SIGNATURE AND REFLECTIVE

ASSIGNMENT 1

Signature Assignment with Reflective Assignment for ePortfolio/Digication

Tanner Connolly

Salt Lake Community College

PSY 1010 Signature Assignment

May 1, 2019
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Signature Assignment with Reflective Assignment for ePortfolio/Digication

The science of psychology is an interesting topic as you are trying to understand the

science behind a subcategory of science. In my opinion, the science of psychology is the science

behind, “why?” From an early childhood one of the first things we learn to say is “why?” This

spans from humans naturally being curious beings. We live out our lives full of wonder and a

constant search for knowledge and understanding. That is why psychology is so important to

study. It provides us with an understanding for our naturally curious natures and has different

subcategories to understand.

Some of the subcategories include Brain Science and Cognitive Psychology, Climate and

Environmental Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology,

and many more. These are crucial to the field of psychology as a whole and science in general.

Take Counseling Psychology vs Environmental Psychology for example. You’ll see that in

Environmental Psychology, that is the study of human beings and how we react to our

surroundings whereas Counseling Psychology is a form of psychology that helps individuals

with their physical, emotional, and mental health statuses. You can see that both forms of

psychology play a crucial role in our daily lives. But each field has their own area of expertise

that help benefit our understanding.

The most meaningful concept I learned that benefited my understanding of human beings

came from the assignment RA11 Ch11 Social Norms. A social norm is essentially an unwritten

rule or law on how we as humans are supposed to behave. We have certain state and federal laws

in place to protect society and these social norms are what fill the cracks. The process of

establishing a social norm is illustrated experimentally in an unstable perceptual situation.

(Sherif, M. (1936)) However, not all areas have the same social norms. Some social norms are
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determined by religion, some by culture and others are determined by tradition. That is why you

can see such a vast difference in social norms from not only state to state, but even town to town

in some areas.

Social norms are helpful to know now because they teach us how to act in today’s

society. It also helps us identify new trends and changes that are coming in society. For example,

one of the biggest changes in social normality right now is gender identity. Adherence to social

regulations (e.g., norms, morals, and laws) seems especially important, bestowing numerous

benefits on members of society collectively and individually. (Gailliot, M. T., Gitter, S. A.,

Baker, M. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (2012).) A large number of individuals do not want to be

classified by their gender or what their gender roles should be for them. Masculinity and

femininity are being challenged and that could change the social norms for the future. However,

changing and/or challenging social norms is no easy task and needs to be done as a collective. It

is extremely difficult and almost impossible for one individual to change a social norm by

themselves.

In conclusion, this class has benefited me by increasing my overall understanding of

psychology. I knew going into this class that I wanted to major in psychology, but I didn’t know

what field. In learning about all the different subcategories and key concepts of psychology, I

feel I have been able to eliminate some from the contention list. I am excited to continue my

education and this has put me one step closer to my end goal.
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References

Gailliot, M. T., Gitter, S. A., Baker, M. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (2012). Breaking the rules: Low

trait or state self-control increases social norm violations. Psychology, 3(12), 1074.

Sherif, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms.