Recently in Psychology, we viewed a movie called "Dead Poets Society." It was all about young teenage angst and "finding yourself'--very classic. Anyway, as with most movies, if not all, there were psychological terms that could be related throughout. The object of This week's blog is Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which includes physiological needs, safety needs, needs of love, affection and belongingness, needs of self-esteem, and needs of self actualization. Maslow states that the lower level needs must be fulfilled before the higher levels can be met.
The first level is physiological needs, such as the need for food and water. Throughout the movie, the boys are seen in the cafeteria at various times, and especially, during the Winer months, they all bundle up in warm clothes when they go outside. After finding out about Neil's death, the boys go outside in the snow and they are seen wearing sweaters, scarves, and other winter weather gear. They are meeting their need for warmth, which keeps them alive, which therefore allows them to fulfill higher level needs such as safety needs, etc. Their physiological need was met.
The second level is the need for safety. This need is the need for protection. This is a need that often goes unnoticed because most have shelter and a bed to sleep in at night. The boys of the Dead Poets Society were no different. They all resided in a lavish boarding school with beds to sleep in at night and guardians to watch over them. They were all protected, which allowed them to go on to fulfill higher levels of needs. Their need for safety and protection was met.
The third level is the need for love, belongingness and affection. All the boys met their need for belongingness by forming the Dead Poets Society. They were part of a group that made them fill like they all belong. This need for belonging was met for all the boys, except for maybe Todd, who was shy and withdrawn. Eventually, however, he becomes a part of the group. Also, Knox falls in love with a girl who is unavailable. He wants for her to love him, and he persists until she agrees to see a play with him. The fact that she showed him affection met his love and affection need. The fact that the boys' belongingness, love and affection needs were met, allowed them to fulfill the next level of the hierarchy of needs.
The fourth level of needs is the Self-esteem needs. This level states that humans needs self-esteem and positive reassurance from other human beings. The group of guys encouraged each other greatly, and Mr. Keating most of all encouraged them to seize the day; that they were capable of doing whatever they set their mind to. He gave Neil the self esteem he needed to perform in the play. After the play was over, everyone congratulated Neil on what a great job he did, which fulfilled his self-esteem need. However, his father quickly tore it down, and Neil took his own life. With the exception of Neil, Mr. Keating's support and support of the other boys, allowed the young men to meet their need for self-esteem.
The fifth level is self-actualization. This sates that a person finds who they are and what their purpose in life is; for example, an artist makes art and a musician makes music. We can see this self-actualization in Todd, At first, he was shy, and was always in the shadow of his brother, but the events of Neil's death and the courage that Mr. Keating gave him allowed him to find his voice. At the end, he along with the other members of the Dead Pet's Society defiantly stand on their desks and exclaim, "O Captain, my Captain." Todd found his voice and who he was as a person. In that moment, he met his need for self-actualization and completed fulfilling the levels of the hierarchy of needs.
The journey of Todd, Neil, Mr. Keating and the other boys of the Dead Poets Society, offered a great example of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and how the lower levels, such as the need for food and shelter must be met before the higher levels, such as the need for self-esteem and self-actualization, can be fulfilled.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Skinner Box Video Game
I must admit, when I read the criteria for this assignment, I was actually pretty excited. Everyone of the video game era has one game that they will forever remember as a mind-blowing awesomely amazing experience. For me, that game was Final Fantasy IX, played on the one and only original PlayStation. Some people enjoy all these new consoles, like PS3 and X-Box 360, but I like to keep it old school. Well, I mean, 90's old school. Final Fantasy IX was the best game ever. It was a four disc epic adventure filled with different tasks to achieve, levels to reach, and my favorite characters had the ability to use white magic and summon Gods to destroy their enemies. After watching the video, I'm sure that skinner's Operant conditioning was used to keep me playing, but I don't care. It was definitely worth my time.
Obviously, the game I played wasn't as simple as pressing a button for food, but it was quite similar to the Skinner Box. By playing the game, I learned that accomplishing different tasks gave me rewards such as leveling up my characters or obtaining another piece of the intricate puzzle that the story behind the game created. Sometimes, if you reached a certain point, a small movie would play, moving the game along (the graphics were quite amazing considering it was like 1998 when the game was released). Though it was more intricate, the game conditioned me to continue to play to obtain rewards just as the pigeon continued to press the button for food.
