Category: socialpsych

Context for Change

July 8, 2018 / / 0 Comments

A bit heavy but hopefully inspirational, I wanted to share my thoughts, some statistics and research on the context that created my desire to work for long-lasting change professionally.

Most of my life…

  • The US launched and continues to be involved in the war in Afghanistan (17 yrs,  at least 31,000 civilian deaths).
  • Climate change has been a known and discussed issue (Inconvenient Truth, 2006 – but the gov knew in the 70’s) yet the statistics on the NASA website today were:

  • Income inequality and wealth disparity consistently widens (CBPP).

  • Childhood obesity in the US continues to grow (13.7 million children/adolescents in 2016) and diabetes too:

  • Human trafficking is estimated to have risen 35.7% IN THE US from 2015-2016 (Polaris, the human trafficking hotline).

And many more equally important maladies that have not been properly addressed by previous generations.

Out of Office

Here’s a general breakdown of the main activities that take up a day (assuming you don’t overwork, commute less than average, and sleep well):

I think it’s fair to say that most of us identify “ourselves” as who we are in our personal lives aka free time. Work is full of bureacracy, corporate ladders, non-personal clothing, and is a dehumanizing process of selling our labor for wages.  But when we spend just under a fourth of our time at work (and nearly a third of our waking hours), I don’t think we can necessarily write it off as “not who we really are”.  For me, this was the biggest reason for reconciling my personal beliefs with my career. ^

It’s also exhausting to spend our limited “free” time volunteering, organizing, being politically active, etc. Appealing to the lazier psyche and selfish altruism, working toward a just cause professionally allows you to relax more after work (and still be more of an activist than you would be if you attended every rally).

Why tho? Pleasure vs. Happiness

There are many social psych experiments that have studied the effects of exposing participants to money-related words/topics/objects (money priming) versus control groups (given random non-money-related stimuli) which then measured the differences in people’s behavior. One recent study published in a highly respected journal found that when people are primed with money, they feel less connectedness and act less prosocially. Another recent study concluded that money priming also causes people to be less: interpersonally attuned, caring, warm, and interdependent.

In addition to connection, I want to feel satiated – something that the ever-wanting, ever-purchasing capitalist dream inherently cannot provide (and some say detracts from). I still enjoy commodities, #notamonkyet, but I can attest that distancing my happiness from capital allows my happiness to raise higher than my next raise ever will.

This all culminates in the ultimate goal of seeking happiness, not just pleasure. In his best-selling book, The Hacking of the American Mind, Dr. Robert Lustig explains the 7 main differences between happiness and pleasure from the perspective of a neuroendocrinologist:

  1. Pleasure is short-lived; happiness is long-lived.
  2. Pleasure is visceral; happiness is ethereal (felt above the neck).
  3. Pleasure is taking; happiness is giving.
  4. Pleasure can be achieved with substances; happiness cannot be achieved with substances.
  5. Pleasure is experienced alone; happiness is experienced in social groups.
  6. The extremes of pleasure all lead to addiction, whether they be substances or behaviors (social media use, pornography, gambling). Yet there’s no such thing as being addicted to too much happiness.
  7. Finally and most importantly, pleasure is tied to dopamine (the pleasure biochemical/neurotransmitter), and happiness is tied to serotonin (the happiness biochemical/neurotransmitter).

Takeaway: “excess dopamine can lead to addiction, which erodes both present and future happiness. In simple neuroscience terms, dopamine downregulates serotonin. The result, states Lustig, is that ‘the more pleasure we seek, the more unhappy we get.'”

How even?

This is not to say that if you are a professional athlete you need to quit your job and pursue a social justice desk job; Colin Kaepernick has shown us there are ways to do both – live your fullest life while also fighting for others to do the same. So whatever your niche, work toward refining those skills. Gain knowledge, credibility and influence to help redefine your field toward mission-driven solutions. If the main barrier to pursuing idealist work is a pay cut, consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and assess whether you are able to self-actualize yet.

