Part One: Read “Topic 2: Vargas Case Study.” Complete a Cultural Formulation Interview based on the “Cultural Formulation” section in the DSM-5 and given the new information learned in session two of the Vargas case study. Refer to the attached CFI form for guidance and complete the CFI template.

Include a citation for the Cultural Formulation Interview. APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.

Part Two: Review the Topic 2: Vargas Family Case Study. Write a 750-1,000-word paper in which you demonstrate how therapists apply psychoanalytic and cognitive-behavioral theories to analyze the presenting problem(s) and choose appropriate interventions.

Be sure to answer the following questions in your paper:

1. What are the two main presenting problems for the Vargas family?
2. How are the problems maintained according to: a) The psychoanalytic perspective? b) The cognitive-behavioral perspective?
3. What interventions would you plan to use in your next session?
   • From the psychoanalytic perspective (identify and describe your plan for two interventions)
   • From the cognitive-behavioral perspective (identify and describe your plan for two interventions)

Cite at least three academic sources (peer-reviewed journal articles, books, etc.).

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

This assignment meets the following CACREP Standard: 5.F.2.g. Impact of crisis and trauma on marriages, couples, and families.

I have provide the first Case Study information and paper just in case you need it. As well as the second case study information.

Where do Thoughts Come From?

Where do our thoughts come from? Are they byproducts of brain activities, somehow electrically and chemically manufactured in the gray matter and then exported to the mind? Or are they distinct from and unconstrained by the biological workings of the brain? These questions intrigued seventeenth-century philosopher Rene Descartes and continue to occupy present-day scholars.

One of the most interesting and emotional debates argued by Descartes’s intellectual heirs involves the origin of thought. This version of the nature-versus-nurture question is well understood: Are we the products of our genes, or are we what we have experienced? Today, we do have some scientific answers. For example, Roger Sperry, Nobel laureate in medicine, found that the circuits of the brain are, for the most part, hard-wired during embryonic development, suggesting that each cell possesses its own chemical individuality, rendering it unmodifiable (Horowitz, 1997).

For this 5–8-page assessment, you will evaluate the connection (if any) that you see between neuroscience and altruism. In addition, you will assess how the history of cognitive and affective psychology supports your position and how understanding the interplay between these two topics can impact your professional practice.

Based on what you know and have read on the ethical brain, evaluate the connection (if any) that you see between neuroscience and altruism. In a 5–8-page paper, address the following:

• How does cognitive psychology help us understand altruism, if at all?
  • Examine how cultural differences could impact this debate.
• Include an assessment of how the history of cognitive and affective psychology supports your position.
• Finally, assess how understanding the interplay of these two topics can impact your professional practice.

By successfully completing this assignment, you will do the following:

• Explain how the field of cognitive and affect psychology evolved into a recognized psychological discipline.
  • Assess how the history of cognitive and affective psychology supports a position.
• Evaluate the theories and principles that pertain to the cognitive components of cognitive and affective psychology.
  • Evaluate the connection between neuroscience and altruism.
• Explain how the theories and principles of cognitive and affective psychology can be incorporated into professional practice.
  • Assess how understanding neuroscience and altruism can impact professional practice.
• Explain how the theories and principles of cognitive and affective psychology apply to diverse populations.
  • Explain the impact of cultural differences on neuroscience and altruism.
• Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the psychological professions.
  • Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the psychological professions.

Resources

The following e-books and articles are linked directly in this course.

• Pillion, T. J., & Gala, G. (2009). Neuroscience and philosophy: Brain, mind, & language. Psychological Medicine, 41(4), 887–888.
• Burnham, T. C., & Hare, B. (2007). Engineering human cooperation: Does involuntary neural activation increase public goods contributions? Human Nature, 18, 88–108.
• Cunningham, W. A. (2010). In defense of brain mapping in social and affective neuroscience. Social Cognition, 28(6), 717–722.
• Kitayama, S., & Park, J. (2010). Cultural neuroscience of the self: Understanding the social grounding of the brain. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 5(2–3), 111–129.
• Lolordo, A. (2005). Descartes’s concept of mind. [Review of the book Descartes’s concept of mind, by L. Alanen]. Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences, 41(4), 396.
• Montague, P. R., & Chiu, P. H. (2007). For goodness’ sake. Nature Neuroscience, 10(2), 137–138.
• Peper, M., & Markowitsch, H. J. (2001). Pioneers of affective neuroscience and early concepts of the emotional brain. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 10(1), 58–66.
• Rose, S. (2005). The future of the brain: The promise and perils of tomorrow’s neuroscience. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Sperry, R. W. (1968). Hemisphere deconnection and unity in conscious awareness. American Psychologist, 23(10), 723–733.
• Pribram, K. H. (1986). The cognitive revolution and mind/brain issues. American Psychologist, 41(5), 507–520.

