Weekly Blog 10

This class has definitely been a great way to understand the different aspects of culture and how it relates to psychology. I have grown academically in how I take notes and read the book and process the information. My attitude towards Cross-Cultural Psychology has pretty much stayed the same, I think it’s an interesting class that will prove beneficial in my future career. I think I did well in regards to the course objectives, although it has been tough to keep up with the work load as all 3 of my other classes had heavy requirements. If I took the class again, I’d definitively take it on campus. Taking it as an online class definitely took away from the potential to know and understand more. Asking questions was definitely an option and having a professor who’s very responsive is crucial, but I think a class like this would have made a bigger impact for myself if there was the option for open dialogue as is the case with in-person classes. The skill that I gained from this course is probably just a more general understanding of culture and how to become more respectfully aware of another’s differences which will be very important in my career as it will require me to interact with many different individuals from all different walks of life and cultures.

Weekly Blog 9

The three main things that I have learned so far in this course are how this class will help in my future career and how much it directly relates, how different cultures display their emotions, and how different cultures portray males and females in advertisements. The one topic that did come up for me before was how males and females are portrayed in advertisements. This was for English 2 and the focus was more on North America, but there were definitely instances where I needed to use that prior knowledge to help me properly completely the respective assignment. I wouldn’t say that they spilled over into another assignment for this particular course, but they’re definitely relevant to each other although they can tie into assignment three since this was us analyzing a study abroad student’s blog and discussing their experiences. They certainly discussed the emotions/mannerisms of the individuals in the country visited and how males ad females were portrayed or the customs related to gender. All of this is important for my future career and will be essential to me succeeding.

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Image Credit: https://www.thecut.com/2016/06/10-extremely-precise-words-for-emotions-you-didnt-even-know-you-had.html

 

I would say that I have noticed differences in emotions for other cultures. One in particular is the German culture, as I spent a month there and had a couple of friends in high school who moved to America as teenagers. I would say that they were fairly expressive in positive situations, so happy, excited, and amused, but not as expressive as Americans. But in situations that were negative, I found it hard to really gauge their expressions. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they had zero expressions, but it wasn’t as obvious as it is with Americans, where an individual can instantly tell if someone is upset about something. It was definitely different that what I was used to experiencing, but I did not have any expectations so I cannot say whether it was the same or different. I’d say yes, that the concept of universality and cultural display rules can explain these experiences (and future ones).

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Image credit: www.collegeexpress.com

 

I received a 100% on Exam 1. I think this was because in addition to reading the chapters necessary for this exam, I also utilized the study guide provided. I looked up the pages where the information from the test would be and made sure to read over those sections and identify the answer. I don’t always retain information well,  so I definitely needed to make sure I read the chapters in advance but also needed to do a quick review session before actually taking the exam. That’s where my notes from the Exam 1 study guide came in handy since I knew exactly which sections I needed to refer to and which concepts I needed to make sure that I understood. I don’t always use this method (this is usually due to my busy work schedule and I just don’t give myself the time), but when I do I usually see positive results on exams! I definitely plan on continuing this method going forward and hopefully I have repeat results.

Weekly Blog 2

  

I come from a single parent home, my mom didn’t graduate high school (she dropped out at 16), and is a Hispanic woman of color.  All my life I was told that because of this I wasn’t going to accomplish anything. It was always “statistics say this…” and “statistics say that…” which was very hard for me growing up. I was told I either was going to drop out of high school or get pregnant, but there was no way I’d ever go to college. So being force fed this information along with just having a really rough childhood in general, was almost the greatest recipe for disaster. Almost. I won’t lie, for all of middle school and my freshman year of high school, I really didn’t have any ambition, I just existed and preferred to be away from everyone. I basically accepted what was said about me and really made it a reality. I wasn’t a bad student, but I certainly didn’t have the grades I now know I could have achieved. Thankfully, I started to learn that I am not a statistic and need to really rewire my brain and get some self-confidence and goals going! I needed to believe in myself and be proud of who I am and my upbringing, or I really was going end up like how I was told all my life.

I think my life experiences are really what pushed me to go back to school, but all the glory really goes to my brother who has been the best motivator to me. He genuinely is my best friend and even to this day we both make sure to call each other and have the “you can do it!” conversation. So for that, I decided my photo will be of myself and him! He is currently a student at UVA and will be graduating with his Bachelor’s just a couple semesters before I do! We both hope to have very successful careers and push each other daily to accomplish our goals! I think what’s important is having integrity, self-confidence, ambition and the faith to prove not just everyone else, but yourself wrong and do and be so much better. I decided to go back to school in 2015, after spending years working up the courage (I was terrified to walk into a classroom) and having a very insightful and amazing conversations with my brother. I registered for classes, took a breath, and two years later I graduated with my AA and here I am at ODU working on my Bachelor’s. It has been very surreal, but I always say I am grateful for my past because it has definitely taught me to be appreciative and how to overcome obstacles. I make it a point to try to daily acknowledge the things and people I am appreciative and grateful of and make sure I commit to the goals I set for myself.

Weekly Blog 1

Image Credit: www.thesocietypages.org

 

While this class may or may not have a direct impact on my future career, it will allow me to better understand another individual’s culture. This will also include (as indicated in the course objective) being able to interact and communicate successfully with someone from another culture. For example, my upcoming Bridal Shower is “Fiesta” themed. I was speaking to my brother and said something along the lines of, “I don’t want it to feel Mexican.” Don’t worry, I was swiftly corrected, but I clearly want to respect culture and not go too close as to encourage the stereotypes, but I do need to work on how gracefully I portray this. I want to celebrate my Hispanic/Caribbean roots respectfully (as well as eat ALL the foods I miss since I moved to VA), and a statement like what I told my brother could be mistaken as disrespectful or even offensive. This will help me with interacting with future peers from different cultures, and future patients as I’m sure in my career I will be seeing patients from many different backgrounds. I think learning research methods in regards to culture will be very important to me as well, just for the fact that I am an individual who is studying Psychology. An individual’s culture definitely has an influence on who they are as a person just as much as genetics.

I chose the above image as it relates to the Norms section of chapter 1 on page 25. One thing that has been a hot topic (in addition to many others) is women’s rights and the suppression of said rights, or the over sexualization of women. This is an important topic for me, not because I’m a woman, but because in 2018 many women are still having to fight for certain freedoms that men enjoy, such 100% control of their bodies. To me, this image shows that many women may not feel suppressed in the same way, but always come to the conclusion that our male counterparts generally dictate how women are viewed in society. I think as an individual who has made it a point to be passionate and vocal about women’s rights, it’s even more important for myself to become proactive in gaining as much knowledge about women in all cultures and the evolution of such. I hope I accomplish this and more by the end of this class!

Thank you!

Tiffani Clancy