The Ability for Counselors to Reach Different Individuals - Article Example

Counselor Street Talk The ability for counselors to reach different individuals and youth that are troubled is essential to begin making a change in the students. According to this first article, there is the ability to reach youth that are on the streets by relating to their mentality and the different considerations of their lifestyle. In this study, it was noted that counselors have an easier time getting youth to open up and to provide self – disclosure and information by the language that is used. When street talk is a part of the counselors persona, youth will provide information more easily and will feel safer around the counselor. This cuts initial resistance, increases comfort and changes the atmosphere to make it more comfortable for the youth. The author’s critique of this article was that it proved to be valid; however, there were missing components. Specifically, the need to find a different set of individuals and to compare different groups is essential to showing different attitudes and trends toward those who are working with counselors. The author also states that the implications are inconclusive and didn’t have any direct relations to facts until the main abstract and discussion (Meltzoff, 1998). Treatment of Flying Phobia In the article on flying phobia, it was noted that there are 32.5 million Americans that are afraid to fly. At the same time, it has been found that there is no treatment for flying phobia and there are several behavioral links that relate to specific problems with flying phobia. The research in this article was to use two methods, impolsion therapy or desensitization to help overcome the fear of flying. The relation to this treatment not only included the therapies, but was completed by monitoring the changes from the flying phobia and whether it was effective in assisting the patients to overcome the fear. Both groups experienced lower anxiety levels for flying after the testing was completed showing that a combination of continuous treatment and time lapses could lower the amount of anxiety in those with flying phobia. The author’s respose to this article is that the lower amount of participants and the loss of some with the phobia at the beginning of the study lead to further investigation needed to help find a remedy for flying phobia. The lower amount of participants, as well as the sample bias that was used made the study irrelevant and limited, specifically because of differences between pre and post test scores that were not conducive to the study. Having a follow up and changing the ethics for this study would have changed the results and the participant response. The ethics would have included a voluntary disclosure, specifically because 8 participants quit after the beginning of the study and then didn’t allow them to leave after the study started (Meltzoff, 1998). The Effect of Divorce The interest in divorce comes from an increase in the amount of divorces that are in households. Specifically, there is an interest in how the change in families affects sons’ behavior toward the changing environment. In this article, several youth participated in the study, all which had been through a recent divorce, and who was between the ages of 13-16. The study measured the amounts of aggression and anger that were in the boys over a period of time, with the expectation that anger levels would be higher with frustration and stress becoming more pressurized in the environment, specifically in association with the divorce that occurred. However, it was found that there was no significant difference between the two groups of boys and the amount of aggression that they had through frustrations or pressures in the environment. Even though there were no significant differences, the researchers also question how the divorce changes teenage boy behaviors when there is not a father in the home. The author’s critique shows that the main focus of the research was off. It initially began as divorce being the cause and anger the effect. For this to be more effective, dependent variables would need to be included. The author also states that the communication and generalizations made the research ineffective. The test group was all taken from the same school, which leads to peer based effects and expressions known among one group. Diversifying the study and calculating different conditions as well as levels of performance would have changed the results (Meltzoff, 1998). Dyslexia Dyslexia is known to affect a large majority of the population. In this research study, there are questions on how it affects fifth grade girls with both personality and perceptual factors. It has been found that dyslexic girls are also known to have domineering parents that change self – esteem levels as well as mental sets that make it difficult for the girls to move past fifth grade because of the inability to master specific concepts. In this study, several dyslexic girls were studied and were compared to a group of participants that didn’t have dyslexia. All children were given a basic academic test, tests for self – esteem and control scales. It was noted that there was no significant difference in self – esteem issues, and that both personality and perceptual factors are irrelevant with dyslexia. It was also found that those with dyslexia had higher perceptual skills because of the need to master reading past the fifth grade and to continue with specific needs for education. According to the author’s critique, the findings of this article question the need for further research, specifically which will support those with higher levels of dyslexia, so it becomes easier for them to associate different reading and writing skills during developmental years. The author also states that the independent variables of self – esteem and perception should have been dependent on other variables as well and was not measured effectively. Since the measures were not completely true or defined, the results also could have led to some bias or misunderstandings of what constitutes self – esteem and perception (Meltzoff, 1998). Time Estimation The concept of passing time and estimating how energy is used among individuals is not only a question asked by researchers because of activity based understanding. There is the need to further understand this concept because of how this affects depression and pleasant feelings among individuals. More importantly, the perception of time, and the belief of how much time one has, is known to create a different behavioral response among individuals and the feelings that they associate with most. The hypothesis of this study stated that the passage of time for those that are depressed moves at longer time frames then those who experience pleasant feelings. It was found that time estimation directly affects the emotional and psychological responses from individuals. Those who have a time perception of longer periods of time become depressed more easily, while those who experience shorter time perception values have more pleasant feelings more often. The author’s critique states the question for further research so there can be a solid understanding of perceptions and their effectiveness on psychology, not only from the perspective of time, but also from the dependent variables on time perception. The research study didn’t make connections to psychological components, such as the dependent variables of depression. At the same time, the subjects were all exposed to a neutral environment, which couldn’t have led to different behavioral responses. The proof is then missing basic dependencies and variables to be conducive with the outcome (Meltzoff, 1998). Bossiness in First Born Girls There are many that believe that first born girls are bossier than other children, specifically because of their role in the family. When playing with friends, this immediately places them into a leadership position. In this study, there was a monitor set on several first born girls to determine how they interacted with others as well as how high their level of bossiness was. It was found that girls who were older were bossier than younger girls. When the older girls played with boys, they were not as bossy. When first born boys played with each other, they also didn’t have the same level of bossiness toward other boys or girls. The author’s critique shows that the contrast groups were not complete and would have changed the results if different measurements were taken. The sample and measures were also too generalized for firstborns and seemed to be based on assumptions and biases, rather than hard data. The author also noted inaccuracies with the collection of data, as well as the way in which it was measured, which led to inconclusive results about the study (Meltzoff, 1998). Effect of Context The context that is presented in different mediums is known to affect specific reactions and is often distorted by the individual reading it. This may be because of memory, past associations or present context that is being looked into. In this study, several participants were given several types of cartoons, including funny, sad and neutral tones with the comedies. They were then measured with how they responded to the context and whether this was distorted according to their understanding. It was found that the information and context presented after a period of time was distorted by what the participants expected. After reading the different funnies over a period of time, they automatically responded in a specific manner, leading to different associations with the comedy. The author shows that the hypothesis in this particular study is inconsistent with the study and changes the concept of associating with context from psychological associations to one that is related directly to what the participant is reading. The author also shows that the participants could discuss the comedies with each other and could change each other’s perceptions. More importantly, judgments could be easily made. The author notes that there was too much interference with the context and the ethics were compromised as confidentiality was not distributed during or after the study (Meltzoff, 1998). Effects of Medication and Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Insomnia In this study, there was the hypothesis that medication and therapy for different psychological or physical needs directly affect the sleeping patterns of individuals. The participants that were involved in this study were currently under specific conditions that required medication and therapies. The test was to monitor the amount of insomnia that each had. The findings indicated that both types of therapy affected the amount of sleep individuals received, and specifically led to higher levels of insomnia. The author’s critique on this particular article states that the assumptions in the hypothesis led to problems with the outcome as they were directly reflected and changed the data outcome. More importantly, there were assumptions with the meaning of insomnia as well as how clients were reacting to both the medication and cognitive behavior therapy. The results would have altered with an understanding of dependent variables on this study (Meltzoff, 1998). Conclusion Even though each of these studies were designed to analyze and approach different concepts, they became biased in the study because of the assumptions through the hypothesis as well as the conditions of the study. The author’s critique shows that each becomes ineffective and would have changed with different scientific procedures. On average, there are over 35 biases that can easily be pointed out in almost any case study for individuals, all which can easily manipulate the assumptions and outcome that others use a basis for their profession or understanding of certain topics (Sackett, 1979). References Meltzoff, Julian. (1998). Critical Thinking About Research: Psychology and Related Fields. London: American Psychological Association. Sackett, David. (1979). “Bias in Analytic Research.” Journal of Chronical Disorders. (32). Read More