“Genetics, Psychology May Trigger ADHD” plus 2 more

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• Genetics, Psychology May Trigger ADHD
• Psychology researchers explore the science of emotional intelligence
• Psychology Department Reforms its Curriculum

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Genetics, Psychology May Trigger ADHD Posted: 20 Apr 2010 10:20 AM PDT Genetics, Psychology May Trigger ADHD MONDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- An interaction of genetics and psychology may be the cause of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), say U.S. researchers. Their study of 304 youths found that ADHD symptoms were more common in children and teens with high or low activity levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin and who blame themselves for conflict between their parents. "To date, studies have mostly focused on the effects of genetic and environmental influences on ADHD separately," wrote Molly Nikolas, of Michigan State University, and colleagues. "Our work examines the interaction between a specific gene variant and a family environmental risk factor in order to determine their roles in the development of ADHD via behavioral and emotional dysregulation in children." The genetic region examined by the researchers is 5HTTLPR, which is responsible for regulating the production of a protein that transports serotonin. Previous studies have linked this area to a number of personality traits and neuropsychiatric disorders. "Overall, these results complement growing evidence suggesting that 5HTTLPR variants confer a liability for ADHD that is activated in particular environments, rather than conferring risk for ADHD directly," the researchers concluded. The study was published April 15 in the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions. -- Robert Preidt Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: BioMed Central, news release, April 15, 2010 Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
Psychology researchers explore the science of emotional intelligence Posted: 20 Apr 2010 11:40 AM PDT Public release date: 20-Apr-2010 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Dawn Fuller dawn.fuller@uc.edu 513-556-1823 University of Cincinnati It's a hot-buzz topic that covers everything from improving workplace performance and successfully climbing the corporate ladder to building the happiest of marriages to ending school bullying. But what exactly is Emotional Intelligence (EI)? If we lack it, can we learn it? And how do we know if our EI is high or low? Is it only high if we're really, really nice? Three scholarly researchers including University of Cincinnati Psychology Professor Gerry Matthews delved into the science of EI and published "What We Know About Emotional Intelligence: How it Affects Learning, Work, Relationships, and Our Mental Health." Published by MIT Press (2009), the book was recently awarded the American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence the PROSE Awards in the biological and life sciences category of biomedicine and neuroscience. The book, co-authored by Matthews, Moshe Zeidner (University of Haifa) and Richard D. Roberts (Center for New Constructs, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, N.J.), will also be on display at the UC Libraries' Authors, Editors and Composers Reception and Program from 3:30-5 p.m., Thursday, April 22, in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center. MIT Press promotions describe EI as the "ability to perceive, regulate and communicate emotions to understand emotions in ourselves and others." Workplaces want to test for it to find the most EI-talented employees, and consultants are touting training and EI tests to improve productivity. "In the popular writings, EI tends to be defined very broadly and one can't proceed with scientific research with such a vague and broad definition," Matthews says. Matthews' research interests have explored how stress, mood and coping ability can affect performance on tests, in the workplace and on the highway. He adds that amid the grim economy, even the people who have jobs are feeling high levels of stress in the workplace and are feeling more challenged by workplace demands and concerns about job security. In general terms, those who can roll with the punches with a shrug and a smile may have higher Emotional Intelligence. Then again, "The intimate association of personality and emotion sets a trap for researchers interested in Emotional Intelligence," writes Matthews. "It might seem that happy, calm states of mind should be seen as the person imbued with high Emotional Intelligence. However, such emotional tendencies may be no more than a consequence of biases in brain functioning or information-processing routines operating without insight or 'intelligence.' Some individuals in part because of their DNA are simply fortunate in being prone to pleasant moods, so it follows that emotional states do not alone provide an index of Emotional Intelligence," Matthews states in the book. In fact, Matthews says he's skeptical that people who are better at managing stress hold higher Emotional Intelligence, but as the researchers found as they tried to narrow down the science of Emotional Intelligence, more research is needed. For instance, is someone with higher EI in the workplace more productive, or are they just better at self-promotion and forming positive relationships with co-workers? Matthews says he believes EI appears to be very modestly related to workplace performance, and could turn out to be nothing more than a business fad. He adds the researchers are also skeptical about all of those EI tests, particularly those self-assessments. After all, people could be rating themselves the way they see themselves or the way they would like to be seen, and not like they actually are. Currently, authors Matthews and Roberts are researching the testing of EI through video scenarios. The situation judgment test involves watching the videos unfold a challenging situation, and then the video comes to a stop and offers different options for resolving the problem. Matthews is building on his earlier research which explored whether negative moods affected good decision making abilities. "Through the video project, the idea is to see if emotionally intelligent people are better able to make rational decisions under stress," he says. The researchers are also examining the link between EI and school social and emotional learning programs. [ | E-mail | Share ]   Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
Psychology Department Reforms its Curriculum Posted: 20 Apr 2010 02:10 PM PDT	Psychology Department Reforms its Curriculum More Requirements, Less Options by Lauren Magaziner '12 Opinion Writer April 15, 2010     I took Psychology 101 during my first year at Hamilton with the hopes of continuing my psychology studies at some later point in my college career.  Although I am not a psychology major or minor, I loved my experience in the introductory class, and I have always planned to continue learning about the brain after I finished some of my major requirements.     Unfortunately, the Psychology Department has changed their prerequisites for all of the upper-level psychology classes.  Now, students need to take a semester of Psychology Statistics in order to take most other psychology classes.     Most students who aren't considering a major or minor in psychology do not want to take Psych Stats because it is geared toward research design and data collection. Therefore, it seems as though the Psychology Department is trying to weed out non-majors by instituting these new requirements.     However, what about the students who are interested in the psychological theories, but don't necessarily feel the need to conduct original research?  Taking Psych Stats would not necessarily benefit these students, so they will probably have to abandon their psychology studies. In addition, forcing non-majors to take Psych Stats in preparation for more interesting psychology courses might result in classes full of unenthusiastic students.     The only classes that are guaranteed to be offered every semester and do not require Psych Stats as a prerequisite are:    •    Brain and Behavior – a class that is heavy on neuroscience at the synapse level;    •    Psychology of Prejudice- a class about the psychology of stereotyping and prejudice;    •    Psychology and Detective Fiction- the exploration of human behavior in detective stories.     Although these classes sound interesting, they leave out a huge portion of the study of psychology, like psychopathology, attention and performance, memory and cognition, visual perception, learning and child development, counseling, psychopharmacology and personality psychology. All of these topics are taught in classes that require a semester of Psych Stats.      Students who want to learn about these interesting topics, but can't afford to take Psych 101 and Psych 201 in order to get into the higher-level class, are out of luck with the rearrangement of the department's new requirement system.     If Hamilton College truly wants to give students a liberal arts education, then students should be able to take courses in many different departments outside of their major.  This, of course, is impossible if each department does not have a selection of classes in their repertoire aimed at non-majors.       If the Psychology Department only allows majors and minors to take their classes on counseling, psychopathology and cognitive psychology, then a majority of the campus misses out on the opportunity to expand their horizons into the subject of psychology.     Perhaps another B.F. Skinner exists in the ranks of those who are trying to get into an intriguing psych class, but that person has been rejected because of the strict prerequisites. On behalf of all the students interested in psychology but are not majors, I urge the Psychology Department to rethink their exclusivity and create more 200-level psychology courses that deal with a greater scope of psychological issues.

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