Psychology Student, Huh?

Hey you! Yes, you! I can see it- you’re a people watcher. People fascinate you. It’s nothing to be ashamed about…as long as you’re not creepy about it. If you’re not creepy, you’ve picked the right field of study. Psychology and social work are right up your alley.  Hopefully this study will take you where you want to go, where you can people-watch to your heart’s content while you counsel and help people. There are some things that you should know before you get much further, though.

School and Experience

            Since you are at the beginning of your career exploration, there will likely be a lot of questions about requirements for classes and other school-related issues. Let’s start with the basics. Yes, you do have to take all the dreaded GEs. Trust me- they’ll be worth it. These classes will make you much more well-rounded, which will help you in talking to a variety of people. And those pesky pre-requisite classes will be helpful in their own ways, too. If they weren’t necessary, they wouldn’t be part of the curriculum. Pay close attention, too, because before you know it, you’ll be out in the real world, and a lot of the concepts you learn in class will be very applicable. What you don’t realize as you’re taking these classes is that every piece of information that you learn that seems more applicable to another field will help you relate more to people in general. If you know a little bit about civilization and anthropology and science, you’ll be able to converse with a larger population and build your credibility as a therapist. Even though they aren’t required, take some sociology classes, in addition to the psychology classes. These classes will help you understand human behavior and community dynamics that will be important to social work.

            Taking classes and going to school will not be enough to prepare you for real social work settings. Internships and research will give you the best understanding of the field. Real interactions with people will give you the most experience and give you the best perspective, so make sure you are looking for opportunities to broaden your horizons. I was lucky enough to find an amazing opportunity, interning at the Utah State Prison. In this setting, I get to work with a lesser-valued population, one on one, under the supervision of a license psychologist. There are also social workers in the prison that I get to shadow. I get to administer psychological tests and interact with inmates in a controlled, psychological setting. This opportunity has been invaluable to my learning. I have been able to apply concepts from classes directly to my internship, which has helped me get a better idea of the field.

It's about Character!

            One of the first things you will learn early on in this field is that it is not just about watching people. There will be countless social interactions with people of all ages, religions, cultures, and opinions. If you’re really in it for the right reasons, you aim to lessen people’s suffering, to understand why people do things, and to create a community that gives people opportunities for improvement. That being said, you’re going to be interacting with a lot of different people and it’s important that you don’t say the wrong thing and that you abide by a few rules.

            In medieval Catholic culture, social work evolved with the idea of almsgiving. In giving alms, people would give to those less fortunate to alleviate suffering. They would give food, money, service, and time to the poor and needy. This idea started with the Church commandment to act with charity and love. Today this same idea, of selfless service and giving, is central to social work and highly prized in many psychology settings as well. It is a long-standing practice that values respect. One way of showing respect to people is understanding their culture and talking with compassion, intent, and conscientiousness.

Communication is Key

            As a social worker, you have to be able to read the situation and react appropriately. There’s going to be a fine balance of informing people about what they need to hear and making them feel comfortable with what you are saying and building a thing called rapport. Rapport is a place of comfort when you build an attachment with someone and gain their trust and can easily talk to them. Gaining rapport means that you have to be gentle and understanding and show empathy to get people to trust you. Unfortunately, sometimes in this profession, you need to tell people things that they don’t want to hear and that can weaken the rapport. If you have built rapport first, your negative, but necessary messages will be taken better. This is why reading the situation and understanding circumstances and people is very important.

            Let me give you an example of a situation you could face. “Marie” is a woman with two children who were recently taken away because of her addiction to drugs. The goal of the social worker in this setting is to help her understand what she can do to get her kids back and sooth her anger and sadness. If Marie were to come into my office, I would start out by asking her to relay the situation to me to the best of her abilities. I would listen intently, ask questions when necessary, and tell her how much we care to see her family back together and to keep her family safe. All of these things would likely bring her comfort and build rapport without compromising my position to keep her kids safe. Originally, I would seem like the “bad guy” but after sitting down and understanding the situation from her point of view, hopefully she will see me as helpful and not harmful. The next step would be to tell her what she needs to hear. It would be helpful to understand laws and history to be able to tell her the things that she can be working on to get her family back. I would end the situation by asking if she had any questions or if there was anything that she would like help with. This would once again establish rapport and maintain the trust already established. Granted, not all situations will be this smooth- in this line of work; because we are “the bad guys,” we are likely to be met with a lot of opposition and anger. You will need to work on speaking with compassion, but neutrality; equality, but authority.

