Recently in Mood Category

Students rally at state capitol for a better education

By Andrea Vignovich on March 11, 2010 2:20 PM | 3 Comments
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/03/11/hundreds-of-students-rally-lawmakers-save-our-schools/

This article is from the Des Moines Register and covers the rally of Des Moines area students at the state capitol on March 11th. The article states that roughly 500 students used their day off from school to hold a rally in support of funding education for the arts at the capitol. The students played as loud as they could in the middle of the building and to get the attention of state lawmakers. They demanded that they would not be overlooked, and they weren't. The goal was to persuade lawmakers to give arts education the same amount of money that it has used to grow over the past couple of years. Since the budget cuts are so large and affecting nearly every area of the state budget students, teachers, and parents are banning together to make sure they are not on the chopping block. If funding gets cut the cost for schools to continue educating the arts skyrockets to $70 million dollars annually. No school in the Des Moines area, or the state for that matter, can afford to keep the arts alive at that cost.

I thought the rally was actually really cool. Especially that the students would take their free day to protest, it really shows how important it is to them. What do you think?

Put Negative Thoughts Behind You

By marissa on March 11, 2010 1:25 PM | 0 Comments

Have you ever noticed how often your mind seems to drift towards the negative over the positive? Much of the research done in the realm of positive psychology suggests that we are that way because these feelings reflect more urgent claims to us. However, if there was a way to improve the quality of our lives most of us would probably jump at the opportunity.

 

An article written by Donald Latumahina suggests that the strength of our thoughts are increased as we pay more attention to them thereby self-enforcing the negative thought patterns we are experiencing. A small issue can quickly be blown out of proportion--an occurrence that frequently consumes us. Latumahina suggests that the best way to overcome this brutal cycle is to shift thoughts to something more positive in nature. This would, in turn, reinforce the positive thoughts while diminishing the negative ones. He goes on to provide tips to readers wishing to think more positively in their daily lives.

 

One of these includes realizing that thinking negatively about someone leads to you also treating them negatively. We must consider that the appropriate efficacy expectation required for personal control in this situation is the individual's determination of whether or not they can think positively about this individual instead. The author offers up the idea of shifting attention to a positive side or something else that's altogether constructive. Another component to behavior regulation is that of outcome expectancies. In this situation, an individual must also judge that the positive shift will have an effect on the outcome of the situation (that it will resolve the ruminations experienced because of the negative thoughts). In other words, will it work to do this? Once the self has a desired mediating efficacy expectation in place their actions will reflect it. Outcome expectations will then arbitrate the relationship between the action and the individual's perceived control.

 

Another tip offered was to read an inspiring book. Spiritual books are indicated as a good source of inspiration to those aspiring to make self-improvements. The verbal persuasions these devices offer readers work to the extent that it supplies a temporary and provisional efficacy boost to produce the needed motivation to try again. Spirituality is a fundamental component driving the connection between perceived control and desired outcomes in a majority of religious based improvement books.

 

We also must make ourselves comfortable with failure as it is a stepping stone in the learning process. In order to succeed and develop a mastery orientation, we must know what it's like to fail and not fear it. "If you find yourself thinking negatively about a situation, decide that you won't give up even if the worst happens. Prove yourself to be a tough opponent. You are a winner." Our self-efficacy beliefs influence how much effort we are willing to exert and how long we are willing to exert it in hard times. Effort and persistence are key components to overcoming setbacks and challenges, and in accepting that you will more than likely make mistakes. What can you do to think more positively?      

 

http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2008/01/23/tips-to-defeat-negative-thoughts/

 

After a fight with a partner, brain activity predicts emotional resiliency

By Michael Y. on March 11, 2010 12:07 PM | 0 Comments

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100309/Activity-in-lateral-prefrontal-cortex-may-improve-emotion-regulation-in-day-to-day-life.aspx

 

I found this to be a rather interesting article. I think it directly relates to the material we studied in Chapter 3 (dealing with the emotional brain). One of the main reasons I found it interesting is because it seems to go against common sense, or at least against conventional wisdom. Many of us have undoubtedly heard others tell us not to go to bed angry, but this study suggests that "brain activity (specifically in the lateral prefrontal cortex) is a far better indicator of how someone will feel in the days following a fight with his or her partner." Generally those who had high activity in this area had a better mood than those who had low activity in this area. I believe what helps set this recent study apart is that it did not take place entirely in a laboratory, but also involved real situations/relationships. In other words, one can probably be more confident of its external validity.

 

In our textbook (starting on p. 61 in Chapter 3), Reeve writes about the relationship between the prefrontal cortex and affect. Here it mentions that, "the limbic system receives incoming sensory stimulation (that) activate rather automatic emotional reactions... stimulation of the cortex can generate emotional states." Reeve also makes the point that one must make a distinction between the left and right side of the prefrontal cortex because each is qualitatively different from the other. Reeve also makes reference to the Behavioral Inhibition System, which includes the two dimensions of personality, one of which is "how sensitive versus stable a person is to threats, punishments, and the experience of negative emotion (Reeve 2009, p.61)."

 

 I was actually rather impressed with the physiological measures used - researchers used an fMRI, recorded facial expressions, and tested cognitive skills. As I mentioned before, the researcher (Hooker) found that  the level of activity in their lateral prefrontal cortex may be a significant factor in predicting a person's experiences, ability to bounce back, etc.

 

The main reason why I chose this article and wanted to share it with others is because I am rather fascinated by the unconscious activity that takes place in the brain. As others probably have heard, there have been studies that suggest people actually have a tendency to make better decisions having slept on it - I think I heard about this in Social Psychology. I believe I also heard data that supports this in my BioPsychology course. While sleeping, our brain continues to process information. It's very interesting to think of the possibility that being angry while we go to sleep may actually help us better deal with our problems, confront them face on with our subconscious attention. This may be drifting a little bit from Motivation and Emotion, but I find it very interesting how I have often woken up with solutions to some of my problems that I had never thought of before - I believe my mental activity throughout the night has sometimes helped me come up with effective solutions.

 

In any case, this study  does provide insight and understanding into physiological activities, such as the activation of certain brain structures and subsequent impact on emotional states. For the reasons I have mentioned, I actually believe this type of research is very important and may lead to more effective interventions for people facing certain problems, such as depression.

 

The article ends with the following...

  

While Hooker acknowledges that more work must be done to develop clinical applications for the research, it may be that lateral prefrontal cortex function provides information about a person's vulnerability to develop mood problems after a stressful event. This raises the question as to whether increasing lateral prefrontal cortex function will improve emotion regulation capacity.

 

More Kids with Mental Health Problems

By rkac on March 5, 2010 5:59 PM | 0 Comments
I was diagnosed with depression a long time ago, which I have outgrown.  But, as I've learned in Abnormal Psych, there are several mental health diseases that have high concordance with each other.  A few years ago, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety and mild OCD.  I was put on an antidepressant, but that didn't do anything.  Also, I personally don't believe in pumping my body with chemicals daily, even though I realize that pills can help some.  One major side effect I've experienced with having anxiety and OCD is severe insomnia.  Although I've always been a "night owl," I frequently couldn't get to sleep until about 3 or 4 in the morning - not because I wasn't tired, but because I couldn't shut my mind off - I would stay up making lists of the things that I needed to do, thinking about stupid things like whether I put my notebook in my bag or locked the door, etc.  Not only annoying, but I realize these things seem a bit freakish to the majority of people, because they sound so mundane.  Thanks to the UNI SHC, I now am on a sleep aid (Ambien), which has been a life saver.  It does exactly what it's supposed to - makes me fall asleep, and stay asleep (as well as makes me feel a little loopy when it starts kicking in!).  Today, I was in the SHC to get a new prescription, and while waiting in one of the rooms, an article was posted on the door which I found really interesting.

