Family

A family consists of two or more people, who live together, care about each other and share emotional ties. Each family consists of many generations. My great-great grandparents on my mom’s, mother’s side were the Townsends and the Stuarts and my great –grandparents were the Bush and Payne’s on my mom’s fathers side. My great-great grandparents on my dad’s side are unknown because he was adopted. My great-great grandparents, great- grandparents, as well as my grandparents on my mother’s side of the family all formed nuclear families. They married within their own endogamy, lived together all of their lives, raised their children, and all were dual earner couples. They were able to accomplish being non-local by buying their own land and homes and were monogamous. My grandparents had an egalitarian family system where they were self employed and shared power and authority equally in all decision making. There is a history of a long life expectancy because the majority of them lived to be 80-90 years of age.

My mom has been married twice within her own endogamy group, but didn’t select either partner by applying exchange theory. When she married she didn’t consider maximizing the rewards and minimizing costs. Her first marriage was only 2 ½ years in length. My mom was also in a dual earner couple relationship, neo-local and monogamous at that time. My mom had one daughter by that marriage. My step-sister Christine has a bachelor’s degree from Elmira College and has always worked full time. Her marriage lasted for 7 years because her husband was not monogamous. My sister divorced and now has a cohabitation relationship with her boyfriend Aaron.

My mom than married my dad and again she was in a dual earner couple relationship, neo-local and monogamous. My parents were married for 17 years and there were two of us girls, Michelle and myself. The marriage ended in divorce but it was not a no-fault divorce it was because of intimate partner violence. My dad is an alcoholic and can be physically, emotionally and financially abusive. Because of his abusiveness he lost visitation with my sister Michelle and me so I don’t really know my dad that well.

My dad now lives in a cohabitation relationship and has had no other children. My mom single parented us since I was about 6 years old. She graduated from Binghamton University with her master’s in gerontology and works full time. My mom is also in the sandwich generation and is a baby boomer. She cares for my sister Michelle, me and my 87 year old grandmother, her mother.

My sister Michelle has a master’s degree in government from American University in Washington D.C. She has lived in D.C. for three years, but she is now in the boomerang generation. She left Washington D.C because she could not find a job in government and returned home to live due to high living expenses in D.C., college loans and is looking for a permanent job in this area.

I do have extended family that I see often. I have two aunts and two uncles and four 1st cousins all from my mom’s side of the family. My dad is a twin and his brother is married and they have three children. I have one aunt and one uncle and three 1st cousins on my dad’s side that I never see.

I am a full time student at Corning Community College and still live at home full time. I have a boyfriend who also goes to CCC and lives with his parents in Elmira. I plan to go in the fall to further my education.

Norms

Injunctive norms are the behaviors that are distinguished in a society as being approved of by other people. Cultures vary in what is considered acceptable behavior. Injunctive norms help members of a given culture know what certain behaviors should be performed. An injunctive norm is an unwritten rule that society approves or disapproves of. For example Americans are usually expected to look people in the eyes when they talk to them out of respect. But in Asian cultures they will avert their eyes because looking someone in the eyes is considered an act of disrespect.

Descriptive norms are the actual behaviors that people perform that can be approved or disapproved. Descriptive norms can motivate people by informing people about what is effective and adaptive behavior. Even though people know what is approved or disapproved expectations in their society they still have a tendency to perform the opposite that makes the behavior unacceptable. For example a norm in America that is considered acceptable would be texting friends with informative messages, but a not acceptable norm is sexting.

The norm that people would be more likely to conform to is injunctive norms. Injunctive norms have a much higher cooperation when there is a strong bond or network with others that belong to a certain social group. To maintain identity within that selected group members strive to keep cohesiveness by injunctive norms that are recognized by that group. Social influence from other members plays a big role in people’s perceptions and the response to certain actions. Peer pressure is a strong influencer to persuade someone to engage in risky behaviors. If a group supports saving the earth not littering would be the injunctive norm for that group. If a group supports doing drugs than using drugs would be the injunctive norm for that group. Every culture has social norms that are acceptable in that particular culture. What is viewed in one country can be viewed differently in another country. For example in the United States of America the American flag is a symbol of freedom, individual liberty, patriotism, and the Constitution but in England the American flag symbolizes rebellion, disapproval of the monarchy and the American breakage away from England and its king’s rule.

