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.