Suicide: The Plethora of Socio-Psychological Variables That Contribute to Ending One’s Own Life

Abstract

Suicide can be defined as the act of intentionally terminating one’s own life (Wikipedia, 2007). Research has identified a large number of socio-psychological variables that contribute to suicide. Depression, anxiety, hopelessness and previous suicidal ideation have been considered risk factors for suicide. Baumeister’s (1990) escape theory has highlighted that suicidal individuals need to escape the self. Social isolation and the media often contribute to suicide and suicidal behaviour. Numerous socio-psychological variables contribute to suicide, and future research into the area is pivotal in an attempt to curb the current suicide rate.

Suicide is a uniquely human phenomenon (Roalfe, 1928), and for this reason poses many challenges in assessing the socio-psychological variables involved. In recent decades, suicide has emerged as a significant global public health issue, with a marked increase in the number of actual suicides and attempted suicides (Bridge, Goldstein, & Brent, 2006). In Australia, there were 2,101 recorded deaths as a result of suicide in 2005, which represented 1.6 percent of deaths of all ages (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007).

There are a multitude of reported risk factors and antecedents of suicide, such as high intelligence (e.g., Voracek, 2005), having never been married (e.g., Mastekaasa, 1995; Tarrier, Barrowclough, Andrews, & Gregg, 2004), and mental illness (e.g., Procter, 2005). However, no one single psychological variable can explain suicide in its entirety. Rather, it is a multifarious and complex phenomenon that requires an encapsulation of socio-psychological processes in order to fully understand and comprehend it (refer to Concept Map). The key variables that contribute to suicide are anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. Suicide ideation has been shown to be risk factor for suicide completion, along with suicidal ideation. Baumeister (1990) has proposed the escape theory of suicide, which places an emphasis on escaping aversive self-awareness. Finally, poor social relationships, often resulting in social isolation and the media portrayal of suicide play an important role in suicide, both in terms of causation and prevention.

Depression and Anxiety

One of the strongest and most reported antecedents of suicide is depression (e.g., O’Conner at al., 2006; Baumeister, 1990). Research by Palmer and Connelly (2005) found that prisoners who had higher scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-II also had higher scores on the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. These prisoners were also likely to have had previous episodes of self-harm. O’Conner, Armitage, and Gray’s (2006) research supported the association between parasuicide (deliberate self-harm) and hopelessness, depression, and anxiety. They found that depression (a clinical variable) and affective attitude, self-efficacy, group identity, and descriptive norms (social psychological variables) were predictive of future intent to self harm. Goldston, Reboussin, and Daniel (2006), reported that trait levels of depression, anxiety,and hopelessness were found to be consistently related to suicide attempts. Anxiety was discovered to have the most persistence over time.

Barber (2001) proposed that, in males, suicide was not a result of a singularly depressed affect, but rather a combination of depressed affect and negative social comparison. Males often perceived others around them as being better off, and as such were predisposed to suicide. Females, on the other hand, were predisposed to suicide with respect to their absolute and relative levels of happiness.

Suicidal Ideation

Suicide ideation has often been considered a precursor for actual suicide (e.g., Wong, Ang, & Huan, 2007; Brezo, Paris, Turecki, 2006). Wong et al. (2007) found that negative self-concept, anger control problems, and emotional distress significantly predicted suicidal ideation in a sample of Singaporean adolescents. With regards to psychological maladjustment, emotional distress and negative self-concept were classed as internalising problems whilst anger control problems were classed as externalising problems.

Emotional distress can be characterised by negative affect, and anxiety and depression resulting from some great distress (Wong et al., 2007). Negative self-concept involves a lack of aspects of the self, which inhibits a positive outlook on life. Finally, anger control issues entail arguing with others, negativistic attitude, and disregarding rules. Interestingly, there existed gender differences in suicidal behaviour. In males, negative self-concept was the significant predictor of suicidal ideation, yet in females the predictor was emotional distress. Adolescents that primarily internalised issues, and partly externalised their problems, were found more likely to exhibit suicidal behaviours (Wong et al., 2007).

Hopelessness

One of the most robust predictors of suicide is hopelessness. In a study by Tarrier et al. (2004), the association between suicide ideation and hopelessness was assessed in a sample of schizophrenia patients. Over 70 percent of the subjects reported being mildly hopeless, moderately hopeless, or severely hopeless as measured on the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Significant correlations were found between negative self-esteem, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. Furthermore, the stability of hopelessness as a predictor of suicide was investigated by Kuo, Gallo, and Eaton (2004). Participants in the study who reported feeling hopeless were over ten times more likely to commit suicide in the thirteen year follow-up period.

MacLeod, Tata, Tyrer, Schmidt, Davidson, and Thompson (2005) assessed the precise elements of hopelessness that contribute to suicidal behaviour. Hopelessness was divided into two components, future positive events (events in the future looking worth looking forward to) and future negative events (events in the future not looking forward to). Positive and negative events were further broken down into number of events occurring, perceived likelihood of an outcome and its value of importance. After controlling for depression and anxiety, results showed that subjects with a small number of positive events and less likelihood of an outcome for positive events reported higher hopelessness scores. Combined with this, subjects that had negative future thinking were prone to suicidal behaviour.

Social Variables

As stated in Joiner, Brown, and Wingate (2005), social isolation has consistently been a pertinent issue related to suicide, and indeed a strong social network has often been attributed to protecting people against the risk of suicide. In a study of over 4,000 adolescents from the United States, the associations between social isolation, psychological health, and protective factors were examined (Hall-Lande, Eisenberg, Christenson, Neumark-Sztainer, 2007). Subjects who reported feelings of social isolation were at a higher risk suicide attempts, showed depressive symptoms, and had lower self-esteem scores. This was in contrast to participants who felt strongly connected to their schools, their peers, and their family, such that these factors served as protective mechanisms against poor psychological health including suicidal behaviour.

Additionally, research by Lester (1991) highlighted that suicide rates of all ages were correlated with social integration. That is, when social integration was higher, suicide rates were lower. Similarly, Long and Miller (1991) explained that subjects who perceive themselves as lacking family support were at highest risk for suicidal behaviour. It is clear from research that social isolation, including poor social networks with family, friends, and peers, can have potentially dire consequences.

Media

A related social factor of suicide is the media and copycat suicides. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report in 2000 outlining the evidence of increased suicides, especially in young people, after media coverage of suicides (WHO, 2000). Of particular concern is the impact of mass murders and suicides, as was the case in the Virginia Tech shootings. The student responsible, Cho Seung-hui, viewed the culprits of the previous Columbine High School shootings as martyrs, before going on to kill 32 people and himself (Bond, 2007). The president of the American Psychological Association has in fact called for the media to not sensationalise the copycat murders in light of the media’s power to trigger such tragedies (Bond, 2007). Blood, Pirkis, and Holland (2007) concluded that “journalistic decisions to maximize newsworthiness of a story often conflict with the promotion of accurate, ethical, and responsible reporting of suicide” (p. 68).

Escape Theory

Suicide can be viewed, in part, as an escape from aversive self-awareness (Baumeister, 1990). Baumeister (1990) has presented the escape theory of suicide, which posits a number of specific steps that lead to suicide. The first contributor to suicide tends to be setbacks and recent failures, coupled with high expectations. To view the self as extremely negative and deficient is common in suicidal people, and as such implies aversive high self-awareness. Largely related to this is the link between unfavorable conditions and suicide rates (Baumeister, 1990), and the presence of negative life events and associated deliberate self-harm (Kinyanda, Hjelmeland, & Musisi, 2005). The next stage is negative affect, with strong evidence supporting the notion that depressed and anxious affect appears to be a feature of pre-suicidal state. To be aware of, and view the self as inadequate due to certain self-attributions is likely to contribute to negative affect.

The final stage is cognitive deconstruction, in which the person tries to escape their negative affect by rejecting and avoiding meaningful thought. Three major aspects of cognitive deconstruction exist: constricted time perspective, concreteness of thought processes, and proximal goals. Moreover, as a result of such cognitive deconstruction, a number of consequences are identified. Firstly, disinhibition removes the barriers to take one’s own life. Second, passivity implies that individuals passively identify with the victim role instead of actively taking one’s own life. Third, suicidal individuals often suppress their emotions, which is a central component in one’s effort to deconstruct their own experiences. Finally, thought processes preceding suicide are often irrational and fantasy-filled, thus adding to the constriction of meaningful thought.

Conclusion

Despite the apparent depth of research into the socio-psychological variables contributing to suicide, further research is not only necessary but vital for the possibility of prevention and intervention. Accumulation and examination of the current research into the factors involved in suicide appear to suggest a strong relationship between social and psychological variables. A multi-dimensional view and method is needed to fully grasp and explain suicide, yet with all the confounding variables evident a fully comprehensive model seems unlikely in the near future.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007). Suicides, Australia, 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2007, from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/3309.0/

Barber, J. G. (2001). Relative misery and youth suicide. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35(1), 49-57.

Baumeister, R. F. (1990). Suicide as escape from self. Psychological Review, 97(1), 90-113.

Blood, R., Pirkis, J.,& Holland, K. (2007). Media reporting of suicide methods: An Australian perspective. Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Intervention, 28(1), 64-69.

Bond, M. (2007). The media make a killing. New Scientist, 194, 53.

Brezo, J. Paris, J., & Turecki, G. (2006). Personality traits as correlates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide completions: A systematic review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandenavica, 113 (3), 180-206.

Bridge, J. A., Goldstein, T. R., & Brent, D. A (2006). Adolescent suicide and suicidal behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3/4), 372-394.

Goldston, D. B.,Reboussin, B. A., & Daniel, S. S. (2006). Predictors of suicide attempts: State and trait components. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(4), 842-849.

Hall-Lande, J. A., Eisenberg, M., Christenson, S. L., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2007). Social isolation, psychological health, and protective factors on adolescence. Adolescence, 42(166), 265-286.

Joiner, T. E., Brown, J. S., & Wingate, L. R. (2005). The psychology and neurobiology of suicidal behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 287-314.

Kinyanda, E., Hjelmeland, H., & Musisi, S. (2005). Negative life events associated with deliberate self-harm in an African population in Uganda. Crisis, 26(1), 4-11.

Lester, D. (1991). Social correlates of youth suicide in the United States. Adolescence, 26(101), 55.

Long, D. D., & Miller, B. J. (1991). Suicidal tendency and multiple sclerosis. Health & Social Works, 16(2), 104-109.

MacLeod, A. K., Tata, P., Tyrer, P., Schmidt, U., Davidson, K., & Thompson, S. (2005). Hopelessness and positive and negative future thinking in parasuicide. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44(4), 495-504.

Mastekaasa, A. (1995). Age variation in the suicide rates and self-reported subjective well-being of married and never married persons. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 5(1), 21-39.

O’Conner, R. C., Armitage, C. J., & Gray, L. (2006). The role of clinical and social cognitive variables in parasuicide. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45(4), 465-481.

Palmer, E. J., & Connelly, R. (2005). Depression, hopelessness and suicide ideation among vulnerable prisoners. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 15(30), 164-170.

Procter, N. G. (2005). Parasuicide, self-harm and suicide in Aboriginal people in rural Australia: A review of the literature with implications for mental health nursing practice. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 11(5), 237-242.

Roalfe, W. R. (1928). The psychology of suicide. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 23(1), 59-67.

Tarrier, N., Barrowclough, C., Andrews, B., & Gregg, L. (2004). Risk of non-fatal suicide ideation and behaviour in recent onset schizophrenia: The influence of clinical, social, self-esteem and demographic factors. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 39(11), 927-937.

Voracek, M. (2005). The social ecology of intelligence and suicide in Belarus. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(5), 613-617.

Wikipedia (200). Suicide. Retrieved 24 October, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide

Wong, S. S., Ang, R. P., & Huan, V. S. (2007). Externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and suicidal ideation in Singaporean Adolescents: Sex differences. Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality Social, 25(4), 231-244.

World Health Organization. (2000). Preventing suicide: A resource for media professionals. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/426.pdf


Appendix

Theory

I feel my blog 2 has integrated the theory and research into suicide quite well. I have focused on a couple of main theories and strengthened these cases with relevant and current research. I have covered the social and psychological variables well after receiving feedback from James about my blog. Yet I may have been able to further demonstrate the sociological variables involved in suicide in more depth, but due to word limit restrictions found this difficult to do so.

Research

The research I have used has been mostly recent articles, providing up-to-date findings on the variables involved in suicide. I have provided a broad range of relevant literature pertaining to the issue of suicide. After reviewing the literature, I think I have effectively identified the key socio-psychological variables, whilst acknowledging the fact that there are multiple factors involved in suicide. There were no relevant articles available for use on e-reserve, however James did provide some useful links for me.

