EDF 2085 Required Assignment #2

Jackie Lawrence

EDF 2085

Required Assignment #2: Self-Assessment Diversity Attitude Survey



When I took the survey entitled “Core Beliefs About Mind, Body, Spirit, and Reality,” I thought a lot about the Introduction to Philosophy course I took over the summer term. I believe we, as human beings, are separate entities, but absolutely intertwined. At birth, we were given the gift of emotion and feeling. I don’t think there is anything more powerful on earth, with the exception of spirituality and religion, than connecting emotionally with another human being. I believe our perceptions of reality are just that, perceptions. Two people can look at the exact same object or undergo the exact same experience and somehow organize their thoughts completely differently. Nature and nuture are what make us unique as people, the combination of biological inheritances plus our environmental influences. Furthermore, I believe our minds and souls take precedence. We were given a body in order to function, but the human brain is incredibly complex and will never be completely understood. And at the core of who we are is our soul, which to me, is the determining factor in whether one is good or bad, just or unjust, moral or unmoral. The state of our souls determines most of the actions, behaviors, and values we display throughout life. Sure, good people can make mistakes and do bad things, but their pure soul will prevail, and they will ultimately learn from their actions.

“Core Beliefs: What I Learned from my Parents” ended up being a pretty difficult survey for me. As a young child, I remember the way my father looked at me, and understood the capacity of his love. I was perfect in his eyes. I don’t remember much of my mother’s presence during those times, probably because she was experiencing post-partum depression after the birth of my younger brother, which I learned only recently. When she left, my family utterly and completely fell apart. My dad became an emotional roller-coaster, entirely incapable of parenting. I was on the verge of adolescence and puberty, without a mom to guide me. Therefore, throughout the survey, I often became confused. I agreed with many of the top statements when thinking back to before my mother left. However, after I turned twelve, my world became cloudy, confused, and ugly. My dad changed to such an enormous extent that he was now scary and intimidating, impossible to talk to and almost always miserable. Thankfully, time has healed a majority of the wounds and things in my family are much better today. All in all, I know how fortunate I am to even have a family that loves me, even if they can’t stand each other.

The survey called “Core Beliefs: How I was Raised” had a lot to do with cultural views, beliefs, and attitudes. When it came to the questions about knowledge and learning, I knew my personal feelings right away. My dad always pushed me to achieve; sometimes he was beneficial and constructive in influencing my educational accomplishments, and sometimes he was detrimental to my emotional health. But either way, I grew up with a firm knowledge that learning was imperative to my success as a human being. I found the questions about greeting others and personal space to be quite interesting. My mind kept wandering. In general, as a child, I was taught to trust others, look them directly in the eye, and respect them by all means. As a single adult woman living in a large city and fending entirely for herself, these behaviors are often completely inappropriate. I also had a difficult time with the questions about time being money versus taking time out to spend with family. I believe I was taught that both were of equal importance. My dad’s idea of spending time with the kids was sitting in front of the television, eating dinner, and simultaneously paying the bills. In general, I found this survey to be quite interesting and comprehensive. Personally, I believe how we are raised as children ends up being a profound indicator on who we turn into as adults. However, I don’t think I thought much about my culture when responding to the statements in the survey. In fact, growing up I was pretty much left up to my own devices to explore my cultural beliefs, which I truly wish wasn’t the case. I often envy people with strong ties to their culture and extended families, and think I wouldn’t have been as confused throughout adolescence if mine were stronger.

During both the “Beliefs About Men” and the “Beliefs About Women” surveys, it occurred to me that I hold various stereotypes concerning gender roles. I think men, generally, have a harder time expressing their emotions, mainly because of the pressures they face in society. In my eyes, due mainly to personal experiences, men are intimidated by hard-working, independent women. At the same time, they are also prone to judge women based on how they dress or where they meet them. I also think they sometimes justify things like infidelity and sexual aggression by blaming certain circumstances on their nature and testosterone. However, when putting a little more thought into the statements above, I know in my heart these are terrible stereotypes. I think I have a tendency to put more labels on gender roles than cultures or races. Furthermore, for the most part, I think of myself as an exception to the generalizations I feel about females. I think women look for a partner that will take care of them financially. I think they are more superficial and materialistic than men, especially in Miami. I often get angry when I run into “gold-diggers” because I work so incredibly hard to pay my bills. Maybe underneath it all, I am actually jealous and want to be taken care of as well. I also think I hold extraordinarily high standards when it comes to being in a relationship, which I think stems from how my father treated me as a child. The games people play these days in terms of dating make me quite cynical, which is a huge roadblock in building a fulfilling relationship. In fact, now that I think about it, these feelings are significant reasons I often have such a hard time even on a first date. During the “Beliefs About Women” survey I found that I agreed to many questions relating to positive stereotypes, thinking mainly about myself. I agreed that women, as a whole, are nurturing, caring, honest, and open. These are qualities I hold in high regard and aspire to possess myself. One day, I hope to be a good mother and compassionate wife. On the contrary, I also agreed to the statements on the survey concerning women as emotional train wrecks. Love is blind, and women in unstable relationships have a tendency to act pretty crazy. Romantic fantasy, emotional excitability, and jealousy can be common traits expressed. Again, I am aware these are stereotypes, and not very healthy to uphold. I often see these characteristics in myself when unhappy in a relationship, which is probably the main reason I attribute these traits to all women.

Because of my diversity and social science classes this semester, I had a pretty easy time with the “Beliefs About Race” survey. I recently learned that the concept of race is a culturally based idea; it does not truly exist. This knowledge has helped me immensely in altering certain learned stereotypes. Furthermore, I do not believe it is correct to generalize an entire culture/ethnic group by saying things such as, “Native Americans are savage, African Americans are of lesser intelligence, or white people are more evolved.” However, I do think that humans are by nature, more comfortable are others similar to them. Cultural groups evolve because people with the same characteristics share a common ground and history. This is where the foundation of the creation of stereotypes occurs. It isn’t too difficult to feel wary or intimidated of the unfamiliar. However, combating and overcoming prejudice throughout the world is a humongous feat. Education is the first step, but it seems an almost impossible goal to accomplish.

I also had a pretty easy time with the “Beliefs About Sex and Gender” survey. I grew up with a gay uncle and a lesbian cousin. My uncle, being from an extremely conservative background, always struggled with his sexual preferences. My parents, determined to accept their children for whoever they were, stressed the beauty of acceptance and openness when it came to sexuality. Also, living in Manhattan and Miami for the majority of my life played a significant role in my development of a healthy attitude towards the gay community. Deep in my heart, I know that people are born gay. It is similar to being born with autism or the disease of addiction; it’s just how it is. I don’t think displaying s tendency towards the opposite sex is a handicap, although society seems to make it that way. It’s a tough adjustment to being accepted in our world, and again, if people were more educated, gay stereotypes would definitely be less common.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking the last survey entitled “Where Do You Fit?” probably because they yielded results. I often become confused when it comes to political issues, and I’ve been meaning to educate myself more in this area for quite awhile. According to the survey, I belong to the “Upbeat Typology Group,” meaning I hold pretty positive views on the government and state of the economy. I feel that it is the individual’s responsibility to succeed in society; it’s all about work ethic and determination. I get extremely angry when I see perfectly capable people on the streets begging for money. The survey taught me that my views are pretty common compared to where I stand in society. Most Upbeats are Catholic or Protestant, well-educated, and a part of the middle class. They are relatively young, suburban, and white. For the most part, these characteristics describe me well.