Pooja Sri

The unconscious is where most of the work of the mind gets done; it's the repository of automatic skills (such as riding a bike), the source of intuition and dreams, the engine of much information processing. Fleeting perceptions register in the unconscious mind long before we may be aware of them. The unconscious mind is not some black hole of unacceptable impulses waiting to trip you up, but it can be the source of hidden beliefs, fears, and attitudes that interfere with everyday life. Most forms of psychotherapy aim to bring into conscious awareness many of these hidden hindrances, so that we can examine them and choose how to deal with them. While we are fully aware of what is going on in the conscious mind, we have no idea of what information is stored in the unconscious mind. The unconscious contains all sorts of significant and disturbing material which we need to keep out of awareness because they are too threatening to acknowle...

I am sure that most of you have seen those posts which claim to tell you your personality by the way you sleep, by the way you eat Oreos, by the date you were born (astrology & horoscopes), by what your favorite color is, etc. You may be surprised at how many people actually believe in these personality “tests” (maybe you do, too?). The Oreos one is my favorite because it is beyond stupid. If you haven’t seen it,  here  is one of the many sites which feature the “quiz.” I especially find the “psychologists have discovered” part distasteful, as people generally believe everything claimed to have been discovered by scientists. Here is one of the many versions out there:  So, if all these “tests” are bogus, then why do people believe in them? Why would anyone be convinced that they work if they, in fact, do not? The answer is simple: the Forer Effect (sometimes called the Barnum Effect). Basically, the Forer (or Barnum) Effect is the tendency of peop...

Understanding how  personality  develops - how we become who we end up as - is one of the ‘holy grails’ of modern  Psychology . Since psychologists can’t even agree a definition of ‘personality’, however, that’s no easy task As the aim of Integrated SocioPsychology is to align and integrate the  behavioural sciences , exploring common ground in theories of personality, to arrive both at a definition of it and an understanding of the forces (both internal and external which shape the development of personality is a key consideration. One of the most important theories to consider is that of the great  Sigmund Freud . ‘Oral aggressive’ people are often perceived as greedy and acquisitive, envious, pessimistic, cynical, sarcastic, scornful and contemptuous. Orally-fixated people often seek gratification through smoking, thumb-sucking, nail-biting and chewing objects like pens and pencils. A predilection for oral sex is also seen as an ind...

Parapsychology  is a field of study concerned with the investigation of  paranormal  and psychic phenomena which include  telepathy ,  precognition , clairvoyance, psychokinesis,near-death experiences,  reincarnation , apparitional experiences, and other paranormal claims. It is often identified as  pseudoscience . Parapsychology research is largely conducted by private institutions in several countries and funded through private donations, and the subject rarely appears in mainstream science journals. Most papers about parapsychology are published in a small number of niche journals.    Parapsychology has been criticized for continuing investigation despite being unable to provide convincing evidence for the existence of any psychic phenomena after more than a century of research. parapsychologists study a number of ostensible paranormal phenomena, including but not limited to: Telepathy : Transfer ...

Why Your Brain Actually Works Better in Winter By  Christian Jarrett It was terrifyingly cold in New York this weekend, and this cold snap occurred right as we’re entering the postholiday doldrums. It’s around the time of the year when people start to talk about seasonal changes to their mood and energy level — most commonly, seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. While SAD is a relatively new condition — it stems from research in the '80s — it has become a huge part of how we in the colder climes discuss winter. Everyone knows how winter affects certain people: It lowers their mood, makes them more prone to depression, and, in some cases, slows their mind to a crawl. There’s a reason for the popular image of someone wanting to just curl up in bed to wait out the duration of a frigid February afternoon. But scientists are coming to realize that this might not be quite right. A pair of new studies challenge many of the popular assumptions about the psychological effects of...

At the beginning of a new love relationship, we may find ourselves in a beautiful fantasyland. Finally, the struggle to find peace and happiness is over… ‘I am saved. I am safe. I am lovable. I am desirable. I am acceptable. I belong. I am overflowing with love to give and joy to share. I am so incredibly alive. We are a perfect match.’ And then reality sets in… ‘He leaves his wet towel on the bed.’ ‘She is constantly texting.’ ‘He is always late.’ ‘She is always working.’ ‘He drinks too much.’ You may wonder, ‘Who is this person I thought I knew?’ ‘She’s changed.’ ‘He’s different.’ ‘You complete me’ spirals down into ‘You deplete me.’ Despite our hopes for perfection, romantic love relationships, like every aspect of life, are complicated, continually changing and confusing. While our fantasy is that the ‘right’ romantic relationship will relieve us of our pain, fear and longing, the truth is that our romantic relationships stretch us to the limits of our emo...

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. February 6th is International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Ending FGM by 2030 is one of the UN Global Goals. It is what my grandmother called the three feminine sorrows. She said the day of circumcision, the wedding night and the births of a baby are the triple feminine sorrows. Feminine Pains (poem, 1998) -Dahabo Ali Muse, Somali. Because a woman is cut open on all these three occasions. We are here talking about female circumcision, variously known as female genital mutilation (Rose Odlfield Hayes), khafḍ (Arabic), asbolokoli (Mali) and so on. The terminology underwent changes with time. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is defined by the WHO as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons”. While the exact number is not known a ...