Blog 10
When I was deciding which psychology class to take this semester for my minor, this one sounded the most interesting out of the ones I had left to take. I enjoyed this class a lot. I was able to relate a lot of it to my lifespan development class and apply some of the things that I learned to life as well. I thought that this class would be perfect to take alongside my sociology class. However, these classes were completely different. Social psychology focused on the individuals in a group while sociology focused on the group itself. If I were to take this class again, I would take it on campus. I feel like this class would be more intriguing in a classroom setting with discussions debates about each topic. I learned a lot of things in this class, but I think the one thing that I will use in my professional life is the stuff I learned about self-concept and self-presentation. These two things are important for making a good first impression on future bosses and connections.
I chose this image to represent my academic growth throughout this course. I chose this image because it shows that are steps one has to take in order to grow. There are personal and academic steps that one must take to become successful. I feel that I took the steps necessary to be successful in this course.
Blog 9
Throughout this course, I have learned a lot about different aspects of social psychology. The first thing I learned was heuristics, short cuts that our brains take when making decisions. There are four common heuristics: availability, representativeness, anchoring and adjustment, and status quo. Each of these heuristics help us to make decisions quickly and efficiently. I also learned a lot about myself. I was able to introspect on my past and present self when tasked with selecting photos for Assignment 2. Reflecting helped me see how much I have grown and how much I can still improve. Another thing I learned was that self-regulation and emotional intelligence are related. Self-regulation is the ability to manage and control emotions. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize emotions and control behaviors.
Blog 5 and Blog 6 both discussed the concept of advertisements. For blog 5 we learned about how different source use different persuasion methods to spread their message. One of the methods used attractiveness. In many advertisements, an attractive woman or male is shown to grab the attention of the viewer. Blog 6 was about how advertisements sexual and objectify women. In the ads, women’s bodies are altered to fit society’s standards of beautiful. These two blogs relate because they both discussed gender stereotypes used in advertisements.
I was able to relate Assignment 4 to the Lifespan Development course I took last semester. The assignment was on the styles of love. In the Lifespan Development course, the styles of love were discussed when we went over relationships and the Triangular Love Theory. The different types of love are important to understand in life; they give you an understanding of how each type might affect a relationship.
I chose this image because it shows a process of organizing (brainstorming) that I used to figure out what I learned in this course. I like brainstorming because writing or typing everything out helps me decide what I learned the most from a course.
Blog 8
A relationship is a commitment between two people to confide in and stay true to each other. If two people are not able to work through and resolve sexual conflicts that may arise, the relationship may not be sustainable. Sexual conflicts can arise from many different things, including clingy behavior, not listening during conversations, and cheating. There are many behaviors that men and women do that may upset the other. Men can upset women when they do not help out around the house or do not listen during important conversations. Women can upset men when they complain a lot or cannot be decisive about important decisions. These things can lead to increasing irritation and fights; even the small things that are only slightly irritating can eventually cause sexual conflict. For a relationship to work, the couple must trust and communicate with each other to reduce the occurrence of sexual conflict and to resolve those that do arise.
These photos show men and women angering each other. In the first image, the man is getting frustrated by the woman complaining or nagging about something. The second image has two pictures. The picture on the left shows a man looking at another woman while walking with his girl. The picture on the right shows the man on his phone with the women looking over his shoulder seeming to be quite upset. These photos seem to be related, implying that the man is looking for something that is not in his relationship.
Blog 7
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is a person’s ability to recognize emotions, control behavior, and adjust emotions and behavior based on the situation. Self-regulation is related to emotional intelligence because it is the ability to manage emotions and reactions. Our thoughts and behaviors are strongly influenced by what we are feeling. If someone feels an intense emotion, it can affect their rational thought and behavior, resulting in instinctive actions rather than rational actions.
I believe that emotional intelligence is an important trait for people to have. Someone with a high emotional intelligence is able to think rationally and appropriately react in every situation because they are able to control what they are feeling. Someone with a low emotional intelligence is unable to think rationally when they are feeling an intense emotion, causing inappropriate and irrational behaviors.
Emotional intelligence can be shown at work. If I am angry or frustrated, I can’t shout at my coworkers or my supervisors, so I must control my emotions and reactions to work stressors that might increase my anger or frustration.
This is a screenshot of my results on the Psychology Today EQ test. The results say that I am reasonably skilled at identifying, perceiving, and expressing emotions but there is room for improvement. I feel that this is fairly accurate for me because I do sometimes have difficulty recognizing what I am feeling or expressing my emotions at the appropriate time. This is something I am working on improving and hope to be much better at it soon.
Blog 6
Women have been treated as weaker than men and have been sexualized in advertisements since long before I was born. Prior to watching Jean Kilbourne’s The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women, I was aware that women were more sexualized and objectified in ads than men are. I was not surprised to hear that women’s bodies, faces, and skin are being photoshopped and changed to impossible standards in advertisements. I agree with what was said about how these ads can lead to eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem in young girls. These ads can make young girls feel as if they are fat and not pretty enough; it can make them feel as if they need to change themselves drastically.
The first image is an advertisement for Budweiser. In the ad, a woman is posing in front for a bottle of Budweiser in nothing but a bikini.
This image on the right is a Calvin Klein Jeans advertisement. This is an ad for jeans and yet, the woman in the ad is not wearing jeans.
These next two images are fashion ads. They portray young girls dressed up in makeup, heels, and flattering clothes. These images objectify and sexualize young girls. These images help normalize the sexualization of young girls, which can be dangerous for young girls.
This image is an advertisement for Dove body wash. The ad portrays a black woman, a Latina woman, and a white woman with a before a after sign, captioned with “visibly more beautiful skin from the most unexpected of places – your shower.” This image seems to show that by using Dove’s body wash, your skin will become lighter and more beautiful, as if the black woman and Latina woman are not beautiful as they are. I believe this was a failed advertisement attempt by Dove.
Blog 5
For this task, we were required to find three advertisements to discuss the factors used to influence and persuade viewers of something. I selected three ads: one from a credible source, one from a non-credible source, and one that uses attractiveness.
I chose this photo as a credible source because it is endorsed by the CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It shows a prescription drug provided by doctors. This advertisement warns that opioids even if prescribed by doctors, can still be addictive and dangerous. The advertisement gives the website to go to for more information. The expertise of the CDC influences their credibility.
I chose this ad as a non-credible source because it implies that obesity is caused by eating meat. This ad was created by PETA to persuade people to stop eating animal products by becoming vegetarian. It depicts the back of a woman in a bikini with the saying “lose the blubber: go vegetarian.” Not only is there no scientific proof that eating meat causes a person to be overweight, but it is shameful and offensive to those people who are overweight.
I chose this ad as an attractive source because it portrays an attractive celebrity, Milly Bobby Brown. She is smiling and rocking a brand-new pair of Vogue glasses. Advertisements like this are effective because the attractiveness appeals to us. This ad represents how someone could look if they were to purchase these glasses from Vogue. It encourages one to step out of their comfort zone and stand out with the pair of brand-new, stylish glasses. This particular ad is appealing to me because I do wear glasses. However, I wouldn’t buy that exact pair because I prefer a different shape and color.
Blog 4
The results for the exam were a shock for me. I got an 86. This was better than I thought I was going to do.
I didn’t start studying until the day before the test was due and didn’t take the test until the last minute (though part of that was due of my work schedule). After looking at the results, I realized that even though I did not study very much, I retained a lot of the material covered. I take fairly detailed notes but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I will remember what I read about. In the future, I will try to begin studying earlier so that all the information is fresh in my mind for an exam. I will also try to use any study guides provided by the professor because it will help me to focus my studying on information specific to the exams.
