http://www.watoday.com.au/opinion/cleanliness-really-is-close-to-godliness-20091031-hqn9.html
Experiments have proven that people are fairer and more generous in clean-smellling environments compared to behaviors in plain-scented rooms by comparing them to rooms treated with squirts of Windex. The different experiments made were interesting, testing interest in volunteer work, a trust game seeing how much money one would return, donating money. I agree the cleanliness has an effect of our mentality and how we feel in general so results like this linking cleanliness with positive behaviors does not surprise me. I would be interested in knowing where they got these participants from and if there is an element of chance that those in the clean room that were more giving and charitable were just more charitable kind people to begin with.
It is interesting to contemplate the effects of our olfactory senses on brain functioning. Although research in this article says that subjects who washed their hands before making moral judgments were more forgiving than those who didn't, in my opinion your moral compass is a part of your inner being and I wouldn't expect results to be much different due to cleanliness because I feel like morals are engrained as part of your being based on your social experiences, not a sensory trigger.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Study Breaks
http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2009/11/whats_the_best_way_to_take_a_s.php?utm_source=networkbanner&utm_medium=link
This article is by two students of the University of Chicago which is an extremely prestigious college. They explain how studying is the core part of their experience there and say they didn't have "parties" but had "study breaks". They questioned and wondered about what the most effective study break would be to clear up your mind and refocus the mind between study sessions.
They introduce an idea called "attention restoration theory" or ART which waas also discussed similarly in Willaim James's 1892 psychology textbook. It calims that walking in the woods can help you refocus your thoughts and it is the natural world and interacting with nature that engages your attention in a bottom- up fashion, bu features of the environment that are appealing. The artificial world demands active attention, similar to the energy we require for studying, in order to prevent getting hurt or just getting through daily activities. Marc Berman, John Jonides and Stephen Kaplan wanted to attempt measuring the effect of ART.
They paid 28 student volunteers to do a backwards digit-span task and after 14 tests were elected to take an hour long walk to see if their scores would improve the second time around. The nature walkers' scores rose to significance and city walkers rose only a little bit, displaying the effectiveness of being exposed to nature to refocus attention. Since University of Chicago is restricted from nature, Gary Felsten decided to put murals on emply windowless lounges of natural scenes. 200 students who rated the lounges for various qualities thought by the ART to be "restorative", giving a sense of "being away", "fascination", and comfort and ease therefore being successful.
It makes sense that images can be just as likely to help refocus the mind due to our knowledge in psychology. While these students could not find a natural environment to break in due to the location in such a huge city, the images/murals were just as effective. Visually stimulating images have always been able to change our mindsets and have power over our psychology. I think about the color yellow and how it is tied to memory, so post its, highlighters and other study objects are commonly of the yellow color. Studies like this help me appreciate the study of psychology because there is much to be learned about improving our lives in many different aspects from the knowledge we have of psychology. I also believe that while the visuals can be restorative and calming, actually being out in nature directly is more effective.
This article is by two students of the University of Chicago which is an extremely prestigious college. They explain how studying is the core part of their experience there and say they didn't have "parties" but had "study breaks". They questioned and wondered about what the most effective study break would be to clear up your mind and refocus the mind between study sessions.
They introduce an idea called "attention restoration theory" or ART which waas also discussed similarly in Willaim James's 1892 psychology textbook. It calims that walking in the woods can help you refocus your thoughts and it is the natural world and interacting with nature that engages your attention in a bottom- up fashion, bu features of the environment that are appealing. The artificial world demands active attention, similar to the energy we require for studying, in order to prevent getting hurt or just getting through daily activities. Marc Berman, John Jonides and Stephen Kaplan wanted to attempt measuring the effect of ART.
They paid 28 student volunteers to do a backwards digit-span task and after 14 tests were elected to take an hour long walk to see if their scores would improve the second time around. The nature walkers' scores rose to significance and city walkers rose only a little bit, displaying the effectiveness of being exposed to nature to refocus attention. Since University of Chicago is restricted from nature, Gary Felsten decided to put murals on emply windowless lounges of natural scenes. 200 students who rated the lounges for various qualities thought by the ART to be "restorative", giving a sense of "being away", "fascination", and comfort and ease therefore being successful.
It makes sense that images can be just as likely to help refocus the mind due to our knowledge in psychology. While these students could not find a natural environment to break in due to the location in such a huge city, the images/murals were just as effective. Visually stimulating images have always been able to change our mindsets and have power over our psychology. I think about the color yellow and how it is tied to memory, so post its, highlighters and other study objects are commonly of the yellow color. Studies like this help me appreciate the study of psychology because there is much to be learned about improving our lives in many different aspects from the knowledge we have of psychology. I also believe that while the visuals can be restorative and calming, actually being out in nature directly is more effective.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Fort Hood gunman
http://www.jsonline.com/news/69441347.html
This article is about the investigation of possible motives of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a liscenced army psychiatrist who is the alleged Fort Hood gunman who out of nowhere opened fire killing 13 people and wounding at least 30 others in the deadliest-ever mass shooting on a U.S. military installation. One question that comes to mind hearing about such a tragedy is why would a member of the military who had been trusted with helping others achieve a healthier mental state allegedly shoot his comrades?
Hasan was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan to work with a unit present there as part of behavioral health support and although the exact dates were not set, the idea of his first deployment may have caused him great strife and anxiety. Some reactions question whether or not Hasan could have been a part of a terrorist plot that might justify moving his case into the federal criminal courts under U.S. anti-terrorism laws but the House of Armed Services committee has to first examine his physical and mental health.
Although the process will take very long until some conclusion is found in terms of Hasan's future, some very important psychological aspects are brought up in examining this situation. It has to be determined how much responsibility somebody has over their psychological health and that nobody, even the psychiatrists themselves, are free from psychological pain or strife. Perhaps he grew afflicted due to the nature of his work and that constantly being surrounded by patients dealing with wartime inflicted stress and in turn was burdened himself. I think an important thing to learn from this situation is that the institution as a whole needs to create some sort of stress preparation for those involved in the army. We often hear about post traumatic stress disorder and issues that result from being put in high stress situations but it is inevitable that if involved in the war you are going to be in such scenarios. This is why a program preparing soldiers for future stress may make them stronger against the psychological effects and hopefully promote better health for them. Although this situation is isolated, does not happen frequently and can't be assumed it will happen again- there is a lesson of change and preparation to be learned from it as well as seeing how important psychological health is.
This article is about the investigation of possible motives of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a liscenced army psychiatrist who is the alleged Fort Hood gunman who out of nowhere opened fire killing 13 people and wounding at least 30 others in the deadliest-ever mass shooting on a U.S. military installation. One question that comes to mind hearing about such a tragedy is why would a member of the military who had been trusted with helping others achieve a healthier mental state allegedly shoot his comrades?
Hasan was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan to work with a unit present there as part of behavioral health support and although the exact dates were not set, the idea of his first deployment may have caused him great strife and anxiety. Some reactions question whether or not Hasan could have been a part of a terrorist plot that might justify moving his case into the federal criminal courts under U.S. anti-terrorism laws but the House of Armed Services committee has to first examine his physical and mental health.
Although the process will take very long until some conclusion is found in terms of Hasan's future, some very important psychological aspects are brought up in examining this situation. It has to be determined how much responsibility somebody has over their psychological health and that nobody, even the psychiatrists themselves, are free from psychological pain or strife. Perhaps he grew afflicted due to the nature of his work and that constantly being surrounded by patients dealing with wartime inflicted stress and in turn was burdened himself. I think an important thing to learn from this situation is that the institution as a whole needs to create some sort of stress preparation for those involved in the army. We often hear about post traumatic stress disorder and issues that result from being put in high stress situations but it is inevitable that if involved in the war you are going to be in such scenarios. This is why a program preparing soldiers for future stress may make them stronger against the psychological effects and hopefully promote better health for them. Although this situation is isolated, does not happen frequently and can't be assumed it will happen again- there is a lesson of change and preparation to be learned from it as well as seeing how important psychological health is.
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