THIN SLICING

As I begin to read the chapters assigned in this class I slowly become more interested in learning about the different perceptions people have on our world. I have always been one to "try" and analyze people, their thoughts, their future reactions, their opinions by just the way they portray themselves and their facial expressions. It's amazing to me now to understand a little bit better as to why I am always getting myself into trouble. I say more than I should and without thinking, expect that everyone knows, understands, and thinks the way I do so my point does not always get across. " We tend to make inferences about their motives, personalities, and other traits based on their physical qualities and behaviors." That previous statement is presented in the book and I can completely relate to it. It mentions that those that are skilled at making observations and interpretations have a head start in developing effective interpersonal relationships. With that said, I am ready to have a better understanding of how my interpersonal communication can be improved and I can have a better understanding of people and the reasons for their actions. Another interesting point that I want to mention is the concept of "thin slicing". WOW! I tend to thin slice many people! That is terrible! There is no good reason why I should base my complete opinion about someone on just a sample of their behavior and start to generalize the type of person he/she may be. I suppose that without thinking we more than likely thin slice everyone we meet. I have read the first three chapters of this book and already I feel I have benefited in so many ways. Some things I can try and correct and others I just have to learn to understand.

Psychological NOISE

I am realizing now that maybe taking four online classes was not such a good idea. Way too much information to read and obtain! I have already read chapter one for my speech class and in my opinion I felt that I understood it pretty well. I was very interested through out the entire chapter so I felt that I would do a descent job on the quiz, but I was wrong. A 76 is not exactly descent to me. Maybe I just need to take another approach to study the material, but something needs to change. I was really trying to get an A in this class so that my GPA could go up, but now I am not so sure. On the brightside it is still early in the semester so I hope I can change this because if not I will definately have this on my mind all the time causing unneeded psychological noise! =) See...I knew I did learn something! Lately I have had alot of psychological noise! That should be a certain condition that they diagnose people with because it can really have an impact on someones life! I tend to have too much on my mind and lose focus on the task at hand. Sometimes I have so much on my mind it makes me sick and I just won't ever be hungry or I would rather just sleep. It's a serious issue I have, but I'm honestly trying to work on de-cluttering my mind and accomplishing the things that need to be accomplished!