I Have PTSD...Now What?

PTSD can be treated - like any disorder or disease, there are differing treatments and not everyone responds the same.  Your task is to research the two most common treatments: Cognitive Behavioral Treatment and medical or drug treatment.  Write your posting explaining both treatments:

• Explain briefly how each treatment is conducted
• Explain briefly how each treatment works (be specific)
• Explain how these two treatments can be used in combination with each other.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - The meeting of memory and emotion

PTSD For Dummies:  http://books.google.com/books?id=65UMogTQZscC&pg=PT15&lpg=PT15&dq=basics+of+ptsd&source=bl&ots=SOlYH1SGvx&sig=jU26AsUeAoVEIrLn16uWuCGHFeU&hl=en&ei=bbbUToXvL6uN4gT3hsyjAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&sqi=2&ved=0CGoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false

The Biology of Emotion

After reading the following article, http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/unraveling-the-biology-of-emotions/all/1/, write a brief explanation of the possible biological components of emotion.  You should link the article and add two pictures which help to represent the topic.

Memory and Emotion in Real-life: PTSD

PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a real-world example of the combination of emotion and memory.  Unfortunately, memory appears to be greatly affected by the emotional depth of an event and this combination can be very unforgiving when the event is of a highly traumatic nature.  PTSD is most often thought of as a carry-over from a military war-time experience but research has found that PTSD can result from abuse, exposure to natural disasters or any number of other emotionally charged events. 
http://www.medicinenet.com/posttraumatic_stress_disorder/article.htm

Go to the link above to read more about PTSD. 

Answer the following questions before class on Tuesday:

What is PTSD?
What are the symptoms?
What causes PTSD?
Briefly explain how memory and emotion relate to PTSD.

Emotion and Memory = Flashbulb Memory?

To begin this assignment, you should first read this article: (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/How-Our-Brains-Make-Memories.html) to become more familiar with the topic of emotion and memory.

Research each of the studies listed below relating to FBM (flashbulb memory) and post your responses on your blog.  Post each one as a separate entry and include one picture along with links to the sites where you acquired your information.

Explain the study – Brown & Kulik (1977)

• What was the aim of the study?
• Explain in 2-3 sentences, the procedure of this study
• What were the findings of this study?
• What is the conclusion from this study?
• Explain one limitation (weakness) of this study.

Explain the study – Neisser & Harsch (1992)

• What was the aim of the study?
• Explain in 2-3 sentences, the procedure of this study
• What were the findings of this study?
• What is the conclusion from this study?
• Explain one limitation (weakness) of this study.

Explain the study – Talarico & Rubin (2003)

• What was the aim of the study?
• Explain in 2-3 sentences, the procedure of this study
• What were the findings of this study?
• What is the conclusion from this study?
• Explain one limitation (weakness) of this study.

Seneca and Lazarus - an explanation of emotion?

After discussing Lazarus' appraisal theory of emotion in class, we learned that emotion may be the result of simply how we think about the events occuring around us.  Anything that happens can be perceived as positive or negative based on a variety of factors - this cognitive appraisal of the situation then determines the emotion we experience.  The video viewed in class about the ancient philosopher Seneca identified his belief about the source of emotions such as anger: we don't think enough about the things that could go wrong and therefore, we are surprised when they occur.  As a result of surprise we feel angry over our disappontment or feelings of helplessness - it is then that emotions are the strongest.

You are to analyze the philosophy of Seneca against the theory of Lazarus and explain how the two relate to each other.  What do they have in common?  Do they conflict in any way?  What are your opinions on these ideas?

Please include a picture with your posting (of about 2-3 paragraphs) which helps illustrate what you learned.

http://bestonlinedocumentaries.com/philosophy-a-guide-to-happiness-seneca-on-anger/

Read each of the five articles linked below.  Choose one of the articles to analyze.  Your analysis should include: a brief explanation of what the article says, why you chose this article instead of one of the others and how does this article relate to what we have discussed in class regarding emotion (the different theories, evolution, gender differences, cultural differences)? Include one picture relating to your topic.  Be sure to link the article that you chose to analyze.

Be sure you read each article before you begin writing.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171557.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081229080859.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110901105510.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813142131.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080819213027.htm

Culture and Gender - How Do They Affect Emotion?

We all exhibit emotions - and there are a limited number of core emotions to exhibit.  So are humans all the same when it comes to our emotional expression or are there specific differences.  Well, anyone can tell you that there is typically a difference in how we express emotions as we age: babies cry whenever they encounter any difficulty, from hunger to poopy pants to being startled by a loud noise.  Teenagers experience obvious emotional swings from moment to moment - boys will often fight physically with one another as they are unable to control their anger.  Adults appear to become more reserved as they age - able to hold back from expressing emotions even when they are feeling something very strongly.
Culture and gender, likelwise, play a role in the emotions we express and the magnitude with which we express them. 
Your assignment for today (and this weekend) is to research and find examples (hopefully supported by studies) that show us the emotional differences which may occur between males and females as well as people from different ethinic backgrounds or cultures.
In this post, identify and explain two examples of gender differences and two examples of cultural differences - as always, include pictures with your post (one picture representing each example.)

The Gift of Fear

Various theories regarding emotion have been offered up for centuries.  The early philosophers speculated about the meaning and source of emotions in humans - but what is emotion and why do we all have them? 
Do some research regarding the theories of emotion, beginning with evolution.
In your post, explain what emotion is and why it may be an adaptive feature to humans in our quest for survival.  Your focus question then is: How would emotions allow humans to survive and be successful in the world?

As always, be sure to include one picture in your post and provide links to any and all sources used for research.

Theories of Human Emotion

Our second unit of study is the area of human emotion.  Emotion is an interesting phenomena - everyone has them, they often overlap one another and we often display them based on our own interpretation of events.   An interesting thing about emotion is that although we all display emotion from the cradle to the grave, we know very little about what causes them. 

So, here are the major theories: (I don't want to spoil the surprise so these wil be unveiled one at a time over the coming week.)

Evolutionary Theories

The James-Lange Theory

The Cannon-Bard Theory

Schachter and Singer’s Two-Factor Theory

Cognitive Appraisal

Alzheimer's Disease: What Can We Learn About Memory?

Alzheimer's Disease is an incredibly cruel illness.  It does so much more than simply rob a person of his or her memory.  AD is 100% lethal: there is no escape for those who develop the disease, it will ultimately end your life.  While there is no way to stop AD, there is growing research which has produced various treatments known to delay some of the symptoms. 
While Alzheimer's was discovered over 100 years ago, it has only recently been brought to light how widesread the disease actually is.  While it is most often discovered in people over the age of 65, it's onset can go undiscovered for years until it has finally affected a person's functioning to the point that it becomes unmistakable.  Memory loss is one of the initial symptoms as the disease appears to originate in the medial temporal lobe - the part of the brain most associated with the development of long-term memory.
After class discussion and watching the video, "The Forgetting", please write a response paper which consists of the following: 

• A brief summarization of the disease
• Important information from the video watched in class
• Your own feelings about what you have learned about the disease
• Two pictures that help to illustrate this topic and your information

This writing assignment should be at least 250 words in length.  Due by Thursday, October 6th, 2011.

Brain Structures and Memory Loss: The Case Study of H.M.

One of the most famous case studies in the history of psychology involves a man who suffered from severe epilepsy.  In an attempt to alleviate his seizures, doctors performed brain surgery and removed a portion of his temporal lobes - the hippocampus.  Following his recovery it was discovered that his memory was noticeably affected - and not in a good way.  He still maintained many earlier memories, although he appeared unable to place them in the correct place in time.  He also was found to have no ability to move memories from short-term to long-term stores and, therefore, was unable to create new memories that he could later recall.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/05hm.html?pagewanted=all

H.M. died less than three years ago at the age of 82. 

Your assignment is to read the article linked above and write a brief analysis of this important case study.
Your analysis should include information about his story as well as an explanation for what was learned from his case.  This post should be at least 250 words and include two pictures relevant to what you write.  You should also link the article from above and any other sources you use in your post.

Test your memory...

Here are some interesting memory games to test your memory's ability.  Notice how practice brings improvement.   http://www.improvememory.org/category/games 

How Does Memory Work?

 One popular theory, generated in the 1950,s by George Miller, states that the human memory can recall about seven chunks of information (plus or minus two).  The method by which he arrived at this theory is suspect at best but appears to be somewhat accurate.  It seems that any theory which attempts to explain something as important as memory should be able to give us a better range than 71% -128% of an average.  But Miller's Magic Number, none-the-less, remains a popular topic in the study of memory.

http://www.randomlettergenerator.com/

Studies on the Limitations of Memory

Using the studies we have examined in class, (Bartlett, 1932) (Loftus & Palmer, 1974)(French & Richards,1993) Ronald Cotton legal case study), explain schema theory and how it both helps and hinders the accurate recall of memory.

Your essay should be a minimum of 300 words - be sure to organize it with the standard format (intro, body, conclusion) and make direct reference to each of the above mentioned studies.  This blog post should also include one or more related pictures and links to each of the studies mentioned. 

Assignment Due Date: September 20th (Tuesday)

False Memory

Memory was long thought to be reliable - what better evidence could there be than the word of an eyewitness to a crime?  But studies conducted over the years have demonstrated a different theory as to how memory works and cast doubt on its reliability. 
We will examine an empirrical study and a case study relating to the concept of how memory works and false memories in particular.  Elizabeth Loftus is a renowned psychologist who has spent decades studying the workings of memory and her famous "car crash" study from 1974 gives us an understanding of how memory can be easily influenced.

The story of Ronald Cotton takes us inside the U.S. criminal justice system and helps to explain how over 230 convicted criminals (mostly for rape and murder)  have been released from prison over the past two decades as part of an effort to help the unjustly accused - most of them convicted, in part, with the help of eyewitness tesitmony.After discussing these two studies and viewing the short video, you should be able to discuss and analyze the limitations of memory. 

Your assignment is to write a 300 word (minimum) review of the case of Ronald Cotton, explaining the general details of the case, the possible reasons for the eyewitness' false memories and your conclusion about the usefulness of this type of evidence in court.  Please include at least two pictures to go with your written review and link at least one related site in your text.

Schema Theory

Think of your brain as a giant file cabinet - but how can we possibly store and retrieve all the information that bombards us each day?  Frederic Bartlett, a British psychologist from Cambridge University, performed several studies in the 1930's which helped pinpoint a theory of how we use past information to assist us in processing new information.  His concept, called schema theory, has helped identify cognitive strategies that make our brain more powerful than the greatest super-computer.

The War of the Ghosts was perhaps his most famous study - a fable which proved very difficult for his subjects to recall.  Why were subjects' memories so poor in remembering this short tale?  Bartlett theorized that cultural elements interfere with most people's ability to recall specific information.  Therefore, we place details into certain categories which allow us to make greater sense of the countless stimuli.

http://ibpsychologynotes.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/03-evaluate-schema-theory-with-reference-to-research-studies.pdf

Welcome to IB Psychology

Welcome to the first year of IB psychology at QSI-Bratislava!  We have a busy year ahead  as we begin to explore the world of psychology.  Psychology is an amazing subject as it explains every aspect of our lives - from our mental choices to our everyday behavior - it helps us to understand ourselves but also to explain the people around us.  Why is the world the way it is?  Psychology attempts to give us the answers and to understand that nothing happens without reason.

So this year we will be delving into several approaches to psychology: the behavioral, cognitive and sociocultural explanations of behavior.  But in order to fully make use of psychology we must also be able to analyze research and the methods used in this science. 

Long story short: you will learn a great deal, so be warned, you are about to enter an entirely new world.