Jason Justice

The assignment I chose for this skill was the Topic 8 Written Reponses, which was a short essay that was designed for a psychology assignment. It was created close to the end of the semester and right before my final psychology essay, in April of 2024. It was created for Psychology, and the course was a 16-wek course that was hyflex. We had the choice of attending online or in-person, and I opted for the in-person option most of the time. The course was enjoyable, and I was able to learn much from the course and the discipline.

 

The assignment was aimed at analyzing our understanding of psychology-related matters. In my case, I had to analyze the impact and accuracy of young children’s eyewitness accounts of traumatic events. I then had to give advice on how to improve a person’s memory. The assignment came in two prompts, and I answered both in detail. In my response to the first prompt, I explained how and why a child’s eyewitness account may not necessarily be reliable. A child is just learning how to exist in the world and may witness events they do not know how to put into perspective or words just yet. They are heavily prone to misremembering and misrepresenting events, which can lead to false leads, arrests, convictions, or investigations. The assignment also dealt with the topic of repressed memories, which are memories that cannot be immediately remembered, rather, they are most remembered during the most inopportune times or when a person is not pondering on them. I also provided an example of a child suffering a traumatic event and not wishing to recount it out of fear of disbelief or judgment. The child then represses those memories, which can cause irreparable harm to their well-being and growth.

 

The other prompt dealt with the need for methods on improving a person’s memory. In my case, I had to do some research and pick out the best solutions towards memory building. I then linked those methods to what I already do to improve memory and explain why they are valid towards my goals and development. What has helped is that I am able to exercise regularly and socialize with others, which then leads me to build better mental and physical health. A strength of my assignment is that it clearly outlines a social-scientific approach and allows for me to demonstrate my competency in this field. However, it has a weakness in that it is not as long-winded as many of my other essays and works. Therefore, while it might fall short in work length, it allows for me to quickly demonstrate my awareness in social science.

 

The goals I set for this assignment pertained to my ability to demonstrate my awareness in social science and for me to be able to successfully write in a topic I am considering in my future goals. The first goal was accomplished since I was able to demonstrate my proficiency of Social Science through analysis and detailed answers of the prompt. The second goal was demonstrated for the same reasons as the first goal, except that Social Science is a field that I am hoping to utilize in a future career of mine. I hope that by mastering this field, I will be able to make a better impact on my community.

 

What I have learned from this core skill is that it is needed when it comes to interacting with people. Even though most people may not become counselors or may go into a field pertaining to social work, it is still an important skill to be able to discern when someone is going through a difficult time. Social-Scientific Literacy is important not just for a professional life, but for a personal one as well.