Spotlight #3

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

I chose to research single sex education because I recently saw a presentation on this topic in my education class and both my brother and sister went to single sex schools. First, the advantages. One of the most predominate advantages is an environmental that isn’t focused around impressing others, making it more relaxed and focused on learning. This is due to girls and boys not worrying or focusing on impressing each other or not wanting to participate incase they got embarrassed in front of each other. With singe sex, they can have more open and honest conversations in class. Another advantage is no gender stereotypes. This pretty much means that boys and girls will be free to do what they are interested without worrying about being judged by the other sex, so they will be free to do activities or subjects that have a stereotype of the other gender doing it. In a single sex school anyone can do anything they are interested in with no worries about being embarrassed. Single sex schools have also been seen to specifically have great benefits for girls. According to one of the sources I found, CRC Health, almost 90% of girls in co-ed high schools are affected by some form of sexual harassment. Girls could feel safer in a single sex school during the important time of change in their life. A study was also done of 270,000 students that found when boys and girls were attending single sex schools they performed significantly higher on standardized tests. Now onto the disadvantages. On of the biggest disadvantages is that it does not prepare kids for the real world. Being at a single sex school may cause poor social skills with the other sex because they have had not had opportunities to work together or collaborate. This may make life after school harder when they have to talk and interact with the other sex every day in an office or higher education. Going along with this, by not having both genders in one classroom, students will not have another perspective while talking about issues and questions. Getting to see the perspective of others can help while learning things in class and they will have more experiences if there were both genders in class discussions. Single sex schools can also create gender stereotypes according to Care’s website. This could be due to the only time students are seeing the other sex could be at formal events, when genders are dressing up to impress each other. So in their minds, this could lead to stereotypes and unrealistic expectations. This one is a bit of a reach to me, but I could see how it would happen. In conclusion, I think single sex education could work for some and not work for others- it all depends how you learn and what makes you feel most comfortable. Students learn best when they feel safe, so it depends on each person individually to make that decision for themselves. For me, I originally wanted to go to a single sex high school but changed my mind, and looking back I am happy I went to a co-ed school. I think for some single sex works very well but I liked having friendships with both genders and that interaction everyday.

Sources:

https://www.care.com/c/stories/5373/single-sex-schools-the-pros-and-cons/en-gb/

https://education.seattlepi.com/disadvantages-schools-segregated-sex-2074.html

https://www.crchealth.com/youth-programs/advantages-single-sex-schools/

https://www.thoughtco.com/advantages-of-single-sex-schools-2774613

Chapter 15 First Impression

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

I think former First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign for mental health awareness is a great idea, but might not be that effective. I think it is a great step in the right direction for mental health awareness, by informing people of the signs of someone who might need help. The five signs the website says are personality change, agitated, withdrawn, poor self care, and hopelessness. They have sections on the website to donate money, different ways to share the website on social media, a section to pledge to know the five signs, and more. They also have healthy habit tips for healthy emotional well-being. They say to take care, check in, engage, relax, and know. I think it is great they have so many tips and signs on the website and spreading the word is very easy to do using their hashtags and social media. For weaknesses, I feel like this would not be effective because from what I can tell it is mostly online. If they went to different schools for talks I think that would be more effective. I think some college students would pay attention to this, but those who do not care this would not change their minds. If Etown was to do something like this for mental health I think they should have tables about signs of mental health and maybe talk about it in specific classes. People who would be interested in mental health awareness would participate but I have a feeling those who do not care might start caring if maybe the school talked about how many people really have these issues and need help. 

Media Production Project

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

Summary

Therapy has been the go-to solution for people with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, but if is as effective as you might think? In media, therapy can be seen as helpful toward people who are struggling, but researchers Ellen Driessen, Steven Hollon, Claudi Bockting, Pim Cuijpers, and Erick Turner looked more into how therapy is reflected in the media vs actual results and the answers were surprising. They studied past trials and found out that the effect of treatments such as therapy were 37% less effective then the media portrayed. Since they were studying past trials only, they cannot confirm that these trials were using the correct methods. Yet they are confirming that there are indications of publication bias in the media regarding therapy’s for effective for depression. All in all, they are saying they believe that therapy is not as effective as media may lead you to believe, but they are not stating these are facts. It is up to you to decide whether you believe it or not.

