Psych2Go (Psychology) Magazine for the Millennials

ADHD AWARENESS MONTH

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PSYCH2GO ISSUE 1

Created by Teresa Johnson

OCT 2015

Cover Art by Ken Samonte

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PSYCH2GO The Sci ence that’s all about you!

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WAIT, WHAT EXACTLY IS "PSYCH2GO"?

Psych2Go started as a blog to feature short psychology facts in the format of memes (text-posts that are rapidly spread around the internet). Our mission was to brand ourselves as a forum/platform for people to get quick psychology information to further discuss and debate about the posts. We wanted to create an open forum of discussions to help foster critical thinking about research methods and limitations.

To accomplish that, the Psych2Go team is transparent about the fact that we don't always post legitimate psychology information, but only do so in order to get people to really question ALL our posts and think on an analytical level. Sometimes what you think is true is actually not true and sometimes what is not true is yet to be supported by research.

We have found that understanding research methods and having an open and encouraging forum for all of this is essential. Several Facebook groups have also been created, already aiming at this - including groups that allow people to express their creativity like our “Poetry” and “Doodle” group, and our “Research and Writing Discussion” group which creates discussion among expression of ideas, and academic assistance.

As time went on, it made sense that Psych2Go should start providing supplementary materials such as sources, references, as well as some explanation to our viral meme posts that are featured on our Tumblr (as you’ll see an example from the “Psych to Go” article in this magazine issue) which generates large discussion from audience members. From these realizations to include more material content, psych2go.net, the sister site was born.

When we started, Psych2Go had a team of 10 writers and published over 200 articles within less than 2 months and received over 1 million page views. And the articles followed a specific format: 1. Intro 2. Bring up research.

3. Identify the research methods and the limitations 4. question for our readers This format is aligned with our mission statement to analyze research, create discussions, and provide the resources needed to facilitate those discussions.

Then, as time went on, we thought about implementing a mentorship program to help further facilitate this learning process for our younger audiences (since a majority of our readers were not yet psychology students).

And that’s where psych2go.net is today! We have editors, mentors, and intern writers, who our Human Resource team has a very close relationship with and helps them every step of the way.

Our goal is to become the go-to site for psychology, writing, help, research, studies, and so forth. Psych2Go serves as an easily accessible and inclusive platform for our young audiences.

Tai Tai Manager and Creator of Psych2Go Psych2go@outlook.com Psych2go.tumblr.com Psych2go.net

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Artwork by:Ken Samonte

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HELLO!

As a special part of the “Psych2Go” team, we believe that this magazine sets itself apart from other science magazines out there. Understanding this magazine is not in a traditional “magazine” format gives our magazine a creative and unique feel.

This was made by a collection of young entrepreneurs from all over the world. This publication includes international contributors from places like Slovenia, The U.K., the Netherlands, the Philippines, Canada, and people within various places of the U.S. like New York, Maryland, D.C., Tennessee, and California.

Keep in mind that not all of us are trained professionals in the Psychology field, but simply people that are intrigued by Psychological concepts, only wanting to pass our research along, while involving people to talk about their personal experiences, as well as informing an audience with interesting Psychological facts.

We hope that you enjoy this collaborative publication that acts as an extension of our online blog, psych2go.net, and we ask that you get involved with this entrepreneurial organization as well! After all, Psychology is the science that’s all about you, and as a growing company, we’re offering the opportunity for you to grow with us.

Teresa Johnson Editor-in-Chief, Manager & Coordinator of Psych2Go Magazine (https://twitter.com/teresaxjohnson)

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Artwork by: Drew Borja

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CONTENT

About Psych2Go / 2 Hello Message / 4 Meet the writers /10 Psychology in the news /13 Interview with a Psychology student /14 Social Psychology / 16 Exploring mental health / 18 Significant people that endured mental illness / 22 LGBTQA Psychology / 24 Music Psychology / 26 Personality Psychology / 28 Developmental Psychology / 30 Autism Spectrum (S.E.E.P.) Special, Exceptional, Extraordinary, People / 32 Animal Psychology / 36 Forensic Psychology 38 Art Submissions Winner / 40 Career Building / 42 Outside Submissions / 44 Entertainment/Games Section / 50 Projective Psychology / 54 Book Review / 56 Creative writing / 58 Psych to Go / 60 Debunking Psychological Myths / 62 Advice Column / 64 Mental Health Hotlines / 67 Thank you to contributors / 68

MEET THE WRIT

T TERS Artwork by: Drew Borja

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Hello all! I’m Sneha and I’m currently pursing my Master's degree at University of Pennsylvania's School of Design and I’ve been practicing Arts & Design for around 5 years. My work inclines toward a palate of textures that influence the organic and structured notion of spaces around me. Recently, I completed a Diploma in Learning Disorders Management and Child Psychology.

U.S. (Pennsylvania)

Sneha

Hi, I’m Sophie! I’m currently doing my BSc in Communication and Media, but I have always been interested in psychology. I am especially interested in criminal psychology and how the mind of a psychopath works, but I am also interested in personality, social, and child psychology.

Netherlands

Sophie Hi, I’m Teresa and I attend Community College as a sophomore in hopes of taking on NYC my Junior and Senior year of college. I plan to receive a bachelors degree of communications and journalism due to my love of writing, communicating and self-expression. In my free time I love to sing, draw, write, and explore new places. I started by making videos for Psych2Go on their YouTube channel, but now I’m project manager and editor-in-chief of this magazine!

U.S (Maryland)

Teresa

I'm Imogen, I'm 21 and going into my final year of an MSci in Psychology and Psychological Research. I work as a staff writer and a HR rep for psych2go.net, and I love learning and teaching all things psychological. I hope to one day become a researcher, and I love forensic, child and animal psychology!

The U.K.

Imogen I'm a sophomore/junior at American University, and I’m majoring in Psychology with minors in Spanish Language/Translation and Business Administration. I love blogging and crafting, as well as watching YouTube like it's my job. I'm super excited to be a part of this magazine, and I can't wait to see where this adventure takes me!

U.S. (Maryland)

Lauren Hello, I’m Larissa, and I’m a third year Psychology major working towards a minor in Law and Society as well as Ethics and Philosophy. Some of my greatest passions in Psychology include the topics of eating disorders, self-harm, psychopathology, and forensic psychology. When I’m not working or doing homework I enjoy watching Netflix, sleeping, reading, playing with cats, and writing!

U.S. (Minnesota)

Larissa

ISSUE 1 Hi! I’m Kayleigh. Besides having a passion for writing, learning new things and gathering interesting facts (Did you know the majority of lizards can’t run and breathe at the same time?), I love creative things like drawing and making jewelry. I'm currently studying at University and in my free time I can be found listening to music, reading and writing, or browsing the internet.

Netherlands

Kayleigh Hi I'm Hannah. I have my BSc in Psychology and I'm completing my post grad in journalism at the moment. I’m fascinated by human sexuality & sexual behavior, and the science behind mental illness. I enjoy editing papers and long runs on the elliptical. My two hedgehogs keep me motivated, and they say that they hope you enjoy our articles and magazine! Just know that whenever you read something by me, a hedgehog was nearby.

Nova Scotia

Hannah I’m Sheena, and I study Psychology BSc with the University of the Highlands & Islands in Scotland. Being both the kid who grew up reading encyclopedias and the ‘Agony Aunt’ friend, I’ve always been interested in how what happens in our heads affects the way that we live our lives, and in practicing acceptance (and hopefully spreading it too!).

The U.K.

Sheena Being a media student, I am a huge supporter of anti-consumerism and media awareness. In my spare time you can find me reading (especially fantasy literature), listening to music, watching Japanese anime, taking long walks in the nature and most often writing. Above all I am simply a girl, madly in love with stories in all shapes and sizes.

Slovenia

Katja Hi there! I'm oftentimes described as a shy girl with a quick wit.

Amazingly, I've managed to channel my passion to different facets of art and psychology, and blended my two loves. A firm believer that you never stop learning

Philippines

Risha My name is Laura Corona and I am 21 years old. Currently studying Communications and soon will begin working my way into becoming an American Sign Language Interpreter.

U.S. (California)

Advice Column Team

Laura

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Tyra

U.S (New York)

Advice Column Team Hey, my name’s Myelin (like Myelin Sheath). I receive my B.A. in Psychology in November 2015. After that, I aspire to get a PsyD in Clinical Psychology (fingers crossed). As a staff writer on Psych2Go, I write on topics related to abnormal or cultural psychology and sexuality. In my free time, I enjoy belly dancing and sketching!

U.S (California)

Myelin Hey, hello! My name’s Aubrey, as I’m sure it probably says somewhere already. I squint while I talk sometimes, forget to eat occasionally, and have hot chocolate stains in most of all my sketch books. I work three, long and tedious jobs and go to community college in Memphis so that I may transfer into a larger art school within the same area. I love to both draw and write, so comics and cartoons are an absolute passion of mine!

U.S (Tennessee)

Aubrey

Hi I'm Lauren, I graduated with a degree in psychology and a masters in counselling. I've been a youth worker, a counsellor and currently I'm working towards becoming a social worker. I wanted to be apart of the magazine as I know what it's like to struggle with your feelings and I want help where I can. That's my passion in life.

My other passion is art. I post videos of my digital art on YouTube in the hopes of creating a relaxing space for others. You can find me at Rad Little Drawings.

Lauren

Northern Ireland

Advice Column Team Hi! Jessica here. I'm a psych major in college working on my junior year. I've been inspired to study psychology by my passionate high school teacher but my favorite topic is the brain. I'm studying hard to research and learn to help others.

U.S (Maryland)

Jessica

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IN THE NEWS This past month was a big one for psychology in the news. One big thing for people involved in the field was the revelation of repeated studies, which all had differing results.

An article published in The Toronto Star entitled “Repeating Psychology Experiments Yields Different Results”, details how a group of researchers in New York attempted to duplicate over 100 social science studies. The only obvious conclusion found was that more research is needed after every study, including their own. Around 40% of their attempts yielded the same results, which is not great news. None of the experiments were developed to test treatments, and tended to focus on studies with strong statistical evidence, as well as studies that didn’t have surprising results.

A biography of Dr. Marnie Rice, who studied the minds of some of the worst offenders in Canada who needed psychiatric care, was also released this past month.

“Psychologist Marnie Rice Probed the Minds of Psychopathic Offenders”, an article in The Globe and Mail details her lifetime. She started off working in the jail in Penetanguishene, Ontario, where she eventually became the Director of Research. She did behavior modification research here on what were referred to as the “worst offenders” such as serial killers, pedophiles, and other sexual offenders. The article details her life, her upbeat personality, and what her research did for the field of Psychology.

By: Hannah Jade Artwork by: Erin Jean She passed away in August of 2015.

A bit of comedy is involved in the psychology news this past month; an article entitled “The psychology behind why couples fight when assembling Ikea furniture”. Released on a website called Quartz, this article details reasons couples would fight whilst assembling furniture. It causes unnecessary stresses and people tend not to be as polite with those they love than those they are just friends with. Though probably not rooted in fact, in general the article was slightly comedic.

Another article was released on a Calgary programme to create an addictions help programme almost completely routed in the psychology of addiction.

Published in Metro News, the article “New Calgary Addictions Programme to bridge psychology and substance abuse” details it. This programme is meant to focus specifically on the needs of women with addictions. It is expected to roll out at the end of the year and women who had participated in the programme will eventually become mentors to new people involved.

Those are a few of the bigger stories of psychology in the news over the past few months.

Citation: Ritter, M. (2015, August 30). Repeating psychology experiments yields different results. Retrieved September 26, 2015.

Ryell, N. (2015, September 15). Psychologist Marnie Rice probed the minds of psychopathic offenders.

Retrieved September 26, 2015.

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INTERVIEW

Amy

Livingstone Hey guys! In this section of the magazine, we’ll be interviewing a psychology student who is going to tell us about their course, some personal details about themselves and their interests in psychology, and also their career aims and how they hope to achieve them and finally some advice for prospective students.

We’ll be interviewing Amy Livingstone, a bachelor of social sciences (psychology and forensic science) at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. The course involves eight core psych units, four core forensics units, and twelve electives. She is currently in her third year.

We’ll start by asking Amy about her course, how the education is and what the cost is like.

What’s the program like, what is the cost and how’s the education?

I like the program at Swinburne, some units are obviously run better than others but overall I think it’s a pretty good psych education. To be honest I’m not sure about the cost, the government basically pays for UNI and we pay them back when we earn over $54k. I hope it’s not too much! I think the education’s decent, it differs again from unit to unit, but I think if you do everything you can to be responsible for your learning and reach out when you need it, you can get the best psych education anywhere.

Who’s your favorite professor?

My favourite lecturer is probably my forensics convener; he lectures in a way that is relatable and really clear. He’s really easy to follow. Straight forward you know what you have to do to do well and

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From: Australia https://www.facebook.com/amy.livingstone1

it’s always interesting.

We’ll next move on to asking about some of her personal views about psychology, like which subjects she likes and dislikes.

What is your favourite topic within psychology?

Abnormal psych was my favourite unit so far. It was really interesting and I guess got down to the ‘real’ or ‘stereotypical’ psych stuff, the stuff that the public would be thinking you’re learning I guess!

What’s your favourite psychology fact/ research study?

I wish I had a really good one of the top of my head but I don’t, so I’d have to say Pavlov’s dog. Everyone’s heard of it - I learnt it in school psychology, but back then I don’t think I understood what it meant. I think it’s so cool how you can

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really apply that to any situation, and with enough work you can condition anyone/thing. I like it because it’s so simple, yet so significant.

The next topic was Amy’s career aims and what she has done to try and help achieve those aims.

What are your goals in terms of career?

I would like to work with youth offenders at this stage, however I’m open to changing direction as my education progresses.

I’m really into health and fitness also so I would love to be involved with a program that uses exercise to break down barriers between psychologist and offender, I believe it could be a really beneficial tool.

What do you look to do after your degree, further study or work, or something else?

After this degree I will hopefully complete an honours year, and then a master’s course. It’s extremely competitive to get into so I’m staying hopeful, but should all go to plan I’m looking at another 6 years of study ahead of me!

What, outside of your degree, have you done to further your interest or career in psychology?

My current casual job is completely unrelated to psychology, however it’s with the YMCA who run a range of really great programs that I think I could get involved in. I guess what drew me to that job was that it had the potential to provide pathways for me.

I’ll have 6 months off study before starting my honours (hopefully) so I’m hoping in that time I can get a position somewhere really cool that will be beneficial for both my education and career. In the meantime, I’m hoping to start writing articles for psych2go, when I have time, to get some better practice and some feedback of my work.

Finally, we asked her for some advice for you guys.

What is one thing a student should know about studying psychology?

There’s lots of content, lots to memorise, and in Australia it’s very competitive. People don’t realise that though they think things like biomed are tough, psych can be worse. There are not nearly as many positions, but almost as many applicants.

And what’s one thing a student should know about studying at University?

I found UNI difficult to keep on top of, at school you have a test every week and a teacher making sure you’ve done your work, whereas at UNI you’re responsible for yourself, and you’ve now got a job, a car, freedom, so study slips, and then it’s exam time and you’ve done nothing all semester. It’s definitely harder to keep on top of, so be prepared and get organised.

Hope you enjoyed this!

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Social Psychology

IT STICKS WITH THEM:

How what children see impacts who they become By: Lauren Miedel Artwork by: Pilar Chavez

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Most people know that children are especially impressionable, but to what extent do they absorb information? What kinds of things do they retain? While it may be impossible to know every little thing, social psychologists have some ideas about what types of information children pick up on.

One of the questions psychologists wanted to know was whether children could pick up on social cues similarly to an adult. Diesendruck, Salzer, Kushnir, and Xu conducted an experiment to see if children picked-up on social cues from demonstrators (2015). Their research showed that when one demonstrator favored an object, preschoolers associated it with a person’s preference; however, when two demonstrators favored the same object, preschoolers “inferred that it was generalized to other agents of the same kind” (Diesendruck et al. 2015). This shows that children are informed by social cues.

What does this information mean? Well, this type of study starts to prove how children don’t just listen to what they’re told.

They can be much more perceptive than that. Anyone who has heard a kid mention a word they heard their older sibling say can attest to that. But, they are also able to pick up social cues.

This could have serious impacts later in life. It could explain how children grow up to be racist or sexist when their parents don’t really say to be out loud. If a child notices how Mom always avoids making eye contact with black people, or how Dad snorts or rolls his eyes when someone mentions being anything other than cisgendered* or straight, the child notices.

It’s likely this is not the only reason, but it could be a reason.

Another question on what influences children is whether age plays a factor.

Schwarz and Roebers looked at 8- and 10-year old children and their ability to “withstand” post-event information from an interviewer or confederate (2006).

They found that 10-year olds were able to distinguish that people talking with a low amount of assertiveness probably

did not have much to contribute, and were less trustworthy than those who spoke assertively (2006).

The idea that children, of at least a certain age, can distinguish assertiveness when someone is speaking shows that as they grow, they are able to selectively take social cues and information from those they deem knowledgeable.

No one is arguing that children are sponges. But, they clearly absorb more information than people like to think. So to everyone who spends a lot of time with children, remember that even if you believe in the motto “Do as I say and not as I do,” kids are paying attention to how you act and what you do.

Works Cited: Diesendruck, G., Salzer, S., Kushnir, T., & Xu, F. (2015).

When Choices Are Not Personal: The Effect of Statistical and Social Cues on Children’s Inferences About the Scope of Preferences. Journal Of Cognition & Development, 16(2), 370-380.

Schwarz, S., & Roebers, C. M. (2006). Age differences in the effects of social influence on children’s eyewitness performance and their metacognitive monitoring. Journal Of Experimental Child Psychology, 94(3), 229-248.

Terms: *Cisgendered -applies to the majority of people, describing a person who is not transgender.

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Mental-Health Awareness Month: October

A H By: Teresa Johnson Artwork by: Pilar Chavez

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The mental illness topic of this month that Psych2Go chooses to bring awareness to is ADHD. There are theories created by people that those who claim to be affected by Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder are simply creating an excuse to explain their “hyper” behavior. This is an incorrect speculation because ADHD is in fact a real mental illness. It’s a brain disorder that can extend from childhood to adolescence. According to the National Institute of Health, studies have shown that people affected by this disorder have brain developmental delays by an extension of up to three years! It’s brain-baffling to know that a disorder can take that much growth-related control. Hyperactive and impulsive behaviors caused from people affected

by ADHD are much stronger and greater than those who are not diagnosed with it.

Even though it’s still a mystery to scientists as to what causes ADHD, genes, as well as various environmental factors, are said to help influence the actions reflected through the disorder. ADHD sometimes gets mistaken for ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), however they differ in the ways of the “hyperactivity” element that ADD withholds. Even though ADHD is not a detrimental disorder, it still can make life more challenging regarding elements such as being distracted and constantly getting up and moving.

The disorder is found in children, and can extend throughout adolescence and into their adult years. However, children can grow out of ADHD and lead very productive lives, but this requires proper change to their environment, developing their strengths, and medication if needed (according to parents.com).

Bringing awareness to this disorder, certain organizations like adhdawarenessmonth.org and chadd.org serve to fulfill that purpose and let people know that it does affect people and their mental health. Feel free to visit these particular sites if you are someone that struggles with ADHD and it affects your everyday activities. Even when a health issue isn’t physical, it can create just as many is-

sues within a person’s life. Although certain theories are made, there is no definite reason to why people are effected by this, and the “cure” does not involve taking a “magical” pill.

However, through time and being attentive to ones’ environmental surroundings, the disorder’s relevance in a person’s life can slowly start to disappear. ADHD is not made up. It is real and it does affect people. If you have trouble concentrating, find yourself being very impulsive, and have hyper-tendencies, then you may have ADHD. Don’t be afraid to reach out and seek help from your doctor if it becomes a frustrating issue.

Works Cited: Smith, M., Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2015, August 1).

ADD / ADHD in Children. Retrieved September 5, 2015.

Rosen, M. (n.d.). Attention for ADHD: 9 Key Facts. Retrieved September 5, 2015.

Organizations to connect with: http://www.adhdawarenessmonth.org chadd.org

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SEPARATION ANXIETY DISORDER

Exploring Mental Health

By: Sneha Easwaran Artwork by: Drew Borja

A normal part of growing up and being a part of the real world is dealing with separation in a myriad amount of ways.

Individuals with noticeable symptoms tend to come from environments that are held together at quite close approximation, so as one moves away, the individual may recurrently exhibit social withdrawal symptoms, apathy, or difficulty in focusing. It depends on the individual’s age as well – from monsters to the dark, and other situations that are perceived as presenting danger to the integrity of the family. This disorder isn’t a mild one because it can dramatically affect a person’s life by limiting the ability to engage in ordinary day-to-day activities. Anger and outbursts of emotion are very common.

Separation Anxiety Disorder affects approximately 2-5% of children and is much more prominent to those who frequently have other family members with anxiety disorders. The tendency to develop this disorder involves the genetic and environmental factors that come into play in a person’s lifetime. It can be effectively treated and is based on a comprehensive evaluation of a child and their family. Some intervention strategies include cognitive behavioral therapy with a focus on helping the child learn skills to manage his or her anxiety. It involves helping children and parents understand and learn way to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. The therapist may help a mentor understand ways in which an individual can minimize effects by, for example, allowing a child to miss a day of school. It’s also beneficial to master the situations that contribute to the

anxiety and to find ways to minimize it as much as possible. As always, parents and older mentors play a huge role in being supportive in any treatment process and some individuals may resort to benefitting in treatment with antidepressants or antianxiety medication to help them feel calmer. Other methods may include talking therapy in which an individual develops a comfortable relationship with the therapist, who provides a safe haven to express one’s thoughts and feelings. Another is play therapy, in which the therapeutic use of play is a common and effective way to get kids to talk more openly. Counseling for the family and school-based counseling is also vital as a more mature understanding can benefit an individual to explore more social, behavioral, and academic demands of an environment. Preventive measures to minimize the effects of Separation Anxiety Disorder can be detected at an early stage. This can enable a person to effectively have normal growth and development, and to improve the quality of life experience there on out. In order to diagnose this symptom, it must be present for at least 4 weeks and be more severe than the normal occurrences an individual may experience.

Works Cited: “Separation Anxiety Disorder in Children.” Separation Anxiety Disorder | Boston Children’s Hospital. Accessed August 24, 2015.

“Separation Anxiety Disorder.” Separation Anxiety Disorder. Accessed August 24, 2015.

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“Separation Anxiety Disorder affects approximately 2-5% of children and is much more prominent to those who frequently have other family members with anxiety disorders.�

Psych2Go

22 Significant People Enduring Mental Illness in Psychology History:

THE CURIOUS CASE OF ELLEN WEST Artwork by: Ale Caballero By: Katja Stojic

Exploring Mental Health

“Life is hanging on me like a cloud.”

Women have always been on the side-lines of history, leaving men to make decisions for them. They did not have many ways of expressing themselves and were far from obtaining an independent living status. The only thing a woman could control was her body. Hence the passage “A hysterical woman responds theatrically, with her own body, which is her only stage, upon which she can perform publicly” (Duda and Pusch, 1995). Although they’ve been around for centuries, eating disorders have widely spread in the last few decades, hidden behind the forced smiles and layers of clothing.

“Something inside of me resists gaining weight. It resists getting healthier; having round, red cheeks, becoming a simple, bold woman, which would actually suit my nature… it is driving me desperate so that I cannot help myself with all the big words. I am fighting against secret forces stronger than me. I cannot unite and grab them” (Duda and Pusch, 1995).

Ellen West wrote this four months before she decided to end her life. She was thirty-three at the time. Her life was filled with fear and what she dreaded most was fear itself. Food was always on her mind; either she ate nothing or she stuffed herself with anything she could find. She could only eat by herself, as family meals made her feel hopeless and empty. Her therapist said she was trying to fulfil two needs: hunger and love. The first was

satisfied, the second was not.

Ellen West lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time when all that mattered in a woman was how she looked. She was a patient of Dr. Ludwig Binswanger, and suffered from anorexia nervosa, possibly in addition to other mental illnesses. Her name is most famously associated with existential analysis because the treatment started to emerge during this time. She described her struggle with food in her diaries which she kept for many years.

Even as a child she was intentionally refusing sweets and was very strongminded. Her father was wellcontrolled and stiff but secretly sensitive and suffering from night depressions and fears. Ellen supposedly loved him very much. Her mother was gentle and

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also suffered from depression.

The family was traditional, yet many questions remain unanswered. Many relatives suffered from mental illnesses.

Even as a child Ellen refused to submit to the expected role of a mother and a wife; she wished to be a boy. Her extensive reading and ability to deal with social problems made her different from others.

Her problems became severe in her twenties when she refused to live by the strict social standards of her time. She despised the hypocrisy and the limitations of her gender. An ideal image formed in her mind: a slim body. Friends mocked her because of her figure so she started to lose weight. She felt useless and unworthy, was afraid of everything and longed for death, which she saw as the only happiness in life. “Anorexia demands a perfect self-subordination and thus gives a possibility of existing” (Duda and Pusch, 1995). After her enrolment in college her condition improved for a while before she relapsed again. Doctors discovered problems with her thyroid and ordered bed rest, which led to her gaining weight. The cycle repeated. “She is denying her own personality which is full of needs, hunger, anger and desire” (Duda and Pusch, 1995).

She was very creative and wrote poetry, mostly about freedom. After some persuasion from her family she married her cousin, but soon had a miscarriage due to her poor physical health. She must have dreaded being pregnant and gaining weight. One of the means to her remaining slim figure was the use of laxatives and vomiting. Not much is said about her husband except that she only confessed her problems to him at the age of thirty-two, which is why he soon sent her to a clinic. She had reached a point where all she thought about was food and remaining slim. Her psychological condition weakened, which is the reason she wilfully saw a doctor. Her diagnosis stated “Advancing schizophrenic psychosis. No effective treatments.”

“I am sitting in a glass sphere,” she confessed, feeling isolated from others and being able only to see them, not hear or touch them (Duda and Pusch, 1995). All she felt was emptiness and loneliness.

Her thoughts of being inadequate and unfit for life had reached their peak. She seemed better in her last days, however; she enjoyed food and wrote letters. Then she swallowed poison. Her face was calm and seemingly happy in death.

“A woman’s body is a battlefield where she fights for control” (Duda and Pusch, 1995). It is all about controlling your body, along with its emotional needs. Ellen West wished to achieve something great despite not being entitled to do so. Her role was to be a woman, which meant remaining in the shadows. Due to her high intelligence she was able to analyse her situation with fearful accuracy, but she could not alter it. Her ultimate goal in life was to maintain an independency and to be different from others. She was never able to discover who she was. Her writing was not regarded as actual literature, and even today her work is locked away.

We know much about her struggle with food, yet almost nothing about her artistic expressions. Her greatest fear had, in a way, been realised; she was forgotten for many years until finally her case was re-opened and examined, but even then her real name vanished, leaving her with the pseudonym Ellen West. Many of her poems and writings remain locked away at the clinic where she spent the last months of her life. It is a shame that a woman of her potential could not properly succeed due to the social, economic and political situations of her era.

Citations: Duda, Sibylle; Pusch, Luise F. (1995). Nore ženske (Wahnsinns Frauen). Ljubljana: Krtina Wikipedia. (2015). “Ellen West.” The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_ West

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LGBTQA:

The Online Community

LGBTQ+ Psychology

By: Aubrey Bryan Artwork by: Fieni Aprilia

The internet is wide with all kinds of diversity from silly baby-burp videos to middle-aged house-dwellers trying to find the cure for the common cold. To add some background, I was always more the animated cat video kind-of person growing up. It wasn’t until I came across my first social website that I realized there was a real community on the internet.

With community however comes conflict, opposing sides, and people with their own individual stories feeding into these opinions. The greatest example of this is the *LGBTQA community! There is a consensus that people with different romantic and sexual preferences aside from the “norm” are just as important and need recognition within society. With today’s internet culture, the LGBTQA community has more room to grow, spread information, and even discuss issues within the group itself to allow positive change. But, because we are dealing with the internet, there’s going to be those that take refuge behind their screens to hurt, belittle or put down others for self-righteous gain— and I’m still talking about the same community.

It’s too often we see on social media what awful things people can do to make themselves feel in the right position or believe they’re doing justice by hurting or, in extreme cases, destroying the lives of those with one (or a few) terrible opinion(s). Those who’ve been on the internet long enough can already think of multiple examples, though they may not exactly be the same examples. From one end, an example would be the overbearing social activist bloggers that find it their job to come down on anyone for any small slipup comment or joke. On the other end, there are the less educated members of the LGBTQA community spreading false information or making a bad example

of the community as a whole. As surprising as it is that such well-intentioned people could also drag in so many opposing perspectives to the foundation of these beliefs, it is also not that surprising at all.

Since we’re all from different areas of the world and our countries, we’re all bound to have different views on what makes sense in the LGBTQA community. Some less populated places, like the country-side in Mississippi of the United States, may hold the reservation that love is between two individuals; and if a girl likes a girl she’s gay and if a girl likes a boy she’s straight. In places like these, it may just seem a little weird to begin talking about all the in-betweens and gray areas. However, a more populous area with wider variation between culture, person and belief may be more accepting to the idea that there’s a neighbor next door claiming to be demi-sexual.

Not only location, but also upbringing can affect the way we understand what LGBTQA supports. Bisexuality, for example, in some households is the, “I’m confused about my sexuality” sexuality.

While that certainly isn’t the case, it is a fermented stereotype attached to the identity. It’s taught through several different mediums and not just in the household. Social groups, media and even our culture have a bit of an input into this belief. We have a natural tendency to feel like we need to “pick a side”, like it’s a football team or our favorite brand.

I think a lot of people tend to forget about all the different perspectives and experiences others may have when they hop online. For every trans woman that’s praised and told to be proud of her identity there’s another just like her being near

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beat to death for it. The LGBTQA community is so large and diverse now with all these separate experiences that we can’t ever entirely pinpoint an exact focal point in our goal sometimes. But that also gives way to discussion and debate that will allow us to continue to grow even more diversely. While some could say that’s an issue, because that would cause even more conflicting opinions and sides of the matter—and honestly I wouldn’t blame anyone for having that view. However, diversity leads to the evolution of these opinions, change in culture and society, and creates new levels of concepts in gender identity and sexuality that we’re starting to scratch the surface of. Whether or not these newer concepts are valid is a whole other area of debate already, and you can only wonder how much further our community will change for better or worse ten years from now. *LGBTQA – Acronym for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Agender community

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Music Psychology

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FEELING ANGRY? ADOPT THE SHARK METHOD! By: Sheena Mackenzie Artwork by: Jane Shi

http://www.psych2go.net/feeling-angry-adopt-the-shark-method/#comment-106929

: ED ON t R U T A AS FE 2go.ne h c psy

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Back in 2011, an Australian tour operator by the name of Matt Waller revealed that for a number of years he had been tracking Great White Sharks for a very unique series of experiments.

After hearing of divers in Guadeloupe who observed sharks reacting to certain songs, he played music from his collection through speakers attached to shark cages to attract them, monitoring their reactions – and it turns out that Jaws may have been a bit of a metalhead. When Waller played heavier music like ACDC to the sharks he tracked, he observed more calm and curious behavior as they detected the vibrations made by the music (since they don’t have ears to hear it).

This year, a similar experiment was carried out by Leah Sharman and Genevieve Dingle of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, but with slightly more docile subjects. In order to examine the popular notion that angry music makes for an angry listener, they found 39 participants who listened to ‘extreme’ genres of music (including the likes of Rob Zombie and Disturbed). The subjects, with an average age of 20, were first provoked into an angry state of mind, then the control group were left in silence to deal with their anger, while the other participants were asked to take out their iPods and listen to angry extreme music from their personal playlists for ten minutes. Sharman and Dingle measured changes in heart rate in both sets of participants, and also asked them about

their levels of hostility, irritability, stress, relaxation, activity and inspiration. The results showed that listening to extreme music while experiencing feelings of anger and aggression has a positive effect on the listener, allowing them to process their feelings, much like the participants in Papinczach’s (2015) experiment which reported a similar sense of sad music helping them to process feelings of sadness.

Essentially, these findings have shown that music can affect our moods, and that those who consider themselves listeners of extreme music, much like Waller’s Great White Sharks, deal with their anger better and ultimately feel calmer when listening to heavier music (although most likely for very different reasons). Now that I’ve discovered this research, when I feel myself becoming angry about anything, I may reach for my headphones before I reach for someone’s neck.

For those of you who listen to ‘extreme’ genres of music, do you find that you choose songs specifically to influence and control your emotions in a certain way? Do non-listeners do similar things with their own music?

References & Further Reading: Case, A., (2011, June 02). Great White Sharks Attracted

By AC/DC Hits. Australian Geographic. Retrieved from http://www.australiangeographic.com.au Sharman, L., Dingle, G. A., (2015) Extreme Metal Music And Anger Processing, Fronteirs In Human Neuroscience, 9, 272

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Personality Psychology

CAN ANGER MAKE US MORE RATIONAL?

I came across a quote a few years ago that stuck with me:

“Don’t make decisions when you’re angry, and don’t make promises when you’re happy.”

By: Sophie Poulsen Artwork by: Ruth Grace Estipona

…I’d like to address the first part of this quote.

Some qualities that are more commonly associated with anger are stupidity, risky behavior, distrust, prejudice, hostility, aggression, and, above all, being irrational. We’ve all been in a fight where we’ve said things we didn’t mean. We may have called someone something we didn’t mean, hurting them and embarrassing ourselves in the process. We may have impulsively lashed out and made hasty,

stupid decisions, similarly to when we’re intoxicated.

More and more research has shown, however, that anger can perhaps make us more rational.

One of the most prominent experiments in this area was done by Moons and Mackie (2007), where they presented two groups of students - one angry, one neutral - with a persuasive message about the fiscal responsibilities of students.

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one angry, one neutral - with a persuasive message about the fiscal responsibilities of students. Each group of students had to write about a particular situation or event. One group, however, was instructed to write about an event that made them feel angry. The researchers then presented them with different persuasive messages that they had to evaluate.

