Swallowyen~~ bird's songs

Life Lesson

2011-06-19T14:38:00.006+08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvalKH68vZ8&NR=1&feature=fvwp

I love this learning english series on youtube. The text below are copied from the link about sad/happiness. How true it is. It is easier to grow up as a mature adult through hardship but not when you are laying in a cosy bed..

It would be fair to say that we all go through times when things seem bad. People can sometimes let you down. People have the ability to say things that make you unhappy. Events and circumstances may come along and destroy your plans for future.

As poet Stephen Spender once wrote: "You must live through the time when everything hurts. "

Life comes with no guarantees or promises.

The sunny days of contentment can only be truely appreciated through the dark gloomy nights of despair.

For without sadness, we would never really know what it is like to be truely happy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Richard Rohr's talk- his list of five promises that define true adulthood is what he says gives a person the ability to live in the world as a grown up.

Five things Every adult should know......
1. Life is hard.
2.You are not that important.
3. Your life is not about you.
4. You're not in control.
5.You are going to die.

I Believe in You- IL Divo & Celine Dion

2011-06-16T23:19:00.003+08:00

A meaningful song (English/French song). I received this song few years ago from my friend. It was highly recommended by her as a nice song. I did not think so at that moment, only now I understand the meaning of the lyrics.

Lonely, the path you have chosen
A restless road, no turning back
One day you will find your light again
Don't you know
Don't let go be strong
Follow your heart
Let your love lead through the darkness
Back to a place you once knew
I believe, I believe, I believe in you
Follow your dreams
Be yourself, an angel of kindness
There's nothing that you cannot do
I believe, I believe, I believe in you

Tout seulTu t'en iras tout seulCœur ouvertA l'universPoursuis ta quêteSans regarder derrièreN'attends pasQue le jourSe lèveSuis ton étoileVa jusqu'où ton rêve t'emporteUn jour tu le toucherasSi tu crois, si tu crois, si tu croisEn toiSuis ta lumièreN'éteins pas la flamme que tu portesAu fonds de toi souviens-toiQue je crois, que je crois, que je croisEn toi

Someday I'll find you
Someday you'll find me too
And when I hold you close
I know that it's true
Follow your heart
Let your love lead through the darkness
Back to a place you once knew
I believe, I believe, I believe in you
Follow your dreams
Be yourself an angel of kindness
There's nothing that you cannot do
I believe, I believe, I believe in you
I believe, I believe, I believe in you (x2)

Mood swings of bipolar patients can be predicted, study shows

2011-05-21T15:39:00.002+08:00

Mood swings of bipolar patients can be predicted, study shows

Currently Iam writing a report about a patient who is having bipolar symptoms. He has job, family related stress and is having an episode of depression. Again, google is my best friend for helping me to come out with better ideas to write assignment =)
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ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2011) — The future mood swings of people with bipolar disorder can be predicted by their current thoughts and behaviour, a study published April 19, 2011 has found.

Psychologists from the Universities of Manchester and Lancaster say their findings are important because they mean talking therapies, like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), could prove effective treatments for the condition.

People with bipolar are prone to extreme mood swings that take them from great emotional highs to the pits of depression; the cause of these mood swings is often put down to the patients' genes and biology rather than their own thoughts and actions.

For this latest study -- published in the American Psychological Association journal Psychological Assessment -- the researchers followed 50 people with bipolar disorder for a month. The team found that the patients' thinking and behaviour predicted their future mood swings even when their medical history had been accounted for.

"Individuals who believed extreme things about their moods -- for example that their moods were completely out of their own control or that they had to keep active all the time to prevent becoming a failure -- developed more mood problems in a month's time," said study lead Dr Warren Mansell, in Manchester's School of Psychological Sciences.

"In contrast, people with bipolar disorder who could let their moods pass as a normal reaction to stress or knew they could manage their mood, faired well a month later. These findings are encouraging for talking therapies -- such as CBT -- that aim to help patients to talk about their moods and change their thinking about them."

A new form of CBT, known as TEAMS (Think Effectively About Mood Swings), is being developed by Dr Mansell and colleagues, at The University of Manchester. It aims to improve on previous therapies by focusing on current problems, like depression, anxiety and irritability, and helping patients to set goals for their life as a whole.

The aim of this new approach is to encourage patients to accept and manage a range of normal emotions -- like joy, anger and fear -- and a controlled trial is about to start following a successful case series of the TEAMS approach.

How to embrace laughter, & Quick Tips for Reframing

2011-05-21T09:42:00.001+08:00

How to embrace laughter.

http://www.theemotionmachine.com/the-psychology-of-laughter

Here are some suggestions of things you can do to embrace laughter:

Learn to laugh at yourself. Seriously, laughing at your mistakes allows you to take them less seriously and not get so hung up on the little things.

Learn to crack jokes about stressful situations rather than complaining.

Keep stuff around you that lightens the mood. A toy on your desk or a funny poster in your room can become a daily reminder to not be so serious all of the time.

Make games out of things and be more playful, especially with children or pets who appreciate the attention.

Watch a funny movie or TV show.

Find one or two comics to follow on a daily basis. Read them during your morning coffee or on the train to work.

Quick Tips for Reframing

http://www.theemotionmachine.com/quick-tips-for-reframing

Reframing is to look at a situation or experience from another perspective so that we can learn something new or think and feel better about a past event. Some ways we can reframe include:

Turning a negative into a positive.

If something bad or painful happens in our lives, we can often reframe that experience as something that made us a stronger or smarter person in the end. Failures can be seen as learning experiences. Psychologists are also now identifying something known as “post traumatic growth,” where those who go through trauma end up more resilient and optimistic. Being able to find the good in the bad is a key characteristic for any healthy mind.

Broadening your perspective.

In the moment, a bad experience can feel like the end of the world. But when you look back on it after a week, month, year, or even decade, the event often loses a lot of its affect. How many of you can look back on an experience you once thought was really terrible, and now it seems like nothing? Sometimes we wonder why we ever got so upset in the first place. Imagine yourself 20 years down the road, will you care as much about those same things that are troubling you now? When we broaden our perspective, things don’t often seem as important as we like to make them out to be.

The “things could be worse” perspective.

No matter how bad things are for you, there is almost always an alternative situation that is even worse. Imagining how things can be worse can help us be more grateful toward the things we do have, and not necessarily focus on just the things we lost. This attitude works especially well for aspects of life that are outside of our control. Maybe your house burned down and you lost everything, that is an awful situation, but you can reframe it and think “at least I still have my friends and family.” Maybe you are currently going through some financial troubles, but does it really compare to the lives of those in poor third world countries? Imagining how things can be worse is a great way to change your perspective and be more thankful for what you have.

You can read more about this kind of reframe (from the perspective of Stoicism) here.

Empathic perspective-taking.

Empathic perspective-taking is a type of reframe where we imagine ourselves experiencing a situation from another person’s perspective. By stepping into someone else’s shoes we can get a better idea of their intentions and why they acted the way they did. This can be a very useful skill for understanding why people sometimes do things that hurt us (intentional or not), and we can better learn to forgive by letting go of resentment, grudges, and other negative feelings we hold against others.

JUST FOR TODAY!

2011-05-15T09:07:00.000+08:00

10 little thoughts from Dale Carnegie’s book: How to stop worrying and start living:

1. Just for today I will be happy. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that “most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.

2. Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.

3. Just for today I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse it nor neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my bidding.

4. Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.

5. Just for today I will exercise my soul : I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out.

6. Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticise not at all, nor find fault with anything and not try to regulate nor improve anyone.

7. Just for today I will try to live through this day only, not to tackle my whole life problem at once. I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.

8. Just for today I will have a programme. I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. It will eliminate two pests, hurry and indecision.

9. Just for today I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax. In this half-hour sometimes I will think of God, so as to get a little more perspective into my life.

10. Just for today I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, and to believe that those I love, love me.

If we want to develop a mental attitude that will bring us peace and happiness, here is Rule 1: Think and act cheerfully, and you will feel cheerful.

I don't want to miss a thing-lyrics

2011-05-15T08:28:00.000+08:00

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you babe
And I don't want to miss a thing

Lying close to you feeling your heart beating
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Wondering if it's me you're seeing
Then I kiss your eyes
And thank God we're together
I just want to stay with you in this moment forever
Forever and ever

I don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you babe
And I don't want to miss a thing

I don't want to miss one smile
I don't want to miss one kiss
I just want to be with you
Right here with you, just like this
I just want to hold you close
Feel your heart so close to mine
And just stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time Yeah yeah yeah

I don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you babe
And I don't want to miss a thing

I Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you babe
And I don't want to miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you babe
And I don't want to miss a thing

Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
And I don't want to miss a thing

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/aerosmith/#share

How do you use the word being in english grammar? Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_use_the_word_being_in_english_grammar#ixzz1MHe1GGEH

2011-05-14T08:51:00.001+08:00

The word being has several forms: am, is, was, were, be, being, been. In general the word is used to mean that something is currently in a particular state. For example, I might say that "You are being annoying" or that "It is raining outside. I will give some examples below of the different uses:

am (about oneself): I am at home. I am friendly. I am a person.

is: (about an object other than oneself): She is friendly. It is snowing outside. Pizza is a tasty food.

was: (past form of am and is). I was walking home. She was friendly but now she is mean.

were: (plural of was): They were walking to the store.

to be: (this is the non-conjugated form of the verb, it means to exist or to be in a certain state) To be good at archery, one must practice a lot. You should be good, and you will receive a treat.

being: (this indicates that something is in the on-going, present state of existing or having a given property) You are being silly. Being good at something takes work.

been (indicates that something has been ongoing in the past and up through the present): The stock prices have been plummeting for the past week. The Mets have really been on a bad streak lately.

How to reset hibernate mode in Vista

2011-05-04T13:27:00.002+08:00

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/re-enable-hibernate-option-in-windows-vista/

I often have to reset this hibernate option for my precious laptop as I accidentally delete everything to boost up the memory (I dislike the slow speed..., which is distrupting my work). So I have decided to copy into my blog instead, although this piece of technical knowledge has nothing to do with psychology/life.. just to make myself convenient, instead of searching google again =)

An alternative method with more steps was suggested by Shane in the comments. If the above doesn’t fix your problem, you can use these steps.

Go to the command prompt icon in the Start menu under Accessories and right click the icon: click “Run as administrator”.
Paste: “powercfg.exe /hibernate on” and hit Enter and also paste “powercfg -h on” and hit enter just to be safe.
Open Control Panel and type in “Hibernate” in the Search.
Click “Turn hibernation on or off”
Click “Change advance power settings”
Scroll to and expand the “Sleep” option.
Select “Off” to the “Allow hybrid sleep” option.
Scroll to and expand the “Power buttons and lid” option.
Select “Hibernate” for the “Sleep button action” option. 10. Select “Hibernate” for the “Start menu power button” option.

The measure of the human intelligence

2011-04-26T13:34:00.002+08:00

(copied it from my course notes about intelligence under psychological assessment & psychopathology)

 There is a common belief that human intelligence is something that can be
defined, measured, and neatly described with a number.
 To find this holy number, the educational gods (testing services, publishers,
schools, and the like), have declared that humans shall take a standardized test,
after which, the number of test errors shall be subtracted from the total number
possible and a score given unto them. Thus sayith the gods.
 This score is then compared to the scores of a large group of humans who are of
the same age. These humans are ranked according to where their scores fall
within this same-age group.
 They are then given a percentile ranking that shows how many same-age
humans scored above and below them. Finally, numbers are assigned to each
percentile rank and this number is said to indicate intelligence (Walters &
Gardner, 1985).

Those humans who have bigger numbers are thought to have more of it. They are
the chosen ones, the sheep. Those humans who have smaller numbers are thought
to have less of it. These are the unsaved, the goats. This sacred number, this very
holy entity is called intelligence quotient or IQ.
 From this perspective high atop a mountain, intelligence is a twodimensional
entity, existing on a paper plane with only height and width. In this
numerated, two-dimensional world, small-numbered students are put in slower
lines, but then we wonder why they don't progress as fast. High-numbered students
are put in a faster line and allowed entrance into special programs and fine highnumbered
schools.
 These high-numbered students come out of these high-numbered schools and
become high-numbered people, except now their numbers have to do with bank
accounts, investment portfolios, and other such things. These high-numbered
people mate and have high-numbered children, and the circle of life continues.

Andrew P. Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor, Holistic Education
Department of Educational Studies: Special Populations
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Mankato, MN 56001

2011-04-26T10:59:00.001+08:00

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/positive-psychology/2011/04/7-factors-that-predict-positive-aging/

7 Factors that Predict Positive Aging

By Joe Wilner

The increasing number of older adults will be staggering over the next two decades. In order to have positive well-being, it is paramount that “baby-boomers,” as well as future generations, consider the consequences of their lifestyle on mental and physical health.

This means having a healthy dose of positive emotions, the absence of physical disability, and general life-satisfaction as the people reach the second half of their life.

What can people do then to support their positive aging?

There are large individual differences in physical and cognitive functioning of older adults. Negative stereotypes about aging may lead older adults to negatively interpret the natural changes that accompany aging and develop limiting expectations.

Though, older adults who engage in regular physical and mental activity, as well as having a positive attitude, improve the odds of successful aging. They tend to be healthier and live longer than adults who are sedentary and don’t stimulate themselves intellectually.

Research has also revealed seven factors that predict positive aging.

Not being a smoker or stopping smoking young

If research and conventional knowledge has revealed anything, it’s that smoking ultimately has negative long term consequences. In a research review by George E. Valliant, the single most predictive factor for healthy physical aging is heavy smoking before age 50. By stopping smoking by age 45 there is no significantly apparent effects seen by age 70 or 80.

Adaptive coping style

The ability to deal with challenges when they arise and find value in the hardships of life is a major factor in healthy aging. To have positive mental health it is essential to respond to stress in a proactive and nourishing manner, as opposed to a damaging and toxic manner, such as addictive behaviors.

Absence of alcohol abuse

When it comes to physical and mental illness there is a strong relationships with alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is a major cause of relationship, work, and general health problems. By removing alcohol and other substance abuse healthy aging is much more likely.

Healthy weight

Having a normal body mass index (BMI), which is the approximation of normal body fat based on someone’s height and weight, is another factor in healthy aging. Not being significantly overweight provides the means to have greater independence and mobility in aging, as well as preventing the major health issues that come with obesity, such as stroke, coronary artery disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Stable marriage

Relationships are a vital part of emotional health. Relationships offer us support, joy, and recreation. When people have stable relationships without divorce, separation, and serious conflict it offers a greater chance of enduring happiness and satisfaction.

Exercise

With all the other notions previously discussed about physical and mental health, incorporating physical exercise is an important factor to bring everything together. Having at least 30 minutes of exercise 3-4 days a week can really improve mental and physical health.

Years of education

Overall years of education have been shown to relate to knowledge of self-care, perseverance, and future orientation. Having a focus on future health and well-being is important in taking a proactive approach to positive aging. More education relates to healthy habits and behavior that improve physical health, and a general knowledge that can translate into increased awareness of how we relate to others.

There are many other factors involved with positive aging, though working to keep an active and engaging lifestyle is the major routine to continue or reach. The assumption that getting older is dismal and humdrum doesn’t apply as long as we take our lives into our own hands and take effort to better ourselves and make personal growth a life-long mission.

Reference

Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2004). Positive Psychology in Practice. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

I see you- Avatar

2011-04-23T17:26:00.000+08:00

Walking through a dream, I see you
My light and darkness breathing hope of new life
Now I live through you and you through me, enchanted
I pray in my heart that this dream never ends

I see me through your eyes
Breathing new life, flying high
Your love shines the way into paradise
So I offer my life as a sacrifice
I live through your love

You teach me how to see all thats beautiful
My senses touch your world
I never pictured
Now I give my hope to you, I surrender
I pray in my heart that this world never ends

I see me through your eyes
Breathing new life, flying high
Your love shines the way into paradise
So I offer my life
I offer my love for you

And my heart was never open
And my spirit never free
To the world that you have shown me
But my eyes could not envision
All the colours of love and of life evermore,
Evermore

I see me through your eyes
Breathing new life, flying high
Your love shines the way into paradise
So I offer my life as a sacrifice
I live through your love
I live through your life

I see you

Only You- The Fling Pickets

2011-02-21T19:59:00.003+08:00

I love this song very much. Got to know this song from Malaysia Tv advertisment regarding 'father's day' many years ago. Someday I listened it through colleague's radio and managed to trace down the title of this song. Love the relaxing music and simple lyrics =)

Only You- The Fling Pickets

Looking from a window above
It's like a story of love
Can you hear me.
Came back only yesterday
Moving further away
Want you near me.

* ( All I needed was the love you gave
All I needed for another day
All I ever knew
Only you )

Sometimes when I think of your name
And it's only a game
And I need you
Listening to the words that you say
Getting harder to stay
When I see you

*(all i needed....)
ba da da dum, ba da da dum da da da dum da da da da da da dum
*(all i needed...)

This is gonna take a long time
And I wonder what's mine
Can't take no more
Wonder if you'll understand
It's just the touch of your hand
Behind a closed door

* (all i needed..)
ba da da dum ba da da dum..(fade out)

100 Simple Secrets of Happy People

2010-05-08T22:53:00.001+08:00

(copied from a book)

1.Your life has purpose and meaning
2.Use a strategy for happiness
3. you don't have to win every time
4. your goals should be aligned with one another
5.Choose your comparisons wisely
6.Cultivate friendships
7. turn off the tv
8.accept yourself- unconditionally
9.remember where you came from
10.limit yourself to thinking about one subject as you lie down to sleep
11. friendship beats money
12. Have Realistic expectations
13. Be open to new ideas
14.Share with others how important they are to you
15. If you are not sure, guess positively
16. Believe in yourself
17.Don't believe in yourself too much
18. Don't face your problems alone
19.age is not to be feared
20.develop a household routine
21. don't be overprotective
22. Pay attention. You may have what you want
23. Don't let Your religious beliefs fade
24.Do what you say you are going to do
25.Don't be aggressive with your friends and family
26.Root for the home team
27.Don't confuse stuff with success
28.every relationship is different
29.Don't think "what if...?"
30.Volunteer
31.If you can't reach your goals, your goals will hurt you
32. Exercise
33. Little things Have Big meanings
34. It's not what happened, it's how ou think about what happened
35.Develop some common interests with loved ones
36. Laugh
37. Don't let your entire life hinge on one element
38. Share of yourself
39. Busy is better than bored
40. Satisfaction is relative
41. learn to use a computer
42. try to think less about the people and things that bother you
43. eat some fruits every day
44. Keep your family close
45. enjoy what you have
46. think in concrete terms
47. be socially supportive
48. don't blame yourself
49. be a peacemaker
50. cherish animals
51. make your work a calling
52. never trade your morals for your goals
53. don't pretend to ignore things your loved ones do that bother you
54. get a good night's sleep
55. buy what you like
56.accomplish something every day
57. be flexible
58. events are temporary
59. be your own fan
60. join a group
61. be positive
62. there will be an end, bu you can be prepared
63. how we see the world is more important than how the world is
64. keep a pen and paper handy
65. help the next person who needs some minor assistance
66. take care enot to harshly criticize family and friends
67. some people like the big picture, and others like the details
68. do things you are good at
69. go visit your neighbor
70. smile
71. don't accept tv's picture of the world
72. you always have a choice
73. be agreeable
74. don't ignore one part of your life
75. listen to music
76. let your goals guide you
77. use your job positively
78. don't forget to have fun
79. believe in ultimate justice
80. reminisce
81. be conscientious
82. don't dwell on unwinnable conflicts

to be continued...

Tired. Environment

2010-02-24T13:35:00.007+08:00

I feel tired. Not feeling tired physically, but tired mentally...I am learning how to stay strong- how could I pretend as if nothing has happened?

I always bear in mind that human life is complex and definitely not a safe sailling journey. Yes, we aware that many people are less fortunate than us..and yet, we can't help feeling the negative emotions when the expectations and the reality are totally different.

While spending my precious and limited time with my parents, I feel so relax at my home- the real home sweet home. There are many birds singing or even fighting for territories... created all sorts of 'noises' in my garden. I always noticed that many birds take turn to drink water from a small bucket where we placed in the backyard.

Back in S'pore, I am alone again. This is not my own house, not my own bedroom, not my own bed. There are no dogs running around/greeting me happily at the gate. No garden. This is a tiny island where everyone is working hard to earn dollars and cents. Noise pollution is a norm. I realize that only when I visited my caucasian ex-coursemate who lives in Bk Timah. BT housing estates are so quiet-just like Malaysia. I am too get used to the noises of HDB.

Now, I fully understand why my good friend explained that she couldn't stand the days working in KL alone. Thereafter, she decided to move back to her hometown, feels happier to earn less but enjoys to live together with family members.

Environment: the common attitudes towards a negative/unpleasant environment
1. leave the environment
2. change the environment
3. tolerate the environment
4. grumbling and staying in the same environment

At this moment, unfortunately, I am No. 4.... This is just an idiot bird who enjoys grumbling and yet find it too hard to leave sg....No matter what, S'pore is a good place to find worms. This is the price I choose to have. Pathetic.

Kiasu- learning piano as fast as possible?

2010-01-08T15:50:00.006+08:00

I already encountered at least 2 parents asked me such questions:

" Any faster method for my daughter to finish her piano course till grade 8 standard?"

" How many songs my son able to learn each week?" (asked me a few times..within 6 weeks -the son just started his lesson)

I would think that this is just part of kiasu culture. Walking down the learning path, efficiency is important. Simple reason as that.

1. Save time, save $, save nagging ' hey son/daughter, you need to practise!'?

2. Perhaps, the parents would have a chance to show off " Oh, my son/daughter finished her/his grade 8 by the age of xx"

============================================================

I chanced upon this piano teacher's website and really like her opinion on this matter. Enjoy~

http://dorothychiamusic.multiply.com/journal/item/13/Piano_Exams_what_if_the_student_is_not_ready

There seems to be a hidden prestige behind the ABRSM piano graded exams. EVERY piano student wants to FINISH grade 8 in the shortest time possible. Could it be the influence of Singapore's education system?

Now what if a child is underperforming at the weekly piano lesson and in the teacher's professional opinion as well as for the best interest of the child, the teacher makes the decision that the student is not ready to take exam. Often, this decision is faced by parents as if it is the END OF THE WORLD!

Why is the child considered not ready?
1. The progress is much slower than that of his or her average peers.
2. Scales, sightreading, exam pieces are all not proficient.
3. The student is struggling.
4. The student is a slow learner.
5. The student is just not interested in the exam preparation, much to the exasperation of the piano teacher and the parent!

Sure, every parent wants their child to excel. So does every teacher. But what if the child cannot deliver? Is the mental health of the child less important than a paper qualification? So what if he is grade 8 but cannot play a single piece of music outside of his lesson? It is far more important that students gain the skill of MUSICIANSHIP.

I remember that when I was a student, I hated Maths! I struggled. I just don't have the aptitude for Maths. It remains to this day a mystery...and I am very happy to leave it at that. Sure I use maths to work out my bills, my income, but that is about it. Don't ever ask me to be an accountant or work in a bank. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. So when I see some of my students with no aptitude for Music struggle with making sense of those tow gays on the page.....I can empathise with that feeling. No amount of sceaming is going to produce an eureka experience for the student.

So just because the student cannot do exam, then what?
Well, some students take 2 years to prepare for a grade. Some students continue to learn the piano 'for fun'. Some students wait it out....and then when they are ready....they will take an exam that they are confident and ready.

There is no prize for FINISHING grade 8. Who are you competing with anyway? And, neither mommy nor the piano teacher can take the exam for you. You are unique and an individual. Only YOU can decide to learn music, to practise, to enjoy and to create. Music is as fun as you make it out to be.

Why a Dog is a Woman's Best Friend

2009-11-20T18:57:00.003+08:00

This is funny, so I just post it here.

***7 Reasons Why You Should Dump Your Boyfriend and Get a Dog***

A dog is not only a woman’s best friend. It makes a better friend than a guy. Dogs have such wonderful traits that few men can match up to them.

Attention Girls, if your boyfriend gives you an ultimate: “Either the dog goes or me”, here are 7 reasons why you should dump your boyfriend and keep the dog.

1. Dogs do not criticize your shortcoming - whether you are thin or fat; size does not matter. They do not criticize your cooking and they eat anything you cook – overcook or undercook. They are happy with whatever choice you make for them.

2. Dogs are always happy to see you and they show it. Dogs miss you when you are gone. They act excited when you come home. They are always in good mood, especially for a walk in the park. Their affection are contagious, they cheer you up. They make your day, any day, every day.

3. Dogs will love you unconditionally for life, for better or for worse. Dogs mean it when they kiss you. Dogs do not have problems expressing affection in public. They are loyal to you for life and will never leave you for another bitch.

4. Dogs don’t feel threatened by your intelligence. They don’t hold grudges against you. They don’t cheat on you. Instead they protect you. They look after your house against intruders while you sleep. They can take care of their own need. They can lick themselves so you don’t have. They spend time with you. They will always have time for you. Always.

5. Dogs can be trained. You can teach dog new tricks. Dogs can get out of the coach and do something. They don’t run your life. They don’t tell you what to do. They don’t complain about your friends. They don’t brag about who they sleep with.

6. They think you are god. They think you look great in everything. They don’t abuse you and they don’t get drunk.

7. They make great blankets. They love to snuggle. They are a friend for life.

http://hubpages.com/hub/7-Reasons-Why-You-Should-Dump-Your-Boyfriend-and-Get-a-Dog

Nursing Home in JB

2009-08-20T15:54:00.012+08:00

This is a very controversial topic- should Singaporeans consider nursing homes in Jb instead of Singapore when they are old? It seems that 99% of the singaporeans against this idea, based on what I read (comment of the webpage). We don't talk about whether it is good or bad to place old folks at the nursing home in this context, which is a different perpective ( Although i disagree). However, the cost of living is getting higher..I guess these people who disagreed today may 'forced' to agree after 20 years down the road. Do you know that the new HDB room size is smaller now? 9 sft? I heard that even the executive HDB size is 'downgrading' too. (Afterall, all are built on a tiny island) Pathetic but no choice.

Just a sharing: I used to rent a HDB (21th floor) common big bedroom (no aircon) in Queenstown for $380 back in year 2006. The scenary view from my bedroom was excellent, facing the Bukit Timah forest and a big grass field. Today, you have to pay atleast $700-800 for the same bedroom. Recently, I did check the market price for this queenstown HDB with 4 bedrooms ..and yes, it is estimated worth $700,000. This is so called the most expensive HDB area in Singapore...I guess that only atleast middle upper class ( or upper middle class?) families afford to stay there. No wonder the cars parked at the Q HDB downstairs are all...

My student told me that her dad got salary cut from 4k to 3.5k. Her mother is a housewife. So, the 3.5k salary is cater for 4 people, plus the HDB loan etc...then how about the grandparents if he is the only child? Medical fees for old folks? Government is planning to enforce the law for expecting people to taking care of their parents. Life is getting tough for everyone.

My good friend commented that " actually do you realise that ...you are getting starting to sound more and more like a s'porean?" As a PR here, I don't know what to say. Sigh.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/02/nursing-homes-in-johor-bahru-revisited/

The following are three reports from the Straits Times (2009) and from Today (2006) reporting Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan’s remarks about cheaper nursing homes which Singaporeans can go to, in neighbouring countries, and the exchange in Parliament on 10 Feb, 2009, between Mr Khaw and Workers’ Party MPs, Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim.
In 2009:
Straits Times, Feb 10:
SINGAPOREANS could consider living in nursing homes in neighbouring Johor Baru, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan suggested yesterday.
It would be cheaper, yet be near enough to Singapore for family members to visit and for residents to return for medical care if necessary, he said.
He told Parliament yesterday that he recently visited a site in Johor Baru where a Singaporean investor was planning to build a 200-bed nursing home.
He asked the investor about the costs involved, and was stunned at how low they were.
He said: ‘It is mind-boggling. The cost of land and construction cost is so low that my cost of putting up just a polyclinic (in Singapore) is probably more than his cost of putting up a 200-bed nursing home (in Johor Baru).
‘The monthly cost of keeping a resident in a private nursing home in Singapore, you can stretch it easily to pay at least 2-1/2 months of nursing home care in Johor Baru.’
If any medical problems cropped up, the elderly could be taken back to Singapore by ambulance, he said.
For most Singaporeans, visiting a relative in a Johor Baru nursing home would not pose significant difficulties, he said.
The investor, who is a nursing home chief executive, told him that many people visited their relatives weekly, even in nursing homes in Singapore.
Mr Khaw added: ‘Of course many visit daily, but quite a significant number visit only during the weekends, so what is the difference in putting them in Johor Baru?’

In 2006
Today, April 22
Dumping parents worst sin, says Khaw
Minister clarifies comments made on creating retirement homes in nearby countries
HIS recent comments on creating retirement villages in neighbouring countries have caused a mini-controversy, but Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said he was misquoted.
“My comment on retirement was completely incidental. Now it has blown up into a big story and there is so much misunderstanding and accusation (that) Khaw Boon Wan is proposing that we dump our parentsin Batam,” said Mr Khaw after an event on Friday.
He was referring to an interview done with MediaCorp’s Channel 8 this week, in which he was quoted as saying: “My personal view is, our land is expensive. But we have nearby neighbours in Johor, Batam andBintan. The elderly want to reach their doctors within half to one hour. So retirement villages in neighbouring countries is possible, barring the cross-border hassle. It is best to find cheap land onshort leases.”
This sparked a mini-debate, with readers cautioning against the “exile” or “banishment” of old folks away from their homeland and the implications of such a move.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr Khaw said his proposal has been misunderstood to mean that Singaporeans “dump” their parents in nearby countries.
“The question (from the reporter) was that there were developers who said that land here is rather expensive,” he clarified. “And that’s why I notice that Minister Mah Bow Tan has now shortened the lease, so hopefully land price (in Singapore) will become cheaper. But then they (the developers) said all right, Batam is even cheaper. So I said well, if Batam is even cheaper, then it’s up to you.”
Hence, the decision to locate retirement villages outside of Singapore is up to the private developers and the market — not the Government, he said.
But no matter where the villages are, Singaporeans should not neglect the old, said Mr Khaw.
“You can have a retirement village in Toa Payoh but if your motive is really to dump your parents, that to me is wrong. Whether it’s in Batam or in Toa Payoh or in Ang Mo Kio, it’s all wrong.
Mr Khaw, a Buddhist who comes from a “absolutely Confucianist” background, said to him, not being filial is the worst sin possible.
“Many other sins you can plead to your God and say, sorry, I repent … But lack of filial piety, dumping your parents is inexcusable. Straight down to the 18th level of hell!”
————

2009
Response from the Workers’ Party MPs – Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim (Straits Times, Feb 10)
A SUGGESTION by Health Minister that Singaporeans might want to consider staying at a nursing home across the Causeway in Johor where it is much cheaper drew flak from two oppostion MPs in Parliament on Tuesday.
Workers’ Party chairman and Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim said the suggestion was ‘quite a bad indication of affordability of our own health care services here, and also a reflection of our national values’.
Fellow WP member Low Thia Kiang (Hougang) asked: ‘Is the Minister suggesting that Singaporeans who cannot afford medical treatment or step-down care here should now consider such facilities in Johor?’
If so, is the minister ‘outsourcing the Government’s responsibility to provide affordable health care service to Malaysia’, he asked.
This riled Mr Khaw Boon Wan.
‘I’m not saying that if you are poor I will put you in an ambulance, send you across the Causeway to a Johor nursing home. That is not what I said and please don’t twist my words,’ he retorted.
In fact, the Johor option is not for the poor, who are heavily subsidised in Singapore.
‘Everybody can afford health care in Singapore whether acute care or long-term care,’ said Mr Khaw.
The suggestion was aimed at middle-income families who need to pay for the care themselves. It gives them choice.
‘I just wanted to point out to Singaporeans that there are options like this,’ Mr Khaw said.
The cost of nursing home care will always be more expensive in Singapore, as doctors and nurses are paid more, and construction cost is also higher.
Since many people visit the elderly in homes only on weekends, it makes little difference whether the person is housed here or in nearby Johor.
It’s part of globalisation and this is already happening with Singaporeans going to Bangkok for Lasik to treat short sightedness and Americans and Russians coming here for treatment.
It is also not something that should, or can, be prevented, said the minister.
Singaporeans are already crossing the causeway for cheaper petrol and medicine.
‘By allowing the flexibility of consumers walking across the Causeway… they benefit. I don’t think we should constrain them from doing so.’

