Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Psychology and Sociology

Themes in The Outsiders

Class Conflict: The rivalry between the Greasers and Socs emphasizes the socioeconomic divide and its impact on identity and relationships.

Identity and Belonging: Characters grapple with their place in society and within their groups, highlighting the search for self amidst stereotypes.

Violence and Its Consequences: The physical and emotional toll of gang rivalry demonstrates the destructiveness of unchecked aggression.

Loyalty and Brotherhood: The Greasers' strong bonds showcase the importance of chosen family in adversity.

Loss of Innocence: Ponyboy and Johnny, especially, confront moral dilemmas and death, leading to a poignant coming-of-age journey.

Conflicts in The Outsiders

• Man vs. Society: Both groups face judgment

Negotiation Strategies: A Comprehensive Overview

Understanding Your Interests

• Your Interests: List them. What would be a great deal for you? Why do you want these things? What is the relative value of the different issues for you?
• Options: What are the range of options you have on each interest?

Alternatives and Communication

• Your Alternatives: What happens for you if there is no deal? What is your BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement)? What is the worst possible deal you would still accept?
• Your Communication: What will you ask/what will you convey? What information do you need to get? What questions should you ask to test them? What facts can you use to convince? How to best frame them? What tough questions are they likely to ask?

Understanding Stress: Beyond Harmful Effects

Stress is a universal and multifaceted experience that has long intrigued scientists, clinicians, and educators. Traditionally viewed as a harmful force, stress has been linked to a broad range of negative health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, mental illness, and impaired immune function (Schneiderman et al., 2005; Sapolsky, 1996). However, emerging research has begun to challenge this view, proposing a more nuanced understanding of stress that recognizes not only its potential costs but also its benefits. Central to this evolving perspective is the concept of “stress mindset”—the beliefs individuals hold about the nature and effects of stress (Crum, Salovey, & Achor, 2013).... Continue reading "Stress Mindset: Shaping Well-being and Performance" »

Flashbulb Memories

Flashbulb Memories refer to a very detailed memory of the moment when someone learned about a shocking or emotionally significant event.

Long-Term Memory Functions

Long-Term Memory (LTM) allows for the storage and rapid access to relevant knowledge, which helps us interpret the present and act efficiently.

LTM supports the interpretation and understanding of new situations by drawing on past experiences. It also enables us to make inferences, connect ideas, and derive new information. Additionally, LTM allows for prospective thinking, such as planning for the future and imagining future scenarios.

Finally, LTM provides a sense of self and continuity, connecting past experiences to current identity and giving structure to conscious... Continue reading "Long-Term Memory: Storage, Retrieval, and Processes" »

Chapter 1: Research and Innovation in Education

1.1 What is Research?

Research is a systematic process of solving questions and seeking knowledge that has its own rules, that is, a method.

The Goal in Education

It is directed to the search for new knowledge that is useful for the explanation and/or understanding of educational phenomena that affect processes and results.

Valid + Reliable = Knowledge

What is the Difference Between Validity and Reliability?

Reliability of a Source

For knowledge to be scientific, it must be true for everyone, and this is achieved with reliable sources. The lack of reliability generates inaccurate results and affects the content, making it impossible to know if the information obtained is really what we were looking for.... Continue reading "Educational Research and Innovation: Methods and Practices" »

Adequacy

There are two main approaches to adequacy:

• Rule-Based Adequacy: Meeting the requirements of standard language regarding spelling, lexicon, and morphosyntax.
• Communicative Adequacy: Using linguistic elements appropriately to achieve the speaker's goal or intent. This involves adapting the form of speech to several communicative elements:
  • Audience type (ideology, culture, size, homogeneity).
  • Topic treatment (specialized or general).
  • Topic nature (serious, transcendent, etc.).
  • Field (academic, scientific, journalistic, etc.).
  • Channel (oral or written).
  • Lexical register (formal, specific, standard, colloquial, vulgar).
  • Use of resources.
  • Elements of impersonality and universality, sentence patterns, language functions.
  • Point of view, formulas, or focus/

Major Depressive Disorder

Absence of happiness is a more reliable symptom than increases of sadness (response to happy vs. sad faces; aleatory screening of mood during the day). Depression is more frequent in women than in men (around 2:1 ratio). Symptoms: Absence of happiness, Sadness, Helplessness, Lack of energy, Feel worthless, Sleep problems. Nongenetic Biological Influences on Depression (Dp)

• Few cases of Dp are linked to viral infections e.g., Borna disease (farm animals)
• Postpartum Depression: 20% of women after birth. Majority of women recover fast.
• Hormone level changes (e.g., decrease in estrogen or progesterone) can induce depression in women with vulnerability.

Abnormalities of Hemispheric Dominance

Happy mood: increase activity in L... Continue reading "Understanding Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorders, and Schizophrenia" »

Critical Thinking

Curiosity, Skepticism, Humility

Psychology is a science that studies the human mind and behavior. It is a field that is constantly evolving, as new research is constantly being conducted to better understand how we think, feel, and act.

Major Schools of Psychology

Psychoanalytic (Unconscious) - Freud

Humanistic (Free Will)

Behaviorism (Watson/B.F. Skinner) - Exploration of Behaviors

There are many different schools of psychology, each with its own unique perspective on the human mind and behavior. Some of the major schools of psychology include:

• Psychoanalytic psychology, which focuses on the unconscious mind and its influence on behavior.
• Humanistic psychology, which emphasizes the importance of free will and personal growth.
• Behaviorism,

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: A Breach of Ethical Principles

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was conducted from 1932 to 1972 near Tuskegee, Alabama. For 40 years, 600 poor, mostly illiterate African American men were monitored; 400 of them were infected with syphilis. While free medical examinations were provided, subjects were never informed of their diagnosis. Despite penicillin becoming a readily available cure in the 1950s, the study persisted until 1972. Participants were deliberately denied proper treatment, instead receiving fake treatments or placebos. In several instances, when other physicians diagnosed subjects with syphilis, researchers actively intervened to prevent them from receiving genuine care. Many participants suffered slow, painful... Continue reading "Unethical Research: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study & Belmont Principles" »

Half-Standardized Procedures

• Critical Incident Technique: With different methods, critical incidents are deduced, where the employee's reaction is decisional for success.
• Job Diary: The position holder is asked to report their work activities over a certain period. Instructions can be given in a more or less standardized way.
• Semi-Structured Interview: An interview guideline specifies the frame of course and content of the conversation. The interviewee is given room to use their own words to describe issues.
• Systematic Observation: The working person's behavior and/or the working conditions are assessed. A more precise observation plan specifies what to observe and how to record.

Standardized Procedures

• Questionnaires: Highly standardized. The interviewees