I found all of the studies quite interesting for the most part. It was really fascinating to see how people reacted in different situations. I know from experience that the situation changes a lot on how we act and behave. I thought that these experiments showed the full spectrum and harshest of situations to deal with. In Asch's Conformity they tested how people’s choices were affected by a group if the group all answered wrong. I would probably answer they way the group did. Not only would I not want to be embarrassed, but I would probably second guess myself, maybe even try to see a way that the wrong answer could possible be right. In the Milgram’s Obedience tests, I found it interesting how far some people went on obeying what a leader had told them. Giving people shocks even though they didn’t want to anymore they still did because they were told that’s what they had to do. I think it just shows how easily persuaded we can be into doing something unconventional. In the Stanford Prison Experiment it was interesting that in only six days perfectly nice people could turn so easily into angry and vicious guards. It shows that depending on the situation we are put in we are in a constant state of self protection. Most of the things they did were done in order to protect themselves and to demonstrate what they think they should do. It shows that it’s our human nature that we can be so easily persuaded into believing, thinking, and acting differently. I think we created this way of going about life in order to protect ourselves from the dangers of the world. We use this ability of changing in order to fit into groups, learn, and grow as a society. Human nature makes us want to be the best that we can be at whatever we want even if it’s being the prisoner or the prison guard.
Social influence it the influence of the outside world and other people on us as a person. Social influences affect how we act in a group or how we behave when following a leader. Different types of social situations change how we act or talk. I think social influences can be bad and good, I would considered peer pressure to be social influence because your peers are pressuring you into doing something and being usually social people we don’t like to stand out so we do what the group does. It’s a census among the people. I know on many occasions that I have acted differently according to the different social situations. I know for one thing that I act different in different groups of people. When I am in a different social setting of one group of friends sometimes I will act obnoxious or be even hateful towards other people. Sometimes it’s how I feel, but other times I go along because I don’t want to be the odd man out. When I am in another group of friends I act a little laid back, I am still outgoing and like to joke, but I’m generally not as hateful or use words or slang different when in different groups. One thing I do is when in a store when by myself I’m usually quieter and less likely to be noticed. When I’m with friends, family, or just a group of people, I’m more outgoing, loud, and crazy. These types of social situations change how I act. Sometimes I act like I wouldn’t normally just because of the group I’m with.
The most interesting thing I have learned in this class is how very complex our minds are. It really amazed me about how many different reasons our minds do the things they do. How our daily life is increasingly affected by our environment, the people we hang with, what we see, hear, taste, smell, and what we remember. It was all so intriguing to find out how much of our daily life is done using the things mentioned in psychology, things like defense mechanisms and how we remember or learn things. I found it all so complex that it’s all linked to one great thing. It’s funny imaging that we have pretty much one giant muscle in our skulls that control so much of what we do, who we are, and how we act or react. It changes us. I have learned a lot about myself, others, and how my mind works. It’s really neat to find out how great and complex our minds are. I just think of how great God is to make our minds so complex, so malleable, yet completely different from everyone else. It’s all so remarkable!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Blog Post #12
Just because you act abnormally does not mean that you have a mental disorder. Some people do it for fun or to relax to act different is a way of expressing oneself, a way of being unique. To be considered a mental disorder the actions taken by a person must be “deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional.” (pg. 595) These behavior patterns show signs that there may be a mental disorder involved with the person. I for one know that I may act “abnormally” but not to the extent of what it is explained to make it a mental disorder.
My aunt had been diagnosed why bipolar disorder a couple of years ago. I haven’t really been close to her enough to know about what it’s actually like to have her be bipolar, but I know first hand from what it has done to her family and her life that bipolar disorder can be extremely bad. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder in which the person alternates between two states a depressive state and a state of mania. My aunt has had many ups and downs with substance abuse and recovery. She has also been in and out of jail for many years. With being bipolar she was also given drugs to help ease the states she was in. I remember when I did spend time with her when I was younger that she would be really energetic and eager, always doing something. She was happy and carefree. Then she would shift to being lethargic and depressed. That’s when she would begin to drink and do drugs to bring herself out of her slump of depression. Bipolar disorder has very extreme sides of mood changes; it’s not just a little depression or a little excitement. When a person who has bipolar disorder becomes depressed they fall into major depression, life isn’t worth it. During this stage many people feel the need to commit suicide to end it all. Many famous people who were and are bipolar try committing suicide; some even succeed like Kurt Cobain. When in a state of overexcitement it’s considered to be mania, during this stage people are in constant motions. They usually don’t sleep very much and always are thinking of something. My aunt exhibited most of these characteristics of bipolar disorder and was eventually diagnosed with this disease. So far it has practically ruined her entire life, family, and how she is as a person. Bipolar can be a very scary and harmful disorder if not taken control of with the help of family or a doctor, even medication. My aunt is a very good example of not taking care of her bipolar disorder.
