We've made it! A whole semester of psychology all here in one blog! I'm glad that my psychology instructor had the class choose some sort of project that forced us to look more into subjects that we discussed in class (REALLY GLAD; ok no sarcasm, it was kind of fun).
First, let me start by saying, thanks for following along! I've really enjoyed getting my thoughts and words on different subjects out on a blog. This was really fun! We've learned a lot this year! We started with psychologists such as Erikson and Kohlberg. Then we went on to learn about sleep, consciousness and unconsciousness, and different sleep disorders. Then on to conditioning. We heard about how Pavlov trained (or conditioned) his dogs and Skinner experimented with his mice. Then, who remembers what was next? Oh yeah, MEMORY!! Next, we went on to get smart and learn how to do so. Ok, not quite, but we did learn about some guys that told us what we need to be successful. Ok, a little bit. Sternberg and Gardner told us why they think we need 3 and 8 intelligences (respectively) to be a better intellect. Then, I made you take some tests to learn how smart (or dumb, just kidding!) you really are! I told you about the history behind IQ tests, and then after intelligence, we did emotion theories! From there, we got a little serious and I opened up about my struggle with depression and self-injury. To me, that is the most important post to read out of all of these. Lastly, we talked about some different types of therapy.
I just want to say, I really hoped you enjoyed my blog. Thank you for reading along!
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Therapy (not physical)
Well, I hope you learned something in my last blog. I don't want pity or attention; I want to bring awareness and hope to the issues that are depression and self-harm. In this (second-to-last) post, we're going to be talking about 5 different types of psychotherapies. So let's get started!
Psychodynamic
In this behavior, the patient is generally on some sort of couch or in a comfortable position. The therapist is most likely looking at you and watching you while you answer his/her questions. This therapy focuses on childhood memories and unresolved conflicts or experiences occurring during a young age. The therapist tends to guide you to figure out your problem by yourself.
Client-centered
In client-centered therapy, the patient and therapist sit facing each other in chairs at a comfortable distance apart. This is the standard for therapy that I have endured. In this therapy, the therapist will help the patient to overcome barriers or painful problems that are affecting the patient in a negative way. The therapist and the patient tend to have even conversations, not lecture by the therapist and not all talking by the patient.
Behavior
In this therapy, the patients are dealing with dysfunctional behavior that they need help terminating. Often in behavior therapy, the patients are of a younger age. They need to relearn important and adaptive behavior. Therapists often use classical or operant conditioning to help their patients learn or relearn positive behaviors.
Cognitive, Cognitive-behavioral
In this type of therapy, the goal is to end any negative or self-destructive thoughts or behaviors. The therapist's goal is to promote healthier lifestyles; hence, no self-destructive talk or behavior.
Group and Family
In this type of therapy, there would be some sort of dysfunction going on that would lead a whole family to go to therapy. The goal is aimed at fixing harmed relationships and healing possible wounds. The therapist helps the whole family to work through their problems and to better understand each other.
And those are the main types (or categories) of modern psychotherapies!
I've got a little more to say to wrap up this whole year so check back next time!!
 |
| Psychodynamic https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-shrink-tank/ 201002/let-the-evidence-show-psychodynamic -therapy-provides-effective-and |
In this behavior, the patient is generally on some sort of couch or in a comfortable position. The therapist is most likely looking at you and watching you while you answer his/her questions. This therapy focuses on childhood memories and unresolved conflicts or experiences occurring during a young age. The therapist tends to guide you to figure out your problem by yourself.
Client-centered
 |
| Client-centered http://psychology.about.com/od/ typesofpsychotherapy/a/client-centered-therapy.htm |
 |
| Behavior http://www.cnnh.org/treatments /cognitive-behavioral-therapy/ |
In this therapy, the patients are dealing with dysfunctional behavior that they need help terminating. Often in behavior therapy, the patients are of a younger age. They need to relearn important and adaptive behavior. Therapists often use classical or operant conditioning to help their patients learn or relearn positive behaviors.
Cognitive, Cognitive-behavioral
In this type of therapy, the goal is to end any negative or self-destructive thoughts or behaviors. The therapist's goal is to promote healthier lifestyles; hence, no self-destructive talk or behavior.
Group and Family
In this type of therapy, there would be some sort of dysfunction going on that would lead a whole family to go to therapy. The goal is aimed at fixing harmed relationships and healing possible wounds. The therapist helps the whole family to work through their problems and to better understand each other.
And those are the main types (or categories) of modern psychotherapies!
I've got a little more to say to wrap up this whole year so check back next time!!
My story
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a very happy person. I'm silly, goofy, and wow, I am weird. I make it a mission to try to make everyone I come across happy. Whether it's family, friends, or strangers, I just don't want to see sadness. I have always been that way, ever since I was young.
If someone sees me sad, they know that something is definitely wrong. So, what if I tell that I know what depression feels like? I know how it is to feel completely and utterly worthless and like life isn't worth living? Because I do.
As I mentioned in my last blog, I've been diagnosed with OCD. However, I was diagnosed with depression and self-injury issues last year. Not many people know that, so I am just starting to open my struggles with. This post isn't really going to focus on anything technically, but more my experience with depression.
I don't know when it started. I can't remember the first day that I felt completely sad and out of control of my feelings. It started sometime last summer. I just didn't want to keep going in my life. I didn't know why I was here on this earth or why I was still alive. What was really devastating was that I had just started a new job that I actually was very excited about. You know how it is when you start a new job, you want to make a good impression? It was so hard for me because I am such a happy person and when I started to go downhill, it's like I had to wear a mask. At my job, I work with several girls who are my age. It was all about making a first impression those first few months; hence, not being a sad, depressed teenage girl.
Another struggle that I was dealing with at the time was self-harm. The first time I cut was with a razor. I honestly can't explain why I first cut. I thought maybe if I could cause more physical pain, that my emotional pain would disappear. Right after I cut for the first time, I went and told my mom because I was upset with myself. She helped me to calm down and helped to adjust my environment so I didn't have any harmful objects around me. Ultimately, my mom told me, it was up to me to control myself to stop. She could take away all of my razors, but she couldn't stop me from going to the store and picking up a package of razors. That was my choice, and I had to use my self-control if I wanted to stop. I did not go get a package of razors. Instead, I found other sources to keep my "addiction" going. One day, I was desperate, I took apart a handheld pencil sharpener and kept the razor from it under a lamp next to my bed. Day after day, I ripped apart my arms, never my legs, stomach, or any other part of my body. I was limited in what I could wear because I refused to wear short sleeve shirts. Mind you, this was still summer time (still warm out). Well, my behavior carried over into the first semester of college and continuing until late November-early December. Through that time, I was seeing a psychologist and a psychiatrist who was prescribing some mood stabilizers. Once we found a good mix of medicine and I worked on my sadness, one day, I just wasn't sad anymore. It was like someone flipped a switch. I could function. I could laugh and not worry about the next time I was going to cut. I could be sad, but not dysfunctionally sad that I needed to cut to feel better. I was me. I remember the most freeing moment that I felt free of my depression. Remember that piece of razor I kept next to my bed? Christmas Eve night was the night I threw it away. That evidence, that piece of pain, gone forever; and with it, my worries of cutting again.
I do want to let those out there know, hope is out there. Happiness is out there. I want to quote a few statements that helped me through my bout of depression:
"No one else can play your part." If you leave, no one, NO ONE, will ever replace you
"You, whose voice is someone's favorite voice....nothing would be the same if you did not exist"
"Hope is real"
"Hold on, I'm still alive"
Tonight, I want to end on this note. Please tonight, take a moment to hug your loved ones, call someone you haven't checked in on in a while, let someone know that they are important and no can replace them. Thank you
If someone sees me sad, they know that something is definitely wrong. So, what if I tell that I know what depression feels like? I know how it is to feel completely and utterly worthless and like life isn't worth living? Because I do.
As I mentioned in my last blog, I've been diagnosed with OCD. However, I was diagnosed with depression and self-injury issues last year. Not many people know that, so I am just starting to open my struggles with. This post isn't really going to focus on anything technically, but more my experience with depression.
I don't know when it started. I can't remember the first day that I felt completely sad and out of control of my feelings. It started sometime last summer. I just didn't want to keep going in my life. I didn't know why I was here on this earth or why I was still alive. What was really devastating was that I had just started a new job that I actually was very excited about. You know how it is when you start a new job, you want to make a good impression? It was so hard for me because I am such a happy person and when I started to go downhill, it's like I had to wear a mask. At my job, I work with several girls who are my age. It was all about making a first impression those first few months; hence, not being a sad, depressed teenage girl.
Another struggle that I was dealing with at the time was self-harm. The first time I cut was with a razor. I honestly can't explain why I first cut. I thought maybe if I could cause more physical pain, that my emotional pain would disappear. Right after I cut for the first time, I went and told my mom because I was upset with myself. She helped me to calm down and helped to adjust my environment so I didn't have any harmful objects around me. Ultimately, my mom told me, it was up to me to control myself to stop. She could take away all of my razors, but she couldn't stop me from going to the store and picking up a package of razors. That was my choice, and I had to use my self-control if I wanted to stop. I did not go get a package of razors. Instead, I found other sources to keep my "addiction" going. One day, I was desperate, I took apart a handheld pencil sharpener and kept the razor from it under a lamp next to my bed. Day after day, I ripped apart my arms, never my legs, stomach, or any other part of my body. I was limited in what I could wear because I refused to wear short sleeve shirts. Mind you, this was still summer time (still warm out). Well, my behavior carried over into the first semester of college and continuing until late November-early December. Through that time, I was seeing a psychologist and a psychiatrist who was prescribing some mood stabilizers. Once we found a good mix of medicine and I worked on my sadness, one day, I just wasn't sad anymore. It was like someone flipped a switch. I could function. I could laugh and not worry about the next time I was going to cut. I could be sad, but not dysfunctionally sad that I needed to cut to feel better. I was me. I remember the most freeing moment that I felt free of my depression. Remember that piece of razor I kept next to my bed? Christmas Eve night was the night I threw it away. That evidence, that piece of pain, gone forever; and with it, my worries of cutting again.
I do want to let those out there know, hope is out there. Happiness is out there. I want to quote a few statements that helped me through my bout of depression:
"No one else can play your part." If you leave, no one, NO ONE, will ever replace you
"You, whose voice is someone's favorite voice....nothing would be the same if you did not exist"
"Hope is real"
"Hold on, I'm still alive"
Tonight, I want to end on this note. Please tonight, take a moment to hug your loved ones, call someone you haven't checked in on in a while, let someone know that they are important and no can replace them. Thank you
ADHD/OCD
We always hear these terms... "Oh, sorry I'm ADD..." "Let me do it, I have OCD.." "I can't focus. I have ADHD..." Do you really know what these terms mean? Well, that's today's topic! Let's get started!
If you were to ask someone, what is ADHD? What is the most common answer, do you think? I asked some friends and family, and the most common answer was hyperactivity. That answer is partly right. ADHD is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. ADHD's key symptoms are severe inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Typically, kids with ADHD have a very hard time in a school setting, because they can't sit still and stop talking. I've had an experience with a child who has this and it is very frustrating. The child is constantly moving, talking, asking questions, asked to stop talking over and over, told what to do over and over. I don't understand how teachers deal with students like that on a daily basis.
ADHD is diagnosed three times more often in boys than in girls. It is more common for African American children to be sent for ADHD assessment over Caucasian children (on behalf of a teacher's recommendation). However, African American youth are less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.
It can be difficult to diagnose children with ADHD because honestly, sometimes it is a kid being a kid. Kids can be hyper at times and can have times of not wanting to focus. There is a difference in those children and consistently hyper children.
Also, I want to mention that ADD is actually an old-time term that used to be used before ADHD was researched. Those who were diagnosed with ADD before ADHD would actually associate themselves with the diagnosis of ADHD, predominately inattentive type.
(I was going to find a video of an ADHD child, but no clear cut videos have been posted)
The other diagnosis I want to touch on today is OCD. In preparation, I asked my family if they knew what OCD was. They answered that someone with OCD can be very particular about how things have to be done. I know what they're trying to get it, but let's get a more accurate description.
OCD is known as obsessive compulsive disorder. OCD causes severe anxiety and guilt in those affected. I have firsthand experience with this. I was diagnosed with OCD a few years ago. I've dealt with recurring bouts of sadness and self-harm in the past year or so (I will talk more about that with my depression blog). With OCD, though, imagine that you think something very sad at the beginning of the day. Then, through the whole day, you can't stop being sad and thinking about how sad you are. You go to bed with that sad thought, and when you wake up, it's still there. Constantly there, always recurring and making you sad. That is one part of OCD. The other part of OCD is compulsions. This is a repetitive behavior or thought much like the sadness that I felt. I dealt with a compulsion of hitting my head with my fist over and over and over until I was in tears from pain. The other compulsion I had was a statement that I had to beg of my mom. For some reason, my brain was telling me that my mom hated me. Obviously not true, I love my mom very much. However, I couldn't leave the subject of my mom hating me alone. This frustrated and saddened my mom, too. She couldn't control me when I was trying to hit myself, but also it was hard for her not to get frustrated when I asked her 50 times in 5 minutes if she hated me. I couldn't help myself.
At this time, I was already seeing a psychiatrist who also acted as my psychologist. We were trying to find a good drug cocktail to control my compulsions (which thank god we did). Today, I am under control, completely happy and normal.
I would never wish OCD on anybody because of what it can do to your relationships with friends and family.
So, today you learned a little bit more about me personally. I hope if you have someone who exhibits either behaviors of ADHD or OCD, that you can get them the help they need.
Thanks for reading! Check back next time!
References
What is ADHD or ADD? (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/what
What is OCD? (2014, April 28). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://iocdf.org/about-ocd/
If you were to ask someone, what is ADHD? What is the most common answer, do you think? I asked some friends and family, and the most common answer was hyperactivity. That answer is partly right. ADHD is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. ADHD's key symptoms are severe inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Typically, kids with ADHD have a very hard time in a school setting, because they can't sit still and stop talking. I've had an experience with a child who has this and it is very frustrating. The child is constantly moving, talking, asking questions, asked to stop talking over and over, told what to do over and over. I don't understand how teachers deal with students like that on a daily basis.
ADHD is diagnosed three times more often in boys than in girls. It is more common for African American children to be sent for ADHD assessment over Caucasian children (on behalf of a teacher's recommendation). However, African American youth are less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.
It can be difficult to diagnose children with ADHD because honestly, sometimes it is a kid being a kid. Kids can be hyper at times and can have times of not wanting to focus. There is a difference in those children and consistently hyper children.
Also, I want to mention that ADD is actually an old-time term that used to be used before ADHD was researched. Those who were diagnosed with ADD before ADHD would actually associate themselves with the diagnosis of ADHD, predominately inattentive type.
(I was going to find a video of an ADHD child, but no clear cut videos have been posted)
The other diagnosis I want to touch on today is OCD. In preparation, I asked my family if they knew what OCD was. They answered that someone with OCD can be very particular about how things have to be done. I know what they're trying to get it, but let's get a more accurate description.
OCD is known as obsessive compulsive disorder. OCD causes severe anxiety and guilt in those affected. I have firsthand experience with this. I was diagnosed with OCD a few years ago. I've dealt with recurring bouts of sadness and self-harm in the past year or so (I will talk more about that with my depression blog). With OCD, though, imagine that you think something very sad at the beginning of the day. Then, through the whole day, you can't stop being sad and thinking about how sad you are. You go to bed with that sad thought, and when you wake up, it's still there. Constantly there, always recurring and making you sad. That is one part of OCD. The other part of OCD is compulsions. This is a repetitive behavior or thought much like the sadness that I felt. I dealt with a compulsion of hitting my head with my fist over and over and over until I was in tears from pain. The other compulsion I had was a statement that I had to beg of my mom. For some reason, my brain was telling me that my mom hated me. Obviously not true, I love my mom very much. However, I couldn't leave the subject of my mom hating me alone. This frustrated and saddened my mom, too. She couldn't control me when I was trying to hit myself, but also it was hard for her not to get frustrated when I asked her 50 times in 5 minutes if she hated me. I couldn't help myself.
At this time, I was already seeing a psychiatrist who also acted as my psychologist. We were trying to find a good drug cocktail to control my compulsions (which thank god we did). Today, I am under control, completely happy and normal.
I would never wish OCD on anybody because of what it can do to your relationships with friends and family.
So, today you learned a little bit more about me personally. I hope if you have someone who exhibits either behaviors of ADHD or OCD, that you can get them the help they need.
Thanks for reading! Check back next time!
References
What is ADHD or ADD? (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/what
What is OCD? (2014, April 28). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://iocdf.org/about-ocd/
EMOTIONS!
Well, we discussed lots of intelligence theories in the past few blogs, so now it's time for emotion theories! Stay with me in this blog because we're going to be discussing several different theories.
James-Lange Theory
This theory combines ideas of William James and Carl Lange. James and Lange both propose that emotions happen BECAUSE of an event. The equation that is proposed with this theory is...
event ---> arousal ---> interpretation ---> emotion
Example: I get home from a long day of school. No one else is home at my house, but I notice the front door is wide open. My heart starts to beat fast and my palms start to get sweaty. I'm very anxious and scared about someone being in our house.
Cannon-Bard Theory
Walter Cannon and Philip Bard came up with a refutation to the James-Lange theory. Cannon and Bard thought that arousal and emotions occur simultaneously, instead of emotions following arousal (James-Lange). event ---> SIMULTANEOUS arousal, emotion
Example: After shopping, I pay for my items and go to leave the store. I feel someone following behind me. I get scared, so my heart starts to race and my muscles tense, in case I need to run away.
Schachter-Singer Theory
Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer proposed a theory that is known as the Two-Factor Theory. They have a similar mindset to James-Lange in that arousal precedes emotion. However, Schachter and Singer thought that arousal could come from a variety of emotions. Let's look at my last example to explai
n this theory as well. I'm walking across a parking lot when a strange guy starts walking toward me. By way of the two-factor theory: I see the strange guy so my heart starts racing. My heart rate is because of fear, so I am afraid. See the difference?
Lazarus Theory
This theory can also be known as the appraisal theory. This theory goes against the Schachter-Singer Theory, but somewhat agrees with the Cannon-Bard Theory (there is an extra step in this one). Richard Lazarus proposed that there are two parts of appraisal in his theory. In primary appraisal, we think how a situation affects US. In secondary appraisal, we think about how we will handle the situation (emotionally). event ---> thinking ---> SIMULTANEOUS arousal, emotion
This could be a common feeling if one co-worker gets a raise and the other does not. There may be some feelings of resentment or hurt towards the co-worker who get the raise.
Of course, as with any subject in psychology, there are many more theories regarding emotion and how we, as humans, process it.
I know this blog isn't as interesting as some of the other ones, but in psychology, not everything is fun! We'll have more fun next time. So...you have to come back! Thanks for reading!
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| William James http://www.brainpickings.org/2012/ 09/25/william-james-on-habit/ |
James-Lange Theory
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| Carl Lange http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Carl_Lange_(physician) |
event ---> arousal ---> interpretation ---> emotion
Example: I get home from a long day of school. No one else is home at my house, but I notice the front door is wide open. My heart starts to beat fast and my palms start to get sweaty. I'm very anxious and scared about someone being in our house.
 |
| Walter Cannon http://www.the-aps.org/fm /presidents/introwbc.html |
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| Philip Bard http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php? record_id=5859&page=15 |
Example: After shopping, I pay for my items and go to leave the store. I feel someone following behind me. I get scared, so my heart starts to race and my muscles tense, in case I need to run away.
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| Stanley Schachter http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Stanley_Schachter |
Schachter-Singer Theory
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| Jerome Singer http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/2013/ 12/10/conversation-on-daydreaming-with-jerome-l-singer/ |
n this theory as well. I'm walking across a parking lot when a strange guy starts walking toward me. By way of the two-factor theory: I see the strange guy so my heart starts racing. My heart rate is because of fear, so I am afraid. See the difference?
 |
| Richard Lazarus http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media /releases/2002/12/04_lazarus.html |
This theory can also be known as the appraisal theory. This theory goes against the Schachter-Singer Theory, but somewhat agrees with the Cannon-Bard Theory (there is an extra step in this one). Richard Lazarus proposed that there are two parts of appraisal in his theory. In primary appraisal, we think how a situation affects US. In secondary appraisal, we think about how we will handle the situation (emotionally). event ---> thinking ---> SIMULTANEOUS arousal, emotion
This could be a common feeling if one co-worker gets a raise and the other does not. There may be some feelings of resentment or hurt towards the co-worker who get the raise.
Of course, as with any subject in psychology, there are many more theories regarding emotion and how we, as humans, process it.
I know this blog isn't as interesting as some of the other ones, but in psychology, not everything is fun! We'll have more fun next time. So...you have to come back! Thanks for reading!
Defense Mechanisms
What do you do when you're upset with someone? What about when you're angry with yourself? What if you're just sad? Today, we're going to be discussing what happens when something happens that causes us to be anxious, otherwise known as defense mechanisms. (After reading, see if you have done/do any of these.)
Sigmund Freud (who I won't give a big introduction to because by now, you should know who he is) says that repression is a basic action that terminates anxiety-filled behavior; banishing a painful thought or memory. He also created these six defense mechanisms, which he says comes from repression.
The first of the defense mechanism is regression. It is in this aspect that we may possibly revert to a more childish state of mind after encountering something that either gets us in trouble or makes us upset. For example, my mom and I got into an argument a few weeks ago over something that I shouldn't have overreacted to. Because of this, I stomped into my room, slammed the door, and pouted for the afternoon. Another example would be when I was younger (about 5 or 6 years old), I would suck my thumb when I would be very nervous about something (first day of school or camp, or having to meet new people). My brother did the same thing. The thumb-sucking is a very common repression mechanism.
The next mechanism is reaction formation. This would be defined as covering up your true emotion with an exaggerated false emotion. I work at a small bakery in Old Town Florissant. Dealing with the public will sometimes lead me to do this. If a certain customer really ticks me off and I stay mad about it the rest of the day, I may actually be more friendly to other customers to hide the fact that I'm actually very, very angry.
The third mechanism is projection. This is basically "blame someone else." I actually have seen this in a young girl I know. Instead of saying that she doesn't like a certain girl in her class, she'll tell me that this girl actually hates her. She won't own up and say that she doesn't care for the girl in her class, but instead blames her dislike on the girl that she says she doesn't like. "Oh, she hates me. I don't know why." Make sense? Let's try another one. Say a husband and wife are fighting. The husband does something that makes the wife really mad, and they start fighting. The wife is really mad at the husband, but screams at the husband that he is mad at her.
Another mechanism is rationalization. This could be described as doing something bad, but it's okay because you have a good reason for doing it. For example, someone steals medicine to save a dying relative, but they think that it's okay because they always give money to help charities get medicine for those less fortunate. Another example would be a girl in school always studies very hard for tests at school. She forgot to study for one test, so she decides to cheat. Everyone else has cheated at one point, so it's okay for her to.
The fifth mechanism is displacement. This can be described as directing your anger away from the actual source. I have actually seen a child I know take part in this. She was playing a video game on a phone and got mad because she lost the game. She was so angry so she threw the phone against the wall. She wasn't actually mad at the phone, but a game on the phone. Another example would be a brother and sister are fighting so they both go to their rooms. The brother punches a hole in the wall, and the sister throws some books on the floor. In both of these situations, the people directed their anger elsewhere.
The last mechanism I'm going to talk about is denial. There's not really a way to describe denial besides saying that one refuses to believe something that is true to everyone around them. For example, a young man has gotten several speeding tickets, but refuses to believe that he is a fast driver. Another example would be a chronic drinker. Someone may spend dollar after dollar on liquor until they don't have any money left. They still don't see a problem with the amount of alcohol that they ingest.
And those are 6 defense mechanisms that Freud observed and named. They are a few others, but we'll stick with those for today. Check back next time! Thanks for reading!
Sigmund Freud (who I won't give a big introduction to because by now, you should know who he is) says that repression is a basic action that terminates anxiety-filled behavior; banishing a painful thought or memory. He also created these six defense mechanisms, which he says comes from repression.
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| http://allinabox.blogspot.com/2011/09/be -best-neighbour-in-your-neighbourhood.html |
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| http://www.stylegerms.com /facebook-smiley-faces/ |
The third mechanism is projection. This is basically "blame someone else." I actually have seen this in a young girl I know. Instead of saying that she doesn't like a certain girl in her class, she'll tell me that this girl actually hates her. She won't own up and say that she doesn't care for the girl in her class, but instead blames her dislike on the girl that she says she doesn't like. "Oh, she hates me. I don't know why." Make sense? Let's try another one. Say a husband and wife are fighting. The husband does something that makes the wife really mad, and they start fighting. The wife is really mad at the husband, but screams at the husband that he is mad at her.
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| http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo- angry-brother -sister-living-room-image32970070 |
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| http://simpledesktops.com/browse/desktops/ 2012/may/08/hole-in-the-wall/ |
The last mechanism I'm going to talk about is denial. There's not really a way to describe denial besides saying that one refuses to believe something that is true to everyone around them. For example, a young man has gotten several speeding tickets, but refuses to believe that he is a fast driver. Another example would be a chronic drinker. Someone may spend dollar after dollar on liquor until they don't have any money left. They still don't see a problem with the amount of alcohol that they ingest.
And those are 6 defense mechanisms that Freud observed and named. They are a few others, but we'll stick with those for today. Check back next time! Thanks for reading!
Alfred Binet and Lewis Terman and...
Do you know what your IQ is? (find out here: www.free-iqtest.net/) This is just a fun, little test to see where you fall. After reading this blog, you'll be able to tell if your intelligence is average, below average, or above average. To prepare for this blog, I took several IQ tests to see how accurate they were (at least to each other). Each time, I got an IQ of 118. If you don't really understand that, keep reading!
Binet died in 1911, and it was about this time when Louis Terman was a professor at Stanford University. He researched into the questions that Binet asked French schoolchildren and realized that they (for some reason) did not work with Californian schoolchildren. So he changed it up and created the Stanford-Binet Test. It really was Binet's original test, with adaptations by Terman.
Let me start by telling you about Alfred Binet. Back at the beginning of the 20th century in France, a law was passed that said all children must attend an academic establishment. The French schools and the government were concerned when some students couldn't seem to follow along with a curriculum. Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon were asked to figure out and try to help solve the problem.
They started by assuming that all children have the same mental abilities and development, some are just faster than others. Binet and Simon were focused on measuring a child's mental age. Let's say that they measured my mental age. I'm 18 (almost 19). I would hope that they would say that I have a mental age of 18 (my brother may disagree). Others who have below-average mental ages (a 15 year old that may perform at the level of a 5 year old) would have more difficulty on schoolwork.
Binet and Simon were certain in stating that they weren't assuming WHY children were sometimes functioning at lower than average levels. Binet did not want his test to be used to label and limit children that may show below average scores.
Binet died in 1911, and it was about this time when Louis Terman was a professor at Stanford University. He researched into the questions that Binet asked French schoolchildren and realized that they (for some reason) did not work with Californian schoolchildren. So he changed it up and created the Stanford-Binet Test. It really was Binet's original test, with adaptations by Terman.
From the Stanford-Binet comes IQ numbers. William Stern created the intelligence quotient (IQ) after researching the Stanford-Binet. IQ does not go against the Stanford-Binet; instead, it goes along with it.
IQ = mental age / chronological age x 100
Whatever number you come up with is your IQ.
(Have a little fun and try to find out your mental age first: http://yourmentalage.com). Then, come back to this equation and plug in your answer to see if your IQ matches to the first quiz at the beginning of the blog. Mine was pretty close...doing it this way led me to have an IQ of 122, instead of 118.
A modern test that is out was created by David Wechsler, called the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). This is a more modern version for adults, but there is a version for children, too. It is like the Stanford-Binet in that it gives a score for overall intelligence, but also subscores for different categories. Having subcategories is a big difference in the Stanford-Binet and the WAIS. If you were to take a version of the WAIS, here is a bell curve of where you would land.
I hope this blog educated you on intelligence, in general! Thanks for taking part! Next time, we'll be taking a break from some theories and discussing defense mechanisms!
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