A Brief Overview of Child Psychology

What Is Child Psychology?

A Brief Overview of Child Psychology

By Kendra Cherry

Child psychology looks at the many influences on the mind and behavior of children.

Child psychology is one of the many branches of psychology and one of the most frequently studied specialty areas. This particular branch focuses on the mind and behavior of children from prenatal development through adolescence. Child psychology deals not only with how children grow physically, but with their mental, emotional and social development as well.

Historically, children were often viewed simply as smaller versions of adults. When Jean Piaget suggested that children actually think differently than adults, Albert Einstein proclaimed that the discovery was "so simple that only a genius could have thought of it."

Today, psychologists recognize that child psychology is unique and complex, but many differ in terms of the unique perspective they take when approaching development. Experts also differ in their responses to some of the bigger questions in child psychology, such as whether early experiences matter more than later ones or whether nature or nurture plays a greater role in certain aspects of development.

The Different Contexts of Child Psychology

When you think of development, what comes to mind? If you are like most people, you probably think about the internal factors that influence how a child grows, such as genetics and personal characteristics. However, development involves much more than the influences that arise from within an individual. Environmental factors such as social relationships and the culture in which we live also play essential roles.

Some of the major contexts that we need to consider in our analysis of child psychology include:

· The Social Context: Relationships with peers and adults have an effect on how children think, learn and develop. Families, schools and peer groups all make up an important part of the social context.

· The Cultural Context: The culture a child lives in contributes a set of values, customs, shared assumptions and ways of living that influence development throughout the lifespan. Culture may play a role in how children relate to their parents, the type of education they receive and the type of child care that is provided.

· The Socioeconomic Context: Social class can also play a major role in child development. Socioeconomic status (often abbreviated as SES), is based upon a number of different factors including how much education people have, how much money they earn, the job they hold and where they live. Children raised in households with a high socioeconomic status tend to have greater access to opportunities, while those from households with lower socioeconomic status may have less access to such things as health care, quality nutrition and education. Such factors can have a major impact on child psychology.

Remember, all three of these contexts are constantly interacting. While a child may have fewer opportunities due to a low socioeconomic status, enriching social relationships and strong cultural ties may help correct this imbalance.

Topics Within Child Psychology

Child psychology encompasses a wide range of topics, from the genetic influences on behavior to the social pressures on development. The following are just some of the major subjects that are essential to the study of child psychology:

· Genetics

· Environmental Influences

· Prenatal Development

· Social Growth

· Personality Development

· Language

· Gender Roles

· Cognitive Development

· Sexual Development

Final Thoughts

Understanding what makes kids tick is an enormous task, so the study of child psychology is both wide and deep. The ultimate goal of this field is to study the many influences that combine and interact to help make kids who they are and to use that information to improve parenting, education, child care and psychotherapy other areas focused on benefiting children. By having a solid understanding how children grow, think and behave, parents and professionals working with children can be better prepared to help the kids in their care.

Child Development Theories

Psychoanalytic Child Development Theories

Sigmund Freud

The theories proposed by Sigmund Freud stressed the importance of childhood events and experiences, but almost exclusively focused on mental disorders rather than normal functioning.

According to Freud, child development is described as a series of 'psychosexual stages.' In "Three Essays on Sexuality" (1915), Freud outlined these stages as oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Each stage involves the satisfaction of a libidinal desire and can later play a role in adult personality. If a child does not successfully complete a stage, Freud suggested that he or she would develop a fixation that would later influence adult personality and behavior.

Theorist Erik Erikson also proposed a stage theory of development, but his theory encompassed human growth throughout the entire human lifespan. Erikson believed that each stage of development was focused on overcoming a conflict. For example, the primary conflict during the adolescent period involves establishing a sense of personal identity. Success or failure in dealing with the conflicts at each stage can impact overall functioning. During the adolescent stage, for example, failure to develop an identity results in role confusion.

John Bowlby

There is a great deal of research on the social development of children. John Bowlby proposed one of the earliest theories of social development. Bowlby believed that early relationships with caregivers play a major role in child development and continue to influence social relationships throughout life.

Albert Bandura

Psychologist Albert Bandura proposed what is known as social learning theory. According to this theory of child development, children learn new behaviors from observing other people. Unlike behavioral theories, Bandura believed that external reinforcement was not the only way that people learned new things. Instead, intrinsic reinforcements such as a sense of pride, satisfaction and accomplishment could also lead to learning. By observing the actions of others, including parents and peers, children develop new skills and acquire new information.

Lev Vygotsky

Another psychologist named Lev Vygotsky proposed a seminal learning theory that has gone on to become very influential, especially in the field of education. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children learn actively and through hands-on experiences. His sociocultural theory also suggested that parents, caregivers, peers and the culture at large were responsible for the development of higher order functions.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, some of psychology's best known thinkers have developed theories to help explore and explain different aspects of child development. Today, contemporary psychologists often draw on a variety of theories and perspectives in order to understand how kids grow, behave and think.

Why is Laughter Contagious?

Why does one person pick up another's emotions so easily? It seems that human emotions are highly contagious. For example, one person's laughter is soon shared by another's. The explanation is that strong emotions synchronize the brain activity of different individuals according to research by Finland's Aalto University and Turku PET Centre research published in the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences.

Seeing emotional expressions such as smiles and laughter in someone else often triggers a corresponding emotional response in the watcher. This may be a basic element of social interaction: synchronizing a common emotional state in all members of a group whose brains process what they see of the environment around them in a similar fashion.

The Finnish researchers measured brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants were looking at short pleasant, neutral and unpleasant movies. The researchers found that strong and unpleasant emotions synchronized participants brains’ emotion processing networks in the frontal and midline regions while highly arousing movies synchronized activity in brain networks supporting vision, attention and sense of touch.

According to Adjunct Professor Lauri Nummenma from Aalto University:

"Sharing others’ emotional states provides the observers a somatosensory and neural framework that facilitates understanding others’ intentions and actions and allows to ‘tune in’ or ‘sync’ with them. Such automatic tuning facilitates social interaction and group processes.

"The results have major implications for current neural models of human emotions and group behaviour, but also deepen our understanding of mental disorders involving abnormal socioemotional processing.

Contagious Laughter

The new study can be compared with one by researchers at University College (UCL) and Imperial College London published in the Journal of Neuroscience in 2007 showed a possible mechanism for contagious laughter. Positive sounds like laughter trigger a response in the area of the listener's brain activated when we smile, as though preparing facial muscles to laugh.

In an example given in the media release:

"Cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew's description of Ian Botham's freak dismissal, falling over his own stumps 'he couldn't quite get his leg over' was all it took to send himself and the late Brian Johnston into paroxysms of laughter."

Dr Sophie Scott, senior research fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience said:

"It seems that it's absolutely true that 'laugh and the whole world laughs with you'. We've known for some time now that when we are talking to someone, we often mirror their behaviour, copying the words they use and mimicking their gestures. Now we've shown that the same appears to apply to laughter, too - at least at the level of the brain."

Researchers played volunteers various sounds while measuring brain responses using an MRI scanner. Some sounds were positive, for example laughter or triumph. Others were unpleasant, such as screaming or retching. All triggered a response in the premotor cortical region of the brain, which prepares facial muscles to respond accordingly. However, the response was greater for positive sounds, suggesting that these were more contagious than negative examples. The researchers believe this explains why we respond to laughter or cheering with an involuntary smile.

Sophie Scott commented:

"We usually encounter positive emotions, such as laughter or cheering, in group situations, whether watching a comedy programme with family or a football game with friends. This response in the brain, automatically priming us to smile or laugh, provides a way of mirroring the behaviour of others, something which helps us interact socially. It could play an important role in building strong bonds between individuals in a group."

Loneliness and Alzheimer's

A study by researchers at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, in the Archives of General Psychiatry in 2007 found that lonely people may be twice as likely to develop the type of dementia linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers acknowledge previous studies showing a link between social isolation and increased risk of dementia and decline in cognitive functioning. However, the current study sheds new light on the effects of emotional isolation (or feeling alone) and pays tribute to "the remarkable dedication and altruism" of the volunteers who participated.

Robert S. Wilson, PhD, and colleagues analyzed the association between loneliness and Alzheimer's disease in 823 older adults over a four year period. Participants underwent evaluations including assessments of loneliness, classifications of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and testing of thinking, learning and memory abilities. Loneliness was measured on a scale of one to five, the score increasing with the degree experienced.

Participants' average loneliness score was 2.3 at first examination. Over the course of the study, 76 individuals developed dementia that met criteria for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease increased by approximately 51 per cent for each point scored on the loneliness scale. A person with a high score (3.2) had about 2.1 times greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than a person with a low score (1.4). The findings did not change significantly when social isolation indicators, such as a small network and infrequent social activities, were taken into account.

The study concluded that loneliness is a risk factor, not an early sign of Alzheimer's disease. Autopsies performed on 90 individuals who died during the study found no relationship between loneliness and typical brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, including nerve plaques and tangles, or tissue damaged by lack of blood flow.

Robert Wilson commented:

"Humans are very social creatures. We need healthy interactions with others to maintain our health. The results of our study suggest that people who are persistently lonely may be more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of age-related neuropathology."

Researchers call for more investigation into how negative emotions cause changes in the brain.

Robert Wilson added:

"If loneliness is causing changes in the brain, it is quite possible that medications or changes in behavior could lessen the effects of these negative emotions and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease."

Gut Feelings

Research from Leeds University Business School published in the British Journal of Psychology throws new light on "gut feelings" arguing that they are real psychological phenomena that should be taken seriously.

Researchers explain that intuition represents one of the ways our brains store, process and retrieve information. The value of instinctive hunches has frequently been disregarded but there are numerous recorded examples where relying on intuition prevented catastrophes or resulted in remarkable recoveries. The researchers analyzed a wide range of previous studies and concluded that intuition - a feeling that something is right or wrong - is the brain drawing on past experiences and current external cues to make a decision; a process so rapid that the reaction is subconscious.

Lead researcher Professor Gerard Hodgkinson said:

"People usually experience true intuition when they are under severe time pressure or in a situation of information overload or acute danger, where conscious analysis of the situation may be difficult or impossible."

One example is a Formula One driver who braked sharply when nearing a hairpin bend; avoiding hitting an unseen pile-up ahead and thereby saving his life.

Gerard Hodgkinson explained:

"The driver couldn't explain why he felt he should stop, but the urge was much stronger than his desire to win the race. The driver underwent forensic analysis by psychologists afterwards, where he was shown a video to mentally relive the event. In hindsight he realised that the crowd, which would have normally been cheering him on, wasn't looking at him coming up to the bend but was looking the other way in a static, frozen way. That was the cue. He didn't consciously process this, but he knew something was wrong and stopped in time."

Gerard Hodgkinson continued:

"Humans clearly need both conscious and non-conscious thought processes, but it's likely that neither is intrinsically 'better' than the other."

The study highlights the impact on business, where many managers claim to use intuition over deliberate analysis when a swift decision is required.

Gerard Hodgkinson concluded:

"We'd like to identify when business people choose to switch from one mode to the other and why - and also analyze when their decision is the correct one. By understanding this phenomenon, we could then help organizations to harness and hone intuitive skills in their executives and managers."

Gut Instinct Decisions

Research by Michigan State University environmental science and policy researcher Joseph Arvai and graduate student Robyn Wilson, of Ohio State University, has found that people usually follow emotional gut instinct rather than rational responses when making decisions about complex issues such as terrorism, troop surges or crime, even though the brain can simultaneously process both kinds of information.

Earlier this year, Joseph Arvai and four other scientists discussed decision-making and risk evaluation at a symposium entitled Numbers and Nerves: Affect and Meaning in Risk Information at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Joseph Arvai said:

"People tend to have a hard time evaluating numbers, even when the numbers are clear and right in front of them. In contrast, the emotional responses that are conjured up by problems like terrorism and crime are so strong that most people don't factor in the empirical evidence when making decisions."

The researchers asked participants to prioritize which of two common scenarios in state parks merited more attention from risk managers. One involved crime such as vandalism and purse snatching and the other damage to property from white-tailed deer such as collisions with vehicles.

8. Joseph Arvai explained:

"The neat thing with crime and deer overpopulation is that both risks could be measured on the same scale, which made our jobs as researchers easier. But because crime incites such a negative emotional response from most people, it consistently received more attention, even when the numbers showed that the risks from deer were much worse. We had to ratchet up the deer damage until it was ridiculously high before people noticed that it was a higher risk than crime.

"The bigger problem we've uncovered is that this response isn't limited to crime and deer. We see it happening in other areas: terrorism, the war in Iraq and infectious diseases."

The study considered whether rational responses could gain precedence over emotional gut instinct.

Joseph Arvai commented:

"People can be given tools that help them to 'listen' more to the empirical side of their brains. But in our experiments, the effects of these tools tend to be relatively short term. We've been able to make people aware that they're letting their emotions guide them, and we've developed decision aids that help them strike a better balance between their emotions and the numbers. But people tend to revert to decisions guided by emotions once the experiment is over, and they leave the room."

Why Women Prefer Pink

A study by Newcastle University researchers Anya C. Hurlbert and Yazhu Ling published in Current Biology supports the popular notion that men and women differ when it comes to colour preference. Researchers found that women prefer pink "or at least a redder shade of blue" than men do.

Anya Hurlbert said:

"Although we expected to find sex differences, we were surprised at how robust they were, given the simplicity of our test".

Young men and women (171 British Caucasians) were asked to select, as rapidly as possible, their preferred colour from a series of paired rectangles. Overall, the differences were sufficiently clear to predict the sex of a participant. To investigate whether biology or culture was more influential, researchers also tested a small group of Chinese people. Results were similar, supporting the hypothesis that sex differences might have a biological component. Results indicated that the universal favourite colour was blue.

Anya Hurlbert speculated:

"Going back to our 'savannah' days, we would have a natural preference for a clear blue sky, because it signalled good weather. Clear blue also signals a good water source."

"On top of that, females have a preference for the red end of the red-green axis, and this shifts their colour preference slightly away from blue towards red, which tends to make pinks and lilacs the most preferred colours in comparison with others" she added.

Researchers suggest the explanation might go back to hunter-gatherer societies, when women as primary gatherers would have benefited from an ability to identify ripe, red fruits.

Anya Hurlbert commented:

"Evolution may have driven females to prefer reddish colours - reddish fruits, healthy, reddish faces. Culture may exploit and compound this natural female preference."

Researchers plan to modify the test for use in young babies to further investigate the respective roles of "nature versus nurture" in colour preference.

Loneliness Affects Health

A study by University of Chicago psychologists, Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo published in Current Directions in Psychological Science investigated the relationship between social isolation, loneliness, and physical deterioration associated with aging. Pointing out that loneliness is not the same as solitude which can be highly valued they nevertheless conclude that social isolation and physical aging may have a deleterious effect on health.

Researchers tested the hypothesis that the relatively mild impact of loneliness in the young may have a cumulative effect by studying a group of college-age individuals and continuing an annual study of a group who were between 50 and 68 years old when recruited.

Stressful experiences inevitably increase with age. Lonely participants in the older group reported the same number of stressful life events but identified more sources of chronic stress and reported greater childhood adversity. They also differed in how they perceived their life experiences, appearing more helpless and threatened and less likely to seek help.

At the cellular level, researchers found that lonely participants had higher levels of epinephrine in their urine. They explain that this is a "fight or flight" hormone suggesting a heightened state of arousal. As with blood pressure, the physiological impact is likely to become more apparent with aging. Stress hormones are also involved in fighting inflammation and infection, perhaps less effectively when loneliness is a factor.

Normal reliance on processes like sleep to recover from stress was also affected. Researchers monitored the younger participants and found that the lonely had poorer quality sleep associated with numerous "micro awakenings" and more daytime dysfunction. They point out that sleep tends to deteriorate with age, and combined with loneliness this natural restorative process is probably further compromised.

By JOHN TIERNEY

Readers’ Comments

They called this phenomenon the “end of history illusion,” in which people tend to “underestimate how much they will change in the future.” According to their research, which involved more than 19,000 people ages 18 to 68, the illusion persists from teenage years into retirement.

“Middle-aged people — like me — often look back on our teenage selves with some mixture of amusement and chagrin,” said one of the authors, Daniel T. Gilbert, a psychologist at Harvard. “What we never seem to realize is that our future selves will look back and think the very same thing about us. At every age we think we’re having the last laugh, and at every age we’re wrong.”

Other psychologists said they were intrigued by the findings, published Thursday in the journal “Science”, and were impressed with the amount of supporting evidence. Participants were asked about their personality traits and preferences — their favorite foods, vacations, hobbies and bands — in years past and present, and then asked to make predictions for the future. Not surprisingly, the younger people in the study reported more change in the previous decade than did the older respondents.

But when asked to predict what their personalities and tastes would be like in 10 years, people of all ages consistently played down the potential changes ahead.

Thus, the typical 20-year-old woman’s predictions for her next decade were not nearly as radical as the typical 30-year-old woman’s recollection of how much she had changed in her 20s. This sort of discrepancy persisted among respondents all the way into their 60s.

And the discrepancy did not seem to be because of faulty memories, because the personality changes recalled by people jibed quite well with independent research charting how personality traits shift with age. People seemed to be much better at recalling their former selves than at imagining how much they would change in the future.

Why? Dr. Gilbert and his collaborators, Jordi Quoidbach of Harvard and Timothy D. Wilson of the University of Virginia, had a few theories, starting with the well-documented tendency of people to overestimate their own wonderfulness.

“Believing that we just reached the peak of our personal evolution makes us feel good,” Dr. Quoidbach said. “The ‘I wish that I knew then what I know now’ experience might give us a sense of satisfaction and meaning, whereas realizing how transient our preferences and values are might lead us to doubt every decision and generate anxiety.”

Or maybe the explanation has more to do with mental energy: predicting the future requires more work than simply recalling the past. “People may confuse the difficulty of imagining personal change with the unlikelihood of change itself,” the authors wrote in “Science”.

The phenomenon does have its downsides, the authors said. For instance, people make decisions in their youth — about getting a tattoo, say, or a choice of spouse — that they sometimes come to regret.

And that illusion of stability could lead to dubious financial expectations, as the researchers showed in an experiment asking people how much they would pay to see their favorite bands.

When asked about their favorite band from a decade ago, respondents were typically willing to shell out $80 to attend a concert of the band today. But when they were asked about their current favorite band and how much they would be willing to spend to see the band’s concert in 10 years, the price went up to $129. Even though they realized that favorites from a decade ago like Creed or the Dixie Chicks have lost some of their luster, they apparently expect Coldplay and Rihanna to blaze on forever.

“The end-of-history effect may represent a failure in personal imagination,” said Dan P. McAdams, a psychologist at Northwestern who has done separate research into the stories people construct about their past and future lives. He has often heard people tell complex, dynamic stories about the past but then make vague, prosaic projections of a future in which things stay pretty much the same.

Dr. McAdams was reminded of a conversation with his 4-year-old daughter during the craze for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the 1980s. When he told her they might not be her favorite thing one day, she refused to acknowledge the possibility. But later, in her 20s, she confessed to him that some part of her 4-year-old mind had realized he might be right.

“She resisted the idea of change, as it dawned on her at age 4, because she could not imagine what else she would ever substitute for the Turtles,” Dr. McAdams said. “She had a sneaking suspicion that she would change, but she couldn’t quite imagine how, so she stood with her assertion of continuity. Maybe something like this goes on with all of us.”

Low Self Esteem

by Saul McLeod

Self-esteem should be viewed as a continuum, and can be high, medium or low, and is often quantified as a number in empirical research.

When considering self-esteem it is important to note that both high and low levels can be emotionally and socially harmful for the individual. Indeed it is thought an optimum level of self-esteem lies in the middle of the continuum. Individuals operating within this range are thought to be more socially dominant within relationships.

Empirical Research

Research has shown key differences between individuals with high and low self-esteem. For example, people with high self-esteem focus on growth and improvement, whereas people with low self-esteem focus on not making mistakes in life.

Low self-esteem has been shown to be correlated with a number of negative outcomes, such as depression (Silverstone and Salsali, 2003).

Rosenberg and Owen (2001) offer the following description of low self-esteem people based on empirical research. People with low self-esteem are more troubled by failure and tend to exaggerate events as being negative. For example, they often interpret non critical comments as critical. They are more likely to experience social anxiety and low levels of interpersonal confidence. This in turn makes social interaction with others difficult as they feel awkward, shy, conspicuous, and unable to adequately express themselves when interacting with others (p. 409). Furthermore, low self-esteem individuals tend to be pessimistic towards people and groups within society.

Research has also shown that low self-esteem has to linked to an increased risk of teenage pregnancy.

Guindon (1996) asked school counsellors to list five characteristics that best describe students with low self-esteem. Over 1000 words were used and the most common are listed below:

1. Withdrawn/shy/quiet

2. Insecure

3. Underachieving

4. Negative (attitude)

5. Unhappy

6. Socially inept

7. Angry/hostile

8. Unmotivated

9. Depressed

10. Dependent/follower

11. Poor self-image

12. Non-risk-taker

13. Lacks elf-confidence

14. Poor communication

15. Acts out

Low Self-Esteem in Children

It should be noted that on average self-esteem during childhood is found to be relatively high. However, there are individual differences and some children are unfortunate to experience feelings of low self-esteem.

Low self-esteem in children tends to be related to physical punishment and withholding of love and affection by parents. Carl Rogers would describe this as conditional positive regard, whereby individuals only receive positive attention from significant others (such as parents) when they act in a certain way. This reinforces to the child that they are only a person of value when they act a certain way (e.g. achieving A grades on a test).

Children with low self-esteem rely on coping strategies that are counterproductive such as bullying, quitting, cheating, avoiding etc. Although all children will display some of these behaviors at times, low self-esteem is strongly indicated when these behaviors appear with regularity.

Socially children with low self-esteem can be withdrawn or shy, and find it difficult to have fun. Although they may have a wide circle of friends they are more likely to yield to group pressure and more vulnerable to being bullied. At school they avoid trying new things (for fear of failure) and will give up easily.

 

 

17. Low Self-Esteem in Teenagers

Self-esteem continues to decline during adolescence (particularly for girls). Researchers have explained this decline to body image and other problems associated with puberty.

Although boys and girls report similar levels of self-esteem during childhood, a gender gap emerges by adolescence, in that adolescent boys have higher self-esteem than adolescent girls (Robins et al., 2002).

Girls with low self-esteem appear to be more vulnerable to perceptions of the ideal body image perpetuated in western media (through methods such as airbrushing models on magazine covers).

Leisure Sickness Syndrome

There are certain conditions which medical experts refuse to associate with mainstream medical science. One such condition is what we are about to discuss here; it is known as the leisure sickness syndrome. Know more on the subject from the following. After a tough week at work, the only thing we long impatiently for is a weekend; a time to unwind, and relax. Needless to say, vacation or even a day off welcomes relief from the load and pressure of everyday life at work. However, for some people, such opportunities of leisure may spell trouble; enough to make them sick. I am talking about a condition, which is purported to be psychological in nature, known as leisure sickness syndrome. Although, the condition has not been given recognition by psychologists, reportedly, there have been many cases which may vouch for its existence.

Factors Responsible for Inducing Leisure Sickness Syndrome In People?
It was Dutch psychologists Ad Vingerhoets and Maaike van Huijgevoort who came up with the possible existence of this condition. As the name suggests, this syndrome is characterized by a person falling ill or feeling so only or mostly when he/she is on a vacation or a weekend than when working. Having said that, it can be understood that workaholics may be the group of people who may exhibit the typical trait of this syndrome we are discussing here. According to some people, this condition somehow mimics the condition called Paradise Syndrome. While not officially attributed to be a real psychological condition, here the affected person bears a sense of dissatisfaction despite having accomplished all that he/she desired in life. Apparently, Ad Vingerhoets conducted a survey on about 2000 men and women who carried large workloads and felt very responsible for their work. He found that 3.2% of these people reported to have been suffering from this illness, when they had little to do.
Reported Symptoms
People who were reported to be suffering from this syndrome, exhibited symptoms such as feeling nauseous, experiencing headache, fatigue, migraines, muscular aches and pain, and even common infections such as cold and flu. Research indicates that this condition can have two manifestations. In one type, these symptoms immediately appear when the person shifts from a working environment to a leisure one which could be on a weekend, or may be before a vacation. In another type, this syndrome onsets in people who after giving up a busy life, decide to adopt a slow and quiet one. What may happen is, when a person is overloaded with work, his/her body adapts itself to the stress. But the moment, the same person tries to make a transition to a relaxed setting such as a weekend, the body thinks that it is a let-down response thus, triggering stress and the symptoms mentioned above.
It has been reported that about 3% of both men and women seem to be affected by the syndrome. And this 3% consist of people bearing characteristics such as perfectionism, eagerness to always stay ahead in the race, over-developed sense of responsibility; in short, driven personalities. It may be said that, the immune system of such people works better when they are coping with stress in their work environment.

What Could be Done?
Leisure sickness syndrome is a newly coined term in medical science, and since its reputation is not recognized as medically relevant, any specific treatment is out of expectation. But one logical solution, or let's say treatment for this condition is returning to the job a person enjoys or getting himself/herself more involved. And nothing beats the benefits of exercise. If someone feels that he/she is not at ease or getting ill when on a vacation, then what best can be done is to indulge in exercise. This would not only keep the person engaged but also help in reducing negative stress.
In conclusion, there is a subtle difference between being a workaholic and a perfectionist. So if you make a conscious effort in determining which one of these two you are, then it might also provide a great deal of help in managing problems such as the leisure sickness syndrome.
By Rajib Singha
Published: 12/5/2011

 

18. Types of Psychology
Psychology is a discipline that studies mental behavior and reactions, scientifically. It incorporates symbolic interpretations for the analysis of social conduct. There are many types of psychology that are studied by their respective experts. An overview on the same is mentioned in this article.
Human behavior has intrigued psychologists for years. The phenomena of perception, personality, cognition, behavior, reaction and emotion not only display immense diversity of the mental faculty, but also affect our relationships. The study involves analysis of the processes within the conscious and unconscious mind. Psychology is applied to every aspect of activity. Our reactions to everyday issues at home or work reflect the health of the 'mind'.
Branches of Psychology
Psychology is a science and an art that attempts to study the individual, family and society to understand mental functions and triggers for certain, otherwise unexplainable social behavior. The different types of psychology explore neurological processes for human development. Psychology depends on the natural sciences for research. The branches of psychology include the following faculties:
Clinical Psychology
In this type of psychology, the study is aimed at relieving stress or dysfunction that is triggered due to various psychological reasons. This results in personal development and emotional and physical well-being. Psychologists pursuing this stream of research, study the depths of forensic testimony and clinical neuropsychology. The professionals use specially designed and adapted therapy models to generate therapeutic alliance. The subsequent exploration of psychological problems helps to identify and apply new thought and behavior modes.
Abnormal Psychology
As the name suggests, this branch of psychology studies abnormal behavior. The aim is to understand the shift in nature and abnormal interactive patterns adopted by an individual. It uses psychopathology and clinical psychology to research on the causes behind psychological disorders. This branch of psychology studies maladaptive features of the condition, in the presence of disability, stress and/or dysfunction.
Cognitive Psychology
This type of psychology studies the mental processes that dictate behavioral traits. It experiments with learning, perception, memory and attention, to apply information processing to mental reasoning and normal functions. It is for this reason that it is also called experimental psychology. Cognitive psychology is the result of input from various neurobiologists, logicians and linguists, who emphasize not only on theory, but also formalization.
Comparative Psychology
In this type of psychology, the behavior patterns of animals are studied. This branch of science is vital to psychological research. It provides comparisons to ascertain traits and prove evolutionary links. Studying animal behavior also enables the psychologists to gain a better understanding of human psychology. Animal models are experimented with, to study emotion and behavior.
Counseling psychology
Counseling psychology, as the name suggests, refers to the study of interpersonal relationships across a span of time. The focus, in this branch of psychology is on social, emotional, educational, developmental and vocational issues that bring about major changes in behavior. The Counseling Psychologist uses psychotherapy to experiment on sensitive relationship-based issues.
Developmental Psychology
This science mainly focuses on the development of the human mind. All the endeavors are directed towards a better understanding of perception and change. Intellectual, as well as moral development is targeted at the end of every session. Research involves a closer look at behavior triggers present in natural settings and physical change.
Educational psychology
This branch of psychology studies educational setting and interventions. Psychologists experiment with the dimensions of teaching and social psychology applied within schools and colleges. Educational psychology influences teaching methods and general practices in and around the campus.
Biological psychology
Biological psychology studies the mental frame as a biological substrate. This branch of psychology investigates behavior that springs from reactions within the nervous system. Most of the research is conducted via experiments with behavioral and cognitive neuroscience. The aim is to understand the function of the brain with regards to different psychological triggers and processes. Biological psychology links human behavior with the brain to study the areas within the brain connected with certain reactions.
Evolutionary Psychology
A relatively new dice played on the psychology board, evolutionary psychology, simply put, attempts to understand how and why human beings evolved with set perspectives and behavioral modes that define an inherited algorithm of deep-seeded defense mechanism applications. The manner in which our ancestors endured dilemmas and their plans inducing response and actions are areas that are studied. These situations with their respective solutions are treated, in order to comprehend how some spontaneous and some thought-over responses became stereotypically innate within prevailing cultures all over the globe.

19. Health Psychology
Health psychology is a sub-field of psychology that focuses on the overall aspect of health maintenance. Psychological, physiological, behavioral and social dimensions of an individual are taken into consideration where health psychology is concerned. Elaborating on the concept of health psychology further, the stream also concentrates on providing preventive measures and treatments, serving as a virtual aide to keep fit and healthy. Health psychology also aims at understanding the reactions of people who are enduring certain health ailments and how they cope with the same.
Psychology and the Law: Legal psychology, alternately known as forensic psychology, however marginally yet significantly different, together, are regarded as psychology and the law. Study of reasoning behind jury decisions, evidence and eyewitness testimonies is regarded as legal psychology and study of clinical reports and systematic evaluation and analysis pertaining to courtroom testimony is regarded as forensic psychology.
Personality Psychology
Our personality inherently defines who we are today and what is the essential behavioral mode we apply to cope and react to situations. The manner in which we function, make decisions and modulate our moods is unique to each one of us. The study of the various personality types is known as personality psychology.
Quantitative Psychology: Quantitative psychology is an indispensable concept in the field of education, science and public interest. Quantitative psychology deals with methods and techniques employed to analyze information gathered through research and design for the purpose of comprehending typical human traits and response producing strategies.
Social Psychology
Social psychology concentrates on behaviors exhibited by individuals in various social settings. It also studies other aspects of social interaction and forms of behavior that mold an individual's reactions, conforming to constructing a set of responses for social situations.
Global Psychology
An upcoming stream of psychology, Global or International psychology deals with the interrogatory examination of human perspectives and phenomena on a global basis. The extent of mental health problems, inter-racial conflicts and disturbances, environmental concerns are some issues addressed on the global platform.
Psychology is a vast field where human perspectives, thoughts, behaviors and even eccentricities are studied in order to achieve a paradigm of evaluation and analysis of the mentioned variables.
Types of Social Influence
Whether we realize it or not, our behavior and habits are influenced by other individuals in society. The way in which they influence us can be studied under the different types of social influence. In this following article, we will try to shed light on the various types of social influence, the way they work and their distinguishing factors.
Given that man is a social animal and lives as a part of this society, it is safe to assume that there are certain behavioral patterns, habits, feelings and attitudes that come about, or are influenced in either a small or a major way due to other human beings in society (words, actions or the mere presence). Simply put, this concept is known as social influence. Think about it for a minute - from something as simple as learning manners, or the things we buy, to something more complicated like the opinions we form about others; or something like the way we behave in certain social settings, it is all influenced by other individuals (whether we do it consciously or unconsciously). All these habits and behavioral patterns come about due to social influence, and that is exactly what we will be studying in the following sections.
Types of Social Influence on Behavior
The concept of social influence can be broadly classified under three major types. These being:
1) Conformity
2) Compliance
3) Obedience
These concepts will give us a clear idea about why we are influenced by others and the way in which it happens.
Conformity
Conformity is the need to conform or fit in. Individuals bring about a change in their thoughts, feelings, behavior and habits in order to conform, belong or fit in with a group or a person whom they look upon as a superior. The need to conform stems from two basic needs - One, we want to be right (Informational Social Influence) and two, we want others to like us (Normative Social Influence).
Informational Social Influence
It has been seen that in a given situation, when we aren't sure about the right course of action to take, we usually turn to others for help with the assumption that they know what is the right thing to do. They may or may not be right, but we tend to follow them. This concept is also known as social proof. Thus we follow others because we think that they possess more knowledge than us and following them will mean that we are doing the right thing. An example of this is herd behavior.
Normative Social Influence
This form of influence stems from our need to be liked by others. That is why we will follow certain behavioral patterns in order to conform to others' expectations. Depending on how influential or popular a person or group is and how important their approval is for one, they will follow suit just so that they are liked by them. An example of this is peer pressure.

