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Unit 14 5/5

For the final assignment in this course, we once again filled out a cumulative PDF for the last time.

The information in this PDF from Unit 14 asked us to identify the question of how secondary data can be mined from the Internet.

In response to this question I stated how secondary data from Google Searches can be mined from the Internet since it is public information. Though you can't view individual search history due to privacy laws, you are able to view the search data of an area as a whole.

This is very valuable for researchers because it gives them the accurate data that people lie about in their responses to surveys. Whether it is a question about sexuality, racial beliefs, or whatever it is entrusted to the search box, this information reveals a lot about society.

I also identified three predictions that came out a long time ago about the future of the Internet.

"We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance." - Nikola Tesla (1926)

"You will tell the machine, I'm interested in such and such items, sports, politics, or so forth. And the machine will hunt the main central library and bring all of this to you, selectively…" - Arthur C. Clark (1976)

"Have you ever watched the movie you wanted to, the minute you wanted to? You will." - AT&T (1993)

All of these predictions were successful, and it is awesome to see that they predicted these well before the time of the inventions. What do you think the world will look like in the future? Also, what extent of a role do you think the Internet will play in it? There's no telling for now, but the future is exciting and it is on the way!

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Unit 14 5/4

This assignment was very easy since it just required us to submit text that stated, "I completed my student course evaluation."

This request made me think of what I have learned over the course of the semester, and which aspects of the course that appealed to me the most.

One of the features that I really enjoyed was the flexibility accommodation. Professor Gernsbacher is aware that people have a lot going on in their lives, and we are not always able to meet the finite deadlines given to us. So, she decided to build in an extra week into the due dates so we could complete the assignment after it was originally due.

In addition to this, when we submitted assignments that didn't fulfill all the requirements of the assignment, we were able to use the flexible accomodation to resubmit it and correct our mistakes. The feature that I really enjoyed about the correction is that we weren't instructed on which parts of the assignment that we did incorrectly.

Rather, we had to go back to the assignment and read over the details closely and examine our assignments. I really enjoyed this because it also made us very attentive to details and increased our self-efficacy as a result. Attention to detail is a skill, and I can say with confidence that this skill has definitely improved for me during the course of this semester.

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Unit 14 5/3

It's about that time in the semester, the final project is just about to be do and people are scrambling to get it done.

For this assignment, the only thing that we are required to do is post our assignment in the discussion board. This allows us to share our Term Projects with our peers and learn about the work that they put in during this semester.

In addition to this, I thought it was very interetting to learn about which topics that my classmates decided to delve further into. Since I am doing an overview of the course, I did not get to really explicate on a topic of interest, yet I did further the amount of total content that I will be able to recall.

One of my favorite assignments that a few of my peers did was the Deep Dive Option into the question, "What are the psychological effects of the Internet?" As you can tell, this question is paramount for all of the information that we learn in this course. Each person decided to report on different features even with the same question, which made each perspective on the topic very unique and informative.

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Unit 14 5/1

In an interesting assignment, Professor Gernsbacher has given us the ability to go back and correct an assignment that we missed points on.

I decided to go back and alter my submission for Unit 13: Assignment #6, since I missed out on the submission of the assignment. Rather than go into the description of my assignment, I wanted to explicate on the benefits of being able to go back and correct an assignment.

I consider this to be an amazing assignment because it forces us to go back to an assignment and review all of the information from the assignment. As we know, going back to review information increases the chance that we are able to recall it. In addition to this, the recall starts putting the information in our long-term memories.

I also think that it was a very nice gesture by Professor Gernsbacher, since it gave people an opportunity to possibly earn points that they need for a higher grade. Sometimes education is not always about the work, but the information that we are able to grasp from the assignment. Because at the end of the day, learning is much more valuable than the grade we receive on an assignment.

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Unit 14 4/30

The second assignment of Unit 14 covered the bold predicitons made by some influential figures in history.

