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Undergraduate Studies ePortfolio

Nicole WhitcombBachelors Of Psychology, 2010

Personal Statement

  My name is Nicole Whitcomb and I am a current student at Argosy University. I have been in the Bachelors of Psychology program since September 2009.

It took a lot of time and thinking to decide what I wanted to do after I completed my Bachelors degree, but one day I was looking at the Argosy University website for Graduate programs and I came upon the Masters of Arts in Education in Higher and Postsecondary Education and it was like a light bulb went off in my head, I knew instantly that it was perfect. I knew that it was perfect for me because my goal is to become an Academic Adviser in the higher education setting. I’ve wanted to pursue this career choice ever since I sat down with an adviser at Argosy University back in 2008; she helped me through the obstacles that go along with getting through college and I appreciated her so much. She always seemed so upbeat and happy when I would call her or come in to meet with her, I could tell she loved her job and that’s exactly what I want and need in a career. I asked her what she enjoyed most about her job and she said, “That I help students in their college career and I get to see them graduate and move onto a job that they love.” In my eyes nothing can be more fulfilling than helping a person reach their goal.

My interest in working in the higher education setting made me pursue a work study position in Career Services at Argosy University. I connected with the Director of Career Services and he offered me a job after sitting down for an interview, I happily accepted and have been working in Career Services since May 2010. In Career Services I assist students in informing them of what the career service’s website has to offer and referring them to either Andy or Amanda for resume or interview help. My experiences in Career Services brought me to the realization that I really enjoy working with students. Recently I helped a family friend with organizing her college materials in order to apply for a Nursing Program she has been interested in. She wanted to go into the Admissions office prepared so we sat down and went through everything she would need including; application, personal statement, recommendations, and transcripts. I was on top of the world when I was helping her because I enjoyed it so much. I would love nothing more than to be able to experience that feeling day in and day out. I believe that by obtaining my degree from the Masters of Arts in Education in Higher and Postsecondary Education at Argosy University will prepare me for working in the higher education setting and will lead me to a career that I will be very passionate about. Thank you for your time, I appreciate you considering me for the Master’s program. I’m excited for the possibility of continuing my education at Argosy University.

 

 

Resume

Nicole Whitcomb

Address City, State Zip

Cell Number

 

Objective: Applying for admission into Argosy University’s Masters of Arts in Education in Higher and Postsecondary Education program.

 

Education:

Argosy University Eagan, MN 09/09-Present

Attending Argosy University to obtain my Bachelors in Psychology.

 

Anoka Ramsey Community College Coon Rapids, MN 08/05-12/07

Obtained my Associates of Arts Degree, which helped me to reach my goal of being accepted into Argosy University.

 

St. Francis High School St. Francis, MN 09/02-06/06

Graduated from High School

 

Employment:

 

Argosy University-Career Services Work Study  Eagan, MN   4/26/10-Present

 

-Greet students as they come into Career Services

-Inform students of what the Career Services website has to offer and make appointments for students to meet with the appropriate adviser.

-Posting jobs on the school website, along with posting employers into the university database.

   

•

Central Bank- Bank Teller Coon Rapids, MN 7/19/06-Present  -Responsibilities include taking in large amounts of money, anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000 a day, making deposits for business and personal accounts, and processing loan payments.-Work with customers one on one with banking needs, as well as know each customer by name.-Maintain a $5000 or under cash drawer by consistently balancing and running cash in/ cash out tickets. -Other responsibilities include closing the bank Monday thru Friday and opening/closing every other Saturday.   Target- Cashier/Guest Services Coon Rapids, MN 11/17/04-03/07  -Responsible for ringing up customers purchases, giving great customer service by always having a smile and initiating conversation, doing things in a timely manner, and keeping my register area clean. -When working as a Guest Service Desk Coordinator I was responsible for keeping things organized and looking professional, making returns, often answering phones in order to direct the customer to the correct department, and processing Credit Card payments. Western Ponds & Streams Inc. – Secretary East Bethel, MN 2/04-10/04

-Secretary duties included filing papers, taking inventory, answering phones, keeping the store clean, and helping customers. -Maintained the store while the owner was out, stocked shelves, and opened and closed the store.  

Resume Continued…

Reflection

 

Looking back on my previous work has shown me that I have grown a lot

in my ability to research and write. I looked at my very first research paper in my

first semester as a psychology student and I will be honest I cringed a little, I then

compared it to a more recent paper and it is like night and day. I have learned so

many skills in the last couple years and I feel as if it has improved my writing

greatly.

I have walked away from every class having learned something that I will

carry with me throughout the rest of my college career and my work career.

Getting the opportunity to learn about several areas of Psychology including;

cognition & learning, forensic psychology, research methods, psychology of

women, children & violence, maladaptive psychology, counseling theories,

industrial & organizational psychology, physiological psychology, and so many

more, has been a great experience and one that can never be taken away.

Overall I am confident going into Graduate school with all my acquired skills from

the Bachelors of Psychology program. I have grown dramatically as a person and

as a writer.

Reflection (SSAL)

Section 1a: Cognitive Abilities: Critical Thinking: Given a psychological issue, employs skeptical inquiry and a scientific approach.

3 = Extensive Exposure

•Able to formulate reasoned opinions on a wide range of psychological perspectives and theories within written and oral presentations. •When presenting (in written work or orally), assesses a given topic from multiple perspectives and evaluates merit of each perspective.•Able to systematically analyze and appraise the complexities of a given issue.

Section 1b: Cognitive Abilities: Information Literacy: Given a research question related to psychology, accesses information from a variety of sources and select appropriate sources to respond to the question.

3 = Extensive Exposure

•Able to collect and arrange information from a variety of sources pertinent to the chosen topic, integrating reasoned appraisals of such information into the work of a project in psychology.

Section 2: Research: Understanding Research Methods: Given an article about research findings in the field of psychology from a scholarly journal, identifies the research design and statistical tools used (including research design, data analysis, and

interpretation), and the findings of the article.

3 = Extensive Exposure

•Able to correctly summarize the research design, statistical and other evaluative tools, and findings of the article. •Able to use sound reasoning as a basis for criticizing the research results.

Section 3a: Communication Skills: Oral: Effectively presents psychological concepts orally as appropriate to the audience.

2 = Significant Exposure

•Possesses significant ability in creating, organizing and delivering oral presentations.•Exhibits the ability to identify, select, and apply basic/general levels of organization and clarity of presentation.•Able to recognize higher levels of organization and clarity, exhibits the ability to identify, select, and apply appropriate levels of presentation for specific

audience(s), and/or is versed in correct usage of grammar and appropriate word selection.

Reflection (SSAL) continued…

Section 3b: Communication Skills: Written: Effectively presents psychological information, in writing, using software and style appropriate to the audience.

3 = Extensive Exposure

•Exhibits the ability to develop and apply appropriate levels of conciseness and clarity in content, language use, grammar, organization using APA formatting. •Exhibits the ability to develop, apply and defend a particular stance related to psychological concepts in written work.

Section 4a: Ethics: Identifies the issues and challenges related to ethics in the field of Psychology.

3 = Extensive Exposure

•Effectively engages in ethical thinking and action, evidenced by the ability to articulate best-practices pertaining to case examples and/or other specific problems associated with the field.

•Recognizes more subtle breaches in ethical practices in psychology and can construct alternative analyses and choices of behaviors.•Claims ownership over the prescribed ethical principles for the field, and works to promote ethical decision-making and activity accordingly.

Section 4b: Diversity: Identifies the issues and challenges related to diversity in the field of psychology.

2 = Significant Exposure

•Not only understands the importance of awareness and knowledge/skill development in regards to diversity in psychology, but can also analyze and apply multiculturally-sensitive theories, thoughts, and beliefs to specific psychological issues.

•Recognizes personal biases, and works to increase awareness and respect for diverse populations.

5. Knowledge of Psychology: Recognizes the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, applications, and historical trends in psychology.

3 = Extensive Exposure

•Exhibits consistent recognition and exceptional comprehension of the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, applications and historical trends in psychology or within a specific area of study in the field.

•Able to synthesize and evaluate various psychological theories, and apply them to explain everyday events and experiences.

Reflection (SSAL) continued…

6. Knowledge of Applied Psychology: Applies psychological principles to personal, social, and/or organizational issues.

3 = Extensive Exposure

•Provides comprehensive explanations that incorporate psychological principles, as well as, empirical data and best practices. •Demonstrates the ability to use psychological principles in solving problems, explaining social issues, and dealing with everyday life situations.

Section 7: Interpersonal Effectiveness: Active Listening Communication Skills: Develops and improves positive relationship skills via effective communication, respect for others, appreciation of diversity and cultural sensitivity, and awareness of their impact on others.  

3 = Extensive Exposure

•Able to consistently and effectively apply active listening communication skills in interpersonal and organizational scenarios to establish empathetic, collegial relationships that facilitate consensus building in working toward common goals and is appreciative of diversity and culture.

•Able to consistently analyze the importance of effective nonverbal communication skills in developing strong interpersonal and organizational relationships that are culturally sensitive and respectful of diversity.

