Learning Reflection Journal Issues - Assignment Example

Learning Reflection Journal Name Institution Date Learning Journal Introduction A learning journal is a type of writing that is comparable to a diary where one makes entries over a time period. However, unlike a private diary, the focus of a learning journal is the content that has been learnt and the process of learning the content. A reflective learning journal focuses on scholarly reflection where a learner thinks and writes regarding the links one has made between the studied concepts and theories with pertinent experiences of their learning processes or social world and therefore the basis of a refection learning journal is what has been learned, textbooks as well as readings. Additionally, a reflection includes an individual analysis of how learning has changed one’s understanding a social behavior. This reason of completing this learning journal is to capture my understanding of main concepts and what has been learned in social psychology, give evidence indicating I have adequately thought regarding the topics tackled within tutorials as well as uphold critical thinking and reflective learning practice as the regarding foundation of academic study and future professional practice. Basically, the main reason for completing this learning journal assignment is to reflect on the concepts and evidence studied in social psychology and demonstration of my understanding on the knowledge I have acquired by studying the concepts and evidence in social psychology. Through this assignment, I hope to increase my knowledge regarding my learning, transform experiences and activities into learning and more importantly improve and advance my academic and critical thinking skills. Reflective Learning Journal Which aspect of the topic has interested me most? Why? The lecture on “Self & Identify” (T. Griffin, August, 25, 2014) explored self concept, self knowledge, self-esteem and social self as the four main elements in the “self”. Myers (2010, Pg 52) defines self-esteem as an individual’s overall sense of worth. The aspect that interested me most was “The Dark Side of Self-Esteem” because as Myers (2010, Pg 54-55) explains, self-esteem has its negative sides where low self-esteem and high self-esteem can be both harmful to a person. What are the main concepts related to this aspect? The main concepts related to this aspect include low self-esteem and narcissism which results when high self-esteem turns into an inflated sense of self. According to Myers (2010 Pg 53) individuals with low-self esteem have a number of problems in their life such as they are not financially stable, abuse drugs and have a higher likelihood of being depressed. Myers (2010, Pg 53) goes further to explain that the seeming causes of low self-esteem such as drug abuse and lack of money maybe be not the actual cause of the low self-esteem. The perceived causes could have resulted due to difficulties such people experienced during their childhood such as poverty, abusive parents or even sexual abuse and these causes contribute to struggles in later life (Myers, 2010, Pg 53). The lecture on “Self & Identity” explains the negative side of too much high esteem where narcissism results because an individual ends up having an inflated sense of self-worth. Narcissists do not like being criticized even when on the wrong and they also do not care about other people (T. Griffin, August, 25, 2014). Myers (2010,pg 54) elaborates how narcissists have high self-esteem and admirable characters such as being outgoing and charming in addition to having high self-esteem but this changes when you disagree with them. For instance, they always like being praised but once you point out a mistake, they become aggressive and rough towards such a person because they believe they are perfect in whatever they do (Myers, 2010, pg 54). What short quote from the textbook or reading illustrates an important point related to this aspect? Myers (2010, Pg 55) ““If I ruled the world, it would be a better place” or “I think I am a special person”. How is this aspect relevant to my social world? The elucidation of “The Dark Side of Self-Esteem” informs me that whereas high self-esteem is good, extreme self-esteem that leads to an individual having an inflated sense of self worth is not appropriate. This is because an inflated sense of self worth makes a person think they are always perfect, such people do not care about others but themselves, are self-centered and are not easily corrected. Accordingly, through this aspect I have been able to identify the things I should avoid in order not to have either low self-esteem or narcissism. Having low self-esteem can lower my confidence which can affect how I interact with other people and how I carry myself. On the other hand narcissism can lead to break of relationships because narcissists are often overbearing, dominant and harsh when criticized and self-centered and normally people prefer staying away from individuals with such traits. Therefore, knowing the dark-side of self-esteem can help me avoid the traits such as narcissism that are associated with excessive high esteem and hence my social relationships cannot be affected by narcissistic traits. Types of prejudice Which aspect of the topic has interested me most? Why? The lecture Prejudice and Discrimination (T. Griffin September, 8, 2014) explained that prejudice is based on race/Ethnic /Cultural Identity; age; sexual preference/orientation; health status and various forms of disabilities. Myers (2010, Pg 308) defines prejudice as a preconceived opinion of a group and its individual members. The aspect that interested me most is racial discrimination because as per (T. Griffin September, 8, 2014) a lot of people experience racism. What are the main concepts related to this aspect? T. Griffin (September, 8, 2014) provided various examples of racial prejudices such as when the South Australian government declined funding of Aboriginal legal aid and the head of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc referred to the government’s decline as institutional racism. Another example of racial prejudice is where President Barack Obama is labeled as the son of a White woman, as “Black” while Tiger Woods is labeled as African American because of his 25 percent African ancestry (Myers, 2010, Pg 310). It is people who classify people into various racial categories and not nature because biologically skin color is a just a minor human trait that is determined by genetic differences (Myers, 2010, Pg 310). However, racial prejudice is slowly declining where explicit racial prejudicial attitudes have diminished such as where in 1942 the opinion of Americans was that there should be separate sections for blacks on buses and streetcars while currently such unconcealed racial prejudice is unheard of (Myers, 2010, Pg 311). Similarly, both Whites and Blacks now