Activist Research is a bold approach to scholarship that not only seeks to understand the world but also change it. Rooted in principles of social justice and equity, activist research engages with communities to address systemic inequalities. It challenges the traditional method of researcher detachment by focusing on advocacy and activism, prioritizing the needs of those directly impacted by the issues under study. This approach utilizes research as a tool for bettering the world around us.

A key tenet of activist research is the commitment to elevating the concerns of marginalized communities. Researchers collaborate with underrepresented groups to identify urgent issues and push for lasting change. This participatory approach shifts the power dynamics of traditional research by viewing community members not as subjects but partners in research. By focusing on lived experiences and including diverse perspectives, activist research provides insights that can help create solutions to real world problems.

Activist researchers do not shy away from advocacy rather they embrace the responsibility to challenge injustice. Detractors claim this undermines objectivity, but activist researchers believe that neutrality ignores systemic harm. By being upfront about their aims, activist researchers maintain integrity while pursuing rigorous methodologies. They balance their commitment to justice with evidence-based inquiry, ensuring that their work meets academic standards while remaining grounded in the realities of those they are studying.

The impact of activist research extends far beyond academia, translating into solutions that can bring about change. Whether influencing public policy, helping societal initiatives or reshaping public discourse, activist research bridges the gap between knowledge and action. Its emphasis on collaboration, accountability, and justice makes it a vital tool in fixing the most complex social issues facing the world right now. Activist research proves that scholarship can be a catalyst for progress proving that the pursuit of knowledge is inseparable from the pursuit of a better world instead of just being an objective observer like traditional research.

With the growth of the internet as a tool for seeking information, the ability to communicate and build connections with others has likewise expanded across the public. Thanks to the expanse of globalization and networking technology, people are overwhelmingly incorporating the Internet into their pre-established physical connections, creating an online supplement for their communities (Cheng et al., 2019). Interestingly, those communities ostensibly absent within the physical realm, especially those encompassing the most vulnerable and disadvantaged within society, can be found in earnest online (Cheng et al., 2019; Chung, 2013). In either case, the expanse of social communities no longer remains confined to face-to-face networks. That said, among the communities people may find themselves in (on or offline), there remains a constant variable found within those bonds: the presence of social capital. Specifically, those resources found within social bonds have only been made more accessible through the internet and thus bear a significant role in the development of communities online (Cheng et al., 2019).

Based on various disciplines, the concept of “social capital” may broadly refer to the investments found within one’s social bonds. They are the resources one has available from those within their social networks, and thus are cultivated through the mutual establishment and maintenance of those relationships (Adler & Kwon, 2002). For a relatable example, one could imagine the economic or extracurricular opportunities available to a student as a product of their relationship with a faculty member. While the relationship itself may stem from the institutional power dynamics of higher education, those specific professional opportunities are in fact features resulting from the mutual recognition of said relationship (Adler & Kwon, 2002). Additionally, these resources do not necessarily have to be intrinsically material; they may also be social or emotional, for instance, in terms of sustaining trust and affection (Adler & Kwon, 2002). Subsequently, when inserting the layer of online networks, one could suggest that the internet provides yet another avenue of identifying social capital, either through the compensation of networks for those who lack bonds offline (social compensation) or through the enhancement of an already robust offline network (social enhancement; Cheng et al., 2019).

With the former in particular, an understanding of social capital can be useful in the development and negation of a sense of community online. To elaborate, in terms of cultivating a sense of community, the idea of social capital may be found within the element of “integration and fulfillment of needs”; that is, the availability and presence of resources found within the community, as proposed by McMillan and Chavis (1986). I must note, however, that these authors base this on solely the concept of reinforcement, rather than the more abstract possible of martial and relational capital (i.e., social capital). Regardless, the need for these resources remains a salient factor in community development, best exemplified by those in help group-based communities seeking support (Gruman et al., 2016). Specifically, for individuals suffering from chronic diseases or physical/mental conditions, the opportunity to find a desired community of those similar satisfies both the need for information and the need for psychological support. This online group allows one to identify resources that may be lacking or absent within their daily lives while also acting as a buffer (via anonymity) towards potential prejudice levied against them in their face-to-face interactions with out-group members (Gruman et al., 2016).

What was once confined to physical connections among smaller, homogeneous societies, social communities are now ubiquitous across the internet. Further, online communities allow for the diffusion of those resources, opportunities, and support systems intrinsic to the ties found in offline communities. This social capital plays a central role in the larger formulation of communities both on and offline; however, it becomes more acute for those who may struggle to identify communal ties within the physical realm. For many of us, it might be of interest to take this into consideration when reflecting on our own social communities and larger social ties.

References:

Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S. (2002). Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy of Management Review, 27(1), 17-40.

Cheng, C., Wang, H., Sigerson, L., & Chau, C. (2019). Do the socially rich get richer? A nuanced perspective on social network site use and online social capital accrual. American Psychological Association: Psychological Bulletin, 145(7), 734-764.

Chung, J. E. (2013). Social interaction in online support groups: Preference for online social interaction over offline social interaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1408-1414.

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

McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6-23.

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is defined as a process of education, research, and action where the line between researcher and the researched is blurred, opening the door to community involvement in addressing the issue. (Brydon-Miller, 1997, p. 658) This type of research is usually used for marginalized communities to address inequities and challenges that they face. I wish to open the door to discussion on the broader application of this methodology in a wider variety of communities that face common issues such as colleges.

College communities face numerous social and functional issues that often get written off as a part of the college experience. I would like to see applications of PAR in a way that allows students to come together and participate in solutions for those issues. This could be in the form of holding town hall meetings where students can present problems and vote on actions to be taken to solve them. This would have to occur continually over the process of the solution constantly changing and adapting through continues dialogue. (Chevalier & Buckles, 2019, p. 315) By regularly reevaluating the issue you can keep heading down an efficient route towards a solution.

Using the Socratic Wheel method I think that a community-based PAR intervention could be very feasible. (Chevalier & Buckles, 2019, pp. 138-139) The Socratic Wheel is a very flexible and easy to implement method used to address simple and complex issues. Using this method participants can easily understand several different variables related to the issue and easily adapt to challenges. It is also useful to visualize the progress of research and action. Through continued dialogue users can branch out and tackle specific variables relating to the primary problem. Even if the problem becomes more complex than previously thought it simplifies it allowing for proper action.

I believe that change does happen within organizations, but people often lack the structure to cause that change. Using PAR in colleges, schools, and institutions can help initiate that change. What other methods would you recommend in those settings? Are there any other settings that you would like to see PAR applied to? It is discussions like these that open the doors for people to see paths towards solutions and creating group unity towards solving issues in itself can help mend damaged communities.

References

Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 657-666.

Chevalier, J. M., & Buckles, D. J. (2019). Participatory Action Research: Theory and Methods for Engaged Inquiry. Abingdon: Routledge.

Social change research is an effective means through which social issues may be combated, and justice for those in need may be achieved. Given the proactivity of the provided research in identifying viable programs with real-world implications for different communities, this research effectively narrows the gap between theory and application. Though it has some negative aspects, it is much more effective when done right, professionally, and authoritatively. For instance, Participatory Action Research (PAR), is a type of social transformation research that focuses on the involvement of the members of a community in the identification of problems and in the determination of interventions, at the same time endorsing the subjects in this activity (Brydon-Miller, 1997).

A primary strength is that social change research can identify solutions oriented toward particular settings. In contrast to the fundamental research goals of creating more knowledge, social change research is all about tangible results. For instance, the Rescue Agency uses data to develop health behavior interventions. They learn from their target population and include feedback from their community while dealing with concerns such as smoking and mental health issues. This approach also shows Suntec’s capacity to arrange and conduct the applied research to generate lasting positive changes in public health.

Another advantage is that this development tried to empower those who have been neglected by society. Most social change research engages the target stakeholders hence giving them an upper hand in providing solutions. This tally with Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory which advocates for reciprocal interactions of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors. Forcing behavior change upon others is normally very difficult, and this can be avoided by involving communities in the research process. For example, PAR has been useful in the development of education programs with a positive perspective of students and teachers, thus empowering and making the programs more relevant and effective (Gosin et al., 2003).

It has been claimed that social change research may be subjective because of the activist emphasis. But this criticism fails to appreciate the genre of essentially value-laden scholarship that seeks to challenge and redress structural injustice. Such research is to adhere to ethical standards to justify the scientific merits of its course of the undertaking including aspects of clarity and impartiality. Third, since the research involved in social change focuses on the participation of the members of the concerned community, biases can easily be addressed.

In conclusion, social change research constitutes a critical specialty in contemporary psychological science and population health science. Although issues like bias and resource implementation are present there is no other tool as essential when it comes to driving real change in the community. For Brydon-Miller (1997), the use of both research and activism as a practice offers a valuable chance to construct a more correct society. Since methodological interweaving of theory with practice is inherent in social change research, the proposed and practiced approaches not only advance knowledge about societal issues but also provide solutions to those issues.

References

• Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 657–666.
• Gosin, M., Dustman, P., Drapeau, A., & Harthun, M. (2003). Participatory action research: Creating an effective prevention curriculum for adolescents in the Southwestern US. Health Education Research, 18(3), 363–379.
• Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice Hall.

I used to work in this public elementary school as a paraprofessional for AS, which stands for Autism Support. I worked with autistic kindergarten students, along with the AS teacher and my fellow paraprofessionals. I remember, during my second week of work, the AS teacher broke down crying in the classroom. I remember her sobbing uncontrollably and saying, “They hate us. This school hates us.” I would find out eventually how right she is. That school did not like their autistic students, and was actually systematically implementing discrimination against them.

Social change research is defined as the type of research that aims to implement social change or impact. This type of research targets public institutions, and how social change can impact the way these institutions interact with groups and individuals–especially those who are systematically disadvantaged. If I could, I would implement social change research aiming to change the systems of public schools in the United States–more specifically with their students who have autism spectrum disorder.

I first realized the issue at hand when I found out that there are changes in the schedule of our students. Apparently, the school board as well as the principal had a meeting about AS, and they agreed on implementing new rules and policies. The previous schedule that the kids had was that in what are referred to as “special classes”, (i.e. art, gym, music, etc.) they would be joining general education students. With the new rules and policies, the school indefinitely decided that each AS student should have a time limit of how long they should stay for each special class. They mentioned that the change in their schedules was needed because the AS students are “being a distraction” to their general education classmates due to their vocal stims and “tantrums”–which are basically panic attacks due to sensory overload.

If I was given the opportunity to work on social change research, it would be to tackle this issue. I would work on this type of research aiming for the right of all students to proper education, including autistic children. I would address the problematic systems of public schools as they punish very young and very vulnerable children just because they display behavior that they deem as “not acceptable.” To gather data, I would interview teachers in AS as well as the parents of AS children. I would interview them about the children, as well as the system of their schools. And then, I would hold a meeting with the school board and the principals of the entire school district. The meeting will be led by autism specialists, highlighting the importance of AS students’ right to education. Training the staff and holding meetings with students about autistic students should be included as well. I sincerely wish that this problem at hand be addressed as a huge, relevant problem, and not just swept under the rug like how the school I previously worked in treated it.

Brydon-Miller, M. (1997). Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues, 53(4), 657-666.

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

When we think of research, we usually think of an investigation done systematically to find out something objectively to help unravel facts and truth. When we say the word activist researcher, we almost introduce an oxymoron to our conersation. Is it possible to be a researcher and an activist at the same time? While this very concept may be up for debate, in my opinion, the two cannot exist simultaneously.

Can one be a researcher? Yes. Can someone be an activist? Yes. Combine both of them together at the same time? No. We are taking an objective practice with an inherently unobjective practice that involves more complexities of the human psyche such as morals and values and what one person deems right. Is there moral objectiveness? Yes and no. Yes to the extent that there usually is a “right” and a “wrong” in given situations, however what that may end up looking like for each individual can be very different. For instance, a person should not steal from a store. This is usually a generally correct statement and one that has a general moral righteousness. However, if we take a person that cannot provide for their family and out of desperation, decides to steal food, does our view of the morally correct element change? After all, the store is a part of a billion dollar cooporation, the person is down on their luck because they got fired from a job that was based on a decision that was based on racial discrimination, and they have children at home that need the rent paid and food in their bellies.

While some situations do legitimately require activism, situations that involve research require just that. I believe an activist can utilize research to their own benefit, but it must be pulled from information that was done in a way that reduces to the amount of biases, which is one of the objectives of research.

An activist can have personal investment in what they are doing, and this investment is an essential part of the human psyche, but we must be aware of our intentions behind what we are doing. Can an activist researcher be apart of structural violence? Absolutely. While an Activist Researcher may think they are doing what is right, they may be unaware of the unlying sources that motivate their movement.

Taking a step back from an issue gives us the most objective view of a problem, just like in every day life, and applies to this topic as well. While we cannot completely seperate our human-ness from our research, we can certainly try to minimize it.

References;

Brydon-Miller, Mary. Participatory Action Research: Psychology and Social Change. Journal of Social Issues. 53(4). Winter 1997. pp. 657-666.

I will warn at the onset that, rather unfortunately, discussions on the subject of critical race pedagogy (especially Critical Race Theory) remain politically charged despite much clarification by scholars and experts within the field (Legal Defense Fund, 2024). If this is a topic you are unfamiliar with or have only heard in passing, I ask that you read this post in full (as well as the references listed) before engaging. By no means am I myself claiming to be an expert within critical theory nor the teaching of race and ethnicity in America; however, as someone passionate about these topics, I am familiar enough to opine while keeping an open mind of how ignorant I remain as a student. Nevertheless, I hope to inspire some reflection and personal growth as we continue to learn through our journeys as students, adults, and ultimately, humans.

During my second semester at Penn State, specifically at Greater Allegheny, I had the opportunity to present original research at a semesterly research and creativity conference as part of the university’s honors program. As a student of criminology and sociology, my first poster was on the association between Militant Extremist Mindsets (Vukcevic Markovic et al., 2021) and gun ownership among college students. My second poster, however, was on an arguably more heated subject, Critical Race Theory (CRT). In short, the aim of the poster was to inform observers of what CRT is, the current debate surrounding its place within American education, and most starkly, misconceptions found within discourse on the matter. While the idea for the poster initially came from a course I was taking at the time (SOC 119N for those interested), I was mostly inspired by how often it was invoked by political commentators and lawmakers at the time.

Originating from the seminal thoughts of Derrick Bell (1995), Critical Race Theory is a legal theory positing that the composition of America’s societal institutions is such that they perpetuate systemic inequality towards communities of color. In particular, Bell (1995) and other proponents suggest that the legal system acts in furtherance of racial oppression by sustaining economic and social imbalances through the use of law. Put simply, racism isn’t necessarily the product of individual prejudice, but is deeply rooted within the legal and political makeup of (American) society itself. Subsequently, through a racially-conscious lens of American history, the theory is aimed at providing further insight, and thus rejection of, sociopolitical hierarchies and beneficiaries that sustain racism within society; similarly, it remains “critical” of policies that fail to effectively rectify systemic injustice (Bell, 1995; Richmond et al., 2024). While this is only a brief synopsis of the theory, one may draw conclusions between its propositions and contemporary socioeconomic outcomes for black Americans, be it risk of incarceration (Fornili, 2018), practices within education (Nguemeni Tiako et al., 2022), or health outcomes (Kim & Bostwick, 2020). However, while this theory is founded within legal scholarship (and thus is largely relegated to legal curriculum), as mentioned prior it was the subject of public policy and political discourse. Of note, it was often associated with concerns of child “indoctrination”. CRT was the target of policies across the country, leading to restrictions being placed on its alleged teaching within classrooms across America (e.g., TX S.B. 16; PA H.B. 1532; FL H.B. 7; Richmond et al., 2024). However, not only did such policies target broader pedagogy on race within classrooms, but many of the claims made towards CRT were outright false, if not at least miscategorized of the subject. That is, what pundits framed at the time as CRT was not in fact “Critical Race Theory”, but standard curriculum within a liberal arts education.

“Ok that’s nice and all”, one might say, “but how does this relate to education outside of curriculum, let alone social psychology?” I submit, astute observer, the relevance of broader pedagogical practices on the subject of race in association with Social Cognitive Learning Theory. To elaborate, much of the education regarding race, ethnicity, and history taught within primary and secondary education within the U.S. is not CRT, but rather operates on the practice of Culturally Responsible Teaching. Such a practice encourages “teachers to consider children’s backgrounds, family experiences, cultural values, and everyday challenges to effectively teach students” (Richmond et al., 2024, p. 268). In taking a culturally holistic approach with students, educators provide students with an environment welcoming of inquiry and application of academic material, especially to historical and ongoing social phenomena (Gay, 2013). When turning towards the premises of Social Cognitive Learning Theory (Gruman et al., 2016), the descriptive and injunctive norms become such that students believe it standard to engage in conversations on matters of diversity while doing so with expectation of an open mind, respectively.

References:

Bell, D. (1995). Who’s afraid of critical race theory? Illinois Law Review, (4), 983-910.

Fornili, K. S. (2018). Racialized mass incarceration and the war on drugs. Journal of Addictions Nursing, 29(1), 65-72.

Gay, G. (2013). Teaching to and through cultural diversity. Curriculum Inquiry, 43(1), 48-70.

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

Kim, S. J., & Bostwick, W. (2020). Social vulnerability and racial inequality in COVID-19 deaths in Chicago. Health Education & Behavior, 47(4), 509-513.

Legal Defense Fund. (2024). Critical Race Theory: Frequently Asked Questions. Legal Defense Fund. Retrieved from https://www.naacpldf.org/critical-race-theory-faq/

Nguemeni Tiako, M. J., Ray, V, South, E. C. (2022). Medical schools as racialized organizations: How race-neutral structures sustain racial inequality in medical education-a narrative review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(9), 2259-2266.

Richmond, B. S., Toosi, N. R., Wellman, J. D., & Wilkins, C. L. (2024). Ignorance of critical race theory predicts white Americans’ opposition to it. Journal of Social Issues, 80(1), 240-271.

Vukcevic Markovic, M., Nicovic, A., & Zivanovic, M. (2021). Contextual and psychological predictors of militant extremist mindset in youth. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-10.

In this weeks module, the topics of attraction and jealousy were discussed. Within the discussion, the notion of “opposites attract” was brought up, as well as the opposite stance, “birds of a feather, flock together”. In Layman’s terms, “opposites attract” refers to the concept that people who aren’t similar in their personality and/or interests are more likely to be compatible in a relationship. “Birds of a feather, flock together”, on the other hand, refers to the concept that people who are similar in their personality and/or interests are more likely to be compatible.

I found an article published in 2023 discussing whether or not opposites truly do attract. In the study, the authors conducted a meta-analysis on the topic to review previous findings on concordance rates in partners for the same or extremely similar complex traits. Upon analyzing the studies the researchers collected, political attitudes, religious attitudes, educational attainment, and some substance use traits had the highest correlations. Conversely, personality and anthropometric traits tended to reveal lower, but still positive, correlations. While it should be noted that estimates for other traits were smaller, 18 of the 22 traits were found to be statistically significant (Horwitz, T. B., Balbona, J. V., Paulich, K. N., & Keller, M. C. (2023). Evidence of correlations between human partners based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses of 22 traits and UK Biobank analysis of 133 traits. Nature human behaviour, 7(9), 1568–1583. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01672-z).

In another study, the researchers examined the scores of individual’s self-reports on the five-factors of personality. The five factors in the five-factor personality model are as follows:

• Openness to experience
• Conscientiousness
• Extroversion
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism

After gathering the scores from the self-reports, they analyzed the similarities between friends and romantic-partners. Following this analysis, they found evidence of personality similarity in both friends and romantic-partners. This again affirms the idea that individuals are more likely to develop friendships and romantic relationships in those who are similar to them (Youyou, W., Stillwell, D., Schwartz, H. A., & Kosinski, M. (2017). Birds of a Feather Do Flock Together: Behavior-Based Personality-Assessment Method Reveals Personality Similarity Among Couples and Friends. Psychological Science, 28(3), 276-284. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616678187).

All these statistics exemplify the human preference for similar individuals, but that is not to say that individuals who are different can’t be attracted to one another, but rather humans tend to be attracted to others who share similarities with them. There could be many explanations for this fact. Humans might be attracted to those more similar to them as they may be less likely to engage in conflict with people who have less differences. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, studies show that humans have a preference for those similar to them, giving weight to the idea that birds of a feather, flock together.

Works Cited

• Horwitz, T. B., Balbona, J. V., Paulich, K. N., & Keller, M. C. (2023). Evidence of correlations between human partners based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses of 22 traits and UK Biobank analysis of 133 traits. Nature human behaviour, 7(9), 1568–1583. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01672-z
• Youyou, W., Stillwell, D., Schwartz, H. A., & Kosinski, M. (2017). Birds of a Feather Do Flock Together: Behavior-Based Personality-Assessment Method Reveals Personality Similarity Among Couples and Friends. Psychological Science, 28(3), 276-284. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616678187

Pretty privelage is soemthing most of us have heard of or even been accused of having. Pretty priveldge is when you recieve unfair advantages becuase of your attractieness, but is this real? is there any science to behind it? Pretty priveledge is a thing we see a lot in todays society. One specific area where I have noticed this is at the bars when attractive women already do not bring their cards becasue they know men are going to buy them drinks. This is just one example of pretty priveledge.

Pretty privledge may seem like something that may be made up or seomtheing that may just seem like coincidence like someone paying for your meal while oyu are out. But there is actual science behing this. In the textbook theysummerize a study that was done where an employer was handed two resumes. One was from someone while the other was not. They usually tend to pick hte attractive resume due to the physical attractiveness sterotype where they are percieved to be better wokers ( Hamermesh & Biddle, 1994).

This has also been shown in research looking at political aspects. They have seen that voters who know little to nothing about hte canidates vote based off of attraction ( Stockemer & Priano, 2015). This in turn can also cause the contraty that unatractive people get passed u on jobs and also may be thought to take part in criminal behavior ( e.g, Efran, 1974; Esses & Webster, 1998; Hatfiels & Spreacher, 1986).

Athough, we may see this a lot in our lifetime it actually isnt accurate. Pretty priveldge is nothing but a bias. Research has shown that more attractie people are neither better or worse workers than others who are not attractive or have average looks (Miller & Perlman, 2009). So, next time your making a decision or having to choose between two people in any situation make sure to look past physical apperance theres more to a person and their apperance. Theres science behind it to support that although pretty priveldge is athink it is not accurate when it comes to decison making.

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.

Hamermesh, D. S., & Biddle, J. E. (1994). Beauty and the labor market. American Economic Review, 84, 1174-1195.

Stockemer, D., & Praino, R. (2015). Blinded by beauty? Physical attractiveness and candidate selection in the U.S. House of Representatives. Social Science Quarterly, 96, 430-443.

Efran, M. G. (1974). The effects of physical appearance on the judgment of guilt, interpersonal attraction, and severity of recommended punishment in a simulated jury task. Journal of Research in Personality, 8, 45-54.

Miller, R. S., & Perlman, D. (2009). Intimate relationships (Sth ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

In a time where communication is reliant on technology and social media, the quality of our human relationships should be a growing concern. While we usually focus on technical skills in personal and professional development, emotional intelligence (EI) is often disregarded. Emotional intelligence means being able to notice and change other people’s emotions and also know how to handle and use your own. Emotional intelligence can help us build better relationships, understand how others feel, and make our personal and work lives more interesting. 

