Alfred Hitchcock Essay Example

Alfred Hitchcock Essay Example Alfred Hitchcock Essay Alfred Hitchcock Essay Alfred Hitchcock (13 August 1899 29 April 1980) is perhaps one of the most renowned and innovative film directors in the history of cinema, with an incredible film-making career spanning over half a century and dozens of award- winning films. He specialized in the psychological thriller genre, creating famous hit films such as Psycho (1960), North by North-west (1958) and Vertigo (1959) and revolutionized many cinematic techniques such as camera angles, lighting and sound which he used extensively in his films to successfully create a variety of moods and atmospheres in scenes and to manipulate the audiences feelings and emotions from fear, shock and suspense.Psycho was based on the novel written by Robert Bloch, and is probably one of the most recognisable and famous films made by Hitchcock. Released in 1960, it initially received mixed reviews from film critics, but soon it became a massive hit at the box office and thousands of people around queued up at movie theatres to watch t he film. Later, many critics considered it Hitchcocks best film and praised Psycho as a masterpiece of cinematic art. Despite all these good reviews, the film caused a lot of controversy because it contained quite explicit gore and sex references, things that have rarely shown so strongly on American films as in Psycho .For example, there is a scene where a shadowy figure brutally stabs a woman while she is showering, and an embalmed corpse is shown during the end. Although these scenes are nothing compared to the brutal and overwhelmingly gruesome horror films of today, Hitchcock still struggled to get his whole film released due to censors efforts to delete several explicit shots in the movie. Psycho was known as the mother of all horror films and Hitchcock basically formed the whole archetypical basis for most horror and thriller films that were released after it.Shot in stark black and white, the film Psycho portrays young secretary Marion Crane as she successfully steals $ 40,0 00 from her employer and leaving her town of Phoenix in Arizona, intending to get married. However, as Marion escapes, she drives through a heavy rainstorm at night and accidentally drives off the highway, driving along an unlit road and turning up at the eerie, seemingly deserted Bates Motel, in the middle of nowhere. However the motel owner Norman Bate hurries out and helps her inside with her bags while the rain pours around them.After Marion has settled into her cabin, Norman Bates innocently invites her to have dinner with him in the massive, eerie house that overlooks the motel, however after he has a loud and furious argument with his invalid mother up in the second floor of the house, he brings the dinner down to the motel and suggests to Marion they have it in the parlour. The parlour scene is the scene prior to the famous, celebrated shower scene, and Hitchcock is very successful in this scene in using his technical mastery of camera angles, lighting and clever imagery to foretell the future events of the film. The scene begins when Norman walks into the darkened parlour and switches the light on, illuminating the room .The parlour, where the scene takes place, is a very interesting room which reveals a lot about Normans personality. It is decorated with stuffed birds of prey, like owls and large ravens, hanging from the walls and ceilings .The camera pans to each one, finally showing Marions uncomfortable expression with eating in a room full of stuffed birds. The two characters sit on the opposite ends of the room, both facing each other; however the camera never shows both of them in the same shot for most of the duration of the scene. In the scene Hitchcock makes clever use of camera angles and the position of the actors in the camera shots to subtly show to the audience the emotions of the two characters and who has power in the conversation .He also uses lighting to show the personalities of the two next to where Marion is seated there is a br ight light so there is almost no shadows on her , however, Norman is sitting in the dark side of the room, and most of the time half of his face is shrouded in shadow, something that cleverly shows his dual or split personality that is revealed and explained later in the movie.Marion starts eating her dinner, while Norman never touches his. Instead he watches her intently, sitting upright as she nibbles her sandwich, looking frightened as well as very interested. He remarks to her You eat like a bird which she replies to Youd know, of course as she looks around the room at the large stuffed birds, staring at her form the ceiling. They have a noticeably uncomfortable conversation about his strange hobby (taxidermy) which fills the time, not pass it and the audience notices his lack of friends. For most of the start of the conversation, the camera switches smoothly between Marion and Norman as they talk, and the camera angles are ordinary, shot at neither a low or high angle shot. Ho wever, as they start to talk about Normans mother and his furious argument with her, Norman is strangely shot in a very low angle- shot, that is cleverly framed to include the huge stuffed owl that hangs from the ceiling above his head, causing the audience to think of Norman as some kind of predator.His face is also half-shrouded with shadow. This change subtly shows that Norman has gained the power in the conversation. Despite this, his voice is still quiet. Suddenly, as Marion delicately suggests that Normans mother should be put someplace else in other words, an institution, the mood and the atmosphere of the room goes cold and foreboding, and the camera switches to Norman using a close-up shot of his face as he slowly leans in towards Marion, showing his angry face. Deep violins and cellos play slowly and ominously in the background, showing the seriousness of the conversation but not too loud as not to obscure Normans words. The camera quickly switches to Marion a few times, f raming her perfectly with a high-angle shot to show her powerlessness. The music rises with Normans simmering anger, and he furiously scorns Marions suggestions, but then leans backs against his chair and the music quietens with his anger, suddenly he is back to his friendly, affable personality. Now that the audience know the Norman is trapped in a situation where he has to care for his ill mother or let her die, they sympathize with him more.Afterwards, Marion decides to leave and thanks Norman for the dinner. While doing so, she stands up and talks a bit more, and the camera frames her with a low-angle shot- while showing Norman, who is still seated, in a very high-angle shot; this shows that Marion has regained power and to make the audience to think of Norman as less of a threat to Marion than before. However, before she leaves the room, Norman quickly asks Marion her name, and she accidentally replies with her real name (Marion Crane), not the name she signed in the motel ledg er (Marie Samuelson). The audience wouldve realized by now that there could be a connection between Marions bird-related surname with the birds of prey that Norman Bates stuffs, which he calls his hobby, and if this is perhaps a glimpse of the fate of Marion Crane, however they cannot be too sure at this moment, as why would Hitchcock kill the main protagonist so early in the film?After Marion leaves the room, Norman stands up and starts chewing some gum. His mood and personality has changed dramatically; he is suddenly more relaxed and casual, contrasting with his nervous and edgy temperament that he had when Marion was in the parlour. Walking towards the counter and picking up the ledger, the audience notice how confident he has become, and wonder what the reason is. He opens the ledger and the camera shows a close-up of what hes reading- the fake name that Marion wrote on her arrival to the motel- and then switches back to his face, while he shows a slight smirk at the false name and location. Then, he slowly walks back into the dark shadowy parlour, his face and body covered in darkness, and stops before a wall, momentarily surrounded by large, sinister birds of prey. The audience can see that he is trying to listen to whats happening next door, and then removes a painting on the wall that separates the parlour from Cabin Room 1 where Marion is staying to reveal a small jagged peephole cut into the wall, a beam of bright light coming from it.Peering into the small hole, it is revealed to Norman that Marion is undressing to take her shower. Hitchcock uses a point-of-view shot with the camera to show to the audience exactly what he is seeing, and they feel uncomfortable to be put in a position where they can spy on Marion. Next, the camera switches to an extreme close-up of Normans face, filling the screen with just his unblinking eye, which is illuminated slightly due to the hole. The music that is played during the scene (sinister, high-pitched, violins an d cellos) is very effective as it adds to the mounting creepiness of Norman Bates. Norman puts the painting back , and gazes at nothing, as though he is thinking intently about Marion, a stony, evil expression on his shadowy face .The audience are very fearful at this point, as they think that Norman could now try to assault Marion or alert the police over her fake name, and as he walks resolutely out of the parlour while the music gets slightly faster and louder, but the audience relax, as Norman instead walks up the hill to the large, sinister house where his mother is, and walks inside, shutting the door after him. The camera uses a long shot when he does this, to suggest that Norman is no longer a threat as he is so far away, lulling the audience into a false sense of security. The audience are now itching to find out what happens, whether Marion would escape with her boyfriend or give up the money, and as they know that they watching a Alfred Hitchcock movie, they know that the re are probably many shocking twists that make his movies so exciting, but perhaps not as shocking as what happens next in the filmThe camera switches to the interior of Cabin Room 1 and shows Marion, who is now clothed in a bathroom robe, scribbling on a piece of paper before ripping it out and tearing it to pieces. She walks to the bathroom and flushes the pieces of paper down the toilet (shockingly, another ground-breaking moment- a toilet flushing had never been seen or heard on American films, which was to jolt audiences, but not nearly as much as her brutal murder) and takes off her robe, steps in the bathtub, closes the shower curtain and turns the shower on.This is the beginning of the famed shower scene, where Marion, what the audience think is the movies main heroine and protagonist gets violently and brutally killed off while shes having a shower in the motel bathroom, in an unexpected twist that shocked the audience. The scene is only 4 minutes long, with over 70 differe nt shots and many camera angles and it took 6 days to fully film it. Hitchcock paid enormous amounts of attention to details, and used cinematic techniques extensively such as camera angles, music and sound effects to create a truly horrific murder scene.As Marion is showering, one of the most noticeable features of the scene is the extreme crispness and loudness of the sounds that she makes, accentuating the lack of other noise around her. Furthermore, as she is showering, it looks like she is really enjoying herself, as though the shower , probably because she has decided to go back to Phoenix and the water is having a cleansing effect on her, cleaning all of her guilt. Next, the camera shows Marion from behind to show the shower curtain. The bathroom door is opened, and the audience can just about see a sinister, shadowy silhouette through the translucent shower curtain as he/she steps forwards towards the shower, although Marion is oblivious to her surroundings. By now, the audi ence would be screaming at the screen, telling Marion to look behind her, but the silhouette pulls across the curtain (the sound of this is amplified greatly to emphasize its abruptness) to reveal itself -an unidentifiable, shadowy figure brandishing a large and menacing knife, one of the most iconic images of the horror genre, and stabs Marion repeatedly as she struggles.The sequence of shots that follows are shot from many different angles and altogether there were more than 70 shots, and the shower scene is sometimes hailed and the well-edited scene in history. As the figure stabs Marion, the camera quickly switches from Marions horrified, screaming face to the shadowy figure and back again, shooting the two from many different angles. This emphasizes the extreme franticness and rapidness of the murder. Furthermore, it gives the impression that Marion is completely surrounded and cant escape. Also, the camera shows the murderers arm move in a stabbing motion many times, so that e ven though the audience never really see the knife stabbing her skin, they use their imagination to fill up the blanks. About forty-seconds of brutal violence later, the mysterious figure swiftly leaves the bathroom and the camera cleverly only shows the back of it to conceal his/her identity.Meanwhile, Marion is left in the bath, bleeding to death, and the camera shows her hand slowly sliding off the tiled wall, signifying her diminishing life. Also, as her body falls to the floor of the bathtub, there is a shot of Marions face, which is cunningly framed so she is not in the centre of the shot, but more to the right of it. This camera shot shows how Marion is not the main protagonist and heroine of the movie anymore. She falls forward with her hand on the shower curtain , breaking it and laying on the floor dead while the camera pans to the bathtub the where the water is washing away Marion s blood down the plughole.Music and sound effects are perhaps the most effective techniques used here. When the silhouette appears, one of the most iconic movie soundtracks in film history plays; a tumultuous and ear-piercing cacophony of short, high screeching notes played by violins cellos and other string instruments that greatly emphasize the franticness of the scene. It was music that made the audiences skin crawl and their hairs to stand on end. Alfred Hitchcock actually didnt want any music in the shower scene, but after he heard the score composed by Bernard Hermann, it influenced the scene a lot, greatly adding to the horror and tension. It gradually became higher and louder as the murder goes on, accentuating the heightening horror of the scene, but then goes very melancholy and slow as Marion is left to die in the bathroom, signifying the last few moments of her life. It stops altogether after she falls over and breaks the shower curtain, and the only sound left in the scene is the splash of water from the shower falling on the bathtub. Sound effects also added to the horror. For example, the sickening sound of the knife slashing through Marions skin is very audible; giving the audience impressions that the cuts are very deep (the sound was actually made by stabbing melons with a knife)By exposing the audience to forty-five seconds of nonstop violence without actually showing any gore or blood, Hitchcock leaves it up to our imagination. Imagination has no limits which is why the scene is timeless and just as shocking half a century later. The shock is not only the sudden bombardment of cuts but the fact that he killed off his leading lady. We looked through her eyes, listened to her thoughts and witnessed her actions only to see her naked body slashed to an ugly death. With more than an hour to go, anything is possible. Even though the film had a low budget, and the props used in the shower scene were quite crude and unsophisticated (although it was 1960, and special effects werent really used in films back then) Hitchcock uses his technic al mastery of cinematic techniques to make the shower scene and the whole movie one of the most famous in film history.

