Science of the SpiritS


Hearts

Restoring balance: The art of creating sane relationships

Mark B. Borg, Jr., Ph.D, Grant H. Brenner, MD, and Daniel Berry, RN, MHAon
Psychology Today
Wed, 13 May 2015 14:19 UTC
couple painting
© unknown
"I almost missed my whole life."

Perhaps we can accept a definition of insanity, from the individual perspective, as repeating the same behavior and expecting different results. But how might we broach a definition of relational/relationship sanity? If we accept a simple and straightforward definition of sanity as "soundness of mind," could we say that experiencing ourselves as being loving and lovable is a (if not the) relational definition of sanity? Think about it, how could one possibly feel sane—of sound mind, secure—in a relationship sans either feeling loved or lovable?

"Yes," said Jim, "I almost missed the whole thing. A major part of changing my own destructive behavior was working on and practicing being loving, kind and generous to others. I thought that was enough. I never considered how important it might be to allow others to offer these same things to me."

Comment: For more on the difference between healthy vs. pathological relationships, check out:
Mature couples don't "fall in love," they step into it. Love isn't something you fall for; it's something you rise for.

The difference between a mature relationship and an immature relationship


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Sherlock

Oxytocin associated with heightened willingness to lie for the benefit of one's group - study

Brian Stallard
Nature World News
Tue, 12 May 2015 02:38 UTC
Image
© Rido/Fotolia
Oxytocin, also known as the "love hormone," has been associated with a heightened willingness to lie for the benefit of one's group, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, details the work of researchers from the Ben-Gurion University (BGU) and the University of Amsterdam and focuses on the effects that oxytocin has on ethical decision-making.

Past research has determined that heightened levels of oxytocin in a person leads to more empathy, trust and acceptance (even between a dog and its owner). Recent research has even looked into the application of oxytocin therapy as a means to help people with social anxiety disorders - such as an eating disorder - dwell less on negative social factors and ideas.

This latest research looks into the theory that the hormone encourages greater feelings of association between people, making them more willing to bend or break ethical responsibilities for the sake of their group.

According to the study, the researchers had 20 teams of three male participants take a dose of either oxytocin or a placebo. The teams were then asked to predict the results of a coin toss 10 times and record whether or not they got the answer right. The amount of money each team was rewarded with at the end of the experiment was determined by how many times they predicted the toss correctly.

Comment: In the book, Molecules of Emotion, Candace Pert, Ph.D., shows that our internal chemicals underly our awareness, what we think and what we believe - affecting how we view each other and the world.

See also:

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Clipboard

New study finds genes linked to why some people experience emotions more strongly

Jeremy Dean, PhD
Psy Blog
Mon, 11 May 2015 17:51 UTC
A proportion of people have greater activation in their brains linked to emotional processing.
Image
© Shutterstock
Carriers of a certain genetic variation experience positive and negative emotions more strongly, a new study finds.

The genetic variant is carried by around 50% of Caucasians — although the percentage varies between ethnicities.

The feelings are accompanied by greater activation in regions of the brain linked to emotional processing.

The study may help to explain why some people are particularly susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Professor Rebecca Todd who led the study, said:
"People really do see the world differently.

For people with this gene variation, the emotionally relevant things in the world stand out much more."
The gene is called ADRA2b and it regulates the neurotransmitter norepinephrine.

Comment: Genes predispose some people to focus on the negative

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Eye 1

Situational Awareness - Observe, Orient, Decide, Act

Brett & Kate McKay
The Art of Manliness
Thu, 05 Feb 2015 00:00 UTC
There's a scene at the beginning of The Bourne Identity where the film's protagonist is sitting in a diner, trying to figure out who he is and why he has a bunch of passports and a gun stashed in a safety deposit box. Bourne also notices that he, well, notices things that other people don't


That superhuman ability to observe his surroundings and make detailed assessments about his environment? It's not just a trait of top secret operatives; it's a skill known as situational awareness, and you can possess it too.

Comment: Another view The Myth of Situational Awareness

Bottom line, common sense is a good defense. Look up from your phone and pay attention to what's happening around you.

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Pirates

Violence in media creates symptoms of PTSD despite no real-life exposure to trauma - study

Honor Whiteman
Medical News Today
Thu, 07 May 2015 21:56 UTC
Image
© Medpagetodaycom
Many of us turn to social media to keep up with the latest news. It has become an instant source of information, where photos and videos of news events are uploaded almost as soon as they happen. But a new study suggests that when it comes to viewing violent news events via social media, we should be cautious; it can trigger symptoms similar to those of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Study author Dr. Pam Ramsden, of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Bradford in the UK, and colleagues recently presented their findings at the Annual Conference of the British Psychology Society.

Past studies have found health care workers who help victims of traumatic events or situations may experience "vicarious traumatisation," in which they become psychologically and emotionally affected by victims' suffering.

But for their study, Dr. Ramsden and colleagues wanted to see whether exposure to violent and traumatic events via social media would have a similar effect.

"Social media has enabled violent stories and graphic images to be watched by the public in unedited horrific detail," says Dr. Ramsden. "Watching these events and feeling the anguish of those directly experiencing them may impact on our daily lives."

"In this study we wanted to see if people would experience longer lasting effects such as stress and anxiety, and in some cases post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSDs) from viewing these images."

