Who am I (Part II)

Who am I

So we are going to do a "Who am I" personality project.  Take the following tests below and follow the instructions for the report.  Print your results and include a cover page.  Do the test included on this blog in addition to the other ones.



http://tr008.k12.sd.us/New%20Folder/Psychology/Personality%20and%20Individuality/Personality%20tests.htm  #6 and #10 wont work so substitute the 2 below

The Big Five Personality test-http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

Jung typology test- http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
      and find your celebrity ideology here:  http://teachinghighschoolpsychology.blogspot.com/search?q=personality+#sthash.coDtRymP.q9nZY1QT.dpbs

1.  Please complete a minimum 350 word report titled "Who am I ?"   This report should answer the title question based on the results of the ten tests.  Please indicate which tests you thought were the most reliable and valid.  Also indicate which tests you thought were the least reliable and valid.  Use the psychological definition of reliability and validity as your reference.  I am also interested in what you discovered about yourself after taking these tests.  Use insight.

2.  Include a title page that will present 1-3 symbols or images that accurately reflect your personality.  Do not use any words on your title page.  You can draw your title page and scan it if you have access to a scanner.  Another option is to use a drawing program (e.g., Paint) or copy and paste images from the Internet. You will not be marked on your drawing skills.  Please include a summary at the end of the "Who Am I?" report explaining the meaning behind your symbols/pictures.
 

The Sociology of Selfies

So in Turkey it is greatly frowned upon for women to smile, at least according to the prime minister.  SO women took to social media posting pictures of themselves laughing.  Don't believe me-check it out.

And if you are "familiar with the don't shoot me" selfie go here to find out the story behind it.

And the St. Louis Rams doing it:

And here is another interesting thought.  What picture would they use if you were gunned down.  Actually check it out here.

So I was thinking we should use the selfie as a learning experience in sociology.

1.  Locate three photos of yourself on your phone, computer or posted to social networks you think are flattering. Locate three photos of yourself that you find to be unflattering, funny or embarrassing in some way.
Label your six photos A-F, and then write a photo essay in which you explain which pictures would be the best and worst to use for the purposes below. In your explanations, be as specific as you can (e.g. don’t say “this photo looks professional,” explain how and why you came to that conclusion, based on signifiers like clothing, background details, and so forth.)

Thinking in the future exercise:  Pretend you are an archeologist from, say 5000 years from now, and these photos are the only existing records of human culture from 2015. What would you know about culture, based solely on these photos? What important information about our culture would be missing?

2.  I want you to take a selfie that best envelops your personality.  Describe your personality through the selfie.

3.  Now I want you to think of what picture the media would use if you were gunned down and take a picture of it-preferably a selfie.

4.  Go to the sites above and take a selfie where you try to symbolize, take a stand, or start a social movement such as "the don't shoot me selfie."  Please be creative.  For an example of a social movement on race go to the "I am Oxford" link.

If you can recruit more people to be involved in #4 it might be worth extra points.  Maybe a funny one would be "I don't clash" or "I clash, get over it!" and have a bunch of pictures of clothing that matches or clashes.  Just saying...but the more serious the better.

5.  Now find another person and have them take a selfie with you.  Answer the following:  Why did you choose that person and what thought process went into the "before selfie" shot?  Think of who you take selfies with.  What do group selfies say about you, we as people, and society?

6.  Now pick a person (anyone) and based on their personality and how you perceive them-tell them how to take a selfie-include what they should wear, stance, pose, etc.  Keep it appropriate though please.

Lastly prepare a presentation of all the above.  Do not put it on the blog though.  School policy does not allow us to use pictures of students or yourself.

Is Homosexuality A Choice?

Is Homosexuality A Choice?
We have discussed Nature vs. Nurture in the past but I was reading an article and it made me think of of Lady Gaga and the song "Born this Way."  After researching a little more I actually found out a lot of people, including Elton John, have adopted this song as a sort of "Gay anthem."  So I thought maybe we should take a look at the lyrics of the song and then read an article on the latest theory of homosexuality.

for the lyrics go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGj4_CFgH4c

 

 

Summary: Sociologists almost always find strong evidence of nurture over nature in our studies, but there is one research area where the environment and socialization has little influence: sexual orientation. The cartoon at left highlights that while social scientists cannot find links between being gay and socialization factors like parenting styles, biological believers find strong evidence for their nature arguments that claim sexual orientation depends largely on genes, hormones, and birth order. The video also highlights how the research reflects focus almost exclusively on gay men and not lesbians.  The core message of this video is still very sociological because it outlines that since sexual orientation is neither an outcome of socialization or a lifestyle choice,  “conversion” therapy is not only ineffective, but can actually become a damaging socialization experience itself-which we have already discussed.

