There are many different aspects involved in our judicial system. The three areas of the criminal justice system include the criminal investigation, the events in the courtroom, and the prison setting (Gruman, 2016). The aspect of the criminal investigation interested me when I was reading about it. There are many important components in an investigation. These components include eyewitnesses, victims, and interviews of potential suspects as well as evidence that is gathered in a way that is in keeping with the law (Gruman, 2016). Police investigations are performed carefully but that does not mean that error cannot occur. One area of police investigations where an error occurs is during the investigative interview.

Sometimes a suspect is “determined” by police to be guilty based on reliable evidence, but at other times such a determination is based on little more than a hunch (Gruman, 2016). A significant part of criminal investigation is interviewing witnesses, victims, and suspects (Gruman, 2016). In some cases, a hunch that police have about a suspect can influence the outcome of a case. A hunch that police have can turn into expectations that police interviewers have when they are conducting an interview. These expectations can influence the behavior of the suspect being interviewed in a way that confirms the interviewers’ expectations. These types of interviews can lead to false confessions (Gruman, 2016).

In a class that I am currently taking, I have learned about false confessions. In the United States, there are a large number of known cases in which defendants confess and retract the confessions but are convicted at trial only later to be exonerated. The accusatorial approach for police interrogation is associated with false confessions. The Reid technique used in the United States takes an accusatorial approach. Due to this, cases in the United States include false confessions (Vrij, 2004).

I recently watched a documentary on the Central Park Five case which is an example of the effects of a false confession. The documentary depicted the story behind the five innocent teenage boys who were accused and arrested with rape and assault on a female jogger (Harris, 2019). The documentary informed viewers of the power of police interrogations and false confessions. The documentary showed how some police interrogations may use an approach with the main goal of obtaining a confession regardless of how that confession was obtained. In the Central Park Five case, making the boys confess to the crime of rape and assault to a female jogger was the goal and they reached their goal when the boys falsely confessed. The five suspects were vulnerable due to their young age and this ignorance was used against the five boys as police continued to question them while they continued to comply. They told the police what they wanted to hear because they believed it was what they had to do to go home. They told the police a false story about how they committed the crime which is their false confession. They did this because they had been speaking to the police for many hours and wanted to go home (Harris, 2019).

In cases where there is no evidence against a suspect, confessions are very influential. In the case of the Central Park Five, there was no evidence against the five boys except for the false confessions that they made. It is important to be aware of false confessions that may occur during the investigative interview.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

Harris, Aisha. “The Central Park Five: ‘We Were Just Baby Boys.’” The New York Times, 1 June 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/arts/television/when-they-see-us.html.

Vrij, Aldert. “Reid Technique – an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.” Interrogation and Interviewing, ScienceDirect, 2004, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/reid-technique#:%7E:text=The%20Reid%20technique%20of%20psychologically,only%20guilty%20suspects%20to%20talk.

One afternoon after work, I noticed I received a letter for jury duty. The resentment I thought, as I was agonizing going to jury duty. However, as a citizen and my rightful duty, I knew I was obligated to go as well as be responsible. It was my first time going and in a weird way anticipated to some point. It would be my first experience in the legal system. The day finally came and went there as others were there sitting waiting to be selected as part of the jury. I waited and saw some people use different excuses or reasoning to get out of jury duty. I was upset that even know no one likes going to jury duty (all the people I’ve known that talk about jury duty), some of these people were saying that they were biased against certain things, or racist and etc. I hope those individuals know that what they state is documented in court. However, I don’t think it mattered for them. The fact they wanted to just get out of jury duty was their main goal. I was not going to do that, I got up when it was my turn to be quested and did my part honestly. I ended up getting picked to be on the jury.
The case that I was part of was regarding a homeless man, who was masturbating in a public park. I don’t want to discuss the details of it, but in the end, it was cased as a mistrial as we couldn’t agree on whether the man was guilty. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s more complicated than you think for the reason it has resulted in a mistrial.
However, the part I want to talk about is the legal system. The fact that just this case took five days was long enough. It was very different from what I thought a courtroom was like, in the shows or movies like Law and Order or A Few Good Men. Lawyers in the movies are quick to talk and decisions are made fast. That is not reality. In the trail I attended, everything was slow. The lawyers were slow to speak because I assumed they didn’t want to ask the wrong questions and we had so many breaks in between that the trial took five days. The days were not all from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, some days were inconsistent to having end early (which I don’t mind), but this caused the trail to just belong.
At the end of everything, I really thought the process of our justice system is good that we as a democratic country these in process, however, there are many barriers in the legal system. I think we need to change the system. There are many ways to change things so things are implemented to be more efficient and effective. Rebecca Kourlis stated ten reforms the civil justice can be updated. One of the changes she talks about is the “need to be guided by justice” (Kourlis, 2016). What she means by that is looking at justice and not about winning or losing (Kourlis, 2016). That change made me think that the legal system is not just about winning for someone, we need to really understand the case and look at justice for what is stated in our laws. I know lawyers have different ways of pursuing things from different points of view, but we should really look into biological theories, “theories that view criminal behavior as a result of genetics” and sociological theories, “behavior that develop through a person’s interaction and experience with the social environment” (Gruman, 373-374) to a certain point. I think by really looking into different reforms or changes and ideas we can make our legal system better overall.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

Kourlis, Rebecca. 10 Ways to Reform the Civil Justice System by Changing the Culture of the Courts. 14 January 2016. ABA Journal. https://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/to_reform_the_civil_justice_system_we_need_more_than_rule_changes

For humans, having a community is important. We are social creatures that rely on and need to develop meaningful connections with community members in order to truly thrive in the world. Typically, a community is thought to be a physical social network where one shares common interests, values, heritage, experiences, etc. and feels a sense of belonging and support with the other members; but communities can also be virtual.

In fact, research has shown that the internet can be a great resource for individuals, providing information, support, and even a sense of belonging. (Winzelberg, 1997) This is especially true for marginalized groups as it can be difficult to connect with others that are different from them, in their physical area.

For instance, for Black women, simultaneously experiencing sexism and racism in a patriarchal, predominantly white country such as the United States, can be quite lonely and traumatic. To live in a world where one is constantly seen as “other” and treated differently for it, is a very different experience that requires understanding. According to Sobande, Black women make sense of their experiences online through discussion boards regarding culture, support groups, political organizing, and shared beauty routines for ethnic hair and skin. (Sobande, 2020) This is why many Black women seek refuge on the internet where physical borders and time constraints are removed to make it easier to connect with likeminded people.

Online communities are also proven to be especially necessary and beneficial for the disabled population. Although 1 in 5 adult Americans share a disability diagnosis (Stetten et. al, 2019), physical connection and face-to-face communication are difficult to have and/or nurture while battling ableism and mental/physical illnesses. Not only that, but having access to the internet is extremely beneficial to those with mobility issues who are not able to easily move around or leave the confines of their home. A study by (Obst & Stafurik 2010) supports these sentiments as it found that the amount of time disabled adults spent “in online support groups, newsgroups, and discussion forums specific to people with physical disabilities……was positively related to their online sense of community and perception of online social support.” (Gruman, p. 331)

Although the internet does have its fair share of negative criticism, it is a beacon of light for so many. Not only is the internet a source of information, it is a source of connection. These virtual communities are just one of the ways that technology can be used to improve human health and well-being. Moreover, it is those same virtual communities that allow for the improvement of political activism, mental well being, and access to knowledge for disenfranchised and vulnerable people around the globe.

References:

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

Sobande, F. (2020). Black Women’s Digital Diaspora, Collectivity, and Resistance. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-46679-4_4?error=cookies_not_supported&code=37167f1b-0177-434c-8635-d01504e5e39c#enumeration

Stetten NE, LeBeau K, Aguirre MA, et al. Analyzing the Communication Interchange of Individuals With Disabilities Utilizing Facebook, Discussion Forums, and Chat Rooms: Qualitative Content Analysis of Online Disabilities Support Groups. JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. 2019;6(2):e12667. Published 2019 Sep 30. doi:10.2196/12667

While much of science prioritizes maintaining impartiality (as to not distort the results of the research), it is impossible for researchers and clinicians to ever truly remain impartial if they are to try and accurately and considerately address any social issue through their work. Community psychologists know this and implore many techniques that combine activism and the field of psychology to study and prevent social issues; and positively contribute to the community. One of these techniques is participatory action research. (Gruman, 337-339)

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is “a practice in which the distinction between the researcher and the researched is challenged as participants are afforded the opportunity to take an active role in addressing issues that affect themselves, their families, and their communities” (Gaventa, 1988). Essentially, it is a form of social change research where community members (with knowledge and perspective into the study topic) engage and collaborate with researchers to ensure their experiences and needs are considered. This research is meant to empower those from the communities and demographics being studied, particularly marginalized communities. 

This form of research has many positive real world applications including to: education, social justice, public health, and community engagement. 

An example of the effectiveness of PAR, is a study by Parrello et. al, in which teachers from Italy are actively engaged in research with each other to address and understand “educational wastage” in their own schools. Educational wastage is a term to describe repeated grades and low graduation rates, which many schools in Italy with low socioeconomic status struggle with. This is distressing for teachers, as it is hard to not feel hopeless. To counteract this, a study was created for teachers, with teachers to assess if more emotional/professional support for them and the students was necessary and if different educational strategies should be implemented. Plans were implemented in various cities including Bologna, Naples, Rome, etc. and compared later. The results concluded that teacher-student relationships improved , however emotional and professional satisfaction was hard to accomplish as teachers care for their students and environmental/socio-economic factors greatly affect performance of teachers and students in school. (Parrello, 2019) 

Studies such as the one from Parrello et. al, illustrate just how essential and relevant Participatory Action Research is. The teachers knew what was important to research and assess within the education of their own relative towns because they experience those issues. While science must consider all of the facts, it cannot ignore the experiences and perspectives that greatly contribute to each and every circumstance that is studied. PAR allows for communities, especially the marginalized to contribute to their research.  

References: 

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

Gruman, Jamie A., et al. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. SAGE, 2017

Parrello, S., Iorio, I., Carillo, F., & Moreno, C. (2019). Teaching in the Suburbs: Participatory Action Research Against Educational Wastage. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02308

I think it is safe to say that relationships are complicated. I think it is also safe to say that since relationships are complicated, that groups can be even more complicated. There are risks and benefits to most, if not all, groups and relationships. There is a level of give and take as well in situations like this.

The social exchange theory can be explained as “theories of interpersonal interactions” that have been used to explain many types of social groups/relationships (Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). People tend to make decisions by weighing costs and rewards both consciously and unconsciously. These costs and rewards are measured by the type of relationship or an action involving that group/relationship. Obviously, the key tends to be seeking the best reward.

These relationships tend to be more interdependent. This means that those relationships the actions or decisions of others rely on the decisions/actions of the others in that relationship/group. A simple way to put this is that the social exchange theory has a very conditional viewpoint of others. Relationships or groups like this tend to work best if there is equal reciprocation from all parties.

I don’t think this a realistic viewpoint to have on most relationships, but especially a relationship like a marriage. In marriages, or more interpersonal relationships, there will be one giving more than receiving. This may not last forever, but to expect there to be equality in all areas across the board all the time, is unrealistic and unreasonable in my opinion.

Your partner works long hours and has been stressed at work. It would be ideal if they still had all the energy to do the things you want them to do without asking. However, it is unlikely they would fulfill all aspects of life, work, relationships, etc. equally. Some area will fall short and although through your lens is appears they may not be doing enough, through theirs they are spreading themselves thin and doing the best they can in all areas.

Being an older college student and having had many jobs, I have encountered perceptual biases in the workplace.  According to the textbook, perceptual biases are “errors that distort the perception process—that in turn lead to faulty judgments” (Gruman et. al 2017).  We have all experienced it at one time or another.  The boss has his or her “favorite employees” that can basically do no wrong.  Yet, amongst their peers, the employee exhibits many shortcomings that management just doesn’t see.

I worked in a retail store with an absentee owner.  There were several of us rotating on a schedule with two employees working at any given time.  This was not a particularly difficult job, however, who you were paired up to work with determined what kind of day you were going to have and how hard you actually had to work.  Aside from scheduling, there was almost no reason to interact with the owner and all employees were on an equal footing.  There was one employee that everyone dreaded working with—let’s call her Lisa.  Lisa acted like the self-proclaimed manager.  She would take it upon herself to do things like rearrange the schedule and tell others what tasks they needed to accomplish during their shift—even though all tasks were clearly outlined in the employee manual.  Of course, she did not perform these tasks herself and would sit idle watching others do the work!  The worst part of the situation was, instead of building a rapport with her fellow team members, Lisa would call the owner constantly, at least three times a week, to tell him everything that SHE had done.

After a time, the owner actually promoted Lisa to manager, even though he had never actually seen her work.  His only interactions with her were over the phone, yet his perception was that she was an excellent employee when in actuality it was the other employees doing the work.  This is an example of selective perception.  Selective perception happens when a manager (in this case the owner) cannot observe every behavior of an individual and must rely on only the characteristics that they can see (Gruman et. al 2017).  In this case Lisa’s constant “reporting” to the owner, while others kept quiet and did their jobs, caused this bias.

As a result of this selective perception, the owner promoted Lisa.  This is a good example of the halo effect.  The halo effect is when we “…draw a general impression of an individual on the basis of a single characteristic…” (Gruman et. al 2017).  To the owner, Lisa appeared to take initiative, to her fellow employees she was lazy and inefficient.  Despite all this she was promoted.

Unfortunately, this is commonplace.  This was one of my first jobs, and obviously I have learned a lot since then.  Although I have never been lazy or inefficient, I have learned that in order to get ahead, you must “play the game”.  Efficiency and initiative are not always noticed, sometimes you must find a way to MAKE people notice.  Unlike Lisa, I’ve learned that in order to succeed in the long run, you must have the support of your peers and later your subordinates—that is what truly helps you to get ahead.

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

Real estate agents rely on perception to shape their careers. Most thrive on the construct of social perception, which is how each of us takes in and understands information about the world around us. We apply social perception to every person we interact with (Gruman, 2016). It is this construct that real estate agents use to their advantage when they manipulate these perceptions through something called selective perception, which explains that people cannot pay attention to everything in the environment, so it’s easy to gain attention if you stand out from the crowd. The probability that someone will pay attention to something that stands out is high and other information won’t even be perceived, aka is off their radar (Gruman, 2016).

Have you ever seen a real estate agent billboard or sign or gotten a few hundred flyers in the mail from local agents? Are there any that you see repeatedly? A few here in Texas have flashy billboards, take out ads on tv, and mail way too many fliers to my home. Now, let’s say you want to sell your house. If you don’t get a recommendation from someone you know, who will you call? Maybe that person who has the billboard and mails all those annoying glossy fliers. Studies have shown that billboards increase name recognition and strong visibility increases selective perception (Taylor, Franke, Bang, 2006). It’s possible to be the nicest, smartest, most capable person in the room, but the flashy, loud, attractive person on the other side is probably getting all the attention. This scenario demonstrates selective perception because we pay attention to the person who stands out from the crowd, and that’s pretty much the extent of where our attention is aimed with little else able to be noticed.