Emotional intelligence is mostly based on self-/social- awareness, self-regulation, and relationship management, among several basic elements. Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses as well as having full understanding of your emotions is what makes up self-awareness. This information is essential since it lays the groundwork for our handling of challenges and stress. When someone criticizes them, a self-aware person may be able to see their first protective reply and choose a better one. This self-discipline helps you get along well with others. Emotion control reduces impulsive actions and encourages more deliberate and calm behavior in many situations. 

Understanding and being able to relate to other people are the most typical manifestations of emotional intelligence. Having empathy and being able to read social cues are the bedrocks of social awareness. In a team setting, this can mean being attuned to the needs of your colleagues or learning to read their nonverbal signs, like anxiety. As we work to increase social awareness, we may strengthen our relationships by creating a welcoming space where people feel appreciated and recognized. The capacity to communicate clearly and peacefully is at the heart of relationship management, which is all about making and keeping friends.  

Every aspect of our relationships, from personal to professional, may be improved by applying the concepts of emotional intelligence. People are more likely to work together and generate new ideas when they are encouraged to speak freely in the workplace. The group’s ability to make decisions is enhanced when team members are able to express themselves freely without fear of criticism. People are happier and more fulfilled in their professional lives as a result of this transparency, which also makes teamwork easier. 

Developing our emotional intelligence in daily life helps us to relate to friends and relatives. Relationships might improve with simple gestures of respect, awareness of emotions, and active listening. Deeper cooperation results when we face challenges with sensitivity and knowledge. Emotional intelligence enables us to resolve conflicts gracefully and foster lifetime trust that withstands adversity. Although developing your emotional intelligence is a lifetime process, the advantages—better relationships and a more fulfilling life—make it well worth the effort. Practicing emotional intelligence helps us to develop our own abilities as well as those of those around us, which sets off a series of favorable events in our local communities. 

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. In SAGE Publications, Inc. eBooks. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591. 

In our modern world that seems inundated with negative headlines, adopting an optimistic outlook may seem naive to most people who have become cynical to the world around them. Yet, research in applied psychology suggests optimism is not only beneficial for personal well-being, but also enhances our resilience, improves mental health, and leads to a better overall quality of life. The case for optimism isn’t just hoping for the best. Optimism involves developing a positive mindset that can lead us through obstacles and difficulties in life. 

One of the key benefits of being optimistic is increased resilience. Psychologists have found that optimists are better at coping with life stress and are more likely to bounce back from negative life experiences. Optimists believe life always gets better and try to see the positive lessons in negative situations, while pessimists and cynics do the opposite. For example, there was a study by Sunwoo Lee, a senior research associate at Palacky University Olomouc in the Czech Republic. He examined resilience and optimism during the COVID pandemic among older European adults. The results showed that resilience and optimism are positively linked with psychological well-being in older adults and were able to cope better with the stressors of the pandemic. When we maintain optimism, we are more likely to focus on solutions and maintain an optimistic mindset, rather than giving up. 

Optimism also has tangible benefits for physical and mental health. A study by Affleck, Tennen, and Apter (2001) investigated emotional well-being in persons suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and fibromyalgia. The results showed day-to-day happiness was positively linked to optimism. Optimists have lower levels of depression and anxiety as well as cardiovascular health. One explanation is that optimism decreases stress, which then lowers stress hormones such as cortisol that can hurt physical health long-term. In contrast, pessimism is associated with increased inflammation and weaker immune systems. The reason is due to the chronic stress that results from constantly being pessimistic and negative. Even better, optimism leads to healthier lifestyles, such as working out consistently and eating better as optimists have higher motivation to focus on their health to ensure a bright future.

Moreover, optimism impacts our personal relationships and social life. Optimists are more likely to have better support systems than pessimists. They view people in a positive light as opposed to treating others with skepticism. Social support is beneficial to our well-being, acting as a safeguard against stress and giving us a sense of meaning and togetherness. By expecting positive outcomes, optimists are better at handling conflicts when they arise and looking for ways to find a compromise, which leads to more satisfying relationships. 

Essentially, we all have the ability to embrace optimism. With mindfulness and positive psychology, we can disrupt negative thinking and replace it with optimism.. Everyone will face challenges and stress in life, but choosing to have an optimistic outlook gives us the ability to see negative events as opportunities for personal growth, which in turn leads to increased resilience and a happier life.

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

Lee, S. (2023, January 15). Exploring the Role of Resilience and Optimism during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Older European Adults. Sage Journals. https;//doi.org/10.1177/01640275231152570

There are people who tend to look at the bright side, and there are people who tend to think that the world is a dark, dark place full of grief and hopelessness. There is actually a psychological explanation for this, and it is called an explanatory style. An explanatory style is defined as how an individual chooses to see a particular event that happened to them, or their life in general. There are two types of explanatory styles: optimistic (or positive) explanatory style and pessimistic (or negative) explanatory style. Let’s explore these two very simple concepts and see what we can learn, and how we can implement this in our everyday life.

An optimistic or positive explanatory style is, you guessed it, when an individual chooses to be optimistic or positive. When good things happen to people with an optimistic explanatory style, they think of internal attributions, stable attributions, and global attributions. An example would be a student getting a high grade on their test. They feel very confident about their level of intelligence and their hard work (internal), about the fact that they will continue study in order to consistently get good grades (stable), and about the fact that their intelligence and diligence will continue make them a successful person in general (global). And when bad things happen to them, they think of an external attribution, an unstable attribution, and a specific attribution. If a positive person fails a test, they think that it’s just probably because they just started a part time job and therefore did not have time to study (external) and they must have felt the pressure of getting their first job (unstable). Also, they will promise to themselves that this won’t happen again and that they will study more next time (specific).

On the other hand, a pessimistic or negative explanatory style is, as mentioned, when an individual chooses to be pessimistic or negative. If an individual with a pessimistic explanatory style have something good happen to them–for example, getting a high grade on their test, they think of an external attribution (“It’s a miracle I passed”), an unstable attribution (“I will probably fail next time”), and a specific attribution (“I only passed for this test”). And, if they have bad happen to them, or they end up getting a bad grade, they think of an internal attribution (“I don’t know how to study”), a stable attribution (“I will never be able to study well”), and a global attribution (“I will never be successful in life”).

Our explanatory styles are how we choose to operate in this world. Our explanatory styles impact all aspects of our life–whether it may be at work, school, or with our relationships. And most especially, our explanatory styles have the most impact on ourselves. Our habits, choices, physiological health, mental health, body language, etc. are all affected by how we choose to think. Every aspect of ourselves are affected by how optimistic or pessimistic we choose to be.

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

The phenomenon of attraction has been interesting for people for a very long time. Every individual has his or her choices, but most of the patterns of attraction are said to be rooted in one’s biology. These tendencies are explained in terms of the evolutionary fundamental theory that attraction is centered on survival and reproduction. Those features that preserve an individual’s health, ability to reproduce, and quality of the genes become sexually desirable because they are associated with youth, fertility, and heredity (Buss, 2019).

Such as attraction to symmetry results in aesthetics, which are associated with perceived health. Research has indicated that people of all cultures prefer what are referred to as averagely attractive, or neotenous, faces with bilateral symmetry, most probably because such faces indicate the absence of developmental imperfections and possible genetic health. From the standpoint of the survival of the fittest, choosing a partner with bilateral symmetry would somehow increase the chances of healthier offspring, and so the cycle continues to favor symmetry.

Another aspect of physical appearance that the theory of the vignette model of evolutionary psychology points to is the preference for certain ratios. Studer (2003) affirmed that certain body shapes are favored by society and this favoritism is attributed to fertility. For example, women with the so-called ‘hourglass’ figure in profiles, with a ratio of the waist and hips of approximately 0.7 are considered attractive because such measurements are associated with optimal estrogen levels and high fertility (Singh, 1993). Likewise, men with a muscular and V-shaped body prime could be considered attractive as they represent strength health a high level of testosterone which in the past would be important for survival and protection mechanisms.

Thus, cultural factors do not exclude a very relevant role in the determination of physical attraction. It means that, despite the genetic foundations of the trends, total social implication as well as mass media communications can alter the definition of beauty, which is used during an assessment at times, even in terms of the counter perspective to inherent evolution trends. For example, although the evolutionary perspective postulates that people should select healthy, middle-bust, reproductive-age women, today’s Western culture tends to imagine thinness in women as desirable at times, and unhealthy (Swami, 2015). This fact provides evidence of the interaction between biology and culture and shows that how women and men attract each other is modified by culture or environment and the perception of shifting standards.

It means that by knowing the principles which underlie sexual selection we gain the ability at least to pay attention to how our instinctive reactions and cultural programming form our preferences. Understanding why people are attracted to the way others look is where evolutionary psychology comes in handy but with the understanding that attraction is not universal. It is here that the concern that attraction is biologically driven, socially constructed, or mediated by personal experience can help color a broader understanding of the concept.

References:

• Buss, D. M. (2019). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Routledge.
• Little, A. C., Jones, B. C., & DeBruine, L. M. (2011). The many faces of research on face perception: Insights into social, cognitive, and evolutionary psychology. Acta Psychologica, 138(1), 63-71.
• Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 293–307.
• Swami, V. (2015). Cultural influences on body size ideals: Uncovering the realities. In L. Smolak & M. P. Levine (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of eating disorders (pp. 158–171).

When discussing romantic and sexual relationships, we would be remiss to skip some of the most interesting facets of that conversation: asexuals, or people who do not experience sexual attraction, and aromantics, people who do not experience romantic attraction (UNC-Chapel Hill LGBTQ Center, 2021).

While it may seem obvious in retrospect, these groups of people is often overlooked, even within the LGBTQ community. In fact, in the extended acronym, LGBTQIA, the ‘A’ stands for asexual (and sometimes aromantic), and not “ally”, as is commonly believed. Despite this, both terms have solid history. The term “asexual”, as it is used today, has existed and been recognized by the queer community since the early 1970s (Windsor, 2021). The term “aromantic” is newer, having only appeared in official literature (an Asexual Visibility and Education Network poll) in 2002 (Windsor, 2021).

Despite not experiencing attraction, many asexuals and aromantics do choose to engage in romantic, sexual, and other kinds of relationships with others. Ma et al. (2024) set out to research these relationships using the Investment Model of Commitment, which measures relationship commitment on the triple scales of investment, quality of alternatives, and satisfaction. What they found was that while investment and quality of alternatives were comparable to peers who experienced romantic and sexual attraction, satisfaction and commitment were so highly correlated that the researchers determined that either asexual and aromantic people did not differentiate between commitment and satisfaction, or they experienced them on a 1 to 1 scale.

So what does this mean for the study of attraction and closeness? In their study of human mate preference by biological sex, which sought to measure whether sex differences were replicable in asexual and asexual leaning people, Scheller et al. (2024) found that sexual attraction accounted for preferences in all but physical attractiveness, which aligns with physical attractiveness stereotype: physically attractive people are deemed universally more desirable, even when sexual attraction is removed (Gruman et al., 2017). In fact, Scheller et al. (2024) hypothesized that the differences in mate selection by physical attractiveness could be better explained by romantic attraction.

From there, not much literature exists on the intersection between aromanticism and attraction. However, when considering the relationship experiences of asexuals who do experience romantic attraction and asexuals who are also aromantic, Carvalho & Rodrigues (2022) found intriguing results. Aromantic asexuals reported more sex avoidant behaviors and, interestingly, more avoidant attachment styles, and valued commitment more highly. Contrastingly, asexuals who did experience romantic attraction were more likely to have previous sexual partners and be more open to romantic and sexual relationships in the future.

Overall, the results of these studies paint a tiny picture of what is available to researchers studying sexual and romantic attraction. There is a great deal of space for future research in this field, and asexual and aromantic people provide a previously untapped ‘control group’ when studying this phenomena.

Sources

Online education has become an essential part of modern learning. It has offered different benefits and challenges that have caused debates about its overall effectiveness for learning among students. Some would argue that online education offers larger flexibility for different and personalized learning and teaching strategies, while others say that it lacks engagement and social interaction that is essential for the best education. By using Bandura’s Social Cognition Theory, we can better understand the advantages and limitations of online learning and whether it affects students’ ability to learn effectively.

