Blog 10:

How well do you feel you’ve achieved the course objectives (refer back to the course syllabus)?

In reference to our syllabus, I feel that I have achieved the course objectives including the understanding on how attitudes are formed and changed, the effects of discrimination and prejudice, as well as the characteristics of attraction.

How have your attitudes about Social Psychology changed during the course?

At first, my attitude towards psychology was very one sided. I did not view psychology as being this interesting or extensive. However, social psychology has made me realize that it is not just numbers, but instead a real explanation of natural phenomenon’s in human nature.

What would you do differently if you took the class again?

If I took the class again, I would have definitely done the teaching deliver method differently. I would have loved to be in this class, in person. The topics were very specific to modern problems and conversations. I truly enjoyed the class and the professor.

Discuss one way that you’ve grown academically over the last few months.

Over the last few months, I feel that I have grown stronger as a student academically. For starters, I have a better understanding of social psychology and the aspects in which encompass it. I have learned to take detailed notes, in order to understand a class that is taught online.

Finally, discuss one skill that you gained from this course that you can utilize in your professional life.

One skill I learned from the course is the ability to critically think about situations around us, from a social psychology viewpoint. Before this course, I would have never thought to look at music or love from a quantitative or qualitative stand point. This course has allowed me to apply critical thinking skills to worldly issues.

Representative Visual Image: include a visual which represents your academic growth throughout this course. Accompany this image with a brief reflective statement as to why you chose this image and how it relates to your blog post.

I chose this image to represent my academic growth in this course because I feel that we were constantly learning new ways to view life and those around us, similar to the view at the top of the roller coaster.

Blog 9:

When first choosing this course, I did not think it would discuss the many topics that have been presented to me. Not only, has this course given me more insight on the many faces and facades of the world but it also has given me extensive knowledge of self. In this course, I have learned that music, the media, and emotional intelligence are all important characteristics that make up one’s self.

Music: Blog 3

For blog 3, students were tasked with choosing songs for a personal playlist that emulates their life in real time. For my playlist, I chose songs that really spoke to me, however they showed me how music is connected to the way I feel about others. In this assignment, I learned that the personality of my family members and spouse translate into music showing me the unlikely connection between music and relationships.

Jean Kilbourne’s Ted Talk, The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women: Blog 6

In Blog 6, I watched a ted talk by Jean Kilbourne labeled The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women. In this assignment, I learned that the media using harmful imagery that negatively influences the way that women, children, and men view themselves. In these ads, women are photoshopped to be seen smaller, younger, thinner, and lighter in order to fit a false sense of perfection. Personally, I have fallen victim to the ideas of society, and it makes individuals lose their self-confidence.

Emotional Intelligence: Blog 7

Lastly, blog 7 discussed the concept of emotional intelligence and the degree in which I excel within the concept. In this assignment, I learned that emotional intelligence is important for the reactions an individual may have towards negative and positive events.

In weekly blog 8, I discussed the article “Sexual Conflict: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Mating Battleground”. This article explained that men and women have differing opinions when it comes to picking their mates. One thing that stood out to me was the idea that women lure men in with the idea of sexual relations while actively searching for a long-term relations. Men however, lure women in with emotional connections while only wanting sexual satisfaction. I related this to the Module 9 item to archive because this assignment had me look at craigslist ads for companionship, in which I found the article to be true. This blog can be applied to the item to archive because I found many ads from men looking for women, in which they used language that appealed to women through emotional connection and I also found ads from women looking for men, in which they used repetitive words like romance, lust, etc. to exhibit sexual behavior to influence a man’s interest.

In this Social Psychology course, one of the modules is titled “Dealing with Adversity & Achieving a Happy Life”. Within this module, it is discussed that bad sand unhealthy stress, can lead to a compromised immune system and a lack of healthy behaviors such as eating healthy and exercising. These things can be extremely harmful to an individual’s health and cause negative consequences. I can connect this to my current Health Psychology course. In Health Psychology, we have learned that an unhealthy balance of stress can lead to bad health behaviors and ultimately lead to consequences such as becoming ill or death.

