Author Archives: Kaylee Naden

Learning through Observation

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I am the youngest of three children in my family, with the other two children being my two older brothers.  My brothers and I get along occasionally, and that makes sense because all siblings fight, but do all siblings want to be their older siblings?  I did.  Through the years of growing up, all I wanted to do was be like my big brothers and do everything that they did.  This can be explained through observational learning.  According to the text, observational learning is the learning of behavior through watching the actions of a model (someone else who is doing that behavior).

One day, I was watching old home videos from my infant years and noticed I was pretty young, but was running around like a wild-child.  I asked my parents how old I was.  At the time of this video, it was just before my second birthday, but by the rate at which I was moving, you would think I was much older.  The reason behind this is because I started walking when I was eight-months old.  Of course, I asked my parents if that was normal, and they said it was on the younger side, but I wanted to follow my brothers around.  My oldest brother is five years older than me and the other one is three years older, so they were running around the house from the day I was born.  All I wanted to do was be like them, so I learned how to walk.

Not only did my brothers influence my walking age, but they influenced several other aspects of my life.  Very often, my dad would play-wrestle with my brothers, just pick them up over his shoulder then gently lay them back on the ground.  When I saw this, I immediately wanted to do this, so I charged at my dad.  He quickly caught on.  My brothers were wild and crazy young children and ran around the house in circles, and I wanted to join in the fun at a very young age.  I observed the actions of my brothers and imitated it to the best of my abilities.  I have them to thank for aggressive behavior when it comes to sports as well.

Growing up, my brothers were involved in numerous different sports, and when I got old enough, I joined up as well.  To this day I am very competitive when it comes to different sports and I do not like to lose.  I always wanted to join this sport or that sport because they were involved with it and I saw them having fun and I wanted to have fun as well.  Almost everything I ever did was influenced by observing my brothers and doing whatever I saw them doing, and the best explanation possible for the reason behind this is observational learning.

SOURCES:

Ciccarelli, Saundra K., and Glenn E. Meyer. Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.

 

Implantation of Memory Caused by Infantile Amnesia

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I remember I was around two or three years old and my family and I were at a birthday party for a family friend.  Being as young as I was, I was waddling around the party minding my own business and just seeing what was going on.  I started walking when I was very young, and the adventurist in me had come out yet again at this party.  At some point, I made my way to where my mom was sitting, but she had gotten up momentarily.  The chairs being used at this party were folding metal chairs and I had put my hand down near the back, but my mom did not see this.  Somehow, when she sat back down, the chair folded and split my finger down the nail.

Seems crazy, right?  Well I agree, but it is true.  At least, it is what my parents told me. My paternal grandparents keep “Baby Books” of all the grandchildren, and I remember going through mine around the age of 12.  As I flipped through the pages, I paused, took a double take of the one photograph because I did not believe what my sensory memory had seen. What I thought I had seen the first time was proven by my double take.  I saw a picture of me, around age three, being held by my father with a thick heap of gauze wrapped around my ring finger.  Being caught off-guard and extremely confused, I called my mom into the room and asked her what happened.  That was when she told me about the party.  Very simply Infantile Amnesia can explain the reason I had no memory of what happened. Infantile Amnesia is defined in our textbook as the inability to retrieve memories from much before age three, but is it not true that we are supposed to remember something traumatic? At least this is the claim made by many people, but I do not agree. As traumatic as this event seems, I do not actually remember any of it occurring.

I am able to write about this event today because my parents had implanted the memory into my mind.  After explaining what had happened, I was extremely shocked.  How could I not remember such terrifying moment?  I was too young to make a memory out of it.  After my parents told me what had happened, they told me to look down at my ring finger, so I did.  Going behind my nail, I noticed a scar, and then I was really shocked because I could not believe I never noticed it before.  I can retell this story to people no problem, but it is not from my own memory.  The only reason I can recall this event is because my parents told me about it and implanted the memory into my mind.

**Definition of Infantile Amnesia found in Psychology textbook

Ciccarelli, Saundra K., and J. Noland White. Psychology. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.

 

 

Evolutionary Perspective

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The Evolutionary Perspective is one that looks at the biological bases for universal mental characteristics that are shared by all humans.  One thing studied in depth through this perspective is relationships.  Researchers look at mental strategies that go into different events.  Relationships can cause such a wide range of feelings, thoughts, and almost anything you can imagine.  No two relationships are the same.  Some might have similar aspects, but all in all, you have to learn to deal with things on your own.  Studying relationships is one of the best studies that can be done because it gives the opportunity to look into different relationships and see how people react.  Forgiveness in relationships is an important aspect and one that has been studied in different relationships.  Having information from these studies can allow people who have been through similar events compare their reactions to those of others. For example, the book looks at how likely you would be to forgive a sexual infidelity.  What about an emotional one?  Answers vary from person to person.

Real-life examples are the best way to compare things to your individual life.  One real-life example I can offer up is this:  A friend of mine, we’ll call her Grace, had dated a few guys in her past, but they were all wrong for her and did not treat her the way she deserved to be treated.  Grace started dating another boy her senior year of high school, he was the complete opposite of her past boyfriends, and they have been dating for a little over a year.  The two go to different colleges and do not see each other that often, once every few weeks.  One day, Grace’s boyfriend admits to considering asking another girl to go a “date-night” function at his school.  How would you react if you were Grace?  She reacted as someone who knows her would expect.  Even though her boyfriend did not even go through with it, my friend felt hurt and betrayed.  It was merely a thought, but it still happened.  A relationship consists of two people; no more need to be concerned.

Researchers predict that women find it harder to forgive men who make emotional mistakes. Grace took a while to come to it, but she finally forgave her boyfriend because she cared greatly for him and did not want to let a thought ruin what they had.  If this boyfriend had been like the others, she would not have been surprised and would have ended the relationship on the spot, but she was so emotionally invested, she did not want anything to happen.  Previous studies show that most women would react the same as she did.  Although it is difficult to prove why women feel the way they do, the mental strategies of most women are easily proven similar.  The real-life example provided shows a strong correlation to researchers predictions and findings through different studies.   Having a solid real-life experience that relates to research done on a topic allows more people to understand how women may feel about similar experiences in their own lives.

**Sources – Psychology Text Book

Ciccarelli, Saundra K., and J. Noland. White. “Chapter 1.” Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. 16-18. Print.