Every thought and emotion you have constantly contributes to the state of your overall health. Scientists have now proven that being kind boosts your immune system. Can you believe it, isn’t that amazing? But of course we already knew that didn’t we? The body mirrors the mind perfectly; so what takes place in the mind, takes place in the body, thus the mind- body connection.
When we experience an emotion, a chemical reaction takes place within our body. An emotion is felt and a corresponding hormone is released. For example when we feel stressed our body releases adrenaline into our system to help cope with it. Alternatively when we feel joyous our body releases endorphins which provide a sense of satisfaction and well being. It is this chemical release that connects the mind to the body and impacts our health.
The chemicals released into our system attach to our cells by way of receptors. All cells have receptors and are therefore capable of connecting with the hormones from every emotion we feel. When the chemical attaches to the cell, it sends a signal into the cell that in turn creates a biochemical event inside the cell. Enough of the heavy stuff though, basically what that means is it changes the state of the cell and therefore changes you internally.
We as human beings have an enormous array of emotions we feel continuously, whether we are aware of it on a conscious level or not. All emotions have a charge that we feel as positive or negative. Moment by moment we are releasing emotional charges into our bodies and most often unaware that we are feeling anything at all. In society as a whole, we have become so totally disconnected from our emotions.
When we experience any of the positive emotions such as happiness, joy, passion, inspiration, harmony, trust, optimism, freedom, appreciation, empowerment, peace, enthusiasm, jubilation or love, our bodies are in a state of homeostasis which is physiological equilibrium within our bodies involving a balance of functions and chemical composition. Basically our whole body is in balance and we feel amazing.
However reoccurrence of negative emotions such as boredom, anger, frustration, grief, disappointment, blame, worry, stress, loneliness, abandonment, sadness, fear, hate, rage, disillusionment, depression, anguish, resentment or guilt leave our body in a state of ill-health because of the way the cell is altered. From negative emotions comes a decline in our health.
Negative emotions are toxic to our cells and therefore our whole body. For example when we suffer from too much stress in our body, we experience an enormous amount of cortisol which has a detrimental consequence on how we feel physically. We may encounter such symptoms as muscle tightness, back/head aches, liver dysfunction, sluggish bowels, fatigue, inadequate kidney performance and eventually may be a casualty of heart attack or stroke. Then we feel miserable physically, and consequently we feel negative emotionally and so you can see how the cycle can escalate. This is how dis-ease originates in the body.
In a nutshell, the more you feel positive emotions, the healthier you will be! Your emotions determine your health and that is the bottom line. Think of a time you felt a negative emotion, how did your body react? Slumped shoulders, head down, tears, a sense of heaviness, shaking, tension, heart palpitations. This is how your body reflects your mind. What happens in the mind, happens in the body. I love what Louise Hay says in regard to skeptics of the mind-body connection; “Anyone who does not believe in the mind-body connection has never had a sexual fantasy.” Oh how she has the ability to get her point across.
Think of how your body reacts to positive emotions; a sense of lightness, smiles all round, shoulders back, posture straight, glowing face, a full state of relaxation. Positive emotions allow us to feel good physically, mentally and emotionally. The more we feel good, the more we feel good. So here is a perfect reason why we would endeavour to live our life from a place of happiness.
Yes, I know what you are thinking; we all encounter events and situations that provoke us to feel bad and I acknowledge it is all part of our human evolution. But this is where the desire for positive emotions is derived; us experiencing the polarity of the negative. To have the desire to be happy comes from knowing what it feels like to be unhappy. Having the desire for safety is from the feeling of being unsafe and scared. I am not saying you never have a negative emotion ever again, I am saying that we have the ability to take control and not fall victim to our emotions.
When you feel a negative emotion there are a couple of ways to change how you feel. Firstly, acknowledging how you feel and being in acceptance of it will take the power away from it; and you will begin to feel it dissipate. Don’t ignore it or try to make it go away, this gives more power to it. So when you are feeling angry, acknowledge it and allow yourself to be angry rather than trying to push the anger away. Don’t punish yourself by thinking you shouldn’t feel a certain way, that will lead to repression of emotions.
Acceptance of what emotion you are experiencing, frees you from feeling that way anymore and allows the emotion to move through you instead of being stuck in you; therefore allowing room for more positive emotions to enter. The acceptance of the emotion is already exchanging a positive emotion instead of the anger. Now your anger is gone, you can put your attention into a more positive effect. You can choose to feel positive about the same situation because you are seeing it through the eyes of a different emotion.
Secondly, if you are still feeling powerless to negative emotions, it is vital that you release them by expressing yourself. Expression can be in the form of talking to someone about it or writing it down in a journal, either way, the emotion is leaving your body and that is what is needed here. Rid your body of the harmful emotion by expressing it fully by words or pen. Unexpressed negative emotions cause sickness in the body. They block the flow of energy and cause a buildup of toxic cells creating incessant fatigue problems, illness and disease.
Long term emotional trauma stored in the body can cause serious disease such as cancer and the like. We repress our uncomfortable emotions in many ways including masking them by taking drugs (legal and illegal) or alcohol, overeating, excessive working, spending money (commonly known as retail therapy), obsessive sexual habits or even extreme exercising. These habits can turn into addictions and only serve to disguise the emotions within. These addictions enable you to numb the pain of the emotion so you don’t feel anymore.
So many times we see an obese person lose weight only to regain it again because the core issue of why the weight was there in the first place has not been resolved. In some instances they may lose weight, keep it off, but will fall prey to a new addiction to seek the same numbness until they are willing to look within for the cause. This process is known as being detached from your emotions, although just because you are ignoring their presence, doesn’t mean they do not exist. They are still causing major toxicity from within. The sooner you attend to hurt in the past, the healthier you will be.
If you are unsure of how to resolve past issues, seek advice from the experts. You may decide to leave bygones be bygones or sweep past hurt under the carpet so you don’t feel the pain of it again, but for the sake of your long term health and freedom of mind, resolution of emotional trauma is absolutely essential. Releasing past hurts is such a feeling of freedom and as I said before, it allows much more room to fill yourself up with the ‘feel good’ stuff.
In my practice I have found that those who choose resolution of deep- rooted emotional pain are able to move forward with a new passion and vigor for life. They have the ability to paint their future with the brush of freedom because they have released what it is that has been holding them back. They are able to step forward with newly recreated dreams on a bigger and more abundant scale.
Removing these self-sabotaging blocks allows processing on a physical, mental and emotional level all at once. It can also transpire at a subconscious level so you may not even be aware of what is being accomplished behind the scenes. So much can be achieved in a small amount of time. Years of cycling through the same patterns can be modified in a moment. Emotional potentiality is not a new concept for humanity to embrace; however being disconnected from it is the cause of the decline in our health.
So how do we strengthen our immune system by being kind? When I heard Dr. Wayne Dyer state this, I was absolutely blown away because scientists have now proven what I have always felt in my heart. Whenever you give an act of kindness to another, the recipient encounters a strong emotion within. This emotion, as stated earlier, causes a chemical reaction inside the body by way of serotonin. Serotonin is the hormone that makes us feel phenomenal. So when someone gives you a gift, that welling up of emotion you feel inside is from the serotonin. It is this hormone that strengthens our immune system and therefore our state of health.
But not only does the recipient increase their levels of serotonin, so does the giver because when you give in kindness, you also feel the emotional connection between the two of you and therefore release your serotonin accordingly. So you are both boosting your immune system at the same time. In this moment of kindness, the connection you feel is on a heart level, it is a connection of love between two souls. This is grace!
But if that isn’t amazing enough, when an individual simply observes this act of kindness, they also feel the act of love and it boosts their immune system as well. So if you don’t want to be kind yourself, you can always just watch someone else do it and get the same result. So you can see where this is all going. Just by being kind, everyone around you benefits and gets a stronger, healthier mind and body. Wow, how awesome is that? So being kind and feeling good makes you healthy!
So what you can do on a daily basis from a conscious perspective is to declare that you are the controlling factor in your health by seeing the positive instead of the negative; seeing the good instead of the bad. It is possible, but it is a choice, you can perceive things in a ‘feel good’ way. Tar you brush with the paint of love. Every single thing you encounter has an emotional reading to it. As the powerful human being that you are, you can override and change the way you think and feel about everything.
Choose to see the endless beauty in situations, rather than the ugliness; face each day with passion instead of dreading what is in store. Embrace the opportunity to spend time alone and be out in nature rather than dwelling on the fact you have to mow the lawn, notice the beauty in the snake rather than feel the fear. See the love in everyone and know we are all connected by the Divine, infinite intelligence that we all embody within. ‘When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.’ – Dr Wayne Dyer.
Permanent change means we need to abandon an old way of doing something and recreate a new and more effective way. Our common misconception is in believing all things happen automatically within our body. Now we have the understanding, knowledge and therefore the power to realise we are all in total control of creating our health. We now know how to give birth to optimal health. It originates from our state of mind and our wondrous emotions are the key. It doesn’t matter how well you eat, exercise and look after your body physically, if your cells can’t receive the nutrients and benefits because of emotional blockages, you will not become healthy for long.
As you think, so shall you be. Mind becomes matter. So when you change your thought, you change the way you feel about any given situation. Thinking a positive thought enables a corresponding ‘feel good’ emotion. Raising your consciousness allows you to think and feel positively more of the time, naturally creating a healthy mind, body and soul. When your health is in an optimum state, the possibilities you create for yourself are endless. Change your thought, change your emotion and create the life you desire. Change your emotion, change your cells and be the complete and utter picture of health. Source; http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/
Your Emotions Determine your Health
Emotional Intelligence: a Tool for Success
Do you know what emotional intelligence (EI or EQ) is and how it can benefit your life? Do you know how to manage your emotion so you can propel yourself to the next level?
In short, do you have the EQ edge for success?
There’s so much talk about emotional intelligence and how it can promote personal and business success. Many corporations that prioritize productivity and profit spend thousands to make EQ seminars available to their employees.
Why is this so? What is emotional intelligence?
Technically, emotional intelligence is the capacity to recognize, understand, and manage one’s emotions and those of others. But in practical terms, EQ simply refers to emotional and social skills.
Regardless of how you define it, this concept focuses on the role of emotion in our daily lives, how it affects our reasoning and behavior, and how we can manage it to our advantage.
As you know, emotion is pervasive in our daily existence. Whatever we do or wherever we are, we experience it. A typical day consists of situations that evoke varying degrees of happiness, anger, anxiety, or excitement. We always feel something when we — have a date with a loved one, share our thoughts with a friend, receive greeting cards on our birthdays, smile to a shy neighbor, shower our homes with laughter, or drive around a scenic national park.
Even in our sleep, our dreams trigger various emotions — from anger and fear to excitement and joy.
Like the setting of the sun, emotion exists in our natural midst and without it, life can be boring. So we should get to know it. We should use it to advance our cause. If we don’t, it will simply overpower our resolve.
Anger for instance is normal and everyone feels angry for different reasons. When your child goes home with a poor mark, you get upset because you realize he spends more time playing video games than reading his school text. When a speeding car cuts you off in a highway, you will not only feel angry, you’ll get “MAD”!
However, uncontrolled anger can be destructive. If you grab your son and hit him with a right hook because of his poor grade; or if you chase and bump another car for cutting you off, then you allow anger to schedule your vacation in jail. Also, you let your emotion dictate the outcome of your life.
How many families have broken up simply because couples can’t control their emotions? They exchange blows more often than they go to church. Some bicker more often than they eat meals together. How many kids grow up with low self-esteem just because parents can’t stop their untamed tongue from unwarranted ridicule — putting their kids down, calling them unprintable names?
When you let unrestrained emotion guide your destiny and life decisions, then you may be in a big trouble along the way. However, when you recognize and manage your emotions and those of others appropriately, then you guarantee your personal and professional growth.
Developing emotional intelligence should be prioritized at home and at work. Through its four basic principles of self-awareness (knowing one’s emotions), self-management (controlling one’s emotions), social awareness (recognizing the emotions of others), and relationship management (honing social skills), people can make use of their emotion to enhance relationships and to pursue success.
Emotion not only serves a special purpose in our lives, it also sets us apart from other creatures and makes us human with unlimited possibilities. So tame it, befriend it, lead it, and love it. Very soon, emotion will be your ally.
Source; http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/
Development Of Psychology
Psychology as a science is developing with close connection with other sciences, but the greatest influence it suffers from is in sociological science.
A person is product of his self and the manner by which his environment affects him. In all theoretical models regarding the development of a personality, the conscious person is supposed to be motivated by internal interactions within his person. These two levels of personality interact with his environment and affect him individualistically developing his unique personality and psychological identity.
Social theories are used to understand and explain the tendencies, patterns or movement of both individuals and society based on the context of the social order they occur in. Socials only are able to explain aspects of behavior and may be difficult to apply in a universally. A person’s psychological development may follow psychological models or social behavior models but will vary greatly based on the history, anthropology, economics, politics, theology and biology of the person.
The common factor of all theories regarding psychological development is that the person is central figure. The key elements that are prevalent along all the theories are the importance of cognitive development and perceptions and behavioral orientation. Critical periods for psychological developmental have been identified as early childhood and adolescence. However, there has been recent debate regarding the development of the psychology of a person into stages. Like the concept of normalcy, the stages of psychological development are now being studied whether they are to be used as standards or guidelines.
One contention is that psychological development which encompasses the person: his biology, orientation and perception; and the world he moves in: the social structure, norms, traditions, perceptions and environments.
Symptoms Of Depression
Depression is a complex disease that can remain hidden unless someone who knows the signs looks. Many people don't even know they're suffering from depression, and 15 million of those people are in America. 2/3 of those never seek help. Why is depression hard to spot? The answer is easy. Occasional issues like sadness are common and have nothing to do with depression . This makes it hard to tell the difference between a normal mood and depression.
Sadness is part of living. The mid life crisis at about 40 is common. There are many who see this as some milestone of reflection that causes us to ponder and evaluate our lives. This may be depressing. That's not depression. Depression isn't a short term feeling. Depression is consistent and constant and will progress if not treated. It may require years to get a handle on this illness.
Typical symptoms of depression can be irregular sleeping or eating habits. This isn't to say a sleepless night or a day of over eating are symptoms, rather it would be an ongoing pattern. People suffering from depression become loners. Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness aren't unusual. They feel upset the more lonely they become. They may want to reach out for help but cannot bring themselves to do so. They may find it hard to relate to those around them. Where they once may have been the life of the party they may now be barely noticeable. These are symptoms of the early stages.
Depression in later stages creates a seeming incompatibility between the victim and other people. School and work are impacted because they stop taking part in discussions and activities. Dealing with others, even dealing with themselves becomes nearly impossible. Life loses purpose and any light at the end of the tunnel so they begin to think about death. Early detection is a key to avoiding this terrible end. There is help available for those who suffer depression. The proper care and treatment can return the victims from suffering to normalcy. Ongoing symptoms of depression should prompt you to look for help. It's a matter of life or death.
What really is depression and how can you spot it? If you suspect a person close to you may be suffering from classical depression, it is important to have an idea as to what kind of symptoms to look for.
Source; http://www.articlebiz.com/
Carl Jung’s Dream Theories
Jung believed that the human psyche was divided in two parts—the conscious and the unconscious mind.
According to Jung, the center of the human psyche should not be considered the person’s ego. Instead, the center is the Self, which contains more than the conscious content. The Self is the completion of the human psyche, after someone has developed all of his or her psychological functions.
The unconscious mind is divided in personal and collective distinctions. The personal part contains someone’s individual experiences, while the collective part has general content existent in all human beings. The collective part is represented in dreams by the archetypes, which are symbols that appear in everyone’s dreams, in all historical times and civilizations.
The main dream symbols that appear in everyone’s dreams according to Jung’s statements are:
1. The Persona—This is the image that the individual presents to the world, like a social mask. The persona would reflect the person’s social position, profession, and status quo.
2. The Shadow—This is the part of the human psyche that is not developed yet. The shadow contains positive and negative characteristics, depending on someone’s personal evolution.
3. The Animus or Anima—This is the image of the ideal type of man for a woman, or the ideal type of woman for a man. The animus, or anima, is an idol, but could represent a real person of the person’s environment.
Carl Jung concluded that each dreamer who decides to discover the content existent in his or her own psyche through the interpretation of dreams would make a trip to the Self.
Jung managed to prove to the world that our dreams follow a sequence, helping everyone evolve as they learn more about the content of their psyche. This is how people are transformed and start to accept other aspects of life, which they were not able to absorb before the dream analysis.
We have four psychological functions—thoughts, feelings, sensations, and intuition. The more developed of the functions in someone’s psyche will determine his or her psychological type.
In addition to the four functions, everyone has a certain attitude that will characterize them as extroverted or introverted. The extroverted psychological types will always agree with the general opinion about reality, while the introverted psychological types will always have their personal opinion, which will usually be totally different from the general consensus.
Continuing Jung’s research in the unknown region of the human psyche, I can verify that his theories are correct with the exception of his belief that the unconscious mind does not contain the negative aspects that he asserted. Instead, another part of the human psyche, the primitive side of the human conscience, concentrates all the negative characteristics of someone’s personality. Therefore, the part of Jung’s theory is absurd because the primitive side was not developed like the human part of our conscience and provokes all existent mental illnesses to the human side of our conscience.
Everyone can transform the negative and dangerous part of their psyche in a positive part of their human side by translating their dreams according to the scientific method, and following the directions of the wise unconscious mind that produces our dreams.
Source; http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Psychology of Dating: Little-known Dating Secrets
Dating is not just about socialization. Believe it or not, there is a science behind it. Understanding the psychology of dating can be pretty handy, especially if you don’t want to waste your time on bad blind dates.
If you’re a dating expert, then you probably know what indicators to look for. However, if you find yourself striking out date after date after date, then you’re going to love reading about the psychology of dating.
Eye Contact
It’s all about the eye contact. When you’re in a bar, try to be more observant of the person you’re trying to attract.
If one of them initiates eye contact with you, smiles and then looks down, then that individual is definitely interested.
However, if he or she looks at you and then turns away while their head is still at normal level, basic psychology of dating is saying you have very little or no chance, and he or she is looking for a better offer.
This method will allow you to know who is most willing to go out on a date with you.
Body Language
Around 60% to 75% of communication is non-verbal, so your action speaks volumes about you. And sometimes, it doesn’t even matter if you have very few things to say, as long as you’re able to convey the right gestures and body movements.
If you’re nervous, your body will give you away. For example, you might experience trembling of hands or find yourself unable to smile genuinely.
If you’re confident, your body will surely let the other person know too. According to the psychology of dating, your voice will probably be the first to give you away.
So use this to your advantage and try becoming more conscious of the signals you send to your partner. Or you can be more observant of their body language.
These are just some components of the psychology of dating. Try to evaluate yourself and see where you stand. Maybe next time, you can use your knowledge of dating and avoid the constant hit and miss strategies many people use.
Source; http://www.articlesbase.com/dating-articles/
Looking At Pursuing A Career In Psychology?
Think of major subject of study that is only 125 years young and is taking the world by storm! This is how one can probably describe psychology. Psychology is a subject of study that shouldn't be taken lightly. Psychology is a science that deals with human behavior as well as non humans - animals. Its study finds its roots in biology and touches on many areas in sociology, trying to seek a relationship between the brain functions and the behavior or the relationship between the environment and the behavior generators. There are many areas in which one can specialize since the subject is so vast and nowadays, more and more areas of life need the application of psychology.
The importance of the psychology and why one is secure by building a career in the subject can be seen from the fact that since 1960, there has been a big increase in the students who pursue psychology and have become a part of the competition on jobs that are psychology related. To be precise, the number of students opting for a masters in psychology has gone up 6 folds, a trend that was not observed earlier. It has also been observed that more than two thirds of the students graduating with masters in psychology get jobs in fields which are outside psychology and only about a third are employed in jobs which are directly related to psychology. A large number of those employed after graduating with masters in psychology work on data collection and analysis in various firms and institutions, both in the government circles and the private sector.
When we look at the trend of job projections and growth the area of psychology, there has been a great percentage increase in demand for people with psychology degrees. According to a survey conducted in 2001 by APA Center for Psychology Workforce Analysis and Research (CPWAR), 73% of the people who graduated with degrees in psychology were able to be employed in the areas they first chose to work in, and 75% were able to get jobs within 3 months of graduation. The trend has gone up since then and there are many more areas where psychology gradates are much needed. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for psychology-based jobs will keep on increasing at a high rate in the next decade.
One can build a career in the subfields of psychology. For example, one can take on Evolutionary psychology where you can study how human thought, feeling, and behavior are affected by evolutionary aspects like mutation, selective fitness and adaptation. You can also study Clinical Psychology where to will get knowledge to be able to deal with emotional and behavioral disorders. You can also go for Cognitive and perceptual psychology, Developmental psychology, Educational psychology and many other subfields.
What Is Clinical Psychology?
Approximately 91% of those employed in the clinical psychology field engage in psychological assessments aimed at diagnosis and treatment. Tests may include intelligence/achievement tests like IQ tests or WISC-IV tests, which measure knowledge, verbal skills, memory, reasoning, attention span and spatial perception.
Personality tests try to categorize behavioral and logical patterns. The MMPI, Rorschach Inkblot test or the Myers-Briggs test all try to reveal the psychological dynamics. Furthermore, neuropsychological tests examine structures and brain pathways in a more "scientific" manner. Clinical observation includes studying a control group and a variable group for differences in behavior, mood, perception, understanding, memory, communication and affect.
There are four main perspectives of clinical psychology: psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral and systems/family therapy. First, psychodynamic psychotherapy developed out of the works of Sigmund Freud and sought to make the unconscious desires come to the surface, rather than remain suppressed. Popular interventions include free association and the examination of transference and defenses. The history of mental illness is examined through the exploration of childhood memories.
The humanistic perspective of psychology was based around the work of Carol Rogers, Victor Frankl and Rollo May. Rogers argued that people needed congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathetic understanding as mental health treatment. The humanist perspective seeks to help the person towards self-actualization and connecting with their natural born potential.
The cognitive behavioral perspective looks at the interaction between how we think, feel and act. Psychology experts believe that we interpret the world through schemas (set patterns of thinking and categorizing information) that sometimes results in behavioral problems. To uncover irrational thinking, professionals try desensitization, Socratic questioning, relational dialectics therapy or note taking.
In systems or family therapy, psychology therapists focus on the interaction of the family and their interpersonal dynamics. Interventions include a spouse, parent, sibling or close friend. While some of the intervention involves a group discussion, homework assignments are often given to help patients keep working, thinking and assessing outside of their therapy sessions.
There are many areas of specialization within clinical psychology, like: health, neuropsychology (focus: the brain), geropsychology (focus: the elderly), counseling and social behavior therapy. Neuropsychologists study things like the medical symptoms behind schizophrenia, dementias or other mental disorders. No matter what form of psychology is focused upon, the main intent is to promote mental health, design new programs and help families deal with mental illness.
There has been some criticism in recent years that clinical psychology is "too subjective" and difficult to prove with empirical evidence. A major problem is that health insurance companies refuse to cover therapy costs, which limits many lower income individual's mental health treatment options.
Since clinical psychologists receive less schooling than psychiatrists, many medical doctors downplay the importance of therapy. However, one need only pick up a journal of psychiatry to see that psychotherapy is still a valid profession and one that can supplement medication for unbelievable results.
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/what-is-clinical-psychology--372880.html
Sport Psychology
Before you settle in a career, you have to achieve the right qualifications to show you are capable. There are many fields you can choose to work in depending on interest and this exposes you to all advantages and challenges of that area. Sport psychology is no exception; you will face both encouraging and discouraging situations but you should be persistent in order to succeed.
Sport psychology is a field that allows you to assist others to achieve their goals. It gives you joy to see your clients motivated and able to hit their target. We all have different personalities and when you join a team and are able to help them solve their problems, you will enjoy teamwork and their company. Besides this, the field is broad and offers you a chance to learn more.
However, there are frustrating situations that you can face in sport psychology. To qualify to be a sport psychologist, you must study for many years. Sometimes you are forced to work for long hours depending on demands of your clients. This can cause strain especially if you are facing stressful situations. Unlike other fields, you interact with limited people who are sports oriented.
Despite all this, with time the career can be rewarding. This is when your clients are able to perform to their level best and they are proud of your work. Psychology deals with human behavior and you will be able to interact with athletes of all social levels. In addition, you can learn how to play various games as you train your clients. If you are interested go ahead and study to fulfill your dream. Sport psychology.
Source : http://www.articlesbase.com/psychology-articles/sport-psychology-723653.html
Social Psychology: The Psychological Explanations of Social Phenomena
The various aspects of social psychology could be examined within the wide concepts of intelligence, gender, advertising, consumer culture, stress and psychological issues that define society. Considering consumer behaviour, social psychology uses convincing theories to explain addictive consumption, the influence of advertising and the phenomenon of purchasing. Advertising is seen as a subtle psychological manipulation as it creates desires and anxiety in the potential consumers (Papers4you.com, 2006). Advertising can have both psychological and commercial aspects including misattribution, bias, suggestibility, and could be studied from global or local perspectives. Organisational consumption is seen as different from individual consumption although generic psychological theories of human motivation such as that of Maslow and Freud can explain consumer behaviour. However consumer behaviour can also be studied in terms of the notion of quality and its relation to customer satisfaction (Silva et al, 2005). The objective measures of customer needs, pricing and expectations of the customers may have to be analysed within Service Quality or Expectations models. Hogg and Garrow (2003) highlighted on the psychological aspects of gender and the influence on consumption of advertising. Advertising has been found to be processed and interpreted differently according to gender schemas and perceptions. This would in turn relate to psychological theories of gender such as the theory of biological determinism, Freudian theory of personality development, cognitive-developmental theory, and feminist theories. Bridging the gap between gender studies and gender differences in consumption could provide us with new insights on social and psychological aspects of consumer behavior. Orth (2005) indicated that consumer behaviour largely depends on consumer personality and susceptibility to interpersonal influence, consumer situational disposition such as risk taking and curiosity, purchasing behaviour and purchasing frequency and demographic variables such as age and gender. Contemporary consumer culture could be studied in relation to an excessive emphasis on beauty and appearance and an obsession with youth, a phenomenon that has seen an increased dependence on cosmetic surgery. The increased importance of the body in the consumer culture could be studied along with the significance of appearance in modern society, the role of marketing and advertising images, and the psychological need for self-expression (Papers4you.com, 2006).
Social psychology is however focused not just on consumption and public attitudes on advertising, but also on group behaviour, general individual and collective attitudes towards various social issues including war, work, violence and quality of life. This would in turn explain how individuals deal with stress, and focus on the psychological consequences of stress. Although psychological disorders may in some cases be a direct result of social stress, deviant behaviour in society could be explained with the help of several theories such as the theory of subcultures by Parker, the structural strain theory by Merton, or the theory of conformity. Social psychology is thus focused on explaining a wide range of issues from advertising and consumer behavior to public attitudes on social issues and antisocial behaviour.
Bibliography
Hogg M.K.; Garrow J. (2003) Gender, identity and the consumption of advertising Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Volume 6, Number 3, June, pp. 160-174(15)
Orth, Ulrich R.(2005) Consumer personality and other factors in situational brand choice variation The Journal of Brand Management, Volume 13, Number 2, November, pp. 115-133(19)
Papers For You (2006) "P/M/510. Advertising: means of psychological manipulation", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtpsy3.htm [22/06/2006]
Papers For You (2006) "P/M/646. Causes of addictive consumption in modern society", Available from Papers4you.com [21/06/2006]
Silva Jr, Nelson da; Lírio, Daniel Rodrigues (2005) The postmodern re-codification of perversion: On the production of consumer behavior and its libidinal grammar International Forum of Psychoanalysis, Volume 14, Numbers 3-4, Number 3-4/December, pp. 217-223(7)
Positive Organizational Psychology
Since the early 90s, a charged-up group of writers, researchers and educators has been deconstructing the psychological profession's focus on pathology and rebuilding it with the study of what can go right with people and institutions. They call themselves positive psychologists. These thinkers don't claim to have invented anything new or created a new profession. They distinguish themselves by their perspective. The value of positive psychology"lies in its uniting of what had been scattered and disparate lines of theory and research about what makes life most worth living," writes Martin Seligman, a leading "positive" psychologist.
Leading Lights in Positive Psychology: Dr. Martin Seligman, University of Pennsylvania, is one of the most visible thought leaders on positivepsychology. Seligman's work on depression, "learned pessimism" and "learned optimism" earned him a solid reputation long before he became a proponent of positive psychology. Since the early 1990s, he has focused on the study of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. During his term as president of the American Psychological Association Seligman promoted the study of positive psychology. Seligman's Authentic Happiness Web site (http://www.authentichappiness.org) is a treasure trove of resources and news on the topic. Dr. Mikhail Csikszentmihalyi, Claremont Graduate University, is another keythought leader. Csikszentmihalyi is the author of the best selling "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience," as well as numerous scholarly and popularbooks and articles. He led the establishment of the first positive organizational psychology degree programs at Claremont Graduate Universityand runs the university's Quality of Life Institute. The refreshing perspective offered by this field has a great deal of appeal and we expect that its messages will make continuous inroads in the practices of our profession. Books to Read: For a general introduction to positive psychology, "A Primer in Positive Psychology" by Christopher Peterson is an excellent general introduction written in conversational style. Peterson and Seligman coauthored "Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification," offering the positive psychologist' s answer to the Diagnostic andStatistical Manual (a.k.a. DSMIII), a book widely used by psychologists and psychiatrists to classify mental pathologies. "Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures" by C. R. Snyder and Shane J. Lopez addresses the subject of testing and metrics that assess positive psychological characteristics.
Since 2000, authors and researchers have placed quite a bit of emphasis on positive organizational psychology as an application of this new perspective. University of Michigan professor Kim S. Cameron, a major voice on positive psychology in the workplace, predicts that "...positive organizational scholarship will become embedded in the questions asked and the approaches used in a wide variety of organizational studies..." There are institutes, degree programs, conferences, blogs, journals, and Web sites developing around this topic. For anyone with an interest in human resources assessment and development, this list is worth review:
Books on Positive Organizational Psychology: Perhaps the most widely cited book on this topic in academic literature is "Positive Organizational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Discipline" by Kim S. Cameron. Another work that promotes this perspective is titled "Positive Organizational Behavior," which is edited by Debra Nelson and Cary Cooper. Other titles that develop this perspective include "Positive Psychology In Business Ethics And Corporate Responsibility," which focuses on positive environmental ethics in business. The "Handbook of Positive Psychology" by C. R. Snyder and Shane J. Lopez has a chapter on organizational behavior.
"Psychological Capital: Developing the Human Competitive Edge" by Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio explores the concept of an organization's psychological capital, as distinguished from the more widely known idea of human capital. Fred Luthans is one of the most prolific authors on this topic. "Work, Happiness and Unhappiness" by Peter Warr examines the problems of measuring happiness at work. In addition to the books mentioned above, other resources are shown below: Videos on Positive Psychology: If video is your information M. O., no problem. Visit the University of Pennsylvania Web site for a current listing. (http:// www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/publications.htm) Online Assessments: Visit Martin Seligman's Authentic Happiness site to chose from almost 20 free online assessments that relate to positive psychology.
Perhaps the most famous of these for organizational applications is the Values in Action Signature Strengths, which measures 24 character strengths in action. The Work-Life Questionnaire on the site measures Work-Life Satisfaction. Please note: you must create a log-in to use any of the surveys, but they are all free of charge. Degree Programs: Claremont Graduate University has just launched degree programs in positive organizational scholarship in the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences. (http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4573.asp) In addition, the Master of Applied Positive Psychology is offered at the University of Pennsylvania and the MSc in Applied Positive Psychology is offered at the University of East London, UK. Institutes: The Drucker School of Management at the Claremont Graduate University started the Quality of Life Research Center in 1999 under the direction of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The Values in Action (VIA) Institute provides information on positive psychology, as well as the classification system and measurement tools of character strengths that serve as the backbone of this developing scientific discipline.
The Centre for Applied Positive Psychology is an independent, not-for-profit organization affiliated with the University of East London and located at the University of Warwick campus in the UK. The European Network for Positive Psychology is a collective of European researchers and practitioners with shared interests in the science and practice of positive psychology. The Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship is located at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. The American Psychological Association has a Psychologically Healthy Workplace Practice and award program. There is a great deal of energy in this burgeoning field, and we expect its influence on the world of industrial psychology to be very ... positive!
Author: Kathleen Groll Connolly.
http://www.performanceprograms.com
Beware! Bad television its Impact On Your Child Psychology
The influence of television on children has been assessed quite worrisome and need to receive serious attention from the parents, because in addition to reducing the hours of sleep result in health also affect children's mental psychology.
Bureau counselors Positive Psychologie Medan, Indah Kemala Hasibuan, say, 83% in Indonesia, of school-age children under six years old has been watching television. Even children pre-school children spend at least four hours each day to see the impressions of television, DVD player, video games and computers.
The influence and development of children after witnessing the media with the impression of violence during the pre-school child psychology will lead to a loud in the association.
"The media to give exposure to the risk of the child is not sensitive to the violence and anti-social," he said.
He said, one of the companies in the United States in 2005 successfully selling video games as much as 10.5 billion units, the estimated amount of increase will continue to reach 46.5 billion by 2010.
"Here is charged roles and responsibilities of parents to guide and help each child see the impressions in the media, so that children can understand the context of a more correct from child watching," he said.
To limit the children witnessed the impression through the media, he said a few tips. Among others, do not put television in the bedroom, avoid television in the morning, should be firm when no television impressions and act before losing control due to the influence of these impressions.
Insomnia Causes
Insomnia Causes on Psychology Journal
International Classification of Sleep Disorder-Revised (ICSD-R), said that the cause of the occurrence of insomnia are psychological problems, such as experiencing stress, fear, fear, anxiety, depression caused by job stress factor, because the trauma of disaster, experiencing violence or domestic violence, traumatis the experience, etc.. Insomnia can become chronic if not treated immediately. How the occurrence of insomnia cycle at the level of chronic?
Cycle Chronic Insomnia
If someone has insomnia because of the psychological factors (experience difficulty with sleep soundly during the night more than one and less than four weeks) but can not adapt to the causes of insomnia (not able to manage stress are healthy) will result in someone experiencing a short-term insomnia ( difficulty sleeping soundly sunday for four to six months). If this short-term insomnia can not be fixed by the sufferer will then lead to chronic insomnia. If there is chronic insomnia it will take longer for it.
Insomnia Causes on Psychology Journal
What is Insomnia? and the Symptoms
Insomnia on Psychology Journal
Are you or your family, including people who are experiencing insomnia? Insomnia or difficulty sleeping, for some people regarded as a normal thing, but if the insomnia is left it will lead to various consequences of the psychological and physical condition, and even death. In fact, what is insomnia? If insomnia is caused by factors such as psychological stress in a certain time because of the social situation, personal problems that are not finished, domestic violence issues, crisis household economists, the crisis in the business, and so the insomnia is classified as insomnia due to psychological factors. However, if you only have insomnia only 1 or 2 days and this is because the environment where you live a noisy then you only need to move residence to cure your insomnia. In addition, if you experience insomnia because they were experiencing physical pain and insomnia will disappear after you recover. On this occasion, we will discuss about the insomnia caused by psychological factors, because it can cause various harmful effects on people with insomnia, can even cause death. Therefore, you first need to know what the definition of insomnia.
Is Insomnia?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders-IV (DSM-IV) defines insomnia as difficulty sleeping launch, maintaining sleep, does not feel fresh in the morning and wake up the poor quality of sleep. Once you know the definition of insomnia, whether you are considering starting up, what you are experiencing insomnia or not. For more details, you need to know what symptoms of insomnia. However, please note that here we are discussing insomnia because psychological factors, not the other factors
Insomnia Symptoms
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders-IV (DSM-IV), showed some symptoms may be diagnosed where someone is suffering insomnia due to psychological factors, namely:
1. Difficult to start, maintaining sleep, and can not improve sleep for at least one month is the most keluahan occur.
2. Insomnia is a cause of stress so that it can disrupt the function of social, work area or the other important functions.
3. Insomnia due to psychological factors, this is not including narkolepsi, sleep disturbances related to respiratory, sirkadian rhythm disturbances or parasomnia.
4. Insomnia due to psychological factors do not occur due to interference, such as mental disturbances depression, delirium.
5. Insomnia due to psychological factors do not occur due to the direct physiological effects of a substance such as drug abuse or a general medical condition.
With the symptoms mentioned by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders-IV (DSM-IV), and insomnia due to psychological factors can disrupt the various social functions.
Insomnia on Psychology Journal
What is self disclosure?
Self-disclosure is a simple (at least on the surface) approach to communication that involves sharing information about yourself, history, present, emotions and thoughts. Originated and explained by Sidney Jourard, a Humanistic Psychologist, this simple approach, at least used skillfully, can improve intimacy, rapport in face to face communication, and even improve public speaking and connecting with groups.
The concept is very simple. When you share information about yourself, you allow yourself to be "seen", and it's easier for people to relate to you as a real human being, with faults and strengths, and with thoughts and emotions. And, when people see you as human (and not someone easily depersonalized) communication, and relationships improve.
It's important to know that self-disclosure doesn't involve "dumping" everything about yourself on everyone from close friends to complete strangers. Obviously self-disclosure needs to happen in context, be appropriate for the particular relationships. While self-disclosure is important, remember that communication means sharing of information from both sides, and if you are inundating the other person with too much information about yourself, or information they really have no interest in, then the whole thing is going to backfire, because you will appear selfish and self-centered.
When speaking to groups (keynotes, meetings, speeches, public speaking), it's always a good tactic to share a little of yourself as a person, so you can overcome depersonalization barriers to group communication. Often the best way to self-disclose in groups is to tell a real personal story that is relevant to the reason why the group is meeting. That's much better than opening up with a stale joke.
source ; http://www.work911.com/
self disclosure on Psychology Journal
Self-Disclosures that are difficult
Self-Disclosures that are difficult on Psychology Journal
Although recognized that self-disclosure is very important for the development of the individual, but some people are still reluctant to do so. Basically the difficulty or reluctance to reveal the individual in a lot of self-based risk factors that will be received in the future, on the side because there is no sense of security and trust in yourself. Risk is damage information can be given to someone to third parties when the information is considered highly by the instructors of private information, or information can be presented thus offend other people so that they can disrupt interpersonal relationships that previously have been involved with both. In addition to the disclosure or the conditions are not right, there would be a boomerang for the granting of information. In addition to risk factors, pattern of care also factor plays an important role. In the family or environment that does not support the spirit of openness and information sharing practices so individuals can be difficult to reveal themselves appropriately. That is why some people are very difficult to share information with other people, once the information is also very positive for themselves and others.
Although the self-risk for the perpetrator (our information), but experts assume that the psychology of self-importance. This is the base that says that self-disclosure (which is done properly) is an indication of someone's mental health care. Research shows that individuals are able to reveal the exact self-evidently more able to adapt (adaptive), the more self-confident, more competent, extrovert, reliable, able to be more positive and confident person to another, more objective and open (David Johnson , 1981; in mentalhelp.net). In addition, experts also believe that the psychology share information with others can improve mental health, prevent disease and reduce the psychological issues related to the interpersonal relationship. In terms of communication and provision of assistance to others, one of the ways that it deems most appropriate in helping other people to reveal themselves is to reveal ourselves to the first. Without the courage to self disclosure then other people will act the same, so that is not achieved effective communication.
Self-Disclosures that are difficult on Psychology Journal
Self Disclosure
Self Disclosure on Psychology Journal
In social life in the community, individuals are often suspicious dirundung feeling confident and not so strong that does not dare to deliver a variety of emotional shock or that is in itself to others, especially when the things that deems not good to know other people. As a result, the individual keeps a lot more variety of life issues that often end too heavy to be alone, giving rise to various psychological and physiological problems. In the counseling room in this website, many readers who say that they are very difficult to reveal the self (the opinions, feelings, ideals, feeling angry, irritated, etc.) to other people, did not even share the information if not required / asked. It is interesting that they recognize that the condition is very uncomfortable and tend to make their dijauhi by colleagues or family members own. While on the one hand they feel unsure and afraid to reveal themselves, but on the other hand, they feel that it is necessary to alleviate the burden themselves.
self disclosure can be defined as the provision of information about themselves to others. The information provided can include things such as life experiences, feelings, emotions, opinions, ideals, and so forth. Disclosure must be based themselves with honesty and openness in providing information, or in other words what is presented to other people, let not a private or a mask of lies so pure that only show the good side only.
To answer the question why someone needs to inform other people about themselves, then it should be seen as a cycle that involves three (3) the self-disclosure, namely, relations of friendship and acceptance of self. The explanation Self Disclosure is as follows:
- It is a very good thing if you say to friends or others who interact with you how they can affect you. With the feeling of sharing experiences and then will be able to strengthen the relations of friendship.
- Acceptance of a friend or someone else will be easier for you to be able to accept the condition yourself.
- Because you can accept yourself and feel comfortable with the conditions, then you are easier to reveal themselves so that the relationship with your friend feel more comfortable.
- With input from various other people, a high sense of security, and acceptance of self, then you will be able to see themselves in more depth and able to complete the various problems of life.
Self Disclosure on Psychology Journal
