explanatory style by janel glidden

Explanatory style is one’s habitual way of explaining life events.  It is negative and atrributes failures with stable, global, and internal causes.

This type of style reminds me of my sister.  She is very depressing to talk to because she is a lot more realistic than me.

Recently she got the okay for her job to be transferred to Utah from Missouri.  When things got shaky and things might not happen she realistically was telling me about what could happen.  She said that she would be stuck in Missouri and back in her same old rut.  I reassured her and let her know that it would be okay by saying that whatever was meant to happen would find a way.  On the other hand, she was very realistic in keeping in mind that it was up to the managers and corporate.  She does look at some things like it is the end of the world, but she is much more realistic than me.

Retelling by Janel Glidden

When someone retells a story they change it around and it is often exaggerated or twisted.  It often also depends on who they are telling it to.

I find that when I am trying to hook two friends up that I find myself only repeating the good things that the other person says.  I might retell what they say so that it will appear to the person’s benefit.  This is retelling.

Food norm by Janel Glidden

I think in our culture it might seem a little strange to offer and accept food from strangers. 

At least this is the impression I got one day when I offered some peanuts I was eating. 

I know that I hate it when I am sitting in class hungry and the person next to me is chowing down!  I was eating some peanuts during class and simply offered some to the people sitting around me.  Because they did not know me perhaps they were confused or wondering what was wrong with them.  I just wanted to politely share.  Maybe it is the norm to politely turn down food.  (Whereas in South America or Latin cultures it is extremely rude to turn down food.)  I think because I have had a taste of both that I am in the middle but at the time when everyone turned it down I felt silly!

I think it is conforming though.  There was one time when I offered everyone around me and everyone laughed and said no. 

There was another time when I offered my food and after one person accepted, those who had politely turned my food away asked for a bite. 

I think when people got more comfortable around me then they were more likely to accept the food. 

 

Love Languages (Fearful attachment) by Janel Glidden

Fearful attachment

is an avoidant relationship style marked by fear of rejection.

“I am uncomfortable getting close to others”.  (Due to fear.)

The girl in this video is avoident because she is scared of rejection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmq321zjkvs

Day 1: She reads his lips and simply lets him borrow her pen. (avoidant)

Day 2: She points to her headphones when he talks to her to suggest that maybe she can’t hear him. (avoidant)

She says no he can’t listen to her song because she was embarrassed.  (scared of rejection)

When he asks for her number she simply says, “No, I don’t have one,” rather than explaining anything further.  (scared of rejection)

 

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE VIDEOS!!!! 🙂

Janel Glidden Overjustification Effect

Overjustification effect is the result of bribing someone to do what they are already doing.  This makes it seem like a task rather than something to do out of enjoyment.  Because it seems controlled, it is less appealing to the person doing the task, when originally they would be doing it anyway.

I always played volleyball for fun.  Once I was in college and on scholarship, it became more of a job and although I love the sport I think I may have enjoyed it less.  This is an example of overjustification effect.

I remember going to the Food and Care coalition and volunteeering my time.  When they offered me a job I felt silly because the pay wasn’t where I wanted it to be.

Janel Glidden weight discrimination

Discrimination is the action towards another of a certain group or category.  It is not based off the person alone, but the group that someone categorizes them in.

In an article by USA today, weight discrimination is discussed.  Weight discrimination especially in women is increasing and is nearly as common as racial discrimination.

“Reported discrimination based on weight has increased 66% in the past decade, up from about 7% to 12% of U.S. adults, says one study, in the journal Obesity. The other study, in the International Journal of Obesity, says such discrimination is common in both institutional and interpersonal situations — and in some cases is even more prevalent than rates of discrimination based on gender and race. (About 17% of men and 9% of women reported race discrimination.)”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2008-05-20-overweight-bias_N.htm

Janel Glidden

Janel Glidden Showing off for the boys

Social facilitation is performing better with an audience present.  After practice we use to run sprints on sprints on sprints.  It was a conditioning session that lasted longer if we didn’t make our times.  One time, one of my teammates ran over 100 down and backs by the time we left the gym.  The basketball team shared the same court and had practice right after us.  Ocassionally they would come in a little earlier to watch.  With this social facilitation, when the boys were watching, it was more likely to make our time.  Things went a lot smoother and we got in and out of the gym a lot faster.  Social facilitation is all about the boost of the perfomance that was added when we had an audience.

Janel Glidden

Janel Glidden Vollleyball Conformity

When we talked about conformity, or changing behavior to act in accordance with a group, the first thing that came to mind was back when I played competitive volleyball.  Before playing in college, where all refs are paid officials, players would be asked to help out.

A player from a 3rd team would be asked to line judge.  This meant standing on the corner of the court and calling if the ball landed in or out on tough plays.  I can’t count the hundreds of times I have line judged a game and this feeling of conformity is strong.

Playing at a high level, but still in high school, club volleyball can make a big difference.  Everyone wants to be on a good team and the better your team does nationally, the more exposure you will get which will lead to being recruited to a better college.  The parents realize this and with all the money, time, and efforts they invest in their children’s career, perhaps get the most into the games at these club tournaments.

