Psychology Applied to Modern Life - Assignment Example

Psychology Assessment Section A Psychology is much more than that of the inner workings of the human brain and the underlying unconscious, it involves measuring aspects of human capacity and the motivational importance of living to assess how the individual learns to respond to their environment. The individual responds to certain stimuli as a reaction to what is occurring within themselves. Would it not be important, then, to understand more than merely the internal workings of the person, but to fully comprehend the impact this individual is having on the external world around them: human behaviour. Human interaction could be considered a likely situation by which to measure human behaviour, which is increasingly important within the modern business world. Douglas McGregor, a renowned theorist on human behaviour, theorized that works within an organisation fit into two specific categories, lazy and generally inherently unresponsive to corporate needs (Theory X) and the worker that can be motivated and stimulated by individual desire to strive to excellence (Theory Y) (Kopelman, Prottlas, & Davis, 2008). In this scenario, the worker is inherently driven to either motivational state and responds according to their individual personal agenda. Does the worker share a desire to succeed or does the worker simply enjoy taking direction from superiors? How the individual responds in this role is the essence of human behaviour. Having offered this, it would be somewhat irrational to suggest that the unconscious should only be the focus of study as it tends to omit the effect on the general environment. Missed deadlines, poor overall on-the-job performance, and other trappings of inferior, inherent ability must dictate a theory for the workplace manager. How best to motivate the unmotivated? Under McGregor’s theory of human behaviour (and motivation), studying only the unconscious as a primary goal would not allow for solutions: Something which psychology provides as an entire field of study. The diversity of the modern world and the elements of human interaction help to shape cultures and it must be understood, scientifically, how internal thought patterns drive others to act against others or with others in common environments. Intelligence tests are capable of measuring human intellectual capacity and should be given similar regard in a variety of testing situations. Depending on the variety of testing instrument and the model by which it was constructed, human capacity might well be measured effectively. Given to an appropriate group, the intelligence test measures ability, as information which has been absorbed, from any variety of external stimuli, is utilised to fulfill the specific testing obligations. Through the analysis portion of the testing, it might be correlated that a portion of the testing subjects maintained similar demographics (age, experience, etc.). It might be discovered in this analysis that individuals with superior experience were most successful or, perhaps, completed the testing obligations earlier than the time allotted. At this point in the analysis, it could be determined that total human capacity is dictated by environmental situations. Then, recreating situations where these situations are repeated again and again, the psychologist has a solid theory which describes potential solutions well beyond personal achievement scores. The measure of human capacity is a broad study programme however it is psychology which broadens the more clinical aspects of intelligence testing and gives the information required to understand motivation. Medication does not always provide the most effective treatment for psychological disorders as abnormal situations leading to a debilitated person occur which can be attributed to environmental issues. Weiten & Lloyd (2005) offer that poor social skills have been liked with depressive disorders, suggesting that a lack of individual finesse (due to a wide variety of issues) can lead to lifestyles where the achievement of quality friendships, high-status careers and desirable spouses is difficult. In this situation, interpersonal development is hindered by pessimistic attitudes and the external effect of reacting to stress, leading to a more distinct psychological disorder. In this situation, it would be unrealistic to prescribe medication as a means of dealing with biological processes leading to depression and work, using various psychological tools, to mould a more competent contributor to society. This would include counselling, stress-reduction activities, or even behaviour modeling as a means to create a more well-rounded individual. Hence, the psychological disorder might well be treated with approaches that do not require medication as it a change in perception and internal thought processes which must be manipulated, not the genetic. Psychological disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa, two eating disorders, are largely contributable to the environment as well. Social expectations regarding personal beauty and unrealistic perceptions of the self can lead to this disorder, suggesting that culture directly impacts the continuation or creation of this disorder. Morris & Maisto (2005) suggest that a morbid fear of becoming obese becomes the driving motivation for self-destructive habits, another factor outside of the biological which describes the onset of eating disorders. In this scenario, it is unrealistic to prescribe medication as treatment would require altering the dangerous behaviours through individual commitment to a counselling programme. Again, in this scenario, inherent traits are ignored and the focus of altering these negative behaviours becomes intensive exploration of human thought patterns. Section B Bond & Burns (1998) offer that poor development of parenting skills, brought on by insufficient parental mental development, is a significant factor leading toward a maladjusted child. For instance, in terms of culture, young children in industrialised nations often spend the majority of their time within the “confines of their homes and/or institutionalized day care environments” (Bond & Burns, 1998: 494). It is in this scenario where the youth requires adequate guidance designed to promote positive development by these caretakers. If these caretakers have poor perceptions of the self, have not escalated to higher levels of psychological maturity or provide otherwise poor leadership skills, the long-term effects on the child can be devastating to the child’s sense of self. The aforementioned lack of parenting skills borne of poor personal, adult development (or even poor perception of the external social environment) might lead to dysfunctional children under their guidance. This is especially prevalent in the lower classes in industrialised nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States. Henslin (2005) offers the existence of gender inequality which still persists in these countries, leading to shifts in how children are raised according to gender role expectations. In some households, biological factors leading to less-masculine or less-feminine traits can be observed in children, creating behaviours which are more congruent to the opposite sex. A parent who is ill-equipped to provide assurance that these behaviours are inherently acceptable can make the child doubt their own importance and worry about the impact of these behaviours on caretakers and other family members. Chastising a female child, for instance, for preferring male-oriented toys and games could lead to long-lasting negative views of the self which could have been prevented by a more open-minded parent equipped with understanding of progressive culture and the realities of biological processes. It is relatively common to witness outreach programmes in low-income environments designed to take troubled youths and rehabilitate them into more positive contributors to society. Malek & Joughin (2004) describe a boys2Men Project designed to build self-esteem in young criminal offenders. Utilizing counselling and cultural sensitivity training, programmes such as these work to change the negative impact of historically-poor parenting which has altered the child’s view of the self negatively. In essence, the child is still grappling with issues of poor self-esteem and lack of self-assurance which should have been fostered at an earlier stage of child development. The essence of personality is definitely not influenced solely by genetic inclinations, it is dictated by the events which occur in the individual’s personal living environment. Interaction with others, the role of positive support during child developmental years, cultural expectations and even relationships within the family can dictate the long-term aspects of human personality. Morris & Maisto (2005) further suggest that the determinants of personality, largely, are dictated by social influence during developmental years, building specific motivations which drive a person into healthy adulthood. Under Maslow’s theory of motivation, several drivers which are common amongst most persons is the requirement of a sense of belonging and the development of self-esteem. A child who is born into an unhealthy or unstable environment where other adults (or even peers) routinely provide negative feedback, the individual develops a more reserved personality or avoids social situations to avoid perceptions of embarrassment or other inequalities. However, a person who is privy to a more stable environment and receives continuous, positive feedback and finds a sense of health and balance is more prone to be outwardly social and successful in other peer and adult interactions. In this situation, it becomes nature versus nurture where nurturing outweighs and biological in healthy development. Consider a well-adjusted adult who maintains a healthy preoccupation with sports and sporting events. Inherently this person maintains more aggressive characteristics (biological) and chooses sports as an activity to act out these aggressions in a healthy social situation. Though the biological influenced the choice to tackle sports as a lifestyle preference, perhaps it was through exposure to these choices, such as maintaining a connection with sports through economic privilege, that sports was chosen as an outlet for balancing internal aggressions. In a less privileged environment, the individual may not have had a proper psychological outlet for dealing with aggression and turned toward harmful or even anti-social activities. It is in this scenario where biology is only a factor in what drives decision-making but the environmental impact on lifestyle choices is the source of behaviour. In an interesting study, Weichold, Buttig & Silbereisen (2008) measured communication behaviours and biological stress in adolescent girls who had entered puberty earlier than that of their peers. It was discovered that a large majority of early-pubescent girls showed a higher inclination toward achieving control over their mothers than late-pubescent girls. In this situation, biological factors impacted a desire to distance themselves from their mothers however communication behaviours were vastly different for each subject in response to stress. What this would tend to suggest is that parents should be equipped with learning for the specific pressures which might be facing early-pubescent girls and utilize appropriate psychological tools to combat negative behaviours. If the child feels supressed by parental figures, it is likely that it can create a more defiant child who is simply attempting to cope with and rationalize complex sexual thoughts and feelings. Personality, in this situation, is created by negative environments whereas a more progressive mother who strives to understand their daughters’ motivation can foster personality traits which tend not to lash out in search of control. Section C The researchers in the study utilized a quantitative approach to research, using intellectual tests in both an experimental group and a control group of children to determine whether educational learning software games created a child who is more equipped to succeed on intellectual tests. Students were granted access to an educational programme online for a specific, restricted daily play and were given the intellectual tests as a measure of whether pupils had been assisted by online gaming in their testing success. Children at different stages in the primary education system were chosen for this research to illustrate whether a specific group succeeded better with e-learning software interaction or whether the software maintained no measurable impact on intellectual learning. The IV (Independent Variable) in this study is what is being manipulated, and this is the e-learning software and personal competency levels. These variables contribute to an outcome of whether or not the child is better equipped to handle intellectual testing. The independent variable is manipulated in this study several ways through the limitation of e-learning sessions for the students and the existence of the control group as a basis for testing success without the assistance of e-learning software. The Dependent Variable (DV) in this study is success ratios for intellectual testing. Is the success low, medium or high as compared to the control group. This is what is being measured in the study: competency levels. This is considered the DV as the outcome of the study is dependent on whether a causal relationship exists between the software and student achievement. There were no concrete findings in the study which could legitimately indicate that e-learning software acts as the fundamental catalyst for academic testing improvement. Several age groups achieved superior scores as an outcome of e-learning activity compared to their peers whereas in other age groups there was minimal, if any, improvement. This was attributed to the difficulty levels of a portion of the tests in regards to mathematics. However, in terms of English, four of the six primary experimental groups achieved superior testing results after the use of the software programme. Primary groups 2 and 4 experimental group did not outperform their control group peers, indicating no clear trend toward one age group comprehension levels. Had experimental primary groups 1, 2 and 3 achieved superior scores, it could be theorised that e-learning software is most effective in younger children who might be more equipped to learn in this forum than their older peers. However, this study left no clear conclusion as to the total effectiveness of the e-learning software, only that it can be suggested that it appears to be a worthwhile tool some of the time. Changes in mean scores for the youths also indicated no clear correlation to whether e-learning software builds competence. For instance, Primary experimental group 6 was outperformed in mathematics by the control group, even after the use of e-learning software, a different trend than other primary groups. Though it was somewhat attributed to the difficulty of the testing instruments in this field of study. An analysis of the results does tend to indicate that, by and large, e-learning software is beneficial for most students in primary age groups to succeed at intellectual testing. Further research would be required to narrow this project down, using larger experimental and control groups of the same age to determine whether age determines the speed of learning through software programmes. Implications to educators is that game-based learning software does appear to have beneficial qualities for academic learning and do not appear to take away competency levels in most age groups. This gives educators a foundation to consider e-learning software as a part of their teaching curriculum for small-scale advancements in English and Mathematics competency not as a proven teaching method, but one which has illustrated measureable results in a small-scale capacity. One of the limitations to the study existed in sample size, which only measured 80 students. As previously mentioned, a large-scale study involving several hundred students or designed to measure brackets of different school-aged children would offer whether conclusive correlations exist between testing scores and e-learning software. Such a limited sample selection does not shed light on the broader learning abilities of millions of youths so in order to concretely theorise that such gaming is proven effective it would require broader subject testing. Another limitation involved the restrictions placed on time allowed to play the gaming software, which had been set at 30 minutes. For a younger child, it might take more time for the youth to explore the gaming site and comprehend the words written on the screen (or the pictorials) whereas an older child can browse the game in greater speed. It might be suggested for future research to remove the restrictions, or allow a longer session period, to give students the chance to absorb more information. Time played might also indicate whether the software has its expected benefits on learning based on exposure levels. In this case, the experimental group might have outperformed the control group over and over, indicating a direct correlation between time played and success ratios compared to non-players. The overall design of the existing study is sound, as there are not a wide variety of instruments available to measure intellectual achievement as an outcome of e-learning game play. Post-test and pre-test instruments are the correct strategy to measure what was intended for this study. However, the psychometric tests used in this study were not utilised when analysing the data results, which could have shed light on whether individual, inherent competency was a major factor in higher post-test scores. For example, several children in the experimental group may have achieved significantly higher scores in creative thinking and comprehension than that of those in the control group. If the experimental group with higher psychometric scores outperforms their non-playing peers, such changes in mean scores might indicate inherent ability and less impact from the gaming software. Hence, this study could have been improved by broadening the results and using a correlative approach to the psychometric tests and the post-test results. Failure to get data from the psychometric tests during the analysis portion of this study would have either supported or refuted the notion that e-learning is a major contributor to higher achievement. All of the aforementioned strategies to improve the study would have improved the overall reliability and validity of the study, however the researchers do warn that certain results should not be interpreted easily, pointing out the study’s limitation in regards to sample size at the Primary 4 level. The researchers indicate a potential trend toward inherent comprehension for an increase in mathematics competency, leaving the study open for enhancements or additions to uncover e-learning’s role in future learning curriculum. Again, it would have been crucial to enhancing validity and reliability if the study had offered statistics from the psychometric testing to determine which specific groups maintained superior student comprehension. Bibliography Bond, L. & Burns, C.E. (1998). ‘Investing in parents’ development as an investment in primary prevention’. Journal of Mental Health. Abingdon. 7(5): 493-499. Henslin, James E. (2005). Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 6th ed. A & B Publishers, London. Kopelman, R.E., Prottas, D. & Davis, A.L. (2008). ‘Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Y: Toward a Construct-valid Measure’. Journal of Managerial Issues. 20(2): 255-265. Malek, Mhemooda & Joughin, Carol. (2004). Mental Health Services for Minority Ethnic Children and Adolescents – Child and Adolescent Mental Health Series. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London: 218-226. Morris, A. & Maisto, M. (2005). Psychology: An Introduction. 12th ed. Prentice Hall, United Kingdom. Weichold, K., Buttig, S. & Silbereisen, R. (2008). “Effects of Pubertal Timing on Communication Behaviours and Stress Reactivity in Young Women During Conflict Discussions with their Mothers”. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(9):1123-1128. Weiten, W. & Lloyd, M. (2005). Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. 7th ed. Thomson Wadsworth, United Kingdom. Read More