One of the examples that stuck out to me was: "We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance." - Nikola Tesla (1926)

This quote indicates that Tesla predicted the universal coverage of phones, which now allows us to communicate with anyone at anytime. I found this awesome since he predicted this back in 1926, while the only forms of early communication were very archaic.

Another example that I found quite surprising was: "Have you ever kept an eye on your home, when you're not at home?" AT&T (1993). AT&T's advertisement correctly predicted the invention of smart technology that allows individuals to control their home's features at their fingertips. 

I still consider it to be awe-inspiring to be able to control your home from your phone, and I think it is even crazier that AT&T was able to predict this back in 1993. Though the technology is not widely used due to its price and installation, it may soon become the premier of what we know as technology.

During this assignment, we were also asked to make our own predictions about the future of the Internet. The example that I thought of that I liked most was: "I predict that the future will contain technologies that allow individuals to transcribe words to the page with their minds. This will allow people to write papers without writing or typing, increasing the speed of which work can be completed on the Internet." I believe that technology like this would completely change the future of education and work.

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Unit 14 4/29

For the final Unit of the semester, we began with a series of question that we could pick from.

I selected question #2, "Can Google Searches provide data about hidden attitudes and behavior?"

The first source was NPR's (2017) podcast that described how Google Searches can provide a lot of valuable data because of the honesty provided by users in the search boxes. The podcast describes how people utilize the privacy of a search bar, rather than going to a friend, spouse, or family member about the subject.

In contrast to this, people lie frequently when given surveys due to social desirability, creating a false data set that does not reflect the true values from the population. This is why surveys have become a lot less popular, since they cannot provide accurate results at times.

The second source included with this question was Stephens-Davidowitz's (2017) article, "Everybody Lies: How Google Search Reveals our Darkest Secrets." Similar to the first source, this article references the increased accuracy of using Google Search history data since, "People lie to friends. They lie to bosses. They lie to kids. They lie to parents..." 

While on the other side of the coin, Google Search history data is public information and can present to be an effective tool for studying trends and behavior in a population. I think that I would definitely consider using Google Search data since it is important for research and that is what I want to do throughout my career.

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Unit 13 4/28

Once again, for the last assignment of Unit 13, we completed a fillable PDF that included information from Unit 13.

This week, the PDF asked us to review the concept of 'Internet Addiction.' In addition to the explanation from psychiatrists and scholars as to why it exists or doesn't.

I believe that there have been numerous inventions and technologies over the years that have been feared to cause addiction just as the Internet is claimed to have done now. Back in the day, too much reading was considered to be an addictive behavior and society was worried about its negative effects. While the Internet is a relatively new technology and scholars are still studying its effects, so it should not be stated that its usage should be labeled "addiction."

We were also asked to describe the concept of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).

In my own words, I would say that Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, also known as CBT, is best known for altering the maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors in order to reinforce more positive ones. This approach to therapy combines thought and behavior, which are taken care of separately in other methods. The combination of these two components allows for a comprehensive approach to a person, and this allows for many things to be addressed in the treatment of an individual. In addition to this information, Internet-based CBT is just as effective as in-person administered CBT.

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Unit 13 4/27

The last Chat Group of the semester was a different type of chat. It felt a lot more sentimental since our group was required to describe our Term Projects, and tell the other members of the group how we were feeling about the project.

It was a really awesome feeling to express my anxiety, not just about this project, but other classes and exams as well. This chat gave me a positive outlet to let out some of the emotions that I had pent up, and then my group mates gave me suggestions based on CBT techniques.

One of the recommendations that I received from my classmate was from Boyes' (2013) article, in which it suggested meditation as a way to reduce anxiety. I am a firm believer in meditation and I feel that society has somewhat of a critical judgment on the practice. Some may see it as taboo, just because they are unfamiliar and maybe even a bit uncomfortable with the therapeutic movement.

