

 

References

Duchatel, M. (2019, January 25). China’s Foreign Fighters Problem. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://warontherocks.com/2019/01/chinas-foreign-fighters-problem/.

Leistedt, S. J. (2016). On the Radicalization Process. Journal of Forensic Sciences61(6). doi: https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1111/1556-4029.13170


27
Oct 19

Social Media Kills

While the title of this is a little dramatic, it’s still a good concept to consider, does social media kill our mental well-being? From personal experience, social media can be an endless pit of scrolling through cute cat videos to seeing hatred in the world showcased by news articles. It can be a roller-coaster of emotions and it all happens in seconds as we continue to scroll from one story to the next. Social media provides us a way to view and keep in contact with our closest friends and relatives but it also allows you to see your high-school arch-nemesis who just got a new job at a company that you have been dying to work for. You can also see some of your classmates that were able to get into a master’s degree program that you weren’t selected for. All of this leads to feelings of defeat, depression, and ultimately the feeling of not being good enough as you continue to compare your life to someone that you might not even know or have close contact with.

We all know that the more friends you have on your social media, the fewer friends you probably have in real life. Socializing in physical real-world settings is no longer the best way to get in contact with someone that you haven’t spoken to in a while. We are all drawn into the convenience of sending a short 140 character text to someone to indicate that we “stay in touch”. Part of this could be due to the nature of the world in which we live in. As the cost of living rises, we are expected to rise our income with it. Instead of spending time at home or socializing, we are taking every opportunity to earn overtime and to show our “workaholic” ethic to get the next promotion and be seen as a team player by our manager. Therefore we aren’t interested in having coffee with a friend because we could network and grab coffee with someone that might further assist us with our career. This is the sad reality of the current world and the primary reason for encouraging this online life.

References:

Walton, A. G. (2017, October 3). 6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#1ac4f3c62e5a.


26
Oct 19

Erasing Myself From Social Media

Sixth grade was the beginning of my social media journey. All of my friends started creating MySpace and AIM accounts, so I joined in on the action. Seventh and eighth grade turned to MySpace and Facebook, freshman year was Facebook and Instagram, sophomore year was Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, then junior year Vine was added to the mix. By my senior year of high school, everyone had an account on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Vine. We were obsessing over social media and it consumed the majority of our lives. These platforms negatively affect our happiness and well-being, while adding stress to our daily lives (Brooks, 2015). Social media grew increasingly toxic as more began basing their peer’s worth on how many followers and likes they received and what they posted. It felt as though each account added a ten-pound weight to our ankles, but we would willingly carry it around despite knowing how difficult it was dragging this extra baggage. The pressure social media created grew worse as time elapsed hoping to gain more followers and likes than our friends, spending hours trying to take the perfect picture to post, and exhausting every second of our free time checking and updating each account. Towards the end of my senior year, I found myself completely engulfed by social media and noticed my head was down staring at my phone more often than not.

My mentality shifted as I entered my first year of college. I noticed everyone (including myself) watching their favorite bands and DJs at live concerts or events through phone screens because they were recording, posting every second of a party on Snapchat, and eyes constantly glued to their phones instead of experiencing life right in front of them. It seemed a little strange to me why we could not put our phones down and enjoy what we were doing with the people we were with. This is when I began limiting my social media time and deleted my first app, Twitter. I felt a sense of relief after ridding myself from Twitter because it was where most of the drama was often created and even enhanced, which is why I deleted it first.

As the years passed by, the unpleasant side of social media intensified due to more drama, of course, between my peers. Some examples of the drama were related to someone would see a post showing their friends at a party and get upset because they were not invited, relationships would crumble because their significant other was seen on Snapchat with their ex or someone they did not like, and jealousy would arise from not getting enough likes compared to others. It is very difficult to keep our lives private now because people are always posting pictures and videos without our discretion (Wang, Min, & Han, 2015). This can also lead to an increased risk of distrust in others because the majority of the time we are unaware of what is being posted (Wan et al., 2015).

I have always been more reserved and preferred to keep my whereabouts with only who I am with and share my personal life with whom I choose, but social media prevented this many times. Around the age of 21 (I am 23 now), I could not handle the negative effects anymore and slowly turned my back to my accounts. I deleted Facebook and Instagram, then the following year I finally deleted my last account which was Snapchat. Suddenly the curiosity and thoughts about what others were doing or what they thought of me dissipated and relief poured over me. The weight I was carrying around diminished and I could not be happier. Some of my friends even followed in my footsteps and deleted a couple of their accounts as well. After deleting their accounts they proceeded to tell me they are more at ease now and I am so grateful that my decision motivated them to do the same.

 

Brooks, S. (2015). Does personal social media usage affect efficiency and well-being? Computers in Human Behavior, 46, 26-37. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.053

Wang, Y., Min, Q., & Han, S. (2015). Understanding the effects of trust and risk on individual behavior toward social media platforms: A meta-analysis of the empirical evidence. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 34-44. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.011


26
Oct 19

Media and Youth

The internet has allowed us to have access to anything we want at the click of a button. We can easily connect with family members and friends. We can watch, write, read, take pictures and many different things thanks to the internet. The problem is that the fact that we can do everything on the interned has made us very dependable on it. The average time spent on media by teenagers in 2009 was 7 hours and 38 minutes a day (Gruman, Schneider & Coutts, 2017). This  a lot of time to spent on media for anyone and especially for teenagers because this when they are learning about who they are. When we say media, we are talking about cell phone, tablet, game console, computer or tv. Teenage years are a crucial time for kids to learn about themselves and it is important to understand the impact that external factors such as the media can have on them.

Self-identity is important because it is how we come to think of ourselves and it defines who we are as individuals. For kids this is gained by experiences, parents and peers and it is a very important time in the development of any young person. The problem arises when kids are exposed to junk via media and they use this material to help form their identity. Media today is very different than 20 years ago and some of the content available is pretty shocking. With the internet everyone has access to this content and this is why it is important for parent to be aware of what their kids are up to. There is a lot of sexual content, violence, drugs and all this available for everyone to see. Studies show that the more sexual content kids see on television the earlier they initiate sexual activity (Wilmoth, 2013). Same with alcohol and drugs and there are so many commercials and shows showing how cool alcohol is which impacts kids differently than adults. Longitudinal studies have found evidence that TV violence increases violent behavior (Gruman et al., 2017). It is easy to see the impact that media has on individuals and on young people. I am not saying to not let kids watch any TV or have access to the internet but this where parent have to be more involved. Make sure children’s identity comes from the home so when they are exposed to outside factors they can better deal with it and make better decisions. This is something that is easier said than done but it is important to raise awareness and educate people about the stuff that kids are exposed to nowadays and the impact that it can have on them.

Social media is something that has also gained a lot of popularity over the years and everyone is affected by it. Younger people see many of these influencer as role models and this is when the problems arise. The things that we see online can be very fake but people will compare themselves to that perfect life and wonder why they are not like that. There is also cyber bullying now and this is also an issue. While the internet and media have made our lives easier in many different ways and given us access to the whole world at the click of a button. There are also many problems associated with all of this access especially when considering the younger people. When kids get all of their values and self-identity from the internet they are filling themselves up with things that don’t really matter. This is why it is important for parents and adults to be more involved with the youth and emphasize the importance of real-life experiences and real interactions with people. We live in a world in which people forgot how to have a conversation because they are always on their phone. We have to take the good things that we can from the media/internet and be aware of the bad things so we don’t fall into that trap.

References:

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles ; London ; New Dehli ; Singapore ; Washington DC ; Melbourne: SAGE.

Wilmoth, Pete. (September, 2013) What effect does media have on youth? Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/blog/2013/09/what-effect-does-media-have-on-youth.html

 

 

 


24
Oct 19

Pornography in the Media

As a society, we are fully immersed in the use of electronic devices that at times consume us. What happens when we need to figure out how to put together Ikea furniture? YouTube. We use email in work and school daily. We use the internet to find medical professionals, education, advice, news, and everything in life! As I was growing up and curious about sex, I was not able to look it up on google. Instead, I had to ask my older siblings, hear it in health class, or have a super uncomfortable conversation with my parents (gross). Nowadays, children have EVERYTHING at their fingertips, and most children have some devices, whether it be an iPhone or iPad. So, as these young impressionable minds go to search “sex,” a horrendous number of videos, images, and information displays across the page. Some of that information is most likely accurate and helpful, providing education, but the bulk of it is pornography. With the use of social media, young adults are exposed to pornography, cybersex, and violent sexual acts that can put them at a higher risk for developing psychological disorders or unrealistic mindsets towards sex.

In 2009, it was stated that adolescents (ages 8 to 18) spent time with media for 7 hours and 38 minutes per day (Coutts, Gruman, & Schneider, 2017). Seven hours a day is almost a full workday that children are spending on media! Many of the major social media sites make an effort to provide censorship to ensure that individuals are maintaining appropriate behavior, but that is not always effective. On Instagram, there is a large number of pornographic videos that are on display as well as images. Children go on Instagram to connect with friends but can quickly go to the explore page and see these videos. In a study examining the impact of viewing sexual videos it was concluded that participants who video pornography in comparison to those who watched nonsexual videos were “(a) less sexually satisfied, (b) more accepting of myths related to health risks of sexual repression, (c) more accepting of nonexclusive sexual intimacy, and (d) more accepting of premarital and extramarital sex, and they also (e) judged the importance of being faithful as less important” (Coutts & et al., 2017). Children who view sexual content prematurely are more likely to participate in premature sexual activity and to become pregnant in comparison to those who did not view sexual content (Anderson, 2016).

 

YouTube is currently the most popular media page for adolescents. On this website, you can find any and every type of sexual encounter or piece of information. With one click of a button, an adolescent can view a violent sexual video that could harm them. Viewing these violent films can lead to a mindset that is accepting of violent sexual acts. It was found that pornography use (violent and nonviolent) can lead to a greater amount of casual sexual behavior, early sexual encounters, increased sexual aggression and increased attempted/completed rape (Anderson, 2016). So, after that young mind views that video, they start to believe that it is an acceptable way to act and can go on to be hurtful. Furthermore, sexual exploitation through nude photographs and cybersex can lead to a significant amount of issues. As adolescents view these unfiltered images and videos, they may believe that sending naked pictures will go without consequences. Unfortunately, there is a large amount of bullying that goes on due to Cybersex. Thinking back to my high school years, I knew of a girl who sent a sexual video of herself to her boyfriend. Of course, she assumed it would stay private, but that was not the case. The video was sent throughout the entire school and eventually made its way onto a pornography website. The girl was publicly humiliated and was bullied so much that she ultimately transferred schools. Adolescents who have been impacted by bullying from cybersex often suffer from anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, drug and alcohol use, and low school grades (Anderson, 2016). There also can be legal consequences that stem from cyber sex experiences.

So what do we do to help children and adolescents deal with this vast amount of independence that the media offers? We must do our best to educate and provide these young minds with the appropriate information that explains sex while upholding a moral code. Parents should screen their children’s media usage through parental devices. The media can do a better job of censoring inappropriate material. They also can provide knowledge and education regarding appropriate sexual interactions. Overall, society needs to invite open discussions regarding these uncomfortable situations and provide support systems to those in need.

Reference:

Coutts, L. M., Gruman, J. A., & Schneider, F. W. (2017). Applied social psychology understanding and addressing social and practical problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Anderson, J. (2016). The impact of media use and screen time on children, adolescents, and families. American College of Pediatricians. Retrieved from https://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/parenting-issues/the-impact-of-media-use-and-screen-time-on-children-adolescents-and-families


23
Oct 19

The Effects of Social Media

We live in a society where the majority of us live on our smart phones and therefor spend an alarming amount of time on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. These platforms can be great for helping us make friends within our community, share photos for long distance relatives to see, and keeping in touch with one another rather easily. However, there are also some disadvantages when it comes to social media. Children and young adults spend a lot of time on these apps and while they may be looking at pictures of cute animals and pretty scenery, they are also most likely looking at posts and pictures from their favorites celebrities. This all sounds fine right? But it’s not. The problem is that celebrities and models post pictures that don’t necessarily represent how things and people look in real life. The different between celebrities and normal people like us is that they have thousands, if not millions of dollars to spend on their appearance, on their clothes, their hair and make-up, cosmetic surgery, personal trainers, and whatever else they want to buy. This allows these celebrities, that young people are looking up to, to post photos of themselves looking pretty much perfect, flat stomach, perfect skin, perfect hair, you name it, they have it. The young people viewing these photos of people that they idolize begin comparing themselves to them, wondering why they aren’t that skinny and what they can do to look more like that. But the problem is that they can’t. Those photos and these beauty standards are not realistic, they are unattainable.

This desire to look a certain way, the way that our society defines as beautiful, can have some very serious effects. For example, the University of Pittsburgh found, through a study, that people who spent more time on social media had more than 2 times the risk of having concerns with their body image and eating. The more time you spend on social media, the higher the risk. Another study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that young adults are more likely to have problems sleeping and experience symptoms of depression as they spend more time on social media (Hurley, n.d.). Young adults and children on social media are constantly comparing themselves to this unrealistic standard of beauty that they see plastered all over their timelines. This is why we are seeing more and more young people struggling with things like eating disorders, anxiety, and depression. Along with that, there is also the fact that cyberbullying is constantly taking place. Children are no longer safe from bullying at home, they are constantly at risk of being bullying. This has even led to suicide in some cases.

So, while social media can be very beneficial, it is important that we use it correctly and not too often. Don’t spend all your time looking at Victoria’s Secret models and trying to figure out what you have to do to look like them. Spend your time on social media posting positive things and lifting people up. And most importantly, don’t spend all your time on social media; shut your phone off, get outside, and experience life.

Source

Hurley, K. (n.d.). Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental Health? Retrieved from https://www.psycom.net/social-media-teen-mental-health.


23
Oct 19

Social Media & Mental Health

Social media has become increasingly common and popular. Most individuals at least have one platform whether it be Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or another website. In fact, social media platforms are used by one-in-three people in the world (Ortiz-Ospina, 2019). If you have one of these platforms I am sure you find yourself consistently checking your accounts multiple times a day. This becomes an obsession for some people leading to further issues and multiple studies have shown correlation between social media use associated with poorer psychological well-being.

One of those studies sought to investigates the potential casual role that social media has effect on overall well-being. This study took place at the University of Pennsylvania. Participants included 143 subjects (108 women, 35 men). This study was carried out over the course of two semesters. 72 subject’s participated in the fall semester, and 71 in the spring. Subjects were all required to have Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts, and required to have an iPhone. To measure well- being they used a survey consisting of seven validated scales. The seven scales include, social support, fear of missing out, loneliness, anxiety, depression self-esteem, and autonomy and self- acceptance (Hunt, 2018). To track usage of social media, they had subjects email screenshots of their iPhone battery usage at specified increments.

The study concluded that limiting the time on social media, in this case 10 minutes a day, has a significant positive impact on well- being. Both loneliness and depressive symptoms declined in the experimental group. Throughout the four-week intervention, subjects in both groups also showed a significant decline in both fear of missing out and anxiety (Hunt, 2018). The findings of this study strongly suggest that limiting social media use to approximately 30 minutes per day may lead to significant improvement in well-being.

Mental health is very important and unfortunately something individuals do not like to address publicly. Since there is such a negative stigma surrounding mental health, it is even more concerning how popular social media is given that studies suggest the negative effects social media has on ones health. What do you think could be done to improve this?

Reference

Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C., & Young, J. (2018). No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751  768. doi: 10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751

Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2019, September 18). The rise of social media. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media.


22
Oct 19

Eyewitness Testimony Errors

Eyewitness testimony plays a large role in convictions, however, it is not all that reliable. In the United States around 200 people become criminal defendants daily, based on eyewitness testimony (Goldstein, 1989). An organization called the Innocence Project, has exonerated 341 people by using DNA evidence as of 2012. On average, these people served 13 years in prison before being exonerated for crimes they did not commit (Innocence Project, 2012).

In my very first psychology class that I have taken during my college career, my classmates and I were able to experience how inaccurate eyewitness testimony can be. As class was just about to begin one day, a student came into our room, started screaming at our professor about a bad grade she had given him, and actually threw something at her before he ran back out of the room. This entire incident only lasted a couple seconds and because we were not expecting that to happen, we weren’t paying full attention. Our professor was shaken up and wanted to call security but did not know his name, so she asked us to describe his appearance. She said she thought he was wearing a white sweatshirt, and we couldn’t remember that small detail so we agreed with her. She then drew a picture of what she thought he looked like and asked for our input. We changed some minor details but overall, we stuck with her suggestion. Finally, the student came back into our room and our professor let us know that she set the whole thing up. He was not wearing a sweatshirt, he was wearing a white shirt with a company name on it, and his face did not match our description. This was a perfect example of “errors due to suggestion” because we just went along with her answers, thinking she remembered more than we did.

 

References:

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

Help us put an end to wrongful convictions! (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.innocenceproject.org/.

 


21
Oct 19

Jury, “just forget it”

In regards to inadmissible evidence, can a jury truly “just forget it” and disregard statements or evidence? Inadmissible evidence in court is evidence that cannot be used because it is invalid. When evidence is ruled, inadmissible, or comments are asked to be disregarded, how can the jury completely forget it, and have it not affect the final verdicts? Research say, most likely not.

Backfire effect

First, the “backfire effect” is when evidence is asked to be disregarded, but then it actually becomes more influential on verdicts. A study done by the Journal of Law and Human Behavior focuses on the influence of inadmissible evidence and jury verdicts. “Firing back at the backfire effect: The influence of mortality salience and nullification beliefs on reactions to inadmissible evidence” looks into both dispositional and situational factors that contribute to “the backfire effect”.

The results of this study show that participants who scored high on a measure of nullification beliefs exhibited the backfire effect. This means that participants who believed in their own views of justice rather than that written law were more prone to the backfire effect (Cook et al., 2004).

Consequences

The use of inadmissible evidence in a court case can have dangerous consequences. In cases involving high crimes such as murder, guilty verdict rates are higher with jurors asked to dismiss evidence in comparison to never hearing the evidence in the first place (Steblay et al. 2006). An innocent person can be sent to jail for a crime they didn’t commit. This is a critical and dangerous issue than needs to be addressed in the justice system.

How do we stop the “backfire”?

Is the solution merely finding a better way to have a jury erase something from their minds? No. Not in reality. However, there may be a simple solution. The judge at the beginning of the trial can mention that they may face evidence that will be inadmissible but won’t draw as much attention causes a backfire effect (Kassin & Sommers, 1997). Also, another possibility is to avoid telling the jury to dismiss evidence altogether (Cook et al., 2004). Further research is needed to look into this issue and the number of convictions that are influenced by the hopes of the jury being able to “just forget it”.

 

 

Cook, A., Arndt, J., & Lieberman, J. D. (2004). Firing back at the backfire effect: The influence of mortality salience and nullification beliefs on reactions to inadmissible evidence.Law and Human Behavior, 28(4), 389-410. doi:10.1023/B:LAHU.0000039332.21386.f4

Steblay, N., Hosch, H. M., Culhane, S. E., & McWethy, A. (2006). The impact on juror verdicts of judicial instruction to disregard inadmissible evidence: A meta-analysis. Law and Human Behavior, 30(4), 469-492. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1007/s10979-006-9039-7

Kassin, S. M., & Sommers, S. R. (1997). Inadmissible Testimony, Instructions to Disregard, and the Jury: Substantive Versus Procedural Considerations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(10), 1046–1054. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672972310005


21
Oct 19

Adolescent Criminal Behavior

I remember between the ages of 16-19 I would engage in minor crimes like driving without a license, underage drinking, and scratching my initials on a couple of Starbucks tables. I did not think much of it then mainly because the majority of friends would do the same. This is an example of adolescence-limited delinquency, which is when individuals only engage in criminal behavior from around the ages of 12-25 (Arnett, 2018). This type of behavior is usually traced back to peer pressure and the exploration of freedom that encourages and influences adolescents.

I decided to ask a couple of my friends and family about their views on minor crimes during their adolescence versus now, what crimes they committed (if any), and if they would engage in minor criminal behavior today. I individually interviewed my parents (58 & 59), my brother (20), my brother’s friend (22), and my friend (24). All of them answered that they engaged in minor crimes during their adolescent years, specifically in high school. Their minor crimes mainly involved stealing candy, driving without a license, underage drinking, and trespassing. They each stated that they involved themselves in delinquent acts mainly when they were in high school, except underage drinking which is a pretty common law that is broken up until we turn 21.

There seemed to be a correlation between high school and minor crimes, so I asked each of them why they committed their silly crimes and, once again, all responded with the same answers. Each of their responses followed along the lines of peer pressure. For example, my father said the reason he and his friends participated in small crimes was because they would dare each other. While my brother and his friend’s answers were because their friends did it, so they decided to follow. I proceeded to ask if they would engage in any of the crimes they did in high school now and if they regretted any of them. Each responded saying they would not because they know better, but it was fun and created memories and stories to tell today. All of them followed by stating they have no regrets and would not have changed their decisions if they went back in time.

I honestly was not expecting everyone to respond with almost the exact same answers, but it shows how common this behavior is during adolescent years. I can conclude based on my experiences and my interviewees’ experiences that the adolescence-limited delinquency is something the majority of us participate in due to fitting in and peer pressure.

 

Arnett, J. J. (2018). Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

20
Oct 19

See Something. Say Nothing.

“Anger is directed, not toward the crime, nor the criminal, but toward those who failed to halt the criminal’s actions.”

The above quote from The Nation (1964) was written in a piece covering the 1964 murder of New York resident Kitty Genovese.  This case was mentioned briefly in our textbook in the section covering the bystander effect.  The mention of this case piqued my interest and compelled me to look into it further.

Kitty Genovese

My research into this topic initially led me to the original March 27 1964 New York Times article entitled “37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police”.  The article detailed a crime in which 38 citizens (one more citizen than the title of the article implies) did nothing as they watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks over the course of more than half an hour.

The New York Times, March 27, 1964

By 1964 standards, this story went viral.  Versions of the story appeared in major newspapers and print outlets around the country and the world, including Life Magazine, the Los Angeles Free Press, and Rolling Stonemagazine.  The publicity resulting from this case prompted social psychologists to investigate what was termed the “bystander intervention effect.”  The bystander effect refers to the finding that the more people who are present when help is needed, the less likely any one of them is to provide assistance (Lurigio, 2015). While reading more details about the Genovese murder, I wondered how the bystander effect came into play in this particular case.  The murder happened at 3:15 in the morning.  It was reported by the New York Times that the 38 witnesses to whom they referred were residents of surrounding apartments that either heard screams, saw the actual attack or witnessed a man fleeing the scene.  The question for me that came to mind was, if in accordance with the definition of the bystander effect, how did these witnesses know how many people were “present” when the crime was occurring?  Was it assumed by the individual witnesses that others were hearing and seeing the identical details of the scene?  Based on the definition in our textbook, it seems that the correct categorization of this would be a diffusion of responsibility.  This occurs when a person doesn’t feel responsible to act because they feel as if others will do so (Gruman, 2017).  This effect can occur with the witness have zero perception about the presence of other bystanders.  Some articles written soon after the crime occurred even suggested that there was not only a diffusion of responsibility for helping but there was also a diffusion of any potential blame for not acting as it was possible that somebody, unperceived, had already initiated helping action (Darley, 1968).

 

My expanding interest in this case led me to the documentary “The Witness” in which Bill Genovese, the brother of Kitty, leads his own examination into the events surrounding his sister’s murder as well as a search for any of the reported 38 witnesses that might still be alive.

“The Witness” documentary

During his investigation, he learned that the original New York Times story was significantly embellished in an effort to make the story more sensational.  The number of witnesses to the crime was greatly exaggerated and classifying them as “eye witnesses” was categorically erroneous.  The documentary is fascinating not only from the vantage point of considering the bystander effect but also how a singular event, whether perceived or accurate, exaggerated or precise, insignificant or major can affect the lives of individuals who are unaware of how many other people are affected by the same incident.

References

Lurigio, A. J. (2015). Crime narratives, dramatizations, and the legacy of the kitty genovese murder: A half century of half truths. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(7), 782-789. doi:10.1177/0093854814562954

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

Darley, J. M., & Latane, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4), 377-383. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1037/h0025589

 

 

 

 

 


20
Oct 19

Why Parenting Could be the Most Important Factor in Mitigating Antisocial Behavior

To the average person, teenagers being anti-social seems pretty par for the course. The attitude changes, the physical changes, their suddenly increased need for privacy and independence; Sound familiar? Needless to say, that transition into adolescence can be a bit painful for everyone.

For psychologists, adolescent antisocial tendencies and attitudes may be a risk factor of future criminal behavior (Coutts et al., 2017).

                Before we dive off the deep end, let me just say, I am by no means implying that a teenager you know who skipped family movie night is at immediate risk of grabbing a gun and robbing a bank. Like everything else in psychology, it’s not that simple.

The risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model created by Andrews and Bonta provides a category of eight risk factors that increase the chance an individual will engage in, or re-engage in (recidivism) criminal behavior (Anderson et al., 2018). These eight categories are split into two sub-groupings. The Big Four risk factors are antisocial behavior, antisocial personality, antisocial attitudes (beliefs and values), and associating with an antisocial peer group (Coutts et al., 2017). The aptly named Moderate Four risk factors, named this way because they do not play as much of an influential role on the risk factors of criminal behavior, are family experiences, negative school and/or work experiences, low levels of societal involvement (lack of prosocial involvement), and substance abuse (Anderson et al., 2018).

Those are a lot of potential risk factors.

                The bad news is that there’s more. The good news is, I won’t be addressing them today.

Eight risk factors. Only one that speaks directly about family and parental involvement. However, Andrews and Bonta (along with a vast swath of psychological research on the topic) highlight the benefits of early intervention as a mitigating factor.

Humor me for a minute and reread the eight risk factors that Andrews and Bonta developed. Although only one specifically mentions family experiences, each of these factors can be influenced through active parental involvement.

While some may argue that antisocial behavior also relies heavily on the biology of the child and their predisposed inherited traits, environmental influences also play a significant role in behavior. Each of the eight risk factors, are more or less able to be mitigated through parental involvement.

Cutrin et al. (2017) insist that “research has demonstrated that parenting practices and peer group interact and jointly influence the development of antisocial and delinquent behaviors.”. I would argue that parents can influence who their children associate with, as long as they maintain open communication with their child, and establish an environment of trust in which their child is willing to disclose bad behavior. I would also argue that parents have a significant amount of influence over their children’s prosocial involvement, being able to influence how much or little involvement they have from a young age. With good communication between children and parents, negative school and work experiences can also be intervened in, and toxic situations can be overcome through parent intervention or relocation. Lastly, parental involvement can help reduce the risk of substance abuse and similar harmful behaviors.

I’m not claiming that effective parenting will eradicate the risk of the Central Eight. Instead, I encourage everyone to consider the full-potential that parental involvement could play in mitigating the Central Eight risk factors and what kind of intervention or parental awareness could encourage parents to play a more active part in the children who are potentially at risk.

 

 

References

Anderson, V. R., Campbell, C. A., & Papp, J. (2018). Assessing the Incremental Validity of Andrews and Bonta’s “Moderate Four” Predictors of Recidivism Using a Diverse Sample of Offending and Truant Youth. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology63(6), 854–873. doi: https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1177/0306624X18814185.

Coutts, L. M., Gruman, J. A., & Schneider, F. W. (2017). Applied social psychology understanding and addressing social and practical problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Cutrín, O., Gomez-Fraguela, J. A., Maneiro, L., & Sobral, J. (2017). Effects of parenting practices through deviant peers on nonviolent and violent antisocial behaviours in middle- and late-adolescence. The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context9(2), 75–82. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpal.2017.02.001.


20
Oct 19

Does Jury Size Affect the Outcome of a Trial?

In our lesson this week, we learned that jury size can affect the outcome of the trial. Mathematicians have been working to try to determine if different jury sizes really can have an impact on the conviction of the defendant. One mathematician, Jeff Suzuki, did a lot of research regarding this topic. However, he used a hypothetical defendant, not a real example. In the past, mathematicians believed that each the probability of making the correct decision regarding the defendant was the same for each juror. For Suzuki’s research, he used three probabilities to calculate his data. This included the probability of the defendant actually being guilty, the probability of a juror making the right decision if the defendant was guilty, and the probability of the juror making the right decision if the defendant is innocent. From the research, Suzuki gathered that all juries, regardless of size, are likely to declare the defendant guilty when “the evidence suggests that a defendant is most certainly guilty” (Gorski, 2016). However, he also found that when it appears to be less certain that the defendant is guilty, it is more likely for a smaller jury to convict the defendant than a larger jury. It is important to keep in mind that this research and data does not take everything into consideration, like juror interaction, evidence, etc.

I found this information to be very interesting, even though it was just based off of a hypothetical situation, because it corresponds with what we learned in our lesson this week. We learned that a smaller jury is more likely to convict someone than a larger jury. This is because when the jury consists of six people, rather than twelve, it is more likely for someone who disagrees to conform to the incorrect decision that the rest of the jury agrees on. In a 12 person jury, there is a higher likelihood that more than one person will disagree with the rest. And since there are two of them, rather than one, it is more likely that they will be confident in their opinion and not conform with the rest. With that being said, it is much more fair to have a jury of 12 rather than 6.

Source

Gorski, C. (2016, July 22). The Mathematics of Jury Size. Retrieved from https://www.insidescience.org/news/mathematics-jury-size.


20
Oct 19

Criminal Justice Reform

With nearly 2.3 million prisoners behind bars, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. In context, that means more than in Communist China, Russia, or India.

The cry for criminal justice reform has been growing louder ever since the introduction of mandatory minimum sentences during the Clinton administration of the 90s. As expected, both Congress and the Senate have been slow to act.

It is therefore incredibly surprising, that despite all of the posturing and political vitriol being hurled across the aisles of Washington, the First Step Act was signed into law by the unlikeliest of presidents – Donald Trump.

Bipartisanism in an age of Tribalism

 

In the news media, hot button topics grab the most headlines. This ranges from health care and gun control to immigration and the economy. Yet under the surface, politicians are cooperating at an unprecedented rate, working together to compromise and pass legislation with support from all political strips.

The Numbers Don’t Add Up

 

Gathering accurate statistics about federal criminal justice metrics is easier to accomplish but there remains a glaring blind spot. Data about local criminal justice is often incredibly limited, inconsistent and not easily accessible to the public or policymakers.

So although at the federal level, the First Step Act will go along way to set new standards going forward, it does nothing retroactively and requires extensive time and consideration to adjust policies to be effective at state and local levels.

In the meantime, that means more lives being destroyed, more resources wasted, and more tax dollars being ineffectively thrown into a black hole of criminal justice opacity. Just when the light at the end of the tunnel will be reached for many inmates is still impossible to gauge. Furthermore, an entire swath of inmates has been entirely excluded from the reforms being cemented into law by the legislation.

High-risk groups, who would benefit the most from additional resources for productive programs are ineligible because of their status. Whereas low-risk inmates are afforded the utmost opportunity to reduce their time spent behind bars.

As expected, this bias also trends towards worsening the racial divide in the prison system, with more black Americans being labeled as dangerous, high-risk felons than white inmates.

A Road Paved With Good Intentions

 

One of the major focuses of the First Step Act is the shift in the application of mandatory minimum sentences. Historically, prosecutors were given discretion when choosing which charges to file and thus what sentencing recommendations would be available to a Judge. The Judge would then be required to follow the existing edict.

With the First Step Act, discretion goes back to the person wearing the robe and for the first time, a fair and impartial arbitrator can decide what level of sentencing is appropriate. This also serves to remove a coercive tool from a prosecutor’s toolbox. No longer can they threaten an accused individual with a mandatory minimum sentence as a way to extort a guilty plea, even if the accused is innocent.

The Next Step

 

Looking ahead, it is logical to conclude that a “Step Two Act” will be following on the heels of this groundbreaking legislation. What this hypothetical Act would look like and what problems it would address is up for debate.

In her book “Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration”, author Rachel Barkow suggests that the glaring problems still needing to be addressed include resources for “High-risk” prisoners, a path to freedom other than clemency for those existing prisoners who were unfairly prosecuted and quantification of the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice system at all levels so that measuring efficacy can be achieved with transparency.

This seems like a tall order to fill, especially since the industry of private prisons will always attempt to block any kind of scrutinization of their business practices. But politics and money be damned.

Building Solutions

 

The solution to overcoming these obstacles is to show the narrative for what it is. That the Criminal Justice system is so broken and harmful that people from all levels of society are being persecuted. By broadening the issue to be about human rights, and not focusing as strongly on the bias against ethnic minority groups – which undeniably exists – there emerges a clear cause for every American to rally behind.

Highlighting clear points of congruency and cooperation will always supply a better outcome for changing this broken system. As the ultimate example of this, look at the bipartisan support exercised for the passage of the First Step Act.


20
Oct 19

Applied social psychology in the criminal justice system: improving eyewitness identification accuracy in police lineups

            

                  

There are many steps and factors in a criminal case that all come together to ultimately produce a verdict of guilt of innocence for the accused. There are several stakeholders in a criminal trial, though the defendant probably has the most at stake, as a verdict can mean the difference between freedom and prison time, which can have lasting negative effects for a lifetime. Social psychology principles and research findings can be effectively applied to the criminal justice system, specifically to help improve how law enforcement officers conduct criminal investigations. A crucial part of the investigation that police strive to achieve is an eyewitness identification of a suspect; however, eyewitness bias and poor procedural steps can taint this process, resulting in false eyewitness identifications of suspects. By studying what procedures influence witness error and bias, eyewitness accuracy can be improved, which can lead to less false positive identifications.
In a criminal case, the prosecutor works closely with law enforcement to build their case; they try to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and the defense does all that it can to plant reasonable doubt into the minds of the jury. The case begins after a crime has been committed, and the steps that take place from there can all impact the final verdict of the accused. One of the most important pieces of evidence for the prosecution’s case against the defendant is a positive eyewitness identification, often done in police lineups. Unfortunately, false positive identifications do happen, and the repercussions of these errors can be devastating to those who are wrongfully identified. In 2016, the Innocence Project reported that of the 325 cases in which convicts have been exonerated by DNA evidence, 72% of those cases involved false positive eyewitness identifications; it is plain to see how much rests on the accurate identification of suspects by witnesses (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2017).
Many factors can affect the accuracy of a eyewitness’s identification, such as stress of witness at the time of witnessing the crime, the involvement of weapons in the crime, the timing of the identification of a suspect after the crime occurred, and the ability to see the suspect’s entire face at the time of the crime. Another factor that affect eyewitness accuracy is the “cross–race effect”, which describes the ability to recognize faces of people of one’s own race better than the faces of other races (Gruman et al., p. 304).
In addition to these factors, lineup procedures can have an enormous impact on eyewitness identification. The book of lineup guidelines which is widely used by law enforcement agencies in America, Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement, outlines specific procedures that, if followed, would greatly reduce witness identification errors. The guidebook recommends that all lineups should be sequential lineups, where individuals are shown to the eyewitness one a time, versus a simultaneous lineup, which is what we commonly see in movies—where the suspects are lined up all together in a row in one room. Of confronted with all suspects at once, the eyewitness may feel pressure to choose one, even in the face of uncertainty. Foils, or people whom the police know are innocent, should also be used—this reduces the risk of a false identification by the eyewitness. Eyewitnesses may be swayed by the input of others after they identify someone in a lineup, so their confidence level in their decision should be recorded immediately by law enforcement. Police officers sometimes knowingly bias eyewitnesses so that they may have a positively identified suspect; by putting a suspect in the room who is the only individual that matches the eyewitness’s physical description of the suspect, the chances of a positive identification are greatly increased.
Knowledge gained through social psychology research can be applied to the investigative processes in the criminal justice system in many ways. False eyewitness identifications of suspects can result in devastating outcomes, and also leaves the real criminals at large. Errors in lineups can be greatly reduced by following guidelines and procedures that minimize bias and maximize eyewitness accuracy.

 

References

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology:
Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage. ISBN 9781483369730


19
Oct 19

The Influence of The Internet & Media

The Internet has created super-fast flowing streams of information. Human as a biological being does not change its input/output parameters of information. When the streams accelerated dramatically, the long texts had to give way to the short texts. This has affected not only the volume but also the content. We have become people of both short texts and simple content.
Information technologies do not repeat each other at a new level, but begin to differ, not in terms of channels or media, but in terms of their fundamental characteristics, different from others. If the book was a carrier of knowledge, the Internet has become a different speed, that is, where a more important component is not knowledge, but transportation.
To recall the sensational article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr in the Atlantic magazine, which was followed by the book, he touches on the topic much more extensively (2008). Interestingly, after Gutenberg invented the printing press, Italian humanists talked about the future “intellectual laziness” that would come with books, that people’s brains would weaken (Winston & Edelbach, 1998). Now we hear the same words in relation to the Internet.
Our fear of the disappearance of the book under the pressure of the coming Internet is not yet justified. However, people are reading less, particularly children Naomi Baron believes that digital media is changing even language (2009). First, it’s a shift toward changing the rules. Second, it changes the control of our communication. And this is understandable since SMS messages do not have editors, only authors who do not always own the rules. By the way, spelling changes are clearly visible even to the naked eye. Baron surveys have shown that while reading online, students are more likely to be engaged in other tasks, it is easier for them to concentrate when reading printed publications. 91% chose the book for the case of concentration rather than other platforms. 43% reported problems with concentration and complained of eye fatigue (2017).
The Internet has created super-fast flowing streams of information. On them, as on fast rivers, built analogs of power plants-information search systems. They began to generate new energy — information, creating its potentially infinite variety, to which the human brain has not yet grown. A human being is essentially very inertial. But in the case of electronic communication, he was suddenly ahead of the rest. And now this result cannot be unambiguously estimated, either as a positive nor as a negative.

References:

Baron, N. (2009, March). Are Digital Media Changing Language? ASCD. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-Digital-Media-Changing-Language¢.aspx

Baron, N. (2017, December 6). Why Reading On A Screen Is Bad For Critical Thinking. Huffpost. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/read-on-screen-learning_b_6681500?guccounter=1

Carr, N. (2008, August). Is Google Making Us Stupid? The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/

Winston, M., Edelbach, R. (1998). Society, Ethics, and Technology. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=g9g-MTzCIJ0C&pg=PA282&lpg=PA282&dq=Italian+humanists+talked+about+the+future+intellectual+laziness&source=bl&ots=QMRO8wbLj8&sig=ACfU3U1-XLc19l6WFm24sDL-45MLv3g-mQ&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj50KfevKjlAhXLZd8KHWHaDZsQ6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Italian%20humanists%20talked%20about%20the%20future%20intellectual%20laziness&f=false


17
Oct 19

Social Psychology and Criminal Justice

If the real world were to live up to our ideals, the judicial process would be a carefully designed and perfectly fair set of procedures aimed at achieving the objective, impartial decisions regarding violations of criminal and civil laws. In fact, the judicial system is neither as excellent as our ideals nor as terrible as our nightmares.

In newspapers, on radio and television, in other sources of information, we regularly encounter information about crimes and criminals. The criminal information is so widespread and so easily assimilated that people easily develop a distorted view of this aspect of our world. The media reminds us daily that crime is a serious problem that threatens any of us; the accessibility heuristic works easily when we make assumptions about the spread of crime and its dangers.

In fact, the record level of crime in the United States, including murder and theft, was recorded in the early 1980s, and since then it has been falling. According to Crime Rates, the total number of crimes fell from 41.2 million in 1981 to 34.4 million in 1991 (2019). FBI Statistics show that the number of offenses of the seven main types (including violent crimes) continued to fall in 1994, the third year in a row (FBI, 2011).

One of the explanations for this is that most violent crimes are committed by young men, and the surge generation (including criminals) has now reached middle age. The bad news and one of the reasons why we think crime is rising rather than decreasing are that the percentage of gun homicides committed by minors is skyrocketing. In fact, over the past decade, the number of teenage killers has tripled. Who are these armed young men? Ames Grawert indicates that boys aged 12 to 15 years in the 1990s had a 1 in 8 chance of becoming a victim of crime, while for people aged 65 years such chances only 1 in 179 (2017).

Thus, the facts concerning crime are extremely complex. In general, the percentage of violent crimes decreases, although the percentage of crimes among adolescents (especially against their peers) increases; but our perception usually simplifies the question by not considering the individual details. It is easier to accept readily available information and believe that the situation with violent crimes has deteriorated compared to previous times. The fact is that we exaggerate the problem based on the media attention to each tragic crime. We easily remember such stories, and it seems to us that similar events occur daily.

References:

FBI. (2011). Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1992–2011. UCR. Retrieved from https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table-1

Grawert, A. (2017, April 18). Crime Trends: 1990-2016. BC. Retrieved from https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/crime-trends-1990-2016#targetText=Crime%20is%20often%20driven%20by,by%20an%20estimated%207.8%20percent.

United States Crime Rates 1960 – 2018. (2018). Crime, Punishment, and Ratio of Crime to Punishment Per 100,000 and Rank by Year and between States 1978 -2012. Retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm


16
Oct 19

Issue in the Legal System

One issue that is present within the legal system is false identifications. False ID’s typically stem from police lineups and photographic lineups. There are many situations where even the most confident eyewitness can mistake the identity of the accused. After all, while observing a crime, an eyewitness often has a very short period of time to observe what’s happening, let alone remember specific details of the offender’s appearance. In fact, where a weapon is involved, eyewitnesses tend to focus more on the weapon than on the person holding it.

Individuals in a lineup who look like the victims attacker are likely to get accused even when that specific person is innocent. This was the case in 1984, when Ronald Cotton was convicted of raping Jennifer Thompson. Jennifer positively identified Ronald from a photo lineup and a live lineup as the man who raped her (Gruman, et al., 2017). He was sentenced to life in prison as a result of Jennifer’s positive ID. After 11 years of serving his sentence, Ronald Cotton was released and found not guilty of raping Jennifer. A man named Bobby Poole rapped Jennifer and that was confirmed by a DNA test. Ronald Cotton was in prison for 11 years for a crime he did not commit because of a false ID that was a result from a police and photo lineup.

Another case where police lineups were to blame for a conviction was the case of Otis Boone. He maintained his innocence from the time he was accused of two robberies in 2011. The two victims picked Otis Boone out of separate police lineups and as a result was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, even with no psychical evidence. He appealed to “New York’s highest court where the majority of judges ruled that the jury should have been told that witnesses often struggle to identify strangers of a different race because mistaken identifications are a major factor in wrongful convictions. Mr. Boone is black; the victims were white” (Southall, 2019). The court granted him a retrial and made it mandatory that the judges must explain the cross-race effect to jurors whenever a case involves a witness identifying of a suspect of a different race. At the trial his public defender presented evidence that Otis Boone was over a mile away from one of the robberies five minutes before it occurred. He was acquitted and spent 7 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

According to the Innocence Project, “About 70 percent of the 364 convictions overturned with DNA evidence in the United States since 1992 involved witnesses who identified the wrong assailant, and nearly half of those mistaken identifications involved a witness and suspect of different races” (Southall, 2019). This is obviously very concerning because it could happen to anyone. The Innocence Project presents a few ways in which the accuracy of eyewitness identification can be improved. One way is to use the double blind method. This method is designed to prevent the administration of the lineup from providing inadvertent or intentional verbal or nonverbal cues to influence the eyewitness to pick the suspect.This is done by the administrator and eyewitnesses not knowing who the suspect is. It is important to use methods such as the double blind method when carrying out lineups because it is preventing innocent people from being convicted.

 

References:

Eyewitness Identification Reform. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.innocenceproject.org/eyewitness-identification-reform/.

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

Southall, A. (2019, March 18). A Black Man Spent 7 Years in Prison. Then a Court Changed the Rules on Racial Bias. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/nyregion/cross-race-identification-witness.html.


15
Oct 19

Can Algorithms Predict Crime?

The origin of criminal behavior has been much debated over the years as some believe there to be a biological basis that makes people more prone to committing and others deem one’s environment to be responsible for causing crime (Gruman, et al., 2017).  Is there a certain gene that when expressed causes people to commit crime or is it due to a hormonal imbalance in the brain that pushes one towards a life of crime?  Alternatively, do people blame one’s upbringing, their friends and their families as the reason why someone commits a crime?  If society is to blame for crime, can we somehow analyze societal trends in order to predict crime?  The city of Bristol has attempted to answer this question by implementing an algorithm that tells how likely each citizen is in being a victim or a perpetrator of a crime (Booth, 2019).

Approximately 170,000 citizens of Bristol are listed in a database that assesses the possibility of each person being involved in a child abuse or kidnapping crime (Booth, 2019).  In addition, this algorithm determines how likely a person will behave and take part in antisocial behavior.  This may seem surprising; however, the algorithm utilizes information such as past criminal behavior, gang membership, domestic violence and school truancy in order to predict criminal activity.  The reason this new method has become so helpful to society is because it uncovers information about people quicker than many psychologists and therapists could have found if they met with each person.  Police and local government can pinpoint certain areas at high risk for people to commit crime and either increase police presence or bring in more counselors to talk to people in the area about their antisocial behavior (Booth, 2019).  In addition, if someone appears to be at high risk for criminal behavior and are already seeing a counselor, then the counselor can be notified and deal with the person appropriately.  So far, the algorithm has proved to be a success as they studied five people who were the victims of sexual exploitation.  Three of the five individuals were in the top 100 list of people in the area who were at high risk of becoming victims and the other two were also high up on the list of potential victims (Booth, 2019).  Although this algorithm seems promising for other towns to use, it does not mean that it is 100 % effective.  Even though 3 of the people were on the most at- risk list, it would be difficult to reach out to every person on the list and talk to them about avoiding situations where they can be exploited.  In addition, the algorithm may report a person to be at high risk for committing crime, but it may be wrong and could hurt people in the process.  Also, this does not mean that all other forms of protection including the police and the legal system are less important because humans are better able to understand a real- world situation and talk to at risk people rather than a computer algorithm that uses certain patterns to predict crime.  The algorithm utilized by Bristol is very promising as it can look at trends in behavior such as truancy and past antisocial behavior in order to prevent crimes as well as help those at risk receive the proper attention for them to get better.

This new technology uses the social psychological and the sociological theories of criminal behavior in order to find those in society who pose a risk to other people.  Sociology uses ideas such as anomie, socioeconomic status, neighborhoods and education and attempts to understand how they relate to criminal behavior (Gruman, et al., 2017).  Researchers have found that those who come from a lower socioeconomic status and who report feeling more alone and isolated in society have higher rates of criminal behavior.  In addition, social psychology theories such as the general personality and social psychological model (Gruman, et al., 2017) of criminal behavior implicate that those who have not completed school or have a low degree are risk factors that can increase the likelihood of criminal activity.  Also, those who have been associated in the past with people who have criminal records are also more likely to commit a crime.  These ideas paint an accurate depiction of proven trends that is found amongst those convicted of a crime.  If a town wants to make their community safer and protect the innocent then using an algorithm that finds those who fit the typical characteristics of a criminal can allow police and counselors to find them and rehabilitate them so they can function normally in society.

-Madison Laezzo

Resources:

Booth, R. (2019). How Bristol assesses citizens’ risk of harm – using an algorithm. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/15/bristol-algorithm-assess-citizens-risk-harm-guide-frontline-staff.

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


14
Oct 19

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

In a school, communication is vital. Whether it’s teachers within the same grade-level communicating about their current plans, or teachers communicating to their student’s parents about activities that they will be doing that week in class, communication is important to keep a school running as smoothly as possible.

Schools can also be viewed as a team. I work in a county with over 50 schools. Each school is referred to as a team, having fundraisers with the school raising the most money earning a reward, and the schools playing each other in sports. Within each school, it is split between educators and students. Recently, we had a fall fundraising event and if our students raised over a certain amount of money, our principal would be saran-wrapped to a  pole, and the principal, assistant principal and dean would be pied in the face during a den rally. Our students worked together as a team and managed to raise over the amount and those events happened last week! Educators also work as a team. Every day, the teachers of the same grade-level eat lunch together and discuss ideas for activities to use in the classroom. They also share class materials and worksheets and give ideas to each other on how to make things easier to understand for their students.

In my classroom, there are three educators. Myself, another TA, and the teacher. We have four severely autistic students in our room so communication is extremely important in our room. Each child has a unique IEP (individualized education plan) so it’s important that we communicate with each other on things each child may not understand, or things they have learned so their IEP can be adjusted accordingly. In our classroom, we can also be defined as a group. A group can be defined as “two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences or is influenced by each other person”, (Shaw, 1981). We are always relying on each other for new techniques that will work on our students Whether its techniques to get them to listen, or things that they are working for, we need to constantly try new things because of how rapidly they change their wants.

For the most part, our students are non-verbal, so communication can be hard between us as the teachers and the students. We use sign language, and pictures to help the communication but for the most part we work as a team to help each other out to provide as much for our students as we possibly can.

 

References:

Pennsylvania State University (2019). PSYCH 424, Section 001: Applied Soc Psy. Lesson 7: Organizational Life AND Teams. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008549/modules/items/27030737

Shaw, M. (1981). Group Dynamics: The Psychology of Small Group Dynamics. New York: McGraw-Hill.


14
Oct 19

Looking for a Job?

I’m almost positive without research being done, (which is a big no no in my future field to assume, however, I’m going to anyway) that a majority of working individuals have hated at least one job they’ve had. In my own case, I’ve hated about half of every job I’ve ever had. I have worked with children the majority of my life. I love my first job and I was lucky to be there from teenage years up until adulthood. Of course, there were aspects of it I didn’t like such as waking up at the crack of dawn or rude parents, but I loved the environment and the students.
There were many reasons I didn’t like coming to work at other places of employment I had. The majority had to do with leadership. I’ve had hostile managers, that I felt like loved to berate me. I’ve had supervisors that wouldn’t support the team but will take credit for the accomplishments of the group. I also had supervisors that had no idea what they were doing.
One way to avoid those unfortunate environments is to find something you enjoy. Job satisfaction is an important factor in whether or not you’ll stay at a particular place of employment. Job satisfaction according to Gruman, “can be defined as a person’s attitude toward his or her overall job as well as toward various aspects of the job; it is a predisposition to respond to one’s work environment in a favorable or unfavorable manner.” In other words, it is the ways to determine what causes you to like your job.
When it comes to looking for a job you can gather if the work will be mentally challenging from the ad a company puts out for the position. Equitable rewards are usually noticed after working there and sometimes is labeled in the company’s benefits policy which most find out in great detail after being hired. Supportive working conditions and supportive colleagues is what you can figure out before you accept the position by asking some key questions in the interview. You can also get more information about the work’s challenges in the interview as well. Asking these questions could help with your own person-job fit model. The person-job fit model argues that job satisfaction will be higher when there’s a pretty good matchup between your personal characteristics and the nature of the job (Gruman, 2017). The key is to not be too intrusive. Make these question flow into the interview like conversations as to not put off your future employer.
Asking what the companies’ values or mission statement is very important. This let’s you know what environment you will be entering into. A related question is what is the office culture like? These answers will let you know if this organization is something you want to run away from depending on your personality. An eclectic artist would not want to work in an environment where the culture is very strict in appearance and conversation and the organizational values reflect a cutthroat mentality where individuals steal ideas in order to gain success. It’s important to ask upfront instead of finding out later.
To find out more about supportive working conditions, asking about a learning development program or about training will let you know if they support employees learning more. This could also clue you in about how the company supports growth. If you’re the type of person with high growth need strength which can be explained by your job contributing to your personal growth and development, it’s especially important to ask this question.
One question I have learned to ask an interviewer which gives insight to supportive colleagues is “What do you like best about working for this organization?” This would give information on how colleagues support each other when things go wrong. Social influence at work can affect job satisfaction. The answer to this question derives specifically from their social environment at work. Beware when an interviewer gives vague answers and doesn’t answer with some slight enthusiasm. It probably means you should definitely run for the hills.
These are things I wished someone told me once I got into the workforce full time. I would’ve avoided some very unhealthy environments. Please remember, that you add value to your organization by being there. You do have to accomplish getting their attention with impressing them in order for them to offer you the job, but they need to impress you as well. After all you’ll spend the majority of your days working there.


