Psychology Essays (Examples)

PSYCHOLOGY as a SCIENCE
Psychology is a relatively new field of science as opposed to the natural sciences because it was born out of the spirit of humanism after the enaissance (Hergenhahn, 108). As a result, methods and norms in the field are still being developed. In addition, the subject matter of the field includes the mind, personality and other intangible entities that cannot be subjected to the same kind of testing and experimentation as in medicine or physics.

Psychology has intended to become a branch of science to gain greater credibility and reliability for its claims. Science is recognized as objective whereas other fields may be treated as subjective and based on philosophical speculation rather than rigorous experimentation and research. In fact, the history of science in the modern world can be traced to the moment in 1600 when William Gilbert published his work on magnetism based on objective…

Psychology
Theories of personality focus on inner traits of individuals, which may or may not be viewed as static. The most important schools of personality psychology include Psychodynamic Theory, Freud's Theory of Personality, Humanistic Theory, B.F. Skinner's Theory of Personality, Social Learning Theory, and Evolutionary Personality Theory. While all these theories share in common their goal to explain, analyze, and understand human behavior in terms of personality explanations, there are important differences in these main approaches. The differences will affect theory but also practice of psychology.

Behaviorism was one of the earliest expressions of psychological inquiry. Therefore, it makes sense to begin with an understanding of behavioral theories of personality. Behaviorism suggests that individual behavior is the key to understanding personality. Because of its emphasis on behavior rather than emotion or cognition, behavioral theories of personality are relatively weak and limited in scope. However, it is still worth understanding the…

Psychology is considered to be an area of study that involves behavior. Behavior is demonstrated in a lot of diverse areas in the field of psychology. Some of these examples are mental illness, relationships, sexuality, depression, family dynamics, or culture. Accepting of behavior is picked up by various techniques and it could be from society or changes in individuals or the overall population. Psychologists look at various factors such as experimentation, observation, and analysis and psychoanalysis methods. The area has a lot of different branches some areas to be looked at to be applied are research, consultants in governments, or societies or health care organization.
Psychologist are able to work by themselves or with a group or team of psychologists. The area of psychology is to bring some kind of assistance to others, to discover the source of the issue and then try to bring some kind of solution to…

Psychology is an important field of study mainly because it can be used to enhance the lives of people as it increases an individual's level of self-understanding, well-being, and quality of relationships. The main reason for the impact of psychology on people's lives is because this field focuses on describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling the mental and behavioral processes of an individual. As a broad field of study, the field of psychology consists of several important topics like introduction to psychology, its scientific method, sensation and perception, learning, and memory. Developing an understanding of the field of psychology through its basic topics is significant in comprehending the wide impact of the field on people's lives.
As an important field of study with huge impacts on the lives of people, psychology can be described as the science of mental and behavioral processes that seeks to define and explain the various aspects…

" Dorothy deserves a lot of credit for the level of motivation she exhibits in the Wizard of Oz. When she gets to Oz, her primary goal is to reach the Wizard so that she can return home to Kansas. The motivation Dorothy exhibited to save Toto from the old woman was a more instinctual type of motivation; whereas in Oz she was also stimulated externally by several factors including the strangeness of her environment, the fact that she had been distanced from her initial or primary goal of saving Toto, and also the fact that she met three other characters who likewise had motivation to go to Oz. Motivation is therefore a prevailing theme in the Wizard of Oz.
The interactions between Dorothy and her newfound friends in Oz can be understood in terms of psychological principles, namely those of social psychology and developmental psychology. Described in Chapter 12,…

Psychology Statement of Purpose with a Brief Personal Statement
My interest in psychology has over time been stimulated by a number of experiences. Top amongst these is my reading of a book I stumbled upon several years ago. The book, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, essentially concerns itself with a character by the name Gregor Samsa who one day finds himself turned into a giant vermin. As a result, Samsa ends up experiencing untold emotional and psychological anguish. Although I was only aged 15 when I first read the book, the questions it triggered in me regarding both mental illness and general psychology further prompted my curiosity in the subject. I have also been a member of my campus' Psychology Club. In addition to giving me an opportunity to interact with my peers, being a member of the club also allowed me to learn many other things I would not…

Psychology Statement of Purpose and Personal Statement
When I was 12 years old, a cousin (let us call her Jenny) who was living with us at the time as her parents sorted out their marital problems started exhibiting strange behavior. At the time, she was only 14. At first, her strange behavior was barely noticeable but with time, it became clear that something was amiss. We became alarmed when she started refusing to eat meals claiming that her dad could have sneaked in the house (or sent someone) to poison the food as it was being prepared so as to get rid of her. Apparently, for one reason or another, Jenny had quite a low opinion of her dad. To cut the long story short, Jenny was later-on diagnosed with paranoid-type schizophrenia. All along, I had been particularly close to Jenny and her change of behavior left me totally confused.…

Psychology
The Field of Psychology:

An Overview of Foundations, Influence and Pertinence in Today's orld

One of the most fascinating and complex fields of study in today's scientific world is psychology, the scientific examination of human behavior. Psychologists, as professionals, can prove to be an extremely useful resource, especially since mental disorders tend to be just as complicated as physical disorders, and, often, much less apparent. The field of psychology has grown tremendously in the past century, with numerous innovations coming to the fore from various illustrious individuals, and proving that theories can be attributed to any human being, and his or her behavior, regardless of whether there is a problem or not. Psychology, therefore, is no longer a study of those who cannot function well in society, but it has rather become a means through which we, as a society, can understand ourselves and function better as individuals. The…

The central persuasion route is an active and mindful process in the determination of the value of a persuasive argument. In the cognitive processing in The route to persuasion can be attributed to the many variables that affect the likelihood of thinking about the value of messages. One's motivation to think about issue-relevant information and the ability to do the cognitive processing has been affected by these variables. Notably, some variables affecting one's motivation are part of the person and the situation while other variables affect the direction of thinking with some affecting the general amount of thinking the person does.

Although many advertisements use more than one technique in attempts to persuade the audience, the most commonly used technique is that of authority (Gresko, Kennedy & Lesniak, 2003). People are more likely to respect the opinions of someone who is understood to have a lot of knowledge concerning a…

sychology History
A Brief History of sychology

The study of psychology is now deeply entrenched in our society's understand as to how a human, and specifically the human mind, functions. Understanding one's psychological needs is necessary in daily life in order to understand how to cope with various stresses and emotions. However, many decades ago, such ideas were truly visionary, as psychology was not considered a true scientific subject, and many who had mental problems were thrown in institutions where they were shunned by society and often forgotten by families. This paper will examine progress in the field of psychology, and will do so by outlining the roots of early philosophy that influenced the development of modern psychology and by identifying those individuals who began this study and who established psychology as a discipline in the 19th century.

The roots of modern psychology, through they begin in the 1800's, truly…

One of the most salient measures that a psychologist can take is to base all of his work, and particularly his or her conclusions or findings, in the methodology befitting of true psychological and scientific processes. This means utilizing empirical evidence and evidence-based practices to substantiate findings before publicizing any sorts of claims surrounding their implications. This sort of testing (which author Scott Lillenfeld wrote the public believes is missing from psychology) (No author, 2012) is the key distinguishing factor between any science and a pseudoscience, and psychologists should actively pursue this type of testing before anything regarding to a particular study or treatment is revealed to the public.
The worst thing a contemporary or even future psychologist can do to aid the derisive viewpoint of psychology that is largely conceived of by the public is to forsake scientific methodology and publish treatments or findings before thoroughly and empirically examining…

With the issues of gun control coming up in the media, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. In the meantime, it is obvious that America needs to embrace itself from future unspeakable horror.
References

Anthony cioli, P. (2013, Janurary 5). Newtown, Connecticut: From Fear to Hope. Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hope-today/201212/newtown-connecticut-fear-hope

Bergland, C. (2011, April 31). Mindfulness Training and the Compassionate Brain. Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201212/mindfulness-training-and-the-compassionate-brain

Berit Brogaard, D.P. (2012, March 2). Violence May Be the Answer. Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201212/violence-may-be-the-answer

Diamond, . (2012, December 4). Diagnosing crooge yndrome: The Dangers of Embitterment. Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evil-deeds/201212/diagnosing-scrooge-syndrome-the-dangers-embitterment

Elana Premack andler, L.M. (2011, August 12). Not Just About Guns, Not Just About Mental Illness. Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/promoting-hope-preventing-suicide/201212/not-just-about-guns-not-just-about-mental-illness

Ian H. Robertson, P. (2012, May 1). chool hootings olved Forever. Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-winner-effect/201212/school-shootings-solved-forever

Joseph Grenny, D.M. (2012, March 2). The Media Is…

Psychology first developed as a formal discipline in the late 19th century, even though its origins actually date back to ancient Greece (Wright, 2011, p.407). As philosophers began to probe the nature of the human mind, the theory of psychology and its overall acceptance in society began to evolve. As we look back at psychology's early beginnings, evidence of the emergence of several different schools of thought are revealed and their differences clearly delineated.
One of the first schools of thought to emerge was that of functionalism. Proponents of this school felt that the role of psychology was to investigate the function of consciousness, or the purpose of human thought (Wright, 2011, p.407). The functionalists wanted to understand how the mind worked rather than merely describing its contents and they focused on the motivations of mental processes and behavior (Hergenhahn, 2009, p.336). The functionalist school of thought was in direct…

Tolman's objective was to comprehend human mental processes by using experimental methods. Even though he used rats in mazes as his method, and was a behaviorist in his approach, he also included major ideas from Gestalt psychology. Cognitive maps are a kind of mental processing, or cognition, that is made up of a series of psychological transformations by which a person can obtain code, store, recall, and decode information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomenon in their everyday or figurative spatial environment. Cognitive maps are a way that people use to arrange and store spatial knowledge, allowing the mind's eye to visualize images in order to reduce cognitive load, and enhance recall and learning of information.
Donald Hebb (Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory)

Donald Hebb attempted to combine present day knowledge of physiology and psychology into a comprehensive theory of thought and emotion to explain the nature…

These memories have happened in the external world and they are remembered based on what has been experienced before (Explicit Memory Storage, 2004).
Semantic memory is memory that is based on a person's knowledge. This knowledge can be factual or theoretical (Semantic v Episodic Memory, 2004). Some examples of semantic memory might be that a person knows what kind of dog they are looking at or they know their friend's phone number.

This can sometimes be confused with the third type of memory, which is episodic memory. The difference in the two types of memories is that while you may remember the phone number of your best friend from when you were both 10 years old, you also can remember calling your friend and the kinds of things you did together as best friends and the kinds of things you talked about on the phone. If you remember the phone…

I never found out what became of him afterwards.
Uniting psychology with spiritual guidance would be the ideal way, I believe, that Eric could have been reached. Eric had clear psychological problems that related to his difficult family situation. But there was also a clear, deep spiritual craving to relate his longings to a cause larger than himself, and to engage in some form of self-improvement. Eric had a good will and a curiosity about the questions that grip the minds of so many adolescents, like 'why am I here,' and 'what is the purpose of all of this?' But his energies needed to be directed into more productive channels than drugs. Also, Eric lacked a true sense of interdependence. He had been brought up in an insecure value system, so he experimented with his personal morality, much in the same way he experimented with drugs. He saw himself as…

Psychology of Emotions
Psychology

In this paper, we have chosen to discuss on the topic of emotions in the field of psychology. We will discuss many different aspects in describing the definition of emotions and will also argue on various types of emotions like being excited, happy, sad, angry, scared, tender and so on.

Emotions and elated Theories

What is emotion and how do we describe it? The search for answer to this question has been on for many thousands of years and will carry on for much more time to come. However a scientific explanation to this can be given that emotions are very complex psycho-physiological experiences of any person's state of mind which are defined and altered by many internal as well as environmental influences. Emotions of human beings are considered to be more complex as compared to that of any other living creatures like animals or plants,…

Psychology of Adaptation
Experimentation

In order to understand the concept of adaptation in psychology, I conducted a number of experiments to demonstrate this theory in the "real" sensory world.

First, I took a piece of very coarse sandpaper, the kind that is used to smooth down furniture before applying paint or varnish. The paper at first felt very uncomfortable as I rubbed it across my fingers. I rated this sensation of roughness initially at a level of 7 because the paper felt very rough as it came into contact with my fingers. There was a tingling sensation that I would not quite describe as pain, but as extreme discomfort and irritation.

After waiting several minutes, I conducted the experiment again, using the same exact testing conditions. As I rubbed the same piece of paper over my finger, I again felt a distinct sense of discomfort. However, the discomfort level was…

Psychology
Describe the relationship between Behaviorism and Cognitive psychology as movements within the science of psychology in the last century. Is one better than the other? Why or why not? Compare and contrast.

The Behavioral School of thought, founded by BF Skinner and his classical conditioning approach was the natural precedent of Freud's psychoanalytical approach. According to behaviorism, all behavior is learnt and that people can be taught various things by conditioning them through the use of stimuli, response and reward/punishments.

The behavioral school of thought, in terms of conditioning was used as a psychological tool in order to cater to the needs of patients, when it was thought that rectifying behavior would stop the problems from recurring.

Then, Noam Chomsky, in 1957, reviewed Skinner's book, where it was indicated, as an example of a situation that language could not be learnt through conditioning or through stimuli and response models…

There is ample evidence in the literature supporting environmental, familial and socio-economic causes for mental illness among the incarcerated, including lack of familial support, financial status or access to quality healthcare (Pustilnik, 2005). Among the more common illnesses that temporarily abate but often become worse after release provided those incarcerated receive therapeutic treatment in prison include depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol dependence (Pustilnik, 2005; Bowers, 2000).
It is Bowers (2000) in fact that combines the research of others suggesting that mental illness is very much for many social in nature; thus a criminal who receives parole and provided ample therapeutic support on release is likely to perform well in society, whereas one who is left to their own devices is more likely to exhibit a worsening of symptoms. Individuals on probation who receive no therapeutic support are more likely to demonstrate increasing mental illness especially in the form of…

Psychology of the Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior is a complex phenomenon to study and analyze. When it comes to the psychology of the consumer behavior, it is even complicated. Since the individual differences affect the biasness of the people towards certain brands therefore generalizing the things is much difficult. Consumer goods can share a same apparent purpose but the real meaning can be different for different people. Psychology of the consumer behavior is actually the study of all such things in a broader perspective and there are specifications to it.

Functional-instrumental and symbolic-expressive functions of material possessions

Material possessions have got different functions to follow. They can be varied for each human. From functional-instrumental function we basically mean that the basic purpose a commodity/material is fulfilling. It is not necessary that a particular object will hold a particular or specific meaning. It can be possible that object holds a varied…

I also have excellent communication skills, which I believe will help me in a psychology career, as I am comfortable in public speaking and working one-on-one with individuals. I believe I can communicate effectively, and I can analyze and uncover organisational pitfalls and problems, as well. I believe all a person's life experiences can assist them in their studies, and I have completed four degree programs in the past, so I am fully aware of the benefits of a university education and how it can be used effectively in our chosen career paths. I believe our career paths can alter throughout our lives, and that continuing our education is a vital aspect of growing and changing as our career paths diverge and head toward new goals.
I believe the Chicago School of Psychology can assist me in reaching my career goals by instilling me with a stellar education, preparing me…

Why might the cognitive-affective processing system provide a more thorough understanding of an individual's personality than older models (e.g., Freud's theory of personality)? Although complex in its own way, Freud’s theory of personality fails to account for the infinite array of experiences and environmental stimuli—not to mention genetics and biology. Other models of psychology can also focus too much on one dimension of the human experience, such as only behavior. The benefit of the cognitive-affective processing system model is that it takes into account numerous issues including cognitive processing, cognitive schemas, emotional responses, coping mechanisms, and the seemingly infinite number of other variables that make up the human personality and human behavior.
The cognitive-affective processing system (CAPS) approach is not just an abstract theory, but one that can also be applied to different psychological issues. For example, Ayduk & Gyrak (2008) apply CAPS to rejection sensitivity. The CAPS model shows…

I became the person I am today because of my past, and all the influences that have shaped me, molded me, and impacted my personality and sense of self. Of course, my genetic history is also tied into who I am, impacting my physiological development, which in turn shapes how others see me and respond to me. In my case, I was adopted and have no knowledge of my birth parents. Occasionally I have considered finding out who they were but have yet to take that step; perhaps one day I will. Without knowing my biological parents, I do not know my genetic history as well as I could. I also do not know the conditions that impacted my mother during my prenatal development. As soon as I was adopted, my parents embraced me and held me as if I was one of their own. They adopted one other child,…

Appreciating the Concept of Security Engineering In the book ‘Security Engineering,' Ross Anderson does an in-depth look at the various systems that are needed to deal with either malicious behavior, mishaps or erroneous behavior. It is a field that cuts across and utilizes the expertise of other subjects such as economics, cryptography, and psychology to ensure that a well-rounded result is achieved. It is imperative to note that while the definitions of a system differ from organization to organization, the implications they have on security engineering is quite significant. In the first chapter, the author discusses four examples of environments that use security engineering; they include a home, hospitals, banks and military bases. Thus, the very processes that go towards maintaining privacy and a sense of confidentiality for people need to be up to date and adapting to the technological times to deal efficiently with any threat that may arise.…

The Origins of Behaviorism: A Synthesis Paper
Introduction

Although behaviorism is now considered part of psychology, the scientific study of human behavior started out as its own investigative field. In fact, early behaviorists actively endeavored to set themselves apart from the psychology of their day. Many behaviorists believed psychologists—particularly Sigmund Freud--focused too much on the subconscious mind. Behaviorism was the first attempt to study human behavior using the scientific method. A multitude of research trends and influences in the biological and social sciences led to the emergence of behaviorism as a separate school of thought around the end of the nineteenth century. The most important theorists that contributed to the evolution of behaviorism as a separate school of thought presented their work as fundamentally different from the other life sciences like biology, but also different from psychoanalysis. Those early behaviorists, who laid the groundwork for future researchers, included John Watson,…

Humanist School of Thought in PsychologyIntroductionThe humanistic school of thought in psychology emphasizes the unique nature of each individual and the importance of personal growth and fulfillment. This approach began in the 1950s as a reaction to the dominant behaviorist and Freudian perspectives, which tended to view people as either determined by their past experiences or governed by unconscious drives. The humanistic psychologists Adler, Rogers and Maslow were among the pioneers of this movement, and their work helped to shape the field of counseling and therapy. Adler posited that, contrary to what Freud argued, human beings could know what they wanted and could achieve their goals without regard to any subconscious or unconscious meddling. Rogers' concept of unconditional positive regard was particularly influential, as it emphasized the importance of accepting people just as they are. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs also had a major impact on psychological thinking, as it emphasized…

In “’I don’t’ versus ‘I can’t,” Patrick & Hagtvedt (2012) explore a single dimension of self-talk, namely how people phrase refusals. The implications of the investigation are to show how self-talk may influence goal-directed behaviors. Moreover, the research falls within the provinces of cognitive and linguistic sciences, particularly with regard to semantic framing. The authors also point out that the results of this and similar studies on the role of self-talk in mitigating behavior might be relevant to marketers. The Patrick & Hagtvedt (2012) study is about how language impacts self-talk as well as behavior; the study therefore reflects the theories and ethical principles of cognitive psychology. One of the foundational principles guiding the Patrick & Hagtvedt (2012) research is the Whorf hypothesis, which is central to the filed of linguistics. Essentially, the Whorf hypothesis suggests that language actually frames reality, potentially more than the other way around. A review…

Description of the Client Client is an African-American male in his late teens, currently enlisted in the United States Navy. When he first arrives to therapy, the client presents himself cleanly in uniform, but he refuses to talk. The client has been mandated to the therapist after getting into a series of violent altercations with fellow officers. After several more sessions, the client starts to engage.
Engagement
The first several sessions did not yield any information, as the client was resistant to therapy and was not in therapy of his own volition. However, the client eventually reveals the details of his childhood. His story unfolds from the beginning, even from the time before the client was born when his father was killed. The client’s mother was arrested, convicted, and sent to prison, causing the client to have been born in jail. As the client’s mother was unable to take care…

Although ethical values and principles guide all of the American Psychological Association’s (APA, 2017) ethical codes, there are different ways of interpreting and applying those ethical principles depending on the situation. Clinical and counseling psychologists have different ethical guidelines for their profession. For example, there are different ethical principles related to clients being treated by psychologists in counseling sessions versus the standards for conducting psychological research with human participants. Both human subjects and clients in counseling should be guaranteed confidentiality and anonymity, and both clients and participants in research should receive informed consent related to the terms of their relationship with the counselor/researcher. However, due to the unique circumstances surrounding the relationship between counselor and client, the APA (2017) offers much more extensive guidelines for sexual misconduct and other abuses of power in the client-counselor relationship. The ethical guidelines for research cover some issues that might not be relevant to…

Attachment theory is central to child development, and has been shown to be “biologically-based,” (Gross, Stern, Brett, et al, 2015, p. 2). Children can develop secure, insecure, or disorganized styles of attachment, based largely on parental responses to their emotional needs in times of stress or a perceived threat. Attachment theory shows that attachment is relational, in that attachment style is based on individual responses to stress but also on parental responses to the child’s need for comfort when feeling threatened. Since attachment theory was first proposed in the late 1960s, it has evolved to include a wide range of research on different causes, effects, and interventions. Recent research on attachment theory has focused on how different attachment styles impact prosocial behaviors such as helping, sharing, or caring. In “The Multifaceted Nature of Prosocial Behavior in Children,” Gross, Stern, Brett, et al (2015) show how secure attachment styles are linked…

Peer Reply 1: Brian Walker Hi, Brian! It sounds like you have some very interesting pastimes that help you relax, unwind, and recharge. I appreciate you sharing a bit about yourself and find it inspiring to see someone who has obviously been successful in life taking the same class I am taking. It makes me think I am doing something right by being here, since others like you who have already come such a long way in life are here with me. Hopefully, we can all learn a little from each other. Like you, I look forward to learning how to read people more effectively and learning how to motivate people using I/O psychology. One of the important principles I have learned about human motivation in the past, at least according to Maslow’s (1943) theory of the needs hierarchy is that the goal is to get people to be self-motivated,…

Topic for Research
According to Erikson’s stages of development, the period of adolescence is when teens experience the Identity vs. Role Confusion conflict. Unless they are able to solve this conflict, they cannot proceed on to the next stage of development in a meaningful and positive way. One of the problems that adolescents face today, however, is that they are not provided with ample opportunity to resolve this conflict in a meaningful way. The identities they form for themselves are not forged in the furnace of ideals or values but rather in the cauldron of ethical egoism, wherein one learns that morality is determined by that which provides one with what one wants, i.e., all ends justify whatever means necessary to justify the individual’s personal desire or ambition. This is not a recipe for moral development, according to Kristjansson (2014). The question this study would like to ask is: What…

The Mind-Brain Problem
The mind-brain problem is a concept that refers to psychologists’ consideration or evaluation of how the brain and the non-physical mind may control or affect behavior. This is an important concept in the field of psychology alongside understanding how the brain develops and changes, and factors contributing to the changes. The field of cognitive neuroscience plays a critical role in understanding the mind-brain problem as well as brain development and change since it’s a discipline that assesses the brain through imaging techniques. According to Sternberg & Sternberg (2016), cognitive neuroscience is a discipline that links the brain and other aspects of the nervous system to cognitive processing and eventually to human behavior.
Given the role of cognitive neuroscience in understanding brain development and change, current research in this field of study can be applied to understand various problems or issues in psychology. Such research can be applied…

IntroductionOne of the interesting common points that Psychology 101 and Roman History share is that they both build on what has come before. The Roman civilization owed a big debt to the influence of the ancient Greeks. The field of psychology also owes a big debt to humanism. Although psychology is often associated with Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, humanism helped to move psychology in a more practical direction. Psychologists like Adler, Piaget, Erikson, Bandura and many others have focused on the role that human society plays in nurturing or shaping human development. Instead of looking at the suppression of urges that drive human behavior, Adler asserted that everyone human being is responsible for his own actions and can know what he wants and can take steps to achieve what he wants. The idea that the human psyche was somehow unknown or unknowable was rejected by the humanists. From them…

Assignment 1:
Ever since I began my doctoral program I have grown a lot as a person. There have been many instances that have taught me about myself and what I would like to achieve in life. However, there was one experience in particular that truly helped me understand my path in life and what that will lead to as a doctoral learner. My identity as a doctoral learner was experienced by observing people and how they lived their lives, specifically from a woman named Jill. Through her story, my desire to further explore humanistic psychology grew.

Humanistic psychology centers on the belief that humans are innately good. For example, good intentions are one of the driving forces of good behavior. When people experience something bad in their life, it promotes deviation from the natural tendency of being good (Felder, Aten, Neudeck, Shiomi-Chen, & Robbins, 2014). Jill is a 28-year-old…

Introduction of material incentives reduces the supply of voluntary blood donors by 7 to 9 PercentThe law of supply in economics states that, all else unchanged, an increase in the price of a good or service will increase the quantity supplied. The quantity supplied is the level of supply that suppliers are willing to bring to the market for sale. Suppliers are assumed to be rational, which means they seek to maximize utility for themselves. As such, they will supply more of something if they expect to get a higher price for it. However, does the law of supply apply to prosocial activities such as blood donations?The World Health Organization in 1975 passed a resolution encouraging countries to target 100 percent voluntary non-renumerated blood donations by 2020. This meant filling blood banks with donations collected from unremunerated volunteers. However, developed nations such as the US have begun offering material incentives…

Research practices depend on clearly defined guidelines. Those guidelines include general suggestions for how to conduct research effectively, how to apply research to clinical practice, and also how to maximize research reliability and validity. The scientist-practitioner model has become the “framework for many training programs in clinical psychology,” (Belar & Perry, 1992, p. 71). However, it is also important to pay attention to specific statistical analyses due to the potential for misinterpreting data. Cortina (1993) points out the significance of coefficient alpha, noting that proper interpretations of alpha enhance research validity and reliability. Alpha can often be misunderstood, particularly in the realm of scientist-practitioner and other types of applied research. It is not just misinterpretation of the alpha coefficient that can stymie research validity in the social sciences. Measurement errors, attenuation, and related biases can also impede research validity (Schmidt & Hunter, 1996). Another core area of concern in applied…

What are John Watson's primary critiques of psychology (i.e., the study of consciousness via introspection)? How does he propose to solve these issues? Do you believe that introspection is important in changing behavior? Why or why not? First, Watson believed that psychology used “esoteric methods,” and could not establish itself as a natural science (p. 163). Second, Watson noted that unlike the sciences, it is impossible to improve upon the methods used in an experiment in any meaningful way. “The attack is made upon the observer and not the upon the experimental setting,” (Watson, 1913, p. 163). Psychology depends too much on introspection, as Watson calls it. Consciousness is simply too nebulous to study using the scientific method. Watson does not claim consciousness is not a worthwhile subject, but that it is simply not a scientific subject.
To resolve the tension between psychology and the social sciences, and to infuse psychology…

The Psychology of Motivation Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life's domains Canadian Psychology, 49(1), 14-23.
This article examines the appositeness of Self Determination Theory (STD) in optimizing motivation and psychological health for people. The predominant notion explored within this work is that of STD, which is significant for propounding two alternative theories of motivation. The first is that people are motivated by what is known as “autonomous” (Deci and Ryan, 2008, p. 14) motivation, which entails an active choice on the part of the subject. There are positive connotations associated with this type of motivation. The second is called “controlled” (Deci and Ryan, 2008, p. 14) motivation and correlates to feelings of pressure or compulsion to do something which does not necessarily reflect the volition of the individual. This theory is examined within the context of more traditional theories, one of…

Positive Psychology and Master Resiliency Training Sheldon and King (2001) state that positive psychology is “nothing more than the scientific study of ordinary human strengths and virtues” (p. 216). In other words, it is the science how people can live well and be strong. For that reason, positive psychology serves as the core of Master Resiliency Training (MRT) in the U.S. Army. Just as positive psychology focuses on identifying the elements that enable individuals to flourish (Fredrickson, 2001), MRT enables leaders in the Army to demonstrate and teach the skills that soldiers need to overcome obstacles and face challenges with determination, commitment and the ability to succeed. As Gen. Casey (2011) puts it, “the Army is leveraging the science of psychology in order to improve our force’s resilience” (p. 1). This paper will show that Sergeants Major can use positive psychology in general and MRT in particular to teach mental…

Abstract Theories of learning are critical for informing pedagogical practice and promoting a deeper understanding of human behavior and mental processes. Behaviorism offers corresponding theories of learning that focus mainly on observable and measurable outcomes in performance. Cognitive theories of learning emphasize numerous complex thought processes such as assimilation and accommodation of new material, and also takes into account emotional aspects such as motivation. Behavioral learning theories and cognitive learning theories seem diametrically opposed but can be easily integrated via a Biblical worldview. Implications for future research include the thoughtful integration of both behavioral and cognitive learning theories into a Biblical worldview to better inform instructional strategies and promote mental health.
Introduction
How people learn has been one of the most pressing issues in the field of psychology. Since its inception, behaviorism has attempted to answer questions related to the nature and function of human learning via experimental research and…

This term refers to a system of learning in which any action results in a form of reward or punishment. This means when a person does something, the result of that action can be gratifying or retributive. Corroboration hereby is two-sided. It can entail a positive incentive such as excellence as well as commendation. On the flip side, adverse corroboration will result in undesirable impetus such as contempt as well as distress. The two forms of corroboration which have caught the attention of a majority of scholars are: Plans focused on a specific duration like the static as well as adjustable interims. This is where any fortification follows the static as well as adjustable duration. On the other hand, proportionate plans rely on static as well as flexible rejoinders in order for the fortification to be conveyed (Blackman, 2017).
There is a plethora of experimental descriptions of liberal methods. As…

Introduction This paper reviews a case vignette, “Anna”, determines the developmental stage of the individual and assesses how well the individual is achieving the developmental tasks and issues present at the Biological, Psychological, and Social dimensions.
Anna’s Biological/physical functioning
(1) Completion of physical development tasks:
Anna is a 47-year-old Latina divorcee with two children, 23 and 26 years of age, residing in another state. Biological changes typical to the midlife phase, in which Anna currently is, include increased joint aches, weight gain and vision impairment (Lachman, 2004). By midlife, hearing and sight gets impaired among roughly 14% of individuals (Lumen, 2017). However Anna reports hardly any changes in these areas. Elevated blood pressure rates, stroke and smoking aggravate vision and hearing impairment; the above factors are absent in Anna and her healthy lifestyle makes her unlikely to experience them in the near future.
(2) Significant illness/disease:
Anna's mom and dad,…

I. Background Premier personality psychologist, Theodore Millon has been described as the “primary architect for the personality disorders” that have appeared in every Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) edition since the third (Choca & Grossman, 2014, p. 541).
Millon’s biosocial model of personality also helped the American Psychiatric Association remain steadfast to its multi-axial system of diagnosis, upon which personality is Axis II (Millon & Grossman, 2015).
Million was also the architect of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI).
Millon’s personality theory is evolutionary and biosocial, and the theorist was undoubtedly influenced by the evolutionary biology theories of Charles Darwin (American Psychological Association, 2009).
A. Historical Overview
Millon was born in Manhattan in 1928, and was an only child. He died in 2014 (“Theodore Millon – obituary,” 2014).
He began studying psychology in undergraduate school and showed an early predilection towards the understanding of abnormal psychology and personality disorders (“Theodore…

Psychological Test Evaluation: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) Section 1: General Features
a) Title: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
b) Author(s): Aaron T Beck, Robert A Steer
c) Publisher: Pearson Education, Inc.
d) Publication Year: 1993
e) Age Range: 17 years to adult (Beck & Steer, 1993)
f) Qualification Code: CL2
Section 2: Instrument Description
a) Instrument Function: What does it measure?
BAI is a tool used to measure the level of anxiety in persons aged 18 and above. It is the criteria referenced assessment instrument. The Beck Anxiety Inventory provides professionals with a strong basis on which to anchor their diagnosis and decisions about the same (Beck et al., 1988; Beck & Steer, 1993). The instrument can be used to measure baseline anxiety to establish how effective treatment is as it goes on. It can also be applied as an outcome measure during the post-treatment period.
(a) Population: Who does the…

Adolescent Psychosocial Assessment SECTION I – SOCIAL HISTORY
Personal
In list format, cover the following:
1. Name: John Mathew
2. Age: 18
3. Sex: Male
4. Race/Ethnic: Black, African-American
5. Education/Occupation: Student
6. Health: Okay
Social
John's family lives in an apartment situated in the middle of a range of complexes. The residence is right in the middle of communities in Washington, DC. The household is always abuzz with activity. There are two boys named Zebulon and David. The boys still call for their mother's attention. Ervin, my father, does not have a job. He is grounded in a wheelchair, following health challenges he has faced in the past couple of years. My mother is a part-time writer. Her name is Monique. The main poverty indicator about my family is the challenge we face in paying bills and lack of money to travel around (Sherman, 2012). Several aspects of culture…

The Big Five Trait Theory is used to describe the five core traits of personality: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion-introversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These traits are often used to help predict relationships between different personality types, as well as predictors of success in different aspects of life (Psychology Today, 2018). Ackerman (2017) argues that the Big 5 traits have been verified across different cultures and countries, thus making them relatively neutral in terms of culture bias, and findings involving the traits to be more or less universal.
In practice, the Big 5 is used in settings such as human resources departments, rather than as a comprehensive explanation of personality. For example, conscientiousness was found to be reliably correlated with success in the workplace, moreso than other traits. So an HR department might run an entire test but only be looking for a high conscientiousness score. The Big 5 trait theory…

Mary Ainsworth: Her Impact on Early Childhood Practices Background
Mary Ainsworth was born in Ohio in 1913. When she was five, her family moved to Toronto and Mary spent the rest of her childhood in Canada (O’Connell & Russo, 1983). Mary read a book entitled Character and the Conduct of Life when she was fifteen years old and that is what led her to want to pursue a career in psychology (O’Connell & Russo, 1983). The following year, she enrolled at the University of Toronto, earned her BA in 1935, her MA in 1936 and her PHD in Psychology in 1939 (Ravo, 1999). Mary taught at the University of Toronto, researched at Tavistock in England, worked at Johns Hopkins, and then settled at the University of Virginian beginning in 1975, where she stayed till she ended her professorship in 1992 (Ravo, 1999).
While in graduate school, Mary was introduced to…

Abstract Dozens of research studies have supported the hypothesis that personality traits change as one becomes older. However, what triggers these changes in personality traits? How do these changes take place? This paper investigates some of the answers to these complex questions. It does so by comparing six theories on personality development. All the theories are backed by evidences which will also be discussed. The paper ends by providing a conclusion on the factors that are driving personality changes and development.
Introduction
Personality traits change with time. In fact, it is well-accepted that the changes are lifelong. There is no single moment in time that personality remains the same. However, the sources of these changes are not known. Of course, there are multiple theories that try to explain this. Some theories argue that personality changes are caused by the environment, others argue that personality changes are caused by social roles…

1. The basic structure of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic theory revolve around the idea that mental processes are automatically regulated by "the pleasure principle" and avoidance of pain. Why are these principles important to psychotherapy? Support your reasoning.
The tendency to avoid pain and seek pleasure is universal to humanity, noted Freud, who devised the term “the pleasure principle,” (“Pleasure Principle,” 2015). The pleasure principle became one of the central ideas and pivotal focal points of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic theory. The pleasure principle is an embedded function of the subconscious mind, suggesting that it is immutable and inevitable. However, the pleasure principle is driven primarily by the needs and desires of the id. The other two parts of the subconscious, in Freud’s model, can help regulate reactions to the pleasure principle. Those other two parts of the subconscious include the ego and superego. Together with the id, the ego and superego…

Unconscious DesiresIt is possible to apply scientific methods to the study of unconscious desires and urges, as postulated by Freuds theory of personality. In recent years, there have been multiple attempts to use cognitive science approaches, such as statistical modeling of behavior, functional neuroimaging, and machine learning algorithms, to better understand the underlying psychological processes related to unconscious desires and urges. These approaches have yielded promising results in terms of increasing our understanding of the unconscious mind (Weiten et al., 2018). Granted, not all psychologists and theorists believe in the existence of unconscious desires: Adler, for instance, rejected Freuds notion that personality was shaped by unconscious desires and rather postulated that people can and do know what drives them and act accordingly. Really, applying the scientific method to the study of unconscious desires depends upon the ability to verify that these desires and urges exist, how they manifest themselves, and…

As research in child and adolescent development evolves, it becomes more possible to engage and meet the academic abilities of students with various learning abilities with evidence-based practice interventions. In an overview of over four decades’ worth of research in child and adolescent development, Luthar (2015) discusses the importance of resilience and protective factors, which apply to every single stage of development. The matrix serves as an ideal guide for developing ways to meet the needs of exceptional students through evidence-based practice. Using the matrix, educators can consider the wide range of biological, cultural, familial, and peer/school factors impacting development in the student populations they serve (Hamre, Hatfield, Pianta, et al., 2014). Even though researchers have generally moved beyond a strict interpretation of developmental stages, developmental stages are the benchmarks by which disabilities of any type are assessed and measured. However, it is important to retain an approach to child…

Strengths-based practice offers a “new paradigm” that focuses on resources and resilience, opportunities and solutions, rather than on problems or pathologies (Hammond, 2010, p. 3). Especially efficacious for young adults like Ifemelu, strengths-based practice is grounded in resiliency theory. Resiliency theory shows how building assets like self-esteem and self-confidence, plus leveraging external resources like social networks in the community, helps reduce risk and promote desired outcomes (Zimmerman, 2013). Ifemelu can benefit from a strengths-based approach for several reasons. For one, she would respond best to a therapeutic intervention that focuses less on the past due to the persistency of trauma and how it has fueled her depression and social detachment. Focusing on the trauma may encourage Ifemelu to engage in self-destructive habits like self-blame. Using a strengths-based approach, Ifemelu can focus more on how she can move forward and envision her future, perhaps becoming an advocate for women in Nigeria.…

The case study chosen includes a service user who has experienced cut-off and negligence from his relatives, friends and family especially during his childhood period. He has ever since longed to have contact or an attachment with a family securely. His condition has brought about anxiety which has made him unsettled. If the student is placed in an adult learning disability team whose role is to support adults with learning disabilities, the service users become screened or pre-assessed with fairness when it comes to caring. Such a process is useful in assisting individuals to meet their needs (Jenkins & Davies, 2011). It also ensures that those adults who are at low or moderate risk, are given advice and useful information are provided to them to assist in meeting their needs. Statistics show that nearly 1.5 million people in the United Kingdom have learning disabilities. Over 905,000 being adults aged 18…

Rieff, Schorske and Makari on Freud: Comparing and Contrasting Perspectives George Makari argued that Freud was a product of his environment. The culture of Vienna at the time was ripe for something new—but Freudian psychology still needed some external help getting moving, and that came by way of Carl Jung and his experiments which brought a great deal of attention to Freud. Karl Schorske, on the other hand, contends that Freud was less the passive recipient of environmental effects and more the active thinker, whose goal was to give “a meaningful interpretation of Western civilization, and to find his own place in it.” Phillip Rieff, on the third hand, views Freud less as an interpreter of Western civilization and more as a re-maker of civilization—a man of revolutionary ideas that would reshape the West and redirect its course; Rieff saw Freud’s sense of “sublimation” as an essential concept in the…

Peer Responses Peer 1 Sovianno
Correlation analysis could be interesting with regard to the passing down of historical trauma from parents to children. Are you doing qualitative or quantitative research? If qualitative, I might consider doing exploratory research and maybe using grounded theory with interviews to collect information. I like qualitative research because it allows one to generate ideas and form hypotheses based on data. However, if you already have an idea in mind and want to test a correlation between variables, then you could perhaps conduct some kind of quantitative research, maybe using the survey method (Newman, 2016). I would try to build on what Gittleman (2006) has examined and see if there is some gap in the research that needs to be addressed and then decide which approach is best for addressing that gap. Overall, I think your idea is a good one and could work, but I…

How Sergeant Majors Help Soldiers Cope with Stress Introduction
Master Resilience Training (MRT) allows officers in the U.S. Army to learn how to promote resilience among soldiers using positive psychology. The goal of the program is ultimately to help soldiers cope with stress, anxiety, PTSD, and other adverse situations that soldiers might experience in their units—from sexual assault to domestic violence to substance abuse and so on. Originally developed at the end of the 20th century by the University of Pennsylvania for its Resilience Program, MRT was quickly adopted by the Army as a way to help boost resilience in the battlefield. Today it is taught to non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in a 10-day program that includes education the methods that NCOs can use to communicate resiliency to their soldiers (Reivich, Seligman & McBride, 2011). The MRT program is meant not only to improve soldiers’ ability to cope with stress but…

Annotated Bibliography Hebbrecht, M. (2013). The dream as a picture of the psychoanalytic process. Romanian Journal of Psychoanalysis, 6(2), 123–142. Retrieved from http://www.revista.srdp.ro/
How can we better understand the various unknowns regarding the mind’s conscious as well as unconscious embedded aspects? This, according to Hebbrecht (2013) could be accomplished via an exploration of the underlying structure of dreams so as to better perceive or infer their relationship with psychological and personal connections that are implanted deep in the dream world? Dreams, as had been expressed by Freud, cannot merely be regarded as the unconscious thought’s expressive or direct form. The author, in this article, invokes Freud’s explication or elucidation of dreams in an attempt to initiate debate on the entire proposition as a product of an analytic process. Hebbrecht, in this enlightening article, seeks to elucidate the outcome of the psychoanalytic process, with the dream taking on a prominent role in the examination/evaluation.…

Thesis statement Multicultural competence is a necessary skill for a professional counsellor to succeed in working with mental health patients.
Introduction
Multicultural counselling refers to situations when a professional counsellor handles patients from different cultural groups and how such interaction holds the potential to interfere with what transpires in the course of their counsellor –patient relationship. The difference in culture is extended to cover differences in religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic class, age, geographic location and family history. Effective multicultural counselling calls for the professional to, firstly, acknowledge the existence of such differences between them and the mental health disorder patient (Faculty, 2014).
The necessary steps to attain cultural competence
How to understand and address problems in multicultural counselling setting
Acknowledging cultural differences is an effective tool that counsellors can utilize to handle patients from other cultural up-bringing. A counsellor must engage the mental health patient in such a way…