What are the similarities and differences between Daniel and Joel throughout the novel The Bronze Bow?

Daniel and Joel both come from Jewish families, were raised in Galilee, and have one female sibling. They are both loyal, courageous young men who feel strongly about the Roman occupation. They both take a vow to fight for Israel and "For God's Victory" (Speare 85). Daniel and Joel both recruit individuals to join Rosh's band and participate in raids and various plans to undermine Rome and its sympathizers. As the novel progresses, both boys travel to listen to Jesus speak. At the end of the novel, they both abandon Rosh's band and chose to leave Israel's future in God's hands.

Although Daniel and Joel share many similarities, they both come from drastically different backgrounds. Daniel comes from a poor family, has experienced the loss of both parents, and chose to live in the mountains with Rosh. Joel, on the other hand, has been raised in a wealthy family, has been given an opportunity to become a rabbi, and lives in the city. Throughout the majority of the novel, Daniel is an angry individual who seeks vengeance, while Joel is an understanding individual who spends the majority of his time studying. Daniel is also known for his physical prowess while Joel is known for intelligence. Despite their differences, both boys feel strongly about Israel's independence and choose help Rosh's cause.

What are sexual variants and paraphilias?

Introduction

Paraphilias are sexual behaviors that differ from the society’s norms; a paraphilia is classified as a psychological disorder when the deviant fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause the individual significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas and persist for longer than six months, or when they cause harm to others. Psychologist John Money, who has studied sexual attitudes and behaviors extensively, claims to have identified about forty such behaviors.

Types of Paraphilias

Exhibitionism

Exhibitionism
is commonly called "indecent exposure." The term refers to behavior in which an individual, usually a man, experiences recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies or urges about exposing his genitals to an involuntary observer, who is usually a female. The key point in exhibitionistic behavior is that it involves observers who are unwilling. After exposure, the exhibitionist often masturbates while fantasizing about the observer’s reaction. Exhibitionists tend to be most aroused by shock and typically flee if the observer responds by laughing or attempts to approach the exhibitionist. Most people who exhibit themselves are adolescent or young adult men. They tend to be shy, unassertive people who feel inadequate and afraid of being rejected by another person. People who make obscene telephone calls have similar characteristics to the people who engage in exhibitionism. Typically, they are sexually aroused when their observers react in a shocked manner. Many masturbate during or immediately after placing an obscene call.

Voyeurism

Voyeurism is the derivation of sexual pleasure through the repetitive seeking of or intrusive fantasies of situations that involve looking, or “peeping,” at unsuspecting people who are naked, undressing, or engaged in sexual intercourse. It may also involve secretly filming or photographing the target. Most individuals who act on these urges masturbate during the voyeuristic activity or immediately afterward in response to what they have seen. Further sexual contact with the unsuspecting stranger is rarely sought. Like exhibitionists, voyeurs are usually not physically dangerous. Most voyeurs are not attracted to nude beaches or other places where it is acceptable to look because they are most aroused when the risk of being discovered is high. Voyeurs tend to be men in their twenties and may have a high sex drive along with strong feelings of inadequacy.

Sadomasochism

Sadomasochistic
behavior encompasses both sadism and masochism; it is often abbreviated S & M. The term “sadism” is derived from the marquis de Sade, a French writer and army officer who was horribly cruel to people for his own erotic purposes. Sexual sadism involves acts in which the psychological or physical suffering of the victim, including his or her humiliation, is deemed sexually exciting. In masochism, sexual excitement is produced in a person by his or her own suffering; the preferred means of achieving gratification include verbal humiliation and being bound or whipped. The dynamics of the two behaviors are similar. Sadomasochistic behaviors have the potential to be physically dangerous, but most people involved in these behaviors participate in mild or symbolic acts with a partner they can trust. Most people who engage in S & M activities are motivated by a desire for dominance or submission rather than pain. Interestingly, many nonhuman animals participate in pain-inflicting behavior before coitus. Some researchers think that the activity heightens the biological components of sexual arousal, such as blood pressure and muscle tension. It has been suggested that any resistance between partners enhances sex, and S & M is a more extreme version of this behavior. It is also thought that S & M offers people the temporary opportunity to take on roles that are the opposite of the controlled, restrictive roles they play in everyday life. Both sexual sadism and sexual masochism are considered disorders when the fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas.

Fetishism

Fetishism is a type of sexual behavior in which a person becomes sexually aroused by focusing on an inanimate object or a part of the human body. Many people are aroused by looking at undergarments, legs, or breasts, and it is often difficult to distinguish between normal activities and fetishistic ones. It is when a person becomes focused on the objects or body parts, called "fetishes," to the point of causing significant distress or impairment that a disorder is present. Fetishists are usually men. Common fetish objects include women’s lingerie, high-heeled shoes, boots, stockings, leather, silk, and rubber goods. Common body parts involved in fetishism are hair, buttocks, breasts, and feet.

Pedophilia

The term “pedophilia” is from the Greek language and means “love of children.” It is characterized by a preference for sexual activity with prepubescent children and is engaged in primarily by men. The activity varies in intensity and ranges from stroking the child’s hair to holding the child while secretly masturbating, manipulating the child’s genitals, encouraging the child to manipulate his or her own genitals, or, sometimes, engaging in sexual intercourse. Generally, a pedophile who sexually abuses a child is related to, or an acquaintance of, the child, rather than a stranger. Studies of imprisoned pedophiles have found that the men typically had poor relationships with their parents, drank heavily, showed poor sexual adjustment, and were themselves sexually abused as children. Pedophiles tend to be older than people convicted of other sex offenses. Not all pedophiles sexually abuse children, however. For a diagnosis of pedophilia, the individual should be at least sixteen years old and at least five years older than the target child or children.

Transvestic Disorder

"Transvestism" refers to dressing in clothing of the opposite sex to obtain sexual excitement. In the majority of cases, it is men who are attracted to transvestism. Several studies show that cross-dressing occurs primarily among married heterosexuals. The man usually achieves sexual satisfaction simply by putting on the clothing, but sometimes masturbation and intercourse are engaged in while the clothing is being worn. In some cases, gender dysphoria, persistent discomfort with gender role or identity, is present along with transvestic disorder.

Frotteurism

Frotteurism encompasses fairly common fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors of a person, usually a male, obtaining sexual pleasure by pressing or rubbing against a fully clothed person, usually female, in a crowded public place. Often it involves the clothed penis rubbing against the woman’s buttocks or legs and appears accidental.

Zoophilia and Necrophilia

Zoophilia involves sexual contact between humans and animals as the repeatedly preferred method of achieving sexual excitement. In this disorder, the animal is preferred despite other available sexual outlets. Necrophilia is a rare dysfunction in which a person obtains sexual gratification by looking at or having intercourse with a corpse.

Diagnosis and Treatments

A problem in the definition and diagnosis of sexual variations is that it is difficult to draw the line between normal and abnormal behavior. Patterns of sexual behavior differ widely across history and within different cultures and communities. It is impossible to lay down the rules of normality; however, attempts are made to understand behavior that differs from the majority and to help people who find their own atypical behavior to be problematic or to be problematic in the eyes of the law.

Unlike most therapeutic techniques in use by psychologists, many of the treatments for paraphilias have historically been painful, and the degree of their effectiveness has been questionable. Supposedly, the methods were not aimed at punishing the individual, but perhaps society’s lack of tolerance toward sexual deviations can be seen in the nature of the treatments. In general, attempts to treat the paraphilias have been hindered by the lack of information available about them and their causes.

Traditional counseling and psychotherapy alone have not been very effective in modifying the behavior of paraphiliacs. Some researchers believe that the behavior might be important for the mental stability of paraphiliacs. If they did not have the paraphilia, they might experience mental deterioration. Another hypothesis is that, although people are punished by society for being sexually deviant, they are also rewarded for it. For the paraphilias that put the person at risk for arrest, the danger of arrest often becomes as arousing and rewarding as the sexual activity itself. Difficulties in treating paraphiliacs may also be related to the emotionally impoverished environments that many of them experienced throughout childhood and adolescence. Convicted sex offenders report more physical and sexual abuse as children than do the people convicted of nonsexual crimes. It is difficult to undo the years of learning involved.

Surgical castration for therapeutic purposes involves removal of the testicles. Surgical castration for sexual offenders in North America is very uncommon, but the procedure is sometimes used in northern European countries. The reason castration is used as a treatment for sex offenders is the inaccurate belief that testosterone is necessary for sexual behavior. The hormone testosterone is produced by the testicles. Unfortunately, reducing the amount of testosterone in the blood system does not always change sexual behavior. Furthermore, contrary to the myth that a sex offender has an abnormally high sex drive, many sex offenders have a low sex drive or are sexually dysfunctional.

In the same vein as surgical castration, other treatments use the administration of chemicals to decrease desire without the removal of genitalia. Estrogens have been fairly effective in reducing the sex drive, but they sometimes make the male appear feminine by increasing breast size and stimulating other female characteristics. There are also drugs that block the action of testosterone and other androgens but do not feminize the body; these drugs are called "antiandrogens." Used together with counseling, antiandrogens can benefit paraphiliacs and sex offenders, especially those who are highly motivated to overcome the problem. More research on the effects of chemicals on sexual behavior is needed; the extent of the possible side effects, for example, needs further study.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of antidepressants, and some antianxiety medications have shown promise as medical treatments. SSRIs commonly have the side effect of lowering the patient's sex drive and may also reduce compulsions as they do for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Such treatments may be best suited for nonviolent paraphiliacs who have an accompanying mood disorder or other condition.

Aversion therapy
is another technique that has been used to eliminate inappropriate sexual arousal. In aversion therapy, the behavior that is to be decreased or eliminated is paired with an aversive, or unpleasant, experience. Most approaches use pictures of the object or situation that is problematic. The pictures are then paired with something extremely unpleasant, such as an electric shock or a putrid smell, thereby reducing arousal to the problematic object or situation in the future. Aversion therapy has been found to be fairly effective but is under ethical questioning because of its drastic nature. For example, chemical aversion therapy involves the administration of a nausea- or vomit-inducing drug. Electrical aversion therapy involves the use of electric shock. An example of the use of electric shock would be to show a pedophile pictures of young children whom he finds sexually arousing and to give an electric shock immediately after showing the pictures, in an attempt to reverse the pedophile’s tendency to be sexually aroused by children. Less drastic variants such as covert sensitization, which relies on an unpleasant thought of punishment as the negative reinforcer, or masturbatory satiation, which seeks to supplant the undesired paraphilic fantasy with an acceptable alternative during masturbation, have also been developed.

Often, cognitive behavioral therapies, including harm reduction, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP), are used in conjunction with other treatments. These therapies seek to reduce, not eliminate, the problematic behavior or to help the patient identify underlying emotional conditions that trigger the thoughts or behaviors and cope with them in more acceptable ways. Other techniques have been developed to help clients learn more socially approved patterns of sexual interaction skills.

In general, the efficacy of the techniques mentioned is quite variable, depending in part on the paraphilic disorder involved and the individual's motivation. Unfortunately, most therapy is conducted while the paraphiliacs are imprisoned or in a residential treatment facility, providing a less than ideal setting, and reoffending is common among paraphiliacs who have committed criminal sexual offences.

Disturbances of Courtship Behavior

Beliefs regularly change with respect to what sexual activities are considered normal, so most therapists prefer to avoid terms such as “perversion,” instead using “paraphilia.” Basically, “paraphilia” means “love of the unusual.” Aspects of paraphilias are commonly found within the scope of normal behavior; it is when they become the prime means of gratification, replacing direct sexual contact with a consenting adult partner, that paraphilias are technically said to exist. People who show atypical sexual patterns might also have emotional problems, but it is thought that most people who participate in paraphilias also participate in normal sexual behavior with adult partners, without complete reliance on paraphilic behaviors to produce sexual excitement. Many people who are arrested for paraphilic behaviors do not resort to the paraphilia because they lack a socially acceptable sex partner. Instead, they have an unusual opportunity, a desire to experiment, or perhaps an underlying psychological problem.

According to the approach of Kurt Freund and his colleagues, some paraphilias are better understood as disturbances in the sequence of courtship behaviors. Freund has described courtship as a sequence of four steps: location and appraisal of a potential partner, interaction that does not involve touch, interaction that does involve touch, and genital contact. Most people engage in behavior that is appropriate for each of these steps, but some do not. The ones who do not can be seen as having exaggerations or distortions in one or more of the steps. For example, Freund says that voyeurism is a disorder in the first step of courtship. The voyeur does not use an acceptable means to locate a potential partner. An exhibitionist and an obscene phone caller would have a problem with the second step: They have interaction with people that occurs before the stage of touch, but the talking and the showing of exhibitionistic behaviors are not the normal courtship procedures. Frotteurism would be a disruption at the third step, because there is physical touching that is inappropriate. Finally, rape would be a deviation from the appropriate fourth step.

As a result of social and legal restrictions, reliable data on the frequency of paraphilic behaviors are limited. Most information about paraphilias comes from people who have been arrested or are in therapy. Because the majority of people who participate in paraphilias do not fall into these two categories, it is highly difficult to talk about the majority of paraphiliacs in the real world. It is known, however, that males are much more likely to engage in paraphilias than are females.

Bibliography

Allgeier, E. R., and A. R. Allgeier. “Atypical Sexual Activity.” Sexual Interactions. 5th ed. Boston: Houghton, 2000. Print.

Bradford, John M. W., and A. G. Ahmed, eds. Sexual Deviation: Assessment and Treatment. Philadelphia: Elsevier, June 2014. Digital file.

Downes, David, and Paul Rock. Understanding Deviance: A Guide to the Sociology of Crime and Rule-Breaking. 6th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.

Laws, D. Richard, and William O’Donohue, eds. Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford, 2008. Print.

Lehmiller, Justin J. The Psychology of Human Sexuality. Malden: Wiley, 2014. Print.

Stoller, Robert J. “Sexual Deviations.” Human Sexuality in Four Perspectives. Ed. Frank A. Beach and Milton Diamond. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1978. Print.

Ward, Tony, Devon Polaschek, and Anthony R. Beech. Theories of Sexual Offending. Hoboken: Wiley, 2006. Print.

Weinberg, Thomas S., and G. W. Levi Kamel, eds. S and M: Studies in Sadomasochism. Rev. ed. Buffalo: Prometheus, 1995. Print.

Wilson, Glenn, ed. Variant Sexuality. New York: Routledge, 2014. Digital file.

Describe structuralism and functionalism as schools of thought in psychology.

Introduction

Structuralism and functionalism were two of the earliest schools of thought in psychology. To understand these early perspectives, it is important to consider the sociohistorical context in which they developed. Psychology as an independent scientific discipline was founded in 1879 by German scholar Wilhelm Wundt
at the University of Leipzig. Wundt was a medically trained physiologist appointed to the department of philosophy at Leipzig. In 1879, he established the first-ever laboratory devoted solely to the experimental study of psychological issues. The German Zeitgeist was conducive to this development. For example, the education reform movement encouraged the development of university research and promoted academic freedom. Furthermore, German scholars at the time accepted a broader definition of science compared with their counterparts in many other European countries.

Wundt defined psychology as the scientific study of conscious experience and organized it into two broad areas: experimental psychology (the study of sensation and perception, reaction time, attention, and feelings) and Völkerpsychologie (cultural psychology, which included the study of language, myth, and custom). Wundt made an important distinction between immediate and mediate experiences. Mediate experiences involve an interpretation of sensory input (“I see an apple”), whereas an immediate experience consists of pure and unbiased sensory experiences (“I see a roundish, red object”). Wundt emphasized the process of organizing and synthesizing the elemental components of consciousness (the immediate experiences) into higher-level thoughts. Because this process of apperception was considered to be an act of will or volition, he often referred to his system as voluntarism.

One of Wundt’s students, Edward Titchener
, an Englishman who earned his doctoral degree under Wundt in 1892, ascended to prominence by establishing the structural school of thought in psychology as a professor at Cornell University. Functionalism soon arose as a school of thought that opposed structuralism.

Titchener, it should be noted, considered structuralism to be a refined extension of and largely compatible with Wundt’s work. Because Titchener was the main translator of Wundt’s work into English and was widely considered to be a loyal and accurate representative of Wundt’s system, the term structuralism at the time was used as a label for both Titchener’s and Wundt’s work. This interpretative error, which is still propagated in some textbooks, was not fully realized until the mid-1970s, when scholars started to examine Wundt’s original work in detail. There are some important differences between Titchener’s structuralism and Wundt’s system of voluntarism. First, Titchener rejected the idea of a branch of cultural psychology. Second, structural psychology neglected the study of apperception and focused almost exclusively on the identification of the elements of consciousness. Finally, in a structuralist framework, the elements of consciousness themselves were of utmost importance; mediate and immediate experiences were considered the same event simply viewed from different vantage points. There was no need for a volitional process.

Structuralism

For Titchener, psychology was the study of consciousness. Whereas physics was said to be concerned with assessing environmental events from an objective, external standard, psychology was concerned with examining how humans experience such events subjectively. For example, an hour spent listening to a boring speech and an hour spent playing an enjoyable game last exactly the same length of time—3,600 seconds—but, psychologically, the second event goes by more quickly.

In structuralism, consciousness is defined as the sum total of experiences at any given moment, and the mind is defined as the sum of experiences over the course of a lifetime. To understand consciousness and thus the mind, psychology, according to structuralism, must be concerned with three primary questions: First, what are the most basic elements of consciousness? Just as chemists break down physical substances into their elemental components, psychologists should identify the basic components of consciousness. Second, how are the elements associated with one another? That is, in what ways do they combine to produce complex experiences? Third, according to Titchener, what underlying physiological conditions are associated with the elements? Most of Titchener’s work was devoted to the first goal of identifying the basic elements of consciousness. The primary methodology used toward this end was systematic experimental introspection.

Introspection

A primary goal for structuralism was to identify the basic elements of consciousness. Titchener reasoned that any science requires an observation of its subject matter, and psychology was no different. As detailed in Titchener’s classic work Experimental Psychology: A Manual of Laboratory Practice (4 vols., 1901–5), introspection involved the systematic analysis and reporting of conscious experiences by highly trained researchers. Such individuals were trained to report on the most basic of sensory experiences and to avoid the stimulus error of reporting perceptual interpretations. For example, to report seeing “an apple” or having “a headache” would be a stimulus error. It would be more accurate, psychologically, to report seeing a “roundish, red object” or experiencing a “throbbing sensation of moderate intensity in the lower right part of the head.” This methodology was used by Wundt, but Wundt emphasized quantitative judgments (such as size, weight, duration, or intensity), whereas in Titchener’s system, descriptive reports were emphasized.

Titchener concluded that there were three basic elements of consciousness: sensations, images, and feelings. Sensations were the most fundamental and were the building blocks of all perceptions. In his book An Outline of Psychology (1896), Titchener listed more than forty-four thousand elementary sensations, including approximately thirty-two thousand visual, twelve thousand auditory, and four taste sensations. It was held that these indivisible sensations could be combined in any number of ways to produce unique perceptions and ideas. Images are the building blocks for ideas and reflect previous sensory experiences. It is possible to have an image of an apple only because of past experiences with a particular combination of sensations. All feelings were viewed as reducible to experiencing a degree of pleasantness or unpleasantness. (In contrast, Wundt postulated two other dimensions: strain/relaxation and excitement/calmness.) A feeling, when combined with certain sensations, can give rise to a complex emotional state, such as love, joy, disgust, or fear.

Later in his career, Titchener asserted that each element of consciousness could be characterized with regard to five basic dimensions: quality, intensity, protensity (duration), attensity (clearness), and extensity (space). Quality refers to the differentiation of sensations (an apple may be red or green; the water may be hot or cold). Intensity refers to the strength or magnitude of the quality (the extent to which the apple is red or the water is cold). Protensity refers to the duration or length of a sensory experience. Attensity refers to the clarity or vividness of the experience and reflects the process of attention (sensations are clearer when they are the focus of attention). Some sensations, especially visual and tactile ones, can also be characterized in terms of extensity (that is, they take up a certain amount of space). Feelings were characterized only in terms of quality, intensity, and protensity. Titchener believed that feelings dissipated when they were the subject of focused attention and therefore could not be experienced with great clarity.

Evaluation

Structuralism faded away after Titchener’s death in 1927. However, the basic tenets of structuralism had been under attack for years. First, there were serious problems with introspection as a scientific methodology. The results of such studies were frequently unreliable and there was no way of objectively verifying the content of someone’s consciousness. The controversy over imageless thought was important. One group of researchers, most notably a former follower of Wundt, Oswald Külpe, at the University of Würzburg, concluded, using introspection methodology, that some thoughts occurred in the absence of any mentalistic sensations or images. This was completely at odds with structuralism, and researchers loyal to the structuralist position were not able to replicate the findings. On the other hand, researchers sympathetic to the Würzburg school were able to replicate the findings. Obviously, a theoretical bias was driving the results. It was widely concluded that introspection was lacking the objectivity needed to sustain a scientific discipline. Other methodologies were discouraged by structuralists in part because of the limited scope of psychology they practiced. In essence, structural psychology was limited to the study of the elements of consciousness in the healthy adult human. There was no place for the use of nonhuman animals as subjects, no child psychology, and no concern with the psychology of physical or mental illness. In addition, Titchener was against applied research, that is, conducting research to help resolve practical problems. He felt that this would detract from the objectivity of the study and that academic researchers should be devoted to advancement of pure knowledge. Finally, structuralism was criticized for focusing almost exclusively on the elements of consciousness without taking into serious consideration the idea that consciousness is experienced as a unified whole, and that this whole is different from the sum of the elements.

In the twenty-first century, two major contributions of structuralism are recognized. The first is the strong emphasis that Titchener and his followers placed on rigorous laboratory research as the basis for psychology. Although other methods are used by contemporary psychologists (such as case studies and field research), the emphasis on experimentation in practice and training remains dominant. Second, structuralism provided a well-defined school of thought and set of ideas that others could debate and oppose, with the ultimate result being the development of new and different schools of thought. The most prominent opposition to structuralism was functionalism.

Functionalism

Unlike structuralism, functionalism was not a formal school of psychological thought. Rather, it was a label (originally used by Titchener) applied to a general set of assumptions regarding the providence of psychology, and a loosely connected set of principles regarding the psychology of consciousness. In many respects, functionalism was defined in terms of its opposition or contrast to structuralism. For example, functionalists believed that psychology should focus on the functions of mental life (in contrast to the structuralist focus on elemental components); be concerned with using psychology for practical solutions to problems (structuralists were, at best, indifferent to this concern); study not only healthy adult humans (the main focus of attention of structuralists) but also nonhuman animals, children, and unhealthy individuals; employ a wide range of methodologies to investigate psychological issues (structuralists relied almost totally on introspection); and examine individual differences, rather than being solely concerned, like the structuralists, with the establishment of universal (nomothetic) principles.

Although structuralism was imported to the United States by a British scholar (Titchener) who received his psychological training in Germany (under Wundt), functionalism had a distinctly American flair. The American Zeitgeist at the time emphasized pragmatism and individuality. Such qualities made American psychologists especially receptive to the revolutionary work of Charles Darwin on evolution and its subsequent application (as “social Darwinism”) by anthropologist Herbert Spencer to education, business, government, and other social institutions. Other important developments that influenced functionalism include work by Sir Francis Galton on individual differences in mental abilities and the work on animal psychology by George Romanes and C. Lloyd Morgan.

William James

William James
is considered the most important direct precursor of functional psychology in the United States, and one of the most eminent psychologists ever to have lived. James earned his medical degree from Harvard University in 1869 and subsequently became keenly interested in psychology. Despite his severe bouts with depression and other ailments, he accepted a post at Harvard in 1872 to teach physiology. Shortly thereafter, in 1875, James taught the first psychology course offered in the United States, “The Relations Between Physiology and Psychology,” and initiated a classroom demonstration laboratory.

James published the two-volume work
The Principles of Psychology
in 1890. This work was immediately a great success and is now widely regarded as the most important text in the history of modern psychology. Given the expansiveness of his work—more than thirteen hundred pages arranged in twenty-eight chapters—it is impossible to summarize fully, but it includes such topics as the scope of psychology, functions of the brain, habit, methods of psychology, memory, the consciousness of self, sensation, perception, reasoning, instinct, emotions, will, and hypnotism. James presented ideas that became central to functionalism. For example, in the chapter “The Stream of Consciousness,” James criticized the postulate of structural psychology that sensations constitute the simplest mental elements and must therefore be the major focus of psychological inquiry. In contrast, James argued that conscious thought is experienced as a flowing and continuous stream, not as a collection of frozen elements. With this new, expansive conceptualization of consciousness, James helped pave the way for psychologists interested in broadening the scope and methods of psychology. What was to emerge was the school of functionalism, with prominent camps at the University of Chicago and Columbia University.

The Chicago School

The Chicago school of functionalism is represented by the works of American scholars John Dewey
, James Rowland Angell
, and Harvey A. Carr. Functionalism was launched in 1896 with Dewey’s Psychological Review article “The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology.” Dewey argued against reducing reflexive behaviors to discontinuous elements of sensory stimuli, neural activity, and motor responses. In the same way that James attacked elementalism and reductionism in the analysis of consciousness, Dewey argued that it was inaccurate and artificial to do so with behavior. Influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary theory of natural selection, Dewey asserted that reflexes should not be analyzed in terms of their component parts, but rather in terms of how they are functional for the organism—that is, how they help an organism adapt to the environment.

Angell crystalized the functional school in his 1907 Psychological Review paper “The Province of Functional Psychology.” In this work, three characteristics of functionalism were identified. Functional psychology is interested in discerning and portraying the typical operations of consciousness under actual life conditions, as opposed to analyzing and describing the elementary units of consciousness. Functional psychology is concerned with discovering the basic utilities of consciousness, that is, how mental processes help organisms adapt to their surroundings and survive. Functional psychology recognizes and insists on the essential significance of the mind-body relationship for any just and comprehensive appreciation of mental life itself.

Carr’s 1925 textbook Psychology: A Study of Mental Activity presents the most polished version of functionalism. As the title suggests, Carr identified such processes as memory, perception, feelings, imagination, judgment, and will as the topics for psychology. Such psychological processes were considered functional in that they help organisms gain information about the world, retain and organize that information, and then retrieve the information to make judgments about how to react to current situations. In other words, these processes were viewed as useful to organisms as they adapt their environments.

The Columbia School

Another major camp of functionalism was at Columbia University and included such notable psychologists as James McKeen Cattell
, Robert S. Woodworth
, and Edward L. Thorndike
.

In line with the functionalist’s embrace of applied psychology and the study of individual differences, Cattell laid the foundation for the psychological testing movement that would become massive in the 1920s and beyond. Under the influence of Galton, Cattell stressed the statistical analysis of large data sets and the measurement of mental abilities. He developed the order of merit methodology, in which participants rank-order a set of stimuli (for instance, the relative appeal of pictures or the relative eminence of a group of scientists) from which average ranks are calculated.

