Friday, October 26, 2007

The Parklife Conformer...

While studying for our exam last week I found myself reflecting on the notion of our need to belong and the lengths that we will go to achieve a sense on belonging to a group. The idea of conformity and the Asch experiments was particularly interesting because on initial reflection I viewed the people who had conformed as silly and thought that in a similar situation I would definately have gone against the crowd. Thinking about this further, I wondered, Would I really?

In the weeks leading up to Parklife (a dance festival a few weeks ago) I remember having a conversation with a friend about how there was no way i was going to follow the developing trend of wearing bright fluoro colours and silly headbands etc. just to 'fit in' at the festival. But as thew day drew closer and all my friends were involved in shopping for their crazy fluoro outfits and accessories I began to feel I was going to be on the outer. My need to belong, not to the crowd as a whole, but to my close friendship group was beginning to take over. Sure enough in the days leading up to the event I had bought fluoro paints, a number of shirts, crazy bright red sunnies and some lovely green tights. I had officially succomed to my need to belong, all of a sudden felt deindividualised, and then gone a step further top make myself different again. I ended up being the brightest of the group, butI had a great day, and I didn't have to think about not belinging to the group... The things we do to belong.

I think examples like this one from my life are the reason this course has been so interesting. almost all of the theories we had explored are so easily applied to everyday life. Even those that I though other people might do, but not neccissarily me. It seems I'm a huge conformist like the rest of us...

Friendship, Sexuality, and Social Norms: Applying Social Exchange Theory

Social exchange theory is one of a number of social science theories that has been proposed to explain the dynamics of how humans interact. The exchange theory has its foundations in neo-classical economic theory, and has been applied in a number of disciplines including anthropology, sociology and social psychology (Johar, 2005; Sprecher, 1998). The economic framework of exchange theory has been applied to a range of social relationships including those between workers, neighbours, friends, business associates and even intimate lovers, and it is becoming apparent that regardless of the level of interaction, the fundamentals of the theory remain the same (Lawler & Thye, 1999). This brief paper will explain the basic ideas and framework of social exchange theory, highlight the importance of social norms and gender roles, and demonstrate its application to two levels of social interaction: Friendship and sexuality. Examples from my own life and experiences are used to further illustrate the basic principles of the theory.

Exchange Theory
Social exchange theory as a generalisation relies on three main assumptions. The first assumes that each person is a self-interested actor that transacts with other actors to accomplish a range of individual goals that they perceive cannot be achieved alone. The second assumption is that individuals attempt to maximise the rewards and minimise the costs of any interactions. Rewards are defined as exchanged resources that are perceived as pleasurable and gratifying to an individual and have some perceived value. Costs are defined as exchanged resources that result in a feeling of loss or punishment, including the loss of alternatives and opportunities (Blau, 1964; McGraw & Tetlock, 2005). According to the theory, the outcome of any social interaction is the rewards minus the costs, and when this transaction is seen as positive or balanced the individual feels the interaction was a success and is more likely to continue the relationship. If the transaction is perceived to be negative or costly, the individual is less likely to repeat similar transactions and is more likely to discontinue the relationship (Blau, 1964; Sprecher, 1998). The third fundamental assumption of exchange theory is that when individuals perceive they have received a reward from others, they experience dissonance and feel obliged to reciprocate and restore balance to the relationship (Sprecher, 1998). Costs and rewards can take many forms and vary considerably particularly through a range of relationship levels. These may include material goods and needs, nonmaterial goods (such as services) and completely non-monetary forms of exchange such as time or emotion, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that in more intimate relationships such as friendships or romantic partnerships, nonmaterial resources often have a higher value and are of greater importance when considering the outcome of interactions.

Friendship
Humans have a strong, innate need to belong that is visible through our drive to form and maintain positive, lasting and significant personal interpersonal relationships. This suggests that people have a consistent goal to engage in frequent, pleasant contact with others who we have formed stable bonds of mutual concern, (Laursen & Hartup, 2002) which is perhaps best demonstrated through the relationship example of close friends. People often have an extensive network of acquaintances and friends from a range of different social forums, such as work, university and sporting teams, most people seek a limited number of close friends (about 4-6) (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). It appears that further developing these close friendships is the goal for most people and friendship fits the cliché of ‘quality not quantity’.


When considering examples from my own life the indications proposed by the model became increasingly apparent. Firstly, it seems the initial assumption that most people seek out a limited number of close friendships was true for me. As exchange theory proposes, those relationships which have endured and become deeper are those where I have perceived I am receiving a balanced number of rewards compared to costs. My closest, longest lasting friendship surfaces as an example of interaction that is often linked with a feeling that what was invested into the relationship as costs, would usually be reciprocated with equal or greater rewards and, as a result, transactions with this friend are consistently associated with pleasurable feelings and the sense that I’m developing a worthwhile and rewarding relationship.

It is the desire to continually deepen the level of friendship and increase understanding that is perhaps for this reason that many of the resources involved in exchanges at this level are less physical in their nature. Studies have found that while material resources such as money, food and clothing may be involved in some transactions among friends, other forms of rewards often take precedence (Lawler & Thye, 1999; Wildermuth et. al, 2006). These other ‘gifts’ may include a range of things such as acceptance, approval, compliments, physical company, emotional disclosure, assistance on a task, commitment of time, or the sharing of knowledge (Wildermuth et. al, 2006; Johar, 2005).

Take buying a round of expensive drinks for a group of friends as an example. The round may cost $30, which would have taken up to 2 hours to earn through employment, while they are often consumed in a very short time and the rewards may appear to be short lived. However, the cost of purchasing the drinks, in this case monetary, is rewarded with the felt appreciation by the friendship group, as well as an increased feeling of belonging to the group and pleasurable emotions. These subjective and emotional rewards often have a higher value within friendship groups as they contribute to our innate need to belong.

Social Norms in Friendship
Social norms have also been highlighted as influencing the felt value of transactions with friends. A study by Johar (2005) found that people may not always seek to maximise the economic utility, or value, of a transaction, when social norms are a factor. The study found that not only do people abide by social norms in their own interactions, but they feel distressed if norms are violated by others. In the ‘round of drinks’ example, the situational norm suggest that each member of the friendship group who received a drink, would return the favour by purchasing a round themselves. If a friend abided by this norm, as an addition to the emotional rewards I received initially, I receive a drink to balance the exchange, and the felt positive outcome is increased. However, if this social norm was dishonoured, I may perceive it as another cost, which affects the relationship negatively.

Sexuality
Exchange theory can be observed in almost all social interactions and an increasingly large body of research has focussed on its application to love, mate selection and sexuality. In a meta-analytic study South (1991) demonstrated the tendency for people to marry those of similar status. Exchange theories provide a view that could account for much this trend of homogamy and suggest that people of similar status are more able, and therefore likely, to reciprocate expected rewards and maintain an equitable relationship. Often those resources most sought after by a certain socio-economic group can best be matched or complimented by someone of a similar status, thus these partnerships occur more often. A real life behavioural example can be seen when both men and women conduct a matching process and choose those with the best package of rewards – the best ‘catch’.

An interesting development in the study of exchange theory and sexuality is the idea of exchange of sex as a reward or commodity within relationships (Rijt & Macy, 2006). Research has identified sex as a resource that is essentially controlled by women. Men seek to acquire sex from women by exchanging it for a range of other resources, and often social norms and gender roles are assigned accordingly (Baumeister & Vohs, 2004). This phenomenon can certainly be observed in the real world. Men are often seen buying extravagant gifts for women, showing off power and wealth and providing security both physically and emotionally for women. Some researchers would suggest this is purely in exchange for sex (Sprecher, 1998). As mentioned previously, violating social norms can also lead to distress in interactions, suggesting that men are more likely to gain the reward of sex by adhering to these norms and gender roles. In life, according to exchange theory, men could create a situation of reciprocity by paying for dinner, holding the door and offering their coat to a potential intimate partner and they may be rewarded with sex.

