innkblotz blog - Bryn Robinson, freelance writer

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Social Psych Picture Show
2008-04-07 14:04:00
Last week of classes! I wonder if someone has made a graph of the apparent phenomenon of spring fever hitting campus, where class attendance decreases exponentially as the temperature increases. With the sun out in full force and the weather guaranteed to hit double-digits, I may be talking to myself this lunch hour.Oh, well. At least I can teach you, faithful reader. Here's the videos I'll be showing in a few hours in class - just classic social psychology experiments. Two out of three would not likely pass present-day ethics review for the level of deception and potential psychological harm; in fact, I imagine there are still staunch critics of these babies! I'm sure we could debate their merits for some time - does the end justify the means and all that - but they also had immense benefits to our knowledge. Mainly, we know that good people are capable of doing very bad things.- - -Solomon Asch's Conformity Experiment: would you vote with the majority, even when the evidence t...
More About: Social , Show , Picture , Psych

Revolt in Romper Room
2008-04-04 14:53:00
I like relaying this story because the image still remains strong in my mind and makes you wonder what happened to "kids these days". Four years ago, I was asked to tutor a kindergarten class after school (yes, a kindergarten class). Two little boys attended, barely five years old: one guy who tried to shock me by stabbing his pencil into his hand, and another mischievous elf with frosted hair and a diamond stud. Although I tried to keep the topic onto reading about Bill and his dog Lad, they were more interested in describing in angered, vivid detail their strategies for beating on cops in Grand Theft Auto III. Apparently, the baseball bat was a preferred tool.I couldn't play that game for ages after that. How does a five-year-old child harbour so much anger that they are disturbingly gleeful about killing - even in a video game? Silently, I hoped that they learned to distinguish between fact and fantasy.Then I read about this story ("Third Graders Arrested in Plot to Stab Teacher...
More About: Room , Revolt

Bachelor in Meat Cookery (Minor in Soft Serve)
2008-04-03 02:16:00
Today, I got asked to give a workshop for incoming high school students in early May. Designed to promote student success, the university wants to boost the students' skills in a variety of areas. Although I haven't seen the schedule itself, I suspect that it centers around 'how to study better'; I have been asked to discuss techniques for improving memory. Deep down, though, there's another talk that I want to give:Make sure you know why you're here.I cannot begin to keep track of the number of students who seem uncertain of their goals past university, or unaware of the need to prepare for the real world. Countless people take a program, only to comment, "I dunno why I'm here. Mom and Dad are paying for it anyways." Even the ones who work to pay for school are similarly confused about the purpose, having been bred in high school to believe that university is a smart choice. Other alternatives are for the lesser ambitious - college, technical schools, or any applied training...
More About: Meat , Bachelor , Soft , Minor , Serve

More Joys in Education
2008-03-28 17:15:00
Overheard in class today:Me: Another form of behavioural therapy is aversion therapy. This uses principles of classical conditioning, pairing unpleasant stimuli with the undesired behaviour numerous times until the behaviour no longer exists. For example, with alcoholism, a drug is sometimes used in the client's favourite drink. The drug creates nausea and vomiting, and the client can learn to pair that feeling with alcohol...*show the following photo of the drug in question*Student #3: *snorts* I wonder if they use that to abuse ants.It's the end of the semester, and the Peanut Gallery is getting weak with their commentary.
More About: Education

Return from Easter Break
2008-03-26 11:53:00
Although the weatherman and his team of meteorologist marmots claim that we are now in the spring season, I find it hard to believe (something to do with the furious snow that just started outside the office window).For the Easter long weekend, we visited friends now living on the outskirts of Annapolis Royal, NS. (Although it seems that most of Nova Scotia is simply on the outskirts of Halifax.) We opted to drive there, having never seen the countryside - and we still never did, due to thick fog, no highway lights, and the odd downpour. This first picture was the sight outside their kitchen window upon awakening the next day. In the evenings, the gloomy weather gave way to a simple and beautiful scene of a rural community along a small highway. I can only imagine what the photos will look like when we revisit later in the year.The wonderful thing about a small community that we tend to lose in any sized city is just that: a sense of community. Saturday lunchtime, we piled ourselves...
More About: Break , Return

Hanging With My Peeps
2008-03-19 14:38:00
You can either construe this as overanalysis on the part of a consummate geek, but I hope you'll instead view this as the curious and light-hearted exploration of a holiday myth. In search of some brain-related news, my hunt then turned to the season at hand - springtime and Easter. It didn't take me long to try and blend mental matters with the festivities, and soon I found the following article on PsycInfo:What if Santa died? Childhood myths and development. Breen, Lynda; Psychiatric Bulletin, Vol 28(12), Dec 2004. pp. 455-456. "Damn academics," you're likely muttering at this point, "always spoiling good, wholesome fun like the Easter bunny and Santa Claus." True, this article and this blog post can run the risk of intellectualizing the myth too much, but I thought it was an interesting perspective and it got me thinking. In her article, Breen talks about the psychological utility of encouraging the Santa myth in children; namely, it fosters pro-social behaviours like sharing...

Express Yourself, Pt. II - Overseas Edition
2008-03-18 00:51:00
Continuing with the theme of expressing ourselves and using art as a medium for mental health, I've stumbled upon a few more places that blend psychology, self-help and art:My Happiness Exhibition - a gallery/auction in Adelaide, Australia, in which proceeds were donated to the Headroom project (a mental health initiative aimed at youth, not unlike MindYourMind). Variety of methods used and messages conveyed. It was done in Nov. 2007, but still worth a look.Big White Wall - a UK-based social networking site that blends elements of Facebook with PostSecret. Essentially, you can create little "brick" images to post on a giant virtual wall, permitting you to anonymously unburden yourselves from deep, dark secrets, regrets and hopes. The profile you create can reveal as much or as little information as you like.Much like PostSecret, though, some of the topics on these bricks may surprise or stun you...I'd post my thoughts on this particular project in more detail, but they're best su...
More About: Edition , Express , Overseas

In & Out of Focus
2008-03-18 00:24:00
Mission Church, MillidgevilleLooking up the street to the church
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Gerald: Disorganized Schizophrenia
2008-03-14 18:12:00
Perhaps one of the most prototypical examples of mental illness is schizophrenia. Yet even though most of us have heard of this disorder, there is also a great deal of misunderstanding about what this illness involves. A classic example (this actually being one relayed to me by a friend volunteering at the local hospital) is the patient raving about a celebrity (in this case, Princess Diana) and constructing/wearing some sort of hat to prevent alien rays from reading his mind (i.e., a tinfoil-covered colander). Sure, there are some individuals who experience schizophrenia in similar manners, but often times it is not a grandiose, comic-book-like presentation.The following videos are excellent: I showed them in class today to illustrate a) the variety of symptoms that affected folks can have, and b) how destructive it is to relationships with family and friends. You can really sense the pain everyone is experiencing, and it made me a little sad to see how much he wants help, and how...
More About: Schizophrenia

broken & pretty
2008-03-12 14:54:00
In class today, we're starting to discuss psychological disorders; specifically, the different anxiety and mood disorders that exist. Although it's an intro psych class (meaning I want to keep the level of detail pretty light for our purposes), I still struggle to find meaningful examples to which the students can relate. We all toss around the terms "manic" and "depressed" and even "OCD", without really having a true appreciation for what someone with bipolar or major depressive or anxiety disorders experience in daily life.My supervisor has this excellent video that shows both phases of bipolar disorder (the client actually switches from depression to full-blown mania within 24 hours); even though I'll show it again in my Psychopathology class this spring, it is still the best example that I can use to illustrate what affected individuals endure. Unfortunately, the video is VHS and I haven't found a digital copy to buy just yet. So, I can't direct you to this video in particu...
More About: Pretty , Broken

