Youβre simply not that big a deal: now isnβt that a relief?
Learn how to practice "self-indifference."
11 January, 2021
Photo by Kazuo ota on Unsplash
There is a meme that speaks directly to the hearts and minds of the overly self-conscious.
<p> Perhaps you've seen it; it goes something like this: 'Brain: βI see you are trying to sleep. May I offer you a selection of your most embarrassing memories from the past 10 years?"'</p><p>At first, it seems odd to think that this meme is so popular among those of us whom you would call 'millennials', who grew up steeped in the self-esteem movement of the 1990s. We were raised, after all, to <em>love ourselves</em>, not to quietly torture ourselves with decade-old memories. We were taught in classroom exercises how <em>special</em> we were, the prevailing pop-psych theory of the day being that high self-esteem would carry us to success.</p><p>And yet this turns out to be poor preparation for dealing with the everyday embarrassments of being human. Instead of single-mindedly trying to love yourself, may I suggest a self-directed attitude that has been famously called the opposite of love: indifference.</p><p>In the 2000s, as the self-esteem movement was ageing, psychology researchers began publishing a series of papers on something called self-compassion, which Kristin Neff at the University of Texas at Austin in 2003 <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277517590_The_Development_and_Validation_of_a_Scale_to_Measure_Self-Compassion" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">defined</a> this way:</p><blockquote>[B]eing open to and moved by one's own suffering, experiencing feelings of caring and kindness toward oneself, taking an understanding, nonjudgmental attitude toward one's inadequacies and failures, and recognising that one's own experience is part of the common human experience.</blockquote><p>Back then, much of this work sought to contrast self-compassion with self-esteem. Consider one <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17484611" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">study</a> that relates to the aforementioned meme, in which researchers asked college students to recall an embarrassing high-school memory. Some of the students were then given writing prompts meant to bring out their self-compassionate side; they were told to 'list ways in which other people also experience similar events', and to express 'understanding, kindness, and concern to themselves in the same way that they might express concern to a friend'. In contrast, other students were given writing prompts intended to stoke their self-esteem: they were told to 'write down [their] positive characteristics' and to describe why an incident wasn't really their fault β and that, anyhow, the event 'does not really indicate anything about the kind of person [they] are'.</p>
<p>The point, the researchers go on to argue in that paper, subtitled 'The Implications of Treating Oneself Kindly', is that the tenets of self-esteem will tell you to try to convince yourself that the stupid thing you did wasn't really all that stupid β or if it was, that it was someone else's fault. Self-esteem tells you to focus on all your wonderful, positive qualities. In contrast, self-compassion says it's best to acknowledge your own role in an unflattering moment; when the memories come back at night, a self-compassionate person will say to herself: 'Huh, yeah β that really <em>was</em> pretty embarrassing.'</p><p>But she'll also say: 'So what?' Plenty of other people have embarrassed themselves in similar ways. In the end, this study showed that those who'd been prodded toward the direction of self-esteem felt worse about themselves after remembering the high-school embarrassment than those who'd been led toward self-compassion.</p><p>Self-esteem has fallen out of favour, and it is starting to seem these days as if self-compassion is taking its place. The headlines that keep popping up are: 'Why Self-love Is Important And How To Cultivate It' (Medical News Today, 23 March 2018); '8 Powerful Steps To Self-Love' (Psychology Today, 29 June 2017); 'The Not-So-Secret Secret To Happiness: Be Kinder To Yourself, Okay?' (The Cut, 22 April 2016). (Fine: I wrote the last one.) The focus in these pop-psych stories tends to stay squarely on the first part of Neff's 15-year-old definition: 'experiencing feelings of caring and kindness toward oneself, taking an understanding, nonjudgmental attitude toward one's inadequacies and failures'. From reading many of these pieces, self-compassion seems like self-kindness, and nothing more.</p>
<p>But it's the second part of that definition that has proven the most helpful for me: 'recognising that one's own experience is part of the common human experience'. It's the idea of taking a zoomed-out look at yourself, and realising that you are more similar to others than you are different, even (maybe especially) considering how ridiculous you often are. As Neff herself said in an interview with The Atlantic in 2016: '[W]hen we fail, it's not "poor me," it's "well, everyone fails." Everyone struggles. This is what it means to be human.'</p><p>In fact, it's this part of the definition of self-compassion that makes me question whether it should be called self-compassion at all. Neff's concept isn't really about adoring yourself, or not entirely, anyway; this piece of it isn't actually about you. Rather, it's about the importance of recalling that you are but one small part of an interconnected whole.</p><p>For me, the term 'self-indifference' communicates this part of Neff's message better than her own term does: when it comes to embarrassing moments, it means considering your own highlight reel of flaws, acknowledging that, yes, maybe the moment really <em>was</em> that bad β but then responding with a shrug. It is, to come back to my earlier point, something you could call self-indifference, by which I mean the comfort of realising that you are not all that unique.</p>
<p>Really, though, self-indifference and self-compassion are just new-fangled terms for an ancient concept: humility. We tend to think of humility as if it means putting yourself down, a mischaracterisation that a recent <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-49118-001" target="_blank">study</a> in the <em>Journal of Applied Psychology</em> seems to buy into in its examination of 'humble leaders'. Humility in a manager, according to these researchers, is defined as 'being open to admitting one's limitations, shortcomings and mistakes'. To be humble, in these researchers' view, is to focus on your flaws.</p><p>But modern scholars who study humility see it differently. Humble people don't focus on their flaws β not exactly, anyway. It's more that humble people don't focus on themselves very much at all. 'This is not to say that a humble person fails to care about her own welfare or pursue her own interests β it is simply that she sees these as being deeply intertwined with the welfare and interests of others,' <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2016.1167940" target="_blank">write</a> the authors of a 2017 paper in <em>The Journal of Positive Psychology.</em> You <em>are</em> important, and you <em>are</em> worthy of love, just like we millennials were taught in school β but that's true only because <em>everyone</em> is important, and <em>everyone</em> is worthy of love. You matter because everyone else matters. It reminds me again of the way in which Neff defines what she would call self-compassion, and I would call self-indifference: 'recognising that one's own experience is part of the common human experience'. Maybe the most compassionate attitude you can take toward yourself is to stop obsessing over yourself.</p><p>This is the great relief of self-indifference, especially for those of us raised in the self-esteem movement. The truth is that you <em>aren't</em> that big of a deal. And isn't that great?<img src="https://metrics.aeon.co/count/038d8f29-4205-4c04-b2ff-a161882d45c1.gif" alt="Aeon counter β do not remove"></p><p>Melissa Dahl</p><p>This article was originally published at <a href="https://aeon.co/?utm_campaign=republished-article" target="_blank">Aeon</a> and has been republished under Creative Commons.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Psychedelics: The scientific renaissance of mind-altering drugs
There is a lot we don't know about psychedelics, but what we do know makes them extremely important.
11 December, 2020
- Having been repressed in the 1960s for their ties to the counterculture, psychedelics are currently experiencing a scientific resurgence. In this video, Michael Pollan, Sam Harris, Jason Silva and Ben Goertzel discuss the history of psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin, acknowledge key figures including Timothy Leary and Albert Hoffman, share what the experience of therapeutic tripping can entail, and explain why these substances are important to the future of mental health.
- There is a stigma surrounding psychedelic drugs that some scientists and researchers argue is undeserved. Several experiments over the past decades have shown that, when used correctly, drugs like psilocybin and LSD can have positive effects on the lives of those take them. How they work is not completely understood, but the empirical evidence shows promise in the fields of curbing depression, anxiety, obsession, and even addiction to other substances.
- "There's a tremendous amount of insight that can be plumbed using these various substances. There's also a lot of risks there, as with most valuable things," says artificial intelligence researcher Ben Goertzel. He and others believe that by making psychedelics illegal, modern governments are getting in the way of meaningful research and the development of "cultural institutions to guide people in really productive use of these substances."
