Psychology Intro | Psycholinguistics | Have No Fear | I Witness | Arachnophobia

Have No Fear - Science is Here!
By Shaon Ganguly

___On the 15th April, I met Dr Jaquelyn Cranney, a charming and enthusiatic senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Dr Cranney showed me around a laboratory where third-year university students were conducting psychological experiments. One such experiment was testing the mapping ability of rats at different ages. Groups of rats aged 18 days and 25 days were compared. The rats were made to swim inside a circular tub of water containing a submerged platform. The time taken to find the platform indicates the mapping ability of the rat.

___Exiting the lab, Dr Cranney discussed her current research project on fear reduction. Her personal and collaborative research involves DCS, a drug that acts as a catalyst for fear reduction. It has been found that injecting DCS into the brains of subjects helps to reduce fear faster than Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) alone. DCS may potentially provide beneficial relief for many sufferers of phobias and anxiety disorders.

___Psychology is a vast field, and Dr Cranney’s duties extend beyond DCS research. As a senior lecturer, Dr Jacquelyn Cranney organises tutorials, allocates tutors, and serves on Ethics and Occupational Health and Safety committees. She is responsible for training lecturers and tutors, and she conducts her own lectures. For Dr Cranney, spare time is hard to come by. She spends her days off with her children, going to the movies, visiting friends, and when time permits, exercising.

___During the course of my interview with Dr Cranney, I learnt some cool terminology, such as "habituation" and "sensitization". Dr Cranney explained: “In some situations, the response level will go down. This is habituation. In other situations, the response level will increase. This is sensitisation.” Dr Cranney gave me a fascinating insight into the demanding but fulfilling life of a senior lecturer in Psychology. It seems to me that the stereotypical image of scientists is wrong. The one quality all scientists share is curiosity.

Psychology Intro | Psycholinguistics | Have No Fear | I Witness | Arachnophobia