- Welcome
- Thinking
- Ethnocentrism and Egocentrism
- Solving Problems
- Choice
- Perceiving and Believing
- Language and Thought
- Memory
- Cognitive Bias
- Digital Story
Welcome to Philosophy of Thought and Logic
Understanding the world through experience and reason.
Everyone has to think in order to function in the world, and this course will equip you with the tools to reason effectively in your pursuit of reliable beliefs and useful knowledge. Whether you are a budding philosopher searching for ultimate truths, a science student grappling with the nature of scientific proof, a new parent weighing conflicting childrearing advice, or a concerned citizen making up your mind about today's issues, the lessons you learn in this course will help you cut through deception and faulty reasoning to get closer to the essence of a matter.
This is equally a course in argument and in reasoning. While you will learn how to reason, you will also learn how to persuade others. And it teaches how to judge and answer the arguments of others and how they will judge yours. This is the very center of a well-educated mind.
Dr. Michael Thompson
Dillon Fahr
Implementation Thinking.
When I think of Implementation thinking I automatically think of a wedding planner. Someone who wants to plan a wedding calls a wedding planner to obviously plan their wedding. When you ask someone to plan your wedding for you, you want to it to be absolutely perfect. If there id even the slightest mistake the person who called the other person to plan it would be furious, especially if it was a girl. Especially because it will more than likely be the wife who is calling.
Obviously, the first and most important thing to worry about and plan is the actual marriage ceremony. The implementation thinker has to set out exact periods of time where each grooms man and brides maid walks down the isle, when the groom himself walks, and then finally the bride and her father walk. This is the main part to the entire wedding, so if someone does not follow proper procedures, then the entire wedding might be set of key. I mean if even fr a second if the bride is off of her walk then the pianist won't be on the same step as her and it will sound awkward. Everything is riding on the wedding planner to get everything right. Because the people who hired the wedding planner are paying some serious money to trust them in making proper decisions and making sure everything is running smoothly and complete.
Second, the right thing to do is figure out who is going to be attending the wedding. With the people that you know whom will be attending the service you will need to set a seating chart. Obviously when you assign seats to your guest you will want them to follow that seating chart. That is the first step in the implementation thing process. You are getting people to follow rules to start off the night. But, what people don't know and that people should know is the correct way to seat people. You have to find out who in who's family has a problem with someone in the family because you cannot sit them at them table. Then you have to make sure that there is a children's table somewhere so that all the kids and interact because kids don't really care who they are with, they will always find something to talk about.
Once the wedding is over I would say, welling in my wedding I would want this, that the next even going on would be games. Proper games might be: pin the tail on the donkey, pin the tail on the bride, pin the tail on the groom, seven minutes in heaven for the grooms men and brides maids, only. This part also takes some planning so people will follow your rules and so that it doesn't get out of hand. Because in everyone wedding if things start t get out of hands the minute the actual wedding ceremony gets over then everyone is in for a long night.
Since everything is going to be running smoothly then I would expect to everyone is going to be happy. This was the hole job for this wedding planner and his/her implementation thinking. They are the ones getting paid to do this job to marry this couple and make sure that their special day is one to remember. The one who is doing the implementation thinking is the one to is going to be getting paid at the end of the day and that is what that wedding planner is looking for. Yes, they want to make sure that the couple is having an amazing day but, the main thing to make sure that they are going an amazing job so that they can get paid for their work.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/03/27/how-to-develop-5-critical-thinking-types/
http://thefocuseddecisionmaker.com/tag/implementation-thinking/
THINKING
Positive Thinking
By Grant Buchanan
Why would anyone want to think negative, when we can think positive? One little negative thought can turn into a rolling snowball effect and get bigger and bigger. If you always seem to be down or feel like everything is going the wrong way, positive thinking can help. Thinking positively instead of negatively is one easy way of changing your life.
Thinking negatively causes stress, depression and anxiety. Doctors are now saying that these 3 side effects are becoming more and more harmful to the body and can lead to death over time. So, as we can see controlling your negative thinking is very important to your health. This is where positive thinking comes in very helpful for everything.
First way to start thinking positive is to be grateful. To start being grateful for everything that you have in life. I know it varies for everyone person on what we have but we all have something. Be thankful for being alive and where you are right now. Just think about it and life could be much worse than it is right now. Another way to think positive is by just being yourself and believe that you are one of a kind. What is the point about worrying what other think about you? All that matters is what you think of yourself. Being negative is taking what others say badly about you to heart. It's not that you are doing wrong, but avoid only those people who are speaking words which really hurt you. Another step to thinking positively is surrounding yourself with other positive things in your life and to kick all of the negative things out.
Some more ways of thinking positive and changing your life is to replace your thoughts. If you want to become more optimistic and engage in more positive thinking, first identify areas of your life that you typically think negatively about, whether it's work, your daily commute or a relationship. You can start small by focusing on one area to approach in a more positive way.
Examples:
• Negative thought: "I don't have a bright future". Positive thought: "I have a very bright future"
• Negative thought: "I have no qualities to be proud of". Positive thought: "I have so many qualities to be proud of"
• “The cup is half full, not half empty”
Yes these examples seem to be simple, but positive thinking starts here.
Replace all negative thoughts with positive ones. If you practice daily this in your life you will be definitely be a more positive person because adding this trick trains your mind to filter thought and giving permissions to only positive thoughts. You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice. You're creating a new habit, after all.
Thinking positive isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but if you want to change, feel better, and live a better life it is worth a try. Positive thinking help relieve stress, depression and anxiety. There is plenty of more ways to be more positive but hopefully this is a start for anyone who wants to begin thinking positively.
Work Cited:
http://www.wikihow.com/Think-Positively
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950
——
Thinking
by Fily Perez
The mental side of any sport activities is very big and import part of the game. Having good thinking skills helps you at any level all the way up to the professional level. When you get to the college level and especially at the professional level because everyone has almost the same athletic talent some are just better thinkers and are more mentally prepared. The better you think, the better your physical skills. Coaches today are trying to use a lot of mental preparation instead of physical to have the edge over other teams. The way we think can be divided into three different levels of cognition. The first level is made up of basic thinking skills or functional skills that we develop with our parents’ interaction from the time of our birth to the time we start school.
The second level of cognition is made up of procedural skills that we develop in school such as reading and writing. These skills are dependent of the efficient development of the functional skills. The final level of cognition is the conceptual level of thinking, where we combine ideas into concepts that gives us our beliefs about ourselves and the world. This level of cognition is directly impacted by the efficiency of the functional skills as well. Inefficiencies in the basic thinking skills impact our effectiveness in every facet of life, including sports (the mental part of the game). Some of the basic thinking skills that have a direct impact on sports are shape recognition, direction and orientation, classification and categorization, environmental acuity, field discrimination, analysis and synthesis, pattern recognition, abstract sequencing, motor integration and others.
If any of these skills are inefficient, it could have a big affect on an athlete’s performance. How well we recognize things, how well we process them, how well we strategize and how well we execute has everything to do with the efficiency or inefficiency of these basic or functional cognitive skills.At the American Institute of Learning and Cognitive Development we have successfully been applying our approach to helping poor students become great students, businesses become far more successful and families relate far better. We even have helped brain injured clients recover lost skills. We are currently working with the United States Marine Corps to help them train their Marines in how to recognize and avoid roadside bombs and snipers. We are interested in working with professional and collegiate athletes and their coaching staffs to improve performances by improving the thinking skills of their athletes. The results will occur both on and off the field as their athletes become better critical thinkers.
work cited:
"Critical Thinking in Sports." Critical Thinking in Sports. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
http://thinkingforsuccess.com/cognition-sports.html
Cordae Mckelvy
Critical Thinking
Though and logic is the process of being able to properly reason and interpret what someone is saying. To be able to do this it is necessary to have critical thinking skills. An efficient critical thinker has the skills to process information by analyzing, synthesizing, interpreting, explaining, evaluation, generalizing, abstracting, illustrating, applying, comparing, and recognizing logical fallacies. Everything you read and hear will go for nothing if your critical thinking skills are not where they need to be. Critical thinking is a necessary skill that you need in order to learn.
To listen and be able to hear is one thing, but to be able to interpret is another. It is important to know the point of view and the role the speaker playing in their statement. Knowing if the speaker is making an argument, asking a question, or making a command is something a critical thinker should know how to do. To understand a speaker and their message you need to know the purpose of what they are saying and their point. To be able to understand what someone is trying to say you have to be able to relate to them and know where they are coming from.
It is possible to be able to reason without being a great critical thinker. Sometimes decoding things is simple just to make sense of what someone is trying to get you to understand. You don’t necessarily have to have personal experience or being through what the person is talking about for you to understand the point that they are trying to make. So I would say a step to becoming a critical thinker is to first know how to logically reason.
When traveling to a new place or environment you may find it hard to be able to communicate with people from that area where you’ve never been. Simply because you may not at first be able to make sense of what already makes sense to them. What is true for someone already you may have yet to find the truth in it. Or maybe, what is true for one person may not apply to what you believe is true. A prosecutor would be a great example of someone who needs to know how to listen to what someone is saying a judge rather or not the person speaking is telling the truth. The most important ability within critical thinking is being able to tell if someone is telling a lie. For prosecutors evidence isn’t all that is considered when making a decision. Prosecutors have to be able to know if someone is lying or not based off of what they say and the way that they say it. Words isn’t everything they judge though. Prosecutors also have to know how to study behavior and expressions.
Thinking critically includes having the ability to be open-minded and see things from every possible angle. Understanding the views of others makes it possible for you to see the world from different views. When you think critically you see more possibilities. This helps you to be able to solve more problems. Those who are able to think critically understands that the way they presume things to be may not always be the right or only conclusion.
Sources
Glaser, Edward M, Defining Critical Thinking , The Critical Thinking Community: 1941, Web.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking
Thinking
By: Caitlin Lunsway
How much do you know about; thinking? You think with your brain. Did you know that the weight of an average human brain is about 1300-1400g – @ 3lbs i.e., almost one bag of sugar. It’s smaller than an elephant’s brain (6000g) but bigger than a monkey’s brain (95g)! A dog’s brain weighs about 72g and a cat’s brain weighs abut 30g. Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain! OR The brain represents about 2% of your total body weight. It is roughly 140mm wide, 167mm long and 93mm high. One thing that is crazy to think about is that your brain is capable of having more ideas than the number of atoms in the known universe! Also did you know that all of your “thinking” is done by electricity and chemicals?
Thought can refer to the ideas or arrangements of ideas that result from thinking, the act of producing thoughts, or the process of producing thoughts. Despite the fact that thought is a fundamental human activity familiar to everyone, there is no generally accepted agreement as to what thought is or how it is created. Thoughts are the result or product of spontaneous act of thinking. Because thought underlies many human actions and interactions, understanding its physical and metaphysical origins, processes, and effects has been a longstanding goal of many academic disciplines including artificial intelligence, biology, , sociology, psychology and philosophy "Thus the thinking apparatus may know something. But the understanding appears when a man feels and senses what it is connected with."[1] Thinking allows humans to make sense of, interpret, represent or model the world they experience, and to make predictions about that world. It is therefore helpful to an organism with needs, objectives, and desires as it makes plans or otherwise attempts to accomplish those goals. Thoughts are the keys which determine one's goal.
Critical thinking is the study of clear and unclear thinking. It is primarily used in the field of education, and not in psychology (it does not refer to a theory of thinking).[1] The National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking (a non-profit organisation based in Canada)[2] defines critical thinking as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.[3]
Action of using one's mind to produce thoughts, or covert symbolic responses to stimuli. Theories of thought and thought processes have concentrated largely on directed thinking, including problem solving. At the beginning of the 20th century, researchers focused on studying mental associations. Theorists of Gestalt psychology in the 1920s and '30s believed the elements of thought to be in the nature of patterns elicited from experience. Today these elements are often regarded as bits of information undergoing processing.
Sources: http://www.thethinkingbusiness.com/brain_zone/brain-facts, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thinking
Taylor Lambert
thinking thinking thinking
Thought can refer to the ideas or arrangements of ideas that result from thinking, the act of producing thoughts, or the process of producing thoughts. Despite the fact that thought is a fundamental human activity familiar to everyone, there is no generally accepted agreement as to what thought is or how it is created. Thoughts are the result or product of spontaneous act of thinking.
Because thought underlies many human actions and interactions, understanding its physical and metaphysical origins, processes, and effects has been a longstanding goal of many academic disciplines including artificial intelligence, biology, philosophy, psychology, and sociology.
Thinking allows humans to make sense of, interpret, represent or model the world they experience, and to make predictions about that world. It is therefore helpful to an organism with needs, objectives, and desires as it makes plans or otherwise attempts to accomplish those goals. Thoughts are the keys which determine one's goal.
The phenomenology movement in philosophy saw a radical change in the way in which we understand thought. Martin Heidegger's phenomenological analyses of the existential structure of man in Being and Time cast new light on the issue of thinking, unsettling traditional cognitive or rational interpretations of man which affect the way we understand thought. The notion of the fundamental role of non-cognitive understanding in rendering possible thematic consciousness informed the discussion surrounding Artificial Intelligence during the 1970s and 1980s.
Phenomenology, however, is not the only approach to thinking in modern philosophy. Philosophy of mind is a branch of modern analytic philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind-body problem, i.e. the relationship of the mind to the body, is commonly seen as the central issue in philosophy of mind, although there are other issues concerning the nature of the mind that do not involve its relation to the physical body. The main aim of philosophers working in this area is to determine the nature of the mind and mental states/processes, and how—or even if—minds are affected by and can affect the body.
Human perceptual experiences depend on stimuli which arrive at one's various sensory organs from the external world and these stimuli cause changes in one's mental state, ultimately causing one to feel a sensation, which may be pleasant or unpleasant. Someone's desire for a slice of pizza, for example, will tend to cause that person to move his or her body in a specific manner and in a specific direction to obtain what he or she wants. The question, then, is how it can be possible for conscious experiences to arise out of a lump of gray matter endowed with nothing but electrochemical properties. A related problem is to explain how someone's propositional attitudes can cause that individual's neurons to fire and his muscles to contract in exactly the correct manner In conclusion to this thought is a very interesting topic because we all use thought without thinking about it. we always are using our brain ( well most of us) and there for we will always be thinkin
/Sources/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Contents/Philosophy_and_thinking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought
Over-Thinking
By Luc Hebert
Whenever people are faced with stressful events they must deal with or resolve, they often react by over-thinking or over-analysing the situation and become unable to make a decision or take action. This is often called analysis paralysis, which is consists of over-thinking a situation so much that a decision or action is never taken. A person may focus too much on finding the "perfect" solution, or be afraid to make a “bad” decision which would lead to a negative result. In the end such over-analysis can lead to action paralysis, which in the world of sports is also often called “choking”.
Analysis paralysis is a critical problem in athletics, and can be described as failing to perform due to over-thinking. In sports, a victim of such over-thinking will frequently think in complicated terms of "what to do next", over-analyse the various possibilities and scenarios, or focus too much on making sure their physical movements are perfect. In doing so, the athlete loses the ability to perform up to his/her capability within the time available to do it. A great example of over-analysis during a stressful event is when R.J. Hildebrand, then a rookie driver racing in the Indy 500 in 2011, made the final turn of the race and was comfortably in the lead. All of a sudden he lost briefly control of his car and slammed into the wall, was passed by another driver and lost the race. Spectators and analysts were shocked that a driver could make 799 left turns successfully, and then make such a big mistake on the 800th and last turn, seconds away from a life-changing victory.
Why do athletes choke? In part, it is because they may think too much. Athletes rely on muscle memory to excel at what they do. Elite athletes typically get to a point in their development where they excel without thinking, and most often choking is related to over-thinking. Studies and research papers have offered guidelines to help athletes not think too much before performing under pressure, such as:
- using distraction techniques, such as singing a song while preparing for their performance;
- not dwelling on mistakes; focusing instead on one motion or the next step;
- using breathing as a tool to refocus;
- using one word or a mantra (possibly repeatedly) to avoid overthinking.