Representative Visual Image: include a visual that captures your organizational ‘process’ in the task of boiling down what you’ve learned this semester

I chose this picture of a page with a lot of notes because I learned so much throughout this course, not only about topics on racism, prejudice, emotional intelligence, social perception, and relationships, but also about myself.

Blog 8:

While reading the article, “Sexual Conflict: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Mating Battleground”, I was intrigued to learn about the differences between men and women in reference to anger, cheating, sexual relations, and even domestic responsibilities.  In regard to my thoughts on the article, I agree with the idea that women pick mates based on emotional support rather than sexual gratification because of their biological make-up, but also their position in society. Women are typically seen as homemakers, which means that women are normally thinking about what they can do for others. This makes sense why their choice in men revolves around emotional connection, meaning what they can do for their spouse and vice versa. However, most men are more concerned with sexual relations based on their own satisfaction. Overall, I found this article fascinating and eye opening when examining heterosexual relationships.

Men Upset Women

The ways in which men and women upset each other differs among the sexes. Men tend to upset woman in many ways stemming from a lack of emotional and physical support. In regard to cheating, men anger women more when their cheating is from an emotional viewpoint. For example, while many may think cheating is only physical, there are ways that a person may cheat without sex. If a husband is hiding text from his wife, between himself and a member of the opposite sex, than that can be construed as emotional cheating which makes woman upset. Another way a man makes women upset is due to the lack of household duties from men, whereas women have more obligations when it comes to parental, spousal, and household responsibilities.  An example of this can be a mother having to get up with their newborn to breastfeed or bottle feed. The lack of sleep and lack of physical and emotional support from their partner may make them feel alone, bothered, and irritated. The last way a man has the capability to enrage a woman is through their actions to gain a woman within a relationship. Men will attempt to advance a relationship through pseudo-emotional attachment in order to influence women to participate in sexual activity. Women often feel deceived by this and begin to lose trust in their partner, causing a decline in mutual attraction, and leading to a failed relationship.

Women Upset Men

The female race, similar to males, have many ways that they irritate or bother the opposite sex including pseudo- sexual interest, cheating, and household obligations. Women are more likely to upset men when cheating if the relationship turns sexual. In contrast to women, men are more enraged when an affair involves sexual relations, and care less about emotional attachment. One can assume that this is due to the territorial instincts in men. Another way women upset men is through a lack of domestic duties. In regard to a previous example in the section, Men upset Women, I used an example of a woman becoming upset during a night feeding of the couple’s newborn. While the female has every reason to be upset, I have seen situations in which males become upset because they can not biologically feed their child if they are breastfed. In this situation, some female partners become upset with the male because he is not helping, and this leads to a cycle of misplaced anger. Lastly, women upset men when they deceive men with sexual advances in order to gain an emotional connection. In this situation, men are lured in with the idea that the woman wants only a sexual relationship, when in reality, they want an actual long term relationship.

Representative photo:

             Woman Angers Man                                          Man Angers Woman

Works Cited:

Editor, E., Trent, S., Trent, B., Trent, L., Trent, W., Trent, N., . . . Trent, O. (2015, February 03). Cheating husband drinks poison after catching his wife having sex with his mistress’ brother. Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://www.thetrentonline.com/cheating-husband-attempts-suicide-caught-wife-sex-brother-girlfriend/

Stock images on EveryPixel. (2021). Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://www.everypixel.com/image-1007351001228324916

DeWall, C. (2021). Sexual Conflict: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Mating Battleground. Retrieved March 25, 2021, from https://learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet01 xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com/blackboard.learn.xythos.prod/5a3434ca259b6/5373224?X-Blackboard-Expiration=1616695200000&X-Blackboard-Signature=MYHWo%2BpBVAHgywzgtwKMiq5WJG%2BrKmWKHNThdTo2XxE%3D&X-Blackboard-Client-Id=131304&response-cache-control=private%2C%20max-age%3D21600&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27Mating%2520Battleground.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-

Blog 7:

Emotional intelligence can be defined as the awareness of an individual’s emotions in regard to interpersonal relationships. It also involves the level of empathy that a person has towards these relationships. Self-regulation is a factor within emotional intelligence and involves an individual managing their own emotions and resources within their life, including desires and impulses. The relationship between the two is the ability of a person to control the internal emotions in response to external and internal factors.

