Emotional Soundtrack (Extra Credit)

1. Serenity

• Song: Pavane for Dead Princes; Artist: Maurice Ravel
• Definition: the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: A day at the spa calms and relaxes a person to the point of forgetting their troubles if only for a day.
• Behaviors: relaxed muscles, stillness, even breathing, meditation
• A pavane is a slow, processional dance with French roots. I found that this song has an overall sense of peace and calmness. There are parts where the music has relatively dissonance or vibrant emotion much like joy; however, this reflects the fact that a state of serenity is usually influenced by other emotions. Serenity comes from an overall peace with emotions and the piece often returns to its main theme, the calmest, most beautiful part, after heightened activity.

2. Amazement 

• Song: Ain't That a Kick in the Head; Artist: Dean Martin
• Definition: a feeling of great surprise or wonder (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: A student who receives an A on a final exam he did not study for.
• Behaviors: widened eyes, open mouth, covering one's mouth with one hand
• In the song, Dean Martin talks about how astounded he is that the woman he loves returns his feelings. As the lyrics go on, he lists the many plans he and his partner have planned for themselves with a tone of unbelieving wonder, astonishment, and joy. The chorus often repeats the title of the song, "ain't that a kick in the head," which emphasizes his astonishment at his good fortune. 

3. Love 

•  Song: My Funny Valentine; Artist: Chet Baker
• Definition: an intense feeling of deep affection (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: A married couple go on a date for their 50th birthday.
• Behaviors: kissing, hugging, holding hands, accelerated heart rate, spending time with a partner
• The lyrics of the song, though short, focus on the fact that despite the faults of the "funny valentine" the singer loves them even still. This reflects the fact that intimacy and commitment play a role in how one loves another. Also, it is a love song, so the tune and lyrics were tailored to reflect the feeling one has when in love, in this case, a feeling of peace and a somewhat sluggish euphoria.

4. Terror

• Song: String Quartet No. 8 Movement 2; Artist Dmitri Shostakovitch
• Definition: extreme fear (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: An arachnophobic person thrown into a tub of tarantulas.
• Behaviors: screaming, covering the face with hands, running away, accelerated heart rate
• The piece is characterized by chaos and confusion as well as dissonance. Generally, the song sounds like chase music you would hear in the middle of a movie. The anticipation and confusion contribute to a general feeling of fear. Also, it is important to note that Shostakovitch wrote this piece one day before the date on which he planned to commit suicide. This quartet was intended to be his own epitaph and this movement refers to the point in his spent during the time of the Holocaust.

5. Disgust 

• Song: I Hate Everything About You; Artist: Three Days Grace
• Definition: a feeling of revulsion or profound disapproval aroused by something unpleasant or offensive (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: A little girl finds a worm in her apple and realizes she ate a bite.
• Behaviors: vomiting, scrunching up the face, choking sounds
• The song's title in and of itself explains why disgust fits the character of the piece. The lyrics expand upon the fact that the singer's love went wrong and that he does not see any redeeming qualities in his partner. Also, the partner apparently hates him as well. The repetitive use of the word "hate" as well as the confusion over how someone can love and hate someone contribute to the undertone of disgust the song creates.

6. Remorse

• Song: When I was Your Man; Artist: Bruno Mars
• Definition: deep regret or guilt for a wrong committed (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: In a fit of anger a girl calls her boyfriend stupid and feels bad about it later.
• Behaviors: sighing, resting the head on one's hands, crying
• Bruno Mars talks about the various things he did wrong in a previous relationship and how he wishes he hadn't made those mistakes. When faced with things that remind him of his ex he expresses feelings of regret and remorse. This is best explained by the lyrics  "My pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life." This shows that he felt deep regret or guilt for a wrong.

7. Grief

• Song: Dance With My Father Again; Artist: Luther Vandross
• Definition: deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone’s death (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: A child at their grandparent's funeral
• Behaviors: crying, denial of loss, regret, longing
• The entire song is about a man's memory of his father from his childhood and how he wishes he could return to those times. He also talks about how his mother grieves even more than he does for his father's return. He also says that "[he] knows [he's] praying for much too much" which shows that he deeply wishes to see his father again.                                             

                                    

                               


8. Joy

• Song: Blessed and Highly Favored; Artist: The Clark Sisters
• Definition: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: A student receives a perfect score on the SAT.
• Behaviors: jumping, vocalization of joy, running around with excitement
• The song talks about the elation of being favored by God and all that was made possible by this connection. The emotion of the song throughout is highly positive and grateful. It also expresses the joy of life and getting as far as they have.

9. Rage

• Song: Burn it to the Ground; Artist: Nickelback
• Definition:  violent, uncontrollable anger (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: An angry man hits his breaking point and flips over a table after finding out he was fired.
• Behaviors: Yelling, clenched teeth, violence
• The song's central theme is destroying things. Although the tone is not necessarily angry there is a definite prevelance of aggression. Also, the fact that the lyrics say "kick out every light" and similar statements shows that the scale of violence and destruction proposed is not miniscule of contained.
  

10. Anticipation

• Song: When Will My Life Begin; Artist: Disney
• Definition: expectation or prediction (Oxford Dictionary)
• Stimulus Event: A kid in a candy store with unlimited funds
• Behaviors: planning the future, excitement, fidgeting and an inability to sit still
• She talks about waiting for a change to occur in her life that she feels is sure to happen. She describes how she goes through her daily routines while still waiting for something extraordinary to happen. At the very end she expresses her hope that her mother will allow her outside.

Anything Goes

So this time around I'm going to pick a topic from Psych Central that peaks my interest and talk about it. Of the current events I saw, the most interesting to me was an article stating that research has shown that early music training actually changes the anatomy of the brain. As a music student, I certainly find this fascinating. To me music is a form of expression that can reach across cultures and into the hearts of many people, but obviously it does some other good stuff too. When you think about it, music is ingrained in every human being. The first sounds we hear in the womb are the rhythmic beats of our mother's heart. What makes music so integral and beneficial to humans? When you really think about it, music is just a bunch of waves vibrating through the air, so why does it help us the way it does?

Well, these questions might be interesting and thought provoking, but the article actually talks about making music, not hearing it, so I'm going to stop digressing and talk about the point of the article then expand more on my thoughts about it and music in general. To give a general summary of the article I'm going to rip a quote straight from it:

"A comparison of the participants [of the experiment] revealed that those who began their training before the age of 7 tended to have a thicker cortex — the outer layer of the brain — in areas linked to auditory processing and self-awareness, the researchers reported."

The article also stated that musical training could be used as a therapeutic tool. I could understand how this works because being an instrument player takes quite a bit of coordination between the tactile and cognitive aspects of making music. I would also like to point out that this theory of using music in therapy has been used many times before. In fact a choir group on America's Got Talent  was comprised of military wives who would sing for veterans who sustained mental disabilities in the line of duty. You can check out one of their performances below.

I also found an article on the BBC website that explains the Mozart Effect. This ties back into what I talked about earlier in the blog concerning the innateness of music in the human mind.And when you think about it, plenty of animals love music. Whether it be birds or crickets, sound and it's organization is so vital to the functioning of life as we know it. That's just really cool to me. I could rant about that some more... But I kinda have other homework to get to. On that note, here's a video with some cows who like music!

Fun Fact Link - ...I don't have "fun" facts this time around, but you can have the links I used!
                         Psych Central and BBC's Mozart Effect

Random Tidbit (just cuz):

Get it? Because Pavlov and the dogs and the bells? It's funny!

 

Life Story

So today, I am going to talk about my life story. Where I come from, who I am, blah, blah, blah. I am to sit here and rant about my perceived problems and challenges and stuff, but honestly my life is kinda boring. I was born; I grew up; I am here. I've never traveled before and I don't do anything spectacular. Well, I guess I'll just start.

I was born in Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston Texas and I've been here ever since... Yay? Anyway, I grew up in a nice, middle-class family. I went to pre-K and "graduated" to kindergarten from All Jean's Kids Academy in Stafford. From there on I went to Bearrington School, a private institution. It was an all black school I attended in Stafford until I transferred to public school in 4th grade. I spent 4th and 5th grade year in Meadows Place Elementary. From there I attended Dulles Middle School then Dulles High School, which I oh-so-eagerly attend today.You may notice that my life story is summarized in what schools I go to, well that's because school is basically all the life I have. I don't party or anything, and while I have priorities and stuff, school is essentially my entire existence and measure of self worth which is absolutely pathetic. :D 

Anyway, since I've already established that I haven't had that much of a life as far as eventfulness, I would like to say that I have had a good life despite that. I'm a natural introvert, so being a recluse/hermit in training isn't too much of a problem for me. Honestly, that's all I have to say about my past.

Now I have to talk about my future... To be honest I seriously don't look forward to it that much. You know how you sometimes look at a cake with red icing and you know that the red icing is always bitter and disgusting, but there are still parts of the cake you like? Do you eat the cake even though it has that nasty icing? Sure. Most people do anyway, and you just scrap it off. Well that's how I see the future. The red icing is failure, sadness, and all the other great stuff life throws at you. I feel like there's definitely some good stuff in that future-cake thing, but at the same time there's just so much red icing everywhere on it that my pessimistic personality can't help but cringe. With that all said, I'll go on to say my plans.

