THE ANSWER "WHITE" TO THE TEST "WHICH IS THE OPPOSITE OF
THE RED COLOUR" AND PREVIOUS BEHAVIOUR OF "THE OPPOSITE MARY."
AN INVESTIGATION ON CLINICAL REPORTS OF THE YEARS 2003-2004.
Renato
COCCHI, a neurologist and a medical psychologist.
Summary.
The
analysis of the responses of White to the test "Which is the opposite of
the colour Red" could reveal a signal of temporary prevalence of some
opposite half-brain dominance, with long lasting behaviour of the Opposite Mary
type. In Italian we say this behaviour as the Bastian Contrario. The usual
answer of depressed people to this test is "Black," of which White is
exactly the opposite.
After
the reexamination of 118 clinical reports collected in the years 2003-2004,
where the test applied, I found 37 persons (31.36%) who answered White.
The
gender distribution accounts for 21 females (56.76%) and 16 males (43.24%).
Their average age was 37.23 +/- 7.17 years, for the females (range: 16-62) and
38.12 +/- 6.77 years for the males (range: 16-60). The request for the
consultation was mainly depression prevalence or panic attacks (15 out 21
females = 71.43%; 13 out of 16 males = 81.25%).
Among
these patients, 10 females (47.62%) and 9 males (56.25%) reported to have been
termed in past by having the behaviour of the Opposite Mary. Significant
statistical differences did not come out as for the gender while the average
age of the Opposite Mary's group is lower than that of the whole sample of
people who answered White.
The
behaviour of Opposite Mary in the past, seems to outline a subgroup of persons
with long lasting symptoms, of the trouble of the half-brain dominance.
Key
words: Half-brain, dominance, test "Which is the copposite of the
colour Red," colour White, answer, opposition, Opposite Mary, adolescent,
adult, gender, age, intrusive thinking, need to count, depression, vagal
symptoms, parasympathetic symptoms, epidemiology.
Theoretical and basic research
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In my
latest research on the opposite answers to the test "Which is the opposite
of the colour Red?" (Cocchi, 2003), I promised to go further with a more
in-depth investigation among the answers of White and the opposite behaviour.
The White answer, in depressed persons, is the opposite of the usual response
Black, and it is a signal of some troubles of the half-brain dominance.
The
Opposite Mary, as the Bastian Contrario in
The
starting point is right the name of a woman, Mary ("she's just as opposite
as ever") who, for her obstinate aptitude to be discordant with all,
became proverbially the symbol of this character. I should like to face this aspect
concerning the Opposite Mary behaviour of which this patient with the answer of
White to the test, was so-called in past.
Materials and method.
I
reexamined the clinical cards I collected in the years 2003-2004, where it
appears the answer White to the test "Which is the opposite of the colour
Red."
This test
consists in the aforesaid question, after I recommended to the patient of
giving immediately, instinctively, without think on the answer, by promptly
saying the first answer that comes to his/her mind. On opposite case, even only
for a clearly perceivable hesitation, the answer has not been considered as
valid.
Among the
persons who answered White, I collected also: Gender, age at the first
consultation, the reason for the consultation, symptoms or other secondarily
remarkable elements, diagnosis following the first examination.
In this
selected sample, I then chose the clinical cards where subsequently I asked if
the patient, in past, was called a Opposite Mary.
Even in
this subgroup I collected gender and the age to the first examination.
Statistic:
Results,
Out of
118 persons where I applied the test in the years 2003-2004, I found again 37
persons (31.36%) who answered White. The distribution by gender is of 21
females (56.76%) and 16 males (43.24%). The average age was 37.23 +/- 7.17
years, for females (range: 16-62) and 38.12 +/- 6.77 years for males (range:
16-60).
Table 1:
Reasons for the consultation.
|
Reason for consultation |
F (21 Ss) |
M (16 Ss) |
||
|
|
Ss No. |
% |
Ss No. |
% |
|
Depression |
12 |
57.15 |
9 |
56.25 |
|
Panic attacks |
3 |
14.28 |
4 |
25.00 |
|
Anxiety |
3 |
14.28 |
2 |
12.50 |
|
Learning difficulties |
2 |
9.53 |
1 |
6.25 |
|
Phobic-obsessive disturb |
1 |
4.76 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Totals |
21 |
100.00 |
16 |
100.00 |
Chi
Square = 1.453, with 4 df and p = 0.835 NS.
The
reason for asking a consultation was mainly depression or panic attacks (15
females out of 21 = 71.43%; 13 males out of 16 = 81.25%).
Table 2: Other
of interest in the first consultation.
|
Symptom or other of relevant. |
F (21 Ss) |
M (16 Ss) |
||
|
|
Ss No. |
% |
Ss No. |
% |
|
Intrusive thinking |
21 |
100.00 |
16 |
100.00 |
|
Feeling of unsteadiness |
19 |
90.48 |
10 |
62.50 |
|
Feeling of fainting |
18 |
85.71 |
7 |
43.75 |
|
Mediastinal oppression |
18 |
85.71 |
9 |
56.25 |
|
Gastrointestinal troubles |
16 |
76.19 |
8 |
50.00 |
|
Bruxism, or dental shut |
14 |
66.67 |
5 |
31.25 |
|
Crying with no reason |
11 |
52.38 |
4 |
25.00 |
|
Need to counting, with no reason |
10 |
47.62 |
5 |
31.25 |
Chi
Square = 2.684 with 7 df and p = 1.00 NS
I may try
to give a possible attribution to this symptoms by pointing out that "the
weeping for no reason " is a depressive symptom; "Intrusive thinking"
and the "need to count objects for no reason" as tied to troubles of
the half-brain dominance; The "unsteadiness feeling" can follow and
excess of glutamergic function; The "faint feeling", the
"mediastinal oppression", the "gastrointestinal disturbs"
and the "bruxism, or dental shut" are symptoms of vagal or
parasympathetic overfunction.
Table 3:
Diagnosis at the first consultation.
|
Diagnosis |
F (21 Ss) |
M (16 Ss) |
||
|
|
Ss No |
% |
Ss No |
% |
|
Depression |
14 |
66.68 |
10 |
62.50 |
|
Panic attacks |
3 |
14.28 |
4 |
25.00 |
|
Troubles of the half-brain dominance (*) |
3 |
14.28 |
2 |
12.50 |
|
Phobic-Obsessive Disturb |
1 |
4.76 |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Totals |
21 |
100.00 |
16 |
100.00 |
(*) More probable
primary diagnosis.
Chi Square = 1.356 with 3 df and p = 0.979 NS.
Table 4:
Called in past as Opposite Mary.
|
The Opposite Mary |
F (21 Ss) |
M (16 Ss) |
||
|
|
Ss No. |
% |
Ss No |
% |
|
So called in past |
10 |
47.62 |
9 |
56.25 |
|
Never so called |
11 |
52.38 |
7 |
43.75 |
|
Totals |
21 |
100.00 |
16 |
100.00 |
Chi
Square = 0.035 with 1 df and p = 0.851 NS.
The
average age of who called in past as Opposite Mary is 30.49 +/- 4.43 years, for
the females (range: 16-44) and 32.74 +/- 5.06 years for the males (range: 17-48).
Discussion.
in my
theoretical text, already published when I did not have found any clinical case
(Cocchi, 1994), I wrote so as for this happening: "Could the behaviour of
"The Opposite Mary" character, well known in everyday life, owe its
existence to a stable overfunction of areas, structures or functions as
controlled by the not dominant half-brain?" In this case, the tendency to
oppose everything, usually verbally, may be the result of a neurophysical need
rather than a psychological aspect.
The
preceding investigation (Cocchi, 2003), encompassed the years 1992-2002, where
I applied the test in a not systematic way. Among 80 Ss who had answered White
26 out of 47 females (55.32%) and 15 out of 33 males (45.45%) had opposite
behaviour, or bad current feelings, or opposition. To be called in past of
being the Opposite Mary did not be pointed out, although often a collected
report.
To be
called in past of being the Opposite Mary did not have been pointed out,
although often it was a collected report.
The
current survey on much recent casuistry has no application deficit of the test,
or of following investigation either on actual behaviour and in the past.
Like in
the previous research, there are not statistically meaningful differences as
for gender, too in presence of a nearly mirroring percentage inversion, with
the current 47.62% of females and 56.25% of males. It could be a suggestion,
but the case histories are fewer.
The lower
average age of the people that in past accused to be the Opposite Mary leads to
different interpretations.
Perhaps
the closer is what, being this half-cultured saying and attested in writing
since the beginning of 1800, only younger generations of parents or teachers
may have applied it to their sons or to pupils of the following generation.
It is
interesting the presence of other symptoms that refer to stress conditions,
among which the inversion of half-brain dominance. Soon after the Table 2, as
for their explanation, I suggested four different mechanisms for these reported
symptoms, which were the more frequent here or the more evident. There are
other ones. As for an example, one is the personal perception of the
temperature (To suffer more from the heat, or, vice versa, from the cool) which
is a symptom of stress on the hypothalamic centre of the temperature control
(Cocchi, 1989).
Conclusions.
Even if
carried out on a reduced sample, the investigation on the 37 subjects who had
answered White, to the test "Which is the opposite of colour Red", showed
that about the 50% of them (19 Ss), with current problems of half-brain
dominance, received the epithet of Opposite Mary, in the past.
This
result can lead to hypothesise that the trouble, although under control, was
already present in younger age in persons who later required the help of an
experienced neur.-psychiatrist.
References.
Cocchi R.
Defective hemispheric dominance and cognitive behaviour: Speculative
considerations . lt. J. lntellect. lmpair. 1994, 7: 19-27.
<www.reversebrain.net/Domin1.htm>
Cocchi R.
The test "Which is the opposite of the Red colour" in 325
outpatient's subjectsIs. January 2003
<www.reversebrain.net/domin11.htm>.
Cocchi R. Sensibilitą alla
temperatura ambientale nei soggetti Down: Una indagine epidemiologica su 432
casi.. Riv. It. Disturbo Intellet. 1989, 2: 195-199.. English translation
<www.stress-cocchi.net/Down27.htm>
Posted on internet on 25
March 2005. Copyright by Renato Cocchi, 2005.
Author's: address: dr Renato Cocchi, via Rabbeno, 3
42100 Reggio Emilia
renatococchi@libero.it
Theoretical and basic research
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