My other classmate also mentioned Boyes' (2013) article, as she suggested that I break down the steps of each assignment so that I feel less overwhelmed. I would consider this a great method because some of these larger assignments cause anxiety, and this is because people view the entire assignment all at once. If you were to take your time and break down the larger task into smaller ones, the assignment seems a lot easier to complete.

Overall, it was really nice to hear these suggestions from my classmates and I applied them so that I wouldn't be as stressed. Though this was our last Chat Group of the semester, I won't forget how exciting it was to discuss these great topics with my wonderful classmates!

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Unit 13 4/26

This portion of the unit required students to return to the first assignment and read over our classmates' posts.

I decided to review and report on my classmate L's post of Hagatun et al.'s (2018) study, "Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for [Adult] Insomnia and Comorbid Symptoms."

The purpose of this article was to determine if a relationship existed between unguided CBTi and comorbid psychological symptoms. While the Internet-based intervention for this study was an unguided, Internet-delivered CBTi supposed to treat the fatigue of those who have insomnia.

For this study, half of participants were assigned to an unguided ICBTi (aka SHUTi), while the other half were designated to online patient education. Participants then worked in their assigned groups for 9 weeks, and then researchers measured the effects of the intervention method.

Researchers found that the SHUTi treatment was shown to be beneficial for psychological distress for individuals who experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety. My classmate described how these positive results were due to the participants taking a more active role in their treatment.

My opinion on the effectiveness of the treatment would agree with my classmate, but I would also say that it provided a framework for these individuals to do so. Insomnia is a debilitating condition that can severely impact an individual's quality of life, so having a roadmap for treatment is very beneficial for those that feel lost.

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Unit 13 4/24

Do you know the difference between behavior and behaviour? Think about it for a second, unless you know the answer, you might be overcomplicating the question! Behavior is the preferred spelling in American English, while behaviour is preferred just about anywhere else (Grammarist.com)

Another question, do you know what CBT is? Well if you don't, CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is the combination of therapies for thoughts and behavior. This method specifically focuses on negative thought patterns and actions, and how to prevent these patterns from reoccurring.

These negative thoughts and behavior reinforce mental disorders, throwing an individual into a repetitive pattern. So how does this therapy differentiate from other methods?

Well, CBT takes a glance into what contributes to this negative patterns, and the identification of the key factors so that the individual is aware of them. Once an individual is aware of the negative patterns, they are able to use therapeutic methods to stop the patterns.

The problem lies in the fact that these patterns have continued for so long, that they have become second-nature for the individual experiencing them. One of the ways that I have heard a mental disorder being described has changed the way that I view thought patterns.

The example is the brain being compared to a ski hill, when you are young, the tracks are fresh and patterns are just beginning to form. As mental disorders onset, negative thought patterns start to develop deeper grooves in the hill from their repetitive occurrence. After so much time has passed, these grooves become so deep that individuals are unable to have normal thought patterns. This is why CBT is so effective, since it identifies those grooves and attacks them through various therapeutic methods.

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Unit 13 4/23

The next assignment described Internet-based alternatives for treatment methods that normally occur in-person.

I decided to select Albertson et al.'s (2014) study, "Self-Compassion and Body Dissatisfaction in Women: A Randomized Controlled Study Trial of a Brief Meditation Intervention."

The reason that I was interested in this topic is because I have an older and a young sister, who I know have been effected by women's beauty standards. Studies have shown that women naturally have a higher body fat percentage than men, yet people criticize women for not having the "ideal" body that society favors. So, I wondered if meditation had the ability to reduce the negative feelings and this Internet-based intervention was an effective treatment option.

The intervention method for the treatment involved providing participants with "self-compassion meditation audio recordings". Participants were females who ranged in age from 18 to 60 years old, specifically women who accessed sites that indicated that they had body dissatisfaction. Participants were instructed, but not forced to listen to the recordings, resulting in participants who didn't listen being exempt from the results.

