Week 10- Question 3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading (not already discussed for this week) that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

A concept that I really thought was interesting this chapter was the promotion of professionalism in workplace relationships, mainly in Romance in the workplace. According to surveys it is seem that coworkers are of with workplace romances and think that it doesn’t affect performance. A lot of people find their significant others in the work place because you are in constant contact physically or verbally, you carry meaningful conversations, and engage playful banter. I personally don’t think you should mix “business with pleasure.” It clouds the mind and blurs the lines of boundaries. For me I would like to work without knowing that my significant other is in the cubical right next to me. But we had a fight the night before about the toilet seat being up and now we aren’t talking making the projects we are on together, breaks, and lunches uncomfortable. I would like to worry more about proposals, meetings, and business lunches. I think it just disrupts everything.

Week 10- Question 1

How are organizations tied to the environment? What is the relationship between the school you attend and the city or town in which it is situated? What, if any, ethical obligations do an organization like a college or universities have to the local community?

There are many organizations like educational institutions should be taking the initiative to take care of their environment that the institution is on and motivate their students to care about it too. They can fundraise and hold special days to devote it to the environment. Yet, I feel like the city and San Jose State are not connected. The only thing that we have in common is the library but even that is separated out by floors. The students mostly stay on the sixth floor or higher, while the community is on the lower floors. That is not much of a connection in my eyes.

Our obligations should be to the city and the city to us. As a college of San Jose, we should want to improve the relationship that we have with the community because we live here and learn here. The community in return should want its graduates to be well education so that they can keep their community growing and involving. It would be a win-win situation if both make an effort to change the way we are today.

Week 10- Question 2

Review the etiquette rules suggested in the text. Respond to each one. Have you ever been bothered by cell phone, answering machines, or beepers? What do you feel about call waiting? Is it rude to put people on hold to take another call?

I must say there have been numerous times that I have been bothered by call cell phone, answering machines, and beepers. There were instances when I was younger, my mom being a nurse, carried around a pager.

When I would be at my piano or dance recitals I would hear her pager go off during my performances. I would know that it was her pager because it had the jingle bells tune whenever the hospital would page her. So whenever I hear jingle bells I know I would be going home with my aunt that night.

I hate my house answering machine. Its sOoooo loud that I would be asleep and depending whether I came home late after a night of partying, came home late after work, or just sleeping in general, that thing would go off and I would be awake shortly there after. I have literally gone downstairs and pulled the line out off the wall because it would be some annoying telemarketer asking if we were interested in something they were selling.

Cell phones have gotten me in trouble so many times during class when they would go off. I also think that cell phones a somewhat ruining everyone that goes to school because I know when I write papers I get marked down for word that are abbreviated. For example, I see would be IC, or the word some is sum.

I think call waiting is great invention because you know when there are incoming calls and you can catch important phone calls. I guess it could be rude if you just cut someone off to catch the other call. But these days its normal to tell someone to hold for another call.

Week 9- Question 2

Think about the filters you use to eliminate people from consideration as potential romantic partners. What characteristics or behaviours lead you to judge others as unattractive? Does Duck's theory make sense to you? Have you ever eliminated someone by using a sociological or pre-interaction cue only to reconsider them based on interaction and cognitive cues?

The interaction cue is the factor that would make me either like the person and consider them as a potential romantic partner because this determines whether we have things in common through having conversations to see if it’s rewarding to both sides. This is the part where I see if the potential can keep up with either playful banter or serious and intellectual conversation.

Duck’s theory does make sense to me because I have been in a long distance relationship myself and physical proximity is a big factor in why my relationship didn’t work. Being away for long periods of time without seeing your partner can take a toll on you mentally, physically, and emotionally. Sociological and incidental cues are major factors in which a long distance relationship can either work or crash and burn. Long distance relationships need a certain type of strength and a certain type of mentality from the people involved.

Week 9- Question 1

Which pattern (rigid complementarity, competitive symmetry, or submissive symmetry) do you think would be the most difficult to change? Why? Which would be the most damaging to a relationship? Which would be the most potentially damaging to the self-esteem of the individuals involved?


