Redefining My Passion

Throughout the past week, I wavered over the decision of changing my major. Usually, when it comes to life decisions, I plan ahead and set goals. Beginning at age 16, I confidently answered questions about my intended college major with "Psychology!" When I applied to Penn State, I designated my intended major as Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts. I planned ahead and set goals by looking through research opportunities and externships. I never gave one second of consideration to the prospect of changing majors, because I was under the impression that Psychology was the best major for my career goals. As it turns out, I planned and set goals with the wrong major in mind.

I have been missing out on a wealth of opportunities outside of the Psychology major because I pigeonholed myself into one academic plan. My dream career has always been to work in the pediatric ward of hospitals, counseling families with children suffering from serious illnesses. To my surprise, the Human Development and Family Studies major in the College of Health and Human Development prepares students for a career in human services. HDFS incorporates many aspects of the discipline of Psychology, but steers more clearly in the direction towards human services. Psychology is mainly theory and research, while HDFS is mainly theory and application. I never wanted to be a practicing psychologist, psychiatrist, or researcher. I fell into the "other" category of the Psychology major.  By transferring to the HDFS major, I am focusing on the best preparation for my career goals.

Where does this leave my blog? Well, fortunately, I am still studying Psychology as a minor. I still find the subject absolutely fascinating, just not the best fit for my career dreams. Therefore, the blog goes on! After two Psychology classes in high school, and nearly 9 completed credits of Psychology at Penn State, I have taken one common lesson from every class: We continually evolve as humans, making adjustments and fine tuning what isn’t quite right. Isn't this what I am doing right now? I have evolved from a Psych major to a HDFS major, altering my academic career at PSU for the next three years with just one decision.

The Importance of Friendships

As humans, we are biologically programmed to interact with other humans. Social interactions are integral to our development. We are who we are, in large part, because of our ties to other people. I am who I am because of my ties to friends and family. Clearly, there are varying levels of closeness in every relationship you share. Sometimes, we share just the facts, but other times, we reveal our deepest desires. Conversations are limited only by the limitations we place on ourselves: How much will I tell this person? Can they keep my secret? Will they judge my beliefs?

This leads me to my list of All Time Best Conversations. These gems have played an important role in somehow bringing me closer to other people and strengthening our social interaction. Due to my nasty habit of rambling, I will discuss just two:
1. Latin Geeks
     I spontaneously decided to intervene in a Frisbee game on the quad of University California Davis. Over the next five days, my attendance at National Latin Convention transformed from dull to unforgettable: my Frisbee friends and I conversed nonstop. We laughed over stories of quirky Latin teachers and tricky Latin verbs. We progressed into sharing stories about our lives back home and slowly building long lasting friendships. Evan, Sarah, and Cody are still my friends to this day because of the memorable conversations we shared.
2. Starbucks Chat
    My best friend, Taylor, is solely responsible for helping me maintain sanity throughout high school. After a rough day in school, she would drive us to the Starbucks down the hill from my house. We would order overpriced chai tea lattes, lug our heavy backpacks upstairs, and plop down into the comfy chairs by the windows. Taylor and I would delay starting our homework by conversing for hours over our lattes. Conversation with your best friend is effortless, but Starbucks chat with Taylor was invaluable. We would discuss our life goals, analyze mindsets of our friends, generate new approaches to old problems, and so much more.

I hope you can see the value of conversation. It can generate new friendships and strengthen the oldest friendships. What is one of the best conversations you've ever had?

Microexpressions

I've had a pretty rough week. I spent the entire day in bed watching the TV show "Lie To Me" online. It's yet another crime show, but with a fascinating twist. The show is centered around the existence of microexpressions in humans across every culture. Microexpressions are involuntary facial movements lasting 1/5 of a second and displaying certain emotions.  This promo video for the TV show explains them a little better:

These emotions include:  surprise, fear, disgust, contempt, anger, happiness, and sadness.


"Lie To Me" consists of a cast of characters skilled in identifying microexpressions. Each cast member catches the slightest movement in a suspects face, leading to different theories and evidence for the case. In reality, very few people are able to detect when others are lying. As humans, we tell lies effortlessly, but struggle to identify deception. Trickery, bluffs, lies, deception, fabrication, and deceit appear frequently throughout history and are employed regularly by world leaders.


