Computer becomes unresponsive while scrolling

I have a new MacBook Pro with 8 GB RAM, and a solid-state 256 GB drive.  My software is always updated to the latest firmware, software, and OS updates (Lion).
Lately my computer has been locking up while I am running these programs simultaeneously:
Excel
Preview
TextEdit
Safari
Finder
Typically I am scrolling in Preview, or Excel.  The program I am scrolling in freezes (spinning ball), but other programs remain responsive.  Then, after a minute or so, they also become unresponsive and I have to force a shutdown by holding the Power button down.  This is very un-Mac-like.  I am reverting to behaviors I learned many years ago using Windows, that is to say, saving my files almost every time I make a change.
I have been watching Activity monitor to discern what might be happening.  I always have plenty of System Memory available and the CPU is not heavily loaded before the event.
Your suggestions would be appreciated.
Best regards,
John in Fort Collins

I was able to find the definitive solution for this.  I noticed that my computer was freezing approximately hourly and began to suspect my Time Machine backup solution.  After a few more steps of ruling out one variable after another I learned that Sophos (free) anti-virus was, indeed, interacting with Time Machine and causing the problem
Sophos uses a technique called "Scan on Access" which means that no files are scanned for viruses (after the initial scan) unless they are accessed.  The problem is, when you perform a Time Machine backup many files are accessed and the machine slows to a crawl and then becomes unresponsive before you can detect it using Activity Monitor.
I like Sophos, in concept, and disabling Scan on Access solved the problem.  But, then I did not have a live anti-virus/malware detector which, regretably, is becoming more important for Macs these days.
I uninstalled Sophos and my problem is resolved.  I installed another well-known reputable anti-virus tool (that uses a different strategy than Scan on Access), and the problem did not return.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
John in Fort Collins

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