INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY.
Psychology is a scientific discipline of immense scope that focuses on the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as feelings and thoughts. Psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains and all the variety of events linked to those emergent properties. These professional practitioners attempt to verify the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, alongside the exploration of physiological and biological processes that underlie cognitive functions and behavior. There are a variety of topics studied under psychology some of which are discussed below
Consciousness refers to the individual awareness of your unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, and environment. An individual’s knowledge is their awareness and the world around them. The very awareness is subject to an individual’s uniqueness. Consciousness, in general, fluctuates concerning the things happening around that person. For instance, the postulated personality theories of Sigmund Freud distinguished between the conscious and the unconscious aspects of behavior which has been the foundation and the very basis of the current studies revolving around the topic in question that is, the controlled and the automatic behavior and between implicit and the explicit memory (Petty, Wegener, et al. 1999; Shanks, 2005).
Often, we believe that we have control over the things we engage in and most of our behaviors, although sometimes we may be under the impression that, some of our responses are caused by forces that are out of our awareness- unconscious.
Personally, this topic could be fascinating and exciting because it introduces to me a new way of figuring out issues with the knowledge of both consciousness and unconsciousness. It helps me understand how to deal with situations and occurrences without necessarily being judgmental and with a prior evaluation of matters.
Consciousness plays a significant role in day to day life as it helps individuals to read and integrate different signs and able to process the information passed on and behave accordingly. The same aspect, for example, helps an individual to see the nimbus clouds and a drastic change of weather and act accordingly, say picking up an umbrella protect themselves from the rain.
Consciousness comes in handy in our development as individuals because it makes me become a little more diverse and revolutionized in thinking. My rationality level rises to a higher degree, and this makes me handle things with an experienced manner of reasoning.
- MEMORY.
Memory refers to the processes used to acquire, store, retain, and later retrieve information. Three methods are significantly involved in memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. The mind is a type of cognitive psychology affecting the ability to both preserve and recover information we have learned or experienced. Sometimes we tend to forget things because the encoding process in the memory was initially faulty. Memory problems can range from non-serious behaviors to a chronic disease such as Alzheimer’s disease that affects the quality of life and the ability to function correctly. Memory is formed from the processing ofa raw piece of information into a usable form, commonly known as encoding, after which becomes short term or long term memory. Sometimes memory becomes lost due to various reasons such as retrieval failure, interference, storage problems, etc. Memory can be boosted through several techniques such as repetition, writing down points, categorize related information.
Memory captures my attention a great deal as it helps me remember a great percentage of my past experiences and everything needed in the learning of new things in a real-life context, right from birth childhood days and to adulthood. Short-term memory, for example, is so significant in reflecting our ability to temporarily hold vital information for processing, as seen in dialing a new phone number or trying to recall where you might have left your house keys.
- STUDY OF PERSONALITY DEALING WITH THE ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO.
Human personality is complex and comprises three elements: id, ego, superego, which work together in a nutshell, according to Sigmund Freud. The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for prompt fulfillment of all desires, wants, and needs, and if the wishes are not fulfilled immediately, tension is created.
The ego is a fragment of the human personality that deals with reality. Its subject to id and ensures the impulses of the id can be displayed in a way that is acceptable in the real world. The ego works with the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind. It operates on the reality principle.
The superego holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both our parents and society.It provides directives for judgements making. The superego works to suppress all the unacceptable urges of the aid and struggles to make the ego work on acceptable standards rather than on realistic principles. The interaction between the three components of human personality should be in a way that no disputes are arising from an imbalance.
The issue of the three components of human personality makes me glued to the mystery that emerges on the balanced interaction between three. Id as a component is evident in the life of an infant where its cries for what it wants until its delivered to it.
- PSYCHOTHERAPY ATTEMPTS TO TREAT PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS.
Psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy.
It was introduced by the clinician Sigmund Freud, that stresses that mental health problems are as a result of unconscious conflicts and desires. This technique explores the early childhood experiences that may have effects on mental health.
Person-centered therapy.
This approach believes that mental health problems result from an inconsistency between the patient’s behavior and their true personal identity. It, therefore, aims at creating conditions under which patients can discover self-worth.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy.
It attempts to alleviate psychological symptoms by changing their underlying cognitions sand behaviors.
- MOTIVATION AND EMOTIONS.
Both of the words have the same underlying meaning, that is, to move. Motivation involves arousal, or experiences of bodily responses created by the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. An emotion is a mental and physiological feeling state that directs our attention and guides our behavior. The two are closely related. Motivations can be biological, personal, and social, and they all drive us to actions that make us feel good. For instance, I get motivated towards achieving an excellent quality of life through my observations on prominent people; people who have the best you can admire as a responsive human being.
Psychology serves as a unique discipline that motivates us in living as people who understand situations based on psychoanalysis and more.