Categories

Keith E Rice's Integrated SocioPsychology Blog & Pages

Aligning, integrating and applying the behavioural sciences

Brown’

Learner Perspectives: Older Workshops

A Look at Some Older Workshops… “Really enjoyed it. Found Spiral Dynamics quite complex – but revised it and think I’m getting there!” – Rachel Abbey,   Shipley College participant, 2017 “Very good, informal and relaxed but full of information” – Adam McDowall,  Shipley College participant, 2017 “KR created a fascinating learning environment in which learners were curious & enthusiastic to learn .With each new cited reference they posed questions to deepen and explore their own knowledge…. His enthusiasm was contagious and infected the learners. Prior to the class starting one learner reflected that Keith was brilliant before sharing with me how fascinated he was with the previous week’s learning…. Keith’s approach to valuing his learner’s experience is outstanding . He warned the students (& the observer) the previous week about the content of this week’s session. This sensitive approach to a potentially awkwards subject ensured that the environment was safe and the quality of learning was maximised…. You were enthusiastic in your sharing of your extensive knowledge with your learners who as a result described you as ‘brilliant’ and your lessons, ‘excellent’. You diplomatically and sensitively dealt with a difficult subject which resulted in students actively engaging with the learning and me having to stop myself from getting involved!” – Heather Savage, excerpts from Shipley College lesson observation report, 2017 “The course had a huge, positive effect on… Read More

What is Romantic Love?

Relaunched: 5 November 2018 Being able to define ‘romantic love’ and understand how it comes about, how it works, how it lasts, how it changes and how it all too often fades is a set of challenges that has beguiled philosophers throughout the millennia and over the past couple of centuries psychologists and, to some extent, sociologists too. The theme of romantic love – and the sex that usually goes with it – is one of the most pervasive memes of our times. It dominates Western culture: approximately 90% of all pop music is concerned with it and it is at the core of many dramas – whether on TV, in films or in books. In so doing, it gives a great many of us a mission in life: to find that ‘special person’ to love and be loved by. The love to be obtained is as seen as somehow mystical; and terms with a hint of mysticism are often used for the special person such as ‘soulmate’ and ‘life partner’. Of course, while men and women in all civilisations seem to experience romantic love, not all cultures regard it as a suitable basis for marriage. Phil Shaver, Shelley Wu & Judith Schwartz (1991) compared… Read More

Is Collectivism being overtaken by Individualism?

Updated: 9 November 2016 It’s been a given in cross-cultural research in the behavioural sciences that Individualism has increasingly dominated in the West since at least the end of World War II while the rest of the world has tended to be collectivistic. In the context of the early 21st Century, this dichotomy provokes 2 key questions:- Was it ever as simple as: West, individualistic; rest of the world, collectivistic – and, if so, how did it get to be so? Is Collectivism being overtaken by Individualism – and, if so, what are the driving factors? Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede & Michael Minkov (2010) define Individualism as “the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups”. In individualistic societies, the stress is put on personal achievements and individual rights. People are expected to stand up for themselves and their immediate family, and to choose their own affiliations. By contrast, in collectivistic societies, individuals are seen to act predominantly as members of a lifelong and cohesive group or organisation. People have large extended families which provide safety in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. Individualism, according to Ellen Meiksins Wood (1973), is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology or social outlook that emphasises the… Read More

Can vMEMES cause Clinical Depression..? #2

PART 2 The frustration of needs Abraham Maslow’s famous Hierarchy of Needs (1943, 1971)  effectively describes the sequential levels of needs/goals of the emerging vMEMES. Eg: PURPLE wants to find safety in belonging; RED craves esteem; etc. As Maslow theorised mainly from case studies, rather than the kind of methodological research Clare W Graves undertook, it’s hardly surprising that his Hierarchy does not match exactly to Graves’ Spiral. However, the match is close enough  – see the Comparison Map – for us to consider Maslowian concerns and principles from the perspective of vMEMES. By doing this, we see not the ‘theoretical needs’ so often associated in a rather abstracted way with Maslow’s Hierarchy but living neurological systems within us desperate to be fulfilled. Maslow’s Hierarchy is looked upon by a number of psychologists as a guide to ‘ideal mental health’. In other words, if an individual is able to progress up the Hierarchy, with their needs met at each level, then they will move beyond the lower subsistence/deficiency levels and start to meet their ‘growth needs’ and eventually their ‘being needs’. According to Marie Jahoda (1958), Self-Actualisation – YELLOW in the Graves construct – is  a key element of ideal mental… Read More

Bibliography M

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P-Q    R    S     T     U    V    W    X-Y-Z Ma, Vaunne & Thomas Schoeneman (1997): ‘Individualism versus Collectivism: a Comparison of Kenyan and American Self-Concepts’ in Basic & Applied Social Psychology #19 Maalouf, Elza (2014): ‘Emerge!: the Rise of Functional Democracy and the Future of the Middle East’ (Select Books, New York NY) Mac an Ghaill, Mairtin (1994): ‘The Making of Men: Masculinities, Sexualities and Schooling’ (Open University Press, Milton Keynes) Maccoby, Eleanor  (1980): ‘Social Development: Psychological Growth and the Parent-Child Relationship‘ (Harcourt Brace, New York NY) MacCallum, Fiona & Susan Golombok (2004): ‘Children raised in Fatherless Families from Infancy: a Follow-Up of Children of Lesbian and Single Heterosexual Mothers at Early Adolescence’ in Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry 45/8 MacDonald, Alex & Olly Neville (2013): ‘The EDL Endorsement proves that UKIP’s Faux-libertarian Pretence doesn’t work’ (Liberal Conspiracy) http://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/04/06/the-edl-endorsement-proves-that-ukips-faux-libertarian-pretense-doesnt-work/ (Accessed: 22/02/16) MacDonald, Fred (1992): ‘Blacks and White TV: African-Americans in Television since 1948’ (Nelson-Hall, Chicago IL) MacDonald, Helen, Marjorie Beeghly, Wanda Grant-Knight, Marilyn Augustyn, Ryan Woods, Howard Cabral, Ruth Rose-Jacobs, Glenn Saxe & Deborah Frank (2008): ‘Longitudinal Association between Infant Disorganized Attachment and Childhood Posttraumatic… Read More

