The concepts of cognitive psychology have been widely researched on and theories formulated have sometimes been practically proven. Cognitive psychology is the study of any mental processes which include, attention, memory, thinking, learning, perception and language, but to name some. Cognitive research and knowledge can be applied in our daily lives in numerous ways. Understanding how humans process information helps psychologists understand certain occurrences and also help in coming up with new ways for people to deal with psychological difficulties. The Media has played a major role in educating the public on educating the public on cognitive psychological research and how it informs the public on how cognitive processes work and we discuss examples in this article.
Dr. Oz talks about sleep and the brain processes improvement especially automatic processing. The speed at which the brain processes information is known to increase with the amount of sleep one has. Three extra hours of sleep have been proved to increase the speed of automatic processing from 50% to 98%. Research done shows these changes when one sleeps which translate to the daily activities of a person and eventually affect brain health (Isaacson, 2018).
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The test conducted to prove this theory involved placing two or three almost similar pictures before one within a limited amount of time then asking them if they had noticed anything different. A guest in the show on whom the test had been conducted was said to have given the above results. When the guest audience were asked to spot the difference, some could very quickly while some did not notice any difference, whereas some noticed some and missed others. All these levels, Dr. Richard Isaacson argues, depicts the amount of sleep one had.
Alzheimer’s, a degenerative disease in which one loses memory and the ability to reason deteriorates with time is said to be kept far away by more sleep. Alzheimer’s is a condition that leads to lowering if not loss of mental processes. More sleep, Dr. Richardson says has been proven to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. He relates this with a sports car and what needs to ensure that it runs well which needs to take a break from being driven constantly lest it overheats. Thad Drop show episode sends the message that more sleep ensures faster rate of automatic processing and also reduced risk of contracting Alzheimer’s.
In the magazine Psychology Today Christopher Bergland writes about how aerobic fitness can be linked to temporary language decline. Language decline is a cognitive process that is very vital for day to day functioning. For people who suffer from extreme language decline, there is difficulty in doing anything and the dependency on other people is close to 100 %. He talks about the state in which someone has a name, term or title at the tip of their tongue but cannot say it and calls it “Tip-of-the-tongue” (TOT) state (bergland, 2018).
A research done by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with others, show that higher fitness levels are associated with less language decline. Participants in the research were asked to perform computerized tasks of filling forms which required certain descriptive terms and were also given a list of famous actors, politicians and artists whose names they were expected to give. Most people who had not been engaging in physical fitness activities were recorded to have the TOT state.
This information that was not remembered before was remembered by participants while engaging in other mindless activities that had not relation to the tasks performed or questions asked at all. This happens since there is psychological unrest that causes a continuous search for the information in our minds until when it is remembered and one attains psychological relief (bergland, 2018). It is as though the mind seeks to unravel a riddle and wrestles with the idea until when it finally solves it and it attains peace.
Language decline is common in older people than in the younger ones. Some may want to attribute this to a lower level of knowledge but this is not the case, latrine Segar says. This king of cognitive response is attributed to lowered physical activity and is higher in adults because of the level of activity in adults. The study report also points out that this is not to be seen as memory loss since it is not permanent. The decline is only caused by lowered cognitive fluidity which is mainly caused by a low level of physical activity. The magazine article embassies on taking part in cardio- respiratory exercises and aerobics to reduce the tendency of language decline.
Research shows that the cerebellum plays a key role in language processing. Aerobic exercises and cardio fitness stimulates the neurogenesis and boosts gray matter volumes in both hemispheres of the cerebrum and cerebellum as well as in the hippocampus (Frieman, 2014). Studies have shown that the cerebellum controls thoughts and words as much as it controls movement. This explains how aerobics and curio exercises lead to better language processing. This does not mean that slower language processing means less vocabulary but is rather the opposite as older people have a better mastery of vocabulary.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is addressed by Richard A. Fireman in the New York Times and how it could be remedied. People who suffer from this disorder allegedly do not find the world they live in very interesting in their brains leading to lack of focus and consequently, impulsive behavior. The people that suffer from the illness according to the article, may struggle so much to concentrate on a subject they do not like but if given one they like, can cue at it for hours without realizing the change in time (Frieman, 2014). This may cause them to resort to methods of relieving their boredom which may include use of drugs like alcohol.
Studies relate this lack of attention in certain areas with dopamine, the “feel good” hormone which is produced as a result of receiving rewards like money, drugs or sex. The hormone therefore causes the brain to pay more attention during this times. During activities in which one is not faced with a situation where they feel rewarded, the hormone is not produced and the brain therefore does not get the signal to pay attention. The brain assigns importance with reward as it is influenced by the hormone dopamine. Studies show that people with ADHD have less dopamine receptors (Frieman, 2014). The article gives an example of a 28 year old man who had a huge problem focusing on his desk job but on changing to a start-up which involved him constantly changing environment and being on the road, the symptoms of ADHD disappeared and he was much happier.
The media has influenced spreading of cognition information by discussing cognitive psychological research information. The new York Times discussed on attention and the ADHD illness, psychology today focused on language decline and Dr.Oz show engaged in a discussion on sleep and automatic responses. These studies are discussed in the media and discusses the knowledge we have on cognition properly.
References
Bergland, c. (2018). How Are Tip-of-the-Tongue States Linked to Aerobic Fitness?. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201805/how-are-tip-the-tongue-states-linked-aerobic-fitness
Frieman, R. (2014). A Natural Fix for A.D.H.D. New York Times, p. SR1. Retrieved from https Isaacson, D. (2018). How Three extra Hours Of Sleep Improved One Man's health [Video]. U.S: Dr. Oz Show.://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/opinion/sunday/a-natural-fix-for-adhd.html
