--Original published at Manami PSY105blog

Hello,

My name is Manami Tanaka. I’m an international student from Japan by using one-year exchange program. I came here in January and going back in December. I’m junior now, and my major is international relations in the Japanese university and Business in this college. But I can take any classes except practical classes such as the class of drawing and playing instruments. I chose Introduction to psychology because I’m interested in how people think in society and how people are influenced by the other people or things. I think learning how people’s thought changes are useful in business. Besides this, it is one of the other reasons that my previous roommate who is in the psychology major recommended me to take it.  What I came up with about “psychology” is reading people’s mind from their behavior and gesture. Also, a psychologist is working importantly to help people who are suffering from depression or stress and kids who cannot join society well. Blogging is going to be interesting and hard for me. Because I do not know about psychology really. However, it is good to achieve my English skill by practicing how to express what I thought through psychological contents. I’m also interested in Psychology Research in the Media Project because media is related to several genres of studies, especially business. I have never tried to study psychology before. Now, I am trying to learn new things in my second language. That would build my knowledge and background. I do not have any specific questions which I want to be answered by the end of this class yet. I would like to cover briefly the concept of psychology.

--Original published at David's Blog

I’m David Varner and I come from a small town in Pennsylvania called Bainbridge. Right now I’m a sophomore in college majoring in communications. I currently have a job working at UPS as a part time supervisor. My approach to my intro to Psychology class is to have an open mind and try to learn new things. I chose to take this class to fulfill a required core course. Currently I have no background in the course but i’m excited to learn about it. When I hear the word psychology I think of therapists, even though I know there is more to it than that. The three topics that look the most interesting to me in the course would be, how to make memories, how to improve memories and why do we forget. Topics that look the least interesting would be, the brain: micro-level, the brain: macro-level and obedience. I what to be able to answer my question of what type of jobs come with a psychology major.

--Original published at Chey's Blog

Hello everyone! My name is Cheyenne and I chose to take this class because I’m fascinated with cognitive psychology. I really enjoy studying the mind and the way it works so psychology is one of my majors along with studio art. I took college level psychology courses in high school and did a little studying on my own as well. When I think of the word psychology I think of the study of the mind and behaviors. Cognitive and moral development and personality theory seem to be the most interesting topics in my mind. The scientific method, obedience, and power of the situation seem the least interesting to me. The one question I would like to have answered by the end of this class is: what is the best way to treat mental illness in others?

--Original published at AlyssaM

Hello,

My name is Alyssa and I am from Hamburg, Pennsylvania. In class I mentioned some people call me Maggie and that I answer to both names, so here is why. During sophomore year of high school, I assisted the librarian with sorting, cleaning out the old, and organizing the magazines in a storage room. After working on the task for several days, the librarian came to calling me Maggie and it stuck.

I chose this psychology class because my intended major is psychology and this is the basic structure to begin on that path. I do not have a lot of background in psychology because my high school hardly offered any course. The course they had was very general and basic lasting only a semester. When I hear the word “psychology” a lot comes to mind, but I often think of my one book character that is a psychologist. Looking at the schedule of events, one I am interested in is improving memory because it makes me curious to see the way memory can be controlled, in a way. Another I look forward to is the unit on sleep because it is so fascinating, especially when it comes to dreams. Lastly, the topic that interests me most is mental illness, for it captivates me learning about the various disorders. On the flip side, there are some I am not as enthusiastic for, but that does not mean not completely interested in. One section is the one on conditioning, only because that is the topic covered most in my education history. The other is stress, for basically the same reason that it has been touched upon multiple times previously. By the end of the semester I want to learn more about the topics within psychology, and do not have a specific question I would like answered.

--Original published at HarrysCollegeBlog

My name is Harry Zhang, the second of 4 children born of Immigrants from China who successfully clawed their way up from nothing to middle class. I was frequently compared to my older sibling on how much better she was than me, leading to my quiet nature, to escape the burden of others’ criticism. If im quiet and not talkative, that is why. not because I hate you.

Why Choose This class?

My background as an aspiring E-sports player for Super Smash Bros. is the main reason. my inability to keep my cool during a tournament has led me to many losses. These looses are not always the fault of my character, but more so myself. In order to understand my own mindset during my play, I decided to study psychology so I can understand whats making me fail during these tournament matches, and how I can solve the problem.

Background?

I am currently inexperienced in psychology, in all aspects, although I do enjoy talking about theories and philosophy on occasion. The Theories I enjoy must be related to things I enjoy, like Video Game lore, Anime Lore, or Mythology/history Lore.

What do I think of when I hear Psychology?

The study of the Mind, of morality, and of why we perform certain actions. When I hear “Psychology” these topics come to mind. Humans are complex creatures of beautifully disgusting actions.

The most Interesting 3 Topics?

The Three most interesting topics in the syllabus are Classical Conditioning, Coping with stress, and Observational learning. These topics seem to be the three most useful to my play as an E-sports player in Super Smash Bros. Conditioning is a topic that relates to the way I trick my opponent. by conditioning them to think I prefer one option they come to expect it, thus making me more able to counter them as i’m countering their counter. Stress is a big part of E-sports, as you’re constantly under pressure to perform well, play the game, remember all the mechanics of the game, the characters, the stage, etc. being able to cope with this stress is a main reason why I took this course. and Finally, we have observational learning. by observing the  best players play, I intend to figure out their mindsets on why they chose these options, and why they play like they did.