Fetal Testosterone and Autistic Traits

2009-07-20T01:31:00.009+08:00

Traditionally, psychology has developed more tools for analysing the individual than for analysing behaviour in the environment context (Pervin & Lewis, 1978, as cited in Sugarman, 2001). It was usually focused either on people or on the environment as the locus of Developmental Psychology. However, there is endless debate about which factor is more important in the question of nature VS nurture (Sugarman, 2001). I agree with Poh Lau’s point of view; this is actually a “chicken-and-egg” sort of argument. We never really know the proportion of the contribution for nature : nurture; only possibly making assumptions on a case-to-case basis. Perhaps, it is the gene-environment interaction that really matters?

Personally, I believe that the answers to these arguments are usually based on the perspective of the specific field in psychology. As for psychopathology related studies, genetic predisposition by employing twin studies is valued more than other factors like the environment. For example, the genetic link for risk of developing Schizophrenia in identical twins is higher than fraternal twins (Barlow & Durand, 2005). It was also found that there were some common genetic workings across autistic traits and ADHD behaviours in a community sample of twins (Ronald et al., 2008).

Educational psychology related studies may highlight the importance of the environment. I still remember how frustrated I was when I had to deal with mischievous young adolescents aged 13-14 in a private high school. My colleague, an experienced form teacher, advised me, “You have to put up a fierce look and enforce strict rules. Only then, the students would be more obedient. Otherwise, they are most likely to behave like little monkeys.” It seemed that her suggestions worked fairly well. So, is it not that the environment shapes behaviour as much as genetic predisposition?

It is very common that the mass media misinterprets report finding by jumping to conclusions based solely on a mere general understanding of a scientific research. I believe that this phenomenon is getting more widespread especially as seen from controversial research like Auyeung et al. (2009)’s finding. A blogger who claims to be a neuroscientist, had commented that “testosterone = maleness = autism” is a simple and logical statement that cannot be absolutely right but hard to say that it is wrong as well. I agree with this idea and that Auyeung et al. (2009)‘s study has only demonstrated the link between autistic traits and fetal testosterone. After all, there was no actual autistic samples used in the research (Autism, Testosterone and Eugenics, 2009).

However, without direct access to the original studies, parents rely on the information in the mass media which result in them considering another new early screening for autism for their children which may add to themselves problems and financial burden. As such, Harrell (2009) reported that “A British researcher claims his study may lead to early screening for autism via amniocentesis”; in which Auyeung et al. (2009), the original author never really stated such a bold claim. Do we really need this even if it is true? The extra effort may bring up unwanted side-effects as amniocentesis is not a risk-free procedure. Additionally, National Vaccine Information Center (n.d) revealed that some once-healthy kids developed autistics traits after receiving one or more vaccines (e.g., Hepatitis B). It seems that we prefer to hold on to the idea that “prevention is better than cure”?

I agree with the statement that it is unethical to place Eugenics in real life practice where “the rich becomes richer, the poor becomes poorer”. However, is it fair to the people to live a relatively less fortunate life just because they inherited so-called “bad genes” and are thus condemned to suffer (for serious cases) for the rest of their lives? As what my friend once lamented to me, “I did not choose to have an incurable disease which is genetically linked. I can only accept my fate.”

References:
Autism, Testosterone and Eugenics, (2009).Retrieved March 14, 2009, from http://neuroskeptic.blogspot.com/2009/01/autism-testosterone-and-eugenics.html

Auyeung, B., Baron-Cohen, S. Ashwin, E., Knickmeyer, R. Taylor, K. & Hackett, G. (2009). Fetal testosterone and autistic traits. British Journal of Psychology, 100, 1-22.

Barlow, D. H., & Durand, V. M. (2005). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach(4th ed). USA : Wadsworth.

Harrell, E. (2009). A link between autism and testosterone? Retrieved March 14, 2009, from http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1871515,00.html.

National Vaccine Information Center (n.d). Autism & Vaccines: A New Look At An Old Story. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from http://www.nvic.org/nvic-archives/newsletter/autismandvaccines.aspx

Ronald,A., Simonoff, E., Kuntsi, J., Asherson, P., & Plomin. R. (2008). Evidence for overlapping genetic influences on autistic and ADHD behaviours in a community twin sample. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 535–542.

Sugarman, L. (2001). Life-spam development; Frameworks, accounts and strategies. (2nd ed.). New York: Psychology Press.

HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE Guide

2009-05-17T16:13:00.009+08:00

Home Economics High School Text Book, 1954. It could be a fake one. Nobody knows, but it seemed matching to the mindset of the olden days.

1.Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

2.Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

3.Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the home just before your husband arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

4.Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

5.Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home.

6.Be happy to see him. Greet him with a smile and act glad to see him.

7.Make him feel comfortable. Have him lean back into a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillows and offer to massage his neck and shoulders and take off his shoes. Speak in a soft, soothing, pleasant voice. Allow him to relax to unwind.

8.Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

9.Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

10.The goal, try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

Some don'ts, don't greet him with a problem or complaint. Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this minor compared with what he might have gone through during the day.
Don't ask him about his actions or question his judgement or intergrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness.
You have no right to question him . Agood wife should always knows her place.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basically, society expected woman to be submissive especially in olden days. Just imagine how horrible it was -

US Courts 19th Century:
" The priviledge, ancient thought it be, to beat her with a stick, to pull her hair"

British Common law
The husband's priviledge " To control and correct his wife and "For some misdemeanours, to whip or beat his wife with a stick"

Roman laws of chastisement
- Domestic infractions physically punished by husband, murder for adultery

----------------------------------------------------

Now the updated version for the '90s woman.

1. Have dinner ready: Make reservations ahead of time. If your day becomes too hectic just leave him a voice mail message regarding where you'd like to eat and at what time. This lets him know that your day has been crappy and gives him an opportunity to change your mood.

2. Prepare yourself: A quick stop at the "LANCOME" counter on your way home will do wonders for your outlook and will keep you from becoming irritated every time he belches at the table. (Don't forget to use his credit card!)

3. Clear away the clutter: Call the housekeeper and let her know you'll need her for an extra day this week. Tell her that any miscellaneous items left on the floor by the children can be placed in the Goodwill box in the garage.

4. Prepare the children: Drop them off at grandma's!

5. Minimize the noise: When he arrives at home remind him that the washer and garbage disposal are still not working properly and the noise is driving you crazy (but do this in a nice way and greet him with a warm smile...this way he might fix it faster).

6. Some DON'TS: Don't greet him with problems and complaints. Let him speak first, and then your complaints will get more attention and remain fresh in his mind throughout dinner. Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Simply remind him that the last one home does the cooking and the cleanup.

7. Make him comfortable: Remind him where he can find a warm fuzzy blanket if he's cold. This will show you really care.

8. Listen to him: But don't ever let him get the last word.

9. Make the evening his: a chance to get the washer and garbage disposal fixed.

10. The Goal: To try to keep things amicable without reminding him that you make more money than he does.

Reliability vs Validity problem

2009-04-12T01:39:00.008+08:00

Reliability
Reliability is a vital component of a valid psychological test. What is reliability? How do we measure it? Reliability is an important part of any good psychological test. Simply put, reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A test is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly. Learn more about reliability in psychology tests.

Validity
When determining the merits of a psychological test, validity is one of the most important factors to consider. What is validity? Psychological assessment is an important part of both experimental research and clinical treatment. One of the greatest concerns when creating a psychological test is whether or not it actually measures what we think it is measuring. For example, a test might be designed to measure a stable personality trait, but instead measure transitory emotions generated by situational or environmental conditions. A valid test ensures that the results are an accurate reflection of the dimension undergoing assessment.

Psychology Research Methods Link

I am very headache with my research project right now. I just realise that translated version is always have this reliability check but not neccessarily validated. How to solve this problem? Can't help not to stop worrying about this matter for these few days :(

Emerging Adulthood

2009-03-08T19:36:00.002+08:00

No longer adolescents, but not yet fully adult, today’s older teens and 20-somethings are charting a new path to maturity – quite different from the one taken by previous generations. What’s behind this new life stage, and what does it mean for parents of today’s teens and tweens?

By Sandra Whitehead

http://www.parenthood.com/article-topics/article-topics.php?Article_ID=9153

Katie Tripeau has spent much of her 20s exploring. After graduating from college, she found a job in advertising. She worked for about a year, long enough to afford a trip to Australia. At age 23, she spent six months traveling in Southeast Asia with friends who, like her, “weren’t ready to start their lives, so to speak.”

When she returned, Tripeau “temped around” to earn money. Now, at age 27, she’s back in her parents’ home while she studies to be an elementary school teacher.
“I didn’t feel any pressure to settle in a career,” she says. “It was a time to experience and think about what I want to do.”

A generation ago, young people like Tripeau finished college, started careers, moved out of their parents’ home and, in many cases, got married in their early 20s. These days, all of this is happening five to 10 years later as young people take longer to finish their schooling, are ambivalent about what they want to do with their lives and are not driven to start a career or a family. Many of them return to their parents’ homes sometime during their 20s to regroup, save money and ponder their next steps.

These are not merely the characteristics of this generation, social scientists say, but a new stage of development that we can expect our children and our children’s children to experience. Just as the teen years began taking on their own identity a half century ago, “emerging adulthood” has, in the past few decades, become a distinct period of development, according to psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, who first identified it. Arnett, a research associate professor of human development at the University of Maryland and editor of The Journal of Adolescent Research, says emerging adulthood is a period of exploration, instability, possibility, self-focus and a sustained sense of being in limbo.

The fact that children are taking a longer route to adulthood has important implications for parents, beyond the fact that we can expect to be actively parenting them for longer. Just as we had to learn the ropes of raising young children, we’ll be better parents if we can anticipate and understand the emotional needs and behaviors of our children as they become emerging adults. And, experts say, today’s parents of teens and tweens have an opportunity to help their children develop skills that will be useful when they become emerging adults.

Old Milestones
Sociologists have always defined the transition to adulthood in terms of distinct events: finishing education, entering full-time work, marriage and parenthood. Emerging adulthood, asserts Arnett, has been created particularly by the postponement of marriage and parenthood. In fact, couples today are typically marrying five years later in life than they did 30 years ago.
A key reason for this change was the invention of birth control, combined with less stringent sexual mores after the sexual revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, says Arnett. Today, most young people have a series of sexual relationships before getting married.

Another factor is the increase in years many young people now devote to pursuing higher education, Arnett says. About two-thirds of high school graduates now enter college, the highest proportion in American history. In addition, it now takes many students five years to earn an undergraduate degree, and there are rising expectations to earn advanced degrees.

“It takes longer now to be self-sufficient. It takes more education now than in the past to get a good job,” says Arnett. This pushes milestones, such as marriage and career, back to the mid- to late-20s and beyond.

Yet the most important factor delaying the transition to full adulthood is a change of attitude, Arnett says. While young people of previous generations were eager to take on adult roles and settle down, young people today are not. They look around and see adults who are overworked, divorced and generally stressed out – it doesn’t look like much fun. They see marriage, home and children as “perils to be avoided,” he says. These responsibilities represent “a closing of doors – the end of independence, the end of spontaneity, the end of a sense of wide-open possibilities.”

“They don’t want to settle. They have high expectations. They want meaningful jobs and a spouse who will be a soul mate,” Arnett continues. In fact, he adds, the extent of these expectations can make them “delusionally optimistic.”

New Definitions
Instead of using the traditional markers of adulthood, emerging adults have found new ways of defining what it means to be an adult, he says. For them, the benchmarks are less tangible and more psychological, such as being able to:
• accept responsibility for one’s actions;
• make independent decisions; and
• become financially independent.

The good news for parents, Arnett points out, is that, despite the media’s tendency to paint them as the Peter Pan generation, today’s emerging adults do want to grow up, and it’s unlikely that they’ll still be living in your basement when they’re 30. Almost all of them, he says, eventually succeed in getting a decent job. “They are taking their time because they don’t see a reason to rush,” Arnett explains. “They realize that once you take on typical adult responsibilities, you become fully adult; and that’s how you stay for the rest of your life. You can never get back the exceptional freedom of emerging adulthood.”

So, Is This a Good Thing?
Not surprisingly, researchers disagree about whether this new life stage is a positive or negative development. Arnett describes it as “the best opportunity for self-exploration.” Unencumbered by parents’ rules or the responsibilities of full adulthood, he says, emerging adults are free to explore possibilities in a variety of areas, especially love and work.
But James Côté, a professor of sociology at the University of Western Ontario and author of Arrested Development, says emerging adults don’t really have a choice; they have been put on hold by economic and social factors that keep some of them dependent on their parents well into their 20s. Real wages for most people have been dropping since the 1970s, and most professions have become highly competitive. This, combined with rampant downsizing, means that many Americans never experience occupational security, especially during their first years in the workforce. In other words, people in their 20s do not have the economic means to be financially independent, he says.

At the same time, Côté also sees a lot of social disorganization. “Parents have not given them the guidance and structure they needed growing up,” he says of today’s young adults. They’ve gone through adolescence without the parental support that previous generations had. With two parents working, children and teens often come home to neighborhoods where there are no adults around. This leaves teens with peers, rather than parents, as role models. Consequently, when it comes time to make the transition into adulthood, there is an absence of norms about what that should look like, says Côté.

Furthermore, he says, “baby boomers have left choices wide open for their children, not wanting to unduly influence them. For example, they decide to let them choose a religion when they grow up.” Yet values and beliefs are important to identity formation, he adds. “If you’re brought up without a strong sense of values or belief systems, it is difficult to make choices. It is better to give them something to rebel against than nothing.”

The bottom line, Côté concludes, is that “a significant number of people in their 20s are having real difficulties. It is most difficult for those with the least resources – economic, psychological and intellectual.”

Emerging adults themselves talk about the stress and anxiety they experience, calling it a “quarter-life crisis.” Musician John Mayer, 26, sings about it in his song “Why Georgia.” Twenty-something authors Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner write about it. In their book Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties, they describe it as a time full of self-doubt and anxiety. The media has sold young people the idea that if they play their cards right, they can have it all. Then, suddenly they realize they are not in the career of their dreams, they’re constantly worried about money, and they feel alone, Robbins and Wilner write.
Renowned pediatrician and learning expert Mel Levine is more blunt. He says he is “stunned by the plight of individuals – far too many – who seem unprepared for the crossover from education to work.” In his new book, Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, Levine describes what he calls “an epidemic of third-decade unreadiness.”
Today’s 20-somethings “seem clueless about careers, don’t really know themselves and seriously lack the insights and abilities necessary for the transition into the workplace.”

Specifically, he says, they lack:
• an inner sense of direction,
• the ability to interpret the world around them,
• organizational and decision-making skills, and
• communication and alliance-building skills.

We need “to reconsider the manner in which we are educating and rearing children,” Levine says. He is convinced that our culture and our educational practices are “harming children,” stunting their mental growth and leaving them unready to launch themselves into adulthood.
In Levine’s view, kids today are too:
• Indulged – Having been raised with a full slate of scheduled activities, many of today’s 20-year-olds “are having trouble making their own significant decisions,” Levine says. This, coupled with a steady diet of computer and video game entertainment during their formative years and parents who were ever eager to please, has left them ambushed by the demands of adulthood, he says.

• Pushed to be well-rounded – Levine casts a critical eye at what he calls “the dubious, but much-revered, trait of well-roundedness.” Pressured by the competition for college admission, many parents push their children to excel on all fronts – academically, athletically, politically and socially. The result, he says, is young people whose “very versatility makes it hard for them to commit to the deep and narrow grooves of adult work life.”

• Focused on rote-learning – “We overemphasize a host of facts and skills that will be of little or no use in the workplace,” Levine contends. Instead, he suggests, schools should emphasize skills that could make or break start-up adults: the ability to think critically, to brainstorm, to monitor and refine your own performance, to communicate convincingly, and to plan and preview work.

