How Primary Emotions Affect You

How Primary Emotions Affect You PTSD Print How Primary Emotions Affect You By Matthew Tull, PhD twitter Matthew Tull, PhD is a professor of psychology at the University of Toledo, specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder. Learn about our editorial policy Matthew Tull, PhD Updated on June 24, 2019 franckreporter / Getty Images More in PTSD Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Coping Related Conditions PTSD and the Military Primary emotions are those that occur as a direct result of encountering some kind of cue. For example, if someone is late for a meeting that is scheduled, she may experience frustration or concern. These emotions would be considered a primary emotion  because the emotion occurred as a direct consequence of encountering some kind of event. Learn more about primary emotions and their relationship to secondary emotions with this review. What Makes Primary Emotions Stand Out Primary emotions are fast-acting. That is, they occur in close proximity to the event that brought them on. Primary emotions are important  because they provide us with information about our current situation and get us ready or motivated to act in some way. People with post-traumatic stress disorder  (PTSD)  often experience strong emotions. If you have PTSD, you may experience  sadness,  anger,  or  anxiety  when youre reminded of the traumatic event or at other  stressful moments. These emotional reactions are all primary. Sometimes, however, emotions occur in response to having  other  emotions. For example, you might feel  shame  about being anxious or sad or anxiety because youre angry. This type of emotional reaction is called a  secondary emotion. Understanding Primary and Secondary Emotions If someone cuts you off in traffic, youll probably feel irritated or angry. In this situation, anger or irritation is a primary emotion, because it occurred as a direct consequence of the event (being cut off in traffic). Or, if you start  remembering the loss of someone  you care about, the primary emotion you might feel is sadness. Secondary emotions, on the other hand, are less useful. Secondary emotions are the emotions we have in response to having primary emotions. Lets go back to the example of  someone cutting you off in traffic. You first feel the primary emotion of anger. However, lets say you were brought up to believe that it is not okay to be angry, or you  fear that when you feel anger, youll lose control and do something  impulsive. If this is how you evaluate your primary emotion, anger, youll probably feel shame or anxiety as a secondary emotion. Secondary emotions dont pass quickly or provide useful information, but they do tend to stick around for a long time. Theyre also problematic  because they can take over from primary emotions, effectively blocking them. As a result, secondary emotions can keep you from  getting information from your primary emotions  and acting on it in healthy ways. You could think of this as a way of trying to  avoid your emotions. How to Reduce Your Secondary Emotions The first step in reducing your secondary emotions is to  increase your overall emotional awareness.  Self-monitoring exercises  may help. In these exercises, you identify and evaluate your emotional responses to situations, trying to capture the kinds of secondary emotions that arise from your primary ones. The goal is to learn to  challenge your thoughts  or be more  mindful of your thoughts. You  practice  not taking your secondary emotions at face value or as truth, but simply as emotions, youre having only because youve had them before in the same types of situations, and its become a habit. Over time, getting into the habit of recognizing and  challenging your secondary emotions  can help you reduce their effects. That way, you can stay in touch with your primary emotions long enough to  act  on them in healthy ways.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas And The Lottery Analysis

Many people possess a naturally healthy tendency to see faces in randomness. This phenomenon, known as pareidolia, is the idea that humans are prone to find patterns in chaos. Similarly, as curious creatures, we strive to develop a guide in a life of uncertainty. An inherent aspect of human nature is the desire to establish a purpose for every action and a creed for existence. In addition, we remind ourselves of the flaws that we must abstain from. Such reminders are often found in religions such as Christianity and Hinduism and dystopian literature. Ursula Le†¦show more content†¦Dystopian societies starkly resemble our own. They emphasize the idea that if preventive measures are not taken now, there will be turmoil later. They serve as a reminder t hat if the weakness and passions of man are pursued, disorder will be fostered. Ursula Le Guin’s dystopian city of Omelas pursues human weaknesses in which exploitation, greed, and selfishness are the foundations of the story. Le Guin describes the citizens of Omelas celebrating guiltlessly during the Summer Festival as they indulge in religiously undesirable activities. As they roam freely without a cautionary behavioral boundary, they exhibit the chaos and a lack of control that could result from devotional irresponsibility: â€Å"If an orgy would help, dont hesitate...Surely the beautiful nudes can just wander about, offering themselves like divine souffles to the hunger of the needy and the rapture of the flesh† (Le Guin 2). Along with promiscuity, Le Guin also implies an influence of drugs, â€Å"drooz†, in the citizensâ€℠¢ daily lives. The Omelasian society displays an absence of structure and form.Show MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis : The Bible 1735 Words   |  7 PagesLiterary Analysis Paper The bible portrays Jesus our lord and savior as one who commits no crime and breaks no law yet suffers a horrendous torture in the name of love and gratitude for all of humanity. In similar ways both The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas and The Lottery relate to the Christian faith which is based on the presumption that one person can free the rest from anarchy and hell. All three of these human sacrificing ritualistic ideals conform to the system which kills or tortures one personRead MoreThemes Of `` The Lottery `` By Shirley Jackson And The Ones Who Walk Away From 1861-18651553 Words   |  7 Pagespaper. The theme of equality is present throughout many of the dystopian short stories, novels, poems and films we have studied in class. The three stories I feel this theme is most present in are â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut and â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas† by Ursula Le Guin. In these stories society tries to make everything orderly and just. Their methods to promote equality are flawed. The goal in these stories is to perfect society but in each story

Classical Vs Keynesian Economics - 1235 Words

Classical and Keynesian economics are both accepted schools of thought in economics, but each had a different approach to defining economics. The Classical economic theory was developed by Adam Smith while Keynesian theory was developed by John Maynard Keynes. Similarities: One of the most surprising similarities between the two theories is that John Keynes developed his theory based on the Adam Smith’s theory. Keynes did not entirely disagree with Adam Smith but rather, expanded the theory based on the Great Depression. They were both capitalists and agreed on the basic tenet of capitalism- that a free market is more efficient in terms of allocating resources. Keynes, based on the Great Depression, addressed issues related to repairing†¦show more content†¦The Keynesian Economic theory relies on spending and aggregate demand to define the economic marketplace. Keynesians believe that aggregate demand is often influenced but public and private decisions. This theory stresses that unemployment is caused by the insufficient growth and low growth of aggregate demand. Keynes urged that the economy can be below full capacity for a considerable time without intervention and, hence, the market is not fully efficient as described by the Adam Smith. 2. Aggregate supply and aggregate demand The classical view suggests that real GDP is determined by supply side factors, that is the level of investment, capital, and productivity. This suggests that, in the long-term, an increase in aggregate demand resulting from faster growth in Long-run Aggregate Supply (LRAS) would cause inflation. Thus, the Long-run Aggregate Supply (LRAS) curve is inelastic. The theory also suggests that, in the short term, the economy will be able to reduce unemployment below the natural rate by increasing demand, but, in the long run, the wages adjust, unemployment returns to its natural rate and, consequently, inflation ensues. There is no trade-off in the long run. The Keynesian views the Long-run Aggregate Supply (LRAS) differently, purporting that an economy can be below full capacity in the long-run. This theory, on the other hand, places greaterShow MoreRelatedKayne vs Hayek1370 Words   |  6 PagesChanya Udomphorn ID# 5380040 Macroeconomics Mr. Rattakarn Komonrat Keynes vs. Hayek Macroeconomics is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the whole economy. Macroeconomists study aggregated indicators such as GDP, unemployment rates, and price indices to understand how the whole economy functions. They develop models that explain the relationship between such factors as national income, output, consumption, unemployment, inflationRead MoreTax the Rich Essay969 Words   |  4 Pagesa recession still). The Classical economics theory is based on the premise that free markets can regulate themselves if left alone, free of any human intervention (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/classical-economics-vs-keynesian-economics.html). I think that if free markets just regulated themselves and the governement couldnt do anything then things could get out of control. The government should have some restriction on what a state can or cannot.Keynesian Economics describes Inflexible Prices:Read MoreEssay on John Maynard Keynes Versus Friederich A. Hayek603 Words   |  3 PagesTwo major economic thinkers of the of the early twentieth century, John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich A. Hayek, hold very different economic viewpoints. Keynes is among the most famous economic philosophers. Keynes, whos theories gained a reputation during the Great Depression in the 1930s, focused mainly on an economys bust. It is where the economy declines and finally bottoms-out, that Keynesian economics believes the answers lie for its eventual recovery. On the other hand, Hayek believed thatRead MoreEssay about Divisions of The Field of Economics1407 Words   |  6 PagesEconomics is the science that permits you to assess your companys po sition in the business cycle as needed. Economics works hand-in-hand with corporate strategy. While strategy addresses the â€Å"how† and â€Å"why† of business decision-making, macroeconomics tries to pinpoint the â€Å"when† of strategic decisions. As a member of the management team in a growing business part of your responsibilities will be to analyze economic conditions and predict recessions and recoveries based on the business cycle. IfRead MoreClassical Vs. Keynesian Models Essay922 Words   |  4 PagesClassical vs Keynesian models Two economic models of thought are classical and Keynesian models. 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This paper is goingRead MoreThe Classical Model Of Economics1431 Words   |  6 Pagesthrough recessions and expansions but fix itself. Recessions are periods in the economy in which unemployment goes up, while profits and spending goes down; a slowdown of the economy. An expansion is essentially the exact opposite. The classical model of economics states that the economy will continue to go through these fluctuations over time and will fix itself with no help, thus not needing a government to give influence. Eventually, however, The Great Depression happened, and there was no endRead MoreTaxes And The Economy : Maximizing Economic Growth2213 Words   |  9 Pages Taxes and the Economy - Maximizing Economic Growth Today the subject of taxes and economic growth has become a politically heated debate in the press, congress, and advocacy groups. These debates are created in part because there are many different theories about what drives economic growth. 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Three Important Contents in Nonverbal Communication Free Essays

The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the group oral presentation. This easy discussed three concepts related to nonverbal communication. Relevant theories inform our understanding of these concepts and each individual’s performance. We will write a custom essay sample on Three Important Contents in Nonverbal Communication or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first concept aspects of nonverbal communication introduced the different aspects in nonverbal communication. The second concept barriers to nonverbal communication discussed how barriers occurred and two parts of barrier. The last one cultural difference in nonverbal communication explains the importance to effective deal with cultural difference in business today. The next part is reflection on group performance and individual performance. In this part some real examples have been discussed. This essay is for 2040 MGT Business Communication individual assignment. This essay is on the basic business area and interpersonal communication. 2. 0Definition of Nonverbal communication When people talk about successful organisations or individuals in the world of business, good communication is always listed as one of the most important characteristics. Nonverbal communications is made up of visual, tactile, and vocal signals, and the use of time, space, and image (Williams 2006). Nearly 75 per cents of all communication are nonverbal (Trompenaars, 1993). That means in every face-to-face interaction we are sending more information to the other person than we thought and no-one is fully in control about the transmission (Mead, 2005). Nonverbal communication embraces all body language communication but also includes clothing and tones of voice, even the manner in time using (Williams 2006). Drory and Zaidman (2007) suggest that use nonverbal communication in order to: replace verbal communication where it may impossible to talk; complement and modify verbal communication; contradict; regulate conversation by helping to mark speech turns; express emotions; negotiate relationships in respect of instance etc. For this way, Nonverbal communication can be very powerful tool in understanding ourselves and others. 3. 0Three concepts related to Nonverbal communication 3. 1Aspects of Nonverbal communication Are nonverbal communication and body language the same? No, they are not. Body language involves the physical behavior; nonverbal communication embraces all body language communication but also includes clothing and adornment, environmental factors and even the manner in time using (Williams 2006). Darn (2005) stated that nonverbal communication can be classified in four key elements. The first element is KINESICS means body movement and gestures. The second is HAPTICS, the touch behavior and the third is OCULESICS, the gaze behavior and eye contact. The fourth key element is PROXEMICS and stands for spatial behavior and interpersonal distance. Chaney and Martin (2000) added one further element to the key elements. They described OLFACTICS as a person’s smell. 3. 2Barriers to Nonverbal communication Many problems occurred in our business and personal lives result from miscommunication. Problems with any one of the stages of the communication model can become barriers to communication (Shannon, 2001). Nonverbal communication may fail for a variety of reasons: Nonverbal signal such as movement and eye contact can be read wrongly; a learner may not be able to understand what is being shown (Thorne, 2005). Maguire (2002) stated that barriers to effective communication between people and units of organizations are two parts: physical and Personal. Physical such as people talking in different ways and poor sight can be easily solved; personal barriers less obvious, is the differences in the personal and physical make up of people, these factors cause a physical barrier. Even so, these barriers suggest opportunities for improving communication (Maguire, 2002). 3. 