Author: coen_sharon

2nd year psychology student Ryan McGrath interviewed Dr. Linda Dubrow-Marshall who is Programme Leader in Applied Therapies (MSc) at the University of Salford.

How did you get into Psychology?

 I was probably born a psychologist because I am naturally a very curious person and there were many interesting characters in my family to observe and negotiate with! But I got into psychology when I went to Temple University in Philadelphia and took an introductory psychology module. We saw a film on ‘Reinforcement Therapy’ (Behavioural) with demonstrations of its application for psychotic adults, autistic children, and learning disabled, and I was ‘hooked’ even though these were not populations that I focused on in my clinical work. But I loved the idea of applying theory to helping people in a practical way.

Who is your favourite Psychologist and why?

I would have to say my husband Rod Dubrow-Marshall who is a social psychologist and I love doing research with him, particularly on undue influence, cultic abuse, and extremist groups. But I also love Piaget and even read some of his theories in French! Piaget made me think about being a developmental psychologist, but clinical and counselling psychology won me over.

What psychological concept/topic/issue are you most passionate about?

I would have to say that it is group pressure, undue influence, cultic and abusive relationships and groups. I love doing research in this area, and also helping individuals and families who have been harmed by these experiences. This work is closely aligned to my interest in the long-term effects of trauma.

What makes the Psychology Department at Salford unique?

 I would have to say the people – both staff and students – very diverse and interesting and have broadened my understanding of psychology.

If you could work anywhere, which University would you pick and why?

 A university which would allow me to work in the States half the time and in the UK half the time, to reflect my dual nationalities!

What was the most fascinating research/project you were involved in/conducted?

I conducted research on the influence of group pressure on the expression of anti-Semitic views. My interest in cultic groups was inspired by the recruitment of ‘ordinary’ people into the Nazis and the conversion to committing atrocious deeds.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working with colleagues to revise a submitted article on “A randomized feasibility study of group cognitive behavioural therapy for severe asthma” and with Kelly Birtwell, a graduate of the MSc Applied Psychology (Therapies) programme to revise a submitted article on “Psychological support for people with dementia”. I am working on two book chapters related to my work on cults, and I am editing a special issue on “Recovering your sexual self after the cult” for an International Cultic Studies Association publication. I have several other articles in progress, and I am preparing a proposal for a research monograph on single session therapy. I like to have many irons in the fire!

If you could choose another Profession, what would it be?

Stand-up comedy.

Do you have a favourite quote?

“We have to accept life on life’s terms”.

What benefits do you find in using Twitter?

 It keeps me current on research, news, and people and it’s a way of communicating with so many people at once!

Which book is a must have for Psychology students?

Westbrook, D., Kennerley, H., & Kirk, J. (2011, but a new edition is forthcoming). An introduction to cognitive behavior therapy: skills and applications.

What advice would you give to SalfordPsych students?

Make time for your studies, try to choose some seminal texts and consider buying them, ask questions and don’t think any of them are stupid, and learn how to ‘sell yourself’ with the marketable skills that you acquire – build your self-confidence!

What do you hope for Psychology in the future?

I hope for psychology to take a lead in action based research to help improve people’s lives, and I hope for more people and policy makers to take notice of our research and theories.

Follow Linda on Twitter: @DrLindaDM

Follow Ryan on Twitter: @ryanmcgrath1

About Dr. Linda Dubrow-Marshall

 I am a clinical and counselling psychologist (HCPC Registered) and a BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist. I am a programme leader for the  MSc Applied Psychology (Therapies) programme, and I am a psychology lecturer who teaches at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Previously, I designed and managed the new Counselling and Wellbeing Service at the University of Salford, and I taught for the MSc in Counselling (Professional Training).

I am an integrative psychotherapist, and I incorporate hypnotherapy and EMDR into my practice. I have extensive clinical and counselling experience in a variety of settings, including universities, prisons, addiction agencies, psychiatric hospitals, veteran agencies, and private practice. I obtained my PhD in Counselling Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, and did my PhD dissertation on “Marital relationships of children of Holocaust survivors”.

My current research interests include: Psychology of undue influence and coercive persuasion (e.g. cults and extremist groups), group dynamics and family systems, ethical psychotherapy and psychotherapy outcome, practitioner self-care, CBT and physical health, and single session psychotherapy. I am a peer reviewer for the Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Journal, published by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and Wiley, the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, SAGE Open, and the International Journal of Cultic Studies, published by the International Cultic Studies Association. I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

 

 

John Hudson presented his PhD research at the prestigious international Institute of Work Psychology conference  this week. The biennial conference in Sheffield attracts over 200 delegates and it was great to see John’s presentation drawing praise from leading experts for his wit and findings alike.  His paper, co-authored with his supervisor Ashley Weinberg was entitled, ‘Making a difference to employee well-being in turbulent times’. John’s findings show that in assessing the outcome of interventions designed to improve workers’ well-being, it is important to pay careful attention to the process by which these are introduced and not simply the outcomes alone.

 

John’s imaginative approach in presenting his research findings have already won him first prize at the 2015 British Psychological Society annual conference. His winning poster compared the usefulness of quantitative and qualitative data in assessing stress at work and can still be viewed here

You can find John on Twitter @brucie_rooster 

 

Here, 2nd year  student Ashley Grey discusses role play in the reception class:

Name: Ashley Gray

Twitter: @ashley_g1992

I am very passionate about incorporating play into classroom learning. From experience of having two young children in Nursery and Reception class at school, I have noticed some major differences in their classroom set up and in the way they learn. My nursery child comes home very happy and excited to go back, this is not always the case with my Reception child.

From Developmental Psychology this year I have developed further in my love of how children learn. I have learnt about children learning outside of the classroom, but I wanted to know how children learn in the classroom through play.  Children in different countries throughout the world do not start formal education until 6 or 7, some of those countries have the most successful education systems and I think play is the key.

Article name: Rethinking role play in the Reception Class

The UK education system has adapted throughout the years to incorporate play into the Foundation Stage. This development is a welcome change, however not enough reviews have been done to test whether or not the current early year’s curriculum works.

A study by Rogers and Evans (2007) looked at the interaction between the implemented curriculum and the children’s response to that curriculum, through studying children’s role play activities. It also looked at the impact the curriculum has on the nature of children’s role play activities.

The sample included children, aged 4-5 years, from a mixed reception and year 1 class in a rural area, a reception class in a small town; and an early year’s unit in substantial urban school. Eighty children were involved in the study in term one and this rose to 144 in term two. A total of 71 visits were made over the course of the school year, each visit lasting half the school day.

The research was conducted in a qualitative manner. Semi-structured interviews and observations were used to collect information. Given the age of the children, child friendly methods were used ie. Speaking to the children, having the children take photographs, observing role play, drawing their favourite role play scenarios etc.

The results showed that the space and level of interruptions negatively affected the flow of role play for the children, this suggested the classes were not adequately equipped for the needs of children aged 4-5 years. Play appeared to be contained by the teacher which proved difficult for the children to feel they had met their role play needs. Furthermore the lack of space created issues for boy’s needs, as they require more space to fully express their role play needs.

