1,478 words

Key concepts and theories in guidance and counseling practice

Review of key concepts and theories pertaining to counseling. Empathic understanding: Empathic understanding involves seeing the world from the client's perspective, although not necessarily validating the external reality of what the client feels.

~8 min read

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591 words

Brain plasticity and neural adaptation in human cognition

Of all the ideas that I was exposed to and engaged with during this course, those regarding the malleability and adaptability of the brain were both the most intriguing and, I believe, will be the most influential in my future career and in my life.

~3 min read

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675 words

Free will versus fate: defending human agency and choice

For centuries, science, religion, and philosophy have debated whether or not free will exists. If it does, it has significant implications for a variety of other important aspects of life, such as education, criminal justice, socioeconomic problems, etc.

~4 min read

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618 words

Subjective and objective reality: comparing quantum and evolutionary perspectives

What is reality? This is a question that philosophers, students, and reflective people have been asking for years. Although some argue that reality is what is in front of us, it's not always that easy.

~4 min read

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656 words

The nature and nurture of primate learning abilities

Nature or nurture? it's a question that psychologists, medical doctors, sociologists, and parents have been asking themselves since the beginning of time -- what part of a person's abilities, behavior, and personality are learned and which parts are due to biology.

~4 min read

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933 words

The physical and mental health effects of chronic stress

Stress is a basic fact in everyone's life. Forces from the outside world affect an individual on a daily basis. How an individual responds to stress determines in what ways it will affect the individual.

~5 min read

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357 words

Attention, working memory, and schemas in cognitive processing

In order for humans to survive there is a constant need to monitor the events that are occurring in our external environment along with the events in our internal environment like our thoughts. This process of monitoring events is known as attention.

~2 min read

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963 words

Comparing Binet and Terman's intelligence tests and their applications

How do we retrieve content into our awareness from long-term memory? Information is retrieved from long-term memory by tracing through the network of interconnections to the place where it is stored.

~5 min read

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1,346 words

Short-term and long-term memory in human cognition

There are two types of human memory, short-term and long-term. Short-term memory is often known as working memory. This is where information is stored if it is needed in the following seconds, minutes or hours.

~7 min read

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1,025 words

The psychological and physiological benefits of humor and laughter

The article chosen for this assignment was written by Steve Ayan and published in the Scientific American on March 25, 2009. Entitled "How Humor Makes You Friendlier, Sexier" Ayan's article takes the position that not only is humor "psychologically beneficial" but it actually can cure diseases.

~6 min read

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