Salvador Gutierrez P7 Mar.14 - Mar. 18

This week in AP Psychology: we learned about psychological disorders.  What I found fascinating was that poets, authors, artists, and musicians have a high rate of having a psychology disorder.  I already have noticed that many legendary poets, authors, artists, and musicians had psychological disorders.  For example: Joey Ramone, Johnny Cash, Ernest Hemingway, Vincent Van Gogh, Ian Curtis, Jackson Pollock, and Michael Jackson.  Some already had the disorder and found a way to express themselves and what they are going through while others, in a way, gave themselves a disorder.  For example, a struggling artist takes some marijuana and ends up painting something amazing.  So he decides to smoke more and more marijuana and take other drugs to come up with another good painting.  Eventually destroying himself because of all the marijuana and any other drugs consumed.  I am still not sure why material from people with some sort of disorder tends to be good.  Is it because we don’t know what they are going through?  That they live in another world, and so the things they write/sing/draw about is something new to us.  It is human nature to like new things.  Or is it because of their disorder, they are able to see the world differently, in a certain manner that fascinates us.  I am not saying you need to have a psychological disorder to be a good poet, author, musician, or artist.  But it just so happens that some of the legendary poets, authors, musicians, and artists happened to have some sort of psychological disorder.  Then again, what does it mean to have a disorder?  What does it mean to be sane?

Salvador Gutierrez P7 Mar. 07 - Mar. 12

This week in AP Psychology: we learned about the different kinds of societies and their sexual attitudes; restrictive, semi-restrictive, and permissive.  I live in both restrictive and semi-restrictive societies.  My Mom’s family are semi-restrictive and my Dad’s family are restrictive.  And it is all due to their culture.  My Dad’s family are Christians, devote Christians.  And any sign or thought of premarital sex or extramarital sex is shunned upon and they will stop talking to you, for years and perhaps forever.  They are the kind of Mexicans that live and breathe telenovelas.  On the other hand, my Mom’s family live and breathe Mexican game shows.  They are Catholic, (and I know this is a stereotype but it has some truth to it) so they are not truly devoted to the ten commandments.  They do not mind premarital sex as long as no one gets pregnant, if there is a pregnancy they get angry but then they forgive and move on.  When they find out if you have committed extramarital sex, they are also angry at first but then forgive and move on.  From my experience, semi-restrictive is the way to go.  Because there is more happiness, love, and family togetherness.  Unlike my Dad’s family where sisters stop talking to each other and are never in the same building together.  Also, a restrictive society just increases the chances of premarital and extramarital sex, because it is a form of rebellion.  Oh, I forgot about the third society.  A permissive society just sounds too disorganized.  It reminds me of the hippies during the 1960s.  I will raise my kids in a semi-restrictive society, like my Mom’s family.  I will still tell them the consequences of premarital and extramarital sex and tell them that it is wrong, but if they still happen to do it then they will have to live with the consequences of their actions and I wont stop loving them.

Salvador Gutierrez P7 Feb. 21 - Feb. 26

This week in AP Psychology: we learned about one of the best feelings in the world, eureka/insight solutions.  It is when you suddenly come up with a solution for the certain problem you had.  It happens on the third stage of creative problem solving.  After incubation and before verification-elaboration.  It’s kind of the same thing as the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.  Where you can’t remember exactly what it is so you stop thinking about it (incubation) and after a while, you suddenly remember what it was.  The eureka insights make you feel like a genius.  WARNING: you must have a pen and paper with you always because you don’t want to forget your eureka solution.  I have had many eureka solutions where I would forget what I came up with.  All those creative ideas, those genius ideas and solutions that would have blown the world away…gone.  Anyway, that’s my life motto now.  To carry around a notebook and paper and to put everything aside because I will eventually get back to them with a better solution.  Which is why for homework assignments, their shouldn't be a due date and the students should just put away their homework and forget about it.  Once you have an insight solution, then you can do your homework and turn it in.  It will increase the quality of homework turned in.  If you don’t get an insight solution by the end of the year, then forget about it.  Life goes on, brah! - “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” by The Beatles.  I bet The Beatles wrote most of their songs through eureka insights.  They would stop writing and then just go on with their lives.  And suddenly, while reading a nursery rhyme to the prime minister, they would come up with the chorus.  If we treated homework like The Beatles treated songs then we would turn in some #1 hits.

