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Mr. Nelson

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Psychology

Abnormal Psychology Assignment Packet

*unlike last marking period, I’m including all of the assignments for this unit in one packet, which will also be available on the class website,

nelsonspsychology.

1. Stress: Portrait of a Killer (National Geographic video)

2. A Beautiful Mind/’Far From the Tree’ – Schizophrenia (reading and film assignment)

3. Mentally Ill Fairy Tale (writing assignment about disorders)

4. Shutter Island (film assignment)

5. *Extra Credit: Serial Killer Project

Mr. Nelson - Psychology

nelsonsaphumangeography@

Extra Credit (Stress)



*The entire video is available on YouTube (link above)

Answer the following questions regarding the documentary we viewed parts of in class: Stress- Portrait of a Killer

1. The title of this documentary is revealing – describe why you think it refers to stress as a ‘killer’?

2. What are the different physical effects that stress is shown to have on the human body?

3. What are some of the differences between acute and chronic stress?

4. Why does the scientist in the documentary study Baboon populations to learn about stress in human beings?

5. How does stress relate (in both human and baboon populations) to one’s place in the social hierarchy? In other words, your place in society – if you’re the boss vs if you’re the employee (or in animal examples, the alpha male vs. an ordinary male)

6. Describe some of the cognitive impacts (the way people think) that stress can have on people:

6.) In the modern world, in what ways can stress be positive, and in what ways can it negative? Describe the differences

Mr. Nelson - Psychology of Schizophrenia/A Beautiful Mind Assignment

nelsonsaphumangeography@ (please email the assignment here, by midnight of the due date. Late assignments will not be graded)

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Task: After (or during) the viewing of the film “A Beautiful Mind”, based on the life experiences of Dr. John Nash, AND after reviewing our notes on Intelligence and Schizophrenia (on the website, nelsonspsychology. ), address the following questions in NO LESS THAN 2 pages (anything less than this will just get an automatic ½ credit grade without even being read, possibly less).

Part 1: Schizophrenia (Reading)

1. The first line of Solomon’s excerpt reads, “The betrayal of schizophrenia is its irrational juxtaposition of things that vanish and things that don’t.” – in the remainder of the paragraph, what are some of the changes in people with Schizophrenia that are described?

2. Solomon writes that Schizophrenia is a degenerative disorder (it gets worse over time), and that it ‘…unfolds through five predictable stages.’ – describe these stages (DO NOT JUST RECOPY THE PARAGRAPH)

3. Solomon writes that, “Schizophrenia clearly runs in families…” – how does he offer evidence that this is true? Describe.

Part 2: A Beautiful Mind (film)

1. Describe some of the general characteristics of schizophrenia (you can use your notes from the PowerPoint, as well as the reading that accompanied the original assignment)

2. Specific to the delusions and hallucinations that are 2 of the primary characteristics of Schizophrenia, describe, in detail some of the delusions (false beliefs – the types of them are listed in the notes) and Hallucinations (seeing and/or hearing stimuli that isn’t there in reality) experience by Nash throughout the film. *Be specific and detailed here – don’t just write “He saw this and it wasn’t there”!

3. Describe the 4 primary types of Schizophrenia (in notes) and tell me which you think Nash shows symptoms of, and why.

4. What are some general treatments that you see enacted for Nash’s Schizophrenia from the time he is diagnosed onward? Describe them in detail, based on what you see in the film.

5. There is a scene in the film (towards the end) where Nash believes that he can simply use his mind to reason his way out of his false beliefs/hallucinations, to which his psychologist tells him that the problem is in his mind, to begin with. What is meant by this statement, and how does Schizophrenia specifically impact the brain. *Use the reading from the previous assignment for this!

Excerpt From: Andrew Solomon’s “Far From the Tree.”

This is the reading to accompany “A Beautiful Mind” film assignment

*This is the reading for Part I of the assignment

“The betrayal of schizophrenia is its irrational juxtaposition of things that vanish and things that don’t. Schizophrenia can take away the ability to connect to or love or trust another person, the full use of rational intelligence, the capacity to function in any professional context, the basic faculty of physical self-care, and large areas of self-awareness and analytic clarity. Most famously, the schizophrenic disappears into an alternative world of voices that he erroneously perceives to be external; these internally generated relationships become far more real and important than any interaction with the authentically outside world. The voices are usually cruel and often encourage bizarre and inappropriate behavior. The person who hears them is commonly terrified and almost always paranoid. Sometimes, the hallucinations are visual and olfactory as well and make a world full of actual threats into a writhing hell of inescapable terrorization. Though many schizophrenics become curiously attached to their delusions, the fading of the non-delusional world puts them in loneliness beyond all reckoning, a fixed residence on a noxious private planet they can never leave, and where they can receive no visitors. Schizophrenia is broadly categorized as having positive symptoms—the presence of psychotic hallucinations—and negative and cognitive symptoms—psychic disorganization, absence of motivation, blunted affect, loss of language (called alogia), withdrawal, compromised memory, and general decrease in functionality. One expert described it to me as “autism plus délusions,” which is an inadequate but not unilluminating description.

