Blog #10:
In my first blog entry I stated that I wanted a better understanding of humanity. I think that I have achieved that as well as accomplished all the course objectives. What I didn’t expect was all the self-reflection in which I would learn so much about myself. I also didn’t anticipate learning so much on how to connect with others. Through this course I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for social psychology. It is so much more than simply understanding people and how they interact. If I took this class again, I would study more for the exams. In the last few months I’ve grown academically by doing both the exam review and the jeopardy chapter reviews for the final exam. One skill I can utilize in my professional life is has to do with self-regulation and emotional IQ. I think I can take the leveled-up skills of self-regulation and apply it to any difficult situation and be able to take a step back and assess before I react.
Here’s a picture of me with my study notes for the final exam.
Blog #9:
I learned a lot from this course, mostly about myself but about humanity in general as well. Blog 6 showed me that there is a lot more harm to women in advertising and media than I once thought. I knew about the over sexualizing and how detrimental that can be to women. What I didn’t realize is there are many other ways advertising and media shine negative light on women, mainly dehumanization and dismemberment, not to mention the infantilizing of women as well as the war on aging only for women, but not men. I knew about emotional intelligence, but I was able to learn about which areas I lacked in (self-confidence) and ways to improve. Assignment 4 was all about styles of love, which I learned is very different from the 5 love languages that I was used to hearing about. I learned quite a bit about myself from that particular assignment.
A link I make within the course is between assignment 2 which was the photo reflections, and blog 3, which was a playlist for influential people in our lives. I relate these two topics because each was a different window to who I am. The people I have been close to in my life have shaped my personality, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the person I’ve become.
Assignment 5 was all about random acts of kindness, and I can connect this assignment to all that I’ve learned about empathy and its importance in human services. Many of the acts of kindness I did stemmed from me feeling empathy towards various people’s situations.
I’ve included my brainstorm for this post as my visual.
Blog #8:
I found the article to be very interesting. I’m certainly familiar with sexual conflict, as I’ve experienced plenty of it in my own relationship. I had never put much thought into the idea that genetics may be a part of those conflicts, and I’d like to investigate that further. It’s fascinating to think of psychology on an evolutionary scale.
I can speak from firsthand experience on the ways that men upset women. I’ve been upset, disgusted, and angered by unwanted sexual comments or advances. In the past I’ve been involved with very controlling and jealous men, so much to the point where I was not allowed to see my friends and chastised for even spending time with my family. I’ve been in narcissistic relationships where I was a victim of gaslighting and emotional abuse. I’ve had a man get angry because I spent “more time reading a book than paying attention to him”.
I’ve seen men get upset or angered from having their advances rejected by a woman. I’ve always heard men are annoyed when women nag them to do household tasks and chores. I’ve also heard that men in the dating scene are annoyed by ‘gold diggers or women who are only dating them for a free meal, or because they can see some sort of financial gain from it. Men get angry when they feel that a woman is ‘withholding’ sex. They are also irritated by indecisiveness. On the more productive end of the spectrum, my husband has been upset by the fact that I often bottle my emotions, don’t speak my mind, and let things build up without giving him the opportunity to right the issue, because I wasn’t communicating what the issue was. We’ve worked on our communication skills as a couple and are much better at conflict resolution because of it.
Blog #7:
Self-Regulation is directly related to Emotional Intelligence because after you can identify and pinpoint a certain emotion, regulating it is the next step. To me, emotional intelligence means being aware of your emotions, and expressing them in healthy ways. Emotional intelligence is something I work on daily with my young son. He is only five, but I want him to be able to feel his emotions, whether good or bad, and utilize healthy ways to express, analyze, and learn from them. A large part of that for us is me modeling good emotional management. For example, if I walk into a room, and he has colored all over the wall after we have discussed why we shouldn’t do that, instead of blowing up in anger, I stop, take a deep breath and count to ten, and then I choose how I am going to respond to the situation. Because my son is so young, I might narrate through these actions. I might say something like, “Wow. I am feeling pretty angry because there is crayon all over the wall. I’m going to take a deep breath and count to ten to try to calm down”. In this time, instead of yelling, I can formulate a natural response and consequence such as, lets get some soap and water and clean this up, and we can talk about what happened after we’ve both calmed down”. Then later I can explain again why we don’t color on the walls, and that we would have to be done with coloring for today, and we could try again tomorrow. According to my EI test results, I am lacking in the Self-Awareness department. Of the three subsections, emotional self-awareness, accurate self-assessment, and self-confidence I think I am most lacking in the self-confidence aspect. I have been working with a counselor utilizing one of the self-regulation techniques mentioned in the video link for this blog. I use a lot of negative self-talk, and I told my counselor that I had tried positive affirmations in the past but felt like a fraud when saying them to myself. He said that is often the case with people in my situation. He told me instead to challenge my negative thoughts and ideas about myself, and search for proof that these statements were true. Often, I don’t turn up with any proof that my negative statements are true, and I am able to move on before they consume me. It’s been helpful, and I am feeling much more positive and confident, even without daily positive affirmations.
