Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology clear version in English

American psychologist Abraham Maslow devel- oped a five-level hierarchy of needs, or motives, that in- fluence human behavior. The “lower” physiological and biological urges at the bottom of the hierarchy must be at least partially satisfied before people will be motivated by those urges closer to the top. The levels in Maslow’s Henry Alaxander Murray Jr. system are as follows: 1) biological (food, water, oxy- gen, sleep); 2) safety ; 3) belongingness and love (partic- ipating in affectionate sexual and non-sexual relation- ships, belonging to social groups); 4) esteem (being re- spected as an individual); and 5) self-actualization(be- coming all that one is capable of being). In addition to individual motivations themselves, conflicts between different motivations exert a strong in- fluence on human behavior. Four basic types of conflict have been identified: 1) approach-approach conflicts, in which a person must choose between two desirable ac- tivities that cannot both be pursued; 2) avoidance-avoid- ance conflicts, in which neither choice in a situation is considered acceptable and one must choose the lesser of two evils; 3) approach-avoidance conflicts, where one event or activity has both positive and negative features; and 4) multiple approach-avoidance conflicts involving two or more alternatives, all of which have both positive and negative features. Henry Murray (Archives of the History of American Psychology. See also Cognitive development; Environment; Reproduced with permission.) Ethology Further Reading literature, enabled him to develop an interdisciplinary Hoffman, Edward. The Right to be Human: A Biography of approach to psychology. His concepts of motivation, Abraham Maslow. Los Angeles: Tarcher, 1988. particularly the need to achieve, had a major influence on theories of psychology. In 1961, Murray earned the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American Psychological Association, followed by the Multiple personality Gold Medal Award of the American Psychological Foun- dation in 1969. See Dissociative identity disorder Murray, born in New York City in 1893, was the second of three children of Henry Alexander Murray, Sr., and Fannie Morris Babcock. His father was a poor Scot- tish immigrant who became a wealthy investor. His mother, a New York socialite, was the daughter of the Henry Alexander Murray Jr. founder of the Guaranty Trust Company. Murray was ed- ucated at the Craegie School and, later, at Groton Acade- 1893-1988 American biochemist, physician, and clinical and my. He entered Harvard University in 1911. experimental psychologist who developed an inte- grated theory of personality. Becomes a physician and researcher Henry Alexander Murray, Jr. developed “personolo- Although Murray’s Harvard major was history, he gy,” the integrated study of the individual from physio- entered the Columbia College of Physicians and Sur- logical, psychoanalytical, and social viewpoints. His geons in New York in 1915, earning his M.D. in 1919. In background in medicine, biology, Freudian and Jungian 1916, he married Josephine Rantoul, the daughter of a psychoanalysis, and clinical and experimental psychol- prominent Boston family and herself a graduate of Rad- ogy, as well as his work in anthropology, sociology, and cliffe College. The Murrays had one daughter. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 441

At Columbia, George Draper stimulated Murray’s Henry Alexander Murray Jr. interests in psychological factors affecting illness, and he sor at Harvard in 1929, associate professor in 1937, and professor of clinical psychology in 1948. stayed on at Columbia to earn an M.A. in biology in Murray served in the Army from 1943 until 1948, 1920. Returning to Harvard, Murray went to work with selecting personnel for the Office of Strategic Services L.J. Henderson, applying the Henderson-Hasselbach (which later became the Central Intelligence Agency) equation to the acidity of the blood. Between 1919 and and training agents in the United States and abroad. He 1923, Murray published 10 papers on his physiological was awarded the Legion of Merit by the War Department research. in 1946. Following two years as a surgical intern at Presby- terian Hospital in New York, Murray was awarded a re- search fellowship at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Further develops his theory of “personology” Research in New York. He studied the development of After his discharge from the Army as a lieutenant chicken embryos, publishing 10 papers in that field, colonel, Murray joined Gordon Allport in the new De- while simultaneously working towards his Ph.D. in bio- partment of Social Relations at Harvard. There his re- chemistry from Cambridge University in England. search interests broadened further. With Clyde Kluck- hohn, he began studying personality in society and inves- tigated personality from the viewpoint of the dyadic in- Discovers psychoanalysis and “depth teraction—the idea that a relationship between two psychology” people could be viewed as a single system with equal input from both partners. He also studied the role of In 1925, Murray first met the Swiss psychiatrist mythology in personality and in society. Murray was Carl Jung, and the two became lifelong friends. With best known, however, for his development of a human his discovery of the writings of Herman Melville, the au- motivational system of social needs. He described be- thor of Moby Dick, Murray began to develop his theory havior as a function of the interaction of individual of personality, using Melville as a case study. Although needs, such as a need for achievement or a need for affil- never published, Murray’s biography of Melville had a iation, and the “press” of the environment. major influence on the scholarship of the day, and Mur- ray’s published articles and book chapters introduced the Interestingly, Ted Kaczynski, the serial bomber who application of Jung’s “depth psychology” to literary crit- killed and injured several people with mail bombs, was a icism. At about this time, Murray began his relationship participant in one of Murray’s psychological experi- with Christiana Morgan, who remained his lover and ments when he was a Harvard undergraduate. The study coworker until her suicide in 1967. had to do with identifying men who would not break under pressure. After earning his Ph.D. in 1927, Murray became an instructor at Harvard under Morton Prince, a psy- Murray held numerous honorary doctorates and was chopathologist who had founded the Harvard Psycholog- a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sci- ical Clinic. Following Prince’s death in 1929, Murray be- ences. He retired in 1962 as a professor emeritus, the came director of the clinic, despite the fact that he had same year that his wife died. In 1969 he married Caro- never taken a psychology course. Together with the neu- line Chandler Fish and became step-father to her five ropsychiatrist Stanley Cobb, Murray moved the focus of children. Murray died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the clinic from experimental research in hypnosis and 1988, at the age of 95. In his memory, Radcliffe College multiple personality to Freudian and Jungian psycho- established the Henry A. Murray Research Center for the analysis. He also introduced these subjects into the Har- Study of Lives. vard curriculum. Murray pursued his study of personali- ty or “personology.” At a time when American experi- Margaret Alic mental psychologists studied rat behavior, Murray and his interdisciplinary research team studied single indi- Further Reading viduals on a variety of levels. With his staff, Murray pub- Douglas, Claire. Translate This Darkness: The Life of Chris- lished Explorations in Personality: A Clinical Study of tiana Morgan, the Veiled Woman in Jung’s Circle. Prince- Fifty Men of College Age in 1938. For decades, this re- ton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997. mained the principle text for personality theory. With Nordby, Vernon J. and Calvin S. Hall. A Guide to Psycholo- Morgan, Murray developed the Thematic Apperception gists and Their Concepts. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman Test, in which the subject is asked to tell stories about a and Company, 1974. series of pictures. This test remains an important tool in Robinson, Forrest G. Love’s Story Told: A Life of Henry A. clinical psychology. Murray became an assistant profes- Murray. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992. 442 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Schneidman, Edwin S., ed. Endeavors in Psychology: Selec- jectives may include development of communication, tions from the Personology of Henry A. Murray. New cognitive, motor, emotional, and social skills. Some of York: Harper & Row, 1981. the techniques used to achieve this are singing, listening, Music therapy instrumental music, composition, creative movement, guided imagery, and other methods as appropriate. Other disciplines may be integrated as well, such as dance, art, Music therapy and psychology. Patients may develop musical abilities as a result of therapy, but this is not a major concern. The A technique of complementary medicine that uses primary aim is to improve the patient’s ability to function. music prescribed in a skilled manner by trained therapists. Learning to play an instrument is an excellent musi- cal activity to develop motor skills in individuals with developmental delays, brain injuries, or other motor im- General effects of music therapy pairment. It is also an exercise in impulse control and Music has been used throughout human history to group cooperation. Creative movement is another activi- express and affect human emotion. The health benefits ty that can help to improve coordination, as well as of music to patients in Veterans Administration hospitals strength, balance, and gait. Improvisation facilitates the following World War II became apparent, leading to its nonverbal expression of emotion. It encourages social- use as a complementary healing practice. Musicians ization and communication about feelings as well. were hired to work in hospitals. Degrees in music thera- Singing develops articulation, rhythm, and breath con- py became available in the late 1940s, and in 1950, the trol. Remembering lyrics and melody is an exercise in first professional association of music therapists was sequencing for stroke victims and others who may be in- formed in the United States. The National Association of tellectually impaired. Composition of words and music Music Therapy merged with the American Association is one avenue available to assist the patient in working of Music Therapy in 1998 to become the American through fears and negative feelings. Listening is an ex- Music Therapy Association. cellent way to practice attending and remembering. It may also make the patient aware of memories and emo- Music can be beneficial for anyone. Although it can tions that need to be acknowledged and perhaps talked be used therapeutically for people who have physical, about. Singing and discussion is a similar method, which emotional, social, or cognitive deficits, even those who is used with some patient populations to encourage dia- are healthy can use music to relax, reduce stress, improve logue. Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) is a very popu- mood, or to accompany exercise. There are no potentially lar technique developed by music therapist Helen Bonny. harmful or toxic effects. Music therapists help their pa- Listening to music is used as a path to invoke emotions, tients achieve a number of goals through music, including pictures, and symbols from the patient. This is a bridge improvement of communication, academic strengths, at- to the exploration and expression of feelings. tention span, and motor skills. They may also assist with behavioral therapy and pain management. Music therapy is particularly effective with children. The sensory stimulation and playful nature of music can Depending on the type and style of sound, music help to develop a child’s ability to express emotion, com- can either sharpen mental acuity or assist in relaxation. municate, and develop rhythmic movement. There is also Memory and learning can be enhanced, and this used some evidence to show that speech and language skills with good results in children with learning disabilities. can be improved through the stimulation of both hemi- This effect may also be partially due to increased con- spheres of the brain. Just as with adults, appropriately se- centration that many people have while listening to lected music can decrease stress, anxiety, and pain. music. Better productivity is another outcome of an im- Music therapy in a hospital environment with those who proved ability to concentrate. The term “Mozart effect” are sick, preparing for surgery, or recovering postopera- was coined after a study showed that college students tively is appropriate and beneficial. Children can also ex- performed better on math problems when listening to perience improved self-esteem through musical activi- classical music. ties that allow them to succeed. The geriatric population can be particularly prone to How music therapy is used anxiety and depression, particularly in nursing home Music is used to form a relationship with the patient. residents. Chronic diseases causing pain are also not un- The music therapist sets goals on an individual basis, de- common in this setting. Music is an excellent outlet to pending on the reasons for treatment, and selects specific provide enjoyment, relaxation, relief from pain, and an activities and exercises to help the patient progress. Ob- opportunity to socialize and reminisce about music that GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 443

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assigns Myers-Briggs Indicator has had special importance to the individual. It can have people to one of sixteen different categories or types, a striking effect on patients with Alzheimer’s disease, based on their answers to 126 questions, such as: “How even sometimes allowing them to focus and become re- sponsive for a time. Music has also been observed to de- easy or difficult do you find it to present yourself, con- crease the agitation that is so common with this disease. sistently, over a long period as a person who is patient?” One study shows that elderly people who play a musical There are 4 different subscales of the test, which purport to measure different personality tendencies. Extraver- instrument are more physically and emotionally fit as they age than their nonmusical peers. who are sociable and outgoing, versus those who are Music can be an effective tool for the mentally or sion-introversion (E-I) distinguishes between people more inward looking. Sensing-intuition (S-I) sorts peo- emotionally ill. Autism is one disorder that has been par- ple according to their attention to practical realities as ticularly researched. Music therapy has enabled some opposed to relying on their imagination. Thinking-feel- autistic children to relate to others and have improved ing (T-F) shows the difference between relying on logic learning skills. Substance abuse, schizophrenia, para- versus intuition when making decisions. Finally, judg- noia, and disorders of personality, anxiety, and affect ing-perceiving (J-P) refers to one’s tendency to analyze are all conditions that may be benefited by music thera- and categorize one’s experiences, as opposed to respond- py. In these groups, participation and social interaction ing spontaneously. Sixteen different types emerge from are promoted through music. Reality orientation is im- the combination of the above four pairs of traits. proved. Patients are helped to develop coping skills, re- duce stress, and express their feelings. The MBTI is probably the most popular self-insight Pain, anxiety, and depression are major concerns psychological test in use today, with at least a million with patients who are terminally ill. Music can provide people per year completing it. It is widely used in busi- some relief from pain, through release of endorphins and ness, industry, educational settings, and government be- promotion of relaxation. It can also provide an opportuni- cause of its assumed ability to capture people’s interests, ty for the patient to reminisce and talk about the fears that needs, and values. MBTI profiles are often used in career are associated with death and dying. Music may help reg- counseling or as a basis for matching work partners or for ulate the rapid breathing of a patient who is anxious, and selecting tasks that are best suited for one’s MBTI type. soothe the mind. The Chalice of Repose project, head- With any psychological test, its utility is dependent quartered at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Montana, is on its reliability and validity. A reliable test is one that one organization that attends and nurtures dying patients produces consistent results over time. For example, IQ through the use of music, in a practice they called music- tests have high reliability, inasmuch as your IQ as mea- thanatology by developer Therese Schroeder-Sheker. sured today will not be appreciably different a year from Practitioners in this program work to relieve suffering now. The MBTI’s reliability is only fair. One study through music prescribed for the individual patient. showed that fewer than half of the respondents retained their initial types over a 5-week period. Consequently, Judith Turner we should be careful about making career decisions based on a classification system that is unstable. People Further Reading change over time as a result of experience. The MBTI Campbell, Don. The Mozart Effect Avon Books, 1997 may capture a person’s current state, but that state should Cassileth, Barrie. The Alternative Medicine Handbook W. W. probably not be treated as a fixed typology. Does the Norton & Co., Inc., 1998 MBTI assist in career counseling? Is the test diagnostic Woodham, Anne and David Peters. Encyclopedia of Healing of successful performance in particular occupations? Therapies DK Publishing, Inc., 1997 These questions pertain to validity—the ability of the test to predict future performance. There have been no Further Information long-term studies showing that successful or unsuccess- American Music Therapy Association, Inc. 8455 Colesville ful careers can be predicted from MBTI profiles. Nor is Road, Suite 1000, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. 20910, (301) 589-3300. http://www.musictherapy.org/. there any evidence that on-the-job performance is related to MBTI scores. Thus, there is a discrepancy between the MBTI’s popularity and its proven scientific worth. From the point of view of the test-taker, the MBTI pro- vides positive feedback in the form of unique attributes Myers-Briggs Type Indicator that are both vague and complimentary, and thus could A personality test that categorizes people according appeal to large numbers of people. It is possible that the to stated preferences in thinking and perceiving. MBTI could be useful as a vehicle for guiding discus- 444 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

sions about work-related problems, but its utility for ca- Further Reading reer counseling has not been established. Pittenger, D. “The utility of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.” Review of Educational Research, 63, (1993) 467-488. Timothy Moore Myers-Briggs Indicator GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 445

N (1859-1939) was the first psychologist to address narcis- Narcissism sism in a published work. Sigmund Freud claimed that sexual perversion is linked to the narcissistic substitution Excessive preoccupation with self and lack of em- of the self for one’s mother as the primary love object in pathy for others. infancy. In 1933, psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich (1897- 1957) described the “phallic-narcissistic” personality Narcissism is the personality trait that features an type in terms that foreshadow the present-day definition: exaggerated sense of the person’s own importance and self-assured, arrogant, and disdainful. In 1969, Theodore abilities. People with this trait believe themselves to be Milton specified five criteria for narcissistic personality uniquely gifted and commonly engage in fantasies of disorder in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statis- fabulous success, power, or fame. Arrogant and egotis- tical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III): (1) inflated tical, narcissistics are often snobs, defining themselves self-image; (2) exploitative; (3) cognitive expansiveness; by their ability to associate with (or purchase the ser- (4) insouciant temperament; and (5) deficient social vices of) the “best” people. They expect special treat- conscience. ment and concessions from others. Paradoxically, these individuals are generally insecure and have low self-es- The person with narcissistic personality disorder teem. They require considerable admiration from others experiences a powerful need to be admired and seems and find it difficult to cope with criticism. Adversity or consumed with his or her own interests and feelings. criticism may cause the narcissistic person to either Individuals with this disorder have little or no empathy counterattack in anger or withdraw socially. Because for others and an inflated sense of their own importance narcissistic individuals cannot cope with setbacks or and of the significance of their achievements. It is com- failure, they often avoid risks and situations in which mon for persons with this disorder to compare them- defeat is a possibility. selves to famous people of achievement and to express surprise when others do not share or voice the same Another common characteristic of narcissistic indi- perception. They feel entitled to great praise, attention, viduals is envy and the expectation that others are envi- and deferential treatment by others, and have difficulty ous as well. The self-aggrandizement and self-absorption understanding or acknowledging the needs of others. of narcissistic individuals is accompanied by a pro- They envy others and imagine that others are envious of nounced lack of interest in and empathy for others. They them. The person with narcissistic personality disorder expect people to be devoted to them but have no impulse has no patience with others, and quickly strays from to reciprocate, being unable to identify with the feelings situations where he or she is not the center of attention of others or anticipate their needs. Narcissistic people and conversation. According to DSM-IV, narcissistic often enter into relationships based on what other people personality disorder affects less than 1% of the general can do for them. population. Of those, between half and three-fourths are male. During adolescence,when the individual is making the transition from childhood to adulthood, many Secondary features of narcissistic personality disor- demonstrate aspects of narcissism. These traits, related der include feelings of shame or humiliation, to the adolescent’s need to develop his or her own sense depression, and mania. Narcissistic personality disorder of self, do not necessarily develop into the disorder that has also been linked to anorexia nervosa, substance-re- psychologists have studied for decades, known as narcis- lated disorders (especially cocaine abuse), and other per- sistic personality disorder. In 1898, Havelock Ellis sonality disorders. 446 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Further Reading ponent to narcolepsy: having a narcoleptic parent dra- Masterson, James F. The Emerging Self: A Developmental, matically increases one’s chances of developing the dis- Self, and Object Relations Approach to the Treatment of order, from the normal 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 20. In recent re- the Closet Narcissistic Disorder. New York: search, a genetic marker has been found in the blood of Narcotic drugs Brunner/Mazel, 1993. over 95% of narcolepsy sufferers who were tested for it. Sandler, Joseph, Ethel Spector Person, and Peter Fonagy, eds. Narcolepsy may also develop as a consequence of brain Freud’s “On Narcissism—an Introduction.” New Haven, damage caused by injury or disease. CT: Yale University Press, 1991. Westen, Drew. Self and Society: Narcissism, Collectivism, and Narcolepsy is a chronic illness that lasts throughout the Development of Morals. New York: Cambridge Uni- a person’s lifetime and has no known cure. Napping dur- versity Press, 1985. ing the daytime can reduce the number of sleep attacks by lessening sleepiness. For those severely affected by the disorder, stimulants such as methylphenidate (Rital- in) and Dexedrine have been prescribed to ward off sleep attacks. Cataplexy—thought to be a partial intrusion of Narcolepsy REM sleep into the waking state—has been treated with medications known to suppress REM sleep, such as tri- A sleep disorder whose primary symptom is irre- sistible attacks of sleepiness during the daytime. cyclic antidepressants. Doctors have had good results with another medication, the experimental drug gamma- hydroxybutyrate, prescribed for narcoleptics to improve Narcolepsy, which usually begins in adolescence or the quality of their nighttime sleep, which is usually fit- early adulthood, affects about one in every 1,000 persons ful and fragmented. The resulting improvement of night- and is equally common in males and females. The sleep time sleep has had marked success in the reduction (and attacks, which can occur anywhere from six to 20 times in some cases complete remission) of symptoms, includ- a day, usually last about 10 to 20 minutes but can persist ing both daytime sleep attacks and cataplexy. To avoid for as long as two to three hours. Narcolepsy is diag- the potential danger and embarrassment of cataleptic nosed if sleep attacks occur every day for at least three episodes, some persons with narcolepsy try to control months (although most people treated for the disorder the emotions that trigger them, even avoiding situations suffer from it for a much longer period of time—often that are likely to bring on these emotions. years—before seeking help). In addition to the sleep at- tacks, persons suffering from narcolepsy often display Narcolepsy has a crippling effect on the lives of several other characteristic symptoms. The most debili- those afflicted with it, causing disruption, embarrass- tating of these is cataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle tone ment, and, potentially, danger in their everyday lives and that can affect a part or all of the body. Cataplectic at- interfering with both work and family life. Self-help tacks range from a sagging jaw or drooping head to a groups sponsored by the American Narcolepsy Associa- total collapse that causes the person to fall to the ground. tion (and a similar group in Canada) offer support to nar- Affecting about 70% of narcoleptics, they are usually coleptics and their families. These organizations also triggered by strong emotions, ranging from fear and work to help raise public awareness about the disorder. anger to excitement and amusement (laughter often pro- Further Reading vokes cataplectic attacks). Respiration is not affected, Dement, William C. The Sleepwatchers. Stanford: Stanford and full consciousness is maintained throughout the Alumni Association, 1992. episode. Usually the attacks only last a few seconds, Dotto, Lydia. Losing Sleep: How Your Sleeping Habits Affect after which normal muscle strength returns. Other symp- Your Life. New York: William Morrow, 1990. toms of narcolepsy include vivid dreamlike imagery Ince, Susan. Sleep Disturbances. Boston: Harvard Medical while waking or falling asleep, episodes of sleep paraly- School, Health Publications Groups, 1995. sis (in which the person wakes but is temporarily unable to move), and automatic behavior (sleepwalking-type ac- Further Information tions which are performed without the person’s con- American Narcolepsy Association. 425 California Street, Suite 201, San Francisco, CA 94104, (415) 788–4793. scious knowledge). The cause of narcolepsy is not known, but sleep re- searchers believe it comes from a malfunction of the mechanism in the brain that regulates sleeping and wak- Narcotic drugs ing, especially the regulation of REM (rapid eye move- ment) sleep, the part of the sleep cycle associated with A category of addictive drugs that reduce the per- dreaming. It is also known that there is a hereditary com- ception of pain and induce euphoria. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 447

A narcotic is a depressant that produces a stuporous Further Reading National Association of School Psychologists state in the person who takes it. Narcotics, while often Sanberg, Paul R. Prescription Narcotics: The Addictive inducing a state of euphoria or feeling of extreme well Painkillers. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. being, are powerfully addictive. The body quickly builds Traub, James. The Billion-Dollar Connection: The Internation- a tolerance to narcotics, so that greater doses are re- al Drug Trade. New York: J. Messner, 1982. quired to achieve the same effect. Because of their addic- Willette, Robert E., and Gene Barnett, eds. Narcotic Antago- tive qualities, most countries have strict laws regarding nists: Naltrexone Pharmacochemistry and Sustained-Re- the production and distribution of narcotics. lease Preparations. DHHS Publications No. ADM 81-102 490 1, NIDA Research Monograph No. 28. Rockville, Historically, the term narcotic was used to refer to MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the drugs known as opiates. Opium, morphine, codeine, Public Health Service, 1981. and heroin are the most important opiate alkaloids— compounds extracted from the milky latex contained in the unripe seedpods of the opium poppy. Opium, the first of the opiates to be widely used, was a common folk medicine for centuries, often leading to addiction for the user. The invention of the hypodermic needle National Association of during the mid-19th century allowed opiates to be de- School Psychologists livered directly into the blood stream, thereby dramati- Organization of school psychologists and related cally increasing their effect. By the late 20th century, professionals, with members in the United States the legal definition of a narcotic drug had been expand- and 25 other countries. ed to include such non-opiate addictive drugs as co- caine and cannabis. The National Association of School Psychologists Narcotic drugs decrease the user’s perception of pain (NASP) has over 21,000 members from the United and alter his or her reaction to pain. For this reason, nar- States and abroad. Founded in 1969, NASP is dedicat- cotics—primarily codeine and morphine—are prescribed ed to serving the mental health and educational needs legitimately as pain killers. In a medical setting, they are of school age children and adolescents. Members are referred to as narcotic analgesics. For pain relief, scientists school psychologists or professionals in related fields. have developed opioids, which are synthetic drugs with The association encourages professional development morphine-like properties. Some common synthetic opioids and provides publications, meetings, workshops, and include meperidine (trade name Demerol) and methadone, seminars for its members, and maintains a resource li- a drug often used to treat heroin addiction. The use of brary and a placement service for school psycholo- methadone as a treatment for addiction is controversial, gists. In addition, NASP plays an activist role on be- however, since methadone itself is addicting. half of school-age children, issuing position statements and resolutions to its membership, the general public, Scientists have attempted to develop ways to use and government officials at all levels on such issues as the pain-killing properties of narcotics while counter- violence in media and toys; legislative priorities; advo- acting their addictive qualitites. Such investigations cacy for appropriate educational services for all chil- have led to the discovery of narcotic receptors in the dren; corporal punishment; and racism, prejudice, brain, and of the body’s own natural pain-killing sub- and discrimination. stances, called endorphins. Narcotics behave like en- dorphins and act on, or bind to, the receptors to pro- NASP operates a national certification program for duce their associated effects. Substances known as nar- school psychologists. In addition, NASP is approved by cotic or opioid antagonists are drugs that block the ac- the American Psychological Association and the Nation- tions of narcotics and are used to reverse the side al Board of Certified Counselors to provide continuing effects of narcotic abuse or an overdose. A new class of education for psychologists and National Certified drugs, a mixture of opioids and opioid antagonists, has Counselors. This allows participants in NASP’s conven- been developed so that patients can be relieved of pain tion workshops and regional workshops to apply these without the addictive or other unpleasant side effects sessions to their state’s requirements for renewal of pro- associated with narcotics. fessional licenses. Narcotic drugs are among those substances used il- Further Reading legally, or abused, by adolescents. Some estimate that as National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East-West many as 90% of adult drug addicts began a pattern of Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814-4411, (301) substance abuse during adolescence. 657–0270. www.naspweb.org. 448 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Rousseau (1712–1778) theorized that people were born National Institute of Mental essentiallygood, and that positive aspects of the environ- Health mental contribute to the development of behavior. Locke believed that people were born essentially blank, A component of the U.S. Department of Health like a blackboard, and who they “became” was entirely and Human Services, with a mission to increase the result of their experiences. Nature-nurture controversy knowledge and understanding in all aspects of mental health, and to develop effective strategies to The first scientist of the modern era to seriously promote mental health and to prevent or treat men- consider the genetic and environmentaleffects in per- tal illness. sonality development was Sir Francis Galton,a wealthy British scientist. Hedabbled in the arts and sci- The National Institute of Mental Health conducts ences but became primarily interested in what we today and supports research in a very broad array of areas of call geneticsafter his cousin, Charles Darwin, pub- mental health and illness. The Institute also collects and lished The Origin of the Species in 1859. He was fasci- analyzes a vast amount of scientific data, widely distrib- nated by the idea of genetic pre-programming and- utes those data and analyses, and provides technical as- sought to uncover the ways in which humans are predes- sistance to numerous federal, state, local, and private tined. Many of his experiments were eccentric and ill- agencies and organizations. The National Institute of conceived, but his contributions to the field are still Mental Health consists of nine principal divisions and considered vital. His studies, curiously, led to the devel- offices, and oversees the administration of a hospital. opment of the science of fingerprinting and to the con- cept of the word association test. He also coined the term “eugenics” and believed that science would one day be able to direct, with absolute precision, the devel- opment patterns of human evolution.Taking the other Natural selection position in this early debate was John Watson, the emi- nent behaviorist who once made the outlandish claim— See Darwin, Charles which he later modified—that he could turn babies into any kind of specialist he wanted. Over the years, much research has been done in the nature/nurture controversy, and today nearly everyone agrees that both nature and nurture play crucial roles in Nature-nurture controversy human development.This outlook has come to be known Colloquial term for the two views of human devel- as interactionism and is the dominant system of belief opment, one emphasizing heredity and the other among biologists, psychologists, and philosophers nearly environment. everywhere. Much of the research in the late 20th century has fo- The nature-nurture controversy is an age-old dispute cused on twins who were separated at birth. In studying among behavioral psychologists,philosophers, theolo- such pairs, psychologists can be relatively certain that any gians, and theorists of consciousness as to the source of behavior the twins share has a genetic component, and the creation ofhuman personality: Does it develop pri- those behaviors that are different have environmental marily from biology (nature), or from the environments causes.There are many famous cases of twins separated at inwhich we are raised (nurture)? People have been pon- birth being reunited later in life to find that they have dering the role of nature and environmentsince the time many things in common. One of the most striking studies of Hippocrates (c. 460-c. 377 B.C. ). He, for instance, of twins, reported in a 1995 New Yorker article, was con- linked human behavior tofour bodily fluids, or humors: ducted by Thomas Bouchard, a professor of psychology yellow bile, blood, black bile, and phlegm. Hippocrates at the University of Minnesota and founder of the Center classifiedpersonalities into four types related to these four for Twin and Adoptive Research. The twins, Daphne humors: choleric (yellow bile), or hot-tempered;sanguine Goodship and Barbara Herbert, had been separated at (blood), or confident; melancholic (black bile), or moody; birth and sent to economically different areas of London. and phlegmatic, or slow totake action. The article’s author, Lawrence Wright writes, “When Unlike Hippocrates, the philosopher John Locke they finally met, at King’s Cross Station in May of 1979, (1632-1704), whose ideas were aprecursor to behavior- each was wearing a beige dress and a brown velvet jack- ism,believed that behaviors were externally deter- et. . . . Both had the eccentric habit of pushing up their mined. Similarly, thephilosopher Jean-Jacques noses, which they called ‘squidging.’ Both had fallen GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 449

Nature-nurture controversy uct of training? If one parent hasschizophrenia, will his hair, have a much higher heritability than behavior. In GENES AND BEHAVIOR Is a child’s athletic ability inherited, or simply a prod- fact, behavior genetics assumes that the genetic bases of an individual’s behavior simply cannot be determined. child acquire the disease? The genetic foundations of be- havior are studied by behavior genetics, an interdiscipli- Consequently, researchers have focused their efforts on nary science which draws on the resources of several sci- the behavior of groups, particularly families. However, entific disciplines, including genetics, physiology, and psychology. Because of the nature of heredity, behavior conclusive links between genetics and behavior, or be- geneticists are unable to assess the role played by genetic tween genetics and particular psychological traits and ap- titudes. In theory, these links probably exist; in practice, factors in an individual’s behavior: their estimates by defi- even controlled studies of families have failed to establish nition apply to groups. There are 23 pairs of chromosomes however, researchers have been unable to isolate traits in each human cell (a total of 46 chromosomes-each with that are unmodified by environmental factors. For exam- approximately 20,000 genes). Genes from both members ple, musical aptitude seems to recur in certainfamilies. of a pair act in concert to produce a particular trait. What While it is tempting to assume that this aptitude is an in- makes heredity complex and extremely difficult to mea- herited genetic trait, it would bea mistake to ignore the sure is the fact that human sperm and eggs, which are environment. What is colloquially known as “talent” is produced by cell division,have 23 unpaired chromo- probably a combination of genetic and other, highly vari- somes. This means that one half of a person’s genes comes able, factors. from the mother, and the other half from the father, and that each individual, with the exception of his orher iden- More reliable information about genetics and behav- tical twin, has a unique genetic profile. ior can be gleaned from twin studies.When compared to fraternal (dizygotic) twins, identical (monozygotic) twins Scientists are working on the Human Genome Pro- display remarkable behavioral similarities. (Unlike frater- ject recently finished mapping anestimated 100,000 nal twins, who develop from two separate eggs, identical genes in the human DNA. They have been able to identify twins originate from a single divided fertilized egg.) How- genes responsiblefor a variety of diseases, including Hunt- ever, even studies of identical twins reared in different ington’s disease, Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis,Tay- families are inconclusive, because, as scientists have dis- Sachs disease, and a number of cancers. Genetic infor- covered, in many cases, the different environments often mation about a particular disease constitutes a crucial turn out to be quite comparable, thus invalidating the hy- milestone in the search for a cure. For example, pothesis that the twins’ behavioral similarities are entirely phenylketonuria (PKIU) is a disease caused by a recessive genetically determined. Conversely,studies of identical gene from each parent; PKU’s genetic basis is clearly un- twins raised in the same environment have shown that derstood. A child with PKU is unable to metabolize identical twins can develop markedly different personali- phenylalanine, an amino acid found in proteins. Thep- ties. Thus, while certain types of behavior can be traced henylalanine build-up afflicts the central nervous system, to certain genetic characteristics, there is no genetic blue- causing severe brain damage. Because the genetic print for an individual’s personality. processes underlying PKU are known, scientists have been able to develop a screening test, and thus can Twin studies have also attempted to elucidate the ge- quickly diagnose the afflicted children shortly after birth. netic basis of intelligence, which,according to many psy- When diagnosed early, PKU can be successfully con- chologists, is not one trait, but a cluster of distinct traits. trolled by diet. Generally, these studies indicate that identical twins reared in different families show a high correlation in IQ While genetic research can determine the heritabili- scores. No one questions the genetic basis of intelli- ty of a some diseases, the genetic foundations of behavior gence, but scientists still do not know how intelligence is are much more difficult to identify. From a genetic point inherited and what specific aspects of intelligence can be of view,physical traits, such as the color of a person’s linked to genetic factors. down the stairs at the age of fifteen and had weak ankles Twin researchers, buoyed by stunning accounts like as a result. At sixteen, each had met at a local dance the this, have been boldly asserting that nature determines man she was going to marry. The twins suffered miscar- who we are to a far greater degree than nurture. But twin riages with their first children, then proceeded to have research has its critics. One commonly pointed out flaw two boys followed by a girl. And both laughed more than in twin research is that twins often mythologize, i.e., anyone they knew. . . . Neither had ever voted, except imagine or manufacture stories about, their shared char- once, when she was employed as a polling clerk.” acteristics. Also in dispute is how “different” the en- 450 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

vironments really are. Because adoption agencies screen ary and intellectual circle that included such artists Al- applicants, families generally have certain shared socioe- fred Stieglitz, Van Wyck Brooks, Countee Cullen, and conomic characteristics. In addition, little research has Jean Toomer. The couple, who had a son, divorced in beenconducted on “disconfirming evidence,” that is, to 1924, but Naumburg continued her involvement in the ask the question, “Are there twins who show no remark- artistic community. In the 1930s she began to develop Near-death experience able similarities?” The nature-nurture controversy is far art therapy programs for psychiatric patients. Naum- from settled. burg believed that art gave emotionally ill people an op- portunity to express themselves and reach into their un- See also Jukes family; Kallikak family conscious; this in turn would give therapists a better idea Further Reading of how to help them. Bouchard, Thomas. “Genes, Personality, and Environment.” Naumburg continued her work with art therapy, Science (17 June 1994): 1700. writing several books on her theories. She remained ac- Cohen, Jack, and Ian Stewart. “Our Genes Aren’t Us.”Discover tive in the art therapy movement in New York until she (April 1994). moved to Massachusetts in 1975. She died at her home Cowley, Geoffrey. “It’s Time to Rethink Nature and Nurture.” in Needham, Massachusetts, on February 26, 1983. Newsweek (27 March 1995): 52-53. Gallagher, Winifred. “How We Become What We Are.” Atlantic Monthly (September 1994): 39-55. George A. Milite Wright, Lawrence. “Double Mystery.” NewYorker (7 August 1995): 45-62. Further Reading Naumburg, Margaret. Child And the World: Dialogues in Mod- ern Education. New York, Harcourt Brace, 1928. Naumburg, Margaret. Schizophrenic Art: Its Meaning in Psy- Margaret Naumburg chotherapy. New York, Grune & Stratton, 1950. 1890-1983 American educator; founder of the Walden School and pioneer in art therapy. Near-death experience Margaret Naumburg was not a psychologist, but her Intense, pleasant, and sometimes profound experi- work as an educator and as a therapist influenced twenti- ences that people report when they have “come eth century ideas about creativity and mental illness. Her back” from states close to death. work with children and with the mentally ill was widely studied by psychologists and psychiatrists. She was able Tales of near-death experiences (NDEs) are not unusu- to achieve all this despite her lack of training as a scientist. al. Out-of-body experiences, the sensation of moving Naumburg was born in New York on May 14, 1890. through a tunnel toward a light, the review of the events of She attended Barnard College (graduating in 1911) and one’s life, and pleasurable glimpses of other worlds are rel- continued with graduate studies at Columbia University. atively consistent features of people’s “near death” reports. Later, she studied in Europe; while in Rome, she studied In fact, research suggests that almost one fifth of Americans briefly with the educational innovator Maria Montes- report having almost died, and a large proportion of them sori. Part of Montessori’s educational philosophy was have recounted experiences like the ones mentioned above. that children learn more effectively when they are al- The reported events are very vivid, seem completely real, lowed to explore ideas on their own rather than have in- and can sometimes transform people’s lives. How to ex- formation merely fed to them. plain these experiences is the subject of debate. Throughout Naumburg, impressed by Montessori’s theories, re- history people have interpreted them as journeys toward the turned to the United States and in 1915 opened the divine. The out-of-body experience was the soul or spirit Walden School in New York City. The school began with leaving the body, the tunnel was the passageway, the life re- two teachers and 10 students, and the educational focus view was the time of judgement, and the light at the end of was on letting children develop their own ideas and in- the tunnel was heaven (or the equivalent). terests. In this way, believed Naumburg, children would It appears that, rather than any spiritual journey or not merely acquire knowledge but learn how to use that other world phenomenon, NDEs may be best understood knowledge to their best advantage. by examining human physiology, neurochemistry, and In 1916 Naumburg married the writer Waldo psychology. At this time, there is strong research evidence Frank. Through him she became acquainted with a liter- to indicate that many of the symptoms of NDEs may be GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 451

Negativism is a behavior characterized by the ten- Necrophilia caused by anoxia, or a lack of oxygen to the brain. In the dency to resist direction from others, and the refusal to human visual system, for example, neurons (brain cells) comply with requests. Negativism appears and wanes at deprived of oxygen will start to fire out of control. Since the majority of the cells in our visual cortex (the portion of tivism, that is, behavior characterized by doing the oppo- the brain where visual information is processed) respond various stages of a person’s development. Active nega- to stimulation in the central visual field, the result is a site of what is being asked, is commonly encountered white spot in the center with fewer cells firing out of con- with young children. For example, a parent may ask a trol in the periphery. As oxygen deprivation continues, the toddler to come away from the playground to return white spot grows and the sensation of moving through a home; on hearing these instructions, the toddler demon- tunnel toward a white light is produced. Similarly, it is strates active negativism by running away. possible that the life review process is a result of depriving Studies have revealed that negativism develops dur- the temporal lobes of oxygen. When the temporal lobes of ing the first year of life, and resurfaces during toddler- the brain, an area largely involved in memory production, hood and again during adolescence. Negativism is used are deprived of oxygen, neurotransmitters are released and by adolescents as a way to assert their autonomy from massive electrical activity ensues. In laboratory research, their parents and to control their own behavior. When when people’s temporal lobes are stimulated with elec- negativism does not diminish, it becomes a characteristic trodes, many subjects experience the reliving of memo- of the individual’s personality. Negativism is an aspect ries, out of body experiences, and even the sensation of of one of the essential features of oppositional-defiant moving through a tunnel toward a light. Oxygen depriva- disorder, characterized by a pattern of behavior that is tion can also affect the limbic system, which contains the defiant, negativistic, and hostile toward authority figures. seat of emotions in the brain. The intensely pleasurable feelings of love and well-being that accompany moving Further Reading toward the light may therefore be a consequence of in- Baker, Lynne Rudder. Explaining Attitudes: A Practical Ap- creased activity in the limbic system. proach to the Mind. New York: Cambridge University According to some people, the similarities among Press, 1995. people’s accounts of NDEs provide powerful evidence Eagly, Alice Hendrickson. The Psychology of Attitudes. Fort for the existence of an afterlife. These similarities how- Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1993. ever, can also be interpreted as evidence in support of the Wenar, Charles. “On Negativism.” Human Development 25, involvement of human physiology, neurochemistry, and January-February 1982, pp. 1-23. psychology. The visual cortex, temporal lobes, and lim- bic system are structurally and functionally common to everyone. Consequently neurological activity associated with stress or oxygen deprivation may be similar across many different individuals. Neocortex Timothy Moore The exterior covering of the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. Further Reading Blackmore, S. “Near-death experiences: In or out of the The neocortex, the exterior covering of the cerebral body?” Skeptical Inquirer, 16, (1991): 34-45. hemispheres of the brain, is approximately 2 millimeters thick and consists of six thin layers of cells. The cortex is convoluted, furrowed, and, if stretched out, would mea- sure 1.5 square feet. In terms of function, the cortex is Necrophilia divided into four lobes distinguished by the lateral and central fissures: the frontal lobe; parietal lobe (which controls sense of touch and body position); temporal See Paraphilias lobe (which controls speech, hearing and vision); and occipital lobe, which also controls vision. See also Brain Negativism Further Reading A tendency to resist complying with directions or Hoffman, Edward. The Right to be Human: A Biography of suggestions. Abraham Maslow. Los Angeles: Tarcher, 1988. 452 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Nerve The common name for neuron, the basic fiber, or Nervous system bundles of fibers, that transmit information to and from the muscles, glands, organs, spinal cord, and brain. Nerves form the network of connections that receive signals, known as sensory input, from the environment and within the body and transmit the body’s responses, or instructions for action, to the muscles, organs, and glands. The central nervous system, comprised of the brain and spinal cord, sends information throughout the body over the network of nerves known collectively as the peripheral nervous system. The nerves of the periph- eral nervous system are in pairs, with one usually lead- ing to the left side and the other to the right side of the body. There are 12 nerve pairs, called cranial nerves, that connect directly to the brain and control such functions as vision and hearing. Thirty-one nerve pairs are con- nected directly to the spinal cord, branching out to the rest of the body. The peripheral nervous system may be further subdi- vided into the autonomic nervous system, which regu- lates involuntary functions such as breathing, digestion, beating of the heart, and the somatic nervous system, which controls voluntary functions, such as walking, pick- ing up a pencil, and reading this page. The cells of the central nervous system do not have the ability to regener- ate, and are not replaced directly if they are damaged. The nervous system in a human. (Bettmann See also Neuron Archive/Newsphotos, Inc. Reproduced with permission.) The brain functions as the center of instinctive, emo- tional, and cognitive processes. It is composed of three primary divisions, the forebrain, midbrain, and hind- Nervous system brain, and divided into the left and right hemispheres. The first division, the forebrain, is the largest and most An electrochemical conducting network that trans- mits messages from the brain through the nerves to complicated of the brain structures and is responsible for locations throughout the body. most types of complex mental activity and behavior. The forebrain consists of two main divisions: the dien- cephalon and the cerebrum. The thalamus and hypo- The nervous system is responsible for the percep- thalamus make up the diencephalon. The parts of the tion of external and internal conditions and the body’s cerebrum—the larger part of the forebrain—include the response to them. It has two major divisions: the central corpus callosum, striatum, septum, hippocampus, and and peripheral nervous systems. The central nervous amygdala, all covered by the cerebral cortex. system (CNS), consisting of the brain and the spinal cord, is that part of the nervous system that is encased in The midbrain, or mesencephalon, is the small area bone; the brain is located in the cranial cavity of the near the lower middle of the brain. Portions of the mid- skull, and the spinal cord in the spinal column, or back- brain have been shown to control smooth and reflexive bone. Both are protected by cerebrospinal fluid and a se- movements and it is important in the regulation of atten- ries of three membranes called meninges. The CNS re- tion, sleep, and arousal. The hindbrain (rhomben- ceives information from the skin and muscles and sends cephalon), which is basically a continuation of the spinal out motor commands as well. cord, is the part of the brain that receives incoming mes- GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 453

