Stanley Milgrams Obedience to Authority study and the Stanford Prison Experiment both show that everyday people react in ways we find unimaginable when put in certain situations.
Ricky C. Camus / BSAT3-2 February 6, 2012 Obedience to Authority Stanley Milgram's Obedience to Authority study and the Stanford Prison Experiment both show that everyday people react in ways we find unimaginable when put in certain situations. The Stanley Milgram's Obedience to Authority study tested how people would respond to an authority figure who told them to do something that conflicted with their personal beliefs. The Stanford Prison Experiment studied the effects of being a prison guard or prisoner. While both studies may be very unethical today, I believe they both show that everyone is likely to act, possibly, in an unethical manner depending on the situation. These studies, in current society's views, would be extremely unethical; especially the Prison Experiment. While not forcibly controlling the participants' actions or thoughts, the administrators of the studies still caused them much mental distress because of the situations they were placed in. I don't believe that the information gained was worth the amount of suffering some of these people went through. Yes, knowing that everyone would act in the same manner put into certain situations is interesting to know but where does that get us? Do we just allow people to commit murder because we would most likely do the same thing if we were in their shoes? Maybe we can empathize more with people because of the
Discuss the contribution that psychology has made to contemporary society.
Discuss the contribution that psychology has made to contemporary society. Since Psychology has been known as a subject, it is very broad, and has contributed to many areas of society to the work place, school, prison and institutions. In the work place, managers are trained to deal and communicate effectively with employees and customers alike. This helps to keep both parties happy, and this causes less distress. Most work places are under law in which even people with mental health issues are allowed to be employed, and only in severe cases they will be unaccepted to the job. An occupational psychologist is able to find a job for those who are disabled and that would be able to meet their skills and knowledge. A couple of centuries ago, people who had mental illnesses wouldn't be able to get a job, and are likely to be distinguished as 'insane' or 'crazy', because of the lack of help that was given at that time. In the school, the National Curriculum has been helped by the research of Psychology by the reflection of Piaget's stages - showing that children are likely to cope with ideas when they are ready or at a given age. For example, those children who are at the concrete operation stage at age 11 should not be given anything to do with formal reasoning. Although, Vygotsky believed in scaffolding, this means by actively participating in groups to their level of
Birth Order
Running head: Birth Order Study Birth Order Team Red Grand Canyon University Shawana Allen October 12, 2008 Abstract Although many believed for many years that birth order affects personality, the evidence has been contradictory. Most individuals have a dominant birth order personality that matches their birth position however, that personality is influenced by variables such as temperament, gender and other family circumstances. Thus, if birth order does systematically affect personality, firstborns, middle child or lastborns would definitely have personalities that is easy to predict and peculiar to that birth order. We all know or have seen where birth order has no effect on an individual's personality. Sometimes birth order roles are reversed or nonexistent depending on the family as well as the society in which the person grows up in. Parental Styles In order to understand birth order and its relationship to parental styles, one must understand what each style entails. Based on research by Diana Baumrind, best known for her theories on parenting styles, there are four styles based upon two categories of parenting styles. The two categories are control and warmth, the first being control refers to how a parent manages their children's behavior ranging from controlling to having a few rules and demands. Warmth, which entails the degree to which parents accept
Child and Death
Children learn about death in different ways. They have vivid imaginations and can develop negative behaviors towards death if not dealt with properly. Inappropriate ways to describe death to a child under age of 12 include the use of euphemisms such as "Mommy went to heaven", "Nanny went away", or "Daddy is sleeping." The problem with euphemisms is that they tend to confuse the child. A child who is told that "Daddy is sleeping" believes that daddy would wake up again, since people wake up after they go to sleep. The problem arises when daddy is put in a casket and buried, which more often than not creates a fear of sleeping so as not to be put in a box! I remember two years ago attending a funeral of a fallen soldier where his son was told he was sleeping. The child walked up to the casket in the church where his father was laid and started shaking the corpse trying to arouse his father from his sleep. Imagine the wave of emotion the misunderstanding created! It is better to help the child understand that the person has died. Being honest, simple and direct helps more than 'beating around the bush'. Using the correct words and language is preferable to using euphemisms, albeit difficult for adults. Other inappropriate ways include trying to avoid the subject or postponing the explanation of death and dying when it comes to the loss of a pet or somebody not too close to the
Describe and Evaluate Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory and Method
Describe and Evaluate Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory and Method Sigmund Freud was the creator of Psychoanalysis which means analysis of the mind, Freud developed specific methods of analysing, all of them concentrating on the unconscious mind. This essay will describe Freud's psychoanalytic theory, method and the techniques he used, describing, Methods of Investigation, Personality Development, Defence Mechanisms and The Psychosexual Stages of Development. Freud believed that because he could not find any physical cause for many of his patient's symptoms, that they must be linked to unconscious psychological disturbances. Freud attempted to uncover the psychological problems using Psychoanalysis. Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality Development suggests that three components, The ID, The EGO, and The SUPER-EGO drive people. The ID is present at birth and works on the "Pleasure Principle" demanding immediate gratification, e.g. "At birth a baby's mind is all Id - want want want. The Id is the primitive mind, containing all the basic needs and feelings". . Available from [online] 19/10/04 http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L8-4StructureMindIdEgoSuperego.html The EGO develops soon after birth and works on the "Reality Principle", the conscience is formed which aids our decision making, Davies and Houghton (1995 Pg 261) wrote..."once
