I really enjoyed psych class this semester. It was really cool learning about the mind and all of the psychologists, but I think the idea that will stick with me for the rest of my life is social facilitation. This idea states that being that we are social creatures by nature, we perform better in the presence of our peers. This is such a interesting thing to think about because it makes total sense.I knew nothing of this topic before I took Psych 1001, but it totally explains why we compete on tests and in sports. We want to prove ourselves to our friends and peers. I plan to utilize this knowledge in the future by trying to schedule opportunities with my friends to compete together. Overall though, I thought that the format of my online psych class was excellent for achieving success and would definitely recommend this class and my TA Penny Nichol to future students and SigEps.
pilli011: April 2012 Archives
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What would you say if you found out that you had the gene for novelty-seeking? Would you want to prepare for it? Would you want to still have kids? Would you prefer to find a way to cancel or eliminate the gene from your DNA? The questions could continue forever, but the dilemma remains. How would you live your life if you knew that you were more at risk for substance abuse or accidents? Would that deter you from wanting to search out and enjoy new experiences?
I know that this gene would definitely have an impact on my life, but it would only be a small one. I would try to avoid the things that would embellish it or do them in moderation. I believe that people shouldn't ever let a disability or obstacle stand in their way from living life to its fullest. I would continue to use my intrinsic motivation as a driving force to obtain each and every one of my goals.
On the other side, what should society do to protect itself? Should they require people to have that gene removed from their DNA sequence to better protect everyone else in the world or should they let people live their lives freely? I believe that society might want to consider isolating the part of the novelty seeking gene that has to do with substance abuse because that is a huge and extremely common problem among us humans. We get addicted to drugs and alcohol,cost our employers and ourselves extreme amounts of money, and destroy relationships. The following link on substance abuse provides great information on the topic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_abuse
Regarding cognitive development, it would be interesting to track a kids growth if scientists could identify the gene in his DNA. However, this would create an ethical debate because it would create controversy about whether it is fair to tell the kid or not. A criminality gene would do the same thing. People would argue forever about whether or not everything regarding the topic is fair and it would be very annoying in my opinion.
Let me know what your opinion is on the topic!
