Personal Self Reflection Assignment

While I appreciated that one of my peers provided feedback on my work, I feel that the feedback that was provided did not fulfill the assignment. My peer did not provide detailed feedback on my paper that could be adequately incorporated in my review and revisions. Most of the information that was provided as feedback were simply statements that reiterated what the prompt question was. Please see the below feedback provided to me by my peer.

During my time enrolled in Psy 3325: Stereotypes, Prejudice Discrimination, taught by Dr. Tay Hack, we explored several topics concerning social differences. Using the textbook ‘ Understanding the Psychology of Diversity’ second Edition, I gained a deeper understanding of how the mind groups individuals together both consciously and unconsciously thus influencing the way we treat a person. In this course we covered racism, classism, homosexism, weightism, ageism, and the stigmas that come with these titles.

I chose to base my studies on J because we shared a lot in common; we are both Christians living in a predominantly Muslim country. He is eleven years old. His parents are Jordan nationals who have lived in Bahrain for at least two years. J goes to school at Naseem International School where I work. The school offers PYP programs. Lessons are conducted in English; however, Arabic lessons are also offered per week. Majority of kids in this school are Muslims most of whom are Bahrainis. Other nationalities making the student population are Saudis, Lebanese, Jordanians, few South Africans, and other Arabian Gulf countries. Teachers are a mixture of nationalities. Some of them are Arabs, others South Africans, while some are Europeans.

Although recognizing the extent to which I hold bias was a painful and embarrassing process, I have learned that bias is a natural phenomenon that can be challenged through quality time with a target population paired with intentional reflection. By simply spending time with the very population we have prejudice against, we are able to build meaningful relationships with individuals. It is within these relationships that we have our hearts and minds opened to the truth that people are people and that despite what the media and culture may say, one part of a person’s identity does not define who they are. Although our biases never disappear completely, meaningful experiences that contradict the biases we hold can assist us in treating members of certain populations in a more merciful, unbiased

Guidotti illustrates how the inner transformation of one individual's thoughts on personal differences (e.g., albinism) has the potential to impact the manner in which others respond to those differences. The latter is especially true when media is used to ignite societal change. In addition, I believe that it is equally important to reflect upon whether each of us has a tendency to embrace diversity (personally and in others). Alternatively, we should examine whether we tend to shy away from differences that appear foreign to us. That is, to what extent are our professional and personal interactions with clients, colleagues, and so forth informed by a genuine desire to accept diversity without

Throughout the study of this unit, I have enhanced my understanding of discrimination and stereotyping in society. I am able to recognise how assumptions of people can affect how society functions, how individuals are affected by other’s perceptions and how these themes can be identified in today’s society.

How do you feel race, ethnicity, social class, and religion has shaped you and your family lives? Whether we take notice or not these aspects of our childhood and today’s life contributed to our view point about different parts of the world. Also, the way your family interacted with you and others is determined in a way by these key points. My race, social class, ethnicity, and religion has helped mold me into the young adult I am, beliefs, and values I hold today because I understanding who I am which provides me with the ability to understand others backgrounds.

When terms such as prejudice and discrimination are used, many often think of race and ethnicity. Many also believe that prejudice and discrimination are things of the past. However, both are still evident in today’s society. People are still set aside from the general population because of sexuality, mental illness, and political orientation. Stereotypes surrounding these people are some of the most demeaning of this time. Stereotypes can cause those affected to lose job opportunities, be refused service, and be treated as inferior. Stereotypes are generalizations of groups of people. Stereotypes are not based on the differences between people within those groups, but are rather judgements made towards all members.

For years now, understanding prejudice has been one of human’s greatest challenges. Prejudice can be described as an unfavourable, negative attitude towards a social group and its individual members. On the surface this may not seem like a significant issue, however, it can become associated with dehumanisation and violence. It is suggested that every human is prejudice; people make assumptions based on characteristics such as age, sex, and ethnicity. There are many explanations of prejudice, however, there has never been an internationally accepted theory. In early 20th Century, Prejudice was considered an innate quality of humans, and instinctive response to certain characteristics of a person. Other psychologists may argue that prejudice is an attitude that is acquired over time, catalysed by social agents.

| |the intellectual conversation of topics that were discussed. I also enjoyed the learning |

On Sunday, December 3, 2017, I delivered my first oral presentation on Janette, a peer in my Communicating Effectively course at Manhattanville College. The objective of the project was to familiarize yourself with a classmate, ask/answer questions provided by Professor Brosnan, and then share the knowledge you gained about the individual in a two-minute presentation. The presentation was required to introduce the classmate, what graduate program they are pursuing, why he/she is in the program, their long-term career goal(s), current occupation, favorite class, and an interesting fun fact. The oral presentations were done in the classroom without any visual aid, allowing you to use notes if preferred. By analyzing my 1 minute and 25 second presentation using the “7 Step Presentation Process” I uncovered my strengths and weaknesses as a presenter.

Ultimately unknowingly possessing negative stereotypes I was engaging in the maintenance of stereotypes via “Self Deception… Don’t admit we stereotype, no need to change anything” (Hack, 2017). Sustaining certain expectations from people within these group memberships, subjected individuals to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Blaine (2013) describes that, “A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when our expectation for an individual’s personality or behavior cause that person to act in ways that confirm our expectations for them” (p.43). Nevertheless, discovering that I continually related negative stereotypes to people within specific group memberships facilitated identifying the source of it. “The justification-suppression model of prejudice, the socialization process in which parents… have a role with negative attitudes and beliefs about people” (Blaine, 2013, p.68). The social learning conditioning that affected me most came from overt family value transmissions toward Fat and older people (Hack, 2017). Media portrayal of Black and older people is ordinarily negative. Tokenism of Black people within mainstream media is harmful. Consequences of tokenism include increased stigma and undermines the self-esteem of minority

Daily Burn is essentially the Netflix or Hulu of workouts. I have been trying it out and this is what I think about the service.

An individual’s compliance to examine their own possible biases is very important in being able to understand the roots of stereotypes and prejudice in our society. Starting early in a person’s life, the human mind has the ability to automatically categorize people. This is a crucial feature. These categories give an order to our everyday lives. Every day, people are grouped into categories based on social and biological characteristics, this is called race. Cultural biases exist whether we want them to or not. We all have cultural biases if we would just acknowledge them we can recognize it.

For example, I noticed that because of my father not being in my life, I do not like working with male colleagues, communicating with a student’s father or accepting help from males when I may need it. I only feel comfortable with my male relatives, husband, and best friend. Consequently, I am going to try to explore and learn about changing my gender biases. In fact, I wonder if not addressing my personal gender biases may influence the kind of relationship I have with male students. Another revealed biases are my distance and reservations of working with affluent families or communities. I would like to learn more about the visible and invisible messages that have shaped my decisions. I became more aware of these biases and prejudices during the class activity where pairs shared stories pretending to be humpty dumpy. I found the activity was simple; yet, I found it to be the hardest. One reason I found it difficult was because I was paired with an affluent classmate that normally I keep my distance from because of her entitled comments and constant complaining about everything. And two, I was pretending to be a male. To be honest, I could not wait fast enough for it to be over. However, I recognize now it was an important experience because it allowed me to move away from comfort and to engagement in my own