Author Archives: melanieblevins

Extra Credit Blog

--Original published at MelanieBlevins

Miguel is facing multiple problems in college that have caused him to fall behind and struggle with his school work. He is having trouble sleeping at night, causing him to be irritable and sensitive during the day. Miguel is a perfectionist and has lately been letting himself down. There are multiple modern day perspectives that may explain Miguel’s actions.

From a Psychodynamic perspective, Miguel’s unconscious mind has the desire to be perfect and achieve good grades. Because his mind does this automatically, he is unable to react in a positive manner when he does anything below his high standards. This causes him to act out aggressively towards others because he is truly upset with himself. It also causes him to have trouble sleeping at night because his unconscious is always unhappy and worrying about perfectionism. From the viewpoint of a behavioral psychologist, Miguel would be observed staying up throughout the night and getting into fights with his roommates. Miguel’s behavioral habits rely on past experiences, showing that him picking a fight may be a habit he had learned previously in his life through friends, family, or peers. Additionally, his parents may have pushed him throughout his life convincing him he was not good enough and could always do better. This would be an explanation for his perfectionist personality and behavioral outbreaks. From a humanistic viewpoint,  Miguel believes he is failing and will never be good enough to impress anyone. In Miguel’s reality he is imperfect, causing him to be distracted away from any others strengths he may have. This is causing him emotional trouble and a lack of happiness, which he may be coping with by fighting. Cognitive psychology would focus on the way Miguel is feeling and what is noticeably going on in his head. His thought process is jumbled and he is constantly bringing himself down because he cant be confident unless he is perfect. These thoughts are controlling his life and his lack of sleep is making it so he is unable to think about anything else. From a biological perspective, Miguel’s brain may be experiencing a chemical imbalance that has caused him to develop anxiety. His anxiety may be triggered by stress, making him very sensitive at times because of the stress of college and achieving perfection. This imbalance may also cause an obsession with being perfect and angry outbursts to those who try to help him. Lastly, a cultural perspective of Miguel may show his mental processes to be specific to his cultural group. Where he is from, perfectionism may be a way of life and those who achieve it are respected. However, those who do not achieve perfection may be punished for their failures. Going to college, Miguel may have left his typical environment and began interacting with students that have a different background from him. Students that are considered “lazy” may anger Miguel or confuse him because of his different views.

Introduction

--Original published at MelanieBlevins

Hello!! My name is Melanie, I am a first year student and a psychology major. On campus I am an avid napper and a member of Mad Cow Improv, so i can be kinda funny sometimes. I chose to take General Psychology because it is the foreground for my major and puts me in the right direction for my future both during and after college. In high school I look a psychology course and fell in love with the class as well as what I was researching out of class. Through psychology I have learned so much about myself and those around me, which has led me to becoming a better and more understanding person. When I hear the word psychology, a lot of things come to mind.

For me, I think about the decisions people make and how those decisions have been effected by a persons environment, self image, peers, and their own mental health. I think the three most interesting topics for me have to be stress, emotion, and how to get good sleep. It fascinates me when I find out new things about myself through the things we learn in class, and i can make connections to understand why I am feeling a certain way. As for sleep, I have already mentioned my hobby of napping and if I can somehow improve one of my favorite activities I’m down to do so. My three least favorite topics are definitely any of the very science based ones such as learning about the brain and the scientific method. Science isn’t really my strong suit but these ideas seem pretty basic so it shouldn’t be too bad.

By the end of this class I would like for you to answer is, if there was an individual who lived in the perfect world and had no apparent reason to develop a mental disorder, can they?