My efforts to have a day of relaxation mildly succeeded. I can't escape my major, even when I try. It's the little things all around me that relate to Pschology and help me realize why I love my major.

The Misconception of Domestic Violence

What's the first word that comes to your mind when you hear 'violence'?

Probably something along the lines of hitting, punching, kicking, etc. This common association with the word 'violence' has lead to very frightening consequences: We do not fully understand the definition of domestic violence. 

Today in my Positive Psych class we had a guest lecturer on domestic violence. I am fortunate enough to have no encounters with domestic violence in my life or the lives of people I love. Nevertheless, the guest lecturer opened my eyes to the mostly ignored issue of domestic violence. She challenged our previous perceptions of the term and forced us to understand the terrifying realities.

Violence is so much more than physical harm. It is belittling someone with words, or isolating, sexually taking advantage of, controlling, threatening, barricading, or restricting them. For an abuser, they commit acts of domestic abuse in order to maintain complete control over their victim. Abusers drive victims into the tightest of corners, leaving them absolutely no safe way to escape on their own. 

Not only does domestic violence involve abusers and victims, but also the social supporters. Our guest lecturer emphasized the difficulty when dealing with a friend in an abusive relationship. She stressed that you cannot tell them the obvious; never to say things like "You can't keep living like this" or "He will hurt you again and again." Instead, she offered the most successful route: simply being a friend. Words of encouragement and support are the best thing you can do to help out a friend. A victim faces their battle of abuse individually; they must escape on their own. However, support from friends can help them a great deal.

This lecture brought to light an issue in society that I rarely consider. Just because it doesn't affect my daily life, doesn't mean it won't someday in the future. I feel better prepared to help victims of abuse with the knowledge of my guest lecturer today.

Reasons I Have to Smile

Sometimes when I feel overly stressed, strained to my limits, or deflated in spirits, my attempts to calm down revert to a philosophy of my positive psych teacher: List what makes you happy. You will feel better. I'm pretty stressed right now, and I reviewed in both of my Psych classes this week, so I didn't learn any new material. Perfect timing for a blog post like this one! I'm hoping that by making this list, I will feel marginally better by the end of the blog post. Let's see how this goes...

Reasons I Have to Smile

• My family is more than blood, they are my best friends and my entire life. I cherish their support and recognize how lucky I am to have this.
• I hold many friendships close to my heart. Few remain from early elementary school years. But those who remain are the strongest of them all.
• My experience in high school was my own definition of perfect. I never agree with people when they say they "couldn't wait to get out of high school". It's almost been a year since I spent the happiest four days of my life with 200 members of my graduating class in Disney World.
• Penn State is everything I dreamed it would be since I paraded through my 3rd grade classroom in a PSU cheerleading outfit leading "How You Feel" cheer from Remember the Titans. Football, friends, family, pride.. It can't be beat.
• My tendency to be overly sentimental allows me to value even the simplest memories in my life. I have a drawer in my closet at home labeled "Memories".  Within it, a ticket stub from my first ever live concert with my family (James Taylor) lies underneath every homemade birthday card a friend every made for me. Taking a trip down Memory Lane through the contents of this drawer is the perfect activity for a rainy day.
• I have a golden retriever puppy named Gracie. She struggles to overcome obstacles in her puppy life, like the concept of reflections in windows and mirrors. She likes giving hugs just like humans, sitting on laps despite her growing size, and rolling dozens of tennis balls under every cabinet and piece of furniture in my house.

I feel better already. Just fifteen minutes of reflection on the happiness in my life cured my Thursday night blues. Psychology may be countless theories and scientists, but it is also recognizing the importance of reflection. Taking a moment to reflect on the happiness in your life improves your perspective on your daily battles.

Ron Eats Two Young People, Some Times Everyday.

to memorize: the linear regression equation  (y= b0 + bi x), spoken as  "Response equals the y-intercept plus slope times explanatory"
OR...
Ron Eats Two Young People, Some Times Everyday.

It may not make any sense. Whatever. It works!

