Psychology - 14463 Words

Basic Human Needs 1 Running head: BASIC HUMAN NEEDS Basic Human Needs Thane S. Pittman and Kate R. Zeigler Colby College DRAFT Chapter to appear in Kruglanski, A., Higgins, E. (2006), Social Psychology: A handbook of basic principles, 2nd Edition. New York: Guilford Publications Thane S. Pittman and Kate R. Zeigler Department of Psychology 5550 Mayflower Hill Colby College Waterville, ME 04901 207-859-5557 tpittman@colby.edu Basic Human Needs Basic Human Needs It is vain to do with more what can be done with less. 2 attributed to William of Occam (c. 1285–1349) There is always an easy solution to every human problem - neat, plausible, and wrong. H. L. Mencken (1949), p. 443 It has been a long time since a†¦show more content†¦Anyone reading this chapter indoors is surrounded by, sitting on, probably wearing, and using things fabricated by homo sapiens. Humans make things. 4 When we move into the realm of psychology, matters become more complex and considerably less clear. In considering what, psychologically, might constitute human nature, social psychologists have not taken up the method of cross-species comparisons illustrated in the musings above. In fact in psychology more generally, instead of looking for what is unique about human nature, psychologists have tried repeatedly to come up with a few general principles that are meant to apply across all or virtually all species, essentially arguing that psychologically all species are governed by the same fundamental principles. This approach constitutes a scientifically sound strategy, in the spirit of Occam s Razor, as an attempt to understand complexity by reducing it to a few simple laws that apply to many species. Familiar examples of this approach include the various serious attempts by behaviorists to explain everything in terms of basic principles of reinforcement (Hull, 1943; Pavlov, 1927; Ski nner, 1938, 1981; Watson, 1930). These ideas were tested and refined extensively with experiments on rats and pigeons as well as humans, were extended into such realms as social learning (e.g., Miller Dollard, 1941), attitude formation and change (e.g., Doob, 1947), and group behavior (Zajonc, 1965), andShow MoreRelatedPsychology : Psychology And Psychology1627 Words   |  7 Pagescovers the many questions we may have about psychology. It starts with the history and how it has changed throughout the years. It covers some of the many subfields and jobs you can have as a psychologist. It also covers the four big ideas that are associated with psychology. There are many more topics and sub-topics that will be covered within this paper on chapter 1. Section 1-1 Psychological Science is born: This section shows how the heart of psychology changes over time. In 1879, at a germanRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology1519 Words   |  7 PagesPsychology has been defined by many as the study of mental disorder or behavioral problems but discoveries and developments, points to psychology as the study of human mind and its functionality which includes the way we think, act, perceive things and be able to make decisions; all these makes man a complex being. Psychology isn’t just a phenomenon; it is a scientific study. Psychology as a science answers the question â€Å"why†, proposes a theory and sets experiment to test the hypothesis. The researchRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology889 Words   |  4 PagesOne: Psychology Defined Psychology is an exceptionally multifaceted field of study, regardless, it can be commonly defined as the study of mental processes and human behavior. The goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict and control the behavior of others. Psychology incorporates an extensive range of different perspectives into its general principles as well as focuses on securing them with applied research, case studies, evaluations, etc. I first became interested in psychology whenRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology1018 Words   |  5 Pagesof psychology is common to talk about the psychological schools, as these are defined as groups of psychologists who shared a theoretical view and focused psychological problems with a common orientation; these have evolved over time. Psychology was first established as a separate science of biology and philosophy, that s when the real debate over how to describe and explain the human mind and behavior began start, different psychological schools represent the major theories of psychology. TheRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology892 Words   |  4 PagesWhen you first think of the word psychology, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Well, some people might say they don’t know or some would say it’s something that has to do with the mind and/or human behavior. Psychology which comes from the Greek term â€Å"psyche† is the study of mental processes and behavior; especially those affecting behavior in a given context. There are several schools of thought in psychology. These schools include: structuralism (Wundt), functionalism (James), gestaltRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology1267 Words   |  6 PagesPaper What is psychology? What impact does psychology have on the world? What does it mean to be a psychologist? These are three important questions that will be investigated throughout this paper. Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behavior. Psychology influences many behaviors in the world without anyone noticing. Watson is interested in behaviorism. This means he was interested in the behavior of people and how they act and react. Through his article, Psychology as the BehavioristRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology850 Words   |  4 PagesPsychology to me is meant to help people understand the complexity of other human beings. We have established the existence of many disorders which are mainly beyond the control of people because of chemical imbalances in the brain. Although with these reasons, we still have attached negative and positive connotations to many disorders. We have created this concept of psychology in order to help us try to find some sense of order in our lives. This can allow us to try rank ourselves next to anotherRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology1703 Words   |  7 PagesPsychology has a lot of jobs to choose from.Any job in psychology is going to be involved helping people. Trying to find out why people do the things they do and trying to predi ct the behavior of people, their emotions, and mental processes. Making sure your child or any person you care about is okay mentally, is important and is the job of people who work in a major in psychology. For this paper, the roles of a psychiatrist, a counselor, and a psychologist will be discussed. The audience will learnRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology1300 Words   |  6 PagesIn Psychology There are six modern psychological perspectives. These perspectives are behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, social, cultural, and biological. Each perspective has its own unique way of explaining human behavior. I think that really explains the complex mental processes and behavior, and each prospective study should not be limited to just one. The following is my explanation of the terms and comparisons between the psychodynamic and behavioral aspects relating to the OctoberRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology Essay2200 Words   |  9 PagesHow is ps ychology defined today? How did psychology start out being defined originally? Humans have always been interested in understanding their own body, especially the brain itself. Some of the first people to explore psychology were Aristotle and Socrates, (even though some of the things they thought were wrong) of course at the time they did not know what exactly they were studying. https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/introduction-to-psychology-1/intr