BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE ASSIGNMENT:Chances are you have made a lot of casual observations of human behavior in your lifetime. You have probably also speculated about the causes of many of those behaviors (i.e., asked yourself “why did so-and-so behave that way?”). Psychologists are also keen observers of human behavior. However, in contrast to the average person, psychologists are interested in determining the causes of behavior using the scientific method and using what they learn to explain other instances of similar behavior. When we say psychology is an “applied” science, we are highlighting how psychologists use scientific inquiry to understand behavior and then apply what they have learned to solve problems in the real world. This assignment will teach you how to adopt the mindset of a psychologist and form specific, functional connections between the course material (i.e., the science of human behavior) and your own personal experience.

This was a great post to be able to look back and see what mindset you started with and what mindset you have now. I still completely agree with my post in week 1, I actually am even more strong about it now. I do feel we were taught wrongfully about drugs and addiction. I also feel the law is too wishy washy with how we treat drug offenders. ONe of the things I really dislike about the drug laws is that each state changes, I feel we should have common laws no matter where you are through the states. I also learned tons about addiction in this course. Many people that are addicted don’t want to be there, they do want a better life, but they are alone and have no one to help them. This quote perfectly signifies that  “The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety. It’s a connection. If you are alone, you cannot escape addiction. If you are loved, you have a chance.” (p. 299).Being able to speak to an addict face to face you learn that it’s nothing like we were taught, they aren’t scum, they aren’t bad people. Many of them have gone through things we couldn’t even imagine. Many have lost everything, have you ever imagined being alone in this world? Really having no one to go to, that sounds awful. Because addiction is a socially isolating disease, social support for recovery is an important element of treatment planning. (Johnson, 2015). I also see now that the problem against the war on drugs is we aren’t going after the right people. Attacking the drug dealers isn’t the answer. If we help the addicted there will be no one to buy. Thank you for a great course.ReferencesHari, J. (2015).  Chasing the scream: The first and last days of the war on drugs. Bloomsbury.Hammond, A. S., Dunn, K. E., & Strain, E. C. (2020). Drug legalization and decriminalization beliefs among substance-using and nonusing individuals. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 14(1), 56–62. https://doi.org/10.1097/adm.0000000000000542Response ParametersPeer responses should be structured using the RISE MODELInitial peer responses should be 250 words in lengthResponses must be substantive and continue learning (avoid a simple “Good,” “Bad,” or “I agree” )Using APA format, continue to use sources from the text, lecture, or peer-reviewed articles to support your follow-up responses