About half of American girls eleven to seventeen regularly watch “reality” TV, with another 30% watching it sometimes. And it’s bad for them, according to a study sponsored by the Girl Scout Research Institute. Thirty-eight percent of these girls think a girl’s value is based on how she looks, for example compared with 28% of those who do not watch reality television. Almost 40% of the first group but only 24%of the second group believe “you have to lie to get ahead.”
The reason we can guess. What you see, if you see it often enough, begins to feel normal—even if you start watching it because you think it is not normal.
(In case you don’t know… “reality” TV is a genre of TV programs, supposedly unscripted, that show supposedly non-actors, i.e., “normal people,” in unusual or stressful situations. The language and behavior are street language and behavior, complete with vulgar words and ideas. On example of this kind of programming is the program, Wife Swap.)
Showing posts with label Psychology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psychology. Show all posts
Monday, January 9, 2012
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Marriage Matters. It’s Important!
This blog post is a continuation of my series on the advantages and disadvantages of marriage. Today’s post deals with the health implications of marriage.
Higher stress hormones—epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisone—and three related hormones are associated with higher probabilities of a husband’s withdrawal in response to a wife’s negative behavior during a conflict (J. of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 4/96,Vol.64.No.2,324-332). Abrasive arguments between husbands and wives are linked to weakening of certain immune responses and increase in levels of stress hormones, increasing susceptibility to illness, particularly infectious diseases and perhaps cancer. The more negative behaviors couples show toward each other, the more their immune measures are weakened (Psychosomatic Medicine 59:339-349). Couples who demonstrate negative behaviors toward each other during discussions—sarcasm, putdowns, overt nastiness, and dismissals—show indications of weakened immune systems compared to other couples who behave more positively. These results are found both for newlyweds as well as older couples married for many years (ibid.). Happily married people also show greater proliferation of white blood cells when exposed to foreign invaders than do other subjects (Gottman, The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work 1999,page5-6).
Higher stress hormones—epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisone—and three related hormones are associated with higher probabilities of a husband’s withdrawal in response to a wife’s negative behavior during a conflict (J. of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 4/96,Vol.64.No.2,324-332). Abrasive arguments between husbands and wives are linked to weakening of certain immune responses and increase in levels of stress hormones, increasing susceptibility to illness, particularly infectious diseases and perhaps cancer. The more negative behaviors couples show toward each other, the more their immune measures are weakened (Psychosomatic Medicine 59:339-349). Couples who demonstrate negative behaviors toward each other during discussions—sarcasm, putdowns, overt nastiness, and dismissals—show indications of weakened immune systems compared to other couples who behave more positively. These results are found both for newlyweds as well as older couples married for many years (ibid.). Happily married people also show greater proliferation of white blood cells when exposed to foreign invaders than do other subjects (Gottman, The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work 1999,page5-6).
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