Author: ern31

A phobia can be described as a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that disrupts behavior. Having phobias is very common and it is categorized as a type of anxiety disorder. When someone has a phobia they will do whatever means necessary in order to avoid that object or situation from ever presenting itself in their life again whether it is a fear of spiders, planes, or even just any social situation. If someone were to be presented with their phobia they would show signs of immediate panic and ultimately a great deal of distress.

As weird as it may sound, I have had a phobia of The Simpsons ever since I was 10 years old. I had a traumatic experience when I went to Universal in Florida with my family. My brother thought it would be funny to push me onto the Simpsons ride alone and that experience really just traumatized me. Ever since that day at Universal I experience intense distress if I see The Simpsons on my T.V or if I see a stuffed animal of any of the Simpsons characters. My phobia used to be a lot worse when I was younger; I would cry if I saw any of the characters anywhere and I would hyperventilate. Now, while I still do not like The Simpsons, I am not as distressed by their presence. 

My mom used to have a serious phobia of airplanes which prevented her from being able to fly. She would feel extreme panic and distress as soon as the plane began to take off and it really limited her. She eventually learned how to handle herself when flying, but the phobia was serious. She was fine with other transportation such as cars and trains, but when it came to flying she was just too panicked. While most people can acknowledge that their phobias stem from irrational fears, it is hard for them to control their panic. 

Cognitive Development occurs during Adolescence and “refers to how a person perceives, thinks, and gains understanding of his or her world through the interaction of genetic and learned factors” (http://www.healthofchildren.com/C/Cognitive-Development.html). It is when an adolescents’ ability to reason gives them a new level of social awareness. Developing this social awareness allows for teenagers to develop severe self consciousness and constantly worry about what others are thinking about them. Examples of this are personal fable and the imaginary audience. Personal fable refers to the idea that every single teenager believes they are different and unique. Imaginary audience refers to the feeling of being the center of attention when the attention is unwanted. 

For example, sometimes when I feel like I do not look good or I am having a bad hair day, I feel like all eyes are on me. This is completely in my head and in reality people are probably not looking at me at all. The imaginary audience stems from being self conscious. I have dealt with imaginary audience many times throughout my life. One time when I had gotten a haircut that I really did not like, I felt like the whole world was staring at me as I left the hair salon. In reality, no one actually thinks twice about whether your haircut is good or bad nor do they even care, but I was so insecure that I made myself believe everyone was watching me. 

Another example of when I have experienced the feeling of imaginary audience is when I am picking out an outfit for the day. My friends and I always check to see what each of us are wearing before we start our day so that we do not look out of place. While no one is probably looking at my outfit while I’m sitting in a big lecture, I still feel the need to look my best because I feel like they are. This is how I am creating an imaginary audience and making myself insecure about things that are so unimportant. 

Memory is a constructive process in which we filter out and fill in missing pieces of information to make our recall more coherent. Something called the Misinformation Effect is when people incorporate misleading information into their memory of an event. By creating these false memories, we begin to imagine them and they seem like they truly happened. I have experienced this many times in my life, especially when discussing past events with friends or family.

 It is so easy to quickly fill in the blanks of old stories and memories. If something sounds like it could have happened, your brain makes you believe it did and you have constructed your memory. We do not realize how easy it is to just create new memories. We are very capable creatures and while we are capable of creating these memories, they are usually not very accurate.

Just the other day, my friends and I were all recalling our experiences from different concerts we had been to. In 2016 I attended the Meadows Music and Arts Festival where I saw rappers such as Kanye West and Chance the Rapper perform. I recall this experience all the time when I tell people I went to this concert. I remember the smell of pizza and beer as I walked through the music festival, the bright colors and crazy outfits people wore and I remember seeing Kanye West run onto the stage as fireworks exploded throughout the sky above Citi Field. While I obviously do have a general memory of the concert and recall a decent amount of the details, I don’t truly remember all the bits and pieces of that day. Sometimes I find myself adding or taking out details of my experience from this concert because I do not exactly remember everything that happened that weekend (considering it was 3 years ago). 

I do remember seeing the performances and the feelings of excitement and happiness I felt while watching them, but my brain has embellished this experience with every storytelling I have given to my friends in the past. I find myself adding new details to my stories sometimes and at other times taking out details. On the website Psychology Discussion they discussed memory construction by stating “Not only can memories be distorted; they can also be constructed. In other words, people can recall events that did not actually occur, or experiences they never really had.” Not only do people embellish stories, but sometimes they end up completely making up their memories. This idea means people are literally remembering things that didn’t happen. The mind is a beautiful and crazy thing!

http://www.psychologydiscussion.net/memory/memory-distortion-and-memory-construction-psychology/13582

 

Empiricism is the concept that knowledge is gained through experiences and senses; it is often referred to as “healthy skepticism.” This idea emphasizes the idea of experience and observation rather than listening to past traditions. Empiricism has often been contrasted with Rationalism, the idea that we learn through intellectual reasoning rather than sensory experiences. It is also part of the idea of nature versus nurture which contrast the ideas between genetic or learned influences. Empiricism is the concept that focuses on the learned influences rather than the genetic ones.

An example of how I have used this concept in my own life is learning that fighting with my brother is wrong. If me and my brother got into an argument when we were little, whether it was verbal or physical, our parents would punish us and tell us that fighting is wrong. Through the experience of my parents disciplining me and being scolded for fighting, I learned that this action was wrong and I should not do it. Before my parents punished me for fighting with my brother, I would not have thought this was wrong to do. It is not in my genetics to know whether fighting is right or wrong, but it is definitely something I learned from actually doing.

Another example of my own experience with empiricism is knowing that my mother is a caring woman. I have learned this through experiencing her kind and caring actions towards my brother and I and it has allowed me to make the conclusion that she is a caring woman and mother. If I did not know her, I would not be able to make this conclusion, but through the personal experience of her caring actions for my brother and I, I have learned what type of person she is. People only know what they have personally experienced and this is how they make their judgements about other people and things in their lives.

Links:

http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-empiricism-and-skepticism  

https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_rationalism.html