Tag Archives: Introductions

Introduction

--Original published at Emily's Blog

My Background in Psychology

My name is Emily Spangler. I am a first year student and I am super excited for this class. I chose to take this class because I believe it would be helpful in my Occupational Therapy Major and also it will be beneficial if I decide to Minor in Psychology. I do not have an extensive background in Psychology but I enjoy reading about people’s thought processes and the human mind. When I think of Psychology, I think about how people think. The topics that I believe will interest me the most are how to get good sleep, coping with stress, and how to improve memory. These interest me because I suffer with sleeping well, handling stress, and also short-term memory loss. The topics I believe that will interest me the least are theories of intelligence and assessing intelligence. Simply because I believe people are all intelligent in different ways. I would like to understand why I feel tired after sleeping numerous hours in a night.

Adirondak Background

Introduction

--Original published at Site Title

Hello! I’m Sidney Gordon, and I’m a first year student with an intended major of occupational therapy. I chose to take psychology not only because it is required for my major, but also because I want to figure out where I want to go with my minor. Psychology has always peaked an interest in me. I have taken a general psychology course and a childhood psychology in high school, but neither of them were very in depth. I do not remember very much from the classes either. When I hear the word “psychology,” I think of the way humans think and their mentality. How to Make Memories is a topic that seems interesting to me because I value memories, and it would be neat to see how they form. The topic of Emotions would also interest me to see why we feel the way we do. Another interesting topic would be all of the Mental Illness and Disorder topics. These interest me, and I would like to learn about exactly what they are and what all illnesses and disorders that there are. Some topics that wouldn’t interest me as much is the Scientific Method, Why Research Design Matters, and Power of Experiments. They wouldn’t interest me as much because we’ve gone over them in biology. By the end of this course, I would love to know if there are certain things that can cause a mental illness, or if it is hereditary, or both. I would also like to know why the human mind works the way that it does.

 

Introduction Blog

--Original published at Madison's Blog

I decided to take Psychology 105 this semester because it is part of the core, and I am also required to take it for a pre-dental major course track. I have taken an introduction to Psychology class in high school, but it was very basic and only the major topics were covered. I usually think of the mind and how it works when I think of psychology. It makes me think about the brain and how it interconnects with other parts of the body to make a person who they are. Topics that peak my interest are “Memories and Why we Forget” and “Mental Illness”. These topics are interesting to me, because they incorporate the brain functions and how one small disturbance can effect someone. Topics that don’t interest me are “Scientific Method”, “Psychotherapy” and “Sleep” because I have already learned about these topics before. When I learned about them the first time, they did not spark my interest. A question I would like answered by the end of this class is, “How can a college student best cope with their stress?”

Introduction

--Original published at Nadia's Blog

I decided to take Psychology this semester because it is apart of core and it also is required for my major and my future career path. Along with those factors the class seems very interesting. I do not have any background in Psychology unlike some other individuals. When I hear the word Psychology I immediately think about the brain and how it functions as well as its behavior and compatibility with other factors. The three most interesting topics to me seem to be “How to make memories”, “Motivation” and “Theories of intelligence”. I personally seem very interested in each of these topics because they are all topics I have never been introduced to before. The least interesting to me is “Scientific Theory”, “Power of Experiments” and “How to get good sleep”. These are all topics I have previous knowledge of and have learnt about them in the past. One question I would like to have answered during this course is to know how dreaming works.

Introduction!

--Original published at Alexis' Blog

Hi everyone!

My name is Alexis Trionfo and I’m going to be the TA for your class this year! I am a sophomore psychology major and I’m really excited to be working alongside you guys through blogs this year. I took general psychology my junior year of high school and during my first year at Etown I took neuroscience and abnormal psychology. I’m currently taking psychological statistics and social psychology. I really look forward to becoming a counselor of some kind outside of schooling. Other information about me is that I am working towards an art minor and a data analytics minor. I’m also an RA in Royer (1st floor) this year!

I’m looking to set up some office hours outside of the class to help you guys out and answer any questions you may have! I’ll post those once I can set a concrete time frame. Feel free to say hi to me if you see me around or ask me any questions; I’m the one with the pink hair and big glasses. ?

-Alexis

 


Psychology? I Thought You Were an Education Major?

--Original published at Ashley's Psyche

Hello. My name is Ashley Sanei and I am a Secondary English Education major at Elizabethtown College. This will be my sophomore year here at Etown, and I have to say, General Psychology (PSY 105) may be the class that I am looking forward to the most this semester.

Ever since my first semester as a freshman at Etown, I have been jealous of the students that were placed in PSY 105. I have always had a love of thinking critically and analyzing the ways that the mind works, so General Psychology always seemed to be the perfect fit for me.

But is simply liking psychology enough to justify taking a whole class on it? To me, it is not just that I like the subject, but that I can see how it will greatly improve my skills as a future teacher. As a teacher, I will need to meet the needs of many different types of learners, whose minds all work in a variety of different and complex ways. In my eyes, there is no better way to meet the needs of those minds than to know the basic processes of how they work.

However, learning about the vast amount of mental and behavioral processes in human nature is a very intimidating notion. As a person that has no formal background in anything relating to psychology, is it stressful to think about everything that the word “psychology” can encompass. When someone says the word “pyschology” to me, I tend to think of the science behind every decision and social interaction that humans have in their day-to-day-lives, which does not seem like a very simple topic to cover.

Yet, the challenge that this course presents to me does not mean that I am any less excited about the information we will be learning. In fact, I cannot wait to participate in the course sections based on improving memory, coping with stress, and analyzing personaility. I am the most the most excited about these partical sections of General Psychcology due to my natural curousity and lack of knowledge on each of these human habits.

Is anyone really born with a “bad” memory? Where does stress stem from in the brain, and what triggers that reaction? How do humans create such a wide variety of different personalities? I am hoping that I will be an expert in answering these questions, and many more, by the end of this course.

This is not to say that General Pyschology does not incorporate some topics that I am less interested in learning about. For example, learning about the process of the scientific method, why research design matters, and the difference between past and present psychology is not very interesting to me, as I am more interested in the abstract ideas involved in psychology, not the concrete process of how those ideas are further studied.

Nevertheless, I know that the topics I may not be the most excited about studying are still crucial in gaining a well-rounded grasp on the essence of psychology, and I will do my best in understanding them. I am excited to see what this semester and class has in store for me, as both a student and a future teacher!


Introduction post

--Original published at Site Title

Hi my name is Ruth Marquez and i am a freshman with an intended major in occupational therapy. Because of my intended major i am required to take this class and i never took a PSY class so i have no idea if i will be able to handle it. For the most part psychology seems to be a very challenging class because of all the terminology you have to become familiar with. When i think of psychology i think of the behavioral analysis unit of the fBI in how they use the evidence the unknown subject to know what kind of person he or she is in order to effectively catch he/she. The three most interesting topics on the syllabus for me are: How to make memory, why we forget, and personality and culture. These topics seem to interest me because the memories we have is who we are and the memories we create are shaped by our culture that when combined give us our personality. On the other hand three topics i am not looking forward to are: The Brain macro level,Chemicals and consciousness, and mechanics of sleep. This is because for me these topics deal with a lot of chemistry and hard science which is not so easy for me specifically with chemistry. One question i have that i would like to be answered by the end of this class is how psychology can help me better understand my future patients and make them more successful in their everyday activities.


An Introduction

--Original published at Kyle's Gen Psych Blog

Alright, so just to get the basics about myself out of the way. My full name is Brennan Kyle Praseut, i prefer to go by Kyle because I’ve always felt like my first name sounds just a bit too old for me. I am a computer engineering major with a cognitive science minor. I was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, but almost on a yearly basis me and my family would move to another state. In total I’ve attended fifteen different schools, all of which helped widen my perspective on life and all in all it had made me a better person to have had the chance to experience the constant shift in cultures that came with the constant traveling. I’m a pretty goofy person but i have a bad case of RBF.

So on to the questions:

Why did i take this class? 

I chose this class not only because of it being a requirement for my minor ( Cognitive science) but because i have always had a fascination with human behavior and how a persons experiences shape them and their decisions.

What background do i have in Psychology?

Professionally? Next to none. I have not had any prior classes related to this subject. Personally? I enjoy reading books that deal with/assess human psychology and behavior.

What do i think of when i hear the word Psychology?

That really feels like a loaded question. The word reminds me of something larger than we can possible hope to understand fully. A mystery that continues to grow as we (as people) do.

What in this class looks the most/least interesting to me?

Top

  1. Moral Development – Morality is something that varies wildly between people and understanding how that comes about is facinating
  2. Theories of Intelligence – I hope to in the future research AI and Deep Learning Algorithms and this will help me to understand those subjects better
  3. How to get Good Sleep? – Who isn’t interested in good sleep? Thats the real question here.

Bottom

  1. Exam 1 – Not Exam 3
  2. Exam 2 – Not as fun looking as Exam 3
  3. Exam 4 – Exam 3 actually looks interesting

I  really hope  i don’t bomb exam 3 now….  by the end of this class i know how advances in technology have affected our social behavior and decision making.

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Gen Psych Introduction

--Original published at Site Title

My name is Bri Kain and I am currently a senior at Elizabethtown High School. I play on the school’s field hockey team as well as several club teams. I’ve gone to different places inside and outside of Pennsylvania to play and have realized how much I love traveling. As a result, I hope to study abroad when I’m in college. I plan on majoring in physical therapy and minoring in psychology. Outside of school I am usually a very quiet and reserved person but I love getting to know people. I hope that this class will help me step out of my shell and become more comfortable around new people.

I’ve been interested in psychology ever since I took the class that my school offers and I thought that doing dual-enrollment would be the perfect opportunity to learn more as well as get a head start on my college credits. When I think of “psychology” I think of the study of how each person’s mind works and the behaviors we each exhibit.

The three topics that look most interesting to me would have to be Classifying Mental Illnesses, Emotion, and Personality Theory. All three have to do with people as individuals and these topics vary depending on the person. I just find it interesting that we all are very different as far as how we all think and how we act. There are no topics in particular that I don’t look forward to as I find everything about psychology very interesting. But if I had to choose one it would probably have to be the brain on a micro level because I know there’s a lot of components that make up the brain and it’s very difficult to remember everything. Something I want to learn by the end of the semester would have to be how our brains comprehend and process strong emotions.


Introduction

--Original published at Em

I am a first year from Chesapeake Virginia. In high school I took two year of psychology. I took this class because my schedule was made for me, although I am glad it is in my schedule. When I hear the word psychology I think of the study why people act the way they act. These reasons of why people act the way they act may be sociocultural, biological, or cognitive.

The topics that look most interesting are mood disorder,  stereotypes and discrimination, and classifying mental illness. Disorders and mental illness are interesting interdisciplinary due to chemical imbalances or biological reasons. If stereotypes could be better understood then perhaps they could be prevented. Then classifying mental illnesses because what is and isn’t normal, are there empirical tests?  The three subjects that look least interesting are how to choose a therapist, sleep mechanics,  and why research design matters.  How to choose a therapist seems subjective to the individual therefore difficult to put to a formula. Sleep mechanics seems simple.  Lastly research design also seemly elementary. I suppose a poorly constructed experiment skews results. The question I want answered by the end of the class is how cultural relativism impacts psychological studies.