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Destiny Lee

September 27, 2012

Psychology 101

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I was surprised to hear that we were born with some sort of anxiety. I didn’t think that an experiment like that would really determine anxiety. I never would have thought that the authors would be able to put things in front of these babies and be able to tell if they were going to grow up with some type of anxiety. I was surprised that Baby 19 was the only baby who reacted differently and cried when she saw the new things and heard the new sounds. I’m not of the opinion that we are born as a blank slate because when one is born no one knows what is going to happen. There are all sorts of things that could be going on in the mind of a new born baby. We are born as a baby but no one seems to really know what is going to happen. Being a baby to me doesn’t mean that one is blank slate; it means that they are new to the world and that anything is bound to go on within the brain of that person.

As the authors describe the test the way I think I would have performed is that when the blue screen came up I would have been afraid and scared of what was to come. The whole time during the test I would have had the thought of that when the blue screen comes up will the puff of air be painful. I may have even reacted fearful before the test started. I would have told them to stop because I was afraid of what was to come. I wouldn’t be reactive when the green screen came because I would have the thought in my head that it is safe. I would already know that it can’t harm me. I wouldn’t consider myself to be anxious like Baby 19. There have been times when maybe I have had an anxiety but not as much as Baby 19. I don’t let things worry me because I don’t want to have to take on that toll and think about all the effects that come alone with being anxious. It seems to me that Baby 19 anxiety was not just worry but it was a worry that came along with her always thinking in the back of her mind what if.

I agree...