luthe055: April 2012 Archives

Nearing the end of Psychology 1001, I am almost shocked that I made it through the thick textbook, never ending exams, blog posts, weekly quizzes and lab discussions in one piece. There have definitely been some times or 'aha' moments throughout this semester when I have realized that I had just related some part of my daily life and routine (whether big or small) to something that I learned in this class.

Thinking ahead, I definitely do not know much about where I am going to be in the next 5 years, but I will definitely remember some of the theories that have been engrained in my brain through this course. One of the things I will never forget learning about is Pavlov's classical conditioning. I believe that because classical conditioning made so much sense to me when I learned about it in class, it is one of the things that I won't have a hard time remembering. The concept of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, stimulus generalization, discrimination, and more apply to so many real life experiences and the theory of classical conditioning almost always holds true to the situation. It helps to explain so much of our actions that most of the times go unnoticed, which is something I have and always will find very interesting.

Overall, I believe I will remember much more than this concept alone, but taking this class is only the beginning of my psychology studies in college. It has been a great start to the rest of my major-credit classes and I can't wait to learn more.

The release of the new movie The Hunger Games has been highly anticipated by children, teens and adults around the world this past week. Based on the inspiring novel by Suzanne Collins, it is predicted to be almost as popular as the Harry Potter movie among children and teens around the world. Yet, it's PG-13 rating for its high level of violence has parents wondering: is it too violent for my kids?

Some experts say that the subject matter is much too heavy for children, while others saying that it depends on the child's age and temperament. Child psychologist Richard Freed is a strong believer that "images are much more powerful than written words."

http://www.mercurynews.com/family-relationships/ci_20213130/hunger-games-too-violent-kids

This holds true to what we learned about in our discussion as well. Viewing violent content at a young age can have both short and long term effects on a child. Violent media has been found to cause agression, anxiety and a number of other problems for young children. Each child reacts differently to the things they see on television or in the media. Ultimately, it is up to the parents to decide wether their child can be exposed to violence and wether they should take them to the new Hunger Games movie as well.