Blogging Assignment Zwei

The route through childhood is shaped by many forces, and it differs for each of us. Our biological inheritance, the temperament with which we are born, the care we receive, our family relationships, the place where we grow up, the schools we attend, the culture in which we participate, and the historical period in which we live—all these affect the paths we take through childhood and condition the remainder of our lives.

–Robert H. Wozniak

Nurture vs. Nature is the biggest and most enduring issue in psychology. It is the debate that asks the question: are we who we are because were born that way, or do our experiences shape us? It looks into different genes compared to the environment that we were raised in. Most psychologists can come to the conclusion that in fact, both do influence us, but many have an opinion as to which has a greater influence. Personally, I have always thought that nurture was of greater importance.

There have been several different cases and experiments where nurture vs. nature has come into play. The best case studies with nurture vs. nature are feral children, since creating a feral child is a "forbidden experiment" because of various ethical reasons. These studies on feral children, while rare, give great information about the nurture vs. nature debate. Studies done more often for nurture vs. nature are twin studies, since they are quite a bit more practical than feral children studies. Since (identical) twins have the same DNA, they are easy to compare on the nature side. Twins separated at birth that meet each other later in life are great for nurture vs. nature. In the video above, twins were separated at birth when they were adopted as part of an experiment. When the experiment fell apart and the twins finally met each other through the help of the adoption agency, they couldn't help but notice the similarities in their personalities. One twin even goes on to say "I think nature trumps nurture". And they should know, they are a living nurture vs. nature experiment.

I don't know that the nurture vs. nature debate will ever declare a winner. I just think that everybody has their own theories as to which is more prevalent to a person's development. As for me, I still say that nurture beats out nature for the most part. I'll demonstrate it with a picture:

Blogging Assignment Eins

"The implications of the placebo effect are wide reaching. Most immediately it highlights how much we still have to learn about the relationship between a patient's mind and body...."

The placebo effect is something that fascinates me because it's something that remains somewhat of a mystery. It's also something that is questioned ethically. While reading about the placebo effect in chapter one, it was mainly regarded as the un-manipulated variable in an experiment, and the text mainly focused on how the placebo generally did not work as well as the actual drug in most cases (the example of Viagra was used). This video, on the other hand, exposes some of the secrets of the placebo effect. What's interesting is that many drugs have to pass a placebo test, and many don't. Can the human mind really be more effective than a scientifically engineered drug when it comes to the physical health of a human? Well, sometimes, yes. According to this video, the placebo effect is a cause for worry in many drug companies. The video argues that the placebo effect is getting stronger.

What was interesting to me, that wasn't really brought up in either the video or the textbook reading was the question of whether a placebo was ethical or not, especially in the use of humans. Of course when entering a study, patients must be informed of the possibility that there's a chance they might be receiving a placebo treatment, right? Doctors admit to prescribing placebos? Did their patients not have a clue? Is this legal? This left a few questions unanswered for me. I feel as though if I was a patient suffering from, say, cancer, and there was a drug that could potentially treat me, I think I'd be eager to sign up to participate in a trial. However, if I learned there was a chance that I could be receiving no treatments I would be much more hesitant to jump on board. Sure, double blind studies can be effective in finding out whether or not a drug is effective treatment, but at the expense of who?

All ethical questions aside, the fact that some placebos can be more effective than an engineered drug is so interesting. It leaves a lingering "why?" This is something that shouldn't be happening, but is. The placebo effect is wonderful because it's somewhat miraculous, and behind every great miracle is a big mystery. I guess my question is when the mystery behind the placebo effect will be revealed, if it ever will.

I remember my first blog post

Hello! My name is Taylor Kurowski and I will be in 2nd Hour AP Psychology this year.

Having taken two AP classes already, I anticipate that this class will be difficult and have a heavy workload. I am expecting it to be worth it. I have taken regular psychology and found it so interesting, I am excited to continue to learn about it more in depth and expand my knowledge about the human mind and how internal factors affect behavior. I am excited to learn about disorders, I think they are so interesting and unique. The classes I have this term are: Anatomy, AP Psych, Concert Choir/APUSH, and Brit Lit. I understand that the only class that is somewhat similar to AP Psych is Anatomy. The rest are quite different. I've been taking APUSH since the beginning of the year, and since they both are advanced placement classes they most likely have similar workloads. I am excited to be in AP Psychology this year and to increase my knowledge about such an interesting subject.