Reading Friendship Stories can Change Children's Attitudes Towards Stigmatized Groups
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/51982.php.
I thought that this was an interesting study that looked into trying to reduce kids from having a negative prejudice towards a person or others in a particular group. This study was primarily looking at children who were from the ages of five to eleven years old. I thought this was crucial for the study to use this age group, because this age group isn't quite as familiar with the world around them. If these kids find someone that is or others that are different from themselves like their skin color, those kids might do certain things like avoid them or make fun of them. This could show a negative prejudice that those kids might have about that person or others that belong to a certain group. I also think that these negative prejudices that these kids might have could have come from prejudices held by their parents. Most kids view their parents as role models in which these kids might reflect the same attitudes, like negative prejudice against a certain group, that their parents might have without the kids being aware of it.
This was how they put together this study in which they looked at kids in U.K. The people who put together the study decided to use stories that showed friendships between English kids and refugee kids, who are a part of this group that some in this area have negative prejudices towards. These kids were put into small groups in which they read these stories for once a week for six weeks for twenty minutes. What the researchers discovered from the kids who read these stories for those six weeks was that the English kids developed more positive rather than negative attitudes towards refugee kids. They also found out that most of these kids wanted to be friends with the refugee kids. I think that in the future when most of thes English kids are around refugees, they will more likely have an automatic positive attitude towards them rather than an uncomfortable and automatic negative attitude.
This study really reminded of an example that was used in one of our readings. This example was the one when a small number of people who were white participated in diversity education in which those people ended up having less anti-Black attitudes and having more friendships with black people as well as other things. The study and this example were similiar, because they both had people go through an experience which ended up changing their attitudes towards a certain group.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Obama Effect on Stereotype Threat
Begley,S. (2009, January) An 'Obama Effect' on Blacks' Test Scores. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/labnotes/archive/2009/01/23/an-obama-effect-on-blacks-test-scores.aspx
The Obama effect on African American students suggests that the stereotype threat was lowered after the nomination and election of Obama. Ray Friedman of Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management thinks that Obama will do more for black scholastic achievement than anything since Brown v. Board of Education.
The study tested at four times in 2008 ( in August just before the Democratic Convention; just after Obama accepted the nomination; in early October; and again right after Obama was elected), the study asked around 102 college students to take an online test of 20 questions from the Graduate Record Exams (GREs). (Over the four periods of the test, 84 black students and 388 white students that were matched for education levels participated.) The students were told the test was made up by the Massachusetts Aptitude Assessment Center, and is being used to assess verbal problem solving skills. The test was meant to activate the black stereotype that blacks do not perform as well as whites on aptitude tests. The students were also asked to indentify their race before taking the test as to activate the stereotype threat.
Before the convention and in early October the score gaps were as wide as ever; white students did better than black students. However, just after the conventions speech by Obama and after Election Day the scores became statistically equal. The rise in scores is attributed to Obama breaking the stereotypical mold.
This rise in test scores only happened with students that watched the acceptance speech then it vanished. The black students that did not watch the speech scores were same; they never did score as well as the white students. However, Joshua Aronson of New York University, one of the researchers on the stereotype thought the study made some sense. According to Aronson studies have shown even a small intervention like Obama’s Denver speech can help with the stereotype threat. Then there is the possibility the students who chose to watch Obama and who chose to be the study are the type of people who would find Obama inspiring and that their test scores would get a boost from thinking about his accomplishments.
Many of the experts have the same idea as Aronson’s that the Obama effect will only inspire a sub-population of African Americans. More experiments are needed. However the idea that Obama could inspire the next generation is fascinating
The Obama effect on African American students suggests that the stereotype threat was lowered after the nomination and election of Obama. Ray Friedman of Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management thinks that Obama will do more for black scholastic achievement than anything since Brown v. Board of Education.
The study tested at four times in 2008 ( in August just before the Democratic Convention; just after Obama accepted the nomination; in early October; and again right after Obama was elected), the study asked around 102 college students to take an online test of 20 questions from the Graduate Record Exams (GREs). (Over the four periods of the test, 84 black students and 388 white students that were matched for education levels participated.) The students were told the test was made up by the Massachusetts Aptitude Assessment Center, and is being used to assess verbal problem solving skills. The test was meant to activate the black stereotype that blacks do not perform as well as whites on aptitude tests. The students were also asked to indentify their race before taking the test as to activate the stereotype threat.
Before the convention and in early October the score gaps were as wide as ever; white students did better than black students. However, just after the conventions speech by Obama and after Election Day the scores became statistically equal. The rise in scores is attributed to Obama breaking the stereotypical mold.
This rise in test scores only happened with students that watched the acceptance speech then it vanished. The black students that did not watch the speech scores were same; they never did score as well as the white students. However, Joshua Aronson of New York University, one of the researchers on the stereotype thought the study made some sense. According to Aronson studies have shown even a small intervention like Obama’s Denver speech can help with the stereotype threat. Then there is the possibility the students who chose to watch Obama and who chose to be the study are the type of people who would find Obama inspiring and that their test scores would get a boost from thinking about his accomplishments.