In addition, research has shown that expectations also shape perception in social situations (Gruman, 2016). Let’s say it’s your first day on the job, and you are meeting all of the agency’s agents. The hiring manager informed you that a top agent, Nick, is cute, funny, and personable but doesn’t sell many homes. They also let slip that Randy can be grouchy keeps to himself, and sells many houses. Research postulates that no matter what Nick or Randy says or does when they first meet you, you’ll remember those previously determined characteristics because of something called a schema. A schema is how our brains organize information about the world into themes or groups (Gruman, 2016). So, when the hiring manager told you about Nick and Randy, the information was placed in your brain in a certain way so that every time Nick does anything positive, you’ll notice, and anytime Randy does anything negative, you’ll notice. Other information is ignored. Voila, selective perception is in motion. Yet, perception can be fine-tuned even more through something called the halo effect.

We are going to revisit good ol’ Randy from the office. He’s known to be an isolated grump who happens to be very good at selling houses but often gets negative reviews from his clients related to his attitude. His grumpiness is off-putting for everyone. The office manager/ supervisor regularly has the task of reviewing every agent’s sales numbers and client feedback. Performance quotas are enforced, as are good client reviews. Now, no matter what type of sales numbers Randy contributes to the office, his supervisor’s appraisal is negative because of one characteristic, his irritability. Remember Nick? Well, Mr. Personality is the worst salesperson in the office. Yet, he never receives a warning about his productivity each review period because he is judged on one characteristic, personability. The halo effect is a type of bias commonly found in performance appraisal situations in which one characteristic is evaluated, ignoring the other information (Gruman, 2016). This is also a type of perception fallacy because the halo effect occludes that Randy is a great agent and Nick is a horrible one.

Additionally, the halo effect can be exacerbated by similarity. The similar-to-me effect explains that likeness can preclude favorable evaluation and result in a negative assessment of someone dissimilar. So, if the supervisor is a bubbly people person, this might also contribute to Nick’s favorable rating.

It has been said that perception is everything, which makes sense because our brains cannot interpret every stimulus we encounter. Social perception works positively and negatively to help shape our world. We select certain information based on things that stand out, impactful characteristics, or even similarities to ourselves and use this information to form impressions and interpret people and situations. We also use this data to judge others and might create biases in the process. By being aware of these pitfalls of perception, we can make sure that we give the Randy’s in our lives a little more attention.

Works Cited

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

Taylor, C. R., Franke, G. R., & Bang, H. (2006). Use and effectiveness of billboards: Perspectives from selective-perception theory and retail-gravity models. Journal of Advertising, 35(4), 21-34. doi:10.2753/JOA0091-3367350402

I was once a union utility worker, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 503. While I was a member of the union, I witnessed many examples of groupthink. Groupthink is the process of flawed decision making resulting from strong pressure for group members to agree (Gruman, et al., 2016). Groupthink is a risk in any organization, and it becomes unnervingly common once it takes hold.

Unions aren’t a bad thing, but there are times when poor leadership and circular logic take the reins. This happened in the union when a focus on safety was adopted. Safety also isn’t bad, but when an entire group adopts a single word as a guiding principle… everything gets redefined under that principle.

A common issue at the utility company was unfinished work and underperformance. Employees would do little to nothing all day. When confronted about the lack of work everyone just said “I worked as fast as I safely could.” Since safety was the only thing that mattered, any mention of safety excused any lack of effort or performance. This led to workers learning that they could slack off if there was a safety related explanation for their inactivity.

This all returns to a groupthink scenario whenever a union employee rejected the exchange of safety excuses for work ethic. Each time a union member objected to laziness they would be challenged by other union members. The pressure usually came as assertions that the dissenting member didn’t want their peers to “make it home safe.” If someone outperformed their peers they’d be accused of reckless and unsafe conduct- nobody could move so fast while observing safe practices! This pressure resulted in otherwise hardworking people exerting minimal effort to avoid pressure from the rest of the group.

There are a lot of instances where groupthink has negative consequences. Reduced productivity is one of those potential consequences. If a person is devoted to the group, they may not care. There will always, however, be people who notice the incongruencies and resent the illogical behavior of the group.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say, but what makes a good team? How can you be the best team member? There are several things you can do to be the best team player and thrive in your team. This is whether it’s in sports, at work, or even in your personal relationships. But here I want to discuss teamwork in relationships.

The first thing to note is the key factors in making a great team. In an article I read, 10 factors were listed. These were mutual respect for the other team members, having specialized members, having an objective, adaptation/flexibility, having no scapegoats, admitting mistakes, having patience, delegating, having a strong leader, and having a little bit of competition (What makes a good team that builds success, 2020). Of course, some of these make more sense at work, but certain ones are important even in a personal relationship. For example, having an objective is important even with a spouse. This objective all the time would be that you are always working together to be the happiest you can be. Admitting mistakes is also important in relationships because you don’t want to come across like you are always right. Making mistakes is okay and it’s important to be able to brush them off and try again.

In terms of personal abilities, the article also listed several qualities. These include communication, support, and cooperation (What makes a good team that builds success, 2020). Communication is important to make sure you are always being efficient and expressing when you may need help. Support means being understanding and helpful. And finally, cooperation means remembering to work together since you are trying to achieve the same goal. This is one I find very important, because oftentimes when couples fight, they forget they’re on the same team. They want to argue and prove they’re right. Instead, focus on the goal which is to thrive in the relationship and work together to do so.

The main thing here is to recognize that we are individuals, but learning how to be a proficient member of a team makes goals much easier to accomplish. Whether it’s in sports, at work, or in relationships, certain factors affect the cohesion of a team. The characteristics listed are what contribute to optimal team performance, and they can occur coincidentally or even by use of team-building exercises as needed (Sullivan, 2017).

Sullivan, P., Feltz, D., & Dithurbide, L. (2017). Applying social psychology to sports teams. In J. GrumanF. Schneider, & L. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology (pp. 129-154). SAGE Publications, Inc, https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591.n6

What makes a good team that builds success. University of the People. (2020). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/what-makes-a-good-team/

When we are born, we become a part of a family and that family can be natural or adoptive. This is the first group that we become associated with and learn the “norms” as we grow. During this time trust is built and we trust our family members to have our best interest at heart, amongst other things. This trust is built through many different actions and over time. Once we are old enough to navigate outside and play with our friends, we repeat a similar cycle of building trust with those friends.

As we continue moving through life and into young adulthood, some of those friendships we had as kids are still alive and have trust, experience , history and much more attached to them. However, some people don’t have those friendships and have the to rebuild friendships time and time again with other people as they move housing developments, schools or cities and the stability factor is not as steady. I didn’t understand how important it is to have those relationships with family and friends as well as, the importance of stability. Without them a person’s identity is all over the place, this chapter made me think back on a neighborhood boy that my family knew of when I was younger.

He was about 17 when he was charged as an adult and sentenced to 15 years in prison for multiple crimes that he committed within the matter of minutes. I wondered why and what made him choose to behave in that manner and associate himself with people who were known to commit crimes. It came down too many things such as, his family history which wasn’t a stable household, or the fact that he did not have both of his parents within that household and the fact that his mother had many other children to look after. So, he sometimes lived his mother, grandmother or aunt but never long enough to fully become comfortable and call either place home. So, when he was old enough and believed that other men like him, cared for him more than his natural family, it was easier for him to form bonds with them because they cared for him during the times when his family didn’t. But I still wondered how did he become convinced that the crime he was going to commit was worth losing his freedom over. Cohesion is “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” (Gruman et al., 2017). I realized that out of the many reasons he chose to participate in those activities, one was due to him believing that he had to stick with the group of people who helped him get by in life when his family chose not to.

Although, this is one of many reasons why he may have chose to participate in those crimes but it is a big factor that played into his mind and allowed him to believe that he owe the group something.

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

As a supervisor at my own job, I admit that it is all too easy to fall into the halo effect. Gruman et al. (2016) defines the halo effect as “when we draw a general impression of an individual on the basis of a single characteristic, such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance” (p. 331). When I associate a certain attribute to an employee (positive or negative), I will sometimes find myself making that attribute a theme when writing their annual review. Several interventions have been put in place to prevent the halo effect which have had successful results.

I have been a supervisor for about three years and have written numerous annual reviews of all my employees over those three years. It has given me plenty of time to learn to identify when I have fallen victim to the halo effect. As a result, I have done my best to come up with my own interventions to help prevent this from happening. My personal favorite is a general template I created for the “Manager’s comments” section of the review. This section is not guided by the company at all. It gives me a space to sum up my thoughts in paragraph form. I start off with an introductory sentence which identifies how many years the employee has been with us at the company. This is generally the same sentence for every employee aside from the number of years they have been with the company. Then I format the paragraph by describing something they do well, then including a sentence or two about an area in which they can improve, and then including another thing that they do well. I have coined this affectionately, as my little sandwich theory. I use this format regardless of whether the employee performed well in the past year, or they have performed poorly. It forces me to really think of other attributes. If I think of an employee in a positive light, this method keeps me grounded and fair by also thinking about negative aspects of their performance. If I think of an employee in a negative light, this method helps me to think about positive aspects of their performance. This method has also been successful when I deliver these reviews to the employees. Starting my review on a positive note and ending it on a positive note makes my employees feel appreciated whether they have received an overall good review or a poor review. I have noticed that even my higher maintenance employees tend to take the negative feedback very well when sandwiched between two positive comments.

The company I work for also recognizes the potential risk of supervisors falling victim to the halo effect and have also created interventions to prevent this. Our human resources department has created and continues to periodically update and improve an annual review template. This is made in the format of an open-ended questionnaire. Every facet of the job is addressed in one of the criteria, and each of the criteria must have an individual comment addressing that one facet of the employee’s performance as well as a rating from one to five. It forces the supervisors to think of each facet individually instead of thinking of the employee’s overall performance. This method has also seen success. We must focus on each of the employees’ attributes instead of letting one dominate over all the others.

The combination of these two interventions have created the ideal template for delivering positive and negative reviews to employees. During my time as a supervisor, I have never received or heard about any employees make complaints about my reviews being too negative, nor have I received any complaints from management or human resources about my reviews being too positive. I have managed to maintain fair and equitable ground using these two methods to prevent the halo effect influencing the way I write employee reviews.

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

This weeks discussion on Tuckman’s notion of developmental stages to behaviors that occur in a group had me rethinking a lot of team or group efforts. The discussion post was applied to a team as that was what first came to mind, but after some rethinking and further research into the course materials, I realized how important those steps are for a work environment.

In the past year or so, I have switched jobs a few times. A little over a year ago is when I completely changed directions and went from working retail to getting my foot in the door in the psychology realm and working as a paraprofessional with special education students. Since then, I have just switched roles or buildings and trying to accomplish all different aspects of special education. Each time, I have had to relearn the teachers and how they teach, the students and all their names, and other things like that. One of the biggest challenges I have noticed in this field, is the idea of role forming. In retail or food service, its simple; you get a title they tell what you do, and you do it. Working as a paraprofessional, however, is more complicated. You work under other teachers and you’re ideally working to not have to work. By that I mean, the main goal in working with most students is to get them to a point where they will not need you anymore. It constantly feels like a battle working under teachers because you do not want to step on their toes and work with the student too much but at the same time, you can not under work and just hang in the shadows.

It was earlier today at work how I realized how different Tuckman’s notion of stages can be so different depending on the circumstances. Earlier, I felt like I could barely apply some of his stages to my pre-adolescent sports teams. As an adult, working in this field, it seems to fit so well. Beginning in the first stage forming, it is always awkward for the first month. The teacher knows nothing about you, the students have no idea who you are, and you are trying to blend into this new classroom. Most times the students take to you quickly because you’re a new shiny penny in their eyes to give them attention. The storming and forming stages almost blend in my opinion. Storming is the stage where the team gets to know each other. This typically occurs about a month in, when the conversation changes from “what’s the weather like today” to “how’s your weekend”, “what’s your family like?”. This also tends to be the more difficult part, because as the paraprofessional, you get more comfortable with the students and can bond and help with the students. However, some teachers see this as a problem. Becoming too comfortable with some of the students and possibly overstepping the boundaries of being ‘the help’. There is a lot of unconscious intragroup conflict around this time as both the teacher and para learn how to work with each other. The next stage is norming, the stage where all roles and norms are solidified. This is extremely important for the field of paraprofessional’s as it needs to be understood who is supposed to do what with the students. The last stage is really the most important and should be achieved rather quickly, performing. Performing is the stage where the team starts operating at its peak efficiency and all conflict is resolved. This is more beneficial to the students than it is to the adults. Once both sides have figured out how to handle each other and what roles are meant to be performed, the quicker and simpler tasks are carried out. I can give an example. I am a child specific paraprofessional, which means most of the day I spend my time with one student and help them with challenges through out the day. My student has behavioral difficulties and tends to lash out aggressively. One of my first days, they went into what we call “crisis”, where we must evacuate the room because they are throwing things and we can not calm them down.  I remember how much the teacher and I struggled together because it was our first time handling them as a team. I have been at this job for over six months now and we are like a well-oiled machine. We have roles and we both know exactly what to do when those behaviors start. It is important because in this scenario, we must work together as best as possible for the safety and well-being of everyone in that room. That first ‘crisis’ was awful because we both kept attempting the same things and were just walking over each other. It wasn’t safe, but now we know what each of us have to do to keep it safe as possible.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., Coutts, L., Krieger, M. A., Chun-Yan, G. A., & Towson, S. M. J. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. In Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (pp. 51–73). essay, SAGE.

Sports have been an important part of my life. I have always played a sport and watched many sporting events with my family/friends. I play in golf tournaments for “fun” during the summer months. Golf often is an individual sport but during some tournaments I play in, they are partner tournaments. This means that it is yourself and another golfer playing together against other pairs. I am also a runner that participates in marathons and I am part of the club cross country team at Penn State. Having experience with playing team sports, I know how important team cohesion is for a team to function effectively.

As described in the textbook, team cohesion is defined as a dynamic process that 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 (Gruman, 2016). It occurs as a team is working towards a common goal and they remain united. Consequences can occur due to team cohesion that can be negative or positive. The importance of team cohesion is that if team cohesion is occurring, the team is working well together which leads to improved performance. Team cohesion can improve the performance and motivation of a team (Gruman, 2016).

Team cohesion is very important on sports teams. As the Winter Olympics have just ended, the aspect of team cohesion on Olympic teams is an interesting topic to evaluate. As stated before, the unity of a team can have either negative or positive consequences. Thinking about Olympic sports, one sport I recall that lacked team cohesion was the United States men’s basketball team during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio (Waggl, 2016). The team consisted of many talented players but they did not appear as a united team. Although the players possessed many skills individually, they failed to be able to work together. The team members lacked communication with one another (Waggl, 2016). Rather than cooperating, they played as if each game was a competition between the other team and their teammates as well. Thankfully, the team did unite together to win the gold medal. The US men’s basketball 2016 Olympic team is an example of how a lack of team cohesion can have negative consequences as the team was not united which caused them to struggle (Waggl, 2016).

An example of the unity of a team having positive consequences was for the United States women’s gymnastic team during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio (Waggl, 2016). The gymnasts on the team are not only competing against other countries but they are also competing against each other since gymnastic events are individual events. Although the sport is individual events, the team still demonstrated team cohesion. The team remained united as a team as they expressed happiness and enthusiasm as one of their teammates performed well. Rather than becoming jealous of each other’s achievements, they remained supportive. Even though they were competing against each other, they remained supportive of each other and were happy for each other’s achievements even though one teammate may have beat the other (Waggl, 2016).

Team cohesion is an important aspect for team sports to be able to function effectively and be able to play to the best of their ability. Team cohesion can improve the performance of the team and also the motivation of the players. The motivation of the players can influence the team’s ability to win a game or not which is why team cohesion is important. Consequences can occur due to team cohesion that can be negative or positive (Gruman, 2016). As stated before, an example of lack of team cohesion having negative consequences was for the United States men’s basketball team during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and an example of a positive team cohesion environment was the United States women’s gymnastic team during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio (Waggl, 2016).