In comparison with a waitlist group, the intervention group experienced significant reductions in body shame, dissatisfaction, and ideologies of self-worth based on appearance. In addition to this, the intervention group also showed greater gains in self-compassion and body appreciation than those in the control group.

The ladder portion of this assignment asked students what factors that we think contributed to the success of our selected interventions. I believe that the success of this intervention method is due to the emotional contagion provided in the audio tapes of meditation.

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Unit 13 4/22

For the first part of Unit 13, we were instructed to watch Professor Gernsbacher's lecture video, "Internet Addiction." This lecture video presented information about the other technologies over history, and how they were also viewed to be addictive.

While the Pew Research Center's (2022) report described the online gambling epidemic that is becoming quite a popular topic. Contrary to popular belief, the report presented information that declared that in-person gambling was much more frequent than Internet-gambling

The assignment then asked students to write a hypothetical message to a friend, who is under the assumption that the Internet is very addictive and has numerous negative effects. Though this assumption is not true, there are many people who believe that the effects of the Internet are more negative than positive.

I thought one of the most interesting points that Professor Gernsbacher mentioned in her lecture was that novels were once viewed as a form of addictive behavior. People assumed that reading too much was an addictive habit, and it had negative effects for those that read too much.

Nowadays, society doesn't think that people read enough, and there are even efforts to get children to get read often. This is a great example of people being afraid of new technologies, and this fear leads to a negative prejudice being formed about the topic.

The media is also a culprit of depicting the Internet as addictive and negative, since they receive most of their views by creating panic. Furthermore, the stories about the Internet that receive the most attention are the horror stories such as the Slenderman case. Cases such as these only draw negative attention to the effects of the Internet, and continue to spread the panic about its effects.

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Unit 12 4/21

Just like the other units, we were assigned to complete the fillable PDF that included information from Unit 12.

The document required me to identify the five factors in the Big Five Personality Theory. The factors are as follows, "Conscientiousness, Openness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Agreeableness."

We then were asked to review the term, "Proportion of Variance Explained." In my own words, I would describe the term as the change in the overall variance of the effect of one variable on the analysis of another variable.

In a study analyzing trends in Internet usage, the Big Five Personality Factors have little effect on the variance of usage. Every factor except "Neuroticism" did not result in a proportion of explained variance over 5%, describing that these factors have little-to-no effect on the variance of Internet usage.

We also had to identify four famous selfies prior to the creation of the Internet. As I have mentioned previously, selfies are not a new phenomenon as people commonly think they are.

The four examples that I listed are: "Buzz Aldran in 1966, during one of his famed space walks," "Geroge Harrison in 1966, in front of the Taj Mahal," "Hunter Thompson in 1960, while on vacation at San Juan, Puerto Rico," and, "Jackie Kennedy in 1954, taking a selfie in front of the mirror."

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Unit 12 4/20

This part of the unit was the preparation for my chat group, which talked about the concept of 'humblebragging.' Have you ever experienced the feeling when you are talking to a friend to tries to brag, yet they disguise it with sincerity or humility.

Though this humility and sincerity does not do the situation justice, because studies have shown that this is the the worst of all. This is the worst in comparison to straightforward bragging or attempting to make someone feel sympathetic for your situation.

I read this information in Norton et al.'s (2017) paper that described the ineffectiveness of the concept of humblebragging. According to the study humblebragging results in a lower view of the individual, along with reduced perceived competence of the individual.

This is because people view the bragging as very insincere, and in their attempt to make people feel for their situation, it actually backfires on the individuals. So why would people continue to humblebrag even though it is viewed so negatively by other individuals?

Individuals attempt to humblebrag since they try to employ multip.e types of self-presentation. People brag in an attempt to make themselves be viewed higher in the eyes of the other person, or in other words, "to convey confidence and be respected." While people also try to appear humble so that individuals do not assume that they are egotistical.