Ultimately many athletes will face this challenge, and will find or develop any number of ways to deal with it. The best athletes will learn to do this automatically – Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ swing coach, once remarked how Tiger’s ability to clear his mind at “combustible points” in a tournament was unparalleled. In the end, it’s a matter of finding those effective techniques that allows the athlete to allow his/her natural and developed ability to shine during crucial moments.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/goal-posts/201106/paralysis-analysis-in-athletes
http://psychologyofsport.net/choking-pressure-and-mental-tools-for-athletes
Social Thinking: Drake Biggins
When it comes to sports, thinking is crucial. In todays day in age coaches are turning what used to be very physicals practices into mental workdays, and more “chalk talk”. More and more coaches are starting to realize that it is no longer as much about physical tools, as it is about the mental side of the game. The better your mental game is the better your physical tools can become. By being better mentally, it will be easier for you to notice bad habits, and to correct the mistakes in a hasty period of time, rather than before it is too late. Your brain is your most important tool in the world of sports. It involves different levels of thinking, and different levels of problem solving in any given situation.
Every time you think, a neuron sends a pulse down its axon and makes thousands of connections with other brain cells. One of the many forms of thinking is social thinking. This is what we do when we interact with different people. It is also affected by our feelings towards that person. The social thinking process starts at birth, and slowly increases throughout our life based on our human interactions. However; people with higher IQ’s tend to have problems with social thinking skills. My prediction is because they have spent so much time on their studies, and the things that they feel are important, they let their communication skills, and social thinking skills take a backseat, while they continue to overachieve in their studies.
At an early age in school we are learning basics such as reading, writing, math, science, etc. but what we don’t think about is the amount of social learning that takes place while we are in school. We interact with our classmates, and without realizing it begin to learn things like mood detection, facial expressions, and other social interactions that can be read to show emotions. These thinking skills are crucial to everyday life, and everyday interactions. Imagine if you could never read peoples emotions, could never pick out sarcasm, or could never see when a comment you have made has crossed the line. Just imagine the kind of society that would create.
With social thinking comes social intelligence. Social intelligence is the way we interact with people, and how we get them to help us with things we may need. In other words these could, according to karlalbrecht.com be considered as our people skills. This social intelligence can be put into two categories, toxic and nourishing. Toxic behaviors make people feel unwanted, upset, and inadequate. While nourishing behaviors make people feel wanted, happy, and important. People use these two different social effects to manipulate people into giving them the reaction they are looking for. Whether it is a compliment or a tear down, depending on the person, it could accomplish the same goal.
When it comes to my personal opinion, I believe social thinking, and social skills are extremely important through life. To take it back to my referencing of sports, imagine if you could not react in a team environment the way others do. Imagine that you were constantly looked at as a loner, and had to go through life lacking these necessary skills for everyday human interaction. For me, being someone who loves to talk to, and meet new people, I could not imagine a worse fate. Those who get to enjoy these everyday interactions take the importance of social skills for granted everyday. And rather then helping these people, we often scrutinize them and make them feel even more alone then they already do.
Work Cited
https://www.socialthinking.com
https://www.karlalbrecht.com/siprofile/siprofiletheory.htm
++Choices
Desmond Major
Choices consist of mental decisions, of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one or more of them. A choice can be made between imagined options or a choice is made between real options and followed by the corresponding action.
Have you ever stopped to think about how the choices we make in our lives can change out lives forever. So many times the choices we make are irreversible. A dear friend recently reminded me of that, and up until then, I had really never thought too much about how our choices play such a great role in our lives. With just one simple choice you can change the direction that your life is headed. If you have the courage, you can make a single choice and change the course of your life forever.
All the choices that we make will not always be good, but hopefully we will learn something from those bad choices that we make on life's journey. Sometimes we make good choices and sometimes we make bad choices. Usually the bad choices were made before we thought about the repercussions of those choices. Some choices that I think of that have a great impact on our lives are saving our money or choosing to spend it wastefully, Other choices might include choosing to take piano lessons, going back to school, or learning a new language, etc.
There are many other choices we may face in our lifetime. We've all had thoughts of giving up on something or someone at any given point in time, especially when we were facing adversity. Perhaps you've even thought of quitting something that you had started, maybe you thought it just wasn't worth the effort or the hours it required of you. Sometimes it seems easier to quit than to meet a new challenge head-on. But, we must never quit. My mother always told me that a quitter never wins, and winners never quit. I like to think that when I am facing a challenge, belief in myself.
My philosophy has always been that you must pursue any dreams that you may have, pursue them with a passion, unequaled, and to not be afraid of failure. It is alright to fail, but the important point is to pick yourself up and move forward with great determination and courage and the belief that you are capable of great accomplishments. Because it's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving.
One of our main goals should be to be responsible for our own choices, take responsibility and blame no one else when things go wrong. God knows I've had my share of disappointments, wrong decisions, and just plain bad choices. Take time to think things through, vowing never to make a quick decision or the same mistake again. My grandmother gave me some of the best advice I've ever heard. She said, "If you have any doubts about a choice you are about to make, then don't follow through with that choice." Think about your choices and make the ones, the ones that will change your life and the lives of those around you in a positive manner.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice
dante foos
Egocentrism is defined by having or regarding the self or the individual as the centre of all things. In a sense one has little or no regard for interest, beliefs, or attitudes other than one’s own. One is then self-centred, an egocentric person; puts egocentric demands upon time and has no patience for others.
A historically classic example of egocentrism was the commonly accepted belief that the Earth was the centre of the universe, around which everything else revolved. Many academicians faced scorn, ridicule, and worse for daring to suggest otherwise until the sheer weight of demonstrable science finally swayed the educated, and eventually the masses.
Egocentrism is part of human development and according to Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, egocentrism is the tendency of children to cognize their environment only in terms of their own point of view. This is known as the pre-operational stage of development from birth to two years. Egocentrism is also a part of adolescence development in that teenagers often find it hard to judge situations based on the perspective of others. As humans develop through every developmental stage, the child and the adolescent go on to develop ‘theory of mind’ in order to become more tolerant towards other perspectives even when you hold a different opinion.
Ethnocentrism on the other hand is a sociological term that defines the belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture. This can be described as the tendency to view alien groups or cultures from the perspective of one’s own ideologies. One has to note that being ethnocentric does not automatically imply that a group or an individual is egocentric, though that can be the case.
This practice is a major reason for divisions amongst members of different ethnicities, races, and religious groups in society. Ethnocentric individuals believe that they are better than other individuals for reasons based solely on their heritage. Clearly, this practice is related to problems of both racism and prejudice. While many people may recognize the problems, they may not realize that ethnocentrism occurs everywhere and every day at both the local and political levels. The term ethnocentrism was coined by Wilhelm Graham Sumner in the early twentieth century. More inofrmation about the historical roots of this term can be viewed on http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/ethnocentrism.aspx.
Egocentrism and ethnocentrism are different personality and social concepts but it is evident that egocentrism and ethnocentrism similarly focus on holding on to a view of superiority and absolutism. This inherently requires an egotistical and self-centred mind set on the part of an individual, group or society.
Paige Todd
Egocentrism
People with disabilities tend to be treated differently by society. This is a result of egocentrism, which, by definition, is when a person's thoughts and actions are centered in or arising from their own existence or perspective.
Egocentrism could manifest itself in many ways. To the person who is deaf or hard of hearing, others may speak exceptionally slowly, making it much more difficult to understand what is being said. Enunciation is good, but overenunciation or slowness complicates lipreading. To the person who is in a wheelchair, egocentrism might manifest itself when others stand at an angle which forces the person to crane their neck up in order to make eye contact or carry on a conversation, instead of sitting in a chair beside them when conversing. To the person who is blind or visually impaired, egocentrism may be apparent when people walk away without a farewell or when others speak louder than normal, as if by speaking louder they will be heard better.
Another way people are sometimes set apart, without the other party even realizing it, is when certain phrases are avoided for fear of offending. Though this may offend some people, in my experience consciously avoiding phrases such as "Gotta run," "See you later," or "I can't wait to hear from you," just make the conversation more stilted and awkward.
Another occurrence of egocentrism is when others simply avoid conversation because it makes them uncomfortable and they are unsure of what to say. For lack of a nicer way to say it, that behavior is just rude. The other habits mentioned above can sometimes be attributed to being unaware, but not this one. People with disabilities are still people; they have hobbies, or jobs, or classes. There are things you can talk about, just like with anyone else.
Many of these things are common courtesy, and seem apparent to me since I have seen people being both polite and impolite in the ways listed above to people with disabilities. Now that you are aware of some of the most common forms of egocentrism toward people with disabilities, it will be easier for you to recognize these behaviors in yourself and others.
http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/comucate.htm
http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=32276
By Sebastian Nehls
Zits and Depression Link to the Ego
Egocentrism is a make believe preoccupation with one's world. An egocentric person believes that their opinion is superior to any others. They judge information by the value of its self-relevance and push aside any information not pertaining to them. Egocentric people have a one track mind and are unable to cope with other people's opinions and are not ready to accept reality. Egocentrism is not subject to any age. It can be found in young people, adolescence and adults.
Butterworth and Harris discovered that during childhood, an egocentric child is unable to distinguish between what is public and what is private. This misconception of subjective and objective information is what causes egocentric thinking. Jean Piaget theorized that the younger a person is, the more egocentric that person thinks. Essentially, egocentric children believe only in one perception and that is their own. Any other perceptions are either considered false or nonexistent. Piaget discovered two aspects of egocentricity in children; language and morality. Piaget believed that language in children is primarily for oneself. Egocentric speech is the child's thoughts. He believes the egocentric child is only concerned with the final outcome of an event rather than another’s intentions. Nelson supports this topic with the studies of the use of motives and outcomes by young children as aiding to form their moral judgment. Egocentrism is thus the child's inability to see other people's viewpoints.
Egocentrism also occurs during adolescence. The adolescent is exhibiting egocentrism because he/she cannot clearly identify another person's perception. David Elkind argues that the young adolescent is primarily concerned with himself/herself due to the adolescents physiological metamorphosis. Adolescents believe that there is an imaginary audience or that they are the only ones who are capable of feeling special. This is why adolescents become consumed with themselves and are mostly not ready to function in society. Many things lead to egocentrism in adolescents including secondary school, the personal fable and uniqueness, and high levels of self consciousness which can be caused by parental rejection. Many studies prove egocentrism to not only occur in young people but also in adolescents.
Adults also have a tendency to behave in an egocentric type of way. Egocentrism can effect the adults body much more physically as the human ages. Zits are a good example of a phenomenon that can be explained by the negative effects of the ego (in my opinion). Egocentrism can also effect the individual mentally, which can explain depression. So before you pop that next zit or you have that negative thought remember it is what you make it.
Egocentrism and Ethnocentrism
By Sterling Miller
Throughout the ages humanity has had a “mine is better than yours” philosophy. From racism and slavery to the crusades people have always believed that the group they belong to is the best. Humanity is often hard at work trying to prove who is better then the other. These behaviors can be summed up to egocentrism and ethnocentrism, and in most cases this way of thinking changes what people perceive as true.
The ideology of egocentrism deals with the focus on ones self and not others, whether we realize it or not most people do this to some degree. Putting your own priorities above another’s is nearly common practice, but when put to the extreme is when it begins to affect thought and action. One example could be Adolf Hitler, who fueled the holocaust and had dreams of being the ruler of he world. In this case he was embedded in his own interests that the needs of his people were shrugged off. In most cases it’s graceful, and non-selfish to consider others wants before realizing your own. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Said Spock in The Wrath of Khan as he bravely died to save the voyager from imminent death; he put the priorities of the masses before his own. In order to maintain logical thought it’s important to consider others and not just your own bias.
Everybody belongs to a group. Whether it’s a religious group, a country, political group, or a fan base everybody affiliates with people who share a collective feeling, thought, or belief. The rational that ones own group is superior to all the others is known as ethnocentrism. This thinking restricts rational thought, not allowing that person to look at all the facts. Consideration and facts are important in thought, but relying only on opinions not backed by facts, can be harmful to logical thinking. One example could be saying that the Seattle Seahawks are the best football team in the world. Most likely there is a team who plays better somewhere in the world, but they arrived at this conclusion simply because they like the Seahawks and not based on facts. Most of the time ethnocentrism is harmless, such as believing this football team’s the best, or that Jack Nicholson is the best actor, but when these ethnocentric thoughts are on the national level and subjects, such as religion and nationalism, tensions are a lot higher. One example of this could be European imperialism, where countries in Europe vastly extended their empires into foreign territory, taking over the previous inhabitants whom they believed to be less-superior barbaric people compared to their advanced civilization. Imperialism, along with nationalism, is what helped spark World War I. Every country wanted to expand, and the citizens believed that their country was better then all the others, that they couldn’t lose a war because their the best. These ideologies allowed for countries to make bad decisions such as fighting battles they would obviously lose.
Logical thought is important for anyone to have, and any obstruction that could hamper it is something that should be dealt with. People could never really stop being bias towards one group more than another because these ideologies are part of who we are and every body has an opinion. Still people should try and consider the whole picture when thinking, take a look at the different perspectives, walk a mile in another persons shoes to better understand the facts and the situation.
Works Cited
"Ethnocentrism." Princeton University - Home. CC-BY-SA., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Ethnocentrism.html>.
Nichols, Michele. "Superiority." A Life Against The Grain. N.p., 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.alifeagainstthegrain.com/2012_04_01_archive.html>.
Sarah Lamm
What's Wrong with the World
“You’re what’s wrong with the world.” Normally the recipient of this insult is either egocentrism or ethnocentrism. Egocentrism is when someone’s only cares about themselves and all things revolves around them. Ethnocentrism is when a group thinks they are more superior than all of the other groups. Egocentrism and ethnocentrism only see problems from their point of view and they never think they are wrong. Since they do not tolerate other points of views, this tends to lead to violence.
Some of the more recent examples of egocentrism are Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-il, and Fred Phelps. Hitler killed over six million Jews because he did not like their ideals. He thought that his ideas were so superior he killed a group of people. Stalin killed at least 10 million people under his regime. Some died just because they did not like the way Stalin was running the country. Putin currently will arrest all homosexuals in Russia. Disliking one sexual orientation and locking them up is definitely egocentrism. Kim Jong-il banned freedom of speech because he was afraid of other ideas. According to the U.S. and South Korean official, Kim Jong-il had at least 200,000 political prisoners. The last example is Fred Phelps; though he does not specifically bring violence he still is consider egocentrism. Fred Phelps protests soldiers’ funeral. He states “god hates fags”. The official website of his church is www.godhatesfags.com. Fred Phelps is what Hitler was like before he rose to power and started killing Jews. Though America will probably never let Fred Phelps reach the same level of power as Hitler did. Knowing the more current examples of egocentrism helps keep people aware of the dangers of intolerance.
Ethnocentrism is like egocentrism except for the fact it involves groups instead of individual. Some current examples are the American South and the KKK, Saudi Arabia and the Tea Party. The American South and KKK are similar though not the same. The American South is the side that wanted and fought for slavery in the civil war. One of the worst human rights violators in American History. The American South was at its worst between 1850’s and 1950’s. The enslaved African-Americans, abused them, lynch them, and had political power to oppress them. The groups and their beliefs are similar, but not exactly the same. The KKK was more for white supremacy. The KKK did not like any group that was not white. Though, their prime target was African-Americans. They also lynched African Americans like the South. Saudi Arabia also does not have great women rights. It is illegal for women to drive there. The last ethnocentrism group is the Tea Party- a subgroup of the republicans. Though they are not nearly as destructive, murderous, and oppressive as the previous examples, they are still consider ethnocentrism. The Tea Party literally shutdown the government because they did not like one idea the democrats liked. That is the exact definition of ethnocentrism. They were not tolerant of the other sides views so they used there power to shutdown the government.
Egocentrism and ethnocentrism is truly what is wrong with America and the world. Intolerance breeds hates and violence. Though the most current examples in America do not lead directly to violence, they still create horrible situations for the American public. Intolerance had lead to the death of millions of people over the course of just a century. Any individual who displays the sign of egocentrism should be watch closely. No individual with egocentrism should be given much power either. Though, the Tea Party already has enough power to shutdown the government. That is too much power already. Learning from the examples above, people who are intolerant and in power hurt the innocent. Egocentrism and ethnocentrism needs to stop, the world would truly be a better place with tolerance and checks and balances on power.
Resources
BBC News. "Adolf Hitler." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Stagner, Ross. "Egocentrism, Ethnocentrism, and Altrocentrism: Factors in Individual and Intergroup Violence." Science Direct. N.p., Autumn 1977. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0147176777900177>.
