Wednesday, September 16, 2009

First Impressions

Within the first three seconds of a new encounter, you are evaluated… even if it is just a glance.
People appraise your visual and behavioral appearance from head to toe. They observe your demeanor, mannerisms, and body language and even assess your grooming and accessories – watch, handbag, briefcase. Within only three seconds, you make an indelible impression. You may intrigue some and disenchant others.

This first impression process occurs in every new situation. Within the first few seconds, people pass judgment on you – looking for common surface clues. Once the first impression is made, it is virtually irreversible. Interesting huh? Lets think about what we did in class and reflect about it a bit.

In class you met all of the students and spent only 1 to 3 minutes with them. How quickly did you know if you wanted to be in a group with them or not? How did you make this decision? Was it a feeling or a thought? Was it hard for you to go back after you meet everyone and select 5 people out of 22 that you would want to be in a group with? Was this harder than when you had to decided immediately after meeting them?

Have you heard of snap decisions and thin slicing? These are speaking about one's adaptive unconscious. These are decisions that we do not ponder over, but may make as quickly as a blink of an eye. I want you to think about how these decisions may be every bit as good as cautionously deliberated decsions. Second, I want you to think of some examples of when you thin slice and make snap decisions.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Dignity Quotes

"Education can give you a skill, but a liberal education can give you dignity" Ellen Key

"What should move us to action is human dignity: the inalienable dignity of the oppressed, but also the dignity of each of us. We lose the dignity if we tolerate the intorlerable." author unknown

What do these quotes mean to you? What do they say about dignity? Give an example of how these quotes can be applied to your everyday life. What have you done today that shows dignity?

Reflect and respond in a short paragraph or more.