...The Diverse Nature of Psychology PSY/490 May 27, 2013 The Diverse Nature of Psychology Psychology has a wide array of diverse concepts that influence its very nature, which is the study of mind and behavior in various organisms from the most primitive to the most complex. Diversity is recognizing the variety of characteristics that make individuals unique some of these characteristics are geographic background, religion, sexual orientation, economic background, ethnicity, education, gender, language, age, culture, marital/partnered status, and physical appearance. Psychology is the study of cognitions, physiology, emotions, personality, behavior, and theory. Two sub-disciplines of psychology are behaviorism and cognitive psychology. Behaviorism originated from the learning theory and uses concepts such as operant and classical conditioning. Cognitive psychology involves the scientific investigation of mental processes, such as memory, perception, attention, problem-solving, judgment, and decision making. Behaviorism Psychology The foundation of the behaviorist perspective is the learning theory. Learning refers to and enduring change in the way an organism responds based on its experience (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Humans are naturally logical and rational thus making decisions and choices that make the most sense. A law of contiguity proposes that two events will become connected in the mind if they are experienced close together in time (such as a...
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...Diverse The Diverse Nature of Psychology Paper Charity Sims PSY/490 – Capstone Course in Psychology AGPSY1009D William Evans May 26, 2011 The field of psychology is not an easy task. The field of psychology is so diverse and always evolving. Because of its expanding nature, there is not only one theory that can truly explain or answer all the questions that are associated with psychology. Psychology is and has always been defined by its diversity, which is all its component and necessary parts. The unique diversity of psychology allows psychologists to elaborate and expand on the areas of diagnosis, explanation and assessment if the discipline. This paper will evaluate the influence of diversity on psychology’s major concepts, identify two examples of sub disciplines and two examples of subtopics within psychology and explain how the sub disciplines and subtopics identified could be applied to other disciplines and venues in contemporary society. Feldman (2010) describes psychology as “the scientific study of behavior and mental processes”. Feldman (2010) also states that “psychologists attempt to describe, predict and explain human behavior and mental processes as well as helping to change and optimize the lives of individuals.” This often leads to the understanding of different cultures and the understanding of the diversity of the individuals that are apart of the culture. According to Stanovich (2010), the main two concepts...
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...The Diverse Nature of Psychology Dawn Morris PSY/490 December 16, 2013 Cassandra Ferreira The Diverse Nature of Psychology Psychology itself attempts to define people’s behavior through aspects of the human minds ability to process information and stimulants. The diversity of psychology is very evident within the many different branches of the American Psychological Association, each addressing a unique perspective within psychology of understanding human behavior (Plante, 2011). This diversity within psychology, allows psychologists the ability to expand in all areas of explanation, assessment, and diagnoses, which furthers the science of psychology through many different subfield specialties. This paper will discuss the subfields of psychology, the importance of diversity, and the practical applications of psychological principles. The Impact of Diversity in Psychology Each of the major concepts within psychology emphasizes different parts of human behavior, such as the cognitive, social, spiritual, and unconscious factors, which contribute to a person’s behavior. One main defining feature of psychology is that it is a data based scientific study of behavior, in which each step of research used to procure knowledge has contributed to advancements in the development of sound theories within psychology. Three important features related to the science of psychology include the use of systematic empiricism, the production of public awareness, and...
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...|[pic] |Capstone Course in Psychology | | |College of Social Sciences | | |PSY/490 | Copyright © 2010, 2009, 2007 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Professor Susan Ellis, Ph.D. susanelliss@email.phoenix.edu (University of Phoenix) susanellis@agreatday.net (Personal) Course Description This is the capstone course for undergraduate psychology students. The course provides students with the opportunity to integrate and apply learning from their psychology program of study in a comprehensive manner. Students will also assess the impact of their educational experiences on their ethical perspectives and critical thinking skills. Students will reflect on and evaluate their personal and professional growth, the benefits of lifelong learning, and the impact of these elements on their future. Policies Students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials...
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...Running Head: INTERVIEW PAPER Interview Paper Stephanie K. Jones Capella University Abstract This paper is a brief summation of an informational interview conducted with Dr. John Arnold, Director, of the Applied Psychology and Organizational Research Group at Wayne State University; President, Polaris Assessment Systems. Through the interview and some extensive research this summation will provide understanding of the Industrial/Organizational Psychology Specialization and what makes a person successful in the field. Indusial Organizational Psychology Dr. John Arnold Dr. Arnold has over 20 years of consulting experience, primarily in the areas of personnel selection and classification, assessment center design and development, and organizational research. Having directed numerous projects with a U.S., as well as international scope, Dr. Arnold is a recognized expert by many of the Fortune 500. A sample of private-sector clients include: Abbott Laboratories, AT&T, Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Harley Davidson, Motorola, Pizza Hut, Spherion Corporation, Starwood Hotels and Resorts (Westins, Sheratons, etc.), and Taco Bell. More recently, Dr. Arnold has focused his expertise developed in the private sector on issues involved in pre-employment in the educational arena. Dr. Arnold holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Bowling Green StateUniversity. He is an active member of the American Psychological Association, the Society...
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...Modern Psychology reflects the discipline’s diverse history; the formation of psychology differs dramatically from modern-day conceptions of the field of study. To acquire a complete grasp of psychology, it is important to spend more time exploring the history and origins of this particular study in science. In this particular paper, the main concepts that is being explored is philosophers that historically relate to the beginnings of psychology as a formal discipline, major philosophers in the western tradition that were primary contributors to the formation of psychology as a discipline, and the development of the science of psychology during the 19th century. History of Psychology Psychology was not well known as a separate discipline until the late 1800’s, its initial history can be traced back to the era of the early Greeks. All throughout the 17th century, Rena Descartes, a French philosopher, introduced the first idea of dualism, which is the explanation that the mind and body are separate parts that work together to create the human experience. “Many other issues still debated by psychologists today, such as relative contributions of nature vs. nurture are rooted in these early philosophical traditions” (Citizendium, 2010). Psychology has been often mistakenly viewed as a young discipline, in all actuality Psychology has roots extending from ancient Greece. The father of psychology is known as Aristotle, he wrote his thesis “ De Anima, Parva Naturalia approximately...
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...Cognitive Development: Nature vs. Nurture PSYC 1000 Lifespan Development Paper Capella University February 2014 INTRODUCTION Cognitive development is an area of study in psychology and neuroscience that is focused on adolescence's development as it pertains to how they process information, their intellectual resources, sensory skills, language learning, and other characteristics of the development of their brain and thought processes in comparison to view of an adult(Coon et al., 2013). In other words, cognitive development is the materialization of the capability to reflect and comprehend. The main debate in cognitive development is nature versus nurture; this debate asks the question if cognitive development is primarily controlled by a person's inherent traits ("nature"), or as a result of their own personal happenings in life ("nurture") (Coon and Mitterer., 2013). Basically, do people act a certain way because of predisposed genetics, or because they were taught to act that way? Research has shown that the nature aspect of genetics is essential throughout psychology. Through different processes, scientists can isolate explicit genes although it has been demonstrated that it is tremendously hard to locate these genes; this is probably because a lot of the genes are complex and every one of them has an exceptionally small reaction. The study on nurture has shown that the environmental stimulus in behavior commonly makes kids within the same household...
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...A History of Modern Psychology Why is the understanding the history of psychology important? A psychologist and historian (E.G. Boring, 1963) once said, “The seats on the train of progress all face backwards: You can see the past but only guess about the future. Yet a knowledge of history, although it can never be complete and fails miserably to foretell the future, has a huge capacity for adding significance to the understanding of the present” (see chapter 1). Every course that you have taken on history has shown that we never learn anything from our past mistakes, and that looking back cannot guarantee our future in setting stone. But psychology is important to learn because it teaches us a few things: one, it would help psychologist become more critical thinker and be able to help people better, and can help measure those “evolutionary breakthroughs” because of the initial excitement that usually comes with the beginning of anything. Two, it could bring every psychologist closer together because of so many diverse field, we share a common ground. Psychology history does not date back far; in fact many would claim to say that it is in childhood stage for it is no older than 125 years (see Chapter 1). Robert I. Watson was a clinical psychologist with a passion for history, created an organization by calling psychologist from an article he wrote,” History of Psychology: A Neglected Area” (Watson, 1960). Watson found people with similar goal from the American Psychological...
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...Student No.: n8588589 Subject: PYB100 Foundation Psychology Unit Coordinator: Dr Mariann Word Count: 1664 Researchers have claimed that the Mozart effect accomplished everything from temporary increases in IQ to creating the mental mechanism needed for infants to develop reasoning and analytical prowess. However there is little academic research and evidence of the Mozart effect on babies, making it difficult to contribute a link between the theory and intelligence enhancement it has on babies. Many research scientists haven’t been able to replicate the results or the results are temporary and have concluded that there is no evidence of the Mozart effect. Firstly by exploring the initial Mozart experiment conclusions can be draw regarding the Mozart effect and intellectual enhancement on babies. Secondly, through critical evaluation of research articles that were conducted to prove or disprove the theory, conclusions can be drawn regarding the Mozart effect and the degree of intellectual enhancement it has on babies. Thirdly, academic research suggests there is a scientific explanation behind the Mozart effect that provides a deeper understanding of the theory’s claims towards enhancing intelligence. There has been a lot of attention drawn to the first scientific experiment that introduced the Mozart effect. Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993) conducted an experiment with thirty-six college students that were tested in a paper folding spatial-reasoning task from the Stanford-Binet...
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...Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology University of Phoenix Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology Culture plays an important part in one’s life as it relates to the field of psychology. Culture enables one to define him or herself and differ from one to another, and helps one survive. Culture facilitates self-expression, through language, appearance, and behavior. Culture exists everywhere and is a product of one’s environment. The significance of culture and its influence by oneself and others will be explained in this paper. In addition, the role of critical thinking in cross-cultural psychology and the scientific method involved with cross-cultural research will be addressed, and defined. Definition of Cultural and Cross-Cultural Psychology Culture is learned, passed down, from generation to generation and strongly influences individual behavior. It is an existing element in one’s environment, shaped by oneself and many others. Culture either shapes or influences one and is what makes one human. Psychology is the study of human behavior and performance; therefore, it is vital that the cultural and cross-cultural aspects are considered in determining the cause of one’s actions. Behavior is affected by sources both biological and environmental in nature but these do not entirely explain human behavior. There must be an acknowledgement of the social-cultural...
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...Ewing Student No.: n8588589 Subject: PYB100 Foundation Psychology Unit Coordinator: Dr Mariann Word Count: 1664 Researchers have claimed that the Mozart effect accomplished everything from temporary increases in IQ to creating the mental mechanism needed for infants to develop reasoning and analytical prowess. However there is little academic research and evidence of the Mozart effect on babies, making it difficult to contribute a link between the theory and intelligence enhancement it has on babies. Many research scientists haven’t been able to replicate the results or the results are temporary and have concluded that there is no evidence of the Mozart effect. Firstly by exploring the initial Mozart experiment conclusions can be draw regarding the Mozart effect and intellectual enhancement on babies. Secondly, through critical evaluation of research articles that were conducted to prove or disprove the theory, conclusions can be drawn regarding the Mozart effect and the degree of intellectual enhancement it has on babies. Thirdly, academic research suggests there is a scientific explanation behind the Mozart effect that provides a deeper understanding of the theory’s claims towards enhancing intelligence. There has been a lot of attention drawn to the first scientific experiment that introduced the Mozart effect. Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993) conducted an experiment with thirty-six college students that were tested in a paper folding spatial-reasoning task from the Stanford-Binet...
