Is surveillance changing how we see the world?

New research suggests that knowing we’re being monitored impacts involuntary perceptual processes, without us realising.


17 February 2025
ByEmma Barratt


We're monitored everywhere these days; mobile phone trackers, front-facing cameras on every device, internet history, and now AI grabbing our data from all angles, to give a few examples. As Kiley Seymor and colleagues from across Australia and Germany point out in a recent paper, with the exploration of neural interfaces progressing, there's the very sci-fi possibility that one day, even our thoughts may be surveilled.


Despite this advancement of surveillance, our understanding of its impact on humans hasn't really advanced at the same pace. Seymor and colleagues' latest work, published recently in Neuroscience of Consciousness, takes some initial steps towards plugging that gap.


Past investigations have highlighted the effect of being watched on several voluntary behaviours. For example, having an audience makes people more prosocial; they're more giving, and less likely to cheat, drop litter, or look at provocative imagery. Beyond social behaviour, it also increases feeling of discomfort, vigilance, and can even have negative impacts on attention and working memory.


Seymor et al.'s work, however, focuses firmly on the involuntary effects of being watched, particularly as they pertain to perceptual awareness and cognition. The team hypothesised that feeling surveilled may make the visual system more sensitive to recognising when we are being gazed at.


To investigate this, they recruited 54 undergraduates for an in-person experiment. Thirty of these participants were assigned to the experimental group, who were shown cameras being set up in their experimental booth prior to testing, as well as a live feed of the booth in an adjoining room. The remaining 24 served as controls, who weren't subject to this surveillance theatre, but were left alone to complete a task in a camera-less booth.


In this space, all participants completed a 'breaking continuous flash suppression' task, which entailed watching a screen on which face stimuli, either gazing towards or away from them, were briefly flashed. Their mission was to press a button as quickly and accurately as possible to report whether a face was shown on the left or right of the screen. This reaction time was used as a measure for how quickly the face stimuli reached conscious perception, and therefore a measure of whether faces were being prioritised by the visual system under different surveillance circumstances.


Afterwards, participants completed questionnaires assessing both state and trait anxiety, and reported whether or not they felt watched during their performance, for good measure. In the experimental group, all felt mildly watched (as did most of the control group, which is consistent with previous research). They also reported that they felt this didn't affect their performance.


That gut feeling, however, wasn't reflected in the data. In fact, participants in the watched group perceived faces significantly faster than non-watched controls – by almost one full second - both when faces were gazing directly at them, or had their gaze averted.


The watched group were also more accurate in detecting which side they'd seen faces. Both of these findings support the idea that, when we feel like someone is watching us, we're quicker to perceive faces. The accuracy finding, in particular, also rules out the idea that there'd be some sort of speed-accuracy trade-off for this boost.


Analysis of the anxiety measures found that there was no change in anxiety levels pre- to post- experiment. Both groups matched in levels of trait anxiety, meaning that these results can't be explained by nerves alone. A second control study conducted by the team using neutral, non-face stimuli suggested that demand characteristics were also not to blame, and that not all stimuli benefitted from a perceptual boost when participants were watched.


These findings would seem to indicate that knowing we're being surveilled affects involuntary cognitive processes, influencing how we perceive, understand, and interact with the world around us – despite likely feeling as though it doesn't affect us. This "imperceivable" influence, as the authors put it, could plausibly be having a quiet effect on the wider public's mental health, attention, and performance. Further investigations, however, will be needed to assess those risks.


Read the paper in full:
Seymour, K., McNicoll, J., & Koenig-Robert, R. (2024). Big brother: the effects of surveillance on fundamental aspects of social vision. Neuroscience of Consciousness, (1), niae039. https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/niae039

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/surveillance-changing-how-we-see-world(accessed 17.3.25)

Burnout – A modern epidemic of occupational stress

Graham Russell with a key theme from his new book, 'Understanding Vulnerability and Resilience: A Guide for Professionals who work with Vulnerable Others'.

31 March 2023


In 2021, the UK's Health and Safety Executive reported that stress, alongside anxiety and depression, has become one of the leading causes of sickness in the UK workforce. This is reflected in a wide range of studies that have documented high levels of stress in doctors, social workers, teachers and prison staff.

Dr Paula McFadden, for example, from the Queen's University Belfast Centre of Evidence and Social Innovation, found that one in three UK social workers had symptoms of emotional exhaustion as assessed by the Maslach Burnout inventory. The UK's General Medical Council recently reported that one in four UK doctors felt burnt-out due to a high or chronically excessive workload with one in the three General Practitioners at risk of burnout. Professor Gail Kinman from Birkbeck University of London found that prison staff had relatively high levels of self-reported stress and burnout and GOV.UK reported high rates of attrition in teachers that were associated with stress, high workloads and a poor work-life balance. Likewise, in a recent article in the The Guardian, the incoming WHO chief scientist, Professor Jeremy Farrar warned that the situation in healthcare was so serious, that burnt-out health workers across the globe simply do not have the resilient reserve to deal with another major epidemic.
What is stress and burnout?

Stress in itself is not a bad thing. Transient stress, for example, is normal, and a modicum of apprehension can be advantageous when we find ourselves confronted with challenging situations. For an A&E consultant gearing herself up to deal with multiple, serious injuries relating to a major road traffic accident, the release of stress hormones is beneficial, because they will boost blood sugar and sharpen the ability to make rapid decisions, which can be vital in saving lives. Moreover, the stress that she experiences will quickly subside when the patients have been triaged and treated and she is afforded the opportunity to recover and relax at home.

In the latter scenario, the stress that the consultant experienced was short-lived and there were no lasting effects. Chronic stress, however, is a very different animal, because it tends to be debilitating and pervasive. Of particular interest here is the rise in cases of burnout, a complex and insidious form of chronic occupational stress, which is currently endemic in professions where staff have high levels of engagement with vulnerable adults or children who have complex needs.

Burnout is not like simple, transient stress. It is a complex, debilitating disorder that results from chronic exposure to occupational overload and it degrades and impairs just about every aspect of normal human functioning. Evidence, for example, suggests that repeated exposure to high levels of stress over time can fundamentally alter the body's capacity for responding to stressful situations. The emotional processing centres in the mid-brain called the amygdala and hippocampus that are responsible for attenuating the normal (adaptive) stress response become impaired so the stress response cannot be switched off. This results in a state of hypersensitivity to stressors, and the body is repeatedly flooded with stress hormones known as glucocorticoids. The chronic release of these stress hormones is believed to affect the frontal lobes of the brain that govern attention, memory and judgement, leading to impairment in key cognitive functions, such as decision-making and the ability to focus on complex tasks. Should our A&E consultant be repeatedly exposed to repeated high levels of stress without sufficient opportunity to recover, she would start to find herself feeling overwhelmed by routine events and increasingly unable to relax and regenerate at the end of a shift. Indeed, at the time of writing this article, researchers at Leeds University had just published the results of a study which suggests that exposure to unremitting stress associated with long-working hours and understaffing is fuelling widespread, early symptoms of burnout in junior doctors.

In documenting the effects on the body of persistent exposure to stress, neuroendocrinologist, Robert Sapolsky, in his 2004 book Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, explains that the body's hormonal systems have essentially evolved to deal with short-term stressors and animal studies have shown that exposure to chronic, unremitting stress leads to the depletion of key stress hormone, such as cortisol, with the result that the body becomes unable to mount an effective response to potentially stressful situations. If this continues unabated the body reaches a point where it literally runs out of fuel. At this point, our consultant in A&E would feel physically and emotionally exhausted. She would be unable to muster the attentional processes necessary to deal with complex situations nor would she be able to recover at the end of a shift.

These processes do not occur overnight. Psychologist Christine Meinhardt states that it takes five to ten years to reach the point where emotional and physical exhaustion have become so profound that the individual lapses into a state of depression and agitated helplessness. To make matters worse, the accompanying feelings of powerlessness and helplessness contribute to a negative feedback loop as feelings of shame, guilt and self-insufficiency act to further exacerbate chronic feelings of stress.
The causes of burnout

As noted, burnout is closely associated with exposure to unremitting occupational stress that consistently places too much of a burden on employees over long, protracted periods of time. This is problematic because there are finite limits to what we humans can endure. Everyone (regardless of experience and training) is at risk of succumbing to burnout if exposed to factors such as constant physical exhaustion, insomnia and emotional overload. There are only so many times that our emergency doctor can cope with multiple serious injuries without regular opportunities to recoup and regenerate their physical and emotional batteries.

Elaborating on this point, Danish psychologist Robert Karasek has proposed that burnout occurs when people find themselves faced with occupational demands that consistently exceed their capacity to cope, with the risk of burnout increasing as a function of incongruity between the two factors. This position reflects modern stress theory – the greater the perceived discrepancy between capacity and demand, the higher the experienced levels of stress.

However, many other factors have been identified in the aetiology of burnout. Swiss psychologist Veronika Brandstätter, for example, states that research has shown that employees are prone to burnout when the reality of working on the ground consistently fails to match their values and ideals. A common source of stress for nurses, for example, is anxiety linked to the inability to provide safe and compassionate levels of patient care. Similarly, social workers experience stress when high caseloads result in their having to prioritise clients who are all deemed to be at risk. Likewise, burnout has been found to be associated with lack of job-congruence in idealistically motivated aid workers, who find themselves overwhelmed and impotent in the face of wide scale human misery, caused by factors, such as man-made catastrophes and poverty associated with state-sponsored corruption.

In a similar vein, burnout has been linked with job-incongruence and frustration flowing from bureaucratic tasks that seem to violate staff's professional integrity. Nurses in Denmark, for example, frequent complain that opportunities for direct patient contact are hampered by the inordinate amount of time that is required to complete IT-based quality assurance tasks. Various studies have shown that professionals in fields like health, social work and teaching regularly experience frustration relating to high levels of 'policy churn' as incoming government ministers seek to establish themselves.

Likewise, burnout is more likely to occur when employee's experience a sense of injustice that reflects a fundamental imbalance between perceived personal efforts and rewards, or when employees feel they have little control over the tasks that they perform or the environments that they inhabit.
Why burnout is a problem for organisations

The human costs of burnout are serious and well-documented. Sapolsky, for example, states that chronic stress is widely associated with a range of long-term health conditions, including heart disease and auto-immune disorders like fibromyalgia. In addition, burnout takes an immense emotional toll resulting in depression and complex, negative changes in self-perception in victims that are pervasive and difficult to resolve.

