THE BENEFITS OF BLOWING YOUR TOP

By: Benedict Carey, July 5, 2010

Published: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/health/06mind.html?pagewanted=all

Level of difficulty *

BEFORE YOU READ

1.       How often do you tend to lose your temper?

2.       How do you feel afterwards?

3.       What reaction do you get when you lose your temper?

4.       Read the title of text. What do you think blowing your top means?

5.       How can blowing your top be a good thing? Is the writer being serious or not?

NOW WATCH THE VIDEO

Ask a UT Psychologist (Suppressing Emotions and Aggression) -- Art Markman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk2T-gNr3c0

QUESTIONS

1.       Which of the statements below best summarizes the first paragraph?

*Both president Obama and businessmen are good at keeping their tempers.

* Both President Obama and businessmen should keep their tempers.

*Those working on oil rigs are too good at keeping their tempers.

*Keeping your temper is a very good thing.

*Always maintaining your cool isn’t such a good thing

          2. What is the potential downside of suppressed emotions? Use your own words.

          3. In the phrase “lose it”, what does “it” refer to?

          4. Read the quote by James J. Gross. What phenomenon are his words an explanation of?

          5. Why have untamed passions been mostly studied thus far?

          6. Which of the statements below best expresses the conclusion we can draw from p.4?

               * People exert too much self control which makes emotionally charged situations go wrong

               * The subconscious techniques people use in emotionally charged situations make things

                  go wrong.

               *People need to become better aware of the techniques they use in emotionally charged

                 situations to prevent problems.

           7   It is stated in the text that both……………………… and …………………………… help us to manage

                our temperament.

          8.   Read the Stanford University Study carefully. Were the people involved in the study adults

                or not? How do you know?  What seems to be the disadvantage of too much suppression?

          9.   Why exactly does too much suppression seem to make forming new friendships hard?

       

 10. Read the study conducted by Derek Isaacowitz carefully. Which sentence in this section best

    expresses the conclusion we can draw?

11.  Read the experiment about the video game. Why exactly did the subjects act the way they did?

12. Doctor Gross says expressing the real thing at the right time and at the right intensity is a

      a tough job. State two reasons why this is so.

13. What kind of people get into trouble socially? Be very specific.

WRITING TASK

After discussing the views expressed in the text, write an essay or paragraph explaining to what extent you agree with the writer

THE BENEFITS OF BLOWING YOUR TOP

Benedict Carey; July 5, 2010

The text is a refreshing analysis of the benefits to all concerned of expressing you feelings – including anger and displeasure – openly. It also reiterates that such an attitude leads to more and better friendships and improved social relations. It is a little gem. My thanks go to Hamide Koz who sent me the text. For those of you who know the book, it is sort of beginning College reading 2 level- say after the first two chapters.

KEY

1. The last one; if they have any sense they will see it clearly stated at the beginning of paragraph two; a logical place to look.
2. People could take it out on loved ones.
3. Your temper. Students need to use their own words.
4. Emotion regulation.
5. They define mental disorders.
6. The last one.
7. Growing up and the development of the prefrontal cortex
8. Adults; they were adept at masking horror. Stress.
9. Such people miss opportunities for friendship.
10. Older people tend to regulate their emotions faster and are not as motivated to explore negative information, to engage in negative images as younger people.
11. They were priming themselves to feel emotions they believed would be most useful to them.
12. It means throwing the switch on two psychological systems at once. If that process interrupts expression even a little, people notice.
13. The ones who are inflexible and stick to one of the three strategies: concealing, adjusting, tolerating