The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step is an accurate phrase describing the position that I am currently in. My name is MontersCollegeBlog and this is my very first blog so hopefully readers will like it.  I am a freshman attending Austin College as a Biology Major studying to become a Physical Therapist. I am from Texas and played a lot of sports when I was younger, but then I started focusing more an art and video games. My backup plan if I do not become a P.T. is to work as a Veterinarian because I love animals. Currently, I am taking a Psychology course because I am hoping to learn more about myself, others, and how I might approach different types of people. This is my first Psychology class and that means I have no experience with this type of work. When I hear the word psychology I think of the terms brain, mind, emotions, and thoughts. By the time the class ends at the end of the semester I want my teacher to answer this question: “If people know that they are doing something wrong then shouldn’t that person’s conscience tell them that they shouldn’t do it? And if so what other factors of psychology play a role in this?” Psychology interests me a bit, that is why I am taking this class but there are some topics that I am and am not looking forward towards learning. The topics that I am the most interested in learning are about Memory Encoding, Concussions, and Treating Mental Illness. The topics that I am the least interested in learning about are Theories of Intelligence, Brain Structures, and Neurons. I do not know why I think this way but I guess this is just how I view how I might like those class discussions. Well I am getting tired and need to finish up my other homework assignments, I’m just glad I don’t have to do a project right now. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this little insight into my current predicament. I need to take one step at a time if I want to pass this class. Until my next blog, Hasta Luego!

Hello,

     My name is Simran Likhari, I am a concentrated biology major and an art minor. Something interesting about me is that I love all types of nail art, I can do anything from regular nail polish all the way up to gel nail designs!

     I am excited to start the semester out strong for all my classes, the reason that I am taking psychology is for the pre-medical requirement. I have not had any previous background in any psychology subject matter but I am keen to learning more about the different topics that this class has to offer.

     When I think of the word psychology, first of all, I see the word ‘ology’ and immediately thing of the phrase “the study of”. Then theres the other half of the word, ‘psy’, I think of the brain and the way that the brain works. I also think of the how doctors might study the brain and all the experiments that they could do to further learn about behavior. I believe that psychology is a very complex subject that still is not completely understood. The brain develops, adapts, and changes and from that there are still limitless as well as endless amounts of things to learn from and about the brain.

     After looking at all the topics we plan to cover this semester, I am most excited to learn about emotion, coping with stress, and conformity. Emotion is something that is very perspective, meaning that the same emotion for one person may not feel the same for another. I want to learn what psychologists have understood about emotion and how they went about finding their results, such as the experiments and tests they preformed to come to their conclusions. The topics that I am least excited to learn about is neurons and brain structure only because I have been studying for the MCAT recently and have been bombarded with learning brain activities and how neurons work.

     By the end of the semester I want to be able to answer the question: How do I personally cope with stress better? What methods work for me and what methods do not work for me? As a pre-med student stress is pretty much a normal feeling and by now everyone must think that we are all good at it, but unfortunately I certainly am not and would love to learn how to better myself so I can lead a more productive life! All in all, I am very excited for this semester!

Hello world! My name Avery parsons and this is my blog. This blog was made for my psychology class. Even though I have absolutely no experience with psychology, I decided to take this class. The reason why I decided to take a psychology class was because I needed to fill a breadth requirement and my mentor recommended it. When I hear the word psychology I think of Sigmund Freud. The three topics that look the most interesting to me are, theories of intelligence, personality theory, and psychotic personality disorders. Theories of intelligence interest me because I want to know if I classify as intelligent. Personality disorders interest me because I have met a person with a personality disorder before and I want to know more about their disorder. The topics that interest me the least are, scientific method, research methods, and experimental design. I dislike these sections because I have taken chemistry and biology before and thus I have already covered those subject matters. The question I want to have answered by the end of class is, why is human behavior so unique.

When deciding what courses to enroll in for the spring semester I took into account which courses I would find the most interesting.  For the fall semester I took classes that were needed for my intended major. However, I did not find those courses to be interesting or fulfilling.  It was as if I was simply forcing myself to sit through hours of knowledge versus torture.  It was a bittersweet time in my life.

I have no solid background in psychology. However, I do run and operate an astrology blog. I have been enhancing my knowledge on astrology for four years now and through astrology I have learned a lot about human personalities and processes.

When I hear the word “psychology” I think about the development and operation of the human brain.  Environmental factors also come to mind when I hear the word “psychology” because they play a major part in human development.