Dog Behavior Answers Book

2009-02-26T19:02:00.003+08:00

Author: Arden Moore

Some interesting points from this book~http://ardenmoore.com

- Sigmund frued believed that dogs possess a psecial sense for human emotions. His Chow, Jo-Fi, assisted the great psychoanalyst in his sessions byalerting him to patients' moods. The dog would stay across the room from patients who were stressed or tense. Freud also realized that petting a dog could help calm and relax people. Several scientific studies have shown that owning a pet may reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol. Pets also seem to help people cope better with stress, loneliness, and depression.

- A case study:
Q: About three times a week, I take Nugget, my certified therapy dog, on visits to a nursing home and a children's cancer hospital.We spend an hour or two greeting the residents. However, she isn't as excited as she used to be when I put on her therapy vest after eight years.When she comes home from a the pay visit, she seems to be sad and a bit down. Why is she acting this way?
A: Animal-assisted programs can change and even save lives. It is just as important, however, that the therapy dogs' needs are met, too. Owner need to be on the lookout for signs of stress or burnout in their four-legged ambassadors of love. Therapy dogs are emotionally affected by sadness and pain n those they visit. They can get stressed and exhausted. It takes two to make a good therapay team, and both must be committed to performing the task. She is showing signs that she is ready for retirement.

- A tired dog is a more relaxed dog.
How true it is. A tired man is a more relaxed person too!

Impoverished Environment & Drug-related behaviour

2009-02-08T17:18:00.005+08:00

Focus Question: Ch9 (p.221-222) + Ch12 (p.292) + Readings
Discuss the following statement: 'Living in an impoverished environment can result in proportionally more time and/or effort being allocated to drug-related behaviours'.

The statement: 'Living in an impoverished environment can result in proportionally more time and/or effort being allocated to drug-related behaviours' is supported by numerous research, which demonstrated that the association of impoverishment environment and drug abuse. Inhalant users who were from low incomes families had higher rate of having drug or alcohol dependence in the past year (Wu, Howard, Pilowsky, 2008). Furthermore, it was found that female heads of household who were had alcohol and other drug abuse were associated with the employment issues (i.e., loss of jobs, lower income and less working hours), problematic situational factors (e.g., health, low self-esteem) and human capital deficits (e.g., poorly educated) (Chandler, Meisel, Jordan, Rienzi, Goodwin, 2004).

Behavioural Economics may help in explaining drug-abuse behaviours in the impoverishment environment. Drug-related behaviours may cut down the opportunities of individuals for getting other reinforcers and thus lead to a higher proportion time spent on the drug abuse. In other words, people live in impoverishment environment are more likely to have more drug reinforcers by significant people e.g., family members, or peers who have drug-abuse behaviours too. In contrast, positive reinforcers are limited, e.g., good education or income. Without strong competition of other reinforcers, individuals become harder to quit and consequently maintain drug abuse habit (Laraway et al., 2000).

Stein, Dixon and Nyamathi (2008) investigated the impact of psychosocial and situational Variables on substance abuse among homeless adults. Lower self-esteem served as the predictor in greater emotional distress, lower positive coping, greater negative coping, and more alcohol use. Meanwhile, social support was associated with less emotional distress and more positive coping. Thus, it was concluded that substance abuse programs and housing support need to address issues like psychological factors and environmental factors.

References:

Chandler, D., Meisel, J., Jordan, P., Rienzi, B. M., & Goodwin, S. N. (2004).
Substance Abuse, Employment, and Welfare Tenure. Social Service Review, 78, 628-651.

Laraway, S., Snycerski, S., Byrne, T. & Poling A. (2000). Introduction to behavioral pharmacology. In A. Poling and T. Byrne (Eds.). Drug Abuse. Reno N.V.: Context Press, pp. 219-248.

Mazur, J. E. (2006). Learning and Behavior. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Stein, J. A., Dixon, E. L., & Nyamathi, A. M. (2008). Effects of psychosocial and situational variables on substance abuse among homeless adults. Psychology of addictive behaviours, 22(3), 410-416.

Wu, L. T., Howard, M. O., & Pilowsky, D. J. (2008). Substance use disorders among inhalant users: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Addictive Behaviors, 33, 968-973.

TV Violence and Aggressive behavior in Children

2009-02-08T17:10:00.001+08:00

Because much of the research on TV violence and aggressive behavior in children is correlational, it is difficult to determine cause and effect. Describe how some researchers have tried to get around this problem. What have they found?

Much research were sought after in finding the relationship between TV violence and aggressive behaviour in children. Bandura’s classical theory of generalised imitation was a landmark study on imitation of aggressive behaviour as immediate effect (Mazur, 1965 as cited in Mazur, 2006).

Huesmann, Lagerspetz and Eron (1984) investigated intervening variables in the TV Violence-Aggression Relation for 758 children in US and 220 children in Finland. By employing an overlapping longitudinal design, they used interviewed and tested for 3 years in the children. The result showed that TV violence viewing was significantly related to concurrent aggression and predicted future changes in aggression. Path analyses showed a bidirectional causal effect in which violence viewing engenders aggression, and aggression engenders violence viewing.

Later on, Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, and Eron (2003) used partially of the old data to do follow up on longitudinal relation to the TV violence and aggression. The old data, which was from the same participants who took part in the earlier studies conducted by Huesmann et. al. (1984). Follow up archival data (N=450) and interview data (N= 329) showed that childhood exposure to media violence predicts young adult aggressive behaviours in both genders. The relationship between TV violence and aggression remain strongly associated even after controlled other variables of socioeconomic status, intellectual ability and parenting factors.

The impact of watching TV violence of children who behave aggressively can be explained by the pattern of brain activation. Murray et al. (2006) examined brain activation in 8 children, aged 9-13 years old who watched televised violent and nonviolent video sequences. Meanwhile, children’s brain activities were measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI). The result revealed that large number of aggressive scripts kept in long term-memory in the posterior cingulate. It is later recalled and subsequently acted upon when committing violent acts.

It is suggested that future studies may look into other possible variables, which are facilitating to the aggressive behaviour in children and TV violence.

References:

Huesmann, L. R., Lagerspetz, K., & Eron, L. D. (1984). Intervening variables in the tv violence-aggression relation:Evidence from two countries. Developmental Psychology, 20, 746-775.

Huesmann, L. R., Moise-Titus, J., Podolski, C., & Eron, L. D. (2003). Longitudinal relations between children’s exposure to TV violence and their aggressive and violent behavior in young adulthood: 1977-1992. Developmental Psychology, 39 (2), 201-221.

Mazur, J. E. (2006). Learning and Behavior. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Murray, J. P., Liotti, M., Ingmundson, P. T., Mayberg, H. S., Pu, Y., Zamarripa, F., et al. (2006). Children’s brain activations while viewing televised violence revealed by fMRI. Media Psychology, 8, 25-37.

Discrete Trial procedure and a Free Operant procedure

2009-02-08T17:07:00.001+08:00

Define spontaneous recovery, describe Pavlov's theory about why it occurs and outline one study, which demonstrates spontaneous recovery.

After extinction of conditional response due to time lapse, the return of conditional response drawn out by the conditioned stimulus (CS) is referred to as spontaneous recovery (Sandoz & Pham-Delègue, 2004). Pavlov addressed this phenomenon of spontaneous recovery as an evidence of CS-US association not fully eliminated in the extinction phase. This means that it is hard to erase the previous learning, and the time lapse served as a crucial factor to determine the level of spontaneous recovery (Mazur, 2006).

Sandoz & Pham-Delègue (2004) reproduced the study on how honeybees had been used, to test Pavlov’s theory about spontaneous recovery in controlled laboratory conditions. The proboscis extension response of the honeybees can be conditioned by associating an odour stimulus (CS) to a sucrose reward (US). After a single CS-US pairing in honeybees, extinction process occurs when conditioned responses to the CS are eliminated after repeated unrewarded presentation of the CS. The time intervals during training, the number of conditioning, and whether extinction trials have an influence on the amount of spontaneous recovery were investigated in this study. The result showed that spontaneous recovery mostly appeared in a massed fashion (1-min intertrial intervals) and highly relied on time intervals through conditioning and extinction (1 hr being an optimum). In addition, multiple conditioning trials improved the level of spontaneous recovery, whereas extinction trials lessen it. After the extinction process in the single-trial conditioning, spontaneous recovery appeared once only.

In short, the study of spontaneous recovery revealed that memory patterns of short-term and long-terms depends on the interval of conditioning and extinction trials.

References:

Mazur, J. E. (2006). Learning and Behavior (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Sandoz, J. C., & Pham-Delègue M., H. (2004). Spontaneous recovery after extinction of the conditioned proboscis extension response in the honeybee. Learning & Memory. 11. 586-597.

Pavlov's theory -spontaneous recovery

2009-02-08T17:05:00.001+08:00

Define spontaneous recovery, describe Pavlov's theory about why it occurs and outline one study, which demonstrates spontaneous recovery.

In short, the study of spontaneous recovery revealed that memory patterns of short-term and long-terms depends on the interval of conditioning and extinction trials.

References:

Language is an Innate Human Ability

2009-02-08T17:01:00.001+08:00

Describe some of the evidence supporting the view that language is an innate human ability.

Human language is described as a form of communication (Wesley, 1998). According to Wesley (1998), human language is unique in terms of how it uses the complex syntactic structure and how it is learned by observational learning. The reason of why humans have language could be due to the ability to learn any system of communication.

There are four thousand languages available in used throughout the world. Human being has no specific language, which is applicable universal as the speakers of different language are unable to understand each other’s language. However, common similarities among human languages are more remarkable than the differences among them (Gleitman, 2006).

The capacity to acquire a human language is innate since learners can naturally absorb the formal and substantive properties and readily pick up languages during the human development (Gleitman, 2006). The learner is equipped with a “bioprogram” that leads the learning process and makes the competence of learning a language possible (Luria et al., 2006). Gleitman (2006) argued that language learning proceeds evenly within and across linguistic communities even though a great variability of the language offered to each person regardless of races and culture. For example, in several countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, schoolchildren have to learn Chinese and English, in Malaysia, they have to learn three languages. It is expected that one may not master all languages concurrently, but it is possible to learn various languages in different environment as well. Secondly, children do not have particular experience of language, but have the capability to learn many linguistic generalisations. A person, who migrated to another country, is able to learn the new language and communicate with local residents after acculturation but not necessarily attending formal education.

References:

Gleitman, L. R. (2006). A Human Universal: The Capacity to Learn a Language. In H. Luria, D. M., Seymour, & S. Trudy (Eds.), Language and linguistics in context: Readings and applications for teachers (pp. 13-27). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Wesley, O. M. (1998). Formal approach to innate and learned communication: Laying the foundation for language (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, San Diego, 1998). Dissertation Abstracts International, 59 , 1B.

Interaction of gene x parenting style in predicting depression

2009-02-08T13:02:00.002+08:00

This is the reason why parents play a significant role in influencing the well-being of children. Other than the interaction of parent’s work stress and child’s psychological adjustments, Ecological systems Theory of Development has expanded into many related fields like depression study. In fact, I remember a psychology research article in a local newspaper a few years ago, which reported that the main stressor of key person in adolescent is ironically from his/her mother. Personally, I agree with this because my mother always has the greatest demand/expectation from me in becoming an ideal individual.

Psychologist, Gerald Haeffel, and colleagues examined whether a gene associated with dopamine interacted with maternal parenting style to predict episodes of depression. The sample consisted of 177 male adolescents from a juvenile detention center in Russia. Depression was diagnosed by employing a structured diagnostic interview; while aspects of maternal parental rearing (i.e. physical punishment, hostility, lack of respect for the child’s point of view, and unjustified criticism in front of others) were assessed by a questionnaire. It was reported that neither genes nor maternal parenting style alone can be used to predict depression. However, depression can be determined by a combination of the following factors: (1) The male adolescents with especially rejecting mothers, and (2) a specific form of the dopamine transporter gene. Therefore, it is suggested that the use of psychosocial interventions to increase dopamine activity in the brain (Association for Psychological Science, 2008). Most importantly, we need to aware of the impact of parenting styles on parents as part of a child’s immediate environment.

References:

Association for Psychological Science (2008, January 16). Nature And Nurture Are Both To Blame For Depression, Study Says. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 28, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/01/080115102642.htm

Moral issues changes during childhood and adolescence

2009-01-13T14:03:00.005+08:00

With reference to theoretical and research literature, discuss how reasoning about moral issues changes during childhood and adolescence. Use examples to illustrate your response.

Fabes, Carlo, Kupanopff and Laible (1999) defined moral reasoning as “the ability or tendency to think about and make decisions in situations in which there may be conflicting values, norms, rules or laws, needs, or desires”. Generally, moral reasoning involves cognitive ability to judge and decide whether it is right or wrong.

Numerous studies on moral development of children and adults were based on Kohlberg (1981)’s six stages of moral development. Kohlberg refined on the Piaget’s work by identifying three distinct levels of moral reasoning in children and adults, namely pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. Each level consists of two stages. Kohlberg’s theory reflects a transition from egoistic, self-focused concerns to societal and conventional concerns, and it followed by universal and ethically principled human concerns. In short, moral development is also associated with age development.

Children aged 2-6 years (early childhood) learn to gradually understand the existence of different worldviews and be aware of other’s perspectives. However, their descriptions are only limited to the terms of physical characteristics and activities when they are requested to describe themselves and others. Children aged 6-12 years (middle childhood) start to learn more complex about moral reasoning as they develop the ability to perceive the world from other’s perspective. Children at this stage are able to describe people in terms of inner personality traits and motives (Sugarman, 2001). For example, Kohlberg’s theory on pre-conventional level can be applied to a scenario of a mother’s expectation on her children. The mother demands that her children must finish their schoolwork before they are allowed to watch television. Children may understand that “Mother is hoping that I can obtain better exam results, so I have to study hard first and play later.”

The adolescence is the bridge between childhood and adulthood where there are critical changes physically. Adolescents experience changes in personality, social interaction skills, and the ability to learn complex moral reasoning in depth. They start to use logical, abstract thinking in solving problems and apply concepts to various hypothetical situations (Sugarman, 2001). Puberty is also linked with the onset of sexual activities (Fabes et al., 1999). Adolescents may start to explore romantic relationship, which help to foster moral development too. For example, adolescent may hold moral belief about pre-marital sex and the relevant negative consequences: “If I agree to have sexual relationship with my partner, I may get pregnant and thus affect my studies. In addition, sexual intercourse is forbidden below 16 without consent according to the law.”

Besides that, Hoffman (1991, as cited in Fabes et al., 1999) stated that by late childhood and early adolescence, children can empathize with others and their life situation, which is aligned with perspective taking and self-concept development. Empathy combines both cognitive and affective dimension, hence the development of empathy is closely associated with the development of cognitive skills. Thus, the transition between childhood and adolescence may be important in the development of empathy and sympathy. This may help to explain complicated moral behaviours in adolescence and adulthood.

On the whole, Kolberg’s theory of moral development serves as a useful framework to explore moral development in childhood and adolescence. Fabes et al. (1999) suggested that more studies that examine the interactive nature of social cognitions, emotions and puberty would help us to gain insight in understanding the development of more refined theories of morality.

References:

Fabes, R. A., Carlo, G.,Kupanoff, K., & Laible, D. (1999). Early Adolescence and prosocial/moral behavior I: The role of individual processes. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 5-16.

Kolberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral development: Moral states and the idea of justice. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Sugarman, L. (2001). Life-spam development: Frameworks, accounts and strategies. (2nd ed.). New York: Psychology Press.

The Midlife Crisis: Schaie's studies

2008-12-10T22:31:00.002+08:00

Describe the common understanding of midlife crisis. What is Schaie’s description of crisis and what factors are necessary for a life change to be considered a crisis?

Midlife crisis is a concept that is a stereotype of the middle adulthood years. Middle adulthood is ranged from 40-60 years old. Midlife crisis is mainly associated with the sense of impending loss of health and vigour, of professional status, of the parental role, of life itself. For example, parents who have “empty nest” stage of life may feel lonely when their children are no longer living with them (Sugarman, 2001).

In earlier time, there were several theories of development in early and middle adulthood (e.g. Erikson, Levinson), including evidence for the presence of crises and transitions. According to the Erikson’s eight stages theory of psychosocial development, maturity stage (aged 30-65) is the crisis stage of generativity versus stagnation. This stage is about whether the individual has generating something that the individual care about in his or her life. Later on, Levinson refined the stages around midlife by suggested that lifespan is made up by life seasons (Sugarman, 2001). Levinson (1977) conducted a biographical study of 40 males in the "mid-life decade" (age 35-45). 80% of the subject faced midlife crisis where they questioned almost every aspect of their lives.

Schaie’s work focused mainly on the study of cognitive functioning from young adulthood to old age by the ongoing Seattle Longitudinal Study (http://geron.psu.edu/sls) since 1959. In the study, he placed health, demographic, personality, and environmental factors that have impacted on the individual differences in successful cognitive aging. Perhaps, these variables are determining factors that may linked to negative events like midlife crisis. Schaie had conducted a list of research based on the data of Seattle Longitudinal Study.

For example, Bosworth and Schaie (1997) supported association between social relationships and heath outcome and service utilization in adulthood (mean age = 58). For unmarried individuals, increased age was associated with greater medical usage and estimated total health care cost; while lower levels of perceived social environment were correlated to a higher numbers of hospital visits. Thus, supportive social environment and broad social networks are helpful to the adult’s health, which would possibly to reduce the midlife crisis.

Bosworth, Schaie, and Willis (1999) examined the relationship between cognitive function and the survival rate for sample of survivors and individuals who subsequently died. Level of cognitive function was found to be associated with subsequent mortality; including crystallized abilities, visualization abilities, verbal memory, and perceptual speed. Individuals in the highest 25th percentile of performance in various factors (e.g. verbal memory) had a lower risk for mortality compared to individuals in the lowest 25th percentile. Overall, mortality rate tend to be ability specific rather than age-related.

Schaie' longitudinal studies have shown that there is no uniform pattern of age-related changes across all intellectual abilities (Schaie, 2005). In terms of job performance, Schaie (2000) stated that there is no correlation between industrial productivity and chronological age. Thus, midlife crisis is less likely to occur too. Schaie also suggested that positive self-concept is important in adulthood. Successful aging is enhancing in midlife by learning methods for stress reduction and developing techniques for coping with change, and maintaining adequate social support from others.

In short, changes in midlife may often be as a turning point rather than crisis. This is supported by Shek (2006) where only some respondents were dissatisfied with their work and personal achievement but majority did not experience to the extent of midlife crisis.

References:

Bosworth, H. B., & Schaie, K. W. (1997). The relationship of social environment, social networks, and health outcomes in the settle longitudinal study: Two analytical approaches. Journals of Gerontology, 52, 197-205.

Bosworth, H. B., Schaie, K. W., & Willis, S. L. (1999). Cognitive and sociodemographic risk factors for mortality in the Seattle Longitudinal Study. Journals of Gerontology, 54, 273-282.

Levinson, D. J. (1977). The mid-life transition: A period in adult psychosocial development. Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes. 40, 99-112.

Schaie, K.W. (2000). How does maintenance of intellectual competence contribute to quality of life and successful aging? In K. Manger (Ed.), [Jena University lectures] (Vol. 9, pp. 21-40). Jena, Germany: Hausdruckerei der FSU Jena [Friedrich Schiller-University Press].

Schaie, K. W. (2005). Observations from The Seattle Longitudinal Study of adult intelligence. John Hopkins Memory Bulletin, January 28, 23-30.

Shek, D.T.L. (1996). Mid-life Crisis in Chinese Men and Women. Journal of Psychology, 130, 109-119.

Sugarman, L. (2001). Life-spam development; Frameworks, accounts and strategies. (2nd ed.). New York: Psychology Press.

Cognitive Development: Vygotsky vs Piaget

2008-11-20T16:16:00.000+08:00

Vygotsky and Piaget have different ideas on cognitive development. It is interesting to note that Vygotsky’s theory was described as “thinks afresh according to how he saw things at the time”; whereas Piaget’s theory was always consistent.

Vygotsky emphasised much on ‘nonspontaneous’ concepts. He was concerned about dynamics of development, which has an influence on the cognitive learning of children in applicable issues as primacy of social processes of learning. This was also pointed out by Wong, who stated that human thought processes were mainly influenced by their interactions with the social, historical and cultural environments. In comparison, Piaget’s theory was built on with the statics of development and emphasised more on ‘spontaneous’ concept, which means that the influence of the environment is not much taken into consideration. In addition, Vygotskian’s theory focused on individuals whereas Piaget’s focused on the population as a whole.

The zone of proximal development (ZPD) concept as Vygotsky suggested is practically useful. In his clinical interview with 10-year-old children, the prediction of their unassisted score on the Binet test of intelligence is not as good as ZPD score with regard to their school achievement after two years. Therefore, it was believed that ZPD is a better predictor tool of potential achievement than the child’s IQ score.

In short, Vygotsky’s theory may not be as popular as Piaget’s theory; the work of each seemed to be complementary to each other’s work. In order to get a complete picture in the work of improve schooling, Vygotsky would have needed Piaget’s descriptions of development. On the other hand, if Piaget needed to modify his intuitions about collaborative learning among peers, he would have needed the theory of Vygotsky.

Reference:
Shayer, M. (2003). Not just Piaget; not just Vygotsky, and certainly not Vygotsky as alternative to Piaget. Learning and Instruction, 13, 465-485.

Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of development

2008-11-17T17:57:00.000+08:00

Discuss how Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of development has made a contribution to the field of human development. Specifically refer to research that has made use of Bronfenbrenner’s framework.

Traditionally, psychology has developed more tools for analysing individual than tools for analysing behaviour in environment context (Pervin & Lewis, 1978, as cited in Sugarman, 2001). It was usually either focus on people or environment as the locus of the developmental psychology essential. For example, there is endless debate about which factor is more important in the question of nature vs nurture (Sugarman, 2001).

Bronfenbrenner’s (1986) bioecological systems theory suggests that human development can only be understood within the various systems in which a person is surrounded. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s perspective, Chang and Fine (2007) examined mothers’ perceptions of parenting stress. It was stated that mothers’ capacity for adjustment is influenced by not only within themselves but also between people, i.e. by their children and their ecological context. The result revealed that maternal personal resources (i.e., self-efficacy and maternal depression) are important in predicting the stress experienced by low-income young mothers. Besides, maternal personal resources, child characteristics, and contextual influences explained differences between the chronically high and decreasing factors. More specifically, positive correlations were reported between difficult child temperament and parenting stress. Therefore, it was concluded that interventions programs are needed to assess maternal, child, and contextual in order to give/provide better attention to the unique needs of young mothers (Chang and Fine, 2007).

Lohman and Billings (2008) employed bioecological theory to examine protective and risk factors associated with rates of sexual related behaviors among adolescent boys from poor background. Based on the macro bioecological theory, the development of adolescents are influenced by various faceted environmental systems. Align with this, the characteristics of three microsystems: the family, school, and neighborhood, and also behaviors of adolescents were included in the study. As supported by bioecological perspective, individual behaviors, school functioning, and the family environment were key predictors of these sexual behaviors. Adolescents’ academic achievement and parental monitoring served as important protectors in influencing early risky sexual behaviors and initial sexual experience by preventing the negative behaviours, e.g., drug-alcohol use and school problems (Lohman and Billings, 2008).

On the other hand, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory can also be used to outline the complex environmental processes that influence social support received by pregnant adolescents. The article identified macrosystem, mesosystem and microsystem in the pregnant adolescent’s context. For example, the microsystem includes stable characteristics of the adolescent that she brings to the negotiation of social support. This includes her personality, social and communication skills, age, level of stress and health. It was suggested that the bioecological model can also be used to guide mental health assessment of pregnant adolescents. Social support is a powerful strength in preventing negative outcomes among pregnant adolescents, and can be derived from several sources in the environment (Logsdon & Gennaro, 2008).

In short, the contribution of the Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory lies in demonstrating the interaction of individuals and environmental factors. Meanwhile, the theoreotical model of bioecological system continues to be the ideal framework with a high degree of explanatory power in developmental psychology.

References:

Bergen, D. (2008). Human development: traditional and contemporary theories. Pearson Education, New Jersey.

Chang, Y., & Fine, M. A. (2008). Modeling parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers across the child’s second and third years: Factors accounting for stability and change. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 584–594.

Lerner, R. M. (1995). Developing individuals within changing contexts: Implications of developmental contextualism for human development research, policy and programs. In T. A. Kinderman & J. Valsiner (Eds.) Development of personcontext relations. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlaum Associates.

Logsdon, M. C., & Gennaro, S. (2008). Bioecological model for guiding social support research and interventions with pregnant adolescents. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 26, 327-339.

Lohman, B.J., & Billings, A. (2008). Protective and risk factors associated with adolescent boy’s early sexual debut and risky sexual behaviours. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 37, 723-735.

Sugarman, L. (2001). Life-spam development; Frameworks, accounts and strategies. (2nd ed.). New York: Psychology Press.

Attachment in the Dual Working/Single Parent Family

2008-11-06T18:24:00.001+08:00

Discuss the implications of Bowlby’s and Ainsworth’s attachment stages in relation to the reality of the dual working parent or single parent family.

In his pioneer work with attachment theory, Bowlby believed that attachment behaviour in infants, such as crying and searching, were adaptive responses to separation from with a primary attachment figure. The primary caregiver provided care, support and protection, which is essential for infants to survive. This is relation to the evolutionary theory, where infant who develop attachment would enjoy a higher rate of survival. Mary Ainsworth further extended the theory, and classified with several attachment styles, including secure, anxious-resistant, and avoidant (Fraley, 2004).

Attachment style is known to be linked with emotional, behavioural and psychological functioning throughout the lifespan. Thus, it is believed that security of attachment affects modulation of arousal and attention, impacts quality of environmental exploration, and may be an essential stimulus for development of certain brain regions (Lianne, 2001).

In modern days, family structure has commonly changed into dual working parent. In Singapore, dual working parent are getting working long hours or required to travel overseas frequently. As a result, parents are not considered as the primary caregiver to the children as they rarely spend time with their parents. Instead, the children are attached with other adults, including maids, grandparents, or rely on childcare providers. It is doubtful about the range of
societal options for successfully sharing the task of bringing up children. In such case, secured attachment may less likely to occur for the children and they are possibly develop anxious-resistant or avoidant attachment. Belsky and Braungart (1991, as cited in Bretherton, 1992) showed an increased risk of insecure attachment if day care begins in the first year and is extensive in duration.

There was an interesting study supported the importance of attachment bond. Wendie and Coleman (2001) examined whether children who likely reduced access to parental resources were inclined to develop stronger attachment bond with a dog, compared with children who have greater access. Single-parent families and 2-parent families were compared based on the 12 years old children’s level of attachment to their family dog. The result revealed that children in single-parent families had significantly higher levels of attachment to dogs than children in 2-parent families.

Lianne (2001) investigated the effects of attachment disruption on cognitive functioning and academic success in adolescents. The data used in the research included demographic variables that possibly linked with attachment disruptions (separation from primary caregiver for more than six months, parental divorce, single parent home, adoption, birth outside the United States, and multiple moves), a measure of cognitive ability and student grades. The result demonstrated that attachment disruptions were small but significant effect on cognitive ability and grades.

From the studies above, we may conclude that attachment theories are playing crucial roles in the children development. Secure attachment is essential for children to develop positive mindset throughout their life.

References:

Fraley, R. C. (2004). A brief overview of adult attachment theory and research. Retrieved August 14, 2008 from http://www.psych.uiuc.edu/~rcfraley/attachment.htm

Bretherton, I. (1992). The origins of attachment theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology, 28, 759-775.

Lianne , L. C. (2001). The effects of attachment disruptions on cognitive ability and academic success in adolescents. Dissertation Abstracts International, 61, 10B.

Wendie1, B., & Coleman, G. J. (2001). Child-companion animal attachment bonds in single and two-parent families. Anthrozoös, 14, 216-223.

The Matching Law

2008-10-20T16:18:00.005+08:00

Briefly outline what the matching law is and describe two types of deviation from matching.For each of these deviations discuss one factor that may produce that type of deviation.Present experimental evidence that illustrates an application of the matching law (with animal or human participants).

Herrnstein (1961, as cited in Shahan and Podlesnik, 2007) developed matching law.Matching law stated that allocation of instrumental behaviour to two alternatives is proportional to the relative rate of reinforcement retrieved from those alternatives.

The matching law was built on Herrnstein’s own experiment on pigeons. The experiment had a series of conditions where each key was linked with its own schedule of reinforcement. A few reinforcement schedules were occurred simultaneously is named as concurrent schedule. The experiment demonstrated that when two thirds of the reinforcers came from left key, the pigeons also responded around two thirds of the proportions on the left key too (Herrnstein, 1961, as cited in Mazur, 2006).

However, the results of the experiment not necessarily would have followed the matching law. Undermatching and bias are the two types of deviations from matching law. Undermatching means that proportion of responses are less insignificant than reinforcement proportions. A likely explanation about undermatching is that subjects may attribute a reinforcer to the wrong responses due to forgetfulness. (Davidson & Jenkins 1985, as cited in Mazur, 2006). As for bias, it refers to a subject’s response proportions are consistent on one option over the other rather than follow the matching law of equation. Bias may happen when the subject prefers a response key or a certain colour.
Kyonka (2008) examined the effects of reinforcer rate and magnitude, whether responding can be controlled. Four pigeons responded in a concurrent-schedule procedure where reinforce rate and magnitudes changed randomly across sessions. The result showed that the responding within session was comparatively higher when the higher rate and larger magnitude were coupled with the same option than when they were coupled with dissimilar options. Kyonka (2008) concluded that the results support the matching law’s assumptions of additivity and independence as applied to choice in changeover.

References:

Kyonka, E. G. E. (2008). The matching law and effects of reinforcer rate and magnitude on choice in transition. Behavoural Processes, 78, 210-216.

Mazur, J. E. (2006). Learning and Behavior. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Behaviour Genetics:Self Esteem gene?

2008-09-19T13:59:00.007+08:00

Yes, I do agree that interaction of genetics and environment leads to individual’s behaviour. Numerous studies have supported the ideas of heritability including intelligence, temperament, athleticms and creativity. In understanding of personality traits like self-esteem, is there a gene that manipulating self-esteem? Harter (2006) argued that the answer is possibly no; but heritability is yes. When the child is inherited to be intellectually competent, so they are more likely to perform well in their studies. Thus, the child reinforced by the parents( i.e., compliments), so we won’t feel surprise that eventually the child maintain high self-esteem.

On the other hand, if there is really a so called self-esteem gene, it is less likely for the child to maintain high self-esteem while having a cold home environment (Hart, Atkins, & Tursi, 2006).

1. social consequences of highly accurate genetic diagnoses of traits such as criminality, homosexuality or high intelligence in our society?

Have you ever heard of the statement "Some people are more equal than others"? It is very unfair for certain people who are unable to choose their genes. For example, once the source of the gene like eugenics is confirmed, are you sure that the world would become better or worse?

Next, if we combine the criminality and intelligence, isn't it scary to think of the high IQ people who eventually come up with evil ideas...? For example, creating virus to destroy database can cost loss of billions in corporate world.

Many people tend to think of the simple equation and lead to the generic conclusion like:
Perform well in academic studies = good student = good character including moral values…
It is likely that there is a correlation to each other’s domain, but this does not imply of the causal effect.

References:

Harter, S. (2006). The development of self-esteem. In M. H. Kernis(Ed.), Self-esteem issues and answers: A source book of current perspectives (pp. 145-156). New York: Psychology Press.

Hart, D., Atkins, R., & Tursi, N. (2006). Origins and developmental influences on self-esteem. In M. H. Kernis(Ed.), Self-esteem issues and answers: A source book of current perspectives (pp. 157-162). New York: Psychology Press.

Internet affected people's identity

2008-08-27T23:39:00.011+08:00

How and to what degree has the modern technology (e.g., Internet) affected people's identity?

Internet has made it possible for a person to play dual identity with split personality like the famous novel “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. In day time, a person might be quiet, shy, decent and behave in a very polite manner to everyone; but at night, he or she might be transformed to a new identity as a vulgar who can be talkative and flirt around in instant messenger with dirty jokes. Well, I think most of the people won’t have extreme difference like Dr. Jekyll which is serious to extend as personality disorder.

According to Yee (2003), computer games player tend to be close to what they actually are whether in real life or in the internet. Internet is actually bringing out the inner real self of a person as Internet allow people to feel less inhibited (Yee, 2003). We have to portrait ourselves accordingly as a positive identity in real life in order to fulfill society’s requirement. In contrast, internet is a virtual world that is remain anonymous and invisible. Thus, it allows us to reveal the other side of ourselves and release inner emotion and tension by building up own virtual social network.

Erik Erikson believed that adolescent and early adulthood is the period when they struggle to form their identities (Larrain et al., 2007; Larsen & Buss,2008). Adolescents might be beneficial from this virtual world by experimentally forming other identities and got to understand themselves better and build up their self-esteem. Adolescents work out conflicts, confess sexual identity online, and explore issues like depression and eating disorders through internet. They see themselves and their friendships as having unique online identities and codes of behavior (Bradley, 2005).

The negative effect of the internet is one couldn’t learn to understand people by direct communication with body language. This is important as a person needs to communicate and work well in daily life and their communication skill might be degraded. Besides that, this might cause isolation and less intimacy with people to form proper interaction especially those who are addicted to internet.

References:

Bradley, K. (2005). Internet lives: Social context and moral domain in adolescent development. New Directions for Youth Development, 108, 57-76.
Larsen, R. J., & Buss, D. M. (2008). Personality psychology: domains of knowledge about human nature. New York: McGraw-Hill.
M. Elena Larrain, M. E., Zegers, B., & Trapp, A. (2007). Do adolescents compromise their identity when chatting on the internet? International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 4(2), 91–109.
Yee, N. (2003). The Daedalus Project. Retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000193.php

Punishment as behaviour modification

2008-08-13T14:55:00.009+08:00

Describe several disadvantages of using punishment as a procedure of behavior modification. Are there ways to eliminate or minimize these disadvantages?

Punishment is one of the most common methods used in behaviour modification to reduce or eliminate unwanted behaviours. Azrin and Holz (1966, as cited in Mazur, 2006) stated that punishment is possibly to be an effective solution as reinforcement, but consequently causing a few negative side effects. First, punishment may evoke negative emotion effect, including fear, anger, or reaction of aggressiveness against punisher or others. Second, punishment may lead to suppression of all behaviours, but not limited to the unwanted behaviours. Thirdly, punishment required the constant monitoring of the individual’s behaviour (Mazur, 2006).

A recent study demonstrated that punishment could lead to long-term effects. University of New Hampshire ([UNH], 2008) investigated the association of parental punishment behaviours on childhood experiences and sexual problems as teens or adult. One of the studies focused on risky sex revealed that 25 percent of students in the highest corporal punishment group involved in the unprotected sex behaviour; but only 12.5 percent of the students had the lowest score on the corporal punishment scale did so. It was concluded that children who are victim of punishment are inclined to have sexual problems as a teen or adult. Thus, punishment is one of the roots of relationship violence and mental health problems.

Punishment can be beneficial by improving the punishment method. Punishment should be combined together with discipline, which means that teaching and guidance along with the punishment. For example, when a child misbehaves, immediately teaching by helping them understand their emotion, and explaining why their behavior was bad. Immediacy of punishment is important to decrease the frequency of unwanted behaviours (Leon, 2008). Besides, the undesired behaviour may remain rooted when nothing existed to replace the behaviour. To solve this, punishment can be paired with reinforcement for an alternative behaviour that is incompatible with the unwanted behaviour (Mazur, 2006).

References:
Leon, V. (2008, Jul 28). LOVE TAPS: Parents who believe a little swat on the rear end is a good teaching tool defend themselves against those who believe there's no reason to spank a child. Spokesman Review, p.1.
Mazur, J. E. (2006). Learning and Behavior. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
University of New Hampshire (2008, March 2). Spanking kids increases risk of sexual problems as adults. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 11, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/02/080228220451.htm

'Overwork' kills Toyota employee

2008-07-13T15:58:00.006+08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7499280.stm

(published in Singapore Today- 11 July 2008)

The engineer was working on a new version of the popular Toyota Camry. One of Toyota's senior car engineers died from working too many hours, a Japanese labour bureau has found.

The 45-year-old man was developing a hybrid version of Toyota's successful Camry line at the time of his death. In the two months leading up to his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, his wife's lawyers said.

Workers in Japan often put in very long hours and "sudden death from overwork" is referred to as karoshi. The ruling will allow his family to collect benefits from his work insurance, his wife's lawyers said.

The worker, whose name was not given, regularly worked nights and weekends and was frequently sent abroad. He died of ischemic heart disease in January 2006. In a statement, Toyota offered its condolences and said it would monitor the health of its employees.

Workplace stress is common all over the world, but it is a huge problem in Japan, where karoshi was first recognised as a phenomenon in 1987.

Last year, a court in central Japan ordered the government to pay compensation to Hiroko Uchino, the wife of a 30-year-old Toyota employee who collapsed at work and died in 2002.

http://www.gt.com.sg/press/press_290507StressRelease.html

Seven in ten Singapore business leaders are more stressed compared to previous year

29 May 2007, Singapore – In Asia, Singapore ranks 4th in the stress league table with 69% (7 out of 10) of the respondents indicating that they are more stressed this year than the previous year. Globally Singapore is in 6th position. Out of top 10 countries with the greatest increase in stress level, 7 are from Asia. This highlights the mounting stress levels in this region.

Mainland China’s business leaders report the highest level of stress in the world with eight out of ten (84%) reporting higher levels of stress compared to a year ago. Mainland China is followed by Taiwan (82%), India (79%) and Russia (76%). The Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) which covers the opinions of 7,200 privately owned businesses in 32 countries found that 56% of business leaders worldwide feel their stress levels have increased in the last year.

The increased stress level can be attributed to the favourable economic growth. In the Grant Thornton International Super Growth Index released in March 2007, Singapore ranked 9th globally; up from previous year’s 17th position. The number of “super growth” companies in Singapore increase by a significant 10% in 2006 to 21% in 2007; chalking-in the highest percentage in Asia. A big worry for businesses is raw material costs. 60% of Singapore businesses identify this as having a major impact on cost pressures

Business confidence is at an all time high in the Asian region with Singapore amongst the top four Asian economies with India, Philippines and Mainland China in the Optismism/Pessimision findings reported in the IBR January 2007, where business leaders were surveyed on their views and outlook for 2007. Such high business confidence is likely to lead to a manpower crunch as businesses compete for manpower skill. And combined with worries about competition from other emerging markets such as China and India, stress felt by Singapore business leaders are inevitably pushed up.

Mr Kon Yin Tong, Managing Partner, Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton interpreted: “The need to grow their business and improve the bottom line has put an ever increasing pressure on the senior executives in Singapore. The stress level appears to be a reflection of the pace of growth in Singapore as these leaders strive to take advantage of domestic and global economic expansion.”

In comparison European business leaders are the least stressed with just 27% of Swedish business leaders reporting an increase in stress level, followed by Ireland (35%) and the UK, the Netherlands and France (all 37%). European Union (EU) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) regions show an average of 43% claiming increases in stress, compared to 73% of respondents in East Asia.

Working hours

Despite the significant increase in the amount of stress, Singapore business leaders do not clinch the top positions for the average number of hours worked in the IBR research. At an average of 54 working hours per week, Singapore is ranked 9th. In contrast, Australia ranks 4th, with an average working week of 56 hours but has a stress increment of only 41%, below the global level of 56%. This suggests that the stress level is not necessary directly linked to the number of hours worked.

The 54-hour work week that Singapore business leaders have is almost the global average of 53 hours. Business leaders in emerging economies tend to work the longest hours with India and Argentina at the top of the league table, both at 57 hours a week, followed by Armenia, Australia and Botswana (all 56 hours a week). Italian business leaders work the shortest hours (47) a week in the world.

Commenting on the findings, Mr Kon Yin Tong, Managing Partner, Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton said: “Globalisation and increasing technological advances have increased the pressure on business leaders to 'always be contactable'. The challenge for business leaders is how they can improve modern working practices to allow time to 'switch off' from the strains of increasingly demanding business lives - while remaining competitive.”

=============================================================
Obviously, we are "selling" our health to the companies. Do you think that these companies would appreciate your sacrifice after you paying the cost of your life?

It doesn't means that I am not serious in my work. Just feel a bit sad to encounter such news...

Singapore is well known as a kiasu country, and last year I came across a news report headline in Today:"Singapore has become one of the top country in Asia-in terms of long working hours..."

Another news reported that there is a higher demand in Singapore Orthopedic Surgeons nowadays. It has been noticed that growing in numbers of office workers to complaint about backache and related problems (thanks to PC).

Ironically, you work so hard, and later spend $ to cure your illness related to the side effect of overwork. This is similiar to the obese problems: you spend $ to buy slimming products while you eat too much...

Born into brothels

2008-07-08T00:22:00.030+08:00

"The men who enter our building are not so good.They are drunk, they come inside and shout and swear. "

"The woman asked me:" When are you going to join the line?" They say it won't be long."

"I keep thinking that if i could go some place else and get education, I wonder what I could become."

"We don't have the money to live, let alone for studies."

"One day I went to Puja's house and saw her dad was beating up her mom, I asked Puja about it, she said:"My mom didn't give money to my dad for his drinking, so he beat her."

"He smokes all day, but even then, I try to love him a little."

"One has to accept life as being sad and painful. That's all. "

In Calcutta's red-light district, there over 7,000 women and girls working as prostitutes. Often forced into the trade by poverty, abandonment or the rampant kidnapping business which transports young girls into the sex industry from Nepal and Bangladesh, they come from all castes. But they all descended the social scale to the status of pariahs, without any government protection.

Only one group, perhaps, has a lower standing: Their children. Living inside the rat-infested brothels, routinely beaten, made to work, to leave their rooms when their mothers have a customer, they are children without hope, without childhoods. The girls are often "turned out" as prostitutes by their own parents at the age of fourteen or younger, and the boys frequently become drug dealers or pimps. They are children alone in the world, without advocates.

Zana Briski, became involved in the lives of these children in 1997 when she first began photographing sex workers in Sonagachi. Living in the brothels for months at a time, she quickly developed a relationship with many of the kids who, often terrorized and abused, were drawn to the rare human companionship she offered. Photography helps to boost their self-esteem and confidence.

Fascinated by her camera, she let them shoot some pictures. It would be great, she thought, to see the world through their eyes. It was at that moment that she gave birth to the idea of offering a photographic workshop for the children of prostitutes. To do so would involve overcoming nearly insurmountable obstacles -- brothel owners, pimps, police, local politicians, mafiosi, and corrupt NGOs. "No one wants to empower the children. No one wants them to use a camera," Briski said.

=========================================================================
November 2007 – Zana Briski http://www.zanabriski.com/

When I first went to the brothels of Calcutta I had no idea what I was doing. Circumstances had led me there and I had a deep visceral reaction to the place. It was as if I recognized it on a very personal level.

It took me two years to get inside, to be able to live in a brothel. I knew this was the only way I would move from visitor to resident, to fully experience, as much as possible, what it was like for the women and children living there. It was a difficult but precious experience and one for which I will always be grateful. I had the opportunity to understand lives lived behind closed doors, to help — when it was asked of me — in any way I could, and to communicate powerful stories with the outside world.

It has been my dream, since the beginning of the project, to inspire others to feel, to notice, to challenge, to take action. Some of the most inspiring moments I have had are at screenings of Born into Brothels at schools across the country. American children are riveted by the kids from Calcutta. They connect with them through the film in a way only kids can. Kids want to share, to know more, to get involved. This is why I wanted to build a curriculum around the film, so that it can be a catalyst for awareness and change. Amnesty International, in partnership with Kids with Cameras, has made this happen. I am deeply grateful to them for this.

In the film I say that I am not a social worker, or even a teacher. I am someone who follows my heart and puts myself in the 'shoes' of others. This is something we all can do. You don't need to go to Calcutta to notice what is happening around you, who needs your compassion, be it an animal, a friend, a stranger.

After all, it is up to us to make the world a better place.

After earning a master's degree at the University of Cambridge, Zana studied documentary photography at International Center of Photography in New York. In 1995 she made her first trip to India, producing a story on female infanticide. In 1997 she returned to India and began her project on the prostitutes of Calcutta's red light district, which led to her work with the children of prostitutes. Zana has won numerous awards and fellowships including George Soros' Open Society Institute Fellowship, an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, the Howard Chapnick Grant for the Advancement of Photojournalism and first prize at the World Press Photo Foundation Competition.

========================================================================

"I used to want to be a doctor.
Then I wanted to become an artist.
There is nothing called hope in my future. "
After got to learn photography, he said:"Now I want to be a photographer". Avijit, 19, began studying in the U.S. three years ago. He is currently finishing his senior year at a private high school. Over the past two summers, he has participated in prestigious film programs through the Sundance Institute and NYU Tisch. He plans to attend university in the U.S. this fall and is interested in studying both medicine and film. In the website, it is noted that he has been accepted into NYU.

Kochi, 16, stayed at the Sabera Home for Girls for five years. She has chosen to continue her studies in India and she will enroll in school this spring.

Manik, 16, and Shanti, 17, are both still studying at FutureHope, where they are doing very well. Zana:" Auntie teaches us so well that everything goes into our brain. We like doing photography so much that we forget to do our work!"I love Shanti's photos.

Puja and Gour are believed to still be living in the red-light district but have lost contact with Kids with Cameras. Gour's work:" Running" is used by the website. Gour:" want to show in pictures how people live in this city. I want to put across the behavior of man." The old man on the street is Puja's work. Puja is a bold girl to take pictures and got away from people's scolding. Few generations of her family, her great grandmom, grandma, mother are prostitutes. She dress well, and obviously not poor, but would lead to prostituition. The documentary mentioned that Puja's mother withdrew her from the school. I really don't understand why would her mother hope that her daughter to be stucked in the vicious cycle. Perhaps they simply get used to the prostitution life.

Watch this documetary "Born into Brothels" for free: 83 minutes film~ http://freedocumentaries.org/film.php?id=125 I have watched it last sunday night on Arts Central Channel(Singapore TV). It is a great documentary that one should not miss. For more information or make a donation to improve their life, please visit : http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/

(note: the writing above are mostly adapted from relevant website & documentaries. )

Alone~ random thoughts

2008-06-28T22:11:00.009+08:00

"We are alone, we live alone, we die alone.
Only through our love and friendship, we can create the illusion for the moment that we are not alone."

Orson Welles (1915-1985)
American motion picture actor, director, producer, writer

I saw these words posted on the wall of Esplanade Library while waited for the free mini concert (piano, violin & cello).

The words touched my heart. So, i took out my pen and newspaper (that is the only choice) and jotted down. Recently, my sister took a picture for me ~ portrait of being alone or loneliness. At that point, I just felt that it was fun to take photos with different postures. Then, I suggested to take a view of my back. Woh, I just love it, more natural look rather than the typical smiling face of pictures.

At the beginning of a new life or close to the death, we come to this world and leave this world alone. Sometimes people tend to worry too much about daily hassle, let it be work, studies, family, relationship...etc. We may put too much emotion in something else, and later on realise that it is just a small matter. Things are for us to experience but not to understand. We afraid to lose face, not being competitive to fight with others... and the end of the day, people tend to worry for own problem rather than bother your stuff.

I always love writing. I appreciate my readers to look beyond words. For instance, recently I wrote about an article about dad's childhood on Father's Day. Then, the response was overwhelming ~ I know I am not a popular blogger, but I was very happy to learn that one of my reader felt the urge to write for her dad too. Later, I saw her dad had left comment in her blog. This is what I treasure - the power of a person's words influence others to make a change of his or her life, by writing an article to express feeling and thought.

I think I am getting out of topic...haha. Alone is not neccessarily means lonely, can be viewed as freedom, independent. However, for psychiatry fields, being alone is not good for depressive patients, as they may getting depress and make their clinical symptoms worsen. I treasure the time when I am alone at home, let it be reading newspaper, cooking, watching tv or shopping alone following my own timing. So relax.

In Singapore, I treasure the availability of free music concerts throughout the year, ranged from pop music, Chinese Orchestra to Symphony Orchestra. I always attend these concerts/shows alone, occasionally I get my music friend to companion me. It is not easy to expect people to appreciate this kind of music, so sad :(

I don't know what I write now, no sense of direction to organise my writing. This piece of writing is a bit like so called "bo-liao" kind. Initially I created this blog is meant for serious readers who want to know more about psychology and life. Right now, I just feel like want to write some casual stuff. Hopefully you don't mind :) Good night.

Preference for sons in Asia could have severe social consequences, UNFPA studies warn

2008-06-25T16:32:00.002+08:00

http://intranet.unescap.org/esid/psis/population/popheadline/321/art3.asp

Prenatal son selection in several Asian countries could result in severe social consequences – such as a surge in sexual violence and trafficking of women – in the coming years, according to new studies commissioned by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

As girls and women become outnumbered by men as a result of ultrasound or amniocentesis to determine the sex of foetuses and abort unwanted females, more males will be unable to find wives and pressures to conform and comply will increase, the studies noted.

“Sex ratio imbalances only lead to far-reaching imbalances in the society at large”, UNFPA Executive Director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said in a statement delivered by Deputy Executive Director Purnima Mane at the Fourth Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights held in Hyderabad, India from 29 to 31 October (see page 4).

“And in response, we must carry forward the message that every human being is born equal in dignity, worth and human rights.”

Preference for sons is deeply rooted in many Asian countries for both cultural and economic reasons. If dowries must be paid, daughters could be viewed as a liability, and older parents typically rely on their sons for support and to perform last rites or ancestor worship.

The above-cited studies (available from http://www.unfpa.org/gender/case_studies.htm) warn that unless Viet Nam and Nepal adopt response measures, they, too, will face problems similar to those of India and China, the countries with the most dramatic imbalance between the births of boys and girls.

In China, 120 males – and up to 130 in several provinces – were born for every 100 females in 2005, while in India, the 2001 census revealed that 108 males – and up to 120 in some northern and western areas – were born for every 100 females.

“Viet Nam is in almost the same situation now as China was 10 years ago,” the studies said, adding that the South-East Asian nation’s sex ratio at birth could become gravely imbalanced within a decade.

Meanwhile in southern Nepal, researchers found that most people are aware that they could access ultrasound clinics and abortion providers in India willing to defy laws prohibiting sex selection. In both Viet Nam and Nepal, researchers interviewed officials and held focus groups, concluding that the preference for sons was pervasive, and that those who wanted to avoid bearing daughters could do so easily.

Currently in China, the “Care for Girls” programme which combines public education with practical steps such as bolstering support for older people could soon be rolled out nationally, and in India, civil society groups are making great efforts to raise public awareness and new laws are being codified to slash discriminatory inheritance rules and curb domestic violence.

Similar initiatives are necessary to stem the tide of the issue in both Viet Nam and Nepal, the studies said.

Kids in new generation?

2008-05-10T15:16:00.008+08:00

I notice that ever since I open this new English blog, nobody dares to give feedback/comment. Perhaps, this psychology blog sounds too serious as I mostly either dumped in the psychology research or my psychology studies' writing. :) I guess there might be someone that I do not know, using Google to search certain psychology key terms and got into my website. If so, you are welcome too, but I wonder if you would give citation to my blog :).

Enough craps. Tomorrow is mother's day. If possible, I am trying my best not to duplicate information in my Chinese and this English blog. Let me copy my favorite columnist's story in Today newspaper,. I got a shock when I read it on MRT. Voice- Budget Tai Tai - Tabitha Wang, page 34, 25 Apr, 2008.

"There was a five year-old boy throwing a tantrum right in the middle of a supermarket aisle. Nothing unusual, you'd say. But what made passersby do a double take was the fact that the boy was taking it out on his father by punching him repeatedly in the crotch. It gets even stranger. The father was wincing in pain but instead telling the boy off, he merely tried to block the blows.The mother stood to one side, not saying anything. When she realised that people were giving her son strange looks, she remonstrated gently with him:" Boy, don't hit your papa in his you-know-what.""B***s," her son and heir said. I don't know whether he was trying to be anatomically-correct or plain rude. Personally, I'd plump for the latter, as the boy totally ignored his mother and continued pummeling his father. It's probably an extreme case but not an isolated one. I have seen so many Singaporean kids behaving badly in public that I have lost count."

I fully agreed with Tabitha Wang. I cannot imagine such a young kid would be so horrible, and what's more surprising, is the attitude of parents. Let me share my personal experience. In the shopping mall's toy section of Orchard, I saw one 4 year-old boy kept crying and begging his dad to buy a set of expensive toys, cost more than hundred bucks. Noticing that I was observing the scene, his dad told me that his son has more than enough toys at home. " You know la, what to do? Buy loh, hard to push him away." The father shrugged and grabbed the toy. His son stopped crying instantly. This little boy knew that this trick works well, and he is likely to use it again next round.

Tabitha Wang blames the parents. The deadly combination of declining birth rate and the fact that Singaporeans are having babies later is giving rise to a multitude of a little princess and emperors. Children are so precious that no one dares to interfere with these little treasures. The result? We 're nurturing a generation of spoilt brats.

Yeah, this is the so-called new generation of the kids. Well, we can notice the drastic change of the teenagers who were born after 1990s, compared to the older generation as 1980s or earlier. Materialistic, short-sighted, self-centered..... Each newer generation seems getting worsen, but not getting better. My dad, likes to point out that our Chinese society is no longer holding Confucianism values. Although I don't like Confucians ideas as he categorize woman as lower status, it is undeniable that some of the traditional values are good to preserved.

It is dangerous to let the kids to go all the way as they demand. They would think that they are like the sun in the central position, others have to follow and treat them nicely. As a result, they developed a childish attitude, Ego centrism. This is supposedly belongs to Jean Piaget's theory regarding cognitive development of 2-6 years old. They are unable to think from others' perspective. This attitude will create a big problem when they grow up, facing interpersonal issues in work, family or relationship. Learning to tolerate and being understanding are probably not found in their life dictionary.

Reducing quantity doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice the quality. As for me, I believe that parents are not just to produce babies without proper guidance. Parents have to take care of their children physically and mentally. At least, in future they won't bring problem to others.

"Bosses of the future might just need groin guards", this is the last sentence of the article that I quoted. It simply sounds too sad. As long as the parents do not wake up, it is indeed hard for their kids to be well-behaved by nature. I have had read enough psychology research papers discussing the parenting role and family influence on the children's personality, behaviours....and all these often correlates with a long list of headaches. It is much harder to fix the problems later on. Rome was not built in a day.

Please...Be responsible to raise your own kids!

Motivation in education system

2008-04-25T00:51:00.002+08:00

Motivation, is part of the drive to get people to be more hardworking, more persistent to work out towards his or her goal. Learning behaviours is a product of either intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Hayamizu, 2007). Just thinking of how Thomas Edison able to keep on trying to invent light bulb after failed for uncountable times. His famous quote:” "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration" might reveal his belief on hard work contributing success, and what is motivating him to be the great inventor in history? Motivation is an interesting topic to explore.

Concerning the question in studying university, I would think that studying a degree is like a culture norm. It is a trend in Malaysia, and Singapore. If someone finishes his or her secondary school education, it is almost inevitably to further studies to specialise in a particular field unless the result is too poor. Without a good qualification, it is hard to negotiate with the boss to get higher pay, and demand for promotion. However, in olden days, there were fewer university graduates, and very few women getting higher education. The olden society doesn’t take university certificate as a requirement to get into job market, especially before industry revolution. Woman was not encouraged to study smart in school as well. As globalisation supports knowledge economy, the modern culture trend needs more high skill people with specialisation to have a university degree.

Initially, taking psychology course was not my first choice. Previously I studied Computer Science, and my degree is an external US degree that required to study liberal arts subjects: Sociology and Drama. From there, I started to grow interest into Psychology as I learnt to analyse personality in the different drama plots , and got to know more about social knowledge and human behaviour. “A Streetcar Named Desire” drama script caught my attention by contrasting the culture clash of two social class. A so-called high-class lady who developed personality problem and got into schizophrenia eventually. This drama is not just a movie, but it reflexes the culture, social and psychological problems. Few years later, I came to Singapore to work and decided to study part time in Psychology. I study psychology as an interest, and this motivation is closed to Abraham Maslow’s self-actualisation needs. Self-actualisation is associated with human fulfillment and personal satisfaction (Shiraev & Levy, 2007). Psychology is meaningfulness, with depth sense of critical thinking. I appreciate psychology knowledge that allows me to be a better person and improve my English too. Personally, I always stumble in English as it is not as good as my first language, Mandarin. This motivates me to improve my English language by reading and writing more.

Should motivation be an important factor to be considered in designing our curricula (schooling system in general)? Yes, definitely. Without motivation, it is harder to get a better achievement and improvement in studies. Facilitating motivation and success in school is strongly encouraged. For instance, a Self-Regulation Empowerment Program (SREP), that school professionals can use to allow adolescent students to take on in more positive, self-motivating way of learning. Consequently, students learn to set goals, select and monitor strategy effectiveness, make strategic attributions, and adjust their goals and strategies (Cleary & Zimmerman, 2004). In fact, students who learned self-regulation processes during learning such as goal setting, self-monitoring, and self-reflection processes have better achievement and motivation (Schunk as cited in Cleary & Zimmerman, 2004).

This is not surprising fact as self-control people might have better intrinsic motivation but not comes from external environment. For example, students who only study harder when the parents offers reward. In my personal experience in teaching secondary students, those who score good marks are typically have full concentration in lesson, teacher’s attitude in rewarding seems does not affect much in their motivation to get good result. In contrast, poorer results were associated with poor class students who only get motivated to pay more attention in class if I promised some rewards or showed a fierce look. Hayamizu (2007) supported this situation. It was stated that intrinsic reasons were significantly not related to attributions of external causes and ability.

Understanding motivation also helps to know more about student behaviour. It was found that students who had more extrinsic motivation, such as external reasons, inclined to explain their failure is due to external causes. They tend to use maladaptive coping behaviour as well. However, for the students who scores lower than the means for all types of motivation were classified into the amotivational group. Amotivational group were motivated nether extrinsically nor intrinsically. The self-awareness of amotivational persons is lower, thus do not have self-evaluation (Hayamizu, 2007). It is necessarily to explore more on the amotivational students who are not motivated easily by other persons,. This is especially crucial to motivate amotivational students who scores less satisfactory academic result.

References:

Cleary, T. J., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2004). Self-regulation empowerment program: A school-based program to enhance self-regulated and self-motivated cycles of student learning. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 537-550.

Hayamizu, T. (2007). Between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: Examination of reasons for academic study based on the theory of internazation. Journal Psychological Research, 39, 98-108.

Shiraev, E., & Levy, D. (2007). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and comtemporary applications (3rd ed.). Boston: Ally and Bacon.

Display rules in M'sia/Singapore

2008-04-20T23:36:00.001+08:00

Emotion is an interesting topic for social scientific investigation as it explains as a notion about our true selves; the self that, after all the thinking and interacting are done, feels the rage, love, despair (Boellstorff & Lindquist, 2004). In terms of methodological individualism, emotions are framed as the property of persons. Emotion can be universal, or are influenced by its social experience which namely ‘context.’ Emotion’s location in culture are acknowledged in broad terms (Wierzbicka, 1999).

Singapore is a multiracial and multicultural society, which consists of 3 main ethic Asian communities, Chinese, Malays, Indian and other races. English is the main language used in Singapore, followed by Chinese language. However, Chinese culture in south East Asian countries still deeply rooted with Confucianism. Emotional and psychological matter may be affected by the mother tongue culture (Woo et. al., 2004). Confucian cultures emphasize on the social order and show respect for higher rank people, like the elderly. For example, one should not shout at parents, especially in public places. However, it is common to see the other way round like as what Sonja pointed out, scolding and beating kids in public when they are disobedient. Anyway, expressing emotion freely is possible within same ranking like friends or colleagues.

Besides, languages often considered as part of culture, and researchers found that all speakers of a language share a cognitive structure for emotion (Wierzbicka, 1999). I agree on this point. In the national secondary school for Malaysia, Chinese students are generally from two types of education stream. One type receives Chinese primary school education where chinese is the medium of instruction, and study Malay and English as second and third language subjects; another type study in a national Malay school, majority Malay students where malay language is the medium of instruction, and study English as a second language. It is widely recognized that two groups of Chinese students have differences in their emotion, way of communication and behaviour. The first group are typical Chinese who are more indirect communicator where emotions are hidden and subtler. In contrast, the latter group who are mixing with Malay classmates are more straightforward and blunt in communication and express emotions more directly. They are more outgoing and easy going as it is easier to understand and get along well compared with the typical Chinese students.

Public display of affection is different across culture and countries. When I first came to Singapore, I was a bit startled to see couples hugging and kissing freely in public. In my home country, Malaysia as an Islamic country, dominated by Malays, public display of affection is very rare and forbidden by Islamic law. Few years ago, a Chinese young couple aged around 23 years old was prosecuted by the local town council. The town officers claimed that the couple was hugging and kissing in a park was indication of indecent behaviour. This case was eventually brought up to the court and became a hot topic for debate at that time. I believe that such event sounds queer to westerner. Conservative culture doesn’t encourage openly express of emotion.

Anthropical study of this topic makes interesting reading. It may explain why westerners’ common comment of Asians being inscrutable.

References:
Boellstorff, T., & Lindquist, J. (2004). Bodies of emotion: Rethinking culture and emotion through southeast asia. Routledge Journals, 437–444.

Wierzbicka, A. (1999). Emotions across languages and cultures: Diversity and universals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wooa,B. S. C., Chang, W. C., Funga, D. S. S., Koh, J. B. K., Leong, J. S. F., Kee, C. H. Y., Cheryl, K.F., & Seah, C. K. F. (2004). Development and validation of a depression scale for Asian adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 677–689.

Nature And Nurture Are Both To Blame For Depression

2008-04-08T17:32:00.002+08:00

ScienceDaily (Jan. 16, 2008) — Depression is one of the most common forms of psychopathology. According to diathesis' stress theories of depression, genetic liability interacts with negative life experiences to cause depression.

Traditionally, most studies testing these theories have focused on only one component of the diathesis' stress model: either genetics or environment, but not their interaction. However, because of recent advances in genetics and genomics, researchers have begun using a new design that allows them to test the interaction of genetic and environmental liabilities -- the G x E design.

Studies suggest that the neurotransmitter dopamine may play a role in the risk for depression. Early negative interpersonal environments (i.e. rejecting parents) have also been implicated. So, University of Notre Dame psychologist, Gerald Haeffel, and colleagues investigated whether a gene associated with dopamine interacted with maternal parenting style to predict episodes of depression.

The researchers studied 177 male adolescents from a juvenile detention center in Russia. These participants were ideal candidates for the study because depression rates rise so dramatically during this period in life. The researchers used a structured diagnostic interview to diagnose depression and a questionnaire to assess aspects of maternal parental rearing (i.e. physical punishment, hostility, lack of respect for the child’s point of view, and unjustified criticism in front of others).

The results are fascinating. While neither factor alone predicted depression, the boys with especially rejecting mothers, and a specific form of the dopamine transporter gene were at higher risk for major depression and suicidal ideation. This study, which appears in the January issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, is among the first to support the role of a dopamine related gene in the onset of depression.

By the year 2020, depression is projected to be the 2nd leading cause of disability worldwide. Identifying factors that contribute to risk and resilience for depression is vital to our society. The results suggest that using psychosocial interventions to increase dopamine activity in the brain, helping patients focus on identifying and pursuing new goals and rewards could prove beneficial to lowering depression rates.

Adapted from materials provided by Association for Psychological Science.

