Psychology Articles

We’ve all come across people who just seem incapable of modifying their perspective based on new data being presented. Most of us still mouth the words that additional education (or indoctrination/propaganda as is often the case) is what is needed since surely this person will turn around if his/her consciousness is sufficiently expanded with additional data backing your perspective. However, all too often deep inside we know that some people are “hopeless”. This conclusion concerning failure of propaganda is reached from all over the political, cultural, and religious spectrum at one point or another. It thus becomes fashionable to outright dismiss “inconvertible” individuals and opposing zealots (on political and religious fringes of any given population) as nuts and crazies.

Personality theory in psychology allows us to better categorize individuals in society without resorting to name calling. Myers-Briggs typology in particular offers a better construct (compared to useless terms like conservative and liberal for example) to predict how an individual will act politically and socially. Myers-Briggs research combined with biology and brain scan techniques also offers us hints at understanding the underlining anatomical basis that predisposes a person to be either a disagreeable radical or a gentle follower.

There’s been little relative popular attempts to scientifically explain why the bulk of the population is always a warzone between the extreme fringes. It’s just assumed that it will always be this way just like there will always be criminals and extremely altruistic self-sacrificing givers. This assumption seems reasonable and obvious but gives rise to two other creeping and unsettling assumptions:

1) The human population is relatively fixed along a bell curve type continuum. Perhaps this is better visually represented by a sphere with a number of spikes extending from it. The moderate population is the bulk of the sphere and the zealous “radical” factions (whose opinions differ dramatically from the statistical average) are the spikes extending from the sphere’s surface (as well as into the interior to some degree which would represent silent sympathizers). It is irrelevant to label the spikes as extreme left, right, etc. All that is important is that a relatively fixed minority of the population (lets say 10-20% range) will be:

a) prone to modes of thought that are tangibly different from majority’s

b) prone to action and lifestyle based on these thoughts

Authors like Friedrich Hayek for instance, observed that in 1920s Germany roughly a million workers swung their support between communists and Nazis based on who was winning. It was noted that the two seemingly opposing ideological parties clashed with one another the most because they were very often competing for recruits in the same psychological pool of young people. Considering how many overexcited Americans called both Bush and Obama the new “Hitler” in recent years, we can easily imagine how an aggressive drooling at the mouth anti-war protestor from a big city could have been an equally excitable protester at a teabag rally if only he was born in a small town and into a different culture.

2) Since the ratio of intensely active people (prone to being perceived by population at large as “wingnuts”or criminals or radicals or genuinely informed and committed activists, etc) to more relaxed apathetic majority seems to be roughly fixed across all societies and globally as a whole, the explanatory basis for such a dynamic can only be biological. Just like there exist (and can further be bred) aggressive dogs and peaceful friendly dogs, there exist aggressive people, natural Buddhist-esque peaceful people, etc. A person who is an aggressive pit bull equivalent (and who wants to impose his views of the world onto others the most) would differ in his relatively extreme ideology depending on what part of the world he was socialized in. Psychiatry has shown us that people are born with different ratios of neurotransmitter production and quantitative as well as qualitative differences in the types of chemicals that affect their mood and cognition. We now understand that people differ a lot more in terms of brain architecture than they differ in terms of things like body type, skin color, fast twitch/slow twitch muscle ratio, etc.

The reason why these assumptions are unsettling is not because there is a degree of fatalism involved (“he will be a radical of one stripe or another no matter what” or “he will be socially lazy, shallow, apathetic, and uninvolved no matter what). Obviously with modern socialization methods and pharmaceutical modification (with psychological genetic and cybernetic modification to follow in near future), an individual can be shaped more than ever before by society and by himself. The assumptions are unsettling because if the broad direction of our views, opinions, and political/cultural/religious affiliations are largely physiologically determined at birth, then societal progress becomes enormously more difficult. Societal progress can be defined here as one zealot faction (that is seen by majority as the most “correct” in its socioeconomic policy perspectives and formulations of what humans should do next) dragging everybody else along behind it as has always occurred throughout history.

Obviously people will disagree on what constitutes progress (some actually thought arrival of Reagan was progress) but if majority of people are physiologically predisposed towards the status quo, progress of any sort becomes a lot harder in a democratic society. In the past, one intense dedicated fringe of the aristocratic elites dragged the other nobility along behind it (since majority of nobility would also have a soft apathetic bulk) and thus dragged the rest of the population behind it as well. We also had scenarios of power vacuum developing and one intense fringe political faction overpowering the others (as in the case of Bolshevik and French revolutions) and filling the leadership position to then drag the rest of the serfs behind it.

In today’s democratic structure however, protection of the status quo is a lot more preserved since the moderate bulk of the population has a political voice and thus a way to provide the ruling elites with legitimacy. The moderate bulk of the elites now also has ever more sophisticated consent and perception manufacturing methods to influence the newfound voice of the majority. For a small number of dedicated activists, pushing society along towards desired version of progress against the forces of social inertia is now harder than ever. The powerful activists now need to sway both the fellow elites and the people simultaneously.

Let’s finally get to the Myers-Briggs part of the article to see what we are now dealing with.

The most widely used way to get a glimpse of people’s underlining neural physiology has been the Myers-Briggs psychological questionnaire (one of the better versions found online for free can be found here). Over the past few decades, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has been utilized to collect enormous amounts of statistical data on personality types found within the human population. The statistical type breakdown (I am using a combination of 3 different sources on the %. Don’t mind the catchy positive nicknames each type and group cluster has been given. What matters here is the number within a population.) so far has been as follows,

Protectors (SJ)

ESTJ – Overseer, supervisor = 11.8%
ESFJ – Supporter, provider = 11.7%
ISTJ – Examiner, inspector = 9.8%
ISFJ – Defender, protector = 9.9%
All SJs = 43.2%

Creators (SP)

ESTP – Persuader, promoter = 8.4%
ESFP – Entertainer, performer = 10.3%
ISTP – Craftsman, mechanic = 6.4%
ISFP – Artist, composer = 7.9%
All SPs = 33%

Intellectuals (NT)

ENTJ – Chief, fieldmarshal = 3.2%
ENTP – Originator, inventor = 3.7%
INTJ – Strategist, mastermind = 1.5%
INTP – Engineer, architect = 2.2%
All NTs = 10.6%

Visionaries (NF)

ENFJ – Mentor, teacher = 3.4%
ENFP – Advocate, idealist = 4.2%
INFJ – Confidant, empath = 1.2%
INFP – Dreamer, healer = 2.4%
All NFs = 11.2%

Each of the personality types (the well defined strong ones at least who haven’t self reported to be a mutt of 2 or more different personalities) can be seen as a specific brain type. As mentioned above, the physiological neural difference between 2 people of vastly dissimilar brain types is a lot more significant than how a person looks on the outside. That is because the brain type determines a mental and emotional predisposition of a person for the rest of his life. People classified as “bipolar” or “anti-social/sociopathic” for instance, have neural structures that will make them lean towards some things more than others during their entire lives.

We can see from the statistical breakdown that SJ (left-brained people with parietal lobe strength) predominate in the overall population. The second biggest group are the SP (right-brained with parietal lobe strength). Together they are almost 80% of the population. The SJs tend to be conservative, authoritarian in outlook, conventional, focused on concrete “what is”, and protective of the general society. They don’t rock the boat too much and defer to tradition. The SPs tend to be fun loving, crafty, entertaining, and have uncanny ability to focus on “what is” (with their parietal lobe) in order to fix and modify it.

If you look at the cute nicknames given to different brain types, you can see that the human herd pretty much needs all of them if it is to evolve and survive. Some types are needed more than others in the great scheme of things. The SJ and SP groups for example are conveniently numerous. SJ population provides a great amount of soldiers, policemen, social workers, self sacrificing charity givers, accountants, and status quo protectors. In other words they keep the herd safe even if it means stagnating the herd through using their positions in the executive to slow down rapid change. SP group provides us with artisans who improve quality of life for the herd through provision of entertainers, artists, dancers, singers, and resourceful improvising mechanics. SPs can be said to exist to entertain SJs and keep them on their toes by having more fun than them.

It’s easy to see how SJs lean republican and SPs lean democrat overall. The jokes that democrats have better sex lives than republicans begin to acquire an element of truth (considering the different approach left and right sides of the brain take in deciding on how to deal with the here and now). However, the two large groups are united by their concern with all things as they are in the now. That makes the two groups friendly and status quo leaning by default. An ESTJ born in Brooklyn may identify as a traditionalist democrat whereas an ESTJ born in West Virginia may identify as a traditionalist republican, but both are more likely to seek similar professions and get along if they hang out together. Brain type identification provides a lot more material to predict a person’s behavior and views on the world than simple political identification.

The overall theme emerges that people with neural computers that predispose them to either protect the status quo or be apathetic about it (since they are busy pursuing hedonistic adventures) are the supermajority that are not as interested in “what can be” (as the less numerous NP and NJ groups tend to be). A point must be made here that not one group is more important than another and that even their numerical breakdowns seem amazingly appropriate. It would be turbulent for the herd to have for example, more ENTJs/INTJs than ISTJs/ESTJs since the problem with authority that NJs have (due to their desire to be the authority themselves) would create unsustainable infighting and not allow enough people who follow orders. Each brain type has a very key social niche and function and over thousands of years there evolved an intricate genetic balance and ratio. There are of course also multitudes of physiological “mutts” who are a hybrid of all and can’t be “pigeonholed” (the most common complaint brought against psychological typology in general).

Interestingly enough, the Hindus have spent thousands of years evolving classification of human beings into 4 broad psychological varnas or classes. Each was considered as important as the other (all parts of the same body) with their own particular temperaments and duties.

Some brain types are literally made to create new theoretical constructs on how society should be organized and which steps it should take next (INTPs, ENTPs,). When balanced by the emotional consideration and input of INFPs and ENFPs (since strong T theorists are prone to being too rigidly rational and thus not take into consideration the emotional impact of their constructs) new paths for society can be developed that would be acceptable to SJs and SPs combined. However, as explained above, these people will always be outvoted and marginalized by politicians who mobilize the other more numerous groups. “Think of the children!” is a call to arms for ESFJs and ISFJs for instance whereas being tough on crime, national strength, and defeating foreign enemies is the bread and butter of ESTJs and ISTJs.

This dynamic reinforces the need for proportional representation in our system of governance. Proportional representation is practiced in most European Union countries to great effect. This way each brain type cluster can get a political party of their own. The marginalized 20% of the population can get representation and even serve as coalition kingmakers. New voices can be heard in the discourse. Today the 20% of population has to either join the big parties they don’t like and “radicalize” them (seen by the tail wagging the dog phenomenon of militants dominating today’s Republican party and driving moderates out of it) or abstain from the process thus depriving society of valuable input. In proportional representation, each batch of brain types seen as “radicals” can find a party to call home and really support. They would also have more political representation to vent out their frustration and to institutionalize their presence and views. Citizens can then pick and choose which vision of progress to support and which to leave behind.

Here’s a short primer on Cognitive and Behavioral Learning Theories

Behavioral learning theories suggest that learning results from pleasant or unpleasant experiences in life while cognitive theories of learning suggest that learning is based upon mental processes. However, in an admonishment against being too closely guided by any one set of pedagogical principles, Johnson (2003) suggests that a fixation with process oriented educational theories among those in the politics of education has not served the education community well by aligning practitioners into separate camps.

A behavioral view in psychology has held that exploratory analysis of cognition must begin with an examination of human behavior (William & Beyers, 2001). Behavioral theory has benefited from the work of early researchers such as Pavlov, Thorndike, and later on the work of B.F. Skinner. Work relating to the development of behavioral theories in educational psychology has allowed theorists to explore ways in which human action could be controlled through manipulation of stimuli and patterns of reinforcement.

Cognitive theory as it relates to epistemological processes within the individual is based upon the idea that learning comes about as a result of processes related to experience, perception, memory, as well as overtly verbal thinking. Since the 1970s, information processing theory has been a dominant focus of study for cognitive theorists. Although the list of theories associated with cognitive theory is an expansive one to say the least, for the purposes of this paper, it is appropriate to mention several contemporary theories on cognition including: information processing theory, schema theory, and situated cognition theory.

Informational processing is based on a theory of learning that describes the processing of, storage, and retrieval of knowledge in the mind. Factors such as sensory register, attention, working memory, and long term memory play a significant part in this theory of cognition. Schema theory offers that human beings interpret the world around them based on categorical rules or scripts; information is processed according to how it fits into these rules or schemes. As an epistemology, schema theory focuses on meaningful learning and the construction of and modification of conceptual networks. Situated cognition theory postulates a social nature of learning situated within a community of practice in which knowledge is socially constructed.

An important component of this type learning, apprenticeship, is informed by social learning theory. Situational cognition as a theory posits that the individual is not a passive vessel, but rather, is an active self-reflective entity; as such, cognitive processes develop as a result of interaction between the self and others.

Another loosely related concept that relates to social cognition is the construct of reciprocal determinism. This is a behavioral theory under which it is theorized that the environment causes behavior and at the same time, behavior causes the environment Under this theory, personal factors in the form of (a) cognition, affect, and biological events, (b) behavior, and (c) environmental influences, create interactions that result in a triadic reciprocality (Pajares, 2002).

References

Johnson, B. (2003). Those nagging headaches: perennial issues and tensions in the politics of education field. Education Administration Quarterly, 39 (1), pp. 41-67.

Pajares, F. (2002). Overview of social cognitive theory and of self-efficacy.

Williams, R. & Beyers, M. (2001). Personalism, social constructionalism, and the foundation of the ethical. Theory and Psychology, 11 (1), pp. 119-134.

Liston W. Bailey is an educator and training specialist living in Virginia.

Millions of women in their 30s, 40s, and beyond are raptly following the romantic escapades of 18-year-old Bella in the teenage romance series known as Twilight. What, we may wonder, is the emotional yearning that drives them?

Feminists loathe the fact that Freud described many of his female patients as suffering from hysteria. Though I consider myself a feminist, I’ll take the risk of saying I think hysteria aptly explains grown-up women’s frenzy over Twilight. Recently I’ve been asked if the Twilight phenomenon bears any relation to The Cinderella Complex. In that book, published in the eighties, I documented women’s psychological fear of independence-their deep-seated wish to be saved. Feminists at the time took issue with my theory, and yet here we are, a quarter of a century later, with something akin to mass hysteria reflecting women’s fear that without the love of a powerful man their lives will be meaningless. Considering the enormous gains women have made, both professionally and financially, how could romantic illusion continue to be so powerful?

As a psychoanalyst I’ve begun thinking clinically about Twilight Twitter. One aspect of women’s identification with young Bella, I believe, is her self-abnegation. No sooner does Edward show an interest in Bella than she shrinks back. “I couldn’t imagine anything about me that could be in any way interesting,” she says.

“I know exactly how she feels,” accomplished women tell me. And yet Bella’s is the plaint of a girl with few interests and curiosities about life, much less herself. In spite of herself, she gets the boy (or, in this case, the vampire). Women find doubting Bella’s romantic success reassuring. Also, oddly, they’re compelled by the idea of her ungratified sexuality. (I can imagine Freud in his grave stroking his beard and saying, “I told you so”. Repressed sexuality, to his way of thinking, lay at the root of women’s hysteria.)

A core issue for hysterics, as psychoanalysts understand the phenomenon today, is the damaging experience of never having been taken seriously. It causes such individuals to be without an anchor, feeling “virtually weightless and floating, attracted here, repelled there, captivated first by this and then by that,” as the noted psychoanalyst, David Shapiro, wrote. Little seems rooted in deep interest or purpose. The resulting sense of insubstantiality can leave those suffering from hysteria vulnerable to the influence of others. Shapiro described it, way back in the 60s, as a “Prince-Charming-will-come-and-everything-will be- all-right view of life.”

Anyone who doubts that many women still think this way this has only to check out the OMG sensibility flooding blogs and chat rooms. OMG, Edward is too beautiful, too fabulously strong, even “gentlemanly”. Bella is so lucky to have snared him; now, Cinderella-like, the poor girl can look forward to a lifetime of happiness. Never mind the danger implicit in dashing Edward’s creepily long eye teeth, he is the prince.

When working in therapy with women who are preoccupied by adolescent dreams of romance, my hope is to spark in them a curiosity about themselves-to get them to begin wondering if there mightn’t be some powerful thoughts and feelings of their own lying beneath the surface brush fires that distract them. Eventually, if things go well, they come to experience themselves as substantial, interesting, and beautiful, and are no longer inclined to gravitate toward media images of male power.

If there’s a main reason for women’s preoccupation with Twilight’s young Bella, I believe it’s this: society still doesn’t take women seriously. As a result, many women don’t take themselves seriously.

The cultural conditioning of girls persists. Think of the madness surrounding “princess parties” if you want evidence that romantic notions continue to be foist on them. It’s Barbie reincarnate, only the princess is if anything more ephemeral, weightless, even less aware of her own substance.

In the seventies we worried about Barbie’s influence on our daughters and tried to diminish her power over them. Today’s mothers actually love the princess. They spend millions so their daughters can flit about in miniature gowns and tiaras looking and acting like one.

My concern is that as long as society keeps insisting on a de-fanged image of femininity, girls will continue finding it hard to connect to their own core and will grow up enthralled by “harmless” stories of romantic obsession.

In placing so much attention on romance, women only feed the fantasy that they need some idealized Other to make the world go ’round. In the end, they are left yearning, the glass slipper of adult love having utterly eluded them.

NY psychotherapist Colette Dowling, LCSW, has a private practice in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York Ciety. She can be reached at 718-594-0201, or at dowlingcolette@earthlink.net.

For more articles on women’s mental health visit Colette’s website: http://womens-wellbeing-and-mental-health.com/new-york-psychotherapist.html.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder – What is it?

Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, often abbreviated as ODD, represent a small but significant group of young people with a disturbing behaviour problem that is difficult to manage, troubling to parents and teacher alike, and that places them at risk for future problems. The statistics about the prevalence of ODD vary quite a bit, from a low of five percent to a high of sixteen percent of children under the age of eighteen. The condition seems to occur more in boys than girls and the ratio is dominated by boys until age eighteen. After that age the condition seems to occur in boys and girls equally.

Once identified the condition seems to be resolved after three years in about 67% of all cases. A small but significant percent (30%) of children with the condition go on to develop a more serious behaviour disturbance know as Conduct Disorder (CD). Like so many conditions of childhood ODD frequently occurs in combination with other conditions such as ADHD (in about 65% of cases), Mood Disorders (in about 35% of cases) and Learning Disabilities (in about 20%-30% of cases).

The cause of ODD is unknown although researches believe that genetic and biological factors often account for its occurrence. Some studies have identified brain irregularities among some children with the disorder. It is also known than family member of people with ODD have a high incidence of ADHD, substance abuse and mood disorders. It is widely recognised that harsh discipline and punitive parenting play a role in the genesis of the disorder.

What are the Symptoms of ODD?

The following traits and characteristics are related to Oppositional Defiant Disorder:

• Often loses temper
• Often argues with adults
• Often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults’ requests or rules
• Often deliberately annoys people
• Often blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior
• Is often touchy or easily annoyed by others
• Is often angry and resentful
• Is often spiteful or vindictive

In order for the difficulties, which obviously can be present in many children, to be indicative of ODD they must have been present for a period of at least six months and must cause significant interference with social, academic or occupational functioning. In short ODD is a persistent pattern of negativistic, defiant and hostile behaviour.

What is the Treatment for ODD?

ODD is usually treated by helping parents manage the child more effectively. Changes in discipline, organisation of the home and manner of speaking with the child are necessary. Cognitive behaviour therapy is sometimes used in conjunction with parent training but ODD is a condition that is not easy to treat in a counselling setting. Parent Management Training is often used and is known to be effective in about 65% of cases. If ADHD or Mood Disorders are present with ODD medication may be helpful.

ODD is a difficult and challenging condition of childhood. It tries the patience of parents and teachers and can have a damaging impact on siblings and other family members.

