02/19/2022 Week 7 Response: “Culture and Psychology” Psychology is so much more than synapses and nerve endings. Psychological health can be affected by many, many factors like genetics, environment, injury, abnormalities, and culture. Because different cultures have different paradigms, the extent to which one fits into or follows these paradigms can impact their psychological well-being. As we have learned, cultural rules define what it means to be “normal” or “not normal”. Whether these rules are rational or irrational, it doesn’t matter, they can be a driving force behind how members of that culture feel about themselves. Brother Ivers mentioned the problem of anorexia. In some cultures, thinness is highly valued. This cultural rule could cause someone who isn’t thin to have low self-esteem and may lead to anorexia. This same person, raised in a different culture, might not develop any psychological issues at all. Brother Ivers explains this as the conflict between the cu...
02/12/2022 Week 6 Response: “Personal Space Differences” Personal space and all of its implications is a really fascinating topic to me. As an American raised in the western state of Oregon, I probably have a relatively large personal space bubble. I didn’t grow up in a large crowded city, but a smaller town with quite a bit of space. So, my cultural paradigm dictates a large personal space. I also think that while most of our spatial paradigms are determined by our culture at large, some are also determined by our smaller family culture. Some people are comfortable being more familiar at lower levels of relationships. For example, I have a co-worker who is what I call a “hugger”; he likes to greet with a hug. Once I realized that’s how he is, I was ok with it and I will hug him, but it’s not something I would be comfortable with initiating. Here is a funny example of personal space and ownership. My mom has a certain spot on a certain bench at church that she has staked out ...
Week 6 Response: “Differences in Emotional Expressivity” Emotional expressivity is the extent to which a person outwardly shows their emotions. It could include obvious things like laughing, crying, or screaming. People also express emotions with things like hand gestures, eye contact, or facial expressions. Or, emotional expressivity could be as straightforward as telling someone right out what you are feeling. I think it’s interesting that one doesn’t have to be consciously aware of the emotions they are experiencing in order to express it. While we do have some conscious control over our emotional expressions, sometimes they come out without our control. Another factor of emotional expressivity is the cultural paradigms we learn. Brother Ivers talked about how different cultures will fall along a scale of emotional expressivity. On the low end, people will hold emotions in and not show them. On the high end of the scale, people will very outwardly show their emotions. He gav...
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