Understanding Stress: Sources, Responses, and Coping Mechanisms
Stress refers to a physiological or psychological response that the body gives to an external situation. This process involves physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral reactions motivated by a significant imbalance between environmental demands and perceived ability to respond. Today, stress is considered “a transaction between the person and the environment,” or as a situation resulting from the interpretation of events and personal opinion.
Stressful Situation Features
- Novelty: Lack of or change
Psychology: Schools, Theories, and Defense Mechanisms
Current Methods in Psychology
Several schools of thought have shaped the field of psychology:
- Functionalism: Focuses on states of consciousness and introspection.
- Behaviorism: Emphasizes observable behavior and extrospection.
- Psychometrics: Deals with the quantification of psychic phenomena, often using tests.
- Gestalt Psychology: Considers the person-world relationship from a holistic perspective.
- Psychoanalysis: Investigates the unconscious mind, using psychoanalytic techniques.
Freudian Theory of Personality
Freud’
Read MoreConsciousness: Understanding the Mind-Brain Connection
The Metamorphosis of Consciousness
Philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists have long tried to understand the nature of consciousness. The normal state of consciousness involves simply observing how the mind manifests itself. Studying different states of consciousness is to enter into the mystery of the human mind.
The Mind-Brain Problem
The dream of neuropsychologists is to understand what the mind is. Neuroscience investigates the structure and organization of the human brain and mental processes.
Read MoreOperant and Classical Conditioning Explained
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is when a subject performs an activity to get something in return. The subject is more likely to repeat the behaviors reinforced (reinforcement is what is offered to the subject to change the behavior that prompted it). These behaviors are actions on the environment to obtain rewards or eliminate punitive stimuli. In the learning process, results lead to response reinforcement. Primary reinforcers are related to basic needs like food, drink, and sexual satisfaction.
Read More10 Research Designs: Types and Methods
Descriptive Research Design
Descriptive research design focuses on describing existing conditions, behaviors, or characteristics by systematically gathering information. The key defining attribute of this type of research design is that it purely describes the situation. It doesn’t explore potential relationships between different variables or the causes that may underlie those relationships. It is useful for generating insight into a research problem by describing its characteristics.
Correlational
Read MorePiaget’s Theory: Stages of Cognitive Development
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Piaget was devoted to studying the genesis of knowledge, constructing it from a biologist’s perspective. Born in Switzerland, he studied psychology, epistemology, and philosophy. Genesis is the passage from a less complex state to a more balanced and complex one. Emotional and cognitive life are two key aspects of behavior:
- Affective: Referring to emotions, also called energy (the energy needed to function).
- Cognitive: Refers to knowledge, also known as structural