AU Blogspot

          Thanks to Sylvia Ortiz Domney for permission to use this Photo. 

How do we choose a life partner?  Magazine articles on choosing the right mate abound.  “What should you look for in that special someone?”  “What is the ideal man/woman?”  Take a minute to think about that.  What do you want in a life partner?  What words come to mind to describe your Princess or Prince Charming?  Whatever you’re looking for, or have already found, the words you have chosen to describe your “ideal mate” are almost certainly personality traits: kind, considerate, funny, ambitious, loving.   

Somewhere on your list are probably good-looking and healthy, but even things like health are affected by the personality.  The things you want in a life partner are pretty much the same things that everyone else is looking for.   

So, do we get what we’re looking for?  Generally, we do.  But, a better question might be, are we happy with what we get?  Well, that depends upon what you were looking for in the first place.  You are most likely to be happy if you look for, and end up with, someone who is agreeable, emotionally stable, and open. 

The next question that might come to mind is how can we know if the relationship with that special someone will last?  Well, for starters you can assume that marrying someone who is the opposite of agreeable, emotionally stable, and open, is probably a bad idea.  Low impulse control and lack of dependability also predict relationship breakup.  And, finally, relationships seem to work best when the partners are similar in background, religion, goals, education, and personality.  Fortunately, we tend to meet people like ourselves, because we gravitate toward certain types of situations that are compatible with our own personalities.  Selection of situations, then, enhances our chances for meeting like-minded people.  If, for example, you are bookish and quiet, you are likely to spend time in a library or museum, where you will meet other bookish and quiet people. 

So, have you found what you’re looking for?  Are you more alike or different?  Please share your thoughts with our Ashworth University psychology community!

Dr. Carol Simons
Psychology Program Instructor
Ashworth University

 
                Thanks to auntyevil for permission to use this Photo.

One concept that’s particularly influential in contemporary culture is that of social currency, an abstract exchange value that we’re all unconsciously aware of and have perhaps unknowingly utilized as a tool to gain interactive access to others on a social level.  Content is essentially seen as a medium for interaction, not an end in itself, but more importantly a basis for human interaction.  A new study was recently published on the “psychology of social networks” and the researchers do an admirable job of piecing together the social puzzle without drawing too many predetermined conclusions.  In other words, within an Internet-oriented context, they accept that the network model of human communication can not be studied from a static perspective.  The behavior of humans in an online environment does not parallel that of monkeys in a cage, perhaps less due to the complexity of humans than the fact that the virtual cage is always unlocked, permitting us to come and go as we please—as long as we’re never alone of course.  Check out this interesting study and please share your perspectives with the Ashworth student community.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

              Thanks to Boris Anthony for permission to use this Photo.

Marshall McLuhan’s groundbreaking theories on media communications and the psycho-social impact of technological development made him both a very respected and controversial figure beginning in the 1950’s.  Seen by many as a prophet of our contemporary media filtered age, McLuhan’s famous “the medium is the message” theory, in which the communications medium itself (microphone, television, computer, letter) is more directly related to the meaning and ultimate impact of a given message than the actual “content” (intellectual/rational meaning) continues to gain depth as the decades pass.

I recently discovered an excellent audio-video archive of McLuhan’s work on the CBC web site.  This is a great primer for our psychology students unfamiliar with his work and I strongly encourage you to check this archive out by clicking here.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts on McLuhan, a thinker who still truly remains ahead of his time. 

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University Psychology Program

Photo courtesy of Pedro_Simoes

In my spare (ha ha) time, I really need to sit down and compile a list of videos for classroom use, especially in biological psychology. So many new ones are popping up each day. I think the days of publishers providing a DVD of video clips along with textbooks are soon to be over.Nature launched their new site recently, and although the content covers the many branches of science found in the journal, several are appropriate for biopsych. I really enjoyed the clips on Brain-Machine Interfaces, and I plan to use with my students next quarter. I’ve always had a love for linguistics (I’m such a party girl), and the Language Evolution clips caught my eye. Evolution topics are well-represented, with clips on Neanderthal DNA and Hominid Evolution and Development. For fun, I had to watch the Moray eel films.

I liked the way the films featured the scientists working on the topic, discussing their work in their own words. Students, especially those with grad school plans, really need to see this.

Dr. Laura Freberg
Creator of Laura’s Psychology Blog
Ashworth University Contributing Blogger

*Since receiving her Ph.D. in Psychology from UCLA, Dr. Laura Freberg has earned a reputation for being one of the leading educational minds in the psychology field. She’s the author of numerous well respected textbooks and currently serves as a Professor of Psychology at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA. Dr. Freberg has been incredibly gracious in offering to share her insights with the Ashworth University student community and we are thrilled to have her as a member of our contributing bloggers’ network. Visit Laura’s great website and Laura’s Psychology Blog to learn more about her life and work. Thanks Dr. Freberg! 

 
                  Thanks to Beks for permission to use this Photo.

The following video features an interview with psychologist Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The Psychology of Success. Carol specializes in analyzing students’ attitudes towards their own “intelligence” and how these attitudes influence whether students will perceive learning as an opportunity for growth or as a potential failure to be feared. The latter attitude negatively contributes to a “fixed” mindset in which students generally become complacent and frustrated with their own lack of performance. These students see their own minds in a static light and gradually end up devaluing their own abilities. The former “growth” oriented attitude, in which students recognize that mistakes are simply part of the learning process, and that one’s ability to learn from those mistakes is integral to achieving higher goals, should be seen by our Ashworth student community as key to advancing through your program studies with confidence.