There are two reinforcement schedules within the game I remember vividly. One was a fixed-ratio schedule, where a reward was given after a set number of responses. To level up my characters, they had to gain a fixed number of experience points by battling a certain amount of monsters. After such requirement was met, then the character would level up and become a bit more powerful. There were many a night when I stayed up just a bit too late to get my characters up "just one more level." Another was a variable-ratio schedule. My favorite character, Garnet, was able to summon Gods that would inflict damage on her enemies. Sometimes, after a random number of summons, there would be a small video clip of her actually summoning the God, and this would result in the turn causing more damage to the opponent. As a result, I constantly used her summoning powers as opposed to physical attacks in hopes that the clip would play and I could inflict more damage on my enemy.
A secondary reinforcer refers to a stimulus that gains reinforcing properties because it is associated with a primary reinforcer. In Final Fantasy IX, gold coins were a secondary reinforcer. They were secondary reinforcers because I could use them to buy things like weapons and armor that would strengthen my character's defenses at attack power. The weapons, etc were a primary reinforcer because they rewarded me in the game and the gold coins I collected that allowed me to buy such items were a secondary reinforcer because I associated the coins with said weapons.
Both Positive and Negative Reinforcement were used in the game. One positive reinforcer that kept me playing the game was the rewards I would receive when I played. If you would accomplish the tasks set forth for you, there was always something in return; like a new weapon, coins, or something useful to help you through the game. They were positive reinforcers because I was given rewards and the behavior of playing the game continued. A negative reinforcer of the game itself was the fact that it relieved boredom. I found myself many a day "jeez I'm bored, what to do? PLAY FINAL FANTASY IX! THAT'S WHAT!" Flash to six hours later, and I'm still not bored. Back then, my mom would have to pry me away from the PlayStation. Anyway, the game served as a negative reinforcer because the aversive stimulus of boredom was relieved and I continued the behavior of playing the game.
Achievement Motivation is a desire for significant accomplishment. This definitely came into play during my affair with this game. I wanted so badly to get to the end of those four discs. The game was a story, and I wanted to see how it ended. So, I defeated many a terrible creature and made it to the end. The reward was a movie that detailed how my favorite characters fell in love and lived happily ever after. It was kind of cheesy after four discs of epic adventure and carnage, but hey, I like a good love story. I experience Achievement Motivation through my desire to complete the journey.
I thought this assignment was interesting. I never thought about my video games in terms of psychology before, but I suppose it makes sense that they condition us to play. I don't mind it though. Final Fantasy IX was the best game ever made in the history of time and it doesn't bother me that I was conditioned to press a button or stay up leveling up my amazing characters. It was fun, and I enjoyed it. Though my video game days are pretty much over, it's interesting to think how psychology applies to such things. It's definitely something I'll think about the next time I pick up a controller.
Obviously, the game I played wasn't as simple as pressing a button for food, but it was quite similar to the Skinner Box. By playing the game, I learned that accomplishing different tasks gave me rewards such as leveling up my characters or obtaining another piece of the intricate puzzle that the story behind the game created. Sometimes, if you reached a certain point, a small movie would play, moving the game along (the graphics were quite amazing considering it was like 1998 when the game was released). Though it was more intricate, the game conditioned me to continue to play to obtain rewards just as the pigeon continued to press the button for food.
There are two reinforcement schedules within the game I remember vividly. One was a fixed-ratio schedule, where a reward was given after a set number of responses. To level up my characters, they had to gain a fixed number of experience points by battling a certain amount of monsters. After such requirement was met, then the character would level up and become a bit more powerful. There were many a night when I stayed up just a bit too late to get my characters up "just one more level." Another was a variable-ratio schedule. My favorite character, Garnet, was able to summon Gods that would inflict damage on her enemies. Sometimes, after a random number of summons, there would be a small video clip of her actually summoning the God, and this would result in the turn causing more damage to the opponent. As a result, I constantly used her summoning powers as opposed to physical attacks in hopes that the clip would play and I could inflict more damage on my enemy.
A secondary reinforcer refers to a stimulus that gains reinforcing properties because it is associated with a primary reinforcer. In Final Fantasy IX, gold coins were a secondary reinforcer. They were secondary reinforcers because I could use them to buy things like weapons and armor that would strengthen my character's defenses at attack power. The weapons, etc were a primary reinforcer because they rewarded me in the game and the gold coins I collected that allowed me to buy such items were a secondary reinforcer because I associated the coins with said weapons.
Both Positive and Negative Reinforcement were used in the game. One positive reinforcer that kept me playing the game was the rewards I would receive when I played. If you would accomplish the tasks set forth for you, there was always something in return; like a new weapon, coins, or something useful to help you through the game. They were positive reinforcers because I was given rewards and the behavior of playing the game continued. A negative reinforcer of the game itself was the fact that it relieved boredom. I found myself many a day "jeez I'm bored, what to do? PLAY FINAL FANTASY IX! THAT'S WHAT!" Flash to six hours later, and I'm still not bored. Back then, my mom would have to pry me away from the PlayStation. Anyway, the game served as a negative reinforcer because the aversive stimulus of boredom was relieved and I continued the behavior of playing the game.
Achievement Motivation is a desire for significant accomplishment. This definitely came into play during my affair with this game. I wanted so badly to get to the end of those four discs. The game was a story, and I wanted to see how it ended. So, I defeated many a terrible creature and made it to the end. The reward was a movie that detailed how my favorite characters fell in love and lived happily ever after. It was kind of cheesy after four discs of epic adventure and carnage, but hey, I like a good love story. I experience Achievement Motivation through my desire to complete the journey.
I thought this assignment was interesting. I never thought about my video games in terms of psychology before, but I suppose it makes sense that they condition us to play. I don't mind it though. Final Fantasy IX was the best game ever made in the history of time and it doesn't bother me that I was conditioned to press a button or stay up leveling up my amazing characters. It was fun, and I enjoyed it. Though my video game days are pretty much over, it's interesting to think how psychology applies to such things. It's definitely something I'll think about the next time I pick up a controller.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Remember the Titans
Recently in our Psychology class, we viewed the memorable movie, "Remember the Titans". The movie follows the summer football camp of a newly integrated high school and the following football season. Viewers are taken through various episodes of angst, animosity, acceptance and triumph. While most watch this movie for the heartwarming story of the acceptance of young blacks into an all white school of the early 1970's, my class and I watched more closely and observed the multitude of social psychology moments that come into light throughout the movie. Though there are many, I will elaborate on five such moments.
In one of the beginning moments of the movie, we are introduced to the fact that T.C. Williams High School, an all white school, is experiencing integration. As the football players of the school learn of such integration, and the replacement of their white football coach with a black man, we see an example of group polarization. Group Polarization is the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. As the players talk among themselves, the comments they make about the integration fuel their animosity and frustration of the situation. With comments such as "If you leave, coach, we won't play" the team backs their prevailing views of the opposite race and integration and they feed off one an other's opinions, adding fuel to an already raging fire.
Throughout the beginning of the movie, most of the white players take offense at the thought of playing with black players, and once they make it to camp, their attitudes don't improve. When Julius places a poster on the wall and Gary demands he take it down, a fight arises once Julius refuses. Both of the young men views the other as a terrible person. Attribution theory comes into play here. Attribution theory suggests how we explain someones behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition. Both men contribute the other's animosity to their disposition, not the situation. The white players tend to thing that the blacks are angry because that's their personality, not because they're frustrated because of all the change that has taken place in their lives in the recent months. The Black players also saw the white players in the same light; they attributed their attitude to their disposition, not the situation.
In the beginning of the of the film, both groups are seen talking about one another. The whites saw the blacks as "no good" and the blacks saw the whites as "judgemental". Both groups thought that they were in the right. This is an example of In group Bias. In group Bias is the tendency to favor one's own group as opposed to the others. The white football players preferred their group of white men and the black football players preferred their group of black men. Each group preferred their own, and didn't want to make time to become involved in the other.
While the players are at football camp, Gary makes a comment to Julius that he's wasting his talent by making plays that do not benefit the entire team. Julius, in return, comments on how Gary is failing to be a leader by rejecting help to the black football players on the team. This is an example of a Social Trap. A Social Trap is a situation in which conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing self-interests, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. Because both Gary and Julius, as well as all other members of the team prefer to look out for themselves, they both mutually contribute to the corrosion of their team.
