ATA5

For this assignment we were to take a week and do something kind for another person each day of that week. Usually, this is not something I think about and I would say within a normal week I believe that between myself and my husband we equally do kind things for strangers or our friends and family each week. I believe that this assignment was challenging to me as I was unsure how big of a significance the deed should be or how meaningful, though I think having a partner that is included in my actions towards others helped put it into perspective. I would compare the content we have learned from chapter 9 on prosocial behavior to what I have learned about human cognition and how the brain reacts to doing things for others and what the intentions can be behind wanting to help other people. This assignment was great in my opinion as it made me think more on how I can deliberately make sure I am doing something kind for several people each week if I can. I included a visual representation of handing kindness off to another person, as this is how it made me feel when doing a kind deed!

ATA 4

For the fourth assignment we focused on styles of love with a styles of love questionnaire that shows how you approach different aspects of relationships. Doing this activity made me think about my own relationships and my marriage. The questions on the questionnaire made me think of some of the experiences I have had in my current relationship. This assignment highlighted how the role you play within your relationship can determine how well you get along in that relationship. This assignment focuses on several different aspects that affect how people go about seeking out or finding a partner. The chapter of our book focused on love and relationships and the different factors that contribute to seeking a potential mate. I included a picture of a relationship I found on Google of a couple who look to be enjoying one another’s company.

https://www.helpguide.org/wp-content/uploads/young-woman-hugging-partner-from-behind-768.jpg

ATA 3

For this third assignment based on the current chapters focused on prejudice and racism we responded to a video of Michael Richards’ rather racist response to a heckler during one of his stand up shows. This video was especially surprising as I had never seen it or heard about this situation before. The assignment asked if Richards’ response was solely based in racism or anger and asked our opinions on if the response was warranted with the amount of anger he appeared to have. Using the knowledge from our chapter covering racism, prejudice, and discrimination, I found it very telling that this situation opened the conversation of multiple possibilities of why he reacted the way he did and the manner he chose to do so. Such as the chapter relates that previous experiences or interactions could have easily contributed to Richards’ handling of the situation along with his own inner misunderstanding of his feelings towards people of color causing him to respond in this manner. Learning how someone’s temperament and attitude towards others can be curated by a social learning view played a large part in this assignment. Being in public school growing up it was hard to navigate the students as I was not what people expected as a “black girl”. I was shy and quiet and dressed a little preppy, but unlike most black kids in my school.

I included a visual pertaining to the struggles of being in a school where people will tease you based on your mannerisms of not acting as they assumed to perceive you. I had been told in school that I did not “act black” or I talked “like a white person”.

ATA1

For our first assignment we were to give original examples of the four heuristics we covered in our course material. The Representativeness heuristic, Availability heuristic, Anchoring & adjustment heuristic, and the Status Quo heuristic. Which, after completing the assignment I realized that I myself have definitely used each of these decision making tools in real life experiences. Each heuristic is a way to explain different styles of decision making we use in different settings and situations. While I was working on this assignment my husband was reading over my instruction sheet and mentioned that he had also learned about these heuristics in the line of work he does. I thought this was surprising as the work he does depends heavily on his influence of helping his clients make good choices with their money and savings. Not only helping clients with their financial decisions, but helping them to make those decisions to help them obtain financial security in retirement and I connected that to how important that is for anyone, that their decisions and how they make them in an instance can change the outcome later on if the decision was not in their best interest. This assignment made me think more of how I tend to make decisions and I think I will be more cautious in my decision making when it comes to important situations and my approach of making a decision in those moments.