Psychology and Law: Evolution and Applications
Legal Origins of Psychology
Clinical Psychology (Psychological Assessment)
Terminology
Forensic: Originates in or before the judiciary.
Legal: Considers the judiciary, law, executive branch, prosecutors, prisons, mental hospitals, police stations, etc.
Historical Facts Linking Law and Psychology
1. Ideals of the French Revolution: Permeated the Napoleonic Code (notion of responsibility) and the birth of psychiatry (both in 1810).
2. Protecting Children and Young People: Originates in Roman law, requiring
Read MoreUnderstanding Alexithymia, Motivation, and Human Development
Psychology: Alexithymia
Alexithymia is the inability of individuals to identify and express their emotions verbally.
In 1972, Sifnos coined the term alexithymia to describe these features:
- Difficulty in identifying emotions and feelings
- Difficulty describing emotions and feelings
- Difficulty differentiating feelings of bodily sensations that accompany emotional activity
- Limited capabilities of symbolic thought
- Attention to detail and external events
Ancillary features of alexithymia are:
- A high degree of
Exploring the Mind-Brain Relationship: From Ancient Philosophy to Modern Neuroscience
Philosophy of Mind and Neurophilosophy
The Mind-Brain Problem in Philosophy
The nature of the mind and its relationship to the brain is a central question in philosophy. Throughout history, thinkers have pondered the essence of what makes us human, capable of feeling and thinking – the soul or mind. Various answers have been proposed regarding the connection between soul and body, and how this understanding shapes our view of humanity. Let’s explore some classic authors and their contributions.
Plato
Plato
Read MoreUnderstanding Human Senses and Perception
The Feeling and Psychophysics
The feeling is the stimulation of sensory organs by a stimulus. Perception is the organization, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli from our sense organs and brain.
Psychophysics studies the relationship between the physical nature of sensory stimuli and the responses they evoke.
Sensory Thresholds and Adaptation
The absolute threshold is the minimum amount of physical intensity needed to detect a stimulus.
The theory of signal detection predicts the accuracy
Read MoreUnderstanding Personality, Emotional Disorders, Social Behavior, and Influence
PERSONALITY (ITEM 14)
Personality Components
Temperament: Our biological heritage, the influence of our physical nature, difficult to change, and encoded.
Character: Characteristics acquired during our growth, representing a degree of conformity with social norms.
Personality: A combination of temperament and character into a single structure; a set of psychological characteristics expressed in our actions.
Personality Theories
Theories about the origin, evolution, and changes in personality:
- Psychodynamic
Understanding Mood Disorders: Symptoms and Classifications
Emotional Health Psychology
Emotion: Sudden and acute affections triggered by a perception (internal or external) or representation, with significant somatic correlation (reaction).
Humor or Mood: A type of affection with progressive onset, slower than emotions. It relates to the psychopathological concept of phase, lasting from hours to weeks or months. Its somatic component doesn’t follow a growing pattern but alters functions like sleep, nutrition, and hormone secretions.