No Anxiety

Psychology and Psychotherapy Articles

EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY VS. IMMEDIATE EXPERIENCE. A DISCUSSION OF HUMAN MOTIVATION

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Abstract

The following article addresses human motivation from two perspectives. The first is based on  genetic/evolutionary predispositions to behave in ways that enhance adaptation. The second is uncertainty reduction (neuropsychological resolution) as pertains to  the role of immediate experience in prompting behavior beyond evolutionary influence. The argument is presented that behavioral heritability cannot singularly or even primarily account for human motivation and behavior.

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In essence, the theory of natural selection appears to rest on solid ground. The notion that organisms undergo periodic mutations and that such mutations must be either consonant or at least not counterproductive vis a vis the demands of specific environments is virtually a tautology. Indeed given that mutations do occur and would invariably have some impact on structure and function, one could ask legitimately how it could be any other way.

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ESSAY: Motivation, the Pleasure Response and the Evolution of the Survival Instinct

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Abstract

This article discusses the biological roots of the survival instinct and offers speculation on the origin of motivation and the perception of pleasure. The point is made that these phenomena can be viewed as adaptations to increased systemic biological/cellular complexity.

The Anthropomorphic Barrier

One of the problems inherent in describing natural phenomena is that we – the describers – are prone to viewing nature through the lens of human experience. We tend to define processes such as the survival instinct, motivation and pleasure in emotional and cognitive terms; for example, with phrases like the “will to live”, or “a fear of death,” despite the fact that all organisms, including those without the neurological software that ostensibly provide cognition and emotion also behave in ways driven by survival, pleasure and motivation.

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SEX, CHILDBIRTH AND THE HUMAN FAMILY

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Abstract

 In the course of human evolution a sequence of occurrences led to homo-indigenous traits and behaviors regarding sexuality, gender interactions, child rearing and the origin of a family ethic.  The evolutionary changes appear to have been congruent, in the sense that if one occurred and others had not the changes might well have been maladaptive. Whether these changes  occurred simultaneously or in some proximal sequence is unknown. Nor is it apparent which change occurred first, or what were the time frames in which they emerged.  Even more unclear is the issue of when these traits and habits were first incorporated into social mores and human values. It presents a puzzle with regard to human evolution and invites speculation. That provides a pivot point for the following discussion.

 CONGRUENCE

Before beginning the discussion, it might help to point out that “evolutionary congruence” is an arbitrary term used here for purposes of making a point. It is not a scientific term and it is not the same as “co-evolution” – the latter of which denotes an evolutionary trend whereby two separate creatures or biochemical entities evolve in ways that lead to a cooperative, adaptive interaction. (Futuyma & Slatkin, 1983), (Thompson, 1994). Congruence refers to the fact that in human evolution certain traits and behavioral/emotional dispositions had to occur either simultaneously or in close temporal proximity for them to jell into adaptive sexual, parental and social-familial dynamics.

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THE NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND CLINICAL APPLICATION OF SELF-TALK: A DEVICE FOR EMOTIONAL ADAPTATION

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ABSTRACT
This article discusses possible neuropsychological mechanisms involved in self-talk, as well as its effect on emotional adaptation and experience in general.

VIGNETTES…
An overweight woman has tried every diet conceivable with no lasting results. She finds herself adopting a simple stimulus-response approach to eating, to wit: whenever she is bored, she eats, whenever she is sad, she eats, whenever she is anxious she eats – and of course at meal time she overeats due to the need to manage the anxiety and frustration caused by her inability to control her eating. On one particular morning she is about to indulge in her third coffee roll, but then a sudden impulse crops up. She stops reaching for the roll and says to herself, “I’m not hungry, why the heck am I eating?” She finds that her appetite is diminished momentarily so she continues to cue herself in that way, with frequent  overt “ self-lectures” and finds she can control her appetite more consistently.
A man with insomnia finds himself tossing and turning in the wee hours of them morning. He rolls to one side then another then summons a relaxing thought. An ocean scene. Yet he still cannot get to sleep. It seems each time he invokes a sleep-inducing mechanism it reminds him of the fact that he has insomnia.  Else why think about oceans in the first place? He is caught in a trap. Any attempt to ameliorate his sleep problem reinforces the notion that he has a sleep problem. It is a vicious cycle and he becomes frustrated Then one evening, in a modest burst of anger he rises, looks at himself in the mirror and says: ”This whole sleeping thing is a real pain. I’m sick of worrying about it. So what if I don’t sleep?” At that point he experiences a wave of comfort, finds himself unexpectedly calm. His insomnia is relegated for the moment to an inconvenience rather than a matter of life and death. The next night he has another self-conversation, then another the next night, and a week later he finds his sleep patterns improving.

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A DISCUSSION OF PSYCHODIAGNOSTICS

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Test Selection and the Neuro-personality

Abstract

This article presents a psycho-diagnostic model based on a neurological concept of personality; specifically involving the effect of integration and discrimination functions on normalcy and pathology.

INTRODUCTION
While neuroscientists have yet to determine exactly how the human brain works, more information is being gathered on this subject that will undoubtedly become important, not only in the fields of education and neuro-motor rehabilitation but also to the practice of clinical psychology. At present there is a fairly clear separation between neurobiological and clinical theory. Certainly medications have become a necessary adjunct (some might say alternative) to counseling and there is ample research pointing to the involvement of biological and neurological factors in various psychiatric disorders (McNeill 2004),(Mathew, Coplan et al 2001) (Marije, Mathew et al 2009 ). Yet most models of clinical diagnosis and treatment still remain primarily within the social and intra-psychic domains. Aside from the early work of Eysenck (1957), few organic theories of personality have been proposed, though Millon’s impressive treatise on evolutionary psychology (1990) and its implications for psychopathology certainly went beyond the conventional theoretical parameters.

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ESSAY: Dyspraxia, Personality, Pathology Toward a Neuro-functional Clinical Theory

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ABSTRACT

This article discusses aspects of personality function and psychopathology in terms of neural coordination, specifically with regard to the orchestration of excitation and inhibition networks in the brain. The idea is proposed that human experience, including reason, emotion and attribution is a function of a neural coordination/summation process. As a corollary, it is suggested that the field of clinical psychology might be streamlined with respect to personality typologies, diagnosis and treatment and that ultimately disorders can be considered under the rubric of psychological dyspraxia.

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