Conclusion
So it can be seen that social exchange theory and its simple costs and rewards analysis can be applied to a range of social interactions in a plethora of situations. When applied to the aspect of friendship, it is demonstrated that friendships are more likely to continue and develop if a situation of reciprocity exists, particularly if non-material rewards are involved and cater for the human need to belong. The relevance of exchange theory to sexuality has also been highlighted, with the implication that in sexual economics, transactions are focussed around sex as a female controlled commodity. In the two current examples of friendship and sexuality, the influence of social norms on exchange transactions should also be viewed as an important aspect. Social exchange theory is proving to be an extremely relevant and versatile model and continued social study of its application may prove enormously beneficial for the understanding of humans and their complex social interactions.

(Word Count: 1532)


References

Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008) Social Psychology and Human Nature. USA: Thomson Wadworth

Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2004) Sexual economics: Sex as female resource for social exchange in heterosexual interactions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 339-363.

Blau, P. N. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley.

Johar, G. V. (2005). The price of friendship: when, why, and how relational norms guide social exchange behaviour. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15, 22-27.

Laursen, B., & Hartup, W. W. (2002). The origins of reciprocity and social exchange in friendships. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 95, 27-40.

Lawler, E. J., & Thye, S. R. (1999). Bringing emotions into social exchange theory. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 217-244.

McGraw, A. P. (2005). Taboo trade-offs, relational framing, and the acceptability of exchanges. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15 (1), 2-15.


Rijt, A. V., & Macy, M.W. (2006). Power and dependence in intimate exchange. Social Forces, 84 (3), 1455-1460.

South, S. J. (1991). Socio-demographic differentials in mate selection preferences. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 928-940.

Sprecher, S. (1998). Social exchange theories and sexuality. Journal of Sex Research, 35, 32-43.

Wildermuth, S. M., Vogl-Bauer, S., & Rivera, J. (2006). Practically perfect in every way: communication strategies of ideal relational partners. Communication Strategies, 57 (3), 239-257.



Appendix A. Self Evaluation

Theory and Research
I found the topic of social exchange theory very engaging and interesting, which made reading sources and research on the topic much more tolerable, and in the end I read extensively on a broad range of topics and aspects of the theory. This did however leave me with the difficult task of choosing which aspects to focus on, based on what I believed I could fit into the world limit. My question also asked me to provide examples from my own life, while this made writing the blog more engaging and provided a change from strict essay style writing, it meant that I has reduced words to discuss relevant theory. I possibly choose to approach this topic too broadly and a possible focus on the fundamentals of the theory would have made adjusting to the word limit more feasible. Overall I think I researched extensively and included as much information as possible, while successfully including examples from my own life and ther real world to explain the theory.

Written Expression
Similar to the last blog, APA format was followed wherever possible, however some aspects of the format were lost in tranferring to the blog format. As mentioned above, my question asked me to provide real life examples to further explain my points. While interesting, this was a very different approach to writing compared to the very scientific nature of the majority of writing I have grown accustomed to studying psychology, and my usually commended writing style may have suffered accordingly. I do believe however, that I was reasonably succesful in adjusting and maintaining a flow throughout the blog. I have taken note of a self-suggestion from my last blog and maintained headings to help with the structure and flow of the blog to make for easier reading. It must be remembered that the purpose of my blog was to explain in the clearest possible manner the basics of social exchange theory.

The Flesch reading ease statistic was 29.8 which is around the target audience of undergraduate students. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level was 12 which is also around the target area. Overall I feel that despite the adjustments to my usual writing style the paper flows and is relatively easy to read.

Online engagement
This was definitely my weakest point of the blogging exercise for blog 1 so I have made a concerted effort to improve my online engagement for this blog. I began by improving the overall appearance of my blog page, and took the time to take more notice of what my fellow students were doing on the blog page. I made a number of postings, which on the whole were received well, as thewy were commented on and raised discussion. I spent the majority of my time blogging commenting on a range of other students blogs and have taken the time to add a number of those to a comments list in my blog. These comments also contributed to and raised further discussion within the group, both online and generally amongst students during class. While I still haven’t engaged as some students within the unit I have made considerable improvements and feel much more a part of the unit in general.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Information Overload Making Teens Sick

Hey bloggers!

I’ve been dwelling on a few of the ideas that were raised in Hugh Mckay’s lecture and the following discussion in yesterday’s tutorial. I was particularly interested by the ideas of information overload, the changing social face of Australia and the influences of materialism, consumerism and the technological age on the youth of this country.

McKay mentioned that as a reaction to change and as life speeds up in modern Australia, there was an increase in the consumption of anti-depressants and a range of other illicit and licit drugs. I read an article recently where Richard Eckersley suggested that many aspects of modern life including social structural changes, such as family breakdown, excessive materialism, global warming, the changing diet and even the decline of religion were leading to a range of physical and psychological health problems in teenagers. Some of the health problems he highlighted were road accidents, drug use, diabetes and heart disease and mood disorders. Like the evolutionists Mckay talked about, Eckersley also believed that human’s haven’t had time to evolve to the stresses of modern life, which was contributing to these health issues.

Looking at the information overload theory, which describes a state of having too much information to make a decision or stay informed about a topic, causing distress. I wonder is the influence of the technological or information age and the huge array of sources from which we can gain information, having a detrimental effect on our social, psychological and pysical health. Television use and variety has skyrocketed, the internet gives us endless sources of information including youtube, wikipedia, and blog sites such as this one and facebook, and still other forms of media thrive. The stress of what to take in and analyse, and what to ignore may be getting too much.

There is also the aspect of the content, accuracy and impartiality of this constant flow of information. With such a variety of mediums it is almost impossible to gain accurate and neutral information, particularly when often those that are most biased or untested are more easily accessed or simply thrust in our face.

The simple solution would be to encourage everyone, especially youth, to seek out new information, make time to search for the truth and make their own decisions. However, if information overload is already causing them stress, how in this forever speedy, stressful new world are they to find the time and energy to seek out this information? Another article I read, suggested that Australian children are already sleeping more than 30 minutes less a night compared with 20 years ago, with 25% suggesting they are tired the majority of the time and their sleep quality is poor. If a quarter of Australia’s youth are always tired the sad thing is it may be easier to simply sit back and be informed by ‘Today Tonight’.

Would this an endless search for accurate and impartial information simply just cause less sleep and more stress and health problems?
It possibly would, but I think I’d be less stressed in the belief that I had some idea what was going on in the world or at least in this country.

Thankyou again for reading my rambling, I hope I made a point in there somewhere and comments and questions are definately welcome.

Happy studying guys!
Dave

Friday, October 12, 2007

Social Exchange Theory

Hey guys,
So I've had my topic picked for a while now, but have spent most of my time commenting on other people's great posts.
Thought it was time to start throwing up some of my own, but i'll ease into it with a very basic (wikipedia) definition of my topic - social exchange theory.

Social exchange theory is a social psychological and sociological perspective that explains social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. Social exchange theory posits that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives. For example, when a person perceives the costs of a relationship as outweighing the perceived benefits, then the theory predicts that the person will choose to leave the relationship. The theory has roots in economics, psychology and sociology.
For social exchange theorists, when the costs and benefits are equal in a relationship, then that relationship is defined as equitable. The notion of equity is a core part of social exchange theory.

I think social exchange theorists would take an interesting view of this cartoon I've found.

It seems that the girl is willing to make some significant investments in the relationship, and in doing so improve its benefits, while the boy is probably thinking about what a long-term relationship with this girl would cost his sense of identity. Does he have an alternative option that likes him just the way he is, or won't cost him as much?

Anyway I'll be back with some more exciting perspectives on this interesting theory soon...



Monday, October 8, 2007

Response to: Examples of Media Violence

See At: http://mrsfreud.blogspot.com/2007/09/examples-of-media-violence.html


Hey Loz,

That clip of cartoon violence is pretty intense. Like Clare and Mark I didn't really notice how violent 'family guy' and 'drawn together' were. I'd always been aware that they pushed a lot of social boundaries, which is often their appeal, but seeing a compilation like that was an eye-opener.

I agree with Clare that a mixed message about death is being sent to children, when cartoon characters die and come back to life, however i think it should be remembered that the cartoons in that video are aimed at an adult audience. The Loony Tunes' Coyote in Roadrunner also died and came back several times each episode, in a program aimed at kids. I'm not sure if there was outrage when these cartoons began, but it has certainly ceased and these cartoons are now seen as family favourites. Is this an idication of society as a whole being desensitised? Or was that compilation just really effective in highlighting the extreme violence in those cartoons?

I think the more important issue with violence in the media, is not so much content, but like the second video says, who sees it. There is no disputing that violence in the media affects children in a number of ways, by desensitising them, and setting them an example. I'll always remember being banned from Teenage MutantNinja Turtles for fly kicking everybody I saw. It's probably lucky I hadn't seen Drawn Together and had access to a big knife or my sister might have been a bit sore...

If TV shows, movies and computer games aren't meant for children, then more needs to be done to prevent children from getting access to them. Drawn Together aired at around 9pm on SBS. This is late to prevent most children, but surely not all. And I believe Foxtel has a parent lock out system, we can only hope and assume parents are using it.

Then again, kids can always watch the news... and to quote Alicia Silverstone's ‘Cher’ in all her brilliance in Clueless.

"...even if you took out all the violent shows, you could still see the news. So, until mankind is peaceful enough not to have violence on the news, there's no point in taking it out of shows that need it for entertainment value..."

Who knew that movie could be so insightful?

Very interesting videos and topic in general Loz. Should be fun exploring it.

-Dave

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Blog 1: Stereotypes of Young Muslim Australians



Stereotypes of young Muslim Australian males


There are a number of stereotypes that exist in Australia, and many minority groups are subjected to the generalisation and sometimes prejudice that is associated with the generally negative nature of these stereotypes. While Australia is considered multicultural, and generally accepting nation, there are a number of race or religion based stereotypes that exist within it. People of Asian, Indian and even aboriginal descents are often placed in a stereotypical group by others and are forced to live with the negatives that go with these generalizations. This brief blog however, will focus on the minority group of young Muslim Australians, particularly males, who are of Middle-Eastern descent. It will highlight the stereotype that is often assigned to this group of people and also examine the reasons for its existence, development and maintenance within many Australian communities, as well as some possible approaches to how this stereotype could be changed.

Stereotyping can be defined as the process of perceiving and reacting to people in terms of their group membership. A stereotype is a set of beliefs about a person’s attributes, personality traits and behaviours based on assumptions about a certain group or category to which they have been assigned (Wood et al., 2004; Yzerbyt, Rocher & Schadron, 1997)

Young Muslim Australian males are often placed in a stereotypical group and assumed to all have similar traits. As will be discussed in more detail later, the reasons for this are many and complicated, but first some of the common aspects of this stereotype are outlined. People in this group are commonly referred to as ‘wogs’ or ‘lebbos’ and this portrays the young male Muslim as a type of ‘gangster’ who often spends his time in a public place with a group of friends, engaging in crime and generally being a public menace. In its most extreme form the stereotypical appearance for these young men would include the wearing of over-the-top, bright coloured tracksuits and sports sneakers, excessive jewelry and ‘slicked’ greasy hair, although appearance is a minor aspect of the stereotype as a whole. They are commonly associated with groups of expensive and ‘done up’ cars and are often thought of as inherently violent and involved in crime, some excessive cases may even assume them to be aspiring terrorists. This stereotype is also often considered discriminatory towards women and is thought to commonly mistreat them.

There are a number of very complicated reasons for the existence of this common generalization of the young male Muslim population and they have played an interrelated part in the formation of this powerful and common stereotype. One of these is based on white Australia’s lack of understanding about the young Muslim group. A NSW Youth Advisory Council forum recently asked youths living in NSW to comment on their experiences and thoughts about racism and stereotyping in the community. The most common answer for the reasons for its existence was that is stems from a lack of awareness about and understanding of other cultures (NSW YAC, 2006). It has been highlighted that often the reason for this lack of understanding is simple lack of exposure, particularly to positive aspects of different cultures. Much of the Australian population’s limited exposure to young Muslim people has been those highlighted for crimes and those who often fit the generalisation on some level. These people are often a minority within the Muslim community, but as they are the most visible, form the basis of the stereotype. Cognitively, stereotypes are essentially mental shortcuts and are used to simplify the processing of new people. As humans we automatically assign new things into preexisting schemas or groups to make the process faster. For a stereotype to be avoided there must be enough evidence for the new person to justify changing the schema, or assigning a new one (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). Studies have indicated this is true and found that stereotyping of young Muslims is often worse in areas less exposed to their culture (Collins & Poynting, 2000; Haque, 2001), as their opinions are essentially formed on less evidence. A key example which led to the continued development of this racial stereotype was the race related riots at Cronulla and other Sydney beaches in 2005. These confrontations were the result of a complicated web of racial prejudices and stereotyping on both sides, however they were initially fuelled by the anger of white locals after violence on the beach by a small number of Lebanese youths. It was the criminal actions of this small number of youths that were assumed to be common behaviour for all members of this minority. The locals on the beaches are largely unexposed to many aspects of Muslim Australia, and the stereotype was strengthened by the actions of three visible and highlighted members of the group. It should be noted that Australia’s middle-eastern and Lebanese population is highly concentrated in Sydney and its Western and South-Western suburbs in particular. 72.2% of all Lebanese people living in Australia live in Sydney and the Lebanese population reaching 14% of total population in some suburbs such as Bankstown (Collins & Poynting, 2000).

These western suburbs of Sydney are multicultural by nature and it has been found that racism and stereotyping are often far less prevalent than in other more Anglo-Saxon areas and rural areas in particular (Collins, 2006). It becomes obvious that those exposed to a more complete picture of the minority group as a whole, are far less prejudiced and less likely to generalize. This is also highlighted in the example of rural youth. The issue of stereotyping is often magnified by living in small, less culturally diverse communities. People in these communities are more likely to hold generalized views of different cultures and are less likely to accept members of different cultural groups (Collins, 2006; NSW YAC, 2006).

The issue of small rural communities draws attention to another key reason for the development and maintenance of the racial stereotyping of young Muslim Australians – the media. Years of media rhetoric about Middle-Eastern crime, Lebanese gangs and other violence beginning in the late 1990s have led to a generalized negative being placed over the middle-eastern communities and has led to some areas of Sydney being considered by other Australians as crime ghettos similar to those in the UK or US, where this is not true (Poynting, 2006). Muslim and Lebanese Australians have been only marginally over represented in crime figures over the last 10 years, but negative coverage and sensational reporting has been massively disproportionate. Media coverage that influences the development and formation of Muslim stereotypes is not restricted to coverage of domestic issues. Globalisation of the media and its extended coverage of the theme of terrorism has influenced the many Australians in their formation of a picture of Muslims. Hage (2003) refers to the ‘worrying nation’ that is filled with inward facing fear and concerns about such things as interest rates, the future of employment and terrorism. These dynamics of fear work with people’s lack of understanding to continually strengthen the stereotypical view of the Muslim minority.

I now turn to the words of Gary Stokes (1997) to sum up the negative influence of stereotyping in society.

A person or group of people can suffer real damage, real distortion if the people or society around them mirror back to them a confining or demeaning or contemptible picture of themselves. No-recognition or miss-recognition can inflict harm, be a form of oppression, imprisoning someone in a false, distorted and reduced mode of being.

In the current situation in Australia and Sydney, most notably the issue of young Muslim stereotyping is one of the most prevalent and clearly has negative connotations. So what can be done to change this generalization of minority group and prevent social disasters in the community like the 2005 Cronulla riots from occurring again?

The solution lies in increasing the exposure to, and understanding of, Muslim and other minority groups by the majority of Australians. The goal of this process must to be to highlight the positive aspects of Australian Muslim society. This can be achieved through a combination of avenues. The first of these is education on a number of levels. It can begin in schools, but there is a general need for programs which highlight positive aspects of Muslim life and also the diversity of its group members. One of the key points that emerged from the NSW YAC (2006) forum was that where exposure and education were important it would only work if members of the community, and above all youth members, were involved in the formation of any education or advertising programs. This is surely an important element.

The balance between negative and positive aspects of Islamic people in general, but particularly the population of young males, could also greatly influenced by changes to the media’s approach to reporting (Poynting, 2006). A reduction in sensational reporting of gang and other Lebanese crime within the community and replacing it with proportional reporting of positive stories about the members of this minority and the successes of multiculturalism would also help to adjust people’s perceptions.

It is evident that this generalisation of the Muslim community in Australia, and on a larger scale its young males, is deep seated in the minds of many Sydney-siders and Australians. However, exposure to multiculturalism in a range of areas has been proven to increase acceptance and reduce stereotyping behaviours. Over time and with an increase in education and a range of community projects the misperceptions of Middle-Eastern people living in Australia could be changed.

(Word Count: 1515)




References

Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social psychology and human nature (1st
ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Clements, K. P. (2006). Cronulla: Understanding the conflict and violence. From National Symposium: Responding to Cronulla: Rethinking Multiculturalism (pp. 4-18). Griffith: Griffith University Press.

Collins, J. (2006). Ethnic gangs, ethnic youth and the Cronulla beach riots. From National Symposium: Responding to Cronulla: Rethinking Multiculturalism (pp. 19-33). Griffith, NSW: Griffith University Press.

Collins, J. & Poynting, S. (2000). The other Sydney: communities, identities and
inequalities in Western Sydney. Melbourne: Common Ground.

Hage G. (2003) Against paranoid nationalism, searching for hope in a shrinking
Society. Annadale: Polity Press.

Haque, A. (2001). Attitudes of high school students and teachers towards Muslims and Islam in a southeastern Australian community. Intercultural education, 12 (2), 185-196.

Yzerbyt, V., Rocher, S., & Schadron, G. (1997) Stereotypes as explanations. In Spears, R. (Ed.). The social psychology of stereotyping and group life. Blackwell Publishing.

Stokes, G. (1997). The politics of identity in Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wood, J., Wallace, J., Zeffane, R., Chapman, J., Fromholtz, M., & Morrison, V. (2004) Organisational behaviour – A global perspective. Milton, Qld: Wiley.



Appendix A. Concept Map











Appendix B. Self Evaluation

Theory and Research
In my research I read fairly extensively on the issues relating to stereotypes and what the common stereotype for young Muslim Australians was. I also found discussion with friends and peers on their opinions of young Muslims in Australia very helpful in forming my ideas. Due to the selection of such a specific stereotype within Australian society I found it difficult to find a large amount of information on the causes other than general social commentary, however the forums and symposiums that I did find were extensive and provided substantial information. Due to the current relevance of the issues and their social nature I focused my discussion and research in this area and because of this focus and the word limit I found it difficult to include much commentary on the cognitive and theoretical principles of stereotyping. I think a sounder theoretical base to support my social arguments will be a focal point of improvement for my next blog.

