ATA 5

The requirements for this assignment were to do five acts of kindness for different strangers and then discuss how the acts made them feel. I learned that acts of kindness are very easy to implement, and don’t have to require money. The people that I did the acts of kindness for were so appreciative and grateful for the things that I did for them. This assignment was personally relevant to me because I have always done acts of kindness for others, and this enabled me to take note of what I was doing and how the people reacted to what I did. I think that once you do something nice for someone else, they are more likely to help someone who they see is in need. After this assignment, I want to make acts of kindness a regular part of my daily behavior. It feels good to see that things that you are doing improve another person’s life.

ATA 3

The requirements for this assignment were to watch a video of Michael Richards tirade at a comedy club and then discuss whether his tirade was due to a racial prejudice against the group. I learned that people can have a deep hatred for a group of people, but keep it held within themselves until something happens and they let it come out. I also learned that when an individual perceives that they are superior to someone else, they feel that they can dehumanize and mistreat that individual.
This assignment was personally relevant to me because my family and I have experienced racial prejudice. Everyone in my family is racially and ethnically diverse, and we all look different. Many people have said negative and discriminatory things to us that are rooted in prejudice. I have also seen people in my school become victims of bullying because of the color of their skin. It is difficult for people to see beyond the flesh and skin tone of others. Once people strip away what is on the outside, they are able to become exposed to something that is more pure and true than the individual standing in front of them. A person isn’t what they look like, a person is their experiences, relationships, and understandings of the world around them. When people can see that, there will be no racism, prejudice, and discrimination. Because people will finally understand that we are more similar than we would initially like to believe.

ATA 2
The requirement for this assignment was to discuss how a group of representative photos capture who we are as individuals. I chose six pictures that I felt summed up my self-representation. Through this assignment, I learned that I have many unique identities that make up who I am. Most people are dynamic in their personalities, and let them flow with whatever situation they find themselves in. This assignment was personally relevant to me because I find it fascinating how people can have multiple variations of the self, but still maintain who they are. This assignment can be applied to what I learned about teens and how they have phases in which they experiment with various identities to sort out which one fits best. People find that this period in adolescence is wrought in turmoil and upheaval. However, it is mostly a healthy and normal way for an adolescent to determine their individuality in a sea of many. This assignment made me realize that one cannot fully determine the self-concept of someone by looking at a picture. The person is so much more than what’s shown on the screen, and should be examined as something more than what meets the eye. People are complex and constantly changing. Sometimes pictures are distorted and unrealistic. To truly reflect who we are as individuals, we need to look inward instead of outward.

ATA 1 

The first assignment asked to describe and give examples of the representativeness heuristic, availability heuristic, anchoring and adjustment heuristic, and status quo heuristic. I learned how each of these heuristics can be present in daily situations. I wasn’t aware of the anchoring and adjustment and status quo heuristic before I read chapter two. After I completed the assignment, I gained a firm grasp as to what each heuristic entailed.

This assignment was relevant to me because I never considered how I may use short-cuts to explain certain things that are happening. It was interesting to learn that people are influenced by these heuristics, even with things as small as the age of chocolate or longevity of a cosmetics brand. This assignment can be applied to what I have learned about prejudices. The basis of a prejudice is very similar to the heuristics because a person has a preconceived bias that is not supported by facts or real data.