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12
Feb 17

Release Social Anxiety By Doing “The Work”

Utilizing “The Work” In Reference to Social Anxiety

By:Kristen Jezek

If you are like most people, there has been a time in your life where you have felt somewhat anxious or nervous at the thought of going on an important date or attending a party with a lot of people. This type of nervousness to meet with others can be natural, even exciting for some. However, for others it is a nightmare of anxiety which develops into full-blown social anxiety disorder (Schneider, 2012), crippling their social life and self-concept. To combat the thoughts that lead to social anxiety disorder, and a host of other undesirable consequences, The Work of Byron Katie offers a way out (Do The Work, 2015).
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA, 2017) defines social anxiety disorder as “the extreme fear of being scrutinized and judged by others in social or performance situations”. While the person who experiences this may have a fulfilling and productive life in the comfort of their own company, the social phobia kicks in with the thought of socializing with other people, meeting someone new, or going on a job interview. As social creatures, this phobia can have devastating effects for a person’s quality of life. When faced with a social situation, the fear can be so great that it stops the person from attending the social activity, leading to isolation and loneliness.
The Work of Byron Katie is a method to question your stressful thoughts. The thoughts you utilize to question in the work consist of anything that is causing you stress or disrupting your quality of life. This has incredible implications for someone who is suffering from irrational anxiety due to their beliefs about what may happen in a social situation. When faced by a social situation that causes anxiety, a person would first identify and write down the stressful thought (or thoughts) they are believing. For example, the stressful thought may be “others will judge me negatively”, “this person will think I’m stupid” or “I will never get this job”. These are the types of thoughts that, when played over and over in a person’s mind, brainwash them into an anxiety which cripples and debilitates their social confidence, and can lead to intense social anxiety. Rather than believe these stressful thoughts, The Work invites you to question them.
So, what is “The Work”? The work is a series of four questions and what is called a “turnaround”, in which you turn the thought around. The four questions are as follows:

1) Is it true?
2) Can I absolutely know that it’s true?
3) How do I react when I think that thought?
4) Who would I be without that thought?

The turnaround is simply finding an opposite of the stressful thought. Examples of
the turnarounds for the thoughts presented above are “They will judge me positively”, “this person will think I’m smart”, or “I will get this job”. The next step is to find three concrete examples of how that thought could be as true, or truer than the negative thought before. I might find three examples of why I should get that job, and armed with the knowledge of those three examples, I could feel more confident that it was true. Furthermore, this increased confidence in social situations often leads to a better performance in the social situation overall.
The implications for The Work in treating and managing social anxiety are huge. Whether you are a person with slight social anxiety or suffering from full-blown social anxiety disorder, the act of slowing down your thoughts long enough to question them can offer tremendous relief. If a person could question their stressful thoughts as they thought them (and turn them around), they would be able to free themselves from the crippling fear that comes with dreading a stressful outcome. This confidence compounds over time and with regular practice of asking these four questions and turning them around, the person can facilitate themselves to greater health, social abundance, and mental freedom.

Bibliography:

1) Social Anxiety Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2017, from https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/social-anxiety-disorder (ADAA)
2) Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied social psychology: understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles: Sage.
3) International, B. K. (2015, September 06). Do The Work. Retrieved February 12, 2017, from http://thework.com/en/do-work

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30
Mar 15

Rewrite the Rules: Implications for Overcoming Stereotype Threat for Girls – Building New Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

What does it mean to do something ‘like a girl’? Long-believed perceptions of throwing, running and fighting ‘like a girl,’ were challenged in Always’ “Rewrite the Rules” campaign commercial, during the Super Bowl. For too many girls, being ‘like a girl’ indicates doing them in a weak physical manner. With belief in this concept, a stereotype threat (Steele, 1997; Steele & Aronson, 1995) can put girls at a risk for following the stereotyped expectations of their group, rather than working to their full potential.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs?rel=0&controls=0]

Building a positive image of oneself is important, but it takes time and practice (Mountain State Centers for Independent Learning, n.d.).  Messages that are heard toward groups that a person identifies themselves to be a part of, can influence behavior and success.  Essentially, when someone believes that they or someone else will fail or succeed, it can influence failure or success (Schneider, 2012).

