A letter to future psych students.

 Definitely consider taking AP psych! Ms. Halfen definitely made the class enjoyable. From watching brain games to learning about some crazy experiments from back in the day, it was very interesting! 

While some parts seem tedious, remember its required in the curriculum! So just sit tight and have some fun learning. A super helpful resources is Fiveable. It includes summaries of all the important topics you need to know. It's also super organized and easy to use. 

Also every other week or so we have fun project options that really aren't too difficult. They are often a nice homework break from other hard classes. 

Wishing you the best of luck!

Crystal

Psych Memes!

 I made some psychology memes... comment if you laughed.

How good is my memory?

Short Term Memory Test

10/12 - This test was fun because I remember this technique I saw on brain games where you create a scene in your head using all the words you have to memorize. I tested it out for the first time and its surprisingly worked very well. Without it, I probably would've gotten half of the words correct. (Wish I could create a scene with calculus formulas in my head...) 

Everyday Object Memory Test

I chose the incorrect penny. This was interesting because a coin is something we've all seen since we were children. I'm glad I at least chose the penny that had the head facing the correct direction. I think this is a decent benchmark for verifying memory. However there are definitely a lot of factors that could affect results.

Famous Faces

In this test, I was tasked with differentiating celebrities from their doppelgänger solely based on facial features. It was really fun to take. I was surprised by the amount I got incorrect. There were definitely certain faces that I recognized instantly. However, I don't think this study produces super reliable results since some people might not know a lot of the celebrities. 

Social Psychology

Let's talk about social psychology in sports!

Compliance is a mild form of conformity or adapting to your environment to fit in. It is typically short term and influenced by social factors. For instance, when watching a game at a party may cause one to act compared to how they would watching the game on their own. They might be louder and react more intensively to match the energy of those around them. 

Obedience is a response and following of authority figures and their demands. Athletes in a game must follow and respect the rules and calls made by referees and coaches.

Social facilitation is when an individual's performance is enhanced when around other people. Home field advantage can be explained by many different possible factors. Some believe social facilitation might be taking place. With fans cheering, an athlete may be motivated to do better rather than at a practice alone.

Group polarization is when someone is heavily influenced by like-minded people around them. For example at a game, one's anger towards a referee's call is more likely to be facilitated and heightened when the people around the individual feel the same way. 

Reciprocity norm is when people act in kindness as a favor or in return of something. This can be seen when an athlete gives a ball to a fan. It acts as a gift that reciprocates the fans' support. 

The Anything Blog

As mentioned before, dancing is a hobby of mine! Exercising is known to help reduce anxiety. Dancing is actually a huge stress reliever as it increases serotonin levels (feel-good hormone). Furthermore, it helps advance neurological connections and improve long-term memory.

Senses and Stuff

 The tongue is a very sensitive muscle. Hence why babies put everything in their mouth as it tells them about their environment (not just for teething purposes)! The appearance of the tongue is a good indicator of health. Tastes buds actually aren't limited to your tongue. They can be found in your cheeks, nose, and on your lips. So technically... if you had no tongue... you could taste a bit.

BioHeroes

Hypothalamus/Endorphins

Sick?? Super Singing Sergio is here to save the day!!

Super Sergio was a young boy living an ordinary life. One day, Sergio's mom fell ill to a severe virus. His father took her to the best doctors in the country, but nobody could help her. Sergio couldn't fully understand the situation and played pretend doctor with his mom. Only it wasn't pretend... he actually ended up healing his mom completely. From there, Sergio formulated a special song that could treat any sickness. When he sings, his words somehow regulate the fevers of the sick (hypothalamus-homeostasis). Furthermore, his special song acts a painkiller that immediately relieves pain, stress, and discomfort of the sick (endorphins-pain-killer).

GO SERGIOOO!!!!!! 

Life Story

I was born on March 6th in Houston, Texas! I started walking at the ripe age of 11 months. Soon, I began talking at the 1 year mark. Fun fact: I could use effectively use chopsticks to feed myself when I was 2 #talent. 

My love for sports allowed me to be very active throughout my younger years. Right now, the only professional sport I actively keep up with is American Football. Fun fact: I've been a packers fan since I was 4!

I've recently got into dancing as a hobby! While I'm not good at it at all (especially compared to my super talented friends), I still find a lot of joy in it :) You can watch some fun clips here!  

I grew up as an only child. However, I've always had at least one pet as far back as I can remember. Currently, I have two dogs named Jake and Rex.

I'll be graduating next year in 2024. The thought terrifies me. I think I will really miss all the memories I've made and people I've met in high school. I'd like to stay in Texas for now because I have a lot of family and support here. 

I see myself pursuing pharmacy and one day opening a coffee shop. In an ideal life, I hope I'm still good friends with the friends I have now. I plan to marry around my late twenties or early thirties. My wedding will likely be in Houston since our families will probably be here, but I hope for a honeymoon in Asia or Europe👀 If I have kids, I'd have 1 or 2 in my early 30s. 

I see my self as an avid traveller just living life with no regrets #yolo.

I hope I can comfortably retire around 55-60 #401k. 😁

Death scares me, but I hope I'll live happily and healthily past 85.

Online Icebreaker

Hi, I'm Crystal! :)

Dancing is a fun hobby of mine. This is a picture from a performance I had at Hightower's 2023 Lunar New Year Festival. I'm proud of this performance because my group and I only had 3 days to prepare it!

You can find our full performances here!

Now that you know a bit about me... Let's play 4 truths and a lie. Comment what # you think is the lie! 

1. I won the spelling bee in 5th grade. 

2. My favorite sport is football. 

3. I have 2 dogs. 

4. My favorite color is green. 

5. My favorite ice cream flavor is coffee.