Blog Post #13

1) I could compare myself to the studies that were performed. I often give in to others views, called conformity. The majority of people swaying one way tend to persuade the minority that their view is wrong. The minority might not even be wrong, the group members just feel as though they are wrong because more people are opposing them. The Milgram's Obedience test was repulsive. I can't believe that one human being could treat another human being like crap just for psychological studies. People were put in life threatening situations just for the purpose of tests, and that is very wrong. The Stanford Prison Experiment was also shocking to me. It made humans treat their peers like animals. The experiment reminded me alot of Hiter. The Holocaust was the same general idea, but not an experiment. The experiment designer was a sick person. If I was inducted into an experiment of that sort, I would probably kill someone after I found out it was just all for fun. Humans sway with the majority. Opinion does not have an effect when a large group is surveyed publically. People are scared or even embarrased to share their views. I think human nature is relatively irrelevant. People do not get things accomplished when the majority is just a big lie. Statistics can be proven wrong when people find out that "human nature" was just taking over.
2) A social influence can be seen in conformity, compliance, and group behavior. The book has examples of normative and informational social influences. Normative social influences are a result of not wanting to be disapproved or to gain approval. An example would be music. My mother is a great flute player and singer. I play flute and I always try to make her proud. I want her approval and I want her to be happy with me. She also sings and I try to gain her approval in that also. Informational includes the willingness to accept other peoples opinions. When you are the president of National Honor Society, you need to take other opinions into consideration. If you are all for yourself, nobody will follow you or listen to you. In order to be successful, you need to listen to others. I was influenced by people when gossip occurs. When I am around people that are gossiping, I join in and gossip with them , even though I know it is wrong.
3) The most interesting thing I learned in this class is about memory. People can block out memories by use of denial. Other things that can occur are distorted memories. For example, if a girl got raped, she will try to block the memory out of her mind forever. It is of no use to her. All it does is bring back agony and painful memories.
Thanks for teaching me all the interesting stuff this semester! :)

Blog Post #12

A psychological disorder is an ongoing pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions that are deviant, distressful, and/or dysfunctional. The book says that someone who acts abnormally has a psychological disorder. It says that someone who acts differently than people in their culture may have a psychological disorder. Disorders affect peoples lives greatly. The disorder has to impact the person by causing them distress in their everyday lives. If the person isn't distressed or emotionally affected, they probably don't have a psychological disorder. It all depends on the symptoms that the patient is showing and the distress being observed.

My grandfather had Alzheimer's disease and we believe he showed signs of schizophrenia. He was in his 80s when his Alzheimer's got worse. He started to hear voices and see people that clearly were non-existent. He had no clue what was going on in his surroundings. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes it diffucult to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, to think logically, to have normal emotional responses, and to behave normally in social situations. My grandpa showed all the signs of Schizophrenia. Symptoms include: flat emotions, catatonic behavior, delusions, hallucinations and disordered thinking. There are three types of Schizophrenia: catatonic, paranoid and disorganized. My grandpa had the disorganized type. I think my life would be extremely difficult and different if I was Schizophrenic. I cannot even imagine how tough I would have it. I would rather be dead than live with a disorder that causes you to lose all self-control and emotion.

The most interesting thing I have learned is that homosexuality was once classified as an illness. That is interesting because earlier in the semester we learned that homosexuality is actually a genetic disorder. The genetic makeup of homosexuals is different than heterosexuals. Society today has begun to accept homosexuality as an everyday lifestyle. It is not an illness; you are just born with it.

