Report 1:

Monitoring My Information Behavior

By:  Jennifer Higa

 

Instructions for this report are at:

 

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonpsy21/409a-g21-report1.htm

 

 

SECTION A- Discussing Pre-ratings for Task 1

 

             I never really knew what to expect from this kind of project.  The first task seemed so easy, but I felt like I was doing something wrong.  How can an assignment be based on just signing up for something or registering on the web?  So I followed the directions and I answered the questions. The pre-ratings seemed pretty average.  The whole time I was expecting the task to be much more difficult than it seemed to be.  I didn’t want to be too confident with myself.  I was very cautious when answering some of the pre-rating questions, like the question asking if how long it would take me to finish and I didn’t rate it to high.  I later found myself becoming much more confidant as I answered more questions.  The question asking how optimistic I was on finishing the task was a different story.  This wasn’t about how hard the task was.  This was about my own drive to finish no matter what.  I feel I scored this question high because even though I was a little cautious on how the actual task would be like I had a strong dive to finish it no matter what.

 

 I realized that most of the questions I had scored a 10 for were about my completing the task and doing so successfully.  I realized that I have a strong drive to do well at school.  I never realized this before. I’ll be honest, I am not a straight A student who always keep up with everything in school.  I know that part about myself but I never thought that I was a person who liked to get things done and the kind of person who would be upset if I didn’t get things done correctly.  I never realized that I have good study habits and a high standard for doing well in school.

 

SECTION B- Discussing Post-ratings for Task1

 

            After finishing the task I know I did it correctly because all I had to do was register as a lab user.  It seemed so easy so I was very skeptical, but after completing the task I realized that it was suppose to be an easy task.  After thinking for a while about how I had rated the task after I had completed it I realized that most questions I had rated high.  I rated my stress low and I rated my optimism in the middle.  Even though I knew I did the task well I still wasn’t confident in my work.  Why? I asked myself.  I think I have low confidence in my actions.  I know I did it right but I still leave room for questions.  I wondered a long time about this and I realized it has a lot to do with the fact that as a child I was always pushed to do my work and even though I tried my best I was still never an A student. 

 

Today I seem to not bother to do my best and I still get B’s. It’s like the harder I tried the more disappointed I would be.  I believe that that is the reason why I am not too confident in my work.  I don’t want to think I did the best and perfect job and then get a bad grade, which would make me feel bad.  I try not to get my hopes up even if it is the easiest task to complete.  I never really thought I had a problem with this until now.  This was a real eye opener on how childhood experiences influence you every day of your life.  Now that I know I can try to change if not help myself do better.

 

SECTION C- Discussing Pre-ratings for Task 2

 

            I wasn’t expecting the pre-ratings to be the exactly the same for this task.  At first I wondered why.  I answered some of the questions the same way as I answered the questions for task 1.  I rated most of the questions very high.  The negative questions I rated very low.  I was beginning to think that I was becoming more confident with way I was going to handle the project.  I didn’t seem to be so afraid of what to expect.  The task seemed fairly simple.  All I had to do was look for certain journal articles on the electronic resource from the web and summarize them.

 

 I feel I was a little more confident with this task because I was familiar with using the electronic resources.  I realized that I like things that are familiar to me.  I feel safe when I know what to expect and I don’t like being thrown into new experiences.  I really feel a lot of comfort in familiarity.  I also realized that this doesn’t only apply to homework or school that this also applied to every day experiences that I could have.  I never really show others I am uncomfortable in new situations but I tend to hide those feelings.  People tend to be surprised when the find out I was nervous at a new job or class etc.  Seeing the way I rated this task compared to the first task proved to me that I am the type of person that seeks familiarity to be able to fell safe and confident.

 

SECTION D- Pasting pieces of an article, summarizing it in own words, and giving my reactions

 

British Journal of Social Psychology; Mar2004, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p99, 14p, 1 diagram

 

The research presented in this paper uses memory work as a method to explore six women's collective constructions of two embodied practices, sweating and pain. The paper identifies limitations in the ways in which social constructionist research has theorized the relationship between discourse and materiality, and it proposes an approach to the study of embodiment which enjoins, rather than bridges, the discursive and the non-discursive. The paper presents an analysis of 25 memories of sweating and pain, which suggests that Cartesian dualism is central to the women's accounts of their experiences. However, such dualism does not operate as a stable organizing principle. Rather, it offers two strategies for the performance of a split between mind and body. The paper traces the ways in which dualism can be both functional and restrictive, and explores the tensions between these two forms. The paper concludes by identifying opportunities and limitations associated with memory work as a method for studying embodiment. [ABSTRACT FROM

AUTHOR]

 

 This first article is a study of memory.  The first part of the article talks mostly about how to study your memories and develop theories.  The article talks about studying memories about sweating and pain.  It talks about how you see your body in the memory and not your self.  You separate yourself into two parts and not one.  The article also talks about how you remember pain.  You see pain as a different being.  In short the article says that when recalling a memory your self and body are split. I thought this article was interesting and I would of liked to hear more about this subject. I felt the article was very well written and it caught my attention.  It made me want to learn more about the subject.

 

 

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; Jun90, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p277, 2p

 

The year 1988 marked the tricentennial of the birth of the Swedish scientist, theologian, and revelator Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg and His Influence consists of 25 papers originally presented at a symposium held by the Academy of the New Church which is founded on Swedenborg's teachings. The subject matter of these papers is as varied in content as were Swedenborg's activities in life. He had a long career as a scientist and inventor who made important contributions m the mining and metallurgical industries, devised a method for navigation based on the position of the moon, made contributions to the theory that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny in biology, founded and edited the first scientific journal in Sweden, and was undoubtedly among leading scientists in eighteenth century Europe.

 

This article was about a man named Swedenborg and the impact he had on the world.  The article talks briefly about each section of his book.  Some topics included freemasonry and his influence on theology. The article doesn’t go into many details. The second part of the article talks about another influential book on understanding religion and science.  The book was by Fraser Watts and Mark Williams. I felt this article was lacking in information and a little confusing in that it isn’t a subject I’m familiar with. I felt this article wasn’t as interesting as the first one.

 

SECTION E- Discussing Post-ratings for Task 2

           

            One thing that seemed strange was how long it took me to finish this task.  I estimated it would take me about an hour but it ended up taking me three.  I’ll be honest I wasn’t totally on track and the fact that my computer was slow didn’t really help.  I seemed to answer all the first questions about how I think I did etc. pretty high but the questions on stress etc. I also scored high this time.  I get really frustrated when the computer is slow.  I hated the fact that I was having a hard time finishing something and it wasn’t my fault. 

 

After doing the post rating I realized I hate to be held back from completing a goal.  I guess I’m the type of person who likes to go at my own pace and I hate to be slowed down.  That was kind of ironic to me because I felt that related to this course.  I realized that some times when I’m in a rush to get places I have a little more road rage than if I’m not in a rush.  I usually don’t have that much road rage anymore, and I tend to let things go.  I saw the connection with driving and my homework.  I don’t like to be held back and my reaction to being held back is usually negative and somewhat aggressive.  I’m not saying that I am a total psycho or something I just get a little stressed, frustrated, and irritable.

 

SECTION F- Discussing Pre-ratings for Task 3

 

        I mainly rated most of the answers for this task on the higher end.  I think I am becoming more confident with the tasks and realizing that the tasks are not as hard as I think they are going to be.  One question I started to focus on was the question asking, “to whom you attribute most of your success”.  I answered this question by saying I will use my effort and the help of others.  If I really think about it this task will be mostly my effort and therefore that would make me the person to attribute most of the success. 

 

I think this goes back to how I am not confident in my work.  I remember talking about how I am not confident and how I don’t like new things.  I feel that I don’t even like to give myself the credit I deserve.  Not only am I not confident in my work, I also feel that my work is the result of me needing help.  I’m not confident that my work was done by me, and me alone.  That sounds a little strange but that is the interpretation I get from the answer I put for that question.  Why would I attribute any success to anyone else?  I explained that I would need to ask questions etc. so therefore that is considered asking help from others.  I really think I won’t need help and I think I answered this question that way just to be safe maybe.

 

SECTION G- Giving a URL of a mailbox, it’s picture, and specifications


Still River Copper Mailboxes



Dressage Horse and Rider

 

Dressage Horse and Rider

 

 

 

http://www.mailboxworks.com/river1.html

 

Includes:
Copper Mailbox

Size:
Small Mailbox:
9" High x 6" High x 19" Deep

Medium Mailbox:
11" High x 8" Wide x 21" Deep

 

 

 

SECTION H- Discussing Post-ratings for Task 3

 

            After completing this task I was surprised on how long it actually took me to finish.  It took me just minutes to find the mailbox, but because I was distracted it took me about an hour to copy and paste it to my report.  This caused me to realize that spending time or getting lost in the internet might cause you to lose track of time.  In my Post rating I tended to rate most of the questions high.  I thought the task was pretty easy and therefore was confident for once in answering the questions. I wondered why it would take me so long to finish such an easy task. I came up with the conclusion that I get distracted very easily.  I’ve noticed this not only when doing this task but when I try to study.  I study for hours but my actual studying time might be just 2 or 3 hours.  The rest of the time I get side tracked. 

 

I don’t feel I have a lot of distractions at home.  I do feel that the internet is a big distraction. I found it very interesting that by doing this simple task I came to realize that I needed to start focusing more on what I need to get done.  After finishing the post ratings I also realized that I was beginning to get more confident in my work.  The more tasks I complete he more confident I get.  Now I need to use that confidence and mix it with a little bit of focus and I’m on my way to bettering my work.

