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Original instructions
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper
- Evaluate the influence of diversity on psychology’s major concepts. (1 Point)
- Identify two examples of sub-disciplines and two examples of subtopics within psychology. Examples of major concepts and their subtopics include the following (2 Points):
- Motivation: theory of emotion, and approach and avoidance
- Behaviorism: aggression, cheating, and binge drinking
- Cognition: cognitive dissonance and false memories
- How can the sub-disciplines and subtopics you identified be applied to other disciplines and venues in contemporary society? (1 Point)
- Identify and describe your own personal psychological theoretical perspective (1 Point)
- Relate the sub-disciplines and subtopics to your theoretical perspective. (1 Point)
- Conclude by discussing how your psychological theoretical perspective can contribute to society in the areas of work, education, health, and leisure. (1 Point)
- References – 5 minimum references AND must be from the U of P Library or from the Required Readings for this week. Points are not earned when references are from sources that are scholarly reviewed sources (2 Points)
Include at least five sources (SOURCES MUST BE OBTAINED FROM THE Required Readings for this week and/or from the UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX’S LIBRARY – if you have trouble using the library’s database or with locating sources, please contact the librarian). Also, there are peer reviewed/scholarly articles available for course assignment support in this classroom, they can be used as sources for this assignment as long as they are properly cited and referenced to in your coursework.
The Diverse Nature of Psychology 5
The Diverse Nature of Psychology
Psychology’s roots can be traced back to ancient Greece with philosophers like that of Plato and Socrates. As time has passed what was once not even viewed as a science has now become one and the foundation for many other disciplines and fields. Throughout the history of psychology there have been many challenges and much diversity. This paper is going to reflect on that diversity and some of psychology’s major concepts. Two subcategories within psychology will be identified with examples and of the major subtopics and concepts including: their motivation, behaviorism, and cognition.
How these sub disciplines and subtopics that have been identified will also be applied to other disciplines and venues within society. The sub disciplines and subtopics will then be related to my personal theoretical perspective and lastly my psychological contribution to society including the areas of work, education, health, and leisure. Overall this paper is going to provide an analysis of the diverse nature of psychology as a discipline.
Diversity and Major Concepts
There are several diverse major concepts in psychology: cognitive psychology, biological psychology, evolutionary psychology, psychodynamic psychology, humanist psychology, and behavioral psychology. Just looking at these major concepts one can tell the wide spectrum of the psychological field. Focusing on the basics, cognitive, biological, and behavioral; and discussing how to exploit psychology’s diversity within these concepts for scientific gain.
Just like people show different abilities in his or her cognitive abilities, diversity within this field has provided “validating neuropsychological measures, demonstrating associations among constructs, and demonstrating dissociations among apparently similar constructs” (Vogel, 2008, p. 171). Also contributing to the diversity of cognitive psychology is how a person’s cognitive processes and abilities are formed, with a mixture of genetic and environmental influences.
Biological psychology, that brown hair one got from his or her mom, green eyes from his or her dad, nose from his or her aunt, etc. A person’s genetics differ from person to person, understanding why siblings obtain specific features or traits from one parent or relative, understanding his or her thoughts and behavior that may be genetic are play a part into the diversity of biological psychology. Diversity may not always be a positive, as in biological psychology it may be a “challenge [that] will require a better understanding of one species: our own” (Saunder, 2006, p. 702).
Behavioral psychology can cover a bit of major concepts within psychology it attempts to explain the reasoning for a person’s behavior. With several different approaches and theories it is probably the most popular and diverse major concept within psychology. Many factors can affect one’s behavior from genetics to a person’s environment and family experiences. According to Abada and Gillespie (2007) states that, “parenting practices and parental depression were more important than economic resources in reducing the effect of stable single-parent families on emotional disorder” (p. 414). The diversity of a person’s family can greatly impact his or her behavior, Abada and Gillespie also state that “family structure effects remain as important factors in explaining children’s aggression” (p. 414).
Subcategories within Psychology
There is a vast range of subcategories within psychology including child psychology and social psychology. Child psychology involves each one of the major concepts within psychology, which makes it a very diverse subcategory. Social psychology is based more around behavioral psychology, but still provides a few unique approaches to the diversity of psychology.
Child psychology is encompassed on understanding childhood development and the factors that may influence a child’s mental and physical development, as well as his or her behavior. Just as adults, there are times when a child may need clinical help too. According to the American Psychological Association, “treatment [for children] typically begins when parents, teachers, or school counselors notice that children aren’t functioning as well as they could” (Para. 1). Childhood psychologists may assist with children who suffer from anxiety or depression, hyperactivity, parental problems or school problems. This field may use techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy to reinforce or change certain behaviors, family counseling, or medicate for certain disorders.
Social psychology is “concerned with how individuals affect and are affected by other people and by their social and physical environments” (American Psychological Association, 2013, Para. 1). Think about when a person goes shopping, there are many choices in similar items; laundry detergents, toothpaste, deodorants, etc. These items come in different colors, shapes, and sizes. Shopping is much like that of social psychology, there are diverse groups of people in the world, different cultures, colors, shapes, and sizes. This is what helps to make social psychology so unique, understanding why a person may select one ‘laundry detergent over another’.
Personal Theoretical Perspective
According to McLeod (2007), “an approach is a perspective that involves assumptions, or beliefs, about human behavior: the way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods are appropriate for taking this study” (Para. 1). An assumption may include several unique theories inside of an approach, all of which is not a right or wrong assumption (McLeod, 2007).
My theoretical perspective involves much of the behavioral theory. The behavioral theory as discussed above is a unique category of psychology which is centered around a person learning from his or her environment either through learning it or reinforcement. Famously known for his classical conditioning, Ivan Pavlov, provides a part in learning and reinforcing behavior. According to Kahn and Kalat (1992), “classical conditioning can profoundly shape our emotional and motivational lives” (p. 100). In classical conditioning a person is conditioned to respond to a stimulus, he or she learns this response through association.
B.F. Skinner created the other half of what the behavioral theory involves operant conditioning. According to Skinner a person’s motive explains his or her behavior (McLeod, 2007). Just as Skinner believes, each person’s behavior has a reason, whether it be to gain attention, obtain something, hurt someone, etc. This is where positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment help to motivate a person’s behavior. The one thing I do not feel is correct about the behavioral approach is the belief that a person does not have free will. That a person is only behaving a specific way due to conditioning or motives, I think that people do have free will to make choices between what he or she has learned and/or what he or she is motivated by.
Conclusion
I am not currently working but have plans to go into juvenile probation after finishing my Bachelor’s in Psychology so I am applying the behavioral perspective with this field. With the use of the cognitive-behavioral approach I am able to use operant conditioning with positive and negative reinforcement in the hopes of rehabilitating the juvenile offender. In doing this I would be conditioning the offender’s behavior away from criminal activity and towards more productive thoughts and behaviors. Punishment would be the last resort as I feel punishment may hinder the rehabilitation process, but utilizing the offender’s family, school, and if it applies job would also be incorporated to help condition the juvenile.
Leisurely I spend most of my time with my four children. Daily I am using cognitive-behavioral therapy to guide them along to do the right things. I think my children also have a positive effect on my health as they seem to help keep me young and in shape, considering they are ages nine, four, three, and two, I don’t have much of a choice. I feel I lean more towards operant conditioning when teaching (or conditioning) my children to behave in a certain way, but again I also give them chances to make their own mistakes and learn some of life’s lessons. I think this is what helps to keep my life so diverse, by applying the psychology I have learned thus far, but also keeps us happy.
References
Abada, T.S.J., & Gillespie, M. (2007, November). Family diversity and children’s behavioral outcomes in Canada: From structure to process. Sociological Focus, 40(4), 413-435.
American Psychological Association. (2014). Children. Retrieved from http://apa.org/topics/children/index.aspx
American Psychological Association. (2014). Society for personality and social psychology. Retrieved from http://apa.org/about/division/div8.aspx
Kohn, A., & Kalat, J.W. (1992, April). Preparing for an important event: demonstrating the modern view of classical conditioning. Teaching of Psychology, 19(2), 100-102.
McLeod, S. (2007). Psychology perspectives. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/perspective.html
Saunder, C.D., Brook, A.T., & Myers Jr., O.E. (2006, June). Using psychology to save biodiversity and human well-being. Conservation Biology, 20(3), 702-705.
Vogel, E.K., & Awh, E. (2008, April). How to exploit diversity for scientific gain: using individual differences to constrain cognitive theory. Current Directions in Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell), 17(2), 171-176.