According to the Social Cognitive Theory, learning occurs through observation, imitation, and modeling, and all of which depend on the interactions with others (Bandura, 1983). In the traditional face-to-face classrooms, students can learn by observing teachers and their peers by doing things like imitating behaviors, critical thinking methods, and social skills. In an online learning environment, these interactions are very limited which can deprive students exposure to positive learning behaviors. However, online education can still support social learning through different online tools such as video calls and collaborative projects. By doing this, online educators can replicate some of the observational learning and social modeling that normal classrooms have.

One key benefit to online education is its flexibility, which allows for students to learn at their own pace. This can be especially useful for students who need extra time with material or who benefit from viewing pre-recorded lessons. Social Cognitive Theory suggests that a students self-efficacy (their belief in their ability to succeed) plays a big role in learning. In an online educational setting, students have more opportunities to build self-efficacy through a more “hands-off” learning experience since they are able to work at their own pace. By allowing students to feel more in control of their learning, online education can support this self-motivation and enhance their self-efficacy.

In conclusion, online education offers different benefits that can enhance self directed learning and self-efficacy. However, it may not provide the same level of social interaction as regular face-to-face classrooms which can be crucial for students’ engagement. In order to maximize the benefits of online education, it is crucial to incorporate social learning by providing interactive online discussions and online lectures the students can engage in. This would allow for teacher and student collaboration and discussion.

Optimists tend to be more positive minded in life and see a bright future. They work hard and persist to reach goals. Optimism helps to adjust to different spheres of life such as biomedical health, mental and emotional health, and in relationships. They may have better health habits and are better able to manage their mood which helps with mental and emotional health (Gruman, 2016). Optimism can also be beneficial in managing a cancer diagnosis.  

 A cancer diagnosis effects psychosocial well-being. There are many uncertainties and questions regarding treatment, side effects, cost, and whether they will survive. Social support and a “fighting spirit” can help to adjust to cancer. Optimism may help social support by encouraging relationships and can enhance internal self-locus of control which promotes a more positive outlook on a cancer diagnosis and surviving. One particular study, however, found a decrease in internal self-locus of control during diagnosis and treatment of cancer so this could be different with cancer patients as they feel their survival is related to clinical intervention. The study could not demonstrate a causal influence of optimism on cancer survivorship or social support as a positive affect usually draws social support (Hodges, 2012).  

Optimism has also been shown to help adjust to chronic pain in cancer patients. Over 55% of terminal cancer patients and over 66% of advanced cancer patients experience pain. Some of this pain is caused by treatment. Having an optimistic outlook has been shown to positively affect quality of life and decrease pain and use of opioids. Although more research needs to be done in this area, the application of optimism could be a standard in cancer treatment care to help ease pain, side effects of opioids, and possibly avoid drug dependence (Forte, 2022).  

Partner support can also increase optimism in those with cancer. A study showed that partner support provided high optimism and low hopelessness in patients and found good HRQL (Health Related Quality of Life) 8 months after diagnosis. However, partner optimism and hopelessness did not affect patient-perceived partner support. The study also found optimism and low hopelessness in women and partner support increased HRQL in women but low hopelessness in men showed better HRQL. This study pointed out there were gender differences in the effects of partner support which could relate to the tendency for women to seek and value social support (Gustavsson-Iilius, 2007).  

Having a positive outlook on the future can be beneficial to those battling a cancer diagnosis. Optimism can help enhance quality of life and it can help ease pain from cancer and perhaps lessen the use of opioids to relieve pain. Studies have also shown that partner support can benefit quality of life. It’s even possible that the application of optimism could become a standard in cancer treatment.  

 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 

Hodges, Kayleigh & Winstanley, Sue. (November 5, 2012). Effects of optimism, social support, fighting spirit, cancer worry and internal health locus of control on positive affect in cancer survivors: a path analysis. Stress and Health. Volume 28, Issue 5. Pages 408-415. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1002/smi.2471 

 Antonio J. Forte, Gunel Guliyeva, Heidi McLeod, Abd Moain Abu Dabrh, Manisha Salinas, Francisco R. Avila, Adam Perlman, The impact of optimism on cancer-related and postsurgical cancer pain: a systematic review, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Volume 63, Issue 2, 2022, Pages e203-e211, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.09.008.  

Gustavsson-lilius, M., Julkunen, J., & Hietanen, P. (2007). Quality of life in cancer patients: The role of optimism, hopelessness, and partner support. Quality of Life Research, 16(1), 75-87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-006-9101-4 

Through the eyes of the public, election seasons mark a period of increased ideological discourse and political advertising. Even for the uninterested, and thus uninitiated, the publicity of candidates, their policy stances, and controversies become the subject of prolonged attention, most evidently through the aid of mass media. As the results of the current federal general election continue towards certification, the rhetoric and talking points of both tickets remain of interest to American news channels and consumers (e.g., abortion (Mufarech, 2024), the economy (Horsley, 2024), immigration (Dewan et al., 2024; Lange, 2024)). In particular, one notable subject was that of crime, more accurately the fear of violent victimization. Throughout the campaign season, each presidential ticket, and media outlets generally, invoked tensions around crime, most often in relation to immigration (Lange, 2024). With that said. however, such a tactic has not only been common over the past few decades (Campbell & Schoenfeld, 2013), but more alarmingly, has been used to present a fictitious conceptualization of the frequency of and factors behind crime within the United States (Campbell & Schoenfeld, 2013). Put simply, current political discourse on crime, when amplified and disseminated by the media, leads the public to 1) overestimate the frequency of crime, especially violent crime, and 2) misattribute the occurrence of crime despite substantial evidence to the contrary.

Over the past thirty years, crime has seen significant declines across the United States. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2024), between 1991 and 2021, property crime has seen a 63.7 percent decrease, with violent crime seeing a decrease of 45.6 percent. Additionally, while crime (both property and violent) saw an increase from 2021-22, it has continued to decline since. With that said, these declines are seldom acknowledged by the American populace; many Americans believe that the national occurrence of crime is has only increased over time (Gramlich, 2024). Furthermore, when focusing on the prevalence of violent crimes, many Americans tend to have a heightened fear of victimization based on a multitude of factors, including gender, race and ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, and political ideology (Onat et al., 2021). Such was the case over the current election cycle (Dewan et al., 2024), despite the underlying rarity of violent crime altogether (FBI, 2024). Following this, one may justifiably ask why this tends to be the case; while a myriad of factors certainly contribute to the wider social perception of crime, I submit that the ubiquity and access of media channels plays a central role in how the public formulates an understanding of crime as it occurs. In particular, this may be illustrated through the use of cultivation theory (Dolliver et al., 2018), and in turn may be applied to modern electoral politics through the process of agenda setting ().

Cultivation theory posits that the heavy consumption of media content, specifically televised media,  plays a central role in how people construe their social reality. That is, by consuming high amounts of television content, especially news content, individuals are likely to build their understanding of the world and social phenomena according to the content they are exposed to (Gruman et al., 2016) . Subsequently, cultivation theory suggests that, because violent content is overrepresented within televised media (Gruman et al., 2016), people will more readily attribute violence as frequent within social life. With that in mind, this very idea may be implicated within media depictions of crime. Despite the historical crime decline (FBI, 2024), studies have suggested that the sensationalization of violence and crime within televised media significantly increases the fear of crime within the population (Callanan, 2012; Dolliver et al., 2018). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that this fear of crime may be associated with increased social punitivity, and thus increased support for punitive criminal justice policies (Dolliver et al., 2018). Taking this into consideration, it may be speculated that a candidate for political office informed on such a phenomenon may use it to their advantage to influence public fear of crime and thus public support of punitive policy stances.

Such a practice, agenda setting, has not only been utilized within previous presidential administrations, but was frequently illustrated throughout this year’s election. Broadly, agenda setting is the process of media shaping public focus towards certain issues, such that the public becomes increasingly aware of given topics and thus dedicates increased attention towards these salient issues. Focusing specifically on the political realm, the “policy agenda” may then be defined as the shaping of public issue salience to meet the needs and preference of policy makers (Gruman et al., 2016). Of relevance, an emphasis on crime has been a staple in modern policy agendas, as best exemplified by the “war on crime” and “war on drugs” between the 60s and 80s, respectively (Campbell & Schoenfeld, 2013; Fornili, 2018). A key element to such policy initiatives was as a dimension of fear and resentment towards crime, and likewise a degree of support for increasing punitive practice within criminal justice. Most damningly, such practices sought retribution towards criminal “Others”, namely towards communities of color. To elaborate, the overrepresentation of certain demographic groups within crime media lead to the stereotyping of certain groups (i.e., young black males) as more “criminalistic” compared to others, perpetuating systemic disparities and inequalities (Klein & Hodges, 2022). Turning towards the recent election, I would argue that this same process was used to incentivize punitive policy measures, overwhelming towards undocumented communities. Such can be illustrated not only by the choice in rhetoric found within political reporting, primarily reporting regarding conservative office-seekers (Lange, 2024), but subsequently through the public’s distress towards immigration as a factor behind crime. This is, once again, in spite of empirical literature suggesting otherwise, primarily that (undocumented) immigrants commit crimes at far lower levels than U.S. born citizens (Light & Miller, 2018; MacDonald et al., 2013)

References:

Callanan, V. J. (2012). Media consumption, perceptions of crime risk and fear of crime: Examining race/ethnic differences. Sociological Perspectives, 55(1), 93-115.

Campbell, M. C., & Schoenfeld, H. (2013). The transformation of America’s penal order: A historicized political sociology of punishment. American Journal of Sociology, 118(5), 1375-1423.

Dewan, S., Corkery, M., & Arango, T. (2024). Crime has been a big talking point. How does it look in battleground states? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/03/us/crime-swing-states-election.html?searchResultPosition=1

Dolliver, M. J., Kenney, J. L., Reid, L. W., & Prohaska, A. (2018). Examining the relationship between media consumption, fear of crime, and support for controversial criminal justice policies using a nationally representative sample. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 34(4), 399-420.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024). Crime Data Explorer: Data Discovery Tool. Retrieved from https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/query

Fornili, K. S. (2018). Racialized mass incarceration and the war on drugs. Journal of Addictions Nursing, 29(1), 65-72.

Gramlich, J. (2024). What the data says about crime in the U.S. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/24/what-the-data-says-about-crime-in-the-us/

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

Horsley, S. (2024). Here’s what Trump 2.0 means for the economy, from tariffs to mass deportations. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2024/11/06/nx-s1-5181327/trump-election-economy-tariffs-deportations

Klein, T. V., & Hodges, Q. (2022). An interreality study of race and homicide news coverage in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Crime, Media, Culture, 1-24. 

Lange, J. (2024). Americans see immigration as top issue for Trump to tackle, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds. Reuters, Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/americans-see-immigration-top-issue-trump-tackle-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2024-11-07/

Light, M. T., and Miller, T. (2018). Does undocumented immigration increase violent crime? Criminology, 56(2), 370-401.

MacDonald, J. M., Hipp, J. R., & Gill, C. (2013). The effects of immigrant concentration on changes in neighborhood crime rates. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 29(2), 191-215.

Mufarech, A. (2024). How abortion motivated US voters. Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-11-06/how-abortion-motivated-votes-in-the-us-presidential-election

Onat, I., Guler, A., Kula, S., & Bastug, M. F. (2021). Fear of terrorism and fear of violent crimes in the United States: A comparative analysis. Crime and Delinquency, 69(5), 891-914.

In our textbook they describe research that was done on support for young single mothers. This research was conducted on young single mothers in Canadian communities. The research was conducted because being a young single mothers can trigger a lot of mental health issues such as depression and isolation. They used this study to create a community for support of these mothers to help alleviate these issues by letting them know that they are not alone and there are people out there that are facing the same issues as them. Not only were they all single mothers but non of them held a full time job outside of the home.

This study was conducted by providing all of the mothers with computers. All of these computers had access to a bulletin where they could all post and communicate with each other. They could participate in conversations on these computers through the bulletin with details their daily lives and struggles they were facing. During the time this was considered cutting edge technology. his is because the internet and house owned computers was not a normal at the time and not as widespread as it is today. This was a base level bulletin similar to out early outlets of social media, like My Space.

Before the intervention began they measured the mothers stress levels and then after the intervention they did this again with the post intervention interview. The study lasted about 6 months and after the intervention was over they also gave the, a scale assessing their sense of community that they felt through the social support group that was through the bulletin. Although the usage rate on average was high for all of the participants combined, individually they had very different usage rates which ranged from regularly using the system to not using it at all.

From the pre and post interventions they discovers a negative relationship between consistently using the bulletin to less parenting stress. Meaning the more they used the belting on a daily average consistently they less parenting stress they felt. they also found that the mothers that accosted the bulletin more get more a sense of community and belonging to a community. these results were fairly pleasant to the researchers because of the fact that  young mothers tend to face a lot of stress after having their children and tend to feel isolated and alienated from others around them, so providing them with less stress and a sense of community is nice to see in research. The results suggest that online social support can be an effective intervention in proceeding support and and reliving stressors of young single mothers (Dunham et al., 1998).

I think this study is important and can definitely be used if anything more in todays day and age than any other. We are provided with many different social media outlets and blogs that are easily accessible at our finger tips. People already create support groups, and I feel like one for youg single mothers or even mothers in general could be very helpful especially with things like stress and even postpartum depression. I think when people get to share their experiences and Elaine they are not the only one and they can talk about it with people similar to them it provides a sense of relief. This can also provide a safe space where there is no judgement and nothing but support and also they can probably give advice on what helped them overcome the struggles they may be facing, And all of this in the comfort of your own home and easily accessible any time of day.

Dunham, P., Hurshman, A., Litwin, E., Gusella,

J., Ellsworth, C., & Dodd, P. (1998).

Computer mediated social support: Single young mothers as a model system. American Journal of Community Psychology, 26, 281-290.

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

Community psychology focuses on enhancing well-being by addressing social and structural factors rather than just individual-level issues. This is particularly valuable for young single mothers, who often experience heightened stress and isolation. Research on single mothers has found that they can experience a range of challenges, including mental health issues, financial difficulties, and social isolation (Daryanani et al., 2016). Creating supportive environments for these mothers can significantly improve their mental health and parenting abilities. Community psychology emphasizes the importance of creating supportive networks and accessible resources to mitigate these stressors. 

Social support theory explains that emotional and informational support from others helps individuals cope with stress (Gruman et al, 2016). By providing a sense of understanding and useful information to navigate challenging situations, especially in the case of new parenthood where significant adjustments are required, connecting with others who are experiencing similar challenges provides young mothers with both practical parenting knowledge and emotional relief that can significantly help individuals manage stress (Gruman et al, 2016). Meanwhile, Social Learning Theory—proposed by Albert Bandura—suggests that people learn behaviors through observation and imitation. Within a support network, young mothers can learn effective parenting techniques by observing peers and role models who share positive strategies, fostering resilience and providing crucial emotional and practical assistance to navigate the challenges of motherhood. 

In Chapter 12 of Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems the authors discuss a study conducted by Dunham et al. that provided young single mothers with access to an online platform where they could share experiences and gain social support. Their sense of community was enhanced by this online support, which also showed how peer networks can significantly affect parenting confidence and mental health. This support is important because single mothers are more likely than cohabiting mothers (mothers who live with a spouse or partner;  to experience episodic and chronic depression, anxiety, substance abuse, stressful life events, low self-esteem, social isolation, and lack of emotional support (Daryanani et al., 2016). 

The usefulness of online networks in promoting mental health is supported by research. A 2014 study, for instance, demonstrated how virtual support groups for mental health can lessen social isolation and enable people to better handle stress and mental health issues. This aligns with findings that online support networks are crucial for young single mothers who may lack other resources. By integrating social support and social learning principles, these platforms offer accessible, low-cost support options that improve mental wellness.

In my opinion online communities can complement face-to-face ones really well, but they probably can’t completely replace them. They are a vital source of support, particularly for people who are separated by distance or social obstacles, but they frequently lack the emotional depth of face-to-face relationships. In-person community support plays a vital role in supporting mental health, particularly for vulnerable groups-like single mothers. Face-to-face interactions foster trust and mutual understanding, creating a safe environment where individuals can share their experiences openly. This form of support provides immediate, empathetic responses, which are crucial for reducing feelings of isolation. 

Social learning is also facilitated by group settings, where people can watch and emulate healthy coping mechanisms, and in the context of single mothers, this can involve observing peers who model positive parenting practices, stress management techniques, and effective ways to navigate challenges unique to single parenting. By learning from others’ experiences, single mothers can develop practical solutions and emotional resilience through these interactions. This is especially beneficial for women who might feel alone or lack extended support networks. For example, a study on community-based health support groups highlighted how peer interactions within groups lead to improved mental health by promoting self-efficacy and shared learning experiences (Lipman et al., 2010). The small qualitative study found that these mothers reported that before participating in the group, they had shared experiences of social isolation, stigma, a sense of failure, poor relationships with their children and difficulties with financial management. After the group, mothers identified improved self-esteem, support from other mothers, improved parenting skills and improved communication with their children as outcomes of group participation. This group-based support also contributes to a lasting sense of community and empowerment, as mothers feel more confident in their roles and less isolated in their struggles. 

In conclusion, community psychology offers a powerful framework for supporting young single mothers by addressing their unique challenges through both in-person and online support networks. These community-centered strategies use social learning and social support theories to improve parenting, foster resilience, and reduce isolation. The advantages of both in-person and online groups show how diverse support systems may accommodate a range of requirements, establishing a safety net that promotes mental health. By continuing to integrate accessible resources and opportunities for peer connection, community psychology can have a lasting, positive impact on both individual families and society as a whole.

References: 

Applied Social Psychology : Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Jamie A. Gruman, Frank W. Schneider, and Larry M. Coutts . SAGE Publications . 2016 3rd edition

Strange, C., Fisher, C., Howat, P., & Wood, L. (2014). Fostering supportive community connections through mothers’ groups and playgroups. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(12), 2835–2846. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12435

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

Daryanani I, Hamilton JL, Abramson LY, Alloy LB. Single Mother Parenting and Adolescent Psychopathology. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2016 Oct;44(7):1411-23. doi: 10.1007/s10802-016-0128-x. PMID: 26767832; PMCID: PMC5226056.

Lipman, E.L., Kenny, M., Jack, S. et al. Understanding how education/support groups help lone mothers. BMC Public Health 10, 4 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-4

Lafreniere, K., Page, S., & Senn, C. (2016.). Applying Social Psychology to the Community.

All students are going to school to see other students and professors face-to-face for academic learning, but there are some students either have disabilities or students that do not like face-to-face community and decide not to go to school or instead take online courses. Or there are even factors like COVID-19 that forces every student to take courses online. According to the textbook, people who are in virtual groups are less likely to do well in school since the school will not run well. And I also had experience of taking every classes online in 2020-2021 that I have to take all classes online, and something even worse is that my time zone is different from the US time zone that I have to go to zoom and take classes at midnight until early morning, and that makes my grades very bad and not effective(Gruman et al., 2016).

For students who have disabilities that make them unable to go to school having face-by-face-community, online courses become an option for them to learn. And since everything is online, they would also get academic advisors for help online. For the academic advisors, it is their duty to advise all students, and that also includes online students. They are helping students in not only academic problems, but they also create supportive environment for learners to have a reference person in actual school and they also help students with different kinds of support. Though online courses may not be as effective as in person courses, but at least they will be learning something(Reyes et al., 2022).

For people who are taking online courses, it is also their duty to learn contents and passes the classes. So it is very important to build a good relationship between students and teachers, especially for online classes. Student motivation of taking online courses varies depends on if teachers decided to build a good relationship with students or not. There are three underlying psychological needs for online students and they are autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy represents individual’s performance for agency or personal control, competence is concerning a person’s ability to carry tasks and reach their academic goal, and relatedness is for making connections with each other in the courses. With these psychological needs included, students tend to do well and the online courses would be effective(Akram et al., 2024).

There are students who decided to take online courses, and in order to make online courses effective for them, the relationship between students and teachers are the most important factor for the online courses to be effective. Though it is also important for in person class, but online courses have more needs for the students and teachers relationship because students taking in person class can get help easily from their teachers or professors right after the class or before the class for any big or small questions while students have to send email for everything, and that makes the online community have more needs for this relationship.

Reference:
Akram, H., & Li, S. (2024). Understanding the role of teacher-student relationships in students’ online learning engagement: Mediating role of academic motivation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 131(4), 1415. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/00315125241248709
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Reyes, J. I., & Meneses, J. (2022). Advising college students with dis/abilities in online learning. Distance Education, 43(4), 526-542. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2022.2121264

As humans, we all have the innate desire to belong in a group. As social creatures, we all desire to make interpersonal connections with one another. There is one field of psychology that is referred to as “community psychology.” Community psychology is defined as the study of relationships of individuals within a group. The goal of community psychologists is to try to understand how individual and group wellness within a community or a society can be enhanced. They tackle issues such as respect for diversity, member participation, collaborative strengths, social justice, etc.

Furthermore, community psychologists wondered what factors impact people’s experiences in a community. They wondered if they can change how members of a community interact and behave with their fellow members. So therefore, they identified the concept of the sense of community model. According to them, in order to have a positive sense of community, there must be four elements come into play.

The four elements that comprise of a positive sense of community are: membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection. Membership is identified as the idea of the boundaries of a group. These boundaries can be considered geographical or social. Influence is defined as the impact an individual has over their community, and vice versa. Is the individual considered to be an integral member of the group? Do they consider themselves an integral member of the group. Integration and fulfillment of needs is defined as how the members value themselves and others as members of the community. Do they have shared values and needs? Do the members identify with the goals of the community? And finally, shared emotional connection is self-explanatory. Do the members share a special bond with one another? Does this special bond they share with one another exclusive only to their community?

Especially with the issues prevalent today, community psychology is necessary as it addresses the real need for people to serve others. The importance of community is very real, and membership of these communities can help people feel empowered. And also, with their empowered members, communities as a whole can make good change that can benefit everyone. And also, everyone needs to understand that in all ways, we all belong in multiple communities. So therefore, everyone needs to understand that we are all interdependent. We do not only have to look out for ourselves, but also for each other.

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

The progress humanity has made throughout thousands of years is evidence of an increasing number of people, as well as their increasing mobility. Paleolithic people lived in groups with simple and close connections, and those individuals only rarely traveled across long distances from their native places. Thus the emmer gave humans a solid starchy staple as agriculture developed, populations increased, and humans moved to larger, less nomadic settlements. Then this shift created conditions to have cities or civilizations for people which would allow to have many more people in one area. Group living increased and with that came a new stage of social and cultural development which is early stages while cooperation and negotiations were emerging.

Movements grew to become key with trade, migration, and exploration. Human beings traveled in search of food, pasture, and water and hence interchanged not only ideas and technologies but also genes. It made the human anxious that this dynamic exchange of things across regions and cultures makes the human more adaptable to his environment. For instance, while exiting new environments and communities new issues in the form of diseases were discovered in the population which one had to acclimatize to. This ability to jump from place to place also degenerated into an evolutionary advantage thereby enabling early man to live in the different Terra-types that characterized the earth.

