Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts and respond to at least three of your peers in substantive posts of at least 100 words. In your responses, welcome your peers to the course, and comment on a component of their introductory post. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse in this discussion forum.

Daniel’s Post:

Hello class!
My name is Daniel, I have worked in the security field for 4 years now and am 27 years old. It is my understanding that physiological psychology is the study of what makes people do the things that they do or the study of behavioral neuroscience. I greatly admire and have a deep interest in this part of psychology because I work in a prison system where I deal with mentally ill inmates and inmates that can not function in general population. It is unfortunate that most of the psych wards have been shut down leaving some patients no other choice but to end up in the prison system being handled by correctional officers, such as myself, that are not properly trained or educated on the mentally ill. I spent 6 months working in a housing unit that housed protective custody inmates which is where most of the inmates are that either have disabilities or mental issues. It was in protective custody that I really learned a lot about how important adding psychology to my degree would be if I wanted to continue my career in this field. I believe that this course will be very important to my advancement in my career because education on how the brain functions may allow me to always be one step ahead of the inmates that show signs of certain psychological disorders that I learn. I am very excited for this course as you can tell in my early post! One thing that really stuck with me after watching Discovering the human brain: New pathways to neuroscience, with Susan Bookheimer, Ph.D was the study of the patient by Paul Broca after the patient had died. It was not until post mordum that Broca studied the brain and realized that the patient was not crazy because he could only make one sound but that he had suffered a stroke which had damaged a certain part of his brain now called the Broca’s area!
Bookheimer, S. (Writer), Harrigan, J. (Director), & Crosstown Productions, Davidson Films (Producers). (2007). Discovering the human brain: New pathways to neuroscience, with Susan Bookheimer, Ph.D [Streaming video]. Retrieved from Films on Demand database.

Cristy’s Post:

Hello Class,
My name is Cristy Aguirre, I am 45 years old and after this class, I only have one more class before I graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral science with a minor in psychology. I have been at Ashford for about two and a half years finishing my bachelor’s degree that I started over twenty years ago. It feels so good to accomplish a big goal! Besides a student, I am also a wife and mother. I have been married to my husband Paul for 23 years and we have three sons, ages 20, 17 and 14. We also have a 16 year old cat and two dogs. I spent many years as a stay-at-home mom, a few years as a hairdresser and the last 8 years I have been a bingo supervisor at a large casino in Southern California. I enjoy making crafts but I haven’t had time for that in many years.
I don’t know much about physiological psychology, just what has been mentioned in my other psychology classes and biology class about 100 years ago. I can already tell from the first two chapters and the first video, that this is going to be a more physical/human body, scientific approach to psychology, which will be very different from my other classes, where the focus is more on behavior. I am interested in learning everything I can about psychology. I don’t have any professional experience in the behavioral health field, only personal. My husband is a veteran with PTSD, two of our sons have ADHD, our 20 year old has fought alcohol addiction and our 17 year old was recently diagnosed at bipolar and recently had a psychotic episode. I wish I didn’t know as much about these areas as I do.
I look forward to getting to know all of you.

Daryl’s Post:

Greetings Class,
Nice to meet you! My name is Daryl Joiner everyone calls me DJ, I have been in the United States Army for 10 years, My job in the Army is a Military Police Officer, I enjoy the job I do in the military it allows me to help Soldier in the family everyday by keeping the post safe and holding people to a standard. I have three children two boys and my baby girl. I spend my off time talking to my kids, fishing, riding my Motorcycle with CVMA family (Combat Vet Motorcycle Association) and mentoring young kids in the community. I am attending Ashford to obtain my BA in Law Enforcement Administration with a minor in Psychology. My plans are to use my degree to get a job in law enforcement so that I can work at the local high school as a resource officer. This will allow me to work with the teachers in students to help kids make the right choices in life. My minor is to help me to understand the human mind and they way we think. This will allow me to but success in the Army as I work with Soldiers form all around the world. I feel that if I understand how we think, then this will give me the ability to interact with each Soldier in a way that they feel I care understand the way they see the world. As for physiological psychology the only thing I know is that it is the study of what make us do the things we do and how we think. What I hope to gain form this class is how to pick on how a person thinks by the way they interact with different people.

EXAMPLE OF A PEER REPLY:

Hello Vernessa,
Welcome to PSY 350 Physiological Psychology. I am already learning more than I thought I ever wanted to know about the interconnectedness of psychology and brain functions. I agree with Kanoa that it takes a particular type of person to have an interest in the fields that you have chosen. There are specific challenges involved on either end of the spectrum. Many neither have the heart or desire for such a high needs area.
I, too, have returned to the classroom after decades of taking care of others (family). However, it is ok for you to prioritize some time and space for you. Know that you can do it.