Chapter 9: "Mom is lying. Mom is hurting me. Please call the Police."

Many people have a tendency not to believe kids for many reasons.  How do we react when we see a child bruised all over, broken bones, etc.?  Chapter 9 you will read about James, a  six year old who is victimized by his mom.  Mental illness has far reaching scopes and there are more types of illnesses then you can even imagine and more then we can even diagnose.  Read about James and create a discussion.  What did you learn about the brain in this chapter?  What information do you find the most memorable and interesting in regards to psychology, brain, development, etc.?  What questions do you have about this story or any similar related stories from the book or other wise?  

Reminder:  this is our last on line chapter... You will now pick any other chapter on your own.  Create your own discussion and summary to share to your peers for Friday the 23rd for our coffee house discussion.  See you soon!

how is it going so far?

So just a quick check how is it going so far reading this book?  Do  you feel it raises your awareness?  Have you been looking at people and news stories differently?  Are you watching more Dr. Phil :)??  JK.... Anyway please provide me with some insight... Again... I am not as worried about deadlines as I am about learning.... are you learning?  Also I encourage you to  go back to previous blogs to read comments by classmates...

Chapter 6: A Boy RAised by a Dog

Watch this clip and tell me what comes to mind.... some of you may recognize it from Sociology.

When we study psychology we study nature and nurture a lot!  It is a major theme and concept to understand in our development.  A big area of study will be cognition and language.  Are we born with language?  Do we know how to communicate?  If you put kids in isolation and never taught them your language would they develop their own?  What happens to kids who are raised with Animals?  How does it affect their behavior and mind set?  Discuss Chapter 6... What is most interesting to you?  What concepts did you learn that really stand out?  How does nature and nurture affect the little boy?  What interesting points does Dr. Perry present about our development?  Finish your blog entry with two questions.  When discussing to your peers attempt to answer their questions.  

Chapter 5: The Coldest Heart

One subject we study in psychology is mental disorders.  The concept of mental disorders is very complexed.  What is a disorder?  What does it meant to be in sane?  What types of disorders exist?  What is the difference between schizophrenia and personality disorders?  List goes on and on... We will be going into depth later...  However, reading Chapter 5: Coldest Heart is going to make you question the concept of nature and nurture and the role is has on what we call anti-social personality disorder.  What causes someone to become cold hearted?  Are we born that way?  In this chapter, think about all kinds of issues to talk about... Are some people born to kill?  Was the fact that Leon was a fussy and difficult baby for mom, make it sound like he would turn out the way he did?   Is it our environment and experiences that will determine our likely hood to kill or not kill?  Should a 16 year old be up for death penalty?  Is Leon a victim in any way?  Who makes you more angry?  Leon?  Mom?  Dad?  Is there any hope?   I am going to attach an article for you to read after this chapter... It serves the purpose for you to understand that not all anti- socials will kill, but to understand that many live among us and characteristics of an anti- social.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201305/confessions-sociopath

I would like you to respond about what you find most interesting about both the chapter and the article.  I would like you to ask questions that your classmates may answer about your posts.  You do not have to do a detail summary about the chapter.  Do a summary about what you learned and what you found most interesting.  Then ask a few questions that  come to your mind about the chapter and article.