Blog Post #11

I have a very honest personality. I am not afraid to speak my mind and tell the truth. I say pretty much whatever is on my mind in most cases. I have to keep my mouth shut when it could get me in trouble though. I otherwise always have an opinion to share. I also have a sarcastic and humorous personality. I love sarcasm and use it daily. Thats just how I am. I also have a great sense of humor and can be caught laughing often. I am 1) outgoing- this is positive in that I can talk to other people without being intimidated and I will have more opportunities in live with this trait. 2) funny- people always tell me that I am funny. They love to be around me because I can make them laugh with little effort 3) great listener- I am always there for my friends when they need to get things off their chests. I like helping people and listening to their problems to give them helpful advice. 4) competitive- I always put up a fight when something isn't right. I like to argue and am pretty good at it. I fight for what is right. 5) athletic- I love sports and staying active. I think it is extremely important to stay active in life. It will help you live longer and it keeps you sane. 6) negativity- I can be negative when I want to be. Im not the most optimistic person because this world isnt always happy happy. Bad things happen and when you are optimistic allllll the time, you wont be prepared. 7) pushiness- I tend to get pushy when things dont go my way. im one of those people whose motto is " we do things my way or no way at all." Thats just how I am. 8) lazy- I will admit that I am lazy sometimes. I sometimes procrastinate on homework and important things simply because I am lazy. I always find better things to do with my time. I know I should work on this trait, but I am too lazy to try.

I am half optimistic and half pessimistic. I like to think positive but that cant always happen. I tend to think negatively towards sports, like football for instance. Stratford had a bad year and I had no faith in the team, therefore I had no faith that they could win a game. Some would call that pessimistic. I call it reality. My honest opinions are mostly pessimistic because life just isnt fair. Not everything is going to go the way you would like. Some people dont realize this and are too optimistic. then when something unfortunate happens to them, poop hits the fan. I know that I sound super pessimistic from what I am saying, but I am not always this way. I get optimistic when school is over. It is hard for me to stay happy while I am in school doing homework. But when I get out, I am as happy as one can be. I guess it all depends on the day too. One day I might be pissed at the world, otherdays I am perfectly peachy! I am optimistic about jazz band. We have practices at 7:15 in the morning on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One would normally dread getting up early to go play music, but I always look forward to it. I love playing my instruments so I always am excited to go to band. I am a band geek.

My "great listener" trait might change when someone is telling me something I dont want to hear or dont necessarily agree with. If a friend was telling me about how another friend was acting to them in a negative way, I wouldnt want to hear it and probably would try to set the story straight and figure out their harsh feelings towards the other friend. Situations like that benefit me because I will be able to solve a problem in a non-conflicting way by talking it over calmly with the person. My "competitive" trait might change in a game of basketball where we are down in . If the score is 54-9 in the 4th quarter, I am going to lose my competitveness because we are down in the game. I will lose all hope in trying to win the game and will feel like a loser for being down that far. It is a common situation with Stratford girls basketball. They dont ever have a good record or win many games, so they stop trying to succeed. This change doesnt benefit anyone. It isnt good to stop caring. It can be a bad thing to do often because then you will evolve into someone who is lazy and doesnt care about anything anymore.

Displacement is used when I get angry. After my sister Jenessa does something stupid to tork me off, I normally get so mad that I go around throwing stuff and kicking things until I reach my bedroom, where I slam the door shut as hard as I can. That is common in my house because my sisters always find a way to get me angry.
Repression is the defense mechanism I use when I think about needles. I hate needles and blood and things that get injected into the body. It really grosses me out. I once passed out before I recieved an IV because I was so terrified to get something injected into my system. I now hate thinking about that incident and cant really remember much of it. But that might be due to the IV fluids that knocked me out.
I was in denial when my old babysitter died. It didnt really hit me until a few days after it happened. It was really hard to think that someone I knew really well was gone forever. I refused to believe that it was true until it finally sank in.

Blog Post # 10

Do we fear the right things? In Chapter 9 I learned why humans fear the wrong things. After the 9/11 attacks, people feared flying more than driving. Yet Americans were 230 times more likely to die in a car accident than on an airplane flight. Statistics showed that death by car accidents significantly inclined after 9/11. In all reality, the most dangerous aspect of flying is driving to the airport. Psycological science has identified 4 influences on our intuitions about risk. 1) We fear what our ancestral history has prepared us to fear. Our brain prepared us to fear yesterday's risks: snakes, lizards, and spiders. It also prepares us to fear confinement and heights, hence flying. 2) We fear what we cannot control. We can control driving, flying we can't. 3) We fear what is immediate. People smoke cigarettes now, but aren't thinking of the long-term effects. They only think of the present dangers. Take-offs and landings of planes are immediate threats, while driving has many more threats to come that we don't acknowledge. 4) We fear what is most readily available in memory. Thousands of safe car trips have lessened our anxieties about driving. The image of the plane crashing into the World Trade Center creates a greater fear of flying. It is perfectly normal to fear violence from those who hate us. Smart thinkers will remember to check fears against facts. By doing so, we can take away a terrorists most powerful weapon: exaggerated fear.



Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. I think I am very emotionally intelligent. I know how to handle the emotions of others at times when needed. I can read the emotions of others relatively well. I feel emotion in music and in stories. I can predict what someones emotion will be after an event occurs. I am good at expressing my emotions when they need to be expressed. I feel that when people don't express themselves through emotions, they are bottling up tons of feelings. The only way to alleviate the pressure of all the feelings is to let them show through immediately. I think my personal relationships with people are quite strong. My close friends know my personality and know that I am very strong-willed. I speak my mind openly and am not afraid of what people think. I think people who don't know me well enough come to a conclusion that I am too open with my thoughts. They don't fully understand my emotional way of expression. My close friends on the other hand understand me and know how I work. I love them and we all get alond very well because we are all similar emotionally.


The most interesting thing I have learned in Chapter 10 is Multiple Intelligences. I find it fascinating about how Howard Gardner created the theory of multiple intelligences. I find the theory to be mostly correct and accurate. It has eight intelligences combined to form the intelligence of a human being. The intelligence categories are as follows: linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist. These categories define how intelligent a person really is. It breaks down intelligence into specific sublevels to get a better understand for peoples' needs. It is very effective and is helpful too.

Blog Post #9

Without memory, human beings are nothing more than specs on the Earth. Memory enables us to relive moments, love others, and excell in life. Memory is vital to living life. Without memory, life would be endlessly boring and repetitive. Life without memory, would be like life without love. One would feel incomplete and empty. Memory really brings out things in people, good and bad. I don't enjoy thinking about life without memory. It is too sad for me to grasp. I think humans were put on this earth for a reason, and without memory, we would have no reason to live.

Clive Wearing has an unfortuanate story. He aquired brain damage and cannot remember things for periods longer than 20 seconds. He is a very talented musician and is very passionate about music. Even after his brain stopped working correctly, he still kept pursuing his dream. Although Clive can't remember anything longer than 20 seconds, he is still a human being. He has feelings and thoughts just like those of any other person. His unfortunate condition would be said to "hinder" his development. Clive didn't stop chasing his dream. He still conducts, composes, and plays music. His drive to suceed pushes me to be a more motivated person.
Clives wife is a wonderful person. She demonstrated what true love is all about. Even though her husband has no idea who she is, she still stands by him and loves him. I admire her so much. I don't know if I could ever do what she does. I would want my husband to remember me and all of our experiences together. If he couldn't do that, I think I would "fall out of love" as to say. I would feel like I was babysitting my husband. I do not have the patience to do what she does.
I take it forgranted every single day that I have memory. I use the gift of memory every second of every day. After learning about Clive, I am so thankful that God blessed me with the gift of memory. I don't believe that I could handle not having it. It gets me through life and I can't even begin to describe how important it is.

After learning about memory, I definitly view it differently. I now know more things than I ever did. I think that learning about memory has made me appreciate it a lot more. I never really noticed memory this in depth, until now. I now treasure my memories, good and bad. I am aware that I am very lucky to even have any memories. I see all my memories in a different light now. I sometimes don't trust my memories. If I don't enjoy a certain memory, I tend to change it in my mind. I change what happened to make myself believe that it actually occured in a different way. I am surprised that I found the penny on my first try in the Recognition exercise. I tried to remember all the times I looked at a penny. I put all the pieces together and chose the correct penny. Most people would just choose their first instinct, but that isn't always the right answer. Thought and consideration will get you far.

Automatic processing is an important aspect to our everyday lives. It allows us to multitask and parallel process everything that happens in our daily lives. Humans unconsciously process information about space, time, frequency, and well-learned information. Space allows us to remember certain locations of items or important information. Time lets us sequence our days. We remember certain things according to our time schedules. Frequency allows us to keep track of how many times certain events happen (example: I saw that woman running 5 days in a row this week!). Well-learned information is with us everywhere we go. It basically is uncontrollable and we don't even notice we are doing things. Humans are so accustomed to doing everyday things, that we take forgranted the complexity of our human nature. Automatic processing is important in that we humans multitask and accomlplish multiple tasks with half the effort. I can apply it to my life in everyday situations. I always find myself diciphering things unconsciously. It is human nature and is normal. I will now view my multitasking situations as a great and completely normal human experience.

Blog Post #8

Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events. An example is when a dog hears the clanking of silverware in the kitchen and they come running for food. Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is strenghthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. A supervisor could walk around at work and tell the workers that they are doing a good job. Once the worker hears this, they will feel good about themselves and start working even more productively. The worker can maybe eventually get a raise or get praised for doing good work. On the other hand, if the worker was doing a poor job and was told so, they could have some repercussions and be punished. Hopefully they would learn from their mistakes. The difference between classical and operant conditioning is that through classical conditioning, an organism associates different stimuli that it doesnt control and responds automatically. Through operant conditioning, an organism associates its operant behaviors with their consequences. I find this interesting because I see this in my life everyday. I have two dogs in my house that respond to the noise in the kitchen repeatedly. Everytime they hear a noise they come running in to see if there is food involved. My dogs also have learned to urinate outside and they were taught to poop in the field. Everytime they pooped on the grass as puppies, we yelled at them. They eventually learned to go straight to the field to do their business.

Positive reinforcement is defined as: increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. a postive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strenghthens the response. When you are behaving well, you will get rewarded. From getting rewarded, you will learn to perform better and more efficiently. In my life, Cross Country has positive reinforcements. My coach wants us to run well. In order to get us to run well, he bribes us and will reinforce us if we meet the requirements. Normally if we meet the standards we get food. After recieving the reward, the team strives to do better and better for the next time. The system works well and keeps the team and coaches happy.
Negative reinforcement is defined as: increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. Negative reinforcement is NOT punishment. An example of negative reinforcement in my life is taking ibuprofen when I get headaches. This doesnt help me in life because I just take some drugs to alleviate pain. I get my pain relieved but will probably ruin my stomache lining and liver and other organs. It doesnt help my in the long-run, but is nice at the time. It wont teach me to manage my problems better.
Punishment is an event that decreases the behavior that is follows. Reinforcement increases a behavior; punishment does the opposite. Punished behavior is suppressed abd not forgotten. When a parent spanks a kid for swearing, they wont swear while around the parents. The parents will think that they have solved the problem. Punishment also teaches discrimination and fear. The spanking done by parents may make the child fear their parents. The child will also act differently around them than around other people. Physical punishment may also teach aggression. When a parent punishes a child physically, the child may grow up to abuse their kids. It is a cycle. In my life, my normal punishment is getting my phone taken away. During these terrible times, I feel like I hate my parents and I am all crabby. I eventually get the phone back and things go back to normally fairly quickly.

The most interesting thing I have learned in this section is how to train animals with reinforcements. It is interesting that we can control their mind with our stimuli. We can basically make them do whatever we want (within reason). This applies to my life with my pet rabbit. The rabbit has a problem with chewing on the carpet. To solve the issue, we shoot the rabbit with little squirt guns to train it not to chew. This method has worked pretty good. I realize that almost anything can be accomplished if we set our minds to it.

Blog Post #7

When asked to explain "Sensation and Perception," I would tell them that sensation is the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. Perception is the process of organizationand interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events. Sensation and perception is one continuous process.

The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter is when you are getting skin repair it is helpful to have the patient watch a virtual reality video. The escape into virtual reality is a major distraction to the pain. The distraction is diverting the brains response to painful stimulation.

The article I read is called "Seven Ways Music Influences Mood." Music can change your mood for the better or worse. Eight young adults from Finland were investigated and interviewed for their changing moods. Sevens strategies: entertainment, revival, strong sensation, diversion, discharge, mental work, solace aim for 2 goals: controlling and improving mood. Music has been shown to be reflective, which means we can better understand our emotions. The only downfall of music when you are sad, is that you will constantly be thinking of your negative emotions.

Music helps me in life. I listen to happy and upbeat music when I'm happy. I listen to depressing and sad music when I'm in a bad mood. Music really affects my life. I am always listening to something. Music will forever influence my life.

Blog post #6

I interviewed my grandma. I learned that teenagers "back then" were probably more family oriented. They had to help contribute to the family a lot more than teens today do. I was surprised to hear that my grandma wore a poodle skirt. I can't picture her wearing that. I was also surprised to hear that the only major sport they had was basketball. They didnt even have football yet.. My life is different compared to my grandmas teenage years. I participate in sports, she didnt. I dont work 15 hours a week, she did. I have a different style sense, although that isnt too surprising since we live in a different age and era. I like being a teenager now. I probably wouldnt have liked it so much back then. I like todays technology and styles. It would have been a lot different back then. I enjoy all the luxuries in this day and age and wouldnt trade them to live in those days.

I agree with the video that teenage years are the hardest and most uncomfortable years in life. Teenagers experience a lot of bad things and have to learn from their mistakes. By making mistakes, teens gain valuable life skills. Normally once you make a mistake, you try not to repeat yourself. I think my adolesence has been a little rough at times but not terrible. I have learned from my mistakes and build upon them. I think that my adolesence will build me to be a good adult. My parents have taught me well and raised me to be a good person. I think their impact on my life with help me a ton.

In chapter 4, I have learned that different cultures have their own different norms. Arabs greet each other by a kiss. Americans greet eachother by a handshake. All cultures are different and their citizens see their "ways" as normal. It is tradition and sometimes opposing cultures do not understand their traditions.

In chapter 5, I learned that small children are egocentric. They have difficulty perceiving things from another's point of view. They only think about themselves and cant comprehend others lives. They dont understand that other people have thoughts also. Small children are too young to learn this information yet, but as they grow older, they will eventually learn to thing about other peoples lives also.

Blog Post #5

In this chapter, I have learned multiple things. 1.) Identical twins twins have the same genes, but they don't have the same number of copies of those genes. This causes one twin to be more prone to certain illnesses. Identical twins also share a placenta during pregnancy, but one out of every 3 sets has two separate placentas. One placenta may get better nourishment and may contribute to the differences in identical twins.
2.) Peer influence is extremely strong. Studies show that children will act similarly to their peers to feel acceptance. Peer influence is very important in the developing of a person. If a person hung around with bad kids as a youngster..they will most likely make bad choices and lead down the wrong path in life. If a child had good friends and experiences, they would in turn grow up to be a mature adult.
3.) Personal space varies within different regions. Scandinavians, North Americans, and the British prefer to have more personal space than Latin Americans, Arabs, and the French. When these cultures collide, opinions and impressions will differ. The friendly mexican may want to come up and talk to the British fellow. The Brit will think that the Mexican is coming on strongly, while the Mexican is thinking of how snobby and reserved the British person is acting. It all depends on your culture and how you were brought up as a person.

I found all of these 3 facts very interesting. Theses factors are present in peoples lives everyday. They shouldn't be overlooked. I was VERY surprised to learn that MaryKate and Ashley Olsen aren't identical twins!! They are fraternal twins but look almost exactly the same. Genetics are weird like that.

Blog Post #4

I listened to the story about Teens & Sleep. I was very interested in this audio, but wasn't surprised by what they said. Teens should get about 9 hours of sleep to lead a healthy life. Over half of teens dont get the required amount of sleep, includine me. With homework, sports, friends and family, it is hard to make time to sleep. During school, I look around and nearly every kid is yawning or shows signs of sleep deprivation. I always try to get to bed early, but get side-tracked and distracted. Therefore, I am always tired and falling asleep during those long school days.
I also learned that while you are unconscious, you dream about very strange things. Dreams are a way for your brain to straighten out all the things it doesnt quite understand.
I was surprised to hear that a person went for 11 days(I think) without sleep. That is amazing. I can barely go for 1 day without sleep. After an all-nighter, I am normally super tired, then get a second wind, then crash. So 11 days is amazing.
I read the article "What? Me Biased?" and I agree completely. People are biased in everything they do. We cant help it, its just how we are. We subconsciously are biased towards everything around us, whether it be other people, sports teams, or politics, we are biased.