Today, people are connected like never before. These days it has become possible to get across the world in just a few hours, and people are as nomadic as never before. This form of mobility has promoted cultural interchange and the flow of knowledge/technology and innovation and perspectives/ diverse talents across societies. Though, this system has its drawbacks. The ease with which infectious diseases are spreading in the contemporary world serves as a testimony to the effects of high density and movement in dense communities. For instance, modern pandemics revealed that the existing healthcare system requires the capacity to address the constantly increasing level of infectious diseases spread across countries; this claim confirms the importance of further development of the adaptable approach to addressing global health risks.

The implications of movement and numbers continue up to and including how people organize and interrelate in society. Today individuals in large cities live in larger congregations and individuals are on the move more often than their predecessors, thereby coming into contact with diverse populations than our predecessors did. Our daily life is very diverse and it pushes us to become more accepting of other people from other cultures and ethnicities and promote values that support unity among human beings. The need to familiarize ourselves with others and live alongside those in whose worldview and customs we do not see eye to eye with has shaped a cultural shift where understanding and acceptance of our values as the ability to hunt and fend for oneself was too early settlers.

The evolution of large, mobile populations has made humanity more resilient, adaptable, and culturally rich. This process continues to shape our future as we navigate the balance between connectivity and sustainability. As populations grow and we move even further across the globe and beyond, humanity’s continued adaptability will be key to facing future challenges and fostering global unity in an increasingly diverse world.

In this blog I want to discuss the stigmatizing effects of social media and methods to protect yourself from those effects. Media and social media platforms play an important role in how we receive and digest information. The objectivity of media has long been debated which has caused people to rely on even less reliable information from social media. What we see in social media can be completely incorrect, however depending on the setting and persona of the person divulging the information to us we can become susceptible to trusting the information.

Social media algorithms are designed to show you more of what you want, and one of those methods is user behavior analysis. User behavior analysis is when the algorithm collects data about how you interact with posts, accounts, and the type of content. It also tracks how long you watch the video, whether you watch until the end or scroll past it quickly. (Noreika, 2023) The issue with this is that whether an idea is true or not if it captures your attention enough it will start to affirm that idea as true. We are susceptible to being primed with information that counters truth so much so that when we encounter this truth we disregard it as false since what we have seen most often and recently contradicts that information. This ties into the lesson where research on the stigma against metal illness is not shaken when positive information about mental illness is shown after. (Gruman, 2016, p. 337)

When we wish to challenge the stigmatizing effects of social media one source says that the intervention must be multi-faceted and multi-level. (Nazanin Andalibi, 2023) One method I would propose to social media developers would be to add an AI function that allows users to quickly check the validity of the claims or information found in the content. This would allow users to easily learn factual information about what they are seeing. It would also promote a research focused mindset and a cautious distrust of viral claims. This addition would not be very difficult to add to existing platforms since most of them are already in the process of developing AI.

For my final recommendation to individuals, I would say do not trust any claim that isn’t backed by evidence. Information that is passively absorbed while doom scrolling on social media can have negative effects on you that you are not aware of. As students of psychology, we have been given the tools we need to research claims and to read and understand research done by others. It would be foolish of us to not do our due diligence and verify any information we see. Much of the things we see are riddled with negative themes since that is what gains the most viewership so we must be cautious when we allow ourselves to be exposed to information.

References

Gruman, J. A. (2016). Applied Social Psychology. Washington DC: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Nazanin Andalibi, P. C. (2023, April 23-28). Conceptualizing Algorithmic Stigmatization. Retrieved from ACM DL: https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3544548.3580970

Noreika, A. (2023, August 8). Explainer: What is a Social Media Algorithm? Retrieved from Technology.org: https://www.technology.org/how-and-why/what-is-social-media-algorithm/

In my ealy 20s, right around the time when my friends started leaving their homes towns in search of emplyoyment in their fields after gaining their college degrees, I felt a stark lonliness in the pit of my stomach and thought to myself “Where did my community go?” This is around the time that I started to question what made up a community and what exactly about a community gave me such an internal fulfillment. Although at the time I could not definitvely define what aspects of a community I felt missing, I knew in my gut the general feeling of what a community was. After my friends had left my home town, I was determined to find that fulfillment again.

So, what exactly makes up a community and what gives us a sense of community? McMillan and Chavis (1986) studied the concept “sense of community” and according to their model, a positive sense of community is comrpised of four elements: Membership, Influence, Integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection. Membership, or belonging, can bring about a sense of emotional safety, and the desire to invest in one’s community. Influence refers to the power an individual has within the community and the power a community has over said individual. People who do not feel as though their presence in the community makes a difference are not likely to feel a strong sense of community. Integration and fulfillment of needs refers to the members of a community’s interdependency. Specifically, shared values, satisfying each other’s needs, and sharing goods and resources. Shared emotional connection refers to members feeling a shared bond. (McMillan and Chavis,1986)

In today’s modern society, a lot of living spaces are not set up to make these four elements so easily achievable. Instead, as a consequence, a lot of people resort to using the internet as a source of community. Unfortunately, the quality of screen to screen contact does not compare to in-person contact, and thus, people are left, generally, feeling not as fulfilled as they would be if they were sociallizing in person. These consequences can have an impact on people’s mental health. Lonliness, according to the NIH National Library of Medicine, due to impared social relationships, can lead to various psychiatric disorders such as depression, alcohol abuse, child abuse, sleep problems, personality disorders and Alzheimer’s disease. (Mushtag et al., 2014)

Knowing the consequences of inadequate social relationships, should we not want to put more emphasis on enviroments that are condusive to producing a positive sense of community? This led me to explore communes as an alternative to our everyday society that was not built to cultivated a sense of community. According to Biologist Bjorn, after completing a research project by questionnare, looking into life satisfaction, the results on tight intentional communal living was clear, and  overall, the people living in these situations reported that they were very happy with their lives.

Wow, imagine a change in one aspect of your life being able to completely flip a potentially dull and desolate life, into something that is full of internal satisfaction. Of course, with anything there are pros and cons. However, human beings have evolved within small knit communities a lot longer than our current indiustrial centered type of living.

Setting an environment up that is condusive to socializing and close knit relatioonships is not ony essential for our happiness, but also our heath. The amount of alternaitive lifestyles that are out there are as abudant as the limitations of our imaginations. Why not start to listen to our bodies, and listen to our gut, and delve deeply into human satisfaction and what it is made up of.

References

Bjorn Grinde, (2016), Happiness in Communal Life: A Scientific Project, Foundation for Intentional Living.

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

Raheel Mushtag, Sheikh Shoib, Tabindah Shaah, Sahil Mushtag (2014), Relationship between Lonliness, Psychiatric Disorders and Physcial Health? A Review on Psychological Aspects of Lonliness, NIH, National Library of Medicine

In the United States and elsewhere in the Western world, the family structure considered to be the standard is the so-called nuclear family. This is two married parents with children. However, the actual percentage of children who grew up in these sorts of families is not nearly as high as we might think. In 1970 the percentage of households in the US that fit this description was 40%, but as of 2021 that percentage is now 17.8% (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). In Eastern cultures, particularly in Asia, there is less focus on the immediate family unit and more multi generational cohabitation (Oesterdiekhoff, 2024). Unlike in the West, marriage in these countries does not necessarily create a separate household.

The idea of the nuclear family derives from modern Europe. When a family member was married, they and their spouse would be considered to be a part of a new household separate from their parents. The fact that European newlyweds would need to support a separate household also meant that they needed sufficient wealth to do so, and this in turn pushes up the average age of marriage (Oesterdiekhoff, 2024). The exact reason or reasons for the emergence of this sort of family structure are not entirely clear, but one theory is that the church’s vehement opposition to arranged marriages meant potential partners had more options (Oesterdiekhoff, 2024). The church’s opposition to ancestor worship may have also meant placing less importance on caring for elder family members, which is common in Eastern cultures.

In many non-Western cultures, it is more common to see multiple generations all living under one roof. Elders will be cared for by the younger generations and the very young will be cared for by the older generations. This is compared to the common practice in the West of shipping elders off to retirement homes. In this way, this arrangement has its perks, but the system also has its downsides. This system is based on male inheritance, which means that the structure is still very patriarchal. When a father dies, the brothers will assume control of the family from within the same household (Oesterdiekhoff, 2024). This can mean that the women of the family have limited control over their choice of partner and living arrangements.

While these systems are distinct when examined separately, the rise of a global society has meant that these systems have influenced each other. With the rapid urbanization of Asia, particularly in China, the nuclear family has become a viable model for city living. While many Chinese have flocked to the cities, many also still live in rural areas and continue to operate under the extended family model. In India up to 93% of marriages are still arranged. According to an article from the BBC, only 3% of Indians were in a “love marriage” (BBC, 2021). Some Eastern countries have also started to see a rise in average age of marriage, further reflecting Western norms (Oesterdiekhoff, 2024).

The dynamics of family structure are too complex to relate in a single blog post, but if we look back through the history, psychology, economics and culture of these structures then we can start to see a pattern of necessity dictating the family dynamic. Europe, for example, is small and crowded. A higher marriage age acts as a form of population control. This limits competition for already limited resources. Industrialization has thrown both models into a period of change, and this will continue throughout history.

References

Oesterdiekhoff, G. (2024). Family patterns in the western and the eastern world. (n.d.).    https://www.researchgate.net publication/378028304_Family_Patterns_in_the_Western_and_the_Eastern_World

Bureau, U. C. (2024, October 23). Current population survey (CPS). Census.gov. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps.html

Older adults are at an increased risk of experiencing loneliness. As people retire and experience the negative health effects of aging, they lose access to many common social activities, like work functions and all kinds of physically challenging group events like sports.

In their research, Aylaz et al (2012) found that loneliness and depression score were significantly correlated, meaning that loneliness leads to worse health outcomes for elderly people. This is a huge problem, as the geriatric population is the fastest growing worldwide.

Thankfully, there is hope, as there are interventions and other ways to combat loneliness. Adams et al (2004), Aylaz et al (2012), and Hedayati (2020) all found that social relationships lower loneliness and depression scores. However, Hedayati (2020) points out that it is not enough to simply put elderly patients in retirement communities. The relationships must be quality and frequent to experience significant effect.

In fact, loneliness scores were lowest in partnered individuals, with those who had close community relationships second. Those with no social ties and those who had experienced recent loss fared the worst (Adams et al, 2004).

What this tells us is consistent with community social psychology. Older adults lack a sense of community, specifically emotional connections and integration and fulfillment of needs (Gruman et al, 2017). In order for interventions with older adults to be truly successful, it is important to encourage community building and reduce the potential for loneliness and loss of purpose wherever possible.

Sources

A sense of community as described by McMillan and Chavis includes membership, where those in a community feel they belong, influence, when a member feels they make a difference, integration and fulfillment of needs which is sharing of values, goods and resources, and shared emotional connection (Gruman, 2016) which is achieved by sharing and listening to one another. By using the approach of “New Urbanism” in the design of a neighborhood, feeling a sense of community can be reached.  

New Urbanism has been referred to as “living community” and consists of common areas with open spaces, sidewalks, and other public spaces for people to gather and help strengthen community (Talen, 2000). New Urbanism includes a few concepts in the design of a neighborhood and was developed in the 1990s in North America and has since spread to parts of Europe and Australia (Hooper, 2020).  

New Urbanist theory states there are two ways public space can strengthen community, the first is to combine residential space with public space and the second is to be cognizant of public space placement. The goal is to promote socialization and place attachment. Public space such as parks and community centers should be numerous and small and placed throughout residential areas. Streets and sidewalks should be welcoming to walking to increase social interaction (Talen, 2000).  

One concept of New Urbanism is the neo-traditionalist approach or “traditional neighborhood design” which includes a town center, shops, schools, and services that are easily reached by walking, biking or using public transportation. Narrow streets to deter extra traffic with sidewalks and large front porches on homes invite socialization.  Transit Oriented Development is similar to neo-traditional but is built around public transportation with stops within a 5–10-minute walk from any part of the neighborhood. The design of neighborhoods influenced by New Urbanism have been found to have more social and outdoor activities, strong connection to people, an increase in walking and decreased crime (Hooper, 2020).  

Social connection is the key to New Urbanism and its design has also influenced long term care for older adults. Social connections can decline as people age as they lose loved ones and can have increased difficulty being mobile. New Urbanism uses environmental design to meet the needs of the aging individual and support social interaction with friends and family which can increase independence and quality of life. The design includes easy access to shopping and services by using public transportation or a short walking distance (Hunt, 2001).  

One article I came across investigated whether a positive sense of community could influence positive mental health in Perth, Australia. It found that with the increased opportunity for social interaction in these neighborhoods, there was a positive impact on social and mental health. Also, parents with small children felt they had more opportunity to socialize and to feel connected to others. The article did mention however that they cannot conclude this positive outcome reflected directly from the design of the neighborhood. It is possible the promotion of a “community friendly town” attracted those who favor social and community-minded residents (Hooper, 2020).  

With the creation of neighborhoods using New Urbanism design, people seem to be more engaged with each other, their overall health and wellbeing can be enhanced with increased walking and social support, and they can feel a sense of belonging to a community. The design also allows convenient access to goods and services and reduced crime.  

 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 

Hooper, P., Foster, S., Knuiman, M., & Giles-Corti, B. (2020). Testing the Impact of a Planning Policy Based on New Urbanist Planning Principles on Residents’ Sense of Community and Mental Health in Perth, Western Australia. Environment and Behavior, 52(3), 305-339. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1177/0013916518798882 

 Talen, E. (2000). Measuring the public realm: a preliminary assessment of the link between public space and sense of community. Journal of Architectural & Planning Research, 17(4), 344–360. Measuring the public realm: a preliminary assessment of the link between pu…: EBSCOhost 

Hunt, M. E. (2001). Settings conducive to the provision of long-term care. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 18(3), 223-233. https://www.proquest.com/psycinfo/docview/619653920/BBE1EB1B178C4C6DPQ/18?accountid=13158&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals 

The crowding of urban centers brings into focus another notion—the bystander effect. This is a social phenomenon that explains how people are less likely to provide help in an emergency when other people are present. This post will be aimed at examining the relevance of this technique in the present-day urban environment of our cities. We shall also argue how aspects of this technique are relevant in the present day as well as shed light on how technology and community involvement can be integrated as the resolution for such issues. Studies have emphasized instances where people witnessed an emergency but were not engaged actively, therefore doing nothing to assist the victim of the event. Additionally, for example, Darley and Latané’s (1970) model of violence shows how, in the case of several witnesses, it is possible that each of them assumes that it’s someone else’s turn to intervene, causing the action to not get undertaken.  

It is evident that the bystander effect is not isolated to just emergency response; it demonstrates an understanding of the larger implications of societal engagement. Urban poverty and the decline of the neighborhoods greatly reduce the proportion of individuals willing to take risks and help out in troublesome situations. Such disconnection and fear, in a way, both keep society from assisting someone in need while instigating further social apathy. Ironically, in a technology-driven society today, while the digital world creates opportunities for interaction, its excessive use also makes people less personal. Putnam (1995, cited in Kraut et al., 1998) even mentions that the cause of lower levels of civic participation is the fact that everyone prefers to communicate over the internet, which widens the gap between virtual and physical communities.  

The effects of social disconnection and the bystander effect tend to be the underlying reason that most urban residents tend to be passive in nature. However, community psychology offers potential solutions to promote pro-social behaviors among such residents. The conviction to act among individuals in situations of great distress can be reinforced by community support programming. However, by facilitating social programs that deepen the bonds between residents in neighborhoods, we improve the ties within the community and enhance the willingness to assist each other. The social connection with the community emboldens some individuals to take action during crises rather than remaining passive due to the bystander effect.  

To conclude, the bystander effect is not only an important factor within urban settings, but it is also a motivation for the strengthening of communities. It is important to remember, however, that diffusion of responsibility can act as a barrier to accountability or an active stance, especially in the context of today’s society. Traditions emphasizing the values of family, friendship, and interaction should be fostered in a sense to instill preparedness in individuals, so that involvement in responsive interventions becomes not only an obligation but also a duty. This piece comes to one conclusion: trying to change situations or events without knowing how most people in the city genuinely act will not help fight the negative impacts of bystanderism. 

Darley, J. M., & Latané, B. (1970). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4), 377-383.10.1037/h0025589.

Kraut, R., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukopadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 53(9), 1017-1031.10.1037//0003-066x.53.9.1017.

Putnam, R. D. (1995). Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. J. P.Toubin. https://historyofsocialwork.org/1995_Putnam/1995,%20Putnam,%20bowling%20alone.pdf.     

In this week’s module we discussed stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice, as well as their impacts. We observed Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment and saw how observational learning can influence behavior, and in Jane Elliott’s Blue-eyes/Brown-eyes experiment from A Class Divided, we saw the impacts that discrimination can have.

In the Bobo doll experiment, we saw adults present children with a Bobo doll, which is an inflatable clown doll that will rebalance itself upright when struck, and then displaying aggressive behavior towards the doll in front of the children. When the children were left to play with doll, it was observed that they then mimicked that violent behavior on the doll, carrying out those same aggressive behaviors, and in some cases even taking it further, with some kids going as far as holding the doll down and striking it with an object. This experiment showed us the effects that observational learning and modeling can have, especially on kids (1).

In her experiment, we saw how quickly the children turned on each other when told that one group was better than the other, with children turning on friends without much trouble at all. Even more than that, we saw how it can impact both sides, with the blue-eyed children who were told they were better than brown-eyed children receiving better grades than expected, and brown-eyed children who were told they were inferior to blue-eyed children doing receiving worse grades than expected. Both of these observations held true even when the children were told on a different day that the opposite was true, with the brown-eyed children being told they were superior to blue-eyed children, and displaying the same behavior as the blue-eyed children did previously (2).

In one article I found, researcher discussed the meeting of these two concepts, in what psychologists call, implicit bias. Something being explicit would mean that position of the individual has been expressed outwardly with the knowledge of the individual, for example, an example of an explicit attitude would be saying “I’m voting for Kamala, I hate Trump and what he stands for”, as in that case, an individual clearly expressed their opinion towards a topic. Something being implicit means that an individual’s actions are expressing their support or disdain towards something without the individual knowing they are doing so, for example, an individual rates candidates with traditionally male names higher than traditionally female names, despite the fact the individual supports women’s rights and are outspoken about discriminatory trends such as gender-based wage gaps. As stated in the article, Implicit Bias: Scientific Foundations, authored by Greenwald and Krieger and published in 2006, Implicit biases are “discriminatory biases based on implicit attitudes or implicit stereotypes” (3). Implicit biases are both interesting and troubling, because the behavior that stems from them is different than the expressed beliefs and feelings of the individual. For example, Black Americans’ implicit attitude test scores showed that they had almost complete racial neutrality, which differed from the in-group favoritism seen in the expressed beliefs. This was hypothesized to be due to the pervasiveness of pro-European-American attitudes in American culture. In one study, white interviewers interviewed white applicants and Black applicants, and it was found that white interviewers smiled and spoke to white interviewees more than black interviewees. As for altering these implicit biases, research showed that making personal connections with members of the outgroup can improve implicit attitudes (3). In short, our culture and our media influence us in unconscious ways, creating implicit biases that can actually harm groups of people, without the express knowledge of the individual.

Works Cited:

1. Bandura, A. (1965). Influence of models” reinforcement contingencies on the acquisition of imitative responses. Journal of personality and social psychology, 1(6), 589.
2. produced and directed by William Peters ; correspondent, Charlie Cobb ; written by William Peters, Charlie Cobb ; a production of Yale University Films for Frontline ; produced for the Documentary Consortium by WGBH Boston. (1986). A class divided. Washington, DC :PBS Video [distributor]
3. Greenwald, A. G., & Krieger, L. H. (2006). Implicit Bias: Scientific Foundations. California Law Review, 94(4), 945–967. https://doi.org/10.2307/20439056

One of the first concepts taught to children through their education is the importance of completing an assignment or task at the expected time. However, many individuals have continued to struggle with this concept even throughout their adulthood. This concept is known as procrastination. Procrastination, according to the authors of our textbook Gruman et al., (2016), is the act of postponing the completion of a task or assignment sometimes intentionally, sometimes not depending on different circumstances. As small of an act as it sounds procrastinating on a regular basis is a recipe for disaster, likely adding more stress to one’s plate. The main goal of this blog post is to find the connections between a student’s level of procrastination and thier ability to perform well academically. Overall, further emphasizing the negative impact procrastination has on those who do it. 

Personally, I’ve witnessed many claim that procrastinating helps them produce work they would be more proud of compared to work they complete on time. In a recent study by Le et al., (2024) after collecting data from 566 high school students, the authors found that those who reported procrastinating on a more consistent level were more likely to perform worse academically than those who turned their assignments in on time (Le et al., 2024, p. 9). Building off of thier point, I think its fairly obvious that those who don’t follow instructions will fall behind in any area of life. If schools were able to implement some form of program that would allow children with a harder time adapting to new responsibilities, I believe we would see less adults dealing with problems related to procrastination. 

When developing an intervention or program that can potentially aid children who have a hard time meeting deadlines it’s important to reference research on the subject that might be of help. For example, an article from Fuke et al., (2023) focuses on procrastination amongst young children and what factors or characteristics they have that could be used as future predictors. The authors found that children with lower levels of episodic foresight, the ability to think about things that may occur in the future, were more likely to procrastinate in an academic setting (Fuke et al., 2023, p. 590). By focusing on the future and how our actions can change it both positively and negatively, I believe schools will lower the amount of procrastination they see in thier student body. 

In conclusion, procrastination is a common problem that causes many people unnecessary stress, especially students. As a college student myself I’ve 100% had my own experience with procrastination and learning how negatively it can impact how I perform academically, especially as I get closer to graduating. Although there’s an emphasis on timeliness and the importance of doing what you’re told in school I can’t help but think that all students would benefit from additional guidance on how to keep their future in mind, especially at a young age. Going forward I hope to see more research on other possible strategies that could be utilized to help students with thier ability to stop procrastinating. 

References: 

Fuke, T. S. S., Kamber, E., Alunni, M., & Mahy, C. E. V. (2023). The emergence of procrastination in early childhood: Relations with executive control and future-oriented cognition. Developmental Psychology, 59(3), 579–593. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001502 

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

Le, A. T., Ober, T. M., & Cheng, Y. (2024). Validation of a procrastination scale: A multimethod–multimodal approach. Translational Issues in Psychological Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000411 

Generation-Z is a time period loosely defined as starting during the later half of the 1990s, around 1996 or 1997, and ending in the early 2010s, around 2012. Individuals who came into the world during this time period were born into a unique situation. The earlier members of the generation were born at the turn of the century, with the Y2K scare and 9/11 occurring that time, while the later half were born into a period of rapid technological development. To put the technological development during this period into perspective, at the beginning of this time period, in December of 1997, the Nokia 6110 phone was introduced (1), while towards the end of this period, in 2009, 4G was being introduced (2). People born the same year as the Nokia 6110’s introduction (1), share a generation with those who were born the year the first iPod was released in 2001 (3), those who were born the same year the first iPhone was announced in 2007 (4), and those who were born the same year as 4G’s introduction in 2009 (2). Suffice to say, it’s not hard to argue that people born in this generation grew up during a period of technological development, on a scale unlike anything seen before.

While advancements in technology has brought forth many improvements in communication, safety, information-transmission, entertainment and accessibility, there is a downside; children had access to this technology before any downsides were fully established. Children born during this generation were the first to grow up with smart phones and social media, growing alongside technology, as well as studies on the negative impacts it can have. Nowadays, researchers have established negative effects that may result from social media and cellphone use including anxiety that results an individual’s separation from their phone (5); negative impacts on self-view and social relationships via cyberbullying and social comparison (6); the normalization of self-harm and suicide (6); a correlation between high amounts of cell phone usage and eye strain, neck pain, back pain, weight gain, depression, loneliness, and mood disorders (7); and a negative impact on sleep (8). That’s not even mentioning the privacy risks or addictive aspect to internet usage, with studies showing a significant positive correlation between internet addiction test scores and plasma dopamine levels (9); dopamine being a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, playing a vital part in the reward system in our brains. Addictive drugs are also known to cause increases in dopamine release, providing further proof of the addictive properties the internet is said to have (9).

During and following the COVID-19 pandemic that took over the world in 2019, researchers sought to examine the impacts the virus had on physical and neurological functioning, but also how the lockdown that took place during the pandemic affected learning, socialization, and technology use. It is well-known that the pandemic had negative impacts on mental health, with feelings of isolation, anxiety and despair being common in those who were forced to lockdown, all-of-which could’ve been exacerbated by the requirement of technology for work, schooling, and socialization. One trend that became very prominent at this time is referred to as “doomscrolling”, which is essentially the act of compulsively scrolling through social media and newsfeeds relating to bad news. This trend was so popular, it was named one of Oxford English Dictionary’s words of the year in 2020 (10). With the negative impacts being clearly researched and established, many researchers have attempted to discover ways to manage the negative impacts of internet use and social media. One study I found discusses a concept for managing the negative impacts that technology use can have; digital wellbeing.

In the article, Privacy Literacy: From Doomscrolling to Digital Wellness, authored by Chisholm & Hartman-Caverly and published in 2022, digital wellbeing is defined as “a subjective individual experience of optimal balance between the benefits and drawbacks obtained from mobile connectivity” (10). Essentially, digital wellbeing is the balance between the positive and negative impacts of internet use. In order to discover this “sweet spot”, individuals need to display controlled pleasure in relation to their internet use, as well as having functional support, while avoiding a loss of control and functional impairment as related to their cell phone use. To discover this balance, researchers suggest individuals look at the issue from a dynamic systems approach, which is essentially viewing a problem through the various systems and factor that play into it. This includes the interaction of several factors, including person-specific, device-specific, and context-specific factors. Person-specific factors include personality traits, such as impulsivity and mood, device-specific factors involve system design choices and notification system nudges, both of which influence user behavior, usage, and attitudes, and finally, context-specific factors include the impact usage has on social roles, such as how connectivity forces individuals to always balance their time using their phones with the time they spend nurturing relationships (10). The article didn’t provide much on intervention and its efficacy, but was more of a set-up for future interventions. It appears that researchers are still researching how to mitigate negative effects in a generalizable way. Much of the research surrounding social media and technology use focuses on limiting technology, but much research still needs to be done on how mitigate the negative impacts of social media and technology use, something that is vital, given technology and social media is unavoidable in today’s society. It isn’t possible to just turn off or stop the usage of technology anymore, and research needs to reflect that, though it doesn’t come quickly.

Sources:

1. Nokia – 6110. Nokia – 6110 | Mobile Phone Museum. https://www.mobilephonemuseum.com/phone-detail/nokia-6110 
2. Paavola, A. (2022, December 19). Smartphone History: A Complete Timeline. Textline. https://www.textline.com/blog/smartphone-history#:~:text=It’s%20hard%20to%20think%20of,worth%20up%20to%20$152%20billion 
3. The Music Lives On. Apple Newsroom. (2022, May 10). https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/05/the-music-lives-on/ 
4. Apple reinvents the phone with iPhone. Apple Newsroom. (2007, January 9). https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2007/01/09Apple-Reinvents-the-Phone-with-iPhone/ 
5. Gui, D. Y., Dai, Y., Zheng, Z., & Liu, S. (2023). Losing control without your smartphone: Anxiety affects the dynamic choice process of impulsive decision-making and purchase. Frontiers in neuroscience, 17, 998017. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.998017
6. Abi-Jaoude, E., Naylor, K. T., & Pignatiello, A. (2020). Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l’Association medicale canadienne, 192(6), E136–E141. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.190434 
7. Daniyal, M., Javaid, S. F., Hassan, A., & Khan, M. A. B. (2022). The Relationship between Cellphone Usage on the Physical and Mental Wellbeing of University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(15), 9352. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159352 
8. Rafique, N., Al-Asoom, L. I., Alsunni, A. A., Saudagar, F. N., Almulhim, L., & Alkaltham, G. (2020). Effects of Mobile Use on Subjective Sleep Quality. Nature and science of sleep, 12, 357–364. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S253375
9. Liu, M., & Luo, J. (2015). Relationship between peripheral blood dopamine level and internet addiction disorder in adolescents: a pilot study. International journal of clinical and experimental medicine, 8(6), 9943–9948.
10. Chisholm, A., & Hartman-Caverly, S. (2022). Privacy Literacy: From Doomscrolling to Digital Wellness. Portal : Libraries and the Academy, 22(1), 53-79. https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/privacy-literacy-doomscrolling-digital-wellness/docview/2769365460/se-2 

Being a part of a community whether it is online, or face-to-face is very important for us to grow as a person. Some may say face-to-face is a better form of communication while others think online is easier and works better for them. It is hard to really answer which way is better because it is based upon your own experiences and likes.
Now, I will say with face-to-face interactions, you get more of a sense of feel or emotion for the other person and/or people you are speaking to. This also allows us to show more of our own characteristics and be able to reach the party you want to. In the book it states, “Sense of community which refers to the degree to which community members feel a sense of belonging, etc.” This quote helps to relate to how face-to-face gives that sense of belonging in the community.
Online communities are harder to get the sense of self in the community. Being online could relate to just hearing your voice instead of seeing each other. It does not give a sense for the other person you are speaking to. If we focus on only using online interactions it could cause effects on actual interactions in the real world.
Both community styles of online and face-to-face have good and bad effects. Some people might have social anxiety and cannot speak to others unless its through a phone. On the other hand, if we only use online tools to speak to others in a community, we might often have a sense of not knowing how to interact face-to-face when we have to.
Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Sage Publications.

It is hard to admit to ourselves that we should have studied harder or we should not have partied the night before an exam. If you tend to have an excuse readily available for a grade that was lower than you thought then you have participated in self-handicapping. Another concept that is correlated with self-handicapping strategies is perfectionism. This is when someone is overly critical of their behavior and harps on their mistakes. Researcher Karner-Huţuleac (2014), examines the correlation between self-handicapping and perfectionism.

While self-handicapping and perfectionism may appear to be opposite by definition they both share something in common and that is the fear of failure. Self-handicapping strategies are when individuals make up excuses for their failures on external factors so that they do not have to admit to themselves that they are the reason for their failure. Perfectionism is when individuals are so scared to fail that they are overly critical of themselves and set unrealistic expectations for themselves. They tie their self-worth to their accomplishments and tend to have poor self-esteem. The results of the study show that “the use of self-handicapping strategies was found to be positively related to perfectionism” (Karner-Huţuleac, 2020). This means that students who are perfectionists can implement self-handicapping strategies such as procrastinating making excuses, failing to study, etc. due to their feelings of anxiety or depression when they fail to meet their expectations. This can be a harmful and vicious cycle which is why they are positively correlated. Self-handicapping and perfectionism have also been negatively correlated with academic achievement. They are afraid of failure but do not wish to accomplish things academically. Since they are not taking accountability for their actions or blaming their failure on external sources they will not change their self-destructive ways.

Some may view perfectionism as a good thing, but in reality, it puts a lot of mental strain on them and they can develop bad habits because of it. One way to combat perfectionism and self-handicapping strategies is by setting realistic goals and expectations for yourself. Instead of finding excuses for your poor behavior try to take responsibility and think about your actions. If you want to go out with your friends, but you know you need to study, try to set up a study schedule. You could study a little bit every day so that when your friends want to hang out you will not be worried about studying.

References

Karner-Huţuleac A., (2014). Perfectionism and self-handicapping in adult education.
Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 142. 434-438.

In today’s learning environment, students’ success is determined by much more than intelligence or study habits alone. The field of social psychology reveals that belief and motivation are a potent predictor of students’ academic achievement. Concepts like academic self-concept—a student’s belief in their academic abilities—and the theory of planned behavior, which outlines how attitudes and perceived control drive intentions, provide a deeper understanding of student motivation. By creating and supporting positive academic self-beliefs, educators can help students set and achieve higher goals, leading to better outcomes.

Academic self-concept is crucial to student success. Students who perceive themselves as capable tend to be more engaged and set challenging goals, which will help to validate their self-esteem through achievements (Gruman et al, 2016). Conversely, students who view themselves as “not good” at certain subjects often avoid challenging tasks, fearing failure – even discussing and confronting a teacher creates fear for most. This negative self-perception can limit their growth, trapping them in a cycle of low confidence and performance. Educators play a critical role by celebrating small successes and encouraging effort, helping students gradually develop a more positive academic self-image.

Mass media also heavily influences students’ views about education and self-worth. Media portrayals of school, academic success, and peer achievements—especially through social media—can create unrealistic standards. According to cultivation theory (Gerbner & Gross, 1976), prolonged media exposure can shape individuals’ perceptions of reality. For students, this may mean comparing themselves to curated images of academic “perfection” online, which can alter their motivation and self-esteem. Educators can counteract these effects by promoting critical thinking about media and encouraging students to set personal goals rather than relying on external comparisons.

Adding to these dynamics, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping education in unprecedented ways. AI-powered learning tools can provide personalized feedback, adapting lessons to meet each student’s strengths and needs. AI can help students study effectively, this can ensure that students focus on the topics they need the most help with, maximizing their learning efficiency. This personalized approach can have a positive influence on the academic self-concept of a student because the students will be able to experience success without social pressures. While AI has the potential to transform the classroom, its ethical implications—such as data privacy and equal access—require careful consideration to ensure that technology enhances rather than replaces human connection in education.

• Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
• Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.

Gerbner, G., & Gross, L. (1976). Living with television: The violence profile. Journal of Communication, 26(2), 172-199.

Mass media significantly influences adolescents. With the rise of social media, young minds are constantly being exposed to idealized images of beauty and unrealistic body images which are at unattainable standards. The glorification of these unrealistic bodies in the media can lead to major body dissatisfaction in adolescents developing brain. It is a major risk factor for eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Naomi Wolf argues that our culture disempowers women by holding them prisoner to an unattainable beauty ideal (Wolf, 1990).

George Gerber’s Cultivation Theory explains this phenomenon by stating that long-term exposure to media content shapes individuals’ perceptions of reality. For adolescents, this frequent exposure to images of these thin, digitally altered models can create a distorted view of societal beauty norms. This would lead to feelings of unworthiness and low self-esteem when their bodies do not conform to these media’s standards.

The consequences of this mindset can be very severe, resulting in extreme dieting, excessive exercising, and even more extreme measures like purging or using laxatives. When adolescents use these extreme measures to achieve this ideal body image, it can be detrimental to their developing bodies and mental health. These dieting practices can also perpetuate feelings of failure and inadequacy which would lead to a deeper spiral into eating disorders.

The effects of media’s glorified body images can also lead to lead to other issues beyond one’s perception of their own body. It can also lead to increased bullying, social isolation, and mental health issues among adolescents. If someone doesn’t match this ideal body, they may be bullied by others or self-isolate, which can be detrimental to their mental health. It may also cause them to go through extreme measures to fit the societal standards, which can easily lead to an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.

Addressing the impact of mass media on eating disorders is essential to begin mitigating these problems. By prioritizing education and inclusivity, we can help adolescents develop a more positive self-image and mitigate the harmful effects mass media can have on their body image. Promoting diverse representations of body types on the media can help challenge these harmful narratives. Also, educating adolescents to recognize unrealistic portrayals of beauty can help them understand they do not need to look a certain way and that they can be comfortable with themselves.

Spettigue, W. and Henderson, K.A. (2004) Eating disorders and the role of the Media, The Canadian child and adolescent psychiatry review,13(1):16–19 

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