<div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="63cc2e5123468d74958d16253cce9f3b" contenteditable="false">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735224153?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/413d-Fmu8CL.jpg" class="amazon-assets-widget__image widget__image">
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__description">
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__title" style="display: block;">How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence</div>
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__by-amazon"><!-- <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735224153?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">by now at amazone</a> --></div>
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__list-price"><span class="grey">List Price: </span><span class="list-price">$15.99</span></div>
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__new-price"><span class="grey">New From: </span><span class="new-price">$11.99</span> <span class="grey">in Stock</span></div>
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__used-price"><span class="grey">Used From: </span><span class="used-price">$12.20</span> <span class="grey">in Stock</span></div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<ul class="ee-ul"></ul>
Keep reading
Show less
7 ways young people are making a difference in mental health
From AI to climate anxiety, youth are speaking up about mental health.
10 October, 2020
Photo by NONRESIDENT on Unsplash
The field of mental health has a lot to gain from young people as we think about the Great Reset, and how to build a better, kinder and fairer world.
<p> In keeping with the theme for <a href="https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day/world-mental-health-day-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Mental Health Day</a> on 10 October β 'Move for Mental Health β Time to Invest' βyoung people around the world are making investments to strengthen mental health systems and services, and to curb the stigma against mental illness. Here are seven of them.</p><p><strong>1. Lived experiences: </strong>Advocates and activists that have lived experience of mental illness or of caring for people living with mental illness are talking about their mental health journey and best practices. <a href="https://www.gmhpn.org/" target="_blank">Carers of people living with mental ill health are advising health systems on areas of improvement</a>. The perspectives of service end users are important as they guide treatment outcomes that are sustainable. Measuring health outcomes has been a challenge for the field of mental health; today's youth are vocal about their lived experience, and this is driving a dialogue around key ingredients for mental health and wellness.</p><p><strong>2. Workplace mental health: </strong>The open and sharing nature of young people has continued in work spaces. Young people are not afraid to share their lived experiences with mental illness with their colleagues, <a href="https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/young-people-most-vulnerable-to-poor-mental-health-at-work" target="_blank">while many are openly creating a space and changing the landscape of workplace mental health</a>. Youth today do not feel the need to keep up appearances and wish to have a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2020/07/23/millennials-want-a-healthy-work-life-balance-heres-what-bosses-can-do/#537dc17f7614" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">linear workΒβlife balance</a>. As organizations grow, and hire more young employees, there are <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/supporting_young_people.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">several guides and policies</a> that can help companies sustain their employees' wellbeing.</p>
<p><strong></strong><strong>3. Climate anxiety and its effect on wellbeing:</strong> Climate change is causing a widespread panic; <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145305/green-space-is-good-for-mental-health#:~:text=It%20can%20encourage%20exercise%2C%20provide,respite%20for%20over%2Dstimulated%20minds." target="_blank">a majority of young people are concerned about the erratic weather patterns and feel helpless about it</a>. Young people are <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30081-4/fulltext" target="_blank">dealing with eco-anxiety</a> caused by the disruptive environmental risks, but most healthcare providers around the world are not equipped to deal with mental health issues as a result of climate change. Around half of the world's population today i<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/median-age?tab=chart&time=1950..2100&country=~OWID_WRL" target="_blank">s aged 30 or under</a>, and although decades of advocating for climate change has mostly fallen on deaf years, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/21/magazine/teenage-activist-climate-change.html" target="_blank">young people have been at the forefront on climate action</a>. As a result, they <a href="https://medium.com/@thalesetd/the-role-of-young-people-in-the-fight-against-climate-change-aadf0d06b496" target="_blank">have found a seat at most tables</a> to discuss solutions and the direct effects that environmental issues will have on their generation.4. Implementation research: Young people are innovating functional mental health services built around integrated implementation and tailored to their culture and experiences. They are cognizant of the scientific field, government health systems and promoting mental healthcare solutions, and are defying traditional approaches to service delivery. World leaders need to give young people the opportunity to scale up and bring about mass change. As <a href="https://www.waves-for-change.org/" target="_blank">Waves for Change</a> co-founder Apish Tshetsha puts it: "Our youth are powerful. We know the solutions to the problems we face. We just need the training and support to face and overcome them."