Hoi Kwan

Positive Psychology 4730-01

October 13, 2017

Mini Experiment #2

I chose the Personal Mini-Experiment on page 103, Culturally Embedded Daily Practice

Imagine that you join a professors lab that is committed to the study of positive functioning of first-

generation college students. During your initial discussion with the faculty member, you learn that the

project you will be working on involves developing and evaluating a mentoring program for a culturally

diverse group of students, some of whom first moved to the United States only years ago when their
families were providing seasonal labor to regional farmers. At the first meeting of the research group,

you, fellow students, and the faculty member brainstorm ideas about the content and process of the

mentoring sessions and about the salient outcome measures.

1. Which of the students strengths are most likely to aid them in school and in life?

One of the primary strengths that is going to enable these individuals is their relentless desire to
achieve great things and build a better future for themselves and their families. Their
motivation and perseverance is what allows them to succeed both socially and academically.
However, many forget that their attachment and sense of loyalty to their family could also be
considered one of their strengths. What most of these students recognize is the amount of
sacrifice that their parents undertook in order for them to have opportunities that they would
never have. Many times, these students appreciate the pain their parents put themselves
through so that their children would have a better future. Being someone who is totally in this
category, I also believe that the ability to have an open-mind is also another strength that
enables these people to succeed in this social environment. Having an open-mind allows these
students to relate to the majority of the population that might not necessarily be part of the
upper-echelon of the general public.

2. Should we measure happiness as a desired outcome in addition to academic self-efficacy,

performance, and retention?

Even though many people decide to put happiness below academic performance and retention,
I disagree with this sort of practice. In my opinion, I think happiness should most definitely be
included as a desired outcome next success. In reality, the word success has a very subjective
meaning. What one person defines as success could be entirely different when compared to
someone else who is from a different culture or different part of the world. In reality, happiness
is a significant factor of our life. For example, it determines the amount of work we put into
something and whether we treat a job as something more than a job, perhaps a passion or a
meaningful endeavor. In addition to this, happiness also determines the quality of our
 relationships and its also related to how we define success. In western culture for example,
people associate success with high salaries, having a high-level position in society, and personal
achievements. However, in eastern cultures, success is defined as being able to provide for
ones family and live a long, happy and healthy life. This is why regardless of what people define
as success, happiness is universal regardless of ones origin.

3. What cautions should we take with regard to the measures we choose?

Any decision that we make will always have its Pros and Cons. This is why it is often difficult to
achieve happiness, since it requires hard work and dedication. In addition to this, when we
pursue happiness and success, we often forget the reasons why we have such a strong desire to
do so and our roots. A lot of times when a person striving to become one of the big dogs, they
forget about their family and as a result, they sacrifice their moral values in order to pursue a
position, title, salary, etc. Because of this, it is essential that we stay true to our roots and
remember what truly is important to us

4. What about family-of-origin influence on a students academic behaviors? Should we account

for that?
Family-of-origin has a huge role in terms of influencing a students academic behaviors. As
mentioned before, different cultures have different perspectives on certain things. In Asian
culture, knowledge and wisdom is valued to the highest degree. As a result, many Asian parents
(often known as tiger parents) would force their children to do their best in terms of
academia. They often want their children to have high-paying jobs in the future so that they
could take care of their families. On the contrary, western parents often times give their
children more freedom and encourage them to pursue whatever theyre interested in and they
are usually very supportive of their decisions unlike Asian parents. Therefore, cultural
background should definitely be taken into account when analyzing a students academic
behavior.

5. How might our own values affect the mentoring process or research (e.g. hypothesis
formation)?
Our perspectives are shaped by the experiences we go through and our background, which
ultimately affects how each individual mentor will perform. Our moral values will affect our
research in a way by shaping how we conduct evaluations and creating advice on how to
progress and move on. Since each mentor is unique, there will never be the same perspectives
across the board. However, each of these perspectives are important in terms of their effect
and how it could help the mentees.

REFLECTION

Often times it is difficult for us to understand many peoples perspectives. In these cases, we have to
step back and try to look at the bigger picture. Our upbringing, the ways we were taught to respond
to certain things, and our moral values will really vary from culture to culture. It is essential that we
understand these differences, regardless of their magnitude, and strive to help others who are
experiencing something for the first time while remaining patient and understanding their struggles. I
learned this through past experiences interacting with people and offering help whenever possible.
Because of this, I have become more open-ended and obtained a better understanding of the values of
different cultures and the values that all cultures universally share. This is the key to maintaining good
relationships in a diverse community.