Hello!

And welcome to my personal PSYC 205 Journal! (follow the link for more information). This page is designed as a final edit of a paper Journal I have been keeping throughout the duration of the semester. In this endeavor I hope to share with you some of my most powerful thoughts, ideas, and discoveries regarding the "Principles of Psychology" as it is presented in our text and through in-class discussions.

Bearing in mind that this page serves as a graded assignment please keep any comments or questions fairly professional in subject matter and in presentation. This doesn't mean that this journal won't be interesting, comedic, or reachable on a personal level.

Also keeping that this is a graded assignment in mind, you (the visitor) may not have any connection to myself personally, professionally or otherwise and may just be stumbling upon this page for the first time. While I encourage any insightful comments or questions and will respond to any that should occur prior to April 15th 2013 (I cannot guarantee my continued patronage to this site after that date). Again I emphasize, please keep your comments of a professional and courteous manner. This website is only being made public so that it is easy for my Professor to access and comments are enabled without any form of registration so that my classmates have the opportunity to ask questions or share their own thoughts prior to the conclusion of the course.

Note to the Professor
While you read through the paper edition of my Journals you may find varying formats from week-to-week of submissions, sections that may blend into one another and a more of a personal touch to items than will be present here. This site serves to bring a tighter hold and better presentation to these concepts. Due to this you may find sections from the written Journal completely omitted from the digital edition, as well there may be new information presented in the digital edition that was not covered prior in the written copy.

Above all else I hope this serves as an entertaining and thought-provoking site.


Happy Reading!



-Paul Robin Kyle Wilson-

Section 0: Preface

As I am aware that some of the viewers will not have the prior knowledge that my PSYC205 peers will have in regards to the topics presented within this electronic Journal, I will attempt to, when possible, provide some additional information on the topics, so the reader can stay informed on the specifics of a topic in which I will be presenting broad generalizations (as the specific subsections will assume some prior knowledge on the topics presented). Though the provided links will provide little or no new knowledge to my peers, it may serve as a nice refresher or delve deeper into some topics that may be of interest.

I will strive my best to ensure that the information comes from reputable sources and provides accurate information in regards to the topic in question. I will also now and then provide some links to serve more of an Interactive purpose rather than purely informative to keep you (the reader) engaged.

Note to the Professor
I am aware that in scientific journalism Wikipedia is by NO MEANS an accepted source of information, however, because this "Journal" takes a little bit more of an informal approach than a scientific publication, you may find links to Wikipedia present for reader reference only.

Representation of the PSY symbol
Courtesy of www.ottawawestpros.com

Section 1-1: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a practical application of psychological types first presented by Carl Jung in the 1920's and is currently used as a sort of classification system to sort people according to one of 16 different personality types. These personality types help to predict in a broad scope how an individual will behave in any given situation (though it ignores situational factors)  The MBTI system was developed in the 1940's by Isabel Myers-Briggs (Hence the name Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and is used worldwide by millions for different applications.  Some examples of its application include: Introspection, Job applications or placements, career planning, psychiatric evaluations and many others as well.

For detailed information on MBTI visit the Myers & Briggs foundation
Myers & Briggs Foundation. (2003)

To Discover your own MBTI type (for personal use only. not a full evaluation) Click here!
HumanMetrics

Current logo for the MBTI Insturment
courtesy www.opp.com

Section 1-2: Peer Results of MBTI.

You ARE unique.. (or at least one in sixteen)
-Image courtesy of tumbr.com #barcode-

My class is a fairly small one, consisting of myself, 12 peers and one professor. There are 16 different personality types possible for MBTI. It is interesting that in our class then no two individuals had identical personalities. It is also interesting that when we were offered the choice to change our MBTI results according to our personal feelings in regards to the outcome of the test, only one individual chose to do so... is this reflective of their personality as well? I am aware that we are a small sample but surely our class is somewhat unique in this regard, which brings some interesting questions to mind.

-Are there certain types of personalities more dominant in a university setting?

-Are there certain types of personalities more dominant in society?

-Will the grades each student achieves be reflective of their personalities?

-Will the majority of the class get along or be at odds due to the uniqueness of each individual?

While I have yet to find exact answers to many of the questions written above, I have throughout the course gained enough knowledge to take educated guesses at the answers... they are as follows:

-No, a personality type may be more dominant in a specific field of study but there are enough different areas that each personality type will find a niche in some area of post-secondary studies.

-Because a part of who we are is influenced by external forces, and society as a whole tends to be heading towards a more extroverted locus, I believe certain types are becoming more frequent

-No, the amount of time and effort put into the coursework will reflect the grades, that being said, the ease at which each student applies said effort may vary greatly due to each personality type

-This belongs again in the hands of each individual and I do carry a small personal pride in the comradery that my peers have shown in no matter how small regard to one another.

Note to the Professor

I've been curious about this all semester and if you feel comfortable in sharing... what is YOUR MBTI result? and do you think your current career and/or hobbies fit in line with this classification? Or do you find that you oppose the typical description of your personal MBTI evaluation? (I am of course making the assumption that in your line of work that you have taken the full fledged examination for MBTI... and I am aware that this assumption is nothing more than just that. an assumption.)

Section 1-3: Personal Results of MBTI

This is the last time I will mention this I promise, but this Journal assumes some prior knowledge of the topics discussed. If you are confused by the following, please take some time to review the Section overview and do your own research in the area.

Image courtesy redbubble.com

Yep. There it is. It's staring right at me. I get that this caption to the left is supposed to be a humorous over exaggeration of the "ESFJ" type.. yet If I was close enough to someone (say, a family member) I could see myself doing just that. While I will go on later to explain certain... grievances I have with two of the four letters on an individual basis. when you take the time and put them together like that, It's perfect. "Hits the nail on the head" to use metaphorical terms. I am the provider, and he is me.

Image courtesy thesixteentypes.tumblr.com

There is a handout we were given in class which describes the ESFJ as the "Hosts and Hostesses of the world" and more often than not this is true. I do often find myself playing the role of host even at events I am not hosting, most recent of which comes to mind is a close friends birthday party, in which I felt that I had to ensure the safety and bedding arrangements of all those present before I myself could rest. despite the fact that it was not my home, not my party. I felt it my duty to ensure everyone had a good time and got home safe.

