Final Blog Post/ Intro to Psych

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ᗯEEK 1- GET TO KᑎOᗯ Eᗩᑕᕼ OTᕼEᖇ ᗩᑎᗪ IᑎTᖇOᗪᑌᑕTIOᑎ TO ᑭᔕYᑕᕼOᒪOGY

~~>  My first post in this course was to write a blog introducing myself to my fellow classmates. My post consisted of food I liked, activities I enjoyed participating in, and my college major. You can find it here. In addition, I was told to comment and view other students blogs in order to better get to know one another. This introductory blog got me excited for this course and encouraged me to open up which equipped me for the rest of the semester material. Regarding psychology we were asked, "What is psychology?" This question challenged my knowledge, personal view, and how psychology has affected my life. To me psychology meant, "The way science has intervened to make sense of the brain and its ability to control the body emotionally, physically, and spiritually." By having a foundational understanding of what psychology is I was able to better understand the new knowledge I would gain about psychology as the semester went on.  <~~

ᗯEEK 2- TYᑭEᔕ Oᖴ ᑭᔕYᑕᕼOᒪOGIᔕTᔕ

~~>  In week two I learned that most psychologists work in laboratories, hospitals, and other field settings where they study the behavior of both humans and animals. Also, I discovered the many different types of psychologists that exist. I chose to write a blog about counselors. I found this field of study incredibly inspiring and helpful to people. What inspires me is the work they do, the many people they help, and the tactics they use to help people cope and overcome adversity. You can read more in my blog found here.  <~~

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ᗯEEK 3- ᗷᖇᗩIᑎ ᗩᑎᗪ ᗷEᕼᗩᐯIOᖇ

~~ >  This week we studied the affects the brain has on the body's behavior. I learned that the left brain functions include analytic thought, logic, language, science and math. The right brain functions include imagination, art, feelings, and spatial relations. In addition there are important structures of the brain called the pons which monitors sleep, alertness, attention, and the nervous system, the medulla which controls the vital functions, and the cerebellum which coordinates muscle movement, learning skills, and timing. This knowledge was astonishing to me. It opened my eyes to how intricate the brain is and the many functions it serves to make sure the body is functioning properly. Further info on how the brain works with behavior can be found in my blog here.  <~~

ᗯEEK 4- ᔕEᑎᔕᗩTIOᑎ ᗩᑎᗪ ᑭEᖇᑕEᑭTIOᑎ

~~>  Sensation is the physical processing of stimuli through the sensory organs and channels. It also is a mechanical process by which the sensory organs detect and process stimuli. Perception is the psychological processing of interpreting and using that information. Our impressive sensory abilities allow us to experience the most enjoyable and most miserable experiences, as well as everything in between. Our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin provide an interface for the brain to interact with the world around us. This module further explained sensation and perception by referring to illusions. Illusions trick the brain into thinking it is viewing reality when in actuality perception and sensation is being fooled. My blog explaining illusions regarding sensation and perception is here.  <~~

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ᗯEEK 5- ᒪIᖴEᔕᑭᗩᑎ ᗪEᐯEᒪOᑭᗰEᑎT

~~>  Lifespan development takes place in four phases. The first, prenatal development is the development of a fetus to a child in the womb. In the next stage, early childhood, brain development takes place, next motor development, and then sensory and perception development. The next stage is adolescence where teens experience puberty and growth spurts. The brain continue to grow and develop maturely in this stage. The last stage is adulthood which is characteristic by two periods: middle age and after middle age. I was mostly intrigued with the adolescence stage of development. I questioned, "Why do teens sleep so much? Why are they prone to act out? Why do they make bad decisions?" This module answered each of these questions. My blog discussing lifespan development is here. We also discussed the Nature vs. Nurture effect. This is an ongoing debate on whether people develop talents or are born with them. This was one of my favorite topics to research. Spoiler alert, I still can't decide which side I agree with! I would highly recommend checking out my blog about it- here.  <~~

ᗯEEK 6- ᑭEᖇᔕOᑎᗩᒪITY

~~ > Personalities are characterized in terms of traits, which are relatively enduring characteristics that influence our behavior across many situations. Personality traits are important because they help explain consistencies in behavior. Trait psychology believes in the idea that people differ from one another in terms of where they stand a set of basic trait dimensions that persist over time and across situations. The most widely used system of traits is the Five- Factor Model. This system includes the traits of Openness, Consciousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Each trait can be divided into faucets which give a more distinct analysis of one's personality. The Five- Factor Model is not something one should base their life and identity on, but it does help to discover one's self better. I found it incredibly enlightening when it took the test. There were results I agreed with and results I found were false. However, either way I still discovered more about myself and why I do the things I do and act the way I act. My blog on the Five- Factor Model is here. ~~