High School Graduation? Meh. I don't have any opinion about the graduation itself, I look forward to the new start of college though. I hope to pursue a scientific career centered on research, and to do that while making a decent amount of money, I'd have to at least have a master's degree though I'd like a P.h.D. (if I can manage to be a try-hard for that long). Marriage and kids? ...I might need another paragraph for this.

Most people don't know it, but I'm a hopeless romantic. I know that Prince Charming doesn't actually exist, but I can't help but wait for him. I'd love, love, LOVE to find someone who can put up with my eccentric ways and all, but at the same time I don't want to settle. I'd like to get married early (oddly enough) and I hope I meet him in college. As for family life, do I want one? YES. I really want to have kids, not as much as a want a husband but pretty close. And I know this sounds crazy, but I want like.. five kids.It's not that many! I might change my mind later, but that's the idea right now. XD And when I say five I mean that the number five is my limit. At the same time, I don't just want one kid, so yeah. As for names. Uh, I dunno. I think it would depend on my husband's background as well as my own preferences. I'd like to name them all on a theme like biblical names ending in -el (Michael, Gabriel, Ethel, Immanuel, etc.) and this one time I thought about naming them after plants (Rowan, Ash, Rose, Lily, etc.). However, if I married some Spanish guy they're names might be something like Juan Francisco Weymon Alvarez. Who knows; only time will tell. :)

Career. That's always fun to talk about. Like I said, I want to go into research of some kind. After that, I'd like to teach. Yeah. Glutton for punishment much? Anyhow, I'm not an ambitious person in any way, shape, form, or fashion, so I don't have a specific goal in mind other than to live comfortably. Retirement? I want to save up for it... That's all I know. Seriously. My life is absorbed with just making sure I get into college right now, I haven't even considered my retirement. And after retirement... I dunno. If I got married and had kids, I guess I'd knit my grandkids hats or something, and if I never got married or anything... I'd knit for my cats and quietly die alone. :D

Imagine this chick as older... And black... And that would be me.

Well, that's all I have for now... You're welcome I guess... >.>
 
Fun Fact Link - The Mother Figure: A Conventional Literary Archetype This blog talks about how we view mother figures. This relates back to the fact that children bond to mothers that give bodily contact.

Random Tidbit (just cuz):

Right Brain ALL THE WAY EVERYDAY!

Personality

I find the study of personality fascinating as it is the essence of what makes each person unique. I've always taken interest in my own personality and figuring out just what and who I am, so personality tests are generally enjoyable to me.

So, the first test I took was the Jung Typology Test. I turned out to be an ISFP, and after reading the characteristics of my personality type I had a "That is so like me!" moment. I really liked this one because it put a term to all my little quirky habits that I couldn't really explain before. Another thing I really liked was the celebrity list. I found out that people like Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, and Donald Trump have personalities similar to mine, and after the fact, I've started to kinda see those characteristics in them. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think it's cool. :)

After that I took the Perfectionist Test from BBC which was basically a questionnaire like the Jung Typology Test. All around I was pretty neutral about everything. I feel that it was an accurate test for me because I am not strongly perfectionist nor am I a hobo, so yeah. I did agree or disagree that my parents pressured me or had high expectations and I scored a 4 (Agree) for high standards/doubting oneself. And finally I got a 2 (disagree) for being neat, and that is pretty accurate.

The third test I took involved the Necker Cube and explained what one scientist thought to be a correlation between "passive flipping" between perspectives of the cube and introverts vs. extroverts. I flipped it 19 times in 30 seconds, so I actually acted according to the theory that introverts passively flip faster because our brains have more activity. That makes me feel so special. :D

Okay, so the fourth test I took was about Disgust levels (also from BBC) and basically I just looked at pictures and rated how disgusting I thought they were. I would have had a better opinion of my test if it hadn't screwed up nearly every answer I made. I was kinda ticked at the end of it because I really wanted to know how I perceive what is and isn't disgusting. What a bummer.

The final test I took an Attraction Test from Explain Your Brain. First I filled out a small quiestionnaire about what I found attractive in a man, things like intelligence, seductiveness, well-groomed, etc. Then I looked at pictures of men and rated how attractive they seemed. While I have no intention of explicitly retelling my results, I will say that I found them rather accurate. The only problem I had was that I prefer black guys and most of the pictures were of white guys (who really don't do anything for me) so I feel as if my results were a bit biased. And those are things that everyone needed to know about me. :P

All in all, I found these personality tests to be fairly accurate, but that might be the Barnum Effect at work, right? (brownie points) 

Fun Fact Link - This link is about the "Nazi personality" originally studied by Hermann Goering.  http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/03/nazi.aspx

Random Tidbit (just cuz):

Psychoanalysis at work!