</p><p><strong>5. Showing leadership in mental health:</strong> Victor Ugo, senior campaign officer at United for Global Mental Health and founder of Africa's largest youth-led mental health organization, <a href="https://linktr.ee/MentallyAware" target="_blank">Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative</a>, led the successful advocacy for the ban of a pesticide in Nigeria that is one of the <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__medium.com_-40nigeriahealthwatch_nigerian-2Dyouth-2Dsuicides-2Da-2Dcall-2Dfor-2Dholistic-2Dreforms-2D18316b651c6d&d=DwMFaQ&c=VWART3hH1Kkv_uOe9JqhCg&r=1E35bRBUvnt-VrMhsHz114YAoc73ss8ng0O8dPuvq8c&m=IHfP0Rk2MQBwVjnfGvSqP7xxSg6EFhPXZXLBtDXtGAs&s=ylS4UVCsfwsSrERHBC-YmdiDOuX5Yx9Wmky4qb5ff2k&e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">leading contributing factors to suicide in the country.</a> Young people have practical solutions to the current mental health crisis as, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/how-to-change-the-global-mental-health-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was echoed at the youth mental health panel in Davos</a> earlier this year. Elisha London, a <a href="https://www.weforum.org/communities/young-global-leaders" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Young Global Leader</a>, was campaign director for the Heads Together campaign, spearheaded by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, while Prince Harry is now founder and CEO of <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__unitedgmh.org_about-2Dus&d=DwMFaQ&c=VWART3hH1Kkv_uOe9JqhCg&r=1E35bRBUvnt-VrMhsHz114YAoc73ss8ng0O8dPuvq8c&m=IHfP0Rk2MQBwVjnfGvSqP7xxSg6EFhPXZXLBtDXtGAs&s=boy_rW7PKzieDBsUFBahFR1FqwgxWIZLEZbJi4ATSz0&e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">United for Global Mental Health</a>. The goal of thee organizations is to promote the importance of mental health wellbeing and they are the driving forces behind campaigns such as The Speak Your Mind campaign, a nationally driven globally united campaign now in 19 countries, and #MoveforMentalHealth, a campaign supported by <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.who.int_campaigns_world-2Dmental-2Dhealth-2Dday_world-2Dmental-2Dhealth-2Dday-2D2020&d=DwMFaQ&c=VWART3hH1Kkv_uOe9JqhCg&r=1E35bRBUvnt-VrMhsHz114YAoc73ss8ng0O8dPuvq8c&m=IHfP0Rk2MQBwVjnfGvSqP7xxSg6EFhPXZXLBtDXtGAs&s=jXAYdqKpo6nkqaDqKUUSJX7wbS4hmwHCSchV1gRLqUs&e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WHO</a>, The World Federation of Mental Health, Global Shapers and Young Global Leaders, for World Mental Health Day.</p>
<p><strong>6. AI and digital mental health:</strong> Young people are innovating mental health services and bridging mental health treatment gaps through the use of digital applications. <a href="https://oyh.org.au/" target="_blank">Orygen</a> and the World Economic Forum collaborated on a global youth consultation to design an advocacy toolkit for encouraging support for youth mental health. The toolkit consultations brought attention to the fact that young people do appreciate digital health services, especially during current times, but do not want to forego in-person support. Various AI platforms are being developed by young people to promote mental wellbeing, such as <a href="https://www.inuka.io/" target="_blank">Inuka</a>, a digital coaching solution that helps care for the wellbeing of an organization's employees</p><p><strong>7. Social media:</strong> Today, <a href="https://backlinko.com/social-media-users" target="_blank">nearly 4 billion people use social media</a> in their daily or working lives. Celebrities and influencers use social media to promote their brand and work, often at a psychological cost to their followers. Some research has found that <a href="https://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/view/impact-social-media-mental-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">63% of social media users face psychological distress</a>, including depression and anxiety issues. As social media has become a digital channel to learn and engage from others, young people are leveraging these platforms to call out the very tool that amplifies their voice. Millennials, who were the first users of social media, are now speaking out about the damaging effects social media can have on mental health. The very celebrities and influencers that were promoting their lifestyle are using their platforms to share their own experiences with mental health.</p><p>Young people have the potential to drive solutions that are sustainable and applicable for mental health investment. World leaders need to invest in mental health β and the key stakeholders to drive those investments are youth. By calling on a uniform dialogue for mental health illness, they can offer insights on the need for affordable, accessible services in primary health care.</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/7-ways-young-people-making-a-difference-mental-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Doing good may make people look better
Experts on the science of giving look into whether there's another possible upside to doing good: physical attractiveness.
10 October, 2020
KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images
Giving is good for you.
<p>For years, researchers have been finding that people who <a href="https://www.ipearlab.org/media/publications/Konrath_2013_power_of_volunteering.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">support charities or volunteer for causes can benefit</a> from being generous.</p><p>For example, they might learn new things, meet new people or make others whom they care about happier. Researchers have also found that giving may <a href="https://www.miqols.org/resources/WHR19.pdf#page=69" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">make the givers themselves happier</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02248794%22%22" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">more confident</a> and even physically healthier.</p><p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1jKw67MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">experts</a> on the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yrFC-2EAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">science of giving</a>, we looked into whether there's another possible upside to doing good: physical attractiveness. It may seem surprising, but across three peer-reviewed studies, we found that others rate people who give money or volunteer for nonprofits, give to their friends and even register as organ donors as more attractive. We also found that more attractive people are also more likely to give in various ways.</p><p>While our findings may raise eyebrows, we actually weren't too surprised β the personal benefits of being generous are well established in our field.</p>
<h2>3 studies</h2><p>Our first study examined data from a large, <a href="https://www.norc.org/Research/Projects/Pages/national-social-life-health-and-aging-project.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nationally representative sample of older U.S. adults</a>. We found that seniors who volunteered were rated as more attractive by interviewers than those who did not volunteer β despite the fact that the raters were unaware of respondents' volunteering status.</p><p>The second study analyzed data from a <a href="https://addhealth.cpc.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nationally representative sample of U.S. teens</a> for several years. We found that those who volunteered as teenagers were rated as more attractive once they became young adults. We also found the reverse: Those rated as more attractive by interviewers as teenagers were more likely to volunteer when they grew up. Again, raters did not know about participants' volunteering history.</p><p>Our third study used data collected from <a href="https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/wlsresearch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a sample of Wisconsin teenagers from 1957 until 2011</a>. We found that teens whose yearbook photos were rated as more attractive by 12 raters were more likely to give money over 40 years later, compared to their less attractive peers. We also found that these adult givers were rated as more attractive by interviewers than nongivers around 13 years later, when they were around the age of 72.</p><p>In all three studies, raters were asked to give their opinions on how good-looking participants were, using a rating scale where lower numbers meant less attractive, and higher numbers meant more so. Although beauty can be in the eye of the beholder, <a href="https://doi.apa.org/record/1995-17400-001" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">people often agree</a> on who is more or less attractive.</p>
<h2>A halo effect</h2><p>Our results suggest that giving could make people better-looking, and that being more attractive could make people more likely to donate to charity or volunteer.</p><p>These findings build on previous research indicating that <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691158174/beauty-pays" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">beauty confers a "halo</a>" β people attribute other positive characteristics to them, such as intelligence and good social skills.</p><p>These halos may explain why attractive people tend to marry <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sf/article-abstract/89/3/983/2235623" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">better-looking and more educated spouses</a> and are more likely to be employed and <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/000282806776157515" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">make more money</a>.</p><p>Those higher earnings, logically, mean that good-looking people have more money to give away. They also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.3.390" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">make more friends</a>, which means they have larger social networks β subjecting them to more requests to donate and volunteer.</p>
<h2>Not just a bias toward beauty</h2><p>Because we were aware of this beauty bias, in all three of our studies, we statistically controlled for demographic factors such as gender, marital status and income.</p><p>We also controlled for respondents' mental health, physical health and religious participation, given their links to both attractiveness and giving.</p><p>So, we know that our results are not explained by these preexisting differences. In other words, it is not merely that more attractive people are more likely to be married, richer, healthier or happier β and therefore more likely to give.</p><p>But, there could be other alternative explanations that were not measured.</p>
<h2>Why this happens</h2><p>
We would love to know whether doing good actually causes people to be more good-looking. But it is not possible to figure that out for sure.