However, employee burnout is also a serious issue for organisations, and particularly with regard to long term sickness, staff attrition and recruitment. Numerous studies have shown that burnout is highly prevalent in health, social care, teaching and the prison services, and it goes without saying that sick employees do not make for efficient employees. Deficits in key areas of executive functioning like memory attention and decision-making invariably impact on the quality-of-service provision and emotional blunting can rob staff of their capacity to be compassionate and caring.

Moreover, as Meinhardt notes, whilst early-stage (simple) stress is readily amenable to standard psychological interventions, chronic burnout is complex and difficult to treat and invariably associated with long term sickness and staff attrition. This can prove a serious issue for organisations and their patients or clients, particularly when novice, inexperienced staff are left to deal with complex cases without sufficient levels of expert guidance and supervision. The consequences of this can be tragic. Following the recent murder of law graduate Zara Aleena, for example, the chief inspector of probation Justin Russell, established that a pattern of systemic failures could be traced back to heavy personal workloads and high staff vacancy rates, which had resulted in a lack of experienced staff to mentor and support young probation officers who were dealing with complex cases.

Burnout can also have a direct impact on the quality and care and support that is offered to vulnerable others. Burnout is an emotionally painful condition and emotional blunting is a common way of coping with the pain of seeing oneself as failing. Staff who are burnt-out often have difficultly feeling empathy for others and compassion may be replaced by actions that are conducted on autopilot. At best burnout sufferers may mechanically say and do the right thing (referred to as 'presenteeism'), and at worst may show a seemingly cynical disregard for those who are in their care. Such effects were noted in the Francis Enquiry which was established to report on the causes of widespread, serious failures in patient care at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust and in the Ockenden Enquiry, which examined comprehensive failures of care in midwifery services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust. In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that high levels of staff sickness, attrition, failures of care and the scapegoating of staff make organisations less attractive to potential employees, which may well be a contributing factor in the global recruitment crises that is affecting organisations in health, social care in the UK and many other European countries.
What can be done to reduce staff burnout (and increase organisational resilience)?

We have clearly reached the point where action needs to be taken to address the problem of endemic burnout. Business as usual is not viable option, and it is incumbent upon organisations to recognise and accept that there are finite limits on what staff can endure physically and emotionally without succumbing to the pervasive effects of chronic stress.

However, viewed from a historical perspective, efforts to improve the efficiency of public sector organisations like the NHS have focused primarily on productivity and the resulting policy drivers have generally been designed to squeeze staff in order to get more for less. This, according to David Maguire, a senior analyst at the King's Fund, has become untenable in light of current levels of staff sickness and attrition relating to stress. Sustainable gains in organisational efficiency, he argues, must come from identifying ways of increasing the quality and provision of systems and human resources that exist to support staff rather than simply doubling down on efforts to reduce costs, whilst simultaneously seeking to boost outputs.

In a report for the Department of Health in 2016, for example, Lord Carter of Coles proposed that the NHS should work to identify the causes of stress sickness and attrition to improve the quality of the working environment, so as to ensure that staff are motivated to return to work. These themes are also mirrored in the NHS People Plan, which emphasises the importance of developing compassionate and inclusive cultures and practices where staff's inputs are recognised and rewarded together with flexible and support for staff with domestic caring roles and other such responsibilities.

Despite this, the tools signposted in the recent NHS Value and Efficiency Map focus almost exclusively on financial and economic factors relating to productivity. They neglect to draw attention to the importance of staff well-being as the pivotal factor in organisational efficiency. Indeed, to reiterate an early point, one of the key drivers of burnout is the existence of a chronic imbalance between the situational demands and the capacity of individuals (or teams) to cope. Moreover, it is evident that staff's ability cope with stress is strongly mediated by the quality the occupational and social environments that they inhabit, rather than the quality of their personality traits.

This is an important and often overlooked point. We possess a strong, unconscious tendency to assume that human vulnerability and resilience are best characterised as personality traits that reside within certain individuals. We readily embrace the idea that some people are 'born leaders' because they possess qualities like 'grit and determination', and we conversely assume that people who succumb to conditions like stress must somehow be lacking in these same qualities. In doing so, we deny the fact that vulnerability is a Condition Humana that renders each and every one of us susceptible to the effects of prolonged stress. Uber-resilience exists only in the stuff of Hollywood fiction, and it is evident that personal resilience in the workplace is highly dependent upon situational factors, such as perceived control and autonomy, a good balance between demand and capacity, effective support and congruence between personal goals and the reality of what can be achieved on the ground.

In addition, we need to consider the issue of how we commonly make sense of failure in organisations. When vulnerability is regarded as residing within the individual rather than organisational systems and contextual factors (such as high levels of staff-attrition and policy drivers that seek to maximise economic efficiency), the organisational response to failure is often to reflexively point the finger at individuals, who are assumed to be weak and ineffective, rather than resilient and powerful.

A classic example of this can be found in the scapegoating and unfair dismissal of Sharon Shoesmith, the former Haringey children's service's boss, who carried the can for global, systemic problems over which she had limited control. Indeed, although it is well known that tragic events often arise from failures of service provision associated with factors, such as high levels of long-term staff sickness and staff attrition, it is often legally safer and less embarrassing for organisations to pin the blame on individuals rather than open the door to an examination of issues that might reflect badly on senior managers.

Such problems are found in all areas of public service. It has been reported, for example, that Ofsted reports sometimes hold Heads of Schools personally responsible for their failure to attract and recruit teachers in core Stem subjects even though it is widely known that a national shortage has existed for decades. Not only do such practices lack common-sense and compassion, they are also self-defeating. Staff are left feeling demoralised and systemic, organisational problems remain unchallenged and unresolved.
Bright spots

However, there are bright spots on the horizon. The past decade has seen a burgeoning interest in the role of compassion in promoting resilience and well-being, and this has been extended to encompass occupational fields. The aforementioned NHS People Plan, for example, has drawn attention to the need for compassionate practices in management, but what is a compassionate organisation, and can it fruitfully coexist alongside hard-nosed economic and financial drivers?

Professor Paul Gilbert suggests that it can. A compassionate organisation may be defined as one that places staff well-being at the centre of its policies and practices. Indeed, acts of compassion have been shown to promote personal well-being, reduce stress and depression and are associated with a protective sense of group-affiliation and belonging. Moreover, research has shown that personal resilience is strongly associated with a sense of community and shared values. Burnout, for example, has been found to be quite rare in communities where there is a strong sense of communion, social commitment and shared values. Collectivist cultures typically have lower rates of occupational burnout than cultures which prize individualism and competition.

Moreover, staff are happiest and healthiest when there is a good match between the aspirations and values that brought them into the workplace and the reality of what can be achieved on the ground. Conversely, burnout has been linked to perceived job-incongruence that occurs when work-related tasks consistently fail to meet staff's role expectations or when work practices violate staff's professional identity and integrity.

Working with large caseloads that jeopardise client safety are a major source of stress and job-incongruence. Likewise, tasks that are seemingly futile can conflict with core roles leading to stress and frustration, as was noted earlier in respect of Danish Nurses, who tend regard IT-based reporting systems as bureaucratic and counterproductive. Such problems have been found in schools too. A recent Portuguese study concluded that teaching staff often believed that school inspectors were more often concerned with identifying failure than good practice. Echoing this, Ofsted's own 2019 Teachers Attitude Survey reported that nearly one half of teachers viewed school inspections as a source of fear and stress associated with pointless box ticking tasks that were based on 'misguided priorities'.

In a similar vein, the Justice Theory of Burnout establishes a causal relationship between burnout and staff perceptions of fairness. According to a study conducted by Psychologist Nathaneal Campbell, for example, symptoms of emotional exhaustion, diminished personal accomplishment and staff commitment to the organisation where reduced when managers were perceived to treat staff fairly and displayed genuine concern, compassion and support for problems at work. Likewise, other researchers have found that the risk of burnout is reduced when staff perceive that organisational systems and structures promote professional freedom and autonomy, including the right to express professional opinion without fear of restrictive 'gagging clauses' that often function to 'hide' systemic problems and emerging issues.

To minimise burnout, it is imperative that organisations are transparent, and that functions relating to data-collection and other forms of quality assurance can be clearly seen to result in improvements in service provision and staff well-being. Not only does this approach, as public health researchers Veronica Toffolutti and David Stuckler have shown, result in lower patient mortality, it also reduces the stress that is associated with making mistakes and the associated fear of potential retribution. Various enlightened soles have long argued for such approach, including the academic surgeon and Peer of the Realm, Lord Darzi, who has argued that the NHS (and other public institutions) would benefit greatly from adopting the policies and practices found in the aviation industry where information about the reporting of error is mandated and globally disseminated.

According to Darzi, we need to accept the inevitability of human error that occurs in the context of complex work-related tasks and stressful environments, and it is incumbent upon organisations to understand and address the factors that are involved rather than castigate the individuals concerned. NHS England, for example, has recently called for the introduction of systems like those employed in the aviation industry to promote more openness and transparency so that staff feel better able to report mistakes which happen under pressure without fear of retribution.

Last, but not least, stress and the accompanying problems of long-term sickness and attrition can be minimised by establishing systems and procedures that promote early detection and treatment for burnout (i.e., indicators such as frequent sickness, emails that are regularly sent out at 2.00 am, etc). As previously noted, burnout often follows a chronic course and as Meinhardt states, it is much easier to prevent the development of chronic stress than it is to treat end-stage, burnout once self-denigration and exhaustion have set in.

Not only is such an approach sensible, compassionate, and morally correct. It is predicated on the principle that no organisation can hope to achieve enduring improvements in quality and efficiency without first ensuring that staff resilience and well-being are the central drivers in the formulation of policy and practice.

- Graham Russell is a retired, but professionally active Chartered Psychologist and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His new book Understanding Vulnerability and Resilience: A Guide for Professionals who work with Vulnerable Others is published by Routledge.

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/burnout-modern-epidemic-occupational-stress(accessed 13.3.25)

Αμφιφυλοφιλία ή αλλιώς bisexual: Χαρακτηριστικά και στάση γονέα

Η αμφιφυλοφιλία ή αμφισεξουαλικότητα είναι η συναισθηματική, η ρομαντική ή/και η σεξουαλική έλξη ή σεξουαλική συμπεριφορά, προς άτομα του ίδιου και διαφορετικού φύλου.