--Original published at Carly's College Blog

Hello, My name is Carly Patterson and I am a first year psychology major here at Etown. I am a first generation college student and an only child. I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and graduated from Cardinal O’Hara high school, a small catholic school in my area. My approach to this course is to have an open mind about all of the topics we cover over the semester. I have not yet decided which branch of psychology I want to have a career in, so I am looking forward to learning new things in this course. As a senior I took and intro to psych course, but not at the AP level, so I only have a small understanding of the things we will cover. When I hear the word psychology, I think of the brain and its mental processes. The three topics I am most excited for are how to improve memories, classifying mental illness, and mood disorders. These seem the most interesting to me because my final exam in my high school course was a case study where each student had to diagnose the patient in the study, and write an essay on how and why we came to that conclusion. I thought it was so cool and enjoyed that part of class the most. I am least interested in the scientific method, critiquing experimental design, and conditioning. This is mostly because they were covered the most in my high school course and just did not pique my interest as much. I also do not have a specific question in mind to be answered, but to just have a better understanding of psychology overall.

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

I am Jenna Campanelli and I am freshman majoring in Early Education. I chose to take this class because understanding psychology helps so much with teaching. Knowing how the brain works and how things that happen to you at a young age effect the person you become later in life. I took a psychology class senior year in high school and it was by far my favorite class from my 4 years there. It was so interesting and you really got to have a deeper understanding because psychology is all around us. When I hear the word “psychology” I think of the mind, behavior, and our conscious/unconscious thoughts effecting our day to day lives. Looking at the syllabus the 3 most interesting topics to me are conditioning, addiction,  and personality. The least interesting to me are the brain, sleep, and medication. One question about psychology that I would like to be answered by the end of this class is- which is more important, nature or nurture?

--Original published at Caroline's Blog

Hi everyone! My name is Caroline Hill,  I am a sophomore Occupational Therapy major and Spanish minor, and I am also a member of the swim team. I chose to take this class because I am required to take it for my major along with neuroscience. My high school did not offer any psychology classes so this is my first time ever taking a psychology class. When I think of the word psychology, I think about the mind and how the mind works and processes information, emotions, etc.  The three topics that look the most interesting to me on the syllabus are Cognitive Development, How to Improve Memory, and Mood Disorders and Anxiety. I think that these three sections can help me with my major and understanding the minds/developing the profiles of some of the people I could be working with. I am the least interested in learning about the Scientific Method, Critiquing Experimental Design, and Theories of Intelligence, because, although it will be a great refresher,  I have talked about the scientific method and experimental design a good amount in other classes and theories of intelligence does not sound like something I will enjoy learning about. Since I do not have any experience with psychology, I do not have any specific questions that I want answered by the end of this class, however I want to understand the main concepts of psychology and the importance of psychology.

--Original published at Makayla Hockenbrock

Hey Everyone! My name is Makayla, and I am from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. I am here at Etown majoring in Occupational Therapy with a minor in Psychology. Before this class, I also had AP Psychology in high school, so I already know some information that we will be discussing in class. I chose to take this class because it is required for my major and also my minor. However, I enjoyed the material in high school, so it is also an interesting topic for me.

When I hear the word ‘psychology’, I think of the brain and why people do the things they do and why they act in a certain way. After looking at the syllabus, I think my top three interesting topics would be ‘How to Make Memories’, ‘What is Addiction’, and ‘Mood Disorders & Anxiety’. I picked these because some I already have background knowledge in, and I also know people who have mood disorders and anxiety, so learning more would be helpful. My bottom three topics would be ‘Classical Conditioning’, ‘Operant Conditioning’, and ‘Observational Learning’, again just because I have learned about these before and did not enjoy it as much.

By the end of this class, I hope I know more about the brain and why people are the way are. I also hope to answer the question of “how to handle and deal with anxiety?”. Simple, because it is a more common disorder than people may think.

Have a good one!

Makayla

--Original published at Zachs College Blog

Hello my name is Zach Petiet and I am a first year OT student at Elizabethtown College. I graduated from Saucon Valley High School in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. I love playing football and lacrosse as I will be apart of the Blue Jays Lax team. I am a huge fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and Penn State Football. I also enjoy going to the beach and hanging with my friends. I am interested in possibly minoring in Psychology and wanted to get a feel for what it is all about. I took a Psychology class my Junior year of HighSchool and really enjoyed it so I wanted to get a greater feel for it at the college level. When I hear the word “psychology” I think of the study of how the human mind works and functions. I am very interested in learning about The brain because I want to have a good understanding on how the brain works and how it functions. I am also interested in learning about how to improve your memory because the older you get, the more you need to know. Lastly, I am very interested in learning about coping with stress because with college comes tons of stress and I want to have a good understanding on how to cope with it. My 3 least favorite topics are why we forget, what is addiction, and the mechanics of good sleep because they are topics I already have a little understanding of. By the end of this class I hope to have a large understanding of what psychology is and everything that goes into why the brain works the way it does.