Chapter 10 Essay Test

 

Kelsey Stoddart

11/11/2014

 

            The major developments of prenatal development include, germinal which is the two-week period of the development. The embryonic is next and that stage is the second week and goes until the eighth week. Finally the fetal stage, and that starts at the ninth week and goes until birth.

            Visual abilities babies have start right away. They use their eyes to figure out how to use their other body parts. Reflexes are patterns of motor response that are triggered by specific patterns, for example, babies always put anything they can get their hands on in their mouths. Motor Capabilities is when a newborn child is physical. For example, reaching for things or grasping on things such as a mother or fathers finger.

            Object permanence is the idea that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible. For example playing peek-a-boo with a baby. The baby knows you are there even though your face is covered.

            Preoperational stage is 2-6 years olds that are learning to use language and attempting to use concrete logic. Children start to “role play” by this age. For example being “mommy” or “daddy” or even a “doctor, teacher, or policeman.”

            Egocentrism is when you can’t see something from someone else’s point of view. For example if your child was constantly getting in front of the line in school or any other activity. But we tell them, “First the worst, last is the best of all the game.” Another example is when your child is complaining about the food you are offering for lunch. Let them know of the choices and say, “those are your choices, I’ll come back when you made up your decision.”

            Harry Harlow learned that the monkeys preferred the soft cloth as a mother figure, to the wire mother, even though that mother had food with it.

            Secure attachment is when the person they trust leaves the room and then comes back when they get sad. Avoidant attachment is when the adult they trust leaves the room and the child ignores them when they come back. Ambivalent attachment is when the child is always sad when the person they trusted leaves the room. But when they return the child tries to get away when they try to calm the child down. Disorganized attachment is when the child shows different emotions when the person they trusted leaves the room; never the same. At one time or another a child will get sad when the person they are attached to leaves the room.

            Piaget had four stages of development: the sensor motor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational period. They all extend from birth to the acquisition of language. Kohlberg had three stages of moral development: the preconvention stage, conventional stage and the post-conventional stage.

            Psychologist used to think that the way a person’s sexual orientation was the way it was, by the way you were brought up, it is not a choice. But typically they choose, for example if they are gay or straight. The book gave an example of two identical twin boys, and one of them was gay. The other twin shares 100% of his genes; he has a 50% chance he will be gay or straight. But in the end, it is entirely up to his choice.

            Things that change later on in adulthood are social vitality and emotional stability. Social vitality starts to go down by the time you reach the age of 50. Emotional stability starts to rise by the time you are age 35, and starts to go down by the time you reach age 70.

Norms

Kelsey Stoddart

11/23/2014

The first norm I did was sit in someone else’s chair in class. It was weird for me because I always sit in the same spot every time in class, so it threw me off a little bit. The reactions I got surprised the person I was sitting next to that day because I usually don’t sit by anyone, I always sit in the back row by myself. I also ended up meeting a friend this way. When the person came in to sit in their seat they stood in the back for a little while not sure where to sit that day.

The second norm I did was park by the only car in the parking lot, when the whole parking lot is empty. I absolutely hate it when people do this to me, so I thought it would be funny to do it from the other person’s point of view. The person was in their car when I pulled up and looked at the empty parking lot probably wondering why I would park next to them when the whole parking lot is full of empty spots.

Group Names: Briant Smith, Brynn Lawrence,

Kelsey Stoddart, Jaren Carpenter

Instructor: Raul Ontiveros

HLTH 1050

Monday 1900-2150

Group Project: Alcohol

            Drug is defined as, "a chemical substance that, when taken into the body, alters the structure or functioning of the body in some way, excluding those nutrients considered to be related to normal functioning. (Levinthal 5)." When you think of drugs you may start thinking of cocaine, meth, heroin, etc. But, we may not think of the common legal ones such as tobacco and alcohol.

            Ethyl alcohol is defined as, "the product of fermentation of natural sugars. It is generally referred to simply as alcohol, though several types of nonethyl alcohol exist (Levinthal 192)." There are several different types of alcohol such as brandy, rum, whiskey, gin, vodka, tequila, wines, and beers. There may be a ton of different types of alcohol but, they all have something in common. They all have a similar history, physical effects, psychological effects, social aspects, and personal impact.

