Psychology concepts and applications

Psychology

The following question requires you to write a brief answer consisting of a few sentences or a listing. List the five goals of psychology and briefly explain a situation in which you experienced two or more of these goals. The five goals of psychology are to 1) describe; 2) explain; 3) predict; 4) control; and, 5) improve. The first goal is to observe behavior and describe in detail what has been observed. The second goal, explain, means a psychologist has to go beyond what they observe and explain what they observed. Predict, the third goal, is the belief that once a psychologist knows what has happened in the past and why, they can better predict what's going to happen in the future. The fourth goal, control, refers to the idea that once a psychologist knows what happens and why it happens, they can begin to speculate what is going to happen in the future and try to control it in some way. An example would be, if every time you and your spouse has a fight it is because you are drunk, then we can predict that drinking can lead to fights, so the psychologist will want to take a look at the client's drinking and find a way to change the negative outcome of fighting by being more mindful of drinking or quitting altogether. Lastly, the fifth goal, improve, means that psychologists don't simply want to exert control over someone's behavior, but they truly want to work to improve it. Psychologists want to make an individual's life better, not worse.

2) the following question requires you to write a brief answer consisting of a few sentences or a listing. Explain the steps that psychologists take when conducting research. Psychologists have different steps they use when conducting research. They first must ask a certain question; then they design a study; next they will need to collect data; then they will analyze the results; after analyzing they will come to some conclusions; and lastly, they will share the findings.

3) the following question requires you to write a brief answer consisting of a few sentences or a listing. What is the difference between a person's behavioral and cognitive activities? Cite five examples of behavioral activities. Cognitive activities will occur because of processes that go on in the brain -- for example, thinking and problem-solving. Behavioral activities are more of reactions to stimuli and have less to do with cognitive (or brain) processes and more to do with how one acts in a certain environment. Some behavioral activities would include: 1) sitting quietly while in the classroom or in church; 2) opening the door for somebody to walk in ahead of you; 3) using good manners while at a restaurant; 4) helping an old lady cross the street; and, 5) picking up a child that is crying.

4) the following question requires you to write a short essay consisting of a few paragraphs. Compare and contrast structuralism and functionalism by discussing elements such as their definition, founders, and similarities and differences. Edward B. Tichener formally established and gave a name to structuralism, which was first based on Wilhel Wundt's ideas. Structuralism is the first school of psychology and focuses on breaking down the mental processes into more basic parts of consciousness (i.e., introspection).

Functionalism was established as a reaction to structuralism and was founded by William James as well as Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory. Functionalism, unlike structuralism, explains the mental processes in a systematic and correct manner. It does not focus of the aspects of consciousness. Functionalists, rather, focus on the purpose of consciousness and behavior. Unlike structuralism, it emphasizes the differences between people.

Structuralism was the fist major school of thought in psychology and had a big influence on experimental psychology. Functionalism influenced behaviorism and applied psychology.