Facts and Fictions in Mental Health
Authors: Hal Arkowitz and Scott Lilienfeld
ISBN-13: 978-1118311295
ISBN-10: 1118311299
 
APA Style Citation
Arkowitz, H., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2017). Facts and fictions in mental health. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell.

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​Book Description
Facts and Fictions in Mental Health is comprised of a series of chapters organized by section categories that each focus on a specific myth related to mental illness, treatment, or mental health. Each chapter addresses the myth, provides examples from clinical practice, pop culture, or events in the news, followed by evidence from recent scientific inquiry on the topic. The source for most of the chapters is “Facts and Fictions” articles previously published in Scientific American Mind, although six additional entries were created for this book.
 
Each of the first seven sections corresponds roughly to a diagnostic category: Anxiety-Related Disorders, Mood Disorders, Child and Adolescent Disorders, Addictions, Personality Disorders, and Shattered Selves:  Schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder.  The remaining three sections address Popular Myths About the Brain and Behavior, Psychotherapy and Other Approaches to Change, and Other Myths. Each section opens with an engaging introduction to the broader category within psychology, followed by bite-sized chapters of three to five pages that briefly address the myth and provide the scientific evidence which dispels the myth.  Each chapter also ends with several sources for additional information on that topic.
 
The book provides an excellent tool for teachers of psychology because it addresses head-on many of the incorrect beliefs held by students surrounding issues related to mental illness. The book also addresses some of students’ most frequent questions about mental illness and treatment. There are also chapters related to other popular myths about human behavior and mental processes.

• What are the causes and most effective treatment methods for hoarding?
• Is mindfulness good medicine for anxiety and depression?
• Are bipolar disorders linked to creativity?
• Four myths about suicide, including the myth that talking about suicide increases suicidal tendencies.
• Is electroconvulsive treatment effective?
• Is there an autism epidemic?
• Do all Tourette’s patients swear?
• Are all psychopaths psychotic?
• Is schizophrenia the same or similar to dissociative identity disorder?
• Are people with dissociative identity disorder faking?
• How violent are people with mental illness?
• Are individuals either left- or right-brained?
• Is hypnosis a distinct state of consciousness?
• Are all psychotherapies equally effective?
• Why do some people resist changing when they know that doing so would improve their lives?
• What stereotypes exist in the media regarding therapy?
• Are most disorders we see in Western and European countries the same as those in the rest of the world?
• Does the presence of a full mood trigger strange behaviors?
• Is eyewitness testimony accurate?
• Is the insanity defense frequently used in criminal trials?

 
The book concludes with an interesting postscript that addresses some of the reasons behind the persistence of these myths. For example, the availability heuristic, which is a problem-solving shortcut in which we base decisions base on what is most likely to be fresh in our minds.  Arkowitz and Lilienfeld discuss how the availability heuristic contributes to the myth that divorce is almost always harmful to children.  Because it is more likely that we will hear about times when children struggle during a divorce than when they are resilient or when the change has lead to am improvement for the entire family.  The availability heuristic creates the impression children struggle after divorce because this is what they expect as the likely outcome. The research indicates that although divorce is difficult for children, long-term negative consequences are not inevitable. Another logic error post hoc causes individuals to make causal conclusions about events that might happen close in time. This has led many to believe that Autism is caused by vaccinations despite evidence from numerous, large empirical studies that have shown this link to be false. Many myths, according to the authors, persist because they are partially accurate, leading to the error of the grain-of-truth hypothesis. For example, the fact that because animals can provide temporary relief from emotional pain does not mean that animal-assisted therapy can treat the primary symptoms of serious conditions such as schizophrenia and anorexia nervosa. Finally, the authors address the problem of how information is presented and by whom can also create or perpetuate myths.  The authors discuss the problem of self-help books in chapter 39, “3,500 self-help books appear every year, but few are based on research or subjected to scientific scrutiny.”  There are also numerous psychology websites that contain misleading and inaccurate information about mental health, and mainstream media outlets can create misconceptions due to inaccurate or misleading interpretations of scientific findings. The authors also point out that individuals frequently do not read articles and rely on headlines alone for information on research studies that might be quite complex.  As a result, this can lead to misinformation about the findings of the study. For example, the headline, “Fear of Fluoride in Drinking Water,” in an article that emphasized the safety of fluoride in water spread misinformation unintentionally.
 
Facts and Fictions in Mental Health is a great tool for providing students with opportunities to dispel misconceptions and build critical thinking skills. The short chapters can be used for enrichment during units on clinical psychology, as well as cognitive psychology topics related to problem-solving and cognitive biases.
 
 
Other Related Resources
 
National Alliance on Mental Illness - NAMI
https://nami.org/Home
The NAMI organization provides numerous resources for building understanding and reducing the stigma associated with mental illness.  The website contains educational materials, information for requesting guest speakers, and advocacy opportunities. The site also has a series of effective videos that can be used to supplement instruction.
 
Time to Change – UK
https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/
Time to Change is an organization devoted to reducing stigma related to mental illness in the UK, and their website provides a variety of inspirational stories and educational materials for use in the classroom and the workplace.
 
Avoid Misleading Terminology
Fifty psychological and psychiatric terms to avoid: a list of inaccurate, misleading, misused, ambiguous, and logically confused words and phrases
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01100/full
This link is to an interesting article by author Lilienfeld and others that list and explain misleading terminology used in psychology that causes misinformation and confusion.
This article can be used as a source for a discussion related to the critical evaluation of scientific claims.  For each misleading term or phrase, the article explains why it poses a problem, provides examples of its misuse, and, if possible, provides a preferable term. Examples include a gene for, brain region “X” lights up, hard-wired, lie-detector test, truth-serum, and neural signature. Interestingly – the article addresses the problems with terminology frequently used in psychology class such as operational definition, objective personality test, and reliable and valid. The article also includes terms that are frequently misused or that are misleading overall.
 
Confusing Pairs
50 Differences That Make a Difference: A Compendium of Frequently Confused Term Pairs in Psychology
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2017.00037/full
This link is to an interesting article by author Lilienfeld and others that list and explain confusing pairs of terms in psychology. 
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Agoraphobia
Alzheimer’s disease
Animal-assisted therapy
Anxiety and anxiety disorders
Availability heuristic
Behavioral therapy
Bipolar disorder
Client-centered therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Depression
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
Dissociative disorders
Electroconvulsive therapy
Feeding and eating disorders
Hoarding disorder
Insanity defense
Mindfulness
Mood disorders
Neurodevelopmental disorders
Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders
Personality disorders
Post hoc error
Psychotropic medications
Schizophrenia
Short-term psychodynamic therapy
Substance use and abuse disorders
Trauma- and stressor related disorders
 

​Hidden Valley Road:  Inside the Mind of an American Family
Author:  Richard Kolker
ISBN:  978-03855-43774
 
APA Style Citation
Kolker, R. (2020.) Hidden valley road. Inside the Mind of an American family.  New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Valley-Road-Inside-American/dp/038554376X
 

​Book Description
Hidden Valley Road, named after the street the family lived on, is the tragic story of the Galvin family.  The non-fictional account follows the growing family from the time in which the young, recently married Donald and Mimi Galvin moved to Colorado Springs through the twelve children that eventually made up the Galvin family (10 boys and 2 girls).  Eventually, six of the boys would develop schizophrenia. The book addresses many facets related to mental illness, including the issues of genetic and environmental factors, the stigma around mental illness, and the difficulty in managing and finding good care for those experiencing different levels of schizophrenia.
 
Since Swiss Psychologist Eugen Bleuler initially coined the term schizophrenia, which comes from the Latin word -schizo- meaning a split in mental functioning, he had suspected that there was an underlying physical component to the disorder. The degree to which the physical components drive the illness is still one that is fascinating and much debated. Examining a family in which six of the boys developed the disease provides the opportunity to learn more about the underlying genetic components that may be associated with schizophrenia. Freud was the first but certainly not the last to place the blame of development of schizophrenia decidedly at least partially at the feet of the mother, a point not lost on Mimi as her son’s disappeared into the illness. Today, estimations are that one in one hundred individuals may experience schizophrenia at some point in their lives, but with an identical twin, chances increase to roughly 50%.  In one other famous case of schizophrenia from the 1950s, the Genain quadruplets all developed schizophrenia by age 25 and were studied by the National Institute of Mental Health.
 
Don Galvin Sr. was a professor at the Air Force Academy after having spent time in the Navy.  He had experienced in his early military career “a case of the nerves” and was hospitalized at Walter Reed hospital, this event was not much discussed in the family, and his career and family developed quickly. The eldest son Don Jr. played football, got decent grades, and wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.  By his teenage years, however, he was smashing dishes and ruthlessly beating up his younger brothers. Mimi and Donald were frequently traveling for work and left the boys to their own devices, which could be brutal as they formed camps against one another. By sophomore year in college, Donald was experiencing full-blown psychotic episodes, believing in one case that he had murdered a professor and in another fantasizing about murdering someone at a football game.  He also killed a cat that had lived with him for a few days after it scratched him. This behavior was at first attributed to a break up with a longtime girlfriend. When he was forced to return home, he believed people were shooting at him and once removed all of the furniture from the house in a paranoid episode. Don and Mimi opted for a psychoanalytic treatment before eventually resorting to the use of Thorazine to reduce Donald’s aggressive outbursts. Because of the stigma attached to the illness, Donald Sr. and Mimi tried to manage Donald’s illness while he lived at home because admitting him to a mental institution would be to admit defeat and publicly acknowledge what was happening. With Donald Sr. frequently away for work, it was up to Mimi to manage Donald along with the ten other children still living at home, most of whom became terrified of Donald. The Thorazine caused Donald to gain weight and sleep often, but it never eliminated his delusions of having superior powers or being controlled by God. Donald eventually developed tardive dyskinesia experiencing constant jerking movement from the years on Thorazine, but he attributed it to his father, making him “stand at attention as a child.”
 
The middle group of boys threw themselves into hockey to get out of the house, and Margaret, the second youngest, was sent to live with some wealthy family friends. Mary (who now goes by Lindsay), the youngest, often locked herself in her room when home alone with her brother because she was terrified he would fly into one of his rages. 
 
Shortly after Jim, the second oldest, got married, he started hearing voices, he believed people were spying on him, and he stopped sleeping, often acting violently towards himself. He had a tumultuous marriage even prior to the diagnosis and eventually killed his wife and was sent to prison. Brian and Michael were the next to experience symptoms. Brian played in a band and had a total disregard for authority, some believed that his symptoms might have been brought on by drug use. After a weeklong stay in Denver’s psychiatric ward, he decided it was time for him to leave and he never fully accepted his diagnosis. Michael could often go for long stretches without symptoms, and it seems that although he experienced symptoms of schizophrenia, they were far less severe than his eldest brother Donald Jr. The youngest of the ten boys, Peter, was always oppositional, but after witnessing his father’s stroke in 9th grade he experienced more frequent oppositional episodes and he eventually had to be hospitalized and restrained.  Mimi now had to take care of the older boys, her husband, who was recovering from a stroke and try to find a place that was appropriate for Peter’s young age and symptoms. Peter was eventually diagnosed with acute schizophrenia with paranoid ideation.  Matt, who was another one of the hockey-playing brothers and who later fought in the Vietnam war, came to believe the government was out to get him but resisted the label of schizophrenia. He became homeless and often sold his medications for money or food but never believed that he actually had schizophrenia. He eventually went through many rounds of ECT therapy.
 
With so many cases of schizophrenia in a single family it is likely that there was some genetic factor driving the illness. It was later discovered that many of the boys who later developed the illness were molested by a priest who has been a family friend and often spent time with the boys. The lack of acknowledgment, especially with Donald Jr, may have also been an environmental factor that exacerbated the illness.  Growing up with an older brother who was schizophrenic created a chaotic and violent home environment and may also have served as environmental triggers for some of the younger boys.  
Psychologists like Irving Gottesman and James Shield began to examine the genetic influence of the disease by proposing the diathesis-stress model in which certain disorders could be predisposed for some individuals but activated by environmental factors.  In the late 1970s, Richard Wyatt found enlarged ventricles in some schizophrenic patients leading to a stronger belief in the physical attributes of the disorder. In the early 1980s, Irving Feinberg proposed that problems in neural pruning during adolescence might be the main cause of the disorder. The 1990s brought the discovery that the hippocampi in some schizophrenics were smaller than in control patients. MRI scans also found problems with activity in the frontal lobe.  Through this all, Lynn Delisi was attempting to find specific genetic markers to identify the disorders. Studying families would be the key to discovering the genetic links to the disorder.  In the 1990s, the Human Genome Project began to solve problems such as this and with $3 billion in funding.  The Galvin brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews who were willing donated their DNA to be analyzed for clues to the genetic components of the illness.  It was determined that a mutation on the C4A gene might provide some answers to the disorders. There is now the possibility of genetic testing in utero, and there may be a way to fix flaws in genes in the womb or early in life. Ironically, one of the Galvin grandchildren is working on the project that contains her family’s DNA to try to ensure that families in the future will not have to endure the chaos his own family experienced.
 
Other Related Resources
Book Trib:  Question and Answers with Robert Kolker
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/books/review/hidden-valley-road-robert-kolker.html
 
NPR:  Hidden Valley Road
Inside the Mind of an American Family
https://www.npr.org/books/titles/826844537/hidden-valley-road-inside-the-mind-of-an-american-family
 
The Gazette:  Interview with two of the Galvin Brothers
https://gazette.com/health/schizophrenic-brother-from-hidden-valley-road-struggles-to-find-long-term-care-in-colorado-springs/article_e69bec18-a4f6-11ea-b464-3fe45116d2c9.html
 
New York Time Book Review:  Good Looks ran in the Family, and so did Schizophrenia
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/books/review/hidden-valley-road-robert-kolker.html
 
Apple Podcasts:  Robert Kolker discusses Hidden Valley Road
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/robert-kolker-discusses-hidden-valley-road/id120315179?i=1000471100099
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Eugene Blueler
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Emil Kraepelin
David Rosenthal
Thomas Szasz
 
Chlorpromazine
Clozapine
CT scans
Delusions
Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM)
Dopamine receptors
Hallucinations
Electroshock treatment 
Insulin shock therapy
Lithium
Lobotomies
MRI studies
Neurons
Paranoid schizophrenia
Psychopaths
Schizophrenia
Somatization disorders
Stockholm syndrome
Tardive dyskinesia
Thorazine
 
 

Make Just One Change
Authors: Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana
ISBN-13: 978-1612500997
ISBN-10: 1612500994
 
APA Style Citation
Rothstein, D & Santana, L. (2011). Make just one change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Just-One-Change-Questions/dp/1612500994
​

​Book Description
How would you describe a student-centered classroom? One answer might include students doing the thinking, talking, and producing. Teachers have all been faced with the sound of crickets after they ask, “Are there any questions?” Perhaps it is because students don’t know how to ask questions. Make Just One Change offers the Question Formulation Technique for the teacher’s toolbox to help students learn how to ask questions.
 
The authors, Rothstein and Santana, recognized the need to be taught how to ask the right questions in school. They were impacted by parents commenting on how they couldn’t help their children with their school work because they didn’t know what questions to ask. The traditional education system has focused on teacher questions and student answers for too long. Instead, all students should learn how to ask questions and teachers can easily incorporate this skill into their lessons. After years of experimenting, the authors have landed on a six-step process that helps students exercise their questioning muscle for future growth. The strategy focuses on divergent thinking (multiple answers), convergent thinking (narrowing of options), and metacognition (thinking about your thinking). With these new skills, students will have an easier time writing essay, reading texts, identifying research questions, designing experiments, participating in Socratic seminars, creating homework assignments, and preparing for tests.
 
When students can ask questions, it improves their ownership in learning, engagement, learning outcomes, and confidence. The Question Formulation Technique helps with teamwork skills and classroom management. It promotes democracy and turn students into life-long learners. It has also been found effective with at-risk students, especially minorities to bridge the achievement gap.
 
A short summary of the six core components has been provided below.
 

1. Question Focus or QFocus

Rather than the traditional prompt, the QFocus is a stimulus to kickstart student questions. It can be a short statement or a visual aid, but it must have a clear focus and NOT be a question. Also, it should stimulate new thinking and stay away from teacher bias. While creating the QFocus, teachers should keep in mind the goal of the lesson and what students will be doing with their questions.
 

