The Psych Perspective - Issue 2-1, Jan 2022

PSYCH

E R S P E C T I V E

ISSUE 2-1

The Psych Perspective is a student-led publication based society at Harrow Hong Kong that showcases student-written material on a variety of psychological topics. The Psych Perspective was created to give pupils the opportunity to explore the fascinating world of psychology and delve deeper into the study of the mind and human behaviour. Students are able to write about anything that piques their interest, whether it be the psychology behind Barbie marketing or the power of the placebo. We hope you enjoy reading the following articles and appreciate the captivating stories and thought-provoking questions raised throughout the issue.

THE TEAM: Founder and Editorin-Chief Deputy Editor-inChief Directors of Art and Design Deputy Director of Art and Design Director of Marketing

Anjeli de Blank Y13, Gellhorn

Clarinde Sanft Y12, Wu

Se Lyn Lim, Y13 Wu Rachel Li, Y13 Wu

Reika Oh, Y12 Gellhorn

Judy Sheng, Y12 Gellhorn

CONTRIBUTORS Writers Sam Bradford Year 13, Peel

Aston Tam Year 12, Shaftesbury

Jason Cho Year 13, Sun

Sophie Brand Year 11, Anderson

Carol Yeung Year 12, Keller

Alyssa Wong Year 12, Anderson

Anjeli de Blank, Year 13, Gellhorn

Benny Zhong Year 11, Churchill

Clarinde Sanft Year 12, Wu

Angel Ho Year 10, Gellhorn

Audrey Lam Year 9, Wu

Judy Sheng Year 12, Gellhorn

Editors Nicole Lau Year 10, Keller

Alyssa Wong Year 12, Anderson

Valerie Ho Year 10, Anderson

Natasha Chan Year 12, Anderson

Anne Zhao Year 11, Keller

Clarinde Sanft Year 12, Wu

Elisa Xu Year 11, Keller

Anjeli de Blank, Year 13, Gellhorn

CONTRIBUTORS Illustrators Clarinde Sanft Year 12, Wu

Linda Zhu Year 13

Se Lyn Lim Year 13, Wu

Elisa Xu Year 11, Keller

Rachel Li Year 13, Wu

Anjeli de Blank Year 13

Reika Oh Year 12, Gellhorn

Jennifer Zhou Year 11, Gellhorn

Alana Kwan Year 11, Anderson

MESSAGES It has been a pleasure to work on the second issue of the Psych Perspective this term and I would like to thank all the authors, editors and illustrators who have put all their hard work into making this possible. I hope that this publication has empowered students to discover new theories of human behavior and share their stories, as well as encouraged others to expand their intellectual curiosity.

The Psych Perspective has given pupils a platform to share their stories and raise awareness on current issues around the world, especially those who are interested in psychology but do not study it as an A-Level. It has been such a wonderful opportunity to get to work with a variety of authors, editors and illustrators and to watch one idea grow into a collaboration of compelling articles and creative artwork.

I hope you enjoy reading the articles as much as I did and enjoy the eye-catching illustrations!

- Anjeli de Blank, Founder and President

I am pleased that many pupils from different year groups have contributed illustrations created based on their own interpretations of the many interesting articles widening perspectives about psychology. I would like to say a big thank you to all illustrators and contributors. I hope you enjoy reading this issue of the Psych Perspective!

- Se Lyn Lim, Director of Art and Design

MESSAGES II am thrilled and excited to introduce the second edition of the Psychology Harrovian at Harrow, HK. My congratulations go to all the writers, editors and illustrators for their creativity, hard work and dedication towards this publication. Everyone uses Psychology on a daily basis and understanding the way your mind works helps in everyday life by allowing you to build stronger relationships and make the best decisions. People are fascinating creatures and are so diverse. These articles will give you an insight into why people behave the way they do, how personality forms and how factors like society and culture impact one’s behaviour. Some of the topics include Psychology myths, parasocial relationships as well as the Psychology behind Barbie marketing amongst many others. You might find yourself gaining a deeper understanding of the many influences that have impacted your own life. This publication is underpinned by curiosity and passion, it is a journey that these pupils have taken towards engaging with the human psyche. I hope you enjoy reading the articles and the illustrations to go with it as much as I have.

- Mrs. Sharin Sikka, Academic Supervisor

I hope all the readers take an interest in the articles and the extensive range of topics included in this issue as much as I did. I wish that they are instilled with the aspiration to delve further into the vast subject of psychology.

It was an honour to have collaborated with everyone who contributed towards the final product. It was exciting to hear all the writer's ideas and work alongside the editors and illustrators.

- Clarinde Sanft, Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Table of Contents 9 16

Stereotyping and Prejudice Sam Bradford

Debunking Five Common Psychology Myths Sophie Brand

23

Great Leaders: Born or Made?

30

Parasocial Relationships Explained

37

The Hallucinations Sleep Resists

43

Power of the Placebo

Anjeli de Blank

Angel Ho

Clarinde Sanft

Judy Sheng

51

A Psychological Analysis of Lennie Small and George Milton

56

Establishing Parameters of Intelligence

62

Psychological Masters' Fight in the Treatment of Mental Trauma

68

How do Anxiety Disorders Affect Teenagers?

74 78

Should Research Always be Ethical?

Aston Tam

Carol Yeung

Benny Zhong

Audrey Lam

Jason Cho

You Can Be Anything: The Psychology Behind Barbie Marketing Alyssa Wong

9

Stereotyping and Prejudice Sam Bradford

Illustration by Rachel Li

10 What is stereotyping and how does it relate to prejudice?

The word ‘stereotype’ carries around a certain stigma. The word in itself means “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image of a group of people or individuals” [1]. However, we should be aware that stereotypes are not necessarily always bad, they can also be positive, for example, ‘Japanese people have very good hygiene’ is often a conventional notion. ‘Prejudice’ is the word used when a stereotype is perceived as negative. We can hold our opinion about people based solely on their group ‘membership’.

Where do stereotyping and prejudices come from and why do we do it?

The reason for how common stereotypes are is due to the fact that it is a heuristic, a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgements clearly and efficiently. We use heuristics as a cognitive mechanism to obtain information that surrounds us. This allows us to generalise and break down complex information into sub-brackets that are easier to understand.

Stereotyping is simply a method we use to identify and simplify information for ourselves.

[1]

Oxford University Press, 2014

The prevalence of stereotyping is mostly due to subjective information outlets such as news stations, social media, or stories. The ideas and thoughts that we read about and perceive, all feed into our ‘definition’ of a certain group of people and we begin to have preconceived notions about them.

These notions can lead to potential problems such as the mistreatment of groups. Stereotyping essentially makes us ignore the individual differences amongst people. Individual differences are factors such as personality, upbringing, behaviour in certain situations, and intelligence. This then allows us to refer to groups collectively as a whole.

The Halo Effect Stereotyping does not necessarily have to be applied to an actual ‘group’ of people, it can also occur through an individual or a trait that is applied to more than one person. The halo effect can be a prime example of this. This effect refers to our human tendency of perceiving other people’s personalities or character due to a singular trait that they have.We see the halo effect in play almost everyday, be it first impressions, movies, books and anything else that requires us to make assumptions on

11 something or someone. The most common form of the halo effect can be seen on television. Marketing products with a model or celebrity endorsements is a known modelling strategy that companies use to lure consumers into purchasing products. We can have preconceived notions of the characteristics of celebrities based on characters they may have played on shows without knowing anything about their personal life or history and if you really like the character or the celebrity you will be more inclined to purchase their product.

The halo effect can also affect the way we treat other people. Parrett (2015) found that more attractive waiters earned almost 1200 dollars more in tips than others. However, this cannot be said for both genders. He states that there is taste-based discrimination that mattered more for females than males.

Judge, Hurst and Simon (2009) found that physical appearance and intelligence both play a major role in the income one receives. In relation to stereotyping, many people will look at a good looking person on a picture or social media and think that they must also be a good person or intelligent, this is essentially us assuming that someone is a certain way without going to the

lengths of getting to know them or even meeting them.

The halo effect tends not to be a dangerous thing, however, a possible danger can come in the forms of strangers. Ted Bundy, was a notorious American serial killer who had confessed to raping over 30 different girls throughout the 1970s. He was described as a person who did not seem like he was capable of what he did. The application of the halo effect in this situation can be applied because a major feature of his outward appearance was his good looks. It was said that he would approach them in various public places, perhaps feigning injury or luring them into his care before he would knock them unconscious and then take them to a secondary location before he would kill them. In one documentary they stated that his appearance and personal presentation made him ‘approachable’. The women he approached had to have come within close enough proximity and to a location without others watching in order for him to carry out these murders. The girls were essentially victims of the halo effect where they had perceived him as a better person than he really was simply by the way he presented himself.

12 Stereotyping and prejudice as a cause of conflict Stereotyping can incite conflict depending on its nature and the group that is subject to the stereotyping. More controversial problems stem from when we see people as different. Henri Tajfel came up with Social Identity Theory, which suggested that self-esteem, prejudice and stereotyping stem from group membership. He splits this theory into three processes, social categorisation, social identification and social comparison. Social categorisation is simply the process in which people categorise themselves and others into differentiated groups. It can be hard to believe that such a common differentiation process could lead to potential racism. Once we categorise ourselves into a group, we naturally undergo a process called social identification where we begin to perceive other ‘members’ of our group as the ingroup and people who are not as the outgroup. Paying attention to ingroup members and adopting their values and their beliefs is all part of the same process. The most crucial process of identifying conflict within this theory is the process of social comparison.

Social comparison is viewing your group as being superior to outgroups.

This can occur when you compare the products of your ingroup, such as the thing your ingroup does, their attitude and their values, to the products of an outgroup. Social comparisons can lead to the creation of generalised beliefs and stereotypes about the group and their members. Comparisons between the ingroup and outgroup are normally not verbally expressed due to the fear of conflict, however, if one group feels strongly enough to physically express their ideas, verbal and even physical conflict can arise.

Prejudice and Racism and Sexism Once we have identified a potential reason for stereotyping or prejudice, we can begin to look at the more controversial issues in society today.

When we think of the words ‘stereotypes’ and ‘prejudice', most likely the first thing that comes to mind is gender or racial based. Nowadays, we hear and see so much regarding acts of violence against minorities, especially racially motivated attacks on Asians, African Americans, and Muslims. A lot of us find ourselves asking why people commit such acts of violence against people simply based on the colour of their skin or the beliefs that they harbour.

13

14 On multiple websites during my research I found instances of Henri Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory come into play as an explanation of racism or sexism. “In group love, outgroup hate”.

But we aren’t born scrutinising differences in people or groups so in the end, our question remains unanswered.

Although the issues of sexism and racism cannot be traced due to the lack of recorded evidence from centuries ago.

Recently researchers have attempted to provide explanations regarding the origins of prejudice and stereotyping between races and genders and found that the concept of racism arose from factors such as selfinterest. Europeans and Americans justified their acts of slavery by saying that slaves were less than human leading to the creation of untrue beliefs which eventually spread on a much larger scale. Those beliefs were then wrongfully correlated to their skin colour, or ethnic background. They also found that sexism was mainly based on the fact that people believed that men were stronger and more responsible than women. Men are biologically proven to be physically stronger than women, however, the outdated ideas of men being superior to women is wrong.

The major reason why many men are

still sexist is due to their need for selfempowerment. The idea of selfempowerment can be applied to Tajfel’s social comparison factor, men who believe they are better than women may gain confidence believing they are better due to factors that are biologically unchangeable leading to the further comparisons of factors and the further development of sexist beliefs.

Preventing negative stereotyping: The classroom In order to reduce the negative and harmful forms of stereotyping, institutions, parents, and governments should take greater responsibility in educating the youth and others about the possible effects and consequences of stereotyping. Within educational institutions, conversations between teachers and students regarding the dangers of stereotyping and prejudice should be made more common. Having the means to open up and speak about any possible situation in schools is vitally important and being heard regardless of the issue. The environment schools must seek to create is one that is inclusive and bias-free. This is the responsibility of teachers, especially to set the tone of their own teaching environment.

15 Exposing students to a range of possible perspectives can help boost empathy within students. Nowadays, literature and media are full of hints of bias and stereotypes towards certain groups of people. It can be useful to have students identify the stereotypes and acknowledge their existence and the meaning and reasons behind the use of them in specific contexts. It's important that empathy is taught and the context behind certain opinions is either debunked or discussed.

Preventing negative stereotyping: Parents The household must be acknowledged as an important learning space for children. Many values that parents have are adopted by children regardless of whether society deems them to be right or wrong. Parents should be made aware that their ideologies and beliefs are easily transmitted to their children.

Similarly in the classroom parents must try to immerse their children in counterstereotypical material that strays away from the media's sometimes more negative view on various groups.

Sometimes it's good to explicitly talk about contemporary cases of racism, sexism and any other forms of prejudice regarding children’s lives or issues in the

news. Parents can also benefit their children by combating prejudice and bias themselves.

Researchers have stated that reading about and coming to terms with the theme of prejudice within society and the effects it has are vital. Parents are encouraged to build cross-racial friendships or friendships with other sexes, and immerse themselves in cultures or media that may not necessarily be aimed at them. By having exposure to different cultures or different views on life, parents can begin to educate their children in a similar manner.

Conclusion Stereotypes are common things that everyone experiences almost daily. It is beneficial to be aware of them even in everyday conversations, however, it is also equally important to differentiate between harmless and harmful forms of stereotyping. As we strive to make the world a better place where there is general equality between all people, we should work together to create a community more accepting and openminded.

16

Debunking 5 Common Psychology Myths Sophie Brand

Illustration by Jennifer Zhou

17 Psychology is a subject that is very much misunderstood, and with that comes a lot of misunderstandings and stigma. So, in this article, I would like to address a few of these misconceptions and reveal the truth from neuroscience to mental illness.

1. People only use 10% of their brain The idea that people only use a small proportion of their brain, and therefore cannot achieve their full potential, is not uncommon.

In 1907, American psychologist and philosopher William James suggested that we "are making use of only a small part of [our] possible mental and physical resources",[1] and American writer Lowell Thomas claimed that ​"the average man develops only 10% of his latent mental ability". In the 1890s, James tested their theory through the fast-paced raising of child prodigy William Sidis. It was concluded that people only meet a fraction of their full potential, which was considered a credible claim at the time. However, fMRI scans show that even simple activities require almost all of the brain to be active, and all existing data show that we use 100% of our brains. Furthermore, there are 86 billion neurons in the brain that will die if they aren’t properly connected to active

[1]

Tcircuits. So, if 90% of the brain was inactive, the autopsy of normal adult brains would reveal large-scale degeneration. Scientists observe that all areas of healthy brains are active all the time, even while people are asleep or in a coma. But, depending on the task, some areas of the brain become more active than others. Decades of research have gone into mapping functions onto areas of the brain, and no function-less areas have been found. Further evidence shows that there is no area of the brain that can be damaged in adults without some measurable loss of function. If 10% of the brain is normally used, then damage to other areas should not impair performance. Hence, anyone who only uses 10% of their brain would have a worryingly damaged brain.

2. People who have psychological disorders are more prone to violence This myth has to be the most common.

In movies and television, it is rare to see a character with a psychological disorder who is not extremely violent.

“Me, Myself, and Irene”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “Split” are only a few examples of shows that incorrectly portray mental health. Research shows that about 72% of characters with

Chew, Stephen L. “Myth: We Only Use 10% of Our Brains.” Association for Psychological Science, 2018

18 psychological disorders are portrayed as being violent, whereas only 45% of characters without disorders display violence. Schizophrenic patients are often portrayed as especially dangerous perpetrators of random acts of violence.

In reality, schizophrenia doesn’t lead to much violence. Nevertheless, a 2006 survey found that 60% of Americans believe that people diagnosed with schizophrenia are more likely to act violently. Research shows that only 4% of overall violent crimes in the United States can be attributed to individuals with psychological disorders. Most people who are diagnosed with a mental issue don’t commit violent acts.

In the news, mental illness is commonly portrayed as the primary cause for violent acts instead of considering other factors. On the contrary, people with mental health problems are 10 times more likely to be victims of violent crimes and are less likely to commit them. These stereotypes lead to something called a stigma which can lead to harmful effects as it presents false information as fact. So, why is it so common that mental illness is misinterpreted by shows, television, movies, books, news reports and more?

The main reason is a lack of understanding of mental illness. That is

why other shows like “Inside Out” are more accurate as the producers followed the advice given to them by real professionals and they didn’t add any other dramatic elements to their characters to make the cartoon more “entertaining” or “appealing” to the public.

19 3. You have a dominant brain hemisphere A popular idea suggests that the right hemisphere dominates in the brains of intuitive thinkers with sciences and mathematics, whereas people more talented in the arts are “left-brained.”

The myth became popular from experiments with split-brain patients.

Even though the right and left brain hemispheres do specialise in different mental functions, the belief that we rely more on one side than the other undermines the complexity of the leftright relationship.

Neuroscientist Stephen Kosslyn, a professor emeritus at Harvard University, wanted to look into another similar myth which is that the left hemisphere facilitates language, while the right handles perception. He found that, in reality, language is distributed across the hemispheres. For example, in right-handed people, the left hemisphere is typically better at using grammar, whereas the right is better at perceiving the tone of voice to understand intent, such as whether a speaker is joking. With this, we understand that both hemispheres do have different functions but work together equally to get a reaction.

Likewise, perception also involves both sides of the brain. Neuroimaging shows that different processes recruit both sides of the brain - we don’t and never will have a “dominant” hemisphere.

4. Human memory is an exact recording of what happened Calling our memory a perfect recording is one of the most inappropriate metaphors ever mentioned; it implies a nonviable level of accuracy. A study from a few years ago in America revealed that out of nearly 2000 people, shockingly, 63% of them believed that ​ “memory works like a video camera.”

You could easily forget to wear your mask before you leave the house even if you think it’s on your face or in your bag or even falsely recalling that you had submitted an assignment for a class, only to find out later that you had not.

This fact may sound harmless to you and may just be a minor inconvenience but it can impact the lives of millions: innocent and guilty. This false belief has fuelled many misconceptions, especially the trustworthiness of eyewitnesses' testimonies; and this leads us to the discovery of false memories. A false memory is a memory that seems real but is false in part or whole. In 1974, Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer conducted a study to investigate how the memory of eyewitnesses could be manipulated.

Loftus stated, “When you feed people misinformation about some experience that they may have had, you can distort or contaminate or change their memory.”

20 This is referred to as the misinformation effect. One experiment Loftus took part in was called the “Lost-In-The-Mall Experiment”. For research, she had tried to convince others that they had been lost in a mall when they were 5 or 6 years old. She did this by telling them “We've been talking to your mother, and [she] told us some things that happened to you when you were about 5 years old. And so we just want to ask you about these experiences.” She then proceeded to describe 3 true events that had happened in the past and then the made-up scenario where they were lost, frightened, and crying until they were brought back to their families.

Although this situation was completely false and never happened, a quarter of the men and women believed her and began to “remember” all the parts of their fake scenario just as if it was completely real.

Another experiment that Loftus began was the car accident experiment. This time, she wanted to learn how the wording of a question could affect the witness’ memory. She showed a group of people the same video of two cars crashing into each other and then asked some questions. However, what the participants didn’t know was that they were split up into two groups and

each group had the same question but with different wording. The question was: “How fast were the cars going when they (smashed/contacted) each other?” Not surprisingly, the average speed was affected by the verb used.

People who got the question with the word “smashed” (Group A) recalled that the car was going much faster than the people who got the question with the word “contacted” instead (Group B).

Nevertheless, the misleading information provided may have simply influenced the answer a person gave but didn't lead to a false memory of the event. Loftus asked another question to both groups with the same wording: “Did you see any broken glass? Yes or no?” It was found that Group A recollected that they saw broken glass but, in reality, the original video had no broken glass at all. This experiment allows us to conclude that this effect is not just due to a biased response from the question but rather affected their entire memory of the event.

5. Mental illness is always caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and can always be fixed with medicine.

Last but not least, the biggest myth or even ‘question mark’ in the psychiatric world itself. The chemical imbalance theory. The theory suggests that certain

21 illnesses are caused by hormones or chemicals in your brain being unbalanced. This theory was plausible at its time but nowadays has some criticism. The first antidepressants ever made were not intended to help treat depression at all.

For example, iproniazid is now labelled as an antidepressant but was originally used to treat tuberculosis. In 1952, doctors noticed that many patients who had been previously diagnosed with depression who took the medication for tuberculosis had improved moods. A similar reaction was met in 1956 when a Swiss clinician used a drug called imipramine which was used for allergic reactions. Both of these drugs affected a class of neurotransmitters called monoamines. This is where the theory began. These drugs targeted several monoamines, each of which acted on a wide range of receptors in the brain.

Nonetheless, this led to a few side effects: headaches, grogginess, and cognitive impairments like difficulty with memory, thinking and judgement.

To get rid of these side effects scientists went off to research more on these antidepressants. Finally, in the 1970s, researchers discovered that the most effective antidepressants all seemed to act on one monoamine: serotonin. After this discovery, fluoxetine (Prozac) was produced in 1988.

Drugs like fluoxetine, citalopram, and paroxetine all fell into a category of antidepressants called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

Fluoxetine worked well and had considerably fewer side effects.

However, this theory only made matters worse: during the 1990s, a large number of people were being treated for depression with drugs alone. Not everyone responds to the medication as some respond to drugs that affect other neurotransmitters. After people stop taking the medication, they may feel better and never have to take them again but others could relapse. We are still not quite sure how antidepressants work because there is a large amount of serotonin in the brain a few hours after taking the medication - but the medication only has an outward effect after a few weeks.

22 Unfortunately, the mindset that depression can be solved by only drugs has still not ended for some people.

Nowadays, medication is often essential on a person’s path to recovery but psychological disorders can affect a person’s entire life, including how they cope with stress, build relationships, and communicate. This is why another major factor in helping patients to recover is psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy helps people gain positive coping mechanisms, improved skills in handling stress, and better brain functioning. There are many types such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Supportive Psychotherapy, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy. According to the American Psychiatric Association, 75% of patients reap the benefits of psychotherapy. Some patients do heal with medication alone, some heal with a combination of medication and psychotherapy, and some heal with just psychotherapy and feel worse with medication alone. Furthermore, exercise and taking care of your diet can also feed into helping your brain’s neurochemical profile. Regular exercise helps boost serotonin use and improves sleep quality. A 2017 study found that the symptoms of people with depression improved when they ate a more healthy diet for 12 weeks.

[2]

The diet focused on fresh and whole foods with lots of nutrients while also limiting processed food, sweets, and fried food. It’s not a lucky coincidence that all the antidepressants that are used by the public all act on serotonin.

Yet, that doesn’t mean we can conclude that depression is only caused by a lack of serotonin on its own. The chemical balance theory is nothing more than an incomplete explanation that oversimplifies the complexity of mental health. If that sounds confusing, think of it like this: “Steroid creams can treat rashes [that are] caused by poison ivy the fact that they work doesn’t mean that steroid deficiency was the cause of the rash.” [2] Although most schools don’t support psychology as a subject for younger pupils, that doesn’t mean that it’s unnecessary to learn about it.

Understanding psychology without many misconceptions can help us to achieve a better insight into ourselves, others, and the world around us. As French poet, Anatole France, once said, “It is better to understand little than to misunderstand a lot.”

Jeyasingam , Neil, director. How Do Antidepressants Work? YouTube, 2021

23

Great Leaders: Born or Made?

Anjeli de Blank Successful leaders are often said to have key personality traits: high social intelligence, ambition, curiosity, the list goes on. But is there something else that separates effective leaders from the rest? Recent research has suggested that there is a combination of factors, including personality, genetics, and even parental influence that can cause you to be predisposed to being a great leader. The question of whether great leaders are born or made is part of a major debate in psychology: the nature or nature debate. In this article, I will discuss if great leadership really is an inherited quality or if it is something that can be learned.

The Role of Genetics Over time, research has suggested that approximately a quarter of the observed variation in leadership behaviour between individuals can be explained by genes. Nicolaou et al. described four mechanisms, that are complementary in nature, through which genes could influence one’s tendency to take up a leadership position: 1. Genes could directly impact chemical reactions in the brain that affect human behaviour.

2. Genes may affect the development of individual attributes like personality traits causing a predisposition to occupy a leadership position.

24 3. Genes may cause individuals to gravitate towards specific environments that are more favourable for a leadership role 4. Genes may influence differential sensitivity to environmental stimuli, ie. people with a certain genetic makeup could be more sensitive to environmental influences. A specific genotype is associated with increased sensitivity to information that aids in the completion of cognitive tasks associated with leadership, increasing one’s tendency to engage in leadership roles.

A study at University College London suggested that the likelihood of one taking on managerial responsibilities is significantly associated with genetic differences. They undertook a large twin study and identified a specific gene, rs4950, that is linked to the passing of leadership ability through generations.

The study used genetic samples from 4000 participants and compared them to their jobs and leadership positions. Dr Jan-Emmanuel De Neve found that individuals with two rs4950 alleles are proportionally more likely to be in a leadership role.

High IQ, a heritable trait, has also been argued to be an indicator of good leadership.