Towards the end of football camp, and throughout the rest of the movie, the audience gets the heartwarming feeling they've been looking for. The Titans, both black and white, pull together and put their differences aside. They experience a series of winning games and pull through as a team, even when Gary becomes paralyzed. This is an example of The Social Exchange theory. The Social Exchange theory is the theory that our social behavior is a exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. The team puts their differences aside to maximize their benefits, which is the winning of football games, the gain of new friends, and a calmer environment.
"Remember the Titans" is a great movie to watch if you're in the mood to become inspired by the fact that two social groups can set their differences aside and come out stronger in the end. Apparently, it is also full of many different examples of social psychology. By watching this film, my class and I were able to point out many of these terms and recognize how they were applied throughout the film. Also, it was quite enjoyable to watch.
In one of the beginning moments of the movie, we are introduced to the fact that T.C. Williams High School, an all white school, is experiencing integration. As the football players of the school learn of such integration, and the replacement of their white football coach with a black man, we see an example of group polarization. Group Polarization is the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group. As the players talk among themselves, the comments they make about the integration fuel their animosity and frustration of the situation. With comments such as "If you leave, coach, we won't play" the team backs their prevailing views of the opposite race and integration and they feed off one an other's opinions, adding fuel to an already raging fire.
Throughout the beginning of the movie, most of the white players take offense at the thought of playing with black players, and once they make it to camp, their attitudes don't improve. When Julius places a poster on the wall and Gary demands he take it down, a fight arises once Julius refuses. Both of the young men views the other as a terrible person. Attribution theory comes into play here. Attribution theory suggests how we explain someones behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition. Both men contribute the other's animosity to their disposition, not the situation. The white players tend to thing that the blacks are angry because that's their personality, not because they're frustrated because of all the change that has taken place in their lives in the recent months. The Black players also saw the white players in the same light; they attributed their attitude to their disposition, not the situation.
In the beginning of the of the film, both groups are seen talking about one another. The whites saw the blacks as "no good" and the blacks saw the whites as "judgemental". Both groups thought that they were in the right. This is an example of In group Bias. In group Bias is the tendency to favor one's own group as opposed to the others. The white football players preferred their group of white men and the black football players preferred their group of black men. Each group preferred their own, and didn't want to make time to become involved in the other.
While the players are at football camp, Gary makes a comment to Julius that he's wasting his talent by making plays that do not benefit the entire team. Julius, in return, comments on how Gary is failing to be a leader by rejecting help to the black football players on the team. This is an example of a Social Trap. A Social Trap is a situation in which conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing self-interests, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. Because both Gary and Julius, as well as all other members of the team prefer to look out for themselves, they both mutually contribute to the corrosion of their team.
Towards the end of football camp, and throughout the rest of the movie, the audience gets the heartwarming feeling they've been looking for. The Titans, both black and white, pull together and put their differences aside. They experience a series of winning games and pull through as a team, even when Gary becomes paralyzed. This is an example of The Social Exchange theory. The Social Exchange theory is the theory that our social behavior is a exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. The team puts their differences aside to maximize their benefits, which is the winning of football games, the gain of new friends, and a calmer environment.
"Remember the Titans" is a great movie to watch if you're in the mood to become inspired by the fact that two social groups can set their differences aside and come out stronger in the end. Apparently, it is also full of many different examples of social psychology. By watching this film, my class and I were able to point out many of these terms and recognize how they were applied throughout the film. Also, it was quite enjoyable to watch.
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Colony
Recently in our Psychology Class, we have been watching a TV show called The Colony. In the show, a group of "colonists" participate in a psychological experiment that tests their ability to adapt and survive in the world after a deadly virus has wiped out most of the population. As time goes on, the group faces situations that challenge their physical, mental and emotional capabilities. They soon realize they must rise to the occasion and adapt to their environment or ultimately face death.
In one of the early episodes of The Colony, the colonists are intitally placed in the abandoned neighborhood where the experiment takes place. After being in quarantine for thirty six hours, their initial reaction was to immediately socialize. From an evolutionary perspective, the reasoning behind their socialization would be influenced by their ancestors. Perhaps, in the past, these individuals' ancestors survived better as a group, with social connection than independently. As time passed, the traits that encouraged socialization were handed down and caused the colonists to immediately socialize with one another once they were released form quarantine.