            Other situations when you’ll need to watch what you are communicating is in the case of written reports. In this situation, it is not as important to give compassion as it is to give truth. You will be doing a lot of paperwork, documenting interactions and requests. These need to be written very formally and honestly. Most of the time, these reports are sent to people with greater authority, allowing them to make decisions on behalf of clients. Because these higher authorities don’t always have contact with the clients, it is important to give an honest and unbiased account of the situation. For example, in writing notes about a client’s behavior, it would be more proper to write “Mr. Adams gave little eye-contact during our interaction, and only spoke once, and very quietly” instead of “Mr. Adams is shy and doesn’t care about therapy.” As you can see, the second report very well could be a correct interpretation, but the first is more accurate and unbiased. It is written in a way that allows for interpretation by multiple people, since no one can truly know another’s motivations and thought processes. It could be that Mr. Adams had a cold and didn’t want to speak and that he had been crying all day and was ashamed to make eye contact because his eyes were red and puffy. Of course, if they were red and puffy, those would be observational notes I would make, too. If Mr. Adams were going to court to determine his eligibility for clearance in his Alcoholics Anonymous program, if I had written the first report, the court may consider that Mr. Adams is not taking his program or therapy seriously.  What you write and portray could mean the difference between a positive or negative court decision for the client. This type of work is very common, so get used to writing objectively and without bias.

The Basics

            These examples showcase the importance of reading a situation, being educated in the history and practices behind social work and psychology, and knowing how to speak and write in a way that facilitates the desired results. I wouldn’t go into this field if you can’t speak eloquently and tactfully. I wouldn’t continue on this path if you were worried about being unbiased. Of course, there will be situations in which you have a very strong opinion, but these are not situations in which you can lose your professionalism. Good reading, writing, and speaking are all necessary to this field because it helps you to establish credibility and professionalism with your clients. No one is going to trust a therapist that they believe is uneducated, lacks compassion, and is biased.

            Hopefully, this account of the work you will be doing and the necessary components won’t scare you off too much. If you take your education seriously and really care to learn about people, you should be fine. 

Psychology or Social Work is for YOU: A Writing Plan

Audience Profile

The typical psychology student that wishes to go into social work is very analytical. Oftentimes, they enjoy people-watching (in a non-creepy way) and thinking about the structure of society and how it shapes the individual. Psych students and aspiring social workers love people, especially helping them. They see someone struggling and either want to study them (to better understand how to generalize the situation to others, as to help the most people by learning about the situation) or they want to go over and talk it through with the person to ease others’ discomfort. They are likely to take classes about cultures and communities, classes about human behavior, and classes on counseling. It would be helpful for them to take a history of psychology class, as well, as it can help mold ideas about why certain counseling techniques formed and which ones worked (or didn’t). Of course, most of these psychology and sociology classes will help the student to understand what is appropriate and inappropriate to say and how to best verbally communicate with others (to create ease and rapport). Written communication is taught in psychological writing classes, which teach about APA styles for papers and resumes, and how to effectively write down observational and professional notes. This class is crucial, because otherwise, you won’t look like a professional and people won’t take you seriously. Psych students shouldn’t fret about all the classes, though, since a lot of the things learned for this field come naturally… otherwise they probably wouldn’t have picked it.

Most students will find that simply taking the classes is not enough. To understand and help people, one must get “real-world” experience, communicating and counseling individuals. Internships working with disadvantaged people (elderly, poor, delinquent) will give them the most experience with what social work is all about. Psych and social work students should also be mindful of getting research experience and service hours, or it is unlikely to get into graduate school, which is almost essential for any person trying to get a job in these fields.

Context:

If I were writing to a student, I would make sure to include information from my blog post “Communication and Persuasion in Psychology” as this emphasizes the different contexts and situations a counselor (psychologist or social worker) could be counseling in- groups or individuals. It also emphasizes the importance in understanding your clients and the situations in which you are counseling because this adds a dimension that could either create or dissolve tension, blaming, or peace. I would note the differences and similarities of ancient and modern social work by referencing my blog titled “Medieval Catholic Almsgiving and Modern Social Work.” This would give a good context to the prospective students about why social work is important and the central values of social work. I would add in information about why these values are important in today’s society be doing some more historical research on the benefits of social work.

Rhetoric:

I would start out by creating a realistic conversation with two forms of the same phrase- one said like a peer without filtering what they said (and often distressing the person), and another said like a psychologist (one with ambiguous language, aiming to give the client time to come up with his or her own conclusion while analyzing their own behavior). This would emphasize to the student the importance of a certain way of talking in a psychological or social work setting. One of the most important aspects to this work is that you can effectively communicate with people to ease their troubles and dissolve tension. Ultimately, this work is aimed at helping people help themselves, and if you can’t communicate that effectively, there will be no lasting change. I would address the strategies listed in my post “Style and Delivery in Psychology and Social Work,” especially the part about observational/unbiased notes. Using the beginning technique of creating a realistic scenario, would help to solidify the idea, without the jargon. The concept would be understood, by sharing that sometimes listening and communicating to others in a way that is familiar to them is the best option. Getting used to not using technical terms is important, since most of the people they counsel will not be psychologists.

History:

Like I said in the audience profile, sharing the history of psychology with people going into this field will give them an idea of what techniques worked (and didn’t work) and why some theories are so popular. Each person is going to counsel differently, so knowing the history will give them a good basis for deciding how they will counsel.

Development Plan:

I mentioned above which parts of my blogs I would use (because I figured it’d be more coherent to address it in each section). I think that a little more research could be done into why this field is beneficial, how marketable the qualities of a psychologist or social worker are, and the key features of these professionals- what characteristics clients found positive and negative in their counselor’s way of speaking, behaving, and counseling.

I will probably spend the most time talking about the importance of wording (rhetoric) because to create lasting change in the clients (a main goal to this field), one must be able to address problems in an acceptable, understanding, and compassionate way, without permitting negative behaviors. There is a fine line (in language) in condoning behavior and consoling someone. The way things are spoken, and the notes that are written about clients need to be very direct and unassuming.

I would probably spend the least amount of time on the history, because most of what is needed to know comes from modern understanding. People are drawn to this field because they see a social or individual problem and want to help. Knowing the history of why this field is important isn’t vital to convincing someone to join the efforts. Knowing about past successes and failures in psychology may prep an individual, but I think that this type of history is fairly manifest in society in general and doesn’t need to be restated.

Medieval Catholic Almsgiving and Modern Social Work

In ancient (and modern) Catholic practice, almsgiving is used to support the poor and needy. It is a selfless offer that is expected by most of its members. This almsgiving is associated with both physical needs and emotional needs. In ancient times, people were asked to give money and food to those in need. It was also expected that those of the faith would give of their time and abilities to ensure that their citizens were being taken care of. In the Catholic faith at this time, it was important to use this almsgiving to forget one’s own troubles. The almsgiving was used to focus outward, even when it was a burden to do. The Catholics believed that by doing this, they would be “storing up treasure in Heaven” (Hays).

This practice is similar to the main goals of social work. In the National Association of Social Worker’s manual, the main goals of a social worker include giving service, pushing for social justice, accepting the dignity and worth of all people, seeing the importance in human relationships, working with integrity, and showing competence in the field (NASW Code of Ethics). All of these aspects are used to ensure that those that need help the most are getting the help they need, whether monetarily, physically, emotionally, or socially. These core values dictate everything that social workers do. Another central element to social work is that the work should be done to help all people, regardless of their situation. Oftentimes, this includes the sad fact that many people cannot financially support themselves and can often not pay for counseling, social programs, or provide for basic needs. Many social workers that aim to help do so with little to no financial compensation because of that.

It is the goal of the social worker, as it is for the ancient Catholic almsgivers, to care for their neighbor and assist in no only existing, but thriving in the community. This is the same value that the social workers find. If I did not know better, I would think that this ancient Catholic way was a strong influence for modern-day social work. The Christ-like virtues of charity and selflessness guide the Catholic almsgivers, while an understanding and empathy for others guides social workers today. Either way, the values, morals, and actions of these two groups heavily relate to each other.

"Catholic Culture : Lent : Workshop : Lenten Program - Almsgiving." Catholic Culture : Lent : Workshop : Lenten Program - Almsgiving. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

Hays, C. M. (2012, Provision for the poor and the mission of the church: Ancient appeals and contemporary viability.(original research)(conference notes). HTS Teologiese Studies, 68

National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC.  NASW Press.

Beep, beep!

Would the world be better off without the confining rules of the road? Most certainly not! [anthypophora] What would ensue would be detrimental to everyone, drivers and walkers alike [division]. Chaos, danger, blaming! [asyndeton] That is what would happen.

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the rules that guide road conduct. I’m am grateful for the happy green lights [personification], the cautious yellows [metonymy], and the warning reds. I am grateful for the yield signs and right of way laws that allow me to get to and from work without question about who can drive, where, and when.

I am grateful for clarifying ambiguity, the ability to correctly place blame in the instance of collision, and for the steps that keep me safe and sound and free from the guilt of causing an accident. It is no small thing to get into an accident and be unsure about fault [litotes]. With all the gazillion [hyperbole] idiotic things that I see happen on the road WITH the laws, I would hate to see what would happen without them!

If I had the choice of any car, I would not be driving my frail, little, and old Geo Metro, Leonard, but as it is, he’s all I’ve got and I’m glad to know that I am a bit more [degree] safe because of the laws.

All of the Above!

While reading others' blog posts, commenting about which style, I found I agreed with almost all of them, which brought me to the conclusion that Augustine uses all of the styles in a different way. Augustine would start out with the low style, simply teaching about the scriptures and giving clear examples. He would sooth the audience into and out of these conversations using the middle style. When he used the high style, he was using direct and powerful language to convince the audience to forgive and seek to be forgiven before the time of repentance comes. All three styles are proven by the statement he gives in his fourth paragraph, when he says "I have admonished him; now I console you..."
In class, we questioned whether knowledge, speaking, style, or delivery were more important. I find that Augustine used all of these modes to make a convincing argument. He talks to the audience as a confidant and friend, while also admonishing action and giving strict counsel. He uses scripture and words of Christ to back up his argument. He also arranges the argument in a way that makes it easy to understand and easy to find his target audience.
I noticed that Augustine took his own advice and looked to the advice of the language to determine if the meaning was literal or figurative. In ever case, Augustine pointed to love as the motivator for what he taught. I also found that he uses extension to emphasize each point. He makes many points clear with the main sentence or scripture, but continues to elaborate for a whole paragraph to make his point more clear. He uses extension to draw in the audience, also. In a continuation of the sentence I referenced early, in Augustine's paragraph 2, he could have left it at "now I console you" but he continued to extend his meaning of "you" with the following phrases.

The last striking thing that I found in Augustine's discourse, was his use of parallelism and repetition. In several of his sentences, he writes "you..." at the start of successive statements. This emphasis bonds him with the audience and encourages the audience to pay more attention, as he is speaking directly to them and counseling them to do things. He uses many subtle tools such as this to engage the audience and bring about his point. Overall, with his style and the words he spoke, he created an argument that couldn't be ignored.

A Well-Named Passage: Lamentations 1:1-8

In this passage, Jeremiah is expressing a multitude of grief over the loss of Jerusalem, which is why the name “lamentations” fits so well. To lament is to express deep sorrow, regret, or unhappiness about something. It is a type of mourning that is often very vocal and has many facets to it. The name of this passage adequately describes what is to come in the following verses- it is a length passage that elaborately explains the pain Jeremiah feels for Jerusalem.

The first thing that I noticed was the use of personification and substitution (in parts/whole). Jeremiah refers to Jerusalem as a singular female, whether he is talking about the city itself or its people. Using this personification, Jeremiah is able to relay emotions about the city and actions or emotions of the people of the city. This allows the lamentation to be more personal, more specific, and more relatable, because it is as if he is crying for a loved-one.

Jeremiah also is able to better expound upon the sadness through his use of punctuation (several exclamation points in the first verse alone) and his use of amplification (more specifically exuscitatio). Jeremiah is putting into words his own sorrow and the sorrow of the city and exciting those emotions in others. He does this by expounding on the basic ideas. For example, he could have left verse two by simply writing “she weepeth sore in the night” but then he goes on to say “and her tears are on her cheeks.” Essentially, those are saying the same thing- she’s sad- but by adding a little more depth and description to it, he’s inciting more emotion. He does this several times in this chapter. 

Style and Delivery in Psychology and Social Work

Dr. Bahr is a psychologist at the Utah State Prison. Her style in this setting is always very professional. She dresses in professional work attire, calls people by “Mr.” and “Mrs.” and tries to refrain from sharing anything personal. She works with inmates and then has to type up observational and behavioral notes on the inmates as documentation of the interaction. In her notes, she has to be very careful not to make any biased remarks that could color other professional’s decisions about the inmate, as these notes will likely go to the Board of Pardons, other therapists and case workers. These notes could impact future decisions about the inmate- whether his completion of therapy assignments shows progress and empathy, or whether he will serve the full ten years of his five-to-ten year sentence. Everything about the observational notes needs to be descriptive and thorough. The whole interaction is very professional and structured.

            Mr._____ was very vocal in therapy today. When another inmate read his assignment about the person he victimized, Mr. _____ asked how he thinks his victim is feeling now, after the fact. This is in line with the assignment Mr. _____ is working on, which is victim empathy. He made several other comments that showed insight into the assignments and was able to adequately explain concepts to the other men in the group. He showed initiative by commenting without being prompted too. Outside of group, he has completed every assignment, stayed out of fights, and has obeyed all rules.

This letter is very direct, with observational notes and without biased statements, such as “I think it’s doing well” and “he seemed confused.” This type of writing is very characteristic of psychologists because it gives facts instead of assertions.

In conversation, Dr. Bahr would be likely to be very general in her statements, as to not lead certain answers. She would guide conversation with questions to generate thought, without prompting the clients. She would build rapport by validating statements, being unbiased, and rephrasing the client’s words to show she was listening. Here is an example of a person-to-person conversation:

Client: When I committed my crime, I was just thinking that it wasn’t so bad. I grew up with this kind of treatment, so it seemed normal to me. I didn’t really think I was harming anyone.

Psychologist: So, you didn’t realize it was wrong? What do you think now? How do you think what you did actually affected the person you victimized? What do you think (spoken to other clients in the group)?

This type of language aims to stay away from accusations, belittling people, and fault-finding. Its goal is to create a comfortable environment that helps the individual think about situations on their own. It is most beneficial for a person to gain answers on their own- it provides more solidified learning and helps to establish empathy for others. Using this conversational tone, the psychologist can help clients to truly understand prompts and feel comfortable confiding information.

Conflict Issues and Special Topics of Invention in Psychology and Social Work.

Point of Conflict in Psychology and Social Work:

            A typical conflict in psychology and social work, especially in my job at the prison, is determining “blame” or reasons behind events and conflicts of openness. There is a sort of battle between what the client thinks (which is often unhealthy or irrational, especially when dealing with the inmate population) and what the therapist is trying to convey.

           

Topics of Invention in Psychology and Social Work:

            When thinking over situations and circumstances, it is common for people to blame the victim, circumstances, or their past for their problems instead of being proactive and open about their roles in the situation. As psychologists and social workers, our goal is to empower the client and help them recognize that they have a lot of power in their lives. Here is a good example of a typical conversations:

Therapist: Tell me about your crime- what you did and why you did it.
Inmate: Well, I abused _____, and I think it was because of the I was abused when I was younger and ____ was asking for it the way that she/he did ______ and I was just trying to teach (or many other excuses).
Therapist: Many other people were abused, but did not become abusers. Can you tell me why you chose to victimize ____?