David J. Carey, Psy.D.
297 Beechwood Court
Stillorgan
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.davidjcarey.com

Conduct Disorder (CD) – What is it?

Conduct Disorder is a condition of childhood and adolescence that causes severe and serious disruption in behaviour. It is the most challenging and difficult of all behavioural and emotional disturbances of children and teenagers. Conduct Disorders are exceptionally difficult to manage and equally difficult to treat. People with Conduct Disorders create huge problems in school, family and community. The difficulties caused by teenagers with Conduct Disorder create havoc in communities and a significant proportion of young people incarcerated for criminal offenses have a conduct disorder.

Children and adolescents with this disorder have great difficulty following rules and behaving in a socially acceptable way. They are often viewed by other children, adults and social agencies as “bad” or delinquent, rather than mentally ill. Many factors may contribute to a child developing conduct disorder, including brain damage, child abuse, genetic vulnerability, school failure, and traumatic life experiences.

Children and teens with conduct disorder often display some, or all, of the following behaviours:

- Harming people or animals
- Bullying, threatening or intimidating others
- Causing fights
- Using a weapon that can cause physical harm to others
- Tortures, physically harms or hurts animals or people
- Confronts people and robs them
- Forces someone into sexual activity
- Destroys Property
- Starts fires deliberation with the intent to cause damage
- Deliberately destroying other peoples property
- Being deceitful, lying, or stealing
- Breaks into someone’s house or car
- Lying to obtain goods or favours or to avoid obligations
- Stealing without confronting the victim
- Serious violations of rules
- Staying out all night despite parental objections
- Running away from home
- Truant from school often

What Causes Conduct Disorder?

There is no definitive answer to this question just yet. Research indicates a variety of factors that influence the development of the condition. These range from genetic and biological, brain related factors to social-economic factors. It is known that about 30-50% of people diagnoses with the condition also have rather severe ADHD. Factors such as being reared in an institution, being fostered to numerous families, harsh and severe parental discipline, living in socially disadvantaged and violent communities all play a role in the development of the problem.

Children and teenagers with CD often have co-existing conditions such as ADHD, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Mood Disorders, anxiety, substance abuse, or learning difficulties). For these reasons a comprehensive assessment is always important. If co-existing conditions are discovered they must all be treated effectively and this makes successful outcomes even more problematic.

Treatment is terribly problematic because of the complexity of the problem. A contributing factor in the difficulty in treating the condition is the child or teen’s deep-seated distrust of adults. This distrust causes them to be less than truthful and forthcoming about their behaviours, thoughts and moods. Typically these children and teens are uncooperative with treatment and all adults trying to help them.

The prevalence of conduct disorders in people under the age of 17 is about 1 to 4%. Estimate vary widely and some suggest that up to 16% of boys have the condition while only up to 9% of girls have it. Whatever the prevalence or causes Conduct Disorder is an extremely difficult condition and the costs to society are high in terms of crime rates, violence and incarceration of offenders.

David J. Carey, Psy.D.
297 Beechwood Court
Stillorgan
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.davidjcarey.com

Most reputable scientists now believe that autism has existed throughout the history of humankind. Some have speculated that ancient legends about “changelings” are actually stories of children with autism. Celtic mythology is redolent with stories of elves and visitors from “the other side” who steal a human child and leave their own damaged child in its place. The child left behind is usually mute, remote and distant, staring into space and unresponsive to its adult caretakers. We must bear in mind that in times gone by, and in some cultures today, children who are unlike the average expected child are seen to be victims of evil or some sort.

In 1801 the French physician Itard took into his care a boy who had been found wandering naked in the forest. It was believed at the time that the boy had lived alone in the forest since early childhood. The boy could not speak and was unresponsive to human contact. He has come to be known as “sauvage de l’Aveyron,” or “wild boy of Aveyron”. Itard’s tireless efforts to help this boy mark the beginning of special educaiton. Although autism was not a term used at the time there are those who speculate that the wild boy of Aveyron was a child with autism.

The real history of autism dates back only one hundred years to the time of the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler. In 1911 Bleuler was writing about a group of people then identified as having schizophrenia. In his writing he coined the term “autism” to describe their seeming near total absorption with themselves and distance from others.

Writing in the early 1920’s, Carl Gustav Jung introduced the terminology of extrovert and introvert. Jung viewed these personality types as being present in all people to one degree or another. However he noted that in extreme cases, cases that in the language of his day were called “neurotic”, a person could become totally absorbed into himself or herself.

It was not until the late 1930’s and early 1940’s in America that the term “autism” joined the official psychiatric nomenclature. Psychiatrists Leo Kanner, who started working with a particular group of children in 1938, and Hans Asperger, both publishing findings and writing in 1943 and 1944, wrote about groups of children they had studied and called either “autistic” or children with “autistic psychopathy”. Both authors believe these children displayed a constellation of symptoms that were unique and represented a syndrome not previously identified. As the children they studied seemed unable to engage in normal human relationships they borrowed Bleuler’s term “autism” to identify the syndrome. The defining difference between the work of Kanner and Asperger and that of Bleuler is that for the former two the condition they describe is present at birth while for Bleuler the condition appears much later in life.

Another important difference in these early pioneers of autism is that Kanner group is quite self-contained and comprised of individual all sharing the same “core” symptoms. Asperger’s group is quite wide, ranging from the children like Kanner’s to children with near normal characteristics. The vestiges of these two differing descriptions, now bearing the names of their illustrious “discoverers” remains to this day. In the literature and in lay terminology we still hear people described as having “Kanner’s autism” or “Asperger’s syndrome.

Around the time of Kanner and Asperger another famous, indeed in autism circles infamous, name appears. This is Bruno Bettelheim. In 1944 Bettelheim directed the Orthogenic School for Children in Chicago, Illinois. There he worked out his own theory of the cause of autism and started intervention programmes. Bettelheim believed that autism was a result of children being raised in severely unstimulating environments during their early years. He believed it was parents, particularly mothers, who were unresponsive to their children that caused autism. The unfortunate term “refrigerator mother” arose during this time.

Although Bettelheim’s psychological theories were eventually discredited it was not for many years that science advanced to the point that mother’s were not blamed for autism. Indeed, the author’s own post-graduate training in the mid to late 70’s was characterised by lectures about “refrigerator mothers” having caused autism. The legacy of Bettelheim’s theory is undoubtedly one of terrible harm inflicted on so many mothers for so many years. [I cannot help but wonder if we really have progressed since I have so often heard mothers of children with autism being described as "over-anxious", "clinging", "over-involved" and "pushy or aggressive" by some educators, psychologists and physicians]

From the 1980’s onward considerable research has been undertaken to uncover the “cause” of autism. So many theories have come forward: genetic, environmental, toxins, endocrine, metabolic, unusual reactions to certain foods or additives and the current favourite, immunizations. Despite all this theorising autism still remains a puzzle. Little scientifically valid evidence supports any particular theory and research continues into the cause of autism.

