What Do Babies Really Know?

How do you know that your cute five-month-old infant is truly aware, that she is fully sentient, capable of having a phenomenal conscious experience of her mother's face or voice? Let me hasten to add that the question here is not whether or not normal, healthy babies can selectively identify their mom's face or voice; of course, they can turn their head and fixate with their eyes onto the face and eyes of their mother even very soon after birth. The question I am after is whether such visuomotor or audiomotor behavior goes along with the kind of subjective experiences you or I have when we look at our mother or hear her voice. It is a legitimate question for two reasons.

For one, babies can't speak. They can't tell us whether or not they are seeing faces or hearing voices. It is a different matter once they mature enough to be able to talk to us about their inner experiences. So we have to trust our intuitions, which are deeply colored by our biases about when life starts, when consciousness begins, and who is or is not conscious. The second reason the question is valid is that 150 years of psychology experimentation has shown time and again that adults are perfectly capable of carrying out a range of complex tasks unconsciously.

For instance, subjects can distinguish between a face that looks angry or one that has a neutral expression even if those faces are rendered “invisible” by flashing them only very briefly onto a screen and by adding distracting images just before and just after the picture to effectively mask or erase the picture from the mind's eye. People can also unconsciously detect gender, do simple adding problems when “invisible” numbers are flashed onto the screen, or distinguish between depictions of inappropriate and appropriate actions (for example, discerning between an invisible image of an athlete batting a ball with a baseball bat and an image that has been doctored to show the player swatting at the ball using a flower bouquet). Perhaps babies' behaviors also rely on unconscious, rather than on conscious, processes?

So it becomes critical to find ways to distinguish conscious from unconscious processing in preverbal infants. What is a psychologist to do? One answer is to measure the brain's electrical activity using a common tool we call the electroencephalogram (EEG).

Using such tools, a group in Paris led by cognitive neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene of the Collège de France has argued for several years that a hallmark of conscious visual perception is a particular type of electric wave, called P300, that occurs whenever an adult subject is attending to a consciously perceived picture or a sound. These signals start roughly around 300 milliseconds after the onset of the image or sound, can be long-lasting, are depolarizing (positive) relative to a reference electrode, and are particularly prominent above the frontal lobe. Most important, they are not present when, for instance, the image is flashed on the screen but is not consciously seen because it is masked. Looking at an image produces a host of faster electrical responses, which are thought to relate to the processing of the image that occurs prior to conscious recognition. Assuming that the P300 slow wave is one of the brain signatures of conscious perception, can they be found in young children?

Recording Brain Waves in Infants

Psychologist Sid Kouider of the Laboratory of Cognitive and Psycholinguistic Sciences at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, together with Dehaene and other French and Danish researchers, undertook the difficult task of measuring brain waves in 80 infants. Difficult because, unlike undergraduate research subjects, very young children (just like puppies) wiggle around, don't pay attention for long and can't easily be instructed. Their head covered by an EEG cap, the infants sat on the lap of their parents, who were blindfolded so that they would not influence their children's responses. They had to look at streams of images, some that contained photographs of a smiling young woman and some that were only random patterns. What varied across experiments was the duration for which the face was exposed, from barely a glimpse—unlikely to be seen at all—to a sizable fraction of a second that, at least in older children, is invariably associated with the conscious sight of a smiling young woman.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-do-babies-really-know

People Who Are Fond of Stockpiling Goods Sign of Psychological Disorders

If you include people who love to collect things that are useless and not bear to throw them away, you may have certain psychological problems. Research shows that there are problems in the brains of people suffering from the condition.

A recent study found abnormal activity in the brain in people suffering from disorders of hoarding goods. The brain regions known to be involved with decision making and emotional choices.

"Disorder of hoarding goods seems to be characterized by a problem in the decision-making process which can be seen from the pattern of brain activity," said David Tolin, Director of the anxiety disorders Center at The Institute of Living, Connecticut.

People with hoarding disorder gets much gratification psychologically by not disposing of items that belonged to him though it is useless. The urge to hoard things has been associated with a number of other psychological disorder, such as difficulty concentrating on the issue and make a decision.

Strangely enough if given that people are fond of stockpiling goods linked to perfectionism is associated with the fear of taking the wrong decisions.

To find out what is really happening in the brain penimbun, Tolin and her colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activity.

FMRI can tell the system to changes in blood flow to the brain, allowing scientists to determine the area of the brain where a more active response to any given task.

The study involved 43 people with hoarding disorder and for comparison, the researchers also scanned the brains of 33 healthy adults and 31 adults with obsessive compulsive disorder.

All participants are asked to bring a pile of letters and newspapers second-hand from her home each without memilah-milahnya in advance. The researchers then scanned the brains of participants in research with fMRI to study how the brain's reaction to a sense of losing his stuff.

Groups of people with hoarding disorder brings fewer goods from other groups. In addition the Group also reported that more suffer anxiety, doubt and sadness when asked to bring his former newspaper and mail.

The front part of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex on the patients with disturbance of deep unease felt hoarding if faced with a situation to throw his stuff. But if he is exposed to decisions about matters relating to goods belonging to other people, the brain areas feel calmer.

"The brain of people with the disorder of hoarding goods seems less stimulated to be more prepared to face a number of decisions that made him feel lost. So that sufferers keep all goods because it would be too painful if the goods are lost, "said Tolin.

Tolin and her colleagues published the results of the findings in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry on 6 August, as reported by mnn, Wednesday (8/8/12).

The Montessori Approach to Education

Developed by Italian educator and doctor Maria Montessori, the Montessori model of education is based on respect for a child’s natural psychological development. It’s estimated that there are more than 20,000 Montessori schools worldwide, with students ranging from infant age to eighteen years of age. A Montessori education emphasizes a child’s social development as much as his or her academic development, and it aims to help a child build independence and practical skills within a supportive framework which respects each student’s individual growth rates. Students are looked at as whole individuals: the physical and the emotional are as important as their cognitive development.
Montessori schools for infants and toddlers have the primary focus of providing opportunities for children to develop motor skills, independence, and a love of learning. Teachers engage students with materials that are size and age-appropriate. The Montessori approach at this age also aims to develop toileting skills. Parents often participate with their youngsters in “parent-tot” classes at which the parent can help guide their child through a variety of age-appropriate activities.
As children grow into the preschool and kindergarten years (ages two and a half to six), the Montessori model engages them in activities which help them develop independence in a variety of practical pursuits. Mixed age classrooms allow children to help and learn from one another. Teachers provide manipulatives such as spoons and cups which help students develop confidence and practical skills. Students move freely and are often given the choice to engage in the activity which interests them most, allowing them to build a sense of freedom and personal empowerment. A focus on the development of the senses is also evident in a Montessori preschool classroom, as is engagement in art, music and language activities. Students’ differences are respected and celebrated.
As students approach the elementary and middle school years (ages six to twelve), the Montessori curriculum is integrated to emphasize connections across all subject areas. Language, history, science, math, and the arts are all studied in hands-on, interconnected, project-oriented ways. Students learn through hands-on experiences and are actively engaged in investigation and research; they are not vessels to be “filled” with information. Students direct their own explorations, further emphasizing the development of their independence. Students also take learning outside of the classroom (sometimes referred to “going out” in Montessori) to engage in real-world investigations which build on what they learn in the classroom environment. The result is a confident, independent learner who is ready to succeed in high school and beyond.
Research on the Montessori model has shown that graduates of Montessori schools are prepared well for later life in an academic sense as well as socially and emotionally. Graduates score well on standardized tests and often receive above average rankings on criteria such as attentive listening, showing responsibility, and critical thinking. They are able to adapt to new situations and show a love and enthusiasm for learning.

Analysis of Art Therapy

              Art therapy is not just for children but can be applied to adults with brain injury or impairment. However in this paper I would like to discuss the analysis of art produced by children who are troubled with psychological problems stemming from family discord. Dysfunctional families are now more common than abusive ones. Abusive families tend to get the media attention but dysfunctional is harder to quantify for the media and so mainly ignored. When treating children, art therapy can give insights were direct communication is almost impossible. Many child therapists however cannot analyze children's art from a scientific point of view and so this paper is to give some basic directions to those interested in the mind of a child through art.

Introduction
For art therapy to be understood the therapist or teacher needs to have some basic insight into child psychology from past experimental work that gave direction to our modern thought. The first would be Vygotsky's position of child cognitive development. The first being his stated position on language development. That a child has limited reasoning during the early years as it does not have the language skills to express complex logic. The second is scaffolding, that a child given the basics of an idea or concept can build upon it without further direct instruction through trial and error learning over time. What both these insights tell us is that a young child cannot communicate complex emotional feelings clearly until nearing their teenage developmental stages. (1 Vygotsky 1962) Chomsky in the USA later supported Votgotskys idea when he proposed a language acquisition devise in the brain at birth. (LAD). Chomsky stated that unlike any other animal on the planet humans have language that develops faster than can be explained through everyday learning. That if you take an American baby and give it at birth to a Japanese couple to raise, it will eventually speak only Japanese. The language the brain is exposed to at birth is the one it develops over time. (2 Chomsky 1968)

Later in the 1950's Piaget (3 Piaget 1973) who had know about Votgosky's work used many of his ideas to develop his own theory of cognitive stages of development in children. Although he disagreed with Votgoskys stance on language he did devise many useful experiments to show a staged developmental cognition. The one part we are interested in from an art therapy point of view is ego-centrism. Piaget made a paper mache three mountains on a table. (We would refer to a 3D model today). He asked young children to look at the mountains and watch figures moving about such as man, woman, child for example. In front of the child were a series of photographs showing the mountain model from several angles and views? The child was asked to watch the figures and then point to the photo from the figures point of view, where they were placed. Most children under seven always chose the photo that best displayed not the figures point of view but there own. In other words the child could only see the world from its perspective and not other peoples. This was termed ego-centric and lasted until the child was old enough to de-centre through the acquisition of empathy. (Note, cultures such as China have a lack of empathy in their psychology mainly due to a lack of social learning in the family. So many are still ego-centric well into their 20's.) In the UK Margaret Donaldson went on the redesign Piaget's original experiment with the policeman and naughty boy model. This was much more culturally acceptable to children unfamiliar with mountains as Swiss children would have been. Donaldson concluded that children in the UK at least, de-centered earlier. This maybe part of the British character of easy international adaptation to environment changes. (4 Donaldson 1978)

The two main child theories above then start our thinking into art analysis by giving us a basic insight into child communication and development. Obviously the theories are more complex and deeper than I have explained here and need to be learned more thoroughly by the therapist. These ideas are merely pointers to interpretation of the uncommunicative child though art.

The How To:
Children are wary of strangers and particularly men. There are two reasons for this, first strangers in a child's world represent a threat and therefore create an alarm reaction. In babies this may be crying in older children under seven this maybe social learning, parents and teachers giving warnings about talking to strangers in the street. Secondly where children are brought up by unemotional parents they accept strangers more easily than those from caring emotional families. It is their nature to seek a caring bond and attention even if this might be negative such as being punished. (Skinner 1960 - operant conditioning).

With the above in mind in order for the child to be happy and willing to draw for the therapist is can be useful to allow a familiar person to give the instruction such as the primary school teacher that takes the child everyday. If the child is from a dysfunctional family the parents are the last people you need to help. Remember abusive parents often present children to doctors with complaints from a position of care (Muchenhousin disease by proxy). Therefore if the child is troubled and in mental anguish then until you knows otherwise, suspect everyone and use instructors away from the child's normal carers.

A simple step by step approach to drawing production is the best way.

1. Have paper, A3, is best with assortment of drawing materials, pencils, crayons and any other suitable markers. Have a table and chair that is comfortable for the child's age - not to high - the floor is OK for children if suitably dressed.


2. The adult who is giving instructions should be face to face beside the child. This means at the child's height and eye level. Adults should kneel or sit where there are at the same height level. This takes away some of the domination structures and allows for a more equal approach to the child.


3. Ask the child to draw their family in front of their home. The reason this is always a good start as the positioning is very important. Also how the child perceives their living space.


4. Give the child plenty of time; tell them there is no rush to finish. Most children complete the task in about ten minutes. Some take longer who want to elaborate their drawing with colour and detail.


5. Thank the child and promise to return their drawing to them later, this is important as the child puts value in their creativity and will want to show significant others in their life such as other siblings or parents.

Analysis Approach
Again a step by step approach is the most effective way to start.

1. Take an overview. What is the initial impression? Is the child's drawing compatible with their age? Is it immature, undefined, lack of care in production etc? Is it well constructed for their age, showing imagination and the grasp of concepts? (For example does smoke bend out of a chimney or go straight up. This would indicate the concept of wind for example.)


2. Look at family positioning, does the child put themselves at the centre of the group (perhaps ego-centric) are they slightly apart? Are bothers and sisters placed differently, is one parent further apart that the other. All these can give insight into the family dynamics. Are they in height order? Are they smiling or frowning? Look at body proportions - this can indicate power plays. Finally look for any unusual details in the family that may give rise to questions.


3. Look at the periphery, how is the home drawn, is there a path, is it accurate? Has the child put things in the windows? Are there additional objects such as a car, bicycle, swing, gate etc.? All these objects may give rise to insight from later questions.


4. Once you have come to your initial conclusions write them down. Then ask two other non-professional people to look at the drawing and give you their initial impressions. This can lead to seeing something we missed or did not consider. Lay people are not hampered by knowledge. Then re-look at your own initial analysis and decide if you need to revise it slightly. Do not be too influenced by your lay observers they may also have internal perspectives that tend to objectify their ability to see the child's point of reference.


5. Take the drawing back to the child and ask simple gentle questions. Tell the child you are very impressed by their effort. Then ask about the objects first, what they mean to the child. The car for instance. This is better as it lets the child de-center from the family to begin with. Look for the significance the child puts in objects and cultural learning.


6. Ask the child about the family, who is who (even though this may be obvious) let the child explain. In what order does he talk about the family members, does he forget someone, what is the positioning in the picture; ask why someone is further away - or holding hands, etc. Where is he/she in relation to the parents, siblings etc. This may indicate relationship problems or highlights.


7. Finally, rethink your original notes in line with the child's self-report. What differed, what was highlighted, what insights did you discover?

Once the process is over then the work of applying theory to the analysis gives you the final overview and insight into your drawing. This should then be presented in a report of three parts. First a paragraph or two on the child's presenting problems and family situation. Second, the initial analysis of the artwork from your findings and impressions. Third your theoretical insight from a psychological point of reference.
This last part should include your recommendations for educational support, teacher insight and therapeutic intervention of required.
Often once a meeting with the teacher and parents has been convened to discuss the child's situation then the next steps in support can be agreed upon. Where the parents are the problem, this then is best left to the psychologist as an outsider to meet with them as an authoritarian figure to enable open dialogue.

Experience
It takes time and quite a few attempts with children of various ages to build up the skill of art therapy and interpretation. It is not always so obvious what the child is trying to communicate through their art. Also take into account the scientific bias of the participants and analysis. It is easy to project your own ideas of child situations instead of being objective. As any good therapist knows you leave your own ego at the door. Children are vulnerable, easily influenced and directed by skillful manipulators and so abuse goes undetected for many children. Caution should be advised before taking a child's art impression to a legal standpoint.

Real example.
A child was presented at school as disruptive, violent and attention seeking. His teachers wanted to expel him from the school. He is 8 years old and often attacks teachers by kicking them from behind.
The child drew a picture of his standing between his parents holding his hands up keeping the two apart who are seen shouting at each other. The child in the drawing is crying and angry.
Life was so difficult at home having to play the role of parent to his parents that at school he acted out to compensate for his misery at home. He saw teachers as other parents and so needed to punish them. He needed attention at school even if negative in order to fulfill his need for love.
In a meeting with the mother, she was shocked to see how her son found family life. It was agreed that future arguments between her husband and herself should be conducted out of the child's hearing or presence. That a calmer atmosphere should be strived for over time.
The child within two weeks had calmed down and started to be more cooperative and although he relapsed from time to time he was much happier in class and cooperative.
This example is straight forward and much more detail came from the drawing than this conclusion, but it gives you the general idea.

In Summery
Art therapy can be informative as part of a wider approach to child psychology and in particularly therapy situations where a child has presenting problems to tackle. Art allows a child to communicate through visual imagery which is cognitively more developed under seven years than verbal skills, reasoning and conceptual thought.
A professional psychologist should always do the analysis and not a counsellor. The reason is more a question of wider knowledge and training that most counselors in schools have. It is also important to be holistic with children and see if other factors such as diet, bullying or trauma might have an influence on his artistic impressions.


References:
1 Vygotsky 1962 - Gross R D (2004) Psychology the Science of Mind and Behaviour4th Ed. Hodder & Stoughton Pgs 498 - 500
2 Chomsky 1969 - Gross R D (2004) Psychology the Science of Mind and Behaviour4th Ed. Hodder & Stoughton Pgs 284 - 286
3 Piaget 1973 - Gross R D (2004) Psychology the Science of Mind and Behaviour4th Ed. Hodder & Stoughton Pgs 491 - 498
4 Donaldson 1978 - Gross R D (2004) Psychology the Science of Mind and Behaviour4th Ed. Hodder & Stoughton Pgs 496
*Note that Vygotsky's work was conducted in Russia in 1920's but only translated into English in the 1960's when it exposed Piaget's secret influence to his own work.

Self-confidence

Self-confidence is one aspect of personality that is very important in human life. Self confident people are confident about their own abilities and have realistic expectations, even when their expectations are not realized; they stayed positive and can take it.

Definition
Self-confidence is a mental or psychological condition of a person who gives a strong confidence in him to do or perform any act. People who do not believe in themselves have a negative self-concept, lack of confidence in his ability, because it is often kept to them. Self confidence is a mental or psychological condition, which individuals can evaluate the entirety of her strong belief in giving him the ability to take action in achieving various goals in life.
People who have good self-confidence, they have positive feelings toward themselves, have strong beliefs on him and had accurate knowledge of the capabilities. People who have good self-confidence are not the only person who feels capable of (but not really afford) but is a person who knows that he can be caused by experience and calculation that he did.
Synonyms:  aplomb, inner strength, positive self-image, self-assurance

Personality traits of people with low self-confidence
When this is linked to the practice of everyday life, people who have low self-confidence or have lost confidence, tend to feel / be as below:
• Do not have anything (desires, goals, targets) which fought energetically
• Do not have a decision to step decisive
• Easily frustrated or give up when faced with a problem or difficulty
• Less motivated to go forward, laziness or half and half
• Often fails to accomplish its tasks or responsibilities
• Awkward in dealing with people
• Can not demonstrate the ability to speak and the ability to listen to a convincing
• Often have unrealistic expectations
• Too perfectionist
• Too sensitive

DYSLEXIA

Dyslexia (pronounced: dis-lek-see-ah) is a type of learning disability. A person with a learning disability has trouble processing words or numbers. There are several kinds of learning disabilities; dyslexia is the term used when people have difficulty learning to read, even though they are smart enough and are motivated to learn. The word dyslexia comes from two Greek words: dys, which means abnormal or impaired, and lexis, which refers to language or words.

Dyslexia is not a disease. It's a condition that you are born with, and it often runs in families. People with dyslexia are not stupid or lazy. Most have average or above-average intelligence, and they work very hard to overcome their learning problems.

Dyslexic students tend to be good at understanding three-dimensional objects, spatial reasoning, and things they can see in pictures. They have problems with symbols, so their math problems often stem from difficulty with the symbolic representation of math concepts. They also have problems thinking with words, so rote memory of math sums (such as multiplication tables) is very difficult. Finally, because they are 'big picture' thinkers, they often have trouble with sequential, step-by-step logic or ordering - obviously important to follow a series of steps such as learning to do long division.

With this in mind, tools that teach math concepts through hands-on activities and manipulatives are very good. It is important to make sure that the student understands the basic concepts that numbers and other mathematical symbols represent. You also will want to help the student see where any mathematical process is leading; before a dyslexic student can learn steps in a process, the student will want to know why and how these steps will lead to the intended result.

bibliography

Fanu, James le fanu. 2006. Diteksi dini masalah- masalah psikologi anak. Jogjakarta : think.

 

Paranoia

paranoia is the most psychotic disorders disrupt in social life . Paranoid people who could have been turned against his friends , both individuals and groups . He saw the danger that intimidate personal integrity and even his life to others. Starting from a false premise derived which typically sourced from a sense of inferiority and incompetence , he is convinced that all members of the family or the local community are being tortured in various ways . For example , if someone opens a window to circulate fresh air into the crowded room , the paranoid will accuse the person is trying to make it down with the flu . Finally the worst happens menyenagkan , where people would slam the window shut and ran out of the room up . When the delusional system is established, the patient is usually no longer trust the food that was served on the regular menu . He assured the people were trying to poison him . In an effort to escape from the supposition , he will behave unreasonably .

 

The most disturbing aspect of paranoia is he seen like a normal people in everything that are not related to the delusional system. He could have high level conversations, and people who do not know him well will not be able to see the difference in him. usually in the early stages most people fail to recognize strange behavior pnderita as symptoms of the disease. They interpret the words and the threat of violence as a form of release that anger alone. Sometimes they even discriminate against people and it makes the patient worse.
It would be very helpful if they are confirmed in people that they did not intend to hurt him. It is very difficult to destroy delusions system that has been arranged neat and worked for some time. The main obstacles when doing therapy is the attitude of people towards therapists tend to be regarded as a group of enemies.

 

Bibliograpy

Maurus, J. 2009. Copping with depression. Penerbit Rumpun.