Psychology

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
(1849 -1936)

While you are experimenting, do not remain content with the surface of things
-Ivan Pavlov

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Psychiology or Medicine in 1904 for his scientific achievements on Conditioned Reflexes. One of the clinical application of his study is through systematic desensitization, which is widely used as a  treatment for patients with phobias. In systematic desensitization, the patients are taught techniques on relaxation, then are encourage to  imagine their phobias while trying to suppress the fear through relaxation. (Fredholm  2001)

Parentage, Childhood, and Education
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, born in September 26, 1849 was the eldest among the 11 offspring of Petr Dmitrievich Pavlov and Varvara Ivanovna Pavlova. Petr Dmitrievich was a clergyman in the Nikolo-Vysokovskaia church in Ryazan, Russia, being a priest of the Eastern Orthodox Church who gets no salary, Petr Dmitrievich earns a living from his fruit and berry garden and by renting a part of their home to students of the local seminary. While Varvara Ivanovna Pavlova, was a daughter of a priest and suffered from physical disability which was accounted for her continuous child bearing. There were documented records saying that Varvara suffered from psychological problems after losing six of her children because of infectious diseases.
 
As a child Ivan Pavlov was described as  small, frail, sickly, and scrawny, with an exceptional memory and an explosive temper.  He spend most his childhood outdoors and by helping his father on his gardening and collecting berries. He never shown any interest in reading books and education on his early years, but when he was 8 years old Ivan Pavlov hurt himself badly when he fell from a high fence onto a brick floor. He was unable to recover even after months have passed since his accident. His godfather a Father Superior from a monastery took custody of him in hopes to cure him. In the monastery, Ivan Pavlov spend his days playing and helping the monks on their gardening and during the nights the Father Superior locked him in a room with books, this started his interest in reading books and education. When he was well enough to go home to his family, his interest in reading was supplemented by the teachings of his two uncles (both named Ivan) who also served as priest like his father but were removed from the clergy because of alcholism. (Todez 2000)
 
When he was 11 years old he was enrolled in the Ryazan Theological School where he was praised as among the best in that school, he graduated when he was 15, and was accepted in the Ryazan Theological Seminary were he also shown great potential. His father had high hopes that Ivan Pavlov would continue the legacy of his fore fathers in serving the church.
 
In 1870, before his completion of his seminary course Pavlov had enrolled in the Faculty of Natural Science in the University of St. Petersburg. Here he meet Ilya Cycon a professor of physiology who had greatly influence Pavlov to pursue a career as a physiologist. Pavlov graduated in 1875 and decided to pursue a degree in medicine in the Military-Medical Academy. To support his studies, he worked as an assistant in the Physiological Laboratory in the Veterinary Institute. Here Pavlov conducted several studies on the physiology of blood circulation and digestion. He graduated from the university with honors on December 19, 1879. (Babkin  2007)
   
Ivan Pavlov was married to Seraphima Vasilevna Karchevskaya, a teacher, on May 1, 1881. They had four children, with three sons, Vladimir, Victor and Vsevolod and one daughter, Vera.
(The Nobel Foundation 1904)

Works and Contributions
In April 24, 1890 Pavlov was appointed as the head of pharmacology in the Military-Medical Academy. A year later he was appointed as the director of the Physiological Department of the Institute of Experimental Medicine, here Pavlov had made advancement on his studies on the digestive glands and on conditioned reflexes.
     
Pavlov had used aseptic surgical methods on his studies on the physiological and digestive tracts functions of animals. In aseptic operations the test subject is allowed to survive the experiment and is given utmost care to recover to be used on other experiments, compared to the conventional method of acute experiment where the test subject is destroyed after the experiment. With his used of aseptic methods on his research he was able to prove that the nervous system directly influence the digestive process of animals, this discovery had led him on the creation of conditioned reflexes science.

Conditioned Reflexes
Ivan Pavlov devoted thirty four years of his life on the study of the conditioned reflexes, his studies were focused on the influence of the nervous system on the reflex actions of animals with intellectual capacities. Pavlov categorized reflexes as unconditioned and conditioned. Unconditioned reflexes are genetically hereditary traits passed on animals, these are inborn reflex reactions of animals. Conditioned reflexes, are reactions based on the experiences acquired by the animal on the course of its life.
 
According to Pavlov, the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain which is believe to control the psychic abilities of animals, is also responsible for its reflex reactions. Thus his studies on the central nervous system were refined to the psychological methods of conditioned reflexes by influencing the functions of the cerebral cortex. This theory became Pavlovs greatest scientific achievement which earn him the Nobel Prize in 1904.
   
Ivan Pavlov became interested in the psychical stimulation of the salivary glands, on the book Twenty Years of Objective Study of the Higher Nervous Activity (Behavior) of Animals, Pavlov related the basis of his theories
   
More that twenty years ago I independently began these experiments, passing to them my former physiological work. I entered this field under influence of a powerful laboratory impression. For many years previous, I had been working on the digestive gland. I had studied carefully and in details all the conditions of their activity. Naturally I could not leave then without considering the so-called psychical stimulation of the salivary glands, i.e. the flow of saliva in the hungry animal or person at the sight of food or during talk about it or even at the thought of it. Furthermore, I had demonstrated myself a psychical excitation of the gastric glands 
   
These theories were used on his experiments on conditioned reflexes of dogs. The subjects were exposed with different subjective stimulation during their feeding. On one of his experiment, he used  a bell during the animals are fed until the animals started to associate the sound of the bell with food. On the progress of the experiment, the sound of the bell was enough to stimulate the salivary glands of the animals to produce a flow of saliva even without the presence of food. (Babkin  2007)

Stress is subject matter that has been affecting a lot of people in the world over the years. Its effects have been more negative than they have been positive, and its versatility has prompted a lot of research with the aim of unlocking the mystery behind the condition. Physiologicalpsychological approaches to stress show that it is closely linked to changes in the nervous system when a certain stimulus is registered by the brain. This paper explores the psychological as well as physiological effects that stress has on the brain of the human being. It specifically discusses issues like the functioning of the hormones secreted in times of stress like cortisol and adrenaline, and how they affect different areas of the brain and so bringing about different effects. Finally, it considers the psycho-theologicalBiblical perspectives of stress.

The life of the human being is never always what one would want owing to the challenges and events of life which are faced on a daily basis. There is no way a human being will get all one wants and at the time when one wants it. Similarly, life will never be what one wants it to be. Instead, and this is where the real issue lies, life presents to the human being what has been preplanned by fate or by nature, and mankind has no say or choice but to go through the life as it is and in the form presented. This has been the cause of varying physiological, psychological, and physical states of the human being as one goes through the different aspects of life (Forbes et al., 20006). One day one is presented with good things which one likes and the physical and mental health of the one is at its best. On yet another day one is faced with disappointments and the body state of health is unbearable. These variations in life events, known as stressors, make the body to react differently with the aim of bringing about a state of being that is best suited to keep the person out of danger. Naturally, the body will react to stressors in such a way that the affected person is prepared for emergencies. This is done by the secretion of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol which prepare the body for any eventuality.

Safety First the only Language the Body Understands
Although there are two different types of stressors to the body  eustressors (positive stress) and distressors (negative stress), the body responds in the same way to both. Therefore, in the event of any form of stress, positive or negative, the body will secrete the hormones norepinephrine or adrenaline and cortisol which will work jointly to cause a number of effects on the body, all with the aim of getting the person into a state of emergency or preparedness because the body interprets stress in only one way  possible danger. Once the stressor is detected or sensed by the body and registered by the brain, the two hormones are secreted (Patrick  Verona, 2007).

The resultant symptoms include a rapid rise in the blood pressure, a faster pounding of the heart, tighter muscles, an enhanced and more acute sensory power, and a faster rate of breathing. These changes in the body system are aimed at increasing the stamina and strength of the individual, enhancing ones focus and reducing the reaction time the overall effect being that the person is made ready to fight or flee from the stressor which, as mentioned before, the body always registers as a potential danger (Patrick  Verona, 2007). All these symptoms result from a series of chemical or physiological processes that basically take place in the central nervous system which is composed mainly of the brain and the nervous system.

The Physiological Processes Involved
The hormones secreted by the body in the event of stress  adrenaline or norepinephrine and cortisol work to increase the rates of respiration and beating of the heart, processes which result in more blood being send to the skeletal muscles. The result is to make any pain less severe, make the immune system more active, and ensure that body sugars and fats are turned into energy needed to flee from the perceived danger. Now, while acute stress, the stress that lasts for a short while, might be beneficial - causing someone to get away from danger or to act fast enough to avoid a dangerous encounter - prolonged or chronic stress can prove very harmful to the body and the brain, including shrinking of parts of the brain like the hippocampus. This prolonged stress usually results from internal as well as external issues of life like anxiety,  changes in lifestyles, work, the need for perfectionism, unrealistic expectations, negative self image, strained relationships, pessimism, lack of assertiveness, failure to accept certain life events like death of loved ones, financial woes, among others. The series of events have different effects on the brain (Pizzagalli et al., 2005).

Stress and Memory
The secretion of cortisol in stressful conditions causes the loss of memory because neurotransmitters responsible for transmission of neurons are dulled. This is because the cortisol diverts all the glucose in the blood to the muscles, depriving other body parts like the brain of energy (Forbes et al., 20006). Because of the shortage of energy, the brains hippocampus is diminished so much so that it cannot create any new memory.

Noise Stress and the Functioning of the Brain
It has been found that stress that is directly caused by the bodys response to annoying noise can have very harmful effects on the brain. Specifically, noise stress can increase psychiatric disorders. Many of these disorders are closely associated with the areas of the brain that is only unique to people known as the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Noise stress is capable of causing a malfunctioning of the prefrontal cortex specifically by the effect it has on the dopamine. The dopamine is a very important transmitter of neurons that has been identified as being present in many brain disorders such as Parkinsons disease and ADHD.  The brain has been known to be very sensitive to noise and to other sounds. When the noise is loud enough to cause stress on the brain, the effect is that the person concerned can get oneself in danger for failure to recognize the danger fast enough. What happens is that owing to the fast nature of noise stressors and the immediate need there is to respond to such threatening noise, the mind that is usually conscious does not get the chance to register and review the issue at hand (Forbes et al., 20006).

This effect can be very risky because unless the brain consciously registers a certain event or occurrence, it cannot provide the necessary response needed to get one out of the situation as soon as possible. For instance, it is very easy for drivers to cause accidents in areas which are noisy than in silent areas because the stressing noise is given a lot of response by the brain, leaving the conscious mind with no chance to deal with a possible accident (Forbes et al., 20006). The result is to go right ahead and get involved in the accident even if the accident would have been prevented had the noises been absent. What happens is that even though a threatening stimulus can be present to a level that is only unconscious to the brain, the signal that registers and delivers the threat is only able to trigger a response in the attention center found in the cortex from where it can then be send or transmitted to other parts of the brain so that the required type of response can be carried out by the body systems or organs necessary (Forbes et al., 20006).

Stress sand the Blood Brain Barrier
The human brain is permeated by no less than 400 miles of blood vessels that are responsible for the transportation of various substances to and away from the brain. They bring to the brain fuel, oxygen, and nutrients and take away from it excess heat and all forms of waste materials. In this intricate network of blood vessels are capillaries which form the blood brain barrier (BBB). This is essentially a network of protective material essential and unique to the central nervous system. This BBB is present in all vertebrates and forms in the first three terms of the life of a fetus (Engels, et al. 2007). It works to protect the neurons from viruses, poisonous matter, and toxins of all nature that are found in the bloodstream. It also shields the neurons from sudden, unpredictable changes in the chemistry of the blood that are occasioned by variations in the chemical intakes into the body.

When one is stressed, however, that person has a greatly reduced ability to control the movement of these chemicals, pathogens, viruses, and other poisonous matter through the blood brain barrier (Coan, Allen  McKnight, 2006). When stressed, therefore, there is likelihood that people will have dangerous chemicals passing across this barrier and into the brain where they can cause possible damage to the brain depending on their nature. For instance, many nations have been known to give their soldiers certain drugs to protect them from effects of biological and chemical weapons. Under normal circumstances, these chemicals are not expected to cross the blood brain barrier. However, when stressed because of the war going on, such soldiers have been reported to experience symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and nausea, all which suggested that the drugs taken had managed to get into their brains (Patrick  Verona, 2007). In essence, stress increases the permeability of the blood brain barrier.

Stress and the Immune System
As earlier pointed out, not all stress is harmful but some of it can be very helpful. Apart from the fact that being stressed increases the nervous systems efficiency and rate of working which serves to get a person out of potential danger, say to move out of a bad relationship or noisy area which can cause damage to the ear drum, stress can also enhance or weaken the immune system depending on the exact nature of the stressing agent (Coan, Allen  McKnight, 2006). By using the concentration of SIgA in the saliva, it has been established scientifically that stress from acts like watching action packed movies can actually lower the body defense mechanisms against diseases as opposed to stress caused by work or by being assigned tasks which need to be completed within a very limited period of time. According to the findings, these close deadlines and other targets might be stressful at the start but work in the long run to help increase the bodys natural defenses against diseases (Coan, Allen  McKnight, 2006).
The reason is that if the stress is positive, a positive response is likely to result from the brain. Among the events that take place in such a case is the release of norepinephrine that is critical in the creation of new memories. Therefore, it is in the time when one is stressed mildly that one can find oneself able to remember issues which has otherwise been forgotten for a long time. With this positive stress, for instance that occasioned by strict deadlines, the brain is able to be encouraged to think in amore creative manner which in turn stimulates itself to develop newer connections within itself (Forbes et al., 20006).

Noise Stressors and LQTS
There is a disorder of the heart called Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) which is directly linked to acoustic stress - one resulting from noise or other startling sounds like sirens and alarms. This disorder is characterized by a delayed or prolonged recovery of the electrical system of the heart such that the length of time taken between successive heartbeats is abnormally long (Coan, Allen  McKnight, 2006). The result is usually that the brain gets starved of oxygen due to the delayed blood delivery there and the person can easily collapse and drop dead in an instant. This is preceded by an abnormally fast and strained heart rhythm (Coan, Allen  McKnight, 2006). 

