The Curious Case of… February 28, 2010
Posted by Elena in 101 MC, Psychology Magazine.Tags: 1848, 1860, accident, behaviour, brain, case, curious, damages, Edward, Gage, Harlow, influence, iron, John, Martyn, neurology, Phineas, psychology, recovery, rod, skills, skull, social, study, survival, Vermont, Williams
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Famous Psychology Case Studies
Phineas Gage
On 13 September 1848 the 25-year-old Phineas Gage was working on a rail-road project near Vermont. His job was to prepare the blasting of big rocks, which stood in the way of the construction work. The process involved drilling a hole in the rock, inserting blasting powder in it, followed by a protective layer of sand, which was then tucked down with an iron rod. But this time Phineas forgot to insert the protective layer of sand and when the iron rod hit the blasting powder directly, it created a spark, which triggered an explosion. Like a cannon, it send the iron rod out, straight through Mr Gage’s head and landed some 100 yards behind him. The 3-foot-long, 1.25’’ in diameter tamping rod entered the head through the left cheek bone and exited through the top. To everyone’s surprise, when his fellow workers found him just minutes later, Phineas was still alive, breathing and in a few moments he was speaking.
He was taken to town. Dr. Edward H. Williams, the first physician to examine him, described the situation: “I first noticed the wound upon the head (…), the pulsations of the brain being very distinct. Mr. Gage, during the time I was examining this wound, was relating the manner in which he was injured to the bystanders.”
The doctor who took charge of the case from that point on was Dr. John Martyn Harlow. Despite the serious injuries, Phineas Gage gradually recovered and lived for another 11 years, before he started having epileptic seizures and died on 21 May 1860. But he was described by people, who knew him as being a different man. In regards to his patient, Dr. Harlow wrote:
“Gage was fitful, irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity (which was not previously his custom), manifesting but little deference for his fellows, impatient of restraint or advice when it conflicts with his desires, at times pertinaciously obstinate, yet capricious and vacillating, devising many plans of future operations, which are no sooner arranged than they are abandoned in turn for others appearing more feasible. A child in his intellectual capacity and manifestations, he has the animal passions of a strong man. Previous to his injury, although untrained in the schools, he possessed a well-balanced mind, and was looked upon by those who knew him as a shrewd, smart businessman, very energetic and persistent in executing all his plans of operation. In this regard his mind was radically changed, so decidedly that his friends and acquaintances said he was ‘no longer Gage’.”
It was later proven that the rod had passed through the anterior frontal cortex and white matter, but it is not sure whether the damage involved both frontal lobes or just the left one. The case of Phineas Gage became extremely significant, because it presented prove that damage to the frontal lobes of the brain can alter personality and affect social skills. Up to then, the frontal lobes had been thought to have very little to do with behavior.
There are, nevertheless, a number of problems with this case. Very little information is known about Mr. Gage’s personality before the accident or even after and most of it is not first hand. This has led to a lot of distortion of the facts and a number of urban legends. Another complicating factor is that Dr. Harlow’s descriptions of Phineas’ inability to hold a job regard to the last months of his patient’s life and not his life after the accident in general.
Thus, in the 19th century scientific debate over whether different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions, both sides found a way to cite Gage’s case in support of their arguments.
Phineas Gage’s skull was exhumated and is now located in Harvard Medical School’s Warren Museum, together with the tamping rod.
Interestingly enough, the first photograph of Mr. Gage was found in 2009 (see picture), followed by a very similar one in 2010. He is seen posing with the iron rod, which caused the injury.
How did we get this far? February 28, 2010
Posted by Elena in 101 MC, Psychology Magazine.Tags: adler, affect, albert, alfred, Austria, bandura, behavior, bfskinner, bobo, carl, complex, derams, development, discovery, doll, ebing, effect, ego, extrovert, freud, gustav, history, ID, inferiority, interpretation, introvert, jean, jung, krafft, krafft-ebing, masochism, oedipus, of, piagnet, psychoanalysis, psychology, reaction, richard, rogers, sadism, sexuality, shrink, sigmind, skinner, stimulus, super, super-ego, terminology
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A glance back at the origin and development of psychoanalysis
In most developed countries nowadays, psychoanalysis is acknowledged as being just as important as any other medical treatment. Although it doesn’t involve surgery or injections and pills are prescribed rather as an exception, it does aim to heal one of the most important parts of a person – the mind.
Society is changing and so are the problems it suffers from. With all the pressure and estrangement, which the modern world demands, it is no wonder that more and more people turn to psychoanalysis as a way to make sense of their lives again. In some parts of the world it has even become modern to “have a shrink” and although Hollywood movies tend to present such visits as a joke, the reality is that people put themselves through psychoanalysis because they’ve realized they need it and it works.
But where did it all begin? Who laid the foundations of this relatively new science?
It was the 1880s, when the Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) dropped hypnosis as a means of treating neurotic patients in favour of “the talking cure”, which is today seen as the basis of psychoanalysis. He started forming his theories by exploring his own childhood experiences and comparing them to those of his patients. He came to the conclusion that sexual instincts are present in an infant from the very beginning and develop in a different way, based on the upbringing of the child and his personal experiences. These findings led to his famous concept of the “Oedipus complex”, which is defined as the erotic feelings for a son/daughter for his/her mother/father.
What is perceived as perhaps his most valuable discovery for the psychoanalytical science is the importance of the unconscious mind in understanding the behavior and conscious thoughts. He explored this idea further by beginning to study and analyze his own dreams and those of his patients. In his book Die Traumdeutung (The Interpretation of Dreams, 1900) he reached the conclusion that the purpose of dreams is to satisfy desires – both known and repressed, quite often sexual.
Later, he defined three parts to the unconscious: “ID” – represents instinctive impulses and the desire for instant satisfaction of needs; “EGO” – is responsible for the behavior, is aware of itself and reality; “SUPER-EGO”- it is the moral compass, developed according to the surrounding society, incorporating ideals and always striving for perfection.
Another big name from the psychoanalytical hall of fame is that of Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). He began his studies as a colleague and disciple of Freud, but later abandoned some of his ideas and developed new ones on his own. He divided the human personality into Archetypes, and is also responsible for defining the terms “extrovert” (a person, who’s psychic energy is directed outwards, seeks excitement) and “introvert” (the psychic energy is directed inwards, prefers less social activities, but is not necessarily shy).
Alfred Adler (1870-1937) also began his academic career as a Freudian analyst, but later developed his own ideas. He came to the conclusion, that people, who are born with some kind of physical defect (blindness, deafness etc.) would unconsciously adjust their personalities to compensate it. This became the stepping stone when developing his theory for the “inferiority complex”. Even children, raised in normal families, without any physical defects could develop the self perception of being inferior and would try and compensate it with a constant drive to being superior.
Another famous psychologist from this period was Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902). He was also a sexologist and dealt extensively with the psychology of sexual behaviour. In his most famous publication Psychopatia Sexualis (The Psychopatology of Sexuality, 1886) he presented a case study of different types of human sexual behaviour. He is responsible for defining the terms “sadism” (the pleasure of inflicting pain or humiliation on the object of sexual desire) and “masochism” (the pleasure deriving from personal suffering).
Those people were the pioneers. Many followed. Among the most famous names are:
B.F Skinner (1904-1990) – among many other things, discovered that behavior was influenced not by the preceding stimulus, but by what happened after the reaction;
Albert Bandura (1925- ) – discovered the term “observational learning” by conducting the famous “Bobo Doll” experiment and concluding that people imitate other people reactions even when there is no outside stimulus or reward;
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) – proved that children think differently than adults and marked four different stages all children pass throughout their development;
Carl Rogers (1902-1987) – discovered a new approach to therapy, called “the client-centred therapy”
There are of course many others. And there will be many more to follow. The science of human thinking and behavior is complex and evolving, just as people and societies are. This leaves us hoping that if we never discover the secret of eternal happiness, at least the best is yet to come.
