Week 11 - Post 3

            One concept from this week’s assigned reading that I found interesting was in chapter twelve about the psychodynamic theory. Abigail describes this theory as when “people experience conflict because of their intrapersonal states”. When I see the actual word “psychodynamic”, I tend to think of an unstable, dramatic person who has deeply rooted issues with themselves or others. As I read further about this theory, I learned that frustration, tension, and anxiety are important to understanding and explaining an individual’s state of mind that can lead to aggressive behavior as well as intrapersonal conflict. After seeing those traits that can lead to the psychodynamic theory, I have come to my own conclusion that stress is a probably cause for people to be defined as this specific theory. Stress causes those specific emotions, which, in turn, causes overblown conflict and displaced conflict. Thinking back to chapter seven about managing stress, it would be wise to take that chapter’s advice about how to manage stress in order to avoid the negative effects of the psychodynamic theory. 

Week 11 - Post 2

            In chapter 12, the attribution theory “states that people act as they do in conflict situations because of the inferences they make about others based on their behavior”. There is no definite description of a “false attribution” in the textbook but I would assume that it is false judgment of someone and how they act during a conflict. This is similar to attribution error, which is taking full credit if you do something great, or blaming someone else when something negative happens. I can honestly say I don’t think I have ever experience false attributions, but it might be because I have never known what it was. I think that because I am aware of what it is now, I will be more aware if I do it. I like to think that I am pretty good at making accurate attributions because I can read people very well. This has helped me to handle conflicts better because I can predict how a person will react to conflict situations. 

Week 11 - Post 1

            I used Google to do my Internet search of the three terms, forgiveness, reconciliation, and revenge. First, I searched each term separately and then I searched the three words together in one search. When I searched “forgiveness” by itself, I got a Wikipedia website about forgiveness and then a few sites about how the Bible says to forgive. I also got a few YouTube videos and psychology websites. Next, I searched “reconciliation” by itself. For this term, I just got a bunch of websites that defined the word. The first two were Wikipedia sites as well, but two different Wikipedia sites on reconciliation. The first was regarded the United States Congress while the second was the word in general. When I searched “revenge” I only got websites regarding the TV series that is quite recent. Finally, when I searched them all together I got a bunch of scholarly journals and books. The term “forgiveness” happened to have the most diverse websites produces, probably because it is such a broad topic. 

Week 10 - Post 3

            One concept from the reading that I found interesting was from chapter ten about victimization. Abigail’s definition of victimization from the textbook is that it is the “feeling of being a victim that leads to a state of forgiveness”. The example in the textbook is that a person was molested by a family friend and never told their parents until the molester passed away. This is a serious example where victimization is important. Although, there are some situations where people can twist a story so that they appear to be the victim. They will victimize themselves in certain situations to take blame of themselves or so that they don’t feel guilty, etc. I have encountered people using victimization to their advantage, or in the wrong way. It’s sad that people have to victimize themselves for their benefit. There are so many situations like the textbook’s example where victimization is completely necessary and true that need to be treated with care.

Week 10 - Post 2

            After reading chapter ten’s topic about forgiveness and revenge, I can definitely apply it to my current life. I thought it was very strange that reading this chapter came at this specific moment in my life. There isn’t a specific event in my life right now that I find difficult to forgive, it’s more like a series of small events. One of my guy friends has been extremely rude to me lately, which normally wouldn’t bother me, but I have helped this guy with his homework numerous times and picked him up from bars multiple times as well. I’ve helped him out a on a plethora of occasions and now he is being extremely rude to me, yet still asks for favors/help, for no reason. Earlier today, I was actually thinking of what I could do to be rude back to him, but then I read this chapter and it seriously helped. I realized I need to be the bigger person, and by simply not responding or walking away will be revenge enough. It’s a little difficult to forgive someone who is still in the process of being mean, but I’m sure it will pass and I will eventually forgive him.

Week 10 - Post 1

            Facebook is an online form of face management, where “people generally work to support one another’s face when socializing and communicating”. That very definition that Abigail provides for us in the textbook is exactly what Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites consist of. Most people strive for a positive face on their social media sites, in other words, they strive to have other important people like and respect them. People typically post certain status updates, tweets, and/or photos about and of themselves in a manner that they would like to be perceived in. I like to think that I present myself if a classy, reserved way on all of my social media sites. I don’t post most things that I do on my Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, but when I do, it is in good taste. This is partly because I have certain social media rules that I need to abide by as a member of my sorority, such as not allowing alcohol in pictures or being dressed in provocative clothing, for example. There have definitely been times when people have posted something on my profile that I don’t want there, but it’s very easy to take down.

Week 9 - Post 3

            A concept that I found interesting from this week’s reading is in chapter seven. I thought that the concept of having a playful spirit is a beneficial outlook that most college students should keep in mind. The position that I hold in my sorority is the Director of Scholarship, so I am in charge of making sure girls are keeping their grades up and doing well in school. School can be a stressful part of life, no matter what your major is, especially when you have to balance multiple aspects such as work and school. Abigail describes a playful spirit as “changing our attitude toward life in a way that enables us to lighten up”. The tips that are given can be very beneficial to distress yourself. My favorite technique is not to blame oneself for everything that goes wrong or doesn’t pan out. I have seen a lot people get upset over things that don’t work out, so they pick apart the things that they did and ask themselves a bunch of “what if” questions. Trying to apply the playful spirit techniques to your life can help your stress level immensely.