Blog 10:
At the end of the semester, I never expected to be this satisfied with how much I learned and grew from this course. I have always been an optimist, and therefore my expectations of this class were always high and positive. However, rarely do they all get fulfilled, but that was truly the outcome of being a part of this journey. In hindsight, I never really expected to have learned so much in-depth information on how to best understand different cultures from this course. I figured we would only grace the surface and not travel too deep into how we can improve our personal understanding of other cultures but was pleasantly surprised.
Sorrow, K. Cultural Mosaic Exhibit to Explore Issues of Identity. Palm Beach State College. Retrieved from: http://news.palmbeachstate.edu/2016/01/06/cultural-mosaic-exhibit-to-explore-issues-of-identity/
I will admit that I think a project or maybe some type of interview essay would have been a neat way to wrap up the class. For example, in my Interpersonal Relations class, we were required to interview someone from a foreign culture and discuss our findings. Ultimately, I enjoyed being a part of this class and learning so much about myself and how my flaws have compromised my ability to communicate with others. In the image above, I have represented how even though we are different in our culture, we are all apart of the same mosaic of humanity. I look forward to continuing my learning journey next semester and are very pleased I decided to take this course. Have a great winter break, guys!
Blog 9:
After reviewing my e-Portfolio, I feel grateful for being given the opportunity to reflect on my understanding of other cultures. I have been humbled by my journey and are so satisfied with my decision to take this course. One of the top three favorite elements (not in any order) of this course for me has been our blog 5 assignment. We were asked to use introspection to determine if we identify as having a dependent or independent self-construal. I realized after doing so that who I am today is not the introvert I used to be, and this made me gain confidence in my ability to communicate with others. For my second favorite part of the class, I have chosen the NEO test which brought me a great deal of insight into my identity. We tend to fly through life in our 20’s, so this test was a great way for me to sit back and take in how much I have changed since high school. Lastly, I found the first Assignment where we read Bennett’s article on intercultural sensitivity to be very insightful into how much I have changed. I can now say with confidence that I have moved on from the acceptance of differences stage into the adaptation stage. In the future as a psychologist, I plan on ultimately reaching the integrated state and be able to connect with anyone regardless of their culture to help them.
Retrieved from: Young, S. and Koizi, P. What’s on the horizon? (Janurary 2, 2017). http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/whats_on_the_horizon_1182628
There have been many similarities between what we covered in this class and my interpersonal relations class this semester. For example, we discussed last week how important nonverbal communication is and how it can differ between cultures. Being taught about this subject in two different classes gave me a broader perspective on how to understand the meaning of other people’s nonverbal messages. I have noticed a strong connection between my Blog 6 post, where I discussed my struggle with anxiety and with leaving my comfort zone, to Assignment 3. In this paper, I covered Susannah Duncan’s experience studying abroad in Japan and how scared she was at first to live on her own in an unfamiliar environment. Eventually, she was able to craft a new routine filled with familiar comforts and use elements from her former life in America to be successful in Japan. I can truly relate to her experience as I had to shred my former personality after leaving high school in order to adapt to living in the adult world. I chose the above image because it does a great job of representing my outlook on the future. The journey will be long, but I believe that by the time I graduate with my Bachelor’s degree, I will have the skills necessary to understand and treat clients of every culture.
Blog 8:
As we have learned in recent modules, the importance of nonverbal communication is so significant that it constitutes the majority of how we communicate with each other. As a result, the ability to interpret emotions through facial expressions is vital to being able to understand others. In Pogosyan’s article “Emotional Perception Across Cultures” she describes several studies that reflect the differences in how people in Japan and America express and interpret their emotions. I have noticed from personal experience that we Americans have such a unique way of showing emotion that likely comes across as grandiose to people of other cultures. We are not afraid to express how we are feeling, even if this affects a group dynamic, and this can mostly be attributed to us having an individualistic culture.
Retrieved from: Matsumoto, D. and Hwang, H. “Reading facial expressions of emotion. (May 2011). https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2011/05/facial-expressions.aspx
In the United States, we tend to gauge the emotions of others by looking more at their mouth and eyebrows. We do this because these areas are our display rules, which we learn at a young age, dictate these areas as how we should display our emotions. As shown in the above image, each of these facial expressions has a strong emphasis on the mouth and eyebrows to display how the subjects are feeling. I have noticed my shift lead at work, Angel, who grew up in Japan having a difficult time reading the emotions of others. At times, she comes across as insincere or detached because she does not acknowledge the emotion someone is expressing. However, this is simply due to the display rules she learned in Japan being more focus on the eyes, nose, and overall group harmony. The more we understand our differences between cultures in how we express emotions the less conflict we will have.
Blog 7:
I have not seen many Disney films, but the recent Beauty and the Beast was one that I would stay after my shift at the local movie theater just to watch it again. I grew up in a (recent) time where being gay was expected to be a private part of your life but generally accepted by society if kept quiet. However, seeing as our society tends to appreciate over the top expressions of heterosexuality, it was difficult for me to see this expectation as fair. I value moves such as the modern adaptation of Beauty and the Beast because they allow for an outlet of normal expression of homosexuality. If I had this available to me in a kid-friendly movie growing up, it would have allowed me to embrace my true feelings much sooner.
Retrieved from: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/all-about-that-gay-moment-in-beauty-and-the-beast-we-answer-your-burning-questions-175700988.html
In our society, I think it would help to have more scenes in movies such as the “gay moment” between LeFou and Gaston because it can highlight our differences as normal. Perhaps more importantly, it can provide exposure to alternative lifestyles for younger audiences who may react negatively to homosexuality because they have only seen demonized versions of it. However, in the context of a lighthearted Disney musical, the stage is set for a more easier to swallow version of something that is out of the ordinary. Ultimately, we have advanced to a point in our society where heroes should be egalitarian to provide representation for as much of the audience as possible so they can all feel involved.
Blog 6:
My theme for the week given my responses in Assignment 3 are getting out of my comfort zone and overcoming anxiety. In high school, I was studying with people whom many of which I had known since elementary school and this brought me a sense of comfort. I knew everyone on some level and was not uncomfortable expressing myself around anyone because I had such a large network of friends. However, this all changed after high school when I was forced to study alongside complete strangers. I decided to use my desire for autonomy and not be held down by my social anxiety (at the time) and study online. I found that the experience of learning online fulfilled both my needs to engage with others but also my need for privacy. As time goes on, I find myself constantly feeling secure in my decision to continue studying online due to having adapted my perspective to this learning style.
Retrieved from: https://www.visioncritical.com/deciding-community-size/
My desire for competence in this new academic setting was never much of a challenge since I have always enjoyed studying and learning new things. In this virtual environment, we function as both the student and the teacher, and the professor is more of an encouraging leader if anything. I find this very rewarding as you literally get out what you put into the course, even when the professor or your classmates are below average. Over the course of my 2+ years studying online, I have fulfilled my need for relatedness through weekly discussion boards. Even though they are not everyone’s favorite part of the online learning experience, there is literally nowhere else you could connect with willing people of such different age groups and interests. I think they provide such a great way for us to connect with each other (pictured above), study together, and even learn about ourselves along the way.
Blog 5:
As I try and stick with a major theme each week between my assignments and blog posts, this week I will continue with a past theme: change. I have not always been strictly independent, but I have never been fully dependent on others either. In fact, I believe we continue to develop on a spectrum of supporting ourselves and learning on others. As we go through life, I think we define ourselves largely off of these two factors and develop our sense of self-worth based on our independence. I wrote in response to the “I am…” questions these adjectives: I am… a leader, confident, determined, reliable, ambitious, extroverted, supportive, genuine, creative, and empathetic.
I would say that for the most part, these qualities would fall in line more in the dimension of an independent construal of self except for empathy and extroversion which both require some degree of interdependence. A few proverbial sayings that come to mind are “it’s a dog eat dog world,” “every man for themselves,” and “if you want something done right, do it yourself.”
DukeofChutney608. November 20, 2014. Retrieved from: https://imgur.com/gallery/Pv7LSsq
I found this chapter to be very intriguing since the study on page 113 shows how we may be wrong in our assumption of independence in our culture. In fact, I would go as far as to say that our entire lives we remain dependent on each other for a variety of things. After high school, we find people that we can bond with over shared interests, have social circles at work, and we find comfort in spending time together. I think that even though I might describe myself as independent, I still have some degree of dependence on others to find purpose in life. Ultimately, it is best to find a sense of balance in living for yourself without being afraid to rely on others to accomplish your goals.
Blog 4:
Girl Studying and Eating an Apple. n.p., n.d. Retrieved from: https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/food
After weeks of studying for our exam while on lunch break at work (represented above), in the morning with coffee, after work with dinner, and even pulling two all-nighters in the process, I managed to get a perfect score on our first exam. In the past five weeks, I have filled up an online notebook with several pages of notes and covered the textbook in plenty of sticky notes and highlighting (courtesy of Chegg’s pro-highlighting policy) and are very proud of my results. However, it was not a perfect journey by any means, and I regret the time that I spent on leisure activities that left me needing to stay up for hours just to study. I have never been one that believed in the necessity of studying, but then find myself desperate to review once I see the exam study guides posted. My graduation date is set for May 2020, and therefore I have a lot of changing to do if I want to not be miserable in the weeks prior to each exam. As much fun as the student in the above picture seems to be having, the act of eating alone in the storage room just to have peace and quiet and study was not enjoyable. I plan on changing my study habits and cutting out distractions and wasted time so that I can efficiently review for my exams in a much more balanced way in the future.
Blog 3:
After taking the NEO personality test and ensuring that my answers were as honest as possible, I was not surprised with my results which are as follows:
N= 13 (Low) Secure, hardy, and generally relaxed even under stressful conditions.
E= 29 (Average) Moderate in activity and enthusiasm. You enjoy the company of others but you also value privacy.
