Blog Post #13

The results of these studies are very interesting. I thought that they were also very beneficial in learning how we some people act in certain situations. Asch's conformity study shows that we want to be accepted among our peers. Even though we don't agree with our peers sometimes, we often go with them because we don't want to be different than the group. Milgram's obedience experiment shows that we comply under pressure. When the person involved in the experiment was told they had to give the other a shock because they agreed to the experiment that often complied and shocked them. They even shocked them if the other person was screaming like they were in pain. The Stanford Prison experiment also showed stunning results. When people were givin a role to perform they became overly obessed with it. The college students that were guards became near obsessed with the experiment. They treated the prisoners horribly. The prisoners had to deal with the torture and wrong doing they were put through. Even though it was all fake it became to realistic and the experiment had to be stopped early. All these experiments were very important to psychology.
Social influence means that our surrounding influence us. Who we hang out with and what we do when we are hanging out influences our behavior. My friends influence me in nearly everything I do. Who you hang out with affects your mood and your actions through the rest of your life. I remember one time at halftime of a game, we were losing and because I was considered a leader of the team I gave a speech to get the team going. I don't know how I thought of what to say. It just came out. Because I knew that I was considered a leader I knew I had to do something to get us going. The words just came out.
The most interesting thing that I learned in this class was about all the psychological disorders. I found learning about all their side effects very interesting. I never actually knew what most of the disorders was but now I do. I never actually knew that schizophrenic people heard all those different voices in their head. It was very interesting to learn. Thanks for teaching us all this different psychology stuff. It was very interesting.

Blog Post #12

Not all psychological problems are psychological disorders. A psychological disorder is an ongoing pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions that are deviant, distressful, and/or dysfunctional (p 594). Sometimes people don't act normal for periods of time. This doesn't necessarily mean that they have a psychological disorder. They may be under stress or just worn out from work, school, etc. A person has a psychological disorder when their mental attitudes cause others or themselves harm or distress. Many people with psychological disorders are unaware of their actions. Their brains don't register the actions as bad actions.
Since I can't really think of anyone close to me having a psychological disorder, then I guess I'll describe depression and its symptoms. Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders in the world. Many people suffer from it when they experience either lots of stress or a traumatic event. They feel like they just can't handle the situation or control it. They are always sad and gloomy. Their lives just put their emotions down. Even though depression makes people feel sad and gloomy, there is some good to it. Depression causes people to take a good look at their lives. They reassess their lives and focus their energy on getting better. I think life with this disorder would suck. I hate feeling sad and bummed. I can't imagine feeling that way for say a month or longer. I think if I was suffereing from depression I would go to my friends and family for help. I believe that they could help me and try to get me back on my feet. If they can't help me then I guess the doctor is my option. There are many treatment options that can get you back on your feet and help you out.
One of the most interesting things I learned in this chapter was about schizophrenia. I had heard people call someone else "schizo" before, kinda just joking around, but I never actually knew what it was. Schizophrenic people have like another person living in their minds. They hear voices and may be delusional. Many also have hallucinations and hear voices in their minds. These voices are like another person that may take control of them. They often can't control all their actions. I guess I think it is very interesting because I have heard about it but never actually knew what it was. I think it would be interesting to study people with this disorder and try to understand what it is like for them. I never realized how common it actually is.