Change the system and/or Change your job –> Change lives / Maximize your effect on Earth –> Live your fullest life / Live forever through your accomplishments and those that remember you

-Nanarchy

Helpful websites: Idealist.org and 80,000 hours

Why Vegan?

December 10, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Seeing as I’m coming up on the anniversary of my first attempt at Veganism, I wanted to share my reasoning for this deprived, desolate lifestyle. Just kidding, it’s actually been pretty great! Small concession: Many of my friends know me as a “freegan”. This came about at Brea’s work party when I was trying to stick to my newfound Veganism by only eating crackers. To my demise, I crunched into buttery goodness, and rationalized eating vegetarian at social gatherings while only purchasing Vegan products (freeganism). However, I constantly strive to minimize my non-Vegan consumption to foods that will otherwise be spoiled, or in special social circumstances.

Some reasons why I choose to be a V:

Ability (economic, psychological, and physical)

Many people do not have the economic ability to be Vegan, and some critics cite this as a reason why Veganism cannot sustain humankind… right now. I completely recognize that there are people on every continent who must sustain on animal products (such as a rural farmer or people who already do not have food access) and I am in no way suggesting they should become Vegan. Fortunately, I live in a society where it is extremely easy to be Vegan in an affordable manner, that is still yummy and nutritional. This ability to lead a more developed lifestyle, is of course a huge privilege, and I would feel as though I were squandering it by not accessing the Vegan resources.

What are those cute cubes?

The psychological barrier is somewhat of an unspoken barrier as to why many people choose not to be Vegan. My occasional freeganism is evidence of the social-psychological difficulties, but there is also the portion of labels and commitments. After all, it is a relationship with food. Lastly, Veganism requires changing your concept of food and nutrition. I was definitely afraid of tofu at one point. I even had to ease into buying tofu by only buying braised tofu for a year (not economical).

Finally, the easiest scapegoat – the physical barrier. Aside from the physio-psychological barrier that people “need” animal products, there is the very real threat of not getting the proper nutrients. It definitely took me 2 months before I felt 100% on a Vegan diet. This, however, was the fault of lack of information (often not accessible and rarely not taught to us). We now know the food pyramid that the meat and dairy lobbyists sold us is a fucking SHAM, and I guarantee if you take the correct precautions and eat enough protein your body will run like an electric motor. Those may just be cravings…

Sustainability – Veganism reduces carbon emissions. Plants turn carbon into oxygen. Antiobiotic resistance.

Animals (Unnecessary Suffering) – I wouldn’t be opposed to eating an animal that had a perfectly healthy and happy life which died from natural causes. I am, however, opposed to the current, capitalist food production system that values the bottom-line of producing food over the animals’ short experience of life – which is simply miserable. One obvious manifestation of our cognitive dissonance in our ability to justify eating animals is how we call them a different name when they are a “food” product (pig=pork, cow=beef, bloody=rare). Call it what it is people. At least chicken=chicken I guess… but maybe that’s just because people don’t give a fuck about chickens.

P.S. The dairy industry is synonymous with veal industry.

Net sum (Positive) – I first read about this idea by the anti-natalist philosopher. Essentially, if something bad doesn’t happen, the net effect is good. If something good doesn’t happen, the net effect is neutral. Thus, if we don’t hurt animals, it is good. And if we miss out on the yummy food along the way, it is neutral. Therefore, net sum is positive.

Does it still have calories if it’s vegan?

Health – You live longer and have less heart disease. Evidence: forced Veganism in Western European countries due to Nazi confiscation of all animal products. By replacing meat calories with starchy grains and vegetables, the death rate in Denmark at this time dropped by 34%. In Norway, the lack of animal product consumption resulted in significantly fewer heart attacks and strokes. These rose again with the reintroduction of animal products after the war.

Independence – You aren’t a sheep following other sheep eating sheep because corrupt industries want you to.

