Psychology Perspectives: Columbine Massacre

Perspectives of Psychology: Understanding the Columbine Massacre In Psychology, there are perspectives and approaches that are looked into when trying to understand how the intricate human mind works. These perspectives are respectfully derived from different ideas and time periods, exemplifying different ways of thinking. These perspectives include: sociocultural, biopsychological, psychodynamic, behaviorism, cognitive, and humanism. These approaches are critically essential in solving something as serious as murder, or simply even why someone acts the way they do.There are many instances where there will be shocking news stories about people committing murders—people that are so unexpected to do such harm. However, when the six perspectives are properly enforced, we can infer and comprehend the situation and reasoning. These handy tactics and knowledge help us understand the underlying core reasons for even the most bizarre and deadliest cases such as the Columbine High Scho ol Massacre. This massacre is the world’s deadliest high school shooting that was embarked by two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.The pair initially intended to kill thousands of students, however the bomb did not go off as planned. Unfortunately, the malicious killers managed to kill twelve students, one teacher, and greatly injured 21 helpless students. Not only did they engage in such acts, but once they were satisfied with their spree, they committed suicide. This tragic event was greatly televised as it forced schools around the country to enforce strict laws of security.The unbelievable acts of Eric and Dylan left everyone with many questions as to why these seemingly normal students would take the lives of so many, and also themselves. However, we begin to understand how deceiving looks can be as we deeply examine past the superficial surface of these two killers. A modern perspective in psychology is the sociocultural perspective, which accordingly comb ines two fields of study: social psychology, which is the study of social roles, actions, relationships; and cultural psychology, which is the study of cultural norms, values, and expectations.These are closely tied due to the fact that they are both about the effect that people have on one another, either individually or in a larger group as a broad culture (Peplau&Taylor, 1997). In short, First of all, sociocultural is a modern approach where culture, race, genders, and backgrounds are studied closely to better understand behavior. This sociocultural perspective is evident in this case, because according to psychologists, Kimmel and Mahler, the two shooters were white males who did not project the male gender roles other students possessed.According to USA Today, the shooters, Harris and Klebold, were seen as outcasts due to their unusual behavior and inability to conform to society. Harris and Klebold allegedly created a website on how to commit crimes varying from theft to somet hing as dangerous as bomb explosions. Both Kleboid and Harris were victims of bullying. I am driven to believe their unacceptance to society and perhaps their culture, enticed them to go on a killing spree. Also, I believe the violent messages sent by heavy metal music, violent televised movies and shows, and other subcultures also served as a factor for the massacre.More often than not, psychologists ponder on whether chemical imbalances can really affect the way a person acts and thinks, and how it can affect their lifestyle. This perspective is known as the biopsychological perspective. This perspective is also fairly modern, as it focuses on influences of hormones, brain sructures and chemicals, and diesaease. This being said, this approach is strictly thought that human and animal behavior is seen as a result from events going on inside the body (Ciccarelli, 2012). According to journalist, Dave Cullen of the New York Times, Dylan Kleboid was diagnosed with depression.The biolog ical approach can be well implied in this situation because as stated earlier, his chemical imbalances acted as a hindrance in his life, creating more reason and desire to kill others, and also kill himself. The next theory is categorized as a less-modern perspective as it goes all the way back to the Victorian Era. This approach is based on Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychodynamic, which focuses on the role of the unconscious mind and its influence on conscious behavior, early childhood experiences, development of sense of self, and other motivations. Ciccarelli, 2012). In other words, this theory states that humans have an unconscious mind in which we repress all of our threatening urges and desires into. In effect of repressing urges, it creates nervous disorders. This approach greatly stresses the importance of early childhood experiences. I firmly believe that both boys, especially Klebold, repressed their urges and thoughts which created a dramatic lash-out. According to New York Times, Klebold had come from a very well educated family that had very high expectations for him.His childhood had been constricted to studying and since he was exposed to such lifestyle at such a young age, he grew accustomed to better his education. Kleboid showed no obvious signs of danger to his family, as he valued how he appeared to his parents. However though, he had a great drinking problem which caused major aggression. Harris, Klebold’s good friend, was greatly interested in creating bombs. His childhood was not like Klebold’s—his family was not as forceful of his studies, or close. Harris was diagnosed with depression—leading him to have suicidal thoughts.According to At the time of his death, he had unbelievable Luvox levels in his system. According to psychiatrist, Peter Breggin, these medications very likely have contributed to Harris's actions. Harris had been meticulously planning bombings but did not have the means of creating o ne. That is where his good friend and brains of the pair, Klebold, comes into play. The two boys’ lives are well exemplified and reinforced by the psychodynamic approach, as their childhood seemed to shape their lives as they grew older. The next approach is the behavioral perspective.This perspective is based on the early work of Watson and Skinner. Behaviorism concludes that the science of behavior must be directly seen and observed to be validated. This being said, we must ignore â€Å"consciousness† and focus on observable behavior. This approach is shown by the pair because both boys had been convicted of breaking into a van and stealing computers. According to Wikipedia. org, after breaking into the van, Harris blogged: â€Å"Why shouldn't we, the gods, have the right to break into a van that some mother***** left in the middle of nowhere?! This clearly shows the behavior of the boys that can be observed, not inferred. This behavior is very violent, and it is cl ear that the boys show no remorse or guilt for their wrong-doings. Another less modern approach would be the cognitive approach. This approach focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes, problem solving, language, and learning (Cicarelli, 2012). This perspective can be applied to Harris and Kleboid’s sitatuation by looking into their background and how that affects their thought processes and learning skills.As mentioned earlier, Kleboid was clearly bright. He was capable of creating bombs (although the bombings were unsuccessful) and devising a master plan. He carefully planned out the steps of what was happening. How can we be so sure? According to Time Magazine, Kleboid and Harris had been writing their step by step ways of creating a bomb. Not only so, but they clearly showed intent of killing thousands of students. I believe that this shows the boys had planned out a meticulous plan, also acknowledging the consequences, therefore decided to kill thems elves at the very end.At last, we have the Humanistic approach. This approach focuses on human potential, free will, and responsibility. This approach is sought to highlight human values and self-actualization. Humanism proposes that the deeds we do in life are not driven by childhood experiences, influences, cultural background, genetics, or chemical imbalances; but rather, it is driven by our will to be defined as a good or bad person. This perspective focuses on our underlying core values solely as individuals. This perspective can best be shown through the level of intellect the boys have.According to The Guardian, the boys have shown academic proficiency for a good part of their high school career. They were gifted in computer work, and were in charge of technical duties for school plays. With this being said, I believe the boys understood that their behavior is solely determined by their own will to be the type of person they aspire to be. Needless to say, I believe the boys w ere greatly influenced by their cultural background and society, but however, I also strongly believe Kleboid and Harris were intelligent enough to make their own decisions—engaging in good or bad behavior, reflecting their human values.Psychology is a very broad subject filled with endless questions and theories. These perspectives, however, are greatly established and used on a day-by-day basis by not only psychologists, but investigators and sociologists as well. These perspectives help to understand and widen our knowledge of humans and animals. The six perspectives are all derived from different time periods—varying from modern to not-so-modern theories and ideas. The perspectives help address problems and help widen critical thinking abilities, as well as understanding everyday behavior.

