ATA 5

The fifth assignment was for us to discuss five acts of kindness we did for strangers throughout the week. Actively doing the acts weren’t actually that hard, it was mostly just helping people that needed it as I saw the opportunity arise throughout the week. Sometimes I don’t understand why so many rather turn away than help someone. I understand when it poses risk, but sometimes things are harmless and surely wouldn’t hurt us any, but people still look away and don’t help. I don’t get it. After doing this assignment, I realized just how easy it is to be actively kind to others around us. It almost seemed like a passive thing and probably would have been had I not been paying attention to it for the sake of an assignment. It reminds me of something I learned in a previous psychology course (though I really have no idea which one) called the bystander effect, where people don’t act but either just watch or turn away in the event of an emergency. An example would be someone screaming rape and people turning heads to look towards the sound but not doing anything about it after hearing the yelling. Why are we so scared to help other people?

This is an image that more or less describes the bystander effect. It is the assumption that the situation is less serious that it is and that the person either does not need help, that someone else will surely help them, or simply that the onlooker just isn’t obligated to help someone in such a situation and can continue walking. It is a surprisingly common thing.

ATA 3

This video was very provoking. In doing this assignment, I learned that there is not always a cut and dry definition of racism or racist intent, even if we may strongly feel that there is. I can understand why others may have different views than mine on the video, even in feeling strongly about my own views. I get that. With that said, it is important for a society to be able to criticize and analyze its own values and why those values are held, and where they come from. Why did this man feel the need to use this material? Was it effective material for his audience? Was it simply for a shock factor? All of these in play leave me wondering why it was necessary to be used at all.

I chose this image because the current climate of racial tension in America is important and drastic. We have made legal progress with racism, sure, but where we stand as a nation has not progressed nearly as much as it should have in 60 years or so. There is still violence, there is still injustice, and there are still minorities that are not being heard.

ATA1

Doing the first assignment for this course, which involved understanding different heuristics, was pretty fun for being just a written assignment. Giving examples of each was a fun way to understand the material, and to also better understand the way we function in regards to first impressions and assumptions. I didn’t know we relied so heavily on prior “knowledge” to judge others upon initial contact, even if we see ourselves as an open minded person. This particular assignment will be applicable to my future work as I intend to work within private practice, and will meet a wide array of individuals and groups along the way as both professional contacts and as my clients. I will need to be aware of my biases and preconceived notions about others, and analyze my true thoughts after first meetings with new people.

I chose this image to reiterate the above. We may say and genuinely feel that we do not judge others, especially upon first meetings, but we truly do. We judge and make decisions based on preconceived notions that may or may not be truly applicable to the individual or to the situation.