Written Expression

I provided a good title, an abstract, and headings throughout my essay to increase readability. My blog is simple yet easy to read, with the blog being well laid out. Some of my paragraphs were possibly too short/long, which could be improved on in the future. My readability analysis showed a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of 23.3, and a Flesch Reading Ease of 13.7. I have attempted to use shorter words and sentences to improve the readability, yet still found it difficult to get a better readability score. I also embedded a concept map in order to make my main concepts easier to read and understand.

Online Engagement

In the second half of the semester my online engagement has improved a lot, as shown by my ‘two stars’. This was probably due to be better understanding of the processes involved in having my own blog page. I have contributed a number of blog posts (mostly related to suicide as this was my topic choice), added a number of useful links, provided a couple of possibly research articles for another student, and commented on a number of other students’ blog pages (refer to my blog page). Admittedly, my contributions have declined slightly as the semester continued due to commitments with other work and up-coming exams.

Useful Resources

Please refer to my blog home page for a number of useful suicide resources.

Concept Map

- click on image for larger view

Suicide Blog Plan

well after some fun times researching and finding journal articles/books, i have come up with a rough guide for my blog 2 topis on suicide. there seem to be a number of key factors involved in suicide which i plan to discuss.

- escape from self-awareness
- depression
- hopelessness
- anxiety
- perceived burdensomeness
- emotional distress
- negative self-concept (and negative self-esteem)

so now down to the really fun bit of writing it. any suggestions, comments, etc. welcome...

Useful Suicide Resources

Suicide Help Line

Living is for Everyone

Reach Out

Lifeline

Suicide.org

The Facebook Stalker

Just a funny video clip..."The Facebook Stalker"...

click here

Interesting Questions

hey everyone,

just been doing some reading about suicide and have come across some interesting areas that i hadn't really thought about too much.

do u think the role of myspace/facebook/etc. has an impact on suicide?

what do you think about suicide in regards to suicide bombers?

and what about yout thought on assistes suicide (aka euthanasia)?

Suicide Rates Per Country

Suicide rates per country (per 100,000 people)

Poll Results

well, after some extraordinary activity on my poll, the results are in. and yes, 66% of people were correct. 2,101 people died of reported suicide in Australia in 2005!

although this may not seem an extremely large number, suicide has a massive effect on family and friends, something which i will be discovering further in my second blog.

Suicide Definition

The word suicide comes from latin, sui caudere, to kill oneself. Suicide can be defined as the act of intentionally terminating one's own life.

It can occur for a wide variety of reasons, includind depression, financial difficulties, shame, and substance abuse.

Worldwide, nearly a million people will commit suicide each year. It is estimated that 20 to 30 million people attempt suicide each year. Commited suicides are higher in men, but suicide attempts are higher in women. The former Eastern bloc countries have the highest suicide rate in the world, with Latin America having the lowest rate.

Test Your Knowledge!

Come one come call. And test your knowledge with my infamous quiz (on the right).

Best of all it's free to take part in!

blog 2 - suicide

hey all,

just a quick post about my blog 2 topic on suicide. i am very keen to do this topic and find out all the interesting research into the area. thanks to kara for letting me have the topic back lol!

i feel suicide is one of the most tragic things in life, and although it has not affected me personally, i can only imagine what is must be like for the person themselves, their friends, and family.

hopefully after reseaching suicide and everyone reading my blog number 2 (and i am sure you all will), it will help us a bit in detecting if a friend or someone we know is vulnerable to committing suicide.

here is a pretty good website called Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) for anyone interested.

will keep you updated.

peace

ps. if anyone knows of some good research/websites about suicide, be sure to let me know...

Genocide Concept Map

To view my concept map, click here

You can easily click, zoom, centre, print, and navigate around the concept map using the tool bars provided.

The 'Perfect Storm' That Was The Rwandan Genocide

In 1994, genocide occurred in the small African country of Rwanda killing almost one million people (Taylor, 1999). The genocide of Rwanda has in some cases been dismissed as simply an age-old rift between Hutus and Tutsis (Parkes, 1996). However, there is no denying that the roots of such an evil process extend deeper than this. Indeed, the social psychological variables involved in genocide are multifarious and intriguing. Three key determinants of genocide are social influence, social cognition, and social relations. The socially influential factors are conformity, obedience, propaganda, and deprivation of basic human needs. Human beings typically act in certain ways according to a number of social cognitive processes including heuristics, illusory correlations, and the confirmation bias. The way groups and individuals relate to one another in a social society is another factor leading to genocide. Specifically, the link between prejudice and discrimination is vital. These complex variables interact and influence one another in a variety of ways that can contribute to the phenomenon of genocide.

