Sociologist Margee Kerr (Faculty Lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh) was quoted in an Axios article on why people either love or hate horror movies. Kerr discusses how personal experience can affect how people respond to a jump scare. If you have positive memories of Halloween fun, you may have many “environmental context cues that tell you that in this situation, [the fear response] feels good,” Kerr explains. However, people who have experienced life-threatening situations may avoid fear in any situation.
In rural Norway, a haunted grocery store (reportedly plagued by flying potatoes, electrical mishaps, and ghostly figures) captured the attention of sociologist Lars Birger Davan (PhD Candidate at Oslo Metropolitan University). Questioning how the unexplainable experiences of the staff and customers affected their relationship to society, Davan found that they were cautious in divulging details of experiences so as to not appear “crazy.” However, conversations with others who also had unexplainable experiences provided reassurance. Other sociologists weighed in on the effects of brushes with the paranormal. Marc Eaton (Associate Professor at Ripon College) noted that saying you’ve seen a ghost often comes with an assumption of irrationality or mental illness, making people hesitant to share paranormal experiences. Dennis Waskul (Professor of Sociology at Minnesota State University Mankato) stated that while paranormal experiences can be terrifying, they can also add intrigue into “a world that’s overly mechanized and a world that’s dominated by very predictable outcomes… a world of monotony where every day is just like the next damn day. And suddenly now, you’ve got a ghost in your house. Well, that is really friggin’ interesting.” This story was covered by Atlas Obscura.
The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a new report including recommendations to help the United States achieve significant carbon emission reductions. A key recommendation is that the energy transition should help people and communities most affected by climate change–particularly poor communities and communities of color–and address historical harms. Multiple sociologists were authors on the report. Patricia Romero-Lankao (Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto and one of the report authors) noted that the focus on equity is important because energy transitions are “social, and political, and institutional” and require community support. This story was reported by NPR.
Alexei Levinson (Head of the Socio-Cultural Department at the Levada Center) was interviewed by The Bell on public opinion in Russia regarding Putin and the war in Ukraine. Levinson noted that the war is generally popular, as many Russians see it as an indirect conflict with the West. While Putin remains popular in Russia (in part due to his informal use of jokes), Levinson speculates that losing the war would end Putin’s career.
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