Stanford Prison Experiment

People were categorized into prisoner/detainee and faked a setting of a real prison to see the psychological transformations that would happen to these "normal" people.  The results are pretty interesting and it's scary to think that people are so susceptible to their environment: proclaimed pacifist men who were playing the guards ended up enjoying beating some of the "prisoners."
LINK HERE: http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/09/our-dark-hearts-stanford-prison.php

Employment Improves Autistic Symptoms

I found this interesting article that talks about how "more independent work environments may lead to reductions in autism symptoms and improve daily living in adults with the disorder".  It comes down to giving them the chance at employment, which is not necessarily easy.  It seems that employers do not generally higher those with autism because they hold the idea that it will be difficult, or that they do not have the skills.  Yes, there might be a few outbursts from frustration, but as long as they are working in a job they have an interest in, they will work hard and it will help them.  There is a lot of judgement on people who have disabilities, however if people took the time to understand them, there wouldn't be as much judgement.  Knowing someone with autism, I know in general what they go through, and I have hope that there will be more employers who know the information within this article, which will open more doors for those with autism.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140114130659.htm

Passionate Love

Passionate Love

So I found this article that defines what is passionate love and why does it need to exist in a relationship. What I found interesting about it is that it defines what is passionate love. What are the characteristics that define passion and how can they be defined. It reminded me of the time in class when we defined people's reaction to our breaking of social norms. It's a cognitive study. But what I found most interesting about the article is that "Hatfield’s and Sternberg’s models, pure passion hardly exists in the real world outside of romantic poetry, songs, and literature." But from what we studied passion must exist in a stable relationship, but if it only exists in fairy tales how are we ever to find love? I strongly believe that fairy tales and love stories are the reason why people, especially girls have a skewed view of what love is but I find that when people get that fairy tale relationship it's not what they thought or want. I mean seriously do you really want a guy that is your prince charming, completely perfect in every way or someone who makes mistakes, who is human? So I guess what I'm getting out is doesn't true passion exist in real life but it goes beyond the external behavior? 

Leave Me Alone- I'm Lonely

I stumbled upon this article while looking up types of relationships and the name of the article instantly intrigued me. Leave Me Alone- I'm Lonely is an article which analyzes how and why people distance themselves from others. In the cases presented, the parents distance themselves from their children but at the same time demand an impossible amount of attention. One second the parent will clamor for attention from their loved ones and then the next second they will push them away. The article contributed this type of behavior to wanting to be loved or cared for, but then refusing any loving or caring in fear of involving others in one's problems. Regardless, this constant back and forth action proves to be extremely taxing and frustrating for the child, and leaves the parent with a sense of empowerment and control. Clearly the parents in this article are dealing with extreme internal struggles and it's a shame that the child is roped into them, as well.

UK schools are considered “most socially segregated”

I thought it would be interesting to look into the other part of the world, instead of just here in the U.S. As it turns out, UK schools are considered “most socially segregated” according to the writer of this article. He states that children who are poor and disadvantaged are put with those in the same situation/status. It is however based on how much education their parents’ received that puts them in these groups. Of course the UK is working on fixing this and creating equal status for all students trying to get a higher education like going to a University. It’s interesting to see that these kids are being put into groups, and being separated, and it’s not even their choice or doing.

The Article

Harvard Racism test

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/selectatest.html

Here's an interesting test, to she how racist all of us are or might be , even though we don't know it yet.
I really like the fact that this test conducts it survey in a covert way, that engages you in a some what subconscious  level which by default cannot be filtered by your apprehended ethicist.
However, if so the issue seems quite alarming. Why are we discriminative against others, or people from different races.
What do you guys think ?

Teaching for Change

As I have found in many of the studies linked to intergroup contact theory in children, the classroom has proved to be a major hub for experiment and effect to take place. In terms of forming biases, classroom environments can have a major impact on the positive or negative relationships between ingroups and outgroups. Often times when I encounter or witness blatant discrimination and stereotyping, I tend to step off my high horse and reassure myself that the reason that a bigot lives by stereotype is likely because of a lack of proper education and instruction. Ultimately, I say that the fault is in upbringing and the school systems. Teaching for Change is a non-profit organization that takes this exact source for discrimination and aims to reduce prejudice by implementing social justice in the classroom. On their website, they quote Beyond Heroes and Holidays: "We believe that multicultural education should help students, parents, teachers, and administrators understand and relate to the histories, cultures and languages of people different from themselves." Through donation and fundraising, Teaching for Change is able to offer workshops and courses in teaching, projects with parents, and produce publications like Beyond Heroes and Holidays. Teaching for Change has faced many successes, including awards from the D.C. Humanities Council and the National Association for Multicultural Education.