Relationships are the foundation of any view of modern culture and society, and as such, theories on relationships become important ideas to examine in the context of social psychology. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a theory of social psychology that explains the human need to feel some degree of autonomy and personal motivation in their daily lives (Baumeister & Bushman, 2011). People are ultimately motivated by either intrinsic or extrinsic forces (Baumeister & Bushman, 2011). Whereas one action ...
As student member of the American Psychological Association, you get the opportunity to join various divisions that pertain to different interests and ideas. Coming from a religion and philosophy background, one of the first divisions that drew my attention was the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. This division called to my inner philosopher almost immediately, and I was ecstatic to discover through their mailing list that Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts was hosting a ...
The Association for Psychological Science’s (APS) Student Caucus division (APSSC) has recently published the latest issue of their Undergraduate Update. Dated for Summer 2011, this issue features seven articles for psychology undergraduates written by current psychology students, including yours truly. Below is an outline of the issue and its subject matter:
An Important Decision You Might Not Know About: Choosing an Undergraduate Mentor by Evan M. Kleiman
False memory formation is a curious and potentially damaging error in memory encoding that seems to be especially more prominent in children. A false memory is a form of retrieval failure, only this failure represents the mistaken recall of some event that has not actually happened (Terry, 2009). In psychological testing, the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure showcased how intrusions of false recall can occur when actual stimuli consist of associated items (Terry, 2009). For example, in ...
As a student member of the Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis (VABA), I was able to attend the annual meeting this year on April 2nd. This was my first time attending a VABA meeting, as well as my first time being on the campus of James Madison University (JMU). VABA is a regional affiliate of the Association for Behavior Analysis: International (ABAI), but the attendees and speakers weren’t limited to only Virginia-based students and ...
Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg contributed greatly to our current understanding of the phases of moral development in childhood and adolescence. Children must achieve concrete and formal operational thinking in order to continue to make advancements in moral development throughout their lives. Delinquency, however, is the oddity amongst this moral development. Why does delinquency occur and what are the consequences of this seemingly lack of moral development?
Summary
What causes the development of moral reasoning ...
The stages of Jean Piaget – although too strictly, and some would say erroneously, associated with specific timetables in infant development – is still perhaps the most comprehensive look at the cognitive development of infant children available to the world of developmental psychology. Piaget’s first two stages (i.e. sensorimotor, preoperational) provide a valid outline and analysis of steps a child makes from outer discovery to internal development.
Modern research has resulted in a better understanding of schizotypal personality disorder, which shines a better light on this often odd ailment that produces people with unique and eccentric thought processes. Schizotypal personality disorder is a Cluster A personality disorder that exhibits patterns of social and interpersonal deficits, as well as cognitive distortions and behavioral eccentricities (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010). Some of the symptoms can include ideas of reference (i.e. belief that conversations and ...
An examination of history has brought with it a record of maltreatment, misunderstandings and horror stories in the study, research and treatment of abnormal behavior. From early cultural groupings to the modern era, those with debilitating mental illnesses have been shunned and mistreated under the guise of science and research for the betterment of humankind. How could this have occurred? What are the possible causes that led to this maltreatment in the first place?
What is the cause of depression? Some would argue that depression is caused by biological means – that it is the result of genetic inheritance. Depression, however, lies in the domain of behaviorism and thought processing. Depression is primarily caused by behavioral-cognitive means with the environment having a substantial impact on the cognitive processes that determine our outlook.
Environmental and situational factors act as stressors causing anxiety in individuals. Those unable to regulate these emotions begin ...
The use of deception in psychological research presents an interesting dilemma for social scientists. Deception, by its very nature, is an act of falsification – being synonymous with words such as dishonesty, deceit and cheating (Bing Dictionary). There is a fundamental philosophical difference, however, between deception as an act and deception as a tool – particularly in regards to psychological study. This paper is meant to show that in psychology, deception is a necessary tool of research ...
Quantum physics has become a gem among sciences for every philosopher, whether contemporary or esoteric. The oddities of quantum physics have bent perceived reality into a new direction formerly only occupied by science fiction. The reasoning developed to explain quantum anomalies has resulted in fact being far stranger than fiction, and many theories have come about that contain astronomical implications.
Quantum suicide and quantum immortality are just such theories.
The Everett Many-Worlds interpretation of quantum ...