Moons and Mackie (2007) found that angry students were more likely to ignore an irrelevant message from a superficial expert, while participants in neutral moods did not. This shows that angry people appear to process analytically, which “contradicts the notion that angry people…lack the cognitive resources or the motivation to engage in deeper processing” (Moons & Mackie, 2007, p. 717).

Thus, anger acts as a motivator rather than a barrier to analytic thought.

In another study, Young, Tiedens, Jung, and Tsai (2011) researched whether angry people could objectively evaluate information without confirmation bias.

Confirmation bias is when individuals seek information that favors their pre-existing beliefs while ignoring information that does not favor their beliefs, meaning that individuals create biased opinions because of the way in which they evaluate information. For example, a reporter writing an article on an important topic may only interview experts who support his or her views on the issue. Confirmation bias is problematic because it does not allow for an objective, realistic perspective.

So are angry people also affected by confirmation bias?

Interestingly, Young et al. (2011) found that anger results in less confirmation bias than other emotional states. In their study, Young et al. (2011) provided participants with a survey that asked them about their political views. The main question was: “Who do you want to win the 2008 Presidential Election?” Their choices were Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. Participants

were then presented with twelve expert statements on the election. Half of the statements were in favor of McCain, the other half were in favor of Obama.

Participants were asked to select the statements that they were more interested in.

In order to manipulate the participants’ emotional states, they were also asked to recount a memory that was either angry, sad, or neutral.

Young et al. (2011) found that angry participants often selected information that did not follow their beliefs. They attributed this to the fact that the feeling of anger produces an “antagonistic interchange,” where individuals are in an argumentative state, ready to “move against” someone who disagrees with their opinion.

In comparison, people in sad or neutral states were more likely to select information that confirmed their current opinion.

Both of these studies are significant in that they show that angry people will be more flexible in their perspectives, as well as more analytical in their thinking, than people in other emotional states.

However, this does not mean that people should try to experience more anger in order to make better decisions or think more analytically.

Every individual is different; anger can make you rational, but it can also lead to impulsive decisions that you regret later.

--Work Cited Moons, W. G., & Mackie, D. M. (2007). Thinking Straight While Seeing Red: The Influence of Anger on Information Processing. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(5), 706- 720. doi: 10.1177/0146167206298566 Young, M. J., Tiedens, L. Z., Jung, H., & Tsai, M. (2011).

Mad enough to see the other side: Anger and the search for disconfirming information. Cognition and Emotion, 25(1), 10- 21. doi: 10.1080/02699930903534105

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Developmental Psychology

By: Kayleigh Herber Artwork by: Jeffrey Bigelow

Developmental Psychology is the study of how, and why, people change over their lifetime. When this branch of psychology was just getting started it was primarily concerned with babies and young children, but over the course of the decades it has expanded to include adolescents and adults as well. As humans we are constantly developing in one way or another, for better or for worse, and developmental psychology now studies people of all ages. Today we will be discussing three major themes within developmental psychology that scientists have been busy with for years.

The Nature and Nurture Debate Over the course of history psychologists have argued whether behaviour is shaped by genetics and natural forces we encounter growing up, or if it’s shaped by a child’s upbringing. These are referred to as empiricism (nurture) and nativism (nature). The empiricists argue that children are born as a tabula rasa (“blank slate”), and that behavioural traits develop almost exclusively from the way children grow up. On the other hand, nativists argue that a lot of skills have a genetic or innate basis, like instinctively looking for food. While both points of view used to be usually quite black and white, contemporary psychologists recognise that both are very important, though it is hard to prove exactly how much each contributes. In a 2014 survey, many of the responding scientists wrote that the two-sided nature vs. nurture debate has outlived its usefulness because it has

3 Important Themes in Developmental Psychology You Must Know About sufficiently been proven that both sides interact.

Continuity and Discontinuity Also a very widely discussed topic – even the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud discussed it - is how we describe patterns of development. Some psychologists view development as a continuous process, where development happens gradually and skills and abilities are accumulated over the years. Others tend to view it as a staircase of step-like phases that are qualitatively different from the ones before and after, each defined by particular behaviours. Contemporary psychologists view development as a smooth continuous curve rather than steps; they do agree that within that curve there are phases, but they transition into another phase gradually.

Domain-general and Domain-specific Another topic that has intrigued many psychologists is whether, and to what extent, the development of new skills can influence our development of other skills. For example, if you’re learning a new way of swimming like the backstroke, which involves bringing your arms over the head in order to move through the water, it might impact other motor abilities too. Practicing this posture and movement could possibly help you develop other skills, like over-arm serving in tennis, or weight lifting, which includes similar movements. Psychologists differ in how far they consider things like these are domain-general. Others have tak-

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en a more domain-specific point of view, and believe developments like this proceed rather independently.

These three important subjects might seem very one-or-the-other, but they are anything but that. There is more and more consensus among scientists and psychologists that development is probably caused by multiple factors at all levels. This means that there is rarely just one correct answer to the question ‘what causes this development?’ or ‘which of these is true’. Finding out exactly what the answer is seems pretty much impossible, but the psychological community will keep trying and trying to get as close to the answer as possible.

Works Cited: Buehl, M. M., Alexander, P. A., & Murphy, P. K. (2002).

Beliefs about schooled knowledge: Domain specific or domain general?. Contemporary educational psychology, 27(3), 415-449.

Gopnik, A. (2014). Time to Retire: The Simplicity of Nature vs. Nurture,”. Mind and Matter”, published, 1, 25.

Leman, P., Bremner, A., Parke, R. D., & Gauvain, M. (2012). Developmental Psychology. London: McGraw Hill.

Weinfield, N. S., Sroufe, L. A., & Egeland, B. (2000).

Attachment from infancy to early adulthood in a high risk sample: Continuity, discontinuity, and their correlates. Child development, 71(3), 695-702.

Further reading: Developmental Psychology (2011) – Dr Rachel Gillibrand, Dr Virginia Lam & Dr Victoria L. O’Donnell.

An Introduction to Developmental Psychology (2011) – Alan Slater, J. Gavin Bremner

As humans we are constantly developing in one way or another, for better or for worse

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S.E.E.P

AUTISM SPECTRUM EDUCATING EARLY

S.E.E.P. (Special, Exceptional, Extraordinary People)

By: Sheena Mackenzie

To those unfamiliar with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), our ideas about what it really is are shaped by representations in popular culture, and perhaps the two most prominent examples are the film ‘Rain Man’ and Jim Parson’s Sheldon Cooper from the American comedy series ‘The Big Bang Theory’ (although the latter is not diagnosed, it is widely accepted that he is). Representational media is incredibly important to all of us, but it can present its own problems, as in this example, where both characters are portrayed similarly: as troubled geniuses with strangely obsessive interests, ‘quirky’ behaviors and difficulty in socializing with others. All of these traits are associated with autism, but the reality is much more complex than the simplistic understanding many seem to have of it - it’s a spectrum disorder, with many different levels of functionality and kinds of expression.

As someone who has known a number of people at different points on the Autistic Spectrum, a trend I’ve noticed is that once children reach about seven or eight years old, there comes a division in which neurotypical children exclude and sometimes even bully peers who have autism. Promoting the inclusion of those on the autistic spectrum in schools is vitally important to allowing them to create friendships, relationships, and support systems which are key to living a fulfilled life for all people. Creating awareness of autism among those

who attend school with people who have ASD and dealing with the stigma of it at a very young age could greatly improve tolerance and understanding of the sometimes confusing behavior that people with autism can exhibit, and allow them to develop sympathetic and supportive friend groups with peers, separate from the parental and formal support that can easily become the only support a person receives coping not only with their disorder, but the other stresses that young people face growing up.

To this end, Kimberly Maich and E. Christina Belcher from Ontario, Canada and Melbourne, Australia respectively, have investigated the use of picture books depicting and exploring autism in schools to promote awareness among children from a young age. Their study looked at a variety of books already in print which address this issue, including both books which specifically addressed autism and autistic behavior (such as “Understanding Sam And Asperger’s Syndrome” (Van Niekerk & Venters, 2006)) and books which portray autism in an indirect manner (like “Looking After Louie” (Ely, 2004)). It’s important to use both types of portrayal so that children both understand the complexity of the disorder, but also that to have autism does not have to be a disruptive or defining thing in normal everyday situation. The paper suggests ten factors to be considered when approaching this issues in this way (‘including (a) story selection tools, (b) direct labelling,

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(c) indirect terminology, (d) the wider context, (e) finding positive perspective, (f) pictorial and literary value, (g) curricular considerations, (h) participation possibilities, (i) instructional approaches, and (j) putting a plan in place’), but concludes that, although it needs to be done in a very carefully planned manner in educational setting, it is beneficial for both neurotypical pupils and pupils with ASD. The key thing to remember when educating people about the autistic spectrum is that those with ASD are people who have autism, not autistic people. This particular condition, to varying degrees, does have an impact on an individual’s social, intellectual, and emotional development, but it is not their defining characteristic. Autistic is not a personality trait or a lifestyle, and those who have it are people before they are autistics, people with dreams, motivations, a sense of humor and their own way of being in the world.

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SPENCER S.E.E.P. (Special, Exceptional, Extraordinary People)

By: Natalie Pedemonte

All my life, I knew my brother had Autism. Being the younger of the two, I didn’t always understand what that meant, but I knew that he was different.

As far as I was concerned, Spencer was the kind of big brother that all my friends had. But as I grew up, I slowly began to realize that my brother and I were not the same in comparison to my friends and their siblings.

I took notice and was baffled by how my friends’ older siblings always seemed so uninterested in spending time with their younger brothers and sisters. Most siblings with a three-year age gap didn’t get along as well as me and my brother did. They never really developed a bond until later in life. But despite their lack of interest in one other, the older sibling was always there to show the younger one the ropes of life. In my case, I had to try and figure out the ropes on my own and then try and help Spencer figure some out along the way. Spencer and I have always been close and I can’t remember a game that he didn’t involve me in. I could always confide in him when it came down to it.

Spencer was big into history when we were younger, and every game we played had some historical significance that we always stuck to. So all in all, a majority of my childhood was learning a wide range of historic events. By the time I got to high school, I knew almost everything I was learning in class because my brother and I had played games based on the same content as children.

The patience required by me to play games with my brother rolled over into my teenage years, and in turn, he’s affected the way in which I interact with others. I believe that I’m able to understand how people think a lot better than other people my age. From years of following games step by step, I’m a lot more analytical when observing people’s actions. Spencer has allowed me to look at the world and the people in it, much differently.

People have asked me what it’s like growing up with Spencer being the way he is. And I have never been able to properly answer them because I was less than a year old when he was diagnosed, so I’ve never known any differently.

For my entire life, Spencer has always been Spencer. And while that made him different to others, it made my entire childhood all the more special. There was never a dull moment with him. I’ve had to grow up a little bit faster than my friends have because of my brother. And since the death of our mom, we’ve both had to do a lot of growing up in a short period of time. From experiences like this that have evoked life-changing mentalities, our relationship has become even stronger. I’ve had to be his rock, and he’s done the same for me. I’ve never really known anything else and, despite a few difficulties, I wouldn’t want anyone other than Spencer to be my sibling. To be my big brother.

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Animal Psychology

SCRUB JAYS

& FUTURE PLANNING By: Imogen Bowler Artwork by: Ale Caballero

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Future planning is an interesting, and particularly hard skill to have. The reason it is particularly hard is because to plan for the future, you have to plan for the motivational state (e.g. hunger, thirst) you will be in at that time. This requires the suppression of the motivational state you are currently in. For this reason, researchers are not sure whether it is something animals can do or not. One interesting study looking into this was conducted with scrub jays, looking at the hunger motivational state.

