Reflections on Self & Society Flashcards
what is climate change denialism? why does it happen?
- we disconnect from the idea of climate change when it gets more serious
- use denial as a coping response when threats seem beyond our control
- confirmation bias - we look for things that confirm our beliefs
- cognitive dissonance - we avoid the uncomfortable state of holding inconsistent beliefx
- closed-mindedness - common with conservative political beliefes
how does personality relate to politics?
- liberals are more open-minded, creative, curious, and novelty seeking
- conservatives are more orderly, conventional, and better organized
what is the role of fear in politics?
- threat perception can lead to more conservative thinking
- feeling of safety and security leads conservatives to become…
- more likely to adopt liberal attitudes
- as open to social change as liberals
- conservatives become statistically indistinguishable to liberals
- has strong implications for political leaders - if they make us feel fear vs. safety and security
what is collapse denial?
- denial of the impending collapse of society as we know it
- scientists are hesistant to be realistic about the real future outcomes of climate change
- suggests that we need “deep adaptation to climate tragedy”
what is biocentrism?
the inclination to value and protect non-human organisms and nature as a whole
how does climate change relate to agency vs. communion?
- climate change is a product of increasingly unmitigated human agency
- the only solution to the climate crisis is communion
what are some reasons that anti-intellectualism, anti-science, and conspirational thinking are common?
- in-group thinking - adopting beliefs because of the people around them (social groups)
- echo chambers develop
- dunning-kruger effect - those who know the least are the most confident
- stress/threats to control - threats to control or agency are associated with conspirational thinking
- create explanations and ways to understand what is happening to reduce insecurity
- people also believe in conspiracy theories in order to feel special and unique
what is intellectual humility?
the understanding that one’s beliefs are fallible and a willingness to be proven wrong
what are the trends related to narcissism?
- selfies are associated with narcissism, narcissism is rising
- social media use is also rising, also correlated with narcissism
- empathy is declining
- individualism, materialism, consumerism, and extrinsic values are on the rise
- all correlated with narcissism
- can refer to all these changes as an increase in agency
what is temperance?
self-restraint, control over excess, as seen in modesty
- one of the six virtues in positive psychology
what is harmful masculinity?
- anti-femininity, homophobia, not showing weakness, achievement, etc.
- need for power or agency is largely the result of socialization
- some men adopting more extreme views of what masculinity and manhood mean
- correlated with school shootings and a propensity for violence
what is the effect of overpopulation on violence?
- researcher let mice reproduce and become overpopulated
- at a certain point, violence among the population increased
- lack of meaningful social roles put the mice under stress and caused the violence
- mice were also less familiar with the other mice around them (lack of connection), increasing the likelihood of violence
what is trait self-awareness?
the capacity to access knowledge, insight, and understanding of internal self-related experiences
why has far right nationalism been on the rise?
- terror management theory - when people are reminded of their mortality, they more strongly defend people who share their views and act aggressively against those who don’t
- death reminders also increase feelings of nationalism and lead people to endorse more conservative political views
how does fear manipulate us?
- fear reduces our sense of agency and control, which has two effects
- leads us to cling to our worldviews and assert our agency
- makes us more vulnerable to manipulation and misinformation and we try to make a sense of the world and find safety/security
- people who don’t have a strong worldview are more vulnerable to manipulation
- increase in authoritarian and conservative attitudes
