PsychGirl

That is a really great idea. I just performed an EBSCO database search for articles on vasectomy, but did not see literature related to post operative aggression. I don't know if anyone has thought of that. The peer reviewed articles in the database are mostly about population control (understandably). I did a search looking for results of sterilzation proposals on sexual offenders but did not see any definitive literature there, either.

You are making assumptions, and you don't even know me. If you want to be a clinical psychologist, you need to listen and ask questions. And if it were true that beauty and success (whatever that might be) engendered happiness, the therapists and psychiatrists in Hollywood would be out of business. And that is not the case.

I don't think I consider myself successful. There are still goals I would like to achieve. But it is very simple. When I see something I want to do, or achieve, I examine that goal, figure out what steps I need to take to achieve it, and then just do it. When obstacles arise (as they always do), just keep looking for a way around, or through.

I think the ADHD diagnosis is WAY overused and the behavior that is observed as ADHD can have many influential variables -- diet, for example. I have read of drastic behavioral changes when diet was improved -- the removal of sugar, for example, and processed foods. So, I have never heard a discussion about ADHD as it pertains to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. And don't get me started on my beliefs about the overuse of psychopharmacology in the psychiatric world. Actually, on a personal level, I am an INFP, also. However, in the academic world and in the corporate world (I work with the Information Technology people, and I am a corporate writer and trainer), INFP doesn't work out too well. So I LEARNED to function as an ENTJ. I met another Master's of Science consultant a few years ago who said the same thing: She is an INFP personally but functions in the workplace as an ENTJ. I am a writer, also -- so I understand the compulsion to tell stories. I can recommend some superb psychoanalytic works. Dr. James Holllis, who is a certified Jungian analyst (and under whom I have sat for instruction), has written several books. He is nothing short of profound. He writes things I have felt but have not articulated -- and that's saying something for me because I am a writer. I have several (most) of his books. But I think this one, The Eden Project: The Search for the Magical Other, is one of the most profound things I have read in my life. I HIGHLY recommend this wonderful and disturbing book. I told Dr. Hollis, "Your book is true, but I wish it weren't." He said that a lot of people have said that to him. http://www.amazon.com/The-Eden-Project-Psychology-Analysis/dp/0919123805/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353802428&sr=8-2&keywords=Dr.+James+HOllis

Miser, I will respond to your questions from a personal perspective. I was always top of my class (Valedictorian in High School, 4.0 for both Master's and Doctoral work). I have found that most men do not approach based on an admiration for my intellect. I could probably count on one hand the times that has happened. Once was a fellow Mensa member, so that's kind of expected there, I guess. I have also been a professional musician, have studied martial arts and modeled. Many men have approached me based upon my appearance -- not my intellect or academic accomplishments. I am also a licensed massage therapist and have studied the essential oils, and have been published in a peer-reviewed journal. However, I have yet to have a boyfriend based upon my academic accomplishments. I think the pervasiveness of pornography has desensitized men and also women to sex and has objectified women -- remember, most porn is created by men FOR men. The emotional element, or the portrayal of a woman as a person with feelings and needs, is absent. This is a huge turn off to me.

Miser, well said, I think. It is hard to quantify intuition, and those of us who are strongly intuitive cannot always tell you HOW we know what to say and when to say it -- we just KNOW. There is some evidence that Intuitives are reading body language and other abstract cues to come up with their conclusions. I am a fan of Jung, and his dream theories. Jung and Freud parted ways after collaborating for many years, but I believe each has merit of his own. My area of expertise is in personality and motivation, and in particular the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which was built upon the personality theories Jung proposed. http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Allow me to respond to your questions sequentially. 1. In regard to lower numbers of men than women on campus: There actually is some research validating that there are more women graduating from college, and holding graduate degrees, than men. Here is a link to a govenment study, including the statistics on lower percentages of males than females aspiring to college. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012046.pdf Here is a scholarly report from the National Bureau of Economic Research, from 2006, discussing this same issue. http://www.nber.org/papers/w12139 My own views as to why this is are probably varied across several paradigms of thought. Economically, I believe women are driven more to take care of themselves and their children, and more women/mothers are single -- either through divorce or through postponing marriage -- than previous generations. Rather than viewing men as the providers, I believe today's women view themselves as their own providers. I know I personally would not wish to entrust my financial wellbeing and future blindly to someone else. Sociologically, it might be that with the advent of more rights and more equality for women in the past 40 years or so that women are trying to take advantage of opportunities previous generations did not have. Another thought, then, is that perhaps men are becoming somewhat demotivated since they no longer bear the entire financial burden of raising a family, as per the 1950's and 1960's. Men born in the 1970's and beyond seem to have no problem with women being the primary providers. Some of these men that I have encountered would have no problem with women being their sole provider. 2. how aggressive are men sexually? That is a generalization that is not quite fair to men across the board. Some men are very aggressive and presumptive, others are polite and courteous. I think the venue in which you find men can potentially drive how sexually aggressively they behave. For example, I have noticed that at fighting events, it is not uncommon for fights to break out amongst the spectators. There is evidence that watching fights, and scantily clad women, increases the testosterone of the viewer. Thus, perhaps men in that environment might behave more aggressively than they would in, say, a classroom. Here is a Peer Reviewed article about testosterne changing through the vicarious experience of winning or losing at sporting events. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938498001474 Ringer, I looked up the abstract about adult porn actresses, and while the abstract reports that "In terms of psychological characteristics, porn actresses had higher levels of self-esteem, positive feelings, social support, sexual satisfaction, and spirituality compared to the matched group," there are some influential factors missing here. My area of expertise is in personality and motivation. Those who are in the performance industry show higher levels of narcissism when tested for Narcissistic Personality Disorder than do those of the general population. Dr. Drew Pinsky collected data on his celebrity subjects and wrote about this in his recent book. Narcissists automatically have high self esteem. They are not plagued with self-doubt or the need to question their decisions, and they are lacking in a normal empathetic response to others that is one of the hallmarks of NPD. I would need to see more of this study and what the aspects of the control group, but it looks to me as though assumptions were made about self-esteem without consideration of some other heavy variables -- such as personality. Here is a scholarly article that notes that "High self-esteem does not prevent children from smoking, drinking, taking drugs, or engaging in early sex. If anything, high self-esteem fosters experimentation, which may increase early sexual activity or drinking, but in general effects of self-esteem are negligible." http://psi.sagepub.com/content/4/1/1.short Here is a non-scholarly article about actors and the ubiquitous NPD: http://theinneractor.com/100/are-performers-raging-narcissists/

iNow, you observe: "Psychology is very much a science. There are, however, parts of it that are not rooted in the scientific method. It just depends on the domain to which you are referring." There is truth in your statement. I hold a Master of Science in Psychology, and am currently in dissertation for PhD in Psychology. There are reliable scientific studies pertaining to behavioral science, and there are aspects of practice that are less than exact. In therapy, for example, one cannot qualify and quantify every aspect of a client's soul. The how's and why's of therapy are not always understood. A therapist once told me, "We don't know why it works, but it does." In other areas (my area of study), measurement of personality traits and motivational factors can lead to statistical evidence about behavior, which can lead to some fairly reliable predictions.

Hello, This is my first post to this forum. I am a Psychology Doctoral student, currently in dissertation. Master of Science is in Industrial Organizational Psychology. Miser, you mentioned: It was found in American female undergrads that those who didn't use condoms as contraception during sex experienced a decreased rate of depression. I think its specific enough for you to find it on google. I am familiar with this work. SUNY in Albany, NY has led the way in research studying the correlation of semen upon women -- primarily, semen and its antidepressant properties. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/all-about-sex/201101/attention-ladies-semen-is-antidepressant Of course, the study does not appear to address the other aspects of unprotected sex, such as increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases and the emotional distress of relationships that don't work out. The Beck Depression Inventory showed significantly lower levels of depression for women who were having unprotected sex as compared to women who always used condoms. So probably for women, unprotected sex shows some emotional benefit (potentially) that is superior to masturbation.