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Communication and Psychology
Part 1: Cultures in Marginalization
The communication skills that are required by the global citizenship are primarily by the interaction of different cultures and races, knowing them and appreciating their beliefs and patterns. Only then can one be able to communicate with persons from different parts of the world and have his or her say appreciated. Different cultures use different forms of communication techniques and what could be acceptable in a certain community could be abhorred by another. It is therefore prudent for one to learn about different cultures in order to stay relevant to the audience. Mass communication can be accomplished using electronic media. All other forms of communication are becoming obsolete and currently the only form of communication that one can reach masses and in different parts of the world at the same time is by the use of the electronic media.
I do agree with Gill regarding the marginalization of women in the media. The plight of women is not treated with the gravity that it demands. The media has become an agent of propagating gender imbalance by putting more emphasis on other events and diminishing those issues that deeply touch on women. A good example is the reporting on wars and conflicts where the media concentrates on the fighting and the political motives but ignores the pains and anguish that the women involved have to go through such as the pain of rape and torture. However, the UN cannot effectively deal with this issue because it is not political but reflects the general ideas held by the world. The world is generally patriarchal and thus the media will only broadcast what is of interest to the society. However, if the society is educated in giving the woman her rightful place in the society, I believe that the media will follow suit.
Part 2: Regional Attitudes and American Identity
I personally do not agree on the judgments passed onto the south because of what they perceived to be ‘American’. Every society ought to be judged in accordance to its belief system and thus the south ought not to be subjected to standards that are set up by other societies. The society in the south believed that their acts were justified in accordance to their own culture and thus that ought to be respected. This should not be used to show that the community is flawed for “for having less experience or exposure to other cultures” (Griffin & McFarland, 2007). In accordance with perspectivism, a society is to be judged in accordance with its own beliefs and ideals.
Indeed, it is true that interaction with other cultures does have numerous benefits but it should not be used to judge the southerners on what they uphold. They should be left to be proud of their culture and their belief systems. People are dynamic and vary in accordance with thought patterns, character and various aspects of life. With this in mind, it is difficult to identify one particular way or thought pattern and say that it is the right one and another is wrong. It could be although they are not similar they could be just different. How an African American perceives America is not similar to the way a Caucasian or Mexican American would (Griffin & McFarland, 2007). In the same aspect, how someone from the affluent suburbs of the United States views America is not the same way some one from the projects does. With this in mind, it would be difficult to come up with one view of how America is.
Part 3: Historical Period of Abnormal Behavior
The middle Ages or the Dark Age is a significant period in abnormal behavior that is of particular interest to many. During this time, scientific research and way of life was not highly regarded. This was probably because the society at this time was highly superstitious and superstition does not have a place in science. During this period, the most prominent people in the society were not political leaders or scientists but clergymen, witches and wizards. The beliefs of the society were dominated by demonology and spiritualism.
These dominated the people’s lifestyles more than anything did. Everything was explained according to this aspect, as it was believed that the supernatural world influenced every facet of life. Psychological disorders not withstanding, were explained in terms of the constant conflict that existed between good and evil. The dominant parties were God who was on the good side and the devil who represented everything evil. Although it was believed that God was superior, there are those who opted to seek help and assistance from the devil.
The period was named the Dark Age because it was plagued by war, diseases and constant conflicts. The constant strife and struggle that depicted the lives of these people ended in increasing the stress levels in the society. This in turn led to a heightened number in the occurrence of psychological diseases and abnormalities, which included hallucinations and people going mad et al. one common disorder during this time was tarantism whereby those who suffered from the disorder did so in a group and would usually start to jump, dance hysterically and go into convulsions.
The persons suffering from this disease would perform unnatural acts like strip off naked and walk down the streets naked. The cause of this was believed to be a bite from the presently called tarantula spider, hence the name tarantism. Another common psychological disorder was the Lycanthropy. Those who suffered from this psychological ailment would act like wolves by crawling on their limbs and usually howling and growling. It was believed that they had been possessed by wolves. The ailment was the origin of the werewolves’ folklore fiction as those who suffered from this ailment would also grow hairs in odd place and scratch themselves all the time.
The most common method of treating such ailments was exorcism and was performed by the clergymen. When exorcism was not successful in treating these ailments, then torture was integrated as a treatment technique. This would include immersing the patients in cold water, whipping and other sorts of inhumane practices. However, this period was short-lived as people started to abandon their beliefs and more hospitals started cropping up. Putting the patients in environments that are more serene brought up better results than the torture techniques. More and more patients would respond well to being treated well rather than being tortured. This period has had its effects influencing today’s societies. It is common to see persons in the present world being taken to church to be exorcised. It is also common to see people terming a family that has many mentally challenged children as a cursed family.
Part 4: Maladaptive Behavior
There are seven theories that try to explain maladaptive disorders. These are; biological perspective, in this perspective, it is believed that maladaptive behavior is mainly caused by abnormalities in the genetic structure. The psychodynamic perspective explains that maladaptive behavior is caused by the non-satisfaction of human desires. These desires are mainly psychosexual in nature. The behavioral perspective explains that maladaptive behavior is a form of response to external stimuli. The cognitive perspective explains that maladaptive behavior and feelings arise from having a pessimistic approach to life.
The humanistic- existential perspective tries to explain that maladaptive behavior is caused by the way a person views self. The human being has the ability to actualize him or herself. This is also, what causes a person to have a low self worth of self. The community – cultural perspective explains that maladaptive behavior is caused by the social economic factors that one is raised in. this include the level of poverty, social support that one receives and the cultural beliefs and differences. The last of the perspectives is the Interactional perspective. This perspective tends to combine all the above perspectives as possible causes of maladaptive behavior.
The most plausible perspective would be a combination of the community-cultural perspective and the biological perspective. Many maladaptive disorders could be explained by the community-cultural perspective because research shows that persons who are brought up in deplorable conditions are more likely to exhibit maladaptive behavioral patterns. The low class estates exhibit the highest numbers since the environment does indeed influence the development of a person in every aspect. The biological perspective is also a plausible cause because genetics directly affect the behavioral patterns of all animals. Therefore, a defect or deficiency in a person means that the person will directly exhibit maladaptive behavioral patterns.
