Author Archives: marleepsy105blog

Chapter 8 First Impression Post- Memory

--Original published at Marlee's Psych 105 Blog

I believe that everything can be improved upon, especially study habits. I think that I have made fairly good study techniques and habits, the thing I struggle with is finding the time to study. When studying I break everything down into three steps; writing in-depth notes, making real life connections and testing myself. When writing my notes I color code, use diagrams, and highlight. By color coding it helps me draw attention to important details and group certain information. I make diagrams to help visualize particular processes. Lastly, I use highlighter to point out things that are key points or that I need to go over.

After my note taking process is done, I begin making real life examples and connections. For example, in the past week we learned about classical conditioning. For this I would make up scenarios and identify the US, CS, UCR, CR. This allows me to identify examples that we are given on tests or quizzes. By making the real life connections it gives me a better understanding of the notes and able to apply them.

Finally, after I complete my notes and real life examples, I create test questions and enter them in to Quizlet. This allows me to gain a better understanding of what I already know and what I need to study more.

The negatives of my studying style would be that I normally do not leave enough time to go as in-depth into my notes or take as many practice tests as I would like. I believe that my strengths are that I take very good notes and apply real life examples. For the next, “Knowledge Celebration Day,” I will manage my time better a begin studying for the exam this week and try to study for 20 minutes everyday.

 

Chapter 7 First Impression

--Original published at Marlee's Psych 105 Blog

I agree with B.F. Skinner’s claim that free will is spurious. I think that we as humans created the idea of free will because we feel like we need to be in control at all times. To some extent the idea of free will is true; we can make our own decisions and act out of desire, but a majority of our behavior is influenced by the three levels of analysis. These include, biological, psychological and socio-cultural influences.

In the video provided skinner gives the example of gambling and how it is a cause of scheduled reinforcement. On that note if something like gambling is due to scheduled reinforcement, who’s to say that other aspects of our lives aren’t? When someone performs a preferable behavior their is generally a reward; whether it is self rewarding from our brains in the form of serotonin and dopamine or in the form of rewards from society such as friendship and promotion. This human desire for constant reward has created a society which we are constantly undergoing scheduled reinforcement without us even realizing it. It is not until we take a step back, when we realize how conditioned to favorable behavior we really are.

Skinner replicates this human behavior by using pigeons and scheduled reinforcement. The pigeons are taught that by pecking at certain words or color disks that they will eventually be rewarded with food. This reward can be presented after a certain amount of pecks or even after a certain period of time. This experiment replicates the human behavior of gambling very well. People use slot machines and other forms of gambling repeatedly (pecking)  until they win (food reward).  When gambling we think that we are in complete control f how much money we’re betting, but in reality are we just being exposed to scheduled reinforcement?

 

Parenting Styles

--Original published at Marlee's Psych 105 Blog

We all know that raising a child is one of the hardest jobs in the world. I’m not saying its rocket science, but shaping a person into who they’re going to be is no easy task. There are many approaches into how to raise your children; some heard of more than others, but yet all effective to some extent. In my opinion, believe that one of the biggest mistakes people can make when parenting is either being too strict or not strict enough. When parenting people need to find a balance that works for both the child and the parents. For example, Tiger Parenting; this is a type of parenting where all control is in the hands of the parent. It is a very authoritarian approach with little good outcome. Children raised in this style can result in becoming diminished and only motivated by external sources. One the other side of the spectrum there are whats called jellyfish parents. In this type of parenting the power is held in the hand of the child. This is where we see children making demands and parents bending over-backward to satisfy their children needs. Now making your child happy isn’t a bad thing but when it comes questionable choices the child is making their needs to be some sort of parental figure telling them right from wrong. I believe that the best kind of parenting is one that is in balance between strict and relaxed. A child needs to have boundaries and be told no from time to time so that they know the real world won’t be given to them on a silver platter. A child also needs to be given the space ti figure out their interests and develop personality without the influence and push of parental figures. Ultimately, the job of a parent is raise their children to think and act independently but, while also making smart beneficial decisions for themselves and others.