The Science of Psychology

Why are some people shy while others are outgoing? What sometimes causes opposites to be attracted to each other and fall in love? Why can we remember a first date which happened long ago while forgetting information necessary for a test which we studied only hours ago? Psychology studies all these and countless other scenarios and subjects alike.

Behaviour and Mind

The definition of psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and of the mind. The term behaviour refers to directly observable actions and responses, while the term mind refers to internal states and processes, such as thoughts and feelings, which cannot be seen directly and need to be inferred from observable, measurable responses.

The complexity of behaviour poses special challenges for scientific studies. As we become familiar with the kind of evidence needed to validate scientific conclusions, we become better informed about the many claims made in the name of psychology. For one thing, this teaches us that many widely-held beliefs are inaccurate, but the most important thing we learn is the habit of critical thinking.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking involves taking an active role in understanding the world around us, rather than merely receiving information. It's important to reflect upon the meaning of the information, how it fits with our experiences, and its implication on our lives and society. Critical thinking also means evaluating something present to us as fact. For example, when someone tells you a new fact, ask yourself the following questions:

Exactly what do you want me to believe?
How do you know this, and what evidence have you got?
Could there be other possible explanations?
What is the most reasonable conclusion?

This helps us understand to be cautious in accepting psychological claims, making us less likely to form simplistic judgement on the behaviours and thoughts of other people. Thus, critical thinking would help serve us in many areas of our lives.

Psychology as an Applied Science

Science involves two types of research: basic research, which requires the quest for knowledge purely for its own sake; and applied science, which is designed to solve specific problems. For psychologists, the most basic of research is centred around the reasons behind people's behaviour, thoughts, and feelings. Basic research can be carried out in laboratories or outdoors, with participants being either human or from other species.

Psychologists studying other species usually do so in an attempt to discover principles which ultimately would shed light on human behaviour, but some study animal behaviour for its own sake. In the field of applied research, psychologists often use basic scientific knowledge in order to design, implement, and assess intervention programmes.

Robbers Cave Study

How do hostility and prejudice develop between groups, and what can be done to reduce it? In the multicultural world we live in today, where clashes erupt between various religious and ethnic groups, there is great importance in this question.

In order to provide an answer, psychologists have conducted research on factors which increase and reduce inter-group hostility. In one experiment, 11-year-old boys were divided into two groups upon arrival at a summer camp in Robbers Cave, Oklahoma. The groups were named the Eagles and the Rattlers and were put in separate cabins, but took part in all the other activities together. Initially, both teams got along well.

In order to test the hypothesis that competition could breed inter-group hostility, the researchers began to pit the two teams against each other in athletic and other contests. As predicted, hostility soon grew between the two groups. Next, the researchers examined if the conflict could be reduced between the teams by having them share enjoyable activities such as watching movies together, but surprisingly, it caused more taunting and fighting among them.

The researchers then created several small emergencies to test a final hypothesis, placing the hostile groups in situations that required cooperation between one another in order to attain common goals, hoping it would reduce their hostility towards each other. In one emergency, the truck transporting food for the hungry boys supposedly stalled, forcing the two groups to pool their strength and tow it with a rope to get it started. This, as well as other cooperative experiences, gradually reduced the hostility among the boys, causing the development of many new friendships.

Since then, the Robbers Cave Study has become a classic, which is an older but widely-known influential study. It represents basic research as its goal was to discover the general principles of inter-group conflicts and not to solve an existing problem. The prejudice between the two groups did not exist from the outset; rather, it was created by the researchers, which showed that hostility could be bred by competition and reduced by making them dependent on each other to reach a common goal.

Announcement

Hey, everyone. If any of you like novels or short stories, you should check out my Wattpad account. Here's the link:

https://www.wattpad.com/user/JansenSharon

Personality and Crime

On the surface, Charles Whitman seemed as solid and as the University of Texas tower from which he rained death on unsuspecting strangers. He was the son of a wealthy family in Florida. Whitman was an outstanding student, an accomplished pianist, one of the youngest eagle scouts in state history, and a former US marine who was awarded the Medal of Good Conduct, as well as the Marine Corps expeditionary medal. He wedded the woman of his dreams, and the couple was even seen as an ideal couple. Whitman became a student of the University of Texas when he was selected for an engineering scholarship by the marines. In his spare time, he served as a scoutmaster in Austin.

So, what caused such a seemingly exemplary person to commit such horrific acts of violence? On December 18, 2001, the Austin History Centre opened its records on Charles Whitman to public scrutiny. The records provide important insight into the complexities of Whitman's personality and the turmoil which existed within him. Although the Whitman incident had happened decades ago, it has a sad reminiscence to more recent acts of violence in schools, workplaces, and communities across the United States.

Whitman's Confession Letter

On a summer evening in 1966, Whitman wrote the following letter:

I don't understand myself these days. I am supposed to be an average, reasonable, and intelligent young man. However, since of late (I am unable to recall the specific day it all started), I have become the victim of many unusual and irrational thoughts. These thoughts tend to recur constantly, and it requires a tremendous mental effort to concentrate on useful and progressive tasks.

In March, when my parents made a physical break, I noticed a great deal of stress. I consulted a doctor, Cochrum, at the university health centre and requested him to recommend someone that I could consult with about some psychiatric disorders that I felt I had. Once I talked with a doctor for about two hours as I tried to convey my fears that I have been feeling overcome by overwhelming violent impulses. After the first session, I never saw that doctor again. And since then, I have been fighting my mental turmoil by myself, and it seems to be to no avail. I wish an autopsy to be done on me when I am dead to find out if there is any visible physical disorder in me. I have had some tremendous headaches in the past and I have consumed two large bottles of Excedrin (Painkiller for migraine headaches) in the past three months.

Later that night, Whitman murdered his wife and mother, both who was loving and supportive of him. The next morning, he carried a high-powered hunting rifle to the top of a 307-foot tower on the busy University of Texas campus in Austin and opened fire on the persons passing below. Within 90 horrifying minutes, he murdered 16 people and wounded 30 others before he was killed by the police.

What is Personality

The concept of personality derives from the fascinating spectrum of human individuality. According to observations, people differ meaningfully according to the ways they customarily think, feel, and act. These distinctive behaviour patterns help in defining one's identity as an individual. According to the noting of one theoretical group, each of us is, in some respects, like all other people, like some others, and like no other person who lived in the past or will exist in the future.

The concept of personality also rests on the observation that any given person seems to behave somewhat consistently over time, and across different situations. From this perceived consistency comes the notion of personality traits that characterizes an individual's customary ways of responding to his or her world. Although only a modest consistency is found from childhood personality to adult personality, consistency becomes greater as we enter adulthood. Nonetheless, even in adulthood, a capacity for meaningful personality change remains.

With the combination of these notions of individuality and consistency, we can define personality as the distinctive and relatively enduring ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that characterize a person's response to life situations.

The thoughts, feelings, and actions that are seen as reflecting an individual's personality typically have three characteristics. First, they are seen as behavioural components of identity that distinguish that person from others; second, the behaviours are viewed as being caused primarily internal rather than environmental factors; and third, the person's behaviour seems to have organization and structure—they seem to fit together in a meaningful fashion, suggesting an inner personality that guides and directs behaviour.

Studies on personality have been guided by psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behavioural, cognitive, and sociocultural perspectives. These perspectives provide different conceptions of what a personality is and how it functions. Yet this diversity of viewpoints arises from the fact that theorists have their own personalities, which influence their perception and understanding of themselves and the world.

Dementia & Alzheimer's Disease

Dementia is a reference to impaired memory and other cognitive deficits that accompany brain degeneration, as well as interference with normal functioning. There are more than a dozen types and causes of dementia.

Dementia is more prevalent among the elderly. However, it can occur at any point in life. In dementia, cognitive abilities are gradually lost, accompanied by brain degeneration. In people with dementia, there is an occurrence of abnormal progressive degeneration of brain tissue as a result of disease or injury.

Dementia is most common in late adulthood. The term Senile Dementia refers to dementia that begins after the age of 65. Alzheimer's Disease is the most common cause of senile dementia, but Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington Disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease are other common causes. Complications from high blood pressure and strokes may also cause it.

Scientific Studies

A large Canadian study has found an overall rate of senile dementia of around 8 percent, as well as a female-to-male ratio of about 2:1. Whereas 2 percent of 65- to 74-year-olds are estimated to have dementia, there is an increase in rate to 11 for 75- to 84-year-olds, as well as 34 percent for people who are 85 and above.

Impaired memory, in particular, for very recent events, is typically one of the first symptoms of dementia. Poor judgement, language problems and disorientation may appear gradually or sporadically, and people who develop dementia typically have distress episodes due to confusion. Their behaviour may become uninhibited, they may lose the ability to perform familiar tasks, and they may experience a significant physical decline in addition to cognitive impairments.

Comparing with adults aged 65 and older, those who are more frequently engaged in activities that stimulate cognitive functioning show a lower risk of subsequently developing Alzheimer's disease; but whether this truly reflects a causal relationship remains to be seen. However, one thing is certain: as people live longer lives, the need to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of senile dementia becomes a matter of urgency. Until then, many of us can expect our family members to become Alzheimer’s patients.

Caregiving

Being a caregiver for a spouse or elderly parent with dementia can, unfortunately, be a stressful and psychologically painful experience. Over half of the patients diagnosed with senile dementia show a combination of depression, anxiety, agitation, paranoid reactions, as well as disordered thinking, which may resemble schizophrenia. Ultimately, it could result in the inability to walk, talk, or recognise family members or close friends.

In-depth studies done in Finland, the United States, and Germany, have found that among adults above the age of 65 not suffering from dementia, 20 to 25 percent do have mild cognitive impairment. Combining cases of mild impairment and dementia, some experts have estimated that 79 percent of 65- to 74-year-olds; and 45 percent of people aged 85 and older, remain cognitively normal.

Though these are not pleasant statistics, they make it clear that even well into old age, cognitive impairment isn’t inevitable; and that even with the decrease of some mental abilities with age, more knowledge and wisdom could still be accumulated.        

Alzheimer's Disease (AD)

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder which is the most common cause of dementia among adults over the age of 65, according to around 50 to 60 percent of such cases. An overall of 2 to 4 percent of the elderly is estimated to have AD.

The early symptoms AD, which worsen gradually over a period of years, include forgetfulness, poor judgement, confusion, and disorientation. Often, memory of recent events and new information is especially impaired. Forgetfulness by itself is not necessarily a sign of a person developing AD; however, memory happens to be the first psychological function that is affected, as AD initially attacks the subcortical temporal lobe regions—areas near the hippocampus, as well as the hippocampus itself—that help in the conversion of short-term memory into long-term memory.

Alzheimer's disease spreads across a person’s temporal lobes and then to the frontal lobes, as well as to other cortical regions. According to a German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first noticed the disease a century ago, patients afflicted with this disease have an abnormal amount of plaques and tangles in their brains. Plaques happen to be clumps of protein fragments which happen to build up on the outside of the neurons, whereas tangles are fibres that get twisted and wound up together within the neurons.

Neurotransmitter Systems

Neurons tend to become damaged and die, brain tissues shrink, and communication between the neurons is impaired as AD disrupts several neurotransmitter systems, especially the acetylcholine system. Acetylcholine plays a key role in synaptic transmission in several brain areas involved in memory, and drugs that help maintain acetylcholine functioning have had some temporary success in improving cognitive functioning in AD patients.

As AD progresses, working memory and long-term memory worsen. For example, if you read a list of just three words to a healthy 80-year-old and test his recall after a brief time delay, they tend to typically remember at least 2 words if not all three. On the other hand, a patient with AD will recall 1 or none.

Anterograde and retrograde amnesia become more severe and procedural, semantic, episodic, and prospective memory can all be affected. Patients may lose the ability to learn new tasks or remembering new information or experiences, as well as forget how to perform familiar tasks and have trouble recognising even close family members.

Genetic Causes

What causes AD and its characteristic plaques and tangles? According to scientific identification, several genes contribute to early-onset AD; an inherited form of the disease which develops before the age of 65 and as early as 30, but only accounts to about 5 to 10 percent of AD cases.

However, the precise cause of the more typical, late-onset AD remains elusive; but researchers have identified one genetic risk factor. This gene helps direct the production of proteins which carry cholesterol in the blood plasma, and high cholesterol and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease may likewise increase the risk of developing AD. A recent study found that even healthy elderly adults who carried this particular gene, as compared to peers that did not, performed more poorly on prospective memory tasks.

If you know anyone with AD, you are aware that it involves much more than memory loss. These patients experience language issues, disorganised thinking, and changes in mood as well as personality. Ultimately, they may lose the ability to speak and walk, and may also lose control over bladder and bowel functioning.