Image courtesy thesixteentypes.tumblr.com

Even as a child I was the "goodie-two-shoes" the rule follower, and I yearned for structure and organization in my life. while I have learned in recent years to much better "roll with the punches" I still have an absurd amount of structure bordering on the OCD in my life (dresshirts arranged ROYGBIV, scheduled regular events such as dinnertime or garbage day.) even this secondary version of Journals is a good example of the lengths I will go to maintain structure. Even in my post secondary studies I aim for a typical ESFJ career. that of social work.

For more information on what it means to be an ESFJ...

Section 2-1: E vs. I and External Influence

As the personality letters get into specifics on what each part of the MBTI is representative of, there will be no intro to this section, instead we are going to Jump right into things with the E vs. I comparison.

Image courtesy of fronterahouse.com

is for Extrovert. I love being in the world outside, people or nature I'll take it all. I truly believe that everyone on earth (or in space, Commander Chris Hadfield) has an incredible story worth sharing with the world and I want to hear them all. I work in a fast-paced and constantly changing industry where my success is based upon my ability to create a meaningful connection with a customer in a very brief period of time. (commission based cell phone sales for those of you who were wondering, and okay, its not Nascar fast but I have to continually learning a large amount of new information to stay current in the field.) I like to go to parties when I have time and I am an active volunteer in any community I become a part of.

...Why then when my battery is drained and I feel completely out of energy do I turn towards writing, painting, instruments, reading, and self-reflection to recharge this battery? In public I present myself as an almost pure Extrovert, but when I am alone my activities consist of those of a strong Introvert.

MBTI classifies me as a strong "E" type... but MBTI is a static test asking only questions in regards to how you currently feel, not how your opinions have changed over time. (please note this is only based off of the sample test taken in class, as I have never completed a full MBTI instrument I cannot comment on it accurately.) It is through nurturing that I developed this "E" type personality. I didn't always have the same nature I have now. Pre-high school I was the kid you would find in the corner alone reading a book that no one else had ever heard of. In Junior high I was such a pure "I" type that I literally relayed any and all information I felt like sharing with my peers through a close friend rather than directly address the group. I flopped at public speaking assignments due to nervousness and hated social events, especially the mandatory ones like school dances. What was it then that caused me to have to adapt certain "E" traits initially to survive? My close friend moved away and I still had two years of high school to get through.

...$#!t...
-Image courtesy nickfalkner.wordpress.com-

It seems in the society of today that unless you possess either an Einsteinian or Machiavellian intellect that must be an "E" type to succeed... or even survive. I personally learned this very quickly after finishing high school. In the world of post-secondary education the teachers will no longer proactively approach you, you must possess the confidence to make your troubles/concerns known to them. The same principles apply to any position in the workforce, and in your social relationships. I thus changed my habits to nurture myself into a more successful being. I even started to enjoy activities that went against the grain or pushed me outside of my previous comfort zone. Despite all of this my closest friends tend to be "I" types themselves, I think this is because I associate with them more on their own ground and I empathize with them more than the "E" type.

In summation. Through the external forces of society I have been nurtured into an "E" type.

By Nature Though I will always be

Image courtesy of redbubble.com

Look! Scientists agree that I and E are affected by External Stimuli!

Section 2-2: S vs. N and Gender roles.

"I think I'll use my Intuition" Said Macho Man NEVER.
-Image courtesy of www.ilikewrestling.net-

Now, I'm not saying that stereotypes are always true. but to quote my grandfather, "stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason." as such I believe that the pairing of (S)ensing and i(N)tuition can be easily applied to classical gender roles. I do believe that it would be men that are predominantly, though not always, S types. The disposition of the S type to take a very literal view of the world and operate purely on presented instructions and facts tends to be associated with the typical male model.

However, even the strongest S type males will attempt to defy nature and put together an Ikea cabinet at least once in their life without looking at the instructions provided to them. As the knowledge to build a cabinet, or table, or chair, is obviously passed down through the Y chromosome in genetics and requires no previous learning. (In case it wasn't painfully obvious. that was a joke.)

The reverse is also true of the N type though, surely the saying "a woman's intuition" did not arise from pure conjecture and there must be some sort of backing for it to have arisen to such a common phrase in the english language.

I'm not saying that I am such a strong S type that I completely lack any sort of intuition of my own. In fact one of the traits of the ESFJ is the ability to sense how people around them are feeling. however I tend to only follow these "hunches" if they are paired with cues from external stimuli such as shortened breaths, a visible pulse, blushing. Otherwise I move on.

I am a very strong S type and I would not find it surprising in the least to learn that S is a typically male trait... I would find the inverse however quite surprising.

Section 2-3: The T vs F Dichotomy and "R" Types.

Courtesy of findicons.com

As the MBTI defines them, I find there are no greater options between which there are no wiggle-room than the options of T vs F. I myself am described as an F, however I do not believe this to be a fair ruling. Like Harry Potter, I am going to go against the sorting hat, and talk my way out of being sent to house Slytherin.

The main issue that I have with the T vs F structure is that it is worded in such a way that any compromise between T and F is a victory for F regardless of decision made. I tend to make decisions that either align with T or are parallel to it. The reason I am classified as an F is that these decisions affect me emotionally, whereas a T apparently also stands for "Terminator" as they incorporate no emotions into their decision making process nor are they affected personally by the decisions they make. The "R" in R Type stands for Rational, as in, people will use both concepts from T and F lines of thought and go from there to make the rational decision. Not always as purely objective a choice, but equally pragmatic to the T choice.

The in class discussion used the example of two individuals buying cars and the differences in the decisions that they make. This model fits in nicely with the R type as well... so I will stick with it in presenting the concepts.

Scenario 1: The T type buys a Ford Focus.

Courtesy of car-pictures.cars.com

This guy is a cool customer, he's done all of his market research on the vehicles from several different manufacturers prior to purchase, He can tell you the MSRP of the vehicle he is buying down to the cent, he knows all of the features he can afford and this is not an emotional decision for him. he's probably getting a grey car today as they are the most mass produced, and they hold the highest resale value. Sure, he might barter to get a free car starter or couple of dollars off, but at the end of the day that's just gravy, he knows exactly what he's getting and what he pays.



 Scenario 2: The F type buys a Ford... Focus? I meant Mustang.

Courtesy of hansenford.ca

Today is a really exciting day! for the first time a financed car is within his grasp. There was a Ford Focus on the lot last week, it was about 17,000$ or so... something like that anyways. it seemed really nice. BUTOMGWAIT. THERES A POWDER BLUE MUSTANG??? How much is it? ...Jeez, thats expensive... How many years? oh! but if he pays for that long the monthly payments will be the same as that focus! Insurance costs? He'll worry about that later, right now he's gotta find a trophy wife to tear up the tarmac with!




Scenario 3: The R type buys a Ford Focus... ST!

Courtesy of caronwhite.com

This is it. time to buy a Ford Focus. This car has been reviewed as very reliable, the price is affordable and thanks to some careful penny pinching he can afford to get the heated leather seats. He's ready to sign the papers at the desk when he sees something across the showroom floor. there's a Focus ST with a custom paintjob and sports suspension. No power windows or heated leather though... however, it's a much "cooler" car... how much is it? it's the same price? That's the car for him. keeps the budget in check, no unplanned expenses today, and his personal flair gets shown off.




See where I'm headed with this? Mr.R bought the same car as Mr.T, but changed the features of the decision to reflect his own feelings in regards to the matter. The entire basis for the "R" type argument is that many people will use both facets of "T" and "F" in decision making, and it's a rare thing that we use either one exclusively, especially when it comes to making a large decision. If I'm paying over 10,000$ for a car I can promise you two things... it will never be a Toyota Corolla, and it will never be grey. Why? Because I Hate Toyotas and Grey is the worst colour/shade ever... I'll drive a Red Grand Caravan for the same price.

Pictured: The worlds hands down ugliest car ever made... EVER.
-Courtey of consumerguide.com-

Section 2-4: F vs. J, I am the Judge.

J-J-J "J"ded. Famous song about personalities.
-Courtesy of www.iheartradio.com-

Perhaps the most clear cut for me of all, despite MBTI classifying me as a "soft" J I personally view myself as a pretty clear cut J. In scenarios where the F type can sit and let things remain open I am filled with a desire to finish events and to shut them down. get them over and done with. out of my head. I have taken this so far as when I have had conflicts with someone that I KNOW cannot be resolved, I will write out my feelings and never send the letter. because it gives me some form of resolution on the matter despite the receiving party never hearing of it. I believe the reason that I am labeled as a "soft" J is because I am willing to compromise on my idealistic ways in many areas as a direct result of my "E" personality type having an overriding desire for social connection.  When it comes to social event though I do go as far as to schedule my "free time" I am the only individual at my place of employment who actively tracks progress and sales and places himself on a self-improvement task monthly... 

Unfortunately for the reader I find F and J to be the most clear cut and easy to understand... and agreeable of the 4 personality dichotomies... as such there are no startling revelations, no long rants, no delving deeper. I am a J and thats about all there is to it. (Yes, I know, a J "would" say that.)

Section 3-1: What IS Psychology?

-Courtesy www.rosemobile.com-

What exactly is the big P? Psychology, that is. If your mind went somewhere else with that you are already experiencing an aspect of technology psychology. Whoops! I just did it myself. Freudian slip. If I were to describe psychology to someone that had never so much as heard the word before, using my own words, I wouldn't describe it so much as "a study of the mind" but rather as a study of the human condition. Consider if you will Psychology as being a sort of anti-biology. Not that the two must be opposed to one another, but rather where biology may try to trace and study the characteristics contained within humans back through an evolutionary line, Psychology observes that what makes us different from our evolutionary ancestors. Our thoughts and their influence on our behavior... what is it that sets humans apart?

By using my own words to describe psychology I have already revealed to a trained psychological expert some of the theories in the field that I agree or disagree with. Just read the first chapter of this courses textbook and you will already be able to label me as someone who is not entirely onboard with the school of behaviorism into psychology. At the time of this passages initial writing my journey into the field of psychology was young and new... now with a semester almost behind me I can say that behaviorism does have it's place in psychology, it is in fact most useful in the field of learning, reward schedules, and operant conditioning.

Indeed, each theory of psychology has its own place on the spectrum to create a whole image of psychology today... where would we be without the theories of the unconscious mind brought to us by Freud, or on the opposite end of things, Behaviorism focusing on conscious actions using the scientific method... studied by Watson and refined by B.F. Skinner. Indeed we also need the positive psychology of Martin Segilman and the Humanistic approach of Carl Rogers to remind us that we are... Human after all.

What else besides humans could create new sound that did not exist?

What else besides humans could create words like vehicle?
What else beside humans could make these vehicles faster than any animal?

What else besides Humans could achieve what we have achieved?






...

Psychology. The study of Being Human.

Section 3-2: Who's Who? and Who's Right?

Pictured: A way cooler group than Aerosmith
-Image courtesy noticas.universia.es-

As this is a Journal, this section will not focus exclusively on facts regarding the following individuals, rather my own personal views on their opinions as they relate to the field of psychology. Starting with the field of behaviorism brought to light by B.Watson, expanded upon by B.F. Skinner and diversified by Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel.

-Courtesy of stolaf.edu-

I have previously stated that I find behaviorism to have its place in psychology but I do disagree with certain aspects of the field. one of such is captured perfectly in a famous statement by B.F. Skinner, "Free will is an illusion". While I hold this may be true for animals because they act primarily instinctively and have only basic thought processes I believe that the decision making process in human beings is more complex than that. Skinners model of behaviorism cannot explain human actions in the face of adversity, as these actions go specifically against the desired or predicted choice as described in the behaviorist model. (In my written Journal I had used draft-dodging as an example, however as I would learn throughout the course, the difference in an individuals actions in these type of situations can be determined by previous experience and different types of reinforcement provided.)

-Courtesy of coisadavid.br.com-

Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Adler explored more on the unconscious parts of human behavior, and some of the revelations made by the trio are amazing... I find myself understanding and agreeing with most of the insights made by these individuals... except I have my own varying opinion on one area of development. That is that the ego and superego are uniquely human, and that only the id is a universal concept. While I believe that the superego is uniquely human (morals and standards of what is acceptable by society). I believe that the Ego is universal and develops around maturity from infant to child of any given species. My example to back this up is as follows. If you show a monkey a banana being offered as a gift in the hands of a potential mate, and then place a cliff between the two individuals, the monkey will not walk off the cliff. It wants the instant gratification of nourishment and reproduction but knows well enough to delay achievement of this gratification until a moment where its own longevity is not being compromised. If animals only had the "id" they would throw caution to the wind and leap off the cliff as the benefits if achieved outweigh the consequences of failure according to the pleasure principle.