As reported by the British Psychological Society, it was found that individuals registering an IQ up to 120 had a positive relationship with leadership effectiveness. Early twin studies of adult individuals have found a heritability of IQ between 57% and 73%. Furthermore, the genetic influence on measured intelligence seems to increase over time, from approximately 20% in infancy to 40% in childhood to a final 60% in adulthood. High intelligence allows leaders to evaluate situations, quickly solve complex problems and figure out courses of action. However, it has been found that the positive correlation between IQ and leadership effectiveness does not continue infinitely. The link begins to flatten out and reverse at an IQ of around 120, suggesting that being ‘too intelligent’ makes you a less effective leader. It is often difficult to explain such a phenomenon, but this could be explained by the fact that those with high IQ are often prone to use more complex language, something that could be less inspiring to their followers, or they might find it difficult to anticipate which tasks will prove more challenging to others and how to reduce these tasks to levels of simplicity that would allow them to be completed.

25 Parental Influence There is substantial evidence that parenting styles shape the development of young children. It has often been suggested in research that an authoritative parenting style is the most successful style in developing appropriate achievement strategies.

The psychological theory to support this is Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. It suggests that we tend to mould our thoughts and behaviour after observing someone that we perceive to be a role model. In line with other behaviourists, Bandura thought that learning is acquired through conditioning. The theory focuses on moral and social behaviour and suggests that people learn by observing others. There are four key stages: attention to the behaviour of a model, retention of the observed behaviour, reproduction of the behaviour in an appropriate situation and finally motivation to repeat it due to vicarious reinforcement. Parker, Barrett and Hickie in 1992 found evidence that early childhood socialization experiences with their parents will mould interpersonal relationships in one’s adulthood.

Children aspire to follow their parents and model their behaviour based on the thoughts and attitudes of their parents.

It has also been suggested that the relationship with the parent does not change how a child imitates their parents.

Hartman and Harris investigated whether there is a difference in the adoption of parental leadership style between an admired parent and a disliked parent. They found that regardless of whether children admire or reject their parents, they still model their leadership styles.

Diana Baumrind was a clinical and developmental psychologist known for her research on various parenting styles.

She identified three distinct styles: authoritarian, authoritative and permissive, with the key differences between them being the degree of control and support parents show towards their children.

1. Authoritarian parents are demanding but non-responsive. They maintain strict control and rigid rules, often showing little support and warmth towards their children. They value obedience and a typical hierarchy in society, views that they pass onto and instil in their children. Their rules and way of life are typically enforced via threat and punishment.

2.

Authoritative parents, like authoritarian parents, tend to be demanding and set high standards of behaviour yet they are much more responsive and supportive. They set high goals but do not restrict their children by encouraging communication. Authoritative parents strive to allow their children to live out their potential in a controlled framework, using reason to overt power.

3. Permissive parents lie on the other end of the scale: they are nondemanding but responsive. They often exhibit a lack of consistency and allow their children to act on their impulses.

In order to achieve some sort of control, they attempt to use manipulation and bribery.

Out of these three personality types, researchers have identified the authoritative parenting style to be superior. Adolescents who identify their parents as authoritative receive higher scores on psychological competence and lower scores on behavioural dysfunction than adolescents who identify their parents as authoritarian.

Spera suggested that authoritative parenting leads to higher school achievement, while Shucksmith, Hendry and Glendinning found that better school integration and mental wellbeing were fostered as a result of this

parenting style. In their research, Aunola, Stattin & Nurmi discovered lower levels of expectations of failure, higher self-enhancing attributions and better adaptive achievement strategies in the adulthood of children who had authoritative parents. These children often gain the ability to decode and live up to the rules set up by their parents, but they also develop key social skills and emotional regulation, all of which make them effective leaders.

On the other hand, there is evidence to show that parenting style may not have the large influence on their child’s later success that was previously thought to be true. Instead, nature could play a larger role than nurture when it comes to parental influence. In the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Education undertook a longitudinal study of childhood development from kindergarten to the fifth grade, measuring students’ academic performance and compared this data with other factors including race, family structure and socioeconomic status.

They used regression analysis, a useful and important tool in analysing data that involves isolating the relationship between specific factors. It is important to keep in mind, however, that regression analysis can only prove a correlation and not causation.

27 This means that although there may be a link between parental influence and the child’s success later in life, there may not be a direct cause and effect.

The study covered sixteen distinct factors, half of which have been previously shown to play a major role in one’s early development. They found that the parents’ education had a major influence, this may be the case due to the hereditary nature of IQ as discussed previously. High socioeconomic status is also strongly correlated with high IQ and success. Factors such as family structure and moving to a better neighbourhood had no effect on the child’s academic performance. The study overall suggested that what the parents actually were had a much larger influence on the children compared to what they did. This brings us back to the nature-nurture debate as it supports the conclusion that a parent’s genetic makeup makes a much larger impact on a child’s development than any specific things that they do.

Personality Personality also plays a major role in determining one's leadership capabilities. Leaders are often thought of as charismatic, outgoing and confident.

Extraversion is also consistently linked with leader effectiveness.

Extraverts crave excitement and stimulation, are more

prone to engage behaviour and are condition.

in risk-taking less easy to

These traits are all presumed to be advantageous for leaders to keep up with fast-paced environments.

I previously discussed general IQ, yet social intelligence—the ability to understand and manage interpersonal relationships—seems to be more important for leadership. Empathy, another learned trait is also key for good leadership as one must be able to understand their teammates. Having an authoritarian personality may also be beneficial in industries where decisions need to be made quickly under pressure. The personality type was proposed by Theodor Adorno and is created by harsh parenting, as explained previously. It leads children to develop traits such as toughness and cynicism, characteristics that are critical when completing tasks that need to be performed with very little room for mistakes, for instance in industries such as construction and the military.

In 1966, Julian Rotter also proposed the idea of a locus of control. This is the degree to which an individual sees an outcome as being contingent on their own actions or external forces. Those with an internal locus of control take greater responsibility for their actions

28 and believe they are in control of what happens to them. An external locus of control means one will take less responsibility for their actions, and believe what happens to them is governed by other people and happens by chance. It has been proposed that better leaders have an internal locus of control as they can handle change more effectively than those with an external locus of control. They feel a sense of accountability and thus take into account all the possible consequences of their actions. Durbin’s research found that a leader with an internal locus of control is perceived as more powerful and is thus more likely to be favoured by their followers.

Returning to the nature-nurture debate, there are many factors that contribute to the development of one’s personality, including genetics, environment, and societal variables.

For example, extraversion has often been said to be a heritable trait. The personality traits we develop are explained by the type of nervous system we inherit from our parents. If a person inherits an underactive nervous system, they often require high levels of arousal and thus have a constant need for excitement, leading to an extraverted personality type. Extraversion has also been associated with alleles of the DRD4 exon III repeat genotype. This implies

that the effect of genes on the level of extraversion in people may also influence their propensity to occupy leadership roles. It could be argued that it is the ongoing interaction between genetics and societal factors that will shape one’s personality over time, making them a better leader.

However, there are new psychological theories to suggest that no fixed set of personality traits will make you a good leader. Instead, the most desirable traits depend on the nature of the group you are leading. This is a form of social identity theory as it suggests that in order to gain credibility among followers, instead of trying to position themselves above the group, leaders must integrate themselves among the group. By adopting a social identity, group behaviour and output is maximised as actions are often coordinated due to the holding of a shared goal. Reicher and Haslam’s BBC Prison Study which aimed to investigate the psychology of tyranny in a simulated prison environment provides strong evidence for this. They found that the prisoners exhibited stronger leadership than the guards as they quickly developed a strong sense of shared social identity. The guards, on the other hand, lacked this sense as many were uncomfortable with being in a position of authority.

29

This shows how leaders are most effective when they can persuade their followers to see the group's interest as their own interest and adopt a shared vision.

Conclusion The idea that leadership is inherited is a highly theoretical one. Many researchers have concluded that great leaders are in fact ‘made’, yet there are certain factors that can be inherited that would leave one predisposed to becoming an effective leader.

If you are someone that strives for leadership, regardless of your personality type or genetic makeup, developing your skills such as communication and empathy will allow you to be the best leader you can be. The vast majority of leadership is learned; reflecting and improving on your past experiences and failures and putting yourself out there will make you a much better leader than someone who simply has a gene or an inherited personality trait.

30

Parasocial Relationships Explained

Illustration by Reika Oh

Angel Ho

31 You might have noticed your friend exclaiming over their new favourite fictional character. You might have noticed that your classmates are all talking about that one attractive video game character. You might have heard your sibling going on and on about their new spouse, who conveniently does not exist in the real world. You might have seen videos of people wasting mountains of money just to get a limited edition pillow with their favourite character printed on it. Of course, many of these are just some examples from daily life. But what are the limits of something someone would do for a character? Why would some people spend immense amounts of money just for a fictional character?

Would you be surprised if someone you know adjusted their sleep schedule to where their favourite character lived? Or if someone you know tattooed their favourite fictional character all over their body? The list can go on and on.

isn’t real or doesn’t in any way reciprocate their feelings. It’s an issue if their actions hurt or affect people around them. In psychology, these are called parasocial relationships.

My point is, while being attached to a character in fiction or media might not necessarily be wrong, there are still many people willing to go to the extremes for someone who doesn’t even know they exist (or some who probably doesn’t exist in real life at all).

People are willing to spend half their entire life chasing after a character who

Parasocial Interactions Remember the previous mention of evening talk shows, and the viewer behind the screen feels they are included in the conversation? Such interactions are called parasocial interactions (PSI). Think watching Harry Potter and feeling like you’re right next to him while he learns the Leviosa

The concept of parasocial relationships originated from an article—Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction—written in 1956 by Donald Horton and R. Richard. The authors originally mentioned parasocial relationships and interactions with characters in television specifically, but the concept can also be applied to media in general. Horton and Richard focused their discussions on an evening television talk show. A host would invite celebrities onto the show and start a conversation about casual topics. They would try to make the viewer feel as if they are included in the conversation.

But of course, in reality, they aren’t.

Psychologists call that a parasocial interaction.

32 Charm and cheering for him, and boom, parasocial interaction. PSI is not limited to only fictional characters and media personas. Parasocial interaction has long been proved by experts to have existed even way before mass media, such as when people developed bonds with gods, spirits, or entities.

Parasocial Relationships Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships with a character in media and fiction ; one-sided relationships where the other person (persona or another party) is completely and utterly unaware of the person’s existence at all.

Here I’d like to clarify that when a viewer or media consumer imagines a longer, more time-consuming bond with a character, that is when it is considered a parasocial relationship (PSR).

Parasocial relationships form when the media causes the media user to develop illusions of intimacy or reciprocated affection. Because of the ever-fast-developing internet and the amount of content produced every day, whether from fans or the original creator themselves, the information learned of said media persona would progress the ‘relationship,’ much like how relationships work in real life.

Parasocial interactions can lead to

parasocial relationships, and parasocial relationships can strengthen said parasocial interactions.

In a tiny amount of cases, a media figure might become such a vital source of safety or security that a parasocial attachment is created. Like the word suggests, this attachment is one where the media consumer may actively seek out proximity (buying merchandise, etc) or closeness to feel safer or even more secure.

Studies show that parasocial relationships do not usually look like your everyday typical long-term relationship.

Even though the psychological processes at work during face-to-face interactions and parasocial interactions of those in media are alike, the parasocial relationship does not work like that of an actual long-term relationship such as those between real partners. Parasocial relationships with a media figure reward insecurity so that even if you have certain flaws, they might not judge you like how people in a society would. Those who experience anxiety from usual day-to-day interactions might find comfort in the lives of a media figure who is consistently present and ‘there for them.’

33 Long story short, parasocial interactions may lead to parasocial relationships, leading to parasocial attachments.

Why Parasocial Relationships Form Real people are muddled and chaotic, and confused. Sometimes. But to others (those with extreme social anxieties etc.), it’s all the time. Some people are so confused and jumbled that they need a rock to hold onto to ground them. Parasocial relationships can form due to a lot of things from a very early age. Trauma, abuse, and so on and so forth. A parasocial relationship might also develop because the unreciprocated nature of the parasocial relationship is a relief from strained or forced relationships in real life. To make it simpler, they need (or desire) someone who can be there for a long, long period of time. They need someone to stay with them, to find someone who would not desert them.

And what would be better than a fictional character or a persona portrayed in the media? These personas and characters aren’t real. They can’t leave or refuse anything at all. These characters are manipulated by creators to appeal to the audience. They can comfort you, cry, jump around, and compliment you. They won’t judge you in any way a human would, nor would

they have any ‘bad days’ where they get upset. This makes them the perfect choice to ‘start a relationship’ with.

There is a vast amount of content produced by creators or fans every single day. From fanfiction to fanart, the only thing the media user doesn’t lack is content. Constant exposure to positive or any media or content only encourages and gives the user the fantasy that the media character is close, intimate, and even real.

According to recent studies during the Covid-19 pandemic between (April 7, 2020, and June 7, 2020), 166 participants were given a list of 4 close friends and 4 fictional characters where they felt an “emotional attachment” to.

