Reporting Studying senior social science subjects was the most influential factor which provided a

Outline the key roles of one professional career pathway within applied psychology and critically discuss two research areas addressed within the chosen career pathway.

The basic definition of psychology is the study of human minds and there function, with respect to the affects the human mind has on behavior. The field of psychology is one of the most diverse fields that continue to expand and branch out into a plethora of distinguishing subfields; some subfields include retail marketing, legal work, social work and education (Sternberg, 2007). When deciding what career path to select one has to consider the level of education and scholarship they are willing to pursue. Pursuing and completing an undergraduate degree will earn an individual the title of a reflective scholar. A reflective scholar is a graduate that has completed a Bachelors or Bachelorette degree. Next, is the practitioner-scholar, which, is an individual that has graduated with a Masters degree. Following the practitioner-scholar is the scholar-practitioner, who is a graduate that has complete a program at a Doctoral level (McClintock, 2003). Each level of scholarship entails a pristine level of knowledge about the practices, strategies and techniques needed to establish quality and efficient

Bandura focused on perceived self-efficacy, which he defines as a belief in one’s own capability to organize and execute the course of action required to attain a goal. (Bandura, 1977).

Through my days of adolescences and adulthood I not only gained physically but also mentally, through my experiences of going through my own cultural background I also got to view and experience many others cultures. These countless experiences gave the opportunity to appreciate others, this than lead me to the pursuing of my career field of psychology, psychology gives me the gateway to serve others. My min career objective is to seek in making a difference in people’s lives, by meeting human’s needs and expectations through an interdisciplinary knowledge based full on prevention of problems and maintaining an improvement of overall lifestyle. My interests as I pursue towards higher learning is to put myself at a better position to work with many diverse individuals that may have different circumstances that they are dealing with. I would want to share all the knowledge I have learned throughout my years of school and studying and

Rutgers University students enroll in many different majors. Throughout the student’s four year education, they get the opportunity to participate in internships which are not a requirement for graduation for every major. An example is the Psychology major. The Department of Psychology at Rutgers does not require its students to participate in any fieldwork, research, co-ops, or internships. The person that will serve as a patron for this project will be from the Department of Psychology, Chairperson David Vicario. The department will benefit from making this “choice”, an essential part of the major’s curriculum. Because Rutgers University is considered one of the top 10 colleges that teach psychology as a major it is important that they not only have a good educational program, but also a program that successfully helps students work on their field of study after graduation (Cahill). Therefore, the department would find it very beneficial to support this program. The program will require students enrolled in any psychology major to participate in programs that will reinforce their real world experience in their field of study and consequently increase their chances of landing a job after graduation in their field.

As stated in our syllabus, research is essential to the science of psychology. This course was an introduction to the basic concepts and instruments needed to assess and conduct research. Through understanding the research process, as well as the ideas such as validity and reliability, we become better acute consumers and producers of research. I have also learned that research comes in many different tests and observation, but each method is just as important as the last one.

I've put time into researching all aspects of the job role in psychology and have a positive feeling I am well suited for this role. I'm currently in the process of completing the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care. On this course I have studied a range of units including Psychology which I found particularly interesting as we are looking into behaviourist theories including Pavlov and his Classical conditioning theory and how a person can be conditioned to behave in a particular way from a Stimulus. Another unit we are studying is Sociology which is interesting as it shows why people behave the way they do due to social impacts such as culture or social status.

