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Category Archives: Popular Culture
Views news: A brief look at the 'Problem Series Watching Scale'
A few weeks ago I published the third of three articles on 'box set bingeing' (people like myself who sit and watch a whole television series at once either on DVD or on television catch-up services). Not long after writing the last article, a paper was published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions about the development of a new psychometric instrument that assesses problematic television series watching – the Problematic Series Watching Scale (PSWS) – developed by Dr. Gabor Orosz and his colleagues at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest (Hungary). The authors noted that:
"[Problematic series watching] might be a relevant issue for many people because accessing series by downloading or streaming is (a) very cheap (or free), (b) it is available for almost everyone who has broadband Internet access, (c) it does not depend on a certain place and time (i.e. playing squash depends on a certain place and time), (d) series have a high variety – everyone can find one which fits his/her interest, (e) they are not age- and socio-economic status-dependent, (f) it does not take effort to watch them, [and] (g) and they are constructed to be highly enjoyable and often contain cliffhangers which motivate the viewer to continue. These characteristics are highly similar to the ones mentioned by Cooper (1998) regarding Internet and pornography…In our research, we aimed to differentiate problematic series watching from the concept of television addiction as we focused on the content of the problematic use (series watching) rather than on the medium through which the problematic use happens (television). In our research, we observed problematic series watching which could be done either through a television (i.e. classical TV series) or a screen attached to a computer (i.e. Netflix)".
The new scale was developed with over 1,100 participants and was based on my 'addiction components model' and comprised the following questions which can each be answered 'never', 'rarely', 'sometimes', 'often' and 'always'. Each of the six items taps into a criterion for addiction (i.e., salience, tolerance, mood modification, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse). More specifically, the questions asks During the last year, how often have you:
- Thought of how you could free up more time to watch series? [Salience]
- Spent much more time watching series than initially intended? [Tolerance]
- Watched series in order to reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness and depression? [Mood modification]
- Been told by others to cut down on watching series without listening to them? [Relapse]
- Become restless or troubled if you have been prohibited from watching series? [Withdrawal]
- Ignored your partner, family members, or friends because of series watching? [Conflict]
For those of you interested in the psychometric properties, the scale had good factor structure and reliability.
"Respondents watch series more than one hour per day which is more than one-fifth of their free time which indicated that series watching might be an important free time activity. However, the amount of free time one has is not associated with PSWS scores. Women had higher scores on PSWS and respondents with higher education had lower scores on it…Given the lack of empirical research on series watching, we supposed that it might be similar to other problematic screen-related behaviors (e.g. online gaming, Internet or Facebook use)… Other possible covariates could be examined in the future such as loneliness or urgency. Also, further investigation is needed whether extensive series watching can lead to health and psychosocial problems…PSWS scores are positively related with time spent on series watching, whereas the amount of free time does not have an effect on PSWS scores. In the more and more digitalized world there are many forces which encourage people watching online series. In the light of these changes, research on problematic series watching will be increasingly relevant".
The authors also acknowledged that problematic television series watching doesn't appear to affect many people and that we should be careful of pathologizing everyday behaviours as behavioural addictions (a criticism that has been made against some of my own research papers more recently – with 'dance addiction' and 'study addiction' being the most obvious ones).
Dr. Orosz and his colleagues have also just published another paper on problematic series watching in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. This second paper examined correlates of passion toward screen-based activities (i.e., problematic series watching and Facebook use). The paper included two studies comprising young adults (Study 1 with 256 individuals, and Study 2 with 420 individuals) who completed the Passion Scale with respect to their series watching and Facebook use as well as examining impulsivity. The Passion Scale comprises two types of passion – obsessive passion (negative, pressured, and controlling) and harmonious passion (positive, flexible, and related to intrinsic motivation). The results showed that impulsivity predicted obsessive (but not harmonious) passion, and that obsessive passion was positively associated with Facebook overuse whereas harmonious passion was positively associated with series watching. They concluded that it was the type of passion underlying the involvement in excessive screen-based activity that determines what's experienced by the individual.
My argument has always been that depending upon the definition of 'addiction' used, almost any activity can be potentially addictive if constant rewards and reinforcement are in place. The watching of DVD or television box sets can certainly be rewarding and reinforcing but I imagine most people are like myself in that they occasionally experience negative consequences as a result of the activity (lack of sleep due to going to bed very late, or ignoring family members while watching an episode or four of your favourite programmes) but that overall the problems are short-lived and have few long-term consequences.
[I ought to note that I have recently been working with Dr. Orosz in the area of workaholism and that we recently published a paper in the topic in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction – see 'Further reading' below).
Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addictions, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Atroszko, P.A., Andreassen, C.S., Griffiths, M.D. & Pallesen, S. (2015). Study addiction – A new area of psychological study: Conceptualization, assessment, and preliminary empirical findings. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4, 75–84.
Atroszko, P.A., Andreassen, C.S., Griffiths, M.D. & Pallesen, S. (2016). Study addiction: A cross-cultural longitudinal study examining temporal stability and predictors of its changes. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, DOI: 10.1556/2006.5.2016.024
Bates, D. (2015). Watching TV box-set marathons is warning sign you're lonely and depressed – and will also make you fat. Daily Mail, January 29. Located at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2931572/Love-marathon-TV-session-warning-sign-lonely-depressed.html
Cooper, A. (1998). Sexuality and the Internet: Surfing into the new millennium. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 1(2), 187–193.
Daily Edge (2014). 11 signs of you're suffering from a binge-watching problem. Located at: http://www.dailyedge.ie/binge-watching-problem-signs-1391910-Apr2014/
Kompare, D. (2006). Publishing flow DVD Box Sets and the reconception of television. Television & New Media, 7(4), 335-360.
Maraz, A., Urbán, R., Griffiths, M.D. & Demetrovics Z. (2015). An empirical investigation of dance addiction. PloS ONE, 10(5): e0125988. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125988.
Orosz, G., Bőthe, B., & Tóth-Király, I. (2016). The development of the Problematic Series WatchingScale (PSWS). Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 5(1), 144-150.
Orosz, G., Dombi, E., Andreassen, C.S., Griffiths, M.D. & Demetrovics, Z. (2016). Analyzing models of work addiction: Single factor and bi-factor models of the Bergen Work Addiction Scale. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, DOI 10.1007/s11469-015-9613-7
Orosz, G., Vallerand, R. J., Bőthe, B., Tóth-Király, I., & Paskuj, B. (2016). On the correlates of passion for screen-based behaviors: The case of impulsivity and the problematic and non-problematic Facebook use and TV series watching. Personality and Individual Differences, 101, 167-176.
Spangler, T. (2013). Poll of online TV watchers finds 61% watch 2-3 episodes in one sitting at least every few weeks. Variety, December 13. Located at: http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/netflix-survey-binge-watching-is-not-weird-or-unusual-1200952292/
Sussman, S., & Moran, M.B. (2013). Hidden addiction: Television. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(3), 125-132.
Walton-Pattison, E., Dombrowski, S.U. & Presseau, J. (2016). 'Just one more episode': Frequency and theoretical correlates of television binge watching. Journal of Health Psychology, doi:1359105316643379
The prose and cons: A brief look at 'poetry addiction'
Back in May 2014, I gave a whole afternoon of talks on behavioural addictions (including gambling and gaming addiction) at Castle Craig, an inpatient addiction treatment centre in Scotland. One of the most interesting people I met there was the psychotherapist Christopher Burn who on the back of his latest book Poetry Changes Lives describes himself as "a history addict, grandfather, recovering alcoholic, and poetry fanatic". Maybe I'll write a blog on what it is to be a "history addict" in a future blog, but this article will briefly look at an article just published by Burn on 'poetry addiction'.
Anyone that knows me will tell you that writing is an important activity in my life. Many of my friends and colleagues describe me as a 'writaholic' and that I am addicted to writing because of the number of articles that I have published. Regular readers of my blog will also know that I have written articles on obsessional writing (graphomania), obsessional erotic writing (erotographomania), diary writing, excessive blog writing, and excessive (productive) writing.
Although I wouldn't describe myself as a 'poetry fanatic' I do love writing poetry myself and have had a number of my poems published. In fact, in 1997, I won a national Poetry Today competition for the best (20 lines and under) poem for An Alliteration of Life. Burn's article on 'addiction to the act of writing poetry (like his latest book) is an interesting read. Burn has even coined a new term for addiction to poetry – 'poesegraphilia'. Burn notes that the Irish dramatist George Farquar said that poetry was a "mere drug" and that:
"Many poets, great and not so great, have suffered from addiction to mood altering substances – Coleridge, Rimbaud and Dylan Thomas ('the Rimbaud of Cwmdonkin Drive') spring to mind. Many great poems have been written about addiction too. It seems however that very little attention has been given to the addictive power generated by the act of writing poetry itself. One thing is for sure – poetry has a power to alter our mood – not normally in the pernicious or directly physical manner of say, a line of cocaine, but in a pervasive and generally enjoyable way that can usually only be helpful. This mood changing effect can come from either reading or writing poetry but of the two, it is poetry writing that is the most dramatic".