The participants were required to report how often they had communicated with their close friends and how frequently they were exposed to characters on their list. They had also reported their feelings of closeness or familiarity with the characters and their friends. The study author, Bradley J. Bond had predicted that friendships would weaken over time during social distancing but was surprised to find that the closeness among friends remained stable.

34 Parasocial closeness, however, had a significant increase during the pandemic. Those in particular amongst people who were lower in attachment anxiety but more in parasocial engagement. The participants who experienced a decrease in face-to-face communication were shown to have a greater increase in parasocial closeness.

Researchers suggest that “ participants developed more meaningful socioemotional bonds with their favourite media personas to compensate for communicational and social deficiencies.”

Are Parasocial Relationships Good or Bad? A parasocial attachment to a fictional character seems perfectly, logical of course, until it starts to harm anyone.

Being attached to a fictional character has many positive sides to it. You might begin to be motivated to study and try your best to get good grades because your character is studious and has good grades. You might pick up a new interest or sport when you see your favourite character doing it and suddenly feel the urge to try it too. You might find yourself fascinated with new cultures or places the fictional character is from. There are many ‘pros’.

However, as one might be motivated to

35 do something good, some would be encouraged to imitate the wrongdoings or destructive behaviours. One might pick up doing drugs or pulling risky and dangerous pranks thinking it was funny because ‘my favourite character did it too.’ Some symptoms might include aggression towards others, dependency on media, addiction, etc. Parasocial relationships lead one to believe that their ‘partner’ is real and therefore think that their actions are justified.

Combining all the content and information you know of a figure, you might start to believe that one truly knows that person. A media consumer knows things the character themselves might not know. A media consumer would probably know things that even people in the fictional world around the fictional character wouldn’t know. It all just adds up to the feeling of “I do understand this character, and I do know them,” which just further pushes the parasocial relationship to another level.

The Constant Infatuation Towards Fictional Characters Nowadays Logically, we know that these characters are not real. Logically, we know they don’t exist. Logically, we know that they will never reciprocate our feelings.

Logically, we know that we will never be

36 a part of the fictional world. But those thoughts never really stop us from getting infatuated or emotionally attached to a fictional character.

Reality has a lot of limitations and rules set in stone. What you can or can’t do, what society frowns upon, what other people expect of you, etc. An attachment to a fictional character can act as a way of relieving that stress and pressure. Imagine it as you doing the things you never were allowed to do or seeing the world through another character’s eyes. Most of us have cried when a favourite character died, have celebrated and yelled along with a favourite character when they finally achieved something, or have silently cheered the character on. So, the fictional character acts as a friend, a role model, a reason to be better, and a version of what you could become or do.

Conclusion It has been recorded by experts and scholars that our brains thrive on stories and fiction. All the way back to the Ice Age, cave paintings have been discovered depicting tales of a hunt or an adventure or words carved in stone, telling a story. So, of course, by now, parasocial interactions are practically

seen everywhere, every day, any time all around the globe. As reddit user u/Lightfiend says, While they (parasocial relationships) are normal and healthy, we have to be careful that they don’t replace our need for real-world connection.

37

The Hallucinations Sleep Resists Clarinde Sanft

Illustration by Clarinde Sanft

38 Introduction Multitudes of studies report that we, as a society, are becoming increasingly sleep-deprived; this is concerning as extensive clinical literature highlights the link between sleep deprivation and acute psychotic states; schizophrenia and bipolar disorder studies show that sleep problems are among the most prominent correlation of positive symptoms, such as auditory [1] hallucinations and delusions.

Only a few studies have been conducted in the past 20 years because, although extreme sleep deprivation studies were popular in the first half of the twentieth century, they are no longer considered ethical and, in most countries, are now prohibited by the law, resulting in the majority of insight we have on sleep-deprived hallucinations being provided from past studies and accounts. This article will revisit these early historical studies and research regarding the gradual progression of psychosis and hallucinations correlated with increasing time awake and severe sleep deprivation.

[1] [2]

What are sleep deprived hallucinations?

An exact symptom profile for what classifies as a “sleep-induced hallucination” does not currently exist in the DSM-5, or other psychiatric classifications. However, they can still be diagnosed based on the sensory modality [2] most commonly affected by sleep loss––the visual modality.

Somatosensory changes are the second most common, followed by auditory modality. The subjects in many studies had visual experiences that included a spectrum of hallucinations and were relative to each person, though there were common themes of paranoia and anxiety-induced hallucinations.

The onset of sleep-deprived hallucinations Although there isn’t a criterion for these hallucinations, prevalent trend symptoms still follow and evolve with increasing time spent awake.

Misperceptions in different sensory modalities will have different onset times. The first 24 hours show few to no changes, but after 48 hours, some psychological symptoms and perceptual disorders begin to advance.

When perceptions lack a corresponding stimulus in the external world, new perceptual creations.

A medium of sensation, such as vision or hearing.

39 One night without sleep leads to visual distortions [3] regarding the perception of depth, size, and shape, followed by simple visual hallucinations. After 50 hours, there are complex visual, auditory and multimodal hallucinations.

Disordered thinking starts on the second day, with delusions typically starting by the third day. Both increase in frequency over time until the fifth day, which is sometimes referred to as the “turning point” by neurologists. The symptoms distort into a clinical profile resembling acute psychosis or toxic delirium,[4] characterised by acute psychotic symptoms, persistent hallucinations, delusions, and aggression, which further adds to the evidence linking sleep and psychosis.

been in studies related to the subject of sleep deprivation.

We start with mood changes, described in more than 76% of studies as unprovoked aggression, anger, hostility, apathy, anxiety, and depression.

Disordered thoughts, confusion, and generally “bizarre” behaviour are reported in 66% of studies, including, but not limited to, difficulty with attention span, fragmented thinking, which refers to the difficulty to form cohesive thoughts and keep a continuous train of thought, nonsensical speech, memory loss, motor incoordination, instability, and ataxia.[5]

What other significant neuropsychological symptoms are there?

Besides hallucinations, sleep deprivation also elicits a wide range of other symptoms, listed below in order of how prominently noted they have

[3]

[4]

[5]

Perceptions based on real stimulus but display changes in the intensity, quality, or form of the perceived object or scene. When such distortions occurred in the visual modality, they were referred to as metamorphosis.

A disturbed mental state in which attention cannot be sustained, the environment is misperceived, and the stream of thought is disordered.

An inability to perform coordinated voluntary movements. It may be a symptom of various disorders, such as multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy.

40 Dissociation [6] and depersonalisation,[7]. where subjects felt estranged from their surroundings or others, were seen in 52% of studies. A study on psychological problems associated with sleep deprivation in interns provided quotes from the subjects saying, “I feel as if I'm not really all there. I am discontinuous. I feel discontinuous” and “I thought perhaps I might be somebody else, so I asked my buddies, and they said I was just myself”. Sensations of splitting, detaching, and observing your body from a distance were also prevalent.

In 42% of studies, delusions exhibit a range of classic delusional themes matching the profile of schizophreniaspectrum disorders. A study on the effect of amphetamine sulfate and some barbiturates on the fatigue produced by prolonged wakefulness recorded that one participant “felt responsible for the Egyptian-Israeli conflict and that a female secret agent in Florida was trying to get him to return to the Suez Canal”. Another research article on mania following sleep deprivation recorded that a patient “had the conviction that

his fellow participants were plotting to kill him and were going to stab him in the back with a penknife”.

Lastly, distortions in the sense of time are reported in studies where, as time without sleep increased, errors in time judgement occurred more frequently, and gross temporal disorientation was common.

Why do people experience hallucinations when sleep-deprived?

Initially, the visual network appears gradually compromised with similar effects on the somatosensory, [8] auditory modalities, and cognitive domains.

[6]

A defence mechanism in which conflicting impulses are kept apart or threatening ideas and feelings are separated from the rest of the psyche.

[7]

Occurs when you persistently or repeatedly have the feeling that you are observing yourself from outside your body or you have a sense that things around you are not real or both.

[8]

The somatosensory cortex is a region of the brain which is responsible for receiving and processing sensory information from across the body, such as touch, temperature, and pain.

41 The gradual development starts with blurred vision diplopia,[9] visual distortions and illusions,[10] and finally, multiple sensory modality hallucinations.

Although the exact neurocognitive mechanisms behind hallucinations are unknown, as the neurology behind sleep has yet to be fully interpreted, there are two main hypotheses related to neurotransmitters and the cholinergic system. [11] The symptoms caused by sleep deprivation share similarities with a profile of psychosis which supports the involvement of dopaminergic, noradrenergic,[12] and serotonergic processes, such as in schizophrenia, where there is evidence that very high levels of dopamine in the limbic[13] . system play a significant role in the

[9] [10] [11]

[12] [13]

[14] [15]

[16]

emergence delusions.

of

hallucinations

and

Furthermore, because of the significant impact of sleep deprivation on visual processes, researchers have speculated on cholinergic (ACh) transmission because of its role in the visual sensory modality. In the absence of external perceptual signals, the cholinergic system can spontaneously produce excitatory signals to the sensory areas, which are vital mechanisms implicated in hypnagogia [14] and dreams and would support the involvement of [15] [16] occipitofrontal acetylcholine . depletion mechanisms.

Similarities and differences with psychiatric disorders and other conditions Numerous neural processes are present in the absence of sleep and in many

A visual disorder in which images from the two eyes are seen separately and simultaneously.

When perceptions were based on real stimulus but were either misperceived or misinterpreted.

The part of the autonomic nervous system that reacts to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and cholinergic drugs.

Responding to, releasing, or otherwise involving norepinephrine.

A widespread group of brain nuclei that innervate each other to form a network that is involved in autonomic and visceral processes and mechanisms of emotion, memory, and learning.

The transitional state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleep.

Refers to the neural mechanisms responsible for visual processing such as visuospatial processing, colour determination, and memory formation A major, predominantly excitatory but also inhibitory, neurotransmitter both in the central nervous system, where it plays a vital role in memory formation and learning.

42 psychiatric disorders; they both bear similar outcomes.

2-3 days of sleep deprivation symptoms are more similar to the visual percepts reported in eye diseases such as Charles Bonnet syndrome and Parkinson’s disease, than psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.

The instances of auditory hallucinations reported after 3-4 days are reminiscent of psychosis; however, they lacked the complexity and language sophistication of the voices described by patients of schizophrenia, but do resemble the symptoms of thought disorder and delusion observed in psychosis Hypnagogic hallucinations happen in the transition from wake to sleep, and hypnopompic hallucinations from sleep to wake, so it was theorised that participants might actually have experienced hypnagogia or even dream intrusion phenomena. Some symptoms do indeed support a continuation of dream sequences.

Nonetheless, there are significant differences: dreams tend to follow a narrative structure or a protagonist’s point of view, and typical hypnagogic hallucinations include faces in the dark or ruminations of previous [17]

conversations, which were not experienced during sleep deprivation.

Participants themselves also judged their visual and perceptual experiences to differ from dreams distinctly.

Conclusions of information gathered from studies There is a causal relationship between sleep loss and perceptual distortions and hallucinations, with many studies providing evidence that perceptual distortions and hallucinations were reliably experienced by a majority of participants in all studies.

Furthermore, the symptom profile of sleep deprivation is more similar to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders due to its predominance of auditory hallucinations and hallucinations compared to visual hallucinations in patients with neurodegenerative [17]. disorders or eye diseases.

Psychotic symptoms range from visual/somatosensory misperceptions to hallucinations and delusions; symptoms seem to resolve after subjects regain sleep. Although symptoms did not spontaneously resolve after a period of “normal” sleep, subjects were able to recover after sleeping approximately 50% of the total time they had been awake.

The progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, which may ultimately involve cell death.

43

Power of the Placebo Judy Sheng

Illustration by Jennifer Zhou

44 When a man dies simply from the belief of imminent death: having been told that he was dying of a widespread cancer in his oesophagus despite there being no physiological markers of anything severe enough to be lethal; or when a doctor injects a badly wounded soldier who could otherwise die of pain during an operation with a saline solution (as he had run out of morphine) and found him acting as if he were treated with the real drug, it appears that a simple belief could have profound changes on a person’s experience and wellbeing. But how could this be? Is it possible that belief alone is powerful enough to kill? Is it possible that belief could heal?

These are not the only cases in medical history where the human mind has been shown to have profound influences on the body. For centuries, researchers have demonstrated how a belief alone could have significant effects on human experience, for better or for worse. This phenomenon is most widely known for its positive consequences in the placebo effect – when a sugar pill or saline solution that is believed to be an actual drug will have effects similar to taking the drug itself. But when a negative belief is held,

people may also suffer equally detrimental effects, often in accordance with their beliefs.

History of the Placebo Effect In World War II, Henry Beecher ran out of morphine when he needed to operate on badly wounded soldiers.

Without morphine, the soldiers would likely die of pain or shock from the surgery, so he decided, in desperation, to inject the soldiers with saline solution but continued telling the soldiers that he was giving them morphine to calm them. To his surprise, he found many of the soldiers had calmed down as if they had been treated with the actual drug.

After the war, he devoted himself to the research of this phenomena and was the first scientist to quantify the placebo effect with his experiments on the placebo’s effects on patients with different diseases. Following his study, scientists have made profound progress in this field of research as elements that constitute the placebo effect are being identified and its applications explored.

45

Conditioning It is not simply that a placebo has the power to alter our body’s physiology, studies have shown that the healing effects of the placebo can be learned through previous experiences, by association of expected outcomes. Just as Pavlov was able to condition his dogs to salivate when hearing the sound of a bell by pairing the sound of a bell with food, we are able to learn the effects of a drug from our expectations and experiences. Placebos can trigger a series of unconscious changes within the body through subconscious expectations. When a placebo is paired with the expected outcome of taking the drug, like the relief of pain upon taking a sugar pill thought to be

morphine, the expectation becomes reality. Social learning, a special form of conditioning, in which we learn through the process of observational learning by watching and imitating other people, mediates the placebo effect. Patients who associate drugs with recovery based on observations of others who get better after taking medication can have the same experiences stimulated in themselves.

A classic study conducted by psychologist Fabrizio Benedetti, a pioneering researcher on the placebo, demonstrated the effect of conditioning on Parkinson's patients who were treated with a placebo. He studied the neurobiological effects of conditioning

46 on Parkinson’s patients who received a placebo treatment after experiencing an initial dosage of the actual drug.

Participants were given the drug sumatriptan to inhibit cortisol secretion and stimulate growth hormone production. He found that participants continued to experience the neurobiological effects of the drug even after he replaced the drug with a placebo without their knowledge, and when they were given opposite verbal suggestions. In other words, he found that patients’ brains continued to light up in the same places in brain scans both when they were conditioned with the actual drug and when they received the placebo drug. This is evidence of the same neurotransmitters being produced by conditioning with the expected effects of the placebo.

Expectations Placebo effects are actively created by expectations toward certain outcomes.

Our levels of suggestibility, how readily we accept other beliefs or attitudes, are influenced by these expectations. When given any form of medical treatment, we become more open to the possibility of alternative outcomes and accept that it is possible to change the current circumstances.

Once they have accepted these possibilities, they are

able to align their beliefs to create a virtual experience, and their bodies consequently respond in a manner in line with the future reality.

In open-hidden designs, treatment is given routinely with and without patient’s awareness. When a doctor administers a medication for pain relief, such as morphine or buprenorphine, pain reduction was significantly greater in patients who were told explicitly by the doctor that they would experience pain relief than when the medication was administered by a hidden machine and the patient believes that they were given saline. In essence, when a patient expects the medication to reduce pain, the effects of the medication are highly salient. Conversely, if patients are not consciously aware that they are receiving this medication, the impact of the medication is dampened, and they do not experience the effects. When something is expected to happen, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

47 The Nocebo Effect The reverse of a placebo is the nocebo effect, which is when negative expectations, often arising from information of possible adverse effects, can lead to an outcome that reflects the expectation. This can be seen in patients treated with a placebo developing the expected side effects of the drug they were told of, and voodoo curses that could lead to people suddenly falling ill and dying from just receiving a curse or hex. These nocebos can be seen as stressors that lead to anticipatory anxiety, and these expectations, in turn, lead to the experience of the perceived negative outcomes in real life.

Harvard physiologist Walter Bradford Cannon studied the nocebo effect in a phenomenon he called “Voodoo death”.

He documented instances where the “medicine man” of the tribe could condemn people to the point of death from fear. An account of the Lower Niger and its tribes in Africa, Leonard describes: “I have seen more than one hardened old Haussa soldier dying steadily and by inches because he believed himself to be bewitched; no nourishment or

[1]

medicines that were given to him had the slightest effect either to check the mischief or to improve his condition in any way, and nothing was able to divert him from a fate which he considered inevitable. In the same way, and under very similar conditions, I have seen Krumen and others die in spite of every effort that was made to save them, simply because they had made up their minds, not (as we thought at the time) to die, but that being in the clutch of the malignant demons they were bound to die.”[1] Countless incidents like these have been reported, where the patient died not because the medicine man had put a hex on him. Rather, the hex only worked because the patient believed the voodoo, because he believed he would die. As these cases demonstrate, we are suggestible to whatever we believe to be true, as these beliefs become our reality.

Yet, observations of harmful effects from seemingly unharmful sources is not limited to voodoo. Consider a study done by Japanese scientists Yujiro Ikemi and Shunji Nakagawa on children who were all allergic to the poisonous

Arthur Glyn Leonard. The Lower Niger and Its Tribes, by Major Arthur Glyn Leonard, London, Macmillan, 1906, p257

48 lacquer tree. They touched the child’s left arm with the leaf of a lacquer tree while claiming it was a harmless leaf and touched the child’s right arm with a harmless leaf while claiming it was from the poisonous tree. Surprisingly, they found that all the children developed a rash (dermatitis) on their left arm where they were touched by a harmless leaf thought to be from a poisonous tree.

And most children developed no rash at all where the leaf they were allergic to had actually touched them despite their serious allergies. This dermatitis developed purely by the suggestion of contact with the poisonous tree, which could turn a completely harmless leaf into a toxin. The beliefs that the researchers had instilled in these children – that the expectation of a particular response based on past experiences – created the reality for these children.

The Doctor-Patient Relationship Treatments all have a placebo component to some extent. But in fact, the very presence of a doctor is arguably a placebo in action. Human beings are social animals, and our social context continuously shapes who we are and how we behave. According to Adler and

[2]

others, neural structures are actively altered by social interactions, and our interpersonal relationships could influence our physiological functions.

Patients tend to seek relief from disease and suffering from these interpersonal relationships, in this case, often by bonding with their physician. Research has demonstrated how a doctor’s beliefs and expectations could profoundly influence the patient’s medical conditions. It has already been demonstrated that a doctor’s diagnosis or opinion could lead to an almost automatic acceptance of whatever they are told without real rational consideration. When patients were given a placebo but were told by doctors that they were receiving the real medication, their brains displayed the neurological changes and they reported genuine improvements in their symptoms. Thus, the effectiveness of treatment could be assisted by doctor-patient relationships, and clinical diagnoses made by physicians must be carefully considered as misdiagnosis may lead to serious consequences. In Dr. Joe Dispenza’s words, they ‘accepted, believed, and surrendered’ to the doctor’s diagnosis and suggestions.

Dispenza, Joe. You Are the Placebo : Making Your Mind Matter. Carlsbad, California, Hay House, Inc, 2015., Chapter 6

49

You Are the Placebo In his book ‘You Are the Placebo’, Dr. Joe Dispenza describes how our body’s experiences are shaped by what our minds believe. But our beliefs are all based on what has happened in the past; they are all based on our memories. Like what we saw in the case of the voodoo, we believe whatever we consciously or unconsciously hold true, and our perception of the world shapes our reality. Once we ‘accept, believe and surrender’ to an outcome, we become suggestible to that particular reality – we become our placebo. This has a bidirectional implication: if you are misinformed or provided with a faulty belief, you are likely to fall into that

reality, but if you are able to challenge these beliefs, you will be less suggestible to what others tell you and will be able to change how you think and feel. When we create a possibility of how the world could be, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and our reality can be shaped to fit that belief. By exposing yourself to external stimuli that could prime you to a new state of mind could help heal your body and mind.

Limitations However, there are complications to the placebo effect that must be taken with caution. Often, when a patient seeks treatment of any sort, they may be

50 experiencing the worst symptoms of a disease, and just as the person seeks medical care, the disease is starting to get better itself; that is, whether the person received the treatment or not, they would still show some recovery.

This concept is known as “regression to the mean” – where extremely high or low values will slowly align with the mean – and could confound results found in placebo studies. In addition, it is important to note that when testing new treatments, clinicians who try the treatment on patients who are more ill may see recovery due to a regression to the mean instead of the treatment being effective. While the regression to the mean has rarely been implicated to confound results in studies conducted on the placebo using controls, the complexity of this phenomenon must be taken into account when considering the effects of the placebo.

Conclusion It has now been demonstrated that a variety of factors could mediate the placebo effect, alter our experience to fit our beliefs and expectations. We have also seen how the placebo alone could have profound health effects. We have seen how a belief of imminent death led to a death, but we have also seen

the less practiced, yet powerful healing effects of a belief of a better outcome from treatments. We, as humans, see the world not as the rational beings that we often like to believe we are, but instead are affected by our emotions, desires, beliefs, and expectations. But it is through this irrationality that we can harness the immense power that is bestowed to us upon birth.

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A Psychological Analysis of Lennie Small and George Milton Aston Tam

52 Set in a ranch near a town called Soledad - meaning ‘solitude’ in Spanish - John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella, Of Mice and Men, tells the harrowing tale of itinerant workers on a ranch during the worst economic depression in recent US history. As readers journey with Lennie Small and George Milton through their story of love and friendship in the hostile environment torn by separation, anxiety and isolation, they are able to observe the progressive development of the characters. Through a psychological lens, we may gain deeper insight into the unique nature of each fictional character that has captivated the hearts of so many in our collective literary history.

“I don' like this place, George. This ain't no good place. I wanna get outta here.”

This is what Lennie says to George as soon as he senses that there could potentially be danger in their new workplace. Without the slightest desire for subtlety, Lennie tends to speak his mind regardless of the situation or surrounding environment.

This transparency is refreshing and intriguing at the same time. From a Jungian perspective, Lennie seems to be lacking what may be perceived as a persona - “masks” we put on under

different social circumstances - since he does not filter out any of his thoughts and desires. He is thus assumed to have a dominant shadow - the true thoughts and feelings that are filtered out in conversations. He seems to think that this is a normal way to behave and does not understand the need to hide his feelings. Even when instructed on how to act, he often fails to fully grasp why he needs to act in such a manner. As an example, he has to be specifically instructed by George to refrain from displaying his true desires when they are at the ranch. He is mostly silent throughout the story and the lack of interaction between him and other characters (except for George and Crooks) also testifies to the idea that he is unfamiliar with the conventional ways to behave under ordinary social circumstances.

In contrast to Lennie’s lack of a persona, the other main character of the novella, George exhibits one that is familiar to readers when he is in the company of other characters in the story. As someone with a quick temper, a fair amount of arrogance and wit, George fully understands how to modify his behaviour when he is in the presence of others, to his advantage.

53 "If I was alone I could live so easy." This is a remark that George makes three times in the book, as he reflects on all the extra trouble that having to look after Lennie brings him. From his comment, we can see that he is confident that he can socialise with people well enough to make a living and support himself. It is implied that he understands how destructive it can be if you do not have a persona that allows you to fit in with others in a social context, since Lennie is an example of a person without a persona, and George ends up having to clean up his messes every time. Furthermore, we can see that his understanding of the need to put on a façade extends to cover his relationship with Lennie. To avoid the suspicions of others, he lies about the true nature of their relationship so that his surprisingly protective behaviour is not questioned: “He’s my…cousin. I told his old lady I’d take care of him.”

The contrasting behaviour patterns of Lennie and George highlight Jung’s concept of the persona and the theory that it stems from a compromise between a person and society based on how the person wants to appear. Lennie is not concerned about how he appears

in front of others but George is. As a result, Lennie does not understand the need for compromise while George does. Society, as represented by the ranch and the ranch hands, has fixed and homogenous ideas about relationships. "Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is."

The ranch boss’ inquiry seems normal to readers at first glance, as many of us can identify with the boss’ curiosity regarding the relationship between George and Lennie. Just like the boss, we apparently assume that a man would only be looking out for another man if they are family. As a result of this assumption of a homogenous relationship, as discussed in Steinbeck’s Queer Ecology by Person, George feels the need to invent a familial relationship so that others, including readers, may accept his love and care for Lennie.

“He jus' wanted to touch that red dress, like he wants to pet them pups all the time.” Lennie is constantly attracted to objects with a soft and fluffy texture, such as the fur of small animals like mice, rabbits and dogs. This child-like behaviour is a fundamental attribute of his personality that distinguishes him

54 from others. While it is mostly due to his subpar intelligence as suggested by his overall lack of ability to predict the consequences to his actions, it may also be linked to other psychological factors.

Applying Jean Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development, Lennie’s behaviour is most similar to developing infants in the age group of 0-2. Infants within that age group are in the sensorimotor development stage during which understanding is built purely from senses. Similar to an infant’s behaviour, a lot of Lennie’s actions imply a gain in knowledge and understanding through a keen want for touching things. His unusual child-like quality of wanting to feel the texture of objects parallels that of a child.

