Topics in the News?
What I would like you to do is to start applying what we are learning in class to real world matters. Some might ask, "What good is learning psychology if we can't apply it to real world matters?" So that is what we are going to do with this topical blog assignment.
What I would like you to do is to either go to NPR (http://www.npr.org/ ), the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ ) or any news site listed at the bottom of this page (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ listed in their news sources) and read, watch, or listen to something that is interesting to you and relates to what we have been learning in the class.
Please respond the blog by BRIEFLY telling us in essay format:
What your topic is and what the piece you chose was. Why you picked it (what made it interesting for you) and what did you expect to see. What did you find most interesting about the piece
Next discuss IN DETAIL how it relates to the class using terms, terminology, and concepts that we have learned so far in class. Include definitions.
Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.
Make a list of key terms and concepts you used in your post.
Let me know if you have any questions.
--Dr. M
The article I read was about Phillip Greaves who pleaded no contest on Wednesday in Florida to a charge of distributing obscene material depicting minors engaged in harmful conduct. Greaves will serve the sentence in Colorado, his home state, and will not have to register as a sex offender. He was arrested in December after he sold a copy of the self-published book to an undercover detective in Florida. I know we will be talking about mental illnesses in an upcoming chapter and this sort of reminded me of that. You have to be pretty messed up in the head to want to write about sex offenders. It’s bad enough to be one, but to write about it and sell it for money. Something isn’t clicking the way it should be in his brain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12994248
I decided to write about bloodletting for my topical since I thought it sounded pretty crazy and wanted to know more about it. It is an ancient form of medicine that was used back in ancient civilizations before it came to be known as a cure in the mental asylums and died out—but not after being around for over 2,000 years! In fact, our first president, George Washington, died of a throat infection after being drained of 9 pints of blood. However, typically they would only drain about 1-4 pints in a session. Back in ancient times doctors would employ bloodletting for almost every single type of ailment, mental or physical—even though it didn’t really produce good results. It is based on the old theories about “humors” that were popular in those times, these were bodily fluids that maintained our physical and mental health.
Bloodletting involved tying off a part of the body, and then cutting into the vein vertically and letting the blood run out—it was used just about as commonly as aspirin is used today and Monks would often bloodlet each other several times a year for physical maintenance.
When Benjamin rush employed bloodletting as a common form of treatment in mental asylums, it became very popular—mostly because they didn’t have a lot of ways to treat mental diseases back in those times. However, it basically only worked through a placebo effect, or else calmed down the violent patients because they became so weak after losing so much blood at one time.
http://www.museumofquackery.com/devices/phlebo.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodletting
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/basics/bloodletting.html
This was an extremely opportune time for this article considering that we discussed the history of mental illness in this week’s chapter and reading blog. Dorthea Dix travled the country looking at as many publically-funded mental hospitals as she could and writing expose’s on them. This brought to the attention of the state government, or at least put it out there so that it needed to be dealt with now, and a ton of new hospitals were created and the ones that were already in existence were cleaned up and conditions were made a little better in these situations.
This article talks about some negative conditions in a specific hospital- Atascadero State Hospital, on California's central coast. The conditions at this hospital have been a bit downhill since 2008, because of neglect, but for different reasons. The federal government put in a new 92 page treatment plan that covered a lot of areas, but also made it so that much more paperwork needed to be done. Hospital employee’s say that they sometimes spend up to six hours a day typing up paperwork, which of course means less time with the patients. Less time with the patients of course leads to a degraded relationship.
I think it’s great that the government was trying to improve conditions. The patients at these hospitals were mentally ill criminals. I had a conversation with a friend just last night about how we shouldn’t give criminals any rights or advantages and I disagree, I think that in order to expect them to get out and be reformed people we have to give them some means of self-improvement.
I would say overall the idea that these patients have been getting more violent speaks somewhat to the fact that the reasoning is the government trying to improve their treatment. As opposed to the time of Dorthea Dix when it was the government trying to ignore them.
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/08/134961895/violence-surges-at-hospital-for-mentally-ill-criminals
The topic is about that state of mental institutions, this article is specifically about mental institutions for mentally ill criminals. The article was from npr.org and entitled Violence Surges at Hospital for Mentally Ill Criminals. I picked it because I find it interesting to learn about how people in mental institutions are treated. I expected for it to be about how patients were mistreated which led them to be more violent. In fact I found that many of the employees think that the rise in violence is due to the fact that the employees have a heavy load of paperwork to do each day, which gives them less time to spend with the patients. I found it interesting that this hospital used to have one of the best safety programs in America. After the government decided they need to reform their procedures and add new programs, violence has gone up 36 percent.
