Dual Coding: like NIKE, your brain "just does it"

As we discussed in class, the crux of Dual Coding Theory is that there are (at least) two different cognitive systems operating when a reading stimulus reaches the senses.

The first system processes the written stimuli, the second system processes the visual stimuli, and lastly, a third system assimilates all the information to infuse meaning.

It is important to note that these two systems are involuntary, meaning that the individual does not ever consciously have control over this process. Simply put, no one ever says, "I am going to start processing the words I see; now time for the pictures; ok, brain, now it is time for you to work your mysterious magic and integrate everything I see into a comprehensive schema of some kind" - the brain just does it!

The NIKE ad posted on this week's blog prompt exemplifies dual coding theory quite well.

For starters, the words definitely jump out at you first, thus supporting the theory's claim that written stimuli are processed first.

[Strictly speaking perceptually, it makes sense that the words would capure the initial focus because they are symetrically centered in the ad and appear in color against a white background.]

After processing the words, my mind (as the theory would predict) immediately began to scan the environment surrounding the words/phrases I had just read. Although the environment was pretty stark as far as visual stimuli was concerned, I was able to pick out a door frame, a color divide on the back wall, and a small box-like structure in the lower-left corner. I also noticed that the "We Believe" phrase appeared to be written on a separate background from the white wall and that there was a sliver of color on the left side of this background.

Luckily, my brain does not stop there!

The final component of Dual Coding Theory came into play when my brain integrated all of the aforementioned stimuli and helped me to consciously reach the conclusion that I was looking at the door of a gymnasium or locker room leading out to a sports arena of some kind. At this point I infer that the words "We Believe" are written on one of those banners that team players run through before the start of a game and that the "Practice like Champions" is a phrase painted into the actual gymnasium wall - something the players would likely see every day.

Beyond this, my brain attaches further meaning to the scene when I take into account that this is an ad for a sport's brand company.

All in all, a fine example of Dual Coding Theory!

An Apple a Day Does NOT Keep the Embarrassment at Bay

I had a job this summer with a corporate wellness firm in Columbus, OH where, all things considered, most days went really quite well.

There was one incident the first day I started though that I will not soon forget..

I will try to make a long story short here:

Right when you walk in there is this big bowl filled with green apples which I thought was clever because they are a wellness firm and so what better business tactic than to promote health from the second someone walks in the door, right?

I made some comment about them and one of the ladies (Amy) said, "Oh I know don't they look delicious? If I hadn't had such a big breakfast I would snag me one!"

They certainly did look appetizing, but I too had had a big breakfast and was not hungry.

I went about my business, showing various clients to the appropriate rooms when they would come, getting coffee, etc.

Then it happened. THE INCIDENT....

One of our biggest clients was coming to visit to hear some of the new health insurance proposals and my boss had given me explicit instruction to "make him feel right at home" while he was waiting.

So in he comes.

I greet him.

I offer him coffee.

I offer him a seat.

He takes the seat right next to the apple bowl.

Knowing I am supposed to make him feel at home, I say, "Sir please feel free to have an apple while you wait if you would like".

He looks pleased at the offer.

He extends his hand.

He grabs an apple, dusts if off on his [expensive] trouser pants, and is about to take a giant bite when my boss walks out of his office and anxiously cries, "Mr. Kerpline, STOP!!!"

The whole office is startled and comes over to the area.

Turns out it was a plastic apple!!!

There was apparently some humor miscommunication between Amy and I in the morning because I thought she was dead serious about eating one if she hadnt been so full and they looked so real it never occured to me that she was JOKING.

Clearly, I learned a valuable lesson here: when in doubt - assume they are plastic.

This could have been avoided if I had taken a better assessment of the situation from the get-go, but alas..

Interview Reflection

1. Were you nervous? How did you deal with this? I have done a few interviews already so I was not too nervous. Also, I felt confident because I know the direction I would like to see my career go in and am extremely passionate about it. The fact that I know Mrs. Rogers and feel comfortable talking with her helped to =)

2. Did you get any questions that threw you? How did you handle those questions?
The very first question "Tell me about yourself" always gets me. I never know exactly what to say to answer that because there are so many things to say about yourself. I never know what aspects the interviewer is really looking for and what will just sounds cliche...
I handled this by trying to give a few tidbits from my personal life, some from my academic life, and some from my spiritual life.

3. If you could do the interview again, what would you do differently? I would probably have tried to be more aware of what I was doing non-verbally because I know that that can speak volumes and I wish I had been more cognizant of that.

4. What did you learn from this experience?

This interview really just affirmed for me that I do indeed have a huge passion for what I am seeking to do with my life and that makes me feel so blessed =)

Presentation Reviews

Let me start out by saying that I sincerely enjoyed all of the presentation and honestly felt that all of my classmates did a really fine job and truly seemed to have fun with their projects.
In particular, I enjoyed the fact that Ms. Rogers allowed us to choose something that we care about to present on because it gave me further insight into my classmates' wide range of personalities and interests.
This being said, I would like to say that the three presentations I have chosen to write about are not better or worse than anyone else's - they just happened to grab my attention the most based on my personality and interests :)

1. Rob Painter: Historic Events of October 3rd

I enjoyed this because it was very unique and unscripted. Rob presented it with the perfect balance of spontaneity, sincerity, and sarcasm - not an easy task! Well done, Rob; I will forever remember October 3rd.