Chapter 23 Communism

China has been a communist country since 1948. In 1989 in Tiananmen Square in China, one million students from various universities gathered against the communist regime. The student protest was held to try to change the Chinese government to a democracy, get freedom of the press, and achieve economic reform. The protest which lasted from April to June started as a peaceful hunger strike. On June 14th, 1989 military tanks came into the square to attempt to force the protesters out of the square. The soldiers shot qurifine into the crowd and many were injured or killed. After the protests China continued to be a communist nation and the protests accomplished nothing.

Recently another protest in the United States had tried to change the economic crisis. This protest was called Occupy Wall Street. The protests began in September of 2011. The main issues of the protest were social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the influence of corporations on government. The protesters wanted better jobs, more jobs, more equal distribution of money, forgiveness of student loans, bank reform and less influence of corporations on politics. Protesters got violent when the police came into their occupied area. The protesters jumped over barriers, pushed over police scooters and blocked traffic. Some of the protesters were arrested but none were killed like in Tiananmen Square in China. This protest in the United States may not be about changing government from a communist nation to a democracy but it does demonstrate how no change in either case occurred in the government’s political structure.

Prejudged Attitudes

Through history culture has had prejudged attitudes about certain groups of people. There are three types of prejudged attitudes. They are cognitive, affective and behavioral.

The cognitive prejudged attitude is the stereotype. A stereotype is a belief of characteristics people have of certain groups of people. Stereotypes can be positive or negative. Stereotype derives from the Greek meaning for a solid impression. Stereotypes are formed by the illusory correlation which is when people think that things are related when they really are not. Stereotypes are also formed through parents and the media. For example a common stereotype of people who are Italian is that they like to cook food.

The affective prejudged attitude is prejudice. Prejudice is the disliking of a particular group. Prejudice can be based on race, ethnicity, gender, social class, age, disabilities, religion and sexuality. For example a black and a white woman apply for the same job in a company. The company gives the white women the job.

The behavioral prejudged attitude is discrimination. Discrimination is inappropriate treatment of individuals due to specific group membership. For example the Ku Klux Klan was a group that was prejudice against blacks in the south in the 1960’s.The KKK was formed in1965 with a total of 500,000 members. Today the Ku Klux Klan still exists and claims a total of 3,000 in membership.

Sexism

Benevolent sexism is the positive views of women. It’s a model of sexism that was developed by Peter Glick and Susan Fiske in 1996. People automatically assume that women are the weaker sex. They think that ideal women are romantic, excellent cooks, mothers, are more nurturing and they need protection when they don’t necessarily need it. This model of sexism for example would be the indicative action of women being rescued from a sinking ship before the men. Benevolent sexism involves the saying or doing courteous things for sexist reasons. For example a man opens the door for a woman.

Hostile sexism is a negative emotion towards women such as anger or resentment. It was also coined by Peter Glick and Susan Fiske. This is the desire to control women. Men think that women are inferior to them and Hostile sexism is damaging to the target. Hostile sexism for example is when men beat their women.

For example Jen is dating Mike and when they go out on dates he is very affectionate and caring. He will open doors for her and treat her like a princess. But when she comes over to her house and he has been drinking he beats her. When they are out in public he shows benevolent sexism but when he drinks he shows hostile sexism.

You are my Everything

I feel like I have known you my entire life
I was drawn to you by your smile and the similarities we share
I wasn’t looking for you, you found me
You give me everything I have ever wanted and dream about
You make me feel special when you tell me I am beautiful
You give me comfort and happiness more than you know
You are so dear to me I can’t lose you
When I think of leaving you I just cry our love can stand the test of time
When I am around you I feel complete you are my missing puzzle piece
When your lips meet mine my world stops nothing else matters
Sometimes our love feels like a dream
When my head rests on your shoulder I know everything will be alright
When I hold your hand my heart just melts
When we have to part my heart just aches I miss you with a terrible longing
You are all I want and all I need I can’t be without you
I dream about you all the time and can’t stop thinking about you and our love
I love you so much my other half
Please stay with me always and make our love last

