A perfect example I thought.
So here it is now, I've handed it in but I didn't get a mark. Yet. We'll see how it turns out. Anyway the facts in the background are well researched so I thought some of you, my readers, may enjoy this. So here we go:
Psychology Unit 2 Project
Mr. --
Psychology
Grade 12
Barbara --
Headlining a TV variety show is an unpredictable and precarious art that Cher has mastered amazingly well. Like everything else she’s done lately – whether it be her recent reunion with ex-husband Sonny Bono or her newly found happiness with her husband Gregg Allman, her unborn child’s father.
She’s just 29, but already has a number one hit in the last two decades, 2 marriages, a child and a 13 year long entertainment career under her belt. She’s a typical type A personality. She came from a broken home, meager belongings – merely two pants, 3 T-shirts, 2 pairs of shoes and a coat when she moved in with her future husband Sonny Bono in 1962 – a purely platonic arrangement at the time. After all he was 12 years her senior and she an underage runaway. She’s very optimistic about her future, after all how else can she deal with critics and reporters constantly telling her that she’s on her way out for over a decade?
Cherilyn Sarkasian Bono Allman is the American dream, she’s everything she ever wanted and now it finally looks like her husband has kicked heroine and his alcohol problems for good. But to ensure a healthy young baby for the Allman’s Cher needs to kick a habit she’s nurtured since her rebellious teens – especially with the recent surface of the health risks of smoking. She’s miscarried at least 4 times before and is at risk to do so again especially with the added stress of her weekly TV-show – this time again with Sonny, a purely professional reunion of course. Or is it?
There are rumors now that she’s pregnant she wants security again and not a unpredictable husband who she needs the babysit and might just go back to the habits of his shady past. Friends of Cher’s report that she has been seeking Bono’s advice - not just regarding the show, but also in personal matters.
Her goal is be to stop smoking Malboro Light cigarettes, a brand she loves.
The action plan:
1. Find out when and why she smokes: When she’s stressed, because it gives her a little break.
2. Figure out which Psychological needs are satisfied by smoking: It calms and at the same time stimulates the body. It calms and sooths her, but at the same time her pulse and breathing increase and hormones that stimulate happiness are pumped through the veins.
3. Find ways to condition her not to smoke: Like for example she does a brief power work out to release stress instead of smoking and have the long time reward of a killer body. And in other situations she could substitute the fag for a chocolate bar – her weak spot - or even a sugar-free mint that she can chew on.
4. Find extrinsic motivations: Definitely the health of her little daughter and the unborn child she's carrying.
5. Find intrinsic motivations: She doesn't want to miscarry again.
6. Slowly turn down frequency: She slowly cuts down from 3 packs a day that she's smoking right now 5 cigarettes a week till she finally is able to quit.
7. Support from family and friends: None of her friends, nor her (ex-)husbands should smoke around her for an optimal outcome. Also her friends should congratulate her and offer positive and supportive feedback(e.g. What you're doing is great, I couldn't do that etc.)
8. Finally throw the fags away: Get rid of all the smokes that are handily deposited in glove departments, around the house and in purses. They are not needed as comforter anymore.
9. Goal reached!!!
The single biggest and strongest motivation will be intrinsic to have a child with the man she loves at the moment. She doesn't want to miscarry, she wants for her family to be happy and healthy. But Cher knows that by smoking she subjects not only herself but also the ones she loves to an unpredictable health risk. With a seven year old and another one on the way she doesn't want to take that risk.
And of course there are her looks that are said to fade faster and more horrific when you smoke. Cher is one of the mega superstars of our time but even though she's at the top of her game there are always younger, newer, prettier girls coming up trying to take somebodies place. Somebody that has outgrown the fans, somebody that's old and forgotten, but Cher doesn't want to be that somebody. She's optimistic about her life in the lime light but she's not delusional. She knows that her time will come but by quitting smoking she ages slower, more natural and especially avoids those nasty wrinkles around her lips – in which lipstick/gloss can run into, creating a vampire-that-just-drank effect.
On the other hand there are always set backs and obstacles. For example in this case her husband is a heavy smoker and drinker ever since he kicked his heroine addiction. He won't approve of his wife's new idea of suddenly being a non-smoker. He will disapprove which collides with Maslows hierachy of needs – In this pyramid shaped drawing we see the 9 fundamental needs every single person has. In this pyramid the need for approval, acceptance and love is on the third level. As a smoker Cher has that approval of her social environment but once she stops she might lose it. Actually very likely she is to losing it and causing fights over it with her husband which can ultimately destroy her relationship and bring her back to the more basic need for security and safety.
Of course on the other hand Greg could also just put his own feelings aside and respect his wife's choice for a smoke-free environment for her and her unborn child. He just has to realize how painful and devastating it would be if Cher lost another baby. And eventually he has to make up his mind whether smoking is more important to him than Cher, he just can't have both anymore.
It plays a very large role because addictions are never purely psychological. There's always something else playing in there, in this case it's the nicotine. It stimulates and relaxes the body at the same time. Because it's inhaled, it takes only ten to fifteen seconds after a puff to reach the brain – much faster than intravenous drugs or alcohol. Once there, nicotine attaches to brain cells in a way that causes them to release a flood of neurotransmitters. This action, among other things, affects the reward center of the brain, which encourages people to repeat whatever behavior stimulated it. After a few more puffs, the level of nicotine in the blood soars , the heart bats faster, and blood pressure increases. As a result, smokers become more alert and may actually even think faster. Simultaneously, nicotine may calm the body by churning out natural opiates called endorphins. Thus, as a smoker, she can feel alert and relaxed at the same time.
During the whole ordeal she's put through the wringer of ever changing emotions. At first she goes into denial, she doesn't believe that her smoking is a problem. After a while – and doctors advice – she finally admits to herself and then to everybody else that her smoking is indeed a problem, a risk. Then she has a sudden urge to change, to quit, which makes her depressed because suddenly she gains weight and can't smoke anymore. At the end though, successfully going through the quitting process she only feels accomplishment.
The smell and taste senses will be very much involved in this as well as a slow adaptation of her senses. It is definitely an absolute treshold – meaning that a human can tell the difference of the change very easily and clearly. To top it off it belongs into the humanistic field – humanistic means that it concerns itself with the individual human being.
PS: Constructive critisim is always very helpful so go for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment