Psychology is about People The book addresses various social issues spanned across different topics that can be understood independently. However, as a whole, the book covers several concerns that are common to each issue raised in each topic. The first concern Eysenck addressed is the scientific study of social problems. He argued that psychology should be subjected to scientific methods of investigation and that there are indeed psychological concepts and theories that can be applied to this rigorous process. For instance, he suggested that the concept of personality can be based on biological and experimental findings through the considerations of the anatomical and physiological structure of the brain. The basal ganglia and the cortex …show more content…
This theory focuses on the individual traits of a person that form his personality; meaning every individual is unique.
What three points in the book/theorist were most significant to you?
a) The author’s proposal and defense of personality as the central concept that should underlie psychology as a science (pg. 7)
b) The emphasis, across all topics, on the fact that people are different therefore we cannot assume that one solution fits all as far as solving social problems is concerned.
c) Almost all concepts and theories in psychology can be subjected to the rigidly accurate methods of scientific investigation to come up with solutions to common social problems e.g. the behaviorist solutions to learning problems (p. 100-159)
With which aspects of the book/theorist did you agree? I agreed with the author that doing laboratory experiments to gain insight into trivial social problems is not enough; neither is coming up with untested theories to solving significant social problems. There is need for both the experimental and social psychologists to work together to achieve lasting solutions to these issues (p.
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146-147). Some of the old conventional ways of teaching such as essay writing were, and still are, a good way of evaluating a student’s understanding on a given subject. They may be tedious and time-consuming but the way out is not to scrap them off entirely but to find ways of making them more efficient and reliable such as increasing the number of teachers, standardizing the essays or even setting different deadlines for handing in essays for marking. Also, in his examples of how token economies can be applied in marriage therapy, it was clear that this method was infallible to preventing divorce in marriage (p.143-144). Therefore, it is evident that some psychological theories and applications are not suitable to some social
The birth of psychology was in December of 1879, at Germanys University of Leipzig (Myers, 2014, p.2). In 1960, Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener defines psychology as “the science of mental health” (Myers, 2014, p.4). However, two provocative American psychologists, John Watson and B.F Skinner, redefined psychology in 1920. They redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior” (Myers, 2014, p.4). The problem arose when psychologists realized people could not observe feeling or thought so they needed to come up with a new definition for psychology. We define psychology today as “the science of behavior and mental processes” (Myers, 2014, p.4). Psychology includes many subfields such as human development, social behavior,
This essay will explore one of the possible combinations of theories on personality and explain how it can be applied in practical therapy.
Chapter 4 discusses the several states of consciousness: the nature of consciousness, sleep and dreams, psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, and meditation. Consciousness is a crucial part of human experience, it represents that private inner mind where we think, feel, plan, wish, pray, omagine, and quietly relive experiences. William James described the mind as a stream of consciousness, a continuous flow of changing sensations, images thoughts, and feelings. Consciousness has two major parts: awareness and arousal. Awareness includes the awareness of the self and thoughts about one's experiences. Arousal is the physiological state of being engaged with the environment. Theory of mind refers to individuals understanding that they and others think,
A Comparison of Psychodynamic and Social Learning in Regards to the Development of Personality "No Works Cited" “Psychologists define personality in many ways, but common to all of the ways are two basic concepts, uniqueness and characteristic patterns of behaviour. We will define personality as the complex set of unique psychological qualities that influence an individuals characteristic patterns of behaviour across different situations and over time.” (Psychology In Life, Phillip .G. Zimbardo, page 509)
The development of psychology like all other sciences started with great minds debating unknown topics and searching for unknown answers. Early philosophers and psychologists such as Sir Francis Bacon and Charles Darwin took a scientific approach to psychology by introducing the ideas of measurement and biology into the way an indi...
Many psychologists throughout many years present theoretical approaches in an attempt to understand personality. Hans Eysenck’s approach of personality differed from that of Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytical theory of personality. Eysenck’s theory of personality relies on the scientific basis of biology in explaining human personality. Although Freud’s theories are intriguing to an open mind, Eysenck’s approach made measurable scientific sense. He relied on the use of trait and factor analysis, which is a statistical method. Freud relied on faith and his personal opinions based on observational research to reach the assumptions that set forth his theories (Feist & Feist, 2009). Eysenck and Freud did not agree on anything about understanding how and why the mind operates the way, it does.
Both these issues have positives and negatives but when using a social model lens, you can see that that there should be a more individualized way to minimize these concerns.
The study of psychology began as a theoretical subject a branch of ancient philosophy, and later as a part of biological sciences and physiology. However, over the years, it has grown into a rigorous science and a separate discipline, with its own sets of guidance and experimental techniques. This paper aims to study the various stages that the science of psychology passed through to reach its contemporary status, and their effects on its development. It begins with an overview of the historical and philosophical basis of psychology, discusses the development of the various schools of thought, and highlights their effects on contemporary personal and professional decision-making.
During the seven years between 1938 and 1945, 12 million people were killed in the holocaust. Out of these 12 million, about 3 million were tattooed in an attempt to be identified by the Nazis and SS. Still today, survivors from the holocaust have the tattoo on their forearms in remembrance of the events that occurred in the camps during the holocaust.
The Boy who couldn’t stop Washing written by DR. Judith Rapoport, published by Penguin books in 1989, containing 292 pages, deals with obsessive compulsive disorder. Dr. Rapoport is a psychiatrist who specializes in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In this, book she reveals new drug treatments, new methods in diagnosis and behaviorist therapies. This is done through the study of her patients and their disorders. Rapoport has revealed this secret disease and hopes to bring and understanding about it to all that may suffer from it and to anyone who may want to be informed. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about OCD. It may help those who face this disease everyday of their lives, and make them realize they are not alone. Also will aid in those who do not know much about this disease and give them and understanding and be aware that it surrounds us.
Famous psychological theorists Sigmund Freud and Carl Rogers were both the greatest researchers in our modern time. They both made a lot of advancement in psychological fields, clinical evidence and expertise. They both developed a theory of 'hidden' personality’, in which the psychologists theorized that people have a ‘hidden' personality within them, one which they are not aware of. This concept indicated that the human nature and the role play in rationale behind the human motivation. Sigmund Freud and Carl Rogers do have same common in their theories. They were both influenced by working within their patients and shared the familiarity through the many years of clinical performance. Based on their experimental studies, Sigmund Freud believed that the human nature is inherently aggressive, and Carl Rogers sustained that the people are innately are good. Indeed, Sigmund Freud and Carl Rogers have diverse opinions and different assumptions on the personality of a human. During the contemporary scientific research, I prefer to agree with Roger’s theory over the Freudian model because it is more in tune with findings of my experiences.
Personality is patterns of thinking, behavior and emotional responses that make up individuality over time. Psychologist attempt to understand how personality develops and its impact on how we behave. Several theories attempt to explain personality, using different approaches. The social-cognitive and humanistic approaches are two of many theories that attempt to explain personality. This essay will identify the main concepts of social-cognitive and humanistic approach, identify perspective differences and discuss approach limitations.
I believe our personalities make up who we are and how others perceive us at times. Personalities are our own unique qualities, that we possess as individuals. In writing this short paper, I have found that psychologists use assessments to define an individual’s personality to determine their qualities and what makes them different from other individuals. Through the Big Five Personality test, I found it difficult to define and understand an individual personality
Hergenhahn, B.R. (2009). Social and Theoretical Psychology: Conceptual and Historical Issues 1. An introduction to the History of Psychology. 1 (1), p1-28.
In all historical aspects, psychology can show us the diverse ranges of how it is evolving throughout our world today. Ancient Greeks and philosophers in the 4th century, show us the early development of personality psychology. They wanted to figure out what actually makes us who we are. Aristotle was one of the first individuals to hypothesize connections between physical aspects of the body and behavior. Today there are many different theoretical vi...