Πολλοί υποθέτουν ότι πρόκειται, είτε για μια ενδιάμεση «στάση στην πόλη» των γκέι, είτε απλώς για μια πειραματική προσωρινή παράκαμψη από τη ζωή των στρέιτ. Όμως, η έρευνα δείχνει ξεκάθαρα ότι η αμφιφυλοφιλία είναι μια μοναδική, έγκυρη και επίσημη σεξουαλική ταυτότητα. Οι παράγοντες που μπορεί να οδηγήσουν κάποιον να γίνει bisexual είναι σύμφωνα με επιστήμονες ψυχολογικοί, κοινωνικοί, και κατά κόρον γονιδιακοί – βιολογικοί.

Παρόλα αυτά πρέπει να γνωρίζετε ότι ένας έφηβος που έχει αυτό τον σεξουαλικό προσανατολισμό περνάει τις δικές του δοκιμασίες, προσπαθώντας να αναπτύξει μια δική του ταυτότητα στα πλαίσια του κοινωνικού στιγματισμού. Χαρακτηριστικά που διέπουν την περίοδο προσπάθειας της αποδοχής είναι:Κοινωνική απομόνωση
Έλλειψη αυτοσεβασμού
Συνεχής επιθυμία να ευχαριστούν τους άλλους
Άγχος
Κατάθλιψη
Σχολικές αποτυχίες
Κατάχρηση αλκοόλ και ουσιών

Αυτοί οι έφηβοι θα αντιμετωπίσουν δυσκολίες στην ενσωμάτωση της θετικής σκέψης γύρω από το σεξουαλικό προσανατολισμό και την ταυτότητά τους.

Γι’ αυτό επηρεάζει πολύ το περιβάλλον ενός αμφιφυλόφιλου, είτε άνδρα, είτε γυναίκας, καθώς μέσα από έρευνες φαίνεται πώς άτομα που εισπράττουν επιεική συμπεριφορά και έχουν την αποδοχή, εκτιμούν τον εαυτό τους, αλλά και την αξία τους .

Το να νιώθετε ότι σας αποδέχονται όπως είστε πραγματικά εκείνοι που αγαπάτε είναι απίστευτα σημαντικό για τη συνολική ευημερία.

Μία κατάσταση σαν αυτή απαιτεί μία ορθολογική και μετρήσιμη ανταπόκριση. Πολλοί γονείς που θα έρθουν αντιμέτωποι με το άκουσμα του “Μαμά – Μπαμπά είμαι bi” θα αντιδρούσαν με συναισθηματικό πόνο και ματαίωση. Μην κατηγορείτε τον εαυτό σας.

Σκέφτεστε εάν πρέπει να τον μαλώσετε; Ή απλώς να αποδεχτείτε αυτή την επιλογή ως τρόπο ζωής και να τη σεβαστείτε;

Κάντε μία προσπάθεια να συνδεθείτε συναισθηματικά μαζί του.

Ευχαριστήστε τον που σας μίλησε .

Ενημερώστε τον ότι είστε εκεί .

Επισφραγείστε της αγάπης σας.

Κάντε διάλογο για το θέμα.

Όλα αυτά είναι χρήσιμα για να είστε υποστηρικτικοί προς τα αμφιφυλόφιλα άτομα που αγαπάτε και εν κατακλείδι, με αυτούς τους τρόπους σαν γονιός θα είστε δίπλα στο παιδί σας και όχι απέναντί του.


ΠΗΓΗ:

https://www.askitis.gr/amfifylofilia-goneis-bisexual-efivos-sexoualikotita/(accessed 5.3.25)

Εμμηνόπαυση και σεξουαλική ζωή

Η εμμηνόπαυση αναφέρεται σε μία φυσιολογική κατάσταση όπου μια γυναίκα σταματά να έχει έμμηνη ρύση και δεν μπορεί πλέον να γονιμοποιηθεί. Προκαλείται από τη φυσιολογική μείωση της ορμονικής δραστηριότητας.

Οι πιο κοινές αλλαγές περιλαμβάνουν την παύση της περιόδου (αμηνόρροια), την υποχώρηση των εσωτερικών γεννητικών οργάνων (όπως οι ωοθήκες και η μήτρα) και τη μείωση της παραγωγής ορμονών, όπως οιστρογόνα και προγεστερόνη. Ακόμη, οι γυναίκες μπορεί να αντιμετωπίσουν διάφορα συμπτώματα κατά τη διάρκεια της εμμηνόπαυσης, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των θερμορυθμίσεων (παλιρροϊκές εκλάμψεις), της ξηρότητας του κόλπου, των διαταραχών του ύπνου, των αλλαγών της διάθεσης και των προβλημάτων οστών (όπως η οστεοπόρωση).

Τα κολπικά συμπτώματα είναι αυτά που πρέπει να τονιστούν, καθώς επηρεάζουν σημαντικά τη σεξουαλική ζωή της γυναίκας.

Κολπικές αλλαγές: Τα κολπικά συμπτώματα περιλαμβάνουν ξηρότητα, δυσπαρεύνια και περιστασιακά ερεθισμό και κνησμό. Καθώς η παραγωγή οιστρογόνων μειώνεται, οι βλεννογόνοι του αιδοίου και του κόλπου γίνονται πιο λεπτοί, ξηρότεροι, πιο εύθρυπτοι και λιγότερο ελαστικοί. Με την πρόοδο της ηλικίας, το κολπικό επιθήλιο γίνεται πιο λεπτό και λιγότερο τραχύ, τα ενδιάμεσα κύτταρα αντικαθιστούν τα επιφανειακά κύτταρα, οι κολπικές εκκρίσεις μειώνονται, όπως και η κολπική οξύτητα.

Επίσης σημαντικές είναι οι:

Αλλαγές στη διάθεση: Οι γυναίκες μπορεί να αισθάνονται συχνά εκνευρισμένες, λυπημένες ή πιο ευαίσθητες. Η αυξημένη ανησυχία, η κατάθλιψη και οι ψυχολογικές διακυμάνσεις είναι επίσης κοινές.

Η εμμηνόπαυση μπορεί να έχει σημαντική επίδραση στην ποιότητα ζωής των γυναικών. Οι σωματικές και ψυχολογικές αλλαγές που συμβαίνουν κατά τη διάρκεια αυτής της φυσιολογικής μετάβασης μπορούν να επηρεάσουν διάφορους τομείς της ζωής μιας γυναίκας. Η σεξουαλική λειτουργία είναι μέσα σε αυτές.

Η εμμηνόπαυση μπορεί να έχει επίδραση στη σεξουαλική λειτουργία και τη σεξουαλική ικανοποίηση των γυναικών. Οι αλλαγές στα επίπεδα των ορμονών και οι σωματικές αλλαγές μπορεί να οδηγήσουν σε ξηρότητα του κόλπου, μειωμένη σεξουαλική διέγερση και απώλεια ενδιαφέροντος για το σεξ.

Μέσα από μελέτες, φάνηκε ότι τα πιο σοβαρά συμπτώματα στο σεξουαλικό τομέα ήταν οι εξάψεις (29%), αλλαγή στη σεξουαλική επιθυμία (36,8%) και η ήπια κολπική ξηρότητα κατά τη σεξουαλική επαφή (30%).

Επιπρόσθετα, Σε συγκεκριμένη έρευνα οι Scavello et al., (2019) τονίζουν πως η σεξουαλική λειτουργία επιδεινώνεται με τα χρόνια. Τα πιο συχνά αναφερόμενα συμπτώματα περιλαμβάνουν χαμηλή σεξουαλική επιθυμία (40-55%), μειωμένη λίπανση (25-30%) και δυσπαρεύνια (12-45%). Τα μειωμένα επίπεδα στεροειδών του φύλου (οιστρογόνα και ανδρογόνα) παίζουν σημαντικό ρόλο στη σεξουαλικής απόκρισης. Ωστόσο, εκτιμούν ότι θα πρέπει επίσης να ληφθούν υπόψη οι ψυχολογικές και σχεσιακές αλλαγές που σχετίζονται με τη γήρανση και την αύξηση των μεταβολικών και καρδιαγγειακών συννοσηροτήτων.

Αν και πρόκειται για μία περίοδο μετάβασης και αλλαγών, να θυμάστε ότι η εμμηνόπαυση δεν χρειάζεται να τερματίσει τη σεξουαλική ζωή. Μπορείτε να βοηθηθείτε δοκιμάζοντας μερικές λύσεις στο σπίτι, όπως:

χρησιμοποιώντας καποιο λιπαντικό ή κολπικές ενυδατικές κρέμες (μετά από έγκριση του γυναικολόγου) πειραματισμό με διαφορετικές στάσειςπροσπαθήστε να έχετε σεξουαλική δραστηριότητα συχνότερα με το σύντροφό σας. Έχει αποδειχθεί ότι η αύξηση της ροής του αίματος στους ιστούς που εμφανίζεται κατά τη διάρκεια της επαφής, βοηθά στη διατήρησης της καλής υγείας τους.ένα από τα πιο βασικά πράγματα που πρέπει να κάνετε, είναι να μιλήσετε με το σύντροφό σας. Να συζητήσετε και να βρείτε από κοινού το δρόμο για να προχωρήσετε.

ΠΗΓΗ:

https://www.askitis.gr/emminopafsi-kai-sexoualiki-zoi/(accessed 5.3.25)

European Institute for Gender and Equality: Frequently asked questions

Welcome to EIGE’s Frequently Asked Questions. This page provides clear answers to some of the most common questions we receive about gender equality, our work and how we approach challenging areas.

Our aim is for you to have a more comprehensive understanding of important gender equality topics that are the most relevant today, supported with references to our publications, resources and events.
Is gender equality just for women?

Gender equality is a cause for all.

It is about eliminating inequalities for everyone – women and girls, men and boys, and persons who do not identify themselves on the gender binary scale.

Gender-equal societies have stronger communities, improved well-being, and more prosperous economies.

For example: a gender-equal workplace will see equal opportunities for all employees. These workplaces will typically have increased productivity, equal access to opportunities and resources, such as career development, work-life balance measures for women and men, and mental health resources.

Added to this, we also see the benefits of gender-balanced leadership in companies where decision-making is equally contributed to by women and men.

As a result, they are typically healthier and happier places to work, thus contributing to productivity and growth.

Having said this, women face disproportionately greater inequalities. That is why the greatest gains which can be made for a gender-equal future, will be in overcoming these challenges for everyone’s benefit.
What are you doing about the challenges faced by men and boys?

