Week 4: Social Change, Diversity, Intervention, and Prevention

Week 4: Social Change, Diversity, Intervention, and Prevention

(Please note that Chapter 8 of your textbook also includes some of these terms and concepts)

Great Depression (1929 – early 1940’s)1929 stock market crash1932: 25% unemployment rate

WWI (1914-1918) WWII (1939-1945) Baby Boomers born (1946-1950’s) Note: According to the Census, the U. S.

population more than tripled from 76 million people in 1900 to 281 million people in 2000

Today: The wealthiest 1% of the U.S. population control a disproportionately large share of the nation’s wealth, and the income gap between ultra rich and the bottom 90% is increasing to levels not seen since the 1920’s

The U.S. population is increasingly aging (meaning the largest segment of the population is approx. 50 - 60+ years old)

The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse, although the majority are non-Hispanic Whites

Incomes haven’t changed much over time, especially when considering inflation and increases in cost of living and necessities

Whites have consistently earned more money than ethnic minorities, except for Asians (although these data are misleading because Asians have more people living in each household, on average, so when divided by the number of people in each household, Whites make more than Asians)

Did any of these data surprise you? Websites: http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-

EST2009-asrh.html http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/overview.html

Race: Refers to socially defined categories based on apparent physical criteria, such as skin color and eye shape (was originally supposed to be biological/genetic, but biologists have since rejected race—it’s more of a social construct; all humans are 99.9% genetically alike)

Ethnicity: Refers to socially defined categories based on cultural criteria; depends on the culture with which one identifies (Also little/no basis in biology)

For example, in the U.S. Census, “Hispanic” is not a race; rather, “Hispanic” is an ethnicity that can include any race, including White or African descent, etc.

Races and ethnicities can have complicated ancestry and backgrounds: each category is heterogeneous e.g., “Asian” can mean someone with roots in

China, Singapore, Japan, North or South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and so on

Social class: similar to socioeconomic status (SES), this term includes not only income/assets, but also occupational and educational status, socialization experiences, power, and opportunities in life

Acculturation: Usually refers to identification with or adoption of the dominant or host culture, but can also be defined more broadly as changes in individuals related to contact with 2 or more cultures

Assimilation: giving up one’s culture of origin in favor of the dominant culture (in terms of language, customs, values, etc.)

Bicultural (AKA “integration”): Identification with and participation in activities involving both the culture of origin and the dominant culture

Gatekeepers: individuals in positions of power; often used to describe those who control distribution of resources and informatione.g., think about this: where do you get your

news information, and how are those companies funded?

Why did it take so long for the public to be informed about the dangers of smoking?

Power comes not only from wealth, but also from social experiences; e.g., if you were raised in a household in which correct grammar and an advanced English vocabulary were spoken, you have an advantage over someone who didn’t have these experiences

Our adherence to individualism (focus on individual responsibility and individual outcomes) makes it easy to discount social forces, but prejudice and discrimination persist…

Research shows that when using names that sound African-American vs. names that sound White on resumes with identical qualifications, Whites are more likely to be interviewed than African-Americans

Similar research shows that White applicants who reported a felony drug conviction were still more likely to receive callbacks or job offers than African-American applicants with no criminal record

Research also shows bias against female applicants; female resumes are rated less favorably compared to equally qualified male resumes, and resumes tend to get funneled into sex-stereotyped jobs (e.g., secretary vs. manager)

Make sure you complete the Individual Differences Questionnaire on Blackboard

What was this questionnaire like for you?

Stereotyping and Bias

In-group bias: we tend to favor those who are viewed as part of a given social group we belong to (e.g., same gender, same school, same class, same ethnicity as us), while denigrating “outsiders” (those in the “out-group”)

In order to teach children about prejudice, a teacher named Jane Elliot performed a “real-life” demonstration in which White children were psychologically segregated based on their eye color (blue eyes vs. brown eyes); the children quickly became prejudiced against the other eye-color group.Watch it play out here (please note that

this video includes some offensive language): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/

Reasons Prejudice and Discrimination Continue

Race makes people easily identifiable and therefore easier to stereotype

Stereotypes are learned just by living in the U.S. and they can be passed down from generation to generation and/or from jokes and comments

Perpetuation of the in-group bias and selective attention to examples that confirm stereotypes (while discounting examples that contradict stereotypes) about the out-group

Economic reasons: competition for resources

Power and bias: those in power (predominantly White males) choose to hire or provide opportunities to those who are like them

Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination

Contact hypothesis: having contact with individuals from disliked/outside groups decreases negative attitudes, under certain conditions:1. Groups need to have equal status2. The contact should contradict

preexisting stereotypes3. The contact should involve working

toward a shared goal4. The contact encourages members of the

“out-group” to be seen as individuals, rather than as part of the stereotyped group

5. The social norms (implied, socially-agreed upon rules) of the contact must include group equality

Start early, e.g., having young children from different backgrounds work together

Increasing positive role models in positions of power who are women or ethnic minorities so that there is greater equality and so that underrepresented individuals have someone to look up to

Media campaigns and educational materials:Provide historical and current

information about women and ethnic minorities who have made a difference and have been overlooked

Counteract negative stereotypesFocus on our shared goals that

transcend gender and racial lines

Bringing About Positive ChangeIt just takes one person at

a time

Prevention and Intervention

Case Example: John Snow and the Broad Street Pump (1854)

In 1832 cholera (relatively new disease) killed 14,137 people in London

1852: second outbreak of cholera People believed it was spread through the air and many

panicked and fled the city John Snow had a theory that cholera was spread through

food or water, not the air He mapped out the location of the people who died from

cholera in London and after investigating, determined that almost all of them received their drinking water from the Broad Street Pump (it was discovered that this water pump was located near an old cesspit that was leaking raw sewage)

He told city officials, who shut the pump down, and the cholera epidemic basically ended

Snow is now regarded as one of the fathers of epidemiology

What Can We Learn from This Example?