School Shootings

Many disciplines have examined the dynamics of school shootings such as Columbine. Consensus has come to the conclusion that such a school shooting is not the result of deranged individuals. Social psychology suggests that school shootings are a result of hostile aggression. Hostile aggression is defined as feelings of anger to inflict pain. Many support the opinions that hostile aggression can mostly be attributed to anger. In a school shooting situation feelings of anger can build up over time. The causes of aggression can be multifaceted in nature. As already noted anger is just one of the facets but there can be many other causes such as being bullied, feelings of belonging to the out group, observation of excessive violence in media, learned behavior, viewing pornography and violence against women. Freud’s hydraulic theory can come into play with social situations such as a school shooting. Freud’s theory stated that unless energy is released it will produce some sort of explosion. In situations such as school shootings it is obvious that the energy released is negative in nature and the energy has not been turned into an acceptable or useful behavior.

So how can the problem of aggression be addressed? Again, not only is the cause multifaceted but also the management. One example of how to dissipate aggression could be called clearing the air. This is a situation where key players sit down and discuss issues that are causing dissention. Another approach might be to simply apologize. Many times human nature accepts apologies when there is a perception that one has been slighted, insulted, or harmed in some manner. Modeling non-aggressive behavior is a positive step in the right direction. Socializing others on how to constructively handle frustration, insults, or painful situations can prevent negative consequences. Research has clearly indicated that redirecting aggression should never be done by punishing others with acts of aggression. Another method that has been utilized and found to be success is teaching others empathy. When members of society are able to identify with the pain and the suffering of others it can produce feelings of empathy toward others. Empathizing doesn’t give the person the ability to fully understand the pain and suffering of others but it does humanize them so that others can identify with the other person and therefore react in a more positive way.

Currently society has to come to grips with the societal viewpoint of egocentric thoughts and behaviors, in other words known as it’s all about me. Consequently a large amount of aggression that in the past has been exhibited on historical battlefields is now being found even among society’s youngest members. School yards used to be a place where minor turf issues occurred but now it has escalated to extremes such as Columbine. Society as a whole needs to contemplate social psychologist’s concerns about the cause of aggression and management of aggression to produce more positive outcomes.

3 Important Psych Men: Agression

Thomas Hobbes believed that life is a state of nature. People will join societies to gain security from others. People are self interested creatures who seek their own well being even if it leads to an aggressive behavior. Violence is produced by superficial features of interactions within society. Human nature without an absolute sovereign to control our desires will give rise to people living in a state of war. Hobbes defines aggression as a human’s basic lack of trust being selfish and self preserving no matter what the cost maybe to others. His theory is criticized as being very cynical in perspective.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau says that behavior is not determined by instinct, it’s malleable. Traits are determined by the society that people live in not by human nature. Rousseau stated that all people want is to live in harmony and that when people try to live within a society it can cause people to turn into beasts. Rousseau’s theory on aggression is viewed as being too naïve.

Freud said that people are born with instinct toward life called Eros and that people have a powerful instinct toward death called Thantos. Freud believed that human nature had natural levels of aggression that can only be repressed but not eliminated. He discussed that aggression can become useful when channeled in the correct manner. People basically want to cooperate which gives rise to them reasoning things out and that gives rise for them to take collective action towards problems. He said that aggressive energy must come out sometime and if it continues to build up it can produce illness. He proposed the hydraulic theory that states if aggressive energy is not released it will eventually produce some sort of explosion.

It seems that social psychologists would most likely agree with Freud’s point of view about aggression. Hobbes theory is too cynical, Rousseau’s theory is too naïve, but Freud’s theory seems to hit the nail on the head. Much psychological assistance and redirection for individuals includes utilizing the theory of the hydraulic pressure of aggression and a healthy management of that aggression.

Chapter 22 Connection Task Spies

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was started by the U.S. government after WW II in 1947 to protect national security against the axis powers. The CIA is responsible for collecting intelligence through human sources and correlating and evaluating intelligence. The CIA collects data about foreign government, corporations, and individuals, advises public policy makers and accomplishes covert operations. In the CIA building headquarters in Washington D.C. they have a museum of the history of different spy gadgets created and used throughout the world. Although tours are not offered in this museum some of the items on display include a helicopter dragonfly, a micro dot camera, and a motion detector that looks like poop. The helicopter dragonfly was the first insect vehicle. The motion detector that looks like animal droppings was created to detect motion of people, animals, and objects 300 meters away. It was intended to blend in with the terrain. The microdot camera could take pictures so small that they could fit on the end of a period of a sentence. This museum is not open to the public but on the CIA website people can take a virtual tour of some of the spy museum’s gadgets. In Washington D.C. there is a museum that is open to the public called the International Spy Museum. I plan to go there someday when I am Washington with my sister Michelle.

When I was much younger I had always wanted to be in the CIA. I wanted to be a spy agent traveling the world and using cool gadgets. I wanted to work for the CIA because it looked fun, exciting, you get to travel the world, and dress up like someone else. When I was in 9th grade I did a school report on espionage and it was extremely fascinating. I dressed up in a typical trench coat and hat with dark glasses and presented my project. I still think it’s cool but I have realized the true implications of what being a spy could really entail and I don’t want to be a spy anymore.

Chapter 21 Connection Task Holocaust

1) According to these accounts the ghetto was where the Jews were herded and contained and were forced to live during Hitler’s sweeps. They lived in little huts with sometimes two families living in the same room and in the same hut. There was no TV, newspapers or entertainment. The only form of outlet they had was the circulation among themselves of books to read. There were radios that broadcasted only the progress of the war. No one was allowed to leave and they were forced to work for the German army making army supplies. The stronger the person was the better off because they were able to work harder. Everybody worked in the family except for children under 12 and the elderly. Eventually all the children and elderly were separated and removed from the ghetto. The guards had total control and searched them constantly.

2) The Auschwitz concentration camps were cold, but they did have stripped pants and shirts to wear with no socks or underwear. The Jews had to do what ever they were told, and everyone that was with a child was always killed in the gas chambers. If a Jew did not go in the gas chambers than many of them were medically experimented on by Dr. Mengele, hanged, or shot. Some of the Jews took their own lives or thought how lucky others were when they died because they knew that they did not have to suffer anymore.

In the Stutthof concentration camps the men and women were separated, they were stripped naked and searched. They were registered and asked what their occupation was and about their scholastic background. The camps were infested with lice and disease and the weak women would be left behind to die. They have frozen and blistered feet and were starved. They were led into the woods, hunted and shot. Some were lucky enough to escape and were rescued by the Russians. Each concentration camp was unique.

3) These accounts tell of the terrible conditions that the Jews went through during this terrible time in history. These people were despite for answers and looked to heaven or other means. These accounts tell that there was no way to protect people from going to a gas chamber. Most men would brake down when they knew when their wives and children went to the gas chamber. One man even committed suicide because he couldn’t live with himself after his family was executed in the gas chamber. Everyday people were hanged, shot, killed, and/or cremated.

4) History is good to study and understand because intelligent people can learn from past experiences and apply the lessons to current times. Some people say that history has a way of repeating itself. In the case of Hitler and his reign I really hope that countries and their people have learned what can happen when a mad man is allowed to run unchecked This past experience in history should stand as a reminder to all current and future generations. The lesson to be learned from the holocaust would be that mankind needs to remember to fight to preserve everyone’s dignity, rights and than assume responsibility to see that this occurs. Power is always evident and someone is always trying to over throw another person, ethnicity or country. People need to remember to speak up for themselves and others and not ignore when powerful forces come into existence. During WW II the Jews found that few people helped others to survive, many of them were murdered by their own neighbors, they were unaided by the rest of the world and they really had no where to run or hide.





I remember when I was young I visited the Holocaust Memorial in Miami, Florida. It was very creepy and dark. The memorial was so realistic and scary that it caused me to think that I was experiencing the same horror that they had. I could feel their pain and their severe suffering. I thought I was going to die in the gas chambers just like them and I felt enormously despaired. The detail on the faces of the people in statue was astonishing. The experience was very unbearable and I had to escape it very quickly. It was a very traumatic experience. I suppose it was extra real to me because I grew up in a household were my grandfather was a highly decorated veteran that had fought on the front lines against Hitler and marched his way across countries to reach Auschwitz to liberate the Jews. My grandfather enlisted to fight in that war because he said someone had to help right a wrong.

Chapter 20 Connection Task Lenin

Vladimir Lenin was born a Russian in 1870 and lived until 1924. He is well known as a Marxist revolutionary and communist politician that led a Bolshevik Revolution in Russian in 1917. He became a strong communist leader in Russia and was the founder of the Russian Communist Party known as the Bolsheviks. Lenin was the first leader of the Union of Social Socialist Republican (USSR). After his death in 1924 he was well known as a genius, leader and teacher of people of the world according to the Russian people. They felt that he had accomplished much and had worked to create the Socialist economic system. His body was placed in mausoleum in Red Square, Russia but Lenin wasn’t just put in an ordinary tomb he was embalmed to be preserved forever. Using a special chemical process the Russians found a way to preserve his body in a lifelike appearance. The coffin is sill today incased in glass, cooled at 61 degrees and the humidity is between 80 and 90% 24/7. Every 18 months the mausoleum is closed so that his body can be soaked in a bath of glycerol and potassium acetate for 30 days to bring back the moisture to his body.

Lenin is not the only communist dictator to be preserved. Preserving dictators has become a fashionable thing in some countries. The more of a tyrant they are the better, their bodies are preserved and put on display for the people to view to continue to mourn their loss. Some dictators that have been preserved are Mao Zhedong from China, Ho Chi Minh who was Vietnamese, Kim II Sung from North Korea, Ferdinand Marcos from the Philippines and Joseph Stalin from the Soviet Union. Stalin succeeded Lenin and was a dictator and tyrant of the Soviet Union for 25 years from 1936 until his death in 1953 when he also was preserved and placed with Lenin. In 1961 his massive killing to gain and maintain his power became revealed and he was removed from display and buried after being denounced by Khrushchev.

The preservation of leaders is not a new art. Recently the preserved body to go on display for the world to see was King Tutankhamun of Egypt. It is estimated that he was entombed for 3300 years. In 2007, King Tut’s body went on display for the public for the first time since the tomb’s discovery in 1922. The mummy is in a glass case with a humidity and temperature control and the case has a special gas inside that is lethal to bacteria and mold.

Interestingly, Ferdinand Marcos is also embalmed and in a glass coffin since his death in 1989. His wife had him preserved and has asked repeatedly for the government to place him on permanent display but the government refuses. Therefore he and his glass coffin remains stored in the basement of his wife’s mansion with hopes of future approval for public display.

Most recently in January of 2012 Dictator Kim Jong II of North Korea died. His body is going to be embalmed forever as well. His body is being prepared for placement in a glass coffin for future generations to view.

Chapter 19 Connection Task Freud

Discussion Questions

1) Freud’s theory of dream interpretation rejected modern scientific views about dreams. The scientific theories left no room for a dream interpretation because dreams are not considered a psychic activity. Dreams were considered a somatic process which makes itself known to the psychic apparatus by means of symbols. This type of interpretation really has no firm scientific basis and is very open to subjective interpretation.

2) Freud says that wish fulfillment is undisguised and easy to recognize. So people may wonder what the language of dreams is. According to Freud our dreams tell us about what our irrational desires and inner conflicts are. Only by reiterating the dream can someone begin to expose and possibly interpret the roots of his/her psychological problems.

3) Every dream reveals itself as a psychological structure, full of significance, and one which may be assigned to a specific place in the psychic activities of the walking state. Meaning that while we are a wake we experience many occurrences. Upon sleeping the subconscious begins to work out our ambivalence in the every day occurrences to give the events more meaning of our true interpretations through the use of symbols. According to Freud with professional guidance dreams can be realized and shared with a professional to aid the person in a deeper understanding of themselves.

In 1900 Dr. Freud was the first person to come up with the theory of dream interpretation. He wrote about dream interpretation to address psychological issues that he felt were symbolized through dreams. He is an important figure in the development of modern day psychology. When ever people learn about psychology they learn about the great accomplishments of Freud. The major negative view to Freud and his theories is that the theory really contained no scientific basis and was subjective in analysis. Critics also feel that Freud’s psychological methods were draw out and too time consuming to have people be able to find resolutions to their anxieties within any reasonable time frame. Freud was known for his longitudinal studies because of the multiple years he would work with any given subject.