Salvador Gutierrez P7 Jan. 31 - Feb. 04

This week in AP Psychology: we learned about observational learning and how you mostly learn from those who you admire.  I have many examples of unconsciously behaving like others.  I frown like Jim from “The Office” does.  I smirk like Marlon Brando smirks.  I cross my arms like Marlon Brando did in a poster for “A Streetcar Named Desire” (although I consciously started doing it, I unconsciously do it now).  When I try to act tough and cool I begin to make a face like that of Marlon Brando.  As I was telling my mom this the other day, she pointed out something interesting.  She said that what if I already acted like that, smirked and behaved like Marlon Brando when trying to be cool.  But my behavior modified slightly to that of Marlon Brando’s because we are similar rather than strictly because I admire him.  Which is true in a way.  I don’t admire Jim from “The Office,” but I relate to him and began to act a bit more like him.  But then again, don’t you admire those who you relate to?  Anyway, I am a bit self-conscious now.  Trying to figure out where I learned this and that from.  It seems that I only learn from movie actors/characters, but I also learn from my family.  For example, I touch my moustache with my lower lip like how my grandpa does.  I am also noticing how some of my behavior has rubbed off onto my brother.  Like he also crosses his legs while leaning against something, like I do.  Now that I think of it, observational learning is pretty much common sense.  How else can you learn a certain behavior?  You learn by other humans around you or be like Tarzan and learn by the apes around you.

Salvador Gutierrez P7 Jan. 17-22

This week in AP Psychology: we learned about socio-cultural theories.  It’s based on how culture, socio-economic status, birth order, school, peers, television, and parents shape your language.  I agree with this very much.  I don’t see any way possible how anyone can disagree with this theory.  It explains how language is different according to the region and decade.  Now that the world is “smaller,” there are even more differences among people and their languages.  I speak English with a southern California accent because I live in southern California.  And speak Spanish with a Michoacán accent because I spend more time with my mom and her side of the family rather than my dad’s side of the family, so I speak as if I was from Michoacán (mom) rather than Jalisco (dad).  When I say Michoacán, I mean San Jose de Gracia because that’s where my mom’s from.  When I say Jalisco, I mean Tepatitlan because that’s where my dad’s family is from.  The words I use is from a mix of Los Angeles (where I live), skaters (friends), Mexican (family), British (extensive watch of Monty Python, The Office BBC, and Fawlty Towers), and Whitney (school).  I am more aware of what I am saying now.  I think about where I got that word from.  This is a very useful tool that I should look into more.  It will help me with dialogue when coming up with video ideas and writing scripts because I will have a better understanding of how the character should speak.  Language is something that will never go away, it just grows and grows.

Salvador Gutierrez P7 Jan. 03-08

This week in AP Psychology:  I learned about sleep, hypnosis, and dreams.  What I liked the most was the stuff on dreams.  Dreams consist only of your past experiences and of what you already know.  Last year, I began a sleep journal.  I would go online to the dream dictionary and see what things meant.  But it turns out that it all depends on your interpretation rather than someone else’s because it’s your dream and your thoughts and feelings.  For example, a horse can mean freedom and stamina to someone but it can also mean grandfather to someone else.
After watching Inception, I began to try to have a lucid dream.  I did all the tricks and no good.  I wrote the letter “A” on both my palms, counted sheep (in order to keep counting once the dream starts and then I would realize I’m in a dream and then I can stop counting and have fun), and I would try to notice the little details that can give away that I’m in a dream (i.e. I’m reading a book and the letters would change every time I would look away, I’m in one location and then I would end up somewhere completely different just by going through the door).  I didn’t continue the sleep journal that I mentioned earlier, but I will try to continue on this journal.  I’m still not able to remember my dreams with the right amount of detail to figure out my unconscious, but I will soon.  Remembering my dreams will help me in life because dreams are like simulations and they can teach you the best possible thing to do in certain situations.

Salvador Gutierrez P7 Nov. 29 - Dec.04

This week in AP Psychology: we learned about the different parenting styles.  I pay more attention to my parents trying to figure out which style they fall into.  Both my parents are authoritative.  But my mom is a bit more permissive towards me now that I am older.  I am glad my parents are not Asian.  I know not all Asians are authoritarian but most of them are.  I have asked my Asian friends (Korean, Thailand, Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Bangladesh) what parenting style their parents are and most of them said authoritarian.  A Korean friend of mine has authoritative parents but they are authoritarian on certain issues like school.  I also know that not all Caucasian parents are permissive, but most of them are.  I think I am going to be an authoritative parent when I have kids.  It is the one style with the most benefits.  I am also going to be authoritative since it is the only way I know how to parent.  Everyone ends up to be like their parents because it is the only way they know how to parent.  I think being authoritarian will make your children dislike you and take you for granted.  And being permissive will make your children miserable because they do not have any guidance or fatherly figure to look up to.  I think being permissive shows how little you love and care for your children.  Every time I see a parent with his/her child, I try to figure out what kind of parent they are.  I am a bit confused on how there are only 3 styles.  There have got to be more.