PSYCH 424 blog

In Chapter 5 of our textbook, Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems by Jamie A. Gruman, Frank W. Schneider, and Larry M. Coutts, the authors discussed learned helplessness, the hopelessness theory of depression, and hopeless depression. I, as a graduate student most interested in anxiety, depression, and trauma, paid special attention to this part of the writing and found it quite interesting.

The learned helplessness model of depression is a model based on a 1975 study by Martin Seligman, in which Seligman administered unavoidable and uncontrollable shocks to dogs. Later, the dogs were again shocked but were given the ability to escape the shocks, yet they didn’t. Seligman proposed that the reason for this was because the dogs had already learned that there was nothing they could do to change the situation they were in, and therefore, did nothing when shocked again, even though they had the opportunity to escape the shocks; the dogs had become psychologically helpless, much like humans with depression. The model was then adjusted into a cognitive-social model of human depression in 1978 called the attributional reformulation of the learned helplessness theory of depression, which proposed that people are depressed as a result of the attributions they make for why bad things happen to them. In this model, people who are depressed are said to make pessimistic attributions which lead them to believe that they are helpless to change anything and that nothing they can do or say will change what is happening to them. According to Seligman, thoughts of helplessness regarding the future lead to symptoms of depression.

The hopelessness theory of depression (HTD) was developed by Abramson, Metalsky, and Alloy (1989), and was based on the learned helplessness theory of depression. HTD suggests that when the following two factors are present concurrently, depressive symptoms are extremely likely to occur; the following two factors are (a) a vulnerable person, and (b) negative environmental circumstances. Though the two factors occurring concurrently are especially likely to cause depressive symptoms to occur, experiencing one of the two by itself could be a risk of developing depressive symptoms. In HTD, a vulnerable person is described as someone who has a propensity to interpret the cause of aversive life events negatively, this is referred to as the pessimistic explanatory style. Someone with this type of explanatory story would explain an adverse event as being due to a stable, or unchangeable, cause rather than an unstable, or changeable cause. For example, if they were to fail at a task, they may say it’s because they are unskilled or untalented, which will leave the individual depressed longer than an individual who would attribute this to not trying hard enough or not having practiced enough. Related to the pessimistic explanatory style, is the propensity to have negative outcome expectancies. These are also called hopelessness expectancies and are described as the expectation that desirable outcomes will fail to occur and that the individual is unable to change the outcome and their situation, or conversely, that undesirable outcomes are destined to occur and are unavoidable.

The unique type of depression that comes from these expectancies has been referred to as hopelessness depression, and shares many symptoms with clinical depression as described in the DSM, but has more particular symptoms, such as increased interpersonal dependency, and decreased self-esteem, as well as apathy and lethargy. There is evidence from research to support the idea that hopelessness depression is a disorder distinguishable from other forms of clinical depression. Research has shown that pessimistic styles of attribution can predict symptoms of hopelessness in depression. This type of research is very important as knowing the factors in the development of depression can help in preventing and treating depression and anxiety. For example, using this line of research, if one is to believe that having a pessimistic explanatory style and having negative outcome expectancies is a factor in developing depression, professionals can create interventions to help clients change expectations and their explanatory style to help prevent depressive styles, help treat depression, or lessen the likelihood of reoccurrence.

The hopelessness theory of depression and the concept of learned helplessness are still being discussed and further explored to this day, showing how influential these theories are to the field of psychology. Though some studies dispute some aspects of the theory (as with most research studies), other aspects have been supported, with the most pervasive aspect to come out of the HTD being the diathesis-stress model. Indeed, a study from 2015 found that the assertion that a relationship exists between negative inferential styles and depression through exposure to negative life events was supported by their data (Liu RT, Kleiman EM, Nestor BA, Cheek SM. The Hopelessness Theory of Depression: A Quarter Century in Review. Clin Psychol (New York). 2015 Dec 1;22(4):345-365. doi: 10.1111/cpsp.12125. Epub 2015 Nov 24. PMID: 26709338; PMCID: PMC4689589), showing that the diathesis-stress model has remained a strong theory to explain the development of mental disorders. As with many theories in Psychology, many researchers dispute or doubt aspects of the study, while others, like the diathesis-stress model, have been supported, but either way, these studies are not only extremely interesting, but have been influential to the field of psychology.

