Group items tagged

phenotypes

My goal is to convince skeptics that a combination of “hard” and “soft” interdisciplinary research is necessary to advance the study of animal emotions.

broadly defined as psychological phenomena that help in behavioral management and control

It is important to extend our research beyond the underlying physiological mechanisms that mask the richness of the emotional lives of many animals and learn more about how emotions serve them as they go about their daily activities

emotions are real and that they are extremely important,

René Descartes

B. F. Skinner

Why then are there competing views on the nature of animal emotions? In part, this is because some people view humans as unique animals, created in the image of God

researchers studying animal behavior came to realize that there was too little in studies of animal emotions and minds that was directly observable, measurable, and verifiable, and chose instead to concentrate on behavior because overt actions could be seen, measured objectively, and verified

Most researchers now believe that emotions are not simply the result of some bodily state that leads to an action

William James and Carl Lange

Walter Cannon's criticisms

drugs producing bodily changes like those accompanying an emotional experience

do not produce the same type of conscious experience of fear

Primary emotions, considered to be basic inborn emotions

Natural selection has resulted in innate reactions that are crucial to individual survival.

are wired into the evolutionary old limbic system (especially the amygdala), the “emotional” part of the brain

substrate

. Each is connected to the other two but each also has its own capacities

current research (LeDoux 1996) indicates that all emotions are not necessarily packaged into a single system, and there may be more than one emotional system in the brain.

Secondary emotions are those that are experienced or felt, evaluated, and reflected on. Secondary emotions involve higher brain centers in the cerebral cortex.

ethologists

cognitive ethologists want to know what it is like to be another animal.

concerns how emotions and cognition are linked

A sense of self in the act of knowing is created,

various brain structures map both the organism and external objects

I am inclined merely to delete it [the mental realm] from biological explanation, because it is an entirely private phenomenon, and biology must deal with the publicly demonstrable.”

abanac postulated that the first mental event to emerge into consciousness was the ability of an individual to experience the sensations of pleasure and displeasure

Examples of animal emotions

Studies of the chemistry of play support the idea that play is enjoyable.

rats enjoy being playfully tickled.

grief in geese

grief and depression in orphan elephants is a real phenomeno

It is unlikely that romantic love (or any emotion) first appeared in humans with no evolutionary precursors in animals

No one discipline will be able to answer all of the important questions that still need to be dealt with in the study of animal emotions

However, research that reduces and minimizes animal behavior and animal emotions to neural firings, muscle movements, and hormonal effects will not likely lead us significantly closer to an understanding of animal emotions.

studies of the behavior of captive animals

Field work also can be problematic. It can be too uncontrolled to allow for reliable conclusions to be drawn.

Emotions are an integral part of human life, so why not for other animals?

in many instances, differences in degree rather than differences in kind.

There are IQ tests

the debate over what leads to genius has been dominated by a bitter, binary argument: is it nature or is it nurture — is genius genetically inherited, or are geniuses the products of stimulating and supportive homes?

"open to experience, introverted, hostile, driven, and ambitious."

Personality traits also matter.

charismatic, he did have that capacity to have a group of people in front of him and hold their attention.

new pathway

ideas as much as the man that I found attractive.

Klowning was based on the idea that we are not who we think we are.

ble to find out the really human part of us.

here’s a whole language that goes with this group, isn’t there, and processing is one thing that you would go through

They consisted of two people sitting opposite each other silently looking at the other person’s eye and the recipient in session was able to have a look at the experiences and emotions and things in their life that they had not fully come to terms with, and that were unconsciously stopping them from being who they wanted to be. It was very emotional.

nudity has no significance other than what you give it, and if you think that this is in any way inappropriate that’s your dirty mind.

ut of research done by the CIA and the KGB after the Second World War in trying to understand how Hitler was able to persuade a whole population to a particular way of thinking and particular behaviour, and that research got out into the wider community

on Hubbard used a lot of these techniques in his organisation and then a lot of people who had been in Scientology

ocial animals,

emotional right-brain

Hypnotic states are nothing magical but in fact natural hypnotic states occur on a regular basis if we allow them to, about every two hours during the day. There’s a natural down time when our left-brain sort of quietens and our right-brain and our body is able to do a bit of a tune-up of physical processes like blood-pressure and heart-rate and cortisol levels.

dissociative state

driving somewhere

ay-dreamy

ocus their attention

charismatic leader,

behaviour was right or wrong

It’s very interesting studying some of the gurus or the charismatic figures you say you often find that they are often people who have actually started out with very good intentions and just find they have this natural ability to attract people to them, or because they may be good listeners, people feel that they’ve got something to offer

hallucinate. I

en Dyers, was facing 22 charges of sexual assault on two 12-year-old girls

Before they were heard in court he took his own life.

ersonality definitely changed

almost layered by the group norm

groups are often filling desperate needs in people that are not being filled by the way we now live. The way we are now is very isolating, people are often expected to work very long hours, or have very long commutes. More and more families are living apart, so we do not live in a community that is kind to people or respects people. So anybody really is vulnerable, it’s not just, you know, the weak-willed, it’s anybody at a particular time in their life, and particularly if they’re isolated from family and friends.

learn all they can about the group and continue to just ask questions to try and find our more

But there are some positive things about some groups and it’s likely that some people live happier lives being part of some groups than they would on their own.

staying as connected

Some of the factors that are most important in human wellbeing are a sense of connectedness and a sense of control over your life now and in the future. So what often these organisations do is offer a whole list of very simple rules, if you just follow these rules then you’ll feel okay. If you just remove yourself from that world and you just mix with us everything will be okay. So they often offer a sort of a way of getting back some feeling of control.

describe some of the techniques, not necessarily the abuse that may have occurred, and then to help them understand that they were involved in quite a deliberate psychological process.

validate their humanity

what was missing before and helping them create a life now that is healthier and more balanced and does meet all their needs as a human being.

people who grow up in these organisations and really are trapped, and for those that grow up and then start to rebel as teenagers or as young adults and leave, it is very, very difficult because that’s been their reality.

recognition by the courts and by particularly the Family Law Court and we need education of the legal profession and I think the professional organisations, particularly the professional health organisations need to be more pro-active in first of all educating themselves about what these issues are and then making it very clear in their code of ethics of these different professional groups how the codes of ethics dovetail with belief systems.

y rare, a 2009 study by Belgian researchers found that 41 percent of hospital and rehab patients with a vegetative state diagnosis were actually minimally conscious

n a few cases, this technology has enabled rudimentary communication with patients trapped inside an unresponsive body. In the future, some scientists believe, it may be possible to directly decode these patients’ thoughts.

technology that created these disorders in the first place.

ut a badly damaged brain is not necessarily unconscious. The recent research tells us quite clearly that human consciousness is not binary. It can exist in degrees, fade in and out, even when the body is unresponsive.

wen also described a new way to assess mental function in unresponsive patients. It involves scanning someone’s brain as they watch an 8 minute clip of an Alfred Hitchcock film. When healthy people do this, various parts of the brain synchronize their activity at certain times in the clip. Owen argues that if brain injury patients exhibit similar patterns, it could be a telltale sign of residual cognitive function.

imple yes-no communication probably isn’t enough to allow patients to participate in decisions about their care.

Gallant’s lab has shown that it’s possible to reconstruct still images and video clips from the patterns of activity elicited in the brain of the person viewing them. If Gallant can see what your visual cortex is doing, he can tell you, more or less, what you’re looking at.

pattern dependent”

pattern dependent

men with higher degrees of symmetry enjoy more sexual partners than men of lower symmetry.

Both men and women rated symmetrical members of the opposite sex as more attractive and in better health than their less symmetrical counterparts. The differences can be just a few percent—perceivable though not necessarily noticeable.

"It makes sense to use symmetry variation in mate choice," said evolutionary biologist Randy Thornhill of the University of New Mexico. "If you choose a perfectly symmetrical partner and reproduce with them, your offspring will have a better chance of being symmetric and able to deal with perturbations."

Women with a WHR of 0.7—indicating a waist significantly narrower than the hips—are most desirable to men.

Psychologist Devendra Singh of the University of Texas studied people's waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).

0.8 to 1.0 WHR in men is attractive to women, although having broad shoulders is more of a turn-on.

Where fat is deposited on the body is determined by sex hormones; testosterone in men and estrogen in women. If a woman produces the proper amount and mixture of estrogen, then her WHR will naturally fall into the desired range. The same goes for a male's testosterone.

"The idea is that beauty is conveying information about health and fertility, and we admire that,

Men's faces are shaped by testosterone, which helps develop a larger lower face and jaw and a prominent brow.

Research reported last month found women both smell and look more attractive to men at certain times of the month.

The rules of attraction, it turns out, seem sometimes to play out in our subconscious.

A 2002 study found women prefer the scent of men with genes somewhat similar to their own over the scent of nearly genetically identical or totally dissimilar men.

can become tired, sick, and unable to concentrate or think clearly. Sometimes, they even suffer mental breakdowns.

way of responding to any kind of demand.

react by releasing chemi

cals into the blood.

chemicals

bad thing, if their stress is in response to something emotional and there is no outlet for this extra energy and strength

physical danger

energy and strength

things can cause stress

physical

response to danger

take time out for rest and relaxation

. When

your body naturally responds with a burst of energy so that you will be better able to survive the dangerous situation (fight) or escape it all together (flight). This is survi

you are afraid

val stress.

worrying about things you can do nothing about or worrying for no reason at all?

one of the

most important kinds of stress to understand and manage.

we can't contro

become addicted to the kind of hurried, tense, lifestyle

feel stress about things that aren't stressful.

response to things around you that cause stress, such as noise, crowding, and pressure from work or family.

caused by working too much or too hard at your job(s), school, or home.

not knowing how to manage your time well

emotional

one of the hardest kinds of stress

pressure of not failing.

relationship problems may add to the pressure/stress of academics.

viewing heated topics, slow moving traffic, trying to find a parking spot, etc.

extracurricular activities a part of their daily routine

pressure that is negatively influenced.

peer pressure

not knowing how to plan and execute daily activities

Money is a huge stressor that college students face.

Pressure from parents to succeed

know your limits and do not compromise them.

Thinking rationally can take you a long way.

it is human nature to want to freak out.

Do something that you enjoy,

If you are feeling upset, express your feelings.

Once the chemical leave your body, you are back to feeling stressed and you are probably worse off than when you started.

Eat at least one hot-home cooked meal a day

Exercise for 30 minutes a day for at least 3 times per week.

physical activities can help you in not only burning off calories, but burning off stress. Exercise helps release tension.

take deep breaths

alone time”

focusing your attention on the present moment.

Avoid taking naps for more than 1 hour.

at least 7 hours of sleep

talk and hang out with friends. Find some you relate to and with whom you can share your problems with.

create a schedule, or even a to-do list.

Mark down your class meeting times, study time for a specific subject, mealtimes, fun activities, and sleep.

learn how to organize your notes, keep track of your assignments and note important due dates or date of exams. Establish your priorities for the day.

Distribute your money according to the bills you need to pay for the quarter

finding meaning in your life, the ability to connect with others.

find out whether you are a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner.

Take your time so that you can ensure a well done job.

find someone you feel comfortable sharing your feelings with.

try moving to a place where there is no loud music, and brighter lights.

dividing up the work or responsibilities helps alleviate pressure and stress.

response to a demand

brain recognizes a threat.

your body releases hormones that activate your “fight or flight” response.

hormones help you to either fight harder or run faster. They increase heart rate, blood pressure, and sweating.

heart disease.

increase in heart rate and blood pressure, prolonged stress increases the tension that is put on the arteries.

immune system

cold and flu illness

jumpy, excitable, or even irritable.

drink or smoke heavily, neglect exercise or proper nutrition, or overuse either the television or the computer.

decrease your ability to work or interact effectively with other people, and be less able to make good decisions.

anxiety and depression.

long-term improvements in mental function and is the single best thing one can do to slow the cognitive decline that accompanies normal aging.

a short-lasting, deeply euphoric state that's well beyond the simple relaxation or peacefulness felt by many following intense exercise.

there are different types of endorphins

that are synthesized within the brain and therefore could cause euphoria without crossing the blood-brain barrier.

The researchers found that this long run was associated with increased opioid release in the runner's' brains, particularly in the prefrontal cortex

and the anterior cingulate cortex and insula

It's likely that runner's high is not entirely mediated by the opioid system: Exercise also increases the levels of endocannabinoids, the brain's natural cannabis-like molecules, in the bloodstream.

Thus exercise-induced increases in endocannabinoid levels in blood are presumably mirrored in the brain and could also contribute to the euphoria of runner's high.

Good intuition comes from years of knowledge and experience that allows you to understand how people and the world works. Many situations are intuitive.

learning the ropes.

Keeping an open mind

to new data and options is another element of sound critical thinking.

out of fear or out of a desire to appear cooperative

"Teachers" were asked to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to the "learner" when questions were answered incorrectly.

illustrates people's reluctance to confront those who abuse power

the experiment would study the effects of punishment on learning ability

45-volt shock samples

2.5 percent of participants used the full 450 volts available.

grunt at 75 volts; complain at 120 volts; ask to be released at 150 volts; plead with increasing vigor, next; and let out agonized screams at 285 volts.

yell loudly and complain of heart pain.

actor would refuse to answer any more questions

330 volts the actor would be totally silent

treat silence as an incorrect answer and apply the next shock level to the student.

hesitated to inflict the shocks, the experimenter would pressure him to proceed

Some teachers refused to continue with the shocks early on, despite urging from the experimenter.

expected as the norm

(65%) of the teachers were willing to progress to the maximum voltage level

participants continued to obey

he proceeded, repeating to himself, "It’s got to go on, it’s got to go on."

visible but teachers were asked to force the learner’s hand to the shock plate so they could deliver the punishment

Less obedience was extracted from subjects in this case.

teachers were instructed to apply whatever voltage they desired to incorrect answers.

15 to 450 volts

averaged 83 volts

most participants were good, average people, not evil individuals. They obeyed only under coercion.

authority figure was in close proximity

teachers felt they could pass on responsibility to others

experiments took place under the auspices of a respected organization

Rebelled.

gave up responsibility for their actions, blaming the experimenter

Obeyed but blamed themselves.

harsh on themselves

Obeyed but justified themselves.

was a greater ethical imperative calling for the protection of the learner over the needs of the experimenter.

'have taken techniques from the human-potential movement, from the encounter, sensitivitytraining and humanistic-psychology movements, and combined them with cult ideology and persuasive sales methods - and packaged them in various combinations.''

Dr. Singer estimates that there are 2,500 to 3,000 cults in the United States

United

Dr. Cath defined a cult as a group of people joined together by a common ideological system fostered by a charismatic leader

The symptoms of temporal lobe epilepsy,'' said Dr. Clark, ''are similar to those seen or reported as resulting from cult conversions: increased irritability, loss of libido or altered sexual interest; ritualism, compulsive attention to detail, mystical states, humorlessness and sobriety, heightened paranoia.''

Dr. Cath said: ''Keeping devotees constantly fatigued, deprived of sensory input and suffering protein deprivation, working extremely long hours in street solicitation or in cult-owned businesses, engaging in monotonous chanting and rhythmical singing, may induce psychophysiological changes in the brain. The rhythmical movement of the body can lead to altered states of consciousness, and changes in the pressure or vibration pattern of the brain may affect the temporal lobe.''