People with Exceptional Autographical Memory are Still Prone to False Memories
This challenges assumed ideas that those with superior memories are less prone to distortion, thereby showing that memory is more complex than once assumed. If there is more research into why some people have superior memories then perhaps this can have practical applications and can benefit everyone. Could this be applied to other areas e.g. are those with superior intelligence no less susceptible to mental degeneration/illness?
Haste Makes Waste, But Not If You're Neurotic
Faster does not necessarily mean more mistakes are made. This shows how a seemingly maladaptive quality, like neurotisism, can be somewhat beneficial.
There are 636,120 ways to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Demonstrates the complexity of mental disorder, the difficulties of diagnosis and potential issues with the DSM (this links to those issues explored in Madness Explained by Richard Bentall). Despite increased complexity in diagnostic criteria, some people are still missed and there are still reliability issues. To me, a checklist of symptoms seems a very rigid, in-humane and uncaring way of viewing people with a mental health disorder, however, reliability of diagnosis is an obvious priority.
Where is Language Located in the Brain? There are Two Sides to this Story
"When it comes to the brain though, few things are straightforward". Our knowledge of the brain is even more complex than once suggested, which shows how limitless the study of psychology really is. Whether language is shared by the different hemispheres of the brain, or is dominated by one, differs from person to person.
Not So Easy To Spot: A Failure To Replicate the Macbeth Effect Across Three Continents
Highlights the importance of replicating research. The 'Macbeth Effect' is an interesting concept. Explained the difference between conceptual and direct replications and is a good example of cross cultural research.
http://kids.frontiersin.org/
This is a really great project in order to get children involved with science!
Taking the tablets: a personal guide to anti-depressants
Gives a real insight into people's opinions and experiences of taking anti-depressants
Should all schools have their own psychotherapist?
In answer to this question, I think yes. In addition to what I've read in this article, including a case of a school in the West Midlands with a full time psychotherapist, I think that more mental health support in schools will be really beneficial to the children, encouraging them, from a young age, to seek help with mental problems. It could also be beneficial in reducing stigma of mental health. The links between educational and clinical psychology are demonstrated here.
Online IQ tests: are they valid?
An amusing article that suggests online IQ tests are not to be trusted!
The questionable science of Boris Johnson
Investigated the science behind Boris Johnson's claims in a humorous way
Is Facebook sharing making us more vain?
"Expectations create norms and the central expectation on Facebook is self-promotion." Vanity on Facebook, in the form of uploading pictures of oneself, is something many of us (including myself) are guilty of. After all, the word of the year is 'selfie'. I agree that Facebook, and other social media, makes us more vain and narcissistic. Also, it is very addictive but yeah, it makes you feel good, so is it all bad?
Could a brain scan diagnose you as a psychopath?
Neuroscientist James Fallon's accidental discovery that he was a psychopath has resulted in consideration as to whether brain scans can diagnose psychopathy. Problems involved in using brain scans to diagnose someone as a psychopath: fallacy of reverse inference (changes in brain activity alone tell us very little since the brain is so complex and the same area has many different functions), confusion of correlation and causation ("We all know that just because two things are associated with each other doesn't mean one of them caused the other. Otherwise we’d prosecute the witnesses of crimes") and potential bias (Francis Bacon - “The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion…draws all things else to support and agree with it.”). It seems that although understanding psychopaths neuroscientifically is fascinating, it is something to come in the future. This has links to The Wisdom of Psychopaths (Kevin Dutton)
Forget the headlines – schizophrenia is more common than you might think
Headlines portraying schizophrenics as dangerous and terrifying obviously add to the stigma and fear associated with the illness. Problems with the label of 'schizophrenia' - may be a general term for many different illnesses/symptoms. This may seem a bit odd but thinking back to how much we've advanced from our understanding of mental illness 50 years ago, its not surprising that we may still be wrong/inaccurate about some things. Some of the symptoms of schizophrenia may be much more prevalent than what is apparent, because they are not sufficiently bad in most people for them to seek help. "Schizophrenia isn't a specific, relatively rare, and rigorously defined illness. Instead, it covers a wide range of often unrelated conditions, all of which are also seen in people who are not mentally ill, and all of which exist on a continuum from the comparatively mild to the very severe." One statement I very much agree with: "one thing is certain: deepening our understanding of psychotic problems must be a priority."
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