Eugenics

A film about Eugenics. Its not a great topic and a difficult movie to watch, however it is important to understand what went on and still does. 

Fromm

Erich Fromm was born in Germany in 1900, the only child of orthodox Jewish parents. From a young age Fromm was highly influenced by the bible, Freud, and Marx, as well as by socialist ideology. He believed that humans have been shifted away from their ancient connections with nature and left with no powerful instincts to adapt to a changing world. But because humans have gained the ability to reason, they can think about their isolated condition, a situation Fromm considered the human dilemma.

According to Fromm, our human dilemma cannot be solved by satisfying our animal needs. It can only be addressed by fulfilling our uniquely human needs, an accomplishment that moves us toward a reunion with the natural world. Fromm identified five of these distinctively human or existential needs. 
A. Relatedness
First is relatedness, which can take the form of (1) submission, (2) power, and (3) love. Love, or the ability to unite with another while retaining one's own individuality and integrity, is the only relatedness need that can solve our basic human dilemma.
B. Transcendence
Being thrown into the world without their consent, humans have to transcend their nature by destroying or creating people or things. Humans can destroy through malignant aggression, or killing for reasons other than survival, but they can also create and care about their creations.
C. Rootedness
Rootedness is the need to establish roots and to feel at home again in the world. Productively, rootedness enables us to grow beyond the security of our mother and establish ties with the outside world. With the nonproductive strategy, we become fixated and afraid to move beyond the security and safety of our mother or a mother substitute.
D. Sense of Identity
The fourth human need is for a sense of identity, or an awareness of ourselves as a separate person. The drive for a sense of identity is expressed nonproductively as conformity to a group and productively as individuality.
E. Frame of Orientation
By frame of orientation, Fromm meant a road map or consistent philosophy by which we find our way through the world. This need is expressed nonproductively as a striving for irrational goals and productively as movement toward rational goals

Fromm recognized three major personality disorders:

1. Necrophilia, or the love of death and the hatred of all humanity.

2. Malignant narcissism, or a belief that everything belonging to one's self is of great value and anything belonging to others is worthless.

3.Incestuous symbiosis, or an extreme dependence on one's mother or mothersurrogate.

Fromm believed that humans were "freaks of the universe" because they lacked strong animal instincts while having the capacity to reason. In a word, his perspective rated average on free choice, optimism, unconscious influences, and uniqueness; low on causality; and high on social impacts. The quality of Fromm's hypothesis is his clear compositions on a wide scope of human issues. As a scientific theory, however, nonetheless, Fromm's hypothesis rates low on its capacity to create inquire about and to fit adulteration; it rates low on handiness to the professional, interior consistency, and stinginess.

Myers&Briggs Personality Test

The main function of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI^®) personality test is to make the theory of psychological types described by Carl Jung understandable and useful in people's lives. The core of the theory is that much outwardly random difference in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals desire to use their perception and judgment.

My Result:

Take the test at http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp 

Repopulating the Depopulated Pages of Social Psychology

The article, Repopulating the Depopulated Pages of Social Psychology by Michael Billig discussed the ways in which social psychology is written and represented in academic journals. Billing argues that the journals are `depopulated' writings. He later discusses approached to “repopulate” them. Multiple issues arise within this article including the use of multiple verbal devices are outlined, such as `variable vagueness' in describing subjects (pg 311). These verbal devices are not discussed as working defects, but as resources for accomplishing depopulation. Although the positive political plan behind Michael Billig's task is to be praised, his investigation can be challenged on functional, down to business, mental, epistemological, additionally on political grounds. It is contended that privileging people and their involvement in records of exploration raises the twin phantoms of independence and humanism, and undermines to under privilege different levels of `reality' and clarification past the domain of awareness and individual personality. Regardless of the fact that depersonalization can mean a degrading practice, it can likewise be utilized to reference the constructive parts of aggregate character, comprehension and activity. It can be recognized that the experimental method may `depersonalize' and `dehumanize' by subjecting individuals to panoptic power, attempts to free subjects in practice or presentation may respectively undermine the method or deceive us about it (pg 316). It can be argued that trustworthiness about the purpose of power in experimental research may be a better policy than re-population in itself.

Billig, M. "Repopulating the Depopulated Pages of Social Psychology." Theory & Psychology 4.3 (1994): 307-35. Web. 

