Bretstar's Social Psychology Blog

Appendices - Self Assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:46:00 +0000

1. Theory

I believe that given the research I was able to find, I drew out some factors that lead people to follow religions, and also critically looked at some of the positive and negative thigns. A subject such as this is really quite big, and to fit it all into 1000 to 1500 words would be quite difficult. As such, I only really gave a brief overview. Had I started sorting through my research earlier I believe I would have included more theory in my blog, and therefore would have produced a higher quality essay.

2. Research

I searched many different databases, and retrieved over one hundred articles. As a result of getting so much information I had a LOT of sorting to do and surprisingly at the end of this I was not left with much relevant information to this essay topic. Perhaps I should have searched for different search terms, but most of the information I received was either about respectign religious perspectives in a clinical setting or whether or not religion had benefits to physical or mental health (which was perhaps a little closer to the aim of the essay).

3. Written Expression

Results from the readability analysis follow (retrieved from http://www.ilovejackdaniels.com/readability.php)

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease: 21
Ideally, web page text should be around the 60 to 80 mark on this scale. The higher the score, the more readable the text.

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 15
Ideally, web page text should be around the 6 to 7 mark on this scale. The lower the score, the more readable the text.

Gunning-Fog Index: 23
Ideally, web page text should be between 11 and 15 on this scale. The lower the score, the more readable the text. (Anything over 22 should be considered the equivalent of post-graduate level text).

It appears that all three of the main analyses indicate that the text is not as readable as it could be. I believe I said this last time but I certainly would like to perform these tests earlier in my writing, so that I could then have more time and flexibility to fix and edit my writing. I believe my use of APA style is good, and the use of headings should hopefully make it a little easier to read the essay. As the results from the readability tests state, my essay could certainly benefit from having better readability scores.

4. Online engagement

Whilst I did not make many online contributions in the earlier stages of my research for this blog, I believe that in the last week or so I have made a fair amount of contributions. From commenting on other students blog postings, to voting on polls I have contributed a fair amount. Also, I put a few posts up (apart from my main blog posting) and included a poll on my blog. The poll attracted quite a few comments, and a fair amount of votes. I could have improved my online engagement by posting a few more entries apart from my main essay posting, and perhaps commenting a little bit more, but overall I was quite satisfied with my online engagement. I really was happy with the response to the following post: http://kayeb.blogspot.com/2007/10/religious-happier.html

It is quite difficult to track down each of the blogs that I commented on, or all the polls that I voted on. Next time I do a similar exercise I should make a note of the URL of each blog post I comment on.

What proportion of people ascribe to a religion? Why?

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:31:00 +0000

Abstract

This essay was posted in blog format, and examines the proportion of people who ascribe to religion, and some of the possible reasons that people follow religion, as well as some of the benefits and drawbacks.

Introduction

Emmons and Paloutzian (2003, p. 386) have defined religiousness as “a person characteristic, as a belief and meaning system that is stable over time and manifested across diverse situations”. Emmons and Paloutzian further suggest that gratitude, forgiveness and humility may be some of the factors that cause religion to have a beneficial effect on health. This essay aims to determine what proportion of people ascribe to a religion, and some of the possible reasons that people may follow a religion.

Proportion

Sources that detail the proportion of people ascribing to a different religion can vary dramatically, given that the definition of religion may be variable. Short of asking every person in the world what religion they ascribe to, a definite answer cannot be obtained. It should be noted that even if every person in the world was asked, some people may simply state that they are religious or non-religious because of social pressures, rather than reporting what they personally believe. This fits in with the social psychological concept of public compliance, where a person publicly states one opinion, but privately believes something else. Even so, some figures have been obtained (Wikipedia, 2007) and the three most populous religions are Christianity (approximately 2.1 billion), Islam (approximately 1.5 billion) and Hindiusm (approximately 900 million). A hyperlink to this figure has been inserted into a blog posting for reference.

Personality

Maltby (1999) states that religious orientation is related to personality. The author found that all aspects of religiosity, such as intrinsic orientation toward religion and frequency of prayer, were negatively related to psychoticism. There was no association found between religiosity and other personality variables. Obsessional personality traits were found to be positively related to personal religion. This evidence does not seem to support the idea that certain personality traits lead people to be more or less likely to follow a religion.