"Study: Youth now have more mental health issues" can be found at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,582742,00.html.

A San Diego State University psychology professor, Jean Twenge, has conducted a study regarding the increasing prevalence of mental health issues in high school and college students.
The study examines MMPI responses that were taken by high school and college students from 1938 to 2007.  The major finding was that students in 2007 were an average of 5 times more likely to have 1/+ mental health issues than the students in 1938, during the Great Depression era.  In addition, the two most increased categories were hypomania and depression.  These findings are rather significant, but Twenge also noted that they may be lower than the actual figures due to the high amount of individuals who currently take mental health medications, which suppress the symptoms that the MMPI is designed to measure.
So, what are the reasons for this high increase?  Twenge credits the increase to several factors.  One is the increase in need for money.  Many students had reported that having money (not just financially surviving, but thriving) was a necessity, not a luxury.  However, the individuals she asked were UCLA freshman.  Not to stereotype, but I think of California (especially LA or San Diego) as being places that are money-ridden... The rich are more highlighted than the well-to-do in places like Iowa.  So, in California, to fit in - or to be highlighted - wealth would be something that's thought of as a necessity.
Another reason is that more parents are becoming overprotective.  Although they mean well, they baby their children.  This doesn't allow them to be able to take care of themselves when it's time to do so.  Furthermore, lack of independence can factor into people becoming anxious - if you can't take care of yourself, that would make you very nervous!  Just like, I'm sure some of us (even those who are "ready"), are nervous to graduate and be in the "real world" - the same feeling when we graduated high school and moved away to go to college.  

So, what does this have to do with Motivation and Emotion?!  Well, the obvious would be our physiological needs, as neurotransmitter deficiencies have been proven to be correlated with mental illnesses.  But, this also has to do with our psychological needs.
First, our need for autonomy - and extrinsic motivation.  Because Twenge has identified financial stability as a motivator for this behavior to evolve into a mental health issue, it would be extrinsically motivated.  Also, if parents are babying their children, they're not offering an environment that supports our need for autonomy.  When the environment pressures us to want to do something for extrinsic motives (i.e. money), or we aren't given the opportunity for self-growth, this is not an autonomy supportive environment.  We don't feel free (volition) or like we've been given opportunities to choose from.
Second is the need for competence.  Although the environment is very structured - we know the path to do what we want (i.e. go to college, graduate, etc.), some individuals may choose a path that doesn't allow flow.  For example, as many of us are aware, most social science majors don't make a lot of money.  I even contemplated being a business major because I knew that I would receive a much higher paycheck than being a crim and psych student.  --did you know that the highest paid business professor makes more than double what the highest paid crim professor makes here?!  Anyway, many of us are psych majors because the topics interest us, rather than expecting a big payoff.  However, in an environment where people are pressured into valuing a high salary rather than achieving flow, competence isn't satisfied, which can cause psychological distress.  With competence, another key condition is failure tolerance.  As briefly discussed in the article, there is a fine line with telling kids "they can do/be anything."  Instead of encouraging and motivating children, this can actually set them up for serious disappointment when the inevitable failure occurs.  This is exactly what the study says as well... as when kids fail unexpectedly, it can cause serious distress - leading to possible depression, anxiety, etc.
Therefore, due to the changing environment, more and more kids' needs for autonomy are not being met because their lack of choice and control and the need for competence is not being met because sometimes the unexpected failure seriously harms the feeling of success and the pressures in the society hinder enjoyment.  This - as we have learned in class - breeds an environment that is comprised of more bad days than good.... Which is a recipe for depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems.

What do you guys think?  Do you feel pressured to make lots of money?  Do you feel overwhelmed?  Does the finding that mental health problems have significantly increased surprise you?

