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{ Tag Archives } psychology

nature versus nurture

“a man’s natural abilities are derived by inheritance, under exactly the same limitations as are the form and physical features of the whole organic world.”  Francis Galton, Hereditary Genius, 1869.
The debate around the influence of nature versus nurture on behaviour has been researched for decades. Behavioural genetics experiments have ranged from twins and adoption studies [...]

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2009 08 27 behaviour Comments (0)

CANCER PERSONALITY

There is something interesting and at the same time disturbing about the idea that cancer emerges as a result of behaviour, or “personality type”.  Following the psychological research on cancer patients that begun in the 1950’s, the type C personality was formulated. So what characterises this “cancer personality”?
Bacon (1952) studied breast cancer patients and found [...]

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2009 08 25 meta Comments (0)

TIME BOMB

The experience of carrying a genetic mutation is often described as living with an internal time bomb. The amputation of the breasts or ovaries can therefore be seen as an attempt to neutralise it.
In her book Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Cancer Patients, Jane Goldberg claims that “it has been repeatedly observed that cancer often emerges within [...]

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2009 08 25 meta Comments (0)