Analysis:
Almost every interaction between the therapist and the inmate involves persuasion in trying to get the inmate to think in a different way and accept some sort of reality. We, as therapists and social workers also try to get the inmate to search for empathetic feelings. Here, the therapist is trying to get the inmate to accept the vice in the situation, whereas the inmate is trying to point out the virtue in his or her actions.

The therapist may use several topics of invention (such as morality) to emphasize the inmate's affect on the situation.

Ridicule or Modesty: Modes of argumentation

I found, as Macey R did, that there were many similarities between Aristotle’s Gorgias and Cicero’s De Oratore. The Kairos of the speeches were very similar in their casual, friendly conversation. I found the styles to be similar, as well as their arrangements and persuasive techniques, although I found Cicero’s dialogue to be more civil and humble. I’ll start with an explanation of the similarities.

I just felt like this guy reminded
me of Antonius; "Your turn, Crassus!
You've got this!"

In both works, an intro is compiled, and then a reflective dialogue is given. Both of the main speakers are writing as they think back to how the situation was at the time. Each of these works uses definition, questions to form their ideas and insight comprehension in their audience. The authors of both make a striking appeal for their side, by arguing that their art is the greatest of all the arts. In this, they both make passionate arguments backed up by reason and examples. They pose similar questions, including thoughts such as ‘can this art be taught?’ and ‘how does one gain this skill?’ It seems as if the arguments and questions, as well as how the arguments are brought up and discussed is very similarly categorized.

The reason that I view De Oratore to be more civil and humble is because of the actions and words of Cicero. While in Aristotle’s Gorgias the questions posed are used to belittle and contradict and make the audience (or others arguing) fumble in their argument, Antonius uses the intellect of others, and relies on multiple witnesses to argue his point. At one point, he even says (after a compliment) “I am describing my own meager achievements.” This is the tone that he holds the entire work. Later, he passes the argument to one who he views to be more eloquent and knowledgeable on the topics discussed. While Gorgias argues with multiple people and uses his intellect and pompous nature to bring shame and ridicule to his competitors, Antonius stays calm and builds his argument on knowledge and ethos, as he discusses is important to oratory. 

Communication and Persuasion in Psychology and Social Work

As far back as I can remember, I have loved people-watching and counseling. Even as a seventh grader, I had friends coming to me for advice and a listening ear. I have always found comfort in be confided in and love the satisfaction of easing people's’ burdens a little.         
As one would suspect, talking and communication is an essential part to my field. Not only does the client need to be able to communicate and talk out their problems, but the psychologist or social workers need to be able to effectively communicate advice and facilitate understanding.

At the prison, I get to see this every day at work. Because this is the work in psychology and social work that I have experience with, I will be focusing most of my essay on this aspect of psychology.

            At work, there are two circumstances in which I communicate with inmates. The first is in an individual setting, testing. Here, communication is very structured. The words are very formal and consistent among all the tests. We, as psychiatric technicians are supposed to read from the testing manuals and instructions word for word. Most of these tests are administered in a small room, with the inmates sitting in a hard, chair with a desk attached. This isn’t the most comfortable of situations and this one-on-one interaction can often feel intimidating to the inmates. In this situation, it is very important for us to be able to build rapport and ease the inmates into cooperation and full disclosure.
            The other circumstance in which I interact with inmates on a psychological level is in a group setting, in a large room. Here, the psychologist or social worker encourages the inmates to talk about their offenses openly and learn to feel empathy for the people they victimized. Therapy sessions are primarily used for discussions and hearing how the inmates are interacting outside of the group setting. They are also used to go over the assignments that are required. For this reason, most of the acts of persuasion in this field are verbal, with a small portion of the persuasion conducted in a written form.

            In the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) therapy, each inmate is given a set of assignments to help them better communicate their thoughts and help to encourage them to think about their offenses in a different way. One of the assignments asks the inmates to take a look at the thoughts and actions surrounding their offense. They are asked to examine what types of things they thought they needed and how they thought those “needs” were being accomplished by their crime. The inmates communicate their thoughts and then the therapists help them identify thinking errors and help them rework their ideas.

            People in psychology and social work, as a general rule, are very interested in helping people. Anything that would encourage equality and happiness is likely to persuade them. For this reason, rapport, kind words, and emotional openness are valued by them. They act this way, as well as encourage their clients to act this way.

            Many of the inmates, on the other hand, are more self-serving and concerned with their own well-being. They participate and are open because they know in the long run that it will be good for their appeal to the Board of Pardons. Luckily, they are able to gain something out of therapy, even if in the beginning they are only going through the motions. This kind of persuasion relates to deliberative oratory, as we are encouraging future change. Psychology in general, however deals with all forms of oratory. Clients are asked to look at their past and present to be able to plan a better future.

STOP! In the Name of the LAW!

