what is psychology essay

what is psychology essay

Exploring the Fundamentals of Psychology: An In-Depth Essay

1. Introduction to Psychology and its Significance

Psychology is an academic discipline with deep and wide roots, such that it could be viewed from one of many perspectives: biological, psychological, or social. This essay is not trying to be disciplinary in its approach; rather, it seeks to identify the most important ideas wherever they lie. It is an essay that draws the basis for psychology from its fundamentals. Let us explore the depth and excitement of our minds!

The aim of this essay is to explore the fundamentals of psychology in a simplified but detailed manner. Colloquially, psychology could be said to be the “scientific” study of the mind and behavior. The word “scientific” is put in quotes purely because it implies the adoption of a scientific approach, which basically means relying on observation as data rather than simply depending on intuition. Another way to put it could be, “no psychology without observation”. It is easy to see why psychology is important: it explores a realm within us that not many other areas of study or disciplines investigate. All that we are is courtesy of our minds! But to say psychology is important is one thing, to illustrate that it is essentially thrilling is still another. This essay will try to be both of these things.

2. Key Theories and Concepts in Psychology

Cognitive Behavioral Theory/Rational Emotive Therapy: This approach focuses on the interrelationship between thoughts, emotions, and behavior. The central focus is to combat irrational beliefs and distorted thinking that may lead to emotional pain. Hautala argues that emotional and behavioral changes stem from an individual’s ability to change thoughts and beliefs. Treatment involves challenging irrational thinking patterns and replacing them with more adaptive ones. Psychiatrists use these strategies and cognitive restructuring. Cognitive therapists can help people understand that they can choose how they view their reactions to a stressful event in any setting. They can also help individuals learn that the way they talk to themselves (internal dialogue) influences their perceptions of reality. The patient’s improvement for permanent personality change lessens their emotional pain when people eliminate their irrational beliefs and thinking and replace them with more rational thoughts and beliefs. The cognitive treatment model assumes that people have the capacity for self-awareness and can consciously generate new ways of thinking and acting that stimulate a positive sense of self. The psychiatrist, with the help of the CBT model, can also challenge the unrealistic nature of the patient’s beliefs and be more self-reflective by focusing on irrational beliefs, enabling the person to get immediate results and understanding that no two people see the world the same way.

Psychodynamic Theory: Originating with the work of Sigmund Freud, the psychodynamic perspective emphasizes that boys and girls experience different resolutions of their sexual conflicts, giving boys a privileged status in their personality development. Identifying underlying motives is central to understanding behavior, as these forces and conflicts are typically unconscious. The psychodynamic orientation also believes that people are shaped by their childhood experiences. Freud believed that personality develops within the first several years of life, and that adults are forever shaped by their childhood experiences. Understanding the dynamic psychological forces that underlie human behavior is essential for healing emotional pain and creating a positive sense of self. The psychodynamic treatment approach attempts to bring underlying motives to conscious awareness, allowing people to make more informed choices and break free from self-destructive patterns. Psychiatrists can use the psychodynamic model to explore and reflect on the mental and emotional conflicts that can confuse and cause suffering in their lives. Since learning about oneself is imperative in the treatment of mental and emotional problems, dynamic psychiatry should be used in conjunction with other therapeutic techniques aimed at resolving specific problems and reducing symptoms.

3. Research Methods in Psychology: Understanding the Science

Contrary to popular belief, the field of psychology is not solely based on the study of the content of human minds. Equally important to psychology are the methods with which we study humans. Or more specifically, these methods are vital to two largely overlapping goals of psychology: understanding and influencing behavior. Naturally, the investigative procedures used by psychologists vary according to the topic they are studying and the goals of their research. Yet all psychologists employ the same basic strategies for studying behavior, which is what makes psychology a science. Through this science, psychologists attempt to discover the ways through which human lives are impacted physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. They do so by posing and answering questions about the topic at hand. Further, psychologists answer these questions and explore human behavior using research methods, many of which have been borrowed from the natural sciences and altered and adapted to fit specific goals and topics within psychology.

4. Applications of Psychology in Real-World Settings

However, prospective high school or college students interested in the study of human behavior are often interested in careers other than one-on-one or group psychotherapeutic intervention. There are other settings and activities in which psychologists work. Social psychologists, who study the nature and causes of various social phenomena, work for any settings in which such phenomena exist. This includes private businesses and consulting firms, pollsters and productivity specialists, advertising agencies, prison and business management, government agencies, and universities. Professional training may not be extensive, often a master’s or doctoral degree, but competition for employment in settings of this type may be intense, especially in areas related to research. Psychologists and other trained personnel are also involved in providing services in the areas of learning and developmental disabilities. A number of these professionals work in hospital settings, specialty facilities, or public outreach programs serving diverse populations ranging in age from the very young to the elderly.

Despite the many stereotypes of psychologists, those who work in the field do engage in activities that have real-world applications. A large number of graduates with a degree in psychology pursue careers as psychotherapists, providing mental health counseling in private offices, mental health clinics, and hospitals. Psychologists come to work in these settings after extensive training, often up to ten or twelve years past high school, to become clinical or counseling psychologists. Other priorities include school psychologists who work closely with teachers and school officials to solve problems relating to student learning and behavior; consulting or organizational psychologists who specialize in personnel selection, human factors, workplace motivation and productivity may be found working in business or government settings.

5. Conclusion: Reflecting on the Impact and Future of Psychology

What about the world of medicine? This would be enriched and advanced further. Clearly, greater neuroscience capabilities will allow us to understand both the nature of many congenital and acquired diseases of the brain. Many diseases associated with the dysfunctions of each system could be determined with greater ease and confidence. Many of these disorders and diseases could be cured or ameliorated either through pharmacological, nutritional, technological, creative, degenerative, or embryologic methods. Surely, these fundamentals would constitute a fundamental change for that field. What about education and other aspects of life? Such knowledge could revolutionize and vastly decrease the costs associated with greater and more long-lasting learning and development. Employees could be better educated in a shorter but more profound interval of time. Guidance, career, personality, and character counseling could be further nourished. A well-integrated personality, who has knowledge about his or her preferences, strengths, and weaknesses as well as knowledge about opportunities within society that would be harmonious with his or her personality, would facilitate decision processes about career choice. Family relations would improve. And once again, understandings involving the brain and mental processes would have a significant, positive impact in other fields.

What impact, if any, have these fundamentals had in psychology and the world? Clearly, these fundamentals are crucial to understanding our every action and decision. A well-established and thorough understanding in each of these fundamental aspects will lead to both greater and less variance in our actions. With greater neuroscientific understanding, for example, engineers could develop better artificial intelligence and biologically inspired capabilities. Creative work and creative decision processes could be easily determined since we will know the manner in which knowledge and creative thought processes occur. Memory, intelligence, character, wisdom, ethics, optimism, and self-efficacy, among others, can be enhanced through these fundamentals.