This is related to the most previous chapter we read about the treatment of the mentally ill. Before the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the mentally handicap were treated very poorly. Phillipe Pinel was one of the first people to work to reform it. His reforms were related to the Enlightenment that was going on at the time. He called his program moral treatment, and improved upon the care, hygiene nutrition and living conditions of the patients. Before this some patients were chained up all day. Tuke was a Quaker who worked to improve upon the treatment even more. He had the mentally ill living on something that was more like a working farm than an institution. They were given greater freedom and more recreation. Benjamin Rush was the man who brought these ideas to America. He thought that mental illness was caused by some unbalance in the blood and used bloodletting to heal the patients. Sometimes he would take large amounts of blood, like a few pints, putting the patient in a more tranquil state. This is likely to do with the fact that they had become weak from the blood-loss. Itard worked hard to train a boy who grew up on his own in the wilderness and therefore never formed many abilities as a child that become necessary to be independent. He was referred to as Victor, or the “wild boy of Aveyron.” He found that the child did not improve as much as he would like, which showed the importance of childhood development.
Dorothea Dix brought even more reform to the treatment of mentally ill patients. She examined conditions of mental institutions throughout the United States and found them to be very poor. She wrote about the details she had seen. She worked with the legislature of states to get these institutions fixed to become better environments for the mentally ill. Beers was also very important because he lived in a mental institution. After he came out he wrote about the incompetent doctors who worked with him and the abuse received from the attendants. His book was very important because it was from first hand experience, and it showed that mental illness was curable.
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/08/134961895/violence-surges-at-hospital-for-mentally-ill-criminals
terms: Pinel, moral treatment, Tuke, working farm, Rush, bloodletting, Itard, Victor, Dix, Beers
Topical Blog
I read an article in the Huffington Post about stigma and mental illness. The article was in reference to the shooting rampage in Tuscon, by a young man with a mental illness. The article explored the possibilities of why the young man that brought a gun to a college in Tuscon and murdered several people did not receive treatment before it was too late. The article points out several signs of mental illness he showed prior to the shooting and asks help was not sought before the shooting.
This author explores the stigma that still today is attached to mental illness. The author expresses that in reality mental illness is a “no-fault brain disease,” yet many individuals, family and/or friends won’t come to terms with it and get the individual the help and support they need.
Mental illness has been an issue that society has been uncomfortable with for several decades. There are many judgment calls concerning mental illness that not enough people know how to make. The launch of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene was one of the first steps Clifford Beers, and our society took to better understanding mental illness. Dorothea Dix made another important step towards increasing quality of life for the mentally ill. She toured mental hospitals and jails evaluating conditions for the mentally ill. She found much neglect and pushed through legislature in Massachusetts to improve these conditions.
Today most conditions for the mentally ill are adequate, but we there is still a stigma there, which can be equally damaging. As this article pointed out there is also an issue in this society with ignoring possible signs of a mental illness and hoping they might eventually go away on their own. This is equally dangerous.
TERMS: Dorthea Dix, National Committee for mental Hygiene, Clifford Beers
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elyn-saks/post_1603_b_811249.html
The article I found is about the logger head turtle and as study showing how this species of turtles are born with an ability to be able to tell where they are on earth. These turtles are extremely sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field and this allows them to be able to have a sense of direction sort of like humans use compasses but better. It gives them “positional information.” Even newborn turtles have this ability from birth. The reason this works for the turtles is because they have the gift of being able to detect both components involved in a magnetic field, intensity and inclination. When using both of these components together the turtles are able to tell where they are located in the ocean. Researcher Nathan Putnam and colleagues did studies on this in which supported it. Also, they believe that other animals may use some sort of magnetic field to help them know where they are.
I found this article very interesting because it is amazing that animals can be born with such a cool talent. Us as humans have to use a gps or a compass to help us get around on Earth we cannot simply rely on the magnetic field that these turtles use. It fascinates me to know how complex some species really are and I love learning about new discoveries like this one.