Can the principles of ‘Rewriting the Rules’ transcend into other cultural stereotypes? By rewriting the scripts, so that groups of people are given successful messages, perhaps more successful outcomes can result.  With this in mind, educators, along with positive advertising campaigns, such as ‘Rewriting the Rules’ can impact positive societal change.

In essence, positive and encouraging messages about ourselves and about others can be significant factors in overcoming negative stereotypes.  Self-esteem isn’t self-absorption; it’s self-respect (Mountain State Centers for Independent Learning, n.d.).  If we believe that we are capable, we can become more capable.  If we believe that we will fail, we possibly will.

Quotes to Ponder:

“Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.” Brian Tracy
“Pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy; it reproduces itself by crippling our willingness to act.” Howard Zinn

References
Mountain State Centers for Independent Learning. (n.d.). Improving your Self Image. Retrieved from Positive Self Image and Self Esteem: www. mtstcil.org/skills/image-3.html
Schneider, F. W. (2012). Applied Social Psychology Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. In F. W. Schneider, Applied Social Psychology Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems Second Edition (pp. 3-16). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

 

 
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03
Nov 14

It’s Not You, It’s Me

I amMark_Rosen a volleyball coach for high school and club teams. As such, I have always prided myself on being able to pick out a good player. Even before I have seen them in action, I have said to myself, “that girl can play.” After reading up on the subject of education in our textbook, I realize that this might not be because I am a smart volleyball super-genius. Unfortunately, I think I may be guilty of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A self-fulfilling prophecy is when one’s expectations of another influence the perceptions and behaviors toward them. These perceptions and behaviors then, in turn, cause the other person to act in a way that confirms these expectations (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, pg 204).

Lets take an example to better show you what I mean. Two girls walk into the gym, player A and player B. I tell myself player A is going to be good. I also tell myself, player B is never going to amount to anything. As a result, I spend a lot of time working with player A. Giving her good feedback, push her to constantly give 100% effort, and I spend extra time explaining things to her. Also, because of my thoughts on player B’s lack of skill, I spend very little time with her, I don’t push her as hard, and I don’t give her as much feedback. Over the course of a season, player A gets much better, much faster than player B. I then tell myself, “What a great eye for talent you have coach.”

When in reality, my expectations about each player (player A will be much better than player B) have influenced my behavior toward them (I spend more quality time with player A). This behavior then causes player A to get much better than player B, or in other words, they confirm my expectations. When my expectations are confirmed, I tell myself what a great coach I am. When you put it in these terms, I think there could be the self-fulfilling prophecy in action.

Since this is applied social psychology, my attention naturally turns to implementing an intervention. Step 1 has already been explained; the problem is I may be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. So what are the precipitating and perpetuating factors? A precipitating factor has to be my inner dialogue. Telling myself who can play before I see them play. The perpetuating factor would then be spending more high quality time with players I have told myself will be good.

With these factors identified, I can now begin to design the program activities. First, I must reserve judgment. Next, I must try to keep track of the amount of timkarch coachinge spent with each player and ensure that the time is roughly equivalent and of equal quality. Third, I must hold every player to the same standard of effort. So in order to implement this intervention, I will need a sheet of paper with the player’s names and the ability to mark when I gave them feedback. Next I will need rules that are equally enforced amongst all players. For example, hustle after every ball, call every ball, and cheer for your teammates.

To evaluate myself, I would go through the sheet and make sure I had roughly the same amount of feedback for each player. I would also have to videotape practice and make sure every girl was punished, every time she broke one of the rules. I would also quantify the quality of the feedback with this tape. For example, “good job” would be considered bad feedback because of lack of specificity, whereas “excellent footwork on your approach” would be considered good feedback.

Basically I need to make sure that the differences in their improvement over a season is due to their ability and hard work, not to my selective coaching. I feel like I owe it to the girls to give each one of them a fair chance to get better. Hopefully this intervention will better allow that to happen.

References

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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07
Mar 14

Has the self-fulfilling prophecy led to an increase in violence in supermax prisons?

The self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when expectations influence behavior in a manner that will confirm the original expectations (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). For example, guards expect inmates in a supermax prison to be aggressive or violent and thus, treat inmates as violent individuals. This in turn causes the inmates to behave violently – ultimately confirming the guards expectation of the inmate. Furthermore, guards may behave with racial prejudice and harassment which has the potential to turn an inmate into a hateful, aggressive individual. Austin and Irwin (2001) examined this problem closely within the prison environment and point out that an inmate may be treated as a violent criminal, regardless if they are or not. This may result in exacerbating violent qualities in inmates or create these qualities in the first place.