I am most eager to explore the topics of Moral Development, Stereotypes & Discrimination, and Classifying Mental Illness. I’ve always been interested to discuss with others why we think some things are morally right and wrong.  Racism is also an issue that I encounter almost everyday so to discuss and learn about stereotypes and discrimination will definitely give me a better understanding of why racism exists. Mental illness is also something that I find to be very touching and interesting to learn about. I am eager to learn what causes the illness and how to identify the a person with such mental state.

I am least eager to explore the topics of Concussions, Memory Encoding, and Classical Conditioning. I have no specific reason to why I find these to be the least interesting other than that I am not familiar with the topics.

Question: Why do we as humans keep the most troubling memories repressed to the point of almost forgetting these events even occurred? What is allowing us to keep these memories hidden?

Hey guys my name is Will and I am taking this class as a requirement for a social science course.  Truth be told I have absolutely no background in Psychology. When I first hear Psychology a couple thoughts come to my mind.  The first thing I think of is oh its the study of the mind.  The next thought is even more homework than I could imagine  The most interesting three classes I saw are development, treating mental illness and copint with stress.  I like the idea of development because I am a father to a developmentally delayed child.  I like treating mental illness because it may give me a greater understanding of some of the things several of my family members always have to deal with.  Coping with stress I like because the type of life I have outside of class is quite stressful.  The only topic I can see which isn’t catching my attention at all is theories of intelligence just the idea of it does not seem interesting to me.  One question I would love to answer about psychology is how I can put specific aspects of it to use in order to improve my family’s quality of life.

Hello, I am De’Marcus Cooper
I am a sophomore at Austin college I transferred here last semester from a community college about 30 minutes south of here in Plano. I took an Ap Psychology class for a year in high school and I really enjoyed it so I decided to take this course to achieve another humanities credit while learning more about a subject that intrigues me. When I think of the word Psychology I honestly think of the human response to the way the spiritual world affects our lives without a spiritual lens to peer through; It is an odd perspective, I Understand and at times it may even be somewhat controversial. Just blame the way I was raised. I come from a household where a relationship with Christ is of utmost importance, being that my father is a minister and a youth pastor I have spent countless hours indulging in the Holy Bible while receiving it as God’s inspired word. Looking over the course material that our class will be covering this semester the three topics that jump out are as follows Social roles & Conformity, Mood Disorder & Anxiety, Drugs alcohol & the brain. I find interest in Social rules & Conformity, because I see it as a prominent issue in society today for one person to listen to the propaganda of one social group or of one individual and without truly Grasping and digesting the material, Humans are extremely quick to assert it as fact, or truth without any evidence. I find interest in the topic of Mood Disorder & Anxiety because I have experienced frequent anxiety on a daily basis along with reoccurring Anxiety Attacks and would like to better understand this issue for my own well-being. Drugs, Alcohol & the Brain… well-being the typical pastors kid that has always sounded like a lot of fun to me, I have had quite the experience with my own use of psychedelics, marijuana, cocaine, pills, and of course I have drunk myself to the point of no return, until my friends have to carry me back to my apartment and hold my head over a trashcan while I am blacked out, in order to keep me from inhaling my own puke only to wake up and take a hit off the blunt just to calm my stomach, I have been blessed with some great friends. As you can tell my brain may have become a little twisted after all of the abuse. So I am interested to find out what exactly have I done to my mind. The three subjects that at first glance seemed to be a boor are the Scientific Method, I mean seriously I have been taught the Scientific Method at the beginning of any course that has any inkling of relevance to Scientific studies since I was in elementary. Classical Conditioning, and Operant Conditioning, I remember these two psychological subjects from my days at Garland High School (Home of the Mighty Owls) one issue I find is we’ll literally be learning about how you learn, does that not just sound boring? and another fact that causes me to find these topics pragmatic, I always get one confused with the other and I am not excited for the Deja vu. Although I am certain our professor Dr.Macfarlane can find some way to make this material pop, after all isn’t that what we are paying him for? The one question I want to answer by the end of my class is… can a life based on spiritual truth be the answer for all mental illnesses?

I’m Darby from San Antonio, Texas and I’m a Gemini/Cancer cusp baby (I just enjoy throwing that out there).  I’m a junior who studies English as her major and media studies as her minor.  When I graduate, I hopefully want to earn my alternative certification degree in teaching so I can go on to work with kids around the preschool-2nd-grade level.

*Why you chose to take this class?

I’ve always had a general interest in mental health and how the brain processes things, but I’m actually just an English major.  When I graduated high school, I almost went to Stephen F. Austin University to pursue pharmaceuticals and psychology, but I came here instead to work on my dreams of becoming a primary school teacher.  Although I’m taking this to fulfill a social science requirement, I’m pretty sure I have a strong love for what this class will have in store for me.

*What background, if any, do you have in psychology?

I had brief encounters with a pharmaceutical class in high school that taught me a lot on the principles of drug use and how it affects the brain, be it prescription medications like SRIs or even how street drugs interfere with the brain.

*What do you think of when you hear the word psychology?

I usually think of a giant picture of the human brain hanging in a psychologists’ office.

*Which three topics look the most interesting to you?  Which three topics look the least interesting?

The top three that look the most interesting to me are the personality theory, drugs and alcohol, and concussions.  The least interesting three to me could be classical conditioning, neurons, and experimental design.  I just seem to enjoy the more morbid things that happen to people, since there is a lot of potential research that could be done.

*What question about psychology do you want to answer by the end of this class?

I’d like to apply some basics we learned from these topics we’ll cover in this class to see if it helps me understand more about some parts of mental illness and behavior.

Hello! My name is Cassidy McDaris. I transferred here before the fall semester began from Grayson College. I play softball for the Roos, starting behind the plate! I’m excited for this year, as well as my second year of collegiate softball to start up. Go Roos!

 Why you chose to take this class? (It is okay to be honest)

I am considering double majoring in Biology and Psychology, or perhaps minoring in psychology. This class interests me, as well as giving me more awareness towards making my decision.

 What background, if any, do you have in psychology?

I took a psych class at Grayson, as well as a life time and developmental class.

 What do you think of when you hear the word “psychology”?

I think of Carla Fanning, my psychology professor from Grayson! She gave me a lot of insight to the basis of psychology.

 Look at the course schedule on the syllabus. Which three topics look the most interesting to you? Why? Which three topics look the least interesting to you? Why?

The three topics that I think will be the most interesting is the pop culture project, personality project, and the lecture over mood disorder and anxiety. I think the two projects will be fun and stimulating, and the lecture topic is one of the lecture titles that interest me the most that I would love to learn more about.

The three topics that look the least interesting is the scholarly research project, the lecture concerning classical/operant conditioning, and the lecture over stereotypes & discrimination. The scholarly research project appears to be intimidating; the classical/operant conditioning lecture is something that I had gone over quite a bit in my psychology classes at Grayson; the stereotype & discrimination lecture may be interesting, however I think it will depend on how the topic is approached.

 What question about psychology do you want to answer by the end of this class?

What more can you do with a psychology major/minor if you do not go to doctorate school for that specifically?

My name is Kenneth Hardy and I am a sophomore. I chose to take this class because I need a social science and psychology as I am pre med. I have very little background in psychology other than reading the book Games People Play, and listening to my sister talk about her DSMs. When I hear the word psychology I think about my sister because she really seems to have a passion for it. Sleep, memory, and moral development seem the most interesting to me because I have always been interested in memories and dreams, and I am a philosophy minor. While being a philosophy minor doesn’t make moral development intrinsically interesting to me, I think ill find it interesting in that context. I am reluctant to name three that I find least interesting as the rest all seem quite interesting to me, but to a slightly lesser degree compared to those mentioned explicitly above. I don’t necessarily have a specific question I would like to have answered either, however I would like to more fully understand the subject my sister is so passionate about. Also knowing more about human behavior and the way the human brain works is just useful information.

Hi all!

My name is Katherine Shute, but please feel free to call me Katie or Kate, whichever you like best. I’m a second semester freshman here at AC, and I currently intend to major in East Asian Studies (thus my title being in Japanese; I also just wanted it to stand out a little), but that may change later. I’m from San Antonio, TX, and am honestly finding Sherman to be extremely small and boring (no offense to those who love Sherman).

I chose to take this class for several reasons. My high school offered AP Psych, and I always wanted to take it, but never had time. I’ve also always been interested in understanding why brains work the way they do, and why people behave in certain ways. The last reason is that I thought I had a full course load for this semester, but one of my classes only counts for half a credit, so I needed to add another class to keep financial aid and figured, hey, why not psychology? (Thanks Dr. MacFarlane!)

I associate the word “psychology” with a lot of things. Couches, waiting rooms, medication, frustration, and hatred of Freud are the first things that come to mind, but also vague images from stock photos of brains and neurons. I also get images of people recovering from various things, the causes behind effects, and understanding (of what? Not sure.).

The most interesting parts of the syllabus, to me, were classical conditioning (always found it fascinating), theories of intelligence (I know there’s more than one way to be smart, I just need more information), and mood disorders and anxiety (I have an anxiety disorder, and understanding my own brain seems to be rather useful). The ones that didn’t really jump out to me were concussions, drugs and alcohol, and neurons, as I already know some stuff about neurons and just plain am not interested in the other two.

One question I would like to have answered by the end of this semester is: Will I be able to get myself together enough to get a decent grade?