Monday, November 7, 2016

Working Bibliography

Working Bibliography
Burger, Jerry M. "Negative reactions to increases in perceived personal control." Journal of personality and social psychology, vol. 56, no. 2, 1989, pp. 246-256, https://www.scu.edu/media/college-of-arts-and-sciences/psychology/documents/Negative-Reactions-to-Control-Review.pdf. Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.
Cheney, George, Jill McMillan, and Roy Schwartzman. "Should We Buy the “Student-As-Consumer” Metaphor?" The Montana Professor, vol. 7, no. 3, 1997, pp. 8-11, http://mtprof.msun.edu/Fall1997/Cheney.html. Accessed 22 Oct. 2016.
Collinge, Alan Michael. The Student Loan Scam. Boston: Beacon Press, 2009. Print.
DeAngelis, Tori. "Consumerism and its discontents." Monitor on Psychology, vol. 35, no .6, 2004, pp. 52, http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/discontents.aspx. Accessed 26 Oct. 2016.
Fromm, Erich. To Have or To Be?. Harper & Row, 1976.
Goldstein, A., Déry, N., Pilgrim, M., Ioan, M., & Becker, S. (2016). Stress and binge drinking: A toxic combination for the teenage brain. Neuropsychologia, 90251-260. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.07.035
http://fortune.com/2015/06/16/ryan-smith-internship-advice/
Kruisselbrink Flatt, Alicia. "A Suffering Generation: Six Factors Contributing to the Mental Health Crisis in North American Higher Education." College Quarterly, vol.16, no. 1, 2013. Accessed 15 Oct. 2016.
Mike Molesworth , Elizabeth Nixon & Richard Scullion. “Having, being and higher education: the marketisation of the university and the transformation of the student into consumer.” Teaching in Higher Education, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 277-287, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562510902898841. Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.
Misra, Ranjita, and Michelle McKean. "College students' academic stress and its relation to their anxiety, time management, and leisure satisfaction." American Journal of Health Studies 16.1 (2000): 41.
Nathan, Rebekah. My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student. New York: 
Penguin, 2006.
Rosenberg, Erika L. "Mindfulness and consumerism.” Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World, edited by Tim Kasser and Allen D. Kanner. Washington, Psychological Association, 2004, pp. 107-125, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erika_Rosenberg/publication/232442892_Mindfulness_and_consumerism/links/57d6c10a08ae6399a39599d6.pdf. Accessed 22 Oct. 2016.
Ross, Shannon E., Bradley C. Niebling, and Teresa M. Heckert. "Sources of Stress Among College Students." Social psychology, vol. 61, no. 5, 1999, pp. 841-846.
Schmookler, Andrew Bard. The illusion of choice: How the market economy shapes our destiny. SUNY Press, 1993.
Shin, Lisa M., and Israel Liberzon. "The Neurocircuitry of Fear, Stress, and Anxiety Disorders." Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 35, no. 1, 2010, pp. 169-191. http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v35/n1/full/npp200983a.html. Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.
Steele, James B. and Lance Williams. "Who Got Rich Off the Student Debt Crisis?" Reveal News   (June 28, 2016). Web. https://www.revealnews.org/article/who-got-rich-off-the-student-debt-crisis.
Symonds, William C., Robert Schwartz, and Ronald F. Ferguson. "Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the challenge of Preparing Young Americans." Cambridge, MA: Pathways to Prosperity Project at Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2011.

Research Proposal

Working Title: The Student as Consumer Mentality: A Cancer to Existence
Topic
            Many college students today are finding themselves in psychological turmoil because the conditions encountered in higher education hinder the ability for the mind to learn, adapt, and function in society. This is problematic for the very internal growth and development that higher education is meant to offer for developing minds. I will examine the possible factors that may be leading to such intellectual deficiency—academic pressure, financial burden, perceived control, etc.—and attempt to relate them to the aftermath of the privatization of higher education and its effects on the human psyche. Privatization has lead to a paradigm in which students are “consumers” and degrees are “products,” and this market-driven nature contributes to lower academic performance, less internal growth, and poor mental health for students. This epidemic is surely raising eyebrows, but the exact causes are both controversial and difficult to quantify. After all, these environmental effects can surely exist without privatization. In order to establish a relationship between privatization and the present environment from which students intellectually suffer, I will first attempt to explain the inner workings of the human mind through the psychology of motives, behavior, and learning. Basic environmental conditions that deter the mind from purposeful growth and retainment will be examined. I will then explain the effects of privatization and how it has contributed to a college atmosphere plagued by consumerism and automaticity. After, I will demonstrate how such an atmosphere impairs learning and internal development by encouraging flawed motives that are detrimental to wellbeing and productive behavior. It is this type of environment that heavily contributes to the lack of development and intrinsic growth of students. I am interested in this topic because, from my own experiences, it is evident that college life is infused with automatic, robotic behaviors. Many students I know just attend to get by in life without experiencing any meaningful, internal drive to pursue goals that feed their intellect. This makes it hard for people to identify with themselves and their paths in life. I am also minoring in psychology and interested in speculating possible ways in which humanity can successfully evolve and prosper without destroying itself. The environment that privatization creates in higher education, specifically through consumerism and automacity, is contributing to a crisis that is reducing intellect, wellbeing, and the ability for students to be aware and responsive to a rapidly changing environment.
Research Question
Does the environment that privatization creates for college students elicit behaviors, motives, and attitudes that contribute to less knowledge retainment and a lack of meaningful, internal growth?
Theoretical Frame
As previously mentioned, a degree is now essentially a “product” while the student is the “consumer” who strives to acquire it. This concept is addressed in many scholarly works. One example can be derived from the view of Molesworth et al., who draw from Fromm’s humanist philosophy (Fromm, 1995) to argue that higher education is moving toward an atmosphere in which students are adapting to a “student-as-consumer” mindset due to the nature of the “market-led” university. With this mindset, intellectual capacity of students can decrease while they seek to ‘have a degree’ rather than ‘be learners’ (278). Such an environment can cause students to be passive to learning rather than having a learner identity by which they are actively engaged. This type of existential mindset in itself can reduce mental awareness and responsiveness.
Another work discusses the theme of “automacity” in behavior and the burdening need for fulfillment created by consumerism, which both decrease “mindfulness”. Mindfulness, or the awareness and ability to see the happenings of one’s inner and outer worlds, is crucial for mental health and wellbeing. Reflecting on other works cited within her own (Cushman, 1990; Fromm, 1955), Erika L. Rosenberg explains the automacity of consumer behavior, “What and how much we consume stems more from unconscious choices than from mindful deliberation. Advertising capitalizes on this automaticity to exploit the insatiable need for fulfillment that burdens many modern humans in industrialized countries” (107). Accordingly, consumerism can create a mindset in which people have the motive to constantly fulfill themselves by acquiring materialistic products to the point that it becomes automatic behavior. When automacity is the driving force, fulfillment resides only on the surface where it is not consciously embedded. This causes it to be temporary and extrinsic rather than intrinsic and long lasting; lifestyles tend to be rather robotic. Therefore, the fulfillment always recedes and the empty self continuously and unconsciously tries to recover. This burden takes a huge toll on the human mind.
In terms of the degree as a product, it becomes extrinsic rather than intrinsic. Students turn toward pursuing degrees that are more career-focused and likely to offer employment with higher salaries (Bunce et al. 3). In this common scenario, the motive to acquire a degree is more materialistic than it is mindful. This encourages a state of have while discouraging a state of being. A state of have can be extremely detrimental to enthusiasm and motivation in some ways. Tori DeAngelis, a freelance journalist for the American Psychological Association, discusses how Knox College psychologist Tim Kasser, PhD, explains extrinsic motives: “Kasser distinguishes extrinsic goals—which tend to focus on possessions, image, status and receiving rewards and praise—from intrinsic ones, which aim at outcomes like personal growth and community connection and are satisfying in and of themselves.” He continues to explain that an extrinsic goal like product acquisition leads to greater unhappiness, poorer moods, and more psychological problems (52). Degrees are increasingly being perceived as an extrinsic goal. They are approached with the student-as-consumer mindset due to the privatization of higher education, and this is shifting the motive from a goal of deep, meaningful fulfillment to a goal more along the lines of product acquisition. This kind of mental navigation throughout college is so automatic and external that students become more passive and disconnected, as described in many works that will be examined. This influences the idea that feeling better depends on others and events changing for the better; there is a low degree of personal control. Jerry M. Burger examines research of personal control and concludes in part that “situational and personality variables that increase the likelihood of a poor outcome and increase the severity of the consequences of the poor outcome will lead to a greater chance that the person will relinquish control, experience anxiety, or do more poorly on a subsequent task” (254). If students accept that they exist as a commodity, this situational variable can cause a loss of personal control while leading to psychological distress and decreased responsiveness.  