ATA4

For my first act of kindness, I decided to make a point to complement at least 5 strangers.  This could be compliments about their style/clothes, hair, makeup, smile, etc.  I wanted to do this because I recently had a stranger complement my outfit and the random compliment really made me feel nice and brightened my day.  While I initially started with a goal to compliment 5 strangers, I found that once I met the goal that I wanted to keep going.  All of the people I complimented looked genuinely happy to hear it and it made me realize how one small act could impact multiple people’s day. 

For my next act of kindness, I decided to pay for the car behind me at the drive-thru.  I had stopped at Taco Bell for lunch one day after class and paid for the car behind me.  I had a car pay for my meal one time at a drive-thru when I was having a particularly hard day, and it completely lifted my spirits.  Although I didn’t get to see the customers reaction, the cashier was so excited that I was doing this and told me how seeing actions like this always make her day.

The third act of kindness I wanted to try was to offer to help an older couple I saw at the store.  I had seen them shopping earlier and noticed that the wife was in a mobility scooter and the husband was having a hard time walking.  When I saw them at the checkout, I offered to carry their groceries to their car for them.  They were both very very sweet and appreciative and it made me feel good to know that I could help them a little. 

For the fourth act of kindness, I decided to give a large tip at a restaurant to the waitress.  It was a busy Sunday afternoon, and the restaurant was slam packed.  The waitress was so sweet and kept apologizing for the wait.  I had seen another table of customers yelling at her because they were upset with their wait time, and then the customers stormed out of the restaurant.  The waitress was brought to tears from the unkindness.  I tried to comfort her when she came back to our table by telling her that she was doing a great job and to disregard the mean comments.  Since I was financially able to, I decided to leave her a nice tip with a small note of encouragement on the bill.  I did not stay to see her reaction, but I have worked in the food industry before, and I know how much those kinds of things mean when you’re having a hard day with picky customers. 

For the final act of kindness, I decided to leave small sticky notes with encouraging messages on strangers’ cars.  I found a kind random note on my windshield once and it was such a nice little boost to my day.  I made notes such as “you’re beautiful”, “you matter”, “you’re doing a great job”, and “I’m proud of you”, and stuck them to some random cars throughout my day.  I did not stay to see anyone’s reactions, but I hope that the act may have brightened someone’s day.    

This experience over the past week has been a nice reminder about how simple acts of kindness can be really impactful.  It also showed me how easy it is to make someone’s day a little brighter.  It took practically no time or effort at all and was so easy to fit all of these tasks into my normal routine.  I am planning to implement these acts into my day as often as possible.  I chose the representative visual image for this assignment takeaway because I believe it sums up my thoughts and feelings about this activity. 

 

ATA3

After completing the Styles of Love Questionnaire, it seems like my mean scores are pretty similar to the average scores of other women who completed the questionnaire.  I scored pretty similarly with other women on Ludos, Storge, and Pragma love styles.  My only real differences from the average were that I am higher on Eros, lower on Mania, and slightly lower on Agape.  I mostly agree with my scoring for this activity.  I was surprised by how much higher I was on Eros love than the average woman.  Eros love sounded kind of superficial and based mostly on physical attributes.  While I think I take a healthy dose of physical attraction into consideration with my current partner, I wouldn’t say that physical appearances or physical chemistry is the most important factor for me in our relationship.  Storge, Pragma, and Agape were the other styles my scores indicated I was high on.  I feel these love styles reflect my current relationship more than Eros.  I have been with my partner for 3 years, and while I love that we have so much physical chemistry, I am much happier with the fact that we have such a strong friendship, have practical and similar long-term goals, and love each other in a deep and devoted way.  I suspect that the longer my partner and I stay together, the more Storge and Agape love styles will continue to be my prominent love styles.  I feel these two love styles align with long-term commitment and partnership by reinforcing a base of genuine liking/friendship and devotion.  I have included a picture of the graph I drew representing my mean scores in green, and the female mean scores in yellow. 

ATA2

The pictures I chose to represent my self-concept encompass the aspects of my identity that I feel are most salient to what make “me” me.  The pictures depict some of the important roles I occupy in my life: student, daughter, sister, romantic partner, adventurer, musician, and volunteer.  To start with the bottom half section of the photos, the picture in the top middle position is me studying at BAL and was taken by my friend during my first semester on campus at ODU.  It is the only picture I have that depicts my identity as a student, an identity which I am very proud of and have worked very hard for.  The picture below it is of me with my cat, Baker.  My love for my pets is another part of my identity that I feel is very important as it showcases my love for caring and nurturing.  The bottom left picture is of me in my CHKD volunteer uniform right before my first shift as a Child Life volunteer.  Giving back my time to CHKD and working with the kiddos there is a huge part of my identity.  I identify as a very maternal and caring person, and I get to embody those characteristics when I am volunteering with the kids.  The final picture in the bottom half of the collage is of me and my family.  Family is very important to me, and my identity as a daughter and sister is something that is very important to me.  Being apart of a family unit has contributed highly to my sense of personal identity. 

In the top half of the collage, the top middle and top right pictures both depict my adventurous spirit.  I love traveling and seeing the sights in different cities.  The two pictures included are from my hikes I completed along the Appalachian Trail.  I am hoping that I can continue to expand on this part of my identity by traveling more, especially internationally to experience new cultures and lifestyles.  The bottom middle picture is of me playing bass with my band at a local venue.  My identity as a musician has helped me express my creativity throughout the years through various different instruments including bass (pictured), drums, and piano.  The final picture in my collage, in the top left corner, is of my partner, Adam, and I at our friend’s wedding.  My identity as a good romantic partner, similar to my identity in my family unit, is another important aspect to my sense of self-identity.  Having a partner to build my own family with is very important to me and has the potential expand on my identity further by one day becoming a wife and mother.  I have included my collage as the representative image for this assignment.    

ATA1

The representative heuristic explains how we categorize things and people into like groups depending on characteristics.  For example, in one of my human services classes, the professor presented a mugshot and brief overview of a man’s life.  The man grew up in a rough part of town with high crime and gang violence.  The man was also charged with a violent rape and on trial for the case.  Our professor asked if we would feel uncomfortable or scared taking this man as a client.  The class overwhelmingly agreed that they would feel intimidated.  After this decision, the professor revealed that the man was falsely charged with the crime, having been cleared by alibi and DNA evidence, and that the man was living a completely average life with a wife and children, worked in an office, and had no history of crime or gang involvement.  This example shows how we use the representativeness heuristic as a way to categorize someone into a group based on superficial factors such as looks or location.  Much like stereotypes, these inferences can often be wrong and harmful. 

The availability heuristic describes the inclination to believe that what is commonly represented or easily recalled must be common and true.  For example, I love to watch Shark Week every year.  Since I watch Shark Week every year and I see news reports sensationalizing shark attacks, I may be inclined to think that shark attacks are common and therefore be afraid to swim in the ocean and feed into the demonization and killing of sharks.  However, a quick google search will show that many other animals including dogs, cows, mosquitos, and jellyfish cause more human deaths per year than sharks.  This example shows how this heuristic can lead to incorrect inferences which could possibly lead to dire consequences for the party affected. 

The anchor and adjustment heuristic describes how we adjust our estimations of things based on the base, or “anchor”, amount set for us.  For example, if I go shopping for a dress at Urban Outfitters then I adjust my spending range to accommodate for the expected higher “anchor” prices.  However, if I go to the thrift store to buy a dress then my expected “anchor” price drops significantly, and I adjust my spending range lower to accommodate for this expectation.  This heuristic could lead to incorrect inferences because the anchor can easily influence our decisions.  If we accept the anchor set regardless of any other information, we may be making potentially wrong or harmful adjustments. 

The status quo heuristic describes the belief that what is currently established must be the best option.  For example, in American economy, continuing with private insurance is commonly seen as the best option for healthcare and universal healthcare is deemed hurtful to our economy.  Even though the U.S is the only developed country to not utilize universal healthcare, many Americans may think that sticking with private insurance is the best option for our country since we have been utilizing it for so long.  This heuristic could lead to incorrect inferences by using people’s comfort with what has long been accepted as their best option even if the option is not objectively the best option.   

Studying and applying heuristics for this assignment has made me realize how often we use incorrect reasoning in our day to day lives.  While some of these inferences may be benign, it is easy to see how others can cause harmful thinking and consequences.  Being aware of these heuristics is a good way to reflect on my own thinking and identify ways to improve on objectivity.  I chose the above image to accompany this assignment takeaway as it illustrates my example for the availability heuristic.