6 Ways to Beat Depressing Months

By meganr on March 4, 2010 11:57 AM | 1 Comment

Lately I have noticed I have become more irritable by people and little situations.  Normally, I like to think, I am outgoing and most situations do not annoy me.  However, the last couple of daysI am feeling spring-fever, I want the snow gone and warm weather to arrive.  Because of my current negative mood, I decided to research and find ways to improve my current frame of mind.  I found this article...

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100253964

According to Dawn LaFrance, Psy.D., associate director of the Counseling Center at Colgate University, it is actually common to get down in a "winter funk".  However, it is important to know the difference between a winter funk and a more serious version, seasonal affective disorder.  The difference of course is the winter blues usually last a couple of days and then you find some pleasurable stimulus in your life.  Whereas, seasonal affective disorder is much more severe and characterized by clinical depression, anxiety, and changes in weight.  This article provided 6 ways to beat the winter blues and help the readers find something positive in their lives. 

The first option was Pinpoint What is Getting You Down.  Once you realize what is bothering you, it is easier to cope and/or improve your situation.  The second choice was Don't Let Your Mood Dictate Your Plans.  It is important to keep in contact with your friends, relatedness is a key factor in deciding if you have had a good or a bad day.  The third alternative was Watch Your Diet.  It is easier to slack and eat unhealthy foods in the winter months, which could result in weight gain and a more serious form of depression.  The fourth suggestion was Work Out.  Exercise will keep you motivated and help you avoid the winter blues.  The fifth option focused on Getting More Light in Your Life.  Light gives you health benefits and light therapy is actually used to treat seasonal affective disorder and some mild depressions.  The sixth choice was Don't Make Life-Changing Decisions.  You do not want to make any rushed life-changing decisions when you are not feeling your best.

Another reason I thought this article was interesting was because in class, we recently discussed aspects that must be met to fulfill your psychological nutrients needed for a good day, positive well-being, and vitality.  These aspects included daily autonomy, daily relatedness, and daily competence.  If you do not feel in control in some aspects of your life, it may begin a snowball affect.  I know this is definitely true for my room mate and myself.  Currently, we are applying to grad. schools and are both freaking out because our future plans are in the hands of committees deciding if we would make a good addition to their program.

Colors Colors Colors.

By Cory Talbot on March 3, 2010 4:57 PM | 1 Comment

Color is something that is constantly in our lives that is not really consciously thought about. When watching a professor give a lecture, do you really take the time to think about what color the background of the powerpoints are, or the color of the text? Color is all around us and we cannot escape from it. It has always interested me that people with synethesia (crossing of the senses) can associate colors with emotions, moods, and even sounds. Often these associations are very similar across individuals (within a culture). Is there a reason your favorite color is blue? Why does blue mean sad? Why did you buy a green guitar? Is color culturally specific? I have always been interested in questions like these.

http://www.joehallock.com/edu/COM498/index.html

This is a rather extensive international survey about color including information about associations, preferences, education, and even preferences for online activities. This is a study published in the form of a webpage as opposed to a traditional journal article, which is in view, easier to both view, find pertinent information, and navigate. Color is the hue, lightness, and saturation of any object. Isaac Newton was the first person who laid a scientific foundation about color by showing that a prism could break up normal light into a full range of colors which he dubbed the "spectrum". The spectrum was continuous, but decided to use seven color names by analogy with the seven notes of our musical scale. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Indigo, and Violet)

Color is actually much more complicated than I had previously thought; it has complicated mathematical ways to measure it. Light and the creation of colors are also very intricate. After detailing all you need to know about colors, it lays out the methods using clear precise tables and graphs. A number of things were laid out and people were asked to choose what color represented what to them. The first item trust was curious to me, most people said blue at 34% then white at 21%, I definitely would have said white. This was interesting to me because I thought blue represented sadness. Regardless of my take, blue dominated all positive characteristics, and was virtually nonexistent on negative. It is no wonder that blue is by far people's favorite color. Another interesting point was that red dominated fear and terror but also courage and bravery.

Peoples favorite colors weighed in at

Blue 42%

Purple 14%

Green 14%

Red 8%

Black 7%

Orange 5%

Yellow 3%

Brown 3%

Grey 2%

White 2%

A lot of good information is contained within this research, though it didn't have as much emotion/personality connection as the link advertised, it was still an interesting and useful site.

Controlling Emotional Outbursts

By deec182 on March 3, 2010 2:58 PM | 1 Comment
Earlier in the semester we talked about the brain and how certain hormones influence or are activated due to emotions. Neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and endorphins are just a few that have been shown to influence mood and emotion. What we did not go in detail about was the parts of the brain that make contribute to moods, emotions, and behaviors. I found an article that discuss' this very topic.
Arousal is a process that involves cortical, behavioral, and autonomic mechanisms (Reeve, 2009, p. 374) This article talks about the cortical (activity of the brain) part of being aroused and the emotional reactions that can evolve from being aroused. Reeve (2009) lists four principles to explain arousal's contribution to motivation. There are two that relate to the study explained below:
1) A person's arousal level is mostly a function of how stimulating the environment is.
2) People engage in behavior to increase or decrease their level of arousal.
A new study was done to test if the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) was a region of the brain that could help people control emotional reactions such as negative moods, rumination (not being able to get something off your mind), and substance abuse. After having several people in stable, healthy relationships journal daily and have brain scans done while viewing positive, negative, and neutral facial expressions of their partner, it was found that LPFC activity did predict how one would react to an interpersonal conflict. When there was a day of no interpersonal conflict, the LPFC activity was not related to the next day's mood or behavior. On the contrast, when there was a day when interpersonal conflict did occur LPFC did predict mood and behavior the next day. Low levels of LPFC activity was related for high levels of negative moods, rumination, and substance abuse.
This study is helpful when talking about coping with stress. To avoid bad coping strategies like over-eating or substance abuse, people can become aware and learn to introduce positive strategies such as counting to 10. If you are a person who has low LPFC function, it is possible you may become more susceptible to such behaviors.
Link:
http://news.oneindia.in/2010/03/03/howto-control-emotional-outbursts-in-front-of-yourpartner.html


Moodstream

By maclink on March 1, 2010 9:19 AM | 1 Comment

How do images and music create intense feelings in people? You've probably received an email forward that had an automated powerpoint presentation with incredible photos and either uplifting or tear jerking music. Well this website, Moodstream, allows you to control basic affect elements and then will show images and play music that matches the specific 'mood' you've specified. Try it. What do you think? Did you feel differently given the different settings you tried? What real (ie, scientific) aspects of mood and emotion is it tapping into? The main webpage says that these different mood streams can affect behavior in terms of brainstorming and creativity. What do you think?

http://moodstream.gettyimages.com/usa/?isource=direct-entry

Semen... Good for You?!

By rkac on February 26, 2010 12:14 PM | 0 Comments
So, first off - let me tell you - I don't go Googling things about semen.  Lol.  I actually Googled "crying," and this article came up.
Also, I do not condone unsafe sex.  Let's not forget everything we remembered in Sex Ed during middle school - having unprotected sex can result in pregnancy and STDs.  

Kary, T.  (2002).  Crying over spilled semen.  Psychology Today, September 2002.

This article discusses how women who have unprotected sex are actually less likely to be depressed and attempt suicide.  Although we have learned from Reeve (2005) that sex is one of our physiological needs, due to the hormones released from our hypothalamus (p. 89), Kary describes a study that expands this to include that semen contains additional hormones.  The study also demonstrates that these hormones are absorbed, and have been shown to increase mood.
Gallup's study used 293 college women.  The major findings were that, not only does unwrapped sex decrease depression and suicide attempts, but that once women have unprotected sex, they become more and more depressed the longer they don't "get some."  Interestingly, however, women who always used condoms don't have the same affect when a time lapse occurs between sexual encounters.
Even more important, Gallup's finding that women who had been having unprotected sex tend to search for new partners more quickly suggests that the hormones in semen can create a chemical dependency.

