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MODULE 5 BLOG POST: Reflections

This picture was taken at a protest in Phoenix, AZ a few weeks ago. I chose to use this picture because taking this class in the midst of everything that has been going on made learning this material feel even more salient and applicable to real life. 

PART 1:

1a. I think after going through my old posts and reflecting on them, I learned new information each week and actively tried to apply it to my daily life. As the course went on, I became more angry with the world regarding what has been going on, but in a good way if that makes sense. It ultimately just made me feel more educated and possibly able to do something. Some of the readings and media sources brought new information to me and I was able to use it to help myself as well as others around me to help decode and discuss the unrest in our country. 

1b. From my peers I learned more about experiences that were different from my own. Similar to the effect of the CHP, being able to read their experiences and interact with them gave me new perspectives that I wouldn’t have been privy to without. This class really displayed how effective human interaction is. Engaging with others is really the only was to inform ourselves and effect real, positive change in the world. 

PART 2:

2a. The most interesting piece of media that has impacted me from this class was the TEDtalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009) about single stories. The power of a single story can be prevalent in almost any situation. When I was working on my CHP, I was thinking a lot of how a single story can impact peoples’ views of someone they don’t understand at all. I did my Contact Hypothesis Project with someone who identifies as non-binary and gender non-confirming, and before interacting with them the only story I knew was based on a lack of understanding. I think that all too frequently, that is the case too. In order to really understand we have to experience differences first-hand and be able to ask questions in order to educate ourselves and others.

2b. The information I had the hardest time connecting with was the Liberation Psychology article written by Duran, Firehammer and Gonzalez (2008). Most of the other course material I was able to personalize and connect with but I couldn’t with this article.

2c. Moving forward, the most important thing that can be done with the information learned in this class, and information that will be learned in the future is to share it. We live in a time where thee is so much information everywhere that could potentially taint the search. The downfall of the internet is that it provides accessibility into too much. It can be hard to decipher the reliable information fro the biased information, and when we have good information it is our responsibility to share it.

2d. I definitely believe that it is psychology’s and sometimes psychologists’ (depending on their emphasis of work) responsibility to take part in social justice. More than other professions, psychologists are generally the ones who come up with and conduct research that can lead to effective change through new and credible information. I think new routes for research need to include more work with and for non-binary people. It would be an important addition to intersectionality research with race, gender, and other identifying factors for people, as well as being an important topic to research on its own. When I was doing research for peer-reviewed research for the CHP, almost everything I found had been published in the last 5 years. As that does point towards there being more attention brought to the subject recently, but it is important to to do more. We, as psychologists and people, have to continue to learn and educate those around us for what is right. 

References

Adichie, C.N. (2009). The danger of a single story [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg&feature=emb_title

Duran, E., Firehammer, J., Gonzalez, J. (2008). Liberation psychology as the path toward healing cultural soul wounds. Journal of Counseling and Development, 86(3), 288-295.

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MODULE 3 POST: Categorical Growth - Continued

I was about to run out of room on the first post, so I figured I would just put Part 2 and the citations on a separate one! Also, I accidentally put 2006 instead of 2016 for my in-text citation for the book by Bryant-Davis and Comas-Diaz.

Sorry for any confusion! 

PART 2:

2a. Whiteness is invisible for many reasons. According to the way society is ran, whiteness becomes obsolete in theory because it is the foundation underlying everything from the Declaration of Independence to modern law systems (Sue, 2004). That being paired with the misbelief that color-blindness is a good thing forge a mask for covering up the discrepancies in society (Sue, 2004). 

2b. I agree with what Sue (2004) had said. By calling it privilege or otherwise, denying the advantages that someone has based on how society interacts with them only perpetuates those advantages. As I briefly mentioned in part 1, the whiteness of my family has shielded us from others finding out about a lot of things that have happened, simply because it wouldn’t be assumed of us. My father was a professional baseball player, an esteemed loan executive and when the cookie crumbled everyone was shocked because of who they had thought he was. 

References 

Adichie, C.N. (2009). The danger of a single story [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg&feature=emb_title

Bryant-Davis, T., & Comas-Díaz, L. (2016). Womanist and Mujerista psychologies: Voices of fire, acts of courage. American Psychological Association. 

Sue, D. (2004). Whiteness and ethnocentric monoculturalism: Making the “invisible” visible. The American Psychologist, 59(8), 761-769.

Tahbone, M.K. (2017). How Alaska Native women are healing from generations of trauma [Video]. Youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=FKJO1YyQMmY&feature=emb_title

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This is a picture of my family and I from when I graduated the University of Arizona with my bachelor's degrees! I chose this picture because we are a close familial unit and regardless of anything else at the end of the day they are my people.

