MAGAZiNE
Jan uar y 2 0 1 1
Born Beautiful Gift or Curse?
This Song is About You Hurray for Vanity
Does it Pay to Be Beautiful? INTERVIEW
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Philosopher Frank Meester
RECURRING
SHARE YOUR SCIENCE
“Do I come across as a vain and pathetic little man?”................06
Beware Of Copycats Why Japan should follow its own beauty standards.....30
Same Same, But Different The narcissism of minor differences
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Hundred Years of Vanity.................................18 Remarkable Research.....................................37 Book Reviews............................................38
Credits Editor-in-Chief Anouk Vleugels Executive Editor Mark Fonseca Rendeiro Editorial Nienke Duimelaar, Kirsten Sleven, Elke Weesjes
10
Design Michelle Halcomb Marketing Director Ryan McLay Acknowledgements: Valentijn Brandt, Stefanie Johnson, Markus Jokela, Carian Thus
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EDITORIAL
Vanity United Academics Magazine has crossed over to the dark side. Starting this month, we will feature each of the Seven Deadly Sins: Vanity (also known as Pride), Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Sloth and Envy. Why? Because from a scientific point of view, the moral divide between sins and virtues doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. Take Vanity, this months’ theme. According to the Oxford Dictionary, vanity can be described as “excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements.” How do we know if we’re being excessively proud? Are we crossing the line by adding pictures to our resumes? Does it make us vain when we’re ‘liking’ our own posts on Facebook? Or when we’re installing a mirror on the bedroom ceiling? -Who knows? Scientific research suggests that good-looking people are happier than their uglier counterparts. In addition, they are more likely to find the right partner, have more friends and earn more money. Considering those benefits, polishing up your looks a bit might not be such a bad idea. There’s nothing wrong with being a little vain. As philosopher Frank Meester poetically explains in his interview on page seven, “without vanity, we would linger in the shadow of anonymity.” So yes Carly Simon, I do think this song is about me. And if it’s not, well, I guess it should be. Anouk Vleugels Editor-in-Chief United Academics Magazine
Introducing United Academics' Blog To initiate interaction and bring together the members of our community and the readers of our magazine, we recently decided to start the United Academics’ blog. Here you can find and share all your favourite articles from our magazines with your friends, co-workers and fellow scien-
tists. We also intend to keep you informed on science and academic related news in an enjoyable, engaging fashion. We hope to welcome you soon on blog.united-academics.org!
Photo: Valerie Granberg
D
Frank Meester (1970) studied Philosophy and Modern literature. Currently, he is part of Philosophy Depa ment at The Hague University. Together with his broth Meester published several books, such as Meesters de Filosofie (2005) Meesters in de religie (2006), and novel Descartes’ dochter (2007). Meester writes for Du newspapers de Volkskrant, Trouw and NRC Handelsbl and for Filosofie Magazine and Human.
INTERVIEW Nienke Duimelaar
“Do I come across as a vain and pathetic little man?”
D
n arther, s in the utch lad,
utch philosopher Frank Meester is all about vanity. With his book Zie Mij - filosofie van de ijdelheid (Look At Me- Philosophy of Vanity), he’s striking a blow for the deadly sin. Meester dreams of reading his name in the papers and receiving invitations to talk shows, and he is in not afraid to admit it. “Vanity is an important human quality; let’s not feel guilty about it.”
Do you consider yourself to be vain? “Well, it is not as if I spend hours in front of the mirror, but I am very much aware of my appearance and what others think of me. So taking that into account, I am pretty vain. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Most of the things that make our lives worth living, arise from the fact that we make ourselves more important than we actually are. Without vanity, we would linger in the shadow of anonymity.”
To brag about something you were handed on a silver platter, on the other hand, like good-looks, is considered to be not done. The word ‘vanity’ has a negative sound to it.”
