317 words

Rosenhan's study of diagnostic reliability in psychiatric hospitals

In this dated but intriguing article, D.L. Rosenhan, professor of psychology at Stanford University, poses a very interesting question, one that is still relevant in today's world-"If sanity and insanity exist, how shall we know them?" (1973, 250), meaning that under certain conditions, it may be…

~2 min read

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1,491 words

Aging and mortality in Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie: An old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson by Mitch Albom. Specifically it will discuss the essence of aging portrayed in the book and existential psychology.

~8 min read

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1,609 words

Organizational behavior and decision-making in criminal justice

What is organizational behavior? It is a social science discipline much like cultural anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. That means that it uses the scientific method to establish truth and to validate its theories.

~9 min read

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766 words

Hannah Arendt's analysis of Nazi perpetrators and individual responsibility

Eichman and the Holocaust, Hannah Arendt grapples with the role that Nazis, especially Eichman, played in carrying out this human nightmare. In particular, she focuses on the psychology of the holocaust from the perspective of its perpetrators.

~4 min read

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911 words

Personal journey from adoption work to graduate counseling education

My decision to pursue graduate education in mental health/counseling is an intensely personal one. My undergraduate education in psychology might lead some to believe that I would naturally be drawn towards further education in mental health, but this is certainly not the case.

~5 min read

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1,891 words

Biological, developmental, cognitive, and social causes of histrionic personality disorder

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) is one of the least seen personality disorders in the United States, and one of the least researched in psychology today. In 2004, only two to three percent of the population treated in clinical environments had been diagnosed with the disorder (Britton, 2004).

~10 min read

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2,944 words

Professional competence and clinical skills in therapeutic relationships

The work of Overholser and Fine (1996) states that: "Professional competence plays a prominent role in the guidelines established by all disciplines involved in psychotherapy, whether psychology, psychiatry, counseling, or social work." Related as well is that: "The Ethical Principles of…

~15 min read

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1,066 words

Vygotsky and Piaget: comparing sociocultural and cognitive development theories

Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget were both born in 1896. Piaget was originally trained in biology and philosophy. Vygotsky received a law degree from Moscow University and studied literature and linguistics. He wrote a book on the psychology of art and received a Ph.D.

~6 min read

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636 words

Designing a butterfly garden to enhance children's connection with nature

About 150 years ago, the psychologist Herbert Spenser wrote the book, Principals of Psychology, and emphasized the importance of "surplus energy theory" or for children to have a chance to release all their extra energy.

~4 min read

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604 words

Music therapy's expression of complex emotions through clinical analysis

The development of biology and the sciences in general have lead to the slow realization that all humans are fundamentally similar; however, the concurrent progression of psychology and genetics have, in the last century or so, begun to plumb the depths of the differences between human beings.

~4 min read

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