Blog 10
My initial expectations from this course involved wanting to learn how a person became who they are today and how the influence from others impacted that. I also wanted to learn about different prejudice and its root. This course has definitely taught me different ways of looking at things then I did prior and has helped to see how people impact people and how it affects both parties. Prejudice and discrimination were topics that were covered that really gave a unique perspective. When looking at some of the course objectives such as discussing the processes through which people perceive and attempt to understand others and explaining how attitudes are formed and changed, and how they are related to behavior, I feel this plays a part into why people are the way they are. Discussing the factors that influence our liking for other individuals and that lead to the formation of close relationships reminds me of different blog posts and assignments we have done that have really helped me to see how relationships are formed, change and what affects them. To be able to make connections, or integrate learning, between courses and to outside experiences is something that was asked of us for most of our assignment takeaways, like how to relate what we learned to another course or experience and I think it helped to make sense of somethings that are trickier concepts.
I love Social Psychology as much as I did before. I love how people might think it is similar to sociology as first but it focuses on how each individual works within groups or relationships and not the group as a whole. The only thing I would do different is to pay more attention to every resource that was given in each module. Over the last few months, I think it really hit me how important each assignment was and how the knowledge with it can help me in future courses and within my career even if it does not seem as important. One skill that I gained from this course that I can utilize in my professional career is to be open-minded. Not everything we already think we know is correct and to realize there is always things changing and new research coming out.
To Do
Blog 9
When looking at my e-Portfolio, the weekly blogs have been the most exciting for me. I feel as if they are fun and relatable but also full of underlying lessons. The two blogs posts that I feel like I have learned a lot from is Blog 3 and the connection between music and relationships as well as Blog 7 which focuses on Self Regulation and Emotional Intelligence. I have always felt that music was a way to express how I feel in each moment, even when my own words and thoughts could not make sense of it. I already have a tendency to connect people and music but by doing this blog, I felt as thought analyzing the morals of those I love with the music they love and what songs or genres I associate with them took a deeper meaning to it. When looking at Blog 7, I felt that the EQ test opened my eyes to not only my own self-awareness but what healthy communication and self-control could mean for my relationship with those that are in my inner circle. Another thing that I have learned in this course comes from the first top artifact. Since I have continually working with different ages and people with different backgrounds, taking notice of how I am acting and how I am saying certain things is important. I feel like it has helped me to remember to be more gentle with my words to the children and also to still hold my same personality traits since they need to learn that everyone is different and how to adjust to that.
Blog 6 refers to ads from magazines, television and so forth and the expectations that are placed on men and especially women. I feel like this blog can relate to Top Artifact 2 and stereotypes that are placed on people coming from different ethnic, racial and gender groups. I made the connection based on the thinking that if people see women in ads wearing more revealing clothing and having a man be looking at her in a sexual way, then people will assume that if women dress in less clothing, they are acting like a whore and only want the attention from men. It is stereotyping a woman based on what she is wearing. Attachment style and the theory behind it is something that I have learned in Social Psychology but have also looked at in Child Psychology. We looked at how a child may form this attachment style, how it develops into adulthood and how to prevent anxious, avoidant and disorganized and what to do to ensure secure.
Plan
Blog 7
To see the relationship between Self Regulation and Emotional Intelligence, I had to look into what they meant separately and then how they were connected to one another. Self Regulation is simply controlling one’s behavior, emotions, as well as thoughts. Emotional Intelligence is the ability of the person to understand, use and manage emotions to relieve stress and communicate successfully. When looking at how they go hand in hand, without control in self regulation, it leaves room for impulsive and self destructive habits and behaviors. To think before the person acts is when there Self Regulation and Emotional Intelligence are working in a healthy manner. When a person becomes more aware of there feelings, especially during a heated discussion or situation, they are able to stop before they make any impromptu, harmful decisions. There are multiple ways to help manage a situation to increase one’s self awareness such as doing different breathing exercises as well as a single deep breath for five seconds. Another solution that would be more of a consistent action is journaling daily. Emotional Intelligence to me means keeping my blood from feeling like it is boiling and letting my thoughts go into darker places to avoid saying something I will regret. I like to do a couple of long deep breaths and communicate my feelings and thoughts to a therapist to help maintain my self control. I like to continue working on my EQ to avoid breaking someone’s heart or especially my own and so I like to find new ways to help avoid putting myself in dangerous situations.
