Artifact 5
The artifact from Module 8 is the first artifact to make my top artifacts list. Although I really hate that prejudices exist, the fact of the matter is that they do, and unfortunately many people identify the same prejudices and stereotypes. From my results from the activity, I discovered they closely matched up with what the researchers found. There were a few changes, but the overall meanings of the stereotypes were very similar. I do not believe all these stereotypes to be true, but I recognized them easily. I believe that all groups, just like all people have both positive and negative qualities, and I think the biggest problem lies when a group is identified as having more negative qualities than positive. It is a sad reality that stereotypes exist, but they are important to recognize and try not to fall into the trap of believing them. My representative image for this artifact is a word cloud of words that I believe characterize my group, Americans. I tried to balance positive and negative characteristics when creating this word cloud.
Artifact 4
https://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2016/04man-worried-about-wifes-pit-bull-when-baby-is-born-is-completely-blown-away-by-what-he-does
My “fourth place” artifact is from Module 12 dealing with aggression. What was interesting to me when completing this activity was that pretty much all the statements involved some kind of aggression or violent action, however, I did not note all of them as aggressive. For me, it depended on the particular situation and the motive for the aggressive action for me to deem it as aggression. For example, I did not mark the farmer beheading a chicken to prepare it for supper as aggressive as the farmer is killing the chicken to provide food for their family. In contrast, I did mark a man viciously kicking a cat as aggressive as the motive for this is not positive, but intending to harm the animal for no real purpose. I believe aggression is determined by the motive, not the actions. For my representative image, I chose a picture that represents there is more to aggression than people’s first response. I chose a picture of a pit bull with a small child, this is a dog breed that many people believe are extremely aggressive, however in reality it is the situations they are in that can make them aggressive and are naturally very sweet and loving dogs.
Artifact 3
I also enjoyed completing the artifact from module 10 involving violating social norms. Working with horses and cattle, I often violate social norms by going into restaurants, stores, and other public places covered in mud or cow poop and smelling like a barnyard. However, sometimes there is just not enough time to go home and change between work and dinner or running errands. I often get weird looks when I am out in public in my “barn attire” however I try not to let it bother me too much. I try to be as courteous as I can by wiping my boots and cleaning up as much as possible, however people still notice that I am violating some personal hygiene norms. For my representative image for this artifact I took a picture of my pants after a day of working cattle, after which I went to a Sunday dinner and got several stares from other people in the restaurant. Did I feel a little bit bad about entering a restaurant with my dirty clothes, yes, but I was not going to give up an evening with my family because I did not have time to go home and change clothes.
Artifact 2
https://quotefancy.com/quote/1266994/Maynard-James-Keenan-Finding-beauty-in the dissonance
My second favorite Artifact from this year was from Module 7 regarding attitudes. I believe many people, including myself, experience dissonance between their attitudes and actions. From the survey provided, this was evident in two areas for me specifically, recycling and combatting homelessness. I believe recycling is a good way to protect the planet and homelessness is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, however I have done little to take action on these beliefs. The recycling issue is something I have wanted to start in my house for awhile and it keeps getting pushed aside, which is why after this assignment I made it a point to create a designated bag for cardboard and start at least recycling that. Hopefully soon I will get a bin and start recycling cans and bottles too. The homelessness issue I am still thinking about how I can contribute to this cause and lesson the dissonance between my actions and attitude. For my representative picture for this artifact, is a quote, “Finding beauty in the dissonance,” for me this meant changing my actions for the better to match my good attitudes.
Artifact 1
I really enjoyed the artifact from Module 5 about self enhancement. I think that there we all definitely do certain things to make others have a better impression of us and it was really neat to sit down and think about what I would do to self-enhance, or other-enhance in various situations. I know when I am going on an interview for an internship I dress differently than when meeting classmates for a group project. However, my listed dress and actions during an interview for a graduate program mirrored the internship interview scenario as this is a similar situation in that one wants to appear professional, educated, competent, and responsible. For my representative image of this artifact, I included a picture of an outfit I laid out the night before for an interview for an internship opportunity. This artifact was my favorite because I enjoyed comparing and contrasting the different scenarios and how my self-enhancements and other-enhancements were altered to fit the given scenario.