Intellectually Entertaining. Socially Relevant.
When considering the daily struggles of those living in poverty, a lack of nutritious food and adequate shelter automatically comes to mind, but the basic needs not being met are much more far-reaching than that and affect every aspect of life. Beyond a person’s physical well-being, poverty also has a complicated relationship with a person’s Read More
The effects of poverty on health are indisputable. With studies demonstrating that living in poverty is worse for health on adults than obesity, smoking and binge drinking, the effects on children and childhood development are even more pronounced. In fact, according to a 2007 by Child Trends, children in the United States are more than Read More
According to 2010 statistics, there is currently just over 15% of Americans living in poverty, although U.S. Latinos are at a much higher rate with over 25% of the total population. The official money mark for a single person to be considered living in poverty, is income less than $11,170. Of all the ill-effects poverty Read More
On October 10, the Supreme Court will again reconsider the necessity and constitutionality of race-based affirmative action when it hears arguments in the case of Abigail, Fisher, a white woman who was rejected by the University of Texas and blames her rejection on the school’s partially race-based admissions process. Opponents of such policies argue that Read More
Prominent figures in the Republican Party are already distancing themselves from their presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, more than a month before his likely loss to President Obama. Even popular Latino leaders in the party, the same leaders invited to speak in front of the Republican National Convention in Tampa just a month earlier, seem to Read More
Some good-ish news came out of the U.S. Census Bureau on Wednesday. As reported by Fox News Latino: “The number of Hispanics in poverty in the United States dropped by 1.2 percent from 2010 to 2011 – the largest drop of any group – but overall 1 of 4 Latinos remain stuck among America’s poorest. Read More
A year ago, I wrote about how the Great Recession hit Latinos hard. At the time, I was hopeful that the worst was behind us. Perhaps that was my natural Latino tendency to be optimistic. After all, Latinos “are worse off, but they are still more positive about where the country is going” compared to Read More
In my previous article, I discussed a phenomenon that is often overlooked by policymakers and pundits: how the experience of poverty produces its own psychology. Living in constant poverty, for example, is detrimental to both the decision-making process and to overall memory function. Clinically, I often describe the experience of poverty as being similar to Read More
Whenever I teach Intro to Psychology, one of my favorite topics to cover is the cognitive revolution. During the continuing revolution, much attention has been paid to human decision-making processes. Most of us like to believe that our intellect, our experiences and our perceived expertise lead us to make rational and well-informed decisions. But, mountains Read More