Fallacies
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Memory
Nurture
Observational Learning In My Life
People everyday experience observational learning. Growing up we are surrounded by it! I was brought up in an Italian household where my mother was always cooking. Naturally I would sit by her side and help measure things for her. I saw her and observed how she moved throughout the kitchen and the steps she took. I always watcher her cook and make up things on the spot. I always wondered how I would ever be able to do that. Little did I know that all the time I spent in the kitchen with her directly taught me how to cook just like her.
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CONSCIOUSNESS: Dream Analysis
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Sensation and Perception
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM
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Experiment Proposal
Red herring – a speaker attempts to distract an audience by
deviating from the topic at hand by introducing a separate argument the speaker
believes is easier to speak to.
I think growing up we all have experienced this type of fallacy. Think about it. Ever ask your parent for something such as, " Can I go to my friend's house?" and suddenly they change the topic? I know my mom was famous for doing this. Whenever my mother wanted to avoid an argument with me she would just change the topic on me and act like I didn't notice. I admit, it was a smooth attempt at trying to avoid the issue at hand.
Moral high ground fallacy – in which one assumes a "holier-than-thou"
attitude in an attempt to make oneself look good to win an argument.
To me, this must be the most annoying fallacy. Have you ever found yourself correcting someone, but because they can never be wrong they get an attitude? Everyone in life is wrong. If everyone was right how would things be? Getting an attitude when someone corrects you just shows ignorance.
Memory
Suggestibility Memory is a form of misattribution where ideas suggest by a questioner are mistaken for memory. In my family I am the youngest of three children. I believe that a lot of my " memories" are suggestible. Sometimes when our family talks about our past trips or just family memories they always say to me, " remember?" Do I really remember for myself or have I remembered because of what they have said?
Persistence is the unwanted recurrence of memories from a traumatic event. At the age of four, I witnessed my brother drowned. My brother had a brain tumor and also brain cancer that no one knew about. I clearly remember sitting in my grandfather's pool in NJ and wondering why my brother wasn't moving in the pool. I can remember every specific detail. I'll never forget watching my mother dive into the pool and pull out my brother. This traumatic event is a vivd memory I will always remember.
Mood congruent memory bias. I fully believe that our moods affect the thoughts we are having. I know on days when I am not feeling myself I remember my last breakup or how much I miss my parents. There are days when a good mood can make me remember positive memories.
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Nurture
Nurture is defined as the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something.
Many people believe that nurture theory is caused by environmental forces. Can we be conditioned to act a certain way? Can we really be influenced to change our behavior? Can you blame our wrong doings on society?
Josh Phillips was a 14 year-old boy who found himself in a life changing situation. Josh was playing catch with his 8 year-old neighbor, Maddie. In the process of playing ball he accidentally hit Maddie in the eye with the ball causing her to start to bleed. Once Maddie started to scream, Josh began to panic. He then proceeded to drag Maddie back into his home and up into his room. In a panic mode, Josh strangled her with a telephone cord for approximately 15 minutes. After that he then hit her with a baseball bat and stabbed her 11 times. What would cause Josh to panic like this and react this way to an accident?
Josh's mother had found the body of young Maddie hidden inside his waterbed. They found the girl naked from the waist down with no indication of any sexual abuse. What would cause a young boy to act this way?
The murder was appeared to be motivated by Josh's fear of his very abusive father. Josh had a fear of upsetting his father and getting attacked. Did the way he was raised and nurtured condition him to act this way? Yes, I believe so.
Josh previously stated that if he could take it back he could. I believe that his fear of his father attacking and abusing him led him to act irrationally. Although. we never know if someone is battling an internal mental conflict, the way we are raised does effect our actions. Josh was nurtured or conditioned to fear his father and fear the consequences.
Though his father did not force him into killing this young girl, he did contribute in a way.
----------------------------------Observational Learning In My Life
What is observational learning?
Observational learning is learning that occurs
through observing the behavior of others.
through observing the behavior of others.
People everyday experience observational learning. Growing up we are surrounded by it! I was brought up in an Italian household where my mother was always cooking. Naturally I would sit by her side and help measure things for her. I saw her and observed how she moved throughout the kitchen and the steps she took. I always watcher her cook and make up things on the spot. I always wondered how I would ever be able to do that. Little did I know that all the time I spent in the kitchen with her directly taught me how to cook just like her.
After
watching her cook certain dishes so many times and following the steps with
her, I can now recreate them myself. It is amazing how our brains can absorb so
much knowledge without us even being aware. I was never taught a class or read
a book on to cook, I just simply watched my mother.
CONSCIOUSNESS: Dream Analysis
I really had no idea what to write for this assignment, that is until the dream I had the other night. Lately I have been thinking of my grandfather and how much I miss him. I keep thinking how in September it will be another year he is gone. About a year ago I lost my first dog that I ever had, he was my partner in crime. My grandfather and dog both appeared to me in my dream the other night and it was wonderful. I will never forget my grandfather's face. He looked so healthy and happy. In his arms he was holding our family dog. He looked me in my eyes and said, " It is time to let go." This seems to be the only part of the dream I can remember but, it was something that meant the most to me.
I believe the latent content of this dream is my grandfather telling me that him and my dog are doing just great. Seeing them both healthy, happy, and together brought me such peace. I woke up that morning feeling as if everything was going to be okay. I believe that I was meant to have that dream and be reminded that everything is okay on the other side. It is such a comforting feeling to have a dream with a love one that passed.
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Sensation and Perception
PART I
Why do two
people see the same thing but interpret it differently? Perception. I believe a
great example of perception is looking at clouds. We all have looked at a cloud
and thought, “WOW! That cloud looks like (insert some wild animal or random
object)." Immediately after following that statement we receive a strange
look from our friend. Even though we both see the same cloud, we both don't see
the same figure. The way we perceive the cloud is different. We each
individually see things in our own way.
PART II
Many things I perceived a
certain way when I was younger, I no longer see that way. Growing up I saw
school as a hassle and something I was forced into doing. Now
I perceive school as a goal and something I want to accomplish finishing
for my career. Even though I still dread getting up in the morning, I have
a better understanding of why I am.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM
In learning about free will vs.
determinism I realized that both correlate closely. Decisions, I believe,
I made on my own free will have now made me reconsider that maybe it wasn't as
free as I thought it was. I believe that every move we make is influenced
someway by something.
September of last year I made the
decision to move to Manhattan. Was that really my own decision? Now that I
think about it there are many examples that show that I was influenced,
even subtly.
I remember checking out NYCI and
thinking about transferring. As I came and toured the school my family would
say positive reinforcements. My mother, who was born and raised in Manhattan,
would say things like, “Wow! Imagine hanging out where I grew up."
The more I think about it and learn
about this debate I realize that maybe our “free will “isn’t as free as we
believe. Then again, I do believe we have the ability to decide when
to do something versus not. Many of our actions are influenced and already
determined for us without us even knowing it.
Experiment Proposal
Question of interest: Does exercising help decrease depression in people?
Hypothesis: The group that exercises daily will see a drastic increase in their mood and how they feel about themselves.
Operational definition: What is depression? A mood disorder causing a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.
Survey research: People who tend to workout claim to be happier and in better spirits.
Experimental Group: Ten men and women will work out for two weeks everyday and monitor their behavioral and mood changes.
Control Group: Ten men and women will continue their normal daily routine without exercise and see how their depression changes.
