Paper Example on Psychology: Understanding the Human Mind & Behavior

Part 1

Psychology is the study of the human brain by evaluating the state of mind, feeling, behavior, and thought to establish the status of the mind in terms of whether the brain is able to function properly (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2016). Psychology ensures that the mind of the person is evaluated to ensure the person is in a good state of mind to work and live normally. Psychology help in studying why people behave the way they do and whether the person is in a good state of mind to live normally.

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Psychology uses Science in evaluating the status of the mind of a person. Different scientific methods are applied in evaluating the status of the mind. Social sciences are used in evaluating the mind (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2016). The findings are scientific in terms of the evidence used to come up with a conclusion of the status of mind. Scientific principles such as mental health and ergonomics determine the action to be taken to improve the status of the mind.

Part 2: What are the different parts of the human brain, and which are the oldest and newest?

The human brain is made up of different parts that perform different functions. The parts include the cerebrum, which is the largest part of the brain and is responsible for processing motor and sensory information to enable consciousness (Carter, 2019). The other part is the cerebellum that is responsible for coordinating body movements and maintaining balance. The third part of the brain is the brainstem that sends signals to different parts of the brain to manage the involuntary functions that happen in the body. The fourth part of the brain is the thalamus that is responsible for relaying signals to the conscious brains to trigger response and reaction. The newest part of the brain is the limbic system, which includes the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and the amygdala that is responsible for motion and formation of memories by facilitating remembrance (Carter, 2019). The brain stem is the oldest part of the brain that is responsible for functions of life as breathing and motor responses.

Part 3: What is social referencing, and why is it important in child development?

Social referencing in psychology is defined as the process where the infants get cues from the emotive displays of adults. Social referencing involves the children learning from their immediate environment by observing things that happen from the environment (Parkinson, 2019). The older children get, the more they use social referencing to learn. Social referencing also happens in schools where children learn from their colleagues.

Social referencing is important in child development by helping the children in emotional development, the children learn how to express themselves, and the children also learn how to interact and relate with different people (Parkinson, 2019). Social referencing also helps the children to make the right decisions in actions that they take. The children learn from the actions of other people. The children learn the positive and negative connotations that come depending on the decisions that they make. Social referencing influences how children interact with other children because they are aware of the consequences of their actions. The emotional development of the child is influenced by social referencing.

Part 4: What does it mean to be conscious or unconscious?

Consciousness means that a person's awareness is unique in terms of feelings, memories, environment, and sensations. Someone is considered to be cautious when they are aware of the environment around them (Carter, 2019). The consciousness keeps on changing depending on where a person is and the previous experiences in a similar environment. To be conscious means that someone is aware and responsive to their environment. Previous bad experiences make people be more cautious of their environment because they do not want the experiences to re-occur.

What it means to be unconscious is that the person is not able to respond to stimuli because the person is not aware of the environment (Carter, 2019). An example of when a person is an unconscious include when the person is asleep. The causes of the unconscious include drug abuse, and when someone gets an accident. The symptoms of unconsciousness include confusion, slurred speech, and inability to respond.

Part 5: What is a positive punishment? What is negative punishment?

In positive punishment, one presents an outcome that is unfavorable after a behavior that is not desired. If one acts in an undesired manner, a negative outcome is intentionally applied (Curran, 2019). In dog training, for example, the trainer prevents it from peeing anywhere by scolding it every time he/she finds it doing so. By scolding the dog, you are punishing it for exhibiting a behavior that is not desired.

Negative punishment is applied to decrease undesired behavior by removing their favorite or desired item (Curran, 2019). When this item is removed from the individual's life, the undesired behavior is prevented. The withdrawal of the item also reduces the chances of the occurrence of the behavior. For example, if a teacher notices that a student is using a mobile phone during the lecture, he can seize the phone. When the parents learn of the indiscipline, they can apply negative punishment by seizing his PlayStation.

Part 6: What steps are involved in good decision making?

Decision making is a cognitive process of making choices, gathering information related to the issue as well as evaluating the alternatives. The first step in making a rational decision is identifying the problem and why it is important to address it. The second step is to gather factual information through value judgment to identify the information that is relevant to the decision. The third critical step is to identify alternative solutions for the problem. To make a good decision, it is wise to identify several options (Curran, 2019).

