In “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era,” Richard Restak considers the effect of technology on our brains. As we process increasing amounts of information at ever-faster speeds, Restak argues that our brains are undergoing “profound alterations” in order to adapt to the changing needs of our modern world. As technology connects us to more people, places, and information than ever before, Restak warns that we are losing important cognitive functions, in particular our ability to focus and concentrate. However Restak fails to mention that technology has created significant affordances as well. Allowing society to advance as a whole, via social media, e-mail, cell phones, and other various communications. Technology is reshaping our habits of mind.Yes technology created a slight defect to the mind but many advantages came about using technology as an asset.
Prologue Question #1 The nature vs nurture issue has been a controversial argument among psychologist for decades. This argument exposes two different views. One of them emphasizes that our personality depends solely on genetics (nature). On the other hand, the second view suggests that humans “develop through experience” (Myers 2013, SG
Throughout history, our society’s socialization, or lifelong social experiences, has been debated upon quite vigorously. It is quite evident that we all obtain certain characteristics and abilities through heredity factors, but many still argue that this is not the only explanation for how our lives are determined. The argument of nature versus nurture is still being discussed by many, although both have been seen to have an impact on our life experiences.
“The most practical and the most feasible solution offered, and the one on which this paper will center, involves the schoolyard. The schoolyard habitat movement, which promotes the “greening” of school grounds, is quickly gaining international recognition and legitimacy.” This quote touches on the fact that currently our schools need to “greened” meaning nature needs to be implemented not on the sidelines of fields but rather right in the center for kids to explore. There are many studied showing how children’s connection with nature at a young age helps them have a strong connection with nature along with having better health and lesser chances of depression. There are many organizations such as the National Wildlife Federation, Council for Environmental Education, American Forest Foundation, Britain-based Learning through Landscapes, Canadian-based Evergreen, and Swedish-based Skolans Uterum, that have all expresses interest in helping out with this cause. A theory that is very interesting that relates to this issue is a theory by Edward Wilson from Harvard. He had a theory that he named biophilia. Basically what this theory was about was that all people are simply drawn to nature by their very instinct. This quote has a lot of truth to it. Almost all
Once a child is born and their development continues, then starts the controversy and wonder as to whether how the child is raised effects their outcome in adult hood, or whether they are just born to be a certain way. Child psychology looks into the many different factors that affect
It is universally accepted that happiness pushes human society to progress. Happiness brings euphoria which all human beings naturally enjoy. To magnify happiness, people study philosophy to contemplate what brings happiness thus inventing new devices to ease their lives. Philosophy teaches people that acceptance, sharing and love arouse happiness. Consequently, new inventions implement their spiritual understandings about happiness in real life by facilitating communication. In Daniel Gilbert’s article “Reporting Live from Tomorrow”, he proposes that because there is not a single human encyclopedia in the world, communication is necessary to human beings and happiness stems from communication. Traditionally, people needed to make tremendous effort to communicate, but fortunately, new technologies bring easier communication. A good example is that electronic devices are extensively used now. However, immoderate usage of new technologies are harmful. In Richard Restak’s article “ Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era”, he exhibits that attention deficit which is referred to as a psychological disability, is becoming a label of modern society. With almost addictive symptoms, people pass the boundaries of proper use of new technologies again and again and are now emotionally dependent on them. However, is it possible that people can get true happiness through electronic-devices communication? Although technology heightens people’s happiness temporarily, the fake
According to Kuo and Taylor, more than 4 million children in the United States suffer from the effects of ADHD (2011). Families seek methods of treatment other than those traditionally prescribed such as medication, psychological therapy, or a combination of the two. Recently, newer studies suggest that children who are given the opportunity to participate in outside, “green” activities show milder symptoms and a decreased need for other forms of treatment (Kuo and Taylor). Middle school students will benefit emotionally, physically and educationally from the use of green space therapy as a primary source of treatment for the symptoms of ADHD.
Today’s society is drastically different from the previous. In the past, the most advanced technology was working electricity, no one had to worry about checking their work emails at home. Today we are constantly surrounded by technology, in fact we come in contact with it so often we are almost fully dependent on it in the work place, and at home. Richard Restak shows us the negative effects of that dependency in his essay “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era”. We are constantly at work with technology, and it is literally changing the way we operate. Matt Richtel has proof of this in his article based off a study by some neurologists titled “Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain”. Today, we have little to no control over our addiction to technology and our work life, the two have merged into one stress filled existence. However, Alexandra Samuel lets us know there are better ways to deal with our technology based work addiction than quitting cold turkey in her article “’Plug In Better’: A Manifesto”. Due to technology, our work and personal lives have become impossible to decipher, leaving no time for a stress free and balanced life away from the office.
Divergent Trilogy". "Nature versus nurture" is a phrase which is used widely to express the long-standing scientific debate about whether we are mainly "made" by our genes or whether influences from the environment. The concept Nature versus Nurture was first coined by Francis Galton (1822 to 1911) who was greatly influenced
Attention Deficit and Comorbidities Normally, during a conversation, a person will have a thought, process it, and then decided whether or not to communicate it. However, there are those who have no choice; they speak every thought that enters their minds, a symptom of attention deficit disorder. In the public eye, mental health concerns have had a long and rugged history. Treatment attempts have often been extreme and damaging, from strait jackets to lobotomies, but, in today’s society, we are headed in a more civil direction. Brain imaging, medical tactics, and therapy have helped patients and doctors understand mental health disorders, but there are still those who fall through the cracks. While attention deficit disorder is currently one of the most studied mental illnesses, many children are going undiagnosed and left to battle the burden of the impairing symptoms without any aid. The impacts of allowing children with attention deficit disorder to go untreated will increase the probability of a comorbid disorder in their adulthood.
Introduction: Definition: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a “persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and more severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development”. (1) Excessively hyperactive, inattentive and disruptive children have been described in literature since the nineteenth century. (2) Despite this, ADHD has only been recognised as a mental health condition since the 1960s, being known by its current name since 1987 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Third Edition, Revised).
No Child Left Inside The article leave no child inside gives us an insight on the importance of a child interaction with nature. The advancement in today’s world with the invention of television, video games, and computers has significantly reduced the interaction of a child with nature. A child can interact with nature in various ways from playing outdoor games to watering a plant to hiking in the forest trails. Experiences gained from such interaction has proven to promote the creativity and the mental growth of a child while reducing stress and the symptoms of attention deficit disorder (Louv 2007). Other benefits of such interaction with nature includes the increase in one’s confidence, imagination, intellect, test scores, and happiness.
Erikson. It talks about how this nature deficit disorder that we have, is similar to the anxious-avoidant attachment. He talks about how we need children to feel attaches to the land so that they can reap the benefits of the land. The land is dying right now and because the
Results Identification of the literature From a total of 1,132 sources that presented themselves, at first glance only 11 seemed to be a perfect match for the research efforts at hand. Many of the sources were excluded rather quickly when the source did not meet the inclusion criteria. All references
1. Holli-Anne Passmore. Eco-existential Positive Psychology: Experiences in nature, existential anxieties, and well-being 2. Chief Purpose: To encourage researchers, psychologists, and therapist to utilize information within the article to promote involvement with nature upon the human population. To help the human race to