r/askpsychology

So the idea of proprioception is how the body calculates and positions the self in correlation to the external world. Then I read two things which are quite intriguing,

'The proprioceptive system can be a good tool for calming, organising and self-regulating the brain and nervous system. Proprioception is essential for maintaining a level of alertness and as a result can impact positively on levels of attention and learning.'

'Social Proprioception is also a common analogy. Just like physical proprioception is the brain's inability to judge physical distance and force (leading to bumping into furniture), a lack of social proprioception means the brain struggles to judge emotional distance, conversational weight, and the impact of words'

Seemingly the weakness of proprioception also negatively impact one's attention, emotions, calmness, emotional distance with another person. Wonder if deficits in proprioception and socio-proprioception have a common cause?

Does not having sex for a long time harm mental health?

Like the title: To what extent can tools like psychological tests really reflect a person's true nature?
I mean, from paper-and-pencil tests to AI-powered question-and-answer tests - I know there are some that can detect Alzheimer's, intellectual disabilities, schizophrenia, but I don't know if they're actually accurate

I see that a lot of nice people come from a childhood where they suffered from smth and now they don't want that to happen to anyone else (e.g. a child grew with parents who neglected them and now as parents they try to give their best attention to their kids) But at the same time a lot of criminals come from similar childhoods.

How come?

I look at these stories of people who have been falsely incarcerated, and I'm confused with the grace that a lot of them carry when they realize that they would be released because their trial turned out to be false. In fact, I don't know how the state rehabilitates them into the society, rehabilitation in this sense referring to helping them make up for a life lost behind bars. Are they just left to be with their close ones? And what of the resentment, which in some people may have to be suppressed for a semblance of sanity over what just happened to them?

We have this incredible ability to convince ourselves we are madly in love with someone we barely know. It makes me wonder, is the human mind simply incapable of existing without a love target? It’s as if we don't have someone to focus our affection on, the whole narrative of life loses its purpose.

But here is the darker question: Do we subconsciously prefer the suffering?

Think about how often we romanticize the struggle. She’s too far away, she can’t be found, we can't find the words, the timing is wrong. It's almost like we secretly enjoy the tragedy of it not working out. Do we actually want the reality of a relationship, or do we just love the sad high of getting hurt?

Maybe it all comes down to survival. When you are truly starving, you don’t hold out for a perfect suitable meal. You consume whatever is in front of you just to make your stomach stop screaming.

Are we doing the exact same thing with our hearts and our sex drives? Are we hopelessly romantic, or just emotionally starving people who love pain using unavailable people to numb the void?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Words like "mature" and "immature" seem to be used to refer to two things in the context of psychology:

1. How developed the brain is

2. Things that don't seem to be due to brain development like emotional regulation, appropriate coping, debiasing, responsibility (not just adulting (man, I hate that term🤢), but stuff like not being petty, pouty, unreasonable, or a troll, and not doing stuff a person should do just because they "don't wanna"), etc.

I know there is the definition that involves IQ, but IQ suffers from serious problems. There is also the definition that involves personality (or at least the modern understanding of it), but there is no consensus on the definition of personality, so that too has problems.

Is it just psychological ? or does it relate to brain and physical side ?

Is there any excuse for someone who has trauma ? Like we sympathise with people who have physical diseases and say it is out of their control.

Is forming healthy and strong relationships and connections with people necessary to handle life ?

I mean if people had healthy relationships and connections, they would handle daily conflict and hardships, and rudeness easier ? and just write it off ?

Does being traumatized affect that as well ?

And is dysphoric mood its own diagnosis or more of a symptom of another condition, such as anxiety?

Sorry if the prompt is phrased oddly I didn’t really know how to condense all my thoughts in the most coherent manner. I’ve heard all kinds of stereotypes about how the oldest is the most responsible or the most likely to go no contact, the middle is forgotten or mischievous, or the youngest is spoiled and lazy. How much of this is true and how much is hearsay? Does gender have any impact on it? Obviously parenting styles probably do. Is there any scientific reason for these outcomes or is it all just learned behavior?

To what extent does social isolation distort our mental health?

I scored in the bottom 20 for all of the 5 big personality traits and i wonder if these tests are actually all that accurate or that they could be flat out wrong the one i used is from Openpsychometrics.org so if anyone has knowledge on this i would like to know

Extroversion 3rd percentile
Emotional stability 16th percentile
Agreeableness 7th percentile
Conscientiousness 4th percentile
Intellect/Imagination 18th percentile

I would like to be current on the healthiest guidelines and recommendations for parenting.

Ones that address:
Common behavior issues and how to handle them
Healthy parenting styles
Supporting your child to be a healthy adult
Raising a biracial child in a healthy way
Socializing
Milestones
Ages 0-18

I’m aware that biracial children can face unique challenges. I just have kids and want to stay current and do my best. Any recommendations I would be totally interested in!

(I came here because I wanted to find books or websites or publications that are current and not outdated and science backed).

Thanks

I just learned about avolition. Apparently this is a symptom of schizophrenia. Are there any structural differences in the brain, or distinct behavioral differences between these behaviors? I forgot to mention anxiety. So if I have bad work ethic, it would be nice to be able to distinguish between these different causes

* I just started studying Fairbairn, but I wanted to point out this difference:
"The main core of the internalized object, which is not repressed, is described as the ideal object or ego-ideal.[...]—a central (conscious) ego attached to the ideal object (ego-ideal)" (Fairbairn, Synopsis of an Object-Relations Theory of the Personality)

vs.

“Multiples of the ideal ego are typically thoughtful, helpful, emotionally detached, and can act as ‘guardians’ for the constellation of alternative personalities with whom they are connected.[...] Multiples of the ideal object are typically ineffective.” (Finnegan & Clarke, Fairbairn and multiple personalities, own re-translation)

My library does not stock any of Clarke’s works or anthologies. There isn’t much by Fairbairn either.  I just ordered "Psychoanalytic studies of the personality". I would be grateful for an informed perspective on this contradiction.

I've never really had a complex hallucination. When I see people in real life talking about hallucinations it's often about shadow people or some other weird kind of entity. But can someone hallucinate let's say... a person they know? And not just for 2 seconds like them walking by but maybe that hallucination is even interacting with the person who is hallucinating, talking, saying and doing things that are "in character" for the person they're hallucinating? I see this in films/television (for example, in House MD, House hallucinates his deceased team member for a while and has consistent conversations with her). Can things like this actually happen in real life?

Today I looked at a picture of myself as a baby and cried. Does this have any psychological significance?

I know babies and young toddlers basically lose their childhood memories eventually, so I was wondering when they would start having the ability to remember a parent if that parent were to suddenly be gone.

I hope my question falls under the brain because I honestly don't know where it would fall.