Blog 10
After referring to my first blog post and the course outcomes from the syllabus, I feel that I have learned and retained most of the information I expected to learn and more. As a senior psychology major, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect going into this class, but there were still many new and exciting concepts to learn from this course. On top of learning about social factors and their influences on behavior, I also learned valuable information on the formations of things like attitudes, liking, prejudice/discrimination, and prosocial/helping behaviors.
One thing I would change if I took this class again would be to take more time to explore the modules and supplemental materials on blackboard. I found that I focused a lot of my time and studying on the book and lecture notes, and often forgot to check up on the blackboard supplemental videos/materials in each module. Going back through the modules now, there is an abundance of cool videos that help reinforce the concepts we were learning each chapter.
Each semester, it always amazes me how much growth can take place with the addition of every new class. It truly reinforces my belief that there is always something new to learn, both from an academic standpoint and from a personal perspective. This semester, I was challenged to grow socially in my academics. As a result of the Covid pandemic, this has been my first semester where I have been able to complete a full course load of classes in-person versus online. This aspect has challenged me to interact with my classmates and professors and further discuss the course materials. I truly feel that this has benefitted my learning, especially for a course such as Social Psychology. I love to discuss with others as a way to widen my own perspective on a topic, and this in-person aspect of classes this semester has really helped me to utilize that.
Moving forward as a rising professional, I am hoping to use the knowledge I have acquired from this class in my work. Specifically, I think that having an understanding of how prejudice and discriminatory behavior can formulate and influence people’s actions/behaviors will be an important concept to understand. Having this understanding could become very useful when working with clients in the future who may be displaying prejudice behaviors. Having the ability to possibly shed light onto why these clients may hold these negative views of others and expand their knowledge to help better them as people would be very rewarding.
For my final blog post, I have included a picture of some of my class materials which highlight how I have grown academically. I feel this class required me to stay organized and diligent in my note taking and assignment completion. I included a page of my notes along with how I followed the course schedule in the picture. I also included a picture of the Styles of Love questionnaire which I completed for this class. I feel that following the class activities and discussing the outcomes with my classmates really helped me grow academically.
Blog 9
After reviewing my e-Portfolio, I found many things within the pages that I thought were really interesting. My favorite activities/blogs/topics include Assignment Activity 2 (self-concept pictures), Assignment Activity 3 (Styles of love questionnaire), and Blog 6 (the ways ads see women). Assignment Activity 1 and 2 both supplied the opportunity to turn my academic endeavors inward and examine things about myself. I loved these activities as it allowed me to apply the course material to myself and take an introspective look at my own identity and behaviors. I also loved blog post 6, as this activity highlighted an issue which I have always recognized in my own surroundings. Having a concrete example of how ads sexualize and dehumanize women and their bodies really brought light to such an important issue that is present in our society still to this day.
I liked how the e-Portfolio topics overlapped in some cases to reinforce the learning and application of different topics. For instance, I was able to utilize the information I had learned about the availability heuristic in both the Assignment 1 Activity and in the item to archive I chose to represent my Top Archive 1. The Item to Archive assignment allowed me to identify the availability heuristic in action in a news story while the Assignment 1 Activity called for me to take this understanding of the availability heuristic and come up with my own idea of what would constitute an example of this heuristic. Utilizing both activities allowed me to apply my understanding in different ways and helped me to absorb the concept better.
One concept which has some carryover from other material I have learned in other classes would be Attachment Theory. I like how this course utilized attachment theory as a way to examine how one’s attachment style could impact their social interactions and relationships with others. In another course I have taken, Child Psychology, attachment theory was also taught but it focused on different applications of the theory. In Child Psychology, we focused on how attachments are formed in childhood and worked to identify attachment styles in babies through recreations of Ainsworth’s the Strange Situation experiment. I enjoyed expanding my knowledge of attachment theory in this course and loved being able to apply this framework to new situations.
I have included a picture of how I recapped my e-Portfolio assignments and narrowed down my favorite topics to include in this blog post.
Blog 8
After reading DeWall’s article on some of the differences between men and women within a relationship, I reflected on differences I have noticed in others’ heterosexual relationships and my own. One way in which I have seen men upset women is by not properly listening. I have found this issue to be a common topic amongst many women when venting about their partners behaviors. They often feel that they have to tell or remind their partner of the same information repeatedly. Referencing the article, if women want to “pair wisely” it would make sense that having a partner who is not capable of listening or meeting their emotional needs would be a source of frustration. In contrast, I have also heard many accounts of men feeling annoyed or pestered when their female partners repeat the same information to them. The men will often report feeling like their partner is “nagging” them. Referencing the article, if men are more open to “pairing widely” then they may not feel invested enough in their partner to make their needs a priority. Sticking with the concept of sexual conflict from the article in reference to this scenario, if a woman feels emotionally neglected in a relationship, she may feel less inclined to be sexual with her partner. In response, the man may feel less invested in the relationship if the frequency of sex is lowered as a result of this conflict and feel more inclined to re-pair with someone new. I believe this scenario highlights the idea presented in DeWall’s article. I have chosen a picture depicting the scenario I explained above as my representative visual image for this blog. I think the pictures above are a good representation of a common struggle amongst men and women.
Blog 7
After watching Linda Ferguson’s video on self-regulation and emotional intelligence, it made the relationship between these two things apparent. Self-regulation can be really difficult in times of emotionally heightened scenarios. I find it difficult to practice self-regulation specifically when I am driving. It is so easy to get caught up in the moment and take every other drivers’ maneuvers as a personal attack, and it often leads to me being in a bad mood once I reach my destination. Although it may sound naïve, I have never thought to implement emotional intelligence in these scenarios. To me, emotional intelligence means having the ability to be introspective and reflective about my own feelings, thoughts, and emotions and how all of these aspects are connected to and affect one another. To improve upon my self-regulation through emotional intelligence when I am driving, I could try and practice breathing techniques when I feel frustrated on the road to calm myself down and remind myself that how another driver drives is not related to me. They may be a bad driver, but their driving maneuvers are completely unrelated to me as a person and are not a personal attack. Once I am calm, I could also think deeper on why I feel hostile while driving and try to navigate that feeling and its source. Thinking on it now, I think my stress when driving stems from my fear of getting into a car accident and the fact that I have no control over how the cars around me drive. I can see how feeling that loss of control could result in my feelings of anger while driving. To accompany this blog, I have attached an image of my results from an online emotional intelligence test.
Blog 6
After watching Jean Kilbourne’s talk “The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women”, I felt validated in a lot of my own feelings about advertisements and the messages they send to viewers. I have always felt that ads for cosmetic products use shame as a selling point for girls and women. I used to read teen magazines such as Bop or Tiger Beat and the pushing of products such as razors, perfume/antiperspirants, makeup, tanning products, and other cosmetics were always present in those magazines which were meant for an audience of preteen and teenage girls. Feeling the pressure to be flawless in every capacity was something that was pushed to me from the time I was 11 years old. Hearing Ms. Kilbourne’s TedTalk was validating and gave me hope for an advertisement reform in the coming years. The pictures I chose to accompany this blog post represent some of the tropes Ms. Kilbourne spoke of in her speech.
The first ad (Source: Katy Perry Brings Popchips Back From the Brink in New Ads adweek.com) promoting Pop Chips shows Katy Perry holing the chip bags suggestively over her chest with the tagline “nothing fake about ‘em”. This ad showcases how women’s bodies are sexualized, even in completely irrelevant ways to sell a product.
The second ad (Source: hardees-print-ad-1.jpg 569×709 brandsynario.com) promoting Hardees utilizes the method Kilbourne describes in her Ted Talk where a part of a woman’s body is used in a suggestive way to sell a product. The ad shows a woman licking her lips with the tagline “Tried this delicious hotness yet?”. The woman’s whole face is not shown, only her mouth.
The third ad (Source: Oil Of Olay Advertisement – Oil of Olay oilofolaycouponimmediately.blogspot.com) is for an Olay antiaging product. The woman’s face is obviously touched up/photoshopped to make the buyer feel that this product will erase natural age lines on women’s faces. It promotes a narrative that the natural aging process for women is shameful.
The fourth ad (Source: Longer you wait..better it gets. 2008 Evan Williams Bourbon Whiskey Magazine Ad | eBay | Evan williams bourbon, Evan williams, Bourbon pinterest.com) is for a whiskey brand. It shows two pictures, the first is a woman “getting ready” and the second is once she’s “ready”. The tagline for the ad reads “the longer you wait, the better it gets” suggesting that the more time women spend on doing their makeup and hair the “better” they will look. The woman’s “after” picture is also very sexualized, showing her in a short dress and seductive pose.
The final ad (Source: Gauge – 07.2020 » Download PDF magazines – Magazines Commumity downmagaz.net) is from a car magazine. It shows an antique car with a woman in short shorts and high heels looking seductively at the camera. It seems completely irrelevant for the woman to be in the picture which is supposed to be promoting the vehicle. The woman is there solely to “sell” the product using sex appeal.
Blog 5
After reading about the ways in which we interpret information depending on the source, I found it really fun to analyze some advertisements to see this process in action.
