By Vanessa M. Rodriguez

Instructions for this report are at:

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

There were six steps that were listed on task one. The first step in task one was to preview all of the steps in order to get a quick understanding for what to expect. The second step was to go on the professors website and copy the pre-ratings task. Accompanied by copying the pre-rating task, I was also instructed to create a file. This file was to be named exactly how it was seen. After it was completed we were instructed to email the attachment to our professor. The third step was to interpret the pre-ratings and add it to report 1. In step four, we were assigned to register and make an account at the University of Hawaii database. In order to do this, we have to go to the website and fill out information about ourselves. I believe that this task should not take me long; however, I am intimidated by computers. I may make a mistake with creating a new file for I do not make files as such on the computer very often. The last few steps are basically a duplication of the first two steps. The one and only difference is instead of completing a pre-ratings, it would now be a post-ratings.

Overall, the pre-ratings for task 1 was a straightforward survey about our feelings and attitudes for completing the task to come. As delineated above, the questions mainly regarded our skills, or in my case, lack thereof, with computers. Even though there were no right or wrong answers, I found it somewhat difficult to answer for it regarded a prediction concerning my performance of the task ahead. I know it is an oxymoron to state that this task was both easy and hard; but I strongly agree that it was. Perhaps because I feel that this report is out of my league to complete. I am not confident with computers and the tests taken interpreted my self-esteem on them. I feel that some of the questions concerning stress and frustration were repeated but in a different manner; this confused me a little. The good thing about taking these tests were that they were open-ended questions. I believe this was a good idea for it gave the professor a better and more specific understanding of where the students stand on completing such tasks. It is definitely going to be interesting to compare my answers from the pre-ratings to the post-ratings.

Registering as a lab user was pretty much how I expected it to be. It was pretty simple and uncomplicated. I did not take me that long to complete, maybe five minutes or so. It basically consisted of getting a login name and password off of the Internet. As silly as it may sound, what was frustrating for me was the copy and paste process. I did not know that I had to email the information to myself before emailing it to the professor. I hate creating, saving and emailing attachments. I am quite aware that this is the 21st century and I should know how to do such simple tasks, but embarrassingly enough, I do not. I am currently in the process of learning.

My interpretation of the post-ratings was that the evaluation, very similar to the pre-ratings, mainly focused on my stress threshold of the task I just completed. Many questions regarded frustration. It seemed that I was getting frustrated when asked about my frustration. The reason for my frustration that I was experiencing was due to the sad realization of how truly computer illiterate I really am. The sad thing is that this is barely the first task! Even though I was becoming more frustrated I do believe the questions were well needed. It allowed me to critically analyze my feelings and opinions about why it is so frustrating for me to work with computers.

In this task we are required to locate two specific journal articles in the University of Hawaii’s electronic database. After we locate the files, we are to copy and past the abstract, and write a brief summary of what each article is about. In the survey I rated that I would have an extremely difficult time in this task. This task will be challenging for me because I have never used The University of Hawaii’s library resources- especially electronic resources!

Again, I was becoming more and more intimidated while answering the questions regarding my stress and frustration level. It was not until I completed the pre-ratings that I now understand why they are so important. It is a crutch for me to outlet my emotions before completing the task. I know that I will be experiencing negative feelings along the way and that it is perfectly OK for me to feel this way. I can easily relate this feeling to road rage. I shall take responsibility for my own actions and feelings rather than blaming. I do not blame the other driver so I should not blame the computer.

Article 1: British Journal of Social Psychology; March 2004, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p99, 14p

http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,uid&db=aph&an=12787719

An all women study group was formed to begin researching the Cartesian dualism. Memory was the main issue at hand for the experiment being conducted. The researcher’s decided that the women’s sweat and pain were to be the triggers for this experiment. The women would then write down their memories as well as discuss them in group sessions. The memories suggested that Cartesian dualism was functioning. One point brought out during the experiment, that I strongly agreed with was the fact that it can be very difficult to explain in words how or what someone is feeling. For example, one can use the most magnificent words to explain love but can they truly understand the feeling one experiences with love? Moreover, how can one tell another how to feel when that person never experienced such a feeling?

This article was very interesting. It is very common for one to refer the mind and body as separate entities. I believe there are times when the mind and body work as one and I also believe that there are times they conflict with each other. I agree with what the researchers suggested: the Cartesian dualism can have positive and negative affects. However, I feel that more in-depth research would be necessary to prove this theory.

Article 2: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, June 1990, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p277, 2p

http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,uid&db=rlh&an=9604085487

This article was about Emanuel Swedenborg. Emanuel Swedenborg was an inventor, a scientist, a theologian, and a philosopher, all before he accepted God's call to be a rational revelator during the Age of Enlightenment. Because Swedenborg has accomplished many significant and valuable theories, he is seen to have great influence on literary figures. Historically, his theological writings have been the source of his greatest influence.

