Research Sources

Fedorkhin, Alexander and Shiv, Baba. "Heart and Mind in Conflict: The Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer Decision Making." Journal of Consumer Research (1998): 278-92. Print.
Ferguson, Leonard W. "Industrial Psychology." Annual Review of Psychology 9 (1958). Print.
Jacoby, Jacob. "Consumer Psychology: An Octennium." Annual Review of Psychology 27 (1976). Prin
Lynch, John G. and Zauberman, Gal. "Construing Consumer Decision Making." Journal of Consumer Psychology17.2 (2007): 107-12. Print.

Bonding Over a Mascot Response

I think for this article, the starting question was, “How do people feel about the N.C.A.A. edict?” Lapointe writes in his article about the N.C.A.A. decision to ban the use of “mascots, nicknames or images deemed hostile or abusive in terms of race, ethnicity or national origin.” The article, “Bonding Over a Mascot” focuses specifically on the reaction to the edict at Florida State. Much of the author’s research to answer this question came in the form of interviews. He begins the article with a quote from Toni Sanchez, a current student of Seminole ancestry who attends Florida State. She calls the ruling “beyond idiotic” and goes on to say, “I know what a real Seminole is. This Anglo guilt and regret doesn’t affect me.” T. K. Wetherell, the president of Florida State, also offered his opinion for the article. He calls the mascot a “marketing tool” and asserts that the Seminole tribe knows this and approved because they are “good businessmen” and “great politicians.”  Lapointe also gathers opinions from the side of the N.C.A.A. According to Myles Brand, the president of the N.C.C.A., the decision received more negative reactions than anticipated, but he still believes the decision was the right one.

In the end it seems that the mascot that was considered “hostile or abusive in terms of race, ethnicity or national origin,” didn’t really offend those whom the N.C.A.A. suggested it would.   

Is Google Making Us Stupid Response

            I don’t know if being part of the “younger generation” makes me biased, but I do not entirely agree with Carr’s assertion that the Internet is making us stupid. As people have evolved, so has the technology that they use. Man has been continually finding ways to make things faster, stronger, simpler, and cheaper all throughout history. As times and tools have changed, people have adjusted to adapt to new ways of life.

            In the article, Carr’s main concern is that the younger generation and those who use the Internet on a very regular basis will lose the ability to read deeply. His argument is that because we bounce around from site to site on the computer, our abilities to concentrate and stay focused on a single thing, like a lengthy book, have diminished. With such short attention spans, we only have the ability to process small amounts of information at a time before moving on to the next thing.

            While some of his assertions may be true to a certain degree, they are not without flaws. It is true, while on the Internet it is easy to jump from page to page and become distracted, this does not mean that we cannot shift gears and sit down with a good, lengthy book once in a while. Carr also suggests that the Internet has changed the way in which we absorb information, and I agree. When my parents were in school they would need to pour over many different books in the library in order to find the right information for a project or a paper. What used to take hours decades ago can now be done almost instantly. When finding the right information is so quick, it’s so much easier to work efficiently. Having thousands of databases at your fingertips eliminates wasting time to physically search for the information. Even in an emergency that needs immediate action (like spilling a whole glass of red wine on your mother’s pristine white carpet) there is an immediate answer or solution.

            The Internet has also made the entire world more connected and younger people more globally conscious. The Internet has broken down physical barriers that once kept nations more isolated than they are today.