Monthly Archives: October 2022

Does the Name Pavlov Ring a Bell?

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You may have heard of classical conditioning: the process in which an automatic, conditioned response is paired with specific stimuli, creating a behavior. Classical conditioning was discovered through experimentation by Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov. In Pavlov’s experiment, he rang a bell shortly before presenting food to a group of dogs. At first, the dogs salivated at the sight of the food and had no response to the bells. However, they eventually began to salivate at the sound of the bell alone (without the presentation of the food) because they had learned to associate the sound of the bell with the food.

 

While you may already be familiar with Ivan Pavolv and classical conditioning, you may not be aware of the presence of classical conditioning in your day-to-day life. Here are some examples of how classical conditioning is currently influencing your behavior: 

 

Smartphone Notifications

Have you ever heard a buzz or tone coming from someone’s phone and instinctively reached for your own phone to check your notifications? Through classical conditioning, we have learned to associate certain notification chimes with the positive feeling of reading a message or answering a phone call. 

 

Music in Stores

Many retail stores play popular music – a successful strategy to influence us to buy more of their products. Companies hope that we will associate listening to our favorite songs with shopping in their stores, and we do eventually learn to associate the positive emotions we feel when listening to upbeat music with the stores themselves. 

 

Use of Celebrities in Advertising

Companies often use celebrities in their advertisements. In doing so, they hope that we will experience the same positive emotions toward their products as we feel when we see our favorite celebrities. By using our positive associations with these public figures to encourage us to buy their products, companies are utilizing classical conditioning.

RCL Blog 7

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  • The most helpful feedback I received in the peer review workshops was to break up my paragraphs. I agree that they were too long, which could make it difficult for the reader to be engaged with the piece and follow along with all of my arguments. As I was proofreading, I even found myself having trouble staying focused at times.
  • I made many interesting discoveries as I researched the changes in Americans’ attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. The discovery that interested me the most was that even though the AIDS epidemic itself resulted in stigma surrounding the gay community, the increased activism and subsequent wave of LGBTQ people coming out caused by the outbreak of AIDS led to an increased acceptance of the community.
  • The most important point for my reader to take away from my paper is that even though there has been a significant increase in the acceptance of the LGBTQ community in the United States, the shift has reached a plateau in recent years. There are still large groups of people who hold negative views toward gay people, and there is still much work to be done to promote the inclusion, equality, and acceptance of the gay community. 
  • This project has helped me develop as a writer because it pushed me outside of my comfort zone, since it is unlike any other paper I have written before. Typically, the essays I am assigned follow a three paragraph structure that I am comfortable with, and I do not have to put much thought into the organization of my paper. However, with this assignment, the structure is much more complicated, and I had to reorganize and rearrange the paragraphs to figure out the most effective organization. I have also gained better research skills and am much better at determining the reliability of sources.

Paradigm Shift Outline

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Intro

  • Hook–introduce the reader to the topic that Americans have become more accepting of LGBTQ+ community
  • Thesis: An increase in activism and visibility of the gay community as a result of the AIDS epidemic influenced a shift in the attitudes of Americans toward the LGBTQ+ community. 

Review of the shift 

  • Overall, U.S. has become more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community 
  • Late 1980s – present
  • Evidence that a shift has taken place: https://www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/PressReleases/Pages/american-acceptance-of-homosexuality-gss-report.aspx
    • The change toward acceptance of the LGBTQ+ began in the late 1980s after years of remaining relatively constant.
    • In 1987, 75 percent of people felt same-sex relations are “always wrong.” By 2000, that number dropped to 54 percent and by 2010 was down to 43.5 percent.
    • Support for same sex marriage went from 11 percent approval in 1988 to 46 percent in 2010
  • Include observations from primary texts from both before and after the shift

Analysis of Causes 

  • The AIDS crisis resulted in an increase in activism – https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/stonewall-milestones-american-gay-rights-movement/ 
    • March 10, 1987 – AIDS advocacy group ACT UP (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) is formed in response to the devastating affects the disease has had on the gay and lesbian community in New York. The group holds demonstrations against pharmaceutical companies profiteering from AIDS-related drugs as well as the lack of AIDS policies protecting patients from outrageous prescription prices
    • October 11, 1987 – hundreds of thousands of activists take part in the National March on Washington to demand that President Ronald Reagan address the AIDS crisis.
    • May – June, 1988 – the CDC mails a brochure, Understanding AIDS, to every household in the U.S. Approximately 107 million brochures are mailed.
    • December 1, 1988 – the World Health Organization organizes the first World AIDS Day to raise awareness of the spreading pandemic.
  • AIDs crisis resulted in many people coming out
  • Increased visibility –
    • Once the gay community began to speak out about the crisis, they became more visible. This visibility led to the U.S. becoming more accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals.
    • Growing visibility of gay people in popular culture

Critique of the shift

  • Attitudes are still divided on the morality of this shift: https://www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/PressReleases/Pages/american-acceptance-of-homosexuality-gss-report.aspx
    • Large generation gap on the issue of same-sex marriage and opinions on the LGBTQ+ community
    • While 64 percent of those under 30 back same-sex marriage, only 27 percent of those 70 and older support it.
    • In 2010, 26 percent of the people surveyed who were under 30 said they felt same-sex behavior is “always wrong,” while 63 percent of the people aged 70 and older held that opinion.
    • Public attitudes are very divided on the topic: Although 44 percent of the people surveyed felt that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex is always wrong, another 41 percent thought such relations were “not wrong at all.”
  • Points to be included: What does this division indicate? How might this division be resolved?
  • Greater significance of the shift/why it ultimately matters – important to understand of the history of the gay community in order to continue to promote their equality and inclusion

Conclusion

 

Paradigm Shift Questions

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  1. My chosen focus for the Paradigm Shift project is gay rights, specifically how the attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people have changed in the U.S. In this project, I will cover roughly the past 30-40 years. Over this time period, there has been a dramatic positive change in the way that the U.S. perceives the gay community. One of the major factors that caused this shift is the AIDS crisis, which resulted in a large number of LGBTQ+ individuals coming out. Once the gay community began to speak out and became more visible, the U.S. became more accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals and began to move toward equality.  
  2. The shift in how the U.S. views LGBTQ+ rights needs to be explored because it is important to understand of the history of the gay community, especially the challenges that were overcome in the fight for equality. In order to continue to promote the social equality and inclusion of marginalized groups such as this one, it is vital that we analyze both historical and current attitudes toward them. 
  3. A major point of contention related to the shift in attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people is how to evaluate a shift that a lot of other people know about but interpret differently from each other. While a large number of people are in support of LGBTQ+ rights, there are still many in the U.S. that believe that the shift toward a more accepting society is not positive. Other points of contention are how the shift can be appropriately measured and where to locate the origin of the shift. 
  4. I will mainly focus on the fact and quality stases. Some questions I will focus on include:
    1. Did something happen?
    2. What are the facts?
    3. Is it a good or bad thing?
    4. Whom might this affect?

Combating the Winter Blues

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As the weather becomes colder, many people find that their moods decrease – a common experience among individuals during the winter. During the colder months, we are generally less likely to spend time outdoors, receiving less exposure to sunlight and producing less Vitamin D, which has been associated with an increased risk of mood and other mental health difficulties. Plus, the earlier it gets dark, the more we tend to feel fatigued. When the weather is colder, we are also less likely to be physically active and less social (both of which are crucial to our emotional well being). 

 

If you are one of the individuals who suffers from a decreased mood during the winter, it may feel challenging to stay motivated and energized. On the bright side, there are ways to help maintain an increased mood throughout the colder months. 

 

Use a Light Box

A light therapy box, which mimics outdoor light, can cause a chemical change in the brain that helps to lift your mood. The effects of a light box are similar to the effects of actual sunlight on your mental health, so using a light box during the winter can help to make up for a decreased exposure to sunlight. Generally, you should look for light boxes that provide an exposure to 10,000 lux of light and produce as little UV light as possible.

 

Exercise at Home

Creating an at-home workout that raises your heart rate for at least 10 minutes every day can help to increase your mood. This workout does not have to be challenging; playing a couple rounds of Just Dance, walking up and down a set of stairs, or using an exercise machine while watching your favorite show are all ways to get your workout in.   

 

Schedule Regular Social Activities 

Social interaction is extremely important for maintaining your mental health. Since you are probably less likely to make plans with your friends during the winter, planning specific social activities in advance can help combat your desire to remain in the warmth of your home. 

 

Incorporate Plants into Your Decor

Proximity to plants has been found across many studies to help us relax, reduce stress, promote healing, improve our moods, and boost our immune systems. Bringing a couple plants into your home can definitely have healing effects on your mental health.