Q: Pick one concept from the reading this week and discuss it in detail
A:The topic that I found the most interesting this week was mind reading. I have fairly good luck when I am "assuming" what a close family member or friend is thinking. I can easily put myself in others shoes and think like them. Although, unlike the example, I do not make my own plans and disregard another person's plans unless it was intentional to be a surprise or something. It would have to be something big like a birthday or anniversary for me to do those "I planned for you!" type of deal. So, in my opinion, the trick to "mind reading" is to just think like the other person. You have to be very sensitive and aware of how they respond to questions and their physical body language when they speak to you. It helps a lot if you know them very well, like a boyfriend or your mom. Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves. When you ask them a question such as "How was work today?" it is normal to respond somewhere along the lines of "it's alright" or "it was okay" or even "good". You can't really get a conversation going. But, if you pay enough attention you can see that when they say "it's alright" and nod their head a little, it means it was a normal day. If they do a lip smacking or a "umm" before responding with "it was okay" it was probably stressful at work and you should help lighten up their mood and before if you are going to ask or mention any bad news. And if they just say "good" it's a bit of a wild card. Although you are "assuming" in these cases, you can pay close attention to their body language which helps you guess what they are thinking, especially if they are not the talkative time.
Mind reading is a pretty interesting topic. I can always tell when someone close to me if feeling sad and trying to hide it. I don't like planning things, so I usually go with the flow with my family members or friends. I agree with you that the trick to mind reading is just thinking like that person. I also agree with people having a different way of expressing themselves. That is just what makes everyone a different person. No one person is the same. Unless people really want to talk to you and you ask them how their day was, they would usually just say its alright or okay unless they want to talk to you they will say why and how their day was alright or okay or if something was bothering them.
ReplyDeleteI think mind reading is really intriguing to think about. I think that when we spend a lot of time with people we subconsciously pick up on their communication patterns (both verbal and nonverbal). We are able to read facial expressions better as well as body language, tonality, language choice, and so on. The better we know someone, the easier it is to pick up on these cues and thus interpret what they are thinking, their mood, their wants, needs, etc. You know that one best friend you have that you always know what they are thinking. I think the more time we spend with others the better we can predict their behaviors.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of mind reading was something that I also found to be really interesting. I think that it’s something most people don’t even think about, you can just detect when something is wrong with someone. People unconsciously read facial expressions, body language, and can very easily pick up the different tones in other’s voices. Sometimes you have to pay extra attention to the person to pick up these details. For example, if your girlfriend is upset at you but wants you to figure it out on your own she might be short with you, walk further ahead, hold your hand loosely, etc. but she might be smiling and pretending to act fine. It just proves to show that it’s the little details that matter most when it comes to mind reading.
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