The job of a Psychologist is to describe, explain, predict, and possibly change behavior.  Toward this end, different psychological perspectives have emerged in order to explain behavior.  These include the neuroscience, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic perspectives.  Describe three (3) of these perspectives and illustrate each perspective by using an example from everyday life.  Which perspective do you think has […]

Annotated Bibliography Assignment Topic Selection The first step is to select the topic that you will be researching this entire term. This Thinking assignment is tied directly to your Term Paper. NOTE: Books and Websites of any kind are not allowed for this class.  schizophrenia spectrum disorder  bipolar I disorder  Bipolar II disorder  major depressive disorder […]

It’s a movie that is continuously projected in my head. I can’t turn it off. Never could. —Bill Williams, World War II Veteran, Age 92 (personal communication, 2014) As much as serving in the military can become part of one’s identity, experiences from combat duty can leave lasting impressions and potentially damage one physically, emotionally, and psychologically. When working with […]

Assignment: Reflecting on How Your Personality Evolved “Know thyself.” This simple but profound advice is famously attributed to Socrates, the Ancient Greek philosopher. Socrates may have been referring to something deeper than personality alone, but understanding the roots of your patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving is a vital component of comprehending who you are as an individual. As you […]

Week 2: Psychoanalytic Theories Without reading ahead, do a quick self-check. When you think about the field of psychology, who is the first theorist that comes to mind? If you said Sigmund Freud, you are surely not alone. Freud, the father of the psychoanalytic theory of personality, is one of the most well-known psychologists in history. In fact, his influence […]

Assignment: Steve and Sigmund Freud Personality theories are not meant to be simply studied—they are developed to help understand people. Your work in this course is designed to give you opportunities to apply theories and consider their effectiveness. That work begins with this Assignment and a guy named Steve. The case study of Steve from the Week 2 Learning Resources […]

A comparison of normal and abnormal behavior, drawing from your original definition of abnormal behavior and from the definitions put forth in the Learning Resources. Include any challenges you might see in using these definitions to guide the assessment of your clients. Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references from the Learning Resources.

Describe one subspecialty that interests you and identify several of the job opportunities available in this subspecialty. Explain which job within this subspecialty appeals to you and why.

Question Discussion: Does Psychotherapy Have a Biological Basis? Many studies have found that psychotherapy is as effective as psychopharmacology in terms of influencing changes in behaviors, symptoms of anxiety, and changes in mental state. Changes influenced by psychopharmacology can be explained by the biological basis of treatments. But how does psychotherapy achieve these changes? Does psychotherapy share common neuronal pathways […]