Psychology 445
Reflective Essay
This class has not only enabled me to become a better student, but also a more productive adult in various ways. Initially, I came into your class ecstatic because I knew the journey I would embark would be an exciting one; however, I encountered challenges throughout the course although learning new psychological methods is enthusing to me. I learned about the origin of psychology and the evolution of modern psychology. In further detail, I will discuss how the learning goals of this course have influenced my career and personal life.
When I began college, I was undecided about what to study. Initially, I enrolled as Biology major. I majored in biology for three years of my college career. Because
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In order to totally comprehend psychology, one must first go back into its history and explore its origins. A question that I asked myself and became informed of throughout the course of this semester is: “How did the studies of Psychology originate? What period was Psychology created?” Because I was able to question myself, I became more involved and interesting not only in Psychology 445, but the overall studies of Psychology.
As I answered these questions, I realized that Psychology involves a massive range of topics; alongside, examining the human’s developmental patterns and mental practices from cultural level to neural level. Interestingly, I learned that Speech Pathologists study the same materials as Psychologists. For example, both patricians must know matters pertaining to human mental concerns. These issues can begin right from delivery and endure up until the death of the person. Through the knowledge developed in Psychology 445, I will be able to better comprehend how the individual topics are studied and what has been taught thus far.
One of my most beloved and studied psychologist has been Sigmund Freud (Freud). Independently, I studied Freud; the famous Austrian physician transformed the entire face of psychology in such an intense way by creating a theory of personality that strained on the significance of the unconscious mind. Freud’s involvement with clients anguish
As a result to concluding the chapter “How to Think Straight about Psychology” by Keith E. Stanovich, the infinite doors into Psychology have opened. I was immediately engaged into the history and conflicts between the continuity of previous and modern day psychology. It was astounding to find the amount of distaste, backed by modern psychologists, on the workings of Sigmund Freud, who I had recently thought to be the foundation to all psychology. However, after reading on about the diversity of psychology, it became apparent that the extensive amounts of subjects within the realm of this study, make it difficult for scientist and the overall population to agree on one unified idea. Psychology has criteria that is ever changing, but limited to the time period of discovery.
When psychology first emerged as a science, the process of explaining the human mind and human behavior began. In this essay we will present a brief synopsis of what psychology is and introduce the reader to the primary biological foundations of psychology that are linked to behavior as well as introducing the reader to the major schools of thought in psychology. In Kowalski and Westen Fifth Edition of Psychology, psychology is define as “the scientific investigation of mental processes such as; thinking, remembering, feeling, and behavior. Understanding a person requires attention to the individual’s biology, psychological experience, and cultural context.”(Kowalski & Weston, 2009, p. 4). Each component is necessary in formulating who
What is psychology? What impact does psychology have on the world? What does it mean to be a psychologist? These are three important questions that will be investigated throughout this paper. Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behavior. Psychology influences many behaviors in the world without anyone noticing.
The introduction to the learning of “psychology” came to me in high school. The academic program I was a part of was including a new course in its curriculum. At the time, I did not know anything about the science. All I knew was that the course description seemed interesting. Fast forward, I am ready to seize the magic of that moment and develop it into a career.
Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology. 6th ed. 1 vols. New York, NY: Worth Publishers, 2005.
As Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist, explains, “psychology has a long past but only a short history.” Despite the interest shown in early Egyptians and Greek philosophers, the formal history of psychology dates back to 1879 when Wundt made the first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany (Cite what is psychology). Wundt is responsible for creating structuralism, a focus on the structure of the mind and the belief that there is a connection between sensation, emotion, and behavior (cite hslibguides.islipufsd.org). This played a significant role in psychology’s history, creating debate and theories leading to several schools of
In the most general terms, psychology is the study of the mind and brain. It is a broad subject, and this course is designed to briefly touch on many areas of the scientific study of
In this paper, I am going to tell you a little about each school of thought in psychology and who contributed their time in effort in developing each. This will consist of some of the people who were a part of what we now study as history. Many of them made life long and miraculous changes in their life to become the great psychologist they are known for today.
Fernando Vidal’s The Sciences of the Soul: The Early Modern Origins of Psychology ventures into the history of psychology as an academic and attempts to explore its roots from a new perspective. Vidal deviates from the standard presumption that psychology began during the age of reason as a discipline created by William Wundt; contrary to the beliefs of many scholars who consider the enlightenment as the foreground for psychology and its development. Instead, Vidal advocates that psychology as a discipline first appeared in the sixteenth century, initially as a neologism referred to as psychologia which circulated in various university philosophy textbooks used by Protestant scholastics. Vidal goes on to further illustrate how during the sixteenth
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology works with various things like science labs, schools, and any other place that they can study animal and human behavior. Psychologists are undermined in today’s world and not recognized like they should be. The notoriety of freud has greatly affected the general public's conceptions about the fields of psychology and has contributed to many misunderstandings. All members of the American Psychological Association (APA) who were concerned with Freudian psychoanalysis were collected together, they would make up less than 10 percent of the membership.
This course overviews the foundations of psychology as the field applies to everyday life. The physical and mental aspects of psychology are traced through lifespan development with emphasis on psychological health and wellness. Further study focuses on personality; thinking, learning and memory; motivation and emotions; and gender and sexuality. Based in various historical traditions, the course is set in the context of contemporary psychological principles.
This course will provide an introductory overview of the nature, scope, and methods of psychology as behavioral science, emphasizing development, biological foundation of behavior, sensation and perception, learning, emotion, motivation, and personality.
Psychology has developed and changed over the course of its beginnings. There were numerous contributors to the field—the founders of psychology. This paper will focus on two of these founders: Wilhelm Wundt, the first to develop psychology as a formal discipline, and George A. Miller, the creator of cognitive psychology. This paper will compare and contrast the lives and works of Wundt and Miller. These psychology founders shared some similarities such as demonstrating expertise in other fields in addition to their work in psychology. They also both held lengthy tenures at respected universities from which they conducted the bulk of their work in psychology. One of the most notable differences between these two men is the time in which their study was conducted—Wundt’s work started in the late 1800s and Miller’s work began in the 1940s and extending into the 1980s. Additionally, Wundt’s disciplines of experimental psychology and social psychology have ideation that differs from Miller’s work in cognitive psychology.
When one hears the word psychology, a therapist on a couch asking patients to talk out their problems usually come to mind. In fact, the field is much more important and relevant in our everyday lives than one may think. Cambridge’s Dictionaries Online website defines it as “the scientific study of the way the human mind works and how it influences behavior, or the influence of a particular person’s character on their behavior” (2015). How we act and react, what we think and say, and why we do what we do are all topics that psychology cover.
Prior to psychology being recognised as a scientific discipline in its own right, it was mainly a philosophical concept developed by theorists in areas such as animism and dualism. However, these philosophies were not based on objectivity unlike today’s psychology which maintains that for an investigation to be deemed scientific it must be based on the scientific method, which involves gathering empirical and measurable evidence.