Biological causes of violence

According to psychological and scientific studies, violence is the physical force applied to an individual in order to cause pain and several damages.  Violence has been part of human life since living organisms appeared on earth; this is why for creatures violence is just another action. It has been proved that violence has been part of people’s evolution though its genes have a great influence in human’s behaviour; this is why Biological factors are quite important.

             In animals there is a gene called the amygdala, stimulation of the amygdala causes increased aggression. Due to the fact that humans have the ability to reason, this situation is not so common. Personality disorders are also a biological factor that can cause violence and aggression. Also brain damage caused by toxic materials found in the environment, shocking head injury, dietary deficiencies, alcohol and drug ingestion by the mother during critical fetal developmental stages, and birth trauma can cause violent behavior in many persons.

            Violence is a voluntary act for causing pain and several damages to your self, or another individual or group of individuals. Biological factors are one of the main causes of violence. Genes such as the amygdale, personality disorders and brain damage create an aggressive attitude in people’s behavior.   

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/the-causes-of-violence/blog-263921 
http://law.jrank.org/pages/787/Crime-Causation-Biological-Theories-there-genetic-liability-violence.html

ARTICLES ON DEPRESSION

“Pathological Internet Use Among Teens May Lead to Depression” study was conducted by Lawrence T. Lam, Ph.D., of the School of Medicine, Sydney, and the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Australia, and Zi-Wen Peng, M.Sc., of the Ministry of Education and SunYat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China, in August 2010. 1,041 teens in China were evaluatd for depression and anxiety using previously validated scales. At the beginning of the study, 62 participants  were classified as having moderately pathological use of the Internet, and 2% were severely at risk. Nine months later, the adolescents were re-assessed for anxiety and depression; 2%  had significant anxiety symptoms and 84% had developed depression. The risk of depression for those who used the Internet pathologically was about two and a half times that of those who did not. No relationship was observed between pathological Internet use and anxiety.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100802165402.htm

“Depression as Deadly as Smoking, Study Finds” was conducted by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College led by Dr Robert Stewar. The study was a survey taken by over 60,000 persons. It was complemented with already existent records. Researchers found that over the following 4 years using the survey, the mortality risk was increased to a similar extent in people who were depressed as in people who were smokers. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117094933.htm

 

“High-School Seniors With Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Have an Increased Risk of Depression”study  was conducted by Dr. Mahmood I. Siddique, clinical associate professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J. It was presented June 9, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC. 262 high school seniors with an average age of 17.7 years who were attending a public high school in Mercer County, N.J. Participant show socio-demographic characteristics using a cross-sectional survey. Excessive daytime sleepiness was indicated by a score of 10 or higher on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and mood was evaluated with a validated depression scale. The results demonstrated that high school seniors were three times more likely to have strong depression symptoms if they had excessive daytime sleepiness.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100609083221.htm

Depression

Explain the biological causes of depresion.

Biological causes are due to changes in the chemistry of the brain, such as fluctuations in the levels of important hormones. Genetic causes are the result of what you inherit from your parents. If one or both of your parents have a vulnerability to depression, then it can be transmitted to you.

Explain the environment causes of depresion.

Abuse. Past physical, sexual, or emotional abuse can cause depression later in life.
Certain medications. For example, some drugs used to treat high blood pressure, such as beta-blockers or reserpine, can increase your risk of depression.
Conflict. Depression may result from personal conflicts or disputes with family members or friends.
Death or a loss. Sadness or grief from the death or loss of a loved one, though natural, can also increase the risk of depression.
Genetics. A family history of depression may increase the risk. It's thought that depression is passed genetically from one generation to the next. The exact way this happens, though, is not known.
Major events. Even good events such as starting a new job, graduating, or getting married can lead to depression. So can moving, losing a job or income, getting divorced, or retiring.
Other personal problems. Problems such as social isolation due to other mental illnesses or being cast out of a family or social group can lead to depression.
Serious illnesses. Sometimes depression co-exists with a major illness or is a reaction to the illness.
Substance abuse. Nearly 30% of people with substance abuse problems also have major or clinical depression.