Sources:
Blog #6:
My initial reaction to the video was a mix between shock, and lack of surprise. I’ve seen many ads such as the ones depicted in Jean Kilbourne’s presentation. I’ve never stopped to think how much ads and media could have been affecting my self-perception and self-image. I am guilty of being one of those people Kilbourne mentioned who says that ads don’t affect them, but the truth is, advertisements are designed to be subliminal. They are designed to make someone desire a product by sensationalizing that product in any way possible, and as they say, sex sells. I have noticed ads in the past that dehumanize women, turn them into sex objects, accessories, and oversexualize them for no reason other than to sell a product, but it has been such a mainstream practice, that I’m somewhat numb to them.
The point Kilbourne made with the ad featuring Brad Pitt about how men are portrayed in advertisements versus how women are portrayed is very interesting, especially the connection between objectifying women, and the subsequent threat of violence. She goes to explain that while men are objectified in advertising, there is no consequence to that. Additionally, when men are sexualized or objectified, women are dehumanized, dismembered, infantilized, I’ve lately often thought how unfair it is that in our society, men are allowed to age gracefully, and are revered as “silver foxes” while women are pushed to buy this or that face cream, lotion or other product designed to reduce any signs of aging. Women are encouraged to be hairless, thin, submissive, all beauty and behavior standards that are rooted in pedophilia.
Image A is a Hardee’s ad, and if you remember this series of ads, the one depicted is not even the most sexualized one. Image B, although not actually a child, the model is portrayed as child-like, which I think goes along with the idea Kilbourne presented of advertisements sexualizing children, and also has a connection to the concept of pedophilia in mainstream media. Image C represents the dismemberment of women Kilbourne mentioned, but additionally I think it shows the use of women merely as a man’s accessory. Image D is an example of body-shaming to sell a product, attaching body image and self-worth to a morally neutral snack. Lastly, image E is another example of the dismemberment of women, but also could be construed as promoting rape culture. Because of the dismemberment there’s no way of knowing if the rest of the woman is a consenting participant, leaving a lot of ambiguity and thus, no accountability.
https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/31606/1/the-five-worst-examples-of-body-shaming-adshttp://historyofrapeculture.weebly.com/contemporary-rape-culturepopular-culture.html
https://rtfgenderandmediaculture.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/aging-in-adverts-how-advertisements-infantilize-adult-woman-and-sexualize-children/
https://passioncomm.com/articles/does-sex-still-sell/
https://perfumesociety.org/vintage-mens-fragrance-advertising-down-the-decades/
Blog #5:
Item A represents a credible source because it utilizes professional dentists as it’s spokespeople for the product, in this case, a toothpaste. It seems common for companies to use the trope “Number one [product] recommended by dentists”. The perceived credibility comes from the expertise of the dental community. Someone who is trained to be an expert in dental health seems to be the most credible, but I think that just depends on what you are looking for in a product. For instance, if you are looking for a brighter smile, a celebrity flashing their pearly whites might make someone want to purchase a product as opposed to someone who was focused on dental health.
Item B represents a noncredible ad for several reasons. The Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle has lost all credibility with the public since he plead guilty to sex tourism and child pornography. Originally Jared’s role as the Subway spokesperson was very effective in convincing the public that subway was a healthy choice. In addition to Jared losing credibility, the store itself has recently lost standing with the public as a healthy option. There have been several studies regarding the quality and the content of the company’s food and products. The results have been alarming: bread that contains bleaching chemicals, mean held together by starch substrate, and tuna that contains no actual traces of tuna. Aside from all these marks against Subway, when the company was using Fogle as their spokesperson before his conviction, they were working to their own interests to tout their product as healthy when he worked hard at exercising to lose weight in addition to changing his eating habits. Uncredible as well as gross.
Item C represents an attractive ad. Coke has notoriously used beautiful models partying and having fun to sell their products. This picture shows two tan, beautiful, youthful individuals, who are obviously in love. I can see where people might look at that and think “I want what they have” and subconsciously think that an ice-cold coke might give them that feeling. I think when companies advertise in this way, they are selling a feeling, not a product. They sell the product as a way to get to the feeling they are advertising. The reason this type of advertising is effective is because it gives people the perception that there is a tangible way to obtain an intangible feeling.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/at-subway-customers-really-arent-eating-as-fresh-as-they-think/
http://www.stage.coca-colacompany.com/stories/tastethefeeling/
https://pyummik.blogspot.com/2015/06/reflection.html
Blog #4:
I’m going to have to be perfectly honest here. I read the course materials, and review the module content, but I have ADHD and I find that taking notes distracts me from actually absorbing the content. My life is very hectic right now, I am taking three summer classes, raising a 5-year-old, working full time, battling depression, and visiting/tending to my terminally ill brother every week. I could have studied more for this test. I will focus more on the study guide in the future, which I’m certain will help raise my grade. From this activity, I found it difficult to find correct answers for the test because I was only able to access the wrong answer, and not the other possibly correct options. I was especially confused about the question about engaging in self-regulation. I honestly thought, and still think that that question was about ego-depletion. Therefore, I am including a picture of myself bartending, because that job causes a lot of ego-depletion, which subsequently lead to me drink excessively (although now I am sober). There were certainly other factors, but I think the term still applies.
