Psych 101!

We are three college students taking Psych 101 in UPD and this blog is a culmination of what we learned! Please click the About Us page for more information.

[theemotionmachine]

[psych-101-blog]

Now this is a mentality I’d hop on to.

-mod darling

[buzzfeedlife]

How To Choose A Color Palette That Won’t Drive You Insane

[psych-101-blog]

If you’re a designer who’s having trouble with choosing colors for your project, consider reading up about color psychology. You’d be surprised how effective a design can be because of the colors we choose!

-mod darling

[myaeducationskills-blog]

[psych-101-blog]

Red and black are my favorite colors, what are yours?

-mod darling

[seniorinternaut]

[psych-101-blog]

If you want to a crash course on color psychology, this post is actually very helpful.

-mod darling

[psych-101-blog]

Whenever I hear people underestimate creatives, especially artists, I used to get so angry and defensive. In my sophomore year, I had a professor who recommended us to take Psych 101 despite it not being in the VisComm curriculum because it will help us understand the human mind better, hence it will help us come up with designs that can manipulate our audience better, and he says this as a half-joke. But you know what they say about half-jokes, they’re always half-meant.

It sounds insidious, and yes, it is.

This dear professor of mine explained that art and psychology are very interlinked, because the images we see can influence, affect, or change the way we think and we might not even be conscious of it. Notice how, for example, Jollibee’s viral short films tug on our heartstrings. It’s a tactic used by the marketing team in order to provoke an emotional reaction out of the people and associate the emotions they felt from the film to their brand. Or, notice Angkas’ music video. The visuals are very appealing to the masses, mirroring Angkas’ accessibility to the common Filipino.

Used in a more sinister manner, visuals can be used to brainwash, control, enslave, and violate other people’s rights. The Nazi party in Germany hired Hugo Boss to design them a uniform that’s equally stylish and intimidating, tailored to make the wearer look tall, broad and imposing. When placed side by side with an American soldier, a Nazi officer looks much more scarier. Hitler also used art as a means of spreading propaganda, preferring fine art and modelling works after Greek and Roman art in order to embody their racial ideals. It was a dark time for artists whose art did not conform to their standards, their works referred to as “degenerate” art.

Artists are responsible for what the message they are trying to portray with their works, because every visual thing we produce, from posters, to TV shows, and even to graffiti, will impact human minds. There is so much artists can do to shape the minds of the masses and this is a subtle yet powerful ability that needs to be used responsibly.

So the next time someone makes fun of you for being an artist, smugly snicker to yourself because art and design influence their decisions and they don’t even know it.

-mod darling

[psych-101-blog]

Color Psychology

If you’re taking visual communication like me, you’re going to have to learn about color theory. Did you know that the color you use in your designs can impact the way your audience responds? Hold on, let me nerd out just a little bit about the psychology of colors in this small piece.

Let’s use the colors red and blue as an example.

Imagine walking in your local mall. Count the number of fast food restaurants you pass by and take a note of the colors they use for their logo, furniture, and interior design. Chances are, you’ll find a lot of warm hues, especially red.

Don’t believe me? Have a look!

So. Much. Red. Anyone else wants to play a game of “count how many logos that don’t use red”?

While there had been opposing studies on whether or not the said colors do stimulate the appetite or not [1][2], it’s unanimous that warm colors, especially red, tend to draw attention. [3] So if you want to be a head-turner the next time you’re at a party, wear red.

However, red can also signify danger. [4] This is some horror posters have red in them!

I just saw The Boy last night. Trust me when I say that you’ll be horrified but not in the way you’d think.

I haven’t seen American Horror Story yet, but a lot of my friends who love horror too recommends the show to me. Perhaps I’ll watch it over the break.

In contrast, blue, a cool color, is known to produce a calming effect; in fact, blue streetlights were installed in Japan in the government’s hopes of reducing the country’s suicide rate, [5] and crime rates in Glasgow, Scotland were reduced when blue streetlights were introduced. [6] Blue is also the color of stability, hence why financial services tend to use the color, such as Paypal and Visa.

