When your brain lies to you...

A few chapters back in our Psychology textbook (Chapter 9, maybe?) we learned about how human memory works and why it sometimes doesn't work as well as we'd like it to. Anyway, I read an article today about memory ,perception , and how they sometimes work togethor to trick us into thinking we saw something that didn't happen.
Both human memory and perception are very easy to fool. When we look at something, our brains have to figure out what we're seeing. For example, if we see a house that looks smaller than a person, it's most likely because the house is farther away from us and not because the house really is smaller than that person. At the same time, our memory can only store a limited number of memories. Our brains use logic to piece togethor what we don't remember. Sometimes we mess up.
Helene Intraub and Christopher A. Dickinson of the University of Delaware did a study where they flashed pictures briefly to people, and then showed the pictures again, except that they were either zoomed out, zoomed in, or the same. The researchers then asked the subjects if the second picture was the same or zoomed in or zoomed out. It turns out that everyone thought the second picture was zoomed in even if it was exactly the same. That means people created false memories, and get this: they did so in less than a second!



http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=perception-and-memory

Personality Tests

For the Jung Typology test, I'm an ENFJ. That means I am :
slightly expressed extravert
moderately expressed intuitive personality
moderately expressed feeling personality
moderately expressed judging personality
I guess moderation is a good thing, and I think it is pretty accurate, although I don't really think I'm an extravert. The really odd thing is that I've take this test 3 times and received 3 different results. As a result, I don't quite trust online personality tests... :(

I also took an online attraction test. After I rated 40 or so pictures, the analysis stated that I wasn't really into women who are counter-cultural (rebellious or mischevious) or overly seductive. That seems about right; people who dress up all in black or like to show off a lot of skin aren't very attractive in my book, though most of them are still nice people. I was surprised that the site thought I didn't value cheerfulness, since I try to be optimistic and I don't like people who complain a whole lot or are gloomy. The test also said that I strongly prefer intelligent women and somewhat prefer trendy people. The first part was no surprise; I like smart people and I find people like Paris Hilton very unattractive. I'm also not that into fashion, so I don't care if someone is wearing the season's hottest fashions or not, since I can't tell. I do like women who are well-groomed, and feminine, so I thought the second score should be a little higher.

I also tooke the Big 5 test. My scores were
Expressive Style 2.80
Interpersonal Style 4.60
Work Style 2.90
Emotional Style 4.00
Intellectual Style 4.00
I thought this test was pretty accurate. I like social gatherings but don't want to be in the lime light. I do consider myself kind and I don't like to get into conflicts with others. I don't think I am as confident and self-assured as the test suggested, though I do agree that I don't usually carry grudges. The intellectual style description fits me the best:

"People who score similar to you on Intellectual Style tend to resist orders, and prefer to break new ground and challenge tradition at every turn. You may be creative, imaginative, and inquisitive about your world. You are probably willing to explore all sides of the most complicated and controversial issues, and may be most frustrated by the slow pace of change."

Next I took an Emotional Profile Test. I don't really agree with what it came up with. For some reason it thought that I was burdened with enormous guilt and that I am not very attentive.
However, it did get it right that I'm a bit shy and I am not very fearful. On the whole, I didn't like this test . The questions were kept repeating themselves, and they were often vauge. ("Do you agree: Are you sleepy?" Right now? During Mr. Sager's lecture? As I sit here typing at 3:20 P.M.on a Saturday?)

In a quiz about religion, I discovered that religion plays an important role in my life, but not as important as I thought it would. I received a score 0f 4.83 out of 7. I was disappointed that the test did not provide a more in-depth analysis of my results, so I don't really know what 4.83 means.
My EQ is 45.

Just for fun, I also wanted to take a test to measure how obsessive compulsive I am, but the link didn't work.... :(

Personality Disorders

Dear Bob,
I thought going to college would allow me to start life over but it seems just like home! People are all so mean. There are hundreds of bullies here. On the first day in Biology, the teacher asked a question about photosynthesis and I knew the answer. I waved my hand, but the professor picked someone else to answer! She obviously must hate me, but why? Why is she ignoring me? What did I do to deserve this? Then I heard some girls giggling behind me. What's their problem? I'm already humiliated; do they really have to pile on?!
In the afternoon, a cute girl told me that she liked my shirt. For a moment I thought she really meant it, but then I realized that she must really be making fun of me. No one ever complemented my shirt before. Maybe she's trying to draw attention to my ugliness.
And why haven't you responded to the e-mail that I sent you yesterday? I know that you don't really like me, but could you just have some mercy and pretend to like me as friend?
Michael
Note: This is not really how I think... :)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder! :(

"Case Study 8: A 26 year old man is very concerned about cleanliness and hygiene. He spends a significant amount of time each day washing his hands or showering, especially after touch a toilet seat, doorknob, or any other item he thinks may be dirty or contaminated. The patient explains that he is concerned about becoming infected or sick from touching these objects. He periodically acknowledges that the washing is excessive but explains that he becomes very anxious when he tries to avoid washing and eventually feels compelled to wash even more to make up for the omission."

It seems that this patient is suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder. This is an anxiety disorder, and its symptoms include persistent thoughts (called obsessions) or behaviors (known as compulsions). In this case the young man has a compulsion, which is a "forced behavior repeated inspite of its inappropriateness, or unreasonableness and associated discomfort". The patient may also have mysophobia (an extreme fear of being contaminated)

Exposure and response prevention is one possible treatment. This involves exposing the patient to his source of compulsion, and having the patient refrain from the behavior. Over time, this helps him understand that he does not need to use compulsions to relieve his anxiety, and that he has control over his own behaviors. In this case, the patient could touch something he thinks is "germy", like a door knob to a building and then refrain from washing his hands for a few hours.

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/obsessive_compulsive_disorder_ocd.htm

http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/o-cd.htm

1st Post!

Hi everyone!
This is my first blog post, and in it I will talk about a famous person with a psychological disorder who manages to overcome it and become a legend. His name is... Michael Phelps.

Of course, you all probably know who Michael Phelps is, but here's a quick review. Michael is one of the greatest swimming champions of all time. He recently won a record 8 gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He also won 6 gold medals in the Athens Olympic Games, which means he holds the most gold medals ever won by an Olympic athlete in his or her career.

Of course, the "Baltimore Bullet" was not always so successful in life.

Phelps was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when he was a young boy. This condition caused young Phelps to become very hyper. He used a lot of this energy in a multitude of sports , such as baseball, and of course, swimming. These sports also served as refuges for Phelps, who was often made fun of because of his excessive energy and large ears. Phelps soon proved very good at swimming, and his career took off.

Attention-Deficit Hyperacticity Disorder is obviously a serious disorder, but as Michael Phelps learned, it can be overcome. While ADHD's symptoms include impulsiveness and inattention, Phelps was obviously able to overcome both inattention (he has concentrated on training and preparing for swimming competitions for more than 10 years) and impulsiveness (he certainly didn't decide overnight to compete in 8 of the most difficult races in the world!).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps

http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=2/bio/