In response to Katie’s question, “Why are some kids better behaved than other kids?”

Due to the fact that I am a psychology major I suppose my answer to this question could be a bit bias. But I do have two younger siblings, some of my neighbors are kids and I work with kids, so I am surrounded by them. I think there are a number of factors that can be blamed for kids’ behavior but I believe all of them can be tied to the child’s parents.

First of all, thanks to psychology there are four types of parenting styles. They include authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. Authoritative parents emphasis personal growth of the child and flexible dealings with the child but they still maintain high expectations. Authoritarian parents emphasis strict obedience and have high expectations of their children. Permissive parents serve as a resource for their child to use as they wish; they place very few demands on the child. Uninvolved parents are self explanatory….they simply aren’t involved. Again thanks to numerous studies it has been found that the best parenting style is authoritative parenting. The reason for this is because although they are willing to listen to their children and are open to possibly changing their decisions, they don’t let their children walk all over them. They are supportive and understanding of their children but they won’t let them get away with murder.

Others factors which can be related back to the parents are the child’s environment, the type of people they hang out with, and the time of attention they get. I believe even if a child has wonderful parents but they live in a bad neighborhood, they still have to potential to be bad kids. I also believe the opposite is true; if they have horrible parents but live in a wonderful neighborhood they can still turn out to be bad children. I also mentioned attention because of a little girl that I use to teach ballet. She is 7 years old, she was the oldest girl in the class and she was the worsted behaved. The 3 year olds were making better progress than her. She also had a sister who danced, but her sister has a learning disability so her sister got more attention from everyone, not just at dance but also at home. These poor girls have a bad home life; their father isn’t in the picture because he is in jail (and they know it) and their mother is a lesbian (not that I have anything against them…my best friend is a lesbian) and their mother was really sick…the one time that she actually brought them to class she told me that she was fighting cancer. So this poor 7 year old wasn’t getting the attention she needed or wanted. As much as she drove me insane I understand why she acted with way she did. This is a great example of the ever so popular nature/ nurture debate.

Question:

What kind of parenting style do you think your parents had/have?? Do you think you would be different, if they had raised you using a different parenting style??

In response to Lauren’s question, “Do you think that people are “born to be” theists, atheists, or agnostics or does environment and personal experience have more of an effect?”

Based on my experience I would have to say that the environment and personal experience have more of an effect on religious beliefs. As I have said many times before I was born into Christianity but as of about four years ago I no longer practice. The main reason is because of issues with the church.  So I guess a better answer to the question would be you are born into a belief…the belief of your parents….but as you grow up your environment and personal experiences have an effect.

I am pretty sure if my parents weren't divorced then I would have finished my religious classes, I wouldn’t have been offended by what the priest said, and I may even continue to go to church. I also think if my friends practiced then when I was given the option of quitting I might have decided to finish because I only had a year left. But then again I haven’t had anything miraculously happen to me to make me believe that there is definitely a God so maybe I still would have lost faith.  

Question:

Do you believe your religious practices are due to your upbringing by your parents or do you believe you’ve decided on your own??

In response to Julia’s question, “Do you find people more attractive because of their looks or their personalities upon first impression? Most people make an initial impression of someone based on their looks. Do you agree or disagree with this? Why are looks, and not other qualities such as intelligence and compassion, most highly valued in our society?”

Unfortunately, I have to admit that I do base a lot of my first impression on looks but I also take into account personality….good looks don’t make up for being a jerk, at least for me. I like to think that nice looks are just an added bonus. If all you have are looks then you don’t have anything at all.

Again unfortunately, I have to agree with your statement that most people make an initial impression of someone based on their looks. Think about it how often to you see a really “attractive” person with a really not “attractive” person…umm, almost never. Honestly not only is it disappointing but it is sad that we don’t judge our first impressions and base our relationships off of different qualities other than looks.

I think a lot of it has to do with social pressures and pressures from the media. They are always portraying young, skinny, “good” looking people. And for those of us who may not be so good looking they have a solution, whether it’s a new cream, a new exercise, or a new procedure. There are always commercials on for acne creams or washes, like Proactive. Or a show about someone who finally got their happily ever after thanks to their Botox or liposuction procedure. 

Question:

What is your first impression when you see a young female with an elderly man or the opposite, a young male with an elderly woman??....Thanks to the media and stereotypes I bet most people think the younger person in the relationship is in it for the money. Do you agree or disagree??