I took the EQ test and I looked up what the average score was and it said 90-100. I think since therapy and taking psychology courses, it has helped me to be more aware. I think 106 is a good score for me personally.
EQ Score
Blog 6
When I see ads nowadays that are targeted towards woman versus ads I saw in the Ted Talk and when I was a child, I have seen some progress in not dehumanizing women. However, I have seen ads where they may be more discrete about the jab they are taking at women, but it is still very much there. The ads have a tendency to follow whatever society’s standards of beauty are at the time, for Jean Kilbourne, some of the original ads she saw were about smelling good and having styled hair. While those are still apart of the norm of women today, I see a lot of ads about plump lips and a plump bottom. Ads are put into place to sell. They want women to feel like they can look like that, not only if they buy that product but really, if they work hard enough. It builds this rock in women that is full of judgment and comparison of themselves and this never ending feeling that they are not enough and it is only because they are not doing enough to be beautiful and therefore they are not as worthy for love and healthy relationships. The way someone sees themselves sets them up for how they let others treat them and what kind of life they think they can lead. The ads will pull on the parts of woman that are more sensitive due to society already like the size of there body and how clear there skin is in an effort to just make money. When looking at the ad comparison with Brad Pitt and Linda Evangelista and how porcelain her skin looked and how real and healthy his skin looked, I really saw the gender differences in advertisements. It comes back to what society deems as normal for girls and for boys. Men should have clear skin, no makeup but still look rough and tough whereas women have makeup on, hair done and more than perfect skin.
The ads below all represent either unrealistic expectations for women or sexually there bodies to sell. They are starting to target younger ages in ads and tell them that these traits will get them what they want in life and that is what makes them beautiful all in order to buy there products. Using photoshop and objectifying women is what they are doing to sell. Making women of color appear “more white” by making there features look more caucasian and there dark skin tone appear lighter.
Poor Beauty Standards
Blog 4
Growing up, I had to figure out what the best method of studying was for me. When it comes to just remembering things, I always had a hard time. I realized that I had to associate that word with something that it reminded me of that also contributed to its’ definition for me to not only remember it for the test but actually learn it for years. When studying for this exam, I went through each of the modules and looked over and watched what was given to help get an idea of the material first. I also read through the chapters and made flashcards for key words to look over. Ultimately, I started to incorporate those important topics into my everyday conversations in the best way I could and find ways in which the word itself helped to show its’ meaning. I thought a lot about social cognition, social perceptions and self while working with my preschoolers as well as being around my boyfriend, friends and family. I then proceeded to look over the study guide for the test two days leading up to taking it and went through each thing on it to make sure I knew each topic. This feedback will help on future tests because I tend to forget most of what I did on previous tests especially if I slightly switch up what I do depending on the class and the subject that is being taught. After the exam is over, I looked it over to see what I got wrong to learn from it. I also have a tendency to go over the questions I got right to just make sure I remember it for the future since I want to work in the psychology field.
To Be My Best
Blog 3
When looking at a connection made between music and relationships, I do agree with those who share similar music tastes traditionally have the same morals. I do not think to have a successful friendship that the music taste between the two people has to be the same, however, I feel that the ability to grow in closeness is supported when the music is the same as well as the ideals. Personally, I think it is hard when two people who are romantically involved have two totally different tastes in music and are not really willing to listen to the other. I grew up listening to country music heavily and eventually also got into pop music. My boyfriend, on the other-hand, grew up listening to 80’s music and became a big fan of pop and also rap. There were a good number of pop songs that we both knew and that helped a lot when we would go on vacations as well as create a bonding experience when we would have “concerts” together in the car. Overtime, he introduced me to his some of his favorite rap artists, where I have learned a few songs, and I introduced him to more country music, where he also knows a good number of songs. When we first met, our values were vaguely similar but have grown to be much more alike the longer we are together. My bestfriend also loves country and pop as well and we share many of the same morals. Being open-minded makes all of the difference.
My favorite song and band of all time is “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts. When I think of this song, I think of everyone who I love the most. The song is about wishing for all the best things to happen to this person and so I imagine my mom, dad, brother, grandma, my bestfriend, my dogs, the kids I nanny for and others. My grandpa passed away in April of 2021 and he was one of my bestest friends. He taught me so much and showed me even more and so when I heard the song, “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” I knew it held a special place in my heart like he did. I have always liked Dan + Shay and the country music they make and my boyfriend’s favorite artist since he was a teenager was Justin Bieber. When we started dating, we found out they made a song together as a group called “10,000 Hours” where it is about learning and loving someone for that many hours to a lifetime. It quickly became our song and we threw a 10,000 hour party at the end of January 2022 when we hit 10,000 hours of dating. Although I did not think of the song, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” to mean what it does at the age of seven, it has always been a song I think of when I think of myself. I mean that in the context of letting go and dancing! I love to dance at anytime, anyplace and I always have. The two songs, “Cleaning This Gun” and “Love Triangle” remind me of my mom and dad. In “Cleaning This Gun,” the lyrics mention how she is a daddy’s girl in her mama’s world and I have always felt that is how I fit into my family. “Love Triangle” is about a young girl who’s parents are divorced and her feelings about it. My parents divorced when I was in seventh grade and even now, although they are happier, it can be hard to think of two people who I love so much being so split.
Some Of The Ones I Love
Blog 2
When looking at what kind of student I am, I look at both my good qualities and my undesirable one, which I think already says a lot about the kind of person I am when it comes to work. Without comparing and contrasting both, a person will not be able to move forward and become a hardworking person trying to become the best version of themselves. I believe that I am a student that can put there best foot forward and go above what is asked with heart and intention behind each assignment, as long as I have the intrinsic desire and time to do so. When I have something else I am looking forward to doing, such as planning a birthday party for a friend or I am spending extra hours at work, I tend to put school on the back burner. The intention to cause stress on myself or my mom when she sees I have a missed assignment is not what I want, but her scolding and disappointed face do not compare to the harsh words I use on myself when I realize I could have done this school work, but decided to do something else. Sometimes the mean words are enough to help me stay on track and see that graduation is not too far away as long as I pass my classes and learn what I need to, but sometimes those words cause me to spiral and I have a breakdown about being a failure and never being good enough for myself or anyone else. I have worked many years to rise the confidence in myself so that I am not as rough on myself as I use to therefore aiming to use positive reinforcement to get my school work done and love myself at the same time. I have tried to figure out time and how to manage each class and each assignment better with a social life that I love. By using multiple planners, my notes app on my phone as well as eating better and finding time for healthy habits like the gym, I am able to have an equal balance in life. What I am working on the most is being able to recover when I stumble and not just saying that it is no longer worth it because coming back from this mistake is not possible. To be more confident, I try to be more gentle with the words I use on myself, optimistic but also realistic in how much time there is in a day so I can reach my goals.
When looking at my General Self-Efficacy Scale, I scored a 32 out of 40 or .80. When looking at the questions, I was able to admit where I may not be the strongest and the areas I know I can excel in. I have been raised to figure out how to solve problems and be able to prove someone wrong who tries to go ahead of me. If I set my mind in the right place and put the effort in, then I am able to accomplish anything. If my confidence levels are on the lower end, then coming up with multiple solutions can be a slight issue but if a problem comes up unexpectedly, it can be hard for me to adjust since I am not good with change or change of plans. It is something I am continuously working on and trying to learn how to be more adaptive.
What Is Not Seen Can Be The Most Important
Blog 1
Learning the process of perception and how to understand one another is really valuable when trying to help guide children through events that have happened in there life. As a child psychologist, I have to first recognize the thought process of the child in order to help them effectively handle what is going on in a healthy way. The attitude that someone has speaks volumes into how and why they react a specific way in a certain situations. To learn how they are formed and how they can change can play such a big factor into what kind of person this child I am working with will be one day. Knowing how to aim the child’s attitude in the right direction from the start or knowing how to adjust an attitude that seems already set will help prevent future mistakes. Being able to discuss the beginning of discrimination and how that impacts how we treat others will help me to see if the root of the child’s problems lie with hatred for a certain type of person. Learning how to form close relationships with people of our own age, those older and those younger will help us to learn or remember things that can lead us to having the best lives we could. Quality relationships can be hard to form and by myself learning the factors that influence why we like a person, I can form more meaningful connections as well as teaching children how to do the same.
What I hope to learn from this course is more about how a person becomes who they are and how they are influenced by those around them based on the actions of others and there own reactions to what people do to them. I hope to learn about the procedures of psychological experiments, behavior based on attitude and perception, where prejudice comes from and what it can instil into a person and how to make connections and learn from experience. The strategies I am using to learn what is being given and to be successful is to read the materials offered and to take many hand-written notes. If I take my time to understand what I am writing down and then apply it to something similar or dissimilar in my real life then I am able to remember it easier.
Optimistic Bias
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