Laugh Out Loud - Jun 2012

Pop quiz! Match the psychologists who proposed the following theories.

1.       Multiple Intelligence	A.      Sigmund Freud
2.       Psychosexual stages	B.      Jean Piaget
3.       Cognitive Developmental Theory	C.      Howard Gardner

Send the answers with your FULL NAME and CONTACT NUMBER to salford.psy.hk@gmail.com on or before 25th June 2012. Those who got all correct will enter our lucky draw to win a special prize! Enjoy LOL

Venus Lai & Stephanie Szeto

_________________________________________________________
The answers of 7th issue, May 2012 are B, D, E, F, G, K, I.

得獎者是 Aries Tse! 今期的獎品是…

護手霜 及 潤唇膏 各1支

由於參加者眾多，其他參加者將獲得安慰獎以作鼓勵。＝）

歡迎投稿 - Jun 2012

Welcome for your contribution

We welcome your contribution.  Please keep your psychology-related article to a maximum of 800 words and send it with article title, references your full name and contact number by email to salford.psy.hk@gmail.com with subject: “Contribution to Psycholic” on or before 27th Jun, 2012.  Plagiarism is not accepted.

歡迎投稿

歡迎閣下的參與，請把不多於800字有關心理學的作品，連同文稿主題、參考文獻及閣下的姓名和聯絡電話，於2012年6月27日前以電郵投稿至 salford.psy.hk@gmail.com ，郵件主題註明：「Contribution to Psycholic」。抄襲作品恕不接受。

Andrien Photography - Jun 2012

Warren Adrien Tang

PsyPanacea - Jun 2012

Write to Panacea and you might be answered! We want to wipe that frown off your face. Remember, all askers remain anonymous. Just drop your question into our mailbox, or write to us at salford.psy.hk@gmail.com. The Goddess awaits your worries and woes.

Dear readers,


This month is a special month for my mom. With a huge event coming up in her life, she has showed me how to still come forth as a strong, successful woman. It’s really great to have a mom like her. So this month’s article is dedicated to my mom and to all moms. Mother’s day has past, but it’s not too late to celebrate having a mom. Cheers Mom!

-Kristen Pereira

_______________________________________________________________

Pickpocket - Jun 2012

Have you set the baseline of your subject? Could you find the unique behavior of your subject? I am sure you did after you used your brilliant observational skills. It is crucial to have a baseline to read NVB so that we can judge accurately if there is no comparison.
 

The Introduction of Principles, Reading NVB
 

I taught you how to make the foundation to judge people’s behavior and based on it, to identify the idiosyncratic behavior. Then in this issue, a complex application and experienced based application will be introduced separately, appearance of more than one NVB and sudden change of behavior.
 

No.6 －Multiple Implication

It is very easy for you to judge a person’s NVB after you set the baseline for him/her. However it is more complicated if there is more than one NVB. Normally people do not have just one obvious baseline. Instead, they might simultaneously have a set of behavior. So reading people is the equivalent of playing with a jigsaw puzzle, where we need to solve the whole picture by identifying those right ones. Occasionally, there will be missing pieces, or even pieces of other puzzles.

Photo: Betting.Betfair.com

Missing a few NVB traits while judging is not a big deal because we concentrate on the bigger picture of the event and person. But wrong pieces are more dangerous. For example, when you see a person that smiles as he bets more money for his cards on the poker table, you would judge he has good cards, but at the same time he closes his eyes when he smiles after looking at the cards. Actually he does not have good cards. It is just human nature to close our eyes when we want to avoid seeing something unfavorable. The smile is a bluff, the wrong NVB.
 

No.7 －Sudden Change of Personal Behavior

Have you ever experienced your friend's sudden change in his/her behavior? Maybe after an exam, like an excited child waiting to Ocean Park but suddenly finds out he cannot go there anymore, he changes his behavior?

Simply put behavior changes with the environment. People also change dramatically after a serious or life-changing event. We must remember that the behavior of a person can be stable only if their personality permits. So there will not be a lot of or drastic behavioral changes within a short period of time. The way that you judge a person’s changed behavior is according to the baseline that you set for him/ her before. Even if you have not established a baseline, you should already have one based on your joint experience or closeness.

Once you realize that the person has a sudden behavioral change, you need to be aware of him/ her because maybe something serious happened.
 

In the coming issue, I will write about the principle No.8 Identify Truth and Misdirection, No.9 Foundation: Judging of Relaxation and Nervousness and No.10 Become Invisible while Observing.
 

Practice makes perfect!
 

Pick their thoughts! They cannot hide their expression and hold their intentions from your eyes!

Jason Lam

Reference:
Navarro, J., &Karlins, M. (2009).What every BODY is saying an ex-FBI agent's guide to speed reading people (Kindle ed.). S.I.: William Morrow Paperbacks

Paradox - Jun 2012

Casino is an interesting place to observe the behaviors of people. Have you ever wondered why some people will choose to leave, but some will still remain in the table while they have won or lost the same amount of money?

$100 is not the same as $100

Photo: iesmenglish.files.wordpress.com

The Prospect Theory gives an explanation to certain behaviors of gamblers. The theory suggests when people are facing uncertainty, they will make decisions based on the potential value of losses and gains, but not the final outcome. That means people will set a standard for them to make decisions, then they will calculate the difference between this standard and their every expected result. For example, a man expected to win $200 in a table. Finally he won $200 but he will not be surprised with that. When he got a chance to win more than $200, he will consider it carefully in order not to lose his expected $200. While he will not consider another safety way to win $100 as it is not his expected result.

Photo: iesmenglish.files.wordpress.com

There is a standard in people’s mind. That the impact from winning and losing the same amount of money is different. For example, a man expected to win $500 in a table with $2000 capital. After he won $500 that will be nothing for him but when he lost $500, he will be frustrated because the actual difference is not $2000 - $1500 = $500, it should be $2500 - $1500 = $1000. In an easy way, the frustration caused by losing is greater than the surprise caused by winning.

In another word, the best way to make you happy in a casino will be: take away all your capital after the first win; use the money from first win as a new capital; take away a little amount into your pocket after each win; retreat when the new capital lost to certain amount. There is only one discipline for gamblers in the casino: nothing is more than winning.

Anthony Chan

Reference:
Kahneman D, Versky A (1979) "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk", Econometrica, XLVII (1979), 263-291

Defense Mechanisms - Jun 2012

Fantasy

Everyone has his own desire. Expectations of pleasurable outcomes bring us to the fantasyland. Personally I think fantasy is a useful tool to motivate myself. During the dark times, thinking of the good outcomes can push me forward. It acts as an important reward, even it is not real. Fantasy is absolutely normal. It is one of the most common defense mechanism we use.

Image: Venus Lai

Abusive use of fantasy can be destructive! Don’t stop working when you fancy. Otherwise, your dream will only be a dream, and there will never be a dream come true.

Venus Lai

Reference:
Robinson, J. III & McCormick, D.J. (2011). Concepts in Health and Wellness. New York: Cengage Learning.

Psych-Action - Jun 2012

Organiser: Hong Kong Psychological Society
Name of Activity: HKPS Annual Conference 2012
Type: Conference
Date: 16th June, 2012 (Sat)
Time: 9:00 am - 17:30 pm
Venue: Academic Building LT1,
City University of Hong Kong
Details: www.hkps.org.hk/index.php?fi=event


主辦機構：香港心理衛生會
活動名稱：焦慮症多面睇！
類型：講座
講者：註冊臨床心理學家 蔣君香女士
日期：2012年6月22日 星期五
時間：晚上7時30分至9時正
地點：觀塘翠屏道3號
基督教家庭服務中心2樓禮堂
(觀塘港鐵站D1出口)
留座熱線：25284656


主辦機構：香港心理衛生會
活動名稱：從心理治療到正向心理學
—如何發揮情緒的正面功能
類型：講座
講者：註冊臨床心理學家 胡國榮先生
日期：2012年6月27日 星期三
時間：晚上7時30分至9時正
地點：觀塘翠屏道3號
基督教家庭服務中心2樓禮堂
(觀塘港鐵站D1出口)
留座熱線：25284656
聽眾可獲贈新書《一百「浸」個快樂》一本

Sora Siu

Sunshine is always with you - Jun 2012

你的力量比你想像中的大—「讓愛傳出去」


Image: mocidadelitoralcentro.wordpress.com


大家都知道病菌可以透過空氣互相傳染，但大家是否也知道其實開心、大笑也可以傳染﹖大家曾否遭遇過看見別人大笑時也會令你很想笑﹖會否有些場面令你感覺輕鬆或嚴肅﹖為什麼會這樣? 其實每個人也有影響力，如果你不相信的話，可以與你朋友做一個測試，當你對住他笑(不需要任何理由，當然也不可以被他知道你為什麼笑) ，很大可能他也會以笑容回覆你。筆者也相信大家一定也被一些東西影響過，可能是一些書本、運動員、成功人仕等等，簡單地說明，人會互相影響，亦有一句老話「生命影響生命」。筆者想介紹一套關於互相影響的電影給大家—「讓愛傳出去」(Pay It Forward )。

電影講述一位社會研究學的老師尤金（凱文史貝西飾），出了一個作業給他的學生們，要他們想一個辦法改變世界，並且將它付諸實行。男主角—崔佛（哈利奧斯蒙飾），是他的學生之一，他想出了一個「讓愛傳出去」的構想：以我為中心，幫助三個單靠個人能力是解決不了問題的人，這三個人不需要回報付出者，但他們每個人必須把感恩的心情傳出去，幫助另外三個人。在連鎖效應下，兩個星期就有超過四百七十萬個人受惠。這是一個真實的故事，一個十二歲的孩子努力四個月，改變了很多人的生命。



Image: DeepSpirits.com

崔佛第一個幫助的人是街頭遊民傑利。崔佛偷偷帶他回家，給他食物，讓他洗澡，還讓他住在車庫裡。崔佛為了鼓勵他，把自己的積蓄給予他，讓他去買衣服。傑利找到工作後，便回到崔佛的家，主動替其修理車子，但被崔佛的母親艾琳發現了，追問之下，發現兒子「讓愛傳出去」的計劃，艾琳對十二歲兒子的作為又驚又喜。但傑利有毒癮，一遇到舊日同黨便再度沉淪毒海之中，於是遠走異鄉，期盼能重新振作。崔佛以為第一個計畫失敗了，非常失望。但傑利並沒有忘記崔佛要傳的愛，在途中，因緣際會，救了一位企圖自殺的婦女，最後崔佛的計劃成功了。

在現實中我們太容易設立了一個界限 (boundary) 給自己，經常覺得自己有很多事情也做不成，以致未能把事情做好。電影中崔佛只有十二歲，大家總認為小朋友的能力有限，但他沒有把年齡作為自己的界限，仍然盡力把愛傳出去。筆者建議大家當遇到對自己能力有質疑的時候，除了可想起這套電影作安慰，亦可以反問自己為什麼別人能做到，自己卻做不到呢﹖答案其實很簡單，因為他們覺得自己一定可以做到，所以他們就會做到，正如你不會覺得自己學不會刷牙的道理一樣。這套電影真是值得一看 — 「讓愛傳出去」，從自己開始﹗

Woody Yip

Reference:
Leder, M. (Director). (2000). Pay It Forward [Motion Picture]. United States.

