Inside human brain: 2013

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Forensic psychology outline

Hypnosis is used in both Clinical and Forensic psychology. Hypnosis has been approved as a valid clinical tool. It helps to open suppressed knowledge to be recalled. Often times this knowledge would not be available in the conscious mind. The hypnotist will place the patient/ client in a hypnotic state and then proceed to ask a series of questions that may trigger memory. There are few problems with hypnosis in clinical psychology, but poses some in forensic psychology.
My paper will be asking the question, " Is hypnosis a valid tool in a court of law?" Forensic psychology uses hypnosis in eyewitness testimony. This can be a positive investigative tool if the hypnotists do an ethical job. There are problems that exist, such as, leading questions. This works similar to a leading question in a court case. In this setting the client is in a vulnerable state of mind, which makes it easier to give false testimony. Another problem that exists is debate in the ability of the conscious mind to be present during hypnosis. Some psychologists say an individual will not say things they don't want to hypnotize or not. Does hypnosis increase or increase the error rate of a testimony? This is another question raised in forensic psychology. I would also like to explore the judicial laws on hypnosis. The United States have 2/3 of the states legislatively against the use of hypnotism in a court of law. This still leads to conflict as far as individuals Constitutional Rights.
As a whole in this paper I would like to discuss the role of hypnosis in forensic psychology. I would also like to explain the role it plays in clinical psychology, so that I can portray a better understanding of the technique is a relaxed content. I will incorporate person experience and insight to hypnosis. I will examine the use of hypnosis for eyewitness testimony; the positives and negatives. In conclusion I will discuss the judicial laws for and against hypnosis in a court of law.

Flirting

Flirting
Flirting The New Flirting Game When it comes to flirting today, women are not waiting around for men to make the first move, as they would have. Monica Moore has spent more than 200 hours observing the way women flirt. Her findings are they give non-verbal cues that get a flirtation rolling fully two-thirds of the time. A man may think that he is making the first move because he is the one to literally go over and talk to the girl, but usually it is a look or an action the sets him off. By standard, the women who attract the most men are the ones with the best figure. That is not true the women who get the most response are the ones who send the most signals. Example a women who does 30 displays an hour will get more response from a person who does four displays an hour. Some of the non-verbal behaviors are glancing, glazing, smiling, nodding, lip licking, and pouting. When a women sees a target she looks at the person then glances at the person many tomes after. This is shy and indirect but it is a cue. If a man fails to notice the woman will walk by several times hips swaying, breasts pushed out, and head up high. Eyebrow flashing, the raising of eyebrows of both eyes, followed by a rapid lowering. The coy smile, tilting the head downward, with partial averting of the eyes and, at the end covering her mouth. Exposed neck, turning the head so that the head is faced away and the side of the neck is bared. These are all examples of nonverbal behavior that women do to attract men. It is also researched that a gay male will act as a girl sending out the same signals as a girl would. Also a gay girl will be passive and wait for the signals. This article relates to class because it shows how instinctively women naturally makes a pass at a man. In class we learned on how a girl or guy naturally act when put in a situation that they feel uncomfortable about. This was a very interesting article for the fact that the topic

Developmental psychology

Developmental psychology- a branch of psych. That studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.
Physiological psychology-
Experimental psychology
Personality psychology
Clinical and counseling psychology- a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Social psychology
Industrial and organizational psychology- a subfield of psychology that studies and advises on workplace behavior.
Person-situation-
Stability-change-
Diversity-
Mind-body-
Psychology-science/study of behavior and mental process
Scientific method-
Theory-an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations
Hypothesis- educated guess
Structuralism- Wilhelm Wundt argued that the subject matter of psychology was immediate experience
Functionalist theory- William James defined psychology as the study of the mind as it functions in adapting the organism to the environment
Psychodynamic theory- Sigmund Freud concluded that unconscious mental forces direct our everyday behavior
Behaviorism- John Watson and B.F. Skinner redefined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior
Gestalt psychology- Max Werthheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler defined it as the study of immediate experience of the whole organism.
Existential psychology-
Humanistic psychology-

Brian Tracy Psychology of Achievement

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ACHIEVEMENT
By BRIAN TRACY

YOU BECOME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT!

A MAN BECOMES WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT ALL DAY LONG.
-- RALPH EMERSON.

YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE,
BUT WHAT YOU THINK...YOU ARE.

THE LAW OF EXPECTATIONS

WHATEVER WE EXPECT WITH CONFIDENCE BECOMES OUR OWN SELF-FULLFILLING PROPHECY. …WE ARE OUR OWN FORTUNE TELLERS.
WE MANUFACTURE OUR OWN SELF-FULLFILLING PROPHECY.

EXPECTATIONS HAVE A POWERFUL IMPACT ON OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS, AND WHAT WE BECOME.

ALWAYS EXPECT TO GROW, TO GET BETTER -- EXPECT THE BEST.
THROW OFF PAST MISTAKES OR FAILINGS.

MAKE A HABIT OF ALWAYS EXPECTING THE BEST IN WHAT YOU DO.

MANUFACTURE POSITIVE EXPECTATIONS.

THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

EACH HUMAN BEING IS A LIVING MAGNET. THINK CONTINUALLY OF THE PEOPLE AND CIRCUMSTANCES YOU ALLOW IN YOUR LIFE.

SELF ESTEEM

THIS IS THE CORE OF SELF CONCEPT.

HOW MUCH YOU LIKE YOURSELF DETERMINES HOW WELL YOU PERFORM. THE MORE YOU LIKE YOURSELF THE BETTER YOU PERFORM.

"I LIKE MYSELF ... I LIKE MYSELF ... I LIKE MYSELF…"
SAY IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

PICTURE YOUSELF AS AN ATTRACTIVE HIGH-PERFORMING HUMAN BEING. RELEASE YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS BRAKES. ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILTY FOR YOUR LIFE.

WE ARE 100% IN CHARGE OF WHAT HAPPENS TO OURSELVES. WE CONTROL OUR DESTINY. DISCARD NEGATIVE EMOTIONS.

ACCEPT TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH.

KEEP YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND ON THE THINGS YOU DESIRE, RATHER THAN THE THINGS YOU FEAR.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

The Loe Moo

The Loe Moo
atertown, CT 06795 for a copy of their publication. House-sitting is much more more attractive to the average person. The only drawback is that most opportunities are for short terms, 3 months to a year. However, if you only want to locate to an area for a short period of time, this is the way to do it and live rent-free. Many people would rather have someone occupy their home during their absence than have it sit empty. You would be expected to maintain the premises and treat it "better" than as if it were your own.
Sources of Additional Information Free Reports How to Get Free Travel How to Fill Your Home with Free Books, Magazines and Computer Software How to Travel Almost Anywhere and Stay Free in a Home or Luxury Hotel Books for Sale Free Stuff from Uncle Sam Free Stuff for Sports Fans 1001 Things You Can Get Free If you would like to browse hundreds of other how-to and special interest books, as well as hundreds of free reports, click here! ©1998 Advantage Enterprises Unlimited, Inc. The publisher assumes no responsibility or liability for any of the information, and its potential use or misuse, included in this report. While the information is believed to be correct at the time of publication, it is recommended that you seek the advice of the a qualified professional for assistance.

Psychology of sport

Psychology of sport

a)

1. Aggression is defined any form of behaviour that is directed towards the goal of harming someone physically or psychologically.
2. Possible causes for this aggressive behaviour would be the nature of the game. If the sport is contact then there is more likely to be aggressive behaviour than in non-contact sports. Frustration caused by poor form, opposition and referees' decisions can also cause aggression as suggested by Dollard's frustration-aggression hypothesis. Hostile crowds may provoke players and their aggression behaviour may trigger and encourage the players to be aggressive themselves through social learning.
3.

Developmental psychology

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology- the study of how individuals acquire, process, and use information.

Evolutionary Psychology- way of which behavior and mental processes are adaptive for survival.

Wilhelm Wundt- STRUCURALISM. Founded the first formal psychology lab, 1897. goals = 1. analyze conscious processes into there basic units such as sensations, images, feeling 2. disover how the elements became connected 3.specify the laws of connection. "FATHER OF PSYCHOLOGY"

Edward Titchener- STRUCTURALISM = what? and were? Falls under Wihelm Wundt

William James- FUNCTIONALISM = how? And why?. Led first distinct school of psychology. Studied the mind as it functions in adapting to the environment

Sigmund Freud- PSYCHODYNAMIC. Studied etiology, development, and treatment of abnormal behavior.