Many of the experts have the same idea as Aronson’s that the Obama effect will only inspire a sub-population of African Americans. More experiments are needed. However the idea that Obama could inspire the next generation is fascinating
Indirect Detection of Deception: Looking for Change
I could do that better.
http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp14_9.pdf
Indirect Detection of Deception: Looking for Change
This study used indirect methods to detect liars. College students (53 males and 51 females) were asked to watch a video in which half of the people told some lies and half were entirely truthful. They were asked to detect the liars in the video and whom behavior, mannerisms, or speech changed. The participants were from psychology classes and were all given extra credit in the courses in exchange for participation. The people for the interview were asked questions about themselves, half were asked to lie and the other half were asked to tell the truth. The results were that the direct detection of lying resulted in poor accuracy. Yet the indirect method resulted in more accuracy, because they were told to look for changes in behavior.
I think this study was interesting and that it did find that people look more at how people act when lying versus trying to just figure out if the information was true. This is important in the studies of deception that they let the participants know what lying is and what exactly they were hoping to get from the study. I think it could have been done better if the people in the video had to lie about something that was meaningful to them, something that they cared to lie about. Just lying about basic information, the people had nothing they were trying to gain from it. The lies were not important to them. If the study had been done where the lying meant something to the video people, I think there would have been more reaction when the video people lied, because it was meaningful to them. The participants would have been able to pick up more on the lying because it was meaningful lying. I think it would have made the study a little more accurate.
-Megan Hopkins
http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp14_9.pdf
Indirect Detection of Deception: Looking for Change
This study used indirect methods to detect liars. College students (53 males and 51 females) were asked to watch a video in which half of the people told some lies and half were entirely truthful. They were asked to detect the liars in the video and whom behavior, mannerisms, or speech changed. The participants were from psychology classes and were all given extra credit in the courses in exchange for participation. The people for the interview were asked questions about themselves, half were asked to lie and the other half were asked to tell the truth. The results were that the direct detection of lying resulted in poor accuracy. Yet the indirect method resulted in more accuracy, because they were told to look for changes in behavior.
I think this study was interesting and that it did find that people look more at how people act when lying versus trying to just figure out if the information was true. This is important in the studies of deception that they let the participants know what lying is and what exactly they were hoping to get from the study. I think it could have been done better if the people in the video had to lie about something that was meaningful to them, something that they cared to lie about. Just lying about basic information, the people had nothing they were trying to gain from it. The lies were not important to them. If the study had been done where the lying meant something to the video people, I think there would have been more reaction when the video people lied, because it was meaningful to them. The participants would have been able to pick up more on the lying because it was meaningful lying. I think it would have made the study a little more accurate.
-Megan Hopkins
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
How social perception can automatically influence behavior.
I liked this article because it opens the door to many possiblities. It closely relates to the self-fulfilling prophecy that we discussed last week except within others. These studys that they did were facinating and it all makes you wonder; Am I really in charge of what I am doing? Or have I been influenced by someone else in someway to do what I am doing now. The article does hold some weight here. I can think of times in my own life where I have been influenced by an outside source and ended up following the same path without consciously knowing it. It can be as simple as hanging out with someone who says the word "dude" alot, before you know it your saying the ridiculous word everytime you hang out with that person.
In thinking about this article, I would say that the better way to test this phenomenon would be in a naturalistic observation, over a larger extent of time. This way you could measure the extent of the action and how long it goes on and also if the action can be changed by introducing another prime in relation to the the first.
In conclusion, I think knowing this kind of information could be very helpful when it comes to youth and prevention but also like most things this kind of knowledge could be very harmful in cultures where blowing yourself up is a popular thing to do or the group suicide issue in Japan.
In thinking about this article, I would say that the better way to test this phenomenon would be in a naturalistic observation, over a larger extent of time. This way you could measure the extent of the action and how long it goes on and also if the action can be changed by introducing another prime in relation to the the first.
In conclusion, I think knowing this kind of information could be very helpful when it comes to youth and prevention but also like most things this kind of knowledge could be very harmful in cultures where blowing yourself up is a popular thing to do or the group suicide issue in Japan.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
MySpace and Social Psychology
Self-presentation and Gender on MySpace
Adriana M. Manago et al.
Published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29 (2008)
I thought this article was cool because it was a study done on something that almost everyone is familiar with. The researchers in this study examined what they defined as “emerging adults” and how they establish their self-identity and their interactions with fellow MySpacers. Manago, et al. determined that by using MySpace people were able to express themselves in different ways than they could in the offline world, and often used their page to exhibit to viewers the “self” they want to become. The study was conducted from surveying a group of volunteers from psychology classes in the 18-24 year old age range. The participants were split into same sex focus groups with a moderator whose purpose was to keep the conversation on track and to extract more answers by using pointed questions. The responses were then coded for what themes they touched on. The themes for the purpose of this article were self-presentation, social identity and gender identity.