-Courtesy of neatorama.com-

The last area of psychology I wish to address in this section is the Humanistic approach of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. The Ideals in this area of psychology currently fit in line with my own and I believe in all of the core principles and practices involved in this field, one that particularly touches base with me is the hierarchy of human needs (parodied in the adjoined picture). Perhaps it is because I have lived through the hierarchy myself, at one point having to make the decision between buying groceries and paying the rent on time, to moving to a new location where I have no peers with which to communicate... working up to my current goal of obtaining a post secondary degree, I do not think I would succeed in this endeavor if I did not have the building blocks from the hierarchy underneath me to support me. With the support of the hierarchy though I am competent and confident in my current post secondary studies.




So who is right? depends who you ask. In psychology there is still much debate over which views are correct, incorrect, congruent, in-congruent. The young field of psychology still has much ground to travel before any absolute definitions are made. I am exited to be a part of its evolution and watch it continue to mature into its own field.

Section 4-1: The Nature vs. Nurture debate.

I know one thing. It's lunch time.
-Image of www.kiddicare.com-

While it has often been debated how much of our personality sprouts from a genetic origin and how much of it is formed by what we are exposed to throughout our youth, a study known as epigenetics, no one has been able to create a definitive answer. What I offer you today is no more of an answer than anything else including scientific research. This is simply my own opinion on the matter with reinforcements provided by my studies in psychology and my own personal life experiences. As with the answer to who is right in the field of psychology studies, my answer is the amount that someones personality varies according to their environment is an extension of their genetic personality, paired with the persistence of the external influences. To put this into simpler, more understandable terms. I believe that our personality will continue to shift and develop as long as we are open to accepting the changes that are presented to us

.

I know exactly who I am. I am Draconius Lord
of Darkness, Prince of Evil.
-Image courtesy www.wwe.com-

Have you ever asked a teenager or a pre-teen if they knew "exactly" who they were? chances are you may have encountered one or two who are fairly confident in their in their response. Overall consensus is that most people at that age are impacted from so many outside forces and pressures all screaming at the individual to change that they have no Idea whats going on in their own heads. Some individuals such as my makeup covered friend on the left will go to extremes to find that unique identity to label themselves as different. Even I myself had waist long jet-black hair, wore all black, and listened to metal in high-school  Now, I present myself as a business professional with a short-to-medium length haircut and the majority of my wardrobe is now dress clothes. I would have laughed at you if you had suggested to me in highschool that one day my Tie collection would be larger than my videogame collection.

Those dang kids and their wubstep music!!
-Image courtesy immediateentourage.com-

On the opposite side of the coin, ever notice how most of the elderly seem to be "stuck in their ways" and very resistant to change from outside forces? It's my opinion that most people, myself included, will reach a certain point where society stops having such an effect on their character. I believe that the age at which this occurs is different for everyone and has three major factors that impact this "Identity Resolution" are genetics, prevalence of external stimuli, and a persons subjective measurement of their current comfort level with their life as a whole. If they have passed the age at which they readily accept new information (affected by genetics), If they are no longer affected by external pressures or those pressures are less prevalent, and if they are likely to view their current life as "good" then Identity Resolution is complete and the individual in question (my opinion on the matter only) will afterwards have a fairly stable and predictable personality.

Section 4-2: (Mini) Peer Belief as a scale.

I am an MS paint god.
Image courtesy of Myself.

What exactly are we looking at here? This is my classes response when asked the question "To what extent do Nature or Nurture, respectively, influence an individuals personality?". Although this sample is far too small to count as any sort of scientific survey or be eligible for any study, there are some interesting things we can infer from the results... Firstly the lack of any respondents on the extremely low and extremely high ends show that nobody in our class believes that nature or nurture exclusively have an effect on personality. and if we apply my theory from the previous section to the results you can infer how genetically each individual is resistant to impact from external stimuli on personality change, higher numbers perhaps representative of personalities not yet settled.

Section 4-3: Devils Advocate

-Courtesy of orangeink.com-

Early in this course we were subjected (treated?) to a video that explored the concepts of the Nature vs. Nurture debate. I would like to now take some time to play devils advocate and tear that video apart into tiny little pieces and explain just exactly why every part of that video was oh-so-very wrong. I am of course joking. However I would like to pull in the reigns on the views presented as feel though both sides of the coin were presented in much too extreme of a manner.

-Courtesy idahoforests.org-

Starting with the "NATURE" viewpoint which showed us a few different sets of identical twins which were reared apart. While I do believe that we can end up with certain predispositions towards certain personality traits, we can act contrary to those predispositions. The example used in the video is of female twins raised separately in two strict households who despite external influences are very giggly. This is only one trait and without a full psychological profile, showing us only one trait of their personas just presents a biased view to falsely reinforce a point. More emphasis however was spent on a pair of brothers reared apart who seem to think the many similarities between them are largely due to their genetics. I however, was quick to notice the differences between the two including suit choices and enthusiasm in presentation. The brothers provide an extensive list of products that both of them use, unfortunately though this list is extensive, without probing into their lives there is nothing here but conjecture and amusing coincidences. Even something as simple as toothpaste has too many factors influencing its purchase such as: "what socioeconomic conditions were the brothers raised in?", "what was the value (either perceived or real) of the toothpaste in the markets?" "how prevalent was the advertising campaign in their area?" "how many other options were there?" these are just a few of the questions that must be answered to rule out the decision on toothpaste as anything other than an amusing coincidence. Another frustrating fact about the video presentation is again it never explicitly states which one of the Brothers was raised in an Italian household, and which one was raised in the Jewish household. I would go almost as far as betting money that the brother in the beige suit was raised by the Italian family. Although the evidence here is all empirical and stereotypical, as previously stated, "stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason". There are quite a few stereotypes present here. The brothers are wearing beige and black suits, beige being a more liberal colour is something you would expect to see an Italian wearing, combined with this, the beige brother is very vocal, we hear things mostly from his point of view. In fact we only hear from the brother in the black suit once during the entire presentation, during his speech he is quite reserved and he only discusses similarity in physical appearance, not in personality. These presentations are typical of what you would expect from Italian and Jewish culture.

-Courtesy blog.eteacherbiblical.com-

When we move to the "NURTURE" viewpoint we are given an inside look into a "superchild academy" which again presents a heavily biased viewpoint because we aren't given an opportunity to hear from any of the children that are attending the academy nor do we get any exposure to any graduates from said academy. I do believe that children possess a great capacity for absorbing knowledge and skills, but I don't believe this to be indicative of any factor of a childs individual personality and it does seem to myself that in the video clips we are shown of the children they appear more akin to machines performing a function. Performing only because that is what they are told to do so. I did not see a 'spark' in any of these childrens eyes. For myself, there was no indication that there was any passion or enjoyment taken in their work, these were soulless tasks being performed for some sort of reward, in much the same way a McDonalds employee mans a cash register in exchange for a paycheque every two weeks. there is no 'soul' in their work. (perhaps these children didn't eat if they didn't get an A+ on their spelling bees?) I do on a personal level worry about these children. They are being imbued with great knowledge, but the basic needs for socialization, communication, true and unscheduled 'fun time', are these needs being fully met? Perhaps this institution is raising a cult of highly educated sociopaths rather than normal and well adjusted individuals.

Take the example of my highschool friend. This friend of mine in the last year of Junior High was always among the smartest children in the class, but never attained top of any class, there was always a few other individuals that would obtain higher accolades than her. Despite this, she was constantly referred to by instructors as one of the smartest students they had taught. When her parents probed further to question the instructors as they were aware she was not at the top of the class, they explained it as having a good mind for intellectual pursuits, but also good reasoning skills in social situations. Her peers lacked the same social reasoning skills as her and thus suffered from some of the unfortunate social issues such as labelling (geek, nerd, dork) that comes with school scenarios that she avoided. I have kept in touch with her and some of the top-of-the-class students, and though the highest achievers are doing incredible in their current fields of study, even now, over five years out of highschool, they still suffer from some unfortunate social issues due to their inability to easily socialize with others.

Section 5-0: (Aside) Definitions and circular reasoning.

This section will deal primarily with stress... we will get to that, its nice to break up the flow every now and then, kick back, and take things easy. I will do so now in two different ways, firstly, by delaying the talk about stress. Secondly, I will not be including any pictures in this aside... this is to give myself a break from hunting down the "perfect image" to go along with each article while still maintaining what I hope you, the reader can see as a fairly nice and established flow to things. Still with me? haven't fallen asleep yet? great.

Let's talk about circular reasoning. Circular reasoning has come up twice in fairly significant ways throughout the course of the semester. The first time we observe it is in discussion of William Sheldons constitutional theory or body type personality (as an aside to the aside... was it an unwritten rule somewhere that to study psychology your name had to be William or James?) A prime example of his theory states that a "mesomorph", which is someone who is "sturdy, athletic, big muscled" has a personality described as "love for physical activity" if you can't see the circular reasoning yet allow me to paraphrase the example used in the linked wiki page.

"Mesomorphs love physical activity, because people with muscular bodies enjoy exercising"

Not only do we know this not to be true (unfortunately for the rest of us, some people have metabolisms that   make them naturally muscular with little or no effort on their part) but very little is described about each somatotype aside from what would typically result due to dietary habits. When Sheldon does make a stretch to describe secondary aspects such as "all endomorphs (heavier set) are jolly", the scientific studies on the matter fall apart, not holding up to scrutiny.

"Frank drinks too much because he is an alcoholic"

This phrase is quoted directly from the textbook and is the second example of circular reasoning we encounter in our studies. This time around, however, the authors acknowledge that this IS circular reasoning and provides us with tools to avoid getting into just that. The following information is taken directly from the text (linked in an earlier section).

In order to avoid circular reasoning, employ the following skills when thinking critically: Understand the way definitions shape how people will think about issues, Identify the source of those definitions, and Avoid the logical fallacy in working with definitions and labels, as labels do not have any explanatory value.

To paraphrase I find that when trying to describe a new topic to an individual, especially something that may be theoretical in nature, try your best to describe it as you would to an individual new to the english language. while it is okay to assume a basic understanding in language. If you remove labels and complicated terminology, and are still able to get your point across, you are probably doing a more effective job of defining what you are trying to.


...Thats all for this aside. Lets move on to everyone's least favorite topic. STRESS!

Section 5-1: Conflict? What Conflict?

Moving onto stress, when the core concepts for this entry were put to paper, it was in a period in which we would not see our professor at all between two separate examinations... which is stressful! Now, the only exam left to write is the final... also stressful! In the section of the text regarding stressors we are introduced to the three different types of conflict. These conflict types are Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance, and Avoidance-Avoidance.

Why is this image relevant to stress? As a Male you are looking at what causes 80+% of stress over a lifetime.
(Also, lighten up, its a joke.)
-Image courtesy of roaringwomen.com-

As an individual who spent the majority of the past two years engaged in an abusive relationship, I have experienced more than my fair share of approach-avoidance conflicts. This is due largely to the fact that simple daily decisions like 'what brand of detergent to buy' or 'what to make for dinner' suddenly carry an element of avoidance to them because any of these seemingly simple decisions would give my partner an opportunity to express displeasure or dissatisfaction with me. I was constantly plagued by vacillation (indecision) and overwhelming stress which has taken significant time to overcome and cope with. Through family and social supports, as well as a healthy dose of self-inflection I am now pleased to say that I cope very well in even some of the most stressful environments... even though certain stress measurement tools (check out the next section!) would describe me as someone who should be so stressed that they are beyond the point of functioning.

My new outlook on stress has me regard it as very much a personal idea and that you cannot suffer from stress unless you allow yourself to be stressed. I am very critical of the idea of stress now, scales that measure it... and to paraphrase the text, "There's little reason to believe that any event is inherently or inevitably stressful."

Section 5-2: The Subjective Nature of Stress

Continuing on from the last section where I state that stress is a personal and therefore subjective experience I present to you both a quote and a stress "measuring system"

"If a person has less than 150 life change units they have a 30% chance of suffering from stress. 150-299 life change units equates to a 50% chance of suffering from stress. Over 300 life change units means a person has an 80% chance of developing a stress related illness" 

-Quoted from http://www.simplypsychology.org/SRRS/html

The measuring system that calculates these life change units is called the "Social Readjustment Rating Scale", to give you a sample of some of the items included in the scale, here are my own personal results from the application.