As a player line judging, you don’t have much on the line.  This is not the case for the parents cheering for their daughters in the game.  This puts a lot of pressure on the line judge that comes down to a single call.  Especially when the game may be on the line.  With parents yelling at the top of their lungs what the “correct” call is and the coaches and players trying to convince you also, a decision must be made in seconds.  Conformity comes in when the line judge follows what they are hearing.  If all of the parents in the stand are yelling it was out, it is not rare that a line judge will signal “out” even if they thought it was inside the court.  There are many times when your integrity is challenged when it would be so much easier to make an incorrect call and claim ignorance or convince yourself of what you saw.  When changing your call because of anyone else other than what you saw…This is conformity – modifying one’s behavior to make it consistent with the group.

“Walking Close to People” (Chapter 5) by Janel Glidden

Personal Space is a norm or expected behavior.  Here in the USA we each like our personal space.  When this place is invaded, it is hard not for us to notice.

One of my friends at UVU makes youtube videos and one is called “Walking Close to People and Getting in the Way”.  He simply violates this social norm of walking too close to people and getting in their way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JMh_oA23EU

(While you’re there, check out the video “No, Not you-ing”. I find it hilarious.  Don’t judge me.)

Fake it til you Make it by Janel Glidden

Self-perception theory is almost as we are looking at ourselves from another’s perspective.  We can almost convince ourselves of one thing.  Examples from the text book suggest that smiling can help out our mood and even create happiness.

To take smiling a step further, laughing can be stress relieving and among other things helps you to “boost your immune system” (according to the video below).  There are laughing clubs set up in India.  The creator describes the positive effects and explains that the body doesn’t know the difference between real and fake.  The 15 to 20 minute laughter sessions might start of fake, but by “faking it to make it” about half will become real.  The body doesn’t actually know the difference, and therefore the benefits are the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N60nBD-_Mc&feature=player_embedded

When you are alone (or I guess you don’t have to be…but I would suggest in a car ride!) practice laughing for 5 minutes.  Try out different laughs and reinact someone else’s laugh.  It seems silly at first, and it is.  But it really can put you in a better mood.  I know from experience!

Janel Glidden

WHAT IF (mad gab) by Janel Glidden

Counterfactual thinking is described as “imagining alternative scenarios and outcomes that might have happened, but didn’t”.  It sounds almost silly, to think of what possibly could have happened, because afterall, things happened a certain way and it is what it is.  We cannot go back in time and changed what happened or how it happened.

No matter how silly it might sound, it is an enjoyable activity that actually is helpful.  Perhaps we can learn and grow from past experiences so we can act more appropriately in the next similar situation.  Sometimes to make ourselves feel better, we imagine something worse than what actually happened.

Too many times I have conversations with friends that go something like this:

(use your imagination to fill in the blanks)

“Janel, I have to tell you about this date last night…  This guy picked me up and we went to ____.  It was all fine until he said ____! I didn’t know what to do so I just ____.”

“YOU KNOW WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE!? I should have _____.  Yeah, that would have shown him!  I bet if I would have ____ then he would have _____.  And then I would be like _____ which would probably make him ____.  Actually that might be bad because he would _____. ”

Counterfactual thinking is imagining what could have happened.  In reality, nothing has changed.

Being brown at BYU -Janel Glidden

The spotlight effect is a self absorbed idea.  We think that we are being noticed much more than we actually are.

In class, we included feeling self-conscious in the spotlight effect.

Immediately I thought of the spotlight effect that I feel happens most often for me here are BYU. Being half Filipino and half white, I have my mother’s dark hair and tan skin.  Anytime a professor mentions minority groups I automatically feel like everyone turns and looks at me.  Although this is probably not the case, I can’t help but thinking the professor is directly referring to me and everyone in the class is associating the anecdote with me.  (Lesson about Rosa Parks.  In my mind, everyone is picturing Janel Glidden sitting down in the front of the bus.)

Another example of the spotlight effect happens in a casual setting.  If I am talking to a friend about someone else (not necessarily bad) I am super cautious to talk quietly.  I am paranoid of someone else listening into the conversation.  My friends call me paranoid.  They are probably right.  I am careful to keep the conversation private.  In my mind, others are trying to listen (for whatever reason).  If I think someone is listening in I get super embarrased and tell my friend I will tell them later because someone is listening.  I am self conscious about what they might of heard and I sit there and worry about it.  In reality, they probably have no idea that I am even there.

I do this all the time.  Writing it out and reading it…it sounds ridiculous.

Confounding variables by Janel Glidden

Counfounding Variables

Correlation does not mean Causation.

Just because two things are related does not mean that there is cause.  There are instances when other variables (other than x & y) may be affecting outcome.  The variable z is known as a counfounding variable.

Confounding variables should be taken into account when looking for causation.  Although you might want to tie in x directly with y, there may be a hidden factor contributing.

Although it might seem that a statistics class would be cause for more knowledge of statistics, there are other underlying variables that could add to knowledge of statistics.  One counfounding variable in this situation might be past knowledge of statistics.

Janel Glidden