Positive Thinking

There is power to positive thinking but that is half of the story. The other half is a person‘s hard work and determination to get a task accomplished. I do not believe that if a person just has good thoughts that good things will come to them. For example, I want an A plus in chemistry. I think positive thoughts, sit back and allow the universe to deliver my package of an A plus. The real world doesn’t work this way. A person should think positively and at the same time work hard for what they want. When someone has positive thinking skills there more likely to apply to their dream job. This is a excellent trait to have. The employer will give the job to someone who is qualified and has the drive to work for their company. If someone arrives to the interview with a negative attitude and feel like they can not get the job. The employer can sense that and will not hire the person. I can not guarantee if a person was thinking positive thoughts and hard working that they would get a job. There chances of being hired have increased. If a person wants something in life they will have to work hard for it and believe in themselves. Think about this: if you do not have faith in yourself, how can someone else have faith in you. This is true because everything begins with you. It is important that hard work will pay off in the end. To accomplish a goal it starts off as a positive thought then comes to hard work and determination to finish the job.

Drugs Draft

Depression is a chemical imbalances in the brain that cause a mental disorder. The most common symptoms or signs of which are long lasting feeling of hopelessness and despair, poor concentration, lack of energy, and sometimes, suicidal tendencies. It is unknown what causes the chemical imbalances that result in depression. This is why researchers who study the illness believe depression consist of risk factors instead of causes. A risk factor is anything that may increase the probability that the illness will occur. An example would be cancer. People who have cancer have a greater chance of having depression than someone who does not have cancer. Another risk factor could be a tragic incident such as rape, death of a love one, etc. If a person believes they are suffering from some or all symptoms of depression, the person can go through the diagnostic process. The diagnostic procedures are the methods used to identify a condition or illness. The process of diagnosing a patient takes a lot of time and patience. The doctor will perform a check up, laboratory tests. If the patient does not show any physical signs of depression, he or she will be asked for a psychological evaluation. Health car professionals are careful when evaluating clients for depression because it takes more than just a feeling of sadness. They have to gather as much information as they could before deciding that the patient has depression. If the results of the evaluation states the patient has depression, they will be prescribed antidepressants.
　
An antidepressant is a drug that relieves depression or another condition related to depression. An example of an antidepressant drug is Prozac. According to Helen Packard, “these antidepressants work deep inside the brain, in the spaces between brain cells called synapses. In the synapses, a chemical called serotonin acts a messenger for the brain. Serotonin carries messages across synapses from brain cell to brain cell, to the rest of the body.” For some people, serotonin is not a good messenger. It may not stay in the synapse long enough to carry messages or it may be stolen back by the first brain cell and carry any messages at all. This occurs in patients who have depression. Prozac seemed to be the right choice for people who suffer from the illness. The problem is Prozac isn’t adequately tested. Dr. Peter Breggin, coauthor of Talking Back To Prozac, questions the data about the success of the drug. “The high dropout rates in all [those] research projects make it impossible to conclude that 65 to 70 percent of the patients were improved. At least one-third of the patients usually failed to finish the trials, and vast majority of protocols and individuals studies showed no positive effect from Prozac.” This means the pharmacological companies aren’t testing the drug as they should and there stretching the truth about the statistics of Prozac. This shows how the pharmacological companies could risk the lives of people who suffer from depression for the all might dollar. A person’s health shouldn’t be at risk if the are being lied to about the statistics of the drug. Prozac isn’t for everyone and like any other drugs, it has different affects on people. The problem with Prozac is doctors are prescribing this medication without properly diagnosing the patient with depression. Also, patients want a “quick fix” to the symptoms they are experiencing due to depression. For example, Peter’s father died of cancer. He started to feel down and nervous all the time. Peter believed his mother would die and he didn’t want her to go anywhere without him. Peter went to the doctor, described his symptoms, he was prescribed Prozac. About two weeks later, he started to feel better. After almost a year on Prozac his doctor suggested he stop taking the antidepressant. The doctor thought it was a good idea to see if he can live his life without the drug. Peter decreased his dosage of Prozac until the drug was completely out of his system. He began to get the symptoms again. He decided to talk to someone about his problems. As time went by Peter felt like therapy has helped him deal with the death of his father. Prozac didn’t work for Peter because the drug pushed his grief aside and he felt “normal” again. This gave Peter the illusion that the drug was working. When he wasn’t taking Prozac, the symptoms started to come back. The fact of the matter is, Peter has to deal with his feelings. He cannot just sweep them under the rug. In his case, he can’t just take a antidepressant and think the pain will go away. Instead of taking antidepressants for a “quick fix” there are other alternatives for defeating depression.

There is a natural safe alternative way of over coming depression which is called homeopathic. Homeopathic is a unique form of medicine with its philosophy, medicines, and methods of treatment.
The single principle on which homeopathy is fundamentally based is the “law of similars.” This means that the same substance that causes a particular set of symptoms in a healthy person can relieve similar symptoms in a person who is ill. This where the term homeopathy meaning “similar suffering,” originated. Homeopathy is natural, non toxic, and doesn’t contain side effects. The medicine is created by natural materials such as the plant, mineral, animal kingdoms. The philosophy of homeopathic medicine is understanding each person as a whole. Homeopathy medicines are energy medicines which have indirect physiological effects through stimulation of the immune system, other restorative, protective body mechanisms (Ullman, Judyth, Robert 58). The treatment is inexpensive. A single dose of homeopathic medicine costs between three and ten dollars, it may last for weeks or months. In contrast Prozac cost about eighty dollars per month.

Phar. Drugs:Thesis & Work Cited

 Thesis: People can over come depression without the use of pharmaceutical drugs and lead happier, healthier lives.                                       

                                             Work Cited

Reichenberg-Ullman, Judyth, and Robert Ullman. Prozac-free: Homeopathic Alternatives to Conventional Drug Therapies. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic, 2002. Print.

Kittleson, Mark J., Heather Denkmire, William Kane, and Richelle Rennegarbe. The Truth about Fear and Depression. New York: Facts On File, 2005. Print.

Packard, Helen C. Prozac: The Controversial Cure. New York: Rosen Group, 1998. Print.

What am I grateful for?

           There are many things I am grateful for. One of them is my loving and supportive family. We’ve been through many obstacles but at the end of the day, I know I can count on them to be there for me. I am grateful that my mother survived her deadly disease. Even though she experienced illness, she is happier than she was before her illness. I believe her disease has caused everyone in our family to come together and appreciate our lives. Its ironic that it takes a tragedy to appreciate what we have. I am grateful for my wonderful friends.


          I am grateful for having the ability to buy materials. My parents provide me with shelter, food and the clothes on back. The list goes on and on. I wouldn’t have these things if my family didn’t have the money to buy them. Money isn’t the most important thing in life but we need it. There is a saying in business “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” This means that even though I do not pay for the clothes on my back or the roof over my head, that doesn’t mean someone else didn’t pay for these items.