And here is a clip on Conversion therapy-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAhb4mQ6Pj0

Another way to look at nature vs. nurture is through the Olympics.  Watch the following clip from the 2012 London Games.  (click here)

And here is an article about the most recent theory on Nature/Nurture


I would like you to answer the following questions tomorrow in class in an oral presentation.  Be sure to address all 4 questions

What are your thoughts on nurture vs. nature?

What are your thoughts on Gay conversion therapy?

What are your thoughts on the article you had to read?

What are your thoughts on birth order increasing the likelihood of homosexuality?

Agents of socialization are important groups that shape who we are.

Agent S
Agents of socialization are groups that we are a part of that shape us significantly throughout our life. Often, the influence these groups have are taken-for-granted so we don't realize the significant impact they have on us.  One way to look at them is secret agents.

Some significant finds regarding agents of socialization are:

Family - the first agent that has often the greatest impact on a person. Families intentionally teach skills, values and beliefs (manifest lessons), but they also can teach unintentional (latent) lessons.   It is funny that with so much opportunity in America, how often students pursue careers related to what their parents do. Is this true for you? How are you shaped by parents or friends? Check out this post about 7 things good parents do that screw up their kids. (and do worksheet)  Humorous, but based on real research.  Research shows telling your kid "you are so smart" is actually harmful to their learning.  The reason is because it creates a "fixed mindset."  Therefore if we are told we are good at math and then we do bad at math-it tells us we really aren't that good and so we quit trying to find ways to learn.  Another example might be if you write a paper and the teacher grades it high.  A student might think they are a good paper writer but then they go to another class and the teacher grade the student's papers low.  The student's "fixed mindset" may prohibit them of looking at the real problem which is their paper and they place the blame on the teacher.


Friends/Peer Groups - Starts especially because of school and peer groups, becomes significant.

School - also teaches both manifest lessons like reading and writing and latent lessons like patriotism  and obedience.

Religion - important even if you are not religiously involved yourself.

Day Care - significant findings that there is less of a bond with mothers if child attends daycare, but daycare kids develop more language skills.

Sports Teaches things like hard work, achievement, teamwork and competitiveness.  Can be good or bad.

Work Work affects adults so much that it becomes a part of their identity. For example, "What do you do?" Is a popular greeting when you meet someone new. When adults retire, they often have trouble adjusting to a new life without work because there is a loss in identity.

Neighborhoods-surrounding/environment

Media
We will watch Merchants of Cool, (click here for video) though a little older, highlights the media's impact on teens.  You may be amazed just how much impact the media plays in our socialization.

Actually an updated version called "Generation Like" is probably something you can relate to more easily.  Answer these questions after watching the video.

“Generation Like” Discussion Questions

 

1. Explain what “Like”ing someone’s post on Facebook means to you.

 

 

 

2. Does knowing others “Like” what you “Like” influence you? Explain.

 

 

 

3. Explain how marketing Oreo along with a current issue helped the sale of Oreo.

 

 

 

 

4. How do companies use social media to advertise?

 

 

 

 

5. How are marketers using social media to build ‘brand “trust”?

 

 

 

 

6. How do celebrities use social media to advertise?

 

 

 

 

7. What is Corporate Sponsorship?

 

 

 

 

8. Are marketers being transparent or invisible when using technology as described in the documentary?

 

 

 

 

9. How is the Hunger Games plot a lot like advertising using social media?

 

 

 

 

10. Explain serendipity by design.    

           (serendipity = the ability to make fortunate discoveries by accident)

Check out this video and do the assignment on agents of socialization.

Agents of Socialization:
 Watch the youtube.com video.  Prepare a list of the aspects of your life for which you have been socialized.  Your list should have a minimum of 5 agents of socialization and a detailed explanation of how each agent of socialization taught or prepared you for society.

And at the end of the video check out the home school vs. public education cartoon.  Jot down your thoughts on just how much school has influenced who you are.

 We will be watching A Bronx Tale as a sort of case study for our first unit.   A Bronx Tale is based on a true story.    Watch movie here.

