From Womb to Tomb- Pysch Book

Mozart Effect (Myth #6)

the supposed enhancement in intelligence after listening to classical music

Why was the Mozart Effect so popular?

It stems from confusion between correlation and causation, since musical talent is positively associated with IQ, some people make the leap that exposure to music increases IQ

Bottom Line of the Mozart Effect

It enhances immediate performance on certain mental tasks, but there isn’t any evidence that it has anything to do with Mozart’s music or music at all

Why are products meant to increase intelligence doomed to fail?

Learning happens vest within a “zone of proximal development”, where children can’t master a skill on their own, but can do so with the help of others

• Ex. 3 year olds don’t have the cognitive abilities to learn calculus, and no amount of exposure to calculus will increase their math abilities, since it’s outside their zone of proximal development

How do pop psychologists fuel the perception that adolescence is a time of psychological turmoil?

The stereotype of the “terrible teen years” is in entertainment like films and books. They focus more on tales of trouble than healthy adolescents, so the public is exposed to a biased sapling of teenager

What are the 3 domains of teen behavior?

They are conflicts with parents, mood instability, and risky behavior

What percentage of teenagers actually go through turmoil?

About 20 percent, with the majority having positive moods and relationships with their parents and peers

What does data about teen behavior in other countries show?

Data shows that adolscene is usually a time of relative peace and calm in many traditional, non Western soceities, such as Japan, China, and India

• However, there’s evidence that increasing Westernization is associated with increasing adolescence distress

• Some parents have suggested that because parents in western cultures treat their kids like children rather than adults, their kids may rebel against their parents

What is the myth about mid life crisis?

"Most people experience a midlife crisis in their 40s or early 50s”

How does the film industry depict a midlife crisis?

• They depict goofy and screwed up, yet likeable middle aged guys, mostly male, who question the meaning and value of their lives

• Internet and books provide people advice to help them negotiate their mid life crisis and their loved ones as well

• There’s coaching you can get to overcome your mid life crisis

Why does the idea of the mid life crisis persist?

In addition to Internet and media coverage, it’s based on some truth.

• In middlehood, people find it hard to find direction, meaning, and purpose in their lives and want to find out if there’s a need for correction

• People do experience self doubt in the intermediate years of life, but it’s exaggerated

• The experiences that fall under the umbrella of a “mid life” crisis are broad, and some could consider any life change positive proof of a midlife crisis

How is divorce not correlated to a mid life crisis?

Divorce is more likely to occur prior to middle age. In the US, people usually divorce at 33 years of age for men and 31 for women

Empty Nest Syndrome

term referring to the popular belief that most women feel distributing pangs of depression when their children leave home or get married

Rebuttal for Empty Nest Syndrome

There is barely any scientific evidence for the belief that women experience the female equivalent of the male midlife crisis when their children leave home

• Most parents when interviewed made an excellent adjustment, felt like the move was positive, and related more to their kids as peers, when they had greater independence.

• Experience an increase in life satisfaction with more flexibility and freedom

• Child “moving on” isn’t as devasting as the media portrays it

Myth about Old age

“Old age is typically associated with an increase in dissatisfaction and senility (physical and mental decline )

What are some assumptions people make of the elderly?

They believe the elderly are depressed, lonely, irritable, lacking in sexual desire, and senile or have signs of being senile

When does stereotypes about the aged begin?

It begins early in life.

• with Disney films. such as Belle’s father, Grumpy in Snow White

• Children bombarded with these and other negative stereotypes may develop unfavorable impression of seniors at an early age

• There is misinformation about the elderly even in adulthood

What are some prejudices against the elderly?

The media blames the elderly for social and political problems, such as high taxes, bankrupting the national budget due to the high costs of social security and medicaid

• The emotion most college students feel towards the elderly is pity

• People find memory problems in the elderly as signs of mental incompetence, but find memory problems in younger individuals due to inattention or lack of effort

Research rebuttals against the myth of old age

• Using survey results, they found out older adults were actually happier at their current age, than were younger respondents

• Rate of depression are actually the highest in individuals ages 25 to 45

• Odds of being happy increased 5 percent with every decade of life

• ¾ of men aged 75 to 85 and half of their women counterparts report sill being interested in sex

• Health problems, such as obesity and diabetes were better predictors of aging than which people stayed sexually active. As overall health declines so did sexual activity

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”

Myth about the elderly is that they have difficulty learning new skills

• however, many older people aren’t intimidated by new devices and have the inclination and time to master these tricks

Myth about Death

“When dying, people pass through a universal series of psychological stages”

What is the popular acronym about the 5 stages of dying called?

It’s DABDA, or Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance

What do we think when we’re about to did according to the psychiatrist who made up DABDA?

We first tell ourselves it isn’t happening (denial), then become angry at the realization that it’s happening (anger), then search for some way to postpone death until we reach a certain goal (bargaining), then become sad as the realization sets in (depression) and finally we fully come to our sense that death is inevitable (acceptance)

How are the stages of grief shown in popular culture?

• They show how a person passes through all 5 states before dying in the Simpson for example

• In politics, they have explained Clitnon’s reluctance to accept her Democratic nomination loss to Obama

Why are the 5 stages so popular?

They offer people a sense of predictability over the unpredictable (process of dying)

• simplifies a mysterious process

Why isn’t Kubler Ross’s theory 100 percent correct?

Her 5 stages weren’t based on carefully controlled research, but on biased samples, subjective observations, and unstandardized measurements of people’s emotions over time

What is the process of dying actually like?

Dying people don’t pass through her stages in the same order, but can kip stages or pass through them in reverse order

Are there any dangers in believing the Kubler Ross theory?

Grieving or dying people may feel pressured to cope with death in this sequence

Other Myths to Explore:

• Fiction: Newborn babies are virtually blind and deaf.

Fact: Newborns can see and hear many things

Other Myths to Explore:

• Fiction: The first few minutes following birth are crucial for effective parent-infant bonding

Fact: There’s no evidence that the first few minutes after birth are essential for effective bonds to develop