Post #13...

Asch's Confomity was definitely the only experiement that was morally correct. I really think that if I was presented with the same question in the experiment, I would not choose the answer that the others have been choosing if I know a different one is correct. If I was unsure on the answer, I would definitely jump on the bandwagon, but in this circumstance, i would trust my gut. Milgrim's Obedience was very cruel to the "teacher". Although it is tough to say after seeing hte results of the experiemnt, i really think that i would havent finished the testing. I would of felt horrible! Although we cannot conduct such experiemnt today, it would be interesting to repeat to see how the results differ over the last 60 years. The worse of the experiments was obviously the Stanford Prison Experiment. This was near tourture! I can imagine that it would be difficult resisting to falling into the roles, but yet again, I cannot imagine throwing all of one's morals out the window in a 6 day period! This experiment would also be interesting to repeat.

Social Influence is the difference in one while being surrounded or affected by a certain group of people than how they would normally act. A prime example of social influence in my life is that when my friends are slacking and not doing their homework in down time at school, i often choose to procrastinate as well, even though I know I should be getting my work done. Another example is that I tend to curse a lot, but when I am around someone who doesn't curse, or doesn't like when people do, I tend to act a lot more innocent. This works both ways, because when I am around friends that curse a lot, I find myself cursing a lot more as well.

The most interesting thing I learned in this class is about Memory. Specifically, I found the Thompson-Cotton case extremely intriguing. I found this so interesing because I knwo many people that tend to stretch the truth, and everybody does it at some point. I now have a better understanding of how our mind tends to mold our memories into what we want to remember rather than what is actually right.

Blog #12...

A psychological disorder is an ongoing pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions that are deviant, distressful, and/or dysfunctional (594). We also discussed in class that a psychological problem often becomes classified as a psychological disorder when the problem greatly affects one's lifestyle. Although almost everybody experiences psychological problems throughout their lifetime, they do not always reach the severity of a psychological disorder. For example, Major Depression is often diagonoised after one experiences the symptoms for more than three weeks, as we discussed in class. Many people jump to conclusions when stating sad people are "depressed", two faced people are "bipolar", and people that act strange are "schizo". This is very wrong to jump to conclusions, and because of the first hand situations I've witnessed, I am sensitive to those who jump to these conclusions.

Both myself and many people close to me have experienced Major Depression. I truly believe that no one completely understand the disesase unless they have experienced it first hand. Many people think it would be very easy to overcome. However, it is a disease, and with any disease, it doesnt go away over night. My depression was mainly influenced by my low self esteem. I was very, very dissatisfied with myself. Another thing that I believe really triggered my depression was my inability to talk about my problems with others. I kept everything bottled inside until I snapped. Although I would rather not go into too much detail, I can say that when I hit rock bottom, I literally rolled out of bed, went to school (barely talking to anyone), come home and go to bed, and do it all over again the next day. I have cried myself nearly every night for months. I refused to let anybody care for me because I didnt want to let them down. It got ugly. Fortunately, after I was diagnoised and slowing came out and became comfortable talking about it, I discovered I had many people close to me that suffered from the same illness, which made it easier to talk about. Throughout my depression, I recieved no psychological therapy, although I blieve it would of been helpful. I was put on medication to get me throught, but a lot of my therapy was self healing. I slowly started boosting my self esteem on my own--and people noticed. My parents also played a big role by eliminated many negative influences from my lifestyle.

Also, one of my best friend's dad suffers from schizophrenia. This disease is horrible, and i wouldnt wish it upon anybody. It completely tore their family apart and her and her brother suffered the brunt of it. My friend is now a lot more accepting of her father's condition, but I often become very scarred that she may eventually suffer from the disease as well. I choose not to explain further, for the privacy of her family.