References:

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2005). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Sage Publications, Inc.

Liu RT, Kleiman EM, Nestor BA, Cheek SM. The Hopelessness Theory of Depression: A Quarter Century in Review. Clin Psychol (New York). 2015 Dec 1;22(4):345-365. doi: 10.1111/cpsp.12125. Epub 2015 Nov 24. PMID: 26709338; PMCID: PMC4689589

People want others to think highly of them. The way we dress, how we act, and who we associate with, are all subconsciously in the back of our minds, influencing our behavior and causing tension when we fear we won’t be perceived positively or accepted. Self-presentation theory helps describe this complex process, aiming to explain how individuals control & manage how others perceive them. The theory is based on the idea that people want to create a favorable impression among those around them, a concept known as high self-presentational motivation (Gruman et al., 2016). At the same time, people may experience low social self-efficacy, meaning they doubt their abilities to present themselves in the way they desire, which can lead to an internal conflict.

This fear of not succeeding & presenting yourself in ways that please others is seen all around us. It manifests in how we dress & behave for job interviews, dates, or even family reunions. I believe this issue is more prevalent than ever due to the rise of social media. Social media amplifies these pressures, especially for young and impressionable individuals who present themselves publicly online. Many argue that social media can lead to a false self-presentation, where people showcase a edited version of their lives. In turn, many seek approval in the form of likes or comments, further heightening the fear of not meeting expectations & living up to an idealized image.

A recent study by Hjetland et al. (2022) uncovered very interesting information about social media use & its relation to adolescents. The study explored how adolescents focus on self-presentation across social media platforms & how this focus relates to personality traits, demographics, & lifestyle factors. The study found that characteristics such as being female, high extraversion, and low emotional stability were linked to a higher focus on self-presentation. This suggests that individuals with these traits may be more vulnerable to the negative mental health effects of constantly managing their online personas. For example, girls & those with lower emotional stability (who often are younger and more active on social media) might feel an increased pressure to maintain a polished image, leading to heightened anxiety & stress. This highlights the importance of being mindful of social media use, especially for younger individuals.

In conclusion, self-presentation theory offers valuable insight into how people manage themselves in social settings & the anxiety that arises when they fear failure. In today’s world, with social media being so prevalent, particularly among youth, the theory explains why so many young people feel pressure to present a perfect version of themselves. It also explains the anxiety that can result when these expectations are not met. Understanding these thought processes and being cautious about getting too absorbed in online personas can be powerful tools in reducing the anxiety that stems from trying to fit in.

References:

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (3rd ed.). SAGE Publication

Hjetland, G. J., Finserås, T. R., Sivertsen, B., Colman, I., Hella, R. T., & Skogen, J. C. (2022). Focus on self-presentation on social media across sociodemographic variables, lifestyles, and personalities: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(17), 11133. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711133

ASP plays the most essential role in comprehending mental health problems from both a clinical and a health perspective. Studying the social influences of such matters as societal norms, group behaviors, and interpersonal relationships on individual health behaviors, ASP bridges a critical gap from basic psychological theories to practical applications. Such an approach would become particularly useful when looking at complex issues such as mental health, where a mix of biological, psychological, and social elements all come into interactive play to determine outcomes.

One of the important concepts from social psychology that applies directly to clinical and health contexts is the *Health Belief Model* (HBM). This model advocates that in any particular individual, his health behavior will be influenced by his perception of the severity of the health issue, his perception of vulnerability or susceptibility, the benefits to be reaped, and the barriers to action. The model thus makes understandable, in mental health, the avoidance of treatment even when symptoms attributed to anxiety, depression, or other disorders are recognized. For instance, the perceived stigma of mental illness outweighs the benefits derived from getting help and thus delays treatment or avoids it altogether. ASP intends to break down these barriers by underlining social and cognitive elements: through educational interventions, campaigns of destigmatization, and health policies.

