Psychological Concepts and Principles Shape and Determine

¶ … psychological concepts and principles shape and determine our behavior. They influence how we interact with other people and how we perform in social situations. Psychological factors also play an important part in the workplace.

An actor practices maintenance rehearsal in order to memorize lines. Maintenance rehearsal is great for rote repetition of material that can be quickly forgotten. An actor probably won't need to remember their lines for longer than the specific film or stage production requires. But an actor might be prone to narcissism. Narcissism is a personality disorder characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance. Many actors, especially celebrities, can probably be quite self-absorbed. In fact, the narcissistic need for attention, success, and power goes hand-in-hand with the glamour of the profession.

A musician may also be narcissistic, but the work itself may demand other psychological principles. For example, timbre, or the unique quality of a given sound, is important for musicians. Even if they are unaware of the scientific concept of timbre, musicians need to be able to distinguish one sound from another. A musician might also need to practice some form of sensory adaptation, or becoming used to a stimulus so it is no longer part of conscious awareness. A musician who plays with a band might need to adapt to the sounds of other instruments as to not lose concentration on his or her own music.

Someone who teaches foreign languages would need to understand the concept of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement encourages learning by providing some kind of reward. A teacher may give out gold stars to young pupils or a token prize for good performance in class. A language teacher also needs to encourage students to use their long-term memory. Unlike actors, who can call upon short-term memory for their lines, students of a foreign language need to be able to store things long-term. A method in which a language instructor might promote long-term memory is elaborative rehearsal. Elaborative rehearsal uses associations to form memories. Mnemonic devices are a type of elaborative rehearsal. A good language instructor will make the vocabulary and grammar come alive.

A psychologist who counsels couples would of course need a solid foundation in psychoanalysis or psychotherapy. These are common forms of counselling that should help the individuals to better understand themselves, their behavior, and that of their partner. But a pre-marital counsellor needs a strong understanding of the display rules that govern emotional expression. Because men and women express their emotions differently, a counsellor would need to be sensitive to the individual modes of expression each person uses to communicate.