Someone buy me a plane ticket to Alberta...
2008-03-10 23:16:00
The cajones on some people, eh? Selling hope: Can this Alberta woman repair the brain?To start, there is nothing wrong with eagerness about your research - nor does scientific discovery solely belong to people with PhD's. There is also nothing wrong with stepping outside of the box to find a cure; in fact, hasn't most of science advanced based on happenstance?But charging parents for a cure to autism and cerebral palsy, but being unwilling to provide a) evidence that the treatment actually works (your own data or other, peer-reviewed research), b) the names of your neuroscientist "colleagues" or happy customers, and/or c) hard proof that you actually graduated the universities that you name-drop (apparently, both her undergraduate and graduate institutions record her taking courses but not having received a degree) - well, it's all hard to believe that someone could get away with stealing thousands on the premise of healing a sick child. You cannot fault the parents who purchased...
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Sunday morning, rain is falling ...
2008-03-09 16:01:00
Since my last post on Wednesday, I've been working away on the book. Although it will take more work and hopefully some reader feedback before I finish revisions and tackle with the publishing question, I feel great about where the book is now. And even though it is shorter than my dissertation, I think the personal nature and different writing style have made it a greater challenge than my thesis. (Of course, we'll revisit that comment when I'm back in the throes of dissertation writing...)- - -Friday was a packed day of pottery painting and supper with my sisters. Bright and early yesterday morning, Ryan and I drove my sister Teri to a fitness examination in Moncton as part of her paramedics training (plenty of weight lifting and navigating heavy stretchers up and down stairs; my role was to nap in the car during this effort). And in May, I imagine the mandatory Dieppe Chapters run will phase out when we get our own here, but until then we had to make a stop and book shop. Afte...
More About: Rain , Sunday , Morning , Sunday morning

New Publication: Synergy Magazine
2008-03-05 23:39:00
Fresh in my inbox: the proof of an article I wrote for Synergy Magazine , a holistic health and wellness publication from Nanaimo, BC. An idea I had from a blog post about coaching basketball this fall, I talk about the difficulties I have had in learning "regular" meditation - only to realize that little pools of serenity exist when you are not actively searching for them.Visit the Synergy website to read my article. While you are there, take a look at other writings in sections on Health & Wellness, Spirit, Ponderings, Active Living and Mindful Living.Or if you want, check out this lovely .pdf they sent me.Take a look and let me know what you think. I would love to hear any feedback about the piece!
More About: Publication

March Madness Begins!
2008-03-03 20:51:00
Teaching does have its perks. This week I am relishing the time sans class, although it could equally be said that March Break provides a staunch reminder of my continuing status in student land. I'm going to ignore that interpretation, though, and instead revel in time off of class in which I can instead devote to my book.And book writing is exactly what I did today. Holed up at the home office with several mugs of strong caffeine, I massaged and reworked some parts of the book. I feel pretty good about what was accomplished so far; in fact, it only gets me more excited to keep working on it!---Time off is, of course, a relative term. I'm still working on my dissertation; I'm trying to finish up my data collection/entry, and will likely devote a day this week to finishing it all up. Oh, but the light doth grow brighter!---Finally, look at what I found over the weekend!In my nerdish pursuit of educationally-relevant materials, I stumbled upon some interesting folks who have take...
More About: March Madness , Madness

Disc Drop, Pt. I
2008-02-29 03:18:00
Have you ever been out for a walk and stumbled upon some grimy mix tape, likely thrown out a car window in a fit of frustration? If so, are you like me: do you pick it up and play it in your car (assuming you have a car like mine with an original tape deck) wondering what is on that tape? When you listen to the tunes, are you curious as to what kind of person would make that tape?After all, isn't music a significant mode of self-expression - speaking for us when we are otherwise tongue-tied or providing the soundtrack to a particular experience?Operation Disc Drop is an interesting project, brought to you by "The Hour", a daily news show that airs on CBC. You are asked to make a "mix CD" of music that has changed your life, leave the disc in a public place and then post your playlist and disc location on the website. Of course, this perked my interest - where would my CD travel, who would receive it, and would they listen to a few tracks and launch it out the car window to join oth...

It's Psychosomatic...Get Me a Saw.
2008-02-27 23:27:00
While I put the finishing touches on an essay for a writing contest, enjoy the following "Calvin & Hobbes" cartoon. In class today we discussed psychosomatic illnesses - how stress impacts our physical health and can lead to physical ailments - and I wanted to find a relevant comic to start the session:

Uncle Siggy's Weekend Visit
2008-02-26 00:43:00
Nerd Santa arrived over the weekend and delivered the much-anticipated goods! For your consideration and inspiration: the Sigmund Freud Action Figure! He accompanied me to class today, but I can't say that the students shared my enthusiasm. Rather, I was treated to giggles of appreciation/nervous desire that someone would dial security to come and collect me.Kids these days just don't appreciate the finer things. You know, Australian red wine, trips to the European continent, and action figures of ostracized psychologists.Oh Freud, you and your wacky oral fixation waysIs it really JUST a cigar, Siggy?Of course, he needs a couch, and I am now on the hunt for a small sofa to complete his practice on my computer desk hutch.---And in a related Freudian slip moment, my basketball team finished their season this weekend with a small in-house tournament. Quite honestly, I am stunned at the development of their skills over the season! Although it's a rather informal league to teach 6 &am...
More About: Weekend , Visit , Uncle

Mindfulness Stress Reduction - Video from GoogleTechTalks
2008-02-23 17:06:00
Being in the "stress & coping" mindset due to class yesterday I found us a video discussing a medical revolution, in which emotions and the mind are considered to play a significant role in the body's response to experiencing and dealing with stress. It is a long video but interesting nonetheless.
More About: Video , Stress , Mindfulness , Reduction

Black coffee and nothing else
2008-02-21 02:42:00
It's been a brain-melting couple of days over here, folks. While I wait to complete the first part of my thesis research (but smelling the end fast approaching), I've decided to go on a data entry kick. With the goal of entering them all by the middle of next week, I've spent several bleary-eyed days before/after teaching inputting variable after variable. I got this link as a pick-me-up: an article that I co-authored with a nursing prof in the university, on using music and hand massage to lessen agitation symptoms in dementia patients.With all this number crunching, yesterday was a real treat. Working from home, I was able to take considerable time to work on my book. Although I've been working away on this for some time, it's only been in fits given my thesis writing/data collection. With abundant inspiration these past two weeks, I think I finally have a good handle on what this book is all about. I was also able to sneak away for a little while to enjoy the above-freezing ...
More About: Coffee , Black

A Secret Life
2008-02-19 01:24:00
Imagine if you found out that you had a long-lost twin...And then found out that you were separated at birth on purpose, as part of a psychology experiment that tested nature vs. nurture - how will twins differ if they are brought up in different environments? Will their similar genetics override differing upbringings?This is an interview of two such twins, as interviewed on "The Hour". It is the only study that ever looks at the direct effects of nature vs. nurture (instead of a retrospective study looking back on their development). However, the results are sealed until 2066 (likely, by the time the experimenter has passed away and can escape the wrath of numerous participants and ethical groups). If you can't wait until 2066, you can get a better glimpse into the project and its effects by checking out their book, "Identical Strangers".
More About: Life , Secret

Post-Valentine Special
2008-02-15 18:37:00
Last night, Ryan and I did some photography with heart images and discounted candy (romantic thought, no?); check out his images over here. While he opted for heart diagrams in Gray's Anatomy, I played around with those chalky conversation hearts - which got me to thinking...Playing with some already-discounted Valentine 's candy...and a bottle of antacid tabletsSometimes it's tempting to continue working at full-tilt over the weekend. Just remember that you are allowed to take a moment for yourself - in fact, you'll be more productive when you do get back to work! For myself, this weekend involves working on my book, relaxing and going to the Blue Rodeo concert (birthday present!). Take some relaxation/fun time, whatever your tastes!
More About: Post , Special

Love is the Movement
2008-02-13 18:57:00
Sometimes, I really wonder where is all this "global warming" business, because the progression of snow and ice has been a brutal force today. I'm Canadian but it seems that we've been getting a walloping this season, no? Yet despite the frosty delights, it wasn't too bad early this morning and I decided to go ahead with class, with a very cozy group of 11 students. (Don't worry, moms, they had the option of attending or downloading full notes from their homes.)Afterwards, a student came up to me and informed me that February 13th was a special day to raise awareness for youth depression, suicide and mental health problems in general:To Write Love on Her ArmsFacebook group for TWLOHAAlthough I've linked the story, it started when a rock group (Switchfoot) took in a girl for five days after being deemed "too risky" for rehab. She was into cocaine, drinking as well as self-mutilation/cutting. After the group spent time with her for five days - just hanging out, sharing meals, and...

Is it really just a cigar, Uncle Siggy?
2008-02-11 19:15:00
In class today, we start discussing personality: what it means to have "personality", and what makes up a personality. After covering some definitions, we jumped into Freud's psychoanalytic theory and what he thought caused human characteristics. One thing that I mentioned to the students was this curious emphasis on psychoanalysis and Freudian theory in our culture, despite the relative lack of professionals practicing it. When you hear psychology, people often think of characters like Dr. Frasier Crane or Dr. Ludwig von Drake, or elements like inkblots and couches. People are fascinated with him, and I began to wonder - why? Why are we as a society so enthralled with the ideas proposed by Freud (e.g., that our unconscious desires motivate our behaviour, that our childhood shapes us permanently) when his theories really represent a small portion of contemporary psychologists' beliefs?Well, perhaps because Freud was and remains a rock star - a legend and a larger-than-life celebri...
More About: Uncle

Saturday Morning Special!
2008-02-09 15:41:00
It's a special weekend innkblotz post - I just didn't want to wait until Monday to show this off!For the last couple of weeks, I've been working on my main website. I wanted something cleaner in design, easy to update, and a layout that would appear the same regardless of your computer or browser. After looking into its prevalence on computers, I switched the new site over to Flash.Check out the new site here!innkblotz v.3.0 comes with:A new photo slideshow, where you can manually browse through the photos, or hit play and watch a timed presentationUpdated "Research" page, with links to conference presentations, teaching outlines, and websites related to my thesis workA "Contact" form, where you can send me comments and queries quickly (*note: if you hit send, it will send me an email, but I'm still working out how to let the user know that the email was successful.)If you have the chance, check out the new digs and let me know what you think! Any comments are appreciated.Cheers...
More About: Saturday , Special , Morning

My Brain the Rock Star?
2008-02-08 13:10:00
Some people try warm milk. Others try exercise or reading or performing a monotonous task. And others revert to the old standby of counting fluffy mammals over and over. Apparently, there is now a new addition to the sleeping aid repertoire:According to this video and these links (Brain Music Treatment website, Machine Makes Music Out of Brain Waves story), an EEG first records your brain waves in active and passive states. A computer then translates these readings into musical compositions (creating classical piano music from a pattern of tones), which you then listen to when you are trying to fall asleep or stay alert. Since the recordings are unique to your brain waves, so your brain responds to this music better than other relaxation tapes out on the market. And it is all effective 82 - 85% of the time...It's an interesting theory, but I think this goes under the heading of "cautious optimism". The BMT website links to the 2 scientific journal articles in which the original res...
More About: Rock Star , Rock , Star , The Rock

