1. Explain how the use of substances alters a person’s state of consciousness, including Depressants, stimulants, and
hallucinogens. Include in this explanation what happens to the neurotransmitters and body chemicals as well as how you might
recognize whether a person at work or in your family is in an altered state of consciousness due to the influence of drugs.
Stimulants can be used to speed up the central nervous system making a person fell more alert and aware of their
surroundings. Depressants act on the central nervous system to suppress or slow bodily processes and to reduce overall responsiveness.
Hallucinogenic can be used to make an individual have hallucinations and have distortions in space and time. Some ways you can
recognize if someone is on drugs is by their physical, emotional, and behavioral appearance.The use of drugs can cause the
neurotransmitters to stop the production of certain chemicals need for healthy brain function. The blockage of second messengers, which
are the chemical and electrical process which that occur in the receiving neuron, make the user need to take more of the drug in order to
try to reproduce the effect on the brain. Some of the signs of use can be physical such as: rapid weight gain or loss, random eye movement,
enlarged pupils, uncontrolled muscle movement, and redness of eyes. Changes and mood and behavior doing things that are out of the
normal. Also great shifts in emotional stability from being very excited and happy to being depressed and suicidal. Another way of telling
if they are abusing drugs is if someone has poor work attendance, or can’t hold a conversation.
2. This question has five parts. One of the cornerstones of Freudian theory is the concept of the unconscious not to be confused
with the state of being knocked unconscious by a blow to the head or an altered state of consciousness. (a) What did Freud mean
by the concept of the unconscious? (b) When is it beneficial for much of our behavior to be unconscious? (c) When is it not
beneficial? (d) If much of our behavior is unconscious, can you recognize unconscious behavior in yourself and in others? (e)
How would you know Behavior was unconsciously driven? Refer Back to Chapter 13, which we studied in Week 6.
1. The unconscious mind can guide a person’s mind to do things that the conscious mind does not recognize.
2. It is beneficial for things such as self-preservation and helping us to avoid danger and staying alive in search of food, water and
shelter.
3. When they become dangerous to others because the need for these things are being sought without regard to consequences.
4. Sometimes the can be recognized after the fact when someone goes back and analysis the situation also if we have experienced
it before.
5. By the ability to recall the decision behind the particular behavior
3. Group think is a concept that involves individuals abandoning their critical senses and agreeing to group process even when
they know it will have disastrous consequences. (Challenger disaster, Enron, Iraq war, etc.). Your will encounter these pressures
in your work life and need to be prepared. Have you ever done something in a group that you would not have done if you were
alone? What happened? How did you feel? What have you learned from this chapter that might help you avoid this behavior in
the future, and avoid group think?
Yes I have done things that I would not have normally done alone. When I was a teenager my friends and I were at the mall
hanging out. One of my friends stole a scarf from a department store. She kept saying I was too chicken to do it. I kept saying I’m not
chicken and they talked me into taking something from the department store. I regretted it for the longest time. I only wanted to fit in. I
grew out of this behavior before taking this class and reading the book but if I didn’t I would have say the one thing that I had learned is
that I should keep good company and don’t put myself in front of people who really disrespect themselves by doing bad things.
4. How does prejudice develop and how might it be supported in families and in the work place? Do you believe that you are free
from prejudice? After reading this chapter, which of the many factors that cause prejudice do you think is most important to