The Complicated Nature of Collective Memory

Posted on March 2, 2010 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

Although Susan Sontag famously argued that “there is no such thing as collective memory,” a recent article by Roediger (2009) considers the burgeoning field of collective memory and a number of oral history and other cultural projects are forming to “preserve” such memories.

Memories themselves are tricky and many social psychological studies suggest that we use a sort of “backward reasoning” when we recall memories such that we recreate them in nuanced ways to fit our current life situation. The recall of memories isn’t as perfect as say, flipping through a photo album. This was probably Sontag’s point, as she argues, “all memory is individual, unreproducible — it dies with the person.”

If that is the case then, what are the value of studies aimed at capturing and documenting collective memories? [...]

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Minority Influence on Capitol Hill

Posted on February 6, 2010 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

In the late 1960s Serge Moscovici developed a theory of social influence that investigated how minority groups influence majority groups and vice versa. Since then, the theory has been elaborated quite a bit to include in-groups and out-groups and to consider the relevance of the message and the context in which messages are delivered.

Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about majorities, minorities, and super-majorities in Washington, DC. With the election of [...]

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Psychological violence in marriage: France takes steps to make it illegal

Posted on January 7, 2010 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

French lawmakers intend to pass a controversial bill that will ban “psychological violence” in marital (or cohabitation) relationships. This bill is controversial because on the one hand “psychological violence” is a difficult concept to define (and may be even more difficult to prosecute). On the other hand, a number of studies have linked psychological violence to physical abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and behavioral problems in children. Thus, proponents argue that prosecuting psychological violence may reduce or prevent the occurrence of physical violence in relationships. [...]

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Want to keep those New Year's resolutions?

Posted on December 29, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

In just a few days we’ll have a resolution double-whammy. Not just a new year, but a new decade. Seems like a perfect time to be jotting down those resolutions (or publishing them online), right? Making resolutions is one thing…but what about keeping them? What can social psychology tell us that will help increase the odds that this time next year we’ll be proud of ourselves for the changes we’ve made?

In a recent study Lally et al. found that it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a new habit to become automatic. While 254 days of gym trips and healthier eating may seem daunting, there’s small comfort in their finding that [...]

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Contemplating Climate Change: What Motivates Individuals to Act?

Posted on December 14, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

This weekend marks the end of the first week of climate change discussions in Copenhagen, Denmark. Leaders from around the world have congregated to discuss their goals for lowering emissions and to pledge financial assistance for developing countries to adapt to the consequences of climate change. While national leaders are negotiating their commitments, what changes are possible at an individual level?

In a recent study, Frantz and Mayer apply a popular model of helping to the issue of climate change and hypothesize as to what motivates individuals to take action (or not). Their model outlines where change can be encouraged and where barriers to change often exist at the individual and organizational level. For example, [...]

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Secret Sharers: When Listening Takes Its Toll

Posted on November 28, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

The recent events at Fort Hood, Texas — multiple killings on an army base at the hands of a soldier — have people asking many questions. How could this happen in a protected space, such as an army base? How could it happen at the hands of a soldier? And how could it happen at the hands of a soldier whose job it was to help others with their own psychological distress?

The experiences of war are traumatic for the soldiers and those living in war torn areas. The cumulative effects of combat stress can lead to such disorders as PTSD. But is there a similar cumulative effect of listening, repeatedly, to soldier’s most traumatic experiences? [...]

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Collective Action in the Age of Twitter

Posted on November 13, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

How are technological advances that allow for the rapid dissemination of information, such as Twitter, changing methods of protest and collective action movements across the world? Although there is no single or simple answer, psychologists, sociologists and other interdisciplinary scholars are engaging the question.

During the protests in Iran Twitter was hailed as a powerful medium that was able to engage supporters across the world as well as serve as one of the only news outlets that could permeate efforts of censorship. Months later, however, Twitter was again implicated in protest action in the United States. Although this time it was grounds for arresting an activist who was using Twitter to inform protesters about police location. [...]

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Marriage and Parenting: For Better AND For Worse

Posted on November 5, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

Couple_01A recent New York Times Science article documents the efforts that family clinics and parenting groups are making to get fathers more involved in parenting. However, the issue is not only getting them involved, but in getting the mothers to let them be involved in their own ways. The biological connection that a mother and child share is undeniable but, as the article explains, our social and cultural constraints on fathers, and what is expected of them, can often make parenting confusing and unbalanced. [...]

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Right Wing on the Rise

Posted on October 23, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

800px-FOX_News_Channel_StandIn the States, the Obama administration and Fox News Channel have recently “declared war.” The argument is essentially that the “talk-radio format” of the evening commentary programs undercuts the network’s credibility as a news organization and the Obama administration has indicated they will not interact with the network on this level. And yet, Fox News is enjoying some of its highest ratings ever.

A recent study in the European Journal of Personality may shed some light on the popularity of the network. [...]

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Don't worry, Be happy?

Posted on October 8, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

On September 30 Wiley-Blackwell announced the winner of their inaugural Wiley Prize in Psychology — Professor Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Positive Psychology Center. While his career contributions are certainly immense, other scholars and, most recently, popular authors, have turned a critical eye to positive psychology.

In 2008, Dana Becker and Jeanne Marecek published an article questioning positive psychology, particularly its emphasis on individual success and development and what they perceive to be a disconnect with the realities of social institutions and sociocultural power [...]

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Generation X, Y…Me?: Meanings, Methods, and Measurement of Narcissism

Posted on September 25, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

LOE3Narcissism is itself a slippery concept that psychologists have debated for years. How to define it and how to measure it have been looming questions as well as the extent to which a certain level of narcissism may be adaptive in a psychological sense. More recently, however, Twenge and colleagues have published volumes about the current narcissism “epidemic” plaguing those of us in our 20s and 30s.

According to Twenge, there are significant differences between “cohorts” (generations) in terms of narcissism, with young adults today having higher levels of self-esteem and narcissistic attitudes making them worthy of the “Generation Me” moniker. In a recent Social and Personality Psychology Compass article, however,Donnellan and colleagues argue otherwise [...]

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Scared Stiff: Does Fear Motivate or Paralyze Us?

Posted on September 8, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

480px-Scared_Child_at_Nighttime

If you’ve seen the recent viral video discouraging us from texting while driving, or the quit-smoking commercials that feature surgeries showing organs damaged by smoking, then you may find yourself wondering if these gruesome images actually cause us to change our behavior?

Social psychologists have asked the same question and have found a variety of results. When considering the persuasiveness of a message we have to consider the message itself, the audience watching it, and the context in which it is delivered. [...]

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If we could talk to the animals…

Posted on August 29, 2009 by admin

This post appeared on the Social Psychology Eye blog. An excerpt is below, to view the full post click here.

LilyFirstSmileRecent US headlines regarding the reinstatement of NFL player Michael Vick, convicted of participating in a dog-fighting ring, raise a number of questions about animal rights and how we attempt to understand and treat animal abusers.

As the introduction for the most recent Journal of Social Issues (JSI) states, “virtually all societies” make use of and have relationships with nonhuman animals — as companions, for work, as a source of food, etc. But these relationships are complex and raise a number of ethical and psychological issues. [...]

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