John Watson and B.F Skinner – BEHAVIORISM. Studied behavioral observations.

Max Werthheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler - GESTALT. Defined psychology as the study of immediate experience of the whole organism. Gestalt psychology was founded as a revolt against Wundt.

Gender

Culture

Gender stereotypes

Gender roles

Race

Ethnicity

Ethnic identity

Sexual orientation

Femenist theory

Human diversity

Jean-Paul Sartre

Alcoholism

Alcoholism

The word alcoholic means anyone who is affected by drinking, and seriously influences or interferes with his/her work, family, or health. Alcoholism is disease, and as such is one of the three worst killer diseases. When someone becomes a alcoholic his/her spouse is usually one of the last people to know about it. Once you become a alcoholic it can not be cured. In the United States Of America fifty percent of boys drink alcohol at least once a week, also seventy percent of adults drink alcohol. Young people usually drink more heavily than adults. Alcoholics drink so much alcohol that their liver may not burn off the alcohol as good as it should so it stays in their bloodstream longer. Drinking alcohol while you are pregnant even in small amounts can harm your child. The most common symptom from this is reducing the child's weight and making it easier for the child to become sick. Drinking alcohol even after you have your child and are breast feeding it the alcohol can go through the milk and into your child. One way to tell you might be developing a drinking problem is if you finish your drink way faster than your friends, another way to tell is if you like to drink alone a lot.

Friday, January 4, 2013

The Loe Moo

Psychology of sport

Cognitive Psychology

Alcoholism

Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Comparative Method

Sociology
The Comparative Method

Sociologists have embraced what is known as the comparative method as the
most efficient way to expose taken-for-granted 'truths' or laws that people
have adopted. But what is this comparative method and how does it work?
Are there any advantages/disadvantages to exposing these false 'truths'.
What forms or variations of the comparative method exist? In the pages to
follow I will attempt to give you some insight and understanding of what the
comparative method is, and how it works.

The comparative method, simply put, is the process of comparing two things
(in our case societies, or the people that make up society) and seeing if
the result of the comparison shows a difference between the two. The
comparative method attempts to dereify (the process of exposing
misinterpreted norms. Norms that society consider natural and inevitable
characteristics of human existence) reified (the human created norms or
'truths') beliefs.
Obviously there are various ways in which a nomi (a labeled, sometime
constructed, norm or truth) can be exposed. Which form of the comparative
method should one use however? The answer, whichever one applies to the
'truth' in question. For example, you certainly would not do a cross-gender
form of comparison if you wished to expose whether or not homosexuality has
always been feared and looked down upon by most people throughout history.
No, rather you would perform a historical comparison of two or more
different societies to see if these beliefs always existed, or, whether or
not this is a newly constructed belief.

Let's look at little more closely at the above mentioned historical
comparison and see how the comparative method works with a specific example.
There is no question that in today's western society there is a lot of fear
and trepidation towards people who are labeled 'homosexual'. The question
we will attempt to answer however is whether or not it has always been like
this and is this a universal truth.
In ancient Greek societies people had a very different opinion of men that
slept with men. For example, it was considered quite an honor for a family
with a young boy under the age of 10, to be given the privilege on an older
man of high society taking their son into his house. The young boy would go
and live with this older man. The older man would have sex with the young
boy on a regular basis until the boy developed facial hair. It was not
until then that the boy was considered a man. Society thought that an older
mans, of great reputation, semen would help the boy develop into a fine
young man. Once the boy developed the facial hair, the sex between the two
would stop. The older man's job was finished. Obviously this would be
considered an atrocious and disgusting act these days. The older man in
this case would certainly go to jail for the 'crimes' that he had committed.
However, in Ancient Greece this was not only considered perfectly normal,
but as I already stated, it was an honor and a gift that not every boy was
'lucky' enough to be given. Therefore, we can conclude from this comparison
that homophobia, as we know it, is not a natural truth, nor is it a
universal belief. Rather it is a socially constructed belief that many
people have taken for granted as an inevitable part of human existence.
It is important at this point to clarify something however. It is said
that the role of the sociologist is a descriptive one as opposed to a
prescriptive one. That is to say that the sociologist should describe the
various practices, customs and structures that exist in various societies
rather than suggest to people which one is actually the correct belief or
the 'real' truth.

Cross-gender comparisons is another commonly used comparison used to reveal
socially constructed truths. In Carol Gilligan's book 'In a different
voice' we find a fine example of a cross-gender comparison. She states that
most people believe that the majority of people, both men and women, view
morale issues in the same way. However, through empirical data collection,
Carol Gilligan concludes that this is not most often the case. Rather, she
states that men tend to approach moral issues quite differently than women.
Where as men view morale issues with a "don't interfere with my rights"
view, women focus more on the "responsibility" end of the morale involved.
Thus we can conclude, thanks to the comparative method, that the constructed
truth that all people view morale issues the same is not a correct one.
Another quick example of a cross-gender comparison would be that of the
house-wife. Still today most men view the role of the married woman as one
that involves being a house-wife, in the traditional sense of the term.
However, women today certainly would not view themselves in the same manner.
The data collected from a comparison such as this could help to dereify this
socially constructed truth.

Cross-class comparisons is also a comparison commonly used when attempting
to expose constructed truths between two classes. i.e. lower-class,
upper-class, middle-class. For an example I refer to my lecture notes. Our
professor gave us a fine example of a cross-class comparison involving his
own life. He was from a middle-class family and attended a public school
where he got involved with various kids from the middle and lower class. He
grew up in this type of environment and accepted it as the his life as the
way society was. To him, there was not another lifestyle. This was life.
Several events occurred and because of these events our professor was moved,
by his parents, to a private school. This private school and the 'new'
society that accompanied it resulted in a form of culture shock for him.
All of a sudden he was placed in a new world, a world that he never even
knew existed. As you can see, our professor socially constructed the view
that society was like the one that he lived in when he went to his public
school, hung around with middle and lower-class friends, and did what middle
and lower-class kids did. When he was afforded the chance to compare that
type of lifestyle to one of the upper-class he dereified his constructed
view and his eyes opened to a new reality and a new view of the way society was.

Another major comparative form is that of the cross-generational. This one
is fairly straight forward. The name basically says it all. In fact, it's
much like the historical comparison method but on a much smaller scale. I
believe that in order for it to be termed cross-generational, the
generations that are being analyzed have to be living at the same time.
Otherwise it becomes a historical comparison. Karen Anderson gives an
example of a cross-generational comparison in her book Sociology : A
Critical Introduction (1996, pg. 12).

"Canadians pride themselves on their tolerance and lack of prejudice. But
we do not need to look very far into our history to find examples of
taken-for-granted understandings that have led to discriminatory and
prejudicial treatment. Some segments of the population have been
classified as undesirable and thus as unwanted or undeserving outsiders..."

Anderson is pointing out that the constructed view in Canada is that we
pride ourselves on the fact that we have very little prejudice in Canada.
She goes on to point out that this is not at all the case. She gives the
example of Canada's history of immigration. She discusses the fact that a
lot of Chinese people were allowed to immigrate to Canada, much to the
dismay of current residents and already established European immigrants,
during the time when the transcontinental railroad was being built. Sir
John A. Macdonald was the Prime Minister at this time and defended his
reputation by telling the people of Canada, who were very disturbed by his
actions, that the Chinese immigrants would live in Western Canada just
temporarily. To reassure the people further Macdonald said "...no fear of a
permanent degradation of the country by a mongrel race". This would be
considered horrific these days. Most Canadians would not even realize that
their country was very closed to the idea of the immigration of certain
types of people. The social idea that Canada is, and always have been, a
very tolerant country is exposed as a false, constructed truth through this
cross-generational comparison.

Finally we come to the last major comparative form. That of the
cross-cultural. Cross-cultural comparison consists of comparing two
societies or cultures in an attempt to reveal and expose some socially
constructed 'truths' in order to prove that they are not universal but
rather they are relative to each society.
There are literally thousands of differences between almost every culture
that people would be surely shocked to learn of. For the next example I
will show how the cross-cultural comparative method dereifies some of the
constructed so-called universal-truths that people in our society may have.
India differs in it's customs considerably from that of Canada or Northern
America. For example, in Western Civilization families sit together when
they attend church, in India this is not acceptable at all. Men and women
must sit on opposite sides of the church. Men and women in India for the
most part will not eat together, whereas in Western civilization it is a
common practice and is actually looked upon as a good time for a little
family bonding. In India it is considered rude to eat with both hands at
the table. The right had is solely used for eating and the left for
drinking. Obviously we have a completely different practice in Western
society. Another shock that a Westerner might face if he/she were to travel
to India would be the fact that it is still considered a major social
impropriety for a man to even touch a woman in public. In North America
public displays of affection can been seen everywhere. . (Stott, John.
Down To Earth. 1980. Pg. 12-15)
These are all prime examples of Western universal truths that are exposed
when compared to another culture.

