Don't Be a Sucker

• Each of these 4 problems
  • anxiety disorder
  • domestic violence
  • racial prejudice
  • obesity
• reflects the operation of psychological mechanisms
• that were designed through evolution
• to serve important adaptive functions, - but that nevertheless can produce harmful consequences.

• question
  • What do
    • anxiety disorders,
    • domestic violence,
    • racial prejudice, and
    • obesity
• all have in common?
• answer
  • maladaptive cognitive biases!

This recalls Maria Lucas meeting Lady Catherine in Pride and Prejudice

Šrol, J., Cavojova, V., & Mikušková, E. B. (2021). Social consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: Evidence from two studies in Slovakia. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/y4svc

Sridhar, D. (2021, September 23). ‘I Know Who Caused Covid-19’ review – the global blame game. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/23/i-know-who-caused-covid-19-review-the-global-blame-game

It's unclear if Captain Wentworth honestly thinks women require more care and better accommodations or whether he is avoiding women in general because of Anne. This line of Mrs Croft's is beautiful. There is a modern web series adaptation called Rational Creatures. I think this is an echo of Mary Wollstonecraft, Austen uses the term again when Elizabeth Bennet is rejecting Mr Collins proposal (P&P chapter 19)

There are few happy couples in Austen, another example is the Gardiners in Pride and Prejudice.

The same distance of Netherfield from Longbourn in Pride and Prejudice but for some reason Uppercross feels much further from Kellynch Hall.

Potential parallels to Mr Bennet's feelings for Mrs Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. Mr Bennet had been "captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good-humour which youth and beauty generally give, [and] had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her." (P&P Chapter 42) Perhaps this also parallels Sir Thomas Bertram's feelings for Lady Bertram in Mansfield Park. It's never stated that Sir Thomas regrets his match but she "captivated" him (chapter 1 MP) and became a "woman who spent her days in sitting, nicely dressed, on a sofa, doing some long piece of needlework, of little use and no beauty, thinking more of her pug than her children" (chapter 2 MP). It seems more fitting somehow that it was the men making choices led my their hormones more than the women (though you must consider Lydia Bennet). Austen points out constantly how women had few choices in life and marriage, they had to make good ones as they would be trapped, they did not have the same freedoms as men.

For a comparative analysis of Northanger Abbey's and Pride and Prejudice's depictions of the city in relation to contemporary ideas of the city "as moral pollution," see Celia Eason's essay, "Austen’s Urban Redemption: Rejecting Richardson’s View of the City." Easton shows us how characters like Isabella Thorpe and Mr. Bennet defy contemporary ideas that women were helpless in the city or that remaining ignorant of the city proved morally useful, respectively. As Catherine's character will prove, knowing how to navigate the city and its traps is essential for any young woman.

Citation: Easton, Celia. "Austen’s Urban Redemption: Rejecting Richardson’s View of the City." Persuasions, no. 26, 2004.

Waterson, J. (2022, January 11). BBC does not subscribe to ‘cancel culture’, says director of editorial policy. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jan/11/bbc-does-not-subscribe-to-cancel-culture-says-director-of-editorial-policy

This stood out to me a lot they felt more like a person than being judge off the color of there skin sad that color prejudice is a thing. It is not the world world that thinks this way it’s simple minded narrow viewing individual that feel this way.

ReconfigBehSci. (2022, January 20). @timcolbourn @OmicronData I can’t, for example, imagine someone saying “handwashing is of limited use it only ‘delays’ getting norovirus”. So, I think it seems worth unpacking the many presuppositions involved in your “just delay” framing 1/n [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1484075371108646914

ReconfigBehSci. (2022, January 20). @timcolbourn @OmicronData As I said before, it’s not the function of this account to argue/advocate covid policies, but I will comment on the shape of the argument. The use of the frame “just delay” here seems hugely prejudicial. We don’t talk that way about flu or other diseases we might get repeatedly [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1484074977964011520

Lemay, E., Kruglanski, A. W., Molinario, E., Agostini, M., Belanger, J., Gutzkow, B., Kreienkamp, J., vanDellen, M. R., team, P., & Leander, P. (2021). The Role of Values in Coping with Health and Economic Threats of COVID-19 [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/6j38h

PsyArXiv Preprints | Anti-Asian Discrimination and Antiracist Bystander Behaviors amid the COVID-19 Outbreak. (n.d.). Retrieved 4 August 2021, from https://psyarxiv.com/tfsqh/

Bressan, P. (2021). Strangers look sicker (with implications in times of COVID-19). PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/x4unv

Participation, E. (n.d.). Equality Act 2010 [Text]. Statute Law Database. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/149

Vachuska, K. (2020). Initial Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Racial Prejudice in the United States: Evidence from Google Trends [Preprint]. SocArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/bgpk3

Adam-Troian, J., & Bagci, S. (2020). The pathogen paradox: Evidence that perceived COVID-19 threat is associated with both pro- and anti-immigrant attitudes. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/948ch

Ziems, C., He, B., Soni, S., & Kumar, S. (2020). Racism is a Virus: Anti-Asian Hate and Counterhate in Social Media during the COVID-19 Crisis. ArXiv:2005.12423 [Physics]. http://arxiv.org/abs/2005.12423

Busby, M., & Gidda, M. (2020, May 26). BAME people fined more than white population under coronavirus laws. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/26/bame-people-fined-more-than-white-population-under-coronavirus-laws

Golec, A., Bierwiaczonek, K., Baran, T., Hase, A., & Keenan, O. (2020). Sexual Prejudice and Concerns of National Survival in Poland during the COVID-19 Pandemic [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/jsuyg

McBride, O., Murphy, J., Shevlin, M., Gibson Miller, J., Hartman, T. K., Hyland, P., … Bentall, R. (2020, April 13). Monitoring the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population: an overview of the context, design and conduct of the COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/wxe2n

The article talks about how prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination has a correlation, but can happen separately. I do believe that this is true. You can be prejudice, stereotypical and discriminate towards others and not be aware. You see this happen a lot in this society. This are the people that see no wrong in there behavior and thinks society is suppose to keep accepting there behavior. Times have change from the 70's to now.

