Introductory Blog Post

--Original published at Jill Distler's Psychology Blog

Thank you for visiting Jill Distler’s Psychology Blog!

I chose to take Psychology 105 at Elizabethtown College, because I heard so many great things about the professor for my section. Not only am I excited to learn more about the human brain, I am also excited to learn more about conditioning. Although I do not have any previous experience in a psychology class, a history teacher I had in high school taught the course and had “rat labs” where students were training rats. What do you think of when you hear the word “psychology”? For starters, I usually think of the brain and behaviors that are associated with disorders. Then I think of the “rat lab” when someone brought their rat to the bathroom and it escaped, leaving many of the teachers hiding from the small, large eared rodent. This semester, I am thrilled to learn about memories, the mechanics of sleep, and the topics in Week 16. These topics are most interesting to me because I personally have a terrible memory, specifically when it comes to remembering traumatic events. I also believe I could be an insomniac so sleep cycles, and the activity of the brain during sleep. I am also interested in psychotic, traumatic, and personality disorders along with the treatments for the conditions. I am least interested in the topics surrounding the technical side of psychology such as: the scientific methods, the importance of research design, and the power of experiments. Since the class does not have a lab, I don’t think reviewing these topics is entirely relevant to the course, even though it is important outside of the classroom. By the end of this semester, I hope to answer my questions about how I can help myself get “a good night’s rest” and also why the human brain forgets traumatic incidents.

January 14th, 2019

Introduction Post

--Original published at Victoria's Psych Blog

Hello!

My name is Victoria. I am a first year student from Pennsylvania and I am currently in Introduction to Psychology. I am taking this course because I decided to change my major from engineering to psychology. Last semester, I took an English class and realized I have a strong interest in psychology. I think it is because of my background with psychology. Personally, I have received mental health care such as talk therapy, intensive outpatient care and medication. I am not embarrassed to talk about it and I hope to remove the stigma around mental health illnesses one day. My background, however, is only limited to mood disorders and possible treatments for various illnesses. I have learned little bits of information here and there about psychology research in high school, but it was not extensive.

When I hear the word “psychology”, I think of therapy, mood disorders and learning disabilities. In my opinion, psychology is such a broad term and it has many topics to understand. Since I am only in an introduction to the class, I will learn a little bit about the topics. Hopefully, my definition of the word will improv greatly by the end of the semester.

This semester, I am looking forward to the end of the class because of its topics. I am very interested in mood disorders, psychotic and personality disorders. Schizophrenia is the disease I want to learn the most about. One day I hope to be a clinical psychologist helping people with psychotic and personality disorders. It is fascinating to me and there is not that much information about it. I hope to do research to help the understanding of these disorders and help the patients cope and function.

Introduction

--Original published at Maddy Vingom's PSY105 Blog

My name is Maddy Vingom, I am currently a freshmen occupational therapy major at Elizabethtown College.

Although Psychology 105 is a required course for my major, I am looking forward to taking this course. I am genuinely interested in the topic and is a very important aspect within any career in the field of healthcare. During my junior year of high school I took a psychology course and loved it, my teacher made the class very engaging and left me wanting to learn more. Psychology is a science like no other making me associate it with people, because it is the study of the human mind and the mind controls everything we do. The topics I am most looking forward to in this course are developmental psychology, mental illness, and past psychological studies. Occupational therapists work with people who may have mental illnesses or developmental disabilities, therefore this information is vital for me to understand in order to improve their lives. I also find past psychological studies very interesting and truly enjoyed learning about them in high school. The topics I find least interesting are personality development, intelligence, and stress. When learning about personality development and intelligence in high school my teacher was unable to give my class a lot of information about them, due to it being difficult to compile research and I found those units to be less engaging than other course material. Stress is a topic that I have learned almost every year since the 7th grade, in both health and psychology classes, the information I am given is typically very similar to previous courses. I am hoping to gain as much information about mental development and mental illness as possible from Introduction to Psychology.

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An Introduction

--Original published at Kaity Takes on Psychology

Welcome to my blog! My name is Kaity, and I am an avid lover of learning. I have taken a psychology course in high school, yet there is so much I do not know about this broad and important subject. My main reason for taking this course is to expand my personal body of knowledge.

When I hear the word “psychology,” I think about the countless functions that occur within the brain as humans experience their day-to-day routines.

Among the plethora of topics taught during the semester, I am most excited to learn about memories, stress, and personality. As a college student, I struggle to remember a lot of information sans studying, and would love to know how memories work. Likewise, stress is a large factor in the lives of many folks, and I seek to remedy stress for myself and others. I have taken the extended Myers-Briggs personality test in the past, and understanding personality will be a very helpful tool as I develop into a working adult.

However, there are some topics that I automatically deemed as lackluster, such as learning to get good sleep, obedience, and the theories of intelligence. I try to avoid learning about sleep primarily because I am notorious for staying up late, and in turn receive plenty of criticism on my sleeping habits. Likewise, the topic of obedience reminds me of multiple works like A Clockwork Orange, and South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut; both of these show examples of forced “good” behavior upon young minds. Learning about obedience hopefully will not be as drastic as using the Ludovico’s Technique on Alex, or the V Chip on Eric Cartman. I am highly unfamiliar with the various theories of intelligence, and therefore worry the topic might be somewhat dry. However, positive mindsets can often overcome negative feelings, and I desire to enjoy all topics equally.

