Bashful Images

 


Taken from Google images

The Bold and the Bashful

For some people to be shy mean being quiet and not enjoying being with other people. In this sense we define shyness as a negative quality in our lives, many people are not able to do or say what they want or think because they are afraid to be mucked up. 
When I first show up in an unknown place I become tense and nervous when I´m with people I don´t know well, so I don´t surprise when I hear others talking about their shyness.

Shyness provoke high worried feelings in social circumstances, the heart beats faster than ever and the stomach may get butterflies. It is something normal Because it is world wide. To avoid shyness we need to keep in touch with people, that will help us to be social outgoing and keep alive the social lubrication.

CULTS AND THEIR IMPACT IN THE SOCIETY

ONE MORE TIME I AM BRINGING YOU OTHER INTERESTING ARTICLE AND THIS TIME IT IS ABOUT ¨CULTS¨ AND THEIR IMPACT IN THE SOCIETY. DONOT HESITATE TO EXPRESS YOUR POINT OF VIEW ABOUR THIS ARTICLE PLEASE. THIS WORK WAS PUBLISHED BY WIKIPEDIA ON THE NET.

          CULTS AND THEIR IMPACT IN THE SOCIETY

The word cult in current popular usage is a pejorative term for a new religious movement or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre by the larger society

Usage of the word has been controversial. One reason is that the word "cult" (as used in the pejorative sense) is considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with simply differing doctrines or practices, and without a clear or consistent definition.

The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices. The word was first used in the early 17th century denoting homage paid to a divinity and borrowed via the French culte from Latin cultus "worship", from the adjective cultus "inhabited, cultivated, worshipped", derived from the verb colere "care, cultivate."

In the 1930s cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior. They have been criticized by mainstream Christians for their unorthodox beliefs. In the 1970s the anticult movement arose, partly motivated by acts of violence and other crimes committed by members of some cults. Some of the claims of the anti-cult movement have been disputed by other scholars, leading to further controversies.

Discrimination against cult members has been an ongoing issue in some nations, as well as concerns about doomsday cults and destructive cults. Governments have undertaken various policies towards cults, ranging from tolerance to hostility, and this has also been a source of controversy.

Origins of concept in sociology

The concept of "cult" was introduced into sociological classification in 1932 by American sociologist Howard P. Becker as an expansion of German theologian Ernst Troeltsch's church-sect typology. Troeltsch's aim was to distinguish between three main types of religious behavior: churchly, sectarian and mystical. Becker created four categories out of Troeltsch's first two by splitting church into "ecclesia" and "denomination", and sect into "sect" and "cult".^[5] Like Troeltsch's "mystical religion", Becker's cults were small religious groups lacking in organization and emphasizing the private nature of personal beliefs.^[6]

Later formulations built on these characteristics while placing an additional emphasis on cults as deviant religious groups "deriving their inspiration from outside of the predominant religious culture". This is often thought to lead to a high degree of tension between the group and the more mainstream culture surrounding it, a characteristic shared with religious sects.^[8] Sociologists have said that unlike sects, which are products of religious schism and therefore maintain continuity with traditional beliefs and practices, cults arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.

Doomsday cults

"Doomsday cult" is an expression used to describe groups who believe in Apocalypticism and Millenarianism, and can refer both to groups that prophesy catastrophe and destruction, and to those that attempt to bring it about. A 1997 psychological study by Festinger, Riecken, and Schachter found that people turned to a cataclysmic world view after they had repeatedly failed to find meaning in mainstream movements. Leon Festinger and his colleagues had observed members of a doomsday cult for several months, and recorded their conversations both prior to and after a failed prophecy from their charismatic leader. The cult members believed that most of the Western Hemisphere would be destroyed by a cataclysmic flood on December 21, 1955. Their work was later published in the book When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World.

Destructive cults

The Thuggee were a criminal cult active in India for at least 500 years before being supressed by the British in the 1830s.