share similar opinions and attitudes where for instance both are for the opinion that everyone should receive fair treatment, without prejudice or discrimination of (Myers, 2010, Pg 311). This therefore shows that it is people who shape various forms of prejudices with their attitudes and beliefs. What short quote from the textbook or reading illustrates an important point related to this aspect? Myers (2010, Pg 311) “There should be separate sections for Negroes on streetcars and buses”. How is this aspect relevant to my social world? The various examples of racial prejudices in (T. Griffin, September, 8, 2014) & (Myers, 2010, Pg 310) indicate that racial prejudice results from the preconceived opinions of people regarding the people of different races and hence it upon people to change these preconceived beliefs and opinions for the racial prejudice to end. Accordingly, this aspect is relevant to my social world in that my opinions and beliefs affect how I interact with people from different races. This is because if I happen to have negative preconceived opinions regarding a particular race group, I might my interactions with such people would be affected. Therefore, it is up to me as an individual not to classify people into various racial categories since for instance as Myers (2010, Pg 310) explains, skin color is just a human train determined by genetic makeup. Therefore, during my social interactions with people of different races I will ensure that I treat them equally, for instance I should not mind sharing a seat, helping or even marrying an individual from different race. What is Love? Which aspect of the topic has interested me most? Why? The lecture on “Attraction & Close Relationships” (T. Griffin, October, 6, 2014) demonstrated that there are three types of love namely, intimate, passionate and commitment love. According to Myers (2010, Pg 421), passionate love is a state of intense yearning to be with another person. The aspect that has interested me most is passionate love because of the intensity, ecstasy, excitement and contentment that comes with passionate love. What are the main concepts related to this aspect? According to T Griffin (October, 6, 2014), passionate love involves tenderness, sexual feelings as well as the ‘ecstasy and agony’ of intense emotion. Passionate love is emotional, powerful and exciting as well and if when returned a person feel fulfilled and jolly and when it is not reciprocated on e feels empty and miserable (Myers, 2010, Pg 421). Myers (2010, Pg 422) uses theory of passionate love. According to this theory, passionate love is the psychological experience of having biological arouse by an individual someone perceives as attractive. Physical and sexual arousals accentuate romantic responses in passionate love. Arousals intensify passionate feelings and hence for passionate love to exist there should be arousals (Myers, 2010, Pg 422). Myers (2010, Pg 423) uses examples to explain that arousing accompanies passionate love such as when couples arousing activities together they tend to have an increased satisfaction with their relationship. Accordingly, passionate love is not only a psychological phenomenon but also a biological one (Myers, 2010, Pg 423). What short quote from the textbook or reading illustrates an important point related to this aspect? Myers (2010, Pg 422) ““We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love.” How is this aspect relevant to my social world? Various explanations of passionate love have left me amused at the power that passionate love is. Passionate love has been deemed as a forceful and intense feeling that is accompanied by extreme joy and satisfaction when responded and unfathomable despair when not responded. Therefore, the relevance of this aspect in y social world is that I will be able to identify passionate love and respond to the state accordingly. In addition, in the society there are many people who go through tormenting experiences when passionate love is not responded. In regard to this, I will now understand that the misery they are experiencing is normal when passionate love is not responded and hence for one to enjoy passionate love both parties should reciprocate the love. I have also learn that even though sometimes we may love people, without the physical and sexual attraction there can never be passionate love because passionate love involves sexual or physical arousing. The readings indicate that the couples that spend time doing arousing activities together are likely to have a more fulfilling and satisfying relationship. Therefore, whenever I enter in a passionate relationship, I will endeavor spend time doing arousing activities with my partner such as watching movies whenever we have time in order to have a more fulfilling relationship. Conclusion What value has this journal been for my learning of social psychology? This learning journal has increased and reinforced my knowledge in various aspects of social psychology. For instance, I have learnt that as much as having high self-esteem is important, it is not advisable to have inflated sense of self worth because this can affect my relationships with others negatively. Additionally, it provided me with a better understanding on prejudice and thus I now have the required knowledge on how to address various forms of prejudices, especially race prejudice. Lastly, the journal has helped me understand what love entails and I have had a better understanding of concepts involved in passionate love. All these are important aspects of social psychology and hence this journal has increased my knowledge and intensified my understanding of social psychology. What are the strengths and weaknesses of my Journal? The key strength of my journal is that the information contained in it comes from reliable academic sources and reading and hence provides evidence based information that can be applied in general practice. In addition, the journal contains comprehensive and detailed information regarding all the discussed aspects. The weakness of the journal is that only a few aspects have been tackled and hence there are other aspects of social psychology that have been left out. Did I get out of this assignment what I hoped? I achieved what I intended to achieve from this assignment because I have reflected of various concepts studied in social psychology and thus have increased my knowledge on these aspects. Moreover, through this assignment I have satisfactorily demonstrated my understanding of the knowledge I gained by studying the concepts and evidence in social psychology. References Myers, D. (2010).Social Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill. Griffin, T. (August, 25, 2014). Self & Identify. Lecture Notes. Griffin, T. (September, 8, 2014). Prejudice and Discrimination. Lecture Notes. Griffin, T. (October, 6, 2014). Attraction & Close Relationships. Lecture Notes. Read More