Leonardo da Vinci and Filippino Lippi Assignment

Leonardo da Vinci and Filippino Lippi - Assignment Example Da Vinci’s works are very distinctive. His lines are soft and clean, very detailed and life-like. He also uses cross hatching for shading. In his work, â€Å"Self Portrait c.1512 red chalk on paper†, his expert technique is also shown. The subject is supposed to be Leonardo da Vinci himself. It is a portrait of an old man, with the face tilted towards the third-quarter view. The subject is not facing the audience but one can see the expression in his eyes: solemn. Like most Renaissance artists then, his hair was long and he was bearded.The materials for this artwork are paper and red chalk. Like other da Vinci artworks, this illustration of a face of an old man (supposed to be himself), is anatomically perfect. The lines and wrinkles, up to the point that he looks to have lost his front teeth, is portrayed extremely well in the illustration. The lines are quite fine and light, and the shadowing was done by cross-hatching, which is very typical of da Vinci. Most scholars believe that this was also done by a left hand. Lippi was the illegitimate son of another painter, Fra Filippo Lippi. Under his father’s tutelage, he knew how to paint and illustrate. As with da Vinci, Lippi was also a master of anatomy. However, unlike da Vinci who was more scientific in nature (as in he invents, he engineers stuff, among other things), Lippi was more contracted and commission to work for churches as he made frescoes. His style echoed much of Boticelli’s style. In fact, some of his previous paintings have been signed, â€Å"A friend of Boticelli†.