In another episode of The Colony, the colonists are faced with hostile invaders who try to take over their camp and steal their supplies. The colonists reacted with hostility themselves; especially Reno and George. From a behavioral viewpoint, the colonists reaction would be explained by them learning to fight back. Perhaps the colonists had viewed behavior, such from their parents or even a TV show, that showed them fighting is a good way to get what they want. What they wanted was for the invaders to leave, and their reaction was to imitate behavior they have previously seen, and fight back in hopes of achieving what they want.
The Colony is an interesting psychological experiment, and there are many more examples of psychological behavior that can be explained from the different view points. These are just two of the examples from the show, and I'm sure there will be many more to come.
In one of the early episodes of The Colony, the colonists are intitally placed in the abandoned neighborhood where the experiment takes place. After being in quarantine for thirty six hours, their initial reaction was to immediately socialize. From an evolutionary perspective, the reasoning behind their socialization would be influenced by their ancestors. Perhaps, in the past, these individuals' ancestors survived better as a group, with social connection than independently. As time passed, the traits that encouraged socialization were handed down and caused the colonists to immediately socialize with one another once they were released form quarantine.
In another episode of The Colony, the colonists are faced with hostile invaders who try to take over their camp and steal their supplies. The colonists reacted with hostility themselves; especially Reno and George. From a behavioral viewpoint, the colonists reaction would be explained by them learning to fight back. Perhaps the colonists had viewed behavior, such from their parents or even a TV show, that showed them fighting is a good way to get what they want. What they wanted was for the invaders to leave, and their reaction was to imitate behavior they have previously seen, and fight back in hopes of achieving what they want.
The Colony is an interesting psychological experiment, and there are many more examples of psychological behavior that can be explained from the different view points. These are just two of the examples from the show, and I'm sure there will be many more to come.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Sleep Study
1. On average, I slept a total of about eight hours each night.
2. During the two week period of the sleep study, I was able to recall a total of six dreams. According to what we have learned in class, we don't remember our dreams unless we wake up during the REM stage of our sleep cycle. Even if we do wake up, the thoughts we have in the few moments before slipping into sleep are seldom remembered; therefore it's difficult to remember dreams unless you stay awake. I suppose the best way to recall my dreams is to force myself to stay awake and try to remember what I have been dreaming about. Getting plenty of rest, and allowing your body to experience full sleep cycles helps in excellent dream recall. Also, how long you stay up after waking from a dream determines how well you recall the events of said dream.
3. One dream I had in particular was one that involved me, an old friend, and a football game. It was one of my more vivid dreams. I attended a football game with a friend I haven't seen in five years. The team we were cheering for had orange and purple as their team colors. It was just a typical football game I suppose. We cheered for our team and made small talk during the boring parts. I don't remember who won, but it was really bizarre. I have absolutely no idea what the dream meant. I haven't given that particular friend a passing thought since he moved five years ago, and I don't like football that much. He used to play football though, so maybe that's where the connection was. This didn't seem to line up with any theory in the book. It didn't seem like a recap of my day, or a run-through of what I had learned beforehand. If anything, it was weird enough to fit in with Freud's wish-fulfillment theory. I don't understand what it means though.
4. I slept a lot less during the week than I did on the weekends. I also went to bed much later on the weekends and slept in the next morning. I tended to feel a lot better on the weekends and have more energy during the day. It seems that no matter how long I sleep at night, I still feel crappy if I wake up at 7AM as opposed to noon. Both on October 2nd and October 10th I felt a lot more energized than during the week. Also, the majority of the dreams I recalled occurred on the weekends.
5. I feel like I get enough sleep to fulfill the events of my day. I mean, I'm not drooling on my calculus book by noon at least. During the week I tend to feel a little tired now and then, but it's never enough to interfere with what I have to get done. More sleep would be nice, but it's not extremely necessary. For the most part, I get eight hours of sleep anyway. I suppose if I tried to go to bed a little earlier, I might feel a little better during the day, but with three AP classes to keep up with, as well as college and scholarship applications, I'm pretty fortunate to get the sleep I do get.
2. During the two week period of the sleep study, I was able to recall a total of six dreams. According to what we have learned in class, we don't remember our dreams unless we wake up during the REM stage of our sleep cycle. Even if we do wake up, the thoughts we have in the few moments before slipping into sleep are seldom remembered; therefore it's difficult to remember dreams unless you stay awake. I suppose the best way to recall my dreams is to force myself to stay awake and try to remember what I have been dreaming about. Getting plenty of rest, and allowing your body to experience full sleep cycles helps in excellent dream recall. Also, how long you stay up after waking from a dream determines how well you recall the events of said dream.
3. One dream I had in particular was one that involved me, an old friend, and a football game. It was one of my more vivid dreams. I attended a football game with a friend I haven't seen in five years. The team we were cheering for had orange and purple as their team colors. It was just a typical football game I suppose. We cheered for our team and made small talk during the boring parts. I don't remember who won, but it was really bizarre. I have absolutely no idea what the dream meant. I haven't given that particular friend a passing thought since he moved five years ago, and I don't like football that much. He used to play football though, so maybe that's where the connection was. This didn't seem to line up with any theory in the book. It didn't seem like a recap of my day, or a run-through of what I had learned beforehand. If anything, it was weird enough to fit in with Freud's wish-fulfillment theory. I don't understand what it means though.
4. I slept a lot less during the week than I did on the weekends. I also went to bed much later on the weekends and slept in the next morning. I tended to feel a lot better on the weekends and have more energy during the day. It seems that no matter how long I sleep at night, I still feel crappy if I wake up at 7AM as opposed to noon. Both on October 2nd and October 10th I felt a lot more energized than during the week. Also, the majority of the dreams I recalled occurred on the weekends.
5. I feel like I get enough sleep to fulfill the events of my day. I mean, I'm not drooling on my calculus book by noon at least. During the week I tend to feel a little tired now and then, but it's never enough to interfere with what I have to get done. More sleep would be nice, but it's not extremely necessary. For the most part, I get eight hours of sleep anyway. I suppose if I tried to go to bed a little earlier, I might feel a little better during the day, but with three AP classes to keep up with, as well as college and scholarship applications, I'm pretty fortunate to get the sleep I do get.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
David (Bruce) Reimer
In the summer of 1965, a woman names Janet Reimer gave birth to healthy twin sons named Bruce and Brian. When the boys were six months old, Janet dropped her sons off at the hospital to be circumcised. The doctors used an unconventional method of circumcision that involved burning the skin. The procedure went terribly wrong and Bruce's penis was too badly burned to repair surgically. The Reimer's, worried for the life of their son, sought the help of Dr. John Money, a psychologist at John Hopkins University. Dr. Money suggested that the Reimer's raise their son as a girl. He believed that boys, if they were caught early enough, could be raised to be girls. He thought that nurture, as opposed to nature determines a child's gender. When Bruce was 21 months old, his testicles were removed and Bruce became Brenda. He was raised as a female according to Dr. Money's strict instructions.
As Brenda grew, she became increasingly masculine and she felt like a "freak" in her own body. The Reimer's had serious doubts that the sex change was effective. Dr. Money, however, was convinced otherwise. He published an article stating that his experiment was a success. As time went on, Dr. Money tried to convince Brenda to have a complete sex change. Brenda refused, and her family finally told her the truth. After discovering her true identity, Brenda became David, and for the first time, he felt like he belonged in his body. Sadly, however, David committed suicide on May 4, 2004. He was 38 years old.
The experimentation and ethics of Dr. John Money were quite questionable. When he came across Bruce Reimer, he found the perfect subject to experiment on. Bruce was a child in an unfortunate situation. He had been scarred in a place that ususally is a key factor in determining gender. His parents had no idea what his life would be like if they did nothing at all. Money took advantage of the situation. Dr. Money theorized that nurture, not nature decided the gender of a child. As Money experimented on "Brenda" he told her parents to reinforce the idea that she was a girl; have her help in the kitchen and around the house, and give her dolls to play with. He was testing the Social Learning Theory. The social learning theory states that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating. Dr. Money thought that Brenda would completely embody the gender of female if she was simply told she was a girl, and obserbed the appropriate female behavior from her household as well as society. If the experiment was a success, he could prove that nurture was the only factor in deciding the gender of a child. Obviously, Money was wrong. Brenda never felt right in her own body, and as she grew, she became more masculine. This proved that gender is not determined by nurture alone.
The ethics of this experiment were unquestionably questionable. According to the American Psychological Association, an ethical experiment has four criteria it should meet; consent of the subject should be obtained, the subject should be protected from harm and discomfort, the information about the individual should be completely confidential, and the research should fully be explained afterward. Dr. Money followed none of these guidelines! First of all, the subject was an infant child. Bruce had no say whatsoever in the fate of his future. You can't obtain consent from someone who can't even talk, or much less comprehend what's going on. Second of all, Bruce was put through years of pain and discomfort. He didn't feel comfortable in his own body, and he endured being teased at school. In addition, Money published an article talking of his experiment on Bruce. There's nothing confidential about that. To top it off, when the experiment was over, neither Bruce nor his family completely understood what had happened to their family. Money's experiment on Bruce/Brenda/David Reimer was completely unethical.
If we can learn one thing from Dr. Money, it's that he was wrong in both his theory and his ethics. No family deserves to be treated as David and his family were. People are not lab rats you can experiment on at will. They must be treated as human beings, not simply as test subjects. Money's experiment also reinforced that nature and nurture, not nurture alone, work together to determine out gender and behavior patterns. Nurture works on what Nature endows. We can see from the tragic story of David Reimer that a boy cannot simply be taught to be a girl.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
"The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" Blog Assignment
In the book “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,” Dr. Oliver Sacks takes the reader through many odd and puzzling clinical tales. Many of these stories involve patients who suffer from malfunctions in their brains. Two in particular stood out to me; “The lost Mariner” and “Witty Ticcy Ray.”
In the chapter entitled “The Lost Mariner,” Dr. Sacks talks to a person who suffered from massive memory loss. The patient, Jimmie, could not remember a large portion of his life. Prior to his memory loss, Jimmie’s drinking became excessive. I believe that Jimmie’s alcoholism combined with other factors, such as stress, caused damage to Jimmie’s Hippocampus. The hippocampus is one of the brain structures that make up the limbic system. The hippocampus is critical in forming new factual and autobiographical memories. Hippocampus damage can result in anterograde amnesia and loss of the ability to form new memories, although older memories may be safe. Thus, someone who sustains an injury to the hippocampus may have good memory of his childhood and the years before the injury, but relatively little memory for anything that happened since. This explains why Jimmie could remember his past in the navy, but couldn’t remember the people or things he came in contact with as time passed on.
The other chapter that intrigued me was “Witty Ticcy Ray.” In this chapter, a young man, Ray, had a terrible form of Tourette’s Syndrome. This caused him to have uncontrollable ticks. He was constantly hyper-active and always had excess amounts of energy. It’s not known what causes Tourette’s. But we do know it’s a result of abnormalities in the development of the brain and the nervous system. I believe that the Tourette’s syndrome was affecting Ray’s thalamus and frontal lobes. The thalamus processes and relays movement and sensory information. It is essentially a relay station, taking in sensory information and then passing it on to the cerebral cortex, and the frontal lobe is involved in planning and muscle movement. When an individual has Tourette’s syndrome, they cannot control certain muscle movements, and because the thalamus relays information for such movements, and the frontal lobe is also involved in controlling muscle movement, it has led me to believe that Ray’s Tourette’s affected the way his thalamus relayed information and the function of his frontal lobe.
Both these patients, Jimmie and Ray, show us that the brain is a complex and complicated system. If just one portion of the brain is damaged or affected by disease, there can be tragic consequences. “The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” does an excellent job of showing us that.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Awakenings Movie Analyzation
Recently, in my AP Psychology class, my peers and I viewed a film entitled "Awakenings," which is based on a memoir written by Dr. Oliver Sacks. In the film, a psychologist named Malcom Sayer (Robin Williams) awakens a catatonic patient called Leonard (Robert DeNiro) through the use of a new drug called L-Dopa. Once Leonard is awake, he must try to adjust to his new environment while discovering the marvelous effect of the drug is not long-term. Leonard soon return to his catatonic state. Some of the methods and ethics used by Dr. Sayer (representing Dr. Oliver Sacks) were questionable, while others commendable.
The ethical procedure surrounding Dr. Sayer's research and experimentation was quite questionable. Dr. Sayer was so eager to test his theory that the L-Dopa treatment would help Leonard return from his catatonic state, that he took little precaution before administering the drug to his patient. There was no experimentation on animals, or any other studies other than the research of others on how the drug affects patients with Parkinson's disease. Dr, Sayer administered the drug to Leonard and when nothing happened, he upped the dosage until a reaction was apparent without evaluating the consequences of his actions. He had no idea what the short or long term effects of the drug would be. Today, no psychologist would be allowed to do such a thing. However, a couple things he did do right according to today's ethical guidelines were the fact that he obtained consent from Leonard's mother before administering the drug, and he also explained his research to Leonard once he woke from his catatonic state.
In his research, Dr. Sayer followed the scientific method in a haphazard way. He began with his theory that the drug L-Dopa might have a positive effect on patients in a catatonic state. His hypothesis on the subject was that the L-Dopa would awaken these unfortunate patients. His experiment consisted of him administering L-Dopa to Leonard without any measured way of doing so. He just upped the doses in measures that he saw fit at the time. Also, Dr. Sayer had no real control for the experiment. He only had one subject, Leonard, who only received the experimental control, the L-Dopa. The independent variable in this experiment was the L-Dopa, which was administered in various doses over the course of one night. The dependent variable, which is the thing being measured, was the reaction Leonard experienced because of the drug. It turned out that the L-Dopa caused Leonard to awaken, which in many aspects makes this experiment a scientific breakthrough.
In the end, Leonard returned to his catatonic state. The consequences of Dr. Sayer's unethical and hasty experimentation had grave consequences for Leonard and others who received the L-Dopa for their catatonic states. Though the brief success of awakening the patients was shadowed by an ultimate failure, in the end it was proven that L-Dopa did play a part in the disease which caused such a tragic state. Though the result of Dr. Sayer's research was tragic, it opened new doors for exploring the effects of L-Dopa and the refinement of the treatment to awaken catatonic patients and keep them awake for good.
The ethical procedure surrounding Dr. Sayer's research and experimentation was quite questionable. Dr. Sayer was so eager to test his theory that the L-Dopa treatment would help Leonard return from his catatonic state, that he took little precaution before administering the drug to his patient. There was no experimentation on animals, or any other studies other than the research of others on how the drug affects patients with Parkinson's disease. Dr, Sayer administered the drug to Leonard and when nothing happened, he upped the dosage until a reaction was apparent without evaluating the consequences of his actions. He had no idea what the short or long term effects of the drug would be. Today, no psychologist would be allowed to do such a thing. However, a couple things he did do right according to today's ethical guidelines were the fact that he obtained consent from Leonard's mother before administering the drug, and he also explained his research to Leonard once he woke from his catatonic state.
In his research, Dr. Sayer followed the scientific method in a haphazard way. He began with his theory that the drug L-Dopa might have a positive effect on patients in a catatonic state. His hypothesis on the subject was that the L-Dopa would awaken these unfortunate patients. His experiment consisted of him administering L-Dopa to Leonard without any measured way of doing so. He just upped the doses in measures that he saw fit at the time. Also, Dr. Sayer had no real control for the experiment. He only had one subject, Leonard, who only received the experimental control, the L-Dopa. The independent variable in this experiment was the L-Dopa, which was administered in various doses over the course of one night. The dependent variable, which is the thing being measured, was the reaction Leonard experienced because of the drug. It turned out that the L-Dopa caused Leonard to awaken, which in many aspects makes this experiment a scientific breakthrough.
In the end, Leonard returned to his catatonic state. The consequences of Dr. Sayer's unethical and hasty experimentation had grave consequences for Leonard and others who received the L-Dopa for their catatonic states. Though the brief success of awakening the patients was shadowed by an ultimate failure, in the end it was proven that L-Dopa did play a part in the disease which caused such a tragic state. Though the result of Dr. Sayer's research was tragic, it opened new doors for exploring the effects of L-Dopa and the refinement of the treatment to awaken catatonic patients and keep them awake for good.
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