The way in which humans socially influence each other can be instrumental in shaping the ‘perfect storm’ that is genocide. Humans tend to obey authority (Milgrim, 1963). This can be used by leaders to affect mass behavior, which may be manipulated towards genocide. In the classic obedience experiment conducted by Milgrim (1963), two-thirds of subjects were fully obedient to a perceived authoritarian figure, repeatedly shocking the victim despite the fact that disobedience would bring no material loss to the subject. In relation to the Rwandan genocide, Parkes (1996) indicates that the Rwandan culture is one of obedience and respect for authority. Such a culture of obedience helps, in part, to explain the acts of the Hutus under the extremist Hutu leaders.

Largely influencing people’s obedience to authority is the tendency towards conformity. In another classic social experiment by Asch (1988), the strength of social influence was evident. When reporting the length of lines, subjects would often conform to the majority, even when the answer was obviously wrong. In the case of the Rwandan genocide, Hutus that did not conform to their own Hutu extremist group were subject to verbal and physical abuse and hence may have felt “pressure to engage in hatred and violence, knowing only too well the ramifications of not conforming” (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005, p.110).

A powerful tool used in genocides is propaganda, which has the ability to influence society and individuals alike. Propaganda was used extensively in the Jewish Holocaust by the Nazis, as well as the Rwandan genocide, in an effort to turn groups against each other and commit violent acts on the 'evil' group (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005). For example, in the Rwandan genocide there was a radio station broadcasting to the Hutus, telling them to kill the Tutsi’s (Frontline, 2004). In turn, propaganda can aid the formation of groups, turning groups such as the Hutus and Tutsis against one another. When placed in groups, deindividuation occurs, which results in decreased self-awareness and responsibility for actions, and hence an increased likelihood of violence against the other group (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005).

When conditions are such that individuals and groups suffer the frustration and neglect of basic psychological needs, the likelihood of violence is increased (Staub, 2003). Genocide appears when basic human needs, including feeling secure and effective, having a positive identity, and the need to have deep connections to others and autonomy or independence, are not met (Staub, 1999). Instigators of diminished basic needs include intense social changes, economic problems, and political conflict. These lead to social disorganisation and destructive psychological process in order to satisfy needs, ultimately turning groups of people against each other. The Rwandan genocide, in its simplest form, was two opposing groups turning against each other.

Mullen and Hogg (1999) investigated the role of subjective importance and uncertainty reduction in people’s motivations for group membership, which had important implications for genocide explication. People in this study sought group validation and were motivated towards group membership in order to reduce uncertainty on subjectively important decisions. Staub (1999) claimed that these difficult life conditions, including social uncertainty, are one of many major precursors for genocide. Through the formation of ‘in’ and ‘out’ groups, individuals tend towards the devaluation of others, destructive ideologies, stereotypes, discrimination, and a tendency to blame victims to affirm their own identities. Consequently, violence ensues and the risk of genocide is enhanced.

A number of other social cognitive processes exist that contribute to the plethora of variables that exacerbate genocide. Firstly, heuristics are used by people to make estimates when processing information about people and the world in a clear and simple manner (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). People also tend to seek out information that confirms one's beliefs rather than information that disconfirms their beliefs (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2003). This is known as the confirmation bias, and combined with the use of heuristics, can lead to preconceived judgments and discrimination against groups. Moreover, this can cause people to avoid thinking deeply about information about significant events, which is a contributing factor to the cause of genocide.

Furthermore, the illusory correlation phenomenon, in which formulations are made by connecting unrelated events as evidence to support belief systems, emphasizes the marginalisation of a group (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2003). An example of the illusory correlation was the shooting down of Rwanda’s Prime Ministers’ airplane, in which no group took responsibility. However, in order to reinforce the necessity of the genocide and to further dehumanise the Tutsis, the Hutu leader claimed it was the Tutsis who shot the plane down, although here was no evidence that this was true (Frontline, 2004). Finally, people are likely to use internal or dispositional factors to explain desirable behaviour and external or situational factors when the behaviour is undesirable (Klein & Licata, 2001). These numerous social cognitive factors can be viewed as playing a small part in the larger process of genocide.

