An eating disorder is something that must be taken seriously by all, but often is not. This really frustrates me as someone who is interested in working in health care as well as someone who has been affected by an assortment of eating disorders through friends and family. Many things could influence the habits of an individuals eating, and often one group of individuals that is known to be "at risk" includes dancers and cheerleaders. They say this could be because of the tremendous amount of stress and pressure there is to have a "nice" body (whatever that means...) and to be in excellent shape.
The reason I say that eating disorders are not always taken seriously is simply because of a lack of education. Sometimes people think that maybe younger girls are just trying to "fit in" and don't pay too much attention to their weight loss of lack of eating. And maybe they are just trying to follow the crowd, but that does NOT mean it should not be treated as a disorder as it can lead to trauma and psychological issues later on. I will also say that of course eating disorders are not limited to young girls, anyone of any gender, age or race could be affected.
I hope that eventually eating disorders will be treated as any other disorder and that it will not be such a difficult subject to talk about. I also hope that somehow there will eventually be less pressure on body image for everyone, but especially those groups known to struggle with eating disorders the most.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Socioeconomic Status and Health
The section on Socioeconomic status and health caught my attention as health in general is a topic of interest as well as the subject I enjoy to study. It has been said that there is a strong link between the socioeconomic status of an individual and their overall health, leading to these individuals living longer than those of lower socioeconomic status.
Not only do those who have a higher income have a better chance to pay for the health care needed to maintain their health (maybe not necessarily in Canada because healthcare is covered), but they can also afford to buy healthier foods to prevent many diseases or health issues. It amazes and disgusts me to consider that many families have unhealthy lifestyles or are obese because they simply cannot afford to eat the way they should. It is so easy to buy a dozen boxes of Kraft Dinner and junk foods at a cheap price, and it is often easily twice as much to buy some fruits or vegetables.
Obviously the costs of these foods are higher for a reason - it is more expensive to get them, especially when they must be imported from another country. I do hope however that in the future it will be made easier for everyone to eat better and live a healthy lifestyle at a lower cost to prevent the high numbers of obesity and other health risks and factors that come along with it.
Not only do those who have a higher income have a better chance to pay for the health care needed to maintain their health (maybe not necessarily in Canada because healthcare is covered), but they can also afford to buy healthier foods to prevent many diseases or health issues. It amazes and disgusts me to consider that many families have unhealthy lifestyles or are obese because they simply cannot afford to eat the way they should. It is so easy to buy a dozen boxes of Kraft Dinner and junk foods at a cheap price, and it is often easily twice as much to buy some fruits or vegetables.
Obviously the costs of these foods are higher for a reason - it is more expensive to get them, especially when they must be imported from another country. I do hope however that in the future it will be made easier for everyone to eat better and live a healthy lifestyle at a lower cost to prevent the high numbers of obesity and other health risks and factors that come along with it.
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Social Facilitation
Group projects have always been something I have disliked. From the moment they are assigned, I dread the thought of having to arrange for everyone to meet, for everyone to follow through and actually show up, and to imagine that it will ever be finished to an acceptable level. Social facilitation caught my eye in my cultural psychology book as I was curious to learn whether or not group projects do in fact bring the abilities/ efforts of an individual to a lower standard, or if I was simply being dramatic.
Social facilitation is known as a tendency for people to do better on tasks they know and have rehearsed when in the presence of others, but do worse on tasks they are not as familiar with (Heine, 2010). This makes me think of myself personally as if I know enough on a subject, such as physical activity for example, I can confidently have a conversation with someone or write a paper on it in no time at all. If I am hesitant though, maybe with something as giving a speech on politics, I am likely to freeze up and become frustrated and embarrassed causing me to seem even less knowledgeable on the subject.
Social facilitation also reminded me of another personal experience related to sports. When I played high school soccer, our team always finished somewhere in the middle of the league at the end of the season. It seemed when we really needed to pull a strong effort together against a team that was clearly better than we were, we could do it. We had everyone all in giving 110% when it counted. The problem was that when we played teams we knew we should easily beat, its as if we slacked off because we knew we would come out on top. This affected us in the long run because when it came down to ranking everyone by points, we were not actually that far ahead of where we should have been from playing these teams below our level.
The Propinquity Effect
The propinquity effect says that we are likely to choose friends based upon how frequently we interact with them (Heine, 2010). A personal example of this would be the friends I have made and maintained throughout my time at university. During frosh week, we were exposed to students from all faculties as well as from all residences to encourage new friendships within the STFX community. Throughout the first semester I spent at university, I made friends with individuals of all ages, from all programs, and all residences. The friendships I maintained though, are relationships that were formed over consistent or constant interaction such as those who lived in the same residence that I did, those who are in the same program as I am, as well as those who are my own age and share similar interests.
When considering who I am still friends with from the beginning after finishing my third year, I can't help but notice that most of my friends are people I lived with as well as those who are in my program. The fact that I was almost forced to interact with these people in more than one social setting (both living with them and having classes together) led to other simple activities we did together such as eating at meal hall or going to the gym together.
As a student who has spent three years in the HK program, it is not surprising that the activities I do with friends in my program involve physical activity or health related programs. Having classes in the same building as the gym almost makes it wrong to skip out on physical activity, right? This is just one example of how exposure to those with similar interests affects my personal choices.
I'm not saying I haven't built or maintained friendships with others who are not in my program or who I didn't meet in residence, but it is certainly easier to stay friends with those who are constantly part of your daily or weekly routines and who share similar interests.
When considering who I am still friends with from the beginning after finishing my third year, I can't help but notice that most of my friends are people I lived with as well as those who are in my program. The fact that I was almost forced to interact with these people in more than one social setting (both living with them and having classes together) led to other simple activities we did together such as eating at meal hall or going to the gym together.
As a student who has spent three years in the HK program, it is not surprising that the activities I do with friends in my program involve physical activity or health related programs. Having classes in the same building as the gym almost makes it wrong to skip out on physical activity, right? This is just one example of how exposure to those with similar interests affects my personal choices.
I'm not saying I haven't built or maintained friendships with others who are not in my program or who I didn't meet in residence, but it is certainly easier to stay friends with those who are constantly part of your daily or weekly routines and who share similar interests.
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Culture and Fairness
The culture and fairness portion of my cultural psychology text book really seemed to catch my attention. When comparing the principle of need to the principles of equity and equality, many things rushed through my mind. The first though, was how I was brought up and am still living in a country and society which generally follows the principle of equity. Without even having to look into the definitions or meanings of these principles, I was aware that most often, if you work for something you will achieve it and if you put more effort into a certain task, lets say your job, you will learn more money than someone who does not put forth this same amount of effort. Although maybe sometimes it would be nice to universally follow the principle of need or the principle of equality (this one isn't as uncommon), I understand why Westernized countries prefer the method of earning their worth and having a capitalist society.
I am all for helping others, especially those in need, but I also appreciate that if I work hard I generally know I will make the money I deserve or get the grade I should have in school. I feel that Westernized countries are the primary followers of the principle of equity where we are a capitalist society and earn what it is we deserve. Something I will highlight though, is that the saying "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is not too far off. Although yes equity is the way things work in Westernized countries, there are always exceptions. For example, once an individual hits a certain point in their career or company, they may be making profit that is sky high even though they don't even work anymore.
Overall, I find it interesting to see how different cultures utilize different methods of distribution whether it be money, materials or jobs. Personally though, I truly believe in earning what you have (money, materialistic things, etc.) by working hard and putting in as much effort as it takes. That leads to having conflicted personal beliefs when it comes to helping those in need if it is financially under the circumstance that the reason they got to where they are is that they were lazy or chose not to work and put forth effort. It also leads to conflicting beliefs in complete equality for certain things as I don't believe that someone who works hard their entire life should have the same end result as someone who put in as little effort as possible throughout their entire life.
I am all for helping others, especially those in need, but I also appreciate that if I work hard I generally know I will make the money I deserve or get the grade I should have in school. I feel that Westernized countries are the primary followers of the principle of equity where we are a capitalist society and earn what it is we deserve. Something I will highlight though, is that the saying "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is not too far off. Although yes equity is the way things work in Westernized countries, there are always exceptions. For example, once an individual hits a certain point in their career or company, they may be making profit that is sky high even though they don't even work anymore.
Overall, I find it interesting to see how different cultures utilize different methods of distribution whether it be money, materials or jobs. Personally though, I truly believe in earning what you have (money, materialistic things, etc.) by working hard and putting in as much effort as it takes. That leads to having conflicted personal beliefs when it comes to helping those in need if it is financially under the circumstance that the reason they got to where they are is that they were lazy or chose not to work and put forth effort. It also leads to conflicting beliefs in complete equality for certain things as I don't believe that someone who works hard their entire life should have the same end result as someone who put in as little effort as possible throughout their entire life.
Monday, 25 May 2015
Downward and Upward Social Comparison
While reading about downward social comparison and upward social comparison, I was reminded of many personal situations or instances which I was affected in one way or another. Downward social comparison was defined by Heine (2012) as comparing your own performance to someone who is doing worse than you. This is obviously a confidence booster- who doesn't like to get the highest grade on a test or make the most money on their pay check? This competition reminds me of my friends and classmates and I both when I was in high school and even now as I attend university. It may never be spoken aloud but there is always some type of competition when it comes to grades. Personally it is a good feeling when I receive a better mark on an exam than my circle of friends because I feel as if I have accomplished something even if my mark is actually a poor mark as well. I am aware that this is wrong, in fact I wish competition among grades didn't exist, but I cannot help myself but wonder how everyone else does on an exam or assignment that I had as well.
Heine (2012) defined upward social comparison as comparing our own performance with someone who has done better than us. This, to me anyway, is a confidence killer. Most often it is not a good feeling when you know you have received a lower mark on an exam than all of your friends. It makes me feel as if I have failed at what it was I should have achieved. That being said, it drives me to do better personally the next time.
As I mentioned before, I wish social comparison didn't exist sometimes although I am just as guilty for participating in it as the next guy. For better or for worse though, social comparison has always been around and certainly isn't going anywhere anytime soon!
Heine (2012) defined upward social comparison as comparing our own performance with someone who has done better than us. This, to me anyway, is a confidence killer. Most often it is not a good feeling when you know you have received a lower mark on an exam than all of your friends. It makes me feel as if I have failed at what it was I should have achieved. That being said, it drives me to do better personally the next time.
As I mentioned before, I wish social comparison didn't exist sometimes although I am just as guilty for participating in it as the next guy. For better or for worse though, social comparison has always been around and certainly isn't going anywhere anytime soon!
Incremental Theory vs Entity Theory of Self
After learning about incremental and entity theories of the self, I was curious to see which I was more similar to. An incremental theory of the self is defined in my cultural psychology textbook as the belief of knowing it is easy and possible to change as well as knowing that we are expected to change, and an entity theory of self is known as resistance to change and the view that our attributes stay the same (Heine, 2012).
While I was thinking about each theory, I came to the conclusion that I generally have an incremental theory of self. I like to think that as a young individual, I have plenty of room for improvement and changes in my life. Something that is and always has been important to me is doing my best at whatever task I am involved in, regardless of what it is. Although it would be great to perfect every skill or task I have ever had to perform, I have a realistic understanding that it simply is not possible. That being said, the next best thing would be to have consistent and constant improvements. I understand that I am always changing - physically through looks and body shape and size, and mentally as I gain knowledge and age. I am certainly not the same person I was 21 years ago when I was born, nor am I the same person physically or mentally that I was even a few years ago. I most definitely believe that we all as individuals are always changing and this is influenced by everything that is changing around us such as the environment, new trends, and aging.
The fact that I have an incremental theory of self may be influenced by the society I grew up in, or even by the way my parents raised me. I was always encouraged to do my best and put in the most effort I could, which often resulted into a personal competition to do better the next time. Sometimes I also competed with my brother, which isn't uncommon among siblings. Whatever it was that influenced this drive certainly pushed me to find room for improvements and come to the realization that there is always room for improvement.
While I was thinking about each theory, I came to the conclusion that I generally have an incremental theory of self. I like to think that as a young individual, I have plenty of room for improvement and changes in my life. Something that is and always has been important to me is doing my best at whatever task I am involved in, regardless of what it is. Although it would be great to perfect every skill or task I have ever had to perform, I have a realistic understanding that it simply is not possible. That being said, the next best thing would be to have consistent and constant improvements. I understand that I am always changing - physically through looks and body shape and size, and mentally as I gain knowledge and age. I am certainly not the same person I was 21 years ago when I was born, nor am I the same person physically or mentally that I was even a few years ago. I most definitely believe that we all as individuals are always changing and this is influenced by everything that is changing around us such as the environment, new trends, and aging.
The fact that I have an incremental theory of self may be influenced by the society I grew up in, or even by the way my parents raised me. I was always encouraged to do my best and put in the most effort I could, which often resulted into a personal competition to do better the next time. Sometimes I also competed with my brother, which isn't uncommon among siblings. Whatever it was that influenced this drive certainly pushed me to find room for improvements and come to the realization that there is always room for improvement.
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