What did you like about the class? All the material we covered was very interesting and I loved watching all those TV shows that related to psychology and the specials about real life experiments. I also thought Mrs. Halfen was a very good teacher and kept the lectures interesting and lively.
What was your favorite activity or project? I really liked the Play-doh brain model. It was fun and it was a great visual that helped me memorize for the tests. Other than that, we didn't do that many projects, but I think watching the TV shows also really enhanced what we learned in the textbook. It was fun to see how people really act in the ways that psychologists have studied.
What didn't you like about the class? I think the only thing that could make this class better was if it were given a longer teaching period. One semester is definitely not enough to learn all of what psychology teaches. If we had more time, then we could probably learn in greater detail and do more projects.
What do you think I should leave out next year? We could probably do without the "Stepping Through The Section" that we did earlier in the semester. Just writing out notes/outlining was better in getting me to really read through the chapter.
Do you have any suggestions or ideas for things I could do next year in AP Psych? I think we should spend more time on the social and abnormal psychology chapters and possibly do a project about the different types of disorders rather than just blogging about them on our own.
Do you have any suggestions or ideas for next semester in AP Econ? I don't know yet.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
Week 5 - Psychology Today
As the end of 2008 is approaching, there have been reviews of amazing psychological breakthroughs and research. Specifically, the study of anti-depressants and its possible deadly side-effects.
On a regular day in February on Northern Illinois University's serene campus, tragedy struck. Stephen Phillip Kazmierczak, a 27 year old student, killed 5 classmates and injured 20 others. Then, with ammunition still left over, he turned the gun and shot himself. Campus shootings just like this seem to be on the rise. With seemingly normal students walking the streets one day then, crazed gunmen running rampant around the school the next day. Police investigators belive that in Kazmierczak's case that an imbalance in his psychiatric mediactions led to his sudden erratic behavior.
But psychologists think otherwise. There have been many cases where patients go on and off their anti-depressant medications and they did not show any signs of murderous thought or activity. However, Kazmierczak's behavior may have been attributed to more than just his medications. Life was tough on him--he joined the army, but was discharged for unspecified reasons, his live-in girlfriend had walked out on him, and was clearly depressed (since he was taking anti-depressants). But with all that factored in, is it enough to make someone crave blood and death?
The media jumped to conclusions assuming that Kazmierczak had a mental disorder, but there are no clear links between mental illnesses and violent behavior. The reason behind his killing--no one knows for sure. It is too late, now to ask and provide help to this obviously distressed student. But, there can be some possible inquiries about his actions. The situations that Kazmierczak faced in the past year must have played a larger role in his life than anyone could have anticipated. The disconnection with an intimate friend can do a lot of damage to one's self-esteem, which in turn could cause one to make rash decisions, like murder. Every individual's defense mechanism is to turn all of one's problems onto someone else--anyone else, to make them feel the pain and hurt that you experienced. Unfortunately, going off his medications must have also fueled the flame, causing Kazmierczak to put his angst and anger into action.
Though it was too late for Kazmierczak and the 5 other students that passed away. Such violence can be stopped, if people would just be more aware of their surrounds--of other people's feelings and needs. This troubling tragedy at Northern Illinois University is more than just a psychological expo or a research op. It's real life and real people.
On a regular day in February on Northern Illinois University's serene campus, tragedy struck. Stephen Phillip Kazmierczak, a 27 year old student, killed 5 classmates and injured 20 others. Then, with ammunition still left over, he turned the gun and shot himself. Campus shootings just like this seem to be on the rise. With seemingly normal students walking the streets one day then, crazed gunmen running rampant around the school the next day. Police investigators belive that in Kazmierczak's case that an imbalance in his psychiatric mediactions led to his sudden erratic behavior.