Men and boys are just as susceptible to systemic inequalities as women and girls – such as gender bias, gender stereotypes, norms and expectations.

Evidence from our Gender Equality Index 2021 addressed how harmful masculinity norms can affect the health status and health behaviour of men, leading to premature deaths or self-destructive behaviour (e.g., suicides) in extreme cases. We also covered men’s lack of engagement in care and its implications in our Gender Equality Index 2022 report. It’s a recurring theme in our research in how women and men use their time differently.

Gender inequalities impact and limit men’s lives and opportunities. Keeping men’s challenges and roles central to the conversations on gender equality is essential.

We collaborate with other EU institutions, international organisations, NGOs and member states to help promote a gender equal future for boys and men.

We discussed how men and boys can play an active role for gender equality at our Gender Equality Forum 2024.
What is the difference between gender equity and gender equality?

Gender equality is ensuring equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities to women and girls and men and boys in all their diversity.

Gender equity is ensuring resources and opportunities are tailored to specific and individual needs.

Gender equity is a concept more prevalent in UN structures, international organisations and the USA. The EU uses the concept of equality which means that each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities.
What is sex disaggregated data and why is it so important?

Sex disaggregated data is collected and categorised separately for women and men. It allows for the measurement of differences between women and men on various social and economic grounds.

Sex is a primary classification variable in gender statistics and a standardised social variable. You can find out more about this in our Gender Statistics Database.

It is important to fully reflect the realities of the lives of women and men, as well as policy issues relating to gender.
Can you give an example of how EIGE combines both gender and intersectional perspectives?

To tackle gender and other social inequalities in more transformative ways, we are strengthening our intersectional approaches. Through greater reflection of how gender intersects with other grounds for discrimination in our research, analysis and data collection, we support policy makers in the EU and Member States to design the most inclusive and effective policies. In our Gender Equality Forum, we had a session dedicated to understanding the progress and challenges related to evidence on gender and intersecting inequalities for developing people-centric policies.

In our core work for example, The Gender Equality Index contains a domain on intersecting inequalities which examines how elements such as disability, age, level of education, country of birth and family type, intersect with gender to create different pathways in people’s lives.

In addition, our publication, ‘Quality considerations for EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database (2nd edition)’ looks at evolving trends and includes guidance on producing gender equality data with intersectional perspective. With further advancement of our Gender Statistics Database with available statistics on intersecting inequalities, we are continuing to provide evidence for better policy-making.

We also contribute to the EU equality statistics and data developments and closely follow the data and research done by NGOs and international organisations.
How do gender stereotypes influence gender equality? 

Gender stereotypes are the preconceived ideas whereby women and men are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles determined and limited by their gender. Such as the idea that women are better and more natural care givers than men, and men are better leaders than women.

Gender stereotypes not only impact women’s and men’s, boys’ and girls’ behaviours and choices, but also negatively affect LGBTIQ persons and individuals who do not identify themselves on the gender binary scale.

Attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours based on gender stereotypes can determine access and control of resources, information, knowledge building, and decision-making.

Our guide: ‘Words Matter: Supporting Gender Equality through Language and Communication’ is a good starting point to address gender stereotypes to avoid unintentionally perpetuating gender inequalities. It will be published by the end of 2024.
Why do you mainly stick to a binary approach to gender in your work and how are you going to reflect nonbinary data in your research?

Equality between women and men in all their diversity is at the heart of our mandate.

While we strike to place greater emphasis and focus on gender identity, in many EU member states, official and/or administrative data is not available.

Despite this, where it is relevant and feasible, we reflect on gender identity data in our research. For example, our CARE survey which looks at how women and men use their time across social, individual and caring activities, integrates sex and gender identity variables.

In our publication, ‘Quality considerations for EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database (2nd edition)’ you can find guidance around best practices for collecting survey and administrative data relating to sex, gender and gender identity.
What are anti-gender narratives?

Term ‘anti-gender’ refers to concerted efforts to undermine policy and legal provisions for reproductive rights - including access to safe and legal abortion services - gender-affirming care, sexuality and relationships education, and LGBTIQ+ rights. Ideologically, it refers to movements and actors that see gender equality and diversity, sexual freedom, and feminism as threats to the sanctity of the family and the moral order of the nation.

Anti gender narratives are carefully crafted messages against gender equality and women’s rights with the purpose of derailing gender equality progress. Driven by organisations and individuals opposing gender equality, the very word ‘gender’ is tactfully misinterpreted by movements to gather support for restrictive gender roles.

The term ‘anti-gender movement’ is now frequently used to describe the transnational networks of actors working to maintain the traditional gender roles and power hierarchy in all areas of social, political, economic, and cultural life.
What is the difference between gender-based violence and violence against women?

Gender-based violence and violence against women are terms that are often used interchangeably, as it has been widely acknowledged that most gender-based violence is men’s violence against women.

However, using the ‘gender-based’ aspect is important as it highlights the fact that many forms of violence against women are rooted in power inequalities between women and men.

Gender-based violence against women is defined by the Istanbul Convention as "violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately".
When talking about gender-based violence do you look into violence against men as well as the LGBTIQ+ community?

We adopt a gender-sensitive lens in how we analyse gender-based violence. This means we take into account women’s social and economic standing in society relative to men and how this makes them specifically vulnerable to violence. Therefore, our work on gender-based violence conceptualises it as a consequence of gender inequality.

However, we take an intersectional approach to analysis of gender-based violence, wherein gender differences are analysed simultaneously with other social characteristics such as age, ethnicity, migrant background, class, sexual orientation, etc. to examine which groups are most vulnerable to violence.

Our upcoming EU gender-based violence survey carried out by Eurostat, EIGE and the Fundamental Rights Agency look at the prevalence of gender-based violence in the EU and explicitly includes sexual orientation and gender identity as disaggregating variables, highlighting LGBTIQ+ communities.
What is the difference between EIGE’s Gender Equality Index and the World Economic Forum’s Index?

The different indexes were created for different reasons.

EIGE’s Gender Equality Index is a unique tool providing a close-up analysis of the progress of gender equality in the EU. It supports policymakers in designing more effective policies where gender equality measures feature prominently.  

The World Economic Forum Index provides a broader view of global challenges.

We use the best data to inform the most detailed picture of the everyday reality for women and men in the EU today.

Our scores identify gaps and inequalities both within and in-between EU Member States.
What is EIGE’s role in combatting crises and conflicts around the world?

While our Agency’s work revolves around EU-based priorities, we acknowledge the significant impact of the volatile situations in all ongoing conflict zones around the world – particularly on civilians, including women and girls.

Violence against women, including sexual violence, which is used as a weapon of war, is prevalent in situations of armed conflict.

We make efforts to collect data when EU member states are involved in supporting women and girls affected by conflicts and crisis in other parts of the world.

In support of women and girls fleeing Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine for example, we provided a mapping of sexual and reproductive healthcare services in the EU under the Temporary Protection Directive such as emergency contraception, sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and treatment, obstetric and gynaecological care, psychological counselling, and safe abortion and post-abortion care.

SOURCE:

https://eige.europa.eu/newsroom/frequently-asked-questions(accessed 4.3.25)

‘Being deaf isn’t just about what someone can or can’t hear, but about how they belong’

As a deaf student, Sara Smyth’s journey to becoming a psychologist came with numerous hurdles.

03 February 2025


In 2021, at 47, I took a leap and decided to retrain as a psychologist. The catalyst? Covid-19. Suddenly, I was at home full-time, caring for my two younger children, and unable to continue my work as a self-employed yoga teacher and bodyworker.

I had started my career as a solicitor but left after my third child was born. She has a genetic condition called Williams Syndrome and needs extra care. Initially, I trained in yoga to help her walk and engage with the world. Over time, I developed a thriving holistic well-being business, supporting adults and children, including those with emotional distress and Special Educational Needs and disabilities. Through this work, my fascination with the mind-body connection grew.

When the world started reopening after Covid, I was ready for something new and applied for the MSc Psychology conversion at the University of Westminster. Two years later, I was taking an MSc in Health Psychology, exploring which career pathway would be possible for me. As someone who is deaf and lipreads, navigating academia comes with challenges. But for deaf aspiring psychologists, the barriers may go beyond accessibility, especially when complicated by intersectionality, in my case, age, gender, and caregiving responsibilities.
My disability

I was diagnosed with progressive high-frequency hearing loss as a child and have spent years adapting. Hearing aids have never worked for me, and I rely on lipreading, contextual cues, and body language. The pandemic made me realise just how much I rely on these – when everyone started wearing masks, I felt cut off and isolated. Starting at the University of Westminster during mandatory mask-wearing was disorienting, making lectures a challenge. I had no choice but to advocate for myself, securing adjustments through the Disabled Student's Allowance, including a notetaker who now attends all my lectures.

Returning to university has helped me understand more about what it is to be D/deaf or hard of hearing. The distinction between Deaf (capital D) and deaf (lowercase d) reflects the variation in identity, culture, and communication among people with hearing loss. Deaf individuals belong to a rich linguistic community, using British Sign Language (BSL) as their primary language, while deaf or hard of hearing individuals like me may experience hearing loss but navigate the world differently, often relying on speech, lipreading, or hearing aids.

This isn't a rigid divide though, it's a spectrum and every D/deaf person's experience is unique. To create truly inclusive spaces, we need to move beyond labels and assumptions. Accessibility for Deaf/deaf people isn't just about sign language and subtitles; it's about recognising individual differences and offering choice. That means offering flexible communication options, improving D/deaf awareness, and asking individuals what actually works for them. Small shifts, like ensuring clear lighting for lipreaders, learning basic BSL, or challenging the idea that all D/deaf people sign and don't speak, can make a world of difference. True inclusion starts with understanding that being D/deaf is not just about what someone can or can't hear, but about how they connect, communicate, and belong.

As psychologists, it's important to understand the impact of hearing loss in the workplace, not just in terms of accessibility but also mental well-being. The 2019 Working for Change report highlights that many Deaf/deaf employees struggle with employer attitudes, a lack of awareness, and limited access to workplace adjustments. Many feel unsupported, leading some to retire early, while others experience heightened stress and anxiety, particularly in workplace interactions and social settings. For me, this resonates deeply. I often feel anxious in new environments, unsure of what to expect, whether I'll be able to hear, or how easily I'll be able to communicate. These uncertainties can be overwhelming, but with greater awareness and empathy, workplaces can become far more inclusive.
The South London and Maudsley NHS Work Experience Scheme

In 2024, I was accepted into the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust Work Experience Scheme for Psychological Professions (SLAM). This scheme promotes diversity within the NHS and provides clinical work experience for underrepresented psychology graduates, offering supervision, mentoring, and training. As a mother and mature student, balancing work experience with caregiving responsibilities has been challenging, so the one-day-a-week placement format offered by the scheme was ideal.