It’s important to consider multiple possible causes of a problem; don’t rule anything out without evidence

Be a detective; consider every angle Even if you don’t know the exact cause

of a problem or how to cure a problem, you might still be able to prevent it with enough information about how the problem is perpetuated

You can often prevent a problem by changing human behavior

Public action is often required to completely prevent a problem

Modern-day example: we don’t know how to cure HIV, but we know how to prevent it from spreading

Prevention vs. Intervention

Prevention is primarily designed to prevent a problem from occurring in the first place (or to prevent it from getting worse)

Intervention is a treatment that occurs after the problem has arisen

In the U.S., we tend to be reactive vs. proactive. In other words, we often wait for a disaster or problem to occur, rather than spending effort and money on preventing it from happening in the first place

Case in point: Hurricane Katrina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G74lnD_90AQ&feature=related

Prevention There are 3 types of prevention: 1) Primary prevention: prevent the problem

from occurring in the first place (e.g., vaccines); ensure that a healthy population continues to be healthy, physically and psychologically

2) Secondary prevention: treat a problem in its earliest stages; target an “at-risk” population (e.g., teens in a poor neighborhood who are starting to show educational decline) and introduce a program to help them (e.g., an after-school educational program)

3) Tertiary prevention: attempt to reduce the severity of an existing problem so that it doesn’t become worse or long-term (e.g., support groups for veterans just diagnosed with either Acute Stress Disorder or PTSD)

Prevention vs. Intervention As you may have noticed, tertiary

prevention looks a lot like intervention Prevention efforts—even if they save

money in the long run—tend to get cut first from budgets because it’s difficult to demonstrate that a problem that might happen will be prevented from happeninge.g., funding for reinforcement of the

levies in New Orleans was rejected multiple times

Prevention can also be a creative alternative to solving the problem; e.g., instead of trying to prevent inevitable flooding, build floating homes (in the Netherlands): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjXvHM6M9l8&feature=fvwrel

Consciousness Raising

Definition: “Increasing citizens’ critical awareness of social conditions that affect them and energizing their involvement in challenging and changing those conditions” (-Kloos et al., 2012)

This is a major concept in Community Psychology

People tend to be in a state of obliviousness or denial about issues such as oppression and discrimination, even if they are victims

For example, the vast majority of women do not believe they receive lower pay than men, even if they know that statistically, women receive lower pay than men

Why do you think this false belief exists?

Consciousness Raising (cont.)

A few reasons why people are in denial about discrimination and other societal problems:They don’t want to view themselves as the

victim (or as the oppressor, if they are benefitting from discrimination)

Does a fish know it is wet?No, (theoretically) a fish doesn’t realize

it’s wet because it is always immersed in water

If this society is all you know, and you have been immersed in it your whole life, you may not realize what’s wrong with it; everything is “normal;” “that’s just the way things are;” people adapt to their environment

Community psychology embraces diversity and social justice: we are all created equal, we all deserve equal rights, and differences are valued; we are a country of immigrants and we don’t have to all be the same; we should respect each others’ cultures and religions

Liberation: securing rights for oppressed individuals; e.g., “Women’s Lib” i.e., Women and African-Americans had to

fight for the right to vote, own property, and hold office

Empowerment and Activism go hand-in-hand; communities have to recognize that there is strength in numbers, that they have the ability to bring about positive change, and that they must actively pursue the change they want

Grassroots efforts (when citizens come together to work toward a common cause, rather than seeking out an existing organization)

Networking: Individuals can connect with each other (greatly aided by today’s technology) and with organizations; organizations with shared goals can also connect with each other

Organizations can hire consultants who are trained in research and program evaluation who can help them with fund-raising, problem-solving, assessment, etc.

(Note: We will discuss networking and consultation further in Week 8)

Take This Survey Respond to the following statements on a piece

of paper (there are no right or wrong answers):1. My grades are due to how much effort I’ve put

in (Agree) (Disagree)2. Luck plays a big role in my life (Agree)

(Disagree)3. It’s pointless to vote because one person isn’t

going to change the outcome (Agree) (Disagree)4. External events have little impact on me

(Agree) (Disagree)5. I control my own destiny (Agree) (Disagree)6. As long as I work hard enough, I can get the

things I want in life (Agree) (Disagree)7. The way my life goes will depend on things

falling into place due to chance (Agree) (Disagree)

8. I pay attention to things like zodiac signs and astrological indicators (Agree) (Disagree)

Results

This survey is in no way scientific nor pre-validated, but in general:

If you responded Agree to items 1, 4, 5, and 6, you probably have a more internal locus of control

If you responded Agree to items 2, 3, 7, and 8, you probably have more of an external locus of control

Internal vs. External Locus of Control

Locus of control involves how you explain the events that happen to you

If you believe that you control the outcomes in your life, then you have an internal locus of control

If you believe that the outcomes in your life are controlled by other people, luck, fate, or other outside factors, then you have an external locus of control

Why does this matter in community psychology?

Because if you’re trying to help people to organize to bring about positive change in their environment, they have to first BELIEVE that they can make a difference

Think about this: Why is apathy one of the most powerful obstacles to Community Psychology?