Blog 8

Reading this article/exercise was fun! It was interesting to see the slides and think about what it is that upsets men and what upsets women. Starting there- I could come up with tons of examples of each. For women, men upset them by not communicating, not being invested emotionally in conversations and relationships, by looking at/remarking on other women’s looks, the list goes on. The way women upset men is by expecting too much of them, wanting men to “read their minds,” withholding sex, etc. All of these things, according to the article, could be described by evolutionary psychology. The ways men upset women (in my mind) can mostly be boiled down to not being emotionally available and the ways women upset men can mostly be boiled down to unaccessible expectations of the relationship. I was interested in the article and how it said there definitely is going to be sexual conflict in a relationship. As I was reading, I realized there are different definitions of what a conflict could be. It could be a physical barrier, it could be an emotional barrier, and it could be deliberate or not deliberate. I was really intrigued by the prior to consummate sexual conflicts. That seems to be true in the beginning of every relationship and I never realized it! The only thing about this article was that it somehow all tied back to evolutionary psychological approach. Some of it seems difficult to tie back to that. I would be interested to see what the teacher’s lesson was afterward.

Blog 7

In order to have adequate self-regulation, one must have emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and identify our feelings. Once we are able to bring logic and language into our emotions and experiences, we can then cognitively regulate them and learn the ways we need to improve self-regulation. For me, emotional intelligence means being aware of how I feel and why. I am always very alert to what is going on around me when I start to feel strong emotions. I am cognizant of other people’s emotions and use my emotional intelligence to deduce how to respond to emotional situations. I feel as though I have a pretty high emotional intelligence. My self-regulation can definitely use some work, because the way I regulate my emotions now is by reasoning them away. I am a very logic-based person, so I always try to find reasoning behind what I am feeling and justify them. This sometimes leaves me feeling slighted, as if I cannot experience the full range of emotions. In the video, I knew she would mention breathing techniques. Any time someone mentions meditation or yoga I always roll my eyes (lol). My first thought is always “yeah like I would have time for that!” I do know that I have to work to make that time. I have been trying to be more mindful and working toward that, but what I really loved in her video was the last suggestion of how to work on self-regulating. Detaching yourself from the feeling, acknowledging the feeling, and then formulating a plan of what to do with the feeling. That was a really cool idea because it encompasses my logical thinking in a way that works to understand the feelings and move forward instead of dismissing them. That will definitely be something I will use in my future…but I also really do want to find time to seek inner peace and calm with meditating.

Blog 6

Jean Kilbourne KILLED IT with this Ted Talk. I always knew advertisements were particularly harsh in the expectations of women’s appearances, but when she started making the connection of sexualizing children and making the threat of sexual violence against women as defining their everyday lives I was hooked. I love that she said that these photos do not cause behaviors, she mentioned that more than once to ensure the audience knew she was not insinuating that viewpoint. Instead, she said that it made these types of behaviors more acceptable and normalized to society. I have always thought of photoshop as an abused marketing tool. I understand the logic behind it but it is almost always taken too far nowadays. As a child growing up with these women-targeted ads, I developed disordered eating habits and an unhealthy image of my own body. I have more so seen the negative effects of these types of ads and never really understood how they promote the actual product. A perfect example is the ad for jeans used in the presentation when the woman was literally…not even wearing any. When Kilbourne mentioned marketing agencies are targeting ages as low as six months I was shocked. It also made me so sad to think about because I have two daughters and I know they will be subjected to the same types of ads and societal expectations. In the beginning, Kilbourne mentioned how people often say “oh I don’t pay attention to ads I just tune them out” and I really felt I would have been one of those people to say that. Having to go out of my way and find these five advertisements that fit in with this TED talk was unfortunately easier than I wished it should be.

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All of these five ads, traditional and non-traditional, coincide with what the TED talk highlighted about women in ads. The first, Unforgivable Woman, shows the battered woman as glorified. She is shown as submissive, out of control, and completely complying- all to promote a scent that encapsulates these qualities. The Gucci ad… I will be honest, what is it even promoting? But yet again, a woman, submissive, in a compromising position and dominated by a man. He has his hand on her butt and it goes alone with what Kilbourne says about not being the cause but further promoting the normalizing of objectifying women’s bodies. The American Apparel ad dismembers women’s bodies as mentioned in the TED talk. It is also in a very sexually forward and suggestive way. For a company promoting clothing, we don’t see much on her legs… The PETA ad trying to encourage people to be vegetarian is literally presenting Pamela Anderson as a piece of meat. This is definitely promoting the sexualization but also touches on the impossible beauty standard for women. No one looks like that! Even her feet are perfect. Lastly, the Kim Kardashian personal Instagram ad- she is promoting a hair and nails gummy vitamin but what do we see? A perfectly airbrushed face, a seductive expression, and perfectly positioned BOOBS. Does she actually use these vitamins and that’s why her hair is so perfect? Doubt it. These ads all further promote exactly what Jean Kilbourne was drawing attention to.

Sources: Unforgivable Woman – https://politech.pl/en/blog/controversial-perfume-advertising-campaigns-are-they-worth-using/
Gucci – https://www.thefashionlaw.com/this-is-not-art-or-fashion-it-is-objectification/
American Apparel – https://www.girltalkhq.com/women-not-objects-campaign-is-a-reminder-to-advertisers-objectification-isnt-sexy/
PETA – https://www.envmedia.org/article/opinion-people-for-the-ethical-treatment-of-women/
Kim Kardashian – https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/business/media/instagram-ads-marketing-kardashian.amp.html

Blog 5

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These three ads all have positives, negatives, and distinct marketing tactics behind them. Picture A is a credible source. As you can see from the linked page, it takes you to a .gov website and is solely meant to inform and encourage safety during the pandemic. The CDC guidelines are the highest guidelines we follow in the US when it comes to health related issues and rules. The ad has no misinformation and it is directly backed by scientific research and extensive studies that are updated constantly and consistently. This ad has clear directions, a clear motive (to inform) and comes from an in-group that we are all familiar and comfortable with. Everyone who contributes to the CDC guidelines has to have an extensive background in science and it goes through many trials before reaching our ears. Picture B is a non-credible source. This ad plays at the beginning of many YouTube videos to reach a higher audience but cannot definitively be considered credible. The people who paid for these advertisements are hoping to get people to switch to their phone company which in turn would give them more money and more of a cellular monopoly over other providers. Since the people behind this ad have a financial stake in the situation, they are more inclined to self-promote rather than be honest about their coverage or services. There is also little concrete research that sets this company (or any other cell company) apart from others in terms of who has better/faster/more reliable coverage. They are also only arguing in their own favor which makes their credibility lower. Since this ad is one-sided with no definitive substantiated research, this ad cannot be deemed credible. Picture C is an attractive source. I would venture to say at least 90% of people worldwide know who Kylie Jenner is. Since she is so popular and, to many, an ideal beauty reference, the fact that she is promoting not only *a* makeup line but *HER* makeup line makes this ad very attractive. It would seem that since most people think she is beautiful, they would be smart to take beauty recommendations from her. Personally, I have different standards of beauty (not that Kylie is not beautiful!) but I do not really see the hype in overpriced makeup. It could be the same exact product with a different, store brand name and cut the price in half. I understand those who are persuaded because of the image she produces and that a lot of young people would love to obtain the standard of beauty she sets, I just do not really see the appeal. It works well for her, obviously! She is a billionaire (maybe, Forbes says jury is out on that one), but for me, I feel as though I would be better off not breaking the bank and getting NYX or Maybelline.

Blog 4

For my first exam, I received a 98/100. I was pretty impressed with my grade considering I stress pretty hard over tests, especially in asynchronous classes. The first exam is always the hardest because I have no template of how the tests are formatted and what each professor likes to focus on. The one question I missed was actually worded in a way that I got mixed up from reading. I think for the future, I will make sure to take extra time on the areas I am hazy on. I have always struggled with independent/dependent variables and the specific scientific method, and that is the only question I missed on the exam. I do feel like my note taking and studying was beneficial- I made sure to utilize the study tools provided to get a feel of what our professor looks for, and I will say the multiple choice was really helpful. I did make sure to look over the exam review sheet the week leading up, and then I looked at it pretty intensely right before the exam. Reading back through my results, I don’t feel like I need to change the way I study too much. I felt less confident in the exam going into it than while I was taking it, but I think that’s just going to be how I am as a person.

