Theoretical Orientation

 "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." —Viktor Frankl.  People often react without thinking and are unaware of the space that capsulate a choice to reflectively react. Being aware of the present moment equips a person with the tools to guide them through that space. One of the things that drew me to psychology is the utilization of science and artform.  As a clinician, I use a collaborative approach filled with empathy, genuineness, and warmth to create the space for the client to explore freely. It also helps to develop a relationship that facilitates dialogues that lead to positive change.

 I use cognitive-behavioral interventions to help clients process psychosocial and mental health barriers to treatment. This helps to examine their thoughts, recognize when there is an incline to their negative thoughts, and what strategies to apply to change the negative thoughts hence promoting self-control. I conceptualize problems across various systems within the person and their environment.

Cognition, emotion, behavior, physiology, and the environment are contexts that aid in conceptualizing the client's presenting problem.  For example, clients bring their experiences, culture, background, social support, and rituals, which are all things that partake in developing their constructs and schemas.  Clients are diverse, and so are their experiences. 

 In my approach, I use reliable and valid assessments that provide baseline information for case conceptualization.  Assessments represent part of the person's presenting problems. I collaborate with the client to collect the presenting problem information, gain collateral from the client's family/social support, and then discuss the findings with the client and elicit feedback. My sessions involve active engagement that places value connecting metaphors or examples of psychoeducation to the client's life or culture.  Treatment plans are directly tied and are a result of my case conceptualization.

I utilize assessments to track progress and compare past and current performance of the client providing a platform to discuss growth and goals. As a clinician, I provide necessary tools for the client to continue the therapeutic work on their own out of the clinic. Besides, community resources are adjunct to therapy and it is essential to provide culturally responsive and sensitive services to families from diverse backgrounds. Working with a multidisciplinary team provides an outlet to coordinate care and gain perspectives or insights, which is critical in developing an effective holistic treatment for the client.

I am eager to gain additional training to better hone my competency in psychological evaluation, particularly in the use of projective and personality measures. I am zealous in having a more exceptional aptitude in administering, scoring, interpreting, and writing comprehensive psychological evaluations. I want to expand my ability to conceptualize cases using multiple empirical and conceptual models and also advance my knowledge and experience integrating diversity issues into both assessment and treatment.

A Day in the Life of Alex Simonov

1

According to the pathway theory, a leader’s behavior or style of leadership should fit the workforce and work surroundings or situations to attain certain objectives (Anderson, & Sun, 2017). Alex demonstrated this pathway concept through his instrumental traits. Alex demonstrated his instrumental character while performing daily duties. For instance, he finished writing his reports before the morning break and trained a student on how to file. During the morning break, he engaged his subordinates on new ideas to make informed decisions. The ability to socialize with other people and even ask for help brings out the instrumental behavior necessary for managing any situation. He speaks openly with his subordinates and airs out their worries hence helping them create a solution for any arising challenges. This way, he can easily fulfill his leadership position and satisfy other people’s suggestions.

            Based on the path goals concept, Alex also exhibited supportive behavior. Supportive behavior implies that he is extremely helpful particularly when it comes to solving issues. For instance, he engages Sylvia in a welcoming dialogue, and at the end of it all solves her problem, he even asks why she failed to come earlier. This paints a picture of a genuine leader who is supportive and action-oriented. Moreover, Alex's supportive behavior demonstrates that he is aware of his surroundings and the importance of the people he works with. He is not just focused on the outcome but also concentrated on offering people working under him an easier time. The supportive approach introduces an alternative dimension to his leadership role- leaders are required to be more people-oriented than income-oriented (Fiaz, & Saqib, 2017). In simpler terms, Alex is a supportive leader because he is not just interested in giving commands and micromanaging each aspect of his subordinate’s workspace but also learning from them. This way, he ensures the wellbeing of the workforce which in turn leads to a top-notch performance due to the removal of obstacles. One of the main benefits of supportive leadership traits is the collaborative effort between the workers and the employer or boss hence rekindling innovation and empowerment among the workers.

2

 Not all leadership styles fit all situations. However, it is important to comprehend the natural style of leadership so that one can nurture skills he or she is missing (Cummings et al., 2018). Hence leaders should balance different approaches so that they might not compromise any leadership style. This way, a leader can accommodate different leadership styles so that he effectively managed all situations arising from his context or point of view. Accordingly, on the Blake and Mouton's leadership grid, Alex can be placed in the team management part. Based on case study details, and how he handles his fellow workers, Alex is a brilliant leader which translates into a remarkable administrator. Under the team management section, an effective leader is passionate and outperforms the rest of the workers due to his dedication. Sound managers commit to the establishment’s objectives and assignment, inspire other workers who get in touch with them, and work hard so that other people might follow suit. This usually leads to great results. On the other hand, other workers recognize them as leaders and are ready to do as they are told.  Alex is not only a team leader but a team builder and this is seen in the manner in which he treats other people. For example, he asks for advice from his subordinates and then uses the information to make informed decisions. As a team manager, Alex has been able to prioritize the establishment’s essentials and at the same time meet other individual’s needs. He did this by ensuring that his subordinates comprehend the establishment’s purpose and involved them in the decision-making process. For instance, implementing other people's ideas.

3

Alex’s leadership style is based on situational leadership concepts. Situational ideals claim that leaders pick a solution befitting a certain situation. Various leadership styles might differ depending on how well the leader makes the final decision. For instance, Alex is approachable and this puts him at a central position hence he is seen heard and called upon to solve issues directly and indirectly (Gandolfi, & Stone, 2017). Subsequently, he has been able to effectively execute his mandate and realign his actions with that of the establishment vision. Also, he set the tone and the culture of the organization he works under. For instance, Alex ensures that his employer is informed on Lisa's retirement party after which he cleverly meets with the personnel director and informs him of the vacancies in his section. This makes Alex an exemplary leader who not only accomplishes many tasks but also solves many situational challenges that he comes across while performing his duties.

Shock Therapy

1

 As stated earlier, a leader needs to balance different approaches so that he or she can be effective (Al Khajeh, 2018). First of all, autocratic leadership can work effectively in small groups or situations particularly where no leader has emerged yet. This explains the underlying reasons which made Jose Morales succeed. He practices this leadership style in a small restaurant. Secondly, his intentions are direct- hired Robert Manson to take over the restaurant's management before he could set up shop elsewhere. Secondly, autocratic leadership succeeds whenever there is a lack of experience.  In a context where experienced leaders team up to attain certain objectives, they are likely to succeed and this explains the need for the formation of the organizational hierarchy. In this particular case, Jose Morales brings in an inexperienced Robert Manson to take over his managerial position. Jose Morales trains Robert Masons with the aim that he will learn all the ropes of the business management. Throughout the day, Jose Morales orders around his subordinates hence shaping their actions and how they did their work. In this particular situation, Jose is the only choice hence the people have no other option but to listen to him. Thirdly, in the restaurant business, there is no room for failure. One has to completely do as he or she is told. Any mistake can lead to delays and revenue loss.

2

            Bob opts for a participatory management style. However, in a restaurant situation, some rules or procedures can never change (Raziq et al., 2018). Restaurants only deal with the menu and how fast one can move from one client to another. Instructions help in guiding other people and showing them the best procedure for examining the situation. It is vital to note that an area where people rely on experience and expertise instructions is highly important. Hence, Jose is not wrong for dictating the rules. A restaurant follow certain rules and regulations for it to succeed hence the need for dictatorship.

References

Al Khajeh, E. H. (2018). Impact of leadership styles on organizational performance. Journal of Human Resources Management Research, 2018, 1-10.

Anderson, M. H., & Sun, P. Y. (2017). Reviewing leadership styles: Overlaps and the need for a new ‘full‐range’theory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 76-96.

Cummings, G. G., Tate, K., Lee, S., Wong, C. A., Paananen, T., Micaroni, S. P., & Chatterjee, G. E. (2018). Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing workforce and work environment: A systematic review. International journal of nursing studies, 85, 19-60.

Fiaz, M., Su, Q., & Saqib, A. (2017). Leadership styles and employees' motivation: Perspective from an emerging economy. The Journal of Developing Areas, 51(4), 143-156.

Gandolfi, F., & Stone, S. (2017). The emergence of leadership styles: A clarified categorization. Revista De Management Comparat International, 18(1), 18.

Raziq, M. M., Borini, F. M., Malik, O. F., Ahmad, M., & Shabaz, M. (2018). Leadership styles, goal clarity, and project success. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

 Interoception

 Introduction

Interoception is the sense that helps a person understand and feel what is happening inside their body and the way to react. It is the sense that lies at the core of every sense. It comprises the process of the brain that integrates signals that are relayed from the body into other sub-regions helping a person in the process of self-regulation. Interoception is a person’s ability to feel and witness the surroundings inside their body, from the muscular pressure to the heartbeat, from being calm to fear and anxiety.

Because the inner sensations are part of the emotion, interoception is a major model in the performance of the whole body and mind and is a significant sign of a person’s awareness of themselves and their well-being. Interoception is a major aspect that helps a person regulate the needs of their body, for example when they feel hungry, cold, and exhausted (Critchley, & Garfinkel 2017). Interception varies differently among human beings because an individual’s experiences determine their inner world. Things such as trauma, disease, diet, and social-economic factors can have a major impact on the character of interoception in an individual. An example of this is, a person can suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and this can lead to a reduction in the access to interoceptive awareness. At the same time, a person may be suffering from an anxiety disorder and experience hypersensitivity to interoception which may lead to a person having more inner feelings than they can handle. This shows that interoception has an impact in both directions and has the possibility of throwing us from our center.

Interoception relates to pain, emotions, anxiety, decision making, intake of food and water, regulation of emotions, eating disorders, and addiction among others. A person’s perception and how they interpret the internal state of their body are related closely to awareness and emotion (Garfinkel, Seth, Barrett, Suzuki & Critchley 2015). The capability for a person to interpret the information they are receiving about their internal state has a major contribution to their emotional state. For example when a person suddenly feels nauseous and they think it’s because of some bad news they are about to get from a call they are waiting for, but in reality, the feeling is from some milk they took a while back. In this case, the person is interpreting whatever they are feeling and making predictions based on what is about to happen. The accuracy of a person’s interoception is influenced by their conscious thoughts and in this case, it is not accurate which is normal and part of being a human being.

Interoception is unconscious but a person can become aware of some things such as how they are breathing, their heart rate, and whether or not they are hungry.  It helps a person to know how they feel at any given time. For example, when a stomach is growling, a person automatically knows they are hungry and that prompts them to eat. A racing heart and tension make one know that they are anxious and that urges them to seek comfort. If it can make all those connections and regulations, then an interception system that is not working well would have a big impact on a person’s life (Farb et.al 2015). Unfortunately, some people face this problem of having an interception system that is not functioning as it should. People with conditions like anxiety, depression, and behavioral challenges among others experience that problem. Knowing the role of interoception helps a person understand the way they feel.

When a person’s interoception is working properly, their brain helps to organize information such that they react to what they are feeling physically and emotionally. Therefore interoception plays a significant role in the life and person’s body and so for the people who experience problems with interoception, research shows that it can be improved by mindful practices that are the most effective in this case (Farb et.al 2015). Mindfulness activates the insula which is the interoceptive center in the brain and that is the reason people who practice mediation mostly have high levels of interoception. Other activities that can help a person to improve interoception are breathing exercises, exercises related to emotional recognition, and activities that help with sensory stimulation.

Conclusion.

Interoception is the sense that makes us understand the feeling that we are feeling in our body. It helps us connect on when and how to react to them. Interoception relates to pain, emotions, anxiety among others, and how a person interprets the state of their body is closely associated with emotion and cognition. Unfortunately, some people have difficulty with their interoception which makes it difficult in regulation and their well-being because the brain is not able to organize information as it should, therefore affecting a person’s reaction physically and emotionally. However, interoception can be improved through mindful practices which include meditation, breathing, and sensory stimulation exercises among others. Interoception plays a very significant role in a person’s body.

References

Critchley, H. D., & Garfinkel, S. N. (2017). Interoception and emotion. Current opinion in

psychology, 17, 7-14. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X17300106

Garfinkel, S. N., Seth, A. K., Barrett, A. B., Suzuki, K., & Critchley, H. D. (2015). Knowing

your own heart: distinguishing interoceptive accuracy from interoceptive awareness. Biological psychology, 104, 65-74. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051114002294

Farb, N., Daubenmier, J., Price, C. J., Gard, T., Kerr, C., Dunn, B. D. ... & Mehling, W. E.

(2015). Interoception, contemplative practice, and health. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 763. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00763/full

Psychology Laboratory Report: Quantitative Decision-Making Process

Abstract

            Consumer behavioral patterns are a point of interest for marketers who strive to capitalize on them and increase their revenues. This laboratory report investigates what influences consumer quantitative decision process with regards to units of products purchased by each consumer. The experiment investigates consumer choices of units they would purchase for different products on sale and rationalizes the difference in product units. From the survey, it can be concluded that consumers' quantitative decision making is influenced by perceived product value through a process of anchoring and adjustment that justifies stockpiling. It was found that consumer purchase can be increased by creating a seemingly low-cost and product-value deal to justify stockpiling on the consumer's end. Knowledge of the anchoring and adjustment process can be incorporated into marketing strategies to increase individual consumer sales through stockpiling.

Introduction

            The average human being spends a considerable amount of time purchasing products which can be either essential in nature or simply a convenience. Entire economic systems are based on infinite human consumption. At the center of modern existence are grocery stores which are the focal point for the purchasing of both essential and non-essential products. With availability made easy, the average human only has to decide on what to get depending on their economic capability. A lot of study in the past revolves around the type of goods humans buy and what influences bias against brands and different types of products. These types of qualitative studies have offered great insight into what drives human purchase power and how this can be manipulated by brands to increase their sales and establish a niche in the competitive market.

            However, little advancement has been made on the quantitative front with regards to what influences the number of units of a product a consumer buys. Research shows that purchasing decisions follow a distinct pattern that revolves around the distinction between needs and wants, brand bias, and quantitative decision making (Wansink et al., 1998). This shows that consumers decide on how many units of a product to buy as the final stage of their thought process. For producers and retailers, this offers a unique opportunity to increase their sales if they have a better understanding of this quantitative thought process.
            Wansink et al., (1998) notes that marketing campaigns tend to focus on growing the consumer base of the company which causes an increase in sales. However, understanding quantitative decision making could be a way of influencing stockpiling so that the organization not only gains more consumers but also records an increased sale of units with every purchase. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the factors that influence quantitative decision making and how these factors can be manipulated to increase sales of products through stockpiling. The experiment involves a survey which is a list of products on sale that are marketed differently in terms of units. It is expected that consumers will be drawn to products being marketed in multiples over those marketed as single units. It is also expected that consumers will be drawn to products whose units per purchase have been limited.

Hypothesis

1. Shoppers will miss the pricing “error” and purchase more than 1 item in the rip-off condition.
2. Anchoring will make consumers to purchase extra items when they are listed as “5 for” all goods
3. Anchoring will make consumers to purchase extra items when they are limited to five per customer

Methods

            For this experiment, a consumer was subjected to a survey containing a list of 14 popular products found in a grocery store that was on sale and whose prices had been discounted. The list had the prices of the products attached. The consumer was then asked to name the number of units they would buy for each of the products. The results were recorded as below.

Results

            The table below contains the list of products that were contained in the survey, their respective prices and the number of units that would have been purchased by the consumer had they been shopping.

            From hypothesis 1, it is evident that will have the potential of purchasing extra items in case the mean purchasing amount is valued at 1.53. In this case, it implies that the statistical tested will have to relatively greater than 1. Therefore, t (38) = 4.22. It was found out that 69% of the participants could have managed to purchase more than one item in case it was valued at 1.53. On the other hand, in case the anchoring of the shoppers made them to purchase extra items, it means that the sellers could have valued them at 5.

Figure 1: A bar graph showing the units of merchandize bought against price

            Y-axis

                      10

                       9

                       8

Units bought  7

                       6

                       5

                       4

                        3                                                                                                    

                        2

                        1

                             1       2      3      4     5      6    7      8      9       10                                     X-axis

                                                                Price in $

             From the statistical test conducted I hypothesis 2, it means that the mean will be 3.72, taking into consideration the number of participants who participated in the survey. That implies that t (38) = 3.32.

Figure 2: A bar graph showing the units of merchandize bought against price

            Y-axis

                      10

                       9

                       8

Units bought  7

                       6

                       5

                       4

                        3                                                                                                    

                        2

                        1

                             1       2      3      4     5      6    7      8      9       10                                     X-axis

                                                                Price in $

From hypothesis 3, shoppers will be able to purchase extra items in case the selling price will be valued at 5. From the mean number obtained (2.14), it implies that the purchasing of 2.14 items will be significantly different as compared to the purchase of 1.87 items. Such a difference is anticipated to happen because of the small marketing changes.

Figure 3: A bar graph showing the units of merchandize bought against price

            Y-axis

                      10

                       9

                       8

Units bought  7

                       6

                       5

                       4

                        3                                                                                                    

                        2

                        1

                             1       2      3      4     5      6    7      8      9       10                                     X-axis

                                                                Price in $

Discussion

            From the results above, it is clear to see that consumers are generally more inclined to purchase products if they are on sale as the consumer in question ticked all the products. This is attributed to competitive pricing during sales which enable the consumer to get more value for their money despite budgetary restrictions. However, it is also important to note that there is a variation with the quantities of the products bought. From the results, products marketed in single units such as the Coca-Cola bottle have the lowest units purchased by the consumer.

            In comparison, products marketed in multiples record the highest purchase a seen with the noodle brand. The same trend is observed with products whose purchase units have been limited such as the pizza pops package which the consumer chooses to buy the maximum units allowed. Wansink et al., (1998) attribute the above observation to an Anchoring and Adjustment process which determines quantitative decision making. The process postulates that before a purchase is made, the consumer must decide on the brand and number of units to be purchased which is the anchoring part of the process.

            Ordinarily, the consumer will anchor on the lowest number of units. The adjustment process involves the increase of the units to be purchased. This depends on the product value of the deal in question. If consumers perceive that they will be getting more units for a seemingly reduced cost, they are more likely to make an adjustment to their initial anchor value which is in alignment with Kahneman et al., (1982) teachings on rationalization. With regard to limited purchase quantity, this style of marketing has been found to suggest the anchor value to the consumer (Wansink et al., 1998). For instance, if the limit for a product is 4 units per person, the consumer is likely to purchase 4 units of the product because they set 4 as their anchor value. The same observation has been made with even higher limits of up to 12 when consumers were found to purchase the limited 12 units.

            In alignment with Kahneman et al., (1982) teaching on heuristics, it can be concluded that consumers make judgments based on the alternative that seems to have a higher value in terms of reduced cost and increased product units. Wansink et al., (1998) report that marketing agendas based on these findings have been found to work as consumers have been found to gravitate towards deals that offer more product value at a seemingly reduced cost even though the discount is often modest and the consumer ends up spending more money than they were planning to. The authors further opined that the trick lies with the justification of the stockpiling for the consumer (Wansink et al., 1998).

            The consumer should feel as if they are getting a good deal for them to make an upward adjustment during purchase. For marketing purposes, multiple-unit pricing is a viable strategy that has been found to influence consumer decision-making. The same goes for limiting the purchasing limit for consumers as this serves to suggest the anchor value to the consumer at a point higher than what they would normally settle for. Wansink et al., 1998 reiterate that these values should be high but not unreasonable for them to serve as a justification for stockpiling. The above results offer better insight into what influences consumer quantitative decision making during purchase and how they can be manipulated through specific marketing strategies to benefit producers and retailers.

             One limitation of this study is that the purchasing power of each consumer is ultimately influenced by individual income. The reason for that is because the purchase of extra items depends on individual preference and choice. The need of consuming any product is based on the market value of such a product. On the other hand, it implies that the justification of stockpiling cannot be used as the ultimate choice for influencing consumer purchasing power. Consumer quantitative decision making can only be influenced by how each seller markets his or her products. The marketing strategies that are utilized by each seller are the ones that induce a competitive advantage. Each seller has the motive of increasing sales as a result of influencing consumer purchasing power.  

References

Kahneman, D., Slovic, S. P., Slovic, P., & Tversky, A. (Eds.). (1982). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Cambridge university press.

Wansink, B., Kent, R. J., & Hoch, S. J. (1998). An anchoring and adjustment model of purchase quantity decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, 35(1), 71-81.

Antecedent Stimuli

 Both motivating operations and discriminative stimuli are antecedents, and they play a common role in behavioral management (Watson & Steege, 2003). Another important similarity is that both occur before the disruptive behaviors.  This means that the stimuli are already available. This means that both are learned responses in that the motivating stimulus cause behavioral change due to the value altering effect.  SD is also a learned response in that it signals the reinforcing consequences and an individual can identify the specific reinforcing behavior and ignore all other behaviors which are not relevant (Watson & Steege, 2003).  Another similarity is that both stimuli have evocative functions.  Individuals develop altered states either by increasing the value of an event or subside the value of the stimulus.  Lastly, both stimuli work together in that motivating operations occur before the discriminative stimuli (Watson & Steege, 2003). This is because an individual has many motivating variables and the discriminative stimulus increases the availability of the variables or decreases the availability. 

 However, the motivating operations and discriminative stimuli differ in that the former is interested in the consequences of behavior whereas the latter focuses on evoking a specific behavior from the availability of reinforce (Bray & Kehle, 2011).   In other words,   a motivating operation focus on reinforcement of behavior and its effectiveness.  Thus, Motivating operations play the role of establishing positive reinforces and abolishing negative reinforces. Secondly, it increases the positive behaviors or decreases negative behaviors.   While the discriminative stimuli concentrate on the availability of reinforcement, motivating operations are concerned with the effective's reinforcement (Bray & Kehle, 2011). Therefore, an individual will use a discriminative stimuli to distinguish between the positive and negative behaviors and the same person will the motivation stimuli to use the most effective stimuli toward the behavior

Give one example of an MO and one example of an SD

 An example of discriminative stimuli is that a dog starts barking when he sees someone's at the gate. The dog is excited because he believes that you will give him food.  If you feed the dog, it will be so excited and there a likelihood that he will behave the same way if he sees a visitor coming.  However, a discriminative stimulus means that if a visitor comes in and he does not feed the dog, then the dog learns to distinguish between the owner of the home and stranger. The dog will learn that it is only the owner of the dog who is caring. Thus, the dog will always become exciting when he sees the owner and ignore the strangers.

 Example of an MO 

  As a teacher, I realize that Joy loves skittles.  I will motivate Joy by giving her skittles.  For instance, I want joy to attend a lesson and sit down for more than 40 minutes, and I will set up a reward for her.  The motivating operations mean that I will not give Joy the skittle all day. I will create a derivation state to increase the effectiveness of the Skittle. If Joy learns that she is not given the skittles all day, there is a likelihood that she will always attend the lesson to receive a skittle.  Note that if a constantly reward her, the skittles (the reinforcement) will lose its effects, and Joy will not have the interest to attend lessons.

Based on what I have learned, behavior analysts can use MOs to change behavior. First, they should understand that the more the availability of something, the less the desire toward that thing. Therefore, a behavioral analysis should understand why individuals are doing certain behaviors (Nosik & Carr, 2015). The behavioral analyst should reinforce the behavior by deprivation individuals of the things they love. For example, if children love playing with fork and spoon, a behavioral analyst should provide these items only when children are taking meals.  This means that the fork and spoon will become a necessity and children will use it to get food.  The behavioral analyst should always focus on 'Establishing Operations' which focuses on creating the value of a stimulus (Nosik & Carr, 2015). An Individual's behaviors should act as a reinforcement. 

References

Watson, T. S., & Steege, M. W. (2003). Conducting school-based functional behavioral

assessments: A practitioner's guide. Guilford Press.

Bray, M. A., & Kehle, T. J. (2011). The Oxford handbook of school psychology. New York:

Oxford University Press.

Nosik, M. R., & Carr, J. E. (2015). On the distinction between the motivating operation and

setting event concepts. The Behavior Analyst, 38(2), 219-223.

Abnormal Psychology

Introduction

Abnormal psychology is a branch of psychology that is involved with unusual patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions. These unusual patterns can or cannot be understood as a presumed mental disorder but cause a significant impact on the normal functioning of a person. Abnormal psychology is associated with a person’s unusual patterns in a clinical context. Abnormal psychology studies the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of the mental and emotional disorders which affect and interfere with the ability of a person to function normally as they should in their daily lives.

Diagnostic Features/Differential Diagnosis

I agree with the diagnostic given to Disco Di because according to Chechko, Kellermann, Augustin, Zvyagintsev, Schneider & Habel (2016), borderline personality disorders and major depressive disorders are both associated to abnormalities with how a person regulates their emotions. The diagnostic features of borderline personality disorder include the inability to regulate emotions, cognitive disorders which include dissociation, instinctive, personal, and social disruptions. Other features that co-occur with borderline personality disorder include depression, anxiety, and substance abuse among other personality disorders. 

            Disco Di may be experiencing a bipolar disorder Chechko (2016). Diagnostic features of this disorder include impulsiveness, depression, substance abuse, mood change, and behavior. She could also be experiencing a psychotic disorder. The diagnostic features are depression, substance abuse, and disordered thinking. Borderline personality disorder occurs with symptoms of depression which overlap significantly with the other disorders making it difficult to make an accurate diagnosis of major depressive disorders. The overlapping features of the disorders include anxiety, depression, mood shifts, substance abuse, and lack of concentration.

Cultural and Gender Factors

Culture and social norms are significant factors that help to differentiate normal and abnormal behavior patterns in these personality disorders. Social norms help in shaping our interpersonal behaviors and the way we behave is mostly determined by our culture. Culture helps in understanding the development, prevalence, and symptoms of disorders in the context of the normal personality functioning of a person. Culture helps to shape the diagnosis of personality disorders by demonstrating a way in which people are supposed or perceived to behave, and interact. This helps to know and observe a person whose characters and behavior are different from what is expected of their culture. Culture develops a structure for individuals forming particular patterns of thinking, behaving, and feeling (Choudhary & Gupta 2020). Other than beliefs, culture includes rules, standards, and activities that help to shape the way people acceptably express themselves. The cultural information includes the understanding of a person’s situation when it is related to the diagnostic process of personality disorders. In other cultures, the situation may be regarded as normal but if it is not, different features have to be assessed. These features may include the severity of the symptoms, the dependence, the persistence, and the things that are contributing to the symptoms. Therefore the cultural features increase the viability and the usefulness of the diagnosis. Culture influences the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders.

           Gender differences in patients help to guide clinicians in diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of the disorders. Research has shown that borderline personality disorder is higher in women than men. Despite that, recent research shows that there may be no differences in gender due to the different types of behaviors that lead to self-harm. These are behaviors like people cutting themselves or trying to commit suicide. Concerning personal traits, there has been a difference in gender were men with borderline personality disorder tend to show a violent character. Men also have been observed to have high levels of seeking novelty compared to women. In terms of comorbidity, men are more reported to have substance use disorders whereas women have eating, mood and anxiety, and posttraumatic disorders. Men also tend to develop antisocial personal disorders compared to women. For diagnosis, most of the time men associated with abusing substances. The women on the other hand are associated with emotional problems and depression. 

           According to Choudhary & Gupta (2020) the social environment, which is also the social context is where environmental specificities of the world develop. The specificities include perceptions that show the systems for interpreting how people interact and their experiences. The social environment shapes the diagnosis of personality disorders with the social structures that allow and limit the possibilities of activity and how accessible resources are. The diagnostic features are also shaped by the social environment by the local physical environment which enables people to interact and with the availability of natural resources and technology.

Paradigm/Treatment Methods

The psychological paradigm will help to examine Disco Di’s behavior. It will help to unveil the factors that contribute to the beginning, prevention, and intervention of these abnormal behaviors. Psychology is the study of how people think, feel, and behave. This will help examine Disco Di’s behavior with a behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic approach. In the behavioral approach, psychologists believe that the external environment influences one's behavior and that one can be trained to act in a particular manner (Cloninger & Svrakic 2008). The behavioral approach works towards connecting the mind and the behavioral responses. It is about human behavior that can be observed and measured. In the cognitive approach, psychologists believe that a person’s behavior is influenced by what they expect and their emotions. It is also believed that a person’s thoughts influence the way they behave. In the humanistic approach, psychologists believe that a person is good and that they are motivated to get to know what they are capable of. They believe that whether a person is right or wrong, the bigger picture is that they are motivated to be the best version of themselves.

           Disco Di’s disorder should be treated using psychotherapy Locher, Meier & Gaab (2019). This is a treatment approach which is also called talk therapy which aims at the current ability for a person to function. Psychotherapy helps one to learn how to manage emotions that are uncomfortable for them. It helps to minimize impulsiveness because it assists in learning how to observe one's feelings rather than act on them. This mode of treatment works towards improving a person’s relationships by becoming more aware of their feelings and those of other people. It also helps one to learn more about the disorder they have and the impact it has on them and in the future. Different types of psychotherapies could help Disco Di in her treatment. Some of the therapies are performed as an individual or as a group and will enable her to establish the things that have caused the negative patterns in her life. This will enable her to focus on ensuring that her needs are satisfied in a healthy way promoting positive life patterns. Another therapy is one that will help her establish the way she thinks and feels all the time and develop a different perspective on the situation. Psychotherapy helps a person to get in touch with their emotions and their relationships by developing their relationship with the therapists. In the case of co-occurring issues such as aggression and anxiety that Disco Di has, medications such as antidepressants or drugs that stabilize the mood should be administered.

Conclusion

Abnormal psychology helps to understand the unusual patterns of emotion, behavior, and thoughts. It helps us know more about the causes, preventions, diagnosis, and treatments of these disorders that are caused by these unusual behavioral patterns. The two major disorders that affect the normal functioning of people are borderline personality disorder and the major depressive disorders that have a major impact on the people think, feel about themselves, and others affecting their everyday functioning. The cultural factors that shape the diagnosis of these disorders include the beliefs, values that help to differentiate between normal and abnormal behavioral patterns among people that share the same culture. The gender factors that shape the diagnosis of disorders include the different behavior that is associated with different genders. For example men with substance abuse and women with depression. The psychological paradigm will help to examine the behavioral patterns and helps to come up with solutions. Psychotherapy and medications such as antidepressants are good treatment modes for people with these disorders. Psychotherapy helps a person to manage their emotions, minimize impulsiveness, and get to understand and be in control of their emotions more.

References

Chechko, N., Kellermann, T., Augustin, M., Zvyagintsev, M., Schneider, F., & Habel, U. (2016).

Disorder-specific characteristics of borderline personality disorder with co-occurring

depression and its comparison with major depression: an fMRI study with emotional interference task. NeuroImage: Clinical, 12, 517-525.

Choudhary, S., & Gupta, R. (2020). Culture and Borderline Personality Disorder in India.

Frontiers in psychology, 11, 714. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00714

Cloninger C.R., Svrakic D.M. (2008) Personality Disorders. In: Fatemi S.H., Clayton P.J. (eds)

The Medical Basis of Psychiatry. Humana Press

Locher, C., Meier, S., & Gaab, J. (2019). Psychotherapy: A World of Meanings. Frontiers in

psychology, 10, 460. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00460

Sansone, Randy & Sansone, Lori. (2011). Gender Patterns in Borderline Personality Disorder.

Innovations in clinical neuroscience. 8. 16-20.

The social psychology of prosocial and antisocial behavior

  Pro-social behaviors are actions that benefit other people. An example of pro-social behavior is helping.  In psychology, helping is a voluntary act of assisting other people (Tennenb et al. 2012). The helper believes that he or she has a moral responsibility to provide support. However, it is important to note that people might be in needed yet help is not offered. According to Weiner, people are good or people develop the prosocial behavior of helping due to mood effects (Tennenb et al. 2012). This means that individual helps to gain self-reward.  In a situation when a person feels bad, he or she wants to help others to gain a reward.  However, not only people with bad mood want to help to change the mood but even people with a good mood offer help (Tennenb et al. 2012). They aim to maintain a good mood. Another theory that explains why people help others is tension reduction. This means that when people see others in pain or distress, they become upset and they prefer to help the person not only to reduce the suffering but also to control his or her tension (Tennenb et al. 2012).  So in this situation, help is associated with eliminating the stimulus that causes the tension. People are also influenced by norms and roles. This means that they adhere to the written or unwritten rules and expected patterns of behaviors.  Many perspectives explain why people help others and it is important to understand the existing theories to understand why people act prosocially.

 Anti-social behavior is an act that affect the well-being of others. An example of antisocial behavior is aggressive behaviors such as physical violence. For example, physical violence means that a person may cause physical pain to other people. According to psychology theories, some external factors influence people to engage in anti-social behaviors. Interpersonal perception also influences people to act antisocially. For example, the deindividuation theory states that when an individual is in a group of people, he or she is expected to follow the social norms (Cox, 2001). The individuals lack the freedom to express their identity and this results in aggression. The emergence-norm theory also explains that people engage in physical violence because, in a group of people, there are social norms that one expected to follow (Cox, 2001). Note that as the group develops appropriate behaviors, there are conformity pressures which result in deviance. Note that there are no strict rules to govern the behavior and therefore individuals develop aggressive and selfish behaviors.

References

Cox, E. (2001). Psychology: For A level : [for AQA specification A]. Oxford: Oxford Universit 

Press.

Tennen, H. A., Suls, J. M., & Weiner, Irving. (2012). Handbook of Psychology, Personality and

Social Psychology. Wiley.

Research topic: Applying evolutionary psychology to enhance business research             

Abstract

The prevailing business research in the field of finance, economics, marketing, or management principally aims at examining proximal reasons regarding human behavior. The burgeoning literature regarding evolutionary psychology has managed to recognize a wide range of important motivations in people who have a profound impact on their behavior in economic and business contexts. The analysis of this research indicates that the human behaviors that are studied are based on various factors such as the decisions that potential customers make concerning the information the incentives given to them, the availability of information regarding business trends, organizational leadership, culture, policies, and so on. 

Introduction

            According to existing literature, it has been proven that financial traders, workers, employers, potential customers, entrepreneurs, and so on do share a similar biological heritage that is defined by collective human nature.  As a means of enhancing business research, the application of evolutionary psychology enables a researcher to understanding as well as describe human behavior in the light of their previous business perceptions. Basing such an argument in the modern business conceptual framework, it has been found out that that human behavior continues to vary from one person to another.  Whether a person desires to understand the nature and the dynamics of the intended group, it is important to take into account the manner in which information to be disseminated to them impacts individual perceptions.  What this implies is the fact that the resultant domain of evolutionary business psychology is the perceived customer responses to the products or services offered by the enterprise, organizational relationships with customers, and employee relationships.

            Accordingly, the reason as to why I am interested with this research topic is because I came to realize that comprehensive understanding and/or evaluation of human behavior cannot be realized if business selective forces are not taken into account. In conducting business research, I realized that it is important to draw various individual behavioral proponents from the past understanding in order to incorporate them into the present business research. Furthermore, as much as evolutionary psychology is concerned, I was fascinated with this topic because I came to realize the fact that a clear distinction ought to be drawn between the ultimate and proximate causation of change in human behavior.

Research question

As much as improvement of economic and business behavior is concerned, what is the significance of evolutionary psychology in conducting business research?

Research hypothesis

1. Applying evolutionary psychology in conducting business research enables the researcher to clearly understand how social and moral psychology of business are influences behavioral interactions.
2. The application of evolutionary psychology in conducting business research enables business enterprises to understand how individual behaviors are impacted by various socio-economic factors

Research objectives

1. Exploring, highlighting, and analyzing the manner in which evolutionary psychological insights can be practically applicable in conducting business research that is deemed to have the propensity of improving working environment.
2. Researching on how organizational leadership, culture, and design should also be used as the basis for effectively applying evolutionary psychology in conducting business research.
3. Validating how organizational cultures and structures co-evolve and co-exist with individual behavioral changes that businesses face in dealing with diverse environmental changes.
4. Describing the empirical and theoretical study on evolutionary characteristics of individual behavior is relevant in elucidating reasons that provide particular business insights.

Methodology

Qualitative research method will be employed before being accompanied by other psycho-physiological and psychometric methods

 Conclusion

Individual ancestral environment is what is alleged to be intensely social as well as differing profoundly from the contemporary organization in terms of complexity and scale. This is because it is assumed that human nature extensively reflects the manner in which individuals adapt to a certain environment. Having a clear understanding of the adaptive value of customers will assist in the identification of a wide range of possible interventions that will have to be undertaken in realizing certain outcomes.

Psychology of Language

Introduction

Psychology of language is the interconnection between linguistic factors and psychological factors. It helps to understand the psychological and neurobiological aspects that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend, and produce language. It mainly concentrates on the mechanisms in which languages are processed in the brain.

Dual route models include features of direct access and phonological mediation theories (Harris 1992). While orthographic and phonological activation takes place the discussion surrounding it is about the time that is used to accomplish the different processes. Phonological recoding might take more time than the direct word recognition but this is rarely unnoticed because most of the words can be recognized directly without phonological mediation. Computational models suggest that there is a parallel triggering of phonological information with pother representations. It also suggests that the reading of words and non-words is made possible by the same process through the performance of the network and the non-words remain disputable.

The dual-route models that are developed based on the lexical decision paradigm support phonological recoding only for non-words. Nonetheless, this pattern has not shown phonological impacts for words. Homophones have not been shown as the cause of inaccurate or extended responses than non-homophobic words (Harris 1992). The dual-route models maintain that the impact for non-words takes place when the phonological representation of the pseudo homophone triggers the phonological depiction of its word set. This makes it hard for the subject to decline the pseudo homophone.

Another possibility of the dual-route theory has been suggested in terms of the affirmation version. The explanation to this is that lexical items are triggered at the same time by prelexical orthographic and phonological prompts and phonological recoding is mandatory. Lexical entry is accessed through the activated phonological code (Harris 1992). Before a certain item is chosen, validation occurs in the course of spelling check, and the orthographic depiction of the target is contrasted with the orthographic depiction of a set aside lexical object. If there is a match, word recognition occurs, and if not the other possibility is observed.

Immediate acquiring of the semantic lexicon can make use of elements such as the visual spelling pattern of the word while the phonological mediation will be based on how the written word will be pronounced. Word pronunciation is accomplished by conveying particular word pronunciation in the phonological lexicon, by basing the pronunciation on the way it resembles other words or by congregating the pronunciation with the help of the GPC policies (Aaron 1994). The three possible ways of word recognition which are immediate accessing of meaning, immediate accessing of pronunciation, and the GPC congregation of phonology have been used by experimental psychologists in developing several speculative processes that are likely to be used in acknowledging the word. The recognition of words that are presented visually is made possible through phonological recoding.

            Research shows that orthographic ciphers are triggered in auditory word recognition. A rhyme monitoring task was given to subjects whereby the task was to ascertain a word that rhymed with a probe word. The outcome was that the remissions for ascertaining target rhymes were shorter when the probe word and its rhyming ally were orthographically alike compared to when they were orthographically not similar (Aaron 1994). A color naming pattern to assess the impacts of primes that are phonologically or orthographically alike to select words resulted in remission for giving names to colors. The words printed were extended for both types of primes regardless of whether the primes are represented visually or auditory. Lexical decisions for words were bestowed auditory were affected by how word primes sounded and were spelled.  So a lexical choice for the word mess took a little time ensuing message than ensuing a direct word but such aid was not detected when words only related by sounds. The subject matter in these researches were adults with the skill of reading. Another study that assessed good and poor readers using the rhyme recognition pattern. It shows that orthographic impacts in reading complimented the good and the poor readers on the ascertaining duty with auditory and visual dispensations and the general presentation of the two categories was alike.

A serial discrete model of lexical access supports activation flow rigorously from layer to layer. Despite several lexical nodes being activated, only the selected node spreads activation from the semantic to the phonological layer. Phonological encoding begins after the lexical selection is finished (Trompelt 2010). Levelt’s model presumptions about word form encoding processes are investigated to determine if they remain operational when developing regular and no-regular verbs. This model bestows the most explicit model of the production of morphologically difficult words. The basic architecture of Levelt’s model starts with taking the lemma escort with the correlating set of pointers on the lemma level.

First, the lemma is activated and its diacritic guidelines are set for progressive. Levelt suggests that that correlating morphemes are got from the form lexicon. The lemma points and proliferates activation to the morphemes on the forming stage. Then they are brought to the right serial order and progressed (Trompelt 2010). Word form generation needs the retrieval of the lexical stem and three types of information which are morphological, phonological, and segmental details of the intended word form. Every needed morpheme is then reclaimed from the mental lexicon. Word forms for actuated morphemes hold metrical and segmental information. Metrical information concerning morphemes includes if morphemes are free or bound. Morphemes have a specification of if they are phonological heads or not. They are enumerated for ordering so that progression can proceed successfully. Later, the activated phonological plans can be changed by syllabification procedures to make sure of correct pronunciation. Syllabification ranges depending on the phonological surroundings and results in different phonological words. According to Levelt’s understanding, phonological words are an intonation unit defined in terms of syllabification preceding articulation. They are different from phonological plans for targets because they are adapted to the context. Lastly, the phonological words will be encoded phonetically and gradually transformed into muscle contraction and sound waves.

For difficult and monomorphic words, diacritics must be set at an early stage of formulation. The encoding procedure then moves to select that word form which correlates to these diacritics (Trompelt 2010). Diacritics for an individual and number agreement between the subject and the verb are eternal elements that can be set before grammatical encoding. This information does not depend on the lemma retrieval and is available when it encounters the subject. In the later processing levels, the difference between regular and non-regular intonation is when it arises. For non-regular intonation, one to one delineation is not present between the diacritics and the affixes. For retrieval of regular words, two nodes are involved only at the word-form level. For both the regular intonation and non-regular intonations, the first step is selecting and setting diacritics. Production then continues with selecting the word form that correlates to the diacritics. 

Contrasting this, some activation spreading theories of lexical access suggest that activation flows continuously from layer to layer in a cascaded design. According to Trompelt (2010), activated nodes spread some equivalent activation despite the node that will finally be selected. Phonological information will not only be activated for the selected node. The cascade model only assumes the forward spreading of activation. Activation doesn’t spread from the phonological level back to the lexical levels. Cascade models are hard to test because when curbed with the possible problematic finding of no phonological activation of items that are not selected, they could assume that the activation exists but it is not strong enough to be detected. It blurs the distinctions between the steps by allowing the activation of phonological forms of potential lemmas before the first step has been completed.

Conclusion

Psychology of language helps human beings to acquire and produce language. It helps to understand how different words are processes in the brain. Phonological mediation creates and gives more knowledge of the auditory and visual modalities of written words. It also gives knowledge of how words are pronounced and spelled. Levelt’s model of word production explains how words are produced and what it entails. The theory explains in detail step by step of how phonological words are encoded. It explains that phonological encoding begins only after a lexical node selection.

References

Aaron, P. G. (1994). Dyslexia and Hyperlexia: Diagnosis and Management of Developmental

Reading Disabilities. Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands

Harris, R. J. (2014). Cognitive Processing in Bilinguals. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.

Amsterdam : Elsevier Science

Trompelt, H. (2010). Production of regular and non-regular verbs: Evidence for a lexical entry

complexity account. Potsdam: Univ.-Verl.

  Freud’s’ psychosexual stages of development

Abstract

            The development of human personality is something that depends on various psychosexual stages that a person undergoes. The reason for that is because such stages are the ones that enable a person to develop adult personalities. Regardless of the perspectives of some of the critics, is evident that psychology is the one that can used as the basis for understanding the changes that a person undergoes so as to experience different personality traits. As a result of that, it means that modern psychoanalytic theories can be used as the basis for understanding the perspectives regarding human development. From such perspectives, it implies that the development of human personality will have to take into account various developmental stages that enable a person to acquire seeking energies (Gould, 2002).  Such energies are the ones that allow a person to develop positive doctrines that makes him or her to be ultimately focused in certain erogenous areas.

Analysis of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development

Oral stage

 According to the information provided by Freud, the oral stage is based on the psychosexual development that a person undergoes from birth to one year. The reason for that is because the libidinal gratification becomes the main point of focus. The pleasure that a person or the infant derives is based on the oral exploration that his or her environment. This is based on his or her tendency to pick and place instruments or objects in the mouth. Due to the fact the infant might be lacking personality traits, every action that he or she takes will have to be based on pleasurable principles. Nevertheless, the infantile ego continues to develop during the oral phase. As a result of that, it becomes possible for the child to recognize the physical boundaries that exist between the surrounding/environment and his body. Typically, crying is one of the parameters that have been realized to have the propensity of gratifying the child’s needs. Conversely, weaning is also another parameter that has been perceived to have the propensity of increasing the awareness of the infant (Seitler, 2008).

Anal stage

            The anal psychosexual development of a child starts when he or she is within 18 months to three years. During this time, the child undergoes developmental changes from the upper digestive system (mouth) to the lower digestive system (anus). Despite that, research indicates that the formation of his or her ego remains as usual. Within this stage, one of the primary anal phase experience that the parent to orient the child with is the use of the toilet. As a result of that, demanding pressing gratifications (id) and demanding overdue gratifications (ego) is the one that has been realized to result in conflicting ideas of the parenting that the child receives. The handling of various activities such as coping up with parental demands, manipulating excretion is also based on the kind of responses the child receives from the parent. The reason for that is because parenting experiences are realized to have the propensity of influencing resolutions of the ego-aid conflict. The same conflict has been realized to be either psychologically and gradual or psychologically sudden (Gould, 2002). 

Phallic Stage

            When a child is 3-6 years, it means that his or her genitalia are on the initial erogenous zone. Within this infantile development phase, the child becomes aware of his or her body, the bodies f his or her parents, and that of other children. The significance of that is because is the one that assists the child to gratify his or her physical curiosities. As a result of that, the child is given the propensity of exploring sexual and physical differences that exists between each person. Such an analysis is what enables the child to understand the differences that exist between a girl and a boy or female and male.  In this phase, Freud suggests the fact that the decisive psychosexual experiences that boys undergo are based on their Oedipus complexes. 

Latency stage

            The latency stage starts when a child is between 6 years. As the child approaches puberty, the child begins to consolidate the habits that she or she had learned from the previous stages. Regardless of the sexual and the psychological developments that the child could have gone through, the oedipal conflicts that he or she could have experienced are the one that dictates is psychosexual development. The reason for that is because oedipal conflict is perceived as one of the instinctual factors that drive the manner in which the child will be using various defense mechanisms to sustain his or her life.  Due to the fact that such factors are perceived to be hidden or latent, there is a delay in the child's gratifications. This is because, during the oral, anal, and phallic phases, the child could have received extreme comfort from the parents and the community thus improving his or her psychosexual development.  As Freud illustrates, it is obvious that the child could be obtaining gratifications because of indulging in various external activities. The failure to solve some of the Oedipus conflicts that the child could have encountered during the preceding stages is the one that makes him or her experience some social alienation (Gould, 2002). 

Genital stage

            This stage is perceived to evolve when a child has passed through puberty. The significance of this stage is that it is the one that improves a person’s psychological detachment with the parents and his community. As a result of that, it becomes possible for a person to gain independence and depend on his or her personal efforts to make life worthwhile. Within this phase, a person acquires the ability to resolve various life challenging issues. Because of that, a person risks everything to ensure that any problems encountered have been resolved as required. Such a scenario will have to be based on the significance of recognizing psychosexual childhood disagreements that could have remained. Despite the fact that psychosexual developments a person undergoes in this phase are based on genitalia, sexuality is something that is consequential (Seitler, 2008).

 How cultural, historical, and local factors have an impact on situations, events, issues, or phenomena related to Human Development, and Mental Health

            Considering the above psychosexual developmental phases, it is logical to say that the same erogenous zones are ultimately associated with the responses that a person displays regardless of what he or she does. When a person improves his or her psychosexual stages, there are various stages that he or she will have to undergo.  Such stages include genital and latent phase, phallic, anal, and oral development. Ideally, the significance of these stages is because they have been realized to have the propensity of enabling a person to have an extension of developmental pleasures as a result of experiencing the significance of erogenous zones.

            According to Freudian psychology, it is evident that psychosexual development is one of the primary elements regarding the dynamics and perspectives of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory. The reason underlying such perspectives is because Freud had a strong belief that a person undergoes personality development during the early childhood stages. If a person doesn't become contented with one of the five stages, it means that he or she will continue living a life full of unhealthy personalities.  Taking into consideration the views proposed by Freud, it can be argued that the frustrations that a person ends up experiencing are the one that makes him or her to fail to encounter effective psychosexual developmental phases (Seitler, 2008). As a result of that, it is possible for a person to continue experiencing negative issues such as anxieties or neurosis that can affect his or her normal development.

            From what is analyzed in Freud’s sexual infantilism, it has been analyzed that the failure of a person to experience proper psychosexual development is based on societal and parental alienations. As a means of avoiding or handling anxiety issues, a person needs to get associated with peers of society. Despite that, it has been realized that such alienation is the one that makes such an individual to get preoccupied with numerous psychological themes.  Basically, such themes that a person encounters have been found to be associated with his or her erogenous zones. Because of that, the truth is that such fixation ends up persisting into adulthood hence affecting individual psychopathology and personality traits. In return, the same encounters are the ones that have been proven to have the propensity of increasing personality disorders.

References

GOULD, S. (2002). Freud’s Evolutionary Fantasy. In I Have Landed (pp. 147-158). Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press. Retrieved May 6, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2jbt50.11

Seitler, D. (2008). Freud’s Menagerie: Our Atavistic Sense of Self. In Atavistic Tendencies: The Culture of Science in American Modernity (pp. 31-54). University of Minnesota Press. Retrieved May 6, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctttsk90.5

Psychology: Human Relationships

Introduction

Human beings depend on one another for their well-being both physically and psychologically. Individuals are born with needs for love, friendship, and a sense of belonging. On the other hand, human beings have a fear of being lonely, being rejected, and being disapproved by other individuals. Human beings are social creatures that depend on one another to survive.

According to Meyer et al. (2015), human beings are steered biologically to connect or get attached to another individual. For infants to survive after being born, they have to get attached to someone who is their parent or their caregiver. Through this attachment, the caregiver can satisfy the emotional and physical needs of the infant. There are four types of attachment styles which include anxious-avoidant which foregoes the dismissive style. There is a secure style that remains the same, anxious resistant, disorganized disoriented, and the fearful style. The attachment styles were applied to intimate relationships implying how people relate emotionally to their partners.

Avoidance and being anxious are behaviors that are connected to the attachment that produce the four styles of attachment (Meyer et al. 2015). Anxiety is associated with how an individual perceives themselves in the relationship. People who are more anxious in terms of the romantic relationship may fear to be rejected and may interpret their self -worth through the relationship. Avoidance is a feature that is associated with the perceptions of their romantic partner. People who have more of this feature may not wish to be involved in a relationship because they may have a fear of intimacy and be not be comfortable with emotional attachments. Increased anxiety and avoidance both define the fearful style. Increased avoidance with less anxiety defines the contemptuous style. Increased anxiety and less avoidance define the preoccupied style. Less anxiousness and less avoidance define a secure pattern.

To manage their emotions, individuals who are in intimate relationships and have different patterns of attachment use different strategies. Meyer et al. (2015) state that the first strategy occurs when an individual is undergoing emotional or physical intimidation, and they confide in the person they are attached to for solace, and closeness. In the other strategy, an individual is aware of and able to manage their distress through the availability and secure attachment figures. Individuals whose attachment is secure can feel defended. The last strategy is when an individual tries to get assistance and accessibility to the person they are attached to but minimizes the suffering when disappointed by trying to get close to the attachment person.  Persons get to know of the intimidation, disloyalty, and disconnections and therefore reduced attempts to avoid closeness, intimacy and depending on closeness.

The anxious and avoidant styles of an individual in a relationship reduce physical and psychological space from the person of attachment when the person does not respond to their needs. These individuals escalate negative effects, worsen negative memories, and allow stress to affect their life. (Meyer et al. 2015). How an individual regulates their emotions whenever there are conflicts between partners, has an impact on the quality of the interaction for them.

Conclusion.

Human beings need to be loved and they also have a fear of being rejected. This explains the different attachment styles that different individuals have and use to relate to their partners. Some tend to be anxious in the relationship, others are avoidant, and others are secure. Each of the styles has an impact on the outcome of the relationship. Individuals who use the secure style to relate to their partner have a more lasting and satisfaction in their romantic relationship

References

Meyer D.D, Jones M., Rorer A., and Maxwell K. (2015) Examining the Associations Among

Attachment, Affective State, and Romantic Relationship Quality: The Family Journal:

Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families 2015, Vol. 23(1) 18-25

 Psychology and Christian Life seminar

            The discussion below focuses on three topics from the readings as instructed the reading are; impression formation, attitudes and persuasion. Impression formation is the process of developing an opinion or forming an impression of another person. Impressions are formed from the moment an individual lay their eyes on another individual.  First impression is everything, it is the impression that counts and is long lasting since it is difficult to change.  An impression is formed from the first few moments of interaction. Once an impression is formed it is hard to dislodge it (Nevid, 2019).  Proverb 10:23 states that “A fool’s fun is being bad; a wise man’s fun is being wise!”, this can be interpreted that an individual is supposed to have fun, live the way God has intended and this way they will be able to create a good first impression.  Psalms 67:1 state that, “May God be merciful and bless us, may his face smile with favor upon us.” Smiling is a way of creating a good first impression.  Lastly, Timothy 2:9-10 “And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.  For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.” Keeping time helps an individual make a good first impression, time keeping conveys a good first impression. One’s actions help them make a good and lasting first impression.

Attitudes are as a result of cognitive, emotional and behavioral components of an individual. Attitudes of individual towards various subjects differ and are as a result of their personal relevance. Attitudes are acquired from various sources in an individual’s life (Nevid, 2019).  The environment of an individual is responsible for shaping the attitudes of an individual.  Attitudes don’t necessarily influence the behavior of individuals.  With reference to the bible, it can be said that Jesus’ attitude was perfect as evidenced by 1Peter 2:23, “In the midst of trials, He was patient. In the midst of suffering, He was hopeful. In the midst of blessing, He was humble. Even in the midst of ridicule, abuse, and hostility, He “made no threats . . . and did not retaliate. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges Justly.” In Paul writings he urges the believers to adopt an attitude similar to that of Jesus. According to Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” means that the attitudes of Christians should be based on the needs of others.  Attitude is important for every Christian to have; attitudes define how Christians view certain subjects.

            Persuasion can be regarded as the art of changing people’s minds (Nevid, 2019). Christians are constantly spreading the gospel in an attempt to persuade others to change their beliefs.  Messages such as Tv commercials are often used to persuade people to purchase certain commodities.  The goal and purpose of true evangelism is to persuade people. Bible verses on persuasion include 2 Corinthians 5:11 “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience” and 1 John 4:6 “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” Persuasion is an art every Christian should pose to effectively spread the gospel.   

Inconclusion, impressions are formed from the moment an individual set their eyes on another, first impression lasts longer than any other impression therefore, it is important to make a good first impression.   Attitudes are as a result of the cognitive and behavioral concepts of an individual.  Persuasion can be regarded as an act of convincing others. These three psychology topics have been discussed in various verses in the Bible. These three are most important, impressions define who we are, attitudes shape our view on matters and subject and persuasion is important when convincing others.

References

Nevid, S, J., (2019) “Essentials of Psychology; Concepts and Application”