3Cultural difference in Nonverbal communication Many businesses operate on a global scale today. It has been argued that (Crosling Ward, 2002) effective oral and nonverbal communication plays an important role in successful cross-cultural business. Although much communication in international business is oral, the nonverbal level can be an important factor of correct understanding and interpreting oral communication. Culture is a shared system of beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations and norms of behavior (Chaney Martin, 2000). From groups, culture differs extensively. For example, Touch is an important tool to convey warmth, support and comfort. However, in some cultural those norms of behavior may change because touching implies intimacy and familiarity, people have strict rules that who may touch whom and how (Larson Kleiner, 2004). To learn deal with these differences and turn to your advantage can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful international business (Larson Kleiner, 2004). 4. 0Reflection on group performance and individual performance The most successful groups understand that good communication at all levels is essential (Houston, 2002). In groups there are aspects to nonverbal communication. We been use a lots nonverbal sign communicate to each other when we having meetings and presenting. Be able to read correctly and rapidly other people’s nonverbal signals and to able to consider and control one’s own nonverbal presentation is very important in group work. Here is a benefit you and your group can achieve from effective nonverbal communication: Stronger decision making and problem solving (Houston, 2002). Use nonverbal communication effectively can make every meeting efficient instead of wasting time. When two people are conversing, they usually make eye contact to show the interest or respect (Frisch 1993). When the group having a conversation, one member was talking and the rest of us body pointed at the speaker, doing eye contact and nodding, this can be certain that we were very interested in what is being said. However, if many of us across the body like folded arms or an arm up to the face, you are seeing indications that the listeners are not absorbed. For this way, nonverbal signs have become an important communicate tools when we working together. However, Problems with any one of the stages of the communication model can become barriers to communication (Shannon, 2001). Barriers to effective communications between people and units of organizations are of two types: Physical, environmental factors can reduce or prevent the sending and receiving of messages (Maguire, 2002). It happened because people may not be able to see or hear properly. When the group having difficulty to understand others, always try to be clear in speech and visual presentation. They are usually obvious barriers. The other barrier is personal barriers; they arise from the judgments, emotions and values (Maguire, 2002). It happened because group members may not be willing and eager to receive the message. However, some people are vigilant monitors of other people; others are less likely to notice their subtle signals. To get nonverbal communication improved instead of having barriers, we were researched four outcomes: develop skills in nonverbal communication; interpret nonverbal communication in the context of the total situation; beware of the possibility of misinterpretation; practice becoming aware of and managing one’s own nonverbal communication (Shannon, 2001). Non-verbal communication is â€Å"silent† communication, including the use of eye contact, body moment, tones of voice etc (Williams 2006). If we don’t understand the non-verbal communication from different culture, we can make a mistake of reading other person’s message. Larson and Kleiner (2004) point out some forms of non-verbal signals are the same and universal some may totally different of each other. For this way, we did a bit of research to find out the differences in nonverbal communication between the AUD and China. I was asking four Chinese students and four Australian with equal number of male and female to answer two questions about the culture difference. The first part of the research analyzed the distance people keep in conversations and how they feel, if the person one is talking to comes closer. It showed that Australian are willing to get a bit closer in both situations with other students and lecturers/tutors. The research also presented that Australian feel more comfortable when the person they talk to comes a bit closer. In the other part of the research we analyzed the eye contact behavior. Asians avoid frequent eye contact, whereas Australian looks most time in the eyes and face especially when talking to a lecturer. However, both parties argued they feel the other person might not be interested in the topic, if the person does not show at least the same eye contact. 5. 0Conclusion and Recommendations This essay has discussed three important concepts related to nonverbal communication. The first concept aspects of nonverbal communication introduced the different aspects in nonverbal communication. The second concept barriers to nonverbal communication discussed how barriers occurred and two parts of barrier. The last one cultural difference in nonverbal communication explains the importance to effective deal with cultural difference in business today. In reflection on group performance and individual performance, some outcomes from group meeting for presentation have been discussed linked to theories. People should be familiar with the aspects of nonverbal communication. For this way, effective deal with nonverbal communication to achieve the right point. To get nonverbal communication improved instead of having barriers through the ways of: develop skills in nonverbal communication; interpret nonverbal communication in the context of the total situation; beware of the possibility of misinterpretation; practice becoming aware of and managing one’s own nonverbal communication. Lastly, to learn deal with cultural differences and turn to your advantage can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful international business. References List Crosling, G. , Ward, I. (2002). The workplace needs and uses of business graduate employees. English for Specific Purposes, 21(1), 41-57. Chaney, L. H. , Martin, J. S. (2000). Intercultural Business Communication (2nd ed). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Darn, S. (2005). Aspects of nonverbal communication. The TESL Journal, 6(2), 2-7. Drory, A. , Zaidman, N. 2007). Impression management behaviour: effects of the organizational system. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 290-308. Frisch, D. (1993). The experience of workplace politics. Academy of management journal, 23(2), 237-51. Houston, H. (2002). Health care and the silent language of Vietnamese immigrant consumers. Business Communication Quarterly, 65(1), 37-47. Larson, J. , Kleiner, B. (2004). How to read non verbal communication in organizations. Management Research News, 27(4/5), 17-22. Mead, R. (2005). International Management. Malden: Blackwell. Maguire, T. (2002). Barriers to communication-how things go wrong. Pharmaceutical Journal, 268(7186), 246-250. Shannon, C. E. (2001). A mathematical theory of communication. Mobile Computing and Communications Review, 5(1), 3-55. Trompenaars, F. (1993). Riding the Waves of Culture. London: Nicholas Brealey. Thorne, P. (2005). The secret codes of the ‘silent language’. European Business Forum, 20, 74-76. Williams, F. (2006). Nonverbal communication. The new communication, 11(3), 34-37. How to cite Three Important Contents in Nonverbal Communication, Papers

Plato - The Allegory Of The Cave Essays - Philosophy, Platonism

Plato - The Allegory Of The Cave 1) Outline the Divided Line and tell the meaning of each division in terms of things that exist and the degree of truth that is possible at each level. Use this to explain the Allegory of the Cave. Plato's Divided Line represents the visible (images and shadows) vs. the intelligible (searching for answers). These theme of the tangible truth vs. perceived truth can be found throughout the Allegory of the Cave. THOUGHT - Too many people, in today's society live their lives with blinders on and look at the world around them as if they were chained facing a wall. There is not enough interest in helping one another to see ways to make this a better world. Much of society does not see beyond the superficial fronts of other people or issues that face them. We must work at releasing each other ?from their bonds? and cure them ?of their ignorance? (515d) in order for us to find a solution to bettering our world. IMAGINATION - The shadows that the prisoners of the cave looked upon represent the perceived truth. When people do not have the knowledge to look beyond the visible truths (the things one can see by merely taking a superficial look) they only have the capacity to believe in shadows and do not even know how to begin the search for the intelligible (real truths). BELIEF - The campfire in the cave represents the power of the sun. The fire has the power to illuminate the perceived truths of the cave. The fire illuminates what the prisoners can see, therefore, showing them what to believe in. The sun in similar in that it provides the light required to allow people to see with their eyes. UNDERSTANDING ? The path outside the cave is steep, rocky and painful because all things that were believed to be the truth and real are becoming unclear. Once the truth is known (outside the cave) a person cannot go back to previous beliefs (as in the cave) (516e). It is hard to see things in a different way from that which you have been conditioned to know (515d). It is difficult to accept and understand new things. The life of the individual is being changed as they are told all previous beliefs are inconsequential. This is hard to accept. It is possible to live outside the cave once your mind is open and you try to understand the intelligible, not just the visible. You must try to understand the difference between non-reality (shadows and images reflected in the water) and reality (the image itself). When you permit yourself to see the good and rise above the cave you can live a full and rewarding life outside the cave. Living outside the cave is preferable to remaining in the dark because a greater understanding of life and the world around us is possible. While living in the cave prisoners only believe what they can see with their eyes. Outside the cave, people believe what they can see and process intellectually. However, once outside the cave you are compelled to return to the cave in an effort to teach the good about the world around us and to share these experiences with the prisoners of the cave who have yet to see the good. We must try to bind each other together (520a). The ability to learn is in everyone. Education assumes the person possesses a certain degree of knowledge and needs only to be pointed in the right direction to fully understand the knowledge that is there. The direction the individual is pointed in can be either good or bad. Education must address and teach the whole person, not just a part of the person.

Lifelines and Risks essays

Lifelines and Risks essays This book is an exercise in developmental science. Society is viewed at multiple levels, but Cairnes presents the perspective of childhood actions that consequence in future individuality. The main focus is on childhood violent aggression and its consequences for the future social development. At the beginning of the study, they discovered that unpopular people are the aggressive children. Aggression can evolve in all different areas, but the main focus is on the childhood actions. It has also been assumed that the roots of aggression lie in their failure to make basic social and emotional ties. More children are than threatened by parents, teachers and friends. Hostile, negative behavior at thirteen years old is predicted to be involved in school dropouts, serious violence, teenage parenthood and drug rehabilitation. A problem with authority normally leads to future social problems. The link with individual differences in aggression is not direct, but is mediated by other factors such as greater involvement with drugs, alcohol and peer groups. This study allowed psychologists to go beyond common sense assumptions about aggression and social development. There are many opinions as to why people have aggression, but in this book the psychologists have found that future events are affected by the past actions in many cases. This study was an important progress, but there are still many questions that is present. There is no set answer as to why children and adults have aggression, but thats why Cairnes is working very hard to bring out logical views. ...

Should You Guess on the ACT 5 Guessing Strategies

Should You Guess on the ACT 5 Guessing Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Because the ACT has no penalty for guessing, you should always guess on the ACT if you don’t know the answer.After all, leaving a question blank and guessing are functionally the same. This article will focus less on the technical aspects of whether it’s beneficial to guess on the ACT and more on strategies for guessing that might lead you to the right answer. After reading this guide, you should be able to score some additional lucky points on the ACT! Strategy 1: Eliminate Answer Choices Before Guessing The number one rule of guessing on the ACT is try to minimize your guessing. The first thing you should do when you come across a question that (at least partially) stumps you is to use the process of elimination.The more choices you can cross off, the better your chances of getting the question right will be. Don’t guess blindly just because you think you don’t know the answer; rather, read all the answer choices. Sometimes a question that seems difficult will be less so after you review the options you are given.When it comes down to it, the ACT only tests basic academic skills. Even if a question appears to ask about an unfamiliar subject, you might be able to solve it using simple logic. If you can only find one answer choice that's clearly incorrect, you'll still have a better shot at guessing the right answerfrom the remaining three choices, so don't be afraid- go for it! Strategy 2: Pick a Guessing Letter Before the Test What if you really, really can’t eliminate any answers?On these ACT questions, it's best to pick the same letter answer choice every time.In truth, you have a higher likelihood of getting questions right by guessing the same letter every time than by skipping around. But why? The reason is twofold.For one, using a guessing letter saves you time and ensures a random guess. If you've already decided you're going to go with a certain letter regardless of the question, you can preserve randomness and count on the law of averages to give you around one question correct out of every four guesses. If you skip around with your guesses, you're probably not guessing randomly, which means you're more likely to fall prey to the ACT's traps. The test will try to trick you with answer choices that seem more likely to be correct at first glance but are purposely placed there to ensnare unwitting students. If you don't pick a guessing letter beforehand, you're more likely to fall prey to these appealing but incorrect answers by making a guess that's not truly random. Pick one A through D letter (A, B, C, or D) and one F through J letter (F, G, H, or J) at random before the ACT,and stick to it for allofyour guesses.You can also plan to guess those letters on questions for which you've eliminated one or more answer choices (provided the guessing letters don't correspond with the choices you've already eliminated). BUBBLESSSS! The bubbles! Your bubbles. That you should always fill in on the ACT. (Please tell me you've all seen Finding Nemo.) Strategy 3: Move On and Guess Later Many students make the mistake of lingering on questions they don’t know, causing them to lose time that would be better spent on easier questions.If you really don’t know the correct answer, don’t waste your time dwelling on the question. But what's considered "wasting your time"? The ACT has