Comprehensive PortfolioPSYCHOLOGY CAPSTONE- 4900ELIZABETH HUNDDECEMBER, 2016

Introduction

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Hund. I am a Psychology major with a Bachelors Degree in Science with work experience and skills that span over 25 years. Having this degree does not mean I am limited to working in a role where I discuss people’s feelings and behavior; rather, I have unlimited possibilities of career opportunities that can benefit the organization I work with and the people it serves through my knowledge of human behavior and my work skills and ethics which I have acquired over the years. This presentation will include samples of the writing pieces I composed during my Capstone project for my final course of my Bachelors Degree.

Content

• Research Data Analysis • Critical Thinking• Cultural Competency • Ethical Assignment• Individual Career Piece

Research Data Analysis

OBJECTIVE:ANALYZE AND SYNTHESIZE A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ARTICLE

Cognitive Deficiencies Resulting from

Environmentally Influenced Sleep Disturbances

Problem Defined• Children who appear tired at school perform lower cognitively. • Parental influences effect the quality of children’s sleep, impacting the

cognitive development of the children and hindering their academic abilities.

• Cognitive dysfunctions influenced by poor sleep quality.• Deficits in key developmental processes including academic,

socioemotional, brain maturation and physical health functioning can be traced back to sleep problems in school-aged children.

Research

Participants• 282 families, mean age of child 9.44

years, 52% male and 48% female• 65% White participants and 35% Black

participants• 32% living in poverty, 34% living near

the poverty line, 24% middle class, and 10% above middle class

• recruited through semirural school districts in the Southeastern United States

Methods• actigraphs delivered to the homes for the

children to wear for seven consecutive nights during their hours of sleep

• assessments occurred during the school year when children were expected to have consistent daily schedule

• daily sleep diaries were completed by the parents to confirm the actigraphy information as well as document the times of sleep

Results

• There were no direct relations found between Parental Problematic Disorder (PPD)and children’s sleep habits, however both ethnicity and socioeconomic status presented influential evidence associated with PPD and children’s sleep.

• Children of Black ethnicity and children living in a lower SES home were determined to have more exposure to PPD than White children or families with higher SES.

• Black people have endured disadvantages in comparison to their White peers• Lower SES groups struggle with in contrast to those who are more financially secure. • Often people of these social groups experience stress and turn to alcohol

consumption as way to cope with their problems; which consequently leads to PPD and negative impacts on their children’s sleep patterns, causing cognitive delays in their development.

Results- continued

Children from higher income backgrounds may also have parents who consume alcohol to the point of PPD, but due to the advantages that accompany having a more financial secure home the children will not be affected in the same way as their lower income peers.

Likely, in higher income homes the living space is larger; allowing sleeping children to be further away from hostile, aggressive behavior that could result from PPD.

Sleep disruptions are linked to compromised functioning of the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with cognitive, behavioral, and emotional problems

Ironically, often parental conflicts are a result of behaviors originating from the children themselves.

Conclusion

• Sleep disturbances occurring during child development which are influenced by environmental factors caused by parental behaviors have been found to negatively impact the cognitive development of children.

• Brain functioning of children who are not achieving quality sleep does not attain the level of operational excellence that would occur if healthy sleeping habits were being accomplished.

• Understanding how future academic success can be faltered by cognitive disabilities caused by parents unknowingly interfering with their children’s nightly sleep may persuade people to be more conscientious of their behaviors when their children are sleeping.

Critical ThinkingOBJECTIVE:DEMONSTRATE ABILITY TO APPLY A MODEL OF CRITICAL THINKING TO ANALYZE A SOCIETAL PROBLEM AND SUGGEST POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS.

Socioeconomic Status: Effects on Future Educational and Career Aspirations of Adolescents

Problem defined• Innumerable amounts of people are trapped in the oppressive loop of low

socioeconomic status (SES) holding them back from progressing in seeking to achieve higher educational and occupational standards for themselves and their children.

• SES and social status during adolescence are constructs which impact the future careers of adolescents; during the high school years, teenagers are expected to examine their career aspirations to make pivotal life decisions to prepare themselves for their future.

• Using critical thinking methods to examine the constructs which are precursors to adult SES and social status, researchers can investigate and identify the variables that suppress some individuals from educational and occupational success while other others can excel and achieve higher SES and social status.

Historical Research

Uneven distributions are often a result of monetary sources, implying that if there was a more even distribution of resources, status and power that there would not be so much social injustice.

Theories of social stratification and conflict have been addressed by philosophers Karl Marx and Max Weber.

Later research done by Max Weber was based on Marx’s theories, however he discovered that wealth did not always equate to power and vice-versa; inferring that the perception of SES had a stronger influence on the definition of social stratification (boundless.com).

Marx identified how conflicts and tensions are developed between social groups when there is an uneven distribution of resources, status and power.

Utilizing the element of critical thinking that allows for societal problems to be examined from varying perspectives has allowed psychology to progress forward to remedy the disadvantages that SES presents for individuals who are accustomed to a lifestyle of low SES.

Findings

• Resources are key to the foundation of the development of SES and social status.• Lack of resources leads to lower educational and occupational success while access to

resources supports the development of academic and occupational excellence.• Evidence suggests resources are invaluable factor to achieve success, but there is more to

developing future success than availability of resources.• It is critical to better understand the unique influence of the subjective, internalized factors

of social stratification and not simply the impacts of differential access to resources.• Instead of focusing on resources, focus on the three forms of capital pertaining to the

influence on SES: physical capital, human capital, and social capital. • Physical capital is wholly tangible and relates to tools. • Human capital relates to nonmaterial resources such as skills and abilities.• Social capital relates to resources derived from social relations or connections.

Conclusion

• Future implications of these studies will allow individuals who grew up in a low SES to identify that the capitol that is available to people of higher SES can also be obtained by themselves through a series of choices that will eventually lead them to higher education and more financially secure careers.

• Diversity of self-improvement among social classes is that of a subjective nature; lower classes may perceive that they will never be able to obtain higher education and career opportunities, so they will not exert the energy required to achieve higher levels of excellence.

• Members of higher social classes perceive that they can always attain greater levels of achievement than their parents, pushing themselves to accomplish higher education and seek successful careers.

Conclusion- continued

The oppressive loop of low SES can be brought to a halt not by distributing wealth through socialism, but rather by distributing the understanding of the constructs which lead to higher SES. Higher SES for more people will not only bring more wealth of finances, but also the wealth of health and well-being.

Cultural Competency

OBJECTIVE:DEMONSTRATE ABILITY TO APPLY PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES TO AN ISSUE RELATED TO CULTURE, ETHNICITY, OR DIVERSITY. EVALUATE COMPLEXITIES AMONG CULTURES AND ASSESS HOW DIFFERENCES IN CULTURE CAN LEAD TO MISUNDERSTANDINGS FROM A PSYCHOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW.

Cultural Understanding: Religion and Government

Problem defined• With the advancement of cybertechnology, the understanding of cultural

differences is of great significance for the betterment of society. • American culture was intended to be a melting pot for ethnic groups but

as differing groups began to interact with one another differences surfaced that caused tensions between groups.

• Top reasons for cultural differences include race, religion and gender.• Religion and governing laws can create animosity.• Cultural understanding can help bring different groups of people

together.

Introduction

The First Amendment to the American Constitution prohibits the Government from establishing or supporting a religion for the American people, yet also provides American citizens the right to practice the religious preference of their choice.Locke vs. Davey is a religious Freedom case brought by Joshua Davey after a university scholarship he'd been given by the state of Washington was rescinded when he declared that one of his two majors would be in pastoral ministries at a Christian college in Kirkland, Washington. The state's constitution bars the spending of public monies on religious instruction, and they've drawn a distinction between spending on religion when it's taught in a secular manner and spending on training students for the ministry.

Introduction- continued

• Do government policies that honor the constitutional requirement of not establishing religion (by refusing to fund it with taxpayers' money) evince an unconstitutional hostility toward religious free expression?

• Lockey vs. Davey, Davey was pursuing secondary education and was rewarded a scholarship from the State of Washington, the funds were coming from government sources.

• Davey’s educational major was in pastoral ministries, when the State learned of this they rescinded the scholarship so that they wouldn’t be promoting the support of a religious belief. However, their action is hindering not only the pursuit of education but also the freedom to educate one’s self on the religion of their choice.

• The greatest problem with Davey’s situation was not that Government does not allow for people to seek higher education in the field of religion, rather the scholarship expectations were not clear and by receding the scholarship it created a hostile situation that could be interpreted as discrimination.

Psychological Theories

• Alfred Adler (1870-1937), Australian psychiatrist, theorized that we try to compensate for inferiorities that we perceive in ourselves

• A lack of power often lies at the root of feelings of inferiority.

• Our beliefs in God are characteristic of our tendency to strive for perfection and superiority.

• Religion exerts a great influence on our social environment, and is important as a powerful social movement itself.

• Compared to science, another social movement, religion is more advanced because it motivates people more effectively.

• Motivation is a popular topic for psychology researchers.

• One of the most popular theories developed by Maslow with the hierarchy of needs.

• Psychologists have shared theories which support the positive impact of religion on cultures, however as Americans, we have the right to choose not to participate in religion and have the right to not be influenced by the religious beliefs of others.

Historical Implications

• Religion has always been a subjective of disagreement in the history of American civilization.

• People left England to be able to practice the religion of their choosing, and not that of the King. Yet, when they arrived in the new land religion continued to be a key factor in the segregation of people.

• People identified to be part of a religious group that was not approved by the majority in power were penalized and even put to death for their beliefs.

• As this country matured and government was established, the government recognized the need for the people to be part of a religion; but also, determined that they would not legally determine that religious belief for people.

• References are made to God on American currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance we make to our American flag, but the demand is never made that Americans must support or advocate for a certain God by order of the Government.

Conclusion

• Even today, groups of people are treated differently based on factors such as skin color, religion, gender and sexual preference.

• Children are not born biased against others, it is learned behavior that is likely mirrored from the environment in which they were raised.

• Perceptions are learned behaviors that occur based on stimulus people experience; per Gestalt psychology, humans organize information into groups to help them process information and understand what makes sense.

• People are grouped together in categories called stereotypes, stereotyping is not a discriminating act; being biased against a stereotype is discriminating.

Conclusion- continued

• To work in a culturally diverse environment a person must be able to understand that people are not all the same and be able to respect the differences that vary from social group to social group.

• Religious beliefs can influence social behaviors and eating habits, cultural differences can impact perceptions of interactions, and gender differences have roots in biological differences but the differences between male and female behavior still intrigues researchers.

Ethics

OBJECTIVE:CONSTRUCT AN ETHICAL ANALYSIS BASED ON THE APPLICATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND BEST PRACTICES.

Workplace Ethics

Problem defined• Organizations and institutions strive to achieve ethical excellence in

their practices, however sometimes people face challenges that may challenge ethical standards.

• Ethical case scenario- Insurance adjuster took his young daughter with him on a quick work related visit and it turned out the client was the child’s daycare teacher.

• The insurance adjuster went on a call on his day off because the normal adjuster was ill and the person lived near to his home.

Workplace Ethics- continued

Problem defined- continued• Supervisor said it was ok for him to bring his 4-year-old daughter since the mother was

at work, so they headed over to meet the woman at her home. The claim being investigated involved bodily and mental injuries from a car accident; her nose was injured and her mental state relapsed into a condition of paranoia and manic depression, which had been previously stabilized. The client was not home yet so the two waited for her, when she arrived the daughter announced ‘Mrs. Anderson”.

• Interview was conducted and it was determined that Mrs. Anderson did suffer facial injuries and was taking prescription medication to treat her mental conditions.

• When adjuster and his daughter left, he realized he had an ethical situation which needed to contended with; knowing his daughter’s pre-school teacher was being treated for mental concerns and his daughter now knowing the teacher had some sort of insurance claim since she was present during the interview.

Ethical Concerns

• As a parent, adjuster’s initial reaction is to protect his child; it can be speculated that he will not feel comfortable having Mrs. Anderson as his daughter’s day care teacher knowing that she is being treated for paranoia and manic depression.

• He could choose to report to the administration of the school that Mrs. Anderson may be unstable to teach and care for the young children due to her mental issues, asking that she monitored or removed from her position.

• He could alert the parents of his daughter’s classmates of the information he learned about Mrs. Anderson, creating a group of people to share a similar perspective of the concerns to strengthen the argument to have her monitored or removed.

• Request a different teacher for his daughter or to completely remove her the school where Mrs. Anderson teaches.

• If adjuster took these actions he could rationalize them by claiming he is doing it for the best interest of his daughter and the other children she teaches, however these actions would be breaking the confidentiality and ethical standards that he is expected to maintain with his position as an insurance adjuster.

Ethical concerns- continued

• Per the passage, there were no teaching concerns with Mrs. Anderson.• If she is seeking treatment with her mental illness and has been

successful she should not be condemned from teaching children if she can perform the expectations of the position.

• If adjuster chose any of the above options to pursue he would be revealing Mrs. Anderson’s personal medical history and discriminating against her for her medical issues.

• These choices would be unethical, bringing harm to Mrs. Anderson’s reputation as well self-regard, by revealing confidential information that should be protected by professionals who are trusted to uphold confidentiality of client information.

Ethical Solutions

• Allow his daughter to continue to attend class with Mrs. Anderson and monitor any unusual behavior by discussing the day’s events with his daughter in the evening when she is home.

• Adjuster not breaking confidentiality or using confidential information against Mrs. Anderson because now if a situation occurs in the classroom it can be reported to her administration as an issue that occurred while on the job and he does not have to reference the confidential information he knows about her mental care.

• Still issue of his daughter going with him on the interview, adjuster will need to have a conversation with his daughter about professionalism, confidentiality and manners.

• Cannot guarantee that his daughter will not reveal her trip to Mrs. Anderson’s house with her Dad the insurance adjuster; yet she can be made aware of the importance of not discussing others personal information.

Conclusion

• Supervisor was in a quandary when he reached out to adjuster to go interview Mrs. Anderson, still he should not have allowed adjuster to take his daughter with him on the interview due to confidentiality matters.

• Allowing the daughter to accompany her father, out of convenience for both the supervisor and adjuster, the supervisor created a matter of ethical concern.

• Ethical issues in the workplace become complicated, people try to get the job done as well as help each other, but not following protocol for confidentiality leads to breech of ethics.

• People base their ethical practices on their philosophical, religious, or cultural beliefs; causing the execution of ethical behaviors to be subjective.

• Organizations need to remain diligent in the enforcement of company polices so that people are not faced with unwanted ethical matters.

Individual Career Piece

OBJECTIVE:SUMMARIZE THE RESULTS OF THE REQUIRED SELF-ASSESSMENT AND SELF-INVENTORY EXERCISES. USE CRITICAL THINKING AND YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF PSYCHOLOGY TO ANALYZE YOURSELF.

Introduction

• Professional goals and career plans help to guide a person towards what they want to achieve in their vocational endeavors.

• Identifying personal strengths and experiences aids a person in analyzing what type of occupational position would best meet their level of experience and potential future knowledge.

• Being a student of Capella University, I have been offered tools which will help me with identifying what factors are important to me when considering my skills, experience and knowledge for choosing my career selections. By taking the time to engage in self-assessment and self-inventory exercise I am able to identify and analyze myself to examine which direction I should follow for my career choices.

Research

CAREER SKILLS INVENTORY• Assuring quality• Coordinating• Managing projects• Solving problems• Teaching

WORK VALUES ASSESSMENT• Help others and society• Impact• Autonomy• Monetary compensation• Status and authority

Results- Career Skills

• Assuring quality has always been a priority for me, regardless of the product; from healthcare to accounting to filing. I’ve always had a drive for the product to be of quality; quality products and services provide a better experience for the receiver as well as reflect highly on the provider. I find satisfaction knowing that I could deliver quality service or products to others.

• Coordination of processes is a deciduous task that requires planning, forecasting, communication, and collaboration. I have worked in positions that required me to coordinate jobs from beginning to end; including contacting customers, coordinating with customers, sales, and technicians, working with subcontractors, and completing the billing process. I always understood that a deficiency in any of these areas would negatively affect the quality of the job; impacting the perception of the product and the organization.

• My skills of managing projects correlates with my coordination skills, I like knowing that if I am the one managing the project then the outcome will likely be the desired result.

Career skills- continued

• Problem solving may be one of my strongest skills, when I am presented with a problematic situation I will sort through the varying options for resolution to achieve the goal. I am not embarrassed to admit when I do not know the answer or a solution, but I will process the different outcomes in mind before I speak up so that I am not offering information without backup.

• Setbacks are not a time for a person to quit, rather a time for their problem-solving capabilities to engage to showcase alternative solutions. My youngest daughter calls me a never-giver-upper, I take it as the ultimate compliment and recognition of my problem-solving capacities.

• Teaching is more than just presenting information to others for to learn. Teaching involves patience, an open-mind, and organization as well as an understanding of the material being taught. Not every person learns the same way and a good teacher understands this obstacle when a student is unable to retain and retrieve material. A classroom is not the only place where teaching takes place, it occurs in everyday interactions between people and is an invaluable skill to have in any workplace.

Results- Work Values Assessment

• Assessment identified exactly what is important to me and what I seek in a career.

• My next step in my journey is to seek out where I can utilize my skills to achieve an occupation where my values will be fulfilled and benefit the organization that employs me.

Conclusion

• Combination of experience and formal education forms a solid foundation as a valuable asset to organizations seeking quality employees.

• Identifying strengths and weaknesses aides in career choices.• Access to resources which benefit job search provides additional

strategies to find employment which is meaningful and financially advantageous.

• Earning Bachelor’s Degree as an adult learner has been one of my greatest learning experiences.

Credits

Written and Designed by:Elizabeth Hund

BS, Psychology (2016)

Special thanks to my husband and children who supported me throughout this final leg of my journey to achieve my Bachelors Degree