Woodworth is best known for his emphasis on motivation in what he called dynamic psychology. In this system, Woodworth acknowledged the importance of considering environmental stimuli and overt responses but emphasized the necessity of understanding the organism (perceptions, needs, or desires), representing therefore an early stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) approach to psychology.

Thorndike represented a bridge from functionalism to behaviorism, a new school of thought that was led by John B. Watson and emerged around 1913. Thorndike was notable for his use of nonhuman subjects, a position consistent with Darwin’s emphasis on the continuity among organisms. He is also famous for his puzzle box research with cats, which led to his law of effect, which states that when an association is followed by a satisfying state of affairs, that association is strengthened. This early operant conditioning research was later expanded on by the famous behaviorist psychologist B. F. Skinner.

Evaluation

Functionalism paved the way for the development of applied psychology, including psychological testing, clinical psychology, school psychology, and industrial-organizational psychology. Functionalism also facilitated the use of psychological research with a wide variety of subjects beyond the healthy male adult, including infants, children, the mentally ill, and nonhuman animals. Finally, functional psychologists used a wide variety of methods beyond that of introspection, including field studies, questionnaires, mental tests, and behavioral observations. These developments were responsible, in part, for the United States becoming the world center for psychological study by 1920. The term functional psychology faded from usage as it became clear that, by default, being simply a psychologist in the United States meant being a functional psychologist. The shift in psychological thought instigated by functionalism set the stage for the next major evolutionary phase in American psychology, behaviorism.

Bibliography

Baker, David B., ed. The Oxford Handbook of the History of Psychology: Global Perspectives. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

Benjamin, Ludy T., Jr. “The Psychology Laboratory at the Turn of the Twentieth Century.” American Psychologist 55 (2000): 318–21. Print.

Boring, Edwin G. A History of Experimental Psychology. 2nd ed. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1950. Print.

Chung, Man Cheung, and Michael E. Hyland. History and Philosophy of Psychology. Malden: Wiley, 2012. Print.

Leys, R., and R. B. Evans. Defining American Psychology: The Correspondence Between Adolf Meyer and Edward Bradford Titchener. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1990. Print.

Viegas, Jennifer. William James: American Philosopher, Psychologist, and Theologian. New York: Rosen, 2006. Print.

Wertheimer, Michael. A Brief History of Psychology. New York: Taylor, 2012. Print.

What are the similarities between solar and coal energy?

Solar energy originates with the Sun. It can be captured by plants and other producers for the process of photosynthesis. As a result of this process, solar energy is converted to chemical energy in the form of glucose molecules. Glucose can be in turn eaten by herbivores and these organisms can be eaten by other organisms in a food chain. When an organism dies, bacteria and fungi known as decomposers, consume dead organisms and obtain energy.  All of this energy is indirectly from the Sun. 

Coal is formed from the remains of ancient trees that lived in the Carboniferous era. It was hot and they lived in a swampy environment. Through burial and compression over time, the remains of these ancient trees became coal. Coal contains stored chemical energy and this energy originally came from solar energy that kept these ancient trees alive.

What is really occurring here is the process of energy transformation. Energy cannot be created or destroyed but it can be transformed from one form to another. Solar energy is transformed to chemical energy in plants and this energy can be eaten as seen in a food chain, or it can be used to heat a home as seen in power plants which use coal's stored chemical energy to generate electricity. This shows the relationship between solar and coal energy.

I have included a link which has a virtual lab showing energy transformations and another that has a diagram illustrating the same concept.

What is the doctrine of the incarnation? Why is it important to the Christian faith?

In Christianity, the doctrine of the Incarnation is the idea that God became human in the person of Jesus Christ, his son. All forms of Christianity believe in some fashion that Jesus is the Son of God. The precise nature of his connection to God has never been universally agreed upon, but the orthodox position held by Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Anglican Christians is that God was incarnated equally human and divine in Jesus. Two church councils can help to shed light on the development of the precise relationship between God and Jesus behind the Incarnation: the Council of Nicaea emphasized the Trinity and the equality between three persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, Spirit), while the Council of Chalcedon emphasized the equality of a human and divine nature united in the single person of Jesus.

Nicene Christianity

The first Council of Nicaea was held in 325 AD. As the first ecumenical council of the church, it was especially important in defining the beliefs held by today’s Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, and Oriental Orthodox churches. The Nicene Creed, a basic outline of Christian belief, professes belief in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. While the original creed does not explicitly define God as a trinity of three persons, one purpose of the Council of Nicaea was to defend Trinitarian belief.  

Chalcedonian Christianity

The Council of Chalcedon was held in 451 AD. Among the churches who hold Chalcedonian theology are the Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Anglican churches. The Chalcedonian Definition declared that after the Incarnation, Jesus possessed two natures (human and divine) in one person or “hypostasis.” This has since become the orthodox teaching of Christianity, referred to as dyophysitism, though some churches such as the Oriental Orthodox reject the Chalcedonian Definition. These churches follow miaphysitism, the position that after the incarnation Jesus had only a single nature.

Significance

The decisions of the two councils support the dominant position of the Incarnation today: specifically, God exists as a Trinity of three distinct persons who are all of the same essence; the second person of the Trinity, the Son, then became a human called Jesus Christ who in his singular personhood contained two natures, human and divine.

This is significant to Christianity because by affirming the completely human and divine natures of Jesus, as well as his unification with God through the Trinity, he is equipped in the realm of Christian theology to be both savior (from his divinity) and relatable (from his humanity). The Christian God is able to understand humans, because he became one, while also being capable of delivering salvation, thanks to his divinity.

In Sophocles' play Antigone, why does Antigone bury her brother the second time?

In the play, King Oedipus has died, leaving his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, to battle over the throne. When both Eteocles and Polynices die in combat, Creon becomes the king of Thebes. As king of Thebes, Creon orders his soldiers to give Eteocles a military burial because he 'died as a man should die, fighting for his country.' Meanwhile, Polynices' corpse is to be left to the scavenging birds and dogs, because he dared to raise his sword against his older brother and his country.

Antigone, sister to both Eteocles and Polynices, resolves to bury Polynices despite the royal edict against this. She tries to engage the help of her sister, Ismene, but Ismene is too afraid to go against King Creon's wishes. She argues that the law is made 'for the public good' and that 'impossible things should not be tried at all.' Despite her sister's protestations, Antigone resolves to bury the brother she loves. The first 'burial' involves a light cover of dust, 'just enough for the ghost's peace,' reports a sentry to King Creon.

When the enraged king orders his soldiers to bring him the man responsible for such unmitigated gall, the soldiers lie in wait near Polynices' corpse. Eventually, Antigone approaches, and when she discovers that the light covering of dust has been removed from her brother's corpse, she proceeds to cover her brother's body a second time with dust.

Just so, when this girl

Found the bare corpse, and all her love’s work wasted,

She wept, and cried on heaven to damn the hands

That had done this thing

And then she brought more dust

And sprinkled wine three times for her brother’s ghost.

We ran and took her at once. She was not afraid,

Not even when we charged her with what she had done.

She denied nothing.

Antigone is arrested and brought before Creon to answer for her actions. When Creon haughtily demands an explanation for her actions, Antigone answers that she must do as her conscience bids her. She maintains that she will suffer greatly if she lets her brother's corpse lie in dishonor on the plains; additionally, the laws of the gods must be obeyed above that of man.

Your edict, King, was strong,

But all your strength is weakness itself against

The immortal unrecorded laws of God.

They are not merely now: they were, and shall be,

Operative for ever, beyond man utterly.

Essentially, Polynices buries her brother a second time because she is determined to fulfill the dictates of her conscience and to maintain her allegiance to the laws of the gods. For her loyalty to her brother and to her conscience, Antigone is eventually sentenced to be immured in a cave. However, she does not wait to die but hangs herself with a noose made from her 'fine linen veil.'

In what way are the last two pages of Chapter 30 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird considered a 'coming of age moment' for Scout?

At the end of Chapter 30, Sheriff Tate tells Atticus that he would consider it a crime to tell the community of Maycomb that Boo Radley saved the children because it would bring unwanted attention to Boo. Tate realizes that Boo is a very shy individual, and making him the center of the community's attention would be harmful. Sheriff Tate tells Atticus that he will tell the community that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife and died. Atticus looks down at Scout and says, "Mr. Ewell fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand?" (Lee 370). Scout tells her father that she understands and comments that Tate made the right decision. Atticus asks Scout what she means, and Scout says, "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (Lee 370).

Scout's response indicates that she understands the importance of protecting innocent beings. Earlier in the novel, Atticus told Scout and Jem that it was a sin to shoot a mockingbird. Maudie elaborated on Atticus' lesson and commented that mockingbirds do nothing to harm anyone and simply make music for people to enjoy. Scout likens Boo's scenario to Atticus' lesson about not killing mockingbirds because she views Boo as a metaphorical "mockingbird." Scout realizes that mockingbirds symbolically represent any innocent being, and Boo Radley is in fact an innocent person who means well. Her ability to metaphorically connect Atticus' lesson to Boo's situation demonstrates her moral development and is considered a "coming of age moment" because she understands the deeper meaning attached to not killing mockingbirds. 

