Knowledge of Psychology - Essay Example

KNOWLEDGE OF PSYCHOLOGY of Thought Processes Psychology is the study that involves behavior, performance and mental operations of a person. It revolves around theoretical, applied and educational science. It is also concerned with application of skills, knowledge and proper understanding of most of the activities undertaken by humans on daily basis this includes relationships, talking to people, employment and education (Keller, 2008). This paper therefore seeks to discuss and demonstrate in details thought processes that demonstrate tolerance of other people, identify external forces acting on me to prevent my freedom of choice, compare and contrast why people behave differently, discuss how to develop intelligence and identify new experiences that I was unaware of before taking this course. Understanding and Tolerance of the Behavior of other People Abnormality The issue of abnormality has captured my interest following rising cases of abnormal behaviors such as tragic news stories of children being killed by their mothers seemingly for no apparent reason. Such problems through the study of psychology can easily be attributed to depression, schizophrenia and other medical conditions. Defiant behavior These are behaviors that are contrary to the norms of the society that a certain individual can be solely responsible for. Through psychology; I am able to learn that personality of an individual is the major element of motivation through which a behavior in an individual is derived. Psychology has helped me to handle deviance through acquiring the knowledge of the cause which includes diseased mind, improper conditioning and lack of role models to copy from. Pathological State I am also able to know that the pathological state of a person for example cancer patients may affect their psychology resulting in an increase of defense mechanism and regression. This weakens reality control and narrows consciousness. Also frequent and temporary pathological psychic conditions may influence the decisions of patients concerning their treatment. Therefore, this may impact negatively on patient doctor relationship. Accepting Madness Using psychological knowledge, I am able to accept crazy behaviors in the society. This has helped me to know that most causes of violence are in fact complex in nature and that they are brought about by troublesome human rage, fits of anger and emotions. In this case, the use of existential depth of psychology has helped me to understand that these presumed negative, evils and pathological can be dealt with easily by applying psychological skills and knowledge. Forces Limiting my Freedom of Choice According to (William, 2013) freedom of choice is an external control psychology which views human behavior as ultimately explainable by reference to innate desires and needs .No matter what the external stimuli is ,humans subsequently attempt to satisfy these needs . In this regard, my past was characterized by some of these forces that tried to suppress my freedom of choice include: Guilt This is a state of affectiveness whereby one experiences a mental conflict at having done a thing that he should not have done or having not done what he should have done. This used to give me a feeling that could not go away easily. Traumatic Memories These are intrusive memories emerging from stressful moments of natural calamities, violence at a family level etcetra.These memories used to haunt me to an extent of affecting my academic performance. Low Self Esteem This is a state of having a generally overall negative opinion of oneself especially when judging or evaluating yourself as a person. I had a problem coping with poor performance in class making me feel as a lesser being. Shyness This is a feeling of apprehension awkwardness and lack of comfort especially when I was in the midst of other people. This used to make me wonder what other people thought about me .All these were forces that limited my freedom of choice in the past. At present Acceptance This is an express implication by conduct that involves treating what happens as positive by using elements of feelings, thoughts and history .in this case I have come to accept death and suffering as natural. Conformity This is doing what others are doing it has been a very difficult force to deal with, but after psychology classes am now able to do what I want without the others trying to get me to do it. In my own capacity I can strongly say that these are the two major forces affecting me at present. Other forces including compliance and obedience are able to deal with them. Future Forces These are the most challenging forces to every person since they call for once own effort and desire to achieve what one ever wanted to be . They are forces that call for motivation which include: Unrealistic expectations These are unexpepected goals which may include winning a magnificent house or an expensive vehicle. They come as a surprise at times in once own life. Aspiration It is a strong desire, longing or aim to achieve a given objective. I my case, I strongly desire to achieve the highest accolade possible in education or even become a political figure and a renown businessman. Security This refers to protection of entities including property, job and money .In this case I live in constant fear of what future has in store for me. For instance people will ask themselves questions about job they are likely to get after school. That is, whether it would be permanent and if it would guarantee my health and retirement benefits. Concern for liabilities and responsibilities These are to do with what one owes others and accountability bestowed on him. This may mean that those entrusted with duties must unsure goals are achieved and mistakes made are corrected to avoid future occurrences. Present Explanation of People’s Behavior in the Past and Now In this topic I seek to compare and contrast how people behaved in the past and my current interpretation after the course. Deviance In the past I used to take this as a behavior depicted by those going contrary to the norms of the society, but after my psychology course am now in a position to appreciate that an individual is the primary unit of analyzing psychological theories of deviance and that criminals and deviants could be suffering from deficiencies of personality. Also I have come to know that some people are wholly responsible for their criminal acts. Abnormality Before my psychology course whenever someone appeared to have a deformity I t took that as an abnormality ,but after my knowledge of psychology I am now in a position to understand that abnormality could be maladaptive which suggests that an individual that as an existing problem and cannot cope with environmental stress. Disobedience This is a form of social influence where somebody acts contrary to a direct order from another individual (Grenway, 2011). In my own thinking I always though disobedience was violence or deviance .Psychology has now helped me to understand that disobedience may not involve violence or deviance or even rioting. Guilt Most people at some point me included have been subjected to some form of guilt by their parents, friends or even their teachers by forcing tem think in a certain way this is most common especially when we are reminded of our evil past. The aim may be to change our behavior, but the guilt haunts us constantly. In this passage one can live their own life the way they want without being manipulated by externally imposed guilt. Craziness Formerly, I would get overexcited or find people in a jovial mood and think that they were mad in their behavior. My exposure to this course has left me informed that madness is different from craziness. For instance the media craziness involves making fuss of something new and exagge rating it to make it appear strange this is by transcending the limits of the society they live in. On the other hand in a serious mental condition which has to do with irrationality, unreasonableness and instability of mind which can pave way to depression. Accepting Unwarranted Claims Made by Media and Credentialed Authority through Intelligent Skeptics According to (Carr, 2009) intelligent skeptics is an attitude of mind that advices somebody to reject any statement that is unaccustomed. It is therefore important to insist on the outset of human skeptics so that those who distort information of psychology may be ignored in their statement. Claims on Mass Media Mass media is intended to reach a large audience and it may take different forms. It may take the form of print media, like newspapers and magazines or broadcast media, like television and radios. In either case, presenters and journalists are bound to go out of their way and make misguiding statements which are unfounded. For instance a radio presenter may criticize a rapist or a murderer by ignoring the psychological implications or background of the culprit and make the audience to lose intelligent skeptics. To accept this, the audience should learn to view, read and listen to everything with an open mind and by making smart choices through critical thinking. This will call for a few strategies such as by being neutral and unbiased in the process of evaluating opinions, claims that belong to others or to us. By accepting different conclusions based on individual values or principles. More so, by not supporting everything based on Science. Other characteristics include intellectual humility, free thinking, high motivation, evaluation of information sources and arguments. On the same, credentials as documents of truth should be treated with caution since they are evidence of authority. To enhance acceptance, the credentials verification process should have interpreters included and their names disclosed and any changes made should be notified and updated to the users. Psychological Experience in Every Day Life that I Was Unaware of Before Through the study of psychology I am now aware of the following: Better Communication Psychology has made me learn how to express myself nonverbally through eye contact and proper use of tone to make my message reinforced. Better Understanding for Other People This has been possible through the improved ability to understand my emotions and also emotions of those people around me and I am now aware of my own emotional intelligent quotient. This is through careful assessment of my own emotional reactions and comparing me with others. Making Accurate Decisions Through developmental psychology, I am able to employ cognition in decision making. This is possible through consideration of potential cost and benefits of a decision and analyzing how a particular decision may satisfy requirements that I have. Memory Improvement Research on memory formation as well as why we forget has given finding that is applicable in my daily life. So am in a position to increase my memory power by rehearsing what I have learnt, eliminating distractions and focusing on relevant information. To this end I am fully convinced that with psychology I was able to learn about myself and others, know about my behavior, prospective personality and development of goals. Also, am able to view problems holistically and seek possible solutions to them as an individual. References Carr, M. (2009). Blood and Faith. Spain: The New Press. Grenway, B. (2011). Random Musings. Chicago: University Press of America. Keller, F. S. (21 Jul 2008). The definition of psychology. Newyork: Appleton-Century-Crofts. William, M. D. (2013). Take Charge of your life. Los Angeles: Amazon. Read More