Hot Button Topics – A Psychological Perspective

How can you use psychology to adapt to a rapidly changing world? How can psychology be used to improve the world around you? There are many issues that affect individuals and societal groups every day. It is important to be mindful about how these issues can affect someone at a personal level when engaging in controversial dialogue about topics that are important to a healthy society. It is important to use psychological concepts to guide your responses to this discussion, such as emotional intelligence and empathy.

Select one hot button topic you are passionate about from the list below
and answer the following questions:

Hot Button Topics List
Hot button topics are topics that can create a strong emotional reaction or elicit strong opinions. For the purpose of the discussion, we have broken these hot button topics into four categories: social justice, sustainability, technology, and wellness. You will pick one topic from one category below for your initial post.

Social Justice
Ableism as a normalized form of discrimination
Access to higher education for all
Bias in the workplace
Gainful employment with a living wage for all people
Immigration reform
Police brutality
Social stigma in the LGBTQ community

Sustainability
Fossil fuels versus renewable energy
Human impact on the environment
Materialism versus minimalism
Sustainable approaches to reducing the effects of global climate change
Zero wasting

Technology
Cyberbullying
Privacy rights in the digital age
Impact of excessive screen time
Impact of social media on self-concept
Sexting
Social effects of video gaming

Wellness
Childhood obesity
Mind-body connection
Non-pharmacological approaches to reducing stress
Power of positive self-talk
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans
Social learning and the development of healthy habits

*****These questions have to be answered******

Why is this a hot button topic? Why does it matter to you?
How does this hot button topic affect individuals psychologically?
How does this hot button topic affect society?
How would you use some of the psychological concepts from this course to understand these issues? (Select a concept or theory to apply to your topic.)
Your response should be about +200 or more words. Remember to reference your resources.