A heuristic is “a mental shortcut that allows an individual to make a decision, pass judgment, or solve a problem quickly and with minimal mental effort.” We use heuristics all the time. In any given situation, we are armed with data about the situation — usually sensory — and use heuristics to fill in the… Continue reading Altering the Availability Heuristic
Category: Psychology
Through “The Looking Glass”
THE LOOKING GLASS SELF In 1902, C.H. Cooley published a social theory that I believe holds up over a century later - “The Looking Glass Self.” The basic premise of the theory is that our behavior is shaped by our perception of how we believe others see us. In other words, perception of “society” is… Continue reading Through “The Looking Glass”
Have You Any Wool?
WAKE UP, SHEEP! Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool? You need to wake up, sheep! You’re just following the media narrative, sheep! And black? Like black helicopters, blacklists, black ops, and little black boxes. Bill Gates rides in a black car to his meetings with the shadow government. Wool? That must be some… Continue reading Have You Any Wool?
We Are Victims of Moral Panic
"Ignorance is bliss" Americans used to get 30 minutes of local news and 60 minutes of national news each day. If you missed the broadcast, you had to read a newspaper in the morning. That's it. That is all the news media consumption that was available. Now we have a 24 hour cable news cycle… Continue reading We Are Victims of Moral Panic
Religious Differences in Supernatural Beliefs (My Master’s Thesis)
ABSTRACT The supernatural has been a topic of sociological study for over a century, and belief in the existence of paranormal phenomena is permeating into various aspects of the media. Although publicly labeled as a deviant group, paranormal believers comprise a majority in the United States. When different supernatural belief systems are combined under… Continue reading Religious Differences in Supernatural Beliefs (My Master’s Thesis)
Social Media Responsibility
Most of us feel compelled to post only the "best" aspects of our lives on social media. Others post mostly the "worst". Those of us who present the "best" parts of ourselves on social media are not only seeking validation and praise, but are inadvertently harming others. Those of us who present the "worst" are… Continue reading Social Media Responsibility
Exposing the “Mental Health Crisis”
In sociology, mental health has long been viewed as a “social construction” like gender, race, etc. It is absolutely true in this case. Autism is new a “spectrum” that can be as wide as the mental health community wishes it to be. Homosexuality and transgenderism used to be afflictions that no longer appear in the… Continue reading Exposing the “Mental Health Crisis”
Social Suicide and Mass Murder
On Valentine’s Day a 19-year-old kid marched into his old high school and opened fire on students who walked out of their classrooms when the killer pulled a fire alarm just before the end of the school day. Reports have come out giving us some insight on his life. The media (both mainstream and social)… Continue reading Social Suicide and Mass Murder
A Masculine Manifesto
The patriarchy is alive and well. Men are the highest paid group in the United States. Over 95% of the Fortune 500 has a man as CEO, and most of the other executive positions are held by guys as well. The richest woman in the world, Liliane Bettencourt, is still only the 14th wealthiest person… Continue reading A Masculine Manifesto
Taking God for Granted
Think of all the things we take for granted in life. The concepts of white privilege and patriarchy are that white males have certain historical advantages that they never actually think about. Things are becoming more egalitarian, for sure. However, Western civilization has been, for better or worse, a product of straight white men exploiting… Continue reading Taking God for Granted
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