Why is that? “It’s the result of our Calvinist heritage. The church has always made it very clear: God’s goodness knows no limits. Everything you achieve in life is because of God, not because of yourself. Therefore there’s no point So you decided to write a book about it. in being proud of yourself or show off your “The subject had been on my mind for a achievements. The idea that we should be long time, because it affects me almost ev- modest and humble, is still present in our ery day. Whether I’m at the supermarket, contemporary way of thinking.” with friends or just home making coffee; I’m always wondering how I come across and How does this affect our daily life? how I carry myself. It bothers me that van- “In today’s disenchanted world, we have to ity is perceived to be a bad quality, as a sin think for ourselves. Were are free to make even. Traditionally, it is socially accepted to our own choices and are able to do whatbe proud of something you have achieved. ever we want. However, this is not always
in our best interest. Research suggests that people feel comfortable by doing things for others as well. Not the least to improve their social status. We attempt to be of use for society. Therefore we buy fair trade coffee and drive hybrid cars; we like to think we make a difference.” As a philosopher, in what way is your discipline related to vanity? “Philosophy has much to do with one’s view on life. It’s about who you are and how others perceive you. In my eyes, vanity is a virtue as defined by Aristotle: the happy medium in between. On the one side of the spectrum, there is echoism –to care about what others think of you- and on the other side there’s narcissism –to only care what you think of you. Unfortunately, vanity and narcissism are often confused. People who are occupied with themselves, are not necessarily narcissists.”
tion, that’s not why I’ve written the book. But if we would all become aware of our vanity, and put it to good use, the world would be a better place. By pretending to be a little better than you are, you’ll feel better about yourself. As a result, you’ll develop some desirable character traits, and learn to respect yourself and those around you.”
The world is becoming more and more transparent. Social media networks enable us to share all our whereabouts with everyone who’s interested. Are new media making us more vain? “I don’t believe people become more vain just by using social media, but those networks might make it easier to facilitate their vanity. We become members of Facebook in order to create an idealised image of ourselves, which we like to share with others. After all, it’s always nice to get some attention. The need to be someone better than you really are, is inNarcissus however, the mythological figure herent to vanity. However, the degree to which ‘narcissism’ was coined after, was extremly vanity is socially accepted differs per country occupied with himself. and culture.” “True, but there was a difference: Narcissus was unable to love anyone but himself. Ac- Dutch culture dictates that one should not cording to the myth, people fell in love with stand out from the crowd. Were you brought Narcissus the moment they laid eyes on him. up that way? He became so used to being admired, that he “Yes, I was. When I was young, I used to dream started to take it for granted. Only by loving about being on the panel of Babbelonië, a himself, he felt satisfied.” Dutch tv-show which only featured celebrities. My parents considered that to be vain; I hadn’t Self love; isn’t that what vanity’s all about? done anything special, so therefore didn’t de“A vain person does care about himself, yes, serve to be on the panel.” but is also capable to love others. I’m not sure whether pure narcissists exist, but people with Meester is lost in thought for a while, and narcissistic traits tend to be unaffected by smiles. “Do I come across as a vain and pawhat other people think of them. Therefore, thetic little man? Oh well, maybe I am. I’m not they’re likely to act without considering the ef- afraid to say that I’m proud of my picture on fect their actions can have on others.” the book cover, or that I’m happy with the way I look. But what’s more important to me, is that Glorifying vanity can result in an obsession people become aware of the fact that we’re all with perfection. Isn’t that an unwanted vain. And that’s ok. Vanity is an important hudevelopment? man quality; let’s not feel guilty about it. ” “I’m not trying to make people aim for perfec-
CALL FOR ARTICLES April 2011: ‘Students in Revolt’ Deadline: 28th of March
urnal of Social Sciences February 2011
United Academics Journal of Social Sciences is a refereed online journal which publishes new research by post-graduate and post-doctoral academics.
Antony Hegarty: A transgender voice - Kathleen A. Stephenson Biographical representations of Reagan's childhood - Roger Johnson Work in Progress: Explaining media personalization of politics - Lutz Hofer Biography: Anarchist theorist Gustav Landauer - Oscar Broughton Interview: Josje Damsma on Dutch National Socialism
We welcome articles, biographies, book reviews and contributions to our ‘work-in-progress’ section. See our journal for submission guidelines.
Email: elke.weesjes@united-academics.org
DOES IT PAY TO
According to a recent survey of two thousan staggering 25 percent would rather win Amer Top Model than a Nobel Prize. Picking beauty o might be a bit shallow, but is it also a bad other words: is being attractive a blessing o Well, that all depends on your goals in lif
BE BEAUTIFUL?
nd women, a rica’s Next over brains choice? In or a curse?
fe.
Fancy a Political Career? “Deceitful and superficial.”These two words became synonyms for David Cameron in January 2010, when the Conservatives launched their campaign posters showing an obviously airbrushed headshot of Cameron. Since the Tory leader was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain five months later, this has proven to be a storm in a teacup. Many studies focus on the relation between attractiveness and electoral success. They all seem to agree on one thing: it never hurts to be pretty.