For context, experiments with humans have shown even we are not perfect at this kind of future planning. For example, in Atance and Meltzoff’s (2006) study children were allowed to eat as many pretzels as they liked. They were then asked if they would want a glass of water, or some more pretzels tomorrow. While 4-5 year olds performed above chance level, they were not perfect. 3 year olds also failed this task (ed: what determined a fail?). It’s even been shown that adult humans can fail at these kinds of tasks.

Read and van Leeuven (1998) conducted a field experiment on adult participants in an office, they were asked whether they would want a healthy or unhealthy snack the day after. They were either hunger or not at the time of asking, and hungry or not when they would receive the snack.

Participants struggled to correctly predict what they would want when the two states of hunger did not match.

With these findings in mind, let’s look at what Raby et al (2007) found when testing this skill in scrub jays. This study consisted of two phases, a training phase and a testing phase. In the training phase, for 6 days scrub jays spent the morning either in place A or place C. In place A they were given breakfast, whereas in place C they were not. Therefore, in place C, hunger was more likely to occur. On the 7th day, the scrub jays were pre-fed so they were not hungry. They were then given extra food which they could cache. Caching is a behavior many birds display where they store food in a hidden place in case they

need it at a future date. During this testing phase, the jays were given free reign of the two places (A and C). If they were able to ignore their current state (not being hungry) and plan for a future point in time (where they would be hungry) then they should cache more food in place C. This was in fact what was found, scrub jays would cache the food in place C at a higher rate than chance.

This is taken by some as an example of the scrub jays resisting current state to plan for the future, however others suggest that there are problems with this experiment and that coming to that conclusion is premature. Can you think of any possible alternative explanations of this finding?

Works Cited: Atance & Melztoff (2006) Preschoolers’ current desires warp their choices for the future. Psychological Science, 17(7).

Read & van Leeuwen (1998) Predicting hunger: the effects of appetite and delay on choice.

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 76(2), 189-205 Raby, C.R., Alexis, D.M., Dickinson, A., & Clayton, N.S. (2007) Planning for the future by western scrub jays. Nature, 445, 919-921

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38 FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

PSYCHOPATHY Forensic Psychology

By: Larissa Grundmanis Artwork by: Pilar Chavez

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“I’m not a psychopath, I’m a highfunctioning sociopath.” This quote has often been heard by fans of the BBC show Sherlock, and while viewers may laugh, do they truly understand what is it to be a psychopath, and why Holmes would prefer to be called a high-functioning sociopath? As an avid fan of Sherlock as well as someone who is interested in forensic psychology I have often wondered to myself: do I truly know the difference between the two? While both are truly fascinating, the main focus here is on psychopathy – after all, many individuals with psychopathic traits are found in prisons.

Psychopathy, while often confused with one who is psychotic, is actually a mere individual who has the abilities to manipulate their way through life without remorse. While this is a simplified definition, the most common traits of a psychopath are that they are incapable of forming deep emotional attachments, they often times are unable to feel guilt or empathy, they are manipulative, and they often hold a profuse level of “superficial charm”. Unfortunately, many times these traits are overlooked by the general public who instead see someone with antisocial personality disorder, psychosis, or a serial killer, according to the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy.

Why then, is psychopathy so often associated with murderers? Perhaps it is because of the media, or perhaps it is because many individuals who have killed have been diagnosed with some form of psychopathy, such as Joanna Dennehy. It may also be due to the notion that only criminals would be able to behave in such manners, but is that really true?

According to Chivers, it’s not. He notes that Robert Hare, the creator of the PCL-R once stated: “There are people who are part-way up the scale, high enough to warrant an assessment for psychopathy, but not high enough up to cause problems. Often they’re our friends, they’re fun to be around. They might take advantage of us now and then, but usually it’s subtle and they’re able to talk their way around it.”

How many times have you found yourself taking advantage of your friends, even if it was to just get a free meal out of them?

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How many times have you or your friends acted impulsively or irresponsibly? How many times have you found yourself unwilling to acknowledge that you made a mistake, and take responsibility for the consequences? How many times have you, or someone you know, committed acts of wanton sexual behavior?

Most individuals would be able to find some common ground between these traits and their own lifestyles, but that does not mean that they are violent individuals who are prone to crime.

Psychopathy is often looked down upon, but many times the average human being acts in ways that would be found in someone with psychopathic tendencies. Perhaps instead of jumping to conclusions, we, as individuals, should look for true motives behind someone’s actions.

Citation: Chivers, T. (2014, April 6). Psychopaths: How can you spot one?. In The Telegraph. Retrieved from http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10737827/ Psychopaths-how-can-you-spot-one.html Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy. (2013).

Psychopathy: A misunderstood condition. In Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy. Retrieved from http://www.psychopathysociety.org/en/ Webb, D. (n.d.). The psychopath. In All About Forensic Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.all-aboutforensic-psychology.com/psychopath.html

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ART SUBMISSION WINNER: THEME: “Psych2Go Community”

“I chose to illustrate the theme “Psych2Go Community” as a group of people helping each other solve a puzzle. I’ve observed members of various Psych2Go Facebook groups from their posts online that the wit and wisdom of each community members increases camaraderie - or the spirit of humor and fun. I want to express it in this illustration how they share their views to enhance learning from each other while in the process of creating something big.”

Ruth Espinosa r-gie.tumblr.com

If you would like to have the chance to win and have your art showcased in our next issue, be on the lookout for the next art theme which will be posted on our social media!

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Career Building

TIPS FOR INTERVIEWS

By: Jessica Jang Artwork by: Jane Shi

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For those trying to get a job, here are some tips for your interviews! You’ve got your foot in the door and now it’s time to tell your story. These are also helpful for conducting your own interviews. Good luck!

THE FOUR DIMENSIONS OF SIMPLE ATTENDING BEHAVIOUR Eye contact This is when the interviewer and interviewee look each other in the eyes.

The culture and the interviewee might prefer it to others.

Body language This is when the interviewer or interviewee communicate other messages based on their movements and posture.

Mirroring is when both parties are consistent in their movements and is best done subtly. This helps people become comfortable with you.

Vocal qualities This is how loudness, pitch, rate, and fluency affects the interviewee since it can communicate feelings of empathy or cause conflict. It’s best to use a soft, firm voice when interviewing.

Verbal tracking This is listening to the interviewee to clarify and summarize what they say without putting their meanings in it.

Negative attending behaviors are overused positive attending behavior that it becomes uncomfortable. Excessive head nods are distracting, saying “uh huh” often becomes annoying, too much eye contact overwhelms others, repeating the last words intimidates the client, awkward mirroring looks like mocking.

The interviewee doesn’t want to be scrutinized or apprehensive otherwise the interviewer won’t get the true information they want. Remember everything is good in moderation.

It’s important to consider culture with attending skills because an interview should be a good environment for getting information and both parties should be respectful of each other. Individuals have a preference on the amount of each dimension of attending behavior. Gestures could convey other messages in other cultures and might not be appropriate.

The most important part of interviewing is being a good storyteller. You need to be able to take your past experience and use it to explain how you’ve developed skills important for the new job. DO NOT just repeat your resumes because they have already seen it you just need to expand on it more. A good method to use is to write out your positions then come up with at least three tasks you had to do then the skills related to it. Here’s an example: 1. Cashier a.) Accept currency and keep accounts updated Organization i.) Trustworthiness b.) Clean checkout area i.) Multitasking skills c.) Help customers with purchases i.) Communication/interpersonal skills ii.) Customer Service

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Community Submissions: October: Sport Psychology & Psychology and the Internet

HOW IS

PSYCHOLOGY INVOLVED IN SPORTS?

By: Yara Meléndez Artwork by: Jane Shi

What is Sports Psychology? (Cherry, 2015) tell us that Sports Psychology is the study of how psychology influences sports, athletic performance, exercise, and physical activity. It is said that sport psychologists, aside from working with people who just want to exercise for their health and well-being, they also work with athletes and coaches so they can enhance the ir motivation and performance.

Could that be effective? Thanks to this article and my perfectly done research you’ll find out now, today. Just keep reading!

coach doesn’t feel like he or she has made any progress throughout the process, then it hasn’t been effective at all.

(Sharp & Hodge, 2014) conducted a study in which nine elite athletes would be interviewed to talk about what they perceived to be essential for effective sport psychology consulting and to examine their perceptions of the key components of an effective sport psychology consulting relationship. There were six males and three females from a variety of sports (e.g. cricket, rugby, swimming, triathlon, dressage and wheelchair rugby).

According to (Comar, 1994) educationally-based psychological interventions have produced significant increases in performance. He states that 38 of the 45 studies examined (85%) have found positive performance effects. Recently conducted research has added that sport psychology has had positive affect on performance enhancement, as well as the personal growth of athletes. However, further research needs to be conducted to improve the understanding of these positive affects. You’re probably thinking that this article will only contain information about studies that have been conducted throughout the years but you’re wrong. Besides information about those studies, I will be speaking about the athlete’s perspective which is extremely important. The psychologists can say anything they want, but if the athlete or

The analysis indicated that three categories were essential for sport psychology consulting effectiveness; sport psychology consultants were friendly but not a friend, consulting experience and athlete-centered consulting.

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categories resulted essential for effective consulting relationships; flexibility open, honest, and respectful contributions from both the athlete and the consultant athlete as an active participant in the consulting relationship

After conducting this research I did some serious brainstorming. I tried to see this from their perspective and came to my

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own conclusions and opinions. I think that sports psychology could really be effective. Yes, people say that you can only motivate yourself and the only one that can or cannot make you do what you want is you. Somewhat that might be true but don’t you think that if you have people around you who care, take the time to listen and give you advice; that it will motivate you too ? Having someone rooting for you always. Isn’t that nice? Yes, it is! That’s why I think it is effective. Obviously, the psychologist cannot do the job by him or herself. You have to be faithful and hopeful about your goals and try to make them happen with the help of your sports psychologist or any psychologist if you want to speak about your goals in life instead of just athleticism. You do your part and he/she will do his. In the end, everyone wins.

Citations: Weinberg, R. (1994, December 1). The Effectiveness of Psychological Interventions in Competitive Sport. Retrieved September 1, 2015.

Weinberg, R. (1994). The effectiveness of psychological interventions in competitive sport. Retrieved September 1, 2015 Sharp, L., & Hodge, K. (2014, April 14). Sport psychology consulting effectiveness: The athlete’s perspective.

Retrieved August 31, 2015.

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The psychologists can say anything they want, but if the athlete or coach doesn’t feel like he or she has made any progress throughout the process, then it hasn’t been effective at all.

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PSYCHOLOGY OF THE MARTIAL ARTS Body, Mind, Spirit: The Strength from Within

Community Submissions: October: Sport Psychology & Psychology and the Internet

By: Mitchell Mabugat Artwork by: Jane Shi

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 punches once, But I fear the man who has practiced 1 punch 10,000 times.”

-Bruce Lee Dedication. Intensity. Control. Focus.

All these are key aspects in the world of martial arts. Dating back to as far as 2000 BCE, martial arts has become a strong spiritual, physical, and emotional discipline, that for years has given strength and enlightenment in one way or another, to all those who went in search for the true meaning of combat.

Whether you look at the ancient samurai of Japan, or the brutal bare knuckle boxing of Greece, all cultures of the world have developed in some sense, their own art of self-defense. Though a common misconception, many people believe that all combat consists of is a bunch of brutes toppling over each other to see who is the strongest. This idea, I can confidently say, is false. Though physical strength is, like in all sports important, it does not alone make up the foundations and principles of martial arts. The most important and sometimes the most difficult aspect of one’s self to master is the mind. In its truest form, martial arts is a science. Similar to all areas of science it requires analysis, repetition, and reflection in order to truly master. A second too slow and you take damage, a second to fast and you lose an opportunity to do damage.

Keeping this in mind, I’d say that approximately 80% of fights are won before the first punch is thrown. In Sun Tzu’s book, The Art Of War, he explains “A skillful general must defeat the enemy without coming to battle, take his cities without siege and overthrow his state without a long campaign. He must make every effort under the heaven to achieve total victory with his forced undiminished: This is the true art of strategic offence.” (Tzu, S. 513 BCE). Never let your enemy see your fear. When weak appear to your enemies as strong. When strong appear to your enemies as weak. Sun Tzu describes warfare and combat as “the path of deception” (Tzu, S. 513 BCE). To never show your aggressors your fears or insecurities; to appear a lion when feeling like a mouse. Showing your aggressor not how strong you are physically but how impenetrable and indestructible your mind is.

Even when in a competition of strength, he whose psyche is unbreakable, is physically unbreakable.

Now I am aware that the topic I am supposed to be writing on is sports psychology, and although mixed martial arts, boxing, and taekwondo are all technically sports, I can assure you martial arts in its truest form is much more than just a sport. To some it is a lifestyle forged through repetition and tradition, and to

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others it is a form of self-expression.

But to all, it is simply an escape. Coming into a training session, you could have the world weighing down on you. And by the end of the class, feeling lighter than ever before. Sure, your body may not feel that way at first, but your mind will gain a sense of relief, if even for a moment, which I could only describe as magical.

Throughout our lives we tend to find ourselves shying away from any thoughts of violence; however, when the time comes – as it is inevitable, we are not prepared to defend ourselves from this unexplored, frightening monster. And unless you live under a rock, I guarantee you that someday, somewhere you will need to fight.

Fight for love, fight for pride, or even a fight to get that killer beach body you’ve always wanted. Everyday of our lives is a fight.

Is martial arts for everyone? No. Will you become a great UFC fighter by going to a few classes? Hell no. Will you gain the individual strength and resilience needed to walk through life with less fear and more confidence? Most definitely.

Citations: Anonymous. Martial Arts Training: Benefits Physical and Psychological. Retrieved from http://www.ontarioselfdefence.ca/martial-arts-training-benefits-physical-and-psychological/ Lapre, S. Personal Communication. June 2012.

Mccaferty,G. (2015, July). Psychological Benefits of Martial Arts Training. Retrieved from http://believeperform.com/performance/psychological-benefits-of-martial-arts-training/

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PSYCHOLOGY AND THE INTERNET Community Submissions: October: Sport Psychology & Psychology and the Internet

By: Digby Driver Artwork by: Pilar Chavez

Interpretation is the most necessary survival skill for all thinking creatures, though rarely is it associated with basic needs. Any cub scout, disaster prepper, or off the grid homesteader will tell you that food, shelter, and water are the most crucial things to consider, but the fact is that these things would never have crossed their minds were it not for their body’s ability to interpret hunger, thirst, and cold. We use interpretation every second of the day without hesitation as our bodies interpret the need to breathe, the words of our friends and family, and the passing of time.

Have you ever realized that without sensory data, (or the ability to interpret it), we wouldn’t be able to interact with the world on any level? We wouldn’t even know it existed. Without the ability to take in and interpret sensory stimuli, we wouldn’t even be the most basic parts within Sartre’s existential bubble as for-itself beings in an in-itself world. The only thing between us and falling into the void is entirely in the way our body interprets, translates, and plans to take in and make sense of it all every hour in a day, every day in a week, and year after year so we can stay aware of our shared bubble for as long as possible.

Well, that’s a little depressing.

Maybe so, but not as much as having the ability to interpret all that sensory stimuli, but not being able to explain it in a way other people can relate to, or in a way they can relate to you personally.

What happens if you’re the one with an atypical method of interpretation that makes the status not so quo for you and seemingly no one else? What then? Consider carefully that it takes us right to to why the Internet is so much more than just a piece of technology, and why the psychology behind the Internet isn’t just for kicks and pop culture giggles.

Communication and interpretation are the fluids that keep so many areas of cognitive and developmental psychology running smoothly. It’s the oil, the antifreeze, the water pumping through the radiator cooling down Carl Jung’s engine of human thought and reaction.

They’re the most basic parts of our brain, yet so crucial. In a car, they’re the one thing mechanics and garages will top up and monitor freely. It’s not just because they’re nice guys, but because without them everything in the entire engine will break apart, fuse together, and grind to a painful, inevitable halt if they run out or grow too stagnant.

A popular quote from Jung’s novel Memories, Dreams, Reflections says, “loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.”

The internet is not just another product or service of the tech age. It’s not the same thing as the first blocky, off-white

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Macs my generation started out with.

Neither can the Internet be compared to the other more advanced technology that seemed to grow mushrooms overnight during the late 90s and on into the 21st Century. Perhaps the Internet started out that way, and it was probably intended to be nothing more than another tool in the end, but that’s not what happened.

Instead, the Internet has evolved into a virtual real estate, pioneered and settled by my fellow Millennials before it was passed on and seized by Generation Z as a brave new world they now claim as a mother country. Like any other country, the Internet has a language and a culture. It has currency, government, and patriotic pride. The fact that it has no set location, legal residency, or even a physical mailing addresses isn’t something its citizens worry about. If the World Wide Web were an actual place, anthropologists and government intelligence agencies would study nothing else for generations to come, but since it exists solely as data connections, Wi-Fi hotspots, and DSL hookups across the world, it’s up to psychology enthusiasts to spread the news that the times are changing and we’d better be prepared for a hostile takeover by a country that exists only as stored memory in hard drives and human minds.

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QUIZZES

Created by: Sadia Nadeem Designed by: Craig Alexander

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Created by: Jade Li Designed by: Craig Alexander

Please see answers on page 69!

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Comic by: Katherine Fosso Blog: sunsinourhands.tumblr.com

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Rorschach Projective Test

INTERPRETATIONS

By: Risha Mae Ordas

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This set consists of the most common answers that were sent to Psych2Go. All compiled responses are listed here.

The audience’s responses were able to point out and identify some aspects of their personality and character: 1. A part of the human body.

A common answer was ribcage, but this also varied to lungs or the pelvis of a person. Sometimes, it was even specified as an x-ray. This would be interpreted as someone who tends to set the bar high for themselves. Presumably, they would be the type of person who (consciously or unconsciously) projects their intelligence to their environment.

2. An animal.

There were also a lot of responses regarding animals—the most common being a cow, but there were also interpretations of different breeds of dogs, followed by rats, elephants, and foxes. Now, in order to decipher this, it depends on the characteristic of the animal. Cows, for example, are known to be stoic, yet emotionally deep. Dogs are often called loyal. Rats are often the witty, mischievous ones. Elephants are sometimes described as calm and confident. While foxes are associated with wisdom and are often guides.

3. Two people kissing/shaking hands.

First off, the immediate association with a human being means that the person who interpreted the picture in this way may have strong connections with humanism. Also, it would depend on the gender of the person in the image (is it a man and a woman? Or two people of the same gender?). The gender or age observation may depict the attachment the interpreter has to a particular figurehead in their life (was it you and your sibling you saw shaking hands, perhaps?). The action can be explained as someone who is aware of themselves, and is attuned to the different needs of the people around them.

4. Supernatural figures such as fairies, dwarves, and angels, and the grim reaper, were also common answers.

These kinds of responses can be associated with someone who is aware of themselves and has a greater tendency to be more empathic to other people. But it would also depend on what the creature is doing: If it’s positive (like shaking hands), then it can be interpreted in a positive light. If negative emotion is clipped with the figure, then the person identifying the image could be experiencing some sort of negativity within their life, or some kind of pent up emotion.

The next Rorschach will be posted on the Psych2Go Website and social media accounts before the next issue, so to keep yourself up to date and post your interpretation, be sure to follow us on social media!

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BOOK REVIEW:

WINTERGIRLS

Book Review

By: Hannah Jade

Anderson, L. H., & Viking. (2009). Wintergirls. New York: Viking.

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While well written and an interesting read, “Wintergirls” is definitely not representative of what it is like to have an eating disorder. The book opens with a description of how Cassie, Lia’s best friend of 10 years, has been found dead in the room of a motel. Lia is the main character of the novel, which documents her struggles with anorexia, which she has personified with the name “ana”. It appears to me that the author’s research into bulimia and anorexia may not have spanned further than researching pro *ana and *mia websites.

A lot of the way things are written seem to romanticize eating disorders, rather than show what kind of torture they are.

Lia called herself strong for keeping herself “empty”.

Cassie had been bulimic and was influencing her friend to be the same, which actually made Lia’s parents somewhat grateful that she had died. I thought that was a bit of a harsh way to introduce the stepmother in a scene. I understand that they could have been blaming her for the eating disorder of the child they were raising, however wouldn’t a death of your child’s best friend warrant a response that was more caring and trying to help your struggling child rather than tarnishing their late best friend’s name? I don’t know really, as I thought the way the stepmother was shown was extremely cold, even though most of the time she was making an attempt to help out. A lot of the book the narration is disconnected and it feels cold. The chapters are titled in the way that she would weigh herself and write down the weight (00.0) which I thought was interesting. Stylistically, the book somewhat resembles a diary. It is written in a very poetic style, but I didn’t hate the poeticism as much as I hate anything like that by Sharon Creech. (I’m looking at you, Heartbeat).

However, a lot of the time the author will cross out words to show what the character was thinking at first but then changed their mind to state differently.

Things like “stepmother” crossed out to say Jennifer. She also refers to any type of food as either a number or a color. The numbers represent the calories in the food she is discussing. There are a lot of scenes that are graphically about self harm and intense self deprecation on Lia’s part both mentally and physically.

She realized that Cassie had called her 47 times on the night of her death, and a part of what is making her so stressed out and ill is that she blames herself for not being there for her friend.

The hotel in which Cassie died has a person named Elijah working there and he and Lia form an unlikely friendship.

It’s very strange to watch this person’s world unravel. We find out that Cassie died from a ruptured esophagus and Lia had actually had some points where she sabotaged Cassie’s attempts to recover from bulimia- the disease that ultimately killed her. Cassie had left a message for Lia - that she was the skinniest, and she had won. As if it was some sort of competition, again the glorification of a weight achieved by means of an eating disorder.

The book describes the changes in her body and it gets increasingly emaciated, which shows the brutality of what happens with an eating disorder. The very end of the book Lia is cutting herself, and her stepsister Emma who absolutely adores her walks in. It ends on this note and doesn’t allow further elaboration, so one can only make assumptions about where to go from there. Overall, the book was decent, however I found it slightly romanticizing eating disorders and who can be the sickest, but I have not suffered from bulimia or anorexia, so I would leave people with more authority on that to judge better. All in all the book was easy to read, well written, and interesting. I think research could have been better, but overall it was a good read. *ana – short for Anorexia Nervosa *mia – short for Bulimia

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Everyday Everyday tell something you didn’t see Something that wasn’t old, or on repeat Something that would give me hope, to believe So I can see a chance, to come back from defeat Ammunition takes lives is what I hear on the radio From state to state, from coast to coast Most of the times we ask why, but don’t know We don’t have an answer; there’s nothing to post More tears than smiles, I continue to hear More suffering than living, please tell me how These young kids that live their life in such fear Give me a reason why I shouldn’t be doing something now This list goes on as we drift into slumber Reset the clocks, for the day is almost over Prepare yourself tomorrow; it’s time to repeat the same thing Our first world problems block out the help when others sing -Anonymous

Artwork by: Ale Caballero Note from the author: This poem represents how people can alter their thinking to reflect more positivity to make an impacting change.

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PSYCHOLOGY

TOGO By: Lauren Miedel

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If you’re like me, you’ve had your fair share of awkward moments. A lot of mine revolve around the fact that I cannot control when I laugh. I laughed when my friend told me that she and her girlfriend had broken up. I make jokes about awful situations, as well as during sad and angering scenarios. I joke around during serious talks between myself and my parents. I have depression, and lots of times people think that I’m ok because of how often I make them laugh. So I can say with certainty that it was a relief when I discovered that I wasn’t broken; in fact, I’m just one of many who use humour to deal with fairly large problems. Many people use humour or laughter to cope with stressful and hard situations.

According to Keltner and Bonanno (1997), laughing helps us respond to stress by “increasing the psychological distance from distress and by enhancing social relations.” In other words, we laugh in times of distress because sometimes our minds cannot handle the stress.

Think about it, whenever something bad happens, it can be hard to process. Your brain deals with this trouble processing by laughing, which releases a bunch of endorphins, increases personal satisfaction, and improves your mood— all of these help deal with stress (Mayo Clinic Staff 2013). By creating these physiological changes to make your body think it’s happy, you put distance between yourself and the situation. Also, think about how laughing and joking around play a huge part in our socialization.

Laughing is one of the biggest socializing elements. In times of distress, your mind craves human contact and interaction (to help deal with the stress), so it makes sense that it would laugh to increase those chances.

There’s also another reason the brain might force us into laughter. As humans, we are generally very good at reading people’s emotions. We know when someone is smiling out of politeness or, in this case, when someone laughs without feeling a positive emotion.

People who are not as good at hiding

their true emotions are more likely to do this fake-laugh, which could be a signal to others that we are in distress.

The brain may do this in order to raise the likelihood of someone coming to find out what is causing the stress (Keltner & Bonanno 1997).

With this information in mind, it’s easy to see why the brain would sometimes think that having us laugh is the best course of action. It may be inconvenient and possibly a social faux-pas, our brain is just trying to look out for us. Now I understand why I make so many jokes when I’m feeling so down; my brain is trying to find ways to help me cope with the stress. So the next time you find yourself laughing when you think you shouldn’t, remember that it may help you in the long run.

Citation: Keltner, D., & Bonanno, G. A. (1997). A Study of Laughter and Dissociation: Distinct Correlates of Laughter and Smiling During Bereavement. Journal Of Personality & Social Psychology, 73(4), 687-702.

Mayo Clinic Staff (2013). Stress relief from laughter? It’s no joke. Retrieved September 10, 2015.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL MYTHS Similarities Attract Debunking ‘Opposites Attract’

Debungking Psychological Myths

By: Myelin Abenojar When looking at one’s partner or friend, one may suddenly question with squinting eyes: Why? This may be a question that is posed repeatedly or not at all. Maybe there is a mystical acceptance of fate that brought two beings together. Or maybe it was simply proximity, and there was no one else to choose from. Regardless of the believed circumstances, it is safe to wonder: Why do people like the people that they like?

What is this gravitational pull called “attraction” that people experience amongst each other? How can this bond be maintained? And, what if we knew the formula to achieving peak happiness in interpersonal romantic relationships?

There are some basic trends that have been found. “Opposites attract” is a rationale that is often disputed yet equally often suggested. The sight of a cat cuddling with a dog, an interracial couple, or the pull of two magnets promotes a sense of awe. But, is it true?

In general, it is more difficult to interact with someone who is unlike us. As depicted throughout history in various battles and wars, dissimilarity has often been a source of conflict, and furthermore hatred. Conversely, one can also assume that it is easier to interact with someone who is like them. This phenomenon is highlighted when people of similar ages, races, religions, or socioeconomic status get along because they are connected via a point of similarity (Wilson & Cousins, 2003, p. 161). Overall, partners or friends who are similar are more likely to establish, maintain, and sustain happy and healthy interpersonal relationships.

Similar Romantic Partners Romantic partners, especially long term marital partners, tend to be more similar on personality and interests than dissimilar in comparison to random couplings (Gonzaga, Carter, & Buckwalter, 2010, p. 642). In fact, the

Artwork by: Jane Shi more similar the couples were the greater report of marital satisfaction resulted (Wilson & Cousins, 2003, p. 164).

So, similarity is not a random occurrence amongst people, but something that tends to bring people together and promotes happiness. The interplay of a couple’s “neuroticism, openness to experience, empathy, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional stability, and autonomy are all qualities that significantly affect the quality of an intimate relationship” (Barelds, 2005, p. 502, 513). For instance, an introvert in a relationship may feel very drained being with an extrovert. Or someone with low self-esteem may grow to feel inferior with his or her partner who has a high self-esteem. And perhaps, in a stressful situation, someone who is emotionally stable will find the reactions of an emotionally unstable partner strange and discerning. Discordance in personality type can create dissonance in the relationship.

Yet, this does not answer why partners tend to be similar in these studies. The most convincing argument for how interpersonal similarity is the largest factor in relationship satisfaction is based on the idea of convergence. Convergence is “the tendency for partners to become more alike over time” (Gonzaga et al., 2010, p. 634). One study showed that, “couples who converged in personality between first meeting and the first years of marriage were more satisfied with their relationships” (Gonzaga et al., 2010, p. 642). In this situation, similarity is something that occurs overtime. This leads to question, are couples least similar from the onset of a relationship?

To answer that question, it’s logical to revisit our first interpersonal relationship.

Foundational Primary Caregivers The foundation created by the initial relationship with our primary caregiver affects all future interpersonal

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relationships.

For instance, “individuals with an avoidant attachment style use fewer relationship-maintaining behaviors, such as talking about problems and coming to an understanding, and are less likely to seek support from [others] (Barelds, 2005, p. 503)” thus making relationships more difficult to maintain than they already are. But this trend does not determine that other relationships with children raised with an avoidant attachment will be fruitless, but instead shows that this individual must find a friend or partner that can understand and fulfill their needs. And that is the key difference between our interpersonal relationship with our primary caregiver versus our romantic partners or friends; there is an element of choice. As infants we do not choose whom we interact with but as we grow older we gradually receive freedom to interact with our environment and the people in it.

Our lives begin with and are propelled by interpersonal relationships. Others can and tend to be our source of self-esteem, comfort, love and belonging. Similarity is an ideal, but often not a reality—for the attraction to someone exactly like oneself is narcissism. And presumably people are not generally aware of the similarities they may find in another person and it is also possible that they are unaware of their own personality characteristics. There is not a constant evaluation mechanism that we go through that weeds out people who are unlike ourselves. Our attraction is dependent more on our perception of the other person. “Perceiving that another has similar traits (attitudes, interests, etc.) increases attraction only because the perceiver usually positively values those traits and [therefore hold a] positive

value of the other person (Steele & McGlynn, 1979, p. 111-112).” Essentially, it is not the list of traits that may match up with another person; it is whether or not those perceived similarities have an affective value on us, which produces a sense of attraction. Notably, there is more to attraction than personality.

Yet, it is helpful to know in retrospect that the “symmetry that is reflected between partners at the very start of the relationship may help determine the eventual success of the partnership, and the changes over time may help shape the relationship as it develops (Gonzaga et al., 2010, p. 642).” In conclusion, relationships are subjective and can vary across cultures and individuals. So what may work for one couple may not work for another. Research in this field of relationship attraction and maintenance is not only useful to researchers but also to marriage counselors, relationship therapists, clergy, love-struck teenagers, friends, co-workers, and basically anyone in the world who engages in any form of an array of interpersonal relationships (Wilson & Cousins, 2003, p. 165). But discovering exactly what elements or personality characteristics to find in another person to complement one’s own personality should be knowledge received and taken in precaution. Although it is an ideal to achieve peak happiness in our lives, that sense of happiness would be irrelevant if there was nothing to compare it to. Therefore, people should not limit themselves and disregard other people who are unlike them. For while there are times of dissonance when confronting differences between people, there is also an equal potential for growth and understanding in others as well as ourselves.

Citation: Barelds, D. (2005). Self and partner personality in intimate relationships. European Journal of Personality, 19(6), 501-518.

Gonzaga, G. J., Carter, & Buckwalter (2010). Assortative mating, convergence, and satisfaction in married couples.

Personal Relationships, 17(4), 634-644.

Steele, M. P. & McGlynn, R. P. (1979). Effects of affective value and similarity on attraction. Journal of Social Psychology, 108(1), 111.

Thompson, W. & Nishimura, R. (1952). Some determinants of friendship. Journal of Personality, 20(3), 305.

Wilson, G. D. & Cousins, J. M. (2005). Measurement of partner compatibility: further validation and refinement of the CQ test. Sexual & Relationship Therapy, 20(4), 421-429.

Wilson, G. D. & Cousins, J. M. (2003). Partner similarity and relationship satisfaction: development of a compatibility quotient. Sexual & Relationship Therapy, 18(2), 161.

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ADVICE COLUMN “I’ve been in a long term relationship for almost six years. We have a child, and I also have a child from a previous relationship. We had only been dating for six months when I got pregnant, and things weren’t going so well then.

I decided to stay in the relationship and make it work for the new baby. I thought - if I loved him once I could love him again. I did fall in love again but everything that happened within the first year of our child being born brought me to a deep depression. He was so naive and selfish that he neglected my feelings and just said I needed to ‘suck it up’. All this created resentment, but we finally bought a house, and I thought maybe then we would be happy. So many more things happened, which lead me to cheat. I never slept with anyone, but I did manage to get involved emotionally.

I feel that his neglect didn’t help, and I think I fell out of love with him. I know that I love and care for him, but I’m not in love. It’s important to me to be in love with the person I’m spending the rest of my life with. We get along, he’s a great dad, but he also hurt me by mistreating my son verbally. He takes care of all his responsibilities, is a family man, and is really smart. I have told him how I feel, and I know he’s upset that I might not be in love anymore. He’s being sweet now but what if it’s too late? I have a life coach, and I’m trying to give our love and family a chance, but I can’t seem to get that feeling back. I feel I have stronger connections with other men that I meet, but I fight it off. I can’t help but wonder why my significant other and I can’t connect. I think it’s easier if I just suck it up and stay rather than separate and put the kids and him though the heartache. I don’t want to hurt anyone by making a selfish decision. Please help!”

– Anonymous

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I believe the first step to creating positive change in our lives is getting real about what needs fixing.

As I read through your very personal account, I can’t help but notice some contradictions in the ways you describe your significant other (s.o.). You say you love and care for him, but you are not in love with him due to stronger emotional connections you have with other men (despite efforts to “fight it off”). You say your s.o. is smart, responsible, and is a great dad even though he has verbally abused your child from a previous relationship in the past. Finally, you say you don’t want to hurt anyone by making a selfish decision. I think it’s a great thing that you are seeking the help of a life coach, but if you are still focused on the negatives you are not going to make much progress. If your s.o. is smart, responsible, and great as a father as you say he is and you sincerely want to keep your family together, I think you already know that you’re going to have to stop indulging outside emotional connections as this just divides your energy and focus.

On the other hand, if you truly believe that your relationship with your s.o. cannot be salvaged, then be 100% honest with him, yourself, and your children. Your children will experience some negative emotions either way. Again, I’m sure you know that it’s better if they are supported by a single mother who is confident and happy with herself and her decisions rather than a mother who is sad, depressed, and regretful. Focus on what you really want with your life, decide what will really make you happy, and let your true desires guide you.

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“My best friend’s mom has cancer and it’s really tearing her apart. What can I do to make her feel better? How can I make things better for her? What are some things I can say to offer comfort to her without sounding cheesy and generic or unsympathetic?” – Anonymous Hi, I think your friend is very lucky to have someone like you in their lives, who’s so committed to being there for them. I’m sure you’re already a huge comfort to them. I think there’s 3 main ways to help your friend. The simplest one is just to ask them what they need, this might be as simple as helping them with chores. What they’re going through is exhausting, so less responsibility could make it easier for them to cope. Secondly, normal life and routine are so important to help someone feel grounded, try not to treat them differently and that includes not having that sympathetic expression which can be alienating for some people.

The 3rd way to help would be support groups. Bringing your friend to support groups allows them to connect to people going through the same thing. It can be a place with a lot of information lead by someone experienced and skilled. It’s a very difficult situation for your friend to be in but with a support network around them, they’ll come through this.

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“I’ve moved on with my life and am over what happened. My ex was very abusive to me and made me feel guilty about it, as though it was my fault. I’m over it.

But am I truly over it? Last night I had a nightmare about him coming back into me and my daughter’s life (he’s m.i.a.) well he was just worse and I had to call the cops on him. I kept asking this guy that I want to be with (still in my dream) if he wanted to be with me because I felt it wasn’t worth him dealing with my ex and baggage. What do I do? I’m considering going to a therapist.” - Anonymous

Hello, I’m sorry to hear about what you’re going through. No one should feel that level of paranoia and not be able to move on with their life. It seems to me like you’re in a bit of a trauma situation.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious thing to deal with at an early stage. I suggest you do go see a therapist. Having nightmares about your ex and feeling like he might show up out of no where can be early signs of PTSD. You have to let go of the past in order to continue your relationship with the new guy. You’ll never feel safe or worthy enough around another man and that can lead to a lot of emotional stress. Please seek for help. My mother is a victim of physical and verbal abuse and she never took care of it. She always ignored and pretended that things were okay. Now she’s m.i.a. because she’s so afraid of her boyfriend that she prefers not to leave his side in fear he might hurt her if she leaves.

This is her choice. She got the same opportunity you’re getting of starting over again and she didn’t take it. You must seek happiness for your daughter and see that she doesn’t suffer the same emotional distress from experiencing all of this at an early age. Every day brings new choices and you should always strive for the best. Do not belittle yourself. You have to stay strong for your daughter and for yourself. I hope everything gets better for you and always remember that there’s help out there. You just have to reach out.

LAUR

A

For future issues if you’d like to receive advice from your peers, feel free to email your inquiry to psych2goadvice@gmail. com. Advice responding to your concerns may be featured in our next magazine!

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Mental Health Crisis Lines Suicide hotlines by country: Argentina: 54-0223-493-0430 Australia: 13-11-14 Austria: 01-713-3374 Barbados: 429-9999 Belgium: 106 Botswana: 391-1270 Brazil: 21-233-9191 China: 852-2382-0000 (Hong Kong: 2389-2222) Costa Rica: 606-253-5439 Croatia: 01-4833-888 Cyprus: 357-77-77-72-67 Czech Republic: 222-580-697, 476-701908 Denmark: 70-201-201 Egypt: 762-1602 Estonia: 6-558-088 Finland: 040-5032199 France: 01-45-39-4000 Germany: 0800-181-0721 Greece: 1018 Guatemala: 502-234-1239 Holland: 0900-0767 Honduras: 504-237-3623 Hungary: 06-80-820-111 Iceland: 44-0-8457-90-90-90 Israel: 09-8892333 Italy: 06-705-4444 Japan: 3-5286-9090 Latvia: 6722-2922, 2772-2292 Malaysia: 03-756-8144 (Singapore: 1-800-221-4444) Mexico: 525-510-2550 Netherlands: 0900-0767

New Zealand: 4-473-9739 New Guinea: 675-326-0011 Nicaragua: 505-268-6171 Norway: 47-815-33-300 Philippines: 02-896-9191 Poland: 52-70-000 Portugal: 239-72-10-10 Russia: 8-20-222-82-10 Spain: 91-459-00-50 South Africa: 0861-322-322 South Korea: 2-715-8600 Sweden: 031-711-2400 Switzerland: 143 Taiwan: 0800-788-995 Thailand: 02-249-9977 Trinidad and Tobago: 868-645-2800 Ukraine: 0487-327715 More specific mental health lines: USA Depression: 1-630-482-9696 Suicide: 1-800-784-8433 LIFELINE: 1-800-273-8255 Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386 Sexuality Support: 1-800-246-7743 Eating Disorders: 1-847-831-3438 Rape and sexual assault: 1-800-6564673 Grief: 1-650-321-5272 Runaway: 1-800-843-5200, 1-800-8435678, 1-800-621-4000 Post Abortion: 1-866-4394253 Child Abuse: 1-800-422-4453 UK Childline (for anyone under 18 with any problem): 08001111

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Mind infoline: 0300 123 3393 e-mail: info@mind.org.uk Mind legal advice: 0300 466 6463 legal@ mind.org.uk Eating Disorders: 0845 634 14 14 e-mail: help@b-eat.co.uk Eating Disorders for under age 25: 08456347650 Bereavement: 08444779400 e-mail: helpline@cruse.org.uk Frank (information and advice on drugs): 0800776600 Drinkline: 0800 9178282 Rape Crisis England & Wales: 0808 802 9999 1 e-mail info@rapecrisis.org.uk Rape Crisis Scotland: 08088 01 03 02 India Self Harm:00 08001006614 Suicide: 022-27546669 Canada Kid’s helpline: 1-800-668-6868 International text based help: imalive.org crisischat.org blahtherapy.com 7cupsoftea.com Artwork by: Jeffrey Bigelow Mental helpline provided by: riseandtry.tumblr.com

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THANK YOU! The contributors & Digital Research team: Mary Walrath – U.S. (New York) Rhonda Marie – U.S. (Kentucky) Tai Tai - Canada, Analucia Guzman –Guatemala Holly Schaefer-U.S. (Pennsylvania) David Bradley- U.S. (Massachusetts) Megan Altemus- U.S. (Louisiana) Jasmine Cepeda - U.S. (New York) Game Designers: Jade Li- The U.K. Sadia Nadeem-U.S. (California) Editors: Brandon Michael-U.S. (Ohio) Jo Collinson- The U.K. Elizabeth Bailey- U.S. (Maryland) Miles Underwood-The U.K. Angelina Coronado- U.S. (New Jersey) Helen Warriner-The U.K. Teresa Johnson-U.S. (Maryland) Imogen Bowler- The U.K. The graphic designers: Ken Samonte – New Zealand kensamonte.tumblr.com Pilar Chavez – Mexico sugar-levels.tumblr.com Jane Shi – Singapore Janerart.tumblr.com Ruth Estipona – Philippines r-gie.tumblr.com Ale Caballero – Mexico Dashingdollsintothewoods.tumblr.com

Jeffrey Bigelow – U.S. (New York) shallowfeelings.tumblr.com Instagram: Vapor_Wave Fieni Aprilia – Indonesia www.behance.net/Fiensh novusvultura.tumblr.com Anne Vu – Australia facebook.com/ayveephotos https://ayveecreative.wordpress.com/ Craig Alexander – The U.K. Chillibyte.wordpress.com Comic contribution: Katherine Fosso- U.S. (Indiana) sunsinourhands.tumblr.com Issues of the Psych2Go Magazine come out Quarterly (four times a year) because we want to make sure we deliver the best compilation of Psychology related material to you. All of the people that have contributed to this entrepreneurial project as a part of the Psych2Go community, have worked very diligently and hard to produce this publication.

Everyone was such a vital asset to its production and none of this is possible without everyone’s willingness to participate! We’d love to hear your feedback! Send us a message at psych2go@outlook.com telling us what you think of the magazine!

Be sure to keep up to date with Psych2Go and check out the next issue of our magazine coming out January 2016!

Teresa Johnson Editor in Chief of Psych2Go Magazine

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Thank You to the Donators of “Psych2Go Magazine” Campaign: Dereck Lock Mary Johnson Tyra Tselane H.E. Luc White Keely Cooper Gabriel Taylor Courtney Allison Cindy Miedel Brandon Michael Jamie Caknipe Geneva Fluet Paul Novak Miles Underwood Sadia Nadeem Lauren Miedel Caroline Johnson Tooru Sugano

Your contributions helped make this project possible!

Stay tuned for Issue #2!

ANSWER KEY TRUE OR FALSE 1. True 2. True 3. False 4. True 5. False

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUIZ 1. B 2. A 3. D 4. A

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Psych2Go's Community Challenge

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Psych2Go’s COMMUNITY CHALLENGE

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Testimonials

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READER TESTIMONIALS

Psych2Go Issue 1

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Psych2go’s first magazine for ADHD awareness month, for their first magazine this is a very strong start, unfortunately it isn’t without its problems. I was surprised to find that the barrier to entry is quite low, literally anyone with little to no background knowledge of psychology or any of the social sciences could pick this up and read it if psychology is something you’re interested in. This magazine covers a plethora of thought provoking topics from separation anxiety disorder, to autism, to martial arts, and even tips for interviews so it’s filled with things everybody can take something away from.

The magazine is very colorful with many illustrations throughout so it doesn’t feel like you’re reading a college textbook.

However, many of the pdf pages follow this format where there are two normal pages crammed together on one page,

a nice idea but there are some instances where I feel it doesn’t quite work (for example page 37). I don’t know, it just bugs me when one page is full but the page next to it is half blank (or half full if you’re feeling optimistic). The last two paragraphs on page 19 clash a bit with the art on the page, it’s a minor issue but I feel that it should be mentioned.

Also, I wish that the font for the citations were a little darker, so they’re easier to read (especially pages 66 & 67 with the suicide hotlines). Page 15 in particular has a few font related problems, page 14 & 15 have an interview with a college student but surprisingly there’s no use of quotation marks at all for her responses, even though the text is a different color the questions have the same sized font as her responses, and there’s even a part on that page where it transitions from her responses back into the next section

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of the interview with the same font styling(end of page 14 to the beginning of page 15). That’s definitely not to say it’s all bad, I love how all the colors pop out at you and grab your attention I also enjoy the pictures and imagery used for every section of the magazine.

You can tell that the people writing this put a lot of effort into it and genuinely enjoy what they do, this is expressed through the use of more personal dialogue to connect with the reader rather than just reading the information to you.

Despite my few complaints that I feel may hamper your experience if only a little bit, I have no doubt you will still enjoy reading through this magazine as much as I did.

(Obligatory not-so obligatory score) PSYC out of PSYCH

review

- Callestere Hello, Honestly I think that you guys had an amazing idea of creating a dynamic and more fun access to the psychological world, something with good source and using a language that is not too formal, which makes easier and accessible for anyone to read, Its just really amazing.

I’m brazilian and I found you guys through tumblr, it was really great for me because like some people who work in the magazine I dont act in the psychology field but I always had a great interest on it. Congrats for the magazine, its awesome!!

Keep it up!

(Sorry about my english) -Love, Marina.

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