•Actively solicits and utilizes feedback to develop adaptable strategies of facilitating dynamic interpersonal and organizational relationships.•Consistently & actively demonstrates an understanding of the impact of technological advances on communication within interpersonal and organizational

relationships.•Consistently demonstrates strong utilization of effective communication and relationship skills in order to promote the growth of others and effect change.

Table of Contents

Cognitive Abilities: Critical Thinking and Information Literacy

Research SkillsCommunication Skills: Oral and WrittenEthics and Diversity AwarenessFoundations of PsychologyApplied PsychologyInterpersonal Effectiveness**Include work samples and projects with a Title Page and organized accordingly to demonstrate each of the Program Outcomes above

Critical Thinking

Understanding Family Structure

Nicole WhitcombOctober 24th, 2009

“The type of therapy that works best for clients depends on the clients’ specific symptoms. For some clients, therapy

is used in tandem with medication.” (Argosy University, 2009) In the case of Debbie it would be in her best interest, if it is

seen to be able to help, to take medication along with going to therapy. The example from the online text,

“With depression, biochemical processes in the brain can be regulated with the medication and this

psychopharmacological intervention can provide emotional stability to the point that the client will be actively present in

session and will be able to benefit from therapy.” (Argosy University, 2009)

This is one reason why Debbie should start taking medication. If she is completely ready and aware for therapy she

will have a better outcome. If Debbie were to go into therapy with her same attitude towards everything else, she may not get

desirable results. Debbie’s depression sounds as if it stems from her parents being pushy for her to go to school to be a

doctor. It seems as if Debbie isn’t too much into the idea of college to begin with so the fact of her parents wanting to work

her behind off may seem debilitating to Debbie. The medication may also make this debilitating feeling go away, Debbie

may feel more inclined to get up and go to school on her own without her mom waking her up, this may also allow her to

open her eyes and see that what her parents want isn’t necessarily what she wants, and instead of just sitting around being

depressed she may want to talk to her parents instead and come to terms with them. Once Debbie takes the medication the

thought of suicide may be pushed off to the sidelines and she may not think about it as an option anymore, this would be a

huge upside of taking the medication. Another good reason for the medication is that it can only help Debbie if she is a good

candidate for it, she may see such an improvement in herself that she may get out of this depressive hole and want to start

being awake more and out doing things, this would definitely be a big life changer for Debbie if she were to team up taking

the medication and goes to therapy. Another reason being, “Providing psychotherapy as well as medicine may increase the

probability of an adaptive response occurring.” (Argosy University, 2009) As I had said before, only good can come from

this if the medication is taken properly and is paired with therapy. Debbie will come to find that her life is her own and that

she can be in control of it if she just gets out of this rut.

The family systems therapy is described as, “…family systems therapy group focuses on

communication patterns within the family unit. Systems theory is based on the family’s response to feedback from

one another and the desire of the group to make changes to maintain homeostasis.” (Hunter, Family Systems

Therapy) This would benefit Debbie because she seems as if she may feel depressed and hopeless due to the fact

that her parents want her to go to college to be a doctor and that’s not what she wants. This probably makes Debbie

feel pressured into doing something that is a lot of hard work and time consuming, she may want to talk to her

family because she may feel embarrassed or she may think they will be ashamed. I think that if Debbie were to be

apart of family systems therapy she may be able to talk to her parents more openly about how she feels. She may

come to find that they will be proud of her no matter what they just want her to be happy. Another benefit would be

that Debbie would be able to get everything off her chest, in turn her parents could get everything off there chest

and let her know who they feel about what is going on with her. Debbie may come to realize that life isn’t all that

bad and she may gain interest back in the things that she had lost interest for. A lot could come from the family

systems therapy, Debbie along with her parents could feel a better sense of what is going on and how they can work

as a family to get Debbie back up on her feet and more interested in life. Another reason would be that Debbie may

feel more inclined to start up her life, considering she is 18 years old, she may want to go out and be more

ambitious knowing that her family is behind her in her decisions. In the end Debbie may want to go to college and

be a doctor, but only time can tell.

“In general, family systems therapy works to reduce family stress, help members become more

differentiated, and alter coalitions and alliances in the family to bring about change.” (Hunter, Family Systems

Therapy) The family systems approach has the ultimate goal of bringing families together in order for the family as a

whole to help the individual in need, in this case Debbie. It seems as if Debbie is having independent issues but

family issues as well when it comes to her parents wanting her to go to college to be a doctor. The goal of the family

systems therapy would be for Debbie to be able to talk to her parents about her issues, and vice versa, just put

everything out on the table. As put by Jean Blackburn, a Psychiatric-Mental Health Clinical Specialist,

“The aim of Family Systems Therapy is for family members to understand and accept their individual

responsibility in the emotional functioning of the family unit. By learning to recognize the emotional

relationship patterns and how anxiety is handled in the family, individual family members can manage

themselves in more functional ways. Relationships change and symptoms decrease as family members

improve their emotional functioning.” (Blackburn, Methodology)

In the case of Debbie and her family the goal would be to come to the conclusion of why Debbie is depressed, if it’s

the thought of being a Doctor then they will have to discuss and deal with it, learn to better communicate with each

other. To learn as much information as possible is needed in order to help Debbie.

Some techniques that would be useful for a therapist in the field of family systems therapy would be the

following. One technique is to use, “…straightforward tasks to help develop success with solving problems and

experiencing positive results.” (Hunter, Family Systems Therapy) In order to be able to deal with the issue at hand it

would be helpful for the family to know just what it is that is needed in order to have a successful therapy session and

get the results they want. For example to let the family know that they are going to have to put everything out on the

table to each other in order to get the feelings out there, would be a straightforward approach. Also included in the text

by Christie Hunter is, “Additionally, this therapy employs paradoxical techniques whereby the family is instructed to

continue with their current behavior that ultimately leads to the change of the family interaction.” (Hunter, Family

Systems Therapy) Another technique used in family systems therapy to gather family information is called the

Genogram, which is, “a technique often used early in family therapy, provides a graphic picture of the family history.”

(Eric Digests.com, 1992) The genogram is a system of symbols in order to build the graph accordingly, it brings things

into prospective for the therapist in order to get a better grasp on how he/she can help families. The main technique in

family therapy is too be sure that all family members are present for every session, this keeps the routine down and

makes the overall outcome better, because no one family member misses out on anything.

The desired outcomes for the therapy sessions with Debbie and her parents would be that they would make

better connections with each other. They need to be all on the same page in order to make Debbie feel more comfortable in

her own skin, make her feel as if she has a bright future ahead of her. Another outcome would be that Debbie opens up to

her parents about how she doesn’t want to be a doctor, but it seems as if instead she would like to make her own decision

on what she wants to be. On the other side of that Debbie’s parents should open up to her to let her know their feelings on

the way Debbie has been lately, just show concern for their 18 year old daughter, to let her know they care. Another

desired outcome would be for Debbie to not feel as if she needs to sleep all day and get to the outcome of her wanting to

be with other people instead of by herself a lot of the time. Debbie could go on to lead a better, happier life. A life where

she can live how she wants to and feels like she can make her own choices. The therapy should result in the family feeling

closer as a whole unit but at the same time help Debbie with her depression and figure out exactly what it is that is

plaguing her life. The total outcome would be for Debbie and her parents to continue using the techniques used in the

therapy sessions and keep it going so they will always be closer as a family, in order to solve things such as these.

References

Argosy University Online (2009) Counseling Theories PSY400 UD: Module Seven, Psychopharmacology in Therapy. Retrieved October 23, 2009.

http://myeclassonline.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3638464&CPURL=myeclassonline.com&Survey=1&47=4446986&ClientNodeID=404511&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Blackburn, J., Methodology. Retrieved October 23, 2009. http://www.familysystemstherapy.com/method.shtml

Hunter, C., Family Systems Therapy from a Christian Perspective Retrieved October 24, 2009. http://www.christiehunter.com/personality/family-systems-therapy.htm

Kane, E. (2009) What is Family Systems Therapy? Retrieved October 23, 2009. http://www.estherkane.com/family_systems.htm

Seligman, L., Reichenberg, L., (2009) Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy: Systems, Strategies, and Skills. (3rd Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Smith, R. and Smith, P., (1992) Basic Techniques in Marriage and Family Counselingand Therapy. ERIC Digest. Retrieved October 24, 2009. http://www.ericdigests.org/1992-1/basic.htm

Research Skills

PROPOSED METHODSNICOLE WHITCOMB

AUGUST 3RD, 2010

Violence in the media is not an unknown thing, you see and hear it all the time in movies, TV, music,

videogames, etc. My hypothesis is that people who are exposed to violent media are more prone to acting more violent than

people who are not exposed to violent media. The purpose of this study is to prove that when people are exposed to media

violence that they are more likely to show aggressive/violent behavior compared to those who are not exposed to violent

media. My proposed research method will include the participants I will be using, instruments, procedure, and ethical issues.

Participants:

The participants in my research will include a randomly selected population of people who range in ages from 8

to 26. The participants will be selected randomly from middle schools, junior high schools, high schools, and colleges. The

chosen schools will also be randomly selected as well, two schools for each grade group and 100 students from each school.