Thesson, Sophia. "The Differences and Similarities of Egocentrism and Ethnocentrism." Life Paths. N.p., 5 Feb. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. <http://www.lifepaths360.com/index.php/the-differences-and-similarities-of-egocentrism-and-ethnocentrism-455/>.
Brennan Williams
Problem Solving
Having a problem such as keeping your room clean can be difficult for some people. A problem is something that needs to be fixed. The only way to fix a problem is to solve it, and to solve it is to insert to the problem. With problem solving there are five different steps that have to be taken.
The first step to identify the problem, such as a dirty room. Planning the how to solve the problem is what some people call the hardest part. First idea is to hire a house keeper. Second Idea is to have your mom or your room or roommates. The third idea would be to clean it yourself and make it a habit. Now you have how you can fix the problem, but one you have to pick the best solution for the problem. My own pick you be to clean the room myself and make it a habit to keep it clean, because I'm unable to pay someone to clean my room. I would prefer not to have my mom or roommate clean my room. Finley make the decision to clean it myself on how you are going to fix this problem.
Sometimes you have to have your problem pointed out to you. Then when it comes to planning how to solve a problem then you’re going to have to find someone do it for you for your just going got have to do it yourself. Sometimes it can be hard to pick the best solution for a problem can try all and see what works best for yourself.
I personally love problem salving. My friends and family come to when there is a problem and sometimes I have to point the problem out to them, but it’s okay because together we come up with way to solve a problem. A few months ago I ran into a problem on where I was going to live. I talk to my friends and to help me decide on where I was going to live. There was many questions that had come to my attention, but my friend know that I like to hear the truth even though sometimes it going to hurt. So they asked me questions that I need to find the answer to and my family just supported me on whatever I need. This class has helped me to see that I love problem solving and that I’m really good with salving problems. This class made me see how to actual see how the brain works with each step to salving the problem. With the rescue that I did I read that problem solving skills in the brain, there are pathways that are made to help the problem solving easier.
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/problem-solving.html
http://blog.careerfutura.com/brain-exercises-to-improve-creativity-and-problem-solving/
Ashley Riley
Problem solving
In life there are many problems and later found solutions either pertaining to school, families, lovers, and at work. Problems are everyday obstacles than are most of the time overcome. According to what they are some people solve problems by getting right at it and finding solutions then there are others who care less. Most of the time when I am faced with a problem I then pray on it, and as soon as possible try my best to fix it. If this doesn’t turn out the way I want it to I then find the best way to deal with it. Some problems are more mental than physical, so we have to just stay calm and work or way around them.
There are many different ways that good problem solvers use to solve a problem. Before using a strategy to solve a problem, one must remember a few things. First, take your time. Few good problem solvers solve problems fast. Second, don't give up. “You will never solve a problem if you don't try. Last, be patient. If a first you don't succeed, try another way.” And if the second way doesn't work, try a third way. In cases such as classroom work problems there are a few steps to solving them: Firstly, reading the problem very carefully. “Try to understand every word and make sure you know what the problem is asking”. If you don't know the meaning of a word, look it up. Secondly, take out information that is not needed. Third, devise a plan. Even guesses have to be planned out. Arrange information in tables, draw pictures, and compare the information to another problem you know of. Fourth, carry out the plan. Attempt to solve it and work with care. If the attempt doesn't work then go back and read the problem again. Last, check your work carefully. Don't check by repeating the problem, estimate or find another way to try and to solve the problem. One can understand what the problem means yet still not be able to solve it immediately. One good way to help solve the problems is to draw a picture. One example of this strategy is suppose you received a problem asking you how many diagonals a heptagon has. The plan is very obvious. Draw a heptagon and then draw its diagonals. As individuals we shouldn’t let problems spoil the little bit of joy we find every day, for when there is a will, there is a way.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/
Gennard Paul
Solving Problems
Being able to solve problems sometimes involves dealing with pragmatics (logic) and semantics (interpretation of the problem). The ability to understand what the goal of the problem is and what rules could be applied represent the key to solving the problem. Sometimes the problem requires some abstract thinking and coming up with a creative solution. When solving problems I first got to where the problem is originated and work my way down from there making sure I get all the facts and put them together to find the solution, is like math to solve a problem in math u have to go back to the previous lesson and transform what u have learned in that lesson to come up with a solution for the problem in the current lesson.
We all solve problems on a daily basis and weather it is Putting together an argument for an essay, Debugging a computer program, Dealing with an awkward customer when working part-time in a shop or restaurant, Thinking about how you are going to manage your budget to keep you going until the end of term, Working out why your printer won’t respond, or Developing a strategy to reach the next level of a computer game there are always ways to solving them.
People have problem to deal with every day weather it’s in the home, on the street, or on the job and everyone have their own way of solving their problems. Some people procrastinate while others get right to solving their problems. I for one like to get right to solving my problems for example when my bicycle gets a un-expected flat I quickly get my money and head to Walmart by foot and buy a new tube in order to be able to ride my bike to school the next day, this is my way of solving problems.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2014/03/31/t-boone-reborn/
Solving Problems
Omar Trevino
Everybody can benefit from having good problem solving skills as we all encounter problems on a daily basis; some of these problems are obviously more severe or complex than others. It would be wonderful to have the ability to solve all problems efficiently and in a timely fashion without difficulty, unfortunately there is no one way in which all problems can be solved.
But what is problem solving? Problem-solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analyzing and solving problems. The ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue. The best strategy for solving a problem depends largely on the unique situation. In some cases, people are better off learning everything they can about the issue and then using factual knowledge to come up with a solution. In other instances, creativity and insight are the best options.
However well prepared we are for problem solving there is always an element of the unknown. Although planning and structuring will help make the problem solving process more likely to be successful, good judgment and an element of good luck will ultimately determine whether problem solving was a success. In order to correctly solve a problem, it is important to follow a series of steps. Many researchers refer to this as the problem-solving cycle, which includes developing strategies and organizing knowledge. While this cycle is portrayed sequentially, people rarely follow a rigid series of steps to find a solution. Instead, we often skip steps or even go back through steps multiple times until the desired solution is reached.
Below, I have copied from the psychology dictionary what those series of steps are:
1. Identifying the Problem: While it may seem like an obvious step, identifying the problem is not always as simple as it sounds. In some cases, people might mistakenly identify the wrong source of a problem, which will make attempts to solve it inefficient or even useless.
2. Defining the Problem: After the problem has been identified, it is important to fully define the problem so that it can be solved.
3. Forming a Strategy: The next step is to develop a strategy to solve the problem. The approach used will vary depending upon the situation and the individual's unique preferences.
4. Organizing Information: Before coming up with a solution, we need to first organize the available information. What do we know about the problem? What do we not know? The more information that is available, the better prepared we will be to come up with an accurate solution.
5. Allocating Resources: Of course, we don't always have unlimited money, time and other resources to solve a problem. Before you begin to solve a problem, you need to determine how high priority it is. If it is an important problem, it is probably worth allocating more resources to solving it. If, however, it is a fairly unimportant problem, then you do not want to spend too much of your available resources into coming up with a solution.
6. Monitoring Progress: Effective problem-solvers tend to monitor their progress as they work towards a solution. If they are not making good progress toward reaching their goal, they will reevaluate their approach or look for new strategies.
7. Evaluating the Results: After a solution has been reached, it is important to evaluate the results to determine if it is the best possible solution to the problem. This evaluation might be immediate, such as checking the results of a math problem to ensure the answer is correct, or it can be delayed, such as evaluating the success of a therapy program after several months of treatment.
Resources
http://psychology.about.com/od/glossaryfromatoz/
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/strategies-critical-thinking-problem-solving-12709.html
Lacie Langhofer
Problem Solving
By definition, problem solving is used in many disciplines, sometimes with different perspectives, and often with different terminologies. Problems can also be classified into two different types, ill-defined and well-defined. Ill-defined problems are those that do not have clear goals or solution paths. Well-defined problems have specific goals and clearly defined solution paths. One can solve these two different types of problems with many different techniques and strategies.
In Psychology for example, when problem solving occurs or a situation in which one needs to come to a conclusion, the individual will assess the situation and determine the ‘goal’ that needs to be met. In Computer Science and Algorithmics, problem solving is done by various different techniques. Not only are the individuals ultimately looking for a goal, but are also investigating any problems that may arise in the process of doing so. Some techniques used are de-duplication, analysis, diagnosis, and repair.
As well as techniques dealing with problem solving, there are many strategies used. A few are as follows; using analogies, meaning solving the problem in a model of the system before applying it to the real system, brainstorming, which is suggesting a large number of solutions or ideas and combining and developing them until an optimum solution is found, proof, which is means trying to prove that the problem cannot be solved; if the proof fails, it is now the time to begin solving it. Lastly, there is a trial and error strategy, which means testing of possible solutions until the right one is found.
Each individual has their own problem solving strategy, whether that be included in the ones stated previously, or one that is purely unique. Math is often associated with the term ‘problem solving’. Why? Because that is simply what is done. Once given a math problem, the only solution is to solve it. One can solve it by writing it down on paper and working it out step by step, or in today’s world, typing it into a scientific calculator would even be sufficient. These calculators not only give an answer to a standard math problem, but can also graph and make lists to better assist the original problem.
According to an article entitled “Science World”, there are four steps that need to be taken in order to reach an answer or the goal. The first step is purely understanding the problem. By understanding the problem, one can start analyzing the exact steps he needs to reach the goal. The second step is devising a plan. This plan is the way to get to the goal. Is there a pattern that needs to be taken? Or maybe an equation or diagram needs to be drawn in order to help the situation. Step three states one needs to carry out the plan. Once devising the plan is finished, it needs to be followed through and done carefully without mistakes. Lastly, step four is looking back. Looking back once the answer is found it crucial because it will prove whether the answer or goal that was reached is legitimate. Going through the problem once more, step by step, will assure the answer or goal was right or wrong.
Solving any problem can be done differently depending on the surrounding in which one is around. For instance, if one is in the office or workplace, materials needed may not be readily available. So instead, the individual can use materials available to assist solving the problems or simply try a different technique.
Whereas problem solving can be done in many different ways, using many different techniques and strategies, or even using steps, the ultimate goal of solving a problem is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_solving
http://psychology.about.com/od/problemsolving/f/problem-solving-steps.htm
+ Problem Solving
By Elizabeth Lockhart
Problem Solving is a mental process that allows the human mind to discover, analyze, and solve problems. It is something that we do multiple times a day without even thinking the process through. The steps that we take when we problem solve are identifying the problem, defining the problem, forming a strategy, organizing the information, allocating (finding) resources, monitoring progress, and evaluating the results. Often times, people skip steps and go back through them until they reach the solution desired. The process can be simplified to use the acronym: IDEAL. Acronyms are a mnemonic device used to help someone remember a set of items for extended periods of time. IDEAL can be used multiple times a day, whenever a problem arises. In this case, IDEAL stands for: Identify the problem, Define the problem, Examine the options, Act on a plan, and Look at the consequences.
However, there are cases when one must go through different sets of strategies – like mathematic formulas (algorithms), trial and error, or have a little bit of insight. Insight is kind of like memory – or typology in the bible. The past is an example of how to do something in the future based on what happened in the past.
It’s obvious that we as humans have a multitude of problems each day – our car running out of gas, spilling coffee on our white pants, having your bank account broken into, or your boyfriend cheating on you. Media has made a lot of problem-solving methods famous. One of my personal favorites, is Ariana Grande’s new song “Problem”. In the song, she says “I got one less problem without you.” She is demonstrating the technique of eliminating the problem (a boy in her life) completely. However, she makes it very clear that she still has plenty of problems each day. Also, she acknowledges the problem from the very beginning as she says “head in the clouds, got no weight on my shoulders I should be wise and realize that I’ve got one less problem without you.” She’s obviously practicing the steps to problem solving and perhaps she’s going to keep going through them until she finds the solution she’s seeking. Kaiser Cheifs also sings “Problem solved, it's easier said than done. Problem solved reveals another one to be done” in his song “Problem Solved.”
Problem-solving skills are developed through everyday life and experience and are important to know when dealing with other people. Mind games, crosswords, Sudoku, and chess can be used to improve these skills. Also, computer games that involve critical analysis on different courses of action, working with sound or lighting equipment is helpful because when dealing with technology, obviously problems arise often. In studying, one can analyze different approaches and methods for remembering the information, which is a problem in itself.
Giving advice is another simple way to problem solve that is very common in our day to day lives. When one masters the skill of problem solving, they are more likely to be hired for jobs or accepted into social groups. If they are better at creating problems, or leaving them unresolved, they are way more likely to not get hired for a job or accepted into social groups.
Sources
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/problem-solving-skills.htm
http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/problem-solving.htm
http://psychology.about.com/od/problemsolving/f/problem-solving-steps.htm
Cordae Mckelvy
Problem Solving
On the internet the definition for problem solving is using generic or ad hoc methods, in an orderly manner, for finding solutions to problems. I think problem solving is thinking things out before you make your final decision on what you are going to do about your problem. If you don’t have a clear or leveled head you won’t come out with a solution to the problem or the solution will not be right. Regardless if it is a math problem a science problem, a relationship problem, or just a regular life situation you have to think clearly and give it time before you make you decision.
The word problem-solving is used in many disciplines, sometimes with different perspectives, and often with different terminologies. For psychology it would be a mental process but for mechanics it would be a technical process. There are two different kinds of problems, they are ill defined and well defined. An ill defined problem is one that does not have clear goals, solution paths, or expected solution. A well defined problem has specific goals, clearly defined solution paths, and clear expected solutions. The key to solving these kinds of problems are finding out what the goal of the problem is and see what rule can be applied to solve the problem at hand.
Almost every problem has a rule that applies regardless of what kind of situation it is. There are also always consequences and repercussions to everything especially when you don’t think long and hard enough on the situation at hand. Just because you think you are solving the problem right and it is in the best interest for you doesn’t technically mean you are solving it right. I can sometimes not be the right way to solve the problem because can be in the wrong interest for you physically and mentally.
The best strategy to solving a problem is through personal experience. The older you get the more you go through and learn. Trial and error is a phase that everyone go through during their adolescent years. You learn what not to do based off of the repercussions or respond that you get from that decision. When dealing with a familiar situation you remember the bad outcome that you got when you chose to handle a situation or problem a certain way. Knowing how not to handle a situation through the experience you’ve had with that situation, makes the decision making process to finding your solution that much easier.
However, when faced with a new situation that comes with a new problem trial and error may not be the method that you choose take. The first or the easiest solution may not always be the best one. Going with the easiest route may lead you through a detour where you stumble upon more problems. So now, not only do you have to find a new solution for your original problem. You know have several problems that all now needs solutions as well. When choosing the right solution for your problem make sure you consider if that solution is going to bring you more problems than you started with. There are four things that you want to make sure you do when considering a solution. First, you want to insure that you are communication with everyone involved including yourself; understand the problem. Secondly, break down silos. Third, be open-minded. The last thing to do when you’re solving a problem is to be sure that you have a good foundational strategy.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_solving
http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/11/04/the-4-most-effective-ways-leaders-solve-problems/
dante foos
problem solving in the brain
The brain's center of reasoning and problem solving is among the last to mature, a new study graphically reveals. The decade-long magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of normal brain development, from ages 4 to 21, by researchers at NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that such "higher-order" brain centers, such as the prefrontal cortex, don't fully develop until young adulthood.
A time-lapse 3-D movie that compresses 15 years of human brain maturation, ages 5 to 20, into seconds shows gray matter ? the working tissue of the brain's cortex ? diminishing in a back-to-front wave, likely reflecting the pruning of unused neuronal connections during the teen years.
Cortex areas can be seen maturing at ages in which relevant cognitive and functional developmental milestones occur. The sequence of maturation also roughly parallels the evolution of the mammalian brain, suggest Drs. Nitin Gogtay, Judith Rapoport, NIMH, and Paul Thompson, Arthur Toga, UCLA, and colleagues, whose study is published online during the week of May 17, 2004 in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"To interpret brain changes we were seeing in neurodevelopmental disorders like schizophrenia, we needed a better picture of how the brain normally develops," explained Rapoport.
The researchers scanned the same 13 healthy children and teens every two years as they grew up, for 10 years. After co-registering the scans with each other, using an intricate set brain anatomical landmarks, they visualized the ebb and flow of gray matter ? neurons and their branch-like extensions ? in maps that, together, form the movie showing brain maturation from ages 5 to 20.