Stress and Depression
It has been established that stressful conditions in ones childhood can have a big role in determining the way one leads life in adulthood. As earlier noted, stress that is only acute or short-lived is more likely to be beneficial. However, chronic or prolonged stress is almost always associated with negative outcomes. Children who are exposed to stressors early in life stand a high chance of being depressed later in life (Hofmann et al., 2005). This is because stress has the effect of causing the nerve cells of the brain to significantly shrink such that they get to disconnect as one grows. Once the nerve cells of the brain disconnect, the person has higher chances of getting depressed. What is thought to happen is a significant change in the way the synapses at the hippocampus spine are made to develop, a large number of them getting lost in the process. This causes the hippocampus to fail to function properly. Therefore, it is always a good thing to ensure that young children are as free from stressors as possible as this will help in the normal development of the brain nerve cells (Harmon-Jones et al., 2006).

A similar case has been reported which points out that the more one is abused in ones childhood the more the chances that that person will be depressed in life. This is believed to be because stress early in life seems to alter the genetic makeup of people to be more prone to stress. This is unlike the one who is lovingly cared for and who is more or less parented in the best way possible who will develop a genetic system that makes one less susceptible to stressors in life. What usually happens is that when the body secrets a lot of cortisol into the blood stream because of the stress of a person, the brain cells usually get to be exposed to the stressors for a very long time (Patrick  Verona, 2007). Only a brain with resistors can help lower the level of anxiety brought about by these stressors and so shield the brain cells. Therefore, there are brains with resistors and brains without resistors, which means that the one is safe from the harmful effects of cortisol while the other is in danger of getting damaged because of the increased level of cortisol. The difference is usually genetic  the parents of the offspring  as well as the nature of the care that one received while young. Therefore, good care will enhance the ability of a child to resist harmful effects to the brain (Hofmann et al., 2005).

Conclusion The Psycho-TheologicalBiblical Perspective
The Bible views stress as a condition which is brought about largely by factors that are to be found in the persons way of thinking. Thought patterns are said to be responsible for the level of stress that person will get and if one can focus on positive and not negative thoughts then all will be well. For instance, there is an exhortation to people not to be anxious about anything but with everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving people ought to make their requests known to God. In reward, God will keep their minds in perfect peace (Philippians 46-7).

The Bible also cites worry as a great cause of stress which ought to be done away with. In essence, there is a pointer that worry does not bring anything helpful to anyone but only adds more trouble (International Bible Society Staff, 2008). There is a call on believers not to worry for anything like food to eat, clothing, or shelter because if at all God gives food to birds and clothes the plants of the forest which are of very little value to Him compared to human beings, then he will surely give a lot more to people. Worrying will not add any cubit to ones life (Matthew 626-34). The Psychologist, therefore, ought to be focusing a lot more on the state of mind of the client when seeking to address problems to do with stress (International Bible Society Staff, 2008). The Biblical perspective points out that stress affects the brain so much and that the effects can be alleviated by changing the way one thinks and views life issues. It emphasizes the need to be positive in life.

This study will explore the association between perceived stress level and illness among Psychology students of the University of Bedfordshire. Employing a descriptive, cross-sectional design, the study will address the following specific objectives 1. describe student profile by year level, gender, and residential arrangement 2. determine perceived level of stress 3. compare perceived level of stress across the demographic variables 4. find out illness among selected students 5. ascertain demographic differences in illness and 6. relate perceived level of stress and illness. Only those enrolled during the term will be chosen as respondents using a stratified random sampling procedure. Data gathering will employ anonymous, self-administered questionnaires pertaining to demographic information, perceived level of stress, and illness. Three hypotheses will be formulated and tested using t-test for Independent Means, ANOVA, and Chi-Square Test for Association at 5 level of significance. 

Introduction and Theoretical Framework
The saying Health is wealth is not an understatement. It cannot be denied that health definitely is one facet of life that needs to be protected at all costs as fundamental human performance would be compromised. Because of the development of world economies brought about by rapid globalisation and industrialisation coupled with the improvement and changes in lifestyle, more and more illness emerge and vary. It is for this reason that health organisations have heightened their focus on chronic illness owing to the fact that its incidence and prevalence has shown marked increases.

In the name of globalisation and industrialisation, urbanisation has continued to paint the human landscape. Urbanisation has brought people from different walks of life to main centres of activity congesting traffic causing vehicular and noise pollution. Expensive costs of living have always been associated with urbanisation resulting in double-earning households which sometimes cause a strain in the equity of power relations in the family. From a public health standpoint, urban areas present favourable opportunities for the spread of disease contagions owing to high population density.

Industrial zones are usually concentrated in the urbanised areas whose irresponsible operational practices compromise the environment causing water and air pollution. These environmental hazards would make urban centres natural breeding grounds of disease vectors carrying malaria, haemorrhagic dengue fever, and yellow fever. Aside from the above, urbanisation could lead to alienation, insecurity, instability, and most of all, stress which in turn become the source of much bigger problems like alcoholism, depression, and substance abuse (WHO Commission on Health and Environment, 1992).

Before presenting the theoretical framework of this study, it is essential to delineate the term stress.  Lazarus (1999) as cited in Austin (2004) mentioned that the term has become a buzzword in several areas of research reflecting day-to-day struggles including anxiety, depression, emotional distress and the like. Since the time Selye coined the term, its definition has become the centre of debate (Le Fevre, et al. 2003 as cited in Austin, 2004).

Numerous definitions were presented focusing on stressor, response, and mental and physical reactions triggered by the stressor (Lazarus, 1999 Selye, 1993 Le Fevre, et al. 2003 as cited in Austin, 2004). Butler (1993) vividly presented these three definitions. In the first, stress is a result of overwhelming pressure.  When the amount of pressure progressively becomes great, there is no doubt that the recipient will inevitably yield and collapse. For the second definition, stress is due to exposure to aversive stimuli which served as the main idea of Selye whose measurement of stress is based on nervous system activity either on the sympathetic adrenal-medullary or pituitary-adrenal-cortical regions. Also in his stress framework is the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) composed of three stages- alarm reaction, stage of resistance, and stage of exhaustion.  The third definition of stress lends a dynamic nature to stress which reflects the interplay of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. It was likewise maintained that cognitive factors play a significant role in stress. In other words, an individuals assessment of stress depends on his or her perceptions of demands and resources.  If a person views his or her demands to be high and his or her resources are low, then it is very probable that the individual will confront stress. In connection to this, another supporting theory is by French et al. (1974) as cited in Edwards, Caplan, and Harrison (1998) which is the person-environment fit theory. It states that stress will be encountered if there is a mismatch between demands of the environment and personal attributes. If a person perceives that the task ahead is manageable, that he or she is able to accomplish the task, and is motivated towards its completion, then the person will not experience significant amounts of stress.

The topic of stress is very well-studied and research on this regard has helped advance medicine, sociology, management and psychology (Cummings  Cooper, 1998 as cited in Austin, 2004). In each of these disciplines, stress theories and research methodologies vary significantly sometimes leading to confusion (Le Fevre, Matheny  Kolt, 2003 as cited in Austin, 2004). A key to understanding stress research in all these disciplines is the recipients perception while experiencing stress (Goldberger  Breznitz, 1993 as cited in Austin, 2004).

