Blog 10

This course reflection is my final blog, and as I look back, I realize that my initial expectations developed into positive changes that I gathered throughout this semester.  I initially wanted to learn why we react the way we do when we’re in certain predicaments.  Not only that I learned about the why, but also, I learned about myself.  For that, it’s always humbling to take a positive piece from experiences to make a change, especially when you understand self-regulation.  Positive attitudes almost always yield positive rewards.

As for what I would do differently if I took this class again, I’d focus more on understanding the deep meaning of each Chapter.  It’s like watching a movie, when you watch it the second, fourth, or tenth time, you always find something different than the last time because of the perspectives that you learned along the way.  Academically, I’ve improved on completing my assignments within a reasonable time; however, it’s something that I can always work on.  There were a few late assignments, and no one to blame except for me. The attached photo is one that I chose which represents how I grew academically.  Often, we find ourselves inside our minds.  I believe a positive mindset can lead to positive growth.

Lastly, self-regulation was a big takeaway for me.  Gaining that knowledge helped me understand myself.  I believe that if we don’t see signs about ourselves and be able to overcome those challenges, how are we able to employ necessary skills in our professional life or even personal life.

Blog 9

The above photo is one that I chose that depicts the evolution from past to present as it relates to the collection of data.  This image is a good depiction of who I’ve become from birth to now, and with continual learning, where I’ll be heading.  So far in life, I find myself attracted to positive energy and wanting to surround myself with those who are upbeat and lifting for one another.  Negative energy tends to bring you down and anyone within its space.

With that said, the blogs created this semester has allowed me to understand my past and present.  Blog 2 helped me define my General Self-Efficacy through a questionnaire.  In the past, I did not demonstrate a high degree of self-confidence.  Life lessons along the way have helped me with life in general.

As for results, understanding my Emotional Intelligence helped me with understanding how I perform.  While I have been able to do my best, I was never the one to do well under pressure.  It’s something that I have developed along the way.  Additionally, Blog 7 allowed me to understand and tie both Emotional Intelligence and Self-Regulation.  The two practically go hand in hand where emotions make us react a certain way, thus, making sound decisions is the way these emotions are self-regulated.  I know I can’t always work under pressure and yield a 10 out of 10 satisfaction.  For that reason, I try my best to take advantage of my time to complete any task ahead of schedule.

Blog 8 required that I read the article, ‘Sexual Conflict: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Mating Battleground’.  This blog gave me a deeper insight into the ways males and females upset each other.  The three stages of a breakup were an eye-opener, especially stage three.  At this stage, it defined individuals to be possible “stalkers”.  No matter the conflict, communication is the most important piece of any relationship and if talking does not help, understanding nonverbal cues should help before conflicts develop into an explosion of anger.

For instance, in Communication Between the Sexes, there are specific gender differences that are explained and exhibited in every individual’s life.  Gendered behaviors are manifested in nonverbal communication practices throughout our lives.  Whether your relationship is with one of the opposite sex or the same sex, you should understand how nonverbal cues are exhibited because of practices in life.  Differences in cultural norms can make things complicated; however, understanding one another is key, especially if you don’t want to break up your relationship.

Blog 8

Reading the article, ‘Sexual Conflict:  Uncovering the Mysteries of the Mating Battleground’ gave me more insight into the differences between men and women as it relates to ways each upset the other.  A few points that I want to acknowledge are sexual conflicts at the three stages of the mating process, which are, before consummation, after a relationship has formed, and after a breakup.  The after-the-breakup stage genuinely caught my attention because of a current history that a friend of mine is exhibiting.  While it sounds farfetched for anyone to assume the role of “stalker,” it can become prominent when either party is not willing to accept a breakup; however, both individuals attempt to reconcile their relationship.

The above photo provides a clear depiction of frustration/anger from both man and woman.  Often, men and women are upset due to lack of communication; however, a physical state of rage between the two is still possible.  For example, a woman tends to become upset when a man continues to do things that irritate them, whereas men find themselves angered because the woman nags the man to drop everything at once and complete a task on her time.  Another way could be a tit-for-tat attitude that gets nowhere between the two.  In those situations, anger could lead to a spiral effect of explosive emotions that may go too far left.  Despite the anger between men and women, a conversation of understanding each other can help resolve this issue. 

