First Impression Ch. 8 (Option 2)

--Original published at Gracie's Blog

Our memories are moments in life that we cherish or moments that we want to forget. Memories can be made with our friends and family but sometimes people remember moments that others do not. There are instances in life when we can remember specific details and exactly what happened. I can remember when I was around fours years old when my family lived at our old house. I remember digging holes in the sand and accidentally getting some in the neighbor boy’s eyes. I was frightened that I would get in trouble so I ran to my room and left him crying. I remember that I was wearing a purple Gap sweatshirt for some reason. Why do we remember certain times in our lives? I think the answer to that question is we remember how we felt at that moment. I remember feeling scared and thinking about what will happen next. We remember the times we felt happy, shocked, overwhelmed, or proud. Feelings may play a large role in what we remember and what we do not remember. For example, 9/11 and President Kennedy’s assassination caused people to feel scared, grievous, and shock. On the other hand, there are also memories from when you spent the day with friends, a result after a game with your team, things people said to you, etc.

Sometimes parents videotape their kids, and their kids may or may not remember what they were doing. Years later if the child that was videotaped watches the tape of a happy moment in their life, like a birthday party, they may remember that moment differently now that they are older. Sometimes it is hard to tell if our memories are accurate. One study that could be done is have someone record a child at certain celebrations and several years later have that child say what they remember happened at those certain instances in their life. After time it can be hard to know exactly what happened. Not every detail is remembered, like the weather, but it would be interesting to know exactly why.

Chapter 8 First Impression

--Original published at Sydney’s Side

My current study habits are not as good as I would like them to be because I get caught up in other classes so I only focus on one subject. One of the things I like about my study habits is that I find a room with a large white board and write out the things I need to know multiple times and repeat them to myself as I am writing. This seems to be the most effective way to study for me. But, I usually only start to do this a few days before the exam when I know I should be reviewing everyday after class. I used to rewrite all of my notes and make them into diagrams which helped me a lot but I rarely have time to do this now.

For the first exam, I took the study guide and made boxes and diagrams for each bullet point to get the information all in my head. Then I went down the list and quizzed myself on each one until I got them all correct. I should have started studying earlier before the test rather than a few days but I would hope my methods are pretty sound.

Another one of the issues I have with studying is I only focus on the class that I have the next test in, so after that test is over I have to study for the next one. What I should be doing is setting time aside each night to study for each class.

First Impression: Memory

--Original published at Cecilia's Thoughts

Unfortunately, I do not have the best study habits because in highschool very few of my courses required me to study a lot in order to receive a high grade. The most effective way that I study is making flashcards and going over these flashcards numerous times. This worked in highschool because most exams and quizzes were memorization of words and their definitions. Now entering college-level exams, tests, and quizzes I have learned that it is mostly applying the vocabulary to scenarios and problems and only a small part is writing down the definition for words. I am very successful of memorizing words and their definitions, but I am not the best at then applying this knowledge to situations on a test. I memorize things one way and if it is worded differently I get confused.

For the first exam in psychology, I studied the only way I know how, which is making notecards. And for a lot of the exam it worked because I remembered the theorists and what they did, and what kind of parenting which with what characteristics, but when it came to writing my own hypothesis and evaluating strengths and weaknesses of two things. I also struggled using the flashcards for some portions because the definition or information on a person/concept was far too extineous to remember from the back of a flashcard. For the next exam I am going to still use flashcards, but I will also incorporate concept maps so I can see all the ideas and how they relate to one another and I will also complete more practice problems that resemble exam questions. I will also begin studying earlier for the exam instead of two or three days before like I did for the last exam.

First Impression Chapter 8

--Original published at RachelsCollegeBlog

Memories are made through every person’s lifetime, all are unique and possess a different meaning for each person. Though, like the prompt says, some of the memories are stronger than others, making some feel as though it just happened yesterday when it could have happened over fifteen years ago. I think that some memories are stronger than others because they contain so many strong emotions. For example, those that remember what they were doing when 9/11 occurred. The emotions that were probably occurring at the moment were strong, a strong sense of fear, a strong sense of loss, and a strong sense of anger. These emotions occurred so strongly that the memory that contained those emotions will be just as strong, making it something that they are able to recall nearly perfectly.

I believe that a way that we could study, if the reasoning for the strong memories is because of the strong emotions, is to gather a group of volunteers ranging in multiple ages, and randomly assign those people to two groups. One of the groups will be told about an event that may have had some significance to them, that would cause strong emotions, for example 9/11 or the Boston marathon bombing in 2013, and will be asked to describe the event, what they were doing when they found out about the event, what did they feel at the moment. The second group would be given less intense moments that won’t include as strong set of emotions. Such as a family members graduation or playing on the jungle gym in the fourth grade. They would then be asked to explain the moment, to give the emotions that they were feeling. The intensity of both groups would be ranged on a scale of 1(not vivid) to 10(extremely vivid).

Then, the results would be compared after the study. Comparing the mean scores of the two groups, which in return would give a good explanation on which group had a stronger memory and give a reliable conclusion that the stronger the emotions, the stronger the memory.

Spotlight Blog 1 Prompts – Fall 2018

Regardless of which option you choose, make sure to use the tag “Spotlight” on your post. Also include the tag listed for the option you choose below.

Option 1 – Use the tag “Development”

As divorce has become more and more common in the US, the number of children affected by divorce has increased greatly. The effects of divorce on children are controversial and there are a number of opinions out there on just what is “best” for kids. If you select this option, I want you to find two credible sources that argue divorce is inherently harmful to children and two credible sources that argue children can come through a divorce without serious consequences. Make sure to assess the arguments and supporting data presented in each source, explain what makes the source credible, and state which side of the issue you think is correct based on your reading. Make sure to list all sources at the end of your post.

Option 2 – Use the tag “Learning”

The idea of learning styles has become very popular over the last 20 years. There are tests that claim to identify what type of learner you are so you can customize your learning and studying to maximize your retention. Educators have increasingly been asked to cater their teaching to be more inclusive of learning styles as students have been labeled as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or other types of learners. While there are many proponents of this approach to education, there are also many people arguing this focus on one type of learning for students is problematic and potentially harmful. If you select this option, I want you to find two credible sources that argue learning styles are important to pay attention to and two credible sources that argue learning styles are a myth. Make sure to assess the arguments and supporting data presented in each source, explain what makes the source credible, and state which side of the issue you think is correct based on your reading. Make sure to list all sources at the end of your post.

I look forward to seeing what you write!

Header image: CC by Flickr user Thomas Hawk

First Impression: Chapter 8

--Original published at Jayln's Perspective

For this first impression post, I have decided to choose option one, which consists of critiquing my own study habits. In particular, I will be unveiling how I prepared for our first Psychology exam.

Since our exam took place on Monday afternoon, I spend the majority of the weekend sitting in the library. The first key technique I did to review was printing out Dr. Macfarlane’s study guide. Once I had this printed out, I went through my notes and the book, and I completed the questions with very detailed answers. I made sure these answers consisted of key Psychological terms we covered in class, as well as important phrases from the textbook. A factor that I think contributed to my decent performance on the exam was instead of typing up the answers, I hand wrote them. In high school, my teachers always stressed the idea that when you hand write something as opposed to typing it out, your brain is more apt to recall the information in a testing situation.

The second technique I used to study was to take the practice quizzes many times with my notes, and then complete the practice test without any notes. These quizzes were helpful with narrowing down what book information was the most important. Now looking back on how I studied, I think the most influential part of the process was the practice exam. I allowed myself 50 minutes to take it, and once it was completed, I was able to see how I would do with the amount of time I had studied. After I viewed the results of the test, it was evident that I needed to put more time into reviewing.

After seeing my results on the first exam, I was not overly thrilled with how I did because I know I could have done better. Something I will do while preparing for the next exam is to work on applying knowledge instead of simply memorizing information. This will consist of me asking the questions “why” or “how” instead of just focusing on the “what.” I have a tendency, especially in Biology 111, to memorize flashcards, and then once I get to the short response questions, I struggle to apply the definitions I learned. I think this bad habit I have stems from high school. When I was in high school, I was able to just rely on my memory because many of my teachers never required me to dig deeper. For the next Psychology exam, and for any other exams I have, I am going to improve my grades by not just stating the definitions when answering short responses, but connecting the terms to the “why” aspect. All negative things aside, something I do very well is staying focused. When I have exams or quizzes, I take studying very seriously. I always turn my phone off so I do not get distracted, and instead of studying for hours at a time, I take mini breaks in between so my brain does not shut down.

Chapter 8 First Impression Prompt – Memory

Hand writing on a notebook

Regardless of which prompt you choose, please use the Tag “Memory” on your post:

Option 1:

One of the topics we will discuss related to memory is study habits. For this post, critique your current study habits. Discuss what do you do well and what do you need to improve. In particular, I want you to discuss how you studied for the first exam in this class and share any changes you might make for the second exam to improve your preparation. We will see how closely your ideas reflect what the research says about improving your memory for learned information.

Option 2:

Not all memories are created equal. Some seem to be so powerfully etched in our minds that we can recall them almost perfectly later in life. For example, many people from my parents’ generation know exactly what they were doing when President Kennedy was assassinated. A more recent example would be what you were doing when you heard of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in 2001. Then there are all the personal life events we remember “like they were yesterday.” Why do you think some memories are so much stronger than others? Explain your theory and propose a way to study how accurate these powerful memories really are.

I look forward to seeing what you write!

Header image: CC by Flickr user Caitlinator

First Impression: Ch 7

--Original published at Carly's College Blog

Violence in video games has been gaining more and more controversy over the past few years. Most of this controversy being negative, people have been claiming it leads to violent behavior and other issues as well. I think there are pros and cons to these types of video games. A child’s environment growing up has a strong impact on their development. The easy access kids have to these types of video games brings them into their daily routine at a younger age. Growing up playing violent games, especially with today’s technology, could definitely have an impact on a developing child if their parents are not limiting them or monitoring screen time.

However, I do not think these games just flip a switch and turn a kid aggressive. There are most likely going to be other contributors to a child violently acting out then just the fact that he or she owns an aggressive game. it could be a mental health condition, a family situation, or something else the child has experienced. I read an article one time for a separate class that argued violence in literature also has an impact. Their claim was that it doesn’t turn someone aggressive, but it could change the way they respond to provocation. I could easily see this working with video games as well. A child gets into a disagreement with a friend, are they more likely to confront them and talk, or hit them? Again, for the answer I think it depends on the situation and other confounding variables.

I think that as long as parents are monitoring their child and limiting how much exposure they receive, the video games are okay. I also think their needs be a stronger age restriction because there is simply no reason why young kids need this kind of exposure so early in their lives.

Chapter 7 First Impression

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

I believe there is a good and bad side to everything, and violent video games is no exception. So due to this, my perspective on violent video games is mixed. On one hand, they can be very gory and may normalize this kind of violence. Children are very impressionable and too many of these video games may lead to kids being violent because they saw it on their games. It may also cause children to be aggressive later in life. This can also lead to bullying, or much worse-school shootings. Yet we cannot blame violent video games for all of this. I believe it could have positive effects too. It could be a therapeutic outlet for aggression instead of actually acting on it. Video games also help children with concentration and accuracy. I do not think all violent video games should be banned, but I think we should take a look at the worse ones out there. There is a line that could be crossed, then I think banning that game would be a good idea. But I think banning every video game with any kind of violence would not be a good idea. Age restrictions are a good way to avoid too young of children to be playing these games, only older children should be able to play in my opinion. Violent video games have been around for awhile and everyone has their own strong opinion, but the most important thing should be the effect on the children.

Violence in Video Games

--Original published at Kaylyn's PSY105 Blog

Image result for video game goat

For this week’s first- impression post I decided to talk about violence in video games. Personally, I have not played any first-person shooter games in depth; however, I have watched multiple people play them. Video games like “Call of Duty” or “Black-Ops” or even “Fortnite”, have become super popular, even in my own friend group. I believe that these games have become increasingly popular due to the idea that if you kill off a lot of people then you win. People love to be winners and that will make them more interested in these games where you could become the winner. Personally, I am not a fan of shooter games because even though its all a game, I do not like pointing a virtual gun at a virtual person and pulling the virtual trigger. In my mind I do not see that as fun and I find it a bit disturbing at the end of the day. Although, I think there is a line between video game violence and actual violence. I do not believe that video games will cause a person to become a violent shooter. I think if someone is interested in violence, there is an underlying mental illness there which may cause them to turn to video games for a release. I think that for certain people these games are just a way to have fun with themselves and their friends. On the idea of banning them I do not believe it is necessary. I believe that there are age restrictions on games for a reason and that people need to respect them. Little kids that are below 18 should not be able to have access to these games, because they may make bad decisions. Overall, I am not a fan of violent video games; however, I do not see them as an evil thing that needs to be banned and erased. Video games are meant for fun at the end of the day, but also need to be handled maturely; especially, violent video games.