#Attention Schema Theory

[averycanadianfilm]

Attention Schema Theory (AST) by Michael Graziano [MESEC WinterSchool 2023]

May 12, 2023

Michael Graziano's keynote at MESEC 2023 WinterSchool about 

the Attention Schema Theory (AST).   

Included topics: attention, attention schema, body schema, modeling vision and attention, illusionist

[postcardsfromheapside]

I'm going to put a video here where a published author and content creator is talking about the way readers frequently interact with the book world, and specifically Sarah J Maas readers and their ilk. The video isn't hating on readers, or Maas or the types of books Maas & clones write. I am not posting it in relation to the topic of plagiarism. The reason I'm posting it is because of the way people have responded to Veilguard. It's not very long, and I'm sharing it because he summarizes and briefly discusses the following points:

anchoring bias

schema theory

cultural myopia/commenting on things when you have limited cultural exposure

other people dealing with the consequences of a critical poster getting 15 minutes of attention

I thought the video was a good poke into problems coinciding with people criticizing (not critiquing, there's a difference) Veilguard, where anything from themes, plot points, characterization or even costume elements in the game are being torn apart...and the people doing the tearing are approaching the topics with often *self-admitted* lack of experience on what they're criticizing, and zero curiosity.

A concrete example: there was a discussion swirling recently in which there was an attempt to criticize Veilguard for the funerary practices Rook and Bellara go through. This in spite of the fact that a Dalish Rook and Bellara can have an in-the-moment discussion about the differences between their clan practices, and in DA:I Solas can mention how clans are different from each other, and there have been many, many posts on this site discussing from a lore perspective how the elves are not a monolith. I don't have to tell you that the posters criticizing the scene were myopic on both a cultural and personal preference level in their criticisms of the scene.

Critical posters have also frequently spoken over users who attempt to explain the diverse cultural, political, or queer experiences and influences which align with Veilguard's portrayals.

I thought it was great that this creator brought up how authors are affected for a considerable amount of time by shitty online takes. Recently there were screenshots where Trick mentioned that making Veilguard was traumatic, and folks passed them around with bioware/EA/Veilguard critical tags, but didn't include that maybe the fans themselves continue to bear some of the blame for this experience.

I don't think Bioware/EA are blameless as companies, or that Veilguard is a perfect game, but there's been a distinct trend where 'fans' claim to be critiquing things and are really only whining (and sometimes harassing creators) that they didn't get what they personally wanted. And if pressed about what they wanted, the examples they give aren't coherent narratives meant for published or produced media - if they were, those fans would already be working in those fields making art. Social media has made it very easy to 1) get access to and attention from creators, and 2) get validation (and very little pushback) from other fans for pithy remarks. In other words, it's easy to feel undeservedly "right" for shitposting.

[moodyseal]

I got too deep into the Schema Theory while writing the paper for one of my exams and it got me thinking about Apollo's coping mechanisms yk

Basically the gist of this theory is that, in the eventuality that their primary needs are not satisfied during their formative years, a child might develop a bunch of different behavioural schemes in their adult life (which are too many to be listed here oh my god) that are a direct reflection of how the parent failed them during childhood

For example, one of these schemes is emotional deprivation, which is a person's tendency to emotionally distance themselves from other people due to the fact that they believe they won't be able to comfort them, and it's a scheme that's formed due to the guardian not satisfying the child's emotional needs. Basically it's formed through a "If my parent couldn't do it, then how could others?" sort of mentality

Another one, which I believe is very relevant here, is the sense of failure, which originates due to the guardian's immensely overbearing nature and the continuous dissatisfaction with the child's efforts. As an adult, the child in question believes that they're inept at everything, even if evidence points to the contrary, because of the fundamental belief that they hold that they're a failure

(Does it remind you of anyone?)

Now, these schemes tend to go hand in hand with modes, which are essentially coping mechanisms that the person uses to deal with whatever life throws at them and whatever negative emotion these schemes bring on. One of these modes is the *squints* scheme overcompensation? Anyway what it says on the article I got the info from is that basically people who use this coping mechanism tend to do the opposite of what their behavioural scheme tells them to do. If they're ashamed, they put down others. If they feel like a failure, they boast. (Again. Who does this sound like.)

AT FIRST it seems like a good coping mechanism but it's actually not, because the overcompensation leads to this vicious cycle where the more a person overcompensates, the more the scheme worsens. In Apollo's case, the scheme we're examining here is his sense of failure; in his overcompensation mode, to avoid feeling incompetent he tries to constantly put himself in the spotlight, drawing attention to his talents. However, he does it in such a ridiculous way (perhaps actually in some form of self-sabotage?) that the people around him insult those talents, call him a failure, and thus worsen his feeling of worthlessness.

(This might be tied to the punitive scheme as well, maybe? Considering how keen Zeus was on punishment, Apollo might've developed this scheme as a result, though over the centuries it could've shifted its focus from everyone to just him idk. The change between "I'm punishing everything and everyone for being so stupid, even my own son + this Ptolemaic god who breathed wrong in my direction" to "Actually I'm chill" seems pretty suspicious to me tbh)

ANYWAY all of this is to say that everything he does is so intrinsically tied to the damage Zeus did to him that it hurts. All his behaviours all his coping mechanisms. Everything

The arrogance is not just a façade he built over the years to hide his feeling of unhappiness and guilt!! It's quite literally an abuse response!!!!

And yeah maybe Leto was the one who spent the most time with him and Artemis and who took the most care of them so technically she should be considered his figure of attachment instead of Zeus but then again. How much time did Apollo spend beside her compared to the time he spent at Zeus' side, after the twins became Olympians? What do a few moments with her in a year do against entire centuries with him?

Leto's influence never really mattered. He was doomed since the beginning

[binaural-histolog]

Hypnosis and Cognitive Schemas

Okay, this is the big one. I'm putting together a page on hypnotic suggestions that alter mental perceptions.

This is going to be a monster, so I'm not even attempting to put it up in one go. Instead, I've got some theory and the beginner suggestions up.

The theory is based around cognitive schema, which is (roughly) all the precepts we use to immediately perceive environment and situation without building the world up from first principles.

There's crossover with memory, expectancies, and beliefs, but that can't really be avoided. What I want to get at here is that perception uses schemas to give us a picture of "reality" that is really condensed and filtered through what we think we already know. If you change those schemas, you change perception.

This explains a paradox about hypnosis that always confused me. People who are hypnotized often don't have amnesia. They can remember the suggestions that they've been given. But the suggestions still work -- give a suggestion that someone is invisible, and they won't see them. Their conscious experience of the world comes from perception, and their perception tells them that they don't see this person.

I'm also very happy with the find that perception and schema fit neatly into attention schema. There are many hypnotic suggestions that work by directing attention, either by making something functionally ignored or by causing complete fascination with an object. I want more investigation of attention disorders from this perspective, but it looks like AI and cognitive neuroscience people are more into it than the psychology academics.

I am still trying to figure out how to slice up this page to cover how mental suggestions can be categorized. Defining it as "self / interpersonal / environment" is one option, but it doesn't get across the ways that you can convince / manipulate people, and how narrative and storytelling ties into schema. There's rhetoric, there's wants and needs, there's the interplay of tension and release... Good suggestions are an art and it's hard to summarize them in headings and bullet points.

[unwelcome-ozian]

THEORETICAL APPROACHES AND TREATMENT MODELS (listed alphabetically)

Practitioners who are unfamiliar with dissociative disorders or to working with DID may prefer to start with texts that are based on their core models or familiar ways of working. Survivors can also expect to come across and be offered a variety of theoretical approaches, summarised below, although none have the monopoly on healing. It is more important that professional help is trauma-informed and based on a collaborative and companionable approach to finding what is best for each individual’s journey.

Attachment-based Psychotherapy – focuses on relationships and bonds between people. It emphasises the developing child’s need to form a healthy emotional bond with at least one primary caregiver for positive social and emotional development.

Doing Psychotherapy: A Trauma and Attachment-Informed Approach, (2020) by Robin Shapiro

Nurturing Children: From Trauma to Growth Using Attachment Theory, Psychoanalysis and Neurobiology, (2019), by Graham Music (See description in Working With children & Adolescents)

Trauma and the Avoidant Client: Attachment-Based Strategies for Healing, (2010), & Trauma and the Struggle to Open Up, (2019) by Robert Muller

Working with the Developmental Trauma of Childhood Neglect, (2022), by Ruth Cohn

Cognitive & Behavioural – theories and therapies elaborate the interplay between mind, thought, behaviour and action, and demonstrate how they can provoke emotions and contribute towards the maintenance of problems or towards recovery.

Cognitive Behavioural Approaches to the Understanding and Treatment of Dissociation, (2013) edited by Fiona Kennedy, Helen Kennerley & David Pearson

DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition, (2014) by Marsha Linehan

Reinventing Your Life, (Schema Therapy-updated 2019) by Jeffrey Young & Janet Klosko

The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Recovering from Trauma and PTSD: Using Compassion-Focused Therapy to Overcome Flashbacks, Shame, Guilt, and Fear, (2013), by Deborah Lee & Sophie James

Trauma-Focused ACT: A Practitioner’s Guide to Working with Mind, Body, and Emotion Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, (2021), by Russ Harris

Creative Therapies – use arts-based models and interventions, including music, drama, movement, art or play, with support from a trained professional. Individuals of all ages may find them helpful because they address issues and support expression without the need to talk or focus on the physical self.

A Therapeutic Treasure Box for Working with Children and Adolescents with Developmental Trauma, (2017), by Karen Treisman

Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy, (2020), by Cathy Malchiodi

Integrative Therapy – affirms and blends different models of therapy with consideration given to what works and why.

Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders, (2009), by Paul Dell & John O’Neil (Eds)

Mindsight: Transform Your Brain with the New Science of Kindness, (2011) by Daniel Siegel

Neurobiology and Treatment of Traumatic Dissociation: Towards an Embodied Self, (2008) by Ulrich Lanius, Sandra Paulsen & Frank Corrigan

Working with Voices and Dissociative Parts – A Trauma-informed approach, (2019) by Dolores Mosquera. (See description in Treatment Books)

Internal Family Systems Therapy – elaborates the relationships between parts of self or psyche and demonstrates how separation or division between parts can cause suffering.

Internal Family Systems Skills Training Manual: Trauma-Informed Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, PTSD & Substance Abuse, (2017) by Frank Anderson, Richard Schwartz & Martha Sweezy

Internal Family Systems Therapy, 2nd Edition, (2019) by Richard Schwarz & Martha Sweezy

Mindfulness – a meditative practice that reconnects individuals to the present moment; purposefully drawing attention and focus to moment-by-moment, internal and/or external awareness.

Dissociation, Mindfulness, and Creative Meditations: Trauma-Informed Practices to Facilitate Growth, (2017), by Christine Forner

Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing, (2018), by David Treleaven & Willoughby Britton

Polyvagal Theory – explains the importance and value of interpersonal neurobiology in recovery from trauma, and the effect of trauma on the body and the brain. The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation, (2011) by Stephen Porges The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, (2018) by Deb Dana

Psychoanalytic – theories and therapies that aim to treat mental disorders and distress by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious mind.

The Dissociative Mind in Psychoanalysis: Understanding and Working with Trauma, (2016), by Elizabeth Howell & Sheldon Itzkowitz

Trauma, Dissociation and Multiplicity: Working on Identity and Selves, (2010) edited by Valerie Sinason

Psychodynamic – based on the theories and principles of psychoanalysis, but with an increased emphasis on an individual’s relationship with their external world; seeks to understand conscious and unconscious processes that influence emotions, thoughts and behaviour patterns.

Easy Ego State Interventions: Strategies for Working with Parts, (2016) by Robin Shapiro

Somatic (Body-Oriented) Resources – recognise that trauma and its effects are stored within the body, and cause dysregulation and restriction to movement and/or emotion.

EMDR Eye Movement, Desensitisation & Reprocessing – a psychotherapeutic approach that uses visual, auditory or tactile stimuli bilaterally, (from side-to-side of the body), in a rhythmical pattern, to enable reprocessing of memory and its effects. Care needs to be exercised with RAMCOA survivors, since similar techniques have been used in some survivors’ abuse, and EMDR may prove triggering or breach the therapeutic relationship.

EMDR and Dissociation: The Progressive Approach, (2012) by Anabel Gonzalez & Dolores Mosquera

EMDR Toolbox: Theory and Treatment of Complex PTSD and Dissociation, 2nd Edn, (2018), by James Knipe

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy – an evolving “body-oriented talking therapy”, helps individuals stabilise, discharge and resolve physiological symptoms of trauma and adverse experiences.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment, (2015) by Pat Ogden & Janina Fisher

Trauma and the Body, (2006) by Pat Ogden, Kekuni Minton & Clare Pain

Additionally: The Body Remembers Volume 2, (2017) by Babette Rothschild 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery, (2010) by Babette Rothschild

Somatic Experiencing – focuses on the body and perceived body sensations, to express and relieve mental and physical traumatic stress-related conditions.

In an Unspoken Voice, (2010) by Peter Levine

Waking the Tiger, (1997) by Peter Levine

[athenavalor]

Overcoming Early Maladaptive Schemas Through Stoicism

xr:d:DAGCFTzNeaw:2,j:2585490690809663052,t:24041105 Attachment theory has recently gained significant attention, shedding light on how our early relationships shape our interactions and emotional bonds. Similarly, Early Maladaptive schemes (EMS), a concept that may be unfamiliar to many, offer profound insights into our psychological makeup. EMS are not just abstract ideas; they are deeply…

[earthling-wolf]

Pe Real-Time

Pe (extroverted perception) is a function that understands an object by its temporal immediacy, approaching it directly and experientially for what it is. Unlike other functions that approach objects through an interpretive framework or schema, Pe continuously registers the immediate truth of an object's existence and seeks to explore it curiously for its own sake without being limited by past preconceptions. Content that may emerge from this mental process includes music composition, performance arts, creative arts, improv comedy, and contemporary social commentary.

Thirst for Novelty

We receive from the explorer process the elation of new experiences like sunset watching, cave diving, dancing, ocean sailing, travel, and all sorts of fluid and rich activities. The explorer process wants to rediscover everything on its own. Viewing something in a book may not be enough since the greatest fulfillment comes from real-time witnessing of life. Pe has an insatiable hunger for what comes next and can grow bored and restless in an environment that offers little opportunities for experimentation. The explorer process seeks animation, and when a stagnant and textureless "present" yields no such properties, they venture elsewhere. However, "elsewhere" does not need to be a physical location, as Pe types will also have the highest curiosity for new concepts, ideas, theories, and interpretations of life. They may dabble with information structures, trying them on consecutively until finding their favorites. However, because this thirst is permanently embedded within Pe, it is not in its nature to ever be fully satisfied for long. They may eventually abandon their engagements to pursue new avenues and discover what has now entered global attention.

Plasticity

This gives Pe a contemporary focus, allowing it to be up-to-date and pivot quickly whenever necessary. It carries an enormous capacity for flexibility and improvisation. Being "too old for new tricks" is never the case for Pe due to its refresh factor, which metabolizes the world anew at each moment. Learning a new job, task, skill, language, or exercise is always plausible, and in the worst-case scenario, older abilities are forgotten with time. Pe can be unlimited, allowing people to reinvent themselves endlessly. However, this plasticity can also have an unsettling effect, especially when this continual reinvention causes a loss of personal identity. The rate at which Pe can adapt to reality may leave it wondering about its essence, what they most cherish, what career is best suited for them, and what kind of partner they want. They will be vulnerable to surrender to the transience of life, flowing with all its currents, only to wash ashore in a life they neither expected nor wanted. However, Pe also gives types the capacity to recover from hardships, maintain hope, and just keep swimming.

Sense of Humor

This function also generates a unique talent for humor, with Pe-leads being the most highly represented in comedy. Pe's situational awareness allows quick improvisational thinking, leading to success in anything from stand-up comedy to freestyle rap. A key focus of the Pe function is entertainment, both in what it gravitates to and what its activity creates. Above all else, Pe enjoys the experience of surprise and amusement, the euphoric stimulation of an engaging situation. Thus, Pe can provide a great deal of energy toward raising the laughter of the present, often using itself as a resource or prop. The class clown is a quintessential exemplar of Pe's comical energy, as is the court jester or joker. Because humor is generated by the sudden inversion of our perceptions and expectations, it constitutes a contagious novelty that Pe will thirst after in the same way it does for any other information. This humor habit often translates into a jolly, easygoing, and enthusiastic personality known for bringing a spark of light into the room.

Generative Ability

The essential role of Pe is the appreciation and introduction of new information into the world. It seeks that information out and participates in its renewed manifestation through a creative act. Pe is a creative function and is thus a key source of innovation and invention. The perpetual re-imagining of music, fashion, drama, art, and media owes its existence to Pe, which forever revitalizes society. The street performer, the traveling musician, the trinket maker, the aerosol artist, the breakdancer, the gypsy, and the like -- are all varied iterations of a broader Pe narrative that collectively transforms and defines modern culture. However, this generative ability also destabilizes the present societal structures. Pe's heavier aspect can lead to disarray, disorder, and chaos as a byproduct of the disassembly of previous boundaries. Pe will flirt with danger as it explores uncharted territories, as stepping outside of the known societal structures can lead to delinquency, escapism, and intoxication.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

I've known a few people now who have communicated to me in some way a version of "my name isn't capitalized, and if it is capitalized it's not my name"

It was pretty clear that this was something these folks were used to people having odd reactions to, but it's worth pointing out that it's a very similar point bell hooks makes in relationship to naming. You might notice that some folks will not capitalize hook's name even when they ARE being very formal about grammar (*because* they're being formal about it in fact)

Bell hooks named herself in honor of her grandmother, and in an effort to de-center the individual (herself) within the work (her ethnographic, political, analytical, and other writings)

https://bellhooksbooks.com/faq-items/why-did-bell-hooks-want-her-name-lowercase/

Bell hooks chose to style her name in lowercase letters to shift the focus from her identity to her ideas. Using lowercase, she intended to de-emphasize the importance of the individual behind the work and instead highlight the substance of her writings and theories. This stylistic choice reflects hooks’ commitment to a feminist perspective that prioritizes collective struggle over personal recognition. It’s a symbolic gesture that speaks to her broader critiques of systems of oppression and her advocacy for more equitable and communal forms of engagement and recognition. Through this choice, hooks sought to challenge traditional norms of authorship and authority, encouraging readers to engage more deeply with the content of her work rather than her persona as an author.

Often, the role of shifting into and out of formal, historically established, and functional grammatical usages in writing is to subtly influence the tone, implications, contextual relationships/hierarchies, and other experientials within the reading of the text.

Some of my more attentive followers may be familiar with my use of Proper Noun grammar to emphasize and center certain conceptual/descriptive naming conventions in my work, or with my use of hybridizing-language-in-the-anglo/germanic-style-to-unify-complexified-systems-of-meaning-making-into-a-single-word-schema (particularly in my conversations about relationship-with-self and body-mindwork)

Both are examples of either formal or historically established grammar conventions for writing (sort of like what I imagine people are trying to do these days with tone indicators) multiple layers or connotations of meaning into text. I'm also prone to functional versions of character text formatting such as *implying italics and/or bolds for emphasis with asterisks* or identifying a footnote* to read at the end of a sentence or paragraph.

*you read this later and it reinforced or added to the point being made in it's referential text!

Lots of these are common use in shorthand and thought records too, because it's often a version of visualized thinking progression* that can ease us back in and out of specific frames of mind, and keeping this style of notes during project work can make pauses WAY more bearable (or if you're like me it can also reduce the frequency of you screaming and bursting into tears when someone interrupts your focus after you spent hours trying to get into a flow state)

*remember OP's reference to the name of this kind of loose but functional grammar set up top? If you look back over the whole of my addition you'll see several aspects of this "stream of consciousness" style, esp if you keep in mind that I always use Tumblr on the app on my phone with a keyboard that auto-capitalizes the first word of a sentence, meaning that is the only capitalizes that is by default rather than Chosen and Intentional stylistically

Anyway the fun thing about language is that humans made it all up, and we are constantly adapting and adjusting it to fit our needs, so if you find a writing style that works for you and someone gets fussy about your grammar (and there aren't pre-determined grammar/presentation criteria and standards for the piece) you might as well just bite them honestly.

i don't use all lowercase and minimal punctuation because i'm lazy it's a stylistic choice. it's called "stream of consciousness" and it's actually a recognised and respected literary technique. you should feel privileged to bear witness to the development of my autobiographical epic in its raw unedited form.

