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Category Archives: Social Psychology
Does Media Violence affect our Children?
It is a generally accepted fact that the media influence how persons construct and perceive reality. It is also widely “believed that repeated exposure to real-life and to entertainment violence may alter cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes, possibly leading to desensitization” (Funk, Baldacci, Pasold & Baumgardner, 2003). The term desensitization refers to the weakening of cognitive, emotional, and, ultimately, behavioral responses to a particular stimulus.
Desensitization to violence is slow and subtle, and may occur as a consequence of “repeated exposure to real-life violence, as well as from exposure to media violence” (Funk, et al., 2003). Continue reading
“Tie the Heifer, Loose the Bull”: Gender Inequality in the Caribbean
For years, the Caribbean has been plagued with the pervasive and enduring problem of gender inequality. Gender, as a social construct, became popular during the 1960’s and 70’s and refers to “a set of qualities and behaviours expected from males and females by society” (United States Agency for International Development [USAID], 2005, p.12). While ‘sex’ refers to differences between males and females which are biologically determined and constant, ‘gender’ refers to those differences which are socially constructed and subject to change. Continue reading
3 Things Your Smile Can Predict about Your Future
A smile is a universal symbol of warmth, happiness and positivity which comfortably crosses international boundaries and the most diverse of cultures. Smiles can also influence enormous positive changes in society via the process of mimicry; when we smile, it makes the persons around us want to smile too (Hess & Blairy, 2001, cited in Zhivotovkaya, 2008). Continue reading
Improve Your Life. Get a Pet.
We all know the obvious benefits of having pets; a kitty at play keeps the rodents away and a man-eating Rottweiler is a major deterrent against burglars and other larger vermin. We also know that pets can provide psychological benefits for their owners. Persons who suffer from loneliness, serious illnesses or other significant life challenges are often encouraged to get a pet. Continue reading
Giving is its Own Reward
Or so the researchers at UCLA would have us believe. Assistant professor of psychology Naomi Eisenberger and psychology graduate Tristen Inagaki performed an experiment on 20 heterosexual couples in romantic relationships at UCLA’s Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center.
In the experiment, each boyfriend received painful electric shocks while his girlfriend’s brain activity was monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Inagaki and Eisenberger “explored the potentially beneficial effects of support giving by examining the neural substrates of giving support to a loved one.” They “focused on a priori regions of interest in the ventral striatum and septal area (SA) because of their role in maternal caregiving behavior in animals” (Inagaki and Eisenberger, 2012). Continue reading