So what do you think? 80% chance of developing 3 stress illnesses?
Or do you think I have a 240% chance of having one?

Not to say that the scale is completely "out to lunch"... I did experience PTSD in the last year, and it did take a while for me to recover from that experience including some medication. A lot of these events occured Post-PTSD though, and I have not suffered a second bout nor have I suffered from any major stress.. I am much better able to deal now with both Acute and Chronic stressors in my life.

How I actually feel most days
-Courtesy of orignialstruttingleo.tumblr.com-

How I should feel constantly according to SRRS
-Courtesy of myfofa.com.au-

The SRRS also fails to take into account the subjective nature of stress and the fact that what may appear as stressful to one individual may be either of little/no importance to one individual or even perhaps pleasing... or vice versa. There are two examples that apply to myself. The first of which is beginning school. This event carries a fairly significant 26 points on the SRRS scale. For me, after an extended absence from post-secondary and being in a position where I didn't know if it would even be possible for me to begin attending post secondary again I was delighted to find out I had been accepted into post secondary studies... This in fact was one of the highlights of my year.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Christmas nets a very minor 12 points... it doesn't matter if you are a practicing catholic, Christmas is celebrated around the world in some form or another. Is it fair then, to assign a universal number for an event which is not experienced in a universal way? In fact for myself last year Christmas was one of the most stressful events of the year.

Stress is a subjective experience... and because everyone experiences stress differently there is limited use to creating a scale to measure stress objectively. It won't apply to everyone equally. It certainly doesn't to myself.

Section 5-3: Inverted :-( hypothesis.

-Courtesy of tumblr.com #smileyfry-

In psychology there is a theory which suggests there are optimal levels of emotional arousal when performing tasks of a varying complexity. This theory is known as the "inverted U hypothesis" and according to the suggested model, the less complex a task is the higher level of emotional arousal required to perform optimally at the task at hand and vice-versa. I believe this model functions as a good predictor of performance generally, but due to its objective nature misses out again on the subjective nature of psychology. I agree that a high level of emotion while doing a monotonous task such as driving across the country to assist a loved one can help with the completion of that task, and that being overly distressed and emotional while writing an exam will hinder performance... this is based on negative emotions. If you tie in the fact that most people with "Duchenne" smiles tend to live longer lives and are overall healthier... perhaps it is worthwhile to feel pleased during tasks of great complexity. I would like to propose the "Turn that frown upside down" model... or to play on the existing model. "the inverted :-( hypothesis"

-Courtesy of tumblr.com #smileyfry-

I take this example from my own life. Anyone who has read through a master copy of my test booklets that I have marked up or written notes in can see that I carry quite a lot of personal energy in these situations. I use humorous writing, self-talk, and even laugh at myself in these situations  to keep myself focused on the task at hand. If I can study a task to the point of complete comprehension I find that it helps to keep an environment of levity about the situation (currently my progress in post-secondary studies reflects this well.)

Psychology is subjective, and until we invent some sort of measuring system that can account for this, any models which use graphs and charts as the basis for their theory will ultimately be flawed in some way.


Note to the Professor
If you are to pair up this section with a particular part of the written Journal you will find that I continue to discuss stress for another five pages (p.37-42) and I take the concepts of Seyles General adaptation syndrome, maladaptive coping methods, treatment seeking and rational thinking, and I apply these to personal experiences. for this section I feel as though the topics are too sensitive to be put on display publicly. So feel free to read through them yourself for the purpose of additional information, but I will not be placing these topics on the electronic edition of the website.

Section 6-0: (Aside) Guest Talk

During this course we were given an opportunity to speak with two different individuals who had worked in the field of social work that ties closely with the field of psychology. The following is my Journal entries regarding the two presenters.

Our first guest speaker was a charming lady from the Brooks womens shelter, unfortunately her name escapes me at the moment, but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by her professional presentation regarding abusive situations. As she was a woman who was currently serving in a womans shelter, I had predicted that I would be subjected to a thoroughly sexist presentation and at first things seemed to be headed in that direction. As a male who has suffered the effects of spousal abuse and a father who has lived through the same it is my opinion that in todays modern age abuse from one gender is no more likely than another. I do believe however, that due to classical gender roles men are less likely to report cases of abuse. Even in my own case, when hospitalized, filed no report to police following the event. I was thus very pleased that at a moment when students were given statements to read and were asked how many of these statements were made by women... as most of the class began to answer highly (70-80%), I was prepared to stand up and leave the class in the middle of the lecture. What happened next caused me to be taken aback as rather than the presenter reinforcing their answer and saying they were correct, she told the class it was a 50-50 split between male and female, and that the womens shelter although currently catering to woman primarily was actively working towards gender equality.

Our next presenter, Maureen from the SPEC association in Brooks (full disclosure, I can only recall her name because I have her business card.) she took more of a personal approach to her presentation. 'Moe' discussed the story of her struggles to raise both her foster AND biological children simultaneously while dealing with the death of her husband. She paired this personal story with the services her organization, SPEC, offers. Both of these ladies have helped me to reinforce for me that I am headed on the right path in my studies towards a social work degree. I highly reccommend everyone in my area check out the services offered by both of these individuals and their respective organizations.

Womens shelter facebook page

 (Requires a facebook account to view)

Alberta Council of Women's shelters

SPEC Association official website

Section 6-1: (Mini) Where am I?

Hi Lara...
-Courtesy ivances.deviantart.com-

I'm pretty sure if I ever read a book on the bubonic plague that I'll be a
goner. I seem to associate with topics on a biological level. If we talk about stress, I'm stressed. If we talk about sleep (we are doing that now.) I get sleepy... I even fell asleep while reading the textbook chapter on sleep, mid-sentence and everything. Mind...



Wandering..



What was I saying? Right. so can you name someone that hasn't had their mind wander? If you can, tell your local university as they probably have some studies they'd like to conduct. At any given moment I have a dozen thoughts lying just under the surface waiting for me to pay attention to them, at the time of writing my initial Journal entry my thoughts were occupied by lunch, videogames, television... now it's work, finals, dinner. Fortunately I am able to keep these thoughts subdued and focus on the task at hand. the one area where my concentration will tend to break is if someone is speaking to me while I attempt to focus on another task... the words spoken will slip into my "train of thought" and I will end up writing what is being spoken rather than what I had intended to put into writing.