14
Oct 19

Value of Sports

There are a lot of things that we can learn from sports and it is simply one of the greatest things that humans have created. It’s a powerful tool that helps improve mental/physical health and also helps build relationships with other people. In order to have a successful team cohesion is a must. Cohesion has been defined a process which is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of the objective (Gruman, Schneider & Coutts, 2017). The success of the team really does depend on cohesion because even if the talent is there but if there is no chemistry no team will be successful. There are a lot of things to consider when building a great team and this is the job of the coaches and leadership. They need to keep in mind that cohesion is both affective and instrumental in nature and they need to find the right balance in order to build a good team (Gruman et al., 2017).

Looking at the different way that teams develop is very interesting because for the most part they all follow the same path be it in sports or in anything else. Tuckman (1965) found that most groups will go through these same developmental stages which include forming, storming, norming and performing. Looking at different sports this is something that most people can definitely relate with. I feel like these 4 stages are something all teams go through and once everything is established the success depends on team cohesion. Especially when it comes to sports everyone needs to be on the same page and work together towards the final goal. Many teams have talent but if they don’t work together you can definitely see that and they will not be successful.

It is also interesting to see the impact that sports can have on individuals. It can teach us a lot of life lessons and make us better people in general. Someone mentioned the movie Remember the Titans recently and it really brought me back to the value that sports can have. At the beginning of the movie this people hated each other but as they worked together towards one goal they became family. This movie is a great example of Tuckman’s (1965) theory and it shows the impact that sports can actually have on individuals. It is important to get kids involved in sports at an early age and show them the value of leadership, teamwork, winning, losing, friendship and competition. These are life lessons that everyone could benefit from and that is why I believe that sports are more than just a game.

References:

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles ; London ; New Dehli ; Singapore ; Washington DC ; Melbourne: SAGE.

Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63 (6). 384–399. doi:10.1037/h0022100


13
Oct 19

The Art of Meetings

How Effective Communication and Time Management Contributes to Employee Satisfaction

 

Within an organization, time is money. Literally. The time that we spend, working effectively and efficiently, contributes to the earnings of the organizations we work for. That’s why they hired us. Yet, there is one thing standing in the way of effective time management throughout the workday: Meetings. Rarely will you encounter an organization that does not utilize meetings, even if it’s only occasionally. While the purpose, length, and size of meetings will vary based on where you work and what you do, we can make a sweeping generalization about most meetings; They suck.

But do they have to?

            According to Rogelberg et al. (2011), meetings are not meant to be an exercise in futility but an irreplaceable venue for teams to exercise “group decision making, problem solving, sense making, and communication.”. They are also a financial investment. So, we ask the age-old question, why should we be having meetings? Anthropologist Helen Schwartzman provides a shockingly sensible solution, “instead of having the meeting as a place to solve problems, we need to have problems and crises and decisions to produce meetings.” (Dubner, 2019).

So, we have a why. We meet because we have to solve a problem. Say a problem has arisen and we are in charge of planning this meeting, our next logical question is going to be ‘How long should this meeting last?’. This is where Parkinson’s Law comes into play. Parkinson’s Law was first coined by C. Northcote Parkinson who wrote “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” (Shantz, 2008). This means that if we create a two-hour meeting, we will find an excuse to make the meeting last for two hours. Conversely, this can also be applied to setting time-limits. By making shorter meetings that directly address a current problem, we are able to give attendees a sense of purpose, motivation, and show them that we value their time. Naturally, this approach also saves the organization money.

The last basic question when creating a meeting is who should attend? We can find the answer to this question by going full circle and looking back at why we are meeting in the first place. We meet to solve problems. A problem or a situation has produced the opportunity for a meeting, so the only people that should be present are those that the problem pertains to. The decision makers, those that can provide insightful input, there is no need to send a blanket invite to the entire office. While it may be easier to simply mark everyone’s schedule on google calendar, or send an email to everyone, the goal is to show employees that their time matters. Valuing employees, effective time management, and purposeful, pertinent communication all lead to more satisfactory meetings. Which increase employee satisfaction. Which saves time. Which saves money.

 

References:

Dubner, S. J. (2019, September 18). How to Make Meetings Less Terrible. Retrieved October  13, 2019, from http://freakonomics.com/podcast/meetings/.

Rogelberg, S. G., Rhoades Shanock, L., & Scott, C. W. (2011). Wasted Time and Money in  Meetings: Increasing Return on Investment. Small Group Research43(2), 236–245. Retrieved from https://journals-            sagepubcom.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/doi/full/10.1177/1046496411429170?utm_source =summon&utm_medium=discovery-provider.

Shantz J. A. (2008). Battling Parkinson’s Law. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l’Association medicale canadienne179(9), 968. doi:10.1503/cmaj.081266.


13
Oct 19

Dave is a Jerk.

Dave is not a nice person. Obviously his name isn’t actually Dave; I changed his name because I’m not a jerk. Dave started with our company a little less than a year ago, fresh out of prison for armed robbery with his… mother. He was in prison for a long time and when he was eligible for parole, my boss vouched for his life-long friend and provided him with a really cushy job and a place to stay to satisfy the conditions for his parole. My boss is a really great guy (totally not a jerk)! 

As Dave wove himself into the company culture, a very tight-knit family, I was the first one to speak up about Dave’s attitude and how he spoke to me. He continuously snapped at me, told me that things were not his job and degraded me when I asked questions. His attitude was very negative. When I brought this to the boss, Dave’s lifelong friend, Dave turned the situation around by making me look like the aggressor. I was scolded by the person who I came to for help. I cried for months, had anxiety attacks every day during work when I had to encounter Dave, and my performance was not up to my normal standards. I started to withdraw. My boss stopped talking to me and including me in conversations, my heart was broken. I kept a log of every time he bullied me with screenshots, kept my head down, and did my work, but I casually started seeking employment elsewhere. One day I noticed that he was added to one of our management virtual chats. Since everyone in the management side of the company was able to see this chat and I thought that this will be how he digs his own professional grave. One day he snapped at Donna in the chat room. Donna is like everyone’s southern grandma, not a single bad bone in her body, and no one disrespects Donna. Well, I noticed that once Dave snapped at Donna, my boss started talking to me again. I think he finally realized that Dave was actually a bully and I was just the first one to speak up.

Fast forward to last Friday.

Source: https://imgflip.com/i/yk6z2

Dave was no longer with our company. Text messages of “Did you see?!” rattled amongst the company within seconds like maracas with screenshots of the announcement.

Just as Bob Sutton mentioned in the No Jerk Rule podcast, Dave’s victims felt de-energized, demeaned and abused. He also screamed at the Vice President when she was trying to help his work-flow and regularly participated in political-backstabbing, such as changing my complaint about him into him being the victim, just like Sutton mentioned (2007). The funny thing is that Sutton also mentioned the Kiss-Up and Kick-Down part of being a jerk (2007), which is partially true since he worshiped the ground the boss walked on but treated the rest of us like peons. 

Dave wasn’t going anywhere for a while so I utilized two strategies, avoidance and backstage confrontation. While I could not avoid Dave entirely since we worked together, I made sure that all work correspondence was in the public eye so there were witnesses. Occasionally I would send the VP a message to just please review the messages in the file without attaching any emotion to the request, which occasionally she would respond, “He’s just a butt.” One day I ran into him while out on assignment and I confronted him. I told him that working together is going to be a lot more efficient than working against each other, so if we could try to have patience with each other as I know he is trying to learn how this company works. He divulged that he hates using virtual communication and email because he cannot convey his tone. As we saw in the studies by Kruger, et al., Dave’s problem of not being able to communicate tone over email is not his alone (2005). In these studies, students were consistently over-estimating their ability to convey their tone over email (Kruger, et al., 2005) so just imagine how bad Dave’s tone must be if he is aware of how poorly he communicates via email! 

Sadly, Dave’s issues seem like a person-job fit issue where he did not have job satisfaction because his personal disposition did not mesh well with his job characteristics (Gruman, 2017). Looking at Dave’s communication from a mechanistic perspective, he could not transmit his message correctly (unless at that moment he was transmitting being a jerk, which was often). He was used to being in prison where friendliness, cooperation, and camaraderie were probably second-hat to sheer survival. Those are the exact pillars that our company was built on and why we thrive! Our lesson commentary that Dave’s behavior creates conflict, undermines moral, decreases our productivity, and increased turn-over (PSU, 2019). None of those things are useful in a growing company. 

Thankfully, it seems that Dave’s personality of screaming at upper management, poor attitude, and divisive behavior led to his demise with the company. Sutton’s podcast said that jerks like Dave are not hard workers, they thrive for revenge, they lie and wait for something to occur so they can pounce on the opportunity to benefit, they avoid confrontation with the boss but their actions notoriously drives them out of their jobs (Stanford, 2007).

Hopefully our boss has learned his lesson that when possibly the kindest person on your staff tells you about a bully, you might want to listen to her. When we come into contact with jerks like Dave, Sutton suggested that we avoid them as much as possible and keep contact to phone calls and emails. He also suggested that we document all instances of abuse and eventually confront them in private that we have plenty of documentation of their abuse and we will report them to HR if their attitude does not change. As a company culture, our company could adopt a zero tolerance no-jerks rule, which many companies have adopted and fire jerks immediately because they are harming our company culture (2007). I wish Dave well but honestly, I am very thankful he is on his next life journey… far away from me. 

Resources 

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles ; London ; New Dehli ; Singapore ; Washington DC ; Melbourne: SAGE.

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), 925-936. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.925

Pennsylvania State University (2019). PSYCH 424, Section 001: Applied Soc Psy. Lesson 7: Organizational Life AND Teams. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008549/modules/items/27030737

Stanford University eCorner (Producer). (2007, May 30). The No Jerk Rule.  Bob Sutton, Stanford University [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcasts/the-no-jerk-rule.


13
Oct 19

All Work is an Act of Philosophy

“All Work is an Act of Philosophy.”

~ Ayn Rand

In the modern Western, Capitalist Society, the businessperson has perhaps lost sight of these important words of wisdom. The discipline of philosophy is under attack and no longer holds the stature or respect it once did in Academia, to the detriment of the economy.

Instead of learning the principles of morals and ethics, so that business can be conducted to the mutual benefit of both parties, the doctrine of greed has become the norm. Psychologically speaking, the ramifications of this glut in philosophical thinking are society shattering. Evidence is rampant, from the careless energy consortium living by the creed of “Drill, baby, drill” to the nefarious practices of Big Banks and Wall Street, who raced to the bottom of economic growth by introducing sub-prime lending and derivative investments.

Exacerbating this frenzy to garner as much money as possible is the duplicitous and dishonest behavior of the “talking heads” of mainstream media. After all, what gets published today is whatever sells the most copy, collects the most “likes” or produces the most shares. Gone are the days of an equal exchange of labor for value. Instead, for-profit businesses work to lower costs by paying lower wages, while hoisting up the false premise that Officers of the firm are acting to maximize the value to shareholders. When the reality could be nothing further from the truth.

Where the Wild Things Are

Examples of bad behavior in the business world run wide and deep. From agriculture to energy and finance to pharmaceuticals. Unethical behavior is rampant as long as there is an unquenchable thirst for irrational greediness. This is not to be conflated with rational self interest. No person should ever sacrifice his or her own self interests for the benefit of another. This is not how the philosophy of Capitalism works.

Instead of focusing on creating the best product, for the least amount of cost, business becomes consumed with political posturing, litigation, cumbersome HR policies that choke productivity and a myopic focus on the bottom line.

Returning to Ethics

The answer is not to abandon Capitalism in favor of a deeply flawed and failing socialist economic system. Instead, the path to a better economy can only be found by re-instating the discipline of Philosophy to its former status. Post Secondary institutions that require the basics of rhetoric and critical thinking as part of a well-rounded University education will find their students are better enabled to be productive, responsible citizens in this Brave New World.

The error being committed even as we speak is that the skills required to be successful in business must be taught and ingrained in the student before they even enter the working world. It is fatal for a business owner or Officers of a Corporation to think that they can teach these fundamental skills after the fact. Excessive time and energy are spent in error attempting to teach to the unteachable.

Start Early. Finish Hard.

Even before students enter University or College, their training in ethics and logic ought to begin at earlier stages of their development. Governments concerned about creating curriculum that focuses on the mechanics of sexual intercourse between same sex couples or that sacrifices the much needed skill of reading and writing in cursive would be doing a better service to young students, as early as elementary school, to focus on logic skills, such as learning how to file a tax return.

For-profit businesses attempt to fill this educational void with imaginative concepts such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which translates into “soft skill” activities that actually do little to increase the value of the firm for shareholders and serve to waste the time of the employees – instead of spending more time at work, organizing a worker-led organic garden, employees would probably prefer to spend any free time with their family and friends.

The Real Swamp to Be Drained

For the exceptionally greedy and unethical, there is an entirely different world of greed to explore. In this sphere of business, the names are made up, the points don’t matter and the better you can lie, the more money you will make. Deceptive marketing practices are ubiquitous, and every dollar garnered comes from pulling on the heart strings of the empathetic.

This is the world of Non-profit business. Some of the largest sums of money are collected and due to this unique status under the law, these organizations pay little to no money in taxes. Consider the National Football League. Annual revenue for the 2018 season hit the $25 Billion mark, making it the undisputed leader of professional sports in terms of profitability. NFL CEO Roger Goodell has just renewed his contract, earning $200 million over the course of the next five years. Of course, this doesn’t include the bonuses he’ll also earn.

Not Your Daddy’s NFL

Professional sports have always been big business. There is no surprise there and the numbers quoted above probably shouldn’t be surprising. Here is where the unethical shock sets in. Until 2015 the NFL enjoyed Federal tax exemption due to their Non-profit status. So, for the billions the NFL received in revenue, not one cent was paid back to the taxpayer.

You might think that this act of benevolence is a good thing, that it is altruistic for the NFL to inject an additional $10 million per year into the government coffers. However, this is not the case. The cost-benefit analysis was conducted and the number crunchers working at head office learned that accepting a $10 million tax bill every year is preferable to incurring the costs of remaining Non-profit and having to be transparent. Transparency, after all, requires costs through public scrutiny. Becoming For-profit allows the league to increase the opacity of its operations. Now unethical practices, such as covering up concussion injuries in players, can be swept under the proverbial rug with little public exposure.

Closer to Home

For more common abuses of the Non-profit business class, simply look to websites like KickStarter and GoFundMe. These forums allow the greediest of the greedy to take advantage of the good nature of everyday people. Yes, they both promote a vigorous vetting process and scammers are thought to be booted almost at once yet for the truly determined, it remains a safe haven for lies and deceit to collect ill gotten gains.

At a local level, you may find a group running as a Non-profit to “save the Oregon Giant Earthworm (Driloleirus macelfreshi)”. This sounds wonderful – saving an endangered species, what could be more altruistic? Until you dig a little deeper and you find out the following:

  1. The organization plans to purchase a “reserve” for the earthworms to live in as a sanctuary.
  2. They need to buy special types of dirt in order to create the best environment for the earthworm to flourish.
  3. The sanctuary is to be built in the middle of North America.

This sounds okay but fact checking uncovers the following:

  1. The “reserve” is actually a giant section of swamp land in Florida, unable to support the earthworm.
  2. The special dirt required isn’t conducive to helping the earthworm thrive but instead will create a sturdy foundation on which can be built new housing developments.
  3. This specific earthworm only exists in Australia and wouldn’t survive in North America.

There is nothing illegal being done here. Under the guise of being Non-profit, this group can raise as much money as they want, tax free and once they’ve achieved their goal, give up the tax exemption, become a For-profit business and re-brand into “Florida Swamp Home Development Corporation.”

This Deserves Repeating

Just as a fundamental understanding of Philosophy is required to bring sanity back to the For-profit business world, it is also Philosophy that will save the integrity of the Non-profit organizations with truly noble causes.

The ability to think critically, risk asking the offensive questions and uncovering the truth is a more valuable skill today than it ever has been in the past. Emotional sentiments of being good to each other and loving one another will never be enough on its own to mitigate the ability of the charlatans and scammers to take advantage of the gullible. The only way to truly weed out the unsavory element in either type of organization is to confront them with the truth through rational, objectively determined facts and evidence. The best way to do this is to study Philosophy.