The Festive Psychologist
2008-02-06 01:25:00
This cold/flu season is really wreaking havoc, and now I've gotten sick yet again! Before I head to the couch and relax this virus out of the system, I wanted to share a lil' project that I attempted last night. This may surpass the sweet factor of the 3lbs of brain gummies, used in a class on biological bases of behaviour. (And hopefully, the taste factor as well...)As mentioned in the Friday 01.02.08 post, February is National Psychology Month in Canada. To celebrate, I decided to put on my culinary scientist hat and create a brain cupcake.Well, the finished product tastes good, although it didn't get the same effect as this one over at epicurious.com. (Icing was too runny to hold the brain shape.) Still, it's a fun little project for Hallowe'en or a mental health-related fundraiser.Brain Cupcake from Epicurious.com (Follow the link for recipe/photo credits - I wish this was my finished product!)

Harlow's Monkeys: Initial Attachment Research
2008-02-04 21:10:00
Took a long time to find this video, so had to share the wealth! Likely, I made a few students join PETA today after they viewed this video in class. Talking about emotional bonds and how children form those vital relationships with their caregivers, I showed this video of Harry Harlow's research on monkeys (separated from the mothers as soon as they were born). The question: will a monkey be motivated to satisfy a physical need or an emotional need? Turns out that although the monkeys will satisfy their food needs, they do so sparingly and instead prefer to spend most of their time with a cozier surrogate mother. I have to warn you, though - the movie is a little sad. Very cute monkeys + their desperate crying = heart strings tugged. Nonetheless, it's a great resource for people trying to envision the experiment.
More About: Research , Monkeys , Attachment

Happy Psychology Month!
2008-02-01 22:36:00
Now in its fourth year, the Canadian Psychological Association has promoted a national month of psychology education and awareness. No, we don't have hats or carols or a special shrubbery under which all the psychologists from the land wait for St. Maslow to deliver presents. The main goal is a grass-roots effort to promote psychology in the local communities; in particular, educating people to what psychology does (beyond the typical stereotypes of insane asylums and demented psychosurgeries). A lovely explanation video sums it up nicely:You can take part in the festivities by indulging in a little education. Check out the links to videos and studies on this blog, read commentaries and essays written here and on other psychology blogs. I found the above video at "the shrink rap" blog, another lovely psychology resource on the internet that is well worth a check-out. And as for me, I'm considering having some culinary fun and making brain cupcakes or cookies. (I have no idea HOW I...
More About: Happy , Psychology , Month

the innkblotz book club #1 - "The Glass Castle"
2008-01-31 02:38:00
Perhaps this is old news, but I had to share it with you.Last week, I finished reading "The Glass Castle " by Jeannette Walls. I can honestly say that I have never felt such a mixture of emotions by reading one book. She describes her childhood and her parents' alternative lifestyles - the constant moves from town to town, her father's brilliance marred by alcoholism, and her mother's moods (which seem to be bipolar disorder) and unwillingness to be an authority figure for her kids.Sounds like pretty standard memoir fare, but what is really attractive to me was this combination of emotions elicited by the book. In some parts, the extent of the psychological issues makes you so angry that you want to wring the parents' necks (for example, how the kids would starve for days at a time because the father drank the money or the mother was unwilling to cook for them). But then there were times when you would feel sympathetic for even the parents as they tried to make little moments spe...
More About: Book , Club , Book Club

Coffee for One?
2008-01-28 16:07:00
Frankly I've been getting sick of hearing male-bashing mantras and hardcore feminist manifestos.In fact, I would argue that the pendulum has shifted to favour females - I suppose out of fear that anything remotely male-positive is viewed as anti-female. Now, this disparity has accumulated in our daily lives. How many workplaces are finally beginning to offer paternity leave? How often do children get to stay with the father after a divorce? In my research on the effects of fathers on mental health, it has been astonishing that most participants still view the mother as the sole caregiver and the father merely as breadwinner or authoritarian. (Not to say that the participants are being dishonest; perhaps that truly is the case in their families.) Yet, my results have also shown that fathers contribute a great deal to our mental health and self-esteem, offering something unique and important to children's well-being. Similar findings have also been found in other psychological resea...
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