Media Production

Social media use amongst humans can have a great effect on the amount of sleep a person gets every night although its not the main reason for the sleep deprivation. Despite all the variables including certain mental illnesses that can cause insomnia the issue here is that social media is NOT the only problem, it’s the convulsions of people constantly wanting to check their phone. People with higher frequencies and volume reported from the study had significantly greater odds of sleep disturbances. The online article is misleading because it does not specify the point they are trying to prove by implying that the amount of time people spend on their cell phones or electronic devices is excessive and can be unhealthy to the body. media thats the problem, it is the obsessive behavior that is constantly making people pick up and check their phone.(The online article The research provided by the University of Pittsburgh shows that its the frequency per week in the amount of usage from your phone that is causing the potential sleep deprivation. In my opinion, the research article and the scholarly article are very misleading. In my opinion, the actual reason for sleep deprivation is not social media, but in the two articles the reason is not specific. its not just social media specifically its the overuse addicting behavior . The online post is merely blaming social media. This misleading idea can misinform people to believe that social media is something that is not healthy for us, hinder the ideas from creative electronic engineers, our own innovative desires to always be wanting to discover create and share new ideas. Simply by saying that social media is the problem can mislead people into thinking that social media can have negative effects on your life. Social media is great for communication amongst families, friends, it’s not addressing the matter of fact which is basically that excessive electronic device use is not beneficial to ones sleep. Although i’ve stated the main facts and ideas, everybody is different and some people might be affected way differently than others by the amount of time spent using your phone. But in this case, “social media” since both articles were not clear.

I didnt find this very challenging to summarize because the facts are very clear and to the point. I know this because i am an experienced teenager and a lot of the times the lack of sleep comes from the person i could be texting or a different reason such as anxiety could be causing me to be using my phone. Its not difficult to find the mistakes in the reading when Social media is clearly not the issue here. Journalism is an interesting thing to focus on and I have enjoyed analyzing both of these papers to gain better knowledge of how to properly write an article. Its important to be specific and not vague and use the proper words when talking about research.

IAT

I decided to take the Implicit Association Tests. The first test I took was the test determining how good or bad I am. It does not determine if you are racist, sexual, or homophobic but Implicit Association tests are useful to help understand more of yourself and others. Initially I consider myself as more of a ‘good’ person than bad. The test first asked me questions focusing on my social status and economical issues as well. After a bunch of questions I then had to identify pronouns about myself and either tie them into the categories of good or bad words. This was supposed to be done as quickly as possible which was challenging and I think it was supposed to test how you identify yourself impulsively on a good or bad spectrum. My results ranked me as more of a good person as opposed to bad. The questions asked seemed more of a better way to identify biases which may be outside your conscious awareness. I could also see how the speed test would determine thoughts or opinions outside of your control of conscious thoughts. The second test I completed was the anxiety brief implicit association test. The test took me through the same activity from the first test where you would have to input a certain letter on the keyboard if the words Me myself I correlated to the category of being anxious or calm. Then next part took me though a series of the exact same questions asking about race, religion, economical opinions, social opinions, country of residence, and then finished with my results. I do identify as a very calm person, and the test accurately reflected my results. I am not a very anxious person unless put in the presence of something that makes me uncomfortable or anxious, obviously. I am not really sure how these evaluations work or how they are put together but in both I found them to reflect me in a more accurate way then on the opposing side. For example, I identified as more good than bad, and more calm than anxious. This test can be useful for people who are trying to have a better understanding of who they are and how they can receive help or honestly anything. Employers would also appreciate these to understand the person they are about to employ into their business as well.

Orthorexia?

It’s very unclear to me how a simple lifestyle change like eating a salad instead of a burger, or some fruit instead of candy can be labeled as a mental disorder. Just because a person enjoys eating healthy, or forces themselves to make healthy choices in no way strikes me as being a mental disorder.Eating healthy is something you are supposed to do to keep your body functioning and provide your body with necessary nutrients. It should not be labeled as a disorder. Eating healthy has many different benefits and Americans should be accustomed to eating this way. The obesity epidemic in our country has gradually risen over time and continues to rise because of the unhealthy choices people are making without thinking about the long term effects of these choices. Grilled salmon and asparagus versus a McDonald’s burger and fries is obviously the healthier option, but the healthier option isn’t always the tastier and more satisfying one.

Personality Tests

Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test

ENFP:

Extravert(16%) INtuitive(12%) Feeling(16%) Perceiving(28%)

I have a slight preference of extroversion over introversion which is in some sense true because I don’t see myself as being the quiet one in the room that never says a word, but I wouldn’t consider myself to be a very outgoing loud engaged people person. it says that ENFP’s are people persons and i can disagree with that because i get socially awkward or shy around people I dont know. I also have a slight preference of intuition over sensing which i find to be very accurate because I’m usually with it most of the time and not confused about little things. In a workplace it says ENFP’s are creative and friendly which i can agree with as well. As far as the left over information about ENFP’s I say it’s not all of the reasons given are accurate to everyone and that this test really cant determine my personality. There are too many outside variables.

Personality Test:

My jungian personality test is ENFP.. even though the acronym and classification is the same i personally think this test asked better questions, and the description about the personality seemed more accurate as well. This quote is a very good explanation of the way ENFP’s are. “Their charming personalities can show signs of irritability and over-sensitivity when their desires to please different people come into conflict. During times of stress, ENFPs feel alienated. They then engage in deceptions that serve to obscure what is occurring within themselves.” I think this is very true about the way i feel when it comes to stress. But when stress grows internally this is not something I would do.. “may attribute malevolent schemes to others in order to explain away their fears.”

Big 5 personality test:

Extroversion (45)- I agree with being outgoing and social, most of the time.

Emotional stability(39)-I am opposite of having neuroticism and negative emotionality according to the big 5 I am emotional stable.. which could be argued against because I am not always emotionally stable.

Agreeableness(51)- Friendly, and optimistic. I am very friendly, not all the time optimistic, but I am shy so I’m usually friendly if somebody else starts a conversation first.

Conscientiousness(26)- I guess I am disorganized and impulsive because my impulse decisions are not always the best and I am usually late on things and not very organized.

Intellect/imagination(40)- I am imaginative and very open to new experiences.

I have to argue about the numbers because some are low and some high but I would argue that some need to be lower than others and some higher.

Color quiz:

The results on the color quiz I can agree with 100%. This quiz describes me as independent, striving for what I want even though stubborness is involved. EVEN though I have no idea the accuracy or credibility of this quiz i cant disagree with it because the way it described me in every aspect was on point and sounded like me!

Why Marijuana Should be Legalized Recreationally, and Medicinally:

Harmless herb or harmful drug?

You hear the word “marijuana” and automatically think “drug” or “illegal” when in actuality those words are in fact 100% true (In most United States). Additionally, with both of those words come negative connotations. If alcohol and tobacco are legal why can’t marijuana be legalized as well? Cigarettes and alcohol both contribute to millions of deaths per year but are still made legal to people within certain age requirements. Now. Is it actually that unsafe to smoke a joint or two and then continue on to the rest of your night? No, not at all. Marijuana is harmless to the body, unless being inhaled by smoking because of course ingesting smoke into your body can obviously be harmful to a certain extent. In what cases do you actually hear of somebody having a pot overdose or a fatal accident from the primary cause of marijuana? Well I can vouch for that question, and say not many. The point is Marijuana can be used for MANY different medicinal reasons, and can treat some diseases without medicating through hardcore prescription drugs. Marijuana in fact is an illegal drug in most states but in some states it has been legalized medicinally for the benefit of cancer patients to help diminish cancer cells from spreading. It’s promised to treat arthritis, people suffering from glaucoma, to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, help control epileptic seizures, ease the pain of multiple sclerosis, and many other things. Statistically marijuana is the safest of any drug used in America or around the world, and it also has zero reported deaths from use, but it’s not only used for medicinal purposes. Recreationally, It’s the best form of stress relief. In most cases people turn to tobacco products for stress relief. Tobacco is a highly addictive drug, users know it’s addicting and tell others not to do it, but continue to smoke the cancerous product. Marijuana is not at all an addictive drug. The false accusations about marijuana making the user addicted, lazy, and a gateway to other drugs is completely ludicrous. The worst that can come of this drug is the misplacement of your phone, or the possibility that you might have too much fun. Crime rates would go down, the economy would go up, and cartels would lose about their largest amount of revenue. It creates jobs, the problem is the government needs to tax it and big pharmacies wanna get in on it but they can’t. Literally the tax revenue generated from the amount of sales made in Colorado last year made so much money that they had to return some to people. A lot of positive things can and will come out of the steps to making marijuana legal across the United States, recreationally, and medicinally.

