# Question
Title: What is the modern definition for problem solving?
Apart from Polya's definition of problem solving in 1981, "finding a way out of a difficulty, a way around an obstacle, attaining an aim that was not immediately attainable.", is there a better modern definition that would reflect the systematic nature of problem solving?

**Reference**

Polya, G. (1981). *Mathematics discovery: An understanding, learning, and teaching problem solving (combined edition)*. New York: John Willey & Son.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The definition of problem solving can be different between researchers and regions of the world for various reasons. Frensch & Funke (2014) stated that:

> researchers adopt definitions that they perceive as useful, that is, that are consistent with their beliefs, knowledge and theoretical goals. A definition can therefore be neither static, nor commonly accepted. Rather, for any domain of research, a number of meaningful definitions co-exist. In the area of problem-solving research, the current theoretical goals are different for North American and European researchers. The primary goal adopted by many North American researchers is to understand task performance and learning in natural knowledge domains. The primary goal adopted by many European researchers, in contrast, is to understand how people deal with complex, novel task situations. Because the theoretical goals differ for the two traditions, the definitions that have been adopted differ as well. Consequently, the two traditions are not concerned with the same phenomenon, and any comparison of research findings runs the risk of being meaningless.

Reasons for their statement is given in the whole section of the book (pages 13-19), which is readable via the Google Books website

In order to **try** to come up with an integrated definition, they came up with the definition of:

> overcoming barriers between a given state and a desired goal state by means of behavioural and/or cognitive multistep activities (page 18).

**Reference**

Frensch, P. A., & Funke, J. (2014). Definitions of Problem Solving: The European Approach. In: *Complex problem solving: The European perspective*. New York: Psychology Press. pp. 13-19

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, problem-solving
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# Question
Title: How does emotional stress cause skeletal muscle rigidity?
It is believed that when we are under stress our skeletal muscles tense up. However I am unable to explain why.Emotional stress is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system which has effects only on smooth muscles. However skeletal muscles are controlled by the somatic nervous system, so I was wondering what are some theories that explain tension on skeletal muscles?

# Answer
> 2 votes
**Short answer**
The stress response included norepinephrine release, in turn increasing blood pressure. This may cause muscle tension.

**Background**
What an interesting question. To my surprise, I couldn't find convincing causal explanations, linking emotional stress and muscle tension.

In one study, study participants were exposed to **emotional stress**. The authors found a positive correlation between muscle (EMG) activity and blood pressure. They also found a significant positive correlations between stress and norepinephrine (NE) release. The latter plays an important role in blood pressure homeostasis and is released during stress as part of the **HPA axis response**. These results seem to indicate that stress results in NE release, followed by increase in blood pressure (this is a known stress response). The increase in blood pressure could then lead to muscle tension. However, as the authors explain, the results do not explain whether these associations represent the effect of a general underlying factor (e.g., psychological arousal) or a more direct interdependence of blood pressure and muscular tension. In other words, a correlation was found, but no causal relationships can be deduced.

<sub>**Reference**
**-** Lundberg *et al*, *International J Behav Med* (1994); **1**(4): 354-70</sub>

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Tags: physiology, stress
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# Question
Title: Correlation between anorexia and mass media stereotypes
I know **anorexia is a complex phenomenon**. I've been reading on Wikipedia that:

> Sociocultural studies have highlighted the role of cultural factors, such as the promotion of thinness as the ideal female form in Western industrialized nations, particularly through the media. There is a necessary connection between anorexia nervosa and culture; culture may be a cause, a trigger, or merely a kind of social address or envelope which determines in which segments of society or in which cultures anorexia nervosa will appear. The strong thesis of this connection is that culture acts as a cause by providing a blueprint for anorexia nervosa. A moderate thesis is that a specific cultural factors trigger the illness which is determined by many factors including family interactions, individual psychology, or biological predisposition. Culture change can trigger the emergence of anorexia in adolescent girls from immigrant families living in highly industrialized Western Societies.\[89\] People in professions where there is a particular social pressure to be thin (such as models and dancers) were much more likely to develop anorexia during the course of their career,\[90\] and further research has suggested that those with anorexia have much higher contact with cultural sources that promote weight-loss.

Source: Sociological section of Wikipedia on anorexia nervosa

It seems that the mass media can contribute in the diffusion of anorexia. But I wonder if **statistics suggest that this disease has got a boom of cases of in the last years.**

Source: Media effects section of Wikipedia on anorexia nervosa

# Answer
> 2 votes
**Short answer**
According to a study dating 6 years back, the incidence rate of anorexia nervosa was stable over several decades.

**Background**
According to a review paper published in 2012, the overall incidence rate of eating disorders, including anorexia, was stable over the previous decades. However, there was an increase found in the high risk-group of 15–19 year old girls, but that might have been due to earlier detection of anorexia nervosa cases or an earlier age at onset (Smink *et al*., 2012).

Given that the tendency nowadays is a moving away from the stereotypical barbie-sized waistlines I reckon above study is a valid source of information, as I do not expect the number of anorectic people to be soaring.

Interestingly, while there are hosts of studies linking mass media and stereotyped ideal bodily proportions, a review study puts these findings in a different spot light. While the authors recognize mass media and eating disorders are linked, they question the size of the *impact* mass media has on these disorders. They did this by studying the correlation between social media versus negative body image and disordered eating in females (Levine & Murnen, 2009).

**References**
**-** Levine & Murnen, *J Soc Clin Psychol* (2009); **28**: 9-42
**-** Smink *et al*., *Curr Psychiatry Rep* (2012); **14**(4): 406–14

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Tags: social-psychology, abnormal-psychology, cross-cultural-psychology, feeding, eating-disorders
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# Question
Title: Is there any file format standard for EEG data?
I have started to do some research on EEG analysis. One of the challenging things I have found is the variability on the formats for the EEG files.

What do you do when you receive data your software does not support? Is it reasonable to ask the collaborators to convert the data to another format? Do you modify your software to incorporate the details of the new format?

Is there any EEG format out there that is considered standard? Do the EEG manufacturers provide converters to that format in their software?

Thanks,

-drd

# Answer
As far as I know, short answer is no - there is no gold standard for EEG files. But EEG is a time series (amplitude) from several channels. So the most common way to represent it is columns as electrodes and rows as points of time. I think almost all software is possible to read such structure as txt file. But EEG is not only time series. Usually it is important to have additional channel with event markers. It make the situation a little bit tricky. But usually popular software is able to read most of EEG data formats and it's not difficult to write a custom function for reading your data.
> 4 votes

# Answer
You talk about the challenge of the variability in EEG data formats --- While I am (unfortunately) not aware of a standard EEG data format, there are attempts to standardize the way that EEG data could be shared:

The Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) tries to clarifying the structure of directories and meta data necessary when sharing neuro-imaging data. BIDS started out for MRI data (with the NIfTI format as a standard data format) and so far it is not completely specified for EEG data (partly, because there is no standard data format yet).

However, there is an ongoing process to make an extension to BIDS for EEG.

EDITS:

* Thesis related to diversity of EEG data formats
* Journal article about a further attempt at specifying a standard format (though for all neuro data)
> 2 votes

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Tags: eeg, reproducible-research, task-analysis
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# Question
Title: In psychiatry, what does double-bookkeeping mean?
### TL;DR What does double bookkeeping mean? +1 for sharing stories about your Tappy

Tappy (Talbott) has always been a tad odd, but who'd blame him, right? The guy took a whole bunch of tropane delieriants, then locked everyone out of his apartment, flipping out for reasons unknown, then in all the chaos, seriously cut an artery on the side of his head.

Now, Tappy tells me that one term he picked up from his $350/hr psychiatrist is the concept of "doublebookkeeping" ... My impression is that it has to do with

From wiki:

> **Double Bookkeeping.** The tendency, among those who experience delusions, to perceive reality and the delusions as both being real, while remaining unbothered by the discrepancy or inconsistencies between the two.

Isn't this description the same as the concept of reality testing? You may have weird things go on all around you, but it's not so much as "*aliens are inserting thoughts into my mind* as it is just merely a more open-minded approach to one's phenomenology: "It would appear *as* though..." "*aliens are doing this to me*

## **So, within the context of psychistry, mental-health, or psychology, how might one interpret the term doublebookkeeping?**

1. Does it relate, if even only thematically, to the actual accounting concept of of double-entry bookkeeping?
2. My alternative interpretation is that it means "take the raw crazy inside your head" ("insanity"), run it through a cultural appropriateness filter, process, shake, dress it up for mainstream consumption, and then release: hello outsanity.
3. Or, do you reckon Tappy lied to me just to sound cool?

# Answer
Within Psychiatry and psychology, Double Bookkeeping, also known as Double Entry Bookkeeping is **not quite the same as double entry bookkeeping within accountancy**. Within Psychiatry and Psychology, it refers to the tendency, among those who experience delusions, to perceive both the reality and the delusions as being real. **There are discrepancies or inconsistencies between the two within psychiatry which the affected person may not be bothered about**, whereas within accountancy, the two entries made in different parts of accounts records are there to reconcile the records and ensure **there are no** discrepancies or inconsistencies.

**Example Accountancy Double Bookkeeping**

The main accounts ledger may have a record of a transaction paying $100.00 towards a dept to *Debt and Renters Ltd.*

Meanwhile another entry will be made in the debts record for *Debt and Renters Ltd.* stating that **on the same date in the main ledger**, \\$100.00 has been taken off the debt, with the running balance remaining being $100.00 less than previous.

All records reconcile, showing no discrepancies or inconsistencies.

**In psychiatry and psychology**

Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist, Eugen Bleuler in *Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias* (his 1911 seminal study, translated from German into English in 1950 by Joseph Zinkin) said on pages 56:

> It is especially important to know that these patients carry on a kind of “double-entry bookkeeping” in many of their relationships. They know the real state of affairs as well as the falsified one and will answer according to the circumstances with one kind or the other type of orientation—or both together. This last is especially frequent in mis(-)recognizing people: the physician “is now here as Dr. N.,” at other times he becomes the former lover.

With this, "Dr. N." is both a former lover and their physician whilst in reality, Dr. N. was never their lover. Without the ability to carry out reality checking efficiently, they can refer to either or both as being true.

**In accounts ledgers terms** there are two entries in the person's main record within the mind recording the facts concerning Dr. N. without a strong second record to refer to regarding the person's past lovers.

Jeneen Interlandi, wrote in The New York Times Magazine (2012)

> While we waited for the doctor to evaluate him, my father did what mental health professionals refer to as double-bookkeeping. He remembered most of what transpired earlier in the day but still believed he was in the hospital to have his pacemaker checked.

## References

Bleuler, E. (1950). Dementia praecox or the group of schizophrenias. Oxford, England: International Universities Press.

Interlandi, J. (2012). When My Crazy Father Actually Lost His Mind - New York Times Magazine
Accessible from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/magazine/when-my-crazy-father-actually-lost-his-mind.html

## See also

Bortolotti, L., & Broome, M. R. (2012). Affective dimensions of the phenomenon of double bookkeeping in delusions. *Emotion Review*, 4(2), 187-191.
DOI: 10.1177/1754073911430115

and

Carruthers, B. G., & Espeland, W. N. (1991). Accounting for rationality: Double-entry bookkeeping and the rhetoric of economic rationality. *American journal of sociology*, 97(1), 31-69.
DOI: 10.1057/9780230304253\_12
> 2 votes

# Answer
I think "double bookkeeping" here refers to the practice of some unethical accountants of keeping two sets of accounting books - one with the "real" numbers for day-to-day use and one with the "show" numbers that are available for auditors, attorneys, etc. to view.

Thus, a patient who is engaged in "double bookkeeping" could be, in essence, keeping two sets of "books" in their minds, with those "books" being world-views or understandings of reality. One book might compartmentalize the "delusional" ideas (with the rational ideas stored in the other book), or delusional ideas might be apportioned among the books in such a way that each book is internally consistent (e.g. Book 1 says space aliens ate my brain, but there are no Crab People, while Book 2 says that there are Crab People who are controlling the House of Representatives and who are holding my brain hostage on Saturn but that my brain was not, in fact, eaten, and Crab People come from Memphis, not space).
> 0 votes

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Tags: terminology, dreams, psychiatry, psychology
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# Question
Title: Seeing others with anorexia nervosa vs. "thinspiration"
I am just curious about this one:

As far as I know, anorexia nervosa does not affect seeing others, so they don't see others as fat. They are reportedly seeing others in a realistic way. While I don't have experience with AN, it sounds understandable for me.

However, I have heard of "thinspiration", i.e. people showing others their thinness and inspiring others to get thin, too. This reportedly encourages people to continue with losing weight.

Each of those phenomena sound understandable alone. However, I don't understand those two together, maybe I misunderstand something: If they judge other people accurately and only misjudge themself, how can seeing someone utterly this make them wanting to be thinner?

I understand that feelings and rational thinking might be in conflict with each other\*, but this is not enough for me to understand those two phenomena together.

\*) I have some experience with conflicts between rational thinking and feelings due to emetophobia, so I can think out of bounds of pure rationality.

# Answer
> 1 votes
From my reading, I believe that anorexics can see others in the same way as us or they can also see other anorexics as normal. It seems that anorexics don't necessarily hallucinate rolls of fat or other shape differences between healthy and overweight or obese people.

Thomas et al. (2012) describes the case of ‘Ms A’, who described herself as having ‘3% of full vision’: she could detect only high contrast, some colour, and large shapes under optimal conditions, but otherwise nothing at all. Her anorexia began at age nine, with obsessive-compulsive disorder predating its onset, and anorexia and depression being formally diagnosed at age 14. When she was first admitted to a residential treatment programme, aged 19, Ms A denied the seriousness of her low body-weight (BMI 15.9) and didn’t manifest the psychological criterion for anorexia,

> intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.

Instead, she said that she refused food in order to provide a sense of ‘containment, safety, and control’ through the practice of self-restriction.

Talking about her disturbed body image, Ms A described typical features of anorexia in the sighted, including checking behaviours, body avoidance (e.g. avoiding tight clothing), and comparisons with others. As she put it, ‘I do all of the checking, but without the eyes’. She, like other blind sufferers from anorexia, used tactile body checking – feeling for bony protrusions in face, ribcage, spine, and hips, and assessing how tight her clothes felt.

This might mean that in anorexia, vision and touch lend themselves equally readily to involvement in the kinds of distortions that are characteristic of anorexia: over-generalisation (this part of my thigh looks/feels big, therefore I’m fat), and all-or-nothing thinking (either I can see/feel every rib clearly or I’m fat) (Troscianko, 2012)

With this borne in mind, thinspiration could exacerbate the problem if they compare their bone protrusions with the photos shown.

## References

National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (UK). Eating Disorders: Core Interventions in the Treatment and Management of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders. Leicester (UK): British Psychological Society (UK); 2004. (NICE Clinical Guidelines, No. 9.) Appendix 17, Diagnostic criteria for eating disorders. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK49317

Thomas, J. J., Weigel, T. J., Lawton, R. K., Levendusky, P. G., & Becker, A. E. (2012). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of body image disturbance in a congenitally blind patient with anorexia nervosa. *American Journal of Psychiatry*, 169(1), 16—20.
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10040555 PMID: 22223010

Troscianko, E. T. (2012). Seeing and (Not) Believing in Anorexia - PsychologyToday
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hunger-artist/201212/seeing-and-not-believing-in-anorexia

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Tags: feeding, eating-disorders
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# Question
Title: EEG in fMRI: High frequency "deltas" in EEG after gradient artifact removal
EEG was taken inside an fMRI, including ECG, EXG and eye tracking system. Sampling rate was 5000 Hz. Sync box was used. After running Brain Product Analyzer gradient artifact removal (using markers from the fMRI for each volume, and after removal- down sampling to 250 Hz.)- one could still identify high frequency "ripples" (high frequency oscillations) which ruined the CB cleaning. I planned to add some low pass or some other filter to get rid of these, and before performing the filter checked the spectrum of the noise and found the high frequency noises shown below. Any idea what causes these?

Thanks!

# Answer
> 2 votes
These seem to be simply gradient artifact remnants- Brain products analyzer didn't fully clean them.

Looking over the spectrogram of another EEG before the gradient artifact removal- it seems as if this noise is merely leftovers of the gradient artifact caused by the fMRI system (noticed that these spikes were greatly reduced by the brain vision analyzer gradient artifact cleaner, but in some cases- this transform left much noise in these frequencies).

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Tags: eeg, fmri
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# Question
Title: Does self-directed speech help or hurt a blind subject's auditory recognition?
Recently, it was found that self-directed speech was helpful to sighted subjects engaging in a visual search task:

> Participants searched for common objects, while being sometimes \[*sic*\] asked to speak the target’s name aloud. Speaking facilitated search, particularly when there was a strong association between the name and the visual target. As the discrepancy between the name and the target increased, speaking began to impair performance. Together, these results speak to the power of words to modulate ongoing visual processing.

So, if the subject were to be looking for a chair in a picture, saying the word "chair" aloud would lead to a more effective search. Since the two modalities (vision and hearing) are separate, one set of information can compliment the other set and "constructively interferes," if you will, in the scenario above.

In trying to establish whether a similar "constructive interference" would occur in the auditory domain, so I'm wondering whether an experiment wherein a subject who is blind (since birth) repeating a word to themselves would show an difference in that subject's ability to discriminate muffled or otherwise disguised words that they were asked to listen to and identify as part of a task.

Would the degree to which repeating a word was helpful or harmful still depend on the similarity between the word spoken out loud and the word to be discriminated? Or would there be a "destructive interference" effect under any circumstances, due to the same modality of hearing being used for the both discrimination of the information and the perception of the self-directed speech?

