Introduction
Psychology is a scientific discipline that studies individuals’ minds and behavior, including other fields such as human development, health, cognitive process, and social behavior. It is believed to have existed in ancient Greece and Egypt and has been associated with philosophy but became an independent entity later. Psychology is a broad field for researchers as discoveries are being uncovered by researchers occasionally. In modern society, psychology has been used to protect people from physical and emotional harm while providing them with appropriate mental bandwidth to handle situations they may come across. Knowing that psychology is a broad field, we will look at it from different perspectives for better understanding.
State of Consciousness
Psychologically, consciousness can be described as being aware of bodily sensations, self, environment, and thoughts. Consciousness is a highly complex field that many researchers have failed to analyze thoroughly. One of the researchers, Sigmund Freud, tried to cover the discipline by claiming that even when we are conscious, there are plenty of things outside the realm of our awareness (Schmidt, and Berkemeyer, 2018). While opposing the concept of consciousness, he introduced the subconscious branch, which proposed that some of our memories and motivations can be accessed by the conscious mind. Upon thorough understanding of the topic, one can ascertain that the subject is a complicated one with unanswered questions.
There are different levels of awareness which include low and high attention. These levels can be better explained as when one is drowsy, and one will experience low cognizance levels. When one is exposed to different stimulants, they experience high levels of awareness. When one is exposed to low awareness, the brain can process the signals it receives from various impulses. This can be better described when a person is asleep but instinctively pull the blanket when they feel cold. In a way, they are not actively thinking, but the mind perceived signals the body is experiencing cold conditions. People that experience high awareness have better control of their thoughts can focus on every detail while analyzing details. For one to reach such levels of consciousness, meditation can be of help in learning how to control their thoughts. Several factors can hinder an individual from attaining or alter consciousness. They include body clocks such as sleeping and eating time, dreams, drugs, and hypnosis.
Thinking: Memory, Cognition, and Language
Psychology is a broad subject that is divided into various branches. Cognitive psychology revolves around the study of internal mental processes. These are the actions that include perception, memory, thinking, language, and problem-solving. Cognitive research can help one cope with memory disorders, make decision-making accurate, treat learning disorders, and help people recover from brain injuries (Filipović, 2018). Psychologists need to learn more about how the human brain work, and for this to happen, they will have to understand how people think and understand information. Additionally, through cognitive psychology, one comprehends how people to store, perceive, form, and recall memories. Researchers have found out that while short memory is limited to short period storing of limited information, acquiring rehearsal strategies can help the remembrance extend the data to long-term memory.
The cognitive psychologist is tasked with helping individuals with language development problems. They understand that these problems can hinder development while one is young and is caused by failure to understand phonetics or a mental process problem. Psychologists have described learning as a permanent change in the behavior of a person due to acquired experience. On many occasions, people develop language at young ages while taking longer to obtain cognition. While understanding language, one has to know some concepts of psychology. This is because language is created in the mind, and when uttered, the words return to the mind when understood.
Psychology motivation and emotion
Motivation can be described as the driving factor towards achieving a certain goal while directing behavior. Theorists believe that incentives have to be reinforced for learned behavior to be executed; hence motivation is vital in performing certain kinds of conduct. Altering the type of enticement reflects the sort of comportment on an individual. Emotion is a conscious subjective activity characterized by biological reactions, mental states, and psychological expressions. Every individual has emotions, and one can decide to suppress or express theirs depending on the situation. Emotions are often mistaken with mood and affect as attitudes are associated with the excitement present, but the mood lasts for a short time. Affect shows how a person expresses the emotion they are experiencing at the moment.
Psychologists have tried to show the relationship between emotional motivation, claiming both arise from certain behavior activation. Additionally, emotions possess a motivating factor that helps an individual endure or perform tasks to achieve better results. Others claim a certain outcome that causes emotion can be a reward or punishment for motivated behavior. Motivations are often referred to as drives individuals towards a specific characteristic when the body is out of control concerning certain effects.
Motivation can be conceptualized as behavioral responses that help us reduce the drives to attain set goals by assessing the current state with the desired one. When the goal is achieved, the motivating factor is turned off, and the body keeps checking future needs. Several psychologists have ventured into a search for theories on emotions and how they influence our physical and mental health. This paper will help individuals understand the role emotions and motivations play in their life daily. Keeping one’s sentiments in check will help a person overcome barriers effectively, and with proper incentives, people will live their lives prospering. On many occasions, emotions are hard to predict, making the person seem weak to others. Depending on how one is brought up, one can learn to control their reactions from past experiences or childhood environments. Not all persons can control sentiments; in some situations, they cannot regulate them depending on the motivation.
Psychological disorders
Psychological disorders can also be referred to as mental abnormalities caused by persistent behavior patterns that affect individuals’ daily routines. Many of these conditions have been classified and identified including, personality, psychotic, sexual, and eating disorders. These problems are the root cause of well-known illnesses like schizophrenia, anorexia, mood disorders, and sexual dysfunction (Antony and Barlow, 2020). Several mental difficulties can affect a single individual making it hard for them to interact normally with society. Their main causes are not recognized, but recently, psychologists have started researching the matter. They claim the contributing factors may comprise childhood experiences, chemical imbalances in the brain, illnesses, heredity, or stress.
Some of these physiological disorders are gender-based, as others affect women mainly, such as depression and borderline personality. At the same time, substance abuse and intermittent explosive condition are more eminent in men. Yet still, others affect both genders, like schizophrenia and bipolar syndrome. When one experiences the disorders for a long time, a psychological evaluation is important, followed by a diagnosis to curb the effect before it is uncontrollable. Treatment in many instances does not involve medicine but is dependent on skill development and therapies to assist in skill development. If the treatment is successful, there are signs of improvement, but it is not guaranteed as relapses can occur afterward. When they are ignored, the problems can cause severe complications such as violent behaviors, suicide, drug overdose, and work issues.
If these disorders are left untreated, they can cause life-threatening conditions, while some can be conditions that long-term ending when one dies. It is advised if one experiences indicators of such disorders, medical or psychological assistance should be sought. Common symptoms may involve alteration in energy levels, anxiety, erratic behavior, mood changes, agitation and thought process disturbances. Family and friends should not be discriminated against due to their condition as they will feel guilty and abandoned, leading to more severe actions that can lead to death.
Risk factors associated with such conditions include low birth weight, abuse or neglect as a child, substance abuse, prenatal exposures, and childhood problems with temperament. Common treatments advocated by researchers involve antianxiety and antidepressant medications, group or family therapy, hospitalization for adverse conditions, among others. The affected individual can improve their condition by observing the psychologist’s guidelines, including getting enough sleep, regular exercise, avoiding drug abuse, and taking medications as prescribed.
Social psychology
Social psychology can be defined as the study of how people influence others’ feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. It focuses on three central pillars, which include thinking, influence and behavior. This study was developed to understand how the German leader, Adolf Hitler, influenced his followers during the Second World War to be obedient and possess unbearable behaviors (Anderson, 2019). The studies tried to comprehend how people in power could influence social groups and the importance of orthodox pressure to create dominance.
Social psychology depends on the people around when one decides to decide; that is why people behave differently when a particular group of people surrounds them, whether it be friends, family, or workmates. The way one would react around colleagues is different from how they would when the supervisors are present. This psychology branch encompasses various social aspects, including leadership, conformity, social perception, prejudice, and group behavior.
Psychologists try to understand how socialization affects individual behavior and the way a person thinks others view them. With this in mind, our decisions and actions are affected by the surroundings. People around us change our view of thinking, acting, moods, feelings, and perceptions to various things. The research is focused on academic discipline, but there is a powerful influence in understanding mental well-being and health on a closer look. Social psychology is determined by society’s health and welfare and that of an individual while searching for ways to achieve wellness. Moreover, it focuses on how eminent community problems, such as aggression, bullying, public health, crime, and domestic prejudice, can be averted. Social psychologists are vital in this field since their research affects how mental health professionals tackle actions influenced by social traits.
In conclusion, psychology is a vital discipline in understanding the human psychological needs and how they can be met. The article tries to explain how different concepts are related to achieving the same goal: mental wellness. Various studies have attempted to explain human thinking and cognitive abilities but have failed, while psychology studies have achieved enormously in making individuals conceptualize the discipline. It has taught us that negligence should be avoided to people suffering mentally as they are unconscious of their deeds and so much.
References
Antony, M. M., & Barlow, D. H. (Eds.). (2020). Handbook of assessment and treatment planning for psychological disorders. Guilford Publications.
Schmidt, T. T., & Berkemeyer, H. (2018). The altered states database: Psychometric data of altered states of consciousness. Frontiers in psychology, 9. Web.
Filipović, L. (2018). Speaking in a second language but thinking in the first language: Language-specific effects on memory for causation events in English and Spanish. International Journal of Bilingualism, 22(2), 180-198. Web.
Koloski, N., Holtmann, G., & Talley, N. J. (2020). Is there a causal link between psychological disorders and functional gastrointestinal disorders? Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 14(11), 1047-1059. Web.
Anderson, C. A., Allen, J. J., Plante, C., Quigley-McBride, A., Lovett, A., & Rokkum, J. N. (2019). The MTurkification of social and personality psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(6), 842-850. Web.