Abnormal psychology is a branch of psychology that is concerned with people who behave peculiarly from the rest of the group in the society. An atypical behavior is generally infrequent and statistically unusual. The above article by Davila & Fincham (2012) addresses the issue of abnormal psychology. The two introduces their article by defining what an abnormal behavior is. According to them, it is important to find out if an abnormal behavior causes harm in the individual’s life (Davila & Fincham, 2012). In this case, they show that when a personal conduct interferes with his or her successful performance in a key area of life, it is likely to be taken as an indication of abnormality. The article continues to explain causes of abnormal behavior as well as symptoms of various psychological disorders (Davila & Fincham, 2012). The article has covered the topic of abnormal psychology in a comprehensive manner.
People With Autism Possess Greater Ability to Process Information, Study Suggests
This article, which has been published in the field of Abnormal Psychology, suggests that people suffering from Autism disorder have higher capability to understand and absorb information (ScienceDaily, 2012). The article is a report from a research carried out to establish the correlation between individuals with autism and their perceptual capability. It indicated that results from a study, which was published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology would help to explain the high number of autism victims in the area of information technology. Apparently, the issue of correlation between autism and high capability to absorb information raises many questions. The claims that people with autism absorb and understand information easily implies that even students suffering from the disorder will perform better than normal ones. However, this is not always the case. Actually, not all people who suffer from autism achieve good grades. Neither are all inventors in the field of information technology been victims of autism. Also, it will more vivid to explain how far the relationship between these two factors goes.
Adolescence
Adolescence is defined as the time for transition from puberty to adulthood. On the other hand, puberty refers to a time when a child develops sexual as well as physical signs of maturity because of hormonal variations. The United States department of health and human services through its national institute of health agency published as online article entitled “˜puberty and adolescence’ (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health , 2012). It provides information related to adolescence in both girls and boys. This includes signs of puberty in both genders. Nevertheless, the article does not give information on what adolescents should do to avoid falling victims of sexually transmitted diseases. This is because, during adolescence, teenagers are sexually active and therefore they should be aware of the merits and demerits of engaging in irresponsible sexual behaviors.
Puberty and Adolescence
Similar information was published in the New York Times dated May 14, 2012. In addition to providing information on developmental signs at puberty, this article highlights the various factors which influence the precise age at which puberty starts (The New York Times Company, 2012). However, this article highlights only the problems associated with teenagers in their adolescent stages without further elaboration. There is little information provided on such issues, although many teenagers have fallen victims. The article should have explained how adolescents can cope with the changes they experience in their bodies. Additionaly, they ought to have provided information on what adolescents should do to avoid iresponsible sexual behaviors such as early pregnancies.
The Elderly
According to an article published by the WebMD, there are over six million elderly people in the United States, who have ages from 65 years and above (WebMD, 2012). This article shows that most of them suffer from depression and only 10% of these patients access treatment. The elderly display conditions of depression in a different manner than the way it is depicted by other members of the society. Depression in the elderly is normally associated with illnesses and disabilities, death of marriage partners among other factors, which aggravate the condition. Also, depression stays for longer periods than in younger people. Major weakness in found in the article is on the way information is presented. There is need to improve on this to become more appealing to readers especially by employing use of graphics for illustration purposes.
The level of dependency increases with increase in growth of the elderly in our society. This is the reason why they need care and special attention from their loved ones and younger members of the society (ElderlyCare , 2012). This article focuses on the various facilities that are used for providing care to the elderly. It provides a guide on how to select the best care facility for the elderly bearing in mind that they require an enhanced mental, physical as well as emotional health. It further explains that a good care facility will provide equipments such as wheelchairs, walkers, shower chairs among other additional items to provide comfortability to the elderly who need special attention. The article also looks at the financial plans for long term care to the elderly. For instance, annuities help to guarantee support for a long-term care to the elderly (ElderlyCare , 2012). This article employs the use of pictures and video clips, which enhances presentation of information.
Heredity and Environment
Kinder (2012) explains that children inherit some characteristics of their parents such as type of hair, color of their skin, eyes among other physical qualities (Kinder, 2012). The author explains that hereditary occurs due to passage of genetic information from parents to their children. The genetic information is conveyed through their DNA composition. This is what helps to pass genetic information from one generation to another. Nevertheless, Kinder (2012) suggests that there exists some correlation between hereditary and the environment in which an organism is (Kinder, 2012). However, information in the article can be understood better if it was presented in a more elaborate format. It lacks diagrams and figures for illustration purposes. Genetics and hereditary lessons are taught and understood better through use of appropriate diagrams, which lack in the article.
The Influence of Heredity and Environment
This implies that even if genetic material is not passed from a parent to the offspring, an organism can develop traits that help it adapt to the environment (SparkNote, 2012). These articles provide comprehensive information on hereditary and the environment, including practical lessons for enhanced understanding. However, one of the limitations in the article is found in the way information has been presented. Also, the article has used examples that mostly focus on hereditary in other organisms. It ought to give more illustrations on hereditary in humans.
Memory and Thought
Conceptual short term memory refers to a process that involves a relationship between stimuli and representation of long term memory. The article illustrates how processes in cognitive reasoning happen without evaluation of material in normal working memory (Potter, 2012). Potter (2012) further explains that when a person recognizes a significant stimulus such as an object or an image, it is quickly identified at the conceptual stage and as a result, it generates the related information from long term memory. In brief, the article explains the entire cycle from identification of stimuli, its association to long term memory and how loss of memory occurs. Loss of memory makes an individual to forget.
Changes in Memory and Thought
It has been found out that stroke affects sections of the brain including the memory (The Internet Stroke Center, 2012). This article explains briefly how the memory works. It also gives suggestions on what to do to manage loss of memory. However, information provided in this article is only superficial, with only a little elaboration.
Social Psychology
Turkle (2012) argues that it is apparent how social interaction has been shaped by technological innovations (Turkle, 2012). He suggests that people are always communicating, through instant messaging, and e-mails. This is an occurrence that happens at home, work and even in the classroom. The author shows how people have become used to the idea of being alone yet socially connected together by technology. He therefore shows how people have resorted to use of social media to communicate, thereby substituting the need for a face-to-face conversation. One of the weaknesses expressed by the author is to assume that this trend is evident everywhere. This is not true since the level of penetration of technological innovations does not occur harmoniously in all parts of the world. There are other areas where conventional methods of communication still dominate.
Facebook and job performance
On the same note, research has shown that use of social media can help to predict the future performance of an individual with much greater precision (Huppke, 2012). This article helps to shed light on the importance of social networking sites in evaluating and predicting performance of employees. Huppke (2012) suggests that personal profiles help to give a good illustration of a personal conduct. Consistent monitoring of updates on someone’s profile on the social networking websites will help to indicate his or her personality (Huppke, 2012).
However, although this method is seen as more effective, it faces some limitations such as access to passwords and usernames for every employee. Also, when the employees realize that they are being monitored, they will tend to withhold some important information to portray the image they want known about them. This will in-turn affect the intended outcome.
Stress and Health
Stress is a condition that inhibits normal physiological and psychological functioning of an individual. They are demands that occur when the body strives to cope with the changes in day to day life. Extreme conditions of stress are detrimental to health of a person and can cause severe body complications (Zaphyr, 2012). Stress is associated with negative conditions. These conditions affect a person’s health, and causes permanent illnesses to an individual. Whether the stress is short-lived or not; it has diverse outcomes on individuals depending on its level. Stress contributes further to other health complications such as high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol, and other cardiac problems (Zaphyr, 2012). However, the articles do not exhaust on the effects of stress on the psychological functioning. It only relies on the physiological factors of the body to discuss the causes and effects of stress.
Toxic Stress’ Can Harm Children for Life
Antonia (2012) suggests that when children lack parental concern, they are likely to become stressed. During stressful periods, the body produces a chemical called the Cortisol. The chemical suppresses the body’s immune response, therefore, increasing susceptibility to infectious diseases. Immune related infections, such as Diabetes, therefore worsen. This explains the reason why most of the children are victims of these diseases (ANTONIA, 2012). However, one of the limitations of this article is that it does not balance between the internal and external causes of stress.
Workings of the Mind & Body
The mind body working relations shows there is an interrelationship between one’s physical health and the state of one’s mind and spirit (OJALVO & CUTRARO, 2012). The two authors show that when a person is meditating, the body and the mind are in a state of relaxation. Thoughts and emotions that color our mental reality are a result of complex electrochemical interactions, within and between the nerve cells. The article provides a guide on how to practice yoga as a way of meditating. It gives a step by step guide on how to practice yoga. Nevertheless, the information provided in the article is not detailed enough and therefore, it needs to provide more literature on the importance of yoga and meditation on the health and coordination of mind and body.
Putting Meditation Back on the Mat
This article explains the reason why meditation requires a positive attitude and a proper physical posture (GERSZBERG, 2012). It is impossible to sleep in a head-stand posture, but is pretty easy to sleep while lying or sitting. When the body is a comfortable position, sleep is induced. The right posture for meditation is a definitely conditional (OJALVO & CUTRARO, 2012). This implies the body and the mind have great influence each other. The article provides a guide on how to practice yoga as a way of meditating. It gives a step by step guide on how to practice yoga in a form of a dialogue. However, the article ought to provide more literature on the importance of yoga and meditation on the health and coordination of mind and body.