Introductory Blog Post

--Original published at olivyahvanek

My name is Olivyah Vanek, I will be a sophomore in the fall at Elizabethtown College. My major is environmental science and I am still deciding on what I want my minor to be, psychology being one of the possible options, which is one of the main reasons I decided to take this summer course. I also decided to take this course to gain more college credits.

I don’t have much background in psychology, other than a class I took during high school for one semester. The class I took was just an introduction to psychology and I found it to be one of the most interesting courses that I took during high school.

When I hear the word “psychology” I think of the behaviors and mental thoughts of humans.

As I looked through the course schedule, I realized that there were many topics that I was interested in. I am most interested in learning how to evaluate psychological claims and how humans are psychologically affected by certain scenarios. I am very interested in children’s psychology as well and how it is different than in adults. I am less interested in topics such as topics such as memory and human development because they don’t seem quite as interesting to me as some of the other topics do.

By the end of this course I hope that I can learn enough information about psychology to help me decided whether or not I want to declare it as my major. I look forward to beginning this course and learning more about psychology!

Blog Introduction

--Original published at Noah'sPSY105blog

My name is Noah Hartman and I am a rising senior at Elizabethtown College. I am a Business Administration major with a concentration in Management. I am from Lebanon, Pennsylvania and enjoy spending time outdoors either playing lacrosse or spending time with friends.

I decided to take this course to gain extra credits as well as develop some understanding of psychology as a whole. I do not possess any previous knowledge when it comes to psychology. When I hear the word “psychology” I immediately think of the mind and what different factors drive people to think or to act. I believe that chapters 3,8, and 11 will be the most interesting chapters to learn about and could also be some of the most helpful chapters as well. I think that the topic on the Scientific Method, the Classical and Operant Conditioning , and Neuro-Imaging because on the surface these all seem like topics that could be very dry or tedious in nature. Lastly, the question about psychology that I would like answered by the end of the class would be, how well can it be tied into different fields of study?

Chapter 1 First Impression Post

--Original published at Courtney's College Blog

Question: How does summer vacation affect the intelligence of children from different social statuses?

Hypothesis: I would expect children from wealthy families to increase their knowledge, and children from poorer families to decrease their knowledge because wealthy families have the resources to allow their children to expand their education during the summer.

Procedure:

  1. Establish three groups of children: those from wealthy, middle class, and lower class families. The more children involved in the experiment, the more reliable the results will be. To keep variables controlled, children should be in the same school and grade level.
  2. Administer an educational test at the end of the school year, and record each child’s score. The test should be made up of mathematics, reading, writing, science, and social studies.
  3. At the beginning of the next school year, have the children take a similar test.
  4. Evaluate the results to see if social class has an affect on educational improvements over summer break.

Intro to Psychology Blog Creation

--Original published at JVershinski's Blog

Hello! My name is Jacob Vershinski. I am from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania and I just completed my freshman year at Elizabethtown College. I have lived in Glen Mills my entire life with my mom, my dad, and my older brother. We currently have three dogs, a guinea pig, and a few fish. I am majoring in Biology with a concentration in pre-medicine, but I think that I am going to switch my major in this upcoming year.

I decided to take this course because it is a pre-requisite for my current major, as well as the major I may be switching to. I do not have any background in psychology as I did not take it in high school. When I hear the word psychology, I think of the way that people act and the reasoning behind it. Another thing that comes to mind is my favorite TV show, “Psych.” To me, chapters two, four, and the drug knowledge activity appear to be the most appealing. Chapter two is about the biology of behavior which sparks my interest. Chapter four is about how psychology changes during the human life span, and the drug knowledge activity is interesting to me. Three topics that are not interesting to me are chapter one because I know it will be the basic introductory chapter, the stress ranking activity because it’s summer time and I don’t think many of us will be stressed, and the exams are definitely not fun topics. A question about psychology that I wish to answer is what kind of role it plays in everyday life. Obviously it is going to play quite a major role, but I’m just curious as to how much it impacts the everyday life.

Introductory Blog Post

--Original published at Courtney's College Blog

My name is Courtney Katch, an upcoming senior at Hempfield High School in Landisville, PA. I am hoping to attend Elizabethtown College next year with a major in biology, on a pre-medical track. I am taking two classes this summer to introduce myself to college-level coursework, while gaining college credit.

