Self Recognition And The Looking Glass Self

                                                Picture of how Homer wants others to see him

Cooly And The Looking Glass Self

This article talks about the Tree of Knowledge system. It is about how people think of themselves as they think others perceive them. People are very self conscious, and are always trying to improve how they think others want them to be. The article also talks about the self, and how we must justify our actions. Henriques talks about how our “Consciousness serves the individual as a justification filter for their motives” Our conscience tells us what is right and what is wrong. It is what makes us feel ashamed or guilty when we do something wrong. I agree with Henriques that we constantly have to justify our actions to others, but I also think we need to justify our actions to ourselves as well. For example when I don’t feel like running on the weekend during track season, I feel bad for letting myself down more than the excuse. More than justifying to the coach that I was busy, I can’t justify not running to myself. I might tell myself that I have a lot of homework, or have to go somewhere, but I know that I probably have minimal homework and that there are a few hours before I have to go anywhere. The quote “Who are you trying to fool” fits in nicely here because I cannot fool myself into believing a lie that I made up. Similarly when I have a test; and the day before I don’t study for it, I try to justify to myself that I did not have enough time to study. People are also constantly forced to justify their actions to peers, Teachers, and parents. If a friend asks me to come over, I cannot just say no. I need to give a reason why I will not be able to go.

                The study where apes were able to not only study their own thoughts, but also other apes thoughts was similar to humans. Gallup Jr.’s Theory Mind states that we are able to tell what others are thinking. We are able to do this through analyzing facial expressions as well as overall body language and tone of one’s voice. Baylis claims that “Each person was born with a sense of right and wrong.” I do not completely agree with this statement. While we do know that things such as stealing and lying are wrong, we do not learn other right’s and wrong’s until we young children. For example I never knew that littering was wrong. I used to throw my garbage on the floor until my parents told me that I need to throw it in the garbage can. I also agree with Mr. James’s statement that “There are inconsistencies among the self displayed among various circumstances.” This goes along with what we have been talking about in class and the Looking Glass Self. We saw a video on how people act and behave differently on Facebook than in real life. Most things we say online would not be said in front of our parents for example. We also had a discussion on how we behave when we are around different people.  For example if you are with a college admissions Rep you won’t be talking in slang or wearing a ripped up pair of jeans. If you are with a boyfriend or girlfriend, you probably won’t go to lunch with them without putting on makeup or making sure your hair is fine. Similarly, we always want to keep up with the latest things. Our culture is very materialistic, and in order to keep up our status, we have to have the newest phone, wear the designer brands, and be skinny or jacked. These are all ways to influence how others perceive us and our circumstances depict what type of person we will be.

                What people think others think of them and what they actually do can be completely different. For example the event that occurred today during 3^rd period was meant to be a way to try and voice an opinion and try to help our schools and teachers. Those kids were probably doing something that many students and some teachers might commend them for, but instead most kids thought that these protestors were just trying to be funny. I heard several students say that the protestors were just trying to make a scene and were “some stupid Goth kids that don’t care about anything.”  Another event that did not send the message that it was supposed to was the April fool’s joke in Evanston. There was a joke in the paper that Evanston residents were going to be charged for snow removal from the streets. It was meant to be a silly April fool’s Day joke, but most of the residents were furious, even after they found out it wasn’t true and was just a joke.

             Humans try to hard to worry about what others think of them, but we should only worry about how we feel about ourselves because that gives us the best insight as to who we are. People are just actors in a play, I just wish we wouldn't be acting all the time because then we are unable to see the true individual and the play becomes a repetitive action of lies.

Does Your Language Shape How You Think?

                                                     Picture of some of the major languages spoken all over the world

Similar article on how language shapes how we think with some cool new examples

This week in class we talked about how people speak and how everyone speaks differently. There is no correct way to speak, just a commonly understood way. Our speech depends on where we grew up and how a certain language was spoken in our household. We watched a movie called “Do You Speak American?” It showed us that there are multiple ways to speak English, and in this country alone there are several different ways to speak. The article Does your language shape how you think? Shows us that language is not only spoken in different ways, but it also influences how we think and act.  I agree with the statement that “Speakers would simply not be able to understand some of our most basic concepts like the flow of time.” If one language is extremely basic, and time does not exist to them, then the concept of time and date might be hard for them to understand. One of the previous articles we read talked about how Native American tribes had no idea about how and what time was because it was simply not needed. Nobody was needed to get to a certain place at a certain time. Here in America however, time is the one thing we must know at all times. While language could potentially make it hard for some cultures to understand others, I do not think it is impossible for them to learn other languages and how they function.

                I never really thought about language, but it actually does determine and shape our lives. We have words ready in our arsenal for everyday use, but we can always learn new ones to go along with different languages. I believe that language is perhaps the most important thing to our survival as a people, and without it we could not function in any way. I found it interesting that in some languages like French, people need to be very specific when talking about anything.  Their culture is must less personal, while here we reserve the right to keep several things private. I also didn’t know that in Chinese the same form of a verb can be used in all tenses. The article states that “The same verb can be used for past, present, or future actions.” This would also make it hard to decipher exactly what someone is saying. Similarly, I read an article about how humans and animals have different speech patterns, and it is similar to how people in the U.S. might have a completely different speech pattern compared to people in China. Animals have very limited means of communication. They only have a limited amount of sounds in their vocabulary and therefore cannot communicate with complex ideas. For example a monkey might be able to say “I am hungry”, but they won’t be able to say “I am very hungry” or “I am a little hungry”. They also cannot speak in different tones. They only have soft and loud voices, but they cannot express seriousness, sarcasm, or anger in their voices.