  Thus, 

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ᗯEEK 7- ᒪEᗩᖇᑎIᑎG

~~ In this module I learned about the different ways people learn. Pavlov a behaviorist used classical conditioning, a type of learning that occurs when an association is made between an meaningful stimulus and a non-meaningful stimulus, to explain how conditioning can be used to train the brain to expect something. Another types of learning conditioning is Operant Conditioning, which is the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences. Operant conditioning uses positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment to understand how the brain reacts to certain enforcements.  Other types of learning include Conditioned Taste Aversions, Observational Learning, and Latent Learning. As displayed there are many ways to learn, but everyone learns differently. Not everyone will fall under each of these categories of learning which is what I find very interesting and fascinating. Learning further explains how we are all different, unique, and unlike any other. My blog about learning can be found here. ~~

ᗯEEK 8- ᗰEᗰOᖇY

~~>  This module explained how memory takes place in the brain. There are two types of memory: explicit and implicit. The three major memory stages are sensory, short-term, and long- term. Information begins in sensory memory, moves to short- term memory, and eventually moves to long- term memory. Crazy enough, though, not all information makes it through all three stages, most of it is forgotten. Knowing how memory works made me realize the importance of memory retention. Information retention depends entirely how the information is intended and processed. I now can remember names when I first meet people, better my study skills, and understand directions more thoroughly. In order to understand how to better retain memory refer to my blog found here.  <~~

 

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ᗯEEK 10- EᗰOTIOᑎ

~~>  In this module I learned that emotion is defined as passions which involve expressive displays and psychological responses. More importantly, though, I learned how emotions come to be. Brain mechanisms underlie emotion. For example, the pyramidal motor system control voluntary facial expressions while the extrapyramidal motor system controls involuntary facial expressions. The left hemisphere of the brain is more active during positive emotion while the right hemisphere is more active during negative emotion. However, physical responses to emotion is due to the Sympathetic Nervous System. The SNS triggers responses such as increase in heart and blood pressure, irregular and rapid breathing, dilated pupils, sweating, watery eyes, dry mouth, and a raise in blood sugar. One of the most interesting physical display of emotion is facial changes. What I found interesting about facial changes is that they differ from culture to culture. There are some facial expressions which can be understood to have the same meaning by almost all cultures, while there are many expressions that are comprehended differently between cultures. I was asked in this module to express my views on multiculturalism in my blog. It was incredibly enlightening to understand my view on the topic and how my view developed while also discovering my classmates' views on the topic. The blog is found here.  <~~

ᗯEEK 11- ᔕOᑕIᗩᒪ ᑭᔕYᑕᕼOᒪOGY

~~>  Human beings are social beings. This module helped me better understand the way an individual's social environment impacts his or her emotional and mental functioning, also known as social psychology. Social psychologists assert that an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are very much influenced by social situations. After discovering this I found myself becoming more aware of my surroundings and understanding my reactions to my environment. In this module I was challenged to write a blog discussing how a type of psychologist may address or use social psychology in their career. I chose again to write about counselors and their impactful ability to connect socially and heal others socially. My blog is found here.  <~~ 

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ᗯEEK 12- ᗰEᑎTᗩᒪ IᒪᒪᑎEᔕᔕ

~~>  This module consisted of strictly media regarding mental illness. It covered all aspects such as understanding what mental disorders are, depression, suicide, OCD, schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder, and eating disorders. Not only were videos supplied discussing each area, but there were also videos about how to over come these illnesses and how to help a loved one who is suffering. This module was the most impactful to me because it made me more aware of the topic of mental illness. Mental illness is not taught in school and I have not experienced first hand the damaging effects. However, because of this module I now feel confident and knowledgable enough to be able to discuss the topic and provide aid to people who may be living with mental illness. Having a professor and curriculum Ibn college which discussed the toughie subject of mental illness brought me new clarity. I now see mental illness from a better and more open point-of-view than I had previously. In my blog I discussed how counselors assess and aid people fighting mental illness. here.  <~~

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ᗯEEK 13- ᑭOᔕITIᐯE ᑭᔕYᑕᕼOᒪOGY

~~> Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living. It is a call for psychological science and practice to be as concerned with strength as with weakness; as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst; and as concerned with making the lives of normal people fulfilling as with healing pathology. Several truisms underpin positive psychology. First, what is good in life is as genuine as what is bad--not derivative, secondary, epiphenomenal, illusory, or otherwise suspect. Second, what is good in life is not simply the absence of what is problematic. We all know the difference between not being depressed and bounding out of bed in the morning with enthusiasm for the day ahead. And third, the good life requires its own explanation, not simply a theory of disorder stood sideways or flipped on its head. This module taught me how to stay positive throughout my daily life and further apply positivity to my future career. Your life is what you make it and it is true that being positive gets your leaps further in achieving a goal and happiness in life.  <~~ 

psychology rests on the idea that people differ from one another in terms of where they stand

on a set of basic trait dimensions that persist oer time and across situations. The most widely

used system of traits is called the Five-Factor Model.

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