The Misdirection of the Media aka Non-News that Warps our Perceptions

http://www.ted.com/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_about_the_news?language=en

That's POWER!

This is one of the reasons I love Scifi and Fantasy. These observations of human nature and social psychology are the norm rather than the exception.

~ Jim Butcher, Skin Game

It's all a matter of perspective!

A student shared this with me in one of their journal entries and I thought it was great and had to share it with y'all!

Infogram I created about Trust ~yes, this is me having fun playing with a new app ;)

The Importance of Trust | Create Infographics

What an Apology Must Do

Since my social psychology class is about to get into the chapter about conflict and peacemaking, this caught my eye from a MOOC I'm currently taking. I thought it was relevant not only to the subject, but also good information for everyone in general to think about and reflect on.

What an Apology Must Do

By Aaron Lazare

This essay originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.

There are up to four parts to an effective apology, though not every apology requires all four parts. They are as follows.

1. A valid acknowledgment of the offense that makes clear who the offender is and who is the offended. The offender must clearly and completely acknowledge the offense.

2. An effective explanation, which shows an offense was neither intentional nor personal, and is unlikely to recur.

3. Expressions of remorse, shame, and humility, which show that the offender recognizes the suffering of the offended.

4. A reparation of some kind, in the form of a real or symbolic compensation for the offender’s transgression.

An effective apology must also satisfy at least one of seven psychological needs of an offended person.

1. The restoration of dignity in the offended person.

2. The affirmation that both parties have shared values and agree that the harm committed was wrong.

3. Validation that the victim was not responsible for the offense.

4. The assurance that the offended party is safe from a repeat offense.

5. Reparative justice, which occurs when the offended sees the offending party suffer through some type of punishment.

6. Reparation, when the victim receives some form of compensation for his pain.

7. A dialogue that allows the offended parties to express their feelings toward the offenders and even grieve over their losses.

Racism Insurance: Coverage for White Privilege

Ok, this is too funny, and it also ties into a previous conversation on racism and white privilege.

In case the embedded video doesn't work, here's the direct youtube link:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeukZ6RcUd8

Sheldon training Penny, and excellent example of Operant Conditioning in Social Interation

I found this online and had to share it. I had watched this episode when it first aired and laughed so hard and thought it was an awesome portrayal of operant conditioning in a "real life" setting. I then found the following lesson plan on Mindgate Media (which is no longer being maintained as of 2012) and wanted to share it before the archives disappeared into the ether or whatevs.

In case the embedded video doesn't work, here's the url:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy_mIEnnlF4&feature=PlayList&p=94C04054D935A5CB&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=16

Also, here's the direct link to the Mindgate Media link:
http://mindgatemedia.com/lesson/operant-conditioning-techniques-implemented-in-the-big-bang-theory/

Here's the Learning Objectives and Discussion Questions Provided by Mindgate Media & RECOMMENDED BY Katherine Roberto, Adjunct Professor, Tarrant County College

Learning Objectives

• Introduction: Operant conditioning is a very powerful training method that involves shaping behavior through rewards. When a subject performs a certain behavior, he is rewarded. This increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated. Complex behaviors can be “shaped” by rewarding successive approximations of the behavior. Although in this video clip one of the characters says that he is deliberately applying “a proven scientific technique” to quiet his overly talkative visitor, in fact using operant techniques to shape behavior is a staple of nearly all human social interaction. The basic principle underlying the star given to the pre-schooler, the bonus given to the wall street executive, or the warm thanks to someone who has just done a favor is the same: reward the behavior and it will likely be repeated.
• After completing the lesson, students will be able to describe the principles of operant conditioning and provide examples drawn from everyday life.
• They will be able to design a protocol for shaping someone’s behavior in the real world.
• Students will be able explain the advantages of using reward rather than punishment to modify behavior.

