Reflections of Psych Class

Here we go. This is the final blog. I had a good time in this class overall. I did learn a lot while doing a lot of types of activities. Here are my reflections about this class:

What did you like about the class?

Honestly, some of my favorite things in the class were the vocab and the CAAG. I was somewhat sad that the vocab was removed as we progressed throughout the year. I did like the powerpoints and the way the class was taught. One of my favorite subects to study was Social Psychology, because it is interesting to learn about the human behavior. Also the videos that we watched in class were very interesting. I was a bit sad that we did not get the chance to see Rain Man because I love that movie.

What was your favorite activity or project?

It was hands down the Brain Project. It was fun, interesting, and was a hands on activity, which is what I learn from the best. It also taught me how many of the parts of the brain without having to sit down and memorize them.

What didn't you like about the class?

My least favorite thing about the class is that Stranger Paper. this is only because I honestly do not like to write essays. Other than that The class was fine.

What do you think I should leave out next year?

Hmm I do not think there is really anything that you should change drastically. Everything pretty much has 

helped my during the year.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas for things I could do next year in AP Psych?

WATCH RAIN MAN. That and maybe try to give us some more time on the last couple chapters. I think we went through that a bit too fast.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas for next semester in AP Econ?

Yes. I think you should have a teaching style similar to what you have in AP psych. Keep the extra credit and such available for the tests and quizzes.

Antidepressant Medicines

I found it very interesting that the article "Mental Health Year in Review: 2008" talked about the ineffectiveness of antidepressant drugs. By giving facts about such things like how the FDA approved a drug that had a lack of efficacy data, It really opened my eyes to the effectiveness of drugs. Even many times, when a drug has negetive effects, it is covered up by the company as they attempt to show only the positive outcomes. This in turn leads to the fact that "a drug's ineffectivness rarely see the light of day." People only get to see what good things the drug does for them in the end. This brings up the question of how much we should actually trust in a company's drugs, no matter how good the drug is said to work.

Personality Tests

Jung Typology Test

The Jung Typology Test says that I am a INTJ type, meaning that my personality is based on that I am a:

- slightly expressed introvert (11%)

- moderately expressed intuitive personality (38%)

- slighlty expressed thinking personality (12%)

- moderately expressed judging personality (44%)

These personality characteristics do well in defining me. Much of what I do usually involes logic, thus giving me stong percent in the intuitive and judging personality. However, the INTJ type are said to be the leaders or masterminds, which I do not believe I am, due to my indecisive nature at many thing I do socially, especially among friends. Besides that fact, these 4 characteristics are a part of my personality.

Big 5 Personality Test (scoring 1-5)

- Expressive Style - 2.80

- Interpersonal Style - 4.10

- Work Style - 2.90

- Emotional Stlye - 4.40

- Inellectual Style - 3.30

I think that when I took this test I unconsciously selected some items based on how I wanted myself to be, due to the fact that some of the scoring I got are what I think I would like to be intstead of I what I feel I actually am. It was pretty accurrate overall however. What surprised me most was the Expressive Style because it was SCARY accurate in its description of me. Here I'll post it:

Expressive Style 2.80
(Medium) People who score similar to you in Expressive Style often enjoy social gatherings but prefer to not be in the limelight. You probably enjoy being active and are direct and confident in expressing enthusiasm and excitement. You may not make the first move in forming relationships, but most often warm up after someone else has approached you.

I think that I am like this through my own self evalution over the years. 

The Attractiveness Test.

My average rating of the pictures is 1.08. The average rating is 3.82. I think that I might me a little too selective or something. Apparently I am attracted to an Intelligent person that is somewhat cheerful and trendy. This is kind of weird but I expected to score higher in the cheerful rating. I do not think this test is accurate of me.

The California Child Q-set

I feel that this test was good. It was a bit lenghty but is good because it can get a more accurate persality reading with the sum of those scores. Here's my scoring out of 100:

Extraversion - 40

Agreeableness - 73

Concientiousness - 65

Neuroticism - 30

Openness to Experience - 59

Overall this test is pretty accurate of me

My Life Goals Test

Apparently for this one, for what is important to me in life, I am:

Financial Success - slightly below average

Social Recognition - bleow average

Attractiveness - average

Affiliation - slightly avove average

Community Involvement - above average

Self-Acceptance - average

Atogether, I prioritize Intrinsic goals over extrinsic goals more than the typical study participant. I feel this is only somewhat accurate of me

Heyyy Bro!!

Hey i have not written to you in a long time. How are things back home? Yea college life has been really interesting. The first week was so confusing to me. I constantly check my schedual over and over to make sure that my classes were correct. Some people started to make fun of me for it. It does not make sense to my. Why can I not be allowed to check my schedual multiple times? Also for english class, my teacher assigned an essay, which was due the next day! I did not even get any sleep over it. I spent all night to make sure that all the little grammatical errors and problems were corrected before class the next day. The problem was that I spent so much time to fix the bodies of my paragraphs that I did not have time to write a conclusion before class stared. It is going to hurt my grade. Apparently it took most of the students only an hour to do it. Maybe I am really slow? I am not sure. Anyways, today some people asked if I wanted to hang out with them. I declined them because I need to study and make good grades on all my classes, even if it is to detract away from my social life. But that is a sacrifice I am willing to pay. Well anyways that so far has been my first week in college.

See you,
Dan Nguyen

Acute Stress Disorder

Case Study 4: Joanne, age 32, is involved with the first man that really counts in her life. As the couple has become more intimate, Joanne has started to have flashbacks about an uncle who touched her sexually when she was only eight years old. She is distressed to find out that she is shutting down feelings about her boyfriend and distancing herself from him. Although she has been sexual with other men, she says she can’t stand to let herself be sexual with someone she loves and trusts. She startles easily and reports a general increase in anxiety. She is very angry that she has to deal with the feelings about the incidents with her uncle that happened so long ago. She says that she thought she had gotten beyond all that.

Joanne's fear of intimacy with her significant other, due to being abused sexually by her uncle when she was young, is a clear indication of Acute Stress Disorder (ASD). The patient was a victim of an event which now causes her to detatch emotional responsiveness with the one she loves as she begins to close off her feelings and distance "herself from him". She does not want to become intimate with him because it stimulates her memories of her past experience which she wishes to bury in back of her mind. When she does, flashback of her traumatic experience occur. She has been found to have an amplified startle response and an anxiety increase. All of these symtoms indicate the presence of Acute Stress Disorder.
Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder can usually be accomplished through psychotherapy. Psychotherapists involve the patient into a wide array of activities designed to increase the mental health of the patient. If needed, anti-depressant medication may be used in combination with this treatment. The two most prescribed types of psychotherapy for people diagnosed with Acute Stress Disorder are exposure therapy and trauma-focused cognitive restructuring. Exposure therapy is when the patient learns relaxation and imagery techniques and are gradually "exposed" to factors dealing with the original trauma until they are able to deal with it. Cognitive restructuring is when the patient tries to assess and slowly eliminate their negetive thoughts and feelings about the specific traumatic experience. Treatment prevents Acute Stress Disorder from becoming worse into Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

John Forbes Nash, Jr.

John Nash, born in June 13, 1928, was a mathmatician specializing in game theory and differetial geometry. His father was an electrictrcal engineer and his mother was a school teacher. He earned his doctorate in 1950 and married to Alicia, born in El Slavador, in 1957. However, sign of schizophrenia did not appear until 1958, and Nash resigned his position as faculty member at M.I.T. He spent months in New Jersey Hospitals on an involuntary basis, and He attempted to find a legal arguement for release. Later he was released and he continued on his life in his studies.

The psychologial disorder Nash was foud with was schizophrenia. This disorder never affected him until after he recieved his doctorate. However after his release from the New Jersey hospital, Nash's rational thinking was altered to a delusional state of mind. His the dream-like delusional hypotheses led to Nash avoiding hospitalization and the direct attention of psychiatrists. Soon after, He began to reject some of his delusional thoughts and thus his thought process slowly became more rationalized again. In essence, Nash's psuchological disorder never actually stopped him from acheveing his goals. It only slowed down his objectives.

Schizophrenia causes the lack of perception of reality. In general, this psychological disorder can truly be devastating to its victims as it affects thier cognition, which in turn affect behavior and emotion. This disorder can affect a person's entire life as they lose sense of what reality is. Nash, however, was somehow able to prevent himself from diving further into his schizophrenia with rationalization. This feat of his is not easily accomplished by anyone. The cure to this disorder still remains controvercial and uncertain. People with schizophrenia generally have to deal with this disorder until they die. The majority cannot ever lead a normal life with this disorder.

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1994/nash-autobio.html

http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/nash.htm