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

Waggl. “Team Cohesion: The Real Star of the 2016 Summer Olympics Game in Rio.” Waggl, 21 Aug. 2016, www.waggl.com/blog/2016/08/21/team-cohesion-the-real-star-of-the-2016-summer-olympics-game-in-rio.

I have worked for a few different jobs over the past few years and I have realized there are many factors that come into effect when starting new. I work at an ice cream store in my hometown which is family owned and all the employees are hired by knowing the boss in some way. Based on this week’s topics in chapter 10 of the textbook, it is important to understand all of the ideals that go into play when starting a new job such as social perceptions, perceptual biases, selective perception, and the halo effect. I have experienced all of these perceptions and biases without even realizing that there are psychological effects for each and I am sure now that the majority of people when starting new jobs can relate. Because The Social Psychology of Organizations discusses influencing behavior in the workplace, I believe that these situations and outcomes happen often, no matter what the job option is.

To begin, when I first started this job 5 summers ago, I was eager and had no idea what I was walking into except thinking “how hard can scooping ice cream be?” Turns out, I was wrong, and “scooping ice cream” was the least of my worries. For example, social perception, according to Gruman, “The quality or accuracy of people’s perceptions, therefore, has a major impact on their responses to a given situation” (2016) making me realize, every worker might have a different reply on a situation in the job. When I first started this job, I was wondering why some workers people huffed and puffed when getting a milkshake order, while others ran to the occasion, until I was put in this position. I absolutely hated making milkshakes and was envious of orders that just included soft serves so when customers asked my opinion on what to order, I never told them a milkshake. Next, our staff uses perceptual biases unknowingly on a daily. Shortcut tasks such as having one staff take orders, one ring up the customer, and the other make the orders are valuable.

Selective perception in the workforce is an important topic that fuels many of the conflicts in jobs. When bosses tend to constantly favor one worker or over-pick on another, it can change the overall environment of the organization. According to Catenacci, ” This is stereotyping, and is clearly contrary to human rights legislation. However, given human nature’s tendency to gather things and people into groups and make general impressions, this can occur more often than one might think.” (2017) where I personally experienced this. The new manager automatically took a disliking to my coworker and would always pick on him making him re-mop the same spot over till it was so shiny you could see your reflection only when he specifically mopped. Now realizing this was because the manager stereotyped him as a “punk” because of her annoyance at the hats he wore, the car he drove, and the tattoos on his body. Lastly, the halo effect is similar to selective perception, but as Gruman mentions, has to do with one characteristic, affecting the rest of that perception of the one person. Relating to my manager, once I saw how particular she was with my one co-worker I had the notion that she was a horrible person and did not have many friends, which affected my entire judgment of her even though it may not be true.

Overall, I am sure we have all unknowingly experienced these perceptions and biases in the workforce before knowing the psychological outcomes and explanations for them. Gruman’s interpersonal and communication ideas in organizations should be followed closely to eliminate these damaging effects that occur constantly. Managers and bosses should intervene and have multiple sessions throughout the course of the season to allow for free space or suggestions to communicate better and discuss what is bothering one another to work cohesively.

References

Catenacci, C. (2017, December 7). Workplace organizational behaviour part II: Perception. First Reference Talks. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://blog.firstreference.com/workplace-organizational-behaviour-part-ii-perception/#.YhWSfpDMLpA

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., Coutts, L., Krieger, M. A., Chun-Yan, G. A., & Towson, S. M. J. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. In Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (pp. 51–73). essay, SAGE.

The most watched team sport in Japan is probably baseball. I have not searched this data up, but I am confident that this is correct. That is for almost every Japanese citizen understands current events and basic facts about Japanese professional baseball. Almost every Japanese person knows who Ichiro Suzuki is, almost every TV channel reports when Shohei Ohtani hits a home run in the major league, and are able to answer at least two professional teams that currently exist in Japan. If baseball is that famous, does Japan have a huge baseball population? The answer is not quite. Although baseball is well known in the country, the baseball population of children and teens are in a steep decline for the past 20 years. That reason? It is in the over focusing of outcome goals.

Outcome goals are goals that “focus strictly on the competitive result of an event” (Gruman et al. 147). From an early age, Japanese little league players are taught this theory of team goals, sometimes to the extreme extent. As early as elementary school, young baseball players are taught that outcome goals are the only goals that exist in the team, without letting their voices be heard about setting their own goals as a team. The emphasis on outcome goals reaches its peak in high school baseball, to win the national high school tournament more known as Koushien. The Koushien tournament is a single elimination tournament that is held only once a year, which teams put almost everything in to get the glory of being the champion. The best teams recruit middle schoolers across the nation like they are professional athletes, and some of these players go to far schools and still are not able to get playing time. Players practice every day, even in days of extreme temperatures that go over 110 degrees in Fahrenheit. To make it worse, some of the rules set for achieving goals don’t even make sense. Many schools require players to shave their heads to a certain hair length, which makes current teenagers avoid joining teams for they don’t want to do that. There have been incidents of coaches using violence to have authoritative power in the team and getting arrested. The obsessive focus on outcome goals are getting to insane levels sometimes, especially considering what year we are in. The results of the motives and actions led to the decline of young baseball player population, for they don’t want to experience the bad and ugly of the sport.

Professional players that have experienced the Japanese amateur baseball system also criticize the current system. One famous advocate for change is Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, currently playing for MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates. Tsutsugo is concerned with the decline of baseball population among children, and he attempts to fix the problem by hosting baseball classes during his off season and giving his opinion to the media about baseball reform. In an interview held last month, Tsutsugo clearly mentions the problem of focusing on outcome goals. Translating the interview, he answers “In a tournament, players only get one shot so they cannot think about their future as a player. They can only think about the game in front of them, the win, and how they did today based on statistics… What is important for young players is not the results of today, but what they can do tomorrow, how to improve next time” (Hiroo). The focus of outcome goals results in losing the ability of learning from mistakes for the better of next time. Tsutsugo goes on that tournament should be less emphasized and focus on a league format, just like professional baseball (professional baseball seems more relaxing than Japanese high school baseball). American amateur baseball does that, so this seems very valid. Other players, although not speaking up directly, have episodes of their struggles in high school baseball that shows the negative aspects. For example, Takayuki Kishi, a pitcher of the Touhoku Rakuten Golden Eagles answered an interview once that he chose his high school because he didn’t have to shave his head like most high school baseball teams (no joke!). This statement is scary for the sport for the weird rule for outcome goals could have ended a talented player’s baseball career. I too, would have not played baseball if I was in Japan, due to the extreme measures to achieve outcome goals.

If the Japanese baseball officials want to fix the problems of grassroots baseball, I think it starts from getting rid of the emphasis of outcome goals. There are many players that give up on playing the sport because of the goal focus. Not all players want to be professionals or have a strong desire for a championship; they just want to be better ball players. Like Tsutsugo stated, I think Japanese little league should focus on other goal approaches, starting from the format of competitions. As a MLB fan, I like seeing players of my country succeed in MLB, so I don’t want the current system to ruin prospects that have a chance to be the next Japanese baseball star.

References:

Gruman, Jamie A., et al. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. SAGE, 2017.

Hiroo, Kou. “「後々苦労するのは子供たち」。筒香嘉智が問題視する少年野球から高校野球にまで蔓延する‘勝利至上主義‘という病（Real Sports）.” Yahoo News Japan, Real Sports, 26 Jan. 2022, https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/420dcb1d4411197943a93a2af1ab173eaf2b5c55.

The ups and downs of organizational life in a workplace are complicated. I know everyone experiences similar things from the discussions here and there. People working for an organization see it in many aspects of working too much, the drama with colleagues, etc. I understand them as well; I was once in their shoes. Let me step back a little. I was a staff working with my colleagues at my work and dealt with the same drama and piles of work and responsibilities the position came with. I guess I did well with my team and was offered a leadership position. This meant I would be given a different position and working with management. I would have to supervise another team, but they did similar work as in my previous role.
When I first started, I wanted to understand the team dynamics. This meant for me to see how they communicated, interdependent with each other, and the roles and responsibilities of each individual (Gruman, 180). It was a good experience, and I think it’s key to supervising others. Role clarify helps understand “one’s role has been clearly defined” (Gruman, 186). I had my bosses who were also part of this leadership team. Luckily one of my bosses was a great mentor in teaching me the ins and outs of leadership and management. We worked together in learning what others did and what my role would be, which was vital in making sure people understood how I would be part of their team now. The operational part was easy to learn as problem-solving quickly on my feet and experience taught me. Or motivation, presentations, and other tasks were easy to understand and grasp.
However, the human resource piece was something that I had to learn, and it was not easy. As a supervisor, I would have to deal with people who were constantly coming in late or not productive. This was the part of the job that I hated most. You have to think about the group of people I oversee, and I am their group leader. I need to encourage them and ensure the team is confident in their work and working cohesively with others. However, doing my job and following up on the individuals with attendance or performance issues does bring awareness to the group. Sometimes, people complain I am not doing anything. Still, the fact is its a private matter between the individual and the organization and its not something I can talk about with others. The sensibility of these concerns is discussed behind closed doors with the individual and others are unaware of them, unless the individual tells others about it. Sometimes, people think I have selective perception. But that is not true; I am one of those people who believe everything needs to be fair. So if one person is allowed to do something, I will let others do it.
The covariation model, “when we observe the behavior or performance of another person, we consider whether the individual is responsible for the behavior or whether something outside the individual caused the behavior” (Gruman, 332), is something I think about when observing my staff. In addition, the model of attribution process within this model of distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency are questions I ask myself before talking to my team (Gruman, 333-334). A lot of things run in my mind on what needs to be done, the organization’s goals, the goals of my team, etc. It’s not easy, but working day by day I learn to balance performance and job satisfaction. I am still learning and working to ensure people perform well, have high job satisfaction, and stay sane from all the drama.

Gruman, Jamie, A. et al. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Available from: MBS Direct, (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US), 2016.

While reading the textbook for this weeks lesson, it focused on diversity. Everyone is different. We all differ in how we look, behave, feel, socioeconomic status, etc. Diversity can lead to prejudiced beliefs and discriminatory behavior against those who are different from themselves. Prejudice is an attitude towards others based on group membership which can lead to discriminatory behavior. People categorize themselves into groups that become their in-group. Those who are perceived as unlike those in the in-group are considered part of the out-group. The out-group people are viewed as different from themselves which causes prejudiced beliefs about those who are different (Gruman, 2016).

The idea of the contact hypothesis described in the textbook interested me as a recommended solution for resolving problems between two different groups. The idea of contact hypothesis is described as 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, 2016). In this weeks discussion post, I described that I believe that the contact hypothesis would be the best intervention to ease racial tensions. By members of an in-group and out-group working together, it can allow members of both groups to learn that they are not very different from one another and their previous beliefs about one another were false. Working towards a common goal would make the members of both the in and out-group work together and allow relationships between each other to strengthen (Gruman, 2016).

I believe that the aspect of two groups working towards a common goal is the key component for the contact hypothesis to be effective in easing tensions between an in-group and out-group. When reading about the contact hypothesis, I immediately thought about the movie “Remember the Titans”. This movie is a great example of the contact hypothesis being effectively applied between two different groups. The movie involved the racial integration of a black school with a white school in 1971 and focuses on the football team overcoming stereotypes and prejudice between the black and white football players (Goodfriend, 2012). 

The key elements that made the football team in the movie succeed are that it followed two important steps of the contact hypothesis to reduce racial tensions. The first step was making group members have equal status. The differences between the two groups were put aside and they were made equal by the coaches explaining that the best players will get the starting positions regardless of skin color. The second step was working towards a common goal. The common goal for each player on the team was to win each football game (Goodfriend, 2012). To do this, they had to work together towards this goal and become one team. Each game became “us” vs “them” meaning our team vs the other team. For the contact hypothesis to work effectively, contact is not the key aspect. Simply being around others who are different from you will not decrease one prejudiced belief and discriminatory behavior. It is important that two groups are made of equal status and are working towards a common goal for the contact hypothesis to be successful. As displayed in the movie, equal status and working towards a common goal were applied to the football team which is why the contact hypothesis was successful in this case for easing racial tensions (Goodfriend, 2012). 

Goodfriend, Wind. “‘Remember the Titans:’ Can Football Reduce Racism?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 2 Nov. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychologist-the-movies/201211/remember-the-titans-can-football-reduce-racism.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

After reading about gender and sexism in the text and how diversity training is an option to mediate differences between groups and/or individuals I wanted to do a little research on the effectiveness of diversity training. I know that many companies make new employees watch some sort of diversity traning video or read a handout but not many companies actually measure the effectiveness. For example, my friend just started a new job and while she’s a very inclusive person she said that the diversity training she had to do was watch a short 20 minute generic clip about diversity and she said she felt watching it was useless and didn’t offer any useful information.

A study from the Harvard Business Review (HBR) looked at diversity training and wanted to determine if it does what it’s actually supposed to do. According to our text, diversity training is meant to “foster interaction between members of different groups (cultures, classes, genders, sexual orientations, etc.), and encourage critical thinking about diversity and its influences” (Gruman et. al., 2016). The HBR study stated that just about all Fortune 500 companies offer diversity training and yet barely any of them actually measure the effectiveness of it and went on to say how unfortunate that is since some diversity training can actually backfire as it can “elicit defensiveness” from the individuals who most need the training and that even if it is a little beneficial the training may not last long at all after the program ends (Chang et. al., 2019).

HBR had several interesting findings from the study. First, they found that the diversity training had a positive effect on the employees who they believed were the least supportive of women. They found that women who completed the training were more likely to advocate for themselves to get further in their career, and they found that those who took the training were more aware of their racial biases. However, a negative finding from the study found little evidence that shows there was a behavior change in men and white employees, the employees who “typically hold the most power in the organizations” (Chang et. al., 2019).

Chang et. al. (2019) suggested that in order to get the best results from diversity training the organization should diversity the trainging approach stating that “targeting training to different audiences, to re-engineering the hiring practice, to normalizing flex time, to using technology and behavioral science to reduce bias in performance evaluations.” Also, the organization should get data and evaluate the perfromance of the training on a regular basis. Lastly, they stated that it’s important to experiment the the training programs by having an experiement and using a control in order to gain insight about that is effective and what is not which can also help to control spillover effects.

Overall, while it’s important to offer diversity training in the workplace, it’s just as important to guarantee some effectiveness, especially for those who the leaders of the  organization might feel especially needs it.

References

Chang, E. H., Milkman, K. L., Zarrow, L. J., Brabaw, K., Gromet, D. M., Rebele, R., Massey, C., Duckworth, A. L., & Grant, A. (2019, July 9). Does diversity training work the way it’s supposed to? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 17, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2019/07/does-diversity-training-work-the-way-its-supposed-to

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

In reading this week’s lesson, the idea of individualism vs. collectivism really stuck out to me.  Growing up, I had neighbors who were from India.  Every evening, around dinnertime, I would see their entire extended family pull up and presumably have dinner together.  This seemed strange to me as the only time we had that many people over for dinner were on Christmas and Thanksgiving.  I eventually became friends with the youngest daughter who explained to me that her family did everything together.  From minor things like dinner every night to major things like deciding who she was going to marry, every decision was made by the entire family, for the good of the family.  Making decisions as an individual was a foreign concept to her.