A personal tidbit about myself: I have a twin sister. There have been countless occasions where we have gotten along, and about twice as many where we have not. I am beyond curious to know how my sister and I developed such different world views though we were raised in the same environment. If I could learn one thing from this course, I would want to know how personality is fabricated and built upon as a person progresses through their life.

PSY 105 – Introductory Blog Post

--Original published at Rachel Bickelman's PSY 105 Blog

Hi everyone! My name is Rachel Bickelman and I’m a sophomore Sociology and (new) Psychology major. My hometown is Hershey just twenty minutes from Elizabethtown. I love to play tennis, make art, hike, shop and spend time with my friends and family.

Since I declared a second major at the end of my first year, I signed up for this course. I don’t have a ton of background knowledge in psychology, but, when I think about the word I connotate it with: human behavior, emotion, analysis, and research all of which have always sounded interesting to me.

Looking at the course syllabus the three topics I’m excited to learn about are, “Chemicals & Consciousness,” “Personality Theory,” and “Classifying Mental Illness.” I am interested in “Chemicals & Consciousness” because I think it will involve the brain which has some uncharted territory; there always seems to be new information researchers are finding out about the brain and how it works. “Personality Theory” also sounds interesting because of how unique everybody is and learning how psychologists classify people together. Last, “Classifying Mental Illness” due to the stigma and misrepresentation and spread of false information. Also, the topic is super fascinating to me due to the implications mental health has on everyday life and in society.

Honestly, I’m interested in all the topics but if I had to choose the three topics I’m least interested in they would be: “Obedience,” “Attachment Theory,” and “Assessing Intelligence.” I picked these on a whim since I don’t know much about them and seem less exciting than the other concentrations in psychology.

By the end of this class I’d like to know what human emotion is most powerful. I’m not sure if that is a psychological question or if there is a definite answer but that would be cool to know. I’d also want to learn what is the biggest factor in mental illness: biology or environment? This could change the way that mental illnesses are both treated and managed.

About Me

--Original published at HannahsCollegeBlog

Hello, my name is Hannah Segal, and I am a Psychology major. I took this class because psychology is very interesting to me and I want to learn more about it. My senior year of high school I took AP psychology and it ended up being my favorite class. When I hear the word “psychology” I think of how the brain and mind work, and the ‘why’ behind peoples actions. Week 14, covering the topic of mental illnesses sounds most interesting to me because I want to learn about what the different illnesses are and how they effect the brain and what can be done to help fix them. I am also interested in learning about sleep, and why it is easier or harder for others to sleep, and knowing how to get the best sleep. Lastly I am looking forward to learn how to cope with stress. This interest me because stress is a daily problem that most people face, so learning how to cope with it will make everyday life a little easier. One topic that I am least excited to learn about is conditioning. When I was learning this in my AP class, it never peaked my interest and was kind of boring to me. I am also least interested in learning about the theories of intelligence, because I my AP teacher took a lot of time to go over that topic so I already have somewhat of an understanding of it. Lastly, how to choose a therapist, this is least interesting to me because I am looking forward to learning more about the brain itself rather than the therapies. One question that I would like to have answered by the end of this class is, why do we dream?

Introduction Blog Post

--Original published at Tyler's Ideas

Honestly, I was placed into Intro to Psychology because I am an undecided freshman, but I think this class is a great class for me to take. I ultimately want to be a guidance counselor and could potentially major in Psychology depending on how this class goes. In high school, I took AP Psychology my junior year. Unfortunately, I didn’t put in the correct amount of time needed to do well in the class, so I did not score very well on the AP test. When I hear the word psychology, I instantly think about how people work and why. Three topics I find interesting are moral development, coping with stress, and psychotic, traumatic, & personality disorders. Moral development seems interesting because I am excited to learn where our morals start from and how they form as you get older. I am excited to learn about coping with stress because I feel I may be able to use that in my own life. Finally, psychotic, traumatic, & personality Disorders is what interests me most in psychology, so I am very excited to learn about that. Three areas I am least interested in, all have to do with the brain. Both the brain: micro-level and the brain: macro-level I know I will struggle with therefore I am least excited about them. chemicals and consciousness also don’t seem so exciting considering they sound like it will be able the brain also. By the end of psychology hope to answer the question, why do people do what they do. Why are people stressed and how can they fix it? How are morals developed? Other questions like that really fascinate me.

Intro!

--Original published at Alexis' Blog

Hi everyone!!

My name is Alexis and I’m going to be the TA for this semester of Gen Psych! I’m a junior Psychology major with a double minor in Studio Art and Data Analytics. Around campus, I’m an RA in Schlosser on the first floor, I’m the Secretary for the class of 2020 Student Senate, I’m a research assistant for Dr. Lemley’s study of the perky effect, and I’m the Vice President of Psi Chi. (I’m also a TA for Psych Stats if you need any help there as well!)

