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How humans think, develop, and experience the world around us has been fascinating psychologists for over 100 years. The tracks in this album cover a range of case studies, looking at factors which can influence the development of our personalities. What is the impact of significant people in our early lives? How do you go about the process of researching topics like this in social psychology? The audio tracks feature disabled people who reflect on how disability has affected their sense of identity. Also featured are the cases of twins who didn't grow up together, people coping with memory loss, and the famous case of the soprano Lisa-Lee who discovered in her twenties that a rare genetic disorder meant she was actually a girl, not a boy. Studying people through such issues as gender disorder and disability allows psychologists to learn more about the human condition. This material forms part of The Open University course DSE212 Exploring psychology.
Track 14: Why so similar?
A set of twins discuss reasons for their similarities.
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Tracks in this podcast:
| Track | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exploring psychology | About this Exploring Psychology album Play now Exploring psychology |
| 2 | Disability discussed | A BBC Disability Affairs correspondent introduces a panel to discuss the issues surrounding identity and disability. Play now Disability discussed |
| 3 | Disability and identity | Lois Keith reflects on her disability and her change in her sense of identity. Play now Disability and identity |
| 4 | Can disability be irrelevant? | A more forward-looking approach to disability is needed. Play now Can disability be irrelevant? |
| 5 | Living with memory impairment | Vick talks about his progressive memory loss and his sister, Jean, explains her difficulties with his problem Play now Living with memory impairment |
| 6 | Living with Alzheimer’s | Sam and his wife Mildred talk about his progressive memory loss due to Alzheimer's Play now Living with Alzheimer’s |
| 7 | Living with memory loss | Miranda's experience of losing her memory due to illness. Play now Living with memory loss |
| 8 | Mistaken identity | Lisa-Lee describes the discovery in her teens that she was a biological female Play now Mistaken identity |
| 9 | Gender confusion | Lisa-Lee's experiences growing up as a boy Play now Gender confusion |
| 10 | Nature or nurture? | Whether biology or environment has most impact on gender determination Play now Nature or nurture? |
| 11 | Gender divisions | Is it important to categorise people in terms of gender? Play now Gender divisions |
| 12 | Studying twins | John Oates introduces the idea of studying twins to gain insights into human personality. Play now Studying twins |
| 13 | Twins apart | A set of identical twins who grew up separately meet again years later. Play now Twins apart |
| 14 | Why so similar? | A set of twins discuss reasons for their similarities. Play now Why so similar? |
| 15 | Identical twinset | Linda, Sharon and their mother discuss their similarities as identical twins. Play now Identical twinset |
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