PSYCH 424 blog

We have all seen the iconic Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson movie How to lose a guy in 10 days. Many of us have got it down to a science on how to love a guy in 10 dates but how can you win a guy. Kate Hudson’s character in the movie Andie begins an adventure with Matthew McConaughey’s character Ben and takes all mistake women make and drives to drive him away. (Common Sense Media) By the end of the movie, they realize they have more similarities than differences. This is an example of “Bird of a feather flock together” their similar interests and core values aligned enough to make their relationship long lasting.

Society has a saying opposite attract, yes this can be true but only for short term relationships. Similarities and common core values are key to a long-term relationship. (Gruman 2017) Opposites attract for a short period of time due to the interesting the other person and why they are so different but once that curiosity fades the conversation can not reach the next level of intimacy. Attraction between opposites is surface level they will never be able to reach deep conversation and connect on a different level. (Administrator 2016)

The laws of attractions known as the similar-to-me effect. This means the individual gets along with people that tend to look and think like they do. This is why many individuals love someone that has similar interests, jobs, race, religion, or hobbies. As a society we like the familiarity of having something in common with the person we are attracted to. (Lurtz, 1999). Studies have shown that people with similar Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator.

There are four types of attraction physical, aesthetic, intellectual, and emotional attractions. Attraction comes in many forms, and you do not have to all four of them to desire to be with an individual.(Editors 2022) These forms of attraction are very fluid and can change throughout the course of a relationship in the begin it may be physical or aesthetic but once you get to know the person on a deeper level you could be more attracted to on a deeper level.

References

Allport, A. (1985). The historical background of social psychology. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.). Handbook of social psychology (Vol. 1, 3rd ed., pp. 1-46). New York: Random House.

Bernard, G. (2003). Language use as social strategy: A review and an analytic framework for the social sciences. Review of General Psychology7(3). 251-298.

Luo, S., & Klohnen, E.C. (2005). Assortative Mating and Marital Quality in Newlyweds: A Couple-Centered Approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(2), 304-326.

Lurtz, P.K. (1999). Partner similarity and relationship satisfaction among couples. Dissertation Abstracts International, 60, 4-A.

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

How to lose a guy in 10 Days movie review. Common Sense Media. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/how-to-lose-a-guy-in-10-days

Administrator. (2016, January 25). Attraction – iresearchnet. Psychology. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/prosocial-behavior/attraction/

Editors, B. (2022, February 28). 7 things to know about the psychology of attraction. Brides. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.brides.com/psychology-of-attraction-5105329

Everyone watched the breath takingly beautiful Shanann Watts on Facebook live showing off her children and adoring husband Chris Watts. Then as we found out about her and her children’s heartbreaking disappearance and then later on realization of their death. It made every family in America question their own family unit and the neighbors around them. How could such a seemly normal family be brutally murders by the one that seemed to love them the most.

America watched this “perfect” husband tried to deny knowing anything about his wife and children’s death. FBI Agent Graham Coder spent hours with Chris Watts trying to get a confession about what really happened to his family. They used tactics use as befriending him, choosing specific language when they talked about the crimes such as the word “accident” versus murder. (Gruman 20017) They also used language that made him feel victimized by the crimes and not guilty of causing them. For example, stating that Shannan was responsible for hurting the children and he only hurt her to save the kids’ lives.

All of his confession and interview were recorded on tape as video proof of what he stated. They used this to recall important information he mistakenly told police through his interview. Video recording of confessions has been controversial since they were first used. This is due to that fact that they can watched in a court of law. They jury can use them as their main determining factor when convicting an individual. The environment that an interrogation is being held in is one that is forced and where the person is unable to leave. This can lead to coerced confession and a hostile environment. Sadly this is not normally taken into account when the jury is watching the tapes.

They wanted to befriend him so he would be more willing to talk. One of Chris Watt’s requested from the FBI agent was the right to talk to his father. During this time the individual did not know he was being recorded and felt comfortable with his father to release more information. Throughout the entire interview they were reading his nonverbal communication and body language. The FBI agent at this point knew that he was willing to convince others of his innocence to all extents this led them to ask if he was willing to participate in a lie detector examination. The result of this test lead investigators to be he was guilty of the crime of killing his wife and children.

References

Ray, A. (2019, December 9). Here’s how investigators got Chris Watts to confess to murdering his family. E! Online. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.eonline.com/news/1100487/here-s-how-investigators-got-chris-watts-to-confess-to-murdering-his-family

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

Tron, G. (2019, December 9). ‘it was such a risky move,’ so why did investigators let Chris Watts meet with his dad while being questioned? Oxygen Official Site. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.oxygen.com/criminal-confessions/crime-news/why-chris-watts-allowed-meet-dad-questioning

Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgment. In H. Guetzkow (ed.) Groups, leadership and men. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.

Fiedler, F.E. & Garcia, J.E. (1987). New approaches to leadership: Cognitive resources and organizational performance. NY: Wiley.

Gaver, J. (1999, October 18). LITIGATION: Who Wins?  Who Loses? And, Who Really Benefits? Action America. Retrieved online at: http://actionamerica.org/courts/litigate.html

Mann, C. (2011, July 15). Okla. woman mistaken for Casey Anthony attacked by woman in minivan, say cops. CBS News. 

Michigan State University and the Death Penalty Information Center. (2000). Would You Be Chosen to Serve on a Jury? High School Curriculum: The Death Penalty. Retrieved online at:

Liston, B. (2011, July 17). Casey Anthony’s attorneys mum on her whereabouts. Reuters.

Loftus, E.L., & Palmer, J.C. (1974). Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction: An

Throughout high school there are many stressors, what college will I go to, will I make the sports team, will he ask me out, these are some of the normal stressors of being a teenage but what if your main stressor was pregnancy. Theres an estimated 750,000 pregnancies a year that equals out to every three out of ten American girls will get pregnant before age 20. (11 Facts about teen pregnancy)

Every parent and sexual education teachers try to use the fear appeal when it comes to educating teens about sexual activity. “Fear appeals are persuasive messages that attempt to arouse fear by emphasizing the potential danger and harm that will befall if they do not adopt the messages recommendations.” (Tannenbaum 2015) This is used in the form of stating abstinence is the only way to stop the procreation of a child. Another tactic that is used is the fear that if an individual has sexual intercourse once they will either die, contract a disease, or get someone pregnant from the thought of sex. Fear appeal is not always the worst way to approach a topic, however if it is the only method used the individual can miss out on important facts that are necessary to make an informed decision about the topic.

Many states throughout the country use the abstinence only education module. This fear tactic is used primarily in Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana. Many other states use this method of teach for a portion of the curriculum but emphasize the importance of other methods as well. Out of these five states they have the highest number of live births among teenagers. (Abstinence Only 2022)

Thankfully over the years this fear appeals has been used less and less among parents and the sexual education curriculum. Society has a whole has learned that fear appeal is not always the best way of teaching. Studies have shown that teens have had few in 2010 than any other years since the mid-1994. (11 Facts about teen pregnancy) This is an incredible accomplishment for our society.

References

Abstinence-only education states 2022. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/abstinence-only-education-states

Dillard JP, Plotnick CA, Godbold LC, Freimuth VS, Edgar T. The multiple affective outcomes of AIDS PSAs: Fear appeals do more than scare people. Communication Research. 1996;23:44–72. doi: 10.1177/009365096023001002.

Tannenbaum, M. B., Hepler, J., Zimmerman, R. S., Saul, L., Jacobs, S., Wilson, K., & Albarracín, D. (2015, November). Appealing to fear: A meta-analysis of Fear Appeal Effectiveness and theories. Psychological bulletin. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5789790/#:~:text=Fear%20appeals%20are%20persuasive%20messages,Maddux%20%26%20Rogers%2C%201983).