Marketing management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing management - Case Study Example This product will offer an opportunity for people to be able to share the ice cream with dogs. Strategy The main strategy is to ensure that the ice cream is available in the market at ease. This will create customer loyalty towards the product. In addition, diversification of the product will reduce risks that might affect one product. It will also help to attract different customers who have different tastes of products. Another strategy is ensuring that the product satisfy the expectations of the customers. This will enable the product to remain competitive in the market. Tactics In order to get adequate profits from the market, the marketer will be expected to use different sales persons in order to reach customers from various regions. In addition, the cream will merge with ++++ ice cream parlour in the Bullring. This tactic will reduce the cost of distributing the cream. Once the product penetrates the market, it will become easier for the producer to distribute the product on i ts own. This tactic will also be able to reduce the price of the commodity in the market. This is because merging will help in lowering the breakeven price of the commodity therefore, creating a larger profit margin. Lower price of the product will therefore; attract customers who will be willing to test the product. Intense advertisement will also be a tactic that will play a major role in ensuring that the product penetrates the market. ... According to the data collected, the best way to segment the market the market is through the use of age and gender. In Birmingham city, women purchase dog food more than their men counterparts. As a result, they are to be the main target customers. Women are also associated with high consumption of chocolates. This behaviour will make these chocolates have an upper hand in the market as they can serve two purposes. Market can also be segmented through age. Old people mainly look for companionship from dogs. As a result, targeting these people to be potential buyers will be an important aspect that would increase the overall profits. This will be achieved through producing creams that are fit for old people i.e. not so sugary. In addition, advertisement of these creams should be targeting the old people. Location of the people is another tool to be used in segmenting the market. This involves pricing of the product according to geographical location and the level of competition in th at region. Customers who are near the source of the product will have an opportunity to purchase the product at a lower cost as the cost of distributing the product is low. In addition, market that is saturated with competitors will require price segmentation in order to attract customers to purchase the product. Use of price as a tool of segmentation should be well calculated. This is because many customers especially in Birmingham believe that cheap products are of low quality. Another method that will be used to segment the market is through product differentiation. This involves branding the products to make them unique. This will be important as the customers will be able to identify the product

Healthcare and Business Goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healthcare and Business Goals - Essay Example Health care managers are appointed to positions of authority in order to shape the organization by making important decisions (The Hastings center, 2012). On a daily basis, they make and coordinate decisions on recruitment and development of staff, service addition or reduction, allocation and utilization of financial resources, and acquisition of equipment and technology. Their role is to ensure that patients and clients receive appropriate services effectively and timely while focusing on achievement of performance targets (Caldwell, Brexler and Gillem, 2000). Health care services tend to be personal in nature, and its impact tends to be felt by the providers and recipients at a point of delivery. Decisions made by hospital managers reflect on ethical and moral values of the administration since they are subjective in nature and have a key effect on the wellbeing of patients, employees, taxpayers and community, individually or collectively (Ache.org, 2012). The decisions of manager s affect people directly or indirectly in both predictable and unpredictable ways and sometimes raise questions of fairness. For example, a hospital may buy equipment at a premium price, but fail to raise wages of personnel to desirable levels. In a different situation, a hospital can be challenged to rationalize the use of money from patients to pay employees whose work is substandard. In yet another case, expenses may rise, and the administration may want to cut budgets of some departments, whatever decision is made, certain patients are bound to be affected (Wheatley, 2006). It is important for the manager to prioritise the obligation to serve patients effectively. Ethical issues such as those highlighted above should be addressed effectively as negligence leads to errors and potentially costly decisions that are harmful to patients, staff, the organization and the community. Where staff is affected negatively by such decisions; it can result in distress which is known to cause p rofessional burn out and staff turnover (Owen, 1990). The management of a health care organization has the duty to nurture a healthy ethical environment (Morrison, 2011). Good ethics improve employee morale, enhance productivity and improve efficiency of the organization. This in turn, improves customer satisfaction and employee retention. There is a clear link between ethics and quality, a health care organization that fails to meet established ethical bench marks, and standards is not likely to deliver high-quality health care. Conversely, institutions that fail to meet minimum quality standards raise ethical concerns with stake holders (Morrison, 2011). A review of practices in the top ranked health care organizations Managers of health care institutions must Endeavour to adopt quality and system improvement programmes in order to improve care delivery and spread new practices across the system. The transformation process requires a clear and sustained strategy and takes time to implement. For example, Henry Ford Health System, a leading health care institution in excellence has been dedicated to quality improvement and achieving strong financial performance for over 20 years. It has sought to put patients first by exploring needs, improving care and overcoming conflicts between its employees. Therefore, strong leadership is critical to maintaining unwavering focus on improving systems and outcomes

