Blog 10
My initial course expectations as posted in Blog 1 were that I would learn how to examine different cultures and figure out more about someone than just surface level information. I have learned how to apply critical thinking skills to different situations regarding someone from a different culture than myself and I think I can continue to apply these skills in my future career as well as in day-to-day life when encountering different people. If I could do anything differently regarding the Cross-Cultural Psychology course, I would have found other resources to supplement the chapters such as podcasts with similar points to the chapters so I could have listened to them while driving to and from work.
https://medium.com/@thesocialcomment/academic-growth-ea66f96dd249
Blog 9
Three things that I have learned so far in this course include the impact of time on myself, how gender roles and stereotypes play into different cultures, and how studying abroad can enrich someone’s life with the experience of finding part of themselves in their culture. I enjoy being able to relate blog posts back to assignment takeaways because I feel this helps to create a cohesive layout of my website. An example of this is discussing gender across cultures in blog posts and looking back in an assignment takeaway regarding how gender is expressed differently in the United States versus countries like Russia.
Blog 8
From several experiences interacting with people from different cultures, I have noticed some differences of expressing oneself that are often stereotypical. One example of this that I have noticed of different cultures within the United States is that a lot of the older Southern women I know will be very dramatic with their facial expressions when telling a story or sharing some gossip. This is drastically different compared to an acquaintance of mine and my husband’s who owns our local hibachi restaurant. He is Chinese and more reserved with his facial expressions, even when he is excitedly telling us something. Both of these examples are similar to what I would have expected, but it is still interesting to me in how different people display their emotions and expressions.
https://www.theschoolofmanners.com/blog/top5-emojis-cultural-differences
Blog 7
I believe that fairy tales share a set of cultural norms and values, of which include the perceived helplessness of women and their need to be saved from a particular tragedy. In my opinion, fairy tales can be somewhat damaging to children, especially young girls, if they are not talked about and how the story relates to how the world actually is.
Having more egalitarian roles in literature is important, especially on impressionable audiences like children. These characters, such as Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series and Ella from Ella Enchanted, prove to readers that there are just, strong female leads whom can be looked up to. A literary character that stands out to me as a positive influence in my own life is that of Lily Owens from the book The Secret Life of Bees, which is also a movie of the same name. Lily went from living in a racist community to traveling to learn more about her deceased mother from a family of three strong and loving black women. Lily’s growth from having racist tendencies due to her upbringing to eventually learning how to love and be a strong individual from the Boatwright sisters had a positive impact on my life and will forever be one of my favorite books.
Blog 6
One of the needs I am able to satisfy academically is the need for autonomy. I am able to do this by being motivated by the happiness I get from achieving good grades in my courses. The knowing that I will feel empowered in my education is enough of a serotonin boost to propel myself through the workload. I can satisfy my need for competency in an academic fashion when I get feedback from professors that are positive, especially when I was not thinking I did well or my best on a specific assignment. Finally, a third need that can be satisfied academically is the need for relatedness. In order to satisfy this need, I should interact with my professors and classmates to develop that sense of connectedness. I think that this is the most difficult need to satisfy academically when it comes to doing coursework online.
Blog 5
A summative assessment of myself is that I am a caring wife, an awkward individual at large events, a hardworking employee, absentminded at times, very emotional, goal-oriented, nurturing, a big dreamer, always thinking of the next step, yet I am also a realist. I believe that my first, third, and seventh examples of myself are associated with the interdependent construal of self and the remaining seven attributes are associated with the independent construal of self. Based on this, I think that I am more of an independent person. When thinking of different proverbs, it was definitely easier for me to think of those that indicated interdependent construal of self because I believe most of the climate I have grown up in has been focused on connecting yourself to other people, even though I have a strong relationship within and with myself.
Blog 4
After reviewing my grade and questions missed on Exam 1, I have made a few decisions regarding both my note and test taking in the future. Even though I did not do terribly, I think that I can take more thorough notes to enhance my studying leading up to the exam. I think that taking more time to make things like notecards would benefit me because I thrive from repetition, so i should include this in my studying in order to do well on my exams. I have added note cards to my current online order and I will be sure to use them as a well needed aid in the future.
https://www.brainscape.com/academy/are-flashcards-effective/
Blog 3
The results of the NEO personality test were not surprising to me, but it was nonetheless a fun activity to complete. I have always been a lover of personality quizzes so this was very enjoyable to me. My score on the Neuroticism section was very high, which indicated that I am a sensitive person who is emotional and can have feelings that can cause me to be upset. This is very true and I have found that I feel my emotions and situations I am in on a very deep level. My Extraversion section was very low, which makes sense to me because I have been an introvert for as long as I can remember. I am quite comfortable being by myself or with a few people I am close to, but not for an extended period of time. Both the Openness and Agreeableness sections were average, meaning that I am a practical person who like to see balance between new and old ideas and I am usually trusting, agreeable, and warm towards people although I can be competitive. I think I can be stubborn if I am sure of a way in which I want to go about doing something that I have done in the past and gotten good results from my methods, but there are definitely times where I am open to trying new ideas in order to complete tasks in a more timely manner. Finally, my Conscientiousness section was low, meaning that I am easygoing but sometimes careless and I would prefer to not make plans. I think that while this is true, I do make myself create plans, goals, and lists in order to get through different activities that I need to accomplish and to hold myself accountable in these situations.
Blog 2
The greatest life value that has propelled me into deciding to (finally) get my bachelor’s degree is time. I have always believed in timelines and schedules; one of which was growing up I assumed I was going to get my degree at 22 and the rest of my life would magically fall into place. Instead, after learning some very difficult time management lessons, I am on track to receiving my bachelor’s degree when I am 30 next year and I plan to either be in the Human Resource field or an Executive Assistant. I have learned from watching my mom go through many different life altering changes that time may not always seem like it is on your side, but it is important to work hard until you feel as though you are in control of your life and what you are doing.
In the picture below is my white board, my lifeline essentially. I work a full-time job, a part-time job, and go to school full-time. These schedules along with other appointments and life events converge together on this magic board that ties all the pieces of my life together. Making lists and writing out dates help to keep me focused and on track.
Blog 1
The objectives in this course will be useful for me in the future because I intend to work with people from different cultures, as I think it is important to learn about different people in the world and what makes them both unique and similar to myself. By learning about someone’s culture and researching further into it, I believe that someone can make a long-lasting connection with another person that should be valued. I hope to gain new knowledge on how to succeed in learning more about someone’s culture; the main way I intend to retain this information is through detailed note taking from the readings as well as flash cards for any terms I may be unfamiliar with.
