Running Head: SALEMS SECRETS: CASE STUDY

Salems Secrets: Case Study Donna Maas Bryant & Stratton College BIOLOGY 120 Ms. Dusold January 24, 2012

SALEMS SECRETS Part I Salems Secrets 1. What do you think caused the girls to behave this way? Answer: I think the girls behaved in such a manner due to both physical and emotional problems. Physically, the Puritans diet lacked essential nutrients and vitamins, they were under tremendous stress working long hours, and they did not understand the cause or treatment of diseases. The lack of nutrients and vitamins, scarce food supply, and the stress of working long hours could have produced some of the physical problems such as their skin feeling hot and prickly, convulsive fits, contortions, or even the perceptual disturbances. The Puritans did not understand that diseases were caused by microorganisms. The girls were physically healthy before their fits began but they were not spiritually well as they were trying to cope with the living conditions of Salem. Emotionally, there was an imbalance of social status and power and they believed strongly in religion and the balance of good and evil. I believe the imbalance of power of social status could have been the result of many people joining together and exhibiting mass hysteria symptom and accusing the people in power of witchcraft. The girls were in the lower class of people of Salem and may have been jealous or looked for attention from their actions. The only thing that the Puritans knew for sure was that they believed in good and evil. If an event happened that was bad, it was the work of the devil. The devil always seduced them from a path of righteousness. 2. In the opening passage, what evidence did the girls provide for the presence of witches/witchcraft?

SALEMS SECRETS Answer:

The evidence against Sarah Good that the girls provided included staring, as if in a trance and making poisons that killed people and animals. Physical evidence included the perceptual disturbances, feelings of hot pins on their skin, contortions, convulsive fits, and bruises. There was no test or other physical evidence that could have suggested any other cause. 3. Assume you are living in Salem in 1692. Develop a hypothesis based on your observations. Answer: An unknown cause is responsible for the perceptual disturbances, contortions, convulsive fits, and bruises from which the girls suffered. There were no tests to explain a physical cause for the symptoms. Sara Good was staring, as if in a trance, and made poisons that the people of Salem previously drank. God is righteous but the devil leads people to do terrible things. The terrible things that happened to the people of Salem were the result of the devil taking control of them, charming them, and having a power over them. My hypothesis would be: The people of Salem were bewitched because the devil had led them down an unrighteous path. 4. Reflect for a moment on this concept of evidence. How do we define evidence in science. Does the girls evidence pass scientific muster? Answer: Scientific evidence requires objective findings from laboratory experiments that serve to further or confirm conclusions from clinical research or determine mechanisms. There were no tests to determine the physical problems that the girls exhibited. There were no tests done to determine if the poisons that Sara Good provided the people of Salem contained poisons. There was no scientific evidence that confirmed that Sara Good could kill people and animals by

SALEMS SECRETS staring at them. The evidence used to convict the people of Salem of witchcraft was not

scientific but only based upon their religious beliefs. . The people wanted to blame someone for the problems and injustices. Sara Good acted strangely and provided broths that helped the people of Salem. Therefore, the people of Salem believed that she caused the bewitchment. Part II Mass Hysteria 1. Have your thoughts regarding the events at Salem changed after examining this table? Reflect on the observations you listed in column 1 of your data management sheet. Answer: Yes, my thoughts have changed. Table I provides evidence that when a group of people suffer from mass hysteria, they exhibit similar physical or emotional symptoms not attributable to any physiological cause. The common physical problems of skin feeling hot and prickly, convulsive fits, contortions, or perceptual disturbances that the people of Salem shared cause have been brought on by the strange behaviors of Sara Good and the injustices the people felt. Part III Ergot: A Toxic Fungus 1. Incidences of witchcraft are found universally among cultures of this time, but none had the devastating impact that Salems had. What other factors may have contributed to the phenomena at Salem? Answer: The people of Salem did not have a proper diet, food was scare, and the weather caused a poor harvest. People from Salem had shared what food they did have and the rye crops were grown in swampy and sandy ground. 2. In Column 2 of your data management sheet, list evidence that the events at Salem could have been caused by ergot poisoning.

SALEMS SECRETS Answer:

3. After reading Parts II and III of the case study, develop a second hypothesis, different from your first, explaining the events at Salem. Record this hypothesis on your data management sheet. Answer:

SALEMS SECRETS Data Management Sheet Observations from Part I: Killed with evil eyes- staring, as in a trance Makes poisons Perceptual disturbances Hot pins on skin Contortions Convulsive fits Bruises Observations from Part III:

Data Interpretation: An unknown cause is responsible for the perceptual disturbances, contortions, convulsive fits, and bruises from which the girls suffered. There were no tests to explain a physical cause for the symptoms. Sara Good was staring, as if in a trance, and made poisons that the people of Salem previously drank. God is righteous but the devil leads people to do terrible things. The terrible things that happened to the people of Salem were the result of the devil taking control of them, charming them, and having a power over them Hypothesis 1: The people of Salem were bewitched because the devil had lead them down an unrighteous path.

Hypothesis 2:

Final Conclusion:

SALEMS SECRETS

SALEMS SECRETS References Patton, K. & Thibodeau, G. (2010). Anatomy and physiology, 7th edition. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier.