End-of-term self-assessment

Writing (a summary)

A summary writing is easier for me. I think perhaps it is because we had substantial practice in previuos semesters.

ESP vocabulary tests

Performance in ESP vocabulary tests were difficult, because it was difficult to memorize definitions. When they were less, was easier to remember.

Performance in class dictations

Dictations was also difficult for me because they were very fast. I didn't catch as well to hear everything and write down.

Listening to peer's Power Point presentations

Listening to peer's Power Point presentations was very interesting. I can better understand theme.

Making Power Point presentation

Making Power Point presentation was not difficult but more difficult for me was present the theme.

Short talks on ESP themes in class

Short talks on ESP themes was very hard. I did not know how to say what I think.

Picture from: http://www.images.google.lt/

Your true colours

Summary
Colour influences the mind in mysterious ways, and those who wish to influence people often do so with colour.

The marketing world is full about consumer reactions to colour. Colour preference can often sound like a mix of fad and cultural custom.

John Ott has discovered that colour may affect people's nervous system. For example, red surroundings evoke raised blood pressure and blue surroundings arouse lowered blood pressure. Red colour evokes reactions of increase energy and hunger, and blue evokes tranquility and relaxation. These colours are using in the fast food places like as McDonald's.

Also, colours have been used to striking effect in the marketing of consumer products. Experiment with identical soap powder seems that housewives about soap powder's strength judged depending on the colour of the packet.

Picture from:
http://allwomenstalk.com/wp-content/thumbs/66101.jpg

Self-assessment of success in listening practice

This semester we will take an English exam and listening is one of the exam paper part. I did listening practise in online. I have chosen topics "Psychology of driving" and "Flow".

The rate of speaking was not very fast but not very slow. For me it was average and I could heard the information. Selected podcasts I listened them twice because I wanted to check if I heard it alike.

I think, that multiple choice is the most useful for improving listening skills. We can choose the most suitable answer and do it more concentrate on listening.

My ability to understand authentic speech is good in these listening practise. Actually, I need more practice, because if I had to take an exam today I not sure that I would be able to pass a listening exam paper.

My listening skills I can improve if I more listen to podcasts, authentic cassette recordings in class, watch English films. I hope that it help me to prepare better for listening exam paper.

References:
http://martinmcmorrow.podomatic.com/entry/2008-10-19T23_19_32-07_00
http://martinmcmorrow.podomatic.com/entry/2008-10-15T22_53_27-07_00

http://conorbyrne.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/listen.jpg

Psychology at MRU and abroad

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, and human and animal behaviour. There are a lot of universities where you can study psychology. I briefly compare The University of Edinburgh and Mykolas Romeris University.

The University of Edinburgh is recognised as having international excellence in psychological research, and was awarded a 5 rating in the last Research Assessment Exercise. Many of this university's degree programmes are accredited by the British Psychological Society. The University of Edinburgh have particular strengths in the psychology of language and cognition, health and individual differences, and are currently expanding as a centre of excellence in human cognitive neuroscience. There is experimental/practical work is a key element throughout the course. Courses are taught though a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical classes, project work and computer-based exercises. As a psychology graduate students have great flexibility in career choice. The wide range of transferable skills - such as research, statistical package use, report writing - gained through studying psychology are highly valued in many professions. You could work in areas such as personnel and management, business and finance, media and advertising, or healthcare. Alternatively, students could go on to postgraduate training in a variety of psychology careers, and continue with research and teaching in psychology.

Mykolas Romeris University is a modern and dynamic European university with a creative and efficient research and academic community. Courses provide students with the knowledge of research, theories, and their applications in psychology.Students of psychology become sought-after professionals due to their ability to understand human behaviour, collect, analyze, and interpret data, master statistics and experimental design. They also develop the competences to apply gained knowledge in pursuing their personal and professional goals. Students will have to attend seminars and lectures and work in groups to prepare the given tasks. Bachelor’s degree programme in psychology is to provide a quality education that prepares students to enter a broad range of careers in psychology and related fields. Also, students could go on to postgraduate training in a three of psychology careers: Psychology of Law, Social Psychology and Business Psychology.

To sum up, students have wide choice of universities. I think that these both universities are high qualification, although, in Mykolas Romeris University do not practical training.


