FINAL EXAM

On D2L the final exam was only worth 10 pts but in the syllabus it was worth 60 pts. I was wondering if you had changed it or if it was just a mistake?
THANKS!

PSYCH 228

It seems as though this is my last blog post for the course, so I figured I would write about some of my favorite things that I learned. Although we learned a lot in a very short period of time I still managed to stay with the readings and enable myself to learn the information needed to succeed. There were three main points during the semester that I will remember after this class is over and for years to come. The research of Piaget, bullying, and our case studies are my big three from this class. The tactics and strategies and overall research of Piaget is very interesting to me. The way he worked with children in their earliest years and documented every step intrigued me. I think it is amazing what he did for this branch of psychology and without him I think research would be very different today. I also enjoyed reading about bullies and the long-term as well as short-term effects they have on not only the victims, but the bullies themselves as well as innocent bystanders. A final note comes from the three case studies. I learned a lot just by researching each of the topics as well as writing the papers. Although each case was different I felt as though in some way that I could relate to all three.

Jan 14 The Social Clock

According to Berger (2008), the social clock is considered a timetable based on social norms. This is when society may say you are too young to get married, or too young to be a parent. Overall, I do think there are limitations to this, such as being to young for marriage or being a parent. However, I do think that sometimes society may tell someone they are too young, when in reality they are ready and it is based on an opinion. For example, a couple who just got married in their early twenties is now considered to be too young. Who is to say they are too young if they feel that is right for their lives. Personally, I do not agree with it completely for myself, but that is just for me and I am not setting standards and social norms for everyone else. Something else I thought may go along with this is having social norms say that someone may be too old for something. The new fad of having a facebook has now hit the older generations and I often here people my age saying "they're too old to have a facebook." I do not think this should be the case at all, because it is an excellent way for older people to keep in touch with people in their lives that they may have not contacted in years. Facebook is one of the many advances in the social network, and their should be no age limit or social norm that says "you are too old." I feel this goes along with a lot of other technology today, and maybe if everyone had this idea then we would not have as much of a technology gap with older generations.

Berger, S. K. (2008). The Developing Person: Through the Life Span. New York, NY: Worth Publisher.

Learning from Chapter 20

There were a few things I learned reading the past few chapters. I think chapter 20 was my favorite because it is the one that I learned the most from and the one I will most likely remember. As we come to the end of the course I have really been looking forward to learning about adulthood. Everything we have learned so far has the ability to shape everything that happens as adults. I like reading the textbook and this course is far more interesting to me now than before it started. I found the articles in the book covering the affects of tobacco and alcohol use very interesting. I knew some about the effects but the book breaks it down even more making me think a lot more.
I didn't know that less people were starting to smoke and that many people end up quitting. I also didn't know that alcohol can have a positive effect on your body having to do with cholesterol. When I read and learn something I didn’t know it becomes interesting to me.

Jan 14 Vocational Identity

Reading about the development of a vocational identity in emerging adulthood reminded me of myself and the path I've taken to get where I am. I went to college for teaching, yet I didn't want to teach. I never could completely identify with teachers or the lifestyle of a teacher. So instead of teaching, I got a job at an office after graduation. I knew I didn't want to make that my vocational identity, but I didn't have any better ideas, and I needed to earn money to pay bills. Now that I'm looking forward to graduate school for occupational therapy, I feel much more like I have established a vocational identity, or at least one that I want to work toward. It was interesting that Berger mentioned how some developmentalists view vocational identity as “an illusion in the current employment market” (Berger, 2008, p. 503). I feel lucky to have found a job that I want to pursue as a long-term career, but that does seem to be an elusive thing for many people. Some of my friends who have also graduated from college are still in the in-between stage of working a job to earn money but not wanting to be there forever. Others of my friends have decided what they want to do for a long-term career and are going after it. I think it probably depends on your personality, how driven you are, other long-term goals, and what your current situation is. For example, if parents still let their adult children live at home, there is less motivation to find a satisfying and well-paying career to pay for an apartment or house. I am glad that I have found a vocational identity that I want to work toward. It gives my life much more direction and focus than before by having something specific to work toward.

Berger, K. S. (2008). The developing person through the lifespan (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.

Jan 14 Cohabitation

Cohabitation is something that is really common with my age group. Before reading section on cohabitation I always though it was a positive thing. I was surprised that more than half of the United States cohabitates because I always think of the U.S. as being extremely religious. My perspective changed on that as well. I was also surprised to read that in five to seven years, many cohabitating couples marry, one-sixth are still cohabitating, and only one-third break up. Marriages also are not as successful if couples cohabitated. Cohabitants are usually poorer, younger, and more likely to end their relationships. I always thought that if you test drove the car before you bought it you would be happier. Or in other words if you lived with someone before you moved in with them your relationship would be more successful. Now that I have this information I’m going to re-think cohabitation in my next relationship.

Jan 14 Late Adulthood

As adults age, one way to help understand the intellectual capacity of older adults is to use the information processing theory. This includes breaking down cognition into steps of input, storage, program, and output. Some of these steps in the process decline while others do not. Most intellectual abilities show little change as we age from early and middle adulthood. However, as we continue to grow older eventually everything slows down. Inductive reasoning, number ability, and word fluency begins to slow at age 60. Some scientists believe that decline in these areas doesn't happen until age 80, some say at age 50. But they all agree on one thing, that people do not think as quickly or remember as well at age 80 as they did when they were 40. Scientists give two reasons for why this happens, too much interference and not enough inhibition. Interference refers to reduced sensory input. Reduced sensory input affects cognition by increasing the power of interference. Interference is thought to be a major impediment to effective and efficient cognition in the elderly. Less information is being perceived by the mind and some vital information is being obscured. Memory is also effected. As we age, elderly people tend to have difficult with their working memory, the memory that keeps information in the mind for a few seconds while it processes it. After reading all of this and learning about aging can inhibit our cognitive abilities I think that it is important that we should monitor and watch over our elderly grandparents and neighbors to make sure they are doing ok. Sometimes that means helping them drive to the grocery store, doctor appointments or helping them with everyday chores.