Advice Column #4

Dear Dude: I think my friend is depressed. How do I know if it is depression, and what can I do to help?
Helpful in Humboldt

Dear Helpful in Humboldt: Good for you for helping your friend. It seems to me that someone who has such a good friend should not be depressed. First make sure your friend is really depressed. The following symptoms are common in depression:
-low self-esteem
-alchohol or drug abuse
-feelings of worthlessness, helpessness, and guilt
-loss of interest in daily activities
-lethargic
There are others of course but if your frind is suffering from any of these you should have a talk with them and let them know that you are worried about them and ask them to seek treatment such as a counsellor, psychiatrist, or help line. From my expierences people don't like to admit they are depressed and it can be a difficult undertaking to get them back to their normal selves. I wish you good luck.
Sincerely: Dude

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0305.html

Dear Dude: Today my daughter asked me what it means to be beautiful? She thinks that it is the beautiful people who are the most popular and I heard that there have been studies that beautiful people get better jobs. What should I tell my daughter? How can I explain to her what beauty is when she sees such stereotypical images on t.v but she notices it at school too? Are there advantages to being beautiful?
Unsure in Unity

Dear Unsure in Unity: I think that it's a good idea that you would discuzz this subject with your daughter, now days there are many misconceptions upon what beauty really is. Everyone has there own beliefs on what it means to be beautiful, some consider good looks to be all that beauty is. Others think what is beautiful about someone comes from the inside, how they act towards others. I am assuming your daughter is young so the way I would describe beauty to someone younger would be to tell them to take a look at nature and notice how almost everything is beautiful and then put that in terms of people that people can be beautiful in their own way. Beauty really is the eye of the beholder and the way people percieve beauty reflects their personality and individuality. It is natural that your daughter would already have an idea of what is beautiful and what is not because it is something that is learned by a child in early developement. In our modern society there are many benifits to being beautiful, such as getting better jobs, making more money, people treating you better and so forth. However if you are hardworking, have a nice personality, etc. then there is no reason that you would be treated any differently. This would be an example of being "beautiful on the inside".
Sincerely Dude

http://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-beauty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty

Advice Column #3

Dear Dude: Why do people constantly compare themselves to others? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Comparing in Cabri

Dear Comparing in Cabri: It is normal for people to compare themselves to others because it is a natural human instinct to fit in. When people compare themselves to other people they are making sure that they fit in with the group they wish to be associated with. However if you are comparing yourself in a way that makes you look bad, you are likely to have drop in self-esteem. In this way it would be a bad thing so you should probably limit how much you compare yourself to others, that way you don't have to worry about having to be better or worse then someone else.
Sincerely, Dude
http://zenhabits.net/lifes-enough-stop-comparing-yourself-to-others/

Dear Dude: I recently read an ad in the paper that was looking for a sales associate position. At the end of the ad it said to make sure that you show up in dress clothes when applying. I found this rather odd. Why would she specify that in the ad? Does this have to do with making a good first impression? How important is a first impression anyway? I have good references, isn't that enough?
Perplexed in Ponteix

Dear Perplexed in Ponteix: Well first off, let me say that first impressions are important because the first few moments when you meet someone is how they are going to see you until they know you really well. This is natural instinct from when we had to decide quickly if someone was a friend or a foe upon first sight since survival was an important aspect of life back then. Also to be a sales associate you would need to have a certain amount of professionalism. So wearing snazzy clothes would be important for this position. Besides who wants to work with a slob?
Sincerely: Dude

www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200405/the-first-impression
www.psychologytoday.com/basics/first-impressions
http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar05/slices.aspx

Advice Column #2

Dear Dude: I recently read somewhere that a person’s expectations of an event make an outcome more likely to occur. I am starting a new part time job soon. What does this mean for me? Does this have something to do with the 'self-fulfilling prophecy' that I hear my teachers talking about?
Expectant in Eastend

Dear Expectant in Eastend: Yes this would fit right in with the self-fulfilling prophecy if you are expecting to do well at your job. This self fulfilling prophecy has had several tests done upon it. Such as this one here "Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson, in 1968, gave all the children in an elementary class a test and told teachers that some of children were unusually clever (though they were actually average). They came back at the end of the school year and tested the same class again. Guess what? The children singled out had improved their scores far more than other children. (Rosenthal 1995)." So basically the self-fulfilling prophecy means what you expect to happen has a better chance of happening because you will work towards it. I believe this is true because it makes sense that if you want to win or lose then there would good odds that it will turn out how you expect it too. So if you want to succeed in you job it would be a good idea to be positive about your job.
Sincerely,
Dude

www.businessdictionary.com/definition/self-fulfilling-prophecy.html
changingminds.org › Explanations › Theories


Dear Dude: My mother is always saying that if you look good then you’ll feel good, and if you feel good then you’ll do good. Is this true? Can the way you feel about yourself actually make you do better?
Doubtful in Davidson

Dear Doubtful in Davidson: Well if you look above this is similiar to the self-fulfilling prophecy. What you expect of yourself is what you are likely to get. It has to do with self-esteem and how you see yourself. If you respect yourself then it is more likely that other people will respect you. So yes your mother would be right. Usually mothers are it seems.
Sincerely,
Dude

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/self_esteem.html

Advice Column #1

Dear Dude: Do males and females really view the world differently, or is this just a myth?
Viewing in Vanguard

Dear Viewing in Vangurd: This is an excellent question and I will answer it with no, this is not a myth. I have noticed many times when hanging out with friends both guys and girls that the guys go for the more spur of the moment while the girls like to have plans. Males and females have different amounts of grey matter and white matter in their brains. The grey matter represents information processing centres and the white matter works to network the processing centres. Because of this men and women have different skills. Men have more grey matter which helps them with mathematic skills while females have more white matter which aids with language skills. This also helps to explain why they think differently, with men thinking things through quickly and directly while women take more time to analyze. I hope this helped answer your question,
Sincerely, Dude


www.livescience.com/3808-men-women-differently.htmlCached


Dear Dude: I have a problem communicating with people. I get very anxious and don't know what to say. It is affecting my job and my social life. What can I do to become a better communicator?
Tongue Tied in Tisdale

Dear Tongue Tied in Tisdale: There are several ways to become a better communicator. Here are a couple of examples I have found, that I have used in the past;
Make a connection with the person you are talking too- Find something in common, this will help encourage interest when communicating. It will make the conversation more memorable for the particpants.
Maintain eye contact- this is a very good idea because it shows respect for the person you are communicating with, it also shows you are willing to participate in communicating.
Don't interrupt (unless there is a good reason)- You shouldn't interrupt in conversations since it is disrespective. You shouldn't cut in unneccasarily because you shouldn't assume you know what the person is going to say next.
These tips are ones that I've used before with great results, hopefully they help you too.
Sincerely, Dude

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2010/08/10-keys-to-be-becoming-better.html

Urie Bronfenbrenner

Urie Bronfennbrenner was born on April 29, 1917 and died on September 25, 2005. Besides having a cool name he is also known for developing the Eucological Systems Theory and for co-founding the Head-Start program in the United States. He was born in Russia and moved to the U.S. when he was six. He majored in Phsycology and Music at Cornell University. He also went to Harvard where he earned his Master of Arts and the University of Michigan where he got his Ph.D. His theory on Eucological Systems Theory makes a lot sense and I can see how the things in peoples enviorments have direct influences on them. Here is a goanimate production on Urie.
GoAnimate.com: Urie Bronfenbrenner by Ethan Wiggins

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Carl Rogers

Carl Ransom Rogers was born on Januray 8, 1902 and died on February 4, 1987. He was an influential American psychologist and helped found the humanistic approach to psychology. He started his learning off in agriculturem switched to religion and then switched and stayed in  psychology. His theory is much like Freud being well thought out after dealing with many clients. His theory is based on the self-actualizing tendency. He says that we as living things want to do the best that we can. This is the motive behind everything since we all want to develop potentials to the fullest extent. His logic really makes sense in that it is applied to basically everything and if we aren't doing the best that we can we lack. Here is the animation on Rogers.
GoAnimate.com: Carl Rogers by Ethan Wiggins

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

B. F. Skinner

Burrhus Fredric Skinner was born on March 20, 1904 and died on August 18, 1990. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard. He had many inventions, and ideas. The animation I did reflected on his use of operant conditioning. He is known as an influential psychologist of the 20th century. Some of his ideas were great such as operant conditioning and some were strange such as his invention the air crib. I hope you enjoy the video which involves my take on how operant conditioning would work with B. F. Skinner.
GoAnimate.com: B. F. Skinner by Ethan Wiggins

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!