Association for Psychological Science (2008, January 16). Nature And Nurture Are Both To Blame For Depression, Study Says. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/01/080115102642.htm

Childhood Mental Health Problems Blight Adult Working Life

2008-04-08T14:55:00.001+08:00

ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2008) — Mental health problems in childhood blight adult working life, suggests research published ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. And problems in working life are associated with mid life depression and anxiety.

The findings are based on over 8000 participants of the 1958 Birth Cohort, all of whom were born during one week in March 1958, and whose health has subsequently been tracked.
Their long term mental health was reviewed during childhood at the ages of 7, 11, and 16, using information from teachers and parents, and into adulthood at the ages of 23 and 33, based on personal interviews.

At the age of 45 the participants were then invited to discuss their working lives and mental health. Living in rented accommodation, having a longstanding illness, no qualifications, and no partner were all linked to depression and anxiety in mid life.

But so too were workplace stressors, including little control over decisions, low levels of social support, and high levels of job insecurity. These stressors doubled to quadrupled the risk of depression and anxiety.

Internalising behaviours in early childhood and adulthood strongly predicted poor quality working life, with many work stressors. Internalising behaviours are usually defined as depression or lack of concentration, as opposed to externalising behaviours, such as bullying and disruption.

Although mental health problems in early childhood and adulthood did not fully explain the mid life depression, these could have a knock-on effect, suggest the authors. Mental health problems in childhood could affect the ability to pass exams and gain qualifications, so blighting an individual's prospects of getting well paid and satisfying work.

And people who have experienced mental illness early in their lives may also opt for less demanding, low status work, because it might be more manageable, but at the same time, less rewarding and more stressful.

Adapted from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

BMJ-British Medical Journal (2008, April 5). Childhood Mental Health Problems Blight Adult Working Life. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/04/080402194355.htm

Importance of cultural context in defining and understanding intelligence

2008-04-06T20:09:00.003+08:00

Despite much controversy over the accurate definition of intelligence, most researchers agree that it is only a concept labelled by a word, or several related concepts represented by a word (Howard, 1993). This theory defines concept as a person’s unique and individual information about a category, where the category is considered as a set of things in the world. Generally, there are three major concept of intelligence: Spearman’s g, as a property of behaviour and as a set of abilities. Each concept have different information, and should be used in various ways (Howard, 1993).

I took the Koori Test and could not understand almost all questions. Everything sounds like ‘alien’ language to me. As expected, I scored badly with merely 40 marks, which stands for below average intelligence. Of course, this test clearly demonstrated that intelligence is bounded by the culture context. Sternberg (2004) further supported this by stating that work on intelligence within a single culture may fail to fairly acknowledging range of skills and knowledge that may constitute intelligence broadly defined. It is also more likely to draw wrong conclusion with over generalisation problem. The knowledge, which is learned in one culture context may not applicable to others who have different culture. For example, long time ago I took a IQ test online from a popular website, which claimed to be scientifically accurate IQ test. I thought I am supposed to be a language type who shouldn’t score badly for language ability, but the IQ test only able to test my English standard, which is second language for me. In the way, I believe that IQ test is very hard to determine one’s actual ability by using one standard test of intelligence for universal.

In terms of individual differences, everyone may have different knowledge regarding a particular category. Thus, it is inevitably creating a culture-free standard IQ test seems to be impossible mission. Even psychologist manages to come out with a measure standard of intelligence, doing translation into different language might be slightly different from the original text, which cause test bias. From the Koori Test, it shows that culture shapes language. For example, in Chinese language, it comes up with a complex vocabulary with detail classifications to address different relatives as Chinese culture emphasize on big family and stronger kinship. In contrast, in English, we use very general terms such as uncle, aunty, and cousins to describe relatives. This is probably due to western culture is more individualistic on one nucleus family compared to Chinese culture.

Different racial will probably have different culture, and whether racial differences in IQ are due to differences in intellectual ability, or to differences in exposure to information is a question (Fagan & Holland, 2007). Intelligence, was defined by Fagan and Holland (2007) as information processing. In fact, this definition is encouraging a better awareness of racial equality in intelligence, hence provides a multidisciplinary and broad understanding of intelligence. They concluded that cultural differences in the condition of information explain for racial differences in IQ. This might be helpful to explain why certain racial have higher intelligence and cognitive achievements than the other racial. Lynn and Longley (2006) suggested that the over-representation of Jews among Nobel prize winners possibly partly due to the higher average Jewish IQ. The reason behind it could be due to environmental and genetic theories of the high Jewish IQ, as for other ethnic and racial differences (Lynn & Longley, 2006).

References:

Fagan, J. F., & Holland, C. R. (2007). Racial equality in intelligence: Predictions from a theory of intelligence as processing. Intelligence, 35, 319–334.
Howard, R. W. (1993). On what intelligence is. British Journal of Psychology, 84, 27-37.
Lynn, R., & Longley, D. (2006).On the high intelligence and cognitive achievements of Jews in Britain. Intelligence, 34, 541–547.
Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Culture and intelligence. American Psychologist, 59, 325-338.

What Breed of Dog Are You? vs The Barnum Effect

2008-04-06T00:12:00.024+08:00

I took a fun test- What Breed of Dog Are You? and I got my answer as:

you're a German Shepherd!

No bones, about it, you're a loyal, hard-working German Shepherd. Dedicated and always low-maintenance, people flock to you — they know they can count on you to get any job done, and done well. That focus and attention to detail spans from your personal to your professional life, too. Although you can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the projects you tackle, you still manage to keep cool and laid-back in social situations. You get a kick out of the little things and thrive when you're constantly busy and on-the-go. Easygoing and unpretentious, you don't need constant pampering and reassurance. A genuine, carefree pup, you're a true-blue friend, employee, and partner. Woof!

http://web.tickle.com/

Well, you can try this website for a lot of free test, if you don't have better things to do.

Ever since I study psychology- first term, I learnt about Barnum effect, I rarely trust these personality tests' validity and reliability.

he Barnum Effect is based upon P.T. Barnum, a master showman's famous saying 'There's a sucker born every minute.' “there is something for everybody”

http://www.paranormality.com/barnum_effect.shtml

http://psych.fullerton.edu/mbirnbaum/psych101/barnum_demo.htm

http://richardgpettymd.blogs.com/my_weblog/2006/10/the_barnum_effe.html

It confirm my doubts about daily highlight of your horoscope- on newspaper, or some zodiac animals character. In simple word, Barnum effect means people commonly accepting over generalizing description about their personality. For example, it always claim that:" you are friendly, will throw temper when you are in a bad mood.....etc" Then, you mistakenly think:" Woh, it sounds accurate!" But wait a minute, don't you think that this is applicable to anyone? It is understood, most of the people would think themselves are friendly and not happy, surely have throwing temper sometimes....

In fact, given a choice between individual personality description actually based on a real test, most people choose the phony generic description as being more accurate. Ironic.

Share with you a famous experiment:

French Psychologist, Michael Gauguelin placed an ad in a Paris newspaper offering a free personal horoscope. Ninety-four percent of those receiving the horoscope praised the description as accurate. Whose horoscope had they all actually received? That of France's Dr. Petiot, a notorious mass murderer.

So, do you still want to read horoscope now? =)

Should a different teaching style be designed for aboriginal children?

2008-04-01T19:36:00.008+08:00

To discuss about indigenous education, the first thing comes to my mind is majority versus minority. This brings up my thought about left-handed and right-handed children. The education systems are developed for the majority group who are right handed. Teachers do not receive formal training on how to teach left-handed students properly because methods are developed for right-hand learners, unless they are also left-handed who are able to understand the difficulties (Milsom, 1995). Consequently, these left-handed children, generally are identified as right brain dominance people, may not fully utilise of the learning style, which learnt in the classroom setting.

The aborginal child is similar to the situation of left-handed children in a mainstream education system, who have some differences in memories and cognitive or learning styles. Educators are supposed to maximise the students’ learning potential regardless of their cultural background. Overall, challenges of teachers from mainstream society to work with culture diversity, especially working with aboriginal children have not been adequately examined (Nickels & Piquemal, 2005). Aboriginal children may have difficulties in their studies as they do not conform to the mainstream culture on how schools defines what constitutes learning (Delpit & Dowdy, 2002).

According to the report of Ministerial Advisory Council on the Quality of Teaching (1998), teacher training seems not in depth for guiding aboriginal students. It is stated that beginning teachers agreed the addition of mandatory elements in their courses relating to aboriginal education, multicultural education, gender education and special education. They reported that the courses have focus on issues faced by targeted populations. However, the specific strategies on how to address the issues were deficient.

For example, group goals attained by working together in cooperation are encouraged by aboriginal culture, whereas western culture would regard it as permissive and lack of independent. This might have negative effect on the student learning and influence their interaction with non-aboriginal students (Armstrong & Patterson, 1975). Without understanding of aboriginal culture, cultural discontuity occurs as aboriginal students being forced to behave in ways that are incompatible with the values and norms of their own culture (Nickels & Piquemal, 2005). In addition, their research also demonstrated that aborignal students did not take initiative to raise their hands to answer a questions as often as non-aboriginal children. Showing ability of knowing knowldge was often contrary to aborginal behavoral norms as one should not showing oneself is better than others (Philip, as cited in Nickels & Piquemal, 2005).

In order to solve these issues, experienced teachers were modifying their teaching to meet the varied needs of students in their classrooms. For instance, team-teaching with English as a second language (ESL) teachers and literacy support for aboriginal students (MACQT ,1998). Murtagh (1982) investigated about Creole-speaking aborginal-Australian children in education. They were divided into two groups, bilingual school that has medium of language instruction through English and Creole, and monolingual purely instruction through english only. The result showed that the superiority of bilingual schooling over monolingual schooling for Creole-speaking students in terms of oral language proficiency in both the mother tongue, Creole and the second language, English. In fact, Cummins (cited in Murtagh, 1982) supported similar finding by discovered that students schooled bilingually had progressively greater success in learning compared with their counterparts schooled monolingually.

All in all, it is suggested that a different curricula and teaching style should be designed for aboriginal children. Teachers needs to understand their culture difference and playing important role in helping these aboriginal children to absorb knowledge effectively.

References:

Armstrong, H., & Patterson, P. (1975). Seizures in Canadian Indian children: Individual family and community approaches. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 20, 247-255.
Delpit, L., & Dowdy, J. K. (2002). The skin that we speak. New York: New Press.
Milsom, L. (1995). Left handed children are they losing out? Education Medica International, 32, 107-108.
Ministerial Advisory Council on the Quality of Teaching(1998). Towards Greater Professionalism: Teacher educators, teaching and the curriculum. Retrieved March 30, 2008, from https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/reviews/macqt/macqfi.htm
Murtagh, E. J. (1982). Creole and English used as languages of instruction in bilingual education with aborginal australians: some research findings. International Journal Social Language, 36, 15-33.
Nickels, B., & Piquemal, N. (2005). Cultural congruence in the education of and research with young aboriginal students: Ethnical implications for classroom researchers. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 51, 118.

The Left-Handed Advantage:They May Have Higher Health Risks, But Lefties Enjoy Element of Surprise

2008-03-31T05:35:00.006+08:00

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=498707&page=1

By AMANDA ONION
Feb. 17, 2005

It's not easy being a lefty.

Statistics show left-handed people are more likely to be schizophrenic, alcoholic, delinquent, dyslexic, and have Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as mental disabilities. They're also more likely to die young and get into accidents. So if evolutionary theory dictates survival of the fittest, why do lefties still exist?

According to new theories, what left-handed people (and other animals) may lack in fitness, they make up by being different.

Researchers in France recently took an interest in the disproportionately high number of left-handed athletes who thrive in sports involving direct one-on-one contact, such as baseball (think Babe Ruth), tennis (think John McEnroe) and boxing (think Oscar de la Hoya or the fictional Rocky Balboa).

Charlotte Faurie and Michel Raymond of the University of Montpellier in France figured the same reason so many left-handed people are successful in such sports could also explain a possible higher success rate among lefties in primitive combat.

This means that, back in the days when fighting was an important part of survival and winning mates, the rare left-hander may have come out on top more often.

Watch That Left Hook

Here's the thinking: Most left-handed people would be practiced in fighting right-handed people (since right-handed people make up the majority), while most right-handed fighters would not be as prepared to fight someone who favors their left side. Advantage: lefties.

"The fact that left-handers are less common means they have a surprise effect," said Faurie.

To prove their theory, Faurie and Raymond surveyed nine primitive societies in five separate continents. Through a mix of direct observation and existing data, they estimated the number of left-handed people within each population. They also looked at murder rates, thinking that those communities with higher murder rates might favor populations with more left-handed people. The more violence, the more chances lefties would have at issuing their unexpected left hook, or other such weapon, and come out on top.

Among these samples, they found strong support for the idea that, at least in primitive societies with higher levels of violence, lefties thrive.

For example, when they singled out the Dioula of Burkina Faso in West Africa, where the murder rate was only 0.013 murders per 1,000 residents each year, they found only 3.4 percent of the population were left-handers. Data from the Eipo of Indonesia, meanwhile, where there are three murders per 1,000 people each year, show 27 percent of the population is left-handed.

Other research is suggesting that humans aren't the only species who have minorities of certain side-favoring individuals. The equivalent of lefties has been observed in chimpanzees, toads, even among schools of fish.

Favoring one side -- a result of something called lateralization of the brain -- was once thought to be a uniquely human trait linked to language. The ability to speak comes mostly from left regions of the brain, so the assumption was this would correspond with increased motor control on the opposite, or right side. In motor control, activity on one side corresponds to the opposite side of the brain. So this could explain why about 70 percent to 90 percent of people are right-handed.

But lately, researchers who study animals have been poking holes in that idea.

William Hopkins, a psychologist at Emory University's Yerkes National Primate Research Center, has found most chimpanzees use their right hands for a number of functions, from throwing a ball to scooping peanut butter from a tube. Furthermore, he and his colleagues have linked this handedness to the KNOB, an area of the brain associated with motor activity, not language.

Hopkins further points out that chimps don't have language, so why would there be a majority of right-handed chimps? As among humans, being in a minority when it comes to handedness has its advantages.

"The advantage is at the individual level," said Giorgio Vallortigara, a psychologist at the University of Trieste in Italy. "The advantage is observed only until the minority group remains a minority. If the number of individuals that do not share the side preference that most do increases, then the advantage is lost."
Swimming Their Own Way

Vallortigara has studied how this works in certain schools of fish. Some fish swim in large groups, or shoals. Traveling in a pack provides individuals with extra protection from predators. Most of the fish in the group share the same tendency to keep an eye out on one side or the other for predators and to flee in a particular direction if a threat is seen.

Minority-sided fish, meanwhile, are likely to watch the other way and turn and flee in the opposite direction. While these fish miss out on the protection of the group, they gain the element of surprise -- predators don't expect them to turn in the opposite direction from the group.

Similar examples can be found among birds and toads. In each case individuals that favor an unusual side find some benefit, be it surprising predators with the direction of their flight or by finding resources that might elude the majority.
Still, researchers point out that, at least among humans, genetics is not the only factor behind left-handedness.

Evidence has shown a link between trauma during gestation or during birth, as well as in the age of the mother and so-called pathological left-handedness. Numbers show that mothers who are over 40 at the time of their child's birth are 128 percent more likely to have a left-handed baby than a woman in her 20s.

"Handedness is controlled by a whole lot of pathways in the brain and if any one of these pathways is mucked up during gestation, then handedness becomes a cosmic dice game," said Stanley Coren, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia and author of "The Left-Handed Syndrome." "We believe this accounts for about half of all left-handers."

It could be that this early trauma is also the trigger behind health problems linked to left-handedness. Coren points to two famous left-handers, Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, as evidence. Both had histories of birth stress and have health issues from Clinton's severe allergies to Bush's Graves' disease.

Then again, as many lefties might point out, being left-handed can also offer intellectual prowess. Tests conducted by Alan Searleman from St Lawrence University in New York found there were more left-handed people with IQs over 140 than right-handed people. Famous left-handed thinkers in history from Albert Einstein to Isaac Newton to Benjamin Franklin seem to underline the point.As Hopkins says, it may be that left-handed people occupy the extremes when it comes to health and ability.

"The anomaly is left-handed people make up the extremely gifted and the extremely compromised," said Hopkins. "The rest of us make up the middle ground."