Marie Dominique R.

Lavalle
2015-06595
Psych 101 THW-1
Psychology 101 – Midterm Exam

1. The exchange student’s misconception about Psychology that I find most appalling is that
the discipline is not really science, it is just everyday life. When we have deeper
knowledge about Psychology or when we just think about it deeper, most famous
experiments or proven researches in the history of Psychology were once an uncommon
interpretation (those concepts were not common sense before being proven by
Psychological Research) (Cherry, 2018). Some of the key characteristics of science are (1)
uses empirical methods, (2) manipulation and control of variables, (3) objectivity, (4)
hypothesis testing, (5) replicability of results, (6) predictability of future occurrences may
be based on the results of the research. Psychological researchers and the scientists uses
scientific methods and these characteristics to investigate and conduct their research.
They also use statistical analyses to test different hypotheses and determine the
likelihood of a particular phenomenon, present findings for the use of future researchers
and also for replicability, etc. These evidences only prove that Psychology is indeed a
science (although scientific psychology may have some limitations – human behavior and
phenomena can change over time, so, what is true in a particular time and place may no
longer be true in a different setting) (Cherry, 2018).

Additionally, according to the concepts presented in class, Psychology as a scientific

discipline emphasizes the role of biological processes in its theories because biological
evidence has more empirical weight (the interest of Psychology is not concentrated on
mental processes, human behavior or guessing simply what is going on in people’s
minds). Psychologists do not merely guess what is happening on people’s minds, they
often look for patterns that will help them understand and predict behavior using
scientific methods, principles, or procedures to test their ideas. These predictions
helped solve problems relating to the bigger society, institutions, individuals, cultures,
etc. (another evidence that Psychology is not merely a common sense) (Sundar, 2015).
With all these evidences presented, we can argue that is indeed scientific and objective
in nature.

I can explain Psychology as a discipline to said student by simply telling him/her that
Psychology is a deeper concept – it signifies the scientific study of the human and animal
minds, behavior and mental states. It seeks to predict and control behaviors while
finding out the causes through observation, reasoning processes and the scientific
 method that the sole purpose of Psychology is to know and understand why people
behave the way they do (not merely to guess what is happening on their minds) to solve
complex problems in wider and deeper contexts, settings, cultures, organizations and
society.

2. The neurotransmitter dopamine or the “desire molecule” is usually associated with

romantic love. “More passion between partners translates into higher levels of this
neurotransmitter” (Kamal, 2017). Intense exercises may also result to high levels of
dopamine or euphoria. This may be the reason why my romantic feelings for that
exchange student amplified (because of the intense activity brought about by the roller
coaster). High levels of this neurotransmitter may also result to sexual arousal, lust,
erectile function, high frequency of intercourse, increased motivation, smiling,
spontaneity and goal-directed behavior. Also, dopamine level increases when we
encounter exciting and risk-taking challenges such as riding a roller coaster.

Another neurotransmitter that may have caused the heightened feeling of infatuation
or heightened senses is the epinephrine – the one responsible for the rush you get when
bungee jumping, skydiving, riding a roller coaster, racing down a steep hill on a bicycle, or
simply listening or dancing to fast, loud music. Increase in the level of this hormone
causes heart racing and heightened senses which is the feeling you feel when you are in
love (excessive energy, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, exhilaration – also associate to the
“attraction molecule” or norepinephrine).

I may also be experiencing a rise in PEA or Phenethylamine or the Infatuation molecule.

This is the the chemical at play when you eat a chocolate then you feel good, happy and
loving afterwards. Rise in PEA may also be associated to seeing someone desirable (in
my case, seeing that exchange student everyday) (Kamal, 2017).

3. The possible reason why my thought processes suddenly revolved around the exchange
student must be because of rise of serotonin in my system. The neurotransmitter is
responsible for the feelings of deep affection. This is usually present in the first stage of
attraction – when our minds are loaded with the thoughts of the other person and you
can’t focus on anything or anyone else (in my case, my thought processes revolving only
around the exchange student). Basically, I keep thinking of him because my hormones
are on fire or brain is loaded with chemicals (like those mentioned above – adrenaline or
epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin or vasopressin (Kamal,
2017).
 Another possible reason for the infatuation may be because my Reticular Activating
System (RAS) in the brain has been reprogrammed. I might have conditioned my mind
what are the important things in my life (and now he is one of them) and now he keeps
on showing everywhere or every time in my thoughts even if he’s not around. This may
be because I can associate everything I see to some experiences I had or I am having
with him (Cavallo, 2017).