Teo and Danziger

          Reading the article by Thomas Teo, I’ve learned that epistemological violence is the data interpretation of social-scientific data on “the other.” It is created when empirical data is interpreted as showing inferiority of or problematizes the “other.” Although some data allows for equally practical unconventional interpretations. The term epistemological violence implies that epistemology and integrities might not be different categories but actually belong together. Also that epistemological problems can be ethical issues as well.   I do agree with Teo when he argues epistemological violence should not be considered a hate crime, however, I believe it is morally wrong for one to degrade a specific group due to their interpretations, especially when data provides equality among them.

            The article by Danziger outlines the history of psychological research methodology from the nineteenth century to the development of currently favored styles of research. Danziger considers methodology as a kind of social practice rather than a simple matter of technique. His historical examination is mainly concerned with such topics as the development of the social structure of the research relationship between experimenters and their subjects, as well as the role of methodology in the relationship of investigators to each other and to a wider social context. Which can be exemplified by epistemological violence and how research can segregate and harm specific groups. Another major theme addresses the relationship between the social practice of research and the nature of the product that is the outcome of this practice.

Danziger, K., The Historical Formation Of Selves, Ashmore, Richard D. (Ed); Jussim, Lee J. (Ed), (1997). Self and identity: Fundamental issues. Rutgers series on self and social identity, Vol. 1., (pp. 137-159). New York, NY, US: Oxford University Press, xii, 242 pp.

Teo, T. (2010). What is Epistemological Violence in the Empirical Social Sciences? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(5), 295-303. 

Healing Through Self Domination By Cushman

   In this chapter, Cushman discusses the two major views of madness that shaped the principles of asylums throughout to eighteenth and nineteenth century. These views were the loss of reason, created in the eighteenth century and the lack of self-discipline, created in the nineteenth century (102). Women within these eras were viewed as the representation of irrationality, they were more emotional, fragile, passive, sexually excessive, and dangerous if not controlled (107). Doctors and psychiatrist of these times blamed many psychological issues on the biology of women. Many of these issues were linked with hysteria or an “irritated or infected uterus” (106). Women were taught to conquer their female nature, accept her place in society, and dominate and control he inherently irrational, potentially dangerous nature. Unlike most psychologist of his time, Freud knew that domination itself was problematic. He believe too much oppression and dominance would lead to chaos and disasters (113). Freud argued that the self was actually not in control, it was constantly influenced by unconscious forces, the mind versus body.  Women today have more control of who they are, they have more opportunity to express anger, rage, etc. without being like to biological or psychological illnesses. However, women today are still oppressed in multiple ways, and yet we as a society turn a blind eye to the oppression that physically and emotionally harm women as a gender and as individuals.

Cushman, P. (n.d.). Healing Through Self Domination. In Constructing the Self, Constructing America (pp. 102-116).

Horney

Personally one of my favorites is Karen Horney, who viewed psychology from a feminist perspective. In Blankenese, Germany, on September 16, 1885 Karen Horney was born. She attended medical school, received her medical degree in 1911, and began studying psychoanalysis. Horney later moved to the United States in the 1930s and wrote two works that were both influential and controversial, The Neurotic Personality of Our Time and New Ways in Psychoanalysis, which strayed gradually from Sigmund Freud's work. She died in New York City on December 4, 1952. Although she was committed to many elements of Freudian theory, Horney disagreed with Freud's view of female psychology. She denied what she viewed as male bias in psychoanalytic thought, arguing that the foundation of female mental disorder might lie in the male-dominated cultural context surrounding the development of Freudian theory. She presented the concept of womb envy, proposing that male envy of pregnancy, nursing, and motherhood, women's primary role in creating and sustaining life, led men to claim dominance in other areas of life. Horney continues to be influential among psychiatric professionals and therapists, as well as scholars of gender and feminism, over the decades.

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        Horney identified ten neurotic needs that characterize neurotics in their attempts to combat anxiety.

1. Neurotic need for affection and approval 
2. Neurotic need for a powerful partner 
3. Neurotic need to restrict one’s life within narrow boundaries 
4. Neurotic need for power 
5. Neurotic need to exploit others
6.  Neurotic need for social recognition or prestige 
7. Neurotic need for personal admiration 
8. Neurotic need for ambition and personal achievement
9. Neurotic need for self-sufficiency 
10. Neurotic need for perfection and unassailable 

These needs are boiled down to three neurotic trends, including; 

1. Moving toward people (needs 1 & 2) 
2. Moving against people (needs 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7)
3.  Moving away from people (needs 8, 9, & 10)