Among students, the person-environment fit is particularly evident. University students vary from their non-university peers in their experiences, hassles, and concerns (Hirsch  Ellis, 1996 as cited in Ross, Niebling  Heckert, 1999). In UK, sources of stress in higher education were broadly categorised into student-related factors, institutional factors, and government policies aside from already established sources of stress which academic pressures, time management, financial constraints, social relationships, loneliness, and home sickness (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2006).

In light of the current economic recession, financial standing continues to be a perennial concern plaguing university students. The 2010 Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey highlighted that half of UKs undergraduates are more than 15,000 in debt before they graduate. Furthermore data from the research by Scott (2004) of the University of Bath emphasised that students were greatly concerned about their short-term lack of cash to cover day-to-day expenditures.

In most cases, some balance their dual roles as students and employees to make ends meet. The mean student earning was 1,105 ranging from 746 among those residing in the university to 1,755 for 21 years old and above at the start of the term (Callender  Wilkinson, 2003). As expected the percentage of working students in UK facing difficulty performing their social, academic, and work roles increased from 41 in 2004 to 67 in 2010 based on the Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists (2006) wrote that stress in higher education is not in itself pathological but stressors can potentially contribute to emotional symptoms in students. Adalfa et al. (2001) as cited in the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2006) observed that majority of first-year university students experienced higher stress levels due to homesickness. They added that it is during this year where students become most affected by developing mental health problems and more predisposed to employ maladaptive coping styles and suicidal ideation (Curtona, 1982 Perlman  Peplau, 1984 as cited in Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2006). Mandy, Tucker, and Tinly (2006) demonstrated that academic stress was highest among first year podiatry students in UK citing amount of learning, time constraints, and intellectual demands as their reasons. On the contrary, the one-way ANOVA of year level versus stress among American students by Hudson and ORegan (2006) yielded no significant differences.

Females exhibited a higher likelihood of presenting emotional problems during the course of study (Fisher  Hood, 1988 Surtees  Miller, 1990 as cited in Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2006). Non-UK studies by Brougham et al. (2009) and Matud (2004) also supported gender differences on the perceived level of stress. Lawrence, Ashford, and Dent (2006) revealed that coping with stress differed pronouncedly between males and females from Brunel University. Males were more inclined to emotionally detach themselves from stressful situations and bottle up emotions.

With respect to residential arrangement, mental health status in UK students did not differ significantly. Homesickness was less likely reported among students who previously experienced being away from parents or home (Fisher  Hood, 1988 as cited in Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2006). The 2006 NatWest Student Money Matters survey by Gwenda Thomas showed 20 live in their homes while studying which offers a variety of advantages- financial, convenience, and emotional benefits thus, believed to be less stressful than living in halls of residence. In American studies, in-campus residence poses substantial pressure on students because of conflicts from untidiness, noise, drinking habits, expenses, and maintaining a civil environment with a roommate or roommates (Landow 2006). 

The proposed study will determine the association between perceived level of stress and illness among Psychology students in the University of Bedfordshire. As cited in Roy (2003), Bartlett (1998) pointed out numerous empirical studies supporting the claim that stress has a detrimental effect on physical and mental health such as development of ulcers, increased corticosteriod and catecholamine production, and depressed DNA repair and protection against carcinogenic materials (Kiecolt-Glaser  Glaser, 1986 as cited in Roy, 2003). Also American studies by Rawson, Bloomer, and Kendall (1994) and Winkelman (1994) as cited in Misra and Castillo (2004) supported a significant stress-illness correlation among students.

Conducting this study is of utmost importance. In itself, stress should be given attention because a university life is a taxing period in an individuals life as he or she adjusts to the new educational system which is entirely different from secondary school. Though stress is not at all detrimental in moderate amounts, it could affect an individuals health and compromise his or her ability to perform well in class by incurring unnecessary absences, obtaining low marks, and many others. Because of this, it is imperative that student perceived level stress be identified and effectively dealt with. Theoretically, it will increase awareness regarding the relationship between stress and illness among students and add to the body of literature which would either be in agreement or conflict with existing works. The results could aid in designing or re-designing stress reduction interventions and programmes by the university so that students might effectively and actively cope with the pressures and demands of their academic careers. In designing these measures, it is important to have an assessment on the strengths and weakness of students which may aid them in achieving their expectations and goals. This will provide basis for university researchers and administrators to revisit, study, and test the effectiveness of existing stress reduction programmes. It will also provide an opportunity for university administrators and college deans to study the curriculum as it is expected that most stress encountered by students are academically related apart from financial constraints, social relationships, loneliness, among others. The study will help the human condition because it promotes overall wellness and health as stress is an inevitable part of a persons existence.

The purpose of this study is to establish the association between perceived level of stress and illness among Psychology students at the University of Bedfordshire. Specifically, it aims to attain the following objectives

1. Describe the profile of the students on the basis of year level, gender, and residential arrangement
2. Determine the level of stress as perceived by the students
3. Compare perceived level of stress in accordance with year level, gender, and residential arrangement
4. Ascertain illness of students
5. Explore differences in illness by year level, gender, and residential arrangement
6. Relate perceived level of stress and illness

While year level, gender, and residential arrangement were most studied as contributory factors on the perceived level of stress among students, still year level, gender, and residential arrangement had conflicting outcomes. With respect to the association between stress and illness, there seemed to be no contention or ambiguity. 

Hypotheses
T-test for Independent Samples, Analysis of Variance and Chi-Square Test for Association at alpha 0.05 will be applied in testing the following null hypotheses

Ho1 There is no significant difference in the perceived level of stress among students when grouped according to year level, gender, and residential arrangement.

Ho2 There is no significant difference in illness affecting students according to year level, gender, and residential arrangement.

Ho3 There is no significant association between perceived level of stress and illness among students.
If results of the statistical analyses would yield significant differences in perceived level of stress and illness, this will provide the University an insight on which gender, year level, and residential arrangement will be the major focus of health interventions and programmes currently in existence. Thus, implementation will take into account how gender, year level or residential arrangement affects perception of stress. When a significant association is observed, then the effectiveness of these interventions should be carefully reviewed. 

Method
Design
Design of the proposed study follows a descriptive and cross-sectional pattern. This is the appropriate method since the principal objective is to test whether illness is associated with perceived level of stress among Psychology students of the University of Bedfordshire. Moreover, variables will not be manipulated. To determine n or sample size, the researcher will first obtain the total population of Psychology students then at 5 sampling error, sample size will be established.

Participants
In choosing the respondents, they must satisfy the following criteria 1. Must be a Psychology student of the University of Bedfordshire 2. Enrolled during the time of the study 3. Speaks and understands English and 4. Able and willing to provide informed consent. Students who are unable to independently complete the questionnaire and not registered during the study period will not be selected for the proposed study. 

Material
The researcher will utilise a questionnaire-checklist containing three parts Part A.  Demographic Profile, Part B. Perceived Level of Stress, and Part C. Illness. The first part will solicit responses on the students personal profile which include year level, gender, and residential arrangement. Items on perceived level of stress (Part B) will be obtained from the Student-life Stress Inventory (Gadzella, 1991) as cited in Gadzella and Carvalho (2006). This inventory has 51 items dealing with five different stressors namely frustrations, conflicts, pressures, changes, and self-imposed stress as well as four stress responses focusing on physiological, emotional, behavioural and cognitive appraisal. For each subscale, scores will be summed then added to the stress responses part. Therefore, a higher score recorded means higher perceived level of stress encountered. Response format will be a five-point Likert scale on how often the stressor is perceived to be encountered as follows 1  never, 2  seldom, 3  occasionally, 4  often, and 5  most of the time. The illness section or Part C contains questions regarding the frequency of experiencing skin rash, back pain, allergies, infectious diseases, frequent colds and generalised body pain known to be somatic symptoms of stress. Rating scheme is similar to Part B. Perceived Level of Stress.

