Blog Assignment - Week 2

Part 1:
For your first blog assignment, I would like you to find a news article/video from any major news source (e.g., BBC, NPR, Huffington Post, etc.) that relates to anything we will cover in class this semester.  You may want to do a quick perusal of your textbook to familiarize yourself with what topics we will cover.  To receive credit for this assignment, please complete the following:

• Provide a link to your article/video.
• Provide a summary (in your own words) of the article/video.
• Provide a description of how the article/video relates to topics we have/will discuss in class this semester.
• Provide your general reaction to the article/video.  Reactions can include, but are not limited to, why you chose the article or video/why it interested you, how this article/video relates to your everyday life, whether you agree/disagree with arguments made in the article/video, etc.  

There is no specific length requirement for this assignment, but  it should demonstrate that you put effort and thought into the assignment.  Throughout the semester, you'll better be able to relate the psychological principles we discuss in class to everyday life, and therefore will be able and expected to write longer responses.  

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Part 2:
Respond to any 2 existing blog posts (not including this one) to get credit for your "blog comments."  Each post has its own instructions to follow in regard to commenting.  You can find these posts along the right-hand side of the blog.  Note:  Replying to other students' comments on blog post does not count toward your grade, although I encourage you to engage in conversation with one another.  

Although blog assignments will typically be due on Mondays, because of the Labor Day holiday this coming Monday, the due date for this assignment is Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at 11:59p.

Blog Assignment - Week 1

Rather than have you do a tradition blog assignment this week, I just want you to become oriented with the blog.  To get credit for your blog post response and your weekly blog comments, all you need to do is respond to this thread.

Let me know who you are.  Tell me something unique/unusual about you and why you are taking this course.

Please try to respond as soon as possible, but at least by Friday, August 30th at 11:59p.  This will help me know if anyone is having trouble accessing the blog.

Please note, you do not need to do two comments on existing blog posts this week since you weren't given much notice as class just started.  Just simply respond to this thread.  Beginning with Week 2, you'll be responding to two existing blog posts in addition to the main assignment. 

Find Your Inner "Flow"

In a documentary we will watch in class next week, Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi briefly discusses his research on the concept of "flow."

Should you choose to learn more about flow for credit for your weekly blog comments, please complete the following:

• Watch this short TED Talks video of Dr. Csikszentmihalyi discussing his concept of flow.
• Read this article about the concept of flow.
• Discuss the concept of flow....what does it mean?
• What activity(ies) get you into your "flow?"
• When you are in this state of flow, what does it feel like to you?  (e.g., does time pass quickly, do you block out everything around you)
• Discuss why you think this state of flow is important for happiness.

Don't forget to take some time every now and then to find your inner flow!

Do Good, Feel Good

"...volunteering improves the health, happiness, and in some cases, the longevity of volunteers."

Reading through everyone's responses to my question about what makes you happy, I found that several people find that helping others makes them happy.

So why does volunteering make us happy, and what is our motivation to help others?

Should you choose to comment on this post for credit under blog comments, please complete the following:

• Read this article.
• Provide a summary of what you read, in your own words.
• If you volunteer (or help others through other means - for example, helping a friend with a homework assignment), which of the 5 listed reasons why people volunteer apply to you?  Do more than one apply to you?
• The article addresses the health benefits of volunteering in the late adult/elderly populations.  What are your thoughts on this?  Do you know an older person who volunteers regularly?  Why do you think they volunteer?
• The article also addresses the idea that volunteering can be a self-focused behavior, as opposed to a simple act of altruism.  What are your thoughts on this?  Do you think all volunteers have self-focused motives?

If you volunteer, give yourself a pat on the back and keep up the good work.  If you are thinking of volunteering, do it!  

TED Talk on Happiness

TED Talks is a series of conferences given by speakers who are leaders in their respective field.  

Although TED talks contains videos on a wide variety of topics, I want you to stick with the topic of happiness as we are covering it in Chapter 1.  

If you should choose to do this assignment for blog comment credit, please do the following:

• Find a TED Talks video of which the speaker is discussing happiness.  You can do this easily using the search option on the website.  There are plenty to choose from, which allows you the flexibility to choose one of which is interesting to you.  After finding a video, please: 
• Provide the link to your video.
• Discuss, in your own words, what the video was about.
• Discuss what you learned.
• If applicable, describe how the information presented ties into your textbook's discussion on happiness.
• Provide your general reaction to the video.  What did you like?  Were there things you disagreed with? Etc.....

There are some great videos on this website, so I encourage you to be a frequent visitor of the site :)

The Paradox of Progress

"Our modern Western society has made extraordinary strides in transportation, energy, communication, agriculture, and medicine.  Yet despite our technological progress, social problems and personal difficulties seem more prevalent and more prominent than ever before."

Chapter 1 in your textbook provides three examples of paradoxes of progress and provides a point and counterpoint for each (pp. 1-2).  Should you choose to select this assignment for course credit for your weekly blog comments, please complete the following:

• Describe, in your own words, what is meant by "paradox of progress."
• Briefly outline the three paradoxes of progress from your textbook.
• Provide your opinion on the topics of these paradoxes - do you tend to agree with the point or the counterpoint (or maybe a mixture of both)?  Why?  You can use personal examples in your explanation.
• Think of additional paradox of progress not outlined in the textbook.  Provide a possible point and counterpoint of the paradox.    

Your responses will ideally follow paragraph form as opposed to a listing of bullets for each of the sections listed above.  

Remember, you should be writing these comments as if you were going to print them out and hand them in. Thus, spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. is important!

Lastly, there is no length requirement for this particular assignment.  That being said though, I expect your responses to be well thought out and longer than a few sentences. As the semester progresses, you'll be expected to write longer responses as you'll have more information from class/your textbook to tie into your posts.

Improving Academic Performance

Chapter 1 in your textbook includes a section on improving academic performance (pp. 24-29).  This section outlines many effective strategies you can utilize this semester (and following semesters) to meet your academic goals.

Should you choose to do this assignment for credit for your weekly blog comments, please read pages 24-29, and complete the following:

• Briefly discuss what you read.
• Describe, in your own words, one strategy listed under each subcategory (e.g., developing sound study habits, getting more out of lectures, applying memory principles).  Thus, you should describe 3 things.
• Reflect upon your personal study strategies.  What has worked, what hasn't worked?  What do you plan to continue, what do you want to change?  How are you going to achieve this?

Remember, you should be writing these comments as if you were going to print them out and hand them in. Thus, spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. is important!

What Happy People Do Differently

"One of life's sharpest paradoxes is that the key to satisfaction is doing things that feel risky, uncomfortable, and occasionally bad."

This article posted on Psychology Today covers some research on happiness not covered in our textbook.  

If you choose to respond to this article for credit under the "blog comments" portion of your grade:

• Briefly summarize the aspect(s) of the article you found most interesting.  Be sure to use your own words in this summation - copying and pasting sentences/paragraphs from the article will not suffice.
• Explain in some detail/provide an example (or examples) of how the aforementioned aspect(s) pertain to your personal life.  
• How does this article relate to what we've discussed in class or what is written in your textbook?  
• Provide a list of terms you used from the chapters we have discussed this far.

Your responses will ideally follow paragraph form as opposed to a listing of bullets for each of the sections listed above.  In other words, rather than first summarizing the article followed by providing examples from your everyday life, you can interweave this points to form a coherent paragraph.  

Remember, you should be writing these comments as if you were going to print them out and hand them in. Thus, spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. is important!  

Lastly, there is no length requirement for this particular assignment.  That being said though, I expect your responses to be well thought out and longer than a few sentences.  As the semester progresses, you'll be expected to write longer responses as you'll have more information from class/your textbook to tie into your posts.