Sunday, October 14, 2012

General Psycology 7

Question: have you ever thought that addictions can be classically conditioned into our life?  Just how do you think that would occur?

Response: I had never thought about addictions in that way. When someone becomes an drug addict it is for the relief they get from each time they partake in the act. This ingrains into the person's mind that the two are connected. Drugs equal relief in their minds. This could also be why quitting addictions is so difficult. Instead of associating quitting with the benefits, they associate it with difficulty and sacrifice. If every time someone went to do the drug they got hit by a boxing mitt then I do not think that it would be so addicting haha. On the other hand, if every day a person went without the drug they were awarded with a check (of a substantial amount of money) then it would be much more easy to quit. The more that I think about it, the more it seems the two are connected. No doubt there are biological addictions to certain substances, but it would be interesting if there was a way to calculate what percentage of addictions are psychological.

General Psychology 7

Question: How could classical conditioning be effective or detrimental in our lives?

Repsonse: Learning and discipline have been a huge part of my little brother's life since he was adopted. Classical Conditioning can be detrimental to a person's life because it can teach them the wrong things. No doubt his original parents used Classical Conditioning but it effected him very negatively. They praised and punished him for the wrong things completely. When he first came to us he would rather eat a raw onion than an ice cream cone. This was due to the fear of "unhealthy" foods ingrained in him. The first time he ate at McDonald's with us he ate every last bite. The second time he must have overheard some one talking about not having to eat everything in their meal. He asked if he could take the pickles off his sandwich. He was amazed when we said yes. The overly strict (borderline abusive) nature of his parent's teaching had ingrained these expectations into his mind.
Classical Conditioning is also our main approach to his learning. This can be beneficial to a person's life because it can effectively teach them new information and habits. Not only do we have to teach my little brother new things, but we also have to teach him to stop doing the old things he was taught. Now classical conditioning has been beneficial to him. My mother actually said to me today, "We have to praise him ten times for doing something good for every one time we discipline him for doing something bad". I thought this was crazy due to the fact that she does not even know what I have been reading the past couple days! He has been doing much better since he first came to us and much of that is due to the positive nature of my parent's teaching.

How difficult is it to overcome past learning experiences made by classical conditioning?

General Psychology 6.5

Question: "What is the difference between a nap and a power nap?"


Response: 
Well by definition a nap is " to sleep briefly especially during the day " (Merriam-webster dictionary). So this can be for any period of time depending upon your definition of brief, I guess. A power nap is simply a more specific type of the word. While a nap can be any "brief" amount of time, a power nap is usually twenty to thirty minutes long, although they can be shorter. This short period of time allows the body to become more energized and such while not falling into normal sleeping patterns. If a nap goes longer than thirty minutes then the person will no longer feel energized when they wake up due to the body having already entered the slow wave or deeper stages of sleep. A nap of this length can make you feel less tired, slowed down, and agitated. I think God created us this way so we can be re-energized when we need it, but also so we do not sleep the day away and become lazy. This is actually utilized much more in other cultures than our own. Other cultures will sleep through the hottest parts of the day for energy and being spared from the heat. Many people think our culture could benefit greatly from such a practice.

General Psychology 6

Question: After you have completed the Sleep IQ and the Sleep Deprivation quizzes. Discuss any questions you have about what you thought you knew about sleep, or what you think is still true after the quizzes.

Response: Currently I have definitely been sleep deprived.I answered “true” to far too many of the questions in the Sleep Deprivation Quiz. I believe this is primarily due to trying to get back into waking early for the school year and I have not adjusted my staying up late habits. I am definitely going to put some of the information that I have gathered from these readings to use. I am mostly confused as to number four on the Sleep IQ quiz: "At you move from early to later adulthood you need less sleep". I am told this was false, but the graph in the PowerPoint suggests otherwise. This seems to be a pretty consistent pattern in humanity; it always seems the people significantly older than me can sleep less. I was also wondering about number five: "By playing audiotapes during the night, you can learn while you sleep." Again I am told this was false but I have tried this before and it seemed to work... I am just wondering as to the science behind these. I learned a whole lot so far in our reading that I previously knew absolutely nothing about. I really enjoy learning about the sleep and dreams, and also plan on putting what I have learned to use.

General Psychology 5.5

 Question: What did you mean by "drawing the line"?


Response: By "drawing the line" I was talking about at what point do we deem the things that hurt us sin. I mean if we were all to stop doing everything that hurt us in some degree, we would probably be worse off than the Amish. We do so many things in our culture that are bad for us but we never think to stop doing most of these things. I specified upon some of these things in my last post. This is not super relevant to all that we were talking about, but I was just referring to how we are damaging our hearing and some people would deem that sin. So if we do not want to damage our bodies then at what point do we stop protecting them? It was just a thought I had come up with while reading some other posts I think. I hope this made my thought more clear. Sometimes I feel like I come up with good points but cant communicate them well.


Question: Students how do you think we use our senses to glorify God or not?


Response: Well we sure can use our senses to NOT glorify God in many ways. Many ways which I do not think I need to elaborate on, besides the fact that they are simply the things that He has told us not to do. Being created by God for his glory, He would not have created us with anything that could not be used for His glory. We can use our sight to observe his wonderful creation and praise Him for it. We can use our hearing to listen to music to worship Him. We can use our taste to eat and be thankful . "Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the Glory of God." We can simply glorify God by enjoying they things around us that He has given us to enjoy. We can also glorify him by using these senses to stay away from that which he has not given us to enjoy.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

BBC - General Psychology 5

Assignment: Now that you understand sensation and perception more clearly, what have you learned that will impact how you take care of yourself and/or interact with the world in which you live?
Note: For example did you know that in Europe their headphones have a lower volume than those sold in America. Do you realize how easily you are damaging your hearing, on a daily basis. We toy with a question in class if you had to give up one sense which one would it be? Do you now understand how easily you can be mislead by your sense.


Response: If I had to give up one sense it would probably be taste. I love food and the taste of them but i feel it would be the least impacting of all the senses to lose. My grandfather has lost nearly all of his smelling ability except for when sensing very extreme smells. This has a direct impact upon his ability to taste things and it does not really seem to bother him at all. We all know it does not bother my grandmother at all tongueout. I am always told that I do not even have time the taste my food when I eat because I eat it so fast.
When a person more fully understands the role of the senses upon the body it can also be used for witnessing opportunities. Many of my atheist peers will claim if they can detect something with their senses then they do not believe in it. This is a fairly simply argument to refute, as all the senses are easily fooled. One can use such examples as: optical illusions, thinking you hear someone say your name in a crowded room, etc. Then in such a witnessing opportunity one can flip the argument and ask how such a complex system of connected senses could be formed by chance.
I used to listen to my music on a very high volume and I believe my hearing is currently suffering from it. People tell me all the time that I did not hear something they said. It is true that we should aim to take care of our bodies and not do things we know are hurting it, but where do we draw that line? It is widely known that there is nothing good for us in soda. We know that most people sleep wrong, breathe wrong, exercise wrong, have babies wrongs, sit wrong, and yes even go to the bathroom wrong. So where do we draw the line as to "taking care of God's temple" ?

BBC - General Psychology 4.5

Question: Now that you have discussed structures of the brain. What are some of the malfunctions that occur in differing structures of the brain?


Response:
As I brought up before my sister has epilepsy. Most of the Children in my family have had it, but she was the only one who did not outgrow it. I'm sure you all know what a seizure is but maybe you do not know the cause of it. "An epileptic seizure is a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms resulting from abnormal, excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain" (Fisher et al 2005). One could simply call this occurrence a misfire of neurotransmitters. There are scores of types of seizures and they all act out differently. Some are a total loss of motor controls resulting in jolting and shaking (the common idea of a seizure) or can be completely opposite where a person will lose motor skills but simply not be able to move and seemingly "zone out". Seizures can also be triggered by different things. Mine were always triggered by high doses of caffeine or sugar. Many times a person will not remember the episode which sometimes can be very embarrassing due to loss of bodily control sometimes including incontinence. There are many ways to help a person in an episode but you should be properly trained to do so.