Procedure
Because the Psychology population is expected to be highly variable, a stratified random sampling will be conducted. This sampling ensures that subjects taken are representatives of the demographic factors under investigation. Consequently, the population is further subdivided into several substrata from which samples will be drawn randomly.  To begin, the investigator will first construct a cross tabulation of the student population by year level and gender using data from the Registrar. After which, percent distribution in each substratum will be computed which will be the percent representativeness of that subgroup. Then, sample size will be established using the table of sample sizes at 5 margin of error. The value for percent representativeness for every subgroup will be multiplied to the computed sample size and this will be the number of respondents to be chosen randomly from a specific subgroup. To randomise, every student is assigned a number and utilising the table of random numbers, samples will be chosen.

Before conduct of study is commenced, a letter addressed to the Head of the Psychology department will be written to properly inform of the proposed study which will involve the participation of students of the Psychology program. Once approval is obtained, the researcher will obtain the number of enrolees during the term and sample size. At the same time, the list of students will be procured and this will be the sampling frame. Then, a stratified random sampling will be carried out.

The selected students will be asked if they would be willing to participate in a survey which will take approximately 15 minutes. First the students will be instructed to carefully read and sign the informed consent. The consent forms will then be placed inside a brown envelope so the names of students are kept confidential. After which students will be given the data gathering tool and directed to read the instructions carefully and answer truthfully and completely. Once the students have completed filling out the questionnaires, it will be immediately retrieved. 

Ethical Considerations
Several ethical considerations will be addressed in the study. The answers given on the questionnaires will be kept confidential and only examined by the researcher.Furthermore, permission to use information will be requested and secured before results will be used and analysed. Lastly, participants will remain anonymous and no incentives will be offered to take part in the study.

Discussion
Stress among university students is a well-documented subject in psychology. It is expected that this descriptive, cross-sectional research will pave the way for improved and better stress reduction programmes and reforms in institutional policy which would enable students to learn skills in effectively dealing with daily hassles, pressures, and expectations from teachers, families, and peers. A heightened sense of awareness is also anticipated especially among students because they are the major beneficiaries of these interventions and programmes geared towards alleviating stress. This main objective of the study will limit itself only to the association between perceived level of stress and illness of Psychology students in the University of Bedfordshire. Demographics will only focus on year level, gender, and residential arrangement. The independent and dependent variables will be perceived level of stress and illness, respectively. Both descriptive and inferential statistics will be used in the presentation and interpretation of results.

Imitation cannot create a preeminence to do things it only develops and improves a power which already exists.  For instance, a child learns to write by imitating the freehand strokes of letters, but a child is able to do so with prior knowledge and rudimentary ability to make simple stick figures and doodles. This initial ability jump starts the imitative process. In general, learning by imitation is directly linked to the preexisting power of performing an action independently.

It is common knowledge that animals are devoid of personality, as they are creatures of impulse. They decide and act upon a certain instance devoid of freewill and emotions, and most of the time act solely for survival. An animal with congenital tendencies and a stereotyped environment has little power of learning by imitation. With regards to animal science, learning by imitation has been observed numerous times with monkeys because they have the greatest mental plasticity and aptitude for imitation. Monkeys are capable of learning by experience. They have a wide range of interest, and the readiest way to bring before their consciousness an action which interests them, is to reenact it themselves. Consequently, this makes them ceaselessly active in all aspects and eager to experiment in all sorts of ways. As a result, they learn rapidly by the success or failure of their attempts.

The discovery of mirror neurons has spurred a lot of attention in the area of neuroscience. Scientifically, mirror neurons have been implicated in the observation of others actions, imitation of certain actions, representation of the mental states of others, and the observation of emotions in others. Mirror neurons are classes of brain cells which become active when people perform an action and when they watch it being performed. To this date, monkeys are the only animals used to gain experimental data on mirror. For humans, the data revolves only on mirror regions, the brain sites which become active in brain imaging studies in cases of action observation and action execution when.

On some studies though, mirror regions or systems may be associated with imitation and language.
Upon studying mirror neurons on monkeys, it was discovered that mirror neuron response is limited only to transitive actions. In such case, mirror neurons can only support basic forms of imitation. This is referred to as emulation or stimulus facilitation. Caution should be taken when assuming a direct link between imitation and mirror neurons because in more complex situations or scenarios, additional brain circuitry may be necessary or may have evolved to develop a monkey-like mirror system.

In Kohlers research on 2002, he reported that some monkey mirror neurons respond to the observation and execution of the action of tearing a sheet of paper. Unbelievably, that response was not an ecological behavior repertoire of monkeys living in the wild. Thus a conclusion is made that it is most unlikely for mirror neurons to be inborn on monkeys. Consequently, Oztop and Arbib researched the developmental perspective of mirror neurons supposedly developed during infancy. They proposed the MNS model, which focused on the varying model levels of monkey mirror neuron system for grasping.

In the MNS model, the main hypothesis is that the temporal profile an infant experiences on self-executed grasps, like distance to the target object, provides the preexisting and training stimuli for the mirror neuron system to develop. Consequently, the development of mirror neurons by self-observation became the experimental and computational aspect of the research. Schemas were implemented to fully discern and dissect how developmental mirror neurons work. For instance, the inferior pre-motor cortex is classified into area F4 dominates the control of the reach component while area F5 dominates distal control. The simulated infant monkey is studied through training and testing.  In the training phase, the simulated monkey infant is designed to produce grasping actions in accordance to the motor code of F5 canonical neurons, and this code is used by the core mirror circuit to learn which hand-object visual is more likely corresponded to the canonically encoded grasps. In the testing phase, the network could actually recognize the grasp type from the visual features extracted during observation of a grasp action.

In 2005, MNS model was redefined into MNS2 model, where mirror neurons of the macaque brain were studied, and proved to be more biologically plausible than the previous model.

Experimental evidence supports associative learning mechanism. In humans, mirror system allows a respondent to respond by performing actions while observing another subjects actions. Likewise, monkey neurophysiology points to a reasonable model of mirror neuron systems which allows learning by imitation, through the activity of the so-called mirror neurons. With further research, scientists can discover more of the interaction in mirror neurons and perhaps enhance the learning capacity of monkeys.

Dual Coding Theory is proposed in order to shed light on the equal weights given to verbal and non-verbal processing. The research is conducted in order to determine whether verbal and non-verbal information has an effect to the memory recognition of a person. The researcher conducted an experiment in a class of 20 subject divided further in to three groups of five. Each group was given different information in order to test memory recognition. For the first group, word information was given, picture information for the second and picture and word information for the third group. The researcher used statistical tools to analyze the results of the experiment. Particularly, one-way analysis of variance was used in order to determine whether differences occur between the mean memory recognition of three groups. After conducting one-way analysis of variance, the researcher found out that there is no difference between the mean memory recognition of the three groups (F  5.652, p  0.019). The researcher also found out insignificant differences between mean memory recognition of a person given word and a person given picture information (T2  1.00, p  0.886). While, the researcher found a significant difference between the mean a person given picture information and a person given both picture and word information (T2  4.00, p  0.007). Thus, the researcher is confident to say that a person given by either a word or picture information has no effect to the persons memory recognition. While, a person given both word and picture information has an effect to the memory recognition of a person.