So readers...  where is your mind wandering to right now? (PG answers only please...)

Section 6-2: More than monophasic.

A Time lapse camera captures a couples sleep.
-Courtesy anzenbergergallery.com-

Circadian rhythms, the approximately 24 hour day-night cycle that people move through which tends to persist even with the elimination of any external cues. A significant segment of this cycle is a sleeping period, one which usually lasts between 6-9 hours a cycle. The textbook interestingly enough does not make any mention of different sleeping patterns aside from "abnormal" sleep patterns and cultural variations in sleeping arrangements.

There are many different and varying ways one can achieve their required sleep in each circadian cycle. I myself subscribe to one of these sleep patterns not described in the book. While most people around the world sleep in a monophasic sleep cycle (that is, one continuous sleep cycle) I personally use a biphasic sleep cycle. My first rest through the night runs from approximately 11pm-3am, and then I am awake again from 3-5am, during which I almost exclusively partake in leisure activities such as reading, video games and television, (on some days this period is the only leisure time I take) and I then rest again from approximately 5-8am before awaking for my longer waking period. I find this sleep pattern to be much more effective for me than any other sleep pattern I have attempted and according to some research on the area of sleep it is suggested that this is the typical way in which humans used to be accustomed to sleeping.

Monophasic and biphasic are not the only two types of sleep rhythms either, it can be further divided into what is known as polyphasic sleeping... the most frequently talked about in popular culture is the multiple 30-minute nap cycle in which the body becomes accustomed to slipping directly into a deep sleep and through a series of naps throughout the day an individual attains the required 6-8 hours of sleep.

Section 6-3: Fantasy = Reality

While we are talking about sleep and all. I rarely dream.

I actually very much dislike dreaming... as when I do dream it usually interferes with my waking life, the following is an example of what my dreams are usually like.

No. not like this. that would be cool.
-Courtesy theresalwaysroomforonemore.com-

Alarm goes off. I shut off the alarm, complain about how much I don't wanna get up, after fighting with myself to get out of bed I stumble towards the shower. I stay in the shower for an incredibly long length of time enjoying the hot water. Finally having "awoken" I get out and brush my teeth, get dressed in my work clothes, put on some deodorant and cologne and head out for the day of work ahead of me. As I sit at my desk things start to fall apart in my dream... I don't use a Mac at work... I don't own a green dress shirt... I haven't driven a plymouth breeze since I was sixteen... ah. I'm dreaming.

As you can see, the reason that my dreams interfere with my waking life is they mirror each other. Sometimes I will stay dreaming after this revelation, but usually not for long as half of these actions are things that I need to do, and some of them are things I may have already done. I have a terrible habit of shutting off my alarm in my sleep. When I have these dreams it's followed by a full on adrenaline rush because I have come to the realization that I am still in my bed and am probably late for whatever I needed to get done that morning.

To me, this is a dream.
-Courtesy www.guardian.co.uk-

When it comes to dreams I follow the Activation-synthesis model, because as a child I did have very amazing vivid and and colorful dreams, as I grew up though I found my dreams becoming more and more mundane. not that I lacked an imagination but my mind was preoccupied with more realistic issues. You could say that I also follow the problem-solving interpretation of dreams suggested by Cartwright, because I don't think these two areas are incongruent.

To me, dreams are the result of neurons firing while we are unconscious, turned into dreams so the brain has a way to handle these firing neurons. I believe that the neurons firing most during our waking hours (usually associated with issues/concerns most affecting us in that space of time). These neurons have "residual firing" during our sleep which results in these dreams being tied into our waking life.

Section 6-4: Party time

I think we can agree that most people over the age of majority (and some people under) have experienced the mind altering effects of alcohol. As a friend of mine once stated "Whoever called Alcohol a depressant obviously didn't drink enough of it". Sadly, I think most people generally feel the same as he does.

The reason that most people will not realize that Alcohol is a depressant is because it is almost always paired with some sort of dopamine stimulant, I don't mean chemically, but some sort of social activity or public event such as a party, dance, sporting event, nightclub or just generally experienced with friends. Thus Alcohol is associated with "having a good time" and people only realize the inhibition loss but not the effects of the depressant.

-Image courtesy uniquesquared.com-

Ever have a really bad hangover? While you are suffering this hangover not only are you experiencing mild alcohol poisoning but your self-appraisal is probably a lot worse than what the objective reality of the situation is as your dopamine uptake is temporarily reduced.

Except this guy... his self-appraisal is spot on.
-Image courtesy thechive.com-

Just prior to having my depression diagnosed I became acutely aware of the depressant effects of alcohol. While drinking I would have all of the desired effects of alcohol: loss of inhibition, mild dizziness/coordination loss, dopamine release from fun activities. I soon began to notice that the day following a night of drinking, light or heavy consumption irrelevant, was an absolutely terrible day. I was consistently moody, irritable, upset and felt as though something was out of place. This was consistent even if all logic suggested that I should feel otherwise. Only after self-inflection did I realize that all that was occurring was the depressive effects of alcohol being compounded by depression, my bodies reduced ability to counter with dopamine and serotonin release.

Section 6-5: (Mini) Correlation between drugs and crime?

-Image courtesy of wikiworldorder.org-

While there is no doubt a correlation between illicit drugs and criminal charges, how many of these charges are solely from the drug itself being illegal? (Possession/Intent to sell charges) While the correlation between hard drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine and serious non-drug criminal charges such as general juvenile delinquency, break and enter, theft, and armed assaults/robberies is well established, can the same be said of smokers? My hypothesis would be no. Many studies show that the effects of marijuana are less life threatening than those of alcohol and even less harmful than cigarettes, the question though is does it lead to increased (non-drug related) criminal activity? With a few states having now legalized the use of marijuana only time and new studies on the matter will be able to tell us for sure.

Section 7-1: Flashbulb Firsts

Story time! The following describes my earliest vivid memory... I will use this story in the next two sections to   expand upon some of my thoughts in the field of memory.