So in the end there will be 200 middle school students, 200 junior high school students, 200 high school students, and 200

college students; all in total 800 people between the ages of 8 to 26. These participants will range in gender, race, age, and

educational backgrounds; this will ensure that there is diversity in the study. The way that I will chose the participants

randomly will be to go to schools and see if they would like to be part of a study and get a list of all there students, have the

school sign an informed consent form; from these lists I will pick from a bucket of names. Once the students have been

chosen randomly I will then contact these students and get informed consent forms signed by all students and if under 18

informed consent forms from their parent(s).

Instruments:

The instruments I will be using for the research study will be surveys and the use of video in order to expose the participants to violent media and for the control

group (which will be discussed further later) will be exposed to neutral media that is not violent. My research will be descriptive and experimental; the survey

which is in the form of a questionnaire is descriptive, (Argosy University, 2010). I am going with an experimental design as well because I will be able to control

the extraneous variables, such as the type of environment the participants will be in, (Argosy University, 2010). These environmental variables include; dimly lit

room, 30 students in each group, no other distractions such as cell phones, etc. The pre-survey and post-survey will contain questions that ask how the

participants feel at that moment in time they will have to rate these feelings. It will look a little something like this;

Rate the following as they relate to how you feel right now:

Least Most

Happy 0 1 2 3 4 5

Nervous 0 1 2 3 4 5

Angry 0 1 2 3 4 5

Content 0 1 2 3 4 5

Upset 0 1 2 3 4 5

Irritated 0 1 2 3 4 5

Excited 0 1 2 3 4 5

Agitated 0 1 2 3 4 5

Thrilled 0 1 2 3 4 5

Hateful 0 1 2 3 4 5

Loving 0 1 2 3 4 5

Pleased 0 1 2 3 4 5

  Explain what you would do if you were confronted by a person who wanted to fight you for no reason:

  Explain what you would do if someone did something to hurt a family member or friend.

This survey will be given before the clips of violent media will be shown to the participants. The groups

of people will be put into a classroom type setting which will all be set up the same this way it will be slightly more

controlled; the classrooms will be dimly lit, containing the same amount of students in each classroom, 25

participants. The same survey will be attached to the pre-survey and will be instructed to fill in after the violent or

neutral media clips are shown. The video that will be shown to half the groups will contain violent media clips; i.e.

horror film clips, gory clips, people hitting one another, violently worded songs, clips of violent video games, etc.

The other half of participants, or the control group, will not view violent media but rather media that is easy going

and laid back (neutral); i.e. The Sound of Music (movie), classical music, people relaxing and smiling, etc. The

survey before and after will rate the feelings of the participants to see the change in feeling/behaviors, once the video

clips have been shown. I hypothesize that the groups that view the violent video clips will go from being positive to

negative in their responses and the participants will go from positive and stay positive.

Procedure:

The participants who are chosen at random through picking 200 names from each grade group; middle

school, junior high, high school, and college, this makes a total of 800 participants. The students are chosen randomly

by getting a list of all students’ names from two different schools for each grade level, then taking these names and

putting them into a bucket and picking a total of 800 names. Informed consent is needed for all students, and by their

parents if under 18 years of age. Next these students are going to be split into groups of 25, yet again randomly

grouped. All groups will be put into dimly lit classrooms (not too bright, not too dark), the shades in the classrooms

should be drawn.

The classrooms should be about the same size for each group (regular size square classroom). The TV

should be placed so that it is viewable by all participants and loud enough for everyone to hear. No other

distractions should be in the room; i.e. a loud ticking clock, a window open with loud noises coming from the

outside, etc. The students will be placed to sit in every other chair, so no one is sitting right next to another person

because this will limit person to person distractions. The students will be given a pen and the pre-survey and the

post-survey on the next page. The pre-survey will be instructed to be taken by the students before the video is

shown. As mentioned before half of the participants, 100 from each grade group will be randomly chosen to be the

control group and the other 100 will be the experimental group. The students in the control groups will be shown a

video complied of clips of neutral/happy TV, movies, music, etc. This complied video should contain 15 second

clips from resources from the media and the video should be about 3 minutes long. Examples of neutral/happy

media clips are; The Sound of Music, classical music, romantic scenes from movies/TV, people laughing being

happy, etc. The students in the experimental group will be shown violent media clips, examples of violent media

clips include; gore, people hitting one another, death, horror movie clips, music singing about violent acts (rap,

heavy metal, etc.), people at war, etc. When the videos for both the control group and the experimental group are

played all the way through the students will be instructed to complete the second page of the survey, which is the

post-test.

As a side note the students will be instructed by the video to complete the second half of the survey after the video is

complete. This will be the end of the experiment. The results will then be evaluated for changes in mood/feelings; did the

participants who viewed the violent clips go from a neutral/happy mood to a negative mood? Did the participants who

viewed the neutral video not have any changes in behavior? The second half of the survey that asks the two questions, these

will be looked at for a different response from the participants who viewed the violent clips; look for a more violent

response. If the results show that there was a change in mood for better to worse; from the groups that viewed the violent

clips, and there is no change in mood from the groups who viewed the neutral clips; this proves my hypothesis which is that

people who are exposed to violent media are more prone to acting more violent than people who are not exposed to violent

media.

Ethical Issues:

I can think of one ethical issue for my study and that is the fact that 400 of the 800 people will be viewing

violent clips that show people getting hurt, death, gore, etc. The younger children from the middle school age groups and the

junior high age groups will be exposed to this violence and it is pertinent that there parents are thoroughly informed before

the study; and if a parent wants to not have there child be part of that then that is there choice (a replacement participant will

be needed). The exposure to the violent media clips shouldn’t have any long term effects on the child but they may

remember it for a short time after that, this is why informed consent is needed. There are no other ethical issues in my study,

no one will be given an opportunity during the study to be violent to another participant it is all on paper (survey). The

participants will not place their names on the surveys, they will stay anonymous. Informed consent from all participants or

their parents (if under 18 years old) is the solution to the issue listed above.

REFERENCE

Argosy University (2010) Research Methods; Module One: Developing the Methodology. Retrieved from Argosy University: http://myeclassonline.edu

Communication Skills: Oral and Written

Role-PlayNicole Whitcomb

December 6th, 2009

My role-play for this assignment is that of the future professional role I am interested in taking part in for my

career. I will be playing the Academic Advisor while Trever will be playing the role of the potential student, whom I will be

interviewing to “recruit” to become part of the college I am working at. This type of interview is a selection interview, “it is

an opportunity for the interviewer to get all necessary information needed to make a selection decision.” (Argosy University

Online, 2009, p.9) The interview is to see if the student is a good choice for the college and from there to see if they are a

goof fit for the program they are interested in. Along with identifying the amount of potential, it is also to get information

from the potential student in order to help guide them through the process of college.

I conducted a 30-minute interview with my consenting volunteer his name is Trever, and as I stated before his

role in this assignment was to be a potential student and my role was to be an Academic Advisor. Here are the key points of

the interview that I conducted; which includes closed questions, open questions, restatement, rephrasing, probing, reflection

of feeling, and verification/confirmation.

Opening statement;

Me: Hi Trever, my name is Nicole, I’ll be helping you with your application and I’ll be asking you a few questions.”

Trever: Nice to meet you and that sounds great.

Me: “What types of careers interest you?” (OPEN ENDED QUESTION)

Trever: “I am interested in anything in the field of music, so mainly the production or engineering of music; I have always been moved by music and everything that goes into producing and engineering it.” (HE SEEMED VERY EXCITED AND PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS AND WAS EAGER TO TELL ME)

Me: “You see yourself being behind the scenes of the music industry, the person who really puts it all together?” (REPHRASING)

Trever: “Yeah definitely, that is really what interests me.” (HE SEEMED EVEN MORE REASSURING THAT THIS IS WHAT HE WANTS TO DO AS A CAREER) Me: “Where are you working right now?” (OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS)

Trever: “I am working full-time Monday thru Friday at Green Lights Recycling; I drive trucks and do warehouse work.” (HE WAS QUICK TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION, HE SEEMED PROUD)

Me: “You are working full-time Monday thru Friday?” (VERIFICATION & CLOSE ENDED QUESTION)

Trever: “Yes, full-time Monday thru Friday.”

Me: “Are you wanting to go full time or part time for school?” (CLOSE ENDED QUESTION)

Trever: “Full time.” (THERE WAS NO HESITATION WITH THIS ANSWER, IT SEEMS AS IF HE WANTS TO GET THROUGH SCHOOL QUICKLY AND EFFICENTLY)

Me: “Full-time, there will be a lot of work that goes into completing the Music and Production program with a full-time load; are you ready for that considering you have a full-time job as well?” (CLOSED ENDED QUESTION & RESTATEMENT)

Trever: “Yes for sure, I want to get it done and start up on my career.” (HE SEEMED READY AND WILLING TO TAKE ON THE WORK LOAD NEEDED IN ORDER TO GET THE PROGRAM DONE)

Me: “Have you attended any colleges previous to applying here, if so what did you accomplish there? (OPEN ENDED QUESTION)

Trever: “Yes, I went Anoka Ramsey Community College. I wanted to complete my generals before moving into another university, that way I can just focus on the core classes.” (HE SEEMED REALLY OPEN AND VERY INFORMATIVE)

Me: “So you completed your generals from Anoka Ramsey Community College, I’m assuming this means you graduated from there correct?” (RESTATEMENT & CLOSE ENDED QUESTION) Trever: “Yes, I received my Associates of Arts Degree.” (HE SEEMED PROUD AND ACCOMPLISHED WHEN HE SAID HE GRADUATED FROM ANOKA RAMSEY)

Me: “Are there any courses that you took at Anoka Ramsey Community College that were aimed at the music field?” (OPEN ENDED QUESTION & REPHRASING)

Trever: “Yes, I believe I took two music directed courses. I think they were Rock and Roll History & Music Appreciation. I would have taken more music courses if they would have been offered at the time but they weren’t. (EVERY QUESTION I HAVE HE TRIES TO BE OPEN AND TELLS ME WITH THE BEST OF HIS MEMORY)

Me: “Rock and roll history & Music Appreciation those sound like interesting courses, do you think these courses will benefit you in the music career?” (OPEN-ENDED & PROBING)

Trever: “Yes definitely, I think in order to be in the music business you have to know of all types of music and have an appreciation for it. In both courses we touched base on rock & roll, blues, punk, pop, rap, jazz, classical and just about every other type of music there is. (YET AGAIN TREVER SEEMED VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT MUSIC AND EVERYTHING BEHIND MUSIC, THIS SEEMS LIKE A GREAT FIT FOR HIM AS A CAREER)

Me: “You seem very passionate about music and everything that goes with it.” (REFLECTION OF FEELING)

Trever: “I am very passionate about music, I grew up listening to all types of music, and my dad was always really big into blues and bands like the Ramones and CCR. I thought about going into other careers such as architectural drafting but that didn’t call to me like music production does.” (HE REALLY OPENED UP TO THIS QUESTION, IT SEEMS AS IF RAPPORT HAS BEEN BUILT)

Me: “All types of music that’s great, are you interested in producing in a certain field of music or all types of music?” (PROBING & VERIFICATION)

Trever: “I mostly want to produce in the Heavy Metal and Punk genres, but if any other genre needs a producer I’d be willing to expand out.” (VERY OPEN AND HONEST, HE SEEMS AS IF HE WANTS ME TO KNOW EVERY DETAIL SO I CAN HELP HIM)

Me: “So your interest is mostly for the Heavy metal and Punk genres, so we will want to make sure you take courses that are related to those genres and possibly think about getting you into some courses that also touch on other genres as well.” (VERIFICATION)

Trever: “Yeah that sounds like a great idea I am ready and willing to take whatever courses are needed.” (HE SEEMS AS IF HE IS CAPABLE AND READY TO TAKE ON EVERYTHING THAT WOULD BE NEEDED)

Me: “It seems as if you are ready to dive into the program of Music Production!” (REFLECTION OF FEELING)

Trever: “For sure, I am really excited to start the program!” (HE SEEMS AS IF THIS IS WHAT IS RIGHT

FOR HIM, THE PROGRAM SEEMS LIKE A GREAT FIT)

Closing statement: Me: Thank you so much for your time Trever, you will be hearing back from

us soon about our decision for admittance. And upon acceptance we’ll schedule a time to sit down and go

over the specifics. Are there any questions that you have? Trever: No not at this time, but thank you as well

Nicole, I’m looking forward to getting the chance to attend this college.

This interview seemed really effective at getting the information I needed in order to consider

Trever for admittance into the college I am “working” at. I made sure to build rapport so Trever would feel

more comfortable to talk to me and open up, which I believe I accomplished. Trever kept very good eye-

contact the whole time and seemed confident and sure of himself. The overall interview was very helpful for

me in order to get a feel for what it would be like to interview out in the real world, and what it’s like to be

an Academic Advisor.

Reference

Argosy University (2009) PSY405: Interviewing techniques: Module 6. Retrieved December 6, 2009, from http://myeclassonline.com/

Ethics and Diversity Awareness

Physiological Psychology: Final Paper

Nicole WhitcombOctober 27th, 2010

In 33-year old Sally’s case she had a traumatic childhood, so traumatic that she has experienced memory loss prior to age 13.

She has taken a variety of antidepressants but none of them seem to work. She experiences nightmares but won’t indulge on

what happens in the nightmares, she also gets startled easily and has many fears. In her hospital stay when her progress is

put out for me to see she divulges having a history of sadistic child abuse along with significant time and memory loss,

(Argosy University, 2010). The question is what may be the cause of Sally’s memory problems? Also why have the

antidepressants not helped her much?

The probable cause behind Sally’s memory loss could be repressed memory which is defined as, “An event that

occurred in a subject's past, the memory of which was actively repressed often because of the psychologically devastating

impact of that memory–e.g, childhood abuse, rape, molestation,” (Free Dictionary, 2010). The sadistic childhood abuse that

Sally endured would explain why she has lost some of her memory as a child, she would rather suppress/forget than

remember the tragic horrible things that happened to her as a child. The sadistic childhood abuse would also explain why she

is easily startled and has many fears, because just imagine growing up always having to watch your back and try to stay

away from your abuser. She is always on guard and becomes easily frightened because she was so abused in the past. I

believe that the antidepressants aren’t aiding Sally at all due to the fact that she can’t fully remember her past; she knows

that something horrible happened to her as a child but because of her repressed memory she doesn’t know the specifics. Also

because she isn’t sure if she experienced depression as a child, due to her memory loss, the correct anti-depressant may not

be administered. I believe more than just anti-depressants are needed for Sally; she needs to see a psychologist in order to try

to remember her past; even though she doesn’t want to do this it’s within her best interest so I will try to convince her in

order to get over her past she needs to remember it first. Overall anti-depressants are helping because Sally is depressed

about a past she can’t remember, thus resulting in the anti-depressants not aiding Sally in her problems. Sally needs to be

more open about her nightmares and about trying to discover her past.

In the past several weeks I have worked as trainee for the patient education program for the neurology, psychiatry,

and neurosurgery service. My supervisor has asked me to review the work that I have done thus far. She has asked

me to explain ethics or diversity issues that need to be considered in the educational and referral services that I have

provided, explain to what degree sensitivity to diversity is an ethical issue, explain my understanding of informed

consent and why it’s important for patient’s to fill this in, analyze the patient confidentiality associated with

medical care, and assess the circumstances under which you can release information about hospital patients to

someone else, (Argosy University, 2010).

Ethics and diversity issues are something that needs to be considered in the field of psychology or any

professional field for that matter. When aiding in the treatment of patients several things have to be remembered not

to be bias towards a patient based on gender, race, or cultural background; get the patients full background when

possible and see this person as equal to all other patients. There are times when the patient’s cultural background

will have to be considered but before that time keep in mind the patients issues and what they have gone through to

come to a correct diagnosis and treatment plan. In other words don’t leap to a conclusion before everything is

known about the patient don’t assume based on race or gender. Treat all patients equal and with complete respect to

there background, I would have to conform to the patient’s needs not vice versa.

As explained briefly before the degree to which sensitivity to diversity becomes and ethical issue is when it is not a problem

to the patient’s problems but I would be considering there diverse background part of the problem, i.e. a patient is raped by a

random stranger but I keep pulling there diverse cultural background into part of the problem. The rape was random and has

nothing to do with there current issue, this needs to be considered along with not poking your head around in a patient’s

business where it isn’t needed this is where ethical issues form. Overall keeping in mind the patient’s gender, race, and

cultural background is needed but not utilized in all cases. Stay with the case and don’t go past boundaries because this will

make the patient uncomfortable and in turn this is an ethical issue. Ethics also includes following all informed consent and

confidentiality laws.

Informed consent is important before starting to work with a patient, its important for you as a professional and

for the patient. “It is based on the moral and legal premise of patient autonomy: You as the patient have the right to make

decisions about your own health and medical conditions,” (E Medicine Health, 2010). Informed consent allows the patient to

know and agree to all tests and treatments that they will be a part of, this helps the patient have a better understanding and

they can go into treatment more confident and comfortable. It also aids the psychologist, psychiatrist; etc to have paperwork

saying they got the patients consent, this will help cover there backs if issues were to ever arise.

Patient confidentiality is also very important when treating patients, my understanding of patient

confidentiality is that no medical/identifying information can be given out without the consent of the patient. The

definition as given by American Medical Association (2010), “a physician may not disclose any medical information

revealed by a patient or discovered by a physician in connection with the treatment of a patient.” Circumstance

under which I could release information about hospital patients to someone else is the following; when it is court

ordered and when it is life or death this means when the client’s life is in danger or there is a threat to another

person’s life that is associated with the patient, (Grohol, 1999). But under no other circumstances should the

patient’s information be given out this would be violating HIPPA and charges could be given to the doctor, therapist,

etc who gave out the information.

REFERENCES

American Medical Association (2010) Patient Confidentiality. Retrieved from AMA: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/legal-topics/patient-physician-relationship-topics/patient-confidentiality.shtml

Argosy University (2010) Physiological Psychology; Module Eight. Retrieved from Argosy University: http://myeclassonline.edu

E Medicine Health (2010) Informed Consent. Retrieved from E Medicine Health: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/informed_consent/article_em.htm

Free Dictionary (2010) Repressed Memory. Retrieved from Free Dictionary: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/repressed+memory

Grohol, J. (1999, April 8) Patient Confidentiality. Retrieved from Psych Central: http://psychcentral.com/best/best2.htm

Foundations of Psychology

Maladaptive Psychology: Katherine’s Case

Nicole WhitcombMay 14th, 2010

In this scenario according to Argosy University (2010), Katherine, a 45 year old African-American is dealing with

issues from her past. As a child she was sexually abused and it is affecting her now as an adult. She is experiencing feelings

of anger towards her parents and feels as if her relationship with her daughter is a cause for concern. Katherine decided it

was best to start therapy in order to get her life and emotions back into order, since she says she has been feeling irritable

and has been less interested in sex with her husband. As her therapist and this being session one of our six sessions I will be

evaluating whether or not what Katherine is going through is abnormal or normal.

To start what Katherine is experiencing is to be expected in a person who has had a history of sexual abuse as a child.

So in a way these feelings of irritability, anger, lack of sexual drive, and the recent job issues are normal to a person with

Katherine’s history but to a person without this type of history I would classify her behavior as abnormal. In order to classify

Katherine’s behavior as abnormal I went straight to the Four D’s, those being deviance, distress, dysfunctional, and

dangerous. Of those four I put Katherine into two of the four categories; she was placed in the deviance and distress

categories. Katherine was placed in the deviance category due to the fact that she is deviating from how she “normally” is,

she mentioned that she has recently become irritable and less interested in having sex with her husband. These two things let

me know that she isn’t normally feeling this way, and as Argosy University (2010) explains, “Often, behaviors, thoughts,

and emotions that deviate from those considered normal in a specific place and time and by specific people, are considered

abnormal.” As for the category of distress that one was an easy one to spot, due to the fact that Katherine is saying that she

has had these feelings of anger towards her parents and that she feels as if her and her daughter’s relationship is becoming a

cause for concern lets me know that she is becoming stressed out, and on top of that she is concerned that her attitude at

work is hindering her from getting a raise. According to Argosy University (2010), “For behavior to be considered abnormal,

it must cause distress to the individual. Subjective distress is felt by the person exhibiting the behavior.” Katherine being

placed into two of the four D’s is showing that her behavior is seen as abnormal.

To further explore my findings after looking over the Four D’s I looked at the criteria that can help classify whether a

person is abnormal or normal. According to Dr. Dewey (2007) there are several criteria that can be used and these include;

Statistical abnormality, violation of socially-accepted standards, theoretical approaches, subjective abnormality, biological

injury. Statistical abnormality is an abnormality that is seen as being statistically abnormal among a population (Dewey,

2007), I am not sure that Katherine’s behavior can fall under this category due to that she is more than likely not the only

one experiencing past traumas such as sexual abuse, with the lack of information as far as her location it is impossible to

know for sure. Violation of socially-accepted, I would say that Katherine falls into this criteria, she is experiencing

something that is unique to her situation; i.e. she is irritable and is feeling a lowered sex drive, some people may see her

lowered sex drive especially with her husband as being abnormal. As far as theoretical development I wouldn’t put

Katherine under this criteria, theoretical development look at personality development and whether it was developed

normally, (Dewey, 2007). Katherine’s personality seems just fine its just her inner emotions that are causing her grief.

Subjective abnormality is a definite yes for Katherine considering she is feeling irritable and has developed these recent

stresses in her life, for the record subjective abnormality is defined as person’s feeling of abnormality as according to Dr.

Dewey, 2007. The last set of criteria which is biological injury doesn’t apply to Katherine, because as of yet she has not

revealed any diseases or injury.

Overall after analyzing Katherine’s situation and her history I believe that her behavior is abnormal after careful

consideration of the Four D’s and further research into the criteria that classifies abnormality.  

Argosy University (2010) Maladaptive Behavior & Psychopathology; Module One. Retrieved on May 13, 2010 from

http://myeclassonline.edu

Dr. Dewey (2007) Defining Abnormal Behavior. Retrieved on May 13, 2010 from

http://www.psywww.com/intropsych/ch12_abnormal/defining_abnormal_behavior.html

References

Applied Psychology

MALADAPTIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KATHERINE’S CASE FINAL

PROJECTNICOLE WHITCOMB

JUNE 29TH, 2010

Katherine has been my client for several weeks now, it has come to a point in our time together that I need to

evaluate; the conditions Katherine has been diagnosed with, the treatment options that I have selected, my chosen model,

Katherine’s strengths, any further disorders Katherine may have, and recommendations for future treatment.

Over the past several sessions I have uncovered many of Katherine’s presumed disorders. In the third session

with Katherine I diagnosed her with having dissociative disorder or more specifically depersonalization disorder. I had come

to this conclusion because Katherine had explained to me that she had experienced an out of body feeling and according to

Argosy University (2010), “People with this disorder feel as though they have become separated from their body and they

are observing themselves from outside…a feeling that the external world is unreal and strange.” Within that same session I

also diagnosed Katherine with a Panic disorder, I came to this conclusion because Katherine was having feelings of

dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea etc. Along with that as according to APA (2010), people with panic disorder have

reported spending less time on hobbies and other satisfying activities. At that time Katherine explained her decreased

interest in drawing along with having sex with her husband. I also diagnosed her with having stress disorder, or PTSD,

which is characteristic of the person having nightmares which Katherine had been experiencing. In the fourth session

(module four) I diagnosed Katherine with a Mood Disorder, more specifically unipolar disorder. I had came to this

conclusion because per my original diagnosis she had been having days where she felt sad all day long, she wasn’t sleeping

well, she wasn’t interested in sex or being with friends. This type of mood was very abnormal for Katherine, as compared to

her previous behavior. In our next session I diagnosed Katherine with having a sexual disorder, sexual dysfunction, “Sexual

dysfunctions occur when people cannot respond normally in key areas of sexual functioning, making it extremely difficult

for them to enjoy sexual intercourse,” (Argosy University, 2010). Katherine falls under two different areas of sexual

dysfunction; desire disorder and arousal disorder. I came to this conclusion is that Katherine had no desire to have sex, and

she could not become sexually aroused during sex either.

In session six (module six) Katherine was describing behavior that meets the criteria for “positive”

schizophrenia, or in her case undifferentiated schizophrenia. I came to this conclusion because as according to my prior

notes, Katherine was saying that she saw God and heard God telling her that everything will be alright and that he showed

her the way. I decided that she had undifferentiated schizophrenia because her symptoms meet no subtype; she has

disordered thinking and catatonic behavior, (Argosy University, 2010). In session seven (module seven) Katherine was

displaying traits of a personality disorder, or dependent personality disorder. This disorder is characterized as, “People with

this disorder have a persistent, excessive need to be taken care of. They are at risk for depression and anxiety disorders and

may be especially prone to suicidal thoughts. The central feature of this disorder is difficulty with separation,” (Argosy

University, 2010). Katherine had explained to me that she was afraid of leaving the sessions with me, that she would turn to

suicide if she couldn’t continue to see me, and as you can see this is what led me to the diagnosis I gave her. Katherine has

definitely dealt with a lot of different disorders in the past several weeks in a nut shell these are the ones I diagnosed her

with having; dissociative disorder, panic disorder, mood disorder, sexual disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorder, stress

disorder.

My chosen model, as selected in module two, is the psychodynamic model. “All psychodynamic therapies seek

to uncover past trauma and inner conflicts. Psychodynamic therapists believe that an understanding of early-life experience

is critical to understand the client’s psychological difficulties,” (Argosy University, 2010). I found the psychodynamic model

was extremely helpful through my therapy sessions with Katherine. Looking back on my original notes I had explained that

using the psychodynamic model would lead me to get Katherine to open up about her past and bring forth things that she

may have forgotten until now.

Using the psychodynamic model helped me to get into the mind of Katherine and help her to

realize the things that she has locked inside for several years, with her openness she better explained to me

what was going on in her life and with that I was able to diagnose her with a slight more ease. I used the

psychodynamic model in session four, session five, session six, and session seven (which is all of the

treatment sessions). I found it to be extremely useful for uncovering the disorders she was experiences and

help her with treatment.

There were two sessions that I went with an additional model on top of the psychodynamic model

and that was during weeks four and six. In session four (module four) I had diagnosed Katherine with a mood

disorder, in my treatment plan for the mood disorder I recommended the psychodynamic approach but also

recommended a more biological approach which included possibly putting Katherine on antidepressants. I

chose to go this route do to the fact Katherine was experiencing thoughts of suicide and immediate action

needed to be taken to maintain her biological levels. In session six (module six) Katherine was diagnosed with

undifferentiated schizophrenia, and in her condition I felt it necessary to go the biological approach again and

recommended medication in order to maintain the schizophrenia. I felt it necessary to prevent the

schizophrenia from growing into a more developed stage, which could result in further harm to Katherine’s

mental state. Overall the psychodynamic model was helpful in every session but in sessions four and six I felt

it necessary to combine that with another model.

