3

Ok so it’s Wednesday and I just got home to a great big happy family, not. Ok so I had to come home because my sister had a mental breakdown. Her husband, Steve is in Iraq again and every time she turns on the news she can’t help but worry herself sick. Well, it is so odd how children can say the littlest thing and hurt an adult so badly. My sister has two kid’s Felicity who is six and Clayton who is two. Well my sister went to pick them up from school and day care when this little boy walks up to my sister and says “you’re the mommy whose husband is shooting the bad guys right?” and my sister responded yes, that’s me and the little boy said to her “well you better hope the bad guys don’t shoot back.” To me I thought it was kind of clever of the little boy and somewhat funny but to my sister it was a nightmare. This was the last little push to make her break and she did. So I left early the next morning to help her. Normally my parents would be just a few minutes away but they just left about a week ago to go back to California because it was my bothers daughter Kiely, first birthday. So I went out there to take the kids to school and to cheer class and to playschool. While my sister stayed in bed all day and cried. I can’t even imagine what she is going through all I can do is be there as much as possible for her.Words: 272

part 2

Ok so now I have even a bigger problem!!! I went home this week and took my computer thinking I could do my homework when I got there and no worries right. Wrong! When I got home my screen went out, it was completely white and not a single computer store could fix it so it is a good thing I bought the warranty on my computer. The bad thing I am stuck in Texas, with zero access to a computer. I called everyone I knew and not a single person came home this week. Lucky me, no computer= no internet. And no internet= another week of no blogs. So I decided I was going to hand write my blogs and just turn them in on Tuesday. Well, I got everything done I needed to at home and decided to come back today. So now I am typing up all of my blogs that I hand wrote. I know that they are supposed to be up by Friday night, but I am hoping you will make an exception and accept my late blog posts. I know I could have done them sooner, but I did leave on Wednesday morning so I thought I had plenty of time. It’s just that I promised myself that I would do these things this time and then my computer screen goes out. I guess I just really am bad at this whole thing. You know what’s even worse? My computer will be back in 4-6 weeks and finals are next week and our big paper is also due next week so all of my research and writing has to be done in the computer lab. Luckily I saved my research on a thumb drive the other day; I guess God was looking out for me there.Words: 302

Ok so this blog is about me not remembering about my blogs the last month! Ughhh…idk why it is so hard for me to remember to post these things. I have been really horrible this semester at writing. It is just that I have papers after papers and the; last thing I want to do every day is write…again. I am not over exaggerating when I say that I had four papers to write last week. Four that is one a day. Then on top of those four papers, my psychology class is nothing but writing. We go in for an hour every class period and write on an assigned topic. I have written more this semester than I have my whole life. I am not trying to say that these aren’t important or useful because they are, it’s just I guess I am stuck in my old habits and can’t seem to start new ones. I have really enjoyed this course; the only thing I regret is not doing these blogs. I know how beneficial they could have been in my research. I loved learning about my topic, and it has inspired me to care about something and know that I can do something about it. I think I will actually vote in this upcoming election, something I thought I would never do. I don’t like to hear all these negative things about all the candidates, so the way I saw it why vote for the lesser of two evils? Now I can see why, because this issue really matters to me now.
Words: 264
Ok so now I have even a bigger problem!!! I went home this week and took my computer thinking I could do my homework when I got there and no worries right. Wrong! When I got home my screen went out, it was completely white and not a single computer store could fix it so it is a good thing I bought the warranty on my computer. The bad thing I am stuck in Texas, with zero access to a computer. I called everyone I knew and not a single person came home this week. Lucky me, no computer= no internet. And no internet= another week of no blogs. So I decided I was going to hand write my blogs and just turn them in on Tuesday. Well, I got everything done I needed to at home and decided to come back today. So now I am typing up all of my blogs that I hand wrote. I know that they are supposed to be up by Friday night, but I am hoping you will make an exception and accept my late blog posts. I know I could have done them sooner, but I did leave on Wednesday morning so I thought I had plenty of time. It’s just that I promised myself that I would do these things this time and then my computer screen goes out. I guess I just really am bad at this whole thing. You know what’s even worse? My computer will be back in 4-6 weeks and finals are next week and our big paper is also due next week so all of my research and writing has to be done in the computer lab. Luckily I saved my research on a thumb drive the other day; I guess God was looking out for me there.
Words: 302
Ok so it’s Wednesday and I just got home to a great big happy family, not. Ok so I had to come home because my sister had a mental breakdown. Her husband, Steve is in Iraq again and every time she turns on the news she can’t help but worry herself sick. Well, it is so odd how children can say the littlest thing and hurt an adult so badly. My sister has two kid’s Felicity who is six and Clayton who is two. Well my sister went to pick them up from school and day care when this little boy walks up to my sister and says “you’re the mommy whose husband is shooting the bad guys right?” and my sister responded yes, that’s me and the little boy said to her “well you better hope the bad guys don’t shoot back.” To me I thought it was kind of clever of the little boy and somewhat funny but to my sister it was a nightmare. This was the last little push to make her break and she did. So I left early the next morning to help her. Normally my parents would be just a few minutes away but they just left about a week ago to go back to California because it was my bothers daughter Kiely, first birthday. So I went out there to take the kids to school and to cheer class and to playschool. While my sister stayed in bed all day and cried. I can’t even imagine what she is going through all I can do is be there as much as possible for her.
Words: 272