MODULE 3 POST: Categorical Growth

PART 1:

1a. This week what stuck out to me more than anything else was the TEDtalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009) on the consequences of a single story of representation. I think that everyone falls victim to it every now and again, even she had described feeling that way when she went to Mexico after she had experienced being on the receiving end from her college roommate. For me, it builds on last week and the discussion about facing white privilege. Primarily, it is a Western privilege because while there are single story narratives produced of other parts of the world, there are always plenty of stories presented about Western culture.

1b. At the end of the day my family are my people as those who were described on Invisibila: The Power of Categories (Spiegel & Miller, 2015). The picture I posted is my actual blood family, but to me my family goes much deeper. I have been really fortunate to have friends that have become family and are just as intertwined with my life as my actual family members are. As disucssed on Invisibilia (Spiegel & Miller, 2015) also, it is important to branch out beyond your people. He said that he wouldn't want his children or his grandchildren to live in a community as they were because then you're more shut off to the rest of the world. I would categorize myself as a good pal, a good big sister. At the end of the day I get categorized diffrently based on who I am with. If I am with any of my non-white friends, I get treated differently than if I am with my white friends or family. I get a little more general respect from other who are not white when I am with my non-white friends, and vice versa. I have been in situations where I've been with my friend who is Mexican, and we were in a place where Spanish was the primary language and I don't get acknowledged even though I also speak Spanish, they just assume he will be speaking for me. I think I generally get categorized as a white girl because outwardly that is all anyone can know about me. It fits, but there is also more to me than my skin color which is the same principle I try to apply to everyone I meet.

1c. I love the usage of traditional chin tattoos for the Indigineous women of Alaska (Tahbone, 2017). I have had teammates who were Native American but still don't know a lot about the culture. I think the fact that these tattoos can only be for women and be done by women is empowering and provides them a way to take back their strength. For me, white privilege has inslated or acted as a buffer for me. I do not know much about nor do I have a lot of connections to my acenstral history regarding my family's origins so I cannot speak to that. My family declared bankruptcy while I was in middle school, my father went to federal prison and had died there, but at the end of the day our whiteness hides that. No one would assume many of the things my family has gone through and that has very much been a buffer for us where people who are not white do not have that same luxury.

1d. I am a womanist. The authors describe a womanist to be someone who is not only worried and pursuing freedom for women, but also fight injustices against racism, classism, sexuality, and gender (Bryant-Davis & Comas-Diaz, 2006). I would consider myself to be someone who fights for justice in any area and therefore could identify as a womanist under the authors' definition (Bryant-Davis & Comas-Diaz, 2006).

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MODULE 2 POST: Acknowledgement - But Not Acceptance

I picked this picture this week because of the importance of these ladies in teaching me so much beyond my own culture / experiences, as well as their importance in my life in general. In the middle is me, and to the right are two of my best friends: Mercedes, and Shayna. They were a very big part of my learning to understand and accept my own privilege. 

PART 1:

1a. What I learned this week was that DNA-wise, between different races there is really no actual difference. I had aways thought previously that somewhere in the DNA code between human beings were consistencies and inconsistencies that were expressed in phenotypes, which was proven incorrect in “Race: The Power of Illusion” (California Newsreel, 2012). The most salient information this week though was Sue Borrego’s (2016) TED talk regarding white privilege. This week especially, in the face of the death of George Floyd and the lady in Central Park who falsely called the police claiming that a black man was harassing her, even though he had just been asking her to put her dog on a leash. This week has been a consistent reminder that there is a hierarchy within the society of the United States, and there is no lack of clarity regarding where different races land on the list. I think last week while going through the learning materials and doing the reflection paper, it just made me think more about where myself or my friends fall on that chart. I have historically avoided befriending a lot of people who are similar to me because of my experience with many of their lack of understanding or empathy for people of color. Going through the reflection paper it made me feel like I needed to be better and try harder in order to try to make a difference. When watching Sue Borrego’s (2016) talk, it furthered that feeling but as this week has continued and I have seen so many hateful things, it makes me want to retract even further away. 

1b. The idea of intersectionality found in Cole’s article (2009), discusses learning about a person on more than one level of depth. For example, a person has many identifying factors: their age, their gender, their race, their sexuality (Cole, 2009). While frequently it is clear that most people are more than one thing, they are consistently categorized into different compartments rather than looked at as a whole person (Cole, 2009). This is also discussed in the second segment of “Race: The Power of Illusion” (California Newsreel, 2012) when the kids were learning about the DNA-level differences between themselves and their peers. At the end when the narrator was discussing Gorgeous, she described her as both a champion athlete as well as valedictorian of her class and pointed out that most people wouldn’t check both of those boxes for her, but rather opt for the champion athlete (California Newsreel, 2012). Most of society prescribes the same level of description for those around them.  Everyone is placed in their own little category or area because of their appearance, their sexuality, or their gender. Sometimes different factors are used as intersections, but when it comes to race it is generally the predominant marker for society to judge someone on. It upsets me to think about racial categorization, honestly. Through time, there is some sort of facade that it has gotten better but the truth of the matter is that it has not gotten any better, just moderately more concealed. With the steady number of death caused by police, false accusations made against people of color, and seemingly everlasting opportunities cut short for people of color, it is apparent there has been no real achievements or progress forwards. 

1c. My score on the survey was 207. I know the point of the survey was not to be ashamed, just aware of what the color of my skin brings me. But it also sort of makes me angry because of all of the scenarios I don’t necessarily think about day-to-day that affect people who are different from myself.

PART 2:

2a. Generally, research is meant to bring forth information to help grow, learn and adapt. Research can be and is done regarding pretty much any topic. I think that generally it is done for human beings in total, but after some of the course material it has definitely been done for certain groups and at the expense of other groups (California Newsreel, 2012).

2b. I genuinely cannot think of any specific teaching in any of my research methods classes regarding intersectional research or specific methodologies.

2c. Intersectional studies have proven that race, gender, class and sexuality are all fluid and need to be studied in combination (Cole, 2009). When there is a lack of understanding in one of these areas, or they are all studied separately, there is bound to be a disconnect in the results of any given study (Cole, 2009). When building a study, if there is a lack of understanding of the participants themselves, whether it be their backgrounds or their reasoning for being a part of the study, then there can also be an issue with the validity of those results or understanding how the results actually relate to the subjects involved (Cole, 2009). The point of research in general is to understand people and how they relate to each other. When there is a lack of knowledge for the people involved or why they may be choosing what they are in the study (as a result of their background or a part of their identity that is not being considered), then there will undoubtedly be issues is relatedness to the general population (Cole, 2009). 

References 

Borrego, S. (2016, December 9). Understanding my privilege [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlRxqC0Sze4&feature=emb_title

California Newsreel. (2012, September 9). Race: The power of illusion [Video]. Films On Demand. https://digital-films-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=49734

Cole, E.R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64(3), 170-180.

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MODULE 1 POST

PART 1: Self Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Alexa Arndt. I am working towards my M.S. Forensic Psychology and this is my last session before my capstone class and then I am done in August! I am so excited. I was working on securing an internship and then our good friend COVID-19 came into town and so I’m not so sure what everything will look upon graduation, but I am excited none the less! I am 24, live in Phoenix, AZ and am a server and a bartender at a restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ currently. I have been working in the industry since I was 17 and was really tired of it pre-COVID-19 but realized I do actually somewhat enjoy it now that I am back to work with everything opening back up, so I’m sure I’ll still keep it part time when I do graduate and get a big girl job. I have a pup named Tex (because it rhymes with Lex) and he is my best little pal! I recently took him on a hike in Sedona, AZ and it is officially our new favorite past-time on days off when I have my homework load under control.

PART 2:

2a. Honestly, when I signed up for this class I just needed to fill an elective credit and this was one of the classes that filled the requirement and also fit my schedule. When I got into the syllabus and the course materials though, I got really excited to learn more. I think I have been lucky to know the people I do and be able to learn from them about their lives and cultures, but I am always eager to learn more.

2b. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2xv4fba65U

This is an interview that Trevor Noah from the Daily Show on Comedy Central did with Tomi Lahren, who I believe works for Fox News currently. It is a little over the top but also hits on a lot of the points that were discussed in this weeks module. Tomi speaks with some level of both implicit and explicit bias, and notes that she “doesn’t see color”. The interview/discussion mostly is about the subject of the Black Lives Matter movement around the time of the election of Donald Trump (if you skip to around minute 3, it gets to the core of the topic). Trevor took a jab at her when she said that saying, “Then what do you do at stop lights if you don’t see color?” and sort of points out the flaw in that argument.  It was actually one of the first things I thought of when going through the learning materials for this course and hearing her say that she isn’t racist or angry, but then making overtly racist statements in her description of the happenings around that time so I thought it would make sense to share. They go back and forth for some time and sometimes its funny and sometimes too much. I chose this because she explicitly says that she isn’t a bad person (as was described by Myers in her TEDxBeaconStreet talk) but she “has the right to call people out”. 

2c. Part of me understands the frustration with the supposed “appropriation” of cultural psychology, but I also think it is important to make sure that the studies are all-inclusive, regardless. I would say that I subscribe more closely to the cross-cultural studies described by Ellis and Stam (2015). Using the methods and results found in cultural psychology and prescribing them to testing on a greater and more diverse population is the only way to really understand out society and world as a whole. Every country, city, area or community will have some level of different and it is important to understand those differences. In order to understand the differences or similarities on a group level, we must actually apply the theories to whole groups. 

Ellis, B.D., & Stam, H.J. (2015). Crisis? What crisis? Cross-cultural psychology’s appropriation of cultural psychology. Culture & Psychology, 21(3), 293-317.

TEDxBeaconStreet. (2014, November). How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them [Video]. Youtube. https://www.ted.com/talks/verna_myers_how_to_overcome_our_biases_walk_boldly_toward_them