[nursingwriter]

Personal Advanced Nursing Practice Framework Nursing paradigm of cultural dialogue and change Like so many nurses today, I find myself practicing in a culturally diverse environment. Earlier theories of nursing tended to view the patient in the abstract, as an autonomous individual to be helped by the nurse. However, some models, such as Dorothy Orem's, gradually took a broader view of the nursing process as a way to correct patient's self-care deficits. Gradually, systems theories such as that of Betty Neuman's began to incorporate a more expansive view of the patient's environment into the concept of nursing. Nursing theories also came to include how to address the client's family and social context, particularly in systems-based framework like Neuman's. But only Madeline Leininger's philosophy of transcultural nursing, a philosophy of culturally specific care, fully addresses the needs of contemporary society. Leininger defined her ideal as "a humanistic and scientific area of formal study and practice in nursing which is focused upon differences and similarities among cultures with respect to human care, health, and illness based upon the people's cultural values, beliefs, and practices" and nursing is required "to use this knowledge to provide cultural specific or culturally congruent nursing care to people" (Leininger 1991). As useful as Leininger's idea has proved in my practice, however, I have not incorporated it without some modifications. In my view, culture is a personal, economic, and social schema as well as a product of the patient's ethnicity. In terms of culture, for example, many families from Asia, Latin America, or Southern Europe have a strong extended family network. Accepting grandchildren as part of the circle of caregivers is essential, as well as keeping multiple family members notified of an elder's health. But a personal 'culture' can also be more immediately related to one's social or economic status: in many families, I see how a long-standing culture of poverty has lead to a low level of health literacy. Healthcare, healthy food and exercise is not given a priority. Costs of living rather than long-term health-related consequences are the focus of the family. The emphasis is on the here and now, rather than on the long-term amongst many poor families. Even the high-achieving, high-stress culture of America can be problematic, in terms of facilitating patient health. Cultural sensitivity is important, but culture must be a dialogue between nurse and patient. When the culture of the patient promotes physical and mental health, the nurse should interact with the culture in a respectful and positive fashion. However, when the patient's culture is creating environmental stressors or impeding health-related knowledge (such as a Somali parent who insists it is impossible for his or her child to be autistic or have ADHD because 'we don't have such diseases in our community' or a Greek immigrant continues to smoke because in Greece, everyone smokes) the nurse must engage with a positive dialogue of change with that culture. The four paradigms of nursing: environment, nursing, health, and client or recipient of care Environment Ever since nursing began as a unique profession, with a theoretical basis, the impact of the environment upon patient care has been chronicled. Florence Nightingale stressed the need to create a health-promoting environment that was sanitary and well-ventilated, based upon her experience as a wartime nurse. The environment where the nurse provides care, whether in a busy emergency room or the patient's home, will impact and shape the way care is given. A leisurely, friendly pace may be appropriate at home or a doctor's office, but not in a place where many are clamoring for medical attention from the nurse. The patient's environment includes not just the immediate physical environment, but also the environment that the patient inhabited previously, before the patient met the nurse, and the environment into which the patient will enter after nursing care is given. For example, if a child is being treated for asthma, the nurse might very sensibly recommend that the child be housed in an allergy-free environment with no dust or mold. But if the parent lives in low-income housing and cannot remove the child from such an environment in the near future, the nurse must craft a realistic solution, based upon the economic culture of the patient. As noted by Dorothy Orem, "physical, chemical, and biologic features" of the environment "include things such as atmosphere, pollutants, weather conditions, pets, infectious organisms and the like. Socioeconomic features of the environment focus on the family and the community and include such things as gender and age roles, cultural roles, and cultural prescriptions of authority" (Bridge et al. 2010, p. 5). Central to my cultural dialogue paradigm of nursing is the idea that the nurse must have a realistic apprehension of what he or she should and can change regarding the physical and cultural environment. Patients who are accustomed to going to faith healers for care, or who are not accustomed to going to the doctor at all may need to be engaged in a 'change promotion' health-related dialogue and negotiation. However, other aspects of the patient's culture and environment can and must be respected, such as the desire to treat older relatives within a home-based context. Nursing When asked to 'free associate' what nursing entails, the first response that popped into my head was that nursing is -- hard (but very rewarding) work! The reason nursing is such hard work is because it taxes every aspect of the nurse's and the patient's being and sense of self. Both individuals must communicate with one another as much as they are capable. Nursing is not something done 'to' someone, as stressed by theorist Imogene King -- instead, it is an active process of the nurse helping the patient achieve a goal, a common health-related goal set by the nurse and patient (Williams 2001). Health The notion of what constitutes health is culturally controversial, although to the novice nurse it might seem like a 'no brainer.' For a patient facing the end of life, a nurse may be confronted with a family that insists no heroic measures must be allowed -- or a devoutly Catholic family who believes that every measure must be exhausted, even in defiance of a patient's living will. Health for an athletic adolescent may require finding a nutrition program that optimizes his or her athletic performance, even if the young person is already physically fit, while for a patient with a mental illness, tolerating some physical side effects might be acceptable if a psychotropic drug can relieve his or her anxiety. Health is a negotiation of physical, mental, and social factors. Regarding the social, even an illness that might not be physically damaging (such as acne) may require some treatment, because of the social needs of the adolescent sufferer. The 'culture' of adolescence, or a life stage such as pregnancy, may have its own demands. Client While some culturally-focused theories of nursing may stress the idea that the 'client' is the entire social network of the individual known as the 'patient,' in my view the patient's health always comes first. Environmental aspects such as family and society must be addressed, and treated with respect. However, the nurse must act as an advocate for the patient, to avoid well-meaning family members obscuring the client's needs with their own needs. For example, the child of Christian Scientist parents who believe in the power of prayer to cure illness may require conventional medicine to cure his or her illness. As part of the patient's environment, the parents must be treated with respect, and in terms of the definition of 'health' the seriousness of the illness and the psychological distress of conventional treatment and care must be weighed against one another. But the child as a 'client' is the nurse's ultimate responsibility, not keeping a state of harmony within the Christian Science community as a whole. Define and describe other concepts and constructs Dialogue is thus a key component of effectively integrating cultural sensitivity into nursing: there must be a continual flow of dialogue between patient and care providers, and between the cultures of medicine and the personal, social, and religious worldviews of the client. Effective cultural integration is about negotiation and balance, not winners and losers. Discuss how the components of your framework interrelate Culture affects a patient's health: an individual who has grown up poor, where 'comfort foods' are defined as high-sugar foods, will need to renegotiate his or her relationship to food to avoid obesity and diabetes. A family and neighborhood environment that normalizes rather than pathologizes such a high-carbohydrate diet will impact the client's receptivity to nursing interventions. The nurse must place the client's self-interest at the forefront of the purpose of care, rather than the hurt feelings of the patient's grandmother or friends, but in prescribing a course of nursing treatment, the patient's budget, cultural pressures not to comply, and economic and logistical challenges must be kept in mind. The nurse must negotiate with all aspects of the patient's life that impact health. Personal practice framework: The family nurse practitioner. As viewed in this paradigm, the nurse practitioner is a teacher and a student of health: a nurse must teach patients about health-promoting practices, but also must learn from the patient, so as to incorporate patient needs and perspectives into the treatment prescription and plan. The relationship between the practice framework and the nursing process The initial interview with the client is critical. All too often, nurses simply ask the patient about immediate symptoms or lifestyle practices. Cultural negotiation requires acting 'why' -- for example, WHY is a client not taking his or her medication, exercising, or eating certain foods. Client's presumptions of health and client health literacy are part of the patient's culture and must affect the treatment process. The applicability or adaptability to clients of various ages in various health states The multigenerational nature of nursing care makes cultural negotiation all the more important: first and second generation immigrants will often have a different cultural perspective upon health and wellness than their children. Age is part of the individual's culture, as well as heritage, and every life stage itself is a kind of 'culture.' Summary A client's culture is part of his or her state of health: assumptions about the self, family, environment, and philosophy affect daily health practices. Some of these elements are within patient control, others are not. Like the old adage, the nurse must set goals with the patient in a state of dialogue, and accept what cannot be changed, and seek the strength to change what can and must be altered. References Bridge, Jean, Sally Cabell, & Brenda Herring. (n.d.). Dorothea Orem's self-care deficit theory. Troy University. Retrieved April 26, 2010 at http://prism.troy.edu/~scabell/Orem.pdf Leininger, M. (1991). Excerpted in "The basic concepts of transcultural nursing." Culture Diversity. 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2010 at http://www.culturediversity.org/basic.htm Williams, Leigh Ann. (2001, Spring). Imogene King's interacting systems theory: Application in emergency and rural nursing. Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 2 (1): 25-30. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://www.rno.org/journal/index.php/online-journal/article/viewFile/93/89 Read the full article