The most interesting thing I learned in this section is simply when I asked a question in class. Mrs. Olson explained that people have a 1% chance of developing schizophrenia. I then asked what are the chances of inheriting it from a parent. That number jumped to 10%. Because of my friend, this is a question I have had for a long time--I feel as if I have noticed symptoms, but maybe I was just being paranoid. However, it really scares that me that she's put at a much higher risk than me, and there really isnt any prevention to the horrible disease. I am glad I now have a better understanding of the disease in order to hopefully help her.

Blog #11...

The best way I can discribe my personality is very contradicting. I truely believe that although some traits are more obvious than others, and they vary depending on the people I'm around, I possess every trait a personality could possibly possess. Normally I am a very sociable person. I really like this trait because I believe communication is very important in life, but it can also get me in trouble. Unfortunately, I can also be very pessimistic. I am normally only pessimistic about myself, but when I am, I tend to completely shut down and isolate myself. One trait I am very proud of is my creativeness. Whether it is projects I do in school, papers I write, or witty statements or jokes I make, I tend to present this quality in many areas of my life. Another trait of mine that I absolutely depise is how indecisive I am. I have a very difficult time making decisions. I hate when people ask my where I would like to eat or what I would like to do. Although I have a difficult time making decisions, I believe I tend to make correct ones because I think each situation through so thoroughly. This makes me very thoughtful, which is a trait I usually like. I believe I am a very deep thinker, and because I am a deep thinker, I feel as if I am more intellectual and hold better insight. Unfortuantely, my "thoughfulness" can also keep me up on nights. (sigh) Another trait I am very fortunate to possess is my independence. Another trait people have always told me I possess is maturity. I think I tend to be very mature for my age merely because I have been surrounded with older, mature people throughout my life. I have spent a lot of time with my brother and his friends, and throughout my life the majority of my friends have been older than me. The variety in my traits causes an additional trait: changeability. Since I possess so many traits I can be easily altered depending on who I am with. I don't like this because it makes me feel as if I am being fake to certain people. The truth is, its just the easiest way for me to feel comfortable and happy in each and every situation.

As explained above, I tend to be pessimistic. Over the last 6 or so months, I have been getting a lot better than I used to be. I used to be very dissatisfied with myself and I struggled with my self confidence for a long time. I can be very optimistic in certain situations though. Whenever my friends are struggling with their lives, a lot come to talk to me, because I normally know what needs to be said for them to start thinking optimistically. I also am usually very optimistic about my school work. My pessimism has affecteed my life greatly, and created some of the hardest years of my life. The optimisim I hold creates stronger friendships in my life and also makes me more confident in my work.

One trait that varies a lot depending on each situation or who I am with is my maturity. Usually, it remains impressively high. However, when I hangout with certain people, I can get very silly. Although it helps me loosen up, I feel as if I am acting like the type of person I would normally look down upon. Another trait that varies depending on who I am around is my temper. My mature and temperness usually go hand and hand. When I am acting more immature and silly..i tend to be more tempermental. When I am mature, I most often handle the situation in a more mature way.

One of the most prominent examples I have of defense mechanism in my life is denial. I refused to admit I was suffering from depression and needed help for a long time. Because I was in denial, my situation got worse before it ever got better. I experienced Rationalization, or justifying a failure with socially acceptable reasons rather than the real reasons, in my life when I was trying to justify to my parents why I was partying as much as I was. I explained to my parents that everybody does it, and there is nothing better to do. I have also experienced displacement, or discharging pent-up feelings on objects less dangerous than those that initially aroused the emotion. Although I don't do it as often as I used to, when I would get very upset or frustrated, I would often find myself chucking things, usually my cellphone. Although my cellphone had nothing to do with the reason I was upset, it is what i released my anger on.

Blog #10...

One thing I learned and found interesting in chapter nine (thinking and language) were the different stages of language. At four months, humans already begin to show signs of language developing. They call this the babbling stage. The can discriminate speech sounds and also read lips. By reading lips, babies are beginning to develop receptive language. I find this amazing how quickly humans learn. We often take speech for granted, and we often assume we were completely oblivious when we were children, but they are suprisingly aware of what is going on. At 10 months, babies start babbling sounds that resemble words moreso than just vowels. A few months later, around the age of one year, babies start learning and remembering words. They call this the one-word stage. They are often able to associate names with what they see or want, but by only using a single word. Around teh age of two years, these chidren begin the two-word stage and telegraphic speech. They create two word sentences that generally contain a noun and a verb. From this age, speech continues to increase and developes rapidly into complete, grammattically correct, sentences. The stages seem obvious, but I do find it fascinating that all children learn around the same pace. Also, I find it interesting how quickly we are able to learn. We are constantly associating things in order to remember them at a later date. This process of learning never ends.

I think I am a very emotionally intelligent person. I am often aware of how people are feeling or the mood they are in simply by looking at them. I often know how to approach a person based off of the mood they are giving off. My strength in emotional intelligence has made my bond with friends and family tighter. Since my friends and family know that if they come to talk to me, they can trust me to have good insight or understanding, they rely on me more. I like having this quality because I find a way to relate to everybody. I like the feeling I get when I help a close friend through a difficult time. I think it is also extremely important to have this quality, especially if one spends a lot of time with people. Any person that holds a profession that has a lot of interaction with other humans, such as teaching, secretarial, business, marketing, or nursing, should be somewhat emotionally intelligent. I believe emotional intelligence and communication go hand and hand, and one cannot be successful without the other.

Something I learned and found fascinating in chapther 10 was that twins often share the same amount of intelligence. It said that when two identical twins take an IQ test, their scores seem as if the same person took the test twice. I find this amazing because although the identical twins hold the same genes, you would think that they hold the power to pursue their intelligence. I would assume that two identical twins would learn at seperate rates simply because they each have their own will. Because of this, I never would guess that their scores would be so capatable. It also said that although fraternal twins do not hold the same genes, their scores are often closer than two siblings would be. I find this fascinating as well because fraternal twins, in reality, are no different than any two siblings. The book explained that fraternal twins' scores are often compatable because the twins areoften compared and treated more alike throughout their lifetimes.

Blog #9...

Memory is extremely important to who we are as human beings. Human beings are essential to this advancements of the earth. Because humans hold the ability to remember things, they are able to further advance technology to better our species and environments. Without memory, we would not be able to learn or later retrieve that information. Our species could easily cease to exist without our remarkable sense of memory.

Clive Wearing is a British musician that suffers from anterograde amnesia, which means he is not able to form new memories. Because of Wearings condition, he literally wakes up or is reborn every 7 to 30 seconds. This means that every few seconds he has to recharge his conciousness. The only memories he holds are pieces from before 1985. I cannot fathom being married to Clive Wearing. I give this woman a lot of credit for sticking by the man she loves throughout his condition. If I was in her shoes, I would have to handle the situation with humor. My grandmother suffers from demensia, and although it is not as severe, my family has learned overtime that it is most often easiest to handle if we are able to laugh about things she says. Although it seems unmoral, sometimes we make little white lies about who we are or where we are going, just because we know she wont remember in five minutes. I think this is the same way I would handle Wearing. After not only hearing Clive Wearing's story, but also experiencing my grandmothers, I am extremely thankful for my strong memory that is often taken for granted.

Although I feel as if i had a decent grasp on understanding that memory is not always consistant or reliable, studying this chapter has given me a better understanding and explanation of why. When studying the Thompson - Cotton case a lot of questions crossed my mind with my own memories. Although I cannot relate to the trauma Jennifer Thompson experienced, I still related to her on a level everybody can: how has our memory played tricks on us that has had unfortunate circumstances? Merely because of our conversation in class, I also considered how some of the memories I hold from my childhood are probably extremely altered from the truth. Also, by using several of the applied cognition exercises that were linked to us, I have reached a better understanding of simple things, like how I can memorize pictures better that sounds. This is useful because each student has to study a different way. If I easily remember things I learned from visual demonstration verses lecture, I will probably do better when tested. I also learned how easily interference can affect someone. Everybody has done it: when someone is concentrating on counting or remember a number, it is always fun to list random numbers to screw them up. Why doesnt the same affect happen when the person memorizing or counting has other distractions? After the several examples of the inconsistancy of memory, I am now more concious not to rely solely on my memory, and not to feel bad when my memory is wrong, because it is simply part of the way the human brain works.

