Spotlight Blog 3

--Original published at Emily's Blog

Negative peer pressure is a problem which many people will face in their lifetime. It is a direct influence of someone of the same age group. It is proven the performance of people changes when others observe them. Also, the presence of others tends to increase the most likely outcome (whether it be positive or negative). Peer pressure has an influence on many types of people and it is commonly associated with children. Children through young adults are the most known recipients of peer pressure but their experiences vary.

The first article involving peer pressure is, “Teaching your Child to Resist Negative Peer Pressure.” It is about different strategies parents can use to influence their children when they are faced with peer pressure. Peer pressure is among the most prevalent reasons why children act out in social situations. Some of the strategies for parents include hearing your child’s excuses and trying to see the underlying issues, educating your child about outside influences, giving them talking pointers when they are in a tough situation, and reenacting situations so they can see how to handle peer pressure. These situations all involve the parents or parent sitting down with their child and talking with them about peer pressure. While communication is good and healthy, this is only helpful if the child is willing to have this conversation with their parent.

This article does a good job of explaining a large part of peer pressure is conformity. Conformity is adjusting behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. The article does point out the negative aspects of peer pressure but does not address peer pressure having a possible positive influence. For example, if a child is surrounded by children who love to play outside and not play video games constantly, the peer pressure to also play outside is good because it is healthier than playing video games non-stop. The author of the article should have the parents explain both the positive and the negative effects of peer pressure on their child.

The next article is, “Dealing with Peer Pressure” and it is directed at High Schoolers. The article begins by stating all peer influence is not bad. It can be helpful for receiving friendship, encouragement, advice, or learning to experience new things. The author goes on to explain how following peer pressure is natural. Just as animals stay together in groups so do human beings. It is natural to follow peer pressure, but it is not always right. A few pointers the article gives to teenagers are to listen to their gut, plan for situations, stay close to those with similar values, learn to say no, and speak up if you are uncomfortable.

Overall, the article does a good job explaining what peer pressure is and how it can affect those who are influenced by it. The article fails to explain any of the scientific reasons behind social groups and conformity but instead shares general and vague information. The end of the article does a good job talking about the difference one person can make in a situation. Teenagers are more likely to conform when they are made to feel insecure, they are in a group of at least three people, they admire the group’s status or attractiveness, or they know the others in the group are observing their behavior. If one person stands up for what they believe others will be less likely to conform.

The last article is called, “Dealing with Peer Pressure in College.” It provides a little background about peer pressure and assumes the reader understands what it is. The bulk of the article is list tips and tricks for avoiding peer pressure in college. These include being confident in your decisions, finding a new group of friends, knowing your values, removing yourself from uncomfortable situations, and being a good influence on those around you. The article ends by saying peer pressure is a part of life and everyone experiences it.

This article has a weak argument for why and how college students should avoid peer pressure. It does not explain what it is or why it can be harmful to individuals. The article is even confusing when talking about being confident in your own decisions. It states the way to combat peer pressure is to just not do something if it is uncomfortable for you. If that was the only solution to this issue I feel as though people would not struggle with it. The article is totally undermining the effects of being in a social setting and the pressures which come with it. The article does well in addressing the importance of culture in society. Culture is the behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. This article challenges college students to find a culture or set of values which fits best with their beliefs and stick with it. Cultures can shape us into who we want to be while allowing us to be our true selves.

Peer pressure varies across the world and is different for children, high schoolers, and college students. These articles on peer pressure are not peer-reviewed and are not completely trustworthy sources. While they are not scholarly, these articles did make some true statements about the positive and negative effects of peer pressure. Also, they mentioned peer pressure occurs across the lifespan and it is natural for human beings to conform to groups. The people reading these articles looking for advice need to be careful of where the evidence is coming from because each of these sources fails to share important information about peer pressure.

https://www.healthyplace.com/parenting/the-parent-coach/teaching-your-child-to-resist-negative-peer-pressure/

https://www.highschoolillustrated.com/under-pressure-403

http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2010/10/10/dealing-with-peer-pressure-in-college/

Media Production Project

--Original published at Madison's Blog

Summary:

Researchers have continuously noted that smell had a strong impact on attraction to certain objects. A new study done at the University of British Columbia researched the effects of stress levels in women after smelling a partner’s scent, a stranger’s smell, and an unworn smell on a T-shirt. The background on this study focused on theories that a familiar smell is comforting and can reduce stress levels in the body.

96 heterosexual couples volunteered to be in this study. The women were randomly assigned to smell either their partner’s worn shirt, a stranger’s, or an unworn shirt. The men were all assigned to wear the same T-shirt provided by the experimenters for 24 hours, refraining from exercise, smelly foods, or any activity that would skew scent. The women blindly smelled only one shirt from the three groups and completed a series of stress tests. Vitals along with a saliva samples were taken before and after the tasks.

It was hypothesized that stress levels in the women would increase with the stranger’s shirt, decrease with their partner’s shirt and stay constant with the unworn shirt. In correlation to the T-shirt and stressful situation readings, it was seen that in the presence of a familiar scent, cortisol levels decreased, and the opposite was recorded for strange scents. Women exposed to the unworn shirt had no significant change, but slightly reflected the effects of the partner’s scent.

Researchers believe this reflex comes from an evolutionary cycle of “fight or flight.” The reaction of the women was determined by if their bodies thought the scent was familiar of not, so only women who guessed the shirt owner correct were accounted for in data collection. The human body can change its chemistry without our aware knowledge.

(291 words– original article was 307)

Reflection:

In the summary I chose to include how the study question was brought up with what background information was used to formulate a hypothesis. I think this is important to include because olfactory experiments have rarely been done before this experiment, so having some brief background is reassuring to readers. I made sure to include how the couples were randomly assigned to 3 groups, and the women and men had no knowledge of what group they were in. These random groups were crucial to the validity of the research, since the women could have calmed themselves down or reacted more heavily to the stress tests if aware of who’s scent they smelled. I did not include details of all 5 critical questions, because some were irrelevant to the overall understanding of the study for a brief reading. I answered the question of how they selected their participants, since the couples volunteered to be in the study. I also stated how the couples were randomly assigned into 3 groups, which answers the question of how they assigned their participants to groups. I did not fully discuss causal claims since a reader will not fully understand the correlation between stress levels at different periods of the study in quick reading. The conclusions were generalized to the public, but I did not include that in the summary since I think to a reader that is assumed to be the fact.

In the summary, I tried to answer more of the 5 critical questions than the article itself originally did. I thought including how the participants were selected and assigned was information that was beneficial for the reader. Also, I included more information about how the women were used to smell the shirt. In the original article, it only states that the women would smell a T-shirt that was either their partner’s, a stranger’s, or unworn, but they left out the fact that the women only smell one shirt over the course of the experiment. They in total would only smell one shirt from one of those categories and keep smelling it at various times throughout the study. I think it is important for the reader to know that the conclusions are drawn by the women having only been affected by one type of olfactory reaction. In comparison, I think both the article and the summary give a brief overview of the main points of the journal article, but there are obvious detail-oriented differences between them.

Overall from going through each of the three assignments in this semester, I have learned a lot about how psychology is written about in the media. In the pop culture article critique, it was hard to set apart what was good information, and what could be added to have a better understanding of the research, since the research was not seen yet. The 5 critical questions were not easily answered, and it was hard to follow at times since it was written so vaguely. After reading the journal article, I saw there were major chunks of information left out of the brief pop culture article. I tried to change that in my summary, but it was difficult to fit important details in the space provided. I give psychology writers recognition for being able to write thoughtful articles without leaving out information. In the article summary I wrote, I tried to encompass each aspect I thought was important from each assignment and tie it together.

Link to Article: https://health.usnews.com/wellness/health-buzz/articles/2018-01-05/smelling-your-partners-shirt-could-decrease-your-stress-levels-study-says

Link to Journal Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29293018

First Impression post- Week 16

--Original published at MelanieBlevins

During psychotherapy, therapists use differing psychological techniques in order to help individuals overcome their emotional barricades and achieve mental and physical growth. The four different types of psychotherapy include psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic. According to the textbook, psychodynamic viewpoints claim that individuals respond to a situation based on their childhood memories and unconscious forces. Psychodynamic therapy attempts to enhance ones understanding of themselves in order to gain further insight about emerging themes in their relationships. The next, behavioral, is a type of therapy that attempts to eliminate an individuals unwanted behavior. To do this, therapists apply new learning principles in order to help one realize their problem behaviors. Cognitive psychologists look at the relationships between the events one experience and their emotional reactions. Therapists in this field teach individuals new and adaptive ways to think that will hopefully change ones emotional reactions based one what is happening in their life. The last type, humanistic therapy, attempts to advocate that people are born good and have a pathway in life. Therapists attempt to help clients develop a stronger sense of self and understanding of their feelings in order to find meaning in their life. My viewpoints on ranking these four categories are listed below:

Psychodynamic therapy. I believe this would be the most effective type of therapy if I needed to attend one of the four. This would be the most helpful because it relates to a persons past experiences, which makes therapy very personal and interactive. Being able to understand yourself is a very important step in therapy because it makes an individual realize they are in control of their emotions and they can change them at any time. Based on the past, I may feel a certain way about a situation but not realize it because its an unconscious thought. By accepting my underlying viewpoints and emotions, I would be able to better understand my emotions, what triggers them, and how to avoid/help the ways I am feeling.
Cognitive Therapy. I believe this is the second most effective type of therapy behind psychodynamic. This would be helpful because it would assist one in changing their emotional reactions and realize what triggers certain emotions. The reason I do not put this first is because it does not help someone to relate their past experiences to emotions, only certain events that take place. After an event takes place, the emotional behavior is what is assessed. However, this does not look at the reasoning behind emotions as well as psychodynamic therapy does.
Behavioral Therapy. I would place behavioral therapy third in the list because I personally do not think it would be that helpful for me. My emotions usually do not cause extreme behavioral problems, so eliminating my unwanted behaviors would not increase my emotional health by a great difference. This would still be helpful for me based on physical reactions, but personally my emotions are what I struggle the most with. Learning my emotional reactions and being able to control/ change them would be much more effective.
Humanistic Therapy. I do not think humanistic therapy would be very helpful for me at all. I am aware that every human is good-hearted deep down, but humanistic therapy reminds me more of religion than psychology. In tough situations it is hard to convince yourself that life has meaning and you have a pathway. It would be very important for me to learn my self worth, but I feel like I could also find this through the other forms of therapy plus I would have the benefits from the other forms of therapy as well.

Spotlight Blog #3

--Original published at Miguel's College Blog

Year-round Education

Year-round education has been a topic of conversation with parents, teachers, and students alike. What are the benefits and disadvantages of having, or not having year-round education? What is year-round education?

Year-round education is when a school’s education schedule is a couple weeks of teaching material, followed with a couple weeks off throughout the entire year. A common year-round schedule is a 45-15 plan, where teaching is done for 45 days, then three weeks off for the student. The traditional school schedule is laid out to leave three months of space in the summer for students to have a break. Interestingly enough, the year-round schedule has the same 180 days of school as the traditional schedule.

What are the benefits of having a year-round schedule?

Supporters of the year-round schedule say that having school throughout the entire year stops the dreaded “brain drain” of summer, forgetting a large amount of knowledge and skills acquired during the traditional schedule school year. After a long summer break, teachers spend the first couple of weeks having to re-acclimate students to learning and trying to find out what information students have remembered before starting new material. This could take away extra time from learning new material.

Another benefit of having a year-round schedule is that students are kept occupied throughout the entire year. Traditional school schedule allows for the summer break to be a time where students are offered a break and to enjoy the outside weather, however, as social media and technology dependency increases, more students are using their free time inside on devices. The summer break has turned into an empty time for students to reduce their learning to a minimum. Having a year-round schedule would keep students occupied and mentally stimulated throughout the year, while still offering needed breaks for recovery.

What are the disadvantages of having a year-round schedule?

Opponents of having a year-round schedule say that having a year-round schedule could be more expensive as facilities are constantly running throughout the year (a small sacrifice for fostering more education in the summer). Also, having a year-round schedule may rule out the opportunity for faculty to offer summer remediation classes for students who may need it or are lagging behind academically. Having classes held throughout the year may be too fast for some students and may not have the opportunity during the summer to catch up.

Another disadvantage may be that parents are likely to feel the change the most in year-round schedules. Parents who have children in different schools on different schedules are sure to run into problems for transportation, vacations, and extracurricular activities.

Conclusion:

I think having year-round schooling would be a great change for the education system, especially in public school settings and lower income areas because of the benefits for the students. From experience, many summer breaks before I was able to have a job was spent inside, not learning anything new, and I paid the price when school started up again because a tough learning curve would arise trying to review everything. Even when I worked in high school, I was still inside and not being mentally stimulated. Where I grew up, many students relied on the school cafeteria for their daily meals. Over 2/3 of the students at my high school qualified for free and reduced lunch. When the school year ended, there was 3 months of meals that were not guaranteed. Having a year-round schedule gives students the opportunity to have meals throughout the entire year and to be occupied/mentally stimulated throughout the entire year.

Sources For:

Lynch, M. (2016, August 13). Top 3 Reasons the US Should Switch to Year-Round Schooling. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://www.theedadvocate.org/top-3-reasons-the-us-should-switch-to-year-round-schooling/

Chen, G. (2018, April 06). Year Round vs. Traditional Schedules in Public Schools. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/year-round-vs-traditional-schedule-public-schools

Sources Against:

Lynch, M. (2016, October 27). 3 Reasons Not to Adopt Year-Round Schooling. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://www.theedadvocate.org/3-reasons-not-to-adopt-year-round-schooling/

Weller, C. (2017, June 05). Year-round school is booming – but its benefits are over-hyped. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://www.businessinsider.com/year-round-school-summer-vacation-2017-6

Spotlight Blog 3

--Original published at Max'sPHY105blog

Peer pressure is something everyone deals with a least once in their lives. There are some cases in which peer pressure is a good thing, but others in which it is not. Peer pressure has the ability to greatly influence how an individual behaves. Many people say that people should be held responsible for their own actions and resist peer pressure whenever it is necessary, but this is easier said than done. As Asch’s conformity studies have shown, people will give an incorrect answer to a question if everyone else in that person’s group gives the same incorrect answer. Also, Milgram’s obedience studies have shown that people would shock a person with 450 volts when instructed to do so by a lab official. Conformity is a big factor in everyone’s lives. Many people would rather conform to people’s standards than be in a spotlight in which all eyes are on them because they do not conform to group standards. This is how peer pressure alters they way one thinks and acts.

The website How to Handle Peer Pressure on caps.ucsc.edu, provides tips about dealing with peer pressure for young adults, particularly college students. One tip it gives is to check with yourself, which means to ask yourself how you feel about the situation and measure its pros and cons. This advice might be effective because, it allows individuals to access what they believe about what they are being pressured into and if it is a good idea. People could tell themselves that they should not do what they are being pressured into as it will not be beneficial later. However, this tip would not be guaranteed to work all the time since people might rather not appear in an awkward spotlight. Another tip this website gives is to spend time with people who respect your decisions and would not put pressure on you. This advice would be effective because it is more likely to steer individuals away from being pressured into doing something that is not beneficial to them as they can rest easy knowing that they have one person who will not criticize them for not doing what everyone else does. This would reduce the spotlight effect. The website also suggests asking for advice from a family member. This is great and effective advice because it allows people to asses what rules they have been raised to follow and compare these rules the rules they live by now. This would help them see a change in their personality.

Another website How parents can spot and deal with negative peer pressure on thenational.ae, is target toward parents who have kids dealing with negative peer pressure in school. It offers some tips for parents to help their kids resist negative peer pressure. One tip it gives is to develop an open, honest, and close relationship with your children so that they will rely on you when they are having problems. This is effective advice because it would give kids someone to depend on when they are feeling negatively pressured. This person would not criticize them for a change in their behavior and teach them why whatever they are being pressured into, is not beneficial to them. This also provides someone who thinks the same way the kid does and would reduce the spotlight effect. Another tip this website offers is getting to know the friends your kid. This advice is effective because it allows peers to know what their friend’s parents want for their kid and the peer would be more likely to act on those desires. This would reduce negative peer pressure. The website also suggests to teach kids to say no, and to stand up for what they believe in. The idea of this advice is to give kids chances to practice saying no to their peers and explain why they do not want to get involved with what they are being pressured into. However, this advice is probably not very effective. Kids can be taught to say no, by their parents but again, resisting peer pressure is easier said than done. Kids might end up saying that they will say no, but when they are confronted in a situation in which they must conform to group standards or put themselves in an awkward spotlight, studies show that they are more likely to conform to group standards.

Another website Teachers and Students Team Up to Combat Peer Pressure on neatoday.org, provides some tips for teachers to help students deal with peer pressure. On tip it gives is to use positive peer pressure to promote constructive influences students have on each other. This tip is very likely to be effective as it would reduce harmful peer pressure and encourage good peer pressure. Kids would be less likely to be forced to make decisions to keep them out of an awkward spotlight. This website also mentions listening to students concerns and provide advice on how to deal with difficult issues such as peer pressure. It even explains how having a morning advisory period gives students a chance to develop a relationship with someone they can trust, their teacher. This advice is also likely to be effective because it gives students a positive mentor who will not criticize them and give them advice on how to overcome what they are being pressured into. When students know that they have a mentor who will not criticize them, they are less likely to feel that they would be in an awkward position if they do not do what others do. This website also suggests letting students make a list of things they are sure they would say no, to. Then ask the students to revisit the list once a year and see if they really are abstaining from the behaviors they have listed. This is an effective tip because it would let students see which of their behaviors have changed due to peer pressure and how they can deal with these changes.

In conclusion, peer pressure is hard to overcome, but there are some strategies and tips that can be helpful in overcoming it. The bottom line with peer pressure is that it is strong because people feel a strong need to conform to the standards of their groups or generations. Otherwise, they fear that they will looked down upon by others. In order for a strategy in dealing with peer pressure to work, it must involve a way to recognize what behaviors have changed in people who deal with peer pressure, whether it involves a mentor or keeping track of things people have said no, to before that they do not say no, to now. Having a mentor probably has more advantage because it gives people someone they know will not criticize them if they resist peer pressure and protect them from the spotlight they fear getting caught in.

https://caps.ucsc.edu/counseling/aod/peer-pressure.html

https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/family/how-parents-can-spot-and-deal-with-negative-peer-pressure-1.410899

http://neatoday.org/2013/01/04/teachers-and-students-team-up-to-combat-peer-pressure/

Spotlight Post #3

--Original published at Madison's Blog

Peer pressure is a situation all people go through sometime in their lives. It can come in many different forms, and in certain situations can be very hard to overcome. Tips to avoid peer pressure can vary between different groupings of people. High school students have different coping strategies than an adult parent would, and similarly an athlete may also have differing techniques. In all, these peer pressure coping strategies aid in avoiding the pressures placed upon them by their equals.

High school students are faced with peer pressure in their everyday lives. It can come from their friends, or just from social media and society’s set norms. Teens are advised to deal with peer pressure in a variety of ways, like making friends with a group of friends who are school-work focused and keep out of trouble regularly. Your friends influencing you in a good way is positive peer pressure, which is a good thing. It can help create new norms in a group and distract from unpleasant situations where negative peer pressure is an issue.In a negative peer pressure situation, a high school teen is advised to listen to their gut, and if a decision is being made that does not sit well with them, do not follow along. Standing up for what they believe is very important to their mental health. Also, teens could learn to feel comfortable saying “no” to their peers, and this can make peer pressure lessen. Teens could also blame their parents in certain situations. When a invitation or unwanted occurrence comes up, the teen could simply say, “Are you kidding? If my mom found out, she’d kill me, and her spies are everywhere.” This could be helpful, since the peer will not have any way to persuade you, since the parent was brought up. These can be great ways to combat peer pressure in normal life for any teen.

To me some of these tips could work well, while others may not. I think the blame your parents one is genius. I have personally used this method countless times, and every time it has worked. A peer will not know your parent actually had no say in the matter, since they cannot contact them, and usually after a day the situation is blown over. On the other hand, I do not think the method of just saying no could help a lot. In some situations, saying no can help a little, but peers can continue to pressure. When continuously hounded, it can be very hard to keep the answer no. In most cases, giving in is easier than standing your ground.

http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/peer-pressure.html?WT.ac=ctg#catproblems

For adults, peer pressure is handled differently. In a way, adults can look at their lives and peers as a game of bowling. The bumper guards are peers, they guide your life in the right direction based on values. Pressure from others may cause adults to feel like they have to keep up with the ‘Jones,’ and are pressured into a lifestyle that isn’t theirs.

Ways for adults to combat peer pressure is to know themselves. The best way to make the right decision is to take time to reflect on the past and trust feelings. If unsure, take more time to relax and think carefully. Ask questions internally to focus thoughts, like “Is this new job one that would be fulfilling to me, or am I taking it because I think my parents/spouse would want me to?” “Can I make a daily choice to invest in my health, my wealth, or my well being?” These types of questions can help keep the mind true to self, and fight unnoticed peer pressure. Also, be assertive at times. Either by parenting styles or by just saying no firmly. An adult could also make sure to validate themselves when a decision has been made. Validating self beliefs can create a sense of calmness which is good for health.

I think these methods seem very easy to do for any adult. I especially like the method of asking internal questions to reflect on life and how the body is feeling about it. I think relaxation is very important, and using that paired with steady thought can be really helpful in being confident enough to say no. Personally, I think again that just saying no can be a bit harmful, since peers can be persuasive in their way of thinking. I would pair the no with a strong reason and then take yourself out of the situation. That would be a better way of fighting the urge to follow.

https://www.uwhealth.org/news/dealing-with-peer-pressure-when-youre-an-adult/46604

In athletes, peer pressure comes from many different places, since there are peers from teammates and opposing team players. Also, society paints a picture for men and women that if one is an athlete, it means being skinny and muscular. These expectations that flood the minds of youth can create destructive patterns of behavior. They are expected to keep up with their academic work, and maintain a healthy social life.