Though most people experience schizophrenia as just such a sudden cleaving, it appears in fact to be a developmental disorder that is inscribed in the brain even before birth. It is degenerative, unlike autism, which, albeit pervasive and persistent, does not generally become increasingly debilitating over time. There is a rare syndrome of schizophrenia in preadolescence and childhood. The usual course for the condition, however, is that it unfolds through five predictable stages. It is asymptomatic until puberty in the premorbid phase, though recent research points to delays in walking and talking, more isolated play, poor school performance, social anxiety, and poor verbal short-term memory. This is followed by a prodromal phase, which lasts for four years on average, in which positive symptoms begin gradually to appear. The adolescent or young adult in this phase experiences changes in cognition, perception, volition, and motor function; has strange thoughts flash across his mind; struggles to understand whether illogical beliefs are true; and becomes suspicious and wary. Some people who will develop schizophrenia seem curiously detached from the real world even in childhood and gradually slip into psychosis. Most appear to have a dramatic break, sometimes in reaction to trauma and sometimes with no obvious trigger, in which they are suddenly transformed beyond recognition. This marks entry into the psychotic phase, with the onset of hallucinations or bizarre delusions, including delusions of control, thought insertion, thought broadcasting, and thought withdrawal. This usually occurs between ages fifteen and thirty and lasts for about two years.

No one has yet been able to discover what maturational event triggers psychosis. There are three primary possibilities. One is that the teenage rush of hormones changes gene expression in the brain. The second is that myelination, the adolescent process in which the brain wraps neuronal cables in a sheath so that they become maximally functional, goes wrong. The third is that synaptic elimination, or pruning, malfunctions. During normal brain development in infancy, new cells migrate within the brain, position themselves, and establish synaptic connections. An excess of these connections is made; during adolescence, only those that have been strengthened through repetition—that appear useful in the particular person—become enduring neural structures. An unhealthy brain may prune too much, not enough, or in the wrong places.

Schizophrenia clearly runs in families; the most reliable predictor of developing the condition is having a first-degree relative who has it. But most who develop schizophrenia don’t have such a relative. “Fact one: most schizophrenics do not have a schizophrenic parent,” Deborah Levy, a practicing psychologist and a professor at Harvard, said. “Fact two: the incidence of schizophrenia is not decreasing, and in some places it is actually increasing. Fact three: schizophrenics have a very low reproductive rate. So how do we account for the persistence of the genes that give rise to it? One possible explanation is that most carriers and transmitters of schizophrenia genes are not schizophrenic.” Identical twins show only a slightly higher than 50 percent concordance rate—the shared vulnerability is enormous, but the consequences of that vulnerability are by no means predestined. The children of the well twin and those of the ill twin are at the same escalated risk for the disease.

So a person can have the susceptibility genes, not express them as schizophrenia, then transmit them to his or her children, who may develop schizophrenia. Nobody knows what protects some gene carriers from the condition. One mechanism of psychosis is an imbalance in neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine. Schizophrenic brains show reduced volume in the frontal cortex and hippocampus, and dysregulation of the striatum. Genetics most likely mix with environment to cause a shift in biochemistry, which then has a degenerative effect on brain structures. New work suggests that a genetic vulnerability may be activated by a parasite.

The brain is composed of grey matter, made of cell bodies; white matter, the axons that connect the cell bodies and create synapses; and ventricles, fluid-containing spaces that allow for circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid. When you lose brain tissue, you have bigger ventricles, and a cardinal feature of schizophrenia is enlargement of the lateral ventricles. While autism is characterized by an overabundance of synaptic connectivity, schizophrenia is marked by a dearth of it. People with schizophrenia also have fewer dendritic spines, which form synapses, and fewer interneurons, a type of brain cell that regulates mental activity. The positive symptoms of schizophrenia appear to be tied to abnormalities in the temporal lobe, where auditory and emotional perception is located. The negative symptoms appear to be tied to damage to the frontal and prefrontal lobes, where cognition and attention are based.”

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Assignment: Mentally Fractured Fairy Tales Storybook

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For this project you will show me what you have learned about the different types of disorders in abnormal psychology by creating your own ‘fairy tale’ with mentally ill characters. Directions:

1. Select a popular (or your favorite) childhood fairy tale (Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, etc.)

2. Choose 3 or more of the characters from the story

3. Retell the story in your own words; however, for each of the 3 or more characters you choose, pretend that each has a different psychological disorder that you learned about in class. The story should be entertaining, but should also show me that you understand the characteristics of each disorder you describe. So, if Goldilocks is Schizophrenic, she should be hearing voices and speaking in a disorganized manner, etc.

*Please see your notes; there are too many types of disorders and individual disorders to list here!

Mr. Nelson – Psychology

Website: nelsonspsychology.

Email: nelsonsaphumangeography@

Shutter Island (film assignment)

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Directions *after the viewing of the film Shutter Island:

• Open the PowerPoint titled “ABNORMAL PSYCH” on the class website (see address at top of page)

• Scroll down to the topic “HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY TREATMENTS OF THE MENTALL ILL.”

• Using information from the PowerPoint (don’t’ copy word for word) AND the film Shutter Island, address the following questions in no less than 2 typewritten, double-spaced pages:

Questions: As always, these are guiding questions, but they need to be addressed fully

1. The PowerPoint describes how the treatment of mentally ill people has gone through several phases -describe some of these changes over time including

• Actual medical/psychological treatments used (e.g., lobotomy)

• Our perception (how people view) of the mentally ill

2. In the last sequence of the film, from when ‘Teddy’ reaches the lighthouse and is confronted by Dr. Cawley, we find out exactly what is going on on Shutter Island. Describe and explain the psychological social experiment that Dr. Cawley was running with Teddy (including its purpose).

3. Throughout the film you see how 2 major characters (Teddy Daniels, played by Leonardo DiCaprio & Dr. Cawley, played by Ben Kingsley) think very differently about how the mentally ill people on Shutter Island should be treated. Describe the differences in their perspectives.

4. The film addresses a particular set of disorders known as “Dissociative Disorders” – describe what dissociative disorders are (use the PowerPoint, just scroll down further to a slide of the same name), and describe how Teddy exhibits dissociate traits including:

• What purpose do the dream sequences in the film serve? Why do you think these images come through only when he is dreaming?

• What are Teddy’s major delusions?

• Why do you think he takes on the persona of “Teddy Daniels” – why did he become this character?

• How do the other characters in the film (all of them, really) try to snap Teddy out of his fantasies?

5. In the scene where Teddy the ‘real’ Rachel Soldono, she discusses a lot about the perception and treatment of the mentally ill – describe some of her points.

Due Date:

Length: MINIMUM 2 pages, typed, double spaced –emailed to the address above by midnight of the agreed upon due date.

EXTRA CREDIT OPTIONS

ANYTING PAST THIS PAGE IS EXTRA CREDIT – YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT

Mr. Nelson

Psychology

Serial Killer Project – Extra Credit

For this project, you are going to delve into the world of a specific serial killer. Serial killers tend to be white, heterosexual males in their twenties and thirties who are sexually dysfunctional and have low self-esteem. Their methodical rampages are almost always sexual in nature. Their killings are usually part of an elaborate fantasy that builds to a climax at the moment of their murderous outburst. Serial killers generally murder strangers with cooling off periods between each crime. Many enjoy cannibalism, necrophilia and keep trophy-like body parts as mementos of their work. Serial killers are sadistic in nature. Some return to crime scenes or gravesites of their victims to fantasize about their deeds. Many like to insert themselves in the investigation of their crimes and some enjoy taunting authorities with letters or carefully placed pieces of evidence.

Serial killers tend to prey on women and children of their same race. Prostitutes, drifters and hitchhikers are their victims of choice. Some homosexual killers enjoy hunting young boys and gay men. Female serial killers tend to be "black widows" that kill a succession of husbands, lovers, or other family members. They can also be nurses or other medical professionals who become self-appointed "angels of death" murdering babies, elderly, or the desperately ill in a misguided effort to relieve their suffering. Most serial killers grew up in violent households. As youngsters they enjoyed torturing animals, setting fires and were chronic bed-wetters. As adults, many serial killers have some type of brain damage and are addicted to alcohol and/or drugs.

Project Overview

You will research the historical attributes of a specific serial killer

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1. The Research: Select one serial killer of your choosing (feel free to Google this)

Research specific questions about your serial killer:

a.) What was their childhood like? Friends, schooling, family relationships?

b.) Were there any precursors? Did childhood behavior reflect problems?

c.) What was their adult life like? Did they finish high school/college?

d.) Did they marry? Have children? Were they loners? Type of job?

e.) Were they ever diagnosed with a mental disorder? Did they ever receive treatment?

What type of treatment, length?

f.) What was the nature of their crimes? What was the time span for their crimes? How many victims?

g.) What was their behavior like when they were caught?

h.) Were they found capable to withstand trial?

i.) What were they charged with and was the sentence?

j.) Are they still alive? Did they die differently than their sentence? Were they sentenced to death and executed in prison?

k.) Were they ever depicted in film – how did the film depiction differ from the reality of their crimes

Length: 2 pages, typed, double spaced.

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