How Human Behavior Changes Through Various Stages of Life - Essay Example

Human Development Q1. Prior to taking this course, I viewed Psychology as a subject in which I would learn about various psychological issues that people face and ways to identify and address such issues. However, as I attended the class, I realized that the subject has many more facets and has a much larger scope than I had expected. I was especially fascinated with how various parts of the human bodies like the brain and various sensory organs work together and assist in generating psychological responses in an individual. It was also interesting to see how human behavior changes through various stages of life and is also affected by genetics and environmental factors. After completing this course, I have developed an appreciation towards the subject that clearly is an important part of human life. Q2. I found chapter 8 on Human Development most significant because I was able to understand and appreciate behavioral changes in my son as he is growing up. It was interesting to know how children progress through life and exhibit various behavioral characteristics based on their changing environment and maturity in life. Where an eight month old baby smiles and coos when it recognizes familiar faces, the same child exhibits stranger anxiety as a part of its survival strategy when a stranger approaches it. It was also interesting to learn that familiarity is a sign of safety and contentment for children, while young adults are willing to take more risk and explore new areas in their life as they search for their identity. Learning about behavioral changes in children as they transition from babies to adults was the most significant learning experience in this course. The various examples that were used to explain the reasons why children behave in a certain way made it very clear to me that it is very important to ensure that children grow up in a healthy and safe environment. I was also able to appreciate the differences in the way boys and girls behave through the examples of learned social behaviors. Q3. I enjoyed learning about our bodies, especially about how the human brain is designed and how each structure within the brain helps to encode, store and retrieve memories. It was fascinating to learn that our brain encodes information and stores it away as sensory, working or long-term memory and retrieves the information when we need it. I was also amazed at how our sensory organs like eyes, ears and nose transmit information to the corresponding sensory cortices in the brain to store the information which may last for only a few seconds, while more meaningful and emotional information is encoded into long-term memory which can last a lifetime. I would have preferred more activities and inclusion of case studies to make this subject more interesting. Q4. In order to improve the way this course is taught, I would include more of hands on work, games and activities so that learning becomes more fun filled. That way it would be easier to learn and remember the various topics taught in the class. One thing that would improve student interaction in this course is ‘role play’. Each week a team of 4-5 students are given a small scenario to enact in front of the class. The scenarios or cases should be very specific to the topic being taught in the class. This activity should not take more than 10 minutes following which the topic is introduced to the class. During the lecture, students can be asked questions on what they understood from the role-play and how they would deal with the situation differently etc. Role play will also help the students to remember the scenarios and connect it with the concept that was taught in the class. Q5. I found the relation between physical health and mental health covered in chapter 18 of the book very informative. The fact that stress is considered a risk factor for heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic lung disease brought to light the increasing need for coping with stress in day to day life (Baird, 2010). I therefore plan to include relaxation techniques, aerobic exercises and develop social support to manage stress in my life. My major is nursing and this course has provided me with a wider perspective of how and why individuals behave in a certain way. The knowledge I have gained in this course will help me in a lot of areas: a. I can identify various mental disorders like anxiety, mood disorders, Schizophrenia personality disorders, dissociative disorders, and various childhood disorders. b. I am now aware of the functioning of the physical body and the impact of mental health on our immunity and physical health. c. I can encourage patients who are surrounded by negative thoughts to replace them with realistic and positive thoughts and thereby implement cognitive therapies in their situation. d. I can guide patients in identifying and addressing stressful situations in their life and help them to relieve their stress through various relaxation techniques. Q6. As mentioned earlier, my major is nursing and in this profession there are some cultural issues I should be aware of: a. A patient’s religion may determine certain aspects of health care like diet, prayer rituals, death rituals or refusal of medical procedures like blood transfusions (“Ethical and Cultural”, 2009). b. In certain cultures women are allowed to talk and avail medical care from female health care providers only. In other cultures making eye contact is considered rude or disrespectful (“Ethical and Cultural”, 2009). c. Some cultures require a certain member of the family to communicate with the healthcare providers on behalf of the sick individual (“Ethical and Cultural”, 2009). As a student pursuing a career in nursing, I understand that prior to working with a family from a different country; I need to be aware of their culture and background like prior experiences, beliefs, values, and language since it would affect their perceptions of the service, acceptance of a diagnosis, and compliance (Cultural Sensitivity, n.d.). Being culturally sensitive will help me to have more effective nurse-patient interactions. I also understand that developing this kind of culturally competent attitude is an ongoing process. Q7. Socio-cultural influences like media, family and religion impacts personality development, behavior and mental process. For example: a. It has been found that children who are exposed to violence on television or through videogames become “immune” or numb to the horror of violence and gradually accept violence as a way to solve their problems (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2002). b. Religious beliefs can sometimes override the urgency of a health care procedure like blood transfusion in some patients. (“Ethical and Cultural”, 2009). c. Women in some cultures are not allowed to associate with men. Hence, when it comes to availing health care services, they would choose to visit female health care providers only (“Ethical and Cultural”, 2009). The influence of these socio-cultural factors is so strong in individuals that their mental process, behavior and personality are all structured around these beliefs and it becomes a part of their identity. Q8. It is true that social researchers have concluded that sexual orientation is determined by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors. However, after doing some research on the subject, I believe that the impact of environment on the sexual orientation has been established. However, the influence of genetics on sexual orientation is still to be established and is a subject of much debate. Here are the reasons why: a. The most frequently cited study supporting genetic influence on sexual orientation was conducted by molecular biologists at the National Institute of Health (NIH) under the direction of Dean Hamer. This study has been under investigation by the Federal Office of Research Integrity for possible scientific misconduct, because it was alleged that Hamer suppressed data that would have reduced the statistical significance of the reported results (Council for Responsible Genetics, n.d.). The Washington Times reported that the NIH never released the results of the inquiry, but Hamer was shortly thereafter transferred to another section. The newspaper also reported that Hammer had done the “gay” gene research under a grant to work on Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a skin cancer that mostly afflicts homosexual men. b. A prominent study on sexual orientation in identical twins was conducted by Michael Bailey and Richard Pillard. The study revealed that if one of the twins was homosexual, there is almost a 50% chance that the other twin would also be homosexual. On this basis, the researchers claimed that homosexuality is genetic. However, researchers who reviewed the data of this study found that it provided strong evidence for the influence of the environment rather than genetics. (Council for Responsible Genetics, n.d.). Q9. I have a sixteen year old son and looking back I now can identify the reasons why my son behaved in a certain way in certain situations. Had I taken this course prior to raising my son, I would have definitely been aware of the factors that influence human behavior and changed my parenting style accordingly. During the early stages of his life, he would want to sleep with a particular toy in his hand. If I tried to remove it, he would cry till it is placed back into his hands. Now I understand that my son behaved in that manner because the toy was a sign of safety and contentment for him (Baird, 2010, p 108). Again, during his early days in school, my son would insist on taking a toy to school or eating junk food for lunch, which I would not allow. Looking back on how I responded to these situations, I feel that my parenting style was leaning more towards an authoritarian style. Although I would try to talk him out of it, I would make sure that I would have things my way. Recently I noticed that my son was a little shy when it came to socializing with friends. I now know that had I been more authoritative, my son would probably have behaved differently in social situations (Maccoby, 1992) Q10. Although the field of psychology was predominantly dominated by white males during the early years, a number of African-Americans and women psychologists have made significant contributions to this field. Today the field of psychology has become much richer and comprehensive because of their contributions: a. Mamie Phipps Clark was an African-American psychologist who was known for her experiments involving colors and dolls to test the hypothesis that young Afro-American children experience racism by being discriminated against and stigmatized by segregation. In the coloring test children were asked to fill in a human figure with the color of their own skin. The results proved the hypothesis true. It was found that the children frequently chose a lighter shade than their natural color. In the doll test, children were shown a white doll and a black doll and were asked which doll they would like to play with. More than half of the children preferred playing with the white doll (Clark, M., 1944). The work of Mamie Phipps Clark helped to launch the US school desegregation movement following which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public education was unconstitutional. b. Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist who is known for her “Strange Situation” assessment of children and development of the attachment theory. She studied the behavior of children between the ages of 12 to 18 months when they were left alone for a short while and later reunited with their mothers(Ainsworth, 1978). Ainsworth identified three major styles of attachment: 1. Secure attachment – where children exhibit distress when separated from caregivers and are happy when they return. When separated from the care giver, these children feel assured that the caregiver will return. 2. Ambivalent-insecure attachment – where children usually become very distressed when a parent leaves. 3. Avoidant-insecure attachment – where children show no preference between a caregiver and a complete stranger. References Ainsworth, M., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of Attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2002). Children and TV Violence, Facts for families (No. 13). Washington, DC. Baird, A.A. (2010). Health. THINK Psychology (270-279). Location: Pearson. Clark, M. 1944. Changes in primary mental abilities with age. Archives of Psychology, 291. New York: Columbia University. Council for Responsible Genetics (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/ViewPage.aspx?pageId=77 Cultural Sensitivity (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/nursing-encyclopedia/cultural- sensitivity. Ethical & Cultural Issues in Medical & Surgical Nursing (2009). Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5864774_ethical-issues-medical-surgical-nursing.html. Maccoby, E.E. (1992). The role of parents in the socialization of children: An historical overview. Developmental Psychology, 28, 1006-1017. Read More