20. Experiment
The first person to study conformity in a lab setting was Solomon E. Asch. He put forth a theory which stated that people tend to conform to a group even when the group might be wrong. In order to prove this, he set up an experiment whereby he introduced a line of a particular length and then placed 3 lines against it asking the subjects to choose one that was of the same length as the standard line. They had to undergo 18 trials of the same, and one of the subjects was deliberately asked to give the wrong answer in 12 trials. It was observed that 76% of the people conformed to the wrong answer even when it seemed that the choice was clear.
Compliance
In a social setting, we comply or follow others in order to be more like them. This comes about as a form of submission where we either follow their request (implicit or explicit) out of our own free will or we are coerced into submission due to the fear of social rejection or punishment. Therefore, compliance could bring about a change in behavior, but not necessarily in the attitude. Getting others to comply to our request requires persuasion. Based on this theory, there are 8 techniques or tactics of persuasion that have been observed. Let's take a brief look at these in the following section.
Ingratiation
This persuasion technique follows the principle of becoming more likable to the subject. In order to do this, 3 basic forms are used: One - flattery and compliments, two - agreeing with and accepting others' opinions, and three - emphasizing the positive attributes and values of one's own self.
Foot-in-the-Door
In this technique, a smaller request is followed up by a bigger request and the subject usually complies because of the bond that is created. The way in which this works is that the first request is not very significant and therefore the subject goes along willingly, therefore when the bigger request is made, the subject feels obligated to go along as well.

 

Low-Ball
In this persuasion technique, the initial offer is presented in a very attractive way such that the subject agrees to buy it or go along with it. Only when the subject has fully bought into the idea does the persuader tell him/her about the downside of the product or increase the price (for example). By then, the subject has already agreed and goes along with it.
Door-in-the-Face
In this technique, the persuader will make a very large request, which is very excessive and will most likely be turned down by the subject. Immediately after this, the person will make a request that is smaller and more reasonable in comparison. This works on the principle that the subject will be guilty at having turned down the persuader and will want to make up for it. Add to that the fact that in comparison to the initial request, the second request is much more reasonable and therefore, more easily followed.
That's-Not-All
In this method of persuasion, the persuader will present the things in a 'build up' format. He will offer a product and then slowly add the increments/discounts, free products and the like. This works on the principle that the subject feels obligated to buy the product because the persuader is making so many concessions.
Playing hard to get
In this technique, the persuader will put forth a product as something that is very valuable and hard to get. Thus, the general mood is created that if the subject does not go in for the product or scheme, then he is losing out on something very valuable.
Fast approaching deadline
This form of persuasion works because it has a sense of urgency to it. The product or scheme is made valuable because the subject is given the impression that this is the last time that he/she can avail of this scheme. If they don't, they can never get such a great scheme again.

Putting others in a good mood
This technique is also known as 'the wining and dining technique'. In this, the subject is put in a good mood by employing different methods (like treating him to a meal) and only when the subject is ensured of being in a good mood is the product or scheme put forth. When a person is in a good mood, he/she will not usually refuse a request.
Obedience
Obedience is the quality of bringing about a change in one's behavior and habits by obeying a command that has been put forth by an authority figure. It is different from compliance and conformity in the way that in both these forms of influence, there is a choice that is available. A person may or may not agree to the terms; however, in obedience, a person feels like he/she has no choice and that he/she has to agree. There are two forms of obedience - Constructive and Destructive.
Constructive Obedience
For any society to function well enough, there have to be certain authority figures who will yield the power to bring about a positive change in society. When an authority figure commands a person/a group of people and obeying him is going to benefit the society, then that is known as constructive obedience. An example of this form of obedience is military training camps or the legal system.

21. Destructive Obedience
This form of obedience is called so because, it leads to the harm of individuals and the society. It has been seen that people who obey authority figures, even while being aware that it could harm people, do so only because there is an innate need to follow and obey authority figures in command. An example of this form of obedience is the Holocaust where innocent Jews were killed by the Nazis.
Experiment
The concept of destructive obedience was first brought forth by an experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram. In the Milgram experiment, volunteers were invited to take part in a study/survey on learning and memory. One of them was asked to be the learner and the other, the teacher. The teacher was asked to administer electric shocks and increase the intensity of the same with every wrong answer that the student gave. The teacher was asked to strap the student onto an electric chair and a mild shock was given to the teacher himself so that he would know how it felt (you can read about the experiment in more detail with the help of the above link).
It was observed that the teacher continued to administer shocks, increasing the intensity of them for every wrong answer that the student gave (taking it to the highest level). This was done even when he knew that the subject was in pain. He did this only because he was ordered to do so by an authority figure who was present there. This experiment showed that the need to obey authority figures was so high that people were willing to hurt innocent people without considering the consequences or feeling guilty about the same, and neither did they do anything to oppose it.
Types of social influence on behavior is a very interesting and an important topic in social psychology. It goes on to show us that even though individuals might consider themselves to possess qualities of uniqueness, when studied, their behavioral patterns are not very different from other individuals.
By Rujuta Borkar
Published: 11/16/2011
How Do Emotions Affect Memory
The human brain is a fascinating organ where its labyrinthine structure has secret passages that scientists are still trying to uncover. We find out in particular how memory influences the way we store, dismiss and retrieve information based on how we feel.
The brain is an organ which is forever developing, processing and collecting information as time lapses, forming memories both good and bad, and those out of habitual routines that we enact everyday. Research shows that what we feel when experiencing an event, has more to do with remembering it, even if it was insignificant or worth remembering. We may not realize it, but everyday we are forming new memories, discarding old ones and recollecting those that we thought we'd never see so clearly in our mind's eye. To gain a better perspective of the link between emotion and memory and their dependence on each other, we dig deeper into how these two correlate.
How Emotions Affect Our Memories
There are varied factors that come into play when considering the case of how emotions affect our memories. Let's first draw an outline on how an emotion controls our memory, as and when a scenario presents itself.
The age of a person greatly influences how we treat our memory intake, where adolescents and the young tend to remember negative memories, more than the positive ones. As one ages, he / she has a better understanding of how to latch on to information, therefore releasing negative memory intake, and storing that which is positive. The conclusion drawn here is that older people have a better way of controlling their emotions, therefore taking in negative data in smaller doses as compared to the young.
Depending on how you feel during the time when the situation presents itself, the better your chances of saving the memory that is being created.
Good memories, or those with feelings of a frequency that runs on a positive high note, are better remembered when it comes to retrieving the nitty-gritty details.
Even events where emotions are running high on negative vibes, are better remembered because of the intensity of the situation when it occurred. The details may be fuzzy later on, but if the impact was major (death of a loved one / near-death experience / sexual or substance abuse etcetera), the details are either stored in its entirety, or buried in one's suppressed memory vault.
Different memory areas are influenced depending on one's mood, which is another major instigator when it comes to an event before it is saved as a memory. When one is in the same mood as when the event was experienced, when it comes to recalling it - the details are recaptured better.

22. The Science of How Emotions Influence Memory
The brain, in spite of all its intricacies, is subdivided into different areas that influence the way we behave, act out in a situation, and apply logic / reason. The area of the brain that deals with our emotional selves is the amygdala, which governs the way our emotions control us, even if we aren't aware of how this works, given the situation both big and small. Long-term memory is when bits of events in the past are stored away in our brain, because they influence us to keep those memories in a permanent pocket in our memory vaults.
The frontal cortex is what transforms simple memory strands, into those that are long-term, simply because the event was substantial enough to store away. The hippocampus, which also teams up with the frontal cortex and even the cerebellum, is what determines how we store memory from the past and present, based on our emotions.
The hippocampus is an important part of the brain that behaves like an organizer that separates the memory into different areas of the brain meant for permanent storage, while also being able to tap into these memories upon recollection. This part of the brain associates one's emotions by connecting it to other senses like smell, sound, touch and how we perceive these visually. It is responsible for creating new memories and acting as the brain's governing factor when it comes to how these are stored and retrieved.

How Memories are Created as a Result of Our Emotions
There are elements involved when it comes to storing memory, namely - chemicals and electricity. Nerve cells are connected to other cells, with the meeting point known as a synapse. When actions are played out, they occur within this interconnected wiring, carrying electrical impulses between the cells. Neurotransmitters which are chemical-based elements, are sent off as a part of the electrical pulse that cover areas between cells, spreading the same to cells present in the surrounding area. Dendrites receive these electrical impulses, which connect themselves to other cells like a mesh, thus spreading the information uniformly.
The memory chamber branches out into various sections, where different areas that we focus on in our lives are determined by how often we do something, or how unexpectedly they occur. For example, driving a car or working out a routine on how you start your day, is all packed into a memory niche that is permanent and unchanging. Routine is usually stored away as concrete information, because we play these acts out on a regular basis.
Things like education can be recollected later, depending on how we stored the information that was learned, although unless we repeatedly touch upon it, this can be lost and remembered in bits and pieces only. Things like music are also short-term where repetitive exposure to the same determines how we store the information. Practicing a skill, or undergoing training in a field is what keeps our brains constantly tuned in to the same sources, therefore making our synapses stronger when recognizably similar signals are repeatedly sent through the cells.
Therefore the higher the frequency of information entering the brain cells, the stronger is the connection that is formed. As new information is fed into our brains, new connections are brought to life, where the brain has its way of grouping and filing away all these incoming data. This is how the brain forms memories, where exterior factors like training, practice and regular exposure, determine how we perfect them. Researchers have also pinpointed that how we pay attention to the information that is presented to us, is a huge role player. The more attention is paid to detail, the higher the chances of recording the minutest fragments of a memory.
It has also been noted that women are more emotionally drawn to a situation than men, therefore they can sustain their memory banks longer when it comes to retrieving information. The brain hasn't been figured out completely, where scientists will not deny that there is still so much more about this organ that hasn't been looked into yet. Our emotions are something that can affect our memories in more ways than one, where we will understand the association when we take note of how varied instances are remembered.
Think about the last time you had your heart broken or when a friend betrayed you, or even when you were jubilated on getting that much-awaited promotion - it is your emotions that fueled your brain to retain that strong memory strand that has in turn converted into permanent data. The best way to increase one's memory is to constantly expose it to things that will keep it fired up - like reading, playing mind games, being physically active and practicing memorization techniques to help strengthen one's memory - not letting it remain stagnant is the key.
By Naomi Sarah
Last Updated: 5/17/2012