Comment: See also:

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Laptop

Excessive technology use causes decreased emotional sensitivity in children

Marco Torres
Prevent Disease
Thu, 07 May 2015 20:50 UTC
technology kids
© unknown
Researchers suggest children's social skills are declining as they have less time for face-to-face interaction due to their increased use of digital media, according to a UCLA psychology study. Scientists found that sixth-graders who went five days without even glancing at a smartphone, television or other digital screen did substantially better at reading human emotions than sixth-graders from the same school who continued to spend hours each day looking at their electronic devices.

The study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, studied two groups of sixth-graders from a Southern California public school. One group was sent to the Pali Institute, an outdoor education camp in Running Springs, Calif., where the kids had no access to electronic devices. For the other group, it was life as usual.
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Eye 2

Psychopaths feign emotion in order to take advantage of others - Study

Kimberly M. Aquilina
PsyPost
Sun, 10 May 2015 13:46 UTC
Psychopath
Psychopaths are more convincing when demonstrating fear or remorse, because they have to practice the outward signs of the emotion, like facial expressions.
"The surface of the psychopath... shows up as equal to or better than normal and gives no hint at all of a disorder within. Nothing about him suggests oddness, inadequacy, or moral frailty," psychiatrist Hervey M. Cleckley wrote in his 1941 seminal work, The Mask of Sanity.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by impulsivity, manipulative behavior, and a lack of empathy, fear and remorse. However, new psychology research suggests that while psychopathic individuals don't feel these emotions as strongly as others, they can do a better job of pretending to display them than the average person.


Comment: A true psychopath won't feel empathy or remorse at all - that's what makes them psychopaths.


Comment: Also see:
  • Psychopathy: An important forensic concept for the 21st century
  • The hidden cost of smiling: Smiles brighten our lives, but what's lost in the glare?
  • How psychopaths see sex, and why


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2 + 2 = 4

We don't need no education: Seven sins of compulsory schooling

Peter Gray, Ph.D.
Waking Times
Sat, 09 May 2015 23:31 UTC
schoolkids
© unknown
In my last post I took a step that, I must admit, made me feel uncomfortable. I said, several times: "School is prison." I felt uncomfortable saying that because school is so much a part of my life and the lives of almost everyone I know. I, like most people I know, went through the full 12 years of public schooling. My mother taught in a public school for several years. My beloved half-sister is a public schoolteacher. I have many dear friends and cousins who are public schoolteachers. How can I say that these good people - who love children and have poured themselves passionately into the task of trying to help children - are involved in a system of imprisoning children? The comments on my last post showed that my references to school as prison made some other people feel uncomfortable also.

Sometimes I find, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me and others feel, I have to speak the truth. We can use all the euphemisms we want, but the literal truth is that schools, as they generally exist in the United States and other modern countries, are prisons. Human beings within a certain age range (most commonly 6 to 16) are required by law to spend a good portion of their time there, and while there they are told what they must do, and the orders are generally enforced. They have no or very little voice in forming the rules they must follow. A prison - according to the common, general definition - is any place of involuntary confinement and restriction of liberty.

Comment: The Untold History of Modern U.S. Education
"In our dreams, people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. The present education conventions of intellectual and character education fade from their minds and unhampered by tradition we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive folk. We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into men of learning or philosophers, or men of science. We have not to raise up from them authors, educators, poets or men of letters, great artists, painters, musicians, nor lawyers, doctors, statesmen, politicians, creatures of whom we have ample supply. The task is simple. We will organize children and teach them in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way.

~ First mission statement of the J.D. Rockefeller-endowed General Education Board in 1906


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Bulb

Scientists reconcile three unrelated theories of schizophrenia

Duke University
PsyPost
Mon, 04 May 2015 03:12 UTC
brain schizophrenia
© Alan Ajifo (Creative Commons)
A new Duke University study in mice links three previous and, until now, apparently unrelated hypotheses about the causes of schizophrenia, a debilitating mental disorder appearing in late adolescence that affects how people think, act and perceive reality.

The brains of people with the schizophrenia show various abnormalities, including faulty neural connections or an imbalance of certain brain chemicals. However, it has been unclear whether such brain-based observations could be related to one another or could describe different types of schizophrenia.

Published May 4, 2015, in Nature Neuroscience, the new findings may eventually lead to treatment strategies targeted for the underlying causes of schizophrenia and related disorders, said the study's corresponding author Scott Soderling, an associate professor of cell biology and neurobiology in the Duke School of Medicine.
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Hearts

How Dads influence teens' happiness

Scientific American
Paul Raeburn
Thu, 01 May 2014 16:59 UTC
The influence of fathers on their teenage children has long been overlooked. Now researchers are finding surprising ways in which dads make a difference

Image
In 2011 administrators at Frayser High School in Memphis, Tenn., came to a disturbing realization. About one in five of its female students was either pregnant or had recently given birth. City officials disputed the exact figures, but they admitted that Frayser had a problem. The president of a local nonprofit aimed at helping girls blamed the disturbing rate of teen pregnancy on television.

She pointed to the MTV shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. "So much of our society is sexually oriented," she said, arguing that the fixation on sex was enticing girls to have unprotected sex earlier and more often. A lot of us might say the same thing. We know that teenagers are impressionable, and the idea that they would be swayed by MTV makes sense.
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