Assignment #2 Lazy Adolescents?

Our text glosses over adolescence, so this assignment is to read an article in Psychology Today (a magazine that began when I was in college) regarding adolescence, from the perspective of both the parent and the teenager. Read the article and respond with a comment online (remember, the entire world can view your piece).

Lazy Adolescents??

Some questions to answer in your assignment:

• Why do some adults think teenagers are lazy?
• Are parents justified in thinking this way?
• What is your experience during this time with your parents? Did your parents recognize how busy your world was (is) with stuff that's actually very important?
• How would you respond if your parents bugged you about not doing enough?
• If you're a parent of a teenager, respond to the above accordingly?

At the bottom of this post, enter your response by clicking on "Comment" button. You may need to create a new Gmail account, or you can use an existing Gmail account, AIM (AOL), Yahoo, OpenID or other listed account. Your post will be visible to all in class (intentionally!) and worldwide. Sign your response with your full name so I can give you credit and others can know who's "talking". Feel free to respond to another classmates comments, also!

Due next Monday!

FYI: Erikson's Developmental Stages

Erikson's Developmental Stages referenced in your text at various times:

Source: Witt @uakron.edu

Current Eating Patterns

According to Harry Balzer, in this year's report Eating Patterns in America:

• In 1984, we took more restaurant meals to work than we ate in our cars. Today it’s just the opposite!
• In 1984, paper was the most popular packaging material for our foods and beverages. Today it’s plastic – and the amount we use increases each year.
• In 1984, 22 percent of all in-home dinners included a salad. Today, salads are part of 16 percent of in-home dinners.
• In 1989, 17 percent of all breakfasts ordered at a restaurant included a donut. Today 10 percent of us order donuts for breakfast.
• In 1985, half of American homemakers agreed with the statement, “Children should not be allowed to eat sweets.” Today only 29 percent agree with that statement.
• In 1993, 28 percent of children were overweight. Today, that number has reached 36 percent.
• In 1984, we spent 11.9 percent of our disposable income on food. Today we spend 9.5 percent of our income on feeding our families.

Among the trends Harry Balzer identified for the 2008 edition of Eating Patterns in America were:

• Americans are eating more at home…but that doesn’t mean they’re using restaurants less.
• Breakfast bars and yogurt hit a new high at breakfast, but stopping at restaurants for breakfast also hit a new high this year.
• Americans are losing interest in losing weight as dieting hits a new low this year.
• Snacking is not as impulsive as you might think. Most snacks are planned more than six hours earlier. There is a shift in when the most snacking occurs — more in the morning and less in the evening.
• Probiotics is the “new” health topic, as concerns about trans fat fades.
• Winter is becoming a new grilling season.

Recommended Reading: Eat Your Veggies........or Not

Witness this front page article in the New York Times:

Eat Your Veggies....or Not

“Eating vegetables is a lot less fun than eating flavor-blasted Doritos,” said Marcia Mogelonsly, a senior analyst for Mintel, a global marketing firm. “You will always have to fight that.”

Your Extra Credit Assignment

Attend one of the following before the end of the semester:

1/ An Alcolohics Anonymous meeting, or

2/ A Laughing Club meeting at the Cuyahoga Falls Library

For either choice, write a journal article of your visit, describing what happened while you were there (at least one page). What was the purpose of the meeting? Who else was there (in general...no names)? What was done at the meeting? Who led the meeting (I don't need his/her name, just whether there was a leader)? From your perspective, was the meeting successful? Were you eventually comfortable at the meeting? Any other thoughts?

If you visit an AA meeting, go to the web site below to select a meeting. Remember, some are open, some are closed to the public. Go only to an open meeting.

Meeting locations

For the Laughing Club:

Cuyahoga Falls Public Library
Saturdays 10:00AM
2015 Third Street Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44221
Questions? Call Carol Bailey-Floyd at 330-836-4456

Group meetings like the AA form of meeting are discussed in Chapter 2 as a type of Psychodynamic therapy.

Laughter as a healthy response we make to our lives is also discussed in your textbook.

You may substitute a meeting with another related organization, if you wish. Prior approval is required.

Assignment is due at the final exam.

Good luck and enjoy your assignment.

Recommended Reading: Putting Obesity Out of Business

Putting obesity out of business - The Boston Globe
Ellen Goodman

Recommended Reading: The New Mountaintop-Maslow Revisited



Check out this article in the NY Times regarding the fate of "self-actualization", at least according to the authors of a new study.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/magazine/12fob-wwln-t.html