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Sociology Week 2

Elements of Culture Tasks: Write brief responses discussing the findings of the article in cultural terms. As part of your analysis, answer the following questions: What basic relationship is being researched? The relationship between health and changes in health as a result of a persons actions. Is there a connection between artistic engagement and the psychosocial and biological manifestations of that connection? What important values are revealed? Health and art have been at the center of human interest from the beginning of time. Music is the most accessible and most researched medium of art and healing, with the emphasis on musics soothing capacity and the ability that music has in decreasing anxiety is well noted. The pleasure derived from music therapy by the participants is shown to restore emotional balance. There is also evidence in achieving control over pain by use of auditory stimulation, along with strong suggestion that such stimulation abolishes pain. According to the article, it was found that through the movement of mind and body in a creative way, stress and anxiety could be relieved, and other health benefits could be achieved. According to the research in this article, studies have shown that relative to control group participants, individuals who have written about their own traumatic experiences have exhibited statistically significant improvements in various measures of physical health, reductions in visits to physicians, and overall better immune system functioning. According to the research shown in this article, there is evidence, however, that the benefits of writing may not be maintained over time. It is clear from this article that in all four areas of creative artistic expression reviewed, there are indications that artistic engagement has positive effect on health. There were some limitations to most of the studies that were reviewed. Some of the research groups were noted to be small in size and somewhat of a convenience sample of patients, which would limit the effectiveness, and results of the topic being researched. Most importantly, most of the research was conducted in the hospital setting rather than in a community setting where a person would have been receiving social support that is usually derived from ones community. To summarize the overall results, it has been found that creative engagement can decrease anxiety, stress, and mood disturbances. How is language or other expressive behavior involved in the research? The majority of the published work on the effects of language and other expressive behaviors has been found to be theoretical in nature, with little or no discussion of their specific out- comes. Nonetheless, based on the article, the researchers have seen positive out- comes for the potential of using art to

promote healing in their 4 primary areas of focus. Participation in an arts-inmedicine program was related to the improved quality-of-life measures, and encouraging trends in terms of improvements in depression and certain laboratory and hemodialysis parameters were noted. What technologies are used? Research; Clinical and qualitative trials were used in assessing the use of the processes being discussed in this article, however the target group did not include or evaluate certain groups of patients that may have in fact benefited from this type of therapy the most, such as those who suffer from major mental disorders such as schizophrenia or dementia, severe developmental disorders, incarcerated populations. The impact that religion has on a persons health outcomes was not evaluated.

Discussion: Ethnocentrism What is "ethnocentrism"? Ethnocentrism is a term that is used to describe the tendency of an individual to believe his/her own customs and traditions are better than any one elses. Ethnocentrism makes a person consider the ethnic groups, traditions, customs, cultures, language and many other racial aspects of other people as lower or inferior relative to their own. Discuss one positive and one negative consequence of ethnocentrism for group life. From an individuals point of view, ethnocentrism may appear normal, for instance, being proud of the culture that you were born into, your religion and your cultures traditions are all good things and are helpful for a person to identify with their race. However, believing that your own culture is superior to another persons culture can lead to very harmful circumstances for the ethnocentric individual and their society as a whole. Provide examples to illustrate your discussion of the positive and negative consequences of ethnocentrism. - German centrism is the belief that German people and culture are superior above all others, and this has been the basis for the past two World Wars with disastrous consequences. - American centrism is a kind of ethnocentrism dealing with the American views being dominant over the neutral view towards the world.

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