This was a very interesting article, and honestly, I didn't really believe the statement upon reading the title.
Personally, I think that the weather effects one's mood depending on how much time the person spends outdoors. I get really anxious when it's sunny outside and I have to be inside. On the other hand, I don't mind when it's raining and I'm stuck indoors.
The study showed that Germans positive moods were not affected by the weather, whether it was sunny and blue skies or not. Good weather didn't make people feel happier at all. (I am the total opposite.)
Negative weather, on the other hand, did make a difference. Less sunshine was associated with greater tiredness, etc. I agree with this- rain and gray skies make me drowsy, especially when stuck in school.
One thing that I think needs to be considered is that this study was taken in Germany. We don't know how much time Germans spend outdoors on average compared with north or south Americans, Asians, etc. Could this make a difference?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Chapter 13 - Personality
This was the first chapter that I disagreed with various points throughout. I thought for the most part it was a pretty easy to read, educational chapter, but at times it seemed like the author was talking in circles and that certain points weren't necissarily always valid.
I found Freud's view of fixation very interesting, and although many of todays psychologists are beginning to doubt the credibility of his theories, I think this one should definitely remain considered. Basically, it said that fixation is a lingering focus of pleasure seeking energies at an early stage creating unresolved conflicts. A great example given in the book was a person seeking oral gratification later in life if deprived of is as an infant. This could include smoking or excessive eating. I realize it is not always true, but I think it certainly could be some of the time.
Regression was another interesting theory of anxiety defense that Freud came up with. It explained how, when put in stressful, high anxiety situations, people revert back to comforts like thumb-sucking or clinging to a parent.
One of the points I highly disagree with in the text was the point made about personal web sites. I don't agree with the author that most people use facebook or myspace as a canvas or self-expression rather than a way to falsely represent themselves. Many people who have added me on facebook are people I know and go to school with, and many of them use their pages to display sexy pictures for guys that have been photoshopped and dont even look like them. Statuses are set to bring on questions from friends, not always to express oneself.
Another disagreement I had with the text was the example given about learned helplessness. It's not so much the theory I disagree with, but the example of how this theory came to be. Who on earth would repeatedly SHOCK dogs to create fear and anxiety just for a psych experiment?! And why on earth was this example the one published and used in chapter 13? This is ridiculous and cruel to me and I wish the book hand't used it.
What did everyone else think of the 2 disagreements I had??
I found Freud's view of fixation very interesting, and although many of todays psychologists are beginning to doubt the credibility of his theories, I think this one should definitely remain considered. Basically, it said that fixation is a lingering focus of pleasure seeking energies at an early stage creating unresolved conflicts. A great example given in the book was a person seeking oral gratification later in life if deprived of is as an infant. This could include smoking or excessive eating. I realize it is not always true, but I think it certainly could be some of the time.
Regression was another interesting theory of anxiety defense that Freud came up with. It explained how, when put in stressful, high anxiety situations, people revert back to comforts like thumb-sucking or clinging to a parent.
One of the points I highly disagree with in the text was the point made about personal web sites. I don't agree with the author that most people use facebook or myspace as a canvas or self-expression rather than a way to falsely represent themselves. Many people who have added me on facebook are people I know and go to school with, and many of them use their pages to display sexy pictures for guys that have been photoshopped and dont even look like them. Statuses are set to bring on questions from friends, not always to express oneself.
Another disagreement I had with the text was the example given about learned helplessness. It's not so much the theory I disagree with, but the example of how this theory came to be. Who on earth would repeatedly SHOCK dogs to create fear and anxiety just for a psych experiment?! And why on earth was this example the one published and used in chapter 13? This is ridiculous and cruel to me and I wish the book hand't used it.
What did everyone else think of the 2 disagreements I had??
Monday, November 16, 2009
Psyblog- Hows Beliefs Influence What tastes Good
This article dealt with how our preconceptions of what we're about to eat play into how we thinkt he food actually tastes.
Some tests administered tricked the volunteers into thinking they were eating beef when really eating veggie-burger, or vice versa. The same went for a study using pepsi and a store brand cola, but my favorite was the example about whether low or full fat foods tasted better.
So many people, including my own family, won't buy the lowfat milk, whipped cream, yogurt, ice cream, mayo, etc. because they truly believe it tastes worse. Depending on the BRAND, not the fat content, tastes vary, but really, can one honestly tell a major difference between 2% and 1% or skim milk? I don't think so. I think it all has to do with preconceptions.
My mom recently bought low-fat beanutbutter accidentally. I ate it without knowing and couldn't tell the difference, but she was astonished that I even opened the jar! When we dont know that what we're eating is a bit different from what we're used to, I don't think we can percieve a difference. We EXPECT full fat foods to taste better, but why wouldn't we choose the healthy road for a little less flavor (and thats if you can even detect the difference!!)