In our text, Reeve (2005) discusses how our hormones (androgens, estrogens) motivate our behavior to engage in sexual activity.  He also discusses that there are significant differences between men and women - basically, men have higher arousal and desire for sex than women (p. 90).  This article, then, is different and important, because it goes a step further to suggest that, in addition to having sexual urges, once we fulfill our need for sex, there are physiological changes that take place that reinforce sexual behavior.  

This article can be found at www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200210/crying-over-spilled-semen

5 Things That Will Improve Your Happiness

By Michael Y. on February 23, 2010 9:43 PM | 2 Comments

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100222/sc_livescience/5thingsthatwillmakeyouhappier

 

 

I'm not sure if anyone else has seen this article, but it is about 5 things that will supposedly make a person happier. In short, they are...

 

1. Be grateful

2. Be optimistic

3. Count your blessings  

4. Use your strengths  

5. Commit acts of kindness

 

     Although this first one is rather obvious, there is some merit to mentioning it. I believe that trying to get into the habit of putting a positive spin can make life more enjoyable, but as we have read, each person has homeostasis level that will be resistant to change. (The researcher here seem to admit that people generally have certain dispositions and stable personalities throughout their life, but they argue that a significant amount of happiness can also be attributed to pro-active approaches to increasing one's happiness.) In any case, I suppose making an active effort to appreciate what you have may cause at least a minor increase in feelings of happiness.

 

Being Grateful  - One rather interesting note is that this finding of the study is largely based on an activity where people wrote letters expressing gratitude. In case you are thinking there might be a confound, such as relatedness or affiliation playing a role, I thought of that as well, but it was found that there was an increase in happiness even if people did not actually send the letters out.

 

Be optimistic - In the study, researchers actually had participants visualize "an ideal future" which included imagining having a loving, supportive partner and a great job. I am not sure if this strategy would necessarily lead to long term happiness though - the researchers did not mention whether or not this was exclusively short term happiness in their summarized report. The reason I say this is because I think over time significant cognitive dissonance would arise (people could become delusional) if there is a strong focus on a "perfect" life. If interpreted this way, this finding would actually seem to be in contrast to the first. If you are being appreciative of what you have, you will not be constantly focusing on the perfect, ideal life. I have heard that some studies have found striving for excellence can be much better than striving for perfection. I know the "being optimistic" strategy could probably be taken on a more moderate and healthy level, but I think the activity the researchers used does not necessarily seem healthy over the long term.

 

Count your blessings - I do not believe this one merits any further discussion because this "additional" finding seems to be very similar to "being grateful." In fact, there is no separate research mentioned for this in the article.

Use your strengths - The participants in the study (that contributed to this finding) focused on strengths such as using humor to increase others' happiness. I think this is perhaps related to competence, achievement, and relatedness - all concepts that we have recently mentioned in class. Being able to successfully use's one's abilities to accomplish a goal would lead to feelings of competence and achievement. Having someone identify with your achievement (in this case humor)

Commit acts of kindness - although we have not yet talked about pro-social very much in this class, this finding makes sense, and I think it also has something to do with relatedness.

Does smiling make you happier?

By Bschuler on February 18, 2010 12:50 PM | 1 Comment

In my intro to psych class I remember my professor made us hold a pencil between our upper lip and nose for one minute. Then we had to hold a pencil between our lower lip and chin for one minute. We were then asked how we felt after doing both these exercises. The point my professor was trying to make was not to make the class look like idiots, but to explain the importance of smiling. More importantly, she was trying to get us to understand the facial feedback hypothesis. Chapter 12 of our textbook explains this hypothesis by saying that we don't' smiling because we are happy, we are happy because we smile. While this might not seem right to some people, I found a pretty hilarious video of a girl whose situation might have been improved if she had tried smiling. This clip is of a band member of Boise State who may be stuck on a less than desirable instrument, but her lack of emotion and motivation is clearly displayed on her face. The facial feedback hypothesis would say that if she smiled and displayed some positive emotion on her face, it might trigger further cognitive and bodily participation to prolong the perceived emotion of happiness.

I started to think about think hypothesis and if I think it really works, and I for one do think smiling helps. I wouldn't go as far as to say that smiling helps in all situations, but at least smiling gives you the appearance of being happy. If I smile it not only makes me feel better, but I think other people around you feel more at ease also. Are there any situations where smiling even though you were in a bad mood has helped you? Does smiling motivate us to be in a better mood?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-r02-oZAW4&feature=player_embedded

Can Testosterone Therapy Makes You Feel Younger?

By deec182 on February 11, 2010 4:51 PM | 0 Comments
We talked about testosterone in class and how it affects sexual behavior, aggression, etc. In this article it discusses the benefits and risks of testosterone therapy and the question of whether or not it can make men feel like they did in their youth. Testosterone does a lot for men: helps maintain bone density, muscle mass, sex drive, sperm production, etc. But around the age of 40, men start producing less and less testosterone and therefore, may feel like something is changing in their bodies. Although it's unclear whether naturally declining testosterone produces symptoms for men, it has been seen that men with diseases that lower their testosterone have seen such symptoms as decreased sexual function, increase in fat mass, memory loss, mood changes, depression, etc. I have read some text refer to the decrease in testosterone as a man's menopause. The article recapped that studies have found that testosterone therapy is able to restore testosterone amounts to that of a youthful man, but it is unclear whether or not it there is any benefit of doing so. While there are benefits to testosterone therapy there are also risks: increased balding, acne, enlarged breasts, fluid retention, etc.

Here is the link to the two page article:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/testosterone-therapy/MC00030

Get outta that funk!

By Sam Peterson on February 10, 2010 10:51 AM | 5 Comments
Depressed? Jolt Your Brain

For a lot of people it may be that time of year when they start feeling a little down and just generally crappy. This article provides a couple of tips that can help you feel better by boosting your brain through some very simple behaviors:
1.Ride a roller coaster- gives a norepinephrine boost
2. Berries in chocolate - dopamine increase
3. A day at the beach - serotonin increase
4. Massage, with love- oxytocin increase as a result of touch
5. A big, wet kiss - testosterone increase
6. Hit the seafood buffet - omega 3 increase may also increase serotonin and dopamine
7. Take a hike - increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor, associated w/ memory; also not mentioned in the article exercise can stimulate endorphin release which can reduce the effects of stress and improve mood. 

While 1 and 3 may be out of the question during February in Iowa, the others are easy and hopefully enjoyable (I'm thinking 4 & 5). This article describes how these behaviors affect hormones and neurotransmitters. Dopamine can be involved in almost all of these if they are seen as pleasurable experiences. Oxytocin may help deal with stress by way of a tend and befriend response, which might lead to other positive behaviors/ interactions that can improve one's mood. Testosterone is associated with sexual motivation, but can increase competitive drive in general, which can motivate many behaviors.

Anyone think these tips could work? Anyone already do some of these things? Anything that could be added or removed to make the list better?
*note: this article is referring to mild depression

Power of the Mind to Change Mood?

By rkac on February 9, 2010 8:34 PM | 0 Comments
Inspired by LindsayR's post about personality types, and intrigued to delve deeper into finding out more about extroverts and introverts, I took a look in our textbook to see what Reeve has to say about the two main personality types.
According to Reeve (2005), happiness is measured in three dimensions - sociability, assertiveness, and adventurousness (p. 364).  Because of the nature of extroverts - they are more comfortable being sociable, socially assertive, and more adventurous, it is no wonder that research has found them to measure higher on happiness scales than introverts.  Reeve (2005), however, acknowledges this criticism, and other researchers have as well.  He notes that extraverts are not only measuring higher in happiness due to how happiness is measured, but that extroverts are more positive in general (p. 364) - they're the type of people who see the glass half full instead of half empty, and always look for the positives in every situation.

In "Unhappy?  Try acting like an extrovert" by Fern Garber (found at:  http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20030225/unhappy-try-acting-like-extrovert), research has found that acting like extroverts actually can make you feel happier.  In the study, Fleeson et al. (2002) have students write in diaries for two weeks.  In the diary, the students discuss when they behave in outgoing, upbeat, sociable manners (extroverted) and when they behave in inclusive, solitary, shy manners (introverted), and their feelings during that time.  The research found a strong correlation between reported happiness when acting extroverted.    Then, they had students act extroverted for 10 weeks and record their feelings during this second phase of the test.  Students again reported feeling more happy during this time.  During the final phase, they arranged a group discussion activity.  Some of the students acted shy and passively, and some acted enthusiastic and aggressively.  Those students who acted in an extroverted manner reported enjoying the activity more than the students who acted in an introverted manner.
Gerber, F.  (2003).  Unhappy?  Try acting like an extrovert.  WebMD Health News.  

We've all heard of "power of the mind," and in my Social Psych class today we discussed how just smiling can make you feel more positively (and frowning make you feel more negatively).  But, according to Reeve (2005), it can be more than just how you're feeling.  There are actual biological differences among extroverts and introverts... they "possess differing levels of sensitivity to an underlying biological motivation system, the Behavioral Activating System" (Reeve, 2005, pp. 364-365).  Basically, extroverts' brains release more reward feelings, which makes them happier.  When good things happen for extroverts, their BAS is stimulated more than when good things (even the same thing) happen for introverts.

What do you guys think?  These are two, semi-conflicting views on mood for extroverts and introverts.  Research has supported both the "power of the mind" and biological differences.  Could both influence mood?  Or is one stronger than the other?

People Happiest On Weekends: Study

By Michael Y. on January 29, 2010 3:44 PM | 7 Comments

http://www.themedguru.com/20100114/newsfeature/people-happiest-during-weekends-study-86131803.html

I found this article to be rather interesting, the study suggests that weekends have a significant effect on the body. Researchers suggest that, "simply being in charge of your own day, spending quality time with family, provides better mood, greater vitality and (fewer) physical ailments from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon."

 

While the results of this study are probably to be expected - most people are visibly happier on the weekends -  it is interesting to hear about what they believe specifically causes physiological changes, such as hormone release, and a more positive attitude overall.

 

They attribute some of these changes to higher feelings of autonomy. At first, I wondered if this effect was mainly seen in those with relatively low paying jobs (those with consistently low autonomy throughout the week), but the effect was found regardless of occupation, age, gender, or relationship status.

 

I actually found it very interesting that even those with high status jobs experience this effect on weekends. I have generally thought that workers with high status already tend to have significantly higher levels of autonomy and leisure, so the presence of the weekend would not make as much of a difference to them. According to this study, I may be wrong.

 

 I wonder if another reason for this affect is that people are often able to rest more on weekends. In BioPsychology I remember the author (John Pinel) mentioning that over time people can gradually reduce the amount of time they sleep to as little as two hours per night with only minor effects, but I have not yet looked at the studies on which he based those statements. I wonder how much of a role (perhaps 2 additional hours) additional sleep can play in improving one's mental and physical condition. I find studies involving sleep to be among the most interesting, and from what I have read it seems like much more research needs to be conducted in this area.   

 

Another question I have is, "Why don't the effects seem to carry past Sunday afternoon?" I suppose the answer may lie in their original report, but if it does it would be rather odd for them not to have included it in the article. I have often heard people say that they will be revitalized and refreshed for work after the weekend, but in my experience I'm not sure people tend to be any better or any worse at their jobs whether it is a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. In any case, I think some of the questions that arise from this article merit further research.

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