top of page

Research & Leadership

Public·35 members
Claire

Physical pain and its connection to mental health decline

Hi guys! Did you know that a poor mental heath is connected to physical and social abilities in teens/adolescents? I found an article talking about how about 44.2% of adolescents that have chronic pain are associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety. Researchers have also found that this can lead to a deficit in social functioning in families. With this information in mind, it's safe to assume that one way to take care of mental heath is to improve physical health!


Here's the article I found!

https://www.theeducatedpatient.com/view/the-social-toll-of-teen-pain-and-mental-health-struggles


Psychology
40 Views
Gavin Hifumi
Gavin Hifumi
Jul 27

Wow! It’s interesting to see how chronic pain can affect someone beyond physically. I think that broadening the range of possible causes for mental health issues would undoubtedly help researchers better understand and address those who are struggling so it’s good to see that stuff like this is getting attention.

Claire

Stress- beneficial or harmful?

I’m sure we’ve all faced stress atleast once in our lives. Whenever it be college applications, the SATs, or even diving in clueless to a test you didn’t study for; anything can trigger stress. This summer, ive been dealing with imense stress (the main culprit is SAT prep), so much so that it really began to weigh on my mind. I began to wonder if the stress I was facing was actually good for me. After researching, I found that stress, if taken the right way, can boost motivations and increase efficiency. In this article I found, stress is only useful if taken in little amounts, with a good amount of response. Too much stress can lead to not being able to cope with the situation, effectively making it worse. Response to stress can also play a big factor in the way stress can be beneficial too. Too little or…

Psychology
82 Views
Kayla Roh
Kayla Roh
Jul 20

Yerkes dodson law!

Claire

Learned Helplessness

Hi guys! I recently stumbled upon a term called “Learned Helplessness”! It’s the concept of believing you cannot change an outcome of a situation because of a repeated pattern of bad outcomes. This relates to the concept that has been thrown around quite a bit on the internet: a fly will not move from above the top of a jar (even after the jar is opened) because it has already learned that the top of the jar will stop it from getting out. Scientists Martin Seligman and Steven F. Maier conducted an experiment using dogs to test this theory, proving that dogs, like people, can learn helplessness.


Warning if you decide to read the article, it might sound like it’s just an experiment but it was highly unethical what they were doing to those dogs all to prove a point.


https://www.simplypsychology.org/learned-helplessness.html

here’s the article!

Psychology
87 Views
Dr. Michael Roh
Jul 16

Hi Claire,

I enjoyed reading about this interesting psychology concept of learned helplessness. There are actually many examples of this in life as Kayla pointed out and loved her examples of poor voter turnout and not studying for a test if you are already not doing so well in a class.

I found it encouraging that later research showed that helplessness is not permanent. I read that Seligman himself went on to become one of the founders of positive psychology, and his later work focused on helping people regain a sense of control. Researchers found that people can "unlearn" helplessness by:

  • experiencing small, genuine successes,

  • recognizing where they do have control,

  • challenging overly pessimistic thinking,

  • and receiving support from others.

You also brought up an important point about the ethical treatment of animals in research. Thankfully much stricter rules and standards are in place now i.e. the Animal Welfare Act (1966) which research institutions take very seriously. So perhaps we can see these studies as prompting positive change in this instance as well.

jzraiqat009jzraiqat009

Freud's psychoanalytic theory and suicide

Hi everyone!

I was looking for overviews or explanations of Freud's psychoanalytic theory, as it is an important theory for explaining behaviors and attitudes in psychology, and I happened to find a book discussing multiple psychologist's theories and their explanations for suicide. Starting on page 9 of the pdf and finishing on page 20 of the pdf should provide a simple overview of Freud's psychoanalytic theory as well as its explanations for suicide. The book does also explain multiple psychologist's perspectives on the matter as well, so if that is something interesting to you then you may read those as well.

-Jad

Psychology
95 Views
PAVA BioImpact Team
PAVA BioImpact Team
Jun 03

Great post, Jad! Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is fascinating because it attempts to explain behavior by exploring unconscious thoughts and internal conflicts that people may not even realize they have.


One thing that stood out to me is how differently psychology has evolved since Freud’s time. While many of Freud’s ideas were groundbreaking, modern neuroscience and psychology now use brain imaging, genetics, and evidence-based research to better understand complex issues like depression and suicide.


How can modern neuroscience test or challenge psychological theories that were originally based on observation rather than biological evidence?

Claire

Loftus and Palmer Car Crash Experiment

Hi! I was finally able to check out the Loftus and Palmer case (Thank you Kayla!). It's so interesting how reality can be altered of shaped during investigations + its so important that officers take this into account while interrogating suspects! Eye witness testimonies can prove to be one of the most valuable pieces of information a case can have and adding bias to a question can twist someone's perception of their testimony. The Loftus and Palmer experiment proved police could alter someone's memory using words like "hit" or "crash" when asked how fast a car was going during an accident.

Here's the article, please check it out!

https://www.simplypsychology.org/loftus-palmer.html

Psychology
78 Views
PAVA BioImpact Team
PAVA BioImpact Team
Jun 03

Penny for your thoughts??


If a person’s memory can be unintentionally changed by others, how much responsibility should we place on eyewitnesses when their testimony turns out to be inaccurate? Should they be blamed, or is this simply a limitation of the human brain?

Claire

Psychology in the Criminal Justice system

Hey guys! Did you know that psychology has a major role in how a criminal’s sentencing is? I found an article that talks about how many psychologists play a role in finding out a killer’s motivations and patterns in serial killers!

The link is here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/law-and-crime/amp

Psychology
102 Views
Kayla Roh
Kayla Roh
May 30

Hi Claire, thanks for sharing the cool article! I'm not sure if you've taken/are planning to take AP Psych, but one of the most important studies AP psych discusses has a lot to do with this topic. Look up "Loftus and Palmer 1974", and it should be the first search result.

Claire

The effects of sufficient sleep in children

Hi guys! I found an article related to how children’s brain development depended on how much sleep they got!

Here it is:

https://www.neurocaregroup.com/news-insights/brain-development-in-children-dramatically-affected-by-sleep?hs_amp=true


Hope you get a good amount of sleep!


Psychology
91 Views
PAVA BioImpact Team
PAVA BioImpact Team
May 26

This is such an important read, and I’m so glad it’s being brought to our community’s attention!


As future healthcare professionals, this matters deeply to us, not just for the patients we will one day serve, but for ourselves, right now. We are in one of the most demanding phases of our academic lives. Late nights, early mornings, cramming before exams- we’ve all been there. But the science is telling us clearly: cutting sleep to gain study time may actually be working against us.


A few things worth reflecting on as PAVA members:


🌙 Sleep is not laziness — it is a biological necessity. Protecting your sleep is protecting your brain.


📵 Screen time before bed is a real disruptor. Blue light exposure from media use has become one of the major factors influencing sleep quality decline in recent generations.  Try putting your phone down an hour before bed — your brain will thank you.


🏃 Movement during the day supports better sleep at night. Physical activity isn’t just good for the body — it primes your brain for deeper, more restorative rest.


As people who care about health, let’s make sleep a priority, not an afterthought.


Rest well. Learn better. Lead stronger. 💙

    Members

    See All Members (35)
    bottom of page