Psychology Portfolio

Chapter 2: Conducting Ethical Research

(Bahammou)

Ethical

Research

Ethics is very important when conducting scientific research of any sort. The ethics guidelines include informed consent, confidentiality, debriefing, and deception. In short, the patient should be informed of the study's purpose, the patient's information should be protected, the patient should receive a follow-up about the results of the study, and no harm should be done to the patient (King 51). The cartoon pictured depicts John B. Watson's experiment using a little boy, Albert, and a rat. The rat was associated with a painful sound, and it caused the child to be scared of the rat (Bahammou). This leads to generalization, and Albert becomes afraid of anything white and furry. Consequently, this leads to mental health problems for Albert. This topic relates to chapter two and the section regarding conducting ethical research. Chapter two discusses psychology's scientific method, therefore ethical research is an important part of conducting an experiment. I selected this topic because I cannot imagine how devastating unethical research might be for a particular person. I love how the cartoon so vividly demonstrates the little boy's traumatic experience that will likely have lasting effects. Therefore, I strongly hope that ethical research standards continue to be enforced. This topic is relevant to me because my mother and sister are healthcare workers. In addition, I have participated in a research study myself.

Chapter 3:

Brain Damage, Plasticity, and Repair

The brain is an astonishing place, and scientists still have a lot to learn about it. One trait the brain has is plasticity, meaning the brain has the capability to repair itself. Under certain conditions following brain damage, the brain can restore itself to varying extents. It depends on different factors such as age, how much damage the neurons have undergone, exercise, social interaction, and many others. There are many conflicting views about whether brain damage can improve personality or not (King 87). Chapter three discusses the biological foundations of behavior. Brain damage relates to this because damage to the brain can influence one's personality and behaviors. I chose this topic because I find the brain's ability to recover super fascinating and always look for a chance to learn more about it. This topic is extremely relevant globally because neuroplasticity is vital for the well-being of society.

Brain

Plasticity

Chapter 5

Sleep Disorders

With a lack of sleep, there comes a wide range of disorders. Some of the major sleep disorders include insomnia, sleepwalking, sleep talking, nightmares, night terrors, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea. Insomnia is when one experiences problems falling and staying asleep. Sleepwalking and talking are exactly what one would expect, and it can be very dangerous when one is unaware of what actions they are performing. Those who suffer from narcolepsy may fall asleep suddenly. Nightmares and terrors can be extremely terrifying and inhibit one from getting adequate sleep. Lastly, sleep apnea occurs when one's breathing stops during sleep (King 154-155). Chapter five discusses states of consciousness, and sleep is one state of consciousness. I selected this particular topic because my sister suffered from seizures related to sleep deprivation while she worked the night shift. Therefore, this topic relates to me as well as my community because, without proper sleep, my sister can not properly care for patients in our community.

Chapter 8

Biases and Heuristics

Biases &

Heuristics

Bias occurs when one shows favoritism towards one thing, person, group, ect. Many people use bias to persuade others into believing their argument, side, or story. Bias comes in different forms such as loss aversion, confirmation bias, base rate neglect, and hindsight bias. These are simply different ways one can express bias. There are also many types of heuristics. In simple terms, heuristics are thinking shortcuts. While fast, they also open the door to biased judgments. Some heuristics include representative and availability heuristics (King 255). Chapter eight discusses thinking, intelligence, and language. Biases and heuristics can arise in these three processes. I chose this topic because bias is very common in the world, and I found it interesting that there are so many different forms. This topic is extremely relevant to the American community because bias can be seen in newspapers, the news, and from politicians.

Chapter 13

Obedience

Obedience is seen as a good thing when applied to parenting; though when a person has too much power over a population, obedience can quickly turn into an awful thing. For example, many Germans were very obedient to Hitler during the Holocaust, even though Hitler performed disturbing atrocities. Obedience differs from conformity because conformity occurs when one alters their thinking or behavior, while with obedience, individuals are following specific demands. Obedience could be detrimental when the authority figure is militaristic. Many scientists have experimented to further understand obedience and the human mind (King 447-448). I chose this topic because I feel it is extremely important to think before blindly obeying an order. This chapter discusses social psychology and obedience is a factor in interacting with others. I feel this applies greatly to me because I used to blindly follow and obey people, but now I feel the need to examine the individual's orders that I obey.

Obedience

Works

Cited