Psychology, Society, and Culture

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

Article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/world/americas/04venez.html?_r=1&hp

I chose this article because of the uniqueness of the prison situation and I believe that it shows a good example of the power of deviance.  The inmates at this prison in Venezuela continue to deviate from societal norms and continue to commit crimes even while incarcerated.  Just from reading this article and having a small understanding of the prisons geography (on a known departure point for drug shipments into the Caribbean and US) I can hypothesize that a few of our deviant theories are displayed here, such as the strain theory and the illegitimate opportunity theory.

Id, Ego, & Superego

Links:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/mind_brain/  This is a site I frequent as it has a good variety of scientific articles in various subjects.  It also has a large section related to the “mind & body” which highlights articles related to psychology, behavior and related disorders.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childdevelopment.html  This site is part of the National Institutes of Health and it focuses on early childhood development.  It also has some information/links on behavioral problems and learning disabilities.

I chose this chapter because it covers topics that interest me such as personality development and deviant behavior.  Personality development is ones innate and learned characteristics reflected by their behavior which I feel ties in with certain people deviating from societal norms by acting badly or committing crimes.  I chose the supporting materials I have presented here because they reflect topics such as Freud’s concept of personality, deviant behavior and from Robert Frost’s poem; the factor of personal choice in anything we do.