Blog Post #10 Thinking and Intelligence

One thing I read about in chapter 9 was overconfidence. Overconfidence is the tendency to be more confident than correct and to oversee the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments. Across different tasks, many people will overestimate that their performance was, is, or will be. There are many different types of overconfidence in our world. For example, presidents may be overconfident when going to war, different tests in the labortories, stockbrokers, and students in school with assignments. Many people are overconfident in their decisions with everyday things. If you fail to appreciate our potential for error, it can have different consequences but overconfidence does have adaptive value also. People who are on the side of overconfidence live more happily, find it easier to make tough decisions, and seem more credible than those who lack self-confidence. I feel that it is necessary to be overconfident in some situations but not when it involves other people and issues that affect them. In school, kids who are overconfident with their opinions and making sure everyone knows exactly how they feel about every situations is very irritating. When kids are overconfident in school work and no exactly what they are doing, it can be nice if you need help with an assignment. Overconfidence can go both ways, sometimes it pays to be overconfident and sometimes people need to know when to hold back.



Creativity is the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas. There are five different components to creativity. Expertise is a well-developed base of knowledge that furnishes the ideas, images, and phrases we use a mental building blocks. Imaginative thinking skills provide the ability to see things in novel ways, to recognize patterns, and to make connections. A venturesome personality seeks new experiences, tolerates ambiguity and risk, and perseveres in overcoming obstacles. Intrinsic motivation is being driven more by interest, satisfaction, and challenge than by external pressures. A creative environment sparks, supports, and refines creative ideas. If you are surrounded by all these things and contain all these things how can creative can one really be? There are different factors that I can be creative with and not so creative with. In school with projects, posters, and things like the yearbook, I feel I can be super creative with designing things. However, I am only creative if its on the computer or with stencils and what not. I have no artistic ability what so ever. I feel it can be an asset to have a higher creative intelligence. If you are creative in different things it allows you to broaden your horizon and be different than others. It may also allow for more ideas to be brought up that can benefit you.



I thought Sternberg's three intelligences were very interesting and the one I would probably relate too the most. He also states that there is more to success than traditional intelligence. He proposed triarchic theory which consists of analytical (academic problem-solving intelligence) intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence. Analytical intelligence is assessed by intelligence tests which presents well-defined problems having a single right answer. This is the type of intelligence I use in school and work. Creative intelligence is demonstrated in reacting adaptively to novel situations and generating novel ideas. Practical intelligence is required for everyday tasks, which may be ill-defined with multiple solutions. I use practical intelligence everyday with everyday situations and problems. I think intelligence is a measure of many different thinks not just about book smarts and your IQ.

Blog Post #9 - Memory

Memory can help shape a person into what and who they are as they grow older each day. From the day you are born until the day you die, you memorize things all the time. If memory was nonexistent this earth would be drastically different. How would a person carry on their day without memory? It would be almost impossible for memory to not exist because each day carries over into the next. Clive Wearing was a talented musician who suffered from anterograde amnesia. He is unable to transfer memories from working memory to long-term memory. His memory only lasts from 7 to 30 seconds and he spends every day waking up every 20 seconds restarting his consciousness. If I was his wife, there is no way I would be able to be that patient unless I was completely in love with him. I give her so much credit for sticking by his side and making it through each day with him. She has tried hard to help him each day and he still greets her with excitement every time they meet whether or not they were together five minutes before. If I was Clive Wearing's wife, I have no a clue what I would do with myself. You have to be so patient each day and I honestly don't think I would be able to handle that. If he was my husband and I loved him that much, I would try my hardest to work at things and make each day better for the both of us. This makes me realize just important memory is to me. People never wake up and think about what it would be like to not have their memory. Most people, myself included, take it for granted. It makes me think twice about what I should think about more and just how true my memory actually is.

I never realized just how specific and intense the process for memorization actually is. Memory is an unconscious process that can be narrowed down to a three stage model. It begins with information to be retrieved by your senses and registers in your sensory memory. We then encode the information into working or short term memory through rehearsal. From there the information moves into long term memory for retrieving later. We can encode the information automatically, such as what shirt you wore yesterday, or with effort, such as studying for a test. This makes me wonder just how and why I memorize the things I do. Obviously there is no way a person can memorize everything so what sticks out for each item that is memorized. When we did the activity in class when Mrs. Olson read the list of things and I thought she said words she didn't and could only remember certain words. It makes me wonder why I memorized the ones that I did and why not the others? When I did the exercise called "Short Term Memory:Encoding and Rehearsal" it says how most people would memorize words that are spokin that are seen. However, I was able to memorize the words that were written down better than the spoken words.

I found chunking to be very interesting. It is something we use everyday and don't even realize we are doing it especially in school. Chunking is the organizing of items into familiar, manageable units. Chunking can also be used as a mnemonic technique to recall unfamiliar material. The example from the book is ROY G BIV, which helps you memorize the colors of the rainbow. I have used chunking and mnemonic techniques in many of my classes to help me remember and understand concepts for tests and assignments. It is important because people don't even realize they are grouping things together but really it is helping them to recall phrases and words better.

Blog Post # 8

Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events. Most now agree that classical conditioning is a basic form of learning by which all organisms adapt to their environment. There is the unconditioned response, unconditoned stimulus, conditioned response, and conditoned stimulus that can all relate to classical conditioning. An example a dog drools when it sees food before conditioning and when it hears a bell it does not salvate. During conditioning, you ring the bell which is the neutral stimulus and give the dog food. Therefore as time goes on the dog will know it is getting food when the bell rings. When the bell rings after conditioning and no food is present, the dog will begin to salvate because it is assosicated food with the bell and thinks it will be given food. Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. For example, if you are late for curfew and there is a resulting consequence such as being grounded or losing your phone. You then learn from that behavior and don't do it again. Classical conditioning associates between different stimuli and in operant conditoning, organisms associate their own actions wtih consequences. Classical conditioning is a respondent behavior that occurs as an automatic response and is involuntary. Operant conditioning is operant behavior that operates on the environment and and consequences. This is interesting because there are different techniques to teaching organisms acquired skills. There are many benefits to having teaching methods for organisms. I can apply this to my life in how I act and what decisions I make. Operant conditioning may give me reasons to obey commands so I don't have to suffer from the consequences.

Positive reinforcement is when you increase postive behavior by presenting a positive stimuli. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that when presented after a response can strengthen the response. Negative reinforcement can increase behavior by stopping or reducing negative stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that when removed after a response strengthens the response. Be sure to remember that negative reinforcment is not a punishment. A punishment is an event that decrease the behavior that it follows. A punisher is any consequence that decreases the frequency of a preceding behavior. There can be positive and negative punishment. Positive punishment can administer an aversive stimulus and negative punishment can withdraw a desirable stimulus. An example of positive reinforcement in my life would be helping my mom out around the house and doing chores and then in return she pays me an allowance for helping. An example of negative reinforcement when a person is not wearing a seatbelt it dings every minutes very loudly and is super annoying. I then put my seatbelt on to make the annoying sound go away. An example of punishment is most common is my life with my parents. If I receive a bad grade, I will not be able to do anything during the week and instead work on homework. If I am late for curfew, I get punished and I am grounded for a few days.

The most interesting thing I learned was classical conditioning and how you can apply it. Pavlov's experiment was very interesting and it is amazing how we can teach organisms certain behaviors for everything with different stimuli. There are different processes such as acquistion, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination that can be directly related to classical conditioning. Classical conditioning can be applied for different techniques in drug addicts that are recovering, teaching a child to be potty trained, and parents disiplining their children. This changes the way I look at things because you can look at it and decide how certain organisms were taught certain things and how you can teach someone or something that needs to be taught.

Blog Post #7

I would say that sensation deals with using our five senses. We can see, smell, taste, touch, and hear all the things around us. Our senses detect the different things around us and we get different sensations sent throughout our body. By defintion it is when our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. To me perception is how we process all the sensations and what it means to us. When we have all these sensations, different people can have their own opinions or explanations which would be our own perception of things. By defintion perception is the process of organzing and interpreting information and for us to recognize meaningful objects and events.



One of the things that I found interesting about this chapter was the section on hearing loss and the deaf. Conduction hearing loss occurs when the eardrum is punctured or if the tiny bones of the middle ear lose their ability to vibrate, and the ear can no long conduct vibrations. Sensorineural hearing loss happens when there is damage to the cochlea's hair cell receptors or their associated nerves. A cochlear implant is the only way to restore hearing for people with nerve deafness and it is also know as a bionic ear. In the close-up article, I was suprised to know that their are 500 million people who live with hearing loss. I was also suprised to read that if yo uare raised in a signing household, you are more likely to express higher self-esteem and feel more acceptable. After reading, this really makes me think about the challenges they face everyday. It also makes me realize how lucky I am and how to many people take, not only hearing, but all their other senses for granted. I can apply this to my everyday life by really being thankful for what I am blessed with. I can also assist those that I come across who are deaf and really try to understand what they are going through.

I read an article called Psychology of Magic: 3 Critical Techniques. In 2007, a group of magicians and psychologists met and talked about the psychological principles they use to produce magic. They aimed to uncover new ways of investigating human thought with behavior. Many psychologists are interested in the principles of magic because many tricks create mind-binding effects that manipulate people's expectations, misdirect their attention, and influence their decisions. All these things are what psychologists are interested in. There are three different techniques they talk about using called psychological misdirection, cognitive illusions, and mental forcing. Psychological misdirection is when the magician points to an object then some sort of gesture distracts the audience and the trick happens. Cognitive illusions are when the magicians uses mental illusions which can fool our attention or play with the way we predict things. They can use smoke and mirrors and other techniques to create the illusions. Mental forcing use different tricks that put the spectator under pressure to answer quickly but the free choice is still emphasized. Many psychologists have begun to use these tricks in their studies to help them learn more about the human brain. This article really makes me want to go to a magic show and really analyze what they are doing. It makes me think how gullable some people can be to these such obvious tricks but yet magicians can still fool everyone. I really don't know how I can apply this to my everyday life other than the fact that if I were to ever see a magic show that I would really try to figure out how each trick works.

