Grain-Nurture from a Biblical Christian Perspective - Assignment Example

Running head: Psychology Assignment Psychology Assignment Psychology Assignment Write a detailed discussion of the issue of "nature-nurture" (developed in chapter 3) from a Biblical Christian perspective. Nature versus nurture issue involves roles that genes and experience play in the development of psychological behaviors and personality. The interplay between nature and nurture results in traits and behaviors. The interplay between heredity and environment nurtures human development in every stage. The different genes inherent in humans interact with experience, which shape human traits and behaviors. Experience tends to arouse the reactivity of the gene towards the environment. There has been a debate over whether it is environment or heredity that causes certain human behaviors, such as infidelity, irresponsibility, homosexuality, and drunkenness. Christians hold the view that God is no part of this controversy, because God did not create people to act irresponsibly. The nature or genetic makeup and culture, which is deeply ingrained in human beings, should not lead people to act in a particular way. In fact, attributing particular behaviors to nature is only vain and misleading. It should not be an excuse of not obeying God. (Myers, 2012) 2.) What is included in the study of psychology? Psychology is a science that helps people to lead happy lives. It helps them to cope with stress and anxiety as well as raising successful children. The rationale of psychological science is evidence of effectiveness. There are numerous fields in psychology. Counseling psychology involves helping people to cope with social trauma and enhance their social and personal functioning. Clinical psychology involves assessment and therapy of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Psychiatry involves administration of drugs to treat physical roots of psychological disorders (Myers, 2012). What other disciplines are closely related to it? Some of the disciplines that are closely related to psychology are sociology, anthropology, cross-cultural and business studies. Sociology relates to psychology in that both disciplines are concerned with studying the human behavior. There are many resemblances between the two disciplines. Psychology aims at arriving at the laws governing the mental behavior and life of human beings while on the other hand, sociology studies the society at large and how mental judgments shape relations in the society. Psychological truths are incomplete without comprehensive ideas regarding social relationships, activities and behaviors (Myers, 2012). Anthropology is another discipline that is related to psychology. Anthropology studies the human race, phases of evolution of humankind and aspects of human civilization. The relationship between the two disciplines comes from the fact that whereas anthropology is concerned with social problems, culture, manners and traditions, psychology studies how these aspects impact on the human behavior. Cross-cultural psychologists use the knowledge base of anthropologists to understand the influences and features of culture. Hence, studies in anthropology facilitate psychological studies. Psychology is also related to business studies as business utilizes results from psychological research with regard to product satisfaction and consumer preference (Myers, 2012). 3) What is personality? How would you describe your own personality? Personality is a reference to individual differences regarding characteristics of thinking, behavior, and feeling patterns. The disparities in behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are responsible for the uniqueness of every individual. Personality is also defined as a combination of attitudinal, behavioral and emotional response patterns that are possessed by a particular individual. In studying personality, the focus is on two areas; first is to understand personal differences on some personality characteristics like irritability or sociability. Second, understanding how parts of an individual form the whole. Personality has characteristics such as consistency, which is the recognizable order and behavioral regularity. Other characteristics of personality are multiple expressions, influence on actions, behaviors, and physiological and psychological characteristics (Myers, 2012). My personality is based on the behavioral patterns that I possess. I am usually highly productive while under stress and most of the time I am very patient, relaxed and demonstrate self-control. I am less competitive unless when the competition is productive and based on good intentions. I rarely get frustrated or aggressive and this makes me flexible and tolerant in a manner that I can be able to cope with changes and situations (Myers, 2012). 4.) Provide a detailed explanation of each of the following terms/persons: a. Observational Learning According to Myers (2012), observational learning is a form of learning that occurs after observing how other people are behaving. Observation learning takes place in all life stages but is of great importance during childhood. Albert Bandura is accredited for having made major contributions in helping understand observational learning whereby he highlighted observational learning as a learning process that entails observing and then duplicating the learnt strategies, skills and processes. This type of learning occurs without instructions and the observed individual may not be aware if he or she is serving as a learning instrument for the observer. Bandura indicated that observational learning is an activity that involves processing of information. Myers (2012), indicates that observational learning is influenced by attention whereby the learner’s senses are directed to the model. Coding, retention, and storage also influence observational learning whereby observation patterns are to be retrieved for successful learning. Reinforcements and incentives can also play a huge role in observational learning whereby they propel the learners to maintain attention, retention and practice. Observational learning of moral behavior begins early whereby toddlers that are socially responsive through imitation of their parents become scholars with a strong conscience. Moreover, parents can encourage their children to read by exhibiting reading culture to them or availing books. b. General Intelligence General intelligence is the ability to analyze situations and think about ideas with the aim of solving problems. According to Myers (2012), all people possess general intelligence. Moreover, people have special abilities that usually