Nervous system sages first. Lying beneath the cerebral hemispheres, it rons register stimulation from the environment (such as cells in the eye responding to light or skin cells respond- consists of three structures: the cerebellum, the medulla, ing to pressure). When they are stimulated, they send and the pons, which control such vital functions of the signals to the brain, which are then converted into vari- autonomic nervous system as breathing, blood pres- ous types of information. Motor, or effector neurons sure, and heart rate. The spinal cord is a long bundle of neural tissue transmit messages from the brain and spinal cord that provide for muscular contraction, which results in move- continuous with the brain that occupies the interior canal ment. Finally, interneurons transmit signals between dif- of the spinal column and functions as the primary com- ferent parts of the nervous system. Most neurons are munication link between the brain and the body. It is the composed of five parts: the cell body, which contains the origin of 31 bilateral pairs of spinal nerves which radiate nucleus; dendrites, short fibers that usually receive sig- outward from the central nervous system through open- nals from other neurons; the axon,a long fiber leading ings between adjacent vertebrae. The spinal cord re- away from the cell body that transmits signals to other ceives signals from the peripheral senses and relays them neurons, muscles, or glands; the myelin sheath, a fatty to the brain. substance that insulates the axon; and synapses , minute The peripheral nervous system (PNS) includes all gaps through which signals are transmitted between neu- parts of the nervous system not covered by bone and car- rons. The many axon and dendrite fibers radiating from ries out sensory and motor functions. It is composed of neurons permit each one to be in contact with many 12 pairs of cranial and 31 pairs of spinal nerves which thousands of other neurons. lead to the left and right sides of the body. The PNS is Communication at the synapses between neurons re- divided into two subsystems: the somatic and autonomic lies on chemicals called neurotransmitters. More than 50 nervous systems. The somatic nervous system senses and different neurotransmitters have been identified, and acts upon the external world. Its sensory neurons trans- more are constantly being discovered. Recently, it was mit signals from receptor cells located in sense organs, found that the gases nitric oxide and carbon monoxide such as the skin and eye, to the CNS. Motor neurons are neurotransmitters. Different transmitters predominate carry outgoing messages from the CNS to neuromuscu- in different parts of the nervous system, and a particular lar cells ( effectors) found in muscles, joints, glands, and neurotransmitter may perform different functions in organs, which facilitate action. The skeletal muscles, different locations. Researchers have proposed that al- which are responsible for bodily movement, are con- most all drugs work through interaction with neurotrans- trolled by the somatic nervous system. mitters. Important neurotransmitters include acetyl- The autonomic nervous system (ANS) relays mes- choline (ACh), which is used by motor neurons in the sages between the CNS and the heart, lungs, and other spinal cord; the catecholamines (including norepineph- glands and organs. These messages increase or decrease rine and dopamine), which are important in the arousal their activity in accordance with demands placed on the of the sympathetic nervous system; serotonin, which af- body. The ANS affects activities that are basically out- fects body temperature, sensory perception, and the side of conscious control, such as respiration and diges- onset of sleep; and a group of transmitters called endor- tion. The autonomic nervous system is further subdivid- phins, which are involved in the relief of pain. ed into two branches. The sympathetic system speeds up Among the major functions of the central nervous muscles and mobilizes the body for action. This is the system is that of the reflex arc, which provides immedi- system responsible for the reaction to danger known as ate, involuntary reaction to potentially harmful stimulire- the “fight or flight” response. In contrast, the parasympa- actions commonly referred to as reflexes (such as draw- thetic system, which slows down muscles, regulates bod- ing one’s hand back from a hot stove). The reflex arc is a ily functions to conserve energy. For example, it is this circuit of neurons by which signals travel from a sensory system that slows heart rate and blood flow after a large receptor to a motor neuron, rapidly turning sensory meal is eaten to conserve energy for digestion. Disorders input into action. The complexity of the nervous system of the autonomic nervous system involve reactions such makes it a challenge to study—millions of neurons may as fainting, uncontrollable sweating, and sexual dys- lie beneath a single square centimeter of brain surface, function. each synapsing with as many as 600 other neurons, and The nervous system is composed of two types of many different parts of the brain may be involved in a cells: neurons, which transmit information through elec- single task. trochemical impulses, and glial cells, which hold the neurons together and help them communicate with each Further Reading other. There are three kinds of neurons. Receptor neu- The Mind and Beyond. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1991. 454 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Neurotransmitters either excite the receiving cell Neuron (that is, increase its tendency to fire nerve impulses) or Neurosis inhibit it (decrease its tendency to fire impulses), and Technical term for nerve cell. often both actions are required to accomplish the desired response. For example, the neurons controlling the mus- Neurons are the basic working unit of the nervous cles that pull your arm down (the triceps) must be inhib- system, sending, receiving, and storing signals through a ited when you are trying to reach up to your nose (biceps unique blend of electricity and chemistry. The human excited); if they are not, you will have difficulty bending brain has more than 100 billion neurons. your arm. Neurons that receive information and transmit it to Physiological psychologists are interested in the the spinal cord or brain are classified as afferent or sen- involvement of the nervous system in behavior and ex- sory; those that carry information from the brain or perience. The chemistry and operation of the nervous spinal cord to the muscles or glands are classified as ef- system is a key component in the complex human puz- ferent or motor. The third type of neuron connects the zle. A number of chemical substances act as neuro- vast network of neurons and may be referred to as in- transmitters at synapses in the nervous system and at terneuron,association neuron,internuncial neuron, con- the junction between nerves and muscles. These in- nector neuron, and adjustor neuron. clude acetylcholine, dopamine, epinephrine (adrenalin), Although neurons come in many sizes and shapes, and neuropeptides (enkephalins, endorphins, etc.). A they all have certain features in common. Each neuron decrease in acetylocholine has been noted in has a cell body where the components necessary to keep Alzheimer’s disease which causes deterioration of the the neuron alive are centered. Additionally, each neuron thought processes; shortage of dopamine has been has two types of fiber. The axon is a large tentacle and is linked to Parkinson’s disease, whereas elevated often quite long. (For example, the axons connecting the dopamine has been observed in schizophrenics. toes with the spinal cord are more than a meter in Drugs that affect behavior and experience—the psy- length.) The function of the axon is to conduct nerve im- choactive drugs —generally work on the nervous system pulses to other neurons or to muscles and glands. The by influencing the flow of information across synapses. signals transmitted by the axon are received by other For instance, they may interfere with one or several of the neurons through the second type of fiber, the dendrites. stages in synaptic transmission, or they may have actions The dendrites are usually relatively short and have many like the natural neurotransmitters and excite or inhibit re- branches to receive stimulation from other neurons. In ceiving cells. This is also true of the drugs which are used many cases, the axon (but not the cell body or the den- in the treatment of certain psychological disorders. drites) has a white, fatty covering called the myelin sheath. This covering is believed to increase the speed with which nerve impulses are sent down the axon. An unstimulated neuron has a negative electrical charge. The introduction of a stimulus makes the charge a Neurosis little less negative until a critical point—the threshold—is A term generally used to describe a nonpsychotic reached. Then the membrane surrounding the neuron mental illness that triggers feelings of distress and changes, opening channels briefly to allowing positively anxiety and impairs functioning. charged sodium ions to enter the cell. Thus, the inside of the neuron becomes positive in charge for a millisecond Origins (thousandth of a second) or so. This brief change in elec- trical charge is the nerve impulse, or spike, after which The word neurosis means “nerve disorder,” and was the neuron is restored to its original resting charge. first coined in the late eighteenth century by William Cullen, a Scottish physician. Cullen’s concept of neurosis This weak electrical impulse travels down the axon encompassed those nervous disorders and symptoms that to the synapse. The synapse or synaptic gap forms the do not have a clear organic cause. Sigmund Freud later connection between neurons, and is actually a place used the term anxiety neurosis to describe mental illness where the neurons almost touch,but are separated by a or distress with extreme anxiety as a defining feature. gap no wider than a few billionths of an inch. At the synapses, information is passed from one neuron to an- There is a difference of opinion over the clinical use other by chemicals known as neurotransmitters. The of the term neurosis today. It is not generally used as a neurotransmitter then combines with specialized re- diagnostic category by American psychologists and psy- ceptor molecules of the receiving cell. chiatrists any longer, and was removed from the Ameri- GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 455

Neurosis Dendrites Schwann cell Axon Axon Cell body collateral (soma) Nissl bodies Node of Ranvier Myelin sheath of Nucleus Schwann cell Axon hillock Nucleolus Neurofibril Mitochondrion Axon Cytoplasm Nucleus of Schwann cell Myelin sheath Cytoplasm Neurolemma Node of Ranvier Synapse Axon terminal Synaptic knob The features of a typical neuron. (Hans & Cassidy. Gale Group. Reproduced with permission.) 456 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

can Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical tion of a protein known as a transporter. This transporter Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980 with the publica- protein, which helps to carry the serotonin across the Neurosis tion of the third edition (it last appeared as a diagnostic synaptic space (the gap between nerve cells) to stimulate category in DSM-II). Some professionals use the term to nerve cells, also assists the cell in reabsorbing the sero- describe anxious symptoms and associated behavior, or tonin (a process known as “reuptake”). to describe the range of mental illnesses outside of the In the case of the “neurosis gene,” one possible psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, delusional version of its corresponding alleles (called s for their disorder). Others, particularly psychoanalysts (psychia- short length) was found to produce an insufficient trists who follow a psychoanalytical model of treatment, amount of this transporter protein, and the other as popularized by Freud and Carl Jung), use the term to (named l for long), a significantly large amount. If the describe the internal process itself (called an uncon- amount of transporter protein produced is inadequate, scious conflict) that triggers the anxiety characteristic of an excessive amount of serotonin must remain in the the neurosis. synaptic gap while the protein “catches up” with reup- take, and the serotonin will continue to stimulate sur- Categories rounding nerve cells, resulting in neurosis or neurotic symptoms. A corresponding study of 500 patients The neurotic disorders are distinct from psychotic showed that patients who were assessed as having neu- disorders in that the individual with neurotic symptoms rotic personality traits usually possessed the shorter al- has a firm grip on reality, and the psychotic patient does lele pair (or a combination of one short and one long) not. There are several major traditional categories of psy- that produced insufficient transporter protein. chological neuroses. These include: This finding is consistent with a study published the • Anxiety neurosis. Mental illness defined by excessive same year that found that women in 37 different coun- anxiety and worry, sometimes involving panic attacks tries scored consistently higher on measurements of and manifesting itself in physical symptoms such as neuroticism than men. The fact that such high scores tremor, chest pain, sweating, and nausea. were found across a variety of socioeconomic classes • Depressive neurosis. A mental illness characterized by and cultures but specific to one gender seems to support a profound feeling of sadness or despair and a lack of a genetic basis for the disorder. However, a 1998 study interest in things that were once pleasurable. of over 9,500 United Kingdom residents found that • Obsessive-compulsive neurosis. The persistent and dis- those with a lower standard of living had a higher preva- tressing recurrence of intrusive thoughts or images (ob- lence of neurotic disorders. It is possible that genetic sessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (com- factors predispose an individual to anxiety and neurosis, pulsions). and outside factors such as socioeconomic status trigger • Somatization (formerly called hysterical neurosis). The the symptoms. presence of real and significant physical symptoms that cannot be explained by a medical condition, but are in- Diagnosis stead a manifestation of anxiety or other mental distress. • Post-traumatic stress disorder (also called war or com- Patients with symptoms of mental illness should un- bat neurosis). Severe stress and functional disability dergo a thorough physical examination and detailed pa- caused by witnessing a traumatic event such as war tient history to rule out organic causes (such as brain combat or any other event that involved death or seri- tumor or head injury). If a neurotic disorder is suspected, ous injury. a psychologist or psychiatrist will usually conduct an in- terview with the patient and administer clinical assess- • Compensation neurosis. Not a true neurosis, but a form ments (also called scales, inventories, or tests), to evalu- of malingering, or feigning psychological symptoms ate mental status. Tests which may be administered for for monetary or other personal gain. the diagnosis and assessment of neurosis include the Neuroticism Extraversion and Openness (NEO-R) scale, Causes the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), and In 1996, a specific human gene and its correspond- the Social Maladjustment Schedule. ing alleles (two components of a gene which are respon- sible for encoding the gene) were linked to neuroticism. Treatment The identified gene and its allele pair help to control the amount of serotonin (a central nervous system neuro- Neurosis should be treated by a counselor, therapist, transmitter) released into the body through the produc- psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental healthcare GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 457

Neurotransmitter professional. Treatment for a neurotic disorder depends ture, sensory perception, and the onset of sleep; and a group of transmitters called endorphins, which are in- on the presenting symptoms and the level of discomfort volved in the relief of pain. In recent years, it has been they are causing the patient. Modes of treatment are sim- ilar to that of other mental disorders, and can include recognized that biochemical imbalances in the brain psychotherapy,cognitive-behavioral therapy, creative play an important role in mental illness. Low levels of norepinephrine characterize some varieties of depres- therapies (e.g., art or music therapy), psychoactive sion, for example, and an imbalance of dopamine is con- drugs, and relaxation exercises. sidered a factor in schizophrenia. Paula Ford-Martin Further Reading Fenichel, Otto M. The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis: 50th Anniversary Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Nightmares Son. 1995. A frightening dream that occurs during REM (rapid American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical eye movement) sleep. Manual of Mental Disorders 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc., 1994. Nightmares—frightening dreams—are experienced Further Information by most everyone at one time or another. Nightmares are Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA). 11900 thought to be caused by a central nervous system re- Parklawn Drive, Suite 100, Rockville, MD, USA. 20852, sponse, and are related to other parasomnias such as fax: 301-231-7392, 301-231-9350. Email: sleepwalking. [email protected]. http://www.adaa.org. In children, nightmares begin between the ages of 18 months and three years and increase in frequency and intensity around the ages of four and five years. Children this age have an exceptionally vivid fantasy Neurotransmitter life that carries over into their sleep. Their nightmares are typically characterized by feelings of danger and Chemical substances or molecules which aid in message transmission between neurons. helplessness and often involve fleeing from monsters or wild animals. It is not unusual for a normal child this age to have nightmares as often as once or twice a Communication at the synapses between neurons week. The increase in nightmares among preschoolers relies on chemicals called neurotransmitters. Secreted reflects not only their capacity for vivid fantasy but from a part of one neuron (the axon) into the synaptic also the fact that as they become increasingly active, gap between two others, neurotransmitters diffuse their daily lives hold more opportunities for frightening across this space and combine with specific proteins experiences, and growing interaction with peers and on the surface of the receiving cell, triggering an elec- siblings produces added potential for conflict and ten- trochemical response in the target cell. Afterward, neu- sion. Separation anxiety and exposure to frightening rotransmitters are either destroyed or reabsorbed back programs on television are additional sources of emo- into the neuron for storage and reuse. The release of tional turbulence. neurotransmitters by a neuron has three main func- tions: 1) exciting a second neuron, thus causing it to The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnos- depolarize; 2) inhibiting a second neuron, which pre- tic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) recognizes an anx- vents it from depolarizing; and 3) stimulating a muscle iety disorder characterized by persistent, severe night- fiber to contract. mares (nightmare disorder, formerly dream anxiety dis- order). Generally, nightmare disorder is found only in More than 50 different neurotransmitters have been children who have experienced severe psychological identified, and more are constantly being discovered. Re- stress. searchers have proposed that almost all drugs work through interaction with neurotransmitters. Important Adults also occasionally experience nightmares. neurotransmitters include acetylcholine (ACh), which is The average college student has between four and eight used by motor neurons in the spinal cord; the cate- nightmares per year, and this figure generally drops to cholamines (including norepinephrine and dopamine), one or two in adults. Adults who experience excessive which are important in the arousal of the sympathetic nightmares may be dealing with other issues, and may nervous system; serotonin, which affects body tempera- benefit from professional counseling. 458 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Night terrors Also referred to as pavor nocturnus, a childhood sleep disorder featuring behavior that appears to be Normal distribution intense fear. Night terrors, known medically as pavor nocturnus, are episodes that apparently occur during the non-dream- ing stages of sleep in some children. Episodes of night terrors are most common in the preschool and early school years. Night terrors usually occur within an hour or two after the child has fallen asleep, and generally do not recur with any frequency or regularity. Many chil- dren experience only one episode of night terrors, and few experience more than three or four such episodes over the whole course of childhood. A parent or caregiv- er witnessing an episode of night terrors, which usually lasts from ten to thirty minutes, will find the behavior unsettling. The child sits up abruptly in bed, appears to be extremely upset, cries out or screams, breathes heavi- ly, and perspires. He or she might also thrash about, -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 kicking, and his or her eyes may bulge out, seemingly in fear of something. The child does not wake during the An example of the bell-shaped curve of a normal episode, although his or her eyes will be open, and he or distribution. she will be unresponsive to any offers of comfort. The child falls back to sleep, and will have no memory of the Psychological research involves measurement of occurrence. Night terrors have not been shown to have behavior. This measurement results in numbers that dif- any link to personality or emotional disorders, although fer from one another individually but that are predictable they may be related to a specific feeling of fear that the as a group. One of the common patterns of numbers in- child has experienced, such as being startled by someone volves most of the measurements being clustered togeth- leaping at him or her from behind a chair, or the sight of er near the mean of the distribution, with fewer cases oc- someone fainting or having an accident. curring as they deviate farther from the mean. When a frequency distribution is drawn in pictorial form, the Further Reading resulting pattern produces the bell-shaped curve that sci- Beaudet, Denise. Encountering the Monster: Pathways in Chil- entists call a normal distribution. dren’s Dreams. New York: CrossroadContinuum, 1990. When measurements produce a normal distribution, Lansky, Vicki. Getting Your Child to Sleep—and Back to Sleep: certain things are predictable. First, the mean, median, Tips for Parents of Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers. Deephaven, MN: Book Peddlers, 1991. and mode are all equal. Second, a scientist can predict Thorpy, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Sleep and Sleep Disor- how far from the mean most scores are likely to fall. ders. New York: Facts of File, 1990. Thus, it is possible to determine which scores are more likely to occur and the proportion of score likely to be Further Information above or below any given score. Association of Sleep Disorders Centers (ASDC). 602 Second Street, SW, Rochester, MN 55902 (Professional organiza- Many behavioral measurements result in normal dis- tion of specialists in sleep disorders; publishes the journal tributions. For example, scores on intelligence tests are Sleep.) likely to be normally distributed. The mean is about 100 and a typical person is likely to score within about 15 points of the mean, that is, between 85 and 115. If the psychologist knows the mean and the typical deviation from the mean (called the standard deviation), the re- Normal distribution searcher can determine what proportion of scores is likely The common pattern of numbers in which the ma- to fall in any given range. For instance, in the range be- jority of the measurements tend to cluster near the tween one standard deviation below the mean (about 85 mean of distribution. for IQ scores) and one deviation above the mean (about GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 459

Norm 115 for IQ scores), one expects to find the scores of about Normal two thirds of all test takers. Further, only about two and a half percent of test takers will score higher than two stan- Represents the characteristics that are typical for— dard deviations above the mean (about 130). that is, exhibited by—most members of a particular Although psychologists rely on the fact that many group. measurements are normally distributed, there are certain cases where scores are unlikely to be normally distributed. For statistical purposes, normal means whatever is Whenever scores cannot be higher than some upper value average for a given group of people (“the norm”). There- or smaller than some lower value, a non-normal distribution fore, the term normal does include those group members may occur. For example, salaries are not normally distrib- who deviate significantly from the measures of central uted because there is a lower value (i.e., nobody can make tendency (the mean, the median, or the mode) of a less than zero dollars), but there is no upper value. Conse- given distribution. quently, there will be some high salaries that will not be bal- anced by corresponding, lower salaries. It is important to The term normal is fundamentally statistical and know whether scores are normally distributed because it quantitative. In testing and measuring, for example, nor- makes a difference in the kind of statistical tests that are ap- mal can be defined as a central cluster of scores in rela- propriate for analyzing and interpreting the numbers. tion to a larger grouping. In intelligence testing normal is also defined by the average, or mean, which is estab- Further Reading lished as an IQ score of around 100. Berman, Simeon M. Mathematical Statistics: An Introduction Based on the Normal Distribution. Scranton, PA: Intext However, in many contexts normal is a subjective Educational Publishers, 1971. term that is very difficult to define. In the absence of Martin, David W. Doing Psychology Experiments. 2nd ed. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1985. fixed standards, normal and abnormal are often defined in terms of each other. However, rather than a simple pairing of opposites, they are generally thought of as points on a continuum of social adjustment, with normal people possessing certain positive traits to a greater de- Norm gree, while abnormal people are characterized by defi- ciencies in these traits. Some of the traits that help define A measure of central tendency in statistics, describ- ing a value’s frequency. psychological normalcy are efficient perception of reali- ty; self-knowledge; self-control; ability to form affec- tionate relationships; self-esteem; and productivity. The In testing, norms are figures describing the frequen- notion of defining normalcy in terms of social adjust- cy with which particular scores appear. They provide in- ment has its detractors, who argue that such a definition formation about whether a score is above or below aver- places too much emphasis on conformity and too little age and about what percentage of the persons tested re- on such traits as individuality and creativity. ceived that score. Norms may apply to tests of mental ability or achievement, such as IQ tests or SATs. They are also used in personality assessment to measure vari- Further Reading ables such as anxiety, introversion-extroversion, and Martin, David W. Doing Psychology Experiments. 2nd ed. paranoia. The term “norm” may also refer to social Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1985. norms, unwritten social rules that define acceptable and Berman, Simeon M. Mathematical Statistics: An Introduction unacceptable behavior in a variety of situations. Based on the Normal Distribution. Scranton, PA: Intext See also Mean; Median; Mode Educational Publishers, 1971. 460 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

