20 Essay Topics on Affluenza: The Best Social Psychology Topic

The task of writing successfully on any subject matter, regardless of how difficult or technical it might be, depends on your understanding of the subject matter in question as well as your choice of a topic to work on. This happens to be the case for writing essays on social psychology and influenza. Therefore, before providing some of much needed help in choosing a social psychology essay topic on affluenza, here is a brief description of affluenza and the psychology behind it.

The word affluenza has derived from the words influenza and affluence. Psychologists describe affluenza as psychological conditions were an unhealthy attachment to wealth affecting an individual’s decision making abilities and his or her emotional intelligence. There are currently multiple studies conducted on the subject of affluenza and these researches have brought out facts that must be included in your essay. Understanding the importance of facts in buttressing your points, we have provided you with 10 facts for a compare and contrast essay on social psychology and affluenza that can be used in developing social psychology essay topics on affluenza in a previous article you must consider reading.

20 essay topics on the social psychology of affluenza:

Understanding Affluenza and Its Psychological Effects on Society
Affluenza and its Harmful Effects on the Human Psyche
Affluenza in the Developed World: An Unhealthy Fascination with Wealth
Are Wealthier Regions More Susceptible to Affluenza?
Scrutinizing Affluenza and Its Effects on Humans
Affluenza: A Real Psychological Problem or a Farce
The Consumerism Theory and Affluenza Diagnosis
The Role of the Media in Perpetuating an Unhealthy Consumer Culture
Pursuing the American Dream in Relation to Affluenza
Is Affluenza a Contagious Psychological Condition?
Societies Pressures Contributing to Affluenza
Rehabilitation and Affluenza: A Working Theory
Social Psychology Challenges: Diagnosing and Curing Affluenza
Human Errors and the Role Affluenza Plays
The Illusion of Success and Reduced Empathy in Wealthy Citizens
Fighting Depression through an Understanding of Affluenza
Studying the Correlation between Affluenza, Substance Abuse and Addiction
Does Affluenza Truly Reduce the Ability to Empathize
Discussing Affluenza’s Ability to Cloud Moral Judgment and Decision Making
Scrutinizing the Difficulties Associated with Diagnosing Affluenza

These are some of the topics you can consider choosing from when tasked with drafting a social psychology essay topic on affluenza. All of these topics focus on the social effects of affluenza, its diagnosis and treatment and how it is perceived by members of the public. As stated earlier, all of these topics will rely heavily on the use of facts to send you message across and you should consider reading up the ‘facts guides’ provided for this essay.

Lastly, we intend to lead by example and this will be done using a sample essay with its topic chosen from one of the 20 listed above. This written essay should serve as a guide on how to introduce your topic, develop its body and write a good conclusion covering social psychology on affluenza.

Sample Compare and Contrast Essay – Affluenza in the Developed World: An Unhealthy Fascination with Wealth

The western world has always been fascinated with the lifestyle of the wealthy and this is why programs and movies about wealth tend to attract more viewership than any others. Sadly, social psychology studies have begun to show that this fascination is unhealthy and may have far reaching effects on society as well as the mental health status of affluent individuals.

These studies led to the coining of the phrase ‘affluenza’ which is a psychological issue that affect the empathy levels, mental health and emotional balance of its sufferers. Affluenza was coined from the words influenza and affluence and it affects both the young and adult mind in equal measures. There has been a lot of research done to diagnose affluenza and understand its effects on society and one of the results found was that this condition was prevalent in the developed world.

Certain triggers have been identified as the reason for affluenza’s polarity in the developed world and some of these include the belief in the ‘American Dream’ concept, as well as the media’s constant glorification of the lifestyle of the rich and famous. These triggers make people constantly work to achieve more wealth while putting everything else on hold, only to discover that acquired wealth did not provide the feelings they have dreamt off. This then leads to disenchantment and the feeling of unworthiness which are tell-tale signs of affluenza. In more advanced cases, affluenza then leads to depression and a lack of empathy for the average man thereby destroying the fabrics of peaceful co-existence.

The pursuit of happiness has also led to other harmful behavioral patterns such as addiction or substance abuse among wealthy individuals. A study focused on high school students’ buttresses this fact for it found out that high school students with wealthy backgrounds tended to keep to themselves and were out of touch with reality. This social disconnect makes the children either act out or turn to substance abuse for companionship. The study also covered affluenza in adults, and it showed that wealthy individuals consumed 27% more alcohol than the less affluent and according to the study, this percentage had nothing to do with the ability of both parties to purchase alcohol. Therefore, affluenza is a psychological situation that affects both the young and old in exactly the same way.

The social disconnect and lack of empathy exhibited by people suffering from affluenza can harm our community in diverse ways as the wealthy become more isolated from reality and the general state of life. The lack of emotion shown on the plight of the poor or pushing their needs under the rug can lead to the poor lashing out as seen from the movement to occupy Wall Street. In conclusion, it is important to note that there are several ways to contain affluenza such as the use of rehabilitative techniques but first, society must recognise these issues before it can successfully be dealt with.

Here, we come to the end of the essay on social psychology and affluenza. We hope this provides you with a template on how to draft yours using one of the topics above to provide a direction. You can also learn more on how to strike a good compare and contrast essay on social psychology and affluenza by reading the last article in this series.

References:
Mark, H. (2010). Religious Groups and Affluenza: Further Exploration of the TV-Materialism Link. http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=utk_jourpubs
Manchiraju, S. (2013). Materialism in Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
http://www.managementmarketing.ro/pdf/articole/315.pdf
Ahuvia, A. (2008). If Money doesn’t Make Us Happy, Why Do We Act as if it Does?”, Journal of Economic Psychology, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 491-507.
Chang, L. & Arkin, M. (2002). Materialism as an Attempt to Cope with Uncertainty, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 5, pp. 389-406.
Kasser, T. (2002). The High Price of Materialism, MIT Press, Cambridge.
Martin, W. (2008). Paradoxes of Happiness, Journal of Happiness Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 171-184.
O’Neill, J. (1997). The Gilded Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence, The Affluenza Project, Milwaukee.