'Resilience' By Susan Scutti: Article Analysis

In part due to global warming, there have been many recent instances of natural disasters. These natural disasters do not only take a toll on the environment, but as well as the people who live in those areas. Many victims of natural disasters are often left with nothing, which can have negative effects on one's mental state. The article “Resilience, suffering and silver linings after a natural disaster” by Susan Scutti, goes into further detail of these negative effects. One can also see how these effects are related to cognitive psychology. We can see how certain terms of cognitive psychology could be applied to both the victims, especially those with PTSD, and the recovering process, and as well as those who were not directly affected by …show more content…
The author discusses PTSD, which is when someone begins to feel a sense negative emotions (i.e. anxiety, fear, etc.) after having experienced a traumatic event. For those who suffer from PTSD, the event is stored into one's long term memory, however it is also related to short term memory loss. This is partly due to the fact that those with PTSD often continue to relive the traumatic event long after it occurred. They may also be affected by state-dependant memory, since feeling the sense of stress, etc. could bring them back to the memory of the event. Many of those with PTSD can also remember specific details of the event, such as what they may have been wearing, what they saw or heard, and so forth. This can be due to them storing these memories to their echoic and iconic memory. Therefore, anything that may sound or look similar to what they saw/heard during the experience could trigger the memory. In addition, they may also experience the effects of priming, which is the process that is done unconsciously when someone is exposed to a stimulus, which then activates an association with another stimulus. For example, someone with PTSD may see water, which could make them think of the traumatic …show more content…
Flashbulb memory is after a significant event has a occurred in one's life, one may remember what they were doing during the time of the event. For example, those who were not directly affected, but were near the area when Hurricanes hit would probably be able to recollect the memory of what they were doing at the time (i.e. watching the news). Also, those who may not have directly experienced the storm could sympathize with the victims due to mirror neurons. Mirror neurons help one copy what another is doing when they visually see the action. Therefore, if someone is watching a news report that is covering the Hurricane and sees a victim on the screen crying, this may lead to the viewer to begin to cry as