O are consumed than the body can metabolize, excess calo- Obesity ries are stored in the body as fat, or adipose tissue. Some persons with hypoglycemia have a specific metabolic A condition of having an excessive accumulation problem with carbohydrates that can also lead to the of fat in the body, resulting in a body weight that is at least 20 percent above normal when measured storage of unburned calories as fat. against standard tables of optimal weight ranges In the great majority of cases, however, obesity is according to age, sex, height, and body type. caused by overeating. Overeating itself often combines physical and psychological components. People may eat Individuals who are 20 percent overweight are con- compulsively to overcome fear or social maladjustment, sidered slightly obese. Those who are 40 percent above express defiance, or avoid intimate relationships. How- standard weight are moderately obese, while those 50 per- ever, researchers have also suggested physical correlates cent above it are morbidly obese. Persons who exceed de- for overeating, including deficits in the neurotransmit- sired weight levels by 100 pounds (45 kg) or more are hy- ter serotonin that increase cravings for carbohydrates, perobese. Obesity is a serious health problem in the Unit- and possibly a higher “set point” for body weight that ed States. Studies suggests that between 10 and 20 percent makes obese persons feel hungry more often than thinner of Americans are slightly to moderately obese. Obesity people. This raised set point could result from both ge- places stress on the body’s organs, and is associated with netics and early nutritional habits. Lack of exercise and joint problems, high blood pressure, indigestion, dizzy sedentary living also contribute to obesity. spells, rashes, menstrual disorders, and premature aging. The most effective treatment of obesity includes Generally, when compared to persons of normal weight, both the reduction of surplus body fat and the elimina- obese individuals suffer more severely from many dis- tion of causative factors, and is best accomplished under eases, including degenerative diseases of the heart and ar- medical supervision. An appropriate weight loss plan in- teries, and a shorter life expectancy. Obesity can also cludes exercise (which burns calories without slowing cause complications during childbirth and surgery. metabolism), reduced food intake, behavior modifica- Obesity may be familial, as the body weight of chil- tion to change food-related attitudes and behavior, and dren appears to be linked to that of their parents. Children psychotherapy if there are underlying psychological of obese parents have been found to be 13 times more causes for overeating. Other possible treatment measures likely than other children to be obese, suggesting a genet- include hormone therapy, appetite-suppressant drugs, ic predisposition to body fat accumulation. Recent animal and surgical intervention to alter satiety signals by re- research suggests the existence of a “fat gene,” and the ducing the size of the stomach and intestines. tendency toward a body type with an unusually high Behavior modification has been especially successful number of fat cells—termed endomorphic— appears to and widely used in the treatment of obesity. Treatment be inherited. However, the generational transmission of techniques include stimulus control (removing environ- obesity may be as cultural as it is genetic, as early feeding mental cues that play a role in inappropriate eating), eat- patterns may produce unhealthy eating habits. ing management (slowing the pace of eating to allow sati- Some cases of obesity have a purely physiological ation to catch up with it), contingency management (ap- cause, such as glandular malfunction or a disorder of the plying a system of positive reinforcement and punish- hypothalamus. Individuals with a low production of the ments), and self-monitoring of daily dietary intake and hormone thyroxin tend to metabolize food slowly, which factors associated with it. Despite all of the available treat- results in excess unburned calories. When more calories ments, the difficulty of reversing obesity in adults makes GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 461

Obsessive-compulsive disorder Prevalence of overweight Doubled since 1965 OBESITY IN ADOLESCENT YOUTHS (AGES 6 TO 17) IN THE UNITED STATES Number who are overweight 4.7 million Percent who are overweight 11 percent Elevated blood cholesterol; high blood pressure; Related disorders increased adult mortality Social consequences Excluded from peer groups, discriminated against by adults, experience psychological stress, poor body image, and low self-esteem. Source: Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. preventative treatment an important factor during child- seem to be more common among men, whereas washing hood. Today, an increasing percentage of children in the is more common among women. Another type of OCD United States are overweight. Recent studies have shown is trichotillomania, the compulsion to pull hair. The com- that metabolic rates of children are lower when they watch pulsive behavior is usually not related in any logical way television than when they are at rest. Unhealthy eating pat- to the obsessive fear, or else it is clearly excessive (as in terns and behaviors associated with obesity can be ad- the case of hand-washing). dressed by programs in nutrition, exercise, and stress man- Everyone engages in these types of behavior to a agement involving both children and families. certain extent—counting steps as we walk up them, dou- ble-checking to make sure we’ve turned off the oven or locked the door—but in a person with OCD, such behav- iors are so greatly exaggerated that they interfere with Obsessive-compulsive relationships and day-to-day functioning at school or disorder work. A child with a counting compulsion, for example, might not be able to listen to what the teacher is saying Mental illness characterized by the recurrence of because he or she is too busy counting the syllables of intrusive, anxiety-producing thoughts (obsessions) the teacher’s words as they are spoken. accompanied by repeated attempts to suppress these thoughts through the performance of certain These are some of the signs that a child might be irrational, often ritualistic, behaviors (compul- suffering from OCD: sions). • Avoidance of scissors or other sharp objects. A child might be obsessed with fears of hurting herself or oth- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is classified ers. as a mental illness, and is characterized by the recur- • Chronic lateness or the appearance of dawdling. A rence of intrusive, anxiety-producing thoughts (obses- child could be performing checking rituals (e.g., re- sions). The person with obsessive-compulsive disorder peatedly making sure all her school supplies are in her repeatedly and consistently tries to suppress these bookbag). thoughts through the performance of certain irrational, often ritualistic, behaviors (compulsions). • Daydreaming or preoccupation. A child might actually be counting or balancing things mentally. Symptoms • Inordinate amounts of time spent in the bathroom. A child could be involved in a hand-washing ritual. Although there are marked similarities between • Late schoolwork. A child might be repeatedly checking cases, no two people experience this anxiety disorder in her work. exactly the same way. In one common form of obses- sive-compulsive disorder, an exaggerated fear of conta- • Papers with holes erased in them. This might also indi- mination (the obsession) leads to washing one’s hands so cate a checking ritual. much that they become raw (the compulsion). Other • Secretive and defensive behavior. People with OCD common manifestations of OCD involve sorting, check- will go to extreme lengths in order not to reveal or give ing, and counting compulsions. Checking compulsions up their compulsions. 462 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Although people with OCD realize that their In recent years, a new family of antidepressant thought processes are irrational, they are unable to con- medications called selective serotonin reuptake in- trol their compulsions, and they become painfully em- hibitors (SSRIs) has revolutionized the treatment of ob- barrassed when a bizarre behavior is discovered. Usually sessive-compulsive disorder. These drugs include certain behaviors called rituals are repeated in response clomipramine (Anafranil), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvox- Occupational therapist to an obsession. Rituals only temporarily reduce discom- amine (Luvox), and sertraline (Zoloft). They work by fort or anxiety caused by an obsession, and thus they altering the level of serotonin available to transmit sig- must be repeated frequently. However, the fear that nals in the brain. Thanks to these medications, the over- something terrible will happen if a ritual is discontinued whelming majority of OCD sufferers (75-90%) can be often locks OCD sufferers into a life ruled by what ap- successfully treated. pears to be superstition. In addition to medication, an extreme type of be- havior therapy is sometimes used in patients with OCD. Causes In exposure-response prevention therapy, a patient slow- ly gives up his or her compulsive behaviors with the help Sigmund Freud attributed obsessive-compulsive of a therapist. Someone with a hand-washing compul- disorder to traumatic toilet training and, although not sion, for example, would have to touch something per- supported by any empirical evidence, this theory was ceived as unclean and then refrain from washing his/her widely accepted for many years. Current research, how- hands. The resulting extreme anxiety eventually dimin- ever, indicates that OCD is neurobiological in origin, and ishes when the patient realizes that nothing terrible is researchers have found physical differences between the going to happen. brains of OCD sufferers and those without the disorder. Specifically, neurons in the brains of OCD patients ap- Further Reading pear to be overly sensitive to serotonin, the chemical Rapoport, Judith L. The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing: The which transmits signals in the brain. A recent study at Experience and Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Dis- the National Institute of Mental Health suggests a link order. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1989. between childhood streptococcal infections and the Further Information onset of OCD. Other research indicates that a predisposi- The Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation Inc. P.O. Box 70, Mil- tion for OCD is probably inherited. It is possible that ford, CT 06460–0070, (203) 878–5669, (800) NEWS-4- physical or mental stresses can precipitate the onset of OCD. OCD in people with a predisposition towards it. Puberty Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous (OCA). P.O. Box 215, also appears to trigger the disorder in some people. New Hyde Park, NY 11040, (516) 741–4901. The Obsessive Compulsive Information Center. Dean Founda- tion for Health, Research and Education, 8000 Excelsior Prevalence Drive, Suite 302, Madison, WI 53717-1914, (608) Once considered rare, OCD is now believed to affect 836–8070. http://www.fairlite.com/ocd. between 5 and 6 million Americans (2-3% of the popula- tion), which makes it almost as common as asthma or di- abetes mellitus. Among mental disorders, OCD is the fourth most prevalent (after phobias, substance abuse, and depression ). In more than one-third of cases, onset Occupational therapist of OCD occurs in childhood or adolescence. Although A professional who promotes health, enhances de- the disorder occurs equally among adults of both gen- velopment, and increases independent functioning ders, among children it is three times more common in in people through activities involving work, play, boys than girls. and self-care. Occupational therapists help persons with both Treatment physical and emotional problems as well as learning dif- Fewer than one in five OCD sufferers receive pro- ficulties. Although occupational therapy was initially as- fessional help; the typical OCD patient suffers for seven sociated with reintegrating veterans of First and Second years before seeking treatment. Many times, OCD is di- World Wars into the work force, the term “occupation” agnosed when a patient sees a professional for another used in the context of this profession actually refers to problem, often depression. Major depression affects any activity with which persons occupy their time. Occu- close to one-third of patients with obsessive-compulsive pational therapists focus on helping people master the disorder. everyday activities of life and work. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 463

Occupational therapists undergo a rigorous training In traditional Freudian psychoanalytical theory, the Oedipus complex program. Four-year undergraduate programs, offered by term Electra complex was used when these unconscious many institutions, include courses in anatomy, psycholo- wishes were attributed to a young girl and centered gy, and the theory and practice of occupational therapy. around sexual involvement with her father and jealous ri- In addition, occupational therapists must complete six to valry with her mother. Like Oedipus, Electra is a figure nine months of clinical training. After graduation, most her parent (in Electra’s case, her mother). Contemporary take a national examination to qualify as a Registered Occupational Therapist (R.O.T.). Occupational therapists in Greek mythology who participated in the killing of psychology no longer distinguishes this complex by gen- work in various settings, including hospitals, nursing der, and the Electra complex is included in the definition homes, rehabilitation centers, schools, day care centers, of the Oedipus complex. and patients’ homes. Modern interpretations of Freudian theories are Occupational therapists work with people who have often critical, and his Oedipus theory has been no excep- mental and emotional problems. Their goal is to help tion. Many current psychologists think of it as too sim- clients cope with daily life, which may include teaching plistic, and the authors of the Oxford Companion to the skills in self-care, cooking, shopping, and budgeting. Mind (1987) state, “Freud’s formula . . . gives a one- They may help people suffering from depression, anxi- sided and too simple an account of the complex interac- ety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder plan their day in tions of the family.” It would be fair to say that this is the order to function more effectively. current view of Freud’s Oedipal notions. Yet, looking to Freud’s Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (1920), Further Reading Freud writes, “I do not wish to assert that the Oedipus Breines, Estelle. Occupational Therapy Activities from Clay to complex exhausts the relation of children to their par- Computers: Theory and Practice. Philadelphia: F.A. ents: it can easily be far more complicated. The Oedipus Davis Company, 1995. complex can, moreover, be developed to a greater or Further Information lesser strength, it can even be reversed; but it is a regular The American Occupational Therapy Association. 1383 Pic- and very important factor in a child’s mental life.” card Drive, P.O. Box 1725, Rockville, MD 20850. Further Reading Montrelay, Michele. “Why Did You Tell Me I Love Mommy and That’s Why I’m Frightened When I Love You.” Amer- ican Imago (Summer 1994): 213. Oedipus complex Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1982. The theory that children are torn between feelings Tabin, Johanna. On the Way to Self. New York: Columbia Uni- of love for one parent while feeling a sense of com- versity Press, 1985. petition with the other; first put forth by Sigmund Freud as one possible cause of neuroses in later life. Sigmund Freud first suggested the existence of Operant conditioning what he would later call the Oedipus complex in The In- terpretation of Dreams (1900). In this work, he describes Approach to human learning based on the premise that human intelligence and will operate on the en- a subconscious feelings in children of intense competi- vironment rather than merely respond to the envi- tion and even hatred toward the parent of the same sex, ronment’s stimuli. and feelings of romantic love toward the parent of the opposite sex. He felt that if these conflicting feelings Operant conditioning is an elaboration of classical were not successfully resolved, they would contribute to conditioning. Operant conditioning holds that human neuroses in later life. The name “Oedipus” refers to learning is more complex than the model developed by Oedipus Rex, the classic Greek play by Sophocles, Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) and involves human intelli- which tells the story of Oedipus, who is abandoned at gence and will operating (thus its name) on its environ- birth by his parents, King Lauis and Queen Jocasta. He ment rather than being a slave to stimuli. later comes back and, as foretold by prophecy, kills his father and marries his mother before finding out his true The Pavlovian model of classical conditioning was identity. Freud saw in the play an archetypal dynamic revolutionary in its time but eventually came to be seen being played out, and so coopted the character’s name as limited in its application to most human behavior, for his description. which is far more complex than a series of automatic re- 464 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

POSITIVE NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT The frequency of a behavior is When a person receives reinforce- When a person experiences a nega- Operant conditioning increased because of the behavior ment after engaging in some behav- tive state and does something to of the subject. ior, the person is likely to repeat eliminate the undesired state, the that behavior. person is likely to repeat that behavior. PUNISHMENT The frequency of a behavior is When a person engages in a behav- When a person engages in a behav- decreased because of the behavior ior and something negative is ior and something positive is taken of the subject. applied as a result, that behavior is away, that behavior is less likely to less likely to be repeated. be repeated. sponses to various stimuli. B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) on behavior. These schedules are: fixed interval, variable elaborated on this concept by introducing the idea of interval, fixed ration, and variable ration. In a fixed inter- consequences into the behaviorist formula of human val schedule experiment, the lever in the rat’s box would learning. Pavlov’s classical conditioning explained be- only provide food at a specific rate, regardless of how havior strictly in terms of stimuli, demonstrating a causal often the rat pulled the lever. In other words, food would relationship between stimuli and behavior. In Pavlov’s be provided every 60 seconds. Eventually, the rat adapts model, humans responded to stimuli in specific, pre- to this schedule, pushing the lever with greater frequency dictable ways. According to Skinner, however, behavior approximately every 60 seconds. In variable interval ex- is seen as far more complex, allowing for the introduc- periments, the lever becomes active at random intervals. tion of choice and free will. According to operant condi- Rats presented with this problem adapt by pressing the tioning, the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated lever less frequently but at more regular intervals. An ex- depends to a great degree on the amount of pleasure (or periment using a fixed ratio schedule uses a lever that be- pain) that behavior has caused or brought about in the comes active only after the rat pulls it a specific number past. Skinner also added to the vocabulary of behavior- of times, and in a variable ration experiment the number ism the concepts of negative and positive reinforcer and of pulls between activity is random. Behavior of the rats of punishment. adapts to these conditions and is adjusted to provide the most rewards. According to the Skinner model of operant condi- tioning humans learn behaviors based on a trial and error The real-world ramifications of operant condition- process whereby they remember what behaviors elicited ing experiments are easy to imagine, and many of the ex- positive, or pleasurable, responses and which elicited periments described would probably sound very familiar negative ones. He derived these theories from observing to parents who use such systems of rewards and punish- the behaviors of rats and pigeons isolated in what have ments on a daily basis with their children regardless of come to be known as Skinner boxes. Inside the boxes, whether they have ever heard of B.F. Skinner. His model rats that had been deprived of food were presented with a has been used by learning theorists of various sorts to de- lever that, when pushed, would drop a pellet of food into scribe all kinds of human behaviors. Since the 1960s, the cage. Of course, the rat wouldn’t know this, and so however, behaviorism has taken a back seat to cognitive the first time it hit the lever, it was a purely accidental, theories of learning, although few dispute the elementary the result of what Skinner called random trial and error tenets of operant conditioning and their use in the acqui- behavior. Eventually, however, the rat would “learn” that sition of rudimentary adaptive behaviors. hitting the lever resulted in the appearance of food and it would continue doing so. Receiving the food, then, in the Further Reading language of operant conditioning, is considered the rein- Blackman, Derek E. Operant Conditioning: An Experimental forcer while hitting the lever becomes the operant, the Analysis of Behaviour. London: Methuen, 1974. way the organism operates on its environment. Mackintosh, Nicholas John. Conditioning and Associative Learning. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Skinner’s model of operant conditioning broke Smith, Terry L. Behavior and Its Causes: Philosophical Foun- down reinforcements into four kinds to study the effects dations of Operant Psychology. Boston: Kluwer Academ- these various “schedules of reinforcement” would have ic Publishers, 1994. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 465

Oppositional-defiant disorder oppositional-defiant disorder. Oppositional-defiant disor- mood or psychotic disorders,attention deficit/hyperactivi- Oppositional-defiant disorder ty disorder, mental retardation, and language disorders. See also Antisocial behavior; Conduct disorder A form of antisocial behavior disorder characterized by opposition to authority figures such as parents Further Reading and teachers, and by excessive anger and hostility. Bernstein, Neil I. Treating the Unmanageable Adolescent: A Guide to Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders. Depending on the population, 2-6% of children have Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1997. der is similar to conduct disorder, without the more se- cult Adolescents and Abused Parents. New York: Guilford vere behavior components of aggression, property de- Press, 1996. struction, deceit, and theft. Oppositional-defiant children Price, Jerome A. Power and Compassion: Working with Diffi- Wenning, Kenneth. Winning Cooperation from Your Child!: A often go on to develop conduct disorder. Many children, Comprehensive Method to Stop Defiant and Aggressive especially during transitional periods such as preschool Behavior in Children. Northvale, NJ: J. Aronson, 1996. and adolescence,exhibit transient oppositional behavior towards parents and peers that will decline as they mature. If oppositional behavior is initiated during adolescence in particular it is probably part of the child’s process of indi- Organic disorder viduation, and should not be mistaken for a disorder. Chil- dren with oppositional-defiant disorder (1) are opposition- Disorder caused by a known pathological condition. al much more frequently than other children of their age and (2) increase their oppositional behaviors rather than In general, any disorder that is caused by a known decrease them with age. Disobedience and hostility usual- pathological condition of an organic structure may be cat- ly appear first in the home environment, and may or may egorized as an organic disorder, or more specifically, as an not ever emerge in school settings. Oppositional-defiant organic mental disorder, or a psychological disorder. An disorder is more common in families where there is mari- example is delirium,a disorder that is caused by a known tal discord, where a parent has a history of an antisocial, physical dysfunction of the brain. Most psychologists and mood, or attention disorder, and where child rearing psychiatrists now believe that virtually all serious, or psy- practices are either harsh (punishing), inconsistent (a suc- chotic, mental disorders will eventually be proven to have cession of different caregivers), or neglectful. an organic cause. Consequently, many psychologists and psychiatrists prefer not to use the term organic mental dis- Criteria for diagnosis order because the term implies that those disorders which have not yet been shown to have an organic cause do not According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual have an organic cause, and that functional disorders (a of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), oppositional-defiant dis- term that has often been contrasted with the term organic order is diagnosed when (1) there is a pattern of defiant, disorders) have no organic causal component. disobedient, and hostile behavior towards authority fig- ures lasting for at least six months, including frequent occurrence of at least four of the following behaviors; (2) the child exhibits the behaviors more frequently than other individuals of the same age or developmental level. Organizational psychology The child with oppositional-defiant disorder will: See Industrial psychology • often lose his or her temper • often argue with adults • defy or refuse to comply with requests or rules • deliberately do things that annoy other people Arthur Otis •blame others for his or her own mistakes • be touchy or easily annoyed 1886-1964 American psychologist whose most enduring work • be angry and resentful was done in the field of group intelligence testing. • be spiteful or vindictive. Care should be taken to distinguish oppositional-defi- Arthur Otis was born in Denver, Colorado, and edu- ant behavior that results from other problems, such as cated at Stanford University. He served on the faculty of 466 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Stanford University, and held various consulting and re- psychologists. However, clinical psychologist Marilyn search positions at several U.S. government agencies. Sorenson in her book, Breaking the Chain of Low Self- He was also an editor of tests in mathematics for an ed- Esteem, maintains that people with low self-esteem ucational publishing company. Otis introduced and de- often find themselves driven to overachieve to build self- Overactive children veloped the Otis Group Intelligence Scale, which is con- worth. Overachievers increasingly take on new projects sidered to be the earliest scientifically reliable instru- and drive themselves to perfection, often becoming ment for the intelligence testing of subjects in groups. known as “workaholics.” Overachievement may occur in First published in 1918, the Otis Group Intelligence one area of a person’s life without pervading the entire Scale consisted of verbal and nonverbal items and be- life. The fear of failure drives underachievers, according came very widely used, especially in schools. The test to Sorenson. Gripped by their fears of failure and humili- was substantially revised by Roger Lennon, and contin- ation, underachievers fail to realize their skill or talent ues to be used. Otis’ books include: Statistical Method potential. While often viewed with a negative connota- in Educational Measurement (1925), Modern School tion, overachievement has come to be valued in a num- Arithmetic (1929), and Primary Arithmetic Through Ex- ber of corporations, competing to remain at the top of perience (1939). their field. Sometimes the term is used in informal com- munication to describe a person intent on gathering tan- See also Intelligence quotient gible or recognized symbols of accomplishment, such as educational degrees, awards, and honorary positions. See also Perfectionism Overachiever Further Reading Sorensen, Marilyn J. Breaking the Chain of Low Self-Esteem. A person whose performance disproportionately exceeds ability; academically, a student, whose Sherwood, OR: Wolf Pub., 1998. academic achievement disproportionately exceeds his or her performance on standardized intelli- gence tests. Overactive children The terms “overachiever” and “underachiever,” most often applied to school and academia, both refer to gaps between academic performance and IQ test scores. Gen- See Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder erally, these terms are not used by either educators or (ADHD) GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 467

P bral cortex. Here, the brain fully processes the informa- Pain tion, locates its source in the body, and begins sending signals to relieve the pain. Physical suffering resulting from some sort of injury or disease, experienced through the central ner- As they travel, the pain messages are sorted accord- vous system. ing to severity. Recent research has discovered that the body has two distinct pathways for transmitting pain Pain is a complex phenomenon that scientists are messages. The epicritic system is used to transmit mes- still struggling to understand. Its purpose is to alert the sages of sudden, intense pain, such as that caused by cuts body of damage or danger to its system, yet scientists do or burns. The neurons that transmit such messages are not fully understand the level and intensity of pain called A fibers, and they are built to transmit messages sometimes experienced by people. Long-lasting, severe quickly. The protopathic system is used to transmit less pain does not serve the same purpose as acute pain, severe messages of pain, such as the kind one might ex- which triggers an immediate physical response. Pain perience from over-strenuous exercise. The C fibers of that persists without diminishing over long periods of the protopathic system do not send messages as quickly time is known as chronic pain. It is estimated that al- as A fibers. most one-third of all Americans suffer from some form In 1965, Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall, leading of chronic pain. Of these, 70 million have back pain, 36 pain researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- million have arthritis, 20 million suffer from migraine nology, proposed what has come to be known as the gate headaches, and at least 800,000 Americans suffer severe theory of pain. This theory holds that the nervous sys- pain associated with the growth of cancerous tumors. tem has the capacity to process only limited amounts of An additional kind of pain is psychological pain. Recent information at a time. For example, if the body is over- research has shown that the chemicals produced by anx- whelmed by multiple messages, the nervous system will iety are similar to those that are released in response to “shut down” certain messages. This would explain why physical injury. rubbing an injury often lessens its pain. The rubbing, in Pain signals travel through the body along billions essence, competes with the injury for space in the ner- of special nerve cells reserved specifically for transmit- vous system. ting pain messages. These cells are known as nocicep- One application of the gate theory is the use of small tors. The chemical neurotransmitters carrying the mes- bursts of electricity to help manage pain. Experiments sage include prostaglandins, bradykinin—the most were first conducted on animals, whose brains were painful substance known to humans—and a chemical stimulated electronically at certain points, shutting down known as P, which stands for pain. Prostaglandins are their capacity to feel pain. The animals were then operat- manufactured from fatty acids in nearly every tissue in ed on using no anesthetic. This method has been adapted the body. Analgesic pain relievers, such as aspirin and for humans as well and has led to the development of a ibuprofen, work by inhibiting prostaglandin production. pain relief method known as transcutaneous electrical After an injury, cells near the trauma site release nerve stimulation, or TENS. In this technique, pain suf- these chemicals into the central nervous system. In the ferers are jolted with tiny bits of electricity at strategic spinal cord, they are carried by the dorsal horn, and it is points. As predicted by the gate theory, the nerve endings at this point that the body pulls away from the source of at the point of the shock are overwhelmed and divert the pain. When the signal reaches the brain, it is first some of the space in the central nervous system to pro- processed by the thalamus and then passed to the cere- cessing it, thereby relieving the original pain. 468 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Chronic pain, on the other hand, presents its own set Paired-associate (PA) learning was invented by of problems. Treating chronic pain is difficult because by Mary Whiton Calkins in 1894 and involves the pairing of its very nature, such pain damages the central nervous two items (usually words)—a stimulus and a response. system, making it weaker and more susceptible to pain. For example, words such as calendar (stimulus) and This residue of pain is called pain memory. Problems shoe (response) may be paired, and when the learner is Panic/Panic disorders also arise when nerve cells are damaged by chemothera- prompted with the stimulus, he responds with the appro- py, diabetes, shingles, and other diseases. And in the case priate word (shoe). of arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, the body’s The study of PA learning has been important for a threshold for pain is lowered, thus causing increased number of reasons. Psychologists view it as representa- pain from “less” stimuli. tive of the kind of learning that people engage in every Treatments for pain vary widely. For mild pain, the day. For example, when learning a new word, a person most common form of treatment is aspirin, a medication must pair the word itself with the concept it represents. discovered in the 19th century and derived from salicin, This is the essence of PA learning. Another reason is that a chemical found in the bark of the willow tree. Today, it allows researchers to study the associations between there are several aspirin-like drugs on the market for the stimuli and responses. Although this stimulus-response relief of minor, inflammatory pain, including ibuprofen approach has lost some of its importance in contempo- and acetaminophen. For more severe pain, opiates—de- rary psychology, researchers—especially behaviorists— rived from the opium poppy, a common flowering have been interested in how stimulus-response links are plant—are often used. Opiates work by attaching them- formed and broken. selves, on the molecular level, to nerve cells normally Psychological research has revealed that when peo- used to transmit pain messages. (The place on the nerve ple learn paired associates, they engage in two separate cells where the opiates reside are called opiate recep- mental processes. The first is the learning of the response; tors). Opiates work very well in relieving pain, but are the second is the formation of a bond between the two quite dangerous and can become addictive. words. This second process seems to produce a one-way In the 1970s, scientists began looking for natural opi- association in many circumstances. That is, a learner is ate-like substances, and found that the body does indeed much more likely to remember the response word if given produce its own painkillers, which has come to be called the stimulus; people have a harder time remembering the opioids. The two most common opioids are endorphins stimulus if presented with the response word. and enkephalins. These chemicals attach themselves to This pattern holds true when the response has never the opiate receptors in nerve cells just as opiates do. It has been used as a stimulus. On the other hand, if a particu- been found that the body can be stimulated to release lar word (e.g., cloud ) has been used both as a stimulus these chemicals by TENS and by acupuncture, a Chinese and as a response (e.g., cloud-pen and bag-cloud ), the method of placing tiny needles at specific points in the learner gets accustomed to using the word in two ways. body to relieve pain. Other methods for treating pain in- In later testing, the subject is likely to remember the clude hypnotism, massage, and biofeedback. word pair correctly when presented with either word. Based on research such as this, psychologists have con- Further Reading cluded that learners remember the word pair as a unit, Arnold, Caroline. Pain: What Is It? How Do We Deal With It? not as a stimulus that simply leads to a response. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1986. Atkinson, Jim. “Nerve Center.” Texas Monthly (June 1994): 54. Further Reading Bower, Bruce. “Brain Changes Linked to Phantom-Limb Deese, J., and S.H. Hulse. The Psychology of Learning. 3rd ed. Pain.” Science News (10 June 1995). New York: McGrawHill, 1967. Chase, Marilyn. “When Treating Pain, All Roads Lead to the Brain.” Wall Street Journal (17 October 1994): B1. Strobel, Gabrielle. “Pain Message Travels via Diffuse Signal.” Science News (27 November 1993). ”Tips for Coping with Chronic Agony.” USA. Today Magazine (October 1993): 3. Panic/Panic disorders An acute feeling of intense fear, accentuated by in- creased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, and mild convulsions. Paired-associate learning Feelings of fear and panic are common to all Strategy used by psychologists to study learning. species, and humans are certainly no exception. Psycho- GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 469

Paranoia is an ever-present feeling of suspicion that Paranoia logically speaking, however, panic can be an obtrusive, others cannot be trusted. Such feelings are not based on life-altering phenomena for many people who suffer fact or reality; insecurity and low self-esteem often ex- panic attacks. Such attacks occur commonly in people suffering from various phobias. People suffering from aggerate these emotions. Typically, paranoia is not seen agoraphobia, for instance, can expect to suffer panic at- in children, but in most cases it begins to develop in late tacks when out in public. While panic attacks are gener- adolescence and early adulthood. Most people experi- ally short-lived, their recurrence and the severity of the ence feelings of paranoia, usually in response to a threat- physical symptoms that accompany them can lead peo- ening situation or in connection with feelings of insecu- ple to fear them so intensely that they develop a more se- rity based on real circumstances. These feelings are re- vere condition known as anxiety disorder. lated to the mild anxiety people experience at some points during their lives. Panic attacks usually originate as realistic responses to fearful or stressful experiences, usually in childhood. The fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical In more mature persons, however, memories of fearful Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) includes diag- events are put in perspective, and people generally do not nostic criteria for the more serious condition, paranoid feel the same fear they felt as a child when confronting a personality disorder. According to the DSM-IV, individ- similar situation as an adult. Often, however, certain peo- uals afflicted with this disorder assume, with little con- ple will be susceptible to a variety of subconscious trig- crete evidence to support the assumption, that others gers. For instance, a person may experience intense fear plan to exploit, harm, or deceive him or her; and continu- every time he or she goes to the mall, not because of the ally analyzes the motivations of friends, family, and oth- mall, per se, but perhaps because they once had a very ers to confirm his or her doubts about their trustworthi- fearful experience, like being lost from a parent, in a ness; expects friends and family to abandon him or her in mall. Panic attacks can also be caused by internal reac- times of trouble or stress; avoids revealing personal in- tions. For example, increased heart rate can remind a formation because of fear that it will be used against person of an early panic experience, and every time his him or her; interprets remarks and actions as having hid- or her heart rate increases, the person experiences anoth- den, demeaning, and threatening connotations; and is un- er panic attack. willing to forgive an insult. The behaviorof an individual with paranoid personality disorder may compel others to Psychiatrists have documented the physical mani- react with anger or hostility. This tends to reinforce the festations of panic, and are fairly certain that there is a individual’s suspiciousness and feelings that friends and genetic component to panic attacks. Neurologically, re- associates are “against” him or her. cent psychiatric research has identified a brain circuit called the flight/fight system, or FFS. This neurologic In the 1990s, the term “everyday paranoia” (EP) area, when stimulated in animals, produces features of came into usage among psychologists to describe the in- tremendous fear and panic. Research in this area is still tense anxiety that was becoming prevalent in society. very new, and with each finding there are controversies Everyday paranoia is sparked by fear of losing one’s job, and conflicting views. Brain imaging technology should feelings of inadequacy when confronting a new interper- help psychiatrists better understand the neurology of sonal or romantic relationship, or insecurity in a mar- panic attacks, but they are still largely a mystery. riage or other long-term relationship. Low self-esteem and feelings of insecurity contribute to a person’s sus- Further Reading ceptibility to feelings of everyday paranoia. Stressful sit- Chase, Marilyn. “Psychiatry Finds Answers to Mystery of uations—economic insecurity, divorce,a move,a job Panic Attacks.” Wall Street Journal (12 June 1995): B1. change—can also reinforce a person’s paranoia. Almost Segal, Mariah. “Panic Disorder: The Heart That Goes Thump everyone experiences feelings of suspicion or insecuri- in the Night—and Day.” FDA Consumer (April 1992): 22. ty—and in fact, paranoia can be a mechanism for coping Seymour, Lesley Jane. “Fear of Almost Everything.” Made- with misfortune or personal problems. Rather than view moiselle (September 1993): 252. the situation as “bad luck” or personal failure or incom- ”What Triggers Panic Attacks?” USA. Today Magazine (Octo- petence, paranoia places the responsibility for the prob- ber 1992): 2. lem on some “enemy.” The term paranoia is used erroneously at times to define special life circumstances. Members of minority groups and new immigrants may exhibit guarded behav- Paranoia ior due to unfamiliarity with their new environment and lack of knowledge of language and cultural norms. This A pervasive feeling of distrust of others. display of suspicion of authority figures and lack of trust 470 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

in outsiders is based on a real lack of understanding of Masochism (Sexual) the person’s surroundings, and does not represent an ab- Masochism is a term applied to a specific sexual dis- Paraphilia normal reaction. In addition, the term “political para- order but which also has a broader usage. The sexual dis- noia” is used to describe attitudes shared by members of order involves pleasure and excitement produced by groups on the fringes of society who suspect that govern- pain, either inflicted by others or by oneself. It usually ment agencies are conspiring to control the lives of citi- begins in childhood or adolescence and is chronic. zens by imposing new values, or suspect that other domi- Masochism is the only paraphilia in which any noticeable nant groups are persecuting them. The growth of para- number of women participate—about 5 percent of military organizations in the United States in recent masochists are female. The term comes from the name of years appears to be indicative of such feelings of politi- a nineteenth century Austrian writer, Leopold von Sach- cal paranoia among a small percentage of citizens. er-Masoch, whose novels often included characters who Further Reading were obsessed with the combination of sex and pain. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. In the broader sense, masochism refers to any expe- Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994. rience of receiving pleasure or satisfaction from suffer- Goodwin, Jan. “Paranoia.” Cosmopolitan (August 1994):184+. ing pain. The psychoanalytic view is that masochism is Kelly, Michael. “The Road to Paranoia.” The New Yorker (June aggression turned inward, onto the self, when a person 19, 1995): 60+. feels too guilty or afraid to express it outwardly. Pedophilia Pedophilia involves sexual activity with a child, Paraphilia generally under age 13. The Diagnostic and Statistical Sexual feelings or behaviors that may involve sexu- Manual of Mental Disorders describes a criterion that the al partners that are not human, not consenting, or individual with pedophilia be over 16 years of age and that involve suffering by one or both partners. be at least five years older than the child. Individuals with this disorder may be attracted to either males or fe- To diagnose an individual with a paraphilia, the psy- males or both, although incidents of pedophilic activity chologist or other diagnostician must confirm recurrent, are almost twice as likely to be repeated by those indi- intense, sexually arousing feelings, fantasies, or behav- viduals attracted to males. Individuals with this disorder iors over a period of at least six months. According to the develop procedures and strategies for gaining access to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and trust of children. (DSM-IV), it is not uncommon for an individual to have more than one paraphilia. Sadomasochism Sadomasochism applies to deviant sexual behavior Bestiality in which an individual achieves gratification either by Bestiality is a term that describes sexual feelings or experiencing pain (masochism) or inflicting it on another behaviors involving animals. Termed zoophilia by the (sadism). fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of In psychoanalytic theory, sadism is related to the Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), this is a relatively uncom- fear of castration, while the behaviorist explanation of mon disorder. The disorder does not specify an animal or sadomasochism is that its constituent feelings are physi- category of animals; the person with zoophilia may ologically similar to sexual arousal. Separate but parallel focus sexual feelings on domesticated animals, such as descriptions are given for sexual sadism and sexual dogs, or farm animals, such as sheep or goats. masochism in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) . The clinical diagnostic cri- teria for both are recurrence of the behavior over a peri- Exhibitionism od of at least six months, and significant distress or im- Exhibitionism is the exposure of genitals to a non- pairment of the ability to function as a result of the be- consenting stranger. In some cases, the individual may havior or associated urges or fantasies. Either type of be- also engage in autoeroticism while exposing himself. havior may be limited to fantasies (sometimes while one Generally, no additional contact with the observer is is engaged in outwardly nondeviant sex) or acted out sought; the individual is stimulated sexually by gaining with a consenting partner, a non-consenting partner, or in the attention of and startling the observer. the case of masochism, alone. Sadomasochism occurs in GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 471

Parapsychology both males and females, and in both heterosexual and ceed when a combination of therapy, aversion technique (using electric shock or visualization to change pleasure homosexual relationships. experience), and medication is employed. Sadistic activities, which may express dominance or inflict pain and /or humiliation on the other person, in- See also Pedophilia clude restraint, blindfolding, whipping, burning, rape, stabbing, strangulation, and even death. Masochists may Further Reading seek to be the object of some of these acts as well as Baumeister, Roy F. Escaping the Self: Alcoholism, Spirituality, other types of humiliation, including forced cross-dress- Masochism, and Other Flights from the Burden of Self- hood. New York: Basic Books, 1991. ing. A particularly dangerous and fatal masochistic prac- Caplan, Paula J. The Myth of Women’s Masochism. Toronto: tice is hypoxyphilia, which consists of deliberately cut- University of Toronto Press, 1993. ting off one’s oxygen supply through mechanical or Carnes, Patrick. Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual chemical means. Both sadistic and masochistic fantasies Addiction. 2nd ed. Center City, MN: Hazelden Education- usually begin in childhood, and the disorders usually al Materials, 1992. manifest in early adulthood. When associated with anti- social personality disorder, it may result in serious in- jury to others or death. Parapsychology Voyeurism Meaning “beside psychology,” term used to de- Voyeurism is a paraphilia in which a person finds scribe the study of paranormal, or psi, phenomena, sexual excitement in watching unsuspecting people who the most significant being extra-sensory perception are nude, undressing, or having sex. Voyeurs are almost (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK). always male, and the victims are usually strangers. A voyeur may fantasize about having sex with the victim The study of paranormal activities and phenomena but almost never actually pursues this. The voyeur may has been riddled with controversy since its conception. It return to watch the same stranger repeatedly, but there is is claimed that some people, utilizing senses beyond the rarely physical contact. ordinary, exhibit powers that cannot be explained by tra- ditional science. Skeptics of the paranormal point to the Voyeurs are popularly known as “peeping Toms,” fact that in over a century since the first serious studies based on the eleventh-century legend of Lady Godiva. of the paranormal began, usually dated to the opening of According to the story, Tom was a tailor who “peeped” the Society for Psychical Research in London in 1882, at Lady Godiva as she rode naked through the streets of no replicable demonstration of any such powers has ever Coventry, England, in a sacrificial act to get her husband been conducted. Yet many people continue to believe in to lower taxes. Tom was struck with blindness for not the existence of the paranormal. looking away like everyone else did. The most studied and debated paranormal phenome- na are ESP and psychokinesis. ESP is an acronym for Incidence and treatment extra-sensory perception and encompasses clairvoy- Psychologists estimate that a greater percentage of ance, the ability to perceive something without the use of people experience sexual deviance than is officially re- the senses, and telepathy, the ability to communicate ported. This is because many people who carry out sexu- with another person without the use of the senses. (Para- al deviations do not consider their activities to be de- psychologists currently refer to telepathy as “anomalous viant. For instance, sadomasochists have group meet- processes of information or energy transfer.”) ings, workshops, and large gatherings and have become Clairvoyance was the first paranormal phenomena to something of a subculture. They do not typically think of be seriously considered by scientists, probably because themselves as needing therapy or treatment. devising tests to prove or disprove its existence was easy. People who seek treatment for paraphilias often do In the late 1920s, many such tests were devised by J.B. so because they have been cited for illegal activity or be- Rhine, a psychology professor who had left Harvard Uni- cause they are afraid they may do something illegal and versity to help found the Parapsychology Laboratory at be caught for it. Many different treatments have been Duke University. Rhine’s tests often produced positive re- tried with paraphilias, from medication to group thera- sults for clairvoyance, and at the time his work was seri- py, to eliminate the behavior. Psychologists report low ously regarded. In recent decades, however, much of success rates, especially among criminally charged child Rhine’s work has been discredited as being biased, care- molesters. Behavior modification is most likely to suc- less, and, in some cases, utterly fraudulent. 472 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Recent studies have proven more reputable but far Nevertheless, it seems that most people are open to the from conclusive. One such study revealed statistically possibility of the paranormal despite the lack of evidence. significant telepathic abilities among 100 men and 140 women tested in Scotland over six years in the mid- Further Reading 1980s. In the tests, “senders” focused on images or video Blackmore, Susan. “Psi in Psychology.” Skeptical Inquirer Parent-child relationships clips and attempted to send those impressions to a “re- (Summer 1994): 351. ceiver” in a sensory-isolated room. The researchers re- Bower, B. “CIA Studies Fan Debate Over Psi Abilities.” Sci- ence News (9 December 1995): 390. ported that one in three sessions led to a “hit,” meaning ————. “Scientists Peer into the Mind’s Psi.” Science News that the receiver reported visualizing images similar to (29 January 1994): 68. those being sent. A hit is expected to occur by chance in Irwin, H.J. An Introduction to Parapsychology. Jefferson, NC: one in four instances. On the other hand, the Central In- McFarland & Co., 1989. telligence Agency of the United States discounted the Jaroff, Leon. “Weird Science: Catering to Viewers’ Growing existence of ESP after conducting its own experiments in Appetite for Paranormal . . .” Time (15 May 1995): 75. “remote viewing.” The agency concluded that there were Yam, Philip. “A Skeptically Inquiring Mind.” Scientific Ameri- not enough evidence for its existence. can (July 1995): 34. Psychokinesis (PK) is the ability to manipulate physical objects with the mind. Probably the most infa- mous purveyor of psychokinetic powers was the Israeli psychic and entertainer Uri Geller, who became an inter- Parent-child relationships national celebrity by bending spoons, supposedly with The relationship, over the full extent of a child’s de- his mind. During his career, he would never demonstrate velopment, between parent and child. his spoon bending ability in a controlled environment, and he was on several occasions shown to be faking. An- Of the many different relationships we form over the other form of PK is known as spontaneous PK, in which course of the life span, the relationship between parent a physical action occurs in response to psychological and child is among the most important. Not surprisingly, trauma. There are personal accounts, for instance, of students of child development have devoted considerable clocks and watches stopping at the moment of a loved attention to the parent-child relationship, in order to un- one’s death. J.B. Rhine was one of the first to conduct derstand how it develops and functions over the lifespan. experiments in PK, primarily with the use of dice. He Among the many questions researchers examine are those tested a subject’s ability to influence the outcome of a concerning normative changes in the parent-child relation- toss and found that many people demonstrated a slight ship over the course of development (e.g., How does the ability, beyond chance, of “controlling” the dice. parent-child relationship change during adolescence?), the There are other phenomena studies by parapsycholo- impact of variations in the parent-child relationship on the gists, including hauntings, UFOs, near-death and after- child’s behavior and functioning (e.g., Which types of dis- death experiences, out-of-body experiences, psychic cipline are most effective during the preschool years?), healing, and many others. All of these share the curious and the effects of the parent-child relationship on the par- nature of ESP and PK in that, anecdotally speaking, oc- ent (e.g., How are adults affected by parenthood?). currences are widespread, believed by members of many cultures, and discussed throughout history. Yet none have Infancy been scientifically demonstrated or reproduced. Despite the lack of proof, many people firmly believe in the para- A baby cries, a parent feeds her; a baby snuggles, a normal, as evidenced by personal testimony, the populari- parent hugs her. Day after day, night after night, mothers ty of television shows such as “The X-Files,” and by the and fathers feed, burp, wash, change, dress, and hold huge profits generated by psychic phone lines and other their babies. Out of these interactions, feelings and ex- occult enterprises. One of the reasons the scientific com- pectations grow. The baby feels distressed and hungry, munity is skeptical about paranormal phenomena is that then satisfied; the parent feels tenderness, joy, annoy- there is no apparent basis in physical laws for such phe- ance, exhaustion, pleasure. Gradually, the baby begins to nomena. In every other scientific discipline, it is possible expect that her parent will care for her when she cries. to speculate reasonably that events occur as they do be- Gradually, parents respond to and even anticipate their cause they follow a recognized natural law, such as gravi- baby’s needs. These elements form the basis for a devel- ty or conservation of energy. Parapsychologists have oping relationship, a combination of behaviors, interac- failed to develop adequate theoretical reasons for the ex- tions, feelings, and expectations that are unique to a par- istence of the phenomena they purport to demonstrate. ticular parent and a particular child. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 473

By the end of the first year, most infants who are Parent-child relationships cared for in families develop an attachment relation- relationship is nurturance and predictability, and much of the relationship revolves around the day-to-day demands of caregiving: feeding, sleeping, toileting, bathing. The ship, usually with the primary caretaker. This relation- attachment relationship develops out of these day-to-day ship is central to the child’s development. interactions. Developmental psychologists have studied attach- ment in infancy mainly by watching how infants react As youngsters begin to talk and become more mo- when they are separated from, and then reunited with, bile during the second and third years of life, however, their caregiver (usually one of the infant’s parents). An experimental laboratory procedure called the Strange havior. In essence, parents become teachers as well as Situation is the most common assessment. Researchers parents usually attempt to shape their child’s social be- nurturers, providers of guidance as well as affection. The have been particularly interested in understanding indi- process of socialization—preparing the youngster to vidual differences in the quality of attachment is inferred function as a member of a social group—implicit during from behavior in the Strange Situation. The majority of most of the first two years of life, becomes explicit as the children develop a secure attachment: when reunited child moves toward his or her third birthday. with their caregiver after a temporary absence of several minutes, they greet her in two distinctive ways. If dis- Socialization has been an important focus of re- tressed, they want to be picked up and find comfort in search in child development for well over 60 years. Ini- her arms; if content, they smile, talk to her, or show her a tially, researchers focused on particular child-rearing toy. In contrast, some children with an insecure attach- practices—including types of discipline and approaches ment want to be picked up, but they are not comforted; to toilet training and weaning —in an effort to link spe- they kick or push away. Others seem indifferent to the cific parenting practices to aspects of the child’s devel- caregiver’s return, and ignore her when she returns. opment. Findings from this research were inconsistent and not especially informative. Over time, such efforts The quality of the infant’s attachment seems to be gave way to research that emphasized the overall emo- predictive of aspects of later development. Youngsters tional climate of the parent-child relationship, instead of who emerge from infancy with a secure attachment stand discrete parenting practices. a better chance of developing happy, competent relation- ships with others. The attachment relationship not only A number of studies conducted during the past 30 forms the emotional basis for the continued development years have pointed to two overarching dimensions of the of the parent-child relationship, but can serve as a founda- parent-child relationship that appear to be systematically tion upon which subsequent social relationships are built. linked to the child’s psychological development: how re- sponsive the parents are, and how demanding they are. Researchers disagree about the origins of a secure Responsive parents are warm and accepting toward their attachment relationship. One account focuses on the way children, enjoying them and trying to see things from their caregivers behave toward their infants. According to this perspective. In contrast, parents who are low in respon- view, the key element is the caregiver’s sensitivity in re- siveness tend to be aloof, rejecting, or critical. They show sponding to the infant’s signals. Secure infants have little pleasure in their children and are often insensitive to mothers who sensitively read their infant’s cues and re- their emotional needs. Demanding parents maintain con- spond appropriately to their needs. sistent standards for their child’s behavior. In contrast, Another perspective emphasizes the temperament parents who are insufficiently demanding are too lenient; of the infants. A secure attachment is more easily formed they exercise minimal control, provide little guidance, and between a caregiver and an infant with an easier disposi- often yield to their child’s demands. Children’s healthy tion, or temperament, than between a caregiver and an psychological development is facilitated when the parents infant who is characteristically negative, fearful, or not are both responsive and moderately demanding. especially sociable. In this respect, security of attach- ment may reflect what the infant is like rather than how During toddlerhood, children often begin to assert the caregiver behaves. Most likely, the early parent-child their desire for autonomy by challenging their parents. relationship is the product both of what the infant and Sometimes, the child’s newfound assertiveness during caregiver bring to it. the “terrible twos” can put a strain on the parent-child re- lationship. It is important that parents recognize that this behavior is normal for the toddler, and that the healthy Toddlerhood development of independence is facilitated by a parent- When children move from infancy into toddlerhood, child relationship that provides support and structure for the parent-child relationship begins to change its focus. the child’s developing sense of autonomy. In many re- During infancy, the primary function of the parent-child gards, the security of the initial attachment between in- 474 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Involving children in leisure activities, like fishing, can build stronger parent-child relationships. (Photo by Susan D. Rock. Parent-child relationships Reproduced with permission.) fant and parent provides the child with the emotional affection, rather than power, and they are likely to ex- wherewithal to begin exploring the world outside the plain rules and expectations to their children instead of parent-child relationship. simply asserting them. Authoritarian parents are also highly demanding, but they are not less responsive; au- thoritarian parents tend to be strict disciplinarians, fre- Preschool quently relying on physical punishment and the with- drawal of affection to shape their child’s behavior. Indul- Many researchers study the ways in which respon- gent parents are responsive, but not especially demand- siveness and demandingness interact to form a general ing; they have few expectations of their children and tone, or climate, in the household. Using this sort of ap- impose little discipline. Disengaged parents are neither proach, experts have identified four main parenting responsive nor demanding. They may be neglectful or styles that typically emerge during the preschool years: unaware of the child’s needs for affection and discipline. authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and disengaged. Although no parent is absolutely consistent across situa- What makes a parent more likely to use one style as tions and over time, parents do seem to follow some gen- opposed to another? Ultimately, the parenting style a par- eral tendencies in their approach to childrearing, and it is ent employs is shaped by many factors: the parent’s devel- possible to describe a parent-child relationship in terms opmental history, education, and personality, the child’s of the prevailing style of parenting employed. These de- behavior, and the immediate and broader context of the scriptions can be used to provide guidelines for both pro- parent’s life. Thus, the parent’s behavior vis-à-vis the child fessionals and parents interested in understanding how is influenced by such things as work, marriage, family fi- variations in the parent-child relationship affect the nances, and other factors likely to affect the parent’s be- child’s development. havior and psychological well-being. In addition, system- Authoritative parents are both responsive and de- atic comparisons of parenting practices among families manding; they are firm, but they discipline with love and living in different circumstances teach us that parents in GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 475

Parent-child relationships different cultures, from different social classes, and from cially, the parent-child relationship is influenced not only by the child’s parents but by the child. In most families, different ethnic groups rear their children differently. patterns of interaction between parent and child are well Nevertheless, research has shown that aspects of established by the elementary school years. Overly harsh children’s behavior and psychological development are parenting, for example, often leads to aggressive behav- linked to the style of parenting with which they have ior in children, leading children to join antisocial peer been raised. Generally speaking, preschoolers with au- groups, further heightening their aggressiveness. This, in thoritative parents tend to be curious about new situa- tions, focused and skilled at play, self-reliant, self-con- aggressiveness in the child, and so on. Authoritative par- trolled, and cheerful. Children who are routinely treated enting, in contrast, helps children develop self-reliance in an authoritarian way tend to be moody, unhappy, fear- turn, may provoke harsher parenting, leading to further and social competence, which, of course, makes it easier ful, withdrawn, unspontaneous, and irritable. Children of for parents to rear their child in an authoritative, rea- permissive parents tend to be low in both social responsi- soned fashion. Continued authoritativeness on the part of bility and independence, but they are usually more the parent contributes to increased competence in the cheerful than the conflicted and irritable children of au- child, and so on. Rather than trying to solve the “which thoritarian parents. Finally, children whose parents are came first” puzzle—the parenting or the child’s charac- disengaged tend to have a higher proportion of psycho- teristics—it is more useful to think of parenting as a logical difficulties than other youngsters. process and the parent-child relationship as one part of an intricate social system. School age Much research has examined how the child’s devel- During the elementary school years, the child be- opment is affected by such factors as divorce,remarriage, comes increasingly interested in peers, but this should and parental (especially, maternal) employment. As a rule, not be taken as a sign of disinterest in the parent-child these studies show that the quality of the parent-child rela- relationship. Rather, with the natural broadening of psy- tionship is a more important influence on the child’s psy- chosocial and cognitive abilities, the child’s social world chological development than changes in the structure or expands to include more people and settings beyond the composition of the household. Generally speaking, par- home environment. The parent-child relationship con- enting that is responsive and demanding is associated with tinues to remain the most important influence on the healthier child development regardless of the parent’s child’s development. Generally speaking, children marital status or employment situation. If changes in the whose parents are both responsive and demanding con- parent’s marital status or work life disrupt the parent-child tinue to thrive psychologically and socially during the relationship, however, short-term effects on the child’s be- middle childhood years. havior are likely to be seen. One goal of professionals who work with families under stress is to help them re-estab- The parenting styles that first become apparent dur- lish healthy patterns of parent-child interaction. ing the preschool years continue to influence develop- ment across middle childhood. Over the course of child- hood, parents’ styles tend to remain the same, and their Adolescence effects on the child quite similar. Children of authorita- tive parents tend to be socially competent, responsible, Early adolescence marks an important turning point successful in school, and high in self-esteem. The au- in the parent-child relationship. As the child enters ado- thoritarian style, with its perfectionism, rigidity, and lescence, the biological, cognitive, and emotional harsh discipline, continues to affect children adversely, changes of the period spark transformations in the par- with these youngsters generally rated lower than their ent-child relationship. In many families, the transition peers in appropriate social assertiveness, cognitive abili- into adolescence coincides with the parent’s transition ty, competence, and self-esteem, but higher in aggres- into mid-life, and this, too, may introduce additional sion. Children of permissive parents also tend to be more challenges into the family system that spill over into the aggressive than their peers, but also more impulsive, less parent-child relationship. self-reliant, and less responsible. Children raised in dis- Early adolescence is a time during which the child’s engaged homes continue to have the most difficulty, and urges for independence may challenge parents’ authority, show more behavior problems. as the young adolescent strives to establish a sense of The natural tendency is to think of the parent-child emotional autonomy, or individuation. And much like relationship as a one-way street, with the parent influ- toddlerhood, many parents find early adolescence to be a encing the child. But in actuality the relationship is reci- difficult period requiring a fair amount of adaptation. procal and bi-directional. During the school years espe- But, as is also the case with toddlerhood, research shows 476 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

that most families are able to cope with these adaptation- Further Reading al demands successfully. Adolescents fare best, and their Bornstein, M., ed. Handbook of Parenting. Hillsdale, NJ: Erl- family relationships are happiest, in households in which baum, 1995. parents are both supportive and are accepting of the Parkinson’s disease child’s needs for more psychological independence. Although the significance of peer relationships grows during adolescence, the parent-child relationship Parkinson’s disease maintains its importance for the psychological develop- A relatively common degenerative disorder of the ment of the child. As in previous eras, authoritative par- central nervous system. enting—parenting that combines warmth and firmness— seems to have the most positive impact on the young- Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the ster’s development. Research shows that over time, ado- central nervous system named for James Parkinson lescents who have been reared authoritatively continue to (1755-1824), the physician who first described it in show more success in school, better psychological devel- 1817. This disorder is also called paralysis agitans, shak- opment, and fewer behavior problems than their counter- ing palsy, or parkinsonism. parts from other types of homes. Youngsters whose par- ents are disengaged continue to show the most difficulty. Typically, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease begin to appear in late middle life, and the course of the It is widely assumed that conflict between parents disease is slowly progressive over 20 years or more. In and children is an inherent feature of family life in ado- its advanced stages, Parkinson’s disease is characterized lescence, but systematic research on the so-called “gen- by poorly articulated speech, difficulty in chewing and eration gap” indicates that the phenomenon has been ex- swallowing, loss of motor coordination, a general ten- aggerated in the popular media. Early adolescence may dency toward exhaustion, and especially by stooped pos- be a time of heightened bickering and somewhat dimin- ture, positioning the arms in front of the body when ished closeness in the parent-child relationship, but most walking, caution and slowness of movement, rigidity of disagreements between parents and young teenagers are facial expression, and tremor of the hands. Mental abili- over fairly mundane matters, and most teenagers and ty and the senses are not directly affected by this disease. parents agree on the essentials. Nevertheless, the in- Parkinson’s disease is believed to be caused by a defi- creased frequency with which these squabbles occur ciency of dopamine in the basal ganglia of the brain. may take its toll on parents’ mental health, especially on the mothers’. This period appears to be temporary, how- Further Reading ever, and most parents and adolescents are able to estab- McGoon, Dwight. The Parkinson’s Handbook. New York: Nor- lish a comfortable working relationship by the beginning ton, 1990. of high school. Indeed, by late adolescence most chil- dren report feeling as close to their parents as they did during elementary school. Adults Many adults maintain an active relationship with their parents. As adults, they can now relate to each other as equals, although the feeling of one being the parent and the other a “child” (even though the child is now an adult) endures in some relationships. Increasingly, adult children are sandwiched between the demands of caring for their own children and their aging parents, who may need more assistance as they get older and physically weaker. In some families, the adult children take care of their parents, much in the same way that their parents took care of them when they were younger. This situa- tion has brought both stress and joy as parents and adult children struggle to redefine their relationship. Parkinson’s disease seen at cellular level. Scientists believe that nerve cells in the brain fail to get enough dopamine. (Teri J. McDermott. Custom Medical Stock Photo. Reproduced Laurence Steinberg Ph.D. with permission.) GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 477

Passive-aggressive personality the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and emy and a few years later joined the faculty of the Uni- Passive-aggressive personality versity of St. Petersburg. He organized the Institute of Experimental Medicine in 1895, which was to be his re- A pattern of behavior formerly classified as a per- search laboratory for the next 40 years. sonality disorder. In the 1890s, Pavlov investigated the workings of Formerly listed among the personality disorders in the digestive system—focusing on digestive secretions— using special surgically created openings in the digestive Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the passive-ag- tracts of dogs, a project strongly influenced by the work gressive personality type has been described by a num- ber of psychologists and psychiatrists, including Karen As a result of this research, Pavlov was awarded the Horney, Karl Menninger, and Wilhelm Reich (1897- of an earlier physiologist, Ivan Sechenov (1829-1905). Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1904. Dur- 1957). Its main distinguishing feature is indirect resis- ing his investigations in this area, Pavlov observed that tance to the demands or expectations of others through normal, healthy dogs would salivate upon seeing their stubbornness, forgetfulness, inefficiency, procrastination, keeper, apparently in anticipation of being fed. This led and other covert means. Rather than refusing outright to him, through a systematic series of experiments, to for- perform a task, the passive-aggressive person will do it mulate the principles of the conditioned response, badly or procrastinate until the deadline for its comple- which he believed could be applied to humans as well as tion has passed. Passive-aggressive people, at one time to animals. According to Pavlov’s system, an uncondi- called “ill-tempered depressives,” are also generally tioned stimulus, such as offering food to a dog, produced moody, discontented, and critical of others, and they tend a response, or unconditioned reflex, that required no to see themselves as victims, feeling that they are singled training (salivation). In contrast, a normally neutral act, out for bad luck and ill treatment by others. In their inter- such as ringing a bell, became a conditioned stimulus personal relationships, they are unable to find a healthy when associated with the offering of food and eventually balance between dependence and assertiveness. would produce salivation also, but as a conditioned re- Passive aggression also refers more generally to a flex. According to Pavlov, the conditioned reflex was a type of behavior not limited to a certain personality type physiological phenomenon caused by the creation of and characterized by the covert expression of aggressive new reflexive pathways created in the cortex of the brain feelings one is unable or unwilling to express directly. by the conditioning process. In further studies of the Passive aggression may be expressed in a variety of cortex, Pavlov posited the presence of two important ways, including tardiness for an event or job about which processes that accompany conditioning: excitation, one has negative feelings or poor performance of a task which leads to the acquisition of conditioned responses, one resents. and inhibition, which suppresses them. He eventually came to believe that cortical inhibition was an important Further Reading factor in the sleep process. Cicchetti, Dante, and Donald J. Cohen (eds.) Developmental Pavlov continued working with conditioned reflexes Psychopathology. New York: J. Wiley, 1995. throughout the early decades of the twentieth century, Eysenck, Michael W. Individual Differences: Normal and Ab- generating several addition principles through further ex- normal. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1994. perimentation. The principle of timing dictated that the neutral stimulus must precede the unconditioned reflex in order to become a conditioned stimulus. (In other words, a buzzer would have to go off before food was of- Ivan Pavlov fered to a dog in order for the dog to associate the food 1849-1936 and buzzer with each other). The concept of extinction Russian physiologist and Nobel laureate best referred to the fact that a conditioned response could be known for his development of the concept of the “unlearned” if the neutral stimulus (buzzer) was repeat- conditioned reflex, or conditioned response. edly used without reinforcement (food). Generalization was the name given to the observation that a stimulus Ivan Pavlov was born into an impoverished family similar to the conditioned stimulus would still produce a in the rural village of Ryazan, Russia. He won a govern- response as the dog generalized from its original experi- ment scholarship to the University of St. Petersburg and ence to a similar one, but the response would be less pro- studied medicine at the Imperial Medical Academy, re- nounced in proportion to the difference between the ceiving his degree in 1883. In 1890, Pavlov was appoint- stimuli. Finally, testing the limits of the dogs’ ability to ed to a professorship at the St. Petersburg Military Acad- differentiate among stimuli led, unexpectedly, to experi- 478 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

Ivan Pavlov (right of center) with his staff and one of his laboratory dogs. (The Bettmann Archive. Reproduced with permission.) Pedophilia mental neuroses, similar to mental breakdowns in hu- work as the basis for a new Soviet psychology. Pavlov’s mans, when the subjects were forced to confront con- books include Lectures on the Work of the Principal Di- flicting or ambiguous stimuli for any length of time. Ob- gestive Glands (1897), Lectures on Conditioned Reflexes serving the ways in which neurotic symptoms differed (1928), and Conditioned Reflexes and Psychiatry (1941). among test subjects led Pavlov between 1916 and 1936 See also Behaviorism to formulate a theory of four different types of tempera- ment linked to physiological differences based on differ- Further Reading ences in excitatory and inhibitory activity. Attempting to Babkin, Boris P. Pavlov: A Biography. Chicago: University of extend the implications of this theory to human psy- Chicago Press, 1949. chopathology, Pavlov helped establish the Soviet Union’s continuing tradition of organically-based psy- chiatric treatment. Pavlov, who died of pneumonia in 1936, tried to Pedophilia apply his ideas to psychiatry, and was influential enough The recurrent, intense presence of sexual urges and to be considered one of the founders of Russian psychia- fantasies of at least six months’ duration, involving try, and he remains a dominant figure in Russian psy- sexual activity with prepubescent children. chology. Although he never considered himself a psy- chologist, Pavlov’s ultimate belief in conditioning as the Assessment fundamental unit of learning in humans and animals pro- vided one of the cornerstones of the behaviorist school Pedophilia is a subcategory of a larger group of sex- of psychology in the United States. It is ironic that, al- ual disorders commonly classified as paraphilias. These though Pavlov was a staunch critic of communism, in the are defined as recurrent, intense, aphrodisiac fantasies, late 1920s Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) chose Pavlov’s sexual urges, or behaviors, over a period of at least six GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 479

Pedophilia months, which involve non-human objects, the suffering cence. By definition, it requires a minimum of five years’ age between the perpetrator and the child in order or humiliation of oneself or one’s partner, or children or to be classified as pedophilia. The disorder is more com- other non-consenting partners. If these recurrent fan- tasies, urges, and behaviors involve sexual activities with own childhoods. In that subcategory of persons, the per- prepubescent children (generally age 13 or younger), the mon in those who have been sexually abused in their main diagnostic criterion for pedophilia is met. petrators choose victims in accordance with their own ages at the time of their experiences. Pedophilia encompasses simple voyeurism of nude children, observing children at various stages of undress Pedophiles describe themselves as introverted, shy, or assisting them to undress, sexual fondling, exposing sensitive, and depressed. Objective personality test re- oneself, performing oral sex on children and/or request- sults tend to confirm these subjective assessments, with ing them to return oral sex, or mutual masturbation. In the addition traits of emotional immaturity and a fear of most cases (except those involving incest), pedophiles being able to function in mature adult heterosexual rela- do not require sexual penetration, and do not force their tionships. A common characteristic of pedophiles is a attentions on a child. They instead rely on guile, persua- moralistic sexual attitude or sexual repression. sion, and friendship, often displaying great tenderness Accurate diagnostic studies of prevalence among and affection toward the child of their desire. Once a per- populations are unreliable for two reasons. First, the ten- son has engaged in sexual activity with a child, he or she dency may remain latent and undiagnosible unless the is then additionally labeled a “child molester.” Thus, person voluntarily seeks counseling or help. Often the child molestation is subsumed in the overall condition of condition is masked by feigned responses to diagnostic pedophilia. criteria. Second, there is even among professionals a wide variance in definitional criteria and identification of A psychological profile of pedophilia escapes devel- this disorder. opment because perpetrators appear to constitute a het- erogenous group. However, some common characteris- There are two major professional tools employed to tics prevail among both pedophiles and child molesters. assess and diagnose pedophilia. The first is through phal- The great majority of pedophiles are male, and they may lometric testing (also referred to as penile plethysmo- be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual in orientation. graphic assessment, or PPG), which measures changes in Preference for children as sex partners may not be exclu- penile blood volume occurring simultaneously with the sive, and more often than not, pedophiles have no gender presentation of varying erotic stimuli. There has been preference in prepubescent children. However, by a mar- some criticism of the reliability of this test because phys- gin greater than two to one, most victims are girls. More- iological changes are easier to measure than interpret. over, the pedophile is usually a relative, friend, or neigh- Second, arousal also may be a function of general arous- bor of the child’s family. Alcohol is associated with al- ability rather than of specific stimuli. To address this, re- most 50 percent of molestation cases, but is not neces- searchers have developed a second diagnostic tool as a sarily correlated with pedophilia in general. Pedophilia central arousability system intended to work adjunctly tends to be a chronic condition, and recidivism is high. with PPG. The contingent negative variation (CNV) sys- tem measures brain waves as putative indices of sexual The motives for engaging in sexual activity with desire under conditions of sexual stimulation relevant to children are rather divergent among pedophiles, but one pedophilic arousal. theme recurs: the pedophile tends to justify his/her con- duct. Pedophiles often indicate to authorities that the child solicited sexual contact or activity, and also claim Treatment that the child derives as much sexual pleasure from the Behavioral treatment of pedophilia does not affect activity as the perpetrator. Pedophiles also excuse their recidivism, nor apparently does incarceration. The con- behavior as non-harmful, non-violent, non-forced, even dition remains chronic, and for this reason, societal inter- “educational” for the child. They often tend not to see est in incarceration prevails over what is generally seen themselves as abusers, molesters, or sexually deviant. as equivocal behavior treatment. This quality of being into denial as to the true harm that Although most practitioners believe that the etiology they may cause belies the fact that clearly, most pe- of pedophilia is psychologically oriented, a report pub- dophiles act for their own gratification and not that of the lished in the Journal of Neuro Psychiatry and Clinical child. In fact, more often than not, they describe their Neuroscience suggested that bilateral anterior temporal urges as compulsive, non-controllable and overwhelming. disease, affecting more right than left temporal lobe, could The pedophilic disposition may not manifest until increase sexual interest. The authors’ study was limited to later in life, but more often than not, manifests in adoles- two adult professional patients with late-life homosexual 480 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

pedophilia. Therefore, further observation and research is mediate reaction in professional, family, and media enti- necessary to assess diagnostic and treatment implications ties. On July 12, 1999, the U.S. House of Representa- for all neurologically based paraphilias. tives voted a shut-out 355-0 to condemn the study. As Representative Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) stated to the press, Peer acceptance In late 1999, Israeli researchers published a report “Children are not capable of giving consent to sexual en- on the discovery of the drug triptorelin as an effective counters with adults.” treatment for males sex offenders in general. The drug regulates the production of testosterone. Of interest is See also Paraphilias that it can be injected once a month, compared to other similar anti-androgen drugs, which must be administered Lauri R. Harding more often and have more serious side effects. Further Reading Current trends ”A New Treatment for Pedophilia.” Harvard Mental Health The effective diagnosis and treatment of pedophilia Letter, (October 1999): 7. is threatened by three key developments going into the D’Agnostino, Joseph. “Pro-Child Advocates Challenge Study Legitimizing Pedophilia.” American Spectator, (Novem- new century. The 1994 (Fourth) edition of the profes- ber 1999): 66. sional therapists’ bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Gahr, Evan. “Psyched Out in Left Field.” American Spectator, Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), adds another (November 1999): 66. (controversial) criterion for diagnosing pedophilia. It in- Ivey, Gavin; and Peta Simpson. “The Psychological Life of cludes, in its diagnostic definitional criteria, that the fan- Paedophiles: A Phenomenological Study.” South African tasies, urges, or behaviors “…cause clinically significant Journal of Psychology, (March 1998): 15. distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other Martin, Ann-Louise. “Paedophilia Online, Off Limits!” UN- important areas of functioning.” This latest definitional ESCO Sources, (February 1999): 21. criterion has met with considerable resistance, due to the Murray, John B. “Psychological Profile of Pedophiles and fact that so many pedophiles deny that their conduct is Child Molesters.” Journal of Psychology Interdisciplinary harmful. The denial serves to assuage any guilt, and & Applied, (March 2000): 211. therefore may significantly mask or otherwise repress Repique, RJR. “Assessment & Treatment of Persons with Pe- any distress or impairment on the part of the perpetrator. dophilia.” Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, (December 1999). Secondly, there has been marked pervasiveness and proliferation of child pornographic materials on the In- Tavris, Carol. “The Uproar Over Sexual Abuse Research and Its Findings.” Society, (May/June 2000): 15. ternet and international websites. In a 1998 Interpol raid (the latest data available), a total of 500,000 child porno- graphic images were found on computers in the United States alone. According to one study, as much as 45 per- cent of child pornography on the Internet comes from Japan, where child pornography is not an offense. The Peer acceptance second largest concentration of child pornographic sites The degree to which a child or adolescent is social- come from Russia. The United Nations Educational, Sci- ly accepted by peers; the level of peer popularity. entific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in coop- eration with the Interpol, continue to police global web- Peer acceptance is measured by the quality rather sites and shut down operations. than the quantity of a child or adolescent’s relationships. Another area of controversy was the late 1998 While the number of friends varies among children and American Psychological Association’s publication of a over time as a child develops, peer acceptance is often es- study entitled, “A MetaAnalytic Examination of As- tablished as early as preschool. Factors such as physical sumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College attractiveness, cultural traits, and disabilities affect the Samples.” The study’s authors advised practitioners not level of peer acceptance, with a child’s degree of social to assume that sexual activity between non-related adults competence being the best predictor of peer acceptance. and children was harmful. The study, which was limited Children who are peer-accepted or popular have fewer to interviews with college students, further posited that if problems in middle and high school, and teens who are the involved child/victim consented to the sexual activi- peer-accepted have fewer emotional and social adjust- ty, little or no harm was done to the child’s adult life or ment problems as adults. Peer-accepted children may be personality. Most of the research in the study had not shy or assertive, but they often have well-developed com- been subjected to peer review. The study caused an im- munication skills. Peer-accepted children tend to: GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 481

Children learn to relate to peers by engaging in peer Peer mediation • Correctly interpret other children’s body language and relationships. Often a vicious circle develops where a re- tone of voice. Well-liked children can distinguish sub- jected child is given fewer and fewer opportunities by his tleties in emotions. For example, they can distinguish between anger directed toward them versus toward a peers to relate and thereby learn new skills. Lack of op- parent. pecially problematic for children who differ in some ob- • Directly respond to the statements and gestures of other portunity to participate normally in peer interaction is es- children. Well-liked children will say other children’s vious way, either culturally, racially, or through some names, establish eye contact, and use touch to get at- mental or physical disability. Issues of peer acceptance tention. should be addressed as early as possible in order to pre- vent loss of self-confidence and self-esteem. •Give reasons for their own statements and gestures (ac- tions). For example, well-liked children will explain In addition to providing direct social skills training why they want to do something the other child does not or counseling for the child with peer acceptance prob- want to do. lems, parents and teachers can create opportunities for non-threatening social interaction to occur. Though chil- • Cooperate with, show tact towards, and compromise dren should never be forced to play together (this can with other children, demonstrating the willingness to create the rejection it is intended to remedy), popular and subordinate the self by modifying behavior and opin- less-popular preschoolers can be encouraged to interact ions in the interests of others. For example, when join- with one another. For example, a less sociable child may ing a new group where a conversation is already in be encouraged to answer and ask questions of others. progress, well-liked children will listen first, establish- Older children should be provided opportunities to inter- ing a tentative presence in the group before speaking act in smaller groups and in one-on-one situations, (even if it is to change the subject). where it may be easier to try out new behaviors and These skills are crucial in initiating and maintaining make up for social mistakes. Shy or withdrawn children relationships, and in resolving conflicts. By contrast,re- can be encouraged to develop outside interests that will jected children tend either towards aggressive, antisocial place them in structured contact with others. In school, behavior, or withdrawn, depressive behavior. They also peer helping programs and collaborative learning pro- don’t listen well, tend not to offer reasons for their be- vide opportunities for popular and less-popular children havior, don’t positively reinforce their peers, and have to work together. Ideally, collaboration should highlight trouble cooperating. Antisocial children will interrupt the less-popular students’ strengths, such as special inter- people, dominate other children, and either verbally or ests and talents, rather than weaknesses. At any age, the physically attack them. Depressive or withdrawn chil- smallest positive change in behavior should be rein- dren may be excessively reserved, submissive, anxious, forced with attention and praise. and inhibited. Competitiveness or dominance by itself is not necessarily indicative of low peer acceptance. In fact, Further Reading popular children tend to have the characteristics of both Asher, S. R., and J. D. Coie, eds. Peer Rejection in Childhood. competitiveness and friendliness. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Although biological predisposition may be a factor Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books, 1995. in a child’s social competence and level of peer accep- Ramsey, P.G. Making Friends in School: Promoting Peer Rela- tance, environmental factors are also extremely impor- tionships in Early Childhood. New York: Teacher’s Col- tant. Some of the factors contributing to peer acceptance lege Press, 1991. include (1) during infancy, the quality of attachment Selman, R. The Growth of Interpersonal Understanding. New between mother or primary caregiver and child; (2) dur- York: Academic Press, 1980. ing childhood, the quantity and quality of opportunities for interaction with different types of peers in different environments (in the family, at school, church, camp, ac- tivity centers, in sports, or in the neighborhood); (3) the type of parenting style. A highly nurturant but moderate- Peer mediation ly controlling “authoritative” parenting style is associat- A process by which students act as mediators to re- ed with the highest levels of social competence. By con- solve disputes among themselves. A form of conflict trast, a low nurturant, highly controlling “authoritarian” resolution used to address student disagreements parenting style is associated with children’s aggressive- and low-level disciplinary problems in schools. ness, while the high nurturant but low-controlling “per- missive” style is associated with failure to take responsi- Peer mediation is a form of conflict resolution bility for behavior. based on integrative negotiation and mediation. Disput- 482 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

ing parties converse with the goal of finding a mutually satisfying solution to their disagreement, and a neutral PEER MEDIATION PROCESS third party facilitates the resolution process. The salient Peer mediation feature of peer mediation as opposed to traditional disci- The process varies, but most programs use the fol- pline measures and other forms of conflict resolution is lowing general format: that, outside of the initial training and ongoing support I. Introduction—The mediator introduces him or services for students, the mediation process is entirely herself and explains the rules. The mediator tries to carried out by students and for students. Due to the rise make the disputants feel comfortable. of violence in schools, the sharp increase in serious crime committed by youths, and the increasing aware- II. Identifying the Problem—The mediator listens to each party describe the problem and writes down an ness of the need for social skills instruction in education, agreed-upon “agenda” that includes all the elements of peer mediation programs exploded in the 1980s. In 1984, a dispute. when the National Association for Mediation in Educa- tion (NAME) was formed, there were about 50 media- III. Identifying Facts and Feelings—The disputants tion programs in school districts nationwide. Eleven tell their sides of the story to each other. The goal is to years later NAME reported over 5,000 programs across “surface” all of the underlying facts and feelings per- taining to the problem. The mediator asks many ques- the country. Peer mediation programs that have gained tions with the goal of helping to refocus the problem by national stature include the early Educators for Social viewing it differently. Responsibility program, San Francisco’s Community Board program, New York’s School Mediators Alterna- IV. Generating Options—The mediator asks both tive Resolution Team (SMART), and New Mexico’s parties to brainstorm how they might solve the problem. Center for Dispute Resolution. The mediator writes down all the solutions, marking the ones that are mutually agreed upon. If none are forth- coming, participants return to previous steps. Some- Purposes of peer mediation times, individual sessions with each disputant and the mediator are necessary. In accordance with the principles of conflict resolu- V. Agreement—The mediator writes a contract tion, peer mediation programs start with the assumption using the solutions to which both parties agree, and that conflict is a natural part of life that should neither be everyone signs it. avoided nor allowed to escalate into verbal or physical violence. Equally important is the idea that children and VI. Follow-Up—After a period of time the former disputants will report back to the mediator on whether adolescents need a venue in which they are allowed to the contract is being upheld by both parties. practically apply the conflict resolution skills they are taught. Peer mediation programs vary widely in their scope and function within a school or system. In some schools, mediation is offered as an alternative to tradi- tional disciplinary measures for low-level disruptive be- 2. to reduce school violence, vandalism, and suspen- havior. For example, students who swear at each other or sions. initiate fights might agree to participate in mediation 3. to encourage children, adolescents, and teens to rather than being referred to the playground supervisor resolve their own disputes by developing listening, criti- or principal. In other schools, mediation takes place in cal thinking, and problem-solving skills. addition to disciplinary measures. In either case, peer 4. to teach peaceful resolution of differences, a skill mediation is intended to prevent the escalation of con- needed to live in a multicultural world. flict. Serious violations of rules or violent attacks are not usually addressed through mediation. 5. to motivate students’ interest in conflict resolu- tion, justice, and the American legal system, and encour- Although peer mediation is primarily carried out by age active citizenship. students, at least a few staff members and teachers are actively involved in training and facilitation. Ideally, peer mediation will encourage a culture of open communica- Training of peer mediators tion and peaceful solutions to conflict. According to the Programs vary in whether they train all the students in NAME, five of the most common purposes of a school the school to act as mediators, or only as a “cadre” of se- mediation program are: lected students. The cadre approach may be used initially 1. to increase communication among students, with the intention of expanding later. Mediators either vol- teachers, administrators, and parents. unteer or are nominated by teachers or other students; GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 483

One critical factor in the success of peer mediation Peer mediation often, students who are “troublemakers” turn out to be the programs is the active support of the school principal, best mediators. Many programs have a required conflict and in some cases of the local community. A comprehen- resolution course sometime during the middle school sive planning process is necessary to outline goals and years. Training is done by teachers, counseling staff, or administrative accountability for each phase of the pro- outside consultants, and ranges from the semester-long course (15-20 hours of training), to a two-day workshop for middle or high school students, to a three-hour work- gram. Provision for the ongoing support of the peer me- diators is especially important. At minimum, a weekly shop for elementary students. Through discussion and role meeting should be held for the students to debrief, en- play, students learn conflict resolution skills such as active gage in guided reflection, and receive continued training. listening, cooperation in achieving a goal, acceptance of One of the reasons for the success of peer mediation differences, problem-solving, anger management, and is the fact that it is student run. Children and adolescents methods of maintaining neutrality as a mediator. They build a culture of positive peer pressure within which also practice the structured mediation process they will be they can begin to establish independence from adult following in actual dispute resolution. guidance. When given the opportunity, they are capable of using their own judgment to creatively solve disputes, The mediation session and often their solutions are less punitive than those of adults. Research shows that children’s solutions to con- Elementary mediators usually work in teams, visit- flict are more aggressive when adults are present. As ing designated school areas and responding to signs of children grow older they rely increasingly on their peers antagonism between students as they arise. They will ap- as models and measures of correct behavior. The poten- proach the disputants, ask if they need help, and take tial judgment of peers during the mediation process may them aside for mediation, if the students agree. Middle have a higher degree of moral significance to a teen than and high school programs may employ resident media- would the same judgment coming from an adult. In peer tors in the cafeteria or public areas, using a more formal mediation, students have the opportunity to conform to procedure for students to refer themselves or others for positive social standards without sacrificing their identi- mediation. There is usually a separate mediation room or fication with the peer group. rooms set up to facilitate private communication among See also Conflict resolution the disputants and the mediator. It is essential that disputants voluntarily agree to Further Reading participate in mediation, and ground rules for the process Ferrara, Judith M. Peer Mediation: Finding a Way to Care. prohibit name-calling or interrupting someone who is York, ME: Stenhouse Publishing, 1996. talking. Robertson, Gwendolyn. School-Based Peer Mediation Pro- grams: A Natural Extension of Developmental Guidance Programs. Gorham, ME: University of Southern Maine, Success of peer mediation programs 1991. It is difficult to measure the success of peer media- Sorenson, Don L. Conflict Resolution and Mediation for Peer Helpers. Minneapolis, MN: Educational Media Corpora- tion programs. Almost all teachers and administrators tion, 1992. report that their programs are extremely successful, and Wolowiec, Jack, ed. Everybody Wins: Mediation in the that they perceive a more positive climate and see less Schools, Chicago: American Bar Association, 1994. destructive behavior in the school. When measuring success in reaching or maintaining agreement between Further Information disputants, rates vary between 58-93%. A few studies American Bar Association. Special Committee on Dispute show reductions in suspension rates, suspension rates Resolution, 1800 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. for fighting, or incidence of fighting by as much as Educators for Social Responsibility. 475 Riverside Drive, 50%. Even elementary students learn and retain the Room 450, New York, NY 10115. knowledge of conflict resolution techniques, and those National Association for Mediation in Education (NAME). 205 who participate in mediation, either as mediators or as Hampshire House, Box 33635, University of Massachu- disputants, benefit from the experience. The NAME setts, Amherst, MA 01003–3635, (413) 545–2462. found that peer mediation programs reduce the amount School Initiatives Program. Community Board Center for Poli- of teacher and administrator time spent on discipline, cy and Training, 149 Ninth Street, San Francisco, CA reduce violence and crime in schools, and increase the 94103. self-esteem and academic achievement of students School Mediation Associates. 702 Green Street #8, Cambridge, trained as mediators. MA 02139. 484 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

that the student who gets good grades, participates in Peer pressure school activities, or speaks Standard English is betraying his racial heritage and community. Consequently, gifted The influence of the social group on an individual. students “dumb-down” as they make the choice between academics and “fitting in.” Research suggests that this Wilder Graves Penfield Peers are the individuals with whom a child or ado- type of peer pressure contributes to a decline in the lescent identifies, who are usually but not always of the grades of African American students (especially males) same age-group. Peer pressure occurs when the individ- as early as the first through fourth grades. ual experiences implicit or explicit persuasion, some- Peer pressure similarly compels students of all ethnic times amounting to coercion, to adopt similar values, be- backgrounds to engage in other at-risk behaviors such as liefs, and goals, or to participate in the same activities as cigarette smoking, truancy, drug use, sexual activity, those in the peer group. fighting, theft, and daredevil stunts. Again, peer group Although it is usually conceived of as primarily a values and attitudes influence, more strongly than do negative influence acting on adolescents or teens, peer family values, the level of teenage alcohol use. Regard- pressure can be a positive influence as well, and it can less of the parenting style, peer pressure also influences act on children at any age, depending on their level of the degree to which children, especially girls, conform to contact with others. The influence of peer pressure is expected gender roles. Up until about grade six, girls’ usually addressed in relation to the relative influence of performance in science and math are on par with that of the family on an individual. Some characteristics that boys, but during adolescence girls’ test scores and level peer groups offer and which families may be lacking are: of expressed interest declines. The tendency is to aban- (1) a strong belief structure; (2) a clear system of rules; don competition with boys in favor of placing more em- and (3) communication and discussion about taboo sub- phasis on relationships and on physical appearance. jects such as drugs, sex, and religion. Ideally the child, adolescent, or teen should make de- Peer pressure is strongly associated with level of cisions based on a combination of values internalized academic success, drug and substance use, and gender from the family, values derived from thinking indepen- role conformity. The level of peer influence increases dently, and values derived from friends and other role with age, and resistance to peer influence often declines models. In order to achieve this balance, rather than at- as the child gains independence from the family or care- tempting to minimize peer influence, families and schools takers, yet has not fully formed an autonomous identity. must provide strong alternative beliefs, patterns of behav- One study in particular confirms other research findings ior, and encourage formation of peer groups that engage in that the values of the peer group with whom the high positive academic, athletic, artistic, and social activities. schooler spends the most time are a stronger factor in the student’s level of academic success than the values, atti- Hallie Bourne tudes, and support provided by the family. Compared to others who started high school with the same grades, stu- Further Reading dents whose families were not especially supportive but Bernard, B. The Case for Peers. Portland, OR: Northwest Re- who spent time with an academically oriented peer gional Educational Laboratory, 1990. group were successful, while those students whose fami- Feller, Robyn M. Everything You Need to Know About Peer lies stressed academics but who spent time with peers Pressure. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 1995. whose orientation was not academic performed less well. Juvonen, Jaana, and Kathryn R. Wentzel, eds. Social Motiva- tion: Understanding Children’s School Adjustment. New The peer pressure study contradicts prevailing ideas York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. about the influence of families on the success of racial Myrick, R.D. and D.L. Sorenson. Peer Helping: A Practical and cultural minorities such as Asians and African Amer- Guide. Minneapolis, MN: Educational Media Corpora- icans. While some Asian families were not especially in- tion, 1988. volved in their children’s education, the students, who found little social support of any type, tended to band to- gether in academic study groups. Conversely, African American students, whose families tended to be highly involved in and supportive of education, were subjected Wilder Graves Penfield to intense peer pressure not to perform academically. Ac- 1891-1976 cording to the study, the African American peer groups American-born Canadian neurosurgeon who diag- associated the activities of studying and spending time at nosed the cause of epilepsy and perfected a surgi- the library with “white” behavior, and adopted the idea cal cure. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 485

Wilder Graves Penfield Sherrington’s research laboratory at Oxford from 1919 to 1921. Penfield returned to the United States in 1918 to re- ceive training in general surgery and neurosurgery in New York City. In 1924 he founded the Laboratory of Neurocy- tology at Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University, and worked there as associate attending surgeon from 1921 to 1928. In 1928 he was appointed neurosurgeon to the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Montreal General Hospi- tal. It was here that he perfected his surgical operation for severe epilepsy. He had learned, perfected, and adapted the many techniques used in this operation from visits to Europe he had made while at Montreal. The results of one of these operations in 1931 gave Penfield the idea to write a general textbook regarding neurosurgery. Instead of writing it all himself, he decid- ed to ask other specialists in this field to contribute to the book. The resulting book, Cytology and Cellular Pathol- ogy of the Nervous System (1932), turned into a three volume discussion of neurology. The collaboration that had produced the book gave Penfield the idea to create an institute furthered by the same cooperative tech- niques. He established the Montreal Neurological Insti- tute on this idea and became its first director in 1934, holding this post until 1960. He was a professor of neu- rology and neurosurgery at McGill University from 1933 to 1954. Penfield became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1934 and served as a colonel in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps from 1945 to 1946. He headed many Wilder G. Penfield and his wife. (The Library of Congress. Reproduced with permission.) wartime projects including investigating motion sickness, decompression sickness, and air transportation of persons with head injuries. Penfield’s wartime experiences sup- Wilder Graves Penfield was born in Spokane, Wash- plied two books; Manual of Military Neurosurgery ington, on January 26, 1891. He was one of three children (1941) and Epilepsy and Cerebral Localization (1941). born to Charles Samuel and Jean (Jefferson) Penfield. His After the war he continued his studies on epilepsy father was a physician and died when Penfield was very by undertaking a study of the removal of brain scars re- young. To support herself and her family, Penfield’s sulting from birth injuries. He was a fellow of the Royal mother became a writer and Bible teacher. Penfield spent Society of London and of the Royal Society of Canada his early years at the Galahad School in Hudson, Wiscon- and received the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth sin, where his mother worked as a housekeeper. (1953). He also received numerous scientific awards and Upon graduation in 1909, Penfield was accepted at lectureships. He helped found the Vanier Institute of the Princeton University. He was active in extra-curricular Family and served as its first president (1965-1968). activities and became president of his class. He was so After his retirement from the Montreal Neurological good at football, that upon graduation in 1913, he was Institute in 1960, Penfield set out on what he called his hired as a coach. After graduation from Princeton with a “second career” of writing and lecturing around the degree in literature, Penfield held a Rhodes scholarship world. Not one to take to retirement easily, Penfield said and a Beit Memorial Research fellowship at Oxford Uni- “…rest is not what the brain needs. Rest destroys the versity, where he studied with Sir William Osler and Sir brain.” He traveled abroad many times during this period Charles Scott Sherrington. He married Helen Katherine and even lectured in China and Russia. Kermott in 1917 and eventually raised four children. Penfield received his medical degree from Johns Hop- Penfield published The Difficult Art of Giving, The kins University in Baltimore in 1918. He worked in Epic of Alan Gregg (1967), a biography of the Rocke- 486 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

feller Foundation and the director who had approved the within the upper brainstem and include the thalamus. $1.2 million grant for the founding of the Montreal Neu- For this functionally important area he coined the term rological Institute, during this period. Second Thoughts; “centrencephalon,” and his view may be described as a Perception Science, the Arts and the Spirit (1970) and The Mystery “centrencephalic” theory of cerebral organization. In his of the Mind: A Critical Study of Conscience and the view consciousness, self-awareness, depends upon the Human Brain (1975) were also published as he lectured integrating action of this subcortical system, which in around the world. Penfield finished his final work, the some way, as yet unknown, unites the brain into a single autobiographical No Man Alone: A Surgeons Story, just functioning organ. There is much evidence for such a three weeks before his death from abdominal cancer in theory, and Penfield developed it in his Sherrington Lec- Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital on April 5, 1976. tures, The Excitable Cortex in Conscious Man (1958). This work was published posthumously in 1977 and was a fitting tribute to a man who was remembered by his Further Reading friends and colleagues as one who always thought of his Current Biography Yearbook. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., discoveries as just “exciting beginnings.” 1968. Current Biography Yearbook. New York: H.W. Wil- son Co., 1976. Fulton, John F. and Leonard G. Wilson, eds. Selected readings Medical research in the history of physiology. 1930. 2nd ed. 1966. Granit, Ragnar. Charles Scott Sherrington: an appraisal. 1967. Penfield chose epilepsy as his special interest and Obituary. New York Times. April 6, 1976. approached the study of brain function through an inten- Penfield, Wilder Graves. No man alone: a surgeon’s story. 1977. sive study of people suffering from this condition. In Penfield, Wilder Graves. McGraw-Hill modern men of science. choosing this approach, he was influenced by Sherring- 1966. ton and by John Hughlings Jackson, a British neurologist who viewed epilepsy as “an experiment of nature,” which may reveal the functional organization of the human brain. To this study Penfield brought the modern Perception techniques of neurosurgery—which allow the surgeon to study the exposed brain of the conscious patient under The area of psychology associated with the func- local anesthesia—while using electrical methods for tioning of sensory systems and how information stimulating and recording from the cortex and from from the external world is interpreted. deeper structures. The patient is able to cooperate fully in describing the results of cortical stimulation. By this Psychologists have identified two general ways in surgical method it is possible in some patients to localize which humans perceive their environment. One involves and remove a brain lesion responsible for epileptic at- what is called “top-down” processing. In this mode, tacks. Penfield used this approach primarily for the treat- what is perceived depends on such factors as expecta- ment of focal epilepsy. His pioneer work yielded impres- tions and knowledge. That is, sensory events are inter- sive results, and his techniques for the surgical treatment preted based on a combination of what occurs in the ex- of epilepsy became standard procedure in neurosurgery. ternal world and on existing thoughts, experience, and expectations. When a perception is based on what is ex- pected, it is called a perceptual set, a predisposition to Writings and theories experience an event in a particular way. One example of Penfield’s The Cerebral Cortex of Man (1950) sum- such a predisposition involves hearing potentially dis- marizes the results of mapping the principal motor and turbing words or phrases when rock music is played sensory areas of the cortex, including the delineation of a backwards. Although most people will not detect such new “supplementary motor area” and a “second sensory words or phrases when they first listen to the backward area.” The results of temporal lobe stimulation are de- sounds (when they do not have a perceptual set), these scribed in Epilepsy and the Functional Anatomy of the same people will hear them quite clearly if they are then Human Brain (1954), and his remarkable observations told what to listen for. Psychologists regard this process on temporal lobe epilepsy are also recorded there. Pen- as involving a perceptual set because perception of the field also defined four areas of the cortex concerned with distressing message does not occur until the individual is human speech function and described them in Speech primed to hear it. and Brain-Mechanisms. Motivation can also influence the way an event is Penfield was convinced that the brain of man—in- perceived. At sporting events, the same episode can be in- cluding all cortical areas—is controlled and “organized” terpreted in exactly opposite ways by fans of two differ- through a group of subcortical centers. These centers lie ent teams. In this instance, people are interpreting the GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 487

Perfectionism episode with what they regard as an open mind, but their ignoring information. One common example is the “cocktail party phenomenon.” If something is holding subjectivity colors their perceptions. The alternate ap- our attention but an individual within earshot speaks our proach is “bottom-up” processing that relies less on what name, our attention is quickly diverted to that individual. is already known or expected and more on the nature of the external stimulus. If there are no preconceived notions of what to expect, cues present in the stimulus are used to When we perceive a stimulus that is important to us (like our name), our attention switches. One famous example a greater extent. One part of this process is called feature that involves an inability to ignore information is the analysis, which involves taking the elementary cues in a Stroop effect. If words are printed in colored ink, it is situation and attempting to put them together to create a normally an easy task to name the color of the ink. If the meaningful stimulus. When children listen to an initially words are color names, however, (e.g., “RED”) that ap- unfamiliar set of sounds, like the “Pledge of Allegiance,” pear in a different ink color (e.g., the word “RED” in they often hear words and phrases that adults (who use green ink), we have difficulty naming the ink color be- top-down processing) do not hear. Thus, the phrase “one cause we tend to read the word instead of paying atten- nation indivisible,” may be heard by a child as “one tion to the ink color. This process seems entirely auto- naked individual.” The child has heard the correct number matic in proficient readers. of syllables, some key sounds, and the rhythm of the Research on the perceptual capabilities of young phrase, but too many features are unclear, resulting in an children is more difficult because of insufficient commu- inaccurate perception. In general, many psychologists nication skills. At birth, infants can see objects clearly have concluded that perceptual abilities rely both on ex- only when those objects are about eight inches (20 cm) ternal stimuli and on expectation and knowledge. from the eye, but distance vision improves within the Much of the research in perception has involved vi- first month. Infants also exhibit depth perception and ap- sion for two general reasons. First, psychologists recog- pear to have some color vision. Similarly, infants can de- nize that these this sense dominates much of human per- tect speech sounds shortly after birth and can locate the ception and, second, it is easier to study than audition ( origin of sounds in the environment, as is smell and hearing) or the minor senses like taste, smell, touch, and taste. Within a few days following birth, breast-fed ba- balance. Other perceptual research has investigated the bies can differentiate their own mother’s milk from that way people pay attention to the world around them and of another mother, and also prefer odors that adults like learn to ignore information that is irrelevant to their and respond more negatively to the types of odors adults needs at any given moment. do not like. Within the realm of vision, several areas have espe- Further Reading cially captured the attention of psychologists: depth Chapman, Elwood N. Attitude: Your Most Priceless Posses- perception,form perception, perceptual constancy, and sion. 2nd ed. Los Altos, CA: Crisp Publications, 1990. perceptual organization. When a visual scene contains Eiser, J. Richard. Social Psychology: Attitudes, Cognition, and information that includes conflicting information about Social Behaviour. New York: Cambridge University Press, depth, form, and organization, the result is a visual illu- 1986. sion, commonly referred to as an optical illusion. Such illusions can occur when there is too little information available to generate an accurate interpretation of the stimulus; when experience leads to the formulation of a Perfectionism specific interpretation; or when the sensory systems process information in a consistent, but inaccurate, fash- The tendency to set unrealistically high standards ion. Illusions are completely normal, unlike delusions for performance of oneself and others, along with the inability to accept mistakes or imperfections in that may reflect abnormal psychological processes. matters of personal appearance, care of the home, Another aspect of perception that psychologists or work; may be accompanied by an obsession have studied intensively is attention. Often, people can with completeness, purity, or goodness. selectively attend to different aspects of their world and tune others out. In a loud, crowded room, for example, a Perfectionism is a psychological orientation which, person can understand a single speaker by turning his or depending on the severity, may have biological and/or her attention to the location of the speaker and concen- environmental causes. To an educated observer, a perfec- trating on the frequency (pitch) of the speaker’s voice; tionist orientation is usually evident by the preschool the individual can also use the meaning of the conversa- years, though it may not cause problems until the college tion to help in concentration and to ignore irrelevant years. The perfectionist orientation has two components: speech. In some cases, however, we seem incapable of impossibly high standards, and the behaviors intended to 488 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION

help achieve the standards and avoid mistakes. The high critical parents, and children who have lost a parent or standards interfere with performance, and perfectionist sibling all may be predisposed towards perfectionism. behavior becomes an obstacle instead of a means to achieving the goal. For example, when a five-year-old Further Reading Frederick S. Perls who is learning to write repeatedly erases his lines be- Adderholdt-Elliott, M.R. Perfectionism: What’s Bad About cause they are not exactly straight, he is exhibiting a per- Being Too Good. Minneapolis: Free Spirit, 1987. Mallinger, A.E. and J. DeWyze. Too Perfect: When Being in fectionistic tendency. Control Gets Out of Control. NY: Random House, 1993. Due to obsessive effort and high standards of perfor- Manes, S. Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days. New York: mance combined with natural gifts, perfectionists may be Bantam/Skylark Books, 1987. athletic, musical, academic, or social achievers, but they Zadra, D. Mistakes Are Great. Mankato, MN: Creative Educa- may equally as often be underachievers. Perfectionists tion, 1986. engage in dichotomous thinking, believing that there is only one right outcome and one way to achieve that out- come. Dichotomous thinking causes indecisiveness, since according to the individual’s perception a decision, once Frederick S. Perls made, will be either entirely right or entirely wrong. Due to their exacting precision, they take an excessive amount 1893-1970 German-American psychotherapist who co-found- of time to perform tasks. Even small tasks become over- ed Gestalt therapy. whelming, which leads to frustration, procrastination, and further anxiety caused by time constraints. Frederick S. Perls, known to his friends and col- Perfectionists also pay selective attention to their leagues as Fritz, was the co-founder with his wife Laura own achievements, criticizing themselves for mistakes or (1905-1990) of the Gestalt school of psychotherapy. failures, and downplaying their successes. Overwhelmed Trained as a Freudian, Perls felt that Freud’s ideas had by anxiety about their future performance, they are un- limitations, in part because they focused on past experi- able to enjoy successes. ences. One of the key elements of Gestalt therapy is its Perfectionist anxiety can cause headaches, digestive focus on what Perls called the “here and now.” During problems, muscle tension, and heart and vascular prob- the 1960s, Gestalt therapy gained a reputation as yet an- lems. Anxiety can also cause “blanking” or temporary other of the “feel-good” therapeutic techniques then so memory losses before events such as musical perfor- common. Today, Gestalt is recognized as one of several mances or academic exams. Perfectionists also hesitate standard approaches (often part of what is called an to try new activities for fear of being a beginner at an ac- “eclectic” approach) to modern therapy. tivity, even for a short period of time. Negative effects of Perls was born in Berlin in 1893 into a middle class perfectionism are felt especially when an individual is a family. He was a bright student, but his interest in sci- perfectionist in all areas of life, rather than in one realm, ence did not emerge until after he enrolled in college in such as an artistic or scientific pursuit, which might 1913. Before that he had been interested in the theater. allow room for mistakes in other areas of life. He toyed briefly with the idea of studying law but settled on medicine. In extreme forms perfectionism may contribute to depression or be diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive The First World War interrupted his college years. personality disorder (which should be distinguished He served until the war ended in 1918, then continued from the more serious obsessive-compulsive disorder). his medical studies. He received his M.D. in 1921 By The more common syndromes of anorexia nervosa and this time he had decided that he wanted to focus on psy- bulimia can be considered an extreme form of perfec- chiatry. Perls was an admirer and follower of Sigmund tionism directed towards the body and its appearance. Freud and his psychoanalytic techniques. At the same The irrational distortions of perception that can arise time, he was becoming more and more intrigued by from abnormally high standards of “performance” (i.e., Gestalt psychology. thinness) are evident in the anorexic’s perception of her The English language has no equivalent word for or himself as fat. “Gestalt,” but it is commonly translated as “pattern” or Perfectionist behavior functions essentially to con- “form.” Gestalt psychology states, in simplest terms, that trol events. Conditions that place the person in a position the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other of vulnerability and/or that require the person to take words, in order to understand the various components of extra responsibility for events can contribute to perfec- a particular issue or event, one must understand the event tionism. First-born children, children with excessively itself and put the components in perspective. In the GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION 489

Perls later moved to an island off the coast of Van- Personality 1920s and 1930s, Perls began to move away from the couver, British Columbia, where in 1970 he started a classic Freudian model and create a more holistic ap- training community for Gestalt therapists. In March proach to therapy. In the meantime, he continued his ed- ucation in psychotherapy in Berlin, Vienna, and Frank- Massachusetts, Perls underwent surgery in Chicago. He furt. While studying in Frankfurt, he met his future wife; 1970, shortly after conducting a workshop in Lexington, they married in 1930 and later had two children. suffered heart failure and died there on March 10 at the age of 76. Formulates concept of Gestalt therapy George A. Milite Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s was a magnet for avant-garde intellectuals, and both Fritz and Laura Further Reading Perls met many. Unfortunately, the rise of Hitler quickly Perls, Frederick S. Ego, hunger, and aggression: a revision of changed the course of German intellectual life. The Perls Freud’s theory and method. London: Allen and Unwin, family left Germany in 1934, settling in Johannesburg, 1947. South Africa. Over the next several years, Fritz and Perls, Frederick S., Paul Goodman, and Robert Hefferline. Laura Perls developed the ideas that would become Gestalt therapy: excitement and growth in the human per- Gestalt psychotherapy. Perls wrote his first book, Ego, sonality. New York: Julian Press, 1951. Hunger, and Aggression,while in South Africa. It gener- ated limited interest; it was republished in England in 1946 but still attracted less interest than Perls had hoped. It should be understood that Perls did not abandon Personality Freud’s teachings in developing Gestalt therapy. Rather, he modified some of Freud’s theories to create what he The unique pattern of psychological and behav- ioral characteristics by which each person can be called a more holistic approach. In particular, he focused distinguished from other people. on present influences and experience, unlike strict Freudians, who relied on analyzing a patient’s past expe- Personality is fundamental to the study of psycholo- riences going back to early childhood. gy. The major systems evolved by psychiatrists and psy- In 1946, the Perls family moved briefly to Canada chologists since Sigmund Freud to explain human men- and then the United States. Fritz and Laura Perls contin- tal and behavioral processes can be considered theories ued their work on Gestalt therapy, and Fritz Perls co- of personality. These theories generally provide ways of wrote a book with Paul Goodman and Robert Hefferline. describing personal characteristics and behavior, estab- The book, Gestalt Therapy, was published in 1951. It lish an overall framework for organizing a wide range of was initially not taken seriously by the Gestalt psycholo- information, and address such issues as individual differ- gy movement. In the ensuing years, however, it attracted ences, personality development from birth through a greater following. Meanwhile, Perls spent his time lec- adulthood, and the causes, nature, and treatment of psy- turing and opening institutes where he could train chological disorders. Gestalt therapists. Among the schools he founded was the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy, which was run by Laura Perls. Type theory of personality Perhaps the earliest known theory of personality is that of the Greek physician Hippocrates (c. 400 B.C.), Joins Esalen Institute who characterized human behavior in terms of four tem- In 1964, Perls became resident psychiatrist at the peraments, each associated with a different bodily fluid, Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. There he orga- or “humor.” The sanguine, or optimistic, type was asso- nized and conducted “dream workshops,” in which par- ciated with blood; the phlegmatic type (slow and lethar- ticipants would discuss their dreams and engage in role- gic) with phlegm; the melancholic type (sad, depressed) playing exercises based on the characters (and some- with black bile; and the choleric (angry) type with yel- times objects) in their dreams. In the ensuing years he low bile. Individual personality was determined by the continued to open new institutes around the country and amount of each of the four humors. Hippocrates’ system conduct Gestalt workshops. By this time Perls sported a remained influential in Western Europe throughout the long white beard and a flowing white mane—resembling medieval and Renaissance periods. Abundant references to some a member of the counterculture that was to de- to the four humors can be found in the plays of Shake- fine the 1960s. speare, and the terms with which Hippocrates labeled the 490 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, 2ND EDITION