ASP also provides valuable insights into how social environments contribute to the development or alleviation of mental health conditions. For example, chronic stress, social isolation, and discrimination elevate an individual’s risk for mental health disorders. This, therefore, means that the application of the ASP concept in clinical practice requires looking beyond the individual to their wider social environment. The use of group therapy, community-based support systems, social skills training, and other such interventions reflects this understanding, helping individuals build stronger social networks that foster better mental health outcomes.

In addition, ASP has been instrumental in developing workplace programs that improve mental well-being. Examples include trauma-informed care in occupation-a very important feature in a high-stress environment such as healthcare, law enforcement, or social work. The workplace can be made a supportive environment that builds resilience instead of exacerbating the mental health challenge by enlightening management and staff about the effects of trauma and stress.
This perspective also is consistent with the purpose of clinical and health psychology but brings notions of social psychology in terms of organizational culture, leadership, and peer relationships to employee well-being.

It follows that the application of Applied Social Psychology in clinical and health contexts advances the capability of addressing mental health issues holistically.

Models such as the Health Belief Model provide a conceptual framework for interpreting the influence of social and cognitive factors on health behavior, and the application of ASP will no doubt advance new methods to enhance outcomes regarding mental health. The application of ASP is going to be an important constituent in the design of more effective mental health interventions and further research on the role of social health factors.

**Reference:** Rosenstock, I. M. (1974). Historical origins of the Health Belief Model. *Health Education Monographs, 2*(4), 328–335.

As students, I’m sure we have all felt a degree of anxiety. Whether it was social or general, or even just too much stress about academics. However, anxiety and high self-presentational motivation come as a double edged sword to those who experience it. Self-presentational motivation is defined as the “degree to which people are concerned with how others perceive them…” (Gruman et al., 2017, 103). This, combined with social or general anxiety, can make for a suffocating combination.

As if anxiety wasn’t enough, it’s usually accompanied by a sense of perfectionism that can be debilitating. Now applying this with academic overachievement, especially in university students, there’s a whirlwind of debilitating personality dimensions. Though, it’s more common than you’d think. Perfectionism can lead to burnout, self-sabotage, depression, etc… all while still dealing with anxiety.

A cross sectional study was conducted on the subject by Katherine Natasha Smith-Mace at the University of Bristol. Results indicated these dimensions influence student’s level of academic motivation and performance. With anxiety comes doubt, and with doubt comes a higher intention to influence how you are perceived. It’s a vicious circle. However, there are different steps and measures that can be taken to lessen these dimensions.

University counseling, psychiatry, talking with peers, seeking support from loved ones, the choices are almost endless. There are also steps that can be taken alone to lessen the feelings of pressure and anxiety, like music or exercise. There are always options and help to be taken.

Sources:

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Chapter 5: Applying Social Psychology to Clinical and Counseling Psychology. In Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed., pp. 97-127). Sage.

Smith-Mace, K. N. (2020, January). Beyond the Big-5: Perfectionistic Self-Presentation and Academic Motivation in Higher Educational Students. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338840820_Beyond_the_Big-5_Perfectionistic_Self-Presentation_and_Academic_Motivation_in_Higher_Educational_Students

The unhealthy eating behavior is related to people’s emotional states. There are different unhealthy eating behavior like making eating decision based on their positive or negative emotional state and also eating midnight snacks at midnight after eating three meals in a day. There is a positive correlation in high positive and negative mood and food intake. People who experienced extremely positive or negative mood are more likely to have a greater food intake. The food decision is also one thing that cause unhealthy eating behavior. People who experienced anxiety will make a bad dietary pattern by intaking high sugar snacks and others that are unhealthy. The research shows that women experienced more anxiety than men and in this case women have a higher chance to do unhealthy eating behavior (Mróz, 2023).

People who experienced anxiety and negative emotional states will do unhealthy eating behavior. Health psychology would be able to help and reduce the unhealthy behavior. There are multiple models in health psychology that would help them to change their health behavior. Health belief model is one of the thing that can help people understand their body status and people would find benefits of doing good behavior. There are perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers for health belief model. For susceptibility, it is going to tell people how likely would you get any diseases when people have unhealthy eating behavior, and severity would tell them how bad is it going to be. If it is very bad, perceived benefits are going to tell them the good things about healthy behavior, and barriers are going to find out what is stopping them from doing healthy behavior. In this case, anxiety could be the barrier that stops you from healthy behavior. But understanding the consequences of unhealthy behavior and the benefits of healthy behavior would help people change their attitude about their behavior and starts to eat healthier (Gruman, 2016).