As an amateur poet myself, I know only too well the emotional power of words and that words can have a mood altering effect (both positive and negative). There is even 'poetry therapy' and (in the USA) a National Association for Poetry Therapy and an Institute for Poetic Medicine that advocates the "intentional use of poetry and other forms of literature for healing and personal growth". (For a concise overview of 'poetry therapy' check out this article on the GoodTherapy website). Burn says that "writing poetry may not affect a person's life with the degree of powerlessness and unmanageability that say, alcohol does, but it can still have a very marked influence". He then includes part of an interview transcript from BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme with Les Murray, an Australian poet:
"It's wonderful, there's nothing else like it, you write in a trance. And the trance is completely addictive, you love it, you want more of it. Once you've written the poem and had the trance, polished it and so on, you can go back to the poem and have a trace of that trance, have the shadow of it, but you can't have it fully again. It seemed to be a knack I discovered as I went along. It's an integration of the body-mind and the dreaming-mind and the daylight-conscious-mind. All three are firing at once, they're all in concert. You can be sitting there but inwardly dancing, and the breath and the weight and everything else are involved, you're fully alive. It takes a while to get into it. You have to have some key, like say a phrase or a few phrases or a subject matter or maybe even a tune to get you started going towards it, and it starts to accumulate. Sometimes it starts without your knowing that you're getting there, and it builds in your mind like a pressure. I once described it as being like a painless headache, and you know there's a poem in there, but you have to wait until the words form".
I've always argued that anything can be addictive if it is something that can constantly reinforce and reward behaviour. Theoretically, there is no reason why writing poetry could not be mood modifying and potentially addictive. As Burn observes:
"Many poets talk about the dream-like trance that envelops them during the act of creating poetry and how this can last sometimes for days. This is not a simple cathartic event, which can happen too, but a state that affects mind, body and spirit. Here is poet and author Robert Graves on the subject: 'No poem is worth anything unless it starts from a poetic trance, out of which you can be wakened by interruption as from a dream. In fact, it is the same thing'. All this trance-like sensation sounds to me a bit like the effect that certain mood altering substances can have, and we know how addictive they can be".
Burn then goes on to question whether the act of writing poetry can be clinically classed as an addiction. To do this, he uses criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM] and argues that the act of writing poetry could potentially meet some of the criteria for addiction including: (i) persisting with the habit to the detriment of other activities and relationships, (ii) increased tolerance, (iii) unsuccessful attempts to stop, (iv) increase in time spent on the activity, and (v) persisting with the habit despite knowledge of negative consequences. Based on this he then goes on to argue:
"It seems to me that there is enough anecdotal evidence to indicate that for some people, poetry, in particular the act of writing poetry, is a powerful and addictive behaviour that meets at least a few of these [DSM] criteria…Problem gamblers often talk of the trance-like state they get into when for example, playing slot machines; reality and awareness of the world around them disappears and everything is focused on them to and the moment. As in poetry writing. British poet JLS Carter describes poetic creation as 'An addiction – you can go for days thinking of nothing else, in a kind of trance where all other thoughts and considerations are sidelined. That way madness lies'. By its very nature, poetry puts a special power into words that affects us in a way that most conversation or written narrative does not. Poetry gets under our skin, alters our moods and stays in our head in a special way".
Much of Burn's admittedly anecdotal argument that poetry can be addictive all comes down to how addiction is defined in the first place and also takes the implicit view that some activities can be what Dr. Bill Glasser would call 'positive addictions' in that there are some behaviours that can have positive as well as negative consequences. However, for me, there is also the question of whether positive addictions are "addictions" at all. Have a quick look at Glasser's criteria for positive addictions below. For an activity to be classed as a positive addiction, Glasser says the behaviour must be:
- Non-competitive and needing about an hour a day
- Easy, so no mental effort is required
- Easy to be done alone, not dependent on people
- Believed to be having some value (physical, mental, spiritual)
- Believed that if persisted in, some improvement will result
- Involve no self-criticism.
Most of these could apply to 'poetry addiction' but to me, these criteria have little resemblance to the core criteria or components of addictions (such as salience, withdrawal, tolerance, mood modification, conflict, relapse, etc.). My own view is that 'positive addiction' is an oxymoron and although I am the first to admit that some potential addictions might have benefits that are more than just short-term (as in the case of addictions to work or exercise), addictions will always be negative for the individual in the long run. Although no-one is ever likely to seek treatment for an addiction to writing poetry, it doesn't mean that we can't use activities like writing poetry to help us define and refine how we conceptualize behavioural addictions.
Dr. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Burn, C. (2015). Poetry Changes Lives. Biggar: DHH Publishing.
Burn, C. (2016). Poesegraphilia – Addiction to the act of writing poetry. Poetry Changes Lives, May 27. Located at: http://www.poetrychangeslives.com/addiction-to-the-act-of-writing-poetry/
Glasser, W. (1976), Positive Addictions, Harper & Row, New York, NY.
GoodTherapy.Org (2016). Poetry therapy. Located at: http://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/poetry-therapy
Griffiths, M.D. (1996). Behavioural addictions: An issue for everybody? Journal of Workplace Learning, 8(3), 19-25.
Griffiths, M.D. (2005). A 'components' model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. Journal of Substance Use, 10, 191-197.
Griffiths, M.D. (2011). Behavioural addiction: The case for a biopsychosocial approach. Trangressive Culture, 1, 7-28.
Klein. P. (2006). The therapeutic benefit of poetry. The Therapist. Located at: http://phyllisklein.com/writing-for-healing/the-therapeutic-benefit-of-poetry/
Larkin, M., Wood, R.T.A. & Griffiths, M.D. (2006). Towards addiction as relationship. Addiction Research and Theory, 14, 207-215.
Watch this space: Another look at box-set bingeing
Regular readers of my blog will know that I have both a professional and personal interest in 'box set binging' – people like myself who sit and watch a whole television series at once either on DVD or on television catch-up services (see my two previous articles on the topic here and here). In my previous blogs on the topic I noted there was a lack of published academic research on the topic. However, a new study on the phenomenon – 'Just one more episode': Frequency and theoretical correlates of television binge watching' – has just been published by Emily Walton-Pattison and her colleagues in the Journal of Health Psychology. The paper argues that binge watching may have detrimental health implications and that binge watching has impulsive aspects. As the authors noted in their paper:
"With the emergence of online streaming television services, watching television has never been so easy and a new behavioural phenomenon has arisen: television binge watching, that is, viewing multiple episodes of the same television show in the same sitting. Watching television is the most widespread leisure-time sedentary activity in adults (Wijndaele et al., 2010), involving little metabolic activity (Hu et al., 2003). In the United Kingdom, over one-third of adults spend at least four hours a day watching television (Stamatakis et al., 2009). Up to 33% of men and 45% of women in the United Kingdom fail to achieve recommended physical activity levels (Craig and Mindell, 2014). As lack of physical activity is the fourth leading mortality risk factor (World Health Organization, 2010), identifying factors that pre- vent achieving health-protective levels of physical activity remains important Furthermore, sedentary behaviour is linked with adverse health outcomes independently of physical activity (Veerman et al., 2012). Time spent watching television is also linked with obesity and reduced sleep time (Vioque et al., 2000). Understanding the factors that lead to watching television at 'binge' levels may help to target interventions to reduce sedentary activity and obesity rates and improve sleep hygiene".
The study involved 86 people who completed an online survey that assessed (among other things) outcome expectations (assessed via six attitudinal items such as 'Watching more than two episodes of the same TV show in the same sitting over the next 7 days will lead me to be physically healthier'), proximal goals (assessed via one question 'On how many days do you intend to watch more than two episodes of the same TV show in the same sitting over the next 7 days?'), self-efficacy (assessed via five attitudinal items such as 'I am confident that I can stop myself from watching more than two episodes of the same TV show if I wanted to'), anticipated regret (assessed via two items – 'If I watched more than two episodes of the same TV show in the same sitting in the next 7 days, I would feel regret' and 'If I watched more than two episodes of the same TV show in the same sitting in the next 7 days I would later wish I had not'), goal conflict (with two items such as 'How often does it happen that because of watching more than two episodes of the same TV show in the same sitting, you do not invest as much time in other pursuits as you would like to?'), goal facilitation (assessed via three items such as 'Watching more than two episodes of the same TV show in the same sitting in the next 7 days will help/facilitate my participation in regular physical activity'), and self-reported binge watching over the last week (defined as "watching more than two episodes of the same TV show in one sitting"), as well as noting various demographic details (age, gender, marital status, number of children, and body mass index).