The three dimensions of casualties are Internal/ external, stable/ unstable, and controllable/ uncontrollable. The first dimension, internal/ external causes includes all causes internal to that person such as beliefs and personality traits. Where as external causes include things such as social pressure and other aspects of the social situations. The next dimension is the stable/ unstable cause and is both internal and external. They are more so about how you perceive a person actions if it is constantly recurring then it is a stable cause. Although if it seems to alter somewhat it is unstable. The last dimension of casualties is the controllable/ uncontrollable cause in which a person is perceived as one or the other. This can co-exist with any combination of the other dimensions. (1)The fundamental attribution error is the tendency for observers to overestimate the importance of traits and underestimate the importance of situations where they seek explanations of someone's behavior (1). The fundamental attribution error is simply saying that people tend to explain peoples reactions to their personalities rather than according to the situation. This has happened to me before, I was in a tough situation with my boyfriend recently and my friend thought that it was just my personality and really it was all about the situation. In fact I hardly doubt that in a normal circumstance that I would have acted the way I did. Although she still believes that my problems with my boyfriend and I were because of my personality, not the current situation. She even went as far as trying to get me to break up with him. I was appalled because this was none of her business in the first place and she was making a huge fundamental attribution error. This in turn affected my attitude towards her until she realized how wrong she truly was. We were both bitter at each other for awhile, but she realized she was underestimating the whole situation. Cognition, for the purpose of cognitive dissonance, may be thought of as a piece of knowledge. The knowledge may be about an attitude, an emotion, a behavior, or a value (2). A person who has dissonant cognitions is said to be in a state of psychological dissonance, which is known as unpleasant psychological tension (2). This state of tension internal drive like properties that are much like that of hunger and thirst (2). When a person has been deprived of food, they experiences unpleasant tension and is driven to reduce the unpleasant tension that results (2). Although reducing the psychological sate of dissonance is not as simple as eating or drinking (2). Another theory is self perception this theory is about the behaviors between individuals that stresses their references about their attitudes into perceiving their behavior (3). I have experiences cognitive dissonance in my life, all it seems to be is discomfort in your mind. Not like a headache but more so like an unpleasant situation that you can not get out of your head and everyone has experienced this before. I am currently experiencing this with my parents. We just do not agree on my new living arrangements, here. They were honestly hoping that I would hate it here and want to go home, but the truth is I couldn't be happier than I am here. I could use this new information in the situation with my parents by explaining to them how people's attitudes change, and this could also be very helpful in the workplace by understanding that the grumpy old man that comes into your store everyday may just be grumpy because of outside situations. Who knows he could be sweet guy, I need to give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes. Works cited:1) Textbook2) http://www.ithaca.edu/faculty/stephens/cdback.html3) http://www.sexualityandu.ca/professionals/older-women-8.aspx

Words: 629

My hostile sexism score was a 2.18 and my benevolent sexism score is a 2.00 (1). My scores for the hidden racism suggested a moderate automatic preference for European American compared to African American (2). I do not believe that I have biases towards either sex. I seem to think fairly in the world, I honestly believe that men and women are equal and should be treated as such. I do not like it when people try to belittle women or when women try to do the same to men. Either way it is not right and that is truly what I believe. I also do not think that I am prejudice towards race; I might have a slight preference towards whites but that goes back to the old saying birds of a feather flock together. I have some black friends as well it just happens that I have more in common with more white people. That does not mean I am raciest. I honestly do think that the color on your skin should not affect you and your surroundings. I think that if a white person and a black person are both going after the same job that the one with most experience or education should get the job and that race should never be the issue. I honestly do not agree with the sexist and racist speeches and other things but I also believe in freedom of speech and that even though they sound ignorant, however has something to say should be allowed to say it. You do not have to listen to the speeches or read the literature in which you do not agree to. That goes along with pornography; you do not have to go out and watch it or go to an adult store where it is easily accessible. It goes along with freedoms of Americans. If you were to outlaw pornography people would just find illegal ways to go around the laws. I do not necessarily agree with porn and I think it can be quite demeaning to both men and women but I still think it is others rights to be able to view what they choose. The difficult problem that comes with what should be outlawed is you want to do what is in the best interest for others in the country, but not everyone knows what is best for everyone. What is best for you may not be what are best for me. (3)I personally can not think of an instance where I was biased or prejudice. I am not saying that I am perfect, but I am saying that I generally do not act in such ways. Although people generally would react in a negative manner if you are acting irrationally. The most difficult aspect of being a minority group member is not always having people around that have the same views as you, and you can be found constantly defending yourself. Although the negative aspects of being the majority are far less strenuous, they include falling into a stereotype and not having a good sense of who you are anymore because you have been wrapped up in your majority group for so long. Works cited:1) http://www.understandingprejudice.org/index.php?section=asi&action=takeSurvey 2) http://www.understandingprejudice.org/iat/racframe.htm 3) Textbook

Words: 543

another psyc

In my personality test, it said that I was very extroverted, moderately intuitive, moderately feeling, and slightly perceiving (1,2). I feel that these results were correct according to my personality. I do have a very extroverted personality; I often am the loud one in the group and talk a lot, especially if something is bothering me. I also am driven by my feeling many times and often act on impulses. People can often tell what my feelings are because they influence my decisions many of the times. I also am very intuitive; if I feel that something is up, I will usually go investigate it to find out just what it is exactly. Although these things are all, correct about me, the fact of feelings being rated that high makes me wonder because I have a hard time expressing my feelings especially if it is something that has really upset me. The whole thing of me only being slightly perceiving makes me wonder the accuracy as well because I feel that I am very perceiving. I try to take things in that are around me rather than jump right into something. In addition, I think it would depend on my mood on how extroverted I can be, because in the classroom I tend to stay in my comfort zone and be quiet. Although at a party or around my friends I am the center of attention, and that is exactly how I like it. I think this test is fun, but I do not think it is very useful. You are asked questions about yourself so you are going to answer them how you feel you are, while many others may perceive you completely differently. (1,2)Almost none of the careers listed for my personality type are appealing to me. Although the most unappealing to me would be a reporter (3). I was on the newspaper staff in high school, we were constantly getting the story and writing, and I hate writing about things I do not care about. most of the times your stories as a reporter doesn't interest you but you still have to make it interesting to the readers. I also feel that as a reporter people think lowlier of you, because you are always looking for a story so people do not trust you as much. One criticism of a self-report test is social desirability (1,2). Your going to answer the questions how you would want others to perceive you and thus altering the outcomes of the test. Another criticism is that these tests do not get to the underlying core of the person (1). They seem to be somewhat blurry instead of specific. I think that these are both very important factors and they are both equally valid arguments. I think that both my boyfriend and my close friends would score completely opposite of me. Everyone that I tend to be close with is very quiet and not exactly feeling driven which is completely different that how I am. This tells me that opposites really do attract. I think that you need to find someone that is completely different from yourself in order to keep the relationship new and exciting. (4) Works cited:1) Textbook2) http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes3.asp3) http://www.humanmetrics.com/vocation/JCI.asp?EI=89&SN=-38&TF=-25&JP=-114) http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=3&c=champion**

part 2

People with a low socioeconomic status, especially for those that live in poverty are more likely than those higher up in the economic level to develop depression. Also one thing that may predispose your likelihood of having depression is that in America Latinos are much more likely than whites to develop depression. This may be in concurrance with the higher levels of poverty among this race but it is still significantly higher. The depression rate is also twice as high for females as males, this may be due to rapid changes in hormones but no one truly knows. (1)If I knew one of my friends was experiencing the symptoms I listed above I would let her know of the resources available here on campus. We can come here to the psychology department and talk to someone and get her help. Some common treatments include first-line treatment for most people with depression today consist of antidepressant medication, psychotherapy, or the combination. In situations where these options are not effective or too slow for such as in a person with delusional depression and intense, unremitting suicidal thoughts, electroconvulsive therapy may be considered. ECT is also sometimes referred to as electroshock or shock treatment (3). Treatment for depression is varying successful and there are many treatment options available for depressed individuals (3). For about two-thirds of those individuals who have a major depressive episode they will recover completely. The other one-third may recover only partially or not at all. People who do not recover completely may have a higher chance of experiencing one or more additional episodes (2).Works cited:1) Textbook2) http://www.allaboutdepression.com/dia_03.html3) http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter4/sec3_1.html

psych part 1

The typical symptoms of major depressive disorder are depressed mood most of the day, reduced interest or pleasure in all or most activities, significant weight loss or gain or significant decrease/ increase in appetite, trouble sleeping or sleeping to much, psychomotor agitation or retardation, fatigue or loss of energy, feeling worthless or guilty in an excessive or inappropriate manner, problems in thinking, concentrating, or making decisions, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide. These are the nine symptoms in which define a depressive episode; of these at least five must occur during a two week period. (1)There have been studies to show that depressive disorders do run in families although other disorders are more likely, it is more so likely that you can develop a depressive disorder if your biological parent also suffers from a depressive disorder. (1)The most consistent of neurobiological abnormalities in people with depression disorders is altered brain-wave activity while sleeping. Depressed individuals often have less slow wave sleep and go into rapid eye movement earlier into the night than non-depressed individuals. This is the reason while most depressed people often can not get a good night sleep. In major depressive disorder neuroimaging has shown that people with MDD often show a decrease in the metabolic activity in the cerebral cortex. The amygdale is also overactive during depression this is one explanation for the symptoms of depression because this is responsible to help store and recall emotional memories. Another disability that occurs is death or lack of neuron ability, mostly in the prefrontal cortex which also controls the amygdale. (1)People with a low socioeconomic status, especially for those that live in poverty are more likely than those higher up in the economic level to develop depression. Also one thing that may predispose your likelihood of having depression is that in America Latinos are much more likely than whites to develop depression. This may be in concurrance with the higher levels of poverty among this race but it is still significantly higher. The depression rate is also twice as high for females as males, this may be due to rapid changes in hormones but no one truly knows. (1)

Christine Kenneally:
Freelance journalist and author who has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Discover, Slate and Salon, as well as other publications. My book, The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language, was published by Viking in 2007. The paperback is due in May 2008. Before freelancing, she received a Ph.D. in linguistics from Cambridge University and a B.A. (Hons) in English and Linguistics from Melbourne University. She was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, and now lives with her family in Brooklyn.
1st person in nonfiction:
1st person It is happening to the person writing the recount i.e. I went to the park. Purpose: The purpose of a recount is to retell events.The prefix re means again. So to recount is to state again. Structure: There is often an opening or setting a of a scene. E.g. I went to the park.The events in a recount are often in the order that they happen (Chronological order)
Creative writing vs. Journalism:
Journalism – journalistic skills in mainly
practical workshop sessions, including courses
in Shorthand, Media Law, Public Affairs and
Newspaper Journalism. The University of
Strathclyde has provisional accreditation for
these courses from the National Council for
Training of Journalists (NCTJ).

Creative Writing – writing genres, including
the short story, poetry and screen writing.

Journalism and Creative Writing – the
institutional, technological, sociological
and other environments within which
professional communicators work, and
theoretical issues of relevance to both
journalism and creative writing.

Three questions for each writer:
Sullivan:
1) How can you remember so well the events that happened to you so long ago?
2) What is it exactly that strikes your interest in going to all these crazy places and getting a good story?
3) How do you feel knowing that what you write today is going to affect others in the future? I mean you are writing our history.
Josh Prager:
1) Why did you decide to write a nonfiction book, when you are a journalist for a prestigious newspaper such as the Wall Street Journal?
2) Along with that, why did you decide this event? Why did this event have such a large impact on you that you wrote an entire novel about it?
3) Do you enjoy writing for such a business newspaper? Or would you prefer to have a broader range of targeted audience?
Christine Kenneally:
1) What made you want to use first person in your story? Was it to personalize it more or was it to make the reader feel like they were being told the story from someone close to them?
2) Which do you prefer creative writing or journalism? You said in bio info on your web page that you consider yourself a freelance writer, what exactly do you mean by that?
3) how do you go about your writing process? Do you have a specific way in which you try to gather all your thoughts and ideas?

words 491