Psychology 1010

e-Portfolio Reflection

Psychology encompasses our everyday lives, from what we think and feel to
what we say and do. Each behavior we (and others) exhibit is psychology in action.
As stated in our textbook, Psychology: An Exploration (2015 - Ciccarelli, S.K. &
White, J.N.), from everyday actions and interactions to the rarer triumphs and
tragedies of life, psychology is all around us. Therefore, the need to study
psychology is critically important. Understanding the brain/body connection allows
us to translate and control our own behaviors, as well as be more tolerant of others.
The complexity of psychology requires research to understand the broad spectrum
of how things work in the body (the brain, nervous system and glands, senses, etc.)
and how that affects reactions (behaviors, emotions, etc.).
While I enjoyed many aspects of our curriculum throughout this class, one
concept that intrigued me was Understanding Motivation, particularly the sections
regarding stressors and coping strategies.
In our fast-paced, sensory-overloaded lives, coping with stress is a necessity.
For me personally, dealing with the stresses of school, a highly demanding job,
marriage, family, friends, and health issues, it was very beneficial to learn about
various problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. I found some
helpful information on the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) website in
regards to efficient coping strategies (http://www.humanstress.ca/stress/trick-your-
stress/steps-to-instant-stress-management.html):
1. Be positive look at each obstacle you encounter as a learning experience
2. Make the choice not to over-react to stressors deal with each thing one at a
time
3. Take an objective view of your stressor is the task as hand really so bad?
4. Communicate dont bottle up your emotions
5. Accept yourself and others no one is perfect
6. Make connections with others social support is key
7. Deal effectively with mistakes learn from them and apply to future decision
making
8. Deal effectively with successes as well this will build up your competence
9. Develop self-discipline and control train yourself to work harder to
accomplish your goals
10.Maintenance practice, practice, practice
Learning about the different types of motivation was also insightful. For most
of us, going to work every day is an extrinsic motivator that results in a paycheck or
commission/bonus check, while our motivation to do something nice for our spouse
or a loved one is because it fosters gratification internally. Yet motivation is about
needs and we are all driven be different factors. On a personal level, this course
helped me realize a lot about myself. My need for affiliation makes personal
relationships a priority in my life; I wouldnt classify myself as a sensation seeker; I
have a strong sense of autonomy; and I put a lot of pressure on myself thank
goodness for coping strategies!