        I have also noticed how many European countries give inanimate objects a masculine or feminine gender. For example in Spanish class we give each word an “El” or “La” prefix. This gives the object a gender trait. The prefix is so important that it cannot be ignored. If we do not add the el or la before the word, then the answer is considered incorrect. Several countries also have an accent in their words. Like the movie we watched, different people say words differently. If a word has an accent then it is meant to be pronounced with an emphasis on the letter with the accent. In the U.S. it is commonly understood how to say certain words, as well as some letters that are silent. I always used to pronounce Home Depot with the t at the end until my parents told me the t was silent.

                Our language is not only different in sound and prefixes, but also how we say direction. The Guugu Yimithirr language tells direction in a compass direction instead of left and right. I would imagine that this would be very difficult to adapt to, but that is because I am not accustomed to that kind of direction. MapQuest does tell us to head east, but we only pay attention to the direction in terms of egocentric directions. This Australian language might be better, because the directions do not change in relation to an individual’s position; rather the directions are given in terms of the earth and the poles. If one car was on one side of the road, and the other car was on another side our right would be their left but our east would be the same as their east. This language is more concentrated on a geographical position as a whole compared to a position from a single point of view.  I also found it funny that the Matses language requires the truth in terms of the instant you are being spoken to. I like the line where a man was asked how many wives he had, and he replied “There were two last time I checked”. This idea would seem absurd to westerners, but it is perfectly normal in Peru. There are a lot more differences in our language that just our language.

How We eat

This picture shows that the man on the right might be looked down upon becuase of his eating habits as they are unsophisticated, while the woman shows proper manners.

10 foods that help you fall asleep

During this week, we talked about cultures and norms of America and had a debate on Euthanasia. This article has to do with what people eat and what influences how and what they eat. Food is a huge part of culture. Today we were watching Do You Speak American. It is about how language is related to culture, but food has almost as much influence on cultures as languages. There are so many countries in the world, and all of them have their unique foods and ways of eating them. It is very interesting to see just how many things go into deciding our eating habits.

                How We Eat talked about norms of America. It talked about the rule that women never order spaghetti on a date because it makes them seem less attractive. This shows us that food means different things to people at different times. It is not only a source of energy and enjoyment, but it now is used to show social class, and attractiveness among other things. Just fifty years ago we would have thought of food as something to keep our body running, but it is so much more than that.

                On the show What Would You Do I saw an episode where a man went up to an obese woman with an obese child filled with a cart full of junk food. The man started scolding the obese woman for buying food that was bad for herself and her daughter. The woman took offense, but I sided with the rude man. I believed that the woman was influencing her child’s eating habits, and not only making her obese, but that could lead to medical problems and bad eating habits. The obese woman started talking about how eating healthy is expensive compared to eating cheap. I had never even thought of that. A one dollar cheeseburger at McDonalds is much cheaper compared to buying a salmon for nine dollars from Jewel. My mother always buys the four dollar pack of dozen eggs and the Oberweis milk when we get groceries because they don’t have preservatives, but a low income family might not be able to afford to eat healthy.

                I also find it interesting how certain foods have a connotation with a type of people. The wealthy eat steak, while lower income people and college kids eat mac and cheese and Ramen noodles. The article states “food is a judgment of social class”. This shows that we are constantly judging others not only by their house/car but also what they eat.  When my parents go to parties they buy expensive name brand chocolates for the hosts. It’s always Godiva, and never Kirkland chocolate. This once again shows that name brand food is also an important aspect of our culture. Location also has a lot to do with what we eat. For example, in my household we eat rice often. This is because in southern Asia people grow rice and it is a part of our culture to eat it with many other foods. Back in Pakistan, mangoes are plentiful in every household and everyone loves them. This is because they are easily grown, and people get used to eating them when they are in their households all the time.

                The determination of social class is also contributes to the food you eat. Shopping at whole foods as I was talking about earlier and having a lobster dinner is looked at as a sign of wealth compared to eating at Burger King. The article states “People may also start buying their groceries at specialty shops in order to move to a higher social class”. They way you eat also has implications of your class. People who use a fork and knife while eating their pizza might be looked at as sophisticated whether or not it is true. Eating a hotdog with a fork and knife however is just looked at as unusual. The article also talks about how on “Monday morning, people talk about a great meal they had at a restaurant.” This shows “a sophisticated culture.” Medical conditions also cause a change in appetite. I have watched numerous ads for a depressant that show a loss of appetite as an effect of depression.  Many types of foods also advertise that they can help you lose weight. Yoplait advertises for losing weight as well as making your heart healthier. Other foods advertise similar products. A few articles I was looking at a couple days ago talk about foods that stop your hunger and foods that help you fall asleep. Among the foods that fight hunger included bananas, and smoothies.  Popcorn, pretzels, and potatoes were a few of the foods that helped you fall asleep. It is amazing how we have certain types of food designed for certain things. For example during track season we aren’t supposed to eat sugary things and eat more vegetables instead. Even thought I do not follow that guideline, certain foods are just better for your body.

                The article also talked about how “taste preferences start before birth.”  America clearly has a lot of taste preferences, with a thousand different flavors of everything, but what would have happened if mothers weren’t exposed to certain foods? Would the child not have a particular like or dislike to certain foods? Since the U.S. is the melting pot, we have foods from all different types of cultures. The article talks about how people who ate tacos were made fun of and now Americans love tacos. It’s funny to see how things change over time and how American now has foods from everywhere. We went from ethnocentric to cultural relativistic. This is evident by our panda express, taco bell, and numerous other restaurants. I never knew that so many things could influence the food we eat, and how food we eat could influence other about who we are.