Section 24 PSY 1001pub

Long Term Memory Storage and the Amygdala

2011-12-21T02:43:48Z

The Amygdala plays a key role in fear, excitement, and arousal; being located in the Limbic System. Under this description, it is the Amygdala that is activated in fight or flight situations as well as any other emotionally arousing experience.

Is there a direct relationship between the amygdala and long term memory storage?"

Recently, I found a study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences in Irvine, CA Within this study, researches set out to find an answer to this exact question. (Link on bottom of post.) In this study, the results were positive in that there is a direct relationship between amygdala activation and Long Term Memory storage.   

"The findings of our studies using human subjects are consistent with those of dour other studies using animal subjects in indicating that memory storage is influenced by activation of B-adrenergic systems and the amygdala. Considered together, these findings provide strong evidence supporting the hypothesis that the amygdala, especially the baso-lateral nucleus, plays a central role in modulating the consolidation of long-term memory of emotionally arousing experiences," (McGaugh, Cahill, Roozendaal 6).

Do You have distinct and vivid memories in which you were emotionally aroused from childhood?

http://www.pnas.org/content/93/24/13508.full.pdf

all night cram sessions bad for you

2011-12-20T22:59:24Z

Although most students tend to do all night cram sessions before exams, the act of cramming actually has a negative effect on a students grade. In a study done at Harvard Medical School. The study looked at the effects of sleep/lack of sleep on the cortex which is the area of the brain that helps with information storage.
The key to good memory retention is to get a consistant amount of sleep every night, deviating from your sleep schedule, even for an hour, can lead to negative effects in memory retention.
The best way to study is to attend class, keep up with class material throughout the semester and then get good, consistant amounts of sleep every night. One of the professors involved in the study said it would be better to go take a test well rested then to go sleep deprived.
This is very interesting since most students study in a way that is the least effective to actually retaining the information that they are reading.

(This is the article)
http://wc.arizona.edu/papers/94/91/01_2_m.html

The effect of Barbie on young girls

2011-12-20T22:10:20Z

As a fashion merchandising major part of what I find interesting is looking at how outside forces really effect the trends in fashion. One of the most iconic and influential cultural figures is Barbie. While, she is an excellent toy for young fashionistas to play dress up, accessorize and get their own sense of style, Barbie is also a very negative influence on the body image of young children, specifically girls, who play with the doll.
Just to give some information to put Barbie into perpective, if she was a real person Barbie would be about 6ft tall, have a 39" bust size, 18" waist, 33" hips, a size 3 shoe, would have to have 2 ribs removed because of the size of her waist and would most likely have to walk on all fours because of her un-usual body shape.
This is a figure that is very present in almost all young girls homes and a constant reminder of what the rest of the world thinks is beautiful and perfect. In reality if Barbie was real she would be in contant pain and very deformed.

The effect of Barbie on young girls

2011-12-20T22:10:20Z

The effect of Barbie on young girls

2011-12-20T22:10:20Z

defense and anxiety

2011-12-20T22:03:23Z

I thought it was interesting to learn about anxiety and defense mechanisms. I never know that a defense mechanism is supposed to help reduce anxiety. In my normal day life I tend to have a little more anxiety then maybe the normal person and I do get defensive on occasion but I never would have thought to put the two together. I think that it is fascinating that while most people would say that defense mechanisms are not always the best thing to have because it puts a "wall" between you and another person Freud states that it is actually crucial to good mental health. However, he (Freud) believes that only using one or two of the 10 defense mechanism (repression, denial, regression, reaction formation, projection, displacement, rationalization, intellectualization, identification with the aggressor and sublimation) isn't healthy either--> you need to use different defense mechanisms for different situations.

The Best Deal Around! (Makeup for 12/01/11)

2011-12-20T17:42:18Z

In chapter 13 of our text books, they discuss certain persuasion techniques that are usual when trying to get things you want. The three most common that they discussed are foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, and low-balling. When I first read about them they sounded familiar and I noticed that I had actually used all three of these techniques when I was trying to persuade other people, especially my parents, and they worked! I can remember when I was in high school trying to persuade my parents to let me stay out late at night I would ask if I could stay out until 2 or 3 in the morning and they would say no but then still let me stay out until like midnight or 1, this technique is called door-in-the-face.

Thinking of all the times I have used these types of persuasion on other people, I began to wonder if I had ever been on the other side of these techniques. We have all seen those infomercials on tv where they will say "Call now and get this $100 value for on $19.95!" (door-in-the-face) or if you have ever gone to the store just to get a new phone but then you end up buying a charger and screen protector and insurance and all these other cool things that you need for your new phone (low-balling)!
Have you ever been a victim of these types or persuasion?

Look Around You

2011-12-16T19:14:24Z

The following is an educational video about math.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeraIbgXXIE

The above video gives every impression of being credible, right? Did it take you a long time to realize that this is actually a joke video satirizing 1970s educational school videos? If so, you have fallen victim to manufactured source credibility. If not, that's probably good, as this video is pretty obviously ridiculous.
But what if you'd been in a room full of other students, who all clapped and nodded, profoundly affected by the end of the video? And what if the professor engaged the class in a long, serious discussion about the content? Do you think you'd start to question your original impression of this video? According to Asch's conformity study, there's a 37% chance that you would. Would you engage in self-censorship during the class discussion, even though you realize they're all morons for believing this? Ask yourself these questions. How is having an awareness of your behavior in groups important in your everyday life? Thoughts?

No Stress No Cry!

2011-12-13T22:58:56Z

Stress is the last thing that I want in my life now. When we look at the human evolution, we see that stress was important for survival. In other words, it was the main mechanism that saved us from danger by activating fight or flight effect. A lot of other human species experienced extinction because of their low operated stress levels.

In a natural environment, like the amazon rainforest, a lion could be a stressor for us. When we face this lion, we would have only two choices; to "fight" or to "flight" in that you are either going to attack to the animal or run away from it. Either way, you need the energy. At this point, you would love being stressed because it is going to help you to save your life. But now, I do not think if I would ever face a lion in Dinkytown, right? I do not need stress anymore but it is still in my life! It's in everyone's lives. Today, our modern lions are the homeworks, midterms, finals and jobs for us. And the thing is we neither run away from our textbooks nor attack the final exam papers. So the energy is accumulating in our bodies and this results in health problems.

Today, I visited Jhon to talk about my grades and stuff. He told me some ways of coping stress and told me to be happy. Well, I guess I'll try my best!

My Favourite Posts:

1.flore222 I really like the title and the context is really interesting.

2.bedea002 What he discusses is sometimes true for my life too, so I find it interesting.

3. :mehlh017 Nice link between causal things and what we learn in Psych1001

Run for your life...it's a cult!!

2011-12-12T06:28:56Z

One topic of social psychology that I found very interesting was the study of groupthink and cults. Groupthink, the emphasis on group unanimity at the expense of critical thinking, in extreme form can lead to cults, groups that exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause. Evidence suggests that cults promote groupthink in four major ways: having a persuasive leader who fosters loyalty, disconnecting group members from the outside world, discouraging questioning of the group's assumptions, and establishing training practices that gradually indoctrinate members.

Cults have an abundance of misconceptions. One is that all cults members are emotionally disturbed. Research shows that most cult members are psychologically normal, however many cult leaders probably do suffer from serious mental illnesses. This misconception occurs because we overestimate the role of personality traits and underestimate the role of social influences. It's hard to believe the power that a group can have over a single individual and that a simple idea such as groupthink can lead to something as extreme as a cult.

Abnormal Psychology and Industrialization

2011-12-12T05:51:13Z

(make-up for missed discussion section on 12/08)

While listening to the latest series of lectures by Dr. Grove on abnormal psychology, I was struck by statistics. According to the Nithsdale Schizophrenia Surveys, out of the schizophrenic population, 78% are unmarried and 68% have no children.

I began to wonder what is coming of those rates. Are they increasing? Decreasing? It's an illness that apparently lowers chances of procreation, so one of the most short-sighted assumptions would be that the rates should drop as fewer and fewer people pass on the genes. Even if rates are falling, however, there is far more to consider than just a concrete "nature" so formulaically passing itself along or snuffing itself out. As with so many illnesses, environment has been shown to be a significant factor.

Doing a bit of research, I ran across this article that seeks to track correlations between various schizophrenia statistics and industrialization over time--particularly as industrialization has impacted obstetric complications.

I guess I should stand up too??

2011-12-12T05:43:05Z

The first time I attended a college women's volleyball game was an experience to remember. Right before the game started, the band started playing and everyone started standing up to clap in a rhythm. As I uncomfortably sat there, something urge me to join the crowd and do what they do. After the chanting the song, everyone sat done and so did I.
Amazed at what just happened, it was shocking to know that I just learned about conformity the week before the game. When I told myself that I wouldn't fall for conformity and let group pressure force me to behave differently. Though, I guess at least conformity didn't led me off in doing something bad.

Favorite blog
I found this blog interesting because I've wondering why clothing trends changes so dramatically.
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/wlas0006/1001a/2011/12/conformity-with-clothing.html

Inmate Isolation

2011-12-12T05:37:17Z

After reading about social psychology I understood in more depth why humans have the need to belong. The book explains how humans have a biological need for interpersonal connections. This means that we are born naturally with the want to interact with others. There are studies to prove that being isolated can cause problems with anxiety and mood. This makes me confused because if they know this as a fact why do they isolate inmates as a punishment? This is not teaching them a lesson; instead it makes matters worst. The research shows that the threat of social isolation can lead us to become in self-destructive ways and even impair on our mental functioning.

I begin to search on the web for more information about the negative impacts on prison isolation. I found out they are coming up with alternate ways to punish disobedient inmates. Overall I believe that putting individuals in prisons is not beneficial. Why discipline them by placing them with others that have also broke laws? This does not teach them how to interact appropriately when it comes time for their release date. However I have not of thought of any other way to penalize individuals who break the laws.

Let me stare at your nose first...

2011-12-12T05:32:31Z

You were looking at a balloon which was floating in the sky. Suddenly, the baloon moved up. (toward the sky higher) Why do you think the baloon went up?

Before I explain about the question, please think of your answer.
By the way, my answer was "because the balloon was blew over by wind"
Is your answer same as mine? The question of balloon was from a TV show that I watched a few years ago. In this TV show, they concluded that more Western, Individualistic, people answer "because the air came out from the balloon." On the other hand, more Eastern, Collectivistic, people (like me) answer "because wind blow over the balloon." Of course, the conclusions are not always apply to everyone, but it's very interesting that people from the different culture think differently.

I read an article, "Face-off: East v.s. West" that is talking how Western and Eastern culture people see human faces differently. In the past, psychologists believed that people perceived faces firstly scanning eyes and then down to nose and mouth. However, Roberto Caldara, a psychologist at the Uni. of Glasgow in the U.K. found out that East Asian students tend to fixate on the center of a face whereas Westerners tend to see from the eyes to the mouth and back again.
In the lectures, we have learned how Westerners and Easterners think and behave differently. In addition, from the article, I've learned how I tend to see people's faces... well, I may look at your nose first!

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2008/08/20-03.html

Something we all do . . .

2011-12-12T04:22:25Z

Many people care what the label on the inside of their shirt says and just can't bear to send their children to public school. However, in the society we live, it is a highly unattainable dream for those who wish for it.

Ever wonder why all of the houses look alike? It is society slowly trying to make us conform. Those are the perfect houses to own, and everyone should have one. In addition, the most expensive brand name clothes are usually a dead giveaway. It is a scary thing to know that we are surrounded by this. However, instead of living by what everyone else is doing, choose to live by your own rules and be successful.

Favorite Blogs:
The Creation of a Psychopath: It was easy to relate to and had good examples which I use myself.
The Education Paradigm: I especially enjoyed the video and found it thought provoking.