Discussion Questions

• Explain the principles of operant conditioning before playing the video.
• Play the video for students and ask if Sheldon is really treating Penny like a “lab rat” or merely being overly obvious in his approach.
• Use this video in any class in which learning theories are taught.
• Ask students to discuss the proposition that all social interactions involve an element of operant conditioning.
• Ask students for examples of how behavior is shaped by social rewards.
• Note that while praise or treats are commonly given as rewards to children, attention can be a very powerful reward as well; therefore, merely attending (or failing to attend) to a behavior can affect the likelihood of its repetition, as parents well know.
• Ask students to design a protocol using social rewards or attention to reduce an annoying behavior [such as continually being late, forgetting to return things] of someone they know then share it with the class.
• Have students explain how the behavior would be shaped.
• Finally, ask students why rewards work better than punishment. What are the unintended negative consequences of punishment that make reward a much more desirable way of shaping behavior?

I also found this clip of "The Office" that exemplifies Classical Conditioning, ;)

And here's the youtube video url incase the embedded video doesn't work: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE8pFWP5QDM&list=PLE218FF6A36C0BFB9

Schools are one of the institutions most prone to reinforce dominant cultural attitudes. Here's a great example showing how!

Schools are one of the institutions most prone to reinforce dominant cultural attitudes. Here's a great example showing how!

Films and television programs also embody and reinforce prevailing cultural attitudes. 

An excellent interview with Geena Davis, outlining current research into gender bias in the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

A little Social Psychology Humor~Confirmation Bias

Confirmation Bias: The tendency to search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions.

Gotta love Social Comparison!

Be a Thought Detective

I was checking out a link a friend had posted on Facebook,  9 Things Every Parent with an Anxious Child Should Try

Anyways, the one tip that really spoke to me was to "Be a Thought Detective" and I was like, wow, this isn't just for anxious children. This is a mental exercise that everyone should practice. I saw it as a fundamental tool that we all can learn and use to build our critical thinking skills.

So what does it take to be a thought detective? Three simple steps:

1. Catch your thoughts.
2. Collect evidence. (collect evidence to support or negate this thought. Teach yourself not to make judgments about what to worry about based only on feelings. Feelings are not facts.)
3 Challenge your thoughts.

This is the sort of self-reflection we should all try to practice. Just thought I'd take a few minutes to share it with y'all. To help you become "adept at thinking about thinking!" ;)

I ran into an example of how can use this in everyday life here in this video about procrastination:

Privilege

I've seen this video several times, and I keep thinking where is the best place in the order of our chapters and topics in my social psychology class to put this video where it really may have the most impact and provide the most understanding. I really think it is the best explanation of privilege, and how that belief in "superiority" based on privileges we truly gain by chance, like where we are born, who our families are, what religion we're raised in, what sex, color, or other criteria we use to divide ourselves, that I've found.

There is an AMAZING Ted Talk by Social Psychologist Paul Piff that deals with his research into how people behave when they feel wealthy. There's so much more in his presentation, that deals with social heirarchy, inequality and emotion shape relations between individuals and groups. He has written about his research, "specifically, I have been finding that increased wealth and status in society lead to increased self-focus and, in turn, decreased compassion, altruism, and ethical behavior."

Does money make you mean?

One of the goals of the civil rights movement was to ensure equal opportunity for every U.S. citizen, irrespective of race. When the civil rights movement began, the legal system did not grant the same rights to blacks and other minorities as it did to whites. Today, those laws have been changed, leading some to argue that the U.S. has achieved a level playing field for all. Is the field level? Is success based exclusively on merit and luck, or is race-based "privilege" still a factor? How was affirmative action policy crafted to address issues of privilege? Has it been successful?
Consider the following definitions. What are the differences between them? How do they compare with the dictionary definition of "privilege"?
"unearned power conferred systemically" (Source: Peggy McIntosh, 1995)
white privilege (hwait 'privilidz), social relation, [ad. L. privilegi-um a bill or law in favor of or against an individual.]  1. a. A right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by the class of white persons beyond the common advantage of all others; an exemption in many particular cases from certain burdens or liabilities.  b. In extended sense: A special advantage or benefit of white persons; with ideological reference to divine dispensations, natural advantages, gifts of fortune, genetic endowments, social relations, etc.
2. A privileged position; the possession of an advantage white persons enjoy over non-whites and white individuals enjoy over non-white individuals.
3. a. The special right or immunity attaching to white persons as a social relation; prerogative. b. display of white privilege, a social expression of a white person or persons demanding to be treated as a member or members of the socially privileged class.

Now consider changing "white privilege" to "male privilege", is there much difference? Or "American" or "Western" or "European" or "Christian" "Jewish" "Muslim" depending on where you were born. Basically, think of any situation where by some random chance thing, you have an edge in the game of life and how it affects you.