Something significant I learned while reading this chapter is how to improve my memory. Some ideas seem obvious, such as repeated studying and using mneumonic devices but some ideas suprised me. One idea that really shocked me was "activating retrivial cues." This means that when one is trying to remember something, they should recreate the environment and mood they were in when they originally learned the material. The should then allow each cue to lead them to another memory, until they discover the desired memory. Now that I think about it, I have done this while taking test, sometimes I close my eyes and try to picture a page of my book or whiteboard in a classroom. Although I have used this technique in a sense, I cannot say I have ever completely recreated the environment and/or mood. I also was suprised on how much sleep can increase one's memory. I know experts say that sleep is healthy to recharge your body, which in turn increases performance, but I really never realized the organization your brain does while sleeping in order to better remember things. Because of my understanding of this chapter, especially this concept, I hope further use these techniques to increase my success in my remaining high school, and continued college, education. I truly believe if I exercise all of these techniques simutaneously, verses which ever I feel are appropraite or easy at the time, I will have a easier time remembering important concepts and details to not only increase my test scores, but also make my homework go by faster.

blog #8...

Classical Conditioning is most easily described as a type of learning (which was made famous by Pavlov) in which one links or forms a connection between two or more stimuli and therefore anticipates events. An example of classical conditioning would be if one had too much to drink one particular evening and became sick. The next day, while hungover, the individual may become sick or nauseated at the mere smell of the alcohol.

Operant Conditioning can be described as a type of learning that if rewarded or reinforced, it becomes stronger..and if punished, it becomes diminished. A common example of operant conditioning is when a child becomes upset after a parent refuses to give them a candy bar. The child then proceeds to whine and eventually throw a fit. The parent then gives up on refusing the candy to the child and allows them to have it. Consequencely, a similar situation may thereafter happen everytime the child visits the store and wants a candy bar.

The largest difference between Classical and Operant Conditioning is that Classical conditioning is in a way "programmed" into the brain. With classical conditioning, one thing is associated with another. With operant conditioning, something is learned by consequences, and somewhat trial-and-error.

This can be easily applied to everyday life, especially in children and animals. My puppy Bella is only one year old and very intelligent. We don't train her hardcore, but she does know quite a few things. She knows that when we are putting on our shoes or packing bags, we plan on leaving. This would be an example of Classical conditioning. In order to potty train her when she was young, we would reward her with a treat whenever she went potty outside. When ever she had an accident in the house, we would pick her up and place her outside. This is an example of operant conditioning.

Positive reinforcement increases behavior by often involving a rewarding stimuli. I have experienced positive reinforcement throughout my education. Every quarter when I received a report card, my parents give me so much money for each A. The lower the grade, the lower amount of money I recieve. Although I naturally have a lot of determination, this reinforcement my parents have placed on me has also been an incentive to keep my grades up.

Negative reinforcement increases behavior by stopping or reducing the stimuli -- but not punishing. One of the most common examples of negative reinforcement I can think of is the seat belt alarm. Although I am very good about wearing my seat belt, If i slip up and forget, my car alarm digs. This is obviously annoying, so it reminds me to put it on. Although if necessary, my car can be easily ignored because it is a subtle ding, my mom's cannot. The alarm begins immediately and increases in pitch and speed the longer you wait to put your seatbelt on.

Punishment is an action or even that decreases a given behavior. This summer my dad became very upset with some of my actions. Overall, he thought I was acting out in ways I shouldn't have and it had much to do with the people I surrounded myself with. My dad chose to punish me by taking away my cell phone. He did not specifically tell me when I would get it back, but merely when he believed "we were on the same terms again." Because of the punishment, I began to behave again and I finally recieved my cell phone 9 weeks later, with understanding that if things got out of control again, the punishment would be a lot worse.