The study found that their participants reported binge watching at least once a week (an average of 1.42 days/week) and that binge watching was predicted most by intention and outcome expectations. Automaticity, anticipated regret, and goal conflict also contributed to binge watching. Based on their results, the authors noted:
"The findings have implications for theory development and intervention…The role of automaticity suggests that interventions aiming to address problematic binge watching (e.g. due to increased sedentary activity) could consider techniques that address automaticity. For example, some online streaming services include in-built interruptions after a number of consecutive episodes have been viewed. There would be opportunities to harness these interruptions. Goal conflict findings indicated that participants who reported more binge watching also reported that binge watching undermined other goal pursuits. Linking such findings to an intervention addressing anticipated regret could provide a useful opportunity…Drawing upon the addiction literature in relation to other types of binge behaviours may further refine potential appetitive and loss of control features that may extend from addictive behaviours with a binge potential, such as eating, sex and drugs, to binge watching".
Obviously the study relied on self-reports among a small sample of television viewers but given that this is the first-ever academic study of binge watching, it provides a basis for further research to be carried out. As in my own research into gambling where we have begun to use tracking data provided by gambling companies, the authors also note that such objective measures could also be used in the field of researching into television binge watching:
"[Future research] could include using objective measures of binge watching including ecological momentary assessment, ambient sound detection, recording and/or partnering with streaming firms or software-based monitoring. Further insight into binge watching could make a distinction between television show-specific factors, such as genre, length, real-time versus on-demand services, as well as contextual factors (e.g., where binge watching occurred, with whom and when) and assess the association between binge watching and health outcomes including physical activity, eating and sleep hygiene".
This is one of the first times I can end one of my articles by saying that this is literally a case of "watch this space"!
Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addictions, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Bates, D. (2015). Watching TV box-set marathons is warning sign you're lonely and depressed – and will also make you fat. Daily Mail, January 29. Located at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2931572/Love-marathon-TV-session-warning-sign-lonely-depressed.html
Craig, R. & Mindell, J. (2014). Health Survey for England 2013. London: The Health & Social Care Information Centre.
Daily Edge (2014). 11 signs of you're suffering from a binge-watching problem. Located at: http://www.dailyedge.ie/binge-watching-problem-signs-1391910-Apr2014/
Griffiths, M.D. (1995). Technological addictions. Clinical Psychology Forum, 76, 14-19.
Hu, F.B., Li, T.Y., Colditz, G.A., et al. (2003) Television watching and other sedentary behaviors in rela- tion to risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus in women. JAMA, 289, 1785–1791.
Kompare, D. (2006). Publishing flow DVD Box Sets and the reconception of television. Television & New Media, 7(4), 335-360.
Spangler, T. (2013). Poll of online TV watchers finds 61% watch 2-3 episodes in one sitting at least every few weeks. Variety, December 13. Located at: http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/netflix-survey-binge-watching-is-not-weird-or-unusual-1200952292/
Stamatakis, E., Hillsdon, M., Mishra, G., et al. (2009) Television viewing and other screen-based entertainment in relation to multiple socioeconomic status indicators and area deprivation: The Scottish Health Survey 2003. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 63, 734–740.
Sussman, S., & Moran, M.B. (2013). Hidden addiction: Television. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(3), 125-132.
Veerman, J.L., Healy, G.N., Cobiac, L.J., et al. (2012) Television viewing time and reduced life expec- tancy: A life table analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 46, 927–930.
Vioque, J., Torres, A. & Quiles, J. (2000) Time spent watching television, sleep duration and obesity in adults living in Valencia, Spain. International Journal of Obesity, 24, 1683–1688.
Walton-Pattison, E., Dombrowski, S.U. & Presseau, J. (2016). 'Just one more episode': Frequency and theoretical correlates of television binge watching. Journal of Health Psychology, doi:1359105316643379
Wijndaele, K., Brage, S., Besson, H., et al. (2010) Television viewing time independently predicts all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: The EPIC Norfolk study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 40, 150–159.
Loud and proud: A psychological (and personal) look at the 'Sin of Pride'
A number of years ago, I was asked to write an article on "The Sin of Pride" for the British Psychological Society. Before writing that article, I knew very little about the topic. To me it was the title of an record album by The Undertones that I bought in 1983 when I was 16 years old from Castle Records in Loughborough. I perhaps learned a bit more about it when I watched 1995 film 'Seven' directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt (which coincidentally just happens to be one of my all-time favourite films).
After agreeing to write the article I did a bit of research on the subject (which admittedly meant I did a quick Google search followed by a more considered in-depth search on Google Scholar). While I'm no expert on the topic I can at least have a decent pub conversation about it if anyone is prepared to listen. Just to show my complete ignorance, I wasn't even aware that the sin of pride was the sin of all sins (although I could in a pub quiz be relied upon to name the seven deadly sins).
I was asked to write on this topic because I was seen as someone who is very proud of the work that I do (and for the record, I am). However, I have often realized that just because I am proud of things that I have done in my academic career it doesn't necessarily mean others think in the same way. In fact, on some occasions I have been quite taken aback by others' reactions to things that I have done for which I feel justifiably proud (but more of that later).
At a very basic level, the sin of pride is rooted in a preoccupation with the self. However, in psychological terms, pride has been defined by Dr. Michael Lewis and colleagues in the International Journal of Behavioral Development as "a pleasant, sometimes exhilarating, emotion that results from a positive self-evaluation" and has been described by Dr. Jessica Tracy and her colleagues (in the journal Emotion) as one the three 'self-conscious' emotions known to have recognizable expressions (shame and embarrassment being the other two). From my reading of the psychological literature, it could perhaps be argued that pride has been regarded as having a more positive than negative quality, and (according to a paper in the Journal of Economic Psychology by my PhD supervisors – Professor Paul Webley and Professor Stephen Lea) is usually associated with achievement, high self-esteem and positive self-image – all of which are fundamental to my own thinking. My reading on the topic has also led to the conclusion that pride is sometimes viewed as an 'intellectual' or secondary emotion. In practical (and psychological) terms, sin is either a high sense of one's personal status or ego, or the specific mostly positive emotion that is a product of praise or independent self-reflection.
One of the most useful distinctions can be made about sin (and is rooted in my own personal experience), is what Lea and Webley distinguish as 'proper pride' and 'false pride'. They claim that:
"Proper pride is pride in genuine achievements (or genuine good qualities) that are genuinely one's own. False pride is pride in what is not an achievement, or not admirable, or does not properly belong to oneself. Proper pride is associated with the desirable property of self-esteem; false pride with vanity or conceit. Proper pride is associated with persistence, endurance and doggedness; false pride with stubbornness, obstinacy and pig-headedness."
As I noted above, there have been times when I have been immensely proud of doing something only for friends and colleagues to be appalled. 'Proper pride' as Lea and Webley would argue. One notable instance was when I wrote a full-page article for The Sun on 'internet addiction' published in August 1997. I originally wanted to be a journalist before I became a psychologist, and my journalist friends had always said that to get a full-page 'by line' in the biggest selling newspaper in the UK was a real achievement. I was immensely proud – apart from the headline that a sub-editor had dubbed my piece 'The Internuts' – and showed the article to whoever was around.
I had always passionately argued (and still do) that I want my research to be disseminated and read by as many people as possible. What was better than getting my work published in an outlet with (at the time) 10 million readers? My elation was short-lived. One close colleague and friend was very disparaging and asked how I could stoop so low as to "write for the bloody Sun?" Similar comments came from other colleagues and I have to admit that I was put off writing for the national tabloids for a number of years. (However, I am now back writing regularly for the national dailies and am strong enough to defend myself against the detractors).
In 2006, I was invited to the House of Commons by the ex-Leader of the Conservative Party, Iain Duncan-Smith and invited to Chair his Centre For Social Justice Working Party on Gambling and write a report as part of the Conservative Party's 'Breakdown Britain' initiative. Anyone who knows me will attest that my political leanings are left of centre and that I working with the Conservatives on this issue was not something I did without a lot of consideration. I came to the conclusion that gambling was indeed a political issue (rather than a party political issue) and if the Conservative Party saw this as an important issue, I felt duty bound to help given my research experience in the area. I spent a number of months working closely with Iain Duncan-Smith's office and when the report was published I was again very proud of my achievement.
However, as soon as the report came out I received disbelieving and/or snide emails asking how I could have "worked with the Conservatives". I have spent years trying to put the psychosocial impact of gambling on the political agenda. If I am offered further opportunities by those with political clout, I won't think twice about taking them. I am still immensely proud of such actions despite what others may think.
Pride is ultimately a subjective experience and the two personal experiences that I outlined above will not put me off doing what I want to do. I shall continue to engage in activities where I think my work can have an impact and shall work with (and write for) those that can help me disseminate my research findings to as many people as possible.
Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Averill, J.R. (1991). Intellectual emotions. In: C.D. Spielberger, I.G. Sarason, Z. Kulesar & G.L. van Heck (Eds.), Stress and Emotion: Anger, Anxiety and Curiosity [Vol. 14] pp.3-16. New York: Hemisphere.
Griffiths, M.D. (1997). The internuts (internet addiction). The Sun, August 13, p.6.
Griffiths, M.D. (2007). Gambling addiction in the UK. In K. Gyngell (Ed.), Breakdown Britain: Ending the Costs of Social Breakdown (pp.393-426). London: Social Justice Policy Group.
Kemper, T.D. (1987). How many emotions are there? Wedding the social and autonomic components. American Journal of Sociology, 93, 263-289.
Lawler, E.J. (1992). Affective attachments to nested groups: A choice-process theory. American Sociological Review, 57, 327-339.
Lea, S.E.G. & Webley, P. (1997). Pride in economic psychology. Journal of Economic Psychology, 18, 323-340.
Lewis, M., Takai-Kawakami, K., Kawakami, K., & Sullivan, M. W. (2010). Cultural differences in emotional responses to success and failure. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 34, 53-61
Tracy, J.L., Robins, R.W. & Schriber, R.A. (2009). Development of a FACS-verified set of basic and self-conscious emotion expressions. Emotion, 9, 554-559.
Occult figure: David Bowie and living life at the extremes
Since David Bowie's death earlier this year, I've already written two articles on the psychology of Bowie (which you can read here and here) but this article takes a look at the more extreme aspects of Bowie's life (excluding his various addictions which I briefly examined in my previous pieces). As a long-time David Bowie fan I've been meaning to write this particular blog for a long time but just never got around to it. I had made lots of notes taken from various Bowie biographies (see 'Further reading' below) but Dr. Dean Ballinger (University of Waikato) recently beat me to the punch by publishing a similar article to the one I had planned in the March 2016 issue of the Fortean Times.
During Bowie's five decades in music he has been interviewed on almost every conceivable topic but it's always the interviews about his most extreme and esoteric subjects that have caught my eye whether it concerned his religious and spiritual beliefs, his political views, or his moral philosophy. I've always looked for hidden meanings in his lyrics and taken the view that his lyrics provide an insight into his personality as much as anything else that I have seen or read about him in the print and broadcast media. Like most other hardcore Bowie fans, I have been poring over the lyrics of his final studio album Blackstar now knowing that he wrote and recorded it while suffering from an aggressive form of cancer. The album is arguably his most cryptic and mysterious since the classics of the mid- to late-1970s (Station To Station, Low and "Heroes") – although I also love 1.Outside and Heathen both lyrically and musically.
Looking back, it was probably the Station To Station title track that really made me wonder what was going on in Bowie's head. Although Bowie says he was "out of his gourd" on cocaine at the time (and has little recollection of recording the album), the lyrics (as a teenager) made no sense to me at all ("Here are we/One magical movement/From Kether to Malkuth/There are you/You drive like a demon/From station to station"). I had no idea that Kether ("the crown" – divine will or pure light) and Malkuth ("the kingship" – the nurturing receptacle of the light) originated from Kabbalah (an esoteric school of thought rooted in Judaism) representing two of 10 sephirots (sometimes spelled 'sefirots' and meaning 'emanations' or 'attributes') in the Tree of Life.
During his cocaine-fuelled days, Bowie rarely slept and filled his time reading books. Not only books about Kabbalah but also books on the occult (a number of books by Aleister Crowley; Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier's The Morning of the Magicians; Israel Regardie's books on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn), on the symbolic obsessions of Nazism (most notably Trevor Ravenscroft's The Spear of Destiny), and defensive magic and tarot cards (Dion Fortune's Psychic Self-Defense) as well as more general books on the secret history of Christianity, UFOs, political conspiracies, and numerology. It's also worth noting that Bowie's 1976 persona ('The thin white duke' in his 'Station To Station' lyric) is almost certainly taken from Crowley's erotic poetry ("The return of the thin white duke making sure white stains" from the 1898 book White Stains).
It's been claimed by Chris O'Leary (author of the excellent Rebel Rebel and founder of the Pushing Ahead of The Dame website) that "Bowie's immersion in Kabbalah was part of an overarching spiritual quest that took him from Tibetan Buddhism (he almost joined a monastery in the late 1960s, until his teacher told him that he'd make a better musician than monk) to Christian mysticism, occult worship and a flirtation with neo-Nazi imagery that nearly derailed his career when it was discovered that he collected Nazi memorabilia". I hadn't realised that Bowie had made reference to the occult in earlier songs such as 'Quicksand' (The Order of the Golden Dawn – a late 19th/early 20th century organisation devoted to the practice of occult, metaphysical, and paranormal phenomena, and the root of more traditional modern day occult practices such as Thelema and Wicca) as well as Tibetan Buddhism (more specifically his use of the word 'Bardo' in the song – the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth).
Bowie's interest in Buddhism and Tibet dates back to the 1960s as evidenced by songs such as 'Silly Boy Blue' (first demoed in 1965). In an interview by Bowie with the Melody Maker (24 February, 1966) notes:
"I want to go to Tibet. It's a fascinating place, y'know. I'd like to take a holiday and have a look inside the monasteries. The Tibetan monks, Lamas, bury themselves inside mountains for weeks, and only eat every three days. They're ridiculous—and it's said they live for centuries…As far as I'm concerned the whole idea of Western life – that's the life we live now – is wrong. These are hard convictions to put into songs, though".
Chris O'Leary also noted that:
"Bowie's interest in Tibetan Buddhism wasn't a sudden trendy affectation—he had begun exploring the religion when he was in his mid-teens, first inspired by reading Heinrich Harrer's 1952 book Seven Years in Tibet, and he eventually met and befriended the Tibetan lama Chimi Youngdong Rimpoche, who was exiled in London. Bowie even fantasized about becoming a Buddhist monk – cropping his hair and dyeing it black, wearing saffron robes and even changing his skin color (he'd have to settle for becoming Ziggy). Buddhism was an early influence in his songs: he had meant for the backing chorus of his single 'Baby Loves That Way' to sound like chanting monks."
Bowie didn't appear to have strong religious beliefs. In an interview in 1997 he noted that there was an "abiding need in me to vacillate between atheism or a kind of Gnosticism…what I need is to find a balance, spiritually, with the way I live and my demise" but in relation to thoughts on his own mortality he said "I believe in a continuation, kind of a dream-state without the dreams. Oh, I don't know. I'll come back and tell you". In addition to his spiritual leanings, Dr. Ballinger in his 2016 Fortean Times article goes as far to say that occult and paranormal themes constituted an "integral dimension" of Bowie's career. Bowie clearly had an interest in aliens, science fiction, and the paranormal as reflected in many of his singles dating back to 'Space Oddity' (1969) through to 'Loving The Alien' (1985) and 'Hallo Spaceboy' (1996) (as well as many album tracks and his acting breakthrough as an alien in Nic Roeg's film The Man Who Fell To Earth). Dr. Ballinger also argued that:
"Bowie was also reading upon esoteric subjects and alternative ideas in a relatively in-depth way beyond fashionable name dropping is made clear by the songs on his fourth album, Hunky Dory (1971). The jaunty pop of 'Oh You Pretty Things!' is belied by lyrics that evoke a rather sinister picture of spiritual evolution, in which the listener is asked to 'make way' for 'the coming race' of 'homo superior' Nietszchean super children…The 'coming race' is also a probable nod to the Bulwer-Lytton novel of the same name that became a staple of the 'Vril' mythos associated with occult-minded Nazis, a subject that would have a rather negative influence on Bowie in the near future. More overt is the ballad 'Quicksand', in which Bowie expounds a New Age manifesto – 'I'm not a prophet or a Stone Age man/Just a mortal with potential of a superman' – with reference to the Western magical tradition ('I'm closer to the Golden Dawn/Immersed in Crowley's uniform/of imagery), [and] The Tibetan Book of the Dead ('You can tell me all about it on the next Bardo')".
Bowie wasn't the first musician to use The Tibetan Book of the Dead as inspiration for lyrics. More famously, John Lennon used it for The Beatles classic 'Tomorrow Never Knows', the final track on the 1966 Revolver album (something I forgot to mention in my previous article on Bowie and The Beatles). However, John Lennon based his lyrics after reading The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead written by Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner and Richard Alpert. (And while I'm going off on tangents, I just wanted to mention that Alpert's most well known book Be Here Now just happens to be the title of (Beatle-loving) Oasis' third album).
Dr. Ballinger also makes the argument that in Bowie's 1972 breakthrough LP The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars there were "evident resonances between occultism and his musical career" and that he drew inspiration from a wide range of esoteric cultural influences to source "stimulating ideas and imagery to explore in lyrics, costumes and videos". Ballinger also claims that Bowie's work at this point of his career had a more integral relationship with the theory and practice of magic and occultism:
"Parsing Crowley's legacy, one of the key aspects of magic is the transformation of the self (and, possibly, the wider social reality) through acts that focus the imagination/will towards such change, such acts including sex, drug consumption, meditation, and creative performance (i.e., rituals). In this vein Bowie can be considered a distinctly magical musician whose whole career revolved around the transformation of the self and the wider culture through the 'ritual performances' of rock music, such as concerts, recordings, and videos. In his most influential period of the 1970s, Bowie created personae (such as Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, and the Thin White Duke) and undertook musical experiments (the 'plastic soul' of Young Americans and the avant-garde/krautrock/funk synthesis of the 'Berlin trilogy') that in turn transformed rock culture by inspiring scores of other artists. The gender-bending that was a notable aspect of Bowie's personae in this period (for example, the androgynous cover photo for The Man Who Sold The World (1970) or the 1979 video for 'Boys Keep Swinging'), and the cultivation of bisexual overtones in his lyrics and performance ('John, I'm Only Dancing' as an account of bisexual angst), are also interesting to consider in relation to Crowley's emphasis on sexuality as a core component of magical transformation".
Like some of the best music by The Beatles, some of the best music made by Bowie was while he was using drugs excessively (often described by his biographers as a 'cocaine-induced psychosis'). Bowie himself claims that in 1975 he was in poor mental and physical health but ironically he was producing some of the best music (and acting) of his career. However, Bowie's cocaine addiction has also been used as an excuse for his behaviour during the 1976 period where he flirted with Nazi occultism and made the claim that the UK would benefit from a fascist leader ("I think I might have been a bloody good Hitler. I'd be an excellent dictator. Very eccentric and quite mad"). Many musicians have said they are interested in Nazi imagery and fashion (e.g., Bryan Ferry) and others have collected Nazi memorabilia (e.g., Lemmy) but these interests do not mean such people are Nazi-loving or fascists.
Bowie's esoteric and occultist interests appear to subside as his career progressed and it wasn't until his final album that Bowie appeared to be using music (and the accompanying promo videos) in a symbolic way for people to re-interpret his music as a cryptic death note to all his hardcore acolytes (of which I would include myself). Unless Bowie left any explanation for his final seven songs, we can only speculate. However, I'll leave you with the thoughts of Dr. Ballinger who has done a better job than I could ever do:
"The Blackstar album has seen Bowie go out with a distinctly occult bang…As every prior Bowie album cover has featured a portrait, the five-pointed 'black star' of this one is presumably meant to represent Bowie too – perhaps in his ultimate persona as spirit (the five-pointed star being a classic Hermetic/Gnostic symbol of 'man as microcosm', with the contradictory image of a 'black star' also evoking a koan or the alchemical union of opposites). The creepy atmosphere conjured up by the lyrics of the title track – "In the villa of Ormen/Stands a solitary candle/On the day of execution/Only women stand and smile" – is successfully evoked in the video for the song. Bowie is depicted as preacher of some dark 21st century faith, brandishing a Blackstar bible among acolytes whose spasmodic 'dancing' suggests a state of possession. A reading of the imagery here as analogous to Crowley and his Book of the Law is perhaps apt; director Johan Renck, who designed the videos with Bowie, has mentioned Crowley as a reference point. Some kind of Hermetic/Gnostic subtext about eternity, spirit and the flesh is further implied in the imagery of the video's other 'storyline', in which the shade of a dead astronaut – Bowie himself, in his formative Major Tom persona? – floats up into a 'black star' of eternity, before, in a possibly Orphic reference, leaving behind his bejewelled skull for ritual veneration by a sect of mutant women. Where the esoteric overtones of the 'Blackstar' video are eerie, those of the video for 'Lazarus' are poignant. Bowie plays himself as a patient in a hospital bed, whose closet is a portal from which appears a double who is seemingly meant to signify his essential spirit. This figure is not garbed as Ziggy, the Thin White Duke or any of Bowie's most famous personae, but in the striped black jumpsuit in which he undertook the famous occult photo shoot for Station to Station, in which he is depicted drawing Kabbalistic symbols on the wall. That Bowie chose this costume for his valedictory performance suggests he was giving a subtle nod to the deep, lasting metaphysical significance that this period had upon the rest of his life".
Dr. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Ballinger, D. (2016). The mage who sold the world. Fortean Times, 338, 28-33.
Buckley, D. (2005). Strange Fascination: David Bowie – The Definitive Story. London: Virgin Books.
Cann, K. (2010). Any Day Now: David Bowie The London Years (1947-1974). Adelita.
Doggett, P. (2012). The Man Who Sold The World: David Bowie and the 1970s. London: Vintage.
Goddard, S. (2015). Ziggyology. London: Ebury Press.
Hewitt, P. (2013). David Bowie Album By Album. London: Carlton Books Ltd.
Leigh, W. (2014). Bowie: The Biography. London: Gallery.
O'Leary, C. (2016). Rebel Rebel. Alresford: Zero Books.
Pegg, N. (2011). The Complete David Bowie. London: Titan Books.
Rogovoy, S. (2013). The secret Jewish history of David Bowie. Forward.com, April 16. Located at: http://forward.com/culture/174551/the-secret-jewish-history-of-david-bowie/
Seabrook, T.J. (2008). Bowie In Berlin: A New Career In A New Town. London: Jawbone.
Spitz, M. (2009). Bowie: A Biography. Crown Archetype.
Trynka, P. (2011). Starman: David Bowie – The Definitive Biography. London: Little Brown & Company.
Can you feel the force? The psychopathology of 'Star Wars'
A few days ago, my friend and colleague Dr. Andrew Dunn sent all the psychology staff members a paper published in the December 2015 issue of Australasian Psychiatry by Susan Friedman and Ryan Hall entitled 'Using Star Wars' supporting characters to teach about psychopathology'. As a fan of Star Wars and science fiction more generally, I immediately read the paper and thought it would be a good topic to write a blog about.
It turns out that Friedman and Ryan have written a series of papers in psychiatric journals over the last year arguing that many of the characters in the Star Wars movies have underlying psychopathologies and that because of the films' popularity, the films could be used to teach students about various psychiatric disorders. The authors asserted that "supporting characters in Star Wars can be used to teach about a wide variety of psychiatric conditions which are not commonly so accessible in one story, including [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] ADHD, anxiety, kleptomania, and paedophilia". I have to admit that in my own teaching I often use characters and/or storylines from film and television to explain psychological phenomena to my own students (and have also published articles and papers demonstrating the utility of using such sources in both teaching and research contexts – see 'Further reading' below). Therefore, I was intrigued to read what psychiatric disorders had been attributed to which Star Wars characters.
In the Australasian Psychiatry paper, it is argued that Jar Jar Binks has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD):
"Jar Jar frequently overlooks details and makes careless mistakes…His difficulty in sustaining his attention is evident…His difficulty in following instructions almost results in him being put to death…trainees can determine whether [the examples provided] are related to inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity".
More controversially, Friedman and Ryan make the case for Qui-Gon Jinn showing paedophilic grooming behaviour.
"In Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon engages in many behaviours with young Anakin Skywalker the same way a paedophile would with a child victim. Anakin seems to fit a pattern which Qui-Gon has of cultivating prepubescent, fair-complexioned boys with no strong male family ties…Anakin's mother has no power or relations with authority, which decreases the likelihood that either she or Anakin would report the paedophile, or potentially be believed by others…Qui-Gon develops a relationship with Anakin, noting his special features and abilities: he often gives compliments to the child…He fosters a relationship where secrets are kept…and the child is slowly isolated from others…After trust is gained, there is a gradual increase in physical intimacy. In the movies this was symbolised by Qui-Gon drawing blood samples from Anakin. A paedophile may incorporate other children or older victims into the grooming process to further lower the child's inhibitions".
I'm not overly convinced by the argument but it does at least lead to discussions on the topic of grooming that I could see having a place in the classroom. Friedman and Ryan also examine a whole species (the Jawas) and claim that they are by nature kleptomaniacs:
"Jawas can introduce the concepts of kleptomania and hoarding, since they 'have a tendency to pick up anything that's not tied down'. It is important from a diagnostic point of view to recognise that kleptomania is more than just stealing or shoplifting…To meet criteria for kleptomania, one must recurrently fail to resist the impulse to steal unneeded or non-valuable objects. Tension before committing the theft is followed by gratification or release afterwards. These characteristics of kleptomania can be inferred from the Jawas' capture of R2D2…The gratification of stealing R2D2 is clear from the Jawas' excited scream…As for the need or value of the stolen items and the repetitive nature of the theft, the Jawas' sandcrawler is filled with droids in various states of dysfunction…Although on a desert planet almost anything might have value, the Jawas seem to take this to extremes given the number of broken droids in their possession which do not even appear to be in good enough shape to use as spare parts".
Elsewhere in the paper is a table listing many Star Wars characters along with "potential concept discussions" related to the characters' behaviours in the films. This includes (amongst others) Darth Vader (borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder), Jabba the Hutt (psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder), Boba Fett (Oedipal issues – Hamlet type), Yoda (dyslexia, malingering), Luke Skywalker (prodromal schizophrenia), Princess Leia (histrionic personality disorder), Padme Amidala (postnatal delirium, postnatal depression), Obi-Wan Kenobi (major depression in old age, pseudo-dementia), and C3PO (obsessive-compulsive personality disorder).
However, given my own research interests, the character that most interested me in Friedman and Ryan's list was the claim that Lando Calrissian might be a pathological gambler. According to one of the Wiki entries:
"Lando Calrissian was a human male smuggler, gambler, and card player who became Baron Administrator of Cloud City, and, later, a general in the Rebel Alliance. [He] was born on the planet Socorro…During his youth, he became a smuggler and a gambler, playing a card game known as sabbacc. Calrissian was able to make a living by illegally acquiring and redistributing rare or valuable goods. However, due to Calrissian's penchant for gambling, he and his business partner Lobot were in deep with the wrong people".
Gambling does make the occasional appearance in Star Wars films – particularly in bar scenes. In describing Calrissian to Han Solo, Princess Leia notes "he's a card player, gambler, scoundrel. You'd like him". Qui-Gon Jinn notes in The Phantom Menace that "Whenever you gamble my friend, eventually you'll lose". The Star Wars Wiki on gambling notes that it involves "the betting of credits or possessions in wagers or games like sabbacc. For example, Lando Calrissian bet the Millennium Falcon in a game of sabacc with Han Solo, and lost. Gambling was rampant on Tatooine [the home planet of Luke Skywalker]". The Star Wars Wiki on sabacc also notes that there are several variants of the game and that Calrissian lost the Millenium Falcon to Han Solo while playing 'Corellian Spike' and that Solo kept the two golden dice that were used while gambling. A profile article on Calrissian in the Washington Post describes him as a "suave gambler" rather than a pathological gambler.
There is no doubt that Calrissian liked to gamble but there is little evidence from the film that it was pathological. However, other articles (as well as older and newer fiction) about him claim that he is. For instance, in an online article by Shane Cowlishaw discussing the personality disorders of Star Wars characters, the following is claimed:
"He may have ended up leading the final assault on the Death Star, but Lando perhaps was only successful due to being a pathological gambler. Having lost the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo in a bet, conned the Bespin Gas Mine out of somebody and gambling on a deal to betray Han and Chewbacca to the Empire, it is clear he can't help himself. Lando gambles with the lives of other rebels, albeit successfully, be demanding that the spaceship not abort their mission when Admiral Ackbar orders everyone to retreat from the unexpectedly operational Death Star. A perfect character to debate whether pathological gambling is an addiction or an impulse-control disorder, apparently"
It's also worth mentioning that Calrissian will also be making an appearance in upcoming Marvel comics. In an interview with writer Charles Soule (who will be scripting the new stories), it is evident that the crux of his character will focus on the gambling part of his personality – but more on the problem side:
"I focused on the whole gambler archetype for Lando; more specifically, the sort of lifelong card player who never really knows when to walk away from the table. He's always chasing his losses, hoping that if he makes a big enough bet, he can get ahead with just one good hand. It's tweaked a bit here—the idea is that Lando had something happen to him in his past that put him way behind, and now he's just trying to get back to even. This isn't really a financial thing, although that's part of it – it's more like a moral thing. Like a life debt. I don't hit it too hard in this story—it's all background—but the shading is there…Lando gets into crazy, extreme situations because they're his version of making big bets at the card table. If he can make it through his next adventure, maybe he can just retire and live a quiet life. It never really works out, though. One step forward, two steps back. That's Lando Calrissian…It's a story about a hyper-charismatic, ultra-smooth guy who gets into huge jams constantly, and tends to get out of them through a combination of luck and charm. He'd never punch his way out of a fight; he'd rather buy everyone a few drinks and leave on good terms. Assuming he hasn't gambled away all his money, that is".
However, there is also the 2013 novel Scoundrels written by Timothy Zahn featuring Calrissian, Han Solo, and Chewbacca and includes the short story Winner Lose All based on Calrissian's love of gambling but here, there is nothing to suggest the behaviour is pathological. There is also a fictional online interview with Calrissian that puts forward the idea that he was a professional gambler rather than a pathological gambler:
"Basically I was born to a normal middle class family and found I had a talent for gambling. I traipsed across the universe as a professional gambler, but occasionally need more money so I hired out as mercenary and treasure hunter. Eventually I won the Millennium Falcon, but didn't know how to fly it. So I paid Han Solo to teach me, he won the ship from me in a game of Sabbac. I won it back but, it like taking your best friend's girl so I gave it back to him. When I wound up on Cloud City I won my title of Barron Administrator in a card game. The rest is they sat history".
Finally, on a more academic note, Calrissian also makes an appearance as one of the 'Gambler' archetypes the book Archetypes in Branding: A Toolkit for Creatives and Strategists by Margaret Hartwell and Joshua Chen. The book is a novel approach to brand development and includes a deck of 60 archetype cards with the aim of revealing a brand's motivation and why it attracts certain customers. The authors hope that the book will be used repeatedly to inform and enliven brand strategy. This again suggests that Calrissian's gambling is not seen as pathological (otherwise he wouldn't have been included in the book as a brand to be modelled upon).
Dr. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Cowlishaw, S. (2015). Star Wars characters and their personality disorders. Stuff, July 8. Located at: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/70017741/Star-Wars-characters-and-their-personality-disorders
Friedman, S. H., & Hall, R. C. (2015). Using Star Wars' supporting characters to teach about psychopathology. Australasian Psychiatry, 23(4), 432-434.
Friedman, S. H., & Hall, R. C. (2015). Teaching psychopathology in a galaxy far, far away: The light side of the force. Academic Psychiatry, 39(6), 719-725.
Griffiths, M.D. (1996). Media literature as a teaching aid for psychology: Some comments. Psychology Teaching Review, 5(2), 90.
Griffiths, M. (2004). An empirical analysis of the film 'The Gambler'. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1(2), 39-43.
Griffiths, M.D. (2010). Media and advertising influences on adolescent risk behaviour. Education and Health, 28(1), 2-5.
Hall, R. C., & Friedman, S. H. (2015). Psychopathology in a galaxy far, far away: The use of Star Wars' dark side in teaching. Academic Psychiatry, 39(6), 726-732.
Hartwell, M. & Chen, J.C. (2012). Archetypes in Branding: A Toolkit for Creatives and Strategists. How Design Books.
Is laughter is the best medicine? A brief look at the Charlie Chaplin "obsession" in Adipur
In previous blogs I have examined such phenomena as Celebrity Worship Syndrome, celebrity religions such as the Church of [Diego] Maradona, and strange therapies (such as caning therapy). Another strange form of therapy and celebrity worship that I came across was when I appeared as the resident psychologist on the Forbidden television series (on the Discovery Channel). The story on the show concerned the residents of the Indian town of Adipur (in the Kutch district of Gujurat, many of who are descended from migrants from Pakistan who moved there in the 1940s) who are "obsessed" with the English comic actor Charlie Chaplin. As a 2010 BBC story noted:
"In the rising heat of a flaming Indian summer, more than 100 people have gathered in a small town in Gujarat to celebrate Charlie Chaplin's birthday. There are girls and boys, men and women. They are young and old, fit and feeble. They have all trooped out into the streets of Adipur dressed up like the legendary actor's tramp – toothbrush moustache, bowler hat, scruffy black suit, cane. What binds them is a love of Chaplin's cinema – most are members of the Charlie Circle, a local fan club which has been celebrating the actor's birthday every April since 1973. Out on the streets, a colourful party fuses Chaplin worship with Indian song and dance. Scores of impersonators imitate the tramp's bow-legged dance walk and waddle with mixed results. Then they begin jumping up and down to Bollywood songs sung by a portly local singer and pumped out from crackling speakers strung on top of a rickety mobile music cart…A couple of camel-drawn carts bring up the rear. One is packed with toddler Chaplin impersonators. In the other, a small statue and a big poster of the actor are 'worshipped', complete with a chanting Hindu priest and burning joss sticks".
As I found out in the Forbidden production notes when I was interviewed for this story, one of the local doctors (Mr. Ashok Aswani, an Ayurvedic practitioner) who started up the 'Charlie Circle Club' (CCC). The members of the CCC "are dedicated to Chaplin and his philosophy in life as depicted in his films". Mr. Aswani prescribes all his depressed patients with a Chaplin DVD and encourages them to come along to his Chaplin group sessions where they watch films such as enjoy special screenings of Chaplin's movies like Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, Limelight, The Kid, Countess in Hong Kong, and The Great Dictator. According to Wikipedia, Ayurveda means "life-knowledge" and notes that:
"Ayurveda medicine, is a system of medicine with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. Globalized and modernized practices derived from Ayurveda traditions are a type of complementary or alternative medicine. In the Western world, Ayurveda therapies and practices (which are manifold) have been integrated in general wellness applications and as well in some cases in medical use".
So is laughter really the best medicine? Mr. Aswani thinks it certainly helps. When he set up the CCC in 1973, he started to prescribe Chaplin's comic movies as a remedy for his patients' ailments. In the interview he did for Forbidden, he said that: "I had Hitler and Chaplin in their typical toothbrush moustaches displayed outside my clinic and would ask visitors which of the two they wanted to become in life". According to the production notes I was given:
"The youngest Charlie in the group is just 18 months old, while the eldest is 73 years old. The group meets every week at the studio of Harish Thakker, a founder member of the circle. Here they practice their moves and enjoy special screenings of Chaplin films. For the last five years, Anjali Parmar, 18 [years old], has been dressing up as Charlie Chaplin. She plays his role as 'Charlie in village', which essentially involves her getting buried under a huge stack of hay and her struggles to come out of it".
Kishore Bhawsar, a bus conductor in his fifties and fan club member said his life changed after watching Chaplin's 1925 The Gold Rush (starring, written produced and directed by Chaplin). Bhawsar claimed "Chaplin absorbs grief and makes you laugh. He said, 'I walk in the rain to hide my tears.' He was a poet". As a town they convene on Chaplin's birthday (April 16) and perform Chaplin mimes and skits and watch his films on the big screen. Mr. Aswani – a self-confessed cinema and theatre buff – was interviewed by the BBC and said that watching The Gold Rush in 1966 had "changed his life". As a young man, he saw the poster for the film, went into the cinema and watched the film four times in a row – something that got him sacked from his job:
"I was wonderstruck. I found his dress and look fascinating. How does the man bend his legs like that? A whole new world of cinema opened up for me. The music, technique, photography was so different! And I thought, is Chaplin an actor or a magician? I fell off my seat laughing in the darkness. I lost my job, but I gained Chaplin. I became obsessed with him, I became interested in acting and wanted desperately to become an actor…The celebrations will never cease. Our children and grandchildren are already hooked to Chaplin's films, so our homage to the actor will never end".
Mr. Aswani's efforts do not appear to have gone unnoticed. A 2008 film (The Boot Cake) made by Kathryn Millard examined Charlie Chaplin imitators around the world and was nominated for best documentary by the Australian Writers' Guild Awards. In an interview with the BBC, Millard said:
"When I set out to research a documentary about Chaplin imitators around the world, I had no idea that I would meet a very special community – perhaps Chaplin's most devoted followers – in a small town in India…[Whenever I show the film] people ask me whether there is a way they could join the Charlie Circle…I hope they may start accepting associate members from other countries!"
In another interview with the Indian Times, Millard was quoted as saying:
"Charlie Chaplin holds a special appeal for migrants. The Tramp is a mentor and a guardian angel for people around the world who have poured into cities lured by the promise of employment. Chaplin's movies speak to people – they have a wonderful mix of pathos and humour, they're funny and touching at the same time. Charlie thumbs his nose at authority, deflates puffed up officialdom and triumphs over adversity. No matter how low on luck, Charlie always sees hope. Landing on his bum in the gutter, he's soon cheerfully looking for cigarette butts. He has the quality we call resilience – in spades".
And it's not just men who get involved. The India Times interviewed teenager Anjali Palmer (mentioned in one of the quotes above) who has been dressing up as Chaplin since her early teens and loves making the others in her town laugh. She was quoted as saying:
"I have learnt from Sir Charlie that we should share happiness with all and I am committed to this mission. He is one real character who can make people laugh even in the face of adversity. His heart is true and he always stands up for the weak".
These sentiments were echoed by Talin Navani, who at only 10-years-old is one of the youngest members of the CCC. He told the Indian Times:
"When you're sad and lonely, draw a toothbrush moustache on your face and try smiling into the mirror, and you'll end up laughing at yourself. That's Charlie's magic. I thought I should share this feeling with people around me. Everybody looks so worn out these days. They have forgotten to smile".
It would appear that the CCC members 'obsession' (if it can be described as such) with Chaplin have turned into a force for health and social good. As noted by Chaplin's most famous character 'The Tramp', the people of Adipur appear to live their lives based on one of his most well known quotes: "The last shall yet be, if not first, at least recognised, and perhaps even loved."
Dr. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
BBC News (2010). India's Chaplin loving town. April 20. Located at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8631348.stm
John, P. (2010). Charlie's angels in Adipur. Times of India, February 20. Located at: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-02-20/india/28131863_1_charlie-chaplin-moustaches-toothbrush
Loke, A. (2010). The great imitator. YouTube, July 16. Located at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhMaoS92Eqw
Wikipedia (2016). Charlie Chaplin. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin


text:
cakePHP version 2.4.5
I have managed to create a dynamic dropdown menu from my database using element and pagesController.
In my element navigation.ctp
The Code below loops through the database via $events which comes from Layout default.ctp
foreach ($events as $event): ?>
<a href="/cake_sports/pages/events/<?php echo $event['Event']['id'] ?>"><?php echo
$event['Event']['description']; ?>
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In my PagesController display():
This will get items from the database and pass it to Layout default.ctp
$this->set('events', $this->Event->find('all'));
In my Layout default.ctp
This will call navigation.ctp element with $events as paramater
echo $this->element('navigation', $events);
PROBLEM: When I navigate or go to other pages other than EventsController, I will get an error. The error is understandable since I know that it will not identify the
$this->set('events', $this->Event->find('all'));. But I don't know how to make it global so that even after changing pages with different controller it will not mess up.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Completely loved this hotel - I stayed here only for a business trip for a good week, so I didn't get to spend much time in the room, but I could happily have lived there for a few weeks!
Very spacious suite, modern open-plan style, felt luxurious and homely at the same time, and it was clean and well equipped with anything you would want or need on your trip. The service and staff was extremely friendly, professional and polite, and we received a lot of valuable tips for restaurants and sights to visit nearby. The hotel is in the Old Town of Montreal and close to very nice restaurants, great galleries, amazing artsy jewellery and clothes shops, and cosy coffee shops.
The only reason why I am giving a 4 instead of a 5 rating is the breakfast, which was very disappointing, especially for the price. If the breakfast was how it sounded on the menu, we would have stayed every morning; anyway, we got to try a few coffee places nearby, which was nice too.
All in all - a real gem of a boutique hotel, highly recommendable and if I ever get a chance to go to Montreal again, I would definitely go back!
Thank you very much for a very pleasant stay!
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- The Gault is a boutique hotel housed in an historic building built in 1871. The hotel lies in the heart of Old Montreal, just steps away from the downtown and the convention centre. In contrast to the exterior of this landmark building, inside, The Gault features a minimalist style. Together, they create an incomparable communion of old-world comfort and luxurious contemporary design. Furnished with classic 20th-century pieces, The Gault experience is enhanced by huge French windows that flood each of the 30 suites with natural light and create a radiant atmosphere. All the rooms are open-plan and equipped with Mondrian custom oak cabinetry, an LED flat-screen television, and Blu-ray technology. Some suites feature 3D televisions. All guests enjoy HDTV, complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access, and free local calls. iPads are available on request. ... more less
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Expedia, Booking.com, Hotwire, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Prestigia, Travelocity, Odigeo, Cheap Tickets, getaroom.com and Jetsetter so you can book your Hotel Gault reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
- Also Known As:
- Gault Hotel Montreal


text:
Synonyms of eligible in English:
1 those people eligible to vote
entitled, permitted, allowed, qualified, able
2 an eligible bachelor
desirable, suitable;
available, single, unmarried, unattached, unwed
Definition of eligible in:
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= trending


text:
Review: Samsung Series 9 cuts few corners
Well-engineered laptop is long on performance and battery life, short on business features
Prebundled software for the system consists of Modern UI apps such as Samsung's S Camera, S Player, and S Gallery applications, along with the Intel AppUp app store and trial versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements, Microsoft Office 2010, and Norton Internet Security. The Samsung-branded system configuration tool lets you quick-toggle things like the keyboard backlighting and the power management settings. Among the options for the latter is a battery-life extension mode, which protects battery life by charging the battery only to 80 percent of its capacity, which is plenty for this battery. My Netflix rundown test provided a satisfying 5 hours, 15 minutes.
The one big shortcoming, especially considering the system ships with Windows 8 Pro by default, is the absence of a touch display. The multitouch-enabled touchpad partly compensates for this omission, but let's face it: Windows 8 without touch is, for now, a sticky wicket. That touchpad is also a little annoying in that, although it's generously sized, it has click zones along the bottom instead of discrete buttons. Also missing: a drive activity light, although at this point that's an endangered feature for Ultrabooks.
Finally, business users will like that TPM is included, though they may be dismayed to find there's no fingerprint reader or smart card slots. But if these features aren't high on your priority list, the Samsung Series 9 has just about everything else a power user could want.
Samsung Series 9 at a glance
|Starts at $999 MSRP; $1,899 as configured
|Core i7 3517U (3.0GHz) + Intel HD Graphics 4000
|2.56 pounds
|12.35 x 8.6 x 0.51 inches
|13.3 inches @ 1,920-by-1,080 LED display
|Netflix battery rundown test
|5 hours, 15 minutes
|1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, 1 Micro HDMI, 1 audio, 1 SD, 1 Mini VGA
|802.11a/b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
|Touch-enabled screen
|Management features
|Sandra 2013 score
This article, "Review: Samsung Series 9 cuts few corners," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in computer hardware and mobile technology at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.
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text:
Author Hoffman's Haunted 'House'
New Collection Inspired by Creepy Cottage on the Cape
Web Extra: Hear an Extended Interview with Hoffman
Alice Hoffman has never actually seen a ghost. But the author of 15 novels and five children's books is certainly willing to believe. Her latest effort, Blackbird House, is a collection of short stories with a common thread: an isolated — and possibly haunted — farmhouse on Cape Cod.
Hoffman tells NPR's Liane Hansen that she based the setting on her own cottage on Cape Cod — a house built from the wood of old shipwrecks that came with its own ghost story.
As the story goes, a young boy who once lived there was lost at sea, but continues to haunt the house. Hoffman says she has yet to encounter the boy, but he served as her main inspiration for the Blackbird House stories.
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Thin films
Browse Scitation content quickly and easily by topic by selecting broad categories or more specific subdisciplines. The browse function is supported by the powerful Scitation thesaurus (7,500+ terms) developed to address researchers' information needs.
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- Metallic thin films,
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text:
Let me show you.. by thoosahWatch
©2010-2016 thoosah
Hey! I really wanted to use this photo as the cover for a story I'm writing (I will give you credits, obviusly). If you don't want me to, pls get in contact with me.
Hi! I'd really love it if I could use this for a background, I'd credit you and everything. Please get back to me.
beautiful! You're very talented!
I'd be honored if you'd comment on my gallery...
I'd be honored if you'd comment on my gallery...
This lovely piece has been featured here Amazing Compilation! by ~giovanni154
This is a rigorous selection of the best works in photography and Illustration
If you like it , just let me know!
This lovely piece has been featured here Amazing Compilation! by ~giovanni154
This is a rigorous selection of the best works in photography and Illustration
If you like it , just let me know!
The sun rays are really great! The good thing about this one is that it isn't just another 'plain landscape' photo. You've used a person to break the landscape up and that's good! Focus is really on the person, because his/her bag is red.
Great work!
Great work!
magical light and beautiful photograph
A dreaming atmosphere !!
love the sunrays between the trees. wonderful shot!
A wonderfully atmospheric photo!
Lovely!!! stunning!
how do you get this light efect??
how do you get this light efect??
Thanks It is all about luck. There was a cloud comming through the forest and above us was just a clear sky, so the sunshine went through!
Once again, you did a gorgeous job!! Well done, thoosah!!
Thanks a lot Just to let you know, I just came from a Beatles revival and it was awesome! They played on one of our squares and those big snowflakes were falling and we drank couple of rum-teas and I feel sjust .. so relaxed and fine!
That's awesome! Hmmm quiestion, what is one of your favourite albums of their's?
I absolutely love Abbey Road
Me too!! My favourite on that album is "You never give me your money". Such amazing transitions in one song. What's one of yours?
I love the beginning of that song He has such a nice voice there.. I like "I want you" for its negativism (I mean that the music is somehow gloomy/depressive - especially at its ending) and I also like "Here comes the sun" for its positivism
Yeah I really like "I Want You" It's so expressive. Ugh to be honest I'm not a big fan of "Here COmes The Sun" I do like it, but I find it's a bit overrated by some people. Like I always hear "Oh that's the best Beatles song ever" and it's most likly the case that that is the only song they have ever heard by them -.-
Absolutely beautiful... Atmosphere is perfect.
I might just follow you, so long as the place you're going looks as good as this.
I might just follow you, so long as the place you're going looks as good as this.
The wood is so great, the lights are very... Magic! So special!
^_ ç
^_ ç
This looks like one of the walking trails where I live.
I like the atmosphere.
wow, great work
Great shot. Beautiful.
And if I knew you a bit better, I might say yes.
And if I knew you a bit better, I might say yes.
It also looks like the mountains in Colorado^-^ It reminds me of all the summer vacations there!
I miss being on the road! Your picture reminds me of that. I like it very much
Looks like Sweden too!
I was wondering why this view seems so similar to me. And yeah, Poland has the same landscape, which I love so much
greets from Poland
greets from Poland


text:
Lincoln's Sacred Effort: The Role of Providence in Political Leadership
Lucas Morel, the Lewis G. John Term Professor of Politics at Washington & Lee University, discusses the role of religious belief in Lincoln's approach to governing.
Lucas Morel, the Lewis G. John Term Professor of Politics at Washington & Lee University, discusses the role of religious belief in Lincoln's approach to governing.
Professor DeLay looks at changes in thought, technology, and outlook that prompted early exploration, and Spain's late entry into colonial pursuits.
Professor Richard Carwadine examines Lincoln's religious beliefs as America's crisis deepened, and looks at the role that the President's religious sentiments played in mobilizing support for the war among Union citizens. Richard Carwardine is Rhodes Professor of American history at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power (2003), which won the Lincoln Prize in 2004.
Mary Beth Norton, Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History at Cornell University, reinterprets the Salem witchcraft crisis from a seventeenth-century perspective, drawing not only on court records, but also on correspondence and journals from the late 1680s to the early 1690s.
Walter Isaacson, president of the Aspen Institute and author of Kissinger: A Biography, traces Benjamin Franklin's life from runaway apprentice to Founding Father, exploring how Franklin's commitment to the common American and his appreciaiton for the possibilities of democracy helped forge an American national identity.
During this session, Professor Cornell will look at the three distinct phases of the Constitution as an overview. The first is the Constitution in the 18th century as imagined by the Founding Fathers. The Constitution went through another incarnation after the Civil War. Professor Cornell will then look at the Constitution in the decades after the New Deal to the present.
Columbia University professor Christopher Brown, author of Moral Capital: Foundations of British Abolitionism (2006), examines the rise of anti-slavery thought during the Revolutionary era. Focusing on the often contrasting motivations behind the anti-slavery rhetoric of the British and the Americans, Brown pointedly illustrates how the anti-slavery movement was a global phenomenon that emerged from a wide variety of ideologies.
In 1807, Aaron Burr was tried and acquitted on charges of treason for his "adventures" in the American West, but he had fallen out of favor in American life long before, after he had run for president against Thomas Jefferson, served a single term as vice president, and shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel. A free spender, a womanizer, and the only Founding Father who was actually descended from the English aristocracy, Burr was famously secretive and conspiratorial. In this lecture, historian Gordon S. Wood, Alva O. Way University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University, argues that Burr's true treason was not his actions in the West but his naked ambition and his lack of principles and character that made him a threat to the young republic.
Historian Jill Lepore (David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard and a staff writer at the New Yorker) discusses her 2012 book, The Story of America: Essays on Origins (Princeton University Press).
Historian James G. Basker (Barnard College, Columbia University) discusses his latest book, American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation (The Library of America, 2012).


text:
Fox, Ernest C.; manufacturer; born, Cleveland, April 4, 1870; son of Frank B. and Julia Brown Fox; educated, Cleveland parochial schools; married, Cleveland, Feb. 11, 1897, Ella Mabley; two daughters, Margaret 15, and Katherine, 14; business career, mailing clerk, Fuller & Warren Co.; asst. mngr. The Richmond Stove Co., sec'y and treas. F. B. Fox, Register Mnfg. Co.; organized and was sec'y and treas. The Fox Furnace Co.; organized and was see'y and treas. The Union Selling Co.; owner The Independent Register & Mnfg. Co.; sec'y The Scheible Monceief Heater Co.; member Congregational Church, Athletic and Rotary Clubs. Recreations: Baseball and Motoring.
Biographical Sketch of Ernest C. Fox
MLA Source Citation:The Book of Clevelanders: A Biographical Dictionary of Living Men of the City of Cleveland. Burrows Book Company. 1914. AccessGenealogy.com. Web. 28 July 2016.
https://www.accessgenealogy.com/ohio/biographical-sketch-of-ernest-c-fox.htm- Last updated on Mar 17th, 2012
This page is part of a larger collection. Access the full collection at The Book of Clevelanders.


text:
Crazy Substitute Teachers
Enjoy, NG4.03 / 5.00 790 Views
Vacuum Salesman
This dude and his Megazord vacuum cleaner3.98 / 5.00 2,109 Views
Markiplier Animated | Mark Of The Survey Corps
This took far too long to make...3.93 / 5.00 1,830 Views
Ah, you kids wouldn't understand. He took clips from a podcast called Wreckless Media Radio, and decided to animate them. I laughed my ass off because I was there when this skit was born, and I would have rated 5 stars, but the mouths are off-synch from the voices. I'd just like to remind everybody that he had nothing to do with the scripting, or the voice acting.
I think I just had a ren and stimpy flash back. <<
It was good,the Animation was phenoimal. The onyl real complaint I have is the fact that the humour has kind of thrown in your face. Good job
Hm, not a very nice subject; creepy. However, in terms of its artistic skill etc, its good quality- sound art, animation , voice etc.
I suppose its supposed to be funny and I don't find it funny, but Newgrounds will probably love it!
some people are really over-exaggerating about the content of this. need i remind you that you're on newgrounds? you can't count the toons with more 'inapproriate' content than this on two hands.
it is well animated. some bits are pretty funny, and some bits aren't. but it doesn't deserve the low scores that some very contradictory people are giving it. do you come to newgrounds for the squeaky clean disney humour?


text:
Top Definition
At a party, a narbster is someone who leaves unfinished beer sitting down to waste.
I just found a full beer that ugg left just sitting here to waste. He is a narbster.
de Studderin_Stanley 20 August 2010
Trending Now
E-mailurile sunt trimise de la email@example.com. Nu-ți vom trimite mesaje nedorite.×


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