But psychologists think otherwise. There have been many cases where patients go on and off their anti-depressant medications and they did not show any signs of murderous thought or activity. However, Kazmierczak's behavior may have been attributed to more than just his medications. Life was tough on him--he joined the army, but was discharged for unspecified reasons, his live-in girlfriend had walked out on him, and was clearly depressed (since he was taking anti-depressants). But with all that factored in, is it enough to make someone crave blood and death?
The media jumped to conclusions assuming that Kazmierczak had a mental disorder, but there are no clear links between mental illnesses and violent behavior. The reason behind his killing--no one knows for sure. It is too late, now to ask and provide help to this obviously distressed student. But, there can be some possible inquiries about his actions. The situations that Kazmierczak faced in the past year must have played a larger role in his life than anyone could have anticipated. The disconnection with an intimate friend can do a lot of damage to one's self-esteem, which in turn could cause one to make rash decisions, like murder. Every individual's defense mechanism is to turn all of one's problems onto someone else--anyone else, to make them feel the pain and hurt that you experienced. Unfortunately, going off his medications must have also fueled the flame, causing Kazmierczak to put his angst and anger into action.
Though it was too late for Kazmierczak and the 5 other students that passed away. Such violence can be stopped, if people would just be more aware of their surrounds--of other people's feelings and needs. This troubling tragedy at Northern Illinois University is more than just a psychological expo or a research op. It's real life and real people.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Week 4 - Personality Tests
Jung Typology Test
This personality test evaluates the breakdown of percentages in different categories. My results were ESFJ. After answering a series of questions, I was said to be 22% extraverted, 25% Sensing, 50% feeling, and 78% judging. The test also brought up a few possible career paths that may suit me: management, sales/marketing specialist, fashion merchandising, social work, and education. They place people who scored about the same as me in the category of "guardians" who are usually: emotional, in charge, mothering, and people who senes danger all around. I felt that the results were quite accurate. I do tend to take leadership when situations call for me to respond that way and I am pretty emotional (when I see people cry, even in movies, it makes me cry). Also, I do get paranoid easily which would satisfy the "people who sense danger all around" result. The occupations listed were also surprisingly all fields that I at one point had an interest in, like being a teacher, fashion or interior desinger. I was very close to chosing marketing as my major for college. Overall, this Jung Typology Test is very accurate (it's amazing how just after a few questions they pretty much know your whole life story!)
Big Five Personality Test
This test measures the Big Five dimensions of adult normal personalities. The five styles are Expressive, Interpersonal, Work, Emotional, Intellectual. Out of 5, I scored a 2.9 on Expressive Style and people who scored the same as I are usually those who are active and confident in expressing enthusiasm and excitement, but do not want all eyes on them. I scored a 4.2 on Interpersonal Style and people with similar scores are very sympathetic to others' feelings and are good at maintaing relationships. I received a 4.7 on Work Style and those who scored the same as I are people that value commitment and responsibility, but do not really like change. They are very punctual, organized, and reliable. I also scored a 2.6 for Emotional Style and people who scored similarily usually express strong emotion during times of stress or frustration. These people are often tempermental and easily jealous. For Intellectual Style, I scored a 3.6 and those who received the same score are those who resist taking orders from other people. They are also the people who are creative, imaginative, and often challenge tradition. For the most part, I felt that the test results were accurate in most of the styles. I am, like they predicted, expressive, but also reserved when I meet new people. I also am very sympathetic to others' needs and problems. When it comes to working, I am responsible, organized, and reliable, as it suggested. During times of stress, I tend to over react and get frustrated when things are unexpected. I think I'm creative and imaginative, too, but I'm not so sure about the challenging tradition part. But all in all, like the previous one, this test seems to be rather accurate.
