Blog 10: The Finale

Regarding my first blog post, I stated that I expected to understand the development and process of creating judgments, first impressions, perceptions, and stereotypes. Personally, I wanted to understand the process of judgments and impressions, while I was curious to focus on stereotypes and perceptions regarding my professional life. Because I am a criminal justice major, I truly believe that stereotypes and perceptions of people for criminal actions affects their daily lives and ability to rehabilitate back into society. It it approaching the end of the semester and it’s quite funny that the most memorable chapters, and the ones I enjoyed most, involved judgment, stereotypes, discrimination, and first impressions! My expectations for this class were beyond exceeded and I thoroughly enjoyed every week spent in this class. 

Throughout this semester, there have been quite a few elements of social psychology that I have used, and they have benefitted me. I am currently moving to Norfolk in May, I am leaving my job that I have had for 5 years, and I’m starting a new life with my boyfriend. I believe I have stated this before, but being thrown into a different environment, even willingly doing so, makes me uncomfortable. I earned a job as an administrative assistant with an all-women’s law firm, and while I am extremely thrilled, it’s scary being a newbie again. I earned this job because of how I portrayed myself, my character, my goals, and accomplishments. I gave them a great first impression of my character and it paid off! It’s just uncomfortable getting used to a new normal, and that is okay. My self-esteem and self-efficacy may decline but that is usual when your whole life is uprooted. I’ll be okay. Social Psychology has taught and helped me learn how to be okay with it and how to conquer it. 

I wish I did dedicate myself a bit more to this class. Because of everything going on, I found myself waiting til the last day or hour until an assignment is finished (like now….),  and I don’t like that. I am such a diligent and dedicated student, and I found myself losing motivation. I think that is the case for every college student during spring semester because burnout is real. But I do wish I didn’t get in my head so much so I could’ve paid better attention and done better on assignments. Lastly, I cannot wait to use my social psychology in regards to my new job; whether it is understanding why people feel the way they feel, how to establish a better relationship with my coworker and clients, or how to help others. These aspects will also help me with any other jobs I earn in the future. 

Thank you for all that you did this semester, it means a lot!

This image represents how my planner truly helped me stay on top of my school work. I would not be who I am without this piece of treasure. 

Blog 9

Throughout this course and throughout my life, I have been someone who engages in a lot of introspection, and this class has helped me do so much of that. I love reflecting on who I am, what I went through, how it affected me, and what I can do my best to improve on. In most assignments and blogs, I’ve made a big emphasis on family, my self-confidence, and taking care of myself. I’ve learned multiple things but the three things that I have learned the include:

• Cognitive dissonance is okay!
• Self-presentation tactics are extremely important in every aspect of life — career, family, significant others, friends, etc
• Self-efficacy can fluctuate, whether you move to a different school, country, or get a different job

Regarding cognitive dissonance, I talked about my struggle with it in my second top artifact. I always felt bad for not having a seamless lifestyle, where nothing contradicts my beliefs, but I learned that it is okay to have contradicting beliefs because we are human. Not saying that cognitive dissonance should be ignored, because I think that the feeling of guilt that we get from it should help us learn how to solve the rift in our brains. Because I study and work in the criminal justice system, I see and hear things that are so awful. My human instinct is “this person does not deserve to live for the things that they did to other people” but my morality tells me that I do not have the right to determine someone’s right to life, nor does anyone else. Another example, I absolutely hate the fact that animals are killed everyday so we can eat meat, and that breaks my heart, but I eat meat. With this uncomfortable feeling of guilt that I feel, I do my best to analyze and solve the problem. For example, I now try to eat meatless whenever the opportunity arises. I understand that my lack of eating meat is not going to directly change the world, but it sits better on my conscious knowing that I am contributing to the lack of killing animals. 

For self-presentation, I talked about my use of it when I first met my boyfriend’s parents, whom I still have a great relationship with. I never actively thought about how I would impress people, but I did it without thinking. I always thought looking and acting my best is the key to approval. I actually used this tactic a couple weeks ago, which landed me a job as an assistant to an all women’s law firm! It just goes to show that it does work. 

For self-efficacy, I talked about it in one of my blogs, because I tend to struggle with believing that I am capable of anything. At my last job, I had a high self-efficacy because I knew the ins and outs of the company, and I knew how to do everything, but with this new job change, I am lacking self-efficacy. I am not sure how well I can do things within this company, but I am going to persevere and not listen to my inner thoughts. 

For this week’s reading, it talked about aggression and where it stems from. Because I am a criminal justice major, I took a victimology class and this class discussed why people are victims and what makes them more likely to be one. In this class, I learned that direct provocation from someone can lead to them being a victim of a crime. The same ideas was taught this week; saying that people are more likely to be aggressive towards someone if they are frustrated and provoked by someone else. 

My organizational process for this includes opening multiple tabs within the ePortfolio, as well as the textbook, and analyzing these over a bag of pretzels. They fuel the mind. 

Blog #7: Self Regulation and Emotional Intelligence

Emotion intelligence and self regulation have become a prominent pillar in my life. I have seen and been through a lot in my 21 years of life, and I have recently learned that just because I ignore how I feel about a situation, does not mean that I was not affected by it. Until December of 2021, I was ignoring my emotions about uncomfortable situations that I had experienced. One day, I realized that I was still so hurt and angry about prior things I have gone through, and that it poured over into my friendships and relationships. It damaged relationships in my life because I did not know how to manage, recognize, or handle my emotions. In my relationship, I would shut down and ignore the ways I felt about certain comments or actions. Little did I know, I was holding onto those comments and actions, and used it against my partner. But how was he supposed to help me through my emotions when I wasn’t recognizing them myself or telling him about them. Overall, I have learned how to manage how I feel, express how I feel, and manage other people’s emotions as well. Emotional Intelligence is the awareness, regulation, and management of one’s personal emotions, as well as others. I practice emotional intelligence through open communication with important people in my life, establishing boundaries, and reassuring myself that everything is okay. I need to work on being comfortable with setting boundaries!

Blog #6: Hyper sexualization, Objectification, and Violence

Jean Kilbourne’s Ted Talk concerning the gender differences within advertisement was extremely surreal. Of course, as a woman, I understand the relevance of advertisements, gender roles, physical attractiveness, and social comparison and expectations of women within our society. Like Jean stated, I never thought about my appearance until I became aware of the societal standards that were placed on girls as young as me. I remember reading J-14 magazines in the grocery store and seeing weight loss tips and tips on how to make my breasts look bigger. The older I grew, the more I realized how much sexuality, promiscuity, and gender roles are thrown into advertisement. Even bras and underwear, or feminine products! I was thrown into the whirlwind of being ashamed of my anatomy because of the advertisements and message behind feminine hygiene products. For women, products advertised for them concern hygiene, pleasing a man, and being submissive. For men, products advertised for them concern dominance, controlling women, and being a man’s man. I understand that there are societal pressures placed on men that are unrealistic and unimaginable, but I firmly stand with Jean when she states that these stereotypes placed upon men do not justify objectification and sexualization of men. These attitudes that are being displayed in advertisement condone the objectification and sexualization of women because once a woman starts thinking of herself as a shape, a role to fill, or any other object, these attitudes have been successful. Overall, Jean Kilbourne’s Ted Talk made me realize how oblivious I am to the hyper sexualization of ads, because to me, it is normal. I, too, forget how normal it is to see women pressured to constantly be beautiful and skinny, and to be ashamed of their own bodies.