I enjoyed reading about Swedenborg, only because I have never heard of him before. It is always interesting to learn about someone, or anything for that matter, that you have never heard of before. I especially liked the short insight of heaven and hell- I would like to learn more about this topic. I definitely would not mind doing additional research about Swedenborg. After reading the article, I feel that his philosophies may be similar to those of mine.

This task took me forever! I absolutely could not find the articles. I tried to do this task independently; however, I broke down and asked somebody for assistance. Finally, after locating the journal articles, I read them thoroughly. I found it somewhat difficult to summarize Article 1 for it was an experiment. It was also somewhat difficult because it utilized a lot of terminology I was not familiar with. In experiments, nearly every step is important and crucial to its findings. I attempted to do my best and not place any futile information in my summary. Article 2 was much easier to summarize for it was a brief biography of the late scientist, Emanuel Swedenborg.

As soon as I could not find the articles I became very frustrated. I then remembered my pre-ratings and cooled down. I did not want to become overwhelmed with stress and irritation. I think the post-ratings now allow for me to reflect on how I monitored my behavior, as well my emotions. The awareness of my frustration is improving. This awareness enables for me to concentrate and repair any negative feelings or actions towards the task at hand. The post-ratings are somewhat therapeutic for me because they serve as an outlet to express my reactions I just experienced while completing the task.

In this task we are to shop for a specific type of mailbox on the web. In the pre-ratings survey I rated to expect tremendous trouble in this task. The only thing I do on the internet is check my email. The first thing I thought of was the popular ebay.com. I then decided that maybe that would be too difficult because once I got to ebay.com, I would then have to learn about e-bay, and then find a mailbox. It just looked like an extra step that I could not afford to take, considering my computer illiteracy.

I am thankful for the pre-ratings because it helped me set forth a goal in mind. It helped me to keep on track. I was able to pay more attention on my emotions and behavior because of the pre-ratings. I am honest while completing the survey when I say that I will experience a lot of frustration. But simply because I admit to this frustration does not mean that I am not going to try and alleviate some of these emotions. With the pre-ratings I am able to set a goal for myself in hopes that my post-rating will be different. I want my post-ratings to be different because this will mean that I did not experience much stress and that I was able to successfully manage my emotions. I would rather anticipate frustration and experience it, than not anticipate and then experience it.

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Copper Mailbox

Instead of beginning this task on e-bay.com, I decided to begin this task at google.com. I typed in copper mailbox. Thousands of websites were available. It took me over half an hour to find one. Perhaps, I work a little slow or maybe I am just picky. (I think I am slow!) I hate shopping on the web- I don’t even do it. In fact, I would not even trust shopping on the web. I am sure thousands, maybe even millions, shop on the web every day. Irregardless, I will continue to be not one of them. Now although I may sound bitter about shopping on the web, I do have to admit that I did have fun browsing or surfing as most would say. I liked this task because it enabled me to personalize, rather than just regurgitating other tasks that were given prior.

I experienced stress and frustration off and on throughout the task. I would experience stress when I would find a copper mailbox but then it would not fulfill all of the other requirements it was suppose to have. My frustration alleviated as I browsed other mailboxes that sparked my interest. This fluctuation of stress then ease within myself occurred a few times while completing this task. I was both hot and cold during this task and I feel this is all right. I think this is a big improvement for me because this shows that my cognitive processes are able to alleviate, without force, frustration I experience.

I do not like the way this task looks! Publishing my report on the web? I am completely doubtful of this task and I am sure it will take even longer than my predicted month time! I have no idea what to expect and this both scares and intimidates me. I do have to say though that having my own page will be awesome. I will feel so proud if I complete this task successfully because I already forsee how hard this is going to be for me. I realize this is going to require a lot of patience from me. I apologize for being so pessimistic about this task and I realize I have to try my hardest to be successful. I promise to do my best.

This particular pre-ratings will have I think the most significant impact compared to all the others. I believe this to be true because I am predicting this is the task I will struggle with the most. The key here is if I can monitor my emotions and behavior during this difficult task, then I can apply it to everything and anything else in life. This will be a breakthrough for me. Even though I gave myself high ratings for this task, I would like to disprove my predictions. Also, I predicted that my success will be attributed to luck rather than skill. I want to invalidate this contradiction as well by the time I complete this task. I have and will continue to be honest with my ratings. I am almost certain I will experience stress but if I can successfully monitor my emotions so my stress will not have a negative impact on me, then that will be just great! This is my goal.