Blog Post #6

1.) I learned many interesting things about life as a teenager back in the day. Life was harder and house chores were expected. Everyone had to do their part and not get paid. I was very surprised when my grandma had told me that she didn't know anyone who didn't attend high school, I thought that there would have been a higher amount of kids not attending. I also learned that many of the things were the same, such as underage kids drinking even though it wasn't nearly as big of a deal, acted the same and had high school dances, and most who very concerned about fitting in and what they wore. My life doesn't involve as much work around the house and not as much is expected around the house. However, in school way more is expected of us and we are expected to attend college in order to get a job. I have never made any of my owns clothes where my grandma made a lot of hers. I don't think I would have like living then because of the lack of technology and how much work around house was expected. It's very hard to tell though because they both have the pros and cons but ultimately I like living in present day and everything that goes with it.

2.) I agree with the video that in our adolescence, it can be a very hard time with conflicting roles and expectations. Parents must give their children enough psychological space, but still maintain an emotionally close relationship. This can be very difficult when kids grow older and don't want to share everything with their parents, the parents can take it as personal rejection. I think that parents need to give their children enough space to grow up and experience with the good and bad or they will never learn. If they don't learn when they are young and when their parents have some rein on them, when they become older there will be no self control. I think my parents have done a good job raising me with rules, but yet letting me have my independence and experience things. It has shaped me into a better person and helped me realized what I want someday when I become a parent and how I will and will not discipline my children.



3.) I learned how each culture has their norms which are rules for accepted and expected behavior. Everyone around the world has their own cultures and group that evolve and have their norms. It is very important when traveling to other countries, you know what is acceptable and not acceptable. Some cultures may collide and their differing norms may invade our personal space. In our country there are many things that we do that other countries do not do and vice versa. For example, greeting each other with a kiss in one country is weird for Americans in the United States. Many cultures have different religions and morals that they abide by and even families have different standards. The bottom line is if you go somewhere other than your house, you need to know what is accepted and not accepted for behaviors!


4.) One thing that I learned in Chapter 5, is the different parenting styles. The first is authoritarian which is when parents have rules for their children and expect them to follow them exactly. If not, they have punishments for them. The second type they mention is called permissive which is when parent's listen to their children's desires and don't imply many rules or consequences. The last type is called authoritative which is when parents are demanding and responsive. They do explain the reasoning behind their rules and encourage open discussions especially with older children. I feel like my mom is authoritative because she is a stricter parent but always tells me why she gives me certain rules. If I explain to her exactly what I am doing and don't get caught lying, I have more benefits and she becomes more lenient. My mother and I are very close and she always encourages me to have open discussions and tell her what is going on in my life. Overall, sometimes I wish I didn't have such strict rules; however, I feel it has made me a better person with more self control!

Blog Post #5 - Nature, Nurture, & Human Diversity

The first thing I never really understood was the difference between identical and fraternal twins. Identical twins develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two which makes them genentically identical. Fraternal twins develop from separate fertilized eggs, but share a fetal environment. My older sisters has twin boys that are about eight months old and I really wonder what they are. She talks about finding out with a test but supposedly it costs a lot of money. Twins are adorable, however, I don't know if I would ever want to be a twin.

The second thing I read about was peer influences. I feel that our peers have a huge impact on our lives. They state in the book that we seek to fit it with groups and are subject to group influences. I believe this is very true. When you enter preschool, you might like the same foods or play the same games or like the same songs, however, I don't feel that preschool has as much peer influence as high school. When you enter middle school and high school, you tend to be influenced by way more things. The way you dress, who you talk to, your attitude, the choices you make are all peer influenced. Parents can help by choosing your school and neighborhood but they can't pick your friends for you.

I watched the video about Evolutionary Psychology and Sexual Attitudes. They talked about how sex with a male and female is a fertile relationship and that's why more men are attracted to women and vice versa and this is the way humans have evolved. It also talked about how men look for a homemaker and a woman looks for status and resources. I believe this is not true that back in the day women were homemakers but now a lot of women are doing more than just staying home. Some women even provide and the man stays home. Someday I want to be the wife who provides for my family and am independent enough to not have to rely on someone else.

Blog Post #4 - The Unconsciousness & The Two Track Mind

I read through the lecture on consciousness and it was a basic overview of the chapeter. The first thing I learned was there are different layers of awareness. The highest-level of consciousness is it involves controlled processing and the lowest level is called no awareness which Freud's belief states that some unconsious thoughts are too laden with anxiety and other negative emotions for consciouness to admit them. I never knew that we also had levels inbetween such as lower-level, altered states, and subconscious. I also learned that if someone is sleep deprived it can become chronic and there can be many side effects. Many days when I don't get enough sleep I can barely concentrate. This can affect the way I participate in school, my attitude, and my driving. In the end, not only does it affect me but also others around me. That is how important sleep really can be. I learned that I need at least eight hours of sleep a day, which is sometimes very hard for a person with a busy schedule and a lots to get done. I agree that you should really get at LEAST eight hours of sleep a day. It sucks going to school with crabby kids and going home to crabby people.