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IQ TESTING
IQ testing has long been a controversial way of measuring intelligence, but now there are claims that there's another, more accurate method of predicting academic success: working memory, or the capacity we have to learn. Dr Tracy Alloway, whose recent experiments showed that testing working memory predicted children's grades more accurately than traditional IQ, speaks up for working memory, while Professor Robert Logie from the University of Edinburgh expresses his concern that relying on any one single measure or score misses the diversity and alterations through time of mental ability.
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
It's still the case that every week in England and Wales two women are murdered by their partner or ex-partner. And across the UK each year three million women experience violence. This means that a far higher number than that are living with the legacy of that violence and one consequence is mental illness. Meanwhile we know that people who already have a mental health problem are more likely to be the target of violence.
'All In The Mind' spoke to Kim about her experiences at the hand of her partner. In her case the violence got much worse once she was pregnant.
Kim finally did leave the abusive relationship and received help and a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder. There's been surprisingly little research on the links between domestic violence and mental health problems, but Dr Louise Howard who's a Reader in Women's Mental Health at The Institute of Psychiatry has just published new research in this field. -
SCHIZOPHRENIA
Last week's programme discussed whether schizophrenia needs a new name – either to destigmatise the condition or to provide a more scientifically accurate description. We hear from the 'All in The Mind' listeners.
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HYPOCHONDRIA
There is no doubt that Glen Gould was a brilliant pianist, but he was also famous for his unusual habits. As well as humming while he played, he performed sitting just 14 inches off the floor, wearing an overcoat and fingerless gloves and hat and scarf – even in summer. He was terrified of getting ill, even going so far as to have his entire body fitted with a plaster cast. He had hypochondria and every time he went to doctors he listed his symptoms in some detail.
A new book on the lives of hypochondriacs reveals that he is not the only famous person to have been obsessed with illness. There was Marcel Proust writing in his cork-lined room, Charles Darwin and his freezing cold water treatments and the artist, Andy Warhol who was convinced he would die from AIDS. Brian Dillon, the author of 'Tormented Hope: Nine Hypochondriac Lives', told 'All In The Mind' what these people's stories can tell us about the nature of hypochondria.
Broadcasts
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BBC Radio 4Tue 8 Dec 2009 21:00 BBC Radio 4
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BBC Radio 4Wed 9 Dec 2009 16:30 BBC Radio 4
Free downloads
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All in the Mind
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