Looking for an idea!

[Praxis101]

Hey guys,

I need to write a 7-10 page term paper for my psychology class on a topic of my own choosing. The only guidelines are that it must entail some aspect we have discussed, or will discuss in class.

As this leaves it open to virtually anything under the sun, my own criteria is that I find the topic facinating (so it isn't mind-numbingly boring) - I've got a couple of ideas that are probably all too broad for a paper of this length. I've got to get references from either peer-reviewed journal articles or scientific book chapters, but I should be able to find those fairly easily.

Some broad topics discussed in class:
Schizophrenia
Freudian Psychology and Psychoanalysis
Learning and memory
Stress and health
Intelligence
Personalities
Consciousness: Sleep, hypnosis, dreams, and drugs
Any kind of disorder, behavioral or psychological

I know some people on this forum must have some good ideas, my own thusfar are too broad... the search continues...

(Please don't move to Psychology, this forum is more science oriented, which is what I need, and lots of these ideas are talked about here anyway /images/graemlins/tongue.gif)

[FortunaMaximus]

Bipolar disorder is far more interesting than schizophernia, then again, I've got a bias. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

For instance, there are six classes of disorders from I to VI, and the approaches differ between the disorders.

Lithium, SSRI's, ECT, avoidance of street substances, etc.

Self-disclipine and irrationality are the biggest issues.

Anyway, that's the short version.

[Praxis101]

I don't really know much about Bipolar Disorder, but I just wikipedia'd it and it does sound interesting.

I need a more specific topic, though. In class we were told that, for instance the paper is far too short to cover the entire subject of schizophrenia.

Why do you "have a bias"? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[FortunaMaximus]

'cause I have the disease. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif A quick check of time stamp and frequency of my posts could tell any half-competent shrink I'm definitely manic.

Anyway. Degeneracy and substance abuse is a very common issue for the mentally ill. Especially schizophernics/manic depressives/depressives. Without help, they tend to self-medicate, and horribly at that. Could make for an intriguing approach for the right class.

Stuey. Matusow. There was an recent article on Shaniac. And I'm sure in the poker world there are dozens of other cases.

Utah mentioned lower latent inhibition in another thread recently, and that's certainly a correlating effect in mental illness/genius.

For enough of us who figure it out early enough and get it right, there are many who never figure it out. Makes for great Hollywood, but...

[Praxis101]

[ QUOTE ]

Utah mentioned lower latent inhibition in another thread recently, and that's certainly a correlating effect in mental illness/genius.

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny you mention that - I started a thread a while ago about the nature of genius, and Utah discussed low latent inhibitions a bit there.

That actually is an area I'd like to look further into, think there's any scientifically valid methods of studying latent inhibition?

[ QUOTE ]
For enough of us who figure it out early enough and get it right, there are many who never figure it out. Makes for great Hollywood, but...

[/ QUOTE ]

You mean there are plenty of people living with very low latent inhibition who cannot recognize it successfully, and go a bit cooky because of it?

[FortunaMaximus]

They recognize it, just can't find a place to apply it, and their mental spaces can be quite messy. Society tells them they're nuts, they know something ain't right, but they sure as hell aren't nuts in the traditional sense.

It's more the misfires that psychiatry doesn't have a handle on yet. Were this better-researched and better-funded, there'd be a drop in the number of unnecessary suicides among teenagers-early adults.

Not everyone turns out to be a genius, and sometimes they're just nuts. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be caught up in the safety net either.

"Here, have some pills." lol, that's not optimal. It's a lazy tragedy.

[ThreeMartini]

Learning and memory? How about Long Term Potentiation.

[Praxis101]

[ QUOTE ]
Learning and memory? How about Long Term Potentiation.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I'd have to learn lots of intricate neoru-physiology jargon and functioning for this, which I haven't learned much/any of. Not my thing really /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

The input is appreciated though

[bkholdem]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey guys,

I need to write a 7-10 page term paper for my psychology class on a topic of my own choosing. The only guidelines are that it must entail some aspect we have discussed, or will discuss in class.

As this leaves it open to virtually anything under the sun, my own criteria is that I find the topic facinating (so it isn't mind-numbingly boring) - I've got a couple of ideas that are probably all too broad for a paper of this length. I've got to get references from either peer-reviewed journal articles or scientific book chapters, but I should be able to find those fairly easily.

Some broad topics discussed in class:
Schizophrenia
Freudian Psychology and Psychoanalysis
Learning and memory
Stress and health
Intelligence
Personalities
Consciousness: Sleep, hypnosis, dreams, and drugs
Any kind of disorder, behavioral or psychological

I know some people on this forum must have some good ideas, my own thusfar are too broad... the search continues...

(Please don't move to Psychology, this forum is more science oriented, which is what I need, and lots of these ideas are talked about here anyway /images/graemlins/tongue.gif)

[/ QUOTE ]

In the abscence of some personal interest in one of the others I would recommend one of these 3:

Learning and memory
Stress and health
Intelligence

since you may be able to learn some things that you can apply to your own life and get the benefits of that learning now and in the future.