Applied Social Psychology (ASP)

When a Man Loves a Woman...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:22:28 -0500

Amore. What the human race searches for. We are biologically programmed to search for a potential mate and procreate. But what happens when love goes bad? Typical stigmas of love: men are cheaters and women are too clingy. Well, how do we change things about us that have been passed down from our ancestors?

In a time far, far away; men were able to give into his instinct without ramifications of broken hearts. Once upon a time, men were driven by their instincts to pass on his genes to as many women would bear his children. Now, if a man tried that, he would be called a player (if he were single) or labeled a cheater (if he were married). Somewhere between the days of past and now, relationships needed to be defined, whether for the sake of science or a woman's sanity, I'm not really sure which one.

Hot cognition is a "prominent characteristic of human mind" (PSU, 2012, p. 1) in respect to the natural selection process. Hot cognition refers to the 'hot', action-oriented cognition of human beings; it explains the fight or flight reaction in humans. In other words, our ancestors who reacted quickly and successfully had a better chance of survival than our ancestors who chose to assess and rationalize the situation (AKA- hot cognition). This hot cognition now is the leading cause of divorce among couples because it can cause mischief in relationships and form jealousy (PSU, 2012). Jealousy is a very strong emotional response to a partner's infidelity, whether or not it is actually true (PSU, 2012). Jealousy is experienced by both males and females with different intensities. So the next time you find yourself experiencing jealousy take a moment to think about what you are experiencing and why you are experiencing it. Don't jump to conclusions or use hot cognition. Leave that to kind of thinking to situations which require an action, not a thought.

Reference:

PSU. (2012, March 3). Lesson 12: Relationships and Everyday Life. PSYCH 424: Applied Social Psychology. University Park, PA, USA: The Pennsylvania State University World Campus.

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology. Los Angelos: Sage Publications, Inc.

Coping with Life

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:46:59 -0500

Who's got stress? Why don't zebras have stress, they run for their lives in the wild all day, every day? Ah, the human condition, the ability to produce introspection, an inner monologue, and cognition. We can perceive our surroundings and interpret them uniquely. A miraculous task, indeed, but a tremendously painful one for some. I work in the mental health field, surrounded by those plagued by their thoughts - I, too, and plagued by my ability to create intelligent thought. Some say ignorance is bliss.
The best way to handle the stress we all encounter in our lives is to approach it accordingly and deal with it in healthy ways. How do you best deal with stress? I, unfortunately, tend to shut down. If someone inquires about what's bothering me, I would rather not discuss it and bury the feelings until they go away. Bad idea! There are so many more constructive ways to confront your stress. Lazarus and Folkman's definition of stress is a "a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being" (p.183). Lazarus and Folkman also describe an approach called the transactional model of stress - the model posits that people's transactions with their environment and people around them include specific situations, events, and people that bring about stressful feelings for them. How do we respond to these perceived threats or challenges? Our response these stimuli are appraisals of our environment (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
Coping is the toughest part. This is a conscious confrontation of what stresses us the most. Coping is considered thoughts, feelings, and behaviors we look to use to decrease our stressful feelings (Schneider, et al., 2012).. Coping methods are different for everyone, whether it be listening to music, reading a book, or taking a walk. Coping can either be problem-focused or emotion-focused. Should we challenge our stress by determining the issue that is stressful or deal with our feelings of stress? For me, I think to deal with my feelings of stress is a better pathway to serenity. Unfortunately, many of the problems we are faced with are unchangeable and therefore, we must change ourselves to deal with them.

References
Lazarus, R.L. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping.Springer Publishing Company.

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology. Los Angelos: Sage Publications, Inc.

DIVERSITY

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:46:43 -0500

Schneider, Coutts, and & Gruman 2013 once stated that "the world is diverse; people have diverse values, diverse behaviors, and diverse customs, and they wear diverse clothing." So why does social diversity within the communities continue to be a trying problem? In order to know why you must know some of the history. America was not always so diverse. Social diversity in terms of gender, race, culture, social class and several other areas have been very debatable issues since I can remember. When you look back at slavery one can associate lack of ethical and cultural diversity. There's also the old stereotypes about what women roles were in regards to the home and work. So why has it taken so long to diversify our society. Diversity has been a slow progress because it is in human nature to be a little scared of change. For example: If women were allowed to work outside the home, who would take care of the children? Who would watch the children while both parents are away? How much would it cost? Would the wife continue to look at the husband as the head of the household if she starts to make the bigger paycheck? All of these questions impeeded the advancement of women but we have gotten there.

Another major issue with diversity is power distance. According to the text, "power distance refers to the extent to which people in a society accept inequalities based on social status, wealth, power, laws and physical attractions." If you can recall, in traditional America you socioeconmical status said alot about you, even in even more ancient times. You have always had your peasants (poverty level), working class (middle class), wealthy (rich individuals). Based off wealth alone, society gives a status. This is even true today.

So what can be accomplished with diversity? What opportunities are opened up? One of the biggest benefits is strengths and talents. Not everyone is alike. This to some may be known as functional diversity. There's a saying that 2 heads are better than one and that holds true here. Once we get past the barriers that man has made and allow ourselves to diversify our live we excel. This has been seen over the years and that is why the nation thrives and grows. It is because all the members of our society _group members) have a meaningful group identity (Schneider, Coutts, & Gruman, 2013) and are better able to accept our lives and roles, but without judgment to those who are on a lower or higher level as well.

Overall, even though there is much to learn about diversity is a great tool because it allows for the continuing and everchanging exchange of knowlegde, ideas, and growth. It increases innovativeness for both groups and individuals.

Schneider, F. W., Coutts, L. M., & Gruman, J. A. (2013). Applied social psychology, understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Sage Publications, Inc.

Getting Along in the Workplace

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:23:06 -0500

Work place efficiency is dependent upon proper hierarchy, communication and mutual respect among coworkers. It is of utmost importance to avoid perceptual biases, improper judgments that you allow to affect your decision-making. A fatal error on those in a position of power is to utilize a selective perception, leading to reprimanding/rewarding some employees more often than other (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). We've all had bad job experiences chock-full of poor communication leading to frustration and resentment among staff. I am currently in a position of three distinct shifts that barely overlap. There is rarely communication other than in the written form and things are often left unmentioned, even if they are particularly important.
Two common errors in perception are the fundamental attritbution bias and the actor-observer difference. In the fundamental attribution bias, we choose to believe that a person's actions are a direct result of their personality flaws, while they tend to be more based upon situational issues. The actor-observer bias implies that we tend to base our successes on our implicit characteristics, while as an observer we tend to attribute successes to the situational factors (Schneider, et al., 2012). Anytime we improperly imply something, downfall is all that can be met.
The importance of communication in the workplace, above all else, is the key to frustration in my workplace. Because the Director and Assistant Director both work the 1st shift, they tend to get the best behavior out of our mental health residents. I work 2nd shift, where most of the inappropriate behavior takes place and we get a lot of "well the Director said we could"s. However, because of our poor communication between shifts, we never heard this from the Director and there is no written word that she would allow such an action. Unfortunately, this comes back down onto us when we say that we have no proof of this permission and then the frustration is a never-ending cycle. Especially in a facility like this, where shifts rotate frequently with barely any time for overlap and discussion, it is of utmost importance to keep communication intact. Unfortunately, we don't, and if documentation is insufficient, things go undealt with.
Because of this frustration, many of my coworkers feel a low level of job satisfaction. In the workplace, hierarchy must be in place, communication and understanding must be utilized, and employee's needs must be met to ensure job satisfaction.

References
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology. Los Angelos: Sage Publications, Inc.

Mom, I need Crest Whitening Strips!

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:21:11 -0500

After watching the commercial for Crest 3D whitening strips for the first time, my then 6 year old turned to me and said, "Mom, my teeth are yellowing. I need those strips." Two things immediately crossed my mind. First thing was, holy cow! The marketing campaign for Crest is amazing. They convinced my 6 year old to want to use whitening strips. And second thing was, holy cow! The marketing campaign for Crest has convinced my 6 year old that he needs to whiten his teeth. After those thoughts came and went; I, like any other mom, asked my son why on earth he felt like he needed whitening strips since he was only 6 years old. His answer was short, sweet and to the point: because the commercial said it was a 'fact' that his teeth were yellowing if he did not whiten them. Talk about media influence! Agenda setting is defined as "the idea that the media can shape what issues we think about or what issues we think are important" (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, p. 157). Apparently agenda setting doesn't discriminate on age either.

So this little dilemma got me thinking. If a television commercial can convince my 6 year old that he needed to whiten his teeth; then what else are television commercials convincing children in general? In other words, Crest's marketing department purposely took a very specific part of the human body (the smile), which some people are really insecure about in the first place and put even more emphasis on its color (yellow or white teeth). This may make that person even more insecure unless they purchase the whitening strips to achieve "normal" white colored teeth. Goal of Crest marketing accomplished- create insecurity in a person's color of their teeth to lead to more sales. We all know that when meeting someone for the first time you notice first either a person's eyes or their smile, it's called the primacy effect- "a tendency to be especially influenced by information that is presented to you first" (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, p. 256). We look at a person's face to convey non-verbal communications, such as a smile.

This commercial bothers me and still does. Every time a teeth whitening commercial comes on, I still have to reassure my son that his teeth are a beautiful shade of natural white. Not something that I ever thought I would have to do...

References:

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology. Los Angelos: Sage Publications, Inc.

Are We a Team or What!?

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:10:55 -0500

Did you know that just because you are in the same room as others, sociologists will refer to you as a group? What if all the people in the room had a goal or a purpose as a group? Well then, that group would be considered a team. Even if the entire room is filled with strangers, as long as they have a common goal then they can be called a team.

Team cohesion is referred to as "a dynamic process which is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs" (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, p. 116). Team cohesion is made up of four characteristics: multidimensional, dynamic, affective and instrumental. To be multidimensional within a team means that the members of the team remain in the group because of the total factors that make up the group. In other words, the members on the team stay on the team because they enjoy being on the team or they like winning. To be dynamic means that the team does not change much; the players do not change or the number of members does not fluctuate. For a team to have affectivity means that they have a particular emotional state of being. The players are relatively content with one another and well together. And lastly instrumental, a team needs goals and objectives in order to be cohesive and remain united. (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012)

It isn't always unicorns and rainbows when it comes to getting a team to become cohesive. Schnieder, Gruman and Coutts gives us a wonderful example of how an unstable and rocky group of young athletes for Oxford's rowing team back in 1986 (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). At first the group didn't work together and they were tremendously unsuccessful as becoming a cohesive team. But after a final team retreat and some adjustments to the rowing arrangement the group became united using the conceptual nature of team cohesion. From that point forward the team progressed and ended up with a win that made history.

It is interesting how team work can develop or dissolve depending on the members of the team. If the team doesn't exhibit cohesion characteristics: multidimensional, dynamic, affectivity, and instrumental; then the team has a greater possibility of failing. If the team is successful at using all these characteristics that make up the conceptual nature of team cohesion, then the odds may very well be with them.

References:

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology. Los Angelos: Sage Publications, Inc.

Media Monopoly

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:51:07 -0500

When you're at home, flipping through the channels and trying to find something to watch on television, you may feel like there are TOO MANY options and too many channels to watch. ABC, FX, HBO, CNN, FOX, NBC. So many different channels, right? Wrong. Six major media conglomerates own every form of visual media we are exposed to here in the United States. Some tie this into the idea of 'the illusion of choice'. Who are these major corporations to whom everything belongs? GE, News-Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, CBS. Companies like Pixar, ABC, Miramax, Marvel are all owned by Disney. You may have been under the impression that these were all their own companies, but most media companies are pegs in the ultimate six-tiered umbrella of mass media.

What does this mean for us? Iyengar's explanation of framing posits that stories are presented at particular angles by the media to portray facts a certain way (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). If we are only exposed to certain outlets of media, are we only exposed to that particular framing of stories? Are we obtaining the proper facts to make decisions about what is going on around us? What about the stories we don't hear about.

Specifically speaking, news outlets can portray politicians however they see fit. Reporters have been known to utilize a strategy called issue framing - focusing on the issues that are 'important' to the election for a politician, or strategy framing, where the focus is on the motivations behind the positions (Schneider, et al., 2012). Does the media portray a negative outlook on the government? Or do we get the watered down version of information? Whichever the news outlet prefers to deliver is in the information we receive.

What we can do to realign the information we are handed is by doing our own research and keeping up to date on events that the media may choose to ignore, such as drone strikes and bombings in the Middle East.

Here are some links!
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6
http://crx.sagepub.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/content/19/6/682

References
Schneider, F. W., Coutts, L. M., & Gruman, J. A. (2013). Applied social psychology, understanding and addressing social and practical problems. (pp. 25-40). Thousand Oaks,
California: Sage Publications, Inc.

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6

Are We Being Consumed by Media?

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:17:37 -0500

For another psychology course, an assignment required that the class interviews three different participants of distinctly varying age groups. One of the topics with which we discussed was media and the use of media in our adolescence. I was stunned to see the complete transition that we and adolescents have taken in the utilization of media. Not only the various types of most-used media applies to the changes, but the frequency and availability of media has changed drastically since the 1920s (the oldest participant in the interview was born in 1927).

Music styles have changed significantly, from sweet love songs to promotion of drugs and promiscuity, over the years. How does this affect us in our adolescence? Yes, Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and its ties to modeling of violent behavior is pertinent to the situation, but what about a generalization of this theory? How has this shift in the messages delivered by our music, television, magazines, galore affected our behavior as a society?

Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive theory posits that there are four distinct steps through we go as a means of learning through modeling behaviors. First, those involved with the media of choice must be paying attention and engaged in the behavior that is being modeled. Then, the representational process, we must remember the modeled behavior. After retaining the information, we move onto the behavioral production process in which we formulate the performance of the behavior that has been observed. Finally, and most importantly, the motivational process mandates whether or not we perform these modeled behaviors, based upon our motivations (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012).

The shift in the types of media we absorb and retain mirrors the shift in behavior choices and societal norms we face today. For example, in the 1930s, the standards were to remain abstinent until marriage, to treat a lady like a princess, and to remain faithful to our partners. Now, some types of music (genres) have aimed to discuss and glorify extreme violence, promiscuity, copious amounts of drugs, and illicit means of making money. Not only does violent television affect our behaviors, but music, magazines, and the people the media depicts as people up to whom we aspire.

Here are some links to further investigate the effect of media on behaviors other than violent ones:
http://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/247006725
http://cmc.sagepub.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1973.tb01255.x/abstract;jsessionid=FFC54EDE9F4C72DCA306E33D059B4808.d04t02

References
Schneider, F. W., Coutts, L. M., & Gruman, J. A. (2013). Applied social psychology, understanding and addressing social and practical problems. (pp. 25-40). Thousand Oaks,
California: Sage Publications, Inc.

Why They Helped

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:34:24 -0500

Image retrieved from http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2013/news/130429/boston-firefighter-600.jpg

Former U.S. Army officer Bruce Mendelsohn, was at a post-race party when the explosions occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Within seconds, he was on the scene, coming to the aid of many victims and assisting in the horrific incident.

He recalls it this way, "At around 4:10 on the marathon clock I saw a flash from the corner of my eye; a blast wave immediately blew me off the couch upon which I was sitting and onto the floor. I yelled at my brother - who'd finished the race over an hour before - to get all the people away from the windows, in case there was a secondary explosion. As soon as I said that, the second explosion detonated. Once I saw all the people at the party were secure in the back of the office, I ran down the stairs to the ground floor. I saw a woman with a deep calf wound; I grabbed a t-shirt and tied a tourniquet above the wound ... After about 12 to 15 minutes, the scene was completely under control. A Boston PD special operations officer asked me who I was, and I said, 'I'm just a guy trying to help.'" (Egan, 2013).

Why? Why did Bruce help? Our natural tendency as human beings is to run from danger in order to protect ourselves. Why would a bystander run to it?

Latané and Darley (1970) broke down the thinking that a bystander might go through whenever faced with an emergency into five steps. They posited that in order for a bystander to help in an emergency, they must fulfill all of the steps of the "bystander intervention decision tree".

First of all, we must notice the event. As anyone who watched the footage of the bombings and listened to the comments, no one within the general vicinity missed the event. Secondly, we must interpret the event as an emergency. This was the first step that began to separate the crowd. Not everyone knew that this was an emergency. Some of the comments from the crowd were that it sounded like a boiler in a building exploded or that the explosion happened beneath the streets. Not everyone knew what was going on.

Image retrieved from: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130415160314-boston-marathon-explosion-04-c1-main.jpg

Third, we must assume responsibility in the situation. Again, those that watched the footage knew that there were military reservists, police officers, medical professionals, and volunteers on site. Many people immediately assumed responsibility in the situation because that was the reason that they were there.

Fourth, we must know the appropriate form of assistance (which I pointed out that professionals were on site for a specific purpose) and fifth, we must actually implement the decision. The most important aspect of this whole concept is that even if we meet all of the previous requirements (notice the event, assumption of responsibility, etc.) we still must decide to take action. Many people do not as a result of danger to themselves, legal concerns, embarrassment, etc. (Latané & Darley, 1970).

By why are we singling out heroes? Why didn't everyone there help? Surely there were more qualified people to help.

Latané and Nida (1981), also identified a phenomenon called pluralistic ignorance. The authors suggest that whenever an event is ambiguous (no one knew anything about bombs, limbs blown off, deaths, etc.), we tend to look to one another for help in identifying the situation. This phenomenon has its roots in informational social influence--the concept that we conform to other people's behavior because we believe that their interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more correct than ours might be (Cialdini, 2000). The idea behind pluralistic ignorance is that if an individual bystander to an event sees another bystander in inaction, that person is likely to remain inactive as well.

Others were simply overwhelmed with everything that was going on. Stimulus overload is the concept that our nervous systems become so overwhelmed by stimuli in an environment that we must set priorities and select where we focus our attention in order to adapt (Lafreniere, Page, & Senn, 2012, p.279). This concept was actually pioneered by the infamous Stanley Milgram (1970) as part of his urban overload hypothesis. The idea behind this concept is that sometimes bystanders are not even aware that an event is taking place as a result of their "psychologically retreating" in order to cut down on the amount of stimuli to which they dedicate their attention. In other words, when a bomb has gone off and everyone is running around screaming and yelling and panic is in the air, we tend to miss things.

The heroes that were on site and were able to help actually had to overcome several psychological processes in order to come to the aid of others. Understanding these processes can help someone reduce the guilt for not helping, and likewise, it shows just how truly courageous and selfless the actions were of the people who did help that horrific day.

Sometimes, just being aware of how the bystander effect can affect you is enough to overcome it. The next time something happens, you just might find you are more attuned to helping out.

References:

Cialdini, R. B. (2000). Influence: Science and Practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Egan, N. W. (2013, April 18). Former Army Officer Bruce Mendelsohn Helped Victims in the Aftermath of the Boston Bombings. People. Retrieved from http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20692231,00.html

Lafreniere, K. D., Page, S., Senn, C. Y. (2012). Applying Social Psychology to the Community. In F. W. Schneider, J. A. Gruman, L. M. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed., pp. 273-296). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Latané, B., & Darley, J. M. (1970). The unresponsive bystander: Why doesn't he help? New York, NY: Appelton-Century-Crofts.

Latané, B., & Nida, S. (1981). Ten years of research on group size and helping. Psychological Bulletin, 89(2), 308-324.

Milgram, S. (1970). The experience of living in cities. Science, 167, 1461-1468.

It's 10 p.m. Do you know what your children are watching?

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:03:00 -0500

Image retrieved from: http://www.impactlab.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/child-watching-violent-cartoon.jpg

"It's 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?" was a popular question that was used in a public service announcement during the 60's all the way through the 80's that was usually asked around 10:00 p.m., a time that was in tandem with the local youth curfew. The motive was to create awareness for a TV savvy audience of what their children were doing because it was assumed that they weren't being watched.

Since that time, media has come a long way. Today, children can access programming through gaming consoles, laptops, tablets, smart phones, and even on their own electronic devices. The concern is no longer just over where your children are, but what they are watching.

We consume a lot of media information. In 2008, Americans consumed about 1.3 trillion hours of information outside of work. That's around 12 hours, 100,500 words, and 34 gigabytes for the average person on an average day (Bohn & Short, 2012). Researchers posit that the byproducts of technology (the hours, words, and gigabytes consumed by the average person) become a culture's tools and that these tools are internalized by that culture and become a part of the development of intellectual skills (Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008).

Through the media, and due to its portability and almost inexhaustible accessibility, every person from 9 to 90 is exposed to violence, pornography, propaganda, unrealistic thin-ideal body type promulgation, and agenda-pushing information that affects us psychologically, socially, and biologically. Exposure to this type of information becomes part of the development of the intellectual skills of our young people.

Programming for children is particularly violent. A 1995 study learned that cartoons aimed at a younger viewing audience contain 20-25 violent acts per hour, about 6 times as many as prime time programs (American Association of Pediatrics Committee on Communications, 1995). That was almost twenty years ago. Another study from 2001 determined that a child would witness more than 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on network TV alone before reaching adulthood (Ewoldsen & Roskos, 2012). Just because the violence is inflicted on cartoon characters doesn't mean that it "doesn't hurt anything."

In one of the most famous psychology experiments ever conducted, Albert Bandura (1961) was able to show that children will model behavior from adults simply by watching. After watching an adult model kick, punch, and yell at a Bobo doll, children exhibited similar behaviors when left alone with the same doll in another room. This, despite the fact that it was "just a toy". (Image retrieved from: http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/Image2.gif)

Ewoldsen and Roskos (2010) posited that cultivation theory (the concept that TV operates as the primary socializing agent to today's culture) explains how young people actually begin to see the world as the media portrays it. (Like the children watching the adults with the Bobo doll.) For example, media violence portrays a world that is more dangerous and more "mean" than it actually is and that "in fact, heavy viewers of TV do perceive the world as a more dangerous and hostile place than do light viewers"; children who are frightened by media may experience nightmares and sleeplessness, high degrees of stress, and depression (Cantor, 2009); adolescents who watch more TV violence are more likely to practice unsafe sex, drive at very dangerous speeds, not wear seatbelts, use illegal drugs, and other types of risky behavior (Krcmar & Greene (2000); and several studies have found a relationship between media exposure and levels of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in women (Bardone-Cone & Cass, 2007).

Researchers suggest that these effects are a result of vicarious learning (Ewoldsen and Roskos, 2010). Vicarious learning suggests that we perform behaviors because we observe that type of behavior as being rewarded. One of the key processes that must occur for vicarious learning to take place is motivation. As already stated, we are motivated when we observe that a behavior is rewarded but we are also motivated when the behavior is justified and when we become desensitized to the dangers of the behavior. This is very important because it is the key to understanding how media (including the internet) can negatively affect young people's health.

Desensitization can also cause young people to act out destructive behaviors, even when they know it is wrong, because prolonged exposure will decrease their motivation to not engage in risky behaviors such as fighting, irresponsible driving, unprotected sex, and improper eating habits. Barry Schwartz (2004) said it this way, "when making choices among alternatives that involve a certain amount of risk or uncertainty, we prefer a small, sure gain to a larger, uncertain one." Media influence can cause young people to believe that an unrealistic thin-ideal body type, casual unprotected sex, and violent behaviors will produce small, sure gains such as social acceptance, love, and power.

In addition to desensitization to behaviors that run contrary to our values, we can be persuaded by media to believe that the world we see is the world we live in. As mentioned above, heavy viewers of television perceive the world as a more dangerous and hostile place. Researchers have defined a phenomenon called political priming that suggests that the media can control what information you see to influence your judgment of the president, his administration, and other politicians (Ewoldsen and Roskos, 2010). Exposure to pornography has been shown to cause participants to feel less sexually satisfied, more accepting of risky behavior, and place less importance on family, intimacy and fidelity (Zillman, 1994). Also, viewing unrealistic thin-ideal body type media, especially websites that promulgate the myth that anorexia can be a life choice (dubbed "pro-ani" websites) can have a very broad reach. Their influence is felt by all women, not just those who are particularly vulnerable (low self-esteem, poor self-image, etc.) (Bardone-Cone & Cass, 2007).

So, I ask you again, do you know what your children are watching?

References:

American Association of Pediatrics Committee on Communications. (1995). Media Violence. Pediatrics 95, pp. 949-951.

Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through the imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, pp. 575-582.

Bardone-Cone, A. M. & Cass, K. M. (2007). What does viewing a pro-anorexia website do? an experimental examination of website exposure and moderating effects. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40, 537-548.

Bohn, R., & Short, J. (2012). Measuring Consumer Information. International Journal of Communication, 6, 980-1000.

Cantor, J. (2009). Fright reactions to the mass media. In J. Bryant & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (3rd ed., pp. 287-303). New York: Routledge.

Ewoldsen, D. R., Roskos, B. (2010). Applying Social Psychology to the Media. In F. W. Schneider, J. A. Gruman, L. M. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed., pp. 135-163). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Krcmar, M., & Greene, K. (2000). Connections between violent television exposure and adolescent risk taking. Media Psychology, 2, 195-217.

Manago, A. M., Graham, M. B., Greenfield, P. M., Salimkhan, G. (2008). Self-presentation and gender on MySpace. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 446-458.

Schwartz, B. (2004). The Power of Choice. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Zillman, D. (1994). Erotica and family values. In D. Zillman, J. Bryant, & A. C. Huston (Eds.), Media, children, and the family: Social scientific, psychodynamic, and clinical perspectives (pp. 199-213). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

The Perception of Bullying

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:14:07 -0500

Image retrieved from: http://www.bullyville.com/uploads/blogs/BV%20Article%204-17_1.jpg

Bullying is severely underestimated and misinterpreted. In fact, over the last few decades, the prevalence of bullying has mushroomed in the United States (Limber, 2004). The general perception when I was a kid was that it was just "what kids do." Although we'd like to think that things have changed, that mindset is still prevalent today because kids aren't reporting bullying. In fact, a recent study was able to demonstrate that adolescents are reluctant to report bullying to parents and school administrators (Agatston, Kowalski, & Limber, 2007).

As you can see from the photo on the left, it was kind of hard for my son to hide this from me. He told me that a kid at school wanted him to "get out of his seat." My son said no, so the kid tried to hit him with a gaming device he was holding in his hand. My son held up his arm to block himself and knocked the kids gaming device out of his hand and onto the floor. This angered the kid even more, so he wacked my son with the case to his device and the zipper broke the skin right next to his eye. My son got up and went to the nurse. I suppose in the end, the kid got his seat. (Image courtesy of Ephraim Stockwell ©2013.)

Needless to say, I wanted to talk to someone at the school and was directed to the assistant principal. This is when the true disappointment began. The asst. principal explained to me that in order for the school to deem an event as bullying, there must be a history. One time incidents are just that, only incidents. He was sorry that my son was hurt, but the witnesses did say that it looked like an accident. After all, the kid only meant to intimidate my son, not make him bleed. WHAT?

He told me that he couldn't do anything unless it happened again and hurried off the phone as if I was bothering him. He told me that if I wanted to further pursue the issue that I could contact the Police Department and file a harassment suit.

Bullying is often dismissed by authority figures and intervention is often resisted by staff and parents (Limber, 2004). Olweus (1991) explained that "it is no longer possible to avoid taking action about bullying problems at school using lack of awareness as an excuse--it all boils down to a matter of will and involvement on the part of adults" (p. 415).

Adults underestimate the significant costs that will affect the children socially, emotionally, and academically as a result of bullying (Chase, 2001). As a result they tend to make comments such as "Kids will be kids", "It's a normal part of growing up", and "Kids need to deal with bullying on their own" (Limber 2004). Why do they do it? Well, research has shown that children who bully have been known to lack parental warmth and involvement, lack supervision, lack clear and consistent rules to guide their behavior, and are subjected to harsh and/or corporal punishment (Limber, 2004). In a similar finding, children who grow up with punitive, aggressive parents tend to be prone toward violence when they grow up (Vissing, Straus, Gelles, & Harrop, 1991).

Social learning theory posits that we learn how to behave socially through the observation of others and imitation of their behavior (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2010, p. 365). Having already made the point that children with aggressive parents tend to become bullies as a result of the environment in which they were raised, bullying is also a learned behavior. Kids learn from watching.

Because groups have certain expectations about how members of that group should behave, members who wish to remain in good standing with the group will conform to these rules. All adolescents are trying to find their place with their peers. If a peer is bullying, they are highly unlikely to intervene in order to remain in good standing. Although they may not agree with what is happening (private acceptance) they will go along with the bullying in order to remain in good standing with the group (public compliance of normative social influence.) Because a school's moral climate--the appropriateness of aggression derived from the people in a social situation (Alexitch, 2012)--is determined by both students and teachers, this norm can carry even higher consequences if it is broken.

Bullying is a community-wide problem (Olweus, 1991). Students, teachers and, sadly, even parents contribute to its occurrence. Without a permanent, long-term community program, there can be no effective solution to bullying (Limber, 2004; Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2010, p. 374).

References:

Agatston, P. W., Kowalski, R., Limber, S. P. (2007). Students' Perspectives on Cyber Bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, (41)6 SUPPLEMENT, S59-S60

Alexitch, L. R. (2012). Applying Social Psychology to Education. In F. W. Schneider, J. A. Gruman, L. M. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed., pp. 191-215). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D., & Akert, R. M. (2010). Social Psychology (7th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.

Bower, G. H., & Hilgard, E. R. (1981). Theories of learning (15th ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

Chase, B. (2001). Bully-proofing Our Schools: To eliminate bullying, first we must agree not to tolerate it. National Education Association. Retrieved from http://www.patcom.com/pdf/Bullyproofing.pdf.

Limber, S. P. (2004). Implementation of the Olweus bullying prevention program in American schools: lessons learned from the field. In D. L. Espelage, & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in American schools: a social-ecological perspective on prevention and intervention (pp. 351-363). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Olweus, D. (1991). Bully/victim problems among school children: Basic facts and effects of a school-based intervention program. In D. J. Pepler & K. H. Rubin (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 411-448). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Vissing, Y., Straus, M., Gelles, R., & Harrop, J. (1991). Verbal aggression by parents and psychosocial problems of children. Child abuse and Neglect, 15, 223-238.

Sustainability and Stewardship, Coke Style

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:54:33 -0500

Image retrieved from: http://2sustain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Coca-Cola_GiveItBack_logo1.jpg

On their website, Coca-Cola makes it clear that they understand the value of water. "Clean, accessible water is essential to the health of communities. It is critical to ecosystems and indispensable for economic prosperity. And it is essential for our business. Water is the main ingredient in our beverages, central to our manufacturing process and necessary for growing the agricultural products we use" (Coca Cola, 2013).

Coca-Cola is working to resolve what is termed a resource dilemma--situations in which individuals face important choices. In this case, the important choice is how to address the dwindling supplies of potable water around the world. Less than 1% of the world's fresh water, approximately 0.007% of all water on earth, is accessible for direct human uses. It's found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and underground sources that are shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. Because this water supply is only renewable by rain and snowfall that is not tainted by toxins (e.g. acid rain) the world's water power teeters on sustainability (University of Michigan, 2006).

Coca-Cola is addressing the social dilemma through a process called social change. They've packaged their model in a program called Coca-Cola's Commitment 2020 (2Sustain, 2009). In regards to water consumption, their goal is to improve water stewardship by establishing a water-sustainable operation that minimizes company water use and having a water-neutral impact on the local communities in which the company operates by safely returning the amount of water equivalent to what is used in the company's beverages and their production to these communities and their environment.

And it's not all a bunch of smoke. Coke is branching into new technologies that just might redefine sustainability.

The Slingshot

Image retrieved from: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/slingshot-inventor-dean-kamens-revolutionary-clean-water-machine

Coke announced in September of last year that it would be teaming up with American inventor Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway) to roll out his new invention, called the Slingshot, to bring clean water to areas where it is limited. According to a Coca-Cola representative, "for us to partner with [Kamen's company] Deka and embark on a project with huge societal implications gives [us] huge excitement ... and it fits perfectly with our other sustainability pillars, such as our goal for water neutrality" (Geller, 2012).

About the size of an office refrigerator, the Slingshot uses a theory for water purification that's been used by the U.S. Navy for decades. It can purify any type of water source--even the most stagnant water (Mick, 2009). When the dirty water is processed through the evaporation system, 95% of the impurities are separated from the clean water and the "gunk" is sucked out of the purifier using an evaporation and separation process. It's already been proven in many remote areas where clean water and electricity are scarce (Water Purification Guide, 2011).

The following diagram shows how this process works:

Image retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/slingshot-inventor-dean-kamens-revolutionary-clean-water-machine

Sustainability, stewardship, and innovation. Coca-Cola has no qualms about making it clear that "unlike most other global companies, we have a special interest in protecting the local water sources that sustain communities because the communities that host our bottling plants are also our consumer base--we sell our products where we make them. If those communities stay strong, our business will stay strong. So in addition to the ecological and ethical imperatives that drive our water stewardship, we also have a vested business interest in preserving and improving local water sources" (Coca-Cola, 2012).

Through social design, Coca-Cola is working to address the resource dilemma that is accessibility to potable water. Imagine what would happen if all global companies took this approach.

References:

Coca-Cola. (2012, November 7). 2011/2012 Sustainability Report. The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainabilityreport/world/water-stewardship.html#section-our-water-stewardship-journey-what-lies-ahead

Geller, M. (2012, September 25). Coke, Segway inventor team up on clean water project. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/25/us-cocacola-water-idUSBRE88O0W120120925

Mick, J. (2009, September 14). Dean Kamen Claims New Slingshot Purifier Can Clean 97 Percent of Earth's Undrinkable Water. DailyTech. Retrieved from http://www.dailytech.com/Dean+Kamen+Claims+New+Slingshot+Purifier+Can+Clean+97+Percent+of+Earths+Undrinkable+Water/article16228.htm

Saracini, M. (2009, July 24). Coca Cola's New Sustainability Report: Commitment 2020 and the Carbon Footprint of a Diet Coke. 2Sustain. Retrieved from: http://2sustain.com/2009/07/coca-cola%E2%80%99s-new-sustainability-report-commitment-2020-and-the-carbon-footprint-of-a-diet-coke.html

University of Michigan. (2006, January 4). Human Appropriation of the World's Fresh Water Supply. The University of Michigan. Retrieved from http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/freshwater_supply/freshwater.html

Water Purification Guide. (2011). Slingshot Water Purifier - Getting clean water and energy simultaneously. Water-Purification-Guide.com. Retrieved from http://www.water-purification-guide.com/slingshot-water-purifier.html

Are We Cultivating Criminals?

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:03:57 -0500

Image retrieved from: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/southern-and-jewish/files/2012/08/Behind-Bars-Hands.jpg

Researchers, in a 2007 report, called for a "major justice-system overhaul" noting that the number of people in U.S. prisons has risen eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime (Mikkelsen, 2007). In fact, according to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the United States has the highest incarceration rates in the world (International Centre for Prison Studies, 2013). Six million people are under correctional supervision in the U.S. (Gopnik, 2012). (For those of you keeping count, the population of the entire city of New York is around eight million.)

In the 70's there was a strong push to encourage rehabilitation in the prison system but since that time greater emphasis has been placed on punishment with a new perspective that focused on "getting tough on crime" (Day & Marion, 2012). Unfortunately, it's not working. Although crime has been dropping recently with increased incarcerations, criminologists cite additional factors that may also be impacting those numbers such as a more settled drug market, an aging population, data-driven policing, and changes in technology that include a big increase in surveillance cameras (Frieden, 2012). Incarceration does not have the impact on reducing recidivism--repeating crimes after having been incarcerated--that warrants the amount of money spent by the tax payers. One argument for this trend is a result of poor fit. Advocates claim that in order to reduce recidivism, the inmate-environment interaction needs to change (Day & Marion, 2012).

A local home furnishing store in my community called, CenterPeace, is trying to do just that. Their ideology stems from the theory of social cognition, specifically the self-fulfilling prophecy--that people will behave reciprocally according to the way they are treated. In other words, if you treat a person like a criminal, they will act like a criminal. It's not to say people who break the law shouldn't suffer consequences; advocates argue that there is a difference between incarceration (focusing on the person) and rehabilitation (focusing on the behavior). Incarceration just delays the inevitable whereas rehabilitation may actually curb it.

According to their website, "the goals of CentrePeace are to promote Restorative Justice and decrease victimization and crime in our communities by improving the attitudes and capabilities of prison inmates through productive work and training in job and interpersonal skills" (CenterPeace, 2013). A program evaluation system needs to be implemented to verify whether or not the system is working. However, this isn't the only alternative approach to incarceration of its kind. (Image retrieved from: http://www.centrepeace.org/images/0509caning.gif)

McNeil Island is an island near Puget Sound in Washington State, referred to as a "prison without walls." It's a place where, if a man obeyed the rules and worked hard, he could learn a trade, improve his mind and become a useful member of society (Carson, 2011). McNeil Island's Special Commitment Center is adamant in the belief that criminals can be cured. The reasons are arguable, and some have focused on the geography itself as playing a key role. One author wrote that "some of the staff say the scenery, remoteness and sky-land-and-water views from McNeil, plus the climate, inoculates the convicts with a deep spiritual feeling that quickly, especially to the sensitive ones, turns their whole lives away from their clouded past and into a new channel" (Carson, 2011).

No matter how you approach the issue, the alternatives seem hopeful. Even an approach that involves a tamper-resistant tracking device that broadcasts the wearer's location to a monitoring company via GPS (Wood, 2010) could offer more rehabilitative benefits than sitting in a 10x10 cell. Yes, it only functions as a warning that someone is watching and if you engage in inappropriate behavior, you'll be punished. However, when you think about it, some might call that an imposed conscience. Incarceration in America is a failure by almost any measure and although some of these alternatives may seem more radical, in the end, they might just prove more just.

References:

Carson, R. (2011, March 27). McNeil Island: The 'prison without walls'. The News Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/03/27/1601465/the-prison-without-walls.html#storylink=cpy

CentrePeace. (2012, April 22). Welcome to CentrePeace. CentrePeace, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.centrepeace.org/

Day, D. M., & Marion, S. B. (2012). Applying Social Psychology to the Criminal Justice System. In F. W. Schneider, J. A. Gruman, L. M. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed., pp. 245-272). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Frieden, T. (2012, October 29). U.S. violent crime down for fifth straight year. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/justice/us-violent-crime

Gopnik, A. (2012, January 30). The Caging of America: Why do we lock up so many people? The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/01/30/120130crat_atlarge_gopnik?currentPage=all

International Centre for Prison Studies. (2013, April 22). Entire world - Prison Population Rates per 100,000 of the national population. International Centre for Prison Studies. Retrieved from http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/wpb_stats.php?area=all&category=wb_poprate

Mikkelsen, R. (2007, November 19). U.S. prison system a costly and harmful failure: report. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/11/19/us-usa-prisons-idUSN1841666120071119

Wood, G. (2010, August 11). Prison Without Walls. The Atlantic. Retreived from http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/11/19/us-usa-prisons-idUSN1841666120071119

The Boston Marathon: A Perfect Way to Celebrate Patriot's Day?

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:23:55 -0500

The Boston Marathon isn't just an athletic event -- it's a celebration of our democratic republic. On the third Monday in April each year, the people of Massachusetts celebrate Patriots' Day with the running of the Boston Marathon. It may seem out of place to mark the anniversary of the American Revolution with an enormous road race. But the Boston Marathon is actually a near-perfect embodiment of the meaning of Patriots' Day.

Long before the word "marathon" meant a road race; it conjured a great battle of antiquity, an outnumbered Athenian army turning back the might of Persia's empire. To America's founding generations, it was no mere military triumph but a pivotal victory. They saw in Athens the birth of liberty, and in its triumph the defense of republican government. American orators frequently invoked the memory of Marathon, linking the citizen-soldiers of Athens with the militiamen who mustered at Lexington and Concord, facing down an empire in defense of republican liberty.

Patriots' Day is a holiday of far more recent vintage than the events it commemorates. Until 1894, the residents of Massachusetts observed Fast Day, a religious occasion of reflection and prayer. By the late nineteenth century, though, Fast Day was "more honored in the breach than in the observance." The early spring holiday came, instead, to mark the opening of the season for field sports and ball games. Eager to end the farce, but careful not to eliminate a cherished day off, Governor Frederic Greenhalge proposed moving the festivities to April 19th and renaming the occasion Patriots' Day. The new holiday would mark the battles of Lexington and Concord, as well as the first bloodshed of the Civil War, as "the anniversary of the birth of liberty and union" (Appelbaum, 2013).