I find Freud very interesting and the theories that he came up with are frequently referred to in every day life by ordinary people. He had a tremendous influence in the history of psychology in reference to human behavior. I recently discovered by taking psychology courses at CCC that I love psychology. It’s fun learning about my own as well as other people’s psyche. I really enjoy it because it helps me to understand my own behaviors better.

Long Term Realtionships

There are many factors that can influence the outcome of whether someone decides to help others. It is especially interesting when it comes to helping others long term. Gender is the major factor in determining who will provide the care for other. It has been discovered by research that women are 50 % more likely to help in a long term care relationships than men. It has been measured that over 65% of all elderly rely on someone to help care for them. The ones that are most apt to help are close family and friends. It maybe also is a factor that more women help in long term care relationships because they realize that they too will need help someday. Women historically outlive men and therefore will be the major recipients of long term care by others. Women who are single are much more apt to help in long term relationships than women who are married. The demands of everyday chores associated with a busy family life drain from the time and energy of women who are married or in close relationships. Although women are more apt to help it has been found that it also depends upon what the person requires for the care. It has been determined that men are much more apt to help others long term in situations such as lawn work and house repairs. This of course makes sense because most women do not have the skills to help others meet such help requirements. When women help long term it helps the needy stay in their homes longer. Women help more with transportation to physician appointments as well as shopping for daily needs.

I have this long term care situation in my own family. My mother’s mother is 87 years old. My mom is her main care giver. Although my mother has two brothers as well the everyday requirements to keep my grandmother in her own home comes from the care and attention that my mother gives to her. My uncles rarely even come to the house or call. Some of this reaction maybe because they just assume that my mother will care for my grandmother or maybe they fit the typical statistics of male being much less apt to care for others especially in the long term relationships. My mother visits and calls daily, picks up her mail and does the minor repairs around the house and all of the lawn care. If my grandmother needs to go to her physician or after groceries or to the library for books my mom always takes her.

I also have a high school teacher that has helped a female elderly neighbor across the street from her home. The old lady has been a close friend of the family for years. My teacher takes three meals a day over to her and runs errands that she needs. Because of her help she is able to stay in her home and does have some socialization although she is basically homebound. My teacher takes her to physician visits and takes her mail in to her everyday. My teacher is single and never been married and has been the major care giver for the old lady for more than 25 years. There are family members but they live away from the elderly lady and do not visit often

These two actual scenarios meet the typical long term care situation.

Altruism

Altruism is the concern for the general welfare of others. This is a traditional value in many cultures and a core aspect of most religions. It is the motivation to provide something of value to someone other than to the self selflessness. The altruistic personality is the qualities that a person possesses that cause them to help others.

The feel good do good effect has had an impact on the likelihood that someone can help a complete stranger. Good moods make people look on the bright side of life where people tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. A helping person prolongs a good mood by being a Good Samaritan which can make people feel awesome inside and experience fantastic feelings. Good moods can increase the amount of attention people pay to themselves and make people more likely to behave according to their own values and ideals.

When people are in a bad mood they are more likely to help others because they feel a sense of guilt. People can act on it because they think that good deeds can cause bad deeds cancel out. When they do something that made them feel guilty then doing something good balances out the good and reduce their feelings of guilt.

Other factors that may influence whether one is more apt to help others are the person’s gender, if they feel the person is a member of their in-group, relatives, rural living, Spanish speaking, if they can determine if it is an emergency and non-church goer. Research has indicated that women are much more likely to help than males in the long term, but males are more likely to help out in the short term. People that are members of the in-group feel like they have more in common and feel more connected to others. If they feel more connected they are more likely to help. Relatives are more likely to help relatives or someone that they know well than a stranger. People living in rural society are more apt to help others than people living in large urban societies. Researchers contribute this to being over whelmed by the quantity of people and the desire by urban people to distance themselves from others. Spanish speaking cultures are more connected and therefore are more helpful. If a person can determine that an emergency does exist they are more apt to help than when the person is not sure if there is a need for help or others are just having a good time. It has been discovered that the guilt and church attendance seems to be directly connected. If a person goes to church more often they are much more likely to help others if they think someone is watching or if they have not been to confession. The act of attending confession helps relieve much of their guilt and therefore they are less likely to help others.

There are many factors besides personality that form the reaction of others in response to other’s needs.