As I read the lesson, I realized that my friend’s family practiced collectivism as was the norm in her society.  In India, arranged marriages are still common and the family unit runs almost like a board of directors.  In some ways I can see this being nice – a built in support system to help make difficult decisions.  On the other hand, I could not imagine someone else telling me who I could and could not marry.  I do not feel that “forced” collectivism in my personal life would be welcomed – I don’t like others telling me what I can and can’t do.

There are other areas of society where I do feel that a collectivistic attitude is beneficial.  I have worked in various occupations throughout my career.  Some of the work environments that I experienced were very team-oriented.  Meetings were held in which individual opinions were valued and discussed amongst the group.  Many decisions were made as a group.  I found that I was more successful in this kind of environment as opposed to just having a boss telling everyone else what to do in spite of individual opinions (sometimes to the contrary).  It was interesting to find out that Japan, a country seen as a successful powerhouse of industry, practices collectivism in business settings.  Because of this, conflict is seen as an opportunity for compromise rather than a black and white win or loss (Gruman et. al 387).    It would seem to me that this kind of attitude fosters increased success.

I believe that both individualism and collectivism have a proper place in society.  Examining the way other cultures interact in both personal and business matters could help us to develop a happy balance between the two in an effort to be both happy and successful.

References

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

I recently saw 50 cent hanging upside down one last time as part of a SuperBowl Halftime show. My first thought was “Oh, they finally got away from AeroSmith and Mick Jagger and made a halftime show for us young people.” That’s when it hit me. I am the old people now.

For context, I’m in my mid 30s and thus a Millennial at the higher end of our age cohort. Social Axioms are the expectations a group of people have when they take certain actions (Gruman, et al., 2016). What are some of the expectations that make my generation hold axioms that are unique? The viewpoint bred from social flexibility, cynicism, reward for application, fate control, and religiosity shapes a particular Millennial identity.

First is Social Flexibility. High Social Flexibility is the idea that there are many valid ways to achieve an end (Gruman, et al., 2016). My generation has seen a significant amount of change. Our parents and grandparents had very different lives. The generations behind us live differently as well. Who are we to judge how people achieve their goals? I think that the Millennial is morally flexible and willing to accept the views of others.

Next is Social Cynicism. Cynicism is a skepticism in the general efficacy of the institution of our society (Gruman, et al., 2016). We saw a lot of change, the loss of economic opportunity and the increase in technology. The generations before us were more prosperous. The generations behind us have access to different opportunities to grow in the future. My generation had flip phones at most, came of age before high-speed internet, and knew how to work VHS players. We also haven’t ever lived in a world with a living minimum wage. So, we lack the stability of our elders and the potential of our youngers. There is a natural cynicism that accompanies the economic and social doldrums of the Millennial generation.

Reward For Application is the idea that hard work pays off (Gruman, et al., 2016). The Millennial has been raised with the meritocratic idea that we are all able to succeed. There has been some subterfuge in how that idea has applied to our generation. We were told from a young age that the only route to success was a college education. Many of our number were not told that the education in question must have a focus and marketable goal. Others of our generation were told that the only chance for our nation and way of life to persist was to fight the Global War on Terror. I fought in that war. Spoiler alert, we didn’t win. Now it takes months for me to get a physical therapy appointment. So, the expected reward for application experienced by many Millennials is extremely low.

Fate Control is the idea that karma or fate has a role in life (Gruman, et al., 2016). The Millennial either believes in fate or not. It doesn’t seem to matter because our outcomes have been consistent. We’ve had many struggles and hold less wealth than our parents did at our age. Since we are a socially flexible generation, we may not know how to place these facts. If it is fate, however, it is in keeping with the rest of our experience.

Lastly is religiosity; this is the belief in a supreme being with whom there can be a personal relationship (Gruman, et al., 2016). The Millennial Generation seems to have a weaker relationship with higher powers than earlier generations. It doesn’t keep with our cynicism and flexibility. It doesn’t mean that religiosity is wrong, but it does seem that we have lost access to this social axiom.

Overall, Millennials are an interesting generation. Somewhat lost, but also hardy and intelligent. We grew up in a strange time and have strange times before us. I hope that my generation finds a way to improve life for all, because we have already had to turn with economic and social downturns. We should preside over improvements.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

If you’ve ever watched a football game, you might agree that football fans are very creative, exuberant, and vibrant folks. Dressed in team colors, fans of their respective teams will dress like a dizzying array of animals or other mascots to support their chosen favorite team. Through identification with the sport and its players, these fans start to shape their identity around all things “insert football team name here.” The team and fellow fans become their group, aka their in-group. An in-group is the group that someone identifies with and favors over others. Their days and nights revolve around football and their team during the season, encompassing their identities. Applied social psychology helps to uncover the explanation for this behavior.

The social identity theory of psychology explains that one’s identity is based on personal and social types of self-knowledge. Personal refers to a sense of self and social to membership or identification with social groups. Social groups can be anything from gender, nationality, religion, vocational, sports, or any number of other groups of people with similar qualities or interests (Gruman, 2016). Sports fans demonstrate the theory of social identity perfectly because of the member’s attitudes and actions and the conflict that arises due to group evaluation and comparison.

Members of groups want to feel good about their group, which, in turn, can provide a positive social identity. Fans get together dressed in silly outfits to root on their team to show solidarity and spend time with the group they identify with, which encourages positive attitudes toward each other. It also reinforces group membership. Unfortunately, this in-group positivity can also cause out-group dislike or negativity. An out-group is a group in opposition to the in-group, not necessarily in competition. Still, the group is different from the in-group (Gruman, 2016). In sports and specifically football, group rivalries are strong and can cause intense animosity between groups. This happens because groups evaluate each other through social comparison, another psychological theory that explains group conflict. Groups evaluate and compare one another and determine if the other is worth conflict or not. If there’s a status difference, such as one group’s team is the champion or has won many games in a season, and the other group hasn’t, then there’s more reason for animosity (Gruman, 2016).

The severity of animosity varies based on the strength of the previously established rivalry, if there is one. In a study of sports fans and group conflict, researchers discovered that teams with historic rivalries produced the most significant amount of between-group enmity. Interestingly, it was found that in the absence of a rivalry, conflict between groups was not prominent (Weisel & Böhm, 2015). The construct of rivalry can be a determinant in many situations where group conflict occurs. The results could yield a future intervention focus. Weisel and Böhm also found another social psychological theory that could play a role in group interactions and subsequent conflict.

The deprivation/gratification theory explains that people, and in our case, groups of fans, might feel deprived of something desirable (Gruman, 2016). Often groups perceive they have received less than a comparison person or group, which causes conflict. To apply the theory to sports and fan groups, each group hopes their team wins the elusive championship. Some teams spend years without winning games, let alone that large, shiny trophy. Feeling deprived of the joy of winning, some groups develop even more intense enmity toward other groups (Weisel & Böhm, 2015). Social psychology theory explains why fan groups are so intense about their allegiance and the source of group conflict between opposing fans. Understanding the reasons for those fights between rival football fan groups is one way social psychologists can develop interventions that might reduce or solve the negative feelings that cause conflict.

Works Cited

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

Weisel, O., & Böhm, R. (2015). “Ingroup love” and “outgroup hate” in intergroup conflict between natural groups.Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 60, 110-120. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2015.04.008

Are the families we are born into better than the families we choose? This lesson gave a lot of insight on personal and social identity which I believe is an important factor on many levels. The way we are raised plays a huge part in the person we become and the different identities that we associate ourselves with, as well as diverse settings or people that we allow ourselves to accept.

The United States has made many strides to embrace all people from diverse ethnic backgrounds but there is a lot more headway to be made. Diversity in this country is very important due to many factors for example, the United States relies very heavily on imports from international parties. Majority of our clothes, household goods, appliances, car parts, etc are made in other countries and imported into the U.S. for resale and use. This is the same with education, many people from other countries migrate to come to the U.S. for further education because the U.S. is known for its higher quality of education. Being able to reach out and have resources that can assist with needs, knowledge or for financial gain is apart of growing the economy.

The relationships and connections the U.S. has made allowed me to see that the same personal identity and social identity that applies to each person individually, can be applied on a global scale. On the personal level, the U.S. consists of moral sensibility and conscience, and also a desire for achievement, mastery, and competence for all people and together as one nation. In addition to that, socially the U.S. and its allies protect each other against any potential enemies, rivals, or competition (The Pennsylvania State University, 2022).

Realizing this, I was able to answer my question above. Both the families we are born into and the families we choose are equally important. None of us choose to be born in the country we are born into, nor do we choose a specific culture or religion. As we grow and gain knowledge and experience we were able to choose the company we keep, the people we socially identify with and so on. Being exposed to people who are different that us, allows for different outlooks or perspectives. Which builds us individually and as a nation.

The Pennsylvania State University. (2022). Applied Social Psychology: PSYCH 424 [Online course lesson]. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177148/modules/items/33983512

How would it make you feel if someone told you that discrimination can be a positive phenomenon?  Most individuals I speak to would say that discrimination is a solely negative social phenomenon. It can be harmful to individuals within a certain group if they are being discriminated against. So, how can such a harmful phenomenon be a positive phenomenon at the same time? I believe that discrimination can do so much harm, that it can drive a society toward equality as a result. Ironically, discrimination can help fuel the very thing it aims to prevent.

The late Dr. Mel Seesholtz, a former Penn State University English professor, agreed with this point of view in one of his multiple writings on the subject (Seesholtz 2011). His particular focus was on the effects of LGBTQ discrimination such as same-sex marriage. One of the examples he used in the text cited was Rick Santorum’s prejudicial views on homosexuality. His extremist views on the subject ultimately resulted in losing his spot as a Pennsylvania senator because fewer people voted for him. Santorum’s absence left room for a senator with less prejudicial views on homosexuality to succeed him in the senate. Because of the influence that lies in the senate, this change of senators helped to push the LGBTQ rights movement one small step closer to equality.

Gruman et al. touched on this idea briefly as well (2016). They would likely consider the struggle for LGBTQ rights as a conflict. In this text, it is mentioned that conflict can stimulate changes that are needed. This logic could be applied to numerous different conflicts. For instance, we might be able to apply this logic to presidential elections. If you look at the associated political parties of United States presidents within the past 50 years, there is a discernable pattern. The U.S. presidents that were elected seem to alternate between democrat and republican. The theory that conflicts can stimulate change could explain the alternation between political parties for each president elected. If a democratic president is elected, it would create conflict with republican voters who would then have a higher turnout in the next election for a republican candidate and vice versa.

While discrimination can be largely negative due to the harm that it can cause in other people, when it does happen, this theory might be used. It could be used to inspire hope to those being discriminated against, or it could further inspire applied social psychologists to create more innovative interventions for certain types of conflict and/or discrimination. When attempting to solve a problem, I have found it is always best to first identify as many aspects of the problem as possible. The more we understand an issue, the more potentially effective interventions could be.

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

Seesholtz, M. (2011, August 16). I Pledge to Discriminate and Support Bigotry, So Help Me God… [web log]. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://truths602.rssing.com/chan-58682037/article6.html.

In times past when travel between different countries and even different cities was limited there wasn’t as much interaction between different groups as there is currently.  Of course, there were areas with very diverse demographics by overall people tended to settle with those similar to their own.  Limited travel meant you didn’t get to break out of that bubble as often as today.

Growing up I was fortunate to travel extensively in North America and experience cultures not found in my rural hometown.  I noticed an interesting fact while discussing with my family regarding their love for travel and how it came about.  Previous generations had left the county they consider home for a common reason: war.  Going back to the Civil War I was able to see a pattern develop.  One generation would be called to serve and travel outside their “bubble”. Upon their return a sense of traveling was instilled to experience new and different things was clear.  As time went on down the family tree this was expanded to more and more distant lands.  Of course, the advances in technology helped but also the distances traveled for military service increased as well.  (1)

My Great Grandfather traveled to Europe in the First World War and was the first relative to return since his ancestors departed.  His stories inspired another generation to travel and up until the Second World War they need extensively.  Until 1945 there were many of my ancestors all over the globe seeing things they had never even read about.  My Grandfather spent several years in the South Pacific bringing home countless pictures and stories of his adventures.  His brother was in Europe and even his aging father (mentioned above) again served.   The conclusion of this conflict ushered in another wave of travel and this one lasted until the early 2000’s for my family at least.

The above has been repeated for countless families across the United States and even the world.  The reason I mention travel is this had an impact in expanding how one views Race and Diversity especially noted after the Second World War.  (2)  Breaking down pre-existing barriers helped to erode prejudices that existed previously.  While my examples focus on a linear timeline of my own family these are all types of Contact Hypothesis leading to an overall positive result.  Other examples include less dramatic but still noteworthy end results that still impact us today.  (3)

References:

• https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2018/08/how-second-world-war-made-britain-multicultural
• Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books
• https://www.brightsparktravel.com/blog/teaching-diversity-american-history

I have been attending the same day camp since the age of 5 years old. Day camp is where I have met some of my lifelong best friends where we share very similar interests. For example, we share the same religious beliefs, have similar ways of being raised, similar financial situations, and more. Growing up in camp, I can admit now that I am older everyone looked like me, there was no diversity in religion, race, or ethnicity. Now, I have been a counselor for 6 years at this same camp and I have noticed some drastic changes throughout the campgrounds involving the counselors, the campers, and the activities.

We have incorporated diversity training and more of a diverse appeal that welcomes children and staff of all different backgrounds. As discussed in Chapter 14, implicit bias is a large problem of racial issues because of the preconceived stereotypes that people have and keep throughout their lives. My camp has been predominantly Jewish, where every Friday there is a Shabbat celebration with traditional Jewish foods, but as time went on things have changed. For the staff, there is a 2 week training period where we have guest speakers come in to discuss what diversity means and how to make everyone in the camp community feel safe and welcomed. In these meetings, we have information sessions then go on to do real activities to interact and practice certain types of situations. Gruman expresses “They are meant to foster interaction between members of different groups (cultures, classes, genders, sexual orientations, etc.), and encourage critical thinking about diversity and its influences.” (2017) which my camp has done successfully over the years.

The staff has moved from being mainly white and Jewish to inviting all walks of life with different cultures, races, religious and ethnic values. Now when parents and prospective campers come to visit the grounds, everyone can be represented in some way. Also, there are new and improved camp activities that have been introduced outside of the norm such as History activities, caring and sharing, and fun educational discussions. At camp, we like to have the campers interact with everyone in their division regardless of gender or race where we have “ice breaker” activities and everyone will get a chance to meet and learn something exciting about one another. Stevens discusses “Unlearning this concept is a lifelong endeavor, and camps that want to create inclusion must embrace this willingly and joyfully. Be proactive in searching for training opportunities for staff and ensuring that everyone has equal access to those opportunities.”(2022) where implicit bias can be challenging but its training will not allow for inequality throughout the inclusion of camp.

Overall, there still needs to be more change in the world when it comes down to diversity, but specifically, my camp has had extreme growth. Having trained professionals come in to teach the entire camp staff the meaning of diversity and ways to make the environment more inclusive. We watched videos and took surveys and interacted with each other to discuss skills and critical thinking. Personally, my favorite part of the diversity training was teaching the children the importance of inclusion at their ripe age and watching them follow these skills into their lives and when making friends.

References

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

Stevens, N. (2022, January). Creating inclusion at camp. American Camp Association. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www.acacamps.org/resource-library/camping-magazine/creating-inclusion-camp

I went to high school in the Midwest, particularly Carmel, Indiana. Being a person who comes from an Arab background, it was, to say the least, difficult to culturally assimilate to a highly conservative state and town. The house I lived in was walking distance to over five churches and every part of town was occupied by a different church. My high school had over five thousand children and obviously, predominantly White. For example, it was very common in many of my classes where I was the only person from a diverse background being put on the spot for my diversity. Minority enrollment was little over a quarter of the school at 26.7% of the school (Overview of Carmel High School, 2018-2019). Honestly, I expected the number to be lower but then I remember what happened my senior year, 2018-2019.
Approximately four Indiana Public Schools, referred to as an IPS, had been approved by the IPS Board to shut down in April of 2018. These schools were way more diverse than mine and as a result, had less resources and funding. When people would talk about IPS schools, they did so with either an empathetic or disgusted tone. Because these schools shut down, students from them had been transferred to my high school through “busing” similar to desegregation policies implemented in the 1950s (Contact Hypothesis). As our textbook mentioned, “Racial segregation of schools is no longer an official policy, although in many areas it continues to be a practical reality” (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016).
The first problem was that when the IPS Board decided to close these schools they did so towards the end of the first semester, making it difficult for students affected by this change to catch up with students at Carmel. The other problem was that our teacher’s had little to no information regarding new students in their class, thus did not have accommodations ready for them prior to the transfer. Lastly, the students were given no notice as well and especially at Carmel, I felt as though a lot of my peers were very discriminatory and prejudicial in nature because of their familial backgrounds. It would have benefited the school to give the students notice and remind them to be welcoming and accommodating, seeing as how it is predominantly White and conservative.
I remember it was my first period English class and one of the new transfer students joined my class late. Having to ride on a bus from downtown Indianapolis to Carmel took anywhere from 30-45 minutes. This may not seem like a lot but my friends and I lived on the edge of town and at most it would take 20 minutes to get to school if there was significant traffic. Aside from the new students having to come to morning classes late every morning, they also had to wait significantly everyday after school to get back home. After a few weeks of the new student’s arrival, it became clear to the administration that they had to do something to help the students stay on course in the curriculum.
Now I can not believe I’m saying this, but the school literally put all of the new students in their own classroom thinking this extra help will benefit them. Although they may have had good intentions, it created more segregation and gave other students fuel for their discriminatory and prejudicial behavior. I tried talking to a few of the new students to see how they were liking the school but my high school had quite the negative reputation when it comes to student behavior so from the get go, the new students knew a little bit of what to expect. Instead of the school creating a welcoming environment, instead it created a more segregated environment and the new students experiences were marked by racist remarks, differential treatment, and discriminatory behavior from both the students and the administration.

Contact Hypothesis. (n.d.). CANVAS. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from
https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177148/modules/items/33983511
Overview of Carmel High School. (2018–2019). U.S. News.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/indiana/districts/carmel-clay-schoo
ls/carmel-high-school-7151
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology :
Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications.

I am currently involved in a sorority here at Penn State. While rushing for the sorority, I was extremely nervous and did not know what to expect. I thought that the girls were going to be very judgy and believed that they had a particular type of girl that they knew they wanted. After going through the process, I realized that that was not the case. Everyone was so welcoming and so friendly when talking to them.

Being involved in a sorority, I realized how important it is to promote diversity and learn about it. My sorority uses diversity training programs just like what is discussed in our textbook. In the textbook, it states that “these initiatives are often educational programs designed to increase awareness about diversity through the use of readings, workshops and presentations, group exercises, writing assignments, and open discussions”. Every 3 weeks we do a diversity training program. We talk about how important it is to learn about other people who may be different than you. Each week is different. One week, girls in our sorority even present slideshows on their own backgrounds and tell us about their culture. This was so interesting because we get to know our sisters and learn how it is good to be different. Our president also informs us on diversity and what it means to be a diverse soroity.

I do believe that Greek life is not as diverse as it should be. Girls still look for people who are similar to them. They think that they are the best fit for the sorority. However, I believe that just because you are different does not mean that you cannot get along with someone else who is different than you. What someone looks like, their backgrounds etc should be a factor determining if they belong in your sorority or not.

I think it is important to continue to promote diversity in sororities. Ward said that “diversity within greek life is important and fosters growth and understanding” ( Wells,2020). I believe that today more than ever have more diverse sororities. I do know that it is not 100 percent diverse and many sororities in Greek life have trouble with this. I think although that implementing these diversity training programs into sorority life will help create a better and safe environment for others.

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

Wells, B. (2020). Fraternities and sororities work on diversity and inclusion within their organizations. Marquette Wire

I currently work in a tattoo shop, and I have been in the industry in a similar role as a front desk person for over two years. Although I was raised in an environment where my parents and family members promoted acceptance of people from different backgrounds who looked different than me or spoke different than me, as I aged into adulthood I soon realized not everyone was raised in that environment. Not to mention, depending on which part of the world someone lives in or which part of the country, their culture can promote prejudice of certain groups or stereotypes specific groups of people.

Back to the tattoo shop and how heavily tattooed individuals are relevant to this week’s lesson: after working around individuals who are heavily tattooed–having face, neck, hand, and/or full-body tattoos, I have heard accounts of and have experienced accounts of people having a prejudice toward them. An example of this includes discussing amongst a group about how they (an individual) would never get tattooed there (highly visible areas) because they’re too professional for that, or they don’t want to “ruin their life”.

Sexist remarks are also present in these accounts of prejudice. The lesson from this week mentions hostile sexism which is described as: “Negative expressions, or behaviors that reflect negative attitudes toward women” (Gruman, 2016). I would say that the remarks I have heard, and what others I know have experienced have been prejudice remarks of hostile sexism Mostly including phrases surrounding women needing to remain modest, pure, and feminine, and tattoos or “too many tattoos” on a woman doesn’t fit this criteria.

In a previous class I did an extensive study on the prejudices people have against heavily tattooed individuals and I found that most people of the younger generation don’t take as much issue with tattoos as the older generation, but I also found that different religous, ethnic, and political backgrounds related to a person’s view of heavily tattooed individuals as well. These results were found using surveys. After reading Chapter 14 this week I was reminded of that study, and I feel as though I am both a product of a diverse upbringing and culture, as well as the “contact hypothesis” playing a role in my positive exposure to heavily tattooed individuals after working with them and around them everyday for over two years.

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

Social identity theory studies intergroup behavior and it gives us some insight on how some groups came to be. It is based on personal identity and social identity. Personal identity is essentially “a person’s sense of who they are” (Gruman, Jamie. 2016). Examples of this is “I think I am strong, independent, and charming.” Social identity is based on how you see yourself as it relates to the group/s you belong to or associate with.

If you look at those terms, they can be used in positive ways and negative ways. When I read those terms, I immediately correlated it to organizations like the Mafia. People in the mafia have their own personal identity just like we all do. However, I think what ends up driving their life is the social identity.

Social and personal identity do tend to overlap. Let’s say someone who is in the Mafia has a personal identity of loyal, strong, and tough. The social identity as it relates to the Mafia would include a lot of those same characteristics or behaviors, you could say. If an individual was raised with a lot of those same core values, finds an organization that preaches the same thing, as you can imagine it would not be difficult to get the familial sense from a crime organization like the Mafia.

I think you can draw the correlation between social identity theory and a lot of crime organizations, not just the Mafia. I think a lot of these groups advertise themselves as a strong family with loyalty. Some people may have grown up in that sort of environment while others may be looking for something along those lines because it is important to their own personal identity. Obviously, these organizations are more complicated than this simple observation, as are the people within them, but it is an interesting correlation to point out.

Gruman, Jamie, A. et al. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Available from: MBS Direct, (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US), 2016.

I am an American. I was born here and grew up on the sunny west coast, where diversity is the norm. Cultural diversity was normal to absorb when stepping outside when I was younger. I love the different cultures and ethnicity that people from all over the world came to start their lives to have a future and family. We lived in one of the most diverse places in the nation, which was a big city. From an early age, I knew that everyone had their own culture, “a dynamic system of rules, explicit and implicit, established by groups in order to ensure their survival, involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors” (Matsumoto & Juang, 2004, pg 10)(Gruman, 487). I appreciated learning and eating all the great types of food and customs of each friend I had that was different from me. However, as I grew up and moved to the east coast, I grew out of my bubble and realized that not everyone had the chance to experience the diversity in our country. So I also grew up and went to school and work and learned how people could associate with the social identities of their cultures.
These past two years, we had to learn to deal with COVID-19 pandemic. There was a time in our history where great sorrow and hardship we endured in learning to understand and work towards a common goal. Many people died from COVID-19, but one crucial thing I realized was the prejudice and discrimination people had to face. Before COVID-19, prejudice and discrimination were an issue, but I felt that the focus and uprise were more alerts during the pandemic. Black Lives Matter was vital in bringing intergroup relations from all people together differently. Either you were for Black Lives Matter or on the opposite side. I realized that it’s not just about Black Lives Matter but All Lives Matter during this time. We live in a country where we are proud of the diversity that makes up our country, and why are we fighting, being prejudiced, and discriminating against our fellow people.
I see in the news people attacking places and people, hurting others of a different race. I see uncertainty avoidance in people, trying to either turn a blind eye or help cope themselves or help others.
With everything going on in the world, they tried to help address the diversity issues at work. But, of course, everywhere you go there, it’s necessary to ensure the staff knows diversity is not a problem, but it’s always a working process. I’m proud that my work addresses diversity. There are many ways to address diversity. First, they spoke about all the things happening in the world, and if you needed someone to talk to, a counselor was available. Second, they looked at the organization itself from the feedback from the staff. Third, they looked into having education about diversity, equality, and inclusion that everyone was required to take. Also had group events for activities, etc. Finally, they did an audit by looking at the data to see that each sector’s hiring was diverse. Also, look into the staff satisfaction of addressing diversity, equality, and inclusion. I noticed that by them doing this, it reminded me of the social axioms approach. The social axioms approach is a generalization belief about people in their culture (Gruman, 495). At work, I noticed how they discuss diversity, equality, and inclusion using this approach to help better understand and accept people and enhance their beliefs.
There are more things we as a society need to do. For example, I know that more and more organizations and schools focus on diversity, equality, and inclusion. These are the first steps in breaking the prejudice and discrimination against intergroup relations and diversity. I know this pandemic was hard for everyone and all the hardships including emotional and physical we all went through, but I do see a light that diversity at work and around me are seeing improvement for the better.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

Psych 424

Blog #2

Shawn Campbell

Health and Clinical/Counseling

Generational Stress

For this blog post I decided to go with the topic of Generational Stress. That is to say how different generations have had different types and levels of stress.  It’s easy to see the events that caused stress during certain time periods.  Examples would be the Great Depression, Cold War and the Oil Crisis in the 1970’s.  However, there are many lesser known yet still important factors to consider when exploring this topic. Also, it is important to note that for this Blog I’m focusing on Western Civilization rather than Global as a whole.

Compared to all generations of the last century the Millennials and Gen Z’s stand out as overall the most stressed.  At first glance this is very confusing since their childhoods weren’t filled without large scale conflict or massive economic turmoil.  As a general rule their parents were better off than previous generations and there was a solid support structure in place. Education and healthcare were both much improved over previous years as well.  However, these two generations are among the most stressed of any recorded. (1)

While stress and the anxiety that follows can be treated medically the causes for this example are more complex.  Using the biopsychosocial model approach allows a much broader view of the reasons behind such a trend.  Looking at all aspects of a person’s life including their current state as well as their upbringing can provide data that a standard medically approach would not.

For Millennials and Gen Z’s a common cause that is often quoted is how their parents and family would “helicopter” or protect/shelter them from the world.  Not wanting their children to experience the same negative events that they did is a powerful motivator but can lead to children not aware of the world.  Also, the Boomer generation rode the wave of their parents to greater economic freedom than before, but the wave has leveled off making larger gains more difficult.

Another example that is not often considered is how incredibly complex the world has gotten.  In my own life I often compare how things are today to my family and it is hard to fathom how far we have advanced.  Everything moves at a speed many times faster than before with modern communication.  Letters that took days only takes seconds now as well as the replies.  It’s important to consider the more mundane parts of life as well.  Insurance was only a limited market for the Boomer generation and usually provided by employers.  Now there are more types of insurance than I care to count with their own complexity.  Everything on the financial side of one’s life has expanded beyond anything previously. (2)

Overall life is better for most people, but it is a complicated machine that requires more maintenance for current generations than previous ones.  From a medical point of view the end result is an increase in stress and anxiety but without looking beyond you don’t see the why.  To break out of circular we often need to explore more avenues and gather more information.  Addressing these causes might have more benefit in the long run than a simple medication.

References:

• https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2020/01/millennials-and-gen-z-are-more-anxious-than-previous-generations-heres-why.html
• http://culturalmaturity.org/defining-themes/making-sense-of-and-better-utilizing-complexity/the-origins-of-modern-complexity/

Health Literacy is an important concept in the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Health Literacy is defined as “the knowledge and competencies that individuals possess to help them comprehend and apply the health information that they encounter in today’s complex world” (Gruman, et al., 2016). In a world where new information is distributed rapidly, everyone has their own platform, and agendas can easily be guised as “science,” there is a lot of noise reducing our ability to improve our Health Literacy.

One of my favorite Instagram Influencers is Liver King. I don’t love eating organ meats. In fact, I avoid eating meat except for small doses to up my protein or fat intake when I’m training hard. Liver King, however, eats liver and bone marrow with every meal. He eats thousands of calories a day in the form of organ and muscle meats. He also exercises for hours daily, calls his followers “primals” and gives life advice.

Liver King is promoting Health Literacy according to his agenda, and on a free platform. He is not, however, promoting Health Literacy in a way that manages to resist the application of Critical Health Literacy. Critical Health Literacy requires applying knowledge and thinking skills to test health knowledge and assess its’ application to one’s own life (Gruman, et al., 2016). Liver King had a bodybuilder physique and a social media brand built on eating lots of liver.

Liver King does not threaten the health of a person who thinks critically about their health. I am in my 30s, have chronic pain from injuries incurred during military service, and have a busy schedule. I exercise, but not for four hours a day. I eat, but only in proportion to my activity level. I’m not going to participate in high impact exercises that threaten my joints- I spend more time doing yoga and low impact cardio. I have to think critically about my health, or risk doing more harm than good.

The health advice that is best for one is not necessarily best for all. We all need to build our own level of Health Literacy to engage in a healthy lifestyle. Health Literacy is how we can all avoid bad information that promotes agendas over science.

Or, you could start eating a lot of liver, breakfast lunch and dinner, because Liver is King.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

https://www.instagram.com/liverking/?hl=en

At one point or another, we have all come across a situation that brings about sadness, anger, or even anxiety. In these moments, it can be hard to figure out how to cope. On top of that, not every coping mechanism works for everyone, so it’s important to know the options.

In this week’s lesson, we learned about coping and how coping strategies can be classified into two different types. These are problem-focused and emotion-focused (Lafreniere & Cramer, 2017). Problem-focused coping is based on attacking the issue head-on. An example I thought of right away was back when I was younger I was told on a few occasions that I could write a letter to who I was upset or angry with and just throw it away. Emotion-focused coping is more about regulating your own emotions and figuring out how to better deal with your feelings. Some people may choose one, and some may use both depending on the situation. For myself, I know that I have used both. Sometimes I feel it’s necessary to speak up about how someone made me feel, but other times I may not have that option and need to figure out how to cope on my own.