Transtheoretical model is another model that will help people change their behavior to a healthier behavior. There are 5 stages that helps people to change their behavior. From the first step to the final steps are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. For precontemplation, people have no intention and not motivated to change their behavior, which is what most people think when they do the behavior. Contemplation is when people start thinking about changing their behavior when they think about the consequences of unhealthy behavior and the benefits of healthy behavior. Preparation is for people to be prepared for the changes they are going to make. The fourth step is action and this is when people are well prepared and starting to make some changes by actually doing it, and in this case it would be people stop choosing unhealthy food to eat. The final step is to maintain the changes they make, so this would be people maintain their healthy food behavior and this would help them to avoid any sickness (Gruman, 2016).

People who have unhealthy behavior are mostly experiencing high level of anxiety, and the behavior would cost them their own health. These bad or unhealthy behavior can be changed with multiple models in health psychology. For health belief model, the 4 components will help people understand if they are likely to get a bad disease or not, and also the benefits of changing their unhealthy behavior will persuade people to do healthy behavior even there could be something that stops them. Transtheoretical model will separate the whole process into 5 steps so people can slowly change their unhealthy behavior. This model would make the whole process sounds easier and eventually people will be able to maintain the changes.

Reference
Mróz, M., Gross, J. J., & Brytek-Matera, A. (2023). Trait anxiety and unhealthy eating in adult women: The mediating role of cognitive instability. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 296. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010296

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

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects millions of people all over the world. It can be related to genetics but also lifestyle factors such as being overweight, not eating a healthy diet, and lack of exercise. Treatment normally consists of a person having to check their blood sugar several times a day and injecting insulin, taking oral medication, eating healthier foods and increasing exercise. Health Psychologists can help a person adhere to treatment by using psychosocial and behavioral techniques (Hunter, 2016).  

Starting an exercise regimen or eating a healthy diet is not an easy task. The Theory of Planned Behavior can be used by changing the person’s attitude about diet and exercise. Subjective norms can help if a close family member or friend feels this person needs to make a change to help decrease their blood sugar. The most important part is perceived behavioral control of the person who needs to make the change. The person needs to believe they can get into the habit of exercising/eating healthy to be successful (Gruman, 2016). 

The Transtheoretical Model can also be used to help a person make healthier lifestyle changes. The first step is precontemplation where the person has no intention of changing. The second step is contemplation where the person is thinking of changing in the next 6 months. The third is preparation, which is when the person has a plan to change by joining a gym and they have a healthy meal plan in place. The fourth is action where the person is actively changing their behavior, and the fifth step is maintenance when the person has changed their behavior for at least 6 months (Gruman, 2016).  

Informational appeals can be useful to explain why it is important to follow a healthy diet and exercise to help lower blood sugar. Healthy recipes can be provided and in time, they may be able to stop medication. This can be more cost effective and perhaps eliminate any side effects that could be caused by medication. Fear appeals can be used by explaining that continued high blood sugar causes inflammation in the blood vessels and causes heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. High blood sugar can also decrease the amount of circulating blood to extremities which in time can increase the risk of losing a limb (Hunter, 2016). Graphic photos can be used to help send the message of what can happen if the person does not work at decreasing their blood sugar. 

Social support is also important in implementing a change in lifestyle. This support can come from the health psychologist, medical professionals, family and friends. It can come in the form of informational support from the health psychologist and medical professionals by providing treatment recommendations, emotional support can come from family and friends by encouraging the person to follow treatment recommendations and perhaps actively participating by eating a healthy diet and following an exercise routine. More and more, health psychologists are playing a crucial role in helping people manage their chronic health conditions.  