-Courtesy of blogs.attask.com-

While I have glimpses and fuzzy visions of memories occurring prior to this story, this one stands out as the first clear and precise memory. This memory occurs somewhere between the ages of 3-4 years old, though if I were to guess I would say it was more likely 4, as it occurs in a late summer night shortly after one of my birthday celebrations. I was wearing my matching dinosaur shorts and T-shirt, I had an awful unisex bowl cut (that I'm told was "the style" of the time) and I was sitting in my newly acquired fuzzy  foam big-bird chair. (a chair which would later be ruined and destroyed in a basement flood 3 years later) I was seated at a plastic child's table which was ill-matched to said chair, and it was thunder storming outside. I was about to sit down and eat a bowl of Liptons chicken noodle soup in a Cambells soup bowl (the blasphemy!) paired with a can of Canada-Dry gingerale in a glass cup. As lighting struck near to the house the power was taken out. After this I was given a flashlight so I could see my food, and continue to eat it in peace. In order to make things work I had to hold the flashlight directly over my soup with one hand and my spoon with the other. Lighting struck again, fairly close to the house creating a loud boom. The startling and unexpected noise caused me to lose my grip on the flashlight and drop it into the soup below. The soup, still being incredibly hot splashed onto my face and caused some minor burns. While this event was not especially life threatening in any way, it was still painful and the event would form my relationship with thunder for the next decade.

Not cool bro.
-Courtesy of gizmodo.com.au-

How does this story relate to the topic of memory? It demonstrates three different topics presented to us in the chapter. Firstly that of flashbulb memories, which are especially vivid recollections of specific events. Second, long term memory and its resistance to decay as well as susceptibility, through my remembrance of everything about the event except for the exact age that I happened to be and lastly it is in itself an example of episodic memory. This event also demonstrates some of the topics used in learning so we will come back to this story later and address those subjects.

Section 7-2: (Mini) Source-Monitoring Error.

-Courtesy of nessecarysufficient.net-

Did I say the next two sections would be regarding the story I just shared? My apologies. stay tuned though as the information will be relevant to upcoming sections.

The amount of memory errors I made while initially writing out this section is just baffling. I started out be reading, studying, and REVIEWING a chapter that would not even be mentioned in our curriculum. and then while doing my initial writing on the subject I kept confusing the chapter on learning for the chapter on memory and vice-versa. It's a good thing no knowledge is ever wasted, as I can now tell you all about opponent process color theory and trichromatic color theory as it applies to the colorblind. I also initially had trouble remembering which pieces of information originated from the chapter regarding memory and which pieces of information originated from the chapter regarding learning. thankfully this would not affect my performance on the related exam as that part of information was irrelevant (which may explain why I've had such a hard time remembering it.)

Section 7-3: Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha.

As previously discussed I like to use humor to bring in my focus while working on complex tasks such as exams or papers... as you may have already noticed a little bit of in the writings thus far. I don't know if what I am about to explain to you would be considered a genetic trait or something that has slowly and personally developed. I have a very unique method of encoding semantic memory into the long term, I use humor when encoding memory.

Everything is easier to remember with the power of N2O!
-Courtesy of thelaughterrevolution.com-

One of the most prominent examples of this is the 0% I "achieved" while writing my Social-8 notes. In my Social-8 class we were supposed to submit our own created notes for review after we wrote a text on the paired subject. In a test on which I received 100% my grade for the paired notes was 0%. It wasn't that I hadn't submitted notes, so why the disparity?

My notes made absolutely no sense to anyone that read them except for myself. If you pair this with the fact that I was a junior high student with a junior high sense of humor, my notes looked something along the lines of "In Soviet Russia: Iron man did battle with a Jew and won"... I will give you 10 internet-points* if you know what I am referring to in that sentence.

Here is a hint.
-Courtesy of englishrussia.com-

*internet-points are not a real thing and may not be redeemed for any physical reward.

"In the Russian elections during the Industrial revolution Joseph Stalin went to the polls against Leon Trotsky, a Jewish russian intellectual, and won by a landslide, Stalin was accused of rigging the polls but would never face any trials or charges in this regard, Stalin was also known as the man of steel due to the way he pushed ahead the Industrial revolution in Russia." Yes, that small sentence above actually contains all of the information prior in it for myself. It still does to this day, I wrote that in Grade 8 which for me was over a decade ago now.

I eventually had to plead my case to my instructor, and thankfully due to my consistently high marks when facing testing and my explanation of my absurd defining and phrasing contained within my notes I was eventually given a pass on these notes... despite their complete lack of helpfulness to anyone who did not have their brain wired exactly as my own was.

-Courtesy of it.pinellas.k12.fl.us-

Section 7-4: Organizational networks and connection.

In our psychology textbook we are introduced to two different types of information organizational networks. First is semantic networks, these networks suggest that the more closely two words are related to one another logically the easier that one word will serve as a cue for another similar word. (for example red and orange, which are both colours will be connected by a shorter path to one another than say, red and fire truck  The second organizational system, the connectionist model (or parallel distributed pathways) function based on how the neural network will handle the incoming information.

You could also call neural networks "Brainstorms"
-Courtesy of ideachampions.com-

In the text these networks are presented as two opposing viewpoints, and while I do acknowledge that semantic information networks can stand on their own, parallel distributed networks take cues from the semantic network and act in conjunction with the connectionist models. While semantic models of information distribution work in a strictly logical fashion (such as one would find in an encyclopedia or thesaurus), any other model of information processing will incorporate episodic memory into the network of connections. Human memory and computer A.I. function similarly in this sense. While it might be logical and part of a semantic network to connect the terms 'monkey' and 'banana' to one another, it would require a personal (episodic) experience to make a connection between the terms 'lamborghini' and 'banana'. Depending on the strength of this neural link, 'lamborghini' and 'banana' may become a shorter link to one another and a more readily accessible link than the semantic 'monkey' 'banana' link. You need look no further than the internet accessible A.I. that is Cleverbot to see an example of this network in action. You may find when you ask it a series of rational or logical question that should have a "straightforward" answer it may occasionally get an answer wrong. In the cases where this happens, it has been taught these answers by the outside world, thus the connection between the original semantic knowledge has become farther displaced from its source than the new or 'episodic' knowledge.

This picture has nothing to do with anything. I just like it... I also want to see if it sparks
any implicit memory for my professor. ('answer' in the next section, but it won't be implicit
anymore once I have given you the cue to trigger the memory.)
-Courtesy of abcpastor.wordpress.com-