Something I found very interesting in this chapter was the extremes of observational learning. I know that many people have fought to eliminate children's exposure to violent media but the numbers and statistics presented in this chapter were phenomenal. This really changes my mind about what kids should really be exposed to in general. I always believed that with good supervision and explanation children could experience such violence to a certain degree. After reading this I really do believe that eliminating the bulk of the violence would be a positive solution in order to save the lives of many innocent children.

Blog #7...

Sensation refers to the processes (see, hear, feel, smell, and taste) that our sensory receptors and nervous system recieve from various things in our environment. Perception refers to organizing and interpreting the information gained from sensation in order to recognize important or meaningful objects and events.

The thing I found most fascinating in Chapter 6: Sensation and Perception was subliminal stimulation. I find this interesting because it is proven that we can unconciously sense stimuli below our threshold, and in turn, without our awareness, these stimuli can influence us, creating suggestive powers. For example, although we are unable to smell something, our body may still react to it, depending if the smell is pleasant or unfavorable. This really creates a lot of concerns for me. Now that I am aware of this information, I wonder the millions of things that are going on around me that I am unaware of, although my body continues to react to them. This almost makes me feel as if I hold less control over my own body. This can be applied to everyday life by surrounded someone with positive, but yet subliminal, messages in hope to boost their spirits or self-confidence. I think this could be a positive for of therapy if persued.

After searching perception, I read and article on Psyblog entitled "How do Emoticons and Capitlisation Affect Perception of Email?." The article explained that forms of communications such as e-mail, text messaging, or even blogging (haha) obviously decrease the true understanding of the writer's behavior. With increased popularity, several people use capitilisation, punctuation, italicisation, or emoticons to express and convey their emotion. When capitilisation is overused, readers tend to recieve a bold, intimidating, or even angry perception. When emoticons are used, readers often feel a friendlier vibe. This was put to the test by holding a questionaire among college students. The students were asked to fill out a personality questionaire and then read anonymous emails. Although the students' personality also affected how the emails were preceived, the majority students rated the writers that used correct capitilisation and emoticons with a higher likability and those writers that used intense capitilization with a lower likability.

This is interesting because although forms of communication have changed radically in the last decade or two, people continue to find ways to justify for what is lost by the lack of nonverbal communication. The study also proves that although the way in which a writer constructs or punctuates a message may alter the vibe, all humans will precieve the message slightly different. This can easily be applied to everyday life merely because these forms of communication have become so promident. While keeping these studies in mind, a writer can alleviate some confusion when trying to convey a message.

Blog #6...

I learned a lot from the interview I had with my grandmother. I obviously have heard many stories of her life but when I actually sat down with her and my mother and heard the details, my perspective changed a lot. I gained a new outlook through this interview. I have always known that her life was difficult, but having her explain to me what she was going through at my age was so shocking. I am currently focusing on school and my plans to further my education. When I am not doing homework, I have a lot of free time to do things I enjoy or spend time with my family. I easily can take a trip to town whenever I like and road trips with my friends aren't out of the ordinary. I don't have a boyfriend, nor do I even want one. When my grandmother was my age she was focusing on working hard in order to please the rich family she was hired by. Her highest form of education was 8th grade, but her most valued lessons were learned at home on the farm. She rarely had enough time to spend with her family, and when she did, it was very cerished. A trip into town was a very special occasion and she never went on a vacation until well into her 40s. When my grandmother was my age, she was married and pregnant, I truly cannot imagine. Quite frankly, I would of hated to live in that era. I value my education and I love to learn. I love the oppertunities I hold and I love that my family has been fortunate enough to travel with me to see the world. I love having the freedom of taking a drive whenever I like, or going to the store to buy something special for myself. I give anybody that has grown up in the early 1900s much credit, because it has made them amazingly strong men and women.