While these different forms of self-presentation may be exhausting engage so that another person views us favorably, we should not overth

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Unit 12 4/19

For the fourth day of this unit, we began an assessment of the phenomenon of selfies. As the concept of selfies exploded in popularity in recent years, it even received the prestigious title of the International Word of the Year in 2013.

Just as me, I assume that you would imagine that selfies are a relatively new concept. This could not be further from the truth, as one of the first selfies was taken back in 1839. A man named Robert Cornelius took a selfie just a few months after the creation of photography.

Even after that, the trend of selfies continued with George Harrison (Beatles member) taking a selfie in front of the Taj Mahal back in 1966. He even took the photo with a fish lens, which has also risen back to popularity in recent times.

Just the same year as Buzz Aldran, the second person to ever walk on the moon, took a selfie in front of Earth! The coolest part about it is that you can see the entire planet in the reflection of his visor, as well as the burning center of our universe.

After learning more about the history of selfies, we were instructed to select one of the questions provided to us. I selected Question 4, "Why don't we think we look like our selfies?"

I have always wondered about this myself, even with questions about photos that are not selfies. Some of the articles provided very interesting information and reasons as to why this effect exists.

Feeney's (2014) article describe how life is centered around viewing ourselves in a mirrored context. Whether we are looking in the mirror to get ready

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Unit 12 4/17

This part of Unit 12 assigned us to go back over to the first assignment of the unit, in order to read and respond to our classmates' posts. One of the things that was initially apparent to me was how interesting it was to see how all of our personalities varied.

As I had described the idea of 'Proportion of Variance Explained' earlier, all of us as individuals fall somewhere in the overall variance. While studies commonly state that falling on the lower level of some of the Five Factors of Personality is associated with a negative output.

Extraversion in particular is one of the traits that is always associated with positive effects, but does this mean that people that are more introverted suffer? Those friends, coworkers, classmates that are a bit more reserved, does that mean that they are likely to be inhibited just because of this personality trait?

Jill Chang's (2023) article, "What Everyone Can Learn from Introverts," describes that introverts are responsible for a lot of unaccredited success. Just listen to how awesome being an introvert can be, "...introverts are oftentimes the ones who get things done without asking for credit, find solutions for their teammates, and are willing to do the work that nobody else wants to do or didn't even pay attention to."

As extroverts speak of their triumphs and communicate their actions loudly, introverts are the unsung heroes at times. Just think about why you would not consider this phenomenon, I would think that it is because an introvert would not tell you if they went the extra mile. They would do it for the sake of the team as the article described, and they would just continue to move throughout their day.

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Unit 12 4/16

For the second assignment of Unit 12, we first took a look at Jeremy Miles' (2013) article, in which he describes 'Proportion of Variance Explained." After reading his article, I would describe this term in my own words as the change to the overall variance score in the analysis of a variable using another predictor variable.

For those that are unfamiliar with this term, a predictor variable is defined as, "A variable used to estimate, forecast, or project future events or circumstances" (APA). In addition to this, predictor variables are used to assist statistical analysis in the elimination of error.

Then we examined this phenomenon in the case of using the Big Five Factors/Dimensions/Traits as predictor variables for Internet usage. According to the tables presented in the document, "Meta-Analyses: Proportion of Variance in Social Media Use Explained by Personality Factors," these personality factors have little influence on Internet usage.

In Kris-Stella Trump's (2018) article, she describes how predicting personality is a difficult task to do. In addition to this, "Personality is not a good predictor of political views."

This information is very important considering that Cambridge Analytica stated that they were able to predict the preferences of political voters more accurately than anyone else. They claimed to do this by examining data that is used by all political polling, while also using psychological data harvested from Facebook.

Though the usage of this information is under scrutiny to the sensitivity and the lack of access to the Facebook information, we were assigned to evaluate if this claim was actually true.