What Psychology is to Me
After taking Psychology 1000, psychology means much more to me than it did prior to taking the class. At the beginning of the semester, I was asked to define the word psychology, and the best definition I could muster was simply the study of the mind and how it works. After examining the large realm of the science of psychology I now realize that this definition was quite incomplete.
My initial definition simply covered the branch of psychology known as cognitive psychology, and this is only one of many areas that are actually included under the title psychology. Many psychologists focus on more quantitative aspects than the function of the human mind. There are several different areas
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This is just one of the many examples that illustrate this point, and that makes developing a working definition of the term psychology extremely difficult to attain.
The range of topics that are considered psychology is very surprising to a newcomer in the field. Everything from determining which parts of the brain are responsible for controlling certain senses to analyzing the influence of society on behavior and development is considered ?psychology?. So it is obvious that my original definition was extremely limited, but it has now been vastly broadened.
In addition to recognizing the broad range of topics that psychology covers, I also realized that there is large number of different occupations a person trained in psychology can hold. My original idea was that a psychologist was a person who dealt only with psychoanalysis, and I would imagine that this is a common misconception. The possible career fields for a psychologist is much greater than I had imagined it to be, it includes everything from school counselors to psychiatrists to sensation and perception researchers.
Each different area of psychology has many differences from all of the other areas, but the origins of these areas enables them all to fall under the incredibly large topic of psychology. Although psychology is a very large topic this immense field is still
Explanations of narcolepsy are in majority biological. Scientists have discovered that narcoleptics often are lacking in hypocretin which is a chemical in the brain that control sleep and wakefulness. A lack of this chemical may explain the sudden attacks of sleep.
“It takes a village to raise a child.” I never quite understood that saying when I was growing up, but my experiences teaching and working in school settings have showed me how true it really is. Obtaining a degree in school psychology will allow me to give the support that students, families and educators need to ensure that every student will thrive.
Investigate how psychology can be used to understand specific behaviours, and examine how it can be applied to the work of General Practitioners and social workers
This essay will aim to describe and evaluate the behaviourist approach while referring to other perspectives and the key debates within psychology. Behaviourism believes that human behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without the need to consider thoughts or feelings (Cardwell & Flanagan, 2015).
The psychology actually is "the systematic scientific study of human mental functioning and behaviour", which is made up from many disciplines also including different areas of human understanding. www.markedbyteachers.co (2010)
The Id area is divided into two main human instincts. One is the “EROS” which is the instinct
Whether it is the study of biopsychology and other fields of psychology or neuroscience, all psychologists and scientists are trying to understand the functions of the brain. The body and mind connection and how it reacts to certain behaviors or illnesses. Most all psychological functioning can be reduced to underlying brain processes. This should serve as reason alone as to why biology plays an important part in the study of psychology. Psychological factors play a role in whether a person develops a mental illness and in how well they recover from a mental illness, yet biological and genetic risk factors, or predispositions, are
Within the book Mastering the World of Psychology chapter five covers a basis surrounding the process of learning and how it relatively has permanent changes on behavior, knowledge, capability, or attitude (“Book”). These affects are acquired through everyday experiences such as actions that take place, enhancing our understanding of everything encompassed around us. As we continue to observe and apply associative learning we continue enhance our understanding of the world we live.
Two years prior of my birth, both of parents made the ultimate decision to begin a brand new life as they brought themselves along with the rest of my family to the United States of America. Sold on the idea of the ‘American Dream’, they held aspirations of offering a better opportunity of an enriched lifestyle for all of us. With their own cultures mixed with my American values and ideals, out came a lifetime's worth of clashes and thoughts on who I am as an individual. I began to take on the role of the observer as I payed close attention to the family dynamic and grew aware of each member’s specific roles. Seeing how these said roles affected the relationships and behaviors of one another allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of others. Psychology allows me to observe my surroundings, to be able to figure out why things work the way they do and my love for it continues to grow. It offers me the chance to ask questions and strengthen my curiosities on human interaction and the level of impact it has on society.
The British Psychological Society states that ‘Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour’ (BPS). In this essay I will be discussing what is actually meant by this and whether psychology fits into both the traditional views of a science, as well as more contemporary perspectives. It is widely suggested that Psychology is a “coalition of specialities” meaning it is multi-disciplinary (Hewstone, Fincham and Foster 2005, page 4). I will therefore examine whether it could be considered wrong to think that all parts of the discipline should neatly fit into one view of a scientific approach.
I chose Gestalt Psychology for my first perspective, it is how people experience objects and perceive things as a whole. Gestalt allows us to look at everyday objects and distinguish them from their surroundings. Without the Gestalt Theory people would see every atom that made up a whole object. As I look at my computer screen, I do not see every little atom, I see the screen as a whole. From this perspective, learning objects as a whole instead of each individual part is beneficial because it allows us to open our minds for new learning experiences. However, there may be things in life that do not provide enough visual clues to determine what it is supposed to be.
Psychology is a term derived from two Greek words that translate to life explanation, which makes it an important element of daily life. The field of psychology can be described as a discipline that focuses on the study of mind and behavior. This discipline is characterized by several concepts and approaches that are used by psychologists in understanding human behavior. Since psychology is a broad field, psychologists not only use these concepts and approaches but also conduct scientific research that enables them to understand human behavior. Some of the most common psychological concepts that are used to modify or change an individual’s behavior include operant conditioning, positive and negative punishment,
I have always been intrigued by the mental processes of humans and animals. As a young child and into adolescence, as a student and teacher and as a caregiver, I have always been interested in psychology in one form or another. This essay will reflect not only the development of my interest in psychology, but the development of myself as a person.
(Corresponds to Prologue and Chapter 1 in Myers Text; NOTE that page numbers on this do NOT correspond to the Myers text)
This research article was taken from the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Journal. This specific issue had a total of ten articles, and while they are covering different topics and studies, some of them do focus on similar ideas. Psychology is all about the study of the mind, and how it has different parts intended for unique functions. It seems like a good portion of the articles for this specific journal deal with emotions and how the body interprets them. One article deals with the stress of different generations, while another deals with an individual’s willpower against sugar. There is an article about self-esteem and how that varies during a lifetime, as well as an article on cooperation. The article that will be specifically discussed in this research paper also has to deal with how the body interprets things when it comes to a stressful situation, such as a crime. It looks at how reliable eyewitness testimony is after traumatic events, specifically in regards to lineups.