These ads exemplify the hyper sexualization, gender roles, and beauty standards that are pushed onto women from a very young age. In the Dolce & Gabbana ad, it reinstates that objectification and sexuality of a female. Ultimately, she is there to look good and please as many men as possible. In the Fat Shack ad, it reinstates the sexualization of women and turns a sub sandwich into something of sexual meaning for a woman. In the ketchup bottle ad, this reinstates that women are weak, men are made to do the manly work, and that women have no role in taking charge because they are not strong enough. The ad for Duncann Quinn is just disturbing and condones the violence against women, especially promiscuous women. Lastly, the Venus ad reinstates that women are supposed to shave and shave properly for the people that are going to be of use to it. All of these ads reinforce the standards that have been pushed onto women for hundreds of years. 

Blog #5: I’m Easily Persuaded But..NO

IMAGE A

Image A is considered a credible source due to the information within the poster, the lack of profit for the people who are getting the vaccine and for those who are giving the vaccine. We tend to believe medical professionals when it comes to pandemics and how to end one, so the use of medicine and research helps with credible persuasion. 

IMAGE B

Image B is considered a non credible source due to the sheer nature of it being advertised by an influencer. Influencers tend to make the most money on sponsorships from big brand companies, so their advertisement of a big brand company is not persuasive nor credible because I know and believe that their pocket is the main interest for this advertisement. 

IMAGE C

Image C is using beauty standards, such as being skinny, to promote Diet Coke products. Coke is basically saying that drinking diet coke will help you become skinny so that you can look attractive in fashion. Because I believe that the advertisement industry profits off the insecurities of young teens and adults, I do not find this persuasive in any way. For someone who is naive and not as aware of the nature of the world, this ad can be persuasive for the sole fact that the target audience wishes that they looked like her, so they’ll do or buy anything to look like her. In this advertisement, that means buying and drinking Diet Coke. 

Blog #4: Satisfied

When I saw that we had an upcoming test, I became very nervous. I tend to overthink, overstudy, and sabotage myself. Thankfully, due to my studying tips, I earned a 90 on the first test of the semester! I wish I could’ve earned a better grade but I’m trying not to be hard on myself. After seeing that I had a test to take, I highlighted and studied my notes, I wrote down and answered questions on the study guide, and created some flashcards on Quizlet for some memorization. With future tests, I believe that I am studying well, reading the weekly chapters, watching and participating in the Jeopardy games, and so forth. I am going to learn to not speed through questions as fast as I did, it is okay to take your time!

This photo shows me dragging my little sister, Sydney, to the ODU Perry Library until early hours in the morning. We both manage school and working full-time, so this is our time together for the most part. Her and I love going to the library to do schoolwork because it separates school from our house (and it’s an excuse to get Starbucks..)

Blog #3: I am basic, and that is okay!

Throughout my life, music has been a prominent way of showing my emotions and state of mind. Whenever I was younger, a bit confused, and going through a lot of mental obstacles, I listened to screamo/emo music. I would listen to artists that drowned out my thoughts and made me feel seen and heard! As I got older, I became more confident in who I was and what my goals were in life, so I became more comfortable with enjoying music. I would listen to boybands and pop artists that made me feel free. Now that I am 21, it only makes sense that I listen to musical and Disney soundtracks. They are addicting, I will not lie to you. My sister and I clean the house together every Sunday while blasting Moana, Frozen, Hamilton, Hairspray, Lion King, Tick Tick Boom, and In The Heights. That is where we bond; those soundtracks remind me of our close bond. My sister and I have been through a lot and we both cherish certain ideals, morals, and standards, so it only makes sense that we enjoy the same music. As for my boyfriend and I, our music tastes completely differ. He listens to rap/hip hop music while I love some nice jazz and Motown. We both are extremely left leaning and share the same moral compass, but we battle different things. For example, I listen to calm, soft music because it makes me feel content and at peace. Meanwhile, my boyfriend listens to chaotic music to match his ADHD brain, as he says. We are completely different when it comes to music taste but we still tend to stick together when it comes to values and ideals. 

