Aunt Matilda’s DNA

Have you ever wondered just where you got that flair for decorating when no one else in your family cares to paint rooms any color other than beige or sand? Or maybe you have this extraordinary ability to dance, draw, or tell great stories. Perhaps you’re a history buff, and your family just can’t figure out why the Mayans or Spartans are so important to you. You might be the quiet reflective type who craves solitude while your siblings and parents are party going extraverts. 

What’s going on? Today I was struck by a sentence on one of my power point slides, and I’m posting it for your consideration and comment. “Your DNA comes from people long dead, a true form of reincarnation.” How does that make you feel? Do you think there’s some truth to it? Can you provide an example?

Angel, Devil, and Referee

We’re wrapping up our study of personality in General Psychology today, and Freud’s psychodynamic theory is generating a lot of interest as usual. I thought it’d be fun to explore personal applications of the interaction between the id, ego, and superego. Although it’s ”watered down Freud,” thinking of these structures as the devil, the angel, and the referee often helps people see that they indeed have frequent battles being fought within their psyches…battles between their ids, egos, and superegos. 

 Since this is Thanksgiving week, let’s look at a simple example. You’re sitting around the table looking at the feast before you, and it all looks and smells so yummy that you want to sample just a little taste of everything. Then there’s the dessert menu complete with several pies, cakes, and banana pudding. Your id says to go ahead and indulge, your superego tells you to partake in moderation, and your ego tries to mediate between the two.

 Please share your own example of the dynamics between your id, ego, and superego. Remember, sometimes the decisions are somewhat minor (apple pie with ice cream vs. an apple) while at other times they’re of greater magnitude (stealing from employer).

Bank Balance or Beauty?

In Human Growth and Development, we’re currently studying adulthood, and one of the topics concerns interpersonal attraction, specifically as it relates to long term relationships. In addition to covering Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love, we also look at the matching hypothesis, an evolutionary view, and such concepts as homogamy and proximity. Although many people think of love as being something mysterious and unexplainable, psychologists actually do have a number of ways to explain this powerful emotion.

 Whether you’ve read about the psychological explanations behind interpersonal attraction or not, I’d like to hear your opinions on just what it is that attracts two people to each other. Is it good looks? Or could it be financial stability, a pleasant personality, or a high IQ? Perhaps you could even share your own stories of when you first met your significant other.

Secret Twin Study

Thanks to Lisa Ward, here’s a link to a study about identical twins who were separated from birth and who didn’t know about each other’s existence until recently. I thought you might enjoy reading it and finding out more about the mysterious nature/nuture issue.  Tell me what you think after reading it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15629096

What Would You Say and Do?

I stumbled across this short video this morning and thought it was well worth sharing. After viewing it, what are some thoughts about what you’d do or say if this were you last day to live? If that’s too uncomfortable to consider, then tell us what you think about the professor’s view of “the wall.”

http://thelostdot.com/2007/11/02/if-it-was-your-last-day/

Crumbs or Orts?

Language acquisition, comprehension, and production are fascinating topics. It’s mind boggling to think that you can completely understand the speech of someone who’s talking while at the same time formulate a reply. Add the fact that you can also interpret the person’s nonverbal communication, and you have a marvelous process going on.

Let’s explore briefly our primary means of communication: words. I’ve read that the average 18 month old toddler is learning a new word every two hours. Isn’t that amazing? How many of you have learned several new words today? By the time the little tyke is six, she has a vocabulary of 13,000, and this is considered to be a conservative estimate. Fast forward a few years, and we see that this tyke turned teen now knows more than 60,000 words. This is the average high school graduate, however, and the estimate for brighter students is probably twice that many.

Consider these questions: How you think this process (language acquisition) takes place? With that answer in mind, you might also want to comment on why it is that some people have extensive vocabularies while others barely know the basics. Is there anything parents can do to help build children’s vocabularies? Is there anything a college student can do to build his or her own?