Describe and evaluate research into the stages of sleep
Describe and evaluate research into the stages of sleep To talk about a concept, we must first be clear on its definition. Psychologists describe sleep as an altered state of consciousness. It is a resting state in which an individual becomes relatively quiescent and relatively unaware of the environment. During sleep, which is in part a period of rest and relaxation, most physiological functions such as body temperature, blood pressure, and rate of breathing and heartbeat decrease. The amount of sleep needed depends on both the individual and the environment. With the invention of the "Electroencephalogram" or an "EEG" as it is more commonly known has made it possible to monitor the brain's electrical activity. The EEG picks up and records electrical activity through electrodes attached to the scalp. The reading of a waking person is clearly different than that of a sleeping person. The EEG pattern of our brain during waking periods is very rapid, irregular and low on voltage. This means that many neurons are firing at different intervals and at different times, with different strengths too. This type of irregular electrical activity in the brain during wakefulness is called beta waves or beta activity. When we are relaxed, sitting in the sofa watching T.V. without any mental arousal, the EEG records a waveform called alpha waves or alpha activity, slower than beta
Managing stress through Exercise and Therapy
Managing stress through Exercise and Therapy Contents Page 1- Definitions of stress & General Adaptation Syndrome Page 2-3- Holmes and Rahe social readjustment rating scale Page 4-5- Interactional model of stress Page 6- Primary stress intervention Page 7-8- Secondary stress intervention Page 9- Tertiary stress intervention Page 10- Physiology of the stress response National definition of stress Stress is an individual's mental, behavioural and physiological response to when we feel/ fear we cannot cope with the pressure perceived. Another definition of stress by The UK Health & Safety Executive; 'Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them'. http://www.personal-stress-management.com/definition-of-stress.html International definition of stress The term "stress" was originally coined in 1936 by Hans Selye, a Hungarian physician, who defined it as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change". http://internationalstressreliefacademy.com/definition-of-stress/ General Adaptation syndrome A. Alarm reaction. The body shows the changes characteristic of the first exposure to a stressor. Then the body recognises that it must fight off some physical or psychological danger and acts accordingly. If the stressor is sufficiently strong (severe burns, extremes of temperature), death may
Outline the clinical characteristics of one anxiety disorder
Outline the clinical characteristics of one anxiety disorder (10 Marks) Anxiety is an adaptive response, an individual with an anxiety disorder experiences anxiety that is disproportionate to threats that are presented. Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders. Phobias are an extreme irrational fear of certain situations, objects, people or activities; the level of fear is so great the object or situation is avoided whenever possible. Phobias are classified into three categories, specific phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia. Agoraphobia and social phobia usually interfere with the individuals' daily life, whereas specific phobia generally has less impact. Specific phobias are a fear of specific objects such as animals, the environment, a situation or blood and guts. The prevalence is 4-7% of the population. Specific phobias can be caused from direct experience, observation or from being told to fear the object. The clinical characteristic for this is for the individual with the phobia to avoid the feared object. The anxiety from the situation often results in restlessness, jumpy behaviour; in general the individual finds it difficult to relax and may experience a startled response when presented with the feared stimuli. Social phobias are due to the individual's self-consciousness of their behaviour and a fear of being negatively judged by others in social
Classification and Diagnosis of Depression
Outline the clinical characteristics of depression (5) The clinical characteristics of depression are sad depressed mood, most of the day, nearly every day for two weeks, or loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities. There is also difficulties in sleeping (insomnia); not falling asleep initially; not returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night, and early morning awakenings; or, in some patients, a desire to sleep a great deal of the time. A shift in activity level and feeling lethargic or agitated is also a common symptom. Poor appetite and weight loss or increased appetite and weight gain is a physical symptom of depression. You may also experience loss of energy and great fatigue. A negative self concept, self blame and feelings of worthlessness and guilt with further evidence being difficulty in concentrating, such as slowed thinking and indecisiveness. Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide is the main symptom and finally apathy (no interest or pleasure in activities). There are two types of unipolar depression according to the classification systems. The first is major depressive disorder and the other is dysthymic disorder. Patients with MDD require five symptoms, suicidal thoughts. The symptoms are severe but can be short lived. On the other hand DD requires three or more symptoms, including depressed mood but not suicidal thoughts. Patients
'Life changes, no matter if they are positive or negative, are always a source of stress.' To what extent have life changes been shown to be a source of stress?
'Life changes, no matter if they are positive or negative, are always a source of stress.' To what extent have life changes been shown to be a source of stress? Stress - an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being. The word stress means different things to different people. Some people define stress as events or situations that cause them to feel tension, pressure, or negative emotions such as anxiety and anger. Others view stress as the response to these situations. This response includes physiological changes-such as increased heart rate and muscle tension-as well as emotional and behavioural changes. However, most psychologists regard stress as a process involving a person's interpretation and response to a threatening event. Stress is a common experience. We may feel stress when we are very busy, have important deadlines to meet, or have too little time to finish all of our tasks. Often people experience stress because of problems at work or in social relationships, such as a poor evaluation by a supervisor or an argument with a friend. Some people may be particularly vulnerable to stress in situations involving the threat of failure or personal humiliation. Others have extreme fears of objects or things associated with physical threats-such as snakes,
Compare and contrast two explanations of depression.
Compare and contrast two explanations of depression. There are two types of depression, Bipolar and Unipolar both of which effect mood of the patient. Unipolar depression is where the person feels 'low' the majority of the time and have the following clinical characteristics: The emotional symptoms of unipolar depression are that the person feels intense feelings of guilt and a lack of enjoyment in activities that the individual previously enjoyed. Motivational symptoms can include difficulty in conducting actions as well as a lack of decision making. There are also cognitive and somatic symptoms which include negative thoughts and feelings of hopelessness (cognitive) as well as loss of energy, disturbance in weight and sleep (somatic). The clinical characteristics of Bipolar depression are also divided into four categories: Emotional, Cognitive. Somatic and motivational. Emotional characteristics are that if being euphorically happy then drastically changing into feeling of extreme sadness. The individual is also very irritable.Cognitive symptoms include an inflated self-esteem, racing thoughts and ideas as well as lack of attention however this may drastically change into feelings of hopelessness and dysfunctional thought. Somatic symptoms include decreased need of sleep as well as being fidgety and more talkative with rushed speech. Finally Motivational symptoms include
Peer Pressure Speech
Peer Pressure Speech Go on." "Everybody's doing it." "It's only one drink." "You're such a loser." I didn't know what to do. All these voices were repeating themselves over and over in my head. I didn't want to give into them because I knew what I was doing was wrong. I didn't want everyone to think I was scared but what if my parents found out. Why was I here? Are these people really my friends if they are really doing this to me? These were the vital questions that I didn't know the answers to. I knew in my heart it was wrong but I gave in. This is usually the typical outcome of a scene like this. It is called peer pressure. It can be disguised in many different forms. In this speech I am going to look at different ways in which teenagers can be influenced by peer pressure. Many teenagers experiment with cigarettes, drugs or alcohol. It is likely that they take their first cigarette, drink or drug because of pressure from peers or friends. The influence of friends who smoke is the main reason teenagers start, although you are also more likely to start if your parents do. Cigarettes, like alcohol, are an acquired taste but over eight per cent of people who smoke in their teens become permanently hooked. Often adolescents drink to feel less uncomfortable and more relaxed with friends and peers and because they are encouraged to do so by other teenagers. Regular excessive
Outline one theory of the function of sleep
A) Outline one theory of the function of sleep (6 marks) One theory of sleep is the Restoration theory proposed by Oswald et al in 1966, which suggests that the function of sleep, especially REM sleep is to restore the energy levels and to repair the brain and body. Restoration can be physical and psychological. Physical restoration indicates that sleep is necessary to restore biological processes in the body through REM sleep and Stage 4/NREM sleep. NREM sleep is when the body's processes are restored such as hormone levels and REM sleep is when the brains processes are restored, such as protein synthesis. Psychological restoration says that sleep is a vital function as it restores psychological functions and helps to avoid the ill effects that lack of sleep causes. B) Outline and evaluate one or more studies relating to the theory of sleep in part A (18 marks) Restoration theory has been supported by numerous studies and ideas, which concern both physical and psychological restoration. In terms of the physical restoration theory Horne (1988) said that the main function of REM and stage 4 sleeps is to restore brain functioning, because body repair occurs mainly when the body is a period of relaxed wakefulness (NREM sleep). This is supported by the evidence that babies sleep longer than older people, as they need more REM sleep to assist the development of the control
Outline and Evaluate the Biological Treatments of OCD
Outline and Evaluate the Biological Treatments of OCD One biological treatment of OCD is Psychosurgery which is a surgical intervention that aims to treat a behaviour for which no pathological cause can be established. The patient must meet certain criteria before they can be considered for this surgery, for example the illness must have persisted for longer than 5 years, all other treatments have been tested and failed to provide relief, and the patient must be between the ages of 26 and 65. The main idea of the procedure is that it attempts to interrupt nerve pathways in areas of the brain implicated in OCD. Probes are inserted through the skull into the cingulated girus, the part of the brain that allows the OFC to talk to the basal ganglia. The probe tips are then heated and the tissue is burned. The operation can also be conducted using external radiation. This procedure is known as a cingulotomy. One strength of this procedure is that research has shown that it is very effective. One supporting study of this is that Baer (1995) reported that a cingulotomy was successful in decreasing anxiety and OCD behaviour. In addition, Dougherty et al (2002) supported this as he suggested that up to 45% of patients had a reduction in OCD symptoms, therefore suggesting a casual cause and effect relationship between psychosurgery and reduction in OCD symptoms, therefore strengthening
Depression. There are several approaches to depression, two of which are psychological and biological.
Psychology Assignment: Depression Depression is a type of mood disorder affecting a person's emotional state of mind. Unipolar disorder classifies depression under a DSM-IVR system where a person will be diagnosed if they shows signs of intense sadness or apathy alongside four other symptoms which include difficulties sleeping, fluctuations in energy levels, feelings of guilt and inferiority. It's crucial that these symptoms are clearly causing distress and consistently present for two weeks or more. It is important to identify and characterise depression in order to diagnose and treat the disorder. There are several approaches to depression, two of which are psychological and biological. The first psychological approach is the psychodynamic theory pioneered by Freud. His explanation of depression stems from relationships in early childhood, also focusing on the power of the unconscious and how this force propels our behaviour. Freud observed similar symptoms between grief and depression thus reaching the conclusion that depression is an extreme reaction to loss, whether real or imagined. It is this perceived loss and the failure to acquire an effective way of dealing with such a loss early on that increases the likelihood of becoming depressed when faced with another perceived radical loss. There is an emphasis on unresolved feelings of hostility when loss has been