I was thrilled to be placed in the National and Specialist CAMHS Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression Clinic (TAD), where I gained experience in child and adolescent mental health. This placement was an incredible opportunity, but it was the stark reminder of the challenges I face as a deaf person in a clinical setting. My hearing loss became an unexpected hurdle as I adapted to the new environment.

Before starting my placement, I shared some tips on communicating with a lip-reader with my supervisor, but neither of us expected just how tricky things would be in an NHS environment. Every new setting came with a fresh communication hurdle, and as a new starter, constantly asking for adjustments felt awkward. If this had been a paid role, I could have applied for an Access to Work assessment, a government scheme that helps disabled employees get the right support at work. An assessor would have flagged potential issues early on and provided a formal list of adjustments for the team. But because voluntary placements don't qualify, I was left figuring things out as I went. A similar system for work experience placements could make a huge difference, easing the uncertainty of those first few weeks and making accessibility a priority from day one.
Key challenges and how I worked through them
Communication in group meetings

Navigating group meetings was particularly challenging. Online meetings using Teams' captions worked well when participants logged in individually, but when people shared a device, the transcriptions became a mess, making it impossible to keep up. Face-to-face meetings weren't much easier. I had to find the perfect spot to see everyone's faces, but even then, keeping up with fast-paced conversations was exhausting. Then, a Deaf colleague introduced me to Caption-Ed transcription software which has been invaluable, helping me follow discussions. Thanks to university disability funding, I was able to access it, and suddenly, group meetings felt so much more manageable.
Hot desking

Hot desking added another layer of stress. Not knowing where I'd be sitting each day ramped up my anxiety, especially when most desks faced the wall, making lip-reading nearly impossible. A simple fix, like having a dedicated desk facing the room, would have made a world of difference. Looking back, I know I could have asked for it, and I'm sure it would have been fine. But when you're already requesting adjustments, adding one more can feel like too much. The reality is, self-advocacy isn't always easy, especially when you're new and trying to fit in.
Eye fatigue

Eye fatigue is also a challenge for me. Processing speech requires significant effort for deaf individuals, which quickly leads to fatigue (Hornsby et al., 2013). After about an hour, I find it harder to concentrate and follow conversations. While transcription software helps in online meetings, face-to-face interactions are still tiring, especially in group settings. Regular breaks could help reduce this fatigue and likely benefit everyone.
Promoting inclusion for Deaf/deaf people in psychological professions

Looking ahead, I believe that connecting with other deaf professionals in the NHS is key to building a strong support network. Joining the UK Deaf Healthcare Professionals Facebook group opened my eyes to just how many of us are navigating similar challenges. It's where I first came across Dr Hannah Sharp's guidelines, 'Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing People in the Workplace', a brilliant resource packed with practical advice. The National Deaf and Hard of Hearing NHS Staff Network has also been invaluable, offering a space to share experiences and find support. Beyond connections, Caption-Ed has been a game-changer for group meetings and lectures, and I also found out I was eligible for Personal Independence Payment, a government benefit that helps disabled people with daily living costs. These resources don't just improve accessibility, they give me confidence and empower me to keep pushing forward in my career.
Moving forward

Despite the challenges, my NHS work experience has been incredibly rewarding. I've been lucky to work with a truly supportive team – my mentor, supervisor, and placement lead have all made a genuine effort to ensure I feel included. The NHS has given me invaluable opportunities, from contributing to research and observing clinical assessments to assisting with PPIE and attending CPD courses to boost my employability. I was especially impressed by the flexibility, being able to take time off or work remotely during family emergencies showed me that the NHS values work-life balance.

But as I look ahead, I have real concerns about the pathway to becoming a psychologist. While I've gained great experience, I'm unsure whether a clinical psychology doctorate is even an option for me. The combined challenges of age, disability, and caregiving create significant barriers, making it hard to see how I could manage both the necessary clinical experience and the demands of full-time study.

Even with initiatives aimed at underrepresented groups, is psychology's training pathway truly inclusive? Doctoral programs are demanding, requiring full-time attendance, an obstacle for disabled students, parents, and mature applicants balancing work and caregiving (Peterson & Saia, 2022). Voluntary placements and low-paid assistant roles disproportionately disadvantage those already facing financial pressures (Briegel et al., 2023). Advocates are pushing for change, calling for greater recognition of life experience, fewer outdated academic barriers, and financial support for caregivers.
My reality

At nearly 50, I'm trying to build a new career while juggling parenting, caregiving, and financial constraints. My child with special educational needs can't manage 12-hour childcare days, and my elderly parents who live overseas need increasing support. What would make a difference? Greater flexibility, recognition of transferable skills, and options for part-time or remote study.

This realisation has forced me to think outside the box. While the clinical psychology doctorate may suit others, its structure doesn't align with my life. Instead, I have chosen to expand my health and well-being business and apply for the part-time Health Psychology Doctorate at the University of the West of England. This way, I can shape my own work-life balance, one that actually works for me and my family. It's competitive, but I'll give it my best shot.

My situation is just one example of why psychology needs a structural overhaul. True inclusivity isn't just about making small adjustments, it's about redesigning pathways so they work for a more diverse range of people.
And finally...

Accessibility for Deaf/deaf psychologists is about flexible, person-centered solutions that acknowledge the unique barriers they face. The key takeaway? Empathy matters. Employers should seek to understand the intersecting challenges that shape an individual's experience and build inclusivity into every stage of employment.

One way to make this happen – actively involving the Deaf professional network in shaping disability policies and creating inclusive pathways within psychology careers. When policies are co-produced with the Deaf community rather than just for them, they become truly meaningful. By sharing my story, I hope to play a small part in shifting the conversation and pushing for a more inclusive NHS.

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/being-deaf-isnt-just-about-what-someone-can-or-cant-hear-about-how-they-belong(accessed 4.2.25)

Your mind needs you!

Simon McCarthy-Jones argues that Psychologists must help to develop and protect our right to freedom of thought.

12 February 2025


As psychologists, our mission to unravel the complexities of the human mind carries profound responsibilities. Our insights can promote human dignity, autonomy and support democratic self-government. Yet, these same insights can be misused by those seeking profit and power, enabling new forms of control.

Our profession bears the responsibility of mitigating such risks, especially when they stem from our own discoveries. One particularly powerful way we can meet our responsibilities is through actively contributing to the development of the fundamental human right to freedom of thought. With the United Nations recently revisiting this right after more than 70 years of neglect, we have an unparalleled opportunity to influence its evolution.
Encroaching on the autonomy of the mind

Psychological techniques have long been used to manipulate minds by bypassing rational thought. As far back as the 1920s, Edward Bernays (Sigmund Freud's nephew) and the behaviourist John Watson were leveraging psychological insights to manipulate consumers into buying products, including cigarettes. Modern advertisers use newer research, such as Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky's work on heuristics, to push people into quick, intuitive buying choices.

Similarly, psychological knowledge is used to shape voting behaviour, impacting both candidate preference and voter turnout (Haenschen, 2023; Zarouali et al., 2022) – as brought to the public consciousness by the Cambridge Analytica fiasco. Such fledgling efforts are likely to be turbo-charged by the power of artificial intelligence (AI). With extensive data on human behaviour in general, potentially aided by individualised profiles, AI can tailor messages precisely to maximise their influence (Matz et al., 2024) with no requirement that this respect or engage our ability to think rationally.

Psychological techniques are also increasingly exposing the once private realm of the mind. Personal stances on a range of issues can be inferred from observable behaviours, such as Facebook likes (Kosinski et al., 2013). As neuroscientific research into inferring or decoding thoughts from neural activity advances (Chen et al., 2024), many foresee a future threat to mental privacy (Ligthart et al., 2022). This work frequently receives significant funding from both tech companies or governmental defence agencies (McCarthy-Jones, 2023).

We are, then, living amidst 'Manhattan Projects' of the mind, which not only threaten to know us better than we know ourselves but also to weaponise this knowledge against us.
Legal developments

In response to these and other threats, there has been a revived interest among legal scholars in the right to freedom of thought. One might assume, as I did, that the law would have already clearly operationalised this right, much like the extensive body of law on the right to freedom of speech. Alas not. Although the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights established a formal right to freedom of thought, there remains a major gap between the frequent praise for this right and the minimal discussion of its specifics. As it stands, freedom of thought is an underdeveloped and largely hollow right.

To address this problem, the United Nations published a landmark report in 2021, putting flesh on the bones of the right to freedom of thought (Shaheed, 2021). This report emphasised that people should not be forced to reveal their thoughts, not be punished for their thoughts, not have their thoughts impermissibly altered, and that governments should foster an enabling environment for thought. Scholars, primarily from the legal profession, are now debating what these proposals mean in practice and how this right should be instantiated.
The role of Psychology

Psychology could potentially leave it up to the legal profession to adjudicate what this right should mean. The judges would decide and the likes of us abide. But it is unimaginable that psychologists have nothing to add to this discussion. Our discipline's expertise is crucial to developing effective ways to protect and promote free thought. Furthermore, this right is likely to have a substantial effect on psychological practice, particularly on mental health treatment (O'Callaghan et al., 2024), meaning we need to get onto this debate at the ground floor.

This is not to suggest that that the legal profession's conception of thought must align perfectly with our understanding as psychologists (Ligthart et al., 2022). Insisting that the law protect our psychological conception of 'thought' would disregard the real-world balancing of interests and concerns that the law must address. However, we should not allow the legal profession to unilaterally determine our role in this process. Some legal scholars argue that 'the role of science' is to 'not to provide us with the basic legal concepts' (Ligthart et al., 2022). While there is merit to this perspective, if the right to freedom of thought is to do what it says on the tin, and protect thought, someone needs to hold Law's feet to the fire. This should be us. No-one puts science in the corner.

So, what can psychology offer, in the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration (McCarthy-Jones, 2021), to the development of this right? Two obvious places to start are the scope of the right – what should be considered as 'thought'; and the nature of the right – what constitutes a violation.
What is thought?