Explain the cognitive causes of depresion.

Cognitive behavioral theorists suggest that depression results from maladaptive, faulty, or irrational cognitions taking the form of distorted thoughts and judgments. Depressive cognitions can be learned socially as is the case when children in a dysfunctional family watch their parents fail to successfully cope with stressful experiences or traumatic events. Or, depressive cognitions can result from a lack of experiences that would facilitate the development of adaptive coping skills.

Explain the cognitive triad as it relates to depresion.

Negative thinking that often accompanies depression. The three components of the triad include one’s view of the world, oneself, and the future. People who are depressed tend to view the things around them negatively, evaluate themselves as unworthy and flawed, and view the future with caution and pessimism.

Articles on Depresion

Schizophernia

.1 Explain the general symptoms of paranoid-type schizophrenia.

Signs and symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia may include:

•                Auditory hallucinations, such as hearing voices

•                Delusions, such as believing a co-worker wants to poison you

•                Anxiety

•                Anger

•                Aloofness

•                Violence

•                Verbal confrontations

•                Patronizing manner

•                Suicidal thoughts and behavior


2. Explain the general symptoms of disorganized-type schizophrenia.

         Active, but in an aimless and not constructive way

         Bizarre and inappropriate emotional responses

         False, fixed beliefs (delusions)

         Inability to feel pleasure

         Inappropriate grinning and grimacing

         Lack of emotion and motivation

         Seeing or hearing things that aren't there (hallucinations)

         Silly behavior


3. Explain the general symptoms of catatonic-type schizophrenia.




•                delusions

•                hallucinations

•                disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)

•                grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

•                negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition

4. Identify three positive symptoms of schizophrenia.


 exaggeration or distortions of normal thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Includes delusions, hallucinations, or thought disorders.

5. Identify three negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

 reduction or absence of  normal thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Includes fatten affect, alogia, or avolition.


6. What is the difference between an hallucination and a delusion?


 Delusions are false or erroneous beliefs that usually involve a misinterpretation of perceptions or experiences. Their content may include a variety of themes.

Hallucinations are false actions that the victim experiences with all of his or her senses and thinks they are real because they experienced something that never happened.

7. Identify three cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.




difficult maintaining attention

memory problems

difficulty planning and structuring activities

lack of insgiht

8. Describe the symptom of avolition.




will not start or complete important tasks

lack in desire

lack in motivation

lack in persistence

9. Describe the symptom of catatonia.



Rigid body

Motionless body

Repetitive behavior

Repetitive movements

Negativism

Catalepsy

Unusual posture




10. Define and give an example of a delusion of grandeur.

delusional conviction of one's own importance, power, or knowledge or that one is, or has a special relationship with, a deity or a famous person.




11.Define and give an example of a delusion of reference.




a delusional conviction that ordinary events, objects, or behaviors of others have particular and unusual meanings specifically for oneself.

12. Define and give an example of a somatic delusion.

A delusion whose content pertains to bodily functioning, bodily sensations, or physical appearance. Usually the false belief is that the body is somehow diseased, abnormal, or changed. An example of a somatic delusion would be a person who believes that his or her body is infested with parasites.

The Basics of Schizophrenia

Blue/Brown eye experiment

This experiment was made by a elementary school teacher, the purpose of this experiment was because the teacher didnt know how to explain the kids what was happening with the martin luther king situation, so she decided that she would show them what racism meant, so she started to flatter the blue eyed people and to put down the brown eye people so they will feel really bad, and then she flipped the process so the brown eyed people will feel flattered and the blue people would feel put down, this way she devided the class, and then the kids started to fight because they thought they were superior to the opposite eye color, this was exactly the same as what was happening in the united states in that time. Prejudice is "An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts". and Discrimination is "Treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit; partiality or prejudice" both of this words have a similar meaning, but both of them have a bad connotation. In conclusion the part that i enjoyed the most of the experiment was the fact that the kids fighted just because of the eye color, not the fact that they fighted but the fact that how the teacher changed all of the way of thinking just by saying a few compliments.