It was long believed that a spurt of overproduction of gray matter during the first 18 months of life was followed by a steady decline as unused circuitry is discarded. Then, in the late l990s, NIMH's Dr. Jay Giedd, a co-author of the current study, and colleagues, discovered a second wave of overproduction of gray matter just prior to puberty, followed by a second bout of "use-it-or-lose-it" pruning during the teen years.
The new study found that the first areas to mature (e.g., extreme front and back of the brain) are those with the most basic functions, such as processing the senses and movement. Areas involved in spatial orientation and language (parietal lobes) follow. Areas with more advanced functions — integrating information from the senses, reasoning and other "executive" functions (prefrontal cortex) ? mature last.
In a related study published a few years ago, Rapoport and colleagues discovered an exaggerated wave of gray matter loss in teens with early onset schizophrenia.
These teens, who became psychotic prior to puberty, lost four times the normal amount of gray matter in their frontal lobes, suggesting that childhood onset schizophrenia "may be an exaggeration of a normal maturation process, perhaps related to excessive synaptic pruning," note the researchers.
By contrast, children with autism show an abnormal back-to-front wave of gray matter increases, rather than decreases, suggesting "a specific faulty step in early development."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/8410.php
http://www.google.com/images
**Hannah Albin
Problem Solving in the Workplace.**
There are so many things daily that we use problem solving to decide. For instance, what will we eat for breakfast, what to wear, what time to set your alarm, the list could go on. I narrowed my topic down to problem solving in the workplace area.
There are usually three things people do when a problem arises. They get scared and wish it would vanish; they may also feel like they have to come up with the right answer or they try to find someone to blame. “Being faced with a problem becomes a problem.” (Hicks) Problems happen all the time and we need to remember that. As well as problems become opportunities to make relationships and systems better. Most people try to come up with a solution right away and that is a mistake. Coming up with a solution right away puts the solution at the beginning when it should be come up at the end. Hicks comes up with seven steps for problem solving in work area. The first step is to identify the issue. Make it clear what the problem is. The second critical step is to understand everyone’s interests. This is a step that is commonly missed. It is a time for vigorous listening. The best solution is one that fits everyone’s interests. Thirdly list the possible solutions. Do some brainstorming, and be creative. Next step is to evaluate your options. Fifthly select an option or maybe even a couple. Can you combine some of the options to be more satisfying to the solution? After this then document the agreement you have came to. Don’t rely on remembering. Finally the seventh step is to agree on contingencies, monitoring, and evaluation. This seven step process can be used in different situations, whether small or large group of people. If you are deciding something simple like what to wear don’t use this you don’t need it.
In everyday business job or projects problems will come up. Some of these problems can be handled by planning before the project. However other issues require problem solving skills in the workplace by management and staff to overcome. There are several ideas that can help the workplace problem solving. Brainstorming is a good idea. Sometime workplaces will benefit from new ideas. These can be the first ideas that come to mind. It’s easy to cross off answers so just come up with as many as you can. This is a great way to get many different peoples input or ideas. After all ideas have came up with you decide on one and that will be your foundation of a solution. Another option is delegation; each person has their own set of responsibilities, based on background knowledge and experience. A piece of problem solving in the workplace is respecting the delegation of responsibility. “Solving issues in the workplace can help maintain productivity.” (Root) Also splitting workers into committees can help with problem solving. These committees can be short or long term work groups responsible for solving certain problems. “For example, if the logistics department is experiencing challenges with a particular shipping company, then a committee can be created to look into the issue and develop a solution.” (Roots) It happens often that specific skilled employees make up a committee. The last suggestion for workplace problem solving is evaluations. This consists of monitoring employee and compares performance against the goals laid out in plan. The results help decide which problems need to dealt w
http://www.mediate.com/articles/thicks.cfm
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-workplace-problem-solving-10135.html
CHOICES: Khyree Wooten
Choices are around us in our everyday lives. From the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep the number of choices that are put in front of us is mind boggling. Everyone life is different when it comes to the choices that are in front of us and making decisions on those choices. Making a choice is a mental decision, when it comes to dealing with anything mental or any type pf thinking process there are several different options that can come out of that choice. The best part I like about a choice is you always have options. It’s up to me on the direction of where my choice is going to take me.
A choice I made in my life was to choose a school to go to after high school I played out a lot of different options in my head such as what would my major be if I went to this school, what would the town and community be like living there, and what would my soon to be new basketball teammates be like. According to Wikipedia within a choice you can judge the merits of multiple options and from those merits you can select one or more of those options. My choice from these options was to attend Trinity Valley Community College. With every choice there is always a result or consequences that come with that choice. Good or bad you will always be able to learn from the choices you’ve made. My choice of choosing Trinity Valley Community College at the time was the best option I believed. I later came to the conclusion that Trinity Valley was not the right choice and I would be making another choice in the near future.
According to dictionary reference a choice is a selection. For example my choice of a school was made after weeks and months of research and collectively communicating with my dad and mentor. Within the definition of choice you also have the right, power, or opportunity to choose an option. My next big choice in my life was choosing another school after I left Trinity Valley Community College. With different choices and options in front of me I went back through and evaluated everything and came to the conclusion that the best choice for me was Colby Community College. My choice was based on my academic road to a degree, the environment that I would be around, the importance of basketball at the college, and where this choice will put me in my future. With all the mental decisions that come with choosing a school in general you can break down individually and make different choices out of each breakdown. The best part of the choice I made when choosing Colby is I was able to break down each one of these options (my academic road to a degree, the environment that I would be around, the importance of basketball at the college, and where this choice will put me in my future).
A choice can as simple as figuring out what you want to eat for a meal or deciding what outfit you want to wear for the day. A choice can also be difficult such as choosing a wife who you are going to spend the rest of your life with or choosing what school or university you want to get your degree at. No matter if the choice is simple or difficult it is still a choice, mentally and selectively the best part about a choice is you always have options. I am a firm believer of the right of choice because without choices the world would be a different place.
Work Cited
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice
http://i.word.com/idictionary/choice
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/choice
Ashley Riley
Making Choices
Choice consists of a mental decision, of judging options, and selecting one or more of them. In most cases there is always a first choice and a second choice which then backs up the first. While a choice can be made between imagined options, a choice is made between real options and then followed by a specific action. Command decisions that can only be made by you, are mostly the hardest ones to make. They are many ways of making decisions; however, most people make choices such as the "No-brainer" decisions, this is where the choice is so obvious that only one choice can reasonably be made. Meanwhile others like myself would think according to the anticipated outcome of something. This is called Avoided decisions.
Choices made do not only have an effect on the thinker, but usually affect the people around them. The choices of a teacher will affect the way his or her class learns, the choices of a mother has great outcome on the future of her child, and as we all know the choices of the government will affect the entire country. Some decisions are made for a great change but others should have been thought about for a little bit longer. For an example, the choice of Walmart bringing in the self-checkout service was a success, for there were shorter lines and less workers to be paid, but it didn’t took long before people used it as a much easier way to steal.
I find myself different from a lot of other people in society. In everything that goes on my life there is always a well thought up plan before taking any action. As simple as telling jokes among peers, I’d think before I say something, for I know someone won’t feel too excited about it. There’s an old saying that goes “think before you talk” and I took that to heart. To my knowledge choices are not just regular everyday judgments, but they are decisions that will have great effect on one’s future, so they should be well thought of. One of the biggest but simplest choices I made was one about my 2nd love: track. During my freshman semester here at Colby, I was discouraged, for I was away from home and friends, didn’t think I was getting the right training, and wondering if I really wanted to keep running. So as a result I went into meets not putting as many effort in as I would normally do. I then went home for break after it was all done. During the summer I got a wakeup call, basically telling me that I was not blessed which such a talent for nothing, and as a result a came back to school with a different mindset and became one of the top runners in the nation among my events. I started to tell myself no matter how I feel “just shut up and run” and it all worked out fine. This was one of the best choices I made since here at Colby, and I hope to make many greater ones in life.
Sources:
http://www.choices.org/index.htm
http://choicescolumbus.org/blog/
Choice
By Sterling Miller
“Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.”- Ayn Rand. Everyone makes choices, though some carry more weight than others, each decision impacts our lives in some way. Even the most mundane choices such as what to eat for breakfast, what to wear, what song to listen to and so on, leaves marks on our lives and determines the rest of the day, week, year or even life time. It is extremely important to look at what can affect choice making, such as commercials, bias, propaganda, and the illusion of choice.
The ability to choose is something American society is based on. Choosing what religion to follow, what politics to practice, what job to work all is something most people can choose. I say most because choice isn’t just one person’s decision. Outside forces have a huge way of determining how people choose, though a lot of this is subconscious. Some of the easiest to see examples of how other forces manipulate our choice is at the grocery store. Stores implement a lot of tricks to get people to buy more than intended such as placing milk, eggs, and bread, which are necessities for most American households, at the back of the store. This makes people scour the store thus becoming exposed to more products and, in most cases, buys more than intended. Commercials also have this effect on people, though not always immediately. You’re at the store deciding what cereal to get and remember the commercial from earlier advertising cheerios. You feel more familiar with them and decide to buy those. Did you make that choice, or did the commercial. Now this is mostly harmless (unless you’re on a tight grocery budget.) but this type of trickery can happen in much larger choices as well, and this is where propaganda comes in.
Propaganda, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person. The purpose of propaganda is to influence choice in the mass of people. This is done several ways in several different mediums, such as movies, books, artwork and music. When watching, reading, or listening to something it’s important to find out what the message is, once a message is found you can distinguish it’s purpose and effectively takes away from the propaganda element. The most distinguishable example of propaganda would be the use of propaganda during the Russian revolution. Stalin was able to take power of a country and continually manipulate his citizens using propaganda. The Russian peoples choice was influenced so greatly by the use of propaganda that really they didn’t have a choice of leadership at all. This would also fall under the pretense of the illusion of choice. When people believe they have a choice when in reality they don’t is what the illusion of choice is. This is seen a lot in rigged elections, recently a scandal in Azerbaijan gives a good example of this. The voting for president was a day away when government officials released voting statistics saying that their current president has been reelected before voting has even begun.
Another barrier to free choice is an area bias. Being from somewhere or part of a culture makes it more likely that your opinions will follow the masses. The rational that ones own group is superior to all the others is known as ethnocentrism. Chances are if someone is raised in a Christian household the will be Christian. If someone’s from Colorado, chances are he or she like the Broncos. When People arrive at these conclusions they do it simply because that’s how they were raised, not by deciding which has better merits.
Choice is not as black and white as most think. Decisions aren’t just one person’s choice, rather there mostly decided by organizations or other people. It is important to try and fight these outside forces in order to come to a true conclusion.
Works Cited
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/10-ways-grocery-stores-trick-you-into-spending-more.htm
http://renewmentcounseling.com/wp-content/uploads/choice.jpg
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/ayn_rand.html
Do We Really Have a Choice?
By Breanna Emahizer
There are some very important questions that need to be asked and answered about today’s society. Do we really have a choice of who we shall become later in life? How we will choose to live, or where? Or has that been predetermined by family and society? Has society decided what mold we should conform to? What we should act like? Has it gone so far as to even deciding what we should look like? The real question is what is choice? Some studies say that it might not be as up to us as we think.
Choice is defined as the mental process of choosing merits and an arrangement of options and picking one or more. For example, choosing what the right lifestyle to live is, is completely different then choosing what to wear to class the next day, or if you want sushi or a BigMac for lunch. These choices involve judgment, and the use of cognitive skills to decipher which would be best, but clothing and trends change. How to live, what is the purpose, and is it the right choice is a tad bit more important than passing fads. There are four main types of choices and they can be expressed in different ways. Brian Tracy has summarized them as follows:
1. Command Decisions- which can only be made by you
2. Delegated Decisions- can be made by anyone
3. Avoided Decisions- can have outcomes that are so severe that the choice shouldn’t be made
4. “No-Brainer”- the choice is super obvious
Choice making and the factors that play in to it are nothing ignore. Propaganda, bias, commercials play some of the biggest parts in how we make our decisions. Propaganda in derogatory terms is of a biased or misleading term which is then used to help sell a certain stand point or product. Bias can be sectional, spectrum, systematic bias or the bias of an estimator to name a few, but all play key roles in choice making. And of course, commercials are used for a special promotion of that item on television, new digital billboards and in magazines.
Now, choice is what the American society is based off of and the human performance in decision has been subject to active research from the following perspectives:
• From a psychological perspective- it is necessary to examine individual decisions in the context of a set of needs, preferences an individual has and values they seek.
• From a cognitive perspective- the decision making process must be regarded as a continuous process integrated in the interaction with the environment.
• From a normative perspective- the analysis of individual decisions is concerned with the logic of decision making and rationality and the invariant choice it leads to.
To sum it all up, Choice making isn't all it’s cracked up to be. The digitized world in which we live in today has marketers in a frenzy. They propose new ideas and surround us with tantalizing deals and tempting offers that make choice making seem easy. But that could easily lead to buyer remorse, which is that empty feeling you get after you’ve bought an item and realized what you could have done with that money instead. Propaganda has played more of a role today than in the past because of all the television, billboards, commercials, magazines and flyers that go throughout our society. So, a friendly word of advice, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
Works Cited:
//Info-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice
info- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias
Picture- blog.newchurchlive.tv //
Gennard Paul
Making Choices
Choice consists of a mental decision, of judging options, and selecting one or more of them. There is always choices to be made and whatever u chose u will have to live with for the rest of your life. While a choice can be made between imagined options, a choice is made between real options and then followed by a specific action. Command decisions that can only be made by you, are mostly the hardest ones to make. They are many ways of making decisions; however, most people make choices such as the "No-brainer" decisions, this is where the choice is so obvious that only one choice can reasonably be made. Meanwhile others like myself would think according to the anticipated outcome of something. This is called Avoided decisions.
Choices made do not only have an effect on the thinker, but usually affect the people around them. The choices of a teacher will affect the way his or her class learns, the choices of a mother has great outcome on the future of her child, and as we all know the choices of the government will affect the entire country. example, Walmart chose to bring the self-checkout service was a success, because now the lines are shorter and employees will be working less hours which is not a good thing by the way, but it didn’t take long before people start to see it as a way to steal easier.
I am different from everyone in society. In most cases in my life I plan before taking any action. As simple as telling jokes with friends, I’d think about the effect it may have before I say something, because I know someone won’t feel too happy about it. There’s an old saying that goes “think before you speak” and I take that very seriously. To my knowledge choices are not just regular everyday judgments, but they are decisions that will have great effect on one’s future, so they should be well thought of. One of the biggest choices I made was giving up all the other sports I played and move to the US on a track scholarship. During my freshman semester here at Colby, I was discouraged, because I was away from home and friends and I missed my other sports alot, didn’t getting the right training, still not; and wondering if I really wanted to keep jumping. So as a result I went into meets not putting as many effort in as I would normally do. During the summer I got a wakeup call, telling me that I was blessed with many talents and I can make it in whichever one I chose, and as a result I return to school with a different mindset and became one of the top jumpers in the nation. I started going on the track by myself and doing my on workouts so that I can improve on my jumping and I must say that this was one of the best choices I made here at Colby, and I hope to make many greater ones in life.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/
http://time.com/
Choices **
by:Taylor Lambert**
Every day, we face thousands of decisions both major and minor from whether to eat that decadent chocolate cupcake to when to pursue a new romantic relationship or to change careers. How does the brain decide? A new study suggests that it relies on two separate networks to do so: one that determines the overall value the risk versus reward of individual choices and another that guides how you ultimately behave.
Think of all the choices you make in your daily life. Every day you make many decisions: probably decide what time you want to wake up, whether you want to eat cereal for breakfast or have toast and coffee. You probably even decide if you are going to read the newspaper or watch television before you head off to work. Imagine, for a moment, what your life would be like if you were not allowed to make any of these seemingly easy decisions for yourself. Think of the freedom and control you would lose over your own life. Unfortunately, this is what many individuals with cognitive impairments and developmental, physical and behavioral disorders, such as autistic spectrum disorders, experience every single day! Individuals with disabilities often lack the skills necessary to make choices. As a result, choice-making opportunities are nonexistent or very limited for these individuals.
Understanding how the brain parcels out specific decision-making tasks can offer insight into conditions in which such networks go awry, such as in the case of psychiatric disorders. Depressed people, for example, clearly have difficulty with value-based decision making: because nothing feels good or seems appealing, all options appear equally bleak and making choices becomes impossible. Hoarding disorder, in contrast, may involve overvaluation of certain possessions and impairment of the cognitive control needed to shift one’s attention away from them. That explains why hoarding becomes more important than other life goals like maintaining relationships.
What Is Choice-Making?
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, choice is “the power or opportunity of making a selection" (p. 144). Many individuals with disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders lack the "power or opportunities" necessary to make decisions about what will happen to them. In other words, they do not get to choose how they would like to participate in their own lives.
Researchers have determined that the choice-making process consists of the following three levels:
1. Preferences: Our likes and dislikes.
Example: Maggie enjoys snack time. She loves the peanut butter crackers, but she doesn’t like dried fruit. It is important to determine preferences based on observed behavior.
2. Choice-making within limitations: Our ability to make choices with specific constraints.
Example: Maggie makes the decision to eat the crackers but not the dried fruit. However, she would not be given the opportunity to eat all the peanut butter crackers.
3. Expression of autonomy: Our individuality
According to behavioralist Isabel Briggs Myers, a person's decision-making process depends to a significant degree on their cognitive style. Myers developed a set of four bi-polar dimensions, called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The terminal points on these dimensions are: thinking and feeling; extroversion and introversion; judgment and perception; and sensing and intuition. She claimed that a person's decision-making style correlates well with how they score on these four dimensions. For example, someone who scored near the thinking, extroversion, sensing, and judgment ends of the dimensions would tend to have a logical, analytical, objective, critical, and empirical decision-making style. However, some psychologists say that the MBTI lacks reliability and validity and is poorly constructed.
Other studies suggest that these national or cross-cultural differences exist across entire societies. For example, Maris Martinsons has found that American, Japanese and Chinese business leaders each exhibit a distinctive national style of decision-making.
Sources:
http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/04/making-choices-how-your-brain-decides/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision-making
Choices and Decisions
By Luc Hebert
What is a choice?
When we decide to do something, did we choose or did we decide, or both?
Sources define a choice as being a selection from alternatives. It is a mental decision, utilizing judgment regarding the merits of different options, and selecting one or more of the options considered. Choice can also be considered as the right, the power, or the opportunity to choose.
To make clear choices, we must be clear about what we require or desire in our lives. Choices are empowering because they normally have options to consider. With choice, it is more of a mindset approach, meaning we have a perception of what the right or wrong choice may be. Choices can be more difficult to make than decisions, because sometimes we may not be able to collect all the data, analyze all the options, and reach a sound conclusion. Time restraints may cut us off from certain options because some life choices may fit a different model. In making choices we also leave a lot to our unconscious mind, which uses intuition, rules of thumb, habit and so on.
A decision is a more general term that does not necessarily imply the existence of alternatives. It is driven more by needs, goals and problems than by simply encountering a set of choices. A fairly common definition of a decision is the act of, or need for making up one’s mind. Decisions are not necessarily made with great clarity, and can be made without knowing all of the facts. A decision is also considered to be based upon a belief system, with an underlying factor that you have to do something a certain way.
When we accept a decision predicated upon someone else's definition of what we are supposed to do according to their opinion, we are not only pinned by their belief system, but our decision has also taken away our power. This is because our path was influenced by someone else, whether it was with good, bad or indifferent intentions, we were not part of the equation.
When we are faced with making a decision it is more of a process orientation, meaning we will go through analysis and steps to eliminate some of the options. We may also easily set up processes to enable the best decisions possible. The decisions can range in scope from being low impact to high impact, and we can build in checks and balances along the way in reaching our decision. It can be a thoughtful, thorough approach.
So in summary, choices and decisions can be quite different. If we want someone to choose, then this implies that we have already decided. If we want them to decide, then we probably want them to identify their own set of alternatives.
We also go through our entire lives making decisions on where we will live, work and play, but will we make the choice of how to best live our lives? We spend our lifetime making all sorts of decisions, yet may not spend nearly enough time making distinctive life choices.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice
http://www.tokenrock.com/articles/decision-choice-decision-choice-whats-the-difference-67.html
http://www.thindifference.com/2012/06/19/decisions-vs-choices-is-there-a-distinction/
http://changingminds.org/explanations/decision/choice_decision.htm
Perceiving & Believing: Khyree Wooten
When I was looking at the topics to choose perceiving and believing jumped out at me because when I think of this topic the first thing that comes to mind is religion. When it comes to this class “Philosophy of Thought and Logic” there might not be a better topic to tie into religion. Some would say when you perceive helps you to believe and others could say perceiving and believing correspond to each other. Perceiving is to observe, notice or discern, or to understand whereas believing is to accept what is said by someone as true.
Religion in itself can be talked about in many different ways. What I think about how I was raised and brought up with religion I can break down perceiving and believing. When I look at perceiving religion there are so many different types of religion. Looking from the outside in and observing different types of religion other than my own you can notice and get a better understanding of every type of belief and religion. When I personally have thought about religion I have never attached perceiving to that. I have always thought of believing when it comes to religion. Some different types of religions are Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. When observing these types of religion Christianity is my religion where its centered around God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Sprit. Islam religion worships Allah, the belief in angles, and consider Muhammad as the most recent profit. In Buddhism it emphasizes personal spiritual development and the achievement of a deep understanding of the true meaning of life. Last but not least Judaism has the involvement of Torah which is the most important holy book of Judaism. Jews believe they are chosen people of God and considered Moses as the founder.
When perceiving these religions you can notice that they are all different in their own way. Believing is what makes every one of these religion work. With all of these religions to believe in them is to accept what someone has said in the past. With Christianity there is the bible, with Islam there is the Five Pillars guide to Muslim life, with Buddhism they have the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, and with Judaism they have the book of Torah. There are millions of people tied into each one of these religions. These religions have been brought up on faith and belief and have continued to grow through the belief of the people. Every person has a choice of what religion they want to believe in, what makes religion so important is the trust and belief they have in it. In the past and still in the present people have died on their beliefs and religion they have chosen. This is also made people perceive different religions and change because of it. With the way the world works today perceiving and believing are a huge factor when it comes to religion. In today’s day you are not so much crucified on what religion you want to believe in opposed to the past. I perceived and I believed in Christianity as my religion. I was brought up to believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. My beliefs of Christianity came from my parents and their parents before them.
In my opinion perceiving believes. I think both of these topics tie in together when it comes to religion. You perceive to understand the religion and you believe because you trust what you’ve been brought up on with the religion. I enjoy perceiving and believing my religion as the rest of the world should do with theirs.
Works Cited
https://answers.yahoo.com/questions/index?qid=20091213200127AAM3CCd
http://www.typesofreligion.com/
Perceiving and Believing
By Sean Skiles
After Dr. Richard Dawkins had finished his speech at the Eden Court Theater, there was a Q&A section. The last man to ask a question of Dawkins proclaimed his faith in the risen Jesus, told how he had been a Christian for over 50 years, and how he knew that Christianity was true.
Dawkins replied, “If you had been born in India, I daresay you'd be saying the same thing about Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva. If you had been born in Afghanistan I daresay you'd be saying the same thing about Allah. If you'd been born in Viking Norway you'd be saying the same thing about Wotan. If you'd been born in Olympian Greece you'd be saying the same thing about Zeus and Apollo. The human mind is extremely susceptible to hallucination.”
While it may seem rude or even cruel to some people, Dawkins raised a valid point. Oftentimes, people who are born in a certain part of the world or in a certain time period overwhelmingly tend to belong to the predominant religion in that time or place. It is rare to see a Christian in Afghanistan or Iraq, just as it is rare to find a true worshipper of Zeus in modern-day Greece.
When a person grows up surrounded by a religion, he usually ends up believing in it. Believing means to “accept as true or real,” but it can also mean to have faith. There is a difference between believing your neighbor when he tells you he just bought a dog and believing him when he says he was abducted by aliens. In the first scenario, it’s reasonable to believe that your neighbor has a dog, because it’s common for people to have dogs as pets. In the second case, claims of alien abductions are quite rare, and there is no substantial evidence showing that they actually happen, so you would not be inclined to believe him, unless he is able to offer some extraordinary evidence to show that he was, in fact, abducted.
The same holds true for religion. Those raised outside of religion, or those who have left their religion, have a hard time swallowing the incredible claims of the religious. But if you are told to “have faith” from the time you are very young, that can sever the thought process from the belief. You end up believing it because you’re told to, not because there’s any reason to. This is faith.
People all over the world are convinced that theirs is the one true religion, and all others are wrong. Not only does it happen between religions, but within them as well. There are over 41,000 different denominations of Christianity, each with a differing view of the Bible, and each one thinks they have it right. Think of how many religions and denominations there are throughout the world. It is impossible for them to all be right. But they can all be wrong.
Peoples’ perceptions tend to reinforce their beliefs. If a man prays for it to rain, and it rains, it can reinforce his belief that his prayers were answered. However, the inverse is rarely true. If the man prays for rain, but the sun shines instead, he will tend to interpret it as a “no” or “not yet” instead of thinking that he prayed to nothing.
One thing religious people will hold up as evidence is the phenomena of near-death experiences. If a Christian man experiences one, he will tend to “see” God, angels, and heaven. He may even see dead relatives. But what about the Muslim man on the other side of the world who has a NDE and sees Allah, Muhammad, and seventy-two virgins waiting for him? Does that mean that both Christianity and Islam are true? Or is it possible that both men were hallucinating, and their brains were trying to fill in the blanks based on their worldviews and expectations?
Religion tends to cloud a person’s perceptions and make it harder for that person to think rationally. It can make him draw connections between two unconnected events, see things that aren’t there, or believe outlandish claims for no reason other than that it comes from someone or something they trust. In order to build a more accurate model of the world as it is, religious views should be held to the same rational standard as any other belief, and should be accepted or discarded based on its own merits, supporting evidence, and logical consistency. Religious beliefs are not above questioning, criticism, or ridicule, and it’s time were stopped treating them like they are.
Works Cited
Stephan Meister. “Richard Dawkins cruelly answers audience question.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, Sept. 7 2008. Nov. 19 2013.
World Religions. Digital image. The Subculture of Survivalists. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://survivalists.wordpress.com/religious-beliefs/>.
Joshua Jones
Perceiving and Believing
Since the times when the earth was believed to be a flat object, man has had a lust and curiosity about space and the bodies that exist in it. Early astronomers trying to grasp the incomprehensible mysteries of the universe would study the patterns of the stars and planets to try to put this massive puzzle together. In their studies history has recorded sightings of objects that didn't hold to any pattern or set movement supposedly proved to be correct.
Objects that moved freely in the sky in any way, shape or form they pleased. Having no further explanation for these dilemmas of space, they were dubbed "UFO's". The acronym UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object. Modern electronics and science have helped us in the search for an explanation of these mysterious floating objects. In actuality they haven't gotten us much further on the mission for proof of other living beings in the universe. But in a universe so incomprehensibly large that we no not even a boundary, I sincerely doubt that the human race is the only form of life. It seems certain scientists have come up with other hypotheses concerning UFO's. While all astronomers yearn for a concrete explanation on UFO's, their beliefs on their origin contrast. Many looking for a more scientific definition disregard UFO's as nothing more than a mere misinterpretation of a plane, weather balloon, or meteor. Some have gone so far as to say that specific witnesses to UFO's have seen nothing is an
hallucination and "wanted" to see a UFO so their minds adapted that idea into an illusion to satisfy the urge. Personally, I have had two encounters with unexplainable objects in the sky and to disregard them as a misinterpretation or hallucination is an impossibility. Witnesses who were with me on one of the occasions saw exactly what I did and we concluded it impossible to be anything but unexplainable.
Considering yourself means having the courage to do something, if you don’t have the courage to do something you basically wont have the courage to do anything. Believing in yourself also means thinking positive, I would never think positive, I would always think negatively, and that’s when it educated me into thinking on the good side or thinking optimistically. Also when believing in yourself you’ll start to establish trust for yourself , and if you have trust for yourself you will start making good decisions. Just like many famous people that other people watch TV, how do you think they have managed to do whatever it is that they do? Many people set their goals and try to meet and seek those goals, but without the skills needed they won’t be able to reach their goals.
Having belief in yourself also means to overcome whatever you are facing, whether they are goals, fears, etc. It also means overcoming and finding my ways through obstacles or troubles.
As far as having the belief for myself my mother always told me to believe in yourself and put your mind to it. My friend also gave me the advice of believing in yourself before believing in anything. Today I take those quotes as a big success.
Maybe after have the consideration for yourself you feel like a different person, you feel better emotionally and physically, and it feels like you have reset boundaries.
work cited
http://www.studymode.com/essays/Perception-Seeing-Is-Believing-Ufos-1433.html
http://thisibelieve.org/essay/65614/
dante foos
Perception vs. reality
All of us, even postmodern philosophers, are naive realists at heart. We assume that the external world maps perfectly onto our internal view of it—an expectation that is reinforced by daily experience. I see a coffee mug on the table, reach for a sip and, lo and behold, the vessel’s handle is soon in my grasp as I gingerly imbibe the hot liquid. Or I see a chartreuse-yellow tennis ball on the lawn, pick it up and throw it. Reassuringly, my dog appears to share my veridical view of reality: she chases the ball and triumphantly catches it between her jaws.That there should be a match between perception and reality is not surprising, because evolution ruthlessly eliminates the unfit. If you routinely misperceive or even hallucinate and act on those misapprehensions, you won’t survive long in a world filled with dangers whose avoidance requires accurate distance and speed assessments and rapid reactions. Whether you are diving into rocky waters or driving on a narrow, two-lane road with cars whizzing by in the opposite direction, small mistakes can be lethal.You probably believe that your eyes register high-fidelity information about the absolute size, speed and distance of visible objects and that you respond based on these impartial data. But although we build robots in this manner—equipping them with sensors and computers to plumb the metric properties of their environments—evolution has taken a more complex route.As psychologists and neuroscientists have discovered over the past several decades, our consciousness provides a stable interface to a dizzyingly rich sensory world. Underneath this interface lurk two vision systems that work in parallel. Both are fed by the same two sensors, the eyeballs, yet they serve different functions. One system is responsible for visual perception and is necessary for identifying objects—such as approaching cars and potential mates—independent of their apparent size or location in our visual field. The other is responsible for action: it transforms visual input into the movements of our eyes, hands and legs. We consciously experience only the former, but we depend for our survival on both.When driving in the mountains, have you ever noticed a discrepancy between the slope described on the yellow road sign and your sense that the incline is actually much steeper? Psychologist Dennis R. Proffitt of the University of Virginia and his then graduate student Jessica Witt did. Being scientists and not philosophers, they designed an experiment to find out why. Proffitt and Witt stood at the base of hills on campus and asked passing students to estimate their steepness in two ways. Subjects had to align the diameter line on a flat disk to the slant of the hill. They also were asked to place the palm of one hand on a movable board that was mounted on a tripod and then, without looking at that hand, to adjust the board’s slant until they felt it matched that of the hill.In the first part of the test, which relied on visual cues alone, subjects badly overestimated, interpreting a 31-degree slant as a much steeper, 50-degree one. But when people’s eyes were guiding their hands, subjects judged accurately, tilting the board an appropriate amount. Perhaps even more striking was the finding that people’s tendency to overestimate on the strictly visual part of the test increased by more than a third when they had just run an exhausting race—but the hand estimates were unaffected. The same discrepancy occurred when subjects wore a heavy backpack, were elderly, or were in poor physical condition or declining health. In another variant of the experiment, Proffitt had subjects stand on top of a hill on either a skateboard or a wooden box the same height as the skateboard. Participants were instructed to look down the hill and judge, both visually and manually, its grade. They were also asked how afraid they felt to descend the hill. Fearful participants standing on the skateboard judged the hill to be steeper than did the braver souls standing on the box. Yet the visually guided action measurement was unaffected by fear.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/looks-can-deceive/
http://www.google.com/images
Alex Helms
Wiki Essay
Thought and Logic
11/25/13
Perception
Perception, the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. This is how we interpret information we receive from an outside source, be that a person, media, or a textbook.
Perception is key to our understanding and processing of the information to turn it into knowledge that we can tuck away for future reference. Perception can also have an effect on how we interact with people in society. I have, on occasion, found myself in an argument with someone, (my girlfriend), over something I had said that had no malicious intention. We would find ourselves butting heads and talking in circles while I tried to explain the meaning behind what I said and confirm that I didn't mean bad by it. I couldn't find words to tell her that she was misinterpreting my words and taking them to be accusative or aggressive, whichever the case may be.
It wasn't until I listened to a lecture by a speaker, who's name escapes me at the moment, that I was introduced to the word perception. Not that I didn't know the word, I had just never thought of that word relating to my situation. But he explained it this way; we can't rely on the words we use and our intention. We have to take into account the perception of the person we are talking with. Seems simple enough but how often does one find themselves inside the brain of the other person and know exactly how that person is going to take the information one has given them. We can't, obviously, predict how someone will react when we relay a piece of information to them, despite our intentions. So what are our options? We have to think and process what we mean to say, analyze our intentions, and then account for other possible interpretations, or perceptions of what we say. This helps us perhaps narrow our focus to the point we are trying to get across and eliminate parts that could distort someones perception and miss our intention. It also can assist us in predicting what whoever we are talking to will take from the conversation.
We can not only benefit ourselves by predicting someone else's perception, but we can assist ourselves and make our day to day experiences more enjoyable and fulfilling if we can perceive what is around us in our environment. Perhaps the sound of birds chirping, the smell of bright red roses, or the feel of refreshingly cold rain against can turn your day from miserable to extraordinary. Maybe it has the opposite effect and makes you a downright scrooge. Either way our perception influences us every day. Our perception can benefit others as well. One might hear a cat in a tree and perceive the distressed noises as a call for help and come to the rescue. You've just influenced some nice old lady's day by saving Mr. Whiskers and that has to make anyone feel good. We cant ignore our surroundings, we can only take them in and interpret them. All this is done through perception and thats why it is a very important aspect in everyones lives.
Resources
http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/perceptproc.htm
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perception
Casey Temmel
Perception
Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs. For example, vision involves light striking the retina of the eye, smell is mediated by odor molecules, and hearing involves pressure waves. Perception is not the passive receipt of these signals, but is shaped by learning, memory, expectation, and attention. Perception involves these "top-down" effects as well as the "bottom-up" process of processing sensory input. The "bottom-up" processing transforms low-level information to higher-level information. The "top-down" processing refers to a person's concept and expectations (knowledge), and selective mechanisms (attention) that influence perception. Perception depends on complex functions of the nervous system, but subjectively seems mostly effortless because this processing happens outside conscious awareness.
Since the rise of experimental psychology in the 19th Century, psychology's understanding of perception has progressed by combining a variety of techniques. Psychophysics quantitatively describes the relationships between the physical qualities of the sensory input and perception. Sensory neuroscience studies the brain mechanisms underlying perception. Perceptual systems can also be studied computationally, in terms of the information they process. Perceptual issues in philosophy include the extent to which sensory qualities such as sound, smell or color exist in objective reality rather than in the mind of the perceiver. Although the senses were traditionally viewed as passive receptors, the study of illusions and ambiguous images has demonstrated that the brain's perceptual systems actively and pre-consciously attempt to make sense of their input. There is still active debate about the extent to which perception is an active process of hypothesis testing, analogous to science, or whether realistic sensory information is rich enough to make this process unnecessary. The perceptual systems of the brain enable individuals to see the world around them as stable, even though the sensory information is typically incomplete and rapidly varying.
Human and animal brains are structured in a modular way, with different areas processing different kinds of sensory information. Some of these modules take the form of sensory maps, mapping some aspect of the world across part of the brain's surface. These different modules are interconnected and influence each other. For instance, the taste is strongly influenced by its odor. The definition of perception in the Merriam Webster dictionary is: Process of registering sensory stimuli as meaningful experience. The differences between sensation and perception have varied according to how the terms are defined. A common distinction is that sensations are simple sensory experiences, while percepts are complex constructions of simple elements joined through association. Another is that perception is more subject to the influence of learning.
Though hearing, smell, touch, and taste perceptions have all been explored, vision has received the most attention. Structuralist researchers such as Edward Bradford Titchener focused on the constituent elements of visual perceptions, whereas Gestalt psychology has stressed the need to examine organized wholes, believing humans are disposed to identifying patterns. Visual objects tend to appear stable despite continually changing stimulus features (such as ambient light, perspective, ground vs. figure arrangement), which enables an observer to match a perceived object with the object as it is understood to exist. Perceptions may be influenced by expectations, needs, unconscious ideas, values, and conflicts.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perception
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perception
Perception
By Jeremy Stidham
What is perception?
Perception is the organization, the identification and the interpretation of sensory information.
All perception involves signals in the nervous system which include the sensory organs. The perceptual process allows us to experience the world around us. Hearing is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations. Frequencies capable of being heard by humans are called audio or sonic. Sound does not usually come from a single source: in real situations, sounds from multiple sources and directions are superimposed as they arrive at the ears. Hearing involves the computationally complex task of separating out the sources of interest, often estimating their distance and direction as well as identifying them. A common finding across many different kinds of perception is that the perceived qualities of an object can be affected by the qualities of context. If one object is extreme on some dimension, then neighboring objects are perceived as further away from that extreme. The principles of grouping are a set of principles in psychology, first proposed by Gestalt psychologists to explain how humans naturally perceive objects as organized patterns and objects. Gestalt psychologists argued that these principles exist because the mind has an innate disposition to perceive patterns in the stimulus based on certain rules.
The perceptual process is a set of steps that starts with the environment and ends with our reaction in response to a stimulus from the environment. There are 8 steps in the perceptual process:
1. The Environment Stimulus- everything in our environment that has the potential to be perceived.
2. The Attended Stimulus- the specific object in the environment on which our attention is focused.
3. The Image on the Retina-The first part of this process involves the light actually passing through the cornea and pupil and onto the lens of the eye. The cornea helps focus the light as it enters the eye, and the iris of the eye controls the size of the pupils in order to determine how much light to let in.
4. Transduction- allows the visual messages to be transmitted to the brain to be interpreted.
5. Neural Processing- path followed by a particular signal depends on what type of signal it is.
6. Perception- we become consciously aware of the stimulus.
7. Recognition- Our ability to interpret and give meaning to the object,
8. Action- response to the environmental stimulus.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perception
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perception
http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/perceptproc.htm
What is Language and Thought
Omar Trevino
Before beginning, the question that always comes up is what is the subject that is being discussed or the topic that is being writing up. The question is, what is language and thought. Web dictionary defines “A variety of different authors, theories and fields purport influences between language and thought. Many point out the seemingly common-sense realization that upon introspection we seem to think in the language we speak. A number of writers and theorists have extrapolated upon this idea”.
No one would disagree with the claim that language and thought interact in many significant ways. There is great disagreement, however, about the proposition that each specific language has its own influence on the thought and action of its speakers. On the one hand, anyone who has learned more than one language is struck by the many ways in which languages differ from one another. But on the other hand, we expect human beings everywhere to have similar ways of experiencing the world.
Comparisons of different languages can lead one to pay attention to 'universals'—the ways in which all languages are similar, and to 'particulars' —the ways in which each individual language, or type of language, is special, even unique. For me, language plays a great role in ones success and that is being able to understand the language of another person from a different cultural background. In Psychology, Linguists and other social scientists interested in universals have formulated theories to describe and explain human language and human language behavior in general terms as species-specific capacities of human beings. However, the idea that different languages may influence thinking in different ways has been present in many cultures and has given rise to many philosophical treatises. Because it is so difficult to pin down effects of a particular language on a particular thought pattern, this issue remains unresolved.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_and_Thought
http://anthro.palomar.edu/language/language_5.htm
Language
by Loretta Harmison
Language is a very important aspect of life; it is how humans communicate with each other about their thoughts and emotions, also helpful with figuring out complex thoughts. A way you can define language is by physical, verbal, biologically innate,and a basic form of communication. There are many behaviorists that claim that language is a behavior that is learned by stimulus and response. Language has four main aspects; phonology, pragmatics, semantics, and syntax.
Phonology is the study of sounds in language. In these studies, it shows that every word contains many distinct characters as there are variations in the sound it stands for. The letter a makes a simple uniformed sound, therefore, the word anteater has eight different collisions of the air by the organs of speech, and each of the eight produce a different sound. With all of the different sounds they fit together to represent the word it is. A lot of the studies provide us with methods of analysis, which allows us to take the sounds that we hear or are spoken and put them on to paper, called writing. Phonologists help people understand why we use different sounds to produce the same letter, like the words "Tea and Lettuce". Both of the words have the letter "t" but in pronouncing the "t" in the word Tea has a different sound than when you pronounce it in the word Lettuce.
Pragmatics is the study of how people comprehend and produce a communicative act in a concrete speech which is conversation. With this we have the ability to comprehend and produce communicative act which is referred to as pragmatic competence. Pragmatic also includes the study of the use of language in social context and the way in which a person makes and understands the meaning of phrases with multiple meanings. This is why there are many studies on why we communicate so successfully with each another.
Semantics is the study of meaning. It looks at the meaning of language and meaning of words in the language. Many words have multiply meanings; for example: the word "crash" can mean an auto accident, drop in the stock market, attending a party uninvited, waves hitting the shore. But what does it mean really? There are four types of meaning connotation, denotation, extension, and intention. Connotation meaning is simply a set of associations that a word evokes. It is defined by the images that its' user has connected with it; however, sometimes the association does not always work. For example, winter can be cold or hot, so the original meaning is lost. Denotation is simply the entity in the word. This would make perfect sense for proper nouns, but not every word can be entirely denotation. Extension is that things in the world that the words or phrases refers to. Lastly, intention is the concept/mental images that the word/phrase evokes.
Syntax looks at the many different rules of language; for example, how the parts of the sentence work together. Couple of examples of this is an adverb describing a verb or an adjective describes a noun. This deals with a number of different elements which all help to facilitate being understood through language. Syntax does not tell people how to correctly form a sentence but the order in which you place words can make a sentence sound good or convey a certain meaning. If you mix syntax, you change the meaning of the sentence. Each language has different rules that indicate what or where certain types of words can use, and how to interpret the sentence.
So in the end, Language is a very complex aspect of our lives. That is our only way of communication from the verbal to the physical aspects of the language. In reality, we would never be able to communicate with each and get what we want if there was no language. Words would never have been created, and we would be back in the Stone Age.
References
http://languagedevelopment.tripod.com/id11.html
http://www.gxnu.edu.cn/Personal/szliu/definition.html
http://hum.uchicago.edu/faculty/goldsmith/phono1/Flaps.html
https://sites.google.com/a/sheffield.ac.uk/all-about-linguistics/branches/semantics/what-is-semantics
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-syntax.htm
Connection Between Language and Thought
By Luc Hebert
Is there a connection between language and thought?
Whenever we speak and share ideas that are in our thoughts, and then someone else understands what we said, the sounds that we produced were recognized by the other person based on already established meanings for those specific sounds. A language is a system of units of sound that, when they are combined in a specific order, form words that represent objects. Combining these words into sentences makes it possible to convey a wide array of information.
Language is often considered to be tightly associated with thought, however it is important to make the distinction between the two. Thought refers to the ability to have ideas, and to come up with new ideas based on older known ideas. Language meanwhile is the ability to take these ideas and turn them into specific sounds and sentences that will be understood by others. The most common form of language is the oral, or verbal, communication where words are spoken out loud in order to express ideas. The connection between language and thought is quite deep, and most of us spend the better part of our day using language to interact and share our thoughts with those around us. We share our ideas with others by speaking, and we understand other people’s ideas when they speak.
We also often speak to ourselves without making outward sounds when we think, process what is being shared with us, and make conclusions about various matters. It would seem then, that thinking must involve the use of language to a high degree. In fact, this connection seems so logical that linguists (Sapir, Whorf) suggested that thought is determined by language. While most agree that language plays an important role in memory and thinking, Whorf went so far as suggesting that language actually determines the way we think.
On the other hand, some linguists insist that language and thought are very separate from one another. Given the difference in the structure and lexicon of different languages, they argue that language cannot possibly determine the way people think. As such, Whorf's critics argue that language reflects thought, rather than determine thinking.
A third opinion that has emerged is instead of one or the other, language may only partially influence thought. One simple example that supports this position is in the ability to translate a word or idea from one language to another. Generally a person who speaks more than one language would agree that some ideas are easier to say one language compared to another. Many times in language there are words that explain an idea quite easily that in other languages would take many more words to describe with the same clarity.
We can conclude that language and thought are indeed intertwined, and that it is not possible to understand one without the other. While many will support the notion that language very strongly influences thought and others argue that it does not, it is recognized that language is an extremely powerful tool that remains very closely related to thought. Language allows us to share ideas with others which otherwise would only exist in our imagination.
Sources:
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_10/i_10_p/i_10_p_lan/i_10_p_lan.html
http://www.thomastsoi.com/2010/03/the-relationship-between-language-and-thought/
http://www.ttt.org/linglinks/StacyPhipps.htm
**Importance of Language
by Hannah Albin**
The definition of language from Google is the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way.The significance of language is necessary to every feature and dealings in our everyday lives. There are so many different types of language a few examples are French, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. Why there are so many different languages will continue to confuse people for a long time. Language is so important it is how we communicate and express ourselves. We use language to tell people how we feel, what we want, and to understand the world around us. There are many variations of language for instance- we don’t talk the same to a child as we do our business boss. The art of communication lets us form bonds and learn teamwork. We often take communication and language for granted. It takes two people and should not be ignored. Misunderstandings are going to happen but also think about how awesome it is to just be able to communicate with people. Many people will learn a second language, whether it’s for business, fun or just to travel. Lots of businesses are trying to get global audiences and markets. This is requiring businesses to know different languages to be able to communicate with them. You customers are more likely to trust what you’re saying if you don’t have to go through a translator. Schools are beginning to learn the importance of language and offer some second language classes as early as middle school. Some employers are requiring language requirements as part of the application. It is your decision to learn the importance and benefits of language. A child’s identity, values, and experiences are reflected by their language development. By learning and knowing peoples language you can better understand their culture.
Language is important in your speech because this is how your audience will understand what you are saying. Your choice of words, what you actually say, must be carefully decided on. Ask yourself if this is the best possible way to express your meaning? Is it easy to understand? Are you being descriptive enough? The words you leave out are very important as well, consider why you aren’t saying that. Another big deal is how you say the words. Using gestures, force, tone, and inflection of your voice are completing your language so that the audience is sure to understand you. Speech consists of nonverbal elements as well, these are rhythm, and stress. They should be also carefully thought about to compose your speech. Think about the end result that the audience will take away.
From science blog, a Charles Fillmore quote from his book, “the language of face-to-face conversation is the basic and primary use of language, all others being best described in terms of their manner of deviation from that base… I assume that this position is neither particularly controversial nor in need of explanation.”
I have been both to Kenya and Ethiopia, Africa. In Kenya most everyone speaks or at least knows a little English, and Ethiopia very few amount of people know English. It is a very large barrier if you cannot speak to the people. Communication and words are so important; they help us truly express ourselves. It is hard to try to explain something to someone without using words.
http://www.importanceoflanguages.com/
https://www.boundless.com/communication
http://scienceblog.com/18156/the-purpose-of-language/s/wording-the-speech/understanding-language/the-importance-of-language/
Dillon Fahr
Memory
When I think of memory, being an athlete, I always think about sports. When being on a sports team of any level it is important to have good memory skills. Baseball players need to memorize all the signs that coaches may call. Steal, bunt, hit and run just to name a few are signs that I would have to memorize because if I didn’t then I would be on the bench. But, I want to really focus on football. I have only played a few years of football, but I know how much memorizing that sport takes. In the National Football league those quarterbacks, and receivers, and running backs, and linemen. You even see those players on the bench when they aren't playing at the time, they are always going through the playbook which is probably ten to fifteen pages long. Each play is different with different numbers and names assigned to each one. Just like me in baseball, if you don't remember one play then that player is going to find themselves on the bench. Memory is a really big part of that sport. Yes, the actual game play is big too, but without the memorization of those plays then that team will have no way to complete passes and get running backs through the correct gap to gain yards. Thus, ultimately scoring points and winning the football game and finally, possibly winning the National Championship.
They have to show up to camps months before the preseason even starts to start going over these plays. I'm sure the veterans of the team know the plays pretty well, but the new guys who have just come in are learning a whole who playbook so they need their time. Then again, like I said before, no matter how experienced and quarterback is, they are still going over the playbook with the offensive coordinator and other players from the offensive team. That is one simple reason why they are in the pros. They are able to memorize the entire playbook from beginning to end, and they are also able to help the younger players and even back up quarterbacks find ways to memorize them more easily.
I also want to touch on a different subject in football and memory. The concussion topic in football is growing very quickly and very rapidly. Every year there are more and more players trying to sue the National Football League because they are either having trouble remembering things, blurry vision, suicide or mental instability. With years and years of constant contact in football it is reasonable to believe that players are having troubles with their memory. So players say they wake up in the morning not quit knowing where they are, and it take them a few moments to remember. In Junior Seau's case, his wife was saying that he never knew what he was doing and couldn't remember their kids names. Now there are reports that Brett Favre is having trouble with his memory too. His short term memory is diminishing slowly.
In the end football have good and bad things to do with memory. Good memory skills with the playbook and the ability to perform all the play with success. Without that memory of the playbook, the players would be riding the bench and not be paid the big bucks. Then there is the bad memory. Concussions being responsible for short term memory loss and some long term loss like in Junior's example. But all in all there is a lot in football having to do with memory. And come to think of it, as a final thought, the referees have to memorize a lot of rules and regulations during the football game to keep things running smoothly.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/football-concussions-felt-long-after-retirement/
http://smartfootball.com/grab-bag/how-do-nfl-players-memorize-all-those-plays
Memory
By Taryn Lee
Memory is defined as process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. And to memory there are stages or processes. In the first stage, we as humans must change the information we are given so that our minds can out the memory into the encoding process. The second stage is storage. This requires us to maintain information over periods of time. In the third stage, we retrieve the information that we have stored. This requires us to take or retrieve that information and have ourselves bring it back to our consciousness. Memory is what makes us. If we could not recall the where’s, what’s who’s and when’s in our every day lives we would no longer be able to manage ourselves. We store the present ideas into our short-term memory, also known as our working memory. The past events and learned meanings are stored in the long-term memory. This can be also known episodic or semantic.
When trying to remember something, different signal paths and parts of the brain become involved, and when you just happen to remember something prompted by a smell, a picture, or a word. Science still has no clue as to why our brain sometimes automatically supplies us with a memory that we have done nothing to deliberately call to mind, where as to why, on other occasions, we cannot remember things even we make a hard effort to recall them.
Kristiina Kompus of Umea University in Sweden performed a dissertation on the signal paths used when trying to remember something. The dissertation uses two imaging methods for the brain. The first one is “functional magnetic resonance imaging” (fMRI) and the other is called “electroencephalography” (EEG). When trying to retrieve a certain memory, the upper part of the frontal lobe is dealt with. It’s not only activated by connection but by mental efforts and intentions. Studies have shown that the long-term memory is more flexible then previously believed.
Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. This is the most common cause of dementia. The connections between the brain cells and the brain cells themselves degenerate and die, causing the steady decline of memory and mental function. There is still no cure to this disease, and as it progresses, it worsens and later leads to death. Neurotransmitters allow the brain cells communicate with each other but a person with Alzheimer’s disease has a decreased amount of those neurotransmitters. When looking at a normal brain compared to a brain with Alzheimer’s, there is a huge difference.
Works Cited
"Alzheimer's Disease Symptoms, Causes, Treatment - What Are the Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease? - MedicineNet." MedicineNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
"Different Signal Paths for Spontaneous and Deliberate Activation of Memories." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 Mar. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
"Memory: MedlinePlus." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Memory
By Elizabeth Lockhart
Memory can be thought of as the ability to remember as well as the ability to learn from the past to help us in the future. With memory, our human minds can encode information, store it for certain amounts of time, retain what we learn, and recall it from the past in order to help us in the future.
There are three types of memory: long-term, sense memory, and short-term memory. They are defined by their names, long term means remembering for a longer term, sense memory means using more than one sense at a time, and short term means remembering for a shorter term. Long term memory is something that shuts down while we sleep, therefore we dream about something in our life more recent and also we don’t remember it for as long (usually). Sense memory happens when we do things without necessarily thinking about them – like talking on the phone and knitting a scarf – our brain doesn’t need to focus as much on either task because they have become so natural, that we are able to remember how to do both without much effort. Short term memory is on average 7 things at a time – like a telephone number or a simple shopping list. These items to remember aren’t important for a long period of time.
Memory is a confusing aspect of the human mind. Our ability to remember can be both voluntary and involuntary. By that, I mean that one can remember things without meaning to, but if they know they need to remember it, they can use mnemonic devices or memory aids. These mnemonic devices can be used for short term memory to be turned into long term – like a grocery list. Acronyms are used to make the word form a new word, like SCUBA being an acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, or CCC being a device to remember Colby Community College. Some acronyms can have double explanations like PEMDAS stands for please excuse my dear aunt sally and also it can help remember the mathematic order of operations – parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. This kind of acronym is called an acrostic. Rhymes and Songs are another mnemonic device for remembering. Anytime that repetition and melody are combined with rhyming, the memory is instantly active. Think of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to play as the melody for studying. “Logic, Logic, what to say? How I’d like to get an A!” Lastly, and my favorite, is the Method of Loci. This is creating a visual of the item you need to remember. For example, if on your shopping list you need to buy milk, eggs, and bread, try visualizing something familiar with these added in. Walking into my dorm room and having to swim through a pool of milk, under the chicken coop and dodging eggs, then laying my head in my wheat bed. This sounds crazy, but associating each thing with out of the ordinary happenings, the brain is likely to remember. This method is limitless and fun, the crazier the scenario and scenes, the better.
Working at a small town hospital with a number of elderly, I’ve seen a few memory disorders. Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke are the most common. Old age is often associated with memory loss, however, alcohol, HIV, and schizophrenia are a few disorders that can be acquired at a young age. When patients show signs of memory loss, it is so important to be patient with them. These disorders can either be progressive over time or appear immediately after a head trauma. When trauma is caused to the brain, either due to head injury or old age, the storage is destroyed, collection of memories lost, and the ability to remember from then on is often delayed.
Sources:
http://www.tesh.com/story/health-and-well-being-category/fun-facts-about-your-memory/cc/6/id/4966 © The Tesh Media Group 2014. All Rights Reserved. Sherman Oaks, California.
http://www.human-memory.net/intro_what.html © 2010 Luke Mastin
http://www.web-us.com/memory/mnemonic_techniques.htm
Memory
Lacey Radcliffe
Memory is a pretty complex item. It is where material is converted, stored, and recovered. There are 3 steps when it comes to memory. The first step consists of us placing information into the converting process. The second step is the storage process. This step is reasonably self-explanatory. We must first be able to store any information before we can do anything further, such as recovering the information. With that being said, that brings me to the last step of memory; recovering. In order to recover anything in our memory, we have to transfer it to our consciousness. Recovering information could either be very quick, or very prolonged.
There are 3 main types of memory. Sensory memory, Short-term memory, and last but not least, long-term memory.
Sensory memory grasps information for about a few seconds after it is noticed. An example of sensory memory would be glancing at an object for a split second, and then being able to remember what it looked like. Within sensory memory, there are three different types. Ionic memory, Echoic memory, and Haptic memory; however, I will not be getting into those different types.
Second type of memory is short-term memory. Now, this is rather self-explanatory. It has a very low capacity level. This type is where information only stays in your memory for a short time. It is said that short-term memory relies on some sort of code to store information, and on a lower level, a visual code. There are different kinds of tests that can be done for short-term memory. One test is showing a group of people a picture with 10 different words on it for 1 minute. After the 1 minute is up, get rid of the picture and have each individual write down as many words as they can remember. This tests the short-term memory. Individuals tend to have a problem with remembering people’s names, but can remember faces. This would be practicing short-term, and long-term memory. Short-term memory is not always a bad thing. A lot of the time, people can get good laughs from people who have short-term memory. The picture I have posted is an example of that.
Long-term memory is somewhat similar to short- term memory. A major difference is, obviously, the fact that short-term memory only stays with you for seconds; maybe minutes. Long-term memory is capable of storing great amounts of material for a very long time. Sometimes, for as long as you’re alive. Someone’s telephone number is a good example of long-term memory. If someone gives us his or her telephone number, obviously, we are not going to remember it, unless you have photographic memory or something; however, we can remember it if we keep repeating it in our minds, or verbally. Another difference between long-term memory and short-term memory is that long-term memory will encode material by relating things to it (semantically), and short-term memory will encode material by impulses auditory (acoustically).
So, concluding everything that I have previously stated above, sensory memory is the type of memory where you can glance at something for a couple seconds, such as a car, and remembering what it looked like. Now, remember if you can (ha-ha) that short-term memory’s capacity level is restricted. The information you intake only stays in your memory for a very short time. If someone yells out a bunch of numbers and tells the person to write them all down, normally they will not remember them all because that information will only stay with them for a few seconds. Long-term memory allows an individual to store a lot of material for long lengths of time; such as a telephone number or even the alphabet, because those are relatively easy to remember due to repetition.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003257.htm
Casey Temmel
Memory
In Wikipedia, memory is classified as: the process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. Encoding allows information that is from the outside world to reach our senses in the forms of chemical and physical stimuli. In this first stage we must change the information so that we may put the memory into the encoding process. Storage is the second memory stage or process. This entails that we maintain information over periods of time. Finally the third process is the retrieval of information that we have stored. We must locate it and return it to our consciousness. Some retrieval attempts may be effortless due to the type of information.
A type of memory that there is, is called short term, in example. Short-term memory allows recall for a period of several seconds to a minute without rehearsal. Its capacity is also very limited: George A. Miller, when working at Bell Laboratories, conducted experiments showing that the store of short-term memory was 7±2 items (the title of his famous paper, "The magical number 7±2"). Modern estimates of the capacity of short-term memory are lower, typically of the order of 4–5 items; however, memory capacity can be increased through a process called chunking. For example, in recalling a ten-digit telephone number, a person could chunk the digits into three groups: first, the area code (such as 123), then a three-digit chunk and lastly a four-digit chunk .
This method of remembering telephone numbers is far more effective than attempting to remember a string of 10 digits; this is because we are able to chunk the information into meaningful groups of numbers. This may be reflected in some countries in the tendency to display telephone numbers as several chunks of two to four numbers. Short-term memory is believed to rely mostly on an acoustic code for storing information, and to a lesser extent a visual code. Conrad found that test subjects had more difficulty recalling collections of letters that were acoustically similar. Confusion with recalling acoustically similar letters rather than visually similar letters implies that the letters were encoded acoustically. Conrad's study however, deals with the encoding of written text, thus while memory of written language may rely on acoustic components, generalizations to all forms of memory cannot be made. Memory makes us. If we couldn't recall the who's, what's, where's, and when's of our everyday lives, we'd never be able to manage. We mull over ideas in the present with our short-term (or working) memory, while we store past events and learned meanings in our long-term (episodic or semantic) memory.
Resources
http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/memory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory
** Taylor Lamber
Memory**
The memory is a wild and crazy thing. Like some things you can do without even thinking about and others you ride the struggle bus to perform. Also remembering names, places, and events is an everyday struggle for me and I would think everyone else unless. So what causes all the things to get locked in and not locked in?
Information flows from the outside world through our sight, hearing smelling, and tasting and touch sensors. Memory is simply ways we store and recall things we've sensed. Recalling memories re-fires many of the same neural paths we originally used to sense the experience and, therefore, almost re-creates the event. Memories of concepts and ideas are related to sensed experiences because we extract the essence from sensed experiences to form generalized concepts.
Once a memory is created, it must be stored (no matter how briefly). Many experts think there are three ways we store memories: first in the sensory stage; then in short-term memory; and ultimately, for some memories, in long-term memory. Because there is no need for us to maintain everything in our brain, the different stages of human memory function as a sort of filter that helps to protect us from the flood of information that we're confronted with on a daily basis.
The creation of a memory begins with its perception: The registration of information during perception occurs in the brief sensory stage that usually lasts only a fraction of a second. After that first flicker, the sensation is stored in short-term memory. Short-term memory has a fairly limited capacity; it can hold about seven items for no more than 20 or 30 seconds at a time. You may be able to increase this capacity somewhat by using various memory strategies
Important information is gradually transferred from short-term memory into long-term memory. The more the information is repeated or used, the more likely it is to eventually end up in long-term memory. Unlike sensory and short-term memory, which are limited and decay rapidly, long-term memory can store unlimited amounts of information indefinitely. People tend to more easily store material on subjects that they already know something about, since the information has more meaning to them and can be mentally connected to related information that is already stored in their long-term memory.
So in conclusion to this there is a lot going on in our brains and we will probably never get everything locked down so that we can recall it at any time but I also think that’s good because can you imagine remembering every little thing about your life you would probably go crazy from all the bad that you could remember.
Source:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2007-03-12-memory-first_N.htm
http://education.purduecal.edu/Vockell/EdPsyBook/Edpsy6/edpsy6_working.htm
**Ashley Riley
Memory**
What is memory? Memory is the process in which information is stored, and retrieved. Encoding allows information that is from the outside world to reach our senses in the forms of chemical and physical stimuli. In this first stage we must change the information so that we may put the memory into the encoding process. Storage is the second memory stage or process. Finally the third process is the retrieval of information that we have stored. As we know, people turn over ideas and thought in the present with short-term memory, while storing past events and learning in long-term memory. Alex Lickerman once came up with a metaphor he thought perfectly captured the sheer mass of material. Lickerman also stated ways that memory can be useful to us: ways such as, becoming interested in what you're learning. “People are always better off remembering what interests them”, for example, one would never have a difficult time remembering the names of people they find attractive or those who they hate. “If you're not interested in what you're learning or trying to remember, you must find a way to become so”. Another way to make the memory useful is to find a way to leverage your visual memory.
Memory makes us who we are, for if we could not recall the things of our everyday lives, we would never be able to manage a day. Imagine if one could not remember the name of his or her spouse, or the time of one’s Doctor Appointment, the world would just be messed up. That thing that makes you run back inside for your kid’s lunch or the thing that causes you to make that U-turn towards the gas station, for your car is on E: it’s the gift of memory. However everyone is not blessed with the gift such as those of old age disabilities. This is why we must be grateful and put it to good usage.
Sources:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/
https://www.google.com/webhp?tab=ww&ei=1tofU6L9BMHR8wHs4IHgAQ&ved=0CBcQ1S4
Memory
by: Loretta Harmison
As we all know, memory is everything that we remember which gives us the opportunity to learn and adapt from our experiences. Just like when you were younger and you touched something that was very hot. The pain shot electrons to the brain and was imprinted into the brain as a memory. The next time, you’ll think twice before you grab the hot item. There are different types of memory from sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory memory is the ability to retain impressions of sensory information after stimuli ends. This memory uses the five senses sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Our brain is designed to process these senses into a memory that we will need later in life. This is an ultra-short-term memory and decays very quickly like 1/5 to ½ second after the perception of the item. The information passes through the sensory memory to the short-term memory, which then filters the stimuli into those that are important to us.
Short-term memory is our temporary recall of information. It is like a scratch-pad for our brain. This is the process of the ability to remember and process information at the same it. The short term can usually hold up to seven items or less for about ten to fifteen minutes. This information will disappear forever unless we take the step toward the next stage of retention or long-term memory. Something that can help increase the short-term memory capacity is called chunking. This is a process of organization of material into shorter meaningful groups to make them more manageable. Chunking can be a helpful tool in studying for the week of finals.
Long-term memory intended for storage of information over a long period of time. Our long-term memory actually declines very little over time and can store a great amount of information for almost indefinitely, even though we have everyday forgetfulness. The process of getting a long-term memory starts at short-term memory which goes through consolidation. This process involves rehearsal and meaningful association. Unlike short-term memory, long-term memory encodes information for storage semantically based on meaning and association.
With the three different types of memory, there are some interesting facts about them. Just like did you ever wonder why phone numbers are seven digits? It is because the maximum capacity of our short-term memory. Also, while we are sleeping, our long-term memory shuts down. This is why when we wake up from a dream it fades so quickly. Throughout the night, we have several dreams, but we are not able to recall what they are because our long-term memory did not record them.
Memory is a very important process in our brain. It helps us remember names, numbers, and moments in life that mean a lot to us or even moments that had a learning purpose. The brain helps us process the information that makes all of this possible for sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Resources
http://www.tesh.com/story/health-and-well-being-category/fun-facts-about-your-memory/cc/6/id/4966
http://www.human-memory.net/intro_what.html
Memory
By Jeremy Stidham
Memory is a huge part of our lives. It allows us to operate in the present and think about the future. Memory allows us to learn. Without it we would be able to remember the day before today, what we did today or what we plan to do tomorrow. Memory involves an incredible amount of information. This information comes in the form of images, sounds, or meaning. Memory is processed through encoding, storage, retaining and recalling. The three main ways information can be encoded is through picture, sound or meaning.
Memory is stored in two separate categories, long term memory and short term memory. Long term memory is encoded mostly by meaning, but very little will long term memories be encoded visually or acoustically. The “magic number 7” was put forward by a man named Miller in 1956. This idea was that there were about 7 slots for short term memory in every adults brain give or take two. This also suggested that the long term memory slots were unlimited. Memory stored in the short term memory is believed to only last 0- 30 second whereas, memory stored in the long term memory is said to be able to last a lifetime.
Retaining memory depends on what type of memory is being encoded. All types of memory have filter that will sort to help protect us from the never ending flood of information we experience almost every day. If the information is repeated or used very much, then it is likely to be encoded in the long term memory of an individual. The less it is used the more likely it will be encoded in the short term memory.
Memory recalling has a catch to it. Short term memory is stored and recalled sequentially. Long term memory is stored and recalled by association. During recall the brain replays a pattern of neural activity that was associated with a particular event. No tow replays are the same or else we would be full of the same exact memory.
Sensory memory is the shortest-term element of memory. It is able retain impressions from sensory information. This include information we get from all of our senses, touch, taste, smell, hear, and see. Sensory memory is retained very accurately but is lost very easily. Sensory information can be either deliberately ignored or perceived. The brain is designed to only process information that will be useful at a later date.
The brain has many parts that help with memory. The prefrontal cortex plays a big part in processing both short term and long term memory. The temporal lobe is directly involved with senses and plays a key role in retaining long term memory. Inside the temporal lobe you have the limbic system, which consists of the hippocampus, the amygdala, the cingulate gyrus, the thalamus, hypothalamus, the epithalamus, and the mammillary body and many other organs. The hippocampus is directly related because it transfers information from short term memory to long term memory.
Resources:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/memory.html
http://www.human-memory.net/brain_parts.html
Cordae McKelvy
Memory
To be able to remember is to have the capability to translate information and understand its meaning all while having the ability to store what you have learned. There are three different stages to the memory process. You have sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. Sensory memory is the shortest term, this is where you remember a lot but only for a few seconds. Short-term memory is the next stage also known as the working memory. This is the stage where you remember information for a short period of time. During the short-term stage small amounts of information is remembered for about one minute. An example of short-term memory would be when you review right before your test. You may have aced your test but if those same questions was asked later that day or the next day you may not know the correct answer. Long-term memory is the final stage of memory. During the long-term memory stage is the storing phase. Information that you learn and can recall on would be things that are in your long-term memory. This information can be in your head for a long period of time. Though things in your long-term memory can be forgotten doesn’t mean that it was sensory memory. Your brain can only store so much data. Not saying that it just went away, maybe it’s just in the back of your brain and can take a while to recall on. Information that you have just learned will be what is at the front of your brain and easiest to recall on.
Just as there are three stages to memory there is also three main processes to the memory process. The first process is the encoding stage. During the encoding stage this is where you take the information that you hear and translate it. It is impossible to know something that you cannot understand. Once the new information is converted it can then be stored into ones brain. After information is encoded the next step of the process is storage. During the storage stage of the memory process you actually retain information. Things are most likely to be retained if I is something you have to repetitively recall on. The more you hear something or say it raises the likely hood of you remembering it. Rather it is written seen spoken or heard. So, after you have translated the new information that you have heard into a form that is easier for you to understand you then retain the information into your brain. Knowing information will go for nothing if it is not in a place where you can look back on it. This leads us to the final stage of the memory process the recall stage. This is also where you have now entered the long-term memory phase. Mind you long-term information is what you have learned and can get back to later on if you need to. Because you have encoded and stored this information into your brain it is now available for your access. With that being said, in order to actually learn things that you may need later on in your life you have to become familiar with the information. To just hear data and facts isn’t enough. You have to actually decode the information into a form that makes it easier for you to understand. Even if you have to compare or relate it to something you may already know. Then store it, repeat it a few times do new things that make you have to use this new information. You may even need to do some extra studying on this topic just so you can hear it in more than one way.
Resources
http://www.human-memory.net/processes.html
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/dbriihl/intro6anotes.html
Memory
By Andrew Lopez
Memory is a very important element of what make us human beings. But, it is the most complex and difficult aspect to understand. According to Dictionary.com memory is “the mental capacity or faculty of retaining and reviving facts, events, impressions, etc., or of recalling or recognizing previous experiences” (Dicitonary.com). Many people compare our brains to a filing cabinet that allows people to store the memory in sections of the brain. When we recall memories, our brain processes and recalls them through different files located in the brain. However, according to a website based on human memory, they believe the brain is a lot more complex than what we typically understand about it. Rather than memory being located in one area of the brain, they claim memory to be a brain wide process. Meaning, there is not one specific location designated to human’s memories. The website gives the example of riding a bike and how we gather memory on how to operate the bike from one area, the memory to get from point A to point B in another, and the nervous feeling we get as cars pass from another section (Mastin). The complexity of human memories is structured more as a web that gathers information from different areas.
There are two different types of memories that occur throughout the brain. Each type is encoded and stored differently.
The first type of memory is short term memory. Short term memory is a “system for temporarily storing and managing information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning reasoning, and comprehension. Short term memory is involved in the selection, initiation, and termination of information processing functions such as encoding, storing, and retrieving data” (Medicinenet.com). Short term memory involves three key aspects. There is a limited capacity of items that can be stored, for adults it is usually about seven items. Memories last only for a limited duration before the information is lost; the information can be caused by a simple distraction that only last a few seconds. The last key aspect is encoding, which is translating visual information into sounds (McLeod). This type of memory can be very frustrating for some people. When we take a look back at our lives, there are several things we plan to remember but when we hear a sound or see movement it is suddenly lost. For example, while taking notes in class, as I am jotting down a few items, the professor states something very important. As I finish my last few notes and then plan to jot down the important information that was just stated, the information is quickly lost. I do not remember what the professor says and it is very frustrating.
Another type of memory is long term memory. Long term memory is “a system for permanently storing, managing, and retrieving information for later use. Items stored as long term memory may be available for a lifetime” (Medicinenet.com). These types of memory are the ones we recall almost every day of our lives. Most importantly, these memories are made every day during special occasions. The memories we hope to cherish forever of our loved ones that have past are embedded into our long term memory. An example of long term memory would be the memories that were made on a wedding day, a graduation or lifelong events that were cherished with a loved one.
Both types of memories affect the daily lives of all humans. Although people have severe conditions that affect their memories, there is a portion of the brain that keeps the wanted records. It may take the person longer to recall the memories but eventually it does happen. Others have the option to remember situations voluntary or involuntary. It does however depend on what the person wants to remember. Many people that have suffered tragic events tend to push those back in their memory. Whether we completely understand the process of memories or not we can all account for memories that we enjoy and dislike.
Works Cited
Dictionary.com
Mastin, Luke. “The Human Memory.” Human Memory. Web.
McLeod, Saul. “Short Term Memory.” Simply Psychology. Web.
MedicineNet.com
Ashley Riley
Bias
Bias according to the web is the outlook to present or hold a partial perspective and a refusal to even consider the possible merits of alternative points of view. In other words Bias is a tendency to favor one person, group, thing or point of view over another, often in an unfair way. Bias can be a personal opinion or a more public opinion, such as a news story, that only presents facts that support one point of view. “People may be biased toward or against an individual, a race, a religion, a social class, or a political party”. Biased means someone that is one-sided, one without a viewpoint, and not having an open mind. Bias can come in many forms and is often considered to be similar to the words prejudice or bigotry.
The term bias comes in many forms for example: Media bias. This kind of bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media, in the selection of which events and stories are reported and how they are covered. The term media bias say that a pervasive or spread bias overcomes the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article. Then there is another huge kind of bias such as the Political bias. This has been a feature of the mass media from day one. Historians have found that publishers often served the interests of powerful social groups. Other ways involving biasness are things that are targeted when being bias such as Age, Belief system, Disability, Ethnicity, Gender/gender identity, marital status, National origin, Political beliefs, Race, Religion, Sexual orientation, and Social standing. While targeting certain things when one is bias they tend to carry out different kinds of behaviors like Avoidance of certain people, Stereotyping - good or bad, Telling jokes based on stereotypes, Calling people names, Posting negative comments in social media, Insults based on stereotypes, and Vandalizing others' religious decorations.
Many of us today find ourselves being bias on a regular bases such as being bias towards girlfriends or boyfriends, family members, friends and even ourselves. It is a normal thing, for bias is in everyone; however sometimes it is wrong. Most of the time we as individuals are bias for the wrong reason and won’t admit to it for no reason what so ever. Being bias had its ups and downs, but this is something installed in everyone, and it will forever be.
Sources:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Memory Bias
By: Sadie Jarrett
“Memory is the ability of the brain to store, retain, and subsequently recall information.”
Memory bias can cause for a variation in one’s recollection of something that has occurred. This can be an enhancement or impairment of the memory depending whether it’s from a humor, positivity or generation effect. Each of these are just what their ‘name’ says. Humor effect causes for humorous events to connect better with one’s memory compared to non-humorous events. Positivity effect when one favors of positive thoughts above negative thoughts. Generation effect is when someone has a better memory of self-generated information.
The following are a break-down of more of the many different biases that are classified under memory:
- Choice-supportive bias: having the memory of being a chosen person over rejected options.
- Change bias: after actively making a change and your memory of your efforts being more difficult than what they really were.
- Childhood amnesia: memory lacking of one’s life previous to age four.
- Conservatism/regressive bias: high occurrence of remembering high values etc. as being lower than they were and vise versa.
- Consistency bias: inaccurate memory of a past attitude/behavior bordering on one’s present conduct.
- Cryptomnesia: when one mistakes a memory with imagination due to the lack of subjective experience of it being a memory.
- Google effect: reoccurrence of not remembering information that’s easily found on the internet.
- Persistence: “unwanted recurrence of memories of a traumatic event.”
- Von Restorff effect: an item/event that “sticks out” remembered more than other items less noticeable.
- Zeigarnik effect: unaccomplished tasks have a stronger memory recall than accomplished tasks.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/l/list_of_memory_biases.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_memory_biases
Biased
by Joshua Jones
Numerous authors revealed a phenomenon called "mood congruence memory" by which congruent information is better memorized than non-congruent information. Hence, this phenomenon means that memory efficiency is biased by the congruence of the material to memorize and the emotional state. The corpus of research in this area is considerable and our purpose is not to describe it exhaustively but to indicate the different methodological approaches. The first part of this paper deals with the presentation of the studies written by the late 1980s. Mood-congruent bias seems to be a reliable phenomenon in depressed subjects especially in explicit memory tasks (ie tasks where subjects are consciously trying to retrieve information in carrying out the tasks) such as free recall or recognition. By the 1990s, several authors developed an alternative cognitive view of depression, using Graf and Mandler's distinction between integration (ie activation or priming) and elaboration.
According to these authors, integration is demonstrated when a past experience facilitates performance on a task which does not require deliberate recollection of that experience. In contrast, elaboration is a strategic process, comprising the linking of a word to other material in memory to form new relationships. Elaboration can be assessed by an explicit memory task such as free or cued recall. Taken together, a part of the results confirmed the presence of an explicit but not an implicit memory bias in depression. However, as Roediger and McDermott pointed out, the interpretation of non-significant findings in implicit memory tends to be uncertain. Watkins et al. themselves advocated a hint of a mood-congruity effect in the implicit task. Obviously, their implicit memory results required corroboration of other implicit memory measures. Recently, several others recent studies, using the same kind of tasks, have found evidence of an implicit memory bias in depression.
So, it is apparent that the above studies have yielded variable findings. Thus, there is evidence indicating that several different memory processes may contribute to implicit memory tasks performance. Given this discrepant evidence of implicit memory bias, few authors decided to investigate the issue further and used a primed lexical decision task with both sub- and suprathreshold priming as a measure of implicit memory. Indeed, unlike the word completion task, it permits the separate the contributions of automatic and strategic processes. If priming occurs due to subthreshold presentation, when subject's awareness of the primes is restricted, then this would indicate that the priming effect is automatic and independent of conscious, strategic processes.
On the other hand, if priming occurs with suprathreshold presentation (ie when primes are within awareness), then the priming effect may involve both automatic and strategic processes. In this view, Bradley et al. are the first who used a primed lexical decision task with both sub and suprathreshold priming to investigate the memory bias in depression. Results from these three studies indicate that non-clinical depressed individuals showed a depression-congruent implicit memory bias in the subthreshold but not in the suprathreshold priming condition, while clinically depressed individuals showed such a bias in both priming conditions. The study of Colombel et al., using a non-clinical sample, confirmed these results suggesting that the lack of depression-congruent effect in suprathreshold priming for non-clinical subjects might be due to the use of strategic processes which counteract the negative bias in automatic priming found in the sub-threshold condition.
Being biased towards someone means if you are too strongly biased it will give you essay a feeling of you being certain your choice is correct. The point of a persuasive essay is to move someone into understanding your point of view on a certain topic. You are not supposed to sound argumentative and if you are too strong in your essay it will sound as though you are arguing your point.
workcited
http://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/fear-levels-and-memory-bias-psychology-essay.php
Memory Bias in Relation to Anxiety
Breanna Emahizer
Thought and Logic
Wiki Essay 2
Perceiving is believing in a sense. For example, you don’t have to wait to sell one hundred books to consider yourself an author or a writer. If you write you can consider yourself to be an author. Memory bias has many relations to our everyday lives. The memories you want to relive forever make you happy and smile and they can also make you giddy at times. There is a darker side to our memories. The reason you don’t do something anymore can be based on something deeper and can lead to mental disorders. Anxiety, panic disorder and posttraumatic stress to name a few. These disorders can be related to bad memories, or experiences from our past. Here we will take a deeper look into some of our oldest memories.
Even though it seems like anxiety and memory have nothing in common, it’s time to take a closer look. The information processing models of emotional disorders suggest that individuals are characterized by for threat-relevant information. The examination of memory bias in relation to anxiety disordered individuals is important from both clinical and basic science perspectives. For example people with posttraumatic stress disorder often experience unwanted memories through flashbacks or nightmares. Intrusive relocations of their event may also happen. Another example is an individual with Social phobia (SP). These individuals can often account all of these details in great description of their self-perceived public humiliation. The previous examples suggest that anxiety disorders are characterized by a heightened access for threatening information.
To break it down a little further, it’s time to distinguish between implicit and explicit memory. Implicit memory is when previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without any conscious awareness. Explicit memory, however is the conscious, intentional recollection of previous experiences and information. These two types of memories play a major role into our little jaunt to the past. How do they connect to anxiety? How are they even related? The vigilance-avoidance pattern of processing anxiety suggests that poorer memory for threatening rather than nonthreatening material despite other finding of greater intentional bias towards threat.
As an example, let’s look at PD or panic disorder. Panic Disorder, or PD is characterized by the recurrent and unexpected periods of intense fear of or discomfort. These individuals experience a number of symptoms, like nausea, or choking to name a few. The explicit memory bias towards threat stimuli is consistent with some PD patients. Their tendency to report vivid memories of threatening situations involving threatening situations and experiences. Support for the explicit memory bias in PD has been relatively strong with support from 9 of 15 studies. Memory bias for threat in PD has also been demonstrated with other encoding tasks.
To wrap it up, and close off those traumatizing memories that make you want to cry yourself to sleep. Memory bias is related to most of our memories, whether they be good and things you want to remember. Or horribly terrifying like the fear of being abandoned or drowning. The cognitive processes play more into our lives than we have ever realized. They help us relive our greatest moments, they help us remember our most embarrassing, they let us judge our choices and the reasoning behind those choices. Understanding this process may be difficult at first, but it will be worth it in the end.
Works Cited:
Information found at:http://www.temple.edu/phobia/int/Publications/2002/198-%20Coles%20and%20Heimberg%20Memory%20Biases%20Clinical%20Psych%20Review%202002.pdf
Picture found at: www.readfast.co.uk
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Sebastian Nehls ft. Brian wood and Pedro
Ashley Riley and Gennard Paul
Paige Todd
Loretta Harmison
Taryn Di Rito
Paige Roopchan
Saeger Grafel
Elizabeth Lockhart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Molge-Y4Vu4
Lexie Wanker
Brennan Williams