Two great opportunities next autumn term if you are planning to teach either the Psychology of Addictive Behaviour or Anomalistic Psychology. Keynote Educational have organised Unit 4 INSET days - one features Mark Griffiths and the other features Richard Wiseman - both experts in the respective fields. Plus me (Cara Flanagan) talking about the research methods component and more general issues.See here for further INSET courses next year.
DNA analysis of thousands of people in three separate studies has shown that the disorder is linked to the interaction of a large number of genetic variants on chromosome 6, in an area called the Major Histocompatability Complex which has one role in the immune system and another in controlling the switching on or off of other genes.
How many variants are there? Well, over 30,000 were identified as being much more common in schizophrenics than non-schizophrenics apart from people with bipolar disorder.
So not only is the genetics of schizophrenia far more complex than had been thought, environmental influences are also involved, but there could be a previously unexpected overlap between the two psychopathologies, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic depression).
Research done by Ley (1988) suggested that to enable patients to remember what advice they had been given doctors and nurses should give the most important information first, thus exploiting the primacy effect. Information also needs to be understandable ( well, what a surprise!) so simple sentences and language are appropriate. Instructions need to be explicit, and prefaced by their category, e.g. “this is the problem …”, or “this is what you need to do”, and “this is how you can do it”. Repetition is also helpful in accurate recall.
Now in 2009 similar information is being given by Fischhoff who has pointed out the relevance of psychological research to addressing the current health issue. He has told
I do wonder if these recommendations could be spread more widely –
Short but sad and moving cartoon strips concerning a range of mental health issues by a guy who spent time working on a psychiatric ward…
See links below:
What is she thinking? Mirror neurons have been hailed by some as a discovery of major importance (for exampl,e the neurologist V.S. Ramachandran). It is claimed that they may explain the ability of humans to understand what someone else is feeling and thinking. This is not mind-reading but ‘Theory of Mind’ - the understanding that other people have a separate mind to your own and therefore do not see or experience the world as you do. A certain group of neurons were discovered in macque monkeys which were activated when the monkey was inactive itself but was watching another monkey perform an action. The big question is whether such mirror neurons, as they are called, will be able to explain empathy, autism, morality, language and more, or whether it’s all a storm in a tea cup .
This topic is covered in the A2 specification that some of you will be studying - so you might be interested in a recent item in the New Scientist. A team of scientists have provided evidence that mirror neurons (MNs) are not always activated when understanding the actions of others. This overturns the current views on MNs and suggests that a rethink may be needed.
Two more freebie chapters from the new A2 Complete Companion have now been added - ones on Relationships and Aggression.
“IT IS probably the most famous greeting in the universe.
But the simple Vulcan salute left makers of the new Star Trek film with a galactic-sized headache - because Mr Spock just couldn’t do it.
After much head-scratching, experts on the $150 million blockbuster - which boasts stunning high-tech effects - hit upon a low-tech but logical solution - gluing actor Zachary Quinto’s fingers together, The Mail on Sunday newspaper in the UK reports.
Quinto, 31, admitted he found it impossible to form his fingers into the distinctive V-shaped gesture, saying: “It’s much harder than it looks. Seriously.”
One on-set insider said: “Zach could do the salute some of the time but only after he’d positioned his fingers the right way off-camera.
“In some scenes he has to do the salute while speaking his lines so they ended up using skin-protective superglue, like they use in hospitals, to stick his fingers together.”
William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in the long-running TV show and the first seven Star Trek films, was also unable to do the salute, so he used fishing line to tie his fingers together”. (Link)
So what’s going on there then? If the first Spock had Vulcan Hand Signal Ability (hereafter referred to a ‘VHSA’) why not the new guy?
Is it a genetic thing like tongue rolling? You’ve got the gene or you haven’t? Or is it a learnt thing like juggling or tying shoelaces? Once you’ve got the enactive ‘muscle memory’ in place you don’t have to think about VHSA anymore? Surely if it was a practice thing then the new Spock would beat himself up trying to master this skill…. I’m sure Christian Bale would put the effort in if he found himself in such a position.
My own limited research during lunch today indicates that it does get easier with practice, but you still have to think about the physical position of your fingers quite a lot. It also seems to help if you position your fingers whilst your arms are lowered and then raise them, but I’m not sure it looks as cool. So I don’t know… maybe I’ve just got the VHSA gene. But if I have, what possible evolutionary advantage could that have? I’m pretty certain that the ability to mimic characters from Star Trek is unlikely to enhance one’s reproductive potential……
(Couldn’t quite work out where this fitted in on the syllabus, but obviously had to get it in somewhere so, if you click on the ’see rest of post’ link below, it’ll take you to the “VHSA Research Methods Worksheet”).