Genocide can partly be attributed to social relations, namely the relationship between prejudice and aggression. Prejudice is “a negative attitude or feeling toward an individual based solely on that individual’s membership in a certain group.” (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, p. 403), and was ever present during the Rwandan genocide. Various explanations linking prejudice and aggression have been proposed (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005). The scapegoat theory posits that negative thoughts and feelings towards an outgroup result from people blaming their problems on the outgroup, which can cause people to become aggressive and violent towards the marginalised group (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005). In the case of the Rwandan genocide, the Tutsis, largely defenseless, were alienated and blamed, and consequently attacked by the Hutus.

Further research has strengthened the realistic conflict theory, which states that when resources are scarce, prejudice arises and causes conflict and aggression (Duckitt & Mphuthing, 1998). Leading up to the Rwandan genocide, the international price of tin and coffee (Rwanda's major export commodities) dropped sharply whilst rapid population growth occurred, combining to increase poverty, infighting, and competition for resources between the Tutsi’s and Hutu’s (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005).

Through the interaction of social, psychological, economical, political, and cultural variables, the crisis of genocide ensues. The major social psychological variables that come together when genocide occurs can be grouped under social influences, social cognition's, and social relations. Although the identification and understanding of the variables, including the social psychological ones, which are involved in mass killings and genocide are important, future information about how to effectively intervene and help prevent the crisis should be the focus.

References

Asch, S. E. (1988). Opinions and social pressure. In L. Peplau et al. (Eds.). Readings in social psychology (2nd ed.) (pp. 193-199). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social psychology & human nature. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Duckitt, J., & Mphuthing, T. (1998). Group identification and intergroup attitudes: A longitudinal analysis in South Africa. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 80-85.

Frontline (2004). Ghosts of Rwanda DVD. USA: Public Broadcasting Service.

Klein, O., & Licata, L. (2001). Explaining differences between social groups: The impact of group identification on attribution. Swiss Journal of Psychology, 60(4), 244-252.

Milgrim, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 371-378.

Mullen, B-A., & Hogg, M. A. (1999). Motivations for group membership: The role of subjective important and uncertainty reduction. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 21(2), 91-102.

Parkes, C. M. (1996). Genocide in Rwanda: Personal reflections. Mortality, 1(1), 95-110.

Staub, E. (1999). The roots of evil: Social conditions, culture, personality, and basic human needs. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 179-192.

Staub, E. (2003). Notes on cultures of violence, cultures of caring and peace, and the fulfillment of basic human needs. Political Psychology, 24(1), 1-21.

Taylor, C. C. (1999). Sacrifice as terror: The Rwandan genocide of 1994. Oxford, UK: Berg.

Woolf, L. M., & Hulsizer, M. R. (2003). Intra- and inter-religious hate and violence: A psychosocial model. Journal of Hate Studies, 2(5), 5-25.

Woolf, L. M., & Hulsizer, M. R. (2005) Psychosocial roots of genocide: Risk, prevention, and intervention. Journal of Genocide Research, 7(1), 108-128.

Concept Map

Click here.

Appendix

Self-Assessment

· Theory

I have presented a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the social psychological varibales that are involved in genocide. Through the incorporation of the major theories involved, I have demonsrated a sound knowledge of the factors included in this area. I chose to provide a wide spread of different theories to highlight the extensive nature of genocide theories. Due to this fact, I may not have provided enough in-depth information in the various theories.

· Research

The main theories in this area have been presented using research from the leaders in the genocide field. However, due to the extensive amount of research in the area of genocide, it is possible I missed some of the relevent research. In the future, I could improve my essay by spending more time researching and also researching a wider range of sources.

· Written Expression

Under the constraints of using a blog to submit an essay and the requirements of the blog, my APA style is close to perfect. I decided to keep the format of an APA essay instead of dividing my blog with subheadings. Also, from the start I chose a very simple layout for my blog page to enable people to easily read my blog. Included in the blog is a concept map as required, and I attempted to make it simple to read whilst also covering all the major areas of genocide. Although again due to the large amount fo research available, I may have missed a couple of concepts. Finally, my reading ease statistic (below) was lower than the level expected. The reading level was as required for the blog. For future blogs, I should try and decrease the lengths of my words, sentences, and paragraphs to make my essay clearer. I could also make an effort to improve on presentation, which could make my essay more readable.