This photo shows my absolute must-have playlists. If I do not listen to these everyday, then something is seriously wrong. You can only imagine what my Spotify wrapped looks like! My number one played song of 2021 was from Dear Evan Hansen…

Blog #2: Self-Efficacy

For your blog entry, discuss the type of student you believe yourself to be. Describe your current level of confidence as a student and discuss what factors you believe could possibly increase your confidence levels. Finally, explain your self-efficacy results in relation to your task accomplishments.

If you want me to be honest, I tend to base my value as a student on other people. Rather than reflecting on myself as an individual student, I reflect on myself as an individual competing with others. If someone else does better than me, I feel as if I wasn’t enough. I let my student life pour over into my self-esteem. But overall, I believe that I am intelligent and have done well for myself considering the circumstances that I have been put in. On the other hand, I tend to believe that I am nothing special. I don’t feel as if I am valuable to a team or to an institution, I am just an average person of average intelligence with average chances of being someone someday. I believe that I do not believe in myself. I aim to be better than others rather than be better than myself. 

I feel confident in myself that I’ll get stuff done because I’ve not not accomplished or finished something, but I do not think I will do an adequate job at it. I always feel as if others perceive me as doing a mediocre job, and maybe that is because I am, but I internally strive to be the best of the best. In order for me to feel satisfied with Shelby in the aspect as a student, I believe that putting in more effort is necessary. Due to the exhaustion that I feel, I do things at the last minute using moderate effort. I feel like putting in more time and effort towards assignments will help me grasp onto the concepts of my field of study, and in turn, this will help me feel more confident in myself. It will make me feel like I did not throw money down the drain for a degree where I barely retained anything. I aim to be someone confident in their knowledge, opinions, and experience. I want to be more than who I am now. 

On the self-efficacy test, I scored a 29, similar to the average. On this test, I tried to not sabotage myself by relying on my emotions, but rather what I have proven to have done in certain situations in school, work, and social settings. I feel like I underestimate myself due to the emphasis on comparison to others in my life, so I tried to be more realistic about myself and my worth. I believe that is why I got the average score, but if I was being emotionally honest, I believe my score would be half of what it is. To optimistically conclude, I feel like I have shown others that I am reliable, I can make smart decisions when in a bind, and that I can be thrown into unforeseen situations with little to no problem.

This photo represents how hard I worked on my first college paper, only to be told I wrote too much. This represents how hard I work towards success!

Blog 1: We are Human!

I chose this photo because the personalities, attitudes, beliefs, relationships, and social issues that I have been exposed to help me form my personal beliefs, helped me find my passion for advocacy, led me to my college major, and helps explain why I behave the way I do! My diverse family has exposed me to issues concerning interracial relationships, racism, homophobia and transphobia, social issues concerning special needs children, and so forth. These individuals helped me become who I am today!

Personally, the content of this course will benefit me in the aspect of understanding that making judgments is unavoidable, and I must learn that some people’s judgments are not going to be a proper reflection of who I am. Professionally, this class will benefit me in the aspect of my career in the criminal justice system! Understanding the perception of criminals and why that is, how that is exhibited in their behavior, and how that affects the attitude towards the criminal justice system; I am looking forward to learning how social psychology can play into the system.

On an individual level, I struggle with social interaction. I struggle with the idea that someone will think that I am careless for being overweight or think that I am boring because I prioritize school and self-care. Because of my internal insecurities, I struggle creating and maintaining close relationships with other people. Due to these struggles, I expect to learn and look forward to learning the process of forming impressions, making assumptions, and accepting how that is a part of human nature. Furthermore, I am extremely intrigued by the process of forming close relationships with people. I would love to share my views, my kindness, and my positivity with other people. Even more, I would love to feel other people’s support and positivity.

I am hoping to gain better understanding of the world, how and why it operates the way it does, and how I can contribute to the positive change within in, no matter how small.

Lastly, knowing how important the content of this class is to society, social interaction, and relationships, I will ensure that I read the chapters, participate in the Jeopardy exercises, and ASK QUESTIONS!