Blog Post #3- The Brain and Behavior

1.) Seeing More Than Your Eye Does- This activity explains how you have big blindspots. Objects aren't visible beyond the optic nerve head, the hole in the photoreceptor sheet. I had to close my left eye and look at 2 objects on the screen. I started far away and moved closer. As I moved closer, the right object disappeared. It was in my blindspot. I learned that we all have blindspots. Nothing surprised me about what I have learned. I can apply what I have learned to my everyday life by being aware of my "blindspots." This doesn't change how I perceive the world.

2.) Hofstadter's Road Sign- This activity shows a road sign with blinking lights. The lights flash in two different corners first, then move to the appear at the other two corners. People can perceive this differently. For example, you can view the changing dots as "chasing" eachother around the sign. I learned that everyone can view the sign in their own unique way. This didn't surprise me. This applies to my life in that when I next see a road sign, I will look for all the different possible ways to view it. This didn't change the way that I interact with the world.

Two other things I have learned in this unit...1.) Each brain has " a mind of its own." Meaning, every person perceives things differently. That is what makes each and every human unique. and 2.) Organisms tend to live in colonies. Members of each group tend to have the same mannerisms. For example: ants live together and all act the same, where as humans have their families and act similarly. Now that I have learned this useful information, I view the world and brains the same as I always have.

The Man with Two Brains...technology today is so amazing. Who would've ever thought that someone could get their brain split in half and still function! I think it is awesome that the man can still function the same. He has some amazing new talents he can do though. Wowo.

Thinking Critically-Post #2

Without research, humans wouldn't know anything. Research is the basis of science and solves most questions. In order to solve a problem, you must do research. The scientific method is what psychologists use to conduct research. They have to follow the steps to get the desired outcome.
I read the article "Brainstorming Reloaded" on psyblog. I hate brainstorming, so this research is relevant to me. Studies have shown that brainstorming produces lower quality ideas, rather than working alone. People tend to slack-off when they are put in a brainstorming group. They are intimidated by other people and their ideas. Ideas tend to get shot down while brainstorming in a group.
Electronic brainstorming is a technique that gets rid of all the problems with old-fashioned brainstorming. Brainstormers can simply type their idea into the computer and read other ideas all at once. Basically, "Groups aren't where ideas are born, but where they come to sink or swim."
Other things I have learned from this chapter are 1.) The scientific method is the basis for experimental research, 2.) Humans have a tendency called hindsight bias that makes things seem inevitable, and 3.) Humans are overconfident and feel like they know everything.

The Story of Psychology

Before I read Chapter 1, I thought Psychology was just the study of the mind. When I heard "Psychology", I associated it with counselors and shrinks. Now I know that it is much more than just that. Psychology has been around since 1879 and has been growing ever since. It never gets old because people are all different. There are so many different things that a psychologist can study that the possibilities are endless. I have learned that Psychology is more than "the study of the mind."

Psychology affects my life every minute of every day. I am constantly thinking and behaving differently. When I interact with different people, Psychology comes into play. I have to learn how to work with different personalities. Emotions are an everyday thing with me. One minute I could be happy, the next I might be mad. When I have a bad incounter with someone or something, my mood will change. Therefore Psychology is with me everywhere I go.

I learned that humans are overconfident in most things they do. Instead of being correct, we just have that confidence and hindsight bias. We think we are too good to be wrong. I find that intriguing. Another thing I have learned is that the public is misinformed about certain statistics. Some estimates are not realistic and mislead the public. For example: We ordinarily use but 10 percent of our brain. Or is it closer to 100 percent? These statistics are undocumented and over-the-top estimates. You can think smarter by applying simple statistical principles to everyday reasoning.

Introductory Post

Hi. My name is Stephanie Denfeld. I am 17 years old and a senior at Stratford High School. I am a really random and crazy person. I don't really come out of my shell until I am very comfortable with people. I love my friends and family (most of the time). I'm excited to learn about psychology, I think it will be pretty interesting.