Psycovery - Jun 2012

改邪歸正的K仔？！

抗抑鬱藥物 (Antidepressants) 一般都會用作處方治療抑鬱症 (Depression) 以及躁鬱症 (Bipolar Disorder) 的抑鬱期。可是，抗抑鬱藥物的副作用很多，而且並不是非常有效，依靠抗抑鬱藥的病人往往都需要花非常長的時間才能治癒。最近，美國國家心理研究中心 (National Institute of Mental Health) 的研究員發現，氯胺酮 (Ketamine, 俗稱K仔) 竟然可以有效治療抑鬱症！

由 Dr Carlos Zarate 所率領的團隊進行了一項臨床測試，他們將單劑量的氯胺酮以及安慰劑 (Placebo) 分別給予兩組正在經歷抑鬱期的躁鬱症病人。結果發現， 79% 接受了氯胺酮治療的病人，他們的抑鬱症狀在四十分鐘內有顯著改善，並且能夠維持三天，而接受了安慰劑的病人則沒有任何改善。另一方面，他們發現氯胺酮亦能夠於一小時內顯著減低病人的自殺念頭。

氯胺酮是 N-甲基-D-天冬胺酸受體 (N-methyl-D-aspartate, NMDA receptor) 的拮抗劑 (Antagonist)，這項發現，確定了 NMDA 受體複合物對快速抗抑鬱及抗自殺的影響，還提供了開發下一代抗抑鬱治療的另一途徑。由於現時數種可處方的抗抑鬱藥物通常需要非常長的治療時間，而且沒有一種像氯胺酮般具有快速抗抑鬱及抗自殺的效果，所以更顯這項研究的價值。

圖中為氯胺酮  (C₁₃H₁₆ClNO) 的分子結構。Image: PsyPost

Sora Siu

Reference:
Ketamine improves bipolar depression within minutes. (2012, May 30). Retrieved May 31, 2012, from Psypost: http://www.psypost.org/2012/05/ketamine-improves-bipolar-depression-within-minutes-11941

Pillars in the Making - Jun 2012

How behavioral theory works!

Hi everyone, have you ever heard of Pavlov and his classical conditioning theory? This month I want to share his history and findings with you.

Ivan Pavlov. Photo: NobelPrize.org

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was a Russian Physiologist, who was interested in the digestive system of human and animals. He had won a noble prize for physiology in 1904. Pavlov was interested in the gastric function of dogs. In 1890 he used his own dog for experiment. He expanded the salivary gland of his dog, so that he could collect and measure its saliva under different food conditions. Through this experiment, he found out how dogs’ gastric function works and it made him the first physiology noble prize winner. Other than that, he had also found out an extra psychic condition which he called it “classical conditioning”.  
  
At first, there was no reason that the dog would generate saliva when it heard a bell sound. However, Pavlov paired up the bell sound with food. After several times of conditioning, the dog would salivate when the bell rang. This is “classical conditioning” that the dog associated between the two stimuli so it expected to have food when it heard the bell sound.

It can apply to many situations in daily life, for example, have you ever noticed that baby product advertisements always use cute babies to be their models?  The advertising agencies try to attract parents by associating beautiful babies to the products through classical conditioning.

Pavlov’s dog at the Pavlov museum in Russia. Photo: Marxists.org

Vicky Wong

References:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1904/pavlov-bio.html. Retrieved 2 February 2012

"V.I. Lenin “Concerning The Conditions Ensuring The Research Work Of Academician I. P. Pavlov and his associates”. Marxists.org. http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1921/jan/24.htm. Retrieved 2012-04-15.

Carlson, N. R. (1942). Psychology: The science of behavior. Boston : Pearson.

SD3 - Jun 2012

“Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.” – Thomas Edison

When talking about Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Steve Jobs and Britney Spears, what do you think of? Believe it or not, they are all dyslexics.

Photo: Venus Lai

Dyslexia is defined as the disability of learning, especially regarding the impairment in reading and comprehension competency. Lots of people may think dyslexia occurs because the sufferers are stupid. However, results from various researches have shown that their inefficiency of reading and comprehension is unrelated to neither their intelligence nor cognitive functioning. In fact, many intelligent and successful celebrities are dyslexics. There are far more examples other than those mentioned.

Sufferers often learn to speak late and fail to spell words correctly. Moreover, they may lack the proficiency in learning alphabets and words, retrieving the learnt words and linking the words and their meaning. Some of them even have difficulties in keeping words organized and time-oriented.

Living in a city which the importance of schooling has been overemphasized, parents are much concerned with the learning outcomes of their children. Some of the factors relate closely to the outcomes are language and reading ability. It is true that preschool learning can help preventing dyslexia. Frequent reading and speaking exercises are tools for treating this disorder.

Obstacles or Challenges?

After reading the article, I guess no one will disagree with the quote in the headline. Certainly Thomas Edison is not “well-equipped” for being an inventor, yet his effort made him successful. Believing your effort will finally pay off, it may help you to go through difficult times.

Venus Lai

References:
Rapcsak, S.Z., Beeson, P.M., Henry, M.L., Leyden, A., Kim, E., Rising, K., Andersen, S. & Cho, H. (2009). Phonological dyslexia and dysgraphia: Cognitive mechanisms and neural substrates. Cortex, 45, 575-591.
Schulte-Körne, G. (2010). The Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Dyslexia. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, 107(41), 718-27.

News Feed - Jun 2012

Recently an article about Psycholic has been published in LiPACE’s institute newsletter! We are so happy to have the institute’s support and affirmation, especially from our Programme Coordinator Dr Andrew Tang. Don’t miss the details, read our introductory article here:



The Blossom of Psycholic

Text : Stephanie Szeto

Photo : Warren Adrien Tang

Psycholic, an independent monthly newsletter, is published by a group of enthusiastic young people studying BSc (Hons) Psychology, which is a course collaborated by University of Salford and LiPACE.  It has been my great honour and a precious experience working with Venus, Sora, Kristen, Jason, Woody, Anthony, Vicky and Warren to pursue our mutual goals of promoting fascinating psychology knowledge and heightening its practical use in everyday life.  Since its debut in November 2011, Psycholic has extended its network to Facebook, email and blog to reach people from all walks of life.  A total of 14 columns are dedicated to thrill our readers through various aspects of psychology:

• Words from Editors – an opinion piece written in turn by the editorial team.
• SD3 – by Venus Lai, Chief Editor. SD3 stands for 3 standard deviations, reveals the secrets of abnormal behaviors.
• Defense Mechanisms - by Venus Lai, Chief Editor. The column tells the rules of defense originated from Freud, and how people protect their self-esteem through them.
• LOL – by Venus Lai, Chief Editor and Stephanie Szeto, Deputy Chief Editor. An interactive game platform between readers and the editor.
• I love therefore I am – by Stephanie Szeto, Deputy Chief Editor. Borrowed from the famous quote of Freud, the column aims to explore one of the basic human drives - affiliation.
• 1 min Psychology - by Stephanie Szeto, Deputy Chief Editor. A quick note of interesting psychology findings and news in just a few sentences.
• Psycovery – by Sora Siu, Creative Editor. It covers the most updated and intriguing psychological discoveries.
• Psych-Action - by Sora Siu, Senior Editor.  A news centre for psychology-related events, and our official organizer for psychology activities.
• PsyPanacea – by Kristen Pereira, Senior Editor. A one-stop-shop to fix all psychological problems. 
• Pickpocket – by Jason Lam, Senior Editor. Pickpocket allows you to see right through people by stealing their thoughts and uncovering their deep secrets.
• Sunshine is always with you – by Woody Yip, Senior Editor. A positive column that shows people how to think and act from the sunny side. 
• Paradox – by Anthony Chan, Senior Editor. The column aims to solve the paradox of some seemingly abnormal human thoughts and behaviours. 
• Pillars in the Making – by Vicky Wong, Senior Editors. Taking a developmental approach, this column probes into the challenges our future masters are facing. 
• Andrien Photography – by Warren Adrien Tang, Senior Editor. 'Eyes are the window of our soul', Warren invites you to see the world through his lens. 

To know more about Psycholic, check it out at http://psycholic-news.blogspot.com/

Editors attend the Monthly Editorial Board meeting.

 ______________________________________________________________________

最近本刊非常榮幸地獲得學院通訊的報導，各編輯對學院以及課程統籌鄧博士的支持和肯定深感興奮。初次接觸本刊的你，萬勿錯過以下文章。

戀上Psycholic

文：司徒素雪　圖：鄧思驄

有志者事竟成，一班就讀心理學的學生自發地創辦了一份名為Psycholic的心理學月刊。我有幸能成為Psycholic的副總編輯，與其一同成長。組織Psycholic，我們學會了如何融會課堂上學到的知識，將之貫通於日常生活，再以心理學理論解說周遭發生的事情。Psycholic集合了十位學生，十四個專欄以輕鬆手法，由淺入深地為大家揭開心理學神秘的面紗。

• 編者的話 – 由各編輯輪流撰寫。
• SD3 – 由總編輯黎欣珩解說座落在標準偏差3的異常行為。 
• 防衛機制 – 亦由總編輯黎欣珩以佛洛伊德學說剖析人如何為自尊作防衛。
• 心裡心理有個謎 – 由總編輯黎欣珩及副總編輯司徒素雪提供各種心理互動遊戲。
• 我愛故我在 - 副總編輯司徒素雪引用佛洛伊德的名句與你談情說愛。
• １分鐘學心理 - 亦由副總編輯司徒素雪帶大家一分鐘學心理。
• 心˙發現 – 創作編輯蕭子鋒向大家介紹最新的心理學發現。
• 心蹤 – 亦由創作編輯蕭子鋒介紹城中熱門心理健康講座，並定時舉行活動。
• PsyPanacea – 資深編輯裴美蓮為大家解答各類心理奇難雜症。
• 偷˙心賊 – 資深編輯林敬珩教你透過非語言溝通窺探對方內心世界。
• 心中的陽光 – 資深編輯葉奕航教大家如何以正向心理學解決問題。
• 疑幻似真 - 資深編輯陳志達為大家解開疑幻似真的心理學之迷。
• 未來社會棟樑 – 由資深編輯黃穎祺與你探討兒童心理學。
• 隨心拍 -資深編輯鄧思驄：「鏡頭裡是我的靈魂，我的眼睛。妳願意看看我的世界嗎？」

對以上精彩內容感興趣？我誠意向你推介Psycholic : http://psycholic-news.blogspot.com/

眾編輯之大合照。

Words from Editors - Jun 2012

Psychology is the most spectacular field of knowledge in the world. It is just like architecture and we humans are its designers. A good building can stand firm during a storm, with its rock-steady structure for its foundation. The same applies to human beings. If we are able to maintain good mental health, no matter how bad things get, we can still stay strong and fight them. Psychology can help you to build your own tower of support. Hence, we are our own designers. We seek better designs and materials and Psycholic specifically provides such knowledge to the readers to make it their own. Psycholic is the right place to delve into the complicated architecture of human minds.

As became a senior editor of Psycholic, I am very glad to have my own place to present my great interest in psychology and have another platform to learn more about psychology through other editors’ works. It is crucial to find more ways to learn psychology instead of only reading notes and textbooks and not even for students to read it but everyone who has interest in various fields of psychology.

I believe, as time passes by, Psycholic is becoming more and more famous and will cover more areas just as we welcome fresh blood with every coming year and most importantly, your participation as our readers. So let us join to become the greatest designers of ourselves!

Jason Lam