History            

            It is hard to pinpoint exactly when alcohol started, because different types of alcohol was formed over years. In approximately 8000 B.C was when historians believe the first original alcoholic beverage was made. It was a fermented honey, called mead. In 3700 B.C is when the first official brewery was started by the Egyptians.

            Temperance Movement is defined as, "the social movement in the United States, beginning in the nineteenth century, that advocated the renunciation of alcohol consumption." It was an effort to reduce the alcohol consumption. One of the main arguments was how alcohol consumption does damage to families. "The Temperance Movement crested when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified."

            In December of 1917 the 18th Amendment was adopted by requiring majority of both houses of Congress. The 18th Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. Then two years later on January 16, 1919 the 18th Amendment was ratified by the 36th state, meeting the 3/4 requirement. It is planned that it will take effect one year later. October 1919 the Volstead Act was passed by Congress over President Wilson's veto. This act clarified and broaden the base of the 18th Amendment. It made it clear that the production and sales of alcoholic beverages is illegal expect for medical and religious purposes. January 16, 1920 the 18th Amendment takes effect as the National Prohibition Act of 1920. This caused illicit alcohol trade to boom in the United States. The Volstead Act was modified on March 22, 1933 legalizing beverages containing not more than 3.2% alcohol. Then on December 5, 1933 prohibition of alcohol was repealed with the passage of the 21st Amendment. Which went into effective immediately. This caused the tax on alcohol to increase again.

            Since prohibition several things have changed with alcohol. On Oct 14, 1978 President Jimmy Carter signed the bill legalizing home brewing. On July 17, 1984 The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 states the you must be 21 years or older to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages. There have also been several other laws passed such as public intoxication, and driving while intoxicated/driving under the influence. The laws on alcohol will continue to change as more problems arise. 

Physical and Psychological Effects

Alcohol affects the body in many ways. These effects can seriously alter the physical and mental state of an individual and can put the user at a high risk of getting an illness or injury and many times even death. After drinking alcohol, it can stay in the system for up to two hours after being consumed. Drinking too much alcohol highly effects and can do serious damage to certain parts of the body. One of the major organs that it damages is the liver, this organ breaks down food and other substances put into the body. Drinking heavy amounts of alcohol will eventually cause inflammation and scaring around the liver which can further lead to liver disease and liver failure. Alcohol not broken down by the liver goes to the rest of the body, including the brain. Alcohol that foes through the brain can do some serious changes to certain areas. Many of the general parts of the brain that alcohol affects are movement control, speech, judgment, and memory. These effects lead to the signs that you see in most drunk people which are difficulty walking, slurred speech, memory lapses, and impulse behavior. After long-term heavy drinking can eventually shrink the frontal lobe of the brain.

Erectile dysfunction is also a common side effect of alcohol abuse among men. It can also stop hormone production, sometimes causing men to become infertile. Heavy drinking can cause women to stop menstruating and become infertile, it can also increase her risk of miscarriage, premature delivery, and stillbirth. There is a huge number of problems that alcohol can cause to an infant during development, probably the number one issue among infants is fetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD). FASD symptoms include physical abnormalities, learning disabilities, and emotional problems. These can often last a lifetime for some people. The effects of alcohol are different between men and women. Women are in general more sensitive to the effects of alcohol. Women’s bodies tend to break down slower than men, and women have less water in their bodies which makes alcohol more concentrated. Women are also more prone to get more damage to their health than men over long periods of drinking.

Not only does alcohol highly affect our bodies physically but it takes a serious toll on people psychologically. Alcohol is a depressant, which means that it can disrupt the balance, affecting our thoughts, feelings, and actions. With the more alcohol that is consumed the more it affects the brain. It really doesn’t matter what mood someone is in before they start to drink, when they start to have high levels of alcohol in their system, instead of feeling pleasurable, it is possible that a negative emotional response can take over. People can become angry, aggressive, anxious, or depressed.

Most people will go out and have a drink to let loose and relax, that’s not always the case. People may feel that sign of relief while they are under the influence but soon after that alcohol wears off those bad feeling come right back. Over long term alcohol use, it can actually increase or even cause depression among users. With higher levels of alcohol, people start to get that fearless attitude. People usually are more daring to do things that they normally wouldn’t to if they weren’t under the influence. Most of the time these aren’t necessarily good things that they are willing to do, which is why we see so many people arrested with very high levels of alcohol in their system, they sort of have the “I’m invincible” type of mentality.

One of the biggest and most commonly seen will people of high blood alcohol levels, is anger and aggression. Alcohol removes inhibitions. People develop inhibitions to keep behavior towards other people civilized. Under the influence, these inhibitions may no longer be present, which causes the sudden outbursts of aggression. Alcohol takes a serious part in many cases of domestic violence. People may have a very short temper under the influence of alcohol.  They may react to small annoyances with violent behavior.

Social Aspects

            The social aspect of alcohol is marketed as fun, exciting and otherwise “a dream come true” when viewed by the masses. Beer commercials show beautiful people partying and having a fun time. This marketing approach leads a lot of people to believe that the consumption of alcohol will lead to this same payout. Deceptively though, most people fall into the trap of over consumption which leads to very negative consequences. People (mostly women/young ladies) fall victim to sexual assault and rape as a result of this excessive alcohol consumption when they themselves (the victims) may not have consumed any alcohol. This activity is not new to the human race and alcohol has caused many problems throughout history. Below are two examples of this behavior in mythology and as a secret cult.

            ”In Norse mythology tells of Aegir, the ale brewer of the gods, who held a big party for honored guests every winter. The party was held inside a great hall whose floor was littered with glittering gold, providing enough light that no fires were necessary for illumination. The special beer for the event was brewed in a giant cauldron given to him by Thor and served in magical cups that refilled as soon as they were empty. He even had a couple of loyal servants who distributed food and otherwise cared for the guests' needs. The shindig was the highlight of the social season and all the gods attended. However, like so many off-campus college parties, alcohol and animosity could sometimes spoil a perfectly good evening.

            According to the Poetic Edda, a collection of mythological poems, the party started off great, with everyone drinking and eating and telling stories. As they sat down for the big feast, the inebriated guests offered praise to the two lowly servants, Fimafeng and Eldir. The snobby rich kid of the gods, Loki, in his drunken arrogance, took offense to the gesture, feeling the servants were not worth such accolades, and killed Fimafeng. The others kicked him out of the party for being a jerk, but he returned shortly after, demanding to be shown some respect and allowed back at the table.

            At first everyone ignored him, but he guilt-tripped Odin, king of the gods, into letting him return. But Loki couldn't leave well enough alone. He insulted the other guests, challenged them to fights, called into question the fidelity of everyone at the table, and pulled old rumors and skeletons out of the closet to “defend himself” against “attacks” from the other gods, who were simply asking him to shut up. This went on until Thor, the starting defensive lineman of the gods, arrived fashionably late and threatened to break every bone in Loki's annoying body. Knowing that Thor would actually do it, Loki decided to leave while he still walking.

            Loki didn't get away unharmed, though. Skaoi, one of the goddesses he insulted that night, caught up with the god and tied him to a rock. Above his naked body, she hung a poisonous snake, whose fangs dripped acidic venom into a small dish, held up by Loki's wife, Sigyn. Whenever the dish filled, she had to pull it away and pour the venom on the ground. This meant the venom would occasionally drip onto her husband, causing him immense pain. According to legend, Loki's violent writhing is what causes earthquakes. Of course this could have all been avoided if Loki had simply known when to say when.”

            The second example if from the Greek culture in which a celebration worshiping the gods would take place:  “Bacchus, first known as the Greek god Dionysus, was the God of Wine. His early followers were women who held secret meetings called Baccanalia. These Baccanalia were really little more than an excuse to get hammered on wine, a drink forbidden to women at the time, though there were religious rituals praising Bacchus involved. Later, men were allowed to join, and the baccanalians started to hold their "meetings" five times a month.

            Of course if you take naked men, naked women, a culture with loose sexual boundaries, and add in all the wine you can drink, some acts only seen on pay-per-view were bound to happen. This bothered some of the more upstanding members of society (probably because they weren't invited) who complained to local officials. Their constituents aside, politicians also wanted to disband the cult because the parties had become known as dens of political discord, where it was rumored powerful players got together and drunkenly schemed to overthrow the government.  Scared about their jobs - and their lives - the Roman Senate banned the cult in 186 BC in a decree known as the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus. Anyone caught at a Baccanalia afterwards was usually executed, but that didn't stop loyal worshipers from having smaller, more private affairs in their homes.”

            As you can see the behavior related to foolishness and alcohol has been around since the literal beginning of time (or humans) on this Earth. The reality is this when it comes to alcohol and society in our day.

An overview of the problem:

·       Women and girls are the vast majority of victims: nearly 1 in 5 women – or

nearly 22 million – have been raped in their lifetimes.1

·       Men and boys, however, are also at risk: 1 in 71 men – or almost 1.6 million –

have been raped during their lives.

·       Women of all races are targeted, but some are more vulnerable than others:

33.5% of multiracial women have been raped, as have 27% of American Indian

and Alaska Native women, compared to 15% of Hispanic, 22% of Black, and

19% of White women.

·       Most victims know their assailants.

·       The vast majority (nearly 98%) of perpetrators are male.

·       Young people are especially at risk: nearly half of female survivors were raped

before they were 18, and over one-quarter of male survivors were raped before

they were 10. College students are particularly vulnerable: 1 in 5 women has

been sexually assaulted while in college.

·       Repeat victimization is common: over a third of women who were raped as

minors were also raped as adults.  

    I am in no way advocating for prohibition to come back but there needs to be an awareness of the negative social impact caused by the loss of self-control and the lack of moral standing which people experience when they cannot hold themselves accountable. The numbers I presented above are horrific and need to be stopped.

Personal Impact

            Alcohol not only affects you, but it also affects the entire family, and other loved ones in your life. There are different ways to view this based on who it is affecting. When a parent is the one affecting the family they seem to drag everyone else in their family along with them. They basically set the mood and relationships in the family. When it involves your significant other, they are often torn between you and their alcohol addiction. It is becoming a problem when you ask yourself, “How can I get them to stop?” “How am I going to hide this from my neighbors?” Or even, “How can I protect my children?” When alcohol is affecting a son or daughter or sibling; they will often get blamed for being a bad example, which will make them feel neglected and make them rebel more. “Love and peace are the oxygen of life, then the whole family is grasping for breath.” For example, “In an airplane if the oxygen masks are released, parents are supposed to put on their own masks before attending to their children’s masks. You must look after your own needs before helping the one causing the problem.” As much as you want to help, you need to make sure you are doing what’s best for you first.

    Couples are more likely to get divorced when one is affected by an alcohol addiction, more than they are to get cancer, have heart problems, or even get liver disease. This just proves about how much alcohol has a huge affect on the family. Even if your marriage works out, doesn’t mean you won’t have problems; whether it involves this addiction or not. They will often lie for you and do anything to protect you from getting caught. You will feel like you will get blamed if you don’t do these things to help. Children are sensitive and they can suffer emotional trauma when they have a parent abusing alcohol and one always is the one “cleaning up the mess.”

    Not only does it affect the family but it also affects friends and relationships. I recently had an experience when I went to a fire in the canyon with a bunch of friends. Everyone at that fire was drinking but me. When it was time to leave it was about 1:30 in the morning, I came with a boy I liked at the time and asked him if I could drive us back (since I wasn’t drinking) he wouldn’t let me drive and wouldn’t give me the keys no matter how hard I tried. I knew I would be in so much trouble with my parents if I didn’t come home, so I go in the truck and we started going down the canyon. He was constantly telling me that he was okay and could see everything just fine. We ended up at the bottom of the canyon in the middle of a field and go lost trying to find the road until the sun started to come up. When we finally found the road it made me even more nervous knowing that there were other cars on the road with us. I had to correct his steering most of the time. Even though I was so tired from being awake all night I was so alert, I had to make sure that we got home okay, especially knowing that I was the only one in the car that didn’t drink that night. I am just glad we all made it home okay. Every story I hear of someone driving after they have had a few drinks never ends well. I will never make this same mistake ever again, and I hope no one else does too. Not everyone will return home like I did.

 

 

References:

History-

http://academics.lmu.edu/headsup/forstudents/historyofalcoholuse/#

http://cocktails.about.com/od/history/a/prohibition.htm

http://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Historical+Background+of+Alcohol+in+the+United+States

http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol/a-short-history.html

http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/files/Alcohol-and-Drinking-in-American-Life-and-Culture.html#.VGeDG8m8mQI

 

Physical/Psychological Effect-

http://nihseniorhealth.gov/alcoholuse/howalcoholaffectsthebody/01.html

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/mental-health/alcohol-and-mental-health

http://www.lookatyourdrinking.com/you-and-alcohol/psychological-effects.aspx

 

Personal Impact-

http://www.drugs.ie/drugs_info/for_parents_carers/effects_on_the_family/

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/addiction/alcoholism-and-alcohol-abuse.htm http://allpsych.com/journal/alcoholism.html

http://www.niaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/support-treatment

 

Social Aspects-

"Nectar of the Gods: Alcohol Mythology"

Rob Lammle for Mental Floss (website) 10/18/10

 

Rape & Sexual Assault A Renewed Call To Action

1/2014

The White House Council on Women & Girls/Office of the Vice President

 

NIDA

Kelsey Stoddart

11/03/2014

            (New breath test may detect recent marijuana use) Marijuana causes poor judgment in motor skills. These motor skills are necessary when driving. Motor skills include balance and coordination, attention, reaction time, and judgment. When on certain medication whether it is a prescription, pain reliever, or anxiety or sleeping pills you have to wait a certain amount of time before you are able to drive. Even small amounts can affect your ability to function properly. The NIDA scientists developed a new breath test that will confirm if someone has used marijuana within ½ hour and up to 2 ½ hours. (Depending on how much was taken)

            (Drugged Driving) This article ties in with high school students and college students because when you are in high school, that usually is the time when you get your license for the first time, and driving pretty much takes over your life. But I feel like it also ties into college students as well because once you have been driving for a while you tend to think you are an expert at it no matter what. Studies show that people that are ages 18 to 25 are more likely to drive either under the influence or after taking drugs than any other age group! In 2009, 18% of injured drivers were tested positive for use of drugs, either illicit, prescription, or over-the-counter drugs. (That increased by 13% in 2005) 29.1 million people have been reported by driving under the influence in the past year. Men are proven to be more likely to drive under the influence than women. 

Article Of The Week

Kelsey Stoddart

 

            (Crystal Methamphetamine Use by Street Youth Increases Risk of Injecting Drugs by Canadian Medical Association Journal) The amount of crystal meth injections has increased, especially for young adults. First time users are usually around the age of 14, who then become heavy drug users later on. Young adults who are street users in Canada went from 2.5% in 1999 to 9.5% in 2005.

            There was a study done from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS by the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver; they questioned young adults between the ages of 14-26. There were 991 participants, and 395 of them used crystal methamphetamine. 64 participants used meth for the first time during this study. 39% of young adults inject drugs in public places, 57% of young adults get drugs from friends, 13% from family members, and 10% from acquaintances.

            (Can Exercise Help Reduce Methamphetamine Use? By Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) the estimated amount of money spent for methamphetamine is around $23.4 billion. The question is can exercise help reduce methamphetamine use? As an experiment was done with rats with “Ecstasy” and “Molly” was decreased with the animals that had access to a wheel in their cage. Every person is different, depending on how serious the addiction is and if they put the effort into exercising and becoming better or not.