I am the queen of memory techniques. I can find an abstract, difficult to understand relationship between any two concepts and use the connection as a tool for memorization. In 7th grade Latin, I had to memorize the definition of 'Lente'. My best friend Ryan thought of a little jingle, "Lente soup, sloooooooowly." It worked at the time and it worked again five years later when I sight translated the Aeneid in front of my class. I stumbled across a line of Virgil's text and hummed the jingle in my head as I translated the word lente correctly.

Memory techniques are an incredibly effective tool for learning, especially cramming. I found a website, http://www.mindtools.com/memory.html , that delves deeper into the different approaches to better memory. I noticed it mentions emphasizing the importance of something but enlarging the text. Or humorous rhythms (lente soup, anyone?) Or rude rhythms, incorporating inappropriate elements. The article expands more on even more techniques, illuminating on many new ideas that I am excited to try.

I'm sure all of you have your own technique of remembering dates, vocabulary words, order of events, and more. However, I know that my own personal methods sometime miserably fail. This website seems like a useful resource to change your pace, and maybe even improve your learning. I encourage you to check it out and maybe even comment with some of your own ridiculous memory tools. If you want to, keep reading to hear one of my friend's memory tricks.

Janine read an email out loud from our friend EB, telling us all that she wasn't going to make it to Katie's apartment because of the heavy snow. EB wrote, "I'll have to come next time, I looked out the window and it is snowing horizontally. Have fun!" Katie mumbled to herself as she looked out the window, "Horizon...horizontally" and then exclaimed, "Yeah! It really is! EB's right!" Janine and I laughed at Katie's memory trick, but Katie assured us that it has helped her remember the distinction ever since she was a little kid.

Don't Stand By

If I had to recommend a course at Penn State, it would be Social Psychology. It is awesome. That's not really my point though; I just wanted to bring up something I learned about in class. There is a social psychology phenomenon known as the bystander effect. This occurs in social situations. The more people who surround you, the less likely you are to take action. Diffusion of responsibility to other group members allows you to be inactive and have no responsibility. The bystander effect isn't something we consciously choose to be a victim of; it mostly happens automatically. Field experiments and observational studies have been conducted over and over to prove the existence of this phenomenon. Now that I have the boring aspects explained, I'll tell you how this relates to our daily lives.

Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I'm sure you witnessed bullying. Whether it was on the playground or in a science lab- how often did you really intervene? Being surrounded by classmates while someone is bullied is a perfect example of the bystander effect. You probably diffused the responsibility to another member of the group, thinking "It's not really my place to say something" or "I don't need to get involved it's not my business". Unfortunately, it is likely that the other members of the group witnessing an act of the bullying had the exact same thoughts. I like to think I'm a good person, and I am without a doubt against bullying. Except... after learning about the bystander effect, I really wonder about the number of times I stood silent while someone else was hurting.

I cannot criticize people for being a victim of the bystander effect. That's really not my objective. I just want to make people aware of its consequences. Someone could collapse on the sidewalk on a busy city street. Someone could steal wallet in line at an amusement park. Someone could abuse their spouse in a park. Will you witness an event like this silently? Or will you engage in the situation and possibly be a hero? Luckily, simply learning about the bystander effect statistically increases the chances that you will engage!

Don't stand by, join in and lend a hand.

Sleep Deprived. Yawn.

I'm sure you have all heard the folk wisdom that you need at least 8 hours of sleep per night. Unfortunately, this is not folk wisdom. Our age cohort, in general, requires over 9 hours of sleep per night for optimal reaction time and higher order cognitive performance. (In non scientific language- 9+ hours of sleep per night means your brain and body function at their highest capability.) As a college student under the weight of a jam packed schedule, this is a pipe dream. Completely unrealistic, I'm sure you would agree.
The reality is that most of us suffer from chronic partial sleep deprivation, meaning consistent incomplete nights of rest. Sleep is absolutely crucial to our bodies; serving as a restorative process. Chronic partial sleep deprivation leads to delayed reaction time, increased risk for motor vehicole accidents, and significant health risks in the long term. On the same level of chronic partial sleep deprivation is total sleep deprivation. Also known as- and my worst nightmare- The All Nighter.
Pulling an all nighter is scary enough as it is. It became scarier when a guest lecturer in my Psychology class informed us of it's counteracting effects. Depriving your body of sleep in order to cram for an exam is associated with decreased memory consolidation. Memorizing, comprehending, and understanding material until 5 am does more than just make you tired the next day. Your recall of that information is severely impaired because of just one night of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprived and recall deprived. Or sleep endowed and memory endowed. It's a tough choice.
I'm still somewhat resistant to these facts. I have a bias that I can fight through anything and I have control over my body. Except these facts are overwhelming because they prove that ramifications of sleep deprivation. I'll leave you with this advice... Give your body a rest already! 

Educational Crime Shows?

I suffer from a serious addiction. Crime shows. Law & Order SVU, Law & Order Criminal Intent, Criminal Minds, The Mentalist, The Closer, Lie To Me- You name it, I've seen it. These TV shows arguably are a complete waste of time. These TV shows arguably are educational programming.

I regularly "Stumble". I visit www.stumbleupon.com and select the category of Psychology. The website delivers me to random website related to the field. This morning I Stumbled Upon The Forensic Psychology Dictionary. I scrolled down the page, skimming through the terms. I realized that I already knew many of the definitions.

LEADING QUESTIONS - questions asked during an investigation that are worded in such a manner that will suggest specific answers.  This sort of questioning should be avoided and may become inadmissible in a court case.
    This always happens in Law & Order.
MODUS OPERANDI (MO) - The offenders actions during an offense.  This is variable behaviour that evolves over multiple acts due to offender sophistication and confident.
    "MO" is discussed in every single crime show. Usually more than once.
SIGNATURE - the repetitive ritualistic behaviour of a serial offender.  This is typically apparent at every crime scene and has little-to-nothing to do with the perpetration of the crime.
    My favorite phrase of Criminal Minds!

I'm impressed. I understand some of these complex concepts. My addiction to crime shows isn't just a complete waste of time. I'm learning. I'm enhancing my knowledge. If I read through the unfamiliar terms, I will learn even more as I watch my favorite shows.

Television shows are still a waste of time. I could be reading. I could be volunteering. But sometimes, I just need a break. Luckily, during my breaks, I can still expand my knowledge! Psychology exists on television. Forensic psychology exists on crime shows.
If you're a crime show addict like me, visit the dictionary. I'm positive that you will understand many of the terms without having to read the definitions.

Emphasizing the Positive

"Smoking causes cancer."

"An unhealthy diet and lack of exercise can lead to weight gain."

"Wash your hands or risk infection."

We are bombarded with negativity. Advertisements zero in on devastation, consequences, dangers, and risks. I was reading an article on PsyBlog via Stumble Upon called "The Influence of Positive Framing." It pointed out that the belief of advertising agencies is that we are better persuaded by advertisements that reflect consequences and risks. I simply cannot understand this.
Off the the top of my head, I can think of several examples of negativity in my day to day life. The attendances policy on each syllbaus of my five classes states something like this: Excessive absences are not tolerated. This will result in a drastic reduction of your overall grade. Why do professors have to scare us? The syllabus could read: Attending class on a regular basis will help you develop your knowledge of course material. This development in knowledge will be a benefit in improving your overall grade. This shift from fear to encouragement is relatively minor, but shifting our focus from negative to positive in any situation can be beneficial.
In our day to day lives, I think it is critical to emphasize the positive. Society forces us to see the negative. The majority of all news reports focus on war, murder, and scandal. This is something we cannot ignore. However, we must strike a balance. I don't think the media will ever change. News reports and television advertisements will continue to manipulate their success from our malleable minds. It is up to us as individuals to balance this out by personal motivation.

The Negative

"I'm sleep deprived and stressed."

The Positive
"As soon as I get through this stressful time, I will allow myself a relaxing break."

The Negative:

"This workout is making me too tired. I can't do it anymore."

The Positive:
"By working out, I am releasing endorphins. I just have to keep going,"

I implore you to emphasize the positive. Even in the simplest of ways.

 Give positivity it a chance.



Before I Begin

Before I begin my blogging journey, I'll give you a quick explanaion.

I am Psychology major at Penn State University.

I am writing this blog to make the concepts of psychology easily accessible.

You don't need a textbook or professor to learn the basics.

I hope you find these posts applicable to your daily life and interesting.

Most of all, I hope you find this blog helps you gain an appreciation of Psychology.