Blog 3

Music has always been something at the forefront of my mind, I connect very strongly with music. I was in chorus for most of my childhood and I have always been eager to explore new music. After reading the article Soul Meets Body (which is a song I love), I was pretty unsurprised that music has such a strong correlation with the relationships in our lives. When I can talk to someone about the type of music I love and it lines up with theirs, I instantly feel connected. My current fiancee and I have such similar music taste, as do my closest friends. That being said, I have a wide range of music I enjoy listening to for different moods (as I am sure everyone does!) so all the people in my life don’t like the exact same music. For example, every time I hear Stay by Lisa Loeb I think of my mom. This is not because I feel the song represents her or my relationship with her, rather, it reminds me of my childhood because that is the type of music she would play as I was growing up and we each felt our own unique connection to the lyrics. When I hear Grace Kelly by Mika, I think of my best friend and living a carefree, early teenage life. Having fun and living in the moment and matching the energy of the song, even though the lyrics do not directly connect to my or her life. Another friend of mine came into my life in a really hard time when I needed someone, and the song God Gave Me You by Dave Barnes always makes me think of how much I love her and am thankful for her. Sometimes the songs I associate with people have a direct, lyrical meaning. Sometimes the vibes of songs match how specific relationships fit into my life. Obviously the people that I am close to in my life have similar values and ideals, and after reading the article and thinking about it, most of those people do have similar taste in music. There are types of music that I don’t necessarily agree with or like, and most of the people in my life feel similarly. Listening to the lyrics of songs and being able to proudly sing along means you should be able to defend what is being said. So, you wouldn’t go around singing a song that doesn’t line up with your morals and values. For example, I used to really love the band Brand New and I connected really strongly to the lyrics of their songs in a difficult time in my life, but the actions of the lead singer do not line up with what I think is right and I no longer listen to their songs. It makes sense that the type of music you enjoy lines up with what you believe in, and that those around you will have similar values and thus similar taste in music. This article was really interesting to see the direct relationship music has with those around us since music has always been so important to me!

Blog 2

As a student, I see myself as a “good” one, but at an expense. I know that my personality type is most certainly type A and I am definitely a perfectionist. What comes with that is an immense amount of personal pressure and anxiety. This unfortunately hinders me because I am a very black and white thinker when it comes to school. I have found myself with the thought of “well, if I don’t get an A, I might as well fail” quite often. I also put off assignments until the last minute because of the fear of failing even when they are quite simple assignments. I allow myself to get overwhelmed really easily, but when I apply myself and actually start whatever it is, I get more comfortable and do well. My confidence *before* the task is very low, but during and after is usually higher. I think I could get better with this by eating the frog, so to speak. I need to just jump in and start working instead of thinking of all the things that could go wrong before I start. After I took the GSE, I scored relatively high. When I take self quizzes like this (shocker!) it really stresses me out. I always overanalyze questions and immediately think of atypical situations where the answer can be situational. I really tried to honestly answer these questions and think of myself as a general student, and I scored a 3.6. Generally, I really try to do well in school and I enjoy being academically challenged, I just need to try not to worry so much about failure and remember all the ways I am succeeding and have already progressed.

Blog 1

In Social Psychology this semester, the objectives will be extremely helpful for setting the foundation of what I hope to work toward in my future career. Since I am hoping to become a couple’s/marriage/family counselor, Social Psychology will help me to examine relationships between people as well as be able to identify why people display the social behaviors they do. In order to understand how people navigate intimate relationships, both romantic and not, I must first understand how people perceive themselves and others, what criteria they use to create relationships, and how they form their relationships. All of these are outlined in the course objectives. I took this class because it directly correlates not only with my desired career path, but also with what I am extremely interested in when it comes to psychology. I love to study people and how and why they interact the way they do with others. I hope to understand more of the scientific side of these processes and really grasp the procedures social psychologists use to test hypotheses based on behaviors. I also hope to see real life examples of these scientific processes in order to make connections and retain the information. In order to make sure I am understanding and absorbing the information adequately, I will check back to the objectives and line up my assignments with the objectives to see where they fit in. I also think this site will be really helpful to organize the objectives and assignments in an accessible and distinctive way. I hope navigating gets a little easier as I go through because it seems helpful!