In an article I read, the example of a situation that required coping was loneliness. This loneliness can be addressed by both of these coping mechanisms and can change over time. For example, the problem-focused approach would mean working on the person’s relationships with others (Schoenmakers et al., 2015). This addresses the exact problem head-on but can be difficult because it requires time and effort (Schoenmakers et al., 2015). So some people may prefer the emotion-based focus which might mean lowering your expectations for relationships (Schoenmakers et al., 2015). This one can be hard too because then you’re having to accept that you can’t have the relationship that you really want.

I relate to this situation a lot because my husband is in the military and when he gets deployed I get very lonely. I also know I am the type of person that switches my coping mechanisms. Sometimes I’m in a mental state where I am capable of making more effort with my relationships. On the other hand, sometimes I am exhausted and decide I need to lower my expectations and just accept the relationships I do have. Because of this, both coping strategies can go hand in hand or can be used separately for different situations. It also all depends on your preference.

Lafreniere, K., & Cramer, K. (2017). Applying social psychology to health. In J. GrumanF. Schneider, & L. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology (pp. 189-220). SAGE Publications, Inc, https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591.n8

Schoenmakers, E. C., van Tilburg, T. G., & Fokkema, T. (2015). Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping options and loneliness: how are they related?. European journal of ageing, 12(2), 153–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-015-0336-1

This week’s lesson covered a big topic that hit home for me on many different levels. I come from a family and culture that doesn’t give mental health the proper acknowledgement as it deserves. Within my parent’s household as kids, we did not talk about our emotions or feelings and it wasn’t that we didn’t know how to, it was the lack of space for them to be talked about. See my parents grew up in a time where mental health was looked as being equivalent to a disease. Which is similar what was explained in the reading about how the society treats those diagnosed with a mental label.

As I grew older, I embodied the same complex that was taught to me about withholding my emotions, pushing them down until they were nonexistent, or so I thought. Living like that led me to be on edge, angry, walking around with a chip on my shoulder, taking everything personal, just overall hurt. It wasn’t until I reported to my first command that I began to truly experienced many people from all walks of life. There was this Sailor that I had become acquainted with, after sometime he told me that he was being separated due to him failing to adapt to the military. Me being a fresh boot, I didn’t understand what he meant but what I had come to find out was that he was suffering from many things with one being depression. However, his depression did not come across as the usual sad or uninterested behaviors, his was reflected in the company he kept, the behaviors he indulged in, and mechanisms he chose to cope with his depression. He was once an outcast that did not have many friends or family until he joined the military and he met people like himself who were also trying to figure out life. However, they were into partying, drugs, violence, everything they signed up to not do. With him feeling like he finally found a group of friends that he could consider family and who made him feel important, he also part took in those activities. Which led to him masking his depression, loneliness, sadness, etc and ultimately him being separated.

As covered in this week’s reading, family and our peers have influences on us. As I read, I was able to understand how those influences have the potential to shape each person. It happened with me, until I began to really see myself and how cold I was to everyone and decided that I didn’t want to be that way. I had to make the choice to release the choices I made, which were a direct reflection of the influences from my parents. According to Gruman, studies have shown that peer influence has the most influence over adolescents when engaging in risky health behaviors. Knowing how being vulnerable and impressionable at different point in our lives allowed me to understand how he easily engaged with his friends’ bad behaviors and activities, regardless of the consequences.

Even though he showed spouts of his depression prior to him engaging in bad activities, he did not seek out the proper care until it was too late, until his supervisor noticed required him to go and until he was finally caught. I can only speculate how his life would have turned out to be if he had the proper care in the beginning. Overall, this lesson reminded me about how important it is to take care my own mental health even when I am feeling okay, as well as keep an eye out for those around me, mental illness can be displayed differently in different people.

References

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

At least you have your health.  Usually after some type of traumatic event, this is something people have been saying to each other for years.  Thinking about this statement when reviewing this week’s lesson, I got to thinking, what does it truly mean?  The concept of health, traditionally, referred to broken bones, deformities and biological disease.  In recent years, the medical profession, and some extent society has begun to look at health in a more holistic way, taking into account not just the biological, but the psychological and social as well.

I believe that the media, especially in the United States has and continues to play a role in damaging mental health.  Social Influence, “…the idea that our interactions with other people can lead to changes in attitudes, beliefs, values and behavior”, also applies to the media (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2017).  We live in a society where most people spend at least a few hours a day glued to the television set.  In between some of the mindless shows that are on nowadays, we are bombarded with ads for medications for illnesses most have never heard of.  We hear the side effects of the medication and the symptoms that it treats.  This is a hypochondriac’s “all-you-can eat buffet”!  I know people who have been convinced that they had a disease after seeing an ad on television and I know others who have severe anxiety for the same reason!  I never understood the purpose of these ads, because I don’t think your average person is going to walk into their doctor and ask for a medication by name.  That’s the doctor’s job!

This is all part of the persuasion that television (or the paid media in general) try to exert on the population.  Commercials are not the only type of media to blame though.  Even some beloved television shows, take for example, Frasier.  This was a light-hearted show about the life of a radio-based psychiatrist.  Although it was entertaining, I believe it conveyed a highly inaccurate view of what psychiatry really is.  Dr. Frasier Crane solved people’s problems in mere minutes, over the radio no less.  This leads people to believe that therapy is a short process, and that the practitioner is going to give you all the answers within a thirty minute timeslot!

Let us not forget about the news media.  Although I loathe the term “#fakenews”, during the Covid pandemic I actually stopped watching any news programs.  I would watch, looking for the latest news and advice on how to keep from getting Covid.  You would change the channel and each station would be broadcasting different “advice”.  Some would say wear a mask, some would say wear two, some would be questioning the legality of mask mandates.  It was just dizzying!   News programs are supposed to present an informational appeal when talking about a health situation – at least this is what I would expect as a viewer.  An informational appeal is supposed to provide arguments based in fact, explaining why certain behaviors are (in this case) potentially detrimental to your health (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2017).  Instead most news programs have become fear appeals, where the presenter plays on the fears of the audience in an effort to get them to change their behaviors (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2017).  A fear appeal would have been fine (If you don’t want to get Covid and potentially die, wear a mask), however, the media was all over the place in the message they were sending.

The mainstream media has great power.  Not to be cliché, but it’s been said that “with great power comes great responsibility”.  In my opinion, the media has become completely irresponsible, especially when it comes to matters of health.

References

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Los Angeles: Sage.

What makes a doctor a good doctor? Personally, I believe that what makes a good doctor depends on their ability to give diagnostics and treatment to the patient in the most accurate way. And I do not mean that to just doctors, but also psychologists, researchers, and counselors as well. But health and medicine isn’t that simple of placing patients with disorders and diseases like a matching game. It isn’t that uncommon for people to mislabel people with having a certain disorder or vice versa, and that is called a judgmental error. Even professionals make those mistakes, and some of these mistakes are critical for that person’s well-being.

I have quite a lot of these experiences of being labeled with the wrong disorders, and sometimes I never even had one in the first place. The first time that happened was in kindergarten, when teachers thought I had some mental disability. They thought I had some disability because I was obsessively crying and terrified while at kindergarten, which the true reason was, I didn’t understand anything of what people were saying, due to the fact I was not a native English speaker. After that, there were other incidents that had me or others getting falsely assumed to have a mental problem, thinking about it right now. I remember a friend of mine being called down to the guidance counselor’s office for blasting System of a Down’s “Chop Suey” during class, accused of having suicidal thoughts. I was recommended for therapy with a social worker when I wrote poetry inspired by dark themed lyrics of Vocaloid songs during middle school English class. Of course, there are some adequate reasons behind the teachers thinking that we are mentally going the wrong path, but what kinds of music we listen to and our attitudes doesn’t always correlate to the mental state. After all, teachers are not mental health specialists, so they shouldn’t have taken their students’ interests too seriously.

What I have been talking about was teachers falsely judging students about mental health, so let’s get back to the topic of doctors. Even before learning about false judgements in clinical decision making, I knew such thing existed since middle school. In seventh grade, I had a long period that I was out of school, due to unstoppable coughing. I went to the pediatrician in town and was told that the cause of the coughing is psychological stress, and he will send a letter of recommendation to see a psychologist. I couldn’t think of what was stressing me out, but in fact the stress was in the fact that the doctor isn’t giving me medication. After two more attempts, I was diagnosed with bronchitis after the pediatrician finally send a referral to a larger hospital and found traces of bronchitis in my lungs after a quick scan. At that time my coughing was almost gone, and I still think that this was avoidable if the pediatrician gave me an inhaler in the first place.

My case was in general health, but clinical judgement can be wrong, even in professionals. In my scenario, there were two misjudgments by the pediatrician. The first misjudgment is a false-negative, which is defined as “not recognizing a bona fide problem that exists” (Gruman et al. 118). For my case, this applies to the fact that I was diagnosed to have a psychological issue like general anxiety disorder, which was inferred to be the cause of my coughing. The other misjudgment is the false-negative, or “when a diagnostic label is inappropriately given to a client” (Gruman et al. 118). This applies to the fact that I wasn’t diagnosed with bronchitis, which led to my suffering for unnecessary long time. The two failed diagnoses resulted in myself suffering twice the amount, and the proper treatment wasn’t given until I was already done with the hard part. Although the false-positive and false-negative is part of a psychological clinical judgment model, it is certainly fitting in non-psychological health issues as well.

If doctors even make mistakes in evaluating their patients, I think us nonprofessionals shouldn’t be inferring people to have health problems. Without the competence and knowledge, it is more likely for us to make false assumptions, and when those assumptions become actual words, we might cause unnecessary harm to the person.

Gruman, Jamie A., et al. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. SAGE, 2017.

Health psychology is the branch of applied psychology that is interested in examining psychological influences on physical health (Gruman et al., 2017). Health psychology is interesting in promoting better health habits and helping to prevent illnesses (Gruman et al., 2017). Health psychologists want to know the probability of individuals becoming ill (Gruman et al., 2017). They are also interested in applying knowledge from psychology to help individuals who suffer from certain illnesses (Gruman et al., 2017). Health psychology has gained its importance and credibility due to the fact that chronic illnesses are influenced by lifestyle factors (Gruman et al., 2017). Psychological factors play a strong role in preventing and managing chronic illness (Gruman et al., 2017).

Health psychologists and many other medical and psychological practitioners utilize the biopsychosocial model of health and illness (Gruman et al., 2017). The concept of the biopsychosocial model is that health and illness is determined and examined by biological, psychological, and social factors (Engel, 1977 as cited in Gruman et al., 2017). This model developed because the traditional biomedical model of health and illness did not lead to a complete understanding of health and illness because it only focused on biological factors and did not put any importance to psychological and social factors of health and illness (Gruman et al., 2017).

(Rice Social Sciences, 2022)
https://psychology.rice.edu/what-health-psychology

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that is associated with traumatic events (Zhao et al., 2022). PTSD is characterized by a series of mental and psychological symptoms: invasive thinking related to traumatic events; negative mood; increased responsiveness related to traumatic events; and recurring feeling and memories related to traumatic events ( Friedman et al., 2011; Brewin et al., 2017 as cited in Zhao et al., 2022). PTSD can be accurately examined and treated by utilizing the biopsychosocial model of health and illness. A research study conducted by Mingyue Zhao, Zemeng Zhu, Haonan Li, Wei Wan, Shuyue Cheng, Xiaqing Qin, Huiran Wu, Dexiang Liu, and Fang Pan (2022) highlights different biological factors associated with PTSD. “Traumatic stress in adolescence triggers changes in the expression of the epigenetic marker H3K9me2 in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of adolescent and adult rats, which suppresses transcription of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) gene that promotes dendrite development and synaptic growth” (Zhao et al., 2022). In other words, individuals who are exposed to traumatic events may evolve changes within the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the brain, which result in the development of PTSD. These are the biological factors of PTSD.

According to the biopsychosocial model of health and illness, there are also psychological and social factors that contribute to PTSD. In a Centre for Clinical Psychology blog, author Jon Finch (2021) highlights psychological and social factors of PTSD. Psychological factors that contribute to PTSD include but are not limited to: trauma severity; other previous trauma, childhood abuse; life stress; family history of psychopathology; perceive life threat during the trauma; peritraumatic emotional responses (fear, helplessness, horror, guilt, and shame); peritraumatic dissociation; psychopathology; cognitive abilities; coping and response styles; and personality factors (Brewin et al., 2000; Ozer et al., 2003; Digangi et al., 2013 as cited in Finch, 2021) And social factors that contribute to PTSD include but are not limited to: lack of social support; low intelligence; gender; age; lack of education; posttrauma social support; and social ecological factors (Brewin et al., 2000; Ozer et al., 2003; Digangi et al., 2013 as cited in Finch, 2021) As you can see, the list is much longer for psychological and social factors than for biological factors. This is just one example of how the biopsychosocial model is superior to the biomedical model of health and illness.

To conclude, health psychology is an important branch of applied social psychology because it helps us better understand and treat illnesses (Gruman et al., 2017). Because of health psychology, many medical experts have stepped away from the “traditional” biomedical model of health and illness and stepped toward the biopsychosocial model of health and illness (Gruman et al., 2017). The biopsychosocial model of psychology recognized three factors that contribute to the health of an individual: biological, psychological, and social (Gruman et al., 2017) PTSD is one of many mental health disorders that can be thoroughly examined through the biopsychosocial model.

References

Finch, J., & Clinicians PTSD blog is written by Dr Jon Finch a Clinical Psychologist. (2021, June 24). Risk factors for PTSD: Knowing the risk factors can help with. Psychpd. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://psychpd.com.au/risk-factors-ptsd/

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

Rice Social Sciences. (2022)What is Health Psychology? Department of Psychological Sciences | Rice University. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://psychology.rice.edu/what-health-psychology

Zhao, M., Zhu, Z., Li, H., Wang, W., Cheng, S., Qin, X., . . . Pan, F. (2022). Effects of traumatic stress in adolescence on PTSD-like behaviors, dendrite development, and H3K9me2/BDNF expression in the amygdala of male rats. Journal of Affective Disorders, 296, 388-399. doi:0.1016/j.jad.2021.09.101

When I think of anxiety or depression, I think of both of them like each other’s cousin. It is not uncommon for them to occur in conjunction with one another. The symptoms and treatment can be fairly similar. Also, both of them can worsen the other. There is no benefit to having both.

Fear, worry, uneasiness, or dread of the unknown are some symptoms of anxiety. Everyone experiences this to a degree but being diagnosed with a form of anxiety disorder is different. Anxiety before performing on stage or interviewing for a job is normal and can be healthy. However, if your anxiety prevents you from doing A, B, or C, then that is a much bigger issue.

Depression can be something that you can be more susceptible to if your ancestors experienced it although there is no actual gene. Sometimes being on certain medication can cause an imbalance in the brain resulting in depression. Also, health concerns can lead to this. The Coronavirus Pandemic is a good example of a health concern that led a lot of people down the path of depression.

The feelings or emotions that come with anxiety and depression can vary. For some, when they experience depression or anxiety it can cause them to be easily irritated, frustrated, or even angry. This can occur over very small matters in daily life. The other side of that is feelings of hopelessness, sadness or emptiness. Some people have experience insomnia or even over sleeping. It all depends on the individual, but there is help out there to cope with these symptoms.

The topic of mental health and counseling has progressively increased as with the stigmas that surround it. Throughout this week’s lesson, health and counseling were broken down by two different approaches: biomedical and biopsychological. What else was discussed was the relationship between mental and physical health and how social psychology has changed the pathway for research and treatment of mental health and counseling. As been presented in my life, I believe social psychology and social influential factors have more to do with mental health disorders than biomedical approaches as of today’s age.

