Blog Post #13

1.My thoughts on these studies are that some of them were pretty interesting. What I found interesting about Milgram's Obedience was that 2/3 of the participants shocked people to the worst degree possible. They at first estimated that only 1 in 1,000 people, the sadists, would go to that extreme of the most intense shock, so that was interesting. What I found interesting about the Stanford Prison Experiment was how the students got totally into their roles. Some of the prison students were were perfectly healthy before the experiment but became sick while doing the experiment and also became passive and zombie-like. Also, nice student boys became brutal prison guards. Milgram's Obedience shows that our Human Nature shows a lot of carelessness and conformity. The Stanford Prison Experiment shows that our Human Nature tries to adapt us to the role that we think we should play and that we can easily get carried away.
2. Social influences are everyday factors that make us act a certain way. One example of this is when a group full of people are voting on something, and almost every one's hand goes up, I am way more likely to vote for that thing, just because I don't want to look like the oddball.
Another example is when you are assigned a group for a project, and the group has to collectively make a decision what color to make the project. If everyone in my group wants to go with a certain color that I don't particularly like, I'd rather just agree with them than argue my case and lose time on getting the project done.
3.The most interesting thing I learned in this class was about how different cultures view things acceptable compared to other cultures that do not view it that way. I found it so interesting how in different cultures, men can greet one another by kissing each other on the cheek, but in America, most people would be appalled by that gesture. It is so interesting to me how everyone thinks that their culture is so normal, but then most people pick apart other people's culture, labeling things as "weird" or "not normal." I guess I just find it entertaining!

Blog Post #12

1. Our textbook states that psychological disorders are ongoing patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions that are deviant, distressful, and/or dysfunctional. You can decide if a person has a psychological disorder if their behavior is causing distress to them. Deviant and distressful behaviors are more likely to be considered disorders when they are a harmful dysfunction. So if a person acts abnormally, no, it definitely does not mean they have psychological disorder. Some people are just oddballs, and as long as their behavior is not deviant, distressful, or harmful, they most likely do not have a psychological disorder.
2. The psychological disorder I am going to tell you about is Major Depressive Disorder, more commonly known as Depression. When people experience depression, they feel very down. Major Depressive Disorder occurs when at least five signs of depression (including lethargy, feelings of worthlessness, or loss of interest in family, friends, and activities) lasts two or more weeks and are not caused by drugs or a medical condition. They may feel discouraged about the future, dissatisfied with life, and/or socially isolated. Lack of energy is common symptom, they may feel that it's very hard to get things done, and they may even have to force themselves of bed. They may not be able to concentrate, eat, or sleep normally. It may feel as if a huge dark cloud is parked over them at all times, and they feel as if it won't move anytime soon. Depression is extremely common for many people, and can be fairly simple to treat. A depressed mood is often a response to past or current loss, which includes: a loved one's death, a serious break-up, or job loss.
I think my life would be terrible if I had depression. I would absolutely hate feeling worthless, and not having energy to accomplish everyday tasks. I would probably just sit on the couch, watching TV all day in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I would hate to wonder if I would just be better off dead, because I know how great life is. I am the type of person who tries to completely embrace life as much as possible, so I know that having depression would totally hinder that quality.
3. The most interesting thing I learned in this section was Dissociative Identity Disorder. I found this interesting because it's so crazy how two or more distinct identities alternately control the person's behavior. I found it interesting how each personality has its own voice and mannerisms. Learning this also makes things come full circle for me because many TV shows have poked fun at this disorder, and I never truly understood before how one of the personalities could be extremely different from one another. United States of Tara is an awesome and funny TV show that demonstrates multiple personalities, so I'm glad that I can now better understand dissociative identity disorder.