Psychology Space

BEIJING, Nov. 24 — A new study by the American Psychological Association has found that mental stress over a period of time can raise a person’s lipid levels, or in other words, it can increase cholesterol levels in healthy adults.

According to the study, published in the recent issue of Health Psychology, in a sample of 199 healthy middle-aged men and women, researchers Andrew Steptoe, D.Sc., and Lena Brydon of University College London examined how individuals react to stress and whether this reaction can increase cholesterol and heighten cardiovascular risk in the future.

“Our study found that individuals vary in their cholesterol responses to stress,” says Dr. Steptoe. “Some of the participants show large increases even in the short term, while others show very little response. The cholesterol responses that we measured in the lab probably reflect the way people react to challenges in everyday life, as well. So the larger cholesterol responders to stress tasks will be large responders to emotional situations in their lives.

The researchers speculate on the reasons why acute stress responses may raise fasting serum lipids. One possibility may be that stress encourages the body to produce more energy in the form of metabolic fuels - fatty acids and glucose.

These substances require the liver to produce and secrete more LDL, which is the principal carrier of cholesterol in the blood. nother reason may be that stress interferes with lipid clearance and a third possibility could be that stress increases production of a number of inflammatory processes like, interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor and C-Reactive protein that also increase lipid production.

Although no one understands the cause of the reaction, the researchers said the study could help pinpoint people who are at a greater risk for heart disease. Enditem

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Many people believe that the goal of any society is progress, however for most of us it is not easy to get used to something new. It takes more or less time for every person to adapt to new environment, even if it is only using a new tool, cooking a new dish or finding a new bus stop. That is the reason why many people cling to the way things are and it is much easier for them to do habitual things.

Any person’s every day of life consists of many repeated activities, such as driving car, dressing, eating. People do most of these activities automatically, without much thinking. Automatic operations help brains to avoid unnecessary efforts, but many people also use this natural capability of brain in a wrong way.

They create “cliché” for many activities in their life, use same expressions, eat same food, and go to same supermarkets. People live with same world outlook whole their life. It is clear that in most cases laziness makes them live with “cliché” because it is much easier for people to make habitual things, say habitual phrases and do the same job everyday, then straining the brain, creating something new, and making progress in their life.

However, there are still many activities, which demand creativity, ability to orientate us in new, unusual situations. Life brings us surprises every day, and sometimes it is impossible to be prepared for all circumstances. Economical and political situation of any country in the world transforms every month or year and leads to changes in many life aspects. Today people need to be creative to get ahead, because it is impossible to find favorable work or life conditions, without any changes and unexpected circumstances.

There are not too many people, which think and act creatively. Most of those people are successful businessmen, artists or politicians, because they can effectively use the natural capability of brain to think creatively. Creative and imaginative people do not achieve success for themselves only; they also contribute to progress of the society. That is why it is important to train yourself to be creative and get rid of many “cliché” opinions in your mind.

First step to think creatively is to comprehend which activities are indeed in need of “cliché” (such every day simple operations as driving car) and which activities demand creativity (such as work, business, education, upbringing of children).

Second, do your daily activities such as work or family creatively, enrich your knowledge about your business, and find new ways to improve it, do not be afraid to give work to your brain, because in daily life most people use only 4-5% of their brain ability to think.
Last, but not least is to be aware that if you are creative and imaginative person you would not be disarmed by unexpected or unusual life circumstances and changes because you can always find a way to adjust and get ahead in your life.

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Madina Bakhitova-Niazoff, MS Psychology, is the chief editor for http://www.psychologyspace.com - an online psychology portal providing psychology news and information on various psychology subjects, psychology discussion forum, psychology RSS feeds and web links. Madina volunteers at Wilmington Hospital First State School - a very special program for children with chronic illnesses.

New research presented at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre, supports what scientists have long argued: that people who report contact with aliens have a psychological profile that might make them more susceptible to false memories.

They also believe more strongly in the paranormal and claim to have experienced more paranormal activity than the wider public.

The new research has been carried out by Professor Chris French, Head of Anomolistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths College, who investigated the psychological differences between ‘experiencers’ (or abductees) and non-experiencers through studying fantasy-proneness, dissociativity, sleep paralysis and history of paranormal experiences.

The research reveals that alien abduction experiences are often similar to other paranormal phenomena such as encounters with ghosts and are frequently based upon episodes of sleep paralysis, a condition in which, upon waking, a person is aware of the surroundings but is unable to move. In this state, auditory and visual hallucinations may occur.

Professor French will be talking about the research, as part of a free public debate exploring Alien Intrigue at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre - the UK’s only venue for adults to talk about contemporary and controversial science on Wednesday 26 October.

The study compared 19 experiencers with 19 control participants. Experiencers scored more highly than the control group on the following measures:

* Paranormal belief / experience.
* Tendency to Hallucinate
* Absorption (the tendency to become engrossed in experiences)
* Dissociative tendencies (the tendency to enter altered states of consciousness)
* Fantasy proneness
* History of sleep paralysis

“In the late twentieth century, an increasing number of people around the world began to claim that they had had a most bizarre experience,” said Professor French.

“Typically, they would report being taken from their beds or from their cars by alien beings. These beings were often around four feet high, with spindly arms and legs and oversized heads. The most striking thing about them was their large black eyes through which they appeared to communicate telepathically.

“The abductees, or “experiencers” as they prefer to be known, would describe how they had found themselves on board an alien spaceship where they were subjected to (often painful) medical examination, during which sperm or ova might be extracted. Although it is hard to estimate just how many people have conscious memories of this kind it is likely to run into at least several thousand worldwide.”

Source: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

Many people expect religion to bring them happiness. Does this actually seem to be the case? Are religious people happier than nonreligious people? And if so, why might this be?

Researchers have been intrigued by such questions. Most studies have simply asked people how happy they are, although studies also may use scales that try to measure happiness more subtly than that. In general, researchers who have a large sample of people in their study tend to limit their measurement of happiness to just one or two questions, and researchers who have fewer numbers of people use several items or scales to measure happiness.

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Try your hand at crossword puzzles based on Psychology of Religion by Spilka, Hood, Hunsberger & Gorsuch. I will post new puzzles as they become available.

Chapter 1: The Psychological Nature and Functions of Religion

Chapter 2: Foundations for an Empirical Psychology of Religion (solution)

Chapter 3: Religion and Biology (solution)

Chapter 4: Religion in Childhood (solution)

Chapter 5: Religious Socialization and Thought in Adolescence & Young Adulthood (solution)

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# Classics in the History of Psychology (York University, Canada)
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/
[An internet resource developed by Christopher D. Green as “an effort to make the full texts of a large number of historically significant public domain documents from the scholarly literature of psychology and allied disciplines available on the World Wide Web.” See also his Classics in the History of Psychology Links.]

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Welcome to the self-quiz on Sex, Friendship, and Love. Read the question and click on an answer. You will jump to a correction or (if the answer is correct) a confirmation. No total score is provided for this quiz because it is meant to be browsed; you can scan the responses to wrong answers as well as right answers.
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By: Willow Lawson
Summary: Alcoholism may not necessarily be a life-long disease. In fact, a myriad of scenarios can affect an individual’s recovery.

Once an alcoholic, forever an alcoholic, right?

Not according to a new government study, which found that 40 percent of people with alcohol dependence were in full recovery a year after tackling their addiction.
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Disclaimer: None of the content of this article should be considered medical or psychological advice. You should consult with your health care professional for specific advice relating to your medical and psychological questions or conditions.

Have you ever heard about a child whom parents or teachers describe as lazy, unenthusiastic, and non-interested in any school subject or social activity? If yes, have you ever thought why this child is so low motivated, when he or she needs to do something demanding assiduity, diligence, patience, attention, tenacity, self-control and other important personal qualities?

While growing up these children meet obstacles in real life and do not find enough will power, strength of mind to overcome life difficulties and achieve goals. This happens because in childhood and during adolescent period, when important aspects of self-regulation and self-control build up, these children did not learn to be patient, assiduous and purposeful.

That is the reason why it is very important to make the basis of your child’s motivation to success, self-control, and self-regulation in early childhood. Sometimes it is much easier for parents just to close their eyes to many things thus allowing their child to do anything he or she wants and have “peace” without listening to the child crying or demanding anything. But this is not a way out of the situation, because now your child is having only a small problem, but while the child is growing up problems will be becoming more complicated and solving them will be much more difficult.

How can you help your child be more motivated?

1. Be sure that you are ready and have enough patience to talk and explain your child many things even there could be some misunderstandings and communication difficulties.

2. Do not be afraid to be strict sometimes, but at the same time try to explain all your actions, be reasonable and appeal to consciousness of your child. (For example, if your child does not want to make homework in math, explain your him or her, that now the most important thing is not the homework, but how strong and self-controlled he or she is, and the ability of doing important things, which children do not want to do.)

3. Teach your child to avoid words such as “I want to do…” and “I don’t want to do…” substitute these word-combinations with “I need to do…” and “I don’t need to do…”Also do not tell your child, that he or she is “the smartest, most clever…” or “the best person” in any field. Because when a person says: “I am the best…” it is the signal for unconscious mechanisms to stop accept new information. “The best” person does not need to learn or know anything. Isn’t he or she “the best” already? Instead of that, say: “I’m good in this today, and I will even be better tomorrow!”

4. Do not demand from your child fast results and improvements. Remember, you should begin with small tasks, like homework or house work help.

5. Teach your child to be enthusiastic and open to new knowledge and experience. Explain and show him or her that, for example, every subject in school can be much more interesting if they try to learn more about it.

Invest your time, efforts and teach your child to be motivated to achieve their goals with the help of patience, diligence, strength of mind, will power, and hard work. This will be one of the most important investments in your life, because in the future you will be very glad to see that your son or daughter is able to achieve their goals and become a successful person.

Madina Bakhitova-Niazoff, MS Psychology,
is the chief editor for http://www.psychologyspace.com - an online psychology portal providing news and information on various psychology subjects, discussion forum, psychology RSS feeds and web links. Madina volunteers at Wilmington Hospital’s First State School - a very special program for children with chronic illnesses.

While working on a student practical task in one of the Universities of Asia, in Department of Psychology, I had an opportunity to visit a boarding school for children with chronic psychic illnesses or underdevelopment. That was an unforgettable experience. The boarding school was an old ugly building on outskirts of a big city, behind a ravine, and very difficult to find without a guide. Our group of students, walked there for about 40 minutes, and eventually we found the high fence and gray building behind it.

We were asked to put on white doctor smocks, and after that we entered the building. First thing that shocked us, was very unpleasant smell inside the school, we met the director and she told us that unfortunately the amount of ill children had increased and it had been very difficult to find any donations or financial support for school. She asked us to bring old clothes if we could, because school could not support everybody and most parents just do not want to know and take care about their children. Some parents visit children ones or twice a year, and these children are considered lucky.

Then we were led to the girls’ part of the boarding school. There were girls of different ages, and as young specialists in the field of psychology we were surprised that there were children with different levels of underdevelopment in one single group. Some of them had only some chronic illnesses without mental disorders, but they were treated like mentally ill patients! The day schedule was the same for them everyday - they were sitting all in one room, all together about 35-40 children, or they had small walks around the building. I must admit that we had tears in our eyes, because it resembled a prison for little criminals.

These girls tried to hug us and we understood that they are in great need of love and attention. They were telling us that their parents would take them home soon. Some of older girls already had menstrual periods and they didn’t know what to do. Workers’ salary in this school is very low and there is no enough personal and nurses to help every child.

In the boys’ section of the school we saw very similar sad picture. About 35-40 children were sitting in one room with walls and chairs only. Some of the children had become degraded in those conditions.
Having had finished our practice most of us confessed, that during several days after the boarding school visit, they were seeing those children in their dreams at night while sleeping. That was a real shock for us. Most of us could not eat and sleep. Some of the students brought clothes and toys to that school.

This boarding school and other similar places are a very sad unknown side of the otherwise beautiful country and friendly people. Here in the United States, I have a huge wish and hope to find donations and support for the boarding school I visited 2 years ago.

About the author:

Madina Bakhitova-Niazoff, MS Psychology,
is the chief editor for http://www.psychologyspace.com - an online psychology portal providing news and information on various psychology subjects, discussion forum, psychology RSS feeds and web links. Madina volunteers at Wilmington Hospital’s First State School in Delaware - a very special program for children with chronic illnesses.