please watch this YouTube video of an interview of Sherman James, the social psychologist-turned-epidemiologist who is credited with developing the John Henryism hypothesis:
The entire video is interesting, as it provides a lot of good context, but if you’re in a rush the details of the theory start at about minute 12. This is a great synthesis of exactly how discrimination-related stress, both systemic and interpersonal, gets “under the skin” and contributes to physiological challenges and ultimately health disparities. It’s also a perfect example of that intersection of social justice and science we’re always talking about – Dr. James brings it up explicitly a few times, too. Any discussion of discrimination and health is incomplete without this groundbreaking hypothesis.
I just want your reaction to it. A few possible reactions (not an exhaustive list): Did it change how you think about social stressors and health? Were you already familiar with this hypothesis, but watching Dr. James talk about it shifted your thinking? Any challenges to the theory? Pitfalls? Personal reactions? What does this well-known legend have to do with just-world theory of “victim-blaming?” Knowing what we know about allostatic load in reaction to this particular insidious form of stress, what can we do about it? There are no right or wrong answers here, I’m honestly just interested in what you think. No reason this reaction has to be any longer than 200 words.
please reflect based on some of the concepts in the powerpoints i uploaded
no citation needed
