1. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -1-
Baroness Thompson
PSY: 301 Social Psychology
Dr. James Williams
Social Beliefs in Urban Areas
January 21, 2007

2. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -2-
Social Beliefs in Urban Areas
Individuals living in urban areas are faced with adversities that people in suburban
areas face. Nevertheless, we see less crime and more perseverance in areas other than
urban areas, tenements our the" Ghetto." Why are people dying and living in fear on a
daily basis? Can our environment be the antecedent to our failure? Can our environment
influence our behavior and positive development? Can our environment detour or
chances to preserver. Is our cultural belief s the antecedent to or bias beliefs toward a
different ethnicities other than or own? Until we get the answers will feel eccentric.
Socioeconomic issues are very difficult in any society. I believe Moral beliefs
and values can fluctuate our development. It is very difficult to decipher goals when
you're social, mental and environmental state is unstable. Education should be
predominant in every ones life. When your demeanor is unstable it is hard to obtain
goals.
Education should be predominant in everyone's life. Hypothetically; we model
behavior we admire. Our lives are prevalent models of or peers or parents. Minorities
are vulnerable, when they live in areas that are plagued with crime, and no positive role
models. How can we alleviate a concurrent calamity in urban areas?
In my essay, I will address this infamous life. I am a minority, and I have dealt
and are dealing with the issues that are prevalent in urban areas. My environment was
the antecedent to my orient adolescent years. Education was my way in which I was able

3. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -3-
to deify my life, and than obtain persevere in my job and college. Many of my peers
have succumb to there environment. There were, and is no positive role models for them
to model.
The best education should be concurrent in all areas, urban and rural. This should
be mandatory. Jails and cemeteries are over crowded with minorities. These, areas are
filled because we tend to call, people bad or crazy when we don't understand there
behavior. In urban areas or the "ghetto" schools are plagued with drugs, crimes, and
cynic behavior. This behavior is destroying many generations. Urban areas need
continuous intervention. In the home and in the community.
Human beings perceive situations differently, due to our cultural and ethnic
backgrounds. As citizens in cities or society, environmental circumstances influence
there behavior. As a child, my environmental circumstances influenced my behavior. I
found myself in a environment with no room for advancement. This was very orient as a
adolsecnt.My daily activities were trying to stay safe.
I felt trapped in my community. People living in urban areas fell similar. You
have to manage your house in order to manage your life; ecology has a lot to do with
economy. I believe," The purpose in the human mind are like deep water, but the
intelligent will draw them out." -Proverbs 20.5 (Myers, 2005, p.127).
As we construct our social beliefs, we then influence others to confirm them. We
make situations look worst than they are, because of inexperience about different
predicaments. "In creating these problems, we didn't set out to fool people. All our
problems fooled us, too." -Amos Tversky (1985) (Myers, 2005, p.127)

4. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -4-
When we are in predicaments that we can't understand we begin to become
overwhelmed with our situation. Our situations become bigger than the are. I see this
happen everyday at work.
I work in a high school. I have worked in the Vallejo school district for 5 years.
There is a lot of gangs in the schools. The police have it under control, nevertheless
children are suffering. I am underpaid and over worked. I keep my position at work
because, I feel sorry for the kids that I work with. Many of them come from poverty
stricken homes. They are hungry and are not motivated to learn.
Sometimes they lash out on the teachers, because of there personal problems.
Most of there parents are raising several children in a single family home. In areas
plagued with crime. This is prevalent in every school, I have worked at. Many of the
admistrators at the schools are overwhelmed. They aren't dealing with socioeconomic
problems in there homes, thus they try to help the kids that are.
Students are overwhelmed with there environment. The feel like no one cares.
They view each teacher's the same. I work in disabled classes, and regular Ed classes.
The adolescents that I work with are faced with many different adversities.
Teachers give students special attention, that seem capable of understanding given
work. This can be good for the students attitude and help them persevere in different
subjects. Nevertheless students that don't receive special attention may feel left out. This
can be detrimental to a Childs self-esteem. Children that feel different or, like under
caregivers may act out for attention. They may become nuisances in the class room and
or society.

5. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -5-
Reprehensive Heuristics may put a person in a wrong group. Thus his or her
beliefs about oneself can or become negative. Our beliefs sometimes take on lives of
there own. Usually, our beliefs about others have basis in reality. Thus, our beliefs about
ourselves can be self-fulfilling. Sometime, we her things for so long, we tend to believe
them. This statements can and are most of the time or wrong. Parents, soctiey or peers
can instill false beliefs about ones self at an early age.
When we begin school. we expect change. When I was enrolled in middle school
things begin to change. My environment became a entrapment. I had know positive role
models. Everyone wanted to protect there reputation. A negative reputation that caused
harm to there peers. Currently this calamity is still plaguing my community. Everyone is
trying to protect there reputation, by murdering and killing there peers.
In 1994 I was in the 9th grade. This year was devastating. Two of my close
friends, that I called cousins were brutally murdered. Their mother was also murdered.
As they laid asleep in there home. There clothes were laid out to go to school the next
day. They were innocent victims in a crime plagued area. Reputation was usually the
antecedent to all of the violence in my community.
There murderers were trying to kill there older sister. She was in the home but
didn't get shot. The crime occurred down the street from my home and one block away
from our school. The young men that killed my friends came to there triple casket
funeral to kill the sister.
A couple weeks before there murderer the living sister, was that antecedent to the
murders was kidnapped. She was told by the kidnappers to tell the police a different

6. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -6-
story about a crimes that she was a witness to. They told her if she didn't, her entire
family would be murdered, including her. Obviously she didn't believe them.
Everyone that new the Jacobson family knew about the murder, and the
kidnapping before the murder. Nevertheless, no one would tell the police. Everyone was
in fear for there own life. This calamity was with in my community. This is one of the
many stories that I knew about. This was prevalent among my peers and adults.
The police can only due so much. When crime is in rooted with inn your daily
life style what do you do? Who do tell? Who will protect you? Where will you go to
feel protected? As a 14 ten year old these were my thoughts. I knew murderers and
those who were murdered. I had become so complacent, with crime within my
community, I felt like things would never change. Currently they haven't, crime has
plagued my community and the people living in it.
"A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is
but saying in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday"-Jonathan Swift,
Thoughts of various Subjects'1711 (Myers, 2005, p.127)
"The error of our eye directs our mind: Many times we find ourselves in negative
predicaments, that will have no way or plan to get out of. We let our negative
circumstances over power well being or train of thought." More compelling evidence is
survive the discrediting of the evidence that gave it birth." Myers, David, G., (2005),
Social Psychology (8thed.), New York: Mc Graw-Hill. We are always closed to
information challenging our beliefs.
For instance, we may believe the reason why we didn't get a job could' be because
of our race or gender. Nevertheless, the reason could simply or attitude during the

7. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -7-
interview. A negative attitude or demeanor in or daily life can help us persevere or stay
in the same realm of a particular situation.
Thus, we may give up because of our beliefs and expectations powerfully affect
how we mentally construct events. We can influence those close to us to believe or
fallacies, about obtaining a job or any type of positive development.
We can benefit from our fallacies and also disdain from them. We may become
prisoners from our preconceptions and or own thought patterns. We isolate ourselves
because of are fear of being wrong. In doing this, we enable or perseverance.
Can a whole community enable there self about events that are threading? For
instance, my step brothers murder was in broad daylight in the middle of the street. In a
community that wasn't new to violence. Dale Hodges nicknamed Ducky, was a good
person with a young son, also a family who loved him. No one deserve to be brutally
murdered. Nevertheless, community casualties happen daily. At the age 29, I have seen
so much death and violence nothing can astonish me. It the sense of death and a young
person losing there life on the street.
I decided at a early age to help my own environment by being positive. I go to
college and I let give younger people lectures about my experience, that is similar to
threes, in doing this I prove to them that there is a way out. There is light at the end of
the Ghetto. As a young adult I believe change starts within. When I person is a victim of
a violent crime or a violent society, you have to find and use your own tools. This can
simply be school, a job, or a friend outside of your community.
When I talk to the children I work with many of there problems are similar.
There behavior and social beliefs display the same antecedents. Socioeconomic issues

8. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -8-
are concurrent to move each child or adult, out of these situations is impossible. When
individuals see people of there same ethic background, they may consider to change
them. If society models positive behavior, no matter what circumstance those who
admire them, model there behavior. Ethic groups differ in school achievement; to the
extent that family structure peer influence. Parental education, can and will predict
achievement or delinquency. I have worked with these delinquents for 6 years. At one
point in time I was a delinquent. In a area that had no room for advancement.
Uncertain purpose in life can be the antecedent in low self-esteem. A individual
can dislike another, because they see a reflection of there self. We all need to sharpen
our social intuitions. If we believe in ourselves, we can then help those closest to us.
Individuals with similarities due to cultural and social beliefs can benefit from our
behavior.
We can help others process and define life goals by defining our own through
there achievement or perseverance. It takes a village to raise a community. We have to
help those that are unable to help themselves. Illusions and optimism increases or
vulnerability. Believing ourselves to misfortune, as society we don't make sensible safety
measures.
In closing, society is liable for the delinquency of our citizens. Forever lesson we
learn we can teach another. A lesson can simply be patience or plosive thinking when a
situation looks it worse. These thought derive from my own as a adolescent, struggling
to develop. In a urban area with no room for advancement. I became close to my
principle and he told me he saw greatness. I believed him, and change my train of
thought. I begin see life differently. As my environment failed me my perserravce

9. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper -9-
advanced. I became patient; I learned how to think before I react. Those closet to me
modeled my behavior.
Currently, the murder rate is at its all time high in my community. Nevertheless
there is hope. Hope is the antecedent to perseverance. This will remain until the end of
eternity.

10. Baroness Thompson
Social Psychology
Reflective Paper - 10 -
Reference:
Myers: Social Psychology Eight Edition
The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2004
The Little Brown compact Handbook
Revised Custom Edition
Jane E.Aaron