Social Psychology 2019

On any given day, I would like to think that I take a pretty good stab at my homework. But the days go on, and assignments pile up, and two days have passed since and I haven’t finished a single one of them, hardly cracked a dent even. Yet I seldom feel the stress or the anxiety attached to the my admittedly sluggish work speed. Until the 11th hour, when my stomach twists and turns in knots and screams and urges me to just sit down and power through it. And I think to myself: “where was this motivation (read: crippling anxiety) two days ago when I had all the free time in the world?” And then I remember that I scrolled through memes and repeated mantras of cognitive dissonance in my head until I simply forgot that I had things I should be doing. Even now as I sit here at 9PM, twelve hours before the due date (which I’m sure isn’t very long for most people to finish this assignment), I find myself contemplating how this will affect my grade (a lot), how little choice I have in blowing...

It seems as we get older, everyone has a bad habit or two. Whether that is biting your nails, eating unhealthy, or something like smoking. These bad habits can sometimes feel like something we can't change or have become a part of who we are. Although, if you feel like you have really had enough, there are things you can do to change this. It can sometimes feel like bad habits are a part of you, and you are not alone. According to Wendy wood of the Washington Post (2015), of the almost 50% of Americans that make a new years resolution to change something for themselves only about 8% actually succeed. These behaviors are ones that we use for stress relief even if it doesn't make us feel the best long term. We tend to lean towards these short term gratifications to make ourselves feel better. That's why they can be so hard to break.                                         ...

It is pretty common knowledge nowadays that smoking and other tobacco products have direct links to respiratory diseases, cancer, and other serious health issues.  We have all been told about the dangers associated with tobacco, from lessons in class to the graphic advertisements show on television.  Smoking is heavily stigmatized in society nowadays despite being seen almost as the norm just a few decades ago.  How did a product that was so popular and had such a wide base of consumers fall in popularity so quickly?  A lot of it had to do with the advertising. First, how did tobacco products gain such a large consumer base?   Their use of advertising allowed companies to target several different groups very effectively.   AdAge provides a comprehensive breakdown of tobacco companies’ use of advertising.   To start with, many tobacco companies advertised their cigarettes by placing money or cards with celebrities printed on them in cigarette pac...

“The function of propaganda is…not to make an objective study of the truth…and then set it before the masses with academic fairness; its task is to serve our own right, always and unflinchingly.” – Chapter 6 of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf What is propaganda? Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines it as “ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause”. Why and how does it work? There are many reasons and explanations for these questions, however perhaps the most comprehensive answer lies with the ideas of central and peripheral persuasion. Propaganda is extremely good at peripheral persuasion, as it will typically attempt to invoke feelings of patriotism, love, anger, fear, etc. It attempts to place the consumer's attention and thoughts more-so on not the truth or the facts, but on the context of the situation that is already present, or the one they're attempting to create. Take Uncle Sam for example. ...

Having a disability does not mean one has an inability to work. untitled disability photograph Work constitutes a significant amount of time in a typical American's life, and that means spending countless hours with co-workers. Working with co-workers can require a great deal of trust, so ambiguity, unnecessary tension, and discomfort should be eliminated as soon as possible. But how do you approach these topics with a disabled co-worker? If you have prejudice, or negative feelings towards a disabled co-worker, how can you create positive feelings instead? With the following 4 key tips, you can start on a journey towards approaching positive work relations with other differently abled co-workers. 1. Be mindful and know what is a disability. Not all disabilities are physical. When you hear the word disability, do you immediately think of a wheelchair? Or a white cane? If so, not to fear because it is a typical response for us to sort different disabilities into cate...

The Modern Day Civil Rights Movement Problem Our generation has become some of the most open to other people.  Yet despite this, there is still a large amount of prejudice and discrimination towards an entire communities in the nation.  The LGBT community is a large community you could not easily pick out someone as being part of without knowledge of the person directly.  Around the world, many of their civil rights are violated without most people knowing of it happening. The LGBT community is faced with a large amount of discrimination and prejudice, and some large events make it to national news.  For the sake of this, prejudice and discrimination will be defined as follows: Prejudice :  Negative feelings toward persons based on their membership in certain groups  (Kassin, 2017). Discrimination : Behavior directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group  (Kassin, 2017). Civil rights is a set of rights that most p...

Women in STEM Fields Women are notoriously underrepresented in STEM fields. Nearly half of the working population is female and yet less than a quarter of STEM workers are female. This discrepancy is not lost to many working in such fields. There are plenty of initiatives that encourage the pursuit of STEM careers amongst young women such as Girls Who Code, The Scientista Foundation and 1000 Girls-- 1000 Futures. ( Link ) The hostility comes from the competitive nature of STEM fields. It is by far more lucrative to be the first person to accomplish a significant task than it is to be the second. This can cause an inherent distrust between colleagues who are both vying for the title of first. Women have not been the main players in STEM fields and are often seen as outsiders and therefore threats. It can be difficult to collaborate with someone that seems so different from yourself. The root of this hostility ultimately comes from the idea that women are ultimately trying to ...

So Much More Than Just A Movie: Remember the Titans Nature of the Problem Are you Racist? Hopefully, my question has caught your attention because racism  still exists  in the world today!   Before I start talking about the film lets get familiar with a few important terms: Racism : Prejudice and discrimination based on a person's racial background (Kassin, 2016) . Prejudice : Negative feelings about others based on their membership in certain groups  (Kassin, 2016) . Discrimination : Negative behaviors directed against others based on their memberships in particular groups  (Kassin, 2016) .  Plot In 1971, a black head coach for football by the name of Herman Boone was hired. At this time it was a "white" only high school. This caused many racially motivated conflicts both on and off the field. As the season continues Boone uses his position of power to achieve peace between the white and black football players. He makes the team w...