After reading and participating in today's discussion, do you think that males or females have a more difficult challenge growing up? Why? to what extent were the readings accurate? What were the most difficult challenges you personally had to face as a guy or girl growing up?


I think that males and females each have an equally challenging time, but just in different ways. I am obviously going to think i have had a harder time growing up but i will never know what it was like to grow up as a boy, so how can i really come to an informed conclusion? I cant. The most difficult challenges i personally had growing up as a girl was the drama that constantly went on. My friends and i were always wrapped up in nonsense and things that didnt matter.

Birth Order

I am the oldest child in my family, i have one sister who is 4 years younger than me.
According to the studies and article we have read, my sister and i line up with the research. I am the oldest, and i am academically smarter than my sister as well as more stressed by things, organized as well as more creative than my sister. I guess my relationship with my sister has made me the determined, take-charge, person that i am today. In addition, it has made me very caring and nurturing because i've always felt a responsibility for her. I take comfort in knowing that my opinion matters the most to her. But often i do feel bad because my personality i believe has affected hers. Because i am so outspoken, and tend to interrupt a lot, my sister is very quiet, but when she does speak its very sarcastic and witty, i presume to retort my banter. Its very interesting to know that my actions will have influenced her behavior for her whole life.
I never really thought about how my birth order affects the person i am today but its a bit earth shattering to think it does. Would i really be the same person today if i was the youngest or middle? ITs actually very interesting because it all goes back to the idea of nature vs. nurture. I have no way to know, which is frightening.

a. What are the major causes of stress in your life?
major causes of stress in my life is the pressure to balance work, friends and school.
What coping strategies do you use, and what could you do to deal with stress more effectively? i just breathe, and think that eventually the stress will be over, i'll accomplish what i need to, and the stress will only last so long.

b. Examine your film notes and homework notes. After watching the film and reading the article about stress, explain why stress is so dangerous to your health in a variety of ways.
If a person is under stress for an extended period of time, cortisol and adrenaline are released as normal bodily functions. However, because the stress is sustained, the brain does not order the production of these hormones to stop. The body is therefore in a continuous panic mode, which means that blood pressure is increased and the heart rate is increased. Sustained high blood pressure is extremely dangerous for the heart because it causes the valves to become damaged. For most people, this is not detected early enough, and is only picked up when the person suffers a heart attack. Another side-effect of sustained stress is the onset of sugar diabetes, and the consequences of this are daily insulin injections. Of course, it depends on the type of diabetes and the seriousness of the disease.
Why do you think America leads the world in stress-related diseases?
Although we are a very adaptive civilization, dealing with changes has become more difficult, especially when an increasing amount of demands are placed on us. We are expected to meet an ever-increasing number of deadlines. This has placed an increased amount of pressure, and it is this pressure that leads to sustained stress. During times of stress, adrenaline and cortisol are released as a coping mechanism. In prehistoric times, stress would only be experienced in short bursts, so once the cortisol and adrenaline have been released, the body goes into flight or fight mode, gets out of the situation, and then retreats back to normal mode. Once the brain has detected this, cortisol and adrenaline production is ceased immediately.

# 3

In your opinion, to what extent should problems like alcoholism and drug addiction be considered "diseases of the brain" or personal failings (moral, willpower, etc.)? Feel free to discuss your own real-world observations and experiences. What about other issues, like depression?


In my opinion, the severity of the case usually tells if the problem is a a disease vs lack of personal will. Usually if its to the point where you can't live with out it, which is essentially when alcoholism and addiction is defined as, then its a manifestation of a disease. It all has to deal with having an addictive personality, and if a person overcomes being an alcoholic or addicted to drugs, they'll usually move on to something else.

Psych Career Fair

A. Rank your three favorite psychology career fields. Summarize what you learned about them, and explain why you personally would enjoy these fields in detail.
1. Industrial-organizational psychologist- studies and tries to improve the workplace
2. Consumer psychologist-the study of how people relate to the goods and services they use in their daily lives.
3. Developmental psychologist- the study of human development- the physiological, cognitive and social development that takes place throughout very stage of our life
These were my top three because they all deal with the environment that people are in, and the way they react to those circumstances, which is something really interesting to me. I love figuring out how much of an effect an environment has on a person, and their life.


B. Do you think that you might consider majoring in psychology? Why or why not? I don't think i would major in psych, not because im not interested in it but because i have other interests that are much stronger, and im not sure i would be able to handle some of the things i would experience.
C. In what ways do you think that the study of psychology is useful outside of work?
Psych will always be useful because no matter where you are youll always be dealing with people, and if you have a better understanding of the way their minds work, youll be able to be more effective in your work, and life in general.

questions about me

How important have your early childhood experiences and relationships been in shaping who you are today?

They have completely shaped who I am today. Every single experience or relationship I can connect to a behavior or mannerism, and the reason I act the way I do.

How does the way you have been rewarded, punished, and disciplined over the course of your life affect who you are today?

How important do you think physical factors such as genes, hormones, brain chemistry, and brain structure are in determining who you are, how you act, what you think, and how you feel?

i think they definitely have an affect, and that can especially be proven in babies. There are some things that come out, where you can only attribute to genetics, how else would you come up with explanations for some psychiatric disorders

I have never really been punished because I don't really act out, but as far as rewards go Its definitely made me work harder because I see the rewards from doing well.