This is a photo of my notes from chapter 4. They are relatively detailed, and each section is titled to make it easier to find information when studying for exams. I need to use my notes more when I study otherwise, I don’t know why I would even take them.
Blog 3
I believe there is a strong connection between music and relationships. Music is a universally shared language that connects people. It is a way for people to communicate, even if they speak a different language. I think there is also a connection between music and values because we tend to be attracted to those that are like us, people who share the same beliefs and ideals. This is because being surrounded by people with similar beliefs gives us a sense of belonging. I have noticed that my friends and I have similar tastes in music. This makes it easy for us to play music and ensure everyone enjoys what is playing.
When I listen to music, there are some songs that remind me of the people in my life, situations, and my outlook on life. They bring memories to mind and sometimes a feeling a nostalgia. The first song reminds me of the struggles I have had to overcome with my mental health and how far I have come in taking my life back. The second song reflects the love I have for my best friend; he is always there for me and I for him. The third song is how I feel about my significant other. The fourth song is how I feel about my family; I have six siblings and I would do anything for them. The last song represents my view on life.
My Soundtrack
Struggles I have Overcome/Faith – Hello, My Name Is – Matthew West
My Best Friend – Between the Raindrops – Lifehouse
Significant Other – Everytime We Touch – Cascada
Family – Hey Brother – Avicii
My View on Life – The Climb – Miley Cyrus
“There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb”
The Climb – Miley Cyrus
I chose this image because it represents my view on life. My view on life is that it is all about the journey you take. Life is going to have its ups and downs and to reach the success you are looking for, you have to keep going. You have to keep climbing.
Blog 2
I am a relatively dedicated student. I have confidence in my ability to learn and gain knowledge. I am focused and hardworking. I enjoy learning new things, however, there are times when I struggle with my confidence and simply do not want to study or do any work. This is usually due to depression and anxiety. At these times, it is extremely hard for me to focus and I have to constantly push myself to get anything done.
Some factors that would increase my confidence are being more positive, using my coping skills, and managing my time better. I chose these factors because they are what I struggle with the most. When I am down, I tend to be quite negative and forget to use my coping skills to deal with the stress, anxiety, and depression. My unpredictable work schedule and generally stressful work environment do not help me either. All these things make it hard for me to manage my time, making it difficult to complete tasks in a timely manner. Despite this, I usually complete whatever I set my mind to, even if it takes me longer than it should.
I scored a 30 on the self-efficacy scale with a mean score of 3. My average answer was moderately true. I think this score reflects my task accomplishment relatively accurately. Due to the nature of my work, I should be more confident in handling unexpected events and unforeseen situations. However, depression and anxiety drop my confidence when it comes to the unknown, as well as my ability to use my coping skills.
General Self-Efficacy Results
I chose this image because it shows my results on the self-efficacy scale. The test was relatively accurate for me, corresponding with my description mentioned above. I do hope to one day be able to use my coping skills more efficiently so that I can increase my self-efficacy.
Blog 1
The objectives for this course create a clear picture of what we should expect to learn about psychology from a social aspect. This will help me to better understand how society affects the lives of individuals, as well as how an individual’s thoughts and behavior can affect others.
I hope to be able to use the knowledge gained from this course to better understand people and why they think and behave the way they do. I want to be able to use this knowledge to help people better understand others rather than being prejudice and discriminating because they may be different.
I plan on utilizing all the resources and materials provided by the professor to succeed in this course. I will be taking notes as I read through the textbook and the PowerPoints provided. I also plan on doing a little bit of course work each day. This will help me to turn in assignments before they are due, relieving some of the stress and frustration of being rushed to turn in an assignment.
Taking Notes to Succeed
This is an image of my notes from chapters 1 and 2. I chose this image because it shows one of the strategies that I use in every course I take. Note taking is a fundamental part of my ability to learn, especially when the subject cannot be learned through hands on experience. Writing or typing out whatever I am learning helps me to better remember the information. It also provides me with study material for tests.