I thought that this article related to the topic of inheritance of acquired characteristics, which is that experiences are passed onto offspring. Since the turtles are born with this internal mapping system, their ancestors must have passed it down the line to them. It could be related to evolution in a way because the turtles may have developed this or at least made advancements over time. I am sure that they have probably always had some sort of system to help them understand their location, but today it could be more advanced than in the past? I also believe that this topic relates to impressions and instinct. Impressions according to Hume were basic sensations, the raw data of experience. This knowledge of knowing where they are located is a basic sensation for the turtles. They just know they are born with it and it is an instinct that they have and follow. This instinct allows the turtles to survive in their environment. This topic of course would be related to comparative psychology because it is studying some other type of animal behavior and comparing it to us humans.
Terms used: inheritance of acquired characteristics, evolution, impressions, instinct, and comparative psychology
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/02/134175104/for-turtles-earths-magnetism-is-a-built-in-gps
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/27/134866003/gamifying-the-system-to-create-better-behavior
The story I read about discussed “gamification”. This is the process of adding rewards and pleasure to activities that usually only involved punishment. For example, video cameras are used to catch speeders and tickets are mailed to their homes. Through gamification, if a camera happens to catch you driving the speed limit, they’ll enter your name into a lottery consisting of the speeder’s fines. This process has been effective in other countries and for other activities.
This relates to the process of conditioning. More specifically, it relates to Skinner’s Type R conditioning (operant conditioning). This method of conditioning differs from Pavlov’s method of Type S conditioning. In Type R condition, the behavior is performed and then followed by some type of consequence. The consequence will either increase or decrease the likelihood of the behavior occurring again. In this situation, the speeder would receive a ticket. This ticket would hopefully decrease his chances of speeding again. If someone wins money because they were caught going the speed limit, it would increase their chances of going the speed limit in the future. Skinner called this behavior operant, because it operated as a function of the environment.
Terms: Skinner, Type R conditioning, operant conditioning, operant
The article I read was called "the Secret to Making Positive Thinking Work". This article was about how a lot of people believe that positive thinking will prevail all- "As long as I have a can-do attitude I can do anything." However, studies show that if we determine something to be easy, we mare more likely to give up and be frustrated once that path become difficult.
I thought this article related to our class because of what we discussed about humanistic approach. The humanistic approach is the belief that we control our own destinies- that humans have free will and a sense of reasonability and purpose and a forward-looking lifelong search for meaning in ones life. I thought this article most closely related this approach in the sense that we perceive our own reality- and positive thinking is a step in our way to self actualization. I could be completely off though.
However, this article states that positive thinking sets up for failure and I believe if you were a true believe in the humanistic approach, you wouldn't believe that
terms: self actualization, humanistic approach
The Article that i read is called "Chimpanzees give birth 'like humans'". The article talks about how the chimpanzee newborn comes out of it's mother facing away from her, unlike most other primate species. Up until this point all monkeys that have been observed have given berth to monkeys that come out facing the mother, this was so that the mother could help take care of the baby monkey. This is the first time that another primate, other than humans, has given birth this way.
I believe that this article relates to our class because It shows that there is a link between us and chimpanzees, which is just another piece of evidence that not only supports evolution, but it is also another sign that we are much more similar to animals than people used to believe. Because we are so close to animals we are able to do our research on animals instead of on ourselves.
In the article is says that it was believed that only humans gave birth this way and that led to the development of midwives. After this though, it is shown that we have a lot more in common with chimps than we believed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9462000/9462662.stm
As I was reading the article on college students it told me that severe mental illness is more common among college students than it was a decade ago, with most young people seeking treatment for depression and anxiety. It was easy for me to relate that to the reading especially to Pinel’s moral treatment; an approach to treating mental illness that included improved nutrition and living conditions, and rewards for productive behavior. The reason why most college students are so depressed is simply because they are overwhelmed with homework from their classes. They stay up late studying for hours, trying to cram knowledge into their heads with minimal rest. This relates to Braid’s theory of neurypnology; to reflect the belief that hypnotism was related to the state of sleep. This also ties into what Jean-Martin Charcot thought on hysteria; a disorder characterized by a wide range of symptoms that appeared to indicate neurological malfunction, but without apparent physical damage to the nervous system.
