Mind Issue #06 by SIM Psychology Society

Singapore Institute of Management

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Psychology Society

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Following the Crowd: conforming for our survival

Reverse Psychology: myth or science?

Multipersonality Disorder: diving deep into a multiperson

MIND SUMMER 2011 PAGE 2

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0.,684;/'-860 NILOUFER’S NOTE

UB Research: Why Some Women Share Lots of Photos on Facebook

http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=T1GQHoLyS5Q

The Psychology of Blink

http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=xRUs9Ni3Bv8

Amazing Dragon Illusion, Solved! http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v= zKanr-kNEJ

Supporting the Yellow Ribbon Project does not mean I fancy ex-oﬀenders nor does it mean I think of getting married to them. I can safely say that I have not dated a convict or murderer; yet one should not say something too soon as it may come true. Touch wood, most of the guys I know are pretty decent except for the few that just love to be loved. On the other hand, guys that are a little bit bad do seem to have a magnetic field that pulls girls towards them. I supposed it’s mostly the female heroine inside of them that tries to change a leopard’s spots. Or then again, perhaps these girl’s just want something out of the ordinary, a guy that stands out from the crowd. To each her own and this I believe, is what makes the world go round. All magazines are a source of information that goes around the world dispersing seeds of knowledge teaching people how to go around the world; it is also fun to read and makes us feel smarter. In this issue we have added more little nuggets of knowledge to pick up on, more pictures and just out of the oven, videos from Youtube! Wilson and I worked hard on this issue so please kick back and take your time to go through EVERYTHING!

WILSON’S NOTE Welcome to the sixth issue! It is the summer of 2011 and as we worked on this super-fabulous issue, it seems like just yesterday when I was writing my first article for MIND. Yet here we are, a couple of issues down, writing my first editorial note and introducing cool new features! As many of our faithful readers would have noticed, MIND has once again undergone some remodeling. We hope you enjoy the new look of things and we will very much like to hear your opinions or suggestions on what we can do to take MIND to the next level. Early 2011 was an exciting time with PSYCHWEEK ‘11 being the highlight. Not only was the event informative with the numerous workshops and the amazing interactive displays located in the atrium, the event also exposed many students of SIM whom had previously known little or nothing about psychology to the various facets of this mind-blowing and exhilarating field. You can find out more about PSYCHWEEK ‘11 in the bonus pullout insert attached to the digital copy of this issue. Finally, for those eager readers looking for even more of MIND, we have scouted and added a sizable number of new, brilliant and enthusiastic writers and guest writers to our MIND Team. So look forward to a wider, enhanced version of our Fall Issue!

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Hybristophilia: Why Girls Like the Really Bad Boys

Photo: http://dark.pozadia.org/

Reverse Photo: betond.blogspot.com

Knowing Your Handedness: Handy Dandy

Photo: rlv.zcache.com

Conformity: Following the crowd

MPD: Black/ White Swan Photo: intellimoo.files.wordpress.com

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Interview: Dr Barry Friedman cover illustration: flashnewstoday.com

Photo: freakingnews.com

XX-XY : Chivalry

Photo: elfwood.com

DYK : Sugar Makes Kids Hyperactive... NOT!

MIND SUMMER 2011 PAGE 4

THE MIND TEAM CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Janice Huang

EDITORS Wilson Lim Niloufer Othman

A self-proclaimed TV addict and a big fan of crime and investigation television. I was inspired to write my article by an episode of Criminal Minds.

GUEST WRITER Leevia Dillon I am a left handed psychology major who enjoys posting fiction online. My favorite food include tea and dark chocolate.

GUEST WRITER Aaron Yeo Contributing guest writer who graduated in BS. Co m m u n i c at i o n (UB program).

Sherlyne Yong

I love reading and have big dreams of setting up my own bookstore with a cafe where people can chill on a lazy afternoon!

Debbie Leong No matter what people say I’m pro-PAP and have always looked up to our nation’s grandfather, Lee Kuan Yew!

Loh Eng Hao

MIND is published by the SIM Psychology Society general.psysociety@gmail.com Email SIM Psychology Society Facebook http://psychologysociety.wordpress.com/ Blog

I have been trying to use reverse psychology on my friends but my eﬀorts so far have been in vain.

False Titbits You know: Anger, like all other emotions are physiological and biological changes. Your heart rate, energy hormone levels, adrenaline, and noradrenalin all go up. We have all been told that letting oﬀ steam will make you feel better. Yelling into empty space, squeezing stress dolls and punching walls are all what we do to prevent ourselves from actually hurting the very person we want to kill so badly. Photo: aliexpress.com

Now you know: Psychologists now say that it is a dangerous myth as research has found that “letting it rip” with anger actually escalates anger and aggression and does nothing

to help you (or the person you’re angry with) resolve the situation. It’s better to find what triggers your anger, and then develop methods to keep those triggers from tipping you over the edge. Charles Spielberger, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in the study of anger said that there are three ways of dealing with anger. Expressing your anger in a non aggressive way; suppressing your anger (which may lead to hypertension, high blood pressure, or depression); and calming yourself down and let the feelings subside. “When none of these three techniques work, that’s when someone—or something—is going to get hurt,” notes Dr. Spielberger.