2. Shawn Corey: Officiating Triangle Style

What drew me to Shawn's presentation was his topic of Duke vs. UNC - a rivalry that has healthily occupied my heart since I was a young lass. My older brother brought me to love the Tarheels of the early and mid-90's and I have retained a special affinity for them ever since because they stir up fond childhood memories of my brother and me.

3. Frankie Bennett: Marijuana

You have to laugh! I cannot imagine why he chose to do marijuana over every other topic in the world but it was hilariously unexpected. It leaves me to wonder how exactly he knows so much about it and why exactly it is so near and dear to his heart... Care to comment, Frankie :)

My Favourite Things

Since we have a free topic this week I thought I would indulge everyone a little in the life of ME :)

*these are in no particular order - aside from the order they popped into my mind*

1. Cloudless days

2. Eating half-ripe peaches

3. Eating ricecakes with overripe bananas and strawberry applesauce- no comments allowed until you have tried one prepared by yours truly :)

4. Seinfeld

5. Gilmore Girls

6. The color green

7. My nose stud

8. Getting dressed up

9. The smell of cinnamon

10. My roommate, Juliana

11. Making (and eating) my own Hummus

12. Running in the rain

13. Laughing til it hurts

14. Whole Food grocery market

15. Watching people sneeze

16. Finishing a run

17. Wishing upon a shooting star

18. Sitting by a fire with friends

19. Sunbathing

20. Watching "the light bulb go off" when a child learns something

The D.L. on the C.L.

Overall, I found the readings to be helpful and I more or less agreed with the advice offered. While the concept of having a cover letter is not particularly novel to me, I would be lying if I said I did not learn a few new nuggets of knowledge concerning them.

Here is a run-down of the new things I learned:

• An employer looks at the cover letter AFTER the resume ~ Not totally sure I believe this. It is possible but the article made it seem like an absolute. Also, I fear it downplays the significance of having a good, strong cover letter if you go into it thinking it is merely going to be an "after-thought" to your potential employer

• The resume is the place to highlight me; the cover letter should focus on the company and how I can specifically meet their needs ~ Seems to be a logical point

• Mass e-mailing/posting is pointless; unsolicited people do not really stand a chance - the best they can hope for is to be filed away (not thrown away) and miraculously resurrected at a [much] later date ~ I think this came across as way too strong, absolute, and pessimisstic to be considered accurately valid. While it does help to know someone at the company, I do not believe I am destined to fail at any & all attempts of being recognized by an employed human being if I send out my resume to several businesses via the internet...

• Take time to investigate the employer and his/her business - why should they invest time in trying to get to know me if I have invested no time in trying to get to know them? I really liked this point! It was not an angle that I had previously viewed the situation from but it makes complete sense!

• A successful resume should specifically and personally address (1) What the product [me] can do for the customer [prospective employer] and (2) What the customer [prospective employer] needs to do to buy product [me] ~ Not being a business major, I had never really looked at the situation from this "marketing" stance before but I think it is a really neat way to do so and will help me keep my focus as I think about what kinds of things to include in my cover letter

• The "Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease" is alive and well in the workplace ~ While I can specualte as to the article's motivation behind making a statement such as this, I am not so sure I agree with it. I believe that it is important to "stand up in order to stand out" [so to speak] but I also know that there is a fine line between ensuring you are recognized and just being way too presumptuous and forward. If you achieve the latter while attempting the former, you will most likely not get the job. It is also important to consider the personality and atmosphere of your prospective employer - a "squeaky wheel" attitude may be valued by some and abhorred by others. In job seeking situations, it is not very often that you know enough about personality or atmoshpere to take this risk...

Taking all the articles into consideration, I would say the most helpful/useful section was defintely the Sample Cover Letter one because it is one thing to read about all the "how-to's" but it is another to actually arrive at a product that utilizes all the information you just gathered. Seeing an example helps make the final product seem less scary and more tangible!

Learning a Few Tricks of the Trade

After reading several of the articles from the blog prompt link, I decided that the two I found to be most helpful were "Worst-Case Scenario Survival Tactics for Job Seekers" and "An Interview Strategy: Telling Stories".

The issues raised in the "Worst-Case" article were particularly helpful because they were the kinds of issues that are not your "typically addressed" issues when it comes to formal interviews, yet they are the ones that can really make or break it for you.

Not to mention, I have been unexpectedly late to an interview as well as been called the wrong name and I would be hard-pressed to believe you if you told me I would never again encounter one or both of those faux pas at some point down the line in my professional career. I know myself well enough to know that the odds are not in my favor in that respect so I am very glad that I now have some ammunition (i.e. this article) to combat these very delicate interview situations.

Whatsmore, It is very awkward to be called the wrong name on numerous occassions by an entire board of people, hence, I found it comforting to read this section of the article because it reminded me that the interviewers are human just like me. They are prone to mistakes just like me. That doesn't mean they should not be respected (they absolutely should!) - but it also means that I need not be afraid of them or feel so intimidated by them that I don't have the courage to stand up for myself.

As far as the other article is concerned, it covered an issue I already knew about, but none the less served as an awesome refresher. For example, it is so very easy to forget the real purpose of an interview. They really are not suppose to be interrogations -if they were they would be called interrogations and not interviews!

This article put the emphasis on answering questions via short narrations versus stiff, rehearsed cookie-cutter answers - and rightly so!

Even though it sounds like it might be alot of work to prepare "short stories" about yourself, I definitely see where the article is coming from. By formulating stories, you are able to paint a fuller picture of yourself than can be generated on a paper resume or through cliche question answering. These stories will, in turn, be more memorable and help you to stand out from the rest of the applicants.

A clear win-win!