Social psychology on the example of Japan - Assignment Example

 Social psychology on the example of Japan This past spring, an earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale struck the nation of Japan. The quake caused over 15,000 initial deaths and has created a serious risk of long-term health problems arising from lethal radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power complex. In this dire situation, a team of workers has assembled to try to quell the radiation and fix the reactors. These workers almost certainly face death as a result of their efforts, even if they are successful in their task. An article by Brett Michael Dykes (2011) examines this deadly mission from the perspective of the workers. The interviews and reporting within this piece of writing offer us a glimpse at the motivations and social factors that may underlie the decision to sacrifice one’s self for the benefit of others. We will examine several concepts of social psychology as they relate to this situation. The effect of roles clearly had an effect on one worker that was interviewed. Having no dependents, he felt that his role clearly dictated his behavior, even noting that no one “wants” to do the job, but they do it anyway. Additionally, there was little mention of women participating in these dangerous engagements. This may have been due to the perceived gender roles in traditional Japanese society, or it may simply be an omission on the part of the reporter. Two separate methods through which one’s self-concept develops are the reflected appraisal process and the social comparison process. These processes may have influenced the behavior of the radiation workers. When engaging in reflected appraisal, we are comparing our self to the person that we believe the rest of society to see, while social comparison involves measuring ourselves against others within one’s own peer group. There is little doubt that the workers would recognize the potential to be seen as heroes within their society, as this would be evident through the process of reflected appraisal. The comparison of one’s self with their peers, in the case of the interviewed parties, could have fueled the desire to respond as they do. In this case, the group response was to face the risk and help. A large part of Japanese culture entails the feeling of oneness. Traditional stories and teaching bring a high level of identification within the society. The radiation workers and their family members recognize this concept as a way of life and have certainly been motivated by this factor. A self-concept that is rooted in oneness can be a large influence on prosocial behavior, but context and personal disposition may interact with this effect (Beechler, 2011) to produce various results. The collective nature of Japanese society puts the nation as a whole into a single “in-group” category at times. Research has shown that simply being observed can enhance altruistic behavior towards members of your designated group (Mifune, Hashimoto, & Yamagishi, 2010). The international community has been closely observing the actions of these workers, which would theoretically motivate anyone who self-identifies on a national or international level. The supposed source of the drive is to build a reputation among your in-group, and although their lives are at risk, this may be a factor in the actions of the workers. If perceived social standing is a potential motivator for the involvement of radiation workers, then it is possible that workers are acting due to the apparent connection between social capital and perceived health in Japan (Fujisawa, Hamano, & Takegawa, 2009). It is possible that workers are acting to gain social standing while relying on the health-improving effects of prosocial behavior to counteract the damaging effects of the radiation. Continuing on this line of thought, it is also apparent that the autonomous decision to make this sacrifice (and help others) has a direct connection not only with the wellbeing of the recipient but also the wellbeing of the helper (Weinstein & Richard, 2010). While it is unlikely that these actions would be taken knowingly, it is possible that the connections have been strengthened and acted upon subconsciously. The application of the concepts within the field of social psychology may help increase the likelihood of helping behavior occurring in Singapore. There are many approaches that could be taken, but we will discuss four methods as they relate specifically to the country. There has often been a criticism of the rights of the people in Singapore, and while the truth of this argument is debatable, it is possible that any amount of repression will have a negative effect on the social behavior within the country. Opposition to certain activities will likely cause a decline in the social belief of free will. While the existence of free will is a highly debatable, almost inflammatory topic, it has been shown that the belief in free will is directly related to partaking in prosocial acts such as helping (Baumeister, Masicampo, & DeWall, 2009). The actual amount of freedom experienced by the people would not matter, as it is the belief that they have free will that will influence their behavior in this manner. Singapore has long been under the influence of a meritocracy. In this type of society, the emphasis is put on rewarding the merits of individuals. This system lessens the likelihood of helping behaviors in two ways. Firstly, it puts a value on individualism instead of collective oneness. As well, meritocracy itself has an inverse effect on helping behaviors (Lee, 2008), though the first issue may mediate this apparent connection. Meritocracy is slowly losing power and should continue to do so, as the system is not fit to lead to a successful modern society. The role of religion in helping behavior is especially complicated in Singapore. The multicultural nature of the country has led to a diverse selection of religions, and so religion-based theories are best designed to be applicable to all religions. A study by Shariff (2007) demonstrated that the priming of a “God” concept could increase the likelihood of a helpful behavior. The most interesting aspect of this study is that the person’s amount of religiosity was not correlated with helping behavior. This highly suggestive influence can be achieved through strategic advertisements in the country, though care must be taken to be as subtle and non-denominational as possible when deciding up the imagery used to induce this concept in people’s thoughts. In another study, the amount of religiosity was found to be directly related to the likelihood of helping activity (Wong & Foo, 2011). This study was based on information provided by a Singapore volunteer organization, and also studied the effects of gender and age on prosocial activities like helping. Age was positively correlated, but gender showed no effect. It appears that the most likely path to be followed for improving helping behavior in Singapore is that of progress. As the society moves away from meritocracy and oppression, it should naturally see an improvement in the rate of these behaviors. Respecting the multi-religious quality of Singaporean society and invoking images of various theistic figures could also be a potential contributor to increasing prosocial helping behavior. However, as with anything concerning religion, these strategies must be sensitive to the beliefs of all members of the populous, which is not an easy task. References Baumeister, R. F., Masicampo, E. J., & DeWall, C. N. (2009). Prosocial benefits of feeling free: Disbelief in free will increases aggression and reduces helpfulness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(2), 260-268. Beechler, M. P. (2011). A bioecological approach to empathy, altruism, and intent to help: Developmental, dispositional, and contextual factors influence prosocial motivations and intentions. Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 302. Dykes, Brett Michael (Wed, Apr 6, 2011). “Japanese nuclear plant worker discusses choice to sacrifice his life”. Retrieved from: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-is- buzzing/japanese-nuclear-plant-worker-discusses-choice-sacrifice-life-20110405-232737- 510.html Fujisawa, Y., Hamano, T., & Takegawa, S. (2009). Social capital and perceived health in Japan: An ecological and multilevel analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 69(4), 500-505. Lee, K. Y. (2008). Meritocracy and elitism in a global city: Ideological shifts in Singapore. International Political Science Review, 29(1), 7-27. Mifune, N., Hashimoto, H., & Yamagishi, T. (2010). Altruism toward in-group members as a reputation mechanism. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(2), 109-117. Shariff, A. F. (2007). God is watching you: Priming God concepts increases prosocial behavior in an anonymous economic game. Psychological Science, 18(9), 803-809. Weinstein, N., & Richard, M. (2010). When helping helps: Autonomous motivation for prosocial behavior and its influence on well-being for the helper and recipient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(2), 222-224. Wong, C. M., & Foo, K. H. (2011). Motivational functions, gender, age, and religiosity influences on volunteerism: A Singapore volunteer organization perspective. Journal of Tropical Psychology, 1(1), 31-44. Zimbardo, P.G., Johnson, R.L., & McCann, V. (2009). Psychology: Core concepts (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Read More