 


11
Oct 19

Team Cohesion Wins Superbowls

Everyone likes to win, but winning doesn’t come easy. Arguably one of best sport franchises in history is the New England Patriots. Known for their success in the playoffs, and constant drive throughout the season, they have been able to secure six Super Bowl titles. Coming up with a formula to be victorious every Sunday is what NFL coaches work on every week in practice, Head coach Bill Belichek has potentially cracked the code. You may think I am a Patriots fan, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth! I do, however, respect a winning mentality, Bill Belichek and the Patriots have just that.

6-0 and coming off a big win against the Giants, the Patriots are sure contenders to reach another Super Bowl this year. Even after losing a few big-name talents, the Patriots have continued to work together as a team and overcome the hurdles each week. Team cohesion can’t be questioned when speaking about this franchise. The objective every year is to not only win, but to raise the Lombardy trophy at the 50-yard line at the end of the season. In order to do this Tom Brady has to continue leading his team, and his success is largely in the hands of his offensive line. It’s not uncommon for Brady to praise his offensive lines performance following a hard-fought game. Little gestures like this can easily boost comradery and increase cohesion amongst the unit.

In recent news Antonio Brown was released from the team after only playing one game. The decision for his release wasn’t based on his talent level, but rather his off the field troubles. His larger than life personality has been known to carry over into the locker room. There is no denying his self-confidence in his ability, however, with a disciplined franchise you have to conform and adopt the team first mentality. The release of Brown had no effect on the collective efficacy of the team. Instead, they stuck to their game plan and have continued on their winning ways.

We may never know exactly what has made the Patriots so dominant, but cohesion has certainly played a part. According to Gruman, Schneider & Coutts, 2017 “there is considerable anecdotal and research evidence that teams high in cohesion perform better than do teams low in cohesion (p.137). As long as Bill Belichek remains at the helm, it is likely we continue to see the Patriots as a relevant franchise. However, we beat them once, so we can beat them again. Fly eagles fly.

 

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


10
Oct 19

Remembering the Development of the Titans

I was an athlete for all of my elementary and high school years of school. During that time, I played with various coaches and teammates. Although the members were always changing, one thing that our coaches always would have us do was watch the movie Remember The Titans by Boaz Yakin. As I think back to that film, I remember times when I believed I would never have team cohesion with a new group of individuals. When I would go home and complain about a teammate or coach, my dad would remind me about Remember the Titans as an example of the development of groups and team cohesion.

Cohesion is defined as “a dynamic process which is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs” (Coutts, Gruman, & Schneider, 2017). At the beginning of the film two high schools are integrated during a time of high racial tension. Since the schools are integrated, the football team has an African American head coach (Denzel Washington) and a Caucasian coach (Will Patton). During the first interactions between the newly integrated team members, there was a lack of team cohesion. The players make it known to the team that they do not want to play with the members of the opposite race. With a lack of team cohesion, the coaches were aware that they would struggle to succeed because “research evidence that teams high in cohesion perform better than do teams low in cohesion” (Coutts & et al., 2017). To increase team cohesion, Washington and Patton used goal setting, team building activities, and through modeling leadership. Through the use of these various interventions, the team was able to come together through the process of group development.

Tuckman (1965), stages of development theory, describes a process of four steps forming, storming, norming, and performing. In the film, the integrated members of the team meet in the gymnasium and are somewhat reserved at first in the presence of their new coaches. Washington explains that the team will all be heading to a training camp as a way to help increase team cohesion. On the way to camp, Washington separates two groups and partners up to each team member with a member of the opposite race. He promotes team building at this time by having them sit together, room together, and they are required to learn more about their partner. The storming stage begins when there are conflicts within the team. The storming stage is most clearly noted when the two head captains, one African American, and one Caucasian player, have a confrontation regarding leadership skills and not looking out for the team as a whole. Through this conflict, the players learned to understand one another and were able to become better leaders for the team.

 

Following various conflicts between members of the team, the norming stage emerges. The norming stage begins as the team works together to fight against racism. The teammates start to trust one another and have come to an understanding of their membership in the group. They build bonds and communicate effectively and work together through warmups and, specifically, a team dance. Moving on to the last stage of Tuckman’s (1965) theory, the performing stage is noted when the team begins to work together efficiently and succeed in their goal of winning. By the end of the film, the football players are best friends and stand up against racism in their community. Through the stages of development and the help of the supportive coaches, this team was able to work together to increase cohesion. With the bonds they built, they were able to defy the odds and achieve the unachievable.

Reference:

Coutts, L. M., Gruman, J. A., & Schneider, F. W. (2017). Applied social psychology understanding and addressing social and practical problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63 (6). 384–399. doi:10.1037/h0022100


09
Oct 19

Career Choice

Sometimes I find myself thinking about what I want to do when I graduate the Spring. I had my heart set on law school but sometimes question that decision. I always appreciate hearing about different career opportunities and paths, especially when they pay good (because school loan debt!). If you find yourself in the same position as me, you may be interested in learning more about industrial and organizational psychology.

Industrial and organizational psychology specializes in the study of human behavior in organizations and the work place. This branch of psychology focuses on deriving principles of individual, group and organizational behavior and applying this knowledge to the solution of problems at work. I/O psychologist seek to address issues such as, issues of recruitment, selection and placement, training and development, performance measurement, workplace motivation and reward systems, quality of work life, structure of work and human factors, organizational development and consumer behavior.

Duties that I/O psychologist are often tasked with include, recruiting and selecting employees, job training and development, maximizing wellness and quality of life, ergonomics, organizational development, and performance management and enhancement Cherry, 2019). Industrial and organization psychologist work in typical psychology environments such as, clinics, schools, and hospitals. They also work in large corporate or even small businesses and anywhere else morale and improved performance are goals.

In order to become an I/O psychologist you must first get your bachelors degree, preferably in psychology. Then you should earn a masters and even a PHD or PsyD. The minimum recommended degree to enter the field is a masters, however, to be competitive at the top levels, a PhD is often required (Writers, 2019).  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ current Occupational Outlook Handbook, the median national annual salary for industrial-organizational psychologists is $87,100. The top 10 % earned more than $184,520.

Of course salary varies with experience, as with many jobs. What are your thoughts on an I/O psychologist career? According to Penn State’s website, their I/O graduate program is continuously rated one of the top five I/O psychology doctoral programs in the nation. That is pretty awesome! If you plan on continuing your education and obtaining an I/O psychologist career, you can do so right at PSU!

Reference:
Cherry, K. (2019, September 23). What Exactly Do Industrial-Organizational Psychologists Do? Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-do-industrial-organizational-psychologists-do-2795633.
Department of Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://psych.la.psu.edu/graduate/program-areas/industrial-organizational.
Home : Occupational Outlook Handbook: (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Writers, S. (2019, March 4). How to Become an I-O Psychologist. Retrieved from https://www.psychology.org/careers/industrial-organizational-psychologist/#undefined.

07
Oct 19

Double Discrimination for Disabled Workers

Often times when we think of discrimination, we think of injustices against people of color and women in a variety of settings like criminal justice, civil rights, and education. Unfortunately, discrimination stretches much further over many groups of people like those who are physically and mentally handicapped. Those with disabilities are often discriminated against in the workplace and lose many opportunities that other groups of people are afforded. Many of those with disabilities stay unemployed because employers do not want to or cannot accommodate for their disabilities. Although the American Disabilities Act is supposed to protect those with disabilities from experiencing this type of treatment, it is still prevalent in today’s society.

Currently, there are about 61 million people in the United States that have a disability that impairs normal functioning and daily activities (CDC, 2018). Unfortunately, of those 61 million people with a disability only about 19% of them are employed according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019). Many of them are unemployed because they are physically or mentally incapable of working, but many also are unable to find jobs that will cater to their needs or be open to hiring them. Many employers hesitate to offer employment to disabled applicants because they have an uniformed or ignorant perspective on what disabled people are capable of in the workplace. One research study examined viewpoints of several employers and what their concerns were pertaining to hiring disabled applicants (Bonaccio et al., 2019). This study found that many employers believed that disabled applicants were underqualified and were concerned that they could not ask questions pertaining to the disability that would determine if they were qualified. Employers also expressed concerns over the costs attributed to hiring a disabled person like adding wheelchair access to buildings or flexibility of schedule. Many of these concerns are just due to ignorance because studies have shown that the costs related to accommodating disabilities are not as excessive as presumed and can even save a company money because of the many tax credits available to employers that hired disabled works (as cited by Bonaccio et al., 2019). It seems that U.S employers exhibit as Gruman, Schneider, and Coutts (2017) describe as uncertainty avoidance because they perceive that by hiring those with disabilities, they are accumulating a high amount of risk. If more employers were educated on disabilities and how many are capable of effectively working even with the circumstances surrounding their disability, I believe there would be a dramatic decrease in unemployed among the disabled community.

Within the disabled community, even after being hired with a disability many experience discrimination within the workplace. Many disabled workers experience harassment, unequal pay, and even get laid off or fired without reasoning. In one study that analyzed many of the circumstances of discrimination in the workplace for those who had sensory (learning disabilities, hearing, and vision impaired) and non-sensory disabilities (Graham et al., 2019). For both non-sensory and sensory disabilities, involuntary termination was ranked the number one complaint of discrimination while those with non-sensory disabilities rated harassment as the third most prevalent discriminative action. Those who had sensory disabilities were less likely to be promoted or receiving training compared to all other disabilities. Many of those with disabilities may experience relative deprivation, which is the feeling that they are deprived of the same opportunities and capabilities of an able-bodied person (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2017). They may try to compensate with this deprivation by seeking employment opportunities so that they can achieve independence and a positive social identity within society.

It is unfortunate that in today’s society, our disabled are becoming the forgotten people in the workplace. They often try to seek employment so they can provide some financial security and independence especially with their higher medical costs that can become crippling. It seems that many disabled people are stigmatized on both sides of the workplace. They are stigmatized and discriminated against when applying for the position because employers do not understand or do not want to hire disabled workers for the concern of liability. They are also stigmatized once they are hired and as a result are subjected to harassment, lack of opportunities, and wrongful termination. Fortunately, technological advances are allowing more disabled workers to be hired like in the case of Starbucks that has expanded its stores to include technologies that allow deaf and visually impaired workers to work as baristas.  Hopefully with more education and social contact with those that are disabled more employers would be open to hiring those with physical, mental, and behavioral disabilities.

 

References

Bonaccio, S., Connelly, C. E., Gellatly, I. R., Jetha, A., & Ginis, K. A. M. (2019). The participation of people with disabilities in the workplace across the employment cycle: Employer concerns and research evidence. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1–24. doi: 10.1007/s10869-018-9602-5

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, August 16). 1 in 4 US adults live with a disability. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html.

Graham, K. M., Mcmahon, B. T., Kim, J. H., Simpson, P., & Mcmahon, M. C. (2019). Patterns of workplace discrimination across broad categories of disability. Rehabilitation Psychology64(2), 194–202. doi: 10.1037/rep0000227

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019, February 26). Persons with a disability: Labor force Characteristics Summary. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/disabl.nr0.htm.

 

 


07
Oct 19

Incarceration and the Underserving Poor

For the past two years, I have volunteered for a nonprofit program that provides services to children of incarcerated parents.  I have a now 10-year-old mentee whom I meet with regularly.  We talk about her family, school, and her struggles, and I take her around the city (I live in the New York City area) for various exhibits and experiences.  Before I began volunteering at the program I did not think much about incarceration.  I was lucky enough to not be exposed to incarceration growing up, as I never knew anyone who had gone to jail or prison.  After spending time at the program, however, I became away of the various issues those returning from incarceration face.  Due to stereotypes, ambivalent racism, and the concept of the undeserving poor, these people struggle to adjust to life following incarceration.  Incarceration is a major issue, as the United States has the highest rate of incarceration per 100,000 individuals of any other country (Sentencing Project, n.d.).

Stereotypes are concepts about groups of people, which ascribe attributes to these people based on a characteristic they have, or a group they belong to (Gruman, Schneuder, Coutts, 2017).  In the case of incarceration, in my experience at the nonprofit, people view those previously incarcerated as dangerous, and not trustworthy.  They are assumed to be bad parents, and incompetent, due to their incarceration.  As I have learned, however, this is stereotype is often inaccurate.  Rather, incarceration can be systemic, and difficult to avoid in communities laden with poverty and racism.  Rather than being inherently dangerous, many previously incarcerated individuals were driven to illegal means in order to sustain themselves.  Many grew up in the community where the nonprofit is based and grew up with very limited economic resources and opportunities.  Thus, they resorted to using illegal means (e.g. drug sales) to support themselves and their families.  Rather than being inherently dangerous or untrustworthy, many of these people were not exposed to other opportunities.  Growing up in a community where the typical way of supporting oneself with illegal activity negatively affected these people at a young age.  Many of these people were young when they were incarcerated, and no longer wish to engage in the activities the once did.  Stereotypes, however, often keep them from being able to move on, and enter into a new phase of life.  These stereotypes, ironically, encourage the labels they project.

Furthermore, previously incarcerated people suffer from ambivalent racism.  One in three black men will be incarcerated during his lifetime, compared to one of 17 white men (Sentencing Project, n.d.).  Similarly, one in 18 black women will be incarcerated in their lifetime, compared to one in 111 white women.  As we learned, ambivalent racism occurs when despite recognizing racial inequalities, people hold the belief that everyone has the same opportunities (Gruman, Schneuder, Coutts, 2017).  This, however, is misguided.  For one, as I have seen at the nonprofit, the opportunities are frequently not the same for those of different races.  School qualities, for instance, drastically vary depending on the wealth of an area, and typically the wealth of an area is connected to the racial majority in that area.  I live in the New York City area, and I have noticed a large racial difference in the wealthy versus poor areas; wealthy areas are predominantly white, while poor areas are predominantly black.  Depending on the wealth of the area, the school quality is different.  Further, “researchers have found that the single-most powerful predictor of racial gaps in educational achievement,” and having less equipt school districts increases the racial gap in education (Boschma & Brownstein, 2016).  Without a quality school district for quality education, the same opportunities are just not available.

Finally, the concept of the undeserving poor, in my opinion, holistically encompasses these issues more than any other concept.  The term “underserving poor” refers to the view that one’s economic situation is their own fault, rather than the result of circumstances (Gruman, Schneuder, Coutts, 2017).  To me, this is the heart of the problem.  Rather than taking into account the various situational factors that lead to the incarceration of an individual–and working to improve these factors–people such as employers, landlords, etc. believe that incarceration was the individual’s fault and that they cannot be trusted.  This makes it very difficult for the person to build a new life for themselves, even if they are doing all of the “right” actions (e.g. going to interviews, applying for jobs, etc.).  People believe these previously incarcerated individuals deserve to be the economic situation they are in, which, as described previously, is not the case.  This belief is so misguided because it fails to take into account the educational, social, and economic factors at play.  To label a previously incarcerated person as part of the “undeserving poor” is to be blind to the various situational factors that would affect anyone in the same situation.

The time I have spent at the nonprofit I volunteer for has taught me so much about the various influence that leads to incarceration.  When I first visited the center I was a bit nervous, as I had heard warnings about the neighborhood, and that it was “very dangerous,” and that I “shouldn’t go.”  After a handful of visits, however, I was no longer nervous and felt comfortable in the neighborhood.  While I knew there was a high crime rate in the area, people in the neighborhood were predominantly friendly and seemed to look out for each other in a way I never saw in my own neighborhood growing up.  I realized that people had views of those who lived there–and those who had been previously incarcerated–without any experience of visiting or getting to know the people.  I realized that the factors of stereotypes, ambivalent racism, and the concept of the undeserving poor were preventing people from getting to know people struggling with these issues, thus keeping them isolated and unable to challenge their beliefs about what previously incarcerated people are like.  Hopefully, over time, we can all work towards understanding people who have had a different experience than we have, rather than making assumptions about something we have not ourselves lived.

 

 

 

References

Applied Social Psychology (PSYCH 424). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008549/modules

Criminal Justice Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/.

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

Janie Boschma, R. B. (2016, February 29). Students of Color Are Much More Likely to Attend Schools Where Most of Their Peers Are Poor. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/02/concentration-poverty-american-schools/471414/.

