Social Comparison Theory

Social comparison is something we do everyday whether we like it or not.  It is something we are just hard-wired for and it seems like it is a very hard thing not to engage in.  We do it on a subconscious level all day long.  Here is social comparison theory in a nutshell.  It is the way we evaluate ourselves in comparison to others.  It can cause us to have a good self-concept if we choose to do a downward comparison...with those that aren't as good looking, or as smart as, or as rich as, we are.  Or it can cause us to feel extremely bad about ourselves if we do an upward comparison...with those that are movie stars, thinner or more muscular, or better off than us.  It is how we even know about ourselves by comparing our self with others.  Social comparison can make us feel better or it can make us feel worse depending on our comparison.  We tend to always look and judge yourself in relation to others.  But social comparison can have negative effects.  It causes us to always be unsatisfied in life.  It also leads us to do buy things so that others will think we are doing better than we actually are.  For instance, the house that we couldn't afford, the car we can't afford, the clothes we can't afford, the memberships, the clubs, the gifts, and on and on it goes.  For many women it leads them into unnecessary surgeries.  And if you think about it all; it turns into this never-ending circle that we all engage in.  But the more each one plays into it the more it continues on.  Because everyone just upped the anty.

Perseid Meteor Shower

The annual meteor shower is the resulting debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle.  Comet Swift-Tuttle was last seen in 1992 and before that it was last seen in 1862 by Swift and Tuttle.  A comet is a small body composed of ice, dust and rock that orbits elliptically around our Sun.  As a comet comes close to our Sun, it heats up and begins to melt the ice away which causes a tail to form which will always point away from the Sun and will even lead the comet as it reaches certain points around the Sun.  When all the ice and dust is melt away the remaining rock from the comet become an asteroid.  Asteroids also orbit our Sun and are smaller than a planet and are sometimes called minor planets (like poor demoted Pluto).  Sometimes asteroids collide and when they do they shoot out particles of dust, rock, and rubble. The rubble is what we call meteoroids or more commonly, falling stars or shooting stars.  This is what the Perseid Meteor shower is.  It is the debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle.

Social Identity Theory

People receive part of their identity from the social groups that they belong to.  This can be a key issue in a feeling of belonging.  It is through a group affiliation that many people gain their self esteem.  This self esteem is derived from belonging and interactions within the group.  It is the feeling of being part of the "We" that comes with group membership.  But with the territory can come a bias of superiority.  This can lead to beliefs that the ingroup which they belong is better than the outgroup which others belong.  Our social identity can cause us to categorize using heuristics about others.  It also can cause us comparisons which tend to benefit our ingroup with a bias of privilege and favoritism.  On the other hand, is it necessarily a bad thing to strive for belonging?  After all we are social beings according to Aristotle.

Sky Skeltons

The market rebounded on Bernanke stating he would not raise the Interest till mid 2013.  That calmed the markets and up the dow went to 429 pts.  Since the controversy is sky high today I thought I would concentrate tonight on the constellations.  So in brief:
1. The Bigger Dipper, also called the Big Bear and Ursa Major.
2. The Little Dipper, or Ursa Minor...or the Drinking Groud...contains the North Star.
3. Draco, the Snake or fiery dragon.
4. Hercules or the Phantom on his knees as known by the Ancients.
5. Orion, the Giant Hunter.
6. Orion's hunting dog...called The Big Dog, containing the brightest star as the head of the dog called Serius for scorcher.  The Ancients thought it heated up the earth.  The Sun and Serius in the sky at the same time became known as "The Dog Days of Summer."
7. Cepheus, The King.  But in modern terms it is known as the house (sad).
Just thought we should look-up and know that there is a solid reality in the sky that does not change on peoples emotions.

$2 Trillion lost in the Markets Today

Oh my goodness! Were you watching the market today...?  The Dow Jones dropped 634 pts. the biggest daily loss since 2008.  The S&P drop over 6% with Bank of America down 20% today.  The markets around globe fared as least as bad.  What does the future hold?  Some say that this sell-off was nothing but FEAR.  Wilbur Ross stating that most markets around the world were down 10-15%, yet the world has not gotten worse or changed in the last 48 hours.  He says the only thing that has changed is perception.  Nevertheless, perception is a very important predictor of how the social influence will work to make that perception a reality.  Is the U.S. losing it's prestige around the globe?  Are we on an unsustainable fiscal path that might change our way of life?  Have we become compromised as a world super power?  I believe it can be summed up by an old Dylan song: A Hard Rain is Gonna Fall.

CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE ACROSS THE FINANCIAL WORLD

There is a complete crisis of confidence around the global over the world economy.  This has been brought on by many things but mostly over the downgrading of U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor's.  Many investors, politicians, economists, and intelligentsia say "we are in uncharted waters."  Oil is dropping, while gold is reaching new highs ($1702) and the dollar reaches all time lows.  Some like Bill Gross (Pimco) think that S&P had "spine" to do what was needing to be done.  But others like Roubini says that there is now a very real risk of double dip recession, stating that S&P's decision came at the wrong time.  There is now a big worry for recession.  Gold is now the unofficial world currency, as gold has risen over every other currency and is the best performing asset.  The result of the ECB emergency meeting is that the Central Banks are willing to do whatever is necessary to stem the tide of trouble in Europe's troubled Spain & Italy.  Italy is going to amend their constitution for radical austerity measures promising to liberalize everything they legally can.  Meanwhile, London is in their second night of rioting and burnings as the citizens reject their austerity plans.  What does all this mean?  No one knows at this point.  Nevertheless, Jim Rogers is confident that helicopter Ben will run the printing press as fast as he can to print money to delay the pain. 

Personal Health Plan

With so much talk about the credit downgrade I thought I would switch gears and talk about applied social psychology and health.  It is likely that most people are feeling nervous and concerned about what might be next for the economy, it is important to think of the effect of this negativity on our health.  Applied social psychologists try to contribute to health and life expectancy through prevention techniques, helping people to change behavior and encouraging adherence to solid health practices.  This can be done through motivation and self-efficacy (knowing you can do what is necessary).  When people are confronted with health issues they wonder if there is truly a threat to them.  Then they look at their own perceived vulnerability...family history, their own disease history, and they then tend to make a social comparison using unrealistic optimism.  They play down the perceived seriousness of the threat or they begin to worry incessantly.  In the case of addictions, they have to either change their behavior to avoid the potential risks or they must disengage from the belief that it will do them harm.  After all it is not "soon nor certain."
One of the key aspects of changing the behavior is the intention to change the behavior (planned behavior theory). One of the greatest factors of determining if a person will change a behavior is whether they intend to change the behavior.  That is the best predictor of actual behavior.  Then the person must implement the intention by specifying when and where they plan to do so.  This involves writing it down and making a plan.  The next key factor to success or failure is if the person believes it is within their power to change the behavior (internal) or whether it is outside of their control (external situation).  Here is the Trans Theoretical Model for changing an unwanted behavior:
1. Precontemplation stage:  You think about it but not really motivated yet.
2. Contemplation stage: You think about it but put it in the future...you postpone.
3. Preparation stage:  You set your plan, work out the details of how, when, and where and write it down.
4. Action stage:  You do it.  You start the change.  Takes work and it is on your mind with lots of temptation to relapse.  This is a very critical stage that takes social support from family and friends to encourage and allow for the change.
5. Maintenance stage:  You have integrated the new behavior as a part of you and who you are and what you do or don't do now. 
With this model of change it is important to go through each stage without skipping any.
Now I will tie this in to our economic woes.  Maybe there are things that you are addicted to that is expensive and hard on your health.  Maybe the stress of working longer due to losing a hunk of retirement is necessary and working out could benefit with stress reduction and more energy.  Whatever the reason, you know if there are behaviors that could benefit your health, well-being, quality of life and longevity.  Don't postpone...make your intention known by writing down your plan and make your health a priority...It is the one thing you can control.