The Benefits of Being Thankful

The article I’m reporting about “The Benefits of Being Thankful” was an interesting find. The researcher created a control group that listed non-gratitude related life events versus the experimental group who had several minutes to list what they were grateful for. The group that listed what they were grateful showed more positive attitudes, greater levels of optimism, and a better sense of belongingness. They were also reported to be more physically active. I believe it makes sense that people who think about what they are thankful in their lives feel more fulfilled and therefore are happier. People that list other life experiences could possibly think of more negative things. To think more positively on a regular basis would lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Dallas-area clinics ignore proposed rules, still push for mammograms

I chose this article because it's been a very controversial topic in the news recently. The overall proposal is that insurance companies will not cover annual mammogram costs till age 50 rather than age 40. It is not impossible to have breast cancer in a woman's early 40s so it's absurd this is even a second thought. Psychologically, women will never have a peace of mind about their health. It would be atrocious if these women have to wait an extra ten years to check on something important like this. Some women may continue to get a mammogram every year, but in reality many women will not be able to afford it without insurance. These are people's lives the government is dealing with and they need to think about the effects if this proposal is actually put through.

Study to explore if more sleep will help teens shake off depression

This study is being conducted by the University of California - Berkeley. Researchers recruited teenagers’ age 13-19 that were diagnosed with depression or at risk for depression. They were researching whether getting more sleep at night would alleviate depression symptoms. Symptoms evaluated were insomnia, anxiety, and performance in school. On average teenagers get seven hours of sleep a night which is less than needed for the average teenager. Due to advance technology teenagers are able to distract themselves on the computer, game consoles, television, and etcetera for hours which interferes with their sleep. To conduct this study 60 teenagers will report about their sleep habits and attend cognitive behavior therapy a dozen times a week. The researchers hope to see that increased and plentiful sleep along with treatment for depression will improve symptoms and performance in school work.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/11/04_teen_insomnia.shtml

BYU professor studies "the smell of virtue"

I picked this article for it's title because it seemed a little bizarre. The study occured with 24 students who were given $12 each to share between themselves. The control group, who had an unscented room, versus the experimental group, room sprayed with lemon Windex, were less likely to donate money (2.81) than the other group (5.33). The main purpose of the study was to see if smells and morality had a connecition. All of the researchers findings concluded that those in the scented room were more genorous and more willing to volunteer. I find this study particularly interesting because it's not a research topic you would typically see. These results may also be realted that people with cleaner room tend to be more happy than people with messy, unorganized rooms.

Childhood cancer survivors less likely to marry

CNN Health published this article about children that survive cancer are less likely to get married. 21% are less likely to get married compared to their sibling and 25% to the U.S. population. The younger the children were when they were battling cancer the less likely they are to get married. Most cancer survivors are left with emotional, physical and psychological affects. I never realized these patients had these types of long term affects. When my boyfriend was eleven he was diagnosed with lung cancer and fought the disease for two years. Today he still battles with anxiety and depression being that missing school for so long caused him so much stress. The article also said how most children after their treatment receive no follow up care which contributes to all of these side affects which my boyfriend never had. If the survivors did receive care the percentage of unmarried cancer survivors could decrease.

Black CEOs and the Teddy Bear Effect

This study I found was published in Newsweek about how racial characteristics make a difference for Fortune 500 companies. Mainly, white men were characterized as more aggressive and mean looking while the black men were characterized as cherubic and gentle looking. "The most likely interpretation of the results is that facial cues of warmth and nonthreateningness "mitigate feelings of anger, envy, or resentment among Whites who might otherwise feel threatened by powerful Black males." This study just shows how this country is still not race-blind. There has never been a "threatening" looking black male according to the study, but what defines a threatening black man? A strong face (not cherubic), broad shoulders, being very tall? Which any of these a white man can be. Hopefully, one day a person's facial characterisitics will not be the barrier of being on top of a Fortune 500 company.

Protesters’ secret: they’re out there because it makes them happier

The article I found was about the positive effects of activism. It reads, "Activists are dissatisfied with the drift of the times and outraged at the misdeeds of their ideological enemies. But they are also; it turns out, enjoying their lives more than the rest of us." Many may believe political activists are just looking to start trouble, but this is something that they truly believe in. All people want to make a difference and have a sense of empowerment and activists meet these psychological needs. Many protesters' also go to these rallies with people they enjoy being around each other and share a common passion. It's nice to have people to talk to that understand and share your views I can see how activists are happy people. They article also talked about the need of belonging to a group which the correlated to church and religion. As protestors feel like they're making a difference and part of a large cause church goers feel similar. Going to church and surrounding yourself with people that share the same beliefs fulfills the need to belong and the feeling of being part of something larger than yourself. To confirm these observations researchers Kasser and Klar performed a study on college students who were activists and non-activists. The activists tend to be happier, more optimistic, and more sociable people. I believe the finding are interesting and make a lot of sense as to why these protestors are happier people.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/10/11/protesters_secret_theyre_out_there_because_it_makes_them_happier/?page=1

Depression Ups Internet Addiction

This article is about children that are depressed, have ADHD or a social phobia are more likely to become addicted to the internet. The article reads, “Internet addiction is usually characterized with symptoms such as spending a lot of time online, an inability to cut back on usage, a preoccupation with online activities, and symptoms of withdrawal such as anxiety, boredom, or irritability after a few days of not going online.” I feel that children with the disposition of having these psychological problems are more at risk, but in today’s society this can happen to anyone. Everyone relies so heavily on technology and computers that it’s hard not to get addicted. If education hasn’t started relying so heavily on the use of computers maybe a lot of these children wouldn’t have these problems. Personally, I’m always on the computer for one class or another so it gets even harder as we get older to not use a computer less often. This problem is also similar to problems big corporate workers are having with their blackberry; constantly checking emails to the point where they lose sleep and have other psychological problems. Being that these children are more likely to be addicted to the computer then it should be up to the parents to control computer time and hopefully this will help.

Facebook & GPA's

In Chatanooga, Tennessee three students from Covenant College conducted a study on the amount of time spent on facebook affects a GPA. They discovered that students use facebook more are also associated with higher levels of anxiety, anger, depression and impulsivity. The effects of social networking have a negative affects on personalities and development and this experiment discovered them. Social networking, like facebook, and advancement in technology shows how impersonal relationships develop and the affect of these. In the article the three students believed that not only students use facebook but is becoming increasingly popular among adults so these finds make it even more important. I believe this study is almost similar to study like the impact of media. When people are constantly exposed to images of skinny celebrities it results in low self-esteem, bad body-image, and so on. I also believe peers compare themselves in this similar matter based on wall posts and pictures. Overall, the less often people use facebook the better off they are.

September 21, 2009

The article I found is about a 72 year old study that has followed the lives of 278 Harvard graduates. The studies of these graduates are based medical tests and detailed questionnaires about their marriage, happiness, etc. The man who has led the study for the past 42 years is psychiatrist George Vallaint, now 74. He documents for each individual a variety of factors including sickness, divorces, and deaths. An important part of his study is realizing that life isunpredictable. For instance, a man who was happy and sociable at the beginning of the study has also had a share of setbacks and depression. From these types of problems four ways of facing them emerges: psychotic adaptations, immature adaptations, neurotic defenses, and mature adaptations. The most common is neurotic defenses which includes repression and dissociation. But the “key to happiness” is mature adaptation which means to find proper outlets for feelings. I believe that if Vallaint included women in the study it would have probably produced the same results. Also, this study consists of predominantly white, middle-upper class men and results could have varied if additional races and classes were included.