It is my personal belief, that emotional intelligence is defined by the actions an individual takes in regard to their emotions. Whether this be responding to a death in the family by crying or punching a wall. To me, these are clear examples of emotional intelligence and the way that a person expresses their emotions.

In my own life, I display emotional intelligence by reacting to events in my life through logic and empathy. For example, when I found out that my great aunt died, I was distraught and allowed myself to be aware of and in control of my sadness. I cried and broke down, but I was able to handle my emotions and then participate in the planning of her funeral. This is the same for my professional side, when talking to those I do not known, I make sure I approach those relationships in a way that is appropriate.

Blog 6:

While listening to Jean Kilbourne’s Ted Talk, The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women, I was appalled by the topics spoken about including overly sexualized commercials that are viewed by young children. As expressed by Kilbourne, corporations and companies begin to target children as young as 6 months old. This is terribly inappropriate due to the fact that sex is used to sell many things including food, clothing, etc. These ads are then emulated by children, especially young girls. It worries me significantly that girls are growing up believing that photoshop and unrealistic expectations are the reality. Most commercials are photo shopped, in which a woman or man is manipulated to look skinnier, lighter, and “better”. This however is an unrealistic perspective of life.

Prior to this ted talk, I have noticed that commercials and advertisements hyper sexualize and distort the image of women. For example, most makeup commercials use black models with lighter skin complexions similar to their white counterparts or they photoshop darker skinned models lighter in order to convince people to buy the product. The issue with this is that some dark skinner women have low self esteem due to the media portraying darker skin in a negative context. This forces and influences women to lighten their skin through damaging creams or lighter makeup. Another example is weight loss supplements such as hydroxycut, in which women are shown with significantly smaller waits then their before pictures. This leads consumers to believe that these weight loss supplements will cause them to lose an unhealthy amount of weight, however this is just another example of photoshop.

During Kilbourne’s presentation, she spoke about the differences between gender representation within the media. I was able to understand how different these advertisements are through her visual aid. In the picture, two models were shown, one male and one female. While the male was show with little photoshop, the female had a significant amount of alteration including skin lightening and smoothing. Even in cases where males are photoshopped, they are rarely mocked for their insecurities and instead only viewed as sex symbols. In many ads, women are told they are not good enough and this is seen by young girls across the globe. These girls grow up with a lack of self esteem in comparison to young boys.

Representative Visual Image:

A: Photoshop to look more appealing- In ad A, one can see a young male celebrity, Justin Bieber, who is posed for a Calvin Klein shoot for underwear. While the picture is photoshopped heavily, it also represents the gender deference in ad techniques as stated by Kilbourne. While women are photoshopped and mocked for not being perfect, Bieber is instead corrected without the mocking and ridicule.

B: Photoshop to look younger – In ad B, Jennifer Roberts, a well known actress is posing for Foundation labeled “miracle”. In the ad she is photoshopped to look younger and without age. This is a technique found a lot in advertisement to make women seem as if they are not aging.

C: Photoshop to look lighter and Eurocentric  – In ad C, Gabby Sidibe is posing for the cover ad of a magazine except she looks nothing like herself. In Kilbourne’s presentation, she explained that darker skinned women are sometimes lightened in ads, similar to what the editing team did to Sidibe. In the ad, she is lighter and her hair is straightened similar to Eurocentric features.

D: Photoshop to look skinnier – In ad D, a women is standing and proclaiming that a weight loss supplement helped her lose over 30 lbs, however the pictures are photoshopped to manipulate women to buy the product.

E: Photoshop to look more muscular – In ad E, a man is posed in before and after photos showing his bulk, this is similar to the women in ad D. While the pictures show the man in a manner that may make the customer believe he is muscular, he however is also photoshopped to draw the attention of others.

