Let's Sleep In!

Ever wish that the school day started a little later? How annoying is it to drag yourself out of bed to get to school by 7:50? Imagine if school started at 7:00 or 7:20. Oh, the horror! So, what if I told you that there is an ongoing push to get schools to have later start times. Does this sound like a good or bad idea to you? Remove yourself from your day-school mindset, and imagine you would normally get out at 2 or 3 normally. The later school starts, the later school will have to end. How will this cut in with extracurricular activities? I know.. you're probably laughing because we already end really late and somehow manage. And you're also probably thinking that if we started any later that would mean we would never get home. But I told you--- try to be unbiased! Now, read Jan Hoffman's article entitled "To Keep Teenagers Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In" by clicking here. It's pretty interesting, dontcha think? 

So, now that you've read the article, what do you all think? Do you think it makes sense for schools to be going toward these later start times, or do you think that it's too much of a hassle? By the way- note how one of the 'later start time' options was 8 a.m. That's not so late compared to our school, but it's an extra hour to 40 minutes for other students.

There are some interesting points that the article brought up that I thought I'd discuss for those of you who didn't necessarily read the article. Apparently teenagers are developmentally driven to be late to bed and late to rise. As in, there is a biological aspect to why we (sorry if you don't fall under this 'we'.. I know I do) seem to be okay going to sleep late and then feel terrible in the morning. Is this another case of the "blame it on biology" (oy.. now that song is going to be stuck in my head again..)? Recent results show that the later a school's start time, the better off the students were on many measures, including mental health, car crash rates, attendance, and, in some cases, grades and standardizes tests. What do you think about this correlation? I think those results make a lot of logical sense. Why do you think, though, that there's not a greater push to get teens to go to bed earlier? Wouldn't this solve the same problems?

I am all for this later start time in theory, but I don't know what it's long lasting impacts will be. If teens get home later, and have a later start time, don't you think they will just develop a new schedule? Let's say they used to go to bed at 12 every night and get up at 6:40- what's to stop them from going to bed at 1 and getting up at 7:40? I guess what I'm trying to say-do you think these positive results will be lasting in the long-term, or do you think that kids will eventually adjust to these new times, and find other ways to be lacking sleep? 

I think the main objective for all concerned parties is for kids to be healthy and get enough sleep. Researchers have found that sleeping can help moderate teenagers' tendency toward impulsive or risky decision making. We also know that sleep is important in information processing. Is later a later start time the solution to all this? I think we have to think about what exactly is causing teenagers to go to sleep so late in the first place. During puberty, teenagers have a later release of melatonin, which makes most teenagers not feel drowsy until 11pm. This is a biological factor that will cause teenagers to go to sleep late. But what about social factors? What about the fact that electronic devices trick the brain into sensing wakeful daylight, slowing the release of melatonin and the onset of sleep? What about facebook, twitter, and other social networking sites? Teens waste so much time on those sites. If they actually did what they were supposed to do, maybe they wouldn't be tired. 

I'm interested to see where this will take us. Will more schools lean towards later start times? Will the students in the schools with later starts score significantly higher and do better? Will they be happier? What about the athletes and other kids participating in extracurricular activities? So many questions.  It's not as simple as it might sound. Final thoughts? 

Affluenza isn't actually a thing. Sorry.

In December 2013, a Texas teenager was put on probation with no jail time after killing four people while driving under the influence. How could this be? The judge cited "affluenza," meaning the teen could not have taken responsibility for his actions because he grew up wealthy. I know what you're probably thinking- really?!

Yes. A psychologist testified on behalf of the teen, claiming he suffered from affluenza, a condition in which wealthy young people have a sense of entitlement, are irresponsible, and make excuses for poor behavior because their parents have not set proper boundaries. The kid may have gotten off easy, but many critique the psychology behind the affluenza diagnosis.

Clinical psychologist Robin Rosenberg believes that the affluenza diagnosis is a a distortion of psychology. The psychology of affluenza does not hold up for two reasons. Firstly, even if the teenager was not disciplined or given boundaries at home, he certainly would have been able to learn lessons in other areas of his life. People are sensitive to context and accurately distinguish between consequences that will occur in one situation but not in another. We see this in preschoolers. They are sensitive to context. They know when to push the boundaries and how much they can get away with. Even rats are known to understand and make discriminations based on context. In a study, rats learned that if a light is on when they press a lever, they’ll receive a food pellet, but when the light is off they won’t. It's that simple.

Secondly, the teenager seemed to feel a sense of responsibility in other areas of his life. He remained in school instead of dropping out because he understood the consequences such actions might bring. If he understood this, he certainly would have understood the consequences of driving under the influence.

So, it seems that affluenza is NOT a valid psychological diagnosis. Everyone has at least some sense of responsibility and knows that certain actions lead to unpleasant consequences, no matter how much money their parents may have.

PTSD

Learning about PTSD reminded me of an episode of Criminal Minds, "Distress", that I watched awhile back. In the episode, the Behavioral Analysis Unit travels to an area of Houston which is undergoing construction to search for a man that has been snapping the necks of innocent people - a construction worker, a security guard, and a homeless man. They profile this man to be a war veteran with PTSD. This man is basically reliving the war zone he had been in. His distorted perception of reality was causing him to kill people who were, in reality, no danger to him. The BAU has to go about the situation very carefully because the veteran has special training and can be very dangerous. SPOILER: in the end, the man is shot by a SWAT team member. Everyone is sad. I cried. 

Does this kind of violence really occur in PTSD victims? When Sgt. Robert Bales was arrested for killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan last year, many were quick to connect his violent rampage to his PTSD like symptoms. However, there is no evidence that suggests PTSD can be a cause of violent crimes. Anger, hostility, and aggression are less common symptoms than depression, hypervigilance, and disturbing memories or nightmares. If anything, some PTSD victims show aggression towards themselves or their spouses and families. 

Dissociative Fugue

Dissociative fugue is such a crazy concept so I needed to find some more information on it. A person is diagnosed with this dissociative disorder when they experience a loss of memory of their identity. Symptoms of this disorder include sudden travel away from home, the inability to recall important information about themselves or past events, and extreme distress. A person could wake up in a completely different city with absolutely zero memory of who they are. Can you imagine? That's insane!

The cause of this disorder appears to be linked to traumatic or stressful events in a person's life. This fugue state can last from less than a day to many months. While this disorder can usually go away on its own, treatment varies from psychotherapy to medication to clinical hypnosis (I <3 hypnosis). 

I can think of multiple occurrences of what seems to be dissociative fugue in TV shows I've watched. But just how common is this disorder in real life? The prevalence rate of dissociative fugue is a mere 0.2% of the population (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Maldonado et al., 2002). So don't worry, friends. Chances are you'll wake up tomorrow morning and still know who you are. 

Brothers: A Manifestation of PTSD

As you all may know, I enjoy reading television more than I like watching it. If you were unaware of this, let me explain. I keep myself updated on the shows I typically watch or am fascinated with by reading the once-a-week recaps that are published after an episode premieres, due to either a lack of time to watch or disinterest in that particular plot or episode. And one of the greatest moments that can occur while perusing these articles on the world-wide interweb, is finding a reference to something we have learned in psychology! The "reading T.V." is just a fun fact, and doesn't have much to do with my blog. I just thought I'd throw it in in there. However, finding a reference to psychology is the subject of my blog post.  Since psychological disorders are something the producers on every major television network/movie corporation incorporate at least once in the history of their programs, and it just so happens to be the chapter we are learning in psychology, it was my lucky day (check my Megillot blog title for that joke).

One of the most startling disorders to learn about was post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, as it completely consumes your thoughts and actions. Our memories exist in part to protect us in the future. However, sometimes, for some of us, the unforgettable takes over our lives in what is called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder characterized by hauntings, memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, flashbacks, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that linger for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience. PTSD symptoms have been reported by survivors of accidents, disasters, and violent and sexual assaults, along with many war veterans. Research indicates that the greater one’s emotional distress during a trauma, the higher the risk for post-traumatic symptoms. And the more frequent an assault experience, the more adverse the long-term outcomes tend to be. A sensitive limbic system seems to increase vulnerability, by flooding the body with stress hormones again and again as images of the traumatic experience erupt into consciousness. Genes may also play a role, as some combat-exposed men have identical twins who did not experience combat, yet these non-exposed co-twins tend to share their brother’s risk for cognitive difficulties, such as unfocused attention. Such findings suggest that some PTSD symptoms may actually be genetically predisposed.

In 2009, the movie Brothers was released, and it dealt with the effects of PTSD. Sam Cahill (played by Tobey Maguire) is a Marine captain taken captive along with his hometown friend, Private Joe Willis. Sam and Joe are abused and tortured by their captors, and in a segment of the film, Sam is forced, at gunpoint, to beat Joe to death with a lead pipe. Upon returning home, Sam is stuck in a state of haunting paranoia, and refuses to reveal the source of his pain and what he endured in Afghanistan. At one point, Sam becomes so completely enraged that he leaves a path of physical destruction, destroying the family's newly remodeled kitchen with a crowbar. Things escalate rapidly, to the point where Sam nearly commits suicide. At the end of the movie (SPOILER), Sam is put into a mental institution and finally opens himself up to his grieving wife, and contemplates whether he will ever be able to resume his life normally.

Brothers was a manifestation of PTSD. Throughout the movie, you see that PTSD not only affects the individual plagued by it, but the family as well. There is some truly magnificent acting in the movie, and I highly recommend watching it.

What are some movies you have seen that dealt with a psychological disorder? If you saw them after taking this course, would you look at them differently? What are some examples? 

7 Common Myth About Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

1. It is Rare - Only about 1-3% of the population actually have full DID. This disorder has about the same commonality as Bipolar and Schizophrenia. We just don't know a lot about this disorder because we haven't put enough time and money into the research of it. 
2. It's Obvious When someone has DID - Because DID is portrayed in a more exaggerated way in Hollywood movies, we have a skewed perception of what DID actually is. It is much more subtle than we think, and people, on average, spend more than 7 years in a behavioral health system before actually being diagnosed with DID. 
3. People With DID Have Distinct Personalities - People with DID do not have distinct personalities, but different states of behavior. Dr. Bethany Brand describes it as having different ways of being themselves. We all have this in someway, but people with DID don't remember what they do in the different states. 
4. Treatment Makes DID Worse - This can only happen if therapists use outdated practices to try and treat a DID patient. 
5. Therapists Further Develop and “Reify” (regard them as real or concrete) the Self-states - Therapists actually try to create communication between the inner self-states. This teaches the person how to handle all the self-states when a threatening situation arises. 
6. Only People with DID Dissociate - Anyone can dissociate in response to trauma or bad memories. Anyone with an anxiety disorder can dissociate. 
7. Hypnosis Helps - Some therapists think that by using hypnosis they can dig up old memories that caused the DID in the first place. 
These 7 myths show us that DID is not what society perceives it to be. 

Alex Rover's Agoraphobia

Do y'all remember the movie "Nim's Island" from 2008? I definitely remember it. It was my favorite movie for more than a year. I was legit obsessed with it. Honestly, I had forgotten about it, until we learned about Agoraphobia in Psych the other day. Here's the trailer:

One of the principle characters in the movie is Alex Rover, both the hero of a series of great adventure novels and the author of these novels. The author has agoraphobia. One of the big plot point in the movie (SPOILERS!) is that Nim's father goes missing and Alex Rover (the author) starts emailing her and ultimately decides to venture to Nim's island to help her. The problem is that she doesn't want to leave her house. In fact, she's terrified of leaving her house. That's agoraphobia. On a side note, Alex Rover also has arachnophobia and an obsessive personality, kind of.

Here's the main question: was this movie even remotely close to realistic about how to treat Agoraphobia? Would you even be surprised if I said no? Well, no. In the movie, with much nagging from the adventure hero Alex Rover, the author Alex Rover forces herself out of the house and flies to Tonga to get on a helicopter to land on a cruise ship to take a lifeboat to Nim's island. That's not exactly the behavior you would expect of an agoraphobe.

Let's put this in the perspective of psychology. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder. Being presented with the fear would make the person more anxious. Depending on the severity of the phobia, going outside will cause some serious anxiety to the point where the person may not be able to function properly. Basically, this movie is completely unrealistic, or Alex Rover never actually had agoraphobia. She just walks out of her house and functions like a normal person, mostly. She had very little anxiety compared to what could have happened. So maybe she had agoraphobia for the first half of the movie and magically got rid of it for the second half. Is that possible?

In summary, nice try, Hollywood, but no cigar. 

Throwback Sunday: The Dangers of Classical Conditioning

A few weeks ago, for English class, I had to read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. For those who haven't read it, it's a book about a dystopian future where the totalitarian government controls everything about the people, from the amount of teratogens they're exposed to as embryos to the material they learn as children to the societally accepted behavior. Basically, this book is screaming to be involved in an AP Psych blog post.

In the first chapter of the book, the audience is given a tour of where the people of this society come from. We are shown the labs where zygotes are cloned and then turned into thousands of people, where the embryos are tested for genetic predispositions for diseases and intelligence, and then separated into castes. (These children are "grown" in factories, not born normally.) Those of the lower castes are given alcohol to stunt their growth and intelligence. Those of the upper castes are not. That way, the society has people of all different intelligence levels that can each serve their own purpose in society without taking over the roles of the others.

In chapter two, we are introduced to the early indoctrination system of this society. Toddlers, who all live in government facilities, are taught exactly what the government wants them to know. How do they accomplish this? Classical conditioning, of course! In the book, the government wanted the children to be as productive as possible, so, at age 2 or 3, the children are taken to a playroom. In the playroom, there are lots of flowers. The children play happily. Suddenly, all of the children in the room are shocked. Then, when they see the flowers again, they start crying and will avoid flowers for the rest of their lives, most likely. Of course, they generalize so that all flowers they see are associated with the shock. The end result is a society that hates flowers and doesn't waste time worrying about frivolous things, like flowers.

I read these chapters while on a bus to Capital Hill. It took me about five seconds to call Noga over and yell, "PSYCHOLOGY!" It still amazes me that the concepts we learn in class can appear all over the place and really do have a profound effect on the world. At the same time, it scares me that the things we learn about in class can be so dangerous and destructive when used incorrectly.

Paralympic Snowboarders: Best of the Best

At some point in the last month, I was watching a video on YouTube when this advertisement came up. I thought I would skip it after 5 seconds, like I usually do, but then I thought, "PSYCHOLOGY!"

To sum up the ad for you, she went through a lot of challenges, including contracting bacterial meningitis and losing her legs. Despite all of that, she believed in her own power and wanted to pursue her dream of becoming an Olympic snowboarder. Although this ad came out before the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, I can now say that she won a bronze medal in her Paralympic debut and will appear on the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars. Talk about drive.

So this post is a little bit of a throwback. I'm sure you can all guess what she has and what helps her make it through and continue trying. That's right, it's her internal locus of control. As an athlete, you absolutely need an internal locus of control to keep practicing and working. Otherwise, you'll just go to Olympic trials and fall on your tuchus because that's your fate and your fate is out of your hands. On top of being an athlete, she's also missing her legs! After that, most people would give up and say that their fate isn't to become a world-class snowboarder. Amy Purdy, though, took control of her life and said that the power to direct her life is in her hands. Basically, wow.

Fight Club: Psychoanalyzed

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not watched Fight Club and plan on watching it, then do not read this blog.

Fight Club is a movie that was released in 1999 starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. Even though it's a movie about people who enjoy beating each other up for no good reason, it really is full of psychology. Let's discuss:

 In the movie, Norton has insomnia. He hardly sleeps so he is exhausted all the time. He doesn't really have any friends and he has not found his flow at work. Basically, his life was pretty bad. His self concept and self worth becomes the products he buys for his apartment. All he does is spend his life creating the "perfect apartment." One day, his apartment explodes, and that's when everything goes haywire. He calls up a guy he met on a plane, Tyler. They go to a bar and then go outside and Tyler asks Norton to hit him. He finally agrees and they start fighting. Then, Tyler takes him back to his house but they continue to fight like this every night. People start coming to watch and they want to join in. Tyler ends up creating a Fight Club where people can come and fight recreationally. After a while, Norton realizes that Tyler is out of control and goes to find him. Finally, he realizes that he is Tyler. When he thinks he's asleep, he has been carrying out the role of Tyler. You might think I've been explaining the story line just to talk about multiple personality disorder (which may or might not exist), but that is not where I'm going with this. Actually, the entire story is based off of Freud's theories.

Tyler is Norton's projected id. In the beginning, Norton (the ego) was able to control his id, which focuses on its own satisfaction and nothing else. He was able to fight to keep the id controlled so he could be accepted in society. When his self concept (his consumer goods in his apartment) blows up, he can no longer control his id. His id, Tyler, is the person he wishes he could be. Tyler is meant to be perfection, but completely out of control and with no care for rules or what's right. Not only is this movie all about the id-ego relationship, but it also deals with the psychosexual phases. Norton is fixated in the anal phase. The active part of this phase are linked to sadism (sexual gratification obtained by inflicting pain on others; delight in cruelty/excessive cruelty) and masochism (pleasure being abused or dominated). Tyler takes on the sadistic side while Norton takes the masochistic side. In most of the scenes in the club, you see Tyler beating up some guy or  you see Norton getting beat up by someone. Tyler is constantly inflicting pain on Norton and exerting his dominance over everyone in the Club.

Finally, Norton realizes that he can feel emotions on a new level and can experience life without Tyler. When he realizes he doesn't need Tyler anymore, his ego is able to get rid of his id and start living again.

How interesting, right? It's not just a movie about Brad Pitt and some guys giving each other black eyes for no reason. Who woulda thought?