The perplexing nature of cognition, memory, and social influence strongly elicit my curiosity. As an undergraduate, I began reading about the Milgram and Stanford Prison experiments. I recalled being raised in a multicultural household, and how my mother battled strong racial influences. One afternoon, I peered at a newspaper article on the Million Man March, Civil Rights Movement. I saw a picture of my mother, a German woman, joining African-American's crusade for equality. Questions arose, what cognitive factors contribute to racially influenced behavior? Which components of our cognition correlate with racial profiling, e.g., generalization vs. individualization. It was because of this process of reflection that I sought to investigate the enigmatic processes of cognition, influence and phenomenological …show more content…
Bridging the gap of communication by observing that she could read lips, I provided motivational feedback about how impressive that psychological skill was, in and of itself, enhancing her ability to perform. Later, as a Justice in the Student Government Association, my colleagues and I designed a seminar for underrepresented students. The message we delivered entailed the benefits and means by which they could attend college. Our goal of establishing their desire for higher education surpassed many expectations. Currently, I teach learners at an autism clinic, implementing therapy based off the scientific methods of Applied Behavioral Analysis. Throughout multiple sessions with one patient, I've broken down cultural barriers. He/she was using racial slurs taught by a trusted adult. Using applied techniques enabled me to counteract the negative racial influence in their environment. Thus, I would bring refined observational and applied knowledge about the influential factors involved in racially (and other), motivated behaviors to Claremont Graduate