Things Fall Apart Essay -- essays research papers

Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. New York, New York Copyright 1959 Author Biography Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, or Chinua Achebe, was born November 16, 1930, in Ogidi, Nigeria. His parents were Janet N. Achebe, and Isaiah Okafo, a teacher in a missionary school. Mr. Achebe was educated at the University College of Ibadan, but also attended Government College in 1944. He wrote his first novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1958. During the Biafran War, he was in the Biafran government service. After the war, Mr. Achebe taught at several universities, both in Nigeria and in the United States. In 1967 he cofounded a publishing company with a fellow author, Christopher Okigbo. Mr. Achebe’s later works include No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God, and Anthills of the Savannah. A serious car accident left Mr. Achebe paralyzed from the waist down in 1990. The majority of his novels deal with Africans struggle to free themselves from European colonial and political influences, due to his experiences in the Biafran War and the Nigerian Civil War. Main Characters Okonkwo- Okonkwo is the main character in the novel. He is a distinguished man in the clan, and has been since a young age, when he established himself as a skilled wrestler. He had a very lazy father, and this was a source of much embarrassment to him, so to overcome this, he is an overbearing husband, and father. He feels that he always has to prove that he is different than his father, which is eventually his downfall. Unoka- Unoka is Okonkwo’s father. He was a very lazy man and always an embarrassment to his family, especially his son. He is the reason that Okonkwo is so scared of failing. Nwoye- Nwoye is Okonkwo’s son, and he is lazy and complacent, like his grandfather. Okonkwo’s way of changing this is to be especially hard on him, which drives him further away, eventually to join the missionaries. Ezinma- Ezinma is Okonkwo’s daughter, and he is proud of her, even though he won’t show this because he thinks that it is a weakness. She is smart and pretty. Okonkwo wishes that she were a boy so that he could pass on his knowledge and fortune to her. Mr. Brown- Mr. Brown is the first missionary to arrive in Umuofia. He is nice enough to the clan, so they decide to let him stay, but soon enough he brings others, both from the clan and from outside, into the c... ...alk to you.† This is an important excerpt from the book because it shows how the natives tried to negotiate with the white men peacefully. All they wanted was for the clan to return to the way it was before the white men came, and they even agreed to let the white men stay and practice their religion as long as they didn’t bother anyone. But the Christians had to have everything, so there was a conflict. 5.Obierika is talking. Chapter Twenty Five Obierika, who had been gazing steadily at his friend’s dangling body, turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: â€Å" That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog†¦.† He could not say anymore. His voice trembled and choked his words. This quote is significant because it shows the falling apart of the clan as a whole. Okonkwo was a one of the strongest men in Umuofia, both in physical strength and mental determination. His taking his own life is a sign that the natives are losing the battle against the stronger white men. If he is not strong enough to endure the white men, than it is obvious that no one else in Umuofia will last much longer.

Importance Of Dream in Black Boy by Richard Wright :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author of the story â€Å"Black boy†, Richard Wright, expressed the theme, the importance of dream by making readers relate to the situation in â€Å"Black Boy†. â€Å"Black Boy† is about this little boy who writes a story and the story’s title causes this uproar because it has the word hell in it. â€Å" The Voodoo on hell’s half acre† is the title of the story. The theme is importance of dream, and this theme relates to the story because the main character had a dream. Stayed with that dream, and he didn’t let what others said about him bother him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theme importance of a dream relates to â€Å"Black Boy† because the boy decided to go for his dream. His dream was to become a writer, as seen on page 431, the narrator expressed that the boy woke up one day wanting to be a writer, and he then picked up his composition book and he wrote the story. He showed a way on how go with that dream and he had also had the courage to stay with that dream.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also, The character had stayed with his dream; this is shown on pages 432-434. He had put so much time into that story that he took it to the editor himself. Once the editor got it he wanted a response immediately. That shows that he stuck with his dream, he wanted an immediate response from the editor. After that he wanted to know what was he going to do with the story. The main character had a dream, and he didn’t care what others said.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lastly, the main character in the story â€Å"Black boy† didn’t care what people said about his 3part story. He even was hurt by his own grandmother, (as seen on pages 432-

The Act of Valor

The Act of Valor Today’s society consists of a diverse human race that shares a common goal, to live life to its fullest potential. In the film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, the main character, Frodo, is set out on a quest to destroy the ring that has long acquired the presence of evil. On his quest to destroy the ring, he encounters many challenges. His challenges consists of keeping the ring safe from the evil ones who want it back, making sure the ring gets to the destination, and keeping his life safe from harm.Along his journey, he is joined by a couple of his friends, all of which he must learn to trust, in order to destroy the rings that possesses evil. They are faced with the challenges to keep safe from Saruman and his orcs, the black riders, and Sauron’s soul. Throughout his journey, his qualities of a hero show. He owns the qualities of resilience, determination, courage, trust, and heroism. Without the qualities he possesses, it would have been an impossible task to complete. Frodo faces many challenges as he tries to destroy the ring.Those who seek to retrieve the ring are out to murder him. Without the help of his friends and those who care for him, he would not have stayed alive. Through his courage and determination, he shows that he can be trusted to be the one that destroys the ring. He is equipped with many qualities that help him complete the task. His optimism brought the strength he needed to succeed. As individuals in today’s society, we face many challenges in our lives. Yes, challenges can bring us down, but it also makes us stronger.Some of us are faced with challenges such as being able to survive, fighting cancer, being the first to go to college, being able to pay for bills, etc. Nevertheless, each of us encounters challenges that help shape and develop our lives. Challenges are not meant to kill anyone, but instead they are meant for people to reach their full potential in being able to f ind the answers and strength to be able to overcome the challenges we face. Each of us is born for a reason. It is impossible to tell what out fate is, but as time goes by, we start to find out just what our mission on Earth is.Frodo possesses the qualities of a Hero Archetype. Being a determined, resilient, trustworthy, and courageous individual, he is one that pleases everybody. Frodo never quit with being able to destroy the ring. Although he faced many challenges along the way, he managed to stay strong. He witnessed Gandalf’s death, he was nearly dead, and he had to leave his home to complete the task, but despite all that he encountered along the way, he managed to be determined. There were many negative effects on Frodo, but he maintained his composure and stayed optimistic until the end.Each of us has been knocked down multiple times by school, work, or simply the stress that we all face. Being knocked down is for us to realize what we need to do to get back up. Deter mination is the key to withstanding any negative effects on life. If we have a positive outlook on life and how our future will be, we can start to be heroes of our own lives. Frodo’s goal was to destroy the ring. Facing the challenges that follows as he is on his journey may impact him. By being determined, his goal to protecting the ring from the evil is reached.In our lives, we have many goals in life that we want to reach. We make mistakes here and there, but we learn from them and grow stronger. By being determined and positive, we can make sure our goals are reached. During Frodo’s journey, his friends and individuals who help protect him from those that want to retrieve the ring from him accompany him. They guide him in his journey to find his way safely. They are there to protect him from the evil that surrounds him. During our lives, we befriend many individuals who help us with our future.These friends of ours, are people we trust, turn to when they are in ne ed, or simply to have a sense of security. Just like Fordo being accompanied by his friends, we have friends we turn to when we need them. Frodo’s task is to protect the ring from the evil black riders that want it back. As he is on his journey, he makes many decisions that help him and his friends stay alive. The critical decision making that he makes throughout the film are vital in order to keep the ring in his possession, as well as stay alive.We are faced with making decisions that are crucial to our future. Without making the best decision, we cannot be successful in our lives. Frodo’s decision making made it possible for him to succeed. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, is not just a film, but it also shows its comparison to today’s society. Frodo faces many challenges while he is set out on his quest to destroy the ring. Each of us, face challenges in our life that make it difficult for us to succeed, but by working extra hard, we can m anage to overcome any challenge.Also, Frodo makes vital decisions that help with the safety and survival of Frodo and the group of followers. We face many points in our lives that consist of valuable decision-making. Those who want to protect him, as well as his friends accompany Frodo. During our lifetime, we befriend many people who become treasures to our hearts. Being able to have people we can turn to and trust is truly amazing. The film shows many relations between reality and how the movie is portrayed. As Frodo is on his journey to destroying the ring, he shows great heroism that is noticed by many.

Abnormal Psychology and Therapy Essay

Psychology can be described as examination of ideas, intuitive feeling, and the way someone thinks and uses his or her wits be it physical, mental, or cognitive. Abnormal psychology is ideas or conduct causing the individual troubles. The deficiency may be sadness, potential fight, or simply uncomfortableness in the individuals daily life. Mental disorders or mental disease are practices not in general associated with a person. A number of these disorders can harm others or the one who is battling with the disorder. There are a number of therapies for these disorders and are different in each case. A closer look and contrast of normal and abnormal psychology is need along with mental disturbance and mental disease from a psychology position polishing off by way of a look at different therapies useful for normal and abnormal psychology. Abnormal and Normal Psychology are likewise, also the two look into behaviors, and because of individuals different cultures and beliefs some behaviors are normal. Then again oftentimes they could be different for the behavior is not really typical or something out the ordinary. To know the difference between normal and abnormal psychology helps with acknowledging mental disturbance from a psychological perspective. To help illustrate our research on abnormal psychology, this section will compare and contrast normal and abnormal psychology. Normal psychology focuses on the different ways different people see life and want to live life, rather than relying on generalizations made about whole populations of people. See more:  Mark Twain’s Humorous Satire in Running for Governor Essay These generalizations can often do harm because without proper consideration they can often imply norm of behavior inimical to a person’s existence. A normal psychology in this way doesn’t imply a perfect individual existence, nor that there aren’t any pathologies. Abnormal-is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought, which may or may not be understood as precipitating a mental disorder. The field of abnormal psychology identifies multiple causes for different conditions, employing diverse theories from the general field of psychology and elsewhere, and much still hinges on what exactly is meant by â€Å"abnormal†. Mental disorders and mental illnesses This next section will examine mental disorders and mental illnesses from the perspective of psychology. Adjustment disorders of mental disorders is related to an identifiable source of stress that causes significant emotional and behavioral symptoms. Anxiety disorders are those that are characterized by excessive and abnormal fear, worry and anxiety. In one recent survey published in the Archives of General Psychology 1, it was estimated that as many as 18% of American adults suffer from at least one anxiety disorder. Cognitive disorders are psychological disorders that involve cognitive abilities such as memory, problem solving and perception. Some anxiety disorders, mood disorders and psychotic disorders are classified as cognitive disorders. Alzheimer’s disease †¢Delirium †¢Dementia †¢Amnesia Therapies Psychotherapy is a general term that is used to describe the process of treating psychological disorders and mental distress. During this process, a trained psychotherapist helps the client tackle a specific or general problem such as a particular mental illness or a source of life stress. Depending on the approach used by the therapist, a wide range of techniques and strategies can be used. However, almost all types of psychotherapy involve developing a therapeutic relationship, communicating and creating a dialogue and working to overcome problematic thoughts or behaviors. †¢Psychoanalytic: An approach to therapy that involved delving into a patient thoughts and past experiences to seek out unconscious desires or fantasies. Cognitive-behavioral: A type of psychotherapy that involves cognitive and behavioral techniques to change negative thoughts and maladaptive behaviors. Humanistic: A form of therapy that focuses on helping people maximize their potential. Medical therapy for mental disturbance