Roman citizens were very interested in law. Like we talked about in class, at this time, Romans were interested in making it a written law to create order and to minimize the amount of corruption and arbitrary application of laws.

This topic really interested me because I work at the Utah State Prison in Draper, at the point of the mountain. I get to see the real-life implementation of laws and get a better understanding about the importance of set, written laws. It creates equal and ethical treatment of all people.

Figurative Language about Dogs

TROPES

Metaphor-

·         My little brother calls me German Shepherd dog “Big Horse.”

·         A dog is not a horse, but by my little brother calling her that, it shows some like characteristics that those two share- both are big animals.

Paronomasia-

·         I was deep in thought, on the train, as I determined the best way to train my dog.

·         The first “train” is a noun and mode of transportation, whereas the second “train” is a verb, meaning to teach and mold behavior.

Anthimeria-

·         The students living in off-campus housing postered the streets, announcing the rally to allow animals in student housing.

·         A poster is a noun, and putting up a poster is a verb, but in this sentence, the noun is used as a verb.

Hyperbole-

·         It’s been FOREVER since I last saw my dog!

·         Obviously, it hasn’t been forever, it’s just seemed like a very long time, since I’ve been at college and she has been at my parents’ house for the last 3 years.

 Oxymoron-

·         Sometimes when my dog sleeps, she peacefully growls.

·         A growl should be menacing and scary, but when my dog sleeps, she does it in a kind of peaceful way (not loud, no teeth showing) which is somewhat contradictory.

SCHEMES

Parallelism

·         She had brown fur and she had white fur. Now she is mostly gray.

·         “She had” is repeated and the color of her fur is stated in a way that you could easily put in a different format- in columns.

Anastrophe

·         Laying there, lazy she was.

·         The words are in a different order than they conventionally would be, emphasizing a different part.

Ellipsis

·         My beagle is small; my German shepherd thinks she is.

·         The word “small” was omitted from the second phrase, but the content is still understood that my German shepherd thinks that she is small.

Alliteration

·         My dog, Daisy, dozed in the doghouse.

·         I repeated the “d” sound several times in the sentence, closely together.

"Happiness is a Warm Puppy"

As you can see, my handicapped brother is very happy with his dog.

As one can see in the picture shown, a dog is a serious source of joy for my brother. He would claim that his “Daisy Pooch” as he calls her, is “his best friend” [witness]. It’s not just my brother, though that gets this kind of joy from a dog! I know I feel a sense of peace when I can just cuddle up with a possible/impossible]. But, it’s simply not possible for someone to just rent a puppy anytime they feel like it. It’s inconvenient and with many apartments restricting animals from their premises, it also isn't probable that every student would be willing to take the risk.

puppy pal. I’m not the only one, either- if this weren't true, “Rent-a-puppy” couldn't possibly have thrived so well in Provo! [

Here are some compelling reasons that off-campus housing should include more dog-friendly apartments:

1)      Other campuses allow it! [comparison] A ton of my high school friends are happy at their colleges with a cute little doggie by their side. Obviously it can work on other campuses.

Aren't  my doggies cute?

2)      Just because we allow dogs, doesn't mean we have to bend all the rules put in place by off-campus housing [whole/parts]. Some people believe that we’d have to do it for every apartment, but that simply isn't true [contradiction]. We can keep some sanctioned for “no-pet” housing, but allowing more dog-friendly apartments would be great! This is a minor rule that would greatly improve so many peoples’ lives! Why do you think people have “therapy dogs”?

3)      Along those lines, we don’t have to open it up to all animals, either [genus, species]. Forget stinky ferrets, mice, and even some cats. Let’s just start with loveable dogs.

4)      If we increased puppies around campus, we’d increase happiness, and decrease stress. This could completely improve test scores and overall well-being of students at BYU! [cause/effect].

5)      Clearly God approves of dogs [supernatural], or he wouldn't have put them on Earth for our enjoyment. We should honor His creations.

Okay- maybe that last point is a poor argument, since there are a lot of things on earth that we don’t allow in BYU approved housing…. But it was worth a try.

I can't say no to this cute puppy, either :)

Anyway, I know that could be a great addition to any apartment. I, for one, will definitely be getting a dog as soon as I can [future fact]; after all, as Charlie Brown says, “Happiness is a warm puppy” [maxim/proverb].

Profile for Persuasion: Oregonians

• Main characteristics and values: When one thinks of Oregonians, there are a few things that come to mind (especially thinking of people from the Portland and Corvallis areas). Tree-huggers, hippies, hipsters, environmentalists, and feminists. As you can see, Oregonians can be quite the activists. They are strong in their values, including the need to recycle and love everyone. They are keen to ride bicycles around town, wear strange fashions, sing and play guitar on the street, and be very free… this may or may not have to do with the drug intake there. They are pro-“Mom and Pop” businesses, even to the point of banning the building of a Walmart in some counties. Overall, Oregonians are very laid back and open to others. Oregonians aim to help everyone and create equality. They love the green and the rain and frankly, have as much pride for their state as Texans (in my opinion).
  
  

  

  If you ever want to get a taste of what Portland is like,
  watch Portlandia. Just be careful of some of the more
  sketchy episodes....