Through out our sessions, I have recommended many treatment options to Katherine. Starting with session four

(module four) when treating her mood disorder, I allowed Katherine to open up and speak freely. I felt as if the freedom to

speak would get Katherine to bring up past events and understand why she feels the way she feels. I also recommended a

biological approach with the use of antidepressants; it would keep her more chemically balanced and potentially make her

feel not as “moody”. I honestly didn’t recommend any follow up for this treatment but as you will see I continued with the

psychodynamic approach throughout the rest of the sessions, but as far as the antidepressants go I would be sure to

continually follow up with her to see how it is working out. In session five (module five) when trying to treat her sexual

disorder, I went with the same route as session four, minus the biological approach. I had Katherine speak about how her

experiences in college made her feel and try to get to the root of her desire & arousal disorders. Getting to the root of the

problem can often bring about ways to resolve the issues just by speaking out loud; Katherine needs to let all the bad out

before the good can come in. In session six (module six) when diagnosed with undifferentiated schizophrenia, I decided to

go with psychotherapy combined with medication. “…psychotherapy can be very helpful when used in combination with

medication,” (Argosy University, 2010). My treatment included allowing Katherine to tell me exactly what she was

experiencing when she was explaining that God was showing her and telling her things. I asked her what God was showing

her and telling her exactly, because if God was telling her that everything was going to be ok because he was going to take

her to heaven there would be other measures taken (i.e. medication). But if God was telling her that everything was going to

be ok because her life was going to get better soon I recommended that Katherine continue to speak to God and go to church

if that is what makes her happy. In session seven (module seven) when I diagnosed Katherine with having dependent

personality disorder, my recommended treatment was again the psychodynamic approach. Allowing her to explain why she

feels as if she can’t make decisions own her own will make it easier for me to explain to her that she is fully capable of

making decisions on her own without consulting me first.

Overall the follow-up treatment would be to continue with the medications, as recommended by a licensed

physician, to maintain the biological levels for her mood disorder and schizophrenia would be a wise choice. I would also

recommend that Katherine find a close friend that she can confide in and speak freely to her/him about how she is feeling

because she will need to continue to voice her emotions.

In Katherine’s case I would consider her diverse background, considering she is of African American descent.

Throughout our sessions together the topic of her background would more than likely come up, i.e. how she was raised,

how closely her parents followed there culture, etc. With more information on her background it would be easier to be

more ethical in our therapy sessions together, so you are sure you don’t step on any toes. Another consideration to keep in

mind that is particular to Katherine’s case is her belief in God, she seems very deep in her connection with him and this

would be something that I would keep in the back of my mind just so again I don’t step on any toes. I feel as if Katherine’s

background and beliefs should definitely be considered as pertinent information because I or another therapist can learn a

lot about Katherine through this information.

Katherine has a lot of strength and one main strength sticks out in my mind, and that is the fact that she isn’t

afraid to open up to me and tell me what is happening in her life. She has the strength to want to get better in order to have

a better life. Every session that we have together she would tell me about her problems and seemed to be completely

honest about it, and this is the best thing a client could do in order to get desired results. Another strength that Katherine

has is that she was able to marry and maintain a relationship with her husband, considering all that she has been through as

a child she seems very strong. Katherine seems, up until this obstacle, to be living her life perfectly fine; building

relationships, holding down a job, and maintaining her hobbies. Like all people, Katherine is hitting a speed bump in her

life, but all in all she is an incredibly strong woman.

After reading through a list of childhood disorders, I came to the conclusion that Katherine may have dealt with

childhood depression, “The symptoms of childhood depression are likely to include physical discomfort, irritability, and

social withdrawal. Causes of childhood depression are similar to those of adult depression. Theorists identify factors such as

loss, learned helplessness, negative cognitions, and low serotonin or norepinephrine activity, to be responsible for childhood

depression,” (Argosy University, 2010). Considering Katherine’s past of abuse she likely was left with an empty feeling.

Katherine probably helpless and probably felt a loss of her innocence, which would result in her feeling down or depressed.

I would also contribute her recent fears of separation to separation anxiety disorder, “It is characterized by extreme anxiety,

often panic, when the sufferer is separated from home or a parent. Many children cannot travel away from their families and

may be unable to stay alone in a room,” (Argosy University, 2010). I feel as if she may have grown up not wanting to be

dependent that she had to go to others in order to make decisions, but this is just an assumption based off of how she is in

her adulthood. Overall I would assume that Katherine dealt with one ore multiple childhood disorders because of how she

was treated as a child.

I fear that Katherine will develop disorders as she gets older, she will be dealing with the stress from her past

for the rest of her life, even with therapy that memory will always be there. I foresee Katherine having a disorder of

cognition, “Cognitive mishaps are a common and normal feature of stress or aging,” (Argosy University, 2010). As you can

see Katherine has been dealing with an extreme amount of stress due to her past, and this may potentially lead to this

particular disorder. Disorders of cognition include dementia and delirium; this is characterized by confusion and clouding of

consciousness, (Argosy University, 2010). Katherine is on a road to having problems as an adult, but it is my hope with the

treatments she will become less stressed even though the memory will never be forgotten.

Two recommendations for Katherine’s treatment would be to, as explained previously, find a friend or family

member that they can confide in and talk to them openly about her feelings and emotions. Katherine needs a listening ear

and a shoulder to cry, I feel as if Katherine continues to be open about her past and her feelings that she will not be a tightly

closed box that is ready to burst. Another recommendation would be to continue the recommended medicine regimen, as

prescribed by a licensed physician, this way her biological levels will be maintained, thus leaving Katherine feeling less

stressed and more balanced. Overall I hope all the best for Katherine in her future, and I feel that my efforts and her strength

will get her to a better place in her life.

ReferencesAmerican Psychological Association (2010) Answers to Your Questions about Panic Disorder. Retrieved from American

Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety/panic-disorder.aspx#

Argosy University (2010) Maladaptive Behavior and Psychopathology; Modules: Two, Three, Six, Seven, and Eight.

Retrieved on Argosy University: http://myeclassonline.edu

Interpersonal Effectiveness

Listening Effectively Nicole WhitcombMarch 8th, 2009

Listening effectively is a major part of interpersonal effectiveness, in the counseling world you

want your client to feel comfortable so they are more likely to open up to you. Practicing listening skills is

important, especially if you are going to be in the psychology field and helping clients to overcome their life

obstacles. In my conversation with my boyfriend he was expressing his concerns towards his job. In doing so I

learned that I had to listen carefully in order to effectively respond. This was not as easy as it sounds because in

the case of this particular conversation he was basically venting on how much he hated his work. I had to pull

out all my listening and response skills to effectively help him out.

I choose to practice my listening skills with my boyfriend, he is in a job right now that he is

unhappy with and after work he vents to me about his day went. I will be honest listening effectively was not an

easy task at first because in the case of this particular conversation he was basically venting on how much he

hated his work. I had to pull out all my listening and response skills to effectively help him out.

In the conversation, I had with my boyfriend Trever about his work and how much he is fed up

with his job because they are cutting his hours back, I actually found it easiest to use mindful listening. The

reason for this is because I was interested in what he was saying for the pure fact that I knew what he was

telling me affected him so negatively. I wanted to know what was going on in his life and why he was so down.

It was almost hard for me not to listen even though he was just venting, in other words it was hard for me to use

mindless listening in this particular conversation because I really cared about what he was telling me because I

knew he was stressed out about it I wanted to make sure he knew I cared.

When it was my turn to respond I found it easiest to empathize because I had a similar situation happen

to me at work just about two weeks prior to our conversation. I let him know that I understood exactly what he was

going through and assured him that things would work out and it would get better as time goes on. I also found it

easy to use paraphrasing, it made me understand his situation better and informed me of what exactly was the cause

for the hours being cut back. I found it most difficult to use the method advising because I didn’t want to put any

ideas in his head that might not be such a good idea, the book Interplay had a very good example of advising, “If

you’re so unhappy, you should just quit the job.” This is exactly the kind of advise I didn’t want to give him but

that is all I could come up with so I just kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to influence him into doing something

that he would more than likely regret doing later.

This conversation differed from other conversations I have because I don’t always initiate myself in

topics such as this one everyday. I found that I had to be very responsive and listen effectively in order to help out

my boyfriend to the best of my ability. Another thing that differed from normal every day conversations was my

body language during the conversation; I noticed that I was almost leaning into him I believe that was my way of

showing him that I was into what he was saying. When I am just talking normally I get more relaxed and laid back,

I still show that I am interested in the conversation but not as intensely. Trever responded very well to my efforts

he told me that he appreciated me listening to him and that he felt better now that he had vented out all his anger

towards his work. He also expressed to me that he felt better since he had me to relate to because I had just gone

through the same thing at my work.

During the conversation I felt genuinely concerned with what Trever was telling me, I hate knowing that something is

going wrong in his life. I could hear the anger and frustration in his voice and it made me feel angry too, not at him but the

situation he was in. I also felt as if I could comfort him just by listening to him vent about his work, all he needed was

someone to listen to him and give some kind of response. I enjoyed the interaction in the sense that I knew I was making

him feel better just by being there for him. I didn’t enjoy the fact that he was so upset about the conversation, he has all the

right in the world to be upset but it just made me feel bad for him. Other than that the interaction went over very well.

