Kelley 1

Michael Kelley
Dr. Johnson
Senior Seminar
December 5, 2016
Reflection Paper

Introduction:
When I began my academic career at Loras College in the fall of 2012, I had a mixture of
emotions going through my head. I was very nervous because coming to Loras would be the
first time in my life I would be living away from home on my own without my parents
supervising me. When starting at Loras College I knew that my long-term goal and plan for my
career was to become a personal trainer, but I was unsure of what the correct path for me to take
in order to reach that goal was going to be. The first course of action I took at Loras to become a
personal trainer was an attempt at majoring in Sport Science, which was not the smartest
decision in my life because I did not realize that I would have to take the two classes of Bio-115
and Bio-116 which were two of the most difficult classes I have ever taken in my career as a
student. I ended up dropping Bio-116 during the first semester of my freshman year and after
giving the Sport Science major one final chance by taking Bio-115 during the second semester of
my freshman year, I ended up dropping Bio-115 and the idea of majoring in Sport Science and
had to start thinking of another major to pursue. During my January term in the winter of 2013 I
took Psychology of Stress with Dr. Dunn. After taking Psychology of Stress and seeing how
interesting the class was, I wanted to know more about how the brain worked and as a result,
beginning in the fall of 2013, my path of becoming a Psychology major began.

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Competency and growth in two Loras Dispositions/skills specific to Psychology:

Since becoming a Psychology major, the first Loras College disposition in which I have
shown increased growth and competence levels is the disposition of Responsible Contributor.
The Psychology classes that have increased specific skills and competency levels that have led
me to be a responsible contributor are Research Methods I which I took my first semester of
Senior year and Research Methods II which I took my second semester of Senior year. In both
of my Research Methods classes I used a data analysis program called SPSS. When I was first
being introduced to the SPSS data program, I had no idea what I was doing and would often
times ask myself, What have I gotten myself into? as well as Why am I learning this? I will
never use it again. Even though I initially had negative reactions and attitudes towards SPSS,
over time through constant practice I grew used to the SPSS program and how it works and was
able to use my knowledge of SPSS to help my Research Methods II group with the data analysis
of our final research presentation on the benefits of mindfulness practice on memory at the end
of Senior year.
In addition to helping me grow as a Responsible Contributor, being a Psychology
major at Loras College has also helped me grow as an Active Learner. One specific skill that I
have been developing since coming to Loras, and a skill that is one of my strongest skills that I
now have, is my skill and knowledge of how to navigate and search the various electronic
databases provided by the Loras College library that I use when conducting research for all of the
papers I write for my major. Although I have had prior experience with electronic databases
before coming to Loras, since my freshman year the Loras College librarians have helped me
become a more efficient researcher. For example, before coming to Loras I would only look at
the Academic Search Complete database to find all of my sources for papers regardless of

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what my topic was. Now as a result of a better knowledge of every database and what kinds of
articles each database contains, I am spending less time looking for articles and more time
reading and taking notes on the articles, which has allowed me to finish research papers weeks
before they are actually due. For example, as a result of my increased skill in conducting
research, I was able to complete the research needed for my Senior Seminar major paper as well
as for a paper in my Learning and Cognition class weeks before they were due.

Information about the major controversies in psychology and how they inform and counsel ones
capacity to think ethically in many areas of life:
Controversy 1: Torture
Throughout the course of the semester, we as a class have been giving presentations on various
controversies that have been going on in the field of psychology. One controversial topic that
was presented to the class was the topic of whether or not a psychologists involvement in torture
is beneficial to the individual being tortured as well as to the individuals who are carrying out the
torture. According to the presentation in class, torture is the act of causing severe pain as a form
of punishment that causes mental or physical suffering most often carried out to get an individual
to reveal information (notes). We also learned from the presentation that torture leads to the
release of Norepinephrine and Epinephrine as well as Somatic Nervous System activation which
is why torture leads to so many individuals cracking which causes the release of information
(notes). In the eyes of the American Psychological Association, psychologist involvement in
torture is wrong and unethical. According to the APA psychologists, shall not conduct,
supervise, be in the presence of, or otherwise assist any national security interrogations for any

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military or intelligence entities, including private contractors working on their behalf, nor advise
on conditions of confinement insofar as these might facilitate such an interrogation (American
Psychological Association., 2015). With this in mind, it is evident that the American
Psychological Association is against psychologists being involved in torture.
Controversy 2: Deception
A second controversial topic in the field of psychology that we discussed as a class was whether
or not it is ethical to use deception in psychological research. According to the group
presentation, deception is used in psychological research for three main reasons. Two of the
reasons why deception can be used because it allows us to create false psychological realities in
which valid interpretations can be used. Deception can also help psychologists gain indisputable
knowledge (Notes). According to the Northern Michigan University guidelines on
psychological research, psychologist are prohibited to use deception in conducting research
unless the use of deception will benefit a research study scientifically or educationally (nmu.
2016). This guideline regarding the use of deception in psychological research goes along with
deception being used in order to gain indisputable knowledge.
Controversy 3: Psychological Testing
A third controversy that we discussed as a class were the benefits and downsides of
psychological testing. We learned through the presentation group in favor of psychological
testing that psychological testing has many benefits associated with it including focusing on
development, aiding in problem solving, assisting with decision making, and finally providing
people with opportunities to learn (Notes). Unfortunately various problems are associated with
psychological testing. According to the presentations, one problem with psychological testing is

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that non-psychologists can administer tests which can be outdated (Notes). A second issue with
psychological testing is that due to language barriers that are present among different cultures
and ethnicities, people can interpret items on tests differently which can lead to misinterpretation
of results (Notes).
Conclusion:
Throughout my Loras College career, I have developed into a responsible contributor as a result
of taking part in various research studies and projects with a variety of different groups which
could not have been done without my increased knowledge and skills in the SPSS data analysis
program. The Loras College library databases have molded me into an active learner as a result
of mu usage of them when writing research essays for my classes, even if my classes were not
psychology related. Finally, the APA has numerous guidelines regarding psychology and how
psychologists can ethically deal with controversies such as torture, deception, and distribution of
tests.

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References:
APAs Council Bans Psychologist Participation in National Security Interrogations. Apa.org.
American Psychological Association, 7. Aug. 2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2015. http://www.apa
org/news/press/releases/2015/08/15/psychologist-interrogations.aspx.

Use of Deception with Human Research Subjects. nmu.edu. Northern Michigan University,
2016. Web. 4 Dec. 2016. http://www.nmu.edu/grants and contracts/use-deception-human
research-subjects.