Positive mental health

Aalsma and Lapsley (1999) reported that religiosity has been consistently associated with positive mental health outcomes. The authors also noted that it is possible that the relational aspect of being religious provides psychosocial benefits. For example, participation in the religious community can be beneficial to mental health.

Hadaway (1978) provided support for the idea that religion is a coping resource, and it was found to help Americans lead happier lives. Hintikka (2001) found a positive relationship between religious attendance and life satisfaction. Apparently social support did not seem to affect this relationship. Because the Finns are racially and religiously homogenous this study is very representative of that population, however whether it can be generalised to other populations is less certain.

Young, Cashwell and Shcherbakova (2000) found that spirituality provides a significant moderating effect for negative life events on depression and anxiety, and the effect was found to be stronger for depression. It should be noted that this study only used college students, and most participants reported participating in Christian activities. The authors concede that a more heterogeneous sample would be useful for future research.

Fallot (2001) reported that spirituality can play a positive role for dealing with stress and decision-making. Praying and not using drugs were two reasons given. Involvement in religion also enhances social support. Spirituality also gave many a sense of being a “whole” person, of being complete. Hodges (2000) reported that having an active spiritual life was associated with being emotionally healthy, having meaning and purpose in life. Religion may not always play a positive part, but it often does.

Negative mental health

Fallot (2001) found that depending on the cultural context, sometimes if an individual is hearing voices or displaying other psychiatric symptoms, this may be considered normal. Religion can be helpful or can make things worse, someone in depression may have more severe symptoms as a result of guilt and unattainable ideals. There are also conflicting reports about whether religion is associated with happiness, for example, Lewis (2002) studied Northern Irish undergraduates and found no significant relationship between religiosity and happiness. Further research is needed, into different populations and religions.

Framing

Being religious can change the way a person frames a situation. Gall (2000) claimed that spiritual or religious interpretations of why a person has got cancer can help them frame it more positively, which may enable them to deal with it more effectively. However, it could be possible that a person could learn to frame other situations in a more negative light, which may not lead to such positive outcomes.

Emotional

Thagard (2005) states that religion is full of emotion, and so is cognition. The author cites many different possible reasons that people have religious beliefs, such as traditional arguments about the design of the world and the fact that religion can give an explanation of miracles. The author also mentions desire for comfort, belonging, ethics and immortality. Thagard suggests that religion can provide satisfaction of cognitive and emotional needs. Children acquire many of their beliefs from their parents and children naturally believe what their parents tell them. The author found no evidence to suggest that religiosity is heritable or that it is due to evolution. However, religion could be a byproduct of something else that did come about through evolution, such as emotional cognition.

Control / social

Meisenhelder (2002) proposed that maybe as individuals are faced with a threat, they want to gain some form of control, even if it is just perceived control. If an individual feels that they cannot control an event, they may look to a higher power, such as a god. This may give the individual a sense of control and reassurance. The author also states that religious services bring people together in a supportive social environment.

Stone, Cross, Purvis and Young (2003) found that religious beliefs and participation, such as praying, were found to be very helpful for coping with stress. Relationships with others in the church community also helped.

Need for answers

Pataki (2006) notes that many people are drawn to religion because they believe it is ‘good’, and provides them with hope. Religion has the capacity to provide answers to questions such as why there bad things happen. Humans have a need to ‘know’ and religion provides answers to many of the questions.

Shobris (1994) explains that the universality of religion may suggest a common biological tendency. There may be a religion specific part of the brain located in the temporal lobes, involving the limbic system.

Conclusion

There are many different reasons that a person may ascribe to a religion, though one of the largest influences would be the environment that a person was brought up in. Religion is impressed upon children from a very early age, and children would not generally question what their parents tell them, and this can dramaticaly shape their view of the world. Religion can provide some benefits, to both physical and mental health, and the main reasons for this appear to be due to the social contact that religious involvement often brings.

References

Aalsma, M. C., & Lapsley, D. K. (1999). Religiosity and adolescent narcissism: Implications for values counseling [Electronic version]. Counseling & Values, 44(1), 17-29.

Emmons, R. A., & Paloutzian, R. F. (2003). The psychology of religion [Electronic version]. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 377-402.

Fallot, R. D. (2001). Spirituality and religion in psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery from mental illness [Electronic version]. International Review of Psychiatry, 13, 110-116.