Social scientists Amy King and Andrew Leigh looked into this subject. To test whether beautiful politicians are more likely to be elected, they asked a group of Australian participants to rate the physical attractiveness of 286 Australian political candidates from major political parties. The results were compared with the share of votes for these candidates in the 2004 federal election. As it turned out, the politicians of below-average beauty received 3.2 percent fewer votes, while the ones of above-average beauty received 1.2 percent more votes. This percentage was even higher for male and nonincumbent candidates.
Dumb blonde hypothesis “Given that the media and popular culture devote more attention to feminine beauty than masculine beauty, our finding that the marginal effect of beauty is larger for male candidates than for female candidates may seem surprising,” King notes. “In our view, the most likely explanation is that female beauty carries some negative connotations, such as lower intelligence.” However, this so-called dumb blonde hypothesis (“she’s pretty, so she’s probably is stupid”) is controversial: other researchers argue that attractiveness, in both men and women, is consistently associated with positive characteristics and dispositions.
Sociology
Besides gender, notoriety also affects our judgment when rating politicians. Without other sources of information about someone’s competence, we tend to base our opinion on their looks. “If voters have never heard of a candidate before they arrive at the polling place, the candidate’s beauty may provide the strongest signal of competence,” King explains. On the other hand, former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard was rated as one of the ugliest candidates, which apparently had no influence on his share of votes. Be on TV A politician’s good looks may not only help him get more votes, but also lead to more media coverage. A recent study in which Dutch participants were asked
to rate Israeli politicians, demonstrates that beauty has a positive and significant impact on television news coverage. The politicians were rated on a physical attractiveness scale from one to ten. With each point on the scale, the expected count of television appearances increased by 27 percent. Not surprisingly, politicians who appear on television more often, have a better chance of being elected. Do we really find a politician’s looks more important than what he stands for? Well, the effect of beauty does become less significant when voters are more engaged in politics. Voters who don’t care who gets elected, and are not interested in politics, are more likely to judge the book by its cover, King concludes.
Want to be a truck driver? When we are looking at it from a psychological perspective, being beautiful might not always be a blessing. In case you’re looking for a job, for example. Again, handsome men have nothing to worry about, but their female counterparts can experience some drawbacks of being attractive. Especially when they’re dreaming of becoming a truck driver, prison guard or mechanical engineer. Beauty is Beastly It’s called the ‘Beauty is Beastly effect’: attractive women being discriminated against while applying for masculine jobs. It was first mentioned in 1985, by psychologists Madeline Heilman and Melanie Stopeck. Their model states that “occupational sex bias is a result of an incongruity between one’s perceived skills and attributes, which are associated with gender, and the perceived nature of the job’s requirements.” Today, this model appears to be outdated. According to Assistant Professor of Psychology Stefanie Johnson, attractive women are deemed unfit only for those masculine professions in which physical appearance is perceived to be unimportant. The ones that don’t fall into this category, are jobs such as Marketing and Sales. So we are perfectly fine with attractive women selling us cars, but do not appreciate their help in hardware stores. “According to the so-called ‘Lack of fit’ model,” Johnson explains, “we hire people who we think ‘fit’ the requirements of the job. If these
requirement are being masculine (and attractiveness is not a requirement) then attractive women (who are perceived to be more feminine) will not fit.” According to researchers Bradley J. Ruffle and Ze’ev Shtudiner, both affiliated with the Economics Department within different universities in Israel, beautiful women are even worse off than Johnson indicates. Their study, which was published in November 2010, suggests that attractive women are discriminated against constantly while looking for employment, no matter what job they apply for. Ruffle and Shtudiner came to this conclusion after sending out fake job applications to several companies advertising job-openings. All –practically identical resumes were sent in pairs: one including a picture of either an attractive male/female or a plain looking man/female, and one without a picture. As a result, good looking men received significantly more employer callbacks than the ones her
Pyschology the ones without a photo, and even twice as many as the plain-looking ones. Women, on the other hand, are wise to withhold their head shots: adding a picture to a woman’s resume, whether pretty or plain, decreases of a callback up to thirty percent. And it gets worse: if the hiring company itself is in charge of hiring (instead of a employment agency for example), beautiful women’s chances lessen by 41 percent. Green Eyed Monster Why are attractive women being banned from the workplace? Ruffle and Shtudiner dismiss a number of explanations. First, the ‘dumb blonde hypothesis’ doesn’t hold up, since many studies show that people consistently attribute a wide array of positive characteristics and dispositions to attractive men and women alike, most importantly, intelligence. Furthermore, the ‘job-selection hypothesis’ (“maybe unwittingly the resumes of attractive women were sent to a more competitive distribution of jobs or to
employers less likely to invite candidates for an interview”) can be eliminated, because all resumes were sent in pairs. Therefore, the authors conclude, the real reason for employment discrimination against attractive women, is other women. Unlike men, women tend to be jealous of members of the same sex because of their physical appearance. “Females in charge of hiring at the companies themselves may well be jealous of prospective female employees who are attractive and thus may compete with them for mates, or at least the attention of male co-workers,” the authors note. Since 96 percent of the companies included in this research put a woman in charge of the screening and hiring process, this does make sense. Luckily, there still is hope. According to Johnson, the ‘Beauty is Beastly effect’ will lose its significance in time. “All gender stereotypes seem to become less important at some point, so this one probably will too. In the future, more field research is needed to test the effect. And in addition, it would be interesting to know how women can overcome this bias.”
Desire lots of children? Ask an evolutionary biologist whether it pays to be beautiful, and he or she most certainly will answer affirmative. Why? Because evolution is all about beauty. The symmetry of a man’s face, the ratio between a woman’s hips and waist; these are all honest biological signals of reproductive fitness. It seems to makes sense too: beautiful people carry better genes, and therefore are more desirable mating partners. However, it’s not that black and white.
Researcher Markus Jokela, affiliated with the Department of Psychology in the University of Helsinki, demonstrates that although attractiveness predicts higher reproductive success, this pattern is non-linear for females. Jokela asked a number of participants to assess the physical attractiveness of 1341 eighteen-yearolds, using yearbook photos made in 1957. Both men and women were divided into four quartiles: ‘very attractive,’ ‘attractive,’ ‘moderately attractive’ and ‘not at all attractive.’ After the rating, the results were compared with the number of children each person had had later on. Home-or-career dilemma Surprisingly, the women in the second quartile who were rated ‘attractive’ had sixteen percent more children than their less attractive counterparts. The women who were rated ‘very attractive’ however, had only six percent
more children than the ones in the two least attractive quartiles. Why do very attractive women tend to have less children than their slightly less attractive counterparts? Jokela isn’t sure about this. “There are a couple of possibilities, but these are only speculations at the moment. Very attractive women might be more picky when it comes to finding a husband. This would mean a postponement of marriage and parenthood, which might decrease the number of offspring.” Other explanations are related to the home-or-career dilemma. “Perhaps very attractive women have ‘more to lose,’ because traditionally, attractiveness is not as highly valued in motherhood than is it in other domains of life, such as work. Or maybe they have better chances of pursuing a career after parenthood, so therefore are more likely to limit their number of children. Both hypotheses should be tested. First, by assessing women’s perceptions and attitudes
Biology related to family life, and second, find out what sarily influence the total number of offspring. kind of goals women pursue after they have On a behavioural level, a man only needs to be become mothers.” moderately attractive to find a mate. So for a man’s reproductive success, this level is more important than physiology.” Good looks; Better Sperm Women who wish to have many children are better off being pretty, but not too pretty. How Being attractive pays off, at least on most occaabout the men? According to Jokela’s findings, sions. If you happen to be a handsome male; the main difference exists between the least never underestimate the power of beauty. attractive men versus the rest: the fourth quar- Whether you’re looking to get a job, a family tile had thirteen percent less children than the or some political followers: the more attractive ‘moderately attractive,’ ‘attractive’ and ‘very you look, the better your chances are. If you’re attractive’ ones. The top three quartiles did not a good-looking female; beware of envious codiffer from each other in the average number workers. Don’t wear make-up during an interof children. This might have been unexpected, view when you’re applying to be a mine worksince another study shows that a linear rela- er or prison guard. Use birth control if you’re tion exists between male attractiveness and not ready to have kids, since after all, you’re the quality of semen: the better the looks; the extremely fertile. And most importantly: don’t better the sperm. A group of biologists took feel bad about being discriminated against facial photos and semen samples from 66 male every once and a while; you will still live longer, college students. The samples were assayed have more kids and earn more money than all for sperm count, sperm motility and sperm those Plain Janes out there. morphology to generate a composite Sperm Index. After having a number of women rate their photos, the researchers discovered that the quality of semen correlates with facial attractiveness. Att ra c t i ve men tended to have significantly more fertile, higher quality sperm. However, they have just as many children as the ‘moderately attractive’ ones, according to Jokela’s study. How can we explain this? “Fertility in terms of reproductive physiology only affects a small part of the variation in the number of offspring,” Jokela explicates. “Being more fertile might affect things such as how long it takes a couple to get pregnant, but this doesn’t neces-
Hundred Years of Vanity
1910
1910
This photo shows the force feeding of Emmeline Pankhurst during her battle for female suffrage. Pankhurst, founder of the Women’s Social and Political Union, dedicated her life to the woman’s suffrage movement. While being imprisoned she starved herself in protest. Due to her bad health Pankhurst was released after several days.
1927
1930
1931
Long queues of hungry New Yorkers were a daily occurrence during the Great Depression. During the 1930’s, thousands of people depended on free meals supplied by the government and the church. New York, one of the world’s leading financial cities in the 1920s, struggled with an extensive number of unemployed
1940
1951
1966
1967
This 23-year old Vietnamese Nationalist was deliberately starved for over a month by the Viet Cong in 1966. After the liberation, Le Van Than was nurtured in a hospital. Humans on the verge of starvation represent the grizzly reality of just one month in a Viet Cong prison.
1974
1976
A drought in Ethiopia that began in 1969 resulted in a disaster with more than 300.000 deaths by 1974. Combined with internal war, many people were forced to migrate to relief shelters and refugee camps. Although the FAO notified the problem of food shortage, the international community was unprepared.
1980
1998
2009
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Beware of Copycats The Japanese media are constantly representing a mainstream, western beauty ideal, which suggests that tall bodies, big eyes and light skin are desirable traits. Consequently, many Japanese women are trying –and failing- to meet western beauty standards.
Who decides what’s beautiful? Don’t we all have our own preferences and tastes? Actually, we don’t. Many studies demonstrate that when it comes to beauty, we are all very much on the same page. This has to do, in part, with biology; because we tend to be drawn to a certain beauty ideal which signals fertility, but it is also influenced by social context. According to the social comparison theory, we judge our own bodies by constantly comparing them with the ones around us. Now, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, but it could have a negative effect on our self-esteem when we mainly compare ourselves to idealized images brought to us by the media. Western media has always had a great impact on our definition of beauty, but this used to affect western women only. Today however, mainstream beauty standards have spread beyond western borders and have reached Asia, and in particular, Japan. Its fashion magazines, commercials and TV-shows are filled with westernized images, showing Japanese girls with bleached hair, whitened skin and coloured contact lenses. Conformism and Social Approval Whether or not we’re happy with our appearance depends on how we look compared to others, but it also relates to our cultural background. Unlike western countries, which tend to be more individualistic, Japanese culture is characterized by conformism, collectivism, and hierarchy. The need for social approval is ubiquitously present in Japan. To what extent do these cultural characteristics influence the Japanese body image? In 2001, research psychologists Catherine Luther and Nancy Letl investigated the degree to which Japanese teenage girls were being influenced by the media. The high school girls included in the research were asked to what extent they compared themselves to models depicted in advertisements. In addition, they had to answer questions geared towards measuring their self-esteem feel better about themselves, but because of their need to be accepted by their peers. Other researchers come to a similar conclusion. In a study conducted in 1998, in which American and Japanese women were compared, the authors attempted to determine the causes for low self-esteem. First, body dissatisfaction was measured, using a subscale which
contains statements reflecting the belief that specific body parts are too fat (e.g., “I think that my thighs are too large ”; “I don’t like the shape of my buttocks”). The more often subjects agree with these individual statements, the less they appreciate their bodies. Second, the need for social approval was tested, again using a questionnaire. And third, the subject’s BMI (Body Mass Index) was determined. As it turned out, the American woman’s body image is related to her BMI (the higher the BMI, the lower the self-esteem). However, this was not the case for the Japanese subjects. The results demonstrate that not BMI, but the need for social approval relates to a Japanese woman’s body image. The more important this approval is to her, the less happy she is with her appearance. Impossible ideals To some extent low self-esteem among Japanese women can be explained by their need to conform to high standards, but what do these standards entail exactly? According to research psychologist and Japan expert Rotem Kowner, “a relatively wide discrepancy
exists between the self and the ideal body.” In other words: the ideal Japanese body is the western body. Kowner’s study shows that although Japanese and American women both believed themselves to be just as far off from the prefect figure (they all desired taller, slimmer bodies and larger breasts), they showed different discrepancies when it concerned the perfect face. American women desired facial traits which were more or less similar to their own. The Japanese subjects on the other hand, were likely to prefer traits which were different from their own, desiring for example: a longer and narrower nose, larger and lighter eyes, bigger eyelids, and a lighter skin. In addition, Asian woman tend to compare themselves with western women more often, than, for example, Afro-American women. During one research project on this topic, a number of white, Afro-American and Asian female students were given three pictures -depicting a white model, an Asian model and a black model- and were asked to rate their physical appearance. Furthermore, they had to compare themselves with each of the models. The results indicated that the
