Chapter 10 First Impression

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

I chose the fifth option for this chapter’s impression post. Elizabethtown College had pretty much everything I was looking for in a school. I wanted to continue playing soccer, be a member of an orchestra, and study business along with other interesting classes. I also wanted to belong to a small school that was not too far away from home. I attended a pretty small high school where the teachers knew most of the students, even if they never actually had them for a class. I wanted to find a college that valued relationships between faculty and students, where I was not going to be just another number. Elizabethtown College checked all these boxes, so I knew it was the place for me. What motivates me more than anything else is the opinion of others to be honest. Whether it’s with soccer or classes, I am always worried about how my playing will be judged by teammates and coaches and how my assignments will be judged by professors and classmates. Essentially, my main motivator is whether or not others will be proud of what I bring to the table. This keeps me motivated in my classes currently because I will not turn in an assignment if I am not proud of how it reflects on my character and in turn if I know others will not be proud or impressed by it. I specifically remember a professor last year telling me about a student who turned in an assignment to him that was of very poor quality. The submission did not follow any guidelines that had been previously specified and it was clear the student did not care. The professor told me he showed a few of the other professors what the student had turned in, and that student’s reputation was negatively impacted for the rest of his college career just like that. This stuck with me, as I did not want to repeat the mistake this student had made. Instead, I want to be the student whose reputation is supported by the good quality work I turn in. Another factor that motivates me to do well in class is my family. My parents have worked very hard to ensure I have this opportunity to make my own life better, and I do not want to waste this chance. My success in classes will let them know their hard work was worth it. If I had to plan an intervention for myself in order to be reminded of why it’s so important to work for my own success, I would start with those I care about most. Simply seeing all of the people I care about, whether it’s friends, family members, teachers, teammates, or coaches, would remind me who I am doing all of this for. My main motivator is to make all of these people proud in everything I do. If I was able to see them and talk to them all at once, I think I would regain more than enough motivation to begin once again working towards success. Also knowing that all of those people truly want me to succeed would give me the motivation to fulfill the potential they see in me.

Spotlight Post 1

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

The debate about divorce has become more popular in the US ever since the rise of divorce rates. Some believe children of divorce face no real consequences from their circumstances while others argue that divorce seriously harms the children involved.

According to Marripedia, an online encyclopedia of social science, divorce is incredibly harmful to the children of parents who split. Divorce affects all aspects of children’s health, beginning with their physical health. Children with divorced parents are more prone to reckless injuries and are at an increased risk of developing asthma. They are also more likely to engage in harmful tobacco use and alcohol abuse, which puts them at an increased risk for premature death. When the divorce occurs while the children are younger than 21, there is a 44 percent increase of mortality risk. Their psychological stability is also weakened as a result, as these children more commonly experience emotional and behavioral problems, negative feelings, high anxiety, and low self-esteem. Children watching their parents get divorced may regress back to behaviors of young kids they should have grown out of, such as bedwetting. Older children choose to look for intimacy elsewhere when their parents are not providing that support, which often leads to irresponsible sexual activity much too early on in their lives. A recent Finnish study found that sons of divorce especially experienced more conflict with supervisors and teachers, while daughters of divorce had interpersonal troubles later on in life.

An article from Psychology Today titled “Divorce Hurts Children, Even Grown Ones” also supports this side of the debate. Many children of divorce feel they are to blame for the conflict between their parents. This personal guilt is related to a loss of motivation for other aspects of life. Children may stop studying in an effort to rebel against the recent disruption in their family unit. They may become embarrassed about their home life and opt out of inviting friends over, which eliminates a helpful social outlet for children. With only one parent present after the divorce, a child’s ability to attend extracurricular activities will be more limited with the limited availability of the single parent. When one of their parents leaves, the relationships these children have with them are harmed and they are no longer being as carefully disciplined as before. These children also lose the relatives attached to the parent they lose contact with, which can be very upsetting. Some may argue that self actualization is a valid reason for adults to leave marriages, as they will be happier elsewhere. This article states the selfishness of parents who pursue this option because their children will grow up and go into a marriage thinking it is acceptable to eventually leave it. Children of divorce especially have trouble trusting people in the future and developing stable relationships, leading them to be more inclined to divorce as well.

An article from Scientific American titled “Is Divorce Bad for Children?” argues that children can endure divorce without any serious consequences. A 25-year study showed that only about 25 percent of children with divorced parents were still experiencing negative effects in their adult lives from the experience. This article points out that ten percent of children whose parents stayed married still grew up with emotional and behavioral problems. The short term negative effects mentioned earlier, like anger and anxiety, tend to disappear after the first couple of years. It helps when the parents are relatively open about any fighting, conflict, and unhappiness they are feeling in the time leading up to the divorce. The children may actually be relieved for themselves and even their parents that all the fighting and unhappiness is finally over. Children also respond more positively to a divorce when their parents fully answer any questions they may have about what exactly is happening to their family dynamic. Parents should, however, try to minimize the amount of exposure their children face with the divorce process, particularly the legal side that involves attending court dates and such.

Another article from Psychology Today titled “Yes, You Can Raise Happy Children After Divorce” agrees that children eventually recover from the initial shock of divorce. The article found that approximately 80 percent of children eventually move on from the divorce of their parents, supporting the argument that the majority are not facing serious consequences. This majority group of children grow up to be just as happy and successful without the traditional family setting many people once believed was an absolute requirement. Regardless of whether or not their parents get divorced, children do best when they have established solid relationships with each of their parents. Children just need this, as well as emotionally stable parents who are not distracted with relationship conflict, in order to move past the divorce. These ideals can be accomplished without parents actually being married and living together. The marriage is not necessarily what matters most to the well being of a child. Quality relationships and quality time with their parents are the most important, alongside having their basic necessities fulfilled.

I believe with this side of the debate, arguing that children are able to overcome the divorce of their parents. As nice as it may be to have parents who are happily married, I think it is just as good for a child to have two parents who are happily separated. Children are initially more worried about their immediate needs, like attention, support, food, shelter, love, and happiness. Single parents are just as capable of providing these things for their children as married parents are. Even if a child only has one of the two parents providing these things, this may benefit the relationship between that sole parent and his or her child even further. The problems associated with divorce may actually just be a result of how the parents are handling the split with their children, not the actual separation itself. Marripedia is credible as a source for this blog post because encyclopedias are known for providing factual information. Scientific American is credible because the articles reference legitimate scientific research and evidence-based studies. Psychology Today is credible for the same reason, despite the tendency to include certain biases about the topic being discussed. There is still factual information included in the articles regarding the scientific studies they reference, so readers must simply ignore the bias when trying to develop their own opinions and conclusions about the topic.

http://marripedia.org/effects_of_divorce_on_children_s_health

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-teenage-mind/201110/divorce-hurts-children-even-grown-ones

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-divorce-bad-for-children/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/splitopia/201503/yes-you-can-raise-happy-children-after-divorce

Chapter 3 First Impression Post

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

I chose option four about college students and their sleeping habits for this post. My sleep habits have changed since I started college, at first becoming much worse, but then improving exponentially. During the first few months of my freshman year, I took some time getting used to the amount of work and activities I had to somehow fit into each day. Since I am on the women’s soccer team for our school, right from the start I had to balance practices and games with classes and clubs and my social life. It was difficult at first, as it seemed that I never left enough time for myself to complete the amount of work or studying I wanted to for my classes. In order to finish assignments and study to a point of confidence in the material, I would stay up too late, sometimes even all night. I definitely saw the negative effects that sleep deprivation had on my body, my energy, my patience, and my capacity to learn during class those days after getting no sleep. A few times the exhaustion was so extreme that I would become sick because my body did not receive enough time the night before to recover and prepare for the next day. I realized I would not be able to last with these habits for the rest of my college career so I made some minor changes that made the biggest difference. Since time management seemed to be an issue in terms of completing coursework on time, I tried to organize my classes and their assignments into a planner. This allowed me to see when my busiest days or weeks were going to be, which helped with planning my other activities. Laying out all of my coursework in an organized calendar helped me recognize exactly how much time I would be able to devote to certain assignments, especially when I had soccer practice or club meetings labeled on that same calendar to show my entire schedule. I also placed more of an emphasis on getting the sleep I needed. My soccer coach consistently emphasizes that we must get at least eight hours of sleep each night, so I made this a priority. I continued to remind myself about how much worse I would feel the next day or two after a night of no sleep, and that it was not worth it to stress about a small assignment or hang out with friends for just another hour. Without enough sleep, I am practically useless the next day. I have no motivation to participate in class, my coordination is off during practice, I have very little patience with friends, and my overall energy is lacking. These consequences from a lack of sleep were just not worth it to me. I believe that with enough prior planning, eight hours of sleep per night is a realistic goal for college students. There will still be those occasional nights when perhaps a professor surprises the class with a quiz the next day that they now must prepare for. I think it is important to just remember the importance of physical and mental health, and to make sure these aspects are not compromised repeatedly because of assignments that do not make that much of a difference in the long run.

