MODULE 1: LESSONS 2 AND 3
June 20th
TODAY'S MESSAGE
TODAY'S ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Review Lesson 2 Notes to learn about the careers in psychology.
2. Complete the Lesson 2 Practice Activity -- Quiz
3. Complete the Lesson 2 Assignment -- Want Ad
4. Review Lesson 3 Notes to learn about ethics in psychology.
5. Complete the Lesson 3 Practice Activity and Lesson 3 Assignment.
TEACHER TALK
Lesson 2:
Psychologists are charged with examining human behavior to determine its underlying causes, and with using such information to help patients work through their problems. It’s often a delicate balancing act, one that requires psychologists to perform a myriad of tasks that complement each other. The following list outlines some duties that clinical psychologists perform:
A. Conduct psychological assessments of patients in order to diagnose clinical conditions
B. Conduct clinical interviews with patients in order to learn their history
C. Create treatment plans for patients, monitor their progress and success, and adjust treatment as needed.
D. Create behavior modification programs for patients
E. Teach patients coping strategies to help them overcome problems
F. Develop psychology education programs
G. Conduct psychological research and reporting on findings
H. Prepare technical reports and presentations
I. Ensure that patient records are accurate and complete
F. Participate in continuing education courses and reading industry journals.
I know that many of you are taking this course to fulfill a requirement, but others may be interested in a career in Psychology. We typically think of a Psychology career as a therapist helping someone with their problems, but as you will find today, there are many other jobs in this field. Keep in mind, the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist is a medical degree. A psychiatrist has a medical degree. They specialize in the mind, just as an orthopedist specializes in bone and joint medicine.
Let’s get INTERACTIVE!!! Click on the links below to explore the many different psych careers. As you move through the links, pay attention to the educational requirements of each psych profession.
If you are interested in being a psychology student in college, you will need to take a number of courses that focus on the science of human behavior. The following are some of the top courses you would take as a psych major and they are also the main topics we will cover in this class:
1. General Psychology (What you are taking now)
2. History of Psychology: Begin with the subject's ancient philosophical origins and explore the contributions of major thinkers up through the modern-day.
3. Statistics: This course generally focuses on statistical methods and techniques used by researchers.
4. Experimental Psychology: You will learn about basic research methods and how to carry out experiments.
5. Physiological Psychology: Serves as a good introduction to the field of neuropsychology
6. Cognitive Psychology: Study of internal mental processes—all of the things that go on inside your brain, including perception, thinking, memory, attention, language, problem solving, and learning.
7. Abnormal Psychology: Some of the topics studied in this course might include mood disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse.
8. Developmental Psychology: Study the course of human development from conception throughout the lifespan.
9. Social Psychology: Focused on the scientific study of social influences on behavior and the interaction between individuals and groups.
10. Personality Psychology: Offers a solid background in the numerous theories of personality development, including Freudian, psychosocial, behavioral, humanistic and existential theories.
To delve deeper into different psychology career types click here.
TEACHER TALK 2
One of my favorite parts about this class is learning about all the different psychology experiments that have been done over the years. In the past, researchers have performed all kinds of questionable experiments in the name of science. For example, in one famous experiment, psychologist Stanley Milgram led his subjects to believe that they were giving painful electric shocks to other people. Many people consider this experiment unethical because it caused the subjects emotional discomfort. Today, researchers must abide by basic ethical norms when conducting research. Most important, they must consider whether they might harm their human or animal subjects while doing research.
Ethics refers to a system of moral values or the way people distinguish right from wrong. The American Psychological Association (APA) requires all its members to adhere to its code of ethics, which applies to the treatment of both humans and animals.
Researchers must get informed consent from their subjects before beginning research. This means that subjects must know enough about the research to decide whether to participate, and they must agree to participate voluntarily. Furthermore, researchers have an ethical obligation to prevent physical and mental harm to their subjects. If there is any risk of harm, they must warn subjects in advance. Researchers also must allow subjects to withdraw from a study at any time if they wish to stop participating. Finally, researchers have an obligation to protect the anonymity of their subjects.
Some psychological research cannot be done when subjects are fully informed about the purpose of the research, because people sometimes behave differently when under observation. To study people’s normal behavior, researchers sometimes have to deceive subjects. Deception is considered ethical only if:
- The study will give researchers some valuable insight
- It would be impossible to do the study without deception
- Subjects can learn the truth about the study’s purpose and methods afterward
A. Consent
B. Deception
C. Debriefing
D. Withdrawal
E. Confidentiality
F. Protection
G. Observational Research
H. Giving Advice
I. Monitoring Colleagues
The links below will help review what you learned today about ethics in Psychology.
Frequently, those in the field of psychology are faced with ethical dilemmas. Read the 3 real "cases" below. Consider the following: Did the health professionals in question behave ethically? What would you have done?
Case A: Should Susan Forwards duty to confidentiality end when her client, Nicole Brown Simpson died?
After the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman (see: Hunt, 1999) Susan J. Forward, a clinical social worker who had held two sessions with Ms. Simpson in 1992, made unsolicited disclosures regarding her deceased former client. Ms. Forward commented in public that Ms. Simpson had allegedly reported experiencing abuse at the hands of O. J. Simpson.
Case B: Did the county have the responsibility to warn local police, neighborhood parents, and/or James' mother of his threats?
James, a juvenile offender, was incarcerated for 18 months at a county facility. During the course of his confinement, James threatened that he would probably “off some kid” (i.e., murder a child) in the neighborhood if released, although he did not mention any particular individual. James obtained parole and did indeed kill a child shortly thereafter.
Case C: Did David Goldstein have a duty to warn Keith Ewing of the potential threat posed by Geno Colello?
David Goldstein, Ph.D., a licensed marriage and family therapist, had treated Geno Colello, a former Los Angeles police officer for three years. Treatment focused on work related injuries and the breakup of Colello’s seventeen year relationship with a woman named Diana Williams, who had begun dating Keith Ewing. Dr. Goldstein talked to Mr. Colello by telephone on June 21, 2001. Colello allegedly told Goldstein that he did not feel blatantly suicidal, but did admit to thinking about it. Dr. Goldstein recommended hospitalization, and asked permission to talk with the patient’s father, Victor Colello. Victor reportedly told Goldstein that his son was very depressed and seemed to have lost his desire to live. The father went on to report that Geno could not cope with seeing Diana date another man, and that Geno had considered harming the young man. Geno later signed himself in as a voluntary patient at Northridge Hospital Medical Center on the evening of June 21, 2001. The next morning Dr. Goldstein received a call from Victor Colello, advising that the hospital would soon release Geno. Dr. Goldstein telephoned the admitting psychiatrist and urged him to keep Geno under observation for the weekend. The psychiatrist declined and discharged Geno, who had no further contact with Dr. Goldstein. On June 23, 2001, Geno Colello shot Keith Ewing to death and then killed himself with the same handgun.
copyright 2009-2013 by Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D. and Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Ph.D.
"Quit school? Quit school? You wanna end up like your father?
A career lab rat?"
SHOUT OUT:
IMPORTANT DATES THIS WEEK
6/23: Start Module 2
6/27: End of Module 1 Grace Period
CONTACT ME
E-mail: christopher.watson@ncpublicschools.gov
Office Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Text anytime between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
NCVPS Psychology
CITATIONS
Today's Assignments (Book Icon Orange, David Peters, Wikpedia Education Program Case Studies.pdf, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
Teacher Talk (Red Silhouette - Teacher, Ben from Openclipart, Openclipart, Creative Commons CCO 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license)
Shout Out (callout-quote-bull-speaking-bubble, Pixabay, Pixabay, CCO Public Domain license)
Important Dates This Week (Blank Calendar Page Icon, Jackaranga, Jackaranga, GNU Free Documentation License)
Contact Me (Smart phone mobile phone, Pixabay, Pizabay, CCO Public Domain)