The Decisive Role Of Humour In Advertising English Language Essay

The Decisive Role Of Humour In Advertising English Language Essay Humour plays a decisive role in our daily life and it is also a subject of interest of numerous disciplines such as linguistics, popular culture, psychology, mass communications, marketing and some others. The discussion of what humour is can be traced back to Aristotle and Plato. The complexity of this phenomenon has been an intrigue for many researches. Humor is a universal human activity found among all cultures and throughout all of recorded history (Alden, Hoyer, and Lee 1993). Humour is widely used in advertising as a form of communication in order to persuade customers to purchase products and services since it is generally believed among advertisers that making us laugh will encourage positive thoughts and feelings toward their products and brands and put us in a receptive mood for their sales messages (Beard 2008: 2). Cook said that advertising is always a handy and useful mirror if we want to reflect on the way we behave socially (Cook 1992:5). However, the use of humour in advertising remains very controversial as its presence in advertising can cause both positive and negative effects. Response to a humorous ad can be different as individuals have different sense of humour. Therefore humour is very individual and subjective but at the same time it is universal. According to Raskin responding to humor is part of human behavior, ability, or competence, other parts of which comprise such important social and psychological manifestations of Homo sapiens as language, morality, logic, faith, etc. Just as all of those, humor may be described as partly natural and partly acquired (Raskin 1985: 2). Throughout its history there were many attempts to define humour but none of the definitions accounts for all its possible types thus underlying its complexity. Humour can be broadly identified as a form of communication in which a created stimulus may act to provide pleasure for an audience (Gulas and Weinberger 2006: 95). Attardo states that linguists, psychologists, and anthropologists have taken humor to be an all-encompassing category, covering any event or object that elicits laughter, amuses, or is felt to be funny (Attardo 1994:4). It is very important to distinguish between humour and laughter as humour has been often identified with laughter  [1]  which seems to be wrong as humour a mental phenomenon while laughter is rather a neurophysiological reaction to it. 1.2 Aim and scope The objective of this thesis is to contribute to further understanding of one of the numerous strategies employed by advertisers, namely humour. However, this thesis does not set out to provide a theoretical framework for humour in spite of the fact that the following chapters make frequent reference to the academic and scientific literature. The overall aim of the study is not only to provide a better understanding of humour in print advertising and give an insight into different linguistic theories of humour as well as its different types but also to describe different linguistic features which advertisers use to incorporate humour and illustrate this by means of empirical material gathered from a variety of sources. Under this point humour will be divided into two groups: pun-based humour and non-pun humour. We deal with pun humour when the advertiser uses elements of language to create new meanings that result in humour. My supposition is that this is the type of humour which mos t often occurs in print advertising. In this regard such linguistic devices will be described as polysemy, homonymy, idiomatic expressions, neologisms and nonce formations, and antonyms. However this would be just mere identification of a certain type of humour in advertising and its enabling factors. Therefore the extent of the study is to look how different types of humour vary across different products and services advertised in magazines. Since it is generally believed that the best media suited to the use of humour are radio and TV, lots of studies exploring the use of humour and its effectiveness were conducted mostly in this field. Therefore this thesis is focused on the advertisements presented in print media and does not feature ads that appear on the television, radio, internet, and cinema. There has always been a great debate over whether humorous print advertisements work and of course there is no need to say that they do. We just have to remember that humour print invol ves a more intimate relationship. Graham Warsop, the only creative director to have judged the big four international advertising awards, once said: Print humour gets someone to smile inwardly rather than outwardly (Aitchison 2004:). This states again that not everybody will laugh at the same things. It should be noted that headline and body copy of an advertisement will not be the crucial means of attraction since most advertisements are humorous only due to the interplay of text and image. The picture often functions as an eye-catcher in the ad whereas its meaning differs from the meaning of the text. Cook considers pictures to be a part of advertising discourse as they are used to convey a central idea in the ad (Cook 2003:6). Thus, both pictures and headlines will be seen as equivalent and will be considered together as their interplay contributes to the overall meaning of the text.  [2]  Advertising in its turn will be seen in the thesis as a communication process. 1.3 Outline As shown in the table of contents, this thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is the introduction in which the purpose and the research questions are stated. It starts by providing a background of the subject of the thesis, and then moves on to description of material and methods and ends by introducing the advertising terminology. Chapter Two is dedicated to a more detailed delimitation of the concept of humour, with an overview of the major humour theories which are necessary for introducing the operational definition of humour that will be used in this study. Chapter Three presents humour types. It discusses numerous existing taxonomies of humour types and offers a new classification which subdivides humour types into two main groups: pun based humour vs. non pun humour. The structure of this chapter is centered on this taxonomy with the corresponding analysis of the advertisements. Chapter Four is a research part of the thesis which analyzes the incidence of the identifie d humour types across various products and services and presents the collected empirical data as well as the results and findings. Chapter Five functions as a summing-up in which the research questions are answered and the conclusions are drawn. A bibliography and appendix will conclude the thesis. 1.4 Material and Method As stated above this thesis is focused on the advertisements presented in print media and does not feature ads that appear on the television, radio, internet, and cinema. The selected material consists of a total of sixty two humorous advertisements chosen from the range of around two hundred English-speaking magazines published between the years 2006 and 2010. Popular lifestyle magazines have been mainly used as they are directed toward a general audience and have a high content of ads which advertise a wide range of products and service. I used so wide range of magazines because one and the same ad have been found in numerous magazines as well as in different issues of one and the same magazine. For this thesis I have mainly used such glossy magazines as Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, In Touch, Chat, OK, In Style, Self, The Economist and some others. No gender issues will be put forward in this thesis as well as no differentiation will be made between humour in British and US magazine s as it would give this thesis a whole new dimension. As a first step in the selection procedure, I looked for any ads that displayed humorous context. The selection was relatively wide as this resulted in around 100 ads which I considered to be humorous. It should be noted that when browsing through numerous magazines it is very difficult to determine whether the ad is humorous or not as certain subjectivity is always involved into the process of decision making. That is why the subjectivity is inevitable. Despite the fact that such procedure of selection is often employed by many researches, I tried to avoid making decisions without consideration of opposing opinions and different points of view. For this purpose one interview was conducted the aim of which was to exclude prevailed subjectivity in my selective procedure and to explore two basic questions: which advertisements will be still considered as humorous according to the interviewees and how they will determine the type of humour in case the ad proves to be humorous. A remark should be made under this point that anyway it will be to a certain degree the so called unilateral decision as in the long run it is me who decided which ads would be included and which would be left out. It is also worth of mentioning that the interview is not the main purpose of this study and that is why its presence in the thesis will be limited by the short description of its procedure and results. Coming back to the interview procedure, it should be noted that the interview was conducted in a small group consisted of twelve participants. The length of the interview was two hours. Around one hundred fifty different ads were presented to the participants chosen on the assumption that all of them were humorous. In order to ensure that the results would not be biased, the participants were not informed about this fact as well they did not know what the study was exactly about. The participants were asked to have a look at each advertisement and to determine whether they consider it to be interesting or boring, creative or not creative and humorous or non-humorous. The two supplement questions besides the question about the presence or absence of humour in the ad were introduced only with the purpose of trying to avoid some potential disadvantages which are directly connected with an interview. This is the so called participant reflexivity, which means that the person being intervi ewed (interviewee) tells the interviewer only what s/he wants to hear. Then, since many people often expect from a humorous ad to make them burst into laughing and such an attitude would bias the results of the interview I decided to ask them to rate (in case they think the advertisement is humorous) how humorous it was on a five-point-scale. Rating an advertisement as 5 meant that they considered it to be very humorous, 3 indicated that it was a moderate representative of humorousness whereas 1 suggested that it was a very poor example of a humorous ad and should be probably excluded from the list. The results drawn after the evaluation of twelve questionnaires were surprisingly consistent. The agreement was particularly high for the identification of the given advertisements to be humorous or non-humorous. As for rating is concerned the results were not similar, better to say they were very inconsistent and that proves again that humour is always being judged individually and subj ectively. After that all the ads were sorted out to determine which ads would be fruitful for a qualitative analysis. The advertisements which were considered by most of the participants as not humorous at all were excluded from the list of candidates for future analysis. 1.5 Advertising terminology No need to say that advertising hat its own terminology. I am not going to list all the terms you can find in the field of advertising. Thus, the terminology will be limited to a few terms which are frequently used in this thesis. I will follow Cooks definitions which he presents in his Discourse of Advertising (2003). According to him Headline Phrase(s) found at the top of an ad. Caption Phrases (s) found in close proximity to an image. Body copy A piece of smaller text, often containing the main (or copy) information. . CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Introduction As was mentioned in the introduction, humour is by no means homogenous. Since there is no general acceptance in classifying humour, there is no ideal theory of humour which can cover all its factors and embrace all its peculiarities. Most of the existing humour theories are mixed and it seems to be impossible to incorporate such a huge phenomenon as humour into a single integrated theory. As a starting point it can be asserted that humour is triggered by particular mechanisms (Spotts, 1987). Spotts states that these mechanisms can be grouped into three main categories: the cognitive theory, superiority theory, and the relief theory (Spotts et al. 1997:20). The chapter that follows is dedicated to some of the main threads of the theories of humour that have emerged although it is important to notice that not all humour theories ever proposed will be presented in it and it will not be attempted to make a comprehensive survey of all these ideas. Only those theories will be discussed which play a significant role for working out an operational definition of humour for this thesis. 2.2 Incongruity and Incongruity-Resolution Theory Incongruity can be called in other words inconsistency or contradiction. The incongruity theory goes back to Francis Hutchesons Reflections Upon Laughter published in 1750. Later on it was revisited and represented by Kant, Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard. Incongruity theories are considered to be cognitive in their nature. This is the group of theories which dominates humour research. According to McGhee (1979) humour is as reaction to incongruity and he defined incongruity as the relationship between components of an object, event, idea, social expectation and so forth. When the arrangement for the constituent element of an event is incompatible with the normal or expected pattern, the event is perceived as incongruous. The existing theories of incongruity have a difference based on the question whether incongruity is a necessary condition for humour to be produced and if yes, whether it is sufficient or probably there are other conditions needed to cause humour. Based on this fact tw o schools of thought about incongruity theories appeared: the so called one-stage incongruity theories and two-stage incongruity-resolution theories. One-stage incongruity theorists like many representatives of some psychological theories propose that we often laugh when we see or hear something unexpected. In terms of this theory it can be said that we cognitively process (or think about) the message in a single stage that includes three parts interruption (whats that?), perceptual contrast (theres something incongruous and unexpected here!), and playful confusion (whats it mean) (Speck, 1987:7). Other theorists like Jerry Suls and Thomas Schultz, the opponents of the two-stage incongruity resolution theory, postulate that it is not sufficient for a message to be funny by itself and they insist on the overlapping of meanings of the incongruous parts and on the presence of a second stage, namely the resolution of the incongruity. Incongruity becomes stronger only when it follows a resolution process and is understood and accepted by its audience (Gulas and Weinberger 2006: 23à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 26). Attardo considered incongruity theories to be cognitive in their nature and were often associated with linguistic theories of humour. To summarize the ideas, it can be added that incongruity theory is based on the idea of a contrast between two overlapping scripts whereas incongruity-resolution theory requires the presence of two stages: incongruity as derivation from expectation and incongruity understood in resolution which in its turn results in amusement. Incongruity is seen by many researches as a humour type. I prefer to see it as a condition needed to produce humour. 2.3 Superiority Theory The second branch of the main humour theories is presented by theories of superiority. These theories have gone by lots of names such as disparagement, criticism, hostility, aggression, malice, degradation, and derision. This group of humour theories is based on the ideas of Aristotle, Quintillian, Plato, and later Thomas Hobbes (seventeenth century) and it is directly connected with the social function of humour which cannot be said about the incongruity theories which consider humour as an individual phenomenon. Superiority theory is a theory of mockery. In terms of this theory humour is pointed against something or somebody thus making us to believe that something or somebody is superior to somebody else. In other words we laugh from feelings of superiority over other people, from suddaine Glory arising from suddaine Conception of some Eminency in our selves, by Comparison with the Infirmityes of others, or with our owne formerly (Critcheley, 2002: 3). It is suggested that people joke about things that make them feel unsure and/or uncomfortable as a way of releasing feelings of tensions (Gulas and Weinberger 2006: 28). 2.4 Release Theories Release theories as well as superiority theories have numerous names such as arousal theory  [3]  , freedom theory  [4]  , and tension-release theory  [5]  . This group of theories describes how people respond emotionally to humour. It was put forward by Herbert Spencer in the nineteenth century but it was better explained and thus it is better known from Freuds analysis of humorous utterances given in his book Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (1905). Freud proposed that jokes provide us with a release from the constant need to repress our natural aggressive and sexual desires, and are thus experienced as pleasurable. Like dreams, jokes come from the unconscious, bur are first transformed into less explicit forms, thereby providing a socially acceptable way of breaking taboos (Ventola, Guijarro 2009: 79). The release theory has rather to do with the physiological function of humour. It is based on the notion of homeostasis, which means that humans regulate their inner environment on the physiological level in order to ensure certain stability in response to strain, tension, and anxiety. Morreall (1983) talks about the biological function of laughter and insists on the possibility of coexistence of relief theory with other theories discussed above: incongruity (relief through resolution) and superiority (relief through triumph.  [6]   2.5 Linguistic Theories of Humour Since all the existing theories of humour are based on the notion of incongruity there is no theory about which it can be definitely said that it is a purely linguistic one. Linguistic in this case is rather a conditional name. Nevertheless, the first step into this direction was put forward by Raskin, who suggested a script-based semantic theory developed for verbal humour. Viktor Raskins Script-Based Semantic Theory of Humour was presented in his book Semantic Mechanisms of Humor (1985) which was a great contribution to all of the humour theories ever proposed and a first attempt to describe humour from a linguistic perspective. Raskin set his goal as following: Ideally, a linguistic theory of humour should determine and formulate and the necessary and sufficient linguistic conditions for the text to be funny (Raskin, 1985: 47). The script-based semantic theory of humour was designed as a neutral theory which takes in account all the three theories discussed above. According to Raskins theory, verbal or written communication is considered to be a joke if the text is fully compatible with two different but at the same time opposite scripts. Script in this case presents a large chunk of semantic information. This is the main hypothesis of his theory: A text can be characterized as a single-joke-carrying text if both of the conditions are satisfied. i) Th e text is compatible, fully or in part, with two different scripts ii) The two scripts with which the text is compatible are opposite in a special sense (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). The two scripts with which the text is compatible are said to overlap fully or in part on this text (Raskin 1985: 99). Raskin introduces the notion of the trigger or a punch-line, which switches the listener from one script to another thus creating the joke (Raskin, 1985: 36). Raskins theory can be interpreted within the terms of incongruity ­-resolution school of humour. Although his theory was primarily developed for verbal humour it proves to be effective for many types of humorous advertising, both for verbal and for visual. It should be noted that there is also a revisited version of the SSTH called The General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH). This theory was a result of collaboration of Raskin and Attardo. The main aim of the GTVH was to broaden the scope of Raskins SSTH in order to apply it to any humorous text.  [7]  Attardo comments about it as following: Whereas the SSTH was a semantic theory of humor, the GTVH is a linguistic theory at large that is, it includes other areas of linguistics as well, including, most notably, textual linguistics, the theory of narrativity, and pragmatics (Attardo 1994: 222). Attardo postulates that resolution does not exclude the presence of incongruity; they coexist and accompany each other so that any humorous text will contain an element of incongruity and an element of resolution (Attardo 1994: 144). 2.5.2 Operational Definition An operational definition of humour will have to encompass all the above listed theories as all of them are important for the analysis of the advertisements in this thesis. Under this point I would fully agree with Raskin when he said that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the incongruity-based theories make a statement about the stimulus; the superiority theories characterize the relations or attitudes between the speaker and the hearer; and the release/relief theories comment on the feelings and psychology of the hearer only. (Raskin 1985: 40) The operational definition of a humorous advertisement will be worked out in terms of Raskins SSTH. The question arises why no I do not follow the GTVH. There are reasons for that. First, the GTVH adopted the main hypothesis of the SSTH. Second, the broadenings introduced, are not of much importance for a current analysis. The third reason is that the GTVH is still under development and not all the problematic issues have been resolved yet. So the advertisement will be considered to be humorous if it fulfills the following conditions: the advertisement has two overlapping scripts which cause the incongruity these two scripts are in the opposite relation to each other. The first condition alone would not be enough for the advertisement to be humorous as the overlapping of two scripts may have a non-funny text as a result as well. CHAPTER 3. HUMOUR TYPES 3.1 Introduction Since there is no universal definition of humour, there are many ways to classify it and there is no universally accepted classification of humour types. Taxonomies of humour types are very different and not homogeneous. There have been many attempts to classify humour according to different criteria. Kelly and Solomon (1975), for example, classified humour according to techniques used in order to produce humorous effect and presented seven types such as a pun, an understatement, a joke, something ludicrous, satire, irony and humorous intent whereas Goldstein and McGhee talked about three types: nonsense, sexual and aggressive. An overview of some main classifications is presented in Table 2  [8]  , which proves the fact that the typologies of humour types are diverse and mixed as well as terminology used for different types of humour: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Raskin) The classification of humour types presented in this thesis is based on the taxonomy offered by Catanescu and Tom (2001) which in its turn used Reicks practitioner-oriented classification system as a basis. Catanescu and Tom adopted five types from this classification and added two new types which resulted in seven following humour types: comparison, personification, exaggeration, pun, sarcasm, silliness, and surprise. As the study they conducted was not only devoted to homour in print advertising, not all humour types presented in their taxonomy could be included into classification for this thesis. Thus, such category as surprise had to be left out despite several examples of using this technique in a print advertisement which could be found during the analysis of selected material. The reason for that was the fact that the operational definition did not work with this humour type as some other mechanisms were involved in such advertisements which were beyond the current analysis. To avoid the mixture of devices, types and techniques about which Raskin spoke, all these types were divided into two main categories, namely pun humour and non-pun humour each of them was subdivided into several sub categories. In such a way polysemy, homonymy, nonce-formations and idiomatic expressions fell under the category of pun humour and such types as comparison, personification, exaggeration, sarcasm and silliness under the category of non-pun humour correspondently. The goals of this chapter are: a) to introduce some definitions of a pun to frame the discussion, b) to give an insight into some types of pun taxonomies, c) to develop pun taxonomy for the current analysis and to describe the nature of the linguistic phenomena involved in puns illustrating it with the help of gathered material, d) to offer a taxonomy of non-pun humour taking into account the occurrence of each type in the advertisements collected from the magazines. 3.2 Oh! Thats a pun and I didnt mean it  [9]   Before talking about pun-based humour it seems to be of great importance to determine what will be understood under pun. Puns are said to be the most common basis for humour.  [10]  The management of humorous language is largely a matter of devising transfers the transfer from set to set, from scale to scale, from layer to layer, until the happy conclusion of a double vision is achieved. At the heart of this process of continual and multiple transference, an important process aping the shiftiness of thought itself, is the apparently frivolous device of pun; word-play is the lure, the spinning toy that draws up the lurking and fishy meaning. We take punning for a tawdry and facetious thing, one of the less profound forms of humour, but that is the prejudice of our time; a pun may be profoundly serious, or charged with pathos (Nash 1985: 137). As mentioned in the introduction, my supposition is that pun is the type of humour which most often occurs in print advertising despite qui te the opposite points of view when puns were criticized for their frustrating ambiguity and for representing a simple and less sophisticated form of humour. That is why many advertisers prefer not to include puns into advertisements believing that they have a low intellectual status. Nash defends the pun against such accusations offering his own list of puns and insisting on the fact that puns are common in the language of journalism (Nash 1985: 137). Sherzer provides another argument in defense of puns in advertising stating that puns are higly appropriate for advertising as they deliver two meanings for the price of one (Sherzer 1985). The same opinion shares Redfern: Advertising space is costly. Economy is essential, and puns are highly economical (two meanings for the price of one word or phrase), and in fact much more of a labour-saving device than many of the products they seek to promote. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Since the fundamental message of all advertising is known to everyone in advance, there is a need for diversification. Wordplay, with its distortions, bifurcations and re-creations, introduces variety and refreshment into saturation. Puns, the devious ones, are a way round those rather stuffy rules of the advertising watchdogs: adverts should be legal, decent and true. A recipe for mass-producted boredom. The words of adverts are double-talk, necessarily. If adverts told only the verifiable truth, they would be pedantic and tedious. And so they have to approximate; they have to say one thing and suggest another. Obliqueness is all. So why not make a virtue out of necessity, and a silk purse out of a sows ear? (Redfern 1982: 130-131). Redfern asserts that puns are well suited for advertising as they are usually delivered with the requisite ambivalent mixture of false apology and only too real aggression (Redfern 1982:275). Definitions of pun as well as definitions of humour vary greatly from researcher to researcher. Freud considered puns to be the lowest form calling them cheapest stating that they can be formed with the least effort.  [11]  Walter Redfern (1984) devoted a whole book to pun in which he said that pun can make an individual. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) It can ruin lazy expectations; subvert the nature of language and thought (Redfern 1984: ). Sherzer defined it as a form of speech play in which a word or phrase unexpectedly and simultaneously combines two unrelated meanings (Sherzer 1978: 336). This the point (the presence of two senses) on which all linguistic and non-linguistic analyses agree. Following the rules of the incongruity-resolution theory a phenomenon of pun can be defined as two meanings incongruously combined in one and the same sentence. These two meanings cause ambiguity due to which a conflict arises between the two senses which is subsequently resolved by the surprising punchline (Ross 1998:8). Following the operational definition of a humorous advertisement, a pun-based humorous ad has to fulfill the following conditions: two meanings have to be semantically incompatible, i.e. opposed. This is the so called deliberate ambiguity in a pun which creates the incongruity. Then it must be followed by resolution leading to humorous interpretation. 3.3 Pun taxonomy There are numerous taxonomies of puns witch essentially differ from each other. Attardo criticized these taxonomies and attempts to explain the phenomenon of pun through its taxonomy. He tried to build the taxonomy of the taxonomies and distinguished four major types of pun classifications, namely: taxonomies by linguistic phenomenon, by linguistic structure, by phonemic distance, and eclectic (Attardo 1994: 112). Tanaka distinguished four categories of puns in advertising: nonsense puns, contextual puns, puns with sexual innuendo, and puns with two communicated meanings (Tanaka 1994: 64-80). I will keep to taxonomy based on linguistic phenomena as it is the most relevant one for this thesis. Taxonomies based o

Crito Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Question: â€Å"But my dear Crito, why should we pay so much attention to what ‘most people’ think? The reasonable people, who have more claim to be considered, will believe that the facts are exactly as they are† (906). Personification: â€Å"’Consider then, Socrates,’ the Laws would probably continue, ‘whether it is also true for us to say that what you are trying to do to us is not right†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (913). Plato’s â€Å"Crito† is one of the many tremendously influential pieces of literature produced in ancient Greece. It is a thought-provoking, philosophical discussion regarding the role of the individual within society, and how to treat injustice. As part of a series of imaginary dialogues between Socrates and other characters, â€Å"Crito† deals with the conflict Socrates is presented with, as he awaits execution. Crito, one of Socrates’ close friends, urges Socrates to escape prison while he still can. Crito offers several arguments to justify his escape, including the shame he would endure from the public for letting his friend die, and the poor example it would set for the children of Athens. However, Socrates carefully analyzes each of Crito’s arguments for escaping, and proves them invalid through logic and deductive reasoning. The passage, â€Å"But my dear Crito, why should we pay so much attention to what ‘most people’ think? T he reasonable people, who have more claim to be considered, will believe that the facts are exactly as they are† (906), demonstrates the method that Socrates uses to persuade. Socrates asks a rhetorical question to expose the silliness of the Crito’s worries. It represents the wisdom and morals of Socrates. Crito’s strongest argument is that Socrates would be promoting injustice by accepting his unfair sentence. However, Socrates disproves this point as well, by reasoning that he would be harming the Law by escaping death. Socrates, who has tried to live his life as justly and peacefully as possible, would be breaking every moral he ever lived by if he chose to turn against the law. He regards the Law higher than his own life. He sees the Law as a father to him; it has raised him, educated him, and allowed him to live a comfortable life. No matter how much he disagrees with its ways, he cannot bring himself to disobey it. Throughout Socrates’ discussions, he often has conversations with himself and the â€Å"Law†. Plato personifies the â€Å"Law† by giving it human-like qualities and speech; it is suggested that the Law can be hurt, and angry. He does this to distinguish it as a character that has feelings. For example, â€Å"’†¦you will leave this place, when you do, as the victim of a wrong done not by us, the Laws, but by your fellow men. But if you leave in that dishonorable way, returning wrong from wrong, and evil for evil, breaking your agreements with us, and injuring those whom you least ought to injure – yourself, your country, and us ,- then you will face our anger†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (916), demonstrates the authority of the Law. Socrates suggests it is better to die a victim who has lived justly and killed unjustly, than to return the injustice and hurt the Laws. He states, â€Å"†¦it is never right to do a wrong or return a wrong or defend one†™s self against injury by retaliation† (911), which exemplifies the belief that injustice cannot be treated with injustice. Socrates mentions an agreement being broken in this passage; this alludes to the belief that there is a social contract between the individual and government. Socrates reasons that when a citizen lives in Athens, he is indirectly supporting the laws and abiding them. The individual has a moral obligation to the government. While it is beneficial to challenge the government under some circumstances, one threatens the foundation of a stable society by breaking its laws. Socrates, who has lived 70 years of Athenian life, is content by living in accordance with this contract. He feels a state simply cannot exist if laws have no power. He firmly believes in the importance of strict laws, as he calls them the most precious achievement of human history. Besides, he reasons that a man of his age, with little life left to live, would lose his reputation by †Å"clinging so greedily to life, at the price of violating the most stringent laws† (915). For all these reasons, â€Å"Crito† remains an influential piece that poses big questions and promotes critical thinking.

Creative story Essay

What is creative story? In general, creative story is writing which expresses the writer’s thoughts and feelings in an imaginative way. The key elements of a creative story include characters, theme, setting, plot, structure, complication, crisis, and resolution. Characters are tour guides who lead the readers into the fantastic world created by the writer and theme is what the writer wants to show to the readers. Setting is important in making the story â€Å"real† and creating the atmosphere. Plot is something that happens to the characters and structure shows how the writer develops the story. Complication and crisis make the story tenser and more interesting. Resolution ends up the story. To write a creative story, I will follow the four stages of writing. First, I will write an attention-catching opening to introduce the characters, location and setting. Followed by, I will build up tension and conflicts to make the story more exciting. Then, the story reaches its climax. Finally, the characters sort out the problem and the story comes to an end. In the writing, I will use figurative language like similes, metaphors, personification and hyperbole. These can make my story alive and help the reader visualize a clearer image by comparing it to something that they are familiar with. I think it’s important to â€Å"think out of the border† when writing a creative story. Everything can happen in a creative story like an alien attacks people or a school suddenly disappears. Moreover, I will enjoy the process of writing and express my thoughts and feelings to the readers through my story.

Top Equipment Used During Prescribed and Forest Fires

East Of Eden By John Steinbeck - 2495 Words

John Steinbeck’s novel, â€Å"East of Eden†, discloses the answer of right and wrong, good versus evil and overcoming sin with a simple Hebrew word â€Å"Timshel†, meaning thou mayest, allowing us the freedom to make our individual decisions or choose our path in life; it’s actually God’s perfect gift to everyone. In the beginning, God grants us free will so that we have the ability to love and accept him or not. However, had God not chosen to grant us free will, we would not be human as we know it today, for the original sin would never have occurred. Likewise, people’s inability to experience emotions of any kind, whatsoever, would turn us into mere mundane robots, forced to listen and answer to an authoritarian God. Lee plays an instrumental part in â€Å"East of Eden†, by not only bringing into focus â€Å"Timshel† and its meaning to the Trask family but through his strength and character as a whole, for without Lee â€Å"E ast of Eden† and the concept of â€Å"Timshel† is non-existent. Lee’s character in â€Å"East of Eden† commences when Adam and Cathy move to California and Adam purchases land or his â€Å"Garden in Eden† as Adam refers to it. Lee described in the beginning as a Chinaman sporting a queue and only speaking in pidgin. However, the more one discovers about Lee in the book; the more one finds this is not the case at all. Lee is Chinese-American, who is extremely knowledgeable, well-spoken, well-read, insightful and thought provoking. He was born in a railroad camp, where his mother disguisedShow MoreRelatedEast of Eden by John Steinbeck624 Words   |  2 Pagesworld: one that is able to change and others that refuses to change. In the novel, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck mainly focuses on female character that can be illustrated as either a person who is able to fit in to changes as a wife and a mother, or who simply just deviates from home and/or family life. Although Steinbeck characterizes Liza as an example of a completely devoted wife and a mother, Steinbeck evokes the idea that a domestic woman is not really true of Liza: but is also independentRead MoreEast Of Eden By John Steinbeck2066 Words   |  9 Pagesauthor always has a motive for writing a story and a point they are trying to get across. John Steinbeck has written some very influential novels in his life. These books are read in high schools, as well as in people s free time to try and expand their minds and change their perspectives on life. Steinbeck has a very descriptive writing style that helps make his books classic novels worth reading. Steinbeck is a writer that does a great job of not just blatantly telling the reader what he wantsRead MoreFree Will in East of Eden by John Steinbeck1002 Words   |  5 Pagessignificant role in East of Eden. It shows that anyone can desire to surmount vile in their hearts and create morality within them self. In the novel, Steinbeck portrays the significance of timshel through the introduction of free will, the internal conflict of Caleb, and the blessing of Adam. Steinbeck portrays the significance of timshel through the introduction of free will, which plays an important role in the theme of Cain and Abel and provides the interpretation of Steinbeck. Timshel is broughtRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s East Of Eden1087 Words   |  5 Pagesto leave an inspirational impression on his sons, John Steinbeck portrays experiences he acquired from his childhood in the novel East of Eden through the characters’ conflicts and actions to encourage them to write their own story not dictated by their roots. Steinbeck admits in Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters that he â€Å"hopes his two young sons will find meaning in life when they grow and acquire the experiences to understand.† Steinbeck s failure to feel accepted, accept his father sRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s East Of Eden1742 Words   |  7 PagesI. SUBJECT John Steinbeck’s East of Eden centers on the Trask and Hamilton families in the year 1902 in the Salinas Valley, California. After growing up in Connecticut alongside his brother Charles under the harsh parenting and rejection of his father, Adam Trask seeks to find happiness and peace. He vows to be a better man than his father and feels the rolling valleys of California calling him. One night, Cathy Ames crawls onto the doorstep of Adam and Charles’ home after her boyfriend attemptedRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s East Of Eden893 Words   |  4 PagesA central question raised by John Steinbeck’s East of Eden is whether it is possible to triumph over evil, answered by the discussion of free will and inherited sin. The idea of â€Å"timshel† is canvassed through the struggles of Caleb â€Å"Cal† Trask. The concept of inherited sin is illustrated through the actions of Cyrus Trask, Charles Trask, and Cathy/Kate Trask. Although Cal is seemingly â€Å"born† into evil, he struggles against what he sees as his inherited evil from his mother and is eventually ableRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s East Of Eden1342 Words   |  6 Pagesto fall back. Might it not be that in the dark pools of some men the evil grows strong enough to wriggle over the fence and swim free? Would not such a man be our monster, and are we related to him in our hidden water?† (Steinbeck 133). The novel, East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, interprets that every human being since Cain and Abel has struggled with the choice between good and evil. He dramatizes the conflict between wickedness and purity within the Trask family and the main characters of the novelRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s East Of Eden1279 Words   |  6 PagesHistory, is the story among which all literary works are linked to, and this statement is true more than any other in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Whether one believes that all stories in the Bible have actually happened or not, at least some concepts of them did. How would a writer arrive at the ideas of two brothers and jealousy of love, without having seen it or felt it before? Yet again, how would these ideas survive for so long, unless many people felt them as well and connected to them. TheRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s East Of Eden1072 Words   |  5 Pages once the illusion is destroyed, it also destroys him. Similarly, John Steinbeck explores the double-edged sword of deception, wielded by both children and adults, in his novel East of Eden. Just as the masks that society wears, multiple characters throughout the story at first originally incapable of committing a sin as great as deceit due to their innocent introductions. Despite this initial virtuosity, Steinbeck’s East of Eden evinces humanity’s contrasting and inherent dependence upon selfishRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s East Of Eden1763 Words   |  8 PagesEast of Eden, written by John Steinbeck, is a profound, complicated retelling of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, focused around the overall struggle between good and evil . John Steinbeck wrote this for his own sons, John and Tom, to show them not only the history of their family in the Hamiltons, but also the concept of sibling rivalry emerging from the competition over paternal love and acceptance (Shillinglaw). This was first evident in Adam and Charles Trask, and then in Adam’s sons, Ar on

The Spread of Western Imperialism - 991 Words

In 1853, Western imperialism was at its height. It was spreading to several countries. The British colonized India, the Dutch colonized Indonesia, the United States colonized the Philippines, and the French colonized Vietnam. In 1929, the crash of the stock market brought a worldwide depression, known as the Great Depression. The depression caused instability in many countries. International commerce declined and tax revenues, profits, and personal income decreased. The Great Depression especially impacted countries that were in need of raw materials. Between the time of 1853 to 1941, Japan’s culture and political structure changed anticipating westernization because they wanted to be seen as equals to the Western countries. Japan also became more militaristic so that they would not be seen as a victim of imperialism. Although Japan experienced some changes, Japan continued the ideology of kokutai as a method for imperial advancement. Japan’s cultural and political structure changed from being a weak isolated nation to a modern imperialist country. Before Japan westernized, it was under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This was an agricultural economy with a population of 13 billion. Japan did not associate with any other country because they believed foreign influence was a destabilizing factor. This resulted in overcrowded farms and scarce minerals. In 1853, Commodore Perry came to Japan with big black ships. The technological advancements of the ships shocked theShow MoreRelatedThe Western Culture : Cultural Imperialism1169 Words   |  5 PagesGlobalization has played a significant role in helping the spread of ideas and cultures across countries and continents on a new scale never seen before. The spread of culture began a long time ago with people sailing around the world in search of adventure and resources. People were able to interact and share cultural beliefs and practices with dominant cultu res imposing themselves on less dominating cultures. Countries that had more economic power than others, and those cultures that viewed themselvesRead MoreWhat Is Your Opinion of The Spread of English in the World Today?1137 Words   |  5 Pagescan destroy their own language. Although some studies suggest that English has naturally spread and do not harm anyone, there is considerable evidence that shows spread of English was motivated by some western countries and created a linguistic imperialism that has affected the culture, identity and language of the non-English speaking countries. There is some evidence that suggest, English has spread naturally in the world and as a result it is now a ‘lingua franca’ the common languageRead MoreEssay on The End of the Cold War1634 Words   |  7 Pagesprimal literary sense – is purely a euphemism for western cultural and linguistic imperialism. Indeed, globalisation, as the apparent integration of global cultures, exists along with its imperialist antithesis: the prevalence of fragmentation in many areas of the same world (Owolabi, 2001). Simply put, globalisation is not a neutral, apolitical effort to integrate, nor merely the product of many centuries of intermingling, but a vehicle for coercive Western homogenisation at the expense of under-developedRead MoreImperialism in the 19th century1746 Words   |  7 Pagesgreat deal of Imperialism in the 19th century, led by mostly westerners from Europe. Imperialism is the act in which one nation extends its rule over another. Imperialism had a su bstantial effect on the 19th century throughout the entire world by bringing upon changes to many different countries, for better and for worse, especially to Africa. Prior to the nineteenth century, westerners did interfere with many of the affairs of nations outside of their boarders, so signs of imperialism are shown manyRead MoreEssay on Imperialism: From Europe to The West1514 Words   |  7 PagesEarly in the twentieth century, imperialism was brought up by European powers of the time; Germany, Great Britain, France, and Russia. These nations were after raw materials in Asia, Africa, and South America and when they realize that they could not retrieve it, they began to colonize smaller counties that contain the many resources they need and used it for their benefit. Western values played a big part in European imperialism. European civilization experienced a period of extraordinary rapidRead MoreImperialism and India Essay1067 Words   |  5 Pageslife by one country is called imperialism. (Esler, page. 632) European imperialism began in the 1800s. â€Å"European nations won empires in the Americas after1492, established colonies in In dia and Southeast Asia, and gained toeholds on the coast of Africa and China. Despite these gains, between 1500 and 1800, Europe had little influence on the lives of the peoples of China, India or Africa.† (Esler, page.632) Then the Europeans industrialized and believe western cultures were superior to all otherRead MoreSocial And Economic Effects Of British Imperialism1544 Words   |  7 Pagesexpansion by the United States, European powers, and Japan. This took place during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and marked a large pursuit of oversea territories. New imperialism spread nations influence either directly or indirectly, and also spread the political, cultural, and economic values. Imperialism of free trade British imperial economic ideals were jarringly different from the previously prevalent mercantilist doctrines of earlier centuries. The mercantile doctrines declaredRead MoreHow Did The U.s. Expand Westward And What Was Its Impact On Native Americans?1114 Words   |  5 PagesHow did the U.S. expand westward and what was its impact on Native Americans? Answer: The United States began expanding westward during the 1800s. During the early 1800s, America turned its attention towards the exploration and settlement of its Western territory. The amount of land had been greatly increased by the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which almost doubled the size of the nation. Later on, the size of the United States increased yet again with the Mexican Cession and the Gadsden PurchaseRead MoreWestern Imperialism and Modern East Asia Essay example1188 Words   |  5 PagesWestern imperialism in East Asia caused many tribulations for China, Japan, and Korea but also helped them to become contemporary nations. The East Asian countries were tremendously affected by unequal treaties, extraterritoriality, and above all, technology. Great Britain encroached upon China their greed for open trade with the Chinese empire resulting in the deterioration of the Chinese culture, which led to the emergence of a modernized civilization. Japan was co-subjugated by Russia and theRead MoreImperialism as a Source of Many Conflicts throughout History658 Words   |  3 PagesImperialism a source of most if not all conflicts throughout history. No matter the century or time period, the start of all wars, battles, and conflicts all draw their roots back to imperialism. Imperialism have had great impacts on nations and brought many changes to societies and their cultures. It has impacted on people lives and how they live. It has affected our societies to this day and shaped or helped create foundations for our countries and cultures that we have today. Imperialism began

Abnormal Psychology free essay sample

Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought, which may or may not be understood as precipitating a mental disorder. The science of abnormal psychology studies two types of behaviors: Adaptive and Maladaptive behaviors. Clinical psychology is the applied field of psychology that seeks to assess, understand and treat psychological conditions in clinical practice. The theoretical field known as ‘abnormal psychology’ may form a backdrop to such work, but clinical psychologists in the current field are unlikely to use the term abnormal in reference to their practice. Disability or dysfunction. (Is there a loss of normal functioning? ) People who suffer from psychological disorders may be unable to get along with others, hold a job, eat properly, or clean themselves. 3. Personal distress. (Is the person unhappy? ) The personal distress criterion focuses on the individual’s own judgment of his or her level of functioning. Feelings of worthlessness and of having lost the joy of living are common. Wild weeping may occur as a general reaction to frustration or anger. Such crying spells do not seem to be directly correlated with a specific function. Example: It’s hard to describe the state I was in several months ago. The depression was total – it was as if everything that happened to me passed through this filter which colored all experiences. Nothing was exciting to me. I felt I was no good, completely worthless, and deserving or nothing. The people who tried to cheer me up were just living in a different world. †¢Cognitive symptoms: Besides general feelings of futility, emptiness, and hopelessness, certain thoughts (e. g. egative view of the self, of the outside world and of the future [Beck, 1974]) and ideas are clearly related to depressive reactions. Disinterest, decreased energy and loss of motivation make it difficult for the depressed person to cope with everyday situations. Work responsibilities become monumental tasks and the person avoids them. Self-accusations of incompetence and general self-denigration are common. Other symptoms include difficulty in concentrating and in making decisions. †¢Behavioral symptoms: Shows social withdrawal and lowered work productivity. Other symptoms include sloppy or dirty clothing, unkempt hair, and lack of concern of personal hygiene. Slowing down of all body movements, expressive gestures and spontaneous responses is called psychomotor retardation. †¢Physiological symptoms: Loss of appetite and weight Constipation -Sleep Disturbance, e. g: insomnia, nightmares hypersomnia -Disruption of the normal menstrual cycle -Aversion to sexual activity Symptoms of Mania †¢Affective Symptoms: The person’s mood is elevated, expansive, or irritable. Show boundless, energy, enthusiasm and self-assertion. If frustrated, they may become profane and quite belligerent. †¢Cognitive symptoms: flightiness, pressured thoughts, lack of focus and attention, and poor judgment. Although much of what they say is understandable to others, the accelerated and disjointed nature of their speech makes it difficult to follow their train of thought. They seem incapable of controlling their attention, as though they are constantly distracted by new and more exciting thoughts and ideas. †¢Behavioral Symptoms: Uninhibited, engaging impulsively in sexual activity or abusive discourse. DSM-IV-TR recognizes 2 levels of manic intensity:- Hypomania: affected people seem to be ‘high’ in mood and overactive in behavior. Their judgment is usually poor, although delusions are rare. When they interact with others, people with hypomania dominate the conversation and are often grandiose (meant to produce an imposing effect) . Mania: more disruptive behaviors, including pronounced over activity, grandiosity and irritability. Their speech may be incoherent and they do not tolerate criticisms or restraints imposed by others. Hallucinations and delusions may appear. †¢Physiological Symptoms: decreased need for sleep, accompanied by high levels of arousal. The energy and excitement these patients show may cause them to lose weight or to go without sleep for long periods. UNIPOLAR DISORDERS Depression without a history of mania In almost all countries, women are at least twice as likely as men to experience episodes of severe unipolar depression. Approximately half of people with unipolar depression recover within six weeks and 90% recover within a year, some without treatment (Kessler, 2002; Kendler et al. , 1997). However, most of them have at least one other episode of depression later on their lives (Boland Keller, 2002). People become depressed when the daylight hours are short and recover when the daylight hours are long. A person’s mood changes cannot be the result of psychosocial events, such as regularly being unemployed during the winter. Rather, the mood changes must seem to come on without reason or cause. *Dsythmia Differs from major depression in terms of both severity and duration. Dsythmia represents a chronic mild depressive condition that has been present for many years. In order to fulfill DSM-IV-TR criteria for this disorder, the person must, over a period of at least 2 years, exhibit a epressed mood for most of the day on more days than not. These symptoms must not be absent for more than 2 months at a time during the 2-year period. If at any time during the initial 2 years the person met criteria for a major depressive episode, the diagnosis would be major depression rather than dsythmia. As in the case of major depression disorder, the presence of a manic episode would rule o ut a diagnosis of dsythmia. When dysthymic disorder leads to major depressive disorder, the sequence is called double depression (Boland Keller, 2002). The distinction between major depressive disorder and dsythmia is somewhat artificial because both of sets of symptoms are frequently seen in the same person. In such cases, rather than thinking of them as separate disorders, it is more appropriate to consider them as two aspects of the same disorder, which waxes and wanes over time. Some experts have argued that chronic depression is a single, broadly conceived disorder that can be expressed in many different combinations of symptoms over time (McCullough et al. , 2003). BIPOLAR DISORDER A disorder marked by alternating or intermixed periods of mania and depression People with a bipolar disorder experience both the lows of depression and the highs of mania. Many describe their life as an emotional roller coaster. They shift back and forth between extreme moods. The essential feature of bipolar disorders is the occurrence of one or more manic or hypomanic episodes; the term bipolar is used because the disorders are usually accompanie d by one or more depressive episodes. Bipolar disorders include subcategories which describe the nature of the disorder; Bipolar I and Bipolar II. Bipolar I (Formally known as manic depression) where normal mood is interrupted by manic and major depressive episodes, or, occasionally, by what are referred to as mixed episodes in which manic and major depressive symptoms are both present. †¢Single manic episode- Presence of only one manic episode and no past major depressive episodes. †¢hypomanic- in a hypomanic episode, with at least one previous manic episode. †¢Manic- in a manic episode, with at least one previous major depressive, hypomanic, or manic episode. †¢mixed- in a mixed episode(i. e. or everyday during at least a one-week period, the criteria for a major depressive episode-except for duration-and a manic episode have both been met) †¢Depressed- in a major depressive episode, with at least one previous manic episode. †¢Unspecified- meets criteria for manic, hypomanic, or major depressive episode except for duration (i. e. the episode does not last long enough to meet the criteria for each ): at least one previous manic episode. Bipolar II This is similar to bipolar I except that hypomanic episodes occur instead of manic episodes. The distinction between the two disorders was clarified in the DSM-IV. †¢Recurrent major depressive episodes with hypomania- one or more major depressive episodes and presence of at least one hypomanic episode: never has a manic episode. Cyclothymic Disorder Manic and depressed moods that are chronic and relatively continual in nature. Depressive (Unipolar)Bipolar Disorders Low incidence of manic disturbances -the late twenties -low tendency to attempt suicide, anxiety -lithium has little effect- higher incidence of manic disturbances -Age of onset is earlier (the early twenties) Display psychomotor retardation a greater tendency to attempt suicide -respond to lithium Causes †¢Genetic Factors Family, twin and adoption studies suggest the involvement of genetic factors. The prevalence of depression in the random population (10% for men and 20% for women) is the baseline against which the concordance rates can be compared. -Family pedigree studies select people with unipola r depression as probands(the person who is the focus of a study), examine their relatives, and see whether depression also afflicts other members of the family. If a predisposition to unipolar depression is inherited, a proband’s relatives should have a higher rate of depression than the population at large. -One of twin studies looked at nearly 200 pairs of twins. When a monozygotic twin had unipolar depression, there was a 46% chance that the other twin would have the same disorder. In contract, when a dizygotic twin had unipolar depression, the other twin had only 20% chance of developing the disorder. (McGuffin et al. ,1996). -One study looked at the families of adopted persons who had been hospitalized for this disorder in Denmark. The biological parents of these adoptees turned out to have a higher incidence of severe depression than did the biological parents of a control group of nondepressed adoptees. (Wender et al. ,1986) Evaluation 1. Nature vs. Nuture It is difficult to separate out the influence of nature and nurture. Whilst the twin studies provide strong evidence for the role of genetic factors and the adoption studies point to the role of nature over nurture this is not conclusive. 2. Diathesis-stress model Genes alone do not determine who will develop depression – they only create vulnerability. Thus, they are not a direct cause as other factors must trigger the disorder. Evidence for this is that the concordance rates are not 100%, which shows that depression is due to an interaction of genetic and other factors. †¢Biochemical Factors The monoamine hypothesis suggests that depression is due to abnormal levels of neurotransmitters in the monoamine group. This was expanded upon the permissive anime theory (Kety,1975), which proposes that the level of noradrenaline and dopamine are controlled by serotonin. When serotonin is low the levels of noradrenaline fluctuate wildly; low levels are associated with depression and high levels with mania. The low levels of serotonin may be genetically inherited. The three neurotransmitters – serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline – are part of the monoamine group and play a role in normal arousal and mood. By-product compounds of the enzymes that act upon noradrenaline and serotonin were lower than normal in the urine of depressives. (Teuting, Rosen Hirschfeld, 1981) Antidepressant drugs such as the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) increase the levels of noradrenaline and serotonin and alleviate the symptoms of drepssion, which supports the influence of the biochemical on mood. -Post-mortem studies of patients who committed suicide show reduced levels of serotonin and an increased number of serotonin receptor sites. Evaluation 1. Cause, effect or correlate It is difficult to establish whether the low levels of neurotransmitters c ause depression, are an effect of having the disorder or are merely associated. Causation cannot be inferred as associations only have been identified. 2. Treatment aetiology fallacy The success of antidepressant drugs as a treatment does not necessarily mean the biochemical are the cause of the depression in the first place. MacLeod (1998) described this as the treatment aetiology fallacy and used headaches as an example. Aspirin works well as a treatment but this doesn’t mean the headache was due to an absence of aspirin. 3. Reductionist and deterministic Biological explanations are reductionist as they focus on only one factor and t present our understanding of biochemistry is oversimplified. This means other biological factors, such as hormones and psychological factors are ignored. The biological explanations are also deterministic because they ignore the individual’s ability to control their own behavior. †¢Psychodynamic Factors According to Freud, we are victims of our feelings, as repression and displacement are defense mechanisms in r esponse to actual loss ( death of a loved one) and symbolic loss (loss of status) that enable us to cope with the emotional turmoil, but can result in depression. Individuals with excessive dependence on others for self-esteem as a consequence of oral fixation are particularly vulnerable and unable to cope with loss. Anger at the loss is displaced onto the self, which affects self-esteem and causes the individual to re-experience loss that occurred in childhood. Freud believed that superego (or conscience) is dominat in the depressed person and this explains the excessive guilt experienced by many depressives. In contrast, the manic phase occurs when the individual’s ego, or rational mind, asserts itself and s/he feels in control. However, early loss does not consistently predict depression. Evaluation 1. Although the findings indicate that losses and inadequate parenting sometimes relate to depression, they do not establish that such factors are typically responsible for the disorder. In the studies of young children and young monkeys, for example, only some of the subjects who were separated from their mothers showed depressive reactions. 2. Many findings are inconsistent. Though some studies find evidence of a relationship between childhood loss and later depression, others do not. (Parker,1992; Owen, Lancee Freeman, 1986) 3. Certain features of the psychodynamic explanation are nearly impossible to test. Because symbolic loss, fixation at the oral stage, and introjection are said to operate at an unconscious level, it is difficult for researchers to determine if and when they are occurring. Similarly, other psychodynamic ideas can be measured only by retrospective self-reports of people who are or have been depressed. †¢Behavioral Factors depression is due to maladaptive learning. The principles of operant conditioning have been applied to explain depression using reinforcement and punishment. Many behaviorists view depression as a product of inadequate or insufficient reinforcers in a person’s life, leading to a reduced frequency of behavior that previously was positively reinforced. oThe number of events and activities that are potentially reinforcing to the person. This number depends very much on individual differences and varies with the biological traits and experiential history of the person. For example, age, gender, or physical attributes may determine the availability of reinforcers. Handsome people are more likely to receive positive attention than are nondescript people. Young people are likely to have more social interaction than retirees are. A task-oriented person who values intellectual pursuits may not respond to interpersonal or affiliative forms of reinforcement as readily as other people would. To such a person, a compliment such as ‘I like you’ may be less effective than ‘I see you as an extremely competent person. ’ oThe availability of reinforcements in the environment, Harsh environments, such as regimented institutions or remote isolated places, reduce reinforcements. oThe instrumental behavior of the individual. People in depression lack social behaviors that can elicit positive reinforcements. They feel more uncomfortable in social situations and the elicit depression in others. They tend to talk about themselves (more so than other people do) without being asked to do so. By creating conditions that further their depression or drive others away, these individuals thereby lose any social reinforcement that others could provide. Evaluation 1. Reductionist The behavioral explanations are greatly oversimplified as they focus on only one factor, the environment. This focus on the external means internal factors that may bee more influential, such as biological and cognitive are ignored. 