I am a new student to Social Psychology, the online course offered by Professor Scott Plous. I am truly amazed by the students from all around the world as well as the professions and backgrounds of each of the students. It is inspirational to me that during war, conflict, and other turmoil that is currently going on around the world, people can take a few hours a day (or week) to learn something new (voluntarily) and connect to each other in this way.

I work in the retail industry as a fashion planner (I help buyers make decisions on what to buy and analyze the business to make financial forecasts). I have a degree in Fashion Design (A.A.S) and Merchandising Management (B.S.) from Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) & Polimoda.
I rely on Social Psychology greatly in my profession as it is dependent on truly understanding the audience (current customers, desired customers, media professionals (for spreading the word/advertising), etc…) as well as my fellow co-workers. I use the 3 most famous persuasion techniques (Lecture 2.8, 4:47) daily as I often have to convince my fellow merchant counterparts to agree to a new company plan, or initiative. I can truly say that I practice the “6 Shortcuts” as presented by Robert Cialdini & Steve Martin in “Secrets from the Science of Persuasion” (Lecture 2.7, 1:23) in every negotiation/persuasion I conduct. Specifically, I find that building a relationship and focusing on “liking” (shortcut #5) and willingness for “reciprocity” (shortcut #1) can often guarantee the request in a one on one situation.

I live in Brooklyn, New York; not too far from Coney Island Luna Park. I am an avid book reader (specifically fiction) and I collect Fashion, Photography, and Art books (I dream of having my own library one day). I am also the owner of three cats (though I am sure if they could talk, they would say I was their servant), all of whom were adopted from animal shelter or rescue groups. I am a big animal lover, though I often experience true cognitive dissonance (Lecture 2.4, 10:42) as I love going to Zoo’s and having a chance to see the animals of the world which is a direct contradiction to my beliefs in animal rights, specifically against cramped cages and enclosures.

I enjoy travelling and have a goal to make it to all 7 continents of the world (I have a lot of travelling to do! :) ). The introductions posted by the students in the discussion forum have been a lot of fun, especially reading the descriptions of everyone’s home (and in some cases visiting) countries and seeing the pictures some of you have shared. I hope to learn from all of you and especially from this course in Social Psychology – may we truly experience together-action (Lecture 1.2, 8:46).