Blog 7

The screenshot above is an Emotional Intelligence (EQ) test that I took, which shows that I have high emotional intelligence.  It describes that my EQ is likely the reason for my past, present, and future-driven high performance while under pressure.  Honestly, I have been the type to perform very well while under pressure; however, I do need to step back a take a beat for myself when necessary. 

When it comes to Emotional Intelligence and Self-Regulation, those two come hand in hand.  Emotions are within and come from our brain, which is expressive whenever we encounter situations that might require us to respond.  As this happens, our emotions are controlled and regulated before our emotions get out of hand through a process called Self-Regulation.  No matter what the situations are, our emotions affect the way we think and react; however, the steps we take to self-regulate these emotions allow us to make sound decisions that won’t affect our overall being.

As for my emotional intelligence, I tend to pause before I respond when speaking.  Often, I make sure that I fully understand what is said and then ensure that I consider things before saying them.  I do this because I don’t want to offend the person or come across as an inconsiderate being.  If there are points that I need to raise or require my response and I need more clarity, I would then ask a question or two so that I fully comprehend.

Blog 6

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Before watching the required Ted Talk video, I was aware of how women are manipulated in ads as sex symbols.  It’s been known that sex sells and is easily seen in those ads where photos of women are dismembered or provocatively portrayed.  What I did not know and never really paid attention to is the fact that children and teen ads are seemingly close in nature.  It’s a bit sickening if you ask me.  It’s also already hard enough for kids to manage life but adding images of what it’s like to be “perfect” can aid in harming them.

As I watched the video, noticed many variables that separate differences between men and women.  In addition to women as sex symbols, their images are almost always edited, which presents a false sense of self.  Images of men are unfiltered; however, certain instances reveal them to be muscular and strong as compared to women as sexy and often girlish.

The above photo presents five separate ads that support claims within this video.  Surprisingly, I came across ad number two before watching this video.  This Burger King ad suggests a puny phrase while normalizing women as sex symbols.  Ad number one creates an image that beauty comes from using the advertised skincare product; however, the image of the woman advertised may have had their photo enhanced to make them look younger.  It’s certainly a suggestive ad that women are always youthful.  Ad number three represents and normalizes women as those who stay home, clean, and are happy when presented with a new vacuum cleaner.  As for ad four, the PETA ad discusses saving whales; however, the dismembered image of a fat woman attacks their image.  Lastly, ad number five is the opposite of number 4.  It’s a Victoria’s Secret ad, which suggests women have the perfect body because of their beautifully thin image. Truthfully, all these ads are very provocative, dehumanizing, and false, yet they are still used today.

Blog 5

I have provided three advertisements with their separate contents to persuade you in their unique way. Up first is an advertisement sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This type of advertisement provides credibility traits as it provides images from former smokers. It also includes a link to which the viewer can go for tips from former smokers. Often, individuals battle with themselves on topics of bad habits like smoking. An advertisement like the one above is intended to provide expert advice in hopes to help reduce illnesses that come from smoking. As for the second image, there are false intentions where the communicator wants to lure you to pay for an exercise that will have you sculpted in a 3-minute slim-down video. Finally, the last image draws you in with Jennifer Aniston’s attractive image. Marketers find that beauty plus a well-known actress will lure the viewers into what they intend to sell. The written intentions, “look up to the clouds. That’s where we found the inspiration for SmartWater. Vapor-distilled purity, just like the clouds” along with the actress’ pose brings you closer. It’s no wonder why Jennifer Aniston looks so dreamy with colors matching eyes and a smile that convincingly draws you in for the sale. Honestly, I enjoy water other than tap. I’d make a purchase.

Blog 4

In the past, I’ve found myself stressed out over exams; however, I would usually do well.  Often, I’d procrastinate with the amount of time spent on preparing for an exam.  As I’ve gotten older, I realize the more effort I put into my studies, the more positive results come to fruition.  With that said, I allow myself more than enough time to understand, learn and understand more on the topics before the first exam.  Note-taking is a must for me, which allows me to commit to memory.  As for understanding scenarios and terminologies within the chapters, I would have to review and find examples that help me better understand the topic. 

Additionally, an important studying tip I learned at the community college is to go back and review the material.  Usually, the review should be 30 minutes to 1 hour after receiving the information.  It allows for your mind to receive the correct information and helps with committing to memory.  While I did learn that at the community college, it did take me a while to use the study tip, but I eventually took heed, and it has not failed me.  I had to learn about myself and different ways to study that would ultimately help me perform at my best.  Like my study strategy, reviewing exam 1 allows me to process the learned material.  I believe it will accompany to understand what could be asked in future exam questions. should information help derive an answer that closely relates to the prospective material. 

Additionally, I’ve attached the above image because it’s important to understand the number of hours in a week.  It allows us to understand our breakdown of time, which is important.  Not only has it helped me with college but life in general.

*Picture can be viewed at the link in the caption.

Blog 3

I believe there can be an intrinsic connection between music and relationships.  The way music makes you feel, how it moves you and brings together those around you.  It can most certainly uplift the souls of those relationships.  Music between me, my romantic other, and friends are always different depending on the relationship.  While I enjoy music, I’m not a particular fan of any genre.  I find myself with similar music preferences with just about anyone as long as I enjoy the instrumental.  Some songs do have that effect where music can move my soul; however, the instrumentals almost always pique my interest.  When it comes to values and ideals between those I love and friends, they are similar to a certain extent, but I’m not sure if I can say that it is contributed because of music.

Additionally, I don’t love music to the point where I can associate songs with key people in my life.  This may be very complex for many of you to understand, and that is ok; however, music is not important to me.  With that being said, I am unable to discuss the association between any songs and key people in my life.

Blog 2

This week’s attached image is a picture of my results from the General Self-Efficacy Scale.  I chose this image because it was not only a self-report measure of self-efficacy, but also a visual representation, and reminder.  I believe that visual reminders assist us to continue improving on ourselves and or stay the course.

Honestly, my current degree of confidence as a student is very high due to my overall life, career, and academic experience.  In my earlier years of academics, I fought my inner self to do better; however, everything around me was not situated.  Personally, for me, I had to experience life a bit more.  I had to make mistakes and learn from situational lessons to develop into the person and student I am today.  Continually learning to live with and embracing lessons learned are factors that I believe could increase my confidence level.  Confidently putting forth my best effort with a positive mind is another factor to increase my confidence level, while beliefs of doubting yield negative results.

When I completed my self-efficacy questionnaire, I thought I might’ve made a mistake somewhere.  As I reread the questions and answers I reported, I made no changes; it was spot on.  My score of all responses added up came out to be 38 of 40 points possible.  The score meant that I displayed an extremely strong degree of self-confidence with the ability to believe I can accomplish any task.  Ultimately, a great deal of confidence is owed through living, and we all know life can be difficult.

Blog 1

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Before this semester, I knew I would need at least two social science electives, and when I browsed through my options, I saw I would be able to choose a 300-400 level Psychology course.  Past experiences with lower-level psychology courses were great, so I decided to learn more and chose this course.  My expectations for this course were simple and I figured that it not only suffices for my undergraduate but will give me an additional understanding of the way we think and communicate in a social setting. 

Every individual has a mind of their own and thinks differently than others around us which makes us all unique.  I figured, with our uniqueness, we can all learn from one another.  I believe that people tend to change in certain social settings depending on the audience, and because of that, I want to better understand why.  Additionally, I hope to learn more about why we choose to react the way we do, and why we react to those things when we’re around certain individuals within certain social settings. 

My organizational skills over the years have greatly improved, which I plan to implement.  I believe it’s one thing to not understand what you are doing, but it’s another to be disoriented and confused because of self-doing.  I’m enjoying the material so far and look forward to the rest of this course.

The selected image with the book definition of anchoring and adjustment is displayed because I recently made purchase prior to chapter 2.  Without knowing what anchoring and adjustment were at the time, I went back and forth on a purchase price until I was satisfied, and the seller accepted.  Later I learned that I executed this book definition down to the letter.