Furthermore, theories of obedience may be applied to Lennie’s behaviour. He displays a rare level of obedience for a grown man which is a common trait of toddlers, as obedience stems from parental factors. His lack of conformity in social situations punctuates his cognitive deficits. The traditional views on conformity from a psychological perspective is that, given a group and a figure of authority, people are assumed to conform to social norms both from normative and informed social

influences. However, despite being in the ranch, an environment in which there are more than sufficient factors influencing conformity present, and multiple people all conforming to both explicit and implicit rules of the ranch, and clear figures of authority present, Lennie still fails to comply with some of the rules and behave. His keen obedience towards George testifies for George’s role as a parental figure to Lennie, since by implication Lennie views George as the dominant figure of authority. Milgrim’s theory of obedience also serves as an adequate explanation to how Lennie remembered to go to the area of meeting if he did something wrong, the action in itself is morally questionable, however since Lennie views George as a figure of authority and believes that George will take responsibility for his running away enforces him to do so.

“Someday - we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and -" George and Lennie often imagine, happily, their future together as a means to find comfort and hope while they struggle from the harshness of their reality. It is undoubtedly one of the saddest

55 moments in literature when Steinbeck lets readers know that their humble American dream would never bear fruit.

Readers could blame a number of historical, economical and social factors related to the USA in the 1930’s, yet we may discover new perspectives regarding the chief culprit of the devastating turn of events if we analyse the story with a Jungian approach. The villain of the book is to be blamed. Here, the villain is the “shadow” - the darker unconscious self. Although it may be difficult for us to peg Lennie as a villain, he could be perceived as the embodiment of the “shadow self” in this story. According to Jung, the “shadow” is the prediction of dark characteristics of the ego; it is often depicted in the same gender as the main character of a story.

In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is clearly portrayed as a male character who possesses some dark characteristics of the ego, as represented by George, and inadvertently ends up harming George.

In addition, the harm that Lennie brings to George is not a one-off occurrence.

“You keep me in hot water all the time.”

The metaphor is used by George to describe the trouble that Lennie always ends up bringing to them, albeit unintentionally. Lennie has made George lose his job and even exposed

him to the risk of being prosecuted for being an accomplice to crimes such as molestation. This is a motif that is recurring, supporting Jung’s notion of the archetype.

Overall, the psychological depth of Of Mice and Men provides fresh perspectives for readers who may gain deeper insight into the development of each character.

The novella incorporates parts of Jungian psychology, along with ideas of obedience and conformity to make the fictional characters realistic and believable.

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Establishing Parameters of Intelligence Carol Yeung Crystallised and Fluid Intelligence It has long been recognised that human intelligence comprises two main components: the ability to recall preexisting knowledge, and the ability to solve new problems. However, it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that psychologist Raymond B. Cattell developed the first psychometric model to describe human intelligence: the theory of general intelligence. The theory posits that cognitive abilities can be classified into two distinct categories: crystallised intelligence and fluid intelligence.

According to Cattell and J.L. Horn, fluid intelligence is “the ability to perceive [1]

relationships independent of previous specific practise or instruction concerning those relationships”.[1] Fluid abilities are physiological and are largely unaffected by experience and education. Common examples of where fluid abilities can be applied include nonverbal tasks such as puzzles, especially those of a mathematical nature.

Crystallised intelligence is the ability to apply knowledge acquired from prior learning. Crystallised abilities can be measured using language tests, general knowledge tests, and assessments involving the usage of learned skills, all of which evaluate knowledge and skills

RB;, Horn JL;Cattell. “Age Differences in Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence.” Acta Psychologica, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6037305/.

57 initially acquired through fluid intelligence. Unlike fluid intelligence, the development of crystallised intelligence is dependent on individual differences and social factors such as educational and cultural background.

These two types of intelligence have very different trajectories over the course of one’s lifetime. For the vast majority of people, fluid intelligence peaks at around the age of 20 then slowly starts to decline, whereas crystallised intelligence continues to improve throughout adulthood and into old age. The reason for this is that, as mentioned earlier, fluid intelligence is positively correlated with physiological ability and brain function, both of which are susceptible to ageing. As age increases beyond the peak of neurophysiological development, fluid intelligence will start to wane.

Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence, a theory developed by Peter Salovey and John Mayer, is “the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional

[2]

and intellectual growth.” [2] It drives our emotions, influencing our decisions and the majority of our daily actions.

Emotionally intelligent individuals are adept at controlling and expressing their emotions nonverbally, sensing the emotions of others in groups, and using their understanding of these emotions to guide their thoughts and actions.

Individuals with high emotional intelligence are also highly empathetic, as their abilities allow them to connect with the emotions of others.

Salovey and Mayer inspired the work of other intelligence theorists such as American journalist Daniel Goleman who popularised the term “Emotional Intelligence” in a number of his bestselling books.

According to Goleman, there are 5 key components of emotional intelligence: 1. Self-awareness: recognising and understanding personal emotions.

2. Intrinsic motivation: this stems from a passion to work for reasons beyond external rewards such as money.

3. Competent social skills: managing relationships.

Mayer, John D. Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Findings, and Implications. - JSTOR. www.jstor.org/stable/20447229.

58 4. Empathy: understanding the emotions of others.

5. Self-regulation: to control our disruptive impulses.

Emotional intelligence is, in a way, similar to general intelligence: it is the capacity to learn about yourself and those around you and to apply that knowledge to social settings. However, despite public interest in this newly minted theory, it remains one of the most controversial constructs in psychology: Is it a true form of intelligence?

Some critics question emotional intelligence as a legitimate form of intelligence owing to the fact that it currently has no clear stipulated definition. Although the definition quoted previously was proposed by the founders of the model, a more widelyaccepted definition remains elusive.

How can emotional intelligence be measured?

Emotional intelligence models generally rely on self-reports as operational measures of the construct.

[3]

The use of self-reports is heavily criticised for its lack of reliability and validity. People may lie as they want to appear successful and accomplished, and this produces results that are not an accurate indication of their emotional intelligence; this is known as social desirability bias. Questions in assessments of self-reports could also be interpreted differently due to unclear phrasing.

Is emotional intelligence learned or innate?

Some researchers have suggested that emotional intelligence is innate, while others believe that emotional intelligence is a skill that can be improved over time.

“It’s a common misconception that emotional intelligence can be learned or easily learned,” [3] says Dr David Caruso, a research affiliate at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Other researchers have claimed that emotional intelligence can be enhanced by means of training, targeted at parts of the brain including the limbic system (the area of the brain responsible for behaviour and emotions).

Stephanie Overby June 6, et al. “Can Emotional Intelligence Be Learned? 4 Techniques to Practice.” The Enterprisers Project, 2019

59 Nevertheless, if emotional intelligence can in fact be learned, then perhaps a future society of emotionally literate citizens relieved of many of the social ills we currently face is possible, perhaps we will see fewer marriages ending in divorce, more empathetic leaders in business and politics, and a fairer system of assessment and election unbiased to today’s intelligential assumptions and prejudices.

Artificial: More Artifice or Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is the simulation of human intelligence by machines. Despite being a regular feature of science-fiction, certain forms of artificial intelligence have already been achieved in the real world. We can already teach a computer to learn algorithmically through identifying patterns within data. Nevertheless, AI has its critics who argue that though it is learning of sorts, it is ultimately mere pattern identification and not “true” intelligence. How AI can be defined depends on the perspective taken. From the perspective of fluid intelligence, “true” intelligence has the ability to adapt to unforeseen situations independent of prior learning. If intelligence can only be defined by its fluidity, then we have not reached “true” artificial intelligence, and arguably, we never will. However, this becomes a different equation when considered

from the perspective of crystallised intelligence—artificial intelligence becomes entirely possible.

The theory of embodied intelligence emphasises the active role of the body in acquiring intelligence by an agent.

Again, one way of defining intelligence is the ability to problem solve in a given environment. This means that two conditions are required for embodiment of an agent: a body, and an environment in which to exist. Fluid intelligence requires embodiment.

Biological organisms can only learn by being present in the physical world and by navigating its physical reality; this is crucial for the survival of living organisms. Thus, intelligence is ultimately a survival mechanism, and due to the lack of embodiment and adaptation in AI, it is impossible for artificial intelligence to become “true” intelligence. All that can ever be achieved is algorithmic learning—a form of crystallised intelligence.

Modern AI theorists are seeking ways to embody computers in order that they learn through embodiment. Many attempts have thus far involved giving AI a physical body, e.g. robots, to allow them to learn through trial and error in their physical environment. This, arguably, is intelligence. However, just as humans took millions of years to

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Illustration by Elisa Xu

61 advance our levels of intelligence, the learning and evolving of robots through physical embodiment is going to take a similar amount of time.

The robots need to be continuously exposed to stimuli, respond to the event, and experience repeated exposure to that event in order to learn from it. In theory, if AI can truly evolve, it can emerge with fluid intelligence because every new iteration of the AI is inheriting all the learnt skills from previous iterations.

If emotional intelligence was to be considered part of the definition of intelligence, the ability of AI to experience empathy—one of the five components of emotional intelligence— should be used to determine whether it is a true form of intelligence. Empathy in humans is possible because of mirror neurons. Unfortunately, it is not scientifically viable to build an AI that replicates mirror neurons at present, and thus AI cannot experience the empathy which underpins emotional intelligence. If emotional intelligence is a definitive criterion of true intelligence, then unless AI can develop the necessary levels of empathy, they will never be considered truly intelligent. AI will essentially be problem solving, and not exhibiting intelligence in the broad sense. However, if empathy and

intelligence are seen as separate and not similar in any way, AI would not need to develop emotional intelligence in order to be considered intelligent, which means that AI could achieve true intelligence some day.

Concluding Comments Intelligence somewhat defies definition.

The complexity and experiential nature of intelligence makes it difficult to be captured in words, so the closest we can get to a formal definition is only a broad approximation of what intelligence is.

There are still areas for further development in our understanding of intelligence as many aspects of the phenomenon are yet to be explored.

Until more studies are conducted to explain complicated concepts, psychology remains a somewhat speculative field in this domain.

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Psychological Masters' Fight in the Treatment of Mental Trauma Benny Zhong

Throughout the past couple of centuries, human’s understanding about our humanity and psychology has improved exponentially as an uncountable number of genius psychologists stood out to pave the way for contemporary psychological research and analysis. Particularly amongst these pioneers, Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler were two of the most extraordinary and influential figures in the history of psychology, whose contrasting theories and beliefs and their unrest of disagreement will be looked into more in the following.

Adler, with whom Freud had discrete opinions about the treatments of mental trauma related to one’s behaviour and action of past, present and future.

The mainstream thoughts of Freud suggest that one’s current trauma is closely related to the past memories and actions. For instance, the phobia of snakes is often associated with a past experience of being bitten or shocked by snakes. In various realistic cases, the theory showed inalienable relevancy and is often approved by the patients of

63 relevant symptoms.

The theories provided a clear pathway for psychotherapy: in order to ultimately tackle the issue of past trauma, one has to be soothed and relieved from the actual pain by facing one’s reality.

Therefore, one of the most prominent treatment methods in Freud’s theory is what is known as the “Talk Therapy”.

However, what is rather discouraging about Freud's style of treatment is that the trauma’s existence is certain, and the only method to alter the existence is by relieving its pain. Contrary to the point, the idea of Alfred Adler gave a renovating perspective of thoughts.

Alfred Adler, the founder of Individual Psychology, is most famously known for his theories on ‘Inferiority Complex’ and ‘Holism’. Once colleagues with Freud in Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, Adler and a few colleagues eventually disengaged from the society due to major conflicts and disagreements in a series of psychoanalytical theories between them so as in the field of psychological treatment in terms of trauma. Alfred Adler maintained that the trauma itself has major relevance to one’s goals and aims, rather than one's past actions. He firmly believed the fact that patients' trauma is not a direct result of their past behaviours or experiences. He denied the existence of

mental trauma, calling it rather an inferiority sense and an escape from current challenges that one has to face due to the past events. Therefore, we could see that Adler-styled psychotherapy focuses more on forfeiting the mindset of escapism and encouraging people to face the current issues that are hindered due to past trauma. And this specific way, as Adler claimed, would be the ideal way to eliminate the inferiority(Adler’s understanding of Trauma) in the human mind.

Despite the complexity of the beliefs of each side, there is a simple conclusion that can sum up the essence: Adler believed that individuals’ behaviours are determined by their future while Freud believed it is dependent on one’s past.

As the competition between the two theories developed, more attention and popularity started to incline to Adler’s side, whose theories were once the less supportive ones.

The meaningfulness of Adler’s theories concentrates on the fact that humans can always eliminate their trauma and inferiority by switching their aim from escapism and the feelings of past trauma, and focus more on their future goals and aims.

Artwork by Anjeli de Blank

66 The positive, chance-oriented approach has therefore become increasingly popular as individuals can be less concerned with the past itself, and focus more on their current direction.

Thus solving the actual issues of inferiority in the process. A useful story helping to explain the point is from one of the most influential scientists of all time --- Albert Einstein. Despite Einstein’s omniscient excellence, who can imagine he used to be a naughty and rebellious boy that was even scolded for not being good at speaking and pronouncing when he was at a young age? Considered the event as a traumatic one, Einstein was still able to demonstrate his academic intelligence despite once having major difficulties.

This shows how the event of Einstein’s childhood was valued, and has been determined by his excellent future, which makes the event itself sound like a funny, inspiring anecdote, rather than an actual life-long pain and trauma had Einstein not become successful.

Another link to the study of trauma in Adler’s Individual Psychology is its theory of Phenomenology.

The International Association of Individual Psychology describes Phenomenology essentially as ‘subjective’ and ‘personal’, and it relates to one’s direct personal experience.

The usefulness of Phenomenology in the case of trauma is

that trauma’s magnitude, influences and existence are based on personal understanding and interpretation-- the whole event of trauma itself is controlled by subjective impressions.

Therefore, what we can conclude from the theory is that any trauma or inferiorities that an individual suffers, can be cured by readjusting our sense of impression of the specific event. The goal of the Adlerian style of rehabilitation is always built around shaping an individuals’ subjective reality, rather than the objective truth.

The beliefs are also largely supported by the nature of human memory and recollection. The process of memory is scientifically divided into three different stages: memory encoding(information intake), memory storage and memory retrieval(ability to reiterate information).

However, due to the vulnerability of human memory, the original information will be almost certainly distorted, typically during the storage stage, by a vast range of means of intervention and interference including the misinformation effect, the overconfidence effect and hindsight bias. Therefore, the effectiveness of the treatment based on the theory of Phenomenology is considerable as psychologists’ insights in memory vulnerability can help them distort patients’ subjective reality in a beneficial approach in order to ultimately alleviate the symptoms.

67 On the other hand, it is still an undeniable fact that Freud’s theories and treatment of mental trauma is still predominantly popular despite his clash with Adler. One of his most influential theories on the topic of psychoanalysis is what Freud recognises as human’s triple sense of identity: Id, ego, and superego.

The theory maintains the fact that other than human’s own sense of consciousness and rationality(ego), the moral-based characteristics of human’s superego, there are also the primal aspects of humans that are both deeply hidden in the mysterious field of our unconsciousness. The famous “Ice-berg Metaphor” is an effective explanation of human’s complicated psychological patterns as we understand the fact that what we can physically observe in terms of human’s actual characteristics, is significantly less than what realistically exists. What is crucially linked to the treatment of mental trauma in his theory is that there are uncountable amounts of subconscious neuro behaviours that, as Freud claimed, are changing and altering our own sense of recognition and understanding of reality. Therefore, the role of Freud's psychotherapy lies more predominantly on the process of fixing unconscious internal conflicts that cause the trauma of anxiety, moodiness and depressive thoughts, which are deeply rooted into

one’s past experiences. The theory was a revolutionary one historically as it provided a distinct routine towards the routes of psychotherapy to focus more on what can not be observed, rather than the characteristics that can be physically detected. However, as the popularity of Freud’s study increased, the more problems and doubts it started to show. One of the major concerns about his psychoanalytic theory is that there is no solid scientific base and foundation that back up his claims, so there is no available evidence even if the cause and effects in his claims show inextricable correlation.

However, it does not stop him from being, perhaps, the most influential figure in psychology and psychoanalysis of all time.

After nearly a century of endless dispute, it seems that none of the two masters of psychology have gained the majority of approval. Due to the nature of psychology, it has been decided that individuals' recognition towards the study of psychology will be forever revolutionising despite the complexity of psychological theories. However, what we can still evidently agree with is the fact that the rivalry between Freud and Adler, will be a timeless one that long remains in the history of psychology.

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How do Anxiety Disorders Affect Teenagers?

Audrey Lam

Everyone experiences anxiety. It is a natural reaction to get stressed at difficult times, signalling through fearfulness and apprehension that sudden threatening change is near.

According to scientists, anxiety is described as an internal warning system that alerts us to danger and helps our body prepare to deal with it. For example, anxiety can motivate you to prepare well for a class presentation.

However, excessive anxiety becomes an unhealthy and disproportionate response that can lead to mental health problems.

Anxiety disorders are mental health conditions that involve an excessive amount of anxiety, fear or worry. As research shows, anxiety disorders affect

25.1% of children between 13 and 18 years old (teenager). Given that teenagers already have a lot on their plate, from friendships to academics to relationships to peer pressure, anxiety disorders can often make everything a lot worse. For teenagers, anxiety disorder becomes an ongoing, painful state that interferes with their day-today life, such as their ability to attend classes, hang out with friends or maintain healthy relationships with family and peers. These disorders may deprive teenagers of their self-esteem and prevent them from reaching their full potential in terms of academic achievements and being able to enjoy their life to the fullest as teenagers.

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Illustration by Alana Kwan

70 Chronic anxiety can lead to other serious mental health problems, like depression, substance abuse and even suicide. Anxiety disorders can also increase the risk of developing other medical conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. Given that teenagers are still developing, this anxiety can get worse over time. If left untreated, anxiety disorders in teenagers can have long-term effects that can continue to develop into their adulthood.

be distracted or withdrawn and away from peers. This may be because they are preoccupied with their thoughts and worries about their own appearance or competence and how others around them may perceive them.

This is due to them being sensitive to criticism and being extremely selfconscious. Teenagers with anxiety disorders can also seem shy, insecure, or closed-off. They may avoid trying new activities and challenges at the possible risk of failure.

Identifying the symptoms Teenagers with anxiety disorders can experience both physical and mental symptoms. Generally, mental symptoms which teenagers experience include feeling fear and worry, inner restlessness and a constant need for approval, having negative and irrational thoughts, expecting the worst to happen, a tendency to feel cautious or alert, and having trouble concentrating in school.

Physical symptoms include sweating and trembling, chest pain and racing heart, muscle pain, cramps, fatigue and dizziness, sleep problems like nightmares or insomnia.

Kinds of anxiety disorders There are five major kinds of anxiety disorders: Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder and Social Phobia Disorder. Each type has its own set of specific symptoms, and not everyone experiences the same symptoms.

In social situations, teenagers with anxiety disorders may experience difficulty handling social interactions,

Generalised Anxiety Disorder, GAD, is the most common anxiety disorder among teenagers. It is characterised by excessive, persistent, and unreasonable anxiety about everyday life. These worries can be about family, school, health, relationships, etc. GAD related symptoms include fatigue, sleeping problems, muscle tension, difficulty in concentrating and irritability. Those

71 with severe GAD may be completely debilitated and they may find it difficult to do even the simplest things (like leaving the house). Teenagers with GAD also typically have low self-esteem.

it harder to maintain friendships and relationships as they might often turn down hangouts due to the fear of having a panic attack in front of others.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder that makes someone have recurring, unwanted thoughts or ideas (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do certain things (compulsions) repetitively. These compulsions include constant handwashing, checking locks, rearranging items, etc. For people with OCD, thoughts are persistent and behaviours are rigid. Even if they know that their thoughts are obsessive and irrational, they find it difficult to stop them. OCD can even increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that usually occurs in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event like a serious accident, terrorist attack, school shooting or sexual assault, etc. People with PTSD often have recurrent mental and physical distress related to their traumatic experience even years after the event has happened. These include having nightmares, flashbacks, mood swings (anger or fear). People with PTSD may try to avoid situations and people that bring back memories from their traumatic experiences.

Panic Disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes someone to constantly have sudden panic and fear attacks. During panic attacks, the person experiences intense fear, with physical symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, muscle tension and trembling, although there is no apparent danger. Panic attacks can last from 5 minutes to 20 minutes or an hour, and they can occur once or twice a month to multiple times a week.

Teenagers with Panic Disorder may find

Social Phobia/Social Anxiety Disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes someone to have excessive feelings of fear in social settings. People with Social Anxiety Disorder worry about being evaluated by others, drawing attention to themselves, embarrassing themselves or being rejected by others.

Social Anxiety Disorder is different from feeling shy—shyness is short-term, but it is debilitating and persistent for people who suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder.

Symptoms include avoiding social

72 situations, trying to blend into the background, worrying for days or weeks before an event, needing alcohol to face a social situation, etc.

Physical symptoms include blushing, nausea, excessive sweating, rapid heart rate, and difficulty speaking (stuttering or mumbling). Social Anxiety Disorder can interfere with a teenager’s social life, as it can cause teenagers to avoid talking to people, meeting new people, attending social gatherings and paralyse them in public speaking and performance situations, disabling personal development.

How to help someone with anxiety Now that we’ve covered the different kinds of anxiety disorders and how they affect teenagers, it is important to know how to help teenagers with anxiety disorders.

Let them know you are there for them: You have to let them know that you are there for them and that you care about their feelings so they know that they are not going through this alone. You could initiate conversations with them, check in to see how they are doing or ask them to spend time together or hang out.

Listen to them and support them: It is important to listen carefully to their preferences and how they would like you to help them. At times, they might want you to distract them from anxious thoughts. At other times they may want you to break down a task that they are feeling anxious about completing. To help them, you could take the time to listen and to help them with their specific needs. You could also introduce them to new activities and interests to distract them from their anxious thoughts.

Encourage them to seek professional support: Anxiety disorders greatly affect a teenager’s life. Access to professional support is essential. Mental health professionals can deliver effective treatments and different types of therapy. A particular type of talk therapy called Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT) helps a person learn new ways to think and act in situations that cause anxiety. Medication can also be used as part of the treatment.

Conclusion Anxiety disorders affect many aspects of teenagers’ lives, from mental to physical wellbeing, day-to-day activities to future adulthood, self-esteem to relationships

with family and friends, academic studies to personal development.

Teenagers experience anxiety disorders in different ways. With proper support, care and therapy, anxiety disorders are treatable. It is important for us to understand these disorders so that we can identify the symptoms and figure out if people around us have them so that we can find ways to help them get better.

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Should Research Always be Ethical?

Jason Cho Ethics are the moral principles that guide humans into making decisions.

However, being unethical is not illegal.

Ethics are only guidelines; rather than a set of rules we must follow. They help form what we believe is right and wrong, and help mould society into the way it is today. For example, if you see a boy drowning in a pool, you can either help him or let him drown. The morally ‘right’ thing to do would be to help the boy, of course, though you would be under no obligation to do so. This article aims to explore this ever changing relationship between ethics and morality in more depth by examining the importance of ethical research.

The British Psychological Society (BPS) focuses on four primary principles: respect, competence, responsibility, and integrity. Respect is one of the most important ethical guidelines, both in psychology and in day to day life. It provides the foundation for many other ethical principles by acknowledging that all humans are worthy of equal moral consideration, regardless of social status, ethnicity, gender, appearance or any other group-based characteristics.

Psychologists should value the dignity and worth of all participants, and be sensitive to the dynamics of their influence on people, with particular regard to rights. This is done by

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considering privacy, confidentiality and consent, to name a few examples.

Competence refers to a psychologist's ability to provide specific, specialist knowledge to patients at a high professional standard. Psychologists must ensure this knowledge is accurate and valid, as false knowledge will have widespread effects on psychology’s reputation as a discipline. They should understand the limits of their own competence, maintain practical and technical skills, and potentially refer to another colleague if necessary.

Just like Spider-Man, we all know that with great power comes great responsibility. Psychologists hold a great deal of power, and this authority can make people do things they are wary about, as shown in Milgram's study on obedience to authority figures. With the ability to change society’s perception on certain matters, psychologists must be extremely careful when dealing with socially sensitive research. By being aware of the responsibility they carry and avoiding misusing their power, psychologists ensure that participants are not put in unnecessary harm.

76 The principle of integrity deals with psychologists being truthful, accurate and consistent throughout the course of their studies and research. This involves preventing bias in research, including publishing research that does not support the initial hypothesis. If psychologists have low integrity, the implications on future psychological research would be irreparable, and the public would lose trust in psychology.

Psychologists should be honest, present data that is accurate and unbiased, and avoid exploitation and conflicts of self interests.

Yet, these are only guidelines psychologists should aim to follow, not rules. So what happens when it is not possible to follow them, or in times of emergency?

Should psychologists sacrifice the wellbeing of participants, and carry out unethical research for the ‘greater good’?

If the ends justify the means, the logical decision would be to carry out unethical research if it would save the most people. One example is Dr Saul Krugman’s research on hepatitis.

Krugman wanted to identify different types of hepatitis and how it spread.

The study took place at Willowbrook State School in New York City, a school for severely mentally challenged children where hepatitis was rampant.

Krugman found out that 90% of new arrivals to the school developed hepatitis soon after settling in, which prompted him to carry out his study there. Krugman then purposely infected healthy children with hepatitis and watched them grow sick, with some ending up in life threatening conditions.

Krugman tried to justify himself by stating that since the chances of infection were already so high, his study made no difference to the children.

Krugman then tested his vaccine on the infected children, and used them as ‘guinea pigs’ to fine tune the vaccine.

Although the study was highly unethical, at the time of the study hepatitis was extremely deadly and contagious, already having killed millions. One result of the research was a better understanding of the differences between serum hepatitis (hepatitis B), which is spread by blood transfusions, and infectious hepatitis (hepatitis A), which is spread directly from person to person and is the more common form.

Furthermore, the hepatitis vaccine developed saved an estimated 7 million lives, which many believe outweighs the 700 children used in the Willowbrook studies.

However, unethical research has also occurred in the past without any good justification. One example of this is Wendell Johnson's 1939 ‘Monster’ study

77 at the University of Iowa. Johnson wanted to investigate stuttering in 22 orphaned children, and tested out his theories on these children, without their consent. All children were told that they were to participate in speech therapy.

Half of the children received positive speech therapy, regardless of whether they stuttered or not (IIB group). This meant that they were all complimented and encouraged to speak more. The other half received negative speech therapy (IIA group). This half was belittled and discouraged from speaking, even the children who had no issues with talking. The results were clear. The children from the IIA started to talk less, and some did not talk at all.

They became self conscious about their speech, and started to become more and more isolated, with one girl even managing to escape the orphanage.

Moreover, the children’s schoolwork started to fall off as they no longer participated in class; they refused to recite in class when asked to, as they feared getting told off for their speech ‘imperfections’. Many of the normal speaking children who received negative speech therapy suffered from psychological harm, and some retained these speech defects for the rest of their lives.

This suggests that we must be extremely careful when carrying out unethical research, and make sure the ends must justify the means. The benefits must greatly outweigh the impact on participants, and the results must contribute to all of society. In pandemics such as Covid-19, we must ensure that research is as ethical as possible. The pandemic is still raging on in many places, and the BPS Covid-19 guidelines stress the importance of maximising benefit, minimising harm, and ensuring that research conducted is of high social value. Furthermore, we must be aware of changing social norms. These unethical studies were carried out more than 50 years ago and what was considered acceptable back then may not still be considered acceptable nowadays. By exercising caution, psychologists can do their best to follow guidelines and ensure that their study is ethical.

78

You Can Be Anything: The Psychology Behind Barbie Marketing Alyssa Wong The 2009 Barbie Fashionistas Photo Shoot game begins by selecting a model from a lineup of 6 dolls. Four of these dolls are identical blonde Barbies in pink outfits. All have the exact same body type. You can choose to dress Wild or Girly, but you’ll still be dragging the same skinny limbs into poses on your screen.

Here lies the Barbie conundrum: What psychological effect does her body–– which, while not impossible, would

occur in less than 1 in 100,000 adult women––have on young girls? What is Barbie's psychological influence? This is the Barbie body image debate, and it’s been around for as long as Barbie has.

After all, 1965’s Slumber Party Barbie came with weighing scales set permanently to 110 pounds (50kg) and a diet book titled How to Lose Weight, bearing the instruction ‘Don’t eat!’ In fact, Barbie, who was created in 1959, is not much younger than the term ‘body image’ itself, which was coined by psychoanalyst Paul Schilder in 1935.

Illustration by Se Lyn Lim

80 Body image is defined as ‘the extent to which individuals perceive the facts pertaining to their body’ [1] . It comprises two components: body perception (subjective knowledge of physical attributes) and body satisfaction (degree of satisfaction with present body attributes).

This mental representation may or may not bear a relation to actual appearance. Poor body image is associated with body dysmorphic disorders, eating disorders, unhealthy weight control and affects overall quality of life.

In a 2006 study, U.K. researchers found that younger girls (ages 5–7) who read Barbie books were more dissatisfied with their bodies than those who read books with a realistically proportioned doll. Older girls (ages 7.5–8.5), overall had greater body dissatisfaction, regardless of which books they read.

The authors concluded, ‘These findings imply that, even if dolls cease to function as aspirational role models for older girls, early exposure to dolls epitomising an unrealistically thin body ideal may damage girls' body image.’ [2]

A 2019 U.K. survey of 11–16 year olds found that 79% said how they look is important to them, and 52% often worry about how they look. Though body image affects children of all genders, girls were more likely to worry about their body image (46%) than boys (25%). With body image being such a common concern among older children, it is important to explore factors, such as exposure to ideal body images in the media, that affect it. As body image and dissatisfaction can begin forming between 3 and 5 years old, the impact of children’s media like Barbie is notable.

Research published in June 2021 similarly showed a reduction in girls’ ideal body size after playing with ultrathin Barbies. Playing with realistic dolls did not change ideal body size, though it did increase body satisfaction. Playing with realistic dolls after playing with Barbies did not affect ideal body size, which remained reduced. The results implied that Barbie may permanently negatively affect young girls’ body image.

These studies seem quite conclusive about the damage Barbie does.

However, there is contradictory research

[1]

Tiwari, Gyanesh & Kumar, Sanjay. (2015). Psychology and Body Image : A Review. SHODH PRERAK. 5. 1-9.

[2]

Dittmar, H., Halliwell, E., & Ive, S. (2006). Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls

81 that, while not proving Barbie has a positive effect on body image, does provide evidence for a neutral or no effect. A 2010 Dutch study of 6–10 year old girls gave them either a Barbie, an average sized doll, or Lego. After 10 minutes, the girls completed body image questionnaires. The toy that girls played with did not affect their responses, though the researchers acknowledged they didn’t know what the doll’s long-term effect on body image could be. So, what is the effect of Barbie after longer than 10 minutes?

Longer than 10 years?

A 2013 retrospective cohort study titled Barbie at 50: Maligned but benign? surveyed undergraduate women and found that childhood Barbie play had no significant impact on selfevaluations of appearance or on dieting behaviour.

Instead, the strongest predictor of dieting behaviour was the women’s recollection of how much family members valued physical appearance.

What does this mean for the Barbie body image debate? Which studies are right? Perhaps all of them. Whatever Barbie’s effect may be, she is ultimately just one of many factors accentuating the social pressure on young girls to have an ideal body, making it difficult to

isolate Barbie’s individual effect. She can, in conjunction with more important influences such as familial factors, possibly have a benign effect on body image in some ways and a harmful effect in others.

Is this, then, the end of the debate on Barbie’s psychological effects? Or is Barbie, like any real woman, more than just her body?

A 1985 Barbie advertisement begins with a businesswoman handing her briefcase to her daughter as voiceover intones, You know it and so does your little girl. What is it they know? Nothing other than the ad’s slogan: We girls can do anything, right Barbie? And Barbie, of course, can indeed do anything. By 1965, she was an astronaut, preceding the first real female NASA astronaut by almost two decades. By 1973, she was a surgeon, when 9% of all doctors were women. In 2009, the same year as the Barbie Fashionista Photo Shoot game, the ‘I Can Be…’ play line was released, covering a range of occupations and accompanied by the ad jingle B-A-R-BI-E, be who you wanna be, Barbie girl. In 2015, the Sheros line, which celebrates modern day female role models in a variety of fields, was launched, followed in 2018 by the Inspiring Women line for historical female role models.

82 This focus on girls’ career cognitions reflects the psychological effects Barbie inventor Ruth Handler intended the doll to have. Handler was inspired to create Barbie after noticing her daughter using paper dolls to imagine her adult life in roles besides housewife, at a time when most dolls for girls were baby dolls aimed at teaching them to be good mothers. Although Barbie’s body was inspired by the sexualised German adult novelty doll Bild Lilli, her work ethic and attitude came from the ​Tillie the Toiler comics, an early portrayal of an independent career woman.

Barbie’s influence on girls’ career cognitions may be particularly relevant due to the repercussions of gendered perceptions of careers. Psychologist Linda Gottfredson's theory of circumscription and compromise proposes that children’s career aspirations originate at 3–5 years of age, and that these early aspirations are sex typed in relation to the activities of same sex adults. Mattel’s viral 2015 Barbie ad, Imagine the Possibilities, emphasised the potential Barbie has to positively affect girls’ career cognitions.

The two minute video shows little girls in real life situations pretending to be a professor, veterinarian, football coach and more. The adults, who are not actors, react in amusing ways as they attempt to play along. At the end of the

video, it’s revealed the previous scenarios were all being acted out by a girl with her Barbie dolls. Text appears, declaring, When a girl plays with Barbie, she imagines everything she can become. It’s followed by the current Barbie slogan: You can be anything.

With Imagine the Possibilities, Mattle shifts the Barbie debate from body image to self image. The Barbie debate has always been for adults, who treat Barbie as a body image Rorschach test.

But how girls see Barbie carries equal weight to how Barbie’s body might make them see themselves. And they see Barbie as possibility. Barbie’s body is merely a template for girls to project their dreams and self image onto, separate from the psychological influence her body’s shape might have.

But, as adorable as Imagine the Possibilities is, it is still an ad. It’s hard to imagine a video named Imagine the Body Image Concerns selling quite as many dolls. Rather than imagine the possibilities, let’s now research them.

There is few scientific research on career Barbies’ effect on girls’ career cognitions––most articles on the topic cite the same 2014 study published in the journal Sex Roles. In the study, a sample of 37 American girls aged 4–7 were assigned to play with a Fashion Barbie, Doctor Barbie or Mrs. Potato

83 Head for five minutes. Girls who played with either Barbie indicated that they had fewer future career options than boys, whereas girls who played with Mrs. Potato Head reported a smaller difference in careers for themselves compared to boys. (Maybe this is because, unfortunately, everyone is unlikely to become a potato, regardless of gender.) These results indicated that Barbie’s sexualised attributes imposed limits on girls regardless of the doll’s purported profession. This is in line with the social psychology framework of objectification theory, which proposes that, in a culture which sexually objectifies the female body––a culture which Barbie is an extension of––girls and women are socialised to engage in self-objectification, limiting their motivation.

themselves acknowledged its limitations in terms of measurement, small sample size, and representativeness, stating ‘We must use caution in terms of any conclusions that can be drawn from these reported null effects; therefore, we hope this first study will spark additional contributions in this area.’ It has certainly sparked many clickbait antiBarbie headlines, but has yet to spark additional research.

But these results don’t necessarily mean Mrs. Potato Head is the most feminist toy for girls, or that a Doctor Barbie will never help a girl discover a passion for medicine. 5 minutes of doll play won’t tell us much about these girls’ actual careers in the future. If researchers did survey female medical students and doctors in order to see if there was a Dr. Barbie in their childhoods, it would be even harder to analyse her specific influence on their careers than it would be to analyse her influence on their body image. The study’s authors

A Time story from 2016 boldly declares Barbie’s got a new body. The magazine’s cover features an image of curvy Barbie in silhouette, next to the question Now can we stop talking about my body? As expected, the rest of the article goes on to talk all about Barbie’s body, or rather her new bodies.

Namely, the introduction of the petite, tall and curvy body types, which will expand Barbie’s diversity and join the range of skin tones and hair textures introduced the previous year. This change, naturally, is not fully altruistic; Mattel’s financial

While Barbie’s body may have negatively influenced girls’ body image, and held her back from positively influencing their career cognitions, this may no longer be true. Because with the evolving body language conversation of the past few years, Barbie, too, has evolved.

84 motivations are tellingly revealed in the same cover story, which notes plummeting sales and changing American beauty standards, listing Kim Kardashian as an example.

Using Barbie’s new body diversity, a 2019 study examined attitudes about body shape and size in a sample of 84 young girls aged 3–10. The study found an overall preference for thin bodies and aversion towards larger ones. It was titled You can buy a child a curvy Barbie doll, but you can’t make her like it. The researchers wrote that their findings suggested ‘the simple availability of body-diverse dolls may not be a powerful enough intervention to overcome harmful weight attitudes’.

Undoubtedly, Barbie was never going to single handedly push weight bias out the Dreamhouse door. Nevertheless, young children now are being exposed to a wider range of body shapes and sizes in a gradually more accepting culture––which Barbie is finally a part of.

These days, Barbie’s image is far more diverse and inclusive than ever before, furthering future positive effects on both girls’ body image and career cognitions. The Barbie Fashionistas line currently boasts 9 body types, 35+ skin tones and 94+ hairstyles. Recent Slumber Party Barbie playsets have come with cake and popcorn, not a diet

book and weighing scale.

Last year, Barbie made her growing psychological awareness evident by dipping her plastic feet into the wellness industry, with a self-care themed line featuring yoga, meditation, and a spa. Issues have been raised with the line’s depiction of self-care as expensive and glamorised, as well as the fact doll play already is self-care for kids. Mattel’s press release simply asserted that ‘Barbie knows to be one’s best is to give yourself the best care’.

But we don’t need to do what Barbie says to be our best. Because we girls can do anything, right Barbie?

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