Word Count - 203

Sources:

Fisher RSet al (2005) Epileptic seizures
and epilepsy: definitions proposed by the
International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE)
and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE).
Epilepsia. 46, 4, 470-472.

NCYP99 Solomon N, McHale K(2012) An overview of epilepsy in children and
young people. Date of acceptance: March 3 2012. Updated:June 6 2012.

Experience

BBC - General Psychology 4

 Assignment: Understanding a little more about the brain, God's incredible design, state two structures of the brain that you did not understand before and how understanding it will now impact the way you view yourself, view others and your care for yourself and others.


Response:  The part of the brain that I learned the most about was the reticular formation. previously I did not even know this part of the brain existed. This part of the brain can trigger any other part of the brain if it deems circumstances relevant. It controls the sleep-wake cycle and attention focus. It filters the things around you as important or not important and can shut out the ones that are not important. Upon more research I learned that this part of the brain can develop habitual focuses or overlooking. For example, I live on a busy street and people are always saying "I wouldn't be able to sleep if I lived here." I don't even notice the sound anymore; my reticular formation simply overlooks it. The reticular formation is connected to the brain stem and if damaged then the victim can enter a comatose state.
Another part of the brain that I did not know existed is the limbic system. This part of the brain controls feelings and has some effect upon memory and learning. Emotions and feelings can be greatly effected by any damage or tampering with these parts of the brain. Damage to the limbic system can bring about a 180 degree turn in personality, but it can also damage learning ability and memory.
These parts of the brain both made me think about if I damaged them. I could loose much of my memory or even fall comatose. I do not think I would like that. Being in mixed martial arts I think this reading and study has convinced me to be a bit more careful with head protection for myself and my students.

BBC - General Psychology 3

Assignment: How does the production of your own neurotransmitters impact you on a daily basis? Give at   least three examples with your discussion.
Note: Make sure you have proof
 
 
Response:First off my third favorite neurotransmitter has to do mostly with eating and sleeping. Its name is huge! ready? Gamma-amino butyric acid. Try saying that ten times fast. If you don't feel like saying all that then you can just say GABA. This neurotransmitter also effects feelings of aggression and is effected greatly by tranquilizers and alcohol. This could be why people: drink more when drunk, sleep so easily when drunk, get aggressive when drunk. This neurotransmitter is very important to daily life because it controls eating, sleeping and aggression. If my GABA was too low i would feel anxious, irritable and unfocused on a daily basis. I personally would not want to live in a world where there was no sleep, no eating, and always anxious, irritated, angry people.
My second favorite neurotransmitter is Dopamine. If you are lazy and do not feel like saying that then you can call it DA. This neurotransmitter controls movement, while also having a direct impact upon learning abilities, attention span and pleasure. This neurotransmitter effects me right now because I can focus on this paragraph, learn what I have read in this chapter, and feel pleasure when I submit this (I hope). There are diseases which are caused by too much or too little Dopamine like Parkinson's disease and possibly schizophrenia.
Finally, my most favorite neurotransmitter is Endorphins. This neurotransmitter effects the feeling of main and mood control. This is commonly talked about in the sports world because some sports may release these endorphins to relieve pain or simply raises moods. I learned in the reading that endorphins may also directly effect the act of taking placebos. This has long been an interest of mine since I once learned a person can get "drunk" off of water and extremely hyper off of drinks without high sugar and such when they believe that they are actually partaking in something else. In a world without endorphins we would have some very grumpy people.

BBC - General Psychology 2

Assignment: Respond to the statement is "All truth God's truth?" What are your initial thoughts about this statement, and what conclusions do you then come to? Make sure you include a definition of "truth".