1. Produce Questions

Before students start producing questions, it is important to introduce the four essential rules. Each of them have value, and all must be followed. First, ask as many questions as you can. This provides students the authority to ask their questions. Second, do not stop to discuss, judge, or answer the questions. This creates a safe space, along with supporting efficiency, equalizing, and an opening to ideas. Third, write down every question exactly as it is stated. This levels the playing field so all voices can be heard and respected. As a teacher, we know how challenging this can be because we often paraphrase for students. However, students need to practice being able to scribe as accurately as possible. Finally, change any statement into a question. This brings the focus back to questions not statements. Remember, producing questions takes courage. We’ve all heard, “I know this is a stupid question, but…” By following the four rules, students will be provided a safe place to explore the skill of questioning. 
 
After explaining the rules, teachers should help facilitate a discussion on the challenges of using these rules.  Students will discuss the challenges in small groups in order to draw attention to the rules and participate in metacognition. After the discussion, students will start to produce their own questions. The teacher should monitor students and remind them of the rules. If necessary, starters to questions can be provided, such as what, when, or how. However, it is very important to not give examples or questions while supporting students because they will feel there is a correct way of questioning.
 

1. Identify Closed- vs. Open-ended Questions

The type of question asked shapes the information received. The teacher should begin with differentiating closed- vs. open-ended questions. Then, students will review their questions and classify them with either a C or O. After, the teacher will facilitate a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of both types of questions. Finally, students will practice switching 1-2 of each type of question to its counterpart.  Students may struggle with this step, so the teacher can provide some starters again. Question stems for open-ended questions often start with why or how, whereas closed-ended questions start with is, do, or can. There is value to both types of questions and one may be more helpful than another in certain situations. It is important for students to recognize the value and practice being able to change their questions to the other type. While students are producing and categorizing their questions, they are practicing divergent thinking. When they transition to listing advantages and disadvantages and changing their questions, they have moved on to metacognition and convergent thinking.
 

1. Prioritize Questions

This step is a very important, but often overlooked part of the process. Students must prioritize on a regular basis, such as time management between homework and peers or next steps for a long-term project. As many teachers know, this can be quite challenging for the adolescent brain. For this step, students will discuss, compare, analyze, and prioritize their questions down to three based on the teacher’s criteria (e.g., what students would like to focus on, most important information to students, specific purpose, information to explore further). In addition, students must provide a rationale for their prioritized questions that will be shared with the larger group. The teacher should support students by reminding them of the criteria and validate the reports with a neutral tone, such as “thank you.” When providing what is meant to be positive feedback, such as “great question,” this makes students think there is a correct way of questioning that the teacher is looking for. Students may struggle with this process, but hopefully they will come to a consensus and utilize their convergent thinking.
 

1. Provide Next Steps

Now it will be established what students will do next. The question formulation technique can be used at the beginning, middle, or end of a class or unit. In the beginning it might be used as a starter, to review yesterday’s topic, guide new research, assess knowledge gaps, or shape a future lesson. In the middle it might be used to shape homework, prepare for tests, or identify student misconceptions. In the end, it might be used to review the lesson, prepare for final reports, or set a new research agenda. The next steps are diverse and can be varied throughout the year. When students are using the questions for the purpose set by the teacher, they are practicing their convergent thinking.
 

1. Reflection

The final step has students reflect on the entire process and participate in metacognition. Teachers will develop questions for students to respond to focused on what the student learned, how they learned, and how they feel. The format of reflection also needs to be decided, whether it will be written or discussion based. Sometimes there may not be enough time and teachers remove this step. However, enhancing metacognitive skills for students should not be skipped.
 
Other Related Resources
Right Question Institute
https://rightquestion.org/resources/make-just-one-change/
 
The Brainwaves Anthology: Dan Rothstain- Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOGbA9LocAk
 
The Brainwaves Anthology: Luz Santana- The Right Question Institute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NP24l3jCwo
 
TEDxSomerville- Dan Rothstein: Did Socrates Get it Wrong?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JdczdsYBNA
 
Harvard EdCast- Make Just One Change
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/11/11/harvard-edcast-make-just-one-change
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Howard Gardner
Carl Jung
Robert Sternberg
 
Creativity
Convergent thinking
Divergent thinking
Implicit memory
Metacognition

Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization
Author: Scott Barry Kaufman
ISBN-10: 0143131206
ISBN-13: 978-0143131205
 
APA Style Citation
Kaufman, S.B. (2020). Transcend: The new science of self-actualization. New York, NY: Tarcher Perigee.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Self-Actualization-Scott-Barry-Kaufman/dp/014313120

Book Description
Many individuals studying psychology are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. But who was this man and how many levels truly exist in his hierarchy? Transcend: The New Science of Self-actualization, written by Scott Kaufman, offers a short biography seamlessly blended with an exploration of Maslow’s theories that laid the foundation of humanistic psychology and modern research.
 
Maslow was the eldest son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He was bullied as a kid and went on to dedicate his life to social change. At age 19, Maslow had a life-changing experience. While attending a college class (that he eventually dropped claiming it was too hard) he learned of folkways and was bitten by the anthropology bug. Shortly after, he transferred to the University of Wisconsin Madison. In 1930, Maslow was just three years younger than his 24- year-old professor Harry Harlow, and they would go on to become dear friends. After reading Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, Maslow was drawn to psychoanalysis. He approached Harlow to empirically test the ideas of Freud and Adler. It was then that Maslow began researching sex and dominance in monkeys. His work impressed Thorndike, a behaviorial psychologist who’s work on learning theory led to operant conditioning, who invited him to come to Columbia University to work as his postdoctoral fellow. That same year Adler also moved to New York City and hosted weekly get togethers. After asking about his connection to Freud, Adler became visibly angry and Maslow was embarrassed. At a later meeting, Adler questioned Maslow’s loyalty and Maslow never attended another meeting. Later that year Adler had a heart attack and died. Maslow had a great deal of regret about his final interaction with Adler. In 1938, Maslow spent the summer among the Northern Blackfoot Indians in Alberta, Canada. This experience influenced his perception of human nature. He believed all humans were basically good, but society changes this natural personality. From 1935-1945, Maslow learned from some of the most influential psychologists and anthropologists of his generation and many become his friends: Alfred Adler, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, Bela Mittlemann, Emil Oberholzer, Abran Kdariner, David Levy, Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Kurt Goldstein, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead to name a few.
 
Another life-changing experience came shortly after the United States entered WWII. Maslow felt we didn’t understand the Fascists or Communists and devoted his life to discovering a psychology for the peace table. He used his varied experiences to create his theory of human motivation. In 1943, he used the phrase “self-actualization” referring to the desire for self-fulfillment. He believed everyone should be self-actualizing, and it was the society that impacted them. For him, the self-actualizing man was not an ordinary man with something added, but the ordinary man with nothing taken away. He studied personal acquaintances and friends, college students, and public and historical figures. He acknowledged the limitations of this methodology but hoped to inspire further study. It has been almost 70 years since he published his list of self-actualization characteristics, but ten can still be reliably and validly measured. From 1945-49, he kept a Good Human Being (GHB) Notebook to organize his findings. Along the journey, he wanted to inspire students not just provide mastery of content. He was also blunt and honest to a fault. In 1954, he turned his attention to “peak experiences”. He read widely from Eastern religious thought and Carl Jung. After collecting mystical experiences from college students, he created the concept of a “peak experience”. He shared this with his colleagues and was rejected by a top journal. Later he explored industrial psychology and was influenced by McGregor’s concepts of Theory X and Theory Y. He went on to create Theory Z and soon realized self-actualization is not the top of the hierarchy.
 
In December, 1967 he had his first heart attack and recognized that he did not have much time left. He decided to commit to his writing and faced his inner conflicts and insecurities. He saved his thoughts in his journal and believed the right person would come along and know what must be done. His last private journal entries showed he was working on a humanistic revolution and a series of exercises to transcend the ego. He was also planning to write a book on humanistic education. He wanted a fifth force in psychology, known as transhumanism that would transcend human interests. On June 8, 1970, Maslow died from a second heart attack at the young age of 62. He had much more to explore for his humanistic theory.
 
Maslow called for a “Being-Psychology,” a field of psychology that incorporates a full understanding that includes both sick and healthy. It explores the ends rather than the means and was sometimes known as “positive psychology.” He created a “third force” in response to the limitations of behaviorism and Freudian psychoanalysis. It became known as humanistic psychology and started with the launch of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology in 1961. It focuses on a healthy personality and gained popularity. The 13 sources of well-being have been studied extensively and supported over the years. However, several misconceptions of his theory have also been firmly implanted in public perception.

1. The theory is NOT similar to a video game with a lockstep progression. Maslow was a developmental psychologist and recognized maturation as ongoing. Individuals are often only partially satisfied at any level and can return to a lower level.
2. The needs are NOT isolated from one another. Maslow discussed how the needs are arranged and rest on one another, but returning to lower needs is always a possibility. John Rowan, an English humanistic psychotherapist, used the analogy of Russian nesting dolls: each larger doll includes all of the smaller dolls but also transcends them. While working on higher needs, the lower needs don’t disappear but rather work together for growth.
3. The theory is NOT a pyramid. Maslow never created a pyramid to represent his hierarchy of needs; it was created by a management consultant in the 1960s. The graphic gained popularity and was reproduced in textbooks, but the theory is much more powerful than the simplistic, 5-step, one-way pyramid offered with the graphic.
4. The theory DOES allow for cross-cultural variation and individual differences. Maslow recognized that basic needs can change across a lifetime, but there are also significant differences in the order to which people satisfy their needs. For example, if a group is lacking security (i.e., war-torn society) they will be focused on their survival needs. However, they can simultaneously work on community, respect, and talent development. Individuals do not need to wait for their security needs to be met before working on self-fulfillment. Even within a society, individuals are influenced by their personality and environmental experiences. Needs can change as we mature and develop.

 
Rather than focusing on a pyramid, Maslow proposed all needs can be grouped into two main classes, which must be integrated for wholeness. Deficiency needs (D-needs) are motivated by lack of satisfaction- lack of food, safety, affection, belonging, and self-esteem. The D-realm colors our perceptions and distorts reality. The Being-realm (B-needs) is about accepting and loving of oneself and others.
 
The author, Kaufman, proposes perhaps a more appropriate analogy for understanding the true essence of Maslow’s theory. Rather than a hierarchy, he suggests a sailboat. It is a sailboat that protects one from dangerous seas. Each plank offers security, but it is not enough for movement. A sail is necessary to move the boat through the water. Each level of the sail helps an individual capture more wind and explore their environment. Rather than climbing a pyramid, one opens their sail and drops their defenses. As you catch the wind you can enter peak experiences. And as one makes their way through the ocean, they help other sailboats near them.

• The boat consists of the basic needs of safety, connection, and self-esteem. These security needs work together, but under bad conditions can lead to instability. 
• The sail represents growth, which is the heart of self-actualization.

Security and growth are the two foundations necessary for becoming a whole person. Kaufman broke down growth into three specific needs: exploration, love, and purpose. He believes this captures the essence of Maslow’s concept of self-actualization.
 
Boat: Security Needs
 
1. Safety
Maslow emphasized the need for the most fundamental needs to be met to realize one’s full potential. Modern science supports having a safe base. The research is clear that psychological processes are entangled with our physiology. Kaufman feels fine combining the physiological and safety needs that Maslow proposed. He further explores research on hunger and the need for attachment security. Bowlby and Ainsworth’s research are addressed along with adult categories of attachment styles. The future implications of trauma on the brain and learned helplessness are also explored along with their physiological connections. Maslow believed healthy growth involved not only fulfillment of the basic needs, but also the ability to endure deprivation and grow as a result. One of the most important paths to growth is through education.  Sternberg emphasizes viewing intelligence in context. Skills for success in school may differ from skills necessary for survival. An emerging field in education, known as possibility development, focuses on helping adolescents imagine future possible selves and strategies to overcome obstacles, which can have a persistent positive impact.
 
2. Connection
Maslow quickly acquired great affection for monkeys under Harlow. Harlow’s research identified connection is essential to normal development. Maslow said belonging and affection were fundamental and not reducible to safety or sex. The need for connection consists of two sub needs: need to belong and the need for intimacy. The Robbers Cave Study explores how external threats and a lack of resources can motivate belonging. Additional research shows the strength of groups, even when membership is meaningless. However, people differ greatly in their need for belonging as a result of individual genes interacting with personal experiences. The need for intimacy is more about connecting, caring, and protecting loved ones. At the heart of intimacy is a high-quality connection. Further topics explored include the brain’s opioid system increasing connection, the deadly consequences of social isolation, the impact of money and satisfaction, social media’s link to loneliness, and finally the Blue Zones of connections.
 
3. Self-Esteem
The same year Adler died, Maslow published the first of his studies on “dominance-feeling” among humans, a term he soon changed to “self-esteem.” Adler’s influence is visible in Maslow’s paper, clearly distinguishing between feelings of dominance and dominance behavior. Maslow also matched Adler’s thoughts about overcompensation and turning challenges into growth and strength. Healthy self-esteem is one of the strongest correlates to life satisfaction. Modern research identifies two aspects of healthy self-esteem: self-worth and mastery. Self-worth is the evaluation of your overall sense of self. Maslow distinguished the need for self-esteem and the need for esteem from others. Modern research says they are linked. Mastery is the evaluation of your overall sense of agency. We need to know “who we are” as well as “what we can do.”  Further topics explored include self-esteem vs. narcissism, the two faces of narcissism (grandiose and vulnerable), and healthy pride.
 
Sail- Growth Needs
 
1. Exploration
To move forward and grow, exploration helps stop the anxieties and fears. Research has linked the dopamine pathway to the reward value of information. Topics explored include social exploration and adventure-seeking. Research regarding post-traumatic growth is also explored in more detail. For both Maslow and Rogers, the height of self-actualization was creativity. One key to creativity is openness and modern research has looked at openness and the “default mode network” also known as the “imagination network.” Connections to intellectual curiosity and academic achievement are also being explored.  A map of the creative brain has been developed to predict the quality of creative thought.
 
2. Love
Maslow recognized beyond a certain point of love fulfillment, we become more capable of turning our love to others. He distinguished needing love or “D-love (deficiency love)” from unneeding love or “B-love (love for the being of another person).” The difference between the dark triad and light triad are also explored. Research has confirmed Maslow’s idea that those with a strong loving orientation are less likely to need love. B-loving people have self-transcendent values. They are high in universal concern, universal tolerance, trustworthiness, dependability for close loved ones, benevolence, and caring for friends and family. They also have healthy compassion and genuine motives. B-loving individuals score high in affective empathy. Other topics explored that are associated with B-loving are healthy coping mechanisms, healthy self-love, a quiet ego, healthy authenticity, and whole love.
 
3. Purpose
Maslow was exposed to industrial psychology and realized the potential of the workplace for testing self-actualization. He felt self-actualized people pursued their calling, not happiness. Having purpose is a crucial human need. Modern research supports that seeing work as a calling is related to greater life satisfaction and fewer missed days of work. However, having a purpose is not enough for growth. It is important to pick the right personal goals. The most growth fostering purpose is built on a strong foundation of a secure environment, belonging, connection, healthy self-esteem, and driven by exploration and love.
 
Healthy Transcendence
Maslow found that peak experiences (any experience that comes close to perfection) had many triggers and were common in a variety of people. However, those with greater psychological health had a greater frequency of peak experiences. Maslow thought peak experiences were profound and transformative for the person experiencing them. What distinguishes self-actualizing people, are more frequent and intense peak experiences.
 
In 1967, Maslow began wondering if there were different types of self-actualizing people and if there was a different motivation besides temporary peak experiences. There appeared to be a higher motivation for continual striving for transcendent experiences and values. Maslow put his ideas together in a 1969 paper called Theory Z. He proposed that “merely healthy” people fulfilled Theory Y, but transcenders went beyond basic needs and fulfillment of one’s unique self. He identified the characteristics of transcenders. A Theory Z worldview is full of awe, beauty, wonder, savoring, exploration, discovery, and openness. It is similar to modern research on wisdom. Theory Z was an inspiring vision of what humans could be. Maslow was also working on humanistic education and psychopolitics. As his health declined he did not fear death. Instead, he had found new depths of meaning, which he related to a plateau experience. A plateau experience was more enduring and cognitive, in contrast to a peak experience that was ecstatic and momentary. A key trigger of the plateau experience was a confrontation with mortality. In 1970, Maslow mentioned the intention to develop exercises to help bring to the B-realm.
 
The man that built humanistic psychology had so much more to offer. Thanks to his journals we have a little bit more of an understanding about where he was wanted to take psychology with his beliefs of a “Being Psychology.”
 
Other Related Resources
Author Webpage
https://scottbarrykaufman.com/
 
Self-Actualization Tests
https://scottbarrykaufman.com/selfactualizationtests/
 
Scientific American- Summary of Research on Characteristics of Self-Actualization Scale
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/what-does-it-mean-to-be-self-actualized-in-the-21st-century/
 
Research on Characteristics of Self-Actualization Scale
https://scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Kaufman-self-actualization-2018.pdf
 
The Psychology Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hjyLvI7ywc
 
SLOWW website (Detailed Book Summary)
https://www.sloww.co/transcend-book-scott-barry-kaufman/
 
Scientific American Stories by Scott Barry Kaufman
https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/scott-barry-kaufman/
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Alfred Adler
Mary Ainsworth
John Bowlby
Brené Brown
David Buss
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Angela Duckworth
Erik Erikson
Sigmund Freud
Howard Gardner
Harry Harlow
Karen Horney
William James
Henry Murray
Carl Rogers
Martin Seligman
Robert Sternberg
Edward Thorndike
John Watson
 
Altruism
Attachment
Being psychology
B-needs vs. D-needs
Brain parts
Cortisol
emotion-focused coping strategies
Eros
Evolutionary psychology
Flow
fMRI
Grit
Hormones
Humanistic psychology
In-group biases
Instincits
Instrumental social alue
Intelligence
Intrinsic
Learned helplessness
Narcissism
Natural selection
Neuroticism
Openness to experience
Overconfidence
Oxytocin
Peak experience
Personality
Plateau experience
Pleasure system- opioid system
Post-traumatic growth
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
problem-focused coping strategies
Projection
Proximity
Relational social value
Robbers Cave study
Self-actualization
Self-efficacy
Signature strengths
Stress
Sublimation
Terror management theory (TMT)
Theory of mind
Theory X vs. Y vs. Z
Third force
Transcendence
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Transformational leadership
Unconditional positive regard

​Talking to Strangers  
Author:  Malcolm Gladwell
ISBN-13:  978-0-316-53562-5
 
APA Style Citation
Gladwell, M. (2019). Talking to Strangers. Little Brown and Company, Hachette Book Group, New York, N.Y.
 
Buy this Book 
https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Strangers-Should-about-People/dp/0316478520
 
 

​Book Description
Malcolm Gladwell’s latest foray into the investigation of human behavior explores how implicit biases can lead us astray when evaluating someone’s intentions and behaviors. Most of the stories that Gladwell features are those in which something went wrong, and someone was misjudged because of their charisma, work ethic or skin color. Gladwell opens with the story of Sandra Bland, who was pulled over for a simple traffic stop in Houston, Texas in 2015 and in a series of misjudgments and misunderstandings wound up dead in a Texas jail.  Gladwell addresses how Adolf Hitler was able to convince Neville Chamberlin and other world leaders in the 1930s that he was simply trying to unify German speakers who were split apart after WWI, not take over all of Europe. Gladwell addresses judges doling out sentences or determining who will be “high risk” when setting bail. He contends that we often think that we can “see into the hearts of others based on the flimsiest of clues.”
            In most cases, people will default to truth, when we are unsure about others intentions, we assume they are being truthful. When we know a little bit about someone else and especially when that little bit is good, “they went to Harvard,” “they are a hard worker,” we tend to demonstrate the halo effect. When this happens, we assume that people with one positive characteristic also have other positive characteristics. This phenomenon allowed Ana Montes to rise through the ranks of the CIA to become known as, “The Queen of Cuba.”  Montes was hard-working, attractive, and articulate.  When questioned about an American plane that was shot down over Cuba, Montes had answers at the ready, and the CIA agent who interviewed her was satisfied she had nothing to do with the event despite a number of unusual coincidences between her connections in Cuba and the events surrounding the plane incident. As psychological researchers have long known, people are generally terrible at spotting a liar. We are also far more likely to believe that people are telling the truth rather than lying. Tim Levine of the University of Alabama labels this the Truth-Default Theory (TDT).  Ana Montes was a spy for the Cubans and had a direct connection to Fidel Castro, but she fooled her co-workers, siblings, and boyfriend (all of whom were in the intelligence community) for years.  Once people found out that Montes had been secretly funneling information to Cuba for years, they demonstrated hindsight bias and began to question her earlier behavior, but nobody raised questions at the time. As intelligence officers, they felt guilt about not being able to detect a spy in their ranks, and tried to reflect back on events in which they had suspicions about Montes’ behavior.  This rationalization likely helped to alleviate the cognitive dissonance of those who knew and worked with Montes, but Gladwell suggests that we are still likely to default to the truth and believe people even when we should not.
In other examples, Bernie Madoff embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme, which went on for years undetected despite multiple people raising questions about his returns and the amount of market share he supposedly managed. Jerry Sandusky took advantage of his high-profile status as a football coach to abuse young boys who were in his care.  In other cases, we can assume that someone is lying when, in fact, they are telling the truth. Amanda Knox was accused of killing her roommate in a strange sex triangle gone wrong because she did not act “how a grieving roommate should” in her interactions with police and others after the crime occurred. She spent seven years in an Italian prison until it was demonstrated that a drifter with a record was the true perpetrator. Even then, some Italian officials claimed that Knox was the killer because they had become convinced that she committed the crime, and their belief perseverance would not let them change their mind.
 
One might think that this default to truth is a dangerous way to live as we can be duped into believing people who are lying to us. Levine suggests otherwise, he indicates that in general lies are fairly rare and told by a small subset of people. As such, our default to truth might serve a purpose of social connection because if we questioned everyone’s intentions all of the time, we would often accuse people of lying when they were telling the truth and we would ostracize ourselves for the accusation. We overestimate our ability to judge others behaviors, but according to Gladwell, we may be wrong more often than we think.
 
 
Other Related Resources
Malcolm Gladwell website
https://www.gladwellbooks.com
 
Malcolm Gladwell Revisionist History podcast 
http://revisionisthistory.com
 
Malcolm Gladwell on Taking to Strangers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is8_0cJx82w
 
Malcolm Gladwell on C-Span
https://www.c-span.org/video/?464128-1/qa-malcolm-gladwell
 
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Charles Darwin
Paul Ekman
Tim Levine
Stanley Milgram
Claude Steele
 
Actor-observer effect
Amygdala
Availability heuristic
Belief perseverance
Cerebellum
Cognitive dissonance
Discrimination
Displacement
Duchenne smile
Frontal lobe
Fundamental attribution error
Halo effect
Hindsight bias
Implicit bias
Just world phenomenon
Overconfidence
Prefrontal cortex
Prejudice
Self-serving bias
Stereotypes
 
 
 

Upside:  The New Science of Post-Traumatic Growth
Author: Jim Rendon
ISBN-10: 1476761639
ISBN-13: 978-1476761633
 
APA Style Citation
Rendon. (2015). Upside: The new science of Post-Traumatic Growth. New York, NY: Touchstone.
 
Buy This Book
www.amazon.com/Upside-New-Science-Post-Traumatic-Growth/dp/1476761639

​Book Description
 As teachers of psychology, we often devote considerable time and attention to mental illness and treatment while spending significantly less time on positive psychology or the scientific study of strengths and the potential to grow from negative experiences. 
According to the DSM-5, individuals may receive a diagnosis of Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from exposure to three types of traumatic events: 

1. The event happened to them personally
2. They learn that a traumatic event happened to a family member or a close friend
3. They experienced repeated exposure to traumatic events (e.g., first responders, caregivers).

The most common PTSD symptoms are:

• Intrusion (e.g., involuntary distressing memories, flashbacks, nightmares)
• Avoidance (e.g., hiding from distressing memories, dodging reminders of the event)
• Negative changes in thoughts and mood (e.g., negative beliefs about oneself, numbness, detachment from others)
• Increased arousal and reactivity (e.g., exaggerated startle response, irritability, problems concentrating, sleep difficulties)

 
After an extremely dangerous or life-threatening event, most individuals have initial symptoms, and in most cases, those symptoms go away on their own.  For some, the symptoms continue, and PTSD may be diagnosed. There is, however, research related to how these same events ultimately lead to post-traumatic growth (PTG), which is the subject of the book, Upside.  While it is critical to teach and build an understanding of PTSD, it is equally important to illustrate that the types of experiences that lead to PTSD do not always result in the condition. In reality, most individuals who experience a traumatic event do not develop PTSD.
 
The book Upside traces the development of research into the potential positive benefits of trauma that began in the 1980s.  Two psychology professors from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun, built the initial research on individuals who had been devastated by losses, including accidents and illness.  Another early study conducted by a psychiatrist and professor at the Yale School of Medicine named William Sledge covered what would become post-traumatic growth in aviators who were POWs during the Vietnam War, which was published in 1980.  Interest in the field grew slowly as more research funding was devoted to PTSD.  While examples of post-traumatic growth have been documented for thousands of years, it was not a focus of scientific inquiry until the 1980s. Tedeschi and Calhoun continued their research and found that individuals who experienced positive outcomes post-trauma experienced changes in one or more of the following areas:

• Greater inner strength
• An openness to new life possibilities
• Closer and deeper relationships with friends and family
• An enhanced appreciation for life
• A stronger sense of spirituality

Tedeschi and Calhoun named the phenomenon "post-traumatic growth" and published research based on the questionnaire they created, called the Perceived Benefits Scale. They published their work on the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory in 1996. The inventory consisted of questions directly linked to the five growth areas. According to their study, half or more of trauma survivors reported some positive effects post-trauma.  This contrasts with the negative outcomes related to PTSD that researchers believe will impact about eight percent of Americans during their lives and potentially as much as thirty percent of specific cohorts, such as Vietnam or other veterans. According to research by psychologist George A. Bonanno of Columbia University, only 5-10% of individuals experience PTSD after traumatic events.  That rate does increase if stressors are extreme or occur over a long period, but they rarely rise above 30%. PTSD is not inevitable.  Post-traumatic growth is more likely than PTSD.
 
Research indicates that PTSD is not inevitable after trauma, but that it is less likely than PTG.  More individuals develop growth as opposed to PTSD post-trauma.  Since the first book on PTG was published by Tedeschi and Calhoun, researchers around the world have been further documenting the incidence of posttraumatic growth. On their website, Tedeschi and Calhoun make some key clarifications about post-traumatic growth research (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2014):

• Most of us, when we face tough losses or great suffering, will have a variety of highly distressing psychological reactions. Just because individuals experience growth does not mean they will not suffer. Distress is typical when we face traumatic events.
• We most definitely are not implying that traumatic events are good – they are not. But for many of us, life crises are inevitable, and we are not given the choice between suffering and growth on the one hand, and no suffering and no change on the other.
• Post-traumatic growth is not universal. It is not uncommon, but neither does everybody who faces a traumatic event experience growth.
• Our hope is that you never face a significant loss or crisis, but most of us eventually do, and perhaps you may also experience an encounter with post-traumatic growth.

The book is packed with case studies that illustrate one or more of the five areas of post-traumatic growth, including individuals who have lost loved ones, wealth, physical mobility, limbs, and careers.  The book also details the scientific research exploring the post-traumatic growth experiences. Chapter Two, "The Psychiatrist in the Death Camp," explores the story of Viktor Frankl and his influential book Man's Search for Meaning from the lens of post-traumatic growth research. Frankl's book, with more than twelve million copies in print, is a must-read for psychology teachers and students.  What follows are detailed accounts of many case studies in post-traumatic growth and how this research can improve therapy methods for individuals with PTSD or who are dealing with trauma and loss.  Psychologists working in the field of PTG began by studying individuals who experienced positive change after trauma independently, but are working to develop therapy methods based on the growth experiences of the individuals they studied to help others. Upside is packed with research and inspiring examples that help students understand the complexities of trauma and growth. 


Other Related Resources

Author website:  https://www.jimrendon.com/
 
Posttraumatic Growth Research Group
https://ptgi.uncc.edu/ptg-research-group/

American Psychological Association Article
Growth After Trauma - Why are some people more resilient than others - and can it be taught? 
 
Researchers Richard Tedeschi, PhD, and Lawrence Calhoun, PhD – UNC Charlotte
The PTG Resource Center
 
Speaking of Psychology, American Psychological Association
PTG – Interview with Richard Tedeschi, PhD

National Institute of Mental Health information on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml#part_145371
 
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl's influential book, which tells his Holocaust survival story and how it inspired the treatment method he developed, logotherapy.
 
1972 video of Viktor Frankl speaking
https://www.ted.com/talks/viktor_frankl_why_believe_in_others

Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky's discussion of posttraumatic growth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PG71LHinQc
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
 
Viktor Frankl
Joseph  LeDoux
Jean Piaget
Martin Seligman
 
Accommodation
Amygdala
Assimilation
Cerebellum
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Creativity
Deliberate rumination
Diagnostic and Statistical Model, 5th Edition
Dual-pathway of fear
Expressive writing therapy
Fight-or-flight response
Flow
Gratitude
Just-world phenomenon
Individualistic culture
Logotherapy
Openness to experience
Optimism
Positive psychology
Prefrontal cortex
Post-traumatic growth (PTG)
Post-traumatic growth inventory
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Thalamus
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

​Insane:  America’s Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness
Author:  Alisa Roth
ISBN-13:  978-0-465-09419-6
 
APA Style Citation
Roth, A.  (2018).  Insane:  America’s criminal treatment of mental illness.  New York, NY: Basic Books.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074M6FZXQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
 

​Book Description
Roth estimates that as many as 50% of all people in the criminal justice system suffer from some type of mental illness.  Some are there because of a crime committed while others are there because of a severe shortage of beds available in mental health care facilities.  These statistics are startling, and Roth describes the personal stories of individuals with mental illness, making the real-life implications of this hit home. Instead of accessing treatment through the mental health care system, often, those who are mentally ill face extended prison time for the behavior associated with their illness.  Many of the mentally ill are initially arrested on minor infractions such as Bryan Sanderson, who was arrested for riding a hotel elevator naked after voices told him to leave his room immediately.  Unfortunately, these minor infractions often lead to long prison terms because of violations of prison rules due to their illness.  If someone is experiencing auditory hallucinations, for example, these voices may take precedent over a direct order coming from a correctional officer.  Sanderson ultimately was placed in solitary confinement for a time because his illness prevented him from following simple prison protocols.  In addition, his hallucinations and delusions caused him to lash out at others, and he was considered a danger on the prison ward.  The incident in the elevator should have led to an straight-forward overnight stint in jail as nobody was harmed, but Sanderson’s voices ultimately told him to blind himself while he was held in solitary because his illness was not being managed.  After he blinded himself, he was taken to a regular hospital, but after he was healed, it was determined that he could be sent back to prison.  He was finally released after years in prison. Today, he lives alone but is entirely dependent on the help of family and friends to bring him groceries and other necessities, and he cannot work.
 
Roth addresses the shrinking number of beds in mental health care facilities.  The reduction in beds started to occur about the time that antipsychotic medication allowed many schizophrenic patients to live relatively normal lives in which institutionalization was no longer necessary.  With no place to go, many of the mentally ill wind up incarcerated. The sad reality is that most prisons are not well equipped or trained to deal with a population of those who are mentally ill. 
 
By sheer necessity, prison systems operate by strict rules and adherence to stringent routine.  The loud, chaotic environment of prisons can be terribly disturbing for those who may already be dealing with auditory or visual hallucinations.  Those who are mentally ill often do not fare well in this environment, and their condition often deteriorates.  Some prison facilities offer a mental health wing, but there are a limited number of cells. The waiting lists are often long, and it is frustrating to get into these units if they even exist.  
 
Treatment on mental health wards is often severely lacking, and most prisoners are chained to a seat while they receive their therapy sessions with a psychologist.  Other times treatment is canceled because there is a shortage of clinicians or if the prison is in lockdown mode, the sessions are canceled because all of the prison staff is needed to maintain the safety of the entire prison population.  In most places such as the Los Angeles prison system Roth describes time with mental health professionals as “medication management,” not treatment.  
 
The prison staff who may have the best of intentions are often not properly trained to deal with individuals who are mentally ill and showing signs of severe mental illness is often deemed as disobedient.  Those who thought they were going into a career of law enforcement now find themselves on the front line of treating mental illness without the proper training.  Obviously, the prison staff need to keep themselves safe, but law enforcement training escalates a situation, whereas a person with mental illness needs de-escalation of the situation. 
 
Without proper treatment and in an environment in which people feel threatened, those with mental illness may lash out in anger and frustration, which furthers the cycle of punishment in prison.  The mentally ill who eventually leave prison facilities are often worse off than when they entered and have few resources to help them get back to a normal daily life.  In large part, this impacts male African Americans in higher numbers than other groups.
 
Prisoners can be forced to take medication, and while they do not have to attend treatment sessions if they are offered, the incentive to attend is high in the prison population because of the nature of the prison environment in which prisoners are expected to comply.  In the worst cases, those who are victims of the system take their own lives in prison or like Bryan Sanderson cause themselves severe bodily harm.  Many people spend extended time in prison waiting for a trial to determine if they are competent. Spending more time in prison often makes the individual less likely to qualify for competency, leaving many lingering in prisons for weeks or months just to determine if they are fit to stand trial.  These inmates are coached by lawyer and then often sent back to prison during the case without any treatment at all.
 
Roth ends on a more positive note as she describes how many states have increased mental illness training for law enforcement.  This helps responding officers in understanding and may keep some people out of prison in the first place.  Still, the training has a long way to go.  Facilities and funding of prisons must increase, and treatment must be more consistent.  The treatment should also take place with the same person so that a relationship can develop between therapist and inmate.  Decreasing the number of people incarcerated for minor infractions and creating better facilities in which to treat individuals who might otherwise lead productive and fruitful lives should be a priority.
 
 
Other Related Resources
NPR:  Fresh Air
Behind Bars, Mentally Ill Inmates Are Often Punished for Their Symptoms
Interview with Alisa Roth
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/10/627519801/behind-bars-mentally-ill-inmates-are-often-punished-for-their-symptoms
 
APA Monitor:  March 2019
Improving Mental Health for Inmate
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/03/mental-heath-inmates
 
National Commission on Correctional Health Care
Basic Mental Health Care Services
https://www.ncchc.org/spotlight-on-the-standards-24-3
 
Mental Health America
Position Statement 56:  Mental Health Treatment in Correctional Facilities
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/position-statement-56-mental-health-treatment-correctional-facilities
 
National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI)
Jailing People with Mental Illness
https://www.nami.org/Advocacy/Policy-Priorities/Divert-from-Justice-Involvement/Jailing-People-with-Mental-Illness
 
Oregon Humanities Center
Alisa Roth: “America’s Hidden Mental Health Crisis”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA-S39TuMF8
 
Treatment Advocacy Center
Serious Mental Illness Prevalence in Jails and Prisons
https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/evidence-and-research/learn-more-about/3695
 
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
 
Dorthea Dix
 
Bipolar disorder
Criminally insane
Delusions
Hallucinations
Psychiatrists
Schizophrenia
 

The Joy of Movement
Author: Kelly McGonigal
ISBN-10: 0525534105
ISBN-13: 978-0525534105
 
APA Style Citation
McGonigal. (2019). The joy of movement. San Francisco, CA: Avery.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Movement-exercise-happiness-connection-ebook/dp/B07Q4LY2CV
​

​Book Description
If there was a pill to replace exercise and it provided the same benefits without the challenging work, would you take it? Ethicists have posed questions similar to this, and the book The Joy of Movement tries to help the reader understand why movement matters. The author, Kelly McGonigal, uses a blend of quotes, research studies, and storytelling to encourage readers to rethink the purpose of movement. Exercise offers many benefits, such as happiness, satisfaction, purpose, gratitude, love, hope, and connection. But the key focus of the book is on how physical activity contributes to joy.
 
How does the runner’s high connect to joy?
An extended period of physical activity may lead to a runner’s high, a feeling of euphoria and reduced pain. Some have even likened it to a spiritual experience or love. From an evolutionary perspective, humans have survived because physical activity was pleasurable. The reward of a runner’s high kept individuals hunting and gathering, and willing to cooperate and share. Natural selection has favored traits that allowed humans to run. Researchers have explored the positive correlation of elevated levels of endocannabinoids related to the runner’s high. The key to achieving a runner’s high is movement that consists of continuous and moderate intensity. Perhaps it should be known as the persistence high because doing something moderately difficult for twenty minutes gives the same feeling. The biology of the runner’s high also primes people to connect. Individuals report more positive interactions with their family and friends after exercise. In addition, a sort of cooperation high provides a reward for sharing and cooperating. The runner’s high and the helper’s high provide a powerful combination. One example is GoodGym, an organization in the UK, where you can “get fit by doing good.” Runners combine exercise while volunteering to help their community, such as running to a foodbank and then volunteering to distribute food packages to vulnerable people.
 
What about getting hooked on exercise?
One study found for regular exercisers who missed even a single workout, they experienced anxiety and irritability. Within three days, they also experienced symptoms of depression, and within one week, they had problems sleeping and severe mood changes.  A popular analogy for exercise is addiction. When humans have a sensation in a context that is highly enjoyable, that sensation gets encoded in memory as pleasant. Individuals who exercise regularly have reported enjoying the smell of the pool or yoga mat, the sound of weights dropping, or their favorite running shirt. This is similar to how addicts have learned to enjoy the sight or smell of locations associated with getting a high. Thanks to operant conditioning and receiving positive reinforcement, the exercise behavior continues in the future. But the analogy to addiction is limited because most people who exercise do not experience the distress or dysfunction of addiction or substance abuse. Also, a big difference between the effects of exercise and the effects of drugs, such as cocaine, is timing. It takes longer to get hooked on exercise; for humans up to six weeks. Furthermore, exercise produces fewer extreme spikes in the feel-good chemicals and stimulates the reward system rather than overwhelming it. Perhaps the closest drug exercise could be compared to would be an antidepressant. And a better parallel for physical activity and the reward system might be continuous deep brain stimulation, rather than an addiction.
 
What about the human brain and genetics in relation to enjoying physical activity?
Researchers selectively bred mice to become super-runners that ran faster, farther, and more often. However, their anatomy wasn’t different than the average mice, instead, it was their brains. The super-runners had larger midbrains, including the reward system. Through natural selection, all humans are genetic super-runners. But why do some people like to exercise, while others do not? The tendency to be active has a heritability rate of 50%, but how much physical activity is enjoyed has a lower rate of 12-37%. Behavior geneticists have been exploring other connections of exercise and genetics. There appears to be a genetic predisposition to experience the mental health benefits of physical activity. Individuals with certain genetic variations are more sensitive to the benefits of regular exercise. There is a reduced risk of depression and suicidal thinking if individuals exercise at least 20 minutes per day. Exercise has also been found effective in treating anxiety disorders.
 
What is the key to collective joy?
The key to collective joy might be synchrony. Studies found students who danced in unison, felt more bonded. Music and physical exercise were important, but it was the synchrony that was essential and created a sense of group unity. Researchers also measured the ability of dancers to tolerate pain. Even calm, small, and synchronized gestures helped with pain tolerance and social bonding. When we move together, we build social ties and cooperation. It has been found that virtual reality can give the same rush as real synchrony. New apps allow individuals to exercise together and sync their rhythms. There is even a drone that will “run” with you to keep you company.
 
Think about the power of synchronized groups. As individuals in the armed services march in unison, they become strongly connected. This synchronous movement not only builds friendship networks, but has also been used to defend territory. Hearing synchronized steps, increases the perception of the group being stronger and bigger. Cancer walk/run events also provide a powerful example of group movement leading to a special bond. As individuals walk for 24 hours, they build community and feel like they are part of something bigger. Another example is communities recovering from natural disasters. When members dance to Zumba classes or go out to dance clubs, they connect and build their resilience.
 
What power does music have on physical movement and happiness?
The body has a natural instinct to move when it hears music. Even newborns can detect a beat. Adding a soundtrack to movement can shave seconds off performance times. Psychologists have helped create playlists for Olympic, national, and collegiate athletes. Even the ordinary exerciser feels more excitement when listening to music while working out. The most powerful songs have a strong beat, energetic feel, and tempo of 120-140 beats per minute. During moderate exercise, music reduces perceived effort and makes the work feel easier and more enjoyable. During higher intensities of excercise, music changes perception and adds a positive meaning to discomfort. The power of music is almost magical. It can help us activate mirror neurons for empathy, access memories, and build muscle memories for joy. So, get your groove on!
 
How does overcoming obstacles relate to movement and joy?
Obstacle courses, such as Tough Mudder, have individuals run through tear gas tunnels, glide down slides set on fire, cross though a maze of electrified wire, etc. The course focuses on common phobias and provokes just enough fear to push the participants to continue without causing them to quit. As individuals feel helpless, just a little control and the story of finishing motivates people to push forward. DPI gyms, specializing in training people with physical challenges, have a Wall of Greatness. Once someone completes a challenging goal, they can sign the wall and provide words of wisdom. Often their challenge is videotaped, and their friends and family are invited to celebrate when their name is added to the wall. It is important to have witnesses to your triumphs! Overcoming obstacles gives people hope. But hope needs a clear goal, a path to achieve the goal, and trust that one can follow that path. Empathy brings pleasure, but also a sense of what is possible for ourselves. Individuals can even catch hope by watching others move, thanks to mirror neurons. When depressed, watch others exercise, and it can evoke positive feelings. 
 
What about nature and exercise?
Green exercise, physical activity in a natural environment, has a positive effect on one’s mood. Within five minutes of moving outside, individuals report a shift in mood and outlook. Unlike a runner’s high, you don’t have to wait for it. The green exercise high kicks in quickly. When at rest, the brain slips into a default mode where it replays the past and reflects on the future. The default mode often has a negative bias, and those with anxiety or depression are often stuck here. How does one quiet the default mode? One answer is meditation, but green exercise does the same thing with a lot less effort. In one study, after taking a scenic hike, as opposed to a walk on a busy road, participants reported less anxiety and negative self-focused thinking. In another study, after walking for 15 minutes in a nature preserve, people feel better equipped to handle life’s challenges. Globally, people who feel a strong connection to nature report greater life satisfaction, purpose, and happiness. The effect is stronger than the benefits of good health, and equal to being happily married or living with a partner. Furthermore, living in a neighborhood with green space, parks, and community gardens is linked to greater life satisfaction and less psychological distress. GreenGym is an organization where volunteers engage in conservation based on green exercise. Each season they do different tasks that lead to optimism and feeling useful.
 
What about endurance and the joy of movement?
In order for an activity to be considered ultra-endurance, it must last six hours. But how can pushing one’s body for hours be joyful? Most endurance athletes don’t overwhelm themselves by thinking ahead, instead they take it one step at a time and lean on their positive emotions, music, loved ones, or dedicate their effort to others. When you exercise your body produces myokines. They have been labeled as “hope molecules,” and with every step you contract over 200 myokine-releasing muscles. Have you ever noticed how most long-distance events take place outdoors? Perhaps this is a way for suffering to coexist with the joy created by the scenery. No one does it by themselves. Ultra-runners use a coach to help run at night or keep them eating. When asked to provide pictures, many chose a picture of themselves with other runners, not pictures of their shoes or medals. We need others, and endurance exercising is no different.
 
Physical activity can bring people together and bring out our best.  It is through movement that we can experience joy. Kelly McGonigal recommends, “Move. Any kind, any amount, and any way that makes you happy.” So, if there was a pill to replace exercise, would you take it? Has your opinion changed about the power of movement?
 
Other Related Resources
Book website
http://kellymcgonigal.com/move
 
Author contact information
Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/kellymcgonigal
Instagram: http://instagram.com/kellymariemcgonigal
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kellymcgonigalauthor
Find me at: www.kellymcgonigal.com
Sign up for my email newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/glQxAP
 
151: Joy of Movement with Kelly McGonigal – Pivot Podcast with Jenny Blake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M6MYJur0aQ
 
How exercise can fight loneliness and depression
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F38WS6xdn_Y
 
Book- Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Charles Darwin
 
Addiction
Adrenaline
Amygdala
Antidepressants
Anxiety
Attachments
Attentional capture
Behavioral genetics
Biological predisposition
Brain imaging
Collective effervescence
Collective joy
Conditioned response
Continuous deep brain stimulation
Cortisol awakening response
Culturally universal
Depression
Dopamine
Empathy
Endorphins
Evolutionary
Fear circuit
Genome
Green exercise
Habit formation
Happiness
Helper’s high
Heritability
Hope
Hormones
Instincts
Learned helplessness
Meta-analysis
Mindfulness
Mirror neurons
Motor cortex
Muscle memories
Myokines (proteins)
Natural selection
Neurobiology
Opioid system
Optimism
Parkinson’s disease
Pleasure gloss
Prefrontal lobe
Priming
Proprioception
Prosocial
Proximity
Resilience
Rubber hand illusion
Runner’s high
Selective breeding
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Sleep study
Stress
Sympathetic response
Synchrony
Temperament
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
 

Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning
Author: Pooja K. Agarwal and Patrice M. Bain
ISBN-13: 978-1119521846
ISBN-10: 111952184X
 
APA Style Citation
Agarwal, P. & P. Bain. (2019). Powerful teaching: Unleash the science of learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Teaching-Unleash-Science-Learning/dp/111952184X
​

​Book Description
During this challenging time across the globe many teachers are asking themselves reflective questions in the midst of distance learning, such as “Are my students learning?” and “Are my teaching strategies effective and backed by research?” While these questions are a common practice, they are even more evident during times like these. Check out the Open Class with This Tomorrow Activity for an idea of using metacognition with your students. The authors of Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning guide you through effective classroom practices based on the cognitive science of learning.
 
Empirical research supports the use of four powerful teaching strategies: retrieval practice, spaced practice, interleaving, and feedback-driven metacognition. Use of these four strategies in the classroom boost engagement, increase higher-level thinking, and result in student learning. Each of the tools are quick, easy, and free to implement in your classroom. Authors Pooja Agarwal and Patrice Bain provide great examples and model the power tools throughout the book. For example, Power Up boxes are scattered throughout the text and encourage the reader to stop and apply what they are learning. You can use your own learning to help increase student learning.
 
The first powerful teaching strategy is retrieval practice where students pull information out of their memory. When we think of learning we often think of getting information IN, but perhaps we need to start thinking of getting it back OUT. Consider what type of retrieval practices do you use in your classroom besides formative and summative assessments? The authors use the analogy of a filing cabinet to compare these three terms. Retrieval practice is like organizing your files for the next time you need them, while formative assessment is like taking a quick look at what is inside the files, and summative assessment is like taking an inventory of the entire file drawer. Retrieval practice should really be used as a learning strategy as opposed to an assessment strategy, and it should be kept at no or low-stakes. Some retrieval practice strategies for the classroom include: brain dumps, two things learned, retrieval-taking, retrieval guides, and mini-quizzes. Authors Agarwal and Bain explain each strategy and how they implemented them in their classroom. They also reviewed research-based tips that support retrieval practice. Remember the cognitive science of learning supports each of these power tools.
 
The second powerful teaching strategy is spaced practice, referring to spreading out practice as opposed to crammed learning. Students need to be exposed to material and then refreshed on a regular basis. The authors suggest several strategies including pre-tests, blasts from the past, and big basket quizzes. A blast from the past can simply be listing a concept from last week and students then turn and talk about it. The key to learning is to allow a little time for forgetting to occur, but not too much. Students will often feel uncomfortable when they cannot quickly recall information. It is important to help them embrace this feeling and learn from it.
 
The third powerful teaching strategy is interleaving. This is mixing up closely related topics where students must differentiate material. It is not about presenting material in different ways or mixing up chapters. Instead it is about having students discriminate items that are very close to one another or connecting current content back to previously learned content in order to see the connections between them. For example, in psychology class having students compare the types of amnesia versus the types of interference. All the terms are close to one another and takes thoughtful consideration to differentiate.
 
The final powerful teaching strategy is feedback, which allows students to know what they know versus what they do not know. As students increase their metacognition they become more familiar with their learning and build their confidence. Students should make judgments of learning where they predict their future memory and they should make confidence judgments where they report their confidence in past learning. When they make these types of judgments, they should be aware of overconfidence and the illusion of fluency and illusion of confidence. Just because they are confident in their learning does not mean that it was accurate. We all know someone who studied for hours but then did poorly on an assessment. Agarwal and Bain review the research-based recommendations for feedback and offer several strategies including: retrieval cards, metacognition sheets, breathe and retrieve, and metacognition line-up. The metacognition sheet strategy is offered in our classroom activity to open your class with tomorrow.
 
These four main power tools should be used often and can be combined. If you are already providing low-stake quizzes, why not add elaborative feedback? If you are already spacing material, why not add interleaving of similar concepts? A specific example that can use multiple power tools is the power ticket where students provide three facts for topics covered in class across varying times. Using a power ticket for material from last week and the past unit can really enhance student learning. Most of these ideas sound wonderful, but as a teacher you may be thinking of implementation. Questions that come to mind include: how much time do they take, how much extra grading, how much do they cost, will I still be able to cover all of my material, what if the tools don’t help my students, can I use the tools with my diverse learners, and where do I start? The authors emphasize how all of the tools are quick, easy, and free to implement in your classroom. The tools will work and you just have to start with using one; it is better than using none.
 
Powerful teaching helps your students find success but these tools can also help reduce anxiety and strengthen community. Often in classrooms retrieval is infrequent, connected to high-stakes, and results in only a correct or incorrect answer. By providing an environment with regular retrieval practice with no or low-stakes, students begin to embrace desirable difficulties and take more chances on their learning. As you introduce the power tools you want to spark a conversation about learning, model the tools, and help students understand why they work. Students should be using the tools both inside and outside of the classroom. The flash forward strategy is also offered in our classroom activity to open your class with tomorrow. Before you close this academic year, use this quick but powerful strategy to learn from your students and inspire you for next year.
 
Now that your powerful teaching toolbox is filling up, what about everyone else? Authors Agarwal and Bain provide guidance for sharing these tools and building toolboxes with parents, students, and colleagues. Each step of the way they provide examples and research-based strategies. If you are ready to explore your own learning and teaching, check out Powerful Teaching:  Unleash the Science of Learning. During these challenging times of distance learning, continue to reflect on what works. Check out the Open Class with This Tomorrow Activity for an idea of using metacognition with your students.
 
 
Other Related Resources
Book website
https://www.powerfulteaching.org/
 
Author website- Pooja Agarwal
https://www.poojaagarwal.com/powerfulteaching
 
Author website- Patrice Bain
https://www.patricebain.com/
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Anxiety
Brain dumps
Cognition
Cognitive science
Concept mapping
Correlations
Desirable difficulty
Elaborative feedback
Encoding
Errorless learning
Feedback
Free-recall
Higher-order thinking
Hypercorrection effect
Illusion of fluency
Interleaving
Meta-analysis
Metacognition
Mnemonics
Overconfidence
Research
Retrieval
Retrieval practice
Savings
Serial position effect
Social-emotional learning
Spaced practice
Storage
Surveys
Testing effect
Transfer (Near or Far)
 

Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China
Author: Pallavi Aiyar
ISBN-13: 978-8172238469
ISBN-10: 8172238460
 
APA Style Citation
Aiyar, P. (2008). Smoke and mirrors: An experience of China. India: HarperCollins Publishers.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Mirrors-Experience-Pallavi-Aiyar/dp/8172238460
​

​Book Description
How much do you know about two of the most populated countries in the world? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in another country? Pallavi Aiyar, author of Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China, provided her personal account of being Indian and living in China from 2002-2007. During her stay in China, she taught English at a public university and reported for an Indian newspaper. For five years, she traveled and asked questions to learn more about the history and culture of China. Her story is one that quickly draws in the reader and explores various stereotypes about two of the most populated countries in the world.
 
Aiyar’s story is much more than a travel journal, she shared her observations about politics and culture for both China and India. While comparing the two countries she addressed topics such as language, education, social etiquette, diet, SARS coronavirus, economic partnerships and growth, poverty, infrastructure, technological feats, gender, the elderly, religion, Tibet, and population growth to name a few. She looked at China under the leadership of Mao and the country’s preparation of the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing.
 
While living in Beijing, Aiyar was drawn to the hutong neighborhoods, many of which were being destroyed in preparation for the Olympics. Hutongs are narrow streets hidden between Siheyuans, a traditional building in China with central courtyards and filled with Chinese history and culture. The houses are connected, and people quickly build relationships with one another simply due to the close proximity in which they live. She talked of how the hutongs were a “celebration of the collective over the individual.” Residents also shared a communal toilet, where quite a few impromptu gatherings occurred. The densely packed housing forced people outside to come together in the cold, share gossip, play games, and exercise. Even in the winter, individuals would wake up early and participate in group exercises or dances.
 
After her experience in China, Pallavi is often asked the questions of “Which country is better?” and “If I could choose, would I rather be born Indian or Chinese?” Not an easy question to answer, it becomes even more complicated by the fact the countries mirror each other’s failures and achievements. To understand a little more about the politics and culture of two of the most populated countries in the world, check out Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China.
 
Other Related Resources
Book website
https://pallaviaiyar.com/books/smoke-and-mirrors/
 
NYT Book Review: Smoke and Mirrors
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/arts/16iht-bookwed.html
 
Beijing Hutong
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/hutong/
https://www.chinahighlights.com/beijing/hutong/
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/a-comprehensive-guide-to-beijings-hutongs/
 
Morning Exercises
https://qz.com/996047/the-song-and-exercise-morning-routines-of-modern-chinese-offices-have-revolutionary-roots/
 
Hotel Team Building Exercise
https://observers.france24.com/en/20130118-video-chinese-company-team-building-exercise-youku
 
Mandatory Exercise
https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/08/11/beijing-reintroduces-mandatory-exercises/
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Categorize
Collectivism
Homonyms
Identity
Optimism
Phonemes
Stereotypes
Suicide
Well-being

​Maybe You Should Talk to Someone:  A Therapist, HER Therapist and Our Lives Revealed
Author:  Lori Gottlieb
ISBN:  978-1328663047
 
APA Style Citation
Gottlieb, L. (2019).  Maybe You Should Talk to Someone:  A therapist, HER Therapist and our Lives RevealedNew York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Maybe-You-Should-Talk-Someone-ebook/dp/B07BZ4F75T
 

​Book Description
“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls. Who looks inside, awakes.”
                                                            -Carl Jung
 
Lori Gottlieb’s long-term relationship ends abruptly when her boyfriend tells her that he cannot live in the same house as a child, since Lori has an 8-year old son, there is no changing the outcome of his decision.  Gottlieb finds herself, angry, confused and uncertain about her future.  She uses her network as a psychologist to get a recommendation from a colleague believing that she just needs to talk to someone for a few weeks until she can sort out how to move on from the relationship.  Gottlieb shares her own experiences with her therapist and explains how she moved from hurt and anger (and some internet stalking of her ex-boyfriend) to picturing a future without him.  
Gottlieb also introduces the reader to some of her own clients (she changes their names and combines some of their complaints to abide by issues of confidentiality).  Gottlieb discusses a narcissistic movie producer who initially comes to discuss all of the “idiots” around him to determine how he can better deal with them but, ultimately needs to work through the aftermath of his young son’s death.  Gottlieb also describes working with a young newlywed who is dying of cancer.  Gottlieb knows this when she takes her on as a client and the story of her impending death is at turns laugh out loud funny, horribly depressing and always thoughtful.  Another client is a young twenty-something that keeps sleeping with the wrong guys and who has a complicated relationship with her own parents as well as some self-esteem issues.  Through reading each of these scenarios, we come to care about her clients even when they are self-centered and irritating and hope that they find peace and contentment in their lives.
Gottlieb describes how she tries to see the good in each of her clients.  She describes therapy as an exploration in how to change.  For some, this can mean changing how their past influences their present and future, for others it may mean changing how they see themselves or how they interact with others.  Each person who goes to therapy has their own reasons but Gottlieb believes that the presenting problem (the reason a person provides for starting therapy) often represents deeper seated issues the person is experiencing.  
Gottlieb’s relationship with her own therapist lasts far longer than the few weeks she initially intended.  She comes to appreciate his style of therapy even though it is quite different than her own and to recognize that one need not be fashionable or good looking to be a great therapist.  She is a tough client because she is initially not sure what she wants.  Her therapist eventually asked her if she wants advice (counseling) or self-understanding (therapy)?  He is not willing to simply validate her feelings of anger towards her ex-boyfriend, but instead makes her do the hard work to realize how she could have been so blinded by the break-up and further to plan a future without him.  Eventually she finds herself strong enough to move on and end her sessions with him.  
Gottlieb’s stories of therapy demonstrate that there are many people who can benefit from therapy, an objective outsider can often provide insight that we cannot see ourselves and that our friends and family are too kind to point out.  Gottlieb shares the personal development and self-understanding that therapy can provide and in doing so, breaks down some of the stigma that still exists around seeking treatment.
 
 
Other Related Resources
Lori Gottlieb website
https://lorigottlieb.com/books/maybe-you-should-talk-to-someone/
 
Dear Therapist Column with Lori Gottlieb
https://lorigottlieb.com/dear-therapist/
 
ABC News Interview with Lori Gottlieb
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/GMA_Day/video/talk-author-lori-gottlieb-62275946
 
NPR Fresh Air
https://www.npr.org/books/titles/707562558/maybe-you-should-talk-to-someone-a-therapist-her-therapist-and-our-lives-reveale
 
WBUR Interview with Lori Gottlieb
https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2019/04/05/lori-gottlieb-talk-therapy-psychotherapist
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Eric Erikson
Eric Fromm
Daniel Gilbert
Carl Jung
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Carl Rogers 
Oliver Sacks
Harry Stack Sullivan
Henry Moilson
 
Attachment styles
Avoidant personality
Catastrophizing
Client-centered therapy
Collective unconscious
Confidentiality
Conversion disorder
Countertransference
Creativity
Denial
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
Displacement
Dissociative disorder
Empathy
Factitious disorder
Flow
Frontal lobes
Hysteria
Integrity vs. despair
Logotherapy
Medical student’s disease
Melatonin
Mirror neuron
Mood disorder
Narcissism
Personality disorder
Pleasure principle
Psychopharmacology
Rationalization
Reaction formation
Self-awareness
Somatic symptom disorder
Unconditional positive regard
 
 

​Range:  Why Generalists Triumph in A Specialized World
Author: David Epstein
ISBN:978-0735214491
 
APA Style Citation
Epstein, D. (2019). Range:  Why Generalists triumph in a specialized world.  New York, NY:  Riverhead books.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=range&qid=1578144141&sr=8-1
 

​Book Description
We live in a world of hyper specialization.  Children often start their violin or piano lessons as young as age 3 or 4.  They start their preferred sports often just as young, and by the time they reach high school, teenagers are told they must concentrate on what they want to do in the future and focus all of their effort in one particular area.  If people realize they have gone down the wrong path, they are often told that they must persevere for fear of “being behind” if they switch areas of study or they just stick with it because of all of the work they have already put in.  David Epstein, the author of Range, believes that this advice is misguided.  Epstein argues that the greatest triumphs come from having experience in multiple fields and casting one’s net widely so as to draw upon different sources when trying to solve a problem.  Epstein believes the benefit of Range rather than hyper specialization is that it can give people a different perspective and approach that those in a single area of specialization are not able to see.  This can result in great insight and more thorough and complete decision-making.

Those who specialize later are often better suited for the careers they eventually select, and as a result, they are also generally more passionate and productive in their roles.  Epstein presents many examples of how experience in a single field can limit how one approaches a new problem.  The need for conformity and groupthink can limit consideration of all possible outcomes in a situation and can, in cases such as NASA's space shuttle Challenger explosion, lead to deadly results.  Epstein cites examples of fire firefighters who lost their lives fighting fires because their specialized training taught them never to drop their equipment, but when fighting a fast-moving fire, dropping one’s equipment might actually save their life.  

Epstein points to Tiger Woods, who seemed to be a child prodigy at golf, as an example of early and focused practice.  Many parents use this example to apply to their own children, but they overlook other athletes such as Tom Brady, who participated in football, baseball, basketball, and karate as a child and then had to choose between playing college football or basketball.  Often those with specialized early training peak early or move away from their area of specialization because their parents selected their instrument/sport/activity for them rather than the child selecting their specialty based on experimentation in many different fields.  Epstein challenges the 10,000-hour rule by arguing that the amount of practice time is not a good measure of exceptionality, in music, for example, those who know how to play multiple instruments can draw on their knowledge from their different experiences to add depth to their performance.  Epstein argues that the “sampling period” in which one explores many different interests will serve people well in future unknown situations.  Many jazz musicians or musical improv masters never had formal training in music but learned from watching others and then experimenting.  This experimentation necessitated intense and conscious thought about what was working (or not), but because of the lack (at least initially) of formal training, there was never a single “correct” way of doing things which allowed for more creativity later in their work.  

Epstein does not dismiss the importance of expertise but rather presents situation after situation in which someone with a different perspective who challenged the conventional wisdom. Individuals with diverse backgrounds are often able to see a situation in a new light and offer a solution that in many cases is successful and one that the “experts” could not see.  Epstein points out that scientists who have been inducted into the highest national academies are likely to have hobbies and interests outside of their field of study.  “Nobel laureates are at least twenty-two times more likely to partake as an amateur actor, dancer, magician, or other type of performer.”  This breath can support new insights that those obsessively focused on a single area may miss.  Epstein cites Steve Jobs, who took calligraphy courses, which ultimately informed his design aesthetics and fonts that would become part of the now infamous Mac design.  These individuals avoid cognitive entrenchment by applying their knowledge in one area and applying it creatively to another.  

Nearly 75% of today’s college students will go into a career unrelated to what they studied in college.  Epstein’s argument takes on more importance as those with a wide array of experiences should allow them to be better equipped to adapt and adjust to novel problems and situations.  Epstein applies his findings to classroom environments and suggests that in many classrooms, teachers are making learning “too easy” by giving students hints towards the right answer without having them work through the frustration of not knowing and having to figure something out on their own.  Epstein also recommends ‘interleaving’ in which instructors demonstrate (or ask students to) look for connections between different units of study or even across disciplines.  

Epstein refutes the old adage of “winners never quit," he believes that if something is not interesting or if one is not passionate about a particular area, they should pursue something new. The “late bloomers” may actually prove to be the most well-suited for the area they finally land on, and their earlier experiences may give them a leg up even on those whose sole focus has been single-mindedly on one area of study.  

Other Related Resources
Book website
https://www.davidepstein.com/the-range/

An introduction to Range by David Epstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmoMmK7qKt4

Epstein and Gladwell discuss Range at MIT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cQJH3aj4YY


Psychological Concepts and Figures

Charles Darwin
Angela Duckworth
James Flynn
Daniel Gilbert
Daniel Kahneman
Walter Mischel
Amos Tversky

Analytical thinking
Catharsis
Chunking
Cognitive bias
Conformity
Congruence
Creativity
Distributed practice
Functional fixedness
Groupthink
Incongruence
Lateral thinking
Raven’s Progressive Matrices
Statistical significance
Tabula rasa (blank slate)
The Ebbinghaus illusion
The Flynn effect
The Marshmallow Test
Trial and error 
Savants

​Modern Romance (An Investigation)
Authors:  Aziz Ansari, Eric Klineberg
ISBN: 1-59420-627-9
 
APA Style Citation
Ansari, A and Klineberg, E. (2015). Modern Romance (an Investigation).  Penguin; Random House.

​Book Description:
Ansari’s experience as a stand up comedian makes this book about how we find love an amusing read full of humorous anecdotes and revelations of his own dating mishaps.  He does, however, work with sociologist Eric Klinenberg to be certain that he has data to support his musings on love.   Klinenberg and Ansari conducted focus groups and interviews to determine how dating varied in different parts of the country, across generations, and in other countries.
 
Ansari opens with a description of a woman named Tanya with whom he had gone on a date and was interested in seeing again.  He struggles with the decision of whether to call or text or send a smoke signal to her, but ultimately decides on texting (with a cute joke included) to see if she wants to meet up for dinner.  He waits a few minutes, a few hours, and eventually a few days with no reply.  This is the impetus Ansari needs to explore issues of dating and relationships in the modern world.  
 
Ansari begins his exploration with interviews at senior centers to get a better idea of how people met, dated, and potentially married in the past.   Most older people with whom Ansari spoke indicated that they met their significant other because they "lived in the same building" or "were friends of the family."  14 of the 36 people with whom Ansari spoke married someone who lived within walking distance of their childhood home.  A study conducted by James Bossard at the University of Pennsylvania in 1932 reinforces these findings.  The study found that one-third of all married couples lived within a five-block radius of each other before they got married.  One in six lived on the same block, and one in eight lived in the same building.
 
Some of the women in these groups indicated that they got married to get out from under the rule of their parents, only to find themselves under the rule of their husbands.  When divorce became more acceptable, some of these women found a way out of these types of marriages.  Even those who were happy in their marriages indicated they wanted their daughters and granddaughters to approach marriage differently.  People got married not because they had found their soulmate but because they could raise a family together.  They were looking for a “good enough” marriage.
 
Marriage for generations was about bonding two families and creating financial and personal security.   Thoughts about who one married were more practical than romantic.  This began to change in the 1960s and 70s when people began to demand a closer bond with their marriage partner.  Today, this trend continues in large part because people marry later and often spend their twenties in the time period currently referred to as “emerging adulthood."  A generation before, they would likely have been married off nearly a decade earlier.  People today move in and out of relationships in their twenties and often prioritize career, and education before relationships.  In addition, these life experiences connect people to many different groups with whom they may eventually find themselves romantically connected (rather than their childhood neighbor).  
 
But finding one’s soulmate can take an awful lot of work and sometimes too much choice leads to a paralysis of choice or unhappiness after a decision has been made because one considers that there could be someone else out there who is a better match or who is "the one."    Even in the past few years, the dating game has changed dramatically; no longer do people call one another, even for a first date.   58% of teens today indicated that they would ask someone out via text; in 2010 this percentage was 10%.  In a recent survey, 67% of teens indicated they had been asked to prom via text.  Texting may create less anxiety than calling, but now those who call seem brave.  MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle believes that texting allows people to gather their thoughts and plan out what they want to say, but this may leave their spontaneous speaking skills lacking.  The dependency on texting also allows teens to go over and over the meaning of a given text, and without an immediate response, this can easily leave people wondering the level of interest of the other person.  There seems to be a whole new set of rules regarding how long to wait before responding to a text, what to do if the person does not respond, are they busy? Not interested?  Playing hard to get?  When someone responds positively to our text messages, we get a shot of dopamine, which can be quite addictive, but when this reward is uncertain, the anticipation might be more addicting than the actual response.  This is similar to behavior found in gambling.
 
This unknowing can lead to a strong romantic attraction as we often find we want resources that are scarce.  If people make themselves too available, it may be a turn off for some as the person may come off as desperate.  So texting less may actually be better for creating a high level of attraction.  However, the reciprocity principle indicates that we will like people who like us.  Women seem to be slightly more responsive to this than men, but it is difficult to know when scarcity will work versus when reciprocity will be more effective in finding a mate.  
 
Online dating has introduced endless options to the dating scene.  By 2005 the website Match.com had registered over 40 million people.  There are now dating sites for farmers, those who are Jewish, older, gay, etc.  There are dating sites, hook up sites, and the list goes on.  Some are free; some charge a large fee, which can create very different populations in the dating circles to which one is exposed.  To realize just how quickly dating has changed, roughly one-third of people who got married between 2005 and 2012 met on an online site; this is more than twice the percentage of those who met in any other way (work 14%).  Even with this success, using algorithms to find a marriage partner is not always the best method.  People can have similar interests, backgrounds and families but like someone else "just because."  No algorithm can perfectly plan for this.  In fact, knowing too much about someone from his or her dating profile can make a first date much harder than in the past because they already know so much about the person and the normal first date “chit chat” becomes moot.  On the other hand, online dating may also cause safety concerns for people who do not feel like they know their potential partner well enough to be alone with them. People can become addicted to these apps, swiping through hundreds of people in a single day without giving them so much as a second glance and potentially missing out on people with whom they might be quite happy.  
 
Barry Schwartz wrote The Paradox of Choice, which states that too much choice may paralyze many people when making a decision. Instead of looking for a good match, people look for a perfect match and wind up being disappointed.  It is good to have some choice but having too many options actually decreases decision-making.  Even after a decision is made one often feels like maybe there was a better choice out there and they wind up less happy with the decision they have made.  Schwartz finds this is true with buying jams, and selecting a job, Ansari believes it is also true in finding love.  This might mean that those in large cities like New York and Los Angeles wait longer to find love because there are so many options. People in Wichita, Kansas felt like they had exhausted all of their potential options earlier tended to marry before those in larger cities.  
 
Ansari also investigates love in different cultures, those in France seem less concerned if their marriage partner takes on a lover whereas many in Tokyo are often not interested in marriage or sex because they are focusing on career and building their financial capital. The “herbivore man” is a term used to describe Japanese men who are very shy and passive and 60% of men in Japanese men in their 20s and 30s describe themselves this way.  In Buenos Aires, the opposite is true; passion and sex infiltrate many aspects of society.  Men are vocal about their interest in women and many hotels “telos” or love hotels that rent by the hour are acceptable places to go to consummate a relationship.  People are known to have many relationships at the same time. Casual sex is an expected part of life and romantic partnerships.
 
Once one does find love, their brain actually changes.  Ansari discusses how love moves from passionate to companionate love over the length of long-term relationships.  The physiology of the brain changes from lighting up the pleasure centers of the brain to over time lighting up the calming centers of the brain.  Those long-term relationships may lack passion, but generativity is more satisfying because it involves being part of a long-term, nurturing relationship.  The typical American now spends more time single than married as people get married later, or some opt never to marry either because they never find the right person or because they never actually make a choice to be with someone long-term.  Finally, Ansari advocates for embracing the mere exposure effect.  “Someone who just seems just “all right” at first may grow on you over time, give them a shot”, and it could lead to the most important relationship of your life.
 
 
Other Related Resources
Ansari’s article with TIME: 
http://time.com/aziz-ansari-modern-romance/
 
How is Technology Shaping Romance?
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_is_technology_shaping_romance
 
The Guardian: What effect has the Internet had on finding love?
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/may/01/online-dating-untangling-the-web
 
Aziz Ansari’ Love Lessons Good Morning America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuXyKPgw0Ys
 
Aziz Ansari stand up on Love Madison Square Garden (warning:  Language)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2LwGqDSpL4
 
TED talk: Helen Fisher, Technology Hasn’t changed Love here’s Why  
https://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_technology_hasn_t_changed_love_here_s_why
 
Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love
http://www.robertjsternberg.com/love/
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Daniel Gilbert
Barry Schwartz
Robert Sternberg
Algorithm
Aron and Dutton Shaky Bridge Study
Companionate Love
Dopamine
Emerging Adulthood
Generativity
Mere Exposure Effect
Monogamy
Passionate Love
Reciprocity
Reward Uncertainty
Romantic Love
Scarcity

​Author:  Carmine Gallo
ISBN: 978-1-250-04112-8

APA Style Citation
Gallo, Carmine (2014). Talk Like TED:  The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds.  New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Buy This Book
​​www.amazon.com/Talk-Like-TED-Public-Speaking-Secrets/dp/1250041120

Book Description
The TED Conference, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, has been around since 1984 but did not become well known until they began posting videos of their trademark 19-minute presentations online for free.  Author Carmine Gallo is a communications expert and the author of the bestselling book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.  Gallo examined over 500 TED presentations and added insights from research on persuasion and communication to generate a list of the critical aspects of highly engaging presentations. Talk Like TED offers nine key public-speaking tips utilized in some of the most well-known presentations.  The tips for giving great talks are organized into three broad categories:  Emotional (they touch the heart), Novel (they teach something new), and Memorable (they present ideas in a unique manner).  As teachers, we frequently deliver content to students in a presentation form, and this book can provide a variety of tools to use to increase student engagement and learning.  Each chapter describes a method used in the most successful TED talks including specific examples and insight from the speakers. One of the best aspects of this book was stopping periodically to watch the amazing TED talks discussed in the book!
 
EMOTIONAL
The first third of the book is devoted to the three tips in the category related to emotional factors that “touch the heart.”  In chapter one, “Unleash the Master Within,” the author discusses the importance of choosing topics to discuss in which you have personal passion and interest.  According to the author, “the first step to inspiring others is to make sure you are inspired yourself.”  An excellent example of a TED talk that exemplifies passion was given by University of Waterloo Economics professor Larry Smith titled, “Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career.”  Smith discusses that although college students are told to pursue their passion most will not because “You’re afraid to pursue your passion.  You’re afraid to look ridiculous.  You’re afraid to try.  You’re afraid you may fail.”
https://www.ted.com/talks/larry_smith_why_you_will_fail_to_have_a_great_career
 
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor gave one of the most watched TED talks of all time (about 20 million views).  The talk illustrates how having a strong emotional connection with the material leads to increased audience engagement.  Bolte Taylor’s talk is compelling because it involves a personal connection and exceptional storytelling.  TEDster Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor offers advice for teachers and other presenters, and that is to tell a story and demonstrate your passion for the topic. According to Bolte Taylor, “When I was at Harvard, I was the one winning the awards.  I wasn't winning the awards because my science was better than anyone else’s.  I was winning because I could tell a story that was interesting and fascinating and it was mine, down to the detail.”
http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight 
 
 
Chapter two discusses how to “Master the Art of Storytelling” by illustrating how effective speakers utilize narratives to make an emotional connection with the audience.  For example, TED speaker Brene Brown famously begins her topic by defending qualitative research she conducts with the statement that “Stories are data with a soul.”  Effective storytelling engages each listener individually and allows them to become emotionally attached and to the ideas being presented.  Some of the most effective TED storytellers are discussed in this chapter including Brian Stevenson’s talk, “We Need to Talk About an Injustice” which led to the longest standing ovation in TED history (see earlier Books for Psychology Class post on his book Just Mercy).  The 1,000 attendees at Stevenson’s talk collectively donated $1 million dollars to his nonprofit, the Equal Justice Institute.  Stevenson raised $55,000 for every minute he spoke that day.  This TED talk was given without the aid of a PowerPoint, visuals, or props of any kind – a testament to the power of story. 
https://www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_about_an_injustice
 
Another tip for an effective persuasive presentation according to the author, is to utilize Aristotle’s three components of effective persuasion ethos, logos, and pathos in the most effective ratio. Ethos refers to the credibility and credentials of the speaker, logos is the use of logic and data to make effective arguments, and pathos is the ability to appeal to the emotions of the audience.  When the author of the book analyzed the content of Brian Stevenson’s TED talk, he found it was 10 percent ethos, 25 percent logos, and 65 percent pathos or emotional appeal. Despite being 65 percent of pathos Stevenson’s talk has been rated as one of the most persuasive of all time. One of the ways the book recommends inserting pathos or emotional appeal is by including extreme moments. Dan Ariely, a psychologist and behavioral economist at Duke, introduces his talk on how research shows that people are predictably irrational with a dramatic personal story of his recovery from an injury that left him burned over 70 percent of his body.  Ariely’s talk is an excellent addition to the research unit for illustrating the need to test beliefs that are held intuitively through careful research methods. 
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_on_our_buggy_moral_code/transcript?language=en#t-102037
 
In chapter three, the author describes how effective TED presenters can use body language and verbal delivery to engage with the audience in a manner that feels authentic and conversational instead of an impersonal lecture to a large group.  The four elements of verbal delivery addressed in this section are rate, volume, pitch, and the effective use of pauses for emphasis.  One of the examples of effective nonverbal communications is a 2012 TED talk by a former Army general and U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell on the importance of providing children with structure early in life.  His speech is broken down to illustrate how particular gestures corresponded with the words he used during his speech. 
 
Another amazing TED talk that powerfully uses gestures to strengthen an argument was given by Ernesto Sirolli titled, “Want to help someone?  Shut up and listen!” is also broken down to highlight the expert use of gestures.  Sirolli’s talk discusses how his failure to listen led to failure for his NGO project designed to help increase food production in rural Zambia.  The project involved teaching people living in southern Zambia to grow Italian tomatoes and other vegetables.  Because the local population was uninterested, the NGO paid them to grow the vegetables.  Sirolli and his team were surprised that agriculture was not being used in this fertile region with excellent weather and soil.  According to Sirolli, instead of asking the people living there why they did not grow crops, they said, "Thank God we're here." Just in the nick of time to save the Zambian people from starvation." The result was that everything grew extremely well and we were telling the Zambians, "Look how easy agriculture is." When the tomatoes were nice and ripe and red, overnight, some 200 hippos came out from the river, and they ate everything. It was then that Sirolli asked the Zambians, “My God, the hippos!" and the Zambians said, "Yes, that's why we have no agriculture here." When Sirolli asked, “Why didn't you tell us?" the Zambians replied, "You never asked."
https://www.ted.com/talks/ernesto_sirolli_want_to_help_someone_shut_up_and_listen
 
NOVEL
The second section of the book explains three aspects that contribute to an effective presentation because it is new and unique.  Kevin Allocca, who studies YouTube trends, stated this perfectly when he pointed out that in an era when two days’ worth of video is uploaded every two minutes, it is only the truly unique and original ideas that capture the attention of the online audience. 
 
The topic of chapter four, “Teach Me Something New,” describes how the best TED talks find a way to introduce new ideas or perspectives.  The author suggests that the titles of some of the most frequently viewed TED talks promise to teach something new such as “Schools Kill Creativity” (Sir Ken Robinson), “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” (Simon Sinek), “The Surprising Science of Happiness” (Dan Gilbert), “The Power of Introverts” (Susan Cain), “8 Secrets of Success” (Richard St. John), and “How to Live Before You Die” (Steve Jobs).  Martha Burns, a professor at Northwestern, teaches how to use neuroscience to be a better educator and highlights the biology behind the “buzz” we experience when learning something in her powerful TEDx talk.  One of the best examples of teaching something novel is Hans Rosling's talk that makes statistics and correlations exciting and meaningful.  Rosling, an expert on global health, animates correlational data regarding health and wealth in a powerful demonstration.  You can view his entire talk at ted.com or view the abbreviated version titled:  200 countries, 200 years, 4minutes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo
 
Novel presentations, according to chapter five, “Deliver Jaw-Dropping Moments,” in which presenters capture the attention and imagination of their audiences by using dramatic demonstrations or surprises.  Some of the most dramatic moments or “hooks” at TED talks have included Bill Gates releasing mosquitos and Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor who opens her talk by holding a human brain that is still attached to the spinal cord.  “Wow” moments can also come from a single shocking statistic.

• “This country is very different today than it was 40 years ago. In 1972 there were 300,000 people in jails and prisons. Today there are 2.3 million.  The United States now has the highest rate of incarceration in the world.”

Bryan Stevenson
 

• “Why are we ignoring the oceans?  If you compare NASA’s annual budget to explore the heavens, that one-year budget would fund NOAA’s budget to explore the world's oceans for 1,600 years.” 

Robert Ballard
 

• “One in a hundred regular people is a psychopath.  So there are 1,500 people in this room. Fifteen of you are psychopaths.”

Jon Ronson
 
Successful TED talks also hook new viewers by creating memorable headlines, which turn into sound bites that are often spread across social media.  TED even has a Twitter handle devoted to the catchy, memorable quotes that are likely to generate public attention (@TEDQuote). 
 

• “There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.”

Susan Cain
 

• “Don’t fake it till you make it.  Fake it till you become it.”

Amy Cuddy
 

• “Numbers are the musical notes with which the symphony of the universe is written.”

Adam Spencer
 
Chapter six highlights how the ability to “Lighten Up” by using appropriate and genuine humor can increase audience engagement.  The book provides numerous tips for adding humor to presentations, including quotes, short video clips, and anecdotes.
 
MEMORABLE
The final third of the book is dedicated to various ways to make your ideas and your presentation memorable.  Chapter seven, “Stick to the 18-Minute Rule,” explains why all TED talks are limited to 18 minutes.  This key rule was established because it allows enough time for thoughtful analysis, yet short it is enough to maintain audience engagement.  Research shows that information is remembered better if it is organized into related chunks, this has led TED to recommend that presentations be centered around three main areas or points that support one large overarching idea.  This concept can be applied to classroom presentations as well by limiting direct instruction to shorter chunks broken up with time for reflection and formative practice.  The 18-minute rule forces researchers to create a focused message that maintains attention levels, and that does not create what researchers call “cognitive backlog” or the problem in which too much information prevents the successful transfer of ideas.  There are also numerous other TED rules of three such as the Three A’s of Awesome:  Attitude, Awareness, and Authenticity which were shared by award-winning blogger and author of the Book of Awesome, Neil Pasricha in a TEDx talk.  https://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome 
Kevin Allocca, a YouTube trends manager studies why some videos go viral, and others do not.  According to Allocca, 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, yet only a few will have millions of views.  In Allocca’s TED talk, he explains the three factors that contribute to the success of a video:  tastemakers, communities of participation, and unexpectedness.  Of course, there is also the three-minute TED talk titled “TED in 3 Minutes,” which has been given by individuals such as Arianna Huffington and New York Times tech columnist David Pogue.  The original three-minute talk was given by Terry Moore who showed the audience a better way to tie their shoes, which has been viewed more than 1.5 million times.  The rule of three suggests

1. Creating a Twitter-friendly headline
2. Support the headline with three key messages
3. Reinforce the three messages with stories, statistics, and examples

 
Chapter eight describes how effective speakers can “Paint a Mental Picture with Multisensory Experiences” and engage as many of the senses of audience members as possible.   For example, the best TED talks use memorable images, not excessive text on slides.  One of the major tips is for creating better more effective PowerPoint presentations by avoiding too much text and instead relying more on memorable images and other visuals.  One of the worst ways to present is PowerPoint karaoke in which the speaker reads text aloud off of the screen. The chapter includes several examples of successful TED talks that show the words being used by the presenter alongside a description of the images being displayed to audience members.  A powerful example of how words are delivered alongside dramatic images is Lisa Kristine’s TED talk about the hardships of indigenous peoples and the reality of the 27 million individuals living in modern-day slavery. https://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_kristine_glimpses_of_modern_day_slavery
 
The final tip for making your presentation memorable, “Stay in Your Lane,” is outlined in chapter nine. Staying in your lane means that your presentations need to be authentic and honest and speak from the heart.  One of the tips offered for “staying in your lane” is to practice by giving your presentation to a friend or family member first because when you have a close relationship with someone, you are more likely to show who you are. 
 
Talk Like TED is an excellent guide full of practical ideas for making your presentations, activities, and demos more engaging and effective.  The book is also an opportunity to learn about some amazing TED talks you may not have heard of before.  TED talks can be shown in class, assigned as homework to facilitate class discussions or offered as opportunities for students who want to expand their understanding of a particular area of psychology.  Another interesting way to use TED talks is to execute the demos or activities presented by a particular TED talk in class, and then after hooking students on the content, let your students know how to access the entire TED talk. Because many TED presenters are also authors, TED talks can be used to stimulate interest for students to read books related to their favorite TED talks or pursue research projects in areas related to what they watched. 
 
Other Related Resources
 
Author’s Website
Carmine Gallo’s website offers articles, videos, and links to other books.
http://gallocommunications.com/books/talk-like-ted-2/
 
The Top 20 TED Talks of All Time
http://www.ted.com/playlists/171/the_most_popular_talks_of_all?gclid=CjwKEAjwtNbABRCsqO7J0_uJxWYSJAAiVo5LuME8Z7o2-Ki6OahJAA2Liq3mJcpOAdNcrtYR4zRz0RoCKgPw_wcB
 
How to Sound Smart in Your TED Talk
Comedian Will Stephen’s take on how to give a TED talk and impress your audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Dan Ariely
Aristotle
Paul Bloom
Jill Bolte-Taylor
Lera Boroditsky
Susan Cain
James Flynn
Daniel Gilbert
Malcolm Gladwell
Sydney Jensen
George Miller
Daniel Pink
Hans Rosling
 
10,000 Hour Rule
Altruism
Amygdala
Analogies
Dopamine
Dual-Coding Theory
Flashbulb Memory
Flynn Effect
Genius
Hippocampus
Imagery
Introversion
Linguistic Determinism
Linguistic Relativity
Magic Number 7 Plus or Minus 2
Multitasking
Neuroplasticity
Nonverbal Communication
Persuasion
Positive Emotion
Self-Esteem
Statistics 

Buy This Book
​www.amazon.com/Animal-Madness-Inside-Their-Minds/dp/1451627017

​

​Behind the Shock Machine:  The Untold Story of the Notorious Milgram Psychology Experiments
ISBN: 978-1921844553
 
APA Style Citation:
Perry, G. (2012). Behind the shock machine: The untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments. Brunswick, Vic: Scribe Publications.

​Book Description
This book will change many notions you have regarding what happened in the now infamous Milgram shock experiment at Yale University in the 1960s. Australian writer Gina Perry ventures to Yale to examine the original transcripts from Milgram’s work. Much has been written regarding the debriefing and reuniting of the teacher and learner before the departure of the teacher from the lab. Perry argues that perhaps as many as two-thirds of participants left the lab, never knowing that they did not harm the learner. Some of the nearly 3,000 participants in the study may not have learned about the results until almost three years after their participation in the study, while other participants were tested. It seems that Milgram was worried about word of the study getting around the relatively small town of New Haven before he concluded his work. He believed the debriefing had the potential to confound the results of the research, and from his perspective was enough of a reason to deny debriefing directly after the experiment ended. Perry interviewed a number of the former participants, many of whom still have particularly bad feelings and recollections about the study. One past participant explains calling all of the local hospitals after participating, believing that he had harmed someone so severely that they must have checked into a nearby hospital. Another describes sitting in his car for an hour after he left the lab, pondering what he had just done and feeling terrible. The wife of one participant describes her despondent husband, who had trouble sleeping for an extended period after the study.  
These first-hand descriptions are a far cry from the description Milgram provided of participants stating they were glad they participated in the study. The experimenter (a high school science teacher) was provided with four prompts to encourage participants to continue with the shocks. If the participants still refused to continue after all four prompts were exhausted, he was instructed to stop the study and allow the participant to leave. As the experiments continued over multiple years, Perry cites instances in which the experimenter went through eight attempts to urge the participants to continue. This likely had the effect of creating higher participation rates, which Milgram then published.  
Milgram described defiant participants as “bad” and complying participants as “good” in his notes, which, according to Perry, demonstrates a strong confirmation bias. Perry argues that Milgram knew the result he wanted and expected far ahead of the “live” study. Milgram ran several “practice trials” before the experiment went live, which produced nearly the same result. Also, Perry addresses Milgram’s argument that the events surrounding WWII had inspired this work. In her research, she did not find any references to this until after the study’s conclusion when Milgram gained popularity for the study.  
While this is a harsh assessment of Milgram’s infamous study, it is a revealing snapshot of what occurred behind the scenes of the famous study, and the personal reflections of the participants alone make this a compelling read.
 
 
Other Related Resources
Podcast with Gina Perry
http://www.wnyc.org/story/313564-untold-story-notorious-milgram-psychology-experiments/
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Solomon Asch
Diana Baumrind
Stanley Milgram and obedience to authority
 
 
 

The Hope Circuit: A Psychologist’s Journey from Helplessness to Optimism
Author:  Martin E.P. Seligman
ISBN-10: 1610398734
ISBN-13: 978-1610398732

APA Style Citation
Seligman, M. (2018). The hope circuit: A psychologist’s journey from helplessness to optimism. New York, NY: Public Affairs.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Circuit-Psychologists-Helplessness-Optimism/dp/1610398734
​

Book Description
The Hope Circuit is the personal story of Martin Seligman.  Seligman used his position at the APA to transform American psychology from focusing on weakness to looking at strengths. Rather than being driven by the past he created a new psychology of hope based on the future.  The field is now known as Positive Psychology.
 
Beginning
Seligman was born to Jewish parents and strongly identified as Jewish.  As a young boy he was intelligent and well-liked by teachers.  Even though Marty had top grades, he was denied a promotion due to anti-Semitic sentiments.  Eventually, this also led to his rejection to Harvard. Seligman ultimately attended Princeton. He started taking philosophy classes, but got caught up in the rigor (internal validity) versus reality (external validity) debate. The summer before his senior year, he completed his first lab work in psychology studying the effects of electric shock as punishment. The rat study led to his first publication in a top journal. Soon after he was granted a fellowship to study experimental psychology and a fellowship to study analytic philosophy. He was at a crossroads and needed to decide whether he wanted to be a psychologist or a philosopher.

He was a natural psychologist and decided to start down the road of psychology.  It was during a meeting at University of Pennsylvania that Dick Soloman said, “I think the dogs in my lab are helpless, and I don’t know why.”  This statement stuck with Marty for years and presented one of the first of many paths in his career.  From 1964-67, Seligman did research on learned helplessness. He published helplessness (outlining his cognitive theory) with limited criticisms. However, learning theorists, fearing the cognitive storm, quickly went on the defense especially with animals. His research involved shocking dogs, which was called into question due to ethical concerns. After the experiment the dogs were taken to a park and set free. Marty does not know their fate, but thinks of them often. After finishing the PhD program, Marty took a job as assistant professor of psychology at Cornell University. His assertive personality kept him distant from others and he was not always well-liked. Despite his negativity, he was ambitious and surrounded by devoted students and followers. In 1967, he was introduced to psychiatry by Joe Wolpe who took him under his wing and gave him first look at mental illness. It was then that Seligman drifted from a learning psychologist to a clinical psychologist.
 
Becoming 
Seligman continued teaching at Cornell and his passion for psychology came across in his teaching. After reading an article by John Garcia he opened a new career path once again. Marty shared his “sauce béarnaise” taste aversion story with his students and it became one of the “most publicized meals since the Last Supper.” Seligman became known for his work on learned helplessness and biological constraints.  He extended his work to evolutionary preparedness for phobias and OCD.   At this point in his life, he paid little attention to his personal life, was seen as self-obsessed, and classified himself as anxious and depressed.  Meanwhile, learned helplessness was being replicated in rats, mice, goldfish, cats, and cockroaches based in part on the work Seligman had done with dogs.

Marty’s life took a turn when he received the Guggenheim Fellowship and became visiting professor at the Institute of Psychiatry of the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospitals, run by Hans Eysenck. He met Suzanne, a PhD student, and fell in love. Soon after he left his wife and two children for Suzanne. It was also at this time that his first trade book, Helplessness, was published. When questioned publicly about his research he invited the critic to collaborate. Together, with his research group, they worked to define the “depressive attributional style” for internal, stable, global bad events. This new style was called “pessimism” and hypothesized as a risk factor for depression. In 1980, his relationship with Suzanne ended and Marty was a 38-year-old bachelor with major depression. Seligman reinvested himself into college life. He and a friend formed “Chicken Dinner Club” where twelve of the liveliest faculty from all disciplines were invited to dinner once a month. He wanted to create an environment similar to the one he experienced in college; an intellectual environment filled with faculty and students. Then, he became director of his department and could no longer straddle the natural and social sciences or basic and applied science. He believed scientific psychology was meaningful only if it applied to human problems and he became the advocate of applied psychology. His research took new turns into the world of business and predicting sports.  He also explored the connection between cancer and helplessness.
 
Being
Seligman bought a large house and hoped to one day make it a home. Mandy, a new graduate student, caught Marty’s attention. Despite being 17 years older, once divorced, and not ideal marriage material, he asked her to marry him. They were married one year later. She was the love of his life and mother to five of his children. She made the house a home. At the age of 46, he changed his life and spent more time with his wife and thought about the good in life.

In 1990, Seligman’s publishing career took hold. He wrote Learned Optimism and presented evidence-based exercises to raise optimism and decrease depression. Next, he wrote Optimistic Child to help teach optimism in middle school and lower the risk for depression and anxiety. Then he wrote a book that changed his life. He wrote the book What You Can Change and What You Can’t. It was a guide to major disorders and major treatments. At the time, evaluation of psychotherapy was unclear. It was concluded that the effectiveness studies were a decent guide and efficacy studies were not. Marty was seen as a traitor by his academic colleagues, but a hero with therapists.

Building on his support from therapists, Marty ran for president of the American Psychological Association (APA) and won. He used this new position to lead the charge for positive psychology. Together with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Marty spent his 1998 New Year’s vacation inventing positive psychology. They created a name, secured funding, and worked to find leaders in the field. Positive psychology launched at the end of 1999. From there, the research led into writing a DSM of good character and virtue.  At this point, Seligman was 60 years old and flourishing. His life was filled with love, work, and play.  By 2001, there was a Positive Psychology Center and a master’s degree of applied positive psychology (MAPP) by 2005. The Authentic Happiness website was created and five elements (PERMA) of positive psychology were identified.

Seligman started positive education; prevention being better than therapy. The first Penn Prevention Program for children began.  He began to train teachers and measure how well it worked. His work had a giant boost from Angela Duckworth (who joined Penn as a grad student in 2002). She wanted to explore how self-discipline compared with IQ in predicting success. Seligman would go on to create a positive education program in Australia. The program was taught to teachers first and had a huge effect of providing rejuvenation for teachers. The prevention program was then extended to the UK, Bhutan, Mexico, and Peru.
Seligman’s story took a turn with his work for the government. In 2002, he was asked by the CIA how the research on learned helplessness could help captured Americans resist and evade torture and interrogation. He was never asked about using his research with detainees.  He was also invited to the Pentagon to address mental illness that plagued the army. He decided to teach and measure resiliency and positive psychology for the army. Seligman helped create a 120-item Global Assessment Tool (GAT) and pilot a program to teach signature strengths, build strong relationships, and use effective praise. Penn received a $31 million contract to train U.S. Army personnel in resilience and positive psychology. While this caught a lot of criticism, it was a sole-sourced no-bid contract because no other entities besides Penn could compete for the contract. More recently Marty’s work has turned to protective factors against physical illness. Studies have shown optimism mattered above all factors in preventing heart disease.  Prospection, the mental activity of envisioning future scenarios about our lives, is an important factor.  Thanks to the U.S. Army consolidating personnel and medical records he has the data for longitudinal studies. That coupled with data from Twitter has found that changing what you think and what you say, might be the royal road to physical health.  Marty is looking to the future rather than the past. Philosophy may once again join with psychology. He is exploring prospection, creativity, and consciousness.

Seligman’s original learned helplessness research has been turned upside down. His collaborator, Steve Maier, was retrained as a neuroscientist and studied brain circuits in rats. Steve showed that being helpless was a natural, unlearned, default response to prolonged shock. He found that it was not helplessness, but control and mastery that were learned.  The hope is that we can learn- and teach- that future bad events can be controlled, and this will help buffer against helplessness and anxiety. The story of the hope circuit comes amidst a foggy, painful state. Seligman’s friend Jack Templeton died and the night before the funeral Marty had significant pain from a cyst on his spine. He woke from a deep sleep, and knew that the circuit Steve found was the hope circuit. He was able to attend Jack’s funeral that day. When he was asked to give the eulogy, he added “I want to tell Jack what happened to me this morning. Jack and I talked often about a science of hope and its relation to faith. Between science and religion one can grasp everything. Jack wanted there to be a hope circuit in the brain and I can tell him now that there is.” He delivered the eulogy and went home to bed for days.

​In Seligman’s lifetime, psychology has shifted away from behaviorism and turned more seriously toward cognition, evolution, and the brain. In addition, attention has shifted from weaknesses and focusing on one’s past to strengths and the possibilities of the future.   As president of the APA he led the charge to change psychology.  Marty has transformed from a learning psychologist to a clinical psychologist and now a positive psychologist. His personal life has gained fulfillment. He is no longer a pessimist and skeptic. His personal and professional story is one of change and for the better.
 
Other Related Resources
Learned Helplessness Article
https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/learnedhelplessness.pdf
 
APA- Old Problem, New Tools
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/10/helplessness
 
What is Learned Helplessness?
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325355.php#in-children
 
Learned Helplessness Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmFOmprTt0
 
TED Talk: Martin Seligman- The New Era of Positive Psychology
https://www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_the_new_era_of_positive_psychology/transcript?language=en    
 
Psychological Concepts and Figures
Gordon Allport
Albert Bandura
Aaron (Tim) Beck
Mary Whiton Calkins
Noam Chomsky
Mihaly (Mike) Csikszentmihalyi
Charles Darwin
Angela Duckworth
Little Hans
Erik Erikson
Hans Eysenck
Sigmund Freud
John Garcia
William James
Carl Jung
Richard Lazarus
Elizabeth (Beth) Loftus
Abraham (Abe) Maslow
Walter Mischel
Ivan Pavlov
Jean Piaget
Robert (Bob) Rescorla
Dave Rosenhan
Julian Rotter
BF (Fred) Skinner
Edward L. Thorndike
Edwin Twitmyer
Margaret Washburn
John B. Watson
Joe Wolpe
Wilhelm Wundt
 
Amygdala
Anxiety
APA
Appraisal theory
Archetypes
Attachment
Availability error
Avoidance learning
Basic vs. applied psychology
Biological constraints and preparedness
Brain circuitry
Catastrophic thought
Clinical psychology
Cognitive therapy
Cohort effect
Confounding characteristics
Consciousness
Coping
Creativity
Cross-sectional vs. longitudinal
Demand characteristics
Depression
Depressive attributional style (pessimism)
Determinism
DSM and UnDSM
Duchenne smiles
Eating disorders
Eclectic therapy
Efficacy vs. effectiveness research
Ethics
Evidence-based therapy
External vs. internal validity
Fight or flight
Flow
Free will
Generativity
Heritability
Heuristics
Hope circuit
Introspection
Law of effect
Learned helplessness
Learned optimism
Locus of control
Memory
Natural selection
OCD
PERMA
Phobias
Placebo
Positive psychology
Posttraumatic growth
Psychiatry
Psychotherapy
Puzzle box
Random assignment
Reflexes
Resilience
Self-discipline
Self-efficacy
Serotonin
Skepticism
Taste aversions
Thorazine
VIA Signature Strengths Test
Well-being

We are thankful for our readers! As we approach posting a review and activity on our 100th book, we would like to hear from our readers. Please consider taking a short survey (4 questions) and enter your name into a drawing for a gift card.  Submissions will be accepted until the new year.

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Deviate:  The Science of Seeing Differently
Author:  Beau Lotto
ISBN:  978-1-474-60033-7
 
APA Style Citation
Lotto, B (2017).  Deviate:  The science of seeing differently.  London:  Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Publishing Group Ltd.
 
Buy this Book 
https://www.amazon.com/Deviate-Science-Differently-Beau-Lotto/dp/1478909161
​

​Book Description
We often think of perception as the sum of our sensory inputs, but Beau Lotto turns that on its head and suggests that what you view as reality is, in fact, based in large part on prior expectations of what you see, hear, touch taste and smell.  In Deviate, Lotto sets out to help us understand how our brain processes new information and makes meaning of it.  Lotto’s research into neuroscience allows him to utilize his 25 years of research experience, much comes from the Lab of Misfits, which he founded at the Science Museum of London to explore, “how we see and why we see what we do.”  Lotto indicates that the word Deviate has many negative connotation, but in fact, he proposes that nothing new ever occurs without active doubt.  Lotto purports that deviance is a positive way of looking at the world through a different perspective, which can lead to a broader understanding of reality.  
 
Lotto points to the famous dress incident that was an internet sensation a few years back.  While some were convinced that the dress was blue and black, others were convinced that it was white and gold.  Everyone saw the same dress, but came away with different perceptions.  More recently, the “Laurel/Yanny” phenomenon caused the same uproar, but for auditory rather than visual perception.  We often believe that our truth is the same as others.  As Plato illustrates in the Allegory of the Cave, we may never know the truth unless we can perceive something from all perspectives, which is impossible because of our prior experiences with the world.  Our reality is highly subjective; Lotto makes the analogy to driving in a mobile home and taking in information through our senses by looking out the windows.  We can move the mobile home to get a better view, but we will never experience the whole of something without stepping outside of the mobile home.  
 
Similarly, our experiences no matter how extensive, will never give us a full view of the world so, in order to make sense of our daily experiences, we must rely not just on our senses, but also on our prior knowledge. Without this mechanism, our world would be chaos because our mind could not keep up with the onslaught of incoming information. If you are reading subtitles as you watch a movie, and run across the word f*%@ing, you have a pretty good idea that something vulgar has been said, even though most of the word is made up of symbols.  Letters only take on meaning based on our prior learning and use of combining letters into words and words into meaningful units.  
 
 
 
Russians perceive red with greater discrimination than English speakers because the word choices in the Russian language are more nuanced in this area.  Similarly, many English speakers cannot roll a Spanish r and do not hear the difference because they have not encountered these sounds before.  We now know that Western societies differ in their eye movements from those from Eastern societies.  Asians extract visual information more holistically, while Westerners view objects more analytically.  Lotto argues that, “context is everything” and indicates that we must learn not what to see but rather how to look in order to gain a more complete understanding of the world in which we live.  Our prior experiences can also change our internal biological mechanisms. This was demonstrated by a famous study conducted by Rosenzweig in which rats were placed into either an enriched or deprived environment for ten weeks.  At the conclusion of the study, those in an enriched environment had a thicker cerebral cortex, while those in the deprived environment had a thinner cerebral cortex with fewer neural connections.  These types of life experiences have unfortunately been found in humans from Romanian orphanages and cases of severe neglect often with similar results.  In some cases, when removed from these environments, the children caught up to normal developmental landmarks but their memory, inhibition, and visualization still lacked behind others.  
 
Our brains allow us to imagine the world and its possibilities as we experience it like no one else. We can create new perceptions by creating stories as children often do.  These can seem realistic and add to our future interpretations of the world.  We sometimes misperceive the world, perhaps imagining motion where none exists, such as in the phi phenomenon or the autokinetic effect.  Because of our cognitive biases, Lotto argues that we do not have access to reality but we can use this lack of reality to unleash creativity and see the world in new and different ways that will continue to allow for new inventions and thinking unbounded by expectations.  Travel opens our minds to new realities, and if one cannot travel, they can travel in their mind, which can achieve similar results.  Lotto uses the example of the backward brain bicycle (see resources) to demonstrate how we can learn to change our brain with continual practice.  We can look for reasons that do not support our existing schemas but rather, challenge what we think we know.  We can question others and ask why we should believe what we think we know instead of giving into the confirmation bias.  Lotto refers to this as courageous intervention.  This courageous intervention is what Lotto means when he encourages us to Deviate.
 
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts 
Charles Darwin
Rene Descartes
John Gottman
Carl Jung
Plato
 
Additive color mixing
Auditory cortex
Autokinetic effect
Cerebral cortex
Cerebral hemispheres
Cognitive maps        
Cognitive rehearsal
Cognitive scientists
Confirmation bias
Conformity
Conscientiousness
Creativity
Delusion
Dopamine
Empiricism
Epigenetics
Evolution
fMRI
Grey matter
Habituation
Illusion
Mindfulness
Neurons
Neurogenetics
Neural networks
Neuroscience
Random sampling
Rubber hand illusion
Perceptual neuroscience
Phenotype
Phi phenomenon
Priming
Sensory receptors
Tabula rsa
Thalamus
Trial and eror
Visual cliff
Visual cortex
Wavelengths
 
Other Related Resources:
Talks at Google:  Beau Lotto “Deviate”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQUgGg9XzbQ
 
Lab of Misfits
https://www.labofmisfits.com/our-team
 
Deviate:  The Science of Seeing Things Differently
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZc0oWjA3Ho
 
Big Think
https://bigthink.com/u/beau-lotto
 
The Washington Post:  Why our Grasp of Reality is Fragile
https://www.washingtonpost.com
 
Apple Podcasts:  The Science of Seeing Differently
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-38-beau-lotto-deviate-the-science-of-seeing-differently/id1011637188?i=1000385502985
 
Quartz:  A neuroscientist explains why we can’t see the world objectively
https://qz.com/973116/a-neuroscientist-explains-why-we-evolved-to-be-curious/
 
Backward Brain Bicycle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBlL0
 
 
 
 

Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave
Author:  Adam Alter
ISBN-10: 0143124935
ISBN-13: 978-0143124931

APA Style Citation
Alter, A. (2013).  Drunk tank pink: And other unexpected forces that shape how we think, feel, and behave. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
 
Buy This Book
https://www.amazon.com/Drunk-Tank-Pink-Unexpected-Forces/dp/0143124935

​Book Description
Can the color pink calm rowdy prisoners? Yes! Drunk tank pink is the affectionate name for the bubblegum-pink shade of paint used in jail cells in San Jose, CA in the 1980s. Soon after, the use of the color pink spread like wildfire in efforts to change people’s behavior. Drunk Tank Pink investigates how context effects and hidden forces shape our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is filled with studies that leave you wondering just how much we are impacted by the world within us, the world between us, and the world around us.
 
The World Within Us: The world within us consists of names, labels, and symbols.
 
Sometimes our names can determine our destiny. For example, Carl Jung “young” studied youth and rebirth. Freud, which means joy in German, studied the pleasure principle. Usain Bolt became the fastest man in the world. If our name is easy to pronounce, it opens doors and makes us money. People tend to prefer the letters in their name. For instance, people with a name starting with K donated more for Hurricane Katrina recovery because they associated the storm with their name. Names can be powerful.
 
Labels also make our lives easier and help us make decisions. Color labels shape how we see the world. Our reality is also influenced by the language we speak. Language impacts our perception of personal space, physical space, and time.  Sometimes even meaningless labels gain meaning and impact us. For example, north is thought of as being above. Individuals are more willing to travel five minutes south because north implies uphill and requiring more effort and gas. According to the framing effect, the wording of a statement impacts decision making. Labels can distort eyewitness memory and reshape our social interactions.
 
Symbols are also a powerful influencer. Symbolic images can be more powerful than words. For example, students were exposed to negative symbols that changed their later impressions. Company logos set off a network of associations, such as The Apple Company enhances our creativity. Money is a powerful symbol. As we watch money be destroyed, possibilities seem to disappear. Nationalism and religion are also powerful symbols. The American flag can unite or inspire aggression, depending on the association when primed. Being reminded of religion primes an individual to be honest in their future interactions. The world within us shapes a diverse range of outcomes.
 
The World Between Us: We are surrounded by others, socially motivated, and view life through a cultural lens.
 
Being surrounded by others changes our behavior. Adding a picture of eyes above an honesty box by communal coffee influences the amount of contributions. Posting ads stating “We’ve got our eyes on criminals” lowers criminal activity. We like to be surrounded by others, and social isolation has significant effects. We’ve learned this from case studies, such as Genie, a girl who was isolated for the first 13 years of her life, and individuals living underground to simulate the isolation astronauts might experience. Our behaviors change when we are forced to compare ourselves with others. A utility company reduced electricity use by showing customers how much other households use.  Noor, a Turkish soap opera, changed the Arab world by showing viewers marital benefits of gender equality. We feel connected to others when we mimic each other. While two people talk on the phone, they often synchronize their steps by following the rise and fall of their voices. Performing in front of others can be exhilarating, but it depends on the ease of the task. Students did better on the SAT with fewer competitors. Also, having too many people around can be problematic as found in the bystander effect.
 
According to Abraham Maslow, we are socially motivated. After our physiological needs are met, we seek safety. Men are more likely than women to die from accidental causes because they take greater risks. Next, we need the social support of love and belonging. A nasal spray, called Liquid Trust, applied before important social events can lead to feelings of trust. The spray contains oxytocin, which is believed to promote positive responses for in-group members. A photo of a loved one produces the same response as oxytocin by activating the same reward centers in the brain. Amazingly, imagined social support is just as effective as real support. The top of Maslow’s hierarchy is self-actualization, consisting of self-acceptance and moral clarity. Individuals donate more when asked to recall childhood memories. People are also more honest when forced to stare at their mirror image.
 
Everyone sees objects and places through a cultural lens. This is evident with the famous Muller-Lyer illusion. Bushmen from southern Africa and tribes from North Angola and Ivory Coast failed to fall for the illusion because they were raised in rounded houses that did not possess angled lines. Studies have also explored the impact of culture and focus. Chinese and American participants studied photos with a central background. Americans focused their attention on the main object and less time on the background, whereas Chinese participants focused more on both the object and background. We see people, math, art, and honor through a cultural lens. There are also culture-bound disorders. Anorexia is concentrated in the wealthiest regions of the world. While the hikikomori disorder of lacking any social contacts is a disorder almost exclusively limited to Japan. Being immersed in another culture impacts the person we become. The social world we live in shapes a diverse range of outcomes.
 
The World Around Us: We are shaped by colors, locations, and the weather.
 
Colors influence our world by shaping how we think and behave. Blue lights in Scotland have decreased criminal activity, and blue lights in Japan have stopped suicide attempts. We have learned to associate colors and objects. That blue light mimicked a police car’s flashing lights. Colors can impact us at work or school. Students have learned to fear red ink. While using a red pen, teachers found more errors. At the same time, writing in red ink students produced more mistakes. Even more confusing, depending on the intellectual task red can be beneficial. Proofreading or memorizing a list of words (tasks that both require attention to detail) presented against a red background becomes beneficial. Color impacts sports. Athletes who wear red uniforms win more often, while athletes who wear black are seen as more aggressive. Colors have even been associated with morals. We associate lightness with morality and darkness with immorality. Colors influence through association, but also biology. Red is associated with love because it signals sexual arousal. Blue halts production of melatonin.
 
Locations also influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Outgoing children became hostile, anxious children after minutes in an overcrowded room. Living in packed quarters hinders generosity and diminishes quality of life. Overcrowding creates noise, and the constant hum stifles creativity and learning. Children raised on lower floors, which tend to be loud, struggled more to read than their peers living on higher floors. Natural environments can bring positive effects. Patients recover faster in rooms facing a small courtyard. Children who spent time outdoors were more relaxed, focused, happier, and friendly. Even children who sat indoors with natural views were calmer. Japan and Germany have already been using natural therapy. The Japanese practice forest bathing- walking for a long time while inhaling woodsy scents. The Germans physically exercise in forest clearings. Natural environments promote calmness and well-being because they expose us to low levels of stress.
 
Even the weather influences us. Civil conflicts have been driven by changes in climate. Southern states are more prone to violent crime. On hot days, domestic violence rates increase. Long cold winters breeds love. Social isolation creates a literal chill. Students held a cup of hot coffee or iced coffee while riding an elevator and were asked to rate another person. If they held the hot coffee cup, they rated the individual as warmer and friendlier (not attractive or strong). The sensation of physical warmth alleviates the need for social contact.  The weather also influences our well-being. Rain, snow, and darkness are responsible for great unhappiness. However, a sunnier day brings on mental stupor. Individuals recalled three times as many items on rainy days as sunny days. Gloomy weather hampers mood, but it makes us think more deeply and clearly. The world around us shapes our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
 
Think about the world within us, the world between us, and the world around us.  Just how much of you has been determined by your environment? If you want to know more, this is a must read!
 
Other Related Resources

Adam Alter Webpage
http://adamalterauthor.com/drunk-tank-pink
 
Color Matters
https://www.colormatters.com/color-and-the-body/drunk-tank-pink
 
NPR: “Drunk Tank Pink” Find Clues To Behavior
https://www.npr.org/2013/04/05/176339686/drunk-tank-pink-finds-clues-to-behavior
 
Scientific American- MIND Reviews: Drunk Tank Pink
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mind-reviews-drunk-tank-pink/?redirect=1
 
Psychological Figures and Concepts 
 
Alfred Adler
Solomon Asch
Darley and Latané
Jane Elliott
Sigmund Freud
Genie
Kitty Genovese
Harry Harlow
William James
Carl Jung
Wolfgang Köhler
John Locke
Elizabeth Loftus
Abraham Maslow
Hermann Rorschach
Stanley Schachter
Normal Triplet
Benjamin Whorf
Bob Zajonc
 
Biologically predisposed
Chameleon effect
Circadian rhythm
Conformity
Context effects
Correlation
Cortisol
Critical period
Culture
Diffusion of responsibility
Discrimination
Distress vs. Eustress
DSM
Evolution theory
Experiment
Feeding and eating disorders
Flashbulb memories
Hawthorne effect
Individualism vs. collectivism
Insula
Melatonin
Müller-Lyer illusion
Necker Cube
Oxytocin
Phobias
Phonemes
Pineal gland
Placebo
Schizophrenia
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Serotonin
Sleep paralysis
Social facilitation
Social inhibition
Social norms
Stigma
Stroop task
Subliminal priming
Temporoparietal network
Testosterone
Visual cortex
Well-being