You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the Cognitive/Affective Psychology Library Guide to help direct your research.

Internet Resources

• Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS). (2014). Retrieved from http://www.cogneurosociety.org
• Lende, D. (2010). Cultural neuroscience – Culture and the brain. The Public Library of Science (PLOS) – Science Blog Network [Web log]. Retrieved from http://blogs.plos.org/neuroanthropology/2010/11/26…

The Resources Listed Below:

Covers research in neuroscience and altruism and are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP(FlexPath) course designation.

• Sternberg, R. J., & Sternberg, K. (2012). Cognitive psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
  • Chapter 2 “Cognitive Neuroscience.”

Can neuroscience explain complex human traits such as altruism?

Pfaff (2007) argues that nearly every cultural system, past and present, has a type of golden rule: a rule so ingrained in human behavior as to be “intellectually invisible” (p. 7) and rarely questioned. But where does it come from? Pfaff (2007) explains:

Some experts would claim this principle is a product of evolution. Individuals who behave altruistically—that is, they aid others, even at some cost to themselves—help their group to survive better and ultimately to produce more offspring like themselves. The impulses toward this behavior have been passed down along with the rest of the genetic code for the human brain, and now appear not only in behavior but also in brain activity that we can detect and track. If this is so, we can understand why this rule and its many variations have survived in human ethical systems, philosophies, and religions. (pp. 7–8)

If you agree with the experts (Pfaff mentions that we are biologically predisposed to altruism), then would it logically follow that altruism is not limited to human behavior? Consider the following comments by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan (1992):

In a laboratory setting, macaques [rhesus monkeys] were fed if they were willing to pull a chain and electrically shock an unrelated macaque whose agony was in plain view through a one-way mirror. Otherwise, they starved. After learning the ropes, the monkeys frequently refused to pull the chain; in one experiment only 13% would do so—87% preferred to go hungry. One macaque went without food for nearly two weeks rather than hurt its fellow. Macaques who had themselves been shocked in previous experiments were even less willing to pull the chain. The relative social status or gender of the macaques had little bearing on their reluctance to hurt others. (p. 117)

After pointing out the cruelty of the experiment (“our own moral sympathies do not lie with the scientists”), Sagan and Druyan (1992) note:

By conventional human standards, these macaques—who have never gone to Sunday School, never heard of the Ten Commandments, never squirmed through a single junior high school civics lesson—seem exemplary in their moral grounding and their courageous resistance to evil. (p. 117)

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have studied the influence of genes and the environment on psychological traits of identical (monozygotic or MZ) and fraternal (dizygotic or DZ) twins raised together and apart (Minnesota Twin Family Study, n.d.). Their findings are summarized below:

Preliminary analyses of the data so far collected, on some 2,400 twin pairs, suggest that the broad heritability of socioeconomic status, years of education, and present income level ranges from about 0.30 to 0.40. Not surprisingly, education and SES are correlated positively with Positive Emotionality and Self Esteem, negatively correlated with negative Emotionality and Alienation. There is a weak but significant tendency for twins from larger families to produce more offspring themselves. The within-pair correlation for number of offspring, for MZ pairs where both twins have been married, is about 0.30, which should be compared with a maximum possible correlation on the order of 0.50. Similarly, the risk of divorce, like procreation, is a two-person game, and should probably be compared with a maximum possible risk of about 0.50. This risk is nearly 3 times the risk for MZ twins whose co-twin has never been divorced. Since all of these variables – attained SES, years of education, family income, number of offspring, risk of divorce – are plainly complex, multi-factorial outcome variables, it is clear that this evidence of significant heritability implies that many of the diverse personality, interest, and aptitude variables that act together to influence these outcomes are themselves substantially influenced by genetic variation. (p. 3)

John E. Dowling, in his 2004 book The Great Brain Debate: Nature or Nurture, summarizes things nicely (Dowling, 2004):

What the neurobiology is telling us—bottom line—is that genetic directives are clearly most critical in brain building, although the environment can also play some role, whereas environmental factors play the fundamental role during brain maturation, although there is genetic restraint. (p. 165)

References

Dowling, J. E. (2004). The great brain debate: Nature or nurture?Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press.

Horowitz, N. H. (1997). Roger Wolcott Sperry. Retrieved from http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/la…

Minnesota Twin Family Study. (n.d.). The Minnesota twin family registry: Some initial findings. Retrieved from http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/mtfs/mtrf1.htm

Pfaff, D. W. (2007). The neuroscience of fair play: Why we (usually) follow the Golden Rule. New York, NY: Dana Press.

Sagan, C., & Druyan, A. (1992). Shadows of forgotten ancestors: Earth before humans. New York, NY: Random House.

Marketing Implementation: Action Plans and Marketing Mix

The action plans and marketing mix are related. That is, the action plans contain a complete description of a marketing program, including its goals and objectives (as previously outlined in the section on Goals and Objectives), marketing mix activities, program evaluation mechanisms and measurements, budget and timing considerations, and quantitative assessments. (A complete description of these final dimensions follows. Follow the format below for action plan outlines.)

Before you begin working on the action plans, consider the total budget amount for your charge. Make a realistic budget estimate for your marketing plan based on the financial situation of the company and its past spending on marketing.

State for each action plan:

1. The goal(s) and objective(s) for the action plan.
2. The target market at which this action plan is aimed.
3. The marketing mix activities needed to implement the action plan.

• Product strategy and programs require consideration of things such as brand name, product features/benefits, differentiation from competition, relationship to delivering value, logo, package design/labeling, complementary products/services, elements of customer service strategy, and programs. Also, this is where the service concept, tangibles, customer-contact employees, and so on, need to be addressed. Depending on the charge of your marketing plan, some of the above may not apply.
• Price strategy and programs require consideration of things such as pricing objectives and relationship to delivering value. Keep in mind that pricing is not restricted to monetary concerns. Customers are likely to compare the perceived benefits of the new brand to the perceived benefits of the existing brand and other competitive brands. In other words, customers are likely to perform a cost-benefit analysis, which means that customers must perceive the new brand to have benefits that are equal to or exceed the perceived costs. When considering pricing issues, also include costs customers are likely to incur in terms of time, effort, and energy. Consider psychological costs (e.g., embarrassment, fear, rejection, etc.) and losses (e.g., aesthetics, familiarity, etc.), and physical discomfort or loss of pleasure.
• Place or distribution strategy and programs require consideration of things such as the selection, motivation, and evaluation of channel partners (if applicable).
• This is also the place to describe any direct marketing programs (mail, telemarketing, catalogs, Internet, etc.) and other accessibility issues (e.g., number of local stores, etc.).
• Promotional activities
  • Advertising strategy and programs that require consideration of things such as advertising message (what will be said, unique selling points, benefits to be stressed, value story, points of differentiation, etc.), creative style (settings, characterization, humor or not, testimonials, etc.), media mix, media schedule, and so on.
  • Public relations/publicity strategy and programs that require consideration of things such as how to get press coverage, getting the company/brand name and story out to the public, event-oriented marketing, and so forth.
  • Sales promotion strategy and programs that require consideration of things such as contests, sweepstakes, event tie-ins, coupons, premiums (T-shirts, hats, key chains, cup holders, etc.), trade shows, consumer fairs, and so forth.
  • Sales force strategy and programs that require consideration of things such as size of the sales force, sales force organization (geographic territory; customer-type based, product based, or some combination; salesperson characteristics and skills to recruit and train toward; compensation; motivation), and so forth. This section will describe selling strategy in terms of sales call emphasis, selling strategy and tactics (what should sales people be doing and saying).
• Other marketing programs that require consideration of methods to systematically listen to the customer, monitor customer satisfaction/loyalty, monitor competition, and become aware of trends that might impact the business. This requires some type of specific intelligence/information-gathering plan.

1. Describe the evaluation and measurement procedures to be used to monitor overall performance of the action plan, including quantitative measures and allowable time frames.
2. Elaborate on the specifics of plan implementation and quantitative projections. This includes people responsible for programs, budgets, other resources needed, target completion dates, timetables, and so forth. This requires a consideration of who does what, when, and for how much.

Discussion 1-Select an individual that you believe exhibits authentic leadership. This individual can be historical or contemporary. Provide specific examples that support how this person exhibits authentic leadership. What is the role of authentic leadership in creating trust and followership in this example, and how can it improve organizations?

Discussion 2

Christian servant leaders profess to serve those whom they lead through love and the moral obligation to promote the greater good of others. What leadership behaviors would you expect from a Christian servant leader and how might those behaviors differ from someone who is not a servant leader. Also, although servant leadership is often associated with the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, do you believe servant leadership is compatible with other religions or worldviews? Why or why not?