"Destructive cult" has generally referred to groups whose members have, through deliberate action, physically injured or killed other members of their own group or other individuals. The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance limit use of the term to specifically refer to religious groups that "have caused or are liable to cause loss of life among their membership or the general public." Psychologist Michael Langone, executive director of the International Cultic Studies Association, defines a destructive cult as "a highly manipulative group which exploits and sometimes physically and/or psychologically damages members and recruits."
John Gordon Clark cited totalitarian systems of governance and an emphasis on money making as characteristics of a destructive cult. In Cults and the Family the authors cite Shapiro, who defines a "destructive cultism" as a sociopathic syndrome, whose distinctive qualities include: "behavioral and personality changes, loss of personal identity, cessation of scholastic activities, estrangement from family, disinterest in society and pronounced mental control and enslavement by cult leaders."
In the opinion of Benjamin Zablocki, a Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, destructive cults are at high risk of becoming abusive to members. He states that this is in part due to members' adulation of charismatic leaders contributing to the leaders becoming corrupted by power. Zablocki defines a cult as an ideological organization held together by charismatic relationships and the demand of total commitment. According to Barrett, the most common accusation made against destructive cults is sexual abuse. According to Kranenborg, some groups are risky when they advise their members not to use regular medical care.

Destructive cults and terrorism

In 1984, a group of followers of Osho (then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) carried out what has come to be known as the first bioterrorism attack in the United States. Over seven hundred and fifty people became ill from salmonella poisoning, after the group had deliberately contaminated the salad bars of ten restaurants. They had intended to influence voter turnout in an upcoming election. The March 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway by the Aum Shinrikyo movement, as well as their prior experiments with anthrax, were also seen as chemical and bioterrorism events.^[84]
In the book Jihad and Sacred Vengeance: Psychological Undercurrents of History, psychiatrist Peter A. Olsson compares Osama bin Laden to certain cult leaders including Jim Jones, David Koresh, Shoko Asahara, Marshall Applewhite, Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro. And says that each of these individuals fit at least eight of the nine criteria for narcissistic personality disorder.^[85] In the book Seeking the Compassionate Life: The Moral Crisis for Psychotherapy and Society authors Goldberg and Crespo also refer to Osama bin Laden as a "destructive cult leader."
At a 2002 meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA), Steven Hassan said that Al Qaida fulfills the characteristics of a destructive cult. He added: "We need to apply what we know about destructive mind-control cults, and this should be a priority with the war on terrorism. We need to understand the psychological aspects of how people are recruited and indoctrinated so we can slow down recruitment. We need to help counsel former cult members and possibly use some of them in the war against terrorism."
In an article on Al Qaida published in The Times, Mary Ann Sieghart wrote that al-Qaida resembles a "classic cult", commenting: "Al-Qaida fits all the official definitions of a cult. It indoctrinates its members; it forms a closed, totalitarian society; it has a self-appointed, messianic and charismatic leader; and it believes that the ends justify the means." A similar comparison was made by former UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke, as well as UK Home Secretary John Reid, who stated that "..fanatics are looking to groom and brainwash children, including your children, for suicide bombings, grooming them to kill themselves in order to murder others."
The Shining Path guerrilla movement active in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s has been described variously as a "cult" and an intense "cult of personality." The Tamil Tigers have also been qualified as such. The People's Mujahedin of Iran, a leftist guerrilla movement based in Iraq, has been controversially described as a political cult and as a movement that is abusive towards its own members.
Former Mujaheddin member and now author and academic Dr. Masoud Banisadr stated in a May 2005 speech in Spain :
If you ask me: are all cults a terrorist organisation? My answer is no as there are many peaceful cults at present around the world and in the history of mankind. But if you ask me are all terrorist organisations, some sort of cult? My answer is yes. Even if they start as ordinary modern political party or organisation, to prepare and force their members to act without asking any moral question and act selflessly for the cause of the group and ignore all the ethical, cultural, moral or religious code of the society and humanity, those organisations have to change into a cult. Therefore to understand an extremist or a terrorist organisation one has to learn about a Cult.

Government policy

The poster reads "Firmly support the decision of the Central Committee to deal with the illegal organization of 'Falun Gong'"

In the 1970s, the scientific status of the "brainwashing theory" became a central topic in U.S. court cases where the theory was used to try to justify the use of the forceful "deprogramming" of cult members. Meanwhile, sociologists critical of these theories assisted advocates of religious freedom in defending the legitimacy of new religious movements in court. While the official response to new religious groups has been mixed across the globe, some governments aligned more with the critics of these groups to the extent of distinguishing between "legitimate" religion and "dangerous", "unwanted" cults in public policy.

France and Belgium have taken policy positions which accept "brainwashing" theories uncritically, while other European nations, like Sweden and Italy, are cautious about brainwashing and have adopted more neutral responses to new religions. Scholars have suggested that outrage following the mass murder/suicides perpetuated by the Solar Temple as well as the more latent xenophobic and anti-American attitudes have contributed significantly to the extremity of European anti-cult positions.

For centuries, governments in China have categories certain religions as xiejiao (邪教) The term is sometimes translated as “evil cult,” but a more literal translation is “heterodox teaching.” The classification of a religion as xiejiao did not necessarily mean that a religion’s teachings were believed to be false or inauthentic, but rather, the label was applied to religious groups that were not authorized by the state, or that were seen as challenging the legitimacy of the state. In modern China, the term xiejiao continues to be used to denote teachings that the government disapproves of, and these groups face suppression and punishment by authorities. Fourteen different groups in China have been listed by the ministry of public security as xiejiao. In addition, Chinese authorities in 1999 denounced the Falun Gong spiritual practice as a heretical teaching, and began a campaign to eliminate it. According to Amnesty International, the persecution of Falun Gong includes a multifaceted propaganda campaign, a program of enforced ideological conversion and re-education, as well as a variety of extralegal coercive measures, such as arbitrary arrests, forced labour, and physical torture, sometimes resulting in death. The Chinese government has sought to legitimize its treatment of Falun Gong by adopting the language of the Western anti-cult movement, but Western scholars familiar with the group say that Falun Gong does not meet the definition of a cult.

Sociologists’ critical to this negative politicized use of the word "cult" argue that it may adversely impact the religious freedoms of group members. In the 1980s clergymen and officials of the French government expressed concern that some orders and other groups within the Roman Catholic Church would be adversely affected by anti-cult laws then being considered.

The application of the labels "cult" or "sect" to religious movements in government documents signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" in several European languages. While these documents utilize similar terminology they do not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups based on agreed criteria. Other governments and world bodies also report on new religious movements but do not use these terms to describe the groups.

 

SHYNESS AND OTHER AFFECTIONS

This is an article I caught during my surfing on the internet and I wanted to share it with you on the blog. I hope you like it, donot be afraid of sharing your opinions or discuss about it. In my personal opinion, I think this article is very important because it concerns about one of our topic in the class of ¨IDI-324¨ and it is a problem which affects a lot of people world wide.

S

hyness (also called diffidence) is the feeling of apprehension, lack of comfort, or awkwardness experienced when a person is in proximity to, approaching, or being approached by other people, especially in new situations or with unfamiliar people. Shyness may come from genetic traits, the environment in which a person is raised and personal experiences. There are many degrees of shyness. Stronger forms are usually referred to as social anxiety or social phobia. Shyness may merely be a personality trait or can occur at certain stages of development in children. The primary defining characteristic of shyness is a largely ego-driven fear of what other people will think of a person's behavior, which results in the person becoming scared of doing or saying what he or she wants to, out of fear of negative reactions, criticism, or rejection, and simply opting to avoid social situations instead.

The initial causes of shyness vary. Scientists believe they have located genetic data supporting the hypothesis that shyness is at least partially genetic. However, there is also evidence that suggests the environment in which a person is raised can also be responsible for his or her shyness. This includes child abuse, particularly emotional abuse such as ridicule. Shyness can originate after a person has experienced a physical anxiety reaction; at other times, shyness seems to develop first and then later causes physical symptoms of anxiety. Shyness differs from social anxiety, which is a broader, often depression-related psychological condition including the experience of fear, apprehension or worrying about being evaluated by others in social situations to the extent of inducing panic.

Misconceptions and negative aspects

Many misconceptions, stereotypes about shy individuals exist in western culture and negative peer reactions to "shy" behavior abound. This takes place because individualistic cultures don't value quietness and meekness, and more often reward outgoing behaviors. Some misconceptions include viewing introversion and social phobia synonymous with shyness, and believing that shy people are less intelligent.