Veganism is a sometimes challenging, daily political act based on an idealistic worldview. I believe many people don’t realize this, and perhaps when they think “vegans are talking about veganism again” , they completely  miss the discussion of politics such as social justice, food sovereignty, sustainability and most importantly DANK food.

out

 

 

-Nanarchy

The Platinum Rule

February 18, 2017 / / 0 Comments

So you know the Golden Rule, but do you know the Platinum Rule?

In short, treat others the way they want to be treated. Instead of assuming what people want, actually talk to them to find out how they want to be treated and make a conscious, understanding and respectful effort to behave accordingly.

Anyway, I thought the Platinum Rule could be a nice introduction to the topic of prosocial behavior, commonly known as altruism. Altruism is the act of putting someone else’s needs above your own. This process takes many forms and there are many theories in social psychology as to why people act altruistically…

Biologically – Altruism has been theorized and supported in research to be correlated with biological closeness between the altruist and the recipient. Thus, you are more likely to risk your life for others in your bloodline.

Intrinsically –  Batson’s Empathy-Altruism Theory states that we act for others because we are intrinsically good and feel empathy for others.

Selfishly – This is my is one of my favorite explanations for altruism: it is an ultimately selfish act. The logic goes that we, with our notions of self, often have cognitive dissonance in which we think we are awesome, kind people in our hearts… but can’t list any real reasons why. Hence altruism. This cynical view is that we do especially kind acts for others for our own selfish appraisals.

In my OP, it doesn’t really matter why you do something good (the motivation only really applies to negative outcomes). Whatever your reasoning, keep it up! Maybe if you do it enough you won’t even need a motive and helping others will just become a habit…

-Nanmund Freud

Special thanks to Dena Justice for giving me a proper education #platinumrule

 

Social Engineering – Why Scammers Are Scary

February 17, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Social engineering, essentially premeditated manipulation of people for a desired outcome, is commonly used to obtain confidential information by con artists aka frauds aka scammers. Sure we all know that these people know how to trigger you emotionally but three days ago I found out exactly HOW convincing scammers can be…

It began with a call from the IRS- the legitimate IRS Sacramento phone number.

Scammer: “Is this Nan Farley?”

Me: “Yes.”

Scammer:”Nan Farley, you are under criminal investigation, please hold while I transfer you to the officer in charge of your case…”

45 second hold to get my blood racing.

45 second hold to enact fight or flight. Too scared to fight, I’m now preparing to find the easiest way out.

Scammer #2: “Hi, Nan Farley, this is IRS Officer Justin Thomas. You are facing criminal charges for evading taxes on your education as per California tax code. If you do not take action to remedy this situation, you will be taken into custody, charged, will not receive any refunds, and your degree and credit score may be at risk. We have emailed you at your email *say my email* monthly for the past year. Did you commit this crime on purpose?”

Me: “Obviously not.”

Scammer #2:  “Do you understand the severity of the situation?”

Me: “Yes.”

Scammer #2: “Okay, if you did not purposefully withhold your money from the state of California and understand the ramifications if you continue to do so, are you prepared to take the actions necessary to remedy this situation?”

Me: “Obviously yes.”

Scammer #2: “Okay. This requires IMMEDIATE ACTION. I will now put you on the phone with the FBI officer who will explain the next steps.”

Pause story.

This is such classic speech and debate logic where you get the opponent to agree with you by setting foundational principles that they concede. Then, when the principles compound (like IMMEDIATE ACTION), the opponent has no choice but to agree.

Resume story.

Call dropped, new phone call from the legitimate FBI Sacramento phone number.

Scammer  #3: “Hi Nan Farley. This is FBI Agent So-and-So. Here is what you must do: Right now you need to get in your car and go to purchase coupons to pay the IRS. You will take them to the nearest IRS Office and pay the outstanding amount. That amount is *amount $100 within my credit limit*. However, since you did not commit these acts intentionally and this is your first offense you will be refunded *the majority*. You will then speak with an agent about how to avoid incidents like this in the future. Do you understand what you must do?”

Me: “Yes.”