Written Expression
APA format was followed for the most part. There were some difficulties in transferring all aspects of APA format to the blogging format, but this was attempted where at all possible. On initial completion of the blog, headings were used to make for easier reading and structure, however these were removed to maintain APA style. These could potentially be left in later blogs to assist with structure and flow of the paper. A concept map was developed in place of these headings and provides a brief guide of the concepts and points raised in the essay. This was difficult with my limited understanding of the concept mapping program and I hope to improve my skills in this area for further blogs with the intention of making the paper easier to follow.

Readability tests were conducted producing a Flesch Reading Ease of 28.7 and a Flesch-Kincaid Grade level of 12. While the reading ease score is relatively low, it falls in the high end of readability for university graduates and so should be read fairly easily by my target audience. A grade level of 12 was also around the target level. Writing in shorter, more easily read sentences may be considered in further writing so as to appeal to a greater audience. Overall I think my blog flows and generally my writing style receives positive feedback and I feel this blog shouldn’t be too different.

Online Engagement
I feel this part of the criteria is possibly my downfall (Apart from poor time management and handing the assignment in late). The whole idea of blogging was new to me and after struggling with my limited skills I began to enjoy wandering around other student’s blogs entries. I signed up to Blogger.com reasonably early in the semester and did manage to add a few cartoons and a commentary on the social psych aspects of John Lennon’s death. I enjoyed reading a number of my fellow student’s blogs, and made a few short comments, however there is room for improvement in this area. Rather than adding simple comments, for the remainder of the semester more advanced development of other student’s ideas would be beneficial. One aspect of the blogging concept I enjoyed was reading comments by students I know from the course and engaging in discussion with them at university in the following days. These discussions could be transferred to a more online form in the future.



Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Sniffy...


I thought this was pretty funny.

Those doing Learning and trying to train sniffy to press the stupid lever will relate.

Mark Chapman - The 'inner child'


I was watching a TV program last night on the assassination of John Lennon by the very confused soul that was Mark David Chapman. The program explored many aspects of Chapman's life and mind and shed light on his troubled past, history of depression and other mental illness and his feelings concerning his loneliness and loss of identity. Since the murder Chapman has said that he didn't particularly dislike John Lennon and even enjoyed some Beatles tunes, but he began to despise much of what Lennon stood for after seeing a picture of him in a magazine looking 'happy, together and successful' at a time when Chapman was anything but those things and struggling with mental illness.

For those of us who aren't familiar with the story, John Lennon was shot in the back 5 times as he left his Dakota apartment and walked past a crowd containing Chapman and his revolver.

The part I found most interesting was an interview with Chapman where he discussed the presence of an inner child that lived in his psyche and spoke to him, almost like a devil on his shoulder. The program didn't shed any light of whether this was a form of scizophrenia or another pathology such as a split personality disorder, but what Chapman describes about that day was particularly interesting. He reported his 'adult mind' telling him to "put the revolver away, be happy with the autograph he gave you earlier and walk away." While his 'inner child' encouraged him to shoot, telling him it was unfair how admired Lennon was and that he needed to "Take him out".

Obviously this story is mostly related to the study of Mark Chapman's psychopathology and exploring how his mental ilness led to the horrible shooting of Lennon, however, the program noted that much of his illness stemmed from being a social outcast from a young age. Being alone and without a social identity eventually led to him expressing his anger at initially a photo and then the exposed back of John Lennon.

Just reading over what I've written I realise this blog is a little all over the place, but I think i'll post it anyway as I found the story very interesting and it's led to a few more questions in my mind. Would the shooters in the Columbine and more recently the Virginia Tech mass murders have dealt with an 'inner child' encouraging them to do that they knew was essentially wrong?
Does everyone have an inner child? Are we just more equipped to control it than someone like Mark Chapman? I'm sure Freud would have something to say about this...
maybe next blog...