and sicknesses change between each philosophical system. The earlier style of psychotherapy were the psychodynamic therapies. Psychodynamic therapy tries to change personality practices through perceptiveness and the therapist-patient relationship (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Inside this subdivision of therapy dwell the proficiencies of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy. These particular therapies ask the patient to lie on a sofa or sit opposite with a therapist and talk about what one thinks of, a technique known as free association. The two most adept humanistic therapies are Gestalt therapy and the client centered therapy. Gestalt therapy is somewhat like psychodynamic psychotherapy. The most commonly known technique of the therapy is the empty chair technique. Through this method the patient exercises emotional expression by visualizing that the individual him or her wants to converse with is in the chair. The second humanistic therapy is the client centered therapy. Through this technique the therapist exhibits an position of full credence for the patient by listening emphatically. Therapeutic change occurs as the patient hears his or her own thoughts or feelings reflected by the nonjudgmental listener. Conclusion There are a number of therapies for these disorders and are different in each case. Abnormal and Normal Psychology are likewise, also the two look into behaviors, and because of individuals different cultures and beliefs, some behaviors are normal. Lastly, normal and abnormal look into behavior, this behavior may be causing the individual troubles, confrontation, or simply uncomfortableness in daily life. Mental disorders including schizophrenia and Obsessive compulsive disorder can harm others or the individual battling with them. Mental illnesses comprise of perturbations of mentation, experience, and emotion cause operative disability making it very hard to nurture relationships, keep a job, and can lead to suicide. Treatment will change with regards to the form of disorder a individual has and the individuals commitment to look for assistance with a therapist. References Kowalski, R., & Westen, D. (2009). Psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Nami ( National Alliance on Mental Illnesses, http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Mental_Illnesses/Depression/Mental_Illnesses_What_is_Depression.htm retrieved December 01, 2012. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-illness/ retrieved December 01, 2012. www.uidaho.edu/psych101/abnormal6.pdf. Retrieved December 02, 2012 Wood, S. E., & Wood, E. R. The World of Psychology. Boston, MA: A Pearson Education Company. Page 538 Abnormal Psychology and Therapy Essay Teresa Neal Abnormal Psychology and Therapy Paper In a world where nothing seems to be considered normal anymore, psychology tries to draw the line between what it is and what is not. The different schools of thought have their own perspective on the definition, origin, and treatment of abnormal behavior and this paper will cover a few, trying to make it possible to have a clear difference between normal and abnormal psychology. Normal and Abnormal Psychology Specifically defining behavior as normal or abnormal is a contentious issue in abnormal psychology. To try to distinguish between normal psychology and abnormal psychology, psychologists use three criteria; whatever is infrequent, maladaptive, and deviant from the cultural norm, falls under the category of abnormal behavior (Spoor, 1999). Mental health, also known as normal psychology, and mental illnesses and disorders, also known as abnormal psychology, have been defined in many ways, but should always be viewed in the context of ethnocultural factors and influence because what is considered normal in some environments may be considered abnormal in others. A person with a normal behavior and mental processes has the ability to adapt and cope with adversity, has a correct perception of reality, accepts self, avoids harm, and experiences continual psychological growth and development (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Abnormal psychology, on the other hand, is characterized by unusual patterns that some people might show in their behavior, thought process, and expression of emotion, patterns that are associated with distress or disability and can cause harm and an unreasonable response to a particular situation. Mental Disorders Daily functions such as the ability to think, read, remember, plan, and understand rely on an individuals cognitive skills (Medalia & Revheim, 2002). Cognitive disorders are disorders of thinking or memory that signify an evident change from the personal former level of functioning. In certain situations the exact origin of the disorder can be identified, other cases the cause is unclear. Even though these disorders are biologically founded, the environment and psychological factors play significant roles in shaping the effect and extent of disabling symptoms in addition to the personal capacity to deal with them. (Nevid, et a. 2008). The most common cognitive disorders are amnestic, delirium, and dementia disorders. Amnestic disorders are a cognitive impairment relating a failure to develop new memories and the failure to remember old memories. Delirium is a severe, and reversible state of mental disorder, which involves confusion, and the lack of ability to focus on information or the surrounding environment. Individuals that suffer from delirium may suffer frightening hallucinations, particularly visual hallucinations. The loss of memory and understanding usually associated with behavior and personality changes describes dementia disorders. Different forms of dementia exist, depending on the cause; therefore; some types of dementia may be reversed with treatment. For example; those cases that are caused by brain tumors. Dementia caused by the disease Alzheimer’s cannot be reversed (Nevid, et al. 2008). On a personal note; these patients are difficult, they have to watch be continually as they can do harm to themselves and others. Mental Illnesses Although diagnoses of ADHD are based on behavioral symptoms of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity, evidence suggests that children with ADHD also show important cognitive weaknesses in areas that are necessary to daily functioning at home work and school. Particularly research studies indicate that children with ADHD often have problems in; Executive functions (for example, planning a project, keeping attentive to a task, ignoring irrelevant information) Working memory (which is often considered an executive function) speed of information processing (children with ADHD process information more slowly than their peers) Many of these cognitive processes are often interrelated. For example problems in working memory can negatively affect other executive functions, or slow processing speed may lower an individual’s ability to recall and organize information. ttp://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/15499890 From the cognitive perspective, theorists suggest that a person diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorders suffer from impaired information-processing. The impairment is present in defined categories and boundaries that are maladaptive and result in an over-structuring of input but there is no evidence to show that this is the c ause, rather than a consequence of OCD symptoms. Another cognitive theory suggests that OCD â€Å"fear structures† are