 


07
Oct 19

Generational Identity

Generational Identity

I work at a before/after school program for elementary and middle schools in a neighboring city and realized an ongoing issue between staff and kids. Equivalent to Millennials receiving a plethora of negativity regarding their lifestyle and choices, Generation Z is feeling the wrath too. There seems to be a trend of constant scrutiny regarding a 10-15 year age gap between individuals. While a couple of my coworkers are 30 and up, they are mainly in their twenties, so the common age difference between staff and kids is around 10 to 15 years. I noticed that the attitude towards the more older kids (9-13 year olds) is opinionated and a little pretentious solely due to being older than them. Yes, these kids may not have watched Courage the Cowardly Dog or had to remember their parents’ and friends’ phone numbers but there is no reason to negatively perceive a younger generation. This stigma isolates the kids from the staff and eventually results in intimidation and a sense of separation.
The inability to create a positive and accepting environment has led to many of the kids complaining to me that the other staff think they are ignorant or that these particular staff are unwilling to listen. This conflict surfaced just this past summer at my program’s summer camp and opened my eyes while learning about Social Identity Theory (SIT). This theory suggests that individuals belonging to a certain group are motivated to reflect a sense of identity under certain circumstances (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2018). It seems as though SIT can be applied to why my coworkers are expressing their belonging to their generation when socializing with those in a younger generation. Stating that this younger generation will never know how it felt to experience certain things or hardships does not and will not help anyone.
In a study done by Sean T. Lyons and Linda Scheitzer (2016), results showed that individuals identify with a generation because of common experiences, similar years of birth, and similar incumbency with those belonging to certain generations. Generational identity can be traced back to social identity theory due to engaging oneself in social categorization and associating the individuals in that category with certain characteristics (Lyons & Scheitzer, 2016). Circling back to my coworkers, two or three have mentioned to me about the noticeable differences between our generation and the younger generation. I would hear comments like “They will never know what it feels like to own a flip phone” and “They missed the time when good cartoons were showing on tv.” Every time these comments arise I cannot help but think my parents would tell me similar things regarding their generation.
I understand the difficulty to relate to others who are significantly younger and overlook the differences. We are all brought up with distinct factors that affect our personality, judgment, actions, and viewpoints, so there is no reason to undervalue or dissociate younger generations.

Gruman, J. A., Scheinder, F. W., Coutts, L. M. (2018). Applied Social Psychology (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Lyons, S. T. & Schweitzer, L. (2016). A Qualitative Exploration of Generational Identity: Making Sense of Young and Old in the Context of Today’s Workplace. Work, Aging, and Retirement 3(2). doi: 10.1093/workar/waw024


07
Oct 19

Football and Discrimination

I love the New England Patriots, but when I say that, especially after someone has already met and spoken to me, they immediately give me a look. Most of the time their face is filled with disgust. You would think that would bother me. Does it? Absolutely not. I love my team, win or lose.
The New England Patriots is an in-group I belong to. In-group means when someone categorizes themselves as a part of a group they feel committed to. I promise you, I am 100% committed. Now, there are many teams that I don’t like which would be the out-group (any other groups seen as potential rivals). Being the fan of a winning team, clearly, we have some rivals. We won today 33-7 against the Redskins.
What’s interesting is how this could play out in real life relationships. I do know plenty of people who are a part of the out-group regarding football and my in-group. That has not affected my relationship with them in any way. We’ve remained friends that hang out. I mean my best friend is an Eagles fan and I dated a Giants fan at one point in my life. For others that is not the case.
Prejudice is a set of attitudes towards members of a group. There are some that have prejudices against fans of other sports teams. For example, I could say that I do not like Seahawks fans (this is actually not true, but they were the first team to come to mind), but I wouldn’t allow that to stop me from working with one or hiring one when I used to work in HR. I even hired Steelers fans.
Discrimination is an overt negative behavior towards a person based on his or her membership in a group. Discrimination has begun to play a large role in sports teams and relationships. A lady I was acquainted with discussed with me that she refused to date anyone that was a Redskin’s fan (she loved the Cowboys). A coworker of mine gave up her love for the Cowboys to become an Eagles fan to keep the peace in her home with her fiancé. Personally, I could never and secondly, I would never have thought to use that as a determining factor on dating someone.
Stereotypes can also be projected based on your in-group, by out-group members and vice versa. Stereotypes are defined by Gruman as beliefs about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviors of members of certain groups. When I worked in HR, an interviewee saw my Patriots lanyard and tried to make a funny remark about if I like the Patriots, I must be a cheater too. He thought it was funny, I however, did not.
Statements and actions like those create conflict. They go beyond the original reasons why two teams are rivals in the first place. This is how things get personal. While I use football as a way to relax and release stress by yelling at my television as if Coach Belichick and Julian Edelman can hear me calling out plays, others may use a win to feel validation over other people as a part of their emotional significance attached to their membership to that group.
Social identity reflects a sense of identity based on the social groups to which individuals belong or with which they identify according to Gruman. A sports fan’s commitment to their group may include putting down others.
While I do believe that contact hypothesis which is “the assumption was that positive contact with members of an out-group could decrease negative stereotyping of the out-group by the in-group and lead to improved intergroup relations” (Gruman, 2017) could work in other situations. It’s important that both parties feel relatively equal in power and status, but with sports, if a team loses, you can throw that notion out of the window.

Gruman, J. A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology. [MBS Direct]. Retrieved from https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781506353968/


07
Oct 19

The Role of Psychology in Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most influential, important creations in entertainment history. The vast majority of video games that exist today, and large amounts of the average American’s conception of a “fantasy world” exists largely due to the world created by Dungeons & Dragons founders back in 1974. While always popular, Dungeons & Dragons has recently reached a mainstream popularity greater than at any time in its history (Whitten, 2019). While the majority of the experience is an exercise in creativity and imagination, speckled with moments of stress and fear, Dungeons & Dragons relies heavily on social psychology as a means of drawing it’s players in, and remaining engaged.

Despite being stigmatized for years as being a game for those who are anti-social outcasts, Dungeons & Dragons (aka DnD) relies heavily on finding a group of people who one is able to find effective means of social communication with, as socializing between players is the thing that one spends the majority of the time doing while in-game. The roleplaying aspect is what makes this especially fascinating however, as it requires the players to not only overcome issues that arise in social settings in the real-world, but they also must accomplish this while playing to role of unrelated characters at the exact same time, with their own personalities, flaws, social abilities, etc. While the players of DnD may not be thinking of it while doing so, but they are participating in a complex interconecting series of social psychological exercises with every decision they make, both in the game as characters, and at the table as players.

One of the biggest challenges in playing a game like DnD is the ability for one to separate themselves and their friends as people from the characters they and their friends are playing. Not only is this challenging in relation to immersion, but it can often result in intense social conflicts that while they may begin as conflicts between the characters in game, can very easily and quickly result in real conflicts between the individuals playing the game. This is a challenge that all groups need to come up with solutions to try to overcome, as the purpose of the experience of DnD is enjoyment with friends.

DnD also offers social psychology as a way of overcoming obstacles in game, which is one of the most important skills one can master to become effective at DnD. When trying to accomplish tasks, players do not have to take physical action as their primary decision. Often the most effective way to overcome a given situation is through the use of persuasion and intimidation as a means of accomplishing a given task. Much like conflicts can arise both in game and out of game, the effectiveness of a given social solution is determined both through the use of social psychology in game and out. In game, the decision to use a social solution to the problem results in the player rolling a dice, however the words chosen by the player have a strong impact outside the game, as the person running the game, the dungeon master (or “DM”) can change the effectiveness of the attempt based on how persuasive the words were.

The DM also must heavily rely on social psychology to create an effective game. As this is a game reliant on pencils and paper to tell the story, the DM must find ways of engaging the players without much in the way of visual imagery, and must instead appeal to the emotions through the use of language to engross the players in their world. Thus, a DM will often rely heavily on fear as a means of encouraging motivation, with hinted at, or promised reward being presented as a means of creating determination among the party members.

References:
Whitten, S. (2019, March 18). ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ has found something its early fans never expected: Popularity. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/15/dungeons-and-dragons-is-more-popular-than-ever-thanks-to-twitch.html.


07
Oct 19

Why are the lunch tables separated by race?

I didn’t realize what racism really was until the seventh grade when I changed from a small Christian elementary school to a larger “Christian” college-prep school. In my elementary school, I knew there were kids who were African American but I didn’t think Tracy or Brandon were any different than me, part poor Kentucky tobacco farmer and part Native American. I didn’t think that my mom’s coworkers at Proctor and Gamble were any different, even though they were Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, or Jewish. They were my friends. The lunch tables at my new school were strange, all of the Black kids sat together, all of the Asian and Hispanic kids sat at another table, and all of the White kids sat at the rest of the tables. It was weird and I didn’t know what questions to ask to understand why they were separated. Racism always really bothered me because as a White person, I didn’t know what to do. I already speak out when someone is bullying another for the color of their skin (or for any reason, really), I already treat everyone like they’re cut from the same cloth, I already befriend anyone who is kind, what am I to do? My hometown of Cincinnati is known for its race-riots that occurred as I graduated high school and even though that was almost 20 years ago, the tension is still in the streets. What can I do? 

Lonnie Bunch, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was highlighted last Sunday on CBS Sunday Morning. Bunch is an African American gentleman and he said his grandmother always said that as an African American, “you have to be twice as good to go half as far.” (Link to video: https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-sunday-morning/video/bT34mYAXcXi0GW3WrevZl7Ouy2wAoQ_z/the-smithsonian-s-lonnie-bunch-learning-from-history/) His stories broke my heart as he spoke about the lunch counter sit-ins in the 1960’s as Black diners were unable to sit at the lunch counters. He acquired the Woolworth’s lunch counter from Greensboro, North Carolina where on February 1st, 1960, four African American students sat at the Whites Only lunch counter and demanded to be served. This started a revolution of sit-ins throughout the country, calling for the segregation at the counters to be reversed. Over 3,000 were arrested in these protests but it brought enough attention to the issue that the segregation was reversed six months later (CBS, 2019). He had a personal experience at a Woolworths in Raleigh a few years prior, where he was asked to leave the counter even though he was able to eat at the Woolworth’s counter in New Jersey (CBS, 2019). In the interview, Bunch says that “The burden of race, the burden of expectation, was often heavier on African Americans. I didn’t have the luxury to screw up” (CBS, 2019). This harkens to our text’s message about stereotype threat, where the fear that your behavior will solidify a negative stereotype actually confirms the stereotype. Bunch’s family ingrained in him that he had to overcome any stereotypes and work so hard to get half as far as a White person. 

In an article by Steele and Aronson, we learn of a study where White and Black students from Stanford were brought in for a series of IQ tests. The African American students who were told that they were taking an IQ test scored lower than the Caucasian students on average. The African American students who were told that their tests were not being scored, instead the researchers are looking at how they take the test, their scores averaged the same as the White students (1995). So, there is no difference in ability, the students are just carrying that negative stereotype with them. So what can we do?

As detailed by Dwerk, a study in 2007 developed a social intervention to help African American students increase their expectations of being accepted at their university. The African American participants were taught that doubts about fitting in at college are normal and fleeting. They were presented with statistics, testimonials from upperclassmen and gave a speech about how someone’s perception of acceptance changes over time. This had a dramatic effect on the students. Compared to the control group who learned about political beliefs, the intervention students took more challenging courses, they were more resilient, they had no change in motivation when presented with adversity. They were also three times more likely to reach out to their professors, studied more hours per day, had higher retention rates, and an increase in their grades (2008). 

So, we have an intervention that may help Black students which could be translated into different segments of our society, but what about everyone else? 

Our text discusses diversity training, where students are brought into the dialogue about diversity. The educational program is made of readings, workshops and presentations, group exercises, writing assignments, and discussions, all with the intention of bringing different cultures together (Gruman, et al., 2017). Our text also describes coalition building, where people of different cultures are brought together informally, and it was made “normal” for their cultures to interact. Then the students are challenged with a task and rewarded, creating camaraderie (Gruman, et al., 2017). Basically, the best way to fight racism is to open a dialogue between the races where questions can be answered and relationships are formed. 

Given how divisive race has gotten in the United States since 2016, I cannot say that these two things will revolutionize the way that races interact. But as a person who studies psychology, as a person who wants to know what to do, I can use these tools. I can encourage my African American friends to be a part of my group and make sure that they feel included. I can try to create a dialogue for those who are not used to being exposed to different cultures, to try to open their eyes. Although this plan of bringing races together may sound very idealistic, it seems better than doing absolutely nothing at all. 

Resources: 

Dweck, C. S. (2008). Can Personality Be Changed? The Role of Beliefs in Personality and Change. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(6), 391–394. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00612.x

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles ; London ; New Dehli ; Singapore ; Washington DC ; Melbourne: SAGE.

Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797–811. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.69.5.797

The Smithsonian’s Lonnie Bunch: Learning from history (2019, October 6). CBS Sunday Morning.  Retrieved October 7, 2019, from https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-sunday-morning/video/bT34mYAXcXi0GW3WrevZl7Ouy2wAoQ_z/the-smithsonian-s-lonnie-bunch-learning-from-history/.


07
Oct 19

Millennials and Diversity in the Workplace

People are always quick to blame millennials for things, and call them entitled, but they are making a change to help diversify the workplace. The main thing that millennials bring to the workplace is inclusion.

Millennials value the opinions and and different point of views from people of different race, color, religion, and age. They believe that diversity means having different view points despite what a person might look like. They value and accept points of view.

Millennials define diversity as a mix of experiences, identities, ideas and opinions instead of the traditional definition of diversity as people from different demographics. When hiring, millennials focus on talent and perspectives rather than experience.

Millennials, people born after 1980 and late 1990’s, are more diverse than the generations before them. They have a unique way of perceiving the world due to being more culturally and racially divers. Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce within the next ten to fifteen years.

Millennials cultivate a workplace culture in many ways. They view open communication as being important. They keep the lines of communication open to cooperate and collaborate with their peers. They believe that relationships are important in keeping the workplace motivated and cultivate the feeling of comradery in the workplace. Millennials like to feel that there is a purpose to what they are doing and apply their skills to to their work. They find jobs where they can have purpose despite it may be a lesser pay.

Millennials are a more diverse group and therefore have more inclusion of ideas and view points in the workplace. They are helping to look past the older generations views of diversity and reshaping the workforce to include everyone and transforming diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Serban,Remus.”Workplace Diversity-A Crucial Isssue for Millennials” Hubgets. 29 June,2017

 

Essner,Dean.”Millennials Sound Off on Diversity in the Workplace.” Public Relations Tactics-Current Issue. 3 April, 2017


06
Oct 19

Millennials and Stereotypes

Millennials are possibly the most commonly talked about generation at the time. The exact age range to qualify as a millennial has not been 100% agreed upon, but it is generally anyone who was born between 1980 and 2003. With that being said, I would be considered a millennial, and I’m sure many of you would be too. It seems as though millennials are the generation to talk about lately, and the majority of the talk is not very positive at all. In fact, it is pretty much all negative. We have recently seen a lot of negative stereotypes come up regarding millennials, I’m sure you’ve heard at least some of them. Millennials are self-centered, millennials are lazy, millennials are addicted to technology. This generation has had more access to technology than any of the generations before, so it makes sense that it would see as though millennials are addicted to technology. However, I think that this stereotype was only created because older generations are not used to seeing people using so much technology simply because it wasn’t available to them. This also goes along with the whole lazy stereotype. I think that a lot of people consider millennials lazy because of the technology use. We don’t have to look as much information up in books as older generations, for example, because we can use google and other websites. We don’t have to write letters or really even call people because we can just simply text them. I think that part of the idea that millennials are self-centered is tied to technology as well. We are living in a world now where social media is so commonly used and with social media comes selfies. I think that selfies are one of the big reasons that people love to call millennials self-centered, because they tend to take pictures of themselves (who cares?). Anyway, my point to this conversation is that the majority of the stereotypes about millennials are not true. In fact, iadb.org debunks this myth by stating the fact that data shows that 41% of millennials study, 21% of millennials work and 17% study and work. This means that only 17% do not work or study (Millennials: the stereotyped generation, n.d.). The majority of stereotypes, regardless of who they are about, are created based off of false ideas. Think about it, how many stereotypes are actually factual? Not many. And these stereotypes can have serious effects on the population that they are about, and even those who they aren’t about. For millennials, for example, these stereotypes could make employers hesitant when it comes to hiring them. This could be bad for both parties, the millennial because they aren’t getting a job and the employer because they could be missing out on a great employee. It’s the same thing for women, stereotypes hold women back all the time because in many cases men are preferred. But stereotypes can be even worse. Think about stereotypes about certain races and ethnicities, negative ones. This affects huge populations and can turn other entire populations against them simply because of their genes and where they are from. When you are treated negatively by so many people that can really have an affect on you, both mentally and physically. And often times, when you hear things about yourself, or a group that you belong to, over and over again you start to question if it might be true. This can impact your self worth. So, regardless of who a stereotype is about, it is important to fight against them and prove them wrong. All that it does is limit us and our beliefs.

Source

Millennials: the stereotyped generation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iadb.org/en/improvinglives/millennials-stereotyped-generation.

 


06
Oct 19

Intergroup Relations/Diversity

In 1895 French doctor and scientist Gustave Le Bon proposed that a group of individuals is different from the sum of its parts. This has become a first principle of modern crowd psychology and has been expanded to postulate that when individuals form a group, this group behaves differently than each individual would normally act.

In the 21st Century, this theory can be seen at work in the narrative of identity politics. From Antifa to Black Lives Matterto the Alt-Right to InCels, and even terror groups such as ISIL. Creating a sense of belonging amongst the disenfranchised is a powerful tool used across the political spectrum.

The most effective tactic deployed to galvanize these individuals to “join up” is the appeal to the emotion of fear. The leadership of these various groups, although not always well organized, deploy a strategy of coercive reality-shaping power that tries to exacerbate the latent emotions of an individual, whipping he or she into a state of frenzied panic and desperately looking to hop on the that group identity’s bandwagon.