I truly believe that one's adolecence is the worst years of their life, and I am no exception. These are the years that will make or break a person. These are the years a child becomes and adult and discovers themselves, and what they want to do with the rest of their life. Although my teenage years have been my most difficult thus far, they have taught me lessons that I will use throughout my life. My adolecense has developed me into the person I will most likely be for the rest of my life.

The thing I found most fascinating about chapter 4 was identical twins. When I read about Jim Lewis and Jim Springer, I was in complete shock. I know twins' personality traits are often similar, but I cannot believe that these two men, which have been seperated for nearly 40 years and grew up with different parents, in different environments, can still be so similar!

One thing I learned in chapter 5 was that parenting styles are classified, and how dramatically they affect the child's personality. Obviously, children who are always spoiled are going to expect to get what they want, that part definately didn't suprise me. I learned that parents can be classified as Authoritarian, Permissive, Authoritative, and Neglective. Authoritarian parents create rules and demand obedience. Permissive parents are those parents who "spoil" their children or give them what they want and give in to the child's desires. Authoritative parents make and enforce rules, but for reasons, and explains their intentions to the child. Neglective parents give their children what they need to survive, but often no love or support. I have discovered in the past few years that one of my close friends I have had throughout my life was a victim of neglect as a child. When my parents told me this, everything I know about her started to make sense, and I can truly say that how she was treated as a child has extremely affected her young adulthood and the person she has become.

Blog #5...

One thing I gained from reading this chapter was a better understanding of Identical and Fraternal twins. I learned that although identical twins have the same genes, they might not always have the same number of copies of those genes. I also learned that most identical twins share a placenta, but one of three sets have two placentas. I learned that fratnernal twins develop from seperate fretilized eggs and although they share a fetal environment, they are no different than another siblings.

Another thing I learned is how crucial the observations one makes as a child are to ones life and brain development. There are always exceptions, but you often see this reflected in how children are raised by their parents. Parents who have poor parenting skills and set bad examples are more likely to have misbehaved children. Those parents who are dedicated and set good examples for their children are more likely to have children who are well-behaved and successful.

I also found personal space very interesting. I find it amazing how cultures can differ so greatly. I learned that Scandinavians, North Americans, and the British prefer to have more personal space than Latin Americans, Arabs, and the French. You would assume that personal space would be a personal preferences, depending how how comfortable or affectionate a person was, but it also depends greatly on the culture they are surrounded with. In France, people traditionally kiss cheeks when they meet. You would never see that happen in America on a regular basis.

The video on sexual attitudes was interesting as well. It proves that although many people believe homosexuality is a choice, it also depends on one's genetics and how one's gender has evolved over time.

Post #4...

I read the article that was entitled "What? Me Biased?". This article explained how the majority of people are subconciously biased, whether they conciously believe so or not. After reading the article, which explained how when tested, most people appeared subconciously racist towards Barack Obama, I could not believe it. Nevertheless, I decided I should engage in the linked activities that calculate one's level of bias. These "quizes" i took were called IATs. Although there were many options, I first chose the weight one, and then the race one. After completely a series of questions and caterogizing words and pictures as fast as I could, my first result explained how I prefer thin people over heavy people, and my second, white people over black people. Although I really dont feel like I am prejudice against either group of people, I feel like my results might reflect the people I am more exposed to.

Another thing I learned about while reading this chapter was that the more derived one is from sleep, the greater their chance is to become overweight. This was always a conflicting idea to me. I understand that while one is asleep, they obviously cannot eat. On the flip side, one burns very few calories while sleeping, so if they are awake and active, they would be burning more calories.

What suprised me the most about this section was that although only 1 out of 10 males' dreams and 1 out of 30 females' had sexual overtones, Freud believed that these sexual dreams are not nearly as erotic as we think.

