# Question
Title: What article looked at the relationship between bedtime stories and national productivity?
I've been told of an article about the effects of bedtime stories. The findings of this article are that countries in which the more popular bedtime stories are active were more productive than the ones in which the popular bedtime stories were passive (Passive means someone came and rescued the princess, Active means the princess fought and got her happy ending)

I've never actually read the article, and I don't even know it's name or authors. I'm hoping someone here can help me find it (or anything similar). I've tried google/scholar.google with no success. I'm pretty sure the article predates the world wide web...

(I'm not sure if the article in question calls the bedtime stories "active" or "passive". I just used these words because they seemed appropriate)

Thank you

# Answer
I believe this is referring to David McClelland's 1961 book "The Achieving Society."\* McClelland proposed that an achievement motivation (desire for achievement) could predict economic growth and success. He examined this from a range of social and individual psychological factors, including the achievement content of "cultural products" such as children's stories and folk tales. He developed a value coding system for children's stories that centered on the impact of different story characteristics on the ego (this is your passive vs active term). Examples include whether the protagonist was of high or low social standing (ego status), influences on the ego (fate or man), how the ego responds (brains vs brawn), and whether the ego (protagonist) engages in work in order to achieve a goal. These in turn were coded into achievement motivation.

Among his findings, McClelland noted that cultural products high in achievement motivation were associated with how many full-time entrepreneurs were found in pre-literature cultures, the economic success of different historical empires, and the rate of growth in national consumption of electric power (and presumably industry) in the early twentieth century.

McClelland continued to publish on the topic (1975), though the theory received criticism and some subsequent studies failed to replicate his results (Gilleard, 1989; Mazur & Rosa, 1977). However, a more recent study suggested that an expansion of the theory would more readily capture the impact of motivation on economics in Eastern cultures, and might strengthen the predictive power of this method (Doyle & Doyle, 2001). Additionally, a 2009 study (Engeser, Rheinberg, & Moller) comparing achievement imagery in school textbooks in different German states found that the more economically successful regions had books with more achievement images. The introduction to the Engeser & colleagues paper also provides some links to related studies, for your reference.

Doyle, K. O., & Doyle, M. R. (2001). Meanings of wealth in European and Chinese fairy tales. *American Behavioral Scientist, 45*(2), 191-204.

Engeser, S., Rheinberg, F., & Moller, M. (2009). Achievement motive imagery in German schoolbooks: A pilot study testing McClelland's hypothesis. *Journal of Research in Personality, 43*, 110-113.

Gilleard, C. J. (1989). The achieving society revisited: A further analysis of the relation between national economic growth and need achievement. *Journal of Economic Psychology, 10*(1), 21-34.

Mazur, A. & Rosa, E. (1977). An empirical test of McClelland's "Achieving Society" Theory. *Social Forces, 55*(3), 769-774.

\*McClelland's book was originally published by D. Van Nostrand Co., Princeton, NJ, but seems to have been republished in 2010 by Martino Fine Books (ISBN: 978-1891396397).
> 6 votes

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Tags: reference-request, developmental-psychology
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# Question
Title: Is there any empirical support evaluating the fast phobia cure?
There have been several papers going against the effectiveness of NLP. One aggregate paper is referenced in the Wikipedia article on NLP, namely Witkowski (2010). However, NLP seems to encompass a wide variety of techniques. I'm particularly interested in the *fast phobia cure*.

**Is there any empirical support for or against the *fast phobia cure*?**

### References

* Witkowski, Tomasz (1 January 2010). "Thirty-Five Years of Research on Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP Research Data Base. State of the Art or Pseudoscientific Decoration?". Polish Psychological Bulletin 41 (2). doi:10.2478/v10059-010-0008-0.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Witkowski has written several articles reviewing NLP (2010, 2012) and in each case has found few studies that indicate clear support for the technique. He also argues that the articles which indicate no support for NLP are generally of stronger methodological quality than those which do not. The fast phobia cure is not directly mentioned in either paper.

Jemmer (2005) provides an overview of the fast phobia technique, and describes a handful of studies which have used and reported on it; you may find his paper to be a starting point for identifying information on the technique, although it seems most of the studies he cited are in the NLP database and it is unclear if they have been published in peer review journals. Jemmer's article acknowledges the lack of evidence, and is primarily written from a theoretical perspective.

A 2011 review identified three peer-reviewed studies and 1 dissertation that examined NLP techniques for phobia and reported the techniques to be effective (Biswal & Prusty). The review does not go into detail as to the exact NLP techniques used in these studies but this may be a source of literature for further reading. Biswal and Prusty (2011) also highlight some of the theoretical issues which have hampered NLP research and provide a helpful overview distinguishing some of NLP's techniques from other psychotherapeutic techniques.

A 2012 review examined 10 peer-reviewed NLP studies which were either randomized controlled trials or pre-post designs, 3 of which assessed fast phobia techniques (Sturt et al.). Some effects were found in terms of decreased fear or anxiety, but these generally occurred in all treatment groups (not just NLP) or in studies with no control group. Most outcomes were self-report measures. However, these studies may be the most relevant to your initial question.

Overall, the consensus of these reviews indicates that there is little evidence to support the use of NLP in general, including the fast phobia cure. However, the studies also note that the lack of high quality research may indicate more rigorous studies are needed before discarding the NLP concept entirely. Additionally, the reviews point out that several NLP phobia techniques are similar to other psychotherapy techniques for treating phobia, so there may be stronger evidence for those subcomponents elsewhere in the literature. These reviews should provide a good starting point and working vocabulary if you are interested in researching those subcomponents.

Biswal, R., & Prusty, B. (2011). Trends in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP): A critical review. *Social Science International, 27*(1), 41-56.

Jemmer, P. (2005). Phobia: Fear and loathing in mental spaces. *European Journal of Clinical Hyponosis, 6*(3), 24-32.

Sturt, J., Ali, S., Robertson, W., Metcalfe, D., Grove, A., Bourne, C., & Bridle, C. (2012). Neurolinguistic programming: A systematic review of the effects on health outcomes. *British Journal of General Practice*, November, e757-e764.

Witkowski, T. (2010). Thirty-five years of research on neuro-linguistic programming. NLP Research Database. State of the art or pseudoscientific decoration? *Polish Psychological Bulletin, 41*(2), 58-66.

Witkowski, T. (2012). A review of research findings on neuro-linguistic programming. *The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 9*(1), 29-40.

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Tags: abnormal-psychology, neuro-linguistic-prog, phobia
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# Question
Title: How is history of psychology taught around the world, and if it is not, why not?
When you study medicine in Germany, lectures on the history and ethics of medicine are an integral part of your curriculum. Many universities have a separate *Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine* with related chairs.

When you study psychology, some introductory lectures might or might not give a short overview of the field's history (e.g. a bit about Pawlow and Thorndike in a lecture on "Learning"), but a knowledge of the history of the discipline is not emphasized in the education of young academics. There is only one Institute for the History of Psychology in my country, and it is privately financed. History of psychology appears to be mostly a hobby of some professors.

How is the status of the teaching of the history of psychology in your country, and is there a published discussion or are official reasons given (for example during the discussions that precede the creation of nationwide examination regulations), why we don't need to institutionalize it?

Please don't post your opinion on the matter, but quote published sources. They can be in any language, if you briefly summarize the content in English.

# Answer
> 6 votes
The American Psychological Association requires graduate programs to cover a range of core competencies, including "the breadth of scientific psychology, it's history and development, it's research methods, and its applications. To achieve this end, the students shall be exposed to the current body of knowledge in at least the following areas:...history and systems of psychology..." (APA Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology, http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/about/policies/guiding-principles.pdf). This applies to all APA accredited doctoral programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology. Many programs meet this requirement with a History and Systems course, which covers development of psychology as a field as well as different branches of psychological theory. However, some graduate programs may choose to meet the requirement by requiring students to complete an independent study on this topic.

The APA does not accredit master's or bachelor's programs, so there may be more diversity as to whether a history of psychology course is provided or required at that level. A 2010 APA Monitor article discusses this issue (Chamberlin, 2010). The reasons for teaching the history of psychology vary. At my undergraduate university a History and Systems course was a required course in your senior-year, as the program felt it not only provided a sound theoretical foundation but also served as an excellent review for the GRE Psychology subject test. A 2011 dissertation explored the content of history of psychology courses in APA accredited programs, and may provide additional information on the presence of the history of psychology in American education (Petzolt, 2011). The author noted that there are many reasons typically given for this APA requirement, including "the belief that the study of history is a way of unifying the different branches of the field, that it helps to ground current psychological research in tradition and theory, and that it establishes a framework from which all applications can be derived" (Petzolt, 2011).

Chamberlin, J. (2010). Don't know much about history. *APA Monitor, 41*(2), 44. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/02/history.aspx

Petzolt, N. M. (2011). Teaching the graduate course in the history of psychology in APA accredited programs. St. John's University (New York), 53 pages. UMI Proquest Publication number: 3445776.

# Answer
> 2 votes
The university of Oslo teaches a rather big part of the history of psychological research. I've completed it myself, so I know for sure. Do note that the subject also involves a lot more than just history.

https://www.uio.no/studier/emner/sv/psykologi/PSYC1200/

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Tags: social-psychology, teaching-of-psychology, history-of-psychology
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# Question
Title: Name needed for psychological practice which uses objects that represent humans [dolls/pictures/etc.] during patient treatment
What is the name of practice/method (if such exists) where psychologist uses a doll (or any other form of human-being representation) for patient to talk to?

I believe I have seen it in a movie or had read in a book (not exactly sure)

My guess would be that it could be used for patients that feel more comfortable talking to not alive objects that have human form or that portrait a human-being but that cannot respond (subconscious security for a patient that an object will not be judgmental towards patients issues or something like that..)

P.S. If such practice/method exists, which implications it has for the patient?

Example:

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWvxoEM41Ss
>
> Movie: What about Bob?
>
> forward to 1:40

**EDIT:**

What I found:

> "Puppets allow a child to displace feelings from the significant persons with whom they were originally connected. In doing so, puppets offer physical and psychological safety that, in turn, invites greater self expression."

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01875812#page-1

Thanks to caseyr547 for Play therapy term

# Answer
> 2 votes
It's often referred to as "doll therapy" or "play therapy" and applies to adults as much as it does to children. For example, this new product, the "Inner Critic Doll" enables adults to hold a physical manifestation of their inner critic and start a dialogue with it. It has a zipper mouth which can be zipped shut to physically silence this inner voice.

The doll enables adults to confront an otherwise "formless" part of their psyche and has proven to be highly effective. It's used frequently by writers, artists, those suffering low self-esteem, etc., and I've even seen family members address each other on challenging topics via their inner critic doll, as it was easier than talking face-to-face.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Play Therapy sounds really broad, not as specific as getting a patient to speak more comfortably by directing communication toward a non-human surrogate who can't respond. The emphasis is on the one-way conversation, not on 'playing' with a toy. No research to find a label already in use, but I like the phrase "Conversational Surrogate" to refer to dolls and the like inclusively, based on the function they perform in the context of the original question. If an adult is talking to the surrogate, but not otherwise playing with it or other toys, Play Therapy is probably a misnomer in that case. As a therapeutic tool its use is not restricted to Play Therapy sessions, thats just an easy association.

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Tags: terminology, methodology, experimental-psychology
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# Question
Title: How to measure change in emotional responses when pre and post tests use different measures?
My research is to evaluate change of emotional responses of participants, after performing two types of game activities. Two groups of participants, Group A and Group B, will be assigned to Activity A and Activity B respectively. The research design does not cater for a control group.

I plan to measure the baseline emotions (using the Mood Questionnaire) \[1\] of all the participants. The arousal and valence components will be measured using the Self Assessment Manikin (SAM) questionnaire \[2\]

So now, I have pre-test responses from Mood Questionnaire (baseline emotional responses), and the post-test responses from SAM.

I am not sure how to proceed with the data from each instrument. For instance, how do I obtain a change in emotional responses from each subject? How do we normalize the baseline emotions in this case?

Mood Questionnaire available at \[1\] https://www.metheval.uni-jena.de/mdbf.php

SAM questionnaire available at \[2\] http://irtel.uni-mannheim.de/pxlab/demos/index\_SAM.html

# Answer
> 3 votes
Normally, I'd recommend using the same mood measure pre and post manipulation. This allows you to assess the size and direction of change. It also likely removes more error variance from the post-test measure (which would increase statistical power), because using the same measure is likely to increase the correlation between pre and post.

That said, if you've used different measures pre and post, then you could **perform an ANCOVA** with group as independent variable, baseline mood as the covariate, and post-test mood as the dependent variable.

A slight possibility is that you could map scores on both tests to a common scale. This might allow you to make qualified claims about whether emotions increased or decreased. That said, this would require that you have access to additional data on people who completed both tests in a non-experimental context. You could then use the means and correlations between the two tests to develop a mapping to a common scale.

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, emotion, measurement, experimental-psychology
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# Question
Title: Does transparency have its own visual channel?
Referring to (for example) Visual Thinking for Design, the book discusses various low-level processing channels in the brain. Colour and orientation are two examples.

I wonder if transparency is another such channel; and if it isn't, how exactly transparency manifests itself within the brain.

# Answer
> 4 votes
One interesting way to study transparency is by looking at cases where we perceive transparency even though there isn't any objective transparency.

Take this illusion from Adelson (2000) as an example.

In the both panels the diamonds have the same physical brightness (pixel value on the monitor), but our perception of the diamonds on the right is warped by the seemingly-transparent dark stripe that covers the diamonds on the top. Thus, even low-level image features like brightness are perceptually warped by the way our brain perceives the structure of the image.

There are a large number of papers on mathematical models of illusory transparency perception. A starting point might be Anderson (1997) and the references within. But, the general message from this research is that we sometimes perceive transparency as the result of imposing some kind of higher-order structure to make sense of the image.

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Tags: vision
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# Question
Title: What concepts of perception should designers be aware of when designing?
Visual perception is a huge topic, much of which is relevant to the work of a designer. I have identified topics in visual memory, visual cognition and colour perception that are relevant, and I'm sure there is more I don't yet know of.

What would be a good place to start for a designer looking for concepts of perception to be aware of when designing? For example, what books (or other accessible resources, such as web pages, applied research topics) exist that are suitable?

I'm very interested in learning more about visual perception and how it pertains to graphic design. I work predominately in print and environmental graphic design but any area of graphic design should be equally applicable.

# Answer
> 9 votes
Not surprisingly, there's a huge load of stuff you need to consider when designing things for users. Here's a good paper written by some perception and vision researchers on the topic that might give you a more detailed introduction that what you have seen so far:

Healey, C.G. & Enns, J.T. (in press). Attention and visual memory in visualization and computer graphics. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics

It's open access as well!

# Answer
> 3 votes
Another relevant resource might be Stephen Kosslyn's *Clear and to the Point*. It's a book about designing presentations based on psychological principles. The principles that he covers certainly generalize beyond slides for presentations.

I've read it myself, and would recommend it to designers who are unfamiliar with psychological research. If you are already well versed in major psychological findings of the past 100 years, then this book won't offer much that you don't already know.

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Tags: perception, vision, hci
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# Question
Title: Which are the specifics of a memory that are lost first?
Background: In the last few days, I came across an experience that made me wonder how our brain manages "memory resources".

As time progresses further from an experience I've had in my life, I realize that I have begun to forgot details that are important and supposed to be "kept", not lost since I was able to recall them in the first days following the event.

I remember what happened, who was present, and why it happened, but I'm beginning to lose track of "when" the event happened.

This may be a filtering process or a defense mechanism, but in any case, I'm not focusing on the reason behind that, rather I'm interested in avoiding such "holes" in memory in the future.

In a generalized way, given the facts that we can obtain by answering the questions "what", "why", "who" and "when", which of these are the first facts to be forgotten?

# Answer
> 3 votes
I was taught that recall and forgetting are somewhat worse for episodic memories as compared to semantic memories. I'm having trouble finding a supportive reference now, but that may be due to how basic the concept is (or it may just be wrong). The example I recall was the difference between remembering how to ride a bike vs. remembering the experience of learning to ride a bike – one expects more people to remember how to ride a bike than to remember learning how. This isn't the cleanest example of two different kinds of memories, because knowing how to ride a bike is also more likely an implicit, procedural memory.

In any case, forgetting "when" seems likely if this entails the circumstantial aspects of the event. If it's not especially important that the event in memory happened at a particular time or in a particular situation, those elements of the episodic memory could be forgotten quite readily. I don't think "when" information is categorically forgettable though, as I can imagine some memories being tied very closely to that info – e.g., memories about parties on holidays or birthdays.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There have been several studies of memory and memory loss(forgetting) related to 9/11. One article based on these studies says:

> They believed that their 9/11 memories were much more accurate than their regular memories. One finding especially popped out for Rubin: **People had already changed their stories of how they heard about the attacks over just a few days**, from the day after the event to one week later. "Because at that point you've told 35 people how you heard about it, and it's been solidified in your memory the way you're telling it, not necessarily how it really happened," he explains.
>
> And **it isn't that people just make errors of omission and forget details, notes Talarico. "They make errors of commission as well, changing a red shirt to a blue one, or saying they were with different people from those they first said they were with.**"
>
> \[...\]
>
> **It turned out that the rate of forgetting for both types of memory slowed and stabilized after a year. But overall flashbulb recollections declined more than factual recollections, possibly because nonstop media coverage bolstered people's factual memories** (see sidebar).
>
> **"What we're really looking at in flashbulb studies is consistency of people's stories, and we found a dramatic inconsistency in what people report after one week and after 36 months," Hirst says of the results, which were published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (Vol. 138, No. 2). "People are changing who they were with, how they found out about the attacks, those sorts of aspects."**
>
> **Forty percent** of the time people misremember some aspect of their 9/11 experience, the study indicates. And **the part they get the most wrong is how they felt**.
>
> "**You tend to project your current feelings about 9/11 on what you felt then,**" explains Hirst. "You see this in other aspects of daily life. For instance, if we ask college students how they feel about a boyfriend or girlfriend now, everything's good. But if you ask them about the person after they break up, they'll say they knew he or she was bad for them. Our emotions change over time, and it's hard to get back in that initial emotional space."
>
> ### References

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Tags: memory
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# Question
Title: Are the lobes of the brain anatomically distinct, or is the distinction between them not as well-defined?
If I had a brain in front of me, would I be able to find some kind of crevasse or something separately each lobe from the next? I guess what I'm asking is, are lobes more arbitrarily-defined regions of the brain, or is there a definite distinction between them anatomically?

# Answer
> 6 votes
There are anatomical features that make lobe demarcations fairly non-arbitrary. From Wikipedia:
by Sebastian023

There are some borders here that may be more arbitrary than others:

* The border between the occipital and parietal lobe between the preoccipital notch and parieto-occipital sulcus
* The border between the parietal and temporal lobes between the preoccipital notch and the lateral fissure
* The little space between the central sulcus and the lateral fissure that separates the parietal and frontal lobes

These lines seem to be anchored on non-arbitrary points, but their flatness (lack of curves/bumps) may be somewhat arbitrary. An analogy would be the southern border of my home state, Minnesota. It's a flat east-to-west line between two rivers that form the eastern and western borders. The rivers aren't arbitrary, but the southern border didn't have to be a straight line. (Why not a sine wave? That surely would've made things more interesting!) If there's more to these borders of the brain than just their anchor points at either end, it's not apparent to me from this image or any other sources I know offhand, but it would be nice to see another answer from anyone who might know better than I.

# Answer
> 4 votes
Building off of Nick Stauner's answer, the lobes are named after the cranial bones that cover them. You can see the overlap by looking at the bones of the skull (image from Wikipedia).

I'm speculating now, but my guess would be that an anatomist simply picked sulci (the "valleys" in the folds of the cortical surface) that were close to the bone boundaries and used those as the demarcating lines of the various lobes. Maybe someone else can verify, or correct me!

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Tags: neuroscience, frontal-lobes
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# Question
Title: Getting analysis of changes in MY brain upon cannabis consumption
I want to know if/how my brain differs from other brains. I'm also interested in knowing exactly how my brain changes when I smoke marijuana, as it is claimed that it affects individuals differently. Fortunately I live in the Netherlands. Is it likely that researchers would welcome me to come, scan my brain, let me get high and do some more scanning? If the case is that researchers crave material, then this seems like a win-win.

# Answer
Both the Amsterdam University (UvA) and Radboud University use a public online system for applying for participation in experiments. I forget which system UvA uses, but Radboud uses the sona system (just google it, you can creat an account). There you can see ongoing studies and apply for experiments. Both these cities are big research hubs for neuroimaging. And other universities surely also have similar systems for recruiting participants, but I don't have experience with them so I don't know.

That being said, nobody will tell you about the difference between your brain and other brains. This is simply not a topic of research. It's kind of like asking what's the difference between this grain of sand and all other grains - there are too many to list, the similarities stick out more clearly, and even if there are some differences who knows which ones are important. Neuroscience is a new thing, and we're still cataloging the basics. Unless there's something grossly distorted about your brain, nobody can give it a casual look and tell you something about your personality or behaviour. And if there is something grossly distorted, they'll contact your doctor, and not discuss it with you directly.

On the other hand, if there are marijuana studies you can take part and ask for feedback. At the Donders Institute in Nijmegen you can get a CD with your brain scan for your participation. But the feedback you get will depend on the question the researcher is asking. Typically this question would pertain to shared effects of marijuana on everyone, and not to individual differences. Individual differences studies are still rare, as they require huge numbers of participants while scanning resources are very limited and costly.
> 4 votes

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, measurement, cognitive-neuroscience, methodology, cognitive-modeling
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# Question
Title: How to assign numbers to response options on a bipolar scale?
Does it matter which one of the three scales we use: A, B, or C in the attached questionnaire? Each one will have a different interpretation of the data. Please advise how should we analyze the bi-polar items of this questionnaire. Thank you.

# Answer
Yes, it matters, and you should probably go with scale `B` if you have to use numbers. See my answer here on Cross Validated in response to, "Is 0 a valid value in a Likert scale?" The zero in the middle of `A` is confusing (this isn't to say I don't understand it, but do you really trust that every respondent you ever come across will?), but even if you were to replace it with 4 and add 1 to the options currently labeled 4–6, you might get different answers than if you go with (-3)–(+3). Either way, there's some connotation of "less" applied to the options on the left, which may bias responses. Option `C` even confuses me, so I'd say you should throw that out completely...

IMO, the safest bet would be to label your rating options with words, not numbers. To make responding easy, let people check boxes or provide abbreviated codes for their preferences such as "Strongly prefer left option" = `SL` or "Right option is a mildly better fit" = `Rm`. Here's how I presented these suggestions in my other answer, and the supporting reference (Schwarz, Knäuper, Hippler, Noelle-Neumann, & Clark, 1991):

> 1. Allow respondents to check cells in a table corresponding to their answer preference: each row can be a different item, and each column can be labeled with your rating anchor, or vice versa – no numbers involved. Here's how that might look (if one were to answer wisely):
>
> $\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|}\hline&\tiny\text{Strongly Disagree}&\tiny\text{Disagree}&\tiny\text{Mildly Disagree}&\tiny\text{Mildly Agree}&\tiny\text{Agree}&\tiny\text{Strongly Agree}\\\hline\tiny\text{Tumblers: better than pumpers!}^\*&&&&&&\checkmark\\\hline\tiny\text{I look fat in this dress.}&\checkmark\\\hline\end{array}$
>
> Wikipedia gives another style using marked options (by Nicholas Smith):
> 2. Letter codes can also be substituted for numeric options if blanks are to be filled for a list of very many items; e.g., {`SD`,`D`,`MD`,`MA`,`A`,`SA`}. Just don't forget to include the legend!
>
> ---
>
> **Reference**
> Schwarz, N., Knäuper, B., Hippler, H. J., Noelle-Neumann, E., & Clark, L. (1991). Rating scales numeric values may change the meaning of scale labels. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 55*(4), 570–582.
> 2 votes

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, perception, emotion, measurement
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# Question
Title: Distortion of faces presented serially in peripheral vision
I've kind of already answered this question for myself, but I can't resist sharing it anyway. Please feel welcome to add anything you can in another answer.

# Stare at the cross in the middle and try to resist moving your eyes.

>

What the devil is going on here? Is this proof that *They Live*? I'm not even wearing sunglasses! Are you?

# Answer
Seems this is a newly discovered phenomenon! Tangen, Murphy, and Thompson (2011) describe this as a result of their method of presentation: alignment of the pupils and fast cycling through faces with different proportions. It is also important that the cycle of new images remain uninterrupted. They say "relative encoding seems to drive the effect," and list several other references for related phenomena.

Dvorsky (2013) offers (slightly) further explanation \[emphasis added\]:

> The answer may have to do with the **lack of information** going to our visual cortex. Neuroscientist Mark Changizi explained it to me this way:
>
> > **Because the faces are in the periphery, there's not enough information** for the brain to realize it's a bunch of different people's faces appended one after another — something that's very non-natural. Instead, the **brain presumes** the reasonable: **that it's a single person's face in the periphery, and then the face-changes are treated as this person's facial expression changes**. Basically, each of those photographs has a different resting face expression, relative to the one before it, and these become drastic, cartoon-like, facial expressions on a single dynamic monstrously cartoon-like expressive creature.

I'm not entirely convinced of this explanation (much less satisfied), but it seems plausible enough, I suppose. More research may be necessary to explain this, as the authors themselves don't seem to fully comprehend what's going on here. Maybe more is out there already, but Google Scholar indicates only one citation at the time of this post, and it seems they only cited it for the materials used; no other substantive connection is apparent.

I would warmly welcome any better answers than this. I've taught intro psych classes and collected a pretty decent trove of optical illusions, because these are always popular instructional material. This one is definitely getting filed away with the rest of them, but strikes me as quite unique among them all. (Not to mention mysterious and disturbing!) Compare the Thatcher effect, which **reduces distortion when presented abnormally**; staring at it right-side-up makes the distortions more obvious!

> Thatcher effect demonstration by Alex Dodge

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**References**
**·** Dvorsky, G. (2013, September 19). An explanation for why your peripheral vision is completely borked. *io9*. Retrieved from http://io9.com/an-explanation-for-why-your-peripheral-vision-is-comple-1349170436.
**·** Tangen, J. M., Murphy, S. C., & Thompson, M. B. (2011). Flashed face distortion effect: Grotesque faces from relative spaces. *Perception, 40*(5), 628–630. Retrieved from http://www2.psy.uq.edu.au/~jtangen/TanMurTho2011.pdf.
> 8 votes

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Tags: perception, vision, optical-illusion
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# Question
Title: About the left and right side of the brain
If you are right-handed person, does it mean that you often use left brain (the left part that contain analysis, language etc.)?

If you often use right leg being crossed over left leg, what part of the brain do you use? Maybe left brain?

# Answer
> 10 votes
Persons of each handedness use both hemispheres of the brain.

If you're asking specifically whether taking an action with your right hand preferentially activates motor control in the left hemisphere, the answer is yes. Motor function for the right side of your body is mapped to the left side of your brain, and vice versa. So for crossing your right leg over your left, that specific action uses your left brain to move your right leg. But that does not mean a person who crosses his or her leg right-over-left all the time is a "left-brained" person.

"Analysis is left-brain" is a pop psychology myth. A specific capability may be found in one place (e.g. speech production in Broca's area, which is often in the left hemisphere), but higher-level functionality like logical analysis or creativity have been found not to be lateralized (i.e. not fixated in one hemisphere or the other).

Nielsen, et al. 2013. "An evaluation of the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis with resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging." PLOS ONE

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Tags: brain-training, brain-development
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# Question
Title: How exactly does alcohol consumption damage dendrites?
How exactly does alcohol consumption damage dendrites? I'm not talking about over a long period of usage, but just one instance.

# Answer
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke%E2%80%93Korsakoff\_syndrome#Alcohol-thiamine\_interactions

> Strong evidence suggests that ethanol interferes directly with thiamine uptake in the gastrointestinal tract. Ethanol also disrupts thiamine storage in the liver and the transformation of thiamine into its active form.\[20\] The role of alcohol consumption in the development of WKS has been experimentally confirmed through studies in which rats were subjected to alcohol exposure and lower levels thiamine through a low-thiamine diet.\[21\] In particular, studies have demonstrated that clinical signs of the neurological problems that result from thiamine deficiency develop faster in rats that have received alcohol and were also deficient in thiamine than rats who did not receive alcohol.\[21\] In another study, it was found that rats that were chronically fed alcohol had significantly lower liver thiamine stores than control rats. This provides an explanation for why alcoholics with liver cirrhosis have a higher incidence of both thiamine deficiency and WKS.\[20\]

\[20\] Todd, K. G., Hazell, A. S., & Butterworth, R. F. (1999). Alcohol thiamine interactions: an update on the pathogenesis of wernicke encephalopathy. Addiction Biology, 4, 261-272.

\[21\] He, X., Sullivan, E. V., Stankovic, R. K., Harper, C. G., & Pfefferbaum, A. (2007). Interaction of thiamine deficiency and voluntary alcohol consumption disrupts rat corpus collosum ultrastructure. Neuropsychopharmacology, 32, 2207-2216.

but this is of course over a long period.

for just one instance, there's no scientifical evidence AFAIK
> 1 votes

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Tags: neuroscience, alcohol
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# Question
Title: Are hallucinations a requirement for Schizophrenia?
The symptom most people think about when hearing "Schizophrenia" is hallucination. However, ICD-10's entry for schizophrenia seems to list auditory hallucinations as just one of many possible symptoms.

In practice, are hallucinations a **required** symptom for a diagnosis of Schizophrenia, or can a diagnosis be made based on other symptoms?

# Answer
> 5 votes
No – at least, they shouldn't be required. Wikipedia describes the DSM-5 as requiring "delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech". Delusions are distinct from hallucinations in that they aren't necessarily perceptual in a conventional sense, though both diverge a person's conscious experience from empirical reality. Disorganized speech is characteristic of disorganized / hebephrenic schizophrenia, regarding which Wikipedia states:

> The most prominent features of disorganized schizophrenia are not delusions and hallucinations, as they are in paranoid schizophrenia,<sup>\[\]\[\]</sup> although fragmentary delusions and hallucinations may be present.

This doesn't seem to be the only (partial) exception to the rule you ask about, and your source mentions it too: "Affective changes are prominent, delusions and hallucinations fleeting and fragmentary".

# Answer
> 4 votes
According to the DSM V, for the diagnosis of schizophrenia, the following is necessary:

> two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if successfully treated):
> (1) Delusions
> (2) Hallucinations
> (3) Disorganized speech
> (4) Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
> (5) Negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition.

where one of the symptoms **must** be delusions, hallucinations, **or** disorganized speech. So, **no**, hallucinations do not need to be present.

# Answer
> 0 votes
No. Hallucinations are not necessarily present, although they use to be observed or reported. Hebephrenic schizophrenia does not have hallucinations as a main symptom, and simple schizophrenia doesn't have them at all. The criteria are very clear.

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Tags: schizophrenia, hallucinations
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# Question
Title: Do people with Asperger syndrome have two left brains?
I have heard that people with Asperger syndrome have a problem with the right brain, but it increases the ability of the left brain. In other words, AS people has two left brains; the second left brain replaces the right brain. Is this true?

# Answer
Most neuroscientists have dropped the *right brain-left brain differentiation* because cross-over of functions at multiple levels is now so widely recognized. So your understanding of *two left brains* is not current (if it ever was).
> 10 votes

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Tags: aspergers, brain-development
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# Question
Title: Are there any systems in the brain that are responsible for monitoring energy
For example, the amount of energy that is available for the brain to use, or the amount that the brain consumes with respect to time?

# Answer
This is a very broad question. I'll simplify greatly.

Like most systems, the brain regulates it's moment-to-moment energy needs through control of it's vascular supply. While the vascular supply (to the heart and brain) is regulated (by both baroreceptors and other) to protect against decreased blood flow (that is, the heart and the brain will be preferentially protected against decreased blood flow), the day-to-day energy need fluctuations are still met by brain parenchymal vasodilation/vasoconstriction, often mediated by ion concentration in response to CO2 levels, etc. There are a host of local and peripheral vasodilators. The most instantaneous of these are a result of Ca++ and K+.

> The matching of blood flow to regional brain function, called functional hyperemia or neurovascular coupling, involves the coordinated activity of neurons, astrocytes, and parenchymal arterioles. Under physiological conditions, localized neuronal activation leads to elevated astrocyte endfoot Ca(2+) and vasodilation, resulting in an increase in cerebral blood flow. (see also Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 May 22;109(21):E1387-95. for Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels.).

The simplest answer to your question of how the energy needs are met by the brain is through vascular control of the supply of nutrients.
> 3 votes

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Tags: neurology
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# Question
Title: What are the key predictive traits of therapeutic success?
In my answer here, to this question : Does hypnotherapy/hypnosis, in any form, for any type of disorder, work?

It brought up the valid question of why people quit therapy. Obviously, if the therapy is not helpful, it is could be construed as a straightforward cause and effect.

People stop therapy or positive coping techniques for a vast number of reasons.

What are the the key predictive factors that cause people to succeed or fail a longer term therapy which has been giving shorter term successes for that individual?

# Answer
> 4 votes
There is a substantial body of literature addressing each of these questions (why do people quit therapy and what predicts positive outcomes); unfortunately there are no easy answers. In part, this is because the literature has looked at these questions from a range of angles, including client characteristics (age, race, gender, motivation, education level, diagnosis), therapist characteristics (demographics, years of experience, therapeutic orientation \[cognitive vs psychodynamic\]), therapeutic dynamic characteristics (client-therapist demographic match, therapeutic alliance), and treatment characteristics (whether treatment is manualized, group vs individual therapy, type of therapy). I’ve provided brief answers to both below, but you’ll likely need to do additional literature searches if you have a question about a specific group of patients or therapy.

**Why do people quit therapy?**

Swift & Greenberg (2012), conducted a meta-analysis of 699 studies and found a nearly 20% dropout rate for therapy. They found that younger clients, clients who were attending university clinics, those with personality or eating disorders, and those seen by providers-in-training had higher dropout rates. Some of these factors may be correlated; younger clients may be more likely to attend university clinics, and those clinics often use graduate student therapists-in-training to provide services. The study also found dropout rates were higher in studies where the therapist rated/decided if a client had dropped out, which may reflect the therapists’ perspective. Additionally, therapy that was not time-limited and not manualized had higher dropout rates. Whether it was group vs individual therapy, the orientation of therapy, provider race or gender, and client race or employment status had no effect. Results were mixed for other client demographic variables such as gender, education and marital status.

Another meta-analysis of 11 studies found that dropout was higher when therapeutic alliance, the relationship between the client and therapist, was weaker (Sharf, Primavera, & Diener, 2010). However, the authors noted that this was moderated by the client’s level of education and the length of treatment. Clients with more education were less likely to dropout. The longer the treatment the higher the dropout rate, though, as in the Swift & Greenberg (2012), it may also reflect the perception of the person reporting dropout. Clients may have felt the therapy was completed, while therapists may have felt the client “dropped out.”

Finally, a recent meta-analyses examined the impact of accommodating client preferences on treatment outcomes and dropout rates (Swift, Callahan, Ivanovic, & Kominiak, 2013). There is extensive literature exploring the importance of client preferences related to type of therapist (sex, race), type of treatment (therapy and meds, therapeutic orientation), or style (collaborative, prescriptive) on therapeutic outcomes. Swift and colleagues (2013) found that accommodating client preferences resulted in better outcomes and decreased dropout; these effects did not vary based on client demographic characteristics (age, sex, marital status, etc.). They also noted that clients who were not accommodated were especially likely to dropout of short term therapy.

**What predicts therapeutic outcome?**

Several recent studies examined the role that therapeutic alliance had on outcomes. A Swedish study of 646 patients found that alliance impacted symptom level in the next therapy session in a feedback loop, such that stronger alliance predicted stronger change in symptoms, which in turn strengthened alliance (Falkenstrom, Granstrom, & Holmqvist, 2013). However, the authors noted that the effect was stronger for some clients (personality disorder patients), than others, indicating that client factors also impact outcomes. Therapy type (supportive, CBT, psychodynamic) did not impact symptom reduction. Another study found only a weak indication that therapeutic relationship impacts outcomes in complex treatment for psychosis (Priebe, Richardson, Cooney, Adedeji, & McCabe, 2011); these results may reflect a similar finding to Falkenstrom and colleagues (2013), in that diagnosis impacts the role of alliance in outcomes. McEvoy, Burgess, & Nathan (2014) found that another client factor, level of interpersonal problems, predicted dropout and poorer outcomes, regardless of alliance. They also found that type of treatment impacted this relationship, as those patients in CBT who had better alliance were more likely to stay in treatment, but that neither alliance nor personal problems predicted outcomes in those clients. A 2012 meta analysis questioned previous findings that found alliance predicted outcomes (Fluckiger, Del Re, Wampold, Symonds, & Horvath); they found small effects of alliance and outcomes early in therapy, but not for longer-term therapy and did not find sustained relationships with any other commonly noted predictors, such as type of therapy. In contrast, a recent study (Gullo, Lo Coco, & Gelso, 2012) found that a genuine and real (i.e. accurate and not distorted by past conflict or bias) therapeutic relationship predicted successful outcomes for those clients who stayed with treatment, but not those clients who terminated early.

In terms of other client characteristics that can impact outcomes, one study of 60 Caucasian and Asian American clients found that those with more somatic symptoms and who used avoidant coping had poorer psychosocial functioning and psychological discomfort at end of treatment (Kim, Zane, & Blozis, 2012). They also found that those who preferred Non-English language therapy had worse outcomes and that this was mediated by avoidant coping. The authors proposed that Asian American patients who preferred non-English language therapy may have used coping styles that were culturally relevant to them, but which fit poorly with the style of therapy they received. The expression of psychological symptoms and illness is culturally defined, and should be kept in mind when reading meta-analyses that may reflect the dominant culture.

Another meta-analysis of 23 studies found a small to medium effect of homework compliance (completing therapeutic assignments given by the therapist) on client outcomes, which was present regardless of the client’s primary symptom presentation (Mausbach, Moore, Roesch, Cardenas, & Patterson, 2010). This may reflect the importance of client buy-in and effort in therapy, though it should be noted the effect size varied according to certain methodological factors.

Other analyses have examined the importance of therapist characteristics or client-therapist match on outcomes. A meta-analysis of 64 studies found therapist sex did not impact client outcomes or dropout (Bowman, Scogin, Floyd, & Mckendree-Smith, 2001). As noted in my answer to the dropout question above, Swift and colleagues (2013) noted a range of domains in which clients can prefer to be matched in regards to therapy. A 2011 (Cabral & Smith) meta-analyses of 52 studies found almost no effect for race-ethnicity matching and outcomes when looking across all studies. However, the authors did note that African Americans had mildly better outcomes when matched with African American therapists, a trend which did not hold for the other racial and ethnic groups in the study (Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asian Americans). A second meta-analyses of 7 studies found similar results, with a negligible effect size for ethnic match across all samples, though matching had a greater effect for ethnic minority samples than Caucasians in terms of preventing dropout and increasing the number of sessions attended (Maramba & Hall, 2002). Again, these findings call attention to the importance of multicultural conceptualization when identifying treatments and approaches for clients; this diversity is also an excellent example as to why your questions have no simple answers.

*Note: None of the studies I found, focusing on recent, meta-analytic literature, addressed whether the clients found the therapy “helpful” (as indicated in your question) as a primary research question.*

Bowman, D., Scogin, F., Floyd, M., & Mckendree-Smith, N. (2001). Psychotherapy length of stay and outcome: A meta-analysis of the effect of therapist sex. *Psychotherapy, 38*(2), 142-148

Cabral, R. R., & Smith, T. B. (2011). Racial/Ethnic matching of clients and therapists in mental health services: A meta-analytic review of preferences, perceptions, and outcomes. *Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58*(4), 537-554. DOI: 10.1037/a0025266

Falkenstrom, F., Granstorm, F., & Holmqvist, R. (2013). Therapeutic alliance predicts symptomatic improvement session by session. *Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60*(3), 317-328. DOI: 10.1037/a0032258

Fluckiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., Symonds, D., Horvath, A. O. (2012). How central is the alliance in psychotherapy? A multilevel longitudinal meta-analysis. *Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59*(1), 10-17. DOI: 10.1037/a0025749

Gullo, S., Lo Coco, G., & Gelso, C. (2012). Early and later predictors of outcome in brief therapy: The role of real relationship. *Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68,* 614-619. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.21860

Kim, J. E., Zane, N W., & Blozis, S. A. (2012). Client predictors of short-term psychotherapy outcomes among Asian and White American outpatients. *Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68*, 1287-1302. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.21905

Maramba, G. G., & Hall, G. C. N. (2002). Meta-analyses of ethnic match as a predictor of dropout, utilization, and level of functioning. *Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8*(3), 290-297. DOI: 10.1037//1099-9809.8.3.290.

Mausbach, B. T., Moore, R., Roesch, S., Cardenas, V., & Patterson, T. L. (2010). The relationship between homework compliance and therapy outcomes: An updated meta-analysis. *Cognitive Therapy Research, 34*, 429-438. DOI: 10.1007/s10608-010-9297-z

McEvoy, P. M., Burgess, M. M., & Nathan, P. (2014). The relationship between interpersonal problems, therapeutic alliance, and outcomes following group and individual cognitive behavior therapy. *Journal of Affective Disorders, 157*(20), 25-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2013.12.038.

Priebe, S., Richardson, M., Cooney, M., Adedeji, O., & McCabe, R. (2011). Does the therapeutic relationship predict outcomes of psychiatric treatment in patients with psychosis? A systematic review. *Psychosomatics, 80*(2), 70-77. DOI: 10.1159/000320976

Sharf, J., Primavera, L. H., & Diener, M. J. (2010). Dropout and therapeutic alliance: A meta-analysis of adult individual psychotherapy. *Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 47*(4), 637-645. Doi: 10.1037/a0021175

Swift, J. K., Callahan, J. L., Ivanovic, M., Kominiak, N. (2013). Further examination of the psychotherapy preference effect: A meta-regression analysis. *Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23*(2), 134-145. DOI: 10.1037/a0031423

Swift, J. K., & Greenberg, R. P. (2012). Premature discontinuation in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. *Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80*(4), 547-559. doi: 10.1037/a0028226

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, abnormal-psychology, motivation, behaviorism
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# Question
Title: How does look, tone and voice manipulate behavior
I am socially anxious person with wooden behavior and emotions. Unlike others, I try to suspend emotions and stay stoic when I feel uncomfortable. That's my weakness because I don't let others see how I feel and that only let's them the freedom to behave as they want with me. I am not talking about cultural, polite and compassionate people, but less civilized ones who are opposite to description I just gave.

What I have noticed is that such people react differently to emotional people who do not hold anything in them and behave as they see fit. I have noticed that look, tone and voice can manipulate behavior and instill fear in non-emotional people. I have listed 3 examples below:

**Look** \- when you are being talked to with angry look, if you don't show same angry look and react in a normal polite way, you just give person freedom to keep talking in such manner to you.

**Voice** \- if you are being talked to with raised voice, you need to adjust to same voice of person talking to you, but stay calm and you give freedom to person talking to you to treat you that way.

**Tone** \- we'll take customer service as an example when it comes to customers fighting for their rights and claiming what they deserve. Because in phone conversation there's only hearing involved, tone and voice play important roles that determine the outcome of conversation. Polite and cultural people are easy to deal with while it's hard to deal with opposite people who don't feel limits in how they react. Those impudent people usually get what they want by being emotionally manipulative compared to the opposite type of people.

I guess with this question I wanted to get more input from others here and to know how wooden people should deal in stressful situations being as they are, implying freedom to emotionally-unrestricted people to talk to them as they see fit. Should such susceptible people keep being socially avoidant type of people to avoid conflicts or become as their opposites through cognitive behavioral therapy or hypnosis?

# Answer
I don't know if this will help you, but when I first started to see patients (somewhat similar to customers), I was taught by attending physicians that what *I felt* after a few minutes was most likely *what the patient felt* because of clues given off by patients in their look, manner, words, posture, etc. If the patient felt hopeless, I started to feel that way as a doctor; is he felt anxious, so would I; the same with anger. Once I really trusted that, I could step back from it and use it as a **tool** to understand the patient's feelings.

People who do not hold anything in them and behave as they see fit are usually not well adjusted socially, and that intimidates people who are more empathetic.

You ask:

> Should such susceptible people keep being socially avoidant type of people to avoid conflicts or become as their opposites through cognitive behavioral therapy or hypnosis?

Before seeking cognitive therapy to become more assertive, there is the possibility of trying the following (which is what we were taught to do as physicians):

1) Step back in your mind and describe how you feel (angry, afraid, insignificant, anxious, what exactly?) 2) Decide what the opposite emotions are (calm, confident, capable, peaceful, etc). 3) Try responding consistently in the opposite manner until they have calmed down (it usually works). It's like taking the wind out of someone's sails instead of blowing back. (This will work if someone is *normal*. With mentally ill patients, it's still very helpful, but there are other behaviors to use as well.)

This way, you can defuse situations instead of escalating them while staying true to yourself.
> 4 votes

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, social-psychology, emotion, behavior
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# Question
Title: How does one make a decision between different cognitive tests for the same construct?
I would like to measure **peak cognitive performance** in healthy individuals, for situation awareness, reaction time, visuo-spatial processing etc. I am interested in **both within-subject and between-subject changes for pre-post test interventions.**

There are a number of 'standardised' and 'validated' commercial test batteries that have been used in both clinical and healthy populations. Could anyone explain what is the difference between using the 'visuo-spatial processing' test module in ANAM as compared to the same module in CANTAB, PenScreen etc etc?

What is a principled way to choose which test battery module to use?

Many thanks.

# Answer
> 3 votes
There are systematic ways to compare similar tests and determine which test best fits your needs.

**Construct Definition** Identify the constructs (in this case, traits or abilities) you are interested in and clearly define the meaning of each construct. Cognitive performance can encompass many domains, including memory, processing speed, psychomotor functioning, and various aspects of intelligence (including social intelligence). Once you’ve identified which components you consider to be key to “peak cognitive processing,” use literature in your field to develop accepted or theory-driven operationalized definitions for each construct so you have a standard to which you can compare different tests.

**Test Identification** Identify potential tests; generally their title or brief description will allow you to identify tests that are assessing constructs of interest. When comparing tests, however, there are several things to consider in order to 1) ensure the test is actually measuring your construct of interest, 2) compare similar types of tests, and 3) select the test which best suits your needs.

**Validity** Assess various aspects of test validity for each tests. *Construct validity* assesses whether the test measures the construct of interest; a quick (though not thorough) way to assess construct validity is to compare the definition or theory the test’s developers use to the definition you have created. If you’ve defined “depression” in cognitive terms (difficulty thinking, distraction, ruminative thoughts) and the test you’re assessing has defined it in emotional or somatic terms (sad, hopeless, problems sleeping, loss of appetite), then that test would not match your definition of depression and may not capture the construct you are interested in. I advise using these definitions as a starting place, so that you feel confident the test is appropriate for your purposes. However, you should also consider other types of validity as well. *Content validity* assesses whether it captures part of a construct (like factual knowledge) or the whole construct (like factual knowledge and the application of that knowledge). *Criterion/predictive validity* is whether the test has shown to predict certain outcomes measured at a later time; an example is seeing if a reading test predicts year end grades in reading. Criterion validity is most often used in achievement or employment testing and may not be relevant to your work.

**Other Psychometric Properties** Assess additional psychometric properties of each measure. Is there evidence of convergent (is it positively correlated with similar variables) and divergent (is there a negative or null correlation with dissimilar variables) validity? Has test-retest or inter-rater reliability been established? Do the scales have good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha)? Is the sensitivity (number of true positives identified) and specificity (number of true negatives) known?

**Norms and Development** Think about what groups the test has been used with and developed in. Was it developed only based on samples of college students? Has it been validated in diverse groups? Some of the more well-known batteries may be “normed” tests, which allow you to compare scores to a well-defined reference sample. However, if that sample is drastically different from the population you work with, it may not be helpful to make that comparison.

**Test Burden and Assessing Secondary Traits** You will also need to decide if there are certain factors that might complicate the use of a test, such as excessive length or a high reading level or difficulty. Finally, when you’ve settled on a valid, reliable, assessment of appropriate length that matches your construct of interest, look over the measure and be aware of any *construct contamination* issues. An example is a working memory test (perhaps making someone do solve oral story problems in his head) that is also timed. In this case, if the person is penalized for not working quickly enough, you might be capturing deficits in processing speed rather than working memory. Similarly, if you’re using the test to assess math skills, you might be capturing working memory problems rather than an accurate assessment of math ability; the person may be able to correctly complete the math problems on paper pencil if they are not required to remember the problem while solving it. You may be able to counter the effects of contamination by measuring the same skill (math) multiple ways (both orally and on paper, both timed and untimed).

**Summary for identifying and comparing assessments:**

1. Ensure the test is assessing the construct of interest using the operationalized definition you have in mind.
2. Assess reliability and validity (including norms, sensitivity, and specificity)
3. Ensure length, language, etc. are practical for your purposes
4. Be aware of possible construct contamination

**References**

Groth-Marnat, G. (2009). *Handbook of psychological assessment.* (5th Edition). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Furr, R. M., & Bacharach, V. R. (2008). *Psychometrics: An introduction.* Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, measurement, methodology, experimental-psychology, test
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# Question
Title: Are there connections between some properties in peoples faces and their behavior?
I hear a lot of people making inferences about others based on their faces, but that's common sense. Are there really properties that could be deduced from ones face?

# Answer
There is some research in the realm of sex differences and hormonal effects of aggression. The hypothesis meant by that is not so much the rather obvious one that male faces reliably cue "male" behaviour; although that is an important fact. For example, if a person has a beard, they are much more likely to be sexually attracted to women than to men. However, perhaps more in response to the intent than the phrasing of the question, researchers have speculated that "sexually dimorphic facial width-to-height ratio may be an 'honest signal' of propensity for aggressive behaviour". The idea behind this is that a common component, testosterone, underlies and causes both wide, masculine faces and aggressive behaviour.

I personally am not yet convinced of the reliability of this research - for example, in the progress of this research programme, more and more mediators are discovered, which by some might be interpreted to indicate an unreliable finding. However, the basic concept seems to be what you're looking for.

More generally, for now, even the linkage between hormones or neuroanatomy on one hand, and behaviour on the other hand is rarely clear, reliable and strong. Few of the variance in behaviour can be expected to be read off of facial configurations.
> 3 votes

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Tags: cognitive-psychology
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# Question
Title: What is the null hypothesis, when there is no research hypothesis?
(a) Apples grow to different sizes, from small to average and large. Farmers want large apples.

(b) There is this rare bug, the apple bark bug, which lives in the bark of apple trees. Due to its rarity, the apple bark bug is not well understood.

(c) Agronomists are divided about the effect the apple bark bug has on the size of apples. Some believe that apples from trees that have been infested with colonies of this bug are smaller than on trees without such an infestation; others believe that in fact they are larger.

The ministry for agriculture has commissioned a study on the effects of the apple bark bug on apple size. Based on the results of this study they want to either exterminate the apple bark bug, ignore it, or cultivate it. There is no scientific literature on the matter, there is no reliable data, and the research institute commissioned with this study now wonders:

**What should be the null hypothesis?**

As natural scientists they know they cannot present their limited observations as general fact, but only falsify a hypothesis. But what should it be?

The third semester student apprentice from the nearby university, who has just finished a course in the theory of measurement, suggests:

H0 : Applebug = Appleno bug

H1 : Applebug ≠ Appleno bug

His friend, who has heard the same lecture, rolls her eyes and suggests:

H0 : Applebug ≤ Appleno bug

H1 : Applebug \> Appleno bug

The research group leader smiles and compliments them on their attentiveness.

**What does he suggest?**

*This is, of course, an example, illustrating a question relating to psychological research: How do we define the null hypothesis, if we have no presupposition about the effects of an intervention?*

# Answer
> 6 votes
So your independent variable is the bug, and your dependent variable is apple size.

The question asks whether you are testing a directional hypothesis. Given that researchers are divided about the direction of the effect of the IV on the DV, it makes more sense to treat it as a non-directional hypothesis:

i.e., H0 is that apple size is equal with and without bugs. The alternative hypothesis is that they are not equal. Or in some senses, there are two alternative hypotheses, one suggesting an increase and another suggesting a decrease.

Of course, you ultimately want to conclude whether there is a difference and if so what is the direction of the effect. Thus, confidence intervals from a frequentist perspective or a posterior density from a bayesian perspective might be more useful in understanding the direction and degree of any effect.

You may also want to read about suggestions for testing the hypothesis of no group differences.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I encounter a lot of situations like this in personality research. I don't think it's true that:

> As natural scientists they know they cannot present their limited observations as general fact, but only falsify a hypothesis.

Limited observations of empirical information are still as factual as anything else. One may not want to present explanations of them as general *theory*, but one doesn't need a null hypothesis to generate theory. If the ministry's budget for the study is set, and the sampling procedure is too, then why not just collect the data and describe it the best one can? The scenario suggests a natural quasi-experiment, so causal inference would be limited unless laboratory-controlled experiments were used instead of naturalistic observation...and controlled experiments still might fail to apply to natural ecosystems by limiting the bugs' expression of any preferences they might have. Given no perfect solution, it seems inferential power is inevitably limited in this scenario. I don't see any hope for retaining a confirmatory hypothesis testing framework either, given the explicit lack of a hypothesis to confirm.

In an exploratory framework, clear data description is roughly as good as (even debatably better than) hypothesis testing. It doesn't pretend to be something it's not if reported appropriately, and doesn't replace real information with a choice of simplistic models. One way to take an exploratory approach in this case would be to estimate the effect size of the group difference and calculate confidence intervals. If zero is within your confidence interval, you might not want to reject the null hypothesis, but then again, why wouldn't you? It's probably false anyway, even if it's only ever-so-slightly off in whichever direction, even if only due to other uncontrolled variables. IMO, better to focus on what you *do* know:

> $${\rm Apple}\_{\rm bug}\ne{\rm Apple}\_\text{no bug}\\d=\frac{\bar{x}\_{\rm bug} - \bar{x}\_\text{no bug}}{s\_{\rm pooled}}\\\{\rm CI}\_{d(1-\alpha)}=\text{\[Lower bound, Upper bound\]}$$

I don't see why the ministry couldn't make an appropriate decision based on this information; none of its limits are unnecessary AFAIK, whereas the value of a test statistic is tied to the choice of null. What if the ministry only cares about substantial nonzero effects, but throws enough money at it to detect very small effects reliably? A rejected null then does less good than a narrow confidence interval, which might rule out both zero effect and substantially larger than zero effects given a small effect and large sample.

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Tags: measurement
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# Question
Title: Do the brains of non-altruistic persons mirror the observed experience of suffering?
Altruistic behavior can have different motivations: from the hope that the help you give will ultimately benefit yourself (social exchange theory) to a selfless wish to alleviate someone's suffering.

Selfless altruism is motivated by empathy. According to C. Daniel Batson, "if you feel empathy towards another person you will help them, regardless of what you can gain from it".

An observer experiences empathic concern when brain regions are activated in him that are similar to those activated in a person who is experiencing a particular sensation (cf. mirror neuron).

**Do the brains of non-altruistic (selfish, egoistic) persons – i.e. persons who *do not* show altruistic behavior in the face of suffering – mirror the observed experience of suffering (and is this information simply ignored) or do their brains not mirror the observed emotions at all?**

If selfish brains show mirroring, what hems altruistic behavior in selfish brains, or what facilitates it in selfless brains?

# Answer
I'd go for the jugular in non-empathetics: sociopaths and psychopaths, people who clinically lack the ability to empathize. There *is* a difference in their brains.

You might be interested in the story of the neuroscientist Dr. James Fallon..

Fallon wanted to identify lack of empathy as a brain patern. He had PET scans of serial killers mixed with a host of other mental illnesses and disorders in an attempt to predict accurately psychopaths. He found a particular pattern again and again which was striking.

> “I was looking at many scans, scans of murderers mixed in with schizophrenics, depressives and other, normal brains,” he says. “Out of serendipity, I was also doing a study on Alzheimer’s and as part of that, had brain scans from me and everyone in my family right on my desk.”
>
> “I got to the bottom of the stack, and saw this scan that was obviously pathological,” he says, noting that it showed low activity in certain areas of the frontal and temporal lobes linked to empathy, morality and self-control. Knowing that it belonged to a member of his family, Fallon checked his lab’s PET machine for an error (it was working perfectly fine) and then decided he simply had to break the blinding that prevented him from knowing whose brain was pictured. When he looked up the code, he was greeted by an unsettling revelation: the psychopathic brain pictured in the scan was his own.

Perhaps because boldness and disinhibition are noted psychopathic tendencies, Fallon didn't hide that discovery; instead he started to study it. He found that his family line included seven alleged murderers, including Lizzie Borden\*. A series of genetic tests revealed the presence of high-risk alleles for aggression, violence and low empathy.

You can see normal empathy vs. psychopath scan differences in the linked source.

\*Maybe you remember this childhood rhyme (I do): Lizzie Borden took an axe/ gave her mother forty whacks./ When she saw what she had done,/ She gave her father forty-one.
> 2 votes

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Tags: social-psychology, emotion, cognitive-neuroscience, altruism, empathy
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# Question
Title: Is there a psychological term for finding your former partner sexually attractive?
Is there a psychological term for finding your former partner sexually attractive, or for wanting to get back with your ex? How does science describe this condition?

# Answer
> 4 votes
FWIW, I've tried to find existing research on this and come up with next-to-nothing. Hypothetically speaking, I doubt it would be constructive to adopt new psychological jargon that even social and personality psychologists (like myself) have never heard of, given how little research there appears to be on this. The closest match I found was the following reference, which doesn't really discuss sexual attraction or infatuation:

Rubin, Z., Peplau, L. A., & Hill, C. T. (1981). Loving and leaving: Sex differences in romantic attachments. *Sex Roles, 7*(8), 821–835. Retrieved from http://www.peplaulab.ucla.edu/Peplau\_Lab/Publications\_files/Rubin\_Peplau\_Hill\_81.pdf.

Anyway, if it's jargon you want, you might consider passion, lust (this has somewhat more negative connotation than I'd expect an author to desire, but at least one article uses it), limerence, or infatuated love. These don't connote the existence of a broken commitment, but infatuated love does connote a lack of commitment or intimacy by Sternberg's definition, and all connote sexual attraction.

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Tags: social-psychology, terminology, sexuality
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# Question
Title: Is EEG brain-computer interface reliable?
I am a computer science student \[assume I have very little knowledge of the biological part of EEG\]. I recently came across the topic EEG and was pretty interested in it. As far as I know, we get an analog signal (measuring potential) from the brain, convert it to digital and feed to computer, and thus we are able identify different brain activities.

My question is how reliable this signal is. Will we be able to differentiate between different activities (like a thought to increase volume of television, not feeling well, etc.)?

# Answer
This very much depends on what, *exactly*, you're trying to do.

EEG measurements tend to be extremely reliable, but the inferences one may draw on mental state are not necessarily so.

EEG-driven BCI overwhelmingly relies on machine learning to correctly classify signals into a finite number of categories and act upon them. Typically, you'll do something like this:

1. Record EEG sessions where people are cued to think of any number of 'triggers' (e.g. turning up the volume of a television set).
2. Segment the recording into epochs by drawing a window around the time at which the subject was told to think of the trigger.
3. Extract time-insensitive features from the epochs and label them based on the trigger type. (e.g.: something as simple as a rolling-window mean over each sensor).
4. Train a supervised classifier (usually a support vector machine) on the feature vectors.
5. Use the classifier to decode future brain activity in real time.

Of course, there are many subtleties and machine learning is a vast topic in and of itself. The point here is that your question is too ambiguous to be answered directly.

To reiterate, EEG is reliable, but as with most things, it comes with a number of caveats:

* Scalp-level voltage topographies can vary massively across individuals because of anatomical differences
* EEG is very sensitive to electromagnetic noise
* Non research-grade EEGs (e.g.: EMOTIV EPOC) have few channels, tend to be noisy, and often lose contact
* Cap placement is hard to do reliably outside of the laboratory
> 12 votes

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Tags: theoretical-neuroscience, computational-modeling, eeg, human-factors
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# Question
Title: How can I design a staircase function that converges on a given hit-rate?
I'm in the process of creating a simple contrast staircase function where subjects are initially presented with high-contrast Gabor patches and are subsequently queried as to their orientation in a forced-choice task.

I only understand staircase functions superficially, which is to say that I conceive them as follows:

1. present a stimulus
2. query some feature of the stimulus
3. If correct, reduce the intensity of the stimulus by `n`, else increase its intensity by `m` where `m < n`.

Intuitively, it seems like this should converge on a hit-rate of .5, but I know for a fact that a staircase can be designed to converge on an arbitrary hit-rate. How would I modify my simplistic algorithm to converge on, say, .8 ?

Thank you!

# Answer
> 6 votes
If `n != m` then it will not home in on the 50 % threshold. In these simple N-up/N-down staircases, you can modify either the stepsize (as you proposed) or the number of successes/failures to act as a criterion for upgrade/downgrade.

A comprehensive introduction to these staircases and the effect of changing these properties can be found in this paper. The 80 % threshold is simple because it's simply nDown=1 and nUp=3 with the same stepsize in either direction.

Several staircase methods are implemented in the PsychoPy python package/software and it actually has the nDown=1 and nUp=3 as default value if you don't specify anything else.

Note: If you can assume a nice mathematical relationship between stimulus parameter and perception (i.e. linear, logistic, power etc.), then it'll probably be more efficient to use regression because even though your parameter is way off the desired threshold, it's still informative about the mathematical relationship. Thus you can use it to infer where the threshold should be and home in much more efficiently than the "scanning-like" approach of N-up/N-down methods.

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Tags: methodology, psychophysics
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# Question
Title: Where do our memories get stored and how are they retrieved again?
There is a common knowledge that several brain areas are involved in memory processes and each area is involved in a different aspect of memory.

But where do our memories get stored and how are they retrieved again?

# Answer
> -5 votes
To explain this, it depends how far we want to go with the answers.

According to Wikipedia, it's one of the question on List of unsolved problems in neuroscience related to Learning and memory which are:

* Where do our memories get stored and how are they retrieved again?
* How can learning be improved?
* What is the difference between explicit and implicit memories?
* What molecule is responsible for synaptic tagging?

There are many unknowns in that field, because it's paradox of using our brains to understand our brains. Basically our brains are too complex and if we were simpler, we'd be dumber and couldn't understand it, anyway.

As Ian Stewart quotes:

> 'If our brains were simple enough for us to understand them, we'd be so simple that we couldn't.'

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Here are some answers according to mainstream science:

> All our memories do get stored by the brain for varying periods of time; some are stored in our short term memory and don't stick with us for very long, while others are filed away in our long term memory. The actual capacity of our brains for storing memories has been difficult for scientists to determine, though it is believed that because our brains consist of a vast number of neurons
>
> Experts believe the brain uses three memory-storing stages: sensory, short-term and long-term. The different stages act as filters, beginning with when we first see something, until the flood of information is processed. The filtering protects us from having too much unnecessary information requiring storage. Perception, therefore, is the first step in memory creation and is associated with the sensory stage, where the registration of information during perception takes place for a brief second. Sensory and short-term memory information tends to decay rapidly, with only the important information gradually moved to long-term memory.
>
> Short-term memories like a possible chess move, or a hotel room number are processed in the front of the brain in a highly developed area called the pre-frontal lobe, according to McGill University and the Canadian Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction.
>
> Science tells us that while our brain may store different types of memories in various areas of the brain, recalling a memory is a brain-wide process.
>
> Types of memories and where they are stored in the brain include:
>
> * Semantic memory: General knowledge, trivia and facts are stored in the temporal lobe and the cortex.
> * Episodic memory: New data and recent events are stored in the prefrontal cortex and the temporal lobe.
> * Working memory: Information and knowledge required for daily life -- such as telephone numbers and learned skills like driving --
> are stored in the prefrontal cortex.
> * Procedural memory: Secondhand skills, things we take for granted, such as walking and cycling, are stored in the cerebellum.
>
> While it isn't known exactly how many connections are possible in the brain, or how large the storage area for memory might be, scientist do know that our memories are not stored in one memory center in the brain, rather, the events and experiences of a single memory may be stored in many different areas of the brain. For example, when someone recalls a trip to the beach, he or she might remember that the sand was white, the ocean was blue, the air smelled like salt water and seagulls were squawking. To recall that one memory, the brain doesn't visit the "beach memory center," but pulls the different components together from various cortices. The blue water and white sand are retrieved from the visual cortex, the salt water smell from the olfactory cortex, and the squawking gulls from the auditory cortex.
>
> For the average person, not every memory is consolidated, or stored, in long term memory, freeing up space. But in certain rare cases of exceptional memories, some people have been known to store and perfectly recall nearly every detail of every memory from most of their lives, a syndrome known as hyperthymestic syndrome. Researchers declared the first known case of hyperthymesia in a subject known as AJ, a then 40-year-old woman could accurately recall every event that had ever happened to her since the time she was 14 years old.

Another thing what is also interesting to point, that Einstein's brain was removed during an autopsy and kept it in hopes of studying it to unlock the secret of Einstein's genius. It's theorized that the lack of the fissure allowed his brain cells to communicate faster than the average human's. In summary the three histological studies of Einstein’s brain have, in spite of claims to the contrary, found essentially no differences between his brain and that of controls. This should not come as any great surprise. The brain is obviously an extremely complex structure… to believe that the analyses of one or a few tiny slices of a single brain could reveal anything related to the specific cognitive abilities of that brain is naive.

Sources:

See also:

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According to New Age movement and similar (not supported by the mainstream science) our brain is a biological computer that interfaces with a conscious entity (our consciousness, soul or higher-self). And our experiences/memories are stored in forms of the akashic records (on quantum level in forms of photons) in our DNA (which is our quantum mechanical biowave computer) as part of our etheric body and are retrieved by our consciousness by our free will. Various of peoples out-of-body experiences supports that theory including some scientific evidences. Our brains still have some storage function, but it's not the main repository of our memories/experiences.

The scientific theories are in favor for above:

Including controversial project called Global Consciousness Project relating to the anomalous spikes that precede the towers being hit 9/11.

There is also the new research from Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, has shown that it is possible for some information to be inherited biologically through chemical changes that occur in DNA.

See also DNA is a Torsion field antenna by Dr. Len Horowitz and scientist proves DNA can be reprogrammed by words and frequencies.

Scientists which support New Age theory are i.e. Max Planck, Robert Lanza, Gregg Braden and many more.

Famous quotes:

> “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.” – Max Planck, Nobel Prize winning originator of quantum theory, as quoted in The Observer (25 January 1931)
>
> Max Planck said "As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter" in 1944.
>
> Albert Einstein: "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind."

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# Answer
> -2 votes
This is a good question.

The question of "where" is not answered yet by mainstream science. One problem is the huge amount of data we get only through our eyes each day, approximately about one terrabyte if this data is compressed by modern algorithms. A lifetime of 100 years would be almost impossible to store "*inside our brain*".

There are some alternative theories which could explain how the brain stores data. Maybe our brain works like a antenna, similar to a computer which has a access to a vast data pool from the internet. You could ask the question where is the movie inside the television or where is the internet inside the computer? Certainly a computer has a harddrive, a local data storage unit and a cpu, but it is very limited in processing everyday data for a lifetime. It would be very restricted if it would not access to outer data pools.

Carl Gustav Jung has wrote about the theory of a collective subconsciousness and he was in contact with Wolfgang Pauli, a quantum physics pioneer. I would not wonder if we one day discover that our memory is nonlocal.

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Tags: neuroscience, memory, neuroimaging
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# Question
Title: Difficulty of having profound scientific discussions with more than 2 or 3 people?
I am a physicist and the other day, a friend of mine pointed out something that I had never noted explicitly before. This is an empirical observation, but it seems true to me, and it may raise a lot of questions about the current organization of research. I wonder whether this has already been documented and studied, either from the sociological or psychological points of view.

The observation is that fundamental discussions on physics (i.e. implying non-standard physics and epistemology) often occur in discussions involving at most 2 or 3 good friends (all being physicists). The more people you involve (5 or 6 good friends), the harder it is to speak about these subjects. It is not "explicit"; it is just a personal feeling that a kind of "social pressure" appears and tends to bring the discussion closer to "standard discussion subjects". And it seems to occur even if all possible subgroups of 2 or 3 people among the global group of 5 or 6 people are OK with having fundamental discussions on physics when they are isolated from each other.

My questions are:

* Is this a well-known effect? (Any links to studies?)
* What is its origin?
* How to avoid it?

# Answer
> 4 votes
It seems to be related to a kind of "Peer pressure".

This is due the change of the context. A profound discussion is regarded as *confidential talk* and you will notice that the voice volume is lower than a discussion with many people.

But why is a profound discussion regarded as confidential?

Maybe because you could touch scientific taboos. Every time you touch the foundation of a world view you will confront all participants with their fears. The world view represents a aspect of security. Exposing lacks in a world view will expose the fears of them too. Then it's much more difficult to find a common ground for a solution. Not everybody is willed to accept the implication of a certain insight.

A discussion with more people will tend to go towards superficial topics, cars, home, family, weather and so on.

But it depends on who initiate the talk and if this person is keen enough to enforce this topic. And I think that Keegan is right, sometimes we just want to be polite and we want the discussion to be more open ... maybe more open to the "general context" of the situation itself.

# Answer
> 1 votes
As I see the issue in question is this:

> In a larger group of cohorts the topic of conversation becomes less than profound due to a sense of pressure to remain within an accepted norm.

One could definitely say that this is a "well known effect" simply because we all experience it at some point in our lives.

This closely resembles the infamous Bystander Effect, where the size of the group directly impacts the likelihood an individual will take action. Whatever the reasons may be for people in academia to succumb to social peer pressures is anyone's guess :) and I am fairly certain many of you reading this question can answer this, albeit to yourselves but for more insight as to why this might happen - Stanley Milgram's work might shine some light on this. A good summation of his work is described here, on the Psychology in Action site.

A specific answer to the origin of this really depends on your school of taught (not thought :)). Ultimately, this discussion would boil down to nature or nurture, do we shape our environment or does it shape us?

Ultimately, to avoid it, simply be the bold one to bring up profound topics of conversation with the purpose of enriching those around you. This will prove a wondrous thing for those 2 to 3 friends with whom you have these conversations. For the rest, well, does it really matter - you can bring a horse to water, but you ...we all know this one :).

Keep in mind that profound conversation will lead to profound results, which is important in your field, perhaps more than any other - Physics define our reality!

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, social-psychology, behaviorism
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title: Difference between anxiety and stress?

text:
# Question
Title: Difference between anxiety and stress?
I am learning about stress and anxiety recently. I understood what stress is, but I couldn't get exactly what anxiety is. I know there are six types of anxiety disorders, and I understood them. But anxiety is a widely-known term used a lot on the internet, but I don't know what exactly they mean by that.

One difference I came across is that the stress after the stressor is gone is known as anxiety. So if someone can tell me what exactly this anxiety is, I will be glad. Thanks.

# Answer
What is Anxiety? Give this a read. I like this explanation of anxiety best, however:

> A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

What is Stress? Give this a read also. For an explanation of stress as it pertains to your question, I like this best:

> A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.

How do the two differ? One can cause the other. Give this a read. Ultimately, stress can lead to anxiety, meaning that mental or emotional strain can lead to a general sense of fear toward imminent events with uncertain outcomes.

Furthermore, everything we experience in our lives where we feel discomfort can be described as stress or stressful, but it's not until it leads to an immobilizing state where we cannot process the world around us – e.g., inability to move, speak or think because of an onset of fear caused, typically, by an interpretation of a previous event where the outcome was too painful, or in other ways emotionally damaging, that one might then attribute said stress to be anxiety.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Everyone normally experiences anxiety. Worrying is a form of anxiety, as is nervousness. People have normal anxieties about all kinds of things: a coming review or exam, an illness or our health, our weight, our food, social gatherings with persons not well known, public speaking, financial uncertainties, the way we are disciplining our children, whether our children will turn out well, what we should do with our lives, etc., etc.

Anxiety is part of every life. If you have ever worried, fussed, hovered, feared, gotten butterflies in your stomach, or wanted to "run and hide", you have experienced anxiety.

Anxiety occurs on a continuum. It is abnormal to feel no anxiety. On the other end, it is abnormal to feel too much anxiety, or irrational anxiety.

But when you say, "I couldn't get exactly what anxiety is", it's because you're calling it something else. If you've ever been surprised (not in a good way) by a police car behind you turning on it's lights, or have been nervous about an approaching dog, worried you left the stove on, a window opened or the doors unlocked, have feared getting into trouble, worried about meeting your girlfriend's parents or felt uncomfortable walking in a bad neighborhood alone, then you know what anxiety is.

An anxiety disorder occurs when anxiety is so intense that it is interfering in some way with your normal life. But since you did not ask about anxiety disorders, I will leave it at that.
> 2 votes

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Tags: terminology, stress, anxiety
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