Anorexia Disorder

The eating disorder anorexia nervosa is classified as individuals that have a fear of weight gain and thus will over exercise or starves themselves or both to prevent them from gaining any weight. “People with anorexia nervosa have a distorted body image that causes them to see themselves as overweight even when they're dangerously thin” ("American Psychological Association", 2015).  The disorder is typically seen as coming on in adolescence and doesn’t really have a lot to do with food, but rather the person dealing with problems that are difficult in their life or emotions that are difficult so they deal with them in unhealthy ways. Anorexia nervosa is a serious disorder in which the sufferer needs help for otherwise the disorder may continue to progress to the point where the individual loses so much weight they begin to suffer from health problems as a result of it, which can include the death of the person if they continue the weight loss path. There is no cure for anorexia nervosa, but there is a variety of recommended treatments available to help people that suffer from the disorder. The following paper will compare three therapeutic interventions and contrast them in treating anorexia, it will compare the measures of effectiveness, cover symptoms of anorexia, rates of reduction or management, and the approaches that would be recommended to treat this disorder.  The paper will also analyze the neurophysiological underpinnings of disease and examine contemporary attitudes toward the treatments discussed in the paper.

Anorexia Nervosa

Of the individuals that are affected by anorexia nearly 95 percent of them will be female though that doesn't mean that men cannot also develop the psychological disorder (Gentile, 2010). Anorexia nervosa has no known cause, but research studies have found evidence that there may be a genetic component in place that determines a person’s likelihood of developing the disorder.  Gentile (2010), states that researchers have found evidence that implies that the hypothalamus of an individual may have a dysfunction in individuals suffering from the disorder and may be a contributing factor to a person's development of the anorexia. There are many theories about how an individual may develop the anorexia disorder including ideas about an infant being underfed or the infant's mother having maternal depression that contributed to the development of the disorder. The theory that is most favored by psychologists is that the individual suffering from anorexia is suffering from a self-esteem problem and the way that the person perceives themselves is the main contributing factor to the development of the anorexia disorder. In this theory the individual perceives what society demands, such as society wanting thin girls, and then the person will reflect that in order to bring happiness and success to themselves they need to embody the thin perception as that is what they portray in movies, media, and television.  The person will strive to fit the idea that was created that they need to be thin to be happy and successful, the ideal person in society.  The person will strive for this look through the development of anorexia as the individual is striving to be thin at any cost including not eating and over exercising to make this ideal of perfection a reality.

Common Symptoms

Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that can affect a person's psychological as well as physical health. A person that is suffering from anorexia can become underweight severely which leads to problems with depression, and the individual may begin to withdraw from their life and society as a result of it.  People with anorexia disorder tend to be more irritable and prone to mood swings than individuals that don't suffer from the disorder.  According to Gentile (2010), these individuals will be more overly sensitive, having more irritability, and find it hard to interact with others. Other symptoms that individuals may include insomnia that can impact a person's ability to function when awake as the individual may be more tired during times awake, they may be unable to concentrate, and they can experience problems with focusing their attentions. According to Gentile (2010), the most common symptom felt by individuals that suffer from anorexia is the obsession these people with have with food. People are consumed with food, from thoughts about food to having specific habits with food such as eating small pieces at a time, hoarding food, or they may cook large meals at a time for other individuals but not touch a bite of the meal.

People with anorexia will obsess over looks believing that no matter what they are always too fat and thus they have not to eat or constantly over exercise to become thin. Gentile (2010), states that people are overly compliant in life, and lack in adequate self-perception and thus the people strive to achieve perfection and to please others in their life. Individuals that suffer from anorexia tend to be overachievers that exceed themselves through excelling at academics, signing up for a lot of extracurricular activities, and in general overloading and working themselves. Gentile (2010), states that since a person’s physical appearance is important to the individual that has anorexia the person often is a very high achiever in a lot of different areas and their family is often portrayed as perfect as well. The delusions that a person holds about appearance will become evident as the person will refuse to believe what anyone has to say regarding the individual's weight and instead will choose to believe that their weight and appearance is different than what they are being told.  A person that is suffering from anorexia will put off compliments about their weight choosing to disagree outright or will simply not believe the compliment and continue to strive to lose weight. In this disorder, denial is a huge factor that helps the sufferer maintains their weight problem.  Denial is at the root of the disorder causing the individual never to be satisfied and to resort back to weight loss behaviors that keep the disorder going.

Treatments

The treatment for anorexia nervosa can range from therapy to medication and everything else in between it. One of the treatment options for individuals with anorexia is a cognitive therapy that has shown a lot of promise and success in treating individuals with anorexia. In treating anorexia, it depends a lot on the patient's motivation in wanting to get better which can cause a lot of frustration for a doctor that is trying to treat the individual. For the person to get better, they have to be motivated and committed to following through with the treatment that the doctor has set up, the plan that has been created.  Most people lack the drive or motivation to keep up with treatment and thus tend not to follow the plan set up. Denial again comes into play with the individual as the individual does not believe that there is anything wrong with them thus they do not want to follow through with a treatment plan. Sufferers of anorexia will rationalize symptoms of the disorder and become deceivers to themselves to continue doing what they can to continue with the weight loss.

The use of cognitive therapy to treat individuals with anorexia has shown great strides in assisting individuals to overcome anorexia symptoms. Riva, Bacchetta, Baruffi, Rinaldj, and Molinari (1999), state that the use of virtual reality or VR in studies has shown to be very effective in treating anorexia. People can use the VR equipment to simulate experiences in the real world exposing patients to encounters and situations that will over time desensitize them and thus lead to a decrease in behavioral tendencies of anorexia. With the use of cognitive therapy, it is relatively short term taking about eight weeks to complete and is a fully integrated approach that focuses on the individual's discovery and self-perception. This therapy will utilize the assistance of a clinical psychologist that works together with a cognitive behaviorist just in case there is a need for medication to be either administered or prescribed to the person. While going through therapy the psychologist may work in a group or individual setting to assist the individual in interaction with others that share similar experiences so the person will realize the experiences they have been not specific to just them (Gentile, 2010). 

When participating in the individual therapy the psychologist will create a plan that involves the individual meeting with a nutritionist weekly so that individual can develop healthy skills with eating.  The psychologists will also work in holding sessions weekly with the individual, using the VR equipment, holding supportive talks, doing weekly assessments, psychometric tests, and completing psychopharmacological assessments (Riva et. al., 1999). Using cognitive therapy has shown a lot of improvement in individuals suffering from anorexia as the individuals learn about not obsessing about food, the individuals learn about not obsessing with looks, and they are taught coping skills that allow them to strive for a healthy lifestyle. This treatment also benefits the doctors and patients by being able to motivate the individual to participate and work toward change as the skills being used and knowledge learned transfer directly into a person’s life after they are done with treatment. With the use of the virtual reality, people can experience real life situations that can directly impact the person's disorder. Additionally, the use of the virtual reality allows it to be programmed to each person in order to fit their specific needs and supports the feeling of the person being in control as it is highly immersive (Riva et. al., 1999). The therapist is also with the patient throughout the whole session with the VR, so they can assist them the entire time with the experiences that they have or if a problem comes up.

This treatment supports both advantages as well as disadvantages.  First the treatment is able to minimize distortion with the findings being more conclusive, and allows the person to experience as well as remember everything experienced while taking out the struggle of interaction with other individuals in the experiences. The downside however, is that the treatment can run around $10,000 or more and thus is expensive to afford for individuals.  Additionally, the treatment has not be run in other areas of psychology so there has been no comparison created in different approaches or the results of follow-up presented in order to display the long term efficacy of the virtual reality treatment (Riva et. al., 1999). In the studies that have been run the treatment when compared individually or with the use of medication has shown great strides in altering symptoms of people with anorexia nervosa. The treatment allows the person to face their perceptions and discuss them with a therapist, helping to improve the perceptions especially the one's concerning their body image and can help with changing the habits the patient has with food (Riva, et. al., 1999).

Pharmacological Treatments

Anorexia nervosa is a difficult disorder that can result in the relapse of a person many times because of the denial and combative nature that goes with the disorder. Kotler and Walsh (2000), state that anti-depressants have been used in cases of people suffering from Bulimia, which has been effective and may be a possible alternative treatment for people dealing with anorexia. In studies that have been done, double blinds with placebos and antidepressants, there had been no noticeable changes or results when it came to controlling a person's anorexia. In studies done with individuals that have relapsed though the results have shown great promise. One of the major symptoms of relapse is depression that the anti-depressants have been able to help control and thus present more favorable results for helping with anorexia in that stage of treatment (Kotler & Walsh, 2000). The anti-depressants can help control the person's depression and allow the individual to work through therapy to learn coping skills. There is a drawback to the medication in that it is still no cure, it only helps with the depression, and it has only been shown to help in the relapse phase of the disorder. The medicine can assist in helping the individual once they enter the relapse phase but still needs to be used in combination with other therapy methods and can't be used as a stand-alone method.

Alternative Therapeutic Treatment

Anorexia disorder is severe affecting a person both physically as well as mentally and can end up having a high rate of death in the individuals that suffer from it. Psychologists that have been treating individuals with anorexia have discovered that the use of replacing hormones to treat a psychiatric disturbance has been beneficial in the treatment of individuals with anorexia. During anorexia, the starvation the individual is doing becomes visible on their body outside, but the inside of the body is also damaged. Wheatland (2002), states that in the blood of a person with anorexia an endocrine feature is higher significantly than cortisol levels in the person as a result of the serve dieting, the purging of food, the excessive exercising, and the self-injury that the individual will do to themselves daily. In the research that was done, cortisol was given to sufferers of anorexia and was found to show significant improvement in the person suffering. While the cortisol levels may already be higher than normal and it seems weird to give more cortisol to a person Wheatland (2002), states that giving the additional cortisol allows the person to satisfy the cortisol requirement lowering the need to maintain the starving state that the person perceives they need to maintain and helps to treat the disorder.

An individual that doesn’t get treatment for the disorder continues to starve themselves then will break down and eat, this causes the person to feel guilty as their cortisol levels fall. Using the extra cortisol allows the individual to maintain the high need for cortisol while being able to satisfy their hunger without the guilt or need to purge the food (Wheatland, 2002). The extra cortisol also counteracts the behavioral issues associated with the disorder. Cortisol is a natural hormone that is in place in all individuals and associated with stress in people at higher levels. Anorexia produces high stress and low self-esteem increasing the levels of cortisol in the person as they push toward becoming the perfect person (Wheatland, 2002). Replacement therapy with this hormone allows for stress to be alleviated and reduction in the need to be perfect.

