Blog 10
Over the course of the semester, I feel that this class has fulfilled my expectations. I had high hopes for this class as a source of developing my own cultural competence, and the course material delivered on these expectations. I feel that I’ve met the course objectives pretty thoroughly. Although the coursework could be tough at times, it feels very rewarding to have improved upon my knowledge of cross-cultural research/studies and overall understanding of culture and how it affects behavior. Additionally, this class along with other classes I have taken throughout my degree have helped me to develop my cultural competence and awareness of diversity. As a future helping professional, cultural competence and awareness of diversity is an increasingly important skill to nurture, and I am elated to have had the opportunity continue my education in this field.
My views on cross-cultural psychology have only expanded throughout this semester. While this is not my first exposure to cross-cultural topics, this was the first class I have taken that focused on research and scientific studies into cultural differences. Having exposure to these studies has been incredibly interesting and has helped further my understanding of how culture interacts with behavior.
If I took the class again, I think I would make more of an effort to reach out to classmates to facilitate discussion on the topics we were learning. I greatly value discussion, and I feel that I may have been able to get more out of the course content if I was able to discuss it with others to get their perspectives. One way I have grown academically this semester is through organization. This class required a lot of time management and organizational skills to properly stay on track with the multiple assignments due each week on blackboard and Word Press. Although this workload felt overwhelming at the beginning, I feel that my organizational skills have benefitted from taking this class.
One skill I have learned in this class that will be beneficial in my professional life is the ability to think critically about myself and my own implicit biases regarding behavior. This class has taught me that I have previously viewed things from the perspective of my own culture and cultural norms. After learning the material in this class, I have begun developing my critical thinking and analyzing ability in respect to my own thoughts and beliefs. This will be especially important in my future professional career, as working with clients from other cultures is guaranteed in my future field. I hope to continue to develop my cultural competence throughout my continued education in order to be a productive helping professional.
Blog 9
I have learned a lot of valuable information this semester. Some of the most interesting things I learned this semester which were included in my e-portfolio include the discussion of gender norms/gender expression in different cultures, the concept of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, and the use of the NEO Personality Inventory and other personality measures across cultures.
The concept of gender expression across cultures was a reoccurring topic throughout this semester that continued to intrigue me. The first mention of gender norms in my e-portfolio was for the module 4 Items to Archive task. This task had me find the Hofstede’s Value Dimensions scores of Masculinity vs Femininity for the USA and another country. In this activity, I chose to compare Sweden and the USA. I compared Sweden and the USA on gender expression again for Assignment 4. This assignment required me to compare advertisements in the two countries to examine the expression of gender roles in the different cultures. I loved being able to take a critical look into how my own country and culture view gender norms in relation to other countries. It made me realize how rigid America can be in its expression of gender. It also helped me to recognize what a more accepting approach to gender would be in Sweden’s view of gender roles.
The concept and use of Personality tests discussed in this class was another really interesting topic to apply cross-culturally. I have learned about personality testing in previous classes I have taken such as Psyc 408 Theories of Personality. In Theories of Personality, we utilized personality tests such as the NEO-PI-R and the Five-Factor Model to study personality, however that class focused on personality in Americans and did not really delve into the universality of the tests or how personality expression may change across cultures.
Blog 8
The way in which different cultures display and interpret emotion is really interesting. The article “Emotion Perception Across Cultures” mentions how the Japanese participants in a study masked their negative emotions during an intense movie when another person was present. This study reminded me of a time when my family and I went to Busch Gardens with one of my sister’s international friends from ODU. My sister was a part of a club at ODU where local students would get paired up with international students as a way to help acclimate the international student to the area/culture/etc, and she would often invite her paired student to family outings. On one occasion, my sister invited her Korean international student with us to Busch Gardens. I remember how he would smile on all of the most intense parts of the amusement rides and roller coasters. At the steep drops on the coasters when the American riders would scream, he would just smile. His behaviors were much different to the American behaviors. Reading the article for this blog entry gave me a lot of insight into why he would display his emotions in this way based on his cultures display rules. His display rules may be similar to the Japanese display rules described in the article, which were centered around maintaining group harmony.
Blog 7
After reading the material for this module and the added article, it would seem to me that fairytales generally reflect a society’s cultural norms and expectations. Kathy McInerney’s article “Tale As Old As Time” does a nice job at documenting the progression of the female role in American fairytales. Classic American fairytales such as Cinderella and Snow White show a very traditional example of gender roles and expectations in American culture with the woman in a “damsel in distress” position being saved by a male “Prince Charming” figure.
As McInerney’s article mentions, the inclusion of more egalitarian roles for women in modern stories can be seen even in Disney films. I have personally seen the impact of these egalitarian roles on the children I work with. The Disney movie franchise “Frozen” has taken the younger generation by storm and has modeled a much different version of the traditional female princess. Frozen has offered an empowering representation of female strength and solidarity, flipping the traditional fairytale narrative on its head. The children I work with have fully embraced this message of female empowerment. The little girls I work with love having a character like Elsa to look up to and emulate for her strength and independence.
There were many books and movies which positively inspired my character and development in some way. One of the most significant would be Claire from the Outlander book series. When I read the books as a teenager, Claire’s character portrayed a very strong and determined representation of a woman living in a time period where drive and assertiveness were strongly discouraged for women. I identified with the characters strength, independence, and will to speak her mind. Having this character to identify with encouraged me to embrace these characteristics in myself. I hope we, as a country, can continue to portray strong female characters in books and media. This representation is critical in promoting diverse expressions of gender.
