I am a psychology major in my final semester of undergraduate work. I specify undergraduate work because as anybody in psychology knows you cannot do much in the field with just a bachelor's degree. A significant part of my coursework has been reviewing journal articles of experimental studies. During this process I have thought of many experimental studies that I would like to carry out just to satisfy my own curiosity. I am now finally doing it, and no, it is not for a class, it is for my own satisfaction. Let me start at the beginning.
I am currently taking a course on human sexuality. This class is mixed gender and gives some opportunity for open discussion. On the second day of class when we began to really dive into the topic one student, of the female persuasion (not that this has anything to do with it), monopolized the majority of the discussion and said some pretty derogatory statements regarding the male species. Some things that came out of her mouth included but were not limited to, "guys can have recreational sex because it doesn't mean anything to them" "I've never met a guy who could lead[on the dance floor] as good as I can" "guys will have sex with just about anyone, girls won't" and the classic anthem of the broken broken hearted - "guys are pigs". It was not just the generalization and inanity of her statements but also the frequency of them. I began to think, "I wonder how much of our class time was spent having to listen to her bleeding heart, anti-male, jibber-jabber," or something to that effect. Thus my experimental study was born!
For every class period since I have kept a count of how many times she has spoken and the total duration. I will continue to do this for the next several class periods then I will do the same for everyone else in the class combined. At that point I will also do it for the professor as well. My hypothesis is that she speaks with more frequency and longer duration than everyone else in the class combined and almost as much as the professor.
I know it's a work in progress and probably won't be taken seriously in the professional world but at least it will quench my curiosity and give me something constructive to do while the words pour out of this student's mouth like decrepid crusty syrup! In case you are at the edge of your seat wanting to know how the study will turn out - never fear - updates are on the way.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Democratic Disappointment
I am a senior at a small private university in central Texas. At this university I am a part of a national service organization. For now, I am omitting some details because they are not relevant to the purpose of this entry. One particular member of this organization had a somewhat strained and erratic relationship with some of the other members and at times did not exemplify behaviors that are consistent with our purposes. Two and a half years ago he decided to cease being a part of the organization by not paying his annual dues thereby becoming inactive. At the time there was some resentment and confusion toward this member for no longer wanting to be a part of our organization.
In the past six months, however, this former member has exhibited a significant improvement in his actions. He began to reveal himself as dependable, hard working, and sacrificial for the good of the greater organization that we serve, traits which before were hit or miss. I, for one, have been impressed by his overall consistency of late. He recently expressed interest in once again becoming a part of our organization. According to national policy once a person becomes inactive in the organization he/she must submit a written request, receive a 75% positive vote from the active members, gain sponsor approval, and pay the annual dues to become active again. After talking briefly with this individual, he informed me that he was willing to do all these things and I became open and even a little excited about the possibility of him becoming active again. He submitted his written request (along with food which is always a plus), and we discussed it in our weekly meeting. There were some mixed emotions about the subject but I had an optimistic outlook on the situation up until it was time to vote. The vote failed. It needed a 75% positive vote and only reached 50%.
I am of course in favor of democracy and I do not wish to control a vote. Individuals have a fundamental right to vote the way they choose but I was slightly disturbed by the outcome of this particular vote. I was disturbed by the grudges that were still held and the lack of forgiveness for one's past actions which in my opinion were certainly forgivable. I was disturbed that while some completely ignore their own faults they are quick to point out the past faults of others. I was also disturbed that while this individual's past mistakes were still being scrutinized his more recent accomplishments were going largely ignored. That was how the vote turned out, that was democracy at work, and despite being president of this organization there was nothing I could do about it. It begs the question, "How long does it take for our mistakes to no longer haunt us?"
In the past six months, however, this former member has exhibited a significant improvement in his actions. He began to reveal himself as dependable, hard working, and sacrificial for the good of the greater organization that we serve, traits which before were hit or miss. I, for one, have been impressed by his overall consistency of late. He recently expressed interest in once again becoming a part of our organization. According to national policy once a person becomes inactive in the organization he/she must submit a written request, receive a 75% positive vote from the active members, gain sponsor approval, and pay the annual dues to become active again. After talking briefly with this individual, he informed me that he was willing to do all these things and I became open and even a little excited about the possibility of him becoming active again. He submitted his written request (along with food which is always a plus), and we discussed it in our weekly meeting. There were some mixed emotions about the subject but I had an optimistic outlook on the situation up until it was time to vote. The vote failed. It needed a 75% positive vote and only reached 50%.
