Thoughts of a Psychology Student

The refugee crisis has always bothered me. The thought of families fleeing their homes for their own safety, the journey across the sea deemed safer than the land, upsets me - as it would any other ordinary human being. And I've even blogged about it before >> (http://thoughtsofapsychologystudent.blogspot.com/2015/09/how-dare-they.html ).  But if I'm honest, it's only been over the past week that I've begun to realise the scale of upheaval and atrocity that these people have experienced, and the sorrow that I feel for them has been made that much more tangible through the genuine realisation that they are just like us. Bloggers, and activists, and human rights advocates have been screaming it from the rooftops for months. They are just like us. I knew it in theory, but after visiting 2 exhibitions, 1 event and reading a book about refugees over the past week (see list below), I feel compelled to write this post. Book: Human Cargo : A Journey Among Re...

Terminology The news headlines have been dominated by coverage of the EU referendum, but there appears to be inconsistency over which terms people are using in order to state where they stand on the debate. So for the record: Brexit (Britain Exit), Leave, Out, No = LEAVE THE EU Bremain (Britain Remain), Stay, In, Yes = STAY IN THE EU What is the EU - The EU is a collection of 28 countries, which, through various treaties and committees, was forged out of the 2nd world war in order to reduce the threat of war and to reinforce democracy. Since then it has enabled the freedom of movement between member states, made trading easier and overseen the development of common foreign security policy. We have been a member of the EU since 1973. Why are we having a referendum - In last year's general election, as part of the conservative manifesto, David Cameron promised an in/out referendum by the end of 2017. The plan was to kill 2 birds with one stone: Nigel Far...

Newspapers. News Broadcasts. Radio. They all talk of it. This disease. This danger, advancing. We see them coming. Across the sea. How dare they? They're invading our space, seeking our benefits. Two worlds are colliding; the clean and the unclean. They're here to muddy our pure waters. They want in on our society, a culture of safety and prosperity. How dare they? We have to protect our own interests. We are under threat. Asylum seekers? As if. They should be admitted to one. Here they come, marching across Europe Making the comfortable uncomfortable. How dare they? There they linger, in pitiful camps. Tarpaulin shelters and gravel playgrounds. They are rife with scabies and gangrene. Boatloads of them on the horizon, What idiot believes that the water is safer than the land? They're wasting coastguards' time. How dare they? There are bodies now. Hundreds of them. Decomposing in lorries. Bei...

Disclaimer: I am not a political expert. I am a student. And the following post is my opinion. After trying and failing to stay up last night to watch the polls come in on BBC news, I woke up this morning and, like so many others, was pretty stunned by the results of yesterday's election. Contrary to predictions, and claims that this was going to be the closest election in history, one hour ago, the Conservatives were confirmed to have achieved a majority in parliament. Not only has David Cameron won a second term as Prime Minister, but Nigel Farage, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband have also resigned, indicating the scale of defeat that is being felt in their respective parties... (not that I'm remotely bothered that UKIP failed to influence most of the UK...) So I suppose now the focus turns to Cameron, and his party, and what we can all expect in the next 5 years. I am lucky enough to have been brought up in an environment where I have never experienced poverty, or been ...

Many of you may have seen in the news recently that Boris Johnson has expressed his arguably elitest views on IQ in regards to wealth, education and job opportunities. The flamboyant mayor of London has suggested that people with lower incomes have lower IQs and that inequality is essential to foster a "spirit of envy". He also hailed greed as a "valuable spur to economic activity". In essence, Johnson has sparked off a heated debate of the relationship between poverty and IQ. Whilst some believe that a low IQ results in worse qualifications, less job opportunities and ultimately a lower income, others argue that the relationship could work in the opposite way too. However, forming a viewpoint on this issue heavily depends on whether IQ is a result of biological factors and genes, or whether it is subject to change according to environmental and social factors. Moreover, the Intelligence Quotient has to be a valid test for this debate to even stand ...