Also, another reason may be because I try to suppress my feelings for the exchange
student (probably because I want to focus on my studies or I just don’t want another
heartbreak because that exchange student will leave soon anyway). The more we
suppress our feelings, the more we experience the feelings (little experiment: try to
close your eyes and try not to see Paulo Avelino in your head for 5 seconds…see? You
can’t help but see him in your head, right?) (Cavallo, 2017).

I may also come to a conclusion or confirmation that I have officially fell in love with that
exchange student. If I like someone (be it physically, intellectually, emotionally,
spiritually or sexually), I may be very attracted to that person and I can’t help but think
about him all the time.

Or another reason may also be because there is something about him that I can’t figure
out. He might be very mysterious that I want to know more about him or simply I might
want to figure the things I need to do in order for him to like me back (like how should I
look, how should I behave, or I might simply be thinking if I have offended him with my
words during the last time we saw each other) (Montgomery, 2017).

4. Identical twins have the same genome and were developed from a single-fertilized egg.
Any differences between the twins may be attributed to the environment. For example,
when one of the twins gets a disease, the cause may be attribute to environmental
factors or difference between the environments of the twins. When both of them catch
a disease, genetic elements may have played a role in causing the disease (Genetic
Science Learning Center).

However, genetic differences between the twins may also accumulate between the
twins during embryonic develop or later in life. Genetic differences may occur when
they inherit different Mitochondria (contains small amounts of DNA) and some of the
hundreds of mitochondria in a cell may contain mutations) (Net Industries and its
Licensors).
 Oftentimes, identical twins have exactly the same genetic material. Nonetheless, most
of them experience slightly different environments no matter close they are being
brought up together. These different environments soon lead to different personalities,
morals, values, etc. Being brought up in two different contexts, family background and
culture may be the reason why they ended up having different values and morals. On
the other hand, their similarity in interests or abilities (with regard to music and films)
may be due to the genes they share which they inherited from their parents.

5. Some examples of psycho-social issues are anxiety, depression, coping skills, social
support, etc. The beautiful exchange student may have issues on coping with the idea of
being adopted and having an identical twin since he lived all his life knowing himself
differently. The beautiful exchange student could resolve this issue through two broad
categories: 1) engaging in physical activities and 2) learning the ways of thinking about
stressful situations. The physical activities may include reading, exercising and doing
breathing techniques. On the other hand, the ways of thinking that can help him during
stressful situations are noticing and challenging automatic thoughts that trigger stress,
looking at the bright side and remaining positive in every stressful situation, and having
a sense of humor. Trying to lighten his load and seeking professional help may also be
necessary at times (Holm, 2017).

Another psycho-social tension that the beautiful exchange student has experienced or is
experiencing until after finding out his identity may be the feeling of isolation. He lived
all his life having a different recognition, perception or truths. Upon knowing the truth
about him, he might have felt the need for some adjustment, isolation, reflection, etc.
Social support (from relatives, friends, counselors, medical professionals or
psychologists) is needed for him to resolve this psycho-social issue. I can also be a
source of support through listening to him or by just being there for him so he could just
he knows that he has someone who can vent on (Holm, 2017).

He may also be experiencing some social or family adjustment disorder (adjustment

disorder manifests if we are experiencing significant stress, and because of that stress
we develop psychological symptoms that are greater than what might be expected
given the stress, and this causes impairment in our day-today functions). The stressor
that is associated in the student’s situation is the truth that he just recently discovered.
He may have to go through a particular period of adjustment to cope up with the truth
he recently discovered and to go back to normal functioning of his life. The same
intervention may be given to him (professional help, social support, etc.).
6. The cognitive approach can be used to explain the exchange student’s conception of
motivation and loss of motivation. This approach suggests that we are motivated by our
thoughts, expectations and goals. According to our lectures, there are two categories of
motivations under this approach. The intrinsic motivation (we do things because we
enjoy doing them) and extrinsic motivation (we do or not do things because of the
tangible rewards, consequences and achievement). In the case of the exchange student,
he may be feeling down and lost his motivation because his expectations and goals were
not met. He may be extrinsically motivated initially (he is performing or attending the
class because of the goal of having good grades or passing a subject and not essentially
because he is enjoying it). One of the reasons why he is experiencing this loss of
motivation or disappointment because he thinks he will fail to meet the expectation of
getting a good grade or passing the subject.

According to Robert Locke (2018), some of the reasons (or the prompt for the behavior
of not having enough motivation) why we are not motivated (which are applicable to
the exchange student’s situation) are (1) we only see the bad side in anything that
happens, (2) we forget the benefits and rewards, (3) we set unrealistic goals, (4) we fail
to acknowledge the importance of mini habits or “small steps” to create an impact and
achieve a goal, (5) we do not seize opportunities, (6) we are unwilling to work harder,
(7) we often play the blame game (we deny our mistakes and believe that it is always
somebody’s fault if something bad happens to us), (8) we have poor time management
skills, (9) we don’t believe in our skills, abilities and talents, (10) we rely on social media.

The interventions or actions that we can use (or the exchange student can use) to
address loss of motivation are (1) honestly auditing our skills and the challenges that lie
ahead, and staying positive, (2) visualizing the rewards we’re trying to get and
celebrating little victories, (3) breaking complex goals into smaller challenges where we
can see results in a much shorter space of time (in this way, we can keep our motivation
because we reward ourselves with victories per challenge or per stage of the bigger
goal), (4) starting a mini-habit until it becomes a lifestyle (studying in advance for 1-2
hours for that subject per day), (5) seizing every opportunity and stepping out of our
comfort zone from time to time, (6) working hard, (7) taking responsibility for what
happened to us, (8) reminding ourselves that we are the only one who are in control of
our time, (9) being confident and believing in ourselves and the talents that we have,
and (10) taking a break with social media (Locke, 2018).

7. Based on the lectures, the three components of emotions are (1) physical or
psychological arousal (stimulation of the nervous system and many physiological
 processes, and evident changes perceived in a person), (2) behavioral expression
(involves changes in gestures, voice, postures or facial expression), and (3) inner
awareness (cognitive appraisal of the situation leading to a conscious labelling of an
emotion). The physical or physiological arousal manifests in the exchange student
through his physiological changes or physical appearance - having low energy and
sunken swollen eyes. There are no much changes in his behavior (he still smiles and is
still pleasant to be around with) that is probably because he already tried to appraise
the situation and led to label his emotion. He regarded or probably tricked his brain that
the situation is something he can take manage or handle.

I don’t think the three components of emotions are congruent with each other. The
situation of the exchange student somehow proves that the three components are
conflicting. The physical and physiological changes can be perceived in the student. He
was also able to label his emotions and decide what emotions to show to the people
around. However, there is no outward manifestation of sadness or facial expression in
his face (since he still looks happy and pleasant). This situation only shows that the three
components are not interconnected all the time (it’s not a given that all three occur at
the same time in a particular situation).

I’ll tell the exchange students about my read from Mental Health America – that there
are healthy ways of dealing with negative emotions. These are to (1) Pause (instead of
acting on the emotions right away, let’s try to thing about the situation deeper and
rationally), (2) Acknowledge what we feel (convince ourselves that it’s okay to feel that
way), (3) Think about how we can make ourselves better, (4) Help yourself by taking
action (do what we love, listen to music, travel, meditate and relax, exercise regularly
develop behavior that distracts us from stress, address our basic needs, make a list of
solutions to our problems, remember our strengths and capitalize on it, etc.). If we think
that the emotion is too heavy to handle, it is essential to seek for professional help or
counselors, adult or therapist. They are trained to break negative emotions and to help
us feel better.

8. In order to help the student understand about what is going on the images or paintings
he is trying to work on, I will explain to him the concepts of depth perception cues in
Psychology. The concept of depth perception is concerned with why we see 3D objects
rather than flat, and how this is accomplished (Erupting Mind). Depth perception is the
reason why some pictures or images possess very strong depth despite the fact that
they are made on a flat material. Humans uses depth cues to determine distances
between objects or perceive depths.
 I will give three examples of depth cues to the beautiful exchange student and explain
the reasons why we perceive depths to some images (we perceive depths in images
because of the presence of these depth cues). These are (1) Texture Gradient, (2) Linear
Perspective and (3) Overlap or Interposition. In texture gradient, textures or objects that
are nearer are more distinct while those that are farther seem to appear finer or
smoother. On the other hand, in linear perspective, we probably perceive depth in a
picture possessing this depth cue because parallel lines seem to converge due to
distance from the viewer (we see parallel sides that make-up a road converge together
at the horizon). Moreover, in overlap and interposition, even though the shapes in a
particular picture appear to be flat, we perceive a certain level of depth because the
shapes block each other out of our sight (one shape is blocking another, thus we assume
that the blocked object is behind the first object).

In order to help him enhance the depth of his painting, I will tell him to make use of
these depth cues; make the elements that seem to appear nearer in the picture distinct
and clearer while draw the ones that are farther smoother or finer, make the parallel
lines of a railroad, road, lines of trees (if he’s going to draw an image where linear
perspective may be applied) converge at the end/horizon, block one shape or element
to make it appear that the blocked object is behind the first one (and thus making
depth).

9. I may be experiencing an altered state of consciousness at this moment. There is a shift

in the quality or pattern of my mental activity due to the stimulants I took (which in this
case, the alcohol drinks). Alcohol is also a kind of psychoactive drug that alters the levels
of neurotransmitters in our brain. Neurotransmitters are either excitatory (stimulate
electrical activities in the brain) or inhibitory (decrease electrical activities in the brain).
In my case, there may be an increase in the dopamine level in my brain which is why I
urge to divulge my feelings to the exchange student (in anticipation of pleasure)
(Watson).

Moreover, the alcohol may have also affected some parts of my brain (the cerebral
cortex and or the hypothalamus and pituitary. The cerebral cortex is responsible for the
thought processes. In my case, I may have trouble rationalizing the situation (or I may
have deviated from my rational state – or normal thinking process of not really minding
my feelings for the exchange student) because the alcohol depressed my behavioral
inhibitory centers and slowed down my senses’ processing of information. On the other
hand, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland is responsible for automatic brain functions
and hormone release. There may be a heightened release of hormones in this state
 (alcohol may have depressed nerve centers in my hypothalamus that control emotions,
sexual arousal and performance). I may be sexually aroused (hypothetically) and I want
to share this the beautiful exchange student.

Drinks make us aware of our own mental state (Conscious Entities). There is a popular
theory called “alcohol myopia” (when we’re drunk we lose track of the reality or long-
term and remote factors while our immediate surroundings seem more salient)
(Conscious Entities). This phenomenon may be applied in my case, the alcohol made me
lose track of my rational ideas and rational self and long-term effects of my behavior
because of the immediate surroundings or situation I have in the party (careless, worry-
free, excited, etc.).

10. Sleep was the better option because since it allows the body to physically repair itself,
aids in physical rejuvenation, and aids in emotional and mental rejuvenation (according
to the lecture).

According to Davis (2018), lack of sleep may have certain impacts and effects in our
body. These impacts include (1) weak immune system and lessened production of
cytokines that fight diseases (result to longer recovery when a person catches a
disease), (2) increased risk of having new and advanced respiratory diseases, (3) changes
in body weight (lack of sleep releases insulin which leads to increased fat storage and
higher risk of type 2 diabetes, level of leptin and ghrelin hormones that control feelings
of hunger are also affected by sleep), (3) increased risk of acquiring cardiovascular
diseases (sleep helps heart vessels rebuild, affects blood pressure and sugar levels
positively and controls inflammation, and (4) lowered production of hormones
(including growth hormones or testosterone in men).

Additionally, lack of sleep may also result to (1) accidents, (2) impairs attention,
alertness, concentration, reasoning and problem solving, (3) lack of sexual drive, (4)
depression (symptom of depression, insomnia has the strongest link to depression), (5)
aging skin (body releases more stress hormone cortisol when we lack sleep which then
breaks down skin collagen – responsible for keeping our skin smooth and elastic), (6)
forgetfulness, (7) impairs judgment or our interpretation of events (Peri).

The “whispering moment” has the possibility of being a dream. It may have occurred
during my NON-REM sleep (less detailed dreams occur in non-rem sleep). I also think it’s
I had a non-REM sleep because I just sleep in a couch in the bar (no one can have a deep
sleep in such uncomfortable position).
The dream theory that can be applied in my situation is Sigmund Freud’s theory –
dreams as wish fulfillment (in accordance to the lectures). This theory is based on the
idea of repressed longing – we dream about the desires that we are not able to get or
fulfill in the social setting or in the real world. In my case, I was longing for a
reciprocation of feelings from the beautiful exchange student. The placing of blanket
can be a signal that the student cares for me or has feelings for me while the whispering
can be associated to confession of feelings which I really long for. These concepts may
explain why or may prove as evidence that I was just dreaming during that time.
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