BLOG 10:

I believe my initial blog was accurate with going through the course. I found the self and identity part of the course the most interesting and really focused on applying the class to my life or certain aspects I was already aware of. I feel as if I did well throughout the objectives and some were a little less interesting to me than others but overall the course was a lot more interesting than I originally expected it to be. I think cross-cultural psychology is underestimated in it’s importance and there’s aspects of other cultures I may not have known or learned about without this class. Academically over the last semester I feel as if I was able to connect a lot of my past classes together in certain points and it really all came together, this also applies to my major of psychology connecting with my minor in Criminal Justice. I think what this class has taught me, is to be more open in my perspectives on how and why people act certain ways. Culture and background does a lot to influence people in how they develop and have a personality, even if they live in the same country as you. I think it really opened my eyes to be more understanding and eager to learn about other cultures more.

BLOG 9:

Throughout this semester, I have learned a lot on how the factor of culture can shape a person. Assignment 4 was focused on how advertisements are used to show that society and views can be swayed by pop culture. Blog 8 was focusing on the expression of different people from different cultures and the main part of this class that I learned the most is the steps when looking at different cultures as seen in assignment 1. I feel like assignment 1 and module 3 item to archive go hand in hand. I believe that if an individual does not have a country or a culture they are connected to that is different than the one they currently live in, they may not be as understanding or accepting of other cultures. Finally I believe that cross-cultural psychology has a lot to do with the sociology of minority groups here in the United States. I believe the more people that could understand the way other cultures work, or how they are different than ours could help those minority groups better settle in and be more understood rather than be pushed away from the crowds.

BLOG 8:

I have noticed a difference in expression between myself and my family in Germany. My family here in the United States seem to express themselves through more intense emotions and facial expressions while my family in Germany are more focused on their words and actions it seems. I always expected this from my Germany family because of how blunt and very to the point they are. They are never overly excited or expressive of their feelings or emotions because they basically express these with their words.
I have noticed when I am speaking to my cousins in Germany, I make a conscious effort to not be too expressive with my facial expressions, but to give just enough where they understand where my emotions are at. However, they don’t seem to alter their expressions much when speaking to us. In messages it is different, they seem to match my families level of emoticons and showing their emotions through messaging.

BLOG 7:

I believe that most fairy tales follow the same norms and values that are portrayed in the storylines because of the time they were created. In today’s society, fairy tales are being revamped and created to share this egalitarian perspective on the characters. I believe that movies like Frozen, Tangled, and even Brave are challenging the norms of a fairy tale in the past. These changes are giving a new light to female characters that they don’t have to be this damsel in distress, but they can be their own hero and choose the path for their own life. I think this is really good for society today, because while society is changing it’s views on equality and how gender roles are shifting, these are being played into the movies that are seen by the younger generation. I think this helps mold the younger children to not accept socially constructed gender roles. I can’t specifically recall a main character that I really identified with or that influenced me directly. However, I will say, that my favorite movie was Cinderella when I was growing up and it helped teach me that just being yourself will get you where you want to be in life, rather than faking to be something you are not.

BLOG 6:

Self- Determination Theory is explained in three main concepts in the textbook. The three concepts are competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Competence is the basic ability to so something efficiently. As far as academics go, I feel that I satisfy this concept well. I look into how I can get my work done throughout the week, to where I am not scrambling at the last minute, and use my time well throughout the week. Autonomy is the control one has over their own actions. I am very strong in autonomy because while I sometimes do not have the motivation to sit down and work on my homework, I will make myself do it, don’t that I can relax a little more after the work is done. Relatedness is that last concept of the self-determinization theory and the one I satisfy the least. Relatedness is the attachment an individual has. Academically this should help me feel more attached to my work and progress through my degree, but being in my last semester, all I can focus on is passing and graduating and less about what I am learning for my degree.

BLOG 5:

In the ten different statements I described myself as a wife, fighter, lover, veteran, compassionate, strong, hard-working, reliable, smart and flawed. I believe that wife, veteran and reliable are associated with interdependence construal of self. Fighter, lover, compassionate, strong, hard-working, smart and flawed are associated with independence construal of self. I feel as if my answers are more independent construal of self because while I label myself in aspects to other people and who I am to them, I see myself as an independent person and I don’t define myself based on what I am to others. It is easier for me to understand interdependence proverb because I use to see myself in that construct. When I was active duty, I never used to think of myself as an individual but as someone who is in a role and exists based on others or a bigger aspect. Now that I am a civilian again I am seeing myself as an individual and focusing on who I am by myself.

BLOG 4:

Looking over the exam and my grade, which was disappointing to me, I realized I made the same mistakes as I always tend to when taking the first exam in a class. I get a little confident, but also caught up with doing other class work, I forget to really use the study guide to the full potential, and to the extent I need it. I also have test anxiety, which compiled with my lack of preparing makes me perform even worse. While I don’t think I could ever be prepared enough to not have test anxiety, I think it could greatly enhance my future test scores.

BLOG 3:

My scores on the NEO personality test were just about what I expected. I scored high in Neuroticism, low in Extraversion and Agreeableness, and average in Openness, and Conscientiousness. As far as neuroticism and extraversion, I feel as if I scored correctly in these categories, because I battle with anxiety and depression which alters my mood often and i tend to be more sensitive, emotional and experience strong upsetting feelings and I also enjoy staying home and having my own time and space. As far as agreeableness, I thought I would have scored average or high, but I scored low. I find myself avoiding conflict, but not allowing someone to take advantage of me, I believe I should have scored in the average category. When it comes to openness and conscientiousness, I scored the way I expected to. I am open to new ideas, but also stuck in my ways sometimes. I am also always trying to stay organized and know where everything is, but I am able to have goals and work toward them like I feel as they should be, as well as put them to the side when needed.

BLOG 2:

A few of the values that I deem important in my life are compassion, financial stability, security, and health. I think these all fall in line with my possible career path of criminal psychology. Service work requires a level of compassion to interact with others beneficially. I think financial stability and security go hand-in-hand in the field of criminal psychology because it’s a field that will always be around and will always be a paying job. Psychology focus’s on the mental health of individuals, therefore mental health is just as important as physical health.
I decided to pursue higher education after the military because I’ve always been interested by psychology and to really get a better understanding of the subject as well as get a job within the psychology field, higher education is a must have by most employers. As far as family andmy decision to continue higher education, my mom has always been a supporter and told me to go big and go for what I want, and that knowledge is power. I am the first person in my immediate family as well as my mom’s extended family to go to college and I will be the first to graduate, so the factor of making my family proud was also a driving factor.

BLOG 1:

Reviewing the syllabus and looking into the objectives planned out for this class, I am excited about a couple different modules. One of those modules being ‘Culture, Self, & Identity’ , this module is titled alongside of a topic I am always interested in learning about. I enjoy learning about different cultures, but more so about how the cultures influence the self-perception that people develop overtime. The US is a widely individualistic culture while many others are collectivistic, which I think says a lot about American culture and how people develop their identity. I am hoping to better understand and apply knowledge on the impacts of different cultures, not only to future jobs, but people I meet in the future. Throughout this semester, I plan on applying something from every module into my everyday life, or at least try to relate the information to my life. I think this will help me better understand and grasp the concepts. The content taught in this class will help me see from a different perspective and help take in the reality that my own culture doesn’t apply to everyone.