Psychology 2035A/B Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Sweat Lodge, Negligent Homicide, Overchoice
17 Dec 2016
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Psychology 2035 Midterm #1 Readings
Chapter One Psychology 2035
Paradox of progress
• Technology has provided us with countless time saving devices
o But
▪ We have no time
• ** It is because this technology allows us to take our work
home with us
o Making us feel like we have to work all the time
▪ Making us chronically tired
• Affecting work life and
mental/physical health
• More life options available
o College courses
o Supermarket brands
o Work options
o Intimate relationships
o In this sense now people are more open in terms of
polygamy, not having children, same sex relations
etc
▪ Everything
o But
▪ This has led to an increase in unexpected
costs *not monetary but associated with
these costs
• Choice overload occurs
o Which can deplete our
mental resources
o Depressive disorders and
anxiety have risen in the past
50 years
• Modern technology allows us to have the world at our fingertips
o But
▪ It also destroys the environment
• GMOS
• Water supply systems
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• Food transportation
• Biotechnology
• THEME TO THE PARADOX
o The technological advances of the past century, impressive through they
may be, have not led to perceptible improvement in our collective health
and happiness
▪ Critics argue that our sense of personal fulfillment has declined
not increased
• Challenge of modern life: search for meaning, a sense of direction and a personal
philosophy
The Search For Direction
• People are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on self realization
programs
o Scientology
o Mind Control
o Etc
▪ In search of a greater purpose
o This is a huge scam
▪ Sometimes harmful
• Arizona 2009 – 3 people died and 18
were hospitalized after a 36 hour
famine and time spent in a sweat
lodge under the supervision of
guu Jaes Ra
• People paid over 50,000$
• One of the people that died only got
reimbursed HALF his money to his
family
• In 2011
o James got convicted on three
counts of negligent homicide
• Two million young adults are involved in cults
• Dr Laura
o Talk show host
o She has no psychology experience
o She is mean and harsh
▪ Yet millions tune in and ask for advice
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Self Help Books
• Americans spend $650 million on self help books per year
• They represent a symptom of our collective distress and our search for the secret
to happiness
• They are encouraged
o Selectively
▪ A great number often offer no value
• Four fundamental shortcomings of self help books
o Dominated by psychobabble
▪ Meaning they are ill defined, meaningless and are in favour of
jargon over effective communication
o Place more of an emphasis on sales than scientific soundness
▪ Even when responsible authors provide valid advice they are
often overridden by money hungry publishers
o Do not provide explicit direction for behaviour change
o Encourage a remarkably self centered, narcissistic approach to life
▪ Narcissism: personality trait marked by an inflated sense of
importance, a need for attention and admiration, a sense of
entitlement and a tendency to exploit others
▪ Basic message in a lot of self help books is
• Put yourself first, ignore others needs
What Is Psychology?
• Psychology is both a science and profession
o In scientific terms: the behaviour and related mental and physiological
processes
▪ Where behaviour: any overt, observable response or activity by
an organism
• Profession: began in the 1950s, post WW2
o During the second world war military needed to be screened for trauma
▪ Clinical psychology gained popularity
• Concerned with a branch of psychology concerned with
the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems
and disorders
What is Adjustment?
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Document Summary
50 years: modern technology allows us to have the world at our fingertips, but. The search for direction: people are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on self realization programs, scientology, mind control, etc. What is psychology: psychology is both a science and profession. What is adjustment: refers to the psychological processes through which people manage or cope with the demands and challenges of everyday life. The commitment to empiricism: empiricism is the premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation. In these empirical investigations scientists: formulate testable hypotheses, gather data relevant to their hypotheses, use statistics to analyze data, report their results to the public, typically published in journals. Experimental research: looking for causes: schechter, hypothesized that increases in anxiety would cause increase in the need to be with others, misery loves company, called: need for affiliation, he designed an experiment.