Reflection

While writing my summary, I found it difficult to put myself in someone’s shoes that has never been exposed to this information. From all the research I have done on this topic, it was tough for me to write about it brand newly for someone who has never researched these studies before. It must be hard for journalists to step out of their own minds and beliefs to write about topics for anyone to read and then make their own assumption unbiasedly.  I chose to include the basic top finding of the scholarly article, because it was what made the most sense to me and was clearest on the answer to my main question. My summary had more data than the pop-culture article, and I tried to not state that these findings were the 100% facts, because the researchers themselves said that these findings were just indicators. I felt that the author of the pop-culture article stated the findings as if they were the truth and you had to start believing that, but it is up to your own interpretation of the results. I learned from the pop-culture article journalists can really twist the information to sound however they want it to. Most likely, the regular person reading Cosmo would read this article and just believe it without extra research. This article just turns out to be true, but if it was false, false information could start spreading around. The journalists from the scholarly article have a hard job, having to go through every detail and explain it. They had to account and describe every mistake they could of made on the findings, and that cannot be easy. For me, the scholarly article was very, very hard to read and understand but I trust that it was well done.

Sources Cited

Narins, Elizabeth. “Therapy Probably Isn’t the Best Way to Treat Depression.”    Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan, 5 Oct. 2017, www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/news/ a47087/the-best-way-to-treat-depression-isnt-therapy/.

Driessen, Ellen, et al. “Does Publication Bias Inflate the Apparent Efficacy of Psychological Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of US National Institutes of Health-Funded Trials.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, 30 Sept. 2015, journals.plos.org/plosone/ article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0137864.

Chapter 14 First Impression- Option 1

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

I had watched this video last year in my high school psychology class, but rewatching it gave me the same effect. It gave me the chills, I could not imagine having to live through that everyday. Always feeling like there are people around you bringing you down, calling you names, thinking everything and everyone is against you, seeing things that are not there- it seems like a horrible life. You usually do not have the opportunity to see into everyday life of someone with schizophrenia, so I think this video is a must watch for everyone to raise awareness and understanding of this disorder. In the media, I have seen people with schizophrenia in tv shows or movies being portrayed as crazy and dangerous. After seeing this video, it makes me feel very sad for people with schizophrenia, they are not crazy- they can not control it. Not being able to distinguish what is real or fake must be a very hard life. You can not even trust your loved ones, and no one understands what is going on in your head. And if you try to explain people will not listen or trust you because they are labeled as “crazy”. Schizophrenia is portrayed very negatively in media and it needs to stop. We need to build more awareness about this illness, it is not “funny” like we see in movies. i have also seen a lot of tv shows and movies where the person with schizophrenia is portrayed as dangerous.  

Thanksgiving First Impression

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

Elizabethtown college was not my first choice, but for some reason I felt drawn to it. Also it is great for my major- education. A lot of my motivation comes back to my major and my future. Whenever I do not feel like studying or doing homework, I think about being a teacher after I graduate and it gives me so much motivation. All of this hard work will not be for nothing, I am working toward my degree so I can do what I love for the rest of my life. Another motivation is knowing my parents are paying for this education, so I need to do well at Elizabethtown. It is very hard sometimes to stay motivated, but usually when I think of these things I feel more motivated and energized. To stay motivated while doing specific assignments, I usually tell myself if I finish a certain amount I can take a break like use my phone or eat something. 

An intervention for myself to maintain motivation is rewarding myself for getting a good grade by doing something I like to do. But most of my motivation has to be from myself, from the reasons I stated before. I have to keep a positive attitude and try not to get down on myself. This is a problem I have now, I am hard on myself and stress myself out very much, but then I still procrastinate. After reminding myself of my goals and why I am doing this work, I usually get motivated again. 

Chapter 13 First Impression

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

First, the Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test. I got ESFJ. I agree with these results, I do think I am more extroverted and I use my feelings rather than thinking through things. This test I filled in the questions as my first response to it without overthinking it, and I would say this test is reliable. For the Jungian personality test, I also got ESFJ. The questions were kind of obvious on what kind of personality you were going to get, and for some felt my answer was neither of the options. For the big five test, I got extroversion 92%, emotional stability 19%, agreeableness 91%, conscientiousness 67%, and intellect/imagination 28%. I agreed with these results for the most part, but I wished they had been clearer with the results. It was a little hard for me to understand. Last, the color test. Some of my results I agreed with, but others I did not. The first result they gave was my existing situation. They said I was very social and needed a social environment with people who depend on me, and that I can adapt to any situation. I agree I am social and like having people who depend on me, but I do not think I “need” to be in a highly social environment all the time. I do like being around people most of the time, but sometimes I like being alone. Next, they told me my stress sources. They said I need to meet people who have the same values as me and I need to feel dominate. I completely disagree with this. I can be friends with anyone, I do not care if we do not have the same principals. I also do not need to me superior, I try to bring people who are around me up. It also says I want to stand out of the crowd and earn a higher status, which also does not explain me at all. Next they talk about my restrained characteristics. They say I am unhappy because I cannot succeed in understanding what I desire. It also says I keep my emotions bottled up and take offense to small things. I do not agree with these either, I show my emotions and talk it through and I know what I desire in life. Next they talk about my desired objective. It says I rely on love and friends to bring me happiness and I need constant approval. This I do agree with, I surround myself with people who make me happy and I always ask people around me to validate what I am feeling. Last, they tell me my “actual problem”. It says I feel unimportant in my current situation and I am looking got different conditions to prove my worth. I do not really agree with this. Overall, most of the results did not connect with me, but i honestly was not expecting them to since all I did was pick colors.

Spotlight Blog #2

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

I decided to first find stress management tips for college students. I found an article from Purdue University, a guide for stress management for college students. Their first tip is to eat well. They back this up by saying when you eat healthy you help your body avoid stress because you have the right nutritions. The next tip we talked about in class as well, exercise. This is proven to reduce stress, but as we discussed in class it has to be regular. Exercise produces endorphins and improves sleeping patterns. They next discuss having a support system, which we also learned about in class. Social support and self-disclosure can help fight stress and have hope for the future. The article also suggests using positive thinking and meditating. Meditating can help, just as we said in class to picture yourself somewhere else relaxing. Their last tip is journaling, they said it can help you process your problems and it strengthens immune cells. The next article I found was tips for stress management for athletes. Their first tip is to get plenty of rest. This is proven to be true, you body needs rest to be able to handle stress, especially if also playing a sport. They recommend to get 7-9 hours of sleep. Their next tip is to engage in fun activities, to focus on something relaxing and fun to destress. Having an outlet can help against stress. Next, they say to manage your time. They recommend having a planner with everything you need to go to or get done to help manage your time correctly. Next, they say to check your attitude. Positive thinking can help reduce stress, and this is what they recommend. Their last tip is getting support, which we know is a good tip, going back to having a support system. The last article I found was aimed toward teachers and stress management for them. Their first tip is to practice mindfulness. This is a tip that has been in each article and in our lecture. Changing you mindset to thinking positively is proven to help and it is something anyone can do. Their next tip is to share experiences with colleagues. This goes back to having a support system. They say relating to someone in your life who is experiencing the same problems as you can help lessen stress. Their next tip is focus on something you can do something about. They say do not waste time worrying about things out of your control. Within this tip, they also add to write down the things behind your stress and list them into things you can and cannot control. The next tip is setting realistic goals. They talk about how you are only human and cannot do everything, even if you want to. Teachers often feel like they need to do everything and more, without thinking of taking care of themselves. Their last tip is a common one, exercising regularly. We already talked about how this is proven to help and is a good idea for everyone and anyone.

Websites used:

https://www.purdueglobal.edu/news-resources/college-students-guide-to-stress-management-infographic/

https://nova3labs.com/five-stress-management-tips-athletes/

https://truestressmanagement.com/stress-management-for-teachers/

Chapter 8 First Impression

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

Legalization of recreational marijuana is a controversial topic, it always has been. There are good and bad things about the legalization for both recreational and medical. Let’s start with medical. Medical marijuana has been proven to help people with lots of conditions that other medicines cannot help. For example, Crohn’s disease, cancer, migraines, high blood sugar, and chronic pain are just a few of the illnesses marijuana can help. Marijuana can reduce pain and help someone build an appetite when they cannot on their own. Studies also show that marijuana cannot increase the risk of lung diseases, unlike tobacco. Yet, there are downsides as well. Using marijuana frequently can affect your short term memory drastically. Marijuana also contains cancer-causing elements and is addictive. For recreational, marijuana can heighten senses and allow users to speak their mind more freely. The dopamine release you get from smoking gives you feel good feelings and can make your life more stress free and energized. Legalization also helps the economy, for every 1 dollar spent for marijuana the economy gets between 2.13 and 2.40 dollars back. Also, police could focus on other crime activities other than marijuana laws. But there are cons as well. Just like the con for medical use, marijuana is addictive. Car accidents and deaths would increase with the legalization. Marijuana harms our bodies, like our brain causing mental health issues. Growing marijuana can also harm the environment through deforestation, habitat destruction, and more. After reviewing the pros and cons for both medical and recreational marijuana, I believe it should be legalized. People are getting it even when it is against the law, so it is not very effective. While it may not be the best thing to do, cigarettes are not either and they are legal. It should be everyone’s own choice to do it not, while knowing both the pros and cons.

Spotlight #1

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

These days divorce rates are very high, 40-50% of married couples in the United States get divorced. With so many divorces, you have to look at the consequences and effects on children of these failed marriages. It is a debate that has been going on for years- does divorce effect the children of the marriage?

According to a Psychology Today article, divorce has a negative effect on children, even if they are adults. The author says, in her experience of having divorced parents, there is self blame for the child which causes grades and extracurricular activities in school to drop. She also talks about how her life lost a parent from the divorce, leaving her unsupervised with a single parent who was depressed from the divorce. For adults, she says it affected her relationships because she was scared to trust someone knowing they could leave. She says she also went into her marriage knowing she could divorce, after being exposed to that as a child. She ends the article by saying divorce has lifelong effects, and they are not good.

In another article titled, “The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children”, they go through how divorce at all different ages effects children. They say young children cannot fully understand it and worry if their parents may stop loving them, just as they did with each other. For grade school age children, they say children blame themselves and think they did something wrong. In teenagers, it is common for them to blame one parent and become angry. The article then goes on to talk about the risk of mental health and behavior problems. Both of these have higher rates for children who have experienced divorce, including, anxiety, psychological, and behavior with peers issues. They say that adults are also effected by having a higher rate of substance use problems and mental health issues. 

On the other side of things, Psychology Today posted another article, titled, “Enhancing Positive Outcomes for Children of Divorce”. In this article, he talks about how divorce makes most children upset at first, yet it does not cause major problems that are lifelong. He also goes through ways to make divorce easier on children, by keeping them out of the issues between parents. He also says to be supportive and spend more time with the children for support. He says if the parents are supportive through the divorce, children can grow up without having problems. 

Another article titled, “Positive Effects of Divorce on Children” argues that divorce may be what is better for the children of the marriage, if the marriage is toxic and creating a harmful environment. She talks about if a marriage is abusive, the best thing for the children is to split up the parents and stop the fighting so children do not have to be around that. If the parents act civil toward each other after the divorce, it teaches children about relationships and how to handle things the right way. 

After these readings, I believe that divorce does have a negative effect on children, but if you handle it the correct way it will not effect them too bad for their lifetime. If the parents through and after the divorce put their children first, it will not be a huge negative effect on the children’s lives.

Sources Cited:

Boyd, Karie. “Positive Effects Of Divorce On Children.” Kids in the House, 8 July 2015, www.kidsinthehouse.com/blogs/karie-boyd/positive-effects-of-divorce-on-children. 

Farber, Neil. “Enhancing Positive Outcomes for Children of Divorce.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 30 Mar. 2018, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-blame-game/201803/enhancing-positive-outcomes-children-

Gumbiner, Jann. “Divorce Hurts Children, Even Grown Ones.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 31 Oct. 2011, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-teenage-mind/201110/divorce-hurts-children-even-grown-ones.

Morin, Amy, and Steven Gans. “The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children.” Verywell Family, Verywellfamily, 24 Aug. 2018, http://www.verywellfamily.com/psychological-effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170.

Chapter 7 First Impression

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

I believe there is a good and bad side to everything, and violent video games is no exception. So due to this, my perspective on violent video games is mixed. On one hand, they can be very gory and may normalize this kind of violence. Children are very impressionable and too many of these video games may lead to kids being violent because they saw it on their games. It may also cause children to be aggressive later in life. This can also lead to bullying, or much worse-school shootings. Yet we cannot blame violent video games for all of this. I believe it could have positive effects too. It could be a therapeutic outlet for aggression instead of actually acting on it. Video games also help children with concentration and accuracy. I do not think all violent video games should be banned, but I think we should take a look at the worse ones out there. There is a line that could be crossed, then I think banning that game would be a good idea. But I think banning every video game with any kind of violence would not be a good idea. Age restrictions are a good way to avoid too young of children to be playing these games, only older children should be able to play in my opinion. Violent video games have been around for awhile and everyone has their own strong opinion, but the most important thing should be the effect on the children.