Stevan Bilarticus D.M.S.W., M.C.S.W
Cafes Around the World
What Dark Places Can TEACH About Equity and Inclusion
An online survey aims to demystify presentation and build positive connection.
Posted Apr 29, 2021
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Source: Jim Cooke, CC 4.0, Wikimedia
As the new year approaches, many people are contemplating the material contributions they can make to society as well as individual progress towards those goals. I think that it is time to publish a study that will eventually move the field of psychology beyond the present-centered research to a more encompassing assessment of “what-if” questions about the world. By providing not only a structured, but also an informal framework for thinking about ways
The survey asking about things we can do to make others better is an extraordinarily well-designed study. I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the way this appeared to be built from the ground up. Coleman and his colleagues were pushing the envelope in the way they measured what was happening in the world through online technologies. They hired a highly-trained interviewers and posed them a series of well-rehearsed questions. They were very careful to ensure that the questions were questions designed to elicit "positive behavior" and that the results were 100% positive. They report on their findings as having no adverse effects (although they took precautions to prevent the survey from being published).
The takeaway
People over 65 years old are more likely than younger people to claim that social interaction has played any role in their lives. Given the monumental task that entails of increasing this population, it is clear that improving
I hope that this research empowers people, as well as brings them even more to engage with others online. Although this study’s measure of social engagement may not be the gold standard, it should help inform shifting social behavior from the vantage point of making others better through engagement with them.
References
Coleman, Coleman S., Mary Graham, and Terry L. Pianowski. (2020). A novel method for measuring social engagement:
Dando, C. J., & Bull, R. (2013). The viability of group citizenship in the US. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/ci/articles-reports/2013/04/the-vital-situation-factor-the-vital-situation
Dando, C. J., & Ormerod, C. C. (2018). The value of persuasion in social interactions. Journal
Dando, C. J., Bull, R., & Ormerod, C. C. (2015). Presence alone does not appear to be the decisive factor in a university basketball game. Biology Letters, 221, 3-9.
Elliott, D., & Stewart, W. (1993). Inform neglect: It is the act of disregarding or taking the liberty of disregarding information that is of any meaningful or pertinent relevance to the subject with an unconscious bias. Experienceings, 17, 55-66.
Erikson, R. (1972). New Horizons in Humane Psychology, trans Eric Bosscher.
Kaufman, G. (2020). Transcend: The new science of self-actualization. New York: Wiley.
Miller, E. (2017). A Hologram for the Holidays. Franklin Books.