Current Events*

This week I can relate to the chapter because I happen to live with people who **(may or may not be) racist. I have heard them stereotyping a lot based on listening to talk radio and watching the news. I personally don't think that this is fair because you can't just assume that every person is bad because of someone in the same ethnic group doing something that you don't agree with.

This is not a good habit to start, in my personal opinion. It will end up hurting people around you if they hear what you are saying, and can also be dangerous if the wrong person hears you saying something bad about them.

I know that I at times have stereotyped people and I'm going to try harder to just look beneath the surface, you never know but you might like what you see.!

Chapter 16*

The attribution theory suggests how we explain someone's behavior--by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition. This process is that people attribute others' behavior either to their internal dispositions or to their external situations.

The fundamental attribution error is the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition. This means that people automatically assume that the "person" in the situation has more of an effect on what's happening, or on the outcome than the actual "situation" itself.

Stereotypes are a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people. The most common stereotype would have to be about racial or ethnic groups. People often assume that certain groups of people act a certain way based on things they may have heard. If this is true, then people may also stereotype our race too. There have been plenty of "white" people who have committed crimes that are very drastic and unforgiving.

Illusionary correlations are related to stereotyping because you are grouping people together based on categories that you may or may not know that much about. This could also be negative or positive. It's like saying that all older men with a white beard are "Santa Clause." We all know that this isn't true, but this could just be the way you think about it. this relates to stereotyping becasue you are also grouping people together, but you think that you know more about it than you actually do.

Our Minds Are Black Boxes--Even to Ourselves. *Summary

This article was about whether people have clear insight to how their own minds work. For example a psychologist did an experiment where 128 people were asked to judge someone called "Jill." They were given some arrangement of facts about her such as: She has an attractive appearance, her academic credentials are good, etc. Then the participants were asked to rate her on a scale of 1-7 from these facts based on how much sympathy she would show towards others, if they liked her, and how flexible she was in solving problems.

Most of the participants misjudged Jill and thought that if she was "good looking" more people would be sympathetic to her, but it actually would have the opposite affect. They also thought that because she was in a car accident, it would make her more likable, when it actually made her less.

This proves that people are generally wrong in their "insight" and predicting what factors will effect someone's personality. Most people are actually wrong about themselves also because they know what they like, but often don't know who we're attracted to, how we solve problems, and where our ideas come from.

I think this article was okay, but the tests do seem a little shaky, so I wouldn't recommend this article.

Current Events. *12-4-09

This week I can relate to the chapter a little more than usual. This is because I had a fight with my boyfriend this week, and I found that both of us were Rationalizing to prove each other wrong. I never realized that by doing this, we are actually enabling a defense mechanism. Rationalization is when we unconsciously generate self-justifying explanations to hide from ourselves and the real reasons for our actions.

It turns out that when you rationalize, you aren't really getting to the true point of the problem, and it wasn't helping either of us. Once we realized that we were just wasting time fighting, we realized that all of the "rationalizing" we were doing, ended up just basically being excuses. Personally I think this could be one of the most common defense mechanisms, because I know that everyone at one point or another has made an excuse for why they do/ did something. I'm not saying that it's right, (because it's not really helping anything anyways) but it's what happens. I think it's easier just to make an excuse than to figure out the real reason why something is happening. But trust me, in the end, getting to the point right away is definitely the way to go!

Chapter 13*

I think that there are many different influences to my personality. One would have to be my family. Over the years I've obviously been around them a lot and have picked up on the things they do (both good and bad). This happens at a young age, when everything you see becomes just about everything you do. It's almost like looking in a mirror, except instead of seeing yourself, you see your family. This continues until you are old enough to interpret things your own way and decide what your values are and the kind of person that you want to be.
Another influence on my personality is God or religion. This is a huge influence because it teaches morals, and can help you find answers when there's no one else that can help you. Although religion is a controversial issue, for me it is a basic guideline to how a person should act. I don't think that you have to follow the bible to an exact T, but it helps you get an idea of the right way to go in life.
Friends and experiences also helped to shape my personality. My friends have helped me experience different things, which have taught me some valuable lessons along the way. Because of these experiences I have started to follow a certain way of living, which in turns makes a person and their (personality).

I think the personality theories that make the most sense are Maslow's and Rogers. Maslow's says that if our physiological needs are met, we become concerned with personal safety; if we achieve a sense of security, we then seek to love, to be loved, and to love ourselves; with our love needs satisfied, we seek self-esteem. Having achieved self-esteem, we ultimately seek self-actualization or the process of fulfilling our potential. This makes a lot of sense to me because this describes people basically in a nut shell. Once you conquer one stage of life (finding love) you then move on to another. It's almost as if we are never just satisfied with what we have, because we always want more.
Rogers theory states that people are basically good and are endowed with self-actualizing tendencies. Unless thwarted by an environment that inhibits growth, each of us is like an acorn, primed for growth and fulfillment. Growth promoting climate requires three conditions: genuineness, acceptance, and empathy. I agree with this because when you are born, you are basically a pure soul. Until you are thrown out into the "real world" you think that things are good and you're happy with your life. But once you come to reality, you see things as they actually are, which then changes your perspectives, and turns you into the person you decide to become.

I think my defense mechanisms are mostly rationalization and projection. I think that I rationalize a lot, just to make sense of things, and to try to explain why they are happening. I know that I have also used projection as a defense mechanism because there have been times when I thought someone didn't like me, and it turned out that I just didn't like something about them.

The video I found the most helpful was the Moral Psychology: Trait Perspective video. I thought this was helpful because it talked a lot about how different people view events and actions/ objects differently. This is interesting, mostly because I never realized that it's actually TRUE. It's weird to think that by seeing how you react to something can tell whether you are a Republican or Democrat, I didn't know that your reactions reflected your political views!

Current Events. *11-20-09

This week the chapter relates pretty well to my life. I say this because for the last two weeks I have been hearing different viewpoints and opinions and trying to decide what the correct answer is for all of them.

This may not sound very hard, but it's really hard to make a decision without having some biased opinion based on something that you have experienced before, or that you "think" you know the answer to. Trying to find a clear perspective on a problem is difficult, but not impossible.
I think the best way to accomplish this is to look at the problem from a fresh perspective. This is basically like stepping out of your comfort zone of what you think is right, and looking at things in a whole new way. This allows you to both see things that you might not have seen before, and realize that your way is not always the only way.

Once you can accomplish this (it's harder than it sounds) you'll find that hearing different opinions is a lot easier because you are more open to them. This new approach can lead you in the right direction in your search for the answer. If you don't believe me, try it yourself.

Chapter 9*

I thought it was really interesting to read about the different ways of thinking and what effects our personal opinions can have on our "search" for answers.

One type of thinking is called availability heuristic. This operates when we base our judgments on how mentally available information is. This means that when faced with a problem, our search for the answer comes from how easily the answer comes to our minds and the amount of effort it takes. Basically this means that if we have a question and the answer pops into your head right away, that's the answer you go with. This can be bad because just because you think it's right because it was able to come into your head so quickly, doesn't mean that it is.

A second type of thinking is called confirmation bias. This is a tendency to search for information that confirms your own perspectives. This can be bad because as we know, everyone's perspectives don't always have the same meaning. An example of this is trying to find the pattern in a set of numbers such as (2-4-6-8). Any person would say the pattern is that the numbers are increasing by 2 each time. Although that is also right, it's not the exact pattern. The answer really is: Any set of increasing numbers. We all thought it was right because our own perspective tells us what we think that answer is, and the facts agree, so our answer must be right.. Right? Wrong.

One last thing that I found interesting was the different types of "mind sets" that people have. For example fixation is an inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective. This happens when you incorrectly solve a problem, and are then faced with a struggle of how to reapproach it. This can make it hard to see things "outside of the box."

Another example would be overconfidence. This is a tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments. Overconfidence can be both a good and bad thing. A good example of this that I read from the book is when a person has stocks and decides to sell them before the market gets bad or the business crashes, and a stock broker decides that it is a good time to buy the stocks because they are cheap and the future of the company looks promising. Both people are confident in their decisions, but only one person can be right. Overconfidence can lead you down the wrong path from making too many dangerous or "in the moment" decisions, but it is common that people who are overconfident are more successful, confident, and making difficult decisions is easier for them.

The Chameleon Effect. *Summary.

This article was about the so called "chameleon effect" which is when one person mimicks another. I should say this could also happen with a group of people. A study was taken to test whether or not people who mimicked others were more likely to be "liked" by the other person. In this study one person was talking to a group of people about different topics and vary there manerisms. This could involve more smiling, wagging your foot, or touching your face etc. The study turned out that more people copied this person (who they just met) and did similar manerisms.

Another study was taken where one person was again talking to a group of people, but this time copied their manerisms. After the conversation, the 78 people were asked to rate how much they liked the person on a scale of 1-9 on smoothness and interaction. For people whose body language and manerisms had been copied, their rating was closer to 7 in both categories. For the people who were not copied, their rating was closer to 6.

I don't think this is a very valid way to experiment about whether copying another person helps make them like you or not. I say this because in general some people might think you're just plain weird if your copying what they do, and others could like the attention. So I think that the results could also depend on different people's personalities.

The Truth About Self-Deception. *Summary.

This article is about how people can basically "lie" to themselves through self deception. A group of psychologists did a study where participants had to put their arms in really cold water for as long as they could *most only managed about 30 or 40 seconds. After this they got a lecture about how there are two different types of hearts 1.) A heart that is poorer in health has a shorter life expectancy. and 2.) A heart that is better in health has a longer life expectancy.

The psychologists also told the people that people with heart type #2 were able to hold their arms in the cold water for a longer amount of time. (Of course all of the facts about the two types of hearts and length of holding your arms under water was a lie to deceive the participants). The participants were then subject to holding their arms under water to see if their results changed. 38 of the participants were able to hold their arms under for a longer amount of time then the first time they tried it. 29 of the 38 people denied that they had held their arms under longer on purpose and 9 confessed.. well sort of.

This just goes to show with the right amount of "crap" from other people, we can trick ourselves into thinking just about anything is true. So I have to say, be careful what you listen to! Overall I don't think this article was really very factual, because how much can you honestly learn from people sticking their arms in water.?

Memory Blog*

I think that memory is one of the most valuable things that a person can have. I say this because, without a memory who are we? Every experience, emotion, and lesson is stored in our memories. Our experiences are part of what makes up what kind of person we are. They teach of different values learned throughout life, that help us to develop into the kind of person we are and (aspire) to be. Emotions are also stored in our memories because over time, different events have triggered different emotions. Emotions can be anything from happiness at the birth of a new child, mourning at the death of a loved one, love as you experience a relationship for the first time, and sadness from a fight with a good friend. These different emotions help you build the foundation of your future relationships with people and affect how you interact with others.
Basically I feel that without a memory, you are just a vegetable: Living, but not really "living."

If I did not have a memory I would be extremely sad. I can say that now because I do have a memory, and I know what it is like to have different emotions and to be able to react to things that I am familiar with. I think that if I never had a memory I wouldn't really know the difference. You would never know what you are missing out on, but I personally would easily become frustrated with not being able to remember even the simplest things, like the members of my family.

Clive is basically a person of the moment. By this I mean that he can pretty much form to anything he wants to be at the moment. He can't remember anything that has happened, and therefore can't form his own identity. He will pretty much just become what people tell him to be, and then 20 seconds later... He will become someone else all over again. I feel bad for Clive for all of the reasons that I have already mentioned, and I wish there was a way that we could help him to remember. :(

This has definitely made me think about how memory works more now. It's kind of one of those things that you never think about and just take for granted. You never know what it would be like to forget everyone you know and all of the different experiences that you have had. It would be extremely depressing for me. I see my own memories as far more valuable now. I say this because thinking about not having any memories at all would just be a terrible lifestyle.

I would say that I trust most of my memories, although some are a little foggy. Most of the ones that I'm not 100% about are the ones from my early childhood. I can remember some basic things like where I went to school and where I lived. I can't really remember the names of my old friends at all. It just so happens that about 3 or 4 years ago I was in Merrill (my hometown) at the eye doctor's and a girl who was apparently my "best friend" in head start noticed me and began talking to me. It was really weird because I didn't remember her at all whereas she remembered everything about me. She seemed so happy to be reunited with me, but I was so lost. I felt bad but at the same time I felt extremely weirded out that this girl and her mom are just sitting next to me staring at me.

One thing that I learned in this chapter was about the different types of conditioning and how they are useful. I think that classical conditioning is very interesting because it really is how things work. For example if an infant puts there finger in the flame of a candle, they will eventually feel the heat and pull their hand away. The next time they are by a flame they might put their finger near it again, but once they start to feel the heat a memory of how it felt and the pain that was along with it will trigger in their brain and they will pull their hand away.

Memory Exercises.

For the memory exercises we had to play 5 different games. The games were:
1.) Recognition
2.) Mnemonicizer (The mnemomic Device Device)
3.) Human Memory: Recall
4.) Interference
5.) Short Term Memory: Encoding and Rehearsal


1.) Some of the concepts that I learned about in this chapter kind of relate when you are playing the games. This is because you learn about different types of conditioning and how it is used to teach a lesson to someone. The games try to show how your memory works, both it's faults and good aspects. I think that these memory exercises could be an example of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. I would say that this relates because the more you are challenged to remember things, the more you try. If you are not expected to remember things, then you don't even bother trying to remember them.

2.) This may apply to everyday life in the way that we forget a lot of the things that we learn right after we hear them. I think this is because we are paying attention: but not fully. We see things that are happening just to see them. They aren't actually sticking in our heads, which in turn causes us to forget them. This relates to me in studying for school in two ways. One is that I know that when I read stuff it usually doesn't stick in my head the first time. I have to re-read it a couple of times to make sure that I know what is going on. Another way is that this could help me because for example if I have a text for my class right after lunch (which I actually do today.. how ironic) I know that if I study the topic right before I go to take my test, it is more likely to stick in my head. This is a personal preferance, because for some people this "last minute cramming" as it could be called, doesn't work for everyone. I think when you are giving information to other people, you should make sure that you know exactly what you are talking about. This is because if you are just guessing at something and you don't actually know the right answer, then you are giving them the wrong answer also. If you need to tell someone some information.. Make sure you know the facts first!!

Current Events. 11-06-09*

This chapter talks about learning which is pretty current in my life right now. I know that that is a pretty broad generalization, considering we never stop learning, but I mean sometimes you feel like whoa! I really learned a lot this week!

For me learning is more about patience that anything. My little brother, Jean-luc, is really annoying. I know that siblings usually say that about each other, so I guess it's not really that bad. But for me it's really hard to be patient sometimes with my brother because he has ADHD. Not that this is bad or I consider him a leper or anything, it's more like he uses that as an excuse to act up. I believe this happens because my parents have always let him get away with stuff, "because of his ADHD" just so they can avoid really having to deal with it. They try to use techniques such as taking things away from him when he is bad, but he ends up getting it back in 20 minutes anyways. I think that if they would have blamed his actions more on him just being a kid and punished him (like normal parents) instead of on his ADHD then things might be better.

I'm not just being mean either here! When he is with me and it's just us or all of my siblings, he acts perfectly fine. Whenever my parents come around: BOOM!! instant bad kid. I think he just knows that he can get away with things so that's why he does it.

I just wanted to say that because I know that if I ever have kids (which I don't want to) I would be strict with them. Not too strict as in to make them become afraid of me, but strict enough so that they understand and follow the rules that I make. :)

Chapter 7*

In this chapter I thought that the facts about positive and negative punishment were really interesting. A study says that spanking a child can result in more aggression later on in the child. If you are swift and sturdy in your punishment, than it is easier to restrain unwanted behavior. An example of a positive punishment could be spanking or getting a parking ticket. Negative examples of punishment are time out from privileges (taking the computer away, or allowing no friends to come over) or taking away your child's license.

Classical Conditioning is a type of conditioning where a person comes to realize in their brain whether something is good or bad, based on something that has happened repeatedly. Different responses come from different stimuli and therefore produce a different result. An example of this could be like when a child is continuously abused when they are little, every time a person raises their voice or raises their hand, they automatically go into defense mode, assuming that they are going to get hit. This happens because in their mind, they are used to being hit and screamed and so whenever something that associates the behavior that they are used to happens, their brain singles a defense mode.

I have been affected by conditioning in a pretty powerful way. I usually babysit for my neighbor who I have known now for about four years. Both her and her husband are foster parents and have also adopted three children and have had one of their own. Christina is an AODA counselor, and she frequently tells me about stories that she's heard about different child and their "situations." Every time I hear one of these stories, it almost makes me want to cry. These young children who are in foster care range anywhere from newborn to 17 years old. It's sad to hear their stories about what they've been through at such a young age. It affects me because something just clicks in my head that's like, "I would NEVER want to put a child through something like that.!" It really just makes me reflect on my life and the kind of person that I want to be.

Why Do People Bother Voting. *Summary.

I read this article and personally I didn't really agree with it.
It talks about how people seem to vote because they think that it's what "other people" are doing too. They also think that by casting their vote for a candidate, it means that others are doing the same thing. But in actuality there are a lot of people that are eligable to vote, that don't.

In my Government Class we were learning about the Ellectoral College, which is basically broken down into how we vote for the president, but then our State Reps. take our votes and are then supposed to vote accordingly to what we want. The problem with this is that there are no actual rules or laws saying that the Reps. have to vote in favor of what the people want, but it's kind of a given. So it really makes me wonder why the people even vote at all? If our Reps might vote in a different direction, and we're putting all of our faith in them, then it could all be for nothing.

Although that doesn't completely go along with this article, it's interesting to think about. I mostly think that people vote (whether it matters or not) mainly just to feel like their opinions matter (when they might not).
I would suggest not wasting your time on this article though!

Current Events *10-30-09

This week for me has been almost alike to the beginning of the chapter. Not in a literal sense.. But more in the way that I am being tricked by things that aren't really there.
For example having fights with friends and boyfriends over things that aren't really happening, or more or less, have happened in a different way than we both think. I say this because when two people fight it's almost like an illusion.
Fights usually happen because of something someone did or said. And I don't know about you but most of the time for me, after the fight is over, I find out what was REALLY going on (which is usually different than what I thought.)

In a more broader sense I can relate to the chapter's part about vision. I have contacts and I am farsighted and it was pretty interesting to actually read more about the different parts of the eye and what causes you to see and perceive certain things. Overall there isn't really too much to relate to in this chapter.. But it did help my sense of trying to see things as they actually are.. And not just how I "see" them.

I hope that made sense..! Have a good week everyone!

Chapter 6*

I thought that the chapter this week was pretty interesting. I read a little fact that a frog has receptor cells in their eyes, which only respond to small, dark moving objects. So a frog can be sitting in a big bucket full of still flies, and die of starvation, having never realized it. I thought this was interesting because I didn't know that their eyes just responded to different movements and shades of color.

This goes hand in hand with the chapter because it talks a lot about different perceptions you get from you eyes. It also talks about how you see things differently based on the way you look at it. This is not only true in the actual "looking" at something sense, but also in a more hidden sense.

This week we did a lot of activities with optical illusions and different eye tricks. These are interesting to experience because they make you take things into a whole new perspective. This happens because things you usually think are happening or that you are seeing, are not really there.

I also thought it was interesting to learn about the different tastes that people prefer. Just like if you put a sour taste on a baby's mouth, they will have to same facial expressions as an adult. Taste is a chemical sense and it is reacted by little buds on your tongue (200 or more) each containing a pore that catches food particles. There are some receptors that respond more to sour foods than sweet foods, and more to hot foods than cold foods. That is because for every different taste that you experience provides a new reaction.

I liked reading this chapter because I learned a lot more about just the "perception and sensation" aspects of our lives all together.

Illusions

The eight different illusions I went to were:
1. Stepping Feet
2. Motion Induced Blindness
3. Snake Illusion ad lib
4. Pinna-Brelstaff Illusion
5. Motion Aftereffect (Waterfall Illusion)
6. Spiral Aftereffect
7. Rogets Palisade Illusion
8. Stroboscopic Artefacts

These tutorials were really interesting to look at. Mainly because they make you think more about what is really happening. I think the big picture from "optical illusions" is that people see things that aren't really there. For example in Stepping Feet, which is the first illusion I looked at, there were two parallel bars that moved across a screen with a lined back round. When you are looking at the bars, it seems like they are uneven and moving at different speeds, when really they stay parallel the whole time. It's really interesting once you know what is actually happening compared to what you think is happening.

It really surprised me how much our eyes play tricks on us. I knew that this happens, because i've heard about optical illusions and I have seen them performed before by magicians without ever actually knowing what happened. At least with these illusions you were able to sense the illusion and then afterwards you were able to figure out why you saw a certain thing.

I wouldn't these illusions made me "change" my opinion of the world, but it does make you take a look at things more closely. I know at least for me that is true. After looking at the illusions I realized how much I wasn't paying attention to what was REALLY going on. For me that's important because you should know what is going on around you without being tricked by it. A lot of people see the world without ever really "seeing" it. Instead of focusing on things like how the world smells in the morning, or how pretty the sunset is tonight, we focus on what we have to do.. Such as getting to the football game before it's dark, or getting to work on time in order to maintain your job.

These illusions could have an effect on me because it really makes me want to pay closer attention to details in whatever is happening around me. For me this is really something I wish to accomplish because a lot of times I find myself missing details that are obvious to almost everyone else. Hopefully I will be able to use the knowledge I got today to allow me to focus in on things more and notice not just the big things, but all of the little things too.

How to make people believe in Telepathy *summary.

I read this article and it was about how 1/3 of Americans believe in some sort of ESP. The study says that people most likely believe in these "super natural" powers because they are looking for an explanation for all of the weird and random things that happen and cannot be explained.

In a study there were two people: the "sender and the receiver." The sender then telepathically "sent" a message to the receiver who was asked to then say whether they got the "vibes" or not. The study results showed that the people were wrong in their guesses most of the time but their belief for telepathy did become stronger.

So in the end ESP wasn't proven to be true, but in certain situations it was believed to be true by people influenced by the idea. It does make sense to me that people would believe in "ESP" because there are a lot of things that can't be explained, and this could help people get a sort of closure for what is happening.

Chapter 5*

In this chapter I found a lot of the information to be really interesting. One part was Kohlberg's stages of Moral Development that go along with different ages in your life.

The first is preconventional morality: this is before age 9 when most children have a preconventional morality of self-interest: They obey either to avoid punishment or to gain concrete rewards.
*For example this is like cleaning your room because you know you will get a bag of candy if you do.
The second is conventional morality: this stage is early adolescence, morality usually evolves to a more conventional level that cares for others and upholds laws and social rules simply because they are the laws and rules.
*For example this is like a new driver not speeding because they know it could result in a ticket.
The third is postconventional morality: this is a stage where some develop the abstract reasoning of formal operational thought. This affirms people's agreed-upon rights or follows what one personally perceives as basic ethical principles.
*For example this could involve something such as a court case where there may be a law against prosecuting someone for something, although everyone (or some) know that it is the right thing to do.

I thought that these ideas were really interesting because they pretty much describe people down to a tee. When you are young, you do things because you know that is what "mommy or daddy" said you should do. When you are a teenager you do the right thing because you have realized that trouble with the law comes for those who don't follow the rules. When you are an adult you gain more of a personal opinion and you don't necessarily have to agree with the law if it goes against what you think is right. This does not mean that you can break the law because you don't agree with it, but it does give you the freedom to have your own opinion or possibly fight the law in court if you strongly disagree with it.

Another thing that I found interesting was Erikson's stages of psychosocial develepment. He believed that every stage of life has its own psychosocial task, like a crisis that need resolution.

Infancy to 1 year: Trust vs. mistrust
(When needs are met, infants develop a sense of trust)
1-2 years: Autonomy vs. shame
(If toddlers don't do things for themselves, they doubt their ability)
3-5 years: Initiative vs. guilt
(Learning to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or a sense of guilt comes about)
6-puberty: Competence vs. inferiority
(Learning to apply yourself or feel inferior for not doing so)
teen years-20s: Identity vs. role confusion
(Testing roles to form a single identity, or otherwise becoming confused about"who you are")
20s-early 40s: Intimacy vs. isolation
(Forming close relationships in the search for love, or otherwise feeling isolated and alone)
40s-60s: Generativity vs. stagnation
(Sense of contributing to the world through family or work, otherwise feeling a lack of purpose)
late 60s and up: Integrity vs. despair
(Reflecting on your life and either being satisfied or feeling a sense of failure)

All these things are interesting to reflect on because they tell a lot about the different stages of life and what people are aiming to accomplish at different points.

This goes along with another point that I found pretty interesting. Forming your own identity. Most kids form into a personality that is closely related to their friends. Your peers and social groups shape who you are by the sharing of ideas and the experiences you share.

So who are you? This chapter really made me think more closely about the different aspects of your life and all the factors that go into it. So make a positive change if who you are is not who yo really want to be. :)

Current Events*10-22-09

This week relating to the chapter was caught my interest more than it related to me. This is because most of the chapter is about developing through the years, which is hard for me to relate to currently.

I can say that I related in the fact that I am only able to remember back to a certain point in my life. I mostly can remember from 2nd grade pretty accurately and a little bit before that. I remember a lot of small things like going for four wheeler rides, and my brother breaking his ankle on the dirt bike... But I don't remember all the little details of my childhood as I'm sure no one does. This relates because now I can probably tell you almost every detail of my life for the past about 7 years.

Also relating to the chapter is that my great grandma ended up dying from Alzheimer disease. Like the book says, this disease basically strips you of your memory slowly. As hard as this must have been for my grandma, it was also hard for my whole family watching her memory slowing drift away right before us. It even got so bad that we eventually had to put her in a nursing home so they could take better care of her. When she died it was one of the most sad events in my family in a long time, so this disease takes its toll on everyone.

I can also talk about the ages that children are moving from adolescence to adulthood. My older brother moved out when he was 18 and moved in with some of his friends for awhile. He is now living with us again. He doesn't have to pay rent, pay for food, clean, or worrying about anything. I think he took this route as an escape from dealing with the real challenges of adulthood. He told me that it's hard to live on your own because you have to pay for everything yourself and that's pretty much where all of your money goes.

I guess you could say that my "week" doesn't really relate to the chapter, but overall my life does pretty well.

Current Events *10-16-09

This week for me has been pretty uneventful. Relating to the chapter, I have noticed a lot more differences between myself and my parents that I have never thought about before.

For example: I am a lot like my mother in a lot of ways, such as how we are both stubborn, but at the same time we can be very passionate about many things. I'm not really sure if being stubborn is a "genetic" trait.. But I definitely am like my mom in that way.
Like my dad I take a lot of pride in the things I do and trying to do them correctly and completely. Like everyone, there are times when things I do are not always perfect or up to perfect standards, but overall I try pretty hard.

To me genetics that are inherited from our parents are more like the structure of our individuality. I think this because your genetics make you who you are pertaining to your different traits such as eye color, hair color, ect. After you get over the genetic part of yourself, there is a lot more to deal with. By this I mean that you become your own person based on your experiences outside of your home, more than things that happen in your home.
For example I know that my personality reflects about 10% of my parents and about 90% of my friends/ others. This is because I am more comfortable around my friends because they share a lot of the same experiences with me, and are also around me on a more personal level.

Although there are some kids who are close to their parents, not all are like that. I know a lot of people who are loud and outgoing at school (around friends) and more quiet and reserved at home (around family). This is why I think my theory makes sense.

Overall I tried to be a pretty well-rounded person. By this I mean taking a lot of values that I have learned as a base from my parents, and applying it to my everyday life where more of my personality comes out around my friends.

How Rewards Can Backfire and Reduce Motivation. *Summary

This was probably one of the most interesting articles that I have read on Psyblog so far!

In this article a group of psychologists got a group of 51 preschool children who liked draw and did the "reward experiment" on them. In this experiment the children were divided into three groups: Group1: the children were told about a reward beforehand and then told to draw a picture. Group 2: the children were not told about a reward beforehand but were given a "surprise" reward after they were done drawing. Group 3: the children were not told about a reward or given a reward after they were done drawing.

The results of this experiment ended up turning in to the children who were told about a reward beforehand now always expected a reward, and found less fun in just drawing just to draw. The children who received a surprise reward were somewhat less likely to continue drawing (now hoping for a reward), and the children who had not been told/ given a reward continued drawing about the same amount.

This may seem confusing, but it actually makes a lot of sense. What happens is once someone is subjected to getting a reward for something, they find the action to be less fulfilling. This can be related to things that children may not like doing such as getting a reward for finishing all of their vegetables, doing all of their homework, cleaning their room, ect. This is when getting a reward comes in to play when you are doing something that you may not want to do, but you have to do anyways.
This concept also affects adults: Just like going to work to make money (the reward) but the job becomes tedious and tiresome. If you liked to paint just for fun and were discovered and then paid for your talent, the fun turns into work aka: something you HAVE to do rather than want to do.

To me this concept makes a lot of sense. This is something that I never really thought about before, but once you realize it.. It's kind of like a Eureka! moment... At least that's how it was for me! I hope you can see the sense in this too!

Chapter 4*

This chapter was pretty interesting to read because I learned about different interactions between males and females relating to sexual attitudes and different preferences. I also thought it was interesting to read about the different factors contributing to twins and their similarities and differences. Another thing I found interesting was the part about adoption and how much adopted children inherit there traits from their adoptive parents.

I thought it was interesting to read about how males are more likely to have casual sex with one or more women at the same time and be okay with it. This was more interesting than surprising to me. This is because I had an idea that males had less of a problem with committing to someone than females, but I didn't know that it was actually a fact. It's also interesting to know that men are more likely than women to get jealous over their partners having sexual relations with someone other than them.

It was very interesting to learn about the different twin traits because it's something that I have never really thought about before. My favorite part was to read about how twins can be separated at birth (without any knowledge of each other) and still turn out strangely similar. Right down to the name of their wives.. I just think it's bizarre that things like that can happen. This is a result of shared genes and the way your genes come into interaction with the environment. Your experiences shape who you are, but you still have the basic foundation of yourself which comes right back down to one thing: Genes!

The reason that the adoption section was interesting to me is because I've been around the "situation" before. My dad is adopted and we have always wondered how different things would have turned out if he had been raised by his biological parents. For one: I probably wouldn't be alive. This is because with different parents, there are always different situations and different experiences. For another, I am the only one in my family with red hair. If my dad was not adopted ( and I still had been born) then we would possibly know where this "odd" trait came from. This is odd because on both sides of my family I am the only one with red hair and as far back as we look, everyone has had either blonde or brown hair. This is interesting because in the book it says that genetic traits are inherited from biological parents, but different parents provide different values and experiences for their children.

I liked this chapter because it was very informative about a lot of popular topics that the typical person doesn't know a lot about. I like to think that I have a better understanding of why people are the way they are and how different factors can affect the way you turn out. Weird, but cool.

Chapter 3*

One thing that I learned in this chapter was the different facts about consciousness. This made me think about the fact that the more comfortable you become with something, the less you pay attention to it, which then allows you to focus on other things around you that you may have missed before. But along with noticing new things comes almost a complete absentmindedness. This happens because when something that you do every day i.e. driving to school becomes a habit, you don't think necessarily about the steps in getting there. It's just a natural habit to turn on your turn signal at the right road and all of a sudden realize that you have no idea where you are although you drive that way every single day.

Something I found interesting or surprising was the circadian rhythm. It's interesting to think that your body runs on your own internal 24-hour cycle. I mean it's common sense to know that your body in continuously running (heart, internal organs..) But to think that it has it's own biological clock is interesting. This clock keeps track of all of the "happenings" going on inside you. Such as when a woman reaches a certain age where having children could start becoming a risk they say that her biological clock is "ticking." This clock also keeps your body in a rough synchronization and also changes your body temperature. For example: Our body temp. rises as morning approaches, peaks during the day, dips for a time in the early afternoon (such as when you take a nap), and then begins to drop again before you go to sleep. This also effects how when you get older you might have a tendency not to stay up as late and to wake up earlier in the morning.

In this chapter I agree with a lot of the different facts talking about drugs. I can say this because I've experienced a lot of the effects with having two brothers who used to use drugs. I mostly agree with drug tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. Drug tolerance is when you brain adapts to the chemistry offset by the drug which then causes your body to need larger and larger doses to get the same affect.
Withdrawal symptoms are what someone might face if they are a rabid user and then decide to/ are forced to quit using. Withdrawal is side effects due to the drug's absence and can be things such as: Physical pain, intense cravings, and a physical dependence for the missing drug.

Overall I thought this chapter had a lot of interesting information and a lot of stuff that really made me think about things more closely.

Current Events. *10-8-09

This week has been pretty boring for me to say the least. Nothing has really happened and the weather outside seems to agree with the whole "boring and cold" idea. The only actual event worth recalling is Monday morning when I was about to leave for school and the battery on my car was dead! Greeat.. That's what I remember thinking.. For some people they could just call their parents and have them pick them up but mine were gone to work and weren't going to be home until late at night.

So needless to say I ended up just staying home because everyone that lives close to me was at school already and my neighbors and parents were at work! Lucky me!

Relating to this chapter I have only had one dream since I started my sleep log. This dream was one of the most random dreams I had ever had. It was about an African American soldier giving me a tour because we were lost from the rest of our group. We were all alone in this random room and we were just walking around. We eventually found our way back to our group and were all reunited.

This was really random because I don't remember thinking about any soldiers/ tours or even less likely a combination of both before I laid down to go to sleep that night. This is why I wonder whether or not our dreams are really related to anything that actually happens to us? I don't think that in the future I will be getting a tour from a soldier, but I guess you never know what the future holds. I think this is really interesting because I have had dreams relating to my life before, but not all of the time.

So are our dreams related to things that have happened/ will happen to us? Maybe they really are a foreshadow of our future.. But how is that so with dreams with things like monsters and vampires in them? This may be a question that is never fully answered or understood.

7 Sins of Memory. *Summary

This article talked about how our memories are very fallible. Basically what this means is that as soon as an event happens and we place it in our minds, we almost automatically switch some of the details. These details can be anything from a word you switch around or a name you forget. They can be small, but initially they are something that we forgot. This is why when you remember an even that occured it's called a rumor.. But is it not an exact replica of the actual event.

These memory "slips" are classified into seven different categories: transcience, absent-mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias and persistance. But although our memories falter, it's better than having no memory at all. Such as people with severe amnesia who can't remember their own names or preform simple tasks.

If you ask me I would take a faltering memory over a total loss of memory any day of the week! What about you?

Are You a Liar? *Summary.

After reading this article I realized something that I never really thought about before. That most people lie, just to be polite. This may sound crazy but it actually makes a lot of sense. A "socially polite" lie for example would be like when you ask someone how they are doing and they reply fine when they actually feel the exact opposite of fine.

This article reported that most of the white lies people produce come from lying about emotions to be accepted by others and to narrow the already awkward social gap between people who don't really know each other all that well. In a group test that was conducted people were admitting to lying about 3 times in 10 minutes. This mostly happened so that the person listening seemed to have an idea what was going on and also to impress the person who is talking to you. This can happen when you meet someone new and happen to agree with something they say even though you-- A.) weren't even listening. B.) could care less about what they were talking about. C.) You're just trying to be polite.

So although lying is said to be sinful and immoral.. Think of how much it can clear up our already cluttered social lives. Imagine if every person you talked to complained about all of their problems. That would be extremely overwhelming in my personal opinion.

Are you someone who lies in a conversation just to be polite? If so, then you too are a liar! In some ways we all are.. think about it!

Current Events. 10-2-09*

This week has been kind of a let down for me if i'm being honest. The reason I say this is because i've been sick all week. It's been interesting to learn about our body and all of it's different functions when you're trying to figure out how to control your own.

I guess what I could talk about relating to the chapter would have to be going with John to put his dog to sleep today. He asked me to come along and in my head I thought okay I can do this it's just a dog. But when we got to the vet's it was a completely different story. We were sitting in the room waiting for the doctor to come in and we were petting Lucky for the last time. I then saw John crying and it triggered something in me also. It's like seeing him sad and in pain twisted something in my brain which made me feel the same way. Sadness is just an emotion which when you come down to it is all in your head, so why is it so hard to control?

I think the answer to this is more complicated then it sounds... Emotions are not always things that you can control. They are just natural reactions in your body and can affect you at any time. Although you may be able to act like you never cry, everybody does once in awhile.

Like usual I am glad that my week is over.. It has been a tough one with being sick and having three cross country meets out in the cold.. Hopefully it gets better next week!

Brain and Behavior*

Our assignment was to play four interactive games on the Brain and Behavior. I went to the website and was trying to figure out the games when i realized that some of them made sense.. and some of them didn't.

The first game I played was called Prisoners Dilemma. You had to either compete or cooperate with "Serendip" to win the game. I competed the whole time figuring that it was probably the way that would get me to win.. And i was right. At the end of the game it said I won the most coins but it said that I was followed playing with an "Inconceivably foul fate" the whole time. So i guess what I learned from this game was that competition is good, but you have to even it out with a little cooperation once in awhile.

The second game I played was called the Free Will Problem. In this game there were yellow arrows going towards the left and green arrows going towards the right. The point the game was trying to get across is that it is your free will that decides whether you see the green arrows or the yellow arrows.

The third game I played was called The Game Of Life. I didn't really understand it a whole lot.. You had a big square full of circles and you had to pick which ones you wanted. It's supposed to represent that at different points in life people are in different places and form different patterns.

The fourth game I played was called was called Transformation and in it you got to pick which different pathways you wanted to go on and in every spot there was something deeper that you could look at. I think this game is supposed to convey that you have to look closer at things because they are not always what they seem to be.

These things can be applied to everyday life because they all give different morals that you are supposed to "get" out of them. They can possibly help you notice or see things you never paid attention to before. This could also change the way you see things because if you come to a realization then you might want to change how you behave to pay closer attention to things and also to have closer/better relationships with other people.

One thing I learned is that there are systems working in your body, but along with that there are also systems inside of them working too. Everything is interconnected and helps everything else work together.

Another interesting thing that I learned is that there are different chemicals in your body and these chemicals can be affected by drugs which gives you the "high" feeling. It increases the senses you already have to make them stand out more. This is also what causes addiction because if you use drugs enough, the natural chemicals in your body are lost and when you are cut off from your own body and your drugs you feel a craving or need for it to be replaced.

One last interesting thing I learned is that it's actually your brain that "falls in love" not your heart. I found this kind of weird because every little kid knows that when you love someone.. It's with all of your heart. But once I read this chapter it actually made a lot of sense to me. I figured out that the heart is basically just a symbol for whatever we feel in our heads. This is just like how we use a flag as a symbol of freedom for our nation.

This affects the way I process information just like learning new things should. It makes you think about how you thought something works compared to how it actually works. It makes you focus your attention on things that have been lost, forgotten, or unknown to us. The brain turns out to be a very complicated system, unlike my assumptions. But you know what they say about assuming things.. :)

The man with two brains was interesting because it's amazing to see how far our medical field is advanced to be able to separate a man's brain and still allow him to function as a normal human being. I thought it was really cool and it gives the future of medicine and information a lot of hope.

How long to form a habit. *Summary

This article talks about how long it really takes to form a "habit". The result was that the average time it takes to get in the habit of something is about 66 days. But this also all depends on what you are trying to do...

For example drinking 3 glasses of water each day is an easier habit to form that going for a 30 min run every day. Drinking water is easier for most people because it requires less dedication and less work. Not to say that all people are lazy.. But some are. Most people would rather do something more that is easier than have to fit in something that takes more work.

There was a study that says that an average habit is formed in 21 days. An example of this was if someone had their leg amputated the average time for them "accept" this was about 21 days. Any other habit usually takes more time.. Such as something that you actually have control of. So if you plan on starting something new and sticking to it, you don't neccesarily have to do it everyday, although that would probably help your likeliness to stick to it. Get ready to do it for at least the next two months!

