...Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior What will the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section test? The Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section asks you to solve problems by combining your knowledge of foundational concepts with your scientific inquiry and reasoning skills. This section tests your understanding of the ways psychological, social, and biological factors influence perceptions and reactions to the world; behavior and behavior change; what people think about themselves and others; the cultural and social differences that influence well-being; and the relationships between social stratification, access to resources, and well-being. The Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section emphasizes concepts that tomorrow’s doctors need to know in order to serve an increasingly diverse population and have a clear understanding of the impact of behavior on health. Further, it communicates the need for future physicians to be prepared to deal with the human and social issues of medicine. This section is designed to • • • • • test psychology, sociology, and biology concepts that provide a solid foundation for learning in medical school about the behavioral and sociocultural determinants of health; test concepts taught at many colleges and universities in first-semester psychology and sociology courses; test biology concepts that relate to mental processes and behavior that are taught at many...
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...Foundations of Psychology John Stafford University of Phoenix PSY/300 Abstract There are several major approaches to psychological study with several other disciplines falling under these primary approaches. Ranging from psychodynamic to evolutionary perspectives, and rarely sharing a unified paradigm, psychology has advanced since the late 1800s to be a wide-ranging field of human study. Foundations of Psychology The study of psychology found roots in philosophy. However, Wilhelm Wundt, who founded the first psychological laboratory, led the recognition of psychology as a science in 1879. In the mid-to-late 1940s standards were put into place for the doctoral programs designed to place emphasis on a general knowledge of psychology. This knowledge included the history of psychology, and modern disciplines of physiological, comparative, developmental, and social psychology. Students were also required to gain an understanding of research methods, advanced statistics, and psychological scaling (Zlotlow, Peterson, & Nelson, 2011). Behavioral Foundations of Psychology The major topics covered in behavioral psychology include evolution, heredity, and adaptation and learning, mating habits, parenting behaviors, and primate study. Behavioral psychology primarily focuses on the study of animal behavior to obtain a deeper understanding of human behavior. Studies like Ivan Pavlov’s (1849-1936) research on classical conditioning, also referred to as “Pavlov’s Dogs,” he...
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...Personality Analysis Personality Analysis The personality of an individual is what makes him or her unique among others. That same uniqueness is what makes each person interesting to study and observe. The same set of identical twins may have all the same genetic makeup, but he or she will still have an individual personality to call his or her own. The study of personality is quite complex and involves many ideas and theories from wide variety of scholars. Personality is also something people can share and relate to with one another. According to Allport, “Personality is about what is unique to the individual, but it is also about what is shared across people” (Allport, 1962). Although there are several approaches to the personality analysis, this paper will specifically focus on the psychodynamic, humanistic and existential approaches. This paper will compare and contrast these theories, explore the characteristics that accompany these theories, and explain the interpersonal relational aspects associated with these particular theories. Psychodynamic Theory The theory of psychodynamics is the basic study of all psychological abilities that place an influence on human behavior (Feist & Feist, 2009). This may especially include the compelling relationships among the motivation of the conscious and unconscious, which were the ideas of Sigmund Freud. Although Freud established the ideas of “psychodynamics”...
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...Foundations of Psychology This paper will identify the major schools of thought in psychology and examine their major assumptions. The two beginning schools of thought were structuralism and functionalism. The major schools of thought in psychology are the psychodynamic, behaviorist, cognitive, and evolutionary perspective. This paper will also identify the primary biological foundation of psychology linked to behavior. These primary biological foundations are the central nervous system and the behavioral genetics. Psychodynamic Perspective The Psychodynamic perspective is a school of thought that was initially developed by Sigmund Freud. This perspective focuses on three main points. The first point is that an individual’s actions are determined by the way thoughts and emotions are connected in the individuals mind. The second point is that most of the mental events happen outside of conscious awareness. The third point is that the mental events that happen tend to conflict with each other. Many psychologists disagree with this theory because there is nothing that relates scientifically. The psychologists that agree with this theory are working on incorporating the concepts into scientific psychology (Kowalski & Weston, 2011). Behaviorist Perspective The behaviorist perspective focuses on what is common between the environmental events and the actual observable behaviors. “According to behaviorist, scientific knowledge comes from using experimental methods to study...
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...Foundations of Psychology In early years, there were two schools of thought called structuralism and functionalism. Structuralism is the area of psychology that studies the elements of consciousness, and functionalism studies how an individual adapts to his or her environment. These perspectives were founded in early years, but they did not end there (Kowalski & Westen, 2009, p. 10). Currently, there are four major schools of thought that guide psychological thinking. The following paper analyzes their underlying assumptions along with how the primary biological foundations of psychology are linked to an individual’s behavior. The first perspective is called the psychodynamic perspective. Psychodynamic Perspective The psychodynamic perspective proposes that people’s actions reflect the way thoughts, feelings, and wishes are associated in their minds; that many of these processes are unconscious; and that mental processes can conflict with one another, leading to compromises among competing motives (Kowalski & Westen, 2009, p. 14). This perspective focuses on the role of the unconscious mind. People have conscious desires and reasons for acting the way they do; however, there are unconscious motives that underlie their conscious intentions (Kowalski & Westen, 2009, p. 13). The next perspective is the behaviorist perspective. Behaviorist Perspective The behaviorist perspective focuses on the way objects or events in the environment come to control behavior (Kowalski...
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...concepts as written in Scripture underscore the importance of ethical behavior and its relevance in demonstrating to God we trust, believe and belong to Him. Society is built on a foundation of ethical principles important in both personal and business connections. This expected Christian behavior is the foundation of God’s desire for us to not only believe in right and wrong, but to live it through our actions. As references in Leviticus 19:35, “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity,” we learn the great importance God places in being faithful and honest. These concepts directly relate to the fields of accounting and finance as witnessed through professional associations, ethical decision-making, and numerous biblical teachings. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) was established as a professional organization to assist members with their role and responsibilities as accountants. More specifically, the foundation of their profession is built upon a Model Code of Professional Conduct guiding members in the basic belief and framework of ethical conduct. These guiding principles call for an “unswerving...
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...Foundations of Psychology January 19, 2012 Foundation of Psychology Psychology is the study of the mind and the behavior of the subject in question. Multiple tests are conducted on the subject to discover what makes the individual tick. Like all scientific studies there must be a foundation for researchers to build their own studies from. Psychology is no different with its major schools being: behaviorist, psychodynamic, cognitive, and evolutionary. The behaviorist perspective is based off the information created by John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B. F. Skinner around the early 1950s. This theory is of the belief that there is a “relation between observable behaviors and environmental events or stimuli” (Kowalski and Westen, 2009). Classic conditioning was a method created due to the research of one Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov conditioned his dogs to begin salivating at the sound of a bell. Classic conditioning generally speaking is where the subject has been trained to give certain responses due to certain stimuli (Heffner, 2011). Exhibit A would be Pavlov’s dogs. Skinner later discovered that an individual’s behavior can also be controlled by stimuli from the environment that could either reinforce the response or deal out a punishment. The primary method to researching this perspective has been experimental. It allows researchers to make educated guesses before creating a situation to test their theory. The theory of psychodynamics was created by Sigmund Freud during the...
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...must be resources available that provide education, prevention, programs, and shelter for those within the community in need. As the director of the non-profit organization, Peace at Last Foundation, the first task is to prepare a mission statement and value statement explaining how the organization will practice ethics to be successful while delivering services to the community. Peace at Last Foundation will provide quality care with compassion and respect to all clients seeking services. Peace at Last Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides counseling, programs, education, shelter and prevention to those that suffer from domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. The organization is based on the community in need and provides services regardless of age, sex, gender or severity of violence. The prevention strategy is how the organization will be effective on each individual. Victims of sexual assault are more prone to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, trouble sleeping, and anxiety disorders. (The National Domestic Violence Hotline, 2012.) Peace at Last Foundation will begin by evaluating each client to have better understanding of the situation to provide services needed first to ensure there will be peace at last. There is counseling providing to each individual so that they might understand...
