Psychology Update — The superpowers of the psychology major

Posted by & filed under Careers, Careers in Psychology, Introduction To Psychology, Lecture Enhancement/Student Engagement, Psychology Update.

TITLE

The superpowers of the psychology major

Some thoughts on the unique strengths of a psychology major

 

DESCRIPTION

Thinking about majoring in the field of psychology but feel that you might have been deterred by others or by “negative stereotypes” related to majoring in the field.  Dr. Stephen L. Chew provides a wonderful and helpful APA article to disabuse these notions and to present a reality based set of strengths learned in Psychology.  From his article:  “Now as a psychology professor, I work constantly to challenge the negative stereotypes around psychology and their consequences. When I talk to prospective psychology majors, the question that virtually always comes up is, “What can I do with a psychology major, especially if I don’t want to go to graduate school?” I have a speech for that question. I suspect every psychology professor does. Fortunately, we also have documentation about the employable skills gained in the psychology major thanks to Drew Appleby (e.g., Appleby, 2018; Appleby et al., 2019) and Paul Hettich (e.g., Hettich, 2016) among many others.”  The article describes the strengths of majoring in Psychology and busts the negative stereotypes.  The article is most helpful for those who might want to know the kinds of skills they will take away as a consequence of majoring in the field and entering the world of careers.

 

SOURCE

American Psychological Association, August 23, 2021, by Stephen L. Chew, Ph.D.

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psychology-teacher-network/introductory-psychology/superpowers-psychology-major

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/v6cc3z5h

 

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•According to the article what are the negative stereotypes that Dr. Chew debunks in the article? 

•Dr. Chew lists  “the top four skills sought by employers according to an annual survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE Staff, 2019).”  What are these four skills and how do they relate to majoring in Psychology?

•What are the six super powers of a psychology major?

 

Psychology Update — Why You Forget Names Immediately—And How to Remember Them

Posted by & filed under Cognitive Psychology, Introduction To Psychology, Memory, Psychology Update.

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Why You Forget Names Immediately—And How to Remember Them

 

DESCRIPTION

A fascinating article that explains how and why we forget some names very quickly after introductions and why we remember others.   

“A common name may be forgettable because it doesn’t strike your mind as interesting, or because you know multiple people with that name already. On the other hand, a rare name may be easy to recognize but harder to recall. And any name, common or not, has to fight for space in your already-crowded brain. Given all these factors, it takes more effort than you think to lock down a name.  “You’re not only remembering the name, but you’re remembering the name in relation to a face. Even if you get the information in, which we call encoding, you might not be able to find the information because there’s so much competition between other names and other faces in your memory,” Ranganath says. “People are often overconfident, and they underestimate how hard it will be later on.”  The article also provides a number of ways on how to remember names through mnemonics and other memory “tricks” to enhance memory ability.  

This is a terrific interesting article to be used in conjunction with the textbook chapters on memory and cognition.

 

SOURCE

Time, July 26, 2018, by Jamie Ducharme

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://time.com/5348486/why-do-you-forget-names/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc&utm_campaign=newsletter+health-thursday+default+ac&utm_content=+++20220519+++body&et_rid=207786296&lctg=207786296

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/2p9aybzc

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•According to the article, why do we forget some names so quickly and remember others?

•What are the provided suggestions to remember names?

•You have just started a new semester and the professor asks each of your classmates to state their name.  What would you do to remember each name?

 

Psychology Update — 3 Recent Articles Related To the topic of ANXIETY

Posted by & filed under Introduction To Psychology, Personality, Psychological Disorders and Therapy, Psychology Update, Stress and Health Psychology.

3 Recent Articles Related To the topic of ANXIETY

ARTICLE #1

TITLE

4 Types of Anxiety

On situational, biological, psychological, and existential anxiety.

 

DESCRIPTION

Students of Psychology should consider this a very important article from Psychology Today postings.  The author discusses anxiety and categorizes the various causal agents as well as corresponding therapies.  Many examples of each of the types or expressions of anxiety are provided.  The “Key Points” from the article are provided as an initial guide for the reader.   

KEY POINTS (from the article)

  • Real-world patients with anxiety don’t always fit neatly into DSM-5 categories.
  • Though expressions of anxiety are limitless, causes can often fit into situational, biological, psychological, or existential categories.
  • According to Ernest Becker and terror management theory, the mother of all anxieties may be existential anxiety—i.e., fear of our own mortality.

The article can be read in conjunction with the chapters on psychopathology, stress and health, and psychotherapy.

 

SOURCE

Psychology Today, April 24, 2022, by John G. Cottone, Ph.D.

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-cube/202204/4-types-anxiety?eml

 

(Tiny URL):  https://tinyurl.com/2p9dfzyt

 

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ARTICLE #2

 

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How Anxiety Can Benefit Us

There are several benefits to having an internal alarm system, experts say.

 

DESCRIPTION

This is a fabulous comprehensive article about anxiety and how to live with it everyday and make it useful instead of an obstacle  “Anxiety is an uncomfortable emotion, often fueled by uncertainty. It can create intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear, not just about stressful events but also about everyday situations. There are usually physical symptoms too, like fast heart rate, muscle tension, rapid breathing, sweating and fatigue.  Too much anxiety can be debilitating. But a normal amount is meant to help keep us safe, experts say. “The emotion of anxiety and the underlying physiological stress response evolved to protect us,” Wendy Suzuki, a neuroscientist and the author of “Good Anxiety,” said.”  The article begins with the author’s “confession” regarding anxiety while driving and follows her through her trials to overcome the anxiety but more like converting it to move her forward.  The article discusses several types of anxiety and importantly how to deal with it through several different therapeutic perspectives including self-help and different types of therapy.

The article also is available as a 10-minute audio program.

 

SOURCE

New York Times, January 19, 2022, by Christina Caron

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/well/mind/anxiety-benefits.html?smid=em-share

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/49285udb

 

 

ARTICLE #3

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Anxiety Feels Terrible, But It Has an Upside. Here’s How to Make It Work in Your Favor

 

DESCRIPTION

Similar to the previous article, this Time posting describes various types and causes of anxiety as well as ways to handle this in a positive way.  “Anyone who’s experienced anxiety knows the distress it can bring. Often, this spiky emotion causes a racing heart, headache and knotted stomach. Frequently, we interpret these sensations as a danger sign. For instance, we might mistake social anxiety as evidence that everyone dislikes us or believe performance anxiety means we’re actually impostors.  While anxiety certainly feels terrible, it does have an upside. In her new book, Good Anxiety, neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki repositions anxiety as a potentially positive force in our lives that can open the door to self-care and resilience—two things that inoculate us from stress. From this vantage point, social jitters might be a sign to reach out for support, while performance woes might be a signal to practice our craft a little more or spend two minutes in a power pose. When we realize anxiety can be a helpful messenger, we can make it work in ways that benefit our psychological well-being.”  The authors inject their clinical perspective based on therapy to provide ways for the reader to manage the anxiety.

 

SOURCE

Time, November 5, 2021, by Hilary Jacobs Hendel and Juli Fraga

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://time.com/6111258/good-anxiety-therapists/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc&utm_campaign=newsletter+health-tuesday+default+ac&utm_content=+++20220301+++body&et_rid=32502797&lctg=32502797undefined

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/yz9a7tkk

 

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•What is anxiety?  According to the articles, what are the basic symptoms that characterize anxiety?

•The articles discuss how anxiety can be accepted and used in a more positive way than a negative experience.  What is the advice to the sufferer of anxiety?

•Each of the articles, discusses the use of psychotherapy to manage high levels of anxiety.   If you were preparing a talk to an anxious group of sufferers, how would you describe the various psychotherapies that can be found in clinical settings?

 

Psychology Website of the Week — American Chronic Pain Association

Posted by & filed under Brain Structure and Function, Nervous System, Psychological Disorders and Therapy, Psychology Website of the Week, Stress and Health Psychology.

PSYCHOLOGY WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

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American Chronic Pain Association

URL      

https://www.theacpa.org

DESCRIPTION

This is the site of the American Chronic Pain Association.  It is a very useful resource for both the professor and student interested in the topic.  The site offers resources for research, education, treatment, and advocacy.  There are interesting articles about differing approaches to both the understanding and treatment of pain.

Psychologists are often part of a pain management team to work with clients to learn coping skills.

This website should be used in conjunction with the Psychology Update articles of the Week of May 10, 2021

Psychology Update — Therapy Dogs Help Reduce Pain in Emergency Room Patients

Posted by & filed under Animal Behavior Studies, Introduction To Psychology, Psychological Disorders and Therapy, Psychology Update, Research Methods, Stress and Health Psychology.

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Therapy Dogs Help Reduce Pain in Emergency Room Patients

 

DESCRIPTION

Wow, what an interesting article!  Most of us have heard about adjuncts to psychotherapy, but not the studies involved in using therapy dogs used to not only help individuals with anxiety and depression, but also for health issues.  “Therapy dogs are often employed in schools, prisons and nursing homes to help improve human health. Now, new evidence shows having these fluffy companions in the emergency room may be beneficial for the well-being of patients.  In a study published in PLOS ONE, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan found that therapy dogs can help reduce pain, including anxiety and depression, in ER patients.   “There is research showing that pets are an important part of our health in different ways. They motivate us, they get us up, (give us) routines, the human-animal bond,” lead study author and professor at the University of Saskatchewan Colleen Dell tells CNN’s Madeline Holcombe.”

This is a great article to use with issues of scientific research, stress and health Psychology, and psychotherapy chapters.  The article includes a brief YouTube video illustration.

 

SOURCE

Smithsonian, March 15, 2022, by Margaret Osborne

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/therapy-dogs-help-reduce-pain-in-emergency-room-patients-180979730/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20220412-daily-responsive&spMailingID=46684569&spUserID=NzQwNDU3MDAyMDIS1&spJobID=2221275517&spReportId=MjIyMTI3NTUxNwS2undefined

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/py77xfy2

 

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•According to the article, how does the use of a therapy dog help with stress, pain, and health issues?

•Please describe how the research was conducted on this issue.  According to the article, why is this research significant in scientific ways?

•What were the results of the research regarding therapy dogs in hospital emergency rooms?

 

Psychology Update — All Children 8 and Older Should Be Screened for Anxiety, U.S. Task Force Says

Posted by & filed under Child Development, Introduction To Psychology, Personality, Psychological Disorders and Therapy, Psychology Update, Stress and Health Psychology.

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All Children 8 and Older Should Be Screened for Anxiety, U.S. Task Force Says

 

DESCRIPTION

This is an extremely important article for all levels of students in Psychology as well as the Professor.  The article delineates the going crisis of mental health in children that is more evident now than ever as we move through this period of the pandemic.  “The worsening state of mental health among children has prompted an influential group of experts to recommend for the first time screening all children ages 8 to 18 for anxiety, one of the most common mental health disorders of childhood.  A draft of the new guidelines, which is open to public comment, will most likely be finalized later this year. It was issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a panel of volunteer experts appointed by a federal government agency to make recommendations to health care providers about clinical preventive care.”  “Kids with behavioral problems are more likely to be identified as needing help, but if children with anxiety disorders aren’t causing problems at school or at home, they could easily “slip through the cracks,” he said.  The pandemic has only continued to exacerbate the problems children have been experiencing.”

The article can be used in conjunction with chapters on child development, Abnormal/Psychopathology, and therapy and should be considered a must read.

 

SOURCE

New York Times, April 12, 2022, by Christina Caron

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/well/mind/children-anxiety-screening.html?smid=em-share

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/48rsukwu

 

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•According to the article, what are the current observations regarding childhood psychopathology?  What types of symptoms are being found in children screenings?

•Please list the the “signs” of mental health and behavioral changes that teachers and parents should be aware of to assess whether a child is experiencing a mental health problem.

•What are the recommendations for working with children who are having a mental health issue?

 

Psychology Update — Why We Remember Music and Forget Everything Else

Posted by & filed under Brain Structure and Function, Cognitive Psychology, Introduction To Psychology, Memory, Psychology Update.

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Why We Remember Music and Forget Everything Else

 

DESCRIPTION

This is a fascinating and fun article that describes how we “remember” music as it relates to our nervous system, memory system, and personality. It is not particularly technical so it is easy and breezy to read. “People often wonder why we tend to remember songs and lyrics more easily than our own memories, where we kept our keys, and what we learned in school. It seems to be because of how often we experience music, in the world or in our minds, and the joy and emotional connection it brings us. Music represents who we are and how we feel, so of course it’s what we remember.”  The article also discusses a new on line app: HEARDLE  This is a game like Wordle  but relates to music identification.

 

SOURCE

Time, April 14, 2022, by Nayantara Dutta

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://time.com/6167197/psychology-behind-remembering-music/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share-article&utm-term=health_psychology

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/2p8pa9rj

 

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•According to the article, why do we remember music better than other aspects of our daily lives?

•What is “autobiographical memory” ?

•If you were to give a lecture to your fellow classmates, how would you describe this phenomenon to them?  What examples would you provide?

 

Psychology Update — What It’s Like Living With Aphasia, Bruce Willis’s Condition

Posted by & filed under Brain Structure and Function, Cognitive Psychology, Memory, Nervous System, Psychological Disorders and Therapy, Psychology Update, Stress and Health Psychology, Thinking, Language, and Intelligence.

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What It’s Like Living With Aphasia, Bruce Willis’s Condition

 

DESCRIPTION

As you may have already heard and/or read, Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with the condition known as aphasia.  What is aphasia?

“Symptoms vary, but generally, aphasia affects people’s ability to speak or comprehend language. Speech, reading, writing, and the ability to listen can be affected. It often occurs suddenly after a stroke or other brain injury damages parts of the brain involved in language expression and comprehension. In other cases, known as primary progressive aphasia, the condition gets worse slowly over time, and patients may develop dementia-like symptoms.”  This is a simple to understand comprehensive article that not only provides details regarding the disorder of aphasia but also the social and psychological issues and consequences of living with the condition.  The article describes some possible routes to therapy, and importantly, what steps family and friends can take to aid the person experiencing the condition.   It is important to note that psychologists as well as speech pathologists are often part of the treatment team working with the individual.  This article is a good resource for those considering careers in this field.