Afro-American women did not find the mainstream beauty standards as relevant to themselves, and reported positive selfevaluations about their bodies. According to the authors, this is because black women employ self-protective strategies when comparing themselves to others, such as identifying with ‘ingroup’ standards. Asian women on the other hand, were more likely to endorse mainstream beauty standards in a similar fashion to white women. Also, the Asian subjects experienced greater dissatisfaction with their bodies than did the other two groups. Not just the media Japanese women are struggling with their appearance. Their self-esteem is low, and the features they desire are impossible to acquire. In order to deal with these issues, the Japanese media should first become more aware that by representing western beauty standards, both Japanese girls and women are affected in a negative sense. However, the media are not the only ones to blame; part of the problem is rooted in Japanese
culture. The need to conform to a certain standard and feel socially accepted, both of which are important for the Japanese, are increasing the pressure to be beautiful. However, this wouldn’t be such a problem if Japanese beauty standards were achievable and realistic. It’s high time Japanese women start creating some beauty ideals of their own and stop following western standards. In August 2010, Carian Thus (1987) obtained her Masters degree in Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. During her research, she investigated the relation between social hierarchy and consumer behaviour. Soon she’ll leave for South-America in order to travel the continent for five months. Read Carian’s thesis
S
ame Same but Different
To put it into simple terms, the long lasting vendetta between the Dutch football coach Louis van Gaal and legendary Dutch footballer Johan Cruijff can be reduced to a fight between two men who have much in common on many different levels. Both are born and raised in Watergraafsmeer (a neighbourhood in the east of Amsterdam), both lost their father at a young age, both made significant contributions to Dutch football; particularly the Amsterdam club Ajax. Both men are known as dominant, stubborn innovators and both are praised for their ludicrous verbal inventions and bizarre logic. So why have they been at odds with each other for years?
A
nton Blok wrote an essay in the European Journal of Social Theory (1998) which explores the theoretical implications of Freud’s notion of ‘the narcissism of minor differences’ – the idea that it is the minor differences between people who are otherwise alike that form the basis of feelings of strangeness and hostility between them: “We are inclined to blame conflicts and war between individuals and groups on growing contrasts. The bigger the differences (culturally, socially and economically), the bigger the chance of violent conflicts. But when formulating theories about violence and power, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that the fiercest battles often take place between people who have a lot in common.” In Etnische conflicten en het
moderne geweten (1999), historian Michael Ignatieff further discusses this theory and adds: “Minor differences between individuals and groups are particularly prone to be the cause of bitter dispute and hateful acts. Aggression
differences between individuals and the group they belong to.” Civil wars are often defined as much more vicious than other wars and the fiercest fights are often those between brothers. Good examples are; the war between the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda, the genocide in former Yugoslavia and the fight between the Protestants and Catholics in Northern-Ireland. Rwanda, the genocide in former Yugoslavia and the fight between the Protestants and Catholics in Northern-Ireland.
T
he history, language and culture of people who live in the east of the Dutch province of Gelderland, Achterhoekers, is almost identical to that of Tukkers, people who live in the east of Gelderlands’ neighbour-
ing province of Overijssel. An outsider wouldn’t be able to make any distinctions between the two groups, but the minor differences are incredibly important to these two groups themselves. Catch-phrases like “Oh yeah, that is typical for an Amsterdammer!” do not only sound negative; they also legitimate this rejection at the same time. It is a manifestation of the fight for status between different regions. But are these subtle difference between people form different areas really important in a small country like the Netherlands? What is the size of the area which Dutch people feel connected with? Do the Dutch identify with their place of residence, place of birth, their province, their country or Europe? Which Dutch people call themselves ‘world citizens’? What are the predictors of the geographical scale on which people base their identity? Or is identity now-a-days purely individual and therefore completely random. Can we, when we apply the regression analysis, make any sociological statements about geographical identities and their predictors? The elderly generally grew up in a time when traveling was less common as it is now. Does this mean that they don’t identify as much with the world and more with their own neighbourhood? Women, particularly housewives, are, more so than men, bound to their house, neighbourhood and town, since they look after their children and often only work part-time. Men on the other hand often work outside of their home, in most cases they actually have to commute to another town. Does this mean that women identify more closely with their own neighbourhood and men with larger areas? People with a higher level of education are more aware of world events beyond their local community. Education can stimulate the curiosity to discover different countries and cultures; so the more educated someone is, the bigger the area that person might identify with.