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...Mtonga PROGRAM ;BHRM year 3: 2nd SEMESTER MODULE: Organisation Behaviour ASSIGNMENT QUESTION; Organisation Behaviour is a multidisciplinary in nature meaning that it uses principles,models,theories and methods from other disciplines, identify these disciplines and discuss how they cotribute to organisational behaviour… LECTURER: Maneka Moyo DATE OF SUBMISSION: 15th februar 2014 Introduction; An organization is a collection of people who work together to achieve a wide variety of goals, both goals of the organization and goals of the various individuals in the organization. Organizations exist to provide services and goods that people want. These goods and services are the products of the behaviors of workers. Organizational behavior usually known as ‘OB’ is the study of the many factors that have an impact on how individuals and groups respond to and act in organizations and how organizations manage their environments. Organization is somewhat defined as “Organisations comprise two or more people engaged in a systematic and coordinated effort, persistently over a period of time, in pursuit of goals which convert resources into goods and/or services which are needed by consumers” such definition implies the organization exists with the presence of people consists of diverse cultures, character, perception, intelligence and abilities this necessitate a manager to understand behavioral trends of various people in organization So to achieve...
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...Would the world be a better place if individuals could work together in a group and be more understanding of the other? Why and how do individuals behave in social settings and the importance of social interaction for individuals? These are some of the questions that come in mind when talking about social psychology. To get a better understand the field of social psychology this paper will focus on defining social psychology, the four key characteristics of social psychology, the concept of situationism and the role it plays in social psychology, and the five core social motives and their affect on the field of social psychology. Social Psychology Social psychology is defined as the “scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual in social situations” (Baron, Byrne & Suls, 1989 p. 6). The classic definition that dates back to Gordon Allport describes social psychology as an attempt to understand how individuals are influenced by the presence of other human beings. According to Fiske (2010) Social psychology is the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings, (p.2). Individuals have different reactions when exposed to social events and having to interact with other people. These changes in behavior, thoughts and feelings contribute to certain areas of the individuals’ personality as well as upbringing. Social psychologists...
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...1007/s10734-009-9216-y Groupwork as a form of assessment: common problems and recommended solutions W. Martin Davies Published online: 20 March 2009 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract This paper reviews some of the literature on the use of groupwork as a form of assessment in tertiary institutions. It outlines the considerable advantages of groupwork but also its systemic associated problems. In discussing the problems, the paper considers issues such as ‘‘free riding’’ and the ‘‘sucker effect’’, issues associated with ethnic mix in groups, and the social dilemma problem—in which students face conflicting demands between altruism and self-interest. The paper then outlines several models of effective groupwork and makes suggestions for implementing groupwork tasks. The paper also looks at the key assessment tasks which are commonly employed—namely, additive, conjunctive, disjunctive and discretionary tasks—and assesses which are most suited to groupwork. The paper considers the related issues of task complexity, recognition for effort, and strategies for minimising issues concerning group size. The paper also briefly considers strategies for implementing incentives for groupwork members, and outlines the issue of penalties for unproductive group members. The paper concludes by providing recommendations for how to maximise the advantages of groupwork while trying to minimise the disadvantages. Keywords Groupwork Á Assessment Á Free-riding Á Sucker effect ...
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...Defining Personality Personality, this common thread weaves its way through the life of every person on earth, subsequently making each person's behavior different from the next. There are a number of theories on how personality develops; however, none have pinned the development of personality to any one definition. With this in mind, this paper encompasses a discussion surrounding some definitions of personality, examines research methodology that help explain personality development, and the factors that influence personality development. Personality Perspectives For many years people studied personality and theorized about where this behavior came from. Personality is a unique aspect to each individual and is "…a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior" (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 4). In addition, speculation of personality development centers on genetics and the environment. However, there are challenges in the interpretation of personality development test data, as there are a number of perspectives trying to define personality and each theory is unique to the perspective of the theorist. If one looks toward psychoanalyses for an answer, Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, or Carl Jung would contend that personality is a result of early childhood experiences and "…ongoing compromise among numerous independently operating mental subsystems" (Funder, 2001, p. 199). Thus, expressing...
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