MaryN2019's Psychology Blog

Dear Future AP Psych Student, My experience in AP Psychology for one semester has been an eye-opener for me. This course has made me realize what potential I have in non-social-science AP classes. Over the course of one semester, I have learned many interesting things about how the brain works, how we think, what happens when we sleep, what makes up our personality, what motivates us, and so much more. Taking this class, I would like to offer you guys some useful advice to help you prepare for the class with Mrs. Halfen. In this course, there is just so much information that you learn for the AP exam, and by so much, I mean a lot! Everyday in class we are always doing something that will prepare you for the test such as content digs where you use the textbooks provided to find the answers to the questions. I am not going to lie, I dislike content digs; we do about 2-3 per unit and the packets are quite heavy information-wise. However these content digs are very useful to pre...

Hey guys! This week, we will be making memes to assess our knowledge over everything we have learned in AP Psych over the semester. This will help prepare us for our AP exam in early May.   Meme One Id, Ego, Superego Meme Two What Is Extrinsic Motivation and Is It Effective? Meme Three Embryo vs. Fetus: Fetal Development Week-by-Week Meme Four How Emotionally Intelligent are You? Meme Five Too Much Crystallized Thinking Lowers Fluid Intelligence

Hey guys... this week I will be talking about a very random topic related to psychology... ADHD! "I don't know... I probably have ADHD" is what I tell my friends when they ask me why I cannot sit still in one place for a long time. It is true though, I honestly can't sit still; if I am sitting down in a chair and doing something, I have to shake my leg or move around in my chair. If not, I am probably fidgeting around with my pencil. If I am standing in one spot while my friend is talking to me, my mind will make me want to get out of that spot and walk back and forth and move around. I also get distracted very easily and zone out and daydream a lot when a teacher is giving a lecture. It sort of sounds like I may have ADHD, right? Well, that's at least what I thought until I did some reading about the common disorder. ADHD stands for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder that is characterized by symptoms of inattentiveness, distractibility, hype...

Hey guys! I took a few personality tests to determine who I really am and I guess I can say the results were pretty accurate and describes me pretty well. The first test I took was the Jung Typology Test and my results were ESFP (extroverted (34%) sensing (19%) feeling (19%) perceiving (3%)). According to the description, ESFPs love people, excitement, telling stories, and having fun. They love to entertain and love social gatherings. ESFPs are attracted to new ideas, fashions, gadgets, etc. and they love to talk to people about other people. I can agree with most of these aspects of my personality type except the fact that I love people; I don't LOVE people, but I like socializing with a lot of people. Overall though, the results are pretty accurate. The second test I took was the Sims Personality Test. My results were 60% neat, meaning I enjoy cleaning the house; 80% outgoing, meaning I am likely to jump headfirst into any situation; 40% active, which means I like be...

Hey guys... I'm back with another blog! This week, I will be telling you guys about one of our five senses and how interesting learning more about them can be! Today, I chose to explore our sense of TASTE! I found an article in which apparently, scientists have discovered a "sixth" sense on our tongues by conducting a lab experiment on a rat. Officially, there are five basic tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. After reading the article, I learned a few things, for example, this "sixth" sense on our tongue apparently relates to how mammals use water. This new sense allows mammals to identify water from other liquids, yet scientists are debating whether or not water has a taste of its own. It is said that a region in the human cortex responds specifically to water. The brain receives information about water from the mouth and tongue to know when they are thirsty and when to stop drinking from replenishment. So neurologists at the California In...

Hey guys! This week I am going to tell you my life story. I was born on April 30th, 2002 in Houston, Texas. My first words were "mama" and "dada", and I cried a lot as a baby. Around 3 or 4 years of age, I guess disliked eating because I would always spit out my food in the trash or in places around the house and my dad would get very mad at me. When I was 4 and a half years old, my older brother and I moved to Plano, TX with my aunt for the next ten years of my childhood because my mom had passed away a few months before and my dad couldn't take care of four children by himself. I attended Sigler Elementary, Wilson Middle School, Vines High School for my freshman year, and moved back to Houston and have attended Dulles High School since sophomore year. I hit puberty when I was in the sixth grade and I have grown more mature since then. Me at 3 days old. Me at 6 weeks old.   I have a lot of thoughts and plans for my future. I plan to gr...

Hey guys! This week we will be creating psychological heroes based on our birthdays. My birthday is April 30th so my superhero has abilities related to the frontal lobe and serotonin . The frontal lobe is the front part and largest lobe of the brain that carries out mental processes like thinking, decision making, and planning. This is also where our personality is created and what enables us to speak fluently. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and a hormone. Serotonin is known as "the happy chemical" as it regulates mood and helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion. It also reduces depression, regulates anxiety, heals wounds, stimulates nausea, and maintains bone health.   My superhero's name is PiensaFeliz . Before she became a superhero, her life was not picture perfect. In middle school, her parents passed away after their car ran off a bridge. After this tragic event, PiensaFeliz was always depressed; she used to be the popular girl but her de...

Hey guys! I took a few memory tests to see how much I could remember in a short period of time, and my results were much better than I expected. I can say that my memory is better than average, I guess, except sometimes memorizing things in a short period of time before a test doesn't go so well. The first test I took was the Short Term Memory Test  in which I had to memorize a list of 12 words and I had to type the terms I remembered in that certain amount of time. At first I thought I wasn't going to do so well, but I actually remembered 10 out of the 12 words given. Is this a good score? Well, according to Harvard-based psychologist George A. Miller found that in our short-term memory, the average number of "chunks" of information that can be stored is 7, or between 5 and 9, which means if you scored this, your memory is working at average capacity. So I'm guessing my memory is better than average! The second test I tried was the Picture Short Term Memor...

Hey guys! My name is Mary Nguyen and I want to tell you guys more about myself by sharing with you guys my interests and hobbies. First of all, I like to play sports and watch sports especially football and basketball. I also like to bake and cook for my family. I love to shop and spend my money on clothes and shoes. Last but not least, I would love to travel anywhere around the world, from Milan to Tokyo, from Rio de Janiero to Dubai, and experience more than what just lies within the U.S.!    This photo shows my family and I spending three hours just to climb up to where we are just below the Hollywood sign. I am proud of this accomplishment because I love to travel and climbing up to the Hollywood sign was just one of the many to-do's on my bucket list. This was scratched off my bucket list on July 15th, 2014, the day we made the hike.   If you would like to hike to the Hollywood sign one day or learn more about it, here is a link...