Blog #3:
When I was younger, I remember one of the popular questions for a couple was “what’s your song?”. This could be a song they first danced to, or a song that was playing the moment they fell in love. Regardless of the specifics, music is something people can bond over. As the article mentioned, music is among the very first things discussed when getting to know someone. I think that the feeling of connection people might share when it comes to music is the emotion it evokes. I found it interesting that the study in the article concluded that similarities in music taste leads people to believe they have similar values and in turn created increased social attraction. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I was in band for most of my adolescent life and started seeing live music as a young adult. Favorites include jam bands and bluegrass. While I love the music, it’s always been the culture surrounding these concerts and festivals that fascinates me. It can seem like a completely different, totally subversive world. It would be hard NOT to find someone to connect with in that environment. Music has always been something my husband and I bonded over, whether it was listening to CDs in the car, or catching live shows. We love Phish and the Grateful Dead and because of the culture surround those particular bands and genres of music and I believe that is a factor in our shared values as well.
“Touch of Grey” by the Grateful Dead makes me think of my husband, because that was what we listened to on our last vacation before we had our son. It was one of our last moments before we ceased being just a couple and became a three-person family. We’ve also had some rough times together, and they lyrics “We will get by, we will survive…” mean a lot to me, because we made it through those tough times together. We got by, and we survived.
I associate anything by the Grateful Dead with my brother, because he was ingrained in that culture before Jerry Garcia died. He followed them around when they toured, sold eggrolls in the parking lot—better known as Shakedown Street, where vendors would set up and sell their wares—and went to every show he possibly could. If I had to pick a specific song, it would be “Friend of the Devil” because he would often play that one on his mandolin and sing.
“I Will Always Love You” was my parent’s song. They didn’t have a perfect relationship, but they loved each other deeply, and always modeled a caring relationship.
“Make Yourself” by Incubus had a huge impact on me as a young adult when I was struggling to figure out who I was. I look back on that time in my life and smile. I thought I had it all figured out, but the truth is, no one does, and no one ever will.
There’s an old song called “Kentucky Babe” and my mother always used to sing it to me when I was a young child. It was always so comforting, and even when I was probably too old to be sang to, she still would sing to me just like when I was a kid.
I’ve never been much of a singer, even after I had my son. We’ve read to him since he was very small, but I don’t often sing. But when I do, I sing “Your Are My Sunshine” and he absolutely loves it. He doesn’t care that I’m a little off key, he just loves the sound of my voice, and there’s something so sweet about it. He truly has brightened my life, and that song will always make me think of him.
Blog #2:
I went to community college right out of high school. My parents always told me how important college was, even though neither of them had been, and my dad hadn’t even finished high school. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I didn’t really care, because all I wanted to do with my newfound freedom at 18 years old was party with my friends. So I dropped out and did that for a few years. I’m 33 now, and I’ve been working in the service industry for 12 years. I finally have a career goal I’m working towards, and I would say the type of student I am is determined. I’m determined to do well and succeed and move on to what I feel my purpose in life is, which is to help others who are in bad situations. I want to uplift people and help give them the tools they need to be successful. To do that, I need a Human Services degree, and surely continued education for wherever my career path takes me. I’m no stranger to long nights and hard work with very little instant gratification. I’m confident I will succeed and surpass my own expectations.
I’ve been battling depression for a few years now, and I’ve only recently reached out and gotten the help that I needed. A year ago, I didn’t not have the determination or the confidence that I have now, so my confidence is certainly on the rise. I would say the most important factor in that was choosing to take care of my mental health. Aside from that, I need to stay vigilant in regard to my time management, which is something I work on every day. My score in relation to my tasks make sense when I am not in a depressive state. If I am functioning normally, I am a confident person.
I chose the picture of my self-efficacy score because it showcases my self-efficacy.
Blog #1:
I think that the course objective listed in our syllabus will help me in the future by helping me gain a better understanding of myself and others, and why we act and react the ways that we do. Consequently, that is exactly what I hope to gain from this course: a better understanding of humanity. I am also hoping to add to my repertoire of skills I can teach my young son about how to navigate the world and the people in it. Additionally, I would like to self-reflect and look at how I personally behave and deal with certain situations and find some better options if those behaviors are not to my liking.
Strategies that I plan to implement to ensure my success in this course include time and stress management. I’m ‘spinning a lot of plates’ currently, so to speak, and time management is my key to success in any aspect of my life.