On the other hand, the main reasons people argue for Marijuana to remain illegal is that they believe the drug to be highly addictive, terrible to your mental and physical health even by causing a higher chance of having schizophrenia later in life, and that it will destroy peoples’ lives and lead to more addicting drugs like heroin or cocaine.

Seriously though when have you ever heard of somebody smoking weed and all of a sudden being diagnosed with the psychological disease schizophrenia?

Not often, at all.

These sources are often used to write about different events, controversies, and discoveries. I am not sure if they are 100% reliable, but so far the facts make sense and supports the reasoning.

In retrospective it is clear that my position on if marijuana should be legalized is stated above by the facts.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/why-marijuana-should-be-legalized_n_1833751.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/growth-strategies/2014/07/3-reasons-recreational-marijuana-should-be-legal.html?page=all

http://www.businessinsider.com/health-benefits-of-medical-marijuana-2014-4

Colorado marijuana sales skyrocket to more than $996 million in 2015

Violence in Video Games?

According to the first article Psychologists conducted a decade of studies and concluded that exposure to violent video games was a risk factor for increased aggression. But, on the other hand games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto have not led to any sufficient evidence that those games lead to increased aggressions. The findings these psychologists found have prompted a call for more parental control over over violent scenes in video games from the American Psychological Association. The research the psychologists found was a consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behavior, and decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy and sensitivity to aggression. No single influence led a person to act aggressively or violently, rather an accumulation of many risk factors resulted in these behaviors. The research reviewed demonstrates that violent video game use is a huge risk factor.”Scientists have investigated the use of violent video games for more than two decades but to date, there is very limited research addressing whether violent video games cause people to commit acts of criminal violence” said Dr Mark Appelbaum. This source is a UK news source. Its trustworthy enough.

On the other hand, a study was published in Psychology of Popular Media Culture undermining this claim, suggesting that violent video games do not increase violent behavior. Instead, the researchers argued that duration of play is what mattered. Researchers interviewed about 200 10 and 11 year old kids about their video game playing habits. They also asked the children’s teachers about the classroom behavior, problem solving skills, and academic engagement. Children who played video games for less than an hour each day showed lower rates of aggression than children who did not play at all. Children who played longer than 3 hours a day had high levels of aggression and low levels of academic engagement.. Studies that authors argue is that daily video game is not linked to increased aggressions, but prolonged play may increase, though the study never really explained or defined why. Even though both of these studies were not really conducted well they are still reliable studies. I would personally conduct them differently with kids from all ages and a survey of how long they play a day and which games they play. I would finalize my results from a study similar to that.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/study-finds-that-violent-video-games-may-be-linked-to-aggressive-behaviour-10458614.html
http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/violent-video-games-dont-make-kids-violent-study-finds-0414151

Different Parenting Styles

Studying how jellyfish dads, tiger moms, and helicopter parents can make the outcome of their child contrast with the outcomes of other parenting styles is very intriguing and interesting to learn and think about.

(Authoritarian)

A tiger mom can be best associated with the Authoritarian style of parenting. Even though there have been several new different methods of parenting these days, this kind of parenting style is one of the more common ones practiced, his style typically does not lead to this best outcomes in growing adolescents in America, but in different Asian countries it is usually the more common one practiced. In this style of parenting a stern, strict approach is generally the approach taken. This means that there is a demand to follow the rules of the house or suffer the consequences if those rules are broken. It’s a good way to raise kids if the parents want their kids to be very hard working, obedient, and most of the time responding to what they tell them to do. On the other hand, sometimes a heavy reliance on following the rules are present, which creates low levels of self esteem for the children for always having to rely on rules and waiting for somebody to tell them what to do. This style could also cause children to grow into ‘bullies’ typically somebody who is usually engaging with negative feedback.

(Permissive)

A jellyfish is permissive which means a parent that is very involved in their child’s life attending to their needs and sometimes wants, allowing excessive freedom and behavior. Relating to a child as a friend, versus more of that ‘parenting’ style can have many positive outcomes such as understanding the child to a deeper level. Communication can also be made much easier, being positive about what children are doing and saying can raise levels of self-esteem and give them the knowledge that their parents will accept them and love them whatever they say or do. However, there are very few rules and consequences typically with jellyfish parents. Some would say that jellyfish parents are called ‘push over’ parents. Children of jellyfish parents tend to lack impulse control. For example, children are allowed to set their own boundaries such as what time they will go to bed, what they eat, and the choice to do their school work or not. As they grow older this type of behavior can result in trouble with the law or drugs, alcohol, or violence because of the enforcement of rules.

(Authoritative)

Lastly, helicopter parents are certainly involved in their child’s lives like a “helicopter” Helicopter parents of younger children and teenagers are likely to know where their kids are at all times, which is an important safety consideration. They are also likely to be very aware of who their child is with and how their child is doing in school.The problems of helicopter parenting are that kids can lack problem solving skills. When parents are there to solve all their kids problems it can cause issues them always relying on the parents. Helicopter parents do so much for their kid that it can make them dependent on them. If a mom or dad is constantly reminding their kid to wake up on time or make it to practice then one day when that superior coaching is gone the kid will not learn how to do things for himself/herself.

I think parenting should be in between jellyfish and tiger moms, so not too many rules and only strictness at critical times, but not too much of being a pushover as well.

http://www.justparents.co.uk/parenting/styles/permissive-parenting.html

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-dolphin-way/201405/how-the-tigers-dolphins-and-jellyfish-parents-differ

http://www.devpsy.org/teaching/parent/baumrind_styles.html

http://discipline.about.com/od/typesofdiscipline/a/Helicopter-Parents-Do-They-Help-Or-Hurt-Kids.htm

Do Men Prefer Blondes over Brunettes?

While this could be a very controversial topic in many peoples opinions, the mythbusters decided to test the mini myth and hypothesis, “Do men prefer blondes over brunettes?”

There were 3 trials, and in each of them the 9 men were given 3 minutes to talk to each of the 9 women. To help, prevent biases occuring with personality, each of the women would switch off between 2 other wig colors. (Brunette, and red)

The major strengths of this mini myth were the natural hair wigs, the professional makeup artists to disguise the girls each time, bringing in random men for the experiment, multiple trials, and rating each of the women on attractiveness and how much they found the woman likable. Professional makeup and hair stylists made it their best effect to make sure the wigs and disguises were believable so the men would not become suspicious of the experiment. The participants were aware of being recorded, but were unaware of the purpose of why they were being recorded, therefore the outcome of this experiment should not produce bias results. The weaknesses of the study were that there were not that many women to begin the experiment with, and the ladies attractiveness as whole could’ve induced the results of more men preferring blonde women. For future, include many more women to get broader results. If this test was based off of how If men find blondes more ‘attractive’ then other hair colors then instead of conducting a speed date, it should’ve been a survey of different women just walking by. So, no date at all, just observation so the experiment could be more focused on the physical aspect of the women and not their personalities.

The result of the experiment was a tie all across the boards.
Men do not prefer blondes over Brunettes.

About Me

My name is Kelly Lynch and I am a freshman here at Austin College.

I play basketball here for the school

I’ve lived in Houston my whole life.

I decided to take this class because the way the brain works and why certain people do certain things really intrigues me. When I think of the word psychology I associate it with the way the brain thinks and reacts, and analyzation of why we do certain things. The three topics that look most interesting to me are the personality assessment, the memory encoding and brain structures. I feel as if my personality differs from the average person, i want to have a better understanding of how the brain is structured and why some people can remember twice as well as others. None of the topics on the syllabus look uninteresting to me. I’m exctited to gain a better knowledge and understanding of what I already do and don’t know.

One question I would like to know the answer to by the time this class is over is.. Why does the brain sometimes stay 100% with age,but other times people lose their mind with age, and how to sustain the normal brain activity.