Tag: Psychology

Compulsive Internet Disorder

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Is the Internet killing us?

Read the article below about the disorder that is directly related to using the Internet. Be prepared to answer the speaking activities.

The Internet has become an important aspect of most people’s lives, because it’s used for communication, information, or entertainment. Billions of people around the world send e-mail, chat online, read the news, and maybe even gamble, trade stocks, or play competitive games on a daily basis. Some have moved into a dangerous realm, though. The Internet can provide a sense of instant fulfillment or cause people to withdraw from the real world, exactly like someone addicted to drugs or alcohol.

A number of psychologists state that people who become addicted to the Internet already suffer from some kind of illness. For example, someone hooked on day trading would still recklessly buy and sell stocks by phone or face to face with a broker. But other psychiatrists see the addiction as real. These professionals believe the medical world should recognize Internet addiction, and insurance companies should pay for treatment.

While doctors and other experts debate the issue, South Korea has already acted on the problem. In addition to counseling centers and treatment programs at hospitals, a rehab center for teens has recently been established. The country held the world’s first conference on compulsive Internet disorder, too. Ninety percent of South Korean homes have Internet access, and online gaming is a national sport. Children ditch school to play games. Some gamers have even dropped dead from exhaustion after days and days online.

The rehab center offers teens the opportunity to rediscover satisfaction with the real world. During the twelve days, participants are barred from computers and may only use a cell phone one hour per day. The remaining time gets filled with physical exercise and group activities which establish real-life emotional bonds.

The center turns away about four applicants for each available opening.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. How many hours per day do you use the Internet?
2. Is Internet addiction a real illness that doctors and insurance companies should recognize?
3. Could you go without a computer or the Internet for one week? one month? one year?
4. At which point does the Internet become an addiction rather than a useful tool?
5. What is the most useful invention of the last thirty years? How about the most dangerous?

Why Do People Drink?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Drinking alcohol is considered a very social activity. However, what might cause one to drink one too many?

Let’s find out the factors that cause people to consume alcohol. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201703/why-do-people-drink

Discussion Questions:

  1. What normally causes people to drink to excess?
  2. What made you have your first drink? Talk about your whole experience having your first taste of alcohol.
  3. What’s the drinking culture like in your country?
  4. Talk about how drinking culture and attitudes to alcohol vary from country to country.

What’s On Your Bucket List?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

When was the last time you did something that you really wanted to do? Something that added value to your life? We tend to get so wrapped up in our day to day lives that  sometimes we forget that we need to just live and enjoy our lives. Making a bucket list will get you closer to accomplishing those things that you would hope to do.

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

Self-help books abound with pleas to get off the couch, get out of the house, and make your dreams come true. A perfect (or nearly perfect) life just needs a measure of self-discipline and hard work, and is within reach for those who try. Regrets, many of these books suggest, pile up and eat away at happiness and fulfillment.

Realistically, however, a dream life is impossible. It’s something to think about in the margins of everyday life, such as during the commute to work or just before you fall asleep each night. Most people can’t write a best-seller, for example, nor achieve financial independence with some sort of start-up business. Responsibilities like family, a mortgage, and work naturally come first, creating a certain level of mundaneness, and which thereby puts the kibosh on pursuing these flights of fancy. The self-help books do get one thing right, though: the bucket list.

A bucket list serves as a “to do” list before you die, like learn a foreign language, skydive, or travel to exotic locations around the world. The list should feature acts of aspiration, which offsets the more boring facets of life. You don’t need to live each day as though it were your last on the planet before kicking the bucket, but the list instead should encourage you to plan imaginative, colorful, and even daring acts. You should plumb your imagination, for human nature requires something on the horizon other than an endless monotony of identical days. What’s more, the list doesn’t need to be hedonistic. The best lists contain items which enrich the lives of others, too.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some activities you would put on your bucket list?
2. What are some popular activities that appear on many bucket lists? Why do you think these are popular?
3. How realistic is it to write a bucket list, and then do the activities listed? Please explain.
4. Why is it important to have dreams or goals to work towards?

Thoughts You Deserve to Let Go Of

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Rachael Yahne shares an interesting advice on how to live a life that is not littered with negativity. Read the article below and share your thoughts afterwards.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachael-yahne/8-toxic-thoughts-you-deserve-to-let-go-of_b_8173156.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree with the points that the author discussed? Why/why not?
  2. How do you combat negativity?
  3. What are some of the things in life that you wish to change?

Lies a Part of Human Nature

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Almost everyone agrees that a white lie is a good kind of lie. But is it really good knowing you’re hiding the truth from someone?

Read the article to know the science and reason behind lying.

Everyone lies. In fact, lies are an important facet of humanity. For example, research shows that two acquaintances lie several times in the average ten minute conversation. Although we are told to always tell the truth from a very young age, parents lie about Santa Clause or about the pet dog’s death. Parents also smile and say “thank you” when receiving a gift, then possibly belittle it at home. These conflicting messages signal children to regard lies as okay.

We lie to ourselves all the time to make problems, fears, and failures seem less troublesome. A New Year’s resolution can be considered a lie, too, because in most cases we don’t intend to keep the promise — we’ve only deceived ourselves. Or consider the next time a friend or colleague asks, “How are you?” That person doesn’t want to hear that you’re tired, overworked, underpaid, and have problems with your significant other. Social rules demand that you reply, “I’m fine.”