One of the major benefits for exposing these truths through the comparative
method is the fact that dereifying accepted truths leads to a decrease in
ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the act of interpreting all societies
through one's own cultural lenses and believing that there idea of truths
are the only correct ones. This could lead to the imposing of one's own
beliefs onto other societies. In other words, comparing, exposing, and
dereifying helps educate and eliminate ignorance when it comes to social
'truths'. However, there is a danger to exposing social constructs. It
could lead to one taking on the perceptive of a radical relativist (all
truths are correct) or a nihilistic view (the belief that all truths are
relative and therefore there are no truths). Obviously this is a very
negative, and possibly a destructive, way of thinking.

As you can see, the comparative method is an essential part of a
sociologists practice. Without it there would be a lot of confusion and
misunderstanding between people and societies. Hopefully I have shown by
example the various forms of the comparative method and how each of them
applies to society and how they attempt to expose falsities.

Toronto, Ontario. Canada
3rd Year University
B+

Stress

stress

Psychological stress is a result of many factors and should be dealt with very carefully. Stress can be defined as a set of interactions between the person and the environment that result in an unpleasant emotional state, such as anxiety, tension, guilt, or shame (swin pg 1). Another way of putting it, is that there are somethings that put certain demands on us. The effects of stress should not be limited to unpleasant emotional states. Many studies have concluded that the effects on our physical health from stress can be extremely detrimental. These adverse physical effects include heart disease and formations of cancer. There are also some societal issues that psychological stress can hamper.
There are numerous elements that trigger the effects of psychological stress. Frustration is one of these elements that will trigger stress. Frustration is one of the most prevalent sources of stress in my life at this moment. A lot of different events will cause frustration. Frustration occurs from something blocking our attainment of certain goals or needs (Corey 207). All of the little things that frustrate us include waiting in lines or traffic, sense of failure or inadequacies, bad relationships, deaths, and loneliness. Self-defeating thoughts are a way in which we almost deliberately block attainment of our needs. If in our heads, we have this preconceived notion that we are incapable of obtaining something that we want or that others could not possibly love us, we create a self-fulfilling prophecy. I used the word "deliberately" in describing self-doubt because we have the ability to change these misinformed thoughts.
Major life changes whether it be positive or negative can lead to very stressful situations. In our society, many people fall into a rut of everyday life and fear change to their daily routines. When any kind of change occurs it is very traumatic. There are many changes in ones career that can cause stress. Starting a new career or getting a new job is a major change that will produce stress. The feeling of being accepted in the organization and learning the companies ways of doing things are stressful. Other changes in one's life resulting in stress include a change in a personal relationship or financial changes. You might think that hitting the lottery and being a multi-millionaire would relieve any possible stress in one's life. That fact is that it is a major change and you are going to have many different issues that you never had before. There are issues of what to do with the money and how to invest it.
Pressures that are brought about in our society are imposed by ourselves and by others. If one has too high of expectations for oneself it is inevitable that they will burn themselves out. These expectations are derived out of our gender roles as men. Men are thought of in our society to be the provider of money and security to their families. It is one way we measure or "manlyhood". Unrealistic pressures such as this, and pressures from school, work and social life will lead to high levels of stress.
Conflict happens when two or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for expression. There are three classifications of conflict; approach/approach, avoidance/avoidance, approach/avoidance. Approach/approach conflicts occur when we have two attractive options from which we have to chose. This can happen when we have two group of friends going out for New Year's Eve, both with exciting plans. It is tough to decide which group of friends you want to hang out with. Avoidance/avoidance is the opposite of approach/approach. When you have to decide between two unattractive choices or goals, stress sets in. This has occurred to me this past month or so in deciding what I am going to take for my accounting elective. All of my options are very unappealing. Decisions may arise where both objects that you are to chose from have both attractive and unattractive components. This type of conflict can be categorized as approach/avoidance conflict. An example of this type could be in finding a house. If you have found the house of your dreams for an amazingly low price but it is very far away from your place of employment, you have approach/avoidance conflict (Corey pg. 207-208).
Other sources of stress include ambiguity in a certain situation. If you are unsure of what to do or how to act in a situation it can cause stress. If you get into a fight with someone it can cause stress. Contradictions to your value systems can produce some unwanted stress.
I have never before in my life been under so much stress that it has caused serious questions of hopelessness. Throughout my entire life, I have been very good with coping with stressful situations, but something happened on October 12 that will change my life forever. A couple of policeman came to my door with a complaint. Apparently, a friend of mine and I had been accused of a crime that we did not commit. The threat that we could possibly get expelled from school or even worse get put in jail for a very long time comes with a very high level of stress. The investigation has been going on ever since they first came to our door. They have decided to postpone the investigation over the winter break which has caused a great deal of anxiety and ambiguity for me. If I had committed this crime than I would have no problem facing the consequences. The fact is, that I did not commit the crime and this has left me very angry and upset. This situation has caused a lot of pain and money for my parents that I caused. Having to tell them and seeing how upset they are have left me extremely stressful and full of unnecessary anxieties.
About a month or so after this incident in October, I received a call from a friend of mine. He had just found out that my roommate from sophomore year and very good friend was found in his grandmothers barn dead. Two days later, a friend of the family lost his battle to lung cancer. Some other frustrations that I am having include school. I have only five options left for classes next semester. I am having trouble getting in to some of the classes that I want. I have yet to start looking for a job for many reasons. I feel pressure from my parents and peers to start the process of finding a job. Many of my friends have already received offers and I have yet to begun writing my resume. Those are just some of the major issues, but there are many other everyday demands in my life that cause unwanted stress.
The effects of these stresses have left me emotionally bewildered. I am chronically depressed and a short time after the incident I had a panic attack. My heart started racing frantically and I could not stop shaking. My best friend was on the couch across from me watching a movie. I was so afraid of what was happening that I couldn't speak. I have been emotionally scarred for life.
This incident has left me with serious issues of trusting others. This lack
of trust has hurt my ability to form interpersonal relationships. When we go out into Boston I have a lot trouble talking to other people. Normally, I am the one out of my friends that like to go out and meet new and interesting people. Ever since that incident, I have not been able to figure out what is wrong with my social skills. I have become very shy around people that I do and don't know. I have lost contact with a lot of my friends because of this.
It has also been found that prolonged stress can cause many disorders from minor to life threatening. Some of the minor reactions from the body to stress are headaches, asthma, digestive disorders and sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation was a major problem for me right after this all occur but it is no longer a problem. One of the effects it has had on me is weight loss. Before the incident I was eating very healthy foods and lifting weights at the gym. I have lost almost fifteen pounds and have trouble eating well.
Doctor Abbot in I Never Knew I Had a Choice states that about 75 percent of ailments that he treats are related to stress (Corey pg. 209). It has been found that stress activates the body's hormone system. This in turn has an effect on our immune system's capabilities to fight of infectious diseases including cancer. There have been cases were people who have experienced the loss of a loved one shortly after develop cancer (cancernet). Stress and its impact on breast cancer has received a lot of attention as of late. Studies have shown that an alarming number of women with breast cancer had experienced some sort of traumatic life experience or loss several years before their diagnosis (cancernet).
It is no coincidence that heart disease is one of the highest causes of death among Americans. We live in the most stressful and demanding country in the world. We are constantly in fierce competition with others. Stress manifests physiological changes in the body. The evidence that stress causes coronary disease has yet to be conclusive but most professionals believe there is a direct correlation. There are many different hypothesis including Blascovich and Katkin. The examine many studies to the effects of stress on the heart in their book, Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychological Stress and Disease (www.apa.com).
The best way to cope with the many stresses that we have throughout a day is to have different attitudes towards life. I must slow down and question many of the beliefs that this country has instilled in us. Many people believe that work and money are the most important things to obtain through life. People have got understand the importance of leisure time and rest. Developing a sense of humor goes a long way in dealing with stress. Proper time management is something that I, in particular, must employ to remain less stressful. I must also continue my old eating habits. Food can give us the energy needed to deal with stress. Exercise is a very important part of reducing stress. There is actual physical evidence that exercise helps people recover from stress. According to Professor Kubitz of Kansas State University, stress releases hormones that cause the heart to beat faster. If we exercise, our heart will become stronger and will be better able to deal with stress (geocities).

Works Cited

I Never Knew I Had a Choice, 6th ed. Gerald and Marianne Corey. Brooks/Cole
Publishing 1997.
www.apa.org
www.cancernet.com
www.geocities.com
www.swin.edu

Word Count: 1803

Is Psychology a Science

Is Psychology a Science?

In order to answer this question it is important to understand
the definitions of both psychology and science. The word
'psychology' comes from the Greek 'psyche' (or soul) and 'logos'
(or study), which came to be known as the 'study of the soul'.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines psychology as:

1. the science dealing with the mind and with mental and
emotional processes
2. the science of human and animal behavior.

In its pure definition the dictionary has provided us with a clue
to the answer, it describes science as:

1. systematized knowledge derived from observation, study, etc.
2. a branch of knowledge, esp. one that systematizes facts,
principles, and methods
3. skill or technique

In order to prove this claim we have to look at whether or not
psychology can fill this definition above.

Scientific study is a valid way of coming to an understanding of
life, and can be very useful in every area of life. Science
develops theories based on what is observed. It examines each
theory with rigorous and scrupulous tests to see if it describes
reality. The scientific method works well in observing and
recording physical data and in reaching conclusions which
either confirm or nullify a theory.

During the mid-19th century, scholars (although at that time
probably termed philosophers) wanted to study human nature with
the aim of applying the scientific method to observe, record, and
treat human behavior that was deemed as unnatural. They believed
that if people could be studied in a scientific manner, there
would be a greater accuracy in understanding present behavior, in
predicting future behavior, and, most controversially, in
altering behavior through scientific intervention.

There are many areas of psychology, each attempting to explain
behavior from slightly different perspectives;

Social psychology is concerned with the effects of social
situations on human behavior. Personality theorists study
individual behavior. Comparative psychologists study animal
behaviors across the range of species Physiological psychologists
are concerned with the biological basis of behavior.
Developmental psychologists study principles and processes
responsible for change throughout life. Cognitive psychologists
investigate memory, thought, problem solving, and the
psychological aspects of learning. Analysis of behavior studies
the conditions under which a behavior can be learned and the
situations that cause that behavior to occur. Learning is an area
of psychology exploring how new behaviors are learned
and maintained. Clinical psychologists study ways to help
individuals and groups of individuals change their behavior.
Industrial and organizational psychologists are concerned with
the physical and social aspects of people's work environments as
they affect work output. Community psychologists use scientific
methods to study and solve social problems.

As Western describes, the psychological paradigm is a collection
of assumptions used to make sense of a subject area or
experience, this can be applied to psychology itself. Psychology
lacks one unified paradigm but has four perspectives that search
for its understanding;

The pyschodynamic perspective believes that behavior is a result
of unconscious processes, personal motivation and early childhood
experiences. It's most famous advocate was Sigmund Freud. Its
method of data collection rely heavily on interpreting
discussion, dreams and fantasies, actions, case studies and a
limited amount of experimentation.

The behaviorist perspective believes that behavior is learned and
selected by environmental consequences. Its method of data
collection relies heavily on experimentation conducted in the
scientific laboratory where the factors studied can be
controlled; or it may take place in a real life setting where
more natural behavior is studied and far more variables
exist.

The cognitive perspective believes that behavior is a result of
information processing, storage in the brain, transformation and
the retrieval of information. The methods of data collection
used are again experimentation but with much use of computer
modeling.

The evolutionary perspective believes that psychological
processes echo the evolutionary processes of natural selection.
Its method of data collection includes the deduction of
explanations for behavior, and comparisons between species and
cultures. It also involves a limited amount of experimentation.

Of these four perspectives all lend common similarities to the
traditional sciences. All have elements of controlled
experimentation, as does physics or chemistry. Cognitive
perspectives use computer modeling, as does mathematics. There
are similarities, but there are also differences to any other
sciences, such as the study of dreams and fantasies.

The methods of experimentation and research in psychology is
completed on a scientific basis. Psychological experimental
research would involve the manipulation of a situation to examine
the way in which the subjects of an experiment react, in order to
observe cause and effect. The experimenter manipulates
independent variables and the subjects responses would prove
the dependant variables. By measuring the subjects responses,
the experimenter can tell if the manipulation has had an effect.

Psychological hypotheses are sought to operationalise - to turn
an abstract concept into a concrete argument. This process is
scientific in its element. The hypothesis is framed, variables
are operationalised separately, a standard procedure is developed
that is maintained throughout the experiment, subjects are
scientifically selected, results are tested and conclusions
drawn.

Control groups are often used, similar in essence to control
chemicals used in chemistry. These control groups are not
exposed to the manipulation but instead to neutral conditions,
providing a standards to compare results. In some cases
researchers carry out blind studies where subjects are kept
unaware of the aspects of the study. Double blind studies have
been used in the past where the researchers are kept blind too.

A scientific subject knows its own limitations. Psychology
attempts to study complex phenomena in laboratory and field
situations where validity is called into question. Results
contrast with differing personal understandings of researchers
which will always differ to some extent. In a physical science a
variance of error may be intolerable above 2%, in psychology 50%
may be an acceptable level.

Every psychological experiment and theory is evaluated with the
same level of criticality as that of the traditional sciences.
Questions are asked over the theoretical framework, the results
validity and its relationship with the hypothesis, the quality
and range of sample and if it is representative, the conclusions
that can be drawn form the data and broader conclusions that may
be apparent. Finally the studies are questioned on their
meanings and ethics to operationalise the original hypothesis.

Psychology has adopted the scientific mode. However, from a
strictly scientific point of view, it has not been able to meet
the requirements of true science.

In attempting to evaluate the status of psychology as a
scientific study, the American Psychological Association
appointed Sigmund Koch to conduct a study, employing over eighty
noted scholars in assessing the facts, hypotheses, and methods of
psychology. In 1983, the results were published in a series
entitled 'Psychology: A Study of Science'. Koch describes what
he believes to be the delusion in thinking of psychology as a
science:

The truth is that psychological statements which describe human
behavior or which report results from tested research can be
scientific. However, when there is a move from describing human
behavior to explaining it there is also a move from science to
opinion.

Here it is important to make the distinction between psychology
and psychiatry. Academic psychology is a scientific project,
initiated by Wilhelm Wundt at the University of Leipzig at around
1885. His work was the study of the average adult human mind, and
the scientific method used was introspection. His approaches have
long since been abandoned, as have many of his ideals, but not
the basic idea of understanding and describing human functioning
within a scientific context.

Psychotherapy, on the other hand, is no more a science than that
of civil engineering. Ideally, scientifically investigated
therapeutic techniques and methods are used together with ethical
and philosophical principles in order to achieve a desired
outcome. Psychotherapy, then, is a mixture of a craft and an art
and may not be called a science.

Psychology breeds many conflicting explanations of man and his
behavior. Psychologist Roger Mills, in his 1980 article,
"Psychology Goes Insane, Botches Role as Science," says:

"The field of psychiatry today is literally a mess. There are as
many techniques, methods and theories around as there are
researchers and therapists. I have personally seen therapists
convince their clients that all of their problems come from their
mothers, the stars, their biochemical make-up, their diet, their
lifestyle and even the "karma" from their past lives."

These opinions are describing psychotherapy and not psychology in
its core. Remembering that psychology is the scientific study of
the behavior of humans and animals, we should look at their
methods of study. As we have seen, psychologists use scientific
methods in an attempt to understand and predict behavior, to
develop procedures for changing behavior, and to evaluate
treatment strategies. Mitchell and Jolley discuss the question
of whether psychology is a science in the first chapter of their
text 'Research Design Explained' (3rd Edition). Their
conclusions support the claim that psychology is a science. They
discuss the facts that psychology produces objective evidence
that can be replicated (replicated with the same success as
physics and chemistry experiments). That it unearths observable,
objective evidence that either supports or refutes existing
beliefs and creates new knowledge. And that psychology is open-
minded about claims, even those that go against common sense and
sceptical about ideas that, even though they make sense, have not
been supported by any research evidence.

If we can define a science using subjective methods then
Psychology is definitely a science. Psychology represents an
empirical science, its methods demanding empirical testing of
hypotheses.

Many empirical results of psychology are subject to personal
interpretation and intense dispute. This can be seen as a
function of the phenomena that is psychology. But the key to
resolving these disputes is to turn back to the empirical methods
and pit alternative interpretations against each other.

References

The American Heritage Dictionary, 1996

Western, Psychology - Mind, Brain and Culture, 1997

Sigmund Koch, 'Psychology: A Study of Science', 1983 article

Roger Mills, 'Psychology Goes Insane, Botches Role as Science',
1980 article

Mitchell and Jolley, 'Research Design Explained' (3rd Edition),
1995

Word Count: 1572

Gender differences

Gender differences

The topic of my research has been differences in math learning and
aptitude between boys and girls. This topic was suggested to me by my
mentor, Mike Millo, as it is of particular interest to him. Mr. Millo is an
Algebra teacher at Ball High. Much has been made of gender differences
in math by the popular media and Mr. Millo felt that it would be
interesting to examine this topic and explore the findings of educational
researchers. I also found this topic personally intriguing as I am currently
reading the book, Failing At Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls, by
Myra and David Sadker (1994), which explores gender bias in all area of
education. In researching this topic I found many related research articles
and extensive articles where relevant variables had been measured. I tried
to focus on highly relevant articles, which examined specifically the
different abilities of males and females in math or sought explanations for
those differences. With one exception, the studies I reviewed supported
that there are differences in math related achievement between males and
females. Two of thr articles I reviewed focus on the differences in teacher
interaction with male and female students in math class rooms. The
Structure of Abilities in Math-Precocious Young Children: Gender
Similarities and Differences by: Nancy Orbinson, Robert D. Abbott,
Virginia W. Berninger, and Julie Busse (1996), the following research
questions were explored: 1. Can young children who are advanced in
mathematical reasoning be located efficiently by soliciting parent
nominations? 2. Do measures of these children's cognitive abilities in other
domains also show advancement and, if so, to what degree? 3. How do
measures in verbal and visual-spatial domains relate to mathematical skills
for subgroups divided by grade and gender? 4. What, if any, cognitive
gender differences emerge within this group of young precocious
children? My interest was focused on the last question, which relates to
gender differences. The study showed gender differences apparent in
every analysis. However, the study does not propose reasons for these
differences. One of the possible implications of this study, that gender
related differences in math ability are apparent from such a young age
conflicts with information presented some of the other papers I reviewed.
In three studies, there is a great emphasis on gender related abilities in
math which are related to adolescence. In Gender Roles in Marriage:
What do They Mean for Girls' and Boys' School Achievement, by
Kimberly A. Updegraff, Susan M. McHale and Ann C. Crouter (1996),
the researchers evaluate differences in family dynamics to determine what
implications these might have for gender related math ability. This article
was very interesting, although the research question was biting off more
than it could chew. What this article finds is that girls from families who
have a more egalitarian family structure are less likely to suffer a decline in
math ability at adolescence. This article also suggests that it is not the girls
"hard wiring" which causes math ability differences. I interpret this article
as implying that the root of the problem could be in gender role stereo
types. In Single Sex Math Classes: What and For Whom? One School's
Experiences, Richard Durost (1996) reports that when administrators
talked to many of the girls in his school, the girls stated that they felt
mentally intimidated by the boys. Teachers noted that boys asked
questions, talked and competed, while girls tended to reflect, listen, and
cooperate. In an attempt to deal with gender related performance issues,
Mr. Durost's school implemented a all female section Algebra I. The
females who participated in the pilot program did show an increase in
their math scores. This paper suggests that the differences in math ability
are not "hard wired". That it may not be a difference in a girl's ability to
"do" math or learn math, but perhaps a difficulty in a girls ability to interact
in a co-educational math related settings which determines her math
success. In other words, there might not be a math problem in and of
itself but perhaps math differences were one manifestation of differences
in inter-gender communication and interaction styles. In Gender Based
Education: Why it Works at the Middle School Level, William C, Perry
(1996), the principal of a middle school cites studies from the American
Association of University Women (1991, 1992), supporting the theory
that gender related math ability differences don't become manifest until
middle school. Mr. Perry was very concerned about reports he had read
or heard presented showing that there is bias against girls in the
classrooms. In response to the researchers concerns, a study was done in
which participating students were assigned to same sex classes. The study
reports increased grade point averages for both boys and girls
participating in the study. I would have liked to see the standardized test
scores for both groups of students. While grades are one indicator of
performance, it seems that if there is bias in teaching styles, there could be
bias in grading. Standardized scores could give a better vantage point for
analyzing actual differences in math comprehension. This study ties in with
the following two studies which point to an institutionalized problem In G.
Leder's research, Teacher Student Interactions in the Mathematics
Classroom: A Different Perspective, the researcher video tapes classes to
determine types and frequency of interactions with students. this was
correlated with test scores, perception reports from teachers as well as
self reports of math perceived math ability of the students. In this study,
males and females were relatively equal in ability n the lower grade levels,
but males tended to do better in the 10th grade level. This becomes very
intriguing when it is noted that self report and teacher reports of perceived
ability consistently rated the males higher. The qualitative aspects of this
study examined content and frequency of teacher comments. There was
no significant difference between males and females. In J. Becker's
research, Differential Treatment of Females and Males in Mathematics
Classes, the researcher observed 10 classrooms for a total of 10 days.
She collected both qualitative and quantitative data. The author concludes
that there is very clearly differences in the interactions between teachers
and students depending on the students gender. These differences
consistently favor the males. This study also reveals that both the
classrooms and teachers themselves reinforce gender stereotypes
portraying math as a male realm. this researcher asserts that the failure of
females to excel in math is attributable to self fulfilling prophecy: girls are
not expected by themselves or their teachers to do well, therefore,
ultimately, they do not. My last two articles examine gender differences at
the university level. The first of these two does not examine math ability,
but rather attention to numerical information in gender related contexts.
The Numbers Game: Gender and Attention to Numerical Information, by
Jackson, Fleury, Girvin and Gerard (1995), compared men's and
women's abilities to recall numerical information when it was presented in
a gender related context. Not surprisingly, men were better at recalling
data in male settings than women were. However, of the three context
categories (male, female, neutral) both men and women did best in the
neutral categories and worst in the female categories. The author suggests
that this could reflect the tendency of the culture to view female related
activities as less important than male or gender-neutral activities. The final
article I reviewed was Gender and Mathematics Achievement Parity:
Evidence from Post-Secondary Education, by Amin M. Kianian (1995).
This study seemed flawed in several ways. The study examines the grades
of all of the students from one teacher's university level math classes over
a period of three years and then compares them for gender differences.
His findings are that there are no significant differences between men's
and women's math grades at the university level. I believe this study could
be better than it is, because it does not show whether or not the men and
women actually had a demonstratedly equal math ability. Grades could be
very subjective. Accepted at face value, however, it could be suggested
that this might imply that the gender related issues so prominent in the
eyes of some researchers when examining the adolescent population,
have disappeared by the time students go to college. I realize that this
would be stretching the relevance of the study to go this far, but there are
implications along these lines. Overall, after reviewing the articles which
were summarized, I find myself drawn to the information showing that the
gender differences in math ability seem to be predominantly manifest
during adolescence. As many of the studies suggest, this is likely to be
associated with interpersonal and self esteem issues. Many issues come to
mind for further research. 1.) Self esteem in adolescent girls and the
correlation with math ability. 2.) Does participation in sports affect gender
related math learning? 3.) What are the implications of single sex
classrooms for later learning? Are single sex class rooms creating a false
environment, thus setting females up for "gender shock" later in life or
education? 4.) What are the implications of female math teachers in the
classrooms for gender related differences in math abilities. 5.) A cohort
study of x population tracking them over and extended period of time to
see at what points math ability, self esteem, and other related variables
fluctuate. Some of these topics would be very suitable for immediate
research. Others, would be best left to highly funded groups or
government agencies. For my further research, I would like to explore the
relationship between assertiveness in adolescent girls and its relationship
to their math success. More specifically, I would like to devise a study
that examines whether or not assertiveness training in adolescent girls
would impact their math success. References American Association of
University Women. (1991). Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America.
American Association of University Women: Washington, DC American
Association of University Women. (1992). How Schools Shortchange
Girls. American Association of University Women: Washington, DC
Becker, J. (1981). differential treatment of females and males in
mathematics classes. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 12,
40-53. Durost, R. (1996). Single sex math classes: What and for whom?
One school's experiences. Bulletin, 80, 27-31. Jackson, L., Fleury, R.,
Girvin, J., & Gerard. D. (1995). The numbers game: Gender and
attention to numerical information. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. 33,
559-569. Kianian, A. (1995). Gender and mathematics achievement
parity: Evidence from post-secondary education. Education, 116,
586-592. Leder, G. (1990). Teacher/student interactions in the
mathematics classroom: A different perspective. From Fenema, E. &
Leder, G. (Eds.). Mathematics and Gender: Influences on Teachers and
Students. New York, Teachers College. Orbinson, N., Abbott, R.,
Berninger, V., & Busse, J. (1996). The structure of abilities in math
precocious young children: Gender similarities and differences. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 88, 341-352. Perry, W. (1996). Gender based
education: Why it works at the middle school level. Bulletin, 80, 32-35.
Sadker, M & Sadker, D. (1994). Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools
Cheat Girls. New York: Touchstone. Updergraff, K., McHale, S., &
Crouter, A. (1996). Gender roles in marriage: What do they mean for
boys' and girls' school achievement?. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,
25, 73-89.

Word Count: 1866

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Verbal aggression

Verbal aggression is message behavior which attacks a person's self-concept
in
order to deliver psychological pain.(Infante, 1995) Studies of verbal
aggression
have focused primarily on children and adolescents in educational and social
settings. Very few studies were found to examine verbal aggression in adults
in the
workplace.(Ebbesen, Duncan, Konecni, 1974) The consequences of verbal
aggression in the workplace can lead to social isolation, job related stress,
health
related problems, as well as problems in career advancement. It therefore
should
be considered important, for the individual and management, to identify and
address the causes of verbal aggression.
This program attempts to understand verbal aggression by 1) identifying the
various functions of verbal aggression. 2) identifying the antecedent
conditions of
verbal aggression. 3) Avoiding the antecedent conditions of verbal
aggression.

Method
Subject
The subject, Shirley J., is a 49 year old African American female. Shirley
J. has
several advanced degrees and is employed as a school psychologist in a
metropolitan school district. She is married with two adult children. The
subject
readily agreed that the target behavior, verbal aggression, is a problem as
it
interferes with her relationships with others. She was enthusiastic in her
desire to
reduce, if not eliminate, this behavior. It would seem that self-monitoring
for
verbal aggression and antecedent control would be valuable as it would allow
for
consistent avoidance of verbal aggression. As a school psychologist the
subject was
very familiar with the basic principles of applied behavioral analysis and
frequently
offered programmatic suggestions. A behavioral contract was developed
jointly
between the therapist and subject. The contract outlined the target
behavior,
success criteria, and individual responsibilities of the therapist and
subject. (see
Appendix A)

Apparatus
A basic checklist was used to document the frequency of verbal aggression on
a
daily basis. The checklist was designed to track only the occurrence of the
behavior. It was felt by the therapist that the content of the verbally
aggressive
message would be too open for subjective interpretation and that no
meaningful
data would be gained from such documentation. In addition the subject made
frequent comments of significant success or failure in avoiding verbal
aggression
for discussion with the therapist. The weekly discussions were used to
evaluate the
appropriateness of the procedures used and make any necessary adjustments to
the
program.

Procedure
For the first two weeks of the program no intervention was applied. Given
that
the subject self-reported that verbal aggression was a problem it was
important to
determine if the frequency of the behavior merited intervention. Therefore,
the
subject documented the daily frequency of verbal aggression. The results of
the
baseline period revealed a high rate of verbal aggression. (see Appendix B)
Given
the results of the baseline data as well as the demanding, often stressful,
nature of
the subjects job, it was mutually agreed that reducing verbal aggression
would be
the focus of the program.
Verbal aggression was defined as cursing, yelling, and screaming at others.
The
agreed upon goals of the program was to decrease verbal aggression by 75% of
baseline for four consecutive weeks. Treatment would consist of identifying
and
avoiding the antecedent conditions to verbal aggression. Avoidance of the
antecedents is considered less restrictive, more proactive, and most
effective.
During the initial consultation it was determined that the antecedent
conditions
included, but was not limited to: work stress, time of day, verbal behavior
of others
(ie. tone of voice, inflection of voice and content of conversation, etc.),
and non-
verbal behavior of others (ie. facial expression, body posture, eye contact,
etc.). In
addition, the subject was required to self monitor for the following
antecedents:
clenched fists, tight jaw, rapid heart beat, and the emotions of anger,
frustration and
disappointment. Lastly, it was suggested by Infante (1995) that appropriate
strategy
must be taken to prevent verbal aggression from escalating.
Successful avoidance of the antecedent conditions consisted of removing
oneself
from stressful situations, when possible, as well as not responding verbally
when
provoked. Weekly consultation revealed that verbal aggression was most often
used to: 1) Escape demand situations. 2) Avoid demand situations. 3)
Relieve job
stress. The subject was to document the frequency of verbal aggression and
record
the circumstances of significant success or failure during the work week for
discussion at weekly consultation sessions.
A schedule of reinforcement was developed for the subject. The
reinforcement
was to be given for successful avoidance of verbal aggression. Reinforcement
included: five minutes alone for 'quiet time', when possible, or a short,
silent prayer.
Considering the stress and escalating nature of verbal aggression time alone
was
considered appropriate for 'cool down'. If time alone was not possible or
convenient the subject would say a short prayer when provoked.

Results
The results of the baseline phase revealed what was considered an
extraordinarily
high rate of verbal aggression. However, after the first week of data
collection it
was realized that verbal aggression was not operationally defined. The
subject
considered verbal aggression on much broader terms than did the therapist
which
included subjective, rather than objective, behavior observations. Weekly
consultation sessions revealed that cursing was the most common manifestation
of
the target behavior. When correctly defined using objective terms a decrease
in
verbal aggression was noted. Based on the results of baseline data it was
mutually
agreed that 4 to 8 episodes of aggression per day was significantly high and
merited
intervention.
The results of the intervention phase of treatment revealed a sharp increase
of
verbal aggression over the first three weeks. This increase is thought to be
due to
extinction. Afterwards, a gradual decrease of verbal aggression was noted
during
weeks 4 through 9. No data was collected during week 10 due to subject
illness.
The treatment phase ended with a weekly average of one episode of verbal
aggression. After week five the subject stated that she no longer delivered
the
reinforcement after the behavior. She reported that the ability to control
her
emotions was in itself reinforcing and would maintain the behavior.

Discussion
The results of this program show that verbal aggression can be successfully
decreased by identifying and avoiding its antecedent conditions. As stated
previously, the subject used verbal aggression for escape from demanding or
difficult situations, relief from stress, and avoidance of demanding or
difficult
situations. The behavior appears to be maintained through positive
reinforcement.
Because the subject is in a position of some power and influence there were
relatively few consequences for the behavior. Ebbesen, Duncan and Konecni
(1974) suggested that verbal aggression could be reinforced and maintained in
such
a manner. Since the most common form of verbal aggression was cursing, the
method of identifying and avoiding the antecedents proved very successful.
Infante
(1995) used a similar method with young students. When replicating this
program
it may be appropriate to focus on the positive behavior rather than the
negative.
Instead of documenting the frequency of verbal aggression it may have been
better
to document the frequency of successful avoidance of verbal aggression. In
this
way we would help to internalize the strategy to maintain the behavior, as
well as
having a more positive and constructive program. A question raised by Golin
and
Romanowski (1977) was is there a sex difference in the rate and target of
verbal
aggression. Although this question was not investigated in the current
program, it
does raise an intriguing question for future study.

References
Ebbessen, E. B., Duncan, B., & Konecni, V. J. (1974). Effects of Content of
Verbal Aggression: A Field Experiment. Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology, 11, 192-204.

Golin, S., & Romanowski, M. (1977). Verbal Aggression as a Function of Sex
of
Subject and Sex of Target. Journal of Psychology, 97, 141-149.

Infante, D. A. (1995). Teaching Students to Understand and Control Verbal
Aggression. Communication Education, 44, 51-63.

Gangs

GANGS

by Anh Phu
psychology 202
Dr.Norwood 11:00-12:00 (MWF)

Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today's cities.
What has made these groups come

about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and
prestigious way to live? The long range

answer to these questions can only be speculated upon, but in the short
term the answers are much easier to find.
On

the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings' personal wants and
peer pressure. To determine how to

effectively end gang violence we must find the way that these morals are
given to the individual. Unfortunately, these

can only be hypothesized. However, by looking at the way humans are
influenced in society, I believe there is good

evidence to point the blame at several institutions. These include the
forces of the media, the government, theatre,

drugs and our economic system.

