The fourth ‘Psychology Talks with Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan’ event, organized by Üsküdar University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Psychology Department, Psychology Club, and Positive Psychology Club, was held. In the event, which attracted intense interest from participants, Tarhan stated that healthy individuals cannot be raised when there is disintegration in society. Tarhan also noted that the cure for hopelessness is a holistic approach and that difficulties should be seen as an opportunity for development.
The event, held at Üsküdar University South Campus Fuat Sezgin Conference Hall, was attended by Üsküdar University Founding Rector Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Kaynak, faculty academics, and students.
“Social psychology is a field with a future”
Emphasizing that social psychology is an important field, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said; “Looking at the current global trends, psychology is one of the rising professions. Many questions come up like, ‘Will artificial intelligence replace it?’ There are indeed examples of therapy in the field of artificial intelligence. That is, people can go into AI and ask questions. If a person asks the right question, they can get the right answer. Let's not dismiss it by saying, ‘Artificial intelligence can't do that.’ For example, if you say, ‘I have depression,’ AI will write many things for you. Currently, there are many people working informally and harming people. That's why some come saying, ‘I went to therapy, but it didn't help.’ We look, and actually, the place they went was an informal one. It is presented under names like life coaching, mentoring. So, if there is a gap and that gap is not filled correctly and ethically, others come and fill it. That's why what's important in the profession is to build a foundation with a license and then specialize in the chosen field. Here, social psychology is a field with a future. If those interested in this field invest, it will not be in vain. Because there is still a big gap, and people are trying to fill this gap. Currently, positive psychology 2.0 has emerged. Here, the search for meaning comes to the forefront more. For those who are curious, this is also a field with a future. Both to benefit ourselves and to benefit others.”
“The placebo effect has a neurophysiological basis”
Referring to placebo and nocebo effects, Tarhan said; “In social psychology, social events are sinusoidal. They rise, evil increases, pessimism multiplies. Then solutions are produced, goodness begins to increase. Evil decreases and goodness rises. This cycle continues. Currently, pessimism prevails in Turkey as well. Yet, we have many positive values. An artificial pessimism has emerged due to the restriction of the environment of freedom. In fact, Turkey is not at a point that deserves to be pessimistic. However, people who suppress their emotions and cannot express themselves inevitably turn to pessimism. At this point, the concepts of placebo and nocebo come into play. With a placebo, if a person believes that the medication they take will help, that medication can have a healing effect of up to 40 percent. When a person says, ‘This medicine helped me,’ they truly feel its effect. For example, headaches pass in 20-30 out of 100 people. This was demonstrated by a study published in the 1980s. The belief ‘My headache will go away’ releases endorphins in the brain. The brain activates, cutting off the pain. When a drug that removes its effect is given, the pain starts again. The placebo effect has a neurophysiological basis. It causes chemical changes in the brain, activating endorphins. Currently, this mechanism can explain how pain is relieved with medication. There is also nocebo. If a person thinks, ‘I will get sick, I will feel dizzy,’ with nocebo, they actually start to feel dizzy. Even when there is nothing there. They start shaking their head, balance is disturbed. When the brain believes it will get sick, it takes a position according to this situation. The perception system activates, goes into defense, and starts producing the relevant chemicals. In other words, the person unknowingly invites that illness because the brain believes it.”
“Society is an ecosystem”
Stating that healthy individuals cannot be raised when there is disintegration in society, Tarhan said; “Society is an ecosystem. The smallest core of this ecosystem is the family. Just as in law, the central core is talked about, like the inner part of a wheel. If that center does not function properly, the wheel does not turn. Similarly, if the nuclear family does not function healthily in a society, that society cannot progress healthily. When the family disintegrates, no matter how rich society is or how expensive opportunities it has, the ecosystem does not function healthily. Because healthy individuals are not raised. The cost of this emerges in the long run. It appears as social problems 30 or 60 years later. At the center is the nuclear family consisting of mother, father, and children. In the second ring come close relatives. Then the social environment… Within this structure, there are stress factors affecting the individual. These stresses are life events and traumas that disrupt the ecosystem.”
“The main issue in psychology is how we perceive events”
Addressing the importance of emotional awareness, Tarhan said; “In the past, humans were considered only as biopsychosocial beings. In fact, humans are not just biological beings, but biological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual beings. When we think with this model, what makes a person sick is not actually the events experienced, but the position we take towards those events. For example, they say the wind flies a kite. No, the wind doesn't fly it. The position we take against the wind flies it. That's why the main issue in psychology is how we perceive events. If a person knows themselves, that is, if they have high emotional awareness, they will be less traumatized socially. Traumas experienced in relationships are also related to this.”