• Likely / unlikely to persuade. Oregonians are likely to be persuaded by anything that gives people more freedom. They are likely to be persuaded with words like “rights” and “help.” They would be persuaded by anything that means a cleaner atmosphere and protects their beautiful land. They are also persuaded by natural emotions and personal choices. They would be unlikely to be persuaded by someone “in it for the money” or for big business. They also wouldn’t be easily persuaded by someone who didn’t enjoy nature and the outdoors, or someone who scoffed at recycling.
• Test case: attending a play: Oregonians are likely to attend a play because they love the arts and enjoy peoples’ artistic outlets. They would be even more persuaded to attend a play if the central theme encouraged openness and freedom. If it had a slightly more controversial or liberal point of view, all the better! Even more, if it was playing outside, at a community amphitheater, and was a charity event, Oregonians would come by the thousands.

Everyday Conversation to Convince a Crowd

In the Funeral Oration of Pericles, many different forms of rhetoric are employed. I didn't recognize most of them when I first read it, as I was mostly focused on form and the classic appeals. After reading “Rhetoric” by Aristotle, I was able to point out a lot of other devices.
One of the devices that I found used was enthymeme. I didn't realize how incredibly common it was in normal speech! Trying to find examples of this in the text, I found some examples where major premises are kept and where they have been omitted. Take, for example, this line from Pericles: “To me it seems that the consummation which has overtaken these men shows us the meaning of manliness in its first revelation and in its final proof.” Here, the premise that courage and gallantry (which was stated several sentences previous and in a different context) is manly.

Reading this text again, I also noticed the very epideictic as well as deliberative aspects of the speech. It is epideictic in the sense that Pericles is talking to a large crowd and praising the men who fought. It is deliberative in the fact that he is exhorting future measures. He is calling the families of these

men to action- either calling to the mothers to have more children or calling to the children and men to stand up and show pride in their city by fighting as well.

Pericles also uses his own testimony to add credibility. In the first few lines he speaks about having a first-hand witness or reliable second-hand testimony of the accounts of battle. Pericles says “I have described nothing but what I either saw myself, or learned from others of whom I made careful and particular inquiry.” If this isn't a direct proof of testimony displayed, I don’t know what is!

Pride, arrangement, and sophistry

History:

Like others (including Katie), I found, through Pericles’ speech, a strong sense of Athenian pride. Unlike Katie, though, I don’t feel that it was any more excessive than any other nation. I don’t feel that pride and tradition specifically characterize the Athenians. Pericles talks about the strength and tradition of Athenians and compares it with Spartans. Almost every culture, even today, does that same sort of thing. Think about it: the United States builds itself up and prides itself in its strength and military. The U.S. compares itself with other ‘inferior’ countries all the time. Even within the U.S. there’s competition among states. Texans (and Oregonians) pride themselves in their patriotism, sports, and almost every other aspect of the state. To sum it up, although this speech does make a compelling argument about the pride and tradition, and could very well explain the history of those people, I don’t think it is out of the ordinary for these characteristics to be a part of a community.

Rhetoric: 

I was very interested with the arrangement of Pericles’ speech. To go back to the history that I talked about earlier, pride is a central theme in both the language and in the arrangement. I noticed that although there is some deviation in that theme in the beginning, the theme always goes back to that. Here is a brief overview of the main points (to show the arrangement):

-          Intro of how he got information- personal experience that is credible

-          Shows reverence by suggesting that a speech might not be enough to honor the soldiers (persuasive techniques for arguing against what he is saying?)

-          Praise of the city

-          These men fought for this

-          You should too!

-          Men will be honored and remembered forever

-          So be like them.

-          Find comfort where you can, but stand up and be courageous.

The pride that he invokes and plays with really becomes powerful in encouraging the citizens to participate and be patriotic. It always circles back around to pride. This is a very persuasive technique.

Philosophy: 

I feel like Pericles embodies the sophists in many ways. Not only does he help to create and insight, but he also induces beliefs. Like other sophists, he focuses on the crowds and has an amoral (or relative morality) stance. His speech is long-winded and directed toward the large group. There does seem to be a bit of morality, but I feel that it’s more relative- he praises certain qualities that Athens has, but were other countries to possess those same qualities, they aren’t praised. In fact, it would be a bad thing (in the eyes of the Athenians). 

Convincing Us that We're Suffering?

The prompt for today asked us to show how logos in Euripides’s plays can show the human condition and natural suffering as well as a means of persuasion. I wasn't able to go to the play because I had class, but I was able to find a video of another of Euripides plays online. I watched “Medea.” As I thought about our prompt and watched this play, my first thought was that Euripides does a good job of morphing the two kinds of logos. He is quite persuasive in convincing the audience of the suffering that the characters feel. In a way, If I had been seeing this in person, it may have been even more powerful in persuading me that suffering is the only thing that can come of life. Luckily, I'm more sensible than that.

