Social norms-the food we eat

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/30/food-choices_n_4505354.html

In this article, we see that the what we choose to eat is a part of social norms. We make decisions on what to eat based on what others are eating around us. This definitely is something that makes food trends, for example, juicing. I feel like this also based on location as well. There's a reason why in Southern California there's a froyo place literally on every corner; there it is a social norm, as well as being something popular and trendy, to eat.
The article also talk about how social norms can divert us from eating certain things. If one were to see an unhealthy person eating mcdonalds they probably would choose a healthier option seeing as a cause and effect situation right in from of them.

Cassandra Rodriguez

Athletic Victory Dances Are Byproducts of Cultural Norms

A study of many of the athletes from a wide variety of disciplines has shown that human "triumph poses" are fairly consistent across cultures. Popping out one's chest, raising their head in the air and exuberant smiling are all but irresistible to athletes who have experienced victory. Even blind victors share these commonalities with their sighted peers. Yet, differences do exist. The study showed that athletes who came from cultures with greater levels of social equality had more subdued, shorter celebrations than the alternative. Those who came from societies with more rigid social hierarchies put on a more elaborate show, a claim to dominance directed at the other athletes. This is a remnant of the evolution man experienced, serving to assert the chain of command amongst clans members. What's most fascinating is that this behavioral trait effects victories throughout our lives from work to love to the inconsequential activities we participate in. The society we live in asserts influence on our behavior in subtle, yet tangible ways such as this.

http://www.examiner.com/article/psychologists-claim-athletes-victory-behavior-indicates-societal-norms

Social Psychology and Divorce

This article talks about how marriage currently has changed and divorce rates have gone up drastically. Reasons for getting married have changed, and the role the spouse plays is also very different now. The image of a successful marriage has a lot less to do with the simplistic roof over the couple or families head, steady job and sexual interactions. There are a lot higher expectations for each spouse now and it has a lot more focus on the emotional levels of support, rather than just the financial support. There is a focus on support for finding oneself, as well as the chance to follow ones dreams, and this relates a lot more to women as their roles have changed as time has progressed. Both sexes do have more of a desire and need to be involved in actives to better their life, instead of solely being concerned with bringing home the bread. The high divorce rates are due to the many spouses that cannot meet the psychological expectations of their partner. They end up getting divorced in order to search for a person or life style that promotes their well being. I can definitely see this in people that I know or once knew. I can also see it in couples that end up cheating on each other.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/13/self-discovery-marriage-psychologist-suffocation-model

-Kieva Campbell

(this is a late article from last week)

Social Norms and Romantic Selectivity

This article discusses how social norms affect both sexes and how they make their choices on who to choose for romantic partners. There was a study done that included 15 speed dating events and there were 175 women used and 176 men. The people used had a heterosexual orientation so the women and men were all alike the other participants of the same sex in orientation. The speed dates were about 4 minutes each and a single person would see about 12 people of the opposite sex in each event. It shows similarities within the more specific groups of people, meaning male and female and their sexual orientation. It also goes into detail about how the decision may change based on if the person is approached by someone, or if they approach the other person. It seemed that if the person was the approacher, they would be more likely to say 'yes' and be open than the person being approached. It's funny how there is such a rigid formula for people to follow when it comes to choosing a romantic partner due to social norms. I'd love to see a reality tv show where someone were to violate social norms on a date or when trying to pick a person up.

http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/eli-finkel/documents/49_FinkelEastwickInPress_PSci.pdf


-kieva campbell

Bronze Beats Silver

People tend to appraise their achievements based the successes of their competitors. A small success can feel like a huge victory to someone who has surpassed a personal goal. Conversely, an immense accomplishment such as winning an Olympic silver medal often feels painfully inadequate when compared to the gold medalist's performance. It goes without saying that the gold medalist is in the happiest possible position on the podium, because they have achieved the goal that all other competitors failed to meet. It would seem that the obvious next tier on the happiness scale would also belong to the silver medalist, but some social psychologists suggest that bronze medalists are actually more content than the silver medal recipients. 

The logic behind this assumption is that Silver medalists face an emotional conflict that the bronze medalists avoid. A person in 2nd place is at the same time celebrating their substantial success and also grieving the loss of "what might have been". They knew that number one was in their reach, and because of that potential nothing short of gold is acceptable. Bronze medalists tend to be more content with their standing because there was a very real possibility that they wouldn't place at all, which would not reap the same honor and recognition that medalists receive.  The story of the bronze medalist is not one of personal conflict like the 2nd place competitors experience. Third place means that they have made it against great odds, and by the skin of their teeth. 

"Scoring a bronze feels better than silver"

Social Norms Damaging Vaccination Rates

In most parts of North America the social norm is for parents to vaccinate their families. This norm is also implicated by regulations that are enforced by public school systems to prevent the spread of disease among students. Some coastal Californians have their own norms when it comes to vaccines, which conflict the viewpoints of the rest of the country. Parents in this part of the country are increasingly applying to refuse vaccinations for their children, under the belief that they actually have an adverse effect on their bodies and the spread of disease. The decision to forego vaccination is spreading on the west coast slowly but surely, with numbers of declined vaccinations on the rise in Washington and Oregon.

The problem with this trend is that when enough families go without their vaccinations, disease directly impacts their domain. The spread of disease out of these non-vaccinating epicenters can lead to epidemics such as the Whooping Cough epidemic of 2010, which originated in that same area of the west coast where an alarming 9% of parents neglected to vaccinate their babies. The rising popularity of this decision not to vaccinate comes out of a trending social norm that can be described as "vaccine fear culture".

The parents in these coastal areas of California, Washington, and Oregon are strongly influenced by one another. The social norm is to exchange parenting and wellness advice with other parents, and to regularly read up on those topics. This progressive parenting culture has good intentions behind it, but it can be dangerous when uninformed ideas become popular belief. Luckily this growing demographic is traceable in it's popularity with distinct parenting styles, and the fact that this behavior is bred in clumps of tight knit communities that all express the same skepticism in relatively routine medical practices.

Who Are You? (BuzzFeed)

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tag/personality

We have all done a self evaluation or personality quiz at some point or another. Reasons are vary from wanting to learn or confirm something about yourself. Our generation is absolutely obsessed with this. I've shared a link to the personal quiz section on BuzzFeed. I see it in my own friends. It becomes some kind of event where we must all take a specific quiz to validate or share something about ourselves.

Socially I find it a bit ironic. You are not going to actually be surprised by the results, but then again maybe thats the point. It just struck a chord with me, because it is hard to talk about yourself sometimes and the information you give can be misleading. How others see us is so engrained that even when it has to do with our opinions, we have the world's in mind. What city, typeface, food, or emoji are you? The list goes on and on, but in the end I do think it's a healthy important part of our lives. We should always be striving to learn or evaluate ourselves, hopefully we get more authentic to more we do!