Case study Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Case study - Coursework Example Coffee profits are visualized as the only strategy to acquire an outside world to obtain financial resources in realizing the vision of buying a ranch for the monastery. A potential competitive advantage for the Monk Coffee is observable despite the challenges posed by the cloistered monastic environment. Such is founded on the market niche of serving Catholics around the world and to maximize coffee production. The MCCs business model involves the external purchase of organic coffee beans from a broker with an associated premium price for daily fluctuations. Considering the ability of the Mystic Monk Coffees strategy to increase the income earned on an hourly basis tremendously, such a strategy is a money-maker strategy but entirely used for the monastery. The profit formula is an 11% of the revenues. A rich customer value proposition is based on quality when serving the coffee clubs and the wholesalers. The free labour that is not profit oriented and without taxes coupled with roasting coffee in the monastery are reliable resources for creating customer value (Faggioli, 2014). I would recommend that Father Daniel obtains part time help in the operations of the monasterys coffee to maximize the returns. The goals and objectives must be altered to become measurable, timely and precise to define and achieve the long-term direction and vision. The approach to the strategy and the strategy have no problem since they are aligned with the overall mission of the Carmelites. Purchasing a new roaster is highly recommended to increase the

Self-Portraits. Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Self-Portraits. Journal - Essay Example Using a journal format prevents these ideas from sounding like second hand information, and makes his ideas known as well as interesting. As an artist that depicts people most of the time, I am highly interested in expressing the different emotions that humans are highly capable of showing. The various people I have painted also includes myself, simply due to being a quick subject to study on, as well as me being the most easy-to-find model around. I have shown this through the numerous self-portraits I have painted throughout my lifetime, which is roughly 10% of the bulk of my artworks (van de Wetering, 2005). However, it is not only I but also other artists of my time like Gerard Dou and Frans van Mieris made a considerable number of self-portraits as well, which does not make my output sound unique during that period. Throughout my entire career, it can be observed that my self-portraits also change along with my age and preferred methods of painting, which in a way would also tell the viewers my life as if it were a running timeline (van de Wetering, 1997). I am able to do so by using a mirror while looking at it as I paint (Berger, 2000). Not only are people able to see how I have aged, but also they could also see the different techniques that I have acquired, which resulted in my unique style of layering multiple brush strokes until the surface almost looks like it was sculpted and molded, not painted on (van de Wetering, 1997). My artistic choices in composition can be viewed as rather dark or muted, but as I have progressed in my profession, a certain drama can be seen in the sharp contrast of light and shadow. This is regarded as one of my most distinguishing styles, the chiaroscuro, which is one of my ways to show my non-conformist ideals with regards to how and what I paint (van de Wetering, 1997). The prominence of my choice of dark

Internal Control Essay Example for Free

Internal Control Essay Question 1 a) Select two companies where inadequate internal control have resulted in disastrous effects on the organisation or exposed it to heavy losses. Research the facts of the failure and report on the facts and the losses suffered. In your report, include suggestions for changes to operations (internal controls) that could have prevented the final outcome. Where could you find a list of these internal controls and how are they documented? Examples of companies include: Coles Myer Ltd and the Yannon affair Barings Bank (1995) AWA Case (1992) Integral Energy (2003) Australian Museum-theft of zoological specimens (2003) Argonaut Resources (2011) Each report should be about no longer than 1 page in length. Two reports required. b) Select two companies that have experienced recent corporate governance failures. Research the facts of the failure and report on the facts and the losses suffered. In your report, give suggestions on the Corporate Governance principles that should be implemented and that could have prevented the failure. Examples of companies include: ABC Learning (2008) Storm Financial (2009) Strathfield (2009) One-Tel HIH Independent Insurance (UK) Commander Communications (2008) EzyDVD (2009) Clive Peters Beechwood Homes Australian Discount Retail (Crazy Clarks’, Go-Lo, Sam’s Warehouse) (2009) Queensland Health Department (2011) Parmalat (Italy) Each report should be about no longer than 1 page in length. Two reports required. Question 2 a) In your own words explain Internal Control within an organisation, and state the major objectives of a system of internal control to management? b) List and briefly explain the five components of an entitys internal control structure. Question 3 a) Define Corporate Governance and its application in the corporate world and discuss the need for Corporate Governance. b) Look up the Annual Reports for two of the following companies and comment on the appearance, structure, content, and usefulness of the Corporate Governance and Sustainability section of the report. How does it meet the current principles of Corporate Governance? Companies include: Banks: ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac, Bendigo Resources: BHP, RIO Tinto, Woodside, Santos Financial services: Macquarie Group, Perpetual, QBE Health care: Sonic, Resmed, CSL Retail: Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Metcash, Harvey Norman Property: Centro, Stockland, Westfield Property Trust, WRT Family business: Westfield, Harvey Norman, News Corporation Interesting: Fairfax, James Hardie, Qantas, Telstra Your report should be about no longer than 1 page in length. Two reports required.