Reflection Blog

Source: "ProBlogger"

So here we are. The final stretch of blogging is now before us as the end of the semester approaches. Before I began my first blog, my initial feeling about it was that (1) it would be easy and (2) it would be boring because its basically writing papers, but through the internet.

I can honestly say that my opinion has changed. Although the writing process of the blog wasn't exactly something I enjoyed, it was more about the content of my blogs that mattered the most. I chose psychology as the topic of my blogs because its something I was really interested in, considering it is my major. But I didn't know that I could write so much about the relationship between technology and psychology.

My favorite blogs were those dealing with text messages and social networks. These topics were really enjoyable to write about because they were topics I was most familiar with and the studies I read about them were interesting to say the least. Because text messaging and social networks are technologies that I use most often, its always good to know how they can affect me psychologically. In my blog titled, "Psychological Effects of Texting," I ended up arguing against the evidence I found, but regardless it was a learning experience. For example, I didn't agree with research that "Texters" tend to be more lonely than "Talkers," based on personal experience.

In addition, I found some of these topics humorous because it really made me think about myself and my actions, and at times I found myself embarrassed. I didn’t want to be one of those people that can be classified through a research study, such as fiddling with my phone when the person I am with starts talking to another person (also mentioned in one of my blogs).

Source: flickr.com

My least favorite blog was when we had to take pictures and/or find pictures online that related to our topic. Initially, I thought this was going to be easy. However, I think I had the most trouble on this assignment than the rest of them. As for the pictures online, it was difficult to find different technologies that related to psychology. Of course the most common ones were pictures of MRI scans, PET scans, etc. but I wanted unique pictures. In addition, a lot of the pictures I found online weren’t aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They were either boring, old, etc.

As far as taking my own pictures goes, this was the hardest part and probably what I hated the most. I love taking pictures and videos. However, when it comes to taking pictures that related to my topic, I wanted to take pictures that weren’t flawed or planned out, which is why it was so difficult. With every picture I took, I had frustration about what the picture looked like and if it adequately represented my topic well. Looking back on it, it just goes to show that I need more practice in my photography skills and that I need to be more creative when thinking about what pictures can be related to both technology and psychology.

I hope my readers thoroughly enjoyed my topic of technology through psychology. The blogs were more than just blogging for an assignment. I chose psychology because I wanted to learn more for myself about how psychology can affect us, specifically through technological devices. I think psychology is one of the more interesting topics and hope that my readers felt the same. I also hope that my readers understand how everything we do in life, whether it be everyday occurances such as talking on the phone, checking Facebook, taking pictures, etc, can have a psychological effect on us. There are a lot of things that we are not aware about that in essence, could be important to our health.

In addition, it is important to read about the breakthroughs in technology that have impacted psychology. For example, my blog about how depresson can lead to cancer is an excellent example of how technology can be used to see the relationship between depression and cancer. Readers should note that this is important news because depression is a common illness that can potentially lead to one of the deadliest killers of our human generation. In other words, technology is more than just making our lives easier and simpler by making tasks less difficult and less stressful. Technology is about improving our society, whether it be psychologically, mentally, socially, etc. I hope my readers had a good time reading my blogs and that they think about how the technological devices they are currently using are affecting them as a person. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts and whether or not you think technology has helped you positively or negatively in a psychological sense.

Experiencing MD Day

Here is just a quick slideshow of the pictures I took during Maryland Day. Overall, it was an okay Maryland Day. The weather wasn't exactly the best, but we tried to make the most out of it. My reactions to Maryland Day and our assignment is posted on the class blog, so feel free to check it out!

My Own Game

As a psychology major, I have been told many times that there are situations in which some patients are misdiagnosed and are given the wrong treatment. Many of the disorders may overlap or have similar characteristics, which may be difficult for psychologists and psychiatrists to accurately diagnose a patient. Therefore, my game would focus on having the player become the psychologist and see if he or she can correctly diagnose the patient. The game would involve the patient coming into therapy sessions, and providing the player different choices to choose from. The more correct diagnoses the player makes, the more points he or she gets. In a sense, this would be like a House episode, in which the characters are constantly trying out different solutions in order to get to the right one. This game would not only be fun to play, but also educational, specifically for those interested in the career field. Whether other people will be interested in playing it is a different story...

S. Korea Fights Gaming Addiction

Source: flickr.com

Imagine this: Its late at night and you're playing a video game online. You've been playing this game for at least two hours and you're so close to winning one of the hardest levels in the game. Suddenly, like the Cinderella story, your clock hits midnight. And just like that, you are automatically exited out of your game. Basically at this point, you are losing your mind and muttering obscene words under your breath.

You probably can't imagine this too well considering the fact that because you live in the United States, land of freedom, you would play until you finished the level or the game, or just quit whenever you felt like it. This is not the case for South Korea.

According to the article, "South Korea Imposes Midnight Gaming Ban to Combat Addiction," South Korea believes that people are becoming too addicted to their video games. A survey of 1,500 students found that "nearly a third (29.3 percent) showed signs of game addiction, while nearly 40 percent of male students were determined to be addicted."

The country already shuts down the internet automatically at midnight, causing online gaming sessions to be automatically shut down as well. I'm curious to see if this ban on online video games actually works. I certainly hope South Korea conducts a follow-up study on this ban. But don't you worry. You have all night to play your video games. Aren't you lucky!

Making the World A Better Place..Through Video Games??

When I think of video games, I think of Super Mario Bros, Call of Duty, Madden, etc. But game designer, Jane McGonigal, visualizes video games in a whole different light. Instead of violence, sports, and other common characteristics of video games these days, she focuses on improving the world, specifically Africa.

McGonigal's game is called, "Urgent Evoke," which focuses on solving problems plaguing Africa such as poverty, starvation, violence, etc. According to the article, "Online game seeks to empower Africa," players earn points by solving tasks such as "volunteering, making business contacts or researching an issue, then submitting evidence of their work online." A challenge is presented and for 10 weeks the player must think of several ways to solve the issue and present it. Other players will review their work and provide points and power ups, and whoever has the most points wins.

Ok, so what's great about this game and what's not-so-great?

Let's start with the positive and the most obvious reason why this game may be potentially successful. It focuses on helping Africa! Any game that is geared towards making the world a better place gets a A+ in my book. Not to mention, this game can be useful for entrepreneurs and those interested in improving world problems to creatively think of ways to solve them. This game is supposed to help players think of new, realistic ways to improve issues such as famine, in Africa.

Now for the negative sides to this game. Again, let's start with the obvious. This game is geared towards helping Africa, therefore, it would be helpful to have residents in Africa to participate in this game. But there's one problem: the majority of people in Africa don't even have internet access! According to the article, "400 of the 3,500 people who have signed up for the game so far come from Africa." In addition, many people believe that video games can be addicting. Psychologist Dr. Kimberly Young believes that while people can develop skills while playing video games, it does not mean they can develop the same skills in the real world. Instead of playing video games, people should be actually solving problems in reality.

So what do you think? Is this a game that you think you would be interested in?

Photo: Quick Look into History

Source: "The history of psychology through the lens of Life Magazine"

Dr. Arnold Gesell was a psychologists at Yale University and focused on child psychology. The picture was taken in 1947 as one of the child psychology labs at Yale. He used video cameras and photographic cameras to aid him in his research. The photo shows Dr. Gesell observing a child in a "one-way mirror shaped as a dome." The purpose of such a dome was so that the children inside the domes could be observed without any disruption from people and the environment outside of the dome. This was a useful piece of technology because it didn't include any outside variables that may affect the observation at hand. Although the picture was taken many years ago in which the quality of photographs were not at its highest, I think this photo was taken very well. The focus of the picture is clearly Dr. Gesell and the child inside the brightly-lit dome. It also follows the rule of thirds and has a clear focus. Although some parts of the photo may be too exposed, it could also be the fact that cameras back in the day were not as advanced as they are now, or the lighting may have been an issue. Either way, I think this photo is a good example of capturing history in the making.

More Psychological Pictures Continued

Continuing my blog with pictures relating to psychological technology, here are two more pictures representing this topic. The first picture is known as "biometric recognition." According to the blog titled, "Family Stop Here," biometric recognition is a technique used to identify people by their psychological and behavioral traits. In this situation, psychological traits do not necessarily mean how a person thinks or feels. Physical characteristics are what make up the psychological traits, such as shape of the body, scent, size, etc. Behavioral traits include characteristics such as voice recognition. Biometric recognition is quickly becoming a hot new addition to the technology world, especially in places needing high security. In other words, the government is highly interested in this technology.

The photo has obviously been edited and computerized. The way it was finalized was to show how scanning a person's hand using biometric recognition might look like. With the way it looks, I would say the person who edited the photo was successful in making it look like it is actually being scanned.

Source: Family Stop Here

The second picture shows a woman wearing what looks like an oversized helmet with a bunch of wires and cameras attached. In fact, the helmet is the headgear that most pilots in the military wear when flying helicopters such as the Black Hawk. According to the article, "Research Lab Combines Psychology with Technology," graduate student, Sage Jessee, has worked as the "eye-tracking specialist on a video game style simulator that monitored the pilot’s point of gaze and head position during flight scenario." The focus of this new technology is to help pilots view the landscape and other things in front of them by looking out the windows, rather than looking at the panel inside of their cockpit. This allows more visual communication and more accuracy. This can also lead to potential benefits such as "reducing pilot errors and saving lives." I think this is a good photo. The photographer followed the rule of thirds, and captured the people in action. Its showing the beginning of structuring a new piece of technology.

Source: Research Lab Combines Psychology with Technology