As I had hoped at the start of this course, I believe I have gained some insight or understanding about several of the course objectives. Some of that insight is that understanding other people and successfully interacting with them takes time and practice.  Most beneficial would be practice in listening and processing information before we speak or act.  Also practice in recognizing one’s own feelings and distinguishing them from the judgements we tend to assign to others would help us to form positive (or correct) attitudes that in turn would help us adopt behaviors that are appropriate for any given situation.

Because of this insight, I can’t honestly say that I have completely achieved all the course objectives. However, I can say that the course has left me with plenty to think about. I consider the course time well spent when I can recognize some of the concepts and theories (e.g., heuristics, self-regulation and emotional intelligence) in attitudes and behaviors (my own and others’) that I encounter in daily life. If I were to take this course, or a similar one, again, I would try to participate in the discussion forums and compare my observations with those of my classmates.

One skill I gained from taking this class is the practice of journaling in the blogs and assignment takeaways. It is a skill that I somehow avoided in my earlier education. However, it was a very practical and effective way to share my perceptions on how the social psychology concepts learned in the course apply to real life. I am inspired to use the same skill in many areas of life, personal and professional. I currently work in the retail industry and can utilize journaling in various ways. On a personal level, I can use a journal to plan and evaluate personal work goals. As a training or encouragement tool, I could possibly use a blog approach to share product information and training shortcuts, or company news such as budget goal status.

Of the things I have learned so far in this course, three concepts that stand out to me are heuristics, stereotyping and discrimination, and emotional intelligence. These are universal concepts that are involved in many social situations.

I first learned the term “heuristics” in a Cognitive Psychology course. In that course, the term was touched on as part of the process of retrieving information from one’s long term memory storage. In this Social Psychology course, the details about the different types of heuristics clarified the process for me.

I learned how heuristics may be involved in the second concept, stereotyping and discrimination. After writing about heuristics in the first Assignment Takeaway, it occurred to me that they may be involved more often than we think in social conflict involving perceived racism (Assignment 3 Takeaway). That is, we often respond with whatever comes to mind quickly rather than taking the time to think about a situation rationally.

The third concept, emotional intelligence, also seems to have influence on more than one area of study. Knowing one’s own emotions and feelings is important for self-regulation (Blog 7) and for personal relationships (Assignment 4 Takeaway) and social communication (Blog 8).

I find it hard to pick out specifics about ways that men upset women or ways women upset men. I think it has a lot to do with individual personalities and how those personalities react to individual situations. I have seen both genders get annoyed with the other for the same types of things such as the spending of money, raising the children, cleaning the house, driving habits, and sexual relations. Both genders have the propensity to get annoyed, and even angered, out of frustration with a situation. Based on their individual personalities, either gender may react outwardly or inwardly with verbal outbursts or emotional distance. The devil is in the details, as the saying goes.

If pressed to think of one area in which men and women may irritate each other, it may be in just that, the details. Sometimes, men get annoyed with women when they have questions pertaining to the details of decisions. Although this too can go both ways, I think women like to know the why and when and how to solve problems, not just what the result should be. Women get annoyed with men when they don’t have the patience to provide  all the answers to their questions.

I can see how the study of evolutionary psychology might shed a little light on some of the conflicts that may arise between the genders. Learning how males and females may be predisposed to react in different situations is a good starting point. However, we are all individuals. If we remember that each of us may perceive and process situational information differently, me may be able to learn to see each other’s point of view. Eventually, we may be able to learn to resolve our conflicts quickly.

I think of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as the awareness of how you are feeling at any given moment or in any situation. It is also the awareness that you may be making judgements about other people in response to those feelings. Self-regulation is how you choose (or choose not) to act or speak in relation to those feelings. I think it is fascinating that there is such a long list of words, 200 +, to describe one’s feelings. I had no idea.

In response to this revelation and to the average score on my own EQ test, I would like to improve my EQ by becoming aware of the entire list of words describing feelings. I think it would also be beneficial to remember to express those feelings in “I” statements and to remember that “You” statements are indications of judgements.

Jean Kilbourne’s video, Killing Us Softly 3 reminds me how frustrating it is to realize how far some people will go to sell things and ideas. They have no morals. We have been inundated with so many ads, for so many things, and for so long, that many of us have become oblivious to the subliminal messages.

I have seen many of the ads like the ones presented in this video that use representations of the “ideal woman” that are unrealistic to say the least. I can see how they normalize the images portrayed. I sometimes cringe at some of the clothes, or lack of, that I see some children and teenagers wearing. To be honest, I cringe at the memory of some of the clothes I used to wear as a teenager.

The ads portraying battered women are new to me, though. I am a bit surprised, but sadly, not shocked that they exist. I wonder who were the advertisers targeting with that ad and, what product were they trying to sell? What kind of person even thinks up this stuff? More important, what type of person is attuned to that type of image? Does buying the product associated with the ad embolden them to make the images part of their life?

It is encouraging when someone, like Kate Winslet, who is idealized, speaks out to say that some images of her aren’t real. Although, it would be more “real” if she had refused to be photographed in that outfit in the first place.

Advertisers are wily communicators. They know their social psychology and use it try to persuade us to buy their products. The following three advertisements show a couple of the elements of persuasion that they use, credibility and attractiveness.

The first one is for Daddy Pete’s Plant Pleaser soils. I perceived the source of this ad as credible from the statements that say they have “over 110 years of farming” experience and that they have passed down their farming traditions for generations. The ad doesn’t make any specific claims about the products but, it does lead me to believe that they are experienced farmers and know their dirt.

I did not find the same credibility in the next ad. It is a smiling baby face trying to entice us to follow PetsPlusMag on Facebook. It claims to have “fewer…bizarre memes” and “more…business intel.”  I don’t believe it for a minute. But, I admit I was drawn in by the smiling baby to read more of the ad. Cute? Yes. Ironically effective? Maybe. Credible? No.

Finally, a third ad uses physical attractiveness to send their message. It is selling Endless Summer BloomStruck Hydrangeas. The models are gorgeous plants. In addition to the tempting graphics, this company also offers plant care advice via text messages. I found this ad the most effective of the three. I could almost be persuaded that I could have a garden full of the same beautiful flowers except, that I am now aware of their strategy.

In reviewing my incorrect answers from Exam 1, and researching the correct answers, I realized that I need to pay more attention to practical examples of the theories studied by social psychologists. While I took many pages of notes, both during my initial readings and following the review outline, I focused on terms and theories. I need to remember that the goals of the research are to gain insight into common situations. I think I can improve in this area by utilizing more study periods and covering a bit less material in each session.

I remember my father turning the radio off at dinner because he said the music made him want to eat to the beat. He and my mother had similar tastes in music, just as my husband and I have similar preferences although they are different from either sets of parents. I think these preferences are influenced by the type of music popular at the time. It is interesting that my husband has preferred the same types of music (folk and classic rock) over the years. On the other hand, my taste is more eclectic. I prefer individual songs from many different genres (folk, country, classic rock, pop, classical, etc.). Sometimes, I think it has something to do with our early lives. He was raised in the same house from the time he was five until after high school. To this day, he accepts change grudgingly. My family moved every year or two up until my last year of high school. I am used to change. Despite our musical tastes, I believe both generations share similar values. I think those values were instilled when the radio was turned off.

My soundtrack:

My grandmother – Almost Heaven (John Denver)

My Mother – Amazing Grace

Marriage – Landslide (Stevie Nicks)

Soul Searching/Adventure – Southern Cross (Crosby, Stills, and Nash)

Personal Sanity – Huck’s Tune (Bob Dylan)

Life – Trip Around the Sun (Jimmy Buffet & Martina McBride)

“What kind of student am I?”

Well, I have always been a good student in terms of grades. I learned the subject at hand, passed the test, and went on to the next subject. I never seriously doubted that I could succeed. Although, in hindsight, being a student was my only “job” at the time. My cognitive resources had no real conflicting demands, and my goals were short sighted. I never looked far into the future.

Now is another story. I have more roles and responsibilities (e.g., wife, mother, employee, etc.)  I no longer have the luxury of studying, or not, as I please. I have to fit it in as time allows. While I am still confident that I can get good grades, I am more aware of the importance of what I am learning and how useful it may, or may not, be to me.  My lack of self-confidence is more in my choice of subject matter. Did I choose the best major? Will it benefit me personally and financially?

On a positive note, I am starting to see some common sense applications of some of the subject matter I have  learned in recent courses. That is giving me a bit of a confidence boost.

I found the results of the Self-efficacy survey to be interesting. My first instinct was to choose the most confident response to most of the questions. However, I backed off a bit when I remembered a time when I didn’t finish something I started. Was I unconfident about my ability to finish? Did I lose interest? Or, did I decide the project was not going to be as beneficial as I thought when I began? I will have to think about that some more.

Three of the five objectives of this course interest me the most: understanding how “people perceive and …understand others”, “how attitudes are formed and changed, and…are related to behavior”, and “the origins and effects of prejudice and discrimination.” I think these topics are the foundations for how we interact with other individuals and groups in any number of situations from personal to professional and from familial to global.

I hope to gain some insight into my own perceptions and attitudes and those of the people with which I live and work. In order to successfully meet the requirements of the course and learn all I can from it, I have taken some advice from the course syllabus and Professor Younkin’s study tips. I have added the assignment due dates to my calendar along with some major events in my work schedule. I have also taken the advice from a former professor who suggested that writing things down helps the learning process. So, I not only take notes from the reading assignment, I also write out the key words, their meanings and associations as part of my review process before taking tests. It is something I find quite helpful.