Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Media Report 1: Schizophrenia

Media Report 2: Marijuana

Media Report 3: Science of Psychology

Media Report 4: Behavior Modification

Media Report 5: Anxiety Disorders

Media Selection #5

Monk

Television Series

2007

Retrieved April 22, 2010

Psychological Disorders

Monk is an american television series starring Tony Shaloub as Adrian Monk, an OCD, germophobic, homicide detective. In this episode of Monk, Mr Monk travels to Las Vegas to help solve a murder. Mr. Monk doesn't like all the people because he thinks it is dirty (and it is) but is there to do a job. Mr. Monk works on the case and while he is there, due to his OCD tendencies realizes that he can count cards. While counting cards, the casino owner, who is the husband of the woman who was murdered, comes over and realizes that Monk is counting cards. The casino owner makes a comment that helps monk solve the case and Monk is able to find evidence that the casino owner killed his wife.

I chose this movie for one of my media reports because it shows the reality for someone with an anxiety disorder. Some people don't think that anxiety disorders are serious disorders but they are very serious for the people that are afflicted by them. In chapter 14 we discussed anxiety disorders(pgs 564-569). Adrian Monk happens to have two anxiety disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and a phobia. Monk obsesses over things and is sometimes compulsed to do things multiple times. Anxiety disorders are real psychological diseases that make people feel severe anxiety and they sometimes have to obsess over things to ease their anxiety.People with anxiety disorders need treatment to keep the disorder from becoming worse.

Media Selection #4

It's Me or The Dog

Television series

2008

Retrieved April 23, 2010

Learning

It's Me or The Dog is an american television series starring dog trainer Victoria Stillwell. In this episode of the show, a couple is having trouble with their two very large Great Danes. The animals are very large and one of the dogs is sometimes vicious. The large, male dog tries to bite at the wife, takes over the couples bed, jumps on people when they come in the home, and takes food off of peoples plates. Victoria starts training the animals by giving them treats when they follow a command. The methods that Victoria uses work very well in training a dog.

I chose this show for one of my media reports because it is s great example of operant conditioning. Victoria uses operant conditioning to increase the dogs good behavior. Victoria wants to change the dogs behavior from bad behavior to good behavior so she gives the dogs a command and when the dogs increase their good behavior she rewards them with a positive reinforcement. She uses dog treats as the positive reinforcer's and she also uses a variable interval schedule of reinforcement. At first it took a while for the dogs to respond to the command that Victoria gave them, but when they realize that they get a treat for increasing their good behavior, they respond to the commands more quickly. Eventually the dogs will obey the commands without reinforcers. This is a prime example of operant conditioning that we4 learned about in chapter 5, pages 188-205. Operant conditioning is a very effective method for modifying behaviors.

Media Selection #3

Criminal Minds

Television Series

2009

Retrieved April 22, 2010

Science of Psychology

Criminal Minds is an american television series about an FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. The BAU is a team of detectives, psychologists, analysts, and researchers who use psychology to profile the unknown subjects to help solve cases.The BAU studies the evidence and MO to create a profile on the killer .In the episode, "Pleasure is My Business", the BAU is profiling an escort who is killing off her clients. The BAU profile's the un-sub and finds out that she is most likely killing clients because they are walking out on their families. This anger towards men stems from the fact that the killers father walked out on her and her mother for an escort when she was young. Eventually, the BAU formulated enough of a profile on the killer to catch her.

I chose this as one of my media reports because it demonstrates the use of science in a psychological way. The BAU creates a psychological profile based on what they know about the crime scene and the way the crime was committed. The BAU uses different psychological theories, perspectives, and analysis to solve crimes. In chapter 1 we learned about the science of psychology. The members of the BAU are all trained in psychology and know how to use psychological science to solve crimes that normally involve sociopaths and serial killers. In this specific episode I saw examples of the behavioral perspective, cognitive perspective, and sociocultural perspective. Using the science of psychology is an amazing way to solve crimes.

Media Selection #2

Weeds

Television Series

2008

Retrieved April 19, 2010

Drugs

Weeds is an american television which shows on showtime. Weeds is about a mother who lives in the suburbs with her two kids. The mother begins selling marijuana to support her family after the death of her husband. In this specific episode, the mother begins putting marijuana into baked goods to keep her clients interested in her services. She is driven to do this because some of her clients started going to a "weed clinic" where they were purchasing top of the line products. So in order to keep her clients happy she had to get creative.

I chose this television show as one of my media reports because it shows how many people actually use marijuana. Most people wouldn't expect suburban moms to sell weed or expect lawyers, accountants, and teachers to use it, but the reality is that it is a very widely used drug. This specific episode illustrates the psychological dependency that can be developed from the use of marijuana. The people on the show started out with a lower grade marijuana, but soon were trying to get more and more of a high. In chapter 4, pages 166-167 we learned about marijuana, Marijuana use does not cause any physical dependency, but it does cause a psychological dependency. Marijuana use can also cause other health problems. The best way to avoid any psychological dependency or health problems is to stay away from drugs.

Media Selection #1

Media Selection #1

A Beautiful Mind

Film

2001

Retrieved April 22, 2010

Schizophrenia

A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 film about mathematician John Nash played by Russell Crowe. Nash is a mathematical genius who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. In the movie, Nash displays behaviors typical of a paranoid schizophrenic such as acting awkwardly around people, displaying outbursts of anger,avoiding looking people in the eye, reverting to a childish state, hallucinating, and acting very paranoid. While Nash is a teacher he becomes involved with a student who he ends up marrying. His schizophrenia soon becomes very bad and he believes he is entangled in a secret, government operation. Nash is soon hospitalized and treated for his illness. At first he will not accept that he is sick. He refuses to take medication for his illness and his illness becomes worse again. He struggles with treating his disorder, but ultimately understands his problem. Nash learns how to occupy his mind with mathematics to help him focus on reality. In the end, Nash still has hallucinations but learns to ignore them. John Nash won a Nobel prize and continued teaching at Princeton university.

I chose this movie for one of my media reports because it shows what life is really like for someone living with paranoid schizophrenia. Nash experienced typical paranoid schizophrenic symptoms that very easily took over his life. In chapter 14, Psychological Disorders, pages 582-585, we learned about schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia have a break from reality. They have hallucinations and they believe that these hallucinations are reality. This is precisely what happened to John Nash. Schizophrenia is a very serious psychological disorder and must be treated properly. If not treated properly, schizophrenics can become very dangerous to themselves and others around them.