This article is relevant to class discussions because it gives a real life display of how people affect their social reality. People who are frequent users of MySpace often have their “offline” reality and then their reality on this social network. Friends on MySpace are not necessarily people that the user knows in real life. This networking site allows people and almost non-threatening way to explore social groups and norms in a way that is anonymous. Until this Social Psychology class I had never realized the impact that MySpace had in life outside of the opportunity to stay connected to people.
Adriana M. Manago et al.
Published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29 (2008)
I thought this article was cool because it was a study done on something that almost everyone is familiar with. The researchers in this study examined what they defined as “emerging adults” and how they establish their self-identity and their interactions with fellow MySpacers. Manago, et al. determined that by using MySpace people were able to express themselves in different ways than they could in the offline world, and often used their page to exhibit to viewers the “self” they want to become. The study was conducted from surveying a group of volunteers from psychology classes in the 18-24 year old age range. The participants were split into same sex focus groups with a moderator whose purpose was to keep the conversation on track and to extract more answers by using pointed questions. The responses were then coded for what themes they touched on. The themes for the purpose of this article were self-presentation, social identity and gender identity.
This article is relevant to class discussions because it gives a real life display of how people affect their social reality. People who are frequent users of MySpace often have their “offline” reality and then their reality on this social network. Friends on MySpace are not necessarily people that the user knows in real life. This networking site allows people and almost non-threatening way to explore social groups and norms in a way that is anonymous. Until this Social Psychology class I had never realized the impact that MySpace had in life outside of the opportunity to stay connected to people.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Rubric for Class Posts
Assignments: All posts should use proper English grammar, spelling, and syntax. Acronyms should be avoided when possible. References to online sources must be linked. Student posts and comments should be respectful to others at all times.
Psychology in the Media: This posting should indicate how something we have talked about in class has been reported in the popular media within the last six years. The media itself should be included (either as an image, embedded video, or working link). A clear description of how this media relates to a topic we have covered. Finally, postings should include the writer's (student's) take on whether or not the media has accurately portrayed the psychological phenomenon and research.
A “Cool” Study: This posting should describe a recent study (published 2004-2009) that relates to something we have talked about in class. The article itself should come from a peer reviewed source, and should be linked in the posting for the class to peruse. The description of the study should relate not just the studies abstract, but should link the study to what we have talked about in class. Finally, posters should evaluate the studies importance, strengths, flaws, etc.
I Could Do That Better: This post should propose a study that examines a phenomenon we have talked about in class (or read in an assigned reading). This post can include a criticism of a previous study, but must include a research design that corrects mistakes/biases/problems of previous examinations of the psychological phenomenon. At the minimum, your proposed study must include sample, methodology, and hypotheses. Finally, your post should include a clear rational for why this proposed study is superior to previous studies.
My view on a debate: This posting should include a short summary of the debate (including relevant sources) that clearly defines the argument. You should provide at least two supports for your view on the debate, and only one of these supports can include anecdotal evidence. Empirical supports should be cited/linked so that others can comment on them. Example debates: affirmative action, children's self-efficacy, girls’ aggression, homophily….
Psychology in the Media: This posting should indicate how something we have talked about in class has been reported in the popular media within the last six years. The media itself should be included (either as an image, embedded video, or working link). A clear description of how this media relates to a topic we have covered. Finally, postings should include the writer's (student's) take on whether or not the media has accurately portrayed the psychological phenomenon and research.
A “Cool” Study: This posting should describe a recent study (published 2004-2009) that relates to something we have talked about in class. The article itself should come from a peer reviewed source, and should be linked in the posting for the class to peruse. The description of the study should relate not just the studies abstract, but should link the study to what we have talked about in class. Finally, posters should evaluate the studies importance, strengths, flaws, etc.
I Could Do That Better: This post should propose a study that examines a phenomenon we have talked about in class (or read in an assigned reading). This post can include a criticism of a previous study, but must include a research design that corrects mistakes/biases/problems of previous examinations of the psychological phenomenon. At the minimum, your proposed study must include sample, methodology, and hypotheses. Finally, your post should include a clear rational for why this proposed study is superior to previous studies.
My view on a debate: This posting should include a short summary of the debate (including relevant sources) that clearly defines the argument. You should provide at least two supports for your view on the debate, and only one of these supports can include anecdotal evidence. Empirical supports should be cited/linked so that others can comment on them. Example debates: affirmative action, children's self-efficacy, girls’ aggression, homophily….
Welcome to Social Psychology
For this course, students will be graded upon six posts and five comments. Posts will make up 15% of their final grade, and comments will make up 5% of their final grade. Students are encouraged to post and comment as often as they like; grades will only be taken from the "highest scoring" posts and comments.
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