Monthly Archives: August 2018

Chapter 11 First Impression

--Original published at CatherinesCollegeBlog

I chose the first option for this chapter’s impression post. Currently, there are a few methods I use to deal with stress. Something that works really well for me is listening to music whenever I feel overwhelmed. Music usually helps me relax because I can focus on songs one at a time and look for inspiration or comfort in the lyrics. For me, music is therapeutic because music artists write songs that people can relate their own experiences to, good and bad. Exercising is another way I cope with stress. I like running long distances because it gives me time to either think about whatever is stressing me out or about other things I still need to do after the run is over. Those runs dedicate time to solely think about and appreciate what I have and what I want to accomplish. Running also helps me gain a better perspective of how small some of my problems are, as I am reminded every time I go for a run that many people do not have the ability to relieve stress in this way. I also find that going for a drive helps relieve stress, especially when I play music very loudly with the windows down. Driving like this is a freeing feeling, particularly because I never have a destination in mind when I go on these drives. I usually just see where it takes me and try to let go of always worrying about where I’m going and when I’m getting there.

There are many other methods people use to cope with stress that I should incorporate into my routine. I tend to bottle up whatever is worrying me or adding stress to my life, but it would be more beneficial to talk about these things with someone. Other people may have better suggestions of how to handle the stressful situation, but even if they cannot offer good advice, it is still helpful to vent about stress out loud. Talking helps release the tension instead of letting the stress build up inside. I also need to avoid procrastinating larger assignments. If I develop a way to manage my time better, perhaps by making smaller due dates of my own for portions of a project, I may be less stressed when the final due date is approaching. I become overwhelmed when I save a big project until the last minute and this stress can be easily avoided with better planning. A final method to reduce stress in general is to prioritize rest when it is necessary. Many times I choose to push through the exhaustion, even when I am sick, and believe that running could help me sweat out the stress. Instead of ignoring obvious signs that my body needs rest, I should listen to the hints and rest so at least I won’t be stressed and tired at once.

Chapter 11: First Impression

--Original published at Kirsten's Kreations

Ironically, I felt the first prompt is the best one for me to do after one of the most stressful days of my life. Today is one of those days where everything that can go wrong did even thought it shouldn’t have happened in a million years. I messed up majorly at work. I should have gotten screamed at by my boss but I am extremely lucky she is a very understanding and can tell how annoyed at myself I am for what I did.

I am the kind of person who can cry over everything but also doesn’t. You may hear about people who will cry even at the simplest thing that make them happy like seeing a dog or how a simple mistake like writing 2017 instead of 2018 will make them burst into tears. I am luckily not that bad. I am less extreme than that. Do I still tear up over a test I bombed even though I know I am an awful test take even when the answers are right in front of me? Absolutely. Do I cry when I what two people I barely know get married? You would be wrong for saying no.

When I am stressed, the tears are a thousand times worse. It is my number one defense mechanism for stress. There have been times where I only wanted to scream and throw stuff, but that is very very rare for me. Its mostly just letting the waterworks flow from my eyes. I have gotten better at being able to handle it and try not to let the tears flow by doing slow breathing and trying to think of songs that make me happy, funny stories, or other happy things that put me in my happy place. Even though crying it our usually helps the most it can be pretty embarrassing which makes me more stressed so I try to stick to the happy thoughts and the breathing the most. If it happens to be school work stressing me out, I will set it aside and work on other school work or do a stress free activity until my mind is clear of the work stressing me out. Then I would return to it.

Even though I feel my stress management works pretty well I do believe I can do better. The number one thing I have problems with is remembering not everything is the end of  the world. If I get a C or D in a class not related to my major its not the biggest deal because that class has no affect on my future employment (or it shouldn’t). If I accidentally closed a word document without saving it, I know plenty of people who can recover it for me, so I just need to remind myself that it can be handled and it isn’t the end of the world so I remain calm and not have a mental breakdown. As long as I remember things can be worse than the situation I am in and do my breathing techniques I should be good to handle my stressful situations.

Spotlight Blog 2 Prompts

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 “Memory”

Now that we’ve discussed how memory works and you’ve had a chance to think about your own study skills, I want you to critically evaluate websites that give students advice about how to study. If you select this option, I want you to find three different websites that provide advice for studying: one targeted toward college students, one targeted toward middle or high school students, and one targeted toward parents. Evaluate the advice provided on each and compare it to what you know about how memory works (include sources), making sure to correct anything you think is bad advice. Be sure to include links to the websites you are evaluating.

Option 2 – Use the tag “Stress”

We’ve discussed a number of different stress management approaches in class, and now I want you to evaluate online resources for stress management. Specifically, I want you to identify three websites that provide stress management tips and discuss how likely you think the strategies they provide are to be successful. Make sure to explain your rationale using what we’ve learned in class and your textbook. Each of the three websites need to be targeted at a different audience but you may select the audiences you want to use (e.g., college students, athletes, parents, artists). Make sure to include links to the websites as part of your post.