Prejudices come back again--Hume, Vico, Astell...those are three that in recent memory have used this word (or the intros to them did).

Is it possible to have the situation that Sheridan refers to here, one without prejudice entirely? Even in a new subject, couldn't one jump to conclusions or make assumptions about (to pre-judge) it?

Nice aspiration.

What prejudices do the texts themselves inculcate?

This is around the same age as some of Austen's male love interests. Mr. Darcy was 28. Many of the male targets of Austen's marriage plots were older than their female counterparts.

Austen reiterates the idea of gossip that is mistaken and misconstrued, and it is both relatively innocuous and sometimes effective to the plot by introducing conflict. For example, in Pride and Prejudice with the gossip over Mr. Bingley and who would join his party, the story of Mr. Darcy's treatment of Mr. Wickham, and then the suggested engagement between Darcy and Lizzy Bennett.

This phrase is often used in Austen's works, referring to the particular society or selected families a person interacts with, and which usually indicates a level of social class. In Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Gardener says she "moved in different circles" from the Darcys, and in Emma, Mrs. Elton hopes to install Miss Fairfax as a governess in a better circle than she might be able to procure on her own.

Links to common words/themes throughout the annotations

By comparing Pride and Prejudice's concerns of marriage to Emma and Mansfield Park, Moe improves her argument about Austen's comprehension of marriage by using relevant texts to apply to Charlotte and Elizabeth's respective situations.

The scornful treatment of the Plebeians by the tribunes is a clear indication of the class distinction that was present during the Roman, and more appropriately, the Elizabethan eras. The noblemen's internal prejudices create perceptions of the commoners as 'naughty knaves', 'hard hearts' and the 'cruel men of Rome'.

Flavius and Murellus' reprimand of the tradesmen for truanting a workday further solidifies their belief that a labourer's sole purpose is menial work. Shakespeare uses the context to express the irony of this hierarchy; the commoners are distinguished by stupidity, although it is the tribunes that fail to understand the meaning behind the cobbler's puns.

Ultimately this scene serves to characterise the Plebeians and their purpose in the play. The constant defamation from the higher classes outline the insignificance of the commoners in regards to the more serious issues of the story.

Discussing prejudice ironically keeps it alive; it is only through action and relationships that prejudice can be phased out.

This sentiment is slightly concerning, though. If one never discusses how they may be prejudiced against, will they ever be able to recognize it and act appropriately? Can prejudice by solved through action and character alone?

Interesting how this correlates to her call for free American persons of color to be more ambitious and hardworking a few pages ago. To decrease prejudice, she seems to be saying that the marginalized community must meet it head-on. While she does at least partially blame prejudice for giving birth to the loss of ambition in the black community, she is still advocating for them to rise to the challenge so that their descendants' lives will be much easier.

I thought this was interesting in connection with Hume and taste. For Hume, it's important to approach things in an unbiased way in order to properly judge the quality of something. But education is also important for Hume in being able to judge something. Grimke here is pointing out that education itself is biased, as it has privileged white men, meaning that texts will be read through a sexist lens.

Like Hume's individual "prejudiced" by previous taste-making experiences?

Prejudice clouds fair judgement. Interesting, coming from Hume.

What's perhaps unusual here is that prejudice is the lack of externalities rather than the removal of them.

I grew up in rural, Christian, white America. ... The problem isn’t that I don’t understand these people. The problem is they don’t understand themselves, the reasons for their anger/frustrations, and don’t seem to care to know why.

...

Since facts and reality don’t matter, nothing you say to them will alter their beliefs. “President Obama was born in Kenya, is a secret member of the Muslim Brotherhood who hates white Americans and is going to take away their guns.” I feel ridiculous even writing this, it is so absurd, but it is gospel across large swaths of rural America. Are rural, Christian, white Americans scared? You’re damn right they are. Are their fears rational and justified? Hell no. The problem isn’t understanding their fears. The problem is how to assuage fears based on lies in closed-off fundamentalist belief systems that don’t have the necessary tools for properly evaluating the fears.

What CAN change their minds?

• Someone they consider "one of them" and respect as an authority, who preaches tolerance and critical thinking. We need more of those. (Unfortunately, there are now many public figures who reinforce their worst beliefs.)
• Personal experience: knowing people from the groups they are prejudiced against.

Jane Austen use of they; also Thackeray

Incidents of discrimination and harassment against Muslims have increased since the attacks in Paris on November 13th. It has received little or no attention in the mainstream press.

talkingpointsmemo.com "The leader of a group of armed anti-Muslim protesters in Texas posted the addresses of dozens of local Muslims and 'Muslim sympathizer(s)' to Facebook on Tuesday."

Empathy Habit 6: Develop an ambitious imagination

Empathy Habit 5: Inspire mass action and social change

Empathy Habit 5: Inspire mass action and social change

Empathy Habit 4: Listen hard—and open up

Empathy Habit 3: Try another person’s life

Empathy Habit 2: Challenge prejudices and discover commonalities