[MSOffice1]Revised primary posting, week 1
Observing psychology as a field of study, Weiten (2005), individualize[MSOffice2] in it seven key themes.
1. Psychology is empirical.
This concept reflects the fact that in psychology all ideas concerning behavior or are supported by observation and by collected data and appropriate documentation. It also requires psychologists to adopt a skeptical attitude towards speculation or common believes.
2. Psychology is theoretically diverse.
In an effort to understand what he observes, a psychologist must often refer to several possibilities and to consider different aspect of the matter. Psychology is based on many theories, simply because sometimes they all can be useful in the process of analyzing behavior (Weiten, 2005).
3. Psychology evolves in a sociohistorical contest.
As for other sciences, psychology is strongly related to sociohistorical situations. ¡°¡society and psychology influence each other in complex ways.¡±( Weiten, 2005, p.17).
For example we could consider the influence on society of the increasing use of mental testing, and at the same time, tracing a history of psychological theories, we cannot avoid to take in consideration the zeitgeist in which they were developed (Schultz & Schultz, 2001).
4. Behavior is determined by multiple causes.
Psychology considers behavior as extremely complex and influenced by many causes (Weiten, 2005).
5. Behavior is shaped by cultural heritage.
Culture represents traditions, beliefs, values, habits, and much more, developed in a community and perpetuated through generations. Evidence of cultural heritage are reflected in behavior and often taken for granted because of its general recognition and acceptance (Weiten, 2005).
6. Heredity and environment jointly influence behavior.
The everlasting debate between nature versus nurture could be represented with the theories of Galton (believing in genetic heritance), versus the ones of Watson (behavior depends almost entirely on environment). Today psychology considers being both determinant for personal development and is still studying the way they relate with each other.
7. People’¡¯s experience of the world is highly subjective.
Individual perception of external stimuli can differ in many ways. One can pay attention to some details rather than others and so on. This makes all experiences very subjective and therefore a psychologist should adopt a scientific approach to a matter, trying to make observations in the most objective way, preventing subjectivity (Weiten, 2005 ).
The seven themeskeys appear to me to run parallel and often crossing [MSOffice3]each other and overlapping. For example avoiding subjective interpretations and observing the matter in the most objective way possible, derives from the assumption that psychology is an empirical science.¡£Also, behavior influences cultural heritage, and therefore, behavior is generated by multiple causes. [MSOffice4]They are in my opinion well conceived and all belonging to a general context of more or less equal importance with a highlight on the empirical characteristics, mutual influence between psychology and society, and on the influence of heredity and environment on behavior. The latter is one of the most debated themes in psychology. Is behavior and personality determined by hereditary factors or by enivironmental ones. The recent progress in studies about genes certainly gives support to the nature factor. However, there is consensus that the nurture factor is at least as important. B, and because it can be changed or alteredis what can be influenced, it is certainly the factor that is most worth studying in psychology. Nature merely explains behavior[MSOffice5];, nurture want to shapes behavior it, and in most cases the objective of psychology is to influence behavior for the better. ''Nature makes the boy toward, nurture sees him forward,'' [MSOffice6](Mulcaster, 1582, quoted in Pinker, 2002).
In other words, I found the seven keys themes to be a legitimate summarization of keyhit points in the definition of pPsychology that develops and derivinges from one another. Psychology is empirical, therefore it needs to take into consideration multiple causes and perspectives. At the same time Psychology evolves in a sociohistorical context, because cultural heritage[MSOffice7], and therefore nature, but also nurture play a significant role in shaping behavior. [MSOffice8]As a result, the world is highly subjective.
Concerning whether or not the seven themes arekeys to be a marketing strategy, I believe in the lines of the existence of many causes and many theories to describe behavior, I could see may be an attempt to insure and attract a wide range of potential clients. But in fact I see more marketing display in the effort of psychology to apply psychology on social necessity such as in schools, the military, and or industryial employee selection, and as well as in the new positivist theory[MSOffice9], which, stressesing the value of life, tries to focus on sensibilities, forgiveness, capabilities of happiness, and so on, instead of targeting abnormal behavior.
I’¡¯m surprised not to have found anything referring to the inner world of the unconsciousness, and I also wonder whether the concept of psychoanalysis[MSOffice10] should be part of the keys.
References:
Weiten, W. (2005) Psychology themes and variation, briefer version. (6th ed.) Belmont, Ca: WadsworthThomson publishing.
Schultz, P. D.& Schultz, E. S. (2001) A history of modern psychology. ( 8th ed.) Belmont, Ca: WadsworthThomson publishing
PinkerMulcaster, S., (2002 ). Why the nature/ nurture debate won¡¯t go away. Boston Globe. Retrieved on December, 9 from
Seligman, Martin E. P. & Csikszntmihalyi, M Positive Psychology: An Introduction. Retrieved on December, 9 from
[MSOffice1]You did not cite in-text Schultz & Schultz or Seligman, so there is no reason to have them in your reference list. If you reference them you need to use this and cite where you did so.
[MSOffice2]Not an appropriate word here
[MSOffice3]If they are parallel then how can the cross?
[MSOffice4]This sentence makes no sense to me.
[MSOffice5]Nature does not explain behavior; only theories explain behavior.
[MSOffice6]This quote can’t be accurate since it makes no sense like it is.
[MSOffice7]Sociocultural heritage concerns nurture only, so I don’t know how to fix this sentence.
[MSOffice8]Poor sentence
[MSOffice9]Students keep referring to this, and no one explains it or relates it to the core theories of psychology.
[MSOffice10]Why should it be since it is limited to just one theory and not a theme that runs through others.