Schizophrenia vs multiple personality disorder

Until I read this chapter, I did not know there was a major difference between schizophrenia and dissassocative identity disorder, or DID (also known as multiple personality disorder). Because of the way movies, television shows, and books portray these disorders, I had mistakenly assumed that they were more similiar than they are. I think that the media should be very careful in portraying mental illnesses because they could easily influence their audiences to get the wrong ideas about mental disorders. As a result, in real life people could judge others who have one of these mental illnesses without actually knowing the facts. For instance, I have heard people say that people with schizophrenia have multiple personalities. I also think that the media should stop making it seem like people with schizophrenia and DID are always dangerous and manipulative, such as in shows like CSI. This can be very misleading, because, as the textbook stated, some people with these illnesses can life normal lives and recover with help. Not everyone who has one of these illnesses is threatening and dangerous, and it must be hard for someone diagnosed with schizophrenia or DID to deal with the prejudices about their behaviors.

Cultural psychological disorders

In Chapter 13, I found it very interesting to learn that some psychological disorders are only prominent in certain geological areas. One thing that I found shocking is the fact that anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are found usually only in Western cultures, and bulimia nervosa was only first recognized in the 1970s. I think this shows a poor reflection of American society. If this disorder is not found in other cultures, then obviously something is wrong with our culture. I contribute this largely to the high American standards for females. In most advertisements all the models are very skinny. What does this say to younger girls who are easily influenced by the media and pop culture? It's disturbing to think that even though eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any other psychological disorder that there is not more being done. I think that there needs to be a big change in the way that the media works, and that there should be standards for advertisements and modeling. If a model is at an unhealthy weight, she should not be shown in advertisements. There needs to be a focus on the health and well-being of American citizens, specifically teenage girls, instead of on company marketing. Without a change, I can only see this trend getting worse.

The Impact of Technology

In the video we watched last week, many scientists and school personel talked about how technology, such as cell phones and video games, have an effect on the performance of their students. I can definitely relate to this, because I am constantly checking Facebook and my phone to see if I have any new messages. Most of the time, I am so focused on my electronic devices that I lose my focus, which impacts my work. However, since I've been in college, I felt that I have been able to improve that side of myself. I now understand the importance of my education here, and I have been trying to stay away from Facebook, my cell phone, and other electronic items while I am in class or working on an assignment. I could relate to the students in the video completely, because I understand firsthand what those electronic outlets can do to one's ability to concentrate. The video said something along the lines of "students are constantly seeking immediate gratification", and I can attest to that completely. For me, the internet was once a struggle to control and it made it hard for me to succeed. But now, I feel that I have been able to control how much time I spend on it, and therefore, have increased my school performance.

Parental Use of Operant Conditioning

Today in class we discussed our papers that we handed in for grading. Some of the examples about parents using operant conditioning to shape our behavior got me thinking about how my parents used operant conditioning. I remember every Sunday my family would take me to church and after church we ate lunch and then went to my grandmother's house. If I behaved in church I got to have an extra piece of candy at grandma's but if I misbehaved I had to sit inside with my mom and dad and couldn't go outside to play with my sister and cousins. My parents unknowingly used positive reinforcement (the candy) and negative punishment (taking away play time) to get me to behave in church.

Overconfidence

After learning about barriers to problem solving in chapter 8 I began to think how examples of barriers, such as overconfidence come up in everyday life. We learned that people are overconfident about future accomplishment, the quality of a predicted performance, and the quality of past performances. I noticed in chemistry lab the other day that my professor was overconfident about future accomplishments. She had a short power-point lecture to give us before we began the lab and she only said it would take ten minutes. Twenty minutes later she was still not done, therefore, she was overconfident about her ability to present the material in a short amount of time.

Hereditary Influence on Intelligence

After reading chapter 8, I began to realize how my experiences and interactions with others have influenced the way that I behave and learn new information. I am very similar to my father, and the section on hereditary influence piqued my curiosity. I find it interesting that behaviors and intelligence can be inherited, because I never considered in the past that it was more than a behavioral trait learned because of observational learning. I guess, looking back, it makes sense to me. I spent most of my time as a child with my mother, but yet, I am more like my father. I also find it interesting that my brother is more like my mother when it comes to their personalities, so I find it interesting how genetics have an impact on intelligence and behavior within families.

Irrational Thinking

Looking back on Chapter 8, I realized how many times in my life irrational thinking occurs. There are many times where I think I know more than what I do, and the same can go for my friends. They believe they know more, but in reality they do not and when someone proves them wrong it is hard for them to accept. Another thing I have noticed is how people do not do something because they believe the odds of the worst case scenario out weigh the odds of that not happening. It makes me much more selfconcious about what I think in similar scenerios. Just because there is a small chance of something bad happen, people do not want to do that even though its chances are very slim. They let the down side dictate what they are going to do. This is called loss aversion and I find myself thinking about this when I am making a decision.

Preferences and the Additive Strategy

While reading the chapter on problem solving, I enjoyed the explanation of the Additive Strategy in regard to prferences when making a decision. I realized that I had used this strategy when choosing which college I would attend. When I was between the University of Connecticut and Salve Regina University I used a score chart similar to the one on page 268 of our textbooks. After adding up the points, the chart indicated that the University of Connecicut was a better option for me, but then I went back and used the additive strateg and weighed the liberal arts aspect higher and location higher. This changed the results and indicated that Salve Regina University was a better option.

Personality theories

Based on the theories we studied in class, I think it's safe to conclude that personality has both biological and environmental factors. I think the biological theory has a lot of weight behind it, specifically the research done on identical twins. If identical twins were reared apart and they still have an extremely high correlation in the Big Five personality traits than it is very likely personality could partially be inherited. Personally, I can definitely see similarities in the personalities of me and my family. Though these can be environmentally based, I do feel there is a deeper relation, because there are a wide variety of other factors that can affect behavior beyond the home you grew up in. If hair color and height can be inherited than why can't agreeableness or neuroticism be inherited?

Algorithms and Heiristics

When reading the chapter on problem solving I began to thing about the way that I usually solve problems. I usually use algorithms even if it does mean that I have to do more work. I like to see how the answer is correct and what were the steps in finding the right answer. Could a person's tendency to use an algorithm or heuristic be genetic? Is is recognizable that family members usually solve problems in similar ways? I know from my own experience that my dad and I like to solve problems by laying out all of the information, sorting through what we need and don't need, then use some sort of equation to get the answer. Is this genetic, environmental, or just coincidental?

Psychopaths

I found the class discussion on psychopaths to be very interesting so I did a little research. I found a study from psychologytoday.com that talked about the diagnosis of psychopaths. It turns out that they can be diagnosed as having an "antisocial personality disorder". The diagnosis involves observing abnormal behaviors such as lying, cheating, recklesness, and violence. In addition to observing these behaviors, there is also a personality test that recognizes the behaviors listed. I think that being diagnosed as a psychopath include a collaboration of all of the abnormal traits.

Freud

In chapter 11, Freud was the one who caught my attention the most. He was interesting to read about. I liked how he linked dreams to unconscious desires we have, because looking back on ones own dreams, you can see that this, in some cases, is true. I was attracted to the different make up of ones personality. For example the id, ego, and superego working together. I liked how he described the ego as a second thought of what is considered normal in society because i think that actually does shape ones decisions to do certain things. Seeing how people had broken off from his ideas for being "too radical" is also interesting. You can see many similarities between his ideas and Adler and Jungs beliefs.

Culture and Personality

After reading the section on culture and personality in the text book I got really curious on how different cultures are similar or contrasting in respect to personality. My roommate is an international student so I asked her about her ideas about personality and they were about the same as mine. I actually expected more of a difference in how personality is perceived. Her personality is actually quite different from mine so I wonder if this could be from the culture difference. I tend to be more quiet and shy and she is very outgoing and loud.

Theories of Personality

After discussing personality in our class lecture yesterday I really started to notice how many people just assume that personality is present and not really think about where it comes from. Just yesterday I heard five different people mention something about self-esteem. They actually never thought about "having" a self-esteem before. For a phrase used so often, it is weird that nobody thinks about how there isn't a location in the body for self-esteem or personality.

Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanisms are used commonly in our everyday life in order to protect ourselves from unpleasant emotions. Today, during class we discussed the different types of defense mechanisms that are commonly used. Most of us have used all of the types at one point or another. However, I began to think about which mechanism I most commonly use. I realized that I often tend to use projection. At home when my mother would get mad at me, I would in turn get mad at my step-sister or a friend without significant reason. Pertaining to living here, I tend to get very stressed out at certain points of time with all of my school work and my job and everyday activities. Therefore, someone will catch me at the wrong time and I might accidentally take that stress, anger, or confusion out on them without realizing it at the time. However, I try to keep my emotions in line and try not to take something out on someone who was not at fault.

Terror Management Theory

In the reading in Chapter 11 it talks about many different theories relating to how personality could be formed. The theory that really interested me was the Terror Management Theory. I can easily see how someone's awareness of the inevitability of death could subtly affect the way they live their lives. The anxiety and terror that results from realizing your immortality can affect you in different ways, such as complusive shopping and patriotism. I know from personal experience that I get the urge to buy material things that I am very aware that I do not need. I could easily see that I could simply be doing that to enhance my self esteem and make myself feel special, more than just a human who is destined to die. The book also stated that people tend to follow politicians who seem charismatic and self-assured. The voters can seem to think that their participation could make a lasting effect on society. The grand effect that people want to achieve is understandable to me. People want to be immoral through history because they know that without doing something memorable their life will be forgotten. Politicans who make it appear like one person's vote can change the world definitely plays into their need to enhance their self esteem when they are confronted with the realities of life. I personally like to do things to make myself feel special and to distract myself. I think this theory is very plausiable.

Anticipating Failure

A couple of lectures ago, we spoke about the detrimental effects that overconfidence can cause on unsuspecting individuals. However, the last class we spoke about the exact opposite, and how lack of confidence can be as detrimental if not more than overconfidence. An individual that anticipates failure may not try as hard which in turn will cause the performance to be sub-par. I actually just encountered a situation that involved this. I had a Pathophysiology test that I was studying for, which had a lot of difficult information in the chapters. I began to stress out and believe that I wouldn't be able to succeed on this test. However, my friends reminded me that if I believed I would fail, I probably would. Therefore, I studied as hard as I could and went into the test with enough confidence to succeed, and I did. This self-fulfilling prophecy can either cause negative results or positive.