Psychology: Introduction

Psychology: Introduction

Ironically enough, despite the title, psychology needs no introduction. Psychology is well known not only in academia, but also in the popular media. Indeed, several shows depict psychological drama, aside from the movie genre itself. But what is psychology? Often times, in trying to define a concept, it is convenient to start with the contrary, or with what the concept is not. For example, psychology is not psychoanalysis, although we will devote the next paragraph to explaining what psychoanalysis is, and also why undergraduate psychology students continue to be taught psychoanalytical theories.

The famous psychoanalytical couch has imprinted in many a mind as a traditional view of psychology, even though it corresponds much more closely to psychoanalysis, in particular to the paradigm of free association. Free association, pioneered by the founder of the psychoanalytic school of thought – Austrian physician Sigmund Freud – in which patients or clients, depending on the point of view one is willing to take, talk about anything and everything that comes into their mind, uncensored and unrestricted.

On the modern scientific side, psychology is the study of the mind and behaviour. However, since psychology has often been criticized as being a pseudoscience, many universities today focus on elements of hard and applied sciences which can be found in some fields of psychology, which remains defined as a social science or a behavioural science. To illustrate, most psychology undergraduates must complete introductory level courses in neuroscience, a field also called neurobiology, and the understanding and comprehension of which demands a great deal of knowledge of biology, physics and chemistry.

Why study psychology? Indeed, many individuals embark on the scholarly adventure out of pure curiosity and to gain better insight into their own personal world. Interestingly, when one states that he or she is a psychology student (or graduate) many people assumed that they will be analyzed by the person, however, this depicts only a partial picture of psychological research, which centres mostly on behavioural studies, statistics and peer-reviewed academic articles published in journal – the vast body of knowledge and theoretical constructs which composes psychological theory.

Psychoanalysis Couch. Illustration: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

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Achievement Goal Theory (AGT)

Achievement Goal Theory (AGT)

Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) suggests that persons in achievement settings interpret their achievement as either learning or task orientation; or, performance or ego orientation. Further, a learning or task orientation predisposes to compete with oneself, while a performance or ego orientation has an external dimension. In the long run, internal motivation seems to be more productive. Indeed, a famous person has been quoted as saying that when you compare yourself to anyone else, you do yourself a disservice.

Comparing to your own self may be translated as something similar: today I run 2 miles, tomorrow 3 miles and so on. However, it is important to take fatigue into account. Perhaps today I run 3 miles, but tomorrow only 1 mile because I am tired from the day before. Still, undertakings such as marathons take extensive training but the body does respond to consistent physical activity and endurance does increase. Notwithstanding, some physicians caution against ultra marathons, saying they are unhealthy.

Reaching for the Stars! Image: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Some authors use the Self Determination Theory (SDT) to explain motivation and persistence in sports and other athletic pursuits. SDT is a theory of motivation initially developed by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan. The theory has many implications outside of sports. Although in this short article, SDT is applied in relation to sports and athletic pursuits, explaining why some people persist in such endeavours, while others drop out. SDT has more to do with intrinsic motivation and behavioural regulation. In other words, participating in the activity for its own sake, for the pleasure and joy derived from participation.

Alternatively, individuals may continue with a sport because of positive reactions and social support they get from others. As such, the importance of peers, coaches, significant others and other people likely to influence persistence in a sport. The theories outlined in the present short essay are easy to see in practice at any gym facility. Some people are evidently there to work out, while others clearly want to attract attention. All in all, physical activity, regardless of the underlying motivational theory, is usually considered as very beneficial to health (in most cases).

Using Psychology at Work

Using Psychology at Work

Pets, cats, dogs and others often help us in ways we do not even realize. Interestingly enough, some psychologists say that owning a pet may even help with depression. Depression is the layman’s term for the clinical appellation Major Depressive Disorder (defined in the DSM published by the APA). Abnormal psychology, also called clinical psychology, is the branch of psychology most closely associated with psychiatry.

Psychology is a social science which centres on human behaviour and studying the mind. However, psychologists study other subjects than human ones. For example, pigeons, macaques, chimpanzees, cats and dogs have all been subjects to psychological research. Furthermore, psychologists are not psychiatrists, but may be psychotherapists. Thus, psychologists are not doctors and cannot prescribe medications in most jurisdictions.

Working in hard environment. Image: Elena

Nonetheless, using psychology at work may be a good idea. After all, it is hard to imagine a work environment in which there are no other people. Hence, using psychology may come in handy. However, one does not necessarily need to use reverse psychology. Alongside pop psychology, reverse psychology constitutes a popular term which covers elements of psychology and manipulation. Therefore, using reverse psychology may mean telling a coworker that he or she does not want to help, whereas one hopes that they do lend a helping hand at the task. Along similar lines, telling someone they cannot do something might challenge them to undertake the task, although none of these guidelines are necessarily proven in real life.

(Draft for an article about psychology at work).

Social Skills

Social Skills

The purpose of this descriptive essay is to look at social skills from a behavioural science perspective. Social psychology theory maintains that people tend to become friends with others based on similarities, common and shared interests, proximity, reciprocity and intelligence. Indeed, the saying “Tell me who your friend is and I’ll tell you who you are” – is well supported by psychological findings.

Naturally, communication is an important part of social interaction. However, people differ immensely in their abilities to communicate. Further, the world is divided into countless cultures, languages and dialects, which does not always facilitate matters. Nonetheless, some pointers do exist which help people avoid misunderstandings and communicate more efficiently. Further, while it is important to be able to express one’s ideas verbally and in written form, most effective communicators spend a lot of time listening to their interlocutors.

Thus, aside from being polite and attentive during conversations, other social skills include being conscious of social cues. Social cues constitute non-verbal clues as to where the social interaction is headed. Between close friends, family members and other people who know each other well, understanding is facilitated by knowledge of the other person. Conversely, in exchanges between less familiar people, such as coworkers, both parties rely mostly on social cues to know when to start and stop the conversation, among other things. As discussed elsewhere in our essay collection, social cues include but are not limited to posture and body language, verbal and vocabulary content, tone of voice and facial expressions.

Many creatures have certain social skills. Photo by Elena

Moreover, agreeableness is part of social presentation and interaction. indeed, people tend to like when others are nice to them, this holds true especially for politeness. However, assertiveness skills are also a core feature of the social skill set, and being liked. While often one may refrain from saying ‘no’ or disagreeing for fear of being disliked, very often stating one’s boundaries clearly may actually make the other person like and respect one more. Further, individuals with low self-esteem may continuously feel that they ought to do things for others and be overly agreeable to be liked, but assertive individuals are liked and respected, not to mention less frustrated and often much more satisfied with their social connections. Naturally, assertiveness is not the same as aggression.

In other words, while social psychologists have consistently demonstrated that aggressive and hostile individuals tend to be disliked by their peers, there is a difference between being nice and being too nice. Individuals with low self-image may feel the need to compensate for their perceived flaws, by being overly nice, a situation which may then lead them to be taken advantage of. Furthermore, when they realize what has happened, they may rationalize the other person’s behaviour blaming themselves and not the aggressor, and thus further lowering their self-image.

Thus, social skills and the interpersonal skill set comprise complex subjects, a profound discussion of which would be impossible given the scope of the present draft. Therefore, to sum up some of the theoretical constructs and arguments presented above, agreeableness as well as assertiveness, play important roles in social interaction. The present informative paper aims at discussing social skills in relation to psychology.

Life Sucks

Life Sucks

The following text does not represent the opinions of the blogger or other owners or contributors of the blog, it is simply presented here as a testimonial from someone suffering from a mental illness, or maybe someone simply tired. After all, it’s up to psychiatrists to judge and they are people too, and people make mistakes. Also, one of the reasons I decided to agree to post this testimonial (removing any names or personal details for confidentiality and anonymity purposes), is because some people have discussed in comments that psychiatry does not help people and that people are perfectly happy being sick, hearing voices and other unpleasant symptoms which accompany mental disease. While it is clear to most persons, that people do indeed suffer and even live in real nightmares when they have serious mental issues, some rebels without a cause continue to preach anti-psychiatry propaganda, often pushing patients further into isolation. Which is why I decided to post this testimonial to the contrary, explaining that at least some psychiatric patients feel relieved by the professional, psychiatric help they need.

Life Sucks. Illustration : Elena

Statistically, more women than men suffer from depression (MDD or major depressive disorder in clinical terms). But let’s say that this testimonial is from a young man called Patrick. Patrick struggled from depression from age 12, and his first suicide attempt was around then. However, psychiatrists believe that it was not a real suicide attempt, but simply a cry for help. Perhaps the young teenager, who was undergoing the transformation from childhood to adolescence just wanted to attract some attention to himself by ingesting pills. He was made to spit out the pills just in time, so nothing of physical consequence happened. He was referred to countless school psychologists and social workers. Here are his words and thoughts on the matter and on the whole system: But what can they do? Seriously, if you have a problem, how in the world is talking to some psychologist who hasn’t even gotten his Ph.D. going to help you? Chances are it won’t. Life sucks and that’s just the way it is. No pill, no therapy, no treatment can nor will change reality. If your reality sucks, then no antidepressants are going to change that.