Caught in a Double Bind: How Sinophobia and Model Minority Stress Shape Trauma Responses and the Resilience in Asian American Youth
In May, we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month!!! Asian American youth often find it difficult to navigate through the layered racialized experiences rooted in both Sinophobia (an anti-Chinese sentiment that often spills over to all East Asian-appearing individuals due to being monolithically racialized) and the pressures to conform to the Model Minority stereotype. Together, these forces create a cultural double bind: Youth are expected to be high-achieving, emotionally restrained
May 1613 min read
Brief Literature Review on Conduct Disorder in Childhood
Conduct Disorder is included in the Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders category in DSM-5 for its feature of a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior violating basic rights of others or age-appropriate societal norms (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). DSM-5 compartmentalizes its diagnostic criteria into 4 major behavioral categories: firstly, aggression to people and animals, including bullying, threatening, initiating fights, using weapons, physi
May 1614 min read
Analyzing the Show 'Squid Games' Via the Social Psychology Lens
'Squid Game' is one of my favorite Netflix series, and I once binged-watched the whole season in one day. What makes the show so gripping lies in the fusion of psychological drama and social commentary. It is a South Korean survival thriller that delves into the darkest aspects of human desperation, morality, and greed through a deadly competition that tempts financially struggling individuals with the promise of immense wealth, but at the cost of their own lives and those of
May 512 min read
Utilizing the Movie 'The Namesake' as a Case Study
The Namesake, directed by Mira Nair and based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s acclaimed novel, is a touching exploration of identity, cultural displacement, and the immigrant experience. It follows the Ganguli family—Ashoke and Ashima, who emigrate from Kolkata to the United States, and their American-born children, Gogol and Sonia—as they navigate the tensions between tradition and modernity. At its heart, The Namesake is a story of belonging, examining how names, heritage, and family sh
Jun 17, 20254 min read
Unconscious Conflicts and the Weight of Existence: A Psychodynamic Analysis of the Movie 'The Hours'
The Hours depicts the lives of three women across different time periods -- Virginia Woolf in 1920s England, Laura Brown in 1950s suburban America, and Clarissa Vaughan in 1990s New York -- all connected by Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway. The film delves into themes of the complexities of these women’s lives under societal pressures, such as gender roles, existential despair, mental illness, and the search for identity in the family and the world, as each character grap
May 14, 20258 min read
Relational Underpinnings of Psychodynamics
Critics have long cast doubts on Feud’s emphasis on innate biological drives such as libido and aggression as the primary motivators of behavior and steered towards the relational aspects by positing that psychological development is rooted in early caregiver interactions. Indeed, as social beings, our experiences are perpetually centered in relational dynamics and the broader social structure, shedding light on Mitchell’s perspective that we are fundamentally shaped by early
Feb 24, 20253 min read
XYY Syndrome = Psychopathy?
As an enthusiast of true crime, one of the most interesting controversies in the realm of forensic psychology is associated with XYY syndrome, also known as Jacobs syndrome (named after Dr. Patricia Jacobs, the pioneering scientist who initially identified this disorder). XYY syndrome manifests in males possessing an additional Y chromosome, resulting in a karyotype of 47 XYY instead of the typical 46 XY configuration. Some characteristics include heightened stature, language
Jan 31, 20244 min read
