Monthly Archives: February 2014

 

In the parts of the country currently in the depths of winter, people may be experiencing cases of the “winter blues.”

 

Very often people notice increases moodiness and a lack of energy beginning in fall and lasting through the winter. This may be due to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  Seasonal Affective Disorder most commonly occurs during the winter and fall, but can also be experienced during the summer. According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of SAD (quite an appropriate acronym) that occurs during fall and winter are similar to those of other depressive disorders: depression, hopelessness, anxiety, loss of energy, heaviness in the arms or legs, social withdrawal, oversleeping, loss of interest in once enjoyable activities, weight gain, appetite changes, and difficulty concentrating.

 

Treatment often includes phototherapy, which entails exposure to sunlight, if possible, or light boxes which are specially designed for treatment, filter out damaging UV rays, have been shown by research to be as effective as antidepressants, and exhibit a more rapid onset of effectiveness than antidepressants. SAD appears to be more and more common the further one is from the equator, perhaps as a factor of the amount of sunlight and/or the exposure to longer periods of sunlight. It is no wonder, then, that Hawaii and other locations close to equator are such hot vacation hotspots and that there is a higher cost of living.

 

Going to the beach does sound like a great idea right about now!

 

For more information about Seasonal Affective Disorder, including treatment and prevention, visit the Mayo Clinic’s website.  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195

 

Cassandra Sturycz,
Psychology Practicum Student

 

 

 

 

Intelligence, self-discipline, or chance? What is the strongest contributor to success?

 

This is a complicated question. I think that it is too simplistic to think that the smarter you are, the more successful you will be. We can recall how many times we have completed an intelligence test when applying for a new job or a promotion. This obviously never happens.  More likely consideration for a position is focused on past performance and achievement.

 

The above statement leaves out too many situational factors including perhaps the most important- self-discipline.  Richard Nisbett discusses in his book, Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count, the strong relationship between delayed gratification in the marshmallow experiment with children and their achievement scores in the future.  The marshmallow experiment gives the participant the options of either receiving one marshmallow now or two marshmallows after a set time.  Children who were able to wait longer to receive more marshmallows were more likely to have higher standardized achievement test scores.

 

However, Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, that immense success depends primarily on the special advantages one receives that make it possible to reach such success, once expertise has been achieve via the 10,000 Hour Rule. He cited such stories as how Bill Gates developed an affinity for computers and later achieved extreme wealth after he was given access to computers at a time when computers were not widely available.  Gladwell argues that Gates would have likely been a successful professional, but perhaps not a professional worth $50 billion.  Such high levels of success do not depend on raw aptitude and hard work alone.

 

So for now, there is no easy answer for my initial question.  Like many complicated questions, there are many complicated answers.  For more information on intelligence and success or for help forming an opinion of your own on this matter, you can check out the books I have discussed here:

Gladwell, M. (2009). Outliers: The story of success. Penguin UK.

Nisbett, R. E. (2009). Intelligence and how to get it: Why schools and cultures count. New York:  W. W. Norton.

 

Cassandra Sturycz
Psychology Practicum Student