Top Artifact 2

The top artifact that I chose comes from module 8 which is the discussion of stereotypes. Whenever I hear the word stereotypes as a black woman I usually feel a negative connotation with it. Every race has a stereotype like how African Americans are criminal and lazy and how Japanese people are selfish and quiet. Although some of the stereotypes can be true it’s the way it is said and thought about that makes it very negative. Over the last few decades I do not believe stereotypes have changed over time. I can say this because whenever I am speaking with someone older and wiser than me I can still feel that they have placed stereotypes on certain races and do not have the will to changed their views. Of course not every single stereotype has stayed because it could be considered racist or even a hate crime to say certain things about a particular race.

As an African American woman I feel like there has been a small change in the way that we are represented in the media. Nowadays we are stereotyped as mean, lazy, non hardworking, and rude while back a few decades ago we were considered violent, criminal, and poor. There is not much of a change in those words they just have a more positive connotation. Since some people believe the stereotypes are changing I would say they believe this because it is not openly said and represented as much as it was in it’s early days. This is because people can get in trouble for saying these types of things but that does not mean they are not thinking it at all. If stereotypes were not such a big deal I feel like perceptions of races would be a lot better. 

 

Top Artifact 1

The top artifact that I chose comes from Module 5 which is about social perception. Social perception is when a person uses their judgement in order to give details about a person. Most of these perceptions are based on observation and can be used accordingly. Some people believe since it is based on self perception it is not as reliable as you would think. There are a few things that can help someone use social perception which is trust, confidence, and personal relationships. There are two main types that module five informed me about which is self-enhancement and other enhancement. Self enhancement deals with a person who will likely be put in situations where they will excel and promote positive aspects for their self-esteem. Other enhancement involves people using positive compliments to improve the self-esteem of other individuals. Both of these are great social perceptions that people use.

After completing the self-enhancement PDF I feel like I have a better understanding of why people can use judgement in social perception. One example can be when someone is getting ready for an interview and are nervous to go. As a self enhancement tactic the person could dress professionally and have a happy demeanor. An example that could go towards other enhancement is when you are put into a group of people in order to do a project. To make the group feel better you can make sure you are engaging as much as possible so that they feel you are good for the project. This top artifact really helped me learn more about social perception.