One of the issues that arises with this type of strategy is that consideration by the individual for who might be driving that band wagon is negated by the overwhelming emotion of fear.

In Order to Be Controlled, Nature Must First Be Understood

Academics in the Humanities have dedicated their lives to understanding human nature. Inarguably, consensus exists on the use of emotion to elicit a response – the more provocative the emotion, the more powerful the response. One of the principle tenets of emotional intelligence is the process of learning how to understand and thus control emotions.

This poses a clear and present danger to those who engage in the politics of fear to bolster their identity ideologies. As individuals begin to learn, understand, and control their emotions through heightened emotional intelligence, the ability of ideologues to deploy a power strategy of fear to promote tribalism is significantly hindered.

As power dynamics exists on a spectrum of dialectics, the consequence of failed fear mongering has historically been to either yell louder or to heighten the fear narrative, often to the point of hysteria.

As these attempts fail to achieve the originally intended goal, the ideologue must pursue an alternate social power strategy. According to E.M. Vokes & Associates, there are 11 identified forms of social power (used with permission):

Base Power

REWARD POWER: Based on a desire for a reward offered in return for compliance.

COERCIVE POWER: Based on a desire to avoid a threatened consequence.

Source Power

 

EXCHANGE POWER: Based on an agreement to return, gain,or exchange a favour in its

reward form, or an understanding of the mutual ability to withhold, block or retaliate in its

coercive form (e.g., buyer-seller, politicians exchanging favours, partnerships, international

treaties, Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.), etc.).

LEGITIMATE POWER: Based on the acceptance of the right or privilege of an authority

figure or group by virtue of complementary roles in eachcultural space (e.g., bossemployee,

officer-soldier, teacher-student, parent-child, etc.).

EXPERT POWER: Based on the perception of a superior knowledge base possessed by another person or group whom one regards as useful or desirable (e.g., degrees, professionals,award winners, those with many years of experience).

INFORMATION POWER: Based on the perception that a person or group has information that one does not have, and which one views as useful or desirable (e.g., news media, database

holders, workplace gossip, spies, etc.).

REFERENT POWER: Based on a desire to be liked by and/or accepted by the person or group, or out of a liking and/or respect for the person or group (e.g., “peer pressure”, celebrity status, friendship, admiration, love, etc.). Affective states engaged include attraction, admiration, affection, love, respect, and devotion. Forms the basis of trust and loyalty.

Composite Power

NETWORK POWER: Based on the perception of the value of a network of relationships with others who are perceived to be powerful in this as well as in terms of the other forms of power(e.g., business associates, political connections, friends and family members, neighbourhood, social and online communities, etc.).

INCLUSION/EXCLUSION POWER: Based on the desire for affiliation with, or separation from, a person or group. (e.g., group membership vs. non-membership/expulsion, employment vs. termination/resignation, marriage vs. divorce, free citizen vs.incarceration/exile, etc.). Conformity to existing cultural power norms is typically required to achieve inclusion. Autonomy from existing cultural power norms is achieved through selfexclusion.

SUBORDINATE POWER: Based on the perception that acquiescence with, submission to, or formation of a subordinate alliance with a superordinate power holder (a person or a group)will induce the superordinate to utilize some of their power toward the subordinate’s intended effects. (e.g., children to parents, followers to leaders, victims to protectors, under class togovernment, etc.). Emotional states engaged include hurt, fear, depression, despair, vulnerability, helplessness, or neediness for the other’s empathy, sympathy, pity, compassion, camaraderie, sense of duty, sense of responsibility and/or pride in their capacity to provide assistance, or sense of advantage in accepting the subordination.

REALITY-SHAPING POWER: Based on a willingness to adopt a presented view of reality, alter an opinion or outlook, or change a belief or belief system (e.g., compelling reasoning,presentation of evidence, emotional appeals, illustrative behaviour such as ‘setting an example’, etc.).

A New Wave

 

As identity politics groups collide head on with individuals developing enhanced levels of emotional intelligence, the ideologues promoting their mission will need to resort to other deployments of social power strategies. From the list above, there are plenty of examples in the media about how groups and individuals are trying to find the right mix of strategic social power deployment to achieve their respective goals.

Soon, society will see more sophisticated and elevated attempts at reality-shaping power from these groups through increasingly coercive and reward-based tactics. For the individual looking to resist the dangerous appeal of tribalism, working to improve emotional intelligence is the best route. Nothing is more powerful than the ability of the human mind to think critically. It’s all we have.


06
Oct 19

The Old Stereotypes of an Aging Population

Inaccurate depictions of social groups in society are very prominently displayed across many media platforms such as television and advertisements.  These types of false narratives can be very offensive to people as they attempt to oversimplify and generalize beliefs that undermine the true characteristics of a group (Gruman, et al., 2017).  A specific instance where stereotypes have taken a toll on people is how older people are becoming victims of ageism and are being displayed as “out of touch” and “basically dead” (Hsu, 2019).  The inaccurate representation that elderly people face can eventually lead to stereotype threat.  By being overly exposed to seeing elderly people being inept with using technology or showing them having difficulty moving around, old people may be afraid of acting in a way that proves the negative stereotypes.  Many prior studies have indicated that when people are aware of negative stereotypes, they begin to show performance deficits in tasks that are related to the stereotype.  By having those false beliefs in the back of one’s mind, people may either believe the stereotypes are true or they may become so consumed in trying to defy them that they might perform poorly (Gruman, et al., 2017).  Many times, advertisers attempt to push a certain narrative in order to sell a product or an idea.  For instance, if a medical group is trying to push for elderly people to buy a supplement that increases people’s energy, they may create an advertisement that shows people having a difficult time getting up and just being able to function normally.  Elderly people in the real world may be offended by these stereotypes that are placed on them and feel worried that they may live up to them and prove this idea.

In an article from the New York Times, Tiffany Hsu sheds light on how false and inaccurate beliefs of elderly people are being reflected in the media (2019).  One- third of the people in the United States are over the age of 50.  Out of this group, 53 million of them are still employed and in the workforce.  However, the AARP, which is the largest nonprofit organization that “empowers” Americans 50 and older, has rarely showed people in this age group working and instead show them at home with a partner.  Another common stereotype that older people have is that they do not know how to use technology such as a smart phone or a computer.  To buttress this stereotype, only 5% showed by the AARP involves elderly people using technology (Hsu, 2019).  This statistic does not coincide with the fact that 55% to 73% of elderly people own a smart phone (Hsu, 2019).  Besides the AARP, many phone companies only show younger people using smartphones while they show elderly people still using flip phones.  From the inconsistencies between what the media shows and what is actually true, it seems that advertisers are the more “out of touch” group rather than the elderly population.

Many large advertisers and imaging companies, such as Getty Images, have also noticed that there is a need to show elderly people living active lives.  The reason we are still seeing elderly people being displayed as weaker and less mobile is due to ageism as well as trends that we have seen in the past since influencing today’s beliefs.  At one point in history, most people did not live above the age of 45, and those who did were very frail and could not live an independent life.  In addition, in the past few decades, medicine was not as advanced as it used to be so many elderly people were being diagnosed with severe medical problems that prevented them from living normally.  Arthritis is a very common condition that elderly people have and at one point, there was very few medications that could effectively control it.  Due to this, elderly people could not move around very well because of joint pain and were reduced to staying at home.  However, with the advancement of medicine today, there are many options for people to control their arthritis and other conditions that may have prevented them from living an active lifestyle.

Many initiatives have been implemented in efforts to change the popular beliefs of elderly people.  Recently, advertising companies are portraying the process of aging as “a journey of limitless opportunities and person growth” and not “a time of anxiety and anxiety” (Hsu, 2019).  I think this message is especially important because aging is a beautiful thing and not something to be ashamed or worried about.  These negative beliefs that are tied to getting older is what makes people going through this process fear being seen as incompetent and disabled.  The constant stereotypes can make people fearful about their inevitable fate of aging and be afraid of having these stereotypes come to fruition.  However, as we have seen from the statistics previously and even in the real world, many elderly people are more active and present in society than even some younger groups.  Many are keeping up to date with the latest technology, are still working and enjoying life.  Some makeup companies are beginning to see this and are using elderly people in their advertisements to promote their products (Hsu, 2019).

Stereotypes can be very dangerous to people’s self esteem as often times they are not accurate and tend to oversimplify a group of people.  Common negative stereotypes include women being bad drivers or bad at math, and older people are incapable of keeping up in a rather fast paced society.  These statements can be very damaging and can affect people’s performance in different aspects of life (Gruman, et al., 2017).  The worst thing that people can feel when it comes to stereotypes is that they are living up to them and proving them correct.  It is important that people note that stereotypes are strictly just words and have no bearing on who they are as an individual.  This way, we can collectively move away from negative generalizations about groups and focus more on getting to know people individually.

-Madison Laezzo

Sources:

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

Hsu, T. (2019). Older People Are Ignored and Distorted in Ageist Marketing, Report Finds. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/business/ageism-advertising-aarp.html.


05
Oct 19

Melting Pot

In spite of heightened divisions in this current political climate America is still a true melting pot. America has always been considered a very diverse country full of many different customs and cultures with some that everyone shares in common. That is what makes this country so especial, and that is why is so sad to hear many of the stories that we frequently see now days of people telling immigrants to speak English or go back to your country comments. I personally feel that a lot of this current environment is due to the current leadership which focuses on discrimination/stereotypes and promotes this type of behavior. Prejudice is an attitude towards others based solely on group membership (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2017). It’s judging people without knowing them simply based on something such as race, sexual orientation, immigration status, religion and many other things. When prejudiced attitudes turn into behavior this is called discrimination which is the actual behavior (Gruman et al., 2017).

It is important to acknowledge prejudice and discrimination as an ongoing problem that needs to be fixed. We need to educate people that diversity is not bad and is actually one of the main things that makes America especial. Predictions show that by 2050 minorities will actually make up more than 50% of the population with whites actually becoming the minority (Resnick, 2017). We are all American and need to start seeing each other as that instead of finding ways to divide each other.  A lot of people don’t worry about these problem unless it directly affects them but the truth is that they are right in front of us. In 2017 we had white supremacist marching down Charlottesville chanting very bad words towards minorities. During these two days violence broke out and 3 people were killed and dozens more injured (Resnick, 2017).  This is a problem happening today and it needs to be addressed. I believe that is becoming more acceptable to show prejudice which is what the true problem is, and there are many reasons for this but it starts at the top. It is also not fair to label everyone belonging to a specific political party as bad person or ignorant because that defeats the whole purpose of being open minded. The good news is that even though prejudice and discrimination are still  ongoing problems the American melting pot is still alive and well. One in five newlyweds is marrying someone from another race (Auerback, 2019). This is what makes this country especial the fact that everyone can be who they want and be with whoever they want without judgement. Individuals are also able to experience the many different cultures and customs this worlds has to offer all within our backyard.

The contact hypothesis states that equal contact between two groups sharing a common goal can promote tolerance and acceptance (Penn State, 2019). This is an important concept because it shows us that exposure can helps us get rid of prejudice and discrimination. Education is key because it can start with teaching our youth the importance of equality and the harm that discrimination can have. People need to be exposed to different cultures and learn more about them to truly change their mindset. I live in the east coast and I work in NYC. One of the things that I love about NYC is that it truly gives me the chance to experience so many different cultures and meet so many people from different backgrounds. Exposure is key because it truly opens up our mind and lets us see that our way is not the only way and that change and diversity are not always a bad thing. Even though prejudice is something that will never fully go away we can do our part by educating our youth and others about this topic and teaching them the importance and value of diversity and equality.

References:

Auerback, Marshall. (July, 2019) No Salad Bowl: America is Still a Melting Pot.  Retrieved from https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/no-salad-bowl-america-is-still-a-melting-pot/

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles ; London ; New Dehli ; Singapore ; Washington DC ; Melbourne: SAGE.

Penn State. (2019) Lesson 6: Intergroup relations/diversity. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008549/modules/items/27030729

Resnick, Brian. (August, 2017) The Scientific case that America is becoming more Prejudiced. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/14/16143582/charlottesville-prejudice-psychology

 

 

 


05
Oct 19

Conflict Resolutions in Organization

Conflicts in the organization and working team are not rare. Even if you are fully confident in the professionalism and focus on the work tasks of your colleagues, struggles are unavoidable. How to avoid them and how to deal effectively with personal or professional differences? What role should a leader play in resolving conflict?
There are several rules that should be followed by everyone in the team:

Arguments
In fitness, there is a concept of good and bad muscle pain. Bad signals as fatigue and injury, good as well-practiced training. Same about the arguments at the organization. Disputes between colleagues can be useful on the one hand, and harmful on the other. Useful ones create healthy competition, make work more efficient and allow to resolve contradictions that hinder the activity of employees. Such disputes should not be disturbed. Harmful contribute to disharmony in collective, and with them, it is important to work.

Determining the cause of the conflict
Not always the problem lies in the personal ambitions and contradictions of the employee. In some cases, the conflict may indicate more global problems in the organization. For example, employees cannot share responsibilities because their job duties are not differentiated; or the responsibility of one employee is much higher than the other, who receives the same salary. In this case, it is essential to analyze the organizational processes of the company: to consider the distribution of functions, create clearer instructions and structure information flows.

Listening
It might happen that you need to listen to each participant and see the situation through their eyes. However, to become a part of the conflict is a bad idea, and to take someone’s point of view is not necessary also. The focus should be on the ways to solve it. Moreover, the solution should be developed by collective efforts, since psychologists believe that most people negatively perceive the advice imposed from the outside.

Regulate the Conflict
Compromise and concessions, which are usually resorted to by leaders, are a very deceptive tactic. In what case is it effective? It might be hard if the participant of the conflict is the person much higher on the official position of another party. Let’s say you disagree on a task with the CEO. Think about whether this issue is a conflict or in this case, it is more appropriate to give in, so as not to create an unpleasant situation? Of course, when the cause of the conflict is strategic, you can defend your opinion, if you can competently argue.

In other cases, the best way out is when the wishes of both parties are taken into account. However, this is not always possible: there are situations where employees continue to conflict simply because of their personal characteristics. What to do in such a situation: to part with professional specialists? Not at all, just try to limit their communication with each other. Redistribute their responsibilities, do not include the conflicting parties in joint projects, in the end, seat them in different offices.

References:
Benjamin, K. (2013, June 23). 6 Steps to Conflict Resolution in the Workplace. HR Daily Advisor. Retrieved from: https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2013/06/24/6-steps-to-conflict-resolution-in-the-workplace/
LaMarco, N. (2018, November 27). Ways of Managing Conflict in Organizations. Chron. Retrieved from: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/ways-managing-conflict-organizations-2655.html


03
Oct 19

Religious Discrimination & Prejudice

Stereotypes are beliefs that our society uses continuously. People use stereotypes to assume the differences of others and to categorize individuals. Stereotyping is defined as “beliefs about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviors of members of certain groups” (Coutts, Gruman, & Schneider, 2017). Racial stereotypes are commonly seen in school systems and can lead to prejudice and discrimination. To work on decreasing the amount of prejudice and discrimination in schools, they could implement programs based on the contact hypothesis.

Although prejudice and discrimination seem to most to be the same, they do have differences. Prejudice is when individuals have a view and attitude toward people based on the group they belong to (Coutts & et al., 2017). In school systems, prejudice can be seen because of race, religion, and faith. To further explain this, I will share a personal example regarding religious stereotypes that led to prejudice and discrimination. One of my good friends growing up was actively involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), but she attended the private Lutheran school that I went to. I remember one student in our class who would commonly discuss the LDS stereotype that “practicing LDS individuals support and practice polygamy”. Although this stereotype was utterly wrong, this student truly believed that my friend’s father had multiple wives. He thought that her family was gross and weird based on his own parents’ belief in the stereotype. This form of prejudice was something that my friend had to deal with her entire life and something that caused her significant amounts of pain. Discrimination is “actual behavior directed at others based on category membership” (Coutts & et al., 2017). This student’s prejudice about my friend’s religious affiliations led to discrimination and bullying.

 

To help decrease the number of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, schools must instill beliefs that support diversity. StopBullying.gov explains, “Schools and communities that respect diversity can help protect children against bullying behavior. However, when children perceived as different are not in supportive environments, they may be at a higher risk of being bullied” (2017). To increase supportive and positive interactions, Gordon Allport suggests the contact hypothesis “the assumption was that positive contact with members of an out-group could decrease negative stereotyping of the out-group by the in-group and lead to improved intergroup relations” (Coutts & et al., 2017). To further this idea, to decrease negative stereotypes, individuals must have contact and a sense of equality between the groups. For my example, I think that when the teachers were made aware of the discrimination, they should have sat down with the students and explained that although they have different religious beliefs, they still have to respect one another. Also, the teachers could help the students understand that they have a common goal of doing well in school and having fun with their friends. The classroom could participate in group learning activities that promote status equality as well as break stereotype barriers.

Many students are persecuted based on their diverse backgrounds and beliefs. Although stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination will always exist, there are ways to promote inclusion and tolerance. School systems must implement proper programs that encourage positive interactions between groups in an effort to decrease stereotypes and bullying.