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132934543/depression-on-the-rise-in-college-students
I read an article about mental illness and how a man killed his wife by strangling her. His mother stated that mental illness ran in the family and that could be the reason why he did it. This relates to class because we have talked about mental illness and how it is perceived by people. Mental help can change a lot of things and when people are mentally ill and do not get help it can be a result of what happened in this story. This relates to Freud and psychoanalysis because if this man would have gotten some help before going crazy, his wifes life could have been spared. It also relates to class by showing that mental illness runs in families. The article is interesting because many people today claim that they are mentally ill and it is what causes them to go crazy for awhile and do things they would not normally do.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-13220679
terms; mentally ill, freud, psychoanalysis, genetic
On NPR’s website I found an article titled ‘Critical’ Shortage of Army Neurologists for Troops which I thought tied in great with this week’s chapter on the mentally ill and their treatment. Because this is such an easy connection is part of the reason why I chose this article. Another reason why I chose this article was because our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq are showing higher and higher rates of mental instabilities which should make us question our methods and treatment.
This article relates very closely to what we’ve been reading in class this week. The treatment of the mentally ill has been a continually evolving area of research, study, and practice. When it all started the mentally ill were treated like animals, some even below animals. In this same way veterans of our wars were initially written off with a simple case of shell shock and received little to no treatment. However, as usual, science continues to progress. The movement for the humane treatment of the mentally ill began with the likes of Dorthea Dix. In the same way VA’s began treating the mentally wounded once we became involved in Vietnam and had more severe cases of PTSD. This particular article really focused on how there just aren’t many neurologists in the field. General Peter Chiarelli said that he only as 52 neurologists in the field, currently only 40 of them are practicing. The tough issue here is that it is very difficult to get neurologists to willingly sign up to be deployed to war zones. In addition to this most of the neurologists in war zones aren’t even there as neurologists, they are there and used as general medical officers. Because of this lack of focus with their particular expertise many are going untreated even when there is mental help available. The few neurologists that are there are being stretched too far and used too broadly. According to the article there are an estimated 150,000 individuals with concussions with another 50,000 having suffered more severe brain injuries. With new research coming out showing that concussions that go untreated or individuals who suffer multiple concussions are at a much higher rate of developing dementia later in life. All of this information should be acted on rather than ignored. It should not be easy for us to look at this information and simply shrug our shoulders and fail to act. Clinical psychology can be held up as an excellent example of this because it became fully embraced after the devastating effects of WWII. After this horrendous event there were such a large number of mentally wounded veterans that they could not be ignored. I desperately hope that we are better than that and will seek to treat and serve to the best of our ability the minority of mentally ill veterans.
Terms: Dorthea Dix, clinical psychology, clinical psychology post WWII, mental institutes
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135376288/critical-shortage-of-army-neurologists-for-troops
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13423812
I chose my news based on the topic of evolution. The news was that the world's oldest Panda Bear died at age 34 when panda's are only expected to live a maximum of 22 years in captivity and only 15 in the wild. I found this interesting because I used to love learning about animals when I was a kid, and it's always cool hearing unusual situations that happen in the animal kingdom. And with the theory of evolution also speaking on how animals change over time due to "survival of the fittest" theory, I feel that could have played some sort of part in this bears extra long existence.
As i've stated before, I personally do not believe in the specifics of evolution, but I do believe animals have the ability to adapt in order to survive, just like humans do.
Modern Psychoanalysis is what is most thought of by people when they think of going to a therapist. It is the Hollywood view of a patient laying on a couch while the doctor (or therapist) takes notes on a clipboard or a legal pad. It is coined as “The Talking Cure” by ModernPsychoanalysis.org. It still uses Freud’s theories of the unconscious, and how unconscious actions affect the individual in everyday life. The therapist asks questions to draw out potential problems that individuals may have. They also still use older techniques such as Free Association, where an individual just speaks freely until the root of the problem presents itself. Hypnotism is even still used in some therapy settings. Hypnosis, as it is seen today, is different than Franz Anton Mesmer’s Mesmerism where it was believed animal forces controlled you into doing things. It is more like James Braid’s proposal of a heightened state of suggestion. Hypnotherapy is thought to be used to unlock repressed memories or to stop bad habits such as smoking or drinking. Hypnosis in modern times is used as a tool of entertainment. Hypnotists perform traveling shows (not unlike Mesmer’s but for pure entertainment purposes). They are used for comedy and draw large crowds. One such example is Jim Wand who has appeared in the Cedar Valley several times.
www.hypnotism4u.com/entertainment_jim.html
http://modernpsychoanalysis.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnotherapy