Future Psychologist - Essay Example

Future Psychologist Future Psychologist Introduction The history and future of psychology tend be embraced and accorded a pedagogical role within the subject rather than being recognized for its substantive contribution. Consequently, such an idea reflects the type of mobilization of different traditions that is an attribute of the natural science rather than the human one. The shallow reviews of history represent a substantial threat to the morals of the society of the researchers. However, there are different developments that provide more critical contexts of the history of psychology, review and its future predictions given the current issues in the today’s psychological theories. Psychology was first established more of a science that was distinct from the philosophy and biology. Its major aim was to explore the behaviour of the mind, thereby, giving different theories of thoughts that differed from one school to the other (Fine, 1979). However, from this history time, today’s psychologists have different eclectic outlooks on psychology, a clear indication that it will continue to experience future growth as more scholars are born. Thesis: Despite the differences in the argumentation of the different schools of psychology, psychologists hold eclectic stances that play together to combine aspects of the other schools. Structuralism Structuralism refers to the first school in the history of psychology and focuses on the theory of consciousness that was developed by Wundt Wilhelm and Edward Titchener during the 20th century. The two psychologists focused on the breaking down of the metal processes to smaller basic elements of the introspection. The school perceives the mind consciousness as the total sum of the mental experiences that the mind has accumulated over the lifetime. Such an aspect influences reasoning (Sangster, 2013). Accordingly, the introspection is seen as the court of appeal in one’s reasoning and thinking and determines one’s cognitive processes, motivations, memory and perceptions. Nevertheless, the psychologists borrow the idea of associationism that explained the relation between the mental thinking and physical environment. However, the thought is criticized on the grounds of the introspection and self-analysis was not executable or feasible. The synthesis of these mental elements to a higher cognitive process was an overriding concern leading to the adoption of the functionalism school. Functionalism Functionalism was influenced by William James that posited a reaction against the structuralism. The school recognizes the mental life and the respective behaviour appear, as a result of, adaptation to one’s environment. This aspect appreciates that the mental functioning acquires its elements from an external source, unlike the structuralism. However, it was built on the structuralism’s reflection and the concern for mind’s anatomy that led to greater functioning of the mind hence a distinct behaviour (Cherry, 2015). Through their arguments, there existed different types of the functionalism including the psycho-functionalism, analytic, homuncular, mechanistic and machine-state- functionalism. These aspects were thought to influence the functionality of the mind with the external influence from the environment. However, the thought is criticized on the grounds that there is confusion between the relation of physicalism and the functionalism. However, the thought has borrowed some aspects of the mind from the behaviourism and the structuralism. Behaviourism Behaviourism emerged in the 1950s with the work of John Watson, Ivan Pavlov and B Skinner. The school of thought argues on the premises of the functionalism though in that the behaviour of an individual or one’s mind can only be explained by environmental forces rather than internal ones. This is the same argumentation that the functionalists posit regarding the mental process; however, the behaviour is focused or attained through observation. Additionally, the stance goes ahead and introduces the operant and classical conditioning in learning behaviours (Roback, 2003). Accordingly, classical conditioning relied on the stimulus procedures in order to establish the reflexes for clear and distinct response behaviour. Operant conditioning relied on the consequences and the antecedents to change certain behaviour, as well as, observing private events to change behaviour. Therefore, the school rejected the introspective methods. It can be revealed that the thoughts are built on the premises of functionalism but expanded on how conditioning is used to learn behaviour from the different environments (behaviour modification). Other aspects that influence the mental process are the self-efficacy and the cognitive challenge hence influence on behaviour. Gestalt psychology The Gestalt psychology was introduced by Christian Von Ehrenfels. Gestalt psychologists based their arguments on the idea in that human beings experience things differently as unified wholes. Such an approach began in the 19hth century in Australia and Germany in response to the structuralism. The Gestalt psychology argued that one has to look at the whole experience instead of breaking down thoughts as argued in the structuralism. Accordingly, the whole is greater as opposed to the sum of parts. Therefore, Gestalt focused on the elementistic nature of the Wundt’s theory (Cherry, 2015). Its theoretical premises are based on two principles. For instance, the principle of totality argues that conscious experience must be taken into consideration all the mental and physical aspects of the individuals simultaneously. Second, psychophysical isomorphism relates the cerebral activity and the conscious experience; an aspect that Gestalt reflects a correlation between the two aspects. Gestalt pointed out that in regards to the totality principle, any psychological study has to take phenomena as the starting point rather than the sensory qualities alone. However, the phi phenomenon has been a challenge to this theory; an illusion between several sensations rather than the elementary y sensory. These aspects brought the principle of perceptual organization positing that we perceive objects in a similar manner like what we perceive an apparent motion, as unified wholes. On the other hand, the thoughts were criticised by different schools. For instance, the aspect of the phi phenomenon was not approached scientifically but was considered as a phenomenon which had its existence readily accepted. Therefore, the theory was more of descriptive than exploratory. Psychoanalysis Founded by Sigmund Freud, the school built its premises on the influence a mind that is unconscious and the effect on the individual’s behaviour. Such an idea is emphasized in the work of the mind and a treatment modality. Accordingly, the theory argues that the human mind is made up of different elements including; the ego, the superego and the id. The id is made of the primal urges; the ego entails the component of personality that is charged with the dealing with the sole reality. On the other hand, superego reflects the part of the personality that embraces all the values and ideas that the human beings internalize from the cultural environment and the parents. Freud argued that these elements interacted to influence the complex behaviour of the humans. This school of thought was more influential in that the arguments were based on different tenets that explained different human behaviour. For instance, the development of an individual was influenced by often forgotten activities, and events that were an individual did in the childhood (Fine, 1979). Additionally, human attitude, experience and mannerism are largely determined by irrational drivers rooted in their unconscious minds. Lastly, there exist conflicts between the unconscious and the conscious that brings mental disturbances such as stress and depression. However, these arguments are based on little experimental research and have no scientific basis hence making it flawed though embraced by many scholars. Future IQ psychology After reading and researching on the different theories of psychology, am in a position to point the weaknesses of almost each of them. However, I cannot hold my disposition on a specific theory since I understand that a theory is a contemplative type of abstract or a generalization of one’s thinking that may be proven wrong or right on research basis. Therefore, upon their premises I came up with the IQ psychology that I have a strong feeling that it, not only, criticizes the existing theories but also comprehending their “hanging ideas.” The IQ psychology builds its premises in that an individual’s IQ is the underlying determinant factor that undermines and influences one’s state of mind, their conscious, as well as, the self. Accordingly, the breaking down of the mind into the elementary introspective, according to the structuralism, is not complete without the action of the IQ. The IQ is the basic determinant of what the mind is able to do and at what environment. It is a measure of one’s ability to think or have a certain cognitive intelligence as compared to other people that is believed to be at an average of 100cc. Additionally, the IQ level is hereditary from a generation to the other (Pinneau, 2001). People with low IQ (below 100cc) have a challenge of making conscious decisions of the mind. They are highly affected by the conscious conflicts as opposed their counterparts. It is the IQ level that influences the mind state and makes decisions on what to do. Human behaviour relies on the decisions made. This IQ allows synthesis of events from the culture (according to the psychoanalysis) but it is the IQ level that influences the cognitive aspects to decide whether something is right or wrong. Similarly, it is the IQ level that influences verbal communication, sexual behaviour, and what the others do as compared to the self. This explains why most of the school drop-outs and the criminals appear to have low IQ in making rational decisions. All these aspects explain human behaviour. References Roback, A. A. (2003). Behaviorism and psychology. Cambridge: University Bookstore, Inc. Cherry, K. (2015). Major Schools of Thought in Psychology. About Education. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology/a/schoolsthought.htm Fine, R. (1979). A history of psychoanalysis. New York: Columbia University Press. Pinneau, S. R. (2001). Changes in intelligence quotient: Infancy to maturity; new insights from the Berkeley growth study, with implications for the Stanford-Binet scales and applications to professional practice. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Sangster, R. B. (2013). Reinventing Structuralism: What Sign Relations Reveal About Consciousness. Berlin: De Gruyter. Read More