In order to test this hypothesis, data from the Socon project (2005) were used. This research questioned the connection between different sized regions (neighbourhood, town, province, country, Europe and the world). The factor analysis shows that there are two dimensions which have a negative correlation. The one dimension is identification with one’s own surroundings (neighbourhood, town, province) the other is identification with Europe and the world. Subsequently, after adopting a regression analysis, it becomes clear that based on biological (age, gender), biographical (education, fondness of traveling, moving house) and geographical characterizations (Urbanity and Rurality) we can make significant statements about connections with one’s surroundings, Europe and the world. The results were: compared to women, men identify less with their own surroundings, but also less with Europe and the world. People over 25 identify less with Europe and the world, than people under the age of 25 (reference group). Old people feel just as attached to their own environment as young people (under 25). However, young people identify much more with foreign countries than old people. The more people have traveled the less they identify with their neighbourhood or town. On the other hand, these people do feel connected to Europe and the world. The same is true for people with a higher level of education, although less significant than people who traveled, they too identify more with Europe and the world, while feeling less attached to their neighbourhood than those with a lower level of education. The strongest predictor for being attached to a neighbourhood, town and region is Province. People from Groningen feel much more attached to their own environment than people from Zuid-Holland (reference category). We see the same for people from Friesland and Brabant, although the effects are weaker.
The strongest predictor for attachment to Europe and the world is, on the other hand, an Urban setting. The higher the density of population, the smaller the attachment to Europe and the world. The effect is biggest comparing ‘moderate urban areas’ (= places such as: Breda, Helmond, Lelystad, Almelo, Meppel and so on) to rural areas. This research shows that biological factors (gender & age) and contextual factors (province & urbanity) have a much stronger effect than biographical factors (education & fondness of traveling). Despite these interesting results one could argue that other variables could be applied. It is for example possible that people’s attachment to their surroundings is also influenced by the variable “length of residence”; the amount of time a person has lived in a specific place. In the future, qualitative research studying different place-identities may lead to a further understanding of the ‘narcissism of minor differences’. Valentijn Brandt (1981) graduated in Photography at the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in The Hague (Bachelor of Arts, 2005) with a photo documentary on ‘rural car racing’ and a thesis on ‘strategies for street photography’. Subsequently he studied Sociology at the Radboud University in Nijmegen (Bachelor of Science, 2008) and graduated with a thesis and analysis on ‘indicators for identification within regions’. Currently he works as a freelance photographer and project manager. Read Valentijn’s thesis
A
geing Makes Male Crickets Less Attractive
South Africa- The well-established theory, which states that females instinctively prefer older males, is proven to be untrue by Professor Verburgt of the University of Pretoria. Female crickets have a preference for songs of younger males, Verburgt concludes. He recorded the mating songs of 25 young and old male field crickets and analyzed them by length and frequency. The difference between the mating songs corresponded with the difference in age in such a way that younger males serenades were longer and at the same time, louder. To find which of the two the female cricket had a preference for, the researchers first had to create an average old and an average young serenade by mixing the recordings. They then used two audiospeakers to play the different serenades which let to the discovery that female crickets had a distinct preference for serenades with high energetic quality, which were the characteristic of the of young crickets’ serenades. Based on this, Verburgt concludes that age related degradation makes males less attractive for females; the muscles needed for the production of sound become weaker with age the sperm ages rapidly. Clearly older males are not always preferred by females.
P
ride Can Make You Fat
Remarkable
Research
W
hy Beauty is a Gift: A New Statistical Law
Warsaw- The institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw discovered a statistical law that is responsible for cell differentiation. The discovery explains why a clone is never exactly the same in comparison with the original. Scientists were able to explain the mechanism of this spectacular process by investigating a growing population of genetically identical cells forming groups, which performed different functions. Through computer simulations and theoretical calculation, scientists discovered a new statistical law that is responsible for cell differentiation. For a long time researchers have been trying to find reasons explaining why, despite the lack of changes in the gene composition, subsequent cell generations are able to inherit new functions. The Institute of Physical Chemistry states that transcription of information in cells, when cloning organisms, is controlled by molecules called transcription factors: ‘’ A cell is a bag with plenty of various molecules, which move around randomly due to thermal motions. It may happen that after a cell division one daughter cell will include more transcription factors than the other,’’ Dr. Anna Ochab-Marcinek explains.
United States - The Journal of Consumer Research shows that pride influences food consumption and spending domains. According to the team of researchers, taking pride in an achievement can increase self-indulgence. To analyse the effect of pride on consumer behaviour, researchers asked students to write a short story about a proud moment. Afterwards students were offered a choice between two gift certificates: one could be used for a practical gift and one could be used for a more indulging gift. Students who had a high sense of achievement (while writing about a proud moment) were more likely to choose the indulging gift certificate. An additional study showed that businessman who were proud of an achievement, were more likely to choose an unhealthy lunch, such as French fries, over a salad. Professor Kramer of the University of South Carolina concludes that pride can promote a sense of achievement as well as a sense of self-awareness. While self-awareness stimulates self-control, pride in an achievement stimulates pampering.
BOOK REVIEW
The Instant Physicist: An Illustrative Guide
The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
George Friedman
Richard Holmes
If you thought that Ro‘Science for everymanticism and science one;’ that’s the startwere incompatible, ing point of Richard A. ‘The Age of Wonder: Muller’s latest book: How Romantic Gen‘The Instant Physicist: eration Discovered the An Illustrative Guide’. Beauty and Terror of With the help of Joey Science’ might surprise Manfre, an entertainyou. The British bioging cartoonist, Richrapher Richard Holmes ard has succeeded in explores the 18th cenmaking scientific rules tury’s scientific intruunderstandable for everyone who’s seeking sion that spread throughout a British society to absorb the world’s curiosities. in love with Romanticism. ‘The Instant Physicist’ combines natural law with humorous cartoons. Muller shows that This narrative, which covers the period 1768in understanding both ordinary and extraordi- 1831, tells the story of the lives and achievenary situations, physics can be useful. For ex- ments of a number of significant intellectuals. ample, Muller enlightens us on how to build a The author starts with a description of Joseph bomb, and explains why wine must be radioac- Banks, the godfather of British science, who active in order to be legal. According to Muller, companied Captain Cook during his first great most students are afraid of physics. This book voyage. During the voyages that followed, scioffers a new approach in teaching physics and entists like astronomer William Herschel and sheds new light on familiar issues: ‘’If you know chemist Humphry Davy enter the stage. ‘The ten-year-olds, giving them a copy of this book Age of Wonder’ shows people’s fascination, will begin to make them fascinated about sci- astonishment and admiration for these ground ence. But the book is equally liked by physics breaking discoveries.‘’Though Romanticism is professors,’’ Richard Muller says. Though Mul- often presumed to be hostile to science,” Holler at some point seems to be a bit full of him- mes says, “the romantic poets seem to have self, ‘The Instant Physicist’ demonstrates that been positively giddy with scientific enthusiasm.’’ science can indeed be fun.
The Lost Peace: Leadership in a Time of Horror and Hope 1945-1953 Robert Dallek
Does history repeat itself? According to the American historian Robert Dallek, answering that question is up to today’s world leaders. His book ‘The Lost Peace: Leadership in a Time of Horror and Hope 19451953’, illuminates a series of political misjudgements, which caused several conflicts during this critical period of time. Dallek presents us with a fascinating story of how after World War II, the world’s leaders systematically misunderstood each other’s intentions. ‘The lost Peace’ starts by describing the uneasy postwar relations between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt; three men who were struggling to keep their alliance in place. P. Although Dallek might exaggerate the degree to which these leaders influenced world history, he does convince the reader they had an impact onits course to some extent. ‘’The errors of these man and their successors were not the result of inevitable forces beyond human control,’’ Dallek argues, ‘’they were the consequence of bad judgement.’’
Conversation and Gender Susan A. Speer & Elizabeth Stokoe
Boy-talk and girl-talk, what is there to say about it? Quite a lot, according to this ‘Conversation and Gender’. Using conversation analysis, Susan Speer and Elizabeth Stokoe deconstruct gender relations and language.
In ‘Conversations and Gender’ Susan Speer and Elizabeth Stokoe explore the relation between gender and language, providing insight to some of the most provoking bodies of thought in the field. The book starts by introducing the theoretical framework, which includes research on conversation and gender. By describing conversations in detail, the methodological and theoretical aspects of gender conversations are deconstructed. ‘’On a methodological level the book offers an understanding of how gender is analyzed,’’ Speer explains in the book. Despite the disappointing fact that ‘Conversation and Gender’ doesn’t contain new research developments, the book could come in handy for those wanting to understand gender relations.