Everyone has had a long list of to dos or personal things to take care of.  Looking at the whole it can seem a little overwhelming and most of us get lost, depressed, or even frustrated.  Using a means-end analysis is basically looking at a goal, starting point, and the best way to get from point A to point B by breaking down the list or problems to make them more doable in our lives (Newell & Simon, 1972).  For this blog, I will pass on some tips on how to manage your homework load that you have each semester to lessen the stress.  Keeping in mind, that these tips have worked for me but can be modified to individual needs, because let’s face it, each of us have different lifestyles and means-end analysis will not necessarily work for everyone problem.

Each of us when we start a new semester, whether it is at a new school or the current one, can feel overwhelmed by the work load that looms ahead of us.  What I do to lessen the stress is I take each class syllabus and course calendar and a full size desk top calendar, the ones with the large squares for the dates, and I write down the class and what is due each week including test and quizzes.  This way I can see clearly what I have to complete. This is the process of setting subgoals which helps to move toward the overall goal of course completion (Goldstein, 2011). Once classes are taken care of I will then insert any social or work related items. With all of this in place I have a black and white picture of my life each month.  Once this is in place I can set up a realistic schedule to complete the semester and how it is broken down weekly, allows me to manage it properly without over stressing out.  I take one day at a time.  As each day passes you can cross out what has been completed and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Now we move into supplies to fulfill the semester.  I will look at each class and see if any will need something other than the usual, such as art supplies, software, etc.  Take a list to your local store and remember it is ok to over buy on paper, printer ink, and writing tools because you never can estimate what you might use up.  I find that having all the items for each class available will help keep stress levels down by not having to run to the store at the last minute.  Being well stocked will help prepare for the semester.

Next, let’s look at textbooks.  Most of us will buy them and throw them in the back of our cars.  The best thing to do is to look them over, read the index, and maybe a few chapters to get acclimated to the class.  I use colored tabs to mark out each chapter, so I can easily flip to it.  Being familiar with the classes you are taking and what is required in readings, online work, extra supplies, etc. will help you plan your weeks to come plus lower your stress levels.

Now the important thing is your study area.  Some people will study in their bedroom, but this is too tempting of a place to take a nap or simply fall asleep and then your day is over.  If all you have is your bedroom then I would suggest going to the school library or a quiet area in a coffee shop or 24 hour restaurant.  I have a desk in a room with little to no distractions.  I have everything I need in this room to complete my homework, readings, and school projects.  I have set times to do my school work according to my calendar that I discussed earlier.  Another thing that might help is turn off cell phones and any other communication or social media devices.  Let people know that you will be studying at set times so that they will not text or call to disturb you.  These types of disruptions can derail you from what you are reading or writing.  If you have children, you can do what a friend of mine does and put a sign on the door letting your children know that it is mommy/daddy study time.  Of course this doesn’t always work because children are children and that just doesn’t happen.  In that case, perhaps work it out with your partner that they handle the kids while you are studying or have a friend or relative watch the children for that bit of time.  Having a place to work just for you will increase productivity and or course lower some stress.

With some of the tips I have given, you can lower stress levels of the new semester by setting smaller goals so you can reach the finish line at the end of the semester.  This is all made possible by using a means-end analysis solution.  Keep in mind this may not work for you or you may have to modify the ideas that I have given to make it work in your life.  Whatever will work by planning out your semester so you can achieve the grades is great.  I hope you will be able to add some of or all of my tips to get you to your semester goals by breaking down the whole to more manageable pieces.

References

Goldstein, E. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972). Human problem solving (Vol. 104, No. 9). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Many of us have been in the car and a song comes on that we have not heard in years.  What happens next is memory retrieval.  We think of the times we were having with friends, family, or big events in our lives, all underscored by that song.  You might say that a song is a key that unlocks a box of memories and you would be right. Many studies have shown that music and memory have a strong link to triggering memories, aiding in learning, and even helping people who have had accidents to retrieve information.  Musical benefits are now being looked at seriously by psychology and how those benefits can assistance people young and old.

There is one song, when it comes on I am instantly taken back to high school, walking down the hallways with friends smiling and waving at me.  My mood is even lifted up and I feel 17 again and on top of the world.  The song that contains such power is the 1980’s classic, True, by Spandau Ballet.  I find it so amazing how one song could unlock such memories and with such clarity.  I can remember hairstyles, clothes, sounds, and even the smells of the hallway. I have always marveled at how music can take you back to a happy place or even to a sad moment.  I keep CD’s with certain music on them to help unlock those happy memories and help elevate my moods.  I do this the same as someone who takes out a photo album and unlocks the memories tied to the photographers laid out in front of them.

One way music is aiding in Long Term Memory (LTM), is by aiding in learning.  We all learned the alphabet by the funny simple alphabet song and it has stuck with us all these years.  New educators are using music as a tool in learning in the classroom, in subjects such as math and foreign languages.  What happens is music embeds the information in the brain, which makes it easier to remember and retrieve in the study by Ludke, Ferreira, and Overy (2014), which found evidence that singing can facilitate short-term paried associate phrase learning in an unfamiliar language.  This study used sixty adults to speak in rhythmic song like using Hungarian words.  After a period of time the adults who used music to learn were able to recall the information and sing it back to the study group with remarkable results.  Therefore, the methods that we used in elementary school have found their way back into our adult learning with great success.

The next study I found relates to my personal experience, where music can take you back in time.  This study was conducted by Cady, Harris, and Knappenberger (2008) and showed that sometimes a tune is not needed but just some of the lyrics to a song can trigger memories attached to a song.  Such lyrics like “Ice, Ice, Baby!” will activate the song in our head and memories.  Such lyrics are like television ad catch phrases such as, “Where’s the beef?”, which sends some of us back to that time and even remember the commercial with the little old lady who did not get the meat on the hamburger she was promised.

We can see from the three examples in this blog that music is a powerful tool in learning and retrieving memories and feelings.  Most of us have already known of the power that music has had in our lives and others.  Advertising has used this to its consumers so we would not forget their product with their funny but catchy jingles.  A perfect example of this is Sprint’s commercial using the “Narwals” song.  The commercial even states “Good Luck forgetting that.”  If you have missed this commercial, check it out here.  New research is coming out every year on this mind and music.  You will probably see more techniques using music for learning in the classrooms and in the work place to help us maintain the information for longer periods with the help of music.

References

Cady, E. T., Harris, R. J., & Knappenberger, J. B. (2008). Using music to cue autobiographical memories of different lifetime periods. Psychology of Music.

Ludke, K. M., Ferreira, F., & Overy, K. (2014). Singing can facilitate foreign language learning. Memory & cognition, 42(1), 41-52.

When most of us hear the Gestalt Principles we tend to draw on blank expressions.  Quite a few people, including myself, would say we have no experience or knowledge to what that is, but we all have come into contact with it in our lives and have not known it.  The Gestalt Principles are used in art and advertising and can be included in recreational fun. The example that most of us have seen is the image of the chalice or vase where when looked at we see either a chalice or vase or a set of faces looking toward one another. With this we can see that two images can occupy the same space.  In this blog, I will be talking about some history to this principle and other forms that this takes place in our lives.

What does Gestalt mean? According to (The Gestalt Principles, n.d & Behrens, 1998), Gestalt is a psychology term that means “unified whole.”  The Gestalt theorists came about in the 1920’s and were the first to investigate perceptual organization in Germany.  The main theorists responsible for this study were Johann Wolfgang von Goeth, Ernst Mach, and Christian von Ehrenfels and the researchers responsible are Kurt Lewin, Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler (Gestalt Theory of Visual Perception, n.d.). There are six principles to the Gestalt Perception.  The first is Similarity – which means that a group or grouping that looks like a single unit because the shapes are the same or similar in some way.  The second is Proximity – which means that the items are put close together to that people see them as a group.  The third principle is Closure, which happens when an image is present and it is not complete, but the persons perception completes the image.  The fourth is Continuity or Continuation – when happens when your eye and brain are moved through an image to another object.  An example would be a flow line going through another image and you are compelled to follow the flow like a river but you still notice the two separate images as separate even though they are made as one. The fifth is Symmetry, which states that the viewer should not be given the impression that something is out of balance, or missing, or wrong. If an object is asymmetrical, the viewer will waste time trying to find the problem instead of concentrating on the instruction (Gestalt Principles, n.d.). The final principle is Figure and Ground, which happens when you use shading or size to change the brain’s perception.  Silhouettes and complex relationships are an example of how our brains create order in chaos.

I would like to now share some of my own experiences with Gestalt that will hopefully shed some light on this subject.  For me, I was an art student in high school and I saw quite a bit of art with shapes and basic colors, of course it was the 1980’s, and I found this art very appealing to the eye and fun.  What classification this would fall in would be proximity with similar shapes and colors.  My favorite Gestalt example that most of us have seen is the panda image from the Wold Wild Life Federation.  The panda is not complete, but our mind completes the image. This is an excellent example of the Gestalt principle of Closure.

So I hope this blog has helped explain what the Gestalt Principles are and their background to give you some appreciation of this perceptual theory to the art world.  You will now start seeing this in the world around you in art, interior design, advertising, and even in the way you place and arrange things in your home and work space.

References

Behrens, R. R. (1998). Art, Design and Gestalt Theory. LEONARDO, 31(4), 299-303.

Gestalt Principles. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2015, from http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm