Psychology | perceptions of self
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The only perception that early man had of himself, was what he saw when he looked at other people. Looking at their reflection in a pool of water was probably quite intriguing. We can see our reflections using mirrors at any time.
Psychology | The power of repetition
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Advertisers have long understood then power of repetition and use the same or similar advert over and over again. We are brainwashed with repetition. It’s not just advertisers that use repetition, it’s the basis of nagging.
Psychology | Friendships
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How many friends do you have? Do you you have lots of friends whose company you enjoy? Or do you have a few friends who are very loyal to you. We often don’t even think about what friendship is or how important it is.
Psychology | Emotional motivation
The human mind can seem to behave strangely at times. We always have a reason for doing things, but that reason isn’t always logical or even sensible. We are often motivated by our emotions. Frequently, out of fear or desire.
Psychology | Communication
We tend to have a conflict in our lives between our primitive desires and our desire to improve ourselves. This affects how we communicate with each other. Our lives have become more complicated and so has communication. We are individuals, but we take decisions collectively and need the support of others.
Psychology | Depression
Depression isn’t just unhappiness, it’s much more than that, it’s a feeling of hopelessness. So why do we feel that our situation or our life is hopeless? Researchers are trying to find out how our brains work, mainly using scanners. They now know that our moods and memories are controlled by brain chemistry. This link between mood and memory might help us beat depression.
Psychology | Logic, proof and belief
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People often disagree about things. We disagree about politics, religion and money most often. We will also disagree about status; we look up to and respect different people. We might disagree about art or music; we all have different tastes. We can even disagree about which foods we like.
Psychology | Out of Desperation
People will often behave out of character because they are desperate. Desperation can drive us to commit crime; even murder. Desperation is feeling we can no longer tolerate our situation. We not only want to change how we feel; we need to change how we are feeling. We need to stop the pain. It might be physical pain, but often it’s psychological pain.
Psychology | The meaning of life
Have you ever wondered what our purpose is in living? Life does appear to be our purpose, to live and survive. Our purpose isn’t just to survive as individuals, but as a species. When we feel we’re in danger we feel the need to fight or run away. Our desire to face danger and survive can mean that rather than fight as individuals, we will fight as a collective. This can lead to riots and even wars.
Saturday ideas and thoughts
I don’t usually do sky pictures, they’re boring, but this one is unusual and I’m a bit desperate today. If you look carefully you can see the moon breaking through the clouds. We had another week of financial bad news. Both banks that are partly owned by the tax payer posted losses. Not real losses that would send them into administration like so many High Street businesses; these are just millions and billions lost ‘on paper’. (more…)
The psychology of luck
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Imagine going into a casino and playing a slot machine and winning every time. Then trying other games like roulette and winning again. If you started with just a pound (or a dollar) and doubled your money twenty times, you would be a millionaire. Imagine how you would feel.
Psychology | The carrot and the stick
The carrot or stick approach is often used by governments and employers to motivate people. The approach is to offer a reward, the carrot or a punishment, the stick. Rewards might be wages at the end of the week. Governments offer rewards in the form of benefits or tax breaks to provide an incentive to people to behave in the manner preferred by government. The government in the UK has put up personal income tax allowances as a carrot to try to get more people working.
Psychology | Valentines Day
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It’s St Valentines Day on Thursday. Saint Valentine’s Day has been celebrated officially since the 6th century and unofficially it goes back to Roman times. The giving of traditional gifts like flowers probably goes back over 2,000 years. People also send love letters and cards to symbolise their love. In modern times chocolates and other gifts have also become popular.
Psychology | manipulation
We all have some weakness and that can make us susceptible to manipulation. There are psychopaths and people with psychopathic tendencies who will readily exploit any weakness they see. They have little or no empathy for people who they perceive as being weaker and more vulnerable than themselves.
Social structure and the pecking order
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Social structure is often divided into three strata, upper class, middle class and working class. Otherwise known as the rich, the middle income group and the poor. These different classes are often sub-divided. The rich can be aristocrats, those who inherited wealth or the capitalists who invest and have great wealth and power.
Blue Monday
It is the third Monday in January and so called ‘Blue Monday’; the most depressing day of the year. The bills are coming in, we are using a small fortune in gas and electricity to keep warm and the weather is awful. Can it get worse? Probably not… Many of us are suffering from the usual winter bugs too.
Born to be great?
Are some people born with an attribute that pre-disposes them to be really good at something. Are some people born to be great? Is it just some people who have a natural talent or do we all have it? Do the chess grand masters or the masters of certain martial arts have a natural talent or can anyone become just as good with a lot of effort and dedication? (more…)
Actions speak louder than words
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Do you ever hear some politician criticising the unemployed and calling them skivers? Then see them swilling champagne at the racecourse, wearing top hat and tails. Should we take into account people’s actions, as well as their words?
Resolutions and goals
We all complain about our lives, but we do little to try to change them. I was reminded the other day that there are billions of people worse off than me. Many people my age can’t even switch a computer on, let alone type a blog and run a website. I have known things to be much worse than they are now. 2008 was a bad year and I resolved to make 2009, a lot better. I wrote a novel!
Psychology | Considering the risks
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We take risks all the time. Just getting out of bed in the morning is risky. I broke a bone once, just trying to get into bed! We do things with our lives to make them interesting and so risks are a part of life. We don’t really want to break bones or have anything go wrong. So how can we manage those risks and keep them to a minimum?
Avoiding the Christmas blues
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Christmas can be fun…
Christmas can be a joyous time for some people and a stressful and depressing time for others. It should be a special time for children who will be enjoying their first Christmases and excitedly opening presents. It’s not so much fun if you have to pay for all the presents, take all the responsibility and cook all the food.
How secretive are you?
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I consider every day what I can write and what I can’t write. I absorb new information all the time and some of it I use in my articles and some is too confidential. We have to keep some things secret or our friends wouldn’t trust us with their more personal details or problems.
Psychology | Vanity
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Excessive?
I’ve had a suggestion for a psychology blog about vanity from Poundland Princess. She does seem to have a fetish for cosmetics! But is it vanity? Vanity is considered in the Christian religion to be one of the seven deadly sins and associated with excessive pride.
Easter 2013
I took this photo in March last year, the weather was warm and sunny, before the rains came. This year, my lawn is covered in snow. Is climate change to blame? That was the subject of one of my articles this week. The UK government will be cutting welfare this week too, the poor will get poorer.
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30, March 2013 | Categories: culture, NeoDigital Art, photography, psychology, Ramblings, Reviews | Tags: England, photography, reviews, social comment, Spring, UK | Leave A Comment »