Psychology 1010

Reflection

During the duration of this course, I learned a multitude of concepts. From understanding my own inner thoughts, to stress reducing techniques, and even to learning how to be a good parent, I can really feel the link to my day-to-day life. One in particular has really influenced me in an encouraging way. That is, I have acquired the ability to study more efficiently. Additionally, with the repetitive study program, I have been able to raise my test scores that I believe wouldn’t be as high. Learning the thoughts and behaviors of adolescents, I feel confident that when I have children of my own in the future, I can then use this knowledge to better guide them in the right direction. Another mastered skill I am gratified by is, generally speaking, critical thinking.

By the conclusion of the signature assignment experiment, I achieved more than I anticipated. Test scores from all of my classes began to increase, my stress levels decreased, and time spent studying also decreased. This is a skill that I can use for the rest of my school career—even my work career. In hopes that this will keep my Grade Point Average afloat, it may even lead me into Physician Assistant School. Ideally, I hope to pass this obtained wisdom on to my children to help them succeed.

Focusing on adolescent thoughts and behaviors aided me in recognizing the differentiating characteristics between affective and ineffective parenting. Ever since I was a young girl, I had always dreamed of one day having children of my own. “What if I’m not a good parent?” or “What if they misbehave?” are reoccurring thoughts that seem to run through my mind when this idea of being a mother is presented in front of me. Well, by understanding the stages these kids go through on a deeper psychological level, I believe I can protect them, but still allow an open line of communication. There would be nothing more inhibiting than miscommunication and misunderstanding between a mother and a child when it comes to the development, happiness, and success of the youngster.

Out of all the many skills I have mastered in one semester, I am most grateful for being enabled to think critically. This whole course involves digging deeper to truly understand what is being portrayed. In class, the instructor encouraged critical thinking by asking questions that aren’t as direct as simple “set-in-stone” definitions. With everyday situations being brought up, it made me a stronger thinker straining to connect the notions with the evidence. In the tests and quizzes given, I read each question several times, really analyzed individual words, and used real-life examples to back-up my answer before coming to a final decision. I even use this skill in other classes, real life, and at work.

Although taking Psychology 1010 was not an option for me, I am glad I did. It has taught me numerous ideas, not only academically, but personally. I would retake this class in a heartbeat. Parenting, studying, and critically thinking will better my life in more ways than one, all due to such intriguingly useful coursework.

Behavior Modification Program

As a way to increase my study skills, I used positive reinforcement as an operant conditioning technique and added it to my daily life. Positive reinforcement occurs when a pleasing event or stimulus is posed as an outcome of a behavior, therefore the frequency of the behavior increases. After being taught that one way to improve memory and learning is repetition, I knew only good could come out of it. To put this theory to the test, I gave myself an ultimatum. For every two hours of repetitious study on a subject matter of need, I rewarded myself with a thirty-minute break. I committed to doing this every day, and then evaluated the difference in my test scores at the end of the experiment. Personally, I found this extremely motivating as I find it hard to fit breaks into my day with such a busy schedule. With this program, I anticipated that I could not only improve the effectiveness and efficiency of my study time, but I could also give myself that much-needed mental break that I had been longing for.

Prior to beginning the program, I decided on a numeric scale ranging from 1 to 10; 10 being that I already efficiently study repeatedly on a daily basis, and 1 being that I never use repetition as a tool to my advantage. I self-evaluated myself at a whopping score of 3. As you can see, I somewhat rarely practiced this apparatus prior to. Unaware of the this method, I used to spend long tedious hours overloading my brain with too many facts at once in order to maintain a high test score average.

During week 1 of the program, I was already noticing some serious differences in my comprehension of topics. I begun by spending the two hours repeatedly rehearsing vocabulary words, until I could recite them all without looking at my paper. By the end of this session, I was feeling accomplished, but definitely ready for those thirty minutes I had planned out for myself. Just by doing this several more times that week, I can still recite those studied vocabulary words with little to no prior revision. I received a 10 out of 10 on my next Biology Lab quiz due to the memorization of vocabulary. The vocabulary also helped me understand full-blown concepts and using critical thinking during multiple-choice questions.

Week two went smoothly, as I broke up my set two hours a little differently. I spent the first hour and a half repeating new concepts to myself, rewriting them, and reciting them as I did the first week of the experiment. Not wanting to lose the information I had studies the week before, I reveiwed those previous topics for the last thirty minutes. Feeling confident, I was able to sit back and relax for a bit. I chose to watch Breaking Bad as my reward. Unfortunately, with little self-control, I was not able to shut it off at the end of the thirty minutes. I actually let this “short” break of mine turn into about an hour--which is double what I had set aside for myself. Although I didn’t feel too guilty, this is one part of the program that may have not gone as planned.

As the programmed continued, I became slightly sloppier and less strict with my guidelines. With this in mind, I may have set my break time too short to begin with. The break/work time ratio may have been too small, causing it to be unsustainable. The overall point of the research was to improve my memory through more efficient studying, eventually leading to increased test scores. This tryout may have had its flaws, but it was definitely successful in my eyes. I received in the high ninety percentiles in both my Math and Biology midterms by following this simple plan. The tests taken previously to beginning the trial averaged in the low ninety percentiles. In addition, I spent a little less total time buried in books during the course of it, which is wonderful.

Personally, I am glad I begun a set plan for my studies. I can use this for rest of my school career. I’m strongly considering adding another aspect of psychology theories to this plan, along with adding longer breaks to ensure that it’s significantly more sustainable as time goes on. I have learned how problematic attempting to sit down and read straight out of a textbook is for me. I also never realized the true importance of repetition or how self-convincing I am. Sitting down on a cozy sofa while trying to watch only thirty minutes of my favorite television show and then being expected to shut it off only to return to being productive results in me telling myself, “Just fifteen more minutes, and then I will get up,” continued with another, “I have worked hard, only fifteen more minutes”. “Fifteen minutes” is never actually fifteen minutes when it comes to Netflix.

Overall, I found this program beyond helpful. It was really refreshing to see psychology notions being put to use during such an academically stressful time. The rise in my test scores, free time, and peace of mind are the direct results of my Behavior Modification Program. I believe all future students should practice this experiment and study tactic.