Mock Interview - Term Paper Example

Mock interview The Greeks were the first people to perform a scholarly study of the human mind and behavior. Functionalism is one of the schools of thought in psychology. It developed from Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution that focused on the investigation of the function and purpose of the mental processes and their relevance to behavior. Some of the great psychologists and thinkers include: Charles Darwin, William James, John Dewey, Leta Stetta Hollingsworth, and G. Stanley Hall. This paper will be an interview of these five psychologists in order to find out their reaction to certain psychological issues. Charles Darwin What do you consider to be the proper subject matter of psychology? Darwin: The proper subject matter would most probably be evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology helps us to be able to understand our past and thus enable us to determine our future. The idea that we are descendants of animals does not mean that we are entitled to act in an uncivilized manner. The role of evolution psychology is to understand behavior as the body’s adaptation for survival. What methods psychology use to approach the subjects and its studies? Darwin: I used the method of introspection to study the anatomy and physiology of an organism. What do you expect will be your understanding your lasting contribution to the field of psychology? Darwin: The evolution theory will be my lasting contribution to the field of psychology. This theory lays great emphasis on the fight of the organisms for survival i.e. survival for the fittest What do you consider to be an appropriate role for the field of psychology in society? Darwin: The role of psychology is to improve our understanding of how people make their decisions, how certain traits contribute to the survival of an organism, and why they exist in the society. What particular personal challenges or characteristics, or conditions in the society and the profession of psychology, had the greatest impact upon your development as a psychologist? Darwin: Lord Kelvin’s discovery of the second law of thermodynamics was a challenge to the Darwin’s evolution theory. Health problems like skin problems greatly compromised my career as a psychologist. Another setback was the public society’s scorn and derision e.g. the print and mass media, academic intellectuals, and religious persons. William James What do you consider to be the proper subject matter of psychology? James: The proper subject matter in psychology is the study of the organism’s mental activity. Examples of these mental activities include: memory, perception, judgment, feeling and memory. Mental activity can be examined in relation to how it helps an organism to adapt to its environment. What methods should psychology use to approach the subjects and its studies? James: Mental processes can be studied by introspection, use of apparatus to record and measure the mind’s manifestations by studying the products and creations and by the studying the anatomy and physiology. What do you expect will be your most lasting contribution to the field of psychology? James: One of my contributions to the field of psychology was the opposition of the structuralism view that the conscious can be broken down into constituent parts. Using the stream of consciousness, the mental life is a unity that changes and flows. There was the presentation of illuminating ideas which concerns the consciousness, memory, habits, emotions and attention. What do you consider to be an appropriate role for the field of psychology in society? James: The role of the field of psychology is to enable people to focus on the event’s wholeness and its impact on the environment or the society. What particular personal challenges or characteristics, or conditions in the society and the profession of psychology, had the greatest impact upon your development as a psychologist? James: The structuralism view was one of the greatest challenges in the psychologist career. The reason behind this was that one could not breakdown the mental processes into smaller elements as the mental activities could only be understood as a whole. Health problems were also a challenge to the career as a psychologist. John Dewy What do you consider to be the proper subject matter of psychology? Dewy: The proper subject matter is the theory of inquiry. This theory explores the survival of the species in the environment. This theory adopts the naturalistic approach of Darwin’s theory. The inquiry theory examines the way the environment responds when there is a contact with a existing organism. What methods should psychology use to approach the subjects it studies? Dewy: Psychology should use the reflective thinking method when approaching the inquiry methods. When inquiring on something it is important to reflect on the issue first. What do you expect will be your most lasting contribution to the field of psychology? Dewy: The most lasting influence will be being the originator of both behaviorist and functionalist psychology. This has led to the shaping of thoughts like: empiricism, naturalism, humanism and contextualism What do you consider to be an appropriate role for the field of psychology in society? Dewy: The appropriate role of the field of psychology is to provide or give priority to activities instead of entities. The role of psychology should be based on the activity being exhibited by an organism acting to change its own stimuli rather than being forced to react. What particular personal challenges or characteristics, or conditions in the society and the profession of psychology, had the greatest impact upon your development as a psychologist? Dewy: There were several challenges in my career. Due to the many children that I had I faced some financial problems due to my low salary and to earn more I had to work additional hours every week. Letta Steta Holingsworth What do you consider to be the proper subject matter of psychology? Letta: The proper subject matter was the development of intelligence theory and testing. Intelligence can only be determined by subjecting a child to a test to determine their intellectual levels What methods should psychology use to approach the subjects it studies? Letta: The most appropriate methods of studying the intellectual levels are the use of tests like the Stanford-Binet’s Scale. This method determines the level of IQ accurately. What do you expect will be your most lasting contribution to the field of psychology? Letta: My lasting contribution will be my study in clinical psychology, the psychology of women and educational psychology especially the psychology of the highly gifted. In my master’s thesis I challenged the theory behind sexist hiring practices: the supposed incapacitation of women every month as a result of menstruation. What do you consider to be an appropriate role for the field of psychology in society? Letta: Psychology enables easy examination of the study of the role that women play in the society. Psychology helps us to identify the differences between children as some children have special abilities than others. What particular personal challenges or characteristics, or conditions in the society and the profession of psychology, had the greatest impact upon your development as a psychologist? Letta: My marriage life was very challenging as it made unable to secure a job. Despite my wide educational knowledge, I could not find a job as I was inexperienced. I was financially unstable and despite the numerous scholarships that I applied I was not successful. I also had problems with social maladjustment that I even considered changing careers. G. Stanley Hall What do you consider to be the proper subject matter of psychology? Hall: The proper subject matter of psychology would be the use of scientific method and its application when studying human nature especially in psychological development and its importance to the education of children. This will entails linking genetic education and psychology. What methods should psychology use to approach the subjects it studies? Hall: The empirical research method, use of questionnaires, collection of anecdotal descriptions of the individual behavior of the child. What do you expect to will be your most lasting contribution to the field of psychology? Hall: I think my main contribution will be my evolutionary psychology and child development which suggests that the embryonic stages of an organism are similar to the stages of development of the organism’s evolutionary relations. What do you consider to be an appropriate role for the field of psychology in society? Hall: The role of psychology is to enable us make a positive contribution to the world by coming up with theories that explain the different phenomena in the world and help find solutions. What particular personal challenges or characteristics, or conditions in the society and the profession of psychology, had the greatest impact upon your development as a psychologist? Hall: I faced several challenges in my psychologist career. Some of my theories were like the recapitulation scheme was rejected by other theorists. Despite these setbacks some of my theories have continued to be used. References Darwin, C. (2011). On the origin of the species. New York, NY: Empire Books. Dewey, J. (1997). Experience and education. New York, NY: Free Press. Gardener, H. (2011). Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York, NY: Basic Books. James, W. (2004). Pragmatism. New York, NY: Public Domain Books. Stanley, H. (2010). Youth; its education, regimen, and hygiene. Carolina: Nabu Press. Read More