I am taking this course to complete a required course for my major. Also, I am considering obtaining a minor in psychology, and I am hoping that this course will give me a clear response as to if I should do so.

I have limited background in psychology, although I am very interested in the subject. I have taken Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Child Development in high school, which touched upon psychology.

When I hear the word psychology, I think of the science behind emotions and daily processes.

I am looking forward to learning about mental illness, because it is something that has affected by life. Since I am pursuing a career in medicine, I am interested in neuro-imaging, and psychiatric medication.

While looking through the course schedule, I was delighted to see how much I was interested in. I am least excited to learn about the scientific method, and why research design matters. Although these concepts are important, I am eager to dive in to material that is specific to psychology. Another least interesting concept is personality and culture, because it is less intriguing than other topics, like mood disorders and treatment.

At the end of this course, I hope to have a clear understanding about the basics of psychology, because I am taking psychopathology in the fall. I hope these courses let me know if I should to follow through with a psychology minor.

Media Production Project

--Original published at Robert's Psychology blog

 There is a study coming from the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry correlating between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the volume of the caudate portion of the brain in 9 to 11-year-old boys of European descent. In this study the specific there were 5 psychiatric disorders, schizophrenic disorder (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and ADHD, and two cognitive traits, educational attainment (EA) and intelligence.

The participants for this study were selected from the Generation R Study, an ongoing study of a population based child development. In order to be studied, the participants needed to satisfy a few criteria. These criteria included; usable MRI’s, European ancestry, and usable genetic data. The study used an MRI to study the volume of the different parts of the brain, including cortical gray matter, total white matter, subcortical gray matter, ventricular volume, amygdala-hippocampus complex, caudate, putamen, and thalamus brain volumes. The study used polygenic risk scores based on genome-wide association studies, which identifies one’s genetic susceptibility for a given disorder or trait.

The study originally showed there to be a correlation between Major depression disorder, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, educational attainment, and intelligence, but after the data was fitted the only correlations shown to be significant were ADHD in boys, educational attainment, and intelligence.

The author of this study stated there is not much research done in this field of study and the only way to understand the correlation between brain morphology and genetic susceptibility I children is to do more research. They also state, “Our results should be interpreted in the context of several strengths and limitations.” Meaning the study is a good start but it is not perfect and can be made better with a better understanding of the field.  

Chapter 15 First Impression : option 1

--Original published at Bogo's Blog

In my opinion, all kinds of therapy have their positives and negatives. Each one is noteworthy in their own special way and picking which is better in order is not an easy task. The one I would rank as the superior of the others would be Cognitive Therapy. As a teenager in college, I understand very well that people can be negatives sometimes. Most especially, when things are not going very well for them. People in these positions can be very negative and self-deprecating at times. Cognitive Therapy helps with this by aiding them in changing their negative mindsets. Building of the previous point, I believe the Humanistic Therapy would be the second most effective because the therapists focus on the positive growth in the client rather than focusing on the person’s . This type of therapy attempts to aid the client develop stronger, healthier sense of self, as well as access and understand their feelings to help gain a sense of meaning in their life. My third choice is Behavioral Therapy, because it is very beneficial for children of younger ages since this type of therapy assesses the behavior of an individual as well as the environment they are growing in. For younger children this kind of therapy can alert the parents to how harmful behaviors are rewarded unintentionally and show them how to correct this. In fourth choice is Psychodynamic Therapy, this kind of therapy references past stressors and helps the client get over them. Psychodynamic therapists dive into past memories and try to find the root of the clients pain. Depending on the person this is a very effective way to release pent up pain and sadness.

Ch 15 First Impression Prompt

--Original published at Ben's PSY105 Blog

Michelle Obama’s work on the Change Direction movement helped propel the movement in the right direction. By generating a positive network around the movement, it will be able to spread at an exponential rate. The movement is based around people looking out for one another and noticing signs of mental health issues. The strengths of the movement lie in the people who are taking part. The movement is only as strong as its members. If there is a large group of people helping, the movement will be powerful. The biggest weakness, however, is the American society. Too many people are focused on nothing but themselves. If we want this movement to be effective, people will have to look out for others, which is not a common thing here.

The movement strives to educate on the importance of mental health. People need to be more open about their mental struggles. The movement aims to get people to open up to those around them. College students will try to pay attention to the movement, but most will ultimately give up. There is not enough time in the day for a college student. They generally will spend their time trying to get work done, eating, studying, and sleeping if they are lucky. Especially around this point in the semester, students are constantly busy and under stress, so they don’t have time to worry about their health, physical or mental. As long as they are able to make it to class, they will regardless of how they feel. If the college wanted to get people to pay attention to a movement similar to the Change Direction movement, their best bet would be to try to have it in the beginning of the semester. If they did this, students would be able to keep the information in mind when the semester winds down and everyone is struggling.

Chapter 15 – First Impression Post

--Original published at Kaity Takes on Psychology

I have to admit – I have been to therapy before. It is no longer a big deal, after all, many of my friends and family have been there, too. Since my visits, I can honestly say I have learned a lot about coping strategies and have felt more confident about myself. The textbook lists a series of psychotherapy methods – psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, and cognitive.

Each method has it’s own perks, but I believe the best approach is cognitive therapy. We often think negatively of ourselves for things we cannot control. Believing, for example, you are unhappy and unintelligent for failing a test seems within reason for stressed or depressed students. However, cognitive therapists seek to change our mindset about these problems by helping a client “restructure their thinking in stressful situations” (Page 580). I have been able to gain more confidence and control over myself by changing my thought processes during times of great stress and anxiety, so I think the cognitive method is the one I like best.

My second choice for therapy methods is psychodynamic therapy, because oftentimes our biggest problems are rooted in the past and continuously hold us back from being happy. Many people credit their childhood as the time where they began to feel certain negative thoughts about themselves, and psychodynamic therapists aim to uncover why their clients are struggling. I think this is a very good way to help alleviate the levels of stress an individual carries around, and can even lead to acceptance and personal growth.

Behavioral therapy seems like a good fit for individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and generalized anxiety disorder. Through methods such as classical conditioning, exposure therapy, counterconditioning, and systematic desensitization; individuals are able to feel more comfortable going through their daily lives. Learned behaviors can be swapped out for more constructive behaviors through behavioral therapy.

Finally, the humanistic approach of psychotherapy. In my opinion, all of these methods can work depending on the client and their needs for certain forms of therapy. I believe the humanistic approach (shout out to Carl Rogers) would be most helpful on clients with newer stress. Therapists promote growth in the client rather than trying to assess the individual’s past trauma. The humanistic approach tries to assist individuals by, much like psychodynamic therapy, use insight therapies to help their clients

In conclusion, I believe all patients of therapists should look into the different forms of therapy, because not every approach will work for everyone. We all seek some type of reassurance and help when we look into attending therapy, but it is our own responsibility to find what works best for us

Chapter 15 First Impression

--Original published at Victoria's Psych Blog

To be honest, I have never heard of Change Direction campaign. That is the first weakness of the campaign. If I had never heard of it, it is not getting enough attention. But, having congressmen and psychologists involved is a very good thing. Congress has a lot of followers, so it is vital that they provide correct information to the public. It is also good that Michelle Obama is involved as well because she has a lot of pull with previous campaigns focused on health issues. Another strength of the campaign is they provide information to resources to get help for illnesses. That is huge because not everyone is aware of how to get help, especially those with unsupportive parents. I think college students should be involved in the campaign, but I am not sure they would. The point of the campaign is to destigmatize mental health illnesses and treat them like physical health issues. At Etown, I have found that a lot of students are not quite there yet. I think Etown needs to broadcast more mental health awareness, especially now that May is mental health awareness month. Etown should encourage students to say their mental health journey. I would be glad to share mine because it shows that there are more mental health options. A step I think Etown should take to broadcast symptoms of mental illnesses is to put it in a SWAG emails, canvas notifications and posters. I feel that the “toilet talks” they do are ineffective because they are not always changed right away. Broadcasting symptoms on multiple platforms are important because not all college kids are checking emails, canvas, Jays app, posters etc. Multiple platforms will reach more students.