ATA5

I learned that little things that might seem insignificant in the moment can have a much larger range of impact on someone’s day and mood in general. I think if you were to do a random act of kindness for someone you knew, it would have the effect of changing their overall attitude. It was personally relevant to me because I saw how much it mattered to the people I helped out during the week and made me realize that it isn’t something we should do just to meet an assignment quota. It’s good to pay it forward when one can and I always believe that it will end up paying off for the person who paid it forward. I chose the heart below as my image because it makes me think of how being kind is good for the heart.

ATA4

ATA3

Growing up in a small country town, this assignment was very personally relevant to me. I’ve been around racism most of my life to some extent and I think this assignment asked a lot of good questions such as asking can racial slurs exist with no underlying prejudice? I found those questions engaging and relevant because I’ve often wondered if the people I know who have used racist language are actually racist or holding some kind of deeper prejudice. I learned that it’s often not a simple yes or no answer, but one that requires a deeper dive. It also shows how no matter what you do for a living, going on a racist tirade is never the correct answer. I chose a microphone for my related image because it reminds me of the context of the assignment with Michael Richards’ racist tirade on the stage.

ATA2

I learned a lot about how pictures can really tell a whole story about myself and the people I’m around. I feel like I could definitely tie in this assignment with other psychology lessons I’ve learned about because I took the time to really observe body language in the pictures I chose. This assignment was personally relevant to me because I got to talk about what makes me who I am and what makes me tick. Before this assignment, I’ve often had trouble finding words to describe myself, but looking at the photos and reflecting on them seemed to unlock everything for me. I chose to go with a photo of a Polaroid camera for this assignment takeaway because it reminds me instantly of the photos I looked at and reflected upon.

ATA1

I think this assignment was really informative honestly. I learned what heuristics are and how they factor into daily life even when we’re not aware of it. Most of the material was easy to understand and I thought the examples did a good job of clearing up any lingering confusion I had. This was personally relevant to me because I’ve always been terrified of flying on an airplane because I’ve just always applied the availability heuristic to it. As someone who totaled their car in a rollover single-car accident on July 4th, 2021, I was never scared of driving a car even after the accident I was in because driving is a part of life, but I still wouldn’t go near a plane. After finishing this unit, I now realize that it’s not flying or airplanes that scare me, it’s the fear of a crash or malfunction that scares me. I need to remember that flight problems are incredibly infrequent. I chose the image below from the Virginian-Pilot to show the traffic congestion in our area where you’re surrounded by other drivers and subject to their actions just as much as your own when it comes to your safety.