Component-based development Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Component-based development - Term Paper Example I have had an interest in computer science ever since I was young and this interest has never faded to-date. So far I have successfully completed by Bachelor and Master Degree in Computer Science, with a bias in software engineering, earning first class honors in each case. I have also managed to successfully complete several projects including conducting an analysis of a new social network, website design and designing of software using UML 2.0. Having had practical experience in various work environments, I feel that I need to acquire more knowledge so as to gain the capacity to solve some of the complex problems that different organizations face with respect to software design and engineering. It is for this very reason that I decided to undertake a PhD related to computer science. I am most interested in Component-Based Software (CBD) engineering. My interest in CBD follows my appreciation of the fact that software is getting more and more complex, and the need for safety, reliab ility and scalability is true in the marketplace. With CBD, I am confident that I will be able to solve complex software issues for an organization at affordably and therefore to the organization’s advantage.

How ICT Is Applied To The Tourism And Hospitality Industries Essay

How ICT Is Applied To The Tourism And Hospitality Industries - Essay Example e tourism and hospitality industries commonly involves the execution of activities such as incorporation of telecommunications technology with computers and other essential software, which further allows the user companies to access, store as well as share information among their various operational departments. It would not be erroneous to depict in this regard that ICT has its influences in various sections of the business and it acts as a major driving force in deciding the performance of the business operations of companies functioning in any sector including tourism and hospitality sectors. The significance of ICT for companies operating in any sector can be affirmed from the fact that it is actively implemented in certain specific and vital sections of tourism and hospitality business constituted with the various dimensions of production, marketing, research and communication among others. ICT is also a prime tool for tourism and hospitality companies operating in the contempor ary business environment in the context of accomplishing daily tasks, which comprise generating business reports and executing continuous communications with the stakeholders of the business (Hooff & Wijngaert, 2005). Hence, it can be apparently stated that ICT is quite vital for businesses in various distinct domains as it attempts to make significant contributions towards enhancing the value and performance of the businesses operating in any particular sector. Aim of the Study With reference to the determined purview related to ICT, it is evident that it is used in various domains of the business context in the modern era. Consequently, in order to provide a comprehensive understanding regarding the aforementioned aspect, this study evaluates various literatures, studies and practical... The tools of ICT have been in wide use in this particular industrial context, wherein the applicant companies have understood about how these technologies might be helpful for conducting most effective business operations. It has been further observed from the research that ICT helps the players in the tourism sector to interact with the customers on a usual and efficient manner where they intend to build a healthy relationship with the same. The study further revealed that ICT also enables companies to strengthen their communication prospects within the internal and external business environments. Notably, through this approach, tourism and hospitality companies were able to enhance their performance along with operational efficiency. This aspect was justified with the example of performance augmentation of tourism industry productivity of Ireland rewarding better scope for effective communication among various business departments. Apart from this, the research was also able to dep ict the positive effects of ICT in the marketing and financing sector of tourism and hospitality industry. Nevertheless, secondary data used in this paper also revealed both favorable and unfavorable effects of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industries advocating that the benefits of its usage depend substantially on the credibility of its users. In support of this particular inference, case examples related to ICT application in China and Ghana tourism industries were presented in the research study.

Healthy Lifestyle Essay Example for Free

Healthy Lifestyle Essay The Role and Issues that arise of the GetFitCrossFit Organization among adults in Brunei. Health, a fortune I wish upon every woman or man I see for without it she or he will not be able to explore the seas. Although the ideal concept would be for everyone to live a healthy lifestyle, the world is evident that this is difficult to achieve. The leading causes of worldwide deaths are diseases which I believe can be prevented (Grifantini, 2010). Simply, health is a necessary commodity to carry out everyday tasks, and if one would like to carry out a task well, one needs to have a healthy mind, body and soul (World Health Organization, 1948). In Brunei, in the recent years, the government keeps campaigning for healthy lifestyles, banks and other companies hold marathons, GetFitCrossFit organization has been rising and is very popular now. However, although these efforts have its role and aim on maintaining and achieving a healthy lifestyle, it may not be affective. Hence, this essay will elaborate on the role and the effectiveness on the GetFitCrossFit organization among adults in Brunei. First and foremost, it is the members’ responsibility to understand the elements of fitness, examine their present fitness status, decide to begin or continue suitable exercise habits and lastly to determine their health behaviors that need to be changed following appropriate steps (Howley Franks, 1991, p.10). The role of this organization is basically to keep fit and practice a healthy lifestyle. Adding to that, their aim is to make people fast and strong. This organization concentrates on mainly on three fundamental factors that must collaborate in order to benefit from workouts which are exercise, nutrition and recovery. Weightlifting, gymnastics and running are the components used for the exercise in balancing strength an d conditioning. Balanced diet is really important in terms of reducing processed food and sugar and more natural foods (Rodriguez, 2009). As for the recovery, proper sleeping habits are needed, stretching and make the soft tissues work by massage therapy. The GetFitCrossFit organization is organized and thorough with what they do. Members will have a full fitness assessment before starting because each individual will have a safely designed workout done by the committee. Not only will the members be coached during the workout but also in and out of the gym. Everyone in this organization motivates one another and improves by working hard, having determination and a persevering attitude. This organization’s slogan is  Forging Elite Fitness (GetFitCrossFit, 2012). An individual that enters this organization has definitely made a crucial move towards improving or maintaining their present fitness level but there are issues that may arise among adults in Brunei (Howley Franks, 1991, p.10). Firstly, setting goals is important so that there is an aim to strive. If there are no goals, there is no motivation and a clear plan. This will lead to not being able to see any results from start although GetFitCrossFit assist one person in making healthy changes; one person still have to decide on what changes to make. Secondly, some people are afraid of pain, injury and torture that they might encounter hence not wanting to join this organization. Some people may go for the first time and after finding out what it is all about, they give up as they do not have the mindset of putting in efforts to be fit and healthy. Thirdly, GetFitCrossFit has a fixed time resulting in the main biggest reason to not join or stop this organization is that they have no time. This shows that prioritizing is really poor among adults in Brunei. Fourthly, some people are afraid of their reputation. They may be embarrassed on their appearance, the mistakes they may make, having weak health and poor stam ina (Why people stop exercising, 2012). Letting go of bad habits such as reductions in smoking, alcoholic drinking, weight, eating unhealthy food and stress are also the major issues (Howley Franks, 1991, p.211). Lastly, this is rare but some people can’t afford the membership payment which costs hundred dollars per month. Moving on will be the effectiveness of this organization. GetFitCrossFit organization meets every day except on Sundays after 6pm onwards and in the mornings on Saturday. Amazingly, every Tuesday, the GetFitCrossFit outdoor session is held at the University of Brunei Darussalam. The rest of the days, it is held at their gym which is called the box (GetFitCrossFit, 2010). This organization has a blog which will be updated daily to guide their members before the actual workouts in the evenings occur. According to Tobey (1920, p.649), Emerson once stated â€Å"The first wealth is health.† Therefore the members in this organization do not take this as an expense but instead a necessity and money well spent. They see this as an activity of making new friends and having fun as well as getting or keeping fit. Some people get motivated by having a group of people in an organization having to follow rules and regulations rather than exercising alone (Too, 2011). Exercising  and keeping fit does not only improve and maintain fitness level but it can have a huge impact on living longer even not losing weight (Gard ner, 2011). Besides that, GetFitCrossFit promotes its organization really well. For every first Tuesday and Wednesday of the month, eligible students and unemployed may attend their sessions for free (GetFitCrossFit, 2010). The Social Medias such as Facebook, Twitter, Ranoadidas and Bruneitweet plays a big role in advertising their organization (Sheridan, 2012). Even the bruneitweet, Delwin Keasberry, is a member of this organization. Current members share their e xperiences and goals with their colleagues at work, school and their social peers which really motivate them and hence joining this organization. GetFitCrossFit are also known through the newspapers as they help for charities. They also hold motivational talks to different institutions and participate in road shows. In conclusion, exercise and fitness are necessary elements in order to lead a healthy lifestyle. It is definitely clear that in order to live long, one needs to have a healthy life. Although Brunei is trying their best to promote and campaign for healthy lifestyles, the issues as mentioned above may arise. GetFitCrossFit organization has a very good intention, motivation and role but it really depends on how effective the organization is. Advertisement and promotion is really important to show adults in Brunei what GetFitCrossFit clearly does and their aim. To wrap it all up Benjamin Franklin once said that â€Å"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.† (

Soliloquies Essay - Kates Soliloquy in The Taming of the Shrew :: Taming Shrew Essays

Kate's Soliloquy in The Taming of the Shrew Kate's soliloquy brings about a joyous conclusion to The Taming of the Shrew. The audience leaves the theatre with a pleasant feeling, glad that such a shrew could be tamed so well. Kate herself realised the error of her ways, making the men feel confident while making the women feel safe. Moreover, the audience found the speech to be very sound and sensible, as the views expressed in the play were extremely popular at that point in time. Kate, in realising her iniquitous ways, made the men feel extremely confident of their status in Elizabethan society, and effectively reinforced their beliefs about their own strength. Also, Shakespeare succeeds in creating a feeling of safety for the female audience, as well as in making them feel as through they are accepted for their kindness to men, and in the norm. Women, not having a strong role in society at that time, enjoyed receiving praise and encouragement for their purpose in society. Furthermore, they felt vindicated as Kate solemnly insulted the disobedient women (Bianca and the Widow), telling them to "Come, come, you froward and unable worms!". It may also be said that this play, as well as similar plays of the Elizabethan era, assisted in contributing to the oppression of females in society for an innumerable amount of years. After the conclusion of The Taming of the Shrew, including Kate's soliloquy, the audience is left with a proud feeling - proud of the fact that Petruchio tamed such a shrew so well. The men of the audience are about with feeling of satisfaction and justification. Shakespeare skillfully catered towards both sexes by using Petruchio much like the stereotypical action figure of today; a character who does the unbelievable effortlessly and leaves the audience in awe. In the play Petruchio, short after the inception of his skillful wooing, begins a plan "to kill a wife with kindness". Craftily he gives her anything that she pleases, only to swipe it away when he finds a flaw in the item. he also resorts to keeping Kate as a prisoner in his home, until she slowly becomes subservient and submissive to him.

Nostalgia

A Universal Feeling How many times have you reminisced on a certain memory and It almost felt Like you were there again? You could smell, see, and even taste that exact moment. These memories are always triggered by something, but you are not entirely sure what. You are overcome with a longing for that moment in time and the memory is so fond that you can't help but feeling warm inside. Nostalgia is the sentimental longing felt when reminiscing on the past.It is not a feeling of melancholia but more of a bittersweet sentimentality for what once was. Nostalgia has been widely used to describe many notations but has Just recently been modified to describe a positive experience. The word nostalgia was first coined in the 17th century. The term was used to describe the medical conditions of Swiss mercenaries who longed to return home. Nostalgia soon became a name for a disease who's symptoms included fainting, high fever, stomach pain, and even death.By the late 19th century nostalgia wa s discarded as a medical condition and recognized as a form of melancholia and a mentally repressive disorder. Now nostalgia has a positive meaning. It Is classified as the term to describe the exact feeling felt when thinking of past memories. Nostalgia does have a positive effect on an individual. The Oxford English Dictionary defines nostalgia as sentimental longing for a period of the past. Merriam- Webster Dictionary says is it pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again.The most common synonyms used when referring to nostalgia are sentimentality and yearning. The important things about these definitions are the positive tones they all have. Many people have experienced nostalgia at some point in their life, whether that be a nod memory from childhood or a strong feeling of homesickness. Many of these happy memories even trigger an euphoric feeling that takes you back to that certain place or time. Th ese overall feelings provide a sense of comfort when life gets difficult.Young adults find that reminiscing on past memories has helped them smoothly transition into major life changes such as moving away from home. Nostalgia has been proven to counteract boredom, anxiety, and even loneliness. When things are especially difficult in different aspects of my life I find that I begin to feel lonely. Loneliness has always been a horrible feeling to cope with because there is nothing more helpless than feeling like you don't have anyone. With that loneliness I start to question the continuity of my life.Why am I not friends with that person anymore? What am I supposed to be doing with my life? At this point in my life everything Is changing and there isn't a stable thing that roots me to reality except for my memories. On the days that I feel anxiety or loneliness I always think of a certain memory that brings me back to a happier time. The memory Is always the same, but I can feel It be tter than I remember It. I remember the way the alarm feels a room window and noticing how the sun isn't quite as high as it normally is.I remember the exact smell of the cinnamon candle that my mom starts burning every fall. This memory has no actual significance but somehow it gets rid of all the loneliness I feel and makes me feel continuity and optimism instead. Nostalgia itself does not involve any feelings of melancholia. The literal act of nostalgia is to recall a memory that is fond to you in some way. The purpose of remembering past memories is to relate them to now to provide the sense of nonentity that you need to maintain a comforting balance when life changes..The experience of nostalgia is positive; the aftermath is not. Nostalgia is often confused with unpleasant feelings because of the longing that occurs when remembering a great experience from your past. But that longing is not an overall bad emotion it is just a reminder of all the positive things that once were. The term nostalgia has come a long way since it days of an actual medical condition to its description of a positive emotion. It is important to remember that nostalgia is not only Just a positive emotion but a positive experience.

What Is Stereotype Threat

Stereotype threat occurs when a person is worried about behaving in a way that confirms negative stereotypes about members of their group. This added stress can end up impacting how they actually perform in a particular situation. For example, a woman might feel nervous when taking a math test because of stereotypes about women in math courses, or worry that receiving a poor grade will cause others to think that women don’t have high levels of math ability. Key Takeaways: Stereotype Threat When people worry that their behavior might confirm a stereotype about a group they are part of, they experience stereotype threat.Researchers have suggested that the stress of experiencing stereotype threat can potentially reduce one’s score on a standardized test or grade in a challenging course.When people are able to reflect on an important value—a process called self-affirmation—the effects of stereotype threat are attenuated. Definition of Stereotype Threat When people are aware of a negative stereotype about their group, they often worry that their performance on a particular task might end up confirming other people’s beliefs about their group. Psychologists use the term stereotype threat to refer to this state in which people are worried about confirming a group stereotype. Stereotype threat can be stressful and distracting for people who experience it. For example, when someone is taking a difficult test, stereotype threat can prevent them from focusing on the test and giving it their full attention—which may lead them to receive a lower score than they would have without distractions. This phenomenon is thought to be situation specific: people only experience it when they are in a setting where a negative stereotype about their group is salient to them. For example, a woman might experience stereotype threat in a math or computer science class, but wouldn’t be expected to experience it in a humanities course. (Although stereotype threat is often studied in the context of academic achievement, it’s important to note that it can happen in other domains as well.) Key Studies In a famous study on the consequences of stereotype threat, researchers Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson caused some participants to experience stereotype threat before taking a difficult vocabulary test. The students who experienced stereotype threat were asked to indicate their race on a questionnaire before the test, and their scores were compared to other students who did not have to answer a question about race. The researchers found that black students who were asked about their race performed worse on the vocabulary test—they scored lower than white students and lower than black students who were not asked about their race. Importantly, when students were not asked about their race, there was no statistically significant difference between the scores of black and white students. In other words, the stereotype threat experienced by black students caused them to perform worse on the test. However, when the source of threat was taken away, they received similar scores to white students. Psychologist Steven Spencer and his colleagues have examined how stereotypes about women in STEM fields could impact women’s scores on a math test. In one study, male and female undergraduate students took a difficult math test. However, the experimenters varied what participants were told about the test. Some participants were told that men and women scored differently on the test; other participants were told that men and women scored equally well on the test they were about to take (in actuality, all participants were given the same test). When participants expected a gender difference in test scores, stereotype threat kicked in—female participants scored lower than male participants. However, when participants were told that the test did not have a gender bias, female participants did just as well as male participants. In other words, our test scores don’t just reflect our academic ability—they also reflect our expectations and the social context around us. When the female participants were placed under a condition of stereotype threat, their scores were lower—but this gender difference was not found when participants were not under threat. Impact of Stereotype Threat Research The research on stereotype complements research on microaggressions and bias in higher education, and it helps us better understand the experiences of marginalized groups. For example, Spencer and his colleagues suggest that repeated experiences with stereotype threat may, over time, cause women to dis-identify with math—in other words, women may choose to take classes in other majors in order to avoid the stereotype threat they experience in math classes. As a result, stereotype threat could potentially explain why some women choose not to pursue careers in STEM. Stereotype threat research has also had a significant impact on society—it has lead to educational interventions aimed at reducing stereotype threat, and Supreme Court cases have even mentioned stereotype threat. However, the topic of stereotype threat is not without criticism. In a 2017 interview with Radiolab, social psychologist Michael Inzlicht points out that researchers have not always been able to replicate the results of classic research studies on stereotype threat. Even though stereotype threat has been the topic of numerous research studies, psychologists are still conducting more research to determine exactly how stereotype threat affects us. Self-Affirmation: Mitigating the Effects of Stereotype Threat Although stereotype threat can have negative consequences for individuals, researchers have found that psychological interventions can mitigate some of the effects of stereotype threat. In particular, an intervention known as a self-affirmation is one way of reducing these effects. Self-affirmation is based on the idea that we all want to see ourselves as good, capable, and ethical people, and we feel the need to respond in some way when we feel our self-image is threatened. However, an important lesson in self-affirmation theory is that people don’t need to respond to a threat directly—instead, reminding ourselves of something else we’re doing well can make us less threatened. For example, if you are worried about a poor grade on a test, you might remind yourself of other things that are important to you—perhaps your favorite hobbies, your close friends, or your love of particular books and music. After reminding yourself about these other things that are also important to you, the poor test grade is no longer quite as stressful. In research studies, psychologists often have participants engage in self-affirmation by having them think about a personal value that is important and meaningful to them. In a set of two studies, middle school students were asked to complete an exercise at the beginning of the school year where they wrote about values. The crucial variable was that students in the self-affirmation group wrote about one or more values that they had previously identified as being personally relevant and important for them. Participants in the comparison group wrote about one or more values that they had identified as being relatively unimportant (participants wrote about why someone else might care about these values). The researchers found that black students who completed the self-affirmation tasks ended up getting better grades than black students who completed the control tasks. Moreover, the self-affirmation intervention was able to decrease the gap between the grades of black and white students. In a 2010 study, researchers also found that self-affirmation was able to reduce the achievement gap between men and women in a college physics course. In the study, women who wrote about a value that was important to them tended to receive higher grades, compared to women who had written about a value that was relatively unimportant to them. In other words, self-affirmation may be able to reduce the effects of stereotype threat on test performance. 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