Psychological Perspectives Relating to the movie: What About Bob?

I do not think that either one of the perspectives alone would be enough to explain Bob's condition. A psychologist would have to be eclectic and use both perspectives with a case like Bob's.

I find the movie What About Bob to be fairly funny and entertaining. Besides being a comedy, this movie has a relavent scene to the psychological perspectives we learned in class. http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=Psych_20___05_Bob_Viewing_Assignment&video_id=78896 In this scene Bob Wiley admits to his therapist that he has "problems." (I apologize there are some inapropriate words bleeped out of the clip while Bob pretends to have turetts syndrome.)  He claims he has problems moving when he is out in public away from his apartment. He uses the term "wierd" to define his actions when he goes out. His "wierdness" that he describes are physical conditions such as hot and cold sweats, difficulty swollowing, and blurred vision. Bob's ultimate concern is that he is afraid of death. His "what if" scenarios throw Bob into a panic to where he believes that if he pretends to have certain medical conditions like turetts, then he knows that he doesn't have that condition so it is a sense of reassurance to him that he is safe. At the end of the clip the author asks which perspective explains Bob's behavior- the cognitive perspective or the behavioral perspective?

Through reading the first chapter and listening to the lecture in class, I learned that the cognitive perspective is defined by studying the thought process behind one's action. It is the way the brain works to account for one's thoughts or actions. I believe that the cognitive perspective would be a good way to explain his behavior. He believed that by faking an illness, he would know that he did not have it. I think by studying how his mind processes his fears would be beneficial to curing his fears. His brain processes uncomfort and disease different from a person who isn't afraid of becoming ill and by studying why his brain makes him think and act the way he does, would be beneficial to help him as well as others who suffer through the same thing.

On the other hand, the behavioral perspective also would be a great way to study and explain his behavior. Behaviorism is the focus of observable behavior of an individual dealing with their response to situations and consequences. By studying Bob's behavior, one may discover why he feels uncomfortable being social out of his apartment and his fear of getting sick. He may have become ill as a consequence of a contagious disease and now believes he is more susseptible to other illnesses. By studying his behavior in different settings could help explain why he acts uncomfortable and "wierd" as he describes himself.

Chapter One: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

       Through reading the prologue and chapter one of the text, I gained a little background on the history of psychology and the different ways it can be interpreted. I learned that psychologists apply the scientific method to humans to figure out information on how we relate experiences or have feelings. Today's definition of psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes. The field's most debated question is nature versus nurture: are we who we are because of heredity? Or are we who we are because of other factors like our enviornment or how we are raised? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26wQgAfTwA4 is a video that explains how both heredity and enviornment play key roles in the development of a person. I wonder how twins seperated at birth would relate to each other once grown. Would they have similar mannerisms and behaviors? Or would they be more like strangers raised in different homes? The text says that biological, psychological and social-cultural influence our behavior. So therefore would the heredity and enviornment influence each child equally? Would the same sex twins act more similar than opposite sex twins? I hope to find out during this class. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15629096 This article is a real application of the twin question because it actually happened. Two twin girls were seperated at birth for a scientific study and reunited 35 years later. Interestingly, the adoptive families were told that the children they were adopting were part of a scientific study but refused to say what the study entailed. Peter Neubauer realized that the majority of the public would be against the study and did not publish the results. The study is sealed up in an envelope and cannot be evaluated until 2066. The twins claim to have similarites, but ultimately realize they are different people who were raised in different homes. After reading the ethics portion of the chapter I realized that Neubauer's experiement seems unethical. To seperate family members at birth without explaining the premise or reasoning is wrong. Part of the ethics of scientific study of humans is to "obtain the informed consent of potential participants and to protect them from harm and discomfort". I do not believe that Neubauer protected the women from harm once they realized they were twins. The article does note that this study will never be replicated.  **This is a picture of the two women seperated at birth.

AP Psych Expectations

My main expectation for this class is to gain an understanding on how the brain processes experiences and why we interpret things the way we do. I am interested in learning why we as humans remember and retain some information easier than other information. I am also interested in learning the differences between genders and how different experiences and feelings relate to each gender. My ultimate goal upon finishing the class is to score a three or higher on the AP exam. I expect this class to be more rigorous than some of my other classes. I know that it will be paced fairly quickly and that I will need to be able to retain information and take good notes.