In the city of Durban, South Africa, a xenophobic violence ensured and spread to Johannesburg, which left around 80 people dead, and several others hospitalized in the two cities. The country is known to have a long and bloody history of this form of prejudice 1994 after the democratization of the country. Recently, April 2015, another spike of the xenophobic attacks against people from other nations especially the Zimbabweans, Ethiopians, Mozambicans and Bangladeshi, ensued. Subsequently, a number of foreign governments from these regions had to pull out their citizen from South Africa to prevent more bloodshed. These attacks are blamed on the Zulu King, who is accused of having fuelled them by claiming that the immigrants should return to their countries (Al Jazeera, 2015).

Prejudice has a cognitive component based on the beliefs of a particular group of people, which influence information processing and their behaviors, leading to discrimination (“Prejudice and Discrimination”). These beliefs tend to acquire the form of stereotypes, and the impressions that are based on what the members of that particular group believe or the similarity in their attributes. Some theories attribute this concept of prejudice and discrimination to a profile that is created by a certain personality type, which is quite authoritative. These people define their environments in terms of a social hierarchy where they display contempt and hostility to those they feel are either superior or inferior to them, and at the same time pose a threat. In addition, Prejudice and discrimination create ethnic inequality patterns that reflect on the reduced production ability of a certain society (Jodi O’Brien, 2005).

Crawfod and Datherine (2014) argue that racial/ethnical backgrounds have segregated the contemporary society, which limits any move to fight prejudice and discrimination against the minority in the society. As much as interventions that alter the feelings and actions of a certain group given a certain setting (for example a learning institution) are seen to succeed, they require support through a public policy. Negative perceptions of the immigrants concerning the labor market are assumed the major causes of the conflict in the country. The natives believe that the immigrants accept cheap labocountry, and that they illegally own houses meant for the citizens. It seems that the attacks were partially social as the attackers expressed hatred, jealousy

Question 2

Explain the concept, or theory and its effect on me

normal circumstances. Over the years, researchers, philosophers, and psychologists have made efforts in trying to define the forces behind the emotion, thus proposing various theories and concepts to explain this aspect.ons, impressed me the most (Crawfod and Datherine, 2014).

Emotions are an everyday instinctive response that every person experiences due their state of mind or feelings that result in physical and psychological changes, which determine the behavior of a certain person. Myers (2004) emphasize that the emotions include a subjective experience that is related to the psychological and biological components, expressive body reactions as well as the mental state of a person. However, this concept of emotions is quite complex to comprehend as it is intertwined with the moods, motivations, temperament and personalities of people. As such, several theories in different disciplines have been developed to explain the concept of emotions. The psychology of emotions is relatively defined in terms of arousal of the nervous system, and a certain emotion is determined by how strong the arousal is or the personality of that individual. They exist on a continuum of intensity where fear could range from a little scared to terror or humiliation could range from a simple discredit to despicable ignominy. For instance, an extrovert will tend to display more of what they feel in their actions while an introvert tends to hide their emotions.

Although theories about emotions date back in the Ancient Greece and Ancient China, Charles Darwin came up with different perspectives on emotions (Suchy, 2011). In the late nineteenth century, Darwin incorporated the ideas on emotions to his evolution theory by arguing that emotions evolved through natural selection and helped in communicating and helping humans survive.. As such, shame and pride could make a person decide maintain a certain stand in the society for fear of being humiliated (Gaulin and McBurney, 2001). Therefore, my understanding of the term “emotions” is that they are the composite feelings that lead to the physical and psychological alterations, which determine the kind of thoughts, and behavior that individuals express.

From the perspective of the power and status theory of emotions, when a person acquires power or authority, they feel secure, and they can undertake any activity comfortably without worries. On the other hand, when a person’s power or the ability to exercise authority on a certain phenomenon reduces, they experience a negative emotion, which leads to fear, anxiety, and terror. In addition, according to Crawfod and Datherine (2014), abusing the feeling of authority generates guilt in an individual as they feel that what they have already done was not what is expected of them. As such, an increase in the status of the individual in terms of the way they feel makes them act satisfactorily and joyous while a decline in their status develops negative consequences. Subsequently, this explains while an American is likely to fear another terrorist attack, or a US Muslim would be afraid of being held responsible for any terrorist attack in the region. According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, my physical reaction depends upon emotions and how I view or interpret a certain external stimulus. For example, some people have read and watched several movies about some horrifying creatures that attack and feed on human blood (vampires). Therefore, if they were walking in some lonely dark alley and they saw some weird shadows, they would start trembling, and their heartbeat would accelerate. Through this, they will interpret their current situation that they are afraid and respond by a physical reaction to running or screaming.

This knowledge has assisted me to demystify what is going on around me and shown me the importance of keeping myself on the right track. It is essential that I accept any emotional aspect in my life since emotions tend to control someone’s way of thinking, their behavior, and feelings. Consequently, emotions cannot be controlled but can only be managed or learning how to live with them and releasing them. Ignoring or dismissing my emotions could easily lead to physical illness like cancer, arthritis and several other chronic diseases due to the toxic chemical reactions within the body. As such, I have learned to release any emotions felt, especially negative emotions, and avoid burying them within my body. Additionally, I have learnt that I am the only one who can change what I feel and not the actions of other people towards me, or any kind of material possession. Therefore, a new relationship, a new job, or a new car “distracts” the way you feel just for a moment, but they will not change your feelings in the long-term.

References

Al Jazeera. (2015). Xenophobia in South Africa – Al Jazeera English. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2015/05/xenophobia-south-africa-150501090636029.html

Prejudice and Discrimination – Theories Of Personality, Attitude Change, and Prejudiced – JRank Articles. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/502/Prejudice-Discrimination.html

Suchy, Y. (2011). Clinical neuropsychology of emotion. Guilford Press.

Gaulin, S. J., & McBurney, D. H. (2001). Psychology: An evolutionary approach. Prentice Hall.

Crawfod, Lizabeth A. and Datherine B. Novak. 2014. Individual and Society: Sociological Social Psychology. New York: Routlage.

Myers, D. G. (2004) Theories of Emotion. Psychology: Seventh Edition, New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Jodi O’Brien (Ed.). (2005). The production of reality: essays and readings on social interaction. Pine Forge Press.

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