In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, what does the island look like?

In his novel Lord of the Flies, Golding describes the island that the boys land on at length. The climate is clearly tropical; there are many different fruit trees that the boys use as a source of food. The beaches are also "fledged with palm trees," which produce many coconuts that lay scattered on the beach. 

The island itself hosts a coral reef, which keeps the water in the bay still and calm. As a result, the boys are able to fish and find small crustaceans to eat as well. Beyond the beach is a wide swathe of forest lands, which hosts the wild pigs that become a main motivator and source of conflict between Jack and Ralph. 

In the middle of the forest is a mountain, which is covered in "pink granite." It is on this mountain that the boys believe the beast lives. 

Why did some countries industrialize before others?

The question asks why some countries industrialized before others. To start, industrialization is generally assumed to mean the introduction of mass production techniques and high degrees of mechanization. As such, it has historically meant a move away from an agriculture based economy supported by artisans conducting skilled trades. Industrialization comes from two inter-related, synergistic elements, namely, the mechanization of production of existing goods, and the introduction of new goods possible only through the advance of technology and capital.

Industrialization occurs when (a) technology allows the mechanization of production and (b) the political economy of the nation allows the freedom to implement that technology. Technology development in turn requires high levels of educational advancement, and the presence of enough excess economic value over and above that required for bare subsistence. That is, there must be enough resources to support people who can do research and development. Finally, as new production processes require labor, and often require that this labor be literate and trainable in different ways of working, industrialization requires a certain degree of population mobility. The pattern of industrialization can be largely traced to the relative presence or lack of these factors.

Of course, a topic this broad and impactful will have a variety of analyses.  A good example of this deep of "root causes" analysis is the reference cited below.

Looking at literary conflicts and characters, what connections can you make between "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker and "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid?

Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" and Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" make for an interesting pairing. We notice a few surface similarities right away: there's a conflict between the mother and daughter, with one character believing the other is utterly helpless and utterly wrong about how to approach life. Each of the mothers is struggling, perhaps unsuccessfully, to teach the daughter how to live correctly and how to skillfully adapt to everyday life and culture.

But there are some important differences between those conflicts. 

Notice how Mrs. Johnson from "Everyday Use" allows her daughter Dee to speak freely and to express herself. "You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It's really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it," Dee says, as her mother is practically silent. But the daughter from "Girl" barely gets in a few words of protest in the endless stream of instructions from her mother. Mrs. Johnson just wants Dee to appreciate the value of quilts as a useful everyday object: "God knows I been saving 'em for long enough with nobody using 'em. I hope she will [put them to everyday use]!"

But the mother from "Girl" seems bent on forcing her daughter to follow every rule for effective cooking, cleaning, and proper social behavior: "this is how you set a table; this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest," etc.

The chief worry of the mothers seems to be the kind of person that her daughter is turning out to be--but Mrs. Johnson worries that Dee doesn't appreciate where she came from, while the mother from "Girl" worries that her daughter will behave disgracefully ("try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming").

Ultimately, Mrs. Johnson succeeds perhaps too well in making Dee a strong girl who asserts herself in social situations, while the mother from "Girl" is still worried that she's raising the kind of daughter who can't even stand her ground with a baker so that she can squeeze the bread before purchasing it.

How does Anne Frank hurt her mother in Act 1, Scene 4? How do Anne's gifts to her mother and Peter show she has changed?

Anne hurt her mother when she refuses to let her stay with her after her nightmare and instead asks for her father.

Being in hiding is frightening for Anne. She often has nightmares. In this scene, Anne makes up a nightmare and everyone tries to soothe her. Her mother wants to stay with her, but she doesn’t let her mother stay. Anne and her mother have a rather strained relationship that didn’t get much better in the close proximity of the Secret Annex. 

MRS. FRANK. Poor darling. Try to sleep then. I'll sit right here beside you until you fall asleep. She brings a stool over, sitting there.

ANNE. You don't have to.

MRS. FRANK. But I'd like to stay with you. . . very much. Really.

ANNE. I'd rather you didn't (Act 1, Scene 4).

Anne adds insult to injury by asking for her father. It is bad enough that she doesn’t want her mother there, but the fact that she wants her father instead is very hurtful to her mother. Her mother doesn’t intend to be a bother for Anne, but they are always at odds just the same. Margot tells her mother this is just a phase girls go through where they prefer their fathers.

Anne explains to her father that she had a bad dream that the Nazis were coming for her. Mr. Frank tells Anne she hurt her mother by refusing her, and Anne realizes she was cruel.

MR. FRANK. You hurt her very much just now. She's crying.

She's in there crying.

ANNE. I can't help it. I only told the truth. I didn't want her here. . . Then, with sudden change. Oh, Pim, I was horrible, wasn't I? (Act 1, Scene 4) 

Although Anne might appear selfish, in Scene 5 the distribution of her presents shows she does think about others. There is no way to go out shopping, so Anne uses thoughtful planning and creativity to get everyone gifts. She carefully erases all the puzzles in a book of crosswords for Margot, for example, and gives her mother an I.O.U of ten hours of doing anything she said. That gift in particular demonstrates Anne knew she could be trying to her mother and is making a lighthearted attempt to make up.

How did the Italian Renaissance end?

The Renaissance (the word means “rebirth”) is generally understood to have started during the 14th century and lasted until the mid-16th century.  This marked the transition between the Medieval or Dark Ages to Early Modern Europe.  It was exemplified by a renewed interest in the arts, science, and philosophy. 

During the flowering of the Italian Renaissance, however, there were a number of catastrophes that contributed to its demise.

A change in climate resulted in harsh winters and the decline of agriculture; this led to repeated famines and shortages. On the heels of a previous swell in the population, these shortages exacerbated the food problem.

Trade throughout northwest Europe was disrupted by the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, and the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.  When King Edward III of England refused to pay his debts, this had a ripple effect that caused the two largest Florentine banks (Bardi and Peruzzi) to collapse.  

The Black Death was wiping out inhabitants in densely populated Northern Italian cities and it kept returning. As with any major health crises in a city, disorder and pandemonium resulted.  It is believed that the Black Death reduced Europe’s population by one third.

As the population saw that the Church was at a loss to provide relief or succor during the Black Death, this had a hand in the decline of church influence.

There is a school of thought that espouses that the rise to power in Florence of Girolamo Savonarola marked the end of the city’s flourishing. For others, it is the return of the Medici.  Some say the end of the Renaissance was hastened by French invasions of the early 16th century, and then the battle between France's and Spain's rulers for control of Italian territory.

It is notable that during the time of Savonarola’s rise to power a backlash towards the permissive atmosphere of the Renaissance caused many works of art to be destroyed; an Inquisition was formed, and there was a prohibition and ban on many Renaissance works of literature. This prohibition saw the end of the illuminated manuscript.

The Italian Wars, when the northern states were invaded by France (1494), ended independence for many of the city-states.  With the sacking of Rome (1527) by the Spanish and German, the role of the Papacy (as the largest patron of Renaissance art and architecture) all but ended.  Then there was war between Florence and Milan; at sea, there were battles between Pisa, Genoa and Venice.

There was the matter of trade. The way to India had been opened by Vasco da Gama (1498), and the discovery of the New World shifted trade routes away from Italy and the Mediterranean and toward Portugal and Europe’s west coast; this decreased Italian income.

Equally important was that the resurgence of art, science and literacy engendered an educated class, and this class questioned the teachings of the Church. As much of the Renaissance was powered by the Church’s wealth, when the educated class (the wealthy and the nobles) began to turn a deaf ear, the Church contributed less to fund art.

Would it be accurate to call The Brothers Ashkenazi by Irael Joshua Singer a portrayal of politics in a state of futility for Jewish solidarity?

Jewish solidarity is essentially described by scholars as the impulse that is acted upon by Jews to come to the aid of or to reach out with help to other Jews who are suffering hardships in other communities (Rabbi Berel Wein). I.J. Singer's book The Brothers Ashkenazi portrays the story of two rival brothers, twins, during a political era that ends in random violent turbulence aimed as a pogrom at the Jews of Lodz. Political futility reigns as Simcha Meir ("Max") learns that wealth and power cannot protect him against anti-Semitic violence.

Whether Singer means to point to a state of political futility for Jewish solidarity is a question worth debate, since he ends the story with Jacob rescuing his brother; the brothers then reconcile and overcome their past enmity. Yet, when they attempt to reenter Poland together, Jacob refuses to repudiate his Jewish religion and is killed for it, while Max, encouraged by the Polish guards, does reject his religion.

It is true, therefore, that the novel seems to depict a state of futility for Jewish solidarity: Jewish sons turn against fathers; Jewish sons turn against other Jewish sons (i.e., Nissan and Simha Meir); Jewish communities turn against other Jewish communities (e.g., Lodz Jews and Litvaks). It may be that Singer intends to present a portrayal of politics in a state of futility for human solidarity, as Rebecca Newberger Goldstein explains in "Love, Tough and Not Tough": 

It is not religious backwardness or economic conditions or political theories that are ultimately to blame. It is human nature itself that damns us, in I. J. Singer’s eyes. The possibility that Nissan can only glance at in his utter despair—the corruption mixed with human nature—is Israel Joshua’s conclusion. (Goldstein)

[Nissan]: "Maybe man was essentially evil. Maybe it wasn't the fault of economic circumstances, as he had been taught, but the deficiencies of human character." (The Brothers Ashkenazi)

Simha Meir, in particular, drawing from inexhaustible reserves of ingenuity and drive, serves only to demonstrate, by the very indefatigability of his exertions, the awful fatality and futility of human efforts in a world so thoroughly deformed by injustice... (Goldstein)

In Animal Farm, what does Napoleon mean when he says "but any animal that absented himself would have his rations reduced by half"?

This quote can be found at the beginning of Chapter Six. This chapter picks up at a point when the experiment on the farm is beginning to go a bit sour. Snowball has just been driven from the farm, leaving Napoleon basically unchallenged in his rule. The animals are exerting themselves more and more in the construction of the windmill (which was Snowball's idea, though Napoleon has now taken credit for it). The animals, we learn, are working "like slaves," and Napoleon adds to their sixty-hour a week workload by announcing that there will be a workday on Sunday as well. While work is "voluntary," the animals will have their "rations reduced by half." This refers to their food rations, and therefore means that the work is not really "voluntary": if they refuse to work on Sundays, they will starve. Aside from showing how Napoleon, like other dictators, consolidates his power by perverting the ideals of the society, this passage demonstrates an important theme in Animal Farm--the manipulation of language in service of power. By saying that extra work on Sundays is "voluntary," Napoleon keeps the facade of democracy on the farm. But in reality, as we have seen, it is hardly voluntary. It is an exercise in arbitrary power by a pig who is becoming increasingly despotic and abusive of his authority.

What are skin disorders?

Anatomy of the Skin

The skin is the largest organ of the body. It provides a barrier between the external world and the internal world: It protects against external contamination and helps to maintain the sterility of the internal body. The skin also assists in temperature regulation; humans can survive only within a narrow temperature range. The skin has nerve receptors that supply the brain with information, providing an interface with the world. There are specialized receptors for touch, temperature, vibration, and position in space (proprioception).

Appendages to the skin are fingernails, toenails, and hair. They are mainly of psychological importance. Nails protect the tips of fingers and toes in humans but are not needed for protection as claws are in lower animals. Hair is analogous to feathers. In birds, tiny muscles attached to the base of each feather cause them to be ruffled; this creates air pockets and allows birds to conserve heat and keep warm. The same muscles persist in humans, causing “goose flesh,” but they do not serve any other function. The main importance of these appendages is cosmetic. For example, people spend billions of dollars on hair care products each year. The motivation for this activity is psychological.

The two main layers in skin are the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the upper or outermost layer, and cells are continually formed at its base. As new cells are formed, existing cells are pushed toward the surface of the skin. These cells gradually lose their watery central contents, causing them to dry out (desiccate) and become flattened. This process normally spans approximately a month. Thus, the surface of the body is largely composed of dead cells that have become flattened. These cells are normally lost on a continual basis and create dandruff when shed from the scalp. On other parts of the body, sloughed cells provide excellent conditions for bacterial growth, accounting for the unpleasant odors that accompany poor hygiene habits.

Two other important types of cells are found in the epidermis: melanocytes and Langerhans cells. Melanocytes contain melanin and provide all the variations of pigmentation found in the human species. They multiply when stimulated by the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. This causes the skin to become darker, a protective mechanism against damage from ultraviolet radiation. Langerhans cells contain surface receptors for immunoglobulins. They play a central role in allergic reactions of the skin, such as contact dermatitis or delayed hypersensitivity reaction.

The
dermis is an inner layer of skin located beneath the epidermis. Its main function is protection. Within the dermis are highly specialized cells containing microscopic filaments. These cells impart tensile strength to the skin in much the same way that fibers strengthen fiberglass or reinforcing steel mesh strengthens concrete. Because they are so dense, they also serve as a barrier to the entry of most pathogens and many chemicals. Eccrine sweat glands are found in the dermis throughout the entire body. These produce a salty secretion (essentially salt water) that assists in
thermoregulation through evaporative cooling. They are also sensitive to emotional stress. Apocrine sweat glands are primarily in the armpits (axilla) and the groin, and they produce a milky secretion. When these secretions are broken down by bacteria on the surface of the skin, a characteristic odor is produced. The bases of hair follicles are also found in the dermis. The small sebaceous, or oil-secreting, gland associated with most hair follicles has the function of softening and moisturizing the hair.

Hair is found on most surfaces of the body; exceptions are the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, and the glans penis in men. The texture and length of the hair vary with location on the body, gender, genetic heritage, and age. Dramatic increases in the growth and distribution of hair occur at puberty. With increasing age, hair is typically lost from the scalp and other body parts. It also changes color, assuming a gray or white color because of the loss of melanin at the base of the hair follicle.

Complications and Disorders

When normal skin anatomy and physiology are upset, several common diseases or disorders result. When the barrier provided by the skin is broken, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other pathogens can invade the body, leading to infections. Locally, these infections can cause inflammation (redness and pain) of the skin; if widespread, they can lead to systemic infections. When the cells and other substances found in the skin become irregular or are abnormal, skin disorders or conditions result.

Skin disorders and conditions.

Pigmentation of the skin results from the presence of melanocytes, cells that manufacture and contain melanin. Most humans have pigmentation over their entire bodies; the degree of pigmentation varies with different racial and ethnic groups. Local areas of increased color have a range of names depending on the size of the pigmented area. A freckle is small and discrete. A nevus (mole) is a larger area of hyperpigmentation. These conditions are attributable to underlying variations in the distribution of melanocytes. They are genetic in origin and permanent; they are also accentuated by exposure to sunlight. Melasmas are irregular, flat, light brown areas on the neck, cheeks, or forehead. They are caused by hormonal changes associated with pregnancy or contraceptive pills and by exposure to sunlight. Melasmas fade with the reduction of excess hormones. There are also color changes in the labia of females during pregnancy; these changes are both harmless and permanent.

Generalized increases in skin coloration can occur with some metabolic diseases. Addison disease
involves an increase in melanocyte-stimulating hormone. This leads to an overall bronzing of the body, with accentuation in creases of the palms and soles. The condition subsides with treatment of the underlying cause of the disease. Similar pigment increases are associated with some forms of lung cancer, hemochromatosis, and chronic arsenic exposure. The latter two conditions are caused by the deposition of iron (hemochromatosis) and arsenic in the skin.

Generalized decreases in skin coloration can also occur. If melanocytes fail to migrate to the skin during embryologic development, hair follicles will lack color, resulting in a condition called piebaldism. Characteristically, this is a white patch in the hair of the forehead.
Vitiligo is caused by an immunologically mediated loss of melanocytes. Individuals with Phenylketonuria (PKU)
experience a generalized depigmentation of hair and eye color, in addition to intellectual disabilities, if the condition is not adequately and promptly treated. An individual totally lacking melanocytes is called an albino. The loss of hair is called alopecia. It can occur because of aging, sustained pulling on the hair with some hairstyles, and genetics. Women do not usually experience much
alopecia until after the menopause. Conversely, some men start to lose their hair during their twenties.

Skin diseases.
Eczema
or
dermatitis is a general term that describes a skin disease involving vesicles that ooze fluid. These conditions are usually characterized by a rash; they are inflammatory reactions, commonly caused by contact with a chemical or plant material. They can be caused by an adverse reaction to a drug or by sunlight. Bacteria, yeasts, or other fungi on the skin can cause infections; one common example, often mistaken for eczema, is althete's foot. Most rashes itch or burn; they can be spread by scratching.

Maculopapular diseases encompass several common skin conditions, such as red measles (rubeola), German measles (rubella), and scarlet fever. Viruses that land on the skin cause these diseases. They are characterized by relatively large, localized areas of changed skin color (macules) that are also raised (papules) but not fluid-filled. After their clinical course is run, they disappear without leaving a scar. The more dangerous toxic shock syndrome also belongs to this group of diseases; it is caused by toxin from the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.

Thickening of the skin and the formation of red to purple areas having sharply defined borders characterize papulosquamous skin diseases. The most common example is
psoriasis. Other examples are pityriasis and ichthyosis. The pathology responsible for psoriasis is an alteration in the normal development of skin cells. In individuals with psoriasis, new skin cells develop and migrate to the surface in only five days instead of the usual thirty. This fact alone explains the flaking (rapid cell turnover), redness (thinner skin and a rich blood supply for new skin), and pain and itching (less protection for sensory nerve endings) experienced. Pityriasis includes a group of different conditions caused by different viruses. Patches or large spots develop on the skin. They usually resolve within a few weeks. Aside from being locally photosensitive, they usually are not serious. Ichthyosis describes a group of genetic
conditions characterized by extreme scaling of the skin.

Vesiculobullous diseases have fluid-filled blisters that can vary in size from relatively small (vesicles) to relatively large (bullae). Insect bites, herpes, and some bacterial infections lead to the formation of vesicles or bullae. Such conditions are attributable to an immune reaction that leads to the formation of blisters at the junction between epidermis and dermis. They can be accompanied by intense pruritus (itching); scratching often leads to scarring.

Pustular diseases of the skin include
acne, folliculitis, and candidiasis. They are characterized by the inflammation of hair follicles caused by surface bacteria or yeasts. Adequate personal hygiene is the most effective method of prevention. These diseases are usually not serious, but prolonged or repeated attacks can result in scarring and disfigurement. The sebaceous glands, which secrete oil at the base of hair follicles, can increase in size. The subsequent increase in oil output worsens the condition.

Clogged sweat glands can lead to acne. While this is primarily a problem for teenagers, it can affect individuals of any age. Exposure to cutting oils and other hydrocarbons such as gasoline and paint thinners can cause a similar condition called chloracne, which is inflammation in the base of hair follicles found on exposed skin in areas such as the nape of the neck, forearms, and face. The inability to sense temperature and regulate body heat through sweating is called anhidrosis, a condition that can cause shock and potentially death.

Other diseases that can affect the skin. Five such diseases are worthy of mention: leprosy, scleroderma, lupus, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus. Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is caused by infection by Mycobacterium leprae, a relative of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. In leprosy, the causative organism accumulates in the skin and peripheral nerves. This causes disfigurement and loss of sensation, the latter being similar to that experienced by an uncontrolled diabetic. Disfigurement is responsible for the stigma associated with leprosy since ancient times: loss of fingers and toes, as well as mutilation of the nose and ears. Leprosy is caused by long-term association with the organism and can be adequately treated with appropriate antibiotics.

Scleroderma (literally, “hard skin”) is an uncommon disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and involvement of visceral organs. The skin involvement can range from an isolated, hardened patch to a life-threatening, generalized condition described as an ever-tightening case of steel. The skin becomes stretched tightly over the underlying skeleton. Skin tone is lost with restriction of movement.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a disease of unknown etiology that is characterized by inflammation in many different organ systems. The skin is usually involved, as nearly all individuals with lupus develop a characteristic butterfly-shaped rash on their faces. This red coloration covers the cheeks and nose. Persons with lupus are also sensitive to sunlight, and many develop alopecia. Most of those affected are female. The disease waxes and wanes; treatment depends on the particular organs involved.

Atherosclerosis and diabetes can block the arteries supplying the nerves of the skin, leading to a loss of sensory input. When the patient is unable to experience pain, cuts and other abrasions on the skin are not noticed. Untreated, these lesions can lead to
gangrene, sometimes requiring
amputation of a body part.

Skin cancer. The most commonly diagnosed form of cancer is that involving the skin. It is not the most fatal form, but millions of cases are discovered annually. The origin of most skin cancers can be traced to excessive exposure to radiation from the sun. They can occur on any surface of the body, although they are more common on areas that are usually exposed to the sun, such as the face, the backs of the hands, and the neck. Skin cancers can arise in the epidermis or dermis. The majority are noncancerous, or benign. Epidermal nodules are characterized by local thickening of the epidermis, often accompanied by scaling of the skin in the affected area. Nodules in the dermis may appear as lumps with no alteration of the epidermis above them.

There are three malignant forms of skin cancer. Basal cell carcinoma
arises from cells deep in the epidermis. This form of tumor rarely spreads (metastasizes), but it can be extensive and destructive locally. Squamous cell carcinoma is less common but can be invasive (involving adjacent tissues) and can metastasize. Melanoma
is relatively uncommon but can grow extremely rapidly; it has the potential to be fatal in a matter of months. It involves the uncontrolled growth of melanocytes. Melanomas have irregular borders and color or pigmentation. Any pigmented lesion or suspicious change in the skin should be evaluated by a medical professional in a timely manner.

Prevention is the preferred method of dealing with skin cancer. When outside, loose-fitting clothing can provide protection from the sun, and a hat can protect the head. When exposure is unavoidable, a product with a sun-blocking agent will reduce exposure. Limiting the time of exposure to the sun until the body has reacted by producing additional melanocytes (tanned) is recommended.

Prolonged exposure to the sun also accelerates changes in the skin associated with aging. Collagen fibers provide the characteristic firm feel to the skin of a young person. With aging the skin becomes less firm, losing some of its tone, and begins to sag. Inadequate moisture also contributes to the loss of skin tone. Excessive exposure to the sun hastens both of these processes.

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What would be 5-7 good points to elaborate on if asked to justify why Claudius' actions were not justified in Shakespeare's Hamlet?

Claudius, the antagonist in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, makes many decisions that lead to conflict between himself and other characters. If you are looking to identify specific actions that can contribute to an argument against any justifications for Claudius, you can easily find 6-7 options. 

First is Claudius' fratricide. While some might argue that specific circumstances can justify murder, the poisoning of King Hamlet was conducted solely from a space of a jealousy and power-seeking. 

Second is Claudius' request for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. His manipulation of two such loyal friends deconstructs Hamlet's ability to trust anyone around him, further contributing to his downward spiral into madness.

Next is Claudius' decision to spy on Ophelia and Hamlet. This decision reinforces the deceit that Claudius relies on to maintain his powerful position. 

After that comes Claudius' soliloquy, in which he confesses to the audience that he regrets his actions. However, he is unwilling to give up the spoils that have been awarded to him from these sins: Gertrude and the throne. As such, the audience can conclude that he is not truly contrite. 

Then, Claudius write orders to have Hamlet assassinated upon his arrival to England. This is a decision he makes out of fear for his own well-being, not for the protection of anyone or anything else. 

Finally, you can use Claudius' manipulation of Laertes' grief for his own purposes. He takes a mourning son and turns him into a weapon, again using others to his own advantage regardless of their state of being. 

In Speak, what is symbolic about "Hairwoman" and the narrator's description of her?

Melinda, the narrator of the young adult novel Speak, describes her English teacher as follows:

My English teacher has no face. She has uncombed stringy hair that droops on her shoulders. The hair is black from her part to her ears and then neon orange to the frizzy ends. I can't decide if she had pissed off her hairdresser or is morphing into a monarch butterfly. I call her Hairwoman.

Melinda initially finds Hairwoman to be a bit too freaky, but gradually grows to appreciate her "warped sense of humor" and the super quirky homework assignments she gives to the class in order to engage them in the act of writing. 

When Hairwoman gives them an assignment to identify the symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Melinda comments that looking for this information is fun, "like a code, breaking into his head and finding the key to his secrets. Like the whole guilt thing."

All of Melinda's assessments of Hairwoman and the classwork that she doles out actually seem to be reflections of Melinda herself. Melinda hides herself much the same way that Hairwoman hides her face; both are deeply self-conscious and struggle with expression. Melinda's judgmental attitude of Hairwoman's appearance and Melinda's own attitude toward her body suggest that Melinda projects her negative feelings about herself onto others.

Melinda's commentary on the Hawthorne assignment also seem to be a commentary on her own desires--the wish that someone would break into her own head and unlock her guilt and her secret about the tragic assault she suffered through in silence during the previous summer. 

When Hairwoman gets a buzzcut, Melinda wonders:

I don't know what caused this. Has she fallen in love? Did she get a divorce? Move out of her parents' basement? ...I'm thinking she found a good shrink, or maybe she published that novel she's been writing since the earth cooled.

This interest in Hairwoman's shifting appearance (and the possible life changes behind it) also represents how Melinda has altered in the past few months. Despite her acerbic attitude, Melinda seems to want good things to happen to Hairwoman. This comes at a time when Melinda is gradually becoming more open to the world around her, even developing a budding friendship with Ivy. Although we cannot see how our narrator has been physically altered, her observations of the new "look" of her teacher might also reflect some new beginnings for Melinda herself.

What are sensation and perception?

Introduction

Although the distinction between sensation and perception is not always clear, psychologists attempt to distinguish between the two concepts. Sensation is generally viewed as the initial contact between organisms and their physical environment. It focuses on the interaction between various forms of sensory stimulation and how these sensations are registered by the sense organs (nose, skin, eyes, ears, and tongue). The process by which an individual then interprets and organizes this information to produce conscious experiences is known as perception.

The warmth of the sun, the distinctive sound of a jet airplane rumbling down a runway, the smell of freshly baked bread, and the taste of an ice cream sundae all have an impact on the body’s sensory receptors. The signals received are transmitted via the nervous system to the brain, where the information is interpreted. The body’s sensory receptors are capable of detecting very low levels of stimulation. Eugene Galanter’s studies indicated that on a clear night, the human eye is capable of viewing a candle at a distance of thirty miles (forty-eight kilometers), while the ears can detect the ticking of a watch twenty feet (six meters) away in a quiet room. He also demonstrated that the tongue can taste a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 2 gallons (about 7.5 liters) of water. People can feel a bee wing falling on the cheek and can smell a single drop of perfume in a three-bedroom apartment. Awareness of these faint stimuli demonstrates the absolute thresholds, defined as the minimum amount of stimulus that can be detected 50 percent of the time.

Signal Recognition

A person’s ability to detect a weak stimulus, often called a signal, depends not only on the strength of the signal or stimulus but also on the person’s psychological state. For example, a child remaining at home alone for the first time may be startled by an almost imperceptible noise. In a normal setting, with his or her parents at home, the same noise or signal would probably go unnoticed. Scientists who study signal detection seek to explain why people respond differently to a similar signal and why the same person’s reactions vary as circumstances change. Studies have shown that people’s reactions to signals depend on many factors, including the time of day and the type of signal.

Much controversy has arisen over the subject of subliminal signals—signals that one’s body receives without one’s conscious awareness. It has long been thought that these subliminal signals could influence a person’s behaviors through persuasion. Many researchers believe that individuals do sense subliminal sensations; however, it is highly unlikely that this information will somehow change an individual’s behaviors. Researchers Anthony Pratkanis and Anthony Greenwald suggest that in the area of advertising, subliminal procedures offer little or nothing of value to the marketing practitioner.

Adaptation and Selective Attention

An individual’s response to a stimulus may change over time. For example, when a swimmer first enters the cold ocean, the initial response may be to complain about the water’s frigidity; however, after a few minutes, the water feels comfortable. This is an example of sensory adaptation
—the body’s ability to diminish sensitivity to unchanging stimuli. Sensory receptors are initially alert to the coldness of the water, but prolonged exposure reduces sensitivity. This is an important benefit to humans in that it allows an individual to not be distracted by constant stimuli that are uninformative. It would be very difficult to function daily if one’s body were constantly aware of the fit of shoes and garments, the rumble of a heating system, or constant street noises.

The reception of sensory information by the senses, and the transmission of this information to the brain, is included under the term “sensation.” Of equal importance is the process of perception: the way an individual selects information, organizes it, and makes an interpretation, thus achieving a grasp of one’s surroundings. People cannot absorb and understand all the available sensory information received from the environment. Thus, they must selectively attend to certain information and disregard other material. Through the process of selective attention, people are able to maximize information gained from the object of focus, while at the same time ignoring irrelevant material. People are capable of controlling the focus of their attention to some degree; in many instances, however, focus can be shifted undesirably. For example, while one is watching a television show, extraneous stimuli such as a car horn blaring may change one’s focus.

The fundamental focus of the study of perception is how people come to comprehend the world around them through its objects and events. People are constantly giving meaning to a host of stimuli being received from all their senses. While research suggests that people prize visual stimuli above other forms, information from all other senses must also be processed. More difficult to understand is the concept of extrasensory perception (ESP). More researchers are becoming interested in the possible existence of extrasensory perception—perceptions that are not based on information from the sensory receptors. Often included under the heading of ESP are such questionable abilities as clairvoyance and telepathy. While psychologists generally remain skeptical as to the existence of ESP, some do not deny that evidence may someday be available supporting its existence.

Five Laws of Grouping

Knowledge of the fields of sensation and perception assists people in understanding their environment. By understanding how and why people respond to various stimuli, scientists have been able to identify important factors that have proved useful in such fields as advertising, industry, and education.

Max Wertheimer
discussed five laws of grouping that describe why certain elements seem to go together rather than remain independent. These laws include the law of similarity, which states that similar objects tend to be seen as a unit; the law of nearness, which states that objects near one another tend to be seen as a unit; the law of closure, which states that when a figure has a gap, the figure still tends to be seen as closed; the law of common fate, which states that when objects move in the same direction, they tend to be seen as a unit; and the law of good continuation, which states that objects organized in a straight line or a smooth curve tend to be seen as a unit. These laws are illustrated in the figure.

Use in Advertising and Marketing

The laws of grouping are frequently utilized in the field of
advertising. Advertisers attempt to associate their products with various stimuli. For example, David L. Loudon and Albert J. Della Bitta, after studying advertisements for menthol cigarettes, noted that the advertisers often show mentholated cigarettes in green, springlike settings to suggest freshness and taste. Similarly, summertime soft-drink advertisements include refreshing outdoor scenes depicting cool, fresh, clean running water, which is meant to be associated with the beverage; and advertisements for rugged four-wheel-drive vehicles use the laws of grouping by placing their vehicles in harsh, rugged climates, causing the viewer to develop a perception of toughness and ruggedness.

The overall goal of advertisers is to provide consumers with appropriate sensations that will cause them to perceive the products in a manner that the advertisers desire. By structuring the stimuli that reach the senses, advertisers can build a foundation for perceptions of products, making them seem durable, sensuous, refreshing, or otherwise desirable. By using the results of numerous research studies pertaining to perception, subtle yet effective manipulation of the consumer is achieved.

Color Studies

Another area that has been researched extensively by industry deals with color. If one ordered dinner in a restaurant and received an orange steak with purple french fries and a blue salad, the meal would be difficult to consume. People’s individual perceptions of color are extremely important. Variations from these expectations can be very difficult to overcome. Researchers have found that people’s perceptions of color also influence their beliefs about products. When reactions to laundry detergents were examined, detergent in a blue box was found to be too weak, while detergent in a yellow box was thought to be too strong. Consumers believed, based on coloration, that the ideal detergent came in a blue box with yellow accentuation. Similarly, when individuals were asked to judge the capsule color of drugs, findings suggested that orange capsules were frequently seen as stimulants, white capsules as having an analgesic action, and lavender capsules as having a hallucinogenic effect.

Studies have shown that various colors have proved more satisfactory than others for industrial application. Red has been shown to be typically perceived as a sign of danger and is used to warn individuals of hazardous situations. Yellow is also a sign of warning. It is frequently used on highway signs as a warning indicator because of its high degree of visibility in adverse weather conditions. Instrument panels in both automobiles and airplanes are frequently equipped with orange- and yellow-tipped instrument indicators, because research has demonstrated that these colors are easily distinguished from the dark background of the gauges. Finally, industry has not overlooked the fact that many colors have a calming and relaxing effect on people. Thus, soft pastels are often used in the workplace.

Use in Education

The field of education has also benefited from research in the areas of sensation and perception. Knowing how young children perceive educational materials is important in developing ways to increase their skills and motivation. Textbook publishers have found that materials need to be visually attractive to children to help them focus on activities. Graphics and illustrations help the young learner to understand written materials. It is also important that the size of the printed text accommodate the developmental level of the student. For example, primers and primary-level reading series typically have larger print to assist the student in focusing on the text. As the child’s ability to discriminate letters and numbers becomes more efficient with age, the print size diminishes to that of the size of characters in adult books. Similar techniques continue into high school and college; especially in introductory courses, texts are designed using a great deal of color and variation in page design. The reader’s eyes are attracted by numerous stimuli to pictures, figures, definitions, and charts strategically placed on each page. This technique allows the author to highlight and accent essential points of information.

Early Research

The study of sensation and perception began more than two thousand years ago with the Greek philosophers and is one of the oldest fields in psychology. There are numerous theories, hypotheses, and facts dealing with how people obtain information about their world, what type of information they obtain, and what they do with this information once they obtain it. None of this information has been sufficient to account for human perceptual experiences and perceptual behavior, so research in the area of sensation and perception continues.

The philosopher Thomas Reid made the original distinction between sensations and perceptions. He proposed that the crucial difference between them is that perceptions always refer to external objects, whereas sensations refer to the experiences within a person that are not linked to external objects. Many psychologists of the nineteenth century proposed that sensations are elementary building blocks of perceptions. According to their ideas, perceptions arise from the addition of numerous sensations. The sum of these sensations thus creates a perception. Other psychologists believed that making a distinction between sensations and perceptions was not useful.

The first psychologists saw the importance of perception when they realized that information from the senses was necessary to learn, think, and memorize. Thus, research pertaining to the senses was a central research component of all the psychological laboratories established in Europe and the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Applications in Contemporary Society

By studying perceptions, researchers can identify potential environmental hazards that threaten the senses. Studying perception has also enabled people to develop devices that ensure optimal performance of the senses. For example, on a daily basis, one’s senses rely on such manufactured objects as telephones, clocks, televisions, and computers. To be effective, these devices must be tailored to the human sensory systems.

The study of sensations and perceptions has also made it possible to build and develop prosthetic devices to aid individuals with impaired sensory function. For example, hearing aids amplify sound for hard-of-hearing individuals; however, when all sounds are amplified to the same degree, it is often difficult for people to discriminate between sounds. From the work of British psychologist Richard Gregory, an instrument was developed that would amplify only speech sounds, thus allowing a person to attend more adequately to conversations and tune out background noise.

Finally, understanding perception is important for comprehending and appreciating the perceptual experience called art. When knowledge of perception is combined with the process of perceiving artistic works, this understanding adds an additional dimension to one’s ability to view a work of art.

Bibliography

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Foley, Hugh J., and Margaret W. Matlin. Sensation and Perception. 5th ed. Boston: Allyn, 2009. Print.

Goldstein, E. Bruce. Sensation and Perception. 9th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2014. Print.

Gregory, Richard L. Eye and Brain: The Psychology of Seeing. 5th ed. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1997. Print.

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