 

Reference:

Coutts, L. M., Gruman, J. A., & Schneider, F. W. (2017). Applied social psychology understanding and addressing social and practical problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

 

Diversity, Race & Religion. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/groups/index.html#.


03
Oct 19

Is Social Identity Theory Applicable to Intergroup Relations within Collectivist Cultures?

A Personal Comparison Between Self and Group Identity within South Korea and the United States

By Jessica McKeon

                Within the realm of intergroup relations is a social psychology principle known as Social Identity Theory. In a nutshell, social identity theory states that we each have two identities. A “self” identity and a “social” identity. This social identity is how our self-identity definition fits or does not fit into an “ingroup” (Hymans, 2002). The key distinctions lie with how an individual identifies their sense of ‘self’ versus how they identify themselves in comparison or conjunction with a ‘group’. Within the United States, we witness the results of this ‘ingroup’ and ‘outgroup’ identification on a daily basis. Within politics, gender identification, marital status, even the way we look plays a factor in who we identify with or who identifies with us.  Is the way in which we identify to our subsequent in-groups a cultural phenomenon within Western individualist-cultures? Or is it also applicable within a more collectivist mindset?

A primary factor that comes into play is how individuals from each culture identify themselves. In a 1995 study, researchers administered a Twenty Statements Test to Euro-Americans living in New York and Korean participants living in Seoul, asking various questions about their self-identity (Rhee et al., 1995). Rhee et al. found that self-descriptions within Euro-American participants contained more autonomous descriptions and trait differences, while Korean self-descriptions were highly-distinctive (1995). What do these findings mean for the layperson interpreting them? It means that Americans will generally identify themselves based on individual values and traits while Koreans will adhere to societal values and trend towards conformity. How does all of this play into the social framework of Social Identity Theory?

Social Identity theory primarily focuses on intergroup comparison, or how ingroups and outgroups compare themselves to one another. Within individualistic cultures, this is the way we self-identify and interact socially (Yuki, 2003). Intragroup comparison, on the other hand, is what is practiced primarily in collectivist cultures. Placing priority on comparisons to those within their cultural ingroup for the sake of cooperation and mutual goals (Yuki, 2003).

Allow me to provide you with a different perspective, through my own experiences as an American living in South Korea. My family and I moved to South Korea during New Years, approximately two-and-a-half years ago.  One of the first things that became apparent after getting off the airplane is that South Korea has a lot of people with very little diversity. To help create a more specific image, the Korean Statistical Information Services states that the population of South Korea in 2015 was approximately 51,629,512 people (KOSIS, 2015). That’s a lot of people. Out of that number only 1,741,919 are foreigners. Let me put that into a percentage for you; 3.4% of the Korean population in 2015 consisted of non-Koreans (KOSIS, 2015). In comparison, the United States Census Bureau stated that in 2015, 76.5% of the U.S. population consisted of the primary ‘Caucasian’ racial in-group (United States Census Bureau, 2018). This number doesn’t even account for the non-American Caucasians. However, even with this lack of diversity and inability to physically fit in, when making an active effort to assimilate to a collectivist culture, the treatment of the out-group becomes significantly more accepting.

Ultimately, I believe that Social Identity Theory does not account for the social processing nuances within collectivist cultures. It is worthwhile to reassess what circumstances Social Identity Theory hold true under, and if the theory is culturally biased.

 

References

Hymans, J. E. C. (2002, March). Applying Social Identity Theory to the Study of International Politics: A Caution and an Agenda . Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacques_Hymans/publication/228956532_Applying_Social_Identity_Theory_to_the_Study_of_International_Politics_A_Caution_and_an_Agenda/links/0a85e535d9708ef4d1000000.pdf.

Korean Statistical Information Service. (2019, August 29). Statistical Database. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://kosis.kr/eng/statisticsList/statisticsListIndex.do?menuId=M_01_01&vwcd=MT_ETITLE&parmTabId=M_01_01&statId=1962001&themaId=#SelectStatsBoxDiv.

Rhee, E., Uleman, J. S., Lee, H. K., & Roman, R. J. (1995). Spontaneous self-descriptions and ethnic identities in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology69(1), 142–152. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.69.1.142

U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045218.

Yuki, M. (2003). Intergroup Comparison Versus Intragroup Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Social Identity Theory in North American and East Asian Cultural Contexts. Social Psychology Quarterly66, 166–183. Retrieved from https://lynx.let.hokudai.ac.jp/~myuki/paper/Yuki_2003_SPQ.pdf


03
Oct 19

Intergroup Relations On The Big Screen

Remember that movie Grease?  Yes, the one from 41 years ago when John Travolta was young and thin?  The one that cast physically–developed 30-year-olds to play seniors in high school?  The one that glamorized unprotected sex and juvenile delinquency?  Yeah, that one!  Okay, I LOVE that movie!  It is actually one of my favorites, and has been required movie–watching for all of my kids.  I don’t only love it because I was a scrawny 8–year–old when I saw it and walked out of the theatre wishing I was Olivia Newton John and also married to John Travolta.  It is not only because the singing and dancing were amazing, or that they never did homework, or that they all lived in sunny California and it seemed like they had no parents—in fact, I don’t think any parents were ever seen once in that film.  I think the mass appeal of that movie comes down to the intrigue and complexity of intergroup relations.  

Sandy (played by Olivia Newton John) was a young, naive “good girl”, an Australian transplant who had to suddenly switch to a California high school where she knew only one friend.  However, before school started, she managed to have a summer fling and fall in love with the popular and charismatic leader (played by John Travolta) of the social group (a gang, really) called the “T–Birds”—a group of fairly harmless, somewhat misogynous young derelicts that break the rules and don’t seem to consider their futures beyond high school.  Danny also fell in love, but he knows that Sandy would never be accepted by his group because she was a member of the “nerdy” group, so he just tries his best to forget about her.  In contrast to their rival gang group, the out–group called the “Scorpions”, the T-Birds seem mild in comparison—the T-Birds are obviously meant to be the desirable in-group of the movie, and the group that many other students wished they were a part of.  Girls fawn over them, social outcasts want to be friends with them, and even the teachers act favorably toward them and grant them special privileges.  This shows the power that in-groups can have.

According to the Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory (1981), people are influenced by different aspects of themselves at various times, which can affect their behavior (Penn State, 2019).  One’s personal identity is comprised of one’s conscience, or moral beliefs, their experiences, and one’s objective individual characteristics, such as sex or age.  One’s social identity is very different, however—it is comprised of how one feels and believes about who they are in a given situation, and this is highly influenced by one’s group membership.

While personal identity and social identity overlap one another, Tajfel outlined three components of social identity: feeling a sense of belonging to a group, feeling that the membership in that group is important, and feeling committed to that group (Penn State, 2019).  The social identity theory posits that when in their group, people are more likely to be influenced by social identity than by personal identity, and people also may consider others who are not in their group as belonging to an “out–group”.  In a group threat situation, one’s behavior would be determined by their social identity, whereas in a personal threat situation, one’s behavior would be determined by their personal identity.  This is the case in Grease—the scene where Danny pretends like he doesn’t know the overexcited and lovestruck Sandy when they finally come face–to–face while surrounded by Danny’s in–group members, is a perfect example of one’s social identity kicking in when there is a possible threat to the group (in this case, the threat would be to Danny’s status as the leader and, by extension, to the group’s hierarchy and status).

Many films of the 1970s and 80s dealt with intergroup behavior, such as The Outsiders, West Side Story, and the Breakfast Club— the in–group vs. the out–group theme is usually a big moneymaker theme for the movie industry.  Ultimately, and I think this is why people love this movie, Danny  allows his personal identity rather than his social identity determine his behavior and decides that, in the name of love, he will sacrifice his positive social value—his status, power, and resources that being a member of the dominant group offered him.  He is willing to trade it all in for a regular life with Sandy.  However, at the same time that Danny is planning on making this monumental and life–changing shift in his behavior, Sandy is planning on the exact same type of behavioral change and for the same reason—love, even if it means becoming a member of a group who displayed out–group discrimination towards her.  She is willing to become a member of a dominant social in–group she never really aspired to join.  However, social dominance theory indicates that subordinate group members (such as Sandy) may want to maintain the status quo in hopes that one day they may be a part of the dominant group and reap the benefits of positive social values that in–group membership can provide.

Intergroup relations can be seen all around us, at work, in the playground, within institutions, and also at the movie theatre.  For those of you who have never seen Grease, don’t walk—run to your screen of choice and watch it!  It is fun, musical, intriguing, happy, exciting, romantic, but more importantly, it offers a deep dive into the world of high school intergroup  relations. 

 References 

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology:Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage. ISBN 9781483369730

Penn State. (2019) Lesson 6: Intergroup relations/diversity. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008549/modules/items/27030727


03
Oct 19

The Squad of Capitol Hill

Congresswomen Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are the new congresswomen who are known as “the Squad” on Capitol Hill. They are the face of diversity, acceptance, and equality. Above all else, though, they are highly qualified, intelligent, strong minded, and ass-kicking politicians. That’s what they were elected to do. The squad has already started off with a big bang by setting new milestones in the history of Capitol Hill. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are the first two Muslim-Americans to serve in Congress,  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, and Ayanna Pressley is the first woman of color to be elected to the Boston City Council (Abramson, 2019; Relman & Ma, 2018; DeCosta-Klipa, 2018). In only a short period of time, people know their names and they listen to what they have to say. Despite their qualifications and devotion, they experience daily attacks, partly due to their politics, but mostly due to their ethnic backgrounds. Like never before, racism is loud and apparent in Capitol Hill. 

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota rose from a refugee camp to Capitol Hill and, ever since, has been one of the current president’s top targets (Abramson, 2019). As one of the first two Muslim-American congresswomen, it’s not easy for Ilhan to just focus on her work because on a daily basis she has to defend bigoted assumptions about her beliefs (Flanagan, 2019). Rashida Tlaib of Michigan experienced similar issues as Omar, as she, too, is a Muslim-American. Recently, both Omar and Tlaib were banned by Israel’s government to enter the country, a decision that was backed by President Trump (2019) as he tweeted “It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace” (Green, 2019; Trump, 2019). As Massachusetts first black woman in Congress, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts is no stranger to racism either. Like her other squad members, Pressley was a victim of many racist tweets . The youngest congresswoman ever elected, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, is probably the most targeted person by many politicians, including President Trump. For example, in September, Republicans ran a TV ad depicting picture of Ocasio-Cortez on fire (Schouten, 2019). Furthermore, the squad was also recently been told via twitter to go back to where they came from (Pengelly, 2019). As a result, the squad not only have to work harder than most on their policies but also on defending their beliefs, and assuring people that they are as much of an American as anyone else in the US. 

Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts (2012), state that today blatant racism no longer exists. However, today’s events seem to contradict Schneider et al.’s (2012) statement. Blatant racism is an obvious act of racism such as segregation and clear differential treatment due to their skin color, and as stated above the squad did experience a clear differential treatment compared to their peers (Schneider et al., 2012). What people don’t realize is that having diverse congressmen and congresswomen in Capitol Hill could be beneficial for us, the people, as besides their academic qualifications they also have a built-in functional diversity (Schneider et al., 2012). With the squad’s built-in functional diversity, their diverse background and experiences can help increase the quality of decision making in the Capitol Hill (Schneider et al., 2012). Diversity definitely comes with challenges, as Schneider et al. (2012) point out that in a diverse group there’s a decrease in communication and social interaction. However, if people focus on their similarity rather than their differences, they may not even experience decreases in these areas. Instead, they may be even more creative and innovative, and perhaps can finally drain the swamp? 

References

Abramson, A. (2019, July 18). How Ilhan Omar Rose From Refugee to Donald Trump’s Target. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://time.com/5628844/ilhan-omar-profile/.

DeCosta-Klipa, N. (2018, August 31). Everything you need to know about Ayanna Pressley. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/08/31/ayanna-pressley-massachusetts-primary.

Flanagan, C. (2019, August 26). Ilhan Omar’s Opportunity. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/where-ilhan-omar-failed/596743/.

Green, E. (2019, August 15). Trump Has Enabled Israel’s Antidemocratic Tendencies at Every Turn. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/08/israel-bans-omar-tlaib/596167/.

Pengelly, M. (2019, July 15). ‘Go back home’: Trump aims racist attack at Ocasio-Cortez and other congresswomen. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/14/trump-squad-tlaib-omar-pressley-ocasio-cortez.

Relman, E., & Ma, A. (2019, January 8). Meet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the millennial, socialist political novice who’s now the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.businessinsider.com/all-about-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-who-beat-crowley-in-ny-dem-primary-2018-6.

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

Schouten, F. (2019, September 14). Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams shocking ad that aired during Democratic debate. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/13/politics/aoc-criticizes-attack-ad/index.html.

Trump, D. [@realDonalTrump]. (2019, August 15). It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1162000480681287683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1162000480681287683&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fpolitics%2Farchive%2F2019%2F08%2Fisrael-bans-omar-tlaib%2F596167%2F


03
Oct 19

Influence of Politics on Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace

In the age of social media and accountability, comes the importance of one major factor that affects the decisions behind individuals that are seeking new employment. People are now interested in the research behind how inclusive and diverse a certain company is and whether it would be a place where one could feel like part of a social identity that is relating to their personal identity. So what is personal and social identity? Personal identity is based on your inherent identifying factors such as age, sex, gender, race, and experience (Gruman, 2017). While personal identity feeds into social identity, there are still rather different. Social identity is the coming together of those personal identities amongst a group of similar interests and similar emotional investment.

One of the best ways to approach this concept is to look at LGBT groups in society. They are all centered around the personal identity of sex, gender, and orientation (PSU, 2019). While LGBT groups have been around for a while now, it’s important to remember how much influence such social identities will have on politics. This group is estimated to have around 12 million people and thus is a hot topic in politics.

While companies have shifted a lot of focus on promoting a sense of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, there are inevitable changes that come with politics. While the leadership of President Obama lead us to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2010, it was quickly reversed under the leadership of President Trump (Zugelder, M., & Champagne, P., 2018). Trump enacted a controversial order to promote free speech and religion by allowing businesses to discriminate against individuals that identify with the LGBT group (2018). This discrimination was targetting the category membership of those that go against conventional norms and thus are seen as the out-group rather than the in-group of society.

One could argue that the reason why politics are so effective in influencing others is through the idea that they might be a part of social dominance theory. In which republicans can be seen as individuals that maintain specific group hierarchies and will do anything to maintain that hierarchy and status within society. There are three additional parts to these groups, age, sex, and arbitrary set (PSU, 2019). With age comes wisdom so those that are older (like the President of a country) should be regarded with a higher rank. Next, we focus on sex. Sex is the biological mark of being male or female, and as expected, those that are male will be at a higher rank, as well. If we were to look at how many CEOs of companies are actually female-identifying, the numbers would be really slim. Finally, arbitrary set focuses on the set beliefs around the world. This can be connected to the belief system that is typically seen from the Republican Party. These beliefs are conservative and set in their ways and thus will fight against change and the non-conformity.

 

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles ; London ; New Dehli ; Singapore ; Washington DC ; Melbourne: SAGE.

Pennsylvania State University (2019). PSYCH 424, Section 001: Applied Soc Psy. Lesson 6: Intergroup Relations/Diversity. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008549/modules/items/27030730

Zugelder, M., & Champagne, P. (2018). A Management Approach to LGBT Employment: Diversity, Inclusion and Respect. Journal of Business Diversity18(1). https://doi.org/10.33423/jbd.v18i1.517


02
Oct 19

Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice and discrimination are two issues that are still very predominate in today’s world. Prejudice is an unjustified or incorrect negative attitude towards an individual based on their membership of a social group (McLeod, 2008). Common prejudice views include categories such as race and gender. Discrimination is the negative behavior or actions towards a group of people or individuals. Discrimination usually occurs on the basis of sex, race, or social class.

So what can we do to reduce prejudice and discrimination? Gordon Allport’s Contact Hypothesis is often credited as one of the best ways to improve relations among groups that are experiencing conflicts. This idea holds that contact between two groups can promote tolerance and acceptance, but only under certain conditions, such as equal status among groups and common goals.

Now in my opinion prejudice and discrimination will never fully go away. There is no way to fully rid individuals of prejudice or discriminating views. However, with this idea individuals can learn how to interact in meaningful ways. For example, a solid minority of Americans look upon Muslim’s unfavorably. The is apparent due to the rumors about Muslim terrorists that bounce around on the internet. Using the contact hypothesis, if you could get more non- Muslims to interact with Muslims for example, as business partners or neighbors, the percentage would likely drop (Singal, 2017). The contact hypothesis will only be successful if equal status contact, common goals, and support by relevant institutions are met, nevertheless.

Using the contact hypothesis could potentially help reduce the amount of prejudice and discrimination in the world. If this fails to work in a specific situation their are other ideas that have stemmed off of the contact hypothesis such as, social identity theory and social dominance theory.

 

References:

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Prejudice and discrimination. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/prejudice.html

Singal, J. (2017, February 10). The Contact Hypothesis Offers Hope for the World. Retrieved from https://www.thecut.com/2017/02/the-contact-hypothesis-offers-hope-for-the-world.html.


Skip to toolbar