Psychology is not just common sense. Discuss.
The statement of psychology not being just common sense is parallel with the ideologies of most psychologists in the field. Although some aspects and examples of psychology might be simplistic and clear, it also involves substantial critical thinking skills, reasoning and an extensive amount of research. Psychology is defined as the study of the mind and behaviour. (American Psychological Association, 2014), thus affirming the view expressed above. Furthermore, a psychologist has to undertake three phases of critical assessment before coming to a conclusion, whereas the layman will use his or her common sense to make an assumption about a topic. These three stages are commonly described as analysing ideas, keenly reflecting on ideas and then producing alternate conclusions (Paul & Elder, 2007). This allows higher level of accuracy in a study and evaluation. This essay will cover two main ideas, the topic that will be instrumental in proving that psychology is not just common sense, and how such psychological methods will work to disprove misconceptions and theories conceived out of said common sense.
The majority of laymen believe that if an infant is not securely attached to its caregiver, it must have no sense of attachment at all. Moreover, they assume blindly that there will be no in-betweens. However, psychology shows that there is much more to it when it comes to attachment styles. There are in fact, three main types of attachment styles that make up the crux of the Attachment Theory, which will be explored in further detail.
Attachment is defined as a lasting psychological connectedness between human beings. It was believed that the most primiti...
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...ng them. Thus, the value of psychology far exceeds the basics, the use of common sense, and draws upon one’s higher order thinking skills to conceive or substantiate a theory.
Works Cited
American Psychological Association. (2014). https://www.apa.org/support/about/apa/psychology.aspx#answer
Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970). Attachment, exploration, and separation: Illustrated by the behavior of one-year-olds in a strange situation. Child Development, 41, 49-67.
Bowlby J. (1969). Attachment. Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Loss. New York: Basic Books.
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2007). The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking. California: Foundation for Critical Thinking Press.
Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1986). Discovery of an insecure-disorganized/ disoriented attachment pattern: Procedures, findings and implications for the classification of behavior.
The Strange Situation, in which infants are exposed to eight different episodes involving the mother and/or a stranger, is widely used to test attachments, although there are many different views regarding its validity and reliability. In order for the Strange Situation to be considered reliable, a child tested at different times should produce the same reaction every time; this was supported by Main, Kapland and Cassidy’s 1985 study which found that 100% of infants who had been securely attached before 18 months were still securely attached at 6 years, and 75% of those who had been anxious-avoidant remained so. One interpretation of attachment type (based on the Strange Situation) is that it is a fixed characteristic and therefore cannot be changed, but if there is a change in family circumstances this is often not the case. Attachments to mothers and fathers have been proven to be independent – Main and Weston (1981) found that children reacted differently depending on which parent they were with. This shows that the attachment types shown by the Strange Situation are based on qualities of distinct relationships as opposed to a child’s characteristics.
Psychology comprises of two words originally used by the ‘Greeks’, ‘psyche’, defining the mind, soul or spirit and lastly ‘logos’ being study. Both words define together the ‘study of the mind’. Psychology perspectives evaluate the normal and abnormal behaviour and how persons’ deal with different concepts of issues and problems. Psychology theories’ are based on ‘common sense’, but its scientific structure, everything needs to be evaluated and tested, therefore, promoting different psychological theories’.
Attachments are formed with parents; this contributes to give a sense of who we are and who we will become in later life. However where these attachments are broken the child needs to have a secure attachment established with an alternative adult care giver,...
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.
It has been proposed that infant attachment styles do not change after the first year of life, the following essay will argue against this prompt in that ones attachment style will change continuously throughout life. Attachment theory is based on the joint work of Bowlby and Ainsworth (Bretherton, 1992). In recent years the idea of ‘attachment’ has become and increasingly popular debate within developmental psychology (Bretherton, 1992). Attachment theory provides an explanation on how parent and child relationships are formed and the important role they play in child development. However majority of the research into attachment has focused on identifying the stability of attachment rather then identifying the possible insatiability of
John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure, insecure/resistant, insecure/avoidant and disorganized/disoriented, later leading to research studies done to observe this behavior and how it affects a child in their adolescence and adulthood.
Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P.R. (1999). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications. New York: The Guilford Press.
The attachment theory, presented by Mary Ainsworth in 1969 and emerged by John Bowlby suggests that the human infant has a need for a relationship with an adult caregiver, and without a subsequent, development can be negatively impacted (Hammonds 2012). Ainsworth proposes that the type of relationship and “attachment” an infant has with the caregiver, can impact the social development of the infant. As stated by Hammonds (2012), attachment between a mother and a child can have a great impact on the child 's future mental
As Fodor states in his 1997 papers conclusion one must not only attack the generalizations but also the evidence, predictions and then the generalizations don’t actually yield true results. As he simply states, “You have to actually do the science,” (Fodor, 1997. p.162). Once you do this you can clearly see that mental states can be multiply realized in so far that results are logically confirmed. Through examples and explicating why Kim’s conclusion is a fallacy I have shown that Fodor’s conclusion that psychology is a science is valid.
There is great reward in the study of psychology; the study of the Homo sapiens species. Their minds that include intellect, intelligence, habits and behavior rationalizing just as the quote at the beginning advocates—the entire world, history and future, revolves around them. Psychology, not limited to contemporary, “is a rich and varied subject that can simulate theoretical questions while at the same time offering practical application in almost all areas of everyday life” (Cherry). This is the gift that Leon Festinger was born with in New York City on May 8th, 1919. From there, he would go on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree from City College of New York in 1939 (Cherry). Psychology is a science. It has its methodology and asks for phenom...
Hazan, C., Gur-Yaish, N., & Campa, M. (2003). What does it mean to be attached? In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.) Adult Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications, (pp. 55 – 85). New York: Guilford.
An infant’s initial contact with the world and their exploration of life is directly through the parent/ primary caregiver. As the child grows, learns, and develops, a certain attachment relationship forms between them and the principle adult present in this process. Moreover, this attachment holds huge implications concerning the child’s future relationships and social successes. Children trust that their parental figure will be there; as a result, children whom form proper attachments internalize an image of their world as stable, safe, and secure. These children will grow independent while at the same time maintaining a connection with their caregivers. (Day, 2006). However, when a child f...
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior. In psychology, and all of the other sciences, relying on opinions is abandoned in order to find out which explanations best fit the evidence or data given. Science continually forces us to question our findings and conclusions. Over time, psychology has advanced greatly and a main reason for such progressiveness is because of the change in the research model used.
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...
Swim, T. Investigating Attachment Quality: Typical and Atypical Scenarios. [Online]. [Accessed 17 December 2013]. Available from: http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/ITSI/conferenceDocs/08/Swim-Investigating_Attachment_Quality.pdf.