Blog 6
The concept of self-determination theory strives to explain the motivations behind the actions of people. In regard to my academics, I feel that I possess intrinsic motivation. According to Ryan and Deci’s article, intrinsic motivation is harbored by having ample challenges, receiving positive feedback, and a lack of degrading feedback. I believe my college education has abided to these requirements and has thus bred the atmosphere for intrinsic motivation. My competence needs can be met through the positive feedback received. In my academics, I receive these positive comments from professors and classmates. According to Ryan and Deci’s CET subtheory, autonomy can be met through intrinsic motivation by having choices and reflecting on feelings. I believe I meet this need of autonomy in my academics through reflective journaling and choosing classes and class times.
As Ryan and Deci’s article relates to relatedness and intrinsic motivation, I feel that I meet my relatedness needs through my relationships with my teachers in my academic endeavors. Ryan and Deci conclude that strong social relations may help enable intrinsic motivation. Having helpful and responsive professors as well as supportive classmates and family are all aspects which help me remain intrinsically motivated with my academics.
Blog 5
- I am…Compassionate
- I am…a good friend
- I am…a good listener
- I am…Perceptive
- I am…Empathetic
- I am…Strong
- I am…Independent
- I am…Hardworking
- I am…Resilient
- I am…a sister
I am a strong and hardworking person who values empathy and thoughtfulness. I have a perceptive nature and high amounts of compassion which make me a good friend and listener. In my statements, numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are associated with independent construal of self. Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 10 are associated with interdependent construal of self. Based on my answers, with a higher percentage of independent construal of self statements, I would say I am more independent.
The English proverb “where there’s a will, there’s a way” would be an example of an independent construal of self example. This is because the proverb encourages personal strength and resilience which are independent traits. The proverb “many hands make light work” is an example of interdependent construal of self example. This is because the proverb encourages teamwork and collaboration to get the job done which highlights interdependent traits. It was easier for me to think of a proverb to demonstrate independent construal of self. I think this is because of my culture as an American. American culture has a tendency to encourage independence and self-driven motivations.
Blog 4
This assignment presented a good opportunity to review my wrong answers from the first exam. After reviewing the answers, I was able to read back through the chapter and PowerPoint slides to locate the correct answers for my questions. After this, I updated my Exam Review notes and added in some highlighting for identifying important concepts. For the next exam, I think I will spend more time studying my review notes as well as take more detailed notes to encompass the different sections. I found that, upon reviewing my notes for this assignment along with the exam results, my notes were sometimes lacking the appropriate information and I had to reference the textbook to find the answer. For the next exam, I will work on taking more comprehensive notes.
Blog 3
Taking the NEO Personality test was fun! I love taking personality tests as a means to learn more about myself and gain insights into my behaviors. I scored low on extraversion, which is consistent to my personality. I am a very introverted and reserved person, so I am not surprised that I scored low on extraversion. I scored average on neuroticism, which is also consistent to my personality. I feel as though I am a laid-back person who can generally deal with stress well but can occasionally experience strong emotions.
I scored high on openness. This score surprised me a little bit, as I have always thought of myself as a more practical person. After reflecting on the outcome, it made me realize that I am pretty open to new experiences and new ways of thinking/learning. Part of my college experience has been filled with an openness to learn and challenge old views, so I can see how my openness may have increased with my education.
I scored high on agreeableness, which is consistent with my personality. I am generally easy to get along with, friendly, and compassionate. I love solving problems and mediating situations to improve relations, and I believe this is reflected in my results. I scored high on conscientiousness, which is consistent with my personality. I am an extremely organized person who values time management and competence, and I see this reflected in my results.
Overall, I think the components of my personality are pretty consistent with each other. The only place where I see some inconsistencies is between being low on extraversion and high on openness. It feels a little inconsistent to see words like “open” and “reserved” both describing my personality. However, I think my introversion enables me to be highly self-reflective which encourages openness to new thinking. When I think about these two components in this way, the inconsistency seems less severe.
Blog 2
Life values that are important to me include empathy, gratitude, patience, understanding, and appreciation. These values are relevant to my career pursuits as a Licensed Professional Counselor. As a helping professional, these values will enable me to exhibit kindness and acceptance towards my clients on their journey towards wellness. These values were encouraged by my parents. My Mom always tried her best to model and encourage kindness, empathy, and understanding within our family. She is the reason I hold these values in such high regard. If I am lucky enough to flourish in the helping profession, it will be because my mother has helped me embrace the core values of kindness and empathy.
Initially, I was not interested in pursuing higher education after high school as I wasn’t sure if the money spent for a degree would be “worth it” since I knew I wanted to enter the helping profession. I spent a lot of time exploring and reflecting on my options for pursuing a career in a helping capacity and, after some encouragement and support from my parents and siblings, I decided that pursuing a college degree would be beneficial in the long run. I am so happy I decided to pursue higher education. My college experience has been extremely eye-opening, and I have learned more from this experience than I even thought I could. My classes, and the opportunities I’ve been given throughout my college experience, have continued to shape my values.
Blog 1
After reading the course objectives from the course syllabus, it seems that there will be many aspects of this class that will help prepare me for my future in the counseling profession. Becoming familiar with cultural influence on human behavior and values will be incredibly useful for me to ensure that I am a competent counselor for people from all cultures. I think the material in this class will help me not only in a professional setting, but also in my personal life too. I strive to increase my education and awareness of myself and others in an attempt to understand and empathize with the world around me. I believe the skills I will learn in this class will help me in that personal goal as well. I have high expectations for this course based off of the first couple of modules. I believe this course will challenge me through critical thought and self-analysis as well as in course load and assignment expectations. To keep up with the demands of the course, I intend to put in an ample amount of time to study the material and attempt to apply it in practical ways or relate it to experiences in my own life. I have always found online classes to be slightly more challenging, as I feel it is easier for me personally to connect with the course material in an in-person class setting, but I feel confident in my abilities to be successful in this class by engaging in the course work and committing to staying on track with the schedule.