O= 37 (Very High) Open to new experiences. You have broad interests and are very imaginative.
A= 29 (Average) Generally warm, trusting, and agreeable, but you can sometimes be stubborn and competitive.
C= 36 (High) Conscientious and well-organized. You have high standards and always strive to achieve your goals.
For the neurotic category, I think my low score ties into other aspects of my personality, such as being a leader and being focused on my goals. I find it to be a rare occurrence where my stress levels are so high that it gets in the way of my openness and willingness to connect with others. I think my highest score, in the openness category, reflects my desire to share and bond with other people through trying new experiences and achieving a collective goal.
My two average scores also relate to each other very well, as I find that my personality can be defined as extroverted only part of the time. My thoughts and goals can sometimes overwhelm me, especially when I’m alone, and I seek out others to bring me insight and refresh my perspective. However, there are plenty of times where the input of others gets to be too much, so then I will retreat for a while to collect myself and recharge. I can certainly be competitive and stubborn, which is usually what leads me back into wanting to be alone for a while. On the other hand, I can also be trusting and warm up to others and find their company to be inspirational and worth the time.
In the conscientiousness category, I find my high score is a great indicator of how the other four groups blend together to form my sense of purpose. I can not imagine having any desire to communicate with others outside of trying to further my personal goals and to discover more about myself. I think it speaks volumes on my personal character to receive these scores which truly do reflect my personality. I think we are all equal in our differences, but I do have to admit I believe in my way of thinking as a great way to approach life.
Who I Am Today
I have decided to title my word cloud with a present tense, for it is my true belief that we are in a constant state of transformation. The idea that people never change seems ludicrous to me due to the number of advancements we have accomplished at a global scale. We continue to adapt and reshape our identities to better suit the needs of others and our personal goals. This set of adjectives only describes my personality as it exists at this moment. In the future, I would expect some of these words to be replaced, transformed, or simply share space with new aspects of my identity as I continue to change.
Blog 2:
My journey as a college student has not always been easy, but this was mainly the result of my own doubts about my ability to succeed. After graduating from high school, I decided to take a semester off and then attempted to study at a local community college in the spring. Since there were personal issues going on in my life, such as the passing of my father, I lost my faith in my hope for the future. Despite my emotional state, I was pressured by my family to attend college again and was too prideful to let them know of my doubts. At the end of the semester, I did not manage to pass any of my classes and decided to take a couple months off to attend therapy.
I returned to college in the fall and was able to do a decent job of passing my classes, but my success was still not at the level I wanted it to be. I bought a treadmill, got a job at the local movie theater, and then worked on my self-concept during another semester off. I then got back into college in the fall of 2016 and enrolled at RCC, where my confidence from my job coupled with my weight loss helped me out a great deal. I ended up passing my first semester there with all A’s, and I kept up my hard work until I graduated this spring with a 4.0 GPA.
I chose this picture because it perfectly represents my current state of confidence in my ability to succeed as a Junior at ODU. My mom printed out a mock diploma for me since my real one had not been sent to my house yet at the time of my graduation party. In past years, I would have been so worried about enrolling in a new school but now my confidence level has never been higher. However, I still have room to grow, as my confidence in presenting my personal stories online for the class to see is something I struggle with. I also find myself struggling to relate to certain modules in my courses when I get overwhelmed by my job. I believe by cutting out sources of stress in my life, such as negative people and bad habits, I can refine my ability to focus on my class work. My anxiety that comes from being open in some of my classes, which I never experienced in my general ed classes at RCC, is something I plan to work on. I think the more that I share and trust others the more that I can be true to myself and learn the material.
Blog 1:
As a psych major, I know it can be a difficult process trying to navigate through the required curriculum and deciding on what classes to take. With my intended specialization as an addiction psychologist in mind, I was very selective about which classes to enroll in this semester. Cross-cultural psychology is a topic that quickly caught my interest because the role of a psychologist is one that requires a complete understanding of other cultures and their effect on behavior. At the start of this semester, I realized that my future treatment of people of other cultures can be affected by the barriers their culture can provide.
I realize after reviewing the course expectations outlined in the syllabus that everything in this course aligns with the reasons that I chose this class. One of the biggest issues that I have faced in terms of communicating with others is my inability to talk easily with people of other cultures. Since one of the foundations of psychology is the ability to understand and relate to people of other cultures, I think studying some of the universal traits of psychology could be very beneficial to my success in this field.
http://www.originalityisoverrated.com/musing_view.php?editor=1&musing=166
As evident in the comic shown above, we are constantly exposed to this underlying idea in our society that we are all remarkably similar people. As many of you have probably heard of before, this country is known to be a melting pot of several cultures which are united by our collective pursuit of the American Dream. However, as many of us soon realize, the qualities of our culture that unite us can seem far and few in between. I feel this image best represents my expectations for this course because I expect to be exposed to the aspects of the human psyche that are not seen at a surface level. In greater detail, those elements of the human experience that transcend where we come from and which connect us together.