I. Introduction
The mind can perform different kind of processes ranging from verbal up to non-verbal processing and other different processes. Performing different processes has made different studies on how our mind really works. However, since the mind is too complex to be the focus of a study, many researchers resorted to studying the processes that the human mind can perform.

Theoretical Background
Dual Coding Theory
Dual Coding Theory (DCT) focuses on the verbal and the non-verbal processes of the human mind. DCT attempts to discuss how equal weights are given to both verbal and non-verbal mind processes. The human mind is able to deal with several processes while simultaneously dealing with another process. An instance is that when mind is dealing with language processing, it can also simultaneously deal with processing non-verbal objects and events. Dual Coding Theory gives light on how this process occur simultaneously (Paivio, 2008).

Dual coding assumes that two cognitive subsystems exist. The two subsystems represent a specialized processing of non-verbal images and events and the other represents a specialized processing of language. The Dual Coding Theory is illustrated below.

Figure 1. Dual Coding Theory Model (Kearsley, 2010). This figure illustrates the Dual Coding Theory. The figure also shows the three important processes involved in Dual Coding Theory.

From the figure, one can see the terms logogens and imagens. Paivio introduced logogens and imagens as two different types of representational units. Logogens is a representational unit for verbal entities. While, imagens is a representational unit for mental images (Paivio, 2008).

Dual Coding Theory involves three types of processes that occur in order. First is representational. In this process, the direct verbal and non-verbal representations were activated. Second is referential. Verbal system activation by non-verbal system and vice versa occurs in this process. Last process is associative processing. This process involves activation of representations by the same verbal and non-verbal systems (Paivio, 2008).

Memory Recognition
Recognition is simply the process of determining whether a stimuli being introduced has been presented to the person before. In this process, the person was subjected to certain stimuli. When a person has been introduced to the stimuli before, the person will recognize the stimuli when it is presented again to the person. An example is when a person met someone before. When the person met again someone that was introduced in the past, the person tends to recognize the face of that someone even though the name was not remembered. Through recognition, one can determine how well the brain memory performs. Two types of procedure test are used in order to study recognition memory performance of a person. One types is by yes-no and the other is by forced-choice procedures. In the yes-no procedure, the person is only asked whether the stimuli were already introduced. On the other hand, forced-choice procedure gives certain choices for the person to choose from (Eysenck  Keane, 2000).

Recognition is a different process than recall. Recognition is used instead of recall due to several reasons. First, performance of memory of a person can be obtained is more reliable in recognition than recall procedures because of the guessing rates. In recall, a person who is unable to recall a certain stimuli will have a memory performance score of zero. On the other hand, recognition gives a person a certain chance in order to correctly answer a recognition question due to the existence of choices. Second, in recall, a person needs more or complete information regarding the stimuli in order to correctly recall it. On the other hand, recognition does not need complete information and may only need a bit of information in order to properly recognize an object (Eysenck  Keane, 2000).

Statement of the Problem
Dual Coding Theory (DCT) has been seen in different applications in cognitive phenomena. The different applications of DCT include problem solving, concept learning and language. Dual Coding Theory involves the principle of recall and recognition which is enhanced by presenting bits of information in both verbal and non-verbal types. With this knowledge in mind, the researcher wants to determine whether memory recognition is affected by the type of information given to a person (non-verbal, verbal). The researcher wants to answer the following question.
Is there a difference between the memory recognition of a person when exposed to different types of information (verbal, non-verbal)

Hypothesis
In order to answer the question, the researcher created a testable hypothesis. The following are the hypotheses for the research.

Null hypothesis There is no difference between the memory recognition of a person when exposed to different types of information (verbal, non-verbal).

Alternative Hypothesis There is at least one difference between the memory recognition of a person when exposed to different types of information (verbal, non-verbal).

II. Methods
The experiment is done in a class consisting of 20 subjects. The class is divided in to three groups consisting of five members each. Thus, three samples with size 5 are obtained from the 20 subjects. Each group is given different information. The first group is given word information. The second group is given picture information. And, the last group is given both word and picture information. The memory recognition scores is obtained using yes-no recognition procedure. The scores of the correct answers of the subjects were recorded. The recorded scores are then used in order to analyze the existence of dual coding theory in memory recognition of a person.

After obtaining the memory recognition scores, the researcher used descriptive statistics in order to summarize the data. On the other hand, statistical analysis is used to test for the hypothesis of the research. Particularly, the researcher used One-way analysis of variance. One-way analysis of variance is used to determine if there is a difference between the mean of three groups (Howell, 2008). In conjunction with one-way analysis of variance, the researcher conducted a post hoc test in order to determine where the differences lie when the result is significant.

III. Results
One-way analysis of variance is conducted in order to test the null hypothesis that there is no difference between the memory recognition of a person when exposed to different types of information (verbal, non-verbal). The test is conducted at 0.05 significance level. The decision is to reject the null hypothesis when the p-value of the F-statistic is less than 0.05 significance level. Otherwise, the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis.

After conducting one-way analysis of variance, the following results will be obtained.
Table 1
Descriptive Statistics
NMeanStd. DeviationStd. ErrorWord55.00002.828431.26491Picture54.00001.58114.70711Word and Picture58.00001.00000.44721Total155.66672.52605.65222 From the table, one can see that the mean memory recognition for the group given with word information is 5. The value means that the average memory recognition score of a person given with word information is 5. One can see that the mean memory recognition for the group given with picture information is 4. The value means that the average memory recognition score of a person given with picture information is 4. Lastly, one can see that the mean memory recognition for the group given with word and picture information is 8. The value means that the average memory recognition score of a person given with word and picture information is 8. The standard deviations for the three groups are 2.8284, 1.5811 and 1 respectively. The values mean that there is an average spread of 2.8284, 1.5811 and 1 respectively from their corresponding mean memory recognition scores.

Table 2
ANOVA table
Sum of SquaresdfMean SquareFSig.Between Groups43.333221.6675.652.019Within Groups46.000123.833Total89.33314 From the table, one can see that the F-statistic value is equal to 5.652. The corresponding probability value of the F-statistic is 0.019. Since the p-value of the F-statistic is less than 0.05 significance level, the researcher rejected the null hypothesis that there is no difference between the memory recognition of a person when exposed to different types of information (verbal, non-verbal).

Post Hoc analysis of the data is conducted in order to determine where the difference lie between the three obtained mean memory recognition scores. Specifically, the researcher used Tamhanes T2 test in order to determine where the differences lie between the three mean memory performances scores. The test is conducted at 0.05 significance level. After conducting Tamhanes T2 test, the researcher obtained the following results.

Table 3
Tamhanes T2 Test
 (I) Information Given(J) Information GivenMean Difference (I-J)Std. ErrorSig.95 Confidence IntervalLower BoundUpper BoundWordPicture1.000001.44914.886-3.67125.6712Word and Picture-3.000001.34164.210-7.72651.7265PictureWord-1.000001.44914.886-5.67123.6712Word and Picture-4.00000.83666.007-6.6341-1.3659Word and PictureWord3.000001.34164.210-1.72657.7265Picture4.00000.83666.0071.36596.6341. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. From the table, one can see that the difference between word and picture memory recognition mean scores is not significant at 0.05 significance level (T2  1.00, p  0.886). On the other hand, the difference between mean memory score of a person given picture information and a person given both word and picture information is significant at 0.05 significance level (T2  4.00, p  0.007). Lastly, the difference between mean memory score of a person given word information and a person given both word and picture information is significant at 0.05 significance level (T2  3.00, p  0.210).

IV. Discussion
The researcher found an evidence to say that there is at least one difference that exists between the average memory recognition based on different information given (verbal, non-verbal). In addition, the researcher found an evidence to say that there is a difference between the mean memory recognition of a person given picture information and a person given both picture and word information. On the other hand, the researcher found no evidence to say that the difference between mean recognition of a person given word information and a person given picture information is too large to be explained by chance. Thus, the researcher is confident to say that a person given by either a word or picture information has no effect to the persons memory recognition. While, a person given both word and picture information has an effect to the memory recognition of a person.

One of the articles focus on the choice of women to adopt their husbands sir name, while the other focuses on and whether kids should be given incentives in order to perform well in their school work. The two articles present a good picture of attribution theory of social psychology. The authors describe the difference of personalities of the women who choose to use their husbands wife, and the characters of students who are motivated by incentives in order to carry out their work in a successful manner. The articles also describe the difficulties faced by the victims. The articles are well related with incidents that relate to the theories of social psychology as discussed below.

DISCUSSION
According to Stotland and Lance (124), social psychology is the study of how peoples behavior and feelings are influenced by the perception of others. This calls for study of peoples perception and motives. Rampell (2010), relates the article relates well with the social cognition theories by describing the way people try to study the socially available information. Through this, he points out the peoples claims of women who take their husbands first name being viewed as more caring, more dependable as they are more emotional, and they are less competent in their work In terms of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Rampell (2010) points out that women who use their husbands name were found to be less intelligent than the once who do not use at all.

Rampell (2010) has also incorporated the use of interest and attention in relationship to the attribution theory definition. This theory is concerned with different interpretation of events and relates them to peoples thoughts and behavior. This is clearly seen where another experiment was done by asking students to judge the preferred candidates for a human resources vacancy and portrays that the women were more likely to be hired are the ones who never took their husbands  names. This can lead to an insight of women not using their husbands surname.

Ripley (2010) article is well related to the attribution theory that deals with how people interpret events and relate them to their way of life and thus, affecting a persons motivation. This is shown where Ethans mother made him an offer to stay for a period of one month without watching television programs for a reimbursement fee of 200. The parents who pay their sons money in order to serve as motivators for performance improvement also show this. Ripley (2010) shows the internal attribute as the cause of the reimbursement behavior as being within the person. The reimbursement behavior is the variable that makes a person responsible for not working to the expected standards thus creating an attitude as well as the external attributes through the showing of check.

Ripley (2010) relates the article by attribution theory, which shows motivation of students that, describes the mode of persons reasoning defense and justification about self or others influence surrounding them. This theory shows that the motivating factors that are influence achievement or a childs cognitive ability is the use of money rather than effort, ability or level of task difficulty. The author states the things, which are beyond our control such as abstaining from watching the television, as well as the unstable factors, which are beyond the parent control.

CONCLUSION
Social psychology being the study of how peoples behavior and feelings are influenced by the perception of others is clearly shown in the above articles. The author presented the ideas in a good manner since they apply good examples in their articles.

Even though glamorous and productive, the increased dependence on cellular phone use whether handheld or hands free during driving by individuals has led to the upsurge of traffic crashes thereby compromising the safety of vehicle occupants as well as the pedestrians. At the outset, drivers who use the phones while driving experience reduced driving concentration especially when dialing their phones since their eyes has to be taken off the road. Besides, drivers may get engrossed in cell phone conversation thereby impairing the driving activity hence compromising the safety of everyone on the roads including pedestrians and vehicle occupants. The uses of cell phone while driving do not only cause dangerous distractions to the driver but is also the most common cause of road accidents and near crashes (Insurance Information Institute, 2010). This paper therefore emphasizes on the need to adopt relevant laws and legislation curbing the use of cellular phones including handheld and hands free so as to minimize the dangerous and life-threatening practice of distracted driving. Moreover, the paper analyses the risks posed by driving distractions arising from the practice of texting.

Use of cellular phones while driving has been associated with road accidents as well as related deaths. According to Kelly Wallace 2010, crashes caused by drivers using cellular phones was estimated to be 1.6 million in 2008 up from six hundred and thirty six thousand in 2003.  The report says that one out of four road crashes is caused by drivers using cellular phones while driving. Besides, at least twenty eight percent of all crashes translating to about 1.6 million crashes are caused each year by drivers who converse over the cellular phones while driving and a further two hundred thousand crashes result from cellular phone texting by the drivers (Insurance Information Institute, 2010). The statistics provide an insight of how dangerous the use of cell phone by drivers is hence the need to lobby for legislation that prohibits the use of cellular phones while driving.

The legislations that currently exist in some states in the U.S are somehow misdirected and largely provide no restrictions to driver cell phone use. Moreover, no state laws completely ban the use of cell phones while driving. According to Smet (2008) the five States that have so far banned cell phone use while driving have only focused on the handheld cellular phones and assumed hands free cell phones. In 2001, first law prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving was passed in New York. This ban ensures that the drivers have both of their hands free to operate the steering hence minimizing road accidents. Popular science magazine (2000) supports this idea by arguing that the use of cell phones in the cars are dangerous and should be subject to severe restrictions or total ban. However, they support the use of hands free phones. Smet (2008) however differs with the idea and asserts that rather than the occupied hands, visual and cognitive distractions pose more risks of road accidents while cell phone is in use. He explains that whether the phones are handheld or hands free driving performance is still impaired. Use of cell phones while driving prejudices the drivers situational awareness. To begin with, the individuals conversing with the driver are in most cases outside the vehicle and are therefore not in a position to change the conversation due to alterations in the prevailing driving conditions.

Consequently, the drivers are unable to identify, address or swiftly react to situations as well as changes in the relevant environmental stimuli. According to Smet (2008) cognitive distractions such as conversing while driving is caused by internal context and are always elicited when talking to other people or by an individuals own thoughts. He reiterates that holding a phone while driving may interfere with manual control of the vehicle leading to accidents or near crash. He however, stresses on the massive effects of use of hands free cell phones while driving. Smet (2008) explains that hands free cell phone use while driving has resulted in elevated traffic violations such as running on the stop signs as well as exaggerated delays at the stop signs and drivers attention drifts including stopping at green lights. All these indicate the drivers loss of attention and not mere loss of vehicle control. More scientific evidences prove this claim. According to Bridger (2003) human information processing is systematic and information flows in different systems. According to the model activities that occupy different modalities can be performed simultaneously. However, activities that occupy single modality cannot be simultaneously executed. Conversing and paying attention are such activities that can not be carried out simultaneously. Verbal communication completely disrupts the drivers attention and may therefore result in traffic crashes while driving (Bridger, 2003).

Application of situational awareness has been on the rise among the drivers in the U.S in the recent times (Smet, 2008). According to Smet (2008) situational awareness is relevant in the safe driving and should therefore be enhanced to minimize road accidents. Driving-related activities such as comprehension of directions, maps and city routes require cognition and working memory. This encompasses effort, time and attention. The latter has limited capacity and is only used in performing cognitively demanding tasks such as driving in a challenging environment as well as pursuing directions. This is however compromised by the use of cell phones while driving which is more cognitively demanding than can be provided by the central executive (attention) (Smet, 2008).

A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provides tangible evidence of the effects of cell phone use by drivers on injury crashes. According to the research findings, drivers are four times as likely to get into crashes that are serious to cause injuries to themselves and the occupants when using cell phones. The research whose aim entailed determination of risk involved was carried out by comparing cell phone use within ten minutes before occurrence of an accident with use by the same driver during the prior week. Drivers treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries suffered in car accidents from 2002 to 2004 were the subjects of the study (Governors Highway Safety Association, 2010). Another research by the Public Policy Institute of California carried out in May 2008 on effects of state laws banning use of cell phone while driving found out that the ban had lead to the decline of traffic deaths by about three hundred annually. This outcome however was applicable in adverse conditions such including wet roads. Finally, a contradictory research report released by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) indicate that there are no significant decline in the number of traffic crashes in the three states of Washington DC, California, as well as Connecticut which have adopted laws that ban the use of handheld phones while driving (Glassbrenner  Jianqiang, 2007).

From the aforementioned study results, it is vividly clear that use of cellular phones while driving increases chances of traffic crashes and subsequent deaths. According to popular science magazine (2001) the brain has built-in limits in relevance to performing multi-tasks. A report released by University of Utah that studied the reaction of a driver while simultaneously talking on his phone and operating other devices revealed that the conversation affected the drivers attention and reaction times even when he never dialed his phone numbers (Popular science magazine, 2001). The lobby for enactment of policy guiding use of cell phones while driving is therefore genuine. However, the ban should be outright including both the use of handheld and hands free cell phone as the partial ban yielded no significant results according to Highway Loss Data Institute.

Many parents have bought their kid cellular phones to use so that they can be notified of any car breaks. However, this has posed more risks to the kids than thought. According to the research carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration junior drivers who use cellular phones while driving are highly likely to lose situational awareness accompanied by loss of attention implying the danger of the cognitive effects, and the physical requirements of handheld phones use. This may therefore lead to traffic crashes andor related deaths. According to the statistics released by the National Transportation Safety Board, nearly sixty four thousand youths between the ages of fifteen and twenty died in traffic crashes from 1994 through 2003. It is common sense that teenagers get distracted more easily compared to older counterparts. Moreover, they are not young and inexperienced but also exhibit a slower reaction rate to the environmental changes and stimuli (Governors Highway Safety Association, 2010). The state of California has adopted policy that bans use of cellular phones by the teenage drivers while driving. However, the penalties or fines proposed for the offenders of such laws are minimal and can not therefore deter the teenagers from violating the regulation. Besides, the laws provide a leeway for those teenagers who want to make emergency calls.

Furthermore, the use of cell phones by the employees of various organizations has caused both financial and human loss to the involved companies. Under the principle of vicarious responsibility, legal accountability of employees negligent act committed during the course of employment is bestowed upon the employer. In 2007 for instance, a woman was compensated slightly over five million dollars by an international paper company after the employee of that company who was purported to be talking while driving rear-ended the woman. Failure to enact a policy regulating the use of cell phones by employers is always seen as a negligent act and heshe is therefore liable. In such cases, employers end up paying heavy fines in offensive acts committed by their employees. Even though many companies have adopted cell phone usage policies, a general and standardized policy need to be enacted to minimize the losses (Insurance Information Institute, 2010).

Cell phone texting
Recent studies have shown that use of phone by drivers through texting via cell phones pose more danger than other cell phone uses. According to Virginia Tech Transportation Institutes report that was released in January 2009, the risks of collision among drivers texting was about twenty three times higher. The study also took into consideration the time spent by the drivers off the road while sending or looking at the received messages on their cell phones. The research that lasted for a period of eighteen months, involved the use of cameras on the cabs of trucks traveling long distances. According to the report, drivers generally spent about five seconds looking at their cell phones before a crash or a near crash (Insurance Information Institute, 2010).

The District of Columbia as well as other twenty states has banned the practice of texting via cellular phones while driving. A tougher law was passed in Utah in May 2009 that enforces a fifteen years imprisonment for convicts causing an injury or death-related accidents while texting behind the wheel. This law considers crash caused by a multi-tasking driver as an inherent recklessness and not an accident. Moreover, further eight States prohibit the use of text messages by novice drivers while on the road.

So far a lot of support has been offered to the proposal of enactment of stringent policy that would minimize traffic crashes as well as related deaths on the roads as a result of use of cell phones while driving. Both the parents of the teenage drivers, the government as well as the public in general and other stakeholders have all accredited the existing laws that curb the use of cell phone while driving. The fatalities associated with the practice of conversing and texting via phone while driving has been immense and road crashes enormous that such laws should be enforced. However, such proposals face hurdles well. Even though everyone seems to like the proposal, mobile companies see this as an act that will interfere with their sales. According to Knowles (2000) cell phone industry lobbied against a law that was passed by Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn, in Ohio in March, 1999 that illegalized the use of cell phones by drivers within the jurisdiction of that State. Most of the adversaries of cell phone restrictions argue that drivers should be subjected to thorough education on the effects of all distractions. They also cite poor law enforcement as one of the main causes of increased fatalities and crashes resulting from cell phone use while driving (Knowles, 2000). Besides, some opponents of the proposed legislation cite a variety of reasons. First, drivers may utilize such devices to call while late thereby travel without any stress hence minimizing chances of collision. Second, rapid increases in such technologies have not been accompanied by the subsequent rise in collisions. Finally singling out cell phone use from a variety of drivers distractions is not justified (Rothe, 2002).

Conclusion
Dramatic technological advancements currently witnessed in the modern world have made it easy for the access and ownership of cell phones compared to the past. These devices have positively enhanced peoples lives in many ways except on the roads where fatalities and road crashes are reported on daily basis as a result of use of such phones while driving. Various laws have been enacted by various States to curb the vice but with little success so far. Opponents of the proposed laws suggest education and enforcement of the existing legislation as the remedy to road carnage. It is noteworthy that the existing laws are not outright and that no State has so far banned all the cell phone use including handheld and hands free by all drivers but most of them forbid all cell phone use by specific drivers. Many States have adopted laws that prohibit the use of handheld and not the hands free cell phones. This notion has to change for a reduction of fatalities and crashes related to the use of cell phone while driving is to be realized. As mentioned earlier, hands free use of cell phone poses both visual and cognitive distractions to the driver and must be avoided. The weakness of the existing legislation is that it has prioritized the occupied hands when the driver is conversing or texting while driving compared to the visual and cognitive distractions which pose more risks.