Psychology Discussion

Assignment 1

Cognitive psychologists emphasize the importance of information received as an influencer of a person’s thoughts and behaviors. They focus on how people store, perceive, and process the information they receive in determining their thoughts. People develop these thoughts and feelings into behaviors.
The psychologists believe that negative and pessimistic thoughts are a cause of psychological distress and behavioral disorders. People who focus on the negative aspects of life such as the problems they are facing and the failures they have experienced will eventually have psychological problems. Having a negative perception of self and low self-esteem will also contribute to a person having psychological problems such as depression. Cognitive psychologists also focus on people’s irrational behaviors.
Cognitive psychologists believe that it is possible to change behavior by changing one’s thoughts. They believe that a person can change his or her irrational behavior, and that a depressed person can overcome his or her problems. The psychologists are the main contributors of positive thinking, and they encourage people with problems to examine their thoughts and refocus them. A person who changes his or her thoughts from negative perceptions of failure and inability, to positive thoughts of success will improve his or her behavior. For people to do this, they have to refocus their thoughts from the negative and pessimistic ideas, to the idea that they can do all they set their mind to, and all that they hope to accomplish. Cognitive psychologists propose that people should think rationally, and be aware of their emotions, motivations, behaviors, and thoughts, so that they can be able to control and change them.
I think that the cognitive approach to psychology is important because of its emphasis on thought and perception. This approach not only deals with the present psychological problems, but it enables a person to deal with other psychological and behavioral problems that might appear in future. It enables people to have control over their lives. I think that biological psychology is not useful in dealing with psychological issues. This is because of the complexities of examining the human anatomy and biological processes. Biological approach is applicable in few areas, especially those dealing with the brain.

Assignment 2

Operational Definitions

Operation definitions define the variables being measured, and allows for the replication of the study. Replication in scientific research is common and necessary to determine the validity of the research.

Sense of humor- the number of times a person expresses himself through laughter

It is possible to measure the number of times that someone laughs. By measuring the number of times the person laughs, the researcher will be able to determine the extent of the recreational drugs on the user. The psychologist should also look for the loudness and length of the laughter.

Act friendlier – the number of people that Billy befriends and helps

The teacher will be able to determine whether Billy has become friendlier based on the people he interacts with in a day, and the degree of their interaction. By measuring the number of times that Billy offers to help other children, the teacher will be able to use this as a way of comparing previous behavior

Less depressed – this will be based on a test measuring depression levels

The number of times the scores are low should indicate the person is less depressed. The researcher has to develop a test for measuring depression levels so that he can be able to gauge the extent of depression.

Study more efficiently – comparison of tests done before and after a student establishes a study method.

The student should give herself ample time after developing a study method. She should begin studying using this method and should record the differences between the previous and the current mode of studying. She should then take a test to determine whether the method she has established is successful.

Correlational or experimental study?

Correlational study – shows positive direction since the higher the ACT scores, the higher the rates of students’ performance
Experimental study – the variables are the witnesses to the incident and the person facing the distress. The independent variable is the number of people and the dependent variable is the reaction of the witness. The number of people determines the reaction of the witness.
Experimental study – the presence of rewards is the independent variable and the student’s attendance is the dependent variable. The presence of rewards determines the reaction of the students
Correlational study – identifies the relationship between the variables. Shows positive direction, as the more sugar the children take the higher their level of activity
Correlational study showing negative direction- the lower the age at which a person experiments with drugs, the more severe the drug abuse problem that the person has.

Correlations: Positive or Negative?

Positive correlation – both variables are moving in the same direction. The more the number of years the couple is married, the more the social and political similarities
Negative correlation with variables moving in opposite direction – the more the number of years spent in the orphanage, the lower their IQ scores
Positive correlation – the more the number of violent crimes realized, the more the increase in stores selling violence-depicting pornography
Negative correlation – the more students miss classes, the lower their grades are
positive-the more the money apportioned to fight crime, the higher the rates of violent crime
Positive correlation – the higher the scores of vocabulary tests that elementary children have, the higher their scores on physical strength and muscular coordination
Negative correlation – the more ability a golfer has, the lower his scores are

What went wrong in these experiments?

The experiment lacked a control group with which the researchers could compare their results to determine the effectiveness of the treatment.
The experimenters probably asked the wrong questions. It is possible that the researcher asked different questions to the two groups. The researcher also used the wrong people to conduct the research, since he asked the people on the streets
The researcher lacks a theory to guide her experiment, and this leads to other flaws such as lack of common elements of research. The researcher does not have a control group and lacks double blind studies.
The researcher’s lacks a clear hypothesis, as her definition of love and affection is weak. The method she uses to display love and affection involves engaging the monkeys in exercise, which is part of play and is meant to make the monkeys more active
The researcher uses the wrong subjects, as he does not consider the qualities of the participants. He lacks a theory to guide his experiment.