Assignment One - Introduction to Psychology
With 2,405,518,376 (World Statistics, 2014) users around the world there is no doubt that some users are bound to develop addiction. “Internet addiction is when a person has a compulsive need to spend a great deal of time on the Internet, to the point where other areas of life (such as relationships, work or health) are allowed to suffer.” (Better Health Channel, 2011). With this scientists around the world are fighting to beat these addictions. Two theoretical perspectives that play heavily into the treatment process are Behavioural and Psychodynamic psychology. “Behavioural psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on observable behaviours. Conditioning, reinforcement and punishment are key concepts used by behaviourists. Learn more about classical conditioning and operant conditioning as well as some of the major behaviourist thinkers,” (About, 2014). Where as, “The basis of the psychodynamic perspective is to understand what is going on in the mind of an individual or "to get in the head" of a patient to see what is going on in the unconscious part of the mind. This will provide insight into how the patient views his relationships, experiences, and the world and how that affects his preferences, behaviours, and drives, and therefore personality,” (Your Dictionary, 2014).
A well known theoretical perspective of psychology, Behaviorism was developed into it modern state with the extensive research conducted by John Watson. Watson’s exploration lead to the notion that behaviours can be “measured, trained and changed”(Cherry, 2014)
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...cus in Significant Sessions of Master Therapists: A Comparison of Cognitive-Behavioral and PsychodynamicInterpersonal Interventions. Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 66 (5).
KIMBERLY S. YOUNG, Psy.D, (1998). Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Clinical Disorder. CyberPsychology & Behavior. 1 (3).
Joanna Saisan, M.S.W., Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D (2013). Internet & Computer Addiction Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htm.
Victorian State Government (2011). Internet Addiction. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Internet_addiction?open.
Kendra Cherry (2014). What Is Behaviorism?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/f/behaviorism.htm.
Weinstein, Aviv, and Michel Lejoyeux. "Internet Addiction or Excessive Internet Use." American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse 36.5 (2010): 277-283. Academic Search Premier. Web.
In his article “internet addiction”, published in 2010 by Reason Magazine, Greg Beato tries to show how internet addiction, an excessive behavior brought up by the psychiatrist Ivan Gilbert, is an important issue for the society and why it should be considered as a behavior disorder. He supports his thesis by using a lot of evidence such as graphics, statistics, and researches. Although, Beato’s arguments about the causes of internet addiction and the reasons why it should add to the DSM are mostly true, some of his observations on the future are pessimistic.
Some participants say they use the internet the entire time they are awake. Tolerance is the increasing amount of a substance over time in order to achieve the desired effect meaning that subtle use was not enough. Craving is another symptom seen but not assessed in the DSM-5. Participants report craving internet use especially when the see that internet access is available to them. Loss of interest in other hobbies or activities was another sign seen in activities such as reduced either academic or project work, reduced socialization with friends and family, and reduced exercise because of the use of internet. The use of the internet in order to escape or relieve a negative mood was also observed among the participants, internet use is used as a distraction. The last symptom observed by the study was the “lying about the use”, individuals would lie to their family, friends, and therapist in order to conceal the extent of their involvement with the
...lot, and Lisa Hollingsworth. "Internet Addiction: a logotherapeutic approach." Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling 33.1 (2012): 18+. Gale Power Search. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
According to Internet Live Stats, 40% of the world’s population has access to the internet today. In 1995, this number was less than 1%. The first billion was reached in 2005, the second billion in 2010, and the third billion in 2014. With these overwhelming numbers, it can be presumed that having access to the Internet has never been so easy. In fact, we are so conditioned to this technology that most of our tasks depend on it to be done. Nowadays, most of the school work is done online and when looking for a job a lot of times it is required to be computer savvy. Of course the internet is not all bad, but becoming so dependent on this can surely have severe consequences. CNN released an article evaluating internet addiction. According to this article, “A 2014 study determined that about 16% of 18- to 25-year-olds are involved in compulsive Internet use” (CNN, Adair). Psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair further explains:
A crippling aspect of our modern society is our habitual use of internet, and the immense connection it has to our lives. Many people find themselves consumed by the internet, having it interfere with their personal lives. Recently, increased internet usage has led to the development of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) and those afflicted are suffering from a serious problem. They overuse the internet, causing them to become isolated from their loved ones. Their internet usage destroys their minds, causing problems like depression and anxiety. Worst of all, the effects of IAD on your neural pathways are identical to the effects of substance-abuse disorders. In the effort to battle IAD, solutions have included cutting off our internet usage
There are various approaches to addiction I will be comparing the behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches to see which provides the most compelling explanation of addiction. The behaviourist approach states change in behaviour happens due to past experiences and our actions are a result of the environment. (Glassman and Hadad, 2013). The environment in which we exist makes us act in a certain way for example, seeing people around us do acts like smoking and gambling may make an individual want to participate in those acts (Gross,2015). The psychodynamic approach on the other hand claims behaviour is determined by the unconscious mind and our actions have a motive behind them, which reflect our early childhood experiences (Gross, 2015).
In Greg Beato’s article “Internet Addiction” originally published in august, september 2010 in to Reason magazine he argues that internet addiction is a problem in our society today. Internet addiction should be reported in the Diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorder (DSM). It is a huge problem, he also says that internet is like narcotic drugs and very addicting. He states that if ones use Google for few minutes only it leads us to spend more than a few minutes on the internet and it turns in to spending hours. Beato refers that University of Maryland did a group study for 24 hour and all the students went crazy without their phones and iPods, one girl admitted that she is an addict. The students were anxious and miserable. He also says that one kid killed his parents because they took away his Xbox. Internet also leads to death of people, therefore it is a problem and we should put it on to the DSM.
People acquire different behaviors on the internet to receive a level of social acceptance from peers that they would not get in their real lives, to gain gratification through social interactions without having to suffer from social anxiety, to participate in a world where most social regulations and acceptances do not exist, and where failure to conform to most socially accepted behaviors that are present in society are not punished. These behaviors are created when a person becomes addicted to the internet to the point that it shapes their personality, morals, and opinions, and ultimately can cause serious mental health problems linked to the internet addiction.
There have been many studies performed to research the idea of Internet addiction. It is just like any other addiction, including gambling, alcoholism, and eating disorders, and all of which destroy families in one way or another. Experiments created by psychologists and sociologists to explain the addiction resemble those of pathological gamblers described in the DSM-IV.[1] Using that information, a survey was made to determine if users have Internet addiction. The questionnaire includes eight questions such as “Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction?” and “Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood?” Participants who answered yes to five or more of the questions were considered addicted Internet users.
When we think about the word addiction we usually think about marijuana, alcohol, nicotine or drugs. In the article “A World Wide Woe - Internet addiction sounds like a punch line. But it ruined my brother’s life”, author Winston Ross (2009), written as a Newsweek Web Exclusive, gives us a look into the world of internet addiction.
The internet is an essential tool in everyday life. The age of a person does not matter, because whether they are a teen, an adult, or an elderly person in order to stay in contact with others they will need the internet. However, the internet is dangerously addictive. Some studies say that the internet is not the addiction, but the means of getting to the addiction. The more believable of the two studies are the ones that discuss the internet being the addiction. Curtis stated in 2012 that reports on the brain are showing that people who excessively use the internet show abnormalities similar to people who suffer from substance addiction. Curtis also stated that internet addiction was becoming
Internet addicts explicit and implicit cognitive processing mechanism ; addicts primary emotional information processing mechanisms and cognitive assessment ; addicts attention and memory information processing characteristics ; addicts emotional expression and emotion regulation characteristics, as well as emotional expression addicts and many other issues . Therefore, I hope addiction psychology research network to provide a good solution for the research and treatment of Internet addiction behavior.
Internet addiction is a growing problem with more and more people. The internet is much more accessible to people now than it was just a few years ago. The internet provides people with entertainment, loads of information, and an escape from everyday life, but like anything else, too much a good thing can be addictive. This paper will cover what internet addiction is, warning signs of internet addiction, problems caused by internet addiction, who develops internet addiction, preventing and treating internet addiction, and safety guidelines for internet users.
This online article was useful for my research because it showed how over use of technology impact on people. This article also gives background information on internet addiction and internet dependence. The source is one of the best sources used in my research due to the fact that it had some of the basic information about the harmful effect of becoming so much dependent on technology.