Human Brain and Psychological Functions

April 22nd, 2010

Your brain is huge, but you see only a tiny part of it, which belongs to the human side of your conscience.

This is something that you’ll understand much better when you learn how to translate your dreams according to the scientific method discovered by the psychiatrist Carl Jung. It was simplified by me who was only a writer, but who continued his dangerous research into the unknown region of the human psyche and brain, where craziness is hidden. I did this by following the guidance of the wise unconscious mind that produces our dreams, and works like a doctor and a teacher for our ignorant human conscience, besides protecting us from the anti-conscience, our wild conscience.

The biggest part of the human brain is totally absurd, because it is wild, and it didn’t pass through the process of organization that the human side of our conscience did.

Therefore, it is violent and cruel like all wild animals who kill their pray to survive. This is a sad reality, but it can be changed if we transform the wild part into human, like the tiny side of our brain that we know and we can see. This is possible through dream interpretation.

When you learn how to translate your dreams, you’ll be able to see what exists inside your brain. You’ll learn that you have four psychological functions, but that their functionalism depends on your psychological type.

Your four psychological functions are thoughts, feelings, sensations and intuition. However, only one of them is working completely in the human side of your conscience, while another one is half developed: the function that is not the opposite of your main psychological function, but is similar to it.

Thoughts and feelings don’t fit together because they are totally opposite, but thoughts and intuition do, so your thoughts could be completely developed and your intuition half developed if you belong to a psychological type based on rationalism. Your other two psychological functions however (feelings and sensations), are not working at all in your human conscience. They belong to the wild anti-conscience, which has a functionalism totally independent of the human side of your conscience.

What does it all mean?

It means that you have to develop all your psychological functions and transform the wild side of your brain into human, so that you may be able to use this part of your brain, which is not helping you in any way. On the contrary, it is only provoking you problems and trying to destroy your human side in order to control your behavior.

Your intelligence will be completely developed only when all your psychological functions will be working on your behalf, since they will have human characteristics.

Now, think about how intelligent you are, even though you are basically an idiot who uses less than your half-brain. If you could use the other side of your brain, which is not controlled by you right now, but works independently of your will and against your human side, don’t you think that you could become a genius?

This is true, because you are much more intelligent than you may imagine, but you are not using your intelligence, since it is still in the wild stage, and it needs development in order to be positive, instead of being destructive like now.

Everything depends only on your efforts. I have very much simplified the scientific method of dream interpretation so that everyone learns it without delay, and immediately starts seeing many benefits by having this knowledge.

The unconscious mind that produces dreams teaches you everything you need to learn, curing your psyche with its wisdom, and showing you how to use all your capacities, so that you may develop your intelligence to its fullest.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung’s research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.
Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com

Click Here to download a Free Sample of the eBook Dream Interpretation as a Science (86 pages!).

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Psychological Effects

April 22nd, 2010

As well as a conscious mind, we also have a subconscious mind, which is the one that shows itself sometimes through our speech, manner and general behaviour or reactions in the form of purely psychological effects. These behaviour patterns, which are considered psychologically motivated, originating from our subconscious, are due to childhood experiences, sometimes of a traumatic nature or similar happenings – which we would rather forget – and the conscious mind refuses to remember – are “safely locked in or “stored away”; but in many ways make their “presence felt” through psychologically conditioned reflexes in behaviour patterns and unreal imaginings.

Such behaviour patterns, due to unreal fears, can make themselves felt in the form of: fear of water, venturing outdoors, fear of the unknown and similar phobias – being unreal and unjustified fears and therefore considered “purely psychological” in cause and origin, maybe due to some forgotten, but traumatic experience. Another “purely psychological” reason can be for a young woman, choosing to marry a much older man! If the reason is other than for “his money” it can be due to a father complex ( the dad she missed – and maybe never had – in her childhood). Also a deprivation during early childhood can lead to selfishness, showing in overeating, secret consuming of niceties without sharing, and similar tendencies, in adult life. It also can show as collecting or amassing strange items, thus making up for a childhood defect – the reason once again, most likely, being “purely psychological”.

Even the phenomena of seeing a mirage of a water fountain by someone lost in the desert and dying of thirst, falls into this category. The vision of the fountain being conditioned by the desperate need for water.

The feeling of claustrophobia in crowded rooms or enclosed spaces also classifies as psychological in nature. So can the sudden feeling of nausea or the sensation of being unwell be purely “psychological”. If all these are nothing but the deep seated causes, manifested and therefore fictions of ones own mind, surely one can cure most – if not all of them – by “facing” the feared memory, seeing them realistically, assessing them, and reasoning them out for a better understanding of their true nature and the absence of what causes the fears of the forgotten incident in the first place, and thus simply neutralising their adverse influences, perhaps bringing about a total cure as the fears lose their “terror”. Psychologists usually bring cures about by doing exactly that or through similar procedures.

Many people have “skeletons in the closet” in the form of unpleasant memories; but they need not – and should not – if faced and their true nature realistically assessed, become a “psychological nuisance” or, as in some cases, even a disturbance. As long as they have no serious repercussions other than harmless effects, who cares! We all have our idiosyncrasies in some way or another, most of which we spot in others, but  yet we somehow fail to see in ourselves.

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The Psychology of Death

April 22nd, 2010

On the perception and process of death and the progression of death fear to death feeling

The concept of death is more intriguing than the concept of life and even if we do know what happens in life, we don’t seem to know anything that happens in death. The mysteriousness of death makes it a very interesting topic for psychology and like many other subject areas, this topic has not got enough attention from psychologists.

Freud dealt with this extensively and there has been some very basic research on death. Finally we have to realize that psychology is still a developing and new subject and there are many unexplored areas, including the psychology of death. Although Freud and psychoanalysis has given an extensive death psychology, we have to look at other dimensions and try to associate the philosophy of death with the psychological aspects of dying to reach a comprehensive understanding of the process.

Yes, death is a process, it is the otherness of life and it is not just the beginning and the end of all life forms but also a perception and also a state of existence according to some philosophies. Robert Kastenbaum’s book, ‘The Psychology of Death’ provides an analysis of many major questions and answers about the process of death. But then there are many unanswered questions as well.

Death is very important to us because it is a definite fact of life, we will all die and everyone else around us will also die. This is one fact of life that we can’t deny, we can’t overcome and can’t prevent or stop, it is something that will definitely happen. Yet it is also the most indefinite and strange phenomenon as we can never know when or how we will die and ‘what death really is’. This definiteness and indefiniteness makes it very interesting to psychologists and death can have many dimensions and is characterized by two distinct features – the perception of death and the process of death.

This perception develops in childhood when we try to understand what death is when we see people dying. Children perceive death with more curiosity than fear and see it as something fundamentally different and external as when people around them die, it is characterized by lack of movement, coldness and lifelessness of the material body, cessation of senses and loss or absence of all life. Thus initially we are all motivated by curiosity to know what death is and perception of death as it happens in others is the first step towards understanding it. As we grow up this perception translates to fear about the process of death. When we die we lose not just life but all social attachments and the fear of loneliness finally makes us afraid of it. So death fear is a fear of becoming lonely, of changing from life to lifelessness and of uncertainty.

Thus the perception of death seems to be closely related to the perception of fear and although Freud would say that death instinct is only another manifestation of aggressive instincts and that we all have even an urge to die, the death fear is peculiarly complementary to the urge for death. In other words, we are all afraid of dying and at the same time even have an urge to die. Knowing that all life leads to death, the need to overcome this fear and embrace the reality of dying is the greatest challenge that we face in our lifetime. With human development, this perception is guided by both a fear and the urge so Freud’s death instinct is characterized by fear and an inner emotional challenge to overcome the death fear resulting in almost an urge as in the death instinct.

Psychology will have to differentiate between the perception of death and the process of death and more research will have to be undertaken on the experience itself and ‘what it feels like to be dying’.

This is possible with accounts of near death experiences, effects of brain death and coma and study of some physiological functions that are similar to the experience of dying. This provides an understanding of the ‘process of death’ and the psychological nuances associated with this process. On the other hand the perception of death is about using all the senses to understand the ‘otherness’ of death as it is usually perceived as a change from one self to the other self, from a living being to a lifeless corpse and sensing our own change to a cold lifeless body along with the uncertainty of entering a dark and unknown process called death evokes a natural sense of fear along with the perception of death.

This perception is about using our senses to understand death around us and understand ‘what death is’ from an external perspective. Understanding the process of death itself from a first person internal perspective would in turn mean going beyond the senses to find other ways of experiencing death.

Perception of death could be understood from a developmental perspective and death is seen as a construct in psychology and this death perception seems to vary in childhood, in adolescence and in old age. Traditionally psychologists have associated the perception of death with the reactions of shock, denial, anger, bargaining, grief and acceptance. The shock of learning about death goes into denying that death is real along with anger and then we try to provide justifications while finally accepting the process and this is true irrespective of whether the death is our own impending fate or that of others.

Perception the death of others and foreseeing our own death in the future put us through a period of grief and depression. It is important to provide a child with a realistic appraisal as the child grows up with a certain understanding of dying and this understanding will have to develop a healthy attitude towards death to prevent later complications with death perception that could lead to instances of suicide, murder or mental illness following death of close relatives.

Thus the development of perception of death that begins in childhood when children experience what death is when people around them die, continues through to adolescence and even old age as the way we perceive death tend to change as our own perspectives on life change. As a child, we perceive death as a loss or strangeness when we touch a cold lifeless body and sense it as fundamentally different from a warm living body but the perception becomes more realistic as we grow to the stages of adolescence and adulthood and see our close ones die. Yet this instills a fear that could be overcome with a healthy perception of dying. With unhealthy attitudes towards death such as when it is perceived as an escape from reality or a state of endless suffering, adolescent perception of death is adversely affected so the death instinct may result in suicide (death in self) or enjoying death in others as in murder.

During old age, the impending reality of dying leads to distress and anxiety and when this is accompanied by unrealistic perceptions (death as loneliness or punishment), even serious problems of mental illness and depression could result. The perception of death thus goes through a transition from perceiving the death of others to realizing the death of self. I would consider this as a perceptual change with age in the understanding of death from ‘death of others’ to ‘death of self’ and thus a transition from ‘death fear’ to ‘death feeling’.

Apart from further studies on the perception of death (that evolves to death fear) and the process of death (that evolves to death feeling) the emotions that go into understanding death such as fear, anxiety, uncertainty will have to be studied by psychology in this context. The change in perception of death from childhood through adolescence and old age and how this change relates to attitudes towards life in general are some of the topics that can be studied within this context.

Reflections in Psychology – Part I – by Saberi Roy (2009)
http://www.lulu.com/content/5865445

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The Psychology of Body

April 22nd, 2010

On the personal, social and psychological aspects of the body that define identity, interaction and emotions

The word ‘body’ evokes many images – some of which are sexual and some others are more aesthetic, spiritual or even clinical. We perceive the human body differently and that explains how indifferent or concerned we are about our bodies. For instance, some monks living in the Himalayas sometimes live without clothes and without food and reduce themselves to skeletons. In the same vein some women in fashionable societies may also like to live with minimal clothes and minimal food but of course, the whole purpose in the two cases would be completely different. The monks try to move beyond the body and try to understand their purpose in life through sacrifice whereas the extremely body conscious people are unhealthily bothered about becoming physically attractive. So we see similar behavior can actually have very different goals and it’s funny how different people perceive the body differently.

These days men and women shed clothes and show their bodies for all sorts of reasons – to protest against global warming, to make money, to give away money to charities, to protect the environment and even to sell a car. Philosophers would disagree that the body is really that important, considering it only as an instrument or tool to express the personal/interpersonal identity. However the body is an important aspect of art, culture and society and with so much importance given to the body in modern times, it is necessary to have a psychology of the body.

I will try to construct a psychology of the body considering three aspects -

1. Body Image - This is our perception of the body or personal aspect that provides us with a sense of identity;

2. Body Language - This is the main communicative or social aspect of the body and helps us to interact with others; and

3. Body Awareness - This highlights the mind-body connection or psychological aspect that shows the link between our thoughts and bodily reactions.

The body is thus first and foremost a tool through which we recognize ourselves and others. Our perception of our own bodies or other people’s bodies is directly related to the body image. The body image is the perception of our shape and size and is basically about our physical appearance. The body defines our identity and it is through our body that we project ourselves to the world. So, we are what are bodies are, we have no other identity. It’s almost like we are trapped in one particular body and the body image determines whether we like or dislike the body we are in. A positive body image is necessary for developing self confidence and a sense of inner beauty. A negative body image would mean decreased liking for the body and this is seen for instance in young men and women who may become increasingly concerned about their excess fat or lack of muscles. Men try to develop muscles and women try to reduce their weight according to social perception of beauty which directly affects the body image.However the human body could be perceived from an aesthetic perspective, from an erotic perspective or from a clinical perspective.

The way we perceive our body is related to how we perceive other people’s bodies so our negative body image is largely triggered by our own idea of a perfect body. If an obese girl considers a woman with slim waist as having the perfect body, she will naturally develop a negative body image. The body image thus affects our personal life, our lifestyle and our emotions; it determines our direct relation with the body. Although taking care of the physical appearance should be encouraged, being overtly concerned about the body image could be detrimental to an individual’s well being. Considering the enormous importance given to nudity, cosmetic surgery, perfect figure, beauty contests and such issues in modern times in most urban societies, there are naturally many debates and questions on the body image. Psychologists and sociologist should determine how far men and women can pursue their body interests and whether there should be some limitations to the societal enthusiasm on the body factor.

This of course brings us to the other more important function of the body – the interactive element and the role of the body in communication. The body language is as important as verbal language in communication and the interaction of two people is based largely on non-verbal communication, much of which is through body language. In fact, the body language cues are sometimes even more important than what is said to us through verbal language. If your girlfriend says she loves you, that is verbal communication, but when she shows covert interest in other men as well, that is non verbal communication and you might consider both these modes of communication as equally important in determining whether your girlfriend truly loves you. The body is an important communicative agent – the eyes, the lips, the hands and gestures, postures and movements, determine our thoughts and feelings.

The facial expression is also as important and sometimes we try to understand a person through his facial expression rather than his words. So if a person praises you when you least expect it from him, you might want to determine whether the person is genuine in his praise or simply being sarcastic by examining his facial expression. When the verbal language deceives, the body language gives away the truth and real feelings or intentions. The body is an interface between you and another human being, and the body language is a social aspect of this interface and important part of our social life and daily communication. Turning away your eyes while talking to a person can imply discomfort, and hands on the waist can indicate aggression. Certain body postures could be disrespectful in certain cultures, although there are some universal body postures and gestures that are common across cultures. Body language is thus not just about our sense of identity but about how we maintain this identity and express ourselves through social interaction and communication.

The final part of this discussion is about body awareness and many recent studies on the connection between mind and body have shown how stress related events could affect the physiological mechanisms in the body. Higher blood pressure for instance has been recorded in people who were asked to participate in stressful events, such as dangerous sports or even cultural activities like drama. Developing strong emotional health is about controlling the body with the mind through body awareness. When we are ‘aware’ of the changes within the body due to stress or any emotional change, we are also able to control the mind in a way that our physiological systems are not affected adversely. Thus controlling the mind with the body or the body with the mind through exercise or meditation or other stress reducing/ relaxation techniques could help to maintain a mind-body balance that is absolutely necessary for a healthy life. Although the mind-body connection was known to many cultures in ancient times, this is quite a recent discovery in psychology. In psychology, the mind-body connection has been emphasized in cognitive psychology and health psychology and research initiatives in psychology on the mind-body link are only in the early stages.

The body is an important aspect of our existence, and is almost all that we have to define our existence. It provides us with a sense of identity through personal emphasis on body image and also provides us with social skills and helps us to communicate with others through body language. Yet it is through the psychological and almost spiritual aspect of mind-body connection that we develop body awareness and realize how the body could be used beyond measures of physical attractiveness or social interaction for a wider relation with the mind and even the universe. Finally, being human is not just about being within a body but also about moving beyond the body and its limitations to realize our greater purpose of existence.