Credible Source (Left):
The credible source appeared to be credible to me as the person endorsing the product was an expert in the field. Seeing the dentist’s credentials with her direct quote made the product seem trustworthy. Additionally, the statistics indicated that this product was the #1 recommended toothpaste for sensitivity by dentists. These aspects gave the advertisement credibility.
Non-Credible Source (Center):
For the non-credible source, I found an advertisement for KFC which featured one of the world’s most famous soccer players, Cristiano Ronaldo. When you think of world-renowned athletes, you generally think of them as being in superb physical shape and adhering to a strict diet, and Cristiano Ronaldo is no exception. Seeing this type of athlete endorsing a fried chicken fast food joint seems ineffective as most people would be able to recognize that he is only promoting the brand for money, as he is most likely not actually consuming their food.
Attractive Source (Right):
I found the attractive ad to be effective because Jennifer Aniston is a beloved actress who has aged wonderfully and has amazing skin. She has perceived likeability as a scandal-free celebrity which aids to her credibility. Attractive sources like this one are typically effective when an attractive and likeable celebrity is used to promote the product. When we see Jennifer Aniston in her 50’s looking amazing, we are more likely to want to use the skin products she endorses in an attempt to age like her.
Blog 4
After completing the first exam for this course last week and reviewing my results, I feel pretty good about my study habits for this class. I only missed one question on the exam. Upon referring to the textbook for clarification on the question I missed, I feel better about my understanding of the concept and can see why I initially answered incorrectly. To prepare for this exam, I utilized the Jeopardy Reviews for each chapter, re-read each textbook chapter to refresh, and finally filled in the exam review sheet to ensure I reviewed all necessary material/concepts. I feel that this method of studying for the exam was extremely beneficial for me and I plan to utilize this method again for the next exam. I have attached a picture of my notes from the chapter/jeopardy review as my representative visual image for this blog post. This picture visualizes how I like to organize and color-code my notes for optimal learning.
Blog 3
After reading the article “Soul Meets Body” and reflecting on the ideas proposed, I feel that I have noticed the link between music preferences and close relationships in my life as well. My romantic partners and friends have always had similar tastes in music to me throughout my life. Funny enough, when I think of how my music taste has changed as I’ve gotten older, so have the people I associate with. I think the idea that music taste is tied in with our personal values has rung true in my personal relationships. I had different ideals and values as a young teenager, my music taste was pretty wild and reflected these ideals. My friends also had these similar wild ideals and embraced the same lifestyle and musical taste. As I grew older and matured, my music taste calmed down tremendously, and my friend circle evolved to reflect these changes.
The picture above includes a screenshot of the songs I chose that I associate with different people in my life.
Blog 2
I have always considered myself to be a diligent, self-motivated student. I received an unconventional form of schooling through high school as I was homeschooled by my parents who utilized a K12 online accredited program. This method of schooling required the student to be driven to learn the material on their own without a teacher as well as be literate in online class formats (blackboard) and computer software. The result of this type of schooling has greatly improved my academic confidence and problem-solving skills as a student. Being familiar with online classes has also been a huge help in my college years as the pandemic resulted in the majority of my classes being held online. I currently feel relatively confident as a student. I think the areas which I could increase confidence levels on would mainly be experience and applied skills. Since the majority of my classes have been online for the past two years, I haven’t had much of a chance to apply my skills in a classroom setting. Although this is my last semester of undergrad, I am confident that I will have the ability to strengthen my applied skills in grad school through classroom time as well as practicum and internship experience. My score from the self-efficacy test was 37, or a mean of 3.7. I think this score is representative of my own feelings of confidence and accomplishment as a student. I have included a picture of my self-efficacy results to accompany this blog post.
Blog 1
After reviewing the course syllabus, I am confident that the material I learn in this course will be applicable in my future career endeavors as an LPC. Being familiar with how social factors can influence a client’s own thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes will be an integral part of supplying competent counseling to future clients. My expectations for this course are high. I have taken Professor Muth’s other course (Cross-Cultural Psych) in the past, and I know that the mode she uses to teach is highly interactive and effective. Throughout the semester, I am hoping to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to recognize the influence of social factors on human behavior in a way which is applicable in my future professional life. To ensure that I receive the most out of this course, I plan to attend every lecture. I have really missed attending in-person classes for the past 2 years as a result of the pandemic as I feel that I am able to focus and retain more information when I have a physical class to attend. I also plan to complete all activities in this course in a timely manner. There are many small tasks each week for this course, and I plan to be diligent with my planner to ensure that I can complete these tasks on time. Finally, I am a huge fan of taking physical, color coordinated notes. I have included a picture of my first page of color coordinated notes from the first few pages of Chapter 1 of the text as my representative visual image for this reason. Overall, I feel that this class will be challenging but rewarding. I am excited to attend classes and increase my knowledge of the course material!