> Lupyan, G., Swingley, D. (2011). Self-directed speech affects visual search performance. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, iFirst, 1-18. DOI

# Answer
> 2 votes
It seems apparent that generating and hearing self-directed speech during discriminatory listening would inhibit said discrimination. This is because auditory processing of self-directed speech and audio processing in discriminatory listening would have to compete for resources in decoding auditory information, leading to poorer decoding of the already low-quality muffled audio.

If on the other hand the self-directed speech is performed only in-between the trials of discriminatory listening, then this competition for auditory-decoding resources no longer occurs. In this case, I expect that the self-directed speech would effectively prime cognitive resources that are involved in discriminating the source of the muffled speech. This, then, would result in improved discriminatory performance. At least that would be my initial hypothesis.

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Tags: sensation, hearing, auditory-discrimination, cross-modal, recognition
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# Question
Title: What exactly does paranoid mean in terms of psychoactive drugs?
When I went to my local marijuana dispensory, since recreational use of it is legal, they told me that when I first use it, I might get paranoid. When I read this word in context, I imagined somebody being afraid of getting caught. So, wouldn't you be paranoid if you didn't want other family members knowing that you smoked weed? Or, would this feeling or emotion be sharpened by THC?

# Answer
> When I read this word in context, I imagined somebody being afraid of getting caught.

I would say that in the context of Marihuana, and modern parlance, the phenomenology of what we might call "paranoia" is more akin to an exaggerated anxious-preoccupation with matters that one might otherwise not concern themselves with.

> So, wouldn't you be paranoid if you didn't want other family members knowing that you smoked weed? Or, would this feeling or emotion be sharpened by THC?

I think both. I know people who think that by paying attention to the emotions or concerns that are sharpened under the influence of Marihuana, they will gain some sort of insight into their own underlying preoccupations. In other words: you will only be paranoid of family members knowing you have consumed Marihuana if this was always floating around in your mind.

> when I first use it, I might get paranoid. When I read this word in context, I imagined somebody being afraid of getting caught.

In my native Australia, Marihuana is an illegal and dangerous narcotic.

However, supposing during my College days, before I got right with God, one of the Jazz musicians in my group pulled some out some leaves that he had dried earlier that day. And he rolled it and we smoked it just like you would an ordinary cigarette.

And I was crossing the road as the traffic lights were red. And all of a sudden I became self-conscious of the way in which I was walking and started feeling foolish and odd. And I started developing a concern that all people sitting in their cards, waiting for the lights to turn green, were watching me walking and knew I was walking strange. Which meant that they knew I was tripping on Marihuana.

I don't know, you tell me: is that paranoid, or social anxiety, or self-consciousness? Or Is it some deeper, profound insight into the thoughts that may have been floating around all along, just below my conscious awareness?

Or was I just really high, confused as fuck, and looking for something to eat at 2 a.m. in the morning?
> 2 votes

# Answer
Studies have shown that strong doses of THC can significantly increase paranoid thinking. See the article, "How Cannabis Causes Paranoia: Using the Intravenous Administration THC to Identify Key Cognitive Mechanisms Leading to Paranoia" by Freeman et al. for a more authoritative reference.

From the article:

> In this large study of intravenous THC (*Schizophrenia Bulletin*, Volume 41, Issue 2, 1 March 2015, Pages 391–399), it was definitively demonstrated that the drug triggers paranoid thoughts in vulnerable individuals. The most likely mechanism of action causing paranoia was the generation of negative affect and anomalous experiences.

And, certainly, anxiety over people “finding out” you are doing something that can be perceived as wrong or inappropriate can lead to paranoia.
> 3 votes

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Tags: neuroscience, emotion, drugs
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# Question
Title: Does a general impairment test exist, that specifically would be useful for the context of driving?
We know that alcohol negatively influences a driver's ability to drive. Governments typically combat this by making drunk driving illegal, and use the concentration of alcohol in breath or blood as the definitive measure as to whether a crime has been committed or not.

In this sense - alcohol in the blood/breath is merely a proxy for impairment, but one that is quite reliable - when one is drunk they're going to show alcohol in the blood stream, this is able to be accurately measured.

There are other ways a driver can be impaired as well - quite commonly through sleepiness/fatigue, but also other drugs, or distraction (driving while texting), or emotional distress.

The prospect of 'drugged driving' comes up quite commonly in discussions about legalising cannabis. Where there is a reliable test of alcohol impairment - it's not quite the same for cannabis and other drugs - the problem being that saliva tests can show the presence of the drug long after the person has sobered up. A blood test might be viable - but that's perhaps not practical, in terms of getting a cop to administer to a driver.

With fatigue, it's even more problematic - there's no drug to detect at all.

In light of this - has any general impairment test - that perhaps tests reaction times or some other metric, that can be administered at a roadside, been developed?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, CTC & Associates provides technical communications services for the transportation sector, and together with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), they put together a report on how to monitor driver fatigue:

> to serve as a synthesis of pertinent completed research to be used for further study and evaluation by MnDOT. This \[Transport Research Synthesis (TRS)\] does not represent the conclusions of either CTC & Associates or MnDOT. (MnDOT, 2015)

The following (apart from ESS - see below) are **some** of the studies presented in the MnDOT report.

## In-vehicle Technologies

Balkin, et al. (2011) talks about technologies which can detect or predict driver fatigue.

> Technologies that objectively detect or predict operator fatigue may be used to effectively complement or even supplant organizational or regulatory approaches. Over the past decade and a half, there have been considerable advances in relevant technologies, including onboard devices that monitor drivers’ state or level of performance as well as devices that predict fatigue in advance of a work cycle or trip.

Barr, Popkin and Howarth (2009) also reviews and discusses unobtrusive, in-vehicle, real-time drowsy driver detection and fatigue monitoring/alerting systems.

> The study focuses on recent developments in two areas:
>
> * Mathematical models that predict operator alertness and performance at different times. Factors involved in the assessment include the amount of sleep obtained or missed, circadian factors (the 24- hour cycle of physical, mental and behavioral changes) and workload.
> * Vehicle-based monitoring technologies that assess behavioral characteristics of the driver such as eye gaze, eye closure, head position and movement, and heart rate.

## Roadside and other Out-of-vehicle technologies

### Fitness for Duty

There is the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale \[KSS\] (Åkerstedt & Gillberg, 1990; Kaida, et al., 2006) and there is the Epworth Sleepiness Scale \[ESS\] (Johns, 1991). Both are self-report scales, frequently used in studies measuring subjective sleepiness, that measure the individual’s drowsiness. The KSS is a 9-point verbally anchored scale going from ‘extremely alert’ to ‘extremely sleepy–fighting sleep’, whereas the ESS uses a 4-point scale from *never doze* to *high chance* of dozing.

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) (named after The Epworth Sleep centre in Melbourne, Australia) is used by doctors here in the UK to point toward the possibility of sleep disorders such as Sleep Apnoea. You can see an example PDF of the questionnaire at the Warrington and Halton NHS Hospitals website. It is a self-evaluation questionnaire devised to determine general sleepiness **observed by the individual** based on usual chances of dozing off or falling asleep while engaged in eight different activities.

Not wishing to add any validity to the system, I thought I would mention that Optalert talks about a testing system they developed themselves and are promoting, called the Johns Drowsiness Scale (JDS). It was developed by Optalert’s Founding Director, and developer of ESS, Dr Murray Johns, and comparing it to ESS, and Blood Alcohol Concentration Readings, they say that

> With 30 Per Cent Of Road Fatalities Attributed To Drowsy Driving, At Optalert We Believe The Johns Drowsiness Scale (JDS™) Will, In The Near Future, Become As Important As Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Readings. (Source: JDS vs BAC - Optalert)

Whilst assessing the use of a simple balance task for assessing fitness for duty, Sargent et al. (2012) states:

> results indicate that postural balance may be a viable tool for assessing fatigue associated with time of day, but may not be useful for assessing fatigue associated with extended hours of wake.

### Roadside Testing

A pilot study was conducted (Forsman, et al., 2014) and it states that the method put together for the pilot...

> further developed, may provide a drowsiness test for roadside surveillance.

## Further Reading

> MnDOT. (2015) *Monitoring Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue*
> Retrievable form http://dotapp7.dot.state.mn.us/projectPages/pages/projectDetails.jsf?id=35917&type=DOCUMENT

Plus Chapters 9 & 10 of:

> National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. (2016). *Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health, and Highway Safety*. Washington (DC): National Academies Press
> DOI: 10.17226/21921 NBK: 384966 \[**Free PDF**\]

## References

Åkerstedt, T., & Gillberg, M. (1990). Subjective and objective sleepiness in the active individual. *International Journal of Neuroscience*, 52(1-2), 29-37.
DOI: 10.3109/00207459008994241 PMID: 2265922

Balkin, T. J., Horrey, W. J., Graeber, R. C., Czeisler, C. A., & Dinges, D. F. (2011). The challenges and opportunities of technological approaches to fatigue management. *Accident Analysis & Prevention*, 43(2), 565-572.
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2009.12.006

Barr, L., Popkin, S., & Howarth, H. (2009). *An evaluation of emerging driver fatigue detection measures and technologies* (No. FMCSA-RRR-09-005). United States: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Retreivable at https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/34394

Johns, M. W. (1991). A New Method for Measuring Daytime Sleepiness: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale. *Sleep*, 14(6), 540-545.
DOI: 10.1093/sleep/14.6.540

Forsman, P., Pyykkö, I., Toppila, E., & Hæggström, E. (2014). Feasibility of force platform based roadside drowsiness screening–A pilot study. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 62, 186-190.
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2013.09.015

Kaida, K., Takahashi, M., Åkerstedt, T., Nakata, A., Otsuka, Y., Haratani, T., & Fukasawa, K. (2006). Validation of the Karolinska sleepiness scale against performance and EEG variables. Clinical Neurophysiology, 117(7), 1574-1581.
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2006.03.011

MnDOT. (2015) *Monitoring Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue*
Retrievable form http://dotapp7.dot.state.mn.us/projectPages/pages/projectDetails.jsf?id=35917&type=DOCUMENT
TRSs are also searchable at http://dotapp7.dot.state.mn.us/projectPages/pages/homepage.jsf

Sargent, C., Darwent, D., Ferguson, S. A., & Roach, G. D. (2012). Can a simple balance task be used to assess fitness for duty?. *Accident Analysis & Prevention*, 45, 74-79.
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2011.09.030

# Answer
> 2 votes
> In light of this - has any general impairment test - that perhaps tests reaction times or some other metric, that can be administered at a roadside, been developed?

Yes. I believe it is called the Standardised Field Sobriety Test (SFST).

No, I'm quite serious -- read over your question, and consider whether a well-administered field sobriety test has utility as a "general impairment test" in things other than alcohol intoxication.

It involves the administration of a short battery of attentional, cognitive and behavioural tasks, whose results possess a degree of sensitivity and specificity in a number of risk factors for motor vehicle accidents.

The following reference identifies some parts of the SFST that are sensitive to sleep deprivation:

> **Sleep Deprivation Does Not Mimic Alcohol Intoxication on Field Sobriety Testing**
>
> Abstract: Previous research shows that sleep deprivation (SD) produces cognitive impairment similar to that caused by alcohol intoxication. Individual studies suggest that SD also causes deficits in motor skills that could be mistaken for intoxication. Consequently, SD often is used as a defense when an impaired driver is charged with driving while intoxicated. Twenty-nine adult subjects participated in two test sessions each, one after a full night’s rest and the other after wakefulness of at least 24 h. Subjects consumed prescribed amounts of alcohol during each session. Law enforcement officers conducted field sobriety tests identical to those with which a driver would be assessed at roadside. Researchers also measured clinical responses of visual function and vital signs. The presence and number of validated impairment clues increase with increasing blood alcohol concentration but not with SD. Thus, SD does not affect motor skills in a manner that would lead an officer to conclude that the suspect is intoxicated, unless intoxication also is present.

Being well-rested, for example, will increase your pupil size substantially.

> Governments typically combat this by making drunk driving illegal, and use the concentration of alcohol in breath or alcohol as the definitive measure as to whether a crime has been committed or not.

Huh? The crime is the BAC itself. However, I get what you're saying. BAC predicts something that is reliably associated with car accidents, so BAC itself is used as a proxy even if that "something" e.g. poor coordination is absent entirely.

> With fatigue, it's even more problematic - there's no drug to detect at all.

The overarching premise here, however, is that the only "weapon" to prevent fatigue-based accidents is through the use of a police-man's truncheon.

Also, are you concerned with fatigue, or hours since last having slept? Realistically, it is not possible to detect fatigue in the way that you are thinking. You could detect someone who "most certainly has not slept in the past 100 hours" but fatigue alone is a far more nuanced matter.

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Tags: reaction-time, drugs
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# Question
Title: The origin of the term "construct" in the cognitive sciences
So, I was just wondering - who can be attributed as originating the idea of a "construct" in psychology? Does the general concept of an epistemic "construct" feed directly into the way the term is used in psychological measurement and psychometrics?

My guess is that the idea of a "construct" originated with Piaget. Is this correct?

# Answer
> 2 votes
The term "construct" means:

> In a scientific theory, particularly within psychology, a *hypothetical construct* is an explanatory variable which is not directly observable. For example, the concepts of *intelligence* and *motivation* are used to explain phenomena in psychology, but neither is directly observable. (Source)

The earliest reference I can find to the term "construct" is from Clark L. Hull (1943) pp. 21—22

> In some cases there may be employed in scientific theory a whole series of hypothetical unobserved entities; such a series is presented by the hierarchy of postulated physical entities: molecule, atom, and electron,the molecule supposedly, being constituted of atoms and the atom in its turn being constituted of electrons.
>
> A rough parallel to this chain of hypothetical entities from the physical sciences will be encountered in the present system of behavior theory. For the above reasons the subject of symbolic constructs, intervening variables, or hypothetical entities which are not directly observable requires comment.
>
> Despite the great value of logical constructs or intervening variables in scientific theory, their use is attended with certain difficulties and even hazards.

## Reference

Hull, C. L. *Principles of behavior*. New York: Appleton-Century, 1943 \[**Free PDF**\]

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Tags: cognitive-psychology, measurement, terminology, validation
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# Question
Title: Does masturbation in men negatively affect cognitive processes?
Gary Wilson has mentioned that porn and masturbation is an addiction that negatively affect mental performance. Moreover, there is some "pseudo-science" claiming that abstaining from masturbation increases testosterone. I believe it increases serum testosterone levels after 7 day. I think that pornography negatively affects working memory.

**Does abstaining from masturbation in men significantly change cognitive processes?**

# Answer
> 9 votes
There's one condition that is linked to negative cognitive effects after masturbation in a small subset of population, it is called Post Orgasmic Illness Syndrome (POIS):

> The sufferer experiences mental symptoms, physical symptoms, or both. Common mental symptoms include cognitive dysfunction, intense discomfort, irritability, anxiety, craving for relief, susceptibility to nervous system stresses (e.g. cold), depressed mood, and difficulty communicating, remembering words, reading and retaining information, concentrating, and socialising. Physical symptoms include severe fatigue, mild to severe headache, and flu-like and allergy-like symptoms, such as sneezing, itchy eyes, nasal irritation, and muscle pain. Affected individuals may also experience intense warmth

So to answer your question - **masturbation/orgasm does negatively affect cognition in people affected with POIS**. There's another condition that may be similar : Post-coital tristesse

This may/may not be related, but prolactin, a hormone with multiple functions is elevated for multiple days in males after experiencing orgasm. From wikipedia:

> The hormone\[prolactin\] counteracts the effect of dopamine, which is responsible for sexual arousal

I can't find a reliable source, but I read that the increase in prolactin lasts for up to 15 days following orgasm.

Looking at these dopamine and prolactin hormones on wikipedia, I saw that prolactin and dopamine suppress each other. From Dopamine article:

> Dopamine is the primary neuroendocrine inhibitor of the secretion of prolactin from the anterior pituitary gland

If abstaining from masturbation does change hormone levels, then Prolactin and Dopamine (within specific parts of the brain) would be most likely targets.

# Answer
> 4 votes
## Masturbation in men or women does not negatively affect cognitive processes

As I pointed out in another question in Health.SE, masturbation was a diagnosable psychological condition until DSM II in 1968 (Ley, 2014), and the American Medical Association consensually declared masturbation as normal in 1972 (Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 2003).

Historically, masturbation was discouraged for a variety of reasons including the thought that it lead to mental health problems. However, that was disproved. A lot of the history is talked about in the Planned Parenthood Federation of America's White paper (2002).

The abstract of Coleman, E. (2003) states

> Research on masturbation has indicated that, contrary to traditional beliefs, masturbation has been found to be a common sexual behavior and linked to indicators of sexual health. While there are no general indicators of ill health associated with masturbation, it can be powerfully negative or positive for many individuals. As an example, it is widely used in sex therapy as a means of improving the sexual health of the individual and/or relationship. Promoting masturbation as a means of a public health strategy for sexual health is highly controversial; however, there are arguments and evidence that suggest that this may be an important part of any public health approach to improving sexual health.

Whilst POIS and PCT/PCD mentioned by @AlexStone exists, these problems are not actually a result of masturbation. Whilst the causes of POIS and PCT/PCD are unknown, some doctors hypothesise that POIS is caused by an auto-immune reaction, such as an allergy to the males' own semen (Farley, 2011; Waldinger MD, 2016; Reuters Health, 2002) Other doctors suspect a hormone imbalance as the cause. While other causes have been proposed as well, none of the proposed causes seem to fully explain the problem.

With PCT/PCD, the wikipedia article states that some doctors prescribe serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as fluoxetine, to treat PCT. After two weeks, people reported that, "while sex was less intensely pleasurable, no emotional crash followed."

## References

Coleman, E. (2003). Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health. *Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality* 14(2-3): pp 5-16
DOI: 10.1300/J056v14n02\_02

Farley SJ (2011). Sexual dysfunction: Postorgasmic illness syndrome. *Nature Reviews Urology*. 8(3): 121.
DOI: 10.1038/nrurol.2011.17. PMID: 21513019.

Ley, D. J. (2014). *The Myth of Sex Addiction*. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 12.
ISBN: 978-1-4422-1305-0.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (2002). *White Paper: Masturbation — From Stigma to Sexual Health* \[Free PDF\]
Available at: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer\_public/8e/f5/8ef53e54-2fcb-4f92-933e-59fa0a09285b/masturbation\_11-02.pdf

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (2003). "Masturbation: From myth to sexual health". Contemporary Sexuality. Mount Vernon, IA: American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. 37 (3): v. ISSN 1094-5725. OCLC 37229308. *"Finally, the American medical community pronounced masturbation as normal in 1972 American Medical Association publication, Human Sexuality (Rowan, 2000)"*.

Reuters Health (2002). *Dutch Doctor Identifies Post-Orgasmic Syndrome*. \[Online\]
Available at: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/665820/posts

Waldinger MD (2016). Post-Orgasmic Illness Syndrome. In: Levine S, Risen CB, Althof SE. *Handbook of Clinical Sexuality for Mental Health Professionals (3rd ed.)*. Routledge. p. 380.
ISBN: 978-1-3175-0745-1.

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Tags: intelligence, performance, personality
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# Question
Title: What is the study that identified that kids growing up without fathers were angrier and more depressed?
I read in an article recently:

> This study identified that kids growing up without fathers had a higher proportion of people developing depression, increased tendency towards anger and a higher probability of committing criminal acts.

I'm doing some research on the effects of divorce on children and I'm interested in getting this paper as a footnote.

My question is: **What is the study that identified that kids growing up without fathers were angrier and more depressed?**

# Answer
> 3 votes
A report in the Daily Mail in 2013 had the headline:

> **Growing up without a father can permanently alter the BRAIN: Fatherless children are more likely to grow up angry and turn to drugs**
>
> Dr Gabriella Gobbi, who carried out the research with colleagues at the medical faculty at McGill University in Canada, said: *‘This is the first time research findings have shown that paternal deprivation during development affects the neurobiology of the offspring.’* (Spencer, 2013)

After some searching, **I believe the source article is:**

Bambico, F. R., Lacoste, B., Hattan, P. R., & Gobbi, G. (2013). Father absence in the monogamous California mouse impairs social behavior and modifies dopamine and glutamate synapses in the medial prefrontal cortex. *Cerebral Cortex*, 25(5), 1163-1175.
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht310

and the research was **carried out on California mice**.

> **Abstract:**
>
> The role of the father in psycho-affective development is indispensable. Yet, the neurobehavioral effects of paternal deprivation (PD) are poorly understood. Here, we examined the behavioral consequences of PD in the California mouse, a species displaying monogamous bonding and biparental care, and assessed its impact on dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), and glutamate (GLU) transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In adult males, deficits in social interaction were observed, when a father-deprived (PD) mouse was matched with a PD partner. In adult females, deficits were observed when matching a PD animal with a non-PD control, and when matching 2 PD animals. PD also increased aggression in females. Behavioral abnormalities in PD females were associated with a sensitized response to the locomotor-activating effect of amphetamine. Following immunocytochemical demonstration of DA, 5-HT, and GLU innervations in the mPFC, we employed in vivo electrophysiology and microiontophoresis, and found that PD attenuated the basal activity of low-spiking pyramidal neurons in females. PD decreased pyramidal responses to DA in females, while enhancing responses to NMDA in both sexes. We thus demonstrate that, during critical neurodevelopmental periods, PD leads to sex-dependent abnormalities in social and reward-related behaviors that are associated with disturbances in cortical DA and GLU neurotransmission.

## References

Spencer, B. (2013) Growing up without a father can permanently alter the BRAIN: Fatherless children are more likely to grow up angry and turn to drugs. In: Daily Mail \[Online\] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2518247/Growing-father-permanently-alter-BRAIN-Fatherless-children-likely-grow-angry-turn-drugs.html

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Tags: developmental-psychology, parenting
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# Question
Title: Are psychometrics used in the public sector?
If it is used, how is it used? Where is it used? Which countries are using?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Many companies have psychometric tests to measure various cognitive and personality features.

First of all, the intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence. It helps filter applicants before even meeting them. IQ is the highest predictor of educational and work success.

Secondly, there are personality tests. Imagine you're looking for a lawyer. Ideally, a lawyer should be very emotionally stable and argumentative. In psychometric language, this can be measured with the Big Five Personality Test and the desired traits would be low agreeableness and low neuroticism.

There are cooler psychometric tests that are in essence better than Big Five Personality, but they are not commonly used, because of their length or difficulty of analysis. I'm going to list my personal favorite psychometrics here:

1. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
2. Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory MCMI)
3. The Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders

However, these psychometric tests are more useful for clinical or forensic settings rather than for Human Resources (HR). I do hope this helps.

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Tags: measurement, mbti
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title: How long can neuron adaptation last?

text:
# Question
Title: How long can neuron adaptation last?
One way to model a neuron which adapts to input current is an Adaptive LIF \[1\]. In this model, the input current is subtracted by $n$, which changes with $dn=\frac{-n}{\tau\_n}dt$ \[2\] and $n$ is incremented by $\text{inc}\_n$ every time the neuron spikes. $\tau\_n$ can be considered as the Adaptation Time constant, given it affects how quickly the adaptation state decays to zero.

What ranges of $\frac{-n}{\tau\_n}$ have been found in biology?

---

\[1\] Koch, Christof. Biophysics of Computation: Information Processing in Single Neurons. Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 339

\[2\] Nengo Neural Simulator code

# Answer
An Adaptive LIF is just one approximation of a biological learning rule. It is not a model for how biology actually works.

The most-studied biological learning rule is long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, though similar processes occur elsewhere including neocortex. "LTP" can come in shorter or longer forms, but the longest forms of LTP are potentially permanent. The processes for maintaining this permanence are referred to as *maintenance* and *consolidation*. Some of the longer lasting forms of LTP have been shown to last weeks to years (for example, see Abraham et al., 2002).

At that point, any 'adaptation' is just as well thought of as additional plasticity, because living neurons are constantly getting input and adjusting synaptic weights. Depression is just as important in biological circuits as is potentiation, and depressed circuits can atrophy completely, effectively being permanently lost.

All nervous connectivity is due to some sort of plasticity at some point in development, and some of those connections will persist throughout the lifetime of the organism. However, synapse weights are constantly being updated in a living system. It isn't really appropriate to think of any certain weight as being permanent, while also not appropriate to think of any arbitrary synapse as possessing an adaptation time constant.

---

References

Abraham, W. C., Logan, B., Greenwood, J. M., & Dragunow, M. (2002). Induction and experience-dependent consolidation of stable long-term potentiation lasting months in the hippocampus. Journal of Neuroscience, 22(21), 9626-9634.

Collingridge, G. L., Peineau, S., Howland, J. G., & Wang, Y. T. (2010). Long-term depression in the CNS. Nature reviews neuroscience, 11(7), 459.

Malenka, R. C., & Nicoll, R. A. (1999). Long-term potentiation--a decade of progress?. Science, 285(5435), 1870-1874.

Lynch, M. A. (2004). Long-term potentiation and memory. Physiological reviews, 84(1), 87-136.
> 4 votes

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Tags: theoretical-neuroscience
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# Question
Title: Are cycles possible in circuits of neurons?
If we consider neurons nodes and connections between them edges, are cycles (from graph theory) are possible in the brain?

To put it another way, would the signal generated from `neuron1` be able to travel around in a circuit of other neurons and come back to activate `neuron1` again? Or is this generally not possible because `neuron1` would still be recovering/re-potentiating?

If yes, as a programmer I would expect this to be the mechanism by which contiguous experience would be possible (ie. the main event loop of an application). Any studies/field/reseachers you could point me to for further research?

# Answer
There are tons of cycles in the brain. The study of how the brain uses these cycles are used for computation is called Theoretical Neuroscience. Browsing the tag on this website is one way to become introduced to those ideas.

Alternatively, these loops are framed in different ways in "How to Build a Brain" by Chris Eliasmith. Loops involving a population node connecting to itself are considered to be memories. Longer loops, such as the basal-ganglia$\rightarrow$thalamus$\rightarrow$cortex loop could be considered analogous to the "main event loop" of a program, but with a few caveats.
> 1 votes

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Tags: neuroscience, theoretical-neuroscience
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# Question
Title: Resources about relaxation training as used in CBT
I’m looking for resources about the relaxation training component of CBT. I had a professor who spent a good deal of time on it in class, but I’m no longer attending that school and he’s notoriously unresponsive to email. I’m looking for anything about the technique as used in cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Our professor did mention *The Relaxation Response*, a book published in the ‘70s, was the basis for the type he was teaching about.

# Answer
As I mentioned previously in the comments, there are a wide range of relaxation techniques which can be used within CBT. Having not read the book mentioned, I looked it up and found how the relaxation technique was described in the book.

From this I can tell you that the technique you have been taught is called Progressive Muscle Relaxation \[PMR\] (McCallie, Blum, & Hood, 2006).

PMR involves the process of feeling the muscles in your body relax starting from one end of the body to the other, noticing the difference in sensation whilst also listening to your slow deep breathing.

You can obtain plenty of free or paid for PMR scripts (also known as screeds) through searching on Google.

## References

McCallie, M. S., Blum, C. M., & Hood, C. J. (2006). Progressive muscle relaxation. *Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment*, 13(3), 51-66.
DOI: 10.1300/J137v13n03\_04
> 3 votes

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Tags: reference-request, clinical-psychology, cbt
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# Question
Title: Why are empty spaces around hippocampus and striatum not filled with astrocytes?
I understand that, generally, when a neuron dies, the vacated, empty space will form a scar in the form of an astrocyte. Basically, the astrocyte thus replaces that neuron.

Why then are there empty spaces around the hippocampus and striatum that aren't filled with astrocytes? I am talking about the same spaces where adult neurogenesis might occur.

Why are these spaces left empty? Are they "waiting" for possible adult neurogenesis and therefore don't get filled in with astrocytes?

A better question might be "**How does the CNS distinguish between types of empty spaces inside it?**"

# Answer
**Short answer**
Glial scarring is due to brain damage. Brain damage results in molecular signals to be released that attract glial cells. Spaces in the brain present during development are not characterized by signalling molecules associated with trauma.

**Background**
The key here is that glial scar formation follows damage to the brain, and is associated with healing processes in the brain, including those occurring after ischemic stroke (Huang *et al*., 2014) and physical trauma (source: Society for Neuroscience, 2010). Brain damage results in the release of inflammatory proteins that signal glia to form scar tissue (*e.g.* Patel *et al* (2013)).

There are many vacant spaces in the brain (Fig. 1), most notably the four **ventricles**. These spaces are there from birth, and are actually formed within the first few weeks after conception. Because there are no signals involved from brain trauma, and these structures should be there, the glial system does not get signals to invade these areas and fill them up with glial scar tissue.

Also note that glial cells have little to do with neurogeneration; glia is not nervous tissue.

Fig. 1. Brain ventricles. source: Anatomy Note

**References**
**-** Huang*et al*., *Int J Med Sci* (2014); **11**(4): 344–8
**-** Patel *el al*., *Int J Physiol Pathophysiol Pharmacol* (2013); **5**(2): 73–90
> 2 votes

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Tags: neuroscience, neurogenesis, hippocampus
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# Question
Title: What's the difference between cognitive distortions and logical fallacies?
I'm doing some reading on said topics, but I struggle to really make a difference between them.

I've gathered that logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning, or arguments that serve poorly to arrive at the truth.

Cognitive distortions are our mind convincing us of something that isn't true.

So couldn't logical fallacies be said also to be convincing us of something that isn't true, in the case where they are unintentional? I can see several instances where there is no real difference. Take for example the distortion of emotional reasoning (I feel X, therefore X must be true). Why is this not a logical fallacy given the logical reasoning within the parentheses?

# Answer
The two concepts can seem similar, but they are different. When trying to understand the difference for the first time it can be complicated and I hope I can put it across effectively.

## Cognitive distortions

These are simply ways that our mind convinces us of something that isn’t really true (Grohol, 2017). These inaccurate thoughts are usually used to reinforce negative thinking or emotions — telling ourselves things that sound rational and accurate, but really only serve to keep us feeling bad about ourselves.

For instance, a person might tell themselves, “I always fail when I try to do something new; I therefore fail at everything I try.”

## Logical Fallacies

Dr. L. Kip Wheeler of Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, TN says that these are

> statements that might sound reasonable or superficially true but are actually flawed or dishonest. When readers detect them, these logical fallacies backfire by making the audience think the writer is (a) unintelligent or (b) deceptive. It is important to avoid them in your own arguments, and it is also important to be able to spot them in others' arguments so a false line of reasoning won't fool you.

One example is the Strawman Fallacy

> A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent. One who engages in this fallacy is said to be "attacking a straw man".
>
> The typical straw man argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition through the covert replacement of it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and the subsequent refutation of that false argument ("knock down a straw man") instead of the opponent's proposition.

Your Logical Fallacy Is — a microsite of the not-for-profit organisation schoolofthought.org — describes a strawman fallacy as

> **Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.**
> After Will said that we should be nice to kittens because they’re fluffy and cute, Bill says that Will is a mean jerk for wanting to be mean to poor defenseless puppies. Everyone loudly boos Will, drowning out his protests that this isn’t what he said at all.

## Reconciling the two concepts

They can seem to merge into each other in some respects at time, especially when you look at the logical fallacy called **the gambler's fallacy**

> **Believing that ‘runs’ occur to statistically independent phenomena such as roulette wheel spins.** Red had come up six times in a row on the roulette wheel, so Jen knew that it was close to certain that black would be next up. Suffering an economic form of natural selection with this thinking, she soon lost all of her savings. (Your Logical Fallacy Is)

You could be forgiven for thinking it may be a cognitive distortion, as in a sense it could be, but it is a logical fallacy because it is a **false statement of fact** which is **believed to be true**. If it was a pure cognitive distortion, it would be a **false belief** which is **believed to be true**. Now, again reading this back myself it can sound the same, but think of it this way.

A **false statement of fact (logical fallacy)** is a statement often echoed by many people around within the social circle. It is a statement believed to be true because the statement was generally made by someone else and it was believed to be true as **logic dictates it to be true**. If you was to think about the logic and examine the evidence, the fallacies can be brought into the open and destroyed.

A **false belief (cognitive distortion)** can be the same, but primarily will be a belief only held by the person holding the cognitive distortion. It is a statement believed to be true because the statement was generally built up in the mind of the person holding the cognitive distortion and it was believed to be true as **past experience dictates it to be true**. If logic was allowed to take over, the cognitive distortion could be destroyed in time.

## How can you avoid cognitive distortions and logical fallacies within yourself?

One way you can avoid them is to apply Occam's Razor. This has been termed as

> \[with\] other things being equal, simpler explanations are generally better than more complex ones (Wikipedia)

and this is an interpretation of William Ockham's principle:

> *"non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem"* \[i.e., "don't multiply the agents in a theory beyond what's necessary."\] (Wheeler, n.d.)

Wheeler expanded on this with an explanation and said:

> to phrase it in modern terms, "Don't speculate about extra hypothetical components if you can find an explanation that is equally plausible without them." All things being equal, the simpler theory is more likely to be correct, rather than one that relies upon many hypothetical additions to the evidence already collected. (Wheeler, n.d.)

There is also Jesse Richardson (2014) who states that you need to think for yourself and not take for granted everything you are told to think. So if you combine what both William Ockham and Jessie Richardson points out, it seems you can't go far wrong.

## Further Reading

Beck, A. T. (1976). *Cognitive therapies and emotional disorders*. New York: New American Library.

Burns, D. D. (2012). *Feeling good: The new mood therapy*. New York: New American Library.

Leahy, R. L. (2017). *Cognitive Therapy Techniques, Second Edition: A Practitioner’s Guide*. New York: Guilford Press.

McKay, M. & Fanning, P. (2016). *Self-Esteem: A Proven Program of Cognitive Techniques for Assessing, Improving, and Maintaining Your Self-Esteem*. New York: New Harbinger Publications.

Wheeler, L. K. (n.d.) *Logical Fallacies* \[Online\]
https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/fallacies\_list.html

## References

Grohol, J. (2017). 15 Common Cognitive Distortions. *Psych Central*. \[Online\]
https://psychcentral.com/lib/15-common-cognitive-distortions

Richardson, J. (2014). How to think, not what to think *TEDx Brisbane* \[Online\]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dluwVks444

Wheeker, L. K. (n.d.). *Occam's Razor: A Useful Tool in Logic* \[Online\]
https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/logic\_occam.html
> 1 votes

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Tags: terminology
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# Question
Title: Jung's Anima and Neurological Basis in Split-Brain Patients; Left-Persona and Right-Anima
So, having skimmed some studies on split-brain patients, it makes me wonder about the whole "left-brain/right-brain" dichotomy that made its rounds in public perception some time ago.

I'm not sure how much of that is really good science, but it looks like there's some real truth to the different sides taking on different roles and cognitive abilities.

One thing in particular I wonder about now, is can you map Carl Jung's concept of Anima (I'll refer to the Anima, but what I have to say applies to Animus, as well) onto the right half of the brain?

Jung's idea of Anima was essentially the male brain's mental image of "the typical woman". Thus it would posses typically feminine traits.

Since the right half of the brain is associated with creativity, emotional response to (ie, recognizing) faces, and is more typically "feminine", would it be possible to devise an experiment with MRI to see if invoking the anima fires more neural activity on the right half of the brain?

Say, have a subject describe "the typical woman" and watch activity, have them describe "the typical man" and some other controls to also invoke creativity and see how the neural activity compares? See if when men don a dress, their right-brain fires more activity than if they just don any other unfamiliar clothing (a hospital gown or a robe are gender-neutral but may also be unfamiliar enough to control for that part alone)?

It's a very roundabout way of asking, but hopefully the questions kind of highlight the underlying question;

in terms of Jungian Psychology, is it reasonable to hypothesize that you could split the hemispheres of the brain into "persona" and "Anima" as "left" and "right"? (and perhaps reversed for Persona and Animus)

The interesting thing is that this leads to a testable hypothesis perhaps some people here already know the answer to: Is there any link between gender dysphoria and right-brain dominance? If there is, that would seem to support that hypothesis that the left hemisphere generally takes the masculine identity and the right houses the Anima (in general, though I would expect if the Anima exists as a largely separate neural network (or combined set of networks) that it would probably at least share a little activity on the left hemisphere).

# Answer
Perhaps a more useful way of looking at these concepts is to consider anima in terms of the hindbrain, which takes sensory inputs from both the body and external stimuli and creates a virtual model strongly colored by memories ( with associated feelings) and our conditioning. This model is then "presented" to the forebrain as images + feelings. Animus could be seen then as associated with the forebrain, which analyzes this information and determines what actions to take.

However, such a way of thinking degenderizes the concepts, so won't support your hypothesis.

Solms and Turnbull have written about the neuroscience (Solms & Turnbull 2011) \[among others\], and James Hillman's "Anima: An Anatomy of a Personified Notion" is a good source on anima and animus. Hillman agrees that psychology should not pretend to be an objective science as the realm of the psyche eludes traditional methods of scientific study.

**References**

Solms, M., & Turnbull, O. H. (2011). What is neuropsychoanalysis?. *Neuropsychoanalysis*, 13(2), 133-145. DOI: 10.1080/15294145.2011.10773670 \[**Free PDF Available**\]
> 3 votes

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Tags: social-psychology, neuroscience, neuroimaging, brain-injury, jung
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# Question
Title: What's a simple definition for reactive attachment disorder?
I read an article on Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Here's what I know so far

1. **Reactive** means to react in response to something. Action = reaction.
2. **Attachment** is the act of bonding or connecting with another human or object.
3. **Disorder**, something that is not normal by way of what society thinks as normal.

Here's what I do not know. Does RAD mean that someone is too emotionally attached to someone or something, and when that person or thing is gone, they react, sort of like grief? Or, does it mean that the person cannot trust oneself to connect or bond with others for fear of something bad happening as a result of that?

# Answer
> 5 votes
The beginnings of theories based on attachment regarding long and short term interpersonal relationships is Attachment Theory which was started by John Bowlby. Attachment Theory is primarily applied to studies in relationships concerning children, even though it was expanded in the 80's to include adults.

In attachment theory, as highlighted in the link you provided, attachment is not just *"the act of bonding or connecting with another human or object"*. It is the **deep connection established** between a child and caregiver (parent, grandparent, foster parent...). When there are problems because attachments have not been made, it is called an attachment disorder.

Reactive Attachment Disorder is an Attachment Disorder resulting from a reaction to past experiences which were not ideal for the child. Some examples given amongst others on the link you provided are:

* A baby cries and no one responds or offers comfort.
* A baby is hungry or wet, and they aren’t attended to for hours.
* No one looks at, talks to, or smiles at the baby, so the baby feels alone.

The main thing is that no matter how detached or insecure a child seems, or how frustrated or exhausted a caregiver may feel at trying to connect, attachment disorders can be repaired. With patience and perseverance, caregivers can help the affected child feel safe and secure and able to develop healthy, meaningful, and loving relationships. It just takes time with the right comfort and support provided to the child.

A good book I can recommend on the subject of attachment disorders is:

Shemmings, D. & Shemmings, Y. (2011). *Understanding Disorganized Attachment: Theory and Practice for Working with Children and Adults*. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

> **Synopsis**
>
> Disorganized attachment, the most extreme form of insecure attachment, can develop in a child when the person who is normally meant to protect them is a source of danger. This usually leads to 'fear without solution' and the effects can be lasting and damaging.
>
> This book is a comprehensive and accessible text on disorganized attachment. It outlines what it is, how it can be identified and the key causes, including neurological, biochemical and genetic explanations. Factors that contribute to disorganized attachment are covered including unresolved loss and trauma, and the behaviour of caregivers. The authors also discuss evidence-based interventions to help families and carers as well as how to work with adults to prevent or minimize its occurrence. To root the theory in practice and to illustrate real-life examples of disorganized attachment case vignettes are included.
>
> With an authoritative research base, this accessible text will be invaluable to practitioners and academics in the fields of social care, psychology, counselling and allied health professions as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.

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Tags: emotion, terminology, behaviorism, personality-disorder, nature-nurture
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# Question
Title: Is it recommendable to put participants in different conditions across trials?
In a pilot study we want to give participants 3 different problems. Those come in two versions, one (supposedly) easier than the other. Participants will randomly be assigned one version of the problems. The goal is to compare the performance on each version of each of the problems. What might be problematic however, is that if it is true that one version is easier, giving some participants three times the easy version and others three times the hard version might affect their motivation. The participants with the difficult problems might get more exhausted and demotivated and will possibly not try as hard on each problem that follows.

One solution would be to randomize the assignment for each problem independently, so that participants might receive two times the easy version and one time the harder one, or any other combination.

From a methodological standpoint, would that be recommendable? Could the observations still be considered independent when comparing the two conditions? Or is there any other way to circumvent that problem?

# Answer
It depends on what you care to investigate.

**Do you care what happens when one person gets two hard questions as compared to someone who gets two easy ones?** If so, record it for analysis. If not, control for it by ensuring that each participant receives the same number of easy and difficult problems.

**Do you care if there are ordering effects?** If so, record that data for analysis. If not, then control for it by ensuring that each participant gets a set of questions classified in the same order. E.g., standardize on EASY-HARD-EASY, and randomly assign problems of each classification.
> 2 votes

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Tags: methodology, experimental-psychology, experiment-design
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# Question
Title: Should I look at the data of an experiment before the dataset is complete?
For a research internship I am running psychological experiments online. As it takes a while until the experiment is done (meaning that enough people participated, so that a sufficient sample size is reached), I could already look at the data and run a few analyses with that incomplete data set. This way I could already see a trend in what the final result might be.

Are there any methodological reasons that would speak against that? For example, am I biasing myself in this way? Or is there any other reason this could be considered bad research practice?

# Answer
**Short answer**
From an ethical standpoint, not including interim evaluations may be bad practice.

**Background**
I will start off with a more extreme case than in your question example, just for illustrative purposes, namely that of a *clinical intervention study*. If it appears that the treatment group (say, experimental medicine *Y*, instead of the standard of care treatment *X*) features substantially, if not significantly, more cases of serious adverse advents, or even deaths, that may (or may not) be related to treatment *Y*, the **ethical best thing to do** is put the study on hold until things are sorted out. This, to prevent any possibility of further physical harm caused by the experimental treatment. This happens quite regularly and should be followed by a report paper stating the results and a discussion on the best way to proceed this research, if applicable.

In a more *experimental setting* it may also be **ethically best practice** to evaluate preliminary data, as possible experimental design flaws, unexpected results (weird outcomes or artifacts in, say, left-handed people) or confounding factors may become apparent, and timely adjustments to the experimental protocol can be made. Why is this ethically correct? Because you may be subjecting people to a flawed experimental paradigm and wasting many hours of otherwise more productive time.

The case provided by the other answerer, where the experiment is stopped, while prior statistical power analysis was done, *that* is malpractice. Conversely, adding more subjects *post hoc* based on 'near-significance' is also questionable practice. But this is more related to what you do with the experimental interim data. In my opinion, they should be critically evaluated, but not so much on effect size, but rather on feasibility, correctness and validity - basically to sanity-check the study proceedings.
> 5 votes

# Answer
gjacob is correct that optional stopping is a common research degree of freedom, and one that has a considerable and unfortunate intuitive basis. Yet, depending on the context of your research, AliceD's concerns are also important.

There is, however, a middle ground between not checking at all, and p-hacking: sequential analysis. There is a Bayesian version of sequential analysis, which I can update if that's your statistical paradigm, but I'm assuming you're wanting to conduct interim analyses using null-hypothesis significance testing, so that's what I'll focus on here. Lakens (2014) provides a nice overview of this practice. In essence, you take the level of $\alpha$ you want to maintain over your "peeks" (e.g., $\alpha$ = .05), and distribute that total $\alpha$ over the number of peeks you want to take along your total sampling process. Then, if $p$ is lower than this distributed $\alpha$ at any of your peeks, you can reject the null at $\alpha$ = .05, and you won't have inflated your Type I error rate like you would have with generic optional stopping.

It's a *little* more complicated than how I'm presenting here--and there are a number of methods for distributing your total $\alpha$--but not by much. If you can wrap your head around a bonferroni correction, it's a very similar technique.

Lakens, D. (2014). Performing high‐powered studies efficiently with sequential analyses. *European Journal of Social Psychology*, 44(7), 701-710.
> 5 votes

# Answer
This is an important question! This practice ("optional stopping" if you stop collecting data based on your early analyses, or "peeking" if you continue collecting data) is considered a bad idea nowadays. It's a "researcher degree of freedom"--a practice that, in the long run and averaged across the field, appears to (empirically) result in high false-positive rates. It's a form of exploratory analysis, and although EA isn't bad in and of itself, optional stopping/peeking can predispose researchers to chase significance for trends they see in their data, perhaps by selectively excluding certain observations, dropping their a priori hypotheses, ignoring their a priori power analyses, etc...

Instead, consider running a power analysis. (I recommend G\*Power, which is freely downloadable). I advise to perform a power analysis *before* you start collecting data, determine the total N that you'll shoot for, and don't peek at your data until you've hit that. It's effectively "blinding" yourself, much in the way that medical researchers might use double-blind studies to ensure the reliability of their findings.

Check out this paper for a longer discussion of researcher degrees of freedom: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797611417632
> 3 votes

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Tags: methodology, experimental-psychology, bias, statistics, data
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# Question
Title: What would be the Term for this Character Trait?
This might be the wrong place or way to ask this question but I'll give it a shot. It could be more related to literature but it does deal with a form of character or personality.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown", the "protagonist" wakes up from a dream (or vision, maybe even reality) of all his religious towns folk members taking part in blatant evil deeds. The next morning, his perception of everyone changes to the point he (not exactly) distrusts everyone because of what he saw and eventually dies lonely due to his callous nature. Nathaniel made this in order to warn against this type of action or character trait but what is a term for this, this trait? This callous behavior due to an imperfect/changed perspective? Is it a combination of terms?

# Answer
> 1 votes
> Nathaniel made this in order to warn against this type of action or character trait but what is a term for this, this trait?

I think that Nathaniel is presenting a powerful indictment against individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). He is not saying that one should ostracise the Borderline, but that one ought to proceed with caution when choosing to becoming entangled in the lives of those with BPD.

> the "protagonist" wakes up from a dream (or vision, maybe even reality) of all his religious towns folk members taking part in blatant evil deeds.

Clearly, the Borderline is experiencing the phenomenon of dream-reality confusion:

***Dream-reality confusion in borderline personality disorder: a theoretical analysis***

This paper presents an analysis of dream-reality confusion (DRC) in relation to the characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD), based on research findings and theoretical considerations. It is hypothesized that people with BPD are more likely to experience DRC compared to people in non-clinical population. Several variables related to this hypothesis were identified through a theoretical analysis of the scientific literature. Sleep disturbances: problems with sleep are found in 15–95.5% of people with BPD (Hafizi, 2013), and unstable sleep and wake cycles, which occur in BPD (Fleischer et al., 2012), are linked to DRC. Dissociation: nearly two-thirds of people with BPD experience dissociative symptoms (Korzekwa and Pain, 2009) and dissociative symptoms are correlated with a fantasy proneness; both dissociative symptoms and fantasy proneness are related to DRC (Giesbrecht and Merckelbach, 2006). Negative dream content: People with BPD have nightmares more often than other people (Semiz et al., 2008); dreams that are more likely to be confused with reality tend to be more realistic and unpleasant, and are reflected in waking behavior (Rassin et al., 2001). Cognitive disturbances: Many BPD patients experience various cognitive disturbances, including problems with reality testing (Fiqueierdo, 2006; Mosquera et al., 2011), which can foster DRC. Thin boundaries: People with thin boundaries are more prone to DRC than people with thick boundaries, and people with BPD tend to have thin boundaries (Hartmann, 2011). The theoretical analysis on the basis of these findings suggests that people who suffer from BPD may be more susceptible to confusing dream content with actual waking events.

> The next morning, his perception of everyone changes to the point he (not exactly) distrusts everyone

This is a classic Borderline trait: A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.

> dies lonely due to his callous nature. This callous behavior due to an imperfect/changed perspective?

No, the loneliness is due to the Borderline's *Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.* Ironically, it is through this effort to escape their aloneness that the Borderline dies alone.

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Tags: perception, emotion, personality, terminology, bias
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# Question
Title: Why do people have different opinions about an object when they are given different information about that object?
I'm studying about perception in psychology. My teacher has an example.

In an experiment, the researcher gives two groups a photo of one person. To Group 1, researcher says "This is a scientist", group 1 usually reacts "He has a bright and intelligent face, great mind are shown on his eyes". To group 2, researcher says "This is a murder", group 2 usually reacts "He had a dangerous face, he seems angry all the time".

How do you explain that using perception in psychology? does that experiment truly exist? Is there any real similar experiment?

Someone tells me it's because of "Confirmation Bias". It's the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses. I doubt it.

# Answer
> 2 votes
There is a tendency to want a named response. Such as 'confirmation bias' - a bit as if confirmation bias were a thing, like a computer processor. But it is not. It also may be useful to notice that **nothing in the world can be perceived directly**. The image of your teacher is put together in your brain based on your perception and past experiences; if you develop prosopagnosia you will not perceive the teacher's face any more. Even the surface of the table you touch is not perceived directly, appreciation of the rough wooden surface is the result of synthesis of perceptions and memories.

Therefore the photo of the person in your experiment is appreciated through your **priors/givens** and you will find what you are (unconsciously) looking for. You can call it a particular bias, however many of them have been described and they overlap. For example you could view this one as perceptual priming or you could consider this an anchoring effect.

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Tags: perception, bias
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# Question
Title: Can the mind be trained to equanimously observe compulsive urges/cravings (without giving in / acting out)?
* Are there any practices or habits that one can employ, either frequently or on a daily basis, to train one's mind to equanimously observe (be aware of) compulsive urges or cravings, without giving in to them / acting them out?
* Can this skill be developed in a general sense, applicable to all types of urges/cravings, or does one need to train a different, tailored technique to handle each type of urge/craving individually?

# Answer
According to the article "Brief meditation training induces smoking reduction" one kind of mediation-training reduced smoking by 60% while a control group (relaxation training) showed no such effect.

"Integrative body-mind training (IBMT) is a form of mindfulness meditation that involves body relaxation, mental imagery, and mindfulness training accompanied by selected music background. Cooperation between the body and the mind is emphasized in facilitating and achieving a meditative state. The trainees concentrated on achieving a balanced state of body and mind guided by an IBMT coach and a compact disc. The method stresses no effort to control thoughts but, instead, a state of restful alertness that allows a high degree of awareness of body, mind, and environment."

Other relevant references: Tang YY, et al. (2007) Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(43):17152–17156.

Tang YY, et al. (2009) Central and autonomic nervous system interaction is altered by short-term meditation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106(22):8865–8870.

Tang YY, et al. (2010) Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107(35):15649–15652.

Tang YY, Lu Q, Fan M, Yang Y, Posner MI (2012) Mechanisms of white matter changes induced by meditation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(26):10570–10574.

Tang YY (2009) Exploring the Brain, Optimizing the Life (Science Press, Beijing).
> 2 votes

# Answer
The short answer is - yes. There is nothing impossible, save for the theoretical idea of perfect balance.

Generally speaking you will be training your mind (i.e. yourself) not just your brain. The desired state of "still and equanimous" appears to be used as opposite to anxious. The potential cravings accompanied by anxious states are just too many to require one response per one type of craving, but you are on to something with this specificity - wanting a drink is not quite the same as wanting a sweetie.

There will be 2 components - one is the more **general response** \- where you will recognise you are anxious. Hopefully you will also realise what you are anxious about (could it be rejection by a potential partner, could it be a bailiff's letter, or something less threatening?). The more **specific component** could use imagery - try to remember how you felt when you had the "sweetie" before (as a rule you will be craving something quite familiar to you). If you can successfully recall the state after you had consumed the "sweetie" in the past it very often will be helpful in deciding - do I really want to "eat" this now.
> -1 votes

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Tags: attention, brain-training, self-control, self-discipline, awareness
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