 References 

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

Hunter, Christine. (2016). Understanding diabetes and the role of psychology in its prevention and treatment. American Psychologist. Understanding Diabetes and the Role of Psychology in Its Prevention and Treatment (apa.org) 

The electric vehicle (EV) is a breakthrough achievement in the automotive industry that has taken off across the United States (Davenport et al., 2024; Osaka, 2024). The country sold nearly 1.2 million fully electric vehicles last year more than quadrupling the number in 2019 (Osaka, 2024). More and more public locations across the US are installing charging stations and EVs have started to become less niche as they are now being produced by 42 car companies and recognizable ones like Ford, GM, and Hyundai (Davenport et al., 2024; Osaka, 2024). Furthermore, EVs are the fastest-growing segment of the auto industry (Davenport et al., 2024).

The environmental benefits of EVs are indisputable and as such they have been used as a strategy to combat climate change by turning away from the gasoline-powered cars that are a major cause of global warming (Davenport et al., 2024). The movement towards an electric automotive future are evident with California announcing a rule in August 2022 to fully phase out gas-powered cars by 2035 and with the Biden administration finalizing a Environmental Protection Agency rule this past March that would push automakers to produce more than 50 percent of their cars as electric or hybrid by 2032 (Osaka, 2024).New limits on vehicle emissions would avoid more than seven billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 30 years, provide $100 billion in annual net benefits to society including $13 billion annually in public health benefits, and would save the American driver about $6,000 in reduced fuel and maintenance over the life of their vehicle (Davenport et al., 2024). Seems like a win win right?

Well, all this being said, the one thing holding the country back from this all-electric future is political polarization (Osaka, 2024). Sales have consistently shown us that Republicans are not as eager towards this idea (Osaka, 2024). A 2023 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 70 percent of Republicans and leaning Republicans were not likely to consider purchasing a EV compared to the 56 percent of Democrats who said they would consider one (Davenport et al., 2024). A Gallup poll reported similar results this past March finding 61 percent of Democrats stating they were “seriously considering” or “might consider” buying a EV in the future compared to only 24 percent of Republicans who would consider it (Osaka, 2024). It also reported that 69 percent of Republicans blatantly stated they “would not buy” an EV in the future (Osaka, 2024).

So what is the cause of this discrepancy? One possible reason is that EVs are found consistently higher in Democratic counties allowing for more awareness and ultimately causing others to be influenced to purchase one (Osaka, 2024). Another crucial issues is that this topic has become a platform of political debate with Republican and Democratic leaders differing on opinion (Osaka, 2024). Republican leaders have been very outspoken with their opinions against the movement such as former president Donald Trump who has called it “electric car lunacy” and the idea of a EV future “very, very stupid.” No matter your opinion, these outspoken stances have influenced followers and made the issue more polarizing.

“They’re trying to ban gas cars – I’m not going to buy a Biden-mobile,” and “Republicans are instinctively: ‘If Biden’s for it, we’re against.'” states Mike Murphy, a former Republican strategist and head of the non profit EV Politics Project which aims to counter misinformation on electric cars and encourage conservatives to accept the idea (Osaka, 2024).

In order to make noticeable impacts on climate this difference of opinion must be addressed. About 40 percent of new car buyers are Republicans, so without their support, the country won’t be able to fully shift to electric vehicles (Osaka, 2024). Murphey states, “If you can’t crack the Republican problem there is no way you can get to these targets… they are going to run out of Democrats” (Davenport et al., 2024).

When looking at strategies for inducing pro-environment behavior we must recognize that many problems have basis in human behavior. We can utilize tactics that stem from applied psychology like Steg and Vlek’s (2009) steps to promote pro-environmental behavior change (Gruman et al., 2016). This involves running an intervention and often starts by selecting a desired behavior and particular group for the intervention as opposed to targeting “everyone” (Gruman et al., 2016). In this situation we have a already set up the specific group of Republicans as who we want to insight change in their behaviors towards accepting electric vehicles. We would look at the underlying factors causing these behaviors and design an intervention around it.

