Class Evaluation

Psychology was easily one of the most exciting classes I've taken in my high school career. It was something completely different from the other courses, and its fresh topics were things I found extremely interesting.

What I really liked about this class was its balanced coursework. There were a good number of assignments that kept us engaged and learning, but it wasn't so overwhelming like some other classes can be. I can honestly walk out of this class and say I learned a lot about psychology without saying that I lost a bunch of sleep over psychology homework, test, and quizzes.

My favorite activity/project was probably the Soundtrack of Emotions. All of my friends know that I'm a huge music freak, so this project got me really excited, for I could share my favorite tunes with Ms. Halfen (and whoever gets my cd) while learning about human emotion as well. I also think the other students enjoyed it very much as well. Here's a link to one of my all-time favorite songs: Just Another Girl by The Killers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aemOWBkkUuQ

One thing that I personally didn't like very much was the Chapter At A Glance, but I liked that it was optional. For the first couple of tests, I would do them in hopes that I would actually learn the information, but it didn't work. Instead I found myself doing it just so I could earn the extra five points. However, I do think that Ms. Halfen should keep CAAG since it did help other students learn the material.

Next year, I think Ms. Halfen should teach the Disorders unit because it really gave a lot of people a lot of trouble. Quite frankly, our peers aren't reliable teachers. It was extremely difficult for everyone to learn the numerous symptoms of each disorders.

As for suggestions, I think Ms. Halfen could do more psychology/personality tests because the students really loved it. Maybe at the beginning of each unit?

Please, please, PLEASE review the disorders!!!

I've had a great time in AP Psychology :)

Cognitive Fun & Games!

I took the IQ test and got 6 of 10 questions correct, which corresponds with an IQ of 138. I didn't really know what to expect since I've never taken an IQ test before. The questions on this one surprised me a little, for they seemed more like riddles than actual questions based on logic and what not. It was fun trying to solve some of them though!

Next stop was Brainbashers. I looked at some optical illusions because I've always found those to be a lot of fun. The popular ones like the Impossible Triangle and Parallel Lines I've seen before on various sites, but it was nice revisiting them and finding new ones. 

 

We looked at ones of these in class, but somehow I missed the error in the phrase. Pretty funny how that works!

I actually used to use Lumosity a while ago! I did the Speed Match test, which was a lot of fun. i got 89% accuracy, 647 ms per card, and 62/69 correct. It was fun, but I felt somewhat frantic because of the time limit. Next was the Train of Thought attention test. It was actually pretty difficult, but I got 34/39 trains into the right station with a score of 17800. Finally I played the Memory Matrix! It was probably my favorite one - I scored a 42300! 

After reading the article, I'm amazed at how such a small part of our lives can benefit us so much! It can help us improve composition, expression, and even motor skill development in both children and adults. By further engaging the brain, we can learn more things at faster rates. Though we live in the 21st century where technology takes over our lives, it's still important to jot down things here and there. I actually write letters to my friend who lives in Nacogdoches, TX, so that's how I get my writing in!

http://www.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704631504575531932754922518-lMyQjAxMTAwMDAwNDEwNDQyWj.html

The Address is 221B, Baker Street.

I love the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, so I decided to read an article about him (link below). My favorite version of his mysteries is the BBC Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman :)

This article talks about the characteristics of Sherlock and how his traits lead some to believe that he had Asperger Syndrome - an autism spectrum disorder characterized by significant difficulty in social interactions and repetitive patterns of behaviors and interests. 

There are many reasons why one may diagnose Sherlock with this syndrome. He has unimaginable skills in deduction and reasoning. He is obsessed with solving crimes. He has no social skills whatsoever. He even calls himself a "high functioning sociopath." Hm...maybe he does have Asperger's. But wait, there's a twist.

Arthur Conan Doyle created the character of Sherlock Holmes around 1887, but Dr. Hans Asperger didn't propose the syndrome until 1944. Did Conan Doyle unknowingly conjure up a character with symptoms of this disease? Did he actually become aware of the disease before Dr. Hans Asperger? Nobody knows the answer.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainsnacks/201110/did-sherlock-holmes-have-asperger-syndrome-0

Why are you depressed?

Since we got the opportunity to explore freely any topic of psychology, I chose a topic very prevalent in our society: depression. Especially in the winter seasons, depression/suicide rates soar as people are affected by the holidays and weather. Personally, I find myself feeling more down than ever in this time period, but I know I'm not actually depressed. It sucks that I never ever have my entire family together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and seeing other families reunite makes me wish mine could do the same :(

I chose an article from Psychology Today titled "Ten Scientific Reasons Why You're Feeling Depressed" (link below). According to the author, depression is caused by the following:

• brain chemicals: low levels of serotonin and norepinephrine are shown to cause depression
• weather: less sunshine in winter months can cause us to feel blue
• vitamin D: insufficient amounts of vitamin D due to lack of nutrition and sun exposure have been proven to be linked to depression
• hormones: levels of certain hormones produced by the endocrine glands can cause depression, and it is also linked to some thyroid conditions
• expectations: if we expect times to always be good, we are bound to be disappointed
• childhood adverse events: childhood trauma cause the brain to become less resilient and thus causes one to remain in a negative thinking pattern
• stress: stress from a multitude of sources may pile up and leave one with no time to recover
• negative ruminations: negative thoughts lead to even more negative thoughts, which will eventually lead to depression
• your inner critic: an overly critical inner voice spoils one's pleasures when something good happens
• loneliness: feelings of rejection lead to negative ruminations, which furthers one's negative moods

Now that we are more aware of some of the causes of depression, let's all try to become more optimistic, set realistic goals, and spend more time with our loved ones. We all deserve to be joyful :)

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201411/ten-scientific-reasons-why-you-re-feeling-depressed

My Life Story (I know everyone wants to know)

Hi, I'm Michelle, named after the Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan. I was born on April 25th, 1997, in Houston, TX at Memorial Hermann Hospital. As a baby, I slept like a zombie and ate 24/7, not that any of that has changed :) When I was three, I began ballet lessons, and at the age of four, I started playing piano. I continued both these hobbies for the next thirteen years, all the way up until junior year in high school. Though I don't take lessons anymore, I still dance and play piano pretty often! I figure skated for a couple of years, but it really wasn't my thing. Sorry mom and dad!

My elementary school years were quite hectic. Let me make a sort of outline for you: 
Pre-K: Honor Roll Private School
Kindergarten-1st: Highlands Elementary School
2nd-3rd: Fang Cao Di International School (in Beijing, China)
4th-5th: Highlands Elementary School
As you can see, I was all over the place during my elementary school years. This was due to my parents' dissipating marriage during the time; my mom lived in China and my dad lived here in America, and they were constantly bickering about who I should stay with and where I should attend school. Going to school in China was a lot different than going to school here, and I initially hated it. But looking back I can now see how it taught me to always maintain and open mind to different ideas and cultures. On the other hand, I loved Highlands all my youth - the friends, the teachers, the playground, etc. I spent recess playing tag and swinging on the tire swing with my girl friends (because boys had cooties).

Middle school was just deplorable. Absolutely, 100%, deplorable. I'll just highlight some main events about band and leave everything else out. I went to Dulles Middle School along with most of my friends, and I joined band on the clarinet. The only reason why I joined it was because a lot of my other friends did, but I'm so glad that I did. After lots of practice in beginner band, I made Honor Band my 7th and 8th grade years and became vice president and president, respectively (I thought it was a big deal back then, but it wasn't). I made many great friends through band, many of which are some of my closest friends to this day. 8) 

I am currently a senior at Dulles High School (208 days until graduation!). Currently I'm taking Psychology (my favorite, of course), Calculus AB, English IV AP, Band, Biology II AP, and Organic Chemistry. Also, I'm involved in band as woodwind captain, and I'm in a few clubs such as NHS, Tri-M, and TASK. My goal school is the University of Texas \m/, and I plan to major in Biochemistry.

If all is "Gucci," the plan is to become a doctor in the future. The path will be gruesome, but as of now, I'm up for the challenge. I plan to get married in my mid to late 20s, and to have two kids - a boy and a girl. I kind of want to name my daughter Ramona after Ramona Flowers from the movie "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." Judge me if you want :P 

I guess I'll retire once I can leech off of my children's successes. Just kidding. I really don't know when I'm going to retire, but afterwards I'll probably go live somewhere overseas, maybe Singapore or Dubai. I want to travel a lot too. Some places on the list include but are not limited to: UK, France, Indonesia, and Rome. :)

Uh, I'll probably die in my mid-90's unless one of you smart people invent something to delay death. If you do, please notify me. Thanks. :) 

My Psych Tests!

Jung Typology Test

According to this personality test, I am a moderate preference of Extraversion, marginal to no preference for Sensing, moderate preference of Feeling over Thinking, and marginal to no preference of Judging over Perceiving. I agree to most of what this test has to say. However, I was slightly surprised at the 44% Extravert because although I am outgoing, there are times when I am around unfamiliar people where I feel more shy. Also, it makes sense that I prefer Sensing over Intuition, even if it is by a little, because I act based on my past experiences.

Learn About Yourself Test

According to this personality test, I am extremely extraverted, extremely agreeable, have mild conscientiousness and neuroticism, and am extremely open to new experiences. Again, I don't believe that I am as extraverted as this quiz suggests for the same reasons listed in the above test. I do think I am pretty agreeable because I have an open mind, and I'd like to think I see situations from others' perspective. The Conscientiousness and Neuroticism sections were quite on point as well, although I wish I scored higher on both. Openness to Experience was extremely accurate, as I love to try new things such as food and thrills (rollercoasters/skydiving).

Life Goals Test

http://www.personalitylab.org/tests/goals21.htm

This test was quite interesting to me and for the most part was accurate. Financially, I do agree with what I scored to a certain extent, for I believe doing what one loves is more important than the monetary amount earned. As for social recognition, I could care less about it. Attractiveness is important to me because looking presentable makes me feel more confident in myself. Affiliation is really important to me, for I care about my relationships with the people in my life a lot. Community is also extremely important to me because I want to better the world for future generations. Self Acceptance, in my opinion, is important because it shows how independent I am. Finally, I do indeed value intrinsic/moral goals more than extrinsic/material goals.

Deal With It Test

This test surveyed how I deal with the problems in my life. According to it, I have a shame, guilt, and pride-prone personality, which was a surprise to me. I usually don't feel like I'm extremely boastful in my accomplishments, so this was definitely eyeopening. However, I do feel guilty and shameful when I do something wrong or when I don't complete a task to my full potential. 

The Sim Test

http://www.personalitylab.org/tests/bfi_sims.htm

One of the more interesting tests I took because I love Sims! It rated me 9 for neatness, 8 for outgoing, 5 for active, 9 for nice, and 5 for playful. Overall these results were accurate except for the neatness category. Although attempts are made to be neat, my room, my study space, and my life are complete messes! Send help! SOS!