Reflections in Psychology – Part I – by Saberi Roy (2009)
http://www.lulu.com/content/5865445

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The Psychology of Children

April 22nd, 2010

On the need to focus on childhood events along with the developmental theories for a comprehensive psychology of children

Child psychology is associated with the social and personal development of children and a child goes through several stages before stepping into the adult world. The psychology of children has been studied from various perspectives including issues of nature and nurture and whether the child is a product of genes and heredity or a product of society and environment as also different developmental stages of sensory discrimination and perception, emotional expression and learning through language and cognitive development, development of intelligence and the socialization process. The study of child sexuality and sexual and moral development are also very important especially from a psychoanalytic viewpoint.

Children are vulnerable and affected easily by all events in the immediate environment. Events which are only trivial or unimportant to adults, may leave deep scars or memories in a child’s mind. A child’s mind is extremely impressionable and changeable and before the child reaches adolescence, certain very insignificant events can have great personal significance in a child’s life. So ‘childhood memories’ and ‘childhood events’ are primary factors in determining adult personality pattern. Some major factors which can affect a child’s later development and have potential long term effects are:

1. Loss or gain of a friend or friends
2. Memorable physical/bodily sensations
3. Separation in the family or divorce of parents
4. Domestic abuse or violence
5. Sexual molestation or abuse
6. Learning experiences either at play or during study
7. Personal experiences/events that evoked strong emotions of fear, joy, sorrow etc.
8. Accidents or illnesses experienced or observed
9. Death of family members, neighbors or close ones
10. Change of residence or relocation
11. Emotional relationships with friends, teachers or family members
12. Personal success or failure in school
13. Influence of films, stories, books or news events
14. War, terrorism, conflicts, bomb attacks etc.
15. Natural calamities like earthquakes, flood, famine etc.

The factors here are very general and every child goes through certain very specific events that affect him or her individually although there are certain very general theories in psychology that have been established through research studies and these theories have highlighted links between success or failure in later life and childhood events. Some of the major theorists of child development are John Bowlby, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg and Lev Vygotsky. Whereas Bowlby emphasized on childhood relationships, Piaget focused on cognitive development of the child through various stages and Freud wrote extensively on sexual development of children. Kohlberg studied moral development of children whereas Vygotsky analyzed the socialization process of children through social contextualism. All these theories on different aspects of child development only prove the immense complexity and the varied number of factors that tend to play a role in the psychological development of children. There are many dimensions to the psychology of children from social, emotional to cognitive, sexual and moral. Here I will provide a brief account of all these different theories and finally provide a comprehensive analysis on how these theories could be used along with the general factors listed above in the study of the psychology of children.

John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist, developed the ‘attachment theory’ in which he emphasized the importance of a mother or primary caregiver in a child’s life. He showed in his study that any infant should develop and maintain a warm and intimate relationship with the mother or mother substitute and all maternal deprivation can lead to serious mental health problems in the child later in life. Bowlby’s theory is very true and a mother should develop a strong physical and emotional intimacy with the child by being physically close to the child at least until the child is 2 years old. Doctors around the world have recommended breast feeding and an important part of this is the physical closeness between the child and the mother which is extremely necessary once the child is out of the mother’s womb. When the child is released from the mother’s womb, the first emotion is fear and the mother’s continued physical closeness instills confidence and a sense of security in the child. Orphaned children or children who are separated from their mothers at birth require a substitute or they can grow up as mentally ill or maladjusted individuals.

Freud on the other hand provided a complete psychosexual theory and emphasized on what many of us don’t like to believe – the sexual pleasure of children. Freud overturned the concept of childhood innocence and suggested that we are born with our unrepressed basic instincts which are slowly tempered with social adaptation. Freud believed that the inherent pleasure seeking desires that we are born with focus on certain erogenous zones of the body and accordingly there are different stages of psychosexual development from oral and anal to phallic, latent and genital stages. In psychosexual development, the child’s pleasure seeking behavior changes from the mouth as in sucking and biting to the anus through toilet training and then finally to the genitals. Thus the child according to psychoanalysis derives complete sexual pleasure by sucking, biting, playing with genitals and releasing waste by defecation. I do not necessarily endorse Freud’s views on the sexual pleasure of children and the pleasure derived from bodily sensations could be explained in other ways as I will discuss in another article.

