🫶 Welcome to Field Report, a brief, digestible, consumable examination of what’s happening in psych culture from Reel Therapy.
BRAIN MAPPING RIVALRY via communications psychology
Researchers examined how human brains map out a narrative experience through conflict. Using MRI scans, the participants completed visual tasks. The study showed that we encode antagonism with others, perhaps more importantly, than other sorts of relationships. As we watch a dramatic movie, for instance, we build social maps in our heads that track who likes whom, who hates whom, and we tend to organize around conflict and rivalry rather than friendship or love. They noticed that friendly relationships don’t elicit the same kind of activity in the brain regions tied to social thinking (prefrontal cortex) and the processing of relationships over time (inferior parietal lobe), but rivalries do. This reminded me of the phrase, “know your enemy (or know thine enemy) for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” -a saying derived from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
Below is the film City Hall (1996), a political thriller starring Al Pacino as a Mayor of NYC who sweeps a tragic situation under the rug, prompting people to wonder if their Mayor is in bed with the Mafia.
Watch his speech below - the same film the researchers cited in this brain mapping study.👇
WHEN ANXIETY SHOWS UP AS AVOIDANCE via emory university
Why do we avoid when we are anxious? Soon, we may have some concrete answers. $3.9 million dollars is going towards a new study on the relationship between anxiety and avoidance at Emory University. Using brain imaging and real-world movement, the researcher, Dr. Vanessa Brown, will be looking at how anxiety creates avoidance behaviors. They are going to develop specific treatment methods to address the fears that create avoidance behaviors and skew our retention of new information. Why is this important? 1 in 3 people (or 31%) of U.S. adults experience anxiety disorders at some time in their lives. 19.1% of U.S. adults had anxiety in the last year, and for females (23.4%), anxiety incidents are higher than for males (14.3%).
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 American dramedy film, starring Adam Sandler, who plays an entrepreneur with social anxiety (and avoidance) who falls in love with his sister's co-worker. This film is exceptional in every way - and one of my all-time favorite Sandler performances.👇
MANOSPHERE MAY START IN THE HOME FIRST (THEN GO ONLINE) via psychology of men & masculinities
The “manosphere” refers to online content and commentary that espouses male dominance and anti-woman and antifeminist discourse (endorsing traditional gender roles). The online content revolves around “money, achievement, material gain, the body, and individualism.” An example of a “manosphere influencer” is Andrew Tate. Tate is a self-proclaimed misogynist who has been banned from social media platforms for hate speech violations and was recently arrested in the US on rape and sex trafficking charges. 👇
The manosphere is linked to emotional detachment, dominance, toughness, and anti-femininity, which research has shown can take a serious mental health toll on young men, such as increased anxiety and depression. A recent study found no relationship between teen boys’ social and emotional well-being and engagement with the manosphere, but did find a relationship with messages they received at home from their parents, which then led them to the manosphere. The boys engaged with manosphere influencers as a result of their parents’ (particularly their fathers’) traditional-masculinity views. For example, this study hypothesized a father may socialize the boys into hyper masculine roles, and from there, the kids seek out the manosphere influencers to reinforce these beliefs.
Check out this excellent documentary below, in which BBC’s Louis Theroux dives into the world of the manosphere influencers.👇
LOOKSMAXXING AND THE SILENT STRUGGLE via american psychological association
Some men will have perfectly chisled physiques, and when they look in the mirror, they will see themselves as weak or puny. They may go to the gym all day long, and it is never enough. They may miss work because they need to put in an extra two hours at the gym. Their relationships may also be suffering because they are obsessed with “looksmaxxing.” Looksmaxxing is part of a manosphere subculture trend that tells men (and boys) that in order to achieve happiness, success, and attention from women, they must go to extreme lengths to “maximize their looks.” For years, body image concerns and eating disorders were viewed as problems that primarily affected girls and women, but boys and men also struggle with body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, and body dysmorphia. It just goes unnoticed more with men and boys. Dr. Roberto Olivardia, a clinical psychologist at Harvard Medical School, is an expert on muscle dysmorphia, which is closely related to body dysmorphia (a repetitive and time-consuming behavior in an attempt to examine, fix, or hide some perceived defect). The most common behaviors are mirror checking, taking steroids, excessive lifting of weights, and comparing oneself with others. Listen to Dr. Olivardia’s advice on men’s silent body struggle on this informative podcast.👇
🫶Just for fun, I am leaving you with the new Digger trailer from director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman), where Tom Cruise plays "Digger" Rockwell, a blunt billionaire energy tycoon whose company sets off a massive global environmental disaster. No one can believe it’s Cruise. The internet is loving it because it reminds them of Tom Cruise’s scene stealing appearance in Tropic Thunder as studio head Grossman.👇
Digger trailer from director Alejandro G. Iñárritu! Enjoy!👇
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.