Words of the Week

5v) I am sure we all have heard of the word agency, but do we all know the literal meaning of the word? By definition the word agency means a business or organization established to provide a particular service, typically one that involves organizing transactions between two other parties. In my own words, an agency is a group of people who deal with transactions and the economic needs of two connect companies. Examples of agencies include advertising, employment, government, international, and modeling agencies.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agency

A new word that I came across was pituitary glands in my psychology class. According to the online dictionary, the pituitary glands is a pea-sized body attached to the base of the brain and is an important factor in controlling growth, development, and the functioning of the other endocrine glands. In my own words and from listening to my psychology lectures, the pituitary gland produces growth hormones, especially during sleep, and oxytocin, the “bonding hormone.” Women produce this and feel it with their children at birth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pituitary_gland

 

 

 

 

Another new word that I came across this week in my psychology class was phrenology. By definition, phrenology means the detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities. From listening to my professor during her lecture and personal reading on the topic, phrenology is the study of bumps on the skull and their relationship to mental abilities and character traits. Franz Gall developed this in the early 1800’s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology

 

Aint Nobody Got Time For That!

5b) For one whole week, our professor asked us to record or day to day activities. We were to mark down the hours we spent studying, in class, getting ready, eating, sleeping, and outside the class room activities.

From my own personal recordings, I found I spent the most amounts of hours sleeping and the least was the amount of hours I work at the Wintergreen office here at Southern. I did not reach between thirty and forty hours’ worth of work outside the classroom. This is due to the fact that I haven’t received that much homework in any of my classes. Most of my work consists of either writing a one page paper which I find to be easy, or to just read chapters in our books. I personally believe I spent more time studying than I actually did doing homework.

 On the other hand, this could just be the result of only having one quiz that week and I didn’t have any major papers or projects due. Even though I did not have a lot of homework, that’s the one thing I always found myself procrastinating the most with. I had all the time in the world, but yet I would wait until the night before to get it all done for tomorrow. There have even been times were I finish my homework the morning of class! The reason for this was because I spent more time socializing with my friends and going out. To help with this for the weeks ahead I plan on trying to find a healthy balance between these two things. I know it would make my life a lot less stressful by not waiting for the last minute to do my assignment I just have to actually take that first step in order to do so. I plan on trying to complete my assignments right after class or in-between my classes, which would also give more time to socialize before and after my classes.

Time Flies By When Your Having Fun!

5a) I cannot believe that a month has already gone by since we first began college! It feels like just yesterday I was moving into Chase Hall and saying goodbye to my parents as they walked away.

These past weeks I have learned so much and have discovered my own unique techniques to help me for studying and taking notes. For instance, for my lecture class, my professor uploads all the slides for each chapter onto blackboard. Since the class is so large and is two and a half hours long, it is hard to hear and follow along with the professor. Having the slides right in front of me makes it easier for me to follow along and stay on task. Also, if you print it off four slides per page, there is excess room around each side where you can jot down extra notes or important things to remember. Another studying method I use is using flash cards. I found them to be very helpful in order to help me memorize specific vocab words, people, and events.

As test and quizzes first started coming around I was so nervous because I had no idea what to expect. I had no clue what these test were going to consist of and it always made me nervous and doubtful. After just getting through the first one I was able to get a feel for what the following test and quizzes will be like. The class I was most scared for was my Psychology class, but with my studying methods I received a one hundred and one and a ninety-eight on my first two quizzes. It was such a sign or relief and it proved that hard work will pay off. I have not received anything lower than an A in my other classes for test or quizzes. This truly makes me feel so good about myself because I am really trying to focus more on my school work this year. If you find yourself struggling in classes when it comes to studying or taking notes for a lecture, I hope these techniques can help you, just like they did for me.

"Pathos, Ethos, and Logos"

4V) Do you know what delayed gratification means? Neither did I, until I began to read about Mischell’s experiment. According to the internet, delayed gratification is defined as the ability to wait to in order to obtain something that one wants. To make my own sense of what delayed gratification meant, I broke down the two words. Delayed, meaning to “wait for” and gratification meaning to be “rewarded and pleased.” Delayed gratification is being able to resist temptation in order to receive an award later down the road. An example of this would be that right when you get your paycheck, you immediately save some of your money instead of even giving yourself the possibility to spend it all now.

One new word that I have come across this week is pathos. This word appeared in my English 110 class, along with ethos and logos. All three of these words are titles for argumentative strategies.

By definition, pathos means a quality that that evokes pity or sadness. In English it is used to describe a character and how he or she connects to his or hers audience. In my own words, pathos means the appeal to emotions. They persuade there audience by using emotional arguments or something that hits the nerves of its audience.

According to the internet, ethos is defined as a Greek word meaning “character”. It is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. From class discussions and so forth, meaning of ethos in my own words is the appeal to the character of a person.