Supermax prisons exist with the purpose of housing the most dangerous criminals around the country. Inmates are sent to supermax prison when they are deemed to be resistant to adherence of prison regulations, pose a threat to the prison staff and fellow inmates and exhibit violent or disruptive behavior (King, Steiner, & Breach, 2008). Within the climate of a supermax, prisoners are confined in solitary housing units for up to 23 hours per day (King et al., 2008). The treatment of supermax inmates often foregoes the “common decency and dignity” of treatment towards human beings in favor of cruel and harsh tactics (Madrid v. Gomex, 1995). In a prison, inmates are vulnerable to inhumane treatment, racial prejudice and harassment for an extended period of time. Toch (1990) has uncovered that a constant negative environment will only enhance negative behaviors and desensitize inmates.

King et al. (2008) have pointed out that within supermax prisons, inmates are well aware of their labels as “the worst of the worst” and treated as such (p. 162). Furthermore, officers employed at supermax prisons are briefed repeatedly that they are in contact with violent and dangerous individuals and emphasize the threat of death by inmates (King et al., 2008). While it is true that inmates can behave violently and never abide by prison rules, this cannot be the case for every single prisoner. Therefore, treatment for the masses should not be based on the minority. On a smaller, less intense scale, the Stanford prison simulation revealed the capability of power and social roles within prison culture that can turn guards to behave in a very cruel manner (Schneider et al., 2012). A similar behavioral pattern can be seen within supermax prisons and guard treatment towards inmates. The social roles and norms of prison guards are often associated with the negative treatment of inmates because guards feel superior and view the inmates as “less than human” for being sent to a supermax prison (King, Steiner, & Breach, 2008, p. 164).

King et al. (2012) focus on the Pelican Bay supermax as an example of the self fulfilling prophecy and its repercussions within prison climates. Pelican Bay has the reputation of being one of the worst prisons in the country. Pelican Bay is described as an environment that is filled with “harassment, sensory deprivation, and isolation” which leads to an environment that further enhances inmate aggression (Wienstein & Cummins, 1996). The solitary housing unit of a supermax exposes inmates to exactly this environment for 23 hours a day contributing to anger, frustration, loneliness, aggression, etc. Weinstein and Cummins (1996) defend inmates saying that even the “‘worst of the worst’ – are members of the human community” (p.1).

The environment, expectations and behaviors of both the guards and inmates contribute to the self fulfilling prophecy and enhanced violence in supermax prisons. Guards are trained to dehumanize criminals and use aggression in supermax prisons with the expectation that these criminals will behave violently. Inmates in turn will react to the aggressive treatment and harassment with violence. Additionally, inmates believe if they have made it to the supermax, they must be a terrible criminal and so they behave in such a manner to confirm their beliefs and expectations. In order to eliminate or reduce the cycle of the self fulling prophecy from occurring within supermax prisons, guards must first be dedicated to believing inmates are human beings (King, Steiner, & Breach, 2008). Johnson (2002) explains that guards have the ability to promote helping activities and setting examples within the prison environment. Rather than further enhance an inmates hate, anger and aggression, guards should be civil and use tactics to promote positive behavior. These changes will allow a climate of basic human dignity and reduce the enhancement of aggressive and violent behavior due to the effects of the self fulfilling prophecy.

References

Austin, J. & Irwin, J. (2001). It’s about time: American’s imprisonment binge (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Johnson, R. (2002). Hard time (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

King, K., Steiner, B., & Breach, S. (2008). Violence in the supermax: A self-fulfilling prophecy. The Prison Journal, 88(1), 144-168. doi:10.1177/0032885507311000.

Madrid v. Gomez, 889 F. Supp. 1146 (N.D. Cal. 1995).

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Toch, H. & Klofas, J. (1982). Alienation and desire for job enrichment among correction officers. Federal Probation, 46(1), 35-44.

Toch, H. (1990). The good old days in the joint. In T. Flanagan (Ed.), Long-term imprisonment: Policy science and correctional practice (pp. 186-196). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Wienstein, C. & Cummins, E. (1996). The crime of punishment: Pelican Bay Maximum Security Prison. San Francisco, CA: South End Press.

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