Gall, T. L. (2000). Integrating religious resources within a general model of stress and coping: Long-term adjustment to breast cancer [Electronic version]. Journal of Religion and Health, 39(2), 167-182.

Hadaway, C. K. (1978). Life satisfaction and religion: A reanalysis [Electronic version]. Social Forces, 57(2), 636-643.

Hintikka, J. (2001). Religious attendance and life satisfaction in the Finnish general population [Electronic version]. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 29(2), 158-164.

Hodges, S. (2002). Mental health, depression, and dimensions of spirituality and religion [Electronic version]. Journal of Adult Development, 9(2), 109-115.

Lewis, C. A. (2002). Church attendance and happiness among northern Irish undergraduate students: No association [Electronic version]. Pastoral Psychology, 50(3), 191-195.

Maltby, J. (1999). Personality dimensions of religious orientation [Electronic version]. The Journal of Psychology, 133(6), 631-640.

Meisenhelder, J. B. (2002). Terrorism, posttraumatic stress, and religious coping [Electronic version]. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 23, 771-782.

Pataki, T. (2006). Against religion [Electronic version]. Australian Book Review, February 2006, 36-41.

Shobris, J. G. (1994). The dualism of psychology [Electronic version]. Genetic, Social & General Psychology Monographs, 120(4), 373-393.

Stone, H. W., Cross, D. R., Purvis, K. B., & Young, M. J. (2003). A study of the benefit of social and religious support on church members during times of crisis [Electronic version]. Pastoral Psychology, 51(4), 327-340.

Thagard, P. (2005). The emotional coherence of religion [Electronic version]. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 5, 58-74.

Wikipedia. (2007). Religion. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion October 21, 2007.

Young, J. S., Cashwell, C. S., & Shcherbakova, J. (2000). The moderating relationship of spirituality on negative life events and psychological adjustment [Electronic version]. Counseling & Values, 45(1), 49-57.

Please click here to visit the appendices (self-assessment) for this blog post

thanks to all those who left comments about my last post!

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 06:39:00 +0000

hi all

first i'd like to thank all you guys who commented on my last post, each answer was great and gave me a different perspective on the whole issue.

now back to business: i am posting a link to wikipedia (i know i know but from what i've seen it actually does have accurate information a lot of the time!), a pie chart of the make up of different religions worldwide. of course, even if this was not from wikipedia it should be considered with some caution...i'm not sure of any way to get a 100% accurate count of who prescribes to which religions. in fact, another though i just had is that many people may feel forced to indicate they belong to a particular religion, when in fact they privately do not believe the religion. this would seem to be the social psychological effect of public compliance i think...where you publicly believe something but privately don't believe it. anyway here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Worldwide_percentage_of_Adherents_by_Religion.png

religious = happier?

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 03:54:00 +0000

so far in my research i have found a common theme - those with religious affiliation tend to be happier, and a large part of this is from active involvement in the religious community (whether church or other). this is not a definite fact, however, but i have so far found quite a bit of evidence to suggest this may be the case.

it makes me wonder though, can you be as happy if you are not religious? as far as i know, there is no equivalent to church for the nonreligious...except perhaps being a member of other socities (such as the UC psych society perhaps?)

any thoughts would be welcome!

brett k

new blog topic: religion

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 05:45:00 +0000

it's probably about time i get my blog started on religion. i have found MANY articles on various aspects of religion, but from what i've seen so far it is not terribly useful/relevant to my blog. the question i need to answer is:

What proportion of people ascribe to a religion? Why? Explore from a social psychological perspective.

so i am thinking of getting some statistics of how many people belong to which religion...i am unaware of any really good source for this information, and i expect that any figures obtained will largely be estimated but if anyone has any other ideas on how to get this information that would be much appreciated.

as i get through the research that i have i will post more...until then...

concept map (click on blurry image and should see large, clear image)

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 11:01:00 +0000

Social psychology: The psychological, cultural and environmental roots of genocide and mass violence, using Rwanda and the Holocaust as examples

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:30:00 +0000

Abstract

This essay was posted in blog format, and examines the psychological, cultural and environmental factors that may cause genocide. The essay attempts to examine current evidence and present a fairly complete discussion of the different factors that can, in the worst case scenario, interact in such a way that creates genocide or mass murder. By attempting to examine, and understand the factors involved, perhaps we can prevent future genocide or at the very least try to lessen the impact of any future genocide. A concept map is included, which aims to visually present the main concepts. Also included is a self evaluation of the work, which can be found in the appendices.

Introduction

Genocide is defined as “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial or cultural group” (Obadina, 2007, p. 106). This essay will use examples from the genocide that occurred in Rwanda and also the Holocaust. Rwanda has two major ethnic groups: Tutsi (14% of the population) and Hutu (85%). Tutsi and Hutu have the same religions, culture, language, and are mostly physically similar (Adelman, 2000). Many factors contributed to the genocide that took place, mainly environmental and social psychological factors which will be discussed in this essay.

Basic needs

The road to genocide often begins with difficult living conditions (Staub, 1996). When children are neglected or treated badly, their basic needs are not being met, and they are more likely to take part in mass violence later. The child is brought up thinking that aggression is normal and that the world is a hostile and unsafe place. The child is more likely to see aggression in others, particularly towards themselves (Staub, 1999). Neglect, hostility, harsh treatment and abuse by parents or peers, lack of structure and guidance all contribute to aggression (Staub, 2003). A common reason for basic needs not being met is poverty.

Economy

It has been established that another contributing factor to the genocide was simply because of the extreme poverty in Rwanda at the time (Lemarchand, 2002). Traditional options for young men in Rwanda were declining. When the genocide began, it may have been tempting for Hutus to kill their Tutsi neighbours, and take their belongings, cattle and property (Jones, 2002). Comparisons between the in-group and the out-group, where one comes to the conclusion that they are being unfairly treated, can create anger and resentment, precursors to potential violence (Staub, 2003). Mironko (2004) discovered that some reasons that the perpetrators of Rwandan genocide gave for killing were protecting their wealth from the perceived threat the Tutsis and also to obtain wealth.

Group theory

When members of a group (such as the Hutu in Rwanda) differentiate between ‘them’ (out-group) and ‘us’ (in-group), it can be a starting point for violence directed at the out-group, such as genocide (Staub, 2003). When a group is separated from the rest of the world, there may be no moderating influences and extremist ideologies can develop (Staub, 2003). Reasons for commencing violence may be ideological, such as the belief that the members of the out-group really do deserve death (Sternberg, 2003).

Being a part of a group, and sharing their thoughts and values can help reduce our own uncertainty of who we are. Group membership may contribute to a sense of self-worth, especially if it is believed that the other group is less worthy (Staub, 1999). Group self-concepts of superiority and also weakness and vulnerability may contribute to the chances of genocide occurring (Staub).

Scapegoat

Before and during the Rwandan genocide, the Hutu majority blamed Tutsis for all of the problems in Rwanda, which was very similar to what happened in Germany in World War 2, blaming the Jews for the problems in Germany (Obadina, 2007). Creating a scapegoat helps to maintain a positive group identity, because it can reduce perceived responsibility for current problems. A scapegoat provides a common enemy (Staub, 1996). Propaganda, whether posters, radio or another medium, can help create and strengthen fear or hostility towards scapegoats.

Propaganda

Propaganda can be a very effective tool for inciting violence against other groups (Adelman, 2000). Propaganda broadcast over the Radio-Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) in Rwanda was controlled by Hutus. The broadcasts denounced Tutsis as “cockroaches” which needed to be exterminated (Obadina, 2007). The RTLM had an active role in upholding racist stereotypes and even directed specific killings. The radio appealed to the group unity of the Hutus. By calling the killing “work”, it may have made the violence seem noble (Li, 2004). Tutsis were portrayed by the RTLM in a similar way to how the Jewish were portrayed in Nazi propaganda (Sternberg, 2003). Much of the Nazi propaganda was designed to increase the “otherness” of the Jews, and widen the gap between them and the majority of the German population (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005).

Perceived threat

The genocide in Rwanda may have been a by-product of the threat to the Hutu-majority by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). We must consider the perceived threat from the Tutsis, the belief that all Tutsis in the region were on the same side as the RPF. Many people had suffered at the hands of the RPF, and therefore bore a hatred and desire for revenge (Lemarchand, 2002). Kuperman (2004) suggests that the RPF provoked the Hutu regime so much that it lead to the genocide. A possibility proposed by Kuperman is that they expected genocide to take place, but considered this an acceptable cost of fighting the Hutu regime.

Past conflicts

A history of aggression between different groups makes it more likely to reoccur in future, and violence can then seem a more desirable way of dealing with differences (Staub, 1996). Lemarchand (2002) states that without the Rwandan Patriotic Front invasion there would have been no genocide. Experiencing injustice contributes to a likelihood of violence occurring (Staub, 2003). The need to avenge something that has been done to the individual or the group is also a powerful factor (Sternberg, 2003).

Evil

A reason behind terrible events such as genocide occurring is simply “evil”. Staub (1999) focuses on the origins of evil, particularly in genocide. We want to imagine that evil is not ordinarily possible, however it is the result of ordinary psychological processes. Some individuals or groups evolve in a way that makes destructive acts more likely (Staub, 1999). Sternberg (2003) proposes that humans may have a death instinct, a fascination with death, which in extreme cases can show itself in genocides (Sternberg, 2003).

Social Psychological

Passivity in bystanders, from any group, can encourage violence. Other countries can be bystanders, and by continuing to trade, or by helping the party which is committing the genocide, they can be seen to be approving of their actions (Staub, 1999).

A number of other social psychological factors can be involved in genocide. Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to seek out information that confirms own views, and to disregard evidence that is contrary to our views. Belief perseverance, which is a reluctance to change beliefs once they have been formed. Fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to attribute behaviour of members of an out-group to internal disposition, rather than environmental factors. These factors can lead to blaming the victim, or the out-group, for what has happened to them (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005).

Cultural

Strong respect for authority is also important. For example, Germany had high respect for authority even before Hitler (Staub, 1996). Once a group has been created, people within it may wish to please their superiors, at any cost (Staub, 1999). Woolf & Hulsizer observe that there are three common patterns in cultures where genocide is more likely to occur: use of aggression as a problem-solving skill, conflict orientation with a perceived threat orientation, and an ideology of supremacy with a history of dehumanising and lack of acceptance for cultural diversity (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005).

Dehumanising

When the other group are successful, they can be seen to have received their gains at the expense of the dominant group. This can evolve into seeing other groups as a threat to the survival of one’s own group (Staub, 1999). A major goal of the Rwandan genocide was to dehumanise the enemy, and make sure people knew it would be considered good to kill Tutsis (Sternberg, 2003). It is also easier to hate when one views members of a group as all being the same. The strongest stereotypes are often those with the least fact behind them (Sternberg, 2003).

Deindividualisation

Reduced feelings of personal responsibility appear to contribute to genocide. For example, in the Nazi death camps, each individual was just a small part of the whole. No individual was made to feel complete responsibility for what was happening around them (Sternberg, 2003). Mironko (2004) interviewed jailed perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide. Mironko found that the perpetrators often used the third person perspective to describe events that they had participated in, which appears to separate them from personal responsibility in their own minds.

Conclusion

Genocide is violence on a large scale, usually directed towards a minority group. A positive outcome from research on this subject is that by increasing awareness of how people can be influenced, particularly by social factors, we can hopefully prevent people from falling into those traps. By determining the factors that can lead to genocide, we can hopefully prevent it from happening, or at least reduce the impact it causes. The evidence so far seems to suggest that genocide could happen anywhere, when the social, cultural and environmental factors interact in a way which has such tragic consequences.

References

Adelman, H. (2000). Rwanda revisited: in search for lessons [Electronic version]. Journal of Genocide Research, 2(3), 431-444.

Jones, A. (2002). Gender and genocide in Rwanda [Electronic version]. Journal of Genocide Research, 4(1), 65-94.

Kuperman, A. J. (2004). Provoking genocide: a revised history of the Rwandan Patriotic Front [Electronic version]. Journal of Genocide Research, 6(1), 61-84.

Lemarchand, R. (2002). Disconnecting the threads: Rwanda and the Holocaust reconsidered [Electronic version]. Journal of Genocide Research, 4(4), 499-518.

Li, D. (2004). Echoes of violence: considerations on radio and genocide in Rwanda [Electronic version]. Journal of Genocide Research, 6(1), 9-27.

Mironko, C. (2004). Igitero: means and motive in the Rwandan genocide [Electronic version]. Journal of Genocide Research, 6(1), 47-60.

Obadina, E. (2007). Ethnic groups in Africa. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers.

Staub, E. (1996). Cultura-societal roots of violence: The examples of genocidal violence and of contemporary youth violence in the United States [Electronic version]. American Psychologist, 51(2), 117-132.