Day 1 questions

1. Where and when does the story take place?

2. Describe the Anello family: Lorenzo, Rosina, and their son Calogero.

3. Describe Sonny and his friends.

4. After the shooting, what should Calogero have done? Why?

5. If you had been Lorenzo, would you have taken the $150/week from Sonny? Why or why not?

6. How did Sonny influence Calogero?

7. How did Lorenzo react to Sonny�s influence on �C�?

Day 2 questions

1. Describe C�s friends.

2. List two pieces of advice Sonny gives C. How does this differ from Lorenzo�s advice?

3. Describe C as a young man.

4. Describe Jane and her relationship with C.

5. How did C react when his friends attacked the young black men?

6. Describe Sonny�s �door test.�

7. What prevented Jane from having her first date with C?

Day 3 questions

1. What happened to C�s friends? What happened to Sonny?

2. What were the movie�s main themes? Rate the movie on a 1 to 10 scale.

 The racism throughout the film is obvious. What is often taken for granted is where the racism comes from.  Where does the racism come from?    It seems like we never fully understand racism amongst/between other cultural groups until we are thrust into another culture or we move away from our society and learn it somewhere else.  In this movie we see racism between Italians and African Americans.  You are probably not surprised that racism exists between all cultures.  But as I was writing this I thought of the question:  Is racism culturally universal or a Western Idea?  Where did it come from?  When did it start?  Is it everywhere?

So I decided to research some thoughts from Sociologists on this.  I came across an article titled "Is Racism a Western Idea."  Click here for a link to the article.  Dinesh D'Souza is the author of this article.  In the article he makes the statement  "racism is a uniquely white pathology which can be traced to the beginnings of Western civilization."  By the end of the article he has come to the conclusion that because there was a beginning, there can be an end to racism.

I read another article titled "How Racist are We?"  Here is the link.  In the article William Thomas, the author, talks about how racism has transformed into cultural groups-or at least the idea has.  He talks of white culture groups and black culture groups and now the fast growing Latino culture group.

And lastly, I read an article that deals with racism from a psychologist point of view.  The name of the article was "Cultural Bias for Racism."  Here is the link.  The article says "Literature, movies, TV, radio and the Internet all contribute to the problem by exhibiting the same stereotypes that others work so hard to snuff out."  What they did was had subjects take a "free association" test.  The subject hears a word and then quickly says the first thing that comes to their mind.  Psychologists say that because of what people read and hear in American culture, their responses can be prejudice.  (read it to find out more)

So I am interested in what you think after reading and researching this topic.

Part 1:  Read each of the 3 articles above.  In 200 words summarize the main points of the article.  Do this for all three articles.  Be sure not to plagiarize or the whole assignment receives a zero. 

Part 2:  You should have over 600 words now (200+for each article).  In 200 more words answer the following questions.   Is racism culturally universal or a Western civilization concept?  Is it a byproduct of media and western culture.  Where did it come from?  When did it start?  Is it everywhere? Use quotes and examples from all three articles and highlight them in a separate color.

 As far as length you will have a minimum of 800 words.  Anything less is a zero.  My questions and words do not count either towards your final count.  Pay attention to organization on this writing also.  It will count a lot more than normal.  And don't forget to highlight quotes from each of the three articles in different colors.  This assignment is worth about 80 points.  I will use my essay rubric for scoring.

Welfare-Helpful or Hurtful

So I was reading this article on welfare and the myth that welfare is a negative stain on our society.  The article talks about how welfare programs in the United States became popular during the 1930's.   "The years in between were packed with swift and drastic social and economic changes to make Mr. Roosevelt the most controversial figure in American history."

Because of FDR's social programs a lot of the American public place the blame on Democrats for promoting and increasing welfare programs.  But the author argues that Reagan's (Republican) approach  “spider’s web of dependency” failed and Bill Clinton (Democrat) even led  the charge to decrease and end "welfare as we know it.”

In the opinion of the author of this article, The Myth of Welfare's Corrupting Influence on the Poor, Eduardo Porter (the author) argues that the public's opinion of welfare is misguided and that the positives far outweigh the negatives.

What I would like you to do is:

1.  Create a chart or list of 8 myths/8 realities/truths that the author mentions.  (It is the opinion of the author but some of these are good arguments)

2.  Examine Reagan's approach and Clinton's approach and in 200 words tell me if you agree with either of their points.  Your likes/dislikes and if you like a combination approach let me know.
Be able to validate your opinion on the following question in class.  Does welfare corrupt the poor?

In-n-out is not just for burgers!

In and out is not just for burgers, it is also for groups! Sociologists use the terms ingroup and outgroup to refer to groups that you are either a member of or not a member of. It is much easier to feel attached to the groups you are a part of and feel judgmental about your outgroups.

Watch this video clip about the famous "Angry Eye" classroom lesson done in the 1960s by teacher Jane Elliot. Think about how you may have judged out-groups in your own life. Also, think about how you become allied and bonded with your in-groups. Can you see how this happens in society?
Click here for the clip
Can you think of examples in your own life?  You can watch the whole video at Frontline's website.