Over and over and over again, we’ll see studies that indicate racial, ethnic, gender, and age differences in some variable or another. For instance, the infant mortality rate is higher among African American babies in the United States than it is among Caucasians. At the same time, the suicide rate among white males is high compared to black males. Asian women have a longer life expectancy than any other group; in fact, if I’m not mistaken, the life expectancy of a Japanese woman is 85.
While these facts are interesting in and of themselves, inquiring minds want to know WHY these differences exist. Rather than getting huffy or annoyed that your group is being spotlighted, it’s more helpful to realize that these findings are TRUE and that if we remain open minded, perhaps then we can change things. I’d certainly like to have a lower infant mortality rate among all American babies, and I’d like for white males to stop killing themselves…and for black males to stop killing each other!
What’s your feeling on this topic? Should we sweep these and similar issues under the rug and pretend that they don’t exist? Should we ignore differences and just hope problems will rectify themselves? Or do you think we should become more aware of our social differences and inequalities and perhaps become more educated about the WHY of events?
We're psychology instructors (Jayne, Mark, Myles, Katie-in order of our being hired) at a community/technical college who are energized and excited by psychology and its applications to daily life. After all, what's the point of knowing about synapses unless the knowledge improves your understanding of moods, disorders, and memory (to name a few).
We've found that just about everything relates in some form or fashion to the science of human behavior, and it's our goal to help others to see that. Accordingly, we'll be posting opinions, comments, and questions and hoping that you'll respond. We'll also provide links to relevant articles and websites to further increase your knowledge
