Blog 10
If I were to take this class again I would definitely read ALL instructions more thoroughly and completely before making incorrect assumptions! I am sick over the blatant mistakes I have made this semester simply by overlooking the obvious. This course, more than any, taught me that I am NOT invincible. Looking back, I can see that I became complacent and negligent in my studies during this, my last, semester. I am sure this happens frequently, but I do not like that I let it happen to me. I hope that this reality check will keep this type of attitude from inflicting harm on any other area of my life.
In my first blog entry, I listed the course objectives for the semester. I feel that I have gained significant insight into each of these throughout the class. My most prominent desire was to gain more cultural understanding, and I feel that I have accomplished this. I no longer look at certain situations as “us versus them,” but rather as “we.” I have found that I am able to make more connections to the learning from this course than I had originally anticipated. I have already found myself utilizing cultural competence and making cultural-based considerations at my job, since it is in a primarily Hispanic area. I have focused my work in this course heavily around the country of Germany. I have always wanted to visit, but have always been too afraid to leave the United States, my comfort zone. I feel that I am even more intrigued and truly empowered now that I have taken this course!
I feel that this is the perfect image to describe this semester and the growth that has occurred during this time. At the beginning of the semester I had a “World of knowledge” on various topics. After the semester, from the various additional courses I have added to my transcript, I have a greater wealth of knowledge and I am ready for graduation.
Blog 9
The top three things that I have learned during this course (so far) as illustrated by my Blog are:
- *Blog 3* My results from the The Big Five Personality Test.
- *Blog 5* My independent versus interdependent tendencies as learned from my culture.
- *Blog 9* Read Emotion Perception Across Cultures, responded on cultural differences in non-verbal, especially facial, cue and communication, and its universality and cultural display rules
One concept that I can link from a Top Artifact entry to an Assignment Takeaway entry is that of Hofstede’s five value dimensions. This is heavily explored in the module four artifact entry, as the comparison was made between country of origin and country of interest. This can again be applied to assignment takeaway four. This asked for a comparison of advertising techniques between the host country and a country of interest. In both instances, I utilized the United States and Germany. They were found to be almost equal according to Hofstede’s value of Masculinity and Power Distance. This can explain the similarities in advertising practices and marketing mentality.
Cross-Cultural Psychology and Abnormal Psychology overlap on the concept of social deviance. In Abnormal Psychology, deviance is one of the “4 D’s” used to determine abnormal behavior. This factor however, requires cultural, and even situational, consideration before determination can accurately be made as to whether a person is acting abnormally. This is also a relevant concept to Cross-Cultural Psychology, as social deviance is discussed in the chapter Culture & Psychological Disorders while discussing the definition “abnormal.”
I liken this to the process of “boiling down” the knowledge that I have gained so far during this course. I have not kept my notes and printouts meticulous or organized, as I typically do with my courses, but I still am able to find the items that I am looking for after a brief adventure.
Blog 8
I have personally been exposed to German, Brazilian, Icelandic and English individuals who have shown vast differences in the manner in which they respond to things both verbally and non-verbally. It is said that the majority of expression is portrayed by nonverbal means, which was the topic of the assigned reading for this post. Nonverbal communication includes socially and culturally impacted facial expressions. I feel that I observed a difference in the way that each of these groups expressed themselves. The Brazilians were always more compassionate and their eyes more caring than US culture dictates. In contrast, the Icelandics and Germans were substantially more stoic and did not give much away via facial features. The English, I feel, are the closest in nonverbal communication to US norms, as they are excitable and readily express their emotions. Each of these, after learning more about the individual cultures, follows expectations. The concept of cultural display, in particular, certainly plays an important role in explaining and understanding the differences in cultural displays.
The image represents the most utilized text emoticons between the US, Brazil and various other countries. You can see that the US uses emoticons almost twice as much as Brazilians do. When Brazilians do utilize them, they are typically compassionate and positive in nature. Eight of the ten emoticons reflect positive emotions, including four that reflect love. This is not unlike the US usage of emoticons; showing that this form of nonverbal communication does not differ as heavily as facial expressions and other means.
Blog 7
I believe that fairy tales do reflect shared norms and values. Being “tales as old as time,” they become universal in their portrayal of various ideas. This article accurately addresses Belle being “a woman ahead of her times,” which was always the most fascinating part of the tale to me. I favored Belle over the other Disney princesses as I found the character most relatable to the bookish loner that I also interpret myself to be. Her impact on me, and various other young audiences, was truth of self. Belle refused to let anyone spoil her and her love for reading. She was genuine, kind and intelligent in ways that model what a female is truly capable of. In addition to Beauty and the Beast, the novel Pippi Longstocking also held a special place in my influential child heart. She was an average girl with extraordinary strength and perseverance. This character taught me that women can be strong and strange, and that is alright!
The children’s novel “Pippi Longstocking” (cover illustrated at right) was my favorite novel when I was a child. The book told the story of the extraordinary Pippi and her pet monkey. The part that I remember most vividly was the description of her being able to lift a horse above her head. This made me want to believe that females could be strong and independent.
Blog 6
I feel that my educational motivations are intrinsically based. I have always pushed myself and expected the most. Competence has been displayed in my effort to maintain my own destiny. I take control of a situation and attempt to master it. My relatedness to others comes from group work and team assignments. I always do my best to ensure that everyone is accounted for and treated with respect. I want the best not only for myself, but for others as well. In respect to autonomy, I have been both my greatest motivator and my harshest critic. I am in control of my life, my path and my destiny. I view my education as a stepping stone to a better future, and thus I give my best for each and every course in which I enroll.
The image I chose is one of my dad and myself at my high school graduation. I believe this is significant as the white regalia that I am wearing indicates that my GPA was 4.0 or higher. I was especially proud of this fact as I had worked hard and motivated myself to be able to receive the honor.
Blog 5
My responses two and six related to the interdependent construal of self. The remaining eight statements illustrate independent construal of self. This clearly demonstrates prominence toward independent self-concepts.
- Independent: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
- Interdependent: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
It was more difficult locating proverbs that referred to the interdependent construal of self. This could be because American culture is largely considered to be independent in nature. With this being the case, it would make sense that the majority of English proverbs and popular wisdom would refer to independent concepts.
This picture is simply the most unique and “unapologetically me” that I believe has ever been taken. [Backstory: I had sat down to remove gravel from my shoe, then was checking my phone (and subsequently laughing hysterically at the message I had received) before getting hit in the face with the impending football.] I feel this image is largely representative of my individuality and self decision-making (regardless of the pain it may cause.)
Blog 4
Exam One Recap: I enjoy being able to review the exam after the session has expired. I have always wanted to know what questions I missed and be able to ascertain the correct answer to the question. I used flashcards in preparation for this exam, which is something I do not typically do. I found it helpful, but also very taxing and time-consuming. I based my review set off the topics that I felt were most important from the reading, then supplemented it with the review sheet prior to the exam. I feel this was a good method, and I was happy with the outcome of the exam, but I might try a different method for the second exam, and wait for the exam sheet prior to making my review set.
I utilized the website StudyBlue to create flashcards and review content prior to taking Exam One. I feel that the extra time I put into creating the study set, helped my retention of the information.
Blog 3
- Neuroticism: (Score 30 – Sensitive, emotional and prone to experiencing upsetting feelings) This is true to my personality as I feel everything very personally and deeply.
- Extraversion: (Score 23 – Moderate introvert) This is true to my personality as I prefer to be home with my cat than out surrounded by crowds of people.
- Openness: (Score 30 – Practical, but open to new ideas; balanced between new and old) This is true to my personality as I am a person who likes to be methodical in the way things are done, but I am not closed off to the possibility that another method may be just as, or maybe even more, effective.
- Agreeableness: (Score 32 – Warm/Agreeable, but can also be stubborn and competitive) This is true to my personality as I am a very kind person, but I can also be very stubborn when it comes to asking for help or admitting that I can’t do something on my own.
- Conscientiousness: (Score 38 – goal-oriented and driven; mostly organized) This is true to my personality as I set goals and strive toward their accomplishment with fervor. I also try to be organized, but at times can fail to maintain the integrity of said organization.
Title: Lightly Me
The title I chose plays on that fact that I utilized a light background with some darker colors, because I tend to exude joy even when I may not feel that myself. I am not the type of person who particularly likes to think about, or describe myself. I went out of my comfort zone to put this word cloud together, so it is a little sparse, but 100% me – I think.
Blog 2
The most important values to me are pride and determination. These values have guided me through most of my life, my education included. I take pride in the things that I do and am determined to see them through to the end, no matter how difficult. I never thought I could stomach the work as an EMT, but I pushed through and trained, and now I am Nationally Certified, and couldn’t take more pride in that!
My father played a very significant role in my educational decision-making. I did not intend to go back to school and obtain my bachelor’s. I felt I could cope without since by profession is trade related. He encouraged me and talked with me about my future. He mentioned that it would be more difficult for me to climb the ladder and obtain a promotion within my department without a degree. I decided then that he was right, so I applied to this ODU Online Psychology program with the determination to achieve my degree. Hopefully, in a few short months I will walk across the stage beaming with the knowledge and pride that I have done that!
This is an Etsy image of the graduation cap topper that my brother ordered for my ceremony in May of this year. It, not only depicts my favorite movie and comic, but it also has the best phrase to describe the juggling act that I have had to perform in order to accomplish all that I had set out to do.
Blog 1
The course objectives for this semester are:
- Acquaint upper level undergraduate students with psychological research and theory that examine the influence of culture and psychology throughout the world.
- Understand cultural diversity and the impact of culture on human life. Develop greater understanding of people from other cultures and skills for successfully interacting with them.
- Develop critical thinking skills and apply them to psychological theory and research that examine the influence of culture.
- To be able to make connections, or integrate learning, between courses and to outside experiences.
From these items, I especially hope to be able to make connections and integrate learning outside of the course. This course could promote and assist in ensuring my understanding and critical thinking is fundamentally based on accurate information. I know that I am not the most culturally diverse person and that I am, at times, swayed by my narrow-mindedness. I hope this course makes me a more well-rounded and considerate person. I intend to do in this course, as I have for every online course I have taken: utilize my planner, read my textbook and try to gather the most information I can.
I am unsure of the specific site in which I acquired this image, as it was a long time ago from Pinterest. However, I am a comic book lover, and feel that this Dr. Strange image is cognizant of the way I attempt to approach every course I take.