Blog 10: My inital expectations regarding the course were to build critical thinking skills as well as to learn how various countries are similar and diffrent to each other regarding the psychological makeup of their cultures. I also wanted to learn just how deeply one culture psychologically affects an individual. I would say that these were achieved because of the writing assignments I completed and the information I was provided throughout the course. Not only did I become a better critical thinker but also the course fulfilled my other expectations which were more like my specific interests regarding the subject of cross cultural psychology. My attitude about cross cultural psychology definitely changes throughout the course. I originally believed that culture did not have a huge impact on individuals when it came to psychology. I believed that everyone acted and thought how they did regardless of cultural influences. Throughout the course I however was able to see that this is indeed false and that it is actually the other way around. If I was to take the course over the only thing I would do differently would be to better plan my time so that I could complete all my assignments on time. Over the last few months I would say that I improved academically in my writing because of the course assignments. One skill that I gained from the course that I can utilize in my professional life would basically just be to recognize peoples differences and similarities and to understand there is no universal way of doing everything. The image I selected represents my academic growth throughout the course because I had to continue on with each assignment to reach my final goal of completing the course itself. This relates to my post because as stated, I believe that I achieved what I intended to gain from this course.
https://jooinn.com/work-and-business-success-and-achievement-men-conquering-mountain.html
Blog 9: The top three topics that I learned in the course would have to be about culture and its relation to gender, cognition, and language/communication. These were the topics that I most enjoyed and the topics that I feel the information stuck with me the most. Upon looking at my e-portfolio, these subjects are indeed represented. In blog eight I described how communication varied when looking at American and Mexican culture. In my assignment takeaway for assignment five I will go over my findings in how gender and culture interact. Cognition, although not explicitly reflected on in my portfolio, relates to another class that I am taking called human cognition. In this class I learn about general human cognition, and it is interesting to see how in this class I was about to connect the two subjects and see how culture causes variations in cognition. I feel that communication and cognition were topics that were able to be applied to different areas across the course because they are activities that are necessary to function as human beings and to successfully be a member of society. The image I choose is something that is relevant because it was through using a graphic organizer that I was able to not only combine but also able to sort through all the information learned throughout the semester.
Blog 8: Growing up mixed (Mexican and Caucasian), I have been able to experience two different cultures constantly. One occasion in which I noticed a difference between the two cultures was actually at a birthday party of mine. I noticed that while my Mexican side of the family greeted others by a kiss on the cheek, my Caucasian side of the family mainly greeted each other by simply giving a handshake or nod of the head. While the actions on both sides did indeed meet my expectations due to the fact that I had already been exposed to each cultures customs, It was still quite surprised because of the fact that I had never really thought about the differences between cultures regarding simple actions/ideas. Cultural display rules help explain this experience because these rules are basically social norms of a certain group. What may be a social norm in one group may be far from the social norm of another. Universality also applies to this because although the way in which the groups greeted each other was different, across all cultures there is still the need to socialize which is met in many different ways. Greeting another person is indeed a related aspect. The picture that I attached was selected because it demonstrates the differences in how a person is greeted when referring to these two cultures.
http://www.handresearch.com/news/handshake-less-healthier-than-kiss.htm
Blog 7: In the attached article, it was suggested that fairy tales reflect a shared set of cultural norms and values. I definitely agree with that. I feel that the common theme of love in many fairy tales shows just how important of a value it is and also how it is something that spans across cultures. I believe that a main characters modeling of more egalitarian roles on the audience could lead to a positive impact due to the fact that the children themselves would then be able to practice these principles in everyday life. Egalitarian principles often include a strong focus on ensuring equality for everyone. I believe that if the main character not only embraced these principles but also themselves was more egalitarian, (in other words average) it would make stories even better for young audiences because then maybe they could realistically compare themselves to the main character. An example of how a main character served as a positive influence would be the main characters of the two new Disney stories Frozen and Brave. This is because in place of love for q significant other it placed emphasis on the strength of love among family. The photo that I attached is one of my family and was selected due to the fact that the number one producer of fairy tales (Disney), has now been taking a new approach to their movies by focusing on the courage of an individual and the love of family.
Blog 5: Upon creating my ten “I am” statements, I analyzed my responses. The statements that I believe are associated with the dimension of “independent construal of self” would be numbers four through ten. These all consisted of personality traits of mine such as being determined, smart, and imaginative. They related to how I see myself as a overall person. The statements that I believe are associated with the dimension of “interdependent construal of self'” would be numbers one though three. These were statements related to my relationship with others, or in the larger social circle. These statements included being engaged, a mother, and a student. You would think that I would consider myself more independent than interdependent based on the number of my responses for each category. However, I actually believe that I am both. My interdependent responses were the ones I thought of first, and I believe that they are the ones that hold the most importance to me. However, quantity wise I also thought up of quite a bit independent responses. An English proverb that describes the independent construct of self would be “Express yourself “. This is because it deals with your personal characteristics. One that describes the interdependent construct of self would be “Find your group “. This is because it is talking about finding a group that best reflects who you are as a person, therefore it deals with ones relationship in a social circle. The one that was easier to think of was the independent proverb. I believe that this is because while my interdependent attributes are what I hold as most important, I still do reflect on who I am as an individual and how I can learn and grow. The image that I included I feel represents a aspect of who I am, because of the fact that I am indeed a mother and above everything I would say that that is definitely the most important aspect of myself as well as of my life. 
Blog 4: After viewing the feedback of my exam 1 results, I feel extremely proud and excited to have gotten a perfect score. I put a lot of time into my studying and I believe that it definitely showed. To prepare for the test, I used several strategies such as Cornell notes, flashcards, and Hofstadter’s law. Cornell notes was a strategy I used in high school, it involves writing your notes on the right side of the page and on the left side writing upper level questions. Flashcards with definitions and questions was a strategy I have used since middle school. Lastly, I always apply Hofstadter’s law when setting aside studying time, This law just basically states that things will usually take longer than you expect it to. I will be sure to start applying this to my actual test taking as well. My learning process was proven to be efficient. Although based on my score I will not be changing any of my test taking strategies, I did indeed learn something important based on my experience. I almost ended up with a four because I had test difficulties about two hours before the test closed, and I did not check my email in time to start the test over. Through this experience I learned two important things that I will be sure to apply to every class I take. Number one, I will no longer procrastinate! Text anxiety usually causes me to wait to the last minute. If a test is released days before the date it is due I be sure to start it early. This way, if anything is to come up I will still have time to notify the professor about my issue. I also learned the importance of checking my school email. Our school email is how our teachers communicate important information with us, and it needs to be checked as constantly as social media apps. As a result, I added my school email to the gmail app on my phone. The image I included is an example of the Cornell note taking method I mentioned. 
https://tipsinterviews.blogspot.com/2013/12/cornell-note-taking-system.html
Blog 3: This week I took the NEO test in order to find out more about my personality. In the area of openness and conscientiousness I ranked high. I would consider this pretty accurate because I tend to be pretty open about how I feel and what I think. I am also almost always open to new ideas and new experiences. I am also conscientious of my actions and the way I carry myself. In the areas of agreeableness, extroversion, and neuroticism I ranked average. This also seemed pretty consistent because these are aspects in which I definitely feel average. I wouldn’t say that I am more one side than the other, an example being extrovert vs introvert. Also my neuroticism ranking makes sense because at times I can be a bit emotional. When it comes to agreeableness I am mostly good natured but there are times I do get angry or mouthy. I feel that the test overall did represent my personality pretty well. The image attached was chosen because it shows various aspects that are hand in hand with each of the “big five” categories the NEO test ranks.
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS823US823&biw=1366&bih=626&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=q1cEXLOHEYXX8AOnr5HoBg&q=neo+personality+inventory&oq=neo+personality+inventory&gs_l=img.3..35i39j0l4j0i5i30j0i24l4.62850.68475..68651…1.0..0.215.1502.0j7j2……1….1..gws-wiz-img…….0i67j0i10.5v3RkcuXwCI#imgrc=rRSwcwOozAnTxM:
Blog 2: As a student, I would consider myself to be extremely motivated. I believe that for the most part, anything that I set my mind to can be achieved with hard work. I constantly dedicate time and energy to my academic goals. I also have a clear plan on what I want to do academically. I believe that my current level of confidence as a student is pretty high. Although I know my strengths and weaknesses, I believe that I am overall a very good student. As previously stated, I do indeed know my strengths and weaknesses. I believe that if I could improve my weaknesses (such as math and procrastinating for example) then I could have a whole lot more confidence in myself as an overall student. My self efficiency results ended up being quite high. I received 92.5 concerning believing in my ability, and an 100 on believing the my ability can grow with effort. This resulted in an overall self efficiency score of 95.4. In relation to my task accomplishments my self efficiency definitely helps me be successful. Self efficiency is what helps me not only succeed but also grow and better myself because of the faith that I have in my ability and the motivation that I feel when it comes to my studies. The image that I have included I selected because I feel that it really shows my motivation as a student. In the picture attached I am shown graduating from a college prep academy a year early with honors; and an advanced diploma.
Blog 1: The picture that I included represents people of all different cultures, a topic that we focus on in the course. Cultural psychology is defined as examining the cultural foundations of psychological processes and human behavior. Cross cultural psychology is when you compare and contrast a cultures way of thinking to another cultures way of thinking. After reviewing the course objectives outlined in the syllabus, I am absolutely sure they will help me in the future. Understanding psychology in different cultural contexts will help me understand humans better as a whole. Also, as stated at the end of the syllabus, the objectives outlined in the course syllabus are intended to give us students the ability to think critically. Strong critical thinking skills will help in relation to jobs,relationships, and other aspects of everyday life. My course expectations are to learn more about how various countries are similar and how they contrast as well when looking at the psychological makeup of their cultures. I would also like to see how deeply ones culture affects the way they think. In order to ensure success throughout the course I plan on following the course schedule closely, as well as the syllabus.
http://www.basicknowledge101.com/subjects/culture.html