Currently organic and low fat foods seem to be all the rage...so I wonder what is selling better: full fat, normal foods or the continual supply of new, lowfat concoctions?
Some tests administered tricked the volunteers into thinking they were eating beef when really eating veggie-burger, or vice versa. The same went for a study using pepsi and a store brand cola, but my favorite was the example about whether low or full fat foods tasted better.
So many people, including my own family, won't buy the lowfat milk, whipped cream, yogurt, ice cream, mayo, etc. because they truly believe it tastes worse. Depending on the BRAND, not the fat content, tastes vary, but really, can one honestly tell a major difference between 2% and 1% or skim milk? I don't think so. I think it all has to do with preconceptions.
My mom recently bought low-fat beanutbutter accidentally. I ate it without knowing and couldn't tell the difference, but she was astonished that I even opened the jar! When we dont know that what we're eating is a bit different from what we're used to, I don't think we can percieve a difference. We EXPECT full fat foods to taste better, but why wouldn't we choose the healthy road for a little less flavor (and thats if you can even detect the difference!!)
Currently organic and low fat foods seem to be all the rage...so I wonder what is selling better: full fat, normal foods or the continual supply of new, lowfat concoctions?
Current Event 11-16
I was recently having a conversation about movies that I feel can really pertain to psychology and the way we think.
Basically, a friend and I decided that movies and tv shows are getting extremely crude and mentally deteriorating. Think about it...when we're young and watching disney movies, Cinderella's step sisters trying to steal her shoe and, consequently, her boyfriend prince charming, seems like a real problem. As we get older and start watching more sophisticated movies, we start seeing affairs within families and other corrupt things. Movies we watch when we're young are just leading us into the twisted world we live in today. Where do you think the producers get the story line ideas anyway?
So the question my friend and I were pondering was, what are OUR kids going to be watching someday? Obviously we can't just shut them out from the world, but do we really want them watching what we've watched? Or the sex/drug filled sitcoms we watch now? No way. It wasn't until I was allowed to watch R-rated movies that I started swearing ever. I don't only blame the movies, but they certainly didn't help.
Unfortunately, we learn from what we watch on tv and associate with our own lives. What's worse is that as of right now, there doesn't seem to be a way of fixing it.
Basically, a friend and I decided that movies and tv shows are getting extremely crude and mentally deteriorating. Think about it...when we're young and watching disney movies, Cinderella's step sisters trying to steal her shoe and, consequently, her boyfriend prince charming, seems like a real problem. As we get older and start watching more sophisticated movies, we start seeing affairs within families and other corrupt things. Movies we watch when we're young are just leading us into the twisted world we live in today. Where do you think the producers get the story line ideas anyway?
So the question my friend and I were pondering was, what are OUR kids going to be watching someday? Obviously we can't just shut them out from the world, but do we really want them watching what we've watched? Or the sex/drug filled sitcoms we watch now? No way. It wasn't until I was allowed to watch R-rated movies that I started swearing ever. I don't only blame the movies, but they certainly didn't help.
Unfortunately, we learn from what we watch on tv and associate with our own lives. What's worse is that as of right now, there doesn't seem to be a way of fixing it.
Chapter 9- Thinking and Language
I liked this chapter because of it's length. Short and sweet!
I found the discussion about animals and animal studies to be very intriguing. The way they have learned and been trained to develop vocabularies, whether audible or signed, is fascinating!!
I agreed with behaviorist B.F. Skinner in that we learn language by the familiar principles of association, imitation, and reinforcement. I believe that by seeing expressions, hearing words modeled by others repeatedly, and associating lip movement with the sounds we hear are what enable us to develop out own language. I also believe this is what causes accents and usage of certain slang, etc.
Insight was a concept that the book covered pretty thoroughly. Insight and instinct seem to go hand-in-hand in some ways. Instinct is a sudden flash of information to the brain that tells us how to act or deliver a movement, and insight is a flash of inspiration solving a problem much in the same way: suddenly. Intuition also helps smart thinkers gain instant help when needed in making automatic, effortless decisions.
When the book talked about framing I immediately could think of multiple examples. To list a few: when an expensive item is priced half off, it looks more appealing than a regular priced item being 25% off. This is due to framing. Verbally, a friend may set you up or frame their words to get you to do a favor for them by "buttering you up" first. Favors look a lot simpler to complete when you've been complimented.
Overall, this chapter kept my attention better than others. I liked that there were more examples to learn from!
I found the discussion about animals and animal studies to be very intriguing. The way they have learned and been trained to develop vocabularies, whether audible or signed, is fascinating!!
I agreed with behaviorist B.F. Skinner in that we learn language by the familiar principles of association, imitation, and reinforcement. I believe that by seeing expressions, hearing words modeled by others repeatedly, and associating lip movement with the sounds we hear are what enable us to develop out own language. I also believe this is what causes accents and usage of certain slang, etc.
Insight was a concept that the book covered pretty thoroughly. Insight and instinct seem to go hand-in-hand in some ways. Instinct is a sudden flash of information to the brain that tells us how to act or deliver a movement, and insight is a flash of inspiration solving a problem much in the same way: suddenly. Intuition also helps smart thinkers gain instant help when needed in making automatic, effortless decisions.
When the book talked about framing I immediately could think of multiple examples. To list a few: when an expensive item is priced half off, it looks more appealing than a regular priced item being 25% off. This is due to framing. Verbally, a friend may set you up or frame their words to get you to do a favor for them by "buttering you up" first. Favors look a lot simpler to complete when you've been complimented.
Overall, this chapter kept my attention better than others. I liked that there were more examples to learn from!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Diners Spend More In Lavender-Scented Restaurant - Psyblog
This was an...odd...article, to say the least.
It was based off of a study that included dispensing aromas 3 weeks in a row into a small pizzeria to see which week consumers spent more money (the study wanted to relate spendings with the aroma.)
The first week no aroma was dispensed.
The second weed the smell of lemon was dispensed and sales increased minimally.
The third week the smell of lavender was dispensed from the diffusers and sales jumped!!
The lavender and spending were, in fact, directly related, but there was a downside: So were lavender and lingering in the restaurant. I really don't understand why the smell of lavender would make someone's mouth water, and I personally don't think it would work on me. The smell of lavender and pizza would actually make me sick when I really consider it. This article made me wonder if grocery stores diffuse small amounts of a scent in order to make you buy more, or if they rely on the smell of the bakery?
It was based off of a study that included dispensing aromas 3 weeks in a row into a small pizzeria to see which week consumers spent more money (the study wanted to relate spendings with the aroma.)
The first week no aroma was dispensed.
The second weed the smell of lemon was dispensed and sales increased minimally.
The third week the smell of lavender was dispensed from the diffusers and sales jumped!!
The lavender and spending were, in fact, directly related, but there was a downside: So were lavender and lingering in the restaurant. I really don't understand why the smell of lavender would make someone's mouth water, and I personally don't think it would work on me. The smell of lavender and pizza would actually make me sick when I really consider it. This article made me wonder if grocery stores diffuse small amounts of a scent in order to make you buy more, or if they rely on the smell of the bakery?
Chapter 8 - Realizations
After reading chapter 8, specifically the Misinformation Effect section, I was able to recall a memory of being lost at Art in the Park when I was between 4 and 5 years old. This used to be a vivid memory, because it was the first and only time I was REALLY lost that I could ever remember. With time, the vividness has decayed, but I thought I could remember the important details. To test this, I asked my mom what her account was of what had happened after trying to remember as much as I could myself. Here was my account:
I wandered away when my mom was taking too long at one booth, and ended up not knowing where I was going. I ended up in the more open part of the park and started getting freaked out because I couldn't see my family anywhere. I remember thinking that my mom had always said 'If you get lost, just wait where you are and I'll find you." So I sat down next to an elderly couple on a bench. They were strangers so I didn't respond when they asked me if I was lost. 15 minutes later my mom found me.
Here's how my mom remembers it:
I wandered away (about 30 ft...far enough away that I couldn't see her over the heads of other people, but she could still see me). My mom finished looking at the items of the booth she was at and then caught up with me. She had let me be for about 3 minutes so that I would learn not to wander away again.
Obviously, there's a bit of a difference between our stories. Something tells me that her at-the-time 35-year-old memory was better than my 4-yeard old memory. Being in a scary situation that marked my first experience of being "lost" may have made me misrecall what had actually happened. Many other similar instances have happened, I'm sure, but this was definitely one of my most memorable.
I wandered away when my mom was taking too long at one booth, and ended up not knowing where I was going. I ended up in the more open part of the park and started getting freaked out because I couldn't see my family anywhere. I remember thinking that my mom had always said 'If you get lost, just wait where you are and I'll find you." So I sat down next to an elderly couple on a bench. They were strangers so I didn't respond when they asked me if I was lost. 15 minutes later my mom found me.
Here's how my mom remembers it:
I wandered away (about 30 ft...far enough away that I couldn't see her over the heads of other people, but she could still see me). My mom finished looking at the items of the booth she was at and then caught up with me. She had let me be for about 3 minutes so that I would learn not to wander away again.
Obviously, there's a bit of a difference between our stories. Something tells me that her at-the-time 35-year-old memory was better than my 4-yeard old memory. Being in a scary situation that marked my first experience of being "lost" may have made me misrecall what had actually happened. Many other similar instances have happened, I'm sure, but this was definitely one of my most memorable.
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