In my family, someone very close to me sufferers from a generalized anxiety disorder that affects his daily being and the way he interacts at school, with friends, on social media, and more.  I have learned this week that both genetic and social factors influence the type and effect a mental health disorder has on a person. But, according to the textbook, “Genetic factors and factors related to abnormal brain chemistry obviously play important roles, but these factors alone do not give the whole picture. Behavioral researchers have provided a more comprehensive view of human suffering by identifying psychosocial causes and psychosocial treatments.” (Gruman, 2017) which proves my theory that societal factors are increasingly becoming more active in discovering disorders. In my family, there has been no one else diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder besides that one person. He was tested, evaluated, and eventually diagnosed by a therapist that they get anxious making friends his own age, interacting on social media, and have difficulty not being awkward because of fear of rejection. According to Thomas Huberty, besides biological factors, the way a family raises the child can affect his chances of getting anxiety, “Family factors appear to play an important role, especially from some mothers who overprotect their children, model anxious behavior, and prevent exposure to stressful situations.” (2010) where I have seen for myself how that family member’s mother did tend to nurture the child and protect him in ways that now could have possibly led to him being anxious in social situations.

This family member has endured both biomedical and biopsychosocial treatments to calm his anxiety. A biomedical treatment he went under was the medicine Lexapro, which started as a small dosage to see his reaction to the medicine. This medicine was introduced to our family member to calm him down in social situations because this stimulant goes straight to the brain. After a few weeks, there was no major improvement, as the therapist decided to take another approach and introduce biopsychosocial theories to him. As Barlow (2002) discusses “an individual may then “learn,” from their social environment (such as their family), to focus their anxiety on specific objects, or situations in their environment. Thus, the social component of the model refers to environmental factors that may trigger, shape, and strengthen the biological and psychological vulnerabilities”, my family member’s therapist introduced coping methods, and even interactive sessions of how to talk to other people his age, and react in certain situations based on different outcomes. These biopsychosocial approaches ended up being more effective because they treated the behavioral reaction learned from his social environment and family situations.

There is not one way any health and clinical disorder can be placed into one category and be narrowed down to one treatment or theory. Due to both genes and social influences, over time mental health treatments and formations have increased and become normalized to discuss in public. As discussed in this lesson, both biomedical theories including genetic makeup and chemistry, and treatments such as medical supplements/ stimulants can be effective for some, while biopsychosocial theories such as societal factors and treatments such as interactive sessions on learning ways to behave and act may be more effective for others. Mental and physical health go “hand in hand” when discussing social psychological theories and will continue to increase with new theories and treatments being introduced by practice and even technology advancements.

References

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

Huberty, T. J. (n.d.). Anxiety & Anxiety Disorders in children: Information for parents. National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/mental-health/mental-health-disorders/anxiety-and-anxiety-disorders-in-children-information-for-parents

Taken From Barlow (2002), Jacofsky, D. M., Santos, T. M., Khemlani-Patel, S., Neziroglu, F The biopsychosocial model: Causes of pathological anxiety. The Biopsychosocial Model: Causes of Pathological Anxiety – Anxiety Disorders. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.gracepointwellness.org/1-anxiety-disorders/article/38469-the-biopsychosocial-model-causes-of-pathological-anxiety

At the beginning of 2019, my mother was diagnosed with stage three non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. At the time, I graduated early from high school and planned to start college a semester early, my step-father was constantly traveling, and my sister lived ten minutes away but with her boyfriend. After the family received this diagnosis, we came together and all made personal changes because after we did some research we also came to the conclusion that , “Across a large number of studies, emotional support emerged as being most important to cancer patients, particularly when it came from spouses, family members, and friends. The absence of emotional support from these sources was experienced as harmful to patients’ adjustment”(Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016, p. 283). As a result, I asked the university to defer my admission for a semester, my sister moved back in with the rest of the family, and my step-father canceled the remaining of his trips. Taking everything a further step, we also moved to a house that was across the street from her best friend and doctor husband.
Even before my mother’s diagnosis, she hated hospitals and would tell us stories about her trying to sneak her brother out of the hospital back in the day. Because we knew this and knew she was capable of leaving a hospital herself, we emplaced a system of who would accompany her to what visits. For example, my step-father would go to specific doctors appointments while her friend would take her to the other doctors appointments. When it was time for her chemotherapy, her friend would take her in the morning and accompany her until my sister and I would show up. Basically, we made sure she was never alone and always had someone keeping her company. One problem that we faced is that discussing cancer in our culture was something close to a taboo. People in our culture try not to even mention the word ‘cancer’ and refer to it as the illness that shall not be named. To respect this part of culture, while being with her we rarely mentioned her sickness unless she wanted to talk about it and tell us how she was feeling. Instead, we would make plans for the future and talk about all the great life moments to come. Although there were good and bad days, we tried to be around her at all times for whatever she needed.
Fast forward to now, my mother is cancer free and bounced back more than ever. She became very open to discussing her struggles, diagnosis, and treatment with everyone, in hopes of breaking the taboo around its discussion in our culture. We were recently talking about it and she asked me if it was strange that throughout her treatment she was pretty much in denial. She told me she did not believe she actually had cancer and took everything that came with it rather lightly and sort of shrugged it off. She would compare it to a minor sickness or set back like the flu or a flat tire and always believed it was temporary. Upon further inspection (this week’s chapter 8 reading), it was clear that my mother utilized an emotion-focused coping mechanism. One of the disadvantages of this coping mechanism is that they, “can be maladaptive in that they involve things, such as people trying to pretend that the problem does not exist and trying to comfort themselves by using drugs, alcohol, or other medications” (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016, p. 278).
With the transactional model of stress I was able to understand how she dealt with the stress of her diagnosis and treatment. With the stressor being stage three cancer, she chose to appraise the situation as a challenge to overcome, rather than a threat to her health (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016, p. 277). Because she could not deal with the problem of her diagnosis except for taking the treatment the doctors suggested, she employed emotional-focused coping instead of problem-focused coping in order to try her best to keep her spirits up.

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

In this blog, I want to discuss social anxiety and its relation to COVID-19. Many people have experienced this because of the pandemic. It has changed many peoples lives. I want to talk about it because we have learned about social anxiety in class, and I feel that COVID-19 is a very relevant topic to incorporate. I also can relate to this immensely.

To start off, I am going to explain what social anxiety is. According to the textbook, social anxiety is a “marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others”. Furthermore, according to Leary and Kowalski (1995), a person becomes more likely to experience a fearful response in social circumstances when two conditions are present: high self- presentational motivation and low self-efficacy(Gruman, 2016). Social anxiety is very common in teens. However, I had never experienced social anxiety before. I considered myself a very social person who could talk to anyone. I always had a great group of friends who I felt so comfortable hanging out with and I loved spending time with. I spent more of my time at their house than I did at my own. Once COVID-19 hit, things had changed.

During this pandemic, we were forced to stay in our homes. This meant we could not hang with friends, go to events, restaurants, and even had to leave college. I began to have a schedule that occurred everyday of waking up, eating breakfast, doing online classes, walking outside with my family and dogs, eating dinner, watching a movie with my family and then going to sleep. This was an everyday thing and became a pattern. I got so used this schedule and forgot what it was like in the real world. I became such a homebody and even if I got the chance to leave my house I did not want to. Additionally, COVID-19 was killing so many people that I was also terrified to leave my house and get my family sick. Research has also showed that levels of depression and anxiety were higher at this time.

Once things started to become normal again and people were allowed to leave their houses, I still was hesitant too and was uncomfortable hanging with others. I preferred staying at home with my family rather than being with my friends. This was occurring because I experienced a reduction in social exposure. It was very difficult for me to transition back to school after this. I was not excited to go like I normally was. I felt like I did not know how to act when with other people. I knew that the only way to cope with this was through exposure therapy. This meant that I had to put myself back into social settings. It was a difficult at first to be back at the school life and I definitely had a lot of social anxiety moments where I did not want to go out like my friends did. However, I got back into my normal schedule and became more comfortable around others with more exposure. 

What I was experiencing was completely normal and was effecting many other people as well. I wanted to share my story to show that social anxiety can come at any time and can happen to anyone. I am happy that I was able to overcome this however, it is a lot more diffcult for others to do.

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

Its been more than six months since I stopped working at the in-patient psychiatric hospital. I started to work there for about a year. First wanted to help the mentally ill community. The second was to learn more about the different types of mental health issues precedent during this time, especially with COVID. I learned a lot while working and got a different perspective of working at an in-patient psychiatric hospital.
Before starting my job, my impression was not so good. I just heard stories from reading history books about how people were treated and how the patients suffered. From the first day, I started my opinion changed. As I did the walkthrough on the first day, I saw how clean and organized the hospital staff and areas are compared to what I thought. The hospital is divided into different units, and each team is grouped by age. We have two young adult units, three different adult units, two elder units, and one particular unit for patients who lash out or attach the staff or others. The patients have their schedule for daily activities and one with the doctors and counselors. Depending on the patient, they are here for one day to a couple of weeks to months. The duration of the time is focused on their care to help have health and clinical counseling for the patient.
A day for patients consists of three meals and two snacks, and a night snack if they want. They can access the vending machines if the hospital does not provide the snacks they want. However, the hospital’s food is diverse and varies every day. They have a morning group session, and after lunch, they have time to be outside in the sun and exercise. After this time, the patients have one-on-one sessions with psychiatrists and counselors to talk about their reason for being in the hospital. Being admitted to the hospital can be numerous, but it starts with a 5150 hold most of the time from the patients here.
In this hospital, one practice they use is a social psychological theory. Using social psychological theory to help patients interact with others and get to the root cause of their issues helps them approach the problem. We learned from our readings that psychological disorders “address the social and psychological factors that contribute to the onset or maintenance of emotional and behavioral problems” (Gruman, 141). We see that this approach is effective in helping the patients learn to deal with the emotion and behavior of how to react and deal with the issues they have when they first came in. This setting also helps deal with social anxiety for the patients. I noticed some doctors use the self-presentation theory on their patients to have issues with others. The self-presentation theory is a “cognitive, social framework” to better grasp how the person handles and deals with the ideas of others are formed about them (Gruman, 145). The self-presentation theory has helped attributes benefit the patient from learning to deal with others and how to respond and overcome. Overall the experience was great, and my outlook has changed.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

Psych 424

Blog #1

Shawn Campbell

Invasive Species: Asian Carp

Throughout the history of Man, we have made what was thought to be a good decision but later turned out to not be the case.  You can see numerous examples relating to the environment like the creation of Dams to control flooding but end up changing down stream crop production or wildlife reproduction.  For my post I’ve decided to focus on the introduction of non-native wildlife, specifically Asian Carp species, to the United States.

In the early 1960’s along the Mississippi River farms were created to use various species of Carp from Asia either for food sources or to control vegetation populations.  The short sightedness of those companies and local officials that those fish could not survive either because of local conditions or a failed hope to breed them sterile would lead to disaster.  Once a flood breached the farms and the animals escaped, they established a breeding population that was expanded over the following decades.

There are four main species that are commonly included under the title “Asian Carp” but each has a similar list of negative effects on the environment.  They out produce native species, put additional pressure on local species and can even be a danger to Human since their reaction to danger is to leap from the water.  There are some spectacular videos online of this occurring during culling events or even casual boat outings.

Using triadic reciprocal determinism developed by Albert Bandura one can see how the three pillars of Behavior, Environment and Personal factors relate to this example.  Behavior is the greed of the farmers to use these species in such a way.  Environmental would be the floods that came and the ability of this non-native fish to thrive.  Personal factors would include the short sightedness to not plan for the worse or to ignore any warnings.

Going forward interventions could be examined for similar situations that exist currently but have not yet reached the same level as the above.  Proposed release of species to counter other species would be an example.  Also, the creation of modified insects with limited understanding of the long terms impacts comes to mind.  Overall, the important goal should be two prong; prevent another calamity while attempting to control or limit the current problem.  Going at this with a complex approach can help to educate and show how problems are created without proper planning.

References:

1. Phelps, Quinton E. et al. “Incorporating Basic And Applied Approaches To Evaluate The Effects Of Invasive Asian Carp On Native Fishes: A Necessary First Step For Integrated Pest Management.” PLOS ONE, vol. 12, no. 9, 2017, p. e0184081., doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184081
2. Lamer, James Thomas et al. “Introgressive Hybridization Between Bighead Carp And Silver Carp In The Mississippi And Illinois Rivers.” North American Journal Of Fisheries Management, vol. 30, no. 6, 2010, pp. 1452-1461., doi:10.1577/m10-053.1
3. Morgan, Mark, and Yun Ho. “Perception Of Asian Carp As A Possible Food Source Among Missouri Anglers.” Human Dimensions Of Wildlife, vol. 23, no. 5, 2018, pp. 491-498., doi:10.1080/10871209.2018.1485990
4. Schrank, Sally J. et al. “Competitive Interactions Between Age-0 Bighead Carp And Paddlefish.” Transactions Of The American Fisheries Society, vol. 132, no. 6, 2003, pp. 1222-1228., doi:10.1577/t02-071
5. “The Fishery.” Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
6. Wittmann, Marion E. et al. “Grass Carp In The Great Lakes Region: Establishment Potential, Expert Perceptions, And Re-Evaluation Of Experimental Evidence Of Ecological Impact.” Canadian Journal Of Fisheries And Aquatic Sciences, vol. 71, no. 7, 2014, pp. 992-999., doi:10.1139/cjfas-2013-0537
7. Varble, Sarah, and Silvia Secchi. “Human Consumption As An Invasive Species Management Strategy. A Preliminary Assessment Of The Marketing Potential Of Invasive Asian Carp In The US.” Appetite, vol. 65, 2013, pp. 58-67., doi:10.1016/j.appet.2013.01.022
8. https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatic/fish-and-other-vertebrates/

Robins are awful birds. They come to Texas in large flocks in the winter and descend on my garden with force. Although the beautiful, pudgy aviators are cute, they’re mean and greedy. They eat as much food as they can eat, which is all of the food I provide, and peck at the resident morning doves, cardinals, and finches. Robins are awful. These annoying birds are protected by federal law under the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918 (Audubon Society, N. A., 2019). Why? Well, birds like the robin are a natural resource essential to ecosystem maintenance. Back in 1918, people were hunting many birds to extinction. The natural resource was being used until it was unavailable for future generations, creating a severe resource dilemma. A resource dilemma is when people must choose between self and community interests regarding a resource.

The over-harvesting of a finite resource that causes instability and unsustainability by humans due to placing self-interest above community and environmental welfare is an example of a tragedy of the commons, which is a concept created by ecologist Garrett Hardin to describe the propensity of humans to put self-serving interests above the communal or environmental (Gruman, 2016). Other examples include overfishing, water, oil and gas usage, etc. The problem of resource depletion was so dire in the early part of the 20th century that the government stepped in and created a law to protect migratory bird species (Audubon Society, N. A., 2019). Hardin suggests that people will not voluntarily conserve or ration resources and that one solution is government intervention. Scientific American writer Brett Frischmann notes, “To avoid tragedy, we need governance to constrain consumption and ensure sustainability. According to Hardin, possible solutions might be government regulation or private-property–enabled markets, either of which would eliminate the commons” (2018). There has to be another way to elicit change without government regulation, and this is where applied social psychology steps in to save the day.

Applied social psychology interventions start by focusing on ways to encourage behavior change that don’t start with the strong arm of government but attempt to alter behavior patterns through psychological theories and research. Researchers Steg and Vlek propose four steps to promoting pro-environment behavior change. Choose the behavior that will positively impact the environment, examine the preceptory factors for the negative behavior, develop an intervention, and evaluate the intervention’s impact (Gruman, 2016).

Many bird conservation advocates and organizations believe in the information-deficit intervention model, which focuses on providing lacking information and knowledge about birds and the effects of their extinction. Unfortunately, studies have shown that this model isn’t the best at creating behavior change and that the way a message is framed determines the outcome. Successful intervention strategies focus on two types of norms, which guide behavior. Descriptive norms are examples of what people think most people do, and injunctive norms focus on what others think is acceptable. A descriptive norm could be that most people don’t care about bird conservation and regularly act negatively toward birds. An injunctive norm could be that if someone doesn’t care about bird conservation, society will not approve. A variety of messaging strategies could encourage people to play a more active role in pro-environment bird conservation, thereby improving the resource dilemma. While it’s impossible to develop an intervention strategy without proper study and research fully, the possibilities are vast.

The development of applied social-psychological interventions based on research and theory can help address resource dilemmas and Hardin’s tragedy of the commons. Some of these issues can be lessened if not resolved. The use of psychological techniques to encourage behavior change is one way applied social psychology can have a massive impact on society and, hopefully, the birds.

Works Cited

Audubon Society, N. A. (2019, October 15). The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, explained. Audubon. Retrieved February 2022, from https://www.audubon.org/news/the-migratory-bird-treaty-act-explained

Frischmann, B. (2018, November 19). The tragedy of the commons, revisited. Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved February 2022, from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-tragedy-of-the-commons-revisited/

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

Defensible Space Theory has been a feature of social design since it was first developed by Oscar Newman in 1972 (Reynald, 2009). The theory has been met with both praise and criticism. Over time, however, it has been tested and refined. Early Defensible Space studies showed value and promise in the theory; more modern studies show that the theory is primed to improve and remain relevant for years to come.

When Newman first published the Defensible Space Theory he identified a simple framework: territoriality, natural surveillance, and image and milieu (Reynald, 2009). Newman argued that there were many factors that made a particular space secure.  Clear delineation of boundaries (territoriality), lines of sight that made homes and buildings easy to see (natural surveillance), and conscientious care of a property (image and milieu) can significantly reduce the likelihood of criminality in that area (Reynald, 2009) This theory was an immediate hit. Newman’s ideas found their way into the plans of many city planners and architects (Reyland, 2009).

Studies came soon after the establishment of Defensible Space Theory. MacDonald and Gifford tested the application of the theory in 1988. They sat down with several young men who had been convicted of burglarizing homes and showed them pictures of houses (MacDonald, 1988). Based on the experience of the burglars, the houses were rated by how attractive they were as burglary targets. This study produced interesting results that reflected core ideas of Defensible Space Theory. One characteristic of houses that burglars were not likely to select was ease of surveillance from the road- a hallmark prediction of Newman’s theory (MacDonald, 1988). Other characteristics had unexpected results; territorial displays such as signs and gates actually increased likelihood of selection because burglars assumed those houses had better stuff to steal (MacDonald, 1988). These early studies displayed the merit of Defensible Space Theory, but they also pointed out ways it could be improved.

Knowing that Defensible Space Theory has a solid foundation has led to further development of the foundational ideas. The theory has been expanded and combined with other ideas. One example is the incorporation of the role of strangers; having a lot of people in an area can potentially amount to surveillance, even if those people aren’t directly engaged in securing that place (Reynald, 2009). Defensible Space has also been combined with other theories such as routine activities of place (Reynald, 2009). Essentially, the layout of an area combined with the patterns of activity in an area have a combined effect on the defensibility of the location (Reynald, 2009). These combined concepts are contributing to the continued growth and evolution of Defensible Space Theory.

Defensible Space Theory continues to evolve. Early studies have supported the basic concepts, and current studies are expanding the bounds of the theory. As we continue to study the nature of design, the effects of surveillance, and the likelihood of criminality in an area our understanding grows. The Defensible Space Theory has grown with that understanding. It will continue to grow and influence our grasp of criminality and social design for years to come.

References

MacDonald, J. E., & Giffors, R. (1989). Territorial cues and defensible space theory: The burglar’s point of view. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 9 (1), 193-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(89)80034-9.

Reynald, D. M., & Elffers, H. (2009). The Future of Newman’s Defensible Space Theory: Linking Defensible Space and the Routine Activities of Place. European Journal of Criminology, 6(1), 25–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370808098103

Amidst the numerous issues COVID-19 has caused for the world, 2022 has brought many issues with food shortages across the world. Something I have noticed personally is a chicken shortage, which has gotten dramatically worse over the last month. When I say worse, I mean the shelves were completely empty the last time I went to the grocery store. Not only is this because of COVID, but also because of the behavior of people. How does that work?

A resource dilemma is a decision made where a person has to decide between their own self-interest regarding a natural resource, versus the interest of the public. In this example, it seems people are very much choosing their own self-interest and buying up all of the chicken as soon as it is in stock. I’m a part of several Facebook groups in my area, and when the shelves are restocked people will notify everyone so they can finally get chicken. Within hours that chicken is gone. How can this be? It’s just like when people run to the store when a storm is coming to buy bread and milk. You’re not going to actually consume all of that bread and milk within a couple of days of a storm, but you buy it anyways. It’s the same situation here. You don’t need all that chicken, but you’re going to buy it out of fear of it running out again. Which, in turn, just causes it to run out again.

According to Steg and Vleck, four steps can be taken to address such an issue (Gifford, 2017). I am using the example of low chicken stocks here. #1 is choosing a specific behavior to change and that would be stopping the public from overbuying chicken as soon as it’s in stock. #2 is examining the primary factors regarding this behavior. Something that’s happened a couple of times where I am (North Carolina) is winter storms. When these storms are predicted, people run to the stores and buy everything in stock. So a huge factor is fear. Some people likely don’t have concern for anyone else if they feel they need the food. Another factor may be awareness. I am only aware of an actual chicken shortage because of social media. If an older lady without social media just so happens to go to the store when the chicken has been restocked, she may not notice a shortage at all and will buy her usual stock of it. The third step is designing and applying an intervention. My intervention would be putting signs up around the meat section of stores enforcing a limit on the amount of chicken you may buy. Finally, step 4 would be to evaluate the results of the intervention and the environment to see if the intervention has proven to be effective.

Upon further research, I did discover that my intervention has been put into effect in several states. I suppose it just hasn’t reached my area yet because so far, there is no limit on buying chicken. According to USA Today, panic buying is indeed a contributor to low stocks of items, describing both snowstorms and wildfires as the factors that exacerbate the stock issues that COVID has initially caused (Tyko, 2022). All in all, I think that if everyone was limited on how much they could buy, the stock issues would slowly but surely be eliminated.

Gifford, R. (2017). Applying social psychology to the environment. In J. GrumanF. Schneider, & L. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology (pp. 351-382). SAGE Publications, Inc, https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591.n13

Tyko, K. (2022). Grocery stores still have empty shelves amid supply chain disruptions, omicron and winter storms. Retrieved 3 February 2022, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2022/01/12/shortage-grocery-store-empty-shelves/9178100002/

Resource dilemmas can be described as “situations in which individuals must choose between self-interest (taking or using unsustainable amounts of natural resource, such as water or fish) and the interests of the community of the environment (taking a sustainable share, or less, of the resource)” (Gruman, 2017). There are four steps that we can take to promote pro-environment behavior change: choose a specific behavior to change that will benefit the environment; examine the factors that underly the behavior; design and implement an intervention; and evaluate the effects of the intervention on the behavior and environment (Steg & Vlek, 2009 as cited in Gruman, 2017).

Overfishing is a resource dilemma in the world today. Overfishing can be described as catching so much fish at once, that the breeding population cannot keep up (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022). Overfishing creates an imbalance that can gradually destroy the food web (World Wild Life, 2022). Overfishing also leads to a loss of other important marine life, such as, turtles and corals (World Wild Life, 2022). There are a few factors that cause overfishing. First, wastefulness is a significant factor to overfishing (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022). Commercial fisheries often catch massive amounts of fish and/or other animals and then discard the ones that they do not want (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022). Next, poor fishing management is another significant factor to overfishing (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022). Many commercial fisheries around the world either follow rules that make the problem worse, or have no rules at all (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022).

(US Department of Commerce, 2016)

By following the four steps created by Steg and Vlek (2009), we can solve this resource dilemma. First, choose a specific behavior to change that will benefit the environment (Steg & Vlek, 2009 as cited in Gruman, 2017). In this case, the behavior is fishing/overfishing. Second, examine the factors that cause the behavior (Steg & Vlek, 2009 as cited in Gruman, 2017). As I mentioned above, there are a couple factors that contribute to overfishing: wastefulness and poor management are the main factors (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022). Third, design and implement an intervention (Steg & Vlek, 2009 as cited in Gruman, 2017). Smarter management systems and rules can help stop overfishing (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022). This management system is known as fishing rights and is already implemented in Belize, Denmark, Namibia, and the United States (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022). Fishing rights focuses on both the fisherman’s interests and the long-term help of marine life (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022).

(Steg & Vlek, 2009)

The intervention (fishing rights) mentioned above has already been implemented in various countries and so far has been proven to be successful (Environmental Defense Fund, 2022). This intervention is successful because it eliminates both precipitating (poor fishing management) and perpetuating (wastefulness) factors. This intervention also follows all four steps of Steg and Vlek’s (2009) steps that we can take to promote pro-environment behavior change: choose a specific behavior to change that will benefit the environment; examine the factors that underly the behavior; design and implement an intervention; and evaluate the effects of the intervention on the behavior and environment (Gruman, 2017).

References

Environmental Defense Fund. (2022). Overfishing: The most serious threat to our oceans. Environmental Defense Fund. Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://www.edf.org/oceans/overfishing-most-serious-threat-our-oceans#:~:text=What%20leads%20to%20overfishing%3F,have%20no%20rules%20at%20all.

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

Supporting sustainable behavior change framework (Steg … (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Supporting-Sustainable-Behavior-Change-Framework-Steg-Vlek-2009_fig3_341314057

US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2016, June 23). How does overfishing threaten coral reefs? NOAA’s National Ocean Service. Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral-overfishing.html

World Wild Life. (2022). What is overfishing? facts, effects and overfishing solutions. WWF. Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing#:~:text=When%20too%20many%20fish%20are,like%20sea%20turtles%20and%20corals.

While reading the textbook for this weeks lesson, the focus of the chapter was on resource dilemmas. Resource dilemmas or common dilemmas are defined as situations in which individuals must choose between self-interest and the interests of the community or environment. They occur when someone wants to do something that uses a limited natural resource that would make life easier, more fun, or more comfortable (Gruman, 2016). While reading about resource dilemmas, a resource dilemma that immediately came to my mind was the excessive use of fresh water which is leading to a water supply shortage.

In one of the first discussion posts for class, I wrote about how people tend to wastewater that is safe to drink. People tend to take advantage of overusing household water and waste a large sum of it. I remember throughout my elementary school years learning about ways I can contribute to making the world a better place by saving water. One way to do this was by turning off the tap while I am brushing my teeth which can lead to saving about eight gallons of water. We were shown a clip of a celebrity informing us that they turn off their tap while brushing their teeth. This was an attempt to influence our habits of turning off the tap while brushing our teeth. 

In the United States, I believe many citizens take the use of fresh water for granted and I will admit that I am one of them. Water is used for so many things and keeps us alive. It is a statistic that less than 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh (Gruman, 2016). Water is believed to be an abundant resource that will never have a shortage but this is wrong. Water is wasted daily by many tasks that people do not think twice about the amount of water that is being wasted. Examples include taking a long shower, watering your lawn so it remains green in the summertime, brushing your teeth with the sink running, running the washing machine before it is full because you need a specific clothing item to be cleaned, etc. Situations of wasting water occur every day. Many people take water for granted and do not pay attention to the amount of water that is wasted daily. Due to many people believing that water is an abundant resource, they pay little attention to how much they waste and are not aware of the effects that overconsumption of fresh water may lead to if it continues. 

A few years ago, I travelled to the country of Fiji. Fiji is a developing country and I was there for a service trip. While I was there, I became aware of how much water I tended to waste when I was home in the United States. While returning home from the trip, it made me pay attention to the amount of water I was using and to do little tasks to reduce my water consumption. For example, while in Fiji I was advised to take short showers which they called “military showers” because there was little water for everyone to be able to take long showers that we may be used to at home. While returning home from Fiji, my shower time became much shorter because I became aware of how much time and water is wasted while taking a long shower. The trip open my eyes to the knowledge that freshwater is not an abundant resource and should not be taken for granted. 

People can make small contributions to saving water in their own homes. Becoming informed about the resource dilemma of the excessive use of fresh water which is leading to a water supply shortage is the first step in contributing to an intervention for this issue. A possible intervention may be advising households to use a certain amount of water per day. In a social psychology class, I learned that in a study about energy conservation, believing your neighbors care about energy conservation may be an important motivator to get you to consume less energy. This can be applied to water conservation by making people believe that their neighbors care about water conservation so it could motivate them to use less water. 

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781506353951

In this lesson, we discussed the relationship between human behavior and natural and built environments. What I want to discuss is a resource dilemma that is occurring in the world all over. A resource dilemma is something that is effecting our environment negatively and needs improvement. I think this is an important topic to discuss because I feel that us humans are creating these issues for our environment. A major resource dilemma that is occurring all over the world is littering. I want to talk about why this resource dilemma is occurring, what it is doing to our environment, and what can be prevented in the future to eliminate littering (Gruman, 2016).

What is littering: Littering is the improper disposal of garbage in the environment.

Why do people litter?: The main reason for littering is due to the fact that people are lazy. Instead of finding a garbage, people think that it is easier to throw their garbage on the floor. There also may not be a garbage available which leads to people just throwing their trash on the floor.

What is this doing to our environment?: Littering causes extreme harm to our environment. It not only effects us humans, but it also negatively effects innocent animals as well. The first reason as to why littering effects our environment is because of the pollution that it is causing. When litter degrades it produces chemicals and Microparticles. For example, a cigarette contains chemicals such as arsenic and formaldehyde which are poisons that go into our soil and freshwater sources. The pollution also causes respiratory issues and health problems. Another problem that is created because of pollution is the killing of animals. Researchers state that over one million animals die each year after eating or being trapped in trash. Finally, litter is spreading diseases, viruses and parasites. This occurs if people come in contact with the litter and touch the trash. Additionally, bacteria and parasites can also be transmitted to humans through an affected vector. These are animals or insects that are contaminated from the litter and then transfer it to humans (How littering really affects the environment, 2021).

How to prevent this: There are numerous ways to eliminate this problem and prevent it from occurring the future. An intervention needs to be made in order to stop littering. The first idea that I had to prevent littering was to be more strict with the littering laws. Although these laws are already enforced, there needs to be more people giving out fines to people who litter. I have never actually heard of people getting in trouble littering like I do when people speed, go through a red light etc. If there are more people giving out fines, then people will feel hesitant to litter knowing that there are consequences. Another way that this can be prevented is by having more organizations that provide clean ups. If more people get involved to clean up the community around them, then it will make our environment a much better place. I believe that people will want to clean up if they are educated about what littering is doing to our environment. Finally, there needs to be more garbage cans available around the communities so people are able to throw their garbage out if they are on a walk or just outside. This will eliminate the amount of trash on the floors of the environment.

Littering is a type of resource dilemma that is rising and not getting better. We must be educated to stop this issue and prevent it from occurring in the future!!!

Resources:

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

Littering facts: How littering really affects the environment: TDS. Texas Disposal Systems. (2021).