What do we know about autism?

It is now and accepted fact that autism is a neurodevelopment (sometimes called neurobiological) condition. This places the site of autism within the human brain itself, not in the form of physical brain abnormalities that appear on physical examination or X-ray, but rather in the chemical and electrical activity of the brain. It is know that autism is present at birth, is more common amongst boys than girls and is a life-long condition with no “cure”. We know that autism can be treated effectively and there are a wide number of treatment options available. It is now known that education is particularly important in the treatment of autism and that early intervention is critically important. Children born with autism can improve along a number of pathways but they will always have autism no matter how seemingly like others they may become.

Having said what was said about autism being incurable and a life-long condition there are those who say it can be cured. Interesting forms of treatment being studied in New Orleans, Louisiana involve testing children with autism for low-level presence of lead in there system, then providing treatment to eliminate any traces of autism. This is said to have “cured” over 1,500 children of the condition (personal conversation with the lead physician). It has to be cautioned that such extreme and emphatic statements must be put to the rigorous test of scientific study and that the sorts of assessments being completed on these children in New Orleans are not in favour in Europe at the moment.

What is autism?

The neurodevelopment or neurobiological condition known as autism is highly variable. No two people with autism are alike. Having said that, all people with autism share common characteristics. These characteristics exist along what is called the “Triad of Impairment”.

The Triad of Impairment consists of significant deficits across three developmental areas:

1. Social impairment
2. Verbal and non-verbal communication impairment
3. Impairments of thinking and behaving

1. Impairment of Social Interaction

There are several sub-types of behaviours that characterise this group of people with autism. They can be quite aloof, behaving as if other people did not exist at all, making little or no eye contact and have faces that seem to lack any emotional display whatever. Less common is the passive group who will accept the advances of others, can be led to participate as a passive partner in an activity and who return the eye contact of others. Another subtype has been called the “active but odd group”. These people pay no attention to others, have poor eye contact and may stare too long and often shake hands far too vigorously and strongly. The last subtype is the overly formal and stilted group. They tend to use language in a very formal way when it is not called for, are excessively polite and try to stick to the rules of social interaction but don’t really understand then. They tend to have well developed language skills that can mask their real social deficits.

2. Impairment of Communication

Significant deficits in communication are present, to one degree or another, in all people with autism. They may have problems is using speech (expressive language), ranging from having no speech at all (about 20% of cases) to have very well developed speech. They make repeat words spoken to them (echolalia) or repeat phrases they associate with something they want (e.g. “Do you want to play” instead of “I want to play”). They will also have deficits in understanding speech (receptive language). Confusing between sounds of words can be present (e.g. meat and meet). Difficulty with irony, sarcasm and humour is often found in those with well-developed expressive language. They may have problems understanding when an object has more than one meaning (e.g. soup bowl, toilet bowl).

In addition to the problem listed about in receptive language people with autism can often have significant difficulty with modulating their tone of voice and putting expression into what they say. They can sometimes sound robotic and speak with a droning monotone. Sometimes they can emphasise the intonation of certain words with unnecessary force. Sometimes they are too loud, sometimes too quiet (more frequent).

It is important to recognise that communication is more than speech. Non-verbal communication is important for human social interaction to proceed smoothly. People with autism have deficits in understand non-verbal communication. They may not be able to interpret facial expression or to use it themselves. They may have odd and unusual body posture and gestures. They may not understand the body posture and gestures of others.

3. Impairment of Thinking and Behaving

People with autism have pronounced difficulty with play or imagining. The lack of the ability to play has a profound effect on the ability to understand the emotions of others therefore sharing joy or sorrow with another can be impossible. Repetitive and stereotyped movements or activities are often present in autism. They may want to taste, touch or smell things. They may have a need to twirl things before their eyes. Sometimes they may jump up and down and make loud noises. In more severe cases they may bang their heads against walls or floor or pull and scratch at their skin. People with autism have a strong need for consistency and sameness. They become unsettled when routine changes. All these behaviours and characteristics point to a pronounced inflexibility in thinking and behaving.

Although every person with an autistic spectrum disorder has deficits in all three parts of the triad each varies significantly in the nature of their deficits. This makes is imperative for people working with children with autism to individualise their interventions. Autism is a highly variable condition with no two children alike and with some children, seemingly near normal but having subtle deficits.

Problems that may accompany autism

In addition to deficits across the triad there are a number of problems often associated with autism, though it is not known yet if they are caused by autism. Among the most common are: epileptic seizures (particularly in adolescence), sensory integration deficits (difficulty integrating the reception of sensations such as sound, sight, taste, hearing or movement), general learning disabilities, Fragile X syndrome (about 2-5% of people with an ASD), tuberous sclerosis (benign tumours in the brain or other organs, occurs in about 2-4% of people with an ASD), ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome and dyslexia. Proper treatment of autism must include appropriate treatment of any associated condition.

Education of children with autism

Many children with autism can be educated in the mainstream with appropriate supports. These supports typically include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychological services and special education. Though they perceive the world differently from those around them they benefit from placement in mainstream classroom and the other children benefit from having them in their class.

People with autism vary to an enormous degree as has been said above. As they progress through the educational system the types of supports they require and the intensity of these supports can vary as well. It is important to recognise that children with autism can be educated and reach their optimum level of potential. The task may be difficult and progress may be slow but progress will be made when supports are present and all work cooperatively together.

When autism is severe and accompanied by extremely challenging behaviour such as aggression, self-harm, extreme disorganisation and complete lack of language the education being provided often must take place in a specialist setting. The goal in these settings is to attempt to re-integrate the child back into the mainstream. For children whose autism is of such a severe nature psychiatric services may be required as an adjunct to the educational programme.

People with autism can be educated and a great many of them can enter the work force, sometimes independently and with great success, at other times requiring the support of a job coach and in some cases may require sheltered work settings. As well as entering the work force many people with autism can live independent lives, some will require structured and supported accommodation and some will require accommodation is specialist settings.

Autism and the brain

Considerable research is underway to investigate the exact nature of brain functioning in a person with autism. A lot is being learned but there is more to be learned in the future. What is known now is that there seems to be differences in the brain functioning of people with autism. With advances in nuero-imaging it is now possible to look at the brain with performing an autopsy. This makes it possible to study how the brain works while it is working. These imaging methods (CT scans, MRI scans PET scans and others) have shown that there seem to be a number of brain structures associated with autism and autistic spectrum disorders. These include the cerebellum, cerebral cortex, limbic system, corpus callosum, basal ganglia, and brain stem. These structures are responsible for cognition, movement, emotional regulation and coordination as well as sensory reception. Other studies are looking into the role of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and epinephrine. There seems to be a genetic factor involved in some of these brain dysfunctions and some research indicates that unusual brain growth may take place in the first three months of life, is a genetic factor and that results in autism appearing in early childhood.

What is being learned turns other theories, such as Bettelheim’s, upside down. Autism is no one’s fault. It is a neurodevelopment disorder affecting more boys than girls (4:1), occurring in about 3-6% of the population. This makes autism less common than general learning disabilities but common than cerebral palsy, hearing impairment and visual impairment. Translating these statistics into something more comprehensible it can be said that about 1 in 500 to 1 in 150 people will be born with autism. The implications for these figures are alarming because it means that virtually every school in the country has a child on the spectrum and that the vast majority of these children have not been diagnosed and are perceived in a pejorative light by their teachers, sometimes seemingly odd or obstreperous and sometimes lazy or unable to learn.

Autism and the family

Autism is a family condition. When there is one child in the family with autism there is a condition present that affects every single-family member including those who do not live in the same home. On receiving a diagnosis of autism parents sometimes feel a certain relief, now knowing that it isn’t their fault the child is different. Others react with anger, grief, shame, denial or rage. Sometimes they become angry with the diagnostician and refuse to believe the findings. Although diagnosis at an early age is a good predictor of successful outcome if appropriate treatment is provided it is always accompanied by considerable trauma to family life. The impact of the diagnosis is always greatest on the mother.

The impact of living with a person on the spectrum has been shown to be harder on the mother than the father. The lessened paternal impact has a lot to do with factors associated with the gender role of the man in the traditional family: out of the home and working much of the time. Mothers are left in the major caretaker role and face the day-to-day stress of rearing a child with autism. For fathers the major impact of autism in the family is associated with the stress it puts on the mother. Figures in the US seem to indicate that the divorce rate in families of children with autism is not higher than in other families. This is something that has not been studied extensively in other countries however one study conducted in the UK indicates that the lone parent rate in families with autism is 17%, compared with 10% in other families.

Studies have shown that the emotional impact of autism on the mother can be quite severe. Many mothers experience enough emotional distress to require medication or psychotherapy. One study showed that 50% of mothers of children with autism screed positively for significant psychological distress and that this was associated with low levels of family support and brining up a child with challenging behaviour. Another study raised this figure to 66%. The emotional stress on the mother appears to have a significant effect on the work status. Many cannot work outside the home. For those that manage to work outside the home there is an increased incidence of tardiness, missed days and reduction to part-time status. Mothers are also the person most likely to be held responsible for their child’s behaviour by others outside the family including neighbours and teachers. Mothers tend to cope differently with these stresses than fathers. Fathers tend to hide their feelings and suppress them, the result often being increased episodes of anger outburst. Mothers tend to cope by talking about their difficulties with friends, particularly other mothers of children with autism. They also cope by becoming avid information seekers, often knowing more about autism then the educators of their children.

The impact of autism on the siblings is not to be underestimated. They know from an early age that their brother or sister is “different”. They will have a great many questions but most often don’t ask them for fear of hurting the parent’s feelings. The will have a deep love of the sibling with autism but this love is sometimes associated with anger and resentment due to the increased time the parents spend on the sibling with autism. They will often worry about their own future and obsess about whether or not they will “get” autism or will they pass it on to their own children one day.

The impact is not always negative and several studies have shown that being a sibling of a child with autism is associated with greater self-confidence and social competence. Care-taking skills often improve as well. Levels of tolerance to difference can be higher than in the siblings of children who do not have autism. So, what do we know about the impact of autism on the family? It is a mixed bag of results. At times is can be devastating, at other times it can lead to higher levels of coping skills and a sense of self-mastery. A lot depends on the family itself and the community in which it is embedded. A lot more depends on the supports and treatments available, especially the educational interventions and supports that can be provided. One this is certain: autism is a family condition affecting everyone.

David J. Carey, Psy.D.
297 Beechwood Court
Stillorgan
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.davidjcarey.com

To pass the Examination for the Professional Practice of Psychology (EPPP) you need help, a strategy. You can not just walk in to an examination center, sit down, and pass this examination without preparing. 

How Important is the EPPP?

The EPPP is one of the most important tests a psychologist will ever sit for. 

No matter how well you did in your graduate school classes. No matter how great you did on comprehensive examinations. Or how brilliant your dissertation defense was. Or how many journals accepted articles based on your dissertation. You may have been the star at your internship. Your internship director may have held you up as the model intern. Yet, despite it all…

If You Don’t Pass the EPPP…

If you fail the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology you will have very limited practice opportunities in the US or Canada. You will, virtually, be unable to practice anywhere without passing the it. At least not in any state or province that has a board of psychology that is a member of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB). The only exceptions to requiring you to pass this exam being Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Yet even Quebec requires applicants from outside the province to pass the exam before they are allowed to practice.

The list of professional activities that you are restricted from when you are not licensed is long: You can’t have private patients. You can’t get insurance company reimbursement. You can’t print “Licensed Psychologist” on your business cards. Many employers require that you be licensed. Basically, if you can’t pass the EPPP you’ll have thrown away years of graduate study and thousands of dollars on education, and all the sacrifices you made.

The EPPP Defined

The EPPP is the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology. Every psychologist who wants to hang out a shingle in any state in the USA or in almost any province in Canada needs to successfully complete it.

Who Makes the EPPP?

An organization in Montgomery, AL creates and markets the EPPP to State and Provincial psychology boards.

Content of the EPPP

The EPPP contains these 8 domains: Ethical, legal, and professional issues, Treatment, intervention, and prevention, Social and multi-cultural bases of behavior, Biological bases of behavior, Assessment and diagnosis, Cognitive-affective bases of behavior, Research methods and statistics, and Growth and life-span development.

EPPP Administration

The EPPP is made up of two hundred twenty-five multiple choice questions. The examinee has four hours and fifteen minutes exactly, to finish the exam.

The exam is administered via computer. The examinee locates and sits for the exam at a Prometric Test Center.

It’s natural to assume that having attained a PhD or PsyD in psychology, having passed an accredited graduate program in psychology, completed an internship, and defended a dissertation or research project you would be able to easily pass the exam. Or perhaps pass it with a bit of review. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Why EPPP Questions are Difficult

On the EPPP, examinees must pick the “best” answer, not necessarily the “right” answer. Wording is often inverse. Questions may specify “all are true except” or “all are false except.” Discriminating fine differences between the answers on this psychology exam can be very challenging.

The questions on the exam require you to not only be familiar with each of the eight domains, but to demonstrate the application of that knowledge.

It is not realistic to believe that you can prepare minimally for the EPPP, or prepare in the same manner you have in the past for examinations. Nor is it realistic to prepare minimally and simply plan on continually retesting until you pass the test. There are several reasons for this.

EPPP Registration Expenses

One reason that makes it unrealistic to keep retesting is the high cost. Each administration of the EPPP costs you $450. Each sitting at the Prometric Test Center to sit for the psychology exam costs $68.

State and Provincial psychology boards require the payment of licensing and administration fees before you are allowed to take the exam. You must obtain an Authorization to Test letter from your psychology board before the ASPPB will allow you to register for the psychology examination. Psychology board costs related to licensing and sitting for the exam, depending on where you live, can be upwards of a thousand dollars.

How Many Times Can I Take the EPPP?

Another reason it is unrealistic to repeatedly retake the EPPP is that there are limitations on how many times you can take it. The ASPPB restricts you to taking the exam four times annually, while your local psychology board may restrict you even further. After a certain number of unsuccessful attempts on the Examination for the Professional Practice of Psychology many psychology boards require you to convince them why you should be allowed to try to pass the exam again. Before you can take the test again your psychology board may require you to take additional classwork, gain further experience, or undergo supervision (for example).

All of these additional requirements can add significantly to the time it takes you to pass the EPPP.

Financial Costs of Retesting on the EPPP

Retakes of the EPPP are not free. You must pay the full fee to ASPPB ($450) and to Prometric ($68) each time you sit for the exam. Your psychology board will also charge you additional administration fees to reapply for another authorization letter to retake the exam. In all, the process of sitting for and passing this test are quite costly.

How to Pass the EPPP

So, in summary, passing the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology is a difficult undertaking that requires special preparation. However, help is available. Web sites, such as How To Pass The EPPP Without Even Trying! exist to make the process easier. With careful preparation, an understanding of the structure of the exam, the proper exam study materials, and test taking strategies specific to the EPPP, you can and will pass the test.

A psychologist offers expert advice on how to pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). EPPP test strategies, EPPP study materials, EPPP preparation programs, EPPP study software, reviews of EPPP preparation programs, and more. Learn how to study the smart way for the EPPP and How to Pass the EPPP. Without Even Trying! Learn everything you need to know to pass this crucial examination that is required for licensure in the United States and most of Canada. The EPPP Study Guy discusses everything about passing the EPPP.

“Behaviour is ultimately the product of the brain, the most mysterious organ of them all.” Ian Tattersall (from Becoming Human.Evolution and Human Uniqueness, 1998)

The question of why we are motivated to certain behaviours is perhaps one of the most fundamental in Psychology. Since Pavlov described conditioning in dogs in his famous 1927 paper, scientists have pondered the origins of motivations that drive us to action. For most of the early twentieth century, behaviourists like Watson & Skinner sought to explain behaviour in terms of external physical stimuli, suggesting that learned responses, hedonic reward and reinforcement were motives to elicit a particular behaviour. However, this does not tell the whole story. In the last few decades, the school of cognitive psychology has focused on additional mechanisms of motivation: our desires according to social and cultural factors having an influence on behaviour. Furthermore, recent advances in neuroimaging technology have allowed scientists an insight into the vast complexities and modular nature of specific brain regions. This research has shown that behaviours necessary for survival also have an inherent biological basis.

The biological trigger for inherent behaviours such as eating, drinking and temperature control can be traced to the hypothalamus, an area of the diencephalon. This article will explore the hypothalamic role in such motivated behaviours. It is important to note that a motivated behaviour resulting from internal hypothalamic stimuli is only one aspect of what is a complex and integrated response.

The hypothalamus links the autonomic nervous system to the endocrine system and serves many vital functions. It is the homeostatic ‘control centre’ of the body, maintaining a balanced internal environment by having specific regulatory areas for body temperature, body weight, osmotic balance and blood pressure. It can be categorised as having three main outputs: the autonomic nervous system, the endocrine system and motivated behavioural response. The central role of the hypothalamus in motivated behaviour was proposed as early as 1954 by Eliot Stellar who suggested that “the amount of motivated behaviour is a direct function of the amount of activity in certain excitatory centres of the hypothalamus” (p6). This postulation has inspired a wealth of subsequent research.

Much of this research has been in the field of thermoregulation. The body’s ability to maintain a steady internal environment is of critical importance for survivalas many crucialbiochemical reactions will only function within a narrow temperature range. In 1961, Nakayama et al discovered thermosensitive neurons in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus. Subsequent research showed that stimulation of the hypothalamic region initiated humoral and visceromotor responses such as panting, shivering, sweating, vasodilation and vasoconstriction. However, somatic motor responses are also initiated by the lateral hypothalamus. It is much more effective to move around, rub your hands together or put on extra clothes if you are feeling cold. Similarly, if you are too warm you might remove some clothing or fan yourself to cool down. These motivated behaviours demonstrate that in contrast to a fixed stimulus response, motivated behaviour stimulated by the hypothalamus has a variable relationship between input and output. This interaction with our external environment may be a ‘choice’, however it is clear that the motivation to make these choices has a biological basis.

The mechanics of thermoregulation can be explained by what is sometimes referred to as ‘drive states’. This is essentially a feedback loop that is initiated by an internal stimulus which requires an external response. Kendal (2000) defines drive states as “characterised by tension and discomfort due to a physiological need followed by relief when the need is satisfied”. The process begins with the input. Temperature changes are picked up from peripheral surroundings by thermoreceptive neurons throughout body which sense both warmth and cold separately. An electrical signal (the input) is then sent to the brain. Any divergence from what is known as the ’set point’ – in this case a temperature of approx 37° – will then be identified as an ‘error signal’ by interoceptive neurons in the periventricular region of the hypothalamus. Armed with these measurements and temperature signals being relayed from the blood, the hypothalamus then launches an appropriate error response. This includes motivating behaviour to make a physical adjustment, e.g. to move around or remove surplus clothing in an attempt to control your temperature.

This type of feedback system in the body is common. Other systems necessary for survival such as regulation of blood salt and water levels are regulated in a similar way. However, the processes that motivate us to eat is much more complex.

Humans have evolved an intricate physiological system to regulate food intake which encompasses a myriad of organs, hormones and bodily systems. Furthermore, a wealth of experimental research supports the idea that the hypothalamus plays a key role in this energy homeostasis by triggering feeding behaviours. Controlling energy balance is of crucial importance and eating is primarily to maintain fat stores in the event of food shortage. If fat cell reserves in the body are low, they release a hormone called leptin which is detected as an error signal by the periventricular region of the hypothalamus. This then stimulates the lateral hypothalamus to initiate the error response. In this case, we start to feel hungry which in turns initates the somatic motor response by motivating us to eat .

Since the hypothalamus also controls metabolic rate by monitoring blood sugar levels, in theory we seem to have a similar feedback loop to temperature control. However in practice this is not a reality. The main difficulty in maintaining energy homeostasis is that motivation does not rise solely from internal biological influences. Cultural and social factors also play an important part in motivation about when, what and how often to eat. In western culture, social pressures to be thin can override the need to eat and in extreme cases like anorexia the drive state becomes reversed. The motivation is no longer to eat because they are hungry but is instead not to eat so they do feel hungry. This corruption of the reward system is well documented and is associated with delusions of body image, a concept which is also linked to the hypothalamus and the parietal lobe. Problems can also occur if an individual receives over stimulation to eat. The prevalence of obesity in today’s society is testament to this fact.

Author: Kellieanne McMillan (Glasgow University, BSc Neuroscience)

Perhaps the best known name in the world of psychology is that of Sigmund Freud. Perhaps no other name provokes greater controversy. Was he a genius or a charlatan?

Born in Vienna to a middle class Jewish family, young Sigmund was the apple of his mother’s eye. A diligent and studious youth, he excelled in his studies and eventually qualified in medicine. He was drawn to the new science of neurology and became recognized as being an extremely skilled neuro-anatomist.

However, for various reasons, cutting and staining slices of brain tissue began to hold less and less appeal, and he began to lean towards psychology, and in particular, the treatment of what was then called ´hysteria´. Very fashionable in middle class, 19th century Europe, this malady was strictly the preserve of the female gender.

Crying, faintness, inability to cope, withdrawal and neediness seemed to be the main symptoms, and as late as the 1850´s some still held that it was caused by the womb moving upward in the body towards the seat of emotion, the heart.

Above all, however, the treatment of hysteria could be quite lucrative, and Freud – in somewhat difficult financial circumstances, began to build a substantial practice in that area. Initially, he used hypnosis, but soon abandoned it. Various reasons for this have been suggested, the most popular being that he was a pretty poor hypnotist!

He called his own system ´psychoanalysis´ and developed a technique, still used today, which he described as ´free association´. Essentially, this entails (even now) the client reclining comfortably, with the analyst out of his or her direct line of vision, saying whatever comes into his mind about his condition or concerns. Nothing may be held back, and deep introspection or mental analysis is discouraged. In theory, over time, this will lead to a better understanding of client’s condition, and thereby offer a solution or accommodation.

It is Freud’s theoretical contribution to the world of psychology which is the most fascinating, and which still stimulates sometimes violent debate. To really over simplify matters, Freud suggested a basic framework of the mind, and a belief that what ails you now is the result of what happened in your childhood. Pretty strong stuff, since the theoretical underpinnings of his work rely heavily on juvenile sexuality – a hot potato today, let alone in 19th century Vienna. Freud made a great impact, and at one stage, counted amongst his followers such luminaries as Alfred Adler and Carl Jung.

So, Freudian psychology – it’s all about sex, isn’t ´it? Well yes, but when Freud used the term sex, he did so in a very wide connotation encompassing practically any pleasurable sensation related to the body, and by extension,, to such feelings as tenderness and affection.

His great idea was that all of us have two basic drives – self preservation and the procreation of the species and from the way those develop in us as individuals comes our character, personality and behavior. He called this drive towards procreation ´libido´, (in a simple sense, desire) and suggested that as it developed in the child, it moved through more or less clearly defined phases, each linked to a particular stage of infant sexual development – oral, anal and genital – where the child was concentrated upon particular aspects of its life.

In the oral stage for example, the child’s first need and desire is to suckle, and this first stage persists for a considerable time. Freud thought that we never entirely lose this devotion to ´mouth pleasures´ as adults, citing such pleasurable activities as kissing, smoking and eating. The oral stage´ was overlapped by the anal stage, which generally coincides with the start of the child’s ability to control its anal sphincter, and therefore his ability to ´give´ or ‘withhold’ gifts at will.

In the genital stage, the child becomes aware of, and interested in his or her genitalia as a source of pleasure, and this stage lasts until about the age of five. From then, until puberty, there are no further stages of libidinal development, except quantitatively.

Although Freud took the view that these various stages were basically biologically determined, he conceded that social and parenting factors could influence the direction and rate of their development, and he held the view that each stage had to be completed successfully for the child to emerge as a well balanced adult.

Any disruption of any of these phases could result in ´fixation´, a stalling of development in which the adult would develop and display behavioral characteristics related to the point at which his libidinal development was interrupted. We have all probably heard of the ´anal retentive´ type of character – stubborn, controlling, possessive, with a “what I have, I keep” sort of personality. In Freudian psychology, feces became associated with possessions, and particularly money. Otherwise, the Freudians ask, why do we have such phrases as “stinking rich”, “filthy lucre”, or “rolling in the stuff”.

Time now to examine Freud’s Oedipus and Electra theories, the Id, Ego and Super Ego and see what has become of his theories today.

Not content with ascribing all sorts of adult problems to childhood sexual development, Freud went even further. He theorized that as a little boy passed through the genital stage; he developed strong sexual feelings for his mother, and an intense jealousy and distrust for his father, because the father is the stronger competitor for his mother’s love and affection.

This is the often referred to Oedipus complex and usually ends at about four years old, as the boy develops a distinct fear that his father will castrate him in revenge for his feelings about his mother.

Little girls go through a similar but opposite phase in which there is rejection of the mother and attachment to the father, which Freud referred to as the Electra complex. Freud suggests that we all need to go through these complexes in order to be able to develop healthy adult relationships.

In order to make sense of the seething mass of drives and emotions present in infants, Freud began to develop a complex theory of personality to try to describe why we behave as we do. He thought that infantile behavior was instinctive, without guiding thought or conscious decision, and referred to this impersonal primitive mass as the Id.

As the child grows older, and begins to use reasoning, part of the Id becomes detached to form the Ego, or self, whose purpose is to help determine what reality is like, and what form of behavior brings the most rewards – very selfish, one would think!

Later, a third component of the personality begins to form, the Super-ego. It results from the child taking on board the dictates of its parents, and the “rules” of the society in which it finds itself, and appears to mediate between the demands of the Id and the Ego.

According to Freud, females can never develop a strong Super-ego, resulting in them having a weak moral nature, and of course, leading to our expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the need for psychoanalysis! I think that we can assume that Germaine Greer would have something to say about that.

So when something goes wrong with us, and we decide we need psychoanalysis, what happens?

The object of the treatment is for the client to understand the nature of the drives and conflicts within him, and to adjust his behavior in the light of the information gained.

Typically, the client would be expected to attend four or five one hour sessions per week, for an average of five and a half years- one can see immediately that a great deal of faith and very deep pockets are a prerequisite for candidates for psychoanalysis.

Amazingly, it is still a popular therapy, despite a great deal of skepticism in the psychological community.

Norman is a partner in a counselling, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and life coaching practice in Spain.

He also runs an online counselling/psychotherapy service at http://www.lifechangeonline.co.uk Why not visit and see what’s on offer?