Blog 10:

I think that I have done a good job at achieving the course objects. I have done what I said I would and stayed ahead of the game for most of the semester. This class has actually opened the door for me to have conversations with my friend from the Philippines. She and I have spent time over the last few months discussing our various cultural experiences throughout our lives. I think that the ongoing cultural empathy is a skill that I have honed and developed from this course and I am glad that I can take that away. This, more than anything, could prove to be extremely beneficial.

This image perfectly defines my takeaway of this class and hopefully I will take that attitude into my future endeavors too.

Blog 9:

I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have learned 3 major things (I have actually learned loads), but to me, the importance of this class has been in viewing things I already know through a different lens. For example, I know that occasionally cultural stereotypical ideas have a legitimate assumption at the core, however they are still not applicable to all. Second, communication is much more than the words we speak. The same words can be interpreted different depending on your personal, cultural and social context. Third, I will not fit in if I moved to Europe because their lack of emphasis on punctuality would drive me nuts!

I really liked doing the Assignment 2, in which I chose the cultural value of time. I think that it relates to a lot of the underlying ideas of my Blog post #2. I think that I have been able to succeed in certain areas because of my dedication, attention to detail and time management skills. Also, I find confidence from these attributes. I find it a little difficult to directly relate these concepts to another psychology class, however I can relate the assignment about fairy tales to a mythology class that I have taken. In both, I have discussed how they represent the cultural norms and society of their creations.

I absolutely stole this picture, but I can relate to it!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-08/conspiracy-theory-meme/9740432

Blog 8:

To be honest, my interactions with persons from different cultures is somewhat limited. I typically use the people I work with, who are from the Philippines, as a yardstick for these blogs, however, I believe that the results on this aspect may be skewed as most of them have been here for many years. I have not overall noticed a difference in their expressions. My good friend confides in me in a lot of ways, and she does not tend to hide her negative emotions. I believe that if she once were hesitant to hide these, perhaps being here has dulled that urge. I do think that those from other cultures do adhere to different cultural display rules, however I have not personally witnessed it myself.

I did find the emoticon differences to be pretty amusing. American all use the same eyes with different mouths but Japanese use different eyes with the same mouth.

Blog 7:

Generally speaking, I think that the end of each fairy tale represents an ideal set of cultural norms for the time period in which it is set. The struggle that most of the main characters face however is typically in the non-conforming to the cultural norm. For example, in Cinderella, a orphan at that time would have probably been forced into servitude if her parents had not made prior arrangements for her care as she would have been unable to inherit. She struggles against the cultural norm of this, combined with the cultural norm that a mother might neglect or abuse a child not her own. However, the ideal cultural norm (and almost a universal norm) is attained in the end when Cinderella marries the prince. In its original state, Cinderella then exerts punishment on those that abused her, which in the time the story was written, was a more common thing.

With the Cinderella example, the role of her being able to maintain her positivity and sense of self and decency amidst the toxic environment is to be admired by young audiences. Though I do not encourage the idea that a woman needs to be saved by a man, to a certain extent, Cinderella does aid in her own escape from helplessness. The fairy godmother may have provided the shoes, but Cinderella chose to dance in them. Besides, don’t we all want pet mice and birds to make us a pretty dress?

Though it is not a fairy tale, I admire Katniss Everdeen character in the Hunger Games. She is a strong person, who never forgets where she came from, and she does everything in her power to protect the ones she loves, no matter the cost. The books, more than the movies, speak to the internal struggles that Katniss endures. The main point that I took from the books is that you can’t change the overall situation, but you can play the game on your own terms.

I know this picture isn’t necessarily about the prompt, but I thought it is funny and a little relevant to my life.

Blog 6:

I think that I find the balance to satisfy my need for autonomy in many ways, particularly through the varied motivations that spurn on my academic career. I do enjoy learning and have taken an academic path to which I can take the classes covering subjects that I am most interested in learning more about. However, it cannot be denied that there are external motivations to complete the homework. To a certain extent, the motivations overlap, or at least play on each other. I enjoy learning and am curious about the subject matter (intrinsic), but I must complete the work associated with taking a college class to get a good grade (external). This creates the balance of autonomy. The external motivation has become entwined to relatedness and competence helping to internalize some of the external motivations. I want my professors and others to see my success, so I internalize the need to do well.

I thought this meme was relevant and funny. Giving orders or deadlines will not provide long term motivations, but creating an environment to grow, just might.

Blog 5:

The first three statements I used stated that I am a mother, sister and daughter respectively. These statements combined with my #7 statement are all associated with the interdependent construal of self. The first three all depend on the specific attribute of my life and caring described how I am within that context. The other 6 statements are associated with an independent construal self. These statements, such as intelligent, hard-working, dedicated, funny, sarcastic and confident are all what I believe to be my personal attributes. These describe how I see myself, no matter the situation. I don’t believe that I am more independent of interdependent, more of a combination of the two. I stand by how I see myself, however I find that my role as mother, sister and daughter to be of the utmost importance. There were the first sentiments that sprang to mind as I completed the list.

Independent self – “Paddle your own canoe”.

Interdependent self – “Like a fish out of water”. I think the displays the interdependent self because it shows that one is uncomfortable in a situation outside of their typical concept of self.

I found the independent one was much easier as it encompasses an idea that I have been taught my whole life.

Blog 4:

To be completely honest, the #1 thing that I have learned from this is to not take tests when horribly sick. Upon my review of the questions, now that I am very much feeling better, I can see that I must have read (or interpreted) at least a few of the questions incorrectly. I was able to tell what the correct answers immediately. This is very frustrating to me as I should have done much better on the test. Now, however I will be sure to take airborne or something to that effect in the week before our next test to ensure that I am at 100% at test time. I do think I should include a review paragraph of my personal highlights from each section. This would help reiterated the information and ensure that I am putting the information into mentally practical and applicable associative formats.

This picture was me at my computer taking this test.

Blog 3:

After taking this, and hoping that I scored it correctly, I have found the results to be about on par with my personality. Regarding neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness, I ranked average. I believe that if I had taken this 2 years ago, I would have gotten very different results. I have since been promoted and run a department. This job has buffed my previously rough edges and now I am glad to say that I handle stress much better. I am also much better at being “agreeable”, and I have lightened up in personality quite a bit. A lot of that has to do with the customer service aspect of my job. I get to be the person to fix things when people are upset, instead of the one upsetting them. I have been able to grow into a role that I wanted to have.

Regarding the openness and conscientious aspects of my personality, I tend to swing in opposite sides. I scored low on the openness, however this is something that I have been working on. I tend to be set in my ways and resistant to change. I see this in the little things, such as when a plan or schedule goes awry, or when I am forced to make a change to procedures at work. It is harder for me than the others to accept things of that nature. Conversely, I scored high on the conscientious aspect. I tend to be very well organized. I love a good schedule and checklist. I also set high goals and work hard to achieve them.

This is my wordle. I chose this because I think that all of these describe me. There are many more adjectives that I could have chosen, however these are the first ones that I think of to describe myself and that probably says a lot about me.

Blog 2:

I believe myself to be a very dedicated student. I know that I learn best when I read the subject matter and take notes. I have a full-time job and am a single mom, so standard classes are not within my time constraints. However, I have found that I prosper when I set myself a schedule and adhere to it. For example, every night from 9:30 to 11:30pm I pick one subject and complete the week’s assignments. Most of my reading and note taking is completed on the weekends. This gives me time to absorb and digest the material before completing the work associated with it.

My self-efficacy results reflect the high level of confidence that I have in myself and my abilities. I truly believe that working hard makes the accomplishment much sweeter and I use that theory to propel myself through difficult times. In the last 2 years, I have been promoted several times at work and now run my own department, while taking a full-time course load and maintaining a high GPA. These accomplishments would have been outside my grasp if I took the time to doubt myself and my abilities. Most people will tell you that confidence is not something I run short on, and I tend to agree. For that reason, I don’t really believe that it would be healthy for my results to be any higher. As I write this, I am reminded of the adage that “pride comes before the fall”. I hope that my blog here does not come about to bite me in the rear.

Blog 1:

I believe that this course will benefit me both in my future studies as well as in my everyday life. Being more aware of the cultural psychological similarities and differences will allow me to have a better understanding of the baseline psychology of the people from other cultures which I might encounter. As culture plays a large role in one’s psychology, my studies here will help me be able to provide help and a greater understanding of everyone I work with, allowing me to be more successful in my pursuits. My intention in this course is to stay ahead of the game and attempting to use the information we are studying in my job. I think that using what we are discussing in class in a current and impactful way will bring home the importance of this class.

This picture below represents my belief that we are moving toward a more global society. I believe that a step in the right direction to make a successful global society is the universal understanding of what unites and separates us, and the reasons for those ties and divisions. This class, I believe is a starting place for my studies, if I truly desire to play a positive role in the quest for global peace. I know that I will probably not be the one person who brings world peace, however I would like to be someone who can effect change, no matter how small.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/388294799096029950/?lp=true