Psychology through a lens

Everyone learns in a different way. Some people are visual learners. I am a visual learner and I also enjoy photography. I hope you can identify the key psychology terms that I represented through photographic images.

Random Selection

Random selection is used in survey research. This process allows every person in a population to have the same opportunity to participate in a study. This is key for researchers to prove that their findings can be generalized to other populations.  In other words, that it is reliable. A population is determined and then participants are selected at random. If a study is done using males ages 20-25 as the target population, this can be depicted by using a deck of cards. If every fifth male is chosen to participate in the study, it can be shown by selecting every fifth card to play in a game.

Debriefing

Debriefing is used to facilitate a dialogue between the researchers and participants at the end of a study. The researchers are finally able to discuss the reason and importance of the study as well as the results. The research topic is explained to participants and they are allowed to ask questions and offer feedback. In sports, a “huddle” or a “time out” are similar to the process of debriefing. After a play, the coach, team members and/or referees can gather to discuss what just occurred on the field. Perhaps the coach needs to explain the reasoning for using certain players or calling for certain formations, or the team members need to ask for feedback to understand the play that just occurred. 

Halo effect

The Halo Effect is a concept in rating data and can be problematic in some cases. If one characteristic is found to be positive in a person, such as intelligence, people can easily start to assign other positive traits to this person. If I think a person is intelligent, I may believe that they are hard workers. In reality, they may not be hard working at all. By the person being identified as intelligent and educated, they can seem like an “angel” and suddenly other positive characteristics are seen in them. For example, they may be seen as being hard working and good at time management. This may or may not be fair, but people are hired or held in higher esteem because of the Halo Effect. Advertising uses this trick to sell products. If I have worn Nike shorts in the past, if I see the “swoosh” I am more likely to buy Nike shoes. Nike has become an “angel” in the sports world when in reality perhaps a lesser known brand may actually have better products.

Malingering

Malingering is feigning symptoms to appear “crazy” in order to reach a goal. For instance, inmates malinger in order to leave custody and go to a psychiatric hospital. Inmates can ask for a psychiatric evaluation from Eastern State Hospital through their lawyer. During the evaluation, if the psychiatrist feels the inmate is malingering, or faking symptoms to be detained to a hospital, they can administer the SIRS test (Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms).  This test can clearly show if symptoms are real or if they are manufactured. If the inmate is found incompetent to stand trial (their symptoms are severe enough to interfere with their ability to understand court proceedings), they can be court ordered to Eastern State Hospital or The Competency Restoration Program. If found competent, they will remain in custody. Malingering is common in custody because the hospital is a much better place to be than jail or prison!

Neurons

Neurons are nerve cells that communicate with each other. These neurons are a lot like wires or traces in technology. Traces on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) are conductive conduits which carry electrical impulses/information from one place to another. The traces in the picture are the light blue lines that interconnect electrical components. These traces are vital to the working of a piece of technology. If one of these traces was damaged, the electronic components would not be able to talk to one another. 

Placebo Effect

The Placebo Effect is when improvement happens just by expecting that there will be improvement. For example, when a person wants more energy, they drink coffee. They depend on caffeine to give them energy. Just by drinking or even smelling coffee, our energy starts to increase. But what if the caffeinated coffee was switched to decaffeinated without the person’s knowledge? Would they feel lethargic, or would just the idea of having caffeine make them feel more alert? 

Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience can “look like” science, but these claims have no scientific basis. To illustrate this is an egg used for healing. It is a belief by some cultures that an egg can be used to draw out a person’s negativity or sickness. There is no factual evidence, rather lots of anecdotal evidence (which is a clue that it is pseudoscientific). For example, people that subscribe to this belief and others like it to promote healing (crystals, hypnosis) can only give stories of it working, not evidence. People say things like, “My mother did this and she did not have any more headaches”. These types of superstitions can be dangerous, because they can stop people from accessing doctors because they believe they can cure themselves. 

Psycho Analysis

Psychoanalysis was Freud’s invention to solve inner conflict or mental health problems. To conquer fear and resolve feelings of anxiety, he used techniques such as dream interpretation and free association. This helped the patient identify parts of themselves unknown to them (unconscious) and bring them to the conscious mind. The end result would leave the patient to be less symptomatic and have a better understanding of self. 

Thalamus

The Thalamus is an area within the brain which relays nerve signals to the cerebral cortex. This relay station is a lot like a Network switch with multiple connections and the switch sorts and distributes the information. 

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