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Unit 4 Psychology in Our Daily Life
Useful Information
Psychology is a young and growing
science that touches on a broad range of human
activities. In general, however, one
can say that psychology tries to explain why
people act,
think, and feel the way
they do. Psychologists are interested not only in
how individual
minds work but also in
the various interactions of minds in society. It
should be noticed
that psychology
provides methods of analyzing and understanding
human behavior and
emotions that are
not based on moral codes.
It
is
important
not
to
confuse
psychology
with
psychiatry
which
is
a
branch
of
medicine
dealing
with
the
diagnosis
and
treatment
of
serious
mental
disorders.
Psychiatrists,
who
work
in
hospitals,
use
a
variety
of
methods
including
drugs,
light
therapy
and
electric
shock
treatments
to
cure
or
to
control
mentally
disturbed
people.
However,
the
work
of
both
psychiatrists
and
psychologists
often
involves
an
analytical
process
which
interprets
the
unconscious
or
subconscious
forces
that
prevent
a
person
from
functioning
satisfactorily
in
daily
life.
By
analyzing
these
forces
and
making
the
person aware of them, it
is often possible to help the person deal with his
or her mental
and emotional problems.
The whole field of
psychoanalysis originated with the research of the
Austrian doctor,
Sigmund
Freud
(1856-1939).
According
to
his
theories,
people
are
driven
by
irrational
forces or
primitive instincts. Freud believed that the inner
struggle between instincts and
conscience often led to disaster which
was manifested in the form of personal tragedies
such as murder and suicide or
collective tragedies such as war. He advocated the
use of
psychoanalysis to help people
control irrational forces. Much of Freud's work
was based
on his interpretation of
dreams and sexual instincts.
The Swiss doctor, Carl Gustav Jung
(1875-1961), is considered to be the other founder
of the modern science of psychology. He
proposed a theory of the collective unconscious
(the part of the mind which holds the
deepest and most hidden thoughts and feelings) of
humanity that was not based on
sexuality, but rather on universal symbols and
images
which he called
human
beings are influenced by universal archetypes.
These archetypes include various
representations of the dark, inferior
and uncivilized side of human beings. Jung used
his
theory
not
only
to
analyze
dreams
but
also
myths
and
folktales
from
many
different
cultures.
The
whole
field
of
psychology
has
evolved
and
expanded
considerably
since
the
early
part of the twentieth century. There are now many
branches of psychology and it is
no
longer limited to clinical work and the analysis
of dreams. Over the years, qualitative
and
quantitative
experiments
on
animals
and
humans
have
provided
a
vast
amount
of
information
on
social
behavior,
mental
development,
emotional
development,
learning
processes,
motivation, personality differences, and sensory
perceptions.
Men
and
women
with
training
in
psychology
now
work
in
many
different
careers
ranging from therapists to advertising
agents. The findings of psychological research are
used to help the victims of family
violence, to design aptitude tests, to carry out
efficiency
studies
in
the
workplace,
to
develop
educational
strategies,
to
conduct
political
campaigns,
and
to
predict
consumer
spending.
In
fact,
there
is
hardly
any
aspect
of
modern
society
that
has
not
been
influenced
in
some
way
by
research
in
the
field
of
psychology.
Part
One Preparation
1. Describing the
Pictures
Picture
1:
The
patient
looks
sad.
He
is
coming
out
of
the
hospital,
carrying
a
test
report in his hand. Judging from the
black cloud hanging over the hospital, the
drooping
flowers and trees, and the
report with the word “CANCER”
on it, we
can assume that he
has had a series of
tests.
Picture 2: The man
is lying in bed. The doctor has obviously
prescribed all kinds of
medicine
because
there
are
bottles
of
pills
on
the
table
beside
the
bed.
There
is
also
a
piece
of
paper
with
the
word
“will”
written
on
it.
The
man
is
so
depressed
that
he
has
written
his will because he thinks he is going to die.
Picture
3:
The
man
appears
extremely
happy.
The
sun
is
shining
over
the
hospital.
The
flowers
and
trees
are
upright.
The
doctor
has
told
the
man
that
he
does
not
have
cancer after all. (The
report he is carrying has an “X” through the word
“CANCER”.) On
seeing the result, he
can’t believe his eyes.
Picture
4:
The
sun
is
shining,
the
trees
are
full
of
fruit
and
the
hospital
has
disappeared. The man is
happy. He appears to be singing or whistling. He
takes a racket
and heads off to play
tennis. He is healthy and feels energetic again.
Story:
This
is
a
story
about
a
man
who
has
been
told
that
he
is
likely
to
have
cancer.
Then
everything around him
looks discouraging. He goes to bed, takes his
medicine and writes
his will because he
is certain that he has cancer and his days are
numbered. The next day,
he
goes
back
to
the
hospital
and
the
doctor
has
good
news
for
him:
the
test
results
indicate that he has
no cancer. So he immediately feels happy, full of
energy and goes to
play tennis to enjoy
himself.
2.
Getting to Know Your Classmates
Possible reasons for the beliefs and
feelings:
--Those
who
love
shopping
may
have
a
lot
of
money
to
spend
and
take
delight
in
doing
shopping. Sometimes they have a sense of
accomplishment after shopping is done.
In other cases, when people are in low
spirits, they tend to do a lot of shopping.
--Some people do not eat
beef because of their religion. For example,
Hindus do not
eat beef. Others do not
eat beef because of their family habits.
--
Bus service
in some places is very poor. Buses are usually
crowded and dirty. That’s
why people
don’t like to ride on a bus and when they are on a
bus, they wil
l get sick. The
result will probably be that they hate
riding on a bus even more.
--Those who love to talk to themselves
are often timid and reserved. They can express
their own feelings by doing so. Some
people do so because they are not sure of
themselves.
They can practice talking
to others in imagination, i.e., by imagining that
they are facing
other people and
talking with them.
--Some
people
are
terrified
of
snakes
because
some
snakes
are
poisonous.
Other
people hate them because they are ugly
and disgusting.
--People
sometimes associate violence and ghosts with
darkness. In darkness, people
usually
feel lonely and helpless. And at the same time,
they are afraid that something bad
may
happen at any moment.
--Some people think they are too fat
when compared with those slim people around
them. In most parts of the world,
people are worried when they gain weight and try
every
means to keep thin. Everyone
hopes to be good-looking or beautiful and follow
the trend.
--Those who
hold on to their money as long as possible are
usually very thrifty. They
are afraid
that if they spend all their money, they will have
nothing to rely on. With as
much money
as they can save, they can at least have a sense
of security.
--People who hate queuing
are impatient. They think it is a waste of time to
queue. So
they try to avoid queuing and
some people jump the queue when possible.
--People
believe
in
ghosts
if
they
have
heard many
ghost
stories.
Some
people
who
have
dreamed of ghosts may believe in them.
--These
people
believe
that
everyone
has
a
certain
fate.
It
is
fate
that
determines
everything
in
their
lives.
They
are
anxious
to
find out
what
their
future
will
be
like.
So
they go to a fortune teller in order to
know their future in advance.
--These people care a lot about their
physical appearance, for example, they want to
be properly dressed in order to impress
other people, or they probably are unconfident of
themselves. So they would stand in
front of a mirror for more than 10 minutes.
3. A Fun
Test: Come along on an Incredible Journey into the
Desert!
Based on Japanese
Archetypes
（模型）
the desert
represents a hardship. Each of the
animals
represents
an
aspect
of
your
life.
The
order
in
which
you
sacrifice
the
animals
might be said to
represent the importance of these things to you.
The one that you
sacrificed first is the least important, and the
one that you kept is
the most
important.
The cow represents basic
needs.
The sheep represents friendship.
The lion represents pride.
The monkey represents creativity.
The horse represents passion.
Another fun test for your
reference:
1. Y
ou
are walking to your boy/girlfriend’s house. There
are two roads to get there.
One is a
straight path to take you there quickly, but is
very plain and boring. The other is
significantly longer but is full of
wonderful sights and interesting things. Which one
do
you take to get to your
boy/girlfriend’s house, short or long?
2. On the way you see 2
rose bushes. One is full of red roses, and the
other white roses.
You
decide
to
pick
20
roses
for
your
boy/girlfriend,
of
any
color
combination.
What
number of white and red do you pick?
(You can pick all of one color or any combo of the
two).
3.
You finally get
to
their
house.
A
family member
answers
the
door.
You
can
have
him get your
boy/girlfriend or go get him/her yourself. Which
do you do?
4. You go up
to your boy/girlfriend’s room, but
nobody is there. You decide to leave
the roses there. Do you leave them by
the windowsill (
窗台
) or on
the bed?
5. Later, it’s
time for bed. You and your boy/girlfriend go to
sleep in separate rooms.
In the morning
when
it’s time to wake up, you go in
his/her room and check on him/her.
When
you arrive, do you think he/she is most probably
awake or asleep?
6.
Now
it’s
time
to
go
back
home.
Do
you
take
the
short,
plain
road
or
the
longer,
more
interesting road?
The
answers:
1. The road
represents your attitude towards falling in love.
If you take the short road,
you fall in
love quickly and easily. If you take the long
road, you take your time and do not
fall in love as easily.
2. The number of red roses represents
how much you give in a relationship, while the
number of white represents what you
expect in return. For example, if you choose 18
red
and 2 white, you give 90% and
expect 10% in return.
3.
This question represents your attitude towards
handling relationship problems. If
you
asked the family member to get your
boy/girlfriend, then you like to avoid problems
and hope that they will solve
themselves. If you went to get him/her yourself,
then you
are a more direct person and
like to work out problems immediately.
4. The placement of roses determines
how much you like to see your boy/girlfriend.
Placing them on the bed means you like
to see him/her a lot, while placing them on the
windowsill means that you are all right
with not seeing him/her as much.
5. This is representative of your
attitude towards their personality. If you find
them
asleep, you love your
boy/girlfriend the way they are. If you find them
awake, you expect
them to change for
you.
6. The road to home
tells how long you stay in love with someone. If
you choose the
short road, you fall out
of love easily. If you choose the longer one, you
will tend to stay in
love for a long
time.
Part Two Reading-
Centered Activities
In-Class Reading
I. Pre-Reading
Samples
-- When I
have health problems, I will go to the doctor. I
want the doctor to examine
me, to
diagnose the problem, to write a prescription or
to
tell me if there is anything I
should or should not do. If it is
necessary, the doctor will give me some tests.
Above all, I
always expect that the
doctor will tell me that I will be able to get
over the problem or
recover quickly.
--
I
usually
avoid
going
to
the
hospital
because
to
see
a
doctor
is
really
tiring
and
time-
consuming. So when I
don’t feel well and it’s not a very serious case,
what
I usually
do is to have
a good rest. For example, when I have a cold, I
will drink a lot of water and
stay in
bed. If it’s a serious health problem and I can’t
recover by taking a good rest, I’ll go
to the doctor and get some medicine.
Just like most people, I hope the doctor will
comfort
me besides prescribing me the
medicine.
II.
Passage Reading
Words, Phrases and Grammatical Points
1. Sometimes all a sick
person needs is some reassurance that all will be
well.
除了
“reassurance”,
其它如
fact, opinion, notion,
suggestion, proposal, thought, news,
truth, report
等词的后面也可接同位语从句。
e.g.
I) My family
now accepts the fact that I don’t eat sugar or
bread.
II) It’s my
considered opinion that you have made a
mistake.
III) I reject
absolutely the notion that privatization of our
industry is now inevitable.
IV) There
is no suggestion whatsoever that the two sides are
any closer to agreeing.
V) There was
anger at the proposal that a UN peace-keeping
force should be sent to
the area.
VI) The news that he had resigned took
everyone by surprise.
VII) It is an
almost universal truth that the more we are
promoted in a job, the less we
actually
exercise the skills we initially used to perform
it.
VIII)
There
are
unconfirmed
reports
that
two
people
have
been
shot
in
the
neighboring town.
2. These people say that if the mind is
fooled into thinking it got medicine, then it will
act as if it did, and the body will
feel better.
类似
“fool
somebody
into
doing
something”
的形式的短语有：
persuade
somebody
into
doing
something,
cheat
somebody
into
doing
something,
deceive
somebody
into
doing
something,
frighten
somebody
into
doing
something,
trick
somebody
into
doing