Psychology Project 2

Emma Blaha

Table of contentsPLASTICITY AUTHORITATIVE

PARENTING

INNATIVE BLINDNESS

GENDER IDENTITY

1

2

4

5

CRITICAL PERIOD3 BROCA’S AREA6

PLASTICITY1

David G Myers, the author of Psychology in Everyday Life defines plasticity as “the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood”

(pg 33).

When I was about 6, my dad started teaching me short German phrases/words-- his grandparents were from Germany and he

wanted me to pick up some German. Soon enough, I did. I was able to learn and actually use German in a sentence. It was not as fluent

as my english, but I knew plenty of German and that’s probably why it was easy to coast by and pass German 1, 2, and 3 with 95s. I

think that it was so easy to pick up the language because of plasticity. I had plenty of ability to learn and learn quick.

As I mentioned, I was able to learn German fairly quickly because of plasticity, but now, being 19 and trying to teach myself ASL is a lot

harder than learning German when I was 6. It’s not that I can’t learn ASL-- I can-- the brain's plasticity is just far more when you are

younger rather than when you are older. So even though it may sound backwards, it was easier for me to learn a second language at 6 years old than it is at almost 20. The concept of plasticity does NOT only apply to language. It can also be reading, doing basic tasks, manners, etc. It is so much easier to learn when you are younger. Can't teach an old dog new

tricks is a saying that I think directly relates to plasticity.

INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS

2

David G Myers, the author of Psychology in Everyday Life defines inattentional blindness as

“failing to see visible object when our attention is directed elsewhere” (pg 55).

One of my favorite things I’ve ever done in highschool and now college is theatre, however there are some negatives that come to theatre- especially stage managing. Inattentional blindness is

something I experience every single show. The most embarrassing example of this is from Almost, Maine-- a

production I managed my senior year. I was just trying to read cues and walk to move set pieces- boom I tripped over a chair.

It’s not that I wasn't paying attention to the chair- I knew it was there, but because I was so focused on cues and everything

else, I tripped on the chair in front of my face.

Right now, it is show week- so inattentional blindness is constantly happening. I was sitting in the booth on Friday calling for intermission and quite literally nobody was in the booth- not

the light person, anyone. It was just me, but because I was so focused on the stage, the fact that there was nobody sitting next

to me was unnoticeable. It is not the same as not paying attention , but much rather a fixed focus on something more

important at the time. I’m sure, once the show is over the constant experiences of inattentional blindness will subside- at

least until the next show

CRITICAL PERIOD

3

David G Myers, the author of Psychology in Everyday Life defines critical period as “a period early in life when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences is needed for proper

development” (pg 79).

This is my nephew Bryson:) He’s almost 2 years old and he is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the words

critical period. Before I moved to Nevada, I would babysit all of the time and something my brother always told me was to talk to him, not babble or baby talk him, actually talk to him. I never

understood why he said that- but now I do. Bryson needs to hear actual words to be able to form and understand words. If he never heard real words, he wouldn't be speaking real words. Talking is a stimulus he NEEDS. For quite a while, Bryson will be in the critical period so experiencing stimuli now will help

him grow and learn for later in life.Along with talking to him, my favorite thing to do is to play music around him. Sure, this may not exactly be a “needed” stimuli, but it is still important to expose him to new and

different stimuli when he is young so he doesnt experience something when he is older that he has no understanding of.

When he recognizes Pink Floyd on the radio when he’s older, I’ll take full credit for playing it for him during the critical period he

is in now.

AUTHORITATIVE PARENTS

4

David G Myers, the author of Psychology in Everyday Life defines authoritative parents as “confrontive parents. They are demanding and

responsive” (pg 88).

While my dad is my best friend, my rock, my mom, and so much more- he also is sometimes the “bad guy” At the end of

the day, no matter how many fights we got into, he would always sit down and talk with me. In 8th grade-- I missed

curfew for the first time. While I insisted it was no big deal, and it would never happen again, my dad still was going to

punish me. Rather than not letting me explain myself or just blow off the entire thing, he sat down with me and told me we were going to decide on a punishment together. This perfectly

displays the fact that he is an authoritative parent.

For as long as I can remember, my dad has been like that for me and my brother. He ALWAYS heard our story out- even if it was

just lies. Ray (my brother) has told my dad that he plans on using this style of parenting for his son too. My relationship is far

different with my dad than it is with my mother. My mother is more of a negligent parent- not there at all. Because my dad is

an authoritative parent, I think my communication skills are far better than they would be if I wasn't raised being able to

communicate.

GENDER IDENTITY5

David G Myers, the author of Psychology in Everyday Life defines gender identity as “our

sense of being male or female” (pg 114).

Gender identity is a topic that leaves so much for interpretation. I think that gender, along with sexuality, is a spectrum. Relating to

gender, I think it’s important to talk about androgyny, or the lack of fitting into a specific gender identity. Androgyny is the idea/feeling

of not identifying with the male or female gender. It can also be considered under the transgender umbrealla. Most people who

idenitfy/ want to feel androgynous are non-binary. Non-binary is again like sitting in the middle of the spectrum, not male or female.

I identify as non-binary and use they/them pronouns.

Androgyny to me, is anything you want it to be. Sometimes it is dressing masculine but using feminine scents for the day, or reversed. There’s no wrong way to be androgynous. I used to

think I was crazy, that I didn't fit in and it drove me mad--until I started actually thinking about the concept of gender, what it is and how I feel. Discovering the term non-binary and seeing that I allign with it helped me not only feel accepted but helped with my identity. It took awhile, and a lot of uncertainty, but I’m okay

with being my own type of andrognyous. I am who I am today, and there’s no wrong way to express my gender identity.

BROCA’S AREA

6

David G Myers, the author of Psychology in Everyday Life defines Broca’s area “a frontal lobe brain area, usually in the left hemisphere

that helps control language expression by directing the muscle movements involved in

speech” (pg 227).

As I mentioned, one of my favorite things I’ve ever done in highschool and now college is theatre, speech team is the exact

same. I was a part of my high school's speech/debate team for all four years of highschool, and captain for one year. It was my pride

and joy, even after all of the long nights and stress, I loved the speech team. I ended up getting a varsity letter in speech and

decided it was only right if I bought a letterman jacket. After four years, I ended up with a varsity letter, and a varsity pin for

speech, 2 district and one state medal, and over 700 hours spent in my theatre- all of these things I owe to the working part of my

brain known as Broca’s area.

Broca’s area is responsible for controlling language--with damage to it, it might be difficult to speak. Everything about

highschool would have been so different for me if I had damage or for some reason the part of my brain where Broca’s area is

was incorrectly working. I couldn't imagine not being a part of speech and theatre. Theatre and speech have created lifelong

bonds and bonds for me. Broca’s area is extremely important for day to day basic conversations, but it was also the leg to stand on

for the speech/debate team.