Conclusion

The eating disorder anorexia nervosa is classified as individuals that have a fear of weight gain and thus will over exercise or starves themselves or both to prevent them from gaining any weight. The disorder is typically seen as coming on in adolescence and doesn't really have a lot to do with food, but rather the person dealing with problems that are difficult in their life or emotions that are difficult so they deal with them in unhealthy ways. Anorexia is a serious eating disorder that can affect a person's psychological as well as physical health. The treatment for anorexia nervosa can range from therapy to medication and everything else in between it. One of the treatment options for individuals with anorexia is a cognitive therapy that has shown a lot of promise and success in treating individuals with anorexia. The use of cognitive therapy to treat individuals with anorexia has shown great strides in assisting individuals to overcome anorexia symptoms. Riva, Bacchetta, Baruffi, Rinaldj, and Molinari (1999), state that the use of virtual reality or VR in studies has shown to be very effective in treating anorexia. People can use the VR equipment to simulate experiences in the real world exposing patients to encounters and situations that will over time desensitize them and thus lead to a decrease in behavioral tendencies of anorexia. Anorexia nervosa is a difficult disorder that can result in the relapse of a person many times because of the denial and combative nature that goes with the disorder.

References

American Psychological Association. (2015). Retrieved from http://apa.org/helpcenter/eating.aspx

Breuner, C. (2010). Complementary, holistic, and integrative medicine: Eating disorders.           Pediatrics Review 31(75). 150-155.

Forman, S. (2011). Eating disorders: Epidemiology, pathogenesis and clinical features. Retrieved                     from http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html.

Forman, S. (2011). Eating disorders: Treatment and outcome. Retrieved from             http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html.

Grave, R. (2011). Eating disorders: Progress and challenges. European Journal of Internal         Medicine 22(3). 153.

Gentile, M.G. (2010). Anorexia Nervosa: Identification, Main Characteristics and Treatment. Nutritional Therapy & Metabolism.

Kotler, L. A., Walsh, B. T. (2000). Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Pharmacological Therapies. Supplement 1, Vol. 9 p. 108

Mayo Clinic. (2012). Anorexia nervosa. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-            conditions/anorexia/basics/symptoms/con-20033002

Riva, G., Bacchetta, M., Baruffi, M., Rinaldj, S., & Molinari, E. (1999). Virtual Reality Based. Experimental Cognitive Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa. P. 221-230. Retrieve from: http://www.vepsy.com/atnplab/flash_site/inglese/riva_anorexia_nervosa.pdf

Wheatland, R. (2002). The Endocrine Research Project. Medical Hypotheses. 59 (6): 710-5.

The Man without a Memory

This paper provides an analysis of the Man Without a Memory – Clive Wearing.  We will attempt to describe the relationship between learning and remembering it, memories; and how emotions are linked to our memories

Relationship Between Learning and Remembering It

The relationship between learning something and remembering is when one is learning they must remember how to do it again in order to complete the same task later on. If one learns something they do so by remembering how and repeating the process at which was taught or learned to do it right. Learning and remembering is a direct result of a person's memory and recall abilities because when one learns this information is stored to retrieve later at which is when one needs to remember both fall hand and hand with the ability to recall information. Memorization and learning have a relationship, because one will learn to do things based on encoding, storing, and retrieving information that one has seen, heard, or understood in their life at which is based on memory and recall. One's ability to learn and remember will also be based on brain functioning and ability to learn based on memory and comprehension.. 

Clive’s Brain Damage

The definition of learning involves "a change in the content or organization of long term memory and/or behavior."; while the definition of memory is "the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information". When it comes to the definition of learning, the first part of the definition focuses on what is known while the second focuses on concrete behavior. For example, many people will avoid foods that they consumed shortly before becoming ill due to both their memory and learning of that particular experience. Learning is not all knowledge based. For example, "we may experience the sales people in one store being nicer to us than those in the other. We thus may develop a preference for the one store over the other" (Perner, 2010, pg. 1) because of what is learned and remembered from the experience of that store.

Memory Loss for Clive

Clive memory loss was brought on by the onset of an untreated disease, which caused the loss of his short term memory. As a result of the various forms of Syphilis it has the potential to eat away at the brain. Clive loss was due to his hippocampus, which is the portion of the brain that is responsible for short-term memories. He can only recall events prior to the onset, and without short-term memory he is not able to create long-term memory. So his love and passion for the things that matter are due to the memories stored before the event

 Memories

Life without memories has to be a very lonely time.  Clive is only able to remember things for a few seconds.  One of the things that stood out the most is the inability to remember his son’s name.  Memories are part of our history and our being.  Without them, does one truly exist? That is the question that has to be the hardest to answer not only for Clive but for his family members.  As I ponder the question myself, I think about not being able to remember simple things such as how I sat down, what day it is, my child’s name, birthdays, and holidays.  Those few items would be extremely frustrating as well as depressing.  There is not one particular event that would be missed the most, it would be everything.  Life would not be the same. 

