Blog Post 3- Samantha Riley

Depression results from a combination of genetic, biochemical, environmental, and psychological factors. Researchers have said that when an MRI is taken, parts of the brain that are responsible for sleep, hunger, behavior, etc. show up more abnormal when someone is depressed versus when someone isn’t. Unfortunately, I witnessed my friend Carter go through depression recently, however it wasn’t for a long period. Jake was Carter’s best friend from back home. They did everything together as a kid; Jake was basically a brother to Carter. Saying goodbye and leaving to go to college was one of the hardest things he has ever had to do. Before he left to go to college, Carter and his long-term girlfriend, Maddy, broke up. This made his adjustment to college hard at first, but thankfully he was able to get over it and start to move on. However, 4 weeks ago, he got a call from Jake, who attends the University of Virginia. Jake called to tell him that he had been seeing Maddy for the last few weeks. He also told him that they (Jake and Maddy) are going to start dating. Carter was shaken- his lifelong best friend, who his family had done so much for, was now dating the girl he had fallen in love with all throughout high school. For 2 weeks after that call, Carter was sleeping all the time, rarely wanted to go out, never ate, and “felt homesick”. We hung out with him a lot in the dorms, but finally forced him to come get food and go out with us. We wanted to help reset his mind and convince him that there is so much more to life than this situation. He is in a new place where he will meet so many people, and he should put that in the past and just focus on the future, his future here at Penn State. I thought this anecdote gave a pretty clear example to our lecture about moods, depression, and how they can start and evolve.

Blog Post 2: Samantha Riley

Memorization & Encoding in Studying Lecture:

Throughout our past lectures, the information about memorization and encoding caught my eye. I’ve noticed throughout my 12 (now onto my 13th) year of schooling that some people are “good” at memorization and some people aren’t as able to fully memorize. However in our lectures, it became apparent to me that maybe the way in which people try to memorize is the issue. For me, memorizing has not actually helped me learn information. It only helped me know a definition. To further explain, I would wait until the last minute to create flashcards or quizlets. In doing so, I wrote a term on one side and a basic definition on the other. Yes, I would eventually be able to learn the terms and their definitions after practicing a couple of times, but I didn’t fully grasp or retain key information. Now, I know that turning what I learned into a story is more useful- it makes everything make sense. If I can’t do that, I try to create images out of information- whether that be drawn on paper or pictured in my head. The use of visual structure is key, at least for me, in learning and understanding material. I now know that in order to be truly successful in my studies, I need to apply more complex methods into studying; I can’t just make a Quizlet.

Experience Changes the Way You Perceive- Sammie Riley (Group 8)

Experience Changes the Way You Perceive
Every Tuesday and Thursday, I go to Psychology class. Every time I attend Psychology class, I learn something interesting and worth sharing. One thing I have noticed around the classroom and in lecture is the idea of experience changing the way we (humans) perceive things.
The idea that one person perceives the same experience in a totally different light isn’t just an idea- it’s a fact.
Think about it: every person is born and raised differently. Not to mention, everyone has an entirely different biological and chemical makeup.
This idea can be backed up by many personal anecdotes; everyday we perceive situations [differently than our peers or family members] based of our experiences- whether it be subconsciously or consciously.
One personal example I thought to share is related to my experience as an only child. Majority of my friends from pre-kindergarten school, elementary school, middle school, and high school have a sibling or multiple siblings.
When I was younger, I begged for siblings. I loved going to my friends’ houses just to see what having a sibling (or siblings) was like. To me, having a sibling was having an automatic way of having a friend to hang out with and talk to all of the time. However, I quickly picked up on the fact that literally none of my friends felt the way I felt. Occasionally, one of my friends would change the typical “No you don’t want siblings. I hate them,” into, “I don’t hate them, they’re just the worst.” Occasionally.
In reality, I honestly didn’t understand: how could you “get” a sibling and not want to hang out with them all of the time?
Now, I realize that my experiences with my friends and their siblings were always good ones due to the fact of them being playdates. All we had to do was watch a movie or play hide-and-go-seek for two/three hours before I went home. My experiences were always fun. However, when I went home, my friend was still with her sibling. I understand now that when you have a sibling, there’s no escape. That’s the difference and the reason I perceive siblings in a different light than people who actually have siblings.