The most interesting thing I learned in this section was about the mental disorder of Dissociative Identity Disorder. It’s the disorder that deals with multiple personalities. After watching the Three Faces of Eve, I discovered another woman who experienced multiple personalities. Her name was Shirley Ardell Mason; she ended up acquiring 16 different personalities. I was then watched a movie that was based on her life with her mental disorder and how she over came it. The movie is called “Sybil” and it was an extraordinary movie about Shirley Mason’s life. It wasn’t until the remake in 2007 that Shirley’s name was even released. Because of her traumatic childhood, with a mother who was diagnosed with narcissistic schizophrenia, she made 16 different personalities to protect herself. I found it really amazing that all 16 personalities in Shirley’s case knew each other and worked together to make sure that Shirley/Sybil stayed safe. Most people don’t know that they have other personalities and when people tell them that they act different or dress different it makes them angry or deny what they did. I found it really interesting in the end when Shirley found out that she had other personalities and with they help of her physiatrist was able to meet all of her personalities and make them one. In the case of the three faces of Eve she had 3 different personalities and they knew each other. I also found it very fascinating that each personality can have its own voice, style, age, and even gender. In Shirley Mason’s case she had 2 boy personalities. I would recommend that people who were interested in this chapter watch the movie “Sybil,” it taught me a lot. I am currently reading the book “Sybil” which is also fascinating to learn more about Shirley Ardell Mason.
My aunt had been diagnosed why bipolar disorder a couple of years ago. I haven’t really been close to her enough to know about what it’s actually like to have her be bipolar, but I know first hand from what it has done to her family and her life that bipolar disorder can be extremely bad. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder in which the person alternates between two states a depressive state and a state of mania. My aunt has had many ups and downs with substance abuse and recovery. She has also been in and out of jail for many years. With being bipolar she was also given drugs to help ease the states she was in. I remember when I did spend time with her when I was younger that she would be really energetic and eager, always doing something. She was happy and carefree. Then she would shift to being lethargic and depressed. That’s when she would begin to drink and do drugs to bring herself out of her slump of depression. Bipolar disorder has very extreme sides of mood changes; it’s not just a little depression or a little excitement. When a person who has bipolar disorder becomes depressed they fall into major depression, life isn’t worth it. During this stage many people feel the need to commit suicide to end it all. Many famous people who were and are bipolar try committing suicide; some even succeed like Kurt Cobain. When in a state of overexcitement it’s considered to be mania, during this stage people are in constant motions. They usually don’t sleep very much and always are thinking of something. My aunt exhibited most of these characteristics of bipolar disorder and was eventually diagnosed with this disease. So far it has practically ruined her entire life, family, and how she is as a person. Bipolar can be a very scary and harmful disorder if not taken control of with the help of family or a doctor, even medication. My aunt is a very good example of not taking care of her bipolar disorder.
The most interesting thing I learned in this section was about the mental disorder of Dissociative Identity Disorder. It’s the disorder that deals with multiple personalities. After watching the Three Faces of Eve, I discovered another woman who experienced multiple personalities. Her name was Shirley Ardell Mason; she ended up acquiring 16 different personalities. I was then watched a movie that was based on her life with her mental disorder and how she over came it. The movie is called “Sybil” and it was an extraordinary movie about Shirley Mason’s life. It wasn’t until the remake in 2007 that Shirley’s name was even released. Because of her traumatic childhood, with a mother who was diagnosed with narcissistic schizophrenia, she made 16 different personalities to protect herself. I found it really amazing that all 16 personalities in Shirley’s case knew each other and worked together to make sure that Shirley/Sybil stayed safe. Most people don’t know that they have other personalities and when people tell them that they act different or dress different it makes them angry or deny what they did. I found it really interesting in the end when Shirley found out that she had other personalities and with they help of her physiatrist was able to meet all of her personalities and make them one. In the case of the three faces of Eve she had 3 different personalities and they knew each other. I also found it very fascinating that each personality can have its own voice, style, age, and even gender. In Shirley Mason’s case she had 2 boy personalities. I would recommend that people who were interested in this chapter watch the movie “Sybil,” it taught me a lot. I am currently reading the book “Sybil” which is also fascinating to learn more about Shirley Ardell Mason.
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