On the surface, gangs are caused by peer pressure and greed. Many
teens in gangs

will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it all sound
glamorous. Money is also an crucial factor.
A

kid (a 6-10 year old, who is not yet a member) is shown that s/he could
make $200 to $400 for small part time
gang

jobs. Although these are important factors they are not strong enough to
make kids do things that are strongly
against

their morals.

One of the ways that kids morals are bent so that gang violence becomes
more acceptable is the influence of

television and movies. The average child spends more time at a TV than
she/he spends in a classroom. Since
nobody

can completely turn off their minds, kids must be learning something while
watching the TV. Very few hours of

television watched by children are educational, so other ideas are being
absorbed during this period of time. Many

shows on television today are extremely violent and are often shown this
from a gang's perspective. A normal adult

can see that this is showing how foully that gangs are living. However, to a
child this portrays a violent gang

existance as acceptable. 'The Ends Justifies the Means' mentality is also
taught through many shows where the
"goody

guy" captures the "bad guy" through violence and is then being
commended. A young child sees this a perfectly

acceptable because he knows that the "bad guy" was wrong but has no
idea of what acceptable apprehension

techniques are.

Gore in television also takes a big part in influencing young minds.
Children see gory scenes and are

fascinated by these things that they have not seen before. Older viewers
see gore and are not concerned with the

blood but rather with the pain the victim must feel. A younger mind
doesn't make this connection. Thus a gore

fascination is formed, and has been seen in several of my peers.
Unfortunately kids raised with this sort of television

end up growing up with a stronger propensity to becoming a violent gang
member or 'violent- acceptant' person.

"Gangs bring the delinquent norms of society into intimate contact with the
individual."1, (Marshall B

Clinard, 1963). So, as you can see if TV leads a child to believe that
violence is the norm this will manifest itself in
the

actions of the child quite, often in a gang situation. This is especially the
case when parents don't spend a lot of time

with their kids at the TV explaining what is right and what is wrong. Quite
often newer books and some types of

music will enforce this type of thought and ideas.

Once this mentality is installed in youngsters they become increasingly
prone to being

easily pushed into a gang situation by any problem at home or elsewhere.
For instance, in poor families with many

children or upper-middle class families where parents are always
working, the children will often feel deprived of

love. Parents can often feel that putting food on the table is enough love.
Children of these families may often go to

the gang firstly out of boredom and to belong somewhere. As time goes
on, a form of love or kinship develops

between the gang members and the child. It is then that the bond between
the kid and the gang is completed
because

the gang has effectively taken the place of the family.

The new anti social structure of cities also effects the ease in which a
boy/girl can join a gang. " The

formation of gangs in cities, and most recently in suburbs, is facilitated by
the same lack of community among

parents. The parents do not know what their children are doing for two
reasons: First, much of the parents' lives is

outside the local community, while the children's lives are lived almost
totally within it. Second, in a fully developed

community, the network of relations gives every parent, in a sense, a
community of sentries who can keep him

informed of his child's activities. In modern living-places (city or
suburban), where such a network is attenuated, he

no longer has such sentries."2, (Merton Nisbet, 1971).

In male gangs problems occur as each is the members tries to be the most
manly. This often leads to all

members participating in "one-up-manship". Quite often this will then lead
to each member trying to commit a bigger

and more violent crime or simply more crimes than the others. With all
members participating in this sort of activity it

makes for a never ending unorganized violence spree (A sort of
Clockwork Orange mentality). In gangs with more

intellegent members these feelings end up making each member want to
be the star when the groups commit a
crime.

This makes the gang much more organized and improves the morale of
members which in turn makes them more

dangerous and very hard for the police to deal with and catch (There is
nothing harder to find and deal with than

organized teens that are dedicated to the group). This sort of gang is
usually common of middle or upper class
people

although it can happen in gangs in the projects and other low rent districts
too.

This "one-up-manship" is often the reason between rival gangs fighting. All
gangs feel powerful and they

want to be feared. To do this they try to establish themselves as the only
gang in a certain neighborhood. After a
few

gang fights hatred forms and gang murders and drive-by's begin to take
place. When two gangs are at war it makes

life very dangerous for citizens in the area. Less that 40% of drive-by's kill
their intended victim yet over 60% do kill

someone. This gang application is one of the many reasons that sexual
sterotypes and pressure to conform to the

same must be stopped.

Lastly one of the great factors in joining a gang is for protection. Although
from an objective

point of view, we can see joining a gang brings more danger than it saves
you from, this is not always the way it is

seen by kids. In slums such as the Bronx or the very worst case,
Compton, children will no doubt be beaten and

robbed if they do not join a gang. Of course they can probably get the
same treatment from rivals when in a gang.
The

gang also provides some money for these children who quite often need
to feed their families. The reason kids think

that the gang will keep them safe is from propoganda from the gangs.
Gang members will say that no one will get

hurt and make a public show of revenge if a member is hurt or killed.

People in low rent areas are most often being repressed due to poverty
and most importantly, race. This

often results in an attitude that motivates the person to base his/her life on
doing what the system that oppresses
them

doesn't want. Although this accomplishes little it is a big factor in gang
enrollment.

So, as you have seen gangs are a product of the environment we have
created for ourselves. Some of these

factors include: oppression, the media, greed, violence and other gangs.
There seems to be no way to end the
problem

of gangs without totally restructuring the modern economy and value
system. Since the chance of this happening is

minimal, we must learn to cope with gangs and try to keep their following
to a minimum. Unfortunately there is no

real organized force to help fight gangs. Of course the police are
supposed to do this but this situation quite often

deals with racial issues also and the police forces regularly display their
increasing inability to deal fairly with these

issues. What we need are more people to form organizations like the
"Guardian Angels" a gang-like group that
makes

life very tough for street gangs that are breaking laws.

THE END

by Anh Phu

Bibliography

Margot Webb, Coping with Street Gangs. Rosen Publishing Group, New
York, 1990.

William Foote Whyte, Street Corner Society. University of Chicago,
Chicago, 1955.

Peter Carroll, South-Central. Hoyte and Williams, L. A., 1987.

1 Marshall B. Clinard, Sociology of Deviant Behavior. University of
Wisconsin, Wisconsin, 1963, Page 179. 2

Merton Nisbet, Contempory Social Problems. Harcourt, Brace &
World, New York, 1971, Page 588.

America On Line, search egines for Lycos , Web Crawler, Yahoo , for
internet topics to sites

Word Count: 1563

depression

Depression

Depression Outline
I. Introduction
II. Major forms of depression
A. Deprsseive disorder
B. Biploar disorder
III. Genetic causes of depression
IV. The experience of depression
A. The patient's experience
B. The family experience
V. Major forms of treatment
A. Prozac
B. Psycotherapy
VI. Conclusion

Selected Bibliography
1. Microsoft Encarta, 1994 ed. S.v. "Depression (phychology)", Funk and Wagnalls Coorporation, 1994.

2. Zimbardo, Philip G. Gerrig, Richard J. Phychology and Life, Philip G. Zimbardo, Inc. 1996.

3. Smith, Harold Ivan. Life Changing Answers to Depression, Harvest House Publishers, 1985.

4. Minirth, Frank B., Meier, Paul D. Ask the Doctors, Baker Book House Company, 1991.

5. Bruckheim, Allen H., M.D., FAAFD The Family Doctor 3rd Edition, Creative Multimedia Coorporation, 1993.

6. DePaulo, J. Raymond Jr. M.D. Ablow, Keith Russell M.D. How to Cope with Depression, Ballantine Books 1989.

7. Elmer-Dewitt, Philip "The Growing Role of Drug Therapies" Time, July 6, 1992, pg. 57-60.

Page 7

Table of Contents

Depression Outline

Depression page 1

Selected Bibliography page 7

Page 1
Depression has many elements. Almost everyone has experienced depression in one form or another. Sometimes, however, it becomes a full-scale disorder that needs to be professionally treated. "It is estimated that at any given time three to four percent of the nation's population will be suffering from a major depressive or manic episode," (2, p. 649).
"Depression can result from any chronic or severe illness and is a common reaction to stress and disability," (5, What Type of Thinking Can Cause Depression?). People with physical handicaps are "more prone to depression" (4, p.42) because they often think and worry about their loss or disadvantage. "Lacking true intimacy with God, yet desiring it, can also lead to depression, particularly if the person uses a standard defense mechanism of blaming God for everything that goes wrong,"(4, p.21).
A depressive may sometimes have a very negative view of themself. A lot of times they "see themselves as a bad person and blame themselves for events over which they had no control," (6, p.4). Decreased physical and mental energy, a chronic low mood, and a lowered self-attitude are major points to a depressive. "Medical science has proven that resentment-anger turned inward-contributes to the very real biochemical changes that characterize severe clinical depression," (4,21). Depression is probably the most common and can last from one full day, up to several weeks, or longer.
Page 2
Bipolar Disorder is like a roller coaster...up one second, down the next. This disorder has very intense mood swings with "possible remissions and recurrences,"(5, Manic Depression;Bipolar). A person with Bipolar Disorder will sometimes show tons of optimism. They will take unnecessary risks, then they will promise everything, and may even end up giving everything they own away. Bipolar Disorder patients experience "a nearly continuous flow of accelerated speech with abrupt changes from topic to topic, usually based on understandable associations, distracting stimuli, or plays on words. When this 'flight of ideas' is severe, the patient's speech may become disorganized and incoherent,"(5, Manic Depression;Bipolar). A person with this illness may not have to get that much sleep every night and may get annoyed that others around him or her are not so active or involved. It could even get to the point where this person thinks that "he or she possesses special abilities or powers,"(2,p. 649).
The patient experiences many different feelings and symptoms when going through a state of depression or an episode of mania. They sometimes feel that it is important to hide their pain from everyone around them because most of the time they could not even really explain it to themselves, let alone anyone else. Many times "an individual expressing a depressive episode will usually describe his or her mood as depressed, sad, hopeless, discouraged, down in the dumps, etc...."(5, Manic Depression;Bipolar). Weight gain or loss is common because
Page 3
appetite is greatly increased or decreased. Headaches are frequent symptoms. People experiencing depression "are usually irritable, become upset rapidly and tend to be bothered by little items and insignificant incidents,"(5, Symptoms of Depression). Crying and sadness is very common. What may even happen is that a person may have such "a sense of deadened emotions that can prevent 'normal' crying or sadness,"(6,p.4). "Hallucinations, in which one hears voices or sees things that are not really there, sometimes occur,"(6,p.4). "A small percentage of unfortunate individuals go right from manic episodes to clinical depression and back again in continuous, unending cycles that are devestating to them, their families, their friends, and their co-workers."(2, p.650).
A lot of times the patient may experience even worse feelings of frustration and may have "ideas of suicide or recurrent thoughts of death"(5, Dealing with Depression) which sadly depression is often linked. A depressive can become very hush-hush about their feelings of suicide. They will "brood over death and may take their own lives,"(6,p.4). "Fifteen percent of people who suffer from clinical depression commit suicide,"(4,p.140). Accidents and suicides are more common in depressives and account for a large percentage of deaths.
Not only is a depressive affected, but the family's life may also change with a depressive living with them. "The ripples of pain touch family members and friends who become, in some ways, co-
Page 4
victims,"(6,p.46). Having a depressive living with you can be quite hard. The family is always near the "shrinking world, bordered by anxiety and fear"(5, Dealing with Depression) of that particular person, therefore the family may also "be cut off from the social relationships that make for healthy living,"(5, Dealing with Depression). Sometimes the only way to convince a depressed patient to stay in the hospital or to get outpatient treatments is by the family members. "They will play a particularly important role in the treatment of the person,"(6, p.138).
"The risk of a depressive disorder is greater in the families of depressive patients than in the population at large,"(1, Depression). "The higher proportion of depression in women may be biologically induced, or it may be that women learn social roles that favor feelings of helplessness,"(1, Depression). Identical twins have exactly the same genes; therefore, studies show that if one twin suffers from depression or manic-depressive illness, "there is a 67 percent chance that the second twin will also have the disorder,"(2,p.650). By contrast only 20 percent, however, of fraternal twins are affected.
Prozac is the top-selling antidepressant. It is the most popular of drugs "that treat depression by increasing levels of the brain chemical serotonin,"(8, p.3). "The effectiveness of Prozac has led some researchers to speculate that serotonin is the key regulator of mood, and that depression is essentially a shortfall of
Page 5
serotonin,"(7,p.3). At one time, scientists thought that Prozac had side effects such as serious violence and had a petition for the FDA in 1991 "to take Prozac off the market,"(8,p.3). That was denied because the FDA could not find "a link between the drug and violent behavior,"(8,p.3). Still, doctors have known for some time now that when the serotonin level gets raised, it can affect a person's mood. "They cannot always be sure that the drug will have the desired effect,"(8,p.3).
There are many different forms of psychotherapy. In more serious cases an antidepressant and psychotherapy are used in a combination. There is also less of a risk of suicide "than if psychotherapy is the only form of treatment,"(4,p.46) "For mild depression, a few sessions of psychotherapy may be enough to identify the issue and help work towards overcoming the problem,"(5, What Type of Thinking can Cause Depression?). In all forms of this therapy it must "involve a confiding relationship between a professional therapist and a patient that allows the patient's experiences and predicaments to be shared"(6, p.135).
While the patient is undergoing the therapy session he or she is being monitored in any feelings, especially suicidal feelings. "The therapist would discuss with the patient the nature of depression as an illness, the fact that it will improve with treatment, and the advisability of deferring major life decisions until depressive symptoms have resolved,"(6, p.141).
Page 6
In conclusion, depression is a disease and should be recognized as one. It varies from person to person and can be a very traumatic and even deadly experience from all points of view. Depressive and Bipolar Disorders are just two of the many mental illnesses out there that need to be taken extremely seriously.

Word Count: 1395

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The Psychology of Colour

The Psychology of Colour

Colour not only affects other colours, but also people viewing it. It affects people emotionally and mentally. When you view a colour, it is transmitted to your eye by reflected light (general) and is encoded by the rods and cones in the retina. These ocular mechanisms invert the information and send it through the optic nerve, when the information reaches the brain, it is then decoded and it is here that the mind will translate the colour into meaning.
Our culture is what gives colour a specific meaning. For this reason, colour psychology is not the same around the world. Colour has different meanings for different cultures and societies.
It has been accepted that colours affect us emotionally and many people dress determined on the effect certain colours have on them. Colours can also be used to express emotions for example, a "cool blue."
In 1988 a group of scientists confirmed that the human skin acts like a prism, converting spectral colours to chemical reactions within the body. People with the same health deficiency share the same colour deficiency, gravitating towards the similar colours.

Red:

We associate the colours of fire – red, yellows and oranges, with warmth. Psychological research shows that under red lighting, the human body produces more adrenaline and the blood pressure and breathing rate increases. This can lead to a rise in temperature.

• Urgency,
• Passion
• Heat
• Love
• Blood
• Excitement
• Strength
• Sex
• Passion
• Speed
• Danger
• Children prefer red
• Considered physically energizing
• Stimulating
• Aggressive
• An advancing colour

Blue:
Blues and greens are associated with being cool or next to nature. Psychological research shows that the colour blue slows the heartbeat and decreases temperature.
• Dignity
• Power
• Coolness
• Melancholy
• Heaviness
• Trust
• Reliability
• Belonging
• Coolness
• Liked by most adults worldwide
• The least appetizing colour when applied to food
• Researchers found that children tested higher on IQ tests in rooms with blue ceilings
• Relaxes the human nervous system
• A colour that suggests hygiene and coolness, blue is used from detergent to beauty cleansers

Green:
• Nature
• Health
• Cheerfulness
• Environment
• Money
• Vegetation
• Nature
• Freshness
• Cool
• Growth
• Abundance
• The most restful colour

Yellow:
• Warmth
• Sunshine
• Cheerfulness
• Happiness
• Cowardice
• Brightness
• The first colour seen by newborns
• Bright lemon yellow is the most luminous of all colours and the most fatiguing if viewed for long periods of time
• The most cheerful if seen at a glance
• Couples fight more and babies cry more in lemon-coloured rooms

Purple:
• Wealth
• Royalty
• Sophistication
• Intelligence
• Spirituality
• Dignity
• The hardest colour for the eye to discriminate

Pink:
• Softness
• Sweet
• Nurture
• Security
• While red may be considered an energizing colour, pink is the most calming. For this reason the California children's probation department found that violent children had fewer outbursts when placed in a pink room.