Annotations

Altman, D. (2013). Are international differences in living standards really so hard to explain?. 

A small number of predetermined factors can account for 80% of the variation in living standards between countries today. This might be useful in describing the fatalism and arbitrary nature of global inequality. Luck! 

Bessenoff, G. R. (2006). CAN THE MEDIA AFFECT US? SOCIAL COMPARISON, SELF‐DISCREPANCY, AND THE THIN IDEAL. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(3), 239-251. 

Written by Gayle R. Bessenoff of the University of Connecticut. This study showed that women who were exposed to media depicting thin women had increased body dissatisfaction, negative mood, and levels of depression and lowered self-esteem. Women with high levels of body image self-discrepancy were more likely to engage in social comparisons. This could be useful in drawing a correlate between body-image and social status. Although I couldn’t find literature about socioeconomic comparisons over the web, this demonstrates a similar line of thinking in terms of body image.  

Blake, P. R., & Rand, D. G. (2010). Currency value moderates equity preference among young  

children. Evolution and human behavior, 31(3), 210-218. 

Written by Peter R. Blake, professor of Human Development and Psychology, and David G. Rand, of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, at Harvard University. This article looks at preference for equitable outcomes in children. Children donated more of what had little value to them (least favorite stickers), and giving increased with age (3-6). Resource value affects preference for equity and altruistic giving consists of both the decision to give and home to give. This paper could be useful in talking about how perceptions of value of material goods affect willingness to share and cooperate for the common good.  

Clark, A. E., & Senik, C. (2010). Who compares to whom? the anatomy of income comparisons in europe*. The Economic Journal, 120(544), 573-594. 

Survey data on income comparisons in Europe. An introduction to the term relative income theory. Definitely worth researching more.  

Gonzales, A. L., & Hancock, J. T. (2011). Mirror, mirror on my Facebook wall: Effects of exposure to Facebook on self-esteem. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(1-2), 79-83. 

Shows that becoming self-aware by viewing one’s own Facebook profile enhances self-esteem.  Selective self-presentation in digital media improves impressions of self. 

McLeod, J. D. (2013). Social stratification and inequality. In Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 229-253). Springer Netherlands. 

Written by Jane McLeod of the department of Sociology at Indiana University. Dominant groups assert and maintain control over valued social resources. Produce and reproduce social advantages for dominant groups. How experiences of advantage and disadvantage affect individual well-being. Effects of stratification on mental health. This article could be useful in commenting on the psychology of dominant society affecting well-being in observers.  

Muise, A., Christofides, E., & Desmarais, S. (2009). More information than you ever wanted:  

does Facebook bring out the green-eyed monster of jealousy?.CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 441-444. 

Study explores the role of Facebook in the experience of jealousy. Increased Facebook use significantly predicts Facebook-related jealousy. Negative feedback loops in the romance department.  

Pea, R., Nass, C., Meheula, L., Rance, M., Kumar, A., Bamford, H., ... & Zhou, M. (2012). Media use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking, and social well-being among 8-to 12-year-old girls. Developmental psychology,48(2), 327. 

Online survey of girls 8-12 exploring relationship between media use and social well-being. Negative social well-being was positively associated with levels of uses of all types of media. Face-to-face communication was strongly associated with positive social well-being. This is useful in showing that social and emotional development is not helped by interactive types of media.