Option 3 – Use the tag “Drugs”

One of the largest campaigns to prevent drug use among children was the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. This federal program sought to provide kids with information about the dangers of using drugs, using things like the slogan “Just say no!” While people had high hopes for the program, it ended up being very controversial largely because of how it ended up impacting the rates of drug abuse among children exposed to the program. Research what the data say about the DARE program and argue whether or not it was a successful program. Then take what we learned from DARE and argue whether or not you think similar abstinence-based programs (e.g., sexual education programs) should be used in schools. Make sure to cite your sources.

I look forward to seeing what you write!

Header image: CC by Flickr user Thomas Hawk

Stress

--Original published at Tiffany'sCollegeBlog

I would say that I normally am okay with dealing with stress but I am a very stressed person with this class, and my anxiety doesn’t exactly help. I like to have things planned, make lists, and in order. I do many things to attempt to reduce my stress levels. I like to exercise by doing yoga and taking walks, sleep, drink tea, color with the anti-stress books, spend time with my puppies, laugh and make jokes, cuddle, and listening to classical music and practicing my instruments. I also have a stress ball of some sort because I like to hold something in my hand when I’m taking notes just to hold or squeeze, not necessarily to use as a thing to reduce anger. I do a lot of these when I have a lot of things to do and I need a break in between everything. My current strategies are pretty okay. I would say that not all the time do I do something to relieve stress. Sometimes I just let it build up and then I end up crying it all out and having anxiety attacks or I go home. There were many times throughout the semester where all I wanted to do was go home. School really makes me stressed and sometimes makes it so bad, that I do leave and go somewhere to get off campus. I would say that my stress management strategies work when I use them. Like I said sometimes I just let it build up or I take it out on someone. One thing that I am doing this semester is I’m bringing my puppy back with me, Murphy. He’s my baby, my mini goldendoodle. I think that another stress management activity that I can do is taking care of Murphy. I have to find time in my day to go let Murphy out, play with him, feed him, etc. Having “a part of home” will definitely help especially since all I wanted to do when I was stressed was leave and go home. Hopefully Murphy helps!!

Chapter 10 First Impression Post

--Original published at KatieMillerPSY105

For this first impression, I chose the option of determining how well I can tell he difference between emotions. Generally, I think that I am pretty good at telling how people are feeling by their facial expressions. I have a friend who is not as good, and he will get into arguments to see which one can pick the right emotion (it is usually me). I have always felt that I could read people’s expressions and be able to help them which is one of the reasons why I wanted to become a nurse.

After taking the quiz, I could see that my prior thoughts were somewhat accurate. I got a 16/20. There a couple of emotions that did trick me up a bit, but there were definitely some easier ones to determine. Some that I got confused on were fear, anger, embarrassment, and contempt. The reason why I was confused with fear was because I thought the person seemed surprised. The difference was the face for fear had a smaller open mouth than the surprised face did. Anger was tricky for me because it almost looked like disgust since they both seem to be similar faces, however, with the angry face you will see that the lips will tighten more and the forehead muscles will contrast. To me, embarrassment looked very close to shame. The test gave the explanation that the embarrassed face will turn their head to the side instead of going straight down like someone who would feel ashamed. Finally, contempt looked very similar to disgust where the only difference was that contempt would have the lips tighten only on one side of the face. Some of the easier expressions to distinguish were happiness, pain, pride, and sadness. These faces all were very obvious reactions that I would think anyone would be able to see.

Overall, I thought that this test may be slightly accurate, but there are some problems with it. I believe that some people have their own facial expressions for their own emotions. I think it can be harder to determine someone’s emotion in real life than it was on this test. I could use this information by taking a closer look at people’s expressions when I am talking to them to see how they really are feeling. This will help so I would not have to ask the person what their facial expression means.

Chapter 11 First Impression Prompts – Stress

Hand writing on a notebook

Here are the two prompts for this week. Regardless of which prompt you choose, please use the tag “Stress.”

Option 1:

Stress permeates American society, and college is a very stressful environment for everyone involved. Stress management is a critical component of academic success in college. Describe your current stress management strategies, assess how well they work, and discuss what other stress management activities you could realistically incorporate into your routine to help you deal with stress more effectively.

Option 2:

Stress is something all too common in college students’ lives, but what if you could change your relationship with stress? Kelly McGonigal discusses doing just that in her TED talk “Making Stress Your Friend.” Watch the video, share your reactions, comment on the speaker’s credibility, discuss how reasonable you find its message to be, and discuss how you could implement some of the ideas into your life.

I look forward to seeing what you write!

Header image: CC by Flickr user Caitlinator

Chap. 10 – Impression

--Original published at Kealey's PSY105 Blog

In the 1970s, Rupert Holmes wrote a song that instantly became extremely popular. The chorus mentions pina coladas, making love on the cape, and mysterious romance between strangers. Because of these words and its easy roll-with-it rhythm and beachy tune, it became a song to play at beach parties and in the car during a date. It is often thought to be a “feel good” song. Currently, it’s a nostalgic tune. Everyone knows the chorus, but not everyone thinks about the words of the verse, which give the true meaning of the song away. “Escape” (aka “If You Like Pina Coladas”) is actually about a man who is bored in his marriage and puts a personal ad out to find another woman to cheat on his wife with. A song that people usually associate with delicious tropical drinks and sex on the beach is actually about infidelity and betrayal. Ironically, the man’s wife answers the ad because she too is looking for romance outside of her marriage. The two laughed about it, and the story is over. Personally, I don’t think my reaction would be to laugh if I was either of them. If both of them were seeking to cheat, they obviously have some major relationship problems to figure out. I used to just jive with this song like everyone else. But now, it kind of creeps me out to hear such a happy mood in a song about a double cheating scandal.