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Dr Barry Friedman received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from the Ohio State University. He has 28 years of industry experience under his belt, having worked with firms such as Xerox, ExxonMobil and Harris Interactive. Aside from teaching at SUNY Oswego, Dr Friedman is also a Visiting Assistant Professor at SIM-UB, where he conducts courses on Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management.

A N INTERVIEW WITH AN I/O PSYCHOLOGIST By Janice Huang

Why did you choose to specialize in I/O psychology? I was a Psychology and Political Science major as an undergraduate, so I tend to be very applied by nature. If you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t apply something to make improvements in organisations or in other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives, then itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably not something I will venture into. I/O tends to be one of the more applied branches of psychology, so naturally it attracted me. And for the very same reason, I chose to go into industry instead of academia, where I felt I could have more impact. Thus, the very first job that I took on after leaving Ohio State University was at Xerox Corporation, where I carried out traditional I/O psychology work.

At SIM, many of the Psychology majors take on a second major in Communication, but some may feel that they will not have any opportunity to apply both majors in the same field. Having been a double-major undergraduate as well, what would you say to these students? Communication is a very relevant major to Psychology, especially if you choose to go into I/O. I always tell my students this: everything that you do in employee relations or human resource management boils down to communication. Things such as compensation, reward systems, how you pay people, bonuses, commissions, and performance feedback â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are really just ways of communicating to employees what is important. Even the smallest thing, such as an employee deciding which task to accomplish for the hour, is a communication process. Communication and Psychology as double majors are a great fit; I only wish I had that major as an undergraduate!

Dr Friedmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Advice for Budding I/O Psychologists: t * 0 QTZDIPMPHZ JT B SBQJEMZ HSPXJOH ĂśFME t * 0 QTZDIPMPHJTUT BSF OFFEFE FWFSZXIFSF o ZPV DBO XPSL JO UIF )3 EFQBSUNFOU PG BOZ ĂśSN BT a private consultant, in research organisations, government bodies or statutory boards, and even in schools! (Though of course, in this case the â&#x20AC;&#x153;human resourceâ&#x20AC;? would be the teachers and staďŹ&#x20AC;, not the students.) t *G ZPV XBOU BO FWFO DMFBSFS JEFB PO UIF SFRVJSFNFOUT KPC TDPQF BOE QSPTQFDUT PG BO * 0 psychologist (or any other occupation), just visit http://online.onetcenter.org/ and do a search! t *O ZPVS VOEFSHSBEVBUF ZFBST USZ UP MBOE BT NBOZ JOUFSOTIJQT BT ZPV DBO BU UIF )3 EFQBSUNFOUT of various companies. Singapore is a bustling hub of activity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; opportunities are abundant! t )BOH PVU BT PGUFO BT ZPV DBO XJUI TUVEFOUT GSPN UIF 4DIPPM PG #VTJOFTT UP VOEFSTUBOE IPX UIFZ think and work! t %P OPU CF BGSBJE UP VTF ZPVS TPDJBM OFUXPSL UP CVJME VQ ZPVS FYQFSJFODF t "UUBJO BU MFBTU B .BTUFST %FHSFF JO * 0 1TZDIPMPHZ t i" 1I % XPVME CF SFBM DPPM UPP CVU UIBU T KVTU JDJOH PO UIF DBLF w Background: photos-public-domain

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APPROXIMATELY ONLY 10% OF THE WORLD ’S POPULATION IS LEFT-HANDED . M ORE MALES THAN FEMALES EXHIBIT LEFT-HAND DOMINANCE (G NETTE,

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While studying the eﬀects of epilepsy, Sperry discovered that cutting the corpus collosum (the structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain) could reduce or eliminate s e i z u r e s . However, other symptoms were found in these patients after the communication p a t h w a y between the two sides of the brain was cut. For example, many of these splitbrain patients were found to be unable to name objects that were processed by the right side of the brain, but were able to name objects that were processed by the left-side of the brain. Based on this information, Sperry suggested that language was controlled by the left-side of the brain.

H ANDY D ANDY: KNOWING YOUR H ANDEDNESS By Leevia Dillon Which hand do you use to Photo: bigfoto.com spontaneously pick up a pen? Picking up a pen may seem like an innate and innocent act but a lot may be deducted from this small action. Handedness is often socially defined by which hand we write with. Paul McCartney, a member of the Beatles found it diﬃcult to play the guitar which was created for righthanders. Did you know what he did? He strung his guitar the opposite way to a right-handed person and strummed with his left!

Right-handers tend to see the facts of reality in a black-and-white fashion which is based on observation, logic and analysis. Looking for reasons and causes for everything, they are sequential where they take tasks and complete them one at a time. Being detail-orientated they are more decisive and base actions on logic. Chances are they prefer detailedorientated professions such as mathematicians and scientists.

In psychology, the theory is based on something called the lateralization of brain function. The right brain-left brain theory was influenced Photo: kradumal1.tripod Left-hander Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) Handed History by the work of Roger W. Sperry, There is a common misconception who was awarded the Nobel Prize in amongst all cultures; both in the past 1981. and present that being a left-hander is a bad omen (Gnette, 2008). A possibility What we know now may be from the meaning of the words Later research has shown that the implied. Both French and Latin words, brain is not nearly as dichotomous as ‘droit’ and ‘dexter’ which mean ‘right’ once thought. In a 2004 study, a joint translate to terms adroit and dexterous eﬀort by psychologists at the U.S. Army respectively. Alternatively, the English Research Institute for the Behavioral and word ‘left’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon Social Sciences at Fort Benning, Ga. and ‘lyft’’, meaning weak. Furthermore, the the University of Melbourne, Australia Latin word for ‘left’ is ‘sinistra’ which (APA, April 2004), found that abilities in translates to ‘sinister’. subjects like math are actually strongest when both halves of the brain work Handedness & Personality together. In popular culture, there is a theory known as right brain-left brain dominance. Conclusion This theory attributes each side of the Like many popular psychology myths, brain to have certain personality traits. this one has been dramatically distorted and exaggerated. While that may be so, Left-handers are said to be spontaneous deepening an understanding of your and are emotional. They easily empathize behavior can help you develop better with the less fortunate because they ways to develop yourself. Everyone is relate to them easily. They view things unique in their own ways so being a from a ‘big picture’ before zooming ‘righty’ does not automatically exclude into the details. According to Dr. Alan you from creativity or emotional feeling. Searleman of St. Lawrence University in It is merely that aspect coming from the New York, they tend to prefer creative non-dominant side of the brain will be professions such as acting, writing, overshadowed and influenced by the dancing or art. dominant side.

SIM PSYCHOLOGY SOCIETY PRESENTS... PULLOUT

Psych Week ‘11 © Billy Tan

PSYCHWEEK 2011 was an initiative by SIM Psychology Society. During the first week of February, the Atrium hosted an exhibition of art works from Singapore Association of Mental Health (SAMH), psychological games and activities, and posters on psychology. The goal of Psyweek was to create awareness of the various branches and areas that psychology encompasses. The response to our event was positive and encouraging. We were given feedback from students and lecturers in Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) on how educational they found the “bite sized” information on psychology and for certain groups of non-psychology majors, how it ignited an interest in psychology for them. Many were also intrigued by the many informational posters that showcased different aspects in psychology that were not academically covered.

There were three workshops during the course of one week, each specializing in different fields of psychology. From the National Council of Psychotherapists in UK, professional hypnotherapist Stephen Lew came to guide us on Clinical Hypnotherapy. Sivan Golan Weinstein who is a practicing Art Therapist belongs to the first batch of Art Therapy practitioners in Singapore and came in specially to fill our palettes with the art of Art Therapy. A Certified Adventure therapist and Dynamic Assessor with specialized training in Mediated learning, Nicholas Gabriel Lim pushed us to think out of the box in his interactive workshop on Adventure Therapy. All in all it was successful, entertaining and educational for everyone, including the wonderful artworks that soothed our eyes from SAMH.

Acknowledgements A big thank you to SAMH, Ms. Sivan Golan Weinstein, Mr. Stephen Lew, Mr. Nicholas Gabriel Lim, all workshop attendees, the organising commitee, and all participants for making PSYCHWEEK ‘11 possible!

PSYCHWEEK 2011 PULLOUT

ART THERAPY By Sherlyne Yong Ever thought that art was reserved only for the creatively inclined? Or that art came only from the hands of a skilled individual?

PULLOUT

That may have been a misconception which some participants had when they attended the Art Therapy Workshop. It was a notion that was promptly quashed within the first few minutes of meeting Ms. Sivan Golan Weinstein. Holding a Master’s degree in Art Therapy and a Bachelor degree in Psychology and Art, Sivan belongs to the first batch of Art Therapy practitioners in Singapore. She spent the rest of the workshop sharing insights on this up and coming form of therapy, and how it focused not on artistic talent but the process of creating art. One of the building blocks of Art Therapy is the use of art for expression. Art is the language for psychotherapy work, where an individual communicates through the symbolism of images to eventually reach self-awareness. Sivan has shared that art is simply self expression through a creative process. Everyone is capable of producing art. It is essentially a medium which allows for greater self understanding of one’s own thoughts and feelings. Art Therapy can be a liberating and cathartic process that is suitable for everyone, because its non-verbal quality transcends boundaries such as age, gender and ethnicity. It also helps when working with those diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorders, or autistic children, as these are individuals who have difficulty vocalizing how they feel inside. At the same time, the therapist plays a facilitating, non-judgmental role by encouraging creativity, imagination, risk taking and adaptability through the process of making art. As there are no dimensions of good or bad in Art Therapy, this helps to increase the self esteem of the client.

To provide us with a clearer idea of Art Therapy, the later part of the workshop was spent on an interactive session where participants created their own art with paper and oil pastels. Sivan gave us terms such as “happy”, “sad” and “stress” and we were left to our own devices. Some interpretations turned out to be superficial, and others metaphorical. However, it was only after we completed a written reflection of our art piece that we truly understood the inner workings of Art Therapy. It was an epiphany of sorts. The written reflection helped in the organization of thoughts and led to the revelation of what our art work really represented. This really hit home with the concept of Art Therapy helping us help ourselves. As Sivan mentioned, the heart of Art Therapy is allowing the conscious and unconscious to surface, such that it becomes tangible and explorable. And explore we did, as we left the workshop with a greater sense of self-awareness than we had before. © Billy Tan

PSYCHWEEK 2011 PULLOUT

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PEOPLE USUALLY H AV E THE MISCONCEPTI O N OF HYPNOTHERAPY A S THE SW INGING OF A PENDULUM AND PUT T I N G PEOPLE TO SLEEP O R UNDER A SPELL . The talk given by Stephen Lew, a professional hypnotherapist from the National Council of Psychotherapists in UK, was insightful as it included a brief introduction on hypnotherapy as well as a few interesting demonstrations.

CLINICAL HYNOTHERAPY By Debbie Leong © Billy Tan

According to Stephen, hypnosis is all about tackling the unconscious mind and achieving a state of focused awareness. It is the penetration into the unconscious mind to retrieve significant information, especially suppressed memories. Through psychotherapy, a hypnotherapist aims to place clients in a relaxed mode progressively. Over a long period of time and a number of sessions, this would help to treat patients with psychological disorders such as depression, Multi Personality © Billy Tan Disorder and other fears and phobias. He presented us with a case study of one of his female patients who had panic attacks and how hypnotherapy was used to treat her psychological fear. She had low self-esteem and a fear for success. These factors in turn led to relationship issues. She realized there was something wrong when she started to feel like she was under an immense amount of stress whenever she was on the way to work. The situation got so bad that she had to be on the phone with her boyfriend for fear that she might faint while walking to work. There was once when the train broke down and she felt like she was gasping for air. Thereafter, she collapsed and hit her head on a pole. This fear that she can faint anywhere gripped her for a year, which affected her way of life, hence the hypnotherapy treatment sessions. Similarly, hypnosis can be used to treat fears and phobias, as well as to deal with patients with past traumas. Some individuals had traumatic experiences in the past, and these suppressed memories affect adulthood with regards to one’s belief system and actions. Age regression- a form of hypnosis- helps one to regress back to a traumatic event, followed by forming a closure to the event. However, before doing so, a “safe zone” is established to re-orientate the patient should the traumatic event be too much to handle for the patient. This is in accordance to how the movie Inception portrayed the levels of dreams and sub-consciousness. An interesting thing to note is that not everyone can be hypnotized- it will only be effective on those whom are willing to be hypnotized. Animals can also be hypnotized, via various ways, depending on the animal. For instance, chickens are hypnotized by turning them over and focusing their attention on a single thing. Experiments have shown that during hypnosis, the chickens’ rates of heartbeat drop. Apart from treating psychological disorders, hypnosis can also be used to help individuals improve themselves by directing to an area of improvement during state of hypnosis.

PSYCHWEEK 2011 PULLOUT

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ADVENTURE THERAPY

By Niloufer Othman A FA I R LY N E W F O R M O F T H E R A P E U T I C PROCESS KNOW N A S A DVENTURE TH ER A PY (AT) HAS BEEN AROUND FOR LESS T H A N 40 YEARS, AND ONLY BEEN IN SINGA P O R E FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 YEARS. TA U G H T IN THE WAYS OF AT BY MICHAEL G A S S , O N E O F T H E F O U N D E R ’ S , N I C H O L A S GABRIEL LIM CONDUCTED A W ORK SH OP D U R I N G S I M ’ S P S Y C H O L O G Y W E E K O N THE 11TH FEBRUARY 2011. HE IS O N E O F TWO THERAPISTS IN SINGAPORE TO H AV E B E E N TA U G H T U N D E R M I C H A E L G A S S .

Adventure Therapy (AT) is the form of healing using adventure or outward bound learning. The only way of understanding the concept is through experience and actually “doing stuff”. There is a lot of intentionality, everything has a purpose and it requires the subject or patient to be involved. A typical AT process would be for the participant to experience a state of disequilibrium by being placed in a novel setting. A cooperative environment with a unique problem solving situation will lead to a feeling of accomplishment by the participant. This is augmented by processing the experience that promotes generalization and transfer for future endeavors. AT puts participants through EU Stress, known as positive stress. Participants are made to realize what their problems are within the novelty adventure allowing them to come up with ideas and solutions that they would not normally have thought of. Just like in real life, in novelty challenges during AT, participants need to stop and take a look at the bigger picture, letting things unravel and realize or decide for themselves when they have achieved something. Participants are made to realize that there is an end to everything. AT challenges are to help participants look at their achievements, knowing in life that they can/have achieved something. Isomorphism is the representation of all the small things in the challenge that are the participant’s issues. For example, being blindfolded is the fear of uncertainty in life. The metamorphosis stage is the crucial part of AT allowing participants to connect the problems that they faced during the challenge to their real life problems. Participants are to come up with their own solutions during AT and thus connect it to their life problems, which will lead them to realize that they can overcome their problems.

Therapists need to know their clients well enough to be able to come up with a novelty adventure for their clients to participate in. This allows the therapist to know the issues the client has, to recreate a challenge that the participant will be able to accomplish.

Adventure Therapy works well with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as AT is used to enhance established treatment objectives and to provide a richer therapeutic environment for change for the therapy to be successful. The main focus is to change the thoughts and behavior of the client to a more positive one.

MIND SUMMER 2011 PAGE 7 In the movie the Black Swan, the lead ballerina Nina Sayers - under the pressure of having to play two entirely contrasting personalities, accompanied by high expectations of her strict mother and the nailbiting competition among dancers - developed an alternate personality that mirrored the role of the Black Swan, an epitome of evil. She would say things and inflict wounds upon herself when she was in another state and not recollect doing so. Though fictional, the adverse eﬀects and causes of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) do exist. In some cases, if left untreated, this psychological disorder can lead to death or other severe implications involving the law.

callosum is severed. Case Study 14 year old, Lea identified herself as Mr. S. and dressed herself as a male. She did not recognize her neighbors, relatives, teachers or belongings. She was also unable to recount her personal information. Her mother reported a significant and contrasting change in her behavior. Lea stopped going to school altogether and would stay home all day.

It was discovered that 2 years back, her father and elder sister had left the house to stay separately from Lea and LACK HITE WAN her mother. Her parents had a strained relationship over By Debbie Leong the issue of not having a son. Photo: dzaet.com Being closely attached to her sister Lea could not Psychological Causes imagine staying at home in her absence. She would The most common psychological cause among write letters and greeting cards with no address patients with MPD is childhood trauma. The to post to. Over the two years, she had repeated suppressed memory of the abuse results in he/she ‘fainting’ episodes. One morning after an episode trying to detach from reality (Science Encyclopedia, she was found in an altered state of a male identity. 2011). This defense mechanism causes them to Since then she would continue acquiring this state develop another personality to escape from the recurrently for around 10-15 days and come back in excruciating memories and extreme emotions. her original state for 1-2 days abruptly. Occasions According to the American like her birthday and festivals also MULTIPLE PERSONALITY triggered her original state. She had no Psychiatric Association, many MPD patients cannot memory of her other personality in her D ISORDER (MPD) IS A remember much of their original state. childhoods. The chance of SYNDROME MARKED BY THE a child developing MPD is After examination, it was found that she PRESENCE OF TWO OR MORE was behaving that way due to stress higher when not given time or proper psychological from the separation from her sister. DISTINCT PERSONALITIES treatment following abuse, Treatment along the way included especially when the amount WITHIN A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL, behavior therapy, psychosocial of suppressed unpleasant interventions, as well as minimal WITH ONLY ONE OF THEM memories and emotions medical treatment. She was also BEING EVIDENT AT A TIME start to build up. scheduled to meet her sister every other week. Gradually, her other personality (KUMAR, 2005) Biological Causes started to fade into oblivion. Brain chemistry also aﬀects the possibility of one having MPD. When an individual’s brain loses the Conclusion partition (corpus callosum) between the left and Not all causes of MPD are due to physical/sexual right halves of the cerebral cortex, the two halves abuse during childhood years. Lea’s birth history begin to act as separate entities. This causes and early childhood was uneventful. As seen from two dominant personalities to emerge - instead her case study, other traumatic events could trigger of the usual single dominant and subordinate MPD and treatment would then depend on the personalities. This happens especially when one respective causes of MPD. undergoes a surgery for epilepsy where the corpus

Photo: www.dadsbigplan.com3

MIND SUMMER 2011 PAGE 8

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Romantic Rejection May Hurt Just Like Physical Pain - US News and World Report health.usnews.com

Study finds your brain reacts similarly to both kinds of trauma

Why We Buy: How to Avoid 10 Costly

Cognitive Biases — PsyBlog www.spring.org.uk

The psychology of money

The Plastic Brain | Psychology Today

www.psychologytoday. com/

How stress makes us stupid.

Reverse psychology is a common term want them to do. Although reverse that pops up during conversations psychology might be a folk psychological amongst peers as well as in the media. term, it bears resemblance to some of However, it dawned upon me that the other theories in the psychology throughout all the psychology modules I literature like framing of decisions and have taken, I have rarely, if not never, come reactance. across the term “reverse psychology” Literature review being taught or used. The disparity in the Tversky and Kahneman in their paper frequency of the word used between the “The Framing of Decisions and the social and academia Photo: offthemarkcartoons.com Psychology of Choice”, points out that world sparked my the significance of how we can affect interest to find out another individual’s behavior through more about the term, our framing of the situation to them. and to deepen my By presenting a contradictory choice understanding of it. or solution of what the individual Field research had originally intended, results in a To get a better reactance – an emotional reaction understanding of how from the individual. This emotional the term is used in the reaction can lead to the individual social world, I set out adopting the choice opposite to what to observe instances of it being used. was intended and resist other persuasions A conversation arose where a group of in order to stop the emotional reaction. friends were gossiping about how one of (Brehm. 1966). the girls in the group was playing “hard Conclusion to get” in order for her suitor to be more Through my research I have found tips interested in her. It caught my attention on how to use reverse psychology more when another friend within the group effectively on others, and this could be made the remark that the girl in question useful to those who intend to use this was using reverse psychology on the too. Most importantly, the manipulator suitor. Curious how the term was being has to have the gift of gab to make used to describe the situation I got these their persuasions sound credible and friends to explain how the situation believable in order to sway the other constituted reverse psychology. They party. It has also been mentioned fervently enlighten me that by creating in literature that the use of reverse a sense of aloofness and mysteriousness, psychology is especially effective on the girl was enticing him to be more stubborn people and individuals with curious about her. This would force him inflated egos (MacDonald, Nail, & Harper, to make an extra effort to try and get to 2011). Highlighting the importance know her better, inadvertently creating of knowing who and when to use it more chances for them to be together. well proves that it is not effective with Consultation everyone. After speaking to several psychology So, have you been a victim or manipulator professors here at SIM-UB, I managed of “reverse psychology”? to get a clearer picture of how the term Would like to thank Dr. Raja, Dr. Green is linked to psychology academia. A and Dr. Redford for taking their time to summary of my conversations was that explain their opinions of the term “reverse the term “reverse psychology” psychology” is somewhat of a folk EVERSE Photo: business1001.posterous.com psychological term, used as a method of persuasion by telling somebody to do the opposite of what you actually By Eng Hao

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F OLLOWING THE CROWD By Sherlyne Yong Have you wondered about the existence of trends? Why are global movements created over the likes of leggings and apparels with animal prints? After all, some of these trends are not attractive. One possible explanation to this phenomenon is conformity.

confusion, anxiety, and uncertainty Normative conformity Normative conformity, on the other hand, is based on the fear of social rejection (Griskevicius et al., 2006). An example is the spiral of silence, in which individuals are fearful of opposing the powerful majority and thus conform to avoid being punished. As some are punished for not conforming, others speak out less for fear of being ostracized, which then escalates as more people conform and the minority group becomes smaller.

Informative conformity Wanting to behave in the right manner but not knowing how causes people to conform, Photo: kaufmanpost.com otherwise known as informative conformity. The motivation behind At other times, people conform to feel connected it is accuracy (Griskevicius, Goldstein, Mortensen, with the group regardless of what they actually Cialdini & Kenrick, 2006). Confused members think. Once a lecturer asked the class to vote for turn to their group for information and alter their either a group or individual test; I raised my hand thoughts and behavior to match. Take for instance proudly to vote for the individual test, only to see my first time at a fine dining restaurant; I looked that in my group I was the only one. When there was to my parents’ actions whenever I was unsure of a second round of voting for the same question, how to behave. This mirroring I could not bring myself to raise my UMBERS DO NOT of behavior can happen even hand. In this case, the motivation for when the majority turns out MATTER ALL IT TAKES IS normative conformity is to belong. to be wrong. A person could Our need to fit in stems from a great JUST ONE OTHER PERSON disregard his own instincts fear of being stigmatized. because he believed in the accuracy of the group’s information. Informative conformity follows the A biological look old adage of safety in numbers and the rationale According to a study by Gregory Berns, fMRI scans that is behind it. The more people there are have detected a strong activation in the amygdala agreeing on one thing, the harder it is for them to when individuals stand up against a group (Berns be wrong. This provides humans with their basic et al., 2005). The amydala’s primary role is the need – security. processing of emotional reactions. In this case, it documented the fear felt when individuals Group dynamics spoke out against the majority. However, the fear A study quoted often is Muzafer Sherif’s autokinetic disappears as long as a small minority speaks out. experiment. Participants were made to stare at Numbers do not matter; all it takes is just one other a dot of light while in a dark place and estimate person (Berns, 2010). the magnitude of its movement (Breckler, Olson & Wiggins, 2006). Initially, each respondent came Conclusion up with diﬀerent answers when asked individually. Simply put, conformity is a manifestation of our When placed in a group and asked again, the survival instincts. “When people were motivated respondents changed their initial answers to to avoid threat and to protect themselves from reach a group consensus! The participants were danger, they tended to go along with the group” called back a few weeks later to answer the same (Griskevicius et al., 2006, p.290). Ultimately, the question, but this time they were alone and were social phenomenon of conformity stems from the free to state what they really thought. Surprisingly, human need for security and belonging. the participants stuck to their answers because they genuinely believed that the group was right. The autokinetic experiment was social proof at Photo: http://lh5.ggpht.com/ play, revealing that people conform in times of

;

MIND SUMMER 2011 PAGE 10 Photo: justkeepthechange.com

WHY GIRLS LIKE THE REALLY BAD BOYS By Janice Huang Hybristophilia is a biomedical condition in which a person is sexually aroused or attracted to others who have committed violent crimes. Although little scientific research has been conducted, hybristophilia has been a recurring theme not only in mainstream media, but even in real life – and here are two great examples.

TED BUNDY (1946-1989) Crime: Lured 35 women into his car. Bludgeoned, strangled and raped his victims. Now that you know how well-loved some of the world’s biggest criminals are, let us examine the most common reasons behind hybristophilia (not ranked in any order).

Fan love: Received tons of fan mail Had “groupie” demonstrations outside the courthouse during his trial. Carole Ann Boone, who moved from Washington to Florida to be near Bundy’s prison, received a marriage proposal from him in court in 1980, which she accepted

1. Need for Attention Some women have a need for drama in their lives, which getting involved with a convicted criminal provides (Longrigg, 2005). Whenever the criminal is in the news, she gets attention as well. She also indulges herself in the idea that “it’s the two of us against the world”, and does everything within her power to convince the public that he is innocent, even after he has been proven guilty.

2. Attraction to Power Famous people attract attention and glamour, which many women view as a symbol of power (Mina, 2003). Women who view themselves as weak and incapable are especially attracted to infamous men, whom they believe have the strength they lack. However, these women are also often afraid of

CHARLES BRONSON (1952-) Fan love: Receives tons of fan mail Maintains a website, where he discusses the women who send him pornographic material of themselves Fatema Saira Rehman, who oﬀered Bronson “religious salvation”, received a marriage putting themselves in proposal from him in physical danger, and prison in 2001, which thus adopt the safest she accepted strategy by getting involved with a criminal who is already imprisoned. Crime: Dubbed “the most violent prisoner in Britain” Repeatedly attacked prison guards and held fellow inmates hostage Was moved from prison to prison 120 times

3. Self-empowerment A woman who is attached to a prisoner holds the power in the relationship. According to forensic psychologist Dr Ramsland, “She knows where he is at all times, and while she can claim that someone loves her, she does not have to endure the day-today issues of most relationships.” In many cases, these women also see themselves as heroines; they

MIND SUMMER 2011 PAGE 11 report that they see a little boy in these criminals, whom they have a responsibility to protect.

stereotype of criminals being glamorous (Merkin, 2005).

4. Media Influences The media often portrays criminals as glamorous by packaging them not only with chiselled good looks and aﬄuent lifestyles, but also with “noble” intent that justify their criminal behaviour. For instance, popular television series, Dexter, features Dexter Morgan, an ordinary family man who moonlights as a serial killer of other serial killers. The fact that many criminals, including Ted Bundy, are reputedly good-looking also does not help in dispelling this

While many of us may find hybristophilia mindboggling, even after reading the above, there has yet to be any compelling evidence demonstrating that violent criminals make poor lovers or husbands. Who are we to judge these women, when they may be enjoying relationships as positive and fulfilling as what the rest of us would deem “normal”? All I can say is this: ladies, think twice before you say you like “bad boys” – it can mean something totally diﬀerent.

19%

Q1 In my opinion a “bad boy” has smokes, has earrings the following and/or other charcteristics body piercings, is disapproved of by your family and friends engages in petty crimes (traﬃc oﬀences, theft etc) has a police record

18%

13%

11%

STRAW POLL Q2 I find myself empathising with characters whom I perceive as “bad boys” in the media (movies, television, books etc) Frequently 6%

HOW? In this online poll adult participants responded to what they think is a “bad boy”. Q3 In real life, I am willing to associate myself with people whom I perceive as “bad boys”. Frequently 16%

Never 17%

& engages in Never felonies (assault, 19% rape, murder)

has been to jail

Occasionally 75%

Occasionally 67%

DID YOU KNOW: SUGAR M AKES KIDS HYPERACTIVE... NOT! We are well aware of the increased physical activity, impulsiveness, distractibility, and decreased attention span associated with hyperactivity in kids. It is not hard to picture these same kids as rabid consumers of candy, soft drinks and a pronounced proclivity for all things sugary. It has therefore been suggested for kids to limit their intake of sugar which caused them to become hyperactive.

By Aaron Yeo and adolescent psychiatry at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago states that “part of the reason the sugar-hyperactivity myth has persisted is because people often confuse proximity with causality when it comes to food and behavior.” When Johnny is misbehaving and causing a racket at a party where lots of sugary food is served, we think back to what he ate most recently and point the blame on sugar.

It’s about time this sugary myth is busted. Studies have shown that the consumption of sugar is no way related to hyperactivity. Instead, it has everything to do with the way we perceive the reaction of kids and their change in behavior in the context to situations where large amount of sugar is consumed. Mina Dulcan, MD, head of child

The next time you’re in a situation where some all knowing person starts complaining that the kids are hyperactive because of the sugar they consume; politely tell them that you have not consumed excessive sugar. Then proceed to move about excessively, act impulsively, creating mayhem in general.

MIND SUMMER 2011 PAGE 12

:CHIVALRY Photo: americantransman.files.wordpress.com

Chivalry Is Alive... But On Life Support

Chevalerie

A male friend once told me, “Women want equal rights, but also want men to be gentlemanly. They just want the best of both worlds.” His bitterness was so overwhelming that for a moment, I was convinced. Then I realised: here was a man who had no idea what chivalry or feminism is about.

Chivalry comes from the French chevalerie, from chevalier aka knight. In modern English, chivalry means the ideals, virtues, or characteristics of knights. This was later adopted as the code of honor of the gentleman, and the foundation of fencing etiquette.

Feminism is about women fighting for equal recognition in society as men; it is not about women completely abandoning their gender roles and becoming men! Let’s face it – women will always go for men who can provide for them. A man who opens doors and pulls out chairs for you is a man showing his willingness (and hopefully, ability) to provide for you in larger ways. Even in an age where women earn as much as men, women’s tastes have not changed. Likewise, men will always go for women who are minimally-attractive, because it is an indicator of sexuality and fertility. Even in an age where the role of women has expanded beyond just bearing healthy oﬀspring, men’s preferences still remain the same. Women don’t complain about this – so why should a man Photo: timmorehouse.wordpress.com complain about being gentlemanly? What both men and women need to understand is this – chivalry has nothing to do with “equal rights”. Instead, it is an integral part of the intricate mate selection process. Although a woman has no right to berate a man for not being gentlemanly, a man cannot expect to have many mating options either, should he choose to let chivalry die. By Janice Huang Photo: nigelbarker.tv

However, in modern times, not only are men less inclined to perform gentlemanly acts, ladies are much more likely to refuse. Nothing helps a woman discover her inner feminist more than the erroneous portrayal of chivalry; a chauvinistic declaration that women cannot even handle simple things like opening doors. It insinuates that any offer of service is a negative judgment of her strength and competence. Because of this I find it most helpful to add a disclaimer. Instead of merely offering to carry something, I say something like, “Could I carry that for you? I know you can carry it on your own, but consider it an act of service.” When I phrase my offer this way it is amazing how much more positive the response is. Another misrepresentation of chivalry is where men serve women based on the selfish criteria of attraction. For these men, chivalry is nothing more than respectable flirtation. Men, if we only show courtesy to certain girls, we are not gentlemen. You see, chivalry is a simple decision to place the needs and comfort of the ladies before ours. Gentlemanly behavior is an attitude of heart, not a set of rules. Once the proper mindset is in place, opening doors, carrying bags, and the like become natural consequences.

By Wilson Lim

issue 6

may-aug 2011

Mind appendix False Titbits

Singapore Institute of Management Psychology Society

(page 3)

American Psychology Association. retrived from http://www.apa.org/topics/anger/control.aspx#

Handy Dand: Knowing Your Handedness

(page 6)

1 Milsom, L. (2008). Your left-handed child: making things easy for left handers in a right-handed world. (pp. 19-37). Great Britain: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. 2 Gnette. (2008, May 20). Interesting characteristics of a left-handed person. Retrieved on 22nd January 2011 from: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/749581/interesting_ characteristics_of_a_lefthanded.html?cat=9 3 Pagay, M. (2011) Characteristics of left vs. right brain dominance. Retrieved on 22nd January 2011 from: http://www.helium.com/items/101235-characteristics-of-left-vsright-brain-dominance 4 April issue of Neuropsychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA). 2004. Article: “Interhemispheric interaction during global-local processing in mathematically gifted adolescents, average-ability youth, and college students,” Harnam Singh, Ph.D., U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Michael W. O’Boyle, PhD, University of Melbourne, Australia; Neuropsychology, Vol. 18, No. 2.http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/neu182371.pdf

Roger W Sperry

(page 6)

Gazzangiga, M. F. (2008). Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique. HarperCollins Publishers.

Reverse Psychology

(page 8)

1 Tversky, Amos. Kahneman, Daniel. (1981). The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice. American Association for the Advancement of Science , 453-458. 2 Brehm, J. W. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. Academic Press . 3 MacDonald, G., Nail, P. R., & Harper, J. R. (2011). Do people use reverse psychology? An exploration of strategic self-anticonformity. Social Influence , 1-14.

MIND SUMMER 2011 APPENDIX

Conformity: Following The Crowd

(page 9)

1Berns, G.S. (2010). Iconoclast: A neuroscientist reveals how to think differently. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. 2 Berns, G.S., Chappelow, J., Zink, Z.F., Pagnoni, G., Martin-Skurski, M.E., & Richards, J. (2005). Neurobiological correlates of social conformity and independence during mental rotation. Biological Psychiatry, 58, 245253. 3 Breckler, S.J., Olson, J.M., & Wiggins, E.C. (2006). Social psychology alive. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth 4 Griskevicius, V., Goldstein, N.J., Mortensen, C.R., Cialdini, R.B., & Kenrick, D.T. (2006). Going along versus going alone: When fundamental motives facilitate strategic (non)conformity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(2), 281-294.

Hybristophilia: Why Girls Like the Really Bad Boys

(page 10)

1 Longrigg, C. (2005, January 27). Women who have killer instincts. The Independent. Retrieved October 17, 2010, from http://www.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article16901.ece 2 Merkin, D. (2005, August 28). Why are women drawn to men behind bars? New York Times Magazine. Retrieved October 17, 2010, from http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/pdf/Archive/Alt/alt.truecrime/2005-08/msg06347.pdf 3 Mina, D. (2003, January 13). Why are women drawn to men behind bars? The Guardian. Retrieved October 17, 2010, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jan/13/gender.uk

Did You Know: Sugar Makes Kids Hyperactive... NOT!

(page 11)

1 Warner , J. (2004, May 28). Can food really affect your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behavior?. Retrieved from http://www. medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52516

MPD: Black/ White Swan?

(page 12)

1 Kumar, D. 2005. Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences. Multiple personality disorder- a case report from northern India. Retrieved on 27 February 2011 from http://www.gjpsy.uni-goettingen.de/gjparticle-gupta-a-multiple.pdf 2 Mental Disorder Network. 2008. Causes of multiple personality disorder. Retrieved on 27 February 2011 from http://www.mental-disorder.net/wb/pages/personality-disorders/multiple-personality-disorder/causes-of-multiple-personality-disorder.php 3 Science Encyclopedia. 2011. Causes of multiple personality disorder. Retrieved on 28 February 2011 from http://science.jrank.org/pages/4496/Multiple-Personality-Disorder-Causes-multiple-personality-disorder. html 4 Thirty Mile Zone. 1 January 2008. Britneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multiple personality disorder. Retrieved on 28 February 2011 from http://www.tmz.com/2008/01/17/britneys-multiple-personality-disorder/