In conclusion, role play is considered an important aspect of early learning. However, certain teaching practices prevent children from fully expressing themselves. Although early year’s education has improved dramatically over the years, Reception classes have not been adjusted to be able to reflect those advances. Development is needed of a more play centred pedagogy, one which allows children to reach their potential, and one which takes into account the needs of the children it caters for.

 

Reference

Rogers, S. and Evans, J. (2007) ‘Rethinking role play in the Reception class’, Educational Research, 49(2), pp. 153-167.

Research Excellence Awards 2015-2016 – ‘Fabulous Five’

Five early career researchers from the Directorate of Psychology and Public Health won the runners up prize in this year’s Vice-Chancellor’s Research Excellence Awards.  Dr Clare Allely, Robert Bendall, Alex Clarke-Cornwell, Dr Anna Cooper and Dr Jo Meredith, contribute to three of the research programmes within the School of Health Sciences: Applied Psychology: Social, Physical and Technology Enabled Environments; Equity, Health and Wellbeing; and, Measurement and Quantification of Physical Behaviour.

 

The ‘Fabulous Five’ would like to thank Dr Sarah Norgate for the nomination; as part of the nomination Sarah wrote “People make a research environment, and our early career researchers (ECRs) are our lifeblood”. We are grateful for her continued support, the support we receive within the Directorate and also from the School as we continue to develop as researchers.

 

 

Left to right: Dr Jo Meredith, Dr Anna Cooper, Dr Sarah Norgate, Alex Clarke-Cornwell, Robert Bendall

 

 Dr Clare Allely, one of the Fabulous Five, could not attend because she was in Sweden on a research visit at the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Gothenburg.

 

As part of their research, the ‘Fabulous Five’ all work with external stakeholders/users in psychology, health and health-related areas. The aim of many of their projects is to be interdisciplinary, both within and outside the University. The short sections below aim to provide brief details about each of the five early career researchers:

 

Dr Clare Allely is an affiliate member of the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre (GNC) at Gothenburg University in Sweden. She is currently collaborating with colleagues at the GNC on a number of papers and projects including one looking at cholesterol metabolism and steroid abnormalities of various kinds (cortisol, testosterone, oestrogen, vitamin D) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and another looking at immunology and ASD. She is also working on projects with colleagues in the UK looking at ASD in the criminal justice system. Specifically, one looking at the experience of individuals with ASD in the prison environment and another looking at the experience of defendants with ASD as well as how they are perceived by judges and juries (e.g., whether a diagnosis of ASD is considered to be a mitigating and aggravating factor in sentencing and to what extent an ASD diagnosis impacts on criminal responsibility, criminal intent, etc.).

 

Robert Bendall’s research initially focused on the interactions between the arousal system and the circadian system. This work investigated the impact of circadian and photic influences on the neuropeptide orexin and included research positions at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge and the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester. Recently Robert’s research has focussed on the cognitive sciences – both cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. His main interests are how emotion influences aspects of cognition (e.g. visual attention) as well as the role of the prefrontal cortex during emotion-cognition interactions. Robert uses both neuroscientific and behavioural techniques in his research including the novel neuroimaging technique functional near-infrared spectroscopy. His recent research has been presented at the Annual International Conference on Cognitive and Behavioural Psychology and published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01592

 

Alex Clarke-Cornwell’s research interests include the measurement and quantification of sedentary behaviour, physical activity and workplace health using the activPAL™ and ActiGraph activity monitors; she is currently writing up her PhD. Alex’s research on the measurement of sedentary behaviour from accelerometers has recently been presented at international conferences in Limerick and Brisbane. She is also currently working with European colleagues as part of the consortium or the Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity Knowledge Hub, on sedentary time and physical activity surveillance in four European countries. Alex and Dr Anna Cooper (editor) have worked together on a book chapter around the impact of office design and activity in a book of blogs entitled Dialogues of Sustainable Urbanisation: Social science research and transitions to urban contexts (researchdirect.uws.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:30908). Alex has recently been awarded £17,607 from the University of Salford’s Research Capital Investment Fund, in order to purchase physical activity behaviour monitors for future research projects.

 

Dr Anna Cooper’s current research focuses on behaviour change in primary school children; the role of digital technology in research with primary school children; and NHS Health Checks in regards to the health check journey. The outputs from Anna’s PhD contributed to the outputs of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Oral Health Research in Deprived Communities. In 2015 Anna helped to co-edit a Book of Blogs with Dr Jenna Condie (Dialogues of sustainable urbanisation: Social science research and transitions to urban contexts), which is now freely available as an e-book. Since joining the University Anna has been successful in a number of internal and external funding projects both as PI and CoA, presenting at conferences, and also the production of reports for external bodies and peer-reviewed journal articles. Anna was also returned in the 2013 REF as an Early Career member of staff. One of Anna’s current projects is around the development and testing of an Application (Digitising Children’s Data Collection (DCDC) for Health Project) designed to support the collection of data with children in a variety of settings and a collaborative research project with Liverpool John Moores University.

 

Dr Jo Meredith researches online communication and interaction, and is particularly interested in developing innovative methods for collecting and analysing online data. She uses methods such as conversation analysis and discursive psychology to analyse a range of online data. Since joining the University of Salford in April 2015, Jo has had a paper published in a peer-reviewed journal on the development of a transcription system for screen-capture data. She has also contributed chapters on the collection and analysis of online data to two prestigious qualitative methods textbooks. She is currently working with colleagues from radiography on the WoMMeN project. She is also collaborating with colleagues from the University of Manchester and Keele University on a number of projects and papers, including the analysis of psychotherapy using conversation analysis, the analysis of tweets around #dyingmatters and the analysis of police 999 calls. Jo is currently organising an international conference, with the media psychology team, on the micro-analysis of online data.

 

Follow their research on Twitter @SalfordPsych @SalfordPH @ClareAllely @Robert_Bendall @barmyalex @AMC_83 @JoMeredith82

by Dr Clare Allely

 

Last year, the Chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Peter Fahy highlighted that many extremists are vulnerable individuals who are radicalised within weeks. Mental health issues have been identified as a potential part of the path to radicalisation (O’Neill & Simpson, 2015). Although this is debatable as some research shows that mental health issues are not a key factor in the pathway to radicalisation. However, recognition of the potential for mental health issues to be part of the pathway and the research which supports this theory has led to the NHS now having a full-time staff which focused on serving the Prevent anti-extremism programme, which main aim is to identify radical behaviour. They have identified Asperger’s or Autism, serious learning difficulties and low self-esteem, among other conditions as a potential part of the path to radicalisation – specifically, the conditions which extremists are increasingly exploiting in individuals they target for recruiting and training (O’Neill & Simpson, 2015).  Prevent Duty was launched last year, which places a duty or mandate upon Health and other sectors to prevent radicalisation. Prevent Duty have published guidance for ‘specified authorities in England and Wales on the duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’ (HM Government, 2015).

According to the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are now characterised by 1) deficits in social communication and interaction, and 2) restricted repetitive behaviours, interests, and activities (RRBs).