“Serotonin is produced in the brains of those who pursue meaning”
Speaking about two types of happiness, Tarhan said; “It is very important for humans to pursue meaning to survive. This is not actually something new; Aristotle also states this. He says there are two types of happiness: hedonic happiness and eudaimonic happiness. Hedonic happiness is pleasure happiness. Dopamine happiness. Someone pursuing dopamine... Humans want again and again when they desire. What the brain sustainably secretes is serotonin. Serotonin is produced in the brains of those who pursue meaning. Serotonin is slow and continuous. If one lives oriented towards this, happiness becomes more lasting. Being able to teach this in this way is important. For this reason, many concepts in psychology and psychiatry are currently changing. Computational artificial intelligence will also affect this field. Entering a calculable field does not make our job harder; it makes it easier. Because human psychology is a calculable field. A field where mathematical modeling can be done. Therefore, those interested in mathematical modeling will be the ones who will seize the future. Being able to extract the mathematical modeling of the work done here is important.”
“A person interested in positive psychology achieves authentic happiness”
Stating that authentic happiness must be achieved, Tarhan said; “When a person encounters an event, there are events they can control and events they cannot control. Accordingly, a decision is made in the frontal lobe of the brain. There is a jury in the frontal lobe. This jury makes a valid decision for everyone. A judge presides over the jury, and there are four different members. The first member is the scientist. They decide whether the event is real or not. The second member is the moralist or theologian. They evaluate the concepts of right and wrong. The third member is the aesthetician; they make an assessment between beautiful and ugly. The fourth member is the business manager, and they perform a profit-loss analysis. After all these analyses are done, the frontal lobe makes a decision such as do-don't do, appropriate-not appropriate, valid-not valid. When we encounter an event, our brain makes this kind of decision. Life is a choice. Everything we do is a choice, and we progress in line with these choices. A person interested in positive psychology achieves authentic happiness. A person who achieves authentic happiness can be happy even if they are in prison. They achieve the same happiness even if they are in a palace.”
“The cure for hopelessness is a holistic approach”
Stating that one will not fall into hopelessness if societal values are upheld, Tarhan said; “Democratic systems are systems that require patience and time. It is also in our university's motto: criticism, accountability. We say that if criticism is correct, we should benefit from it. A person who is open to criticism and can be criticized is a person with high self-confidence. People who are closed to criticism avoid it because they feel weak and bad. Narcissistic individuals are the greatest example of this. One of the most prominent characteristics of narcissists is their fear of being ordinary. They always have to be successful. Therefore, when criticized, their self-confidence drops, and they lose themselves. There are some people who whistle in a graveyard, and you say, ‘What a brave man.’ Actually, they do it because they are fighting their fear. In reality, that person is a coward. Because they develop a pathological defense mechanism since they cannot overcome their fear by whistling. The second important thing is libertarianism. Opposite positivism is despotism. Despotism is forcibly imposing one's own opinion. Thirdly, pluralism. Giving opportunity to different ideas. If you want everyone to think like you, this is a totalitarian approach. Fourthly, participation. If a person acts by taking opinions and consulting when traveling or doing something, they produce solutions together when there is a problem. Humanity realized the value of these values after World War II. We must also incorporate these values into our lives. If we keep values alive in society, we will not fall into hopelessness. The cure for hopelessness is a holistic approach. In this way, it becomes easier to struggle with difficulties, and falling into hopelessness becomes less common.”
“If you emerge stronger from a crisis, your psychological defense system will strengthen”
Stating that difficulties should be seen as an opportunity for development, Tarhan said; “When our physical integrity is threatened, our muscles tense, our nerve endings give pain, and we feel agony. When our psychological integrity is disturbed, we feel anxiety. Anxiety is fundamentally fear. We feel anxiety when psychological integrity is about to disintegrate. Just as we take painkillers for pain, here we use a painkiller that relieves anxiety. We must find whatever threatens psychological integrity and emerge stronger from it. If you emerge stronger from a crisis, your psychological defense system strengthens, and your ego strength increases. Instead of fighting an event, we need to learn something from that event and emerge stronger. Humans have the capacity to find a way out of every difficulty. All these events exist to develop us.”
“Human psychology is also like a sea”
Advising students, Tarhan said; “Newton has a saying, ‘I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.’ A person who made a revolution says that what he found in the face of truths is actually a very small piece. There is a vast ocean, and we are like children playing on its shore. When we think this way, human psychology is also like a sea. We will embark on a journey of discovery in this sea. Divers make the best discoveries in the sea. Divers have special equipment. They are equipped with oxygen tanks and other gear to go underground. The more advanced the divers, the deeper they can go and extract pearls and treasures. They receive training for this. You too should learn how to dive into the depths to be able to delve into the depths of human psychology. Because it is not possible to reach the truth all at once.”