</p><p>
For example, in studies on what smoking does to your health, scientists could not require some participants to be long-term smokers and other participants to avoid tobacco altogether. Such arrangements would not be ethical or even possible.
</p><p>
Similarly, we can't require some participants to be long-term givers and others to never volunteer or support charities. Most people give in some way, so asking them to stop would not be realistic, or even ethical.
</p><p>
Still, by following what a group of specific individuals do over time, we can discover whether giving at one time can predict whether someone will be more physically attractive at another time β just like we know that people who smoke have <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">higher rates of lung cancer</a> than those who don't.
</p><p>
Overall, using the best available evidence, we find that it is indeed possible that doing good today may make you appear better-looking tomorrow.
</p><p>
To be sure, we don't know why beauty and doing good are linked. But it's possible that people who take care of others are also more likely to take care better care of themselves. This possibility is supported by our previous research showing that volunteers are more likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.043" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">get flu shots</a> and take other health precautions.
</p><p>
Taken together, our three studies confirm the link between moral and physical beauty that was described in ancient Greece by the <a href="https://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/usappho/sph99.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">poet Sappho</a>: "He who is fair to look upon is good, and he who is good, will soon be fair also."
</p><p>
Our findings also contradict myths that beautiful people are shallow or mean, as suggested in the movie "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8I-Qzmbqnc" target="_blank">Legally Blonde</a>" and countless other <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/8/28/21404539/teen-movie-mean-girls-ranking-regina-george-heathers" target="_blank">"mean-girls" films about teens</a>.
</p><p>Instead, we have found another way that doing good could be good for you.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146826/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"></p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sara-konrath-423939">Sara Konrath</a>, Associate Professor, Indiana University, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/iupui-2368">IUPUI</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/femida-handy-424477">Femida Handy</a>, Professor of Social Policy at the School of Social Policy and Practice, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-pennsylvania-1017">University of Pennsylvania</a></em></p><p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/doing-good-may-make-people-look-better-146826">original article</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Can VR help us understand layers of oppression?
Researchers are using technology to make visual the complex concepts of racism, as well as its political and social consequences.
12 August, 2020
- Often thought of first as gaming tech, virtual reality has been increasingly used in research as a tool for mimicking real-life scenarios and experiences in a safe and controlled environment.
- Focusing on issues of oppression and the ripple affect it has throughout America's political, educational, and social systems, Dr. Courtney D. Cogburn of Columbia University School of Social Work and her team developed a VR experience that gives users the opportunity to "walk a mile" in the shoes of a black man as he faces racism at three stages in his life: as a child, during adolescence, and as an adult.
- Cogburn says that the goal is to show how these "interwoven oppressions" continue to shape the world beyond our individual experiences. "I think the most important and powerful human superpower is critical consciousness," she says. "And that is the ability to think, be aware and think critically about the world and people around you...it's not so much about the interpersonal 'Do I feel bad, do I like you?'βit's more 'Do I see the world as it is? Am I thinking critically about it and engaging it?'"
<p><em>This video is part of <a href="https://z17.global/" target="_blank">Z 17 Collective</a>'s <a href="https://bigthink.com/future-of-learning/" rel="dofollow" target="_self">Future of Learning</a> series, which asks education thought leaders what learning can and should look like in the midst and wake of the coronavirus pandemic.</em></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://bigthink.com/future-of-learning/" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3MDgzOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTIxMDU0Nn0.RnamarLhJ2fAVmEm83vDol1Fw3tvuAywPAeO0cQSgw4/img.jpg?width=980" id="52023" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4e4429fb5a330f41147d97917f0b798a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt=""></a>
</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Popular