Attraction Test
This test asks for you to rate some characteristics that would be important in determining one's attraction. Then test presented fifty pictures of men that were supposed to fit those descriptions. I was to rate the attractiveness of them and the test gave results broken up into different dimensions. Apparently under the Counter-Culture dimension, I find guys that look rebellious and non-traditional slightly more attractive than the average woman. Then under the Seductiveness category, I find those men who appear sexually appealing and seductive less attractive than the average woman. For Cheerfulness, I found those men who appeared friendly slightly more attractive than the average. Then for Intelligence, I found the men who seemed to look intellegent signficantly more attractive than the average woman would. Finally, for the Trendy dimension, I found those who were supposed to look fashionable, urban, and trendy to be fairly attractive, but no more or less than the average woman would. This test was interesting, but I was pretty shocked at my results, because they do not seem very accurate. I don't think that by simply rating random people can really determine my tastes in guys. Also, I strongly believe that there is much more than just appearances that factor in to the attractiveness of a man. This test was more for laughs than for accuracy.
Big Seven Personality Test
This test is a measure of the Big Seven dimensions of adult normal personality. The seven personality discriptions are Ambition, Sociability, Likeability, Prudence, Adjustment, School Success, Intellectance. I scored high on Ambition, which means I am supposedly self-confident in social situations and find it easy to meet new people. I think that I should have scored medium on that, because I need time to warm up to people and I don't always find it easy to talk to strangers. I scored low on Sociability, which means I value privacy and am supposed to be quiet or shy. I think that contradicts what the test results said I was in the Ambition part. Also, I am not really shy around the people I know. Then for the Likeability part, I scored high, which means I am like people who are sympathetic and kind, which I think is pretty accurate. I scored high on Prudence, which means I am like those who value commitment and responsibility, which is true. I am organized, reliable, and follow the rules. For Adjustment, I scored low, which means I am like those who don't work well under stressful situations and are usually moody. I do stress out easily, but I don't think that I am necessarily moody all the time. I scored medium on School Success, suggesting that I enjoy most of what we do in school and understand things quickly, but do not consider myself an intellectual--which I find to be very accurate. For Intellectance, I scored medium which means I am open to less conventional ideas some times and can be seen as a progressive. I can agree to that; I don't go crazy over radical ideas, but am open to new things. This test along with the Big Five Test is probably the most accurate out of all the personality tests I took.
Deviant Personality Test
This test breaks down to eight major dimensions: Lack of Ethics, Dishontesty, Misanthropy, Arrogance, Dominance, Self-Aggrandizement, Impulsiveness, and Lack of Feelings. These eight traits make up three-super traits, which are Trusting vs. Manipulative, Self-Assurance, and Hero/Rogue. I scored lower than average on the Trusting vs. Manipulative trait which indicates that I am more trusting than the average person taking the test. I also, scored slightly below average on the Self-Assurance portion, which means that I less self-assured or confident than the average person. I am sometimes doubtful of my choices, but for the most part, I am confident when I speak to others or when I make decisions. For the Hero/Rogue part, I scored lower than the average person, which means that I am like those who are more fightened than average when it comes to emergency situations. These people are also more aware of danger and are more law-abiding than the average person. I agree with that. I usually follow all the rules and get easily paranoid. This personality test is pretty accurate overall.
This personality test evaluates the breakdown of percentages in different categories. My results were ESFJ. After answering a series of questions, I was said to be 22% extraverted, 25% Sensing, 50% feeling, and 78% judging. The test also brought up a few possible career paths that may suit me: management, sales/marketing specialist, fashion merchandising, social work, and education. They place people who scored about the same as me in the category of "guardians" who are usually: emotional, in charge, mothering, and people who senes danger all around. I felt that the results were quite accurate. I do tend to take leadership when situations call for me to respond that way and I am pretty emotional (when I see people cry, even in movies, it makes me cry). Also, I do get paranoid easily which would satisfy the "people who sense danger all around" result. The occupations listed were also surprisingly all fields that I at one point had an interest in, like being a teacher, fashion or interior desinger. I was very close to chosing marketing as my major for college. Overall, this Jung Typology Test is very accurate (it's amazing how just after a few questions they pretty much know your whole life story!)
Big Five Personality Test
This test measures the Big Five dimensions of adult normal personalities. The five styles are Expressive, Interpersonal, Work, Emotional, Intellectual. Out of 5, I scored a 2.9 on Expressive Style and people who scored the same as I are usually those who are active and confident in expressing enthusiasm and excitement, but do not want all eyes on them. I scored a 4.2 on Interpersonal Style and people with similar scores are very sympathetic to others' feelings and are good at maintaing relationships. I received a 4.7 on Work Style and those who scored the same as I are people that value commitment and responsibility, but do not really like change. They are very punctual, organized, and reliable. I also scored a 2.6 for Emotional Style and people who scored similarily usually express strong emotion during times of stress or frustration. These people are often tempermental and easily jealous. For Intellectual Style, I scored a 3.6 and those who received the same score are those who resist taking orders from other people. They are also the people who are creative, imaginative, and often challenge tradition. For the most part, I felt that the test results were accurate in most of the styles. I am, like they predicted, expressive, but also reserved when I meet new people. I also am very sympathetic to others' needs and problems. When it comes to working, I am responsible, organized, and reliable, as it suggested. During times of stress, I tend to over react and get frustrated when things are unexpected. I think I'm creative and imaginative, too, but I'm not so sure about the challenging tradition part. But all in all, like the previous one, this test seems to be rather accurate.
Attraction Test
This test asks for you to rate some characteristics that would be important in determining one's attraction. Then test presented fifty pictures of men that were supposed to fit those descriptions. I was to rate the attractiveness of them and the test gave results broken up into different dimensions. Apparently under the Counter-Culture dimension, I find guys that look rebellious and non-traditional slightly more attractive than the average woman. Then under the Seductiveness category, I find those men who appear sexually appealing and seductive less attractive than the average woman. For Cheerfulness, I found those men who appeared friendly slightly more attractive than the average. Then for Intelligence, I found the men who seemed to look intellegent signficantly more attractive than the average woman would. Finally, for the Trendy dimension, I found those who were supposed to look fashionable, urban, and trendy to be fairly attractive, but no more or less than the average woman would. This test was interesting, but I was pretty shocked at my results, because they do not seem very accurate. I don't think that by simply rating random people can really determine my tastes in guys. Also, I strongly believe that there is much more than just appearances that factor in to the attractiveness of a man. This test was more for laughs than for accuracy.
Big Seven Personality Test
This test is a measure of the Big Seven dimensions of adult normal personality. The seven personality discriptions are Ambition, Sociability, Likeability, Prudence, Adjustment, School Success, Intellectance. I scored high on Ambition, which means I am supposedly self-confident in social situations and find it easy to meet new people. I think that I should have scored medium on that, because I need time to warm up to people and I don't always find it easy to talk to strangers. I scored low on Sociability, which means I value privacy and am supposed to be quiet or shy. I think that contradicts what the test results said I was in the Ambition part. Also, I am not really shy around the people I know. Then for the Likeability part, I scored high, which means I am like people who are sympathetic and kind, which I think is pretty accurate. I scored high on Prudence, which means I am like those who value commitment and responsibility, which is true. I am organized, reliable, and follow the rules. For Adjustment, I scored low, which means I am like those who don't work well under stressful situations and are usually moody. I do stress out easily, but I don't think that I am necessarily moody all the time. I scored medium on School Success, suggesting that I enjoy most of what we do in school and understand things quickly, but do not consider myself an intellectual--which I find to be very accurate. For Intellectance, I scored medium which means I am open to less conventional ideas some times and can be seen as a progressive. I can agree to that; I don't go crazy over radical ideas, but am open to new things. This test along with the Big Five Test is probably the most accurate out of all the personality tests I took.
Deviant Personality Test
This test breaks down to eight major dimensions: Lack of Ethics, Dishontesty, Misanthropy, Arrogance, Dominance, Self-Aggrandizement, Impulsiveness, and Lack of Feelings. These eight traits make up three-super traits, which are Trusting vs. Manipulative, Self-Assurance, and Hero/Rogue. I scored lower than average on the Trusting vs. Manipulative trait which indicates that I am more trusting than the average person taking the test. I also, scored slightly below average on the Self-Assurance portion, which means that I less self-assured or confident than the average person. I am sometimes doubtful of my choices, but for the most part, I am confident when I speak to others or when I make decisions. For the Hero/Rogue part, I scored lower than the average person, which means that I am like those who are more fightened than average when it comes to emergency situations. These people are also more aware of danger and are more law-abiding than the average person. I agree with that. I usually follow all the rules and get easily paranoid. This personality test is pretty accurate overall.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Week 3 - Personality Disorders
Dear Mom,
College is horrible. My roommate is incredibly messy and all her clothes always cross the invisible line that I clearly set up between my side of the room and hers. She is constantly leaving trash on the floor that floods over to my side. What's worse is the community bath. The conditions are simply deplorable! The shower curtain is too thin and moldy. The disgusting soap residue left around the corners of the shower are so disgusting! I cannot stand my dorm's pathetic excuse for a shower!
However, you'll be happy to hear that I have created a lovely spread sheet of all my class and assignments for the whole entire month. I even created a schedule for my every day tasks and I pinned it up perfectly above my desk. However the worst thing happened one day, when my roommate came in with all her friends during my specified and scheduled study session! I was so angry and could not believe that she didn't read my schedule. I even gave her a copy of it at the begining of the semester and yet she still did not follow it! I am still extremely angry at her. I think I will write her another set of rules that clearly explains when it would be completely inappropriate to bring in all her loud and messy friends while I try to study for my exam that is in three months! I really need it completely silent when I study and my roommate is not helping at all!
Well, enough about my lousy roommate. My professor recently assigned a project, but unfortunately I have to work in a group. I hate working with others. They are just so incompetent--especially the group I am stuck with. I just had to take care of everything myself. First of all, we were supposed to meet exactly at 6 o'clock, but no one even showed up until 6:04. I emailed every single one of them each day to remind them that we had to meet up and brainstorm ideas, yet none of them had researched anything yet! And we were given the assignment yesterday! That was more than enough time for me to research my portion of the project, make a fruit salad, and go to yoga class for an hour! These people are just so irresponsible; I need to ask my professor if he can just let me do the project alone!
Oh, I can't write anymore. My schedule indicates that it's time for me to organize my closet. I do this three times a week, making sure that every thing is color-coordinated and hung by seasonal order. The tank-tops go first, then the short sleeves, followed by the long sleeves. The summer clothes go in the front, then fall and winter clothes, respectively, then the spring clothes go in the back. One of my shirts actually, shrunk a lot in the evil dorm dryer, but I can't bear to spend my birthday money on buying another, because I need to save everything I can just in case I need it later. Any catastrophe can happen in college--I may very well concoct a terrible disease from that sickening food from the dorm cafeteria. Well, anyways I will write more to you at a time that fits better into my schedule, though it's highly unlikely because I have so much to do this month.
Sincerely, Melissa
Friday, November 21, 2008
Week 2 - A Case Study: Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Case Study 9: A 27-year-old, athletic young man has an intense fear of needles. He tries to rationalize his fear by explaining that he is just being cautious and protecting himself from acquired immunodeficiency disease syndrome (AIDS). He realizes that his fear is irrational but is unable to control it. The patient has fainted twice in the past when his blood was drawn during a physical examination. He becomes extremely anxious at the sight of a needle and worries for days before an appointment with his physician or dentist.
According to the symptoms exhibited in this patient, it can be concluded that this young man has a form of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Under the diagnostic criteria of GAD, patients show excessive anxiety (often occuring for more than a few days) about an upcoming event. This young man who is afraid of needles feels apprehensive even days before his medical appointment. Also, patients with this disorder find it very difficult to control and suppress their anxiety. Anxiety disorder patients also show symptoms of being easily fatigued, which may explain why this athletic young man fainted when he saw a needle. Therefore, this young man who is deadly afraid of needles may be diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Luckily, there are possible modes of therapy that will help patients cope with their anxiety. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one type of therapy that is very helpful in treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder. CBT consists of five components that help patients overcome their anxiety.