Psychologists can highlight the diverse ways in which we conceptualise 'thought', helping the legal profession to determine what should fall within the scope of the right to freedom of thought. Generally, the law conceives of thought as something that happens inside our heads, in a 'forum internum'. Conversely, the law considers happenings outside of the head, in the 'forum externum', to be within the realm of speech.

Psychology challenges this neat distinction by viewing thinking as extending beyond the confines of the skull into the external world. The philosopher Joel Walmsley and I have termed this 'forum externum thought' (McCarthy-Jones & Walmsley, 2024). This concept builds on the claim by philosophers Andy Clark and David Chalmers that 'cognitive processes ain't (all) in the head' (Clark & Chalmers, 1998). According to them, if a process in the external world would be considered thought if it were occurring inside our head, then it qualifies as thought.

Following this reasoning, using a pen and paper to perform calculations constitutes thinking, even though it happens outside our heads. For someone with dementia, a notebook may function as their memory. Writing can also be considered thought, rather than merely an expression of thought. As Carruthers (1998) puts it, in some cases 'the thinking is the writing'. For example, in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, protagonist Winston Smith thinks by undertaking the forbidden act of writing in his diary. Likewise, certain uses of internet search engines or conversations with ChatGPT can arguably be forms of thinking.

Deciding whether to include 'forum externum thought' within the scope of the right to freedom of thought is no mere academic exercise. Unlike the right to freedom of expression, which is a qualified right that can be limited for reasons such as national security or public health, the right to freedom of thought is an absolute right. This means there can never be a justification for interfering with someone's freedom of thought.

If diary writing or certain internet searches, for example, are deemed to be 'thought', they would receive absolute legal protection. Courts could no longer access your diary or elements of your internet search history, which remain would remain permanently sealed to the prying eyes of the state. Thus, the legal definition of 'thought' carries profound practical implications.

Clearly, this doesn't mean that everything people do on the internet can be claimed as 'thought' and hidden from authorities. However, it does mean acknowledging that some of our internet searching is 'thought' and deserves protection as such. Practically, this perspective could push back again legislation, such as Section 3 of the UK Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, whose proscriptions on internet searching led the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy to accuse the UK government of pushing towards 'thought crime' (Zedner, 2021).

Another example of thinking occurring outside our skulls is when we speak with others.

Cognition is socially distributed. Research shows that group problem-solving, such as when tackling the famous 'Linda paradox', can be more effective than individual efforts (Charness et al., 2010). Thought is particularly powerful when groups of individuals with diverse viewpoints come together in a good faith debate to uncover the truth. This shows that thought is not merely an isolated, internal, individual experience, as Rodin's famous statue The Thinker might suggest.

Thought is social, as psychologists such as Lev Vygotsky have long emphasised. Ignoring this aspect would leave much thought unprotected. We should seriously consider how to extend the right to freedom of thought to cover our collaborative thinking together, which we might term 'thoughtspeech' (McCarthy-Jones, 2024), while ensuring this aligns with human dignity and existing hate speech legislation.

This proposal also forces us to consider why thought is currently given absolute legal protection. Is it merely because thoughts in the head are deemed unable to harm others directly, thus warranting complete freedom? This is an argument from impotence. Alternatively, is it because thought is so vital that we do not want to place any limits on it, even if it can cause harm? This is an argument from importance. We need to decide just how committed we are to free thought, acknowledging that opinions will likely vary.
What makes thought free?

Psychology can also elucidate what makes thought-free. A clear conceptual grounding for what makes thought free is essential to for principled identifications of violations of this right.

Psychology can help explain how specific cognitive processes, such as attention, reasoning and reflection, support thought. Sustained and selective attention, for example, is central to reasoned, and hence free thought. This means disruptions by 'attention merchants' (Wu, 2017), who hijack our attention, can be seen as impairing our freedom of thought.

Similarly, pushing individuals into heuristic-based System 1 thought, while deterring slow, deliberative System 2 thought, should also constitute an offence against free thought. Denying opportunities for reflection also encourages heuristic-based thinking. Here psychology can advise on what an 'autonomy-supportive context' (Chatzisarantis et al., 2009) does and does not look like.

We can also examine how people and systems raise barriers to free thinking by increasing the level of courage needed to think freely. US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis emphasised not simply the power of reasoning, but specifically the power of 'free and fearless reasoning'. Courage, said Brandeis, was the secret of liberty.

However, when activists lobby for the termination of a thinker's employment, foolhardiness rather than courage becomes a precondition for free thought. As philosopher Bertrand Russell (1922) saw, 'thought is not free if the profession of certain opinions makes it impossible to earn a living.'

Psychological research into conformity, social influence and trust can help design systems that promote and protect rather than deter free thought. Nevertheless, thought will not be free until employment law recognises and protects employees' right to freedom of thought.

Collectively, I call Attention, Reason, Reflection and Courage the 'ARRC of free thought'. This represents an initial effort to show how psychology can help explain what the key components of thought are, aiding the complex task of determining when mental influence should be deemed impermissible. Recent legislation highlights the urgency of this question.

For example, the EU's recent Digital Services Act states that online platforms shall not 'design, organise or operate their online interfaces in a way that deceives or manipulates the recipients of their service or in a way that otherwise materially distorts or impairs the ability of the recipients of their service to make free and informed decisions'. But what constitutes manipulation?

Legal scholar Jan Christoph Bublitz (2014) emphasises that defining legitimate and illegitimate ways to influence thought will be a crucial societal question in this century. Psychology must help answer this question.
The tools and the duty

In summary, after 70 years of waiting, the right to freedom of thought is finally taking shape. Psychologists must engage in the ongoing discussion about this right's nature and scope to influence its trajectory effectively. We have both the tools and the duty to make a substantive contribution to the legal protection of the human mind. All that remains is for psychologists to step up to the challenge. We may not agree on the answers, but we can certainly agree on the importance of being involved in the search for them.

Dr Simon McCarthy-Jones is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/your-mind-needs-you(accessed 19.2.25)

Εφηβεία: Ας μιλήσουμε για τους γονείς, την απώλεια της αγκαλιάς και της επικοινωνίας που βιώνουν

THE MAMAGERS TEAM29 ΔΕΚΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ, 2024

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Πονάει η εφηβεία; Είναι μια στενάχωρη περίοδος; Για τα παιδιά είναι μια αγχωτική αλλά και πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα περιόδος στη ζωή τους. Περνούν αλλαγές, κάνουν τα πρώτα βήματα ανεξαρτητοποίησης, απομυθοποιούν τους γονείς, επαναστατούν, επικοινωνούν περισσότερο με τους συνομήλικούς τους, μαθαίνουν τον εαυτό τους και το σώμα τους από την αρχή. Για τους γονείς, όμως;


Οι γονείς που έχουν μάθει στις αγκαλιές. Έχουν συνηθίσει τα “σ’αγαπώ μαμά” και τα “έλα να σου πω τι έγινε σήμερα στο σχολείο”. Κι όλα αλλάζουν. Τα παιδιά κλείνουν την πόρτα του δωματίου τους, ακούν μουσική και μιλάνε στα social media με τους φίλους τους. Οι γονείς δεν ξέρουν τι κάνουν όλη μέρα, με ποιους κάνουν παρέα, που πάνε, τι τους ενδιαφέρει και τι τους απασχολεί.

Είναι μια μορφή απώλειας. Στερείσαι ξαφνικά τη στενή επαφή με τα παιδιά σου. Κι όταν τα πλησιάζεις απομακρύνονται. Τι κάνεις; Ο εκπαιδευτικός Μάριος Μάζαρης έκανε μια ανάρτηση για το ζήτημα αυτό και όπως πρότεινε καλό είναι να θυμηθείς τη δική σου εφηβεία: “Όταν ήσουν έφηβος, πώς ένιωθες; πάμε να θυμηθούμε την ανάγκη της αγκαλιάς σε αυτές τις ηλικίες. Γίνεται με άλλους τρόπους, συμβολικούς, είναι εκεί και περιμένει. Σε κάθε περίπτωση, μην ανησυχήσεις προκαταβολικά, Δεν έκανες κάτι κακό στο μεγάλωμα του παιδιού σου, ούτε σε σιχαίνεται στην εφηβεία του!”.

Περιγράφοντας την εμπειρία ενός μπαμπά με έφηβη κόρη, έγραψε:











Με λίγα λόγια, γονείς εφήβων: ψυχραιμία και υπομονή, γονείς μικρών παιδιών: αγκαλιάστε τα όσο περισσότερο μπορείτε, η εφηβεία μια μέρα θα χτυπήσει και τη δική σας πόρτα!

ΠΗΓΗ:

https://www.themamagers.gr/kid-issues/teenagers/goneisefivia/(accessed 12.2.25)

Learning the details: when honoring the past liberates the creativity in the present.

Antonio Sama relates how the archive inspired a new relationship with his mentor.
Professional DevelopmentAbout usThought piecesArchive


Posted

20 December 2018
Key people
Antonio Sama



Pesca del pescespada a Scilla, 1949 by Renato Guttuso



I was invited recently to contribute to a collective book in memory of my late mentor and friend Professor Giovanni Mastroianni, who died in August 2016. This was intended as a collection of memories from his students from his native city Catanzaro (in Calabria, Southern Italy). I was asked for a fifteen page chapter narrating and explaining the role and influence he and his teaching had on my personal and professional development.

Among the various avenues (personal memories, key facts in our relationship, key learning on my part etc.) at my disposal for engaging with this request I found that a fit (and for me, perhaps, safer?) tribute would be to explore and expand the implication of his teaching in my current professional identity as an academic (Senior Lecturer in Management and Leadership) and an organisational consultant (rooted in the Tavistock’s traditions). This was a natural and appropriate area of reflection and enquiry for my contribution to the Tavistock Institute Archive project and to the AOM symposium, led by Jean Neumann, on opening the Archive.

The question that guided my writing (aligned with some of the work of the Archive Group and my joint reflection and enquiries with Jean and Juliet Scott) was ‘How can I translate (customize?) his teaching and influence on my contribution to the Archive Project and its various spin offs?’. This question immediately made my article another of the Archive Project spin offs.

In the paper Juliet and I prepared for the AOM symposium (A Polyphonic Dialogue with the TIHR Archive: Working with the Past, Present and Future as Organisational Development and Customization of TIHR traditions) I engaged with some of Bakhtin’s concepts in order to explore and understand what we did with the history of the Institute and how we, as a pair, and the larger community of Tavistockians created meaningful dialogues with it.

I found that the concept of ‘polyphony’ was very appropriate and allowed for meaning to be constructed, a working hypothesis to be generated and a course of actions to be tested. In doing so I was applying (‘translating’, ‘using’, and ‘importing’) a concept Bakhtin generated to understand and explain the innovation Dostoevsky developed for the western novel to a case of organisational intervention. I have to thank Juliet for seeing a role of this thinking in our work and agreeing to it.

At the symposium the dialogical view point, as well as others from other colleagues presenting, attracted some interest and questions were asked. The focus of these questions, and the Bakhtin’s work that was quoted, left me with the impression (and feeling) that only one part of the Russian scholar legacy was brought in the room. It was the Bakhtin ‘literature and cultural scholar’ with no reference to the other Bakhtin: the ethical philosopher. I was left with the question ‘Is there a predominant and accepted approach to Bakhtin’s work in organisational discourse that includes only a part of his legacy and that can be deemed incomplete?’

My mentor had studied the ‘Bakhtin’s questions’ since the mid-1990s and was among the most respected Italian scholars on the matter. From my mentor I learned to appreciate the study of details and its importance in understanding the origin of ideas and the history of the philosophical legacy of scholars. What more than a fitter tribute would be to explore when, how and what Bakhtin entered the discourse of organisational studies and intervention?

My chapter was thus written and given to the editors; its title is Noterelle per un (in)certo Bachtin negli studi organizzativi (con un’appendice personale) [Short notes for a (un)certain Bakhtin in organisational studies (with a personal appendix)].

Here I would like to share the two quotations that open the chapter:


A dwarf standing on the shoulder of a giant may see farther than a giant himself.


Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy


Someone calls to me from Seir, ‘Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?’

The watchman replies, ‘Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.’


Isaiah (21, 11-12)

SOURCE:

https://www.tavinstitute.org/news/learning-the-details-when-honoring-the-past-liberates-the-creativity-in-the-present(accessed 12.2.25)

Do honesty oaths really make us behave honestly?

A new study finds that when asking someone to swear honesty, phrasing matters.

27 January 2025

By Emma Young


Could simply making a promise to be honest encourage people to behave in an honest way, even when there's a temptation to lie? A recent study in Nature Human Behaviour suggests that it can — but the precise nature of the promise matters.

Janis H Zickfield at Aarhus University, Denmark, and colleagues used a tax evasion game to measure dishonesty among a total of more than 21,000 participants from the UK and US. These participants completed online tasks to earn money, then were asked to report how much they had made. These earnings would be taxed at 35%. To avoid this high toll, however, the participants could lie about their earnings, and so reduce the amount of tax that they had to pay, without any repercussions.

At some point during the game, they were also all asked to make one of a total of 21 'honesty oaths' — or, for the control group, to make no oath at all. For 20 of these interventions, the most basic oath (eg. 'I hereby declare I will provide honest information') followed another more complex statement which emphasised anything from the need to earn the trust of fellow citizens to the idea that honesty is a community responsibility.

The timing of these oaths also varied. Some participants made them before embarking on their tasks, while others did it just before declaring their income. The format varied, too, with some participants being asked just to tick a box to indicate their endorsement, while others had to type the statement in full.

When the team analysed the results, they found that overall, a quarter of participants under-reported their income to some degree. Almost a third of this group falsely declared having received no income at all.

According to further analyses, not all honesty oaths are created equal. Of the 21 oaths, 11 had no impact on income honesty. These were generally of a type that referenced the individual's moral character, or alluded vaguely to their social responsibilities — such as 'I am an honest person' or 'Honesty fosters trust in society'. The list of failed oaths also included statements that emphasised the threat to a person's self-image or the guilt they would feel if they were dishonest.

However, the remaining 10 oaths did boost income honesty. The most effective of these almost halved the lost tax from to 11.6%, compared to 21% in the no-oath control group. The winning oath explicitly linked honesty to reporting income — 'I hereby declare that I will provide honest income when reporting my final income from the sorting task.'

Other effective oaths included statements that framed honesty as being all or nothing ('Either the reporting is honest or it is not') or specified social costs of dishonesty, such as a reduction in funds that would go to the Red Cross. These clear, specific statements made it harder to the participants to justify lying about their income to themselves, the team thinks.

These results fit with work in motivational psychology, finding that reducing the ambiguity of a goal helps people to achieve it, and with findings that specific rules are more effective at reducing dishonesty than general rules.

The team also found that the method of making the oath had some impact. Though this did not hold across the board, when the most effective oath plus one other, on responsibility ('I understand it is my responsibility to report honestly') were typed out, rather than endorsed by ticking a box, they were more effective at encouraging honesty. Presumably this is because these participants were forced to think more about what they were endorsing.

The timing of the oath didn't make much of a difference to honesty, but oaths were slightly more effective when they were made immediately before a participant reported their income. "This suggests that connecting the honesty oath as closely as possible to the behaviour to be influenced might be helpful," the team writes.

It's worth noting that none of the oaths completely eliminated dishonesty. In the real world, though, just reducing it could have major implications. In the UK, tax evasion costs the government an estimated £5 billion per year, for example — though as anyone in the UK who has completed a self-assessment tax form will know, one of the final steps is to tick a box stating that the information given in the form is honest. Concrete and specific honesty oaths, required at the time a decision is made, might be effective in other areas of life, too, however — in workplaces, for example.

"While other honesty interventions, such as audits or punishment, might be effective in specific contexts, the current study offers evidence that honesty oaths can serve as low-key, cost-effective interventions to curb dishonesty," the researchers conclude.

Read the paper in full:

Zickfeld, J. H., Ścigała, K. A., Elbæk, C. T., Michael, J., Tønnesen, M. H., Levy, G., Ayal, S., Thielmann, I., Nockur, L., Peer, E., Capraro, V., Barkan, R., Bø, S., Bahník, Š., Nosenzo, D., Hertwig, R., Mazar, N., Weiss, A., Koessler, A.-K., & Montal-Rosenberg, R. (2024). Effectiveness of ex ante honesty oaths in reducing dishonesty depends on content. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02009-0

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/do-honesty-oaths-really-make-us-behave-honestly(accessed 5.2.25)

Cracking the joke

Dr Gil Greengross rethinks the health benefits of humour and laughter.

27 January 2025


When the famed journalist and author Norman Cousins was diagnosed with a severe form of arthritis, his doctors gave him only 1 in 500 chance of recovery. Unfazed, he developed an unusual way to combat the disease. Along with megadoses of Vitamin C, he decided that laughter would aid his healing. Cousins watched funny shows such as Candid Camera and numerous comedy films (he was a big fan of the Marx Brothers).

Cousins claimed that laughter had an analgetic effect on him, enabling him to sleep pain-free. Though he later downplayed the role of humour and laugher in his recovery and acknowledged that conventional medicine likely cured him (he took every medicine prescribed by his doctors), Cousins' 1979 book, Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient, lunched the laughter therapy movement(Cousins, 1979).

Since Cousins publicised his experiences with laughter therapy, many have joined the 'humour is healthy' bandwagon. You've probably seen headlines about the healing power of humour. Many books, websites, and organisations (e.g., the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor) promote this idea, promising that more laughter and humour in your life will lead to better health.

Over the years, advocates have suggested that humour can reduce pain, boost the immune system, improve cardiovascular function, and even cure cancer and AIDS (Martin, 2001; Martin, 2008). Some of these claims are extraordinary – and it's easy to connect humour to any health issue. We also need to be clear what we're talking about here – there are times when we smile or laugh without humour, or find something funny without smiling and laughing. And humour also has a dark side – it can be used to mock others or perpetuate racism and sexism.

Despite these nuances, for most people, humour is a positive experience, and humour, smiling and laughter typically occur together. Each is believed to contribute uniquely to our health. We cannot rely on anecdotal evidence, like Cousins' experience. But there is a fair amount of research on the topic that merits attention, beginning with the effects of humour on the immune system.
Humour and the immune system

There is some evidence that watching a humorous film can boost immunity and reduce allergic reactions (Kimata, 2004a). Typical studies measure changes in allergic responses or antibodies before and after participants are exposed to humour, comparing them to a non-humorous control. A few studies have found increased immune responses after watching a funny film. Interestingly, these effects are not exclusive to humour – they are also observed when people listen to classical music or feel sadness (Martin & Ford, 2018). Conversely, moderate stress, like writing an email or playing video games, tends to suppress the immune response, increasing allergic reactions (Kimata, 2004b).

However, the effects of humour on immunity are often overstated. For example, one highly cited study found that watching 60-minute comedy video increases the production of several immunity-related components, such as natural killer cells, compared to the control group who quietly sat in a room for an hour (Berk et al., 1989). This study received significant media attention at the time and is frequently referenced by proponents of 'humour is healthy' movement. Yet, what is rarely mentioned is that the experimental and control groups each included only five participants The authors reported their results transparently, but this highlights how easily humour's health effects can be exaggerated.
Humour and pain relief

Perhaps the most robust evidence for humour's therapeutic effects lies in its ability to reduce pain. Exposure to humorous content, such as funny films, tends to increase pain tolerance. A common method involves the Cold Pressor Test, where participants immerse their hand in ice water for as long as they can tolerate. Changes in blood pressure and heart rate are often measured alongside.

Interestingly, neutral stimuli like relaxation music or lectures can yield similar increases in pain tolerance as listening to a comedy performance (Cogan et al., 1987). Importantly, the analgetic effect of humour is tied to genuine emotional response. Researchers distinguish between Duchenne smiles and laughter (associated with genuine joy) and fake smiles and laughter. Only genuine laughter stimulates endorphins release, which provide pain relief (Dunbar et al., 2012; Zweyer et al., 2004).

So, while Cousins' experiences were anecdotal, his claim that laughter relieved his pain has some validity. However, it wasn't laughter itself, but the accompanying mirthful emotional response that provided relief. Moreover, such effects are short-lived; Cousins himself acknowledged that laughter gave him only two pain-free hours of sleep.
Other health claims about laughter

Many people believe in the healing power of laughter, and its alleged health benefits gained popularity when an Indian doctor, Madan Kataria, created the first laughter yoga club in 1995. Since its introduction, numerous laughter clubs have been established worldwide, where people gather to laugh as much as possible – even in the absence of humorous stimuli – in the hope of improving their health and happiness.

Proponents of laughter yoga claim that laughing offers many health benefits, but studies on the topic are riddled with methodological problems and low-quality evidence. Overall, the conclusion is that there is insufficient proof to support claims that laughter contributes significantly to mental health (Bressington et al., 2018).

Take for example, the popular claim that laughter functions as a form of aerobic exercise, comparable to intense exercise (Fry Jr., 1992). According to this idea, several minutes of intense laughter – common amongst laughter yoga clubs – can increase heart rate and oxygen consumption, purportedly matching the benefits of using rowing machine or stationary bike for 10-15 minutes. Laugh a lot, and you will have an excuse to skip your morning gym session.

However, lab studies using indirect calorimeter to measure energy expenditure show that natural laughter with friends only increases energy expenditure by 10–20 per cent compared to resting values, burning a maximum of 40 calories (Buchowski et al., 2007). This is equivalent to light activities such as writing or playing cards – not what most of us envision when trying to get into shape. Even when participants are asked to laugh deliberately (as in laughter yoga), calorimeter readings indicate they burn about 3 calories per minute – similar to shaving or cleaning the house (though likely more enjoyable than either of those activities).
Humour and longevity

One curious claim is that humour can prolong life. Like many other proposed health benefits of humour, this claim seems reasonable and, on the surface, makes sense. Being cheerful, having a humorous outlook on life, and laughing frequently could potentially add years to our lives. However, as with many other claims, the evidence does not support this idea.

In the famous and longest-running longitudinal study in psychology, the Terman Study of the Gifted, initiated in 1921, researchers followed gifted children for decades. They found that kids rated by their parents and teachers as having a better sense of humour were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, and die younger than those with less humour (Friedman et al., 1993). Since this is a correlational study, many confounding factors could be at play. More humorous and cheerful children also tended to be less neurotic, which have led them to take health risks less seriously, engage in riskier behaviours, and discount the dangers of their unhealthy choices compared to their less cheerful peers.

Consistent with this research, which shows that individuals with a greater sense of humor tend to engage in less healthy lifestyle behaviors, another (much shorter) longitudinal study of Finnish police officers found that higher scores on humor scales were associated with greater obesity, increased smoking, and higher risk factors for cardiovascular disease (Kerkkanen et al., 2004).

Comedians might be a useful group to study, as they use humour more often than most people. However, the findings are quite consistent, showing that comedians and comedy writers die younger than actors and other celebrities who aren't entertainers (Rotton, 1992; Stewart & Thompson, 2015; Stewart et al., 2016). In comedy duos, the 'funny man' is significantly more likely to die younger than the 'straight man' (Stewart & Thompson, 2015). As with any correlational study, confounding variables likely play a role. Comedians are more prone to unhealthy lifestyles, drug use, and social pressure, all of which could affect their health more significantly than their sense of humour.

In my own research into improv artists, I found that they report more infectious diseases compared to a matched sample from the general population. This study controlled for factors such as age, BMI, antibiotic use, and neuroticism, a known trait affecting self-reported health (Greengross & Martin, 2018). As with stand-up comedians, it is likely that improv artists experience more frequent social interactions, higher stress, and extensive work-related travel, all of which negatively impact their health, leaving humour with little measurable effect on their well-being.

Most research on longevity and humour has focused on people with either exceptional intelligence (gifted children) or exceptional humour ability (comedians and improv artists). But what about the health benefits of humour for more ordinary people? In one longitudinal study of patients with kidney failure, those with a humorous outlook on life had 31 per cent higher odds of surviving after two years (Svebak et al., 2006). While this suggests that humour might serve as a useful coping mechanism, caution is warranted, as the study included only 41 patients.

Another longitudinal study with a much larger sample of over 50,000 people, followed participants for 15 years. It found that only the cognitive component of humour (i.e., recognising that a humorous event occurs) was associated with lower mortality; the social (saying funny things, making others laugh) and affective (being a mirthful person, having a humorous outlook on life) components showed no effect (Romundstad et al., 2016). Moreover, the association was driven entirely by low-scoring women dying earlier, while high-humour men and women did not live longer. Such findings are, at best, tentative and inconclusive regarding humour's potential health benefits.
The long-lasting effect of a smile

What about the potential health benefits of smiling? Smiling can be seen as a milder form of laughter, lacking most of the physiological changes associated with it. However, smiling may serve as an indicator of positive feelings and, more broadly, a positive attitude toward life –both of which could potentially lead to better health.

One study examined the photographs of 196 baseball players featured in a 1952 baseball almanac (Abel & Kruger, 2010). Decades later, the researchers categorised the intensity and authenticity of their players' smiles and tracked down their survival. After controlling for demographic variables such as age, education, marital status, BMI, and career length, they found that players with more intense Duchenne (genuine) smiles lived longer and were half as likely to die in any given year compared to those with fake or no smiles.

While these findings are encouraging, a subsequent replication study with a much larger sample from the same almanac failed to find any association between smiling and mortality after accounting for birth year (Dufner et al., 2018). Despite its more rigorous methodology, this study has far fewer citations and has received significantly less attention from the media. The earlier study showing positive results, garners more interest – perhaps because people are drawn to the idea of the healing power of smiling.

But not all is lost when it comes to smiling. Another study analysed the smile intensity of individuals in college yearbooks from 1945-2005 and found that those with Duchenne smiles were less likely to divorce decades later (Hertenstein et al., 2009). As with other correlational studies, the exact mechanism behind the association is unclear. It could be that happier people smile more, which helps them navigate marital conflicts and endure long-term relationships. Alternatively, smiley people may have more positive attitudes, allowing them to attract partners who foster stable relationships. Your guess is as good as mine.
Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence

There are many popular beliefs about how humour and laughter can make us healthier. I hope this review has highlighted some of the nuances surrounding humour and health. The picture is more complicated than it is often portrayed, and there is little solid evidence to suggest that humour and laughter have significant health benefits. Most claims of health benefits are exaggerated, making for appealing media stories, but much of the research in this area is methodologically flawed. These studies often lack proper controls, rely on correlational data, use small samples, and, above all, demonstrate only small, short-term effects with no clear clinical significance.

Some may ask, 'OK, so the alleged health benefits of humour are inflated – what's the harm?' While humour may seem innocuous, there are potential downsides to believing it can significantly improve health. Comedy may give hope to people desperate to feel better, but it's clearly no substitute for clinically proven treatments.

Second, oversimplification around the health benefits of humour and laughter may discourage researchers from conducting studies in the field, fearing their findings could be distorted by the media or exploited for commercial purposes. As scientists, we must remain open to new ideas while demanding rigorous research that addresses the shortcomings of much of the current work in the field. The same scepticism should apply (Martin & Ford, 2018) to research which extends beyond health benefits to claim that humour facilitate learning, aids memory retention, increases productivity, and more. Extraordinary claims about the power of humour require extraordinary evidence.
Laugh for very joy…

In 1925, some scientists predicted that, in 100 years there would be nothing left in the world to laugh about ("We'll Laugh for Very Joy," 1925). Thankfully, they were wrong – there are still countless reasons to embrace humour. There is strong evidence that humour is beneficial for mental health, primarily as a coping mechanism to reduce stress. Humour also enhances social relationships and is an attractive trait in potential mates. Even if it doesn't make us significantly healthier, it's fun and enriching, and we should enjoy it for its own sake. But as psychologists, it is only through more robust research that we will ensure the joke isn't on us.Dr Gil Greengross is a Lecturer in Psychology at Aberystwyth University.

The Editor of The Psychologist, Dr Jon Sutton, is a Trustee for the Big Difference charity, who run the Leicester Comedy Festival and UK Kids Comedy Festival. The events take place 5-23 February. If you have a psychological perspective on comedy (particularly live) and humour, he would love to hear from you on jon.sutton@bps.org.uk.
References

Abel, E. L., & Kruger, M. L. (2010). Smile Intensity in Photographs Predicts Longevity. Psychological Science, 21(4), 542–544.

Berk, L. S., Tan, S. A., Fry, W. F., Napier, B. J., Lee, J. W., Hubbard, R. W., Lewis, J. E., & Eby, W. C. (1989). Neuroendocrine and stress hormone changes during mirthful laughter. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 298, 390-396.

Bressington, D., Yu, C., Wong, W., Ng, T. C., & Chien, W. T. (2018). The effects of group‐based Laughter Yoga interventions on mental health in adults: A systematic review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 25(8), 517-527.

Buchowski, M., Majchrzak, K., Blomquist, K., Chen, K., Byrne, D., & Bachorowski, J. (2007). Energy expenditure of genuine laughter. International Journal of Obesity, 31(1), 131-137.

Cogan, R., Cogan, D., Waltz, W., & McCue, M. (1987). Effects of laughter and relaxation on discomfort thresholds. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10(2), 139-144.

Cousins, N. (1979). Anatomy of an illness as perceived by the patient: reflexions on healing and regeneration. W. W. Norton and Co.

Dufner, M., Brümmer, M., Chung, J. M., Drewke, P. M., Blaison, C., & Schmukle, S. C. (2018). Does smile intensity in photographs really predict longevity? A replication and extension of Abel and Kruger (2010). Psychological Science, 29(1), 147-153.

Dunbar, R. I., Baron, R., Frangou, A., Pearce, E., Van Leeuwen, E. J., Stow, J., Partridge, G., MacDonald, I., Barra, V., & Van Vugt, M. (2012). Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1731), 1161-1167.

Friedman, H. S., Tucker, J. S., Tomlinson-Keasey, C., Schwartz, J. E., Wingard, D. L., & Criqui, M. H. (1993). Does childhood personality predict longevity? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(1), 176-185.

Fry Jr., W. F. (1992). The physiologic effects of humor, mirth, and laughter. Journal of the American Medical Association, 267(13), 1857-1858.

Greengross, G., & Martin, R. A. (2018). Health among comedy performers: Susceptibility to contagious diseases among improvisational artists. HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research, 31(3), 491-505.

Hertenstein, M. J., Hansel, C. A., Butts, A. M., & Hile, S. N. (2009). Smile intensity in photographs predicts divorce later in life. Motivation and Emotion, 33(2), 99-105. 10.1007/s11031-009-9124-6

Kerkkanen, P., Kuiper, N. A., & Martin, R. A. (2004). Sense of humor, physical health, and well-being at work: A three-year longitudinal study of Finnish police officers. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 17(1), 21-35.

Kimata, H. (2004a). Differential effects of laughter on allergen-specific immunoglobulin and neurotrophin levels in tears. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 98(3), 901-908.

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