Psych homework

DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS UNIT

In class we discussed that judgments for labeling a person with a mental disorder can be influenced by a lot of factors.  

1.  Identify and briefly discuss 3 factors that will often determine whether a person will be labeled as having an emotional disturbance.  Be sure to provide at least one real-life example for each factor (as I did in class).  DO NOT USE THE ONES I USED IN CLASS; COME UP WITH NEW ONES.

2.  Also discussed in class was the fact that in the field of clinical psychology there are a number of "heuristics" or rules that allow us to label things as abnormal or unhealthy or troubling.  These are often called the "3 D's."  Identify and provide a definition of the 3 D's; also be sure to provide one real life example for each one of the 3 D's.  AGAIN, DON'T USE THE ONES I USED IN CLASS.    

Please note: Questions 1 & 2 are NOT the same and have DIFFERENT answers.  

You can refer to your notes to answer these questions.  You can also refer to Slide 12 of the Power Point on Psychological Disorders that I sent you; your textbook in Chapter 15 will also be a good resource.  

The assignment is worth 15 points.  Questions 1 & 2 are worth 6 points each.  The remaining 3 points are allocated as follows:

o Responding by due date (1 point)

o Using grammatically correct English (1 point)

o Elaborating and expanding on the responses or citing a reference; i.e., going beyond just providing the basic responses (1 point)

Please be sure to answer BOTH questions and be sure to include examples.  All responses must be on Canvas.  

TUSKEGEE STUDY WRITING ASSIGMENT

Answer the following questions.  Write out each question and then your answer under the question.  Then skip a line and write out the next question, followed by your answer, and so forth.  Answers should be in complete sentences and use correct spelling and punctuation.

1. Do you think that the original idea for the Tuskegee study was an ethical one?

   Why/why not?  

2. When do you think the Tuskegee study became unethical? What were the factors

    that made it so?  

3.  What did the scientists who conducted the study think that they would find out?

4.   Why do you think that the white scientists felt justified in carrying out the study?  

5.  Why do you think that so many African Americans agreed to participate in the study?    

Discussion response

A celebrity TV doctor is advertising a breakthrough supplement that will allow people to burn fat without spending every waking moment exercising and dieting?  All people have to do is buy the "Alibaba Magic Potion" which the doctor claims is "revolutionary," "magical," and the "holy grail" of diet supplements.  Using this product, the doctor says, will allow people to burn body fat away for good without dieting or exercising.

Sounds too good to be true?  Should you be skeptical?  Given that the world is chock-full of remarkable claims, how can you distinguish fact - that is, that the findings are so dependable that we safely regard them as true - from fiction?  

Refer to the "Six Scientific Principles" discussed in class (and in the handout, as well as in your textbook on P.23) to answer this question.  Be sure to refer to at least 4 of the 6 scientific principles.  Your answer should be at least 50 words in length to get full credit.

Discussion

DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT FOR PERSONALITYUNIT

There are 3 main models of personality: psychoanalytic, behavioral/social learning theories, and humanistic model of personality.  (The Trait Model of Personality will not be included in this assignment.) 

1. Identify the core assumptions of the 3 main theories(psychoanalytic, behavioral/social learning, humanistic).  Each theory has at least 2 and sometimes 3 core assumptions; be sure to identify ALL of them.  (Social learning theory was influenced by the behavioral model but has its own assumptions that differ from the behavioral model.  Be sure to identify the core assumptions of the behavioral model AND the social learning theory modelseparately.)  You do not have to summarize all the elements of each theory, only the core assumptions.

2. Identify at least 2 key criticisms of each of these theories.  

Chapter 14 of your textbook will provide you with the information you need to answer these questions.  The discussion of each model begins with the core assumptions.  The discussion of each model ends with "….Theory Evaluated Scientifically," which reviews some of the criticisms.  You can also refer to the Review section at the end of the chapter.

In order to earn full credit you MUST to respond to both 1 AND 2 and discuss the 3 theories of personality noted above (not including Trait theory).  

Finally, all responses MUST be in your own words.  If I realize that you copied your responses from the book, you will earn a zero for this assignment and I will bring your plagiarism to the attention of the department.  Please refer to P.5 of the Syllabus: Policies for Dishonorable Conduct and Cheating.

The assignment is worth 20 points.  Items 1 & 2 are worth 8 points each.  The remaining 4 points are allocated as follows:

o Responding by due date (1 point)

o Using grammatically correct English (1 point)

o Elaborating and expanding on the responses or citing a reference; i.e., going beyond just providing the basic responses (2 points)