Chapter 1 Self-Direction in a Changing World
- Are there any characteristics that the industrial age and the technological age share? Which ones?
- What are some characteristics in our diverse society that are increasing? Declining?
- It is important to take charge of your life, given all the pressures and complexities. Those who are "self-actualized" embody some characteristics worth noting. What are they, and who are affected?
- In order for psychological research to be publicly reviewed and validated, there are some essential aspects that must be followed by the researcher? What are they?
- One of the important aspects in designing an experiment is to make sure the design of the study allows the observer to be objective, and not biased in any way, otherwise what will occur with the results?
- There are several study design types mentioned in your text. One method ensures that the observers and the participants have no idea who is being "treated", or subject to an "independent" variable that is being made available, and who is part of a control group that is not being "treated" by the variable. What kind of study is this?
- The results of early study of personality back in the era of the ancient Greeks live on today. What are the key understandings in those earliest days of scientific study?
- Freudian psychology, the earliest of the modern studies of personality, has several key elements that are essential to the psychodynamic theorists. Know what these bases of behavior and personality are and how they function.
- What are some of they key aspects of the humanist study of personality. What aspect of childhood and adulthood received the attention of Carl Rogers?
- What defense mechanism do we use to minimize the effect of negative information or threatening events to preserve our self-concept?
- There are some interesting aspects of gender differences in gender role perceptions and expectations. How do men and women differ in terms of their clarity of self-beliefs?
- How do the self-concepts of persons change as they mature, especially in terms of self-actualization? How do we respond if we are uncomfortable with ourselves, or deny that certain emotions and needs are present. How does this conflict translate to our relationships with others? Over time, do these struggles resolve themselves?
- There are several types of stress. What function does each serve, and what are the identifying characteristics?
- Coping well with stress is an important part of life in the 21st century. A couple of different ways or styles, of effectively coping are discussed in your text in terms of reacting to stress. What are they and how are they different?
- Instead of modifying your internal response to stress, it is often best to consider modifying your environment instead. What are the several types of managing your environment?
- Attractiveness is something we're born with. Does it make us Smarter? Funnier? Friendlier? More sociable? More worthy? Just plain better? How come?
- Being aware of our bodies,what we put into our mouths, and taking an active role in our wellness is a good thing. Being obsessed with every blemish, sore muscle, headache, sniffle, or occasional cold or virus is not so positive. Why isn't of being hyper vigilant about our health a problem?
- As time passes, do we become more like everyone else, or do our differences tend to become more pronounced? Why? What has happened over the years to cause this differentiation?
- Erik Erikson, a noted developmental psychologist, has identified some defining characteristics of certain periods in our lives. What two (2) defining characteristics does he designate as possible directions for middle adulthood?
- As we age, varied aspects of our cognitive capabilities change, including types of intelligence. Some aspects are diminished, some are enhanced.
- An aspect of older adults is the importance of having control over their lives. Being unable to drive, or maintain a house or apartment can have a negative effect on overall internal sense of well being and positive thinking. What is the aspect of control referred to in your text?
- Harold Kelley expanded on attribution theory, and covariation, by identifying three (3) things we analyze for each event. What are they?
- A self-fulfilling prophecy is often made with an initial unsubstantiated (not based in fact) statement, followed by interaction with the target that reaffirms the initial statement such that positive or negative regard is enhanced. Who is affected mose significantly by this phenomenon, especially in education? Low or high-achieving students?
- Know the special aspects of cognitive dissonance, and how it affects your reaction when something happens that you did which is in conflict with your beliefs, feelings and values.
- Are stereotypes readily dispelled by factual information? Why not? If the information is at variance with your beliefs, will you accept this new information
- Did the participants in the Stanford Experiment have any past exposure to some of the types of relationships they experienced in the prison? What are implications of this?
- Social norms are very resilient to change. With norm crystallization, what occurs? What happens when the person leaves the group. Does the new information and beliefs he/she processed live on, or do the participants revert to an earlier "pre"-group basis?
- It's very useful to know about in-groups, out-groups, majorities, minorities and group think processes. What is the "status quo" and Who defends it? How come? Why does factual information often not able to influence the "status quo" in group-think processes??
- We are witnessing great technological changes in communication. But talking to each other face-to-face or by email, etc. is still important. And words are even more important. Knowing how to interpret a conversation accurately is essential. Know the difference between the denotation of a word vs. it's connotation. It can get confusing in a conversation when the intended meaning of a word is not clearly specified.
- The "Johari Window" is a useful paradigm relative to self disclosure. Know the 4 quadrants! Know some examples, too!
- Verbal exchanges is often how we communicate. It can get complicated! How can you reply to someone, and devalue what she just said with what you say in reply?
- Can we assume that persons who are not attractive are usually not smart and poorly adjusted?
- Can we judge a persons character by their hair color, eye color, skin color or whether they have a disability?
- Some people have a high degree of EI. What's that, and why is it important to survive in this world of relationships?
- So, are there any differences between friends and lovers?
- Sternberg's Triangle of Love is a useful paradigm relative to a theory of how love works. What are the three (3) main points of the love triangle?
- One of four women in our country experience domestic violence. Know the key defining characteristics.
- You'd think that sexual partners would be chattering constantly about their mutual experiences. How come there is such a lack of communication?
- Your text lays out the standard periods related to sexual response cycles. Know what happens when, keeping in mind that there's plenty of variety and variation beyond what the text presents.
- Paint a picture of the typical response to sexual abuse? Who is it, how do they respond, how long does it take to get well?
- Know the subtleties of what is "normal" in earlier and present-day societies
- One of the most severe Anxiety disorders if PTSD. Know the origins, symptoms and treatment programs available.
- There are gender differences in many types of disorders. How about depression? Why might women be more vulnerable than men to depression?
- Was abnormal behavior always thought to be curable? Who led the way to the mentally ill being treated as persons with an illness to be cured?
- The text discusses many treatment "modalities". Know key distinguishing aspects of each, including, for example, aspects of therapy with Freudian psychotherapists.
- Certain therapies are particularly effective in treating phobias. What are some examples of aversive and social modeling therapies with phobias.
- How can "grief" be good?
- Is denial of one's eventual death a healthy characteristic? Isn't it better to be always thinking of your eventual death?
- When do you fear death the most? As an infant? As a young adult? Middle age? Oldster?
- Our culture has unique ways of dealing with the death of a family member, ranging from mourning the loss, experiencing grief, and dealing with the experience of the loss (bereavement). What role to undertakers play? Are funerals expensive? How expensive? Should they be expensive? Is it awful to shop around for the least expensive funeral in town? Are people vulnerable during the period of grief?
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