PSY 1001 section 06-07 Spring 2012

Blog 3 Repost: Tiger Mother vs. Permissive Parenting

2012-05-09T13:49:24Z

The three distinct parenting styles described by Diana Baumrind resonate within all of us--we're all aware of how restrictive or lenient our own parents were, but we have also witnessed friends' parenting styles and even strangers on the street or in restaurants. And as much as we would like to impose our own beliefs on a parent with a screaming child in the aisles of a grocery store, we cannot understand their specific parent/child dynamic and should try not to pass any judgment on their parenting style. My own parents were authoritative when I was younger, but have become more permissive as I have grown. I am extremely grateful to have had structure when I needed it but also the space to become the person I want to be instead of who they want me to be. Over the years, I've experienced my friends' parents authoritarian styles and while structure is beneficial to growing minds, it seems to me that the tighter their grip on the child, the faster they'll run in the opposite direction. Just ask the most popular authoritarian parent, "Tiger Mother" Amy Chua, about her extreme confidence and vigor in restricting her daughters' behavior. She is proud to have called her girls awful names like "garbage" and "pathetic", which is considered borderline verbal abuse in the US, but is commonplace in Asian households. So, even though we may not agree with her methods of parenting, we must accept that all families are different and only they can decide how to best mold their children.

Here's a link to an article about the Tiger Mother, it's fascinating and unnerving at the same time: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

Still Amazed repost (was not graded the first time)

2012-05-02T18:52:24Z

I understand that everybody already knows about this form of art, but i still find the complexity of the illusion astounding. I am talking about sidewalk art. This link (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/01/3d-sidwalk-art-that-will_n_478649.html#s71257&title=Rocky_Road) includes 20 separate pictures of this style of artwork. The artists play with our perception as the obviously two dimensional sidewalk suddenly starts to pop out with a three dimensional image. The images range from elaborate murals to over sized soda bottles. To create these the artist plays with our monocular cues. We know many things from everyday life, such as more distant objects seem smaller, and darker spots are shaded from the light source. Binocular cues are useless because the image is two dimensional in reality.

Reposting Blog 3 becuase didn't get graded first time: Intelligence in the Media

2012-05-01T19:43:28Z

In the media intelligence tends to be associated with people who are socially awkward and have poor communication skills. The media tries to portray smart people as nerds with no friends while the athletic jocks are dumb and have a lot of friends. This can be seen in the movie Superbad where the smart kids Evan and Mclovin who are committed to attend college at Dartmouth are socially awkward and not popular among their peers. Through the textbook and other resources I have learned that there are intelligence tests that test social intelligence along with other tests of intelligence. This has shown that intelligent people often aren't socially awkward like they are portrayed as in high school and college movies. There are some instances however where people are too smart and have trouble associating with other people because they feel superior. This is actually portrayed well in the movie The Social Network, the character of Mark Wahlberg in this movie feels that he is smarter than everyone including his best friend and as a result has trouble establishing real relationships. I actually feel like the media does a good job of portraying this types of people.

Last Blog, Concept in 5 years

2012-05-01T19:41:58Z

I think that the concepts of psychology that I will remember 5 years from now are operant and classical conditioning. They explain so much about my past and how I've struggled to adjust to school and such. In high school, I took IB classes and was on time to school every single day. I started homework early, and all I did was study all the time. However, I was not able to get a full IB diploma, which felt disappointing. I also didn't make many friends. I left high school feeling pretty burnt out. This is what I would call a lot of negative punishment, making it hard to apply myself in school. But I've learned some great things since I've been in college. It's a matter of trying to find a fit of what's attainable, relevant and timely.

Some other concepts that I found helpful were in the chapter on memory. Learning about elaborative rehearsal, for example, is a helpful way to validate some of the things I've tried as a learner. I think it also shows that the more that language can be used to help reinforce and remember concepts (by assigning names), the more likely we can think to carry out those concepts.

In 5 years..

2012-05-01T17:51:22Z

The concept from Psychology that I will probably remember the most in five years is how the mind perceives certain things. Optical illusions have always been an interest to me, and after this class now I know why our minds perceive things in certain ways. Not only optical illusions, but how people can hear, see, and remember things differently. For example, in discussion, when we had to recall the words and basically had a 'false memory' implanted. After learning about this and experiencing it firsthand, I think it will be interesting in the future to see how people respond in certain situations.
I have been in several instances where one of my friends has told a story of something that happened to us earlier. Sometimes they would change one or two details around, and originally I had thought they were just exaggerating. Now I know it probably has more to do with that they had perceived the event and remembered it differently than I had.

I've Been Conditioned to Remember Conditioning

2012-05-01T03:40:20Z

Five years from now, I'm positive I will remember the things we learned on classical and operant conditioning. These concepts are fundamental in understanding how we develop and how we can influence the actions of others. They are very useful in understanding why some people, and even animals, behave the way they do. I'll always remember Pavlov and his salivating dogs, that's for sure. But there are others like Little Albert and Skinner's cats that are great examples to look at when trying to understand conditioning. One of my favorite examples we looked at was a clip from the Big Bang Theory where Sheldon uses the idea of positive and negative reinforcement to "train" Penny and Leonard. I like that most of these situations can be broken down so simply into identifiable parts like the unconditioned response, unconditioned stimulus, reinforcement, punishment, etc. It's easy to identify areas of my life where I have been affected by operant and classical conditioning even. Many of my behaviors and reactions to situations are based off of operant or classical conditioning from growing up. For example, when I was younger, I had a bad experience getting sick after eating a banana, and now I can't stand them! Random traits like this can quickly be explained by the concept of conditioning.

In the future...

2012-05-01T02:42:24Z

I think what has resonated most with me with everything I've learned throughout Psy 1001 is how easy I identify with many of the psychological tendencies displayed by humans and why it is important to be critical about everyday perceptions and claims. The course has shown me how valuable the scientific enterprise is in psychology. As a future scientist, it has re-solidified the importance of seeking scientific evidence for observations and hypothesis. Psy 1001 has done this by demonstrating how common perceptions encountered everyday can be misguided. To name a few-- "Opposites Attract", "Crime rates increase during the full moon", and "Newborns are not cognitively active until a few months after being born". The course has made me aware that I am just as capable as my neighbor to fall victim to many of the tenants of psychology, and that I'm anything but a unique individual within a large sample size. Because I'm made aware of this, I'm more enlightened about my own weaknesses and I can now work to strengthen them. Of course, the way I will start is to start is to be less accepting of extraordinary claims (without the provision of evidence), avoiding confirmation bias, and being more humble about my susceptibility to psychological tendencies that I perceive as negative.

5 years from now

2012-04-30T18:17:18Z

5 years from now i hope to remember a lot about what i learned in psychology this semester because a lot of the information i learned can be useful in my everyday life. If i had to pick one thing that i would have to choose Operant Conditioning and how it is used to train animals. I think i will remember this the best 5 years from now because it was the topic that was most interesting to me, Watching all of Skinner's experiments involving Operant Conditioning in the training of different animals was really cool. I really like the experiment where he train pigeons to play ping pong. Another reason this topic will stick with me over the years is because Operant Conditioning is used a lot and it will be a good tool for me to have when i decide to get a dog so i will know how to train it easier.

In Five Years...

2012-04-30T16:29:39Z

Through this course, I was introduced to the world of psychology. It was a world that I had never previously acknowledged even though it had crossed my path many times. What surprised me the most after taking PSY 1001 is how many people, including myself, get the concept of psychology all wrong.

Several subjects will always stand out in my mind; memory, emotion, intelligence, and personality. I found these and many more concepts quite fascinating but I think the one thing that will stick with me in five years is the way psychology approaches these subjects. As laid out in Chapter 1 "Psychology and Scientific Thinking" of the textbook, there is a process and a definite set of guidelines in the world of psychology.

One of the main criticisms of psychology is also one of the greatest misconceptions. Many "real" scientists dismiss psychological findings as imprecise and relative. While there are certainly false claims out there parading as "psychology," the real stuff is just as structured and unbiased as chemistry or biology.

What makes psychology and consciousness so difficult to categorize and study is the vast number of variables present. In the desired controlled environment of an experiment, it is essential to also take into account the missing variables (the ever-present concept of Correlation vs. Causation).

Five years from now

2012-04-30T05:32:23Z

Five years from now I hope will remember many concepts in psychology, but I think the most memorable concept is think critically on everything I experience. Because until I read this psychology text book, I barely had can think critically on the information I get from the media or anything I experience. When I read an article or the news paper I pretty much always believed everything because that information is from the news paper and news paper never put untrue information. Therefore, when there is news about some kind new research I just believed that it is always true, and there is no doubt about that. But, after critical thinking I started to ask question about every information or experience I have. For example, now when I read article about some kind new experiment, I start ask question about it. Such as how many times did this experiment success or is there any other explanation for this experiment. Critical thinking made me see new side of the world. Therefore, five years from now critical thinking is the concept in psychology that I will never forget.

Bias in Today's World

2012-04-30T04:51:54Z

One concept in psychology that was especially appealing to me and that I will remember five years from now is the different types of biases and how to recognize them. The first type of bias is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is defined as the tendency to seek out evidence that supports our beliefs and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them. This concept is applied to many arguments I have daily. Another type of bias is belief perseverance, the tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them. Often times it is hard for people to change their minds about things when they have believed one thing their entire lives. It's key that you keep biases in mind when considering a topic. TV stations and other pubic media sources often fall subject to both types of bias. When watching a political television program it is not difficult to determine which political party the station favors. Biases are everywhere in today's world, it's important we notice and consider these biases.

Five years from now...

2012-04-30T04:29:00Z

The concept in Psychology 1001 that I feel will stick with me most in five years is Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development. Whether I'm still working as a nanny for young children or have some of my own at home, I will remember his theories of child development and put those to use in my everyday life. From object permanence to egocentrism and conservation, Piaget's work has put a name to some phenomena that I've noticed before but never fully understood until he explained it. The most interesting aspect to me is that some children reach the stages of development earlier than others and are already mentally capable of deconstructing abstract tasks, experimenting systematically and reasoning hypothetically beyond the here and now. It's amazing to me that until the concrete operational stage, around age seven, children cannot perform mental transformations and mentally conserve amounts of objects. Understanding of these concepts allows me to interact with children better because I have a more thorough idea of their cognitive abilities and, concurrently, their motivations. I hope that I will remember most of the concepts I've learned in Psych 1001, but this is the one that I don't think I'll ever forget.

Think right and think free

2012-04-30T04:17:45Z

Throughout this semester, I think that the idea of scientific thinking is the most important point the course made and I may remember for a long period of life. It's a world of information nowadays, we are surrounded by tons of information in everyday's life and how to make the best use of it has become an issue. Though complexed terms may be forgotten, I'll still remember being aware of confirmation bias, recognizing pseudoscience, following principle of Occam's razor and so on. The argument about if we truely have "free will" also leaves an deep impression in my mind. Since we can be easily mislead, controlled by media, or other information around us, "being yourself" seems to become a hard thing. Things in this world have so many faces in different perspectives, truths are always hard to find, but as long as we plant a clear idea of scientific thinking in our minds, there is always a way to know the truth and do the right. No one wants to be a puppet, that's why think right and free are so important, that's what I got from this course.

Will I remember anything?

2012-04-30T04:00:38Z

To be completely honest, in five years I am not really sure I will remember anything from this class. That is not because I didn't find it valuable, but simply because not one thing truly stands out in my mind. If I had to make a guess at what I will remember in five years, I would say the things we learned about IQ testing.
Since we have been little we have always heard about how intelligence and one's IQ plays a major role in their success in life. As a result, it seems that a lot of weight is placed on one's intelligence. To learn that the tests are sometimes biased, and do not have strong correlations with job performance in some cases, was quite shocking to me. I really am not sure why that is, but a lot of it most likely has to do with the pressure society places on kids from very early ages to be very smart. That isn't saying that intelligence isn't important, it is. It just seems that in order to truly perform the best in life you need to have intelligence and also the ability to interact with people, which is something that IQ tests cannot measure.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

2012-04-30T03:41:43Z

I think that five years from now, I will remember the activity we did during the time that we studied emotion, more specifically physical attraction. It was interesting to learn about how influential outside sources, like exotic/pricey dates for example, are when it comes to falling in love with a person. Are we falling in love with a person? Or are we falling in love with the situation that this other person happens to be a part of? This notion can be applied to other contexts as well. Like right now, I am currently sitting in my room alone because my roommate is out of town for the weekend. I often claim to my friends, that I LOVE living in our bedroom and am sad that I have to move out next fall. But it really comes down to the fact that I could do without the physical room; I naturally associate how much I enjoy where we live with how much I actually enjoy living with my best friend. Because certain settings, like bungie jumping off a bridge on a first date (as seen in Jake and Vienna's season of the Bachelor) tend to carry certain connotations and cause our emotions to run wild-even get carried out of proportion-we are led to believe that we have found our soul mate, when really we are just in a surreal context.