Lastly, we learned about logos. Logos is defined as persuading your reader by the use of reasoning. In other words, it is using logic to persuade the reader with reasoning as to why something is being done or why a certain event happened. Logos is reflected with logic.

Counseling Services at SCSU

4I) When I first came to Southern Connecticut State University, I faced a lot of new adjustment problems that I am sure many other new coming freshman felt. For the first couple of days, I had bad anxiety about a lot of new things and being able to make the necessary adjustments. I was afraid I was not going to be able to make any new friends and I was constantly worried about how others were going to perceive me. Another thing that consumed my mind was how my classes were going to be. Will they be too hard? Or will they be too easy? Will I like my professors? Feeling like I had no answers to any of these questions I decided to go to the Counseling Services here at Southern. The Counseling Service is located inside the Engleman building on the second floor.

Just the thought of going to counseling made me feel like there was something wrong with me and that this is not normal, that I should have just been able to make the change and be able to adjust to this new lifestyle. As I entered through the door into the Counseling Service office, I felt a sign of relief. The woman at the front desk was very welcoming to me and handed me a couple of papers I needed to fill out prior to talking to someone. The papers consisted of common questions about depression and so forth, mostly that were unrelated to what I was feeling. When I went into to talk to the counselor, I felt at ease. After telling her what was on my mind I felt a sense of relief. She completely understood and never judged me. I found out what I was feeling was common for freshman college students and that I shouldn't be so worried for everything will fall into place. I strongly recommend going to the Counseling Services if you have anything on your mind, no matter how big or small, I can guarantee they will be able to help you

http://www.southernct.edu/student-life/health/counseling-services/index.html/

Questions about the "Marshmallow Test"

4b) One of Stanford’s top researchers, Walter Mischell, designed an experiment call the “Marshmallow Test.” It was a test of delayed gratification which by definition means the ability to resist the temptation for an immediate reward and wait for a later reward. To test this, Mischell gathered a random sample of kids and tested them with the temptation of a treat, a marshmallow. He simply told them that they had the option to either eat the one marshmallow now, or to wait until he returns, and therefore be rewarded with another one. Most children struggled with resisting themselves from wanting to just eat the first marshmallow. Majority held out for an average of less than three minutes and it was common for the kids to try to delay the gratification by covering their eye or by touching the treat, and not actually consuming it. Only thirty percent of the kids were able to wait out the full duration of the fifteen minutes.

One question that arises was why was it so hard for the children to wait out the full fifteen minutes? To me, I find it silly that majority could not resist the wait. Then again, I am looking at this from a teenager’s perspective. Many argue that the children have a lack of self-control and willpower which leads to why they just take the first marshmallow. Also, some claim that those who came from a poorer house hold had the hardest time to wait. I can see this side also because those kids maybe never had a treat or and reward before, and would rather just take what they have it before the lose it. One of the kids says he took the treat before because, “at a certain point, it must of occurred to me that I was all by myself and so I just started taking all the candy.” As you can see, many of the kids had different opinions on what was justice to do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment

Another question that came to mind throughout the article was what about the blind variable of the procedure? For instance, those kids who had signs of ADHD or who fully had the disease. No matter how much willpower they put out, it would be nearly impossible for them to wait out the full fifteen minutes.

"too wait, or not too wait"

“Too wait, or not too wait; that is the question?”

 4a) Walter Mischell conducted a “Marshmallow Test” in the late 1960’s with the goal of identifying the mental process that allowed some people to delay gratification, and why some simply surrender. Mischell would offer one child a marshmallow and they had the choice to either eat one now, or if they were willing to wait until he came back, they could have two. Would you be able to delay the gratification of a scrumptious marshmallow sitting right in front of you as a child? When every second that passes, feels like hours, and its secretly calling you name? Or would you be able to silence your mind and wait for the reward of two marshmallows?

 It may seem silly to young adults, as to why they couldn't they just patiently wait for the researcher to return and be able to receive the reward of two. “Patience” is the key word. It’s been known that us Americans “hate to wait”. Do you think that’s true? I know I have zero patience. I hate waiting for people, it drives me crazy! The only time I do have patience is when I know there will be a reward in the end, if I choose to wait.

 Some people would rather wait for delayed gratification and claim that it will all be worth it in the end, but I know I value instant gratification. For me, instant gratification is a reminder that what I am doing is right and it gives me more confidence. We can relate delayed gratification to when we are driving and there is an accident or traffic. Do you have the patience to sit their patiently and wait? Or do you get road rage, like me, and take it out on other drivers? Just like the kids, us adults too have problems struggling with delayed gratification, especially when something is right in front of us or if we know have other plans for ourselves. 

Others look at it like a challenge. A girl from Mischell’s study, Carolyn, says “if you give me a challenge or a task, then I’m going to find a way to do it, even if it means not eating my favorite food.” I could also relate to this mindset of delayed gratification, because it is treating the wait as a challenge, and I hate to lose. I think many people could relate with my opinions on delayed gratification and how I believe sometimes instant gratification can be more rewarding.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment