Popular Media Assignment
This assignment is being submitted on Oct 02, 2015
Popular media assignment
Observation 1
The online article explains about a research conducted by scientists of Montreal University regarding the cause of nightmares and their consequent link with real life scenarios. The study was conducted over a pool of 572 students and their dreams were administered for a period of 2-5 weeks. The article gives a clear insight over the role of various routine life factors in shaping the dreams and nightmares for individuals. Using the observations from surveyed pool of students, the scientists have also proposed a potential cure for mitigating the stressful implications of bad dreams and nightmares.
Psychological application:
The article intends to elaborate a research conducted over university students in which they were asked to record their dreams and their prospect links with their routine vicissitudes. The scientists did a psychological investigation of 431 nightmares reported out of a total pool of 1000 dreams and found that many bad dreams were direct extensions of two or more stressful situations undergone during the conscious hours. The results of study implicate that the daily observed stressful situations and ominous symbols get stored in the subconscious and are displayed back in dreams via rather abstract ensemble. It is also deduced from the recorded observations that nightmares are not a disease for those who don’t get stressed by them. However, if a nightmare is recurring due to well placed incident in memory of an individual, it can be extremely traumatic. Finally, the psychological treatment for nightmare can be via mental visualization techniques which can change the structure of a nightmare to a simple dream.
Another factor that can lead to sleeping problems is borderline personality disorders (BPD). According to Selby, et.al, (2013), the prevalence of nightmares can reduce coping abilities and result in emotional deregulation. The Emotional Cascade Model provides insight concerning how BPD is characterized by consistent sleeping problems and emotional turmoil during sleep. Different analyses indicate that the individuals suffering from BPD experience more nightmares that those without because of the frequent psychological cascades that they have to undergo. Those with BPD tend to experience stage 1 sleep as compared to stage four which is classified as heavy sleep. The lack of sleep can now be linked to salient and distressing conditions of their nightmares. Essential clinical interventions can be adopted to control the phenomenon such as the management of adverse feelings and daily rumination, the prescription of a drug called prazosin, and the rescripting of the imagery in the nightmares to reduce the prevalence of sleep problems in individuals with psychological disorders.
Reference:
Rober, G. & Zadra, A.(2014). Thematic and Content Analysis of Idiopathic Nightmares and Bad Dreams .Vol. 37, No.02. Doi: 10.5665/sleep.3426
Sci-news (2014).New Study Analyzes Content of Nightmares, Bad Dreams. Retrieved from http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/psychology/science-content-nightmares-bad-dreams-01905.html
Selby E.A., et.al. (2013). What Dreams May Come: Emotional Cascades and Nightmares in Borderline Personality Disorder. Dreaming © 2013 American Psychological Association, Vol. 23, No. 2, 126–144
Observation 2
The article is focused on bursting the myth regarding general appreciation implied over the human multitasking event, which were an object of extraordinary achievement in the early 20th century. Specific studies conducted in field of comparative evaluation of overall psychological stability and mental potential of multitasking individuals with that of single task oriented ones. A considerable drop in IQ level of multitasking individuals was observed. Thus, the article explains that multitasking can be erosive for psychological stability of people practicing them on a routine basis.
Psychological application:
The current day workplace environment normally calls for a dual handling oriented mindset of workforce based on different tasks like handling mails while talking on phone, etc. These multitasking activities result in compromised quality of performance on both chosen aspects and consequently lead to loss on psychological balance of focus for an individual. Another study named ‘Infomania’ was conducted by psychologists who posed multitasking as a serious threat to workplace productivity on account of continuous partial attention of people. The psychological studies have mapped brain response of multitasking people and explained the recurrence of choice affirming bottleneck in their decision making. Further, prolonged presence such bottlenecks can lead to complete loss of focus and attention for an individual. The article concludes with a proposition that a little multitasking is must to keep the brain getting overloaded due to prolonged focus on a single task.
People who have Major Depressive Disorder have been found to possess deficits in executive functions and working memory. The condition affects the patient’s ability to coordinate tasks, multitask as well as reducing the performance of activities that involve the sensorimotor. The disease creates a shortage in the available cognitive resource; hence, it is highly unlikely for them to conduct dual or multitasks effectively (Doumas, et.al, 2012). The concept of multitasking has long since been considered the hallmark of dual function parentheses and executive control. It is utilized in assessing the differences in individuals’ working memories. Unlike those with MDD, healthy persons can perform duties effortlessly while combining other tasks. If there were a way that the patients could handle the multi-faceted duties, it would be useful in developing their working memories like it does to healthy individuals.
Reference
Doumas M., et.al, (2012). Dual Task Performance of Working Memory and Postural Control in
Major Depressive Disorder. Neuropsychology © 2011 American Psychological Association
2012, Vol. 26, No. 1, 110–118.
Rosne, C. (2008). The myth of multitasking. The New Atlantis. Retrieved from http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-myth-of-multitasking