stand out. People who possess some forms of general intelligence such as verbal intelligence score higher on other areas of ability. Individuals with higher levels of general intelligence demonstrate intelligent behavior from tasks such as sea navigation to excellence in academics. General intelligence helps individuals to solve problems in academics and vocational situations c. Motivation Motivation is the desire to perform certain tasks. It is a psychological aspect that arouses an individual or a being to act towards a certain goal and help in sustaining and controlling behaviors directed towards attainment of certain goals. According to Myers, (2012), motivation is a crucial element in the setting and attainment of goals. People have the ability to influence their levels of self-control and motivation. Motivating factors are usually unconscious although they are oftentimes aroused through managerial action. Motivation is usually based on needs, which are unconsciously or consciously felt. These needs may be fundamental needs such as shelter or ego-satisfaction needs like self-actualization. Motivational needs tend to vary with people. Motivation is a process that exhibits continuity as wants are basically innumerable and are not satisfied fully. d. Autonomic Nervous System Autonomic Nervous System is a core part of the minor nervous system, which is responsible for regulation of involuntary functions of the body such as digestion, breathing, heartbeat, and blood flow. Moreover, this system largely affects respiration rate, perspiration, sexual arousal, and urination. The Autonomic Nervous System is further divided into the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems. The latter system regulates fight or flight responses and performs tasks such as dilating the eye pupils, speeding heart rate and relaxing the bladder. The former system aids in maintaining the normal bodily functions and in the conservation of physical resources. The parasympathetic system is also responsible for performing tasks such as controlling the bladder, slowing heart rate, and constricting the eye pupils. e. Abraham Maslow Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who is widely revered for the creation of Maslow’s hierarchy on needs, which is a theory of self-actualization. He made major contributions to psychology by advocating for focus on humanity’s positive side. According to Myers (2012), Maslow was a psychology professor who stressed on the importance of putting focus on peoples’ positive qualities. Maslow introduced the concept of needs by suggesting that people were motivated towards the fulfillment of their basic needs prior to moving other advanced needs. His hierarchy of needs is often displayed like a pyramid with the lowest levels comprising of the basic needs. Needs that are more complex are found at the top of the pyramid. In this hierarchy, Maslow indicated that the needs at the bottom include food and clothing. He argued that people often satisfy these needs before moving on to a higher level of needs such as safety and security. f. Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder characterized by decline in emotional responsiveness and a breakdown of processes related to thinking. Myers (2012) indicates that chronic schizophrenia is a manifestation of a number of psychological disorders. This phenomenon is usually manifested through disorganized thinking, inappropriate actions and emotions and disturbed perceptions. An individual suffering from this condition exhibits irrationality and has a loss of contact with reality. Moreover, schizophrenic individuals have their thoughts spilling in non logical manner and these thoughts are often disruptive. Unusual behaviors are also detected in these individuals with hallucinations and delusions being common. g. Psychotherapy Psychotherapy is a reference to therapeutic treatment and interaction that is contracted between the client and a professional in clinical psychology. The problems addressed in this form of therapy are psychological. Psychotherapy aims at increasing the sense of wellbeing of an individual and the psychotherapists employ a range of interventions such as communication and dialogue and advocating on behavioral change in order to improve the mental health of the individual. Psychotherapy is an effective way of helping clients suffering from chronic psychological disorders because of difficulties in life, which subject them to increased stress (Myers, 2012). h. Methamphetamine Methamphetamine is a drug that is used to increase concentration, energy and alertness. When used in high doses, it enhances self-esteem and increases libido. Methamphetamine is used to stimulate the central nervous system in which it affects chemicals present ion the brain and affects the nerves that are responsible for impulse control and hyperactivity. This drug is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is used in treating obesity following ineffectiveness of other drugs (Myers, 2012). i. Sigmund Freud Freud was a well-known psychologist. Freud’s philosophy underscored the unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to explain the nature of human behavior. A significant proportion of human mind functions outside conscious awareness. He is termed the father of psychoanalysis, Freud is famous for his book The Interpretation of Dream, which he wrote in 1900 (Myers, 2012). Freud suggested that dreams provide mechanism of discharging undesirable feelings. The manifest content of a dream tends to be censored, and signifies its latency. The unconscious triggers the latent content even though sexual imagery does not feature in many dreams, Freud, however, believed that most of dreams in adulthood tend to be erotic. An interpretation of dreams unlocks our innate anxieties and worries. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, repression tends to relieve inner conflicts of memories, feelings, and thoughts from the consciousness. Freud contended that humans tend to repress traumatic memories, which helps in alleviating anxiety and safeguarding self-concept. Nevertheless, such repressed memories tend to linger, which permits their retrieval during therapy (Myers, 2012). In fact, repression was the chief foundation of psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalysis helped to explain the alleviation of bizarre symptoms of Breuer’s patient, Anna O. j. Consciousness Consciousness refers to awareness of self and environment by a person. Such awareness permits collection of information from numerous sources while reflecting on the past and future planning. Consciousness is an adaptive function that enables humans to acknowledge their past, adjust to their present, and plan for future. Consciousness allows people to focus their attention when learning complex concepts. Consciousness helps people to consider future consequences of their action, rather than simply pursuing short-term pleasure and avoiding agony. It also helps humans to adapt through mental representations of ourselves as well as read the minds of other people. Some of our actions, sequential processing, requires conscious attention, but cannot co-occur. Consciousness, thus, tends to bar us from thinking and doing everything simultaneously. k. Audition Auditioning entails use of our senses when acting or listening. Our auditioning tends to be highly adaptive. Even though we audition numerous sounds, we tend to filter these sounds, so that we hear best the sounds whose range of frequency is within that of human voice. In view of Darwinian Theory, we have adapted in similar manner to our primal species, whose acute sensitivity to feeble sounds helped them in hunting or being hunted, which is crucial to their survival. Furthermore, we have remarkable adjustment to a large variety of sounds. We can for example, distinguish the voice of people we are familiar with from a large variety of human voices. The presence of millions of neurons, which simultaneously coordinate to filtering relevant features, weighing them against experiences, and recognizing the stimulus, makes this possible. This helps to trigger the receptors of the ear within a very short period of an event. l. Encoding, Storage and Retrieval The human brain tends to operate on two tracks. Encoding facilitates taking in of information by the human brain. Storage involves retention of information acquired through interaction with experience or environment. Retrieval, the most difficult of all, encompasses getting the information back out of the brain memory. This is because our memories are far more plastic and imperfect than we possibly think. Unlike computer memory, which processes information sequentially, even in the course of shifting between tasks, the human brain tends to process information simultaneously through parallel processing. Information processing occurs both consciously and unconsciously. When viewed from connectionism perspective, the memories result from interconnected neural pathways. Regular activation within these networks gives rise to specific memories. The brain’s neural circuit tends to change as the human brain takes in more information, creating and enhancing circuitry, which allows us to interact with and learn from the ever-changing environment (Myers, 2012). Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin in 1968 (cited in Myers, 2012) argued that humans tend to take note repository information as makeshift sensory memory. A person processes the information into short-term memory, whereby the person encodes the processed information by rehearsing prior to moving this information to long-term memory retrieval later. Processed is temporarily held in the short-term memory or working memory before linking it with the long-term memory. The working memory, thus, links information input with information stored in the long-term memory. The input information usually enters the working memory through vision or audition. The integration of such memory inputs with the long-term memory leads to focused attention, in which without, the information diminish (Myers, 2012). m. Sensory Interaction The ascending neural fibers convey sensory information, whereas the descending neural fibers convey the motor-control information back to the spinal cord. The neural networks regulate human reflexes, our automatic reaction to sensory stimuli. The sensory and motor neurons make up the reflex network of the spinal cord. An interneuron facilitates communication between the sensory neuron and the motor neuron. The sensory neurons transfer neural activity to inter-neurons in the spinal cord. This tends to trigger motor neurons, which result in reflex action. The spinal cord forms a pathway of information transmission to the brain. The sensory and motor neurons cause the feeling of pain or pleasure. Sensory information must, therefore, reach the brain for a person to experience pain or pleasure (Myers, 2012). n. Chromosomes The cell nucleus contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, in which 23 come from mother’s egg, and another 23 originate from father’s sperm. The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a chain of twisted molecule, makes up the chromosome. The small segments of the DNA, or genes, contain the genetic information of the chromosomes. Environmental events tend to trigger genes, which leads to the formation of the information for forming protein molecules, the fundamental building blocks of the human body. Simple alteration of genes leads to greater differences in behavior. Genes influence most of the human traits. Furthermore, genes tend to influence complex human traits, such as intelligence, aggressiveness, and happiness, although all humans share nature (Myers, 2012). o. Mode, Median, and Mean These provide measures of central tendency. Such measures help to know the extent of variation of data, so that low variability scores are more reliable than high variability scores. A single score represents a whole repertoire of scores. The arithmetic mean is the most commonly used measure of central tendency. It is the average obtained by dividing the sum of all scores by the number of scores. The Median is the score that stands exactly in the middle of all scores. It is obtained by arranging all the scores in descending order, so that half of scores fall above the median, while the rest fall below it. The mode is the most frequently occurring score among scores (Myers, 2012). p. Self-concept Self-concept entails sense of oneself. The concept of self is developed from infancy through attachment. Many people developed their self-concept by the time they reach puberty, meaning that they have an understanding and mental schema of who they are. Self-concept gives a more elaborate description of one’s gender, psychological qualities, identity group, and similarities as well as differences with other people (Myers, 2012). q. Cognition Human cognition involves the way we perceive, remember, and retrieve information. The study of human cognition, cognitive neuroscience, has led to the understanding of mental processes underlain by brain activity. Cognitive studies are particularly important in psychology (Myers, 2012). References Myers, D. G. (2012). Psychology (10th Edition ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. Read More