References

Body image – advertising and magazines. (2021, February 08). Retrieved March 11, 2021, from https://mediasmarts.ca/body-image/body-image-advertising-and-magazines

MessyNessy. (2012, June 02). The reality of celebrity photoshop: Before and after. Retrieved March 11, 2021, from https://www.messynessychic.com/2010/10/12/the-reality-of-celebrity-photoshop-before-and-after/

18 controversial Celebrity Ads: Beauty Ad, Julia roberts, celebrity beauty. (2020). Retrieved March 11, 2021, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/516436282249613318/

Jordan, N. (2013, October 21). Dieting advertisements essay. Retrieved March 11, 2021, from https://jordanference.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/dieting-advertisements-essay/

Blog 5:

A credible source has many factors that make it distinguishable from non-credible sources.

Source A is a credible source because it is one that has been published within the past decade. Time is very important in determining the relevancy and reliability of a sources. Sources that have been published and reviewed more than a decade ago may contain information that is imprecise. Similarly, a credible sources involves the input of a credible expert depending on the source. For example, a scholarly journal on dental hygiene would not be seen as credible if written by a rapper. This is because sources are consider credible if they are written by professionals or individuals with experience in the particular field. This creates trustworthiness between an author and the reader. In this source, the author is a hospital that specializes in health practices.

Examples include scholastic journals, textbooks, academic archives, government websites (including hospitals and other agencies) etc.

Source B is extremely non credible due to numerous reasons including unrealistic representation of the product being advertised. As seen in the source, a woman is seen with half her face covered in wrinkles and age spots and on the other side it is completely smooth. Viewers can see that the photo is airbrushed and full of misinformation on the product. Also, the brand, Smarter that Botox, is not a well-known or renown brand meaning that their credibility is nonexistent. The advertisement does not show an expert and instead relies on the image that is portrayed.

Source C is an attractive source because it shows the results of the products and is appealing to the eye. In this case, Kim Kardashian West is pictured in a bikini along with a diet supplement/ weight loss pills. These pills are meant to help individuals lose weight and unrealistically look like Kim Kardashian. This is what makes the sources attractive to viewers. I found this personally attractive because I am currently trying to lose weight and look similar to the model. Attractive advertisements rely on visual imagery that is appealing and appeals to the interest of others.

References

Mcafee, R. (2020, July 28) TUESDAY, july 28, 2020 ad – Sutter HEALTH Medical Foundation – the appeal-democrat. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https://local.appeal-democrat.com/yuba-city-us-ca/sutter-health-medical-foundation-877-766-3362/2020-07-28-11225060-its-doing-our-best-to-keep-you-feeling-yours-sutter-medical-foundation-is-proud-to-welcome-robert-k-mcafee-jr-dot-m-dot-d-to-the-team-dr-mcafee-is-a-family-medicine-doctor-who-has-been-caring-for-the-yuba-sutter-community-since-1993-all

Wu, J. (2014, March 16). Ad analysis essay. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https://jeywuportfolio.wordpress.com/the-secret-weapon/

Acuna, K. (2012, March 02). The Kardashian sisters are being sued for millions of dollars over diet pills. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/the-kardashian-sisters-are-being-sued-for-millions-of-dollars-over-diet-pills-2012-3

Blog 4:

Reviewing my exam grade and the answers that I got wrong on the exam allowed me to create new notes that reminded me to focus on different parts of the course. While looking over my answers, I noticed that many of the questions that I got wrong were conceptual. This meaning that I need to focus on concepts and the definitions, rather than my own interpretation. Prior to this test, I did not take much time with the review sheet, however I will make sure that next time I complete it thoroughly because it proved to be a helpful way to remember concepts. This feedback will definitely help my test taking strategies by improving my notes and remembering definitions. This will help me not make the same mistake as I did last time.

Representative Visual Image Idea

Blog 3:

My album or Ep would be called The HighLow, because throughout the lows of life, I have managed to remain in positive spirits with high hopes. My first song would be for my outlook on life and it is Bang! By AJR. This song highlights the lows of adulthood while still managing to have fun and not take life too seriously. The second song would be for my boyfriend, who I have been in a relationship with for 7 years. The Bones by Maren Morris is a song about building a good foundation within your relationship. Regardless of the pointless fights, disagreements and hardships, it reminds me that what matters is the love we have continued to cherish and nourish. The third song on my soundtrack is You Got It by Vedo. I chose this song because it talks about being a better version of yourself and focusing on becoming a more positive and influential person. The fourth song is for my mother and it is Lean on Me by Club Nouveau, I chose this song because it is one that we listened to a lot when I was younger. My relationship with my mother is one of pure love and compassion. I have always been able to lean on my mother regardless of the situation. My fifth song is Happy by Pharrell and I use this song as an association to my little brother, Jaxon. He has the most positive outlook on life and reminds me to be happy despite surrounding negativity. Lastly, the sixth song is Here by Alessia Cara which describes my High school experience. Growing up, I have never felt like I belonged within my peer group. While most teenagers were partying, smoking illegal drugs and partaking in illegal activity, I was prepping for NJROTC drill meets and debates. This song describes my awkwardness and my inability to relate to teenagers my age.

My Soundtrack:

“The HighLow” by Tiana Martin

Life outlook – Bang! By AJR

Significant Other – The Bones by Maren Morris

Me – You Got It by Vedo

Mother – Lean on Me by Club Nouveau

Brother – Happy by Pharrell

Me Not Fitting in with my Peers – Here by Alessia Cara

Blog 2:

On the GSE, I scored a total of 35 points or 3.5 which is above the mean population score of 2.9 or 29. This shows that I have a high level of efficacy and confidence as an individual and student. As a student, I feel relatively confident in my ability to succeed and handle situations that are unexpected and difficult. Despite me being a highly capable individual, there are some factors that I could change or improve to increase my confidence. This includes putting myself in more unexpected and hard situations. Usually, I tend to walk away from difficult issues, despite being able to handle them. I do not challenge myself and this can affect my level of confidence negatively. For example, if I am bike riding on a path that has two exits, I will always choose the easiest one. In my mind, I know that I am more than capable of taking the harder path, however, I do not push myself to do so.

Representative Visual Image Idea

The picture below shows my GSE results. Through these results I am able to see that I have high confidence in my ability to solve problems. My upbringing as a child of a single parent has left me equipped to deal with several problems. I have learned to only rely on myself and to figure things out as I go. This has helped me deal with several things in life including academic studies. During my freshmen year, I felt lost due to the fact that I was not receiving a lot of help from my advisor. Despite this, I was able to figure it out and ended the year with a 4.0 gpa.

Blog 1:

I expect that I will learn an in-depth definition of social psychology and the factors that play a part in the individual lives of others. I have always been fascinated by the relationships of others and the process in which information is interpreted within these bonds. This course will explain prejudice, attitudes, and attraction as it relates to the human experience.

I hope to gain a better understanding of how social relationships affect an individual’s perception of social environments and how social problems are then created. Also, I hope to learn how attitudes are created and their relationship to an individual’s behavior. On another note, I am extremely interested in the subject of attraction and understanding what makes us attractive and attracted to others.  

I intend on watching the course schedule closely and making sure I have enough time to submit my coursework in case there are any technical issues. The professor has outlined our course and been very generous of keeping communication open which also ensures success. I will also read the power points and take notes on topics that are hard to understand, or that I find difficult.

Overall, I am looking forward to learning about the topics discussed in this class and feel that it will make me a well-rounded psychology student.

Representative Visual Image Idea

Optimism Bias

Optimism bias can be seen when an individual believes that their path to a certain event is free from a negative experience or less like to experience a negative event. This however leads to hardship and disappointment since the individual was not expecting conflict. I chose this image because it made me laugh but also understand the topic in a simple and thought-provoking way. The top path shows a straight line in which the individual will experience no harm, however the bottom path is full of hardship including a stick figure just yelling no.