I also am reading the AP Psychology book, my ap world history teacher lent me. Psychology is awesome! Psychology is the biopsychosocial process of how a person thinks and behaves which can be influenced by environmental, genetic and social factors. The number of mu receptors determines a person’s tolerance to pain, yet people can minimize pain if they focus on something else such as when a doctor tells a patient to look away when they are given a shot, by focusing on something else, the pain receptors in the brain aren’t as active since the mind is focused somewhere else and the person only feels a slight sensation. Also there is the power of suggestion such as when people have complete faith in what their doctors say and do something that they never would have done unless under hypnosis such as in a case study where some patients who were sick were given a pill that was really a gummy bear disguised to look like a pill, yet they were told that this pill would make them better, the patients took the pretend pill and were better. It is amazing what the mind can do and how it can affect health. Since the brain has nerves connecting to our body and these nerves communicate messages that help send electrical signals to help our body function, our mental thoughts can affect our bodies negatively or positively depending on what we think about. There is also the theory of multiple intelligence where Howard Gardner thought mind could be divided into eight different specific functions each person having a different degree of the eight different intelligences. The eight different intelligences are:

1. Musical Rhythmic and Harmonical- talent in music, sounds, singing (I like music and can imitate them, but I’m not an instrument person)
2. Visual-Spatial: imaginative, visualize things clearly in their minds (applies to me)
3. Verbal-linguistic: good at reading, writing, memorizing words and dates (applies to me)
4. Logical- mathematical: reasoning, numbers, critical thinking, problem-solving (algebra is okay, but I have a more creative mindset and enjoy science to math)
5. Bodily-kinesthetic: agility, coordination, athleticism, people who have high bodily-kinesthetic are good at sports (amateur soccer and lacrosse, bowling and badminton are great) , dancing (not in front of people), acting (I don’t like the stage, but i can perform)
6. Interpersonal: empathy, compassion, understanding for other’s moods, cooperation, teamwork, leader or follower, enjoy discussion and debate (applies to me)
7. Intrapersonal: relating to the self, self-reflective, able to see one’s faults and talents, understand oneself (applies to me, although sometimes I have trouble finding out who I really am and wondering what my talents are)
8. Naturalistic: survival in nature, interest and connection in nature, retaining information from nature and surroundings, human interaction with environment such as hunter-gatherers (applies to me, I love nature and enjoy camping. I have stuff to learn about wilderness survival though, but I think I know enough)

Also in psychology, it also says that there are three types of parents: demanding, authoritative and passive. Demanding parents are good because they teach their kids self-discipline and morals, yet they can be be judgmental, criticizing and hard to open up to and are also the ones who enforce rules such as grounding or placed on restriction. Authoritative parents are the best way to be because they discipline their children, yet also allow them to grow and develop independently, they are open-minded, praise their children for good things, but also reprimand them in a way that creates a healthy relationship between the child and the parent and isn’t too demanding and negative on the child. Authoritative parents maintain a healthy authority, but also let kids have a freedom. Passive parents let their kids have mostly free reign on their own lives and don’t punish as much. Also there have been some studies that children with demanding parents are more likely to develop eating disorders like anorexia because they feel like they need something they can control and the stress from their parents often leads to feel like they need some sense of worth. Also there is also a theory that men who get along with their mothers will treat their wives well since they have a feminine influence. It’s amazing how much insight psychology can bring in understanding people. Sometimes children will try to please their friends by doing reckless things since they can’t please their parents no matter how hard they try. Such as in the realistic fiction story, The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines where Tom Barney’s parents didn’t think there was a future for their son because, Tom’s older brother Michael had been arrested and Tom could turn out like them. At first Tom was a very studious student, yet when he couldn’t please his parents because their opinions of him were already jaded by his brother, he began to think of the uselessness of trying so hard and began to take a downhill turn. He makes a bad turn when he tries to please a self-absorbed girl, Grace by joining the military because he thought it would please her to know he was a brave person. Is it really worth it to let other people’s negative opinions influence your path?

I think I have learned a lot and acquired much insight into people’s behavior and the way they act just from reading Meyers AP Psychology. Do you think children can change themselves for the better if they don’t like some of the values their parents have? I believe that they can, yet there are so many people who say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and no matter how hard you try, you will still be like your parents. I know that I value hard work and education same as my parents, I also value self-discipline like them. Yet different from them, I am more of a realist and also more spiritual and hopeful than they are. I believe that there are many possibilities out there and that if you believe and work hard you can go far and attain happiness in life. I believe that there should be temperance in self-discipline and that an open mind and compassion are great instead of being judgmental and not accepting some things. I am the person who if I have a goal, I will try my best to work for it and although sometimes I do compare myself to others, i try not to let it bring me down, but to let others’ successes to motivate me in creating my own. Although sometimes I may have doubts, I try not to let what others say bring me down and if something bad happens, I try to accept it and say whatever, stuff like this happens, i’ll just let it go. I don’t want to be like my parents in the way they hold on to negative thoughts and let negative occurrences bring them down, I want to find spiritual fulfillment in life by understanding myself instead of seeking it through material pressures like money and to live each moment of my life being grateful just to be alive. The people I admire the most aren’t the wealthy and smart ones, there the ones who are healthy and fit like Jillian Michaels and also the ones who are spiritually fulfilled like Buddha. Currently I am working on how to build my immune system, improve my circulation (keeping my hands and feet from getting too cold in winter and too hot in the summer) and healing my eyesight. Feel