AU Blogspot

           Thanks to Gaetan Lee for permission to use this Photo.

Renowned as one of the most gifted, original, and charismatic thinkers in the world; V.S. Ramachandran is a neurologist with an almost preternatural understanding of the brain’s deepest mechanisms and the nature of consciousness.

Ramachandran’s insights into such facinating enigmas as phantom limb syndrome, synesthesia, and capgras delusion continue to both inspire and puzzle the psycho-scientific community, while his entertaining presentations always promise to dazzle even the most cynical of audiences. Check out the following video from the TED conference. Lose your mind.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

               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

Special thanks to Abhi for permission to use this photo.

In biological psychology class, I warn the students that we sometimes take the romance out of attraction by studying things like waist-to-hip ratios and the dilation of pupils when we find someone attractive. So in honor of Valentine’s Day, I think we’ll talk instead about relationships on a larger behavioral scale.Our first study suggests that women might be a bit more perceptive than men when judging their relationships. A group of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Pennsylvania looked at 97 couples, both married and unmarried, between the ages of 18 and 46. Participants answered questionnaires about their relationships two times: once, from their own point of view, and second, by predicting how their partners would respond to the same issues.

Although couples were highly similar in their responses to the issues in general, the researchers observed some interesting differences. In general, women did a better job of predicting their partners’ responses than the men did. Men showed a tendency to project their own feelings onto their partners, predicting more similarity than there actually was.

Some answers seemed to follow sex stereotypes, rather than reflecting what the couples actually felt. For example, women overestimated their partners’ independence and underestimated their fear of abandonment. Men overestimated their partners’ fear of abandonment and underestimated their interest in sex. (more…)

                             Image courtesy of storyspinn. 

Recently I was contacted by an associate producer from the Dr. Phil show. Are they seeing if I’d be a good guest? It certainly appears like that’s a possibility. So, in addition to getting some very desperately needed help from Dr. Phil and his team, I may one day soon be able to give my bastion of loyal readers a quasi-insider’s view of the show and its’ process. All I can say is, pray for me, and, for now, enjoy this correspondence, edited, of course, for privacy reasons: (more…)

                 Thanks to Robras for permission to use this Photo.

You may have recently seen reports on TV recently about a new wave of online dating sites that match people based on genetic traits.  Although clinical, this method seems preferable to the reality show formula of trapping 100 degenerate men and women in a rented mansion until a final rose, clock, or beat down is won.  There must be a better way to figure out what type of relationship is best for you, right?  The following online test takes only five minutes to complete and promises to provide you with a relationship profile suiting your romantic preferences.  The test was developed by two prominent psychologists and turns out to be rather accurate.  I took it myself before posting this blog.  Let’s just say I have some work to do before my black heart turns gold.  If anyone wants to share their results, we would love to hear from you in the comments section.  This test is fun and insightful.  Take it! 

Ryan Rode
Ashworth University Psychology Program

               Thanks to Eduardo Vedia for permission to use this Photo.

I once worked with an athlete on the U.S. ski team with Olympic aspirations.  The problem was that he was “burned out” and unable to perform at his customary high performance level.  This athlete had heard about my success as a sports psychologist helping athletes who were going through this difficult stage and contacted me.  After hearing his story, I agreed to work with him.  My first effort was to help him get in touch with what he was experiencing.  He didn’t want to leave the team, but thought he had no other option. 

I began by dealing with the issue of time management to see if he could find the extra time he needed for other desired activities.  I also recommended that he take about three weeks off from his sport simply to rest his mind and body.  Obviously, his coaches did not respond to this strategy with much enthusiasm.  Once they realized that the alternative was to remove him from the team, they consented to giving him some time off.  We used this hiatus to work on relaxation strategies and stress reduction.  I also helped him rediscover why he was skiing in the first place.  By the time he returned to his sport, he felt renewed and invigorated.  He was back to his old self.

Many athletes who yield to the initial impulse to get away from their sport when burnout symptoms set in are left with a lifelong sense of regret and dissatisfaction.  They always wonder what might have been if burnout had not robbed them of the pleasure of competition and the pursuit of victory.  For those willing to seek the intervention of a skilled and understanding sport psychology consultant, the result can be quite positive.  It really is possible to “have it all”—high-level achievement and a life outside one’s sport.

Take a moment to consider your own athletic experiences and the negative feelings you may have had at times about participating in your sport(s).  Ask yourself if the decisions you made at the time were the right ones for you.  Would you have made other choices if you knew then what you know now?  Whatever your response, never forget that life is ahead of you, not behind.  There’s still time to “get it right.”

Nicole Detling Miller, M.S.
Sport Psychology Instructor
Ashworth University

                          Thanks to Karen Geiger for permission to use this Photo.

I really enjoyed Seth Woolf’s response to Deb’s solid commentary on his previous post. Since we don’t yet have our comments section clearly displayed on this blog, I’ve posted this conversation as an original post for everyone to see and engage. What are your thoughts?

From Deb: 

Dear Sir — I believe you have missed the point of what Dr. Phil has been trying to achieve. As young people, typically all of us do not realize the consequences of actions. I can indicate to you that as a owner of a company, these kind of posting would stop me from hiring an individual, no so much as their right to participate in such activity, but in that the judgment of said individual is not who I want representing my company. In short…it is that simple and professionally said individuals are limiting their options later in life, as they age and realize that childhood was not meant for public display. 

From Seth: 

It is perhaps true that I have “missed the point of what Dr. Phil has been trying to achieve” but, if so, it is because I find his aims pointless. I simply feel the cause and effect of this situation has been confused. If employers look down on such technological behavior and confessionalism, I think it says more about their own bourgeoise biases, and less about the quality of the candidates. More importantly, I would also like to counter your claim that “As young people, typically all of us do not realize the consequences of our actions.” This is a sweeping statement about young people, one which I do not follow. For one, I don’t see “young people” as a definable, homogeneous group. I’m 22, am I a young person? What about a twelve year old in Auswitz? What about an eighty year old with the mental capacities of a person one tenth his or her age? Is it for individuals to decide, society, or who? Similarly, I don’t see how a person, regardless of age, could realize all the consequences of his or her actions. Everyone, again regardless of age, must simply act with what information they have at a given moment. (more…)

Special thanks to Dan_Portnoy for permission to use this photo.

In the November 2007 issue of the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, an article presents the result of a study examining chronic pain in depressed geriatric inpatients.  By examining the medical charts of patients who were admitted to a geriatric psychiatric unit over a two year period, 148 patients with a depressive disorder were identified. Of these depressed patients, 62% of patients were found to reports problems with chronic pain. Further analysis found that depressed older adults with chronic pain were more likely to report suicidal ideation, be diagnosed with personality disorder, have chronic care needs, and experience less total sleep time compared to depressed older adults without chronic pain. The results match those of previous studies identifying chronic pain as a possible suicide risk factor in the elderly, particularly when depression is involved. (more…)

              Thanks to David Zellaby for permission to use this Photo.

I have believed this for the longest time, while I was in school that those dreaded essays topics used by English and Health teachers Junior High and High School are used for identifying potential problem student. 

These very personal essay topics: 

“What was the saddest day of your life?”

“Describe a family argument, and how it turned out.”

“Write fictional essay of why you would run away.” and other similar essays….

I have always wondered, why they would ask such personal questions?  This is not the type of question I would ask someone I barely know, so why would they ask the class?  My theory was to weed out those with psychology, emotional, and family problems.  I asked a Doctor of Education and his opinion was that it’s designed to find and identify potential problem students.  Another rationale is to bring-out the passion in a student’s writing. 

In 1991, first period Health Class, I refused to write one of those essays.  I just did not do it.   One student stated he did not wish to share that information.  The health teacher yelled at him.  I simply said “I forgot”, and left it at that.  I also got yelled at for not turning in an assignment.  The topic was  “Write a Fictional essay of why you would run away from home.”  My thought was, I am not going to run away, I have no intentions to, and I refuse to write such rubbish. (more…)

Special thanks to Joe_Boyce-Burgess for permission to use this photo.

My son is allergic to green peas and his reactions are life threatening. He is intolerant to a lot of other foods as well, and as we’ve found out, so am I.

We changed our family diet some years ago now, for the sake of us all. I used to cheat, but I also kept track of my diet, and after a while my wife noticed that when I ate certain foods I would become very depressed 2 days later. (Almost to the hour.) Unfortunately chocolate was the worst! She mentioned this bizarre discovery to our allergy specialist who said “Yes, food does cause mood swings!”

Food allergies and intolerances are very different things. Food allergies trigger the immune system, and the sufferer’s body reacts, for example with swelling or hives. Food intolerance is about thresholds. You can eat the foods that you’re intolerant to, but you’ll have a reaction if you go over your threshold. Food intolerance is very common; much more than people seem to realize.

The reactions can be amazing. In me the intolerance causes depression. My wife feels bloated and lethargic. The kids get aggressive and irritable. Other people report anxiety, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, obsessive compulsive behaviour and even social phobias. Migraines and stomach aches are also common. (more…)