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...Organizational Behavior Credit: 01 Instructor: Dr. Vandana Pareek E-mail: Vandana.pareek@accurate.in Course Outline Introduction: Understanding and managing people’s behavior in the work organizations are quite challenging for managers because of the complexities involved in this process. These complexities can be simplified by applying the information from the field of study in management, known as Organizational Behavior (OB). Course Objective: To understand the challenges lying before the managers in managing human behavior in organizations and how knowledge of organizational behavior helps managers to meet these challenges effectively. Text Book: Robbins S., Judge, T.A. & Vohra, N. (2012). Organizational Behavior, Perarson, New Delhi. Reference Books: 1. Luthans F, Organizational Behavior 2. Moorhead & Griffin, Managing People & Organizations 3. Prasad L M, Organizational Behavior 4. Pareek Udai , Understanding Organizational Behavior Evaluation System: Criterion | Load | Assignment | 10 | Class Participation | 10 | Mid-Term | 30 | End-Term | 40 | Presentation | 10 | Total | 100 | Session Plan: Session | Content | Reading Material | 1 | Introduction: What is OB, Concept, key elements, importance of OB. | | 2 | Challenges and Opportunities for OB, | | 3 | Foundation for Individual Behavior: Learning...
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...Biological Foundations in Psychology Biological Psychology Paper Vanell Wilson Manon Doll March 13, 2010 Biological Psychology Biological Psychology is defined as “the study of behavior and experience in terms of genetics, evolution, and physiology, especially the physiology of the nervous system” (American Heritage Dictionary). Biological psychology uses biology as an approach to understand human and animal behavior. Psychology has now developed into a wide-ranging discipline and is concerned with understanding behavior and mental processes from a variety of perspectives. Biological psychology is the branch of science that attempts to explain behavior in terms of biology, is therefore the study of the brain and how it causes or relates to behavior (Foundations of Biopsychology). The brain contains more cells than there are in the universe. There are over 100 billion cells and each parts works together to produce, direct, and choreograph what we think, feel, and do. The study of the brain is one of the most rapidly expanding areas in modern science today, and part of this development is a quest to understand how it’s physical and chemical structure gives rise to human behavior. Arguably, there is no other discipline that can give us greater insight into ourselves, as well as having the potential to change people’s lives for the better (Foundations of Biopsychology). The ancient Greeks were among the first to realize that the brain was the organ of the mind, Plato...
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...Foundations of Psychology Foundations of Psychology Psychology is an advanced study of human behavior, involving the mind and science. The ultimate goal is to understand humanity; however, many proposals have been rejected while some agreed upon. Psychology has not been an easy subject to understand fully or comprehend. Debates started when psychology established a subject different than biology or philosophy. The debate was to properly explain human behavior and the human mind. Many theories began to emerge, while others questioned the reliability and sources of the theorist. Many schools of thought have been created to teach and establish an understanding of the concepts involved (Psychology, 2003). Major Schools of Thought in Psychology Structuralism is the first school of thought created that is the most general. The concept is to break down the mental processes into the most basic concepts. Next functionalism was created from the concept of structuralism; it was formed to create a reaction to structuralism. Behaviorism was the next concept created in the 1950s. Behaviorism was based upon the environment and how the external environment has power over internal sources. Behaviorism is also constructed of observable behavior, the theories involved included classical conditioning and operant condition. Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalysis, which is the psychodynamic theory that addresses the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. Freud believed that...
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...Foundation of Psychology Paper Psychology is the deep study of the human mind and their behavior. The roots of psychology can be traced to both philosophy and physiology. Philosophy provides how interesting the study oft the mine is. Physiology refers to the scientific method or the tools used to explain mind and behavior. Psychology is used for the following; understanding the behavior of people, their thoughts, and feelings. In the world of psychology there are several schools that make up psychology, they are referring to the theories or thoughts of psychology. In this paper, the author will address the most important schools of psychology and their importance. These include structuralism/functionalism, Gestalt psychology, behaviorism, psychoanalysis, human psychology, and cognitive psychology. In addition, the author will briefly discuss primary biological foundations of psychology linked to behavior and what drives people. In order to understand the different schools of psychology, it is important to consider analyzing the brain and understand its terms that it serves as a function. The first school of psychology is structuralism. Structuralism is a theory came from the ideas of Edward Titchner, “his theory that the mind's functions -- action, affection, association, attention, imagination, memory, perception, recognition, sensation, and thought -- could be categorized as systematically as an elemental chart in chemistry.” ("NNDB Edward Titchner", 2014) This mean...
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...Foundations of Psychology PSY/ 300- General Psychology Foundations of Psychology Introduction This document will deliberate on the main disciplines of contemplation in psychology and analyze the foremost principal assumptions. Investigate and corroborate that the majority of psychological procedures transpire outside the consciousness and that numerous of the connections concerning emotion, behaviors, and circumstances that direct behavior are communicated unconditionally or instinctively. The document will in addition distinguish the fundamental biological elements of psychology interconnected to behavior. Major schools of theories during the preceding centuries have spearheaded the expansion of psychology recognized currently and research the theories in psychology, investigating the general fundamentals and isolating the central biological elements of psychology as its pertain to behavior (Robin Kowalski, 2011). . Psychology was original recognized as a function of discipline, independent from philosophy and biology with arguments in excess of what method to define and rationalize an individual cognizance and behavior originates. The fundamentals of psychology symbolize the key theories within the consciousness with the philosophy stage of structuralism, encouraged by the originator Wilhelm Wundt psychology laboratory and proximately additional hypotheses commenced for supremacy in psychology. Earlier period psychologists frequently...
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...defining social institution, explaining the relationship between social institutions and organized crime, and explaining how empirical and speculative theories are the most applicable when applied to organized crime and criminal behavior. The first element that is essential to social institutions is the definition of social institution. The concept of social institution is defined as “ a group or organization that has a particular purpose, goal, or task and accomplishes the successful completion of this goal, purpose, or task by influencing and persuading individuals in a community to participate, and assist with achieving this objective” (Limbaugh, 2010). This concept is linked to organized crime because it consists of three or more people in an organization committing illegal activities for the sole purpose of gaining profit or power. The second element that is significant to social institution is the relationship between social institutions and organized crime is based on a certain criteria, which includes norms, values, and role expectations (Zinn & Eitzen, 2014). In organized crime, there is a code of laws that members must live by, which state the blueprint of the operation. In the organization, role expectations are that higher-ranked individuals are in charge of overseeing the operation, and lower-ranked...
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...The foundations of psychology were set upon the discovery of the relationship between biology and philosophy. The birth of psychology is a direct result of these two studies combining to make an intriguing study of human behaviors, emotions and reactions. Psychology became equally important to other studies when it became apparent that it reflected both biological aspects as well as aspects of philosophy. Combined, these two studies allowed the discovery that people exhibit behaviors and emotions for many reasons. Human’s exhibit behaviors(s) in reaction to environmental factors, taught behavior, natural instinct, as well as an array of other scenarios trigger such behaviors. “Humans are complex creatures whose psychological experience lies at the intersection of biology and culture”(Kowalski & Westen, 2005). Psychology was (in some perspectives) stumbled upon in very early biological studies. It was observed that patients with head trauma injuries were test subjects to the identification of the correlation between the human brain and physical responses. This discovery opened the door to the study of human psychology. The finding that the human brain interacted with the body in producing reactions and actions led to an entirely new world of study filled with fascinating aspects, now known as psychology. The foundation of psychology is built largely upon philosophy and was rooted from such philosophers such as Aristotle and Descartes...
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