I highly agree that many of those that use drugs are often influenced by others. I feel as if the majority of drug users do it for status more than anything. This explains why many kids do it with their friends, or do it at a social event like a party, and also explains why many people quit when they start surrounding themselves with friends or family that are drug free.

After reviewing the chapter for a second time, I cannot find anything it contains that I truely disagree with. All of the information is very factual and statistical, and I cannot argue with that. Although some of the statistics seem a little bit exaggerated, I believe I feel this way because of where I live, both geographically and culturally, and also the people I surround myself with. When considering the entire nation, these stats seem much more realistic to my knowledge.

Post #3...

The first game I played was titled "The Prisoners' Dilemma". In this game, the player acted as if they were locked up with another player. Both players had to decided to either "compete" or "cooperate" without knowing what the other player would choose. If both players decided to cooperate, they are both rewarded 3 gold coins. If both players decided to compete, they are both rewarded one gold coin. If one decided to compete, and the other to cooperate, the player who decided to compete recieves 5 gold coins, and the other, none.

I learned that sometimes, the best payout for one person, increases the payout for the other as well. I also learned that there is no single "best" strategy. To maximize one's payout depends on the strategy of the partner.

This suprised me because while playing I thought I developed a strategy. I always chose to "compete" because that way, every time my competitor chose to cooperate, I would gain 5 coins on him/her, and everytime my competitor chose to compete, he would not gain on me.

This can be applied to everyday life because it proves you can not pridict the choice of another player, and there is no particular strategy that is best.

The second activity I chose was "Ambiguous Figures". This activity simply consisted of looking at ambiguous figures, as the title suggests. Ambiguous figures are perspective images that can induce two or more perceptions.

I learned that ALL imputs to the brain are ambiguous, just some more than others. This seems obvious, but it something not often thought about. The brain has the ability to interpret things several different ways. This is what suprised me most.

This can be applied to everyday life because it is a simply explanation to a disagreement between people with contrasting opinions. People simply percieve things differently.

One thing I learned in this chapter was plasticity. I was aware that when part of the brain was damaged, such as one of the senses-like sight, another part of the brain becomes stronger to make up for the loss. I was not aware though, that that part of the brain is not then wasted space. The part that was damaged repairs itself to make up for the loss. For example, if a person becomes blind, the visual cortex will now be used to read, sense, and comprehend Braille.

Another thing I learned was about the potential to regulate a human's brain if something is irregular. If somebody has a severe anger and/or aggression problem, we have tried treating the disorder with therapy and self-control. In the future, we could regulate this problem surgically. The amyglada, which influences aggression and fear, could be removed or repaired to a better, more stable state.

The Man with Two Brains is a fascinating story. As I read about it in my book, it really grabbed my attention. It was slightly difficult to comprehend, because it is so far fetched. It's hard to believe a man could not only survive the procedure, but lead a normal life. I'm sure it takes a lot of therapy and practice to become comfortable with having different thoughts and actions, without knowing why they correlate, but it's very inspirational to know such thing can be done.

2..Thinking Critically With Psychological Science...

Research is important regardless of the subject matter. When speaking of psychology, research is specifically important because the human race is constantly making new breakthoughs in order to further understand the human mind. Keeping current with one's research allows us to be as knowledgable as possible when studying the information.

An example of research I discovered on Psyblog was entitled "How Long to Form a Habit?". This piece of research is extremely relevent to my life right now, and I am actually happy I stumbled upon it. The researchers recruited participants that wanted to form a new, healthy habit. The goal was to discover, on average, how long it took for the participants to engage in these simple daily activities (such as eating a piece of fruit at lunch or going on a 15 minute run) before the formed the habit. I'm sure this relates to many lives but I really feel a correlation with mine. I put myself on a very strict diet last winter/spring. At first it was difficult, but it then became a habit. I trained myself to eat minimum amounts of healthy food, and anything more physically made me sick. Over the summer, I slowly started eating larger quantities and worse qualites. I am now struggling to make eating healthy a habit again, and although I know I can do it, the habit is hard to sink into again..and I cannot help to wonder how long it will take me this time!