This can also lead to a decrease in social connectedness, which may be responsible for rising levels of depression. This and the other situational variables discussed are all affects of privatization that hinder internal growth and skillful adaptability.
Research Plan
I will begin my research by examining the rise of privatization in higher education and the effects it has had on institutions thus far by discussing works of Collinge, Nathan, and Steel & Williams. I will then discuss studies that demonstrate problems with the higher education paradigm and how students are lacking in growth and skill development. Many of these can be related to the aftermath of privatization. Furthermore, the study by Molesworth et al. is a great source for bringing up the theory of the “student-as-consumer” mindset within higher education. It sheds light on some of the negative effects this can have on the human psyche and is related to many of the affects of privatization. From here, I will bring up the literature of Erich Fromm to examine the having mode and the being mode (theme of “being versus having”). This will help me demonstrate more of what the human mind experiences when it is influenced by such a mindset, and as a result link privatization, student-as-consumer mentality, and poor mental health.
The next work I will examine is that of Erika L. Rosenberg to discuss the “automacity” of consumer behavior, which reduces mindfulness and intrinsic motivation in achieving goals—like receiving a degree. At this point I will discuss the article by Tori DeAngelis from the APA to help me outline the significance of intrinsic goals that lead to personal growth, fulfillment, and connection with others. A lack of personal control and social connection is associated with extrinsic goals and automacity, so it is useful to proceed by discussing the works of Burger and a few others. Again, I will link these variables to the affects of privatization. I will end by examining paradigms in which mental health prospers, suggesting ways to battle this detrimental mindset to overcome the intellectual impairment that is partly caused by current educational practices (i.e. mindfulness, creating an association between the product and something pleasant).
Working Bibliography
Burger, Jerry M. "Negative reactions to increases in perceived personal control." Journal of personality and social psychology, vol. 56, no. 2, 1989, pp. 246-256, https://www.scu.edu/media/college-of-arts-and-sciences/psychology/documents/Negative-Reactions-to-Control-Review.pdf. Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.
Cheney, George, Jill McMillan, and Roy Schwartzman. "Should We Buy the “Student-As-Consumer” Metaphor?" The Montana Professor, vol. 7, no. 3, 1997, pp. 8-11, http://mtprof.msun.edu/Fall1997/Cheney.html. Accessed 22 Oct. 2016.
Collinge, Alan Michael. The Student Loan Scam. Boston: Beacon Press, 2009. Print.
DeAngelis, Tori. "Consumerism and its discontents." Monitor on Psychology, vol. 35, no .6, 2004, pp. 52, http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/discontents.aspx. Accessed 26 Oct. 2016.
Fromm, Erich. To Have or To Be?. Harper & Row, 1976.
Goldstein, A., Déry, N., Pilgrim, M., Ioan, M., & Becker, S. (2016). Stress and binge drinking: A toxic combination for the teenage brain. Neuropsychologia, 90251-260. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.07.035
http://fortune.com/2015/06/16/ryan-smith-internship-advice/
Kruisselbrink Flatt, Alicia. "A Suffering Generation: Six Factors Contributing to the Mental Health Crisis in North American Higher Education." College Quarterly, vol.16, no. 1, 2013. Accessed 15 Oct. 2016.
Mike Molesworth , Elizabeth Nixon & Richard Scullion. “Having, being and higher education: the marketisation of the university and the transformation of the student into consumer.” Teaching in Higher Education, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 277-287, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562510902898841. Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.
Misra, Ranjita, and Michelle McKean. "College students' academic stress and its relation to their anxiety, time management, and leisure satisfaction." American Journal of Health Studies 16.1 (2000): 41.
Nathan, Rebekah. My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student. New York: 
Penguin, 2006.
Rosenberg, Erika L. "Mindfulness and consumerism.” Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World, edited by Tim Kasser and Allen D. Kanner. Washington, Psychological Association, 2004, pp. 107-125, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erika_Rosenberg/publication/232442892_Mindfulness_and_consumerism/links/57d6c10a08ae6399a39599d6.pdf. Accessed 22 Oct. 2016.
Ross, Shannon E., Bradley C. Niebling, and Teresa M. Heckert. "Sources of Stress Among College Students." Social psychology, vol. 61, no. 5, 1999, pp. 841-846.
Schmookler, Andrew Bard. The illusion of choice: How the market economy shapes our destiny. SUNY Press, 1993.
Shin, Lisa M., and Israel Liberzon. "The Neurocircuitry of Fear, Stress, and Anxiety Disorders." Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 35, no. 1, 2010, pp. 169-191. http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v35/n1/full/npp200983a.html. Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.
Steele, James B. and Lance Williams. "Who Got Rich Off the Student Debt Crisis?" Reveal News (June 28, 2016). Web. https://www.revealnews.org/article/who-got-rich-off-the-student-debt-crisis/

Literature Review #3: "Relationships between College Students' Credit Card Debt, Undesirable Academic Behaviors and Cognitions, and Academic Performance" by Eileen A. Hogan et al.

Retrieved from: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/05/25/business/25-APPLIED/25-APPLIED-blog427.jpg
Hogan, Eileen A., Sarah K. Bryant, and Leslie E. Overymyer-Day. "Relationships Between College Students' Credit Card Debt, Undesirable Academic Behaviors And Cognitions, And Academic Performance." College Student Journal 47.1 (2013): 102-112. ERIC

Summary

The cost of higher education is continuing to rise as public funding is cut and the need for private funding increases. This condition is proving to be an economic drawback because student debt from loans rise in hand with tuition inflation. The effect that debt can have on one's wellbeing can last for quite a long time. Along with loan debt, credit card debt is an increasing problem for undergraduates. A 2004 study by Sallie Mae demonstrated that 84% of students carried at least one credit card, 17% paid off their cards each month, almost one-third of students put tuition on their card, and 92% charge their cards with direct education expenses (103). This article is a study done by Eileen A. Hogan et al. that gives insight into the relationships between student debt, academic behaviors and cognitions, and academic performance. It explores relationships between debt, cognition, and academics and does not attempt to examine possible causal factors of accumulation of debt. However, other research highly suggests that low self-control may be the most influential factor in predicting behaviors that lead to accumulation of credit debt. 

The research that is presented was conducted in a four-year public university within both upper and lower division courses. The sample was created with the intention of accurately representing the average population of university students. After giving consent, 388 students completed a survey that captured demographic information and information regarding awareness of personal credit cards. Furthermore, the survey asked for information on experienced levels of anxiety, coping behaviors involved, academic-related behaviors, and perceived impact of each of these on academic success. A 7 point Likert scale was used to capture the degree of agreement with each survey item. 

Regarding credit card use, the study found that 73% of students using cards knew about their credit but only 41% knew their current balance. Additionally, it is suggested that the higher the credit balance, the more hours a student tends to work, the more they spend on impulse, and the more that undesirable academic behaviors and cognitions are felt. The more a student is late on payments to their card and the more the student works, the more they feel ridden with undesirable academic behaviors and spending. Students on this side of the spectrum report feeling more anxiety. Overall, the study suggests that financial troubles relate to how a student performs and learns. Financial strain also relates to the amount of time and energy a student allocates in college.

About the Authors

Eileen A. Hogan, Ph.D., served as Dean and Professor Emerita from the College of Business at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. She received her degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of California at Berkeley and has published many works related to the assurance of learning efforts and assessment of business programs. 

Sarah K. Bryant, Ph.D., is a Professor of Finance in the College of Business at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. She received a MBA in International Finance and Intermediate Finance at Loyola College and Indiana University of Pennsylvania respectively. From the University of South Carolina, she received her Ph.D. that was of concentration in Economics and a B.S. in Economics and Business. She has many publications in her related fields and has taught many financial and economics courses.

Leslie E. Overymyer-Day, Ph.D., was a Senior Research Analyst and Advisor for the National Academy of Public Administration. She also can be credited with work in Booz Allen Hamilton, an leading American management and technology consulting firm.

Key Terms & Concepts


Credit card use -   an increasing problem for undergraduates in the U.S.; relationship to undesirable academic behaviors and cognitons and academic performance are established (102)
Debt & stress - student debt level is directly related to their self-assessed financial stress level (104)
Credit card balance - positive relationship with hours working, undesirable academics, and shopping (109)
Financial delinquency - positively related to undesirable academics and shopping (109)
Hours studying - negative relationship to drinking and to shopping (109)
Hours working - positively related to undesirable academics (109)
Undesirable academics - positively related to felt anxiety, drinking, and shopping, and negatively to current GPA (109)
Perceived effect of work on studying -  students who owe more credit card debt, those who feel in nancial trouble, who work more, and who exhibit more undesirable academic behaviors feel more strongly that work contributes to less time and energy for studying; these students also report more anxiety (110) 


Quotes

"When students accumulate debt to a problematic level, they can respond in two ways: increasing income by getting jobs, working more hours, or borrowing; and/or engaging in various forms of dysfunctional behaviors such as drinking. Either response could negatively impact study and attendance behaviors and, eventually, grade point average and learning, time in college, and dropping or “stopping” out of college" (103). 

"In this vein, a study by Adams and Moore (2007) found a significant relationship between students’ credit card debt and students’ high-risk health behaviors, such as drinking and driving, use of amphetamines, depression, and high BMI" (104).

"Students might also respond to debt through various dysfunctional behaviors, such as... Drinking, drugs, depression, or eating. These coping behaviors also may be negatively linked to students’ academic behaviors such as studying and attending classes, e.g. hangovers or lack of sleep might result in missing classes. Coping behaviors may also involve spending more money, which increases financial difficulty" (104). 


"Students get into financial difficulty for various reasons, some of which have been studied... Once they get into financial trouble they may experience anxiety, which may lead to inappropriate behaviors to alleviate stress such as drinking or shopping inappropriately. These, in turn, may increase credit card balances and heighten anxiety" (110).

Value

This study is valuable to my line of research because although credit card debt is not equatable to loan debt, it demonstrates some of the relationships that any debt can have on psychological wellbeing and academic success. It is important for the sake of my own research to note here that debt and stress maintain a relationship regardless of any causal factors. It is difficult to claim that one causes the other, but the relationship exists and can be indicative if certain behaviors and outcomes. This point will help me demonstrate that the effects of privatization (financial burden and academic pressure) indirectly affect both mental health and academic success. Accordingly, I do not intend to distinguish any causal factors because everything variates on a complex spectrum that current research can not reasonably quantify. Debt can affect stress levels experienced by students and influence them to respond in ways that only further implicate mental health and academic success, such as taking part in unhealthy eating habits or binge drinking. Such an environment will surely exacerbate the development of psychological disorders and impairments in college students.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Literature Review #2: "To Have or to Be?" by Erich Fromm



Fromm, Erich. To Have or To Be? (Continuum Impacts) Kindle ed., Open Road Media, 2013. Retrieved from Amazon.com.


Summary

Fromm introduces the reader with the idea of "The Great Promise" and the corresponding "illusion of happiness." He defines this promise as "the promise of domination of nature, of material abundance, of the greatest happiness for the greatest number, and of unimpeded personal freedom" (1). He explains that observable data shows this pursuit of happiness actually cripples wellbeing and produces a society of lonely, anxious, depressed, destructive, and dependent people (1). This sets up the book up for his idea that humanity is stuck in a "having" versus "being" mode. Fromm examines the differences between these two states of living. In a state of having, an individual focuses on possessing materialistic things and possessive qualities. In a state of being, an individual concentrates on intrinsic meaning and self-realization, or the fulfillment of one's own potential. He first takes the reader on a journey through the history of consumerism and linguistics to demonstrate the origin of the terms and how "having" was invented only after "being." He reflects on works of Buddha, Jesus, and Marx to support his claim that a state of being is supreme. He also reflects on the poetry of Tennyson, Basho, and Goathe to illustrate how modern man does not fully understand the mode of being because we possess to understand (without admiration and deliberate awareness). Most languages do not have a word for "to have" and express possession indirectly, centering around importance of the individual. In these languages, "I have" is expressed as "it is to me." This type of phrasing focuses on the object's meaning to the individual rather than focusing on the appearance of the actual possession. Focusing on the possession is problematic because it removes the individual from personal identity and authenticity: 


"By saying 'I have a problem' instead of 'I am troubled,' subjective experience is eliminated: the of experience is replaced by the it of possession. I have transformed my feeling into something I posses: the problem. But 'problem' is an abstract expression for all kinds of difficulties. I cannot have a problem, because it is not a thing that can be owned; it, however, can have me. That is to say, I have transformed myself into 'a problem' and am now owned by my creation. This way of speaking betrays a hidden, unconscious alienation" (9).

Accordingly, the identity of the individual becomes the possession itself. Consumers identify themselves by what they have and consume rather than what they actually are (defined as the "marketing character). This is evident in modern Western societies as nouns continue to be used more than verbs. Fromm argues that modern societies are plagued by a state of having rather than a state of being due to consumerism and a transition in speech, as expressed in the quote above. This type of environment affects everyday experiences: learning, remembering, conversing, reading, exercising authority, knowledge, faith, love, etc. When Learning in the having mode students listen to lectures, memorize, and only possess statements of professors. Students learning in the being mode listen and respond actively, taking in the information internally and growing from it. A having mode supports mechanical and logic remembering while students in the being mode actively recall information through experience. Reading in the a having mode just stores clumps of text in the student's mind while reading in the being mode helps the student break down meaning of sentences to gain personal insight. Having faith leads to certainty without daring to search for it, while being in faith leads to certainty in oneself and experience. The "being" mode always prevails and supports tangible human growth. Fromm ends his work on a rather positive note by introducing the concept of the "New Man" that is awakening. Assuming the premise that only a fundamental change in human character from a having mode to a being mode of existence is correct, he provides a platform that explains the conditions by which humanity can come together and change for the better.


About the Author

Erich Fromm (1900-1980) was considered to be one of the world's leading psychoanalysts. He was also attributed as a social behaviorist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist with Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud being two of his main influences. He produced many psychoanalytic literatures during his time and had an extensive academic recordFurthermore, he helped establish the Mexican Institute of Psychoanalysis and was its director until a few years before his death. His research was centered around improving the conditions of human life to foster the evolution of human physical and intellectual ability. 


Key Terms & Concepts

The Great Promise - the promise of domination of nature, of material abundance, of the greatest happiness for the greatest number, and of unimpeded personal freedom (1)
Illusion of Happiness - the pursuit of happiness by material wealth actually cripples wellbeing and produces a society of lonely, anxious, depressed, destructive, and dependent people (4)
Having Mode a state of existence in which an individual focuses on possessing materialistic things and possessive qualities (14)
Being Mode - a state of existence in which an individual concentrates on intrinsic meaning and self-realization (14)
Self-Realization - the fulfillment of one's own potential which is blocked by the having mode (64)
Marketing Character - human character based on experiencing oneself as a commodity and one’s value not as “use value” but as “exchange value” (147)
New Man (Marx) - the awakening conscious of humanity whereby mankind can change his perception of existence for the better through the transition from a having to being mode (157)
Joy versus Pleasure - idea that joy is the satisfaction of a desire that is internally everlasting and attained in the being mode while pleasure is the satisfaction of a desire that does not require activity (in the sense of aliveness) to be satisfied and a is result of the having mode; we live in a world of "joyless" pleasures (116)

Quotes

"But even without theoretical analysis the observable data show most clearly that our kind of 'pursuit of happiness' does not produce well-being. We are a society of notoriously unhappy people: lonely, anxious, depressed, destructive, dependent— people who are glad when we have killed the time we are trying so hard to save." (5)

What I saw has led me to conclude that this distinction, together with that between love of life and love of the dead, represents the most crucial problem of existence; that empirical anthropological and psychoanalytic data tend to demonstrate that having and being are two fundamental modes of experience, the respective strengths of which determine the differences between the characters of individuals and various types of social character." (16)

"By being I refer to the mode of existence in which one neither has anything nor craves to have something, but is joyous, employs one's faculties productively, is oned to the world." (18)

"Modern consumers may identify themselves by the formula: I am  what I have and what I consume." (27).

"Everything and anything can become an object of craving: things we use in daily life, property, rituals, good deeds, knowledge, and thoughts. While they are not in themselves 'bad,' they become bad; that is, when we hold onto them, when they become chains that interfere with our freedom, they block our self-realization." (64)

"Yet the distinction between joy and pleasure is crucial, particularly so in reference to the distinction between the being and the having modes. It is not easy to appreciate the difference, since we live in a world of 'joyless pleasures.'" (116) 

"Of course, in order to become rich or famous, individuals must be very active in the sense of busyness, but not in the sense of the 'birth within' When they have achieved their goal they may be 'thrilled,' 'intensely satisfied,' feel they have reached a 'peak.' But what peak?... they may have reached this state driven by passions that, though human, are nevertheless pathological, inasmuch as they do not lead to an intrinsically adequate solution of the human condition. Such passions do not lead to greater human growth and strength but, on the contrary, to human crippling." (116-117) 

"A person [in the market character] is not concerned with his or her life and happiness, but with becoming salable." (148)

"ASSUMING THE PREMISE IS RIGHT—that only a fundamental change in human character from a preponderance of the having mode to a predominantly being mode of existence can save us from a psychologic and economic catastrophe—the question arises: Is large-scale characterological change possible, and if so, how can it be brought about?" (168)

Value

This work is extremely valuable to my research endeavors. I will use it to reflect on consumerism and relate the "student-as-consumer" mentality to one that promotes a mode of having rather than a mode of being in higher education. It will help me demonstrate the effects of privatization on the developing mind and how the environment it creates (evoking the "marketing character" and view of oneself as a commodity) causes internal alienation, depression, anxiety, and other disorders. Like Erika L. Rosenberg, Fromm believes increased awareness can help lift humanity from this strife. Rosenberg explains how mindful meditation can help an individual raise awareness and, while Fromm does not directly mention meditation, he similarly explains that mindful introspection is crucial. Therefore, this source will also help me suggest a way for students to successfully cope with their environment and increase internal growth and ingenuity.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Mental Disorders in College Students: Visualization of Causal Factors Related to Privatization




Literature Review #1: "Mindfulness and Consumerism" by Erika L. Rosenberg

Retrieved from: http://az616578.vo.msecnd.net/files/2016/04/02/635952276665246516-755625981_consumer.jpg
Rosenberg, Erika L. "Mindfulness and Consumerism." Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World, edited by Tim Kasser and Allen D. Kanner. Washington, Psychological Association, 2004, pp. 107-125, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erika_Rosenberg/publication/232442892_Mindfulness_and_consumerism/links/57d6c10a08ae6399a39599d6.pdf.


Summary


In this specific work, Rosenberg examines the impacts that consumerism can have on the human mind. She argues that American consumer behavior tends to be automatic and unexamined. This means people are less mindful and aware. She explains two main points: "First, advertisers and corporations capitalize on powerful psychological processes to strengthen automaticity in consumer behavior... Second, these nonconscious choices about consumption are driven by a need for fulfillment" (108). Consumerism can create a mindset in which people have the motive to constantly fulfill themselves by acquiring materialistic products to the point that it becomes automatic behavior. This automatic behavior influences individuals to flow with the status quo without being aware enough to fully think and act with deliberation. Psychological processes support nonconscious consumer choices, and corporations use these processes to their advantage without their audience being aware of it. Rosenberg points out, "In general, people do not realize how much they consume or how they have come to rely on consumption as a means of recreation or temporary fulfillment, because they examine neither their actions nor the underlying needs that are temporarily satiated by buying things" (110). She touches upon some of the studies that prove this type of systematic behavior exists. Indeed, it is useful for the mind to make some tasks automatic. However, it is often not beneficial to behave with automaticity. 

Through endless advertising, consumers experience exposure to products. People prefer familiarity, so repeated exposure through ads will convince individuals that products are more desirable than they really are. Also, companies understand how to use classical conditioning to their advantage by pairing a product with some pleasant unconditioned stimuli to establish an association between the commodity and something satisfying. She explains accordingly, "We eventually begin to associate the pleasantness with the product alone and our desire to have it becomes a conditioned response" (112). Consumption only temporarily induces a sense of satisfaction and does not offer much in terms of long-term fulfillment, which corresponds to the constant need of fulfillment individuals experience without realizing it. The associated pleasantness fades and the conditioned response kicks in time and time again through a recurring cycle. The point of this chapter in Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World is to provide a psychological perspective on the effects of consumerism while also suggesting that mindfulness can serve as an antidote. Rosenberg explains how mindfulness has an opposite effect that helps heal the mind and reduces automaticity. She then suggests ways in which teachers and students can practice it. With raised awareness, students can understand the behaviors they are susceptible to and avoid blatant consumerism. Additionally, mindfulness helps develop contemplative skills and promotes healthy cognition. In turn, mindfulness also cures many mental disorders. It is important for our culture to find methods that change consumer mentality and remove the harmful effects that are prone to exist.

About the Author


Erika L. Rosenberg, PhD, is a health psychologist and meditation teacher from the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis. There, she is a senior investigator on a multidisciplinary project that studies the impact of meditation on human cognition, emotion, and neurophysiology. 

Key Terms & Concepts

Mindfulness - awareness and the ability to see the happenings of one's inner and outer world (108)
Problem of Automaticity - the mind tends to make some behaviors and choices more unconscious and automatic while less mindful and deliberate; corporations take advantage of this (107)
Consumerism - consumer behavior that is influenced by corporations; companies understand natural human tendencies/psychological processes and often exploit them to their advantage
Need for Fulfillment - an underlying human inclination to satiate needs and desires; fulfillment is recurring because the nonconscious choices about consumption is only temporarily satisfying (108)
Classical Conditioning - pairs the presentation of an object to buy (presumably a neutral stimulus) with pleasant or desirable "unconditioned" stimuli to create an association between the product and something pleasant; we learn to think that we need to acquire particular products in order to be happy


Quotes

"First, advertisers and corporations capitalize on powerful psychological processes to strengthen automaticity in consumer behavior... Second, these nonconscious choices about consumption are driven by a need for fulfillment." (108)

"In general, people do not realize how much they consume or how they have come to rely on consumption as a means of recreation or temporary fulfillment, because they examine neither their actions nor the underlying needs that are temporarily satiated by buying things." (110)


"We eventually begin to associate the pleasantness with the product alone and our desire to have it becomes a conditioned response." (112)

Value

This material is valuable in helping me explore my research question. As I attempt to shed light on the trending "student-as-consumer" mentality and how students often view themselves as commodities, this source will help me examine the psychological effects. It demonstrates that these effects are detrimental to psychological wellbeing and development. There may exist automaticity in behavior because of this mindset, where students feel like they are pursuing their degree (a product) just to get by rather than pursuing a degree for meaningful growth and development. This will surely influence students to work toward degrees that will be financially stable, which is not always fitting for the student. These majors tend to be more difficult, stressful, and time consuming, which adds to psychological distress. In this type of environment, students may be motivated to learn for the wrong reasons in a way that does not promote well-rounded development. 

When the degree is viewed as a product, attaining one may promote automaticity in behavior (especially if the major was chosen only to provide a career that will pay off). It can remove the intrinsic value of higher education, making it seem less meaningful. Motivation to attain the degree and may be temporary, which is problematic for internal development in which students can be responsive to a rapidly changing environment. If no intrinsic benefit is perceived and the marginal cost of the education exceeds the marginal benefit to the student, the individual may be less motivated, discouraged, and stressed. A low degree of personal control may arise, and all of these factors can exacerbate the development of mental disorders while in college. I will use this source to help me outline the effects of consumerism on education, which are indirectly the effects of privatization. These effects are not ideal for psychological wellbeing. Also, this source is great for outlining the importance of mindfulness as a method of coping with college life. 

Monday, October 31, 2016

Focus Topic: A Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education

Retrieved from: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/07/14/mental-health-college_slide-8f46d40cb1716234b82e9747858bae738bdb1ebf-s1600-c85.jpg
Most psychological disorders happen on average between the ages of 18 and 24, which is also the age range in which most students attend college. Many college students today are finding themselves in psychological turmoil, which is problematic for the very internal growth and development that higher education is meant to offer for developing minds. These disorders hinder the ability for the mind to learn, adapt, and function in society. I will examine the possible factors that may be leading to such mental despair—academic pressure, financial burden, etc.—and attempt to relate them to the aftermath of the privatization of higher education and its effects on the human psyche. Privatization has lead to a paradigm in which students are “consumers” and degrees are “products,” and this market-driven nature contributes to lower academic performance and mental health. This epidemic is surely raising eyebrows, but the exact causes of stress and mental disorders are controversial and difficult to pinpoint. After all, these disorders can surely exist without privatization. In order to establish a relationship between the two, I will first attempt to explain the inner workings of the human mind through the psychology of learning, behavior, motives, and wellbeing. I will then discuss how privatization has created a college environment that is characterized by consumerism and automaticity. After, I will demonstrate how such an environment affects learning and internal development by encouraging faulty motives that are detrimental to wellbeing and productive behavior. It is this type of environment that feeds the formation of psychological disorders. The environment that privatization creates in higher education, specifically through consumerism and automacity, is contributing to a mental health crisis that is reducing wellbeing, ingenuity, and the ability for students to be aware and responsive to a rapidly changing environment.