Bibliography L

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P-Q    R    S     T     U    V    W    X-Y-Z LaFreniere, Peter & Alan Sroufe (1985): ‘Profiles of Peer Competence in the Preschool: Interrelations between Measures, Influence of Social Ecology, and Relation to Attachment History’ in Journal of Developmental Psychology 21/1 Lagerspetz, Kirsti (1979): ‘Modification of Aggressiveness in Mice’ in Seymour Feshbach & Adam Fraçzek (eds): ‘Aggression and Behaviour Change: Biological and Social Processes’ (Praeger Publishers, New York NY) Lagerspetz, Kirsti, & Kauko Wuorinen (1965): ‘A Cross-Fostering Experiment with Mice selectively bred for Aggressiveness and Non-Aggressiveness’ in Reports of the Institute of Psychology of the University of Turku #17 Laing, R D (1967): ‘The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise’ (Penguin, London) Lalonde, Richard (1992): ‘The Dynamics of Group Differentiation in the Face of Defeat’ in Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin 18/3 Lalumière, Martin, Grant Harris and Marnie Rice (1999): ‘Birth Order and Fluctuating Asymmetry: a First Look’ in The Royal Society Proceedings #266 Lam, Raymond, Athanasios Zis, Arvinder Grewal, Pedro Delgado, Dennis Charney John Krystal (1996): ‘Effects of Rapid Tryptophan Depletion in Patients with Seasonal Affective Disorder in Remission after Light Therapy’ in Archives of… Read More

Bibliography B

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P-Q    R    S     T     U    V    W    X-Y-Z Bachen, Elizabeth, Sheldon Cohen & Anna Marsland (1997): ‘Psychoimmunology’ in Andrew Baum, Stanton Newman, John Weinman, Robert West & Chris McManus(eds): ‘Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine’ (Cambridge University Press) Badawy, Abdulla (2006): ‘Alcohol and Violence and the Possible Role of Serotonin’ in Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health 13/1 Baechler, Jean (1979): ‘Suicides’ (Blackwell, Oxford) Bagdikian, Ben (2004): ‘The New Media Monopoly’ (7th Edition, Beacon Press, Boston MA) Bailey, Heidi, Greg Moran, David Pederson & Sandi Bento (2007): ‘Understanding the Transmission of Attachment using Variable- and Relationship-Centred Approaches’ in Development and Psychopathology 19/2 Bailey, Rodger (1991): ‘The Language and Behaviour Profile’ (self-study manual and audio-tape set, Language and Behaviour Institute, Poughkeepsie NY) Bain, Jerald, Ronald Langevin, Ronald Dickey & Mark Ben-Aron (1987): ‘Sex Hormones in Murderers and Assaulters’ in Behavioural Science & the Law #5 Baize, Harold & Jonathan Schroeder (1995): ‘Personality and Mate Selection in Personal Ads: Evolutionary Preferences in a Public Mate Selection Process’ in Journal of Social Behaviour & Personality 10/3 Bakan, Joel (2004): ‘The Corporation: the Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power’ (Constable, London) Baker, Robin &… Read More

Biological Factors in Crime

Updated: 7 December 2016 Are criminals born or ‘made’? This is a question which has vexed philosophers for millennia and psychologists and sociologists since the dawn of the behavioural sciences early in the 19th Century. The deterministic view offered by biological explanations for criminality – ie: you have no real choice, it’s in your biological make-up – have major implications for how society treats criminals – especially violent ones.  Biological theories assert criminal behaviour has a physiological origin, with the implication that the ‘criminal’, therefore, has difficulty not committing crime because it is ‘natural’ –  ie: the ‘born criminal’ concept. Biological determinism can be used to undermine the legal concept of criminal responsibility: criminals are held to be personally and morally accountable for their actions. Only when the Law of Diminished Responsibility is applied in cases of self-defence and mental illness – and in some countries (eg: France) ‘crimes of passion’ (temporary insanity) – is the defendant assumed not to have acted from their own free will. 3 cases illustrate how biological arguments have been used as mitigating factors to reduce the level of criminal responsibility:- In 1994 Stephen Mobley was sentenced to death for shooting dead the manager of an American branch of Domino’s Pizza. He was also found… Read More

Why Scotland and rUK need Each Other

Whatever decision the Scottish electorate make on 18 September – and personally I hope very much they vote to stay in the UK – it needs to be made by a decisive majority. The worst possible outcome would be a wafer-thin majority for either camp – which unfortunately is exactly what the latest polls are predicting. A thin majority for the separatists would leave a sizeable minority of Scots alarmed that their country was leaping into the financial and political abyss, reflected in the anticipated flight of capital and business. A tiny minority for the unionists would leave the separatists angry and frustrated, blaming Westminster and the media for manipulating the vote, and vowing still to free Scotland from the English. The campaigning has been increasingly bad-tempered and vitriolic as the referendum approaches. It would appear from media reports that the worst of it – such as the torrent of online abuse targeting J K Rowling (as reported by the Daily Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith) and the heckling and egging of Scots Labour MP Jim Murphy (as reported by the Daily Mail’s Tamara Cohen & Kaleda Rahman) – has come from the separatists. This would indicate a large degree of RED/BLUE zealotry –… Read More