Psychology and Understanding Human Behavior

Psychology has revealed how the learning perspective is concerned with the environment and experiences leading to effects on a person’s actions. Within this perspective, behaviorists focus on the environmental rewards and punishers that maintain or discourage specific behaviors. B.F. Skinner once stated, I am sometimes asked, ‘Do you think of yourself as you think of the organisms you study?’ The answer is yes. So far as I know, my behavior at any given moment has been nothing more than the product of my genetic endowment, my personal history, and the current setting. (Skinner, 1983). In the average college classroom, behaviorism effects students’ way of learning in that their behavior is shaped by either positive or negative reinforcement.

Discuss the concept of adolescence as a social construct and its validity for different cultures.

Psychology can be applied to everyday life in many ways. The three main ways Psychology applies to my life is through motivation and emotion, Stress and health and Psychological therapies. These topics of psychology are the ones that best describe my life. When most people think of psychology they think of therapists and psychological disorders. Psychology is much more than that and applies to everyone’s life in some form.

Identify the range of physical, social and emotional changes which occur for young people as they move into adult.

P1 – Describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each of the life stages

Finally, adulthood consists of early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. Early adulthood is a stage where individuals are physically in their best condition. Memory and thinking abilities are sharp, life decisions are made, and they take on roles of independence. Middle adulthood is when individuals start to reflect on their lives as a whole. Retirement planning and sadness over unaccomplished goals began to surface, during this particular stage. Some physical changes such as hearing and vision start to take place. Focusing more on health, relationships and becoming tolerable with death are all signs of late adulthood development. The immune system, vision, hearing, and muscle strength start to decline. Loss of memory is a cognitive trait that is related

Life is what you make it as we go through life’s journey. We all have different experiences that are unique to us individually. “Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.” - Virginia Satir. There are typical aspects of our journey that are similar, but different; we share commonalities along the way with others. In life, we will face challenges that bring about change, which is what happens to us along the way when we are younger, and it makes us who we are when we are older. Change is the opposite

A school based therapeutic mentoring program will be more effective using psychodynamic supportive therapy than cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing problematic behaviors in youth in foster care.

Significant physical changes include physical maturation and various health risks. Young adults in their early 20’s, characteristically described as being "healthy, vigorous and energetic”, reach their peak physical development and maturation, while brain growth continues. By age 35, individuals reach a significant milestone as illness and disease taking the lead over accidents as the leading cause of death for the first time since infancy. (Feldman, 2015, p.308)

The principles and theories of Social Psychology are important and useful in assessing behaviors in situations. These social psychological principles and their applications can be seen in fictional films which can also be attributed to everyday life. One such film that holds certain social psychological perspectives is Will Gluck’s 2010 production of Easy A. A film about high school student Olive Penderghast and how a sudden change in popularity and financial status, after an unintentional rumor about how she supposedly lost her virginity to a college guy spread through the entire her school. The film draws on the behavioral connections of pronounced hussy Olive Penderghast and her English class’s assigned reading of The Scarlet Letter.

The purpose of this essay is to outline and evaluate at least three psychological perspectives of human behaviour. The three approaches that will be summarised are humanistic, social learning theory and the Biological approach. They will also be criticised and compared to one another. A brief description on psychology will occur, and there will also be a short summarisation on some key early influences of psychology, from its origins in philosophy.

1. What are the five developmental tasks of young adulthood, and how can the accomplishing of one influence the accomplishing of any of the remaining four?

Psychology is as ancient as mankind. The concept of psychology has been dated back to 600 B.C. Early Greek philosophers examined, theorized human traits and their actions; their studies are now to be considered and known as psychology. Mankind has molded psychology throughout decades into what it is today - the study of the human mind and the way it affects one's behavior. Psychotherapy and ESP, extrasensory perception, are techniques that are used to improve human health and well-being and their efficacy is widely debated.

Differentiate between Freud and Erikson's approach to psychoanalytic theory in this lesson. You will examine and compare developmental stages side by side and have the opportunity to test your knowledge with a quiz at the end.

In the future, I ultimately intend to be a psychologist. With being a psychologist, I am taking on the responsibility on how to lead people into having an overall better life and promote positive change for them. Psychologists often specialize in studying and examining the brain and human behavior. That being said, psychology is a very important branch of science that attempts to help us stay sane!