I am of course in favor of democracy and I do not wish to control a vote. Individuals have a fundamental right to vote the way they choose but I was slightly disturbed by the outcome of this particular vote. I was disturbed by the grudges that were still held and the lack of forgiveness for one's past actions which in my opinion were certainly forgivable. I was disturbed that while some completely ignore their own faults they are quick to point out the past faults of others. I was also disturbed that while this individual's past mistakes were still being scrutinized his more recent accomplishments were going largely ignored. That was how the vote turned out, that was democracy at work, and despite being president of this organization there was nothing I could do about it. It begs the question, "How long does it take for our mistakes to no longer haunt us?"
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Making the Connection from Brownwood to Detroit
As you will find out from subsequent entries I am an avid sports fan and my favorite sport is basketball. When I was first learning how to walk ages ago, I believe I was also learning how to dribble a basketball at the same time. My parents quickly learned of my ingenuity as I could turn any hand held item into a ball of some sort. At the age of seven I witnessed my first NBA Finals series as the Hakeem Olajuwon led Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks four games to three in 1994. I remember my first Slam magazine which featured a story about Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament playing a pickup game with Dennis Rodman. It also featured an excerpt from the book Fab Five by Mitch Albom, a book that would later become one of my favorites of all-time. As soon as my family had access to the internet in the mid '90s I became a basketball historian reading everthing I possibly could on the sport. I watched games constantly keeping up with players' stats and projecting what the statistical outcome would be. My dad attributes my having a profiency in math to this. You see, being a sports fan does have its academic benefits!
This is a little background, now let's flash forward to today. I am a Detroit Pistons fanatic. How did someone from Brownwood, Texas become such an enormous fan of a team in Detroit, Michigan? I was born in Lake Charles, Louisianna where my dad was the horn teacher at McNeese State University. My dad's time at NcNeese St. coincided with that of college basketball star Joe Dumars. Dumars attented McNeese St. from 1981-1985 and in the summer of 1985 he was selected with the 18th pick of the NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. There he was part of the "Bad Boys" who won NBA championships in 1989 and '90 and was named MVP of the '89 NBA Finals. Dumars played for the Pistons his entire career and upon his retirement in 1999, he became one of the few players in NBA history to play over 1,000 games with the same team. Dumars then became the President of Basketball Operations for the Pistons and currently still holds that position. Needless to say, one my proudest moments as a Pistons fan was in the summer of 2004 when Detroit won the NBA championship by upsetting the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers in a David vs. Goliath type battle. This happened in large part because of some major trades orchestrated by Dumars to assemble that championship team. In 2006 Joe Dumars was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. As I was first getting into basketball in the early '90s Dumars was in the prime of his playing career. When my dad told me about his connection with Dumars I decided I was going to root for the team he was on, the Detroit Pistons, and I have ever since.
There you have it. The circular relationship from Lake Charles to Brownwood to Detroit is now connected to explain my fanaticism for the Detroit Pistons in my own little sports world. If you don't give a flip about sports or basketball it's okay. It is just one of my many interests and I will write about many different subjects as they come to me. Go Pistons!
This is a little background, now let's flash forward to today. I am a Detroit Pistons fanatic. How did someone from Brownwood, Texas become such an enormous fan of a team in Detroit, Michigan? I was born in Lake Charles, Louisianna where my dad was the horn teacher at McNeese State University. My dad's time at NcNeese St. coincided with that of college basketball star Joe Dumars. Dumars attented McNeese St. from 1981-1985 and in the summer of 1985 he was selected with the 18th pick of the NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. There he was part of the "Bad Boys" who won NBA championships in 1989 and '90 and was named MVP of the '89 NBA Finals. Dumars played for the Pistons his entire career and upon his retirement in 1999, he became one of the few players in NBA history to play over 1,000 games with the same team. Dumars then became the President of Basketball Operations for the Pistons and currently still holds that position. Needless to say, one my proudest moments as a Pistons fan was in the summer of 2004 when Detroit won the NBA championship by upsetting the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers in a David vs. Goliath type battle. This happened in large part because of some major trades orchestrated by Dumars to assemble that championship team. In 2006 Joe Dumars was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. As I was first getting into basketball in the early '90s Dumars was in the prime of his playing career. When my dad told me about his connection with Dumars I decided I was going to root for the team he was on, the Detroit Pistons, and I have ever since.
There you have it. The circular relationship from Lake Charles to Brownwood to Detroit is now connected to explain my fanaticism for the Detroit Pistons in my own little sports world. If you don't give a flip about sports or basketball it's okay. It is just one of my many interests and I will write about many different subjects as they come to me. Go Pistons!
First Blog
I decided to create my own blog as I was pondering if all of my thoughts and opinions are really worth something. Some things that have been running through my head lately are the need for the ability to improvise in life, just how much gray area there is in this world, what playing music can do for someone, the Detroit Pistons new lineup, and why Michael Vick has been subjected to such extreme treatment. I have a rule, however, that I will not air my opinions on any matters between the hours of 12 and 6 am. Since we are now in this area of time, this blog will serve as an introductory sample of what is to come.
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