Your Itchiness May Be Caused By Neurosis

[Mal12345]

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/11/scienceshot-i-scratch-you-itch.html?ref=hp

"Personality tests suggest that the trait that best predicts susceptibility to contagious itch is neuroticism, not empathy, as some researchers have suggested."

 

[sprinkles]

What?

NEUROSIS
: a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances (as visceral symptoms, anxieties, or phobias)

NEUROTIC
: of, relating to, constituting, or affected with neurosis (see neurosis)

I think somebody is using the wrong words.

 

[Mal12345]

What?

NEUROSIS
: a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances (as visceral symptoms, anxieties, or phobias)

NEUROTIC
: of, relating to, constituting, or affected with neurosis (see neurosis)

I think somebody is using the wrong words.

Then according to this study they'll just have to adjust their definitions.

 

[sprinkles]

Then according to this study they'll just have to adjust their definitions.

Yeah, the editors of the article probably screwed up and slipped in jargon that they don't even know about.

They probably meant to say that it is neurological or something. Which it probably is.

Edit:
It's in the paper too, so I take that back. They're referring to how it relates to neuroticism based on a scale of the psychological trait, and not neurosis as a disorder.

 

[Mal12345]

Yeah, the editors of the article probably screwed up and slipped in jargon that they don't even know about.

They probably meant to say that it is neurological or something. Which it probably is.

Edit:
It's in the paper too, so I take that back. They're referring to how it relates to neuroticism based on a scale of the psychological trait, and not neurosis as a disorder.

A personality test doesn't test something neurological. So yes. And the only neuroticism scale I know of is on the MMPI, the official personality test used by psychiatrists. They also have a personality disorder test.

 

[RaptorWizard]

It comes as no surprise that neuroticism can cause brain malfunctions such as the sensation of itchiness as it can play many funny tricks upon our perceptions. The brain is the premature cause for all the suffering in the world as if it did not give us sensations of such powerful magnitudes we would be availed all pain! Why must the Creator allow such horrors to haunt our cursed existence?

 

[sprinkles]

A personality test doesn't test something neurological. So yes. And the only neuroticism scale I know of is on the MMPI, the official personality test used by psychiatrists. They also have a personality disorder test.

That has to be what they're talking about.

They did neuroimaging to see which regions of the brain fire up when this itch is experienced, and they correlated this data with the level of neuroticism based on degree.

They're presumably doing this with relatively 'normal' people and basing it on neuroticism as a fundamental psychological trait that everyone has to some degree.

My first reaction was thinking they were trying to say that contagious itch implies some form of neurotic disorder, which comes off as a bit absurd - but they weren't saying that after all.

 

[Mal12345]

That has to be what they're talking about.

They did neuroimaging to see which regions of the brain fire up when this itch is experienced, and they correlated this data with the level of neuroticism based on degree.

They're presumably doing this with relatively 'normal' people and basing it on neuroticism as a fundamental psychological trait that everyone has to some degree.

My first reaction was thinking they were trying to say that contagious itch implies some form of neurotic disorder, which comes off as a bit absurd - but they weren't saying that after all.

Thank the Good Lord that they don't have to change their definitions after all.

 

[miss fortune]

ah... so THAT'S what they're calling meth now!

 

[INTP]

Then according to this study they'll just have to adjust their definitions.

i didnt see the word neurosis on the article

A personality test doesn't test something neurological. So yes. And the only neuroticism scale I know of is on the MMPI, the official personality test used by psychiatrists. They also have a personality disorder test.

MMPI isnt "the official test used by psychiatrist", the article is referring to the neuroticism scale on big5(there is no neuroticism scale on MMPI anyways, i think you are mixing it with big5).

the word neurosis comes from old misconception where they thought that the cause of neurosis was neurological. but still they arent talking about neurosis on the article.