There has been some recent media coverage of some cases of individuals with autism or Asperger’s syndrome being targeted and recruited by terrorists. Last year a Briton, Kazi Islam, 19, received an eight year jail sentence for training Harry Thomas, also 19, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to be a terrorist. Islam persuaded Harry Thomas, to try to buy materials for a pipe bomb and to attack soldiers with a knife or meat cleaver. Islam’s reported that his training with Thomas was motivated by Nicky Reilly who was another individual with Asperger’s syndrome, who was involved in a failed suicide bombing in Exeter.

However, research has shown that it is important to highlight that individuals’ with autism are no more likely to commit violent crime when compared to the general population (Ghaziuddin et al., 1991). Individuals with ASD are not at increased risk of offending has been found by more recent studies (e.g., Woodbury-Smith, Clare, Holland, and Kearns, 2006; Mouridsen, 2012). In fact, some studies have even suggested that individuals with ASD may actually be less likely to commit violent crime (Mouridsen, Rich, Isager, & Nedergaard, 2008) and that the large majority of individuals with ASD are law-abiding (Murrie et al., 2002; Woodbury-Smith et al., 2006). What some of these cases highlight is the need to protect vulnerable individuals from being targeted and recruited by terrorist groups.

Dr Zainab Al-Attar, a Senior Lecturer and Chartered/Registered Forensic Psychologist, University of Central Lancashire, also highlights that there is no empirical evidence to show that people on the autism spectrum are at increased risk of engaging in terrorist offences nor that autism is over-represented in terrorist offenders. Dr Al-Attar also highlights the role played by autistic special interests, fantasy, obsessionality, need for routine/predictability, social and communication difficulties, cognitive styles, local coherence, systemising, and sensory processing, in terrorism pathways and modus operandi (Al-Attar, 2016).

One recent case which provides some understanding as to the role played by autistic special interests is that of the Mark Alexander Harding (21) who was sentenced to 18 months probation for downloading copies of the terrorist magazines Inspire and Palestine which are created by the global terrorist group formerly headed by Osama bin Laden. Harding had posted 5,000 comments, some supporting the so-called Islamic State, on the internet forum 4Chan – an English-language imageboard website containing hundreds of threads about numerous subject matters. Additionally, police also found that he has amassed on his computer ‘a large number’ of images and audio material stored in two folders named ‘Islam’ and ‘Nasheed’. It was recognised that Harding had not been radicalised and his online persona was a by-product of his autism which caused him to develop obsessions over specific subjects. One argument that has been suggested is that Harding’s use of the internet forum was evidence that he was ‘acting out’ his angers and frustrations.

Radicalisation may be a broad facet and impact any type of case. There have also been some cases of individuals with Asperger’s syndrome who have become involved/radicalised in extreme right wing (XRW) terrorism. The case of Michael Piggin (18), who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, who pleaded guilty to creating numerous weaponry which included petrol bombs, pipe bombs and air rifles but denied planning to use it in attacks on his former school, a mosque and a cinema in Loughborough in the UK. Piggin was initially arrested for an offence in which he allegedly threatened two boys with a knife, but officers were horrified when they searched his home in Beaumont Road, Shelthorpe. Piggin In a Che Guevara notebook emblazoned with swastikas and the initials of the English Defence League (EDL), Piggin wrote about what the prosecution alleged were attack plans. Reports also states that Piggin had boasted at school about going on an EDL march in Leicester. The jury were also shown a video of the teenager spraying “No more mosques!” on the wall of a leisure centre. Another video shows him saying: “We are against the Muslim invasion of our country. If you are looking at us… we will kill you, yeah – we are willing to take arms to fight for this country” (Lowbridge, 2014).

It is important not to assume that autism is a risk factor for terrorism in the general population. However, when dealing with an individual with autism charged with terrorism, it is important to consider how autism may have acted as a contextual vulnerability, and to ensure justice, rehabilitation and management, are informed by an understanding of the individual’s autism (Al-Attar, 2016). Despite counter-terrorism receiving substantial levels of attention and recognition as well as financial resource, there has been much less interest in investigating the effectiveness of interventions which are preventative (Bhui, Warfa, & Jones, 2014).

 

References

Al-Attar, Z. (2016). Autism & Terrorism Links – Fact or Fiction? 15th International Conference on the Care and Treatment of Offenders with an Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability. National Autistic Society. 19-20th April 2016.

Bhui, K., Warfa, N., & Jones, E. (2014). Is violent radicalisation associated with poverty, migration, poor self-reported health and common mental disorders?. PloS one, 9(3), e90718.

Ghaziuddin, M., Tsai, L., & Ghaziuddin, N. (1991). Brief report: Violence in Asperger syndrome—A critique. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 21, 349–354.

HM Government (2015). Revised Prevent Duty Guidance: for England and Wales. Guidance for specified authorities in England and Wales on the duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Can be accessed from this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445977/3799_Revised_Prevent_Duty_Guidance__England_Wales_V2-Interactive.pdf

Lowbridge, C. (2014). How did Michael Piggin become radicalised? BBC News. Can be accessed from this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-27328590

Mouridsen, S. E. (2012). Current status of research on autism spectrum disorders and offending. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(1), 79-86.

Mouridsen, S. E., Rich, B., Isager, T., & Nedergaard, N. J. (2008). Pervasive developmental disorders and criminal behaviour. A case control study. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 52, 196–205.

Murrie, C., & Warren, I. (2002). Asperger’s syndrome in forensic settings. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 1(1), 59–70.

O’Neill, S., & Simpson, J. (2015). Mental health link to extremism. The Times. Article can be accessed: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article4560532.ece

Woodbury-Smith, M. R., Clare, I. C. H., Holland, A. J., & Kearns, A. (2006). High functioning autistic spectrum disorders, offending and other law-breaking: findings from a community sample. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 17(1), 108-120.

 

 

 

 

 By Ivett Ayodele              

 

Myths and recent discoveries about Psychology’s most famous Case Study

 

A few  days ago I was reading the August issue of the BPS Digest and came across a piece by Christian Jarrett titled “What textbooks don’t tell you about psychology’s most famous case study” (See this article here.) I was surprised because as far as I was concerned, the story of Phineas Gage always sounded more like a myth to me. I was compelled to do some research on the new discoveries and here is my own summary about the real story of Phineas Gage.

If you are studying Psychology or have an interest in it, you have probably heard of the case of Phineas Gage. His story is remarkable and very popular among psychology students all over the world (Jarrett, 2015).

 

Who was Phineas Gage?

Phineas Gage was a railway worker in the 1800s. On the 13^th September, 1848 he suffered a traumatic brain injury when an iron rod went through his entire skull, destroying a large section of his brain (Cherry, 2015). The fact, that he not only survived but was also able to speak and walk after the accident, made him one of the most famous patients in neuroscience (Jarrett, 2015).  However, according to Griggs (2015), most textbooks (at least the American ones) give a misleading account of his story.  In particular many suggest he had a dramatic change in character and personality.

“In this regard his mind was radically changed, so decidedly that his friends and acquaintances said he was “no longer Gage”. (Harlow, 1868, p. 340)

 

The Myth

 Richard Griggs, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Florida, analysed the content of 23 textbooks and found that most of them had told the story of Phineas Gage inaccurately (Jarrett, 2015).

