Free Essay Considering Brexit as a Social Problem

The critical social psychological study involves the study of people's feelings, behaviors and thoughts are influenced by the imagined, actual or implied presence of others or given occurrences of an event initiated by others. The terms feelings, behaviors and thoughts are psychological variables that are measurable in humans. The idea that the presence of others is imagined indicates that humans are pliable to social influences even when they are alone. Social psychology typically explains the behaviors of the people when they interact with social situations and the mental state. The Brexit vote could or could not have been a good move for the people of the United Kingdom. On the other hand, it caused the boom time of the adjective industry; politicians and commentators find themselves in difficult situations trying to explain to the public the surprising results revealed after the Brexit vote. The Britons were roiled, stunned, jolted, shocked and rattled by the Brexit result (Elliot, 2016). The result of the Brexit election caused behaviors to unfold in different ways in the presence of others. Different people developed different feelings, beliefs, thoughts, intentions, and goals; this influenced the interactions between the people, the Britons, and non-Britons. Brexit was a social problem that continues to influence the social and political actions in the United Kingdom (Times, 2016). The paper involves the critical social psychological analysis of Brexit.

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The Brexit vote came with many surprises with many people confused while others involved in chaotic attempts as a result of the idea that Brexit could have lead to the clear-cut differences between different groups of people (Khaleeli, 2016). In analyzing the Brexit initiated by the people of United Kingdom, it is necessary to consider the concept of attribute substitution which often attempts to explain a specific phenomenon in decision error and decision making. The Brexit may be compared to the situation where an individual replaces a complex question with the simple one and instead of engaging in finding the solution to the complex question, they resort to finding the answer to the simple one they have created. Brexit came with mixed reactions among the people; some were surprised while others were happy with the results. A multitude of diverse decisions concerning completely different things was joined into one overreaching decision and people were made to believe on one thing but in reality, there were different things surrounding the idea of Brexit. There are people who feel that immigration issues should now be settled now that Brexit was successful. Other people believe that people should not be separated due to Brexit. There are people who follow the questions of unnecessary bureaucracy formulated by the people or politicians that were pro-Brexit.

During the voting process, many people have influenced the ideas put forward by the people thinking about the economy of the United Kingdom while others were influenced by the people thinking about the stock market. During the campaign for the Brexit in the United Kingdom, some of the voters were influenced by the ideas of National Health Services formulated by the people who were pro-Brexit. The Brexit is accompanied by the question of the identity of being the British, European or non-European. Brexit, therefore, led to the increased racial tension. Britons were influenced by the idea of resources, there are certain n groups of people who could not get access to enough resources and as a result, they influenced other people who were in the same situation. From the above muddles of attribute substitution, there is a manifestation of an almost equal split among the people as well as the psychological civil war. Therefore, it is necessary for the Britons to get their psychological savvy embedded in the social world.

Racism is another current issue that affects the people of United Kingdom. Racism is one of the factors that led to the Brexit. Racism results from stereotyping a specific group of people. The idea of racism is driven by people's perception towards other groups of people (Richards, 2012). With the belief that some people are superior while others are inferior, the perception often trickles down the generations and other groups of people who may not have the same thoughts. In the United Kingdom, there are people who feel that racism is an antisocial behavior while others perceive it as a normal occurrence in life. In the United Kingdom, racism often leads to the identity politics that some people often feel very much uncomfortable with. Many people are racist because they are influenced by the other people or by the content they consume from the media. In the United Kingdom, rather than taking people for the ideas they hold and for what they say, there are individuals who start to judge people based on their gender or ethnicity. According to different psychological studies, the attitudes of extreme hatred which leads to racism are often based in fear. These attitudes arise from primitive survival mechanism and the instinct from a person to avoid danger (Weaver, 2016). Fearing anything that appears to be unique or different may lead to the fear of an entire group of people or race. When a person or a given race involuntarily feels fearful in responding to a different race group, they tend to develop defensive behaviors and thoughts. The fear may arise as a result of personal level security, control or individual importance (Stephenson, 2004). When a person or a given race become fearful of the other, they often tend to create negative and exaggerated beliefs about the other race in order to rationalize their actions with the aim of securing their survival and safety. In the United Kingdom, for instance, other races often tend to adopt fearful behaviors that make Britons of the white men to perceive themselves as more superior than any other race. During the Brexit vote, Britons wanted economic autonomy as they believed that most of the opportunities that had were given to other races at a cheaper enumeration, this made them look superior amidst many races that exist in the country.

Since the Brexit vote, the hate crime has increased by close to fifty-seven percent (Heather 2018). This was as a result of the everyday experiences of people in Britain, especially women as a result of the aggression they often encounter daily as well as the prejudice of complete strangers. According to the psychological studies, some members of the hate groups or racists are aggravated by the need for belonging and love, a scenario that is considered as the basic survival need. For some people, specifically, those who may experience difficulty in forming interpersonal relationships, identifying with the hate groups may prove to be the best approach. Therefore, "us versus them" mentality may make them feel closer to the group that they so desire that provide sociological support.

Projection is one of the natural defense mechanism applied by many people, it enables people to avoid facing their inadequacy by projecting or transferring them to others. According to different psychological studies, people hate others as a result of the things that they fear about themselves. The racists or individuals holding the hate believes that these people may be true to themselves (Braveman et al., 2011). Racism often results from emotional incompetence. The emotional incompetence refers to the integration feelings, thinking and proper judgment before an action is taken. The above action is more than the phrase "Think before you act." It attempts to explain the origins racism and the negative emotions that people, especially in the United Kingdom, often tend to develop towards each other. Every individual deserves care and respect as they are important elements to the senses of self. Many experts have attempted to question whether forms of bigotry and racism can be categorized as mental illnesses. The psychologists suggest that doing this will be offensive to the individuals who struggle with mental illnesses; the action may also absolve the racist as well as other extremists of moral responsibility. Although racism cannot be considered as a mental illness, the level of racist attitudes has become so broad in the United Kingdom. There are, however, personality disorders such as antisocial behaviors that may cause an individual to lose a sense of empathy and may expose to an extreme racist attitude.

In the world, nobody is born a racist, it is an attitude that people acquire in the course of growth. With a high level of racism in the United Kingdom, people are more likely to become racist based on the grouping of people they are born and raised in (Williamson & Khiabany, 2010). There is no gene in the human that determine an individual predisposition to bigotry and hate. Racism is, therefore, a learned attitude and behavior that a person adopt from the environment. The People, who do evil things, believe in evils and hate others based on their color or religious affiliation should not hide in their race but they should take responsibility for their own action. Racism negatively impacts mental health leading to anxiety, depression and psychological and chronic emotional stress (Cole, 2011). Continuous level of discrimination which may include racism can lead to mental and physical health effects.

Racial discrimination and racism usually create an inimitable environment of pervasive and additional stress for individuals of ethnic and racial minorities in different societies. As a result, the repeated traumatic interactions may lead to the reduction in self-esteem as well as the internalized hatred as they are strained into apologetic and conservative thinking. For individuals with mental health problems, discrimination and social stigma they experience can worsen their psychological problems, making it difficult for them to recover. The discrimination may make a person avoid seeking for help as a result of fear of stigmatization. Racial discrimination is a form of chronic stress that causes both physiological and psychological stress responses and in the end, facilitates the disease process that leads to negative mental and physical health outcomes for the people who experience it. Racism has huge impacts on mental health and confidence, a situation that can lead to isolation and a feeling of exclusion or social withdrawal. Individuals with mental health complications often become objects of ridicules, additionally, they are usually perceived as being violent, incompetent, and impulsive (Stephenson, 2004).

Elections in the United Kingdom are another social issue that is often characterized by the influences by different political philosophies. During campaigns, politicians often use different means to sway voters in order to win elections. The politicians often apply the psychological approaches to ensure that they pass messages to their audiences. The economies are often shaped by the political agenda aired by politicians during campaigns. In most cases, convincing the voters based on the problems they face is usually easy and as a result of the politicians often ends up winning the vote. For instance, during the referendum campaigns, the economic, social, and political issues were used influence the voters. The psychological approaches used during campaigns are not only evident in the United Kingdom but also in other different countries across the world.