I took Gen Psych in high school for AP credit, but it was definitely one of my favorite classes. At Etown, I took Neuroscience and Psychopathology my first year, Psychological Statistics, Social Psychology, Psychological Research Methods, and Counseling Psychology last year, and this year I am enrolled in Health Psychology and Psychology of Diversity! Out of all of these, I would say that Counseling Psych has been one of the most interesting and helpful classes I have taken this far, and I would highly recommend it

If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me! My email is trionfoa@etown.edu. I look forward to seeing all of your blog posts this upcoming semester!

-Alexis

Starting College

--Original published at Gracie's Blog

28 August 2018

Hey, my name is Gracie Brubaker! I am currently a freshman majoring in Occupational Therapy at Elizabethtown College. I am excited to take psychology because I never took this specific class in high school. I was originally put into a HUM Peace, War, and Nonviolence class, but I felt like I should take a class that would benefit me in the field of work I would like to undertake in the future.

I do not have any background in psychology because like I said I did not take it in high school because my schedule was already full. When I hear the word “psychology” I think of the brain and how it works. I also think of psychology as finding reasons why people’s personalities are so different from one another and why reactions of people are so different.

The three topics that look the most interesting to me are “psychology then and now”, “how to improve memory”, and “how to get good sleep”. The topic about psychology then and now interests me because I feel like it will be interesting to hear how much information has been discovered over time and how people discovered it. I always feel like I have a terrible memory, therefore learning how to improve memory is something I am looking forward to. The topic about getting a good night’s sleep also catches my attention because sleep is so important and there are probably tricks to sleeping better.

One topic that sounds the least interesting to me is the “attachment theory” because anything with “theory” in the name sounds boring. Another topic which sounds the least interesting would be “observational learning” because this topic sounds like we have to just observe something then learn from visuals, and that does not sound too intriguing to me. The last topic that does not sound interesting is “classical conditioning” because I am not sure what type of “conditioning” the topic is referring to.

The one question that I would like to answered by the end of this class is: How does someone improve their memory and what makes someone have a bad memory?

Blog Creation Post

--Original published at Marisa Psych Blog

Hello. My name is Marisa Krinock and this is the start to my sophomore year at Elizabethtown College. I am a Criminal Justice major with minors in History as well as Pre-law. I am an athlete at this college as a member of the volleyball team. I love the field I am pursuing and believe this course will help me tremendously as I continue to learn different areas and parts of this work.

I chose to take this class because I honestly am interested in the subject and concept of psychology. I do believe that this course is also recommended to take with my major and rightfully so. Not only do I think that understanding human behaviors as well as how others process information important, but very crucial to how society runs and functions as a whole. I have always found psychology interesting. Studying how people act and seeing the make up of brain chemicals that par-take in everyday things such as emotions or even thinking is very intriguing in my personal opinion.

I do not have a background in the subject of psychology. I did however take a basic psychology class in high school and loved it. In that class we focused on nature vs. nuture scenarios. We discussed a number of very debatable topics. One of my favorite discussions we had was based on serial killers. It was based on whether or not the students felt if certain chosen serial killers we discussed were predisposed to certain things in society, difficult home lives, or mental imbalances and how they contributed to there actions. Looking into the psychological aspect of there actions, we could try to find an answer of why. Why are people different from one another and what are main factors in their actions, such as the ones these killers possessed.

When I here the word “psychology”, I think of the mind. Each person has different makeup. This includes variables of background, parents, home life, economical status, education, location of living and much more. All of these variables contribute to the life one lives and how they live it. Psychology is a branch of science that gives a sense of understanding in why. How and why do people process and act in certain scenarios? This question is not an easy one to answer, but psychology gives steps and different factors that establish a starting platform. Being able to measure and control different aspects and components in someones life can be observed. These observations create data in the levels of science, behavior and mental processes in which humans have on a daily basis. All of these are tide to the mind in one way or another.

After looking into the course syllabus, I found three topics that do intrigue me. The topic of, “What is “Addiction?”” interests me on a personal level as I have seen that throughout my immediate family. In my opinion, addiction is different for everyone. Yes, it is measurable, but everyone has different reasons and contributions to their addictions. Another topic I found interesting was “How to improve memory.” I have an awful long term memory in my opinion. I don’t remember much of my life before the start of middle school. This interests me because my sister can remember small little details from when we were little kids that I don’t even remember happened. And lastly, I found “Psychotic, Traumatic, and Personality Disorders” interesting. I don’t know a lot of about this topic which is the main reason it interests me. Three topics that didn’t really catch my eye or that I would personally think were interested consisted of “Obedience”, “Psychiatric Medication”, and “How to chose a Therapist”. All of these topics didn’t catch because of the titles. I am person that looks and covers of books and decides if they look interesting from that. I hope I learn something not just from these subjects, but all of them.

One question that I would like to get an answer to throughout the span of this intro psychology class is based off addiction. I want to learn more about the different elements of this very big issue in todays society. I don’t think there is really a direct answer, so I am looking for a thicker sense of understanding aspects of it. Why is it such a huge issue in todays world, and how can it possibly be contained or even reduced? This is my question for this course.