ADDENDUM (8-22-14)
A friend of mine had this in her facebook newsfeed. I thought it appropriate a good addition to the viewpoints of Privilege.

Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person

NSA Leaks, History & Context, Sarah Hogarth

My Challenge to you is to think about all of the social psychological implications that this information infers.

I watched this for a MOOC I'm currently taking on edX.org

Wiretaps and Big Data 

NSA Leaks, History & Context, Sarah Hogarth

Published on Aug 25, 2013

How did we get to this point, of pervasive government surveillance? Sarah walks us through essential background and context: The history of the NSA, the use of the espionage act and other legislation, and other revelations and events even predating the NSA, and more.

Original content within this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

• Category

  Nonprofits & Activism

• License

  Standard YouTube License

Empathy vs Sympathy

As you all know, I completely adore and respect Dr Brené Brown.
This is an animation of one of her talks about the difference between empathy and sympathy:

Well, I'm trying to be empathetic, but I often pull out the sympathetic, because wait, that's better than apathetic, right? Yeah, sometimes, "At least I'm not being apathetic, would you like a sandwich?" is the best I can do. And you know what? It's OKAY!

The November Project-Social Psychology in Action!

November Project is a growing movement in which people gather to work out outside of a gym. The founders say the movement is growing because of human contact and encouragement. CBS News' Terrell Brown reports.

This is social behavior and attitude in action! 

Seriously! The Power of Authoritative Words!

The following news clip from CBS: This Morning is about a recent sleep study that found that we can trick our brains into thinking we've had a good night's sleep. Here's an abstract of the actual study that was published in this month's Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition. Here's a brief rundown of the study in this month's Popular Science.

What I would really like to focus on is the statement that "Someone in authority has to tell me that" for this placebo effect to work.

"If a trusted authority figure gives you information, you will believe it; and the interesting thing is that it doesn't just create inspiration and motivation, it changes physiology." 

That is really an amazing thing. The persuasive effect of the words of a trusted authority figure. It boggles the mind if you sit and just ponder about the implications and ramifications of this statement. Think about it. Seriously!

My MOOC Madness

Hello everyone! My name is Melissa and I'm addicted to MOOCs.

"What are MOOCs?" you may ask. Well, they are Massive Open Online Courses. They are free (unless you choose to donate money, pay for ID-verified certification of completing and passing, or pay for proctored exams.)

Anyway, I could go on and on about the awesomeness of being able to "sit in" on an MIT biology course taught by the esteemed geneticist Eric S. Landers, but I'll let y'all figure that out on your own.

I initially started to look into MOOCs to gain insight into online teaching and get ideas for organizing and developing content for my own online course in social psychology at UCO. (I may have to get over myself and make videos, even my dear honeybunny has begun making videos for LMRoss, Inc. Videos )

And what can I say, I got sucked in. "Oh, I've always been interested in this topic!" "I took this introductory courses 20 years ago, I wonder what's changed?" "Man, I am really rusty on this, I should take some kind of refresher course." "Wow, this wasn't offered where I went to school in the past, I want to take it now!" Yep, I ran down the MOOC rabbit hole faster than Alice in Wonderland. AND I LOVE IT!

The courses I've taken so far are from esteemed universities like Harvard, MIT, Yale, Stanford, and Wellesley. There are courses available from many European universities as well. You can 'audit' a class or try for a 'certificate of completion' which is free, depending on how you want to do it. Many of the courses provide the reading materials for free (although not all of them do) and provide additional/optional readings information for you if you want to explore further. One thing I've noticed, is that even though you may take the same or similar class offered by different places and/or people go ahead and take them all. You can gain different insights and reinforce the basic ideas in your mind.

Here's a list of the various MOOCs I'm enrolled with:

My MOOCS

edX.org

Coursera.org

Open2study.com

futurelearn.com

janux.ou.edu

Stanford openedx

udacity.com

I was going to share all the different courses I'm currently enrolled in but I realized that might be overwhelming. I have completed 5 courses, am currently working on 16 courses, and am enrolled in an additional 35 that have not started yet.

Which brings me back to the thought that I might be addicted to learning. Anyone want to join me in my madness?