These textbooks will tell you that although Phineas Gage survived the accident, he became a changed man (Cherry, 2015), he never worked again or that he became a circus freak for the rest of his life, showing off the holes in his head (Jarrett, 2015). However, according to Griggs (2015), the most appalling error seems to be that Gage survived for 20 years with the tamping iron rod embedded in his head!

 

New Discoveries

Thanks to the work of Malcom Macmillan and Mathew L.  Lena, who carried out some historical analysis between 2000 and 2010 (e.g. see “Rehabilitating Phineas Gage”, 2010), it seems that in fact, Phineas Gage made a surprisingly good recovery. He ultimately emigrated to Chile and became a coach driver, controlling six horses and dealing politely with non-English speaking passengers (Jarrett, 2015). Furthermore, in 2008, some new photographic evidence emerged from Jack and Beverly Wilgus. They acquired the daguerreotype below, of which this is a photograph 30 years ago, but it was not identified as Phineas Gage until 2008. (Macmillan & Lena, 2010).

 

Source: https://www.uakron.edu/gage/adaptation.dot

According to Macmillan and Lena (2010) two relatives of Phineas Gage also have copies of the photograph of a similar daguerreotype, which was passed down to the descendants of Phineas’ siblings. They therefore argue, that there is no doubt the image is of Phineas.

 

There is further evidence by Macmillan and Lena (2010) that suggests, that Phineas Gage not only recovered after his accident but also consistently sought to readapt to his circumstances.

1. Phineas returned to work on his family farm just four month after his accident and sought his old job four months later.
2. Two or three years later, he started lecturing and exhibiting himself, advertising and traveling independently, requiring him to re-learn any lost social skills.
3. He worked as a Currier for a year (1851-1852) and he also learnt how to drive a coach during this period.
4. He was reliable enough to be employed as a Coach driver in Chile, where he remained for about 7 years; using complex social and cognitive-motor skills which were required for this job.
5. He was able to adapt to the language and custom of Chile, which was a foreign land for him.
6. A doctor who knew him well in Chile stated that he saw “no impairment whatever” in him after a certain period of time.

In his late years, Phineas Gage began to suffer from ill health and decided to follow those members of his family, who had relocated to San Francisco, California. He eventually regained his health and worked as a farmer in Santa Clara. (Cherry, 2015).   However, he soon started to experience convulsions and became dissatisfied with his job, changing his employer frequently before deciding to return to his family in San Francisco. He died of a series of severe convulsions on the 21st May 1860 (Macmillan & Lena, 2010.)

 

Why is it important to set the record straight about Phineas Gage?

 

Well, according to Griggs (2015) there are one and half million students studying Psychology in the USA alone and they are introduced to the discipline via textbooks (Jarrett, 2015).

Therefore, “it is important to the psychological teaching community to identify inaccuracies in our textbooks so that they can be corrected, and we as textbook authors and teachers do not continue to “give away” false information about our discipline” (Griggs, 2015).

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and I would like to invite you to submit a piece of your own to our Blog! You can write about you experiences at Salford or if you read a good book, or see a good film you could write a review on that! For more information please contact me on i.b.ayodele@edu.salford.ac.uk.

 

References

 

Cherry, K. (2015, November 18). About Education. Retrieved from psychology.about.com: http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology/a/phineas-gage.htm

Griggs, R. (2015). Coverage of the Phineas Gage Story in Introductory Psychology Textbooks: Was Gage No Longer Gage? Teaching of Psychology, 195-202.

Harlow, J. M. (1868). Recovery from the passage of an iron bar through the head. Publications of the Massachusetts Medical Society, 2, 327–347, [Facsimile in Macmillan, 2000,

Jarrett, C. (2015). What the textbooks don’t tell you about psychology’s most famous case study. BPS Digest, 626.

Macmillan, M., & Lena, M. L. (2010). Rehabilitating Phineas Gage. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 641-658.

 

 

 

By Sophie Lavin

 

Abstract

This study investigated whether ducks can be trained, using the work of Pavlov and Skinner. It turned out ducks are not as stupid as they look.

 

Introduction

Ivan Pavlov’s work on the digestive system of dogs led him to Classical Conditioning. He predicted that a stimulus could become associated with food and cause salivation if a particular stimulus in the dog’s surroundings was present when the dog was given food. In his initial experiments, Pavlov presented a stimulus (rang a bell) and then gave the dog food; after a few repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the stimulus.

BF Skinner was a behaviourist who considered free will an illusion and human action dependent on  the consequences of previous actions. If the response is bad, it is unlikely the action will be repeated; but if it is good, the action will become more probable. This is reinforcement, and making use of it is Operant Conditioning. Skinner called his pigeons ‘superstitious’ because, by feeding them using a machine that dispensed food at regular intervals no matter what the birds did, he noticed that they associated the food with whatever chance actions they were doing when it was delivered. The pigeons continued to perform the actions, hoping for more food.

This study set out to find out whether ducks are as clever as dogs or pigeons. They don’t seem it.

Hypothesis: that ducks can be trained to respond to the sound of a bell.

 

Method

Design

The study used direct observation in a rural laboratory setting.

 

Participants

Participants were an opportunity sample of five Indian Runner Ducklings of indeterminate sex^[1]. They were introduced to the laboratory at two weeks old and at the time of the experiment they were 20 weeks old.

 

Materials

Ducks and a shed. A bell. Duck food. Probably a fox, too.

 

Procedure

For 18 weeks, every time food or water was provided for the participants, a bell was rung. Food was always provided in the shed. After 6 weeks the participants were allowed to play on the pond during the day but herded back into the shed at night, in case the fox introduced an extraneous variable. At 20 weeks the experimenter attempted to put the participants in the shed by ringing the bell.

 

Ethics

Participants were kept safe from the fox, fed and allowed to play on the pond.

 

Results

 

Table 1

Putting the Ducks Away.

 

Day	bell	herding required
Monday	1
Tuesday	1

Wednesday	1
Thursday		1
Friday	1
Saturday	1

^[1] It’s beginning to look like they are all male (no eggs)

 

Ducks put themselves into the shed upon hearing the bell six times out of seven (or 86%).

 

Discussion

The results showed that the participants were indeed smarter than they looked. They had been conditioned to run into the shed on the sound of the bell. On Thursday, the experimenter was stuck on a delayed train home from university, and the test was administered by an adolescent research assistant. This young helper rarely does any chores around the laboratory, and had never fed the ducks. Therefore the surprise result was that the participants appeared to have been subject to operant conditioning. They responded to the bell only when they believed that the bell might lead to being fed. They were not Pavlov’s Ducks, they were Skinner’s Superstitious Ducks.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Catherine Thompson

 

It is the time of year when all second year students are in the midst of their change blindness assignment for the modules ‘Further Biopsychology and Cognition’ and ‘Cognitive Psychology’. Having led the modules for a few years I have noticed that the majority of students go through a similar experience with the assignment and I can clearly see them progressing through a series of “interesting” phases. Here are my thoughts on the stages that most students go through when making their second year cognitive experiment (and incidentally, the stages that every researcher goes through when designing and setting up a computer-based experiment):

 

Enthusiasm – so I would generally say that most people start out with a certain level of enthusiasm. It is good to have free reign to design your own experiment and investigate something that interests you, rather than having to write about a data set that you have been given and have no ownership over. Yes it might be difficult to think of a good idea, but at least it is your idea.

 

Perseverance – this is not an easy assignment and there is a lot of work involved, particularly to keep up with the weekly tasks we complete (design the study, collect the materials, build the experiment….). Good to know that L809 and L810 are available after 5pm!

 

Realisation –who knew there were so many aspects to consider? It is not just choosing your variables, you have to make the stimuli, write your instructions, note down the correct answers, create a response screen (!), work with your group members…. and that’s before you even get to E-Prime (but it can’t be that difficult, can it?).

 

(Intense) Irritation – it happens to us all, when you use E-Prime to build an experiment it hardly ever works the first time. Either the computer can’t find an image file, or you haven’t put the correct answers in capital letters, or your pictures are too big for the screen…. the list goes on. So you find yourself in what seems to be a never-ending cycle of editing-testing-editing-testing, asking yourself “will it ever work??”

 

Moderation – this is the time for composure. Keep calm – it’s only a computer. Take a deep breath, go and have a break, then (unfortunately) carry on.

 

Elation – (aka “great happiness”) you may think this is a little over the top, but wait until you have experienced the moment when everything comes together and the experiment you designed is working perfectly for all to take part in. You are ready to collect your data and all the hard work was worth it.

Plus, when you come to collate your data and analyse the results you find out the benefits of E-Merge –being able to merge hundreds of responses into a single file and having all your data ready to input into SPSS with just a few mouse clicks.

 

I’m fairly sure that most of our current Level 6 students can remember building their E-Prime experiments for the cognition modules (and they all recall those days fondly!). The Level 5 students are going through it at the moment (hope you have reached the ‘Elation’ stage), and our Level 4 students have got this all to look forward to; exciting times ahead.

Designing your own computer-based experiment is difficult and at times it can be frustrating, but don’t forget the skills that you learn throughout the process – experimental design, knowledge of dependent and independent variables, ethical considerations, Photoshop, working in a group, and of course, mastering E-Prime. You might feel reluctant to complete another E-Prime experiment in the near future, but trust me, that feeling passes quickly (!).

By Alexandra Horsman

 

 

The typical view of a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) sufferer is, without doubt, a veteran. And although the anxiety disorder is highly associated with those within the armed forces, retired or not (The Veterans’ Mental Health Charity, 2014), PTSD can in fact affect any individual who encounters a particularly stressful, fearsome, or generally traumatic experience. As well as military combat, many unsettling situations can cause PTSD, such as prolonged abuse, natural disasters, and even terrorist attacks. And the links between PTSD and terrorism is what this article will focus on.

 

So, what does this condition really do to a person?

 

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious anxiety condition following a particularly traumatic event that can cause irritability, intense fear, and sleep interruptions. It is estimated that 1 in 3 people who go through a disturbing event at least once in their lifetime will go on to develop the condition (The National Health Service, 2013).

While PTSD can start to develop immediately after the experience, symptoms may not begin to appear until weeks, months, or sometimes even years later. Among individuals, symptoms can vary, but there are several similarities that most suffering with PTSD will go through.

 

PTSD Symptoms

Reliving the experience: This is the most predictable outcome while suffering from the condition. Victims will regularly, and usually vividly, relive the traumatic experience through invasive flashbacks and recurring nightmares, ultimately leading to constant sleep disruptions. Re-experiencing the event often leads to physical sensations within the body including regular sweating, trembling, and physical pain.

Avoidance: Being a key symptom of PTSD, avoiding specific people or places that may possibly remind the sufferer of the experience is not uncommon. Many people will attempt to push all memories of the trauma completely out of their mind, sidestepping conversation about the experience, focusing on a distraction such as work, and some may even try to block out all emotions. Purposely ignoring feelings is known as emotional numbing. Predictably, this can lead to social isolation and withdrawing from enjoyable activities.

 

 

 

Hyperarousal: Those suffering from PTSD are regularly found to be anxious and generally find it quite hard to relax. Their awareness of threats is heightened, and it is not unusual for victims to become easily frightened or startled. This mentality is otherwise known as hyperarousal.

Other: It is common for victims to acquire other specific problems while dealing with PTSD such as depression, headaches, and drug or alcohol misuse. Due to this, PTSD can seriously affect work, and even breakdown relationships.

Clearly, PTSD can be incredibly distressing, often seriously impacting day-to-day life. Those suffering from the condition are also experiencing physiological changes within the body. As shown through brain scans, the  hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays a vital role in learning and memory, is reduced in size among PTSD sufferers. The malfunctioning of the hippocampus may prevent flashbacks from being adequately processed. As a result, anxiety does not diminish over time for people with the condition (Yehuda, 2001). Furthermore, studies (e.g. Yehuda, 2002; Smith et al., 1989) have found abnormally high levels of stress hormones in those suffering from PTSD. These hormones, like adrenaline, are produced when an individual is among potential danger. In turn, a reaction occurs, usually referred to as ‘fight or flight’, which helps the body to prepare for the possible threat. Due to heightened levels of these hormones, people with PTSD live in constant ‘fight or flight’ mode, even when the individual is not in jeopardy. These abnormalities within the brain indicate why someone with PTSD may experience frequent hyperarousal, numbed emotions, and the inability to overcome the trauma (The National Health Service, 2013).

 

So, how are PTSD and terrorism linked?

Terrorism and the development of psychological trauma are probable companions, and while many people can empathise with those involved in a terrorist attack, it is relatively easy to disregard the amount of children that are present during acts of terrorism.  With hundreds of youths affected, there is one incredibly distressing terrorist attack that will forever be remembered: 9/11.

The morning of September 11^th, 2001, dramatically distressed the majority of US citizens, additionally affecting many individuals worldwide. With the number of deaths reaching near 3000, the unforgettable attacks on the World Trade Center left an anxiety-filled hole within American society. Without question, numerous adults were heavily psychologically affected by these violent acts of terrorism (Shalev, 2004), leading to speculations about the psychological well-being of the children of New York City.

Not unlike adults, children affected by PTSD display the usual warning signs like anxiety, sleep difficulties, and experience recurring nightmares. Yet, due to age and psychological maturity, children specifically can revert to bedwetting, becoming anxious upon separation from a parent, and, most worryingly, re-enacting the traumatic event through play (Fremont, 2004). Early research into the subject indicates that children are more likely to develop trust issues, feel hopeless about the future, and struggle to maintain peer relationships if exposed to violent trauma at a young age (e.g. Rosen & Fields, 1988; Rigamer, 1986).

 

Following 9/11, a significant number of New York City public school children, ages four through seventeen, were identified as suffering symptoms consistent with a number of anxiety disorders; A massive 26.5% of NYC children not only reported disruptions in day-to-day life but met criteria to be diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder, specifically PTSD (Fairbrother, Stuber, Galea, Fleischman, & Pfefferbaum, 2003). Fairbrother et al., (2003) established high risk factors that contributed to the development of PTSD within these children included parental views of the attacks, the amount of media exposure, and, of course, direct family loss.

Although there are many variables that will affect a young person’s individual reaction to such situations, a child’s capability to cope in regards to terroristic trauma is highly influenced by their parents’ or primary caregivers’ reactions to such events (Deblinger, Steer, & Lippmann, 1999), regardless of whether their family was directly involved. Pessimistic emotions expressed by parents concerning the 9/11 terrorist attacks correlated with higher levels of distress in their children (Fremont, 2004), suggesting that children may use the reactions of their caregivers as an indicator for the severity of the situation (Fairbrother et al., 2003), with distress signifying a fearful or potential threat.

While parents play a rather significant role in determining the likelihood of PTSD among children, the amount of media exposure of terroristic actions highly correlates with symptoms of PTSD (Collimore, McCabe, Carleton, & Asmundson, 2008). On September 11^th, 2001, adults watched, on average, 8.1 hours of media coverage that day, while children reportedly watched 3.0 hours (Schuster et al., 2001). Children who watched more coverage about the attacks displayed more symptoms of PTSD than children who watched less (Otto et al., 2007). These findings were not only limited to children in close proximity of the attacks but affected youths over 2000 miles away; Children in Seattle demonstrated signs of PTSD following 9/11 equivalent to those living in New York during the attacks (Lengua, Long, Smith, & Meltzoff, 2005), suggesting that many children across the US could have been psychologically affected by the catastrophic events due to high levels of media exposure.

Children affected by 9/11 suffered severe emotional impact, resulting in symptoms consistent with PTSD, if a family member was directly injured, or indeed killed, from the acts of terrorism (Hoven et al., 2005). And, unsurprisingly, a higher rate of PTSD was present in the children who unfortunately lost a parent to the fall

of the twin towers (Whalley & Brewin, 2007), especially as children who lose someone significant are more likely to watch more media coverage in comparison to children without direct losses (Pfefferbaum et al., 1999, cited in Fremont, 2004).

There are many predisposing factors that can increase a child’s risk of developing PTSD. Research shows that young girls are more likely to develop symptoms of the condition than young boys (Lengua, Long, Smith, & Meltzoff, 2005), and it is also believed that a family history of antisocial behaviour and mental health difficulties increases the likelihood of a child developing PTSD after a violent trauma (e.g. Breslau & Davis, 1992; Giaconia et al., 1995). Nevertheless, it has been revealed that several different aspects of family life have been shown to protect a child from stress following a traumatic event, including a dependable emotional relationship with at least one parent (Losel & Bliesener, 1990, cited in Fremont, 2004) and actual physical proximity with the mother or father (Garbarino,  Kostelny, & Dubrow, 1991).

Although that are several different types of treatment for PTSD, including courses of medication, children will often undergo therapy to combat the condition. While it may be hard to confront the anxiety produced by PTSD, seeking professional help is positively linked to effectively defeating this life-altering condition.

In brief, it is safe to say that 9/11 was an incredibly harrowing and upsetting event, with adults and children alike being severely psychologically affected. The terrorism exhibited on that very troubling and painful day will never be forgotten. Dramatically affecting the mental health of America, it is likely that thousands of citizens across the country suffered from the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the barbaric and unforgivable actions that made the world stand still.

 

 

 

 

References

 

Breslau, N. & Davis, G. C. (1992). Posttraumatic stress disorder in an urban population of young adults: Risk factors for chronicity. The American                 Journal of Psychiatry, 149(5), 671-675. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1992-35283-001

 

Collimore, K. C., McCabe, R. E., Carleton, R. N., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2008). Media exposure and dimensions of anxiety sensitivity: Differential                 associations with PTSD symptom clusters. Journal of Anxiety Diosrders, 22(6), 1021-1028. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.11.002

 

Deblinger, E., Steer, R. A., & Lippmann, J. (1999). Two-year follow-up study of cognitive behavioral therapy for sexually abused children suffering                 post-traumatic stress symptoms. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23(12), 1371-1378. doi: 10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00091-5

 

Fairbrother, G., Stuber, J., Galea, S., Fleischman, A. R., & Pfefferbaum, B. (2003). Posttraumatic Stress Reactions in New York City Children After the           September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 3(6), 304-311. doi: 10.1367/15394409(2003)003<0304:PSRINY>2.0.CO;2

 

Fremont, W. P. (2004). Childhood Reactions of Terrorism-Induced Trauma: A Review of the Past 10 Years. Journal of the American Academy of Child       & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(4), 381-392. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200404000-00004

 

Garbarino, J., Kostelny, K., & Dubrow, N. (1991). What children can tell us about living in danger. American Psychologist, 46(4), 376-383. Retrieved                 from http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/46/4/376/

 

Giaconia, R. M., Reinherz, H. Z., Silverman, A. B., Pakiz, B., Frost, A. K., & Cohen, E. (1995). Traumas and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a                 Community Population of Older Adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34(10), 1369-1380. doi:          10.1097/00004583-199510000-00023

 

Hoven, C. W., Duarte, C. S., Lucas, C. P., Wu, P., Mandell, D. J., Goodwin, R. D., Cohen, M., Balaban, V., Woodruff, B. A., Bin, F., Musa, G. J., Mei,         L., Cantor, P. A., Aber, J. L., Cohen, P., & Susser, E. (2005). Psychopathology Among New York City Public School Children 6 months                 After September 11. Jama Psychiatry, 62(5), 545-551. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.62.5.545

 

Lengua, L. J., Long, A. C., Smith, K. I., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2005). Pre-attack symptomatology and temperament as predictors of children’s responses to             the September 11 terrorist attacks. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46(6), 631-645. doi: 10.1111/j.14697610.2004.00378.x

 

Otto, M. W., Henin, A., Hirschfeld-Becker, D. R., Pollack, M. H., Biederman, J., & Rosenbaum, J. F. (2007). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms                following media exposure to tragic events: Impact of 9/11 on children at risk for anxiety disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21(7),      888-902. doi: 10.1016/j/janxdis.2006.10.008.

 

Rigamer, E. F. (1986). Psychological Management of Children in a National Crisis. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 25(3),                 364-369. doi: 10.1016/S0002-7138(09)60258-2

 

Rosen, J. & Fields, R. (1988). The long-term effects of extraordinary trauma: A look beyond PTSD. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2(2), 179-191. doi:          10.1016/0887-6185(88)90024-2

 

Schuster, M. A., Stein, B. D., Jaycox, L. H., Collins, R. L., Marshall, G. N., Elliott, M. N., Zhou, A. J., Kanouse, D. E., Morrison, J. L., & Berry, S. H.            (2001). A National Survey of Stress Reactions after the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks. The New England Journal of Medicine, 345,         1507-1512. doi:10.1056/NEJM200111153452024

 

Shalev, A. Y. (2004). Further Lessons from 9/11: Does Stress Equal Trauma? Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 67(2), 174-177. doi:          10.1521/psyc.67.2.174.35958

 

Smith, M. A., Davidson, J., Ritchie, J. C., Kudler, H., Lipper, S., Chappell, P., & Nemeroff, C. B. (1989). The corticotrophin-releasing hormone test in             patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 26(4), 349-355. doi: 10.1016/0006-3223(89)90050-4

 

The National Health Service. (2013). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-                disorder/pages/introduction.aspx

 

The Veterans’ Mental Health Charity. (2014). What is PTSD? Retrieved from https://www.combatstress.org.uk/medical-professionals/what-is-ptsd/

 

Whalley, M. G. & Brewin, C. R. (2007). Mental health following terrorist attacks. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 94-96. doi:10.1192/                bjp.bp.106.026427

 

Yehuda, R. (2001). Biology of posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 62(17), 41-46. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/                psycinfo/2001-11162-007

 

Yehuda, R. (2002). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The New England Journal of Medicine, 346, 108-114. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra012941

 

By Stephanie Szeto @stepszeto

 

There are widespread discussions and even fear about the downfall of traditional journalism as claims going around that everyone can be a reporter with the advanced mobile technology and easy online access, which enable people to take instant photos of key moments then share and make comments to social media websites. For example, Hong Kong In-Media, one of the most prominent independent online media platforms in Hong Kong, encourages the public to upload photos, news or articles of what they see and hear on their website. Since it empowers people to report and never deletes articles or commentaries, except hoax or advertising spam, it provides Hongkongers the opportunity to experience the thrill of being journalists.

However, will the above mentioned situation be the combat of journalism? Multiple Journalism website (2015) believes a transformation is needed and the independent journalists with technology mind can stimulate a better journalism in the digital age. By accepting the technological change, journalists can see the diverse channels as a new opportunity rather than a crisis. From my own observation, journalists who are active on Facebook are more popular than those who are not. It can be explained by mere exposure effect that journalists can update their Facebook status every single minute and have direct interaction with readers, and shortens the distance between journalists and fans. Moreover, it can also be explained by the interface of Facebook. Research found that people who prefer Facebook than Twitter enjoy images and entertaining message than plain text. Thus, a journalist posting an article with an appealing image on Facebook is more likely to reach people than publishing on newsletter column. Subsequently, as Multiple Journalism mentioned that the technology era does not bring challenge to journalism if the journalists know how to make use of the new media channels.

Besides, psychology professionals can fully utilize the new media channels to reach the public by providing practical tips and easy to digest knowledge to raise public’s concern about mental health.

By Stephanie Szeto @stepszeto

From last September to December, Harcourt Road outside the Hong Kong government headquarters was filled with tents to protect the Umbrella Revolution protestors from the ever changing weather. Pro-democracy signs were hanging all over the area and the utopia of Harcourt Village was established.

Foreseen that the movement was going to last a while, Hongkongers, who either could not participate the enduring sit-in or some of the them claimed they were too coward to take part in, showed their support by their own style of contribution. Groups of volunteers distributed materials to the protesters, like food, water, face towels or paper fans. Some of them sprayed mist sprayers to cool down the

heat, and the others collected garbage and managed the recycling drop-off area. The female public toilet on the Connaught Road Central had been washed cleaner ever and now filled with toiletries and feminine hygiene by volunteers. A parent expressed on Facebook that her child has never done any housework but now he started to take responsibility of it, and she was surprised how much her son had grown by engaging in the social movement. On the other side of the street, a group of carpenters built a sizeable study corner for the occupying students with chairs, desks and bookshelves. A full-time lifeguard enjoyed carpentry in his pastime came over to help the setup and said, “I don’t want to see the students sacrificing their grades for democracy.” (Frankenberry, Ruzic, & Chan, 2014). The study area included library corner filled with books later known for “Charter Self-study Area” as the Cantonese translation of “Charter” can have the meaning of “umbrella fight”. Inspired by John Lennon’s “Imagine”, Lennon Wall has been created by colourful post-it as wall paper with protesters’ encouraging messages and desires for democracy.

The bitter protest of Umbrella Revolution pro-democracy sit-in has come to an end after 79th days.

During the clearance, camps in the protest sites were torn down and protesters were escorted or carried off to the police arranged coaches. In those districts, traffic resumed heavily jammed as nothing had happened; however, that was not the end but the wakeup call of the long-term democratic movement that demonstration signs demanding for “real universal suffrage” and promising “we will be back” were spread to hang up all over Hong Kong.

By Stephanie Szeto @stepszeto

 

I believe everyone has heard some kind of rumours, for example in school, at workplace or within friend circle. Since the development of Web 2.0 provided the interactive experience on Internet, the landscape of social networking is getting denser, more complex and participatory (Whittaker, Howarth, & Lymn, 2014). Rumours, at the same time, can be spread broader and quicker through social media than word of mouth (Bai, 2012). A marketing survey found that Facebook was the most popular social networking platform used by Hongkongers that 91% of the respondents used mainly Facebook and the largest age group of Facebook users was 25 to 34 with 55% female. The survey also found that Hongkongers seemed out of favour with traditional media and 44% of the respondents read Facebook for breaking news (Lam, 2014). By my own observation during the Umbrella Revolution, Facebook were the most prominent platform for Hongkongers to read, share and comment the breaking news, in addition, Internet rumours were also widely distributed.

On the first night of Umbrella Revolution, a message, de facto rumour, spread on Facebook that mobile network would be shut down by the Authority sparking the massive rush download of an app called FireChat which allowed mobile users to stay connected with each other through messages without using WiFi or mobile network (Hume & Park, 2014). This rumour freaked me out too and I

was one of those dreaded netizen to rush download FireChat. I rationalised my irrational behaviour by telling myself better safe than sorry. However, without clarified by the Authority, this Internet rumour was scotched because mobile network had never suspended. Yet, the Authority became the suspect to spread the rumour for threatening the protesters and anyone who wanted to flock to the protest sites by producing mass panic.

After that, another Internet rumour was going round about People’s Liberation Army would intervene in the movement. Although the Authority denied the possibility of the intervention, mass panic has been triggered by a mass transmitted derivative work of the Army’s tank on Facebook (Sin, 2014). Perhaps the Tank Man photo, taken during Tiananmen Square Protest in Beijing on 4th June 1989, has imprinted on Hongkongers’ mind, or Hongkongers’ distrust toward the Authority induced the trust of the rumours on Facebook (Bai, 2012). Unlike the older generation, I was too young to feel the impact on the bloody clearance of Tiananmen Square Protest, so I guess the younger generation may not take the Tank Man photo into account, but they tended to believe information on the Internet than the untrustworthy Authority.

Bai (2012) assumed that Chinese are vulnerable to rumour and Liu (2010) attributed this phenomenon to the tendency to use anecdote rathen than seek reliable information to differentiate rumours. But, what is the element to shape Chinese’s irrational behaviour? Gold (2002) suggested self-construal of Chinese may be the element. Living in the collectivistic society, Chinese emphasizes good interpersonal relationship, namely Guanxi network, so they are likely to conform to group members to keep group harmony. This explanation suggested two implications that 1) Chinese tend to believe and conform what in-group members say without criticizing or verifying the truth. 2) Chinese are likely to widely spread what have heard serving as information exchange purpose and hope others would share their information reciprocally. The conformity tendency and internalized interdependent self-construal may turn out leading Hongkongers to easily believe and spread Internet rumours during Umbrella Revolution, especially when they perceived the Authority was unreliable.

By Stephanie Szeto @stepszeto

 

Since the Western media nicknamed Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement as “Umbrella Revolution”, the humble umbrella turned out to be a great source of creation inspiration. The yellow umbrella is especially popular on social media because Hongkongers used yellow ribbon to represent their desires for democracy and universal suffrage, and yellow became the de facto official colour related pro-democracy activities as well as disapproval of the Hong Kong Police’s violence against pro-democracy protestors so far.

The 87 tear gas rounds deployed by the police actually brought Hongkongers together. While some Hongkongers participated in the sit-in at protest sites, the other concentrated on creating artworks to represent Umbrella Revolution. As images can easily attract attention and convey abundant messages in succinct manner (Sontag, 2003), the artworks created by artists, designers and home-based keyboard fighters spread rapidly across social media and received tons of Likes, Comments and Shares on Facebook. People who are pro-democracy changed their Facebook Profile Pic or Facebook Cover to those artworks with themes of yellow umbrella or yellow ribbon. The most impressive among all, is the one with five umbrellas grouped like Bauhinia blakeana flower symbolising the Flag of Hong Kong and those five umbrellas sprang back “five stars” and marked Chinese words meaning “rebound”. This implies that Hong Kong was defending against the intrusion of “five stars” which suggested the Five-star Red Flag of China. Over the past few years, Hongkongers felt that the Mainland government has been tightening progressively its grip over the

city by grasping the economy and manipulating the policy. For example, money from Mainland overwhelmed the real estate markets and created the housing crisis in Hong Kong. Moreover, recently, a Mainland media veteran was brought in to the monopolising free-to-air terrestrial television station, Television Broadcasts (TVB), as controlling stakeholder, to which created a concern about the underlying nested interests of Mainland.

During the sit-in, umbrellas were brought in bulk and distributed freely as shields to protect protesters from police’s next attack, shelters to sleep under and sketchpads to write slogans on. Bryan Druzin, Assistant Professor of law at Chinese University of Hong Kong, believed that umbrella was the emblem of Hongkongers’ passive resistance besides its practical function. Kacey Wong, Hong Kong artist and Assistant Professor of design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, held a mock Umbrella Revolution logo competition on social media. The top three prizes would be Justice, Democracy, and Freedom, and the competition has attracted an influx of entries. Research found that exposure to images of terrorism affect individuals’ emotion and their emotional responses (Iyer, Webster, Hornsey, & Vanman, 2014). Though Umbrella Revolution was not a terrorist attack, it intensely impacted Hongkongers without any doubt. However, the psychological process is yet to be addressed.

Please click the following link for Kacey Wong’s Umbrella Movement Logo Competition https://www.facebook.com/kacey.wong.319/media_set?set=a.10152749673435281.1073741853.681960280&type=3

By Stephanie Szeto @stepszeto

 

Hong Kong weather is known for its unpredictability. To protect against the sudden rain and strong sunlight, Hongkongers used to prepare an umbrella in their bags all over the year. Since last September, Hongkongers have found a new way to use the umbrella to shield them from the burning pepper spray as well as clouds of tear gas, which had been used by the police to break up mass of serene and ordered protesters who appeared at government’s headquarters to show their support to the captured pro-democracy students. However, the tear gas had the counter-effect to call on tens of thousands of Hongkongers from all ages to approach the government’s headquarters. Although police fired the tear gas more than 80 times into the crowds, the increasing number of Hongkongers who were full of disapproval of the use of tear gas flocked to the protest sites. They held up an umbrella as a shield and put on either surgical masks or safety goggles to protect their faces or eyes. Some of them who did not have goggles wrapped their eyes with plastic wrap taken from kitchen at

home. From their basic gears, we could certainly tell that they just wanted to protect themselves rather than attack. They craved for justice and democracy but not a war.

Since then, the umbrella became the symbol of this non-violent protest which astonished the Western media dubbed the movement as “Umbrella Revolution”. Despite the fact that the protest leaders insisted it was a pro-democracy movement rather than a revolution or the Hong Kong based English newspaper South China Morning Post keeps using the term “Occupy Central”, it could be seen from social media that Hongkongers preferred “Umbrella Revolution” much more. It is because 1) the protesters went out spontaneously to support the students, say no to tear gas, and voice out their desire for justice and democracy as said before rather than spurred by the three Occupy Central advocates. Actually, protesters disregarded the three advocates who have proposed the occupation more than a year without taking any action. 2) The Cantonese translation of Charter Road, located in Central, can have the meaning of “umbrella fight”, therefore, the term “Umbrella Revolution” depicted thoroughly the situation that the protesters were holding umbrella to fight for democracy in Central area. Moreover, 3) umbrella is familiar and symbolic compared to an abstract idea of “occupation”. The term “Umbrella Revolution” spread across the social media and stimulated a lot of creations ever since.

 

By Stephanie Szeto @stepszeto

 

It seems logical that public tend to rely on official source, such as government to have credible disaster information and relevant protective actions than unofficial sources no matter in traditional or social media forms (Wogalter, 2006, Liu, Fraustino, & Jin, 2015). Nonetheless, Palen and colleagues (2009) found that public thinks unofficial sources can sometimes provide more timely and accurate information than official sources. This finding may explain why, in 2003, four Hongkongers decided to change their own website from personal photo sharing to a public SARS information distribution platform which eventually made the government to provide accurate SARS information in a timely manner.

The recent outbreak of Influenza made Hongkongers panic. Despite the statistic shows that 500 to 1000 people die from influenza each year and this figure is higher than the figure of 299 died from SARS epidemic, Hongkongers still blamed the government for not announcing the accurate number of death toll of influenza, which had already exceeded the number of SARS in 2003. Perhaps Hongkongers were still living in the shadow of SARS or Hong Kong government had lost its credibility. However, the counterfactual thinking messages on Facebook could tell that the government had failed Hongkongers’ expectation. Concern about the death toll of influenza might not be that high if the government updated the figure in its official media openly to advise the public how serious the outbreak was. Moreover, the message of “We, Hongkongers, save our own Hong Kong” was widely spread on Facebook to remind everyone to save oneself by wearing mask as the government failed to do its job. Some Hongkongers also made sarcastic comment about they were lucky to live in Hong Kong where Internet Great Firewall is not applied, or the death toll of influenza would be officially announced fewer than 40 by the government; because they observed that the Chinese government would not announce dead figure more than fortyish regardless of how serious the disaster was.

Recently, a Singaporean teenage Amos Yee, who uploaded a self-performed video to YouTube to criticise the late former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, was arrested and kept in a cell with bright lights switching on for 23 hours every day at Changi Prison; then ended up transferred to the Institute of Mental Health on 23rd June. This incident attracted so much attention from Hongkongers because a few months ago, the Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 issue was raised again and there has been a lot of public concern about freedom of speech, especially on Internet, that any expressing and receiving any government unwelcome messages or political satire creations may be regarded as illegal, or turned out to be sent to mental hospital like Yee.