Jean Piaget, a French-Swiss philosopher established the theory of cognitive development in children and laid out four developmental stages – the sensorimotor period, the pre-operational stage, the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage. The first stage is when the child develops spatial abilities and comes to terms with the world through the senses during the first two years of life. The second stage is about developing and using concepts when children understand meaning of things and this continues until the age of 7. From 7-11 years the child reaches higher cognitive development through concrete operational stage and can sort and classify objects and can use logic to solve problems. The formal operational stage that begins around 12 years of age helps children to understand abstract thoughts, hidden meanings etc. Kohlberg provided a theory of moral development of children through six stages of pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional levels. These are related to concerns for punishment and self interest, as also inner need for conformity and striving for social order, as maintaining universal ethical principles. So moral development seems to move from a belief of ‘what is right and what is wrong’ and whether there is punishment for the wrong to what is universally ethical and acceptable social behavior. Another prominent psychologist Vygotsky highlighted the importance of socialization and interpersonal communication and child development according to this theory is seen as an internalization of social and cultural knowledge.

Of course, all these theories will have to be added up and a complete or comprehensive theory that would provide an insight into the child’s mind and behavior will have components from all these theories. In addition childhood experiences and events which have been highlighted in psychoanalytic theories are also extremely important and not just from a sexual point of view. All the general factors that I have mentioned in the beginning of the essay should be considered as factors that underlie social, sexual, moral, emotional, physical and cognitive development of children. As learning experiences lead to cognitive development, personal emotional experiences lead to later emotional development and maturity. Sexual molestation, abuse or other types of bodily sensations in childhood affect later sexual development and divorce or separation in the family can affect moral development. Thus an individual who has been molested as a child may either develop a fear of sexual activity or may show complete lack of sexual restraint as an adult.

A child who has lived without a father may either become extremely irresponsible or can develop into an adult with a very strong sense of parental responsibility. Experiencing trauma in childhood through death or accidents of family members or living in times of war, natural calamities have deep impact on children and can leave a perennial sense of insecurity or a need for attachment in the children which continues through adulthood and even old age or on the other hand these events can make a child isolated, schizophrenic or simply detached in later life. For healthy life of children it is important to not just depend on psychological theories to understand how a child grows up and perceives the world, but it is also important to focus on events or experiences of the child and use these along with the theories for complete psychological understanding of children.

In contemporary child psychology the focus on events is mainly psychoanalytic and the impact of adverse events is considered especially significant. However it is important that all events, positive and negative are considered and this should then be used to complement psychological theories. To understand the child, it is important to understand the child’s world and memories so an ‘event-based’ psychology of children should be balanced with a ‘theory-based’ psychology of children.

Reflections in Psychology – Part I – by Saberi Roy (2009)
http://www.lulu.com/content/5865445

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The Emerging Science of Positive Psychology

April 22nd, 2010

Traditional Psychology

Since WWII, human sciences such, and particularly psychology, have been concerned mostly with fixing psychological disorders. Let’s call it the abnormal. Because psychology reckoned the greatest contribution it could make was in the field of disorders, it followed the medical model. The clients were called patients.

Knowledge generation was mainly about non-coping people, their issues and how to help them from not-coping to coping/being OK. When a person got to the point where he copes, psychology lost interest, because the ‘mission was successfully completed’.

Knowledge generation was mainly about non-coping people, their issues and how to help them from not-coping to coping/being OK. When a person got to the point where he copes, psychology lost interest, because the ‘mission was successfully completed’.

The dilemma is that majority of people are OK and they do cope. Little proven knowledge existed to assist in getting even better – from being OK to being great.

Emerging Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology then emerged. It aims at Personal Well-being and how to achieve it, i.e. how to get from only being OK to being great.
I see the paradigm shift described in the notion that when a person becomes great, pettiness of symptoms disappear in the background.
Positive psychology is a new science. It got momentum only after 2000. Its official birth was brought about in 1998 Dr Martin Seligman, chairman of the most influential body of psychology, the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA is the engine room of the psychology fraternity worldwide.

One can argue that, since ancient times, philosophers, religious leaders and even contemporary thought about what makes people great. It is true, but now we have science to research these questions for us.
Vive!’s roots are planted in the soil of Positive Psychology focusing on building existing strengths. The focus is definitely not on troubleshooting one’s weaknesses. It aims at releasing positive forces within a person that traditional self-improvement programs have note yet come to grips with. These forces become the vehicle of Vive!’s mental makeovers.
We are privileged to bring to you well-being stuff that has been tested and that can definitely make a positive difference in your life!
What is Personal Well-Being?