· Readability

Flesch Reading Ease = 20.8

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level = 12

·Online Engagement (see links below)

I was one the first students to set up my active blog site early in the semester. I have made a number of blog posts, all of which have incited a number of comments. I have also made a number of comments that I have thought relevant to the issues on other classmate’s blogs. I believe I was the first person to post a rough draft of the topics I planned to talk about in my Rwandan genocide blog. I feel my online engagement in this unit has been exemplary, with the content of my blogs and comments being useful, and reflecting my specific interests in the subject. However, the demands of modern life has meant sacrificing time on submitting, reading and commenting on a variety of blogs for other competing commitments. I have enjoyed getting to know the world of blogging, and would give myself a distinction for this component.

· http://graham-mackay.blogspot.com/
· http://graham-mackay.blogspot.com/2007/08/blog-1-draft-rwandan-genocide.html
· http://socialpsychology-jessica.blogspot.com/2007/07/asch-conformity-experiment_31.html
· http://mikesocialpsychology.blogspot.com/2007/08/would-you-help.html
· http://fionasocialpsych.blogspot.com/2007/08/facebook-social-revoloution.html

Other

· A timeline of the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

· Map of Rwanda showing the capital Kigali, where most of the killings occurred.



Web Resources

1. Ghosts of Rwanda DVD Link.

2. The 8 Stages of Genocide.

3. Two books that help further enlighten the situation of the Rwanda genocide:
- Shake Hands with the Devil
- We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families

4. One definition of ‘genocide’, although debate exists as to a united definition.

5. General information about the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

6. Ghosts of Rwanda video excerpt.

7. United Nations article on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.

8. Link to the Social Psychology class homepage, including links to blogs containing information about the Rwandan genocide.

Blog 1 Draft - Rwandan Genocide

very early on in the semester i had decided to do blog #5 about the social psychological variables involved in genocide, mainly due to intrigue from hearing small bits and pieces about the Rwandan genocide and also after watching Hotel Rwanda. so, after reading a little more these are some of the main variables (although there appear, as usual in psychology, about a thousand factors involved) that i have come up with so far...

* prejudice - scapegoat theory/realistic conflict theory
* aggression (displaced)
* obedience to authority
* conformity
* propaganda
* in/out groups
* confirmation bias
* blaming victim
* fundamental attribution error
* authoritarian leaders
* bystander effect
* 'groupthink'
* ............
* ............

so these are the ideas i plan to talk about in my first ever assessed blog! although at this stage i do find the idea of fitting all of the variables into 1500 words slightly daunting. plus there a innumerable other cultural, economical, political, situational, etc. factors that im not even daring to consider at this stage.


graham

ps. only 2 more weeks until "holidays"!!!!

communicating with blog

well this is my first proper blog and not really sure what to write, but i was interested in the whole blogging concept that james has brought in to this class.

although i can see the benefits of this new 'blogging' phenomenon that has quickly spread through the social psychology scene, i think there is a case for arguing that such social online interaction is a not necessarily a good thing.

firstly, computers can be very very annoying. for example, after spending half an hour filling out details about myself for my profile, i clicked on a button (obviously the wrong one) that i thought would save it. instead it deleted all the details. on reflection, maybe i should be annoyed at the operator?

secondly, in a society that seems to revolve around computers and mobile phones, i think that we sacrifice good old fashioned face-to-face talking. i heard a statistic on the ever-reliable news the other night that something like 16 million people in australia have a mobile phone! although mobiles and computers can be good for keeping in contact with people, communication with these devices lack in a number of ways in comparison to talking face to face. talking to someone in person you can pick up body language, tone, sarcasm, humour, etc. yet when we read a text message we have to interpet it and think about what the sender is saying. i know i have read messages and taken it one way and found out the sender meant something different. also, with communication online or with mobiles responses can be sent almost instantaneously, without actually thinking about what we are saying or what was said by the other person. context is difficult to establish with such devices.

on the other hand, i think that the whole submitting blogs and online engagement is good in that it mixes things up at uni. this is my fourth year at uni and it seems that there is a fair bit of repition in units. lectures, tutorials, essays, lab reports, exams, and so on.

anyway, to anyone that reads this thanks for taking the time to read my rant...

test blog

test blog 101.