Psychology

Meet Dr. Francis Cecil Sumner.
- Psychology
It's Black History Month!

It’s important to share and acknowledge the accomplishments of black people. Since I am focusing spreading awareness of mental health (in general) but especially in black community and learn about psychology. I decided to focus on different psychologists that contributed to development and knowledge of psychology.

Who is Dr. Francis Cecil Sumner?

On December 7, 1895, Dr. Francis Cecil Sumner was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The second child of David Alexander and Ellen Lillian Sumner and the younger brother to Eugene Sumner. Dr. Sumner started his education journey by attending elementary school system in Norfolk, Virginia and Plainfield, New Jersey. Once he completed elementary school. He started to self-education himself with the help of his parents. His father, who was also self-educated, gave him assignments on reading and writing. Sumner did not go to High school. At the age of 15, Sumner enrolled at Lincoln University in 1911. In order to attend college, he had to pass a written exam. He completed Lincoln University and graduated magna cum laude with honor in 1915. In 1916, he enrolled in Clark College to receive his second undergraduate degree.
Sumner when he was attending Clark College (1917).
In 1917, he earned his M.A. degree while teaching at Lincoln University. He went back to Clark to obtain his Ph.D. Before G. Stanley Hall, president of Clark College, could consider his dissertation on difference between Freud and Adler; he was drafted into the US Army to serve in World War I and served as a Sergeant in 808th Pioneers. Pioneer infantry are non-combat units. In summer of 1919, Sumner was able to return to school and published Psychoanalysis of Freud and Alder or Sex-determination and Character Formation. On June 14, 1920, he obtained his Ph.D in psychology.

Accomplishments

Known as the Father of Black Psychology
First African-American to get his Ph.D. degree in psychology

Fun Facts

Worked at Howard University until his death in 1954
Buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

References

American Psychological Assocation. Featured Psychologists: Francis Cecil Sumner, PhD and Inez Beverly Prosser, PhD. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/psychologists/sumner-prosser.
Earlham College. (2002, April 25). Personal Biography. http://legacy.earlham.edu/~knigher/personal%20biography.htm.
Thomas, R. K. (2012). Sumner, Francis Cecil. In Encyclopedia of the history of psychological theories 0fol. 2, pp. 1049-1050. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag
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Good Grief
- Psychology
First Week of March 2020

The first week of March was pretty stress. On Sunday my great Aunt Jean went into the hospital again. My grandmother, her only living sibling, went to visit her at the hospital. She was on life support when my grandmother visited that Sunday. I visited on Monday and she was breathing on her own. I had some hope that she would make. However, she was not waking up though. Tuesday, we found my aunt had a stroke at the back of the brain stem and she was put back on life support. The brain stem controls messages between the body and the brain; it controls your basic functions like breathing, swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure, consciousness, and being sleep or wake. So when the brain stem got hurt, there was nothing the doctors, my family or I could do. Only Jesus could do the miraculous. If it was in His will for her to live, when the doctor took her off the life support she would have kept her breathing. However I had a feeling that it was only a matter on time before she would be with the Lord.
On Thursday, March 5th, her husband decided to take her on life support and she peacefully went to heaven. I was scared and I wept a lot that day. It was also reminded that there is one thing that no one can escape or avoid- and it’s death.
My aunt was not the only person in my family who passed away. About four months ago from March, my grandmother lost her niece to cancer. It was terminal. She left to be with Lord on Tuesday, November 12th.

Second Week of March (8th-14th)

Currently on spring break of my senior year in college; I was going through some shock and feeling a little down. I could not enjoy my break the way I wanted to because I had to attend a funeral on that Saturday. My mood lighten up a little bit, on Wednesday, March 11th is when I received an email from the IRB (Institutional Review Board) finally approved my senior thesis project. It took a little over two months of revision and editing on my IRB study. “Finally, I can start collecting data for my project” I told myself.
The next day, my family from Connecticut came down to celebrate the life of my aunt Jean. We hung out at the house they rented. Reminder, the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) was a growing concern in the United States. We laughed and shared stories about our aunt; some of us were upset with her husband and the way her treated her up until her passing. He was not nicest person and was very arrogant. Nevertheless, we enjoyed each other company and it made me feel better.

On Friday, March 13th...
East Carolina University sent an email about extending our spring break to the following Friday, March 20th. I wanted to be happy but I couldn't. I put on a façade around my family because I was miserable. Colleges were transitioning to online classes due to COVID-19. Though I had two classes online already, it would not be a huge adjustment in my school schedule . However, reality did not hit me until a few days later. Regardless, I hung out with my family and we enjoyed each other company.
Saturday was the day of the funeral. My cousin and his family came down from Maryland. All the family wore some form of red (since red was her favorite color). The funeral was a little over an hour and it was beautiful. I do not want to go into details but I am going to miss her. She was so close to seeing me graduate college. She has been to all my graduation ceremonies starting from elementary school and all the way through high school. Overall, great to spend time with family.