Professional social psychologists go about their field the same way, only more sophisticatedly, in a systematic manner (by developing theories) and often painstakingly (with experiments that result in small social dramas that revert to direct causation of certain events). (Myers, 2010(

Three of which include, his or her cognition towards situations, his or her emotional status, and the decision-making process of that individual. Self-efficacy affects an individual’s cognition towards a situation due to the fact that a person’s view can greatly influence the outcome of that situation. Therefore, thinking in an optimistic manner can be beneficial, whereas thinking in a negative manner towards a circumstance can be detrimental. Self-efficacy can affect the emotional status of an individual, in that a resilient sense of self-efficacy enables an individual to recognize that it is normal for him or her to feel discouraged in certain situations, and this transpires in a determination to persevere and turn the outcomes of his or her circumstances into success. The manner in which self-efficacy affects an individual’s decision-making process is that it facilitates the individual to recognize that there is always a choice for choosing the way he or she will experience a certain situation or circumstance. In summation, the concept of self-efficacy pioneered by Albert Bandura elucidates that through an individual mastery of his or her thoughts emotions and decisions with the guidance of past circumstances he or she will be able to recognize the ability to shape the outcomes of his or her situations and circumstances. Therefore, the concept of self-efficacy has proven to be a paramount dynamic in the positive field of psychology regarding the prerequisite for behavior

One of my most influential experiences at Appalachian State was my involvement in the Students in Law and Psychology research lab. This lab allowed me the opportunity to work on different studies, present in professional conferences, and make personal connections in the psychology community beyond the university. As soon as I became a member, my goal was to be involved in research and presentations and take advantage of every opportunity to learn. With assistance from graduate students and faculty advisors, my experience in preparing experiments, running participants, and presenting findings have prepared me to be successful in the Experimental Psychology graduate program at Appalachian. I have always had an interest in psychology, however this experience allowed me to become familiar with the process of conducting research, which I quickly realized is a foundation of my academic and career goals.

Most individuals struggle at the stage of making career choices and hence they decide to go for career counselling to guide them to the right path by weighing various factors that influence a career like personality. This is where career development theories come into place, these are frameworks that guide the career counsellors in examining and explaining individuals’ career related behaviour. Each career development theory gives a certain unique way to career development and choice. As quoted in Schreuder & Coetzee (2011),” Career counsellors must understand well established and emerging career theories, their strengths and weaknesses and how to apply them to client career development and choice to be able to effectively and

Virtually all people can identify goals they want to accomplish, things they would like to change, and things they would like to achieve. However, most people also realize that putting these plans into action is not quite so simple. Bandura and others have found that an individual’s self-efficacy plays a major role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached.

The concept of interest is self-efficacy. This began in 1977 with Bandura’s social learning theory that was renamed social cognitive theory in 1986, of which self-efficacy was one of the major concepts of his theory. Self-efficacy makes a difference in how people will feel, think, behave, and motivate themselves. A low sense of self-efficacy can be associated with stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of helplessness. Such individuals also have low self-esteem and become pessimistic about their accomplishments and personal development. In thinking terms, a strong sense of efficacy facilitates cognitive processes and performance in a variety of settings, including the quality of decision-making and academic achievement. When it comes to behavior, self-efficacy can be said to influence people’s choice of activities as self-efficacy levels can foster or decrease a person’s motivation. People with high self-efficacy approach difficult tasks as challenges and do not try to avoid them. People’s self-efficacy beliefs determine their level of motivation, as reflected in how much effort they will

For many people, finding a career that is both fulfilling and practical is a strenuous task. Fortunately, there is a plethora of different interventions, techniques, assessments, and inventories designed to aid those individuals in making the wisest career choices possible. But are any of those routes inherently better than the others? Or are all the differing options separate but equally effective? Donald Super’s Life Span Theory and John Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice are just two of the many theories used for career counseling. Both methods are distinct in the way they approach career issues, yet despite their differences, there are some resemblances between the two theories as well. Comparing and contrasting these two theories will make it easier to see if one theory is better than the other for career counseling or if they are both equally effective.

Both critical and experimental social psychology form the modern social psychology, due to their important historical context. Experimental-social psychology is argued to have been derived from the American tradition, and a critical-social psychology is argued to have been derived from the European tradition. Although this has formed two distinct approaches in the use of methodology within psychology, there are still on-going debates over psychology as a science or not.