Psychological failure

More commonly, obesity can be attributed to a psychological failure of appetite control. At its simplest, this can be blamed on the variety of attractive foods available. People can easily be tempted to eat more than they need, and it may take quite an effort of will-power to refuse a choice morsel. Even when hunger has been satisfied, the appearance of a different dish can stimulate the appetite. Experimental animals, which normally do not become obese, can be persuaded to overeat and become obese by providing them with a cafeteria array of attractive foods. 

Success trees, by definition, are success oriented. Some analysts claim that a success tree is a state of mind and that a true success tree cannot be adapted from a fault tree by de Morgan s theorem but must be built from "scratch" to involve the psychology of success rather than of failure. 

In general, the value of a psychological perspective in incident analysis is that it directs the analyst to search for causes that would not otherwise have been considered. This means that the development of preventative strategies will be better informed. In addition, an evaluation of causes from a psychological perspective can be useful when the "root cause" appears to be an otherwise incomprehensible failure on the part of an individual. A psychological analysis can break the "causal log jam" by providing an explanation. 

Wagenaar, W. A., Hudson, P. T., Reason, J. T. (1990). Cognitive Failures and Accidents. Applied Cognitive Psychology 4,273-294. 

The examination of individual NP case studies by other investigators, as well as summary results of our pilot research, suggest at least two clinically distinct populations. One subsample of PCP abusers has a developmental history of prenatal and birth complications, e.g., prematurity, anoxia at birth, or low APGAR scores, and of early childhood factors, e.g., CHI with loss of consciousness, febrile illnesses with or without convulsions, or chronic ear infections. These histories contribute to developmental learning and performance disorders. In this group, LD causes academic failure and frustrations, which in turn contribute to the development of psychological and interpersonal problems. 

Perform a brief medical history to determine the time of symptom onset, symptom severity, symptom severity in relation to previous exacerbations, current medications, previous emergency department visits or hospitalizations due to asthma, previous history of respiratory failure, and psychiatric or psychological disorders. 

Fig. 22.1 Mechanisms underlying substance abuse. Addictive behavior is seen as a cyclical process where anticipation of the pleasure resulting from use of the drug leads to failure of the psychological mechanisms that usually control consumption. Excess quantities of drug are taken and an unpleasant withdrawal state arises when drug levels fall. This leads to...

I have also chosen the interest domain to illustrate a simple but important methodological principle—the importance of measurement error and specificity. Measurement error and specificity saturate all psychological instruments and failure to take them into account results in theoretically misleading conclusions1. 

For example, a manager in the probation services had produced a report of an action project which was full of achievements. Yet when he presented it to me he simply had not grasped at a psychological level what he had done. He sat in front of me talking just as he had done six months earlier when he had perceived his project aspirations as a hopeless cause, doomed to failure by Insuperable bureaucratic obstacles and lack of resources. Yet he had circumvented most of these hurdles. But at some inner, emotional level he seemed determined to hang onto his old self-image as someone who could not really achieve anything. 

Use with caution in patients with hypothyroidism, cirrhosis, ocular herpes simplex, hypertension, congestive heart failure, and ulcerative colitis Psychologic derangements may occur while on therapy... 

Psychological research among DES daughters has shown how traumatic it can be for a woman to learn of her prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol, and the extent to which this creates persistent uncertainty about her health the failure of a physician to provide reliable information and continuing support can severely undermine her faith in health care (34). 

Protection requires a combination of approaches. There are a number of factors that are intrinsic to the physiological and psychological makeup of the worker. Individual susceptibility and interaction with other biological stresses will vary from individual to individual. Personal hygiene and work habits also vary. It is important that the worker fully comprehends the nature of the hazards and the consequences of careless actions or failure to follow prescribed safe procedures. The attitudes of workers and managers are important in implementing working practices that will minimize risks. 

Tired of blaming themselves for what they see as their own failure, parents are often eager to embrace the idea that there is some malfunction in the child s brain that puts the desired behavior outside of his or her control. If the cause of the behavior is biological, the child is physically unable to behave differently and the parents are not at fault. If the cause is psychological, on the other hand, this implies an emotional or relational problem, one for which parents might be considered partly responsible. 

Anorgasmia Failure to achieve orgasm. Usually psychological or interpersonal but can be iatrogenic due to antidepressants (particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), neuroleptics or benzodiazepines. 

Sacks, C.H., and Bugental, D.B. (1987). Attributions as moderators of affective and behavioral responses to social failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 939-947. 

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