Essay on Psychology Theories and Self-Reflection

The areas of productiveness in this session for me included the paraphrasing and minimal encouragers. Throughout this session I felt that my paraphrasing was clear and concise. It allowed the client to think about what he had said, while being able to provide me with feedback and allowed for the conversation to flow naturally.

There are four theoretical approaches in Psychology. In this essay I will evaluate and analyse the four main approaches which are: Behaviourist, Psychodynamic, Cognitive and Humanistic.

In this assignment the author will explain the contribution of complementary psychological theories to the understanding of two specific behaviours,

PSY 360 Week 1 Individual Assignment Cognitive Psychology Definition Paper Cognitive Psychology Definition Paper (12 points): This paper should be posted as a Word attachment in the Assignment Section and should be consistent with APA guidelines. Prepare a 700-1050-word paper in which you define cognitive psychology. Be sure to address the following topics in your paper. Identify at least four key milestones in the development of cognitive psychology as a discipline. Discuss the importance of behavioral observation in cognitive psychology. PSY 360 Week 2 Individual Assignment

I chose to base my studies on J because we shared a lot in common; we are both Christians living in a predominantly Muslim country. He is eleven years old. His parents are Jordan nationals who have lived in Bahrain for at least two years. J goes to school at Naseem International School where I work. The school offers PYP programs. Lessons are conducted in English; however, Arabic lessons are also offered per week. Majority of kids in this school are Muslims most of whom are Bahrainis. Other nationalities making the student population are Saudis, Lebanese, Jordanians, few South Africans, and other Arabian Gulf countries. Teachers are a mixture of nationalities. Some of them are Arabs, others South Africans, while some are Europeans.

Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behaviour, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective which is someone’s view about human behaviour, there can be many different theories within an approach, however they all piece together the same assumptions. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behaviour. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to achieve through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis of each perspective which consists of the psychodynamic,

Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behavior, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective (view) about human behavior, there may be several different theories within an approach, but they all share these common assumptions and principles. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behavior. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to do through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis for each perspective which consist of the psychodynamic, humanist, cognitive and behavioral approaches where I will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each approach separately.

Over the course of this class I have pieced together many things about my own life that before went unnoticed. I am now able to see things in a bit of a different light. Now that I have been introduced to the realm of psychology I understand some of the reasons for behavior around me. I have learned that there is a reason for most everything and a lot of our behaviors and mental processes can be explained through psychology. Studies have been conducted for many years to try and pinpoint the source of our behavior and it is not something that most people think about every day. Having a better understanding of why we operate the way we do will help me to better understand myself and the others around me.

Today, there is still much debate over the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; however, most researchers agree that the therapy is effective. According to Beck Institute, “Cognitive behavior therapy is one of the few forms of psychotherapy that has been scientifically tested and found to be effective in hundreds of clinical trials for many different disorders”. The therapy is more of a long-term solution for the individual seeking treatment because it provides them with skills that they may apply to their daily lives. Throughout the therapy term and even after, the individuals learn to identify their dysfunctional thinking patterns, correct their way of thinking about the situation, and move on with a new outlook and more positive behavior.

The philosophy of cognitive behavioral therapy is that “think and feeling are connected people are creative (Halbur & Halbur, 2015, p.47)”. The key aspects of theory are to challenge the irrational beliefs that we hold about ourselves. Aaron Beck the primary founder of cognitive behavior theory assumed that people can control how they feel and what they think. He believed that our inner thoughts and beliefs affected how we are affected on the outside. One of the key concepts is that the client’s dysfunctional thinking can be derived from an erroneous internal process or bias.

Albert Ellis and Arron Beck are both considered to be the founders of cognitive theory. In the 1950’s, Beck and Ellis focused on cognitive concepts where the increasing importance was applied to the role of cognitive processes in psychiatric (Early & Grady, 2017). Ellis infers that irrational beliefs are the foundation that dysfunctional behaviors stem from and Beck established research that classified depression as a product of an individual’s negative beliefs (Coady & Lehmann, 2016). Cognitive theorists may view problem behavior as either positive or negative reinforcement that is delivered from the environment where an emphasis is placed on what role thoughts play in maintaining the problem (Early & Grady, 2017).

Before taking this course my writing styles and habits were very different. I was the typical procrastinator because I would wait until the night before a paper was due to start it. This did not allow me enough time to properly proofread everything, which resulted in getting points deducted for simple grammatical errors that could have been avoided if I would have had the time to proofread. My writing styles have many strengths and weaknesses and I have been able to improve my writing because of them. I have learned from my strengths and weaknesses how to become a better writer.

According to Seligman and Reichenburg (2014), “cognitive-behavioral therapy is not one approach, but a term applied to a coherent model that is open to and integrates new empirical findings about a pathological disorder into a new model of treatment for that disorder (344)”. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is structured and directive, relying heavily on the cognitive tools of psychoeducation, Socratic questioning, and inductive method. CBT interprets personality development as a process of combining introspectively reflective cognizance with learned response (CBT, 2010). It can occur through the interaction between the thoughts regarding one’s

“Cognitive theory is focused on the individual's thoughts as the determinate of his or her emotions and behaviors and therefore personality. Many cognitive theorists believe that without these thought processes, we could have no emotions and no behavior and would therefore not function. In other words, thoughts always come before any feeling and before any action.” ("Cognitive theory in," 2004)

Is how aggressive an individual is determined only by his or her genes? Whether psychological and behavioral traits are purely determined by genetics, solely influenced by socialization, or a combination of both has been a highly debated topic within the field of psychology known as the “nature-nurture issue.” Today, although still disputed, a good number of psychologists and other scientists concur that genetics and the environment mutually influence and intermingle with one another (Myers, 2015). We can partially credit this fizzling-out of the nature-nurture debate to the discoveries made in twin studies. Twin studies are used to help delineate the genetic components of behavior and the socially and culturally influenced components (Myers, 2015). This type of study enables researchers to examine the extent to which genetics and environment have an effect on the development of traits and behavior. For example, in lecture, we learned that a common and natural experiment used in twin studies is to examine a set of twins who grew up in the same household and a set twins who grew up in separate households (K.W. Brown, personal communication, August 29, 2017).