Author: cpr5385

Throughout the semester, I have begun to understand and acknowledge behaviors and concepts surrounding topics learned in class. A lecture previously covered in Psych 100 is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, commonly addressed as “OCD”. This disorder is defined and diagnosed as the “persistence of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and urges to engage in senseless rituals (compulsions)” and is categorized a behavioral disorder. (Wede). Although some individuals have certain rituals, they prefer to do daily, there is a psychological difference between a person with a diagnosed compulsive disorder and an individual with certain preferences. Obsessive compulsive disorder is identified and diagnosed when rituals and compulsions are used as a necessary method to reduce anxiety, seeing rituals as reinforcements.  The abnormalities in which individuals are diagnosed is when individuals become very dependent on their rituals to reduce anxiety, interfering with their daily life.  

Within the past few months of being on campus, I have become very close friends with an individual who has been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder. Due to having OCD, my friend frequently preforms rituals throughout the day, reducing her anxiety. My friend tends to get anxiety due to repetitive thoughts (obsessions) that leads to the need for repetitive actions (compulsions). Although every individual diagnosed could have different rituals, my friends include “tapping” an object a specific amount of times or moving her body a certain type of way a certain amount of times. I have spoken to my friend in regard to her compulsive disorder and has explained to me that her actions of “tapping” and body movement, which are categorized as compulsions, is in fact a way she copes with and reduces her anxiety.  

The lecture teaching about Obsessive Compulsion Disorder and my friend go hand in hand with one another. Before sitting through and learning this lecture, I was not sure what exactly was the difference between individual with preferences and individuals who have and are diagnosed with a disorder. Personally, knowing someone who has been diagnosed with OCD has given me a true insight into the disorder and the behaviors connected with this disorder and type of behavior.  

 

            Throughout the semester, I have recently begun to try to better my understanding of topics and concepts by seeing how I personally relate and have experienced them. A lecture previously covered in Psych 100 was memory storage and retrieval, a concept everyone has experiences in their life at one point or another. Memory storage and retrieval are processes in which your body is able to store many memories you have experienced in the past that are not actively occurring. Memory storage allows an individual to hold memories within their mind without continuously recalling and using the information they gained. When it comes time to gain access to the information involving these memories, the process of retrieval is activated.  

             A moment in which I experienced and acknowledged that use of my memory storage and retrieval was when was I finally rode a bike after not having rode one in a few years. When I was younger, I had a bicycle that I rode all the time. As I grew up, I became busy and never got a chance to just go outside and ride my bike or go on biking and hiking trails. On a random Saturday, I was given a day off from gymnastics practice and my dad and I took the day to go bike a hiking trail by my house that is several miles long.  

             As my dad and I began biking the trail, I wasn’t exactly confident in my biking abilities and if I was going to fall or be able to keep up with him. Within the first few minutes of riding, I was not comfortable but, I was successfully remembering the act of how to ride a bike without having to be retaught. Although this seems to be a very simple activity, this is where I recognized storage of this information and retrieval. The idea that I was proficient at biking when I was younger and commonly biked, allows myself to take the information of how to ride a bike with muscle memory and easily store it; having it ready to retrieval when I find it necessary.  

             Within the retrieval processes I experienced when riding a bike for the first time in a while involved 3 major steps; recall, recognition and relearning. The idea I know that I knew how to ride a bike and the basic idea of how it was done is an example of what is called recalling information. When sitting on the bike and beginning to pedal, my body needed to quickly begin to use recognition in order to recall the information of the processes of how to ride a bike. This was shown by how I knew that I needed to hold onto the handlebars and begin to pedal, one foot and then the other. Beginning the trail with my dad, it took me a little to feel confident in biking to casual enjoy the trail with my dad. Knowing and feeling confident as the trail went on, I was relearning this skill.  

            What sparked my memory and retrieval of how to ride a bike was when I started to get on the bike and get ready to start that trail. The feeling of doing this is something I had done years ago when riding a bike and reminded me what I was supposed to do with my body to ride the bike. This is called a retrieval cue. I was able to very easily retrieve how to ride a bike due to my encoding specificity. Encoding specificity is when memory is easily and best retrieval due to conditions being the same as when they were encoded, meaning the same as when they were processed into memory storage.  

 

 

Cassidy Rushlow

Psych 100

Professor Wede 

Due September 18th, 2019

Blog Assignment #1

Psychology is “the study of behavior and mental processes”. (Wede). Becoming educated and being aware of the ideas brought forth in this study helps individuals better understand themselves in a more in depth way that relates to many aspects of their life. One aspect of psychology is the study of attention. Attention includes many factors in order to make this possible, it is not just focusing on one thing in particular. When having attention and focusing on something, the body uses many different parts of the body in order to make this possible. The factors of attention more specifically selective attention is something I have personally experienced. 

The body is only capable of focusing on and interpreting one thing or direction at a time. This is called selective attention. Unfortunately, when you have selective attention, your body only allows yourself to focus on one thing at a time, resulting in missing details included in your surroundings.  An example as to when I noticed and experienced selective attention was when my phone was stolen. At the time, I was at the movie theatre with my friends and had my phone placed in the empty seat next to me. Although my phone was placed in a different seat then the one I was sitting in, I made sure if was visible to me, in my line of sight, so I was able to make sure I knew where it was and it wouldn’t be stolen. 

When watching the movie, I became very interested in what was playing on the movie  theater screen. My interested caused me to apply myself require energy and use mental effort for what I was looking and focusing on,  a side effect of part attention. Part attention is the act of not completely focusing on one thing in particular.  As I watched, my retinas were assisting in my understanding of the movie. This is a result of my retinas properly using the sensory receptors they contain in order for what I was seeing to be processes and the information sent to my brain.  As my interests in the film progressed, the movie became the main thing I was looking at and focusing on. This is the moment I believe my phone was  stolen. At this point, I was no longer looking at and paying attention to where my phone was, allowing it to be stolen and me not noticing. 

This particular situation involving my change in specific types of attention resulted in my phone being stolen. Although I was aware of my phone at the beginning of the movie, my attention focus shifted in a way that affected my awareness of my surroundings. Due to my main focus bringing on the film, I ended up to being able to distinguish a specific time as to when my phone was taken. At the time, I was not aware the ideas about attention brought forth in psychology which limited my ability to understand the concept as to how it was possible for me to not notice my phone was gone.