Emotions and Memories

The experiences that a person has gone through in life of specific events are the things that make up the person’s memory.  A person’s emotions are linked with their memories due to the emotions that they experienced associated with the event.  A person may display a change in memory resulting from a trauma in order to diminish the emotional pain related to the experience.  Trauma can impact the way memories are stored or determined in survivors of trauma which may stop the retrieval of memories and attempt to diminish the emotional distress associated with the trauma (Williams, 1996). Emotions that happen as a result of an event or stimuli can affect memory such as intrinsic details being better remembered than neutral items without emotional ties.  The ability to learn new information is one aspect of memory according to LeBar and Cabeza (2006), and emotional memory is another aspect which updates stimulus-punishment or reward paradigms.

Conclusion

Overall, life for Clive has changed dramatically since his illness.  Clive is able to recall certain events but not able to recall others.  An individual needs to have a healthy hippocampus in the brain in order to have the ability to learn, recall and retain information  

References

LaBar, K.S., and Cabeza, R. (2006). Cognitive neuroscience of emotional memory. Nature Review Neuroscience, 7, 54-64.

Perner, L. (2010).  Learning and Memory.  Department of Marketing, Marshall School of Business.  University of Southern California.  Retrieved from http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb Learning and Memory.html

Williams, J.M.G. (1996). Depression and the specificity of autobiographical memory. Cambridge University Press: New York, pp. 244-267.  

Phineas Gage

A person’s cognition is a very important function making a person what and who the person is; it is responsible for how the individual functions, and how the person reacts to their environment. A person’s cognition makes up different parts of the person’s brain in order to work together allowing the individual to function properly.  Damage to one of these parts of the brain can disrupt a person’s functioning and how the person acts or reacts to their world. The following presentation will cover Phineas Gage who underwent an accident at a railroad yard where a steel rod shot through his skull. The presentation will talk about the accident, the behaviors of Gage before and after the accident, any deficits that resulted, and the treatments that Gage had available or went through.  Finally, this presentation will explain why the accident Gage had was so important in the study and understanding of how a person’s brain works and functions.

Phineas Gage was a well-liked and respected railroad foreman in 1848 when an explosion at work caused an accident.  The result was that Gage ended up with a steel rod that shot through his left cheek, through his frontal lobe and out of the top of his skull (Hernandez, 2008).  What should have probably killed Gage didn’t and he survived the accident as well as made a full recovery a year later. Despite the extensive damage to the brain Gage managed to only lose the sight in his left damaged eye (Macmillian, 2000). The doctor who treated Gage after the accident believed that Gage had no hope for survival in the following days despite Gage being very alert and lively during treatment.  Gage made a strong enough recovery not long after the accident and was sent home from the hospital in order to continue recovering under the care of his family and a physician. Within a year Gage was fully recovered according to his doctor and was able to return back to work despite the protests of others that knew Gage and believed he wasn’t fully recovered.  According to those that knew Gage they believed he was suffering behavioral issues and because of this he was not fully recovered from the accident (MacMillian, 2000).

Before the accident Gage was well-liked as well as respected as a businessman and foreman of the railroad.  Afterwards however he changes becoming more obstinate, impatient, some described him as grossly disrespectful, and disturbed (Hernandez, 2008). Gage’s damage to his brain was in the cerebrum which is made of for different lobes or areas.  Each of the lobes of the cerebrum has different cognitive functions which it is responsible for like a person’s problem solving, learning, or speaking; and in the case of Gage the frontal lobe was responsible for personality and emotions (CNBC, 2009).  After the accident Gage changed from the well liked and loving man that he was into a completely different person, which was quickly apparent to family and friends that knew Gage prior to the accident.  These individuals described Gage as another person with a new personality, mindset, and completely different behaviors then he had prior to the accident and it was a dramatic change from what he was before (MacMillian, 2000).

Gage was a completely different person following the accident, using profanity tremendously in speaking with other people, he’d lost is patience and would become impatient quite easily, he was very obstinate, prone to throwing fits, was impertinent, and did not take advice from others (MacMillian, 2000). Individuals would describe his behavior and his personality as childlike in both capacity and manifestations.  Before the accident Gage was extremely professional and well-respected, liked by his workers, family, friends, and would never use profanity or speak mean to any individual.  Following his accident Gage was completely different with the way that he treated people. Gage became quick to anger and temper, had tantrums when he didn’t get what he wanted, and Gage began to use profanity constantly.

In the study of cognitive psychology it entails the cognitive and mental states of a person as it applies to the person’s acquisition of as well as use of language, memory, perception, learning, decision making, and attention (Willingham, 2007). A person’s cognitive function is a process of intellectual aspects within a person which allows the person to do things like perceiving, learning, remembering, and reasoning.  Individuals are able to have ideas, comprehend things, and be aware of themselves as well as the environment and people that surround the individual.  Cognitive functioning is a critical part of a person’s existence as this allows the person to perform all the mentioned functions like thinking, speaking, or reasoning which are needed in the person’s life daily.  Excluding some cases people are able to grow, develop, and learn new ideas through cognitive functions where the person’s brain plays a critical role (Willingham, 2007).  Cognitive functions can become impaired or damaged as a result of a significant injury to the person’s brain.

Gage’s doctor stated that at a checkup four weeks after the accident Gage had the ability to recall events from the accident but when it came to times and dates he had trouble (Harlow, 1999). Gage also had issues when it came to money, dimensions, and displayed changes which could have been the result of the damage he suffered cognitively. MacMillan (2000), stated that Gage would have had several obstacles that he would have to overcome as a result of the accident including infection to the wound, confusion, epilepsy, and he developed ptosis in his damaged eye and ended up losing his vision in it. When Gage’s behavioral problems became known and issues from it arose Gage was fired from his job and couldn’t come back to it.  Gage was fortunate to survive the accident which could have claimed his life easily and was able to regain communication and motor coordination.  This was in despite of the personality and behavioral changes that Gage underwent following the accident. Another result of Gage’s accident came in the form of epilepsy which lead to Gage’s death from epileptics (MacMillan, 2000).

When it came to the treatment of Gage following the accident, there was only limited capabilities available from doctors and what they were able to do for him. Gage’s doctor reported that he treated Gage in a hotel room daily to remove blood clots from the brain area, as well as brain fragments and skull fragments around the exit would (Grieve, 2010). Gage’s doctor reported that the procedure to close the wound was done without medicine or sanitation efforts.  The doctor described probing the wound and cavity of Gage’s head without using gloves on his hands and when he was done he used adhesive strips and a nightcap in order to close the wound (Grieve, 2010). The doctor used simple dressings on the wounds that Gage suffered on his hands, arms, and face.  This was all that was done treatment wise for Gage.  In the end Gage developed an infection, suffering from epilepsy after the accident, and died (Grieve, 2010). 

Gage’s head injury was devastating to Gage but resulted in good as the resulting case lead to studies on the functionality of the prefrontal cortex.  Neylan (1999), stated that in the case of Gage it was the most influential case as it allowed for understanding and knowledge that a person’s behavior is lined to the brain and different structures within the brain. Researchers took and used Gage’s skull in a CT to reconstruct how the damage would have been done to Gage’s brain and skull.  The CT spatially aligned the skull fragments which were disarticulated by the rod (Van Horn, Irimir, Torgerson, Chambers, Kikinis, & Toga, 2012). This study allowed researchers to recreate how the steel rod likely went into Gage’s face and brain being able to digitally impose the rod’s entrance and exit.  With that information the researchers could digitally recreate the path of the rod through Gage’s brain and be able to identify the areas that would have been impacted by the rod and where damage in the brain would have occurred as a result of the rod (Van Horn, et. al., 2012). 

The injury that Gage suffered and the resulting changes that happened behaviorally to Gage led to discoveries about the links cognitively between a person’s brain, behavioral syndromes, and different areas of the brain and lobes being responsible for different functions as well as what damage to the lobes would do to the functions (Neylan, 1999). Gage’s injury allowed for understanding and insight into how a person’s brain functions and what happens when the brain is injured or damaged in some way. MacMillan (2000), states that Gage’s injury was a craniocerebral injury encompassing both an enter and exit opening in an single brain parenchyma area.  This is described as a very serious injury to the head as skull fragments are propelled into a person’s brain and can increase the amount of damage that is done to the brain matter as well as making surgery very difficult even by today’s standards.

A person’s cognition is a very important function making a person what and who the person is; it is responsible for how the individual functions, and how the person reacts to their environment. Phineas Gage was a well-liked and respected railroad foreman in 1848 when an explosion at work caused an accident.  The result was that Gage ended up with a steel rod that shot through his left cheek, through his frontal lobe and out of the top of his skull (Hernandez, 2008).  Gage’s damage to his brain was in the cerebrum which is made of for different lobes or areas.  Each of the lobes of the cerebrum has different cognitive functions which it is responsible for like a person’s problem solving, learning, or speaking; and in the case of Gage the frontal lobe was responsible for personality and emotions (CNBC, 2009).  Following his accident Gage was completely different with the way that he treated people. Gage became quick to anger and temper, had tantrums when he didn’t get what he wanted, and Gage began to use profanity constantly. Gage’s doctor stated that at a checkup four weeks after the accident Gage had the ability to recall events from the accident but when it came to times and dates he had trouble (Harlow, 1999). When it came to the treatment of Gage following the accident, there was only limited capabilities available from doctors and what they were able to do for him. Neylan (1999), stated that in the case of Gage it was the most influential case as it allowed for understanding and knowledge that a person’s behavior is lined to the brain and different structures within the brain.

Reference

CNBC. (2009). Center for the neural basis of cognition: integrating the sciences of mind and brain. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu/research

Grieve, A. W. (2010). Phineas P Gage -- 'The man with the Iron bar'. Trauma, 12(3), 171-174

 Harlow, J.M. (1999, Spring). Passage of an iron rod through the head. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 11(2), 281-283

Hernandez, C. (2008). Phineas Gage. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/831073/phineas_gage_pg3.html?cat=4

Macmillan, M. (2000). Nineteenth-century inhibitory theories of thinking: Bain, Ferrier, Freud (and Phineas Gage). History Of Psychology, 3(3), 187-217. doi:10.1037/1093-4510.3.3.187

Neylan, T.C. (1999, Spring). Frontal lobe function: Mr. Phineas Gage's famous injury. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 11(2)

Twomey, S. (2010). Finding Phineas. Smithsonian, 40(10), 8.

Van Horn, J., Irimia, A., Torgerson, C., Chambers, M., Kikinis, R., & Toga, A. (2012). Mapping connectivity damage in the case of Phineas Gage. Plos One, 7(5), e37454. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0037454

Willingham, D. T. (2007). Cognition: The thinking animal (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: 

Motivational Theories in Training

Training programs within companies are very important, and can be very costly if not done correctly. Many training programs implement one of four motivational theories stated in Muchinsky’s text. These theories include expectancy theory, goal-setting theory, self-regulation theory, and work design theory (Muchinsky, 2012). These four theories each have their own advantages and disadvantages, which makes using them depend on the situation and environment that the training is occurring. None of these theories are better than the other but when used appropriately, they can have a great positive impact on an organization’s training program.

Expectancy theory is a theory of motivation based on the perceived relationship between how much effort a person puts forth, and the performance that is based off of the effort (Muchinsky, 2012). In Applying expectancy theory to residency training: Proposing opportunities to understand resident motivation and enhance residency training, researchers attempt to connect expectancy theory to medical residency. Many residents are putting forth great amounts of effort during this time of their training, and their efforts are reflected in the knowledge and skills they gain (Shweiki, 2015).

            Current medical programs for residents are lacking in motivation recently because the program for residents has not changed much (Shweiki, 2015). Since there was a lack of innovation within the programs, many researchers were curious as to what made medical residents so determined to stay focused within this intense training period. The training program for medical residents is extremely taxing mentally and physically, so keeping motivation is key to finishing the program.

            The study showed that expectancy theory was extremely applicable to the residents (Shweiki, 2015). Seeing that the residents were motivated by expectancy theory can help innovate new program ideas to help residents keep their motivation high, and help them learn more while in their program.

            Goal-setting theory is another motivational theory that can help to motivate individuals. Goal-setting theory is when an individual sets a goal for themselves, and exerts the necessary amount of effort to obtain the goal (Muchinsky, 2012). There are many positives of using goal setting theory, as it can make tasks that people are not keen on accomplishing more tolerable when there is a goal they want to obtain in sight that requires these tasks to be done. There are a few ways to implement goal-setting theory.

            There was a study done in 2013 where researchers wanted to know if a person’s passion could influence the goals they set for themselves, and if it could have a negative impact on their ability to obtain those goals. If a person felt their knowledge was above average, they felt competent and would set higher goals for themselves (Thorgren, 2013). If they felt as though they were not competent enough with the materials needed to obtain the goal set, they would not make a goal that challenged them, and choose to make a goal that would not be intimidating and easier to obtain.

            Their research seems to point to the idea that not just the passion for a specific subject can push a person to strive for higher goals, but the risk and fear of failure will make a person feel less secure in their knowledge, causing them to not strive as much as they possibly can. From this research, it seems that goal-setting theory can have major drawbacks if the person setting the goal is not comfortable with the confines they are setting it within, but can be extremely beneficial if set within a parameter that the person feels very comfortable with.

            One case of using goal-setting theory where it can be extremely helpful would be in an academic setting. A study done in 2014 was done to examine the motivation behind academic achievement. A new idea behind the motivation of academic achievement is goal-setting theory (Dishon-Berkovits, 2014). Since this research is of a newer idea, there has not been a lot of repeated studies done on it, but the initial findings seemed very promising.

The study used college students that were enrolled into an introductory course. There were two groups of students within this experiment: those with assigned performance goals, and those with assigned learning goals. The student’s internal achievement goals were measured as well as their academic performance. The study found that more academic success came from assigned learning goals as opposed to the assigned achievement goals (Dishon-Berkovits, 2014).  This study can help teachers assign their coursework in a way that will encourage students to learn more, as well as be more enthusiastic about learning.

Another frequently used motivation technique is self-regulation theory. Self-regulation is more of an umbrella term for many different theories that all branch from the same idea (Muchinsky, 2012). The main idea behind this motivational theory is that the person keeps themselves in line with a goal they would like to achieve, and accurate feedback enhances the likelihood of the goal becoming achieved (Muchinksy, 2012). Using self-regulation can be useful for people who are very self-driven.

A recent study done is 2012 used self-regulation as a method of determining whether or not environmental factors were present in either helping or undermining the upkeep of a healthy lifestyle (Booker, 2012). The researcher’s believed that using self-regulation, people would be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle regardless of the external factors present.

The researchers had concluded that self-regulation was a useful method for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but found their sample to be slightly skewed. The researchers had used groups that were made up of a good amount of young adults. These young adults did not fare well using the self-regulation method because the negative environmental factors were too great to overcome (Booker, 2012). More research would need to be done in this case to see if young adults have a more difficult time dealing with the environment and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, or if the sample was merely not diverse enough to get an accurate reading.

Another study was done in recent years about how adults used a self-regulation method for motivation while obtaining online degrees. Jaeger (2013) is interested in seeing what motivates students in an online setting to push forward with obtaining their degree. The researchers found that with obtaining an online degree, many students used self-regulation as their method of motivation because they felt they needed to further their education to better themselves (Jaeger, 2013).

Jaeger did find that the study should be reproduced since it was one of the first research projects to delve into the motivation behind obtaining an online degree. Many of the students were well regulated enough to make the findings valid within their case (Jaeger, 2013). Looking at both research articles, it seems that self-regulation theory depends on the personality type of the person using it as well as the environmental factors that are at play.

The last main method of motivation is work design theory. Work design theory is based off the idea that a job and the environment of the work place can have a big impact on the effort exerted by an employee (Muchinsky, 2012). If the work environment is not properly stimulating, it is likely that the employee will not be productive. Finding the right environment type can depend on the type of job it is, as well as the employee that is in the job position.

In Getting what the occupation gives: Exploring multilevel links between work design and occupational values, the researchers aimed to discover the link between work motivation and work design (Dierdorff, 2013). These researchers decided to describe the ways that occupations are linked to work design, and how work design affects these occupations. They had a sample of 805 people from 230 different occupations and they found that many of these individual’s achievements, performance, were related to work characteristics (Dierforff, 2013). They also found that many of these work characteristics were key to job satisfaction.

            The last article up for discussion, Giving time, time after time: Work design and sustained employee participation in corporate volunteering, discusses giving employees something besides their job to help make them feel fulfilled (Grant, 2012). This article integrates work design theory as well as volunteer theories in order to explain how employees who may feel their jobs are not fulfilling their needs for tasks, knowledge, and social interactions may seek to fulfill them in volunteer positions. People will repeatedly join volunteering positions to continually fulfill their needs that are not being met at their current jobs. When the employees feel fulfilled by the volunteer positions, they may seek employment elsewhere. This article explains that current jobs need to ensure that they are challenging enough to their employees, or that they offer some sort of corporate volunteering to help fulfill employee’s needs.

             Each motivational theory has its strengths and weaknesses, which makes choosing one theory to be the best overall near impossible. There is no theory that is better than the rest as many are situational and can also be combined for different effects. All in all, motivational theories that are being put into place need to be carefully picked for the specific environment as well as the people that need motivation. If the environment and people are not carefully analyzed to find the best fit or combination of theories, then they will not be effective. If chosen correctly, motivational theories within training programs could help keep businesses cost effective and more employee friendly.

References

Booker, L., & Mullan, B. (2012). Using the temporal self-regulation theory to examine the

            influence of environmental cues on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. British Journal of

            Health Psychology Br J Health Psychol, 745-762.

Dierdorff, E., & Morgeson, F. (2013). Getting What the Occupation Gives: Exploring Multilevel

            Links Between Work Design and Occupational Values. Personnel Psychology, 687-721.

Dishon-Berkovits, M. (2014). A study of motivational influences on academic

            achievement. Social Psychology of Education Soc Psychol Educ, 327-342.

Grant, A. (2012). Giving Time, Time After Time: Work Design and Sustained Employee

            Participation in Corporate Volunteering. Academy of Management Review, 589-615.

Hsu, D., Shinnar, R., & Powell, B. (2014). Expectancy theory and entrepreneurial motivation: A

            longitudinal examination of the role of entrepreneurship education. Journal of Business

            and Entrepreneurship, 26(1), 121-140.

Jaeger, M., & Adair, D. (2013). The influence of students’ interest, ability and personal situation

            on students’ perception of a problem-based learning environment. European Journal of

            Engineering Education, 84-96. Shweiki, E., Beekley, A., Jenoff, J., Koenig, G., Kaulback, K., Lindenbaum, G. Martin, N.

            (2015). Applying Expectancy Theory to residency training: Proposing opportunities to

            understand resident motivation and enhance residency training. AMEP Advances in

            Medical Education and Practice, 6, 339-346.

Muchinsky, P. (2012). Psychology applied to work: An introduction to industrial and

            organizational psychology (10th ed.). Summerfield, NC: Hypergraphic Press.

Thorgren, S. Wincent, J. (2013). Passion and challenging goals: Drawbacks of rushing into goal-

            setting processes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(11), 2318-2329.

Neuron Worksheet

Part I: In the text boxes provided, identify the structures of a basic neuron.

Box 1- Soma

Box 2- Dendrites

Box 3- Axon Hillock

Box 4- Nucleus

Box 5- Axon

Box 6- Node of Ranvier

Box 7- Myelin Sheath

Box 8- Terminal Buttons

 Part II: In the space provided, explain the process a neuron undergoes when going from a resting potential to an action potential to the release of its neurotransmitters.

When a neuron is inactive or the neuron is unstimulated with an electric charge of around negative 70 millivolts this is called the resting potential of the neuron (Carlson, 2013). Potential is the term that is used when the neuron is resting and has a negative charge or the term can be used in action potential where the neuron has a positive charge. At a resting potential the neuron will have a charge that is similar to what is outside the neuron and the ions that are present try to remain balanced on both sides of the neuron’s membrane (Carlson, 2013). This can be a difficult thing for the neuron to manage as some ions like chloride and sodium have a hard time passing into the membrane while others like potassium are able to free and easily pass through the cell. When the neuron is at rest there is more sodium outside it then inside it and more potassium on the inside than there is on the outside. When the neuron becomes activated or stimulated the neuron charges in order to reach the neural threshold which causes the neuron to fire, or the membrane of the neuron changes permeability (Carlson, 2013). The neuron is then able to change the electric charge from negative to positive running along the entire membrane. Carlson (2013), states that the stimulation must reach the neuron’s neural threshold or the neuron is unable to fire. At this time the channels open allowing sodium ions to freely flood into the neuron depolarizing the neuron and creating the needed action potential, an electrical impulse which will run down the length of an axon until it reaches a synapse. This is the point between two neurons where data is exchanged among them. Carlson (2013), states that the action potential causes a transfer of data or information from the axon of one neuron to the other neuron’s dendrites through the use of neurotransmitter chemicals. The dendrites of the neurons do not physically touch but rather have a small space in which to pass chemical messages back and forth from. The action potential of the neuro causes the neurotransmitters to release across this small space and bond or link with molecules at receptor sites on the opposite neuron. The bonding that happens causes the next neuron to change its potential from resting making the membrane permeable and allowing the flow of ions to take place ether decreasing or increasing the probability that the neural impulse will occur (Carlson, 2013). This marks the cycle of the change from resting to action potential in the next neuron while the first one begins to return to resting again.

Reference:

Carlson, N. R. (2013). Physiology of behavior. (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Biological Psychology Worksheet

1. What are the core assumptions of the biopsychological approach?

One major assumption is mental events in an individual cause biological consequences and biological events cause a mental consequence in turn.  Biological psychology’s, also known as behavioral neuroscience, approach is using science and biology principles, and applying these to studying mental processes of individuals. The main focus resides on all human behavior having a biological cause. This branch of psychology studies how mental processes either effect or get affected by bodily mechanisms and a person’s behavior. This assumption describes a complex link between a psychological and biological approach to the behavior of people which is believed to be linked together according to biopsychology.

2. What historical disciplines converge to create biological psychology?

The roots of biological psychology have a few historical disciplines which have converged to create the overall approach. Biological psychology seeks to support and address the relationship which is a vital one between the mind as well as the body through integral pathways in the brain. The history of the approach is rooted in physiology as well as philosophy and gains information from disciplines like neuroscience which helped lead to biological psychology’s creation. The creation of this approach is rooted in the works of scientists, philosophers, early psychologists, and physiologists.  

3. What are some of the earliest examples of a biological approach to studying behavior?

A major part of psychology’s history is the biological psychology approach which can trace the roots back to the same point of start as the entire field of psychology. An early example of biopsychology is from Plato who believed that a person’s brain was responsible for behavior and the person’s ability to reason.

4. What are some examples of modern careers that have resulted from studying biological psychology?  Include an overview of the careers.

There have been a variety of modern careers created such as neuroscientists and pharmacists which both came about from the development of this approach. Neuroscientists examine a person’s brain development, the person’s sensations and memories, and other concepts relating to the person’s mind. Neuroscientist work with other doctors and scientists as well as spend a lot of time researching different topics.For a pharmacist, they specialize in chemicals in a person’s brain and how to balance the chemicals, which is generally done through the use of medicine that counteracts behaviors that are associated with unbalanced chemicals.  

5. How is biological psychology viewed by other professionals in psychology today?

This field of psychology is much like any other approach in psychology.  Professionals will be mixed on the reviews for it with some agreeing that there are some aspects of the approach that are good and some that disagree with some of the aspects of the approach. In a lot of cases the approach is useful and can be combined often with other approaches to create a more comprehensive approach.  Some professionals may challenge the approaches assumptions or some aspects of the approach, such as the belief that biological affects a person’s mental processes.  There are however many benefits which have come from the approach like the understanding of functioning in the brain which makes it hard for the professionals to deny.

Carlson, N. R. (2013). Physiology of Behavior (11th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc..

Time to Practice – Week Three

Complete both Part A and Part B below.

Part A

1.     What does the critical value represent? (2 points) The critical value represents a value an individual would assume the test at hand to produce if the null hypothesis were true. It is the statistic a person believes to find.

2.     Given the following information, would your decision be to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis? Setting the level of significance at .05 for decision making, provide an explanation for your conclusion. (3 points)

a.     The null hypothesis that there is no relationship between the type of music a person listens to and his crime rate (p < .05).  Null hypothesis is rejected as p value is less than .05

b.     The null hypothesis that there is no relationship between the amount of coffee consumption and GPA (p = .62).  Since p=.62, which is more than .05 or greater we accept the null hypothesis.

c.     The null hypothesis that there is no relationship between the number of hours worked and level of job satisfaction (p = .51). since p=.51 greater than .05 accept null hypothesis.

3.     Why is it harder to find a significant outcome (all other things being equal) when the research hypothesis is being tested at the .01 rather than the .05 level of significance? (2 points) When the test is done at the .01 rather than .05 it produces a much small value set while .05 produces a larger one. This leads to the contradictory data which is quite larder in the research hypothesis and more likely.

Part B

Complete the following questions. Be specific and provide examples when relevant.

Cite any sources consistent with APA guidelines.

Question	Answer
What is a research question that you would like to answer? Write the null and research hypotheses. Would you use a one- or two-tailed test? Why? (3 points)	If the Health department is tasked with finding out the rate of lung cancer connected with smoking in the past year is it comparable to average rate past 50 years. Null hypothesis: No difference in last year and last 50 years. Research hypothesis: there is a difference in last year and last 50 years. Using a two-tailed test because of the research hypothesis would show that it was not equal
What do we mean when we say that a statistical result is significant? What is the difference between a statistically significant and a meaningful result? Why is statistical significance important?  (4 points)	Significant means that there is a rate of certain probability in something. Meaningful results state that the results are valid and statically significant which means a person rejects the null hypothesis. With there being some probable difference between the results we can conclude the null hypothesis is not acceptable and should be rejected.

From Salkind (2011). Copyright © 2012 SAGE. All Rights Reserved.