Understanding Human Behavior: Psychology, Biology, Philosophy
Psychology: Exploring the Mind
1. The Psychic Life
Psychology studies individual behavior and responses to reality. Human behavior has both an internal, unobservable dimension (mental life) and an external, observable one (behavioral).
1.1 Nature of the Mind
The term “mind” refers to mental processes and states. The mind provides continuity and identity. Key properties of mental phenomena include:
- Intentionality: Our beliefs, memories, and desires always refer to something; they have content.
- Intimacy:
Understanding Depression: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Normal Sadness vs. Pathological Grief
Normal sadness is proportionate in duration and intensity to the situation, doesn’t affect job performance or intellectual functioning, and maintains a normal somatic presence with a motive.
Pathological grief is disproportionate in duration and intensity, affecting behavior and performance at work, family, and intellectually. It presents altered somatic operation, such as headaches and dizziness.
Depression: Symptom, Syndrome, Disease
Depression is a mood disorder
Read MoreStigma and Favoritism in Intergroup Relations
The Stigma of Favoritism
One of the key issues in intergroup relations is analyzing factors contributing to rejection and hostility.
Mummendey et al.: Positive-Negative Asymmetry
Factors leading to rejection and hostility.
Brewer: Conditions Favoring Rejection
- Difference in behavior directed at ingroup or outgroup.
- Rules and their enforcement.
- Perceived threat from the outgroup; the media’s role.
- Traditional beliefs supporting group disparity.
- Individual differences in prejudice, authoritarianism, or social
Teacher Perspectives and Educational Research Paradigms
The Teachers
Challenges and Perspectives
Teachers often experience guilt and frustration, leading to potential disturbances. Two main types of guilt affect teachers:
Persecutory Guilt: Stems from failing to meet perceived obligations, often pushing teachers to prioritize prescribed content over innovation.
Depression Guilt: Arises from the feeling of inadequacy in meeting students’ needs, often due to limitations in time, patience, or other resources.
These challenges manifest in four specific ways:
Balancing
Understanding Culture: A Deep Dive into Human Behavior
Culture
The study of anthropology, which began in the nineteenth century, is responsible for exploring the science of human cultures.
Definition
Tylor defined culture as “a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morality, law, customs, and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society.” However, not all anthropologists agreed. Mosterín defines culture as the “information transmitted between animals of the same kind through social learning.”
Culture and Instinct in Animals
Animals
Read MoreChild Development in the School Years: Physical, Cognitive, and Emotional Growth
Child Development in the School Years
Physical Development
During the school years, children experience a period of steady physical growth. This is a relatively calm period before the rapid growth spurt of adolescence. Body proportions change, with adjustments in head diameter, waist circumference, and lower leg length relative to overall height. Between the ages of 10 and 11, most children develop the physical skills necessary to participate in activities like tennis, running, climbing, swimming,
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