Shyness vs. introversion

The term shyness may be implemented as a lay blanket-term for a family of related and partially overlapping afflictions, including timidity (apprehension in meeting new people), bashfulness and diffidence (reluctance in asserting oneself), apprehension and anticipation (general fear of potential interaction), or intimidation (relating to the object of fear rather than one's low confidence). Apparent shyness, as perceived by others, may simply be the manifestation of reservation or introversion, character traits which cause an individual to voluntarily avoid excessive social contact or be terse in communication, but are not motivated or accompanied by discomfort, apprehension, or lack of confidence.
Both shyness and introversion (unsociability) can be classified as personalities that lead to socially withdrawn behaviors (behavioral tendencies to avoid social situations, especially when they are unfamiliar). A variety of research has been done suggesting that these two personalities possess clearly distinct motivational forces and lead to uniquely different personal and peer reactions and therefore cannot be described as theoretically the same.
Group ideals and self-control, while perceiving chosen isolation (introverted behavior) negatively, as a threat to group harmony. Because society accepts shyness and rejects unsociability, shy individuals develop higher self-esteem than introverted individuals. On the other hand, individualistic cultures perceive shyness as a weakness and a character flaw, while unsociable personality traits (preference to spend time alone) are accepted because they uphold the value of autonomy. So, in contrast, shy individuals develop low self-esteem in Western cultures while unsociable individuals develop high self-esteem. Psychological methods and pharmaceutical drugs are commonly used to treat shyness in individuals who feel crippled because of low self-esteem and psychological symptoms, such as depression or loneliness. According to research, early intervention methods that expose shy children to social interactions involve working team work, especially team sports, decrease their anxiety in social interactions and increase their all around self-confidence later on. Implementing such tactics could prove to be an important step in combating the psychological effects of shyness that make living normal life difficult for anxious individuals.

Shyness vs. social phobia

An extreme case of shyness is identified as a psychiatric illness, which made its debut as "social phobia" in 1980, but was then described as rare. By 1994, however, when, it was given a second, alternative name in parentheses (social anxiety disorder) and was now said to be relatively common, affecting between 3 and 13% of the population at some point during their lifetime. This process has been seen as a case study of "disease-mongering" in psychiatry.
Shyness affects people mildly in unfamiliar social situations where one feels anxiety about interacting with new people. Social anxiety disorder, on the other hand, is a strong irrational fear of interacting with people, or being in situations which may involve public scrutiny, because one feels overly concerned about being criticized if one embarrasses oneself. Two types of social phobia exist, generalized social phobia, the fear of most social situations, and specific social phobia, the fear of one or several kinds of social situations such as public speaking. The generalized form of this condition can interfere with normal living because people who feel this way may avoid social situations as much as possible. Physical symptoms of social phobia can include shortness of breath, trembling, increased heart rate, and sweating; in some cases, these symptoms are intense enough and numerous enough to constitute a panic attack. Shyness, on the other hand, may incorporate many of these symptoms, but at a lower intensity, infrequently, and does not interfere tremendously with normal living.

Intelligence

No correlation (positive or negative) exists between intelligence and shyness but data collected leans toward a positive rather than negative correlation between intelligence and shyness, though it isn't statistically significant. The stereotype exists that shy people are less intelligent and peers initially perceive them this way. The data supporting this hypothesis falsely identifies a cause and effect relationship between low academic standing and high levels of shyness, when in fact a third factor, academic engagement verbally expressing knowledge accounts for this correlation. Research indicates that shy children have a harder time expressing their knowledge in social situations which many academic curriculums utilize and because they do not engage actively in discussions, teachers view them as less intelligent. Test scores, however, prove that shyness is unrelated to actual academic knowledge, and therefore only academic engagement. Depending on the level of a teacher's own shyness, more indirect vs. socially oriented strategies are used with shy individuals to assess knowledge in the classroom, and accommodations are made. Observed peer evaluations of shy people during initial meeting and social interactions thereafter found that peers evaluate shy individuals as less intelligent during the first encounter. During subsequent interactions, however, peers perceived shy individuals' intelligence more positively.