ATA5:

Assignment 5: Emotion Recognition Across cultures was a valuable assignment. In this assignment we were asked to locate a peer-reviewed journal on a topic related to one of the chapters we have read so far this semester. I chose Chapter 8: Emotion. The article that I found tested whether empathic accuracy and physiological linkage during an emotion recognition task are facilitated by a cultural match between rater and target or unaffected. It was interesting to learn about the study and see how the participants were effected. The reason as to why I chose the topic of emotion in the first place, and how it relates to me, was due to the big role that they play. Emotions play a big role in our everyday lives. It is the core of human communication. Production, perception, interpretation, and response to emotional signals, are all things that we use daily. The perception of these emotions help us to understand behavior and creates a basis for forming and maintaining different types of relationships. Emotion is a big part of my life. I am someone that is very expressive when it comes to emotion. I am a sensitive individual, and this assignment brought me some understanding as relating to myself. 

Assignment 5 connected to some information that I have previously learned in another one of my psychology classes. It is to my knowledge that generally many cultures stick together. There are so many cultures that have and maintain certain values that keep them united. Although this is a great thing, it can also lead to some cultural bias. What I found most interesting with the study is that there was no favoritism due to the ethnicities of the participants. Assignment 5 provided me with great insight into emotion and how it translates to those of all different cultures.

This image is meant to represent cultural emotion. Although there are all different cultures, we are all unified in the relation of emotion.

ATA4:

Assignment 4: Gender and Advertising Across Cultures was an interesting assignment. In this assignment we were asked to find six to twelve advertisements depicting images of women and men in North America. We then had to compare North American as well as another culture in order to identify differences in gender across cultures. The goal of this assignment was to be able to see if women and men are represented differentially. Being able to identify the implications associated with certain representations on gender stereotypes proved to be interesting. I chose to compare North American culture to that of Asian culture. Most of my findings pointed to Asian cultures having exaggerated problems of gender bias as well as sexism. The main take-way from this assignment that I found to be the most interesting is that both cultures had similarities. Sexism as well as gender bias were very prevalent. In my opinion, as a result of these findings, it is safe to say that America, as well as other cultures, still has a lot of work to do. Although sexism has gotten increasingly better over the years, it is still a problem that is affecting many. 

I found this assignment interesting because I found relations to my previous Women’s Studies course. In my Women’s Studies course we learned about a lot of the biases that are present in todays’ world. Sexism is a characteristic that is still very much present in today’s society. It was interesting to be able to provide previous learned information to the betterment of the assignment. I also enjoyed this assignment because it relates to me. Being a woman, I am familiar with the unfortunate displays of sexism and gender bias in the media. It is something that is constantly broadcasted. I am passionate about creating equality for all, and this assignment even more reminded me of the reasons as to why. 

This image represents one of the ads found in North American culture. Its sexist qualities contribute to my point of view on the lack of equality that is portrayed in today’s media. 

 

ATA3:

Assignment 3: Emotion in Gold Coast, Australia was a very fun one. In this assignment we had to analyze a study abroad student’s blog post. We were then expected to select a theme from the text and discuss how the study abroad student captures that theme. I found this assignment very fun to do. Not only was it enjoyable to read about the adventures of the student, but it was interesting to try and identify a theme throughout their blog posts. 

The theme that I found most predominant in the student’s blog posts that I selected was emotion. Emotion is something that makes up a great deal of our lives. For this reason, it expresses great importance. I found that Aubrey Haggerty, the student whose blogs I read, experienced this theme a lot. An ongoing emotion that she was feeling amongst her time in Australia was that of homesickness. I too can very much relate to this feeling. For someone like me who is very much a homebody, I most definitely experience this emotion being that I am 4 hours away from home. 

I think one of the major things that I took away from this assignment is that the feeling of missing home is normal. It is something that the majority of college student experience at some point. Being homesick should not be perceived as a negative thing. This is a normal emotion and a positive one to experience. I personally have a greater appreciation for my home due to the homesickness that I have experienced. I appreciate my parents more, as well as my friendships. All in all, this assignment provided me with a better understanding of myself and the emotions that I experience. 

 

ATA2:   

Assignment 2: The Power of Equality provided a lot of valuable insight to me. The value that I chose to speak on was that of equality. I found this value to be of the greatest importance. Equality is the basis of America and contributes to the success of our nation. Having reflected on equality, I have found that equality and the lack-there-of, created a big impact on my life. I am a child of divorced parents. I often felt like I was not treated equal in my childhood compared to others. Some of the contributions to this include my stepmother, as well as being the only one in my small class that had parents that were no longer together. I was never treated the same way as my step-siblings were. I was the “back burner” child. My stepmother’s children were always the priority. After some reflection, I have come to realize that due to the negative feeling of lack of equality that I experienced in my childhood, I still remain with a lot of those same insecurities. And because of this, I truly realize and recognize the impact that equality has. Equality is so important, and this assignment truly made me reflect on its importance.

This assignment reminded me of some information that I learned about in a previous course I took. I previously took literature of women at my community college. A great deal of that course involved learning about equality. Women were never treated as equal when compared to men—especially when it came to being writers. Women often had to create fake male names in order for their work to be published. Both my women’s literature course as well as this assignment, has provided me with a better understanding of equality and its relevance. I know that I want to be treated equal and I deserve to be treated equal—as does everyone else. This assignment greatly benefited me in terms of reflecting on the importance of America’s values, especially equality.