References:
http://www.mruni.lt/
http://www.ed.ac.uk/
http://www.images.google.lt/

End-of-term self-assessment

Writing a summary was useful for me. It helps me more to understand themes. I think that my summary writing is better than last semester.

Performance in ESP vocabulary test was quite successful. I had higher grades than last half-year. I spare more time that I good learn definitions.

Performance in class dictation is difficult and not good for me, because I made many grammatical and spelling errors. Dictations was fast and I was not write all text.

Listening practice in class was not very bad, but not good. We do not do very much of these exercises. Listening practice was clear.

Listening to peer’s power point presentations is interesting and useful activity. It helps to understand themes better.

Making power point presentations is very effective and interesting way to learn ESP. I think that my power point presentation was great, but I more reading what I want to say than I talking about it.

Short talks on ESP themes in class was interesting. I know more interesting and essential things. Also, I think that my speaking skills is better now than before.

Picture from http://images.google.lt/

Phobias

Social phobia

Most people feel shy around other people at one time or another. Some learn to grow past their shyness and enjoy the company of others. Others remain habitually shy and are awkward around those whom they don't know well. They're afflicted with social phobia, an extreme discomfort of being near most people.

Fear of being in close proximity to other people has been linked to familial tendencies. It's unclear, however, if these tendencies are due to genetic code or simply a learned behavior as a result of continued exposure to the actions of family members.Scientists have also speculated that people who fear being next to others may be ultra-sensitive to a chemical produced in the brain called serotonin. This chemical normalizes the emotions and the mood of a person.

A proper diagnosis of this phobia requires 2 main criteria. First, a person must exhibit a relentless anxiety in social environments. Second, they proactively shun such situations to the detriment of normal daily life. They typically begin to sweat or blush noticeably when confronted with this situation. They have difficulty speaking as their muscles tense and their voice shakes.

The anxiety that people feel as a result of this phobia is usually persistent throughout their lives. That said, the symptoms can be controlled through psychotherapy and medication.

Claustrophobia

If people experience claustrophobia whenever people are occupying enclosed areas, they know the intense fear that can engulf their mind. People avoid elevators and other small spaces. When entering a room, you immediately identify the exits. Often, sitting or standing near the exits can help people breathe more easily.

Many people who suffer from this condition report that their anxiety began to manifest after an event experienced as a child. Often, they were trapped in a small room. Their inability to escape led to an emotional response to the event. If the event is traumatizing, the brain can learn to respond to similar events with the same emotional reactions.

A claustrophobic person is often tense when approaching closed areas. Upon entering a room, they immediately take note of the exit points. If left in a room with no available escape, they can begin profuse sweating as their heart rate quickens.

Several methods of treating this phobia exist including relaxation strategies, homeopathic alternatives, medication and desensitization or related therapy. The phobia is directly linked to the emotional response to an event.

References:http://www.phobialist.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobia

http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/a/phobialist.htm

http://images.google.lt/

Average Happiness

Happiness is a state of mind or feeling such as contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. Positive psychology describes happiness as consisting of positive emotions and positive activities. Research has identified a number of correlates with happiness. These include religious involvement, parenthood, marital status, age, income and proximity to other happy people. Some people happiness are materials things, some of people think that happiness are psychics things and for other people are important both things.

Ruut Veenhoven, who studied sociology, rerseach an average in 95 nations from 1995 up to and including 2005. How much people enjoy their life-as-a-whole was evaluate on scale 0 to 10. On the top of 95 nations is Denmark and at the bottom of the countries is Tanzania. I think that these results depend on country’s political and economical situation, because in strong country people can meet they wants and feel happily. In my opinion Lithuania is not strong country, there are not good political and economical systems and so Lithuania is only on 85 place in 95 nations.

Psychologist Professor Edward Diener from the University of Illinois, USA, designed the test, which is measuring your happiness. Professor explains that three the most important influences on happiness are social relationships, the life satisfaction of most people is work or school, or performance in an important role and personal satisfaction with the self, religious or spiritual life, learning and growth, and leisure.

To sum up, happiness depends on various things. I think that people must more joy of that they have and less envy for others.

References from http://www.worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/4785402.stm

Pictures from http://images.google.lt/