CHILDREN

Just when I was beginning to lose my focus on Psychology, I witnessed an incident that put me back into perspective. A child crying in the hospital as her mother was wheeled into the emergency room. One often hears of the fragility of a child's mind but seldom sees it firsthand. Children work in strange ways that is beyond our comprehension. What we can understand is when they imitate our behavior and try to be like adults. We can also understand them when they behave like the opposite of adults and throw childish tantrums, but what we fail to grasp is when the blend in their adult-like maturity with their childlike innocence.

They have their mother's blue eyes and their father's sharp sense of hearing but what they see and listen is entirely different from what we look at or hear.Most importantly, their perceptions and reactions to situations are unfathomable. The little girl shrieks in pain, her face turns red and she cannot wrap her head around the fact that her mother is injured. Yet, when her mother is wheeled out, she inhales deeply and looks into her eyes and says- "get well soon". Strength radiates through her small four feet frame, even as she wipes those endless tears away.

"You are strong" is a phrase that people have been consoling me with for the past few weeks, given the recent hospital experiences that I have been through, and I cannot think of a less befitting phrase than that. Over the months, I have mastered,shall I say, the art of repressing feelings and ignoring those questions and doubts that are bursting through the surface of my sub-conscious. It is somehow easier to pretend that these questions of an uncertain future and the moral dilemmas, are of no importance and it is best to forget them altogether. It is easier to suppress the turmoil brimming inside, threatening to burst into my consciousness and engulf me in a process of self-realization. Instead, I put on a smile on my face, a cheer in my voice and live out my day through its mundane routines. For this, I am complimented each day as being "a strong girl."

The little girl did not hesitate to face her fears. She cried in pain in spite of the stares from strangers. She embraced her pain and felt it pierce into her. She allowed herself to be honest with her feelings but when her mother came in she knew she had to be there for her and so she wiped her tears and looked at her. Her eight year old mind was still unable to accept that her mother's condition and yet she displayed the unnerving strength of a mature adult. This blend of emotions is so becoming of the children around us. They work in strange ways and we continue to be baffled by them.

It is this wonderful nature of children that enthralled me to unravel their psychological mysteries.

INSANITY

That. It is a disease.
A disease of the mind
That will allow you to overcome who you are
In order to become something that you are not.

That. It is a change
A change so different that it terrifies you
more than those around you
who cannot stand to see you this way

That. It is a belief
A belief so untrue
but it fuels you
and your delusions.

That. It is a system
to which you unwillingly submit
because you enjoy the pain it transmits
even though you know it hurts you.

That. It is your life now
Even though it is something you never dreamed of
It is your worst fear and you can't even look into a mirror
For you have now entered your black world

And you believe you will never be rescued.

MIRRORS OF CULTURE

Culture has always been a fluid, dynamic term that is conventionally associated with art, literature, architecture, language, tradition and ancestry. One working definition of culture, as given by the Britannica Encyclopedia, is the totality of socially transmitted behavioral patterns, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. Through the ages, culture has been defined in terms of aesthetics, social norms and linguistics but what if there was a neurological explanation to this complex system?

Italian researcher Giacomo Rizzolatti and his colleagues have identified a group of neurons called Mirror Neurons in the frontal lobe of the brain. A mirror neuron is fired when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action being performed by another. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. Such neurons have been directly observed in primates, humans and other species including birds. This is the basis of imitative behaviour. Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran, Director of Cognitive Research Center, University of California, believes that the mirror neurons are the basis of culture and civilization.

The mirror neurons are a subset of the motor neurons and they are triggered when an individual observes another performing an action. However, not all the observed actions are imitated, as the sensory receptors of our skin send a stronger message to the brain, inhibiting the signals triggered by the mirror neurons. V. Ramachandran and his colleagues devised an experiment where the skin receptors of the participants were desensitized. As hypothesized, the desensitized participants were found making involuntary movements when they were made to observe individuals performing certain actions. This established the role of the mirror neurons in imitative behavior or as V Ramachandran puts it “the neurons are adopting to the other person’s point of view.”

V Ramachandran then made a historical observation. Seventy five thousand years ago there was a sudden emergence and rapid spread of a number of skills that are unique to human beings like tool use, the use of fire, the use of shelters, language, the ability to understand an individual’s mind and interpret behaviour. Even though the human brain had achieved its present size almost three or four hundred thousand years ago, the emergence of mirror neurons was seen only seventy five thousands year ago. V Ramachandran attributes the rapid development of human civilization to this sudden emergence of a sophisticated mirror neuron system, which allowed one to imitate other people's actions. Hence, when there was a sudden accidental discovery by one member of the group, like the use of a particular tool, it spread rapidly across the population, and was transmitted down the generations.

The imitation of complex skills is now known as culture and it is the basis of civilization.

Psyched!

Once I had multiple personalities, but now we are feeling well.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute.
I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.
The best thing about being schizophrenic is that I'm never alone.
Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you!
Hypochondria is the only illness that I don't have.


Hello, welcome to the psychiatric hotline:
If you are obsessive-compulsive; please press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.
If you have multiple personalities, please press 3,4, and 5
If you are paranoid delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.
If you are depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer.

"I see you were last employed by a psychiatrist," said the employer to the applicant. "Why did you leave?"
"Well," she replied, "I just couldn't win. If I was late to work, I was hostile. If I was early, I had an anxiety complex. If I was on time, I was compulsive."

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BAD-DAY MOODY? Bipolar Mood Disorder

Sixteen year old Monica Thompson had a rather strange routine. She would wake up early in the morning only to find her face covered with tears and hands bruised with scars. She had a difficulty in recalling the events of the previous night but would easily fall into her daily charade of being cheerful and active. She was an excellent student, a favorite amongst her friends and a good daughter. Her life seemed perfect but she would still find herself crying most of the time and sometimes she experienced uncontrollable anger and would throw chairs and books around her room. Apart from this abnormality, Monica was a perfectly healthy teenager.


What she or her family didn’t realize was that Monica was suffering from Bipolar Mood Disorder.

This disorder is the “common cold” of psychological disorders. Moods are emotional states and mood disorders are psychological disorders in which individuals experience swings in their emotional states that are extreme and prolonged (Baron, 2002). Mood disorders affect 21.3% of women and 12.7% of men at least once in the course of their lives.

In a bipolar disorder, as the name suggests, a person undergoes mood swings that are poles apart- Mania and Depression.

It is characterized by irritability, euphoria, hostility, decreased or increased sleep, change in appetite, suicidal thoughts and behavior, grandiose and lofty planning during mania and crying spells during depression.

Although these symptoms seem easily identifiable abnormal behavioral patterns, it is in fact rather difficult to spot a person suffering from this disorder.

The case of Monica Thompson for instance is how bipolar disorder is manifested in most people. They may be able to still function normally in certain situations such as their academic performance and daily chores but there is a consistent decline in their efficiency. Usually their inefficiency is interpreted as a ‘rough’ period or a bad day.

These constant ‘blues’ are generally ignored and the person usually does not seek help. Self injury and the attempts of suicide are signals for attention and help but in most cases these go unnoticed.

The affected individuals themselves are seldom aware of their condition. They know something is ‘wrong’ but cannot put their finger on it. The may be unable to comprehend the reasons that urge them to behave in strange ways and the fear of rejection prevents them from voicing their troubles.

As a concerned friend or family member, one must be quick to react to the registered changes. If the above mentioned symptoms occur for everyday for one week or longer, it is advisable to seek immediate help.

Counseling and therapy are sure ways of overcoming the disorder. Along with this, the person requires a trusted and loving friend or parent to stimulate the progress. An outlet for their frustration, a shoulder to cry on, and a model to look up to is what they need the most.

With constant care and guidance, one can fight the bipolar disorder and return to their happy and healthy life.

Luckily for Monica, her mother discovered her problem, which had stemmed out of a molestation incident that she had experienced in her childhood, and with regular therapy she was able to overcome this malady.

OPERATE YOUR WAY THROUGH An Introduction to Operant Conditioning

WHAT IS LEARNING?


Learning is one process that transcends all other human mental and behavioral processes. Apart from our instincts (inborn patterns of behavior that are biologically predetermined), all other thoughts, beliefs, actions and even emotional responses are learnt.

Learning has been defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs due to experience and practice and is not a result of the organism’s temporary state or maturation.

Behavioral psychologists study learning in terms of stimulus-response relationships. A stimulus such as a spider when associated with a loud noise results in a response of screaming out of fear. This is an example of a type of learning known as Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov, 1927). Here, two stimuli are paired together to bring about a response to a stimulus that previously did not emit that type of behavior.

OPERANT CONDITIONING

However, not all patterns of behavior have been learnt by combining stimuli. How did we learn to study and do well on a test or how did we learn to stop making tantrums every time we needed attention? We learnt this through the consequences we experienced each time we displayed any of these behaviors. The praise and recognition we received on an excellent test score or the spanking our parents gave us when we kicked our feet in the air and cried out for attention helped us learn an appropriate conduct of behavior.

This type of learning, which gives importance to the response, is called Operant Conditioning. It is the process in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences (Feldman, 2004). In other words, it is the concept of rewards and punishments.

We continue or learn to continue those behaviors that are rewarded or reinforced and we discontinue or learn to discontinue those behaviors that are punished.



EXPERIMENTS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

Edward L. Thorndike was the forerunner of this concept. He experimented on cats by putting them in a cage that had a lever which opened the door. Outside the cage was a plate of food. The cat wandered around the cage and accidently stepped on the lever. After a few more trails, it automatically stepped on the lever to get to its food. Hence, behavior had been learnt as the action of stepping on the lever had been rewarded with food.

B.F Skinner took the experiment forward and built a Skinner box where rats or pigeons were placed and taught to press a button or peck a key to obtain food. Skinner formalized the concept of reinforcements (stimuli that increase behavior), and punishments (stimuli that decrease behavior).

RELEVENCE

Through these simple experiments a whole new dimension has been added to learning. Most of our actions are determined by the consequences we experience. Whether it is the angry glare of a friend who we just jibbed or the appreciation received by our boss on winning an important deal, we are constantly adjusting out behaviors to suit the consequences.

As intelligent beings with higher cognitive capacities, we are quick to form a relationship between the action and its outcome. We not only learn what to do and what not to do but also learn to expect consequences. For example, if making yourself look attractive won you a hot date, you not learn that attractiveness helps in dating but you also learn to expect a good date each time you make yourself look attractive.

In conclusion, our lives operant around our experiences and outcomes. The much used phrase ‘we learn from our experience’ is more than apt to describe operant conditioning.

PASSION

A passion is a healthy addiction. It is something one would turn to for leisure, in times of distress and most importantly, to search the meaning of one’s life.


It adds zest to your life and energizes you. It makes you want to live every minute of your life.

The obsession is relieving rather than taxing.

Having an object of passion makes life more meaningful. One begins to view the world in terms of this passionate activity and suddenly everything seems to fit into the right place.

I experienced this when I was 13. Being a rather peaceful and polite person, I am, it seems, a target for messy situations that require a diplomatic settlement. To my surprise, I enjoyed the experience. Apart from telling people what to do, I found the analyzing of the rationale of both sides rather intriguing and was surprised that I was able to dissect the situation and come up with a solution that made everyone happy within a few minutes.

In fact, as the pattern began to form, I found myself appreciating the trust that people had in me. It even became a need sometimes. That was when it dawned on me-this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It sounds rather off if I say my aim in life is to solve other people’s problems and it is for that reason I began searching for the right word to describe such a person.

Psychologist. That was the word. That single word has driven me for the past six years and is still driving me to go beyond my capacity. Although it began as a reaction to the usual high school drama that we all witness in our lives, it formalized into a personal philosophy through which I could derive the answers to my puzzling questions.

Today, psychology is not just a subject to me. It is my passion. It is my life. It is what I turn to for explanations. Psychology is not limited to just analyzing human behavior and thought, rather it encompasses all of humanity and its existence and even non-existence.



Psychology has always been defined as a science and an Art.

But for me it is a way of life.

OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY(abnormal psychology)

What Is Insanity?

Five ways to define abnormality:

1. Condition is considered abnormal in the person’s culture

2. Condition causes personal distress to the subject

3. Condition prevents functional living in society

4. Condition makes the person a danger to self or others

5. Condition calls into question a person’s legal responsibility for actions

2. Rosenhan sanity study: Showed difficulty diagnosing insanity; Rosenhan and associates (all sane) reported hallucinations to gain admittance to psychiatric ward. Once admitted, “plants” were treated as insane patients.

TYPES OF DISORDERS:

Psychological disorders are defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV)

1. Anxiety disorders

A. Phobias: Intense, irrational fears of specific items or situations; include agoraphobia (fear of open, public spaces) and social phobia (fear of embarrassing social situations)

B. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): Chronic, pervasive low-level anxiety

C. Panic disorder: Intermittent anxiety, characterized by panic attacks (episodes of frightening mental and physical symptoms)

D. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Includes obsessions (uncontrollable, repetitive internal thoughts that cause anxiety) and compulsions (behaviors performed to counteract obsessive thoughts)

2. Mood disorders

A. Major depression: Characterized by unhappiness, fatigue, loss of appetite, low self-esteem

B. Bipolar disorder (manic depression): Periods of depression followed by periods of mania (high energy, lack of inhibition)

C. Seasonal affective disorders: mood affected by time of year, and/or lack of sunlight

3. Dissociative disorders: Includes amnesia (person loses memory for personal identity) and identity (two or more distinct personalities in one person)

4. Somatoform disorders: Disorders that take bodily form (e.g., hypochondriasis, conversion)

5. Schizophrenia

A. Positive symptoms: Hallucinations, disorganized thought and speech, delusions (false beliefs)

B. Negative symptoms: Lack of speech and emotional expression, social withdrawal

C. Types of schizophrenia

i. Catatonic: Motionlessness, sudden frenziedness, and holding of contorted postures

ii. Disorganized: Incoherence, inappropriate emotional reactions

iii. Paranoid: Delusions of persecution and grandeur

6. Personality disorders: Stable patterns of experience and behavior that differ noticeably from patterns that are considered normal by a person’s culture. Disorders include antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.



TREATMENT OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

PSYCHOTHEREPY

Five main psychological therapies are used to treat psychopathology.

1. Classical psychoanalysis (Freud): Helps clients (patients) uncover and resolve repressed, unconscious childhood conflicts; involves four main techniques

A. Free association: Client says whatever comes to mind; technique uncovers unconscious meanings and preoccupations

B. Transference: Client transfers conflicts and emotions onto psychoanalyst; shows client how they feel about important people

C. Resistance: Focuses on what client refuses to talk about; helps client recall repressed memories

D. Dream analysis: Involves interpretation of dream imagery, because unconscious conflicts manifest as symbols in dreams

2. Psychodynamic therapy: Modified version of psychoanalysis that explores unconscious conflicts based on cultural or interpersonal factors, not childhood

3. Humanistic therapies: Treats the whole person; involves two main techniques

a. Person-centered therapy (Rogers): Based on belief in fundamental goodness of humans; therapist encourages client to achieve self-actualization via three techniques:

i. Unconditional positive regard: Person is valued no matter what

ii. Authenticity: Therapist is always honest

iii. Empathy: Therapist must feel what the patient is feeling

b. Existential therapy: Tries to imbue meaning in client’s life. Helps client take responsibility and exercise free choice. Goal is to make client feel life is authentic.

4. Behavior therapies: Treatments that involve changing behavior with little or no attention to the causes of the behavior. Effective for phobias. Involves three main techniques.

a. Exposure techniques: Breaks connection between stimuli and the resulting fears

i. Extinction: Therapist presents a stimulus without the threatening response, so that the associated fear will eventually disappear

ii. Systematic desensitization: Therapist teaches client to replace feelings of fear with relaxation; exposes client to hierarchy of stimuli called anxiety hierarchy

b. Aversion therapy: Pairing client’s habit with an unpleasant stimulus so client breaks the habit

c. Operant conditioning: The control of behavior through reinforcement; enforces the connection between behavior and consequences. Involves two main techniques:

i. Token economy: Provides rewards for desired behaviors

ii. Contingency management: Client learns that behaviors have strict consequences

5. Cognitive therapies: Treatments that change the client’s thought patterns

A. Rational-emotive therapy (Ellis): Confronts and changes client’s irrational beliefs

B. Cognitive therapy (Beck): Replaces negative thoughts with positive thoughts

Biological/Medical Treatment

Three main medical therapies are used to treat psychopathology.

1. Drug therapy (psychopharmacology): Drugs can be effective but can also have negative side effects. There are three main categories of drugs:

a. Antidepressants: Used to treat depression. Two main types:

i. SSRIs: Allow serotonin to stay in synapses; increase activity of serotonin (e.g., Prozac)

ii. MAO inhibitors: Prevent breakdown of monoamines such as serotonin (e.g., Nardil)

b. Anxiolytics: Used to treat anxiety

i. Benzodiazepines: Tranquilizers (e.g., Valium)

Antipsychotics: Used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia, such as delusions and agitation (e.g., Clozapine)

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): Treatment for major depression. Doctor uses electric shocks through brain hemisphere(s) to induce seizures. Side effects include muscle aches and memory loss.

Surgery: Treatment that physically changes the brain (such as prefrontal lobotomy)

The Shrink Is In

It is a rather annoying habit of a shrink(slang for psychologist) to dig deeper into your mind everytime you make a statement, no matter how simple or insignificant it is.
However, in the process of cursing the shrink's analysis, you are so caught up by the sometimes repulsive comments that you don't realise it's equally irritating for the shrink to break down your thoughts each time you voice them or each time you don't.

The process is automatic for the psychologist. In fact, one of the reasons the person began to develop an interest for the subject was because of the heightened analytical skills. The skills that enabble the shrink to make snap judgements, see beyond your words, think beyound your thoughts and feel beyond your expressions.

It takes immense experience to control and differentiate between the situations that need to be disected and those that should'nt. As mentioned above, it is a spontaneous process that has been enhanced and trained for years and to deviate from it would be a challenge.

This demarcation is the first challenge a psychologist or a student of psychology faces. it is annoying for the shrink to consatntly see what isn't laid out in front of the naked eye. Some students think its insanity thats driving them up the wall but it is in fact, the cursed blessing that they must carry throughout their lives.

They must carry the burnden of the people who confide in them, the secrets they share, the mistakes they refuse to accept, the delusions they create. All this and much more the shrinks carry through their life along with their own baggage. Yet, there are some of us who refuse to understand this twisted blessing of a shrink and we want them to butt out. We do not enjoy having them in our heads sometimes and believe me, if they could escape for a while, they most definitely would but till then, the shrink is in.