In the beginning of the semester, I discussed my goals and expectations for this class in my first blog. Rereading my first blog, I said that I expected to have gained more knowledge in forming and maintaining social relationships, attitudes and learning what motivates other people’s behaviors. Having such a great instructor and interesting topics every week, I definitely have gained more knowledge in social psychology. For example, I have learned about different types of personalities (such as learning styles), how personalities affect social (such as romantic), relationships, analyzing credible sources through their use of ads, and many more. If I ever take this class again in the future, I will make sure to keep up with the readings, for that is what I feel like I had struggled with throughout the semester. I might also take this class live, instead of online. I feel that if I had taken this class on campus, it would have been more fun and I could learn more. Overall, it was such a fun class!

What I Have Learned In Social Psychology

 The top three things I have learned in this class so far are the different types of heuristics (my favorite is representative heuristics), distinguishing credibility and basically, realizing differences between other people and respecting these differences. Some of the concepts in my blog posts definitely spilled over to other areas such as my assignments and assignment takeaways. For instance, one assignment required us to watch a video of a man on a stage who humiliated a man based on his color and stereotypes. This concept is connected to my post on representative heuristics, where it talks about “judging a book by its cover.” Other concepts that I have learned in this class are also connected to my perception psychology class. For example, the picture above of two people debating whether the number showed is a 6 or a 9 shows that people may have different perspectives, but does not mean either one of them is wrong. As professor Bliss said: “Your perception is your reality.”

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to acknowledge one’s own feelings and others. Self-regulation is being able to stop and think before you act based on your emotions. Emotional intelligence and self-regulation are related in a way that if we know how we feel (EQ), we can take a step back take a few deep breaths in, and then maybe we can make a better decision on how to act next. Emotional intelligence, to me, means not only realizing that I have feelings and emotions, but it also means having the ability to feel empathy for others. One example I think I display emotional intelligence is when I see an old, homeless person. I feel sad for them not just “because,” but because I put myself in their shoes and realize how they might be feeling at that moment.

Jean Kilbourne’s video, Killing Us Softly III, is an eye opener. I knew before that women have always been seen as “objects” or that we play a certain role — a wife, a mother, the nurturer, soft, etc. However, one of Kilbourne’s points stood out to me and that is when we see ads that dehumanize or stereotype women, that conveys a message not only to us women but to men as well. It is as if we are sending a message that it is okay to look at women that way. I also realized that these ads actually have worked on me on so many occasions, especially when buying cosmetics or skincare products. When I see a beautiful, flawless face on a magazine or an advertisement it catches my attention without fully realizing the effects and the messages these ads have on both men and women.

Credible Ad

This is a credible ad because it provides statistics that will help inform the viewers of the content presented as well as help them evaluate it. The source is also from a trusted agency. The ad’s goal is to inform, but mainly to persuade viewers of the ad to get vaccinated.

Non-credible Ad

This is a non-credible ad because 1) it seems like the picture used for this ad had been edited (that in itself is untrustworthy — deception!) 2) I do not see that it is FDA approved 3) they may have used a doctor to make the ad credible but, we don’t know who this doctor is, what he does — only that he is also a “hydroxy cut success story”

Attractive Ad

This is an attractive ad for a skin care line because the source used a beautiful model, with a porcelain skin. The colors and the way the ad is set up looks clean and luxurious. It is also printed that it is a #1 brand Asia. If I were to see this ad while shopping for a new skincare regimen, I would probably be attracted to this. It looks elegant and legit!

Last week was our first exam for this class. Although I thought that I was prepared enough for it, I ended up not getting the grade that I wanted or expected. Going over through the exam once again, seeing which questions I had missed, I realized that these go under the topics or chapters that I only skimmed over. I may have overestimated myself, but there is definitely a lesson learned. For the next exam, I will space out my studying and not cram within only two days (like I did for this exam). I will also make use of any and all the review materials offered to me. It’s not too late to get a good grade in this class! 🙂

According to the article “Soul Meets Body” — How Music and Relationship are Connected, it talks about the connection between music and relationships. I agree that music leads to increased social attraction and not just in a romantic way. For example, just last night I was talking to a co-worker of mine whom I barely know (I had just started this job last month) and our main topic was the kind of music we both listen to. After that conversation, I realized that we both have similarity in our music preferences and I just liked her even more. We talked about how music is more than just the rhythms, notes, lyrics –they have stories behind them in which we can learn from! Anyway, I think music is a universal language. It connects people, and it is awesome!

My Soundtrack:

Life Outlook — Unwritten (Natasha Bedingfield)

Me — She Will Be Loved (Maroon 5)

My parents — Hey Jude (The Beatles)

My siblings — Moonriver (Audrey Hepburn)

My best friend — You’ll Never Stand Alone (Charice)

Significant other —  Can’t Help Falling in Love with You (Haley Reinhart)

Being a young adult — Lost Stars (Adam Levine)

“Where words fail, music speaks.”

-Hans Christian Andersen

What Kind of Student am I?

I believe myself to be a hardworking student. I believe that I accomplish my tasks accordingly and in a timely manner. According to the graph above which a result of a self-efficacy questionnaire, I have a pretty high self-efficacy overall. This result is a little surprising to me because if I were to rate my confidence level I would say that I am about 80%. I think that, even though I am a hardworking student and I enjoy learning new things everyday, I can still improve in some areas. For example, I could make more effort in joining a study group to further improve my grades or get to know my peers. I could also attend or be more active on campus to really enjoy my college life. These are just some examples that I think will help boost my confidence levels, and I think these are attainable if I do not let other things get in the way or talk myself out of them.

After reviewing the course objectives outlined in the Course Syllabus, I believe that these skills and knowledge will help me in the future. As an aspiring doctor I understand that my work will involve delivering excellent customer service. By knowing people’s thought processes and how that affects their personality and decision-making skills, to name a few, I will be able to meet their needs better.

At the end of the semester, I expect to have gained more knowledge on social relationships, attitudes and hopefully be able to understand others’ behaviors. To ensure success in this course, I plan to keep up with my readings and submit my assignments on time. I expect this course to be super fun and interesting!