Staub, E. (1999). The roots of evil: Social conditions, culture, personality, and basic human needs [Electronic version]. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 179-192.

Staub, E. (2003). Notes on cultures of violence, cultures of caring and peace, and the fulfillment of basic human needs [Electronic version]. Political Psychology, 24(1), 1-21.

Sternberg, R. J. (2003). A duplex theory of hate: Development and application to terrorism, massacres, and genocide [Electronic version]. Review of General Psychology, 7(3), 299-328.

Woolf, L. M., & Hulsizer, M. R. (2005). Psychosocial roots of genocide: risk, prevention, and intervention [Electronic version].

End of essay

Please click here to view appendices

Please click here to view concept map (my mindmeister subscription ran out)

Genocide concept map

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:28:00 +0000

Appendices for Blog 1 (Genocide)

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 12:44:00 +0000

Self assessment

1. Theory

I performed a fairly extensive search of Academic Search Premier, and the psychological databases via EBSCOhost. I also used Google and did a search on the ACT Library's website for any books on Rwanda or genocide. I found a lot of different theories, and critiques of theories on my searches. I then went through and tried to summarise the main findings which would relate to genocide, and apply these to my essay. I believe that I found most of the main theories, however some have been omitted mainly due to word count restraints. In many cases I had to omit theories because I judged a lack of relevance to my topic.

2. Research

As above, I performed fairly extensive searches through a variety of sources, though the most useful sources were the online journal articles. Many of the articles that I ended up using in my essay were written by those who were actually proposing the theories. There may have been some important research that I did not end up using, either because my search was not extensive enough or because I discarded research that I thought was not relevant, though upon deeper inspection, it may have been.

3. Written expression

Readability (from http://www.ilovejackdaniels.com/resources/readability-score) follows:

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease: 29
Ideally, web page text should be around the 60 to 80 mark on this scale. The higher the score, the more readable the text.

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 14
Ideally, web page text should be around the 6 to 7 mark on this scale. The lower the score, the more readable the text.

Gunning-Fog Index: 22
Ideally, web page text should be between 11 and 15 on this scale. The lower the score, the more readable the text. (Anything over 22 should be considered the equivalent of post-graduate level text).

Notes:
Average syllables per word: 1.87
Average words per sentence: 19.75

My comments:
I am a little surprised by this, as I would have expected it to be a bit more readable. Next time I write an essay/blog I will run it through a readability analysis earlier in the process! I did not even know such a thing as a readability analysis existed until recently.

APA style:

I believe that the only part of the APA style that I did not follow, was in my use of headings. As far as I can remember, headings are not usually part of psychological essays. I have been using the book that was recommended back during first year psychology, about how to write psychological essays (The Principles of Writing in Psychology, T. R. Smyth). As far as I can tell, I have followed the guidelines provided by Smyth, completely.

Concept map:

As was required for this blog topic, I have developed a concept map using the online software MindMeister. As not only the idea of a concept map, but also the creation of one via a website such as MindMeister is rather new to me, I believe I did fairly well. Had I started thinking about the concept map earlier, and perhaps learnt more about concept maps, I would likely have presented a better concept map. I have seen other concept maps, and believe that mine does not quite compare with the better ones.

Blog layout and style:

I created my blog on blogger.com, using a simple white background with black text template. I had actually used a high contrast black background with white text template, but in the process of publishing this blog posting (Appendices) had trouble getting all the text readable (for some reason the black background wasn't showing black text very well!). As I am fairly new to blogs, I believe this represents a basic, but functional blog. It should be readable, if perhaps a little un-exciting.

4. Online engagement

The idea of online engagement is fairly new to me (as I imagine it is for many of my classmates) and as such took a little while to get used to. Due to the large amount of blog postings coming through, I found it difficult to keep up with, and comment on all the blogs I would have liked to. I am fairly happy with my own blog postings, as I believe whenever I had something to say on the subject, or whenever I discovered something particularly interesting, I created a blog post. I probably could have done more blog posts, and certainly could have commented more on other people's blogs.

Here is an example of my most recent blog post, which I believe shows that I was thinking about some of the issues involved in genocide.

Anti-Jew Propaganda

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:10:00 +0000

Whilst reading an article on genocide, I came across a description of a typical anti-semitic poster from World War 2. The poster was said to depict a Jewish man, in a fairly grotesque and inhuman manner, he was portrayed as being quite overweight and evil looking. A quick search with google found some good examples of the sort of propaganda that the Nazis used to ignite hatred and fear of the Jews.

