Blog 10

Throughout taking cross-cultural psychology, and approaching the end, I feel I’ve accomplished my initial goals as to why I chose to take this course.

I became “familiar with how psychology and culture affect each other” by reading about values and beliefs. Society is structured around how generations share what they value. For example, if society valued individualism they would praise the ability to be self-sufficient and strong-willed. This would be the opposite of a society that values collectivism. It could be viewed as selfish and narcissistic. These values and beliefs are passed down in the form of tradition.

This course taught me how culture branches out into multiple different facets but seems to be connected. It’s similar to how a tree stands. The tree is not only the trunk, but also roots, and branches. New branches can appear, and some breakaway. When reading about the material each topic could be a book on its own. Being able to understand the depth of how behaviors influence culture I could see what steps I could take to contribute to society. The general concept is to empathize with those different than you and try to ease intercultural tension which leads to negative biases.

I am happy with how the semester went for me. At times, I did feel a bit overwhelmed with family, school, and work. However, I managed to be honest with myself and understand that it is normal to feel that way.

In the last few months, I have been intentional with taking the time to develop my own intellect. The determination behind taking one step closer to achieving a Bachelor’s degree motivates me. I set a time in my Outlook calendar. This reminder helped in case I was caught up with work.

The skill from this course that will help me in my professional career is to gain an understanding of other cultures. Trying to identify shared connections or patterns can benefit successful communication. This benefits professional relationships, but also personal. Good communication is a key goal to working your way in rank.

Blog 7

Fairytales are one of the earliest memories of my childhood. How a character is portrayed can greatly influence the impressionable minds of a younger generation. A movie that I identify with is Maleficent with Angelina Jolie playing with the main character. To me, Maleficent offered an abundance of character development and an alternative to the traditional fictional heroines. Growing up you had a handful of Disness “Princesses” to choose from in the early 90s. It wasn’t the Disney we know today. I never identified with any princesses or characters. To me, they were a bit one-dimensional. Boring. I loved the dragon in “Sleeping Beauty”, and wanted to be strong. The reason I identified with the Angelina Jolie version of Maleficent is she walks between worlds. In the early years in the fey, she didn’t fit in with the other fairies. The story progresses with friendship and a sense of acceptance from the person (who happened to be a human) whom she loved the most. Unfortunately, the same person betrays her by stealing her “wings”. She overcame a painful experience in an unjust world of corruption. Maleficent shows unconditional love towards Aurora, who is the daughter of the man she once loved who stole away her wings. Her pain does not define her. The movie, Maleficent, really struck a chord in me. The movie inspired me that it is how we react to life’s unfortunate events that navigate our destiny.

Blog 6

The photo I chose which encapsulates my motivation in life is of me and my Aunt. Prior to relocating to Virginia, I was struggling both financially and mentally. Never did I think I would be able to go back to college or work in a job that was outside of being a bartender. I struggled years with my mental health and was at my “rock bottom”. This photo motivates me to know that my second chance is not to be taken lightly. Since moving to Virginia and having the support of my Aunt I am enrolled in college, work in government contracting, and met my fiancé who I will marry in February 2022. The Self-Determination Theory discusses three factors that contribute to psychological growth. This doesn’t happen automatically and can be inhibited by other external factors. The three factors are autonomy, competence, and connection. Autonomy is the need for people to be able to control their own behavior. When you care enough about yourself this is a factor of self-care. Those who struggle with mental health tend to also struggle with being able to take care of themselves. The sense of being able to take direct action is being intentional with where you are putting your mental energy. For me, my mental energy was equivalent to having a bunch of apps on your phone open and not sure which one the music is coming from. The reason I became intentional with my decisions is that I discovered life is enjoyable when you’re not living in the mind frame of helplessness. Competence is when people master specific tasks or skills in order to succeed. An example of this would be getting your college degree in order to enter a field (like psychology). Before I assumed I wasn’t smart enough to go back to college. It’s a reason it took over 10 years for me to realize I was standing in my own way. There are times that I fall into old habits, however, the thought of failing when I’m surrounded by the support of my aunt and fiance motivates me. Even now, I am on my way to my engagement dinner in NoVa and doing homework. A sense of belonging. Connection. Out of the three, this is my strongest motivator. The thought of giving up and disappointing my family is daunting. We don’t get to always choose who our family is. Feeling alone is a memory from long ago. When you feel like an outcast or that you don’t have anyone life becomes a gray haze. People do add color and vibrance to life. Knowing that I can say the love my family I’ve created has for me and vice versa is precious. It motivates me to continue to add to my own life masterpiece.

Blog 5

I’ve always seen myself as an outsider. Half of the answers from the prompt of answering the 10 “I am…” questions reflect my independent self. The reason I chose this image is that I spent a long time “masking” to blend into my social surroundings. I used to feel exhausted from wearing the mask and playing the interdependent self. Rehearsing conversations before they occurred, and mimicking others’ expressions. I am… quirky, clumsy, inquisitive, curious, and observant. At times I can be kind, funny, smart, empathetic, and artistic. It can be difficult to be yourself when you don’t really know who you are. Wearing the mask for so long creates a disconnect between being authentic and who others perceive me as. The easier proverbs for me are the interdependent self. “Don’t make waves, “Fly under the radar” and “fake it until you make it.”

Blog 4

After reviewing the questions I noticed a few careless mistakes on the questions missed. One of my weaknesses in test-taking is overthinking an answer. During this exam, I tried to be aware of the time limit and not spend too much time on one question. In allowing myself to put questions in the “parking lot,” the number of careless mistakes might decrease. The photo image represents how I set a specific time aside for studying. I find myself able to focus on my own studies at night. This is normally the quietest time for me. Unless my fiance decides to run the loud dishwasher in our small apartment. In the future using a time management strategy will help.

Blog 3

The reason I decided to use this image is to visually represent some of the words to describe my NEO Personality test results.

Openness – High | I’m an inquisitive person by nature and find enjoyment in learning about others’ interests.

Conscientiousness – Low | I’m easily distracted if it’s a topic I’m not interested in. It can be complex at times because I can spend hours reading about different pet-friendly plants, but trying to get me to actually pot the plants is a different story.

Extraversion – Low | If I could be a hermit crab in my next life that would be excellent. I am an introvert and limited social battery.

Agreeableness – High | Empathy is a trait I struggled to use properly due to my need to “help everyone”. I needed to practice self-worth to develop healthy boundaries. I could define myself as charismatic and can navigate situations that do not serve my best interest.

Neuroticism – Medium | My PTSD tends to raise my anxiety levels so emotions including fear, sadness, guilt, and shame are present more often than not.

Blog 2

Blog 1

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(Jenna’s Notes)

The majority of work in my career requires Microsoft Office. Writing is not a standard method for being able to store information efficiently and is outdated. My ability to transfer my thoughts from typing via writing is exponentially quicker and accurate. My notes reflect organization and are easy to read. 

The goal of taking this class is to become familiar with how psychology and culture affect each other. Not being able to view data from a variety of vantage points creates a biased research method. Therefore, the results risk a single-dimensional thought process. Critical thinking skills required development expansion. To be a great researcher, you need to understand the psychological theory deeply. Once a greater understanding happens, you can effectively apply the information. The strategy I use in this course is to be intentional in how I experience this class. Intention requires planning and engagement. Each lesson builds a foundation for the classes to come. My goal is to keep adding to my personal psychology experience and add to the research discipline.