ATA3: As a Communications major, I have studied many do’s and don’ts of interacting with people. In Assignment 3, I analyzed the Michael Richards racial slur incident, one of the most infamous meltdowns of a celebrity in recent years. In the assignment, I was tasked with determining if the tirade was racist or not and what Richards’ intent was in using such an offensive word. I concluded that Richards’ intent was to “inflict pain” on the heckler rather than express hatred for people of color; however, though that may have been his intent, it only came off as hateful and prejudiced. When taking public speaking classes, these kinds of “buzzwords” are referred to as “semantic noise”; when they are used, they make “noise” in the audience’s head, causing them to lose interest in the speech as a whole and focus on the offensive words. As a speaker, it is important for me to consider my word choice and audience; though I will never go on such a rampage as Richards did, I have to make sure my messages are clear and not fueled by emotion rather than logic and reason.
ATA2: In the most recent assignment, I was tasked with selecting images and discussing why the images represented me. Through this assignment, I learned to look deeper at the stages of life I have gone through in order to use them to grow. Each image was taken at a very important time of my life, be it positive or negative. I also learned a little about my own though processes; how have I developed psychologically since each of these photos were taken? Academically, this has applied to me lately; I began going to college at ODU in 2015. Now, five years later, I am a drastically different person than I was then. Using what I learned on this assignment, I can look back at each of the five years and identify major moments of personal growth. Much like the photographs, I now can utilize hindsight to identify what issues or problems I faced or had in order to refine my own thinking and behaviors to better improve myself.
(above) RVI: I am constantly changing and evolving, much like the fellow in the photo. While he reaches a definitive end, I will always continue to change whether I know it or not.
(below) Personal takeaway Image: While browsing through these old photos of myself, I likened it to speaking to a younger version of me. If I could chat with the versions of me in these photos today, would I tell them what not to do? Would I warn them of coming dangers or would I let them live on to experience all the pleasures and hardships I would later face?
ATA1: The first assignment of the semester was all about heuristics; what is the process behind the assumptions we make? This was a topic I had never given much thought to, yet I am the guilty of most of the heuristics discussed. Through the readings and assignment, I was informed of four of these heuristics: Representativeness, Status Quo, Availability, and Anchoring & Adjustment. In addition to providing examples of each, I learned how these are some of the most common ways people can make inferences in the easiest or fastest ways possible. Most importantly, I also learned that these can (more often than not) lead to incorrect inferences.
(Representative Visual Image: Looking at this burly, heavily-tattooed, scary-looking fellow, one would assume he is tough, hot-tempered, belongs to a biker gang, and maybe even violent. However, that is not the case. This is an example of the Representativeness heuristic in action.) Image source: @pet_foolery on Instagram
As stated before, I find myself to be or have been guilty of almost all of these heuristics in one way or another. For example, I used to be a theatre major here at ODU. As a part of that academic path, one will often find themselves in an audition room, be it on the actor’s side or the production team’s side. In late 2016, I was slated to direct a show and subsequently found myself in charge of casting an entire play. When casting, it is important to pay attention to each detail an actor puts into their audition as well as how one can use their talents to bring a top-tier production to life. What do they bring to the table as an actor? Physically? Emotionally? Can they mentally place themselves in this role in order to provide the most authentic performance possible? Can I guide them to their goals through this role or show? On top of these challenging questions, heuristics can rear their ugly heads, particularly the Representativeness heuristic, for example.
In the age of such wonderful movements in the world of live arts (such as colorblind casting), it is important that one does their best to keep an open mind and throw out all expectations based on the appearance of others. I was tasked with casting a self-written, updated version of Macbeth. I only needed seven actors, but many came to audition. Before they read their audition pieces, I saw how each actor was dressed, their hairstyles, their walking patterns, and many others; unfortunately, I found myself making assumptions on how well they would perform or if I even wanted them or not before even hearing them read. I had incorrectly inferred many things about these people and was swiftly shown just how wrong I was. Many of them made it into the show and I could not have been happier with how the production came to life. This is both a personal and academic example of how assignment #1’s topics can and have been applied to my life.