According to the symptoms exhibited in this patient, it can be concluded that this young man has a form of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Under the diagnostic criteria of GAD, patients show excessive anxiety (often occuring for more than a few days) about an upcoming event. This young man who is afraid of needles feels apprehensive even days before his medical appointment. Also, patients with this disorder find it very difficult to control and suppress their anxiety. Anxiety disorder patients also show symptoms of being easily fatigued, which may explain why this athletic young man fainted when he saw a needle. Therefore, this young man who is deadly afraid of needles may be diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Luckily, there are possible modes of therapy that will help patients cope with their anxiety. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one type of therapy that is very helpful in treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder. CBT consists of five components that help patients overcome their anxiety.
- Education: If the patient learns more about his/her diagnosis, they will be able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy worrying.
- Monitoring: Patients will identify what exactly causes them to worry and the duration of the worrying, which will help patients track their progress.
- Physical Control Strategies: CBT trains patients to use deep breathing techniques and muscle relaxation in response to stressful situations.
- Cognitive Control Strategies: Patients will evaluate their thoughts and alter their thinking patterns, which will cause their feelings of anxiety to calm down.
- Behavioral Strategies: CBT encourages patients to conquer their fears instead of avoiding them. This helps patients to take control of their fear and become more comfortable around it.
CBT examines distortions in the way patients view the world and themselves. It is very helpful in identifying negative thoughts that contribute to the anxiety and providing an alternative viewpoint that lessens the stress.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Week 1 - Celebrities With Psychological Disorders
Karen Carpenter, singer of the popular 1970's sibling duo The Carpenters, was known for her perfect pitch and amazing drumming skills. She and her brother, Richard Carpenter first signed with A&M Records in 1969. She started off as the lead singer and sang most of the songs on their first album. Although she was a celebrity and had amazing musical talents, Karen Carpenter was also a victim of anorexia nervosa.With the stress of her music career, Karen Carpenter was unable to have stable, long-term relationships. Though she married a real-estate developer, Thomas Burris in 1980, she soon divorced him, which led to more stress. As a celebrity, Karen Carpenter was not satisfied with her looks until she had the best and thinnest body. Her fans and friends also told her that she looked good when she was down to only 115 pounds during her water diet. She had been prone to crash-dieting for years and had been going to a psychotherapist to treat her anorexia, which was a little known disease back then. Still, her anorexia affected her musical performances. She would have to lie down between shows because she was too weak. During one of her shows in Las Vegas, she even collapsed on stage, frightening her family and the audience. After that incident, she went to more doctors and therapists and even believed she was almost cured. Unfortunately, the absence of a constant healthy diet as she toured on the road along with over-doses of medications and lack of sleep did not help her fully recover--it created more problems. On February 4, 1983, about a month before her thirty-third birthday, Karen Carpenter at a feeble 80 pounds went into cardiac arrest and died due to chemical imbalances in her body linked to her anorexia. The death of Karen Carpenter shocked the nation and opened their eyes to the seriousness and danger of anorexia nervosa.
Many women in our country suffer from anorexia nervosa. What's worse is that many celebrities, who are role models for many young girls fall victim to this disorder as well, so the image of the pencil-thin super models becomes the ideal. However, many women are not built to be that thin. Every person is born with a different body shape and size, which should be appreciated and loved, but that it often not the reaction that girls have to their unique bodies. While comparing themselves to celebrities and their own friends, many women do not feel beautiful, so they try dieting and hyper-exercising, which are all dangerous methods of treating one's body. Anorexia is a terrible disease that not physically destroys a person, but also tears down one's self-image. This psychological disorder must be treated, before any more women are fooled by their bathroom mirror. These ladies need to find a healthy alternative and realize that they are not alone in their struggle with anorexia nervosa.
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