I Haven't Felt This Sad in Awhile

On Sunday morning, my grandmother cooked breakfast for the family. That evening, my cousin from Maryland wife, Kerranne, made Jamaican food. I tried jerk chicken for the first time and it was amazing. Monday and Tuesday, I was slowly adjusting to my new temporal new normal. I still had work and family still in town. We switched from teaching dance in person to online. It was not bad but something to adjust too. By Wednesday, most of my family left to go back home and I had a chance to be by myself, I realized that I would not be able to collect data for my thesis. I have been working on thesis since the end of junior year (May 2019). I felt that all my hard work had gone to waste. I was so close to the finish line.
I cried a river. I felt defeated, I did all this hard work on preparing the powerpoint, data collection sheets, and any work on my thesis was swept away the virus. I felt that the end of senior year was ruined. My mother let me cry on her shoulder and talk out my frustration. She told me that it was not my fault that the virus was not contained when it first arrived in the States. She knew that I was not the only student who felt this way. She was right, I wasn’t the only one who felt this one. Crossing off travel plans, graduation data/grad pictures, prom, and so many other think. I feel sympathetic to the people who are in the same boat as me. All the 5th, 9th and 12th graders who are graduating this year like myself. I know that this pandemic is new to everyone but will get through this together.

Grief

Regardless if you had a loved one who recently passed, feeling extra sad about how the end of the school is turning out to be or whatever; you are probably experiencing a lot of emotions. Anger, guilt, sadness. Just like my mom told me, I could not blame myself for the virus coming to the United States. The same goes for the doctors who helped diagnose my aunt Jean when she was in the hospital. I know there are some people who will blame doctors for not doing enough; others will feel guilty for noticing the symptoms or checking up on them daily. While I felt sad about a lot of things happens over the course of a couple week. My therapist said that I was experiencing grief.
The American Psychological Association defines grief as the anguish experienced after significant loss, usually the death of beloved one.

Stages of Grief

There are five stages of grief.
Denial is the first stage of grief process. When you are in denial, you are trying to figure out what happened and understand why it happened, while trying not to acknowledge what has happened. You are in disbelief.
Anger is the second stage of grief. Many people will feel angry when that special person or pet passes away. Sometimes it is the emotion people release first. It is expressed by getting upset or showing rage when you experience emotional discomfort.
Bargaining is the third stage of grief. You feel desperate to the point that you are willing to do anything to relieve the emotional pain. Basically, you are offering request to God, someone of higher status, to try to change the current outcome of the situation. During this stage, you focus on personal faults or regrets.
Depression is the fourth stage of grief. You are slowly starting to come to the reality of what happened. Sadness begins to grow, tend to isolate yourself and become less social.
Acceptance is the final stage of grief. You are at the point where you do not feel any pain.
Remember, that grief is nonlinear.

Encouragement

Remember that grief is NOT the same for everyone.
Offer support the best way you can while trying not to fix them.
Seek support from family, friends, or people you can trust.
Acknowledge what you are feeling. Remember that grief is the natural process of loss.
Give yourself time to go through the process.
Find a support group.
Go to a therapist to help guide your thoughts and emotions.
I am no expert on how one should who grieve but I do that if you read the articles, find the right to confide in, and give yourself the proper time, will be okay in the end. Remember, “tough times never last forever but tough people do”-Robert S. Schuller.

References

Clarke, J., MA. (2020, March 21). What to know about the five stages of grief. Retrieved April 7, 2020, from https://www.verywellmind.com/five-stages-of-grief-4175361
Cohut, M., Ph.D. (2017, November 10). How to cope with grief. Retrieved April 7, 2020, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320032#Acknowledge-and-accept-your-feelings
Holland, K. (2018, September 25). What You Should Know About the Stages of Grief. Retrieved April 7, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health/stages-of-grief#background
Smith, M., MA, Robinson, L., & Segal, J., Ph.D. (2019, November). Coping with grief and loss. Retrieved April 7, 2020, from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm
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Attachment Styles in Child
- Psychology
What is an Attachment?

In psychology, attachment is the emotional relation that links us to other people like our parents. Also, it describes the emotional and physical bond that is created between the infant/child and their caregiver (typically a parent). This theory is called attachment theory. Attachment theory was originated by John Bowlby.

Stranger Situation Study

The Stranger situation was created by psychologist Mary Ainsworth. It is an experimental procedure in which an infant’s reaction is monitored when their mother leaves the child in the room.
The study consisted of a sequence of events involving the participants (child, mother, and stranger). The procedure was comprised of eight episodes:
Mother carries the baby into the room while accompanied by an observer.
Mother placed the baby at a specific point in the room for the next three minutes. Mother sat quietly in a chair and would not engage with her baby unless the baby wanted attention.
A stranger entered the room and causally plays with baby while the mother is in the room. Eventually the other leaves the room
If the baby wanted to play then the stranger wouldn’t engage in pay with the child. If the baby was inactive, the stranger would try to engage with baby. However if the infant was distressed, the stranger tires to comfort or distract the baby.
Mother enters to see how the baby would respond when they saw her. Stranger leaves the room. After the baby settled in by playing with toys. Then the mother leaves after saying “bye-bye.”
The baby is alone for three minutes
Stranger enters the room and behaves like step four.
Mother comes back to the room. Stranger leaves. The experiment is done.
Dr. Ainsworth scored the behaviors on a 7-point scale between five classes: proximity and contact-seeking behaviors, contact-maintaining, proximity- and interaction-avoiding , contact-and interaction-resisting and search.

The Main Attachment Styles

There are four styles of attachment styles that have been discovered from the Stranger Situation study: secure, avoidant, ambivalent and disorganized/disoriented.

Secure Attachment

Secure attachment is when the parent(s) provide a reliable and secure base that makes their children feel confident. The children also feels confident in their parent’s availability. The parent is sensitive to respond when needed while the child explores the environment freely. When the child is able to explore the environment freely, there is a haven of safety created by the parents whenever the child feels distressed. The child can rely on the parent for comfort.

Ambivalent Attachment

Ambivalent attachment, known as anxious-resistent or preoccupied attachment, is when the child is not able to predict their parent availability. The parent are not responsive to the emotional needs. The child feels like the parent is unreliable because the parent does not respond to their needs at the given time. The child will develop an anxious pattern of attachment in which they are uncertain if they stranger will respond to their need or the parent will. Mothers do not let their child adventure off, explore and engage in autonomous activities (thinking for oneself and feeling independent).

Avoidant Attachment

Avoidant Attachment, known as anxious-avoidant attachment, is when the child ignores or avoid their parent. The parent is unavailable to the emotional needs or is not responsive to their child most of the time. The child learns prematurely how to be independent. It suppresses their desire to seek out their parent for comfort. Child build defensive mechanisms from the rejection by the parent to feel safe and relieve emotions of distress. The chid relies on self-soothing (conscious breathing, engaging positive self talk, …) and opportunities that seek attachment or support from others.

Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment

Disorganized/Disoriented attachment was the fourth classification brought up by research Mary Main and Judith Solomon. Their research found that the parents can’t create a secure base for their child. The child will show inconsistent and often contradictory behavior because their parents are unpredictable and send mix signals by being avoidant or resistant. Children are naturally hardwire to seek comfort from their parents but are afraid to do so. Child are described to have erratic or dazed behavior. Children with disorganized/disoriented attachment can develop into one of the other attachment styles.

There will be two other posts that will discuss the parenting style on each attachment and how these attachment styles influence the relationship in adulthood.

References

Ainsworth, M. (1978). The Bowlby-Ainsworth attachment theory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(3), 436-438. doi:10.1017/S0140525X00075828
Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970). Attachment, exploration, and separation: Illustrated by the behavior of one-year-olds in a strange situation. Child development, 49-67. doi:10.2307/1127388
Cassidy, J., & Berlin, L. J. (1994). The insecure/ambivalent pattern of attachment: Theory and research. Child development, 65(4), 971-991. doi:10.2307/1131298
Cassidy, J., Jones, J., & Shaver, P. (2013). Contributions of attachment theory and research: A framework for future research, translation, and policy. Development and Psychopathology, 25(4pt2), 1415-1434. doi:10.1017/S0954579413000692
Catlett, J., M.A. (2018, December 28). Avoidant attachment: Understanding insecure avoidant attachment. Retrieved March 08, 2020, from https://www.psychalive.org/anxious-avoidant-attachment/ Davis, S. (2018, October 22). Anxious/ambivalent attachment style: An examination of its causes and how it affects adult relationships. Retrieved March 08, 2020, from https://cptsdfoundation.org/2018/10/22/anxious-ambivalent-attachment-style-an-examination-of-its-causes-and-how-it-affects-adult-relationships/
Duschinsky R. (2015). The emergence of the disorganized/disoriented (D) attachment classification, 1979-1982. History of psychology, 18(1), 32–46.
Firestone, L., Ph.D. (2019, March 14). Disorganized attachment: How attachment forms & how it can be healed. Retrieved March 08, 2020, from https://www.psychalive.org/disorganized-attachment/
Howe T.R. (2011) Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment. In: Goldstein S., Naglieri J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA
McLeod, S. (2018, August 5). Mary Ainsworth. Retrieved March 08, 2020, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/mary-ainsworth.html#sec
Mikko J. Peltola, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, Santeri Yrttiaho. (2020) Attachment security and cortical responses to fearful faces in infants. Attachment & Human Development 22:2, pages 174-188.
Orloff, J., M.D. (2018, October 18). Self-soothing strategies: 8 ways to calm anxiety and stress. Retrieved March 08, 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-empaths-survival-guide/201810/self-soothing-strategies-8-ways-calm-anxiety-and-stress
Pelly, J., M.A. (2019, September 27). What Is Avoidant Attachment? Retrieved March 08, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/avoidant-attachment#what-does-it-look-like
Pelly, J., M.A. (2019, September 27). What is disorganized attachment? Retrieved March 08, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/disorganized-attachment#prevention
Plotka R. (2011) Ambivalent Attachment. In: Goldstein S., Naglieri J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA
Weinhold, J. (2018, July 24). Are you attachment-informed? Retrieved March 08, 2020, from https://coprofdevcenter.org/are-you-attachment-informed/
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