This might be a good time to take a look at your mindset. Are you more growth than fixed or vice-versa? It’s ok if you presently see yourself as fixed. Remember, you are fully capable of changing your mindset at any time. You just have to be motivated to change. Take comfort in the fact that we’re here to help you reach your potential.  Stay focused.  Your hard work is going to pay off.

Ryan Rode
Ashworth University                

This is all very exciting! I’ll be in Chicago from May 22nd -25th, 2008!
Our symposium has just been accepted for the annual 2008 APS convention. I’ll be joining a distinguished panel on:“Anyone Can Blog: Psychology as seen through the Blogosphere!

“Blogging provides remarkable potential for energizing psychology students and bringing the “science” of psychology to the general public. Participants in this symposium will share their own goals and experiences with blogging, along with some helpful hints to other psychologists who want to join the blogosphere.” (more…)

               Thanks to Alicia Yeah for permission to use this Photo.

I’m sure many of you, like me, may find yourself in front of the television watching everything under the sun from time to time.  I won’t speculate on why, but I tend to gravitate towards animal-nature programs when I’m visiting the family.  If the program centers around animal psychology, then I’m set for at least an afternoon of random thoughts.  The PBS Nature produced special I’m linking to today deals with animal intelligence, a topic that anyone interested in the mysteries of the human psyche will find fascinating.  I think you’ll draw some intriguing parallels as you progress through this video, which is rather long, so I recommend that you watch it in parts, processing your thoughts as you go along.  Click on the image above to watch this video and be sure to share your perspectives with the community.  Take care. 

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

 
                    Thanks to Steve for permission to use this Photo.

Most famous for his radical theories on language learning and evolutionary psychology, Steven Pinker is a thinker with a vision that tends to provoke strong emotional responses in anyone who will listen.  The reason may be rather simple.  Pinker analyzes human intelligence from a zero sum perspective in which he meticulously deconstructs the foundations of what’s been established as scientific fact.  The following video presentation was made at Google Headquarters.  The Google geniuses always seem to bring in other geniuses to make the room smarter.  Afterwards, please share your thoughts with the Ashworth Psychology community.  Click on the image above to watch this video.  It’s good.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University Psychology Program

            Thanks to Russell Lichter for pemission to use this Photo.

Even today, tuberculosis remains a fearsome disease with an uncertain outcome. How much more frightening must it have seemed in 1892 after an epidemic of tuberculosis struck the Rhode Island town of Exeter? Despite the fact that the deaths were limited to a single family, the possibility of it spreading seemed very real to the people of the region. Following the deaths of Mary Eliza Brown and her daughter, Mary Olive in 1883, the two surviving children seemed to be spared for a time. When Mercy Lena Brown suddenly died in January, 1892 and her brother Edwin began to sicken as well, the patriarch of the family, George T. Brown, became desperate for any solution to save his only surviving child. True treatment for tuberculosis would not be available for decades and all that he had to rely upon were the folk remedies that his neighbours suggested. 

History does not record who first proposed exhuming the deceased members of the family and burning the heart of the relative that seemed most likely to be responsible for the deaths. The word “vampire” was never actually used in this case but the rural residents of the area had a longstanding tradition of burning the heart of those deemed to have died an “unnatural” death to cure unexplained illness. Since Mercy Brown was only recently deceased and her body was still well-preserved by the cold weather, she was judged to be the guilty party by virtue of the liquid blood that was still in her heart. Although the medical examiner in attendance, Dr. Harold Metcalf, insisted that there was nothing remarkable about Mercy’s condition, her heart was removed and burned on a nearby rock. The ashes were then saved and placed in water for her brother Edwin to drink (his reaction to this “remedy” is not recorded). Sadly, Edwin still died some time later although the epidemic ended with him. Local tradition still holds that Mercy’s exhumation and the disposal of her heart still “took care of the problem” and laid her spirit to rest.

Folklore surrounding vampires varies from region to region but there are still some common elements to be found in many cultures. While legends of undead creatures that feed on the living seem fantastic by modern standards, hysteria surrounding supposed vampire attacks can still occur today. (more…)

 
Are we on this again?

“Study doubts the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs.”  Or, even better, as per The Independent: “Antidepressant drugs don’t work– official study.“

I don’t know what passes for official nowadays.  The data is the exact same data that has existed for 30 years.  Yes, these authors are acting like they FOIA-ed the second Zapruder film, but let me assure you it’s the same old data.  These authors did the exact same study in 2002.  So have twenty other groups.  This is not new. 

But it is news.  The question is why.

I have a side question.  Why is it that when an article says something works, people are suspicious of bias, but when an article says something doesn’t work, everyone thinks it’s objective science?   IT’S ALL BIAS.  

People are completely missing the point of this paper and all the other recent re-investigations, the true social and clinical consequences of them.  For example: they’re saying antidepressants are no good.  Ok.  What do you think doctors are going to use  instead?  Psychoanalysis?  Nothing?  They’re going to prescribe antipsychotics.  Are you listening to me?  I’m not even saying this is clinically wrong to do, but do you not see the setup?  Abre los ojos, man. (more…)