Josh's Journal Reflections

 Affect Displays Affect displays are micro-expressions that we flash in a fraction of a second while communicating. These micro-expressions convey our true emotions and intentions to those we are communicating with. These function regardless of whether we want them to or not, and they show what is really going on inside our heads.       "Infants in the first few weeks of life instinctively and reflexively display facial expressions of distress,      disgust, and interest." (Reflect & Relate, p.248)     An example of a time where I was able to see and sort out an affect display was when I was playing the card game "Uno" with one of my friends. This friend in particular liked to try and cheat us during the game, because he thinks its funny to try and see what he can get away with. One time I thought I saw him hide one of his cards under his seat when he thought no one was looking, and when I asked if he hid any cards under himself, he ...

Language Evolution As time goes on, the new generations will find new ways to express themselves verbally using vernacular and slang.       "Sometimes people create new phrases, such as helicopter parent, that eventually see wide use. Other         times, speakers of a language borrow words and phrases from other languages and incorporate them         into their own." (Reflect & Relate, p.206) Sometimes this can create a divide between generation z, and those from older generations. The reason why I believe slang is so jarring to the older generations, is due to how rapid new language is created, and dies. Because of how quick things can travel over the internet, as new words come into the picture, they spread like wildfire, and are soon used by millions of people across the globe. With this vernacular being used by so many people, so often, and so quickly, its usage becomes exhausted, and it's no longer common to...

Halo and Horn Effects The Halo and Horn effects are two effects that some people use to perceive others. These effects are known as Gestalts, which are general perceptions of people. The Halo effect is when someone has a positive view of another person, regardless of what they do, due to the, having a positive Gestalt of them. The opposite of the Halo effect is the Horn effect. The Horn effect is when someone has a negative view of someone else, regardless of what they do, because they have a negative Gestalt of them.     A time where I've experienced the Halo effect is with one of my old friends. I was best friends with them so I had developed a positive Gestalt of them. Because of it, I thought that they wouldn't ever lead me astray and that I could trust them. At the time we were young, so I would follow him and we would get into trouble all the time, but because I had a positive gestalt of him, I didn't think anything of it. It was a long time before I realized that I d...

 Action-Oriented Listening When I grew up I always spoke to people by relating what they said to said to myself. This is content-oriented. For example, they would say how they recently got into a car accident, and I would respond with a story about how I got into an accident before. I would mostly converse like that, and I never realized that I did that so often until we talked about it in class. Since that class, I have started listening and responding to conversations in different ways. One new way I started listening, was action oriented.      Now when I enter a conversation and where a friend is airing a frustration, I try to decide on an action to solve the problem. For example if they're upset, I've offered to hang out or go somewhere, or play a video game. Since I've started doing more active listening, I feel like I am communicating more diversely, and I feel a lot more charismatic talking to new and old friends. I've also started using some of the other type...

 Emotional Contagion An emotional contagion is an event in a social setting, where the people around it start to develop the same emotions. I tend to be susceptible to emotionally contagions because I care a lot about how my friends and family feel. When I come home to my sister feeling down, I will usually empathize with her. And because I start to feel the same way she does, I will ask if she wants to watch a show or a movie with me. In this particular instance, the emotional contagion is beneficial.       This is not always the case, however. Sometimes whenever I am playing a competitive online game with my friends, and someone is having a bad game, and is getting frustrated, the rest of us tend to also get frustrated at the game. Luckily, we've recently started to recognize when we are getting frustrated, and we understand when to take a break from the game, and do something else. After we take a break, most of the time we feel a lot better, and can either h...

The Online Self I spend a lot of time on the internet, whether it be scrolling through memes on social media, or playing video games for hours, I interact with a lot of people I've never met before. Sometimes a stranger will say something I don't agree with, or something toxic after a rough online game, and I catch myself about to clap back with an insult or a rebuttal. I've realized that sometimes it's best to ignore people instead of stooping to their level. I learned from my mother that by interacting with stubborn people on the internet, you show everyone that you are no better than the person you are arguing with, and that no one will think you are any more intelligent than the other.      Sometimes it's hard not to speak your mind, but by remaining calm and mature on the internet, people will see you in a better light. In the future when I will apply for an important job, it will be invaluable to convey a responsible and reasonable demeanor when online. So whe...

Introduction Communication: "the imparting or exchanging of information or news." (Oxford Languages) It's safe to say that we've all communicated in our lives. From the very moment we're born, we can use our voices and bodies to communicate with our mothers. At around 3 months old, our verbal communication begins to develop, and we start to make out words like "mama" and "dada." Over the first year of our lives, we pick up on the words we hear from the people around us, and at 12 months, we can expect to say our first words.      My first word was cheese; it sounded more like "cheethe," but it was an achievement none the less. I picked it up from my mom having us say cheese when we would take pictures. When she heard me say it, I was playing with her camera, and pretending to take a picture of myself. I had seen my mom using the camera, and heard her ask us to say cheese, and I watched her and learned to recreate it.      Communicatio...