Blog 10:
In my initial post, I stated that I hoped to learn objectives listed in the syllabus such as, how to test behavioral hypothesis, which would help me further in my line of study. I believe after almost completing this course, I have in-fact learned how to accurately assess behavioral hypothesis. As I had hoped in the beginning of this course, I have also learned how to apprehend others perceptions of myself and others. In the past few months, completing all the writing assignments for this course has helped improve my writing skills, and my confidence in writing. After taking this course I am more aware of social behaviors, including my own, and how to appropriately understand them. As listed in the syllabus, throughout this semester I have learned how to test hypothesis, perceive others and their attitudes and behavior, and understand the cause of prejudice, discrimination, and racism. If I took this course again, I would ask the professor to open up the blackboard class email option, so I could set up a study group with my classmates. The most difficult part of this course for me were the tests, I understand the information and have done well on all my assignments, but when interpreting the information on the test I have a difficult time. Thus, making a study group, as I do with my other classes, would have probably really helped when studying for tests. The main skill that I have learned in this course, that will be extremely valuable when interviewing for jobs is, understanding others perceptions of myself, and insuring I am perceived in accordance to my self-perception and concept. All in all, I have learned a lot through this course, and was fascinated by everything taught in this course.
Blog 9:
The most influential things I have learned so far in this class are, learning about our self-presentations, the truth of altruism, and how we relate and have relationships with others. These concepts were discussed in the textbook, artifacts, and in the assignments. In the artifact for module 11 I was able to assess how altruistic lifestyles effect those I am close to. In “Assignment 2” I saw how I present myself to the outside world, and my own self-concept. Then in “Assignment 4” I found out the ways in which I love when in a relationship compared to how others love. Through all three of these topics I was able to learn a little more about my friends and family, and myself. I have previously learned about different theories of altruism in Introduction to Psychology, and Philosophy & Ethics. I find the topic of altruism, and why and how individuals partake in giving behaviors, absolutely fascinating. When I first learned about this concept, in previous classes, I decided that if I ever choose to go for a PhD that I would love to do my dissertation on the theories of altruism. Overall I have learned a lot of useful knowledge in this course that will, and have already started to aid me in my personal social communications.
Blog 8:
Sadly I do agree completely with Buss, in that due to genetics there can be huge sexual tension in heterosexual relationships if compromises aren’t made. A common example of how men upset women, that goes along with this theory is when men want space and independence after sex, while women want to cuddle. On the other side women upset men when they consistently fish for emotional responses from men. It is well known that in most cases women place more importance on emotions than men do. I believe this sole factor causes a lot of conflicts between men and women, women want strong emotions in their relationship while men are happy with keeping things lite and happy. The emotional factor also goes hand in hand with the sexual conflict Buss was discussing. Blatantly, to most men sex is an act that brings about pleasure and enjoyment, while for most women sex is also a way of increasing emotional connection. There may be grave differences between men and women’s feelings about sexual topics, but by making compromises and being understanding, a heterosexual relationship can overcome the sexual tension that causes heartache in many relationships.
Pic 1) She wants to cuddle after sex, but he really wants his space.
Pic 2) She wants him to start sharing his emotions with her, she is getting annoyed because she feels she doesn’t know how to read him. He doesn’t understand what the big fuss is, “soo your upset that I don’t cry and talk about my feeling all the time like your do?”
Pic 3) He is trying to sneak out after spending the night with the women in bed so he doesn’t have to partake in morning cuddles and a romantic breakfast.
Blog 7:
Emotional intelligence and self-regulation go hand in hand. You need high emotional intelligence in order to be highly self-regulated. Self-regulation is the restricted ability to use your self-control and regulate your own emotions. To me emotional intelligence is how you control and interpret your own emotions. I believe it is extremely important to understand what you are feeling and be able to access your emotions. In order to have a high EQ I think you really need to have a good grasp on reality, and be able to put things into appropriate perspectives. I like to serve as my own internal therapist sometimes, and talk myself through emotions. I may be angry or sad about a situation, then I re-access the situation in my mind and think, “hmm am I over reacting? Am I under reacting? What is the appropriate emotional response to this situation?” I talk to myself and try to figure out exactly why I am feeling this way. If after re-accessing my emotions after a situation, I find that the emotions I am feeling are completely rational, then I allow myself to play out my emotions in solitude. Then I re-access again and say “ok, I got those emotions out. Now what happened, happened, I can’t go back and change it. I need to accept what happened, and move on. Dwelling in my emotions will not change the situation, but cause me to become more upset then necessary.” If I am in an argument and notice myself starting to feel hot headed, I excuse myself from the situation briefly, and then when I am calm I come back to have a logical discussion. I believe I am very emotionally intelligent when it comes to my own emotions, and I think I am also good with understanding and interpreting others emotions.
Blog 6:
I believe that these sexist, demeaning ads are extremely lethal and potent to today society. I would estimate that a majority of females have at one time or another starved themselves, made themselves sick, or taken laxatives in order to lose weight. This is strongly due to the unrealistic image models present today. I strongly agree with the speaker that ads are a huge portion of our daily lives, and even though we may not realize it, these ads effect how we see ourselves. Although men are sexualized far less than women, they are still definitely sexualized more nowadays. Watching this video made me think of a scene in “Fight Club” when the two main characters look at this billboard of a muscular man advertising underwear, and the two characters looks at each other and say “Is that what a real man looks like?” “Heck no, real men don’t look like that!”. However, even though we know real people don’t look the way the models look in advertisements, we still hold ourselves and others to those standards. I knew of this dilemma prior to watching this video, but did not know about the sexualization of children in ads. The ads of young girls with makeup, and no clothes, absolutely disgusted me! Sexualizing children should be unthinkable! I’m sure those who put together the advertisement of those children, have children of their own, or are aunts/uncles to children, or have younger siblings, making it all the more disturbing. I think in order to make a change these marketers need to realize what an impact these advertisements make, and how they affect their loved ones and children. I never want my future children to feel less of themselves or devalued due to these heinous advertisements.
Blog 5:
The non-credible source I chose for this assignment stated that their pencils were the best in the world, but didn’t provide any proof. The credible source I found states that the product is a purely organic protein mix, and proves it by showing the statistics of what organic foods are in the product. The attractive source shows a gorgeous model shaving her legs, making the audience believe they will look and feel like the model if they use that shaver. The credible source listed the statistics of organic plant protein, organic superfood, and probiotics in their product, proving that their product was really made up of organic protein making them appear as a trustworthy product. One may also given to the organic protein mix for their own self-interest of being healthier. I do not trust the pencil company that claim to be the best in the world, but don’t show any statics, or explain why they are “the best in the world”. I would love to look like the model in the shaver advertisement, and feel confident and beautiful like her, so I would by the shaver with the attractive advertisement for my own self-interest. It appears that using facts and attractiveness are the most influential forms of advertisement.
Blog 4:
After reviewing my test score and looking up the correct answers I believe I know where I made the mistake while studying. When studying for this test, and taking notes in the weeks prior, I put heavy emphasis on knowing the definition of vocabulary words. After reviewing my test I realize I should have also studied how to apply the vocab words to situations. I took tedious notes, and filled out the test review, which were helpful, but wasn’t enough. When studying for future tests I will take notes from the PowerPoints and textbook, complete the review sheet, and take notes on the examples the textbook provides. After taking the first exam, and reviewing my score, I now know what the tests for this class are going to be like and how to appropriately study in the future.
Blog 3:
This was a very interesting article! In my own opinion I believe that similarities do lead to attraction. However, as the article stated, similarities in taste in music also likely means similar values. I think that it is highly important that partners have similar values. Thinking about it, I agree that our taste in music does normally represent our values and behaviors. Looking back to when I was in high school, my music preferences definitely represented my behaviors and personality back then, compared to my change in music preference now. I do have a similar taste in music as those whom I am closest with, and the people I am closest with do definitely have similar values as I do. Music as the article stated is a popular topic of conversation, especially on dates, and we favor those with similar interests and values. As an additive, having similar tastes in music can eliminate the issue of fighting over the car radio when in a relationship.
Friends and Family Playlist:
Life Outlook: “Unwritten” by; Natasha Bedingfield
Mom: “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” by; The Beatles
Dad: “Sound of Silence” by; Simon & Garfield
Old Friend: “She’s Everything” by; Brad Paisley
Best Friend 1: “The Scientist” by; Coldplay
Best Friend 2: “Landslide” by; The Dixie Chicks
Myself: “Viva La Vida” by; Coldplay
“And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it’s done
I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you’re in the world” -Elton John
Blog 2:
The self-effiancy questionnaire states that I believe in my ability by 65%, that I believe my ability can grow with effort by 68%, and averaging as 66.2% for overall believe in my abilities. I think this survey was relatively accurate in assessing my confidence in my abilities as a student, but I believe I have recently become more confident in my capabilities as a student. I believe I can achieve most things if I really put all my effort towards it, however I believe their are some things that are a bit beyond my capabilities, in which I have to work extra hard for. I have never been a fantastic memorizer, so tests that require heavy memorization I sometimes struggle with. To further assist myself in this regard as a student, and to become more confident in my abilities, I will continue to make flash cards to study from. Making flash cards are an excellent tool when having to memorize terms and subject matter. Writing the flash cards is the first step of studying, then reviewing them over and over helps sketch them into your brain. I also take it another step by color organizing my flash cards according to the chapter they correlate with. Then placing them in alphabetical order when studying them makes the terms easier to recall when taking an assessment. By taking these extra steps I have improved my ability to memorize information, and further improve my confidence in myself as a student.
Blog 1:
By the end of this course I hope to understand and know how to accurately test behavioral hypothesis, which will aid me in my career as a psychologist one day. I will also be able to apprehend others perceptions of people and myself, which will be useful for when I have job interviews. After this class I will be equipped to comprehend peoples behaviors and how they relate to their attitude, thus helping me further with social interactions and relationships. I will also have a deeper understanding of relationships and how we come to favor an individual, which of course will help me to better fathom my personal relationships. In summary, by the end of this course I expect to understand the ins and outs of social behaviors and interactions. To guarantee my success in this course I will stay organized and on top of all my assignments, as well as checking Blackboard and my email regularly.