Ahh, the calm blue sea. Too bad I can’t swim. -sob-

Going back to fast food again (man, I must be hungry) blue is also an appetite suppressant, explained by the lack of blue foods in the natural world. [7] (Hell, even blueberries aren’t even actually blue.) Hence, this is why fast food companies avoid that color, or introduce a warm color to balance it out, such as Domino’s, IHop and Taco Bell.

A design agency called DigitalSkratch further explains the meanings and associations colors have, and its effect on the human mind. [8] ZevenDesign also has their own article on color psychology and provides examples on how colors are used in the media we consume in our daily lives. [9]

So, the next time you feel tempted to gorge on some fries while you're still full and trying to eat healthy when you pass by your local McDonald’s branch, consider the possibility that it might be McDonald’s logo’s effect on your brain. That, or you’re conditioned to associate indulging on unhealthy food with McDonald’s, but that’s for another story.

-mod darling

[psych-101-blog]

ON IQ, EQ, and AQ

My mom always told me, “You might have a high IQ, but that matters little when you don’t improve your EQ and AQ.” Of course, the “high IQ” allowed me to infer that EQ was about emotions and me needing to know how to control them, but what was AQ? I’ve completely forgotten about it.

AQ stands for Adversity Quotient, or the ability to respond to change or challenges that come across one’s way. After searching for it just recently, I then realized how much I needed to improve this part of me more than I should try to understand my emotions which I already have a basic grasp of. Key word here is “grasp”. AQ also measures for how much one feels like they have control over a situation. This also shows how much one can handle any situation, with a low level AQ being more timid towards the situation, easily falling into despair upon one tiny thing failing in front of their very eyes, while a high level AQ is more resilient, adaptable to even the smallest of setbacks, and more positively aggressive with their methods, unafraid of the unknown. I would personally say how little AQ I have, with what, always being mad at everything not going my way, sad over the smallest of rejections, and highly disappointed when a certain professor whose veterancy allows him to flex over the system and make us do things against the curriculum. I’ll never understand office politics.

EQ stands for Emotional Quotient, or how a person assesses their emotions, effectively signifying whether one is in control of them or not. Over the course of my life, I’ve found that my opinion on emotions, much like a lot of my other opinions, have changed. In particular, I don’t feel that controlling my emotions should be my main priority. Rather, I should use my AQ to firstly assess the situation and then choose whether or not to apply or withhold my current emotional state to the parties involved. It’s isn’t much of “controlling” but more of pulling the lever of either emotion or no emotion. I absolutely still hate when I’m being repressed from expression. This expressive nature of mine is an identity I hold valuable to function as a person in society, and being unable to show how I feel about something kills me slowly inside. I would cite my case of a nearly year-old crush that had to take September before I finally did something about it. The feeling started happy, as with a lot of crushes do, but as time passed by, overthinking and everything included, I started to feel the anxiety. Something I thought I’d never feel given my personal evaluation of my mental fortitude. The latter half of my secret admiration was slowly consuming me internally that it felt lesser and lesser of a crush as more and more negativity crept towards me with each passing day. Well, at least I got that out of the way already. Point is, only futility is found when one is fixated on feeling.

Just let me feel, okay? XD

And the perfect song for me that fits this entire theme: Emoji by Pegboard Nerds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P14Qp4hqWFg

- mod der

[ofcoursethatsathing]

[these panties…]

[psych-101-blog]

our ability to make jokes and/or puns actually sets up the linguistic superiority we have over other species (which is quite a species-ist thing to say, but #facts only).

like, this picture needs no explanation. sorry for being a bit crass tho, but i totally swear tea just shot out of my nose when i saw this, so you had to see it, too.

- mod chatterbox

[psych-101-blog]

so one of the papers i did this semester focused on the chicken being the Austronesian prototype for the concept of 'bird'.

a prototype is something people think to be a perfect example of a certain category, something that captures the key features that they think are found in that category. well, some factors can interfere with this, such as the existence of that thing within a certain community.

so back to the chicken. talk had been going around that the chicken was one of the animals our Austronesian forefathers brought with them when they sailed out from the direction of Taiwan and expanded out to the Pacific Islands and Madagascar like nbd. archaeological findings also support this by finding artifact proof that chickens were thought to have began being domesticated in southeast Asia.

now, why the 'bird' prototype? the proto-Austronesian term for 'chicken' is manuk, and although most languages in the Philippines and neighboring countries use it for chicken, the term widens itself to also encode for birds in general when the map widens out, and even flying animals like insects.

yep, language and the thought processes we use to name stuff is interesting indeed.

if you want to look over on how i did *this* and all the data that surrounded this claim, i'm attaching a copy of the paper i wrote. lmao. i don't know if this is significant enough to blow up in teh future, but who knows?

l150 an paper final.pdf

- mod chatterbox

[stumpyjoepete]

I shit you not, the 哈 (=“ha”) in Häagen-Dazs has a fucking umlaut on it.

[psych-101-blog]

chinese, you definitely didn't need to do that but ok

- mod chatterbox

[geek-scientist]

jane the virgin: portraying a bisexual man in a healthy relationship and slaying biphobes since 2017

[newrucas]

It’s really interesting what she says “I can’t give you what a man can.” A lot of gay men avoid relationships with bi men because they worry that they can’t provide what a woman can. People, gay or straight, think that for a bi person the grass is always greener on the other side.

[lex-evetta]

Straight men and lesbians have said the same. It’s insecurity rooted in the notion that bi people have all the options constantly at their fingertips AND are insatiable. We don’t choose a team, we choose a person. A failure to understand this mostly boils down to people not believing bisexuality is real.

[psych-101-blog]

wait, i'm soft uwu

- mod chatterbox

[itgetsbetter]

36 Perfect Tweets That Made LGBT People Cackle In 2018

All hail twenty-gay-teen!

20gayteen forever!

[psych-101-blog]

not related to any psychology stuff, but i guess people need a good laugh every now and then. i mean, it works, right? sksksksks

#20gayteen rocks!

- mod chatterbox: loud, obnoxious, 24-hours-a-day extra, and totally gay

[arabwife]

[mediokurrr-deactivated20200405]

Can i get a step by step on how to do this?

[catastrofries]

So far for me it’s been something like:

1. Become aware of how and when you tearing yourself down.

2. Now that you can catch yourself doing it. Offer counters to the negative self talk. A really useful thing I read was to talk to yourself almost the way you would child. Gentle and patient. Even when they fuck up.

3. Take time to celebrate your small accomplishments. You’ve been attacking yourself for every little mistake. Apply that same fervor to the positive things in your life. Did the dishes even though you didn’t want to? Fuck yeah! Got up and took shower? YES!!! You are taking positive steps to feeling better. Celebrate it.

4. Make lists of things you’re good at/ like about yourself. The first time I did this the only two things in my list we’re that I liked my hair and I had good friends. It was start.

5. Don’t beat yourself up if you screw up steps 1-4. It’s counter productive. When I catch myself calling my self stupid for some mistake or other my response now is,“We don’t talk to ourselves like that anymore. What’s something constructive that could actually help solve the problem.”

Most of the time that seems to work. Not always. But more and more Everytime.

I hope any of that made sense.

[absolutely-walnuts]

oh my goodness there are instructions!!

[kittenkat-and-kirby]

Omg I was doing this without knowing

[psych-101-blog]

self-care never fails.

- mod chatterbox

[psych-101-blog]

TRANSLATION: just think, when you graduate and get a job, you can finally buy your mom some Tupperware (containers)! #GOALS

uhm, mod der said something on motivation, so here's a hot take on that. being part of a family whose parents get distraught over losing Tupperware containers, all i can say is: HARD SAME.

i'm crediting my org mates for this. what a very witty bunch.

- mod chatterbox

[psych-101-blog]

Avoiding GroupthinkAvoiding Sometimes-Fatal Flaws in Group Decision Making

GroupThink can fatally undermine group decision making. This Mind Tools article helps you avoid it.

here's a little something about groupthink, a phenomenon in psychology where people prioritize group consensus so much, they end up abandoning all common sense. we live in a world that harbors manifestations of this, and, well, most of these groupthink decisions are costing the lives and welfare of our fellow people. now, how do we go about this?

also, a bigger question: me being a filipino, and having most of what's going on in the government being a product of a massive groupthink movement about two years ago, how do we, people affected by these decisions, fight back and steer arguments toward sound logic?

this is a question we have to deal with before, you know, things get worse.

- mod chatterbox

[thisisnotpsychology-blog]

“We tell people they are “strong” when we are uncomfortable with their pain and would prefer that they shut up and not bother us with it. To say “but you are strong” is telling someone “I don’t think you should feel that way,” and it’s not a compliment. I don’t think that strength means being invulnerable, or pretending that you are. The belief that silence and stoicism are inherently good qualities is how you end up dressed up like a bat punching criminals in an alley – it’s not a good road to emotional health.”

—

#186: The lie of “strength.” « CaptainAwkward.com

Beautiful. Thank you.

(via lookoutsideyourself)

[psych-101-blog]

hey, again, it's not bad to seek help. just putting it out here.

- mod chatterbox

[darktypes]

A friend asked me to put some common fallacies in context. Here goes:

Anchoring- ‘When I’ve had cabbage on food before, it always tasted good. Therefore, if I always get food with cabbage on it, it will always taste good.’

Gambler’s Fallacy- ‘Every time I’ve bought a cabbage, it’s always been fresh. So the next cabbage I bought will HAVE to be a bad cabbage, even though the chance of getting a fresh or bad cabbage is 50/50.’

Reactivity - ‘I know my mother-in-law hates cabbage, so when she comes over, I’ll make it look like I hate cabbage.’

Self-fulfilling Prophecy- ‘God, Maji made me this stupid cabbage soup for dinner, but I knew she was a horrible cook, so I knew the soup was going to taste horrible. And what do you know, it did, even though everybody else liked it!’

Halo effect- ‘Maji likes cabbage, so obviously she eats healthy. I bet she exercises a lot too!’

Mob mentality- ‘Oh man, it seems like everybody’s eating cabbage these days. I should probably have some too.’

Reactance- ‘Maji’s such a bitch! She told me to eat all this cabbage, but I’m just gonna sit here and not eat any of it! That’ll show her!’

Confirmation bias- ‘The last two times I ate cabbage, I found money in the laundry. I bet if I keep eating cabbage, I’ll keep finding money in the laundry! Screw further research!’

Planning fallacy- ‘Yeah, I can totally eat this cabbage in five minutes… oh man, has it been an hour already?’

Just-World Phenomenon- ‘Are you saying that bimbo Stacy choked on a cabbage last night at the party? Uggh, that slutknewshe couldn’t eat a whole cabbage… she totally deserved it.’

Self-Serving Bias- ‘When I make a really good cabbage soup, I bet it’s because I’m so damn good at cooking. When it’s bad, though, it’s just because the cabbage wasn’t fresh, or the stove is broken.’

Bias blind spot - ‘Yeah, I’m a perfectly sane human being. Now eat my cabbage soup: it’s fantastic. Freshest ingredients possible; after all, I’ve been having nothing but spoiled stuff for the past couple of weeks, so according to the odds…’

[psych-101-blog]

...does these fallacies ring a bell, people? to me it does.

- mod chatterbox