Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

The healthy man does not torture others.  Generally, it is the tortured who turn into torturers.” -Carl Jung

1. For the 30 hours required for our first independent component, I will be take a Young Scholars class at Cal Poly. The class is called Mind, Brain, Behavior: An Integrated View. It is a 10-week Psychology course that meets once a week for 3 hours and 50 minutes. The topics that are covered in the class vary from nerve cells to the bio psychology of ethics. The class was recommended to me by Mrs. Hunzeker during my Senior Meeting.

2. Meeting for about 4 hours a week, the 30 hour hour requirement is sure to be met. I plan to collect my notes that I will be taking during each class and all handouts or worksheets we are given. Of necessary, I can also bring in the 3 mid term exams taken throughout the course. We are also expected to write a 3-6 page book review(as listed in the class syllabus attached on the left), which I can use as additional evidence to show the completion of the 30 hours.

3. My topic is psychopathology. In the recent sources I have used, there are mainly examples and interviews based on research from professionals in psychology. In this class, I will gain a more scientific perspective on my topic. Also, there are othe related disorders that will mainly be covered in the seventh and eighth week of the class. I noticed that each week covers a component that I have found to be a branch from the symptoms of psychopathy based on my previous research. For example, Drugs and the Brain in week 3 and Hormones and Behavior in week 6. I recall a direct relation between substance abuse and the development of psychopaths described in Without Conscience, a vital piece of research I have been using. One of the main characteristics of a psychopath is having strong and emotionless sexual desires, explained more in week 3 of the class. I will become more well rounded on my topic, not only knowing about one aspect of it.