As of now, there are many analysts hoping to change how conservatives see EVs. The Potential Energy Coalition which is a group that uses marketing strategies to boost climate action found that abstract messaging such as EVs path to energy independence does not work as well as pointing out out how they cut pollution and the cost of owning a car (Osaka, 2024). Additionally, talk of mandates, bans, and limitations never work and generally turn Republicans away (Osaka, 2024). We should focus on how they help consumers directly, noting that they are fast, quiet, and need much less maintenance (Osaka, 2024).

In order to achieve a successful transition to electric vehicles, it is crucial to understand the political divide that surrounds it and address the concerns of Republican buyers. By conducting proper interventions, focusing on tangible benefits of EVs, and avoiding further disagreement we can move towards a sustainable automotive future for all.

References

Davenport, C., Friedman, L., & Ewing, J. (2024, March 21). Inside the Republican attacks on electric vehicles. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/climate/republican-attacks-electric-vehicles.html

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

Osaka, S. (2024, May 6). Here’s why so many Republicans won’t buy EVs. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/05/06/ev-polarization-republicans-electric-cars/

We’ve all been told to do our part when it comes to taking care of the environment. Whether it’s recycling, using reusable bags when grocery shopping, or turning off the sink when brushing our teeth, these small actions are supposed to add up to a big difference on the well-being of our environment. But what happens when a huge portion of the population believe that these little things don’t matter? People choosing convenience on things like taking long showers, leaving their lights on, or ordering fish that you know are not in season are all examples of small things people do that they know they shouldn’t. And when too many people think this way, these small things can add up, sometimes leading to a depletion of resources, potentially leading to massive consequences for the whole world.

The tragedy of the commons occurs when individuals, acting in their own self-interest, deplete a shared resource, harming the entire group that relies on that resource. A famous example, one that I spoke a little about in my discussion post, is overfishing. Fishermen may think, “What’s the harm in catching just a few more fish?” but when every fisherman has that mindset, fish stocks can become overexploited & can collapse. According to Kyle Lee from the Alaskan Salmon Company, the depletion happens when fishing practices exceed the rate at which fish populations can reproduce and replenish themselves. The result is declining fish populations, disrupted ecosystems, & economic instability in fishing communities that so many people rely so heavily on (Lee, 2021).

Overfishing is just one example of The Tragedy of the Commons. Another issue that maybe more can relate to, especially if you are on the West-Coast, is water usage. California has been facing the worst drought in recorded state history year after year. 39 million residents are experiencing the effects of the drought, yet farmers & landowners are still converting their row crop acreage to newly-planted almond orchards, despite the statewide water shortages (Frank, 2015). The overuse of water for growing almonds, an extremely lucrative crop, worsens the water crises significantly and shows how individual decisions can add up to contribute to a large-scale issue.

When everyone acts out of self-interest, the resource depletes quickly, and when individuals consider only the short-term benefit for tackling certain issues, it can come at a long-term cost for the entire group (Gruman et al., 2016). What can be done? As we’ve learned in the text, the first step is to identify a specific behavior to be changed that would improve the quality of the environment. An intervention can be developed, targeting something specific, and a determination can be made on if the intervention succeeded (Gruman et al., 2016).

The tragedy of the commons is a powerful reminder that while individual actions may seem insignificant at the time, they can have massive consequences for the entire world. There is hope, as with the right interventions, we can, step-by-step, tackle issues & attempt various strategies at changing some of the harmful behavior we see in our society. Sacrifices may have to be made, but it’s for an extremely important cause as it would help protect our resources for generations to come.

References: 

Lee, K. (2021, May 26). Overfishing: Causes, effects, and solutions. Alaskan Salmon Company. https://aksalmonco.com/blogs/learn/overfishing?srsltid=AfmBOoqvBs-A1kpBy7-1rIFuziHvDYgwmx0Hw9PJEV9VEQXbJtDM5PI3

Frank, R. (2015, July 14). Tragedy of the commons–California drought-style. Legal Planet: Environmental Law and Policy. https://tagteam.harvard.edu/hub_feeds/1852/feed_items/2109250

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

The premise of social design is to build space consistent with the tenets of social psychology. Gruman et. al. (2017) discusses the implications of that definition: sometimes designers are called to design something that benefits the funder over the people it serves.

This serves as the basis of hostile architecture. In their article, Licht (2020) defines hostile architecture as design that “by proxy of an agent or by x itself displays (explicit or implicit/openly or concealed) ill will through reactive attitudes, or relevantly similar correlates, toward y (e.g. agents/behaviors/non-human animals) and try to harm y, or not caring if y is harmed, by this display of ill will at the time the hostilities occur”.

The most commonly cited example of this is “anti-homelessness spikes”, or pointed objects that are placed under bridges and other covered areas where homeless people frequently sleep.The “ill will” in these structures are that it conveys a level of disrespect, dehumanizes, and forces these people into further unsafe environments.

However, Licht (2020) also proposes that there is another, related type of preventive architecture, called “defensive architecture”, or architecture designed to prevent a behavior without malice. One such example of this is skate stops, or structures placed on rails or ramps that prevent skateboarding.

In their article, McDuie-Ra & Campbell (2022) discuss the broad political implications of skate stops. They liken them to small scale public surveillance devices, another tenet of social design discussed by Gruman et. al. (2017). The purpose of surveillance in a community is to decrease deviant behavior. Skateboarding is usually considered a type of deviant behavior, as it disrupts walking flow and has an anti-establishment culture.

What is missing most from these discussions is that there are fewer and fewer places for these types of “deviant behavior” to occur. There are not enough shelters to house the homeless, there are not enough dedicated skate parks to appeal to all the skaters. As it stands, architecture that solely seeks to prevent a behavior without providing a viable alternative is simply removing the problem from sight. While this may be the goal of the people who fund these projects, architects and social psychologists have a duty to help solve these problems, not just become a part of them.

Sources

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

Licht, K. d. F. (2020). “Hostile architecture” and its confederates: A conceptual framework for how we should perceive our cities and the objects in them. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 29(2), 1-17.

McDuie-Ra, D., & Campbell, J. (2022). Surface tensions: Skate-stoppers and the surveillance politics of small spaces. Surveillance & Society, 20(3), 231-247.

The famed Scottish economist Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations and widely regarded as the father of modern capitalism, had a theory. He believed that when people use a resource they are guided by an “invisible hand” that pushes them to exploit said resource for the benefit of the community (Gruman, 2017). Another economist, William Lloyd, disagreed with this theory. He believed the problem with Smith’s logic is that many resources may appear to be infinite, but are in fact finite. This causes people to overindulge and deplete the resources with no regard to their neighbors or community.

His example, which I can recall being taught in one of my political science classes, is the one about grazing land. Farmers know that overgrazing is bad or even disastrous for the environment. The problem arises when people stop seeing themselves as a community and only look to their own needs. They think “Sure, this isn’t great for the land but how bad can it be if one farmer overdoes it a bit?”. Instead of using the apparent surplus to help his fellow man, he is actually incentivized to push his grazing to the absolute limits.

This is an example of a resource dilemma, but it is also a concept that can be applied to other behaviors. For example, someone might say “How much harm can throwing this one soda can out of my car window cause the environment”? If you take 50,000 people in a large city all thinking that same thing, you get a filthy city. In the case of littering, ad campaigns have successfully shifted social norms to make littering taboo. The psychology of these behaviors has been widely explored.

California State University social psychologist Wesley Schultz has made a career out of observing these sorts of behaviors. On littering, he says “The presence of existing litter was strongly predictive of littering behavior. So if you’re in a place that’s already highly littered, you’re much more likely to litter than if you’re in a place that’s clean or free of litter” (Blouin, 2016, p. 1). This is largely in line with the example of the farmer’s grazing land. Farmers think that if others are doing it why shouldn’t they reap the benefits as well?

These ideas are critical to the understanding of how we as human beings living in a global society can do more to make the best of what limited resources we have. The Earth may appear to be an endless fountain of resources, but we are already beginning to see the strain. Extreme weather, animal extinction, climate change, water shortages you name it. These things can be alleviated, if not solved, if we strive to better understand the psychology of people.

References

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

Blouin, L. (2016, February 8). The psychology of littering. The Allegheny Front. https://www.alleghenyfront.org/the-psychology-of-littering/