TA5

This artifact is from module 14 and it is the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS). When it comes to how happy I consider myself in general I scored a 6. Compared to the happiness of most of my peers I scored a 6. I’m generally happy despite whats going on and I try to get the most out of life, I scored a 5 this. I also scored a 5 on the last question. I had a 3 but because of the reverse code the 3 became a 5. Overall my score was 5.5. I used to determine my happiness level based on my circumstances. The older I get the more I realize happiness is a choice. Nothing can determine your happiness unless you allow it to. Life is not easy but that does not mean we have to walk around unhappy all the time. I try my best now to get the most out of everything. I think most people will define happiness out of the things they possess. I think that happiness is fleeting and joy is everlasting. I seek joy more than happiness. Happiness is more of a state of mind. I do not like base my feelings off of what I have or do not have. I tried to do that before and failed miserably. Im not sure if this measurement scale captures how happy or unhappy someone is but it is a good start. It really makes you start to think about where your happiness lies, it gets the ball rolling. I think there are some cultures that have an influence on the perception of whether one has had a happy life. Most people base how well the fit into the norm of their group and they let that be a predictor of whether they are happy or not. Some people do not follow cultural norms they get their happiness from being autonomous.

TA4

This artifact is from module twelve and is about aggression. A girl kicking a waste basket is hard to define whether it is aggression or not because we don’t know why she kicked it, the tennis player smashing the racket after missing is a sign of aggression because they are upset. Gossiping and the dog snarling at mail man is no physical damage the boy trying to inflict injury on his bully is physical damage. The boy confronting his bully is self-defense but it also show aggression, an soldier shooting the enemy is self-defense, it is not really aggressive it is him trying to protect himself. A soldier shooting the enemy and a boxer giving his opponent a bloody nose is a duty, while the child getting a flu shot and an execution is a job responsibility. The spider, cat, and wolves are all examples of instinctual behavior but the wolves are showing aggression in order to get leadership. The spider eating a fly the men fighting over bread and the farmer beheading the chicken for dinner are all signs of survival the aggressive act is the two men fighting for bread, they too are fighting to get something.The man kicking a cat is aggressive and also the dog snarling at the mailman. The farmer beheading the chicken and the hunter killing the deer is just for sport and regular animal behavior. A man rehearsing a murder in his mind is aggressive and a man thinking of harming his antagonist are thoughts but he does not plan on committing the act. An angry son not writing his mother on purpose is an aggressive act and a senator not standing up to his moral principles is more of an inaction. A person committing suicide is and aggressive act of self-injury. A hunter killing and animal for sport is not aggressive and a cat hunting a mouse is regular animal behavior.

TA3

This artifact is about self-enhancement and other enhancement. As far as the in-laws go, it is common for people to use other enhancement. With in-laws people try to impress them by flattering them and doing favors. The type of self-enhancement they would use would be to impress them with their appearance. I think when doing any interview we always use some form of enhancement. Whether it be an interview for internship or graduate school our focus would be on making a good first impression. Working on your physical and professional appearance, staying in agreement with the interviewer, and asking for advice may be some things to consider. When meeting a new boss or professor our focus tends to be on maintaining a good physical appearance, doing favors and asking for advice. When meeting classmates to work on a group project we want to flatter them so they can tell that we know what we are doing and it is good to ask for advice and information so we can get the project done more efficiently. These tactics work but only to a certain extent, mostly for first impressions. If we go to the extreme with these tactics people can pick up on them and receive them as negative. When done correctly they can have a positive outcome.

TA2

The adjectives I used for the groups were, industrious, materialistic, tradition loving, religious, quick tempered, intelligent, family oriented, reserved and superstitious. Some of these adjectives sound judgmental when going through them but when you really look at it we are all stereotypical on some level. I do think that stereotypes have changed overtime. I think the thing that accounts for that is the fact that people are more open to get to know different groups over time. The relationships between the groups change and the behaviors follow. For years we have been conditioned to associate different adjectives with particular groups. These stereotypes make us focus on certain traits within a group. Stereotypes will be stable as long as the nature of the relationship between two groups are stable.

TA1

SIMILARITIES/OPPOSITES

I have actually had conversations like this amongst my female family members. As far as similarities go, the results of the conversations we had they do not want anyone that is similar to them. My mom actually went out on a date with a guy who was just as quiet as she was and she said she did not enjoy it at all. She wanted someone who would actually talk. They had nothing in common and it was very uninteresting. We think that at first we want someone like us until we get to know them. My aunt stated that she wanted someone who liked the same things she liked. They should be interested in what she was interested in and like to do what she liked to do. I personally, would want someone who is the opposite of me to a certain extent. There is wisdom in both the idea of similarity and opposites leading to attraction. It is not surprising to me and I think that both of these are true. I think it is based more on preference and what each individual is comfortable dealing with and being around.