Divorce: Spotlight Post #1

In the Article, Divorce Not Always Bad for Kids, the author, Rachael Rettner, discusses how children are better off with divorced parents than living with parents who fight often. She stated, “Constant exposure to their parents’ strife is likely what causes children’s future relationships to suffer”(Rettner). This sounds sensible because it is a known fact that children are impressionable. To see their parents exemplify volatile behavior can lead to future volatile behavior in their personal relationships. In a similar article titled, Divorce Doesn’t Harm Children – Parents Fighting Harms Child, the author, Susan Gadoua, expresses how staying married for the sake of the children does not benefit them at all. Gadoua asserts, “Children are resilient and when you are happy, they are much more likely to be happy”(Gadoua). While additionally stating, “Regardless of whether parents stay together or split, if there is fighting going on between them, the children will suffer”(Gadoua). I agree that any form of conflict coming from the parents will later affect the children. It does not matter if the parents choose to stay together or not, if conflicts continue to arise, the children will likely be harmed mentally and emotionally.

On the contrary, some researchers have argued that the separation of parents will hurt their children in the long-run. With divorce rates soaring in the United States, the number of potentially scarred children increases as well. In the short article, Divorce ‘permanently harms learning and affects their ability to make friends’, Jenny Hope, discusses one interesting finding that entails how children with divorced parents tend to struggle in the educational environment. She states, “By following 3,585 children from around the age of four — Children of divorce experience setbacks in maths test scores and show problems with interpersonal skills and internalizing behavior”(Hope). This is a reasonable finding because divorce forces children to deal with personal matters that can consume them to the point of losing interest in their academics. Children can also become so consumed with their feelings and no longer have the ability to be attentive in the educational/social setting. Additionally, the article, Divorce Hurts: Three Ways Divorce Harms Children, the author discusses how children need a sense of stability to feel comfortable with their everyday lives. Parents who divorce are interrupting the “routine” that children have and wish to stick to. Later in the article the author discusses how the loss of a parent leads to the loss of material things. By the parents splitting “the child may still feel a sense of loss because that parent is no longer present in the household” and children lose out on material things because “it costs more to operate two households than it costs to operate one”.

In my opinion, the divorce process should be depicted as a peaceful one. This is an emotionally challenging event in a child’s life and to see their parents in conflict, only adds to the trauma. If a married couple is unhappy with one another, they should split. Staying in a marriage for the sake of the children will not make the children turn out to be better individuals. Experiencing consistent conflict will cause them to have behavioral issues themselves later in life. What’s important is what’s being depicted in front of the children.

Sources:

“Divorce Hurts: Three Ways Divorce Harms Children.” Meriwether & Tharp, LLC. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.
Hope, Jenny. “Divorce ‘permanently Harms Learning and Affects Their Ability to Make Friends’.” Daily Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 02 June 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.
Rettner, Rachael. “Divorce Not Always Bad for Kids.” LiveScience. Purch, 30 June 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Gadoua, Susan Pease. “Divorce Doesn’t Harm Children – Parents Fighting Harms Child.” Psychology Today. N.p., 15 Nov. 2009. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Intelligence

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Brown eyes vs blue eyes: Jane Elliot, a third grade teacher decided to teach her class what arbitrary discrimination felt like. In the experiment she had the power to shape the reality of her students and she did just that. According to Elliot, blue-eyed people were smarter than brown-eyed people. Brown-eyed people were not allowed to play with blue-eyed people. Brown-eyed people were portrayed as a “menace” to society just as African-Americans are in the United States. Brown-eyed people soon began to associate their eye color with bad qualities. When interviewed the kids said the discrimination was just as bad as whites calling black people “niggers”. On the contrary, blue-eyed people felt superior and happy while brown-eyed people felt hateful toward themselves and discriminators. The speaker discussed how minimal differences can be the basis of discrimination when authorities add value to one group and devalue the other, while later posing the question of, “how do we teach people compassion after they have experienced suffering”? The psychological component to being discriminated against not only affects your social interactions with others but also your performance in many areas. For instance, brown-eyed students, after being discriminated against, began to perform poorly on tests and assignments. Blue-eyed children’s feeling of superiority helped them perform better on tests and assignments. I believe as an educator the best approach would be to create a positive environment for all children to thrive in. In high-school we were given equal opportunity to thrive in the educational environment. If more schools were like my school children would not struggle as much with their self-esteem in school.

Stereotype Threat: When facing a negative stereotype, one’s performance will confirm that the stereotype is true. You can experience a sense of threat that you will be treated in terms of the stereotype. Anxiety is a detrimental factor that keeps people from doing their best. Everyone experiences negative stereotypes depending on the groups they associate themselves with. In the video, the researchers conducted a study on a mixed racial class. When students were told the task was a test of athletic ability, African-Americans performed better. When told the task was a test of sports strategy, the White students out performed the African-American students. Stereotypes are the reason both groups of people felt intimidated while doing certain tasks. African-Americans had already subconsciously associated themselves with having athletic abilities, while the Whites felt superior in the intellectual field. If we could find a way to break free from the stereotypical ideas that are embedded in our brains, then we would be able to see the potential that we all have to be successful at any task.

Pygmalion Effect: During the Ted Talk given by Dr. Alia Crum, one example involved researchers in Italy who studied patients undergoing a painful surgery. This included multiple incisions in the body to later gain access to the heart/lungs. Patients were given strong doses of morphine sulfate. In the study, half of the patients were given the dose of morphine by a doctor directly. The other half were given the dose of morphine by a pre-programmed pump. Both groups of patients were given the same dose but did not experience the same amount of relief. The group that wasn’t aware of the pre-programmed pump felt less relieved of the pain than the group who had a doctor directly give it to them. Are you getting fitter, healthier, stronger because you believe you are? Well according to the example, the patients felt better because the act of knowing allowed them to somehow link their mind with their body. I think we can apply this situation to our everyday lives in terms of living a happier life. It is not always up to a certain product, person, or circumstance to help you feel better about life. It can just be a psychological thing. If we learn to expect the best out of situations then our minds and bodies will follow.

Removing negative stereotypes from certain groups of people and adding positive stereotypes to all groups collectively will allow an increase in the performance, health, and confidence of individuals.

Violence

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I disagree with the majority when discussing the effects that violent video games have on children. I believe violent video games can serve as an outlet for children and adults. As humans, we need stimulation, excitement, and also an outlet to help release tension that builds up over time. Violent video games are not making children more violent, they are revealing our true human nature and what it is that we find exciting.

Video games can be seen as a healthy mechanism when coping with anger and frustration. Rather than destroying the source of your pain, you can turn to a video game and release your anger out on a fictional being. Video games are not introducing children to violence– they are ridding them of their potential violent attacks. Children and adults are well aware of the violence and misfortunes that life presents. So a video game should not be blamed for the introduction of crime. We know life is crappy and video gaming has provided a way to cope with it.

According to Obama, there has been “huge drops in the murder rates” in major crime cities such as Dallas, New York, and Los Angeles. What does violent video gaming have to do with the declining long-term crime trend? Well gaming has become one of the many activities that humans can turn to to release stress or frustration. Other activities that are useful would be practicing the art of boxing, karate, football, and etc. Contact sports and violent video games all involve the interaction with a “human” form that allows us to relieve ourselves by being physical.

Source: Robertson, Lori. “Dueling Claims on Crime Trend.” FactCheck.org. The Wire, 13 July 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

Sleep

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In the TED Talk, Russell Foster, outlines different theories that explains our need for sleep. He went on to discuss how 32 years of the human life is spent sleeping, which helps highlight how important sleep is to the human body.

Why do we sleep? According to Foster, restoration is one of the main reasons we need sleep. Through sleep we are able to restore the energy that we burned throughout the day. Also, sleeping at night tends to enhance our overall creativity because of “neural synaptic connections” are linked and strengthened while those that are less important tend to “fade away” (Foster).

Furthermore, Foster went on to discuss the effects of sleep deprivation stating that 31 percent of drivers microsleep and these instant uncontrollable naps are due to different energy draining attributes. He states, “Tired people are sometimes massively stressed which can result in memory loss — but stress can also cause the loss of sleep”. Weight gain was also a consequence of sleep deprivation. If you sleep 5 hours or less every night then you have a 50 percent more likelihood of being obese. This is due to sleep loss causing an increase in the release of the hunger hormone “ghrelin” which activates the hypothalamus.

How to detect sleep deprivation? Chances are you are sleep deprived if you, “rely on your alarm clock, you appear tired to others, you are easily irritable, you need tons of stimulants, and it takes you a long time to get out of bed” (Foster).

How to prevent sleep deprivation? Your bedroom should be turned into a “sleep haven” that will help encourage you to sleep. At the end of the day a light source in the room should not be allowed, but in the morning it could help you get into your biological sleep routine. I think that this method will help college students a lot in that it encourages us to sleep at night and rise for classes in the morning. A realistic amount of sleeping hours for college students should be 7-8 hours a night. According to the idea of restoration, 10-12 hours of sleep during the weekend would be beneficial for college students as well.

Memory

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In the TED talk the speaker, Elizabeth Loftus, discusses how her job is to study when people remember events or “think” they can recall an event to full extent. Studying when people forget is opposite of what Loftus finds truly important when discussing memory. She goes on to state how there is an even bigger problem in society when people tend to “think” they can recall memories — that can potentially hurt the individual being accused.

For instance, there are 300 innocent people being convicted due to false memories. With rapidly advanced technology, DNA can help us prove that the individuals did not commit the crimes they are being charged for. People are more likely to believe the victim because we rely on memory to help us recall events. Though, society has the wrong idea of how memory works and how strongly we can rely on it. False memories are common and should be investigated thoroughly to prevent innocent individuals from being hurt.

Loftus, continues by discussing misinformation from witnesses and secondary sources in general. In the 1990s therapy resulted in huge problems of extreme memories that did not actually occur. Where do the bizarre memories come from? Dream interpretation, hypnosis, and more psychobabble therapy tactics that the general public seem to find attractive. Loftus and her team conducted an experiment that involved development of false memories by actually planting false memories into the minds of their subjects. This allowed Loftus to test out her theory and also apply is to current circumstances that needed immediate evaluation.

Personally, I do not believe that memory should be tampered with. Not by others or the individual. Memory should be left to function on its own. If a person experiences traumatic events throughout their life, those events should not be repressed or altered into another memory. Tricking the brain is like tricking reality. Your mind and perceptions are your reality, so to falsify memory is to falsify the way you perceive life.

Exploring the Mind of a Serial Killer

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I chose to talk about this specific topic because I have always been interested in what exists in the minds of serial killers. Their motive/drive has always been an interest of mine. I enjoy watching documentaries based on serial killers in America. My favorite serial killers to research are Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer, because they were no fans of random selection. The people they chose as victims had much in common. At the end of each documentary, the researcher always pose the question of, “What drove this kind of behavior?” As the audience we too, would like to know what is driving this kind of volatile behavior, while hoping the behavior can be avoided or reversed.

How do you end up with a psychopathic killer? According to Jim Fallon, there are three components that tie into the development of a psychopathic killer: genes, brain damage, and environment. Epigenetic effect is the interaction of genes, brain damage, and the environment. A psychopathic killer behavior is likely based on the timing of these three components.

What I found to be most interesting is our brain’s ability to become insensitive to Serotonin. Serotonin is supposed to make us kind and relaxed but while in utero, the MAOA gene (major violence gene) makes us aggressive if there is too much Serotonin. The brain becomes insensitive to Serotonin, so kind and relaxed behavior is not effective. Also, the MAOA gene is on the X chromosome, so it is only inherited from the mother. As a result, men are more likely to be psychopathic killers and aggressive by nature.

While viewing the talk, the researcher seemed to be fairly trustworthy with his findings. Though anecdotes were apart of his talk, the researcher also included scientific evidence such as brain scans and the correlation graph of the MAOA gene effects. Though the researcher used his family as his participants, it did not skew his findings because he used random selection while picking from a family that has history that supports his research.

Research Question: Does nature drive psychopathic killing behavior more than nurture? Are humans who inherit certain genes more likely to be psychopathic killers versus those who are from abusive/aggressive homes.

In order to explore this research question I would have to conduct a case study. A case study seems to be the most ethical and information giving due to an extensive amount of research and time that will be tied into it. An experiment would be considered too unethical and a survey would not give me the full truth that I am seeking.

Parenting Styles

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When discussing how to approach parenting, many people may have different ideas of what good parents are. However, there’s only two types of parenting styles that people seem to agree with and execute. You have the strict and controlling parents, and there’s also parents that are extremely relaxed when it comes to discipline and guiding their children.

I believe that both parenting styles should be combined to produced happy, healthy, and productive members of society. Parents should

Refinement Post: Do Gentlemen Prefer Blondes?

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When conducting a study on preference I think a key factor crucial to the experiment is deception without harm. As Holly mentioned in her Research Methods blog post, it was obvious to us, the audience, that the wigs the women wore were fake hair. To the men this could have altered their natural preference detector. In any experiment the participants are to be aware that an experiment is being conducted but they should also be blind to what they are tested on. Considering a fairly ethical/safe experiment such as the one the MythBusters conducted, it would be absolutely harmless and rewarding to deceive the participants to collect valid data.

Another strong point that Holly made was how different the women’s behavior was. Each woman behaved in a different way which could have appealed to each guy differently. I think that if the experiment was controlled a bit more, then it could have been a strong experiment.

Lastly, the final point that Holly made was how randomization played a major role in the experiment. Holly stated, “Getting more men in– allowed for a bigger sample which allows for more empirical data, heightening the chance that their results are good”. Though a larger number of participants isn’t as important as the random picking of the participants, I agree that the randomization of the experiment heightened the chance of precise results.

Is Yawning Contagious

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According to the TV show Mythbusters, yawning is in fact contagious due to stimulus that individuals acquire from group /social environments. This particular experiment tested the group level of analysis in Psychology by trying to control the act of yawning by placing individuals in a setting that was composed of outside influences.

A key method used in the experiment was to describe, explain, predict, and control. Also known as the goals of psychology, the testers aimed to describe how yawning was involuntary and the stimulus created from it invoked in others the act of yawning. They also explained that yawning can happen on an individual level but when done so around others it can provoke the same behavior. With fifty people tested, the researchers then predicted that yawning can be an involuntary contagious behavior. To test the possible theory of the contagiousness of yawning the experiment was controlled by a seeded yawn that was tested to discover if it would increase the behavior of yawning among a group of isolated but grouped individuals.

I would like to argue that the evidence found was in fact not supportive of their confirmation. According to their findings the people who got no stimulus yawned 25% of the time while the people who received stimulus yawned 29% of the time. There’s undoubtedly an increase in the amount of yawning, however, it is not a significant increase. The myth busters confirmed that yawning was contagious but from my standpoint this experiment does not support that theory in that it only shows a 4% increase in the number of yawning. However, to counter my argument a 4% increase in the amount of yawning could in fact be significant enough to confirm the theory of yawning being a contagious behavior.

Would anyone like to counter my argument?

Blog Post #1

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When deciding what courses to enroll in for the spring semester I took into account which courses I would find the most interesting. For the fall semester I took classes that were needed for my intended major. However, I did not find those courses to be interesting or fulfilling. It was as if I was simply forcing myself to sit through hours of knowledge versus torture. It was a bittersweet time in my life.

I have no solid background in psychology. However, I do run and operate an astrology blog. I have been enhancing my knowledge on astrology for four years now and through astrology I have learned a lot about human personalities and processes.

When I hear the word “psychology” I think about the development and operation of the human brain. Environmental factors also come to mind when I hear the word “psychology” because they play a major part in human development.

I am most eager to explore the topics of Moral Development, Stereotypes & Discrimination, and Classifying Mental Illness. I’ve always been interested to discuss with others why we think some things are morally right and wrong. Racism is also an issue that I encounter almost everyday so to discuss and learn about stereotypes and discrimination will definitely give me a better understanding of why racism exists. Mental illness is also something that I find to be very touching and interesting to learn about. I am eager to learn what causes the illness and how to identify the a person with such mental state.

I am least eager to explore the topics of Concussions, Memory Encoding, and Classical Conditioning. I have no specific reason to why I find these to be the least interesting other than that I am not familiar with the topics.

Question: Why do we as humans keep the most troubling memories repressed to the point of almost forgetting these events even occurred? What is allowing us to keep these memories hidden?