especially various and a large number of stimuli can become associated with threat or danger. Passive avoidance of such a large number of stimulus associations can be extremely difficult and compulsions become necessary for the individual to feel safe. Although cognitive theories do provide insight into the outward aspect of OCD, they fail to clearly define how and why OCD and this cognitive impairment can arise. Similarities between the Schools of Thought There are quite a few similarities between the different schools of thought in treating mental disorders. All but the Psychodynamic therapies are short term usually lasting a year or less and most all therapies have the client or patient facing the therapist and are conversational. All therapies also look to help the client or patient change behaviors or thought patterns that are causing problems of one kind or another. Cognitive-Behavioral therapies help patients with behavior and cognitive problems. The therapist helps the patient focus on the problematic behavior and helps him or her find ways in which to address these behaviors and learn skills to change them. These therapies use a variety of techniques to help patients with phobias, social skills, accomplishing goals, anxiety disorders, and the like. Psychodynamic therapies both examine the patient’s thought patterns to get to the bottom of the undesired behavior or emotional responses. Humanistic therapies including Gestalt and Client-Centered therapies focus on the patient’s feelings and to experience themselves as they really are. Family, Marital, and Group therapies use group communication either one- on-one or in a group to help with problematic relationships and behaviors. Self-help groups are another type of group therapy that aims to help people either cope with undesired behavior, loss of a loved one, addictions, and disease. [ (Kowalski, 2009) ]The common thread here with most therapies, the approach is a warm relationship with the therapist who shows empathy for the patient or client and giving him or her hope or efficacy in coping with their problem[ (Kowalski, 2009) ] Differences between the Schools of Thought While each school of thought has common factors in treatment methods, each school has developed different ways of addressing psychological problem. For instance, Psychodynamic therapies rely on two principles: the role of insight and the role of the therapist-patient relationship (Kowalski & Western, 2009). It is believed that in order for therapeutic change to occur, a person must understand his or her own psychological processes. When in therapy it is one on one; the patient is either face to face with the therapist or lying on a couch with the therapist sitting behind them. Psychodynamic therapy emphasizes the notion that the patients problems stemmed from childhood. These problems follow the child into adulthood causing a conflict within new relationships. This transfer of emotion from past experiences is called transference, one of the techniques psychotherapies rely on. The two main treatments, psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy, are a long term process that focuses on developing awareness of these unconscious feelings. Psychodynamic therapy, like psychoanalysis, consists of three days a week over a long period of time. It is considered that patients who meet at least twice weekly benefit more than those who do not. Unlike psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on the person’s life as it is now; the current and conscious thought patterns and behavior. They are not concerned with exploring and altering underlying personality patterns or unconscious processes (Kowalski & Western,  2009). The focus is on the present feelings and not the childhood experiences. Cognitive-based therapies are relatively short term and direct. Specific recommendations are made to bring about change in behavior. The sessions are well structured with questioning, and the patient usually is sent home with an assignment (Mote, 2011). While most cognitive behavioral techniques try to alter behavior, such as classical conditioning, cognitive therapy focuses on changing dysfunctional cognitions (Kowalski & Western, 2009). These behaviors are automatic, and not unconscious. Therapy is a process of identifying and altering these automatic thoughts. Cognitive therapy techniques such as rational-emotional behavior therapy recognize the behaviors and works to mediate between the activating conditions and the emotional reactions. As each of the other therapies are more therapist-patient, Humanistic therapies focus on the world of the patient and qualities that make him or her unique (Mote, 2011). The therapy techniques that are used, Gestalt therapy and Roger’s client centered therapy, are primarily based on becoming aware of one’s own emotions, values, and motivations to bring about change. With group therapy, the individuals are concentrated on the individual dynamics and their reactions in the group process. Family therapy is centered on the structure of the family, and the main roots of conflict in family interaction.

History of Nature and Nurture Essay

Abstract Nature vs. nurture has been discussed by philosophers in the past and by scientists most recently. Philosophers such as Plato argued that all knowledge was inherited through your parent and when you were told something you didn’t learn it you were just reminded of it. Aristotle however argued that all humans were born with a blank slate and built on it with influence from there environment. In the 1700’s the empiricists and the internalists took over the argument. They fought through letters explaining there point of views and denouncing the others. This leads to Pavlov coming up with the idea of behaviorism in the early 1900? s. Behaviorism became the new wave of Psychology and influenced a lean towards the nurture side. It was not effectively argued against until 1928 when Watson published his book. This opened up the floodgates for environmental influences studies. Soon the idea of nurture was the popular excuse for behavior. Studies using animals were the most popular was in which scientists used to prove a theory, or disprove a theory. The newest studies use human twins to prove nature vs. nurture. An age-old question has been asked for generations before us. What is the reasons behind the development of human behavior? There have been many theories formulated to explain why humans behave the way they do. Explanations vary from demonology to magnetic fluids controlling people’s behaviors. Over time, two theories have remained popular in academic fields such as philosophy and psychology. The surviving theories for behavior stem from physiological and sociological explanations. However, the two explanations have not always been compatible with each other. The famous nature vs. nurture debate over human behavior resulted from conflicting views between proponents of the physiological (nature) and sociological (nurture) explanations. Throughout history, research has swayed popularity back and forth between the theories. Yet, theorists have broken down the line separating nature and nurture. Today, people us both explanations in research to advance the knowledge of human behavior. Thousands of years before the field of psychology, philosophers pondered on human behavior. As early as 350 BC, such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle tried to understand behavior. The question of nature or nurture as the primary drive can be traced to these times. Plato believed behavior and knowledge was due to innate factors. Author Fiona Cowie states, â€Å"The claim that the character of our mental furniture is to a large extent internally rather than environmentally determined found its first substantive defense in the works of Plato†¦ † (Cowie, 1999, p. 3). Plato theorized, and Descartes later agreed, that all knowledge is present at birth. Plato also believed that the environment played a part in human processes, but he thought it had an unique role. He believed the environment did not teach people anything new, but its purpose was to remind people of information they already knew (Cowie, 1999). Although Plato’s views are not supported today, he laid the groundwork for other researchers to follow. On the other hand, philosopher Aristotle theorized a different idea about human behavior. He presented the idea that humans are born into the world with a â€Å"blank slate† and people’s behavior and thoughts are due to experience (Ashcraft, 1998). His tabula rasa explanation believed that the environment and experience were the important influences in human behavior. Unlike Plato, Aristotle hypothesized that humans were not born with knowledge, but they acquire it through experience (Ashcraft, 1998). Aristotle’s idea of the tabula rasa is not believed today. Nevertheless, his belief that the environment was a vital factor in behavior influenced many empiricists throughout history. During the late 1700s, the nature vs. nurture debate began to heat up between philosophers. Internalists (nature) and empiricists (nurture) wrote literature back and forth trying to prove their beliefs and disprove the other’s theories. Two philosophers, G. W. Leibniz and John Locke, were main representatives of their respected explanations. Leibniz promoted the internalism point of view. Cowie states, â€Å"†¦ Leibniz’s position on this issue is, of course, that the tabula is far from rasa: ? The soul inherently contains the sources of various notions and doctrines, which external objects merely rouse up†¦ ‘ † (Cowie, 1999, p. 7). Leibniz argued against Locke and other empiricists stated that â€Å"†¦ there is no way ideas which come into the mind from outside can be formed into beliefs and judgments without the operation of specific internal mechanisms† (Cowie, 1999, p. 17). At the same time, John Locke and his fellow philosophers campaigned for empiricism. Like Aristotle, the philosophers believed that humans’ thoughts and actions were determined not by innate factors, but by the their unique experiences (Ashcraft, 1998). Locke argued against the internalists by examining different human processes such as logic and reasoning. He would ask how it was possible to use logic and reasoning if people were born with all of the knowledge they would ever acquire (Cowie 1999, p. 19). The contrasting views of the two groups had begun the nature vs. nurture debate, which would linger in the fields of philosophy and psychology for decades. A point should be made that even though the interalists and empiricists felt strongly about their theories, the explanations were not entirely opposite of each other. Cowie explains, â€Å"? rhetoric aside, both empiricists and nativists are both internalist and externalists about the origin of what is in our minds†(Cowie, 1999, p. 17). Even Leibniz and Locke stated that the philosophies sometimes were only different by the choices of words they used to describe their theories. Leibniz once wrote that fundamentally their views were the same about the nature vs. nurture question (Cowie, 1999). Over the next couple hundred years, popularity was split between nature and nurture. However, in the early 1900s Ivan Pavlov accidentally discovered what eventually became labeled as behaviorism. Behaviorists believed that the environment was the greatest factor in shaping behavior. The theory quickly gained notoriety in psychology and swayed popularity to the nurture side. One of the leaders in behavioral research was John Watson, who is most recognized for his work in conditioning â€Å"Little Albert. † In 1928, Watson published a book that included his idea that infants were like clay. Watson stated that he could make an infant anything he desired by manipulating the environment (Barnet, 1998). Watson wrote, â€Å"Give me a dozen healthy infants†¦ and my own special world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one†¦ and train him to become any type of specialist†¦ â€Å"(Amsel, 1989, p. 24). In the 1960s, Skinner also became well known for his research in behaviorism. Most of his work dealt with behavior modification with animals (Amsel, 1989). Probably Skinner’s most famous research is when he conditioned pigeons to guide missiles (Modgil, 1987). However, Skinner, and others in his field, began to receive scrutiny for ignoring the biology of humans. Yet, Skinner responded by saying, â€Å"The objection to inner states is not that they do not exist, but that they are not relevant in a functional analysis† (Modgil, 1987, p. 228). From the 1920s to 1950s, behaviorism and nurturism dominated psychology. The domination did not go without any challenges, and it did not last forever. As early as 1929, behaviorism came under attack by psychologists who believed genes were the key to human behavior. To begin, Arnold Gesell questioned the environmental view of Watson. Author Myrtle McGraw states, â€Å"Gesell contended that there was nothing one could do through training young infants to accelerate their development; one simply had to wait until the cells of the nervous system ? ripened'†(McGraw, 1995, p. 264). The biological research continued to build against behaviorism, and its popularity began to decrease. In 1959, the final attack that swayed popularity to the nature side of development originated with Noam Chomsky and other psycholinguists. Chomsky attacked behaviorism’s scientific empiricism, especially dealing with the acquisition of language (Amsel, 1989). Ashcraft (1998) explains, â€Å"†¦ Chomsky argued not only that the behaviorist account of language was seriously wrong and misguided, but that behaviorism was unable in principle to provide useful scientific knowledge of language† (p. 22). In addition, research developments in physiology and new studies involving genetics, such as adoption studies, and studies on twins, popularized genetic influence over environmental. The most resent studies that have been done on twins and adoption use both identical and faternel twins. This consists in the studying of twins that were separated at birth and grew up in separate homes. Identical twins are 100% genetically similar and offer exact genetic replicas to study, where fraternal twins are the same as any other siblings at 50% similar (Vanderbilt pg6). Some of the final results of these studies show astonishing similarities between identical twins, yet others show little evidence of these similarities. With fraternal twins there is some similarities but none that are complete evidence of the nature theory. These studies fuel the pot for both the nature and the nurture ideas. The nature vs. nurture debate over the last forty years has reached an agreement that they both influence the development of human behavior. In the 1960s, researchers from both theories began to study the interaction of the genes and the environment (Devlin 1997). Dr. Ann Barnet explains, â€Å"Even in an unborn baby, genes and environment interact almost from the moment of conception†(Barnet, 1998, p. 10). The interaction between nature and nurture can be summed up by the statements of Dr. Fausto-Sterling and Dr. Evan Balaban. Fausto-Sterling states, â€Å"People want simple explanations for hard-core problems. If there was an antitestosterone drug that we could to inject to make young boys nice†¦ it would be easier and cheaper than transforming schools†¦ or whatever is at the heart of the problem† (Barnet, 1998). However, Balaban replies, â€Å"†¦ don’t hold your breath if you think looking for genes to help you understand violence. I would put my money on some clever environmental manipulations, because in the end you’re going there anyway† (Barnet, 1998, p. 206). The nature vs. nurture debate has produced many research advances in the area of human development. Even though evidence proves that there is an interaction between genes and the environment, people will continue to study the effects of each in development. In these future studies, more groundbreaking advances will be made to aid humans in better understanding human behavior. In the end, that is what both sides of the nature vs. nurture debate intended to accomplish. Bibliography Amsel, A. (1989). Behaviorism, Neobehaviorism, and Cognitivism in Learning Theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum,. Ashcraft, M. (1998). Fundamentals of Cognition. New York, NY: Longman. Barnet, A. (1998). The Youngest Minds. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Cowie, F. (1999). What’s Within?. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Devlin, B. (1997). Intelligence, Genes, and Success. New York, NY: Copernicus. Deutschmann, Linda B. (2002). Deviance and Social Control Third Edition. Scarborough, ON: Nelson Thomson Learning. Fujita, Frank. (2000). Nature vs. Nurture. 3/15/2002 from http://folk. uio. no/roffe/faq/node 11. html McGraw, M. (1995). Beyond Heredity and Environment. San Francisco, CA: Westview Press. Modgil, S. (1987). B. F. Skinner: Consensus and Controversy. New York, NY: Falmer Press. Myers, David G. (2001). Psychology Sixth Edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Broken Families and Social Problems: Effects and Coping styles Essay

Review of Literature The following paragraphs present the different ways of how teenagers in a broken family cope with their problems. It is first summarized after the divorce of the child’s parent followed by its effect on the child until it reaches its youth days. After the Divorce of the Child’s parents According to Green (2014), after divorce, children of all ages may experience deficits in emotional development and may seem tearful or depressed, and that can last several years after a child’s parents’ have separated. Some older children may show very little emotional reaction to their parents’ because they are actually bottling up their negative feelings inside. This emotional suppression makes it difficult for parents, teachers and therapists to help the process her feelings in developmentally appropriate ways. In school most of the children with broken families end up having poor academic and change of lifestyles. This poor academic progress can stem from a number of factors, including instability in the home environment, inadequate financial resources and inconsistent routines. Divorce affects children’s social relationships for several ways. Some children act out their distress about their broken family by acting aggressive and by engaging in bullying behaviour, some may experience anxiety and can make it difficult for them to join co-curricular activities, and develop a cynical attitude towards relationship, harbour feelings of mistrust towards both parents and potential romantic partners. At home their lifestyle will change, more chores, heavier responsibilities, and the older sibling may have to act a parental-type role when interacting with younger siblings. Children of divorce tend to fall in their academics and in their social life. Children are already affected when the divorce is on the process, not before. Effects on the child to its youth days Children are most likely to move or change school after divorce and can’t catch up with making friends and their academics. Most of the children who don’t know how to cope with their situation ended up having low self-esteem, anxiety, and trust issue. (Mann, 2011) And there is a higher suicide rate for children of divorce than for children of normal families. There is no  correlation found between the death of a parent and suicide of a child. The suicide seems to be triggered by being rejected by a parent. (Larson, 1990) In general, children of divorce feel emotionally unsafe as a child. Most of them don’t feel any attention and are 6 times more likely to feel alone as a child. When in need of comfort they do not go to their parents. (Marquardt, 2005), they are mostly unhappy, behave impulsive and irritable. They are socially withdrawn and as a result, they feel lonelier, insecure, anxious, and are less obedient to their divorced parents. (Wallerstein, 1991) The so called â€Å"sleeper effect† kicks in on children of divorce on a later age. Most Young boys tend to express their emotions and frustrations freely. Their emotions fade out. Young girls however, keep their emotions internally more often. They do not deal with them. Their emotions stay within and they surface when they mature. Usually, this occurs in a period in which they make essential decisions for their lives for many years to come. They are unconsciously influenced by the anxiety and fear resulting from the divorce of their parents long ago. (Wallerstein & Blakeslee, n.d.) If children are confused with different things going on in the family or at school and they have feelings of frustration, more disagreements may occur. Behaviour problems tend to increase for boys when a step-father is introduced to the family (Muzi, 2000). It is said that half of the world’s community is plagued by broken families and crime. Over the past few decades, marriage has become less important and that is the cause of the problem. Better parenting and stronger families is the key to mending the broken society. (Problem of the Broken Family, 2014) In single family homes, children develop greater autonomy where they tend to spend more time alone or with peers. It was found that sons are more likely to resist directives and rules, where as daughters typically have a closer relationship to their mother (Freeman, 2002). However, if mothers inappropriately discuss financial matters with their children or express a negative feeling toward their ex-spouse, it can decrease the desire for the child to spend time with the parent due to increase confusion about the whole situation (Bigner, 2002). Adjusting issues that children may have include academic problems, internalizing and externalizing problems, low self esteem, and early engagement in sexual activities (Anderson 1999) Current Situation It is said that half of the world’s community is plagued by broken families and crime. Over the past few decades, marriage has become less important and that is the cause of the problem. Better parenting and stronger families is the key to mending the broken society. (Problem of the Broken Family, 2014) Families are the core of society. When families fall apart, society falls into social and cultural decline. Ultimately the breakdown of the world’s family is at the root of nearly every other social problem and pathology. Most children grew up in intact, two-parent families. Today, children who do so are a minority. Illegitimacy, divorce, and other lifestyle choices have radically changed almost every family, and thus have changed the social landscape. â€Å"There is a mountain of scientific evidence showing that when families disintegrate, children often end up with intellectual, physical and emotional scars that persist for life.† He continues, â€Å"We talk about the drug crisis, the education crisis, and the problem of teen pregnancy and juvenile crime. But all these ills trace back predominantly to one source: broken families. (Zinsmeister, n.d.) Broken homes and broken hearts are not only the reason for so many social problems. They are also the reason for the incumbent economic difficulties we face as a culture. The moral foundation of society erodes as children learn the savage values of the street rather than the civilized values of culture. And government inevitably expands to intervene in family and social crises brought about by the breakdown of the family. Sociologist Daniel Yankelovich puts it this way: people suspect that the nation’s economic difficulties are rooted not in technical economic forces (for example, exchange rates or capital formation) but in fundamental moral causes. There exists a deeply intuitive sense that the success of a market-based economy depends on a highly developed social morality–trustworthiness, honesty, concern for future generations, an ethic of service to others, a humane society that takes care of those in need, frugality instead of greed, high standards of quality and concern for community. These economically desirable social values, in turn, are seen as rooted in family values. Thus the link in public thinking between a healthy family and a robust economy, though indirect, is clear and firm. (Anderson, 1994) Statement of the Problem This research seeks to gather information on how high school students with  broken families cope with their problems. Specifically, the following questions are asked: 1. How high school students are socially affected with broken families in Zamboanga city. 2. How do they cope with their â€Å"broken family† situation? References Bigner, J. (2002). Parent-Child Relations: An Intoduction to Parenting. (6th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall. Freeman, H. S. Family transitions during the adolescent transition: implications for parenting. Adolescence. Fall 2002. Retrieved September 27, 2004 online via www.findarticles.com. Muzi, M. J. (2000). The experience of Parenting. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Wallerstein, Judith S. (1991). The long-term effects of divorce on children: A review. Journal of the Ameri ­ can Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychia ­ try, 30(3), 349-360.

A letter from an exchange student in Australia Essay Example for Free

A letter from an exchange student in Australia Essay ? I’ve been in Australia for about 2 months now and I’m still speechless. It’s such a beautiful country! The land, the people, the climate, everything is amazing! I’ve gotten to experience the most remarkable/wonderful things, things I never could have imagined. As you know I went here as an exchange student and I’m living with a wonderful host family in Brisbane. They have been very welcoming and loving, the student exchange agency made such a good match. Brisbane is located in the east of Australia, in the state called Queensland. I’m attending the Brisbane State High School where I’m taking all the mandatory classes like English, math’s, science, social studies, art, health and physical education and so on. I’ve gotten to continue my French education as well, but everyone in that class is way better than me! Luckily they are all so nice and very patient with me, and that goes for all the classes! I had a hard time understanding the Australian accent at first, but it gets easier and easier every day. My host family taught me some Aussie-slang to help me out a bit, like â€Å"hoo roo† which means goodbye, â€Å"ripper† means something like fantastic or great, â€Å"sheila† is a girl and â€Å"dunny† is a toilet. A word that’s very confusing is â€Å"thongs†. It does not mean what you think it means! It’s another word for flip-flops, which can create quite an awkward situation. Fortunately I managed not to humiliate myself! Anyway, like I said are there mandatory classes just like there is in Sweden. Australia has a national curriculum to make sure that they have the same educational standards in schools all over the country, which resembles our â€Å"Skolverket†. You asked a lot about the schools over here in your last letter, so I’ve asked my new friends in my classes and found out some basic info. Like, something that’s similar to Swedish schools is that you’re in kindergarten or pre-school when you’re 3-5 years old. In Australia you go to Primary School between the ages 6 to 11, unlike Sweden where we go to â€Å"Là ¥gstadiet† and â€Å"Mellanstadiet† when we’re 6 to 12. One year doesn’t make that big of a difference, but Secondary School (High School) resembles both â€Å"Hà ¶gstadiet† and â€Å"Gymnasiet† together. So from what I understand, you can’t choose a specific program like in Sweden, but you can choose some classes you want to take (other than the mandatory ones) in High School. When you graduate from Secondary School you can apply for a University, just like in Sweden. As you can tell there are a lot of similarities to  Australian and Swedish schools, but I found out that there are many differences as well. School uniforms for example, we don’t have any rules about dress code in Sweden, but over here it’s a part of life, at least for the students who attend High School. Almost every school has a special uniform that every student has to wear, even I have to wear one when I go to school. Even in gym class we wear matching shorts and shirts. I think those outfits are better because they’re unisex, and the rest of the day the girls wear skirts while the boys wear pants. I’m not very comfortable in skirts and dresses so I think that if you want to wear pants you should be able to! It’s kind of nice not having to choose an outfit every morning, you only have one thing to wear and everybody else wears it too. There’s not any pressure about having the latest fashion or not changing it up every day. The only thing you have to worry about is bad hair-days! I have to admit that I wish we had to wear these in Sweden as well†¦ Not only are they a gift from heaven for the morning-tired person, they make you feel a bit more fancy and formal too. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that comfortable being formal all the time and I’d probably get sick of wearing it every day, but I like the idea a lot at the moment. I never think it would work, introducing this to Sweden though. Everyone would lose their right to express themselves through their clothes. If we would have to wear school uniforms, I strongly vote for pants for the girls! Most students bring their own lunch to school. There is a cafeteria, but you have to pay for everything there. That is something I miss about Sweden, even though it’s not great food all of the time it’s still really convenient. I’m having a hard time remembering to bring my lunch every day†¦ That makes me really angry with myself because both of my host parents make really good food, especially sandwiches. I promise you, they’re amazing! Public schools here are free and run by the government of state or territory they’re in, just like in Sweden. Parents are asked pay a voluntary contribution fee and they can also contribute to camping trips and extracurricular activities, but it’s all voluntary. Something that also differs from Sweden is the fact that they have 4 semesters. The school year starts in early February and ends in December. They have short holidays between every semester and their summer holiday is in December and January, during Christmas! I know it’s really strange, but that’s when the Australian summer is! I had no idea that the seasons were so  off over here, but I think it’s really amazing how the world works. Apparently all countries south of the equator have their summer during our winter, and their winter during our summer! A few weeks ago I got to be a part of the Australians celebration of ANZAC Day. ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. This day is special to Australians because of what happened on this date 1915. The First World War had just started and Australia wanted to create a reputation for themselves to the rest of the world, since they’d only been a nation for 13 years. They joined forces with New Zealand and set out to take control over the Dardanelles (a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey) so that their allies could travel through. When ANZAC landed on Gallipoli in Turkey they were met by Turkish defending forces. A lot of Australian soldiers lost their lives and today the Australians take this day to remember not only them and their bravery, but every soldier who has died in any war or military operation Australia’s been a part of. Each year the remembrance begins with memorial services in big cities all over the country, they’re known as the â€Å"Dawn Services†. Later in the day there are parades where ex-militaries march along. Aussies also celebrate this day off from work and school with drinking and games! They also have the Australia Day, their National Day. I’m not going to be here for that because it’s celebrated on January 26th, but I really wish I were! They celebrate everything that’s good about the country and being Australian, it sounds like a lot of fun! My host family tells me that you can see the Australian flag hanging from windows of cars and houses and that the whole neighborhood smells like barbeque. There are usually fireworks and music as well! It’s more upbeat than the ANZAC Day. We don’t have anything like this in Sweden, which I think is a bit sad. What I mean is, we don’t really have a day where we remember something or celebrate just being Swedish. I feel like we don’t have that kind of love for our country that the Australians do. At least I know I don’t. I only enjoy our National Day because I don’t have to go to school. I honestly don’t even know why we celebrate it, and if I asked my friends I’m sure they would say the same thing. It would be nice to feel that unity and pride that the Australians have. We’ve been in wars, I’m not sure how many or what kind, but we don’t take pride in them. We don’t have any war heroes we remember. During World War 1, Sweden was neutral. We didn’t officially pick a side; we did  everything we could to not get attacked by anyone. We let Germany use our railways to transport iron-stone, which kept us from getting involved in the war (even though that made us a part of Germany’s success). I think we’re right not to take any pride in that†¦ Something that also would be fun to experience here â€Å"Down Under† is Christmas. Since their summer is during December the climate is at its warmest during Christmas. My friends told me that even though it’s sunny and warm everyone still decorates with snowmen and Christmas lights! Most families have a Christmas tree too. Here in Brisbane they apparently have a competition every year for who has the best Christmas lights. I would love to see all of the extremely decorated houses! We should do something like that at home, we should engage more! In some ways our counties spend Christmas alike, but some prospects are still very different. In Sweden, we open presents, eat delicious food and get a visit from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. In Australia they only make the last preparations on Christmas Eve, because it’s all about Christmas Day. Children hope to find presents in stockings or under the tree when they wake up, families go to see their relatives and everyone (most people anyway) spend the evening with their loved ones. Some families eat dinner that’s similar to Europe’s Christmas food, but most Australians barbeque or have a picnic on the beach or in the park. On the beach you can see surfing Santa Clauses too. It sounds really laid back and comfortable, so I would love to be able to experience it (even though it’s no real Christmas without snow!). It’s hard to think of Swedish traditions when you don’t usually acknowledge them, but most traditions come with the holidays. Almost all of our holidays have religious significance, like Easter and Christmas for example, but these holidays are not really about what they originally mark in history (if you’re Christian). Easter is more about dressing up as a witch and knocking on doors collecting candy, than remembering Jesus’s crucifixion. Christmas is all about Donald Duck and opening presents, we don’t celebrate Jesus being born. This is the case in Australia too, except for the witches and Donald Duck. In Australia they celebrate Easter by organizing Easter egg hunts (mostly for the purpose of making the children happy), and you’ve probably heard of the ‘Easter Bunny’? Well, over here they’ve exchanged it for an ‘Easter Bibly’. A bibly is a small rodent, who’s an endangered species and they’re hoping this kind of advertisement is going to help save  it. Besides, rabbits are considered pests in Australia as they destroy crops and other things. As you can tell there are a lot of both similarities and differences between Sweden and Australia, but they are both great counties! Unfortunately I only have a month left of my studies, but I am thinking about living here for a year or so when I graduate. I have fallen in love with this land†¦ Enough about me, how have you been? Is everything as usual back home? Hope to see you soon, Sources of information: Aussie slang: http://stricktlydating.hubpages.com/hub/Common-Aussie-Slang-Words 2013-04-14 http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html 2013-04-14 About school: http://www.workingin-australia.com/education/system/overview#.UWr117XIagc 2013-04-14 http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/en/Courses/Schools/Australian-School-System/Australian-school-system 2013-04-14 http://www.studiesinaustralia.com/types-of-education/secondary-education 2013-04-16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_uniform#Australia 2013-04-16 http://brisbaneshs.eq.edu.au/sites/default/files/bshs/PolicyDocuments/PandC/CanteenMenu.pdf 2013-04-17 http://www.fairhillshs.vic.edu.au/app/webroot/uploaded_files/media/uniform_information_2013.pdf 2013-04-17 http://australianschool1.hubpages.com/hub/Australian-School-Uniform2013-04-16 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090821161522AAUv95m 2013-04-16 http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-weather-and-the-seasons2013-04-16 Traditions: http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.asp 2013-04-21 http://www.realaustraliatravel.com/australian-traditions.html 2013-04-21 http://www.realaustraliatravel.com/Christmas-in-Australia.html 2013-04-21 http://www.realaustraliatravel.com/christmas-lights-brisbane.html 2013-04-22 http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/australia/christmas-day 2013-04-22 A letter from an exchange student in Australia. (2016, Apr 29).