Chapter 8 First Impression Post

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

I chose the first option about study habits for this post. There are many different habits I have developed, some helpful and some not as much. One method I have found especially helpful is incorporating repetition into my studying. Being an International Business major, I have had my fair share of map quizzes during these past two years. I am not someone who can look at the map of a country or continent once and be able to label a blank version of the same area. What works best for me is printing out at least a dozen blank maps of the particular country or continent I am studying, and repeatedly labeling the different parts on all dozen or so copies. I used this repetition method for our first exam in this class, but in a slightly different way. I found that I needed more exposure to the questions the exam would be asking, so I took each “practice review problems quiz” for both chapters at least six times. The repeated exposure to similar questions regarding the topics was more beneficial to me than rereading the textbook or rewatching the lectures. In addition to this study habit, I also love to develop quirky phrases for certain things we learn that have an acronym to go along with the information. The word association with this helps me to remember the order of steps in a process or even the location of a country on a map. For example, I will never forget the order in which I must approach a math problem thanks to PEMDAS.

One study habit I would like to improve upon is making the different colors I write with actually mean something. Many times I find myself writing notes or flashcards with colored pencils, pens, and markers simply because it makes studying more fun. If I was able to establish a useful meaning for each color, perhaps by grouping certain terms or concepts together based on their color, this could possibly help with my memorization. Specifically for this exam, I should have made flash cards of the terms, the concepts, and especially the people we discussed because I was having a hard time recalling these quick bits of information. Flash cards would have played to the helpful habit of repetition I prefer, so for the next exam I will be trying this method. I also need to focus more on thoroughly reading the textbook chapters. I often find myself skimming instead of reading for comprehension, and I believe it is due to the world we live in. Things move too quickly and there is so much to get through, whether it is on social media or the news or in my email inbox. I need to recognize that the information in our textbook requires more time and attention to understand than a news headline or a tweet requires to get the point.

Chapter 7 First Impression Post

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

I chose option 2 for this chapter’s first impression post, regarding violence in video games. I believe that children are exposed to violent video games before they are ready or mature enough to handle them. There are restrictions protecting young children for things like violent or inappropriate movies at the theater, but video games are more easily accessible. Unless the parents strictly enforce rules about not playing any violent video games, kids can easily play them at home or at friends houses. It would be very difficult to permanently ban violent video games due to the market that has been created for them. Everyone plays video games, from kids to adults, some of whom even get paid for their above average skill. Violence in the media is a bit different, as these news stories still contain important information aside from the violence, providing valuable takeaway messages for the viewers. Some of these video games are strictly about killing with no purpose, and they are extremely visual which may numb children to the pain actually felt from events involving this kind of violence. The repetition and norm of killing in these violent video games may make children think it is acceptable to respond with violence in real life before they have developed and matured enough. I think there need to be steps taken to restrict violent video games from ending up in the hands of children, but they will be hard to ban altogether.

Chapter 2 First Impression Post

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

I chose the TED talk “How we read each other’s minds” for this first impression post. I was drawn to the title of this video because I have always been curious of what others think, whether it’s what they think of me or what they think of other events and people in the world. The ability to read minds has been my go-to superpower to choose since I can remember.

Throughout the years, philosophy has wrestled with the problem of other minds: whether other people have minds and why it is hard to know or change what other people think. Rebecca Saxe, the speaker for this TED talk, introduces a new problem with other minds. She asks how is it so easy to know other minds, like when we are shown a picture of a mother holding her newborn and can instantly see thoughts of love. Saxe identifies the region of the brain responsible for thinking of other people’s thoughts, known as the right temporoparietal junction or the RTPJ. Saxe then suggests, could differences in how adults think about other people’s thoughts be explained by differences in the RTPJ that controls this? To find out, she performed a research study where a hypothetical “Grace” and her friend stop for coffee. The friend asks Grace to put sugar in her coffee for her, and when Grace goes to do so, she notices the white powder that looks like sugar is labeled “deadly poison.” Grace still decides to put the white powder in, which ends up having no effect on her friend after she consumes the coffee. People were asked about the blame they felt Grace should receive, and Saxe tracked their RTPJ activity as these people made their decisions. When there was little brain activity observed in the RTPJ region, people paid little attention to Grace’s belief that the sugar was really sugar and they said she deserved a lot of blame for any accident that could have resulted. When there was a lot of brain activity in that region, people paid more attention to her innocent belief and said she deserved less blame for an accident that could have occurred. The research participants were then exposed to a magnetic pulse that when sent to the RTPJ region would disable the person’s control of this area and create involuntary reactions. The magnetic pulse reversed people’s decisions about the amount of blame they thought Grace should receive, which suggests that it is possible to change people’s moral judgements.

What I found most interesting was the impact of the magnetic pulse on the research results. It is a bit alarming the control certain technologies, tools, and tests, like the magnetic pulse, can have over our behaviors and thoughts. It also makes me wonder the true significance of morality and just decisions when something seemingly unbreakable (depending on the person) can be so easily manipulated.

Rebecca Saxe seems like a relatively trustworthy speaker, as she is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT. She also used a correlation graph to illustrate the relationship between RTPJ activity and the decision for the amount of blame to be given. She performed research not only for the study regarding sugar, but also with young children and their ability to recognize hypothetical thought processes of toys. Her studies cover a relatively wide age range which is also good.

My research idea would question whether the magnetic pulse can control our moral decisions, instead of just disabling them to cause the involuntary reactive decision. This would enable researchers to create desirable outcomes for their research participants involved in the study. Essentially, instead of the magnetic pulse simply changing our original moral decisions, it would control which decision we make. I would send different variations of the pulse to the RTPJ to test which pulse creates which reaction and perform the study with multiple people to ensure the replication of whatever reaction it creates.

Chapter 4 First Impression Post

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

I will be discussing which parenting style I believe is best for this chapter’s first impression post. The three main parenting styles are tiger moms, jellyfish dads, and helicopter parents. Tiger moms are much more strict when parenting and have extremely high expectations for the success of their children. Tiger parents use an authoritarian method to emphasize high achievement standards and are very demanding of their children. Jellyfish dads are more removed from their children’s lives, especially regarding the discipline aspect of parenting. There are very few rules for their children to follow and low expectations for them to meet. Helicopter parents are known for being too involved in their children’s lives. At the slightest hint of their children struggling or misbehaving, helicopter parents are there to take control of the situation, which hinders the ability of the children to develop independence.

Of these three parenting styles, I believe that tiger moms exhibit the best way to parent. Although they are strict and demanding, many children respect where their parents are coming from with the tiger mom tough love. Tiger moms care immensely about the development and success of their children, which means they must care about the person behind these successes. This parenting style creates children who learn to achieve success for themselves. Helicopter parents would most likely achieve the success for their children since this parenting style does not allow children to make their own decisions, good or bad. Jellyfish dads are too laid back and do not create enough structure for their children. I believe it is good for children to have freedom, but tiger moms find the balance between freedom and rules, whereas jellyfish dads forget about these standards. They fail to prepare their children for the rules that the rest of society will hold their children to after they are no longer children. Tiger moms demand high achievement standards from their children which require them to make their own decisions and create their own success. For these reasons, I believe the tiger parenting style is the most successful in producing children who become productive members of society.

Lecture #1 Response

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

According to a psychodynamic perspective, Miguel may be having problems because of early childhood experiences with failure. These previous experiences may have created a sense of doubt in his own abilities that has carried through his life so far. According to a behavioral perspective, Miguel could be depressed based on his recent observable behaviors. He is constantly tired, cannot fall asleep as easily at night, is noticeably irritable, and often gets in fights with others. These are common signs of depression in others and are all observable without having to understand or focus on internal thoughts. According to a humanistic perspective, Miguel does not feel like the best version of himself at the moment. Although he is inherently good, Miguel currently sees himself as unworthy of enjoying life and experiencing happiness. He may need to strengthen his relationships with others who could provide more of a support system for him. According to a cognitive perspective, Miguel may have something internally wrong with his brain. The mental processes that should be aiding his emotions and reactions to certain situations are failing him as he overreacts to little mistakes or fights with friends. According to the biological, or neuro perspective, his parents may have also experienced times of depression that were passed on to his generation. The genetic aspect of this perspective suggests that the behaviors Miguel displays may be a direct result of his own bloodline. According to the cultural perspective, Miguel may be feeling depressed, frustrated, and tired lately because it is common for other people in his group to feel overwhelmed and beaten down in stressful situations. Perhaps the people in his surrounding culture are not accustomed to handling difficult circumstances, so when they are presented with challenges, they cannot handle it the best way.

Chapter 1 First Impression Post

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

I chose the second option for this chapter’s first impression post. For this prompt, I selected the video that tested whether beer goggles really exist. The popular myth argues that the more alcohol a person consumes, the more attractive other people will appear to that person. In this video, two men and one woman rated several photos of women and men respectively, then proceeded to drink alcohol and re rate the photos. They had five seconds to score each photo, so the ratings were based on gut reactions.

This experiment included a number of strengths, one of which was including both genders in the study to make it more extensive. The subjects of the experiment all received the same amount of alcohol as well, which kept it consistent. The scores the photos received were all averaged, which helped show a trend of the results more clearly. Since the initial rating of photos had to be completed in five seconds, the ratings were based on gut reactions which are often more honest answers. There was a decent amount of photos included in the study, but additional photos could have been included to strengthen the argument.

This experiment also had several weaknesses. The three people performing the study rated a set of photos three separate times, once while sober, another while buzzed, and a final time while drunk. It would make more sense to rate the same set of photos all three times; however, they instead received a new set of photos each time said to be exactly as attractive as the first set of photos. Attractiveness is subjective, so photos of different people cannot be treated as the same photos for an experiment that should be testing the attractiveness of the same people. In the video, it appears that all three test subjects consume the same amount of alcohol, including a beer and a scotch. The amount and combination of alcohol affects people very differently depending on gender, age, previous consumption, tolerance, lifestyle, and many other factors. The challenge is that one person in this experiment may have felt much more drunk than another, which could have influenced the decisions they made when rating photos. They should have used blood alcohol content as the measure to consider each test subject drunk as soon as they reached a certain level. Although each test subject reacted a bit differently in terms of rating photos more generously, the experiment would have been more improved if it included a larger sample. Additionally, there should have been a control group present that either consumed no alcohol or consumed something appearing to be alcohol. If the experiment included another group of people who thought they were consuming alcohol, this could also test whether or not the myth plays more of a role in increasing attractiveness than the actual alcohol does. It is possible that simply being aware of the beer goggles theory would lead someone to find another more attractive if they think they have already had a few beers.

Introductory Post

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

Hi! My name is Catherine Hughes and I will be a junior this upcoming semester. I am an International Business major with a concentration in marketing and a minor in psychology. Since I am studying abroad next spring semester, I wanted to make sure I got started on the psychology minor by taking this class. The opportunity to take this class over the summer made even more sense because I can dedicate adequate time and attention to the course material that is all relatively new to me.

Aside from being coached by psychologists, I have no background in the field. It was interesting playing soccer for multiple coaches who had psychology backgrounds because they used their experience and knowledge to anticipate how the team would react to certain suggestions or criticisms during practices and games.

The word “psychology” immediately makes me think of analyzing a person and having a deeper understanding of perhaps why they react or behave the way they do. Instead of jumping to emotionally driven conclusions about another person, those with a psychology background possess a greater maturity and appreciation to analyze and understand why people act a certain way.

I am especially excited to learn more about memory, addiction, and consciousness. I have always found memory to be an interesting topic, as I easily remember some seemingly pointless things while I forget others that should perhaps hold more of a priority in my mind. I would like to better understand why certain details of life just stick for some reason when many others are lost. Addiction is another topic that interests me because of the many activities, products, or aspects of life it can apply to. I am nearly convinced I have a coffee addiction, as it is one of the first things I think about when I wake up and get ready to start my day. Somehow drinking coffee became a daily ritual, as it does for most adults in the world, but I now get headaches on the days I go without having a coffee. I am interested to learn about the withdrawal that goes along with addiction, as well as how to go about changing the dependency on a product or activity someone has developed. Consciousness interests me as it relates to sleeping and dreaming. I have always wondered the degree of control we have over our dreams as well as the truth behind certain dreams, so I am excited to learn more about the topic.

The topics I am not looking forward to as much as others are stress, personality types, and sampling strategies. I am sure that learning the science behind my stress will be helpful, but sometimes it is just easier to aimlessly blame things for adding stress to my life instead of actually identifying them with legitimate reasons. I am not looking forward to studying personality types as much because the strategies used to identify my own personality type have confused me so far. They have generally been questionnaires which frustrate me as an indecisive person because I seem to answer questions differently each time. Sampling strategies also do not seem as interesting as other topics because they present many opportunities for error perhaps when forming a sample population or performing the actual study.

The question I would like to have answered by the end of this class is “What does it mean to love someone?” During my first year at Elizabethtown, I wrote a research paper discussing whether love is irrational or actually something that can be rationally explained. I made some progress on the debate but the question is still very intriguing to me. I also would like to learn more about the different types or versions of love we feel for different people, whether it is love for a boyfriend, pet, brother, or friend. I am excited to begin learning more about this topic and many others included in our class schedule for the summer!