 

SOURCE

Time, March 31, 2022, by Tara Law

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://time.com/6163559/aphasia-symptoms-bruce-willis/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share-article&utm-term=health_medicine

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/2p8zpk8v

 

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•What is aphasia?  What are the symptoms and causes?

•What are the possible treatments for aphasia?  Is recovery possible?

•Imagine that you are the Psychologist explaining aphasia to the family of Bruce Willis (or anyone who has presented with the disorder?  How would you explain the disorder in terms of both brain function and everyday living in the social world?

 

 

Psychology Update — There’s a Mental-Health Crisis Among American Children. Why?

Posted by & filed under Child Development, Personality, Psychological Disorders and Therapy, Psychology Update, Stress and Health Psychology.

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There’s a Mental-Health Crisis Among American Children. Why?

DESCRIPTION

This is an important article to understand psychological disorders among children and adolescents both during and before the pandemic.  “Indeed, the C.D.C. last month reported a pronounced increase in similar tics (active link to article) based on evidence from a source never before used to assess specific mental-health conditions among the nation’s children: emergency-room data. For girls ages 12 to 17, the proportion of visits to the E.R. for tics nearly tripled during the pandemic as of January 2022. Visits also doubled for eating disorders, and there were increases related to anxiety, trauma and stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders.”  This NY Times article provides details of the increase in mental health visits to emergency rooms, clinics, and practitioners that point to the stressors, depression, anxiety, and many other symptoms experienced by children.    Details of the probable causes and ways to handle such issues are provided in the article.  It is a must reading for students interested in mental health issues and for parents as well.

 

SOURCE

New York Times, March 23, 2022, by Kim Tingley

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/magazine/mental-health-crisis-kids.html?smid=em-share

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/22m6znsp

 

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•According to the article, what types of mental health symptoms have become prevalent through the pandemic?

•True or False:  there were no indications of mental health issues pre-pandemic (covid-19)?  Please justify your answer.

•What advice is suggested to parents to help and perhaps prevent mental health issue in children?

 

 

Psychology Update — How a Soap Opera Virus Felled Hundreds of Students in Portugal

Posted by & filed under History, Introduction To Psychology, Personality, Psychological Disorders and Therapy, Psychology Update, Stress and Health Psychology.

TITLE

How a Soap Opera Virus Felled Hundreds of Students in Portugal

DESCRIPTION

Psychology Update, in the past few weeks, has posted a few articles regarding “TikTok Tics”.  That is, due to social media, many adolescent girls have been showing Tourette-like symptoms after watching videos of others displaying tics on the social media platform.  This phenomenon is like other past episodes of mass hysteria.   In 2006, Portuguese students began having serious physical and psychological problems after watch a benign soap opera called, “Strawberries With Sugar” (English translation).  From the Smithsonian article:  “The Portuguese students weren’t suffering from a virus or allergies: they’d come down with mass psychogenic illness.  In a psychogenic illness, a psychological trigger—rather than a biological or environmental one—causes actual physical symptoms. 

“As sociologist Robert Bartholomew explains: “Mass hysteria is the placebo effect in reverse. People can literally make themselves ill from nothing more than an idea.” Bartholomew has studied mass hysteria extensively, and written about outbreaks around the world.”

“Parents and students fight the diagnosis as no one wants to accept that their kids were ‘hysterical,’” he said by email. “In reality, it’s a collective stress reaction and found in normal people.”  

“Also known as mass hysteria or conversion disorder, mass psychogenic illness can be divided into two main types: anxiety hysteria (triggered by extreme anxiety in a close-knit group and causing dizziness, headaches and fainting) and motor hysteria (which disproportionately affects girls and women, and results from long-term stress, causing twitching, shaking, facial tics and other muscular convulsions).”

This fascinating article gives a detailed history of such events that have occurred in many  cultures and societies over hundreds of years.  To the reader:  does “TikTok Tics” follow the same patterns as the same psychogenic illness due to social media?

 

SOURCE

Smithsonian, March 6, 2017 by  Lorraine Boissoneault

 

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-soap-opera-virus-felled-hundreds-students-portugal-180962383/

 

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/39j97pbt

 

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•What is a “psychogenic illness”?  How is it explained?

•Are the adolescents who show symptoms of psychogenic  illness faking?  Or are the symptoms real?

•How do psychologists account for psychogenic illness and mass hysteria?