Sticky Note Experiment

This post is just for fun, but it may make you think about how remarkably creative people can be with a simple item.  It’s about a three minute video.  Looks like fun to me!

posted by Myles Williams

You Mean Boys and Girls Are Different?

The link below will take you to a post at one of the blogs I visit regularly.  It’s called Sigmund, Carl and Alfred.  I’ll let you fill in the last names there.  This post, although somewhat lengthy, has a good discussion of gender differences and will certainly generate many thoughts for whomever takes the few minutes to read it.  I’d be interested in knowing initial thoughts you may have about the various issues discussed.  Enjoy and ponder!

The Gender Dance

posted by Myles Williams

Money, Education, and Health

When I read this article this morning, I immediately thought of discussions in Human Growth and Development classes that involve the correlation of health and longevity to SES. Check it out and share what you think. If you don’t have $$$, are there other things you can do to enhance health and live longer? If so, what are they, and are you planning to start working on them?

http://health.msn.com/fitness/mens-fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100214429&page=4

You or Your Podunk Town?

On the way home yesterday, I saw a sign in front of a church that proclaimed, “Change is inevitable; growth is optional.” How true that is! As paradoxical as it might sound, change is one constant that you can count on.

Let’s look at a couple of areas. Even as you’re reading this post, changes are taking place within you at the molecular level. If you’re in your 20s, you’re probably in the best place in your life, physically speaking. At some point, you’ll notice a change in your vision, your hearing, and your stamina. And let’s don’t forget that changing metabolism and the power of gravity. What are you doing, if anything, to prepare for those changes?

Socially and occupationally, you’re in a different “place” than you were five years ago. Has your circle of friends changed? Has it gotten larger and richer, or are you still with the same folks, some of whom bring you down? Occupationally, you might be in a different profession because of changes in society, your own experiences, or an increase in education. Whatever your career field, rest assured that it’s in the process of change. In fact, many jobs that were prevalent ten years ago are no longer in existence. Others that weren’t even dreamed of at that time are becoming more and more common. Are you doing something to grow and meet the changes of tomorrow, or are you settling for the status quo, too comfortable in your relationships, job, or locale to initiate change?

This is an exciting topic to consider. Are you changing AND growing, or are you just changing? If the latter is true, are you blaming your parents, your crummy co-workers, your smarmy boss, your Podunk town, your incompetent teachers, your children, your significant other, and just about any and everything except YOU?

Decade of Behavior

I think everyone reading this blog would agree that human behavior is both complex and fascinating. The “why” of behavior is, in fact, one of the four goals of psychology.  Is there some specific behavior that’s baffling to you? Does your significant other “drive you nuts?” Do your children act in an unruly and disobedient way? Do you find yourself pouting or sulking for no obvious reason? These are just a few of the questions that psychologists seek to answer.

Psychologists are so interested in behavior that they have designated this decade as the Decade of Behavior, and the APA has launched an “initiative to focus attention on how the behavioral and social sciences can help address many of society’s daunting challenges.” (Psychology,  Lefton and Brannon, 2008,  27).  In this endeavor, they hope to educate people to think more critically, become more effective employees, gain sensitivity to cultural diversity, and become healthier and better educated.

Think about this Decade of Behavior and some of the questions you’d like to see researched and share them with us. To get you started, below are a few I’ve been thinking about as they relate to students that I know. Please add your own, and let’s get a discussion going.

How can you get along with an impossible boss?
How can you get on a health plan (stop smoking, exercise more, lose weight, etc.) and stick to it?
What attracts people to each other?
What are some ways of handling stress?
What’s the best way to resolve conflict?

Is there a tried and proven way to toilet train an infant?