Response: When evaluating the statement "All truth is God's truth" my response is simple. This statement is correct. God created everything including all truth. Therefore all truth belongs to Him, and anything aside from His truth is not truth. Jesus himself stated "I AM the way the truth and the life..." (John 14:6). According to scripture God is truth. The Merriam-Webster definition of truth is "a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality". That definition describes God pretty well. But how can we know truth? We know that God is truth, but how can we know a God we can not see? Scripture says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God..." (John 1:1). This tells us that Scripture (God's Word) is divine and therefore truth. With this foundation we can use Scripture to evaluate "truths" in today's world that are not specifically in God's Word. Things such as the scientific method can be used to search for truth but never come above God's Word. Any fact found apart from Scripture should then be compared to scripture to be sure it aligns with truth. Human beings have a natural desire for truth. Unfortunately too many of them look in all the wrong places. As disciples of Christ we must do our best to quench their thirst, to give them truth, to show them Jesus.


I realized that my response had an issue in it... lets see if you can find it.

BBC - General Psychology 1.5

Question: Example of experiencing psychology in your life??


Response: An example of psychology that I have seen included my family but was mostly focused on one person. The past three months have been a time of trial and growth within my family. A family my parents were counseling had decided that they could no longer host the child that they had adopted. They had him spend the night at our house so they could consider their decision without his presence at the house or something. After that night he never went back. We have been working on adoption processes after a lot of prayer and contemplation. With this new six year old boy at our house we have been filled with so much joy and laughter. He has made so much progress since he came to us. I think the way we treat him compared to his last family has made the difference. He no longer has "panic attacks" like he used to and does not have as difficult a time obeying, eating, behaving or interacting with people. He is still very shy but has grown so much. I think my parents training in psychology and counseling subconsciously effected their relationship with him.
I don't know if that was an adequate answer due to the fact that it was not really about me so I will also talk about a psychological effect that I am familiar with. A very large portion of martial arts is mental. Personally I struggle with being intimidated by larger opponents so I do a lot of revising my mindset. In martial arts we always have to look at the glass half full in order to keep motivated. Always think "only a minute left" instead of "a whole minute left?" and so on. I realize that when I go to practice with a "ready to fight" attitude instead of a "I hope I do not get beat up.... again" attitude then I really do much better. I actually have my first jiu jitsu tournament tomorrow so I could very easily get worried and panic but I will be keeping my mindset on what I have learned and what I need to do.

BBC - General Psychology 1

Assignment: "Describe what comes to your mind when you think of the word "psychology".
                  Now give a solid definition of what psychology is and does that align with your presuppositions"  



Response: Personally when I hear the word "psychology" I automatically think of a deeply intelligent detective (like Sherlock Holmes or someone) who can interpret a person's actions and reactions in order to tell what is really going on in the person's mind or even play mind tricks with the person. Upon studying the subject I learned that my initial thoughts may be part of psychology, but psychology is much larger than that. Psychology is the study of behavior, the mind, and its mental processes. This science covers many departments of studies that all share the same goal. Some of these departments are: developmental psychology, social psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, and personality psychology. The main objective of psychology is to figure out why people do what they do. There are many different approaches to this as well. For example some psychologists will merely observe the person's behaviors and the environment within which they reside, while others search for answers within the genetic makeup of the person. Unfortunately, many people depend upon the study of the mind to fix their problems and make them happy. These people are mislead, and they do not know that true joy, hope and contentment only come through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The more I look into and study this science the more I learn that was missing from my original assumptions.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Long Time No Post

Hey guys!! So, I have not posted in quite a while. I am now doing online courses with Baptist Bible College!!! This gives me a lot more time online and more things to write about :) I will also be writing up some short sermons and such spontaneously. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Research Paper

This is a link to my most recent Research paper. It is about sex trafficking in Cambodia. I hope it will encourage some people to stand and make a difference in any way they can. Be warned; there are graphic facts and is not appropriate for those who are younger. I also trust none of you will "steal" my work.