pretty narrow time constraints. Here's a chart with an overview of the time limits on each section of the test: ACT Section Total Time # of Questions Time per Question English 45 minutes 75 36 seconds Math 60 minutes 60 60 seconds Reading 35 minutes 40 53 seconds Science 35 minutes 40 53 seconds On English, you get around 36 secondsto answer each question, so you should be able to figure out a strategy within the first 10 seconds or you need to skip it. By contrast, with Math,you get a minute on average for each question. If you haven't figured out a strategy to answer a question in the first 30 seconds of looking at it, move on to the next one. Reading and Science each give you around 53 seconds to answer each question, so for both sections 20 seconds or less per question is a good rule of thumb. Most of the time, you won't have to time yourself to realize when you're momentarily stumped. If you've read a question thoroughly and still feel unsure about how to solve it, skip it for now. At the end, you can come back to all the questions you skipped and see whether you're able to eliminate any answer choices before guessing. Overall, you really shouldn't be afraid of guessing on the ACT.I know all you perfectionists out there will be biting your nails at the possibility of guessing incorrectly (high school me certainly would be!). But don't sweat it.There’s nothing more you can do in that moment on the test to ensure that you choose the correct answer.If you get it wrong, you won’t lose points anyway! Strategy 4: Check Your Bubbles Before the Section Ends Another important point to emphasize is that you should always recheck your answer sheetthe last minute of a section to make sure all the bubbles are filled in. As I have said, no penalty for guessing means lots and lots of bubbling. Start training yourself to make dark marks in small circles, my friends, because you're going to want to fill in every bubble in sight on the ACT (not really every bubble ... I got carried away). Seriously, though, there's no reason to ever leave an ACT question blank! Don't cheat yourself by forgetting to answer a question you previously skipped in a section. For every four bubbles you leave blank, you miss out on one potential extra point on average, which can sometimes raise your score by a whole composite point. Most other students will be doing this, too. If you don't, you are essentially putting yourself at a disadvantage! Strategy 5: Plan by Considering Your Target ACT Score If you know your target ACT score, you can use this goal to help yourself feel a little more comfortable about guessing (or push yourself to find a solution to a question you're having trouble with). Here's an example of an official ACT scoring chart. This chart indicates how raw ACT scores (i.e., the number of questions you answered correctly on a section) generally convert into final scaled scores in the 1-36 range(I say "generally" asthese scores translate differently on each ACT): You can use this chart to figure out what your raw score needs to be in order to arrive at your target scaled score for a particular ACT section. Then, you'll know how many questions you can afford to answer incorrectly in each section. This is an easy way to take the stress out of guessing. If you already feel confident on enough ACT questions to reach your target score, the questions you aren't sure about are just potential bonus points. Also, if you find yourself guessing a lot on ACT practice testsand it's preventing you from reaching your target score, make sure youmark every question you guessed on (even if you got it right). This way, you can come back to it later and work on understanding the correct answer. Summary: The Best ACT Guessing Strategies To sum up, guessing on the ACT can be extremely beneficial. There are no point penalties on the test, so any (wrong) guesses you make won't count against you. Once again, here are the five ACT guessing strategies covered above: Always guess on the ACT! Fill in every bubble. There's no penalty, so just go for it. Eliminate wrong answers- always try to get rid of as many answer choices as possible before making your guess. Pick guessing letters(one for A, B, C, and D; and one for F, G, H, and J) before you take the ACT to use as your go-tos for blind guessing. Don’t spend too much time on questions that stump you. Be aware of your target ACT score when guessing so you have a clearer idea as to how many questions you can afford to get wrong. Good luck! What's Next? Want to practice these guessing strategies?Downloadthese free official ACT practice testsand our picks for the best ACT prep books to get started! Check out our article on how to get a 36 on ACT Reading,where we discuss in more detail how to eliminate wrong answer choices for this tricky section. You should alsotake a look at the best way to review your mistakes on the ACT.Hopefully you are doing some practice tests before you take the actual exam so you can target your weaknesses and avoid having to guess too much! Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today: