week six

Many perceptual factors have affected my impression of people, events, and situations. I feel that once I form an impression of someone, I keep that impression, and it takes a long time for me to think otherwise. First impressions are very important as I form ideas and generalizations about individuals and situations; this is referred to as the primacy effect. I also have formed as well as learned stereotypes about certain individuals or groups of people. Stereotypes can be seen in the media, as well as learned from your friends, family, or acquaintances. At times, stereotypes hinder my ability to see past a group or individual, as I find it hard to get past my assumptions; in the end, I am the one who loses out because I may not give some people a fair chance. For example I stereotype all boys as being immature, so if a really nice guy asks me out, I may reject him thinking that he is like all other boys-immature. A final perceptual factor that influences my opinions is the halo effect. If someone I just met has one outstanding factor, I am likely to presume that they also possess several other quality characteristics. Of course, real life has taught me that this is not the case at all!

I enjoyed learning about the Johari window today. I believe that my biggest quadrant would have to be “mysteries of life”. I feel that I may have a lot of qualities that I cannot see, and nor can others; or maybe I just can’t see them, and everyone else can, in that case my biggest quadrant would be blind spots. My smallest quadrant would probably be open area (public domain), because I believe that I do possess a lot of qualities, but it is very difficult for me to identify what they are as I do not just excel in one area, I find that I am pretty well-rounded; I believe that others see this trait in me as well.

The emotional intelligence survey confirmed my suspicion that I had a high EQ. I always knew that I was in touch with my feelings, and that I could express them very easily. I’m also aware that I can hide my feelings when necessary. I scored a whapping 113 on the questionnaire, which means that I have a strong ability to perceive and express emotion, understand and reason with emotion, as well as regulate emotions in myself and in others. There have been situations in which I have had to regulate my emotions, for example, I was let go from my first job, and I was so upset about it. I felt useless and depressed, but I couldn’t let my employer see that, so I had to hide my feelings. I think people who are very close to me would agree that I have a high emotional intelligence, but people who are acquaintances would probably guess that I would have a low EQ as I regulate my emotions around strangers. My emotional intelligence is definitely seen more by my friends and family than my coworkers, as I am more likely to express my true thoughts and feelings with people who are closer to me. In addition, I find it unprofessional to express your emotions in the workplace, many decisions should be made with your head and not your heart (for the most part), and by involving your emotions at the workplace, you can sometimes get so caught up with your feelings that you cannot look past certain things; as a result, your decision making skills are partial and biased.