By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 23, 2010

The evidence continues to mount that successful study habits should include plenty of napping.

Researchers report people who take a nap and dream about a task they’ve just learned perform it better upon waking than either those who don’t sleep at all or those who sleep but don’t report any associated dreams.

The study is found online in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

The learners in the study were asked to sit in front of a computer screen and learn the layout of a three-dimensional maze so that they could find their way to a landmark (a tree) when they were plopped down at a random location within the virtual space five hours later.

Those who were allowed to take a nap and also remembered dreaming of the task found the tree in less time.

“We at first thought that dreaming must reflect the memory process that’s improving performance,” said Robert Stickgold of Harvard Medical School.

“But when you look at the content of the dreams, it was hard to argue that.”

In a couple of cases, the dreamers said they recalled just the music from the computer maze. One subject said they were dreaming that there were people at particular checkpoints in the maze, even though the real maze didn’t have any people or checkpoints.

Another said they dreamed about an experience they’d had tromping through bat caves and thinking that the caves were like mazes.

“We think that the dreams are a marker that the brain is working on the same problem at many levels,” Stickgold said.

“The dreams might reflect the brain’s attempt to find associations for the memories that could make them more useful in the future.”

In other words, it’s not that the dreams led to better memory, but rather that they are a sign that other, unconscious parts of the brain were working hard to remember how to get through the virtual maze. The dreams are essentially a side effect of that memory process.

Stickgold said that there may still be ways to take advantage of this phenomenon for improving learning and memory.

For instance, it may be better to study hard right before you go to sleep than in the afternoon, or to take a nap after a period of intense afternoon study.

More generally, people might take notice of the study habits or mental processes while awake that lead them to dream about something they need to remember.

Perhaps other more directed ways to guide dreams could even prove useful to make your brain work on what you want it to at night.

But, Stickgold said, the most exciting thing to him is the notion that this line of evidence might elucidate a deeper question that has seemed almost impossible to tackle: Why do we dream? What is its function?

“Some have viewed dreaming as entertainment, but this study suggests it is a by-product of memory processing,” he said.

Whether you have to remember your dreams to get the benefits isn’t yet entirely clear, but Stickgold suspects not. After all, he said, people generally remember only a small fraction, no more than 10 to 15 percent, of their dreams.

The researchers hope to follow up their study by manipulating the learning environment in ways that boost incorporation into dreams. They also plan to study the same phenomenon following a full night of sleep as opposed to a nap.

Source: Cell Press

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/04/23/naps-and-dreams-help-academics/13116.html

The Secrets of Sleep

From birth, we spend a third of our lives asleep. After decades of research, we’re still not sure why.

By D. T. Max

Cheryl Dinges is a 29-year-old Army sergeant from St. Louis. Her job is to train soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. Specializing in Brazilian jujitsu, Dinges says she is one of the few women in the Army certified at level 2 combat. Level 2 involves a lot of training with two attackers on one, she explains, with the hope of “you being the one guy getting out alive.”

 

New College Addiction? Social Media, Facebook or Friends

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor

Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 23, 2010

A new study suggests American college students are “addicted” to the instant connections and information afforded by social media.

According to researchers, students describe their feelings when they have to abstain from using media in literally the same terms associated with drug and alcohol addictions: in withdrawal, frantically craving, very anxious, extremely antsy, miserable, jittery, and crazy.

In the study, University of Maryland researchers conclude that most college students are not just unwilling, but functionally unable to be without their media links to the world. However, the study was based upon self-report by students engaging in a set of unnatural and largely unrealistic behaviors.

“I clearly am addicted and the dependency is sickening,” said one person in the study.

“I feel like most people these days are in a similar situation, for between having a Blackberry, a laptop, a television, and an iPod, people have become unable to shed their media skin.”

In the new study, “24 Hours: Unplugged,” 200 students at the College Park campus were asked to give up all media for 24 hours. After their 24 hours of abstinence, the students were then asked to blog on private class websites about their experiences, report their successes and admit to any failures.

The 200 students wrote more than 110,000 words: in aggregate, about the same number of words as a 400-page novel.

“We were surprised by how many students admitted that they were ‘incredibly addicted’ to media,” noted project director Susan D. Moeller, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland and the director of the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda which conducted the study.

“But we noticed that what they wrote at length about was how they hated losing their personal connections. Going without media meant, in their world, going without their friends and family.”

Building upon that observation, an alternative explanation is that the students may have identified the “media” as what they were craving, but were actually missing the social connections afforded by the media. In other words, the students were “addicted” to the social ties — friendships and relationships — with others.

“The students did complain about how boring it was go anywhere and do anything without being plugged into music on their MP3 players,” said Moeller.

“And many commented that it was almost impossible to avoid the TVs on in the background at all times in their friends’ rooms.

“But what they spoke about in the strongest terms was how their lack of access to text messaging, phone calling, instant messaging, email and Facebook, meant that they couldn’t connect with friends who lived close by, much less those far away.”

“Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort,” wrote one student.

“When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable.”

The student responses to the assignment showed not just that 18-21 year old college students are constantly texting and on Facebook — with calling and email distant seconds as ways of staying in touch, especially with friends — but that students’ lives are wired together in such ways that opting out of that communication pattern would be tantamount to renouncing a social life.

Very few students in the study reported that they regularly watched news on television or read a local or national newspaper (although a few said they regularly read The Diamondback, the University of Maryland student newspaper).

They also didn’t mention checking mainstream media news sites or listening to radio news while commuting in their cars. Yet student after student demonstrated knowledge of specific news stories.

How did they get the information? In a disaggregated way, and not typically from the news outlet that broke or committed resources to a story. “To be entirely honest I am glad I failed the assignment,” wrote one student, “because if I hadn’t opened my computer when I did I would not have known about the violent earthquake in Chile from an informal blog post on Tumblr.”

“Students expressed tremendous anxiety about being cut-off from information,” observed Ph.D. student Raymond McCaffrey, a former writer and editor at The Washington Post, and a current researcher on the study.

“One student said he realized that he suddenly ‘had less information than everyone else, whether it be news, class information, scores, or what happened on Family Guy.”

“They care about what is going on among their friends and families and even in the world at large,” said McCaffrey.

“But most of all they care about being cut off from that instantaneous flow of information that comes from all sides and does not seem tied to any single device or application or news outlet.”

That’s the real takeaway of this study for journalists: students showed no significant loyalty to a news program, news personality or even news platform. Students have only a casual relationship to the originators of news, and in fact rarely distinguished between news and more general information.

While many in the journalism profession are committing significant resources to deliver content across media platforms –print, broadcast, online, mobile — the young adults in this study appeared to be generally oblivious to branded news and information.

For most of the students reporting in the study, information of all kinds comes in an undifferentiated wave to them via social media. If a bit of information rises to a level of interest, the student will pursue it — but often by following the story via “unconventional” outlets, such as through text messages, their email accounts, Facebook and Twitter.

Students said that only the most specific or significant news events — for example, a medal event at the Olympics — merited their tuning into to a mainstream outlet. Even news events that students cared about were often accessed via their personal interactions.

To learn about the Maryland vs. Virginia Tech basketball game, for example, one student told of “listening to someone narrate the game from a conversation they were having on their own phone” (although he would have preferred watching it on TV) and another student told of calling her father to learn more about the earthquake in Chile.

Source: University of Maryland, College Park

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/04/23/new-college-addiction-social-media-facebook-or-friends/13108.html

 

New Approach for Opioid Addiction

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 23, 2010

Experts have developed a new multifaceted treatment program for young adults addicted to opioid drugs.

The approach was announced at the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) Conference in Albuquerque, N.M.

The new treatment product, Buprenorphine Treatment for Young Adults, was based on research by NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

It showed that young adults given longer term treatment with the medication buprenorphine were less likely to use drugs and more likely to stay in treatment, compared to those who received short-term detoxification without followup medication.

Buprenorphine helps relieve drug cravings.

“Buprenorphine had been proven effective with adults, but until recently, evidence was lacking that its anti-addiction properties would work in this important group of younger patients,” said NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow.

“The new product includes a three-hour training package that examines opioid use among young adults and looks at research results showing the effectiveness of buprenorphine for this age group.”

The training program is in a suite of buprenorphine products developed by the Blending Initiative.

Among them: training for addiction professionals about laws governing the office-based use of the treatment; a discussion of how to select appropriate patients; and an explanation of how buprenorphine works.

Yet another product outlines the results of a NIDA clinical trial comparing short-term detoxification with buprenorphine versus clonidine, another addiction treatment.

This spring’s conference is titled “Blending Addiction Science and Practice: Evidence-Based Treatment and Prevention in Diverse Populations and Settings.”

In addition to the new buprenorphine products, the topics range from controlling heroin and opioid addiction in young adults to understanding genetic changes in the brain that underlie addiction.

“Rapid advances in our understanding of the mechanisms behind addiction have expanded our treatment horizon dramatically in recent years,” said Dr. Volkow.

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/04/23/new-approach-for-opioid-addiction/13118.html

What’s the Difference Between Your Boyfriend and Your Friend?

by Jen Kim

I’ve never been “friends first” with a boy, though the concept is quite fascinating.

Imagine you meet someone that you’re not attracted to. Then later, as some times goes by, suddenly, you begin to notice all these fantastic qualities about them that you didn’t know existed, and boom! You’re in love! Is that a 90s sitcom plot or what?!

I love this idea. Many experts advise that couples should be friends first. Then the relationship is based on personal compatibility, not just sexual chemistry.

New York social psychologist, Dr. Grace Cornish avers that romances that begin as friendships are more likely to succeed:

“As friends first, you like each other first. You develop a respect for each other. You’re looking out for each other’s best interests. I urge people–marry your best friend.”

Moreover, friendships keep you rational, stable and logical.

“You’re always kind to your friend. You’re looking for your friend to get ahead by looking out for his best interest. In a friendship you’re equally grounded. You’re not looking for any kind of ownership. There’s no respect if you become possessive and controlling.”

Cornish continues,

“If you have a genuine friendship, you’re not going to pretend to be someone you’re not so a person can marry you. Some people are on their best behavior until they cross the threshold. Then, they let their guards down. But your true nature will surface when you’re a person’s friend first. When you’re true friends from the beginning, you don’t have to pretend.”

I don’t disagree with anything Cornish says, but why does she make it seem like honesty, kindness and respect are only inherent in friendships, not in romance?

Jealousy and possessiveness occur in all relationships- including friendships. I’ve been envious of new friends that supplant old friendships. I also have friends who don’t share their different friend circles, for fear of social miscegenation. Also, everyone has had or been a “bad friend” at some point in their lives, right?

I’ve found that the only real distinction between friend and boyfriend is the attraction factor. A boyfriend is actually a friend that you’d like to get kinky with as soon as possible.

When I meet someone, I can size him up in about 30 seconds and decide whether or not we will ever see each other naked.

If I’m attracted to a guy, then I really can’t befriend him. I’ll be “friendly,” but a real friendship requires some level of honesty and ease. I know some people are capable of masking their true feelings, a la Joey Potter, but that’s just not in my nature. It just sounds like your waiting for the inevitable letdown, you know?

According to Paul Dobransky, PT Blogger and co-author of The Secret Psychology of How We Fall in Love,

Successful romantic relationships have three phases:

1. Attraction
2. Bonding in friendship
3. Commitment

This list makes more sense. Attraction must always be present and must always come prior to any romantic connection. It doesn’t have to be physical, but I think there needs to be something about that person that turns you on.

Read in Full:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/valley-girl-brain/201004/why-friends-first-doesnt-work

Understanding Male Friendships

Male friendships: Yes, we have them.

I am thrilled to be blogging for Psychology Today on the topic of men and their male friendships.  It has long been established that people with friends live longer, healthier lives.  Men’s lives are shorter than women’s. By helping men to better connect with other men through supportive friendships, I hope to help enrich men’s lives.  My initial postings will be based on my research on more than 400 men and 120 women into how they define friendships, how they make and maintain friendships, and the suggestions they offer for enhancing friendships.  Some of these postings will come from my book on men’s friendships and some will come from other events and research that I come across.

Two initial points to be made from the book and one observation:

1. Men, from an early age, are socialized by society to have difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships.  We have been raised to compete with other men and not co-operate with them.  We have been raised to hide our vulnerabilities and have often lacked friendship role models in our fathers.

Yet we have friendships with other men – do they look like women’s friendships? No.  But we have them and we value them.

2. Aristotle has written that friendships are the purest type of virtuous interaction, a giving of oneself to the other.  He observes that one can only be friends with a peer! If you have something to gain from someone else, or that person has something to gain from you, it is not a true friendship as one must be equals to participate in a friendship. Consider in your own life, whether your closest friends are peers.

Read in Full:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/buddy-system/200809/understanding-male-friendships

When a new romance leaves no room for friends

A once-best friend is suddenly made the ‘odd person out’

QUESTION

Dear Irene,

I’ve known Pete since third grade and I’ve always felt close to him, as though I could trust him with my life. But our friendship doesn’t seem to be the same way for him although he used to say it was.

He recently started dating a girl who asked if she could be my friend. Of course I said yes, because I want to support him in any choices he makes. But lately things have gone sour. She thinks we have become too close, and has been making up stories about me “harassing” her when I have been nothing but nice.

Now he says that he doesn’t want to be friends with me, because she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. I’ve tried to talk to him about it but he completely ignores me. Also, she knows things about me that only he could have told her, and it hurts me that he would share my personal information with somebody, especially when that person doesn’t like me.

Read in Full:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-friendship-doctor/200912/when-new-romance-leaves-no-room-friends

Are your friends really there for you?

Are your friends really there for you?

by Carolyn Rubenstein

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares. –Henri Nouwen

The happiest and most successful people I know seem to have a secret weapon: they get an incredible amount of support from their friends and family. Their friends and family really are there for them! They champion and stand by them during the best and hardest of times. This observation made me think about my own life and friendships. Are my friends true? Am I a true friend? In evaluating these conditions, I came up with a friendship “test.” Essentially, it’s a list of questions I try to answer when I evaluate whether a relationship is worth continuing.

1. Does the person help me feel good about myself?

2. Is this person there for me during my hardest times?

3. Is that person willing to be around me even when I am not my best self?

4. Does this individual allow me to believe in the impossible?

5. Does he or she offer help and support in a way that does not make me feel guilty or obligated?

6. Does this person allow me to be me, without expecting me to reflect a predetermined label or expectation?

I hope you were able to answer “yes” to all six questions, but what happens if none of your friends are true friends? What if you had to answer “no” to (almost) every question? Does this mean that everyone in your life is somehow toxic?

Well, if that’s the case, then your best choice is simply to start over. I know people who have done this; it really is possible. You can jettison those toxic relationships and replace them with new, supportive friendships. By exploring new interests, hobbies, and pursuits, you’ll meet other people who are more mature, positive, and supportive.

So what questions do you ask yourself when you evaluate whether someone is a true friend? How would you start over and seek a new set of friends? Please leave a comment.

To read the incredible stories of cancer survivors who forged new friendships after realizing their current relationships weren’t working, get a copy of PERSEVERANCE today.

Other Articles You May Like:

• Friendship: The Laws of Attraction
• 20 Ways to Spot a Toxic Friendship
• Be a Friend
• Invitations

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/now-is-everything/200910/are-your-friends-really-there-you

When to Stop, Yield, or Go in Friendship

By Marci Fox, Ph.D. and Leslie Sokol, Ph.D.

Confidence can come from all the different areas of your life, friendship included. That’s why it’s so important to routinely take an inventory of your friendships to make sure that each one is a healthy part of your life. So imagine yourself being at a traffic light. Now you need to ask yourself, “Does this friendship need to stop, do I need to yield and gather more information about our friendship, or am I good to go with it?”

Friendships can be a wonderful resource. They can provide us with emotional, psychological, physical, and even financial support. They can put a smile on our face, provide a place for our tears to fall, or offer an antidote to loneliness. On the other hand, friendships can sometimes be an unhealthy burden, a lure to trouble, or a culprit in your lack of confidence.

Let’s start with the friendship that may be negatively contributing to your confidence and may in fact be adding to your self-doubt. So what should you look for:

Top 5 List For When it may make Sense to Question a Friendship

1. Drama- If there are constant ups and downs in the relationship. Hint: Things are going great or not well rather than smooth and steady.
2. Finger Pointing- If your friend keeps telling you how you could be a better friend and never takes responsibility for her or his end of the relationship. Remember: There are two people who are equally responsible for the relationship. Are all your friends telling you how to be a better friend or do you just fall short according to this friend’s expectations?
3. Exhaustion- Your friend expects and assumes that you will always be the one to go out of your way to make yourself available to her and its not reciprocated. Tip: Friendships are about equal give and take over time and not hoping or wishing or waiting for someone to change.
4. Exclusivity- Your friend bad mouths your other friends and often puts you in a position to have to chose this relationship over another. Hint: Do people warn you about this relationship or does this person seem to go through a lot of friends?
5. Doubt- You find yourself questioning whether you want to call this person or make plans with them. Tip: Ask yourself what you would genuinely like to do not what you think you should do.

Do any of these sound familiar to you? If you’ve answered Yes to some of these, then it makes sense to take some time to examine your relationship.

Think about your relationships that involve no drama, finger pointing, exhaustion, exclusivity, or doubt. Clearly, those are the relationships worth your energy to nurture. When one of the top five issues arises, it’s time to decide if that minus is outweighed by the pluses of the relationship or if that minus overwhelms any pluses. Without pluses to compensate for the short-comings it might be time to put your energy into nurturing healthier relationships.

Friendships worth going towards are worth the effort. Communication will help make them better. Express your feelings and needs and problem solve when necessary. Delay action if more information is needed. Time will provide you the data to choose the wise path. If a relationship is in the yield zone, put the energy into improving it. Let your friend know what they are doing that bothers you and what they can do to make it better. Give them a chance. If change does not come, have the courage to stop and put your efforts where the yield is healthier.

Source:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/think-confident-be-confident/200908/when-stop-yield-or-go-in-friendship

Awkward is the new normal

Why we’re attracted to awkward people

by Jen Kim

“Awkward.”

Have you heard this word before? Are you the one saying it or the one it’s being said to? Do you even know what it means? What does it mean? When did it get so popular? Why do girls always seem to say this whenever anything randomly happens?

Like, when you parallel park your car and hit the curb, why is that awkward? Why did Sophia say that to me last week? I have no idea.

I google searched the terms “awkward” and “psychology” to maybe find a connection between the two, but the first result was one of my new favorite Web sites, awkwardfamilyphotos.com, with doozies like these:(See Link)

You must check out the site for yourself to understand and experience the full gamut of awkwardness, whatever it might be. For me, I get a weird uncomfortable feeling that’s suspended somewhere between confusion and disbelief, usually followed by mild-to-severe laughter. A “What the?” look if you may.

I don’t even know if this is a positive or negative feeling.

For the most part, being socially awkward is a stigma. The media stereotype depicts it as someone who lacks self-confidences, reads a lot of manga and probably lives in a basement and/or is obsessed with staplers.

There are countless Web sites that offer guidance on how to deal with awkward behaviors. Recently, a Globe and Mail article cited a study that suggested that reading fiction can cure social awkwardness.

Researchers in Toronto found that readers of narrative fiction were more empathetic and had higher social acumen than those who read non-fiction. Follow-up research also suggested that people who read a New Yorker short story performed better on social reasoning tests than those who read an essay from the magazine.

“Those benefits, researchers say, may be because fiction acts as a type of simulator. Reading about make-believe people having make-believe adventures or whirlwind romances may actually help people navigate those trials in real life.”

I started to wonder, is being awkward necessarily a bad thing? According to today’s media, absolutely not. In fact, awkward (people) comedies are this past decade’s fundamental source of humor. Think of the title characters in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, “Zoolander”… basically any Ben Stiller movie.

Read in Full: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/valley-girl-brain/201004/awkward-is-the-new-normal

The Power of the Ex-girlfriend

Why you have a relationship with your boyfriend’s ex

Last week was a much needed week of rest. I went home to Los Angeles for spring break and saw old friends, where we did what we always do: gossip and talk shit.

This is a hobby that I would like to have outgrown a decade ago, but even science deems gossip:

“a useful social function in bonding group members together. In the distant past, when humans lived in small bands and meeting strangers was a rare occurrence, gossip helped us survive and thrive.”

That being said, the most flagrant use of gossip in my circle of friends is discussing people we don’t know. Specifically, the exes of our past, present and future boyfriends.

These former love interests of our boyfriends have turned us into obsessive compulsive internet stalkers, hell bent on digging up as much dirt as we can via Twitter or Google. Don’t pretend that you haven’t spent a lone sleepless night Facebook stalking these mysterious girls, hoping that you share at least one friend in common, so you can access their pictures (even if their profiles are private).

Read in Full:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/valley-girl-brain/201003/the-power-the-ex-girlfriend

Darling, Do You Admire Me as Much as I Desire You?

Men just look at pictures, women actually read the ads

by Aaron Ben-Zeév

“The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man.” Madame de Stael
“The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring.” Carl Sandburg.

Professor Yehshieo Leibovitz, the great scientist and scholar, who was married to his wife for over 60 years, was once asked for the secret of a long term love. He replied: “The woman should desire the man and the man should admire the woman’s characteristics.” I was surprised at his reply as I felt sure that the opposite is true.
My surprise is based on the following two considerations:

(A) I have claimed that the complex experience of romantic love involves two basic evaluative patterns referring to (a) attractiveness-that is, an attraction to external appearance, and (b) praiseworthiness-that is, positively appraising personal characteristics. Falling and staying in love requires the presence of both patterns.
(B) Many studies have found that attractiveness is more important in determining men’s love for women than women’s love for men.

Read in Full: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-the-name-love/201004/darling-do-you-admire-me-much-i-desire-you

The One Dating Trait of a Successful Future Mate

Curiosity: the one trait in a date that leads to a lasting mate.

by Paul Dobransky, M.D.

Many people can never be quite sure whether they have a “good thing” going on in their romantic life, whether they’re single or married. In the thick of the desires of a dating life, the occasional emotional upheaval of an unmarried couple, and in the numerous stresses and duties that need a team approach in a committed partnership, one can find themselves wishing for there to be just one clue as to whether they are with the right person. It just happens that there’s an extremely quick and easy trait of character – a hidden “dealbreaker” for you to screen others with in your romantic life.

For many busy people with heavy workloads, duties, and stress, it might not occur at first that there are good and bad investments we make – even in the very first moments of spending time, energy, or any resources on a potential date, mate, or eventual spouse.

Read in Full:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-urban-scientist/201004/the-one-dating-trait-successful-future-mate

Cultures of foreplay:

I’ve just read a fantastic article in the Journal of Sex Research on culture and how we decide what is a sexual disorder or ‘paraphilia’. It has a fascinating section where it talks about cultural variation in common or acceptable sexual practices and it touches on how foreplay differs between societies.

Kissing during foreplay, it seems, is not universal and seems to be a particular fetish of Western lovers.

Finally, in most cultures, sexual intercourse is preceded by some degree of foreplay—that is, sensory and sexual stimulation intended to induce arousal. This stimulation may be visual, tactile, or otherwise. When visual, it may be the sight of the partner or parts of his or her body or clothing, but these may vary across cultures (Bhugra, 2000). Kissing as part of sexual foreplay is common in the West but virtually unknown in other parts of the world (Ford & Beach, 1965). There are some cultures where penetration was the key element to intercourse, and neither foreplay nor afterplay was recorded. Ford and Beach pointed out that physical pain and biting are sometimes permitted as part of sexual foreplay and, therefore, such behaviors are likely to be readily incorporated into the sexual repertoire. Thus, individuals learn about methods of sexual arousal and sexual activity from their cultural habits and, in order to avoid being labelled and treated as deviant, they conform to prevalent and expected mores.

Unfortunately, the article is locked behind a paywall. Undoubtedly for your own good though. Imagine what would happen if you started to deviate from culturally accepted foreplay practices. Anarchy. And then where would we be?

Link to PubMed entry for article.

—Vaughan.

Source:  http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/04/cultures_of_foreplay.html

Intimacy and Vulnerability: Can You Have One Without the Other?

Couples with truly intimate relationships want to connect deeply.

by Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D.

Intimacy, by its very nature, requires us to be vulnerable. Our partner, lover, or mate can know us to our very core, sometimes better than we know ourselves, and that can make any of us feel totally exposed. Intimacy can be intimidating. However, it is an amazingly freeing experience when you can be completely who you are with someone you totally trust.

Allowing ourselves to be open gives us the opportunity to let another’s heart touch our own; the loneliness in our lives melts away with every tender moment we let in. Despite its benefits, for many people this idea is terribly frightening. Someone may want to connect more than anything else in the world, but the fear of being that vulnerable holds them back. Not the greatest way to get through life. By avoiding intimacy, you never really let yourself be known, and you will never really know yourself.

We create a lot of who we are based on the reactions of others. When it’s someone we’re in love with, those reactions govern a large percentage of how we behave. We also will share parts of ourselves with someone we love because there is a real desire to connect. What we want is for the person we love to know who we really are.

Couples who have truly intimate relationships can’t wait to share their days and dreams with each other. They want to connect, and not just in the bedroom. Couples who choose to engage in an intimate relationship, and it is a choice, do so because they want closeness on all levels. In fact, a case can be made that intimacy itself is a great aphrodisiac. Most people will be more romantic with someone they trust than with a person they don’t really know.

So if the idea of intimacy entices you while at the same time causes you to put your guard up, there are any number of things you can do to help yourself open up. Talking about where you are to the one you love is really the best place to start. By saying the words, you will feel a little more trust and a little less fear.

Another step you can take is to do an intimacy inventory. Think about or write down what you believe you know about the one you love and what you think he or she knows about you. Ask yourself if you really “get” each other and talk about it.

Dedicating some time to going deeper and expressing what your needs, hopes, and fears are will lead you to feeling that there’s at least one person on this planet who cares and who totally understands you. Now that’s intimacy.

Source:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-fitness/201004/intimacy-and-vulnerability-can-you-have-one-without-the-other

Springfield, IL- The Autism Program of Illinois (TAP) today announced the development of a new training curriculum, based on HBO Films’ recent movie release, “Temple Grandin”. The training is appropriate for use with caregivers, community members and professionals who interact with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).

The training, entitled “Different…But Not Less”, was created to accompany the movie, and provides stop points for discussions about behavior exhibited by the movie’s main character, Temple Grandin, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism.

The training, created by Julie Alderman, M.A., from The Autism Program of Illinois and Camille Randall, PhD., from The Hope Institute for Children and Families, offers explanations for the character’s behavior, tools for working with individuals with ASDs, and additional resources.

Read More:  http://www.basilandspice.com/mind-and-body/42010-autism-program-il-releases-temple-grandin-type-curricu.html

 

 Education, education, education: students protest outisde the Tottenham campus of the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London over Government cuts which put adult learner courses at risk

12:56pm Wednesday 28th April 2010

by Elizabeth Pears

STUDENTS fought to protect their education with a demonstration yesterday outside a Tottenham college suffering a £2.5million budget cut that has put staff jobs and courses for adult learners at risk.

Hundred of lecturers and learners blocked the entrance to the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (Conel) to send a direct message to the Government, college bosses and higher education minister David Lammy who is hoping to be re-elected on May 6.

The massive Government cut to funding has put 29 jobs at risk and could mean courses such as teaching English as a second language, literacy and supported learning for students including those with autism.

English student Marcelin Mawanam 23, said: “The students are hear to tell the Government and the leaders of this college not to put our education in jeopardy because we desperately need it.

“Without an education, we have nothing. You will not be hired if you do not have literacy skills, it is as simple as that.”

Esol teacher Dean Colvin, whose job is at risk, said: “This is a very insecure time for me and my family, and I feel very bitter about being put in this position.

“For the students, this is devastating. Pupils who are learning English need all the support they can get, and not having this support could seriously hinder their integration in the wider community. In Tottenham, where there is a high demand for Esol, any cuts would be a huge loss.

“The people that run this college might claim to be passionate about education, but they are simply trying to run a successful business, and that’s not what this should be about.”

In 2008, an Ofsted inspection praised the college for its “outstanding” work in improving access for second language speakers to other courses and employment.

Members from the University and College Union (UCU) claim the college could plug the shortfall completely by digging into “several million pounds” of cash reserves.

Lecturer Jenny Sutton, UCU branch secretary for Tottenham, said: “These Government cuts have left college bosses with little room for manoeuvre, but there is some room. We are here to send a message today that we must protect education, even if that means using reserves to save courses and jobs.

“It seems like a very bad joke that Tottenham MP David Lammy, who is also the minister for higher education, is not fighting for our students. In fact, when I asked him for help his response was ‘there’s nothing I can do’.”

The college’s principal and chief executive, Paul Head, has refused to confirm how many jobs would be lost, how much money the college had in its reserves or which specific courses would be cut, but stressed his commitment to providing the “finest education” possible.

Mr Head said: “While I have striven to minimise the effects on our staff we will have to bear some job losses, as will further colleges across the country, due to changing priorities.

“I need to take the long term view for the benefit of our learners, the majority of our staff and our wider community, to ensure the college continues to raise aspirations and gives the finest education and training possible for decades to come.”

UCU members have announced plans to strike over the cuts on the eve of the General Election.

Source:  http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/news/8124816.Students_fight_for_their_right_to_education/

Lisa Beth Earle/Arizona Daily Wildcat(Original photo no longer available)

 

“Everyone Has a Story” is a weekly segment in the Arizona Daily Wildcat that aims to tell the story of an interesting person on the UA campus. This week, the Daily Wildcat interviewed Kevin Wos, a political science junior with Asperger’s Syndrome, and top 20 Zona Zoo points earner.

 

Though Wos remembers struggling with the loss, he still managed to have a fulfilling final year in high school.

 

“It’s been an excellent ride,” Wos said. “I’ve had the time of my life here.”

 

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:59 AM on 29th April 2010

A blind boy has learnt how ‘to see’ again – after being taught a language used by DOLPHINS.

Young Jamie Aspland utters tiny high-pitch clicks to rebound the sound off surfaces – and guide him round obstacles.

The four-year-old – who was born without his sight – was taught the ‘echo location’ technique as part of an exciting technique pioneered in the U.S to help the blind.

His mother Deborah hailed the treatment after her son was able to walk unaided to the park for the first time and even steered himself around a fence.

She said: ‘It’s changed our lives. The therapy has been a revelation.

‘Since learning the skill we can walk to the park and Jamie no longer has to hold my hand.

‘He even clicks to find out where the handrails are on our staircase before walking down unaided – it’s amazing.’

His mother, 39, added she watched nervously after tiny Jamie’s first session when he approached a fence – but was able to round it.

She said: ‘We thought he was going to go straight into it. But he just went round it – I didn’t think it would be possible.

‘He was born blind but this therapy has given him a new lease of life.’

Jamie, from Ashford in Kent, has just completed his third session with echo location guru Daniel Kish – who lost his sight when he was just 13 months old.

As president of World Access for the Blind, Kish has developed bio-acoustics based on animal sonar to help humans form ‘mental maps’ of their surroundings.

Read in Full:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1269717/Dolphin-boy-Meet-incredible-4-year-old-learnt-navigate-using-sonar-clicks.html?ITO=1490

 

April 28, 2010

New Scientist has an interesting article on whether single cells can be considered intelligent. The piece is by biologist Brian Ford who implicitly raises the question of how we define intelligence and whether it is just the ability to autonomously solve problems. If so, then individual cells such as neurons might be considered ‘intelligent’ even when viewed in isolation.

However, he finishes on a bit of an odd flourish:

For me, the brain is not a supercomputer in which the neurons are transistors; rather it is as if each individual neuron is itself a computer, and the brain a vast community of microscopic computers. But even this model is probably too simplistic since the neuron processes data flexibly and on disparate levels, and is therefore far superior to any digital system. If I am right, the human brain may be a trillion times more capable than we imagine, and “artificial intelligence” a grandiose misnomer.

It’s odd because it reads like blue-sky speculation when, in fact, the idea that neurons could work like “a vast community of microscopic computers” is an accepted and developed concept in the field supposedly doomed by this idea – namely, artificial intelligence.

Traditionally, AI had two main approaches both of which emerged from the legendary 1956 Dartmouth Conference.

One was the symbol manipulation approach, championed by Marvin Minsky, and the other was the artificial neural network approach, championed by Frank Rosenblatt.

Symbol manipulation AI builds software around problems where data structures are used to explicitly represent aspects of the world. For example, a chess playing computer would have a representation of the board and each of the pieces and in its memory and it works by running the simulation to test out and solve problems.

In contrast, artificial neural networks are ideal for pattern recognition and often need training. For example, to get one to recognise faces you put a picture into the network and it ‘guesses’ whether it is a face or not. You tell it whether it is right, and if it isn’t, it adjusts the connections to try and be more accurate next time. After being trained enough the network learns to make similar distinctions on pictures it has never seen before.

As is common in science, these started out as tools but became ideologies and a fierce battle broke out over which could or couldn’t ever form the basis of an artificial mind.

At the time of the Dartmouth Conference, the neural network approach existed largely as a simple set-up called the perceptron which was good at recognising patterns.

Perceptrons were hugely influential until Minksy and Seymour Papert published a book showing that they couldn’t learn certain responses (most notable a logical operation called a XOR function).

This killed the artificial neural network approach dead – for almost three decades – and contributed to what is ominously known as the AI winter.

It wasn’t until 1986 when two young researchers, David Rumelhart and James McClelland, solved the XOR problem and revived neural networks. Their approach was called ‘parallel distributed processing‘ and, essentially, it treats simulated neurons as if they are a ‘a vast community of microscopic computers’ just as Brian Ford proposes in his New Scientist article.

Artificial neural networks has evolved a great deal and the symbol manipulation approach, although still useful, is now ironically called GOFAI or ‘Good old fashioned artificial intelligence’ as it seems, well, a bit old fashioned.

How we define intelligence is another matter and saying that individual cells have it is actually quite hard to dismiss when they seem to be solving a whole range of problems they might never have encountered before.

Artificial intelligence seem cursed though, as true intelligence is usually defined as being just beyond whatever AI can currently do.

Link to NewSci on intelligence and the single cell (thanks Mauricio!)

—Vaughan.

Source:  http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/04/cell_intelligence_an.html

 

By John M Grohol PsyD

The Harvard Crimson published a remarkable article last week detailing the obstacles students increasingly face when they want to take a break from Harvard University, especially for mental health reasons. It describes the stories of a number of Harvard students who have taken a leave of absence from the university and their labyrinth journey in rejoining the school.

One would think that at one of the leading academic institutions in the world, Harvard would take an open-minded, flexible and personalized approach to helping their young charges navigate the new world set out before them. Especially those most vulnerable.

One would be wrong, of course. Harvard seemingly takes a bureaucratic, miserly approach to helping their students, forcing them to “voluntarily” take a leave of absence and then navigating a rigid set of rules to be let back in once they’ve undergone mental health treatment away from the university.

On a primarily residential campus where most students live far away from their family and doctors at home, it falls to the College to both assess and address mental health concerns. But Harvard is first and foremost an academic institution, and while the administration’s goal of protecting students is clear, the Ad Board’s limited scope and the lack of clear communication with students often transforms concern into discipline.

The “Ad Board” refers to the Administrative Board, the committee at the university that is charged with being “responsible for the application and enforcement of undergraduate academic regulations and standards of social conduct. The Ad Board acts on different types of petitions and cases, categorized as routine and special petitions, disciplinary cases, and academic reviews.” Why are decisions about letting a student return after a health or mental health concern placed in front of the same judge and jury who also hear disciplinary cases and students who cheat?

Why are students at Harvard who have a mental health issue considered the same as either a criminal or the ethically-challenged? This is an enlightened stance?

There are many challenges students face when they take the leave of absence. One of the challenges is how do you get back into school? In the case of Janie — one of the students highlighted in the article — she agreed to prove “six months of work and stability” before returning to school. In this economic environment, that was a poor choice, since jobs are impossible to come by. So no matter how healthy she may be now, she may not be able to return because she hasn’t fulfilled her side of the “contract.” It sounds as if the letter of the law is more important than the spirit — a problem when you’re dealing with the messy realities of being a young adult.

And of course, there’s the delicate part of how to pay for the treatment mandated by Harvard as a condition of return to the university. Once you withdraw from the college, you lose your health insurance. No health insurance means no way to readily pay for mental health treatment. They can continue supplemental insurance coverage if they choose, but they have to pay for it — an expense not all students can readily afford.

“It has been such a difficult conversation to have with students, to tell them [they] need to go away, and have therapy, but [they] don’t have any insurance.’” said Howell. “It’s a little surreal to ask students to go home to Kansas and away from the ready-at-hand resources and require them to get regular help that isn’t available.” […]

When Lisa returned to Harvard, she sought care outside of UHS [the Harvard health service for students], citing mixed and, at times, negative experiences with the strained system. But after the 12 visits allowed under Harvard insurance, she had to pay her new therapist out of her own pocket. “It was expensive. Eventually I couldn’t pay for it anymore,” she said.

Great way to step up to the plate there, Harvard. I might expect this attitude from some backwater college, but not from Harvard.

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/04/29/mental-health-care-at-harvard/

 

Article Date: 27 Apr 2010 – 1:00 PDT

Free groups for socially vulnerable children aged 8 to 12 are available through Fairleigh Dickinson University. These groups, which are part of a research program, are ongoing and consist of either 10 weekly group sessions emphazing anxiety reduction and changing misperceptions or 10 weekly group sessions emphasizing the application of broad-based social skills. Andrew R. Eisen, Ph.D., associate professor and the director of FDU’s Child Anxiety Disorders Clinic, will supervise the groups led by advanced doctoral students in FDU’s clinical psychology program.

Source: Fairleigh Dickinson University

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/186691.php