11. Name the social issues raised by access to the treatment of mental illness, and by the use of psychotropic medications.

Unit 4 Section 1 Exercise 6 Societal issues

Peter Kramer’s book “Listening to Prozac” Read the following and answer the study questions.

Peter Kramer, Listening to Prozac

Study Questions

1. What do you think of Kramer’s claim that cultural needs influence the evidence scientists attend to? What current cultural needs have shifted the emphasis from nurture to nature, resulting in a “new biological materialism”?
2. How did observing patients on Prozac shift Kramer’s opinions about the biological basis of personality?
3. Does our culture favor one interpersonal style over another? If so, which temperamental styles are currently valued?
4. Why was there such a media frenzy surrounding Prozac? What cultural or political nerves did this medication strike?