Emotion

--Original published at Tiffany'sCollegeBlog

For the first impression post for chapter 10, I chose to do prompt #2 which discussed people’s emotions. In the prompt, those who decided to do this had to complete an Emotion Intelligence Test, where the test showed 20 pictures of different people displaying different emotions. The test gave four choices to choose which emotion we thought it could be. After going through the test, I got 16/20 correct, which according to the test was a score that was above average. It also said that I was naturally well-attuned to others’ emotions–a vital skill for forming compassionate connections. I think my scores were good for what I thought I would do. I think that in general I can read people pretty easily, so I wasn’t surprised that I did above average. 

I give myself a lot of credit being able to read other people’s emotions and being able to know how people are feeling based on their emotions and body language. When reading people’s emotions, I look for the small things and their body language; how they are standing, if their head is tilted, where are their hands. I think all of those combined can make it pretty easy to distinguish how someone is feeling. I observe people all the time with my job, my clientele at school, and my family. Most importantly my brother. I’ve mentioned this in a few other posts, but my brother has Autism. People with Autism, most of the time, had trouble reading facial expressions. When recognizing an emotion in a face, we depend on the eyes and the mouth. People with Autism often avoid looking into other people’s eyes, which can make it more difficult for them to detect emotions. After taking this test, I had my brother take it. I received a 16/20 and my brother received a 12/20. Now over the years his emotion reading has improved tremendously, but I thought that it would be interesting. 

While I did complete the test and did pretty well, I don’t think it’s as credible as it seems. The pictures that it shows have answers that someone could read in another way and therefore, get the answer wrong. Everyone reads emotions differently and this test wouldn’t be an acceptable way to decide if someone can read emotions properly. I also think that the emotions in the pictures were based on what that specific person thought and how they thought it should’ve been portrayed. Rather than the actual emotion they feel, when experiencing that actual emotion. Lastly, as I was going through, I felt like some of the answers were the same and it was very hard to distinguish what the answer was. 

Although I got only a few wrong, I did think the test was harder than it should’ve been and that I thought it would’ve been. The basic emotions like happy, sad, and angry were easy to chose. The more specific ones like love, politeness, contempt, and pain were a lot more difficult. I think some of the more difficult ones were also easier to tell apart because some had other things than just their eyes, eyebrows, and lips to base the emotion off of; some added a finger or sticking out a tongue. 

Some ways that I could use this information is my daily life would be that each time I got an answer correct or incorrect, the picture then showed what to look for cue wise, when reading someone’s expressions. For example, muscle contacts to pull eyebrow up and in, lower eyelid contracts and upper eyelids raise slightly, lip corners pulled sideways, tightening and elongating the mouth, tighten and press together, etc. The cue that are used will definitely be helpful to look for when reading someone’s emotions and expressions in order to know more about how they are feeling.

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.

Chapter 10 First Impression Post

--Original published at Jenna'sPSY105blog

For this week’s first impression post, I chose the prompt about reading people’s emotions. I was prompted to take an Emotion Intelligence Test, where it showed 20 pictures of people displaying different emotions, and I had to pick between four choices of which emotion I thought it could be. I ended up getting 14/20 correct, which the test said is a little above the average number people typically get right.

I pride myself in being pretty good at reading people’s emotions and knowing how people are feeling- especially my boyfriend. He doesn’t have to say a word before I ask what’s on his mind, which always catches him off guard because like most guys he thinks he’s good at hiding his emotions. When observing people, I always tend to pick up on the small details that most people wouldn’t notice, which is why I feel I’m so good at reading emotions. I also have a lot of empathy towards people, which I think helps too. Because of these skills, going into the test I expected to do pretty well.

Although I only got six wrong, the test was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The very basic emotions, such as happy, sad, surprised, and angry were pretty easy to pick up on, but the more specific ones such as love, politeness, pain, desire, and contempt were a lot more difficult. Some of the emotions, such as disgust, involved people sticking their tongue out, which gave the emotion away.

I do not think this was a very accurate test to determine how good you are at reading people’s emotions. First off, emotions are portrayed by everyone differently. Also, the people in the pictures were told an emotion and they portrayed it how they thought it would look, rather than their natural expression when feeling that emotion. Lastly, a lot of the options I had to choose from were very similar to each other, and it could’ve been either emotion.

A way that I think this test could help me in the future when trying to read people’s emotions is the fact that after each picture it provided multiple cues on what to look for when reading facial expressions for each emotion. For example, people’s eyebrows being raised, the corners of the mouth being raised, the chin being stuck out, head being tilted, etc. These cues will definitely be helpful and hopefully if I think about them when around people I can become better at knowing how they are feeling.