Hatred and fear both seem to be very important tools in making one group turn against another group, such as what happened during the Holocaust and the Genocide in Rwanda.

Here are a few links (hope these work, this is my first attempt at putting hyperlinks in) to some anti-Jewish pictures. The latter two were from posters as far as I can tell.

This one appears to be fairly recent, as I believe it depicts the former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, and George W. Bush. Notice how Ariel is portrayed as a monster.

I am not sure when this one is from, but notice how much the Jewish man looks like the general idea of Satan. He looks quite evil.

This one is particularly good (or bad, in the evil sense). It seems to portray an overweight Jewish man, grinding up people (presumably good, hardworking Aryans) and making lots of money from this.

I could add more, but I think these give a pretty good idea of how some typical propaganda portrays the "evil" others. That is, the people who belong to the "outgroup". If this is the sort of portrayal of Jewish people that you saw during WW2, no wonder it would have lead to fear of the Jewish people. I mean, looking at some of those posters, you would be lead to believe that Jews were indeed very greedy and scary.

If you want to find similar pictures, I suggest typing "anti jew propaganda" or similar search term into google.

environmental factors in genocide

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 03:11:00 +0000

from what i have found so far, there are certainly many psychological variables which contribute to a genocide, but i have also found that there seem to be quite a few environmental factors, such as social inequality. should i also mention these environmental factors, though they are perhaps more relevant to sociology rather than social psychology? any ideas/comments would be appreciated

that's it for now
brett k

research into genocide

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:50:00 +0000

well so far my research strategy for blog 1 - genocide has been much the same as that which i would do for an essay. i look on EBSCOhost (academic search premier, and the psychology databases) for a few different keywords, so to start with things like "genocide" then i start to narrow it down.

not only have i searched for information on the rwanda genocide, but also on another genocide, which is probably just as well known, that is the genocide (and associated war) in the former yugoslavia. i find this particularly interesting because i have a friend who lived through the war, from the bosnian/croatian side (not sure, but this may not be completely accurate as i believe they may have been opposing sides at some point) and it is very interesting to find out why this may have happened. once again (as with rwanda) the main factor with the yugoslavia genocide appears to be the different ethnicities such as croatian/serbian/bosnian/etc...i may be detecting a pattern here...

both rwanda and yugoslavia genocides were to do with different ethnic groups, and the main difference between the different ethnic groups that i can spot is that they had different religious perspectives (at least in the yugoslavia one, i am not yet certain if hutus and tutsis had different religious perspectives though i suspect they probably did)

i have to admit, i find researching all of this genocide stuff a bit depressing - and scary - to see just what people are capable of. i need to remind myself that in each of these terrible situations, there is also a lot of bravery, and the positive aspects of human nature also seem to shine through.

my next step will be to actually take a good look at the articles/websites/etc that i have discovered so far, and hopefully develop a concept map from there. i will upload it onto MindMeister, and probably provide a link or something when i actually have something there to link to!

please, any comments or thoughts are most welcome

Ghosts of Rwanda DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:54:00 +0000

i saw the "ghosts of rwanda" dvd today in the lecture. to be honest i didn't really know that much about what happened in rhwanda, i just knew that there were two different ethnic groups, the tutsis and the hutus and that there was a lot of violence.

not only was what actually happened terrible and shocking, but the fact that (most of?) the world knew about this, and did nothing, seems to be unforgivable.

i think what happened in rhwanda seemed to have some similarities with what the nazis did in WW2...people turning against their fellow rwandans, and killing people (everyone - including children) simply because they were members of a different social group. what i keep thinking about is the fact that there is a good chance (i am really just guessing here) that all rwandans, both tutsi and hutu share common ancestors. so genetically they are probably very similar, the only thing which separates them is the social idea of ethnicity. i need to find out more about just what the differences were between tutsis and hutus. i'm not sure if religion came into it, but i wouldn't be surprised.

this is my first real blog posting so please comment or ask me any questions or share your own thoughts.

thanks all
bk

blog submitted, testing again

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 06:34:00 +0000

hello, i have now submitted my blog feed, hopefully successfully - and this is just another test.

bk

test

noreply@blogger.com (Bretstar) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 05:20:00 +0000

just testing