The pattern that would be the most difficult to change to me would be submissive symmetry and competitive symmetry. But i would moreover choose submissive symmetry because it’s very hard to become decisive over night. I’m very laid back and I know sometimes I can be really submissive and just go with what other people want to do pertaining to going out or extra circular activities. Whenever you ask a submissive person what they want or want to do they are thinking about other factors like; what the other person wants to do, if they would approve or if the other person has a better idea.

A pattern that could be the most damaging to a relationship would be competitive symmetry because having to strong headed people in one relationship will have a lot of conflict pertaining to any situation. The conflict would arise because in perspective there are two opinions trying to be victorious. Both fighting for the one-up position can help encourage but ultimately there will be stress and "loser," and that causes unhappiness on one partner.

Rigid complementarity would be the most damaging to self-esteem of individuals involved because one person making all the decisions and taking control of everything can make people angry and upset. Tempers are more likely to arise and if it hasn't already then there could be pent up animosity between partners. In the end all that animosity could be the reason of depression or be the breaking point of a relationship. This could make the one-down partner role feel worthless or make them question their self-worth.

Week 9- Question 3:

Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that we have no already discussed, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

An interesting concept I really enjoyed this week was the concept of balancing the interpersonal tensions. They are called Dialectics, the tension between them, the pull in relational tension, change is the norm and relationships are always doing this. The three are called expressive-protective, autonomy-togetherness, and novelty-predictability dialectic.

Expressive-protective dialectic is finding a balance between the need to share personal information and the need to maintain privacy.

Autonomy-togetherness dialectic is finding a balance between spending more time together and the pull from wanting more privacy, being to themselves.

Novelty-predictability dialectic is the tension between becoming too boring with the same behaviors pattern and too much novelty makes one feel uncertain about outcomes of certain situations

Week 8- Question 2

Do you believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises? What social institutions and practices are based on these beliefs?

I think that the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises are true. I’m the type of person to always see the good in any situation because situations can always be worse than it is. Since these premises are for the progression of human kind then I think that it is true. Not everyone is the same and there are a select few that contradict these premises but they’re problems might have other factors that keep them from making these premises true i.e. psychological problems and different types of cultural upbringing and religion. Some institutions and practices (rationality) are universities, schools, and the judicial system, political system, child/parent influence to an extreme extent because the child trusts the parents unconditionally to make sound decisions for them, (perfectibility) religion, (mutability) peer relationships, classism, social structure, elementary middle high schools.

Week 8- Question 3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that has not already been discussed during this discussion week, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

A really interesting concept about this chapter was Ethnocentrism. I think that it is good to be proud to be who you are and where you are from. But this is the belief that one owns culture is superior to all others and the tendency to judge all cultures by one’s own culture (Trenholm, p.359). I agree that this concept is irrational and hinders people from thinking with an open mind and growing positively as people. Hitler and the country of Argentina are known for this and are known for his ethnocentric nature and they’re ethnocentric nationalism. We all have to be able to accept differences and not classify them as negatives. If we as cultures cannot believe and practice this we will never establish respect and trust with each other.

Week 8- Question 1

Do you agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are "creatures of our culture" and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our cultures?

I do believe that we are all “creatures of the culture” we are raised into. The cultures that we are brought into are the ways of past generations and customs they have built for many years. The environment, religions, and political influences I’m sure have largely to do with what has been passed down from generation to generation. As a child we have no real control of choosing, or knowing whether our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture.

It is our parent’s jobs to teach us what they have learned and all we can do is live and respect what you were taught and how you were raised yet be open minded to other cultures. As you grow older you change and so does the culture. It all depends on the person. Some people are biracial and are raised in a mixed culture. I can only imagine the hardships and happiness that comes from having to be raised into both parent’s beliefs and life styles.

I think that it is awesome to be raised in a specific culture because that is what makes us all different. This keeps other people from other cultures curious and wanting to learn new things. And that is how we break through the limits of our culture, by living side-by-side with different kinds of people. By making friends with other people from other cultures, having interracial relationships, and engaging in open-minded conversations and activities.