[notdefendingtaylor]

"only normalizing and indulging in racism/sexism under a flimsy shield until you get panned for it. "

They really were made for each other huh? Only twatlor uses her fans as an extension of her bigoted self and hides/plays dumb while ratty does it himself

she's an interesting inverse to him: she TRIES to look squeaky clean/always perfect/always PR appropriate and it leads to lukewarm politics, insincere-sounding statements, misjudged 'feminism', and is belied by her choices of associates and the behavior she stays mum on from her fans.

he's tossing out shithead stunts/statements pretending it's subversive/antiestablishment to be a hipster racist while some of his other behavior suggests he wants to be an advocate for others, but only in a way that can piss off AND offend everyone. lgbt people in Malaysia feared military crackdown after he kissed his bandmate onstage: "He gets to fly out of the country and not face the consequences, while our people have to face the brunt of what just happened"

there's a psychological theory about how complementary 'schema wounds' create a unique chemistry and draw people with inverted dysfunctions together. it creates that intense, irrational, life-ruining relationship that the immature misinterpret as 'true love' . wondering if the two of them being unable to not co-opt social movements for attention is embedded in there somewhere.

[studybnny]

psych mock; gender

gender-

androgyny

androgyny is a mixture between masculine and feminine characteristics

bem devised BSRI as measure of androgyny -> composed of 60 traits, respondents rated themselves on a 7 point scale

scores translated to either: male-female, or undifferentiated-androgynous.

suggested ppl with high androgyny score should: more positive relationships with others, and themselves.

androgyny ao3

:( oversimplification; people at home or work may take on different traits.

:( outdated- traits don’t align w modern perception of genders.

:) good scientific reliability- original sample was large and had test retest reliability

:( androgyny may be negative- competitiveness

chromosome and hormones ao1

the 23rd chromosome pair in females is xx and in men is xy. the y chromosome in men contains the SRY gene -> triggers development of androgen + test = male sex characteristics

the absence of y chromosome in females-> triggers development of oestrogen = female sex characteristics

atypical patterns: klinefelters: xxy (taller stature, smaller testes, difficulty reading + writing). turners: xo (infertility, no breast production).

chromosome and hormones ao3

:) evidence: young- giving hormones to female rats undergoing prenatal development led to masculine behaviour eg increased aggression.

:( reductionist: attributes gender differences to solely biological factors - ignores socialisation + cog processes.

cognitive approach: kohlberg ao1

suggested gender develops in stages; identity: 2-3, can label own gender. stability: 4-5, realise own gender is fixed over time. constancy: 6-7, realise everyone’s gender fixed over time and situations. once constancy reached — seek out same sex role model.

he suggested children actively construct gender through experiences

ao3

:) evidence, munroe: cross cultural study found children universally progress through gender in similar stages.

:) clear and structured progression -> can be helpful in education contexts.

:( doesn’t account for societal influences, eg societal norms and gender roles can influence behaviour

cognitive approach: gender schema theory

GST: proposed by martin + galveston

children develop understanding of gender as they age, by actively constructing schemas based on societal norms. (filtering + organising info).

by 2-3 -> have formed gender identity.

developmental theory of gender says by 8 -> pay attention to in group

info that doesn’t fit schema is forgotten or altered to fit stereotypes.

ao3

:) martin + halverson: kids under 6 remembered gender stereotypical behaviour more accurately when asked 1 week later.

:( supporting evidence relies on artificial tasks- don’t represent how children normally process gender- related info.

:) explains why children may develop rigid gender stereotypes at young age- eg alexander et al- children had preference for gender stereotypical preferences young

psychoanalytic explanation for gender ao1

gender develops in phallic stage (4-5) , through resolution of oedipus

child identifies w same sex parent and then internalises and adopts their gender related behaviours and attitudes.

ao3

:( evidence children show gender typical preference before 4-5

:( abstract concepts

:( male centred

[hassountheseventh]

What, then, is ‘New’ about this dialectic? What is implicitly referred to here as the ‘Old Dialectic’ is the Soviet school of ‘Diamat’, rooted in a vulgarized version of the ideas of F. Engels and G. Plekhanov. It was presented as a universal ‘world outlook’ and universal method.  Engels was especially influential in drawing attention to the importance of dialectic and in elaborating his own version of it. He put forward ‘three laws’ of dialectic: namely quantity into quality, interpenetration of opposites, and the negation of the negation. Engels proceeded by applying these abstract schemas adventitiously to contents arbitrarily forced into the required shape. The result consisted of a set of examples and it lacked systematicity. But if it turns out that Marx’s Capital has a systematic dialectical exposition, this should not be because it applies abstract universal formulae, but because the movement of the material itself requires it. Systematic dialectic draws on Hegel’s work. This interest in Hegel is unconcerned with recovering the grand narrative of Hegel’s philosophy of history and relating it to historical materialism; rather it is focused on Hegel’s Logic and how this fits the method of Marx’s Capital. The effort is to deploy a systematic dialectic in order to articulate the relations of a given social order, namely capitalism, as opposed to a historical dialectic studying the rise and fall of social systems. Now, where the interpretation of Marx’s Capital is concerned, I also draw upon a relatively new tendency in Marxian theory, which emphasizes Marx’s notion of the ‘value-form’. It is the peculiar form of commodity-exchange that is theorised as the prime determinant of the economy rather than the content regulated by it. The developed form of value (commodity, money, capital) is the characteristic social form of present economic relations. Hegel is a natural reference for value-form theory because his logic of categories is well suited to a theory of forms.  Moreover Hegel’s systematic development of categories is directed towards articulating the structure of a totality, showing how it supports itself in and through the interchanges of its inner moments. This presupposes that the totality is structured by internal relations; by definition so in the case of a logic of course. But I argue capital is just such a totality. As we know Marx acknowledged the influence of Hegel’s Logic on his work. Some, such as Althusser, dismiss this influence as merely stylistic, picking on a phrase where Marx said he flirted with modes of expression peculiar to Hegel. But I think it is worth taking the relevance of Hegel seriously. My original research project was to see if I could show this textually. However I concluded that this was not easy to do because I do not think Marx himself understood why he found his arguments relying on Hegelian figures. So my current ambition is to reconstruct Marx’s work in the spirit of a systematic dialectical logic.

Chris Arthur

[binaural-histolog]

Alexithymia and Hypnosis

Last post on cognitive construction was interesting, so I've been exploring it more.

One of the interesting things about the emotional construction theory is that it's instinctive and automatic. Typically, people don't analyze and think through emotions. Instead, they are immediately seen and recognized in the same way as words are immediately seen and recognized. Likewise, we like to think that we can immediately see and recognize the emotions of others.

But this doesn't apply to everyone. Roughly 10% of the general population has alexithymia, an inability to recognize (or construct) emotions in themselves or others. These people do experience feelings, but cannot provide a label for these feelings. If they do bring up feelings, it may be in the form of physical sensations "good but a little queasy" or "very bad about to throw up" or a very long description of all the events and actions leading up to that point.

The attention-appraisal model of alexithymia provides some understanding of what is happening. In many models of alexithymia, there are the same three components present.

Difficulty identifying feelings in the self (DIF)

Difficulty describing feelings (DDF)

Externally oriented thinking (EOT)

This attention-appraisal model builds on work in emotional regulation through valuation systems, by processing feelings through a four stage situation-attention-appraisal-response sequence. In other words, a snake in the room (situation) leads to looking at the snake (attention) leads to the idea of "snake in the room is bad" (appraisal) and finally fear (emotional response). The emotional response can then be the focus of valuation, leading to questions like "do I like being afraid?" and "what's the best thing to do to reduce fear?" leading to action (running away from the snake). This action is emotional regulation, the activation of a goal to modify an unfolding emotional response.

The attention-appraisal model conceptualizes DIF, DDF, and EOT as problems in the second stage of valuation system. EOT is a difficulty in paying attention to an emotional response. Likewise, DIF and DDF are problems of appraisal, where the individual is aware of an emotional response, but doesn't know what it is or what it means. Without an understanding of what they are feeling, the individual cannot appropriately decide on action and cannot self-regulate their emotions.

The underlying cause of DIF and DDF is theorized to be a lack of development in emotion schemas, the cognitive structures that guide the processing of emotions. However, this does not explain why alexithymia often increases during periods of distress. The model theorizes that some difficulties may be caused by avoidance alexithymia, a regulation strategy that effectively deals with unwanted emotions by not dealing with it at all, using EOT to disassociate.

Alexithymia is very common in people with autism, with a comorbidity somewhere between 50% to 85%. Many of the problems involved in autism are directly related to the inability to self-regulate and may not be directly related to autism at all. This makes more sense when looking at how people develop emotion schemas. Children do not self-regulate, but have their parents provide feedback and regulation. This interaction breaks down between neurotypical parents and autistic children because autistic children do not display affect, and do not react to stimuli in the same way. With limited or weak verbal representations of emotions, they cannot verbally elaborate their feelings or communicate them to others, and cannot develop appropriate emotion schemas and lexicon.

So how does this relate to hypnosis?

Well, it turns out that hypnosis can be an effective intervention for reducing alexithymia. Effectiveness of an hypnotic imagery intervention on reducing alexithymia took participants through an 8-session training program and found that hypnosis was an effective intervention.

We chose an indirect procedure using neither direct nor posthypnotic suggestions able to elicit the production of emotions for two reasons: as alexithymic people tend to avoid confronting their emotions, direct suggestions could have led to anxiety and to a defensive reaction. The second reason is that we wanted them to mobilize personal resources (Erickson and Rossi, 1981). Thus, the activation of personal knowledge and procedural memory in the participants should lead to a better response to the therapy. We then suggested that they feel different emotions while telling them ‘fairy tales’. These are of particular interest as our population is likely to be more involved in the training and to experience an age regression when given the opportunity to listen to old stories from their childhood, as these evoke difficult situations and/or traumas, as well as violent and negative emotions that the participants could have experienced in their life without having to directly confront them. Each participant listened to eight fairy tales, presented in the same order. Each script presents a well-known fairy tale involving a traumatic situation (e.g. abandonment in Hansel and Gretel, death wishes from a parent in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Sleeping Beauty, incest in Donkey Skin), and a large range of negative feelings connected with the traumatic situations. However, we introduced a change in the mental state of the main character of the fairy tale, and proposed a reframing of the situation and/or original solutions. For example, the necessity of leaving the parents’ house in order to become an adult in Hansel and Gretel; direct expression of negative feelings and refusal in Donkey Skin instead of taking flight; and the possibility to survive the assault of a parent in Sleeping Beauty and to pursue his/her own development in a positive way. Because we do not have any preconception on the cause(s) of alexithymia, nor of how to ameliorate it, we decided to activate different targets: traumatic events and negative feelings connected with the situations, and we proposed different solutions based on the expression of emotions and self-assertiveness.

This technique can be used generally in recreational hypnosis: if you want to elicit emotions in people with alexithymia, describe a situation that they can recognize already and build up the link to the emotion.

[dssd-11dm]

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[businessa]

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[knowmerit123]

"Building Better Insights: Essential Power BI Skills for Analysts

 "Building Better Insights: Essential Power BI Skills for Analysts In today's data-driven world, the ability to effectively analyze and visualize data is paramount. Enter Power BI – Microsoft's powerful business analytics tool that empowers users to transform raw data into insightful visualizations and actionable insights. Whether you're a data analyst, business intelligence professional, or just someone looking to enhance their skill set, mastering Power BI skills can be a game-changer for your career. In this blog, we'll explore the essential Power BI skills you need to succeed and how you can hone them to perfection.

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