Current Events

Last week was probably one of the most stressful weeks i've had in a long time. It started out okay.. being homecoming week everyone was a little more excited than usual. Every year for homecoming we have what is called a "Court Game" to get the couples put together. This year it was my friend Sara and my job to figure out what the game should be and to get it all organized. When i accepted this task in the summer I thought it sounded like a lot of fun.. Was i ever wrong. It turned out to be stressful and extremely hectic.

For our game we decided to have baby pictures of all of the girls with the boy's heads photoshopped in. This would mean that the boys would have to try and figure out who their date for the dance was. It became stressful when i had all of my regular classes w/ homework to keep track of + cross country practice every night, and also staying after practice to decorate the windows, then going home and having to do my chores. It was really hard to get all of the pictures and questions back on time because I couldn't get ahold of all of the girls.

Along with getting everything ready for homecoming and making sure that it ran smoothly.. I also had to worry about my boyfriend being upset with me because I barely had any time to talk to him. He got upset that "he was the only one trying" and that I wasn't making any effort to talk to him. What he didn't understand was that I had all this stuff at school to take care of along with stuff going on with my family (which is a whole different story completely).

So without any hesitation I am glad to say that homecoming week is OVER!! I have never been so excited for the end. I realize now, going into my junior year in HS, that things slowly start becoming more responsibilities than fun. Having to basically plan the whole dance made me realize how much work goes into even the littlest things. It really gives you a new perspective on things.

Chapter One

I think that research is important because without it, our society would never move forward. Think about all of the things we take for granted such as electricity or our cars. Without research these things would never have been invented. In psych research is important because it helps us learn new things about the "mind" and about ourselves as well. Experiments can also help when someone is trying to figure out whether one thing works better than another or whether product A works better on a certain age group and their reactions to it.

The most recent example I can think of for research relating to my life would have to be the "Social Norms" survey I filled out today in homeroom. It asked different questions about drugs and alcohol relating to yourself and your peers. This form of research allows the school and possibly the community to get a better look at what kids are ACTUALLY doing compared to what everyone THINKS were doing. It also helps get a look at who kids are more likely to believe when it comes to talking about serious issues.

One thing I learned from Ch. 1 is that infants who are breast fed are more likely to have a higher IQ when they are older than infants who haven't been breast fed. This is said to happen because of the different nutrients of a mothers milk can contribute to brain developement. I think this is interesting because I know I was never breast fed and I wonder if it had a negative affect on me?

Another thing i learned is that psychologists in many ways are just like regular scientists. They use the scientific procedure to test their hypothesises and they take detailed information down about whatever they are testing. They use this information to then figure anything from certain behavior types to whether or not caffeine affects athletes. It's very interesting.

One other important thing that I learned is taking very detailed notes and observations in Pysch is very important. If you mess up a detail when diagnosing someone it could have very negative affects for them.

Prologue

When I think of Psychology I think of a one-on-one game of 20 questions. It's usually narrowed down to one person listening while another one talks. This "listener" then takes the information and figures out what is "wrong" in your head and how to fix it. Problems in your life at present are then blamed on things that happen in your past. But is this right? My opinion of what psychology is and the actual definition are both the same and different all wrapped into one.

Psychology is actually the study of EVERYTHING around us. It can alter from what's in our heads to the way we sit in our classes. It's absolutely everywhere. So psychology is not just a person diving into the deepest parts of another person's mind it's the study of why we do anything we do.

Psychology affects your life A LOT whether you want to admit it or not. For me I would have to say I try to use it to my advantage. I use psychology on my parents a lot... Usually whenever i want to go out and do something. This only works if they are in a good mood or I catch them at the right time. For example if my parents just had a huge fight and I ask to go to a friends or hang out with my boyfriend, the answer is most likely going to be a big NO! But if I ask right after a good day at work or a night out.. The answer usually swings more in the "yes" direction. This may sound like a sneaky tactic, but it's actually just common sense.

One thing I learned from this chapter is that Psychology is both the study of a behavior and mental process. Behavior explains things such as why you smile when you're happy and why you cry when you're sad. Mental could be described more as a dream or a certain perspective you took on something another person said to you.

Another thing I learned is that there are so many different way things can be qualified such as Neuroscience, Evolutionary, Behavior genetics, Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive, and Social-cultural. These are all different ways or reasons that certain behaviors happen.

These things are important to know because it proves that people really are all unique. Everyone's behavior could be classified into a different category but we could be more alike than you think. I also think it is really interesting that your dreams can have a real-life meaning in your life.

Sit Up Straight! Be Confident! *Summary.

I read this article today and I thought it was pretty interesting. It's weird to think that the way you sit can affect the way you learn and the way you use the things you learn. It also talked about how sitting up straight can help you have more confidence in yourself because you actually believe the things you are learning. By sitting up straight your bodily position can feed back to your mind and therefor help you learn. So if your getting a bad grade in one of your classes try sitting up straight to test this experiment out for yourself!

All About Me

Hey!

My name is Michelle Grondin and I am from Edgar High School. I am 16 years old.

I think a lot of different things have shaped my life to make me who I am today. One main thing would have to be my family, or more specifically my mom. Although she has not always been right here next to me, she was always in the backround supporting whatever I wanted to do. She raised my siblings and I all by herself and never once complained. She took on any challenge that life gave her and for that became a strong person. By having her as a role model throughout my childhood it made me want to become a strong independent person in my future. My mom now lives in Missouri and I barely get to see her, but every night she sends me a text saying good night honey I love you! reminding me that she is still here for me even though she's 800 miles away.

I think Psychology is important because it helps people better understand each other. Not just to be able to talk to someone better, but also to be able to connect with them. It lets you have relationships with people on new levels that might be new to both people.

Psychology in its basic form is the study of our minds. It breaks through the barriers of all the walls people put up to hide their true feelings. It is the study of every action and why that action is important and what it means. I can't wait to learn more about Psychology so I can start connecting with people better also.