Author Archives: Therese Dawn Tolley

Acrophobia be Damned

Over the past several years I have had the unpleasant experience of acrophobia (fear of heights). My first experience occurred during a much-anticipated trip to Italy. I was walking up the circular steps of the Duomo Climb to the Top of Florence’s Duomo to the cupola when all the sudden an intense fear overcame me. My excitement in viewing the frescoes and Florence were overcome with a sense of doom and panic. This intense fear filled me with angst, as the only way to exit was to walk around the entire circular cupola to reach the exit on the other side. The large crowds propelled me forward as I held onto the wall for support. Eventually, I did make it to the other side and began the quick descent down the stairs. It has been two years since this episode and I have experienced quite a few similar incidents that has altered my lifestyle. However, recently I learned of a possible cure for my acrophobia through a technique called observational learning.

Observational learning is a concept Bandura (1986) observed from his Social Cognitive Theory of learning. This theory believes learning is achieved through observations and processes to stimuli and responses (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). More specifically, Bandura’s (1986) observational technique focusses on four processes that coincide with learning: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. Attention is the ability to learn the observed behavior as its occurring. Retention is the ability to remember the learned behavior that you witnessed. Problems with attention and retention have been demonstrated to take a longer time to cure phobias (Yarwood, 2017). Reproduction is being able to perform the learned behavior. However, one must have the motivation required to engage in the learned behavior. To be cured of this phobia, I will have to focus on all four of these processes and perform the same behaviors exhibited by someone modeling the desired behaviors. However, before I can perform these behaviors I need to have self-efficacy.

Self-efficacy is the belief that one has the confidence to exhibit control over a desired behavior (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). Obviously, I lack self-efficacy because I am extremely fearful of heights and do not have to skill set to overcome this phobia. My hope is that with the observational technique, I will overcome this fear and once again be able to explore all the wonderful landscapes of my environment.

Unbeknownst to my family members, I tried to incorporate this technique while on a hike near an overlook. I watched as my family members climbed rocks on an overlook and it proved to be a challenging task. My children and husband have no fears of heights and I tried to just watch as they sat on the rocks of the overlook and marveled at the canyon down below. This proved ineffective because my attention was not focusing on their behaviors. I would close or cover my eyes as I watched them get closer and closer to the edge of the canyon. Obviously, this exercise proved to be a challenging task and I will be seeking professional help in the hopes of curing my acrophobia.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Schneider, F., Gruman, J., and Coutts, L. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. (2ed). Washington D.C., Sage Publications.

Yarwood, M. (n.d.). Psych 424 Module Lesson 5: Health and Clinical/Counseling – Part 2. PSU World Campus. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1867078/modules/items/22915541

 

The Psychology of Politics

The past few weeks have been a tumultuous time for the United States due to the presidential election. We now know that president-elect Trump will take office on January 20, 2017, but I remain perplexed by the massive amounts of advertising and mixed messages both majority candidates presented to the US population.  Just in my mailbox alone, I received approximately 140 pieces of literature in regard to the upcoming political races. This does not take into account all the other various forms of advertising that we as Americans were subjected to on a daily basis.

political-direct-mail-versaility

In an article by Tsipursky (2016a) the author suggested that the problem with American politics is irrationality, which ultimately leads to incorrect assessments of reality in addition to poor political results.  Emotions, perceptions, and biases cause these thinking and emotional reasoning errors and result in poor decisions and assessments (Tsipursky, 2016a).

In reviewing the Clinton and Trump campaigns one could easily assess the use of the horns effect.  Research by Belludi (2010) suggests biases of the horns effect are a negative perception in one area that is now perceived in every aspect without any further evidence to suggest this assumption.  The Trump campaign made use of this effect by suggesting halo-and-horns-effectterrorism is initiated by Islamic extremists which places all Muslims in the category of terrorists (Tsipursky, 2016a).  Whereas, the Clinton campaign suggested all Trump supporters are “a basket of deplorables” who subscribe to “irredeemable” inequalities of sexism, racism, and homophobia (Tsipursky, 2016a).  In reviewing these two types of biases, we can assess that the information is incorrect and does not stand true for all Muslims and Trump supporters.

The illusory truth effect according to Lexikon Online (2016) suggests one believes information to be correct through repetition.  The Trump campaign may have convinced many millions of people around the world that NAFTA was “the worst deal ever signed” with the repetitive statements (Tsipursky, 2016b).  This statement was just the opinion of the Trump campaign and not the majority of experts.  However, this biased statement has settled with several million supporters.illusion-of-truth

As you can see, the voters of this election have been tainted with psychological warfare that led to many irrational judgments.  Our emotions, perceptions, and biases may have caused us to vote for a candidate that we may not have chosen otherwise.  However, we may not even be aware of these thinking errors until now.  I believe in order to make an informed and rational decision a voter needed to diligently search various types of websites and fact-check statements and other informational sites to make an informed decision in regard to which candidate they felt best matched their personal beliefs and values.  This obviously was a difficult and tedious task to conduct due to the mainstream media’s bias toward the candidate of their liking.

hillary-vs-trump-cartoon-exhibit

Belludi, N. (2010). The Halo and Horns Effects (Rating Errors). Retrieved from

http://www.rightattitudes.com/2010/04/30/rating-errors-halo-effect-horns-effect/

Park, D., Schwarz, N., Skurnik, I., Yoon, C. (2005). How Warning about False Claims becomes Recommendations. Journal of Consumer Research. March 21, 2005. Retrieved from   http://lexikon.stangl.eu/14988/illusion-of-truth-effect/

Tsipursky, G., (2016a) Fact-checking Clinton and Trump is not enough. The Conversation. Retrieved from

https://theconversation.com/fact-checking-clinton-and-trump-is-not-enough-67506

Tsipursky, G., (2016b). The Worst Problem in American Politics? Research-based suggestions for how to deal with the worst problem in US politics. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/intentional-insights/201611/the-worst-problem-in-american-politics

 

 

Can memory be restored in Alzheimer’s patients?

brain

I recently read an article about researchers at the University of Minnesota finding a way to reverse memory loss in lab mice.  This piqued my curiosity since we have learned that memory is processed in several areas of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex, temporal and parietal lobes, cerebellum, amygdala, and hippocampus. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a hot topic of conversation with the large population of baby boomers being afflicted with this degenerative memory disease.  There is a plethora of research being conducted on AD, however, none have been as promising as the recently published work of Dr. Karen Ashe.

neuronsKaren Ashe, MD, an Alzheimer’s researcher at the University of Minnesota, has discovered two key components of dementia since 2005.  Her first research discovered a gene, Tau, which caused tangles in the brain associated with AD.  She found that when Tau goes errant it will cause cell death and memory loss.  In this finding they discovered the natural enzyme called Caspase-2 was causing Tau to behave abnormally.  Dr. Ashe’s latest research introduced a drug to cut the Tau enzymes in lab mice.  In doing so, the drug intervention repaired the damaged connections between neurons, which resulted in restored memory in the impaired mice.  Ultimately, the goal of Dr. Ashe’s research is to provide a drug that would block Caspase-2 and prevent the Tau gene from going awry, preventing cell death and memory loss.

 

So, what is Alzheimer’s disease and what effects does it have on the brain and memory? AD is an irreversible, progressive disorder in which neurons deteriorate, resulting in the loss of cognitive functions (alz.org, n.d.).  AD damages the hippocampus, making it difficult to form new memories and learn information.  Semantic memory, stored in the temporal lobe, and language decline along with the ability to recognize familiar faces.  Patients may have difficulty judging distance and three dimensions, recalled from the parietal lobe.  As the disease spreads to the frontal lobes, especially the prefrontal cortex, they may experience difficulty with organizing, planning, and decision making.  Procedural memory from the cerebellum, along with attention, language, movement, and emotional declines persist.  As the portions of the brain begin to atrophy due to degenerative destruction of the cells, the emotional memory from the amygdala is affected.  This destruction has been traced to two separate proteins.

ad-brain

The cells within a patient who was diagnosed with AD typically have tangles and plaques.  The tangles are the Tau proteins discussed earlier.  Plaques are deposits of protein fragments called beta-amyloid that build up in between nerve cells (alz.org, n.d.).  As we age, these plaques and tangles are normal. However, in AD patients they develop an excessive amount.  Eventually, this atrophy seems to cause cell death and disruption, ultimately affecting memory, judgment and reasoning, movement, coordination, and pattern recognition (alz.org, n.d).

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, AD is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States (alz.org, 2016).  This is why the latest research by Karen Ashe, M.D. is so important for the 5.4 million people who currently suffer from AD (alz.org, 2016.).  Although it may take a decade or more before this type of drug can be given to patients afflicted with this progressive disease, it is a step in a positive direction.

 

Lerner, M. (2016, October 11). Alzheimer’s researchers at University of Minnesota reverse memory loss in mice. Star Tribune, retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/alzheimer-s-researchers-at-university-of-minnesota-reverse-memory-loss-in-mice/396739231/

What is Alzheimer’s. (n.d.) retrieved from http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp#

2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. (2016) retrieved from http://www.alz.org/facts/overview.asp

High Schools Considering Later Start Times

I recently read an article in our local newspaper about the consideration of later start times for our high schools due to sleep deprivation and the negative effects it causes adolescent students (Devlin, 2016). Specifically, this would mean starting high school no earlier than 8:30 a.m., which is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics (CDC, 2016). According to the CDC, the average adolescent is currently getting eight hours of sleep, which is one hour less than the recommended amount. Various scholars have performed studies on later start times, and Minnesota was one of the first states to incorporate this into several of their middle and high school programs. The data and perceptions of later start times do seem encouraging, but are not without a few problems.
Sleep deprivation during adolescence has a number of negative conseqsleeping-kiduences such as decreases in cognitive abilities, positive behaviors, and academic performance. Inattention and poor classroom performance are just two of the cognitive and emotional symptoms resulting from lack of sleep. During high school, I was constantly tired and had problems concentrating on what was being taught. Occasionally, when completing my homework, I could not remember what was taught in the classroom earlier that day. Ultimately, my grades dropped and I struggled to keep them up. Emotional changes are another important symptom of sleep deprivation. Dahl (1996, 1999) suggested inadequate sleep results in irritability and less tolerance for situations that create negative emotions. This was very self-evident to me during adolescence. I was easily upset by insignificant events. I assumed it was due to hormonal changes, based on my parents’ opinion, but reflecting back, I’m sure it could have been a combination of sleep deprivation and hormones. A third symptom of lack of sleep is behavioral disorders such as ADD and ADHD. The behaviors exhibited by those diagnosed with ADHD are similar to those who suffer from sleep deprivation. Daytime behavior was often improved when ADHD patients were treated with sleep disorder medications (Dahl, 1996). Personally, although I was never diagnosed with any type of behavioral problem, I did exhibit several behaviors that could have been indicative of ADHD such as disorganization, lack of focus, forgetfulness, and being easily distracted. I can easily understand how a significant number of children can be misdiagnosed with ADHD.
attentive-students

In reading, “Impact of sleep on learning and behavior in adolescents,” Matekika, Millrood, & Mitru (2002) suggested later start times for schools, ultimately allowing students to go to sleep later at night and sleep longer in the morning. Several local Minnesota high schools and middle schools incorporated these changes. The later start time for the students resulted in a decrease in average sick days and tardiness/lateness, and increased alertness and grades (Wahlstrom, Wrobel, & Kubow, 1998). Additionally, 57% of the teachers perceived students’ improved alertness during the first two classes, and 33% of the teachers perceived an improvement in student behavior (Wahlstrom et al., 1998).
graduation-pic

Since the research suggests students need more quantity and quality of sleep, the later start time for schools seems appropriate. However, the drawbacks of incorporating this type of scenario may prove that this is a difficult task, as demonstrated in the Minneapolis school system when students and teachers missed classes due to extracurricular activities. This type of disruption also caused diminished relations between parents and teachers (Kubow et al., 1999).
In reviewing the data supporting increased sleep time during the adolescent stage, I believe education would be the best indicator of success. Parental control should still be enforced without the disruption of adolescent autonomy. Parents, allowing for adolescent input, should continue to enforce a bedtime, put limits on stimulating activities toward bedtime (i.e. computers, phones, television), and supply a relaxing environment for sleep. Parents and children should be educated about the benefits of proper sleeping patterns and the symptoms of sleep deprivation. This information, coupled with later school start times, could have the potential to create a positive, lasting impact on adolescent behavior, cognition, emotion, and academic performance. I would have to say I was a bit reluctant to even consider later start times. However, the data suggests I may have to reevaluate my views on this matter.

 

 

Devlin, E. (2016). Unionville among school districts considering later start times. Southern Chester County Weeklies. September 4, 2016. http://www.southernchestercountyweeklies.com/general-news/20160704/unionville-among-school-districts-considering-later-start-times
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. August 6, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0806-school-sleep.html
Dahl, R.E. (1996). The regulation of sleep and arousal: Development and psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology. 8, 3-27.
Dahl, R.E. (1999). Consequences of insufficient sleep for adolescents. Links between sleep and emotional regulation. Phi Delta Kappan, 80, 354-359.
Kubow, P.K., Wahlstrom, K.L., & Bemis, A.E. (1999). Starting time and school life. Reflections from educators and students. Phi Delta Kappan, 80, 366-371.
Mateika, J.H., Millrood, D., & Mitru, G (2002). Impact of sleep on learning and behavior in adolescents. Teachers College Record. 104, 704-726.
Wahlstrom, K., Wrobel, G., & Kubow, P. (1998). Executive summary of findings from Minneapolis school district start time study. Retrieved September 7, 2016. http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/3902/CAREI%20SST-1998ES.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y