Ways an athlete can fight peer pressure is by, keeping friends who are not athletes around you, so sport pressure won’t always be following. Pressure can be at bay when not in the athletic field. Also, athletes can confide in their captains and coaches about pressures placed upon them in wrongful manors. Telling someone about sport related pressures can help rationalize them in the mind, and sort them into good and bad ideas. Be aware of surrounding peers, and do not get caught up in the wrong crowd when sport events are being held. Peers can be persuasive in many different forms, and even when the game is going on, still be aware of potential peer pressures and how to best combat them. Parties to celebrate victories can lead to alcohol and drug consumption, which is bad idea for athletes. A way to fight this is to celebrate a win by rewarding yourself mentally or with a favorite activity outside of sports. Distance from sports peers can help relax the pressure placed by them in day to day life.

To me, I think the advise to talk to friends who are not athletes can help fight peer pressure, but those peers can also place new pressures on the individual. I think pressure is everywhere, and can be placed by anyone, but relying on a group of friends to deal with other peers seems risky. Two negatives don’t always ,make a positive. I do like the idea of rewarding yourself after a win with something that doesn’t involve sports activities. An ice cream sundae or watching TV for an hour can help reduce peer pressure but also still give a reward for a good game.

http://www.livingfithealthyandhappy.com/2010/03/negative-peer-pressure-among-teen-athletes.html

Media Production Project

--Original published at Sidney's college blogs

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), has continued to rise in numbers. The former 1 in every 68 children has now risen to affecting 1 in every 59 children. There has never been a reliable way to predict the onset of autism within a child. Scientists from the University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill and Washington University School of Medicine performed a study to predict this onset very early in life.

An fMRI machine was used to scan the brains of 59 infants while sleeping. Of the 59 infants, 18 were female and 41 were male. Each infant in the study was six-months old and had an older sibling who was diagnosed with ASD. Infants were excluded from the study if they had any previous genetic conditions, premature birth, low birth weight, maternal substance abuse, contraindication for MRI, or family history of psychosis, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. The fMRI recorded brain functions based on the fluctuations of blood flow in the brain. Each infant was scanned twice, ensuring no head movement interfered with the imaging.

When the infants reached 24 months of age, they underwent behavioral assessments. The results of the various assessments were analyzed by clinicians for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Questionnaires were also filled out by the parents of the children in the study. Assessments given resulted in information regarding their cognitive, behavioral, and developmental abilities. These assessments helped to identify the validity of the brain scans. The brain scans from when they were six-months-old were then compared to the results of their behavioral assessments at 24-months-old. This included their social interactions, communication, motor development, and repetitive behavior.

The scores of the assessments were plotted on a graph. There was a clear linear separation between those with ASD and those without ASD. A correlation between infants’ brain activity and their repetitive and social behaviors was found by the researchers. Early brain activity in infants can accurately predict the diagnosis of ASD later in life. The study correctly predicted the diagnosis of nine out of eleven babies. It also correctly predicted the absence of diagnosis of ASD in all 48 infants. This study is able to be generalized to a new sample of infants. The findings in the study need to be tested and expanded more in the future. The prediction of ASD at 24-months-old may be too young, but it does correlate correctly. This test is very expensive, so as advancements are made in the future, this imaging can be done when there are genetic and screening technologies that indicate a strong likelihood of the child having ASD.

I actually really enjoyed this project overall. I was able to learn more about a disorder that I am very passionate about. Taking on the role of a journalist was actually a lot harder than I expected it to be. We had a deadline just as a journalist would have. However, that was not the hard part. The hard part of this paper was scrunching 9 pages of information into 460 words. There was a lot of important information from the actual research study that I had to leave out. I left out all of the different assessments that were given to each child. These assessments held a lot of information as to what autism consisted of and the signs that they looked for. I opted for just generalizing the assessments that were given and a few of the behaviors that they looked for in them. I also had to leave out information regarding how they took the brain scans. Each scan was taken at a certain magnification, direction, weight, angle, and other factors. The images were taken in frames. This allowed for the researchers to discard any frames that contained movement of their head. They then compiled the rest of the frames for the correlative analysis. Although I was not able to include this type of information in the journal article, I do think that I was able to touch upon the main parts of the study. I think that journalists have a hard job. They are responsible for summarizing a huge study into just a few hundred words. They need to be certain to include only the most important pieces of information in order to meet their number of words that are allowed.