Scammer #3: More detailed information about checking with my bank that I have enough, asking me personal information- but somehow them guessing within $100 of my available credit limit, and instructing me to go to Target to get the “IRS Coupons”.

I drive to Target (8 mins away).

Now I bet you’re thinking WHAT A SUCKER!

To a certain extent yes. By now I should’ve lawyered up. By now I should’ve hung up multiple times… but on the ACTUAL phone number of the IRS and FBI? On 3 different, very professional people? Better yet, when I get to Target, the manager of the store immediately instructs me to hang up the phone saying she has seen 4 other Berkeley students THAT WEEK.

So I’m running to the police station as they continue to call me non-stop and then…

I get a call from “Mom” in my phone.

Scammer #4 (female this time): “Hi Nan, this is Police Officer So-and-So. I have your mom here in custody.”

Me: “Can I talk to her?”

Scammer #4: “No. You understood that this was a matter of California law and if you are not going to pay the state we have to take you and anyone you depend on into custody.”

Me: “Okay well I’m headed to the police station now.”

I text my mom “MOM CALL ME”; she calls and goes, “Hey what’s up?”

So now I know the IRS will only contact you by mail.

More importantly, I learned a tough psychological lesson to question authority and see the green colored film of greed that many people have as a permanent filter on their vision. I still don’t think people are inherently bad, but social engineering is no doubt a real science where people can be PHYSICALLY hijacked if you EMOTIONALLY hijack them effectively.

#hobbeslockeanddropit

Is #blackmirror real life yet?

-N. Knight ShyamaNan

Crowd Behavior Thoughts and Tips

January 24, 2017 / / 0 Comments

All of these demonstrations have gotten me thinking a lot about crowds, mainly the crazy amount of energy people generate when they are together! My theory is that the energy of a group is somehow greater than the sum of each individual’s energy in the group. Here’s that in equation form:

J (group) > J (individual + individual + individual)

Sidenote: Joules (unit of energy) can be calculated in a few ways. This equation for Joules struck me as sociologically applicable for today’s movements…

…all you need is some resistance, time, and ohmmmmm.  

Anyway, here are some theories on crowd behavior that are actually backed by research:

In an emergency where there are more bystanders, people feel less responsibility, and thus action is less likely to be taken during critical moments (the bystander effect). How do we overcome this problem? Be BOSSY! If you see an emergency, point at someone/make eye contact and say “YOU, with the red shirt, call 911.” Then do the same for anything else that is needed in the situation. YOU, reader, don’t be an inactive bystander.

Somewhat similar to the bystander effect, is the experience of deindividuation: the experience of losing self-awareness because you feel more immersed in the crowd. At concerts, feeling deindividualized can be super fun! You might let loose dancing and not care who is watching.

In protests, however, this loss of self leads some people to behave in ways they normally wouldn’t (ex: breaking a window or walking on a car). Don’t get too caught up in the crowd to take responsibility for your actions, even if no one would notice.

At the same time that you might experience deindividuation while physically in a crowd, associating with groups actually helps us define ourselves psychologically… and can have some cool effects on our emotions.

Social identity theory states that our sense of self is tied to our group memberships. But that’s not all. If you have more ways of identifying yourself, you are less prone to having emotional fluctuation when one of your “selves” is both complimented and criticized. For example, if you only consider yourself a student and friend, you will experience extreme sadness if you are not excelling in one of these areas as it is half of your identity. By the same token, if you only consider yourself a student and a friend you will also feel extreme happiness when you get a good grade.

However, if you associate with many different notions of self (employee, daughter, best friend, dancer, activist, etc.) your emotions will fluctuate less when you fail or excel in one of these areas. Thus, it is better to have more categorizations to maintain a happy, constant, and diversified self. How many categories can you come up with for yourself?

This is all to say go out there; be parts of lots of groups and crowds. Hopefully you can do this now a bit more safely and with more psychological awareness.

-Nanmund Freud  aka  N. F. Skinner  aka  Nanaham Maslow

 

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