What I could do to improve my listening skills in the future is to try to use more methods of responding rather

than just sticking with my usual open ended questions, empathizing, and paraphrasing. I think that these methods have

always worked for me in a positive way and I will continue to do these but I would like to be better at giving advice, I have

always been kind of wary about giving people advice especially about situations or topics I am unfamiliar with. I think a

way that I can be a better listener is to maybe show the interest in my face, I notice that I get a blank look on my face and

sometimes scrunch my face up so It looks like I am extremely disinterested. Another thing I could do to improve my

listening skills is try not to think about other things going on around you, on occasion I think about random things not on

purpose of course but it just happens. I believe that I am a good listener in most cases, because I believe that it is really

important to listen carefully to what people say because you could always learn something new or really be able to help a

person out.

Reference

Adler, Rosenfeld, Proctor II. (2007). Interplay the Process of Interpersonal Communications 10th Edition. Oxford University, New York. Pgs. used: 176-195

Review Paper Advanced General Psychology

What Makes Good People Do Evil Things?

Nicole WhitcombDecember 10th, 2010

Review Paper by:

Nicole Whitcomb

Advanced General Psychology

December 2010

What Makes Good People Do Evil

Things?

Many have heard of the Stanford Prison Experiment from the 70’s, Milgram’s shock

experiment, and the more recent the events at Abu Ghraib. Within all of these events

seemingly average “good” people were influenced into taking part in evil acts.

Putting people into power situations or being put into a situation where they are

influenced by authority can cause a person to act out in evil ways. Some agree with

this statement and some disagree saying that all people are fully capable of making

decisions for themselves and power situations are no excuse.

Abstract

What makes good people turn bad or do bad things? When seemingly average good people do unthinkable acts this

question comes up. This question has been researched by many psychologists and researchers; in particular Philip

Zimbardo and Stanley Milgram. In Philip Zimbardo’s book The Lucifer Effect (2007) he discusses his Stanford Prison

Experiment in the 70’s that demonstrated good people doing bad things because they were put into a power situation.

Zimbardo (2007) also discusses the more recent events at Abu Ghraib which is believed to have been influenced by

authorities. This brings me to the prevailing argument which is that good average people do bad things because they are

put into situations where they are either influenced by authority (people of power) or are put into a power role. The other

side of the argument from skeptics is that good average people are fully capable of choosing whether or not to partake in

“evil” acts, they may be under the influence of a power trip or a person of power but that is no excuse. My hypothesis is

that when ordinary good people are put into either a power situation or situation where they are influenced by authorities

they will often times go bad or do bad things.

  The objective of this paper is to bring to light the problem of good people turning evil, in order to do this I will research

the work of Philip Zimbardo and others. This also includes looking at the Stanford Prison Experiment and the events at

Abu Ghraib in Iraq. Along with the works of Zimbardo Stanley Milgram’s shock experiment will be examined as well.

What Makes Good People Do Evil Things?

Begley, S. (2009). Adventures in Good and Evil. Newsweek, 153(18), 46-48. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=38505821&site=ehost-live

Begley (2009) discusses what makes some of us saints and some of us sinners; this article brings to light Stanley

Milgram’s experiment with recruiting ordinary people to give an electric shock to a complete stranger as instructed by a

professional. This article shows that authoritative figures can persuade ordinary good people to do evil things, it goes into talk

about how some cope with these types of situations by either caving or standing up for how they feel and what’s right; virtues

and vices, (Begley, 2009). This article will bring to the topic at hand another experiment that shows people under the influence

of a higher authority and how it makes them act out in ways they may have never imagined. This article will contribute to my

paper by giving more examples of good going evil. The strengths of this article is that it gives many examples to back up its

reasoning, it also gives examples of ordinary nice people not being influenced by the hand of power and saying no and come

out as a hero. This article doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses because it shows both the side where people turn evil in power

situations and also shows people staying good.

Outline of Literature Findings

Collins, L. (2000). Creating Gender Role Behavior: Demonstrating the Impact of Power Differentials. Teaching of Psychology, 27(1), 37-40. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=3348732&site=ehost-live

This article by Collins (2000) demonstrates a study that was done in order to show parallels

between the Zimbardo prison experiment and the impact that assignment to low and high power roles

can have on the behavior of men and women. This article will contribute to backing up the topic at hand

by showing a recent study, within the last 10 years, done on the effects of power differentials, (Collins,

2000). The strength of this article is that it demonstrates its own study done on college participants on

the effects of a dominant figure on a subordinate, (Collins, 2000). This articles weakness is that it

doesn’t give an opposing view which would better back up the experiment that was done.

Danchev, A. (2008). Bad apples, dead souls: understanding Abu Ghraib. International Affairs, 84(6), 1271-1280. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2008.00768.x. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=34828455&site=ehost-live

Danchev (2008) does a review of the events at Abu Ghraib in order to better understand

what went on. He discusses how the events at Abu Ghraib are “seeping” into mainstream media,

so it is making quite the impact in our society. This article will contribute by helping to better

understand the events that happened at Abu Ghraib and how they are affecting society today. The

strength of this article is that it gives the reader a good idea of the events at Abu Ghraib and the

effects of what happened. I don’t see any weaknesses of this article it explains a lot and was very

informative.

Discover (2007). Think you're above doing evil? Think again. Discover, 28(4), 68-69. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=24413957&site=ehost-live

This article by Discover (2007), discusses Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment, the Stanford prison experiment was

conducted in August of 1971 and included a group of normal average students; some were given the role of a prisoner and the rest

were given the role of a prison guard, (Discover, 2007). The article went on to discuss the events at Abu Ghraib in May 2004,

where a group of what seemed to be normal American men and women did unimaginable acts to the prisoners they were supposed

to be guarding, Discovery (2007). The article draws comparisons from the two events and helps to better explain how good people

go evil; it will greatly contribute to the topic at hand by giving real world examples. The strength of this article is that is breaks

down the events that happened during the Stanford Prison Experiment and at Abu Ghraib, it shows how and the possible reasons

why these seemingly ordinary people turned evil. I don’t see any weaknesses with this article, it gives the facts of what happened

during the two events, it draws comparisons between the two events, and it gives reasoning behind why these people may have

gone “wrong.”

Einolf, C. (2009). Explaining Abu Ghraib: A Review Essay. Journal of Human Rights, 8(1), 110-120. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=37154362&site=ehost-live

Einolf (2009) does a review of Abu Ghraib along with a review of four books that correlate or have to do

with the events at Abu Ghraib; The Trials at Abu Ghraib, The Lucifer Effect, Torture and the Twilight of Empire,

and Torture and Democracy. This article looks closely at how people should be formally trained instead of being

influenced to take part in acts that are seen as evil or morally wrong, (Einolf, 2009). This will contribute to the

proposed topic because it gives a review of four pieces of work that have to do with the topic at hand, it will help

to back up what is being hypothesized. One strength of this article is that looks at the works of four books that

were written by social scientists and are reviewed, these are strong resources and help to back up Einolf’s overall

review of Abu Ghraib. There are not any weaknesses that I can see in this article, because overall it gives a strong

argument.

Finkelstein, D.  (2009, December 2). Never, ever, believe that Demjanjuk is a ‘victim’: Some people claim that decent human beings can behave in an evil way just to conform. It is a pernicious argument. The Times. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1913121951&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=82498&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Finkelstein (2009) discusses that criminal acts can not be excused just because a good ordinary person

was pressured into doing so. Finkelstein (2009) argues that everyone has the ability to judge whether or

not to be good or bad, every ordinary person has morals. He also discusses John Demjanjuk, also known as

Ivan the Terrible, who is on trial for committing Nazi crimes; his defense is saying that John is a victim

himself because he was forced by higher authorities, (Finkelstein, 2009). He goes onto talk about the

Milgram study and the Stanford Prison Experiment. This will contribute to the proposed topic because it

looks at the other side of the issue, someone who doesn’t believe that good people turn bad just because of

higher influences or a power trip. The strength of this article is that it brings in a story that isn’t discussed

in any of the other articles I obtained, the John Demjanjuk case is one that I would have never thought of.

Another strength is that he brings in Milgram’s study and Zimbardo’s study and discusses those briefly.

One weakness of the article is that a little more information on Demjanjuk would have been nice, I had to

do a little research on the internet to figure out what Demjanjuk was being accused of.

Shermer, M. (2007, August). Bad Apples and Bad Barrels. Scientific American, pp. 34-36. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=25637969&site=ehost-live

Shermer (2007) is a skeptic of the “bad barrel” as explained by Zimbardo. Shermer (2007)

discusses the fact that ordinary people are more likely to obey an upper authority due to the fact that

they are ordinary and don’t rebel against a higher up. Shermer (2007) briefly discusses that all humans

have an evil side and a good side. The strength of this article is that it shows both sides of the argument;

both the agreeable side saying that it’s not the apple it the barrel the apple is in and the opposing side

which is the skeptic. The weakness of this article is that it doesn’t give much evidence backing up its

skepticism. This will contribute to the proposed issue by giving a brief look at what a skeptic has to say

about the work of Zimbardo and his beliefs.