2. Environmentally deterministic The behavioral explanations are deterministic as they suggest that behavior is controlled by the environment, which ignores the individual’s ability to control their own behavior. 3. Ignore nature The behavioral explanations overemphasize nurture and ignore nature. 4. Population validity Learned helplessness are an explanation of the development of depression may be more relevant to certain types of people, e. . those who lack social skills and so have limited emotional support. †¢Cognitive Factors 1. Arbitrary inference- The person with depression tends to draw conclusions that are not supported by evidence. For example, a woman may conclude that ‘people dislike me’ just because no one speaks to her on the bus or in the class. A man who invites a woman to dinner and finds the restaurant closed that ev ening may see this as evidence of his own unworthiness. In both cases, the person draws erroneous conclusions from the available evidence. People with depression are apparently unwilling or unable to see other, more probable, explanations. 2. Selected Abstraction- The individual takes a minor incident or detail out of context and focuses on it, and these incidents tend to be trivia. A person corrected for a minor aspect of his work may take the correction sign of incompetence or inadequacy – even when the supervisor’s overall feedback is highly positive. 3. Overgeneralization- The individual tends to draw a sweeping conclusion about his ability, performance or worth from one single experience or incident. The comments of a student seen by one of the authors at a university psychology clinic provide another illustration of overgeneralization: when he missed breakfast at the dormitory because his alarm clock didn’t ring, the student concluded, ‘I don’t deserve my own body because I don’t take care of it. ’ Later, when he showed up late for class through no fault of his own, he thought, ‘ what a miserable excuse for a student I am. ’ When a former classmate passed by and smiled, he thought, ‘I must look awful today or she won’t be laughing at me. ’ 4. Magnification and minimization- The individual tends to exaggerate limitations and difficulties and play down accomplishments, achievements and capabilities. Asked to evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses, the person lists many shortcomings or unsuccessful efforts but finds it almost impossible to name any achievements. Evaluation 1. Causes or effect? The evidence is not convincing that negative cognitions precede the disorder but nor has this been disproved. Therefore, conclusions are limited. It may be that the relationship is curvilinear, . i. e. negative thinking predisposes depression and depression increases negative thinking, 2. Descriptive not explanatory. The research may describe the nature of depressives’ thoughts rather than explain the development of depression if negative cognition is a consequence, not a cause, of depression. If it is a cause then it is not clear what causes the negative cognitions in the first place. 3. Success of cognitive treatments. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been found to be as effective as antidepressants (Elkin at al. , 1985), which supports the role of cognitive factors in depression. But the cure does not necessarily indicate the cause, as the treatment aetiology fallacy states. 4. Lack of reliability. The prospective research is inconsistent and so we cannot be sure if negative cognitions cause or are a consequence of depression. Treatments for Depressive Disorders 1. Medication 4 kinds of antidepressant medication: tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) Heterocyclic antidepressants (HCAs) Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) Each medication is designed to heighten the level of a target neurotransmitter at the neuronal synapse. This heightening can be accomplished by: boosting the neurotransmitter’s synthesis blocking its degradation preventing its reuptake from the synapse, or Mimicking its binding to postsynaptic receptors 2. Electroconvulsive Therapy Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is generally reserved for patients with severe unipolar depression who have not responded to antidepressant medications. It consists of applying a moderate electrical voltage to the person’s brain for up to half a se cond. The patient’s response to the voltage is a convulsion (seizure) lasting thirty to forty seconds, followed by a five- to thirty- minute coma. Most patients with serious depression show at least a temporary improvement after about 4 ECT treatments (R. Campbell,1981). The ECT mechanism is not fully understood; it may operate on neurotransmitters at the synapses, as do antidepressants. One major advantage of ECT is that the response to treatment is relatively fast (Gangadhar, Kapur Kalyanasundaram, 1982). However, common side effects include headaches, confusion and memory loss. Many clinicians believe that ECT is the most rapid and effective treatment for major depressive episodes. ECT is controversial and critics have urged that it be banned as form of treatment. 3. Psychotherapy and Behavioral Treatments Because the use of antidepressant medication or ECT involves a number of disadvantages, clinicians have sought other approaches to either supplement or replace medical treatment of depression. A variety of psychological forms of treatment have been used, such as psychoanalysis, behavior therapy, group psychotherapy and family therapies – all with some success. -Interpersonal Therapy is a short term, psychodynamic-eclectic type of treatment for depression. It targets the client’s interpersonal relationships and uses strategies found in psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral and other forms of therapy. Clients gain insight into conflicts in social relationships and strive to change these relationships. For example, by improving communications with others, by identifying role conflicts and by increasing social skills, clients are able to find relationships more satisfying and pleasant. Although interpersonal psychodynamic resembles psychoanalysis and psychodynamic approaches in acknowledging the role of early life experiences and traumas, it is oriented primarily toward present, not past, relationships. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy combines cognitive and behavioral strategies. The cognitive component involves teaching the patient the following:- a. to identify negative, self-critical thoughts (cognitions that occurs automatically) b. to note the connection between negative thoughts and the resulting depression. c. to carefully examine each negative thought and decide whether it can be supported d. to try to replace distorted negative thoughts with realistic interpretations of each situation At the outset of the cognitive therapy, the client is usually asked to begin monitoring his or her negative thoughts and list them on a chart. It is important for the client to include all thought and emotions associated with each distressing event that takes place each day. The second part of the cognitive-behavioral approach is behavior therapy, which is usually indicated in cases of severe depression in which the patient is virtually inactive. One primary assumption underlying this approach is that the patient is not doing enough pleasant, rewarding activities. During depression, people tend to belittle themselves and to withdraw from others; they can interpret their self-imposed social isolation as sign of being unpopular and inadequate. To address this problem, the therapist asks the patient to keep a daily activity schedule, listing life events hour by hour and rating the ‘pleasantness’ of each event. Once the client becomes more active, the therapist may ask the person to attend a social skills training program. Improvements in social skills generally help clients become more socially involved and can make that involvement rewarding. Treatments for Bipolar Disorders Although the forms of psychotherapy and behavior therapy used for depressive disorders are also used for bipolar disorders (e. g. MAOIs and SSRIs), drugs (especially lithium) are typically given to bipolar clients. Lithium is used as a mood-stabilizing drug to prevent or reduce future episodes of bipolar disorder. As noted, the manic phase of bipolar disorder may be caused by too much neurotransmitter (primarily norepinephrine) at brain synapses or by neurotransmitter dysfunction. Lithium decreases the total level of neurotransmitters in the synaptic areas by increasing the reuptake of norepinephrine into the nerve cells. Accurate measurements of lithium blood levels are easily obtained and dosages can be adjusted accordingly. Summary Severe depression is a major component of the mood disorders; it involves affective, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms, such as sadness, pessimism, low energy and sleep disturbances.