This has been the most difficult task to date…just as I suspected. I experienced a lot of stress and frustration. My biggest problem is that I do not have a computer in which I am able to use whenever I would like. I am limited because I have to use the computer at school. My second problem is that I do not even know how to download, upload or any kind of fundamental tasks that are basic computer skills and knowledge. So in conclusion, anyone would assume that me publishing a website of my own would be impossible- it would never happen. Well, never say never! After much stress, I successfully completed task 4. It was difficult uploading the FTP for it was ‘Greek’ to me.

The post-ratings were somewhat difficult for me to answer this time because I wanted to continue to be completely honest with myself. I tried real hard to fulfill the goal I had in mind- to be able to manage my frustration and stress level. To my dismay, I was unable to succeed. The bright side of my post ratings was that I was able to admit that I experienced frustration without feeling frustrated. Whereas in the beginning, admitting that I experienced high levels of stress and frustration just made me even more irritated. Now I am able to accept my feelings better because I am quicker to be aware of my emotions.

This final task consists of reflection and feedback. It is a self-evaluation of report 1. I did not rate much stress or frustration for nothing can stress me now. I feel confident about this task because it requires no uploading or anything that I usually experience difficulty with. I have to say though, that these past few weeks have been pretty stressful for me. It disappoints me to realize how behind I am, or was, in computer technology. I was embarrassed to admit it before but now its ok for me to admit for I am learning. I can proudly say that I am learning that computers can be your friend! It definitely feels good to have this feeling of accomplishment finally.

I was finally afforded the opportunity to give myself pretty solid pre-ratings this time around. I have come along way because I rated something completely different than from what I had in the beginning of this report. The particular rating I am talking about is the question that asked me how I felt about computers and the Internet. I am proud to say that I am no longer intimidated by computers how I was before. Also, I gave high ratings on how upset I would be if I did not complete this task properly. I would feel so disappointed in myself knowing how hard I tried.

Oh where shall I start? Completing Report 1 was no stroll in the park for me. It was very difficult and I became very frustrated at times- so frustrated that tears came to my eyes and even worse, I contemplated on giving up. However, I try not to focus on that. I remind myself that, even though this assignment took me a long time, I still finished it. This assignment was like an assignment from an internet course. The self-assessments were very helpful for me because I was able to let out a lot of my stress. I found it interesting that my scores fluctuated immensely. Thus, my motivation, competence and awareness changed from time to time.

I am glad to know that my report will be used by future generations- especially those who are interested in information behavior and literary skills. I hope my report will serve for the underdog. By this I mean, I am proof, this report is proof that nothing is impossible! One can overcome their fears, in my case computers, as long as they are motivated and unrelenting.

I truly believe the primary goal for report 1 was not to become more familiar with computers but to become more familiar with yourself. It forced one to test their limits on stress and frustration. This report enabled one to look inside themselves and see how conscious they are of themselves. Anyone can complete such tasks; take me for example! The point is that not everyone can successfully monitor their information behavior. It is a very hard thing to do if one disregards it. Awareness is key value here. Our cognitive processes have immense power and the majority of us do not take the time out to really analyze how it works. This report allowed for one to critically analyze their cognitive processes before and after a task was complete. I believe being sentient to one’s cognitive processes will only help for tasks to become easier. If one applies and practices being more attentive, later it will simply become a natural thing to do for the individual. You then will have the power to manipulate it to your advantage. I know now, that this will surely make me a more well-organized and competent person in my daily life.

This was such a good idea to do this assignment for this class. I feel this way because it is so easily related to road rage. If you can monitor your emotions and behavior on paper through evaluations, then I believe it will be a lot easier for one to manage their emotions on the road. Instead of critically analyzing one’s thought processes concerning tasks on computers, it is now driving on the road. This is only the beginning!

This task was not hard for me. I enjoyed this task the most because I was able to express my opinion freely about what I learned from report 1. I am starting to realize, the more practice I get, the easier it becomes. Also, the more time I spend behind a computer, the better I get at completing such tasks as were required in this report. This task did not take as long as I expected it to. It was rather easy because I had a lot to say. I feel that I learned a lot from this report.

For once, my pre-ratings matched my post ratings. I think my stress and frustration has come to an end. It has come to an end not only because I no longer have to worry if I can complete the task successfully but also, and most importantly, because I now ‘get it.’ I get how important it is to be attentive to your emotions and behavior. I understand that I need to look within myself to monitor my frustration. I no longer despise computers and see them as untrustworthy. Also, I am not as intimidated by them as I was before. I have this report to thank for such an amazing revelation.

Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/classhome-g21.htm

My Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/409af2004/rodriguez/home.htm