 

SECTION I- Discussing the Pre-ratings for Task 4

 

I anticipated this task to be hard by all the warnings I got from my professor.  I answered most of the questions in the middle range unlike pre-ratings from the other tasks.  I wasn’t too sure what to expect for this task.  I tended to answer a lot of the question as not sure.  I did predict that I would need help from others to complete the task.  For the first time I anticipated having a hard time.  I was a little unsure of what to expect.  The other tasks were relatively simple and now I have a task I’m not sure of.  Even though I didn’t know how to answer these questions I answered 10 for the question asking about your motivation.  I knew that no matter how hard I was going to conquer this task.  I wasn’t sure about anything else except the fact that I would finish the task no matter what.  I like the fact that I can go into something I know isn’t going to be fun on a positive note.  I know I have a strong drive to finish things and now I realized that this applies to everything even if I’m not sure if I’ll finish right away.

 

SECTION J- Discussing the Post-ratings for Task 4

 

            In my post-ratings for task 4 I realized that I had answered 6 for most of the questions again.  I tended to make much shorter responses to the questions as well.  I feel that because I had so much stress and frustration while completing the task that I was to tired to be specific in my answers.  I was a little upset with the fact that I followed all the directions carefully many times and still could not open my folder from the class web site.  It took me about a total of 3 hours to finish or stop bothering with this task.  I was so upset when I found out later that I had done the task correctly but just didn’t know it.  I was so upset with the fact that I thought I had failed or I was incompetent.  I thought I was the problem when in fact there was no problem at all.  I felt so stressed out and irritated when I was held back from my goal. 

 

When I found out I had done the task correctly I would say that it took me 1 hour to finish the task and the other 2 hours I used trying to see what I did wrong.  After finding out I had done it correctly my outlook on the task was that is was pretty easy.  I never thought making a home page was going to be that easy, but it was.  I felt so relieved to know I had finished the task when I thought I didn’t.  This task was frustration but I still think it was beneficial and useful.  I think this was a good task because it made me realize how important it is for me to complete things and it will help me in the future.  Computers are the future and the more new things you learn to do with them the better.

 

SECTION K- Discussing the Pre-ratings for Task 5

 

            I felt I was really confident in the pre-ratings for this task.  I scored most of the questions high.  I scored questions regarding effort and stress really low.  I think I was getting not only confident with myself but also really comfortable.  I didn’t seem to question myself at all.  It seemed that I had become comfortable with these tasks and with completing them.  I knew what to expect so I wasn’t afraid to be confident.  I was ready to complete the task, which I knew I would, and complete it well.  Finally I didn’t have any questions in my mind or any doughts.  I think this was a turning point in the way I was doing this report.  Not only did I feel better but I was less tense and more comfortable.  I think doing the tasks made me more familiar with what I was suppose to do.  I felt a lot better going into this task then I did with other tasks.  I didn’t even think twice about running into a problem. 

 

SECTION L- Summarizing Report 1 and what I learned from doing it

 

            I feel this report was a study of how I complete tasks and the steps I go through while doing them.  I found out that I go through many different steps. I go through a low confidence stage, then a cautious stage, then a frustrated stage, and finally a confident stage.  I realized that I grew from this experience.  I felt a lot better as I came closer to completing the assignment then I did when I first started.  This assignment allowed me to see the thought process in my own mind.  It let me see things I never thought I would see.  I felt this assignment was beneficial in helping me better myself and.  I have learned a lot from studying myself.  I know things I never knew before.  The best part is that all this can help me in the future and I feel that that is a good thing. 

           

            I also thought this report was really interesting.  I felt it was kind of strange studying myself but when I think about it was a pretty beneficial activity.  I know now how I think and how to make myself better.  This assignment helped me understand myself.  It’s always good to learn something new and it’s pretty interesting to see you can even learn things from yourself.

 

SECTION M- Discussing the Post-rating for Task 5

 

            I felt that I was very confident in the post-ratings.  I answered most of the questions really high just like for the pre-ratings.  All the answers seemed the same as the pre-ratings.  I was so excited to be finished.   I felt so proud of my progress and of the way I had finished the report.  I had never expected the report to be like this.   I thought it was going to really hard and in some ways it was.  I really gained a lot from this report.  As I look at the way I rated my answers for this post-ratings compared to the others I realize I get more and more optimistic.  I grew from this experience.

           

            I answered the questions more quickly because I had become good at doing them.  Another reason I finished them quickly was because my confidence was up and I wasn’t so cautious when doing the questions.  I felt like I was rushing but I wasn’t, I was just comfortable.  When you get used to something you tend to do it with out thinking as much.  I felt I succeeded and I was happy with the way the report was coming to an end.  This positive attitude was reflected in my positive answers.

 

           

Class Home Page:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/classhome-g21.htm

 

My Home Page:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/409af2004/higa/409a-g21-report1.htm