Wallis, C., August, M., Bacon Jr., P., Billips, M., Crittle, S., Rawe, J., et al. (2004). WHY DID THEY DO IT?. Time, 163(20), 38-42. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=13051191&site=ehost-live

Wallis, August, Bacon, Billips, Crittle, Rawe, et al, (2004) give an inside look at the events that occurred at Abu Ghraib,

which include the “bad apples” in question which in this case are the soldiers that committed the acts of torment to the Iraqi

prisoners. It also briefly discusses both Milgram and Zimbardo’s studies on what happens in situations where people are being

influenced by authorities or when people are given power that they may have never had, (Wallis, 2004). This will contribute to

the topic of good people going evil by because it asks the question and discusses those who commit these horrible acts a few bad

apples or are they just like the rest of us, (Wallis, 2004). The strength of this article is that it goes into the lives of those who were

apart of the events at Abu Ghraib, it shows us that they seemed to be ordinary people and when put into a situation where they

were being given instructions they took a role in the heinous acts at Abu Ghraib. I don’t see any weaknesses in this article because

it shows that the people involved seemed like ordinary good people and then it goes into supporting there view by discussing

Milgram’s study of electric shock and Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment.

Zimbardo, P. (2007). Revisiting the Stanford Prison Experiment: a Lesson in the Power of Situation. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(30), B6-B7. Retrieved from Academic Search Elite database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=25307670&site=ehost-live

Zimbardo (2007) revisits the experiment he conducted in the 70’s, which is commonly known

as the Stanford Prison Experiment. He explained how the study was conducted and how the study

only lasted six days before it was terminated due to the fact that the experiment had gotten out of

hand because the made up prison began to seem like a real prison, (Zimbardo, 2007). He goes on

to discuss good apples in bad barrels and bad barrel makers, the power that good people are

given can bring them to be evil, (Zimbardo, 2007). This will greatly aid my research because we

are going right to the source, the man who conducted the infamous experiment almost 40 years

ago. The strengths of this article are that it summarizes what happened during the experiment

from the experimenter himself and it shows the study’s current relevance in society today. I don’t

see any weaknesses in this article because it is a review of the Stanford Prison Experiment and it

did just that review.

Zimbardo, P. (2007). The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. New York: Random House Trade Paperback.

The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo (2007) is a book devoted to trying to reason

why good people do bad things; Zimbardo explains how and why we are all susceptible to

the lure of the “dark side.” Zimbardo (2007) looks into his renowned Stanford Prison

Experiment, the events at Abu Ghraib, and other times when ordinary good people did bad

things. This book will contribute greatly to the problem of good people do bad things

because it is a thorough look into the events that show good people going bad and try to

put reasoning behind it. The contribution that it will make to the research is the strength

that this book has along with the professional writings of Zimbardo who is a well known

social psychologist. There are no weaknesses in this book as far as I’m concerned because

as I mentioned before this is a thorough review of the topic at hand.

 

Begley’s (2009) article tries to explain why good people do bad things; it asks what makes some of us saints and some of us sinners?

Collins’s (2000) article also tries to explain why good people do bad things by demonstrating its own experiment done in order to show the

impact of power differentials. Danchev’s (2008) article reviews the events at Abu Ghraib trying to better understand why good people do

evil things, looks into the disturbing acts that humans can be a part of. Discover’s article puts into perspective the fact that all people are

capable of doing evil even when they don’t think they are, this is a supporting article. Einolf’s (2009) article reviews four books trying ot

better understand why good people do evil things, whether being influenced by authorities or having a power trip. Shermer’s (2007) articles

looks into the Stanford prison experiment and Abu Ghraib, trying to make sense of why good people turn evil. Wallis’s (2004) article

discusses whether the people who took part in the Abu Ghraib events are a few bad apples or are they just like the rest of us. Zimbardo’s

(2007) review of the Stanford Prison experiment and his book called The Lucifer Effect (2007) looks into the power that people can be

sucked into and it can become out of control; along with the influence higher ups can put on ordinary people to do bad things. The articles

listed above all support one another by looking into why good people do bad things, they look into the possibility being that they are

influenced to things they may have never imagined or are put into a power situation that makes them act out in evil/bad ways. The article

that contrasts from the rest is Finkelstein’s article which thinks that people have there own moral reasoning and are very capable of not

taking part in horrible acts, in other words there is no excuse.

So far the evidence from these articles are telling us that many psychologists or people in general believe that ordinary good people are

influenced by outer forces; such as authorities or being put into a power situation, which in turn brings them to take part in disturbing acts

that they thought they would never take part in. The evidence backing this up is overwhelming, why else would ordinary good people all of

a sudden do these criminal acts?

Support/Contrast:

One research question that could be asked in order to further develop this area of study is, what

amount of influence and what type of authority is needed in order to make an average person do bad things?

I feel as if this question is important because it would bring to light a better understanding of why good

people go bad; does it take a lot of influence in order to make a person act out of character or is it just that

easy to make a person act out? I believe that it would add to the research already done. Another research

question would be, what type of person is more influenced into doing terrible acts, are they shy, confident,

sympathetic, etc? This question is important because it makes it more clear what type of people are likely to

be bad in power situations/under the influence of an authority and what type of people are likely to become

heroes in the same situations. As with the events at Abu Ghraib some of those soldiers became evil while one

or two became heroes (Zimbardo, 2007). Do those people who took part in the events at Abu Ghraib, the

Stanford Prison Experiment, and Milgram’s experiment feel as if prior to those events that they were capable

of such acts? This question is important to the current work being done because this would help answer

whether these ordinary good people were already in the mind set that they could act out in such a way, thus

making them more probable to be easily influenced. This is compared to those who felt as if they would never

act out in such a way. These research questions would help to better understand the finer details of why good

people do bad things when under the influence of authority or a power situation.

Conclusion

My main research question as given above, what makes good people turn bad or do bad

things is supported by the research that I have found with the exception of a skeptic Finkelstein

(2009). The resources found offer a legitimate amount of evidence to back up the argument that

good people turn bad because they are put into “tough” situations where they may be influenced

by an authority or are put into a power situation. The resources discuss events where people were

put into this type of situation and the result of it; the resources give details of each event which

further backs up the argument. The main research question along with the other formulated

research questions fit right in with the research that has been done, the overall goal is to solve

why good people do bad things? And this research question asks just that. The below information

is a review of the events that back up the argument as given by the resources/research.

Conclusion-Continued…

Wallis (2004) describes the events of Abu Ghraib, “Psychologists and historians who study torture give

what is probably the most disturbing explanation of all: they are us.” This quote alone gives the impression that

good ordinary people are capable of almost anything as explained by Wallis (2004) under certain circumstances

almost anyone is capable of committing the same horrible things done at Abu Ghraib. In a brief explanation of the

events that occurred at Abu Ghraib here is a brief description as given by Discover (2007), in May 2004 the world

saw images of American men and women taking part in horrific forms of torture against civilians they were

supposed to be guarding; these images include the American men and women punching, slapping, kicking,

stacking the civilians into naked piles, and many other acts that are seen as horrible/evil. Wallis (2004) goes into

detail about how the American men and women were who did these horrible things, this gives us a better view

into how good/ordinary they were which backs us the argument of good people doing bad things.

Abu Ghraib

The Stanford Prison Experiment is best explained by its creator Philip Zimbardo, in his 2007 peer-

reviewed article named Revisiting the Stanford Prison Experiment: a Lesson in the Power of Situation. This

article backs up the argument by giving a detailed overview of the experiment done in the 1970’s that involved 24

participants that were physically and mentally healthy, with no history of crime or violence this made it sure that

the participants were all “good apples,” (Zimbardo, 2007). In Zimbardo’s book The Lucifer Effect (2007) and the

article given above (2007) it shows the effects of the experiment on the participants or in other words the “good

apples” within days the prisoners had been exposed to extreme stress and the guards had begun to act out in

outrageous behaviors such as abusing the “prisoners.” “The situational forces in that bad barrel had overwhelmed

the goodness of most of those infected by their viral power,” (Zimbardo, 2007). This backs up the argument

given, why good people do bad things in this case being put into a power situation.

Stanford Prison Experiment:

Stanley Milgram’s experiment with electric shock is very well known and the

experiment is centered on what people will do when influenced by an authority, (Begley,

2009). Milgram’s experiment showed that even when the “learner” is screaming in pain

the “teacher” or the participant (volunteer) continues to increase the voltage of the

electric shock because the authority (scientist/experimenter) tells the “teacher” that they

have to continue, (Begley, 2009). This backs up the argument that good people do evil

things when influenced by an authority.

Stanley Milgram’s Electric Shock Experiment:

Conclusion

Through this research paper I believe that there are extensive resources to prove the

hypothesis when ordinary good people are put into either a power situation or situation where

they are influenced by authorities they will often times go bad or do bad things. This research

paper has truly opened my eyes to why good people do evil things even when they believe that

they may never be capable of such acts. It is scary think that being put into a power situation or

being influenced by an authority can bring a seemingly average good person to be so evil to

others.

My Future in Learning

Every day I learn something new and I am always happy and

excited to gain more knowledge, I know that there is so much

information out there that I don’t know yet and will hope to gain

throughout the rest of my life. Just in my Bachelors of Psychology

degree alone I have learned a great amount of information that I will

carry with me forever and will utilize whenever I get the chance. I

will continue to go to school and complete my Graduate degree and

potentially continue my schooling even after that; we will see where

life takes me.

Thank You!

Contact Me

Thank you for viewing my ePortfolio.

For further information, please contact me at the e-

mail address below. Nicole2117@aol.com