The fourth step is weighing the evidence to establish the option that is best suited for the problem. This can be done by highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each option. This step leads to the choice of the misappropriate option from the options list. In this step, one can seek a second opinion from an expert. The next step involves taking action by strategizing on the implementation and then reviewing the decision made (Curran, 2019).

Part 7: What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?

Motivation emanates from either the desire or process of pursuing a goal, also referred to as intrinsic motivation or external factors (extrinsic motivation). Intrinsic motivation is a behavior that is spearheaded by internal rewards rather than external rewards. When you are intrinsically motivated, you are interested in what you do and enjoy doing it (Curran, 2019). For example, reading books because you enjoy reading is an example of intrinsic motivation.

On the other hand, extrinsic motivation emanates from external rewards such as pay, promotion, grades, fame, or praise. Extrinsic motivation is a form of operant conditioning where behavior is modified through rewards and punishments. The rewards increase the probability of the recurrence of the behavior, while the punishments decrease the likelihood of occurrence of the undesired behavior (Curran, 2019). If, for example, you read to pass the examinations, you are extrinsically motivated. Extrinsic motivation is common among many employees as their performance is driven by external factors, especially salaries or wages.

P art 8: What is open science, and why is it important?

Open science refers to the approaches of increasing accessibility as well as transparency in research. Open science makes scientific research, as well as dissemination of data available to any member belonging to an inquiry society (Curran, 2019). Open science avoids barriers in outputs, resources, methods, or sharing of tools at any step in the research process. Open science has positively influenced how research is done.

Open science is helping researchers succeed by facilitating full access to research information (Curran, 2019). Free access to information boosts innovation and maximizes the potential of the researchers. Some researchers think that open source publishing inhibits success, but this is not true. Open publishing promotes citations from other authors since they do not have to pay to read the journals. Journals in open source also get more media coverage as people can freely share on different media platforms. Open source publishing also facilitates research funding as well as the reproducibility of data.

Part 9: What is the purpose behind job selection?

The purpose of job selection is to select and pick the most suitable candidate to fill the vacant position. The selection is done through a process where all candidates are evaluated through interviews and the best candidate is selected based on their skills, qualifications and experience (Barfort et al., 2019). The selection of the candidates is based on job requirements where the candidate selected is able to meet requirements and complete the assignment perfectly. The selection process is done by hiring experts able to select the best candidate.

The purpose behind job selection is to find the most suitable candidate from many candidates who have applied for a specific job. The selected candidate need to help the company achieve its goal (Barfort et al., 2019). There are stages of selection and they need to be followed to help the company hire the most suitable candidate. The hired candidate determines whether the company will achieve its goal or not depending on how the hired candidate will do the job. Human resource departments need to ensure that the hiring process is successful.

Part 10: What are the external causes of well-being?

There are several external factors that affect the wellbeing of a person, the factors cause happiness to the person and improves of destroys the wellbeing of the person. The external factors include the work that the person does (Bradshaw, 2016). The work influences the person wellbeing through the earnings that the person get and the work might also cause injury to the person affecting the wellbeing negatively. Another factor is the community where the person lives. The community is supposed to provide a good environment for the person to live in.

The other external factors that affect the wellbeing of a person include family where the person live (Bradshaw, 2016). Ones spends time with family members that influences the wellbeing of the person. The other factor is age where wellbeing of a person's deteriorates as the person grows older. The government influences the wellbeing of a person by coming up with measures to support the people. The external factors keeps on changing and in turn the wellbeing of the person changes.

References

Barfort, S., Harmon, N. A., Hjorth, F., & Olsen, A. L. (2019). Sustaining honesty in public service: The role of selection. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 11(4), 96-123.

Bradshaw, J. (Ed.). (2016). The Well-being of Children in the UK. Policy Press. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article/jonathan-bradshaw-ed-2016-the-wellbeing-of-children-in-the-uk-fourth-edition-bristol-policy-press-2799-pp-448-pbk/0794F2D94D4414D6FC97DC93932B4372

Carter, R. (2019). The human brain book: An illustrated guide to its structure, function, and disorders. Penguin.

Curran, P. (2019). Discover Psychology 2.1a: A Brief Introductory Text for Introductory Psychology. Retrieved 25 April 2020, from https://nobaproject.com/textbooks/paul-curran-new-textbook

Parkinson, B. (2019). Social Referencing in Adults and Children: Extending Social Appraisal Approache...