(460 Words)

Link to Article: https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/49624/title/Study–Infants–Brain-Activity-Patterns-Predict-Autism-Risk/

Link to Scholarly Article: http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/9/393/eaag2882

Spotlight Blog 3

--Original published at marybraun99

Mental Health Treatment:

According to apa.org, psychotherapy brings about lasting changes, and connects the emotion to the root of the problem. The site argues that many people do not realize that psychotherapy is targeting the roots of the problem to bring about a lasting change in emotion. The site argues that pharmaceuticals have an incentive to give patients medication because it makes their industry grow. Disorders such as major depressive disorder create problems for individuals not only in their personal life, but their social life as well. By targeting the root of the problem, there is a possibility of unwavering those problems from your social life and treat your personal life to create a better and healthier life. If you are just taking medication, there is no “fixing” the problem, rather just covering the problem up. Psychotherapy helps you to target your blind spots, and change the things that you never realized were affecting your life.

groupsinc describes the benefits of psychotherapy, and how it is not only a counseling service to help you understand your mental illness, but it also helps you to understand your full potential, and help you to reach it with small goals, and one big ultimate goal. Using psychotherapy is very effective if you are willing for it to be successful. If you are going because you don’t have a choice, and you do not open up to your therapist and let them help you, you will receive no benefits from psychotherapy. Using therapy to find coping skills is more effective than taking a medication, because being able to have life long skills to use when you are going through a depressive episode can help you more in the long run than when you stop taking medications and it fades out.

On the other hand, medications are seen as a better alternative to treating mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder.

According to depressionisreal, it is important to realize that if your symptoms are not severe, medications probably will not help you. If you are suffering from severe depression however, medications will probably be your best friend. If you are taking antidepressants for a shorter amount of time, and just until you can get back on track, that is when it will be most helpful. If you do not have immediate means to solve your depression, medications will help. Even if their effects can not be seen until about 8 weeks in, they are helpful for dealing with anxiety especially because they help to soothe your nerves and help you to better deal with everyday stressors if you do not already have a coping strategy.

On psychologytoday, there is a news article that talks about the benefits of taking medications. It is urgent that you listen to the directions given to you by doctors for the most effective outcome. Some people do not like to open up to other individuals and by taking medication it is giving them a way out, or they are more open and willing to talk to others. Medication can be an effective side to your therapy sessions as it can help you better express what is wrong, and help you get to the roots of your problems. Many people prefer medications because therapy can only provide educational information about their illness and can not provide an actual treatment other than advice and help. Most believe that medication is actually the treatment, or cure to their illness and depend on that more than therapy. Most people just have the stigma that medication works better than therapy does.

Overall, I believe that a combination of therapy and medication is the most effective way to treat a mental illness. A medication should be a helping hand, not the whole treatment. It is important to talk to someone and get the roots of your issues sorted out so that you can live a happy and healthy life later on and not live a horrible life. I think finding a perfect combination and continuing even when you are starting to feel better is the best way to get your mental illness under control and not end up relapsing.

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/01/psychodynamic-therapy.aspx

http://www.groupsinc.org/the-benefits-of-psychotherapy/

http://depressionisreal.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-taking-anti-depressants/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201507/psychotherapy-vs-medications-the-verdict-is-in

Media Production Project

--Original published at marybraun99

Does Sunshine Affect Your Mood?

Researchers in Australia say that there is a correlation between the amount of sun that is shining and the levels of serotonin in your brain. The Bakers Heart Research Institute was approved for an study involving blood samples and sunlight. During the summer months many people feel intense happiness, but as soon as the winter months start to kick in, and the cold starts to take over your body many people start to experience seasonal depression. Depression happens when serotonin levels in your body decrease, causing low chemical balances and a feeling of hopelessness.

The research in Australia took 100 volunteers, aged 18-79, that went through intense testing, and had no history of depression or mental illnesses. Once they were tested, their serotonin levels were measured from their jugular veins throughout the year. The blood samples were taken from the jugular vein because the researchers say they wanted blood as close to the brain as they could get.

Data from the research shows that serotonin levels vary from day to day and are lowest in the winter time. It shows that the previous days serotonin levels had no effect on the next days levels. Patients were not permitted to smoke, or have any caffeine 12 hours prior to being tested to get the best results.

Temperature, precipitation, air pressure, and sunlight were all tested, however only sunlight seemed to play a role in serotonin levels in the brain from day to day.

Since the participants were not chosen randomly, and went through intense testing to make sure there was no prior mental health issues were present, this study can not be generalized to all of the population. There was no studies done to see if the levels of serotonin varied as much between those who were already exposed to a mental illness or low serotonin levels. More research would be needed to evaluate those who have a current illness.

Reflection

During the process of trying to create a new journal article, it was hard to look through the scholarly article and find information that was relevant to the survey. The scholarly article, and the pop news article were very different in the way that they expressed the survey. The pop culture article was very clear and got to the point of what the most important parts of the scholarly article conveyed. The scholarly article had a lot of information that did not make sense to the general public. If you did not have prior education on some of the facts, you would have to skim through it and find key points. (much like I had to do) Since this experiment took place in Australia, some of what was said would not be understood to Americans, and would not be able to get the same information as their codes of conduct and their informed consent vary from the United States. Many of the information that I chose to leave out was all of the information that 5-HIAA, because it does not go into detail, and does not describe what that means or what any of the information that they found while doing the experiment meant. I was not able to understand that information without going on google, and searching it. I chose to leave it out because I did not think it was significant and I thought that the stuff that was significant was most of what was mentioned in the pop culture article because it was basic and to the point. It could also be understood by the general public, which is what is essentially wanted while writing a journal entry. Overall, I was confused on what to include and what not to include. I believe, however, that the pop culture article I chose was relatively close to what the scholarly article included and there was not much else that could have been said that you would still understand what was going on in the experiment.

Spotlight Blog 3

--Original published at Sidney's college blogs

For the last spotlight blog, I decided to gather information about year-round schooling. Growing up I can always remember my mom saying that she would much rather all of us sibling be in year-round school. She always wanted this because even though we were home all summer, she hardly ever got to see us because she was working every day. She wanted more frequent breaks even though they were shorter so that she would be able to take off some work to send time with us. As a kid, her idea never seemed appealing to me, but my opinions may have changed since then.

In schools who are on the summer vacation program, there are only vacations in the summer and a few days off here and there for holidays. In schools with a year-round program, there would be a greater frequency in breaks. This program still operates on 180 school days over the course of the year. There are just more breaks in between this amount of time. This frequency in breaks allows for not only the student, but also the teachers to recuperate and not burn out early in the year. The longer time in school allows for the students to cover more material in class. The books within the schools are hardly ever covered completely. The extended time allows for this missed material to be covered and the critical lessons would no longer be rushed or skipped over. If schooling was year-round, there would be very little distinction between one year and the next year. Because there is very little distinction, the more advanced students would be able to move to the next grade with ease and faster than the others. It allows for a faster advancement for students. During the summer, students are not challenged to use their critical thinking skills. Without exercising this critical thinking, the students lose a lot of information over their summer break. Because of this lost material, teachers often have to spend vast amounts of time reteaching things from the previous year. Instead of one long break, frequent, shorter breaks will allow for a higher retention rate. This will allow for the teachers to spend less time reteaching in the beginning of the year as well.

Although there are various reasons supporting the year-round schooling program, there are also plenty of reasons not to enroll students in the program. Because the summer months are hot, electricity bills tend to rise a lot. If students were still in school during the summer, the bills for the schools would also likely increase. Many public schools already suffer from a lack of funds, and this would not help the school budget at all. A large component to growing and learning is having the ability to go outside and play. This is vital to healthy development in children. The summer months allow for them to be able to spend that time outside and take a break from the school walls. Children with attention difficulties may struggle with a year-round schedule as well. They need those breaks to be away from a strict and confined area. This can cause more behavioral problems with those children. Another down-fall to year-round schooling is for the older students. Highschool students need to work to pay for college, bills, and their future plans. This would not allow for the students to have enough time off of school to really hold a job and make a decent amount of money for their future plans. Families may have a hard time scheduling family vacations due to not having a distinct summer vacation. This also goes along with band and other extracurricular activities. They use these summer months to prepare their music, marches, and other components for their club. The activities could run into problems in that regard. Lastly, the year-round program for schooling is not conclusively proven to benefit the students academically.

In my opinion, year-round schooling would be a great option for students. Growing up I would never agree with this, but now that I graduated, I would rather have more frequent breaks rather than just my summer off. I can remember sitting in class the first week of school, and I would not remember anything from the previous year. I think that year-round schooling would allow for better academic excellence in students. I know that many kids just stay inside and play videogames their entire summer. This in no way helps them grow or flourish in their academics. Short breaks would allow for the student to not burn out and lose motivation. These short breaks would allow for playing and down-time without it being excessively long. I do understand that the schools would suffer financially, however, I think that adaptations can be made to support those changes. I also think that having more successful academic students is more important than an electricity bill. It may make planning a vacation in the summer harder to do, but many students get a permission form to fill out to approve a trip anyway. I agree with my mom’s opinion when I was little. I think that students would benefit overall from having shorter, more frequent breaks, rather than one long one.

Resources:

https://www.screenflex.com/reasons-why-year-round-school-is-a-good-idea/

http://www.nea.org/tools/17057.htm

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2014/07/_year-round_schooling_3_common_arguments_against_it.html

https://www.verywellfamily.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-year-round-school-621001

https://www.thoughtco.com/year-round-education-6742