Category: Psychology & Medicine

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Confidence

Posted on by Jinavie

Two psychologists, Bob Josephs and Pran Mehta, performed an interesting experiment studying the how extroverted and introverted people react differently to a rigged game. They told a pair of participants to play a game where they had to draw lines to connect numbers in sequence as they popped up in a grid. They also told them that it was to study their spatial awareness and intelligence. The pair were given the game in a competitive setting at the same time so one could tell if they were “winning” or not.
The grid could be easily rigged to determine who would win. Josephs and Mehta posited that men and women with high testosterone levels would have high confidence in their spatial awareness, while those with low testosterone would be the opposite. 
What they found was quite interesting.

When those with high confidence in their abilities lost a game, they were more distressed relative to when they won (as measure by their cortisol, a stress hormone, level). Those with low confidence were more distressed when they won a game.
Furthermore, after winning a game these participants would show a fall in their ability to reason and solve logic problems. 

The reason behind this perplexing result is likely to be a cause of “mismatch”. It has been hypothesised that human beings are very protective of their self-identity and when this is challenged, they try stubbornly to rationalise their identity even if it means a negative outcome. For example, a person who believes they are not creative will dress and act to show this trait, even if it means others will see him in a negative light.
In the case of the game, the participants were confused as they won the game when they believed they would do badly. 
This same effect has been found in studies looking at pay raises. Those with self-esteem issues are less likely to be satisfied with a raise as they feel that “they do not deserve it”. They are also more likely to quit after a raise rather than before. It is quite possible that this would also apply to students with low self-esteem, as they would expect lower grades and (subconsciously) actively achieve lower grades to satisfy their self-identity.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Gait

Posted on by Jinavie

In medicine, a person’s way of walking is termed gait. By analysing a person’s gait, a trained professional can gain insight into what pathologies the person may be suffering from. For example, just from the way the patient limps, the doctor may discover that the patient has an incurable degenerative brain disease.

The most common gait abnormality is the antalgic gait, or limping due to pain. Most people would have experienced the difficulty of walking with a sprained or broken ankle, muscle ache or knee problems. This is easy to spot as the patient quickly switches to the other feet when leaning on the affected leg due to the pain. Therefore, the side that stays on the ground less than the other is the affected leg.

Sometimes, you can see a person “waddling” along as they swing from one side to the other. This may be a waddling gait, also known as Trendelenburg’s gait, caused by a weakness in the hip muscles that support the pelvic girdle, either due to muscle or nerve damage. As the patient cannot support their weight on the affected side, their pelvis tilts towards the opposite side. To avoid falling over, the patient lurches their body towards the other side, causing them to waddle. Looking at the tilt and lurch gives insight into what side is affected.
Another rather common gait is the steppage gait, where the person lifts one leg higher than the other, while their foot drags on the ground. This is caused by nerve damage leading to the loss of ability to lift the foot up (termed foot drop).

As the brain controls the motor system, damage to the brain also leads to motor dysfunction. A common example is a stroke.
If the stroke damages a significant part of the motor cortex, the patient suffers from hemiparesis/hemiplegia, or weakness/paralysis of one half of the body. This causes the limbs on the affected side to stiffen, as seen by an extended leg pointing inwards and retracted arm. The patient has to swing the affected leg around while they walk as they cannot flex the hip, known as a hemiplegic gait.
If the cerebellum is damaged, balancing becomes an issue. This causes the patient to suffer from ataxia, where they cannot coordinate their movements and are prone to toppling over. These patients tend to sway violently from side to side as they try to walk in a straight line.

Lastly, degenerative brain diseases can also affect gait. There are two main examples.
In Parkinson’s disease, the patient suffers from what is called hypokinesia and bradykinesia – reduced and slow movement. This leads to a shuffling gait where the patient walks slowly by shuffling their feet in small steps. They are also stooped over and are often seen with a pill-rolling tremor of their hands – a cardinal symptom of the disease.
In Huntington’s chorea, the opposite (hyperkinesia) occurs. This causes flailing as the muscles contract in an uncoordinated manner, including both the arms and legs. Ergo, their gait is quite jerky and interrupted by bouts of flailing, termed choreiform gait, but their balance is fine so walking in a straight line is still possible.

Knowledge of these disorders may help one appreciate the suffering a patient walking along the street has to undergo everyday of their life.

(Video demonstrations: http://stanford25.wordpress.com/gait-abnormalities/)

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Security Blanket

Posted on by Jinavie

In the Peanuts comic strip, the character Linus van Pelt is always seen with his trustworthy security blanket. What is it about a simple blanket that lets certain children feel so safe around it, and why do they become so agitated when it is taken away from them?

Psychologically speaking, the idea of attachment plays a heavy role in the child’s obsession with their security blanket (or any other comfort object, such as a teddy bear).
An infant’s perception of the world is very limited and it cannot understand the concept of “self” until it develops further. In fact, it is theorised that an infant believes that whatever it wishes, the mother (still considered by the infant as “self”) will bring it to it, thus creating an illusion of omnipotence.
When the realisation that there is something other than “me”, the baby becomes frightened. It suddenly understands that the mother and it are not one, but two separate beings. At this point, it loses the sense of omnipotence and realises it is dependent on others, creating a loss of independence.

Losing its independence and a large portion of itself (the mother), the baby becomes confused and anxious, a phenomenon paediatricians call infant’s lament. The baby tries to comfort itself by attaching itself to its first “not-me” possession – such as a blanket or teddy bear, also called a transitional object. This then allows it to be separate from the mother for periods of time. The transitional object is a reminder to the baby that it still has some control over life and some independence, which gives it comfort and allows the baby to sleep better at night (literally).
Thus, the security blanket is aptly named, as it provides the baby with the confidence and security to adapt to the new world, allowing the baby to grow and develop into a social being.

When the baby develops into a child, it develops its own sense of self-confidence so that it can detach from the transitional object. However, some children never detach themselves and the security blanket persists for a longer time. Unfortunately, this is often found socially unacceptable and seen as a sign of weakness.
Interestingly, studies show that these children are often more independent than other children, due to their ability to be less dependent on their parents. The security blanket never criticises or doubts the child’s abilities, therefore gives the child a source of infinite confidence.

Another research by Lucy van Pelt shows that removal of the security blanket from a child results in withdrawal symptoms such as fear, panic, perspiration, glazed eyes and unconsciousness within 50 seconds.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Post-mortem

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When a person dies, they leave a body. How does the body change after death? There are four main post-mortem events: algor mortis, livor mortis, rigor mortis and putrefaction. Forensic pathologists use these phenomena and an autopsy to determine the time of death, hearing out the final words of the deceased.

With death, all physiological functions cease. Therefore, the body produces no more heat and begins to cool (algor mortis), evident when touching the corpse. The rectal temperature is measured for an accurate reading. 
As blood is no longer flowing, red blood cells sink due to gravity. They sink to capillaries in the lowest point of the body, causing a purple-red rash on the skin of the area. This is known as livor mortis, or lividity. It appears first about 1~2 hours after death, and worsens with time. On the other hand, the other areas of skin become pale due to the lack of blood.
2~3 hours post-mortem, one can observe the jaw stiffening. This is called rigor mortis. It is caused as ATP is needed for muscle relaxation, and ATP production stops with death. This leads to the muscle becoming rigid, fixating on the position at the time of death. About 6~7 hours later, rigor mortis spreads to the entire body and completely fixes the body 10~12 hours later. After about 72 hours, rigor mortis dissipates and the corpse is limp again.

Putrefaction is the process of microbes decomposing the body – more commonly called rotting. After death, cells die from the lack of energy and are broken down by enzymes. As the immune system also ceases function, microbes easily infiltrate the body and begin converting organic material into inorganic material.
Microbes release gases as it digests the corpse, which collects and causes bloating. The main gases are carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen sulphide, producing the rotting smell, attracting insects to the corpse.
The key insects studied by pathologists are arthropods and flies. They can estimate the time of death from observing what species are present on the body, and at what stage of the life cycle they are at. For example, 0.5~1 hour post-mortem, flies arrive and lay eggs, which hatch into maggots at 10~24 hours, which becomes cocoons after 8~12 days, which hatch into adult flies at 12~14 days post-mortem.

There is no dignity in death. The rich, the powerful, the kind, the happy – everyone rots away by nature after they die.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Open Hand

Posted on by Jinavie

90% of human communication is non-verbal. This shows how facial expressions and body language have a powerful effect on our subconscious. Even the position of the hand can send a clear signal.

An open hand suggests peace, love and openness. Because of this, if the other person has his or her palm showing, you will feel more comfortable talking with them and view them in a more positive light. Jesus is often pictured in a pose with his arms stretched and palms showing, sending the message: “I would like to embrace you”. The same signal is used to initiate a hug.

On the other hand, a closed hand sends a cold message of strictness and professionalism. Therefore, people who are debating or negotiating often have their hands flat on a table or their lap to symbolise their resolution and defiance.

From this analysis, we can tell that an open hand is a good way to gain the affection of another person. Furthermore, this body language can manipulate the other person’s subconscious.

From my experiments, I found that when given the choice between a closed fist facing up and another fist facing down, the subject would choose the fist with the palms facing up about 90% of the time. Although it is a crude test, it definitely beat the 50:50 statistics that is expected.
This experiment was probably affected by other factors. Especially because people will usually choose the unusual choice due to curiosity (as when told to pick a hand, the person will usually have both fists facing down) and due to the psychology of “the unusual fist will probably contain something more interesting”. Also, most people who chose the downward-facing fist later said that they “deliberately chose the other fist because they felt they were supposed to choose the upwards-facing fist”. Thus, they too were first attracted to the unusual fist.

This test must be done suddenly to bypass the logical conscious mind and have an effect on the subconscious mind. If you take too long to explain the test, the results become skewed. 
Bypassing the conscious mind to suggest an acceptable choice to the subconscious mind – this test shows the basic principles of hypnosis.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

From Cell To Birth: A Man And A Woman

Posted on by Jinavie

Organisms have the amazing ability to beget new life. In bacteria, this can be as simple as splitting itself in two. In humans, however, this process is much more complex.
As a sexually reproducing animal, both a man and a woman are required for the creation of a new person. The process, as complex as is it, is so intricately designed by nature that it could possibly be considered as one of the greatest abilities of the human body.

A man contributes sperm, providing half of the genetic material the future baby. The sperm also decides the sex, depending on whether it carries the X or Y chromosome. Note that gametes only carry half the number of chromosomes (which are usually paired) of a normal cell.
Sperm is made in the testes. Here, under the guidance of hormones such as testosterone and nurturing cells, they grow from a small stem cell, into a plump, round spermatocyte, until it is streamlined to become the sleek spermatozoa that people are more familiar with. All of this occurs as the cell journeys from the outside of the seminiferous tubule to the centre where it is released altogether with its fellow batch.
The sperm is still immature, the equivalent of a high-school graduate. It is expelled into the epididymis, a 4-metre-long tube packed full of concentrated sperm, acting as the “boot camp”. Here, the sperm is drained of extra baggage it is carrying, while learning how to swim effectively. It is stored until the time comes.

image

A woman contributes an egg, carrying the other half of the genetic material required. It is significantly bigger than a sperm, and as such is produced in much fewer numbers. A woman, unlike a man, has a limit to how many eggs she can produce, and the moment her reservoir runs out is called menopause. Until then, she produces one (or more sometimes) egg every month according to her menstrual cycle.
An egg is developed within a follicle, that acts as a house and oestrogen factory until the egg is released. To get to this stage, it needs to defeat its competitors first. To prevent multiple pregnancies, the ovaries kill all secondary follicles except one dominant follicle. The follicle then ovulates, wherein the oocyte (egg) is expelled almost explosively, caught by the finger-like fimbriae, and then transported towards the uterus via the fallopian tube.
If the egg is not fertilised within a day, it dies and is later expelled with the endometrium, in what every woman knows as a period.

This is only the beginning of the long journey until the miraculous birth of a child.

(Full series here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/arkrepro/?order=asc)

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Sexsomnia

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There are many interesting medical facts regarding sleep, but there are strange pathologies that stand out even more from them.
Sometimes, cases resembling sleepwalking are reported, where the patient unconsciously has sexual intercourse with someone else. After waking up, the patient has no recollection of the event, and thus may face a very awkward situation the following morning.

Sexsomnia, or sleep sex, is a rare sleep disorder; to be more specific, it is a type of NREM parasomnia (performing complex actions while asleep). This disorder is quite different from REM sleep disorder, as no dreaming occurs during NREM sleep. Therefore, the sexual behaviour is not due to the influence of an erotic dream, but rather the primitive brain functions acting on basic instincts, as higher brain functions are shut down during NREM sleep. According to reports, sexsomniacs act almost lucidly during episodes.
As it was discovered quite recently, less than 15 years ago, it is under heavy research. However, due to patients feeling too ashamed of the disease or not remembering the events, the number of reported cases is low.

This disease is not directly harmful to the patient, but it can be very problematic socially. It ruins relationships and may even lead to rape. But as the law defines rape as “a conscious act”, sexsomnia is often used as a defence in trials. It is important to note that it occurs in both men and women. Within relationships, the general complaint is not that of rape, but rather exhaustion.
Interestingly, as the primitive brain is not being controlled during the episodes, sleep sex is known to be more vigorous than normal sex. Due to this, patients and their partners often exhibit carpet burns.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Diagnosis

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A man comes in to a clinic and tells the doctor that he is in great pain.
It hurts if he prods his arm with a finger. The same applies to his leg and his torso.
He says that after looking on the internet, he is sure that he has fibromyalgia syndrome, and asks to be prescribed some painkillers. Also, he is worried that it could be necrotising fasciitis and demands a biopsy and antibiotics.

The doctor, without saying a word, gently grabs his hand, then squeezes his index finger. The man feels a shooting pain and screams in agony.

The diagnosis? A broken finger.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Fear

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The ten things people are most afraid of are as following (according to a study of 1000 people in France in 1990):

  1. Snakes
  2. Nauseatingly high places
  3. Spiders
  4. Rats
  5. Bees
  6. Enclosed spaces
  7. Fire
  8. Blood
  9. Darkness
  10. Crowds/audience

Ants do not feel fear. The reason is simple. An ant does not know the meaning of death or its own frailty. It may worry about the survival of its city and the entire society, but even then they do not fear their own death.

To understand why they are never afraid, one must first consider that an anthill acts as a single organism. Each ant acts like a cell in the human body.
When we clip our nails, are our fingertips afraid? When we shave, is the hair scared as the razor approaches it? When you dip your feet in the bath to check the temperature, does the toe shudder in fear? Because they do not act as an autonomous unit, they do not feel fear.

Similarly, when we pinch our right hand with the left hand, the right hand does not feel contempt towards the left hand. If the left hand has more rings, the right hand does not envy it. If you forget self and think of the community like an organism, all your worries disappear. Perhaps this is how ants run such a successful, efficient society.

(from The Encyclopaedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge by Bernard Werber)

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Brainwashing

Posted on by Jinavie

The term brainwashing describes the act of converting a person’s deepest thoughts and ideologies. The term originated from the efforts of the Chinese army to convert US soldiers to communism in the Korean War.

The Chinese first made American prisoners-of-war write essays hailing communism, then gave them some rice, candy or cigarettes as rewards.
The intelligence officers posited that the prisoners would be tormented by the reality of having to act against their ideology (of anti-communism) to receive such petty rewards, and that they would convert their beliefs to escape this. They were right.

A significant number of Americans who were given rewards after writing the essays defected to become communists after the war. This was because they justified their actions, believing that they did not write the essays to get a few candies, but because they truly are communists. Converting them did not require horrific torture or heavy bribery. All the officers needed were some candy, and the powerful psychological phenomenon known as cognitive dissonance to play with a grown man’s mind.

Leon Festinger said: “People are not rational beings, but beings that rationalise themselves”. People easily get caught in the trap of self-justification, and distort reality and even their own memories to accommodate it.