Medea goes to poison Glauce to gain revenge on her husband

The medium that Euripides used, that of a play, allowed for convincing acting and a severe portrayal of suffering. Within the first five minutes of the play, there was complaining, lamenting, and crying. The actors and actresses used their words as well as their actions to create an environment of distress. This could only have been accomplished with this medium.
The content of this play itself encourages the thought that pain and suffering are inevitable. Medea’s husband wants to leave her, the scandal ruins her family and she is exiled, she plots revenge on her husband (by killing her children…? A bit irrational, don’t you think?), and in the end there is a lot of death and sadness.

Initially, I thought that the different forms of logos would be competing. Ultimately, the union of drama and the human condition was enhanced and made more persuasive through the words and acts of these characters.

Praise, Greed, Escape

The Irrational:

-          First, it is very irrational for Dionysus to be so bitter about not being praised (see lines 378-379). I would be a little upset if people didn't take me seriously as a person or a god, but the fact that not everyone is praising him for his godhood it kind of pitiful and greedy. I don't know if I was accurately interpreting the text, but it seemed like he was upset that he 1) wasn't able to be ruler of Thebes, but also that 2) he couldn't get the entire city to worship him. Then again, Kadmos and Pentheus are the same way- only wanting the power and praise (see lines 394-398).

-          The next completely irrational thing that I found was the different ways that they treated each gender. I understand that at this time, women were seen as more frail and delicate and men were the protector and powerful. I understand that gender roles were different. Even so, reading (on line 876-877) “Women defeated the men--- and not without some god” as if the only way any women could beat a man is with a god’s assistance. There were other lines, too, from that play that seemed fairly irrational in their views of women and men.

The Rational:

-          Although many of the actions portrayed in the this play prove the irrationality of thought in different characters, the play seems to display them in a way that proves rationality- Of course the idea that gods and the worship of them can encourage a whole group of women to abandon everything and run into the woods to become wild is absurd, it shows the rational and realistic view that people can be persuaded and change in character. The irrational (gods, etc.) makes a great framework for the natural (persuasion, wanting to be a part of something bigger, freedom, etc.)

           

The Personal:

-          I have used music in my life to get the freedom and fulfillment that I desire- I was able to feel belonging and purpose by playing in a concert band for about nine years. It’s just too bad that Dionysus couldn't find fulfillment and acceptance in some other way, and neither could the women that ran into the woods.

Irrational Love?

Maybe it’s me, or maybe it’s this old text, but I had a hard time wrapping my heard around this text. The only things that really stuck out to me was Gorgias’s focus on heeding to the irrational persuasion of love. He kept coming back to this as a major idea as to why Helen was in the situation she was. Maybe she was convinced by love. Gorgias almost made the irrational seem rational and tangible when talking about love and its compelling nature.

How many times in our lives have we let the irrational guide our opinions or actions? Of course, I’ve seen many women become tainted with irrational thought so much that it compelled them to action. Just today, I was talking with a friend about my desire to be nice and live guilt-free (in this particular situation, I was speaking of trying to let someone down without hurting feelings) and asking for advice for what to do in this situation. My friend and I were commiserating with each other, thinking about similar problems. Both being girls, we were letting our emotions guide a lot of our feelings. Luckily, there was a man standing behind us while we were talking who chimed in and gave us a more rational train of thought. My guilt (completely irrational) was guiding my thoughts and almost guided my actions. Luckily, this man was using much more persuasive logic.

Both of these stories question the validity of feelings and the pressures that we feel irrationally. I’m not sure what it was that caused Helen to do what she did, but Gorgias makes a very convincing argument that irrational thought may have been the culprit. After today’s events, I’d believe it, too.

Telling the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth

One of the first things that I noticed as being similar between Elder Bednar’s talk and the conversation between Socrates and Gorgias was the fact that both parties addressed their audiences. In Elder Bednar’s talk, this helped to establish pathos with the people listening. He used words such as “us” and “we” and that helped to create unity among those in attendance and help him more personally relate, even when being in such a large crowd. People are generally more likely to listen to someone’s thoughts if they feel a personal connection, and Elder Bednar established that connection very well. Socrates and Gorgias addressed the audience in a much different way. Instead of the audience being an integral part of the conversation (like Elder Bednar created, with the use of “us” and “we”), the audience was just that: an audience. They were bystanders, listening. At one point, Socrates’s and Gorgias’s conversation is halted as they recognize the audience’s presence (see pg. 42, line 458D). This acknowledgment reconnects the people to the conversation. It is not quite as inclusive as Elder Bednar’s talk, but it still creates the much-needed unity that creates pathos and involvement, which encourages people to listen more intently.

The fact that both were addressing crowds is also important to note, as it creates a need for epideictic rhetoric. In both cases, they were speaking to motivate and persuade. In Elder Bednar’s talk, he ended with praise of the character of the audience, the Church, and the Lord. Socrates continued in questioning (which seems a lot like blaming) Gorgias and rhetoric in general.

I also found a lot of similarities in Elder Bednar and Socrates in their search for truth and knowledge. Several times during both of their speeches, they turn towards the importance of truth and knowledge when making an appeal. Both focused on the necessity of having the information and truth before sharing opinions and false “knowledge.”