Post #26

Chapter 15, was actually full of information on the disorders, but it was hard to pick something specific enough to write about and relate to my own life. 

In the beginning of the chapter, the authors give a brief history on how mental patients once were forced into psych wards and chained down in beds with little social contact. After a long period of time, Dorothea Dix changed the way the United States viewed these patients. She set up an approach called moral treatment, which advocated that mental illness patients be treated with dignity. In 1950 a new drug came about, chloropromazine, that revolutionized mental health. Many patients were sent on remission because it worked so well, providing more reason to shut down mental institutions. With these people back on the street, it was a toss up whether or not they would become integrated into American life, or would fall back off the medication at a loss of follow-up programs. 

Media still portrays these mental institutions as prevalent. In the television show Revenge, the main actress' mother is seen in flashbacks as being strapped to a hospital bed and in some cases wearing a straight jacket. This is a poor display of reality because these methods are an exaggeration and would only be used in serious cases. 

Also, I was recently going through my family's genealogy and found a birth certificate I never knew of. It was for a great uncle who showed to be the youngest in the family of my grandmother's family. When I asked my dad about him, he told me that when he was born he had certain mental disabilities and grandma never knew him. It is an unspoken secret on that side of the family. But he was sent to a hospital, and my father does not know whether he is still around or not. He may have been one of those people locked up in a room in a straight jacket, or he could have been saved by the miracle drug. 

Post #25 Extra Credit #5

I recently posted about students taking the SAT or ACT and how well that reflects their intelligence, so reading and writing about this article seems to be a good follow up.

The article "Psychologists Debate the Meaning of Students Failing the SAT," is short but it gives a good idea to readers that there may be an actual problem with the test and the people taking it. The 2012 SAT scores showed fifty-seven percent of test takers did not meet standards which would make them successful in college. Scores were down among all demographics and groups, including socioeconomic status. And apparently a student's test scores do predict how well a student does in college as an incoming freshman. The article said that socioeconomic status was taken into account when calculating the decrease in scores. In the prediction of how well a student does in college, researchers take into account: GPA, SAT scores, and controlling both socioeconomic status, and parent's education, the results showed each thing has an impact on the college student's success.


Another thing I could relate to within the article, was the act of controlling certain factors within the study to prevent a bias or skewed results. I am taking AP Statistics and much of the same language I learned in that class. So it is interesting to see how well correlated the two classes are when it comes to the studies presented in psychology. I find I am noticing these things more often than not. In fact last chapter in Stats, Mr. Paulson (my teacher) referenced that what we would be taking about is something we talk about in CIS Psychology. And it turns out, this exact thing I am writing about, control groups and correlation, we spent a great deal talking about.

Post #24 Extra Credit #4

When reading the text, I forget which chapter of course, the idea of motivation really stuck to me. It didn't go much into depth about how to solve a lack of motivation or any science behind it, so I took it upon myself to understand it and hopefully better my own internal drive. 

I say to better myself, because the motivation in my life is not complete nor very strong if you will, to help me accomplish near anything on a timely basis. This is especially true when it comes to my school work. I find myself knowing and planning everything I have to do, in order to be in a well position, but I cannot consistently bring myself to actually do any of it. Doing my school work, will get me good grades, which in turn will get me scholarships for college and teach me good study habits for next year. Yes, I do understand that complete connection but again, I am just lacking in the motivation to even start the cycle. 

And as is so prevalent in class, I searched out a Ted talk on motivation. Through watching this talk I hoped to cure my short of desire in motivation and better myself in the coming months and years. 

Dan Pink gave a talk on 'The Puzzle of Motivation.' He was a very entertaining speaker and was able to keep my attention most of the eighteen minutes. At the beginning Pink actually presented the candle problem, which I already knew about because we had reviewed it in class. Then, he began talking about incentives. Incentives in the work area were proven to block creativity, or just not work. His basis off of how a work place works, made the extrinsic and intrinsic incentives/ motivators very applicable to my own way of thinking. Rewards narrow our focus and specializes our way of thinking, which is where the blocking creativity comes in. This idea is actually very surprising to myself because while searching on Pinterest one day, I saw a post of tricks to studying in college. One of these tricks was to reward yourself with an M&M after reading each paragraph in a college textbook. For myself, to read and study the Psychology textbook I use the same idea with modifications After each page I would eat an M&M, and soon enough I would be more interested in the text and forgot to reward myself.

So, Pink wasn't able to give specifics on how to better my study habits or improve my motivation, but some the broad spect ideas were really wonderful. Such as, he presented examples from Australia's work force and how they process, which makes them more productive. The country has days where they do not have to be at work at specific time, nor do they have any deadlines. The data showed their productivity actually went up. Taking this thought into consideration, my motivation could be improved by not worrying so much about when something needs to be done, and more on when I have time to do it. By doing so, I will probably be less stressed and find it easier to sit down and do work.

Post #23 Extra Credit #3

This morning I watched the movie The Vow for the first time, and it was a blatant example of most of chapter 6. In the movie, the actress suffers from memory loss and never regains it back, although her husband tries and tries to no avail. What is curious about her memory loss is that she only loses the memories she has with her current husband. She is stuck in a moment which, which she is engaged to a different man, has a different career choice, and is still in touch with her family.

The part of her brain which was damaged is the temporal lobe. I believe it to be this lobe because this is where autobiographical memory is stored. She lost much of her autobiographical memories, such as birthdays and dates, over an extent of numerous years. It is supposed to store memories of our past, and in this case their was a lesion which erased part of her past. During the diagnosis of the impairment, the doctor describes the problem to be in her frontal lobe however. She said there was swelling which may have put pressure upon her lobe causing the loss in memory.

Not only does this movie represent a quick review of the brain's functions, but also the idea of plasticity. Plasticity is the capability to heal and return to an original state. Plasticity is greatest when a person is in infancy and decreases with age. Given the woman's age in the movie, her plasticity is not wondrous. A woman in her twenties does not have much chance of regaining her lost memories, but she is still capable of functioning without.

While in the hospital and going through the process directly after the accident, the doctor performs and fMRI on the actress, which was really neat to actually see because the book's visuals do not compare to the action of performing such a concept. fMRIs are supposed to measure the blood oxygen levels within the brain and specific areas within. It was with this machine, the doctor was able to diagnose where teh most damage was done and also to explain what was happening to the husband.

Post #22 Extra Credit #2

Greed and generosity are to very different attributes where it seems as a person must be one or the other. Which is true as seen in the study described in the article "Greed, not Generosity, More Likely to be 'Paid Forward.'" The study sampled random people in a Massachusetts subway station having them play an economic game. This game involved a person receiving an amount of zero, three, or six dollars which was told to be what the previous person had chosen to give them. The person was then asked how much they would like to pass on to the next person, and so on. If people chose to be greedy initially they were more likely to continue the trend of greed.

In the second study shown, instead of money the administrators used work tasks, boring or engaging. Again the results showed greed taking the forefront, as people were more likely to perform the engaging tasks leaving the boring ones for the next person.

Both studies give evidence there is a drive for greed within in the work place and the world, providing a desire for success on the wrong terms. People's own selfishness creates their own successes. I think this idea is a sad attribute of the society we live in, and though I do not agree with the findings I think they are an accurate representation. People only give generously when they are required to do so or they know the answer they give will affect them personally. By the former I mean, if a person knows by choosing a work load for themselves a partner or close co-worker will get the leftovers, they would be more likely to split the boring and engaging work equally out of sympathy. Though the article does not provide evidence of this idea, I would be interested in finding the if there is any truth behind it.

From personal experience if I do not know the other person, I would be passing the six dollars onto I would be more likely to keep it for myself. I have no personal attachment towards the receiving person, nor do I feel as though I deserve any less than what I received.

Post #21

Within Chapter 11 a polygraph or lie detector test is actually more prominent in our culture then the authors give the test credit for. A polygraph test can measure multiple symptoms of a person lying, such as sweaty palms, respiration, skin conductance, and most typically an increase in blood pressure. When administering a polygraph test, the recipient would be attached to say a blood pressure monitor, while an administer would ask questions. These questions would start with a baseline of control and irrelevant questions. These questions would ascertain a baseline of the recipients blood pressure when answering simple questions. Questions such as stating your name, your age, or your views on certain subjects. 

The polygraph has been subject to much criticism because of the accuracy of it. The test captures arousal symptoms which may be lead on by questions bearing the possible thought of going to jail or answering in the wrong tense. I have witnessed the same example on an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians. In the episode, the mother takes a polygraph test to prove she is no longer in love with a man she cheated with many years ago. During the answering of the question, the line spikes as if to say she is lying when she answers no to still having feelings for him. After finishing the test, the administrator says the spike may have been caused by thinking about old feelings with the man or just becoming nervous that her heart may think differently than her mind. 

Accuracy can also be skewed by performing different tricks while answering questions to throw off the normality of the machine. These tricks can include: biting their tongues or curling their toes. The tricks are called countermeasures and can create a false-positive. 

Polygraph tests should not be used as a final decision in a trial or investigation, but can provide substantial evidence and a one up in certain instances. 

Post #20 Abnormal Psych

Abnormal psychology is a branch of psychology which studies unusual patterns or abnormalities in people and attempts to diagnose a cause and cure for the symptoms. The first abnormal disorder I thought of was OCD, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The generation of today, the term OCD is laughed off about people who are super organized and like to have things a certain way. I myself have been the butt of many of these jokes, and have also ascertained a few. But I know I am not seriously suffering from this abnormality, nor do I know anyone who is.

OCD is not only directed at being hyper organized, but is more of a disease which causes a person to obsess over certain ideas, such as: sex, aggression, or religion as the book states. People with this disorder do view themselves as crazy and have an innate sense something is wrong with them. If their obsessive thoughts do not give them away, their repetitive behaviors will. They possess compulsions or repetitive acts which allow them to relieve stress. This is where the organization comes in. People come into routines such as cleaning, which they feel the need to perform routinely, whether it be every day at a certain time or every hour. To be diagnosed with OCD, a person must spend at least an hour a day immersed in obessesions, compulsions, or both.

From the text, the disorder is an abnormality but it is becoming increasingly acceptable. Because multiple celebrities have spoken publicly about their disorder, the social norm is changing and it is becoming less of a monumental movement or status.

Post #19 Exam 3 Reflection

Well, I performed better on this test than I previously had on the others. This may be because the exam was only forty questions or perhaps it was because I finally figured out the most profitable way to study. Having only three chapters to study from made the process that much easier.

To study, I actually took a POA one day just to get caught up to a manageable point from which to start from. Routinely for each chapter, I would read it and then take the online quizzes for the chapter. And then I would go through the same chapter again, rereading it, taking notes on it, and using the study guide as a reference point. After the book work, I would watch each lecture, taking notes on them as well, and also using the study guide as reference point. This is the system I would use for each chapter.

And then the day of the test, it ended up working out I was taking the day off and then coming back for the test, I used some of the time I had that day to take and check my answers on the practice exams. Unfortunately, when I was taking the 2012 exam I found some of the answers to not match correctly. Many of the questions on practice exam were also on the actual test. And I believe having the wrong answers on the practice exam, reviewing those wrong answers as though they were right until it was too late, may have even worsened my score on the exam.

In the future I plan on using the same process for the next exam, only starting the process sooner. Also, I will attempt to make use of the organized review sessions as well as meeting with a classmate to go over the material.

Post #18

Chapter 10 I found to be severely boring and uninteresting. But I came upon the attachment styles which I found odd because Professor Simpson lectured on this for chapter 14 personality. So basically I already knew this before reading it, score. Although, the book through in the idea of disorganized attachment. This form of attachment is the rarest of styles. It in a nutshell, is when a mother returns to the child, the child appears dazed and comes up with multiple different responses. Fairly self-explanatory by its name. 

Also interesting, is how different the cultures set in. Japanese babies tend to fall more under the insecure-anxious category, where as American babies tend to fall under the insecure-avoidant category. The explanation for this was vague, but came down to the idea which American children are left alone more often than children from Japan are. I was one of those babies that was left alone a lot. My mother tells me stories of how I would sleep in a different room. The first few nights every time I would cry, one of my parents would come into check on me, but as time wore on they just stopped rushing to my side. And I have been independent my entire life since. 

I wish the text and the lecture, went further into any given research about how these styles affected people as they grew older because it was only tested in babies. Because maybe my parents off hand way of parenting when I was younger played a hand in how I am today. My mother also told me she was just as independent as me at my age, which goes along with the idea of off- hand parenting. Because my mother was the eighth child in her family, and at that point my grandmother just didn't 'care.' 

The text goes onto talk about correct parenting styles, which I found interesting too, though I am not planning on being a parent myself. The studies behind the different styles are only correlational and therefore cannot be taken seriously. But based off of the different styles presented, there seems to be a bias towards the authoritative. This is because it says, 'taking the best of both permissive and authoritative.' The statement shows a bias towards this style by its wording and also because it is claiming both styles have flaws and so authoritative is a combination of both but only the good parts of them. 

Post #17

"Be as smart as you can, but remember that it is always better to be wise than to be smart." -Alan Alda

Chapter 9 spanned across intelligence and how to measure it. This is relevant as high schooler, mainly because throughout our entire lives we have been told to study hard in preparation for college, and when we reach high school our intelligence is put to the test, literally. Taking the ACT or SAT can be the most daunting day of a person's life, because it is a test that carries a lot of weight and can determine what college you are able to go to and how the rest of your life will pan out because of that college.

When I took the ACT for the first time, I had the exact thought of my entire college and future life depends on this one test. Thinking this psyched me out and ended up not receiving the score I had hoped for. There is so much pressure riding on one test, it makes me wonder whether it is a true test to your intelligence or if there are more beneficial ways to assess your ability.

The text gives evidence that there is about a 0.7-0.8 correlation between an IQ test and the SAT. It then goes into statistical evidence and the way the experiment was conducted, which I actually understand because of my stats class. And seeing how the SAT and the IQ test are measuring different forms of intelligence it makes sense as to why it is not one hundred percent correlated.

It would be hard to imagine the rest of our lives being determined by an IQ test though. As demonstrated in class, many of the students thought having to reach a certain IQ before entering a job was not a good testament as to who the person was as a worker. Which, going back to the college entrance exams, carries the same idea. Colleges not only look at your test scores but also how you've progressed over your high school year and how you've carried yourself through extracurriculars.