Paper 2

Jealously occurs in relationships, but facebook can increase a couples jealously level which will interfere with their happiness. The social network can become addictive. People can reconnect with their old boyfriends or girlfriends. Face book over-informs people. We already know that face book can be an incredible tool for building and strengthening relationships. We also know that it can harm a relationship as well.
　
The social network can become addictive. People spend a lot of time on face book. The conversations with friends and colleagues are interesting. The time goes by faster when your on face book. Psychologist Csikszentmihalyi named this experience as flow. Flow is a state in which one is immersed in an experience that is rewarding in and of itself, a state in which we feel we are one with the experience, in which “action and awareness are merged.” (Qtd Ben-Shahar Tal, 86). An example of flow is, one day I had to go to work. I was early, so I decided to log in. I told myself that I was only going to be online until it was time to go to work. I had notifications and messages. My boyfriend and I were writing back and forth. I had been online for an hour. I looked at the time and I realized I was running late for work. Even though I knew I was going to be late, the conversation with my partner seem to be more interesting. I was willing to be late for work because I was in the zone. I find face book interesting, I feel the complete opposite about going to work. I’ve done this on numerous occasions. Many people are addicted to face book. This is a problem that must be solved. I saw a video of a girl named Clarissa who has admitted she is addicted to face book. She had to study for a test but instead she went on face book. Clarissa said she cannot study in her house because she will automatically go on face book. When she has access to a computer, she will go log on to face book. Her gpa was a 4.0 last semester and she doesn’t think it will happen this semester because of her addiction to face book. (Face book Ruined my Life video). This generation is allowing face book to take over their life. It is sad that people make face book a priority instead of an option, this will change how a person will view the level of importance on certain things. For example, Clarissa is allowing her grades to suffer because face book is her priority. People need to wake up and realize the amount of time they spend on face book is unhealthy.
　
People can reconnect with their old boyfriends or girlfriends. A man understands that his girlfriend had a past but  that doesn't mean he waould like to see his girlfriend's ex boyfriend writing a comment on her wall. It is embarrassing because not only does he see her talking to her ex boyfriend, so does the rest of her friends on facebook. This can cause tension in the relationship. The boyfriend may feel like there is something more going on than a friendly hello. Men always know how other men think. Males don’t only want friendships from females. There is always a hidden agenda. The boyfriend may feel like the ex boyfriend is going to pretend to be his girlfriend’s friend. Then when the couple has a fight, the ex boyfriend will be there for her and consol her. For example, my cousin was dating this guy for three years before they broke up. She was single was a long time and one day her friend introduced her to a guy that she works with. The guy was interested in my cousin, he asked her for her number. She said yes. They have been dating ever since. The couple have been dating for one year. My cousin was on face book and she received a friend request from her ex boyfriend. She accepted his friend request because she was over him and she knew nothing would happen between them. Her ex boyfriend wrote on her wall. She wrote back. My cousin’s boyfriend saw that her ex boyfriend wrote on her wall, he was furious. They had an argument about this topic for a week. The ex boyfriend said “Hi, how have you been?…btw I miss you.” The term btw means by the way. My cousin said “I’m good and yourself.“ They were commenting back and forth but the conversation didn’t get impropriate. He was upset because my cousin accepted his friend request without telling him and he feels disrespected by what her ex boyfriend wrote on her wall. Her boyfriend thinks that she will go back to her ex boyfriend because they were together for three years and he was her first love. Her boyfriend is insecure because he knows her ex has a place in her heart that he can never take away. This caused their relationship to have many issues. If he didn’t read that comment, he would have no reason to doubt that his girlfriend wouldn‘t go back to her ex boyfriend. The couple wasn’t happy with one another anymore and broke up. It is sad that their relationship went down the drain because of a few words exchanged on face book. One day people will go back to communicating the “old fashion way” by talking to other another. Couples have to be secure in their relationship. Do not allow face book take away your happiness with your partner.
　
　
Face book over-informs people. The social network informs everyone of a person’s relationship status, when their tagged in photos, finding out plans with your partner’s friends, would be an unknown person commenting on your partner’s wall. You sense there is a bit of flirting going on. You will feel jealous, angry, hurt. You have two thousand thoughts at one time, one will be your mind creating an imagine of the unknown person and your partner being intimate. While this imagine is in your mind, you will make irrational decisions. You get in contact with your partner and tell him how you feel. I know many girls who have done this with their boyfriends. There was a study on college students to analyze the effect facebook has on relationships. There was 308 respondents. The participants were asked two questions. How likely are you to monitor your partner’s activities on facebook? How likely are you to become jealous after your partner has added an unknown member of the opposite sex? The results of the study stated that accessibility of information: increased information about the interactions of significant others, lead to an increase in monitoring and jealously for 19.1% of participants. Relationship jealous: 16.2% of respondents were explicitly linked to facebook use contributing to jealously. Facebook as addicted: 10.3% of participants had a major difficultly limiting the amount of the time he or she looked at his or partner facebook profile. Lack of context: 7.4% of respondents referenced how facebook can be ambiguous and that without context, jealously can be spurred over misunderstandings. This study was published in the Cyber Psychology & Behavior journal. The results of this study show more than an increase in the jealously rate. It shows that once the participants begin to investigate their partners profile, the feeling of jealously will most likely occur. Other factors such as lack of context and being addicted to facebook can occur as well.
　
Face book is a social network so people can communicate on the web. Couples have to understand that face book isn’t the place to play profile investigator. You should trust the person you are with. Do not get upset if your partner is speaking to a person of the opposite sex. You have to be strong minded and don’t doubt your partner’s ability to stay faithful to you. Jealousy is a powerful emotion and it can sometimes ruin a relationship if it gets out of hand. Losing your partner because of face book isn’t worth your happiness. If your partner makes you happy, why are you going to let a website determine the length of your relationship and happiness.

　

　


　
　

Blog 5:Happiness in Relationships

                                      Core Self
What is core self? It is everything that makes you who you are. This includes the negative and postive things. We should get to know ourselves before we expect someone to do it. This is sometimes the problem in relationships. The person may act one way in the beginning and their partner loves them now. The person may feel like they can never be their core self around their partner. His partner may have fallen for all his postive qualities, this is alot of pressure to be this picture perfect boyfriend. He does not want to seem like a screw up, so he has to pretend this is who he really is. Everyone is not perfect, so why should you have to act like you are with someone you love. That person should love you for your postive and negative qualities. In fact this can lead to the relationship failing. I believe that when a person is in a commited relationship, they should know that their will be ups and downs. The question is are you going to love your partner when he or she is down or shows that side of themselves you dont like?


                                                 Love & Sacrifice
When a person says "I love you" and "I will do anything for you". Do they mean it? I think this is true sometimes. People also have their own view on sacrificing for the sake of their relationship. Most of the time women think that if they take a week off from work to help their husband accomplish his goal is sacrifice. It is not sacrifice. Dont get me wrong, thats very nice of you. Sacrifice is when you give up what you love because it will benefit your relationship. For example, a women works at a law firm and she enjoys your career. Her fiance gets a job offer that will pay him twice as much compare to his present salary. The job is in England. This women will leave her career,friend,family just to be with the one she loves. This happens when you very much in love and you to make your partner happy.


                           Meaning & Pleasure in Love
There are two four letter words that people often get the defintion wrong. The words are love and lust. Love is feeling that happens to everyone. Everyone is different so are their feelings when it comes to love. For the most part, love is a mysterious journey full of smooth and bumpy roads. It is a place where you feel the smartest, prettiest, most comfortable, etc. A place to be your core self. Noone is pretending to be a perfect person. The person who knows all your flaws and they can say they love you. Lust is a feeling of being attracted to someone. This attraction may feel like love but it is not. Lust is external, there is no depth. A relationship based on lust will eventually lead to failure. For example, a guy is at the store, he notices a beautiful woman walking in. He says to himself "Im in love". The guy is interested in the woman because of how she looks. The guy and the woman begin to date. There is a physical connection but the couple do not get into details about themselves. All the couple does is rely on their physical attraction to keep the relationship alive. This isnt a good idea because the relationship will not last. Many teenagers get confused with love and lust. I think this occurs because at such a young age, teenagers dont know about this topic. I do not think teenagers are ready for love. They are at the age where they are maturing and they have to understand themselves before they allow someone to define who they are. It is a great feeling to have someone adore you. It is also a great feeling to have someone who is really through through thick and thin.

Happiness & Work

I deserve to be happy at work. I want to wake up in the morning and have the feeling of wanting to go to work. An appreciation for the wonderful career I have. I am currently a college student. I am a step closer to the career of my dreams. People often ask me questions like; where do I see myself in ten years? Do I think this is right career choice for me? The only person who knows me the best is me. I will answer these questions not because someone asked me. I will answer them because I want to create a plan for my future.
　
Where do I see myself in ten years? I see myself owning a successful business where I help people. I like to listen to people. When I help someone with a problem, it brings me a sense of joy. I cant make everyone on earth smile. The fact that I made one person smile, is enough to make me feel satisfied. I would like a career that gives me the same amount of pleasure as though it was my calling. A calling when a person works because they want to. The person is passionate about their work, which allows them to feel a sense of personal fulfillment. When I am working I want to feel like I am making a difference. I will admit I want to make money. I want to be able to live comfortable. At the same time, I don’t want to obtain too much money, it may change my morals. I do not want the highest paying job and I am miserable. In my opinion, making that much money is not worth sacrificing your happiness. I’ve found my career that makes me happy.

Do I think this is the right career choice for me? I think this is the right career choice for me. This is the right career choice for me because I can not see myself doing something different. There is nothing better than enjoying my career. The school work I am currently working on to get my degree will be worth it in the end. I can see the big picture. I’ve learned that listening to other peoples advice about what I should be doing is one thing. To have the knowledge of what I want and being happy with my choice is another. There is no doubt in my mind that this is what I want to do with my life.
　
　
When I die, I want to be remembered as a successful woman who loved her career. The woman who helped any people with their problems. The person who encourage other employees to take pride in their work. I wish happiness was a disease that I could spread all over the world. Everyone including myself deserves to be happy. We should apply this concepts to our work place. I am ready to be happy at work.
　
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Happines in Education Paper

There are some demons I must overcome in order to become a better student. The demons represent my negative attitude towards my education. My procrastination towards my school work and the way I get easily distracted. I am writing about my flaws to better understand why I act the way I do towards my education. I am the only person who can solve this problem. In order to solve it, I must analyze the problem. These are the steps I will take to become a better student.

          My first step towards becoming a better student is changing my attitude towards my education. I have an attitude of a quitter. If I do not understand a task, I will get upset. When I get upset, I tell myself the reason I do not understand is because I’m not smart enough. This will eventually lead to my decision to give up. I’ve told myself these negative views for so long that I’ve started to believe it. My performance in school is not at the level I know it could be. For example, math is a difficult subject. I have always had trouble with math. I remember my teacher telling the class on Friday that we were going to have a test on Monday. I started to study for the test, but I still was having trouble. I closed my book and enjoyed my weekend. When I took the test on Monday, I failed. I told myself, oh well I knew I was going to fail. I was creating an alibi for failing the math test. Professor Dan Gilbert refers to this term as synthetic happiness. Synthetic happiness is defined as a person who did not receive what they wanted and the person will pretend that this is what they were aiming for in the beginning. I am guilty of committing the act of synthetic happiness. Being happy is a right that all human beings have. So why not combine the concept of happiness and education. Flow, according to Csikszentmihalyi, is the state in which one is immersed in an experience that is rewarding in and of itself, a state in which we feel we are one with the experience, in which “action and awareness are merged”. I can take the concept of flow; apply it to all my classes. I will be able to learn better. I understand education is not this annoying task that I have to do. My education is my way of expanding my horizons. To show the world what I am capable of. I have to understand that everything is not easy or something I’m going to find interesting. The material I find difficult will one day become a task I can handle. If I continue to have a positive way of thinking, I will go far in life. Anything is possible if I believe it is. Failure is not a horrible thing. I should not get so upset to the point where I want to give up. I should not get upset because I can learn from failure. I can become a better student. I can view failure as my motivation. If everyone in the world were all perfect, then there is no room to grow. There would be nothing to learn from. I want to be proud of my accomplishments. I know this process will not happen overnight but it will happen. My mom always told me “you can do anything you put your mind to”. I will put my mind to this and become a better student.

          My second step towards becoming a better student is to stop procrastinating and being distracted. The reason I act this way is because I find the work too difficult. I don’t have enough time to complete the assignment. I will begin to feel anxiety. When I avoid the school work, I start to relax. I find it hard to go back to doing the work. I will participate in activities that I find interesting. The time comes; I know I have to finish my assignment. There would be an angel on one shoulder and a devil on another shoulder. The angel would tell the person the right thing to do. The devil would tell the person to do the wrong thing, which is usually what the person wants to do. In my case, the angel would say “complete the assignment“. The devil would say “I have all the time in the world, continue to enjoy yourself“. Another factor that triggers my procrastination habit is the stress in my life. If I have a personal issue, it will remain on my mind while I’m working on an assignment. This is a huge distraction. I will not complete my work and try to escape. When I escape I feel like my problems are on hold and I feel better. It is a bitter sweet moment. The sweet part is I’m getting away from my issues. The bitter part is if I do not complete the assignment, I will receive grief for not doing the work. Also, I will not understand the topic. I have to learn that my education is important. My education will always be here but my problems will not. I have to get my priorities straight. I do not want to be anti social but there should be a time for everything and everyone. A solution to my issue is time management. Time management is important because I have less of a chance to feel like I’m drowning with school work. I will have time for both my personal and student life. Another solution would be asking the professor for help during their office hours. I will understand the work and be able to focus. I will make time for everyone and everything in my life.

          I have completed my steps towards becoming a better student. I understand myself. I’ve acknowledged where my problem comes from. Admitting my flaws is not something; I would’ve done in the past. In the past I would’ve blamed other people. I was not taking responsibility for my actions towards my education. I am taking charge from this day forward. I will become a better student, most of all I will become a better person.

Happiness in Education?

                 

A negative attitude towards education will eventually lead to a feeling of under estimating my abilities. My insecures and fears have affected my education. I have a fear of failing. I tell myself I can not complete school assignments. So I do not complete those tasks. I do not look at education as a privilege but as something I have to do. All my life I heard, education is the key to success. That might be true but I am not interested in the school work. Since this is the case, I am not as focused as I could be in school. I do not take my education serious. I would like to change my attitude towards education. I will not blame anyone to justify for the way I think. I will identify the problem. I will explain the problem. When I do this, I will better understand the problem. I will solve this problem.

A twelve step program is for people who are addicted to drugs. The first step is to acknowledge the problem and stop being in denial. I am not in rehab but the steps are similar to change my attitude towards education. There similar because a person can not force a drug abuser to go to rehab. The drug abuser must make that decision by them selves. In my case, no one in my life can make me become a better student or change my attitude towards my education. I will have to make this decision on my own. I am ready for this change. My problem is, I do not believe in myself. If I do not understand a task, I will get upset. Then I will eventually want to quit that certain task. I will admit that I have the attitude of a quitter.  When I have the whole world to blame, it makes me feel better about my attitude towards education.

My fear is that if I keep up this negative attitude, I will not complete college and will not be successful in life. All my life I heard that I will get further in life with a college degree. I want my degree but I will not accomplish this if I’m telling myself other wise. It’s ironic because I see myself being successful in life and I know I’m smart. When it comes down to actually doing the work, I start to get lazy. I tell myself the task is too difficult and I can not do it. My mentality is; what’s the point of trying when I know I do not understand. I feel like I am the only one who can solve this problem. If I do not solve this problem, I will not accomplish anything in my life. I want to believe in myself and stop my negative attitude.

        

My major is business management. Since I could remember my least favorite subject was math. Business has a lot to do with math. I want to change my major because I am scared to fail. Math is challenging. I try my best to avoid the subject. People wonder why I choose business as my major, if I dislike math so much. My mom was the reason for my decision. My mom has done so much for me and I do not want to disappoint her. She makes me feel like I can do anything I put my mind to. I don’t want her to think I’m a failure. It’s sad that another person has this much faith in me but I don’t have faith in myself. My problem is I am undecided as to what career I want to pursue. I wonder how I can be happy when I have so many negative thoughts about my education. I want to clean up my act.

         I have acknowledged my problems. I’m ready to change my attitude towards school work. In the beginning of my story, I mentioned a twelve step program for drug abusers. I have to go through a similar process. My change will not happen over night but I know it will happen. I have to take my time with school work and ignore that voice inside of me that says “I can not do it.” I have to change my way of thinking. My education is a privilege and it is my duty to never forget that. Math is one of my fears that I will over come. I will pass math and all my other classes. I have to understand that making someone else happy is not worth it, if I am miserable. If my mom does not respect my alternative career choice, than she will have to figure out a way to accept it.  Failure is not going to be in my vocabulary. I want to become a better student. Most of all, I want to become a better person.

          

Impact Bias

Danielle Baptiste

Emotions provide a motive that determines our actions and outcomes. People have the ability to over analyze their future outcomes.  Professors Dan Gilbert and Tim Wilson have done studies to determine whether or not people have an impact bias. Impact bias is term Professors Dan Gilbert and Tim Wilson use when people over analyze their future outcomes. What is impact bias? Why does impact bias occur? Does society play a role in our impact bias?

 According to Professors Gilbert and Wilson, the term impact bias means the tendency for people to over estimate the length or the intensity of future feeling states.  For example, pretend a person bought you, your dream home. This is exactly what you wanted and you get a feeling of over whelming joy. You think this feeling of joy will last a life time. In reality, this feeling will not last that long. People think that once they received what they always wanted, a goal was accomplished. Since you have accomplished this goal you want to celebrate it, right? This feeling is normal. People fail to realize that the celebration feeling will end and then what? The answer to this is anything that is new can become old. You will find yourself wanting something else. Your dream house is what u wanted but it’s not the only factor that can give you this over whelming joy. You can’t think that since your house didn’t give you pleasure for the amount of time you wanted, that it wasn’t what u wanted. You were wrong about the amount of time you would feel happy. The level of happiness decreased over time. The house made you happy but now you want something else. The same behavior occurs when a disaster happens. People seem to think it will take longer to recover emotionally than it naturally does. I believe that people use this as a defense mechanism, so they can prepare for the worst outcome.

 The reasons impact bias occur is focalism.  Focalism is when people focus too much on the target event ignoring certain activities that may later occupy their attention. It will impact their emotional state. People can naturally rationalize what happens to them. When something bad happens, your first reaction is to feel unhappy. As time goes by, a person will find in depth reasons as to why this happened to them. The person will start to feel better about the situation. For example, pretend you are extremely angry. You have never been this anger in your life. Someone you know comes to you and says “your not acting like yourself, go take a walk and cool off”. The reason why this is excellent advice is because you will calm down and you will realize that you don’t want to be that angry. You don’t want to be that person who scares off people with your anger. You will be glad that you didn’t hurt anything or anyone. The mind operates better in a normal state.

 I believe society plays a role in a person’s impact bias.  When a child enjoys school at a young age they will grow out of it. I disagree because when we become older, we get this mentality that when a person enjoys school they aren’t cool. This also occurs in the movies we watch. The person who receives excellent grades in school are considered a nerd and social outcast. A child does not want to be in this situation, so they act like school is boring. The child is going to think that the outcome of enjoying school is going to put them in the category of being a “nerd”. This is how society has influenced some children.

Emotions provide a motive that determines our actions and outcomes. Impact bias is prediction on the amount of time the emotion will last. Society can be a factor on how a person will predict. Everyone is guilty of doing this activity. I find it amazing that Professors Dan Gilbert and Tim Wilson have studied this activity called impact bias.