One thing I have learned is that when one claims they knew the answer to a specific question "all the long", there is a specific, scientific explanation for it. After learning about hindsight bias, it seems obvious.

Another thing I was suprised by was how much science is involved with psychology. I have always understood psychology to be a course of social studies or humanities. After reading the few chapters, I can definitely comprehend why science and psychology complement eachother so greatly. I have learned about the scientific method in countless classes, and I was suprised to see it explained, yet again, in my psychology book.

Another thing that I learned was how drastic the difference was between correlation and causation. I understand the difference, but after reading the chapter and reviewing the video, I now understand how important it is to understand how they differ.

1...Thinking Critically With Psychological Science

Before I started this class, I felt as if I had a pretty decent understanding of what psychology was, regardless of never having studied it. It has always been of interest to me, so I grasped the different elements quite easily. When many people think of psychology, they think of "shrinks". I know there is a lot more to it than that. Aside from the counseling end of things, I knew that psychology is used to conduct studies to determine how people interact with not only others, but within themselves. Although I have lacked important details and correct definitions until now, I understand that psychology includes, but is not limited to, mental diseases, relationships, dreams, determination, personality, interactions, goals, perception, intelligence, emotions, and therapy.

Psychology affects my life drastically. Not only I, but many of my friends and family have experienced the effects of mental and emotional disesases and the help of counseling. Also, psychology affects me just for the mere fact that I am a part of this world. I strongly believe that a better understanding of psychology will solve a lot of the world's issues today. I think if everybody has a better understanding and acceptance of how the mind works and what drives others to act they way they do, the world would be a much more peaceful place.

I found it very intriguing that the book admitted how silly and obvious some of most breakthrough thoughts or ideas are. Since psychology is a realitively new subject and course of study for many individuals, a lot of the breakthroughs that have made seem exceptionally obvious. I am so interested in this, I cannot wait to learn more about what psychologists today are discovering. With the vast amount of tools, resources, technology, and interest, the advances today must be phenomonal.

I also find "Perceiving Order in Random Events" facinating. From little on, we were all taught that if we received a good hand in cards, or got lucky playing a game, it was rare. The truth is, we were taught wrong the entire time. Sure, its special to get a certain hand of cards, but what many fail to realize is that it is just as likely as any other hand. It feels special to us because we are watching for order in the random data. It is amazing how confusing it can be to understand such a simple concept, just because the correct concept is not what we were originally taught to understand.


**I would like to mention that some of the things I mention in my blogs may seem personal, but I feel willing to open up merely because it is how I relate my information, and I feel that when I use my own experiences and/or opinions, I can express more knowledgable answers to the questions given. Thanks for reading, and thanks for understanding.**

introducing myself...

Hellooooo, Intro to Psychology! I am Tiffany Marie Kafka. I am currently 17 years old and attend Stratford High School, and man, I CANNOT wait to get out! Although I'm counting down the days until graduation, I am glad to have spent my entire education (thus far) in such a great school district and an even better town.

Many things have shaped me as a person, and I truely believe I am still finding myself. The process is a constant struggle, trial and error. Those people closest to oneself definitely hold the largest impact on one's life, regardless of who you are. I am no exception. My friends and family have really shaped me as a person. In my early years, my parents and nanny had the biggest impact on me. Now that I am older, I am finding that I am becoming more and more impacted by my older brother and friends.

Other than those around me, I have been extremely impacted by the things I have experienced. Whether they be positive or negative, with each and every experience, I somehow gained a new outlook on life.

I think studying psychology is EXTREMELY important. Without a strong understanding of our own race, how can we manage to advance in anything? The world needs to understand eachother in order to progress, regardless of the differences that separate us.

From what I have previously learned, psychology is the study of the mind. Psychology focuses on the way the mind works, and what makes each mind work differently. It also focuses on relationships, personalities, beliefs, goals, priorities, etc.