Neuroscience
Was it a budget to 'win grey votes and capture the spirit of Thatcherism'? Or a ‘Lamborghini ride that says power to the people’? As the debate over George Osborne’s fifth UK budget continues, we take the opportunity to delve into the archives of the Research Digest and The Psychologist in order to consider the importance of the economy, ‘austerity’ measures, and the conservative / liberal divide.
A special feature in the April issue of The Psychologist, published today (read the whole issue if you are a BPS member, or the open access digital preview), considers the impact of austerity. Charting ‘the mind and body economic’, the Midlands Psychology Group argue that neoliberal ‘austerity’ programmes – favoured by many governments across the globe since the ‘Great Recession’ of 2007 – add up to a toxic regime for the mind and body of the ordinary citizen. ‘So far, psychologists have done little to challenge the dubious scientific assumptions upon which these programmes rest,’ the authors claim. ‘If anything, they have sought to profit from them: chiefly through the mass promotion of therapies and techniques claimed to counteract the mental and emotional damage wrought by an ever more corrosive world.’
The group argue that there are other ways of doing psychology, and that the articles in their special feature ‘point the way towards a far more socially aware (and arguably more scientific) version of the discipline.’ Coming just seven months after a ‘discussion special’ of The Psychologist on the same topic, this is likely to remain a popular and controversial issue for professional psychologists and we welcome your views.
But how important are these issues to the average voter? ‘It's the economy, stupid’, was Bill Clinton's campaign mantra back in the nineties. But according to this Digest item from 2005, it's actually not. An analysis of British voting behaviour in the 1997 and 2001 general elections suggested that our political allegiance colours how we judge our financial situation, rather than the other way round. That's despite the fact that people think that money affects happiness more than it actually does, massively underestimating the happiness of people on lower incomes (see also ‘How much money to make you happy?’).
Osborne’s budget was widely interpreted as an attempt to give something back to savers. Way back in 2002, an ‘Action plan’ on the economy in The Psychologist advocated the fostering of a culture of saving. But are there individual differences between those who choose to save and those who don’t? This Digest item from 2007 found that successful savers differed from the failed savers in what the researchers called their 'time horizon' – that is, the time they said was most important to them tended to be further in the future.
The focus on savings may play well in the Tory heartlands and traditional demographic, but if the Conservatives are looking to win new votes, they could do worse than getting people to think about their own death or maybe not think at all. Prime Minister David Cameron could look to the psychological research to promise greater happiness for Conservatives, although perhaps at the expense of creativity.
Ultimately, those disagreeing with the budget and with neo-liberal austerity programmes may face an uphill battle doing anything about it. That’s because activists have an image problem – large sections of the public agree with activists' messages, but are put off by not wanting to affiliate themselves with the kind of person they think makes an activist. ‘…. seemingly zealous dedication to a social cause may backfire and elicit unfavourable reactions from others,’ concluded the researchers in this 2014 study. ‘… [T]he very individuals who are most actively engaged in promoting social change may inadvertently alienate members of the public and reduce pro-change motivation.’
Whatever your political persuasion, we hope you will find our archive offerings of use in understanding ‘the mind and body economic’, and how it may be affected by the current climate. As ever, psychological research is at work throughout society, and professional psychologists on the ground are seeking to ensure well-being for all – the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.
________________________________
Post written by Dr Jon Sutton, Managing Editor of The Psychologist, for the BPS Research Digest.
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Neuroscience
Charting 'the mind and body economic'
Was it a budget to 'win grey votes and capture the spirit of Thatcherism'? Or a ‘Lamborghini ride that says power to the people’? As the debate over George Osborne’s fifth UK budget continues, we take the opportunity to delve into the archives of the Research Digest and The Psychologist in order to consider the importance of the economy, ‘austerity’ measures, and the conservative / liberal divide.
A special feature in the April issue of The Psychologist, published today (read the whole issue if you are a BPS member, or the open access digital preview), considers the impact of austerity. Charting ‘the mind and body economic’, the Midlands Psychology Group argue that neoliberal ‘austerity’ programmes – favoured by many governments across the globe since the ‘Great Recession’ of 2007 – add up to a toxic regime for the mind and body of the ordinary citizen. ‘So far, psychologists have done little to challenge the dubious scientific assumptions upon which these programmes rest,’ the authors claim. ‘If anything, they have sought to profit from them: chiefly through the mass promotion of therapies and techniques claimed to counteract the mental and emotional damage wrought by an ever more corrosive world.’
The group argue that there are other ways of doing psychology, and that the articles in their special feature ‘point the way towards a far more socially aware (and arguably more scientific) version of the discipline.’ Coming just seven months after a ‘discussion special’ of The Psychologist on the same topic, this is likely to remain a popular and controversial issue for professional psychologists and we welcome your views.
 |
| The Psychologist, April 2014 |
But how important are these issues to the average voter? ‘It's the economy, stupid’, was Bill Clinton's campaign mantra back in the nineties. But according to this Digest item from 2005, it's actually not. An analysis of British voting behaviour in the 1997 and 2001 general elections suggested that our political allegiance colours how we judge our financial situation, rather than the other way round. That's despite the fact that people think that money affects happiness more than it actually does, massively underestimating the happiness of people on lower incomes (see also ‘How much money to make you happy?’).
Osborne’s budget was widely interpreted as an attempt to give something back to savers. Way back in 2002, an ‘Action plan’ on the economy in The Psychologist advocated the fostering of a culture of saving. But are there individual differences between those who choose to save and those who don’t? This Digest item from 2007 found that successful savers differed from the failed savers in what the researchers called their 'time horizon' – that is, the time they said was most important to them tended to be further in the future.
The focus on savings may play well in the Tory heartlands and traditional demographic, but if the Conservatives are looking to win new votes, they could do worse than getting people to think about their own death or maybe not think at all. Prime Minister David Cameron could look to the psychological research to promise greater happiness for Conservatives, although perhaps at the expense of creativity.
Ultimately, those disagreeing with the budget and with neo-liberal austerity programmes may face an uphill battle doing anything about it. That’s because activists have an image problem – large sections of the public agree with activists' messages, but are put off by not wanting to affiliate themselves with the kind of person they think makes an activist. ‘…. seemingly zealous dedication to a social cause may backfire and elicit unfavourable reactions from others,’ concluded the researchers in this 2014 study. ‘… [T]he very individuals who are most actively engaged in promoting social change may inadvertently alienate members of the public and reduce pro-change motivation.’
Whatever your political persuasion, we hope you will find our archive offerings of use in understanding ‘the mind and body economic’, and how it may be affected by the current climate. As ever, psychological research is at work throughout society, and professional psychologists on the ground are seeking to ensure well-being for all – the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.
________________________________
Post written by Dr Jon Sutton, Managing Editor of The Psychologist, for the BPS Research Digest.
- Link Feast
Our pick of this week's 10 best psychology and neuroscience links: The Ultimate Psychology Reading List For more than seven years, The Psychologist has been asking eminent psychologists to recommend books and journal articles. The Vice Guide To Mental...
- Activists Have An Image Problem, Say Social Psychologists
An activist shouts at the Power Shift '09 rally on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in 2009 | Getty Images.When you picture a feminist or an environmental campaigner, what kind of a person do you think of? If you're like the US and Canadian participants...
- Feast
Our round-up of the latest juicy tit-bits from the world of psychology: The problem with twin studies (via @mrianleslie). A tendentious view from Slate magazine. For an alternative view, check out the Digest's own guest post on "Why...
- A Gift For Students From The Psychologist Magazine
The Psychologist magazine has trawled its archives and put together a special digital issue as a gift to students. The digital format allows you to flick through the pages as if you had the publication in your hands. Inside you'll find articles on...
- The Psychology Of Saving
Instead of saving, we're spending money like there's no tomorrow. In the UK, between 2000-2002, the average amount of household income saved had fallen to 5.9 per cent from an average of 9 per cent between 1990-1999. Before now psychologists have...