Final Cog Blog

This semester has taught me a lot about cognition and how the brain works as a whole. As of right now I would take another hybrid class, but I would talk more about the assignments in class, but maybe that is because I am a visual learner. I love taking hybrid classes because I can do the work at my pace even though there are due dates for anything. 

One thing that I loved about this semester was learning about attention and perception because it is like the chicken and the egg which came first. I learned a lot about myself and what I need to do in order to attend or perceive something. I have problems in the past trying to pay attention due to distractions around me including my phone, Facebook and Snapchat. These things I have to figure out for myself how much that I can use any of these things. 

Now that I have taken this class I can understand why we think the way we do and how everyone is different in there own way. I can also understand how everyone can be different and why we think the way we do. I benefited from this class to teach me about cognition and how the mind works. I have always been interested in the brain and how the mind works, which explains why I am a psychology major, but this class helped me put everything into perspective in a new way. 

Chapter 13

Reasoning is a major part of life because you have to be able to reason with yourself in order to survive in this world. I recently had to reason with myself over buying a new car even though I couldn't afford it. I ended up buying a 2015 Ford Escape, but the only reason I told myself that I bought it was because I would give my other car to my brother so he would have a vehicle. I told myself that I deserve something new because I have worked hard over the years for it. 

Another thing I have to reason with myself over is whether to go out with my friends or stay home and do my homework. The way I tend to reason with myself in this way is telling myself that I will finish a few assignments before I go out then I will do some of them when I get home. Sometimes I can never get myself to do the assignments when I get home, but it makes myself feel better about at least attempting to get everything done. I will also tell myself that if I do one assignment tonight and then go out that I will do the rest of my assignments the next day in order to finish everything this is something that helps me in my mind to be able to justify what I am doing. Lately I have been telling myself that I am almost done with this semester, so that means I will be able to go out more with my friends once this semester is over. 

When I think of reasoning I think of turning the wheels in your brain to figure out a problem that you are facing. Once you get the gears in your brain moving then everything else will fall into place. This picture above shows the wheels or gears in your brain that move when you decide to reason with yourself. 

Chapter 12

This picture above explains my view about problem solving. Problem solving is not an easy task to do, and sometimes it takes longer than some of us have patience for. 

The way I look at problem solving is I can be very good at it. I like to do puzzles and crossword puzzles as well. I think that I have the patience to solve problems, and I know I get that from my great grandmother. She loved watching game shows and doing all sorts of puzzles that involved problem solving. She told me the reason she did all kinds of puzzles and card games was to keep her mind going, and she lived until the age of 94 with a full functioning mind up until the day she died. Compared to someone like my fiancé who has very low patience with problems in his life, and if a problem isn't solved right then and there then it will never get solved, which in turn he gets mad. This usually happens when he is working on a car or he is paying bills, and as soon as something bad happens it all falls down hill. 

I enjoy solving problems including puzzles, crosswords, and even problems that my friends have, and I don't know if that is because I am a psychology major and I love the way the mind works or if it is just the way I am. 

Children using problem solving skills in everyday life whether they are at school or at home. Children can use these skills just as well as an adult that already has a lot of problem solving skills.

When it comes to problem solving with my course work, I have to write out my schedule every week in my agenda, and I plan from there at what times I can do each assignment to get them done at a reasonable time along with being on time with the assignment. There are some weeks that I am having a hard time doing homework along with everything else going on in my life. When you are a college student it is hard to balance classes, assignments, work and a social life, and at some points in my life I just need a break from everything which becomes a huge problem. I usually call this a domino effect because one thing leads to another and then everything else falls down hill from there. I have learned over the years that if I write out every assignment and the due dates then it is easier for me to get stuff done in a timely manner. 

Chapter 4

The power of attention follows us wherever we go in life. The way people pay attention and how long they can pay attention depends on the person. 

When it comes to me paying attention, I have a lot of different obstacles that prevent me from paying attention. One major thing that prevents me from paying attention is social media. I make a list for myself of homework that I have to do for the week, and it ends up taking me longer to do my homework because I tend to migrate to Facebook. I have moments that I can pay attention for a long period of time especially when I am watching a tv show or a movie, but when it comes to homework forget it. 

I have also found that when I am tired there is no way homework or any sort of paying attention is going to happen. When people are talking to my face, and I am texting I tend to not pay attention to the person that is talking to me because it is hard for me to multitask. I usually pay attention when I am under pressure when it comes to homework assignments but not for studying for tests. 

I really want this mug because it is how I feel especially in the morning or when I am at work. 

In order for me to pay attention I have to be in a quiet place, but if my surroundings are loud then I have to put my headphones in. I put headphones in and sometimes listen to music if I am not listening music the headphones will just eliminate the sound. 

I believe in this quote because I would rather have the full attention of one man than multiple different men.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Blog

Whenever I think about perception I think about this picture shown above. I thought this picture was the best example of how perception works. When looking at this picture one person might see just the older man and woman, which would be the only thing they see. The next person may see the couple along with the two Mexicans with their hats. The next person might see the vase that is in between the couple along with the two Mexicans and the woman that is looking out the door to yell to the two Mexicans. Either way we look at it some people see the pictures in different ways. The answer to this whole mess is the way we perceive things. 

I personally believe that the Gestalt Theory and the Helmholtz Theory say a lot about how perception works. The Gestalt theory is to explain how we perceive things such as objects. This theory has the illusion  of movement, which is also known as apparent movement. Apparent movement is although movement is perceived, nothing is actually moving. Using the figure from the book on page 64 they come up with the conclusion about apparent movement as:

1:) one light flashes on and off

2:) there is a period of darkness, lasting a fraction of a second

3:) the second light flashes on and off. 

The Gestalt theory all together tries to identify things as wholes rather then individualizing them. The Helmholtz theory is his realization that the image on the retina of an eye is ambiguous. Helmholtz also explained the likelihood principle, which is that we perceive the object that is most likely to have caused the pattern of the stimuli we have received. 

Chapter 2 Blog

This week I will be explaining the way I think over the years I have been in school.

When I was younger I was taught a certain way how to learn, and everyone had to learn the same way which as a grew older I realized that everyone does not learn the same way.

When I was younger I developed most of my parietal lobe because that is what they teach you how to do by the time you leave kindergarten, and sometimes even younger now. Most of my Occipital Lobe which involves vision and color perception was also developed at a young age. The information that is in the frontal lobe sometimes doesn't get developed until you are in your teenage years, but most of this information is developed during the first few years of life.

I liked this picture because with the way I learn I have to have everything color coded for me especially in diagrams. If you ever see me draw a diagram for class it is always in all different colors. This picture also explains what each part of the brain is responsible for.

Over the years I have developed in my brain the tools I need to know what triggers me, and also the way my brain functions. I have learned over the years when I take notes I have to rewrite my notes later on to better understand what we talked about in class, and if there is something that I don't understand I will go ask the teacher the next class we have or even emailing them. Like I said earlier I love to color coordinate thinks even down to color coordinating my binder with my notebook because that is how I remember what notebook goes with what class. 

I have had a lot of triggers for my memories especially with events from the past. Pictures help me trigger my memory a lot especially when it is of family members that have pasted, or it was just a family vacation that I took. Another thing that triggers my memory is key words that are mentioned. For example if I am having a conversation with someone and I hear the word "cat" I will remember that I have to buy cat food. I have also learned that my attention span is longer when I am alone or it is quiet in a room where I can concentrate. 

----This image above I found and it is the truth about what the world has come to. Our world is run by social media, and if we are not using social media at all times then it is very hard for us to function. In my opinion the use of social media is gotten out of control because some students can't concentrate in class long enough to know what the teacher is talking about and their attention span has gone out the window due to social media. 

Chapter 1 Blog

 This is my first blog I have ever done, and I hope I did it the right way. Cognitive Psychology has been a class that I have always been looking forward to taking. The reason I chose psychology is because I love how the mind works, and why we think the way we do. As weird as it sounds is I love to people watch, and the point of it is is to see how others will act around certain people or in public in general. I hope to accomplish learning more about how the mind works in a "normal" person versus someone that has disabilities. 

   -------I saw this quote and thought of the life I live right now. My mind is not always in the right place and as time goes on my life is starting to fall into place in whichever way it is supposed to. As I grow older I realize that nothing in life is going to be fair, and I need to move on and make the best of the things I have right now. 

I took this class because I love cognitive psychology even before I signed up for this class. Another reason I took this class was because I love the mind and as I learn more and more about why the mind works the way it does it becomes a coping strategy for myself. As the weeks pass, I trying to focus on other things such as school and work, so I don't have to deal with my home life. When it comes to my mind, I become scared, afraid, and sometimes I feel alone. Recently major events have happened to change my life forever, and my mind hasn't always been there "mentally". Slowly this class and other psychology courses are helping me cope with certain events that have dragged me down. 

----Over the years the limitations that I have dealt with have only made me a stronger person in the end. Some people are extremely limited to most things in life, but you have to make the best of it and work through whatever it is. Every day our mind is growing with more creations that sometimes benefits us mentally and physically. 

-----I know this video is a little long, but it is really worth watching about how the mind works. It is called the Amazing Power of Your Mind. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLqjK3ddSy0)

Lastly when it comes to the mind I view it as a never ending maze. As our minds continue to process information it will never end. Whenever I think of the way our mind works I picture a maze that almost has no end.