Outline and compare the cognitive and behaviourist approach in psychology
Outline and compare the cognitive and behaviourist approach in psychology (12 marks) This essay will outline and compare the cognitive and behaviourist approach to psychology. It will refer to various therapies and practical uses of each approach. I will also refer to the case study of Kohler. I will then outline the similarities and conclude with the differences. The behaviourist approach is deterministic as it argues all behaviours are determined by past events and that all human behaviour is controlled by external events which means that humans do not have freewill. It supports empiricism and argues that only behaviour that can be observed, measured and recorded should be classed as scientific. It also supports reductionism as complex human behaviour is reduced to simple component parts. Environmentalism is another assumption of the behaviourist approach as behaviourists believe that all learning comes from experience and that heredity has no play. The cognitive approach believes that mental process can be studied scientifically. It argues that mental processes can be regarded as information processing. The mind operates in a similar way to a computer and introspection can be classed as a valid scientific method of studying cognitive process. The aspects of the organism including conscious and unconscious thought act as a meditational process between stimulus and
Gognitive psychology essay
Cognitive psychology is study of how people perceive, think, remember, speak and solve problems. It is rather new discipline in psychology, than the behavioral psychology. The main aim of Cognitive Approach is to explain people's behavior with reference to their internal mental processes. Until the 1950s, behaviorism was the dominant school of thought in psychology. Between 1950 and 1970, the tide began to shift against behavioral psychology to focus on topics such as attention, memory, and problem solving. Often referred to as the cognitive revolution, this period generated considerable research including processing models, cognitive research methods and the first use of the term cognitive psychology. Early psychologist in the 19th century, such as Wundt, used subjective methods to explain behavior. He believed that psychology was the science of conscious experience and that trained observers could accurately describe thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Behaviorist as Watson and Skinner rejected his view, because for them the content and workings of the human mind were private and personal. It relies to the time they lived in, because it was not easy to conduct and understand the scientific work in cognition. Later on the 1st half of 20th century cognitive psychology developed. New computer technology was introduced and this processing of information was proposed by
How do id, ego and superego, each contribute to Freud's concept of analytical psychology? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this framework?
How do id, ego and superego, each contribute to Freud's concept of analytical psychology? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this framework? In this essay, I will be discussing how the id, ego and superego, each contribute to Freud's concept of analytical psychology. In order for me to do this, I will start by defining all of the three components of the mind and then talk about how each of them relate to psychoanalysis. I will then discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Freud's theory on this tripartite model of the mind. Freud's most significant contributions to the understanding of human thought was to describe brain activity as occurring on three levels of awareness: conscious, preconscious and unconscious. Later on, Freud developed a more sophisticated view of the brains activity. He categorized the mental process into three components: id, ego, and superego. He saw a person's behaviour as the outcome of interactions among these three components. The id is little more than inherited biological drives, the ones that control many of our actions. There are two of these drives: Eros, the sex drive, and Thanatos, the death instinct. The id, according to Freud, operates under the Pleasure Principle: (Hayes. N 1994) "I want what I want and I want it now!" The id demands immediate gratification, and will settle for
Research Methodology
Research Methodology Paper Donna L. Stefanick Psych 535 February 7, 2011 Dr. Frances Kelley Research Methodology Paper Research methods are a variety of techniques that people use when studying a give phenomenon. Research methods are well thought out and planned, scientific based and value neutral. This means that in order to have good research methods, a researcher must design the research in a way that maximizes the accuracy of the results. Research methodology is the framework used to study and compare different approaches of individual methods. Multicultural research, or sometimes called cross-cultural research, focuses on uncovering an individual's behaviors that are impacted primarily by cultural influences. It is designed to examine human behavior and test hypotheses about the influences of behavior and culture. The ability to conduct multicultural research is becoming more of a challenge for researcher as the United States becomes more culturally diverse. For researchers to conduct competent research, they need to consider how culture may influence areas like definitions of concept and methodological issues. Researchers need to consider how things like sampling, recruiting participants, developing and/or translating the instruments, and disseminating findings are affected by culture, race and ethnicity. This paper will compare and contrast the variables
How do external factors affect a child's development?
HOW DO EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECT A CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT? A person's personality and moral values are usually developed during their childhood according to the experiences in this period of their lives. Childhood is one of the most delicate stages in a person's lifetime. Therefore, it should be taken seriously within the individuals that surround them. Being careful with the actions and decisions that they make in their presence, which may be crucial for the youngster's development. The basic reason I opted for this topic is that many people aren't aware about what factors can affect a child, and how these factors influence them on upcoming stages of their life. The external factors that affect a child's development are: technology, economy, and vices. Technology has a great influence in a child's development . In today's society we are surrounded by high-tech devices and other kinds of products that ease our everyday life. Children that live in suburban areas, or in the countryside, mostly in undeveloped countries, are usually unaware of these devices. Therefore, they may be taken as ignorant in today's society. Whilst children in big cities are usually familiar with these gadgets. Unfortunately, sometimes there are side effects, such as: misuse of technology. This happens when an individual doesn't give the device its proper function. For instance, spending too much time on