People train for months to run a marathon like Boston. In most cases, they are driven by something larger than themselves. For instance a memorial marathon was created after the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. People might run a marathon to remember a loved one who suffered with cancer. It's a feeling of great accomplishment to cross over that finish line. In a way it symbolizes the spirit of this country. It's a feeling of empowerment and a testament to the goodwill and community spirit. It brings together the fans as well as the runners.

On Monday, April 15, 2013, two small but powerful bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. No one has claimed responsibility for what authorities have labeled a "terrorist" attack. Some 175 people were injured, and three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed.

In the days since, local state and federal authorities have sought clues to determine who was responsible for the attack. Authorities have determined that at least one bomb was likely built from a pressure cooker, filled with gunpowder as well as nails and BBs to inflict damage. Many of the injured received wounds to their lower bodies, which caused the loss of feet and legs (Goldman, 2013).

Secretary of State John Kerry, who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for 28 years, was overcome with emotion when he spoke on Wednesday about the victims of Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon. He said that Patriots' Day, normally a happy time, had turned into "bloody mayhem." Then he said, "Boston is not going to be intimidated by this" (The Lede, 2013).

Some people constantly complain that the government is becoming too "big brother" by installing surveillance cameras on the streets, but does the government have a choice? If it helps bring criminals to justice, then that's what should be done. The authorities will sort through video to identify the facial image in order to capture the monster who felt the need to kill and injure people who were merely trying to support family and friends running in a marathon. When will it stop? Has it reached a point where we are afraid to be in a crowd of people? Somehow, we need to find these terrorists who insist on needlessly killing and injuring innocent victims! This act of terror was obviously carried out on Patriot's Day to send a message to the United States. I hope we can continue to pull together as a nation, track down, and convict those responsible.

Where is the empathy of these killers? What is missing in their lives that they feel it is ok to kill innocent people in the way that they have? Does empathy, which forms impressions or attributions, serve as a better predictor in other people's behavior? We still do not know if the older brother influenced the younger brother to help carry out this attack but if even so, where is the empathy in the younger brother? Impressions are dangerous but the lack of empathy for a fellow human being is more dangerous when predicting human behavior.

References:

Appelbaum, Y. 2013. The History of the Boston Marathon: A Perfect Way to Celebrate Patriot's Day. The Atlantic. Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/the-history-of-the-boston-marathon-a-perfect-way-to-celebrate-patriots-day/275023/

Goldman, R. 2013. LIVE UPDATES: Boston Marathon Bombing, Day 3. ABC News. Retrieved from: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/04/live-updates-boston-marathon-bombing-day-3/

The Lede. 2013. April 17 Updates on the Aftermath of Boston Marathon Expolsions. Retrieved from: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/updates-on-the-aftermath-of-boston-marathon-explosions/

We Don't Have a Problem With Bullies... Do We?

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:03:32 -0500

Anybody that has been the target of a bully understands the feeling of helplessness that overcomes the victims as they attempt to carry on with their everyday lives. Lowen and Hirsch's (2011) film Bully examines how three families attempt to raise their children who are victims of bullying, and deal with the aftermath of a child's suicide as the result of bullying.

One child in particular, Alex Libby was the target of constant physical abuse and verbal threats as he waited for the bus, rode to school, and even at home from his own sisters. At one point in the film, Alex tells his father he was strangled on the bus ride home. His father's reaction was anger towards Alex for letting himself be bullied, but offered no resolution or advise on how to deal with the situation. When Alex's parent finally confront the school's Assistant Principal, Kim Lockwood about the abuse there son is exposed to on a daily basis, she writes it off as not occurring as often as Alex claims and that it much of the "teasing" he is exposed to is simply part of growing up (Lowen & Hirsch, 2011).

Unfortunately, underestimating bullying and writing it off as a rite of passage are common ways adults and children alike misperceive bullying. Limber (2004) states, many people underestimate the frequency with which bullying is occurring, and even if adults witness this behavior taking place, they often are willing to write it off as simply child's play, or as a part of moving through childhood. While Alex was being bullied on the school bus, not one student stepped in to try and stop the behavior. This unfortunately is also common practice as Agatston, Kowalski, and Limber (2007) postulate, when children witness bullying behavior, they are often afraid to speak up for fear of being punished Children may also lack the courage to speak out when they witness bullying for fear of becoming a target

Social-cognitive errors played a role in allowing the bullying of Alex Libby to continue. Both Alex's parents and Kim Lockwood displayed belief perseverance by believing the occurrences weren't as frequent as they actually were. Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts (2012) state, "Belief perseverance means that people tend to maintain their initial ideas or beliefs despite exposure to disconfirming evidence." (p. 370) Even though Alex's parents knew their son was being bullied, they would believe him when they were told nothing had happened to him on a given day even though the opposite was true. Kim Lockwood personally witnessed repeated acts of bullying, yet refused to believe there was an issue.

As stated above, one of the common misconceptions about bullying is the frequency with which it occurs (Limber, 2004). Before an intervention plan can be implemented, it is important that everyone understands there is a problem and that it is occurring more than one might realize. As it stands now however, the longer we ignore the problem, the worse it will get.

References

Agatston, P. W., Kowalski, R., Limber, S. P. (2007). Students' perspectives on cyber bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, (41)6 SUPPLEMENT, S59-S60

Limber, S. P. (2004). Implementation of the Olweus bullying prevention program in American schools: lessons learned from the field. In D. L. Espelage, & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in American schools: a social-ecological perspective on prevention and intervention (pp. 351-363). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Lowen, C. (Producer), & Hirsch, L. (Director). (2011). Bully [Motion Picture]. United States: The Weinstein Company.

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2012). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.