Psychologist Paul Ekman offers some basic reasons for lying. We lie to escape punishment, to get out of uncomfortable situations, to boost our egos, to receive a reward, to protect someone, or to control the flow of information. Everything from a large exaggeration to a small lie falls into one of these categories.

Despite the fact that lying is an indivisible part of our psyche, we can only catch a lie about fifty percent of the time. The success rate is quite low, and suggests that we don’t want to know that another person isn’t being honest. Lies, some experts suggest, are the glue which holds society together.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. How often do you think you lie? Is it too much?
2. What are some of the reasons you’ve lied recently?
3. Do you think lies hold society together? Why/not?
4. What situations would it be better to lie than to tell the truth? Why do you think so?
5. Do you think one gender lies more than the other? Why/not?

People Spend Half the Day Daydreaming

B1 – Intermediate

A study shows that many people spend half the day daydreaming or have their minds wander instead of concentrating on what they are doing. Most of those who daydream are the ones not happy at the moment like those who are working.

http://www.english-online.at/news-articles/living/people-spend-half-the-day-daydreaming.htm

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you believe that there is a connection between daydreaming and unhappiness or happiness?
  2. Do you sometimes catch yourself daydreaming?
  3. How do you manage to stay focus on what you are doing?

Pop Music Can Be Good for You

B2 – Upper Intermediate

At one point in our lives, we’ve been guilty of liking a song that was just too mainstream pop. We’ve secretly danced to Britney Spears and sang along the Backstreet Boys.

Watch the video to find out how our guilty pleasure music benefits our well-being.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Share your thoughts on this statement, “Looking at a person’s music playlists can be like reading their diary.“.
  2. How does listening to tracks we are ashamed to love can be good for us?
  3. What kind of music / which bad pop song do you secretly enjoy listening to? Are you embarrassed for people to know you listen to this?
  4. Explain reminiscent bump’. How does it relate to a person’s music choices?
  5. Talk about one song and a core memory you associate it with.

Music Affect Your Mood

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Did you know that music and emotions are linked?

We either listen to music to feel happy or when we are in a very good mood or we also give some songs a listen because we are sad.

Read the article below to know more about the link between music and emotions.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-listening-to-music-lifts-or-reinforces-mood-051713

Discussion Questions:

  1. What kinds of music do you enjoy listening to depending on your mood at that moment?
  2. Is music possibly some sort of coping mechanism for some people? Why or why not?
  3. Was there a stage in your life wherein you listened to a specific music genre? Talk about it in detail.
  4. Name a song that helped lift your mood in a particularly rough times in your life.
  5. Cite a song that is your favorite to play to help boost your mood.

Are You a Shopaholic?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Shopping is fun. For women, mostly, it is a time to bond with friends and family members. On the other hand, if you let your impulse get the best of you, your love for purchase can do you more harm than good.

Read the article below to know more about the facts of being a shopaholic.

The lives of some people revolve around shopping, as they repeatedly make purchases regardless of need or available money. Some of these people make impromptu purchases. Some of these people have closets with unopened purchases. Some of these people have racked up overwhelming amounts of credit card debt. If this sounds like you, then you may be a shopaholic.

A recently administered test to determine the predilection towards compulsive buying reveals that 9% of people fall into this category. Another recent test revealed a slightly smaller percentage of 6%. This new data concludes an increase in the number of shopaholics from just fifteen years ago, as well as determines that men remain just as prone to the shopping urge as women. The test consisted of six statements which people answered on a 7-point scale, from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Some statements included:

* Much of my life centers around buying things.

* I buy things I didn’t plan to buy.

* Others might consider me a shopaholic.

Compulsive buying obviously leads to financial problems such as an empty bank account and maxed out credit cards. Yet these unneeded and unwanted purchases may be the manifestation of more serious problems, namely depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. What’s more, relationships and family harmony also deteriorate because of disagreements over the purchases. Shopaholics may then hide their purchases, as well as the accompanying costs, and thus add to the strain. It’s a problem that affects people of all income brackets.

Researchers suggest that shopaholics felt better when they were shopping, even when they realized the associated harm.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. Based on the information in the article, would you consider yourself a shopaholic?
2. Do you know anyone who might be a shopaholic?
3. Do you agree that women and men suffer from the problem equally?
4. Do you agree that anxiety and low self-esteem cause compulsive buying? Why/not?
5. What solutions are there for people who are shopaholics? How can they be helped?

Pet Ownership Positively Affects Your Kids

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Animals play an important role in our lives. We value them as our companion and a part of our family, which can affect our lives. Is this companionship good and beneficial to our lives?

Let’s discover the positive effects of having a pet on a child’s development.

http://www.sheknows.com/pets-and-animals/articles/2212/kids-and-pets

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does having pets help a child’s development?
  2. Did you have pets as a young child? Whether yes or no, how do you think that affected you growing up?
  3. Do you believe that despite the fact that adopting a pet is a huge commitment, it outweighs all the challenges that come with taking care of a pet? Share your thoughts.
  4. Would you be comfortable having pets near infants and toddlers? Why or why not?