Personal Well-being is a collective term referring to a subjective sense of feeling good; experiencing positive emotions. It encompasses a positive perception of oneself, having a positive approach to life, a sense being fulfilled and experiencing that my life has meaning. It focuses on having peace of mind, being content and living authentically.
Personal well-being is the result of effective living where the following powers are unleashed and cultivated:

* The power of purpose and meaning-giving goals,

* The power of hope,

* The power of creativity and authenticity,

* The power of continuous reality negotiation,

* The power of love, compassion and empathy-altruism,

* The power of forgiveness and gratitude,

* The power of operating in one’s Zone of Unique Excellence – ‘Flow’,

* The power of wisdom, morality and ethical living,

* The power of play, humour, fun, laughter,

* The power of meditation and relaxation,

* The power of spirituality.

It is heart-warming to observe the magnitude of research projects booming in the field of positive psychology lately.
Perhaps the term, Positive Psychology, is it is not the best to describe the new science. I trust that, when we get distance and perspective over time, we will give it its proper name.

By Lourens van Wyk

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The Psychology of Business

April 22nd, 2010

On the different aspects of consumer and employee needs that are included within the psychology of business.

The modern world is dominated by global businesses and corporate houses and any large scale enterprise requires a systematic understanding of employee and consumer demands, both material and non-material. The performance of business organizations depends on the performance of employees and the needs and expectations of the consumers, and so the ‘human’ factor is central to the success of any business. In recent years, say from the last part of the 20th century, there have been several changes in our understanding of human nature as it relates to work and performance in organizations and the primary focus in now on communication, leadership skills, and employee satisfaction. All these factors are important in enhancing the overall performance of any business organization.

The psychology of business is thus primarily the psychology of employees and the psychology of consumers and it’s the organization that is responsible for maintaining the balance between consumer demands and employee demands.

The Psychology of Employees - First let us talk about the psychology of employees. Any business house is operated by a number of employees and some of them are part of the higher management and are also considered as partners of business. The major elements that should be part of understanding the psychology of employees would be

1. Communication – Employee communication and understanding of business goals is an integral part of success and it is the duty of the management of an organisation to maintain direct and clear communication procedures through video conferences or seminars and presentations that would clearly state the mission and vision of the company. The communication between management and the other employees is thus a key aspect of employee or personnel psychology

2. Leadership – Any human resource manager or career counselor would focus first on developing leadership skills and leadership is an integral part of business because our inner leadership skills help us to break the mould and do something different and pioneering. Leadership skills in employees are important as team leaders in an organization are required to motivate other employees to attain certain company objectives. Leadership is thus closely related to motivation as a highly motivated individual will also be more likely to show leadership skills

3. Satisfaction – Employee satisfaction is an important aspect of business and we hear of several companies declaring large pay packages and incentives to retain the best talent. Job satisfaction, material satisfaction in terms of salary and bonuses, and social satisfaction with regard to the work ambiance are essential aspects of business and all businesses will have to pay specific attention to employee social, financial and emotional satisfaction. Fulfilling the needs of employees should be the primary focus of companies and this could be in accordance with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in which it has been suggested that financial security, personal safety would be very important to humans followed by emotional need for social contact and connection and then we have esteem needs for social status and reputation.

Employee psychology is thus based on these three major factors or elements of business and all businesses should pay considerable attention to employee communication, leadership and motivation and employee satisfaction as essential aspects of psychology of business that can in turn enhance performance.

The Psychology of Clients/Consumers - Apart from employees, the consumers or customers are an integral aspect of business and the business management or corporate heads will have to understand the needs of customers as well in order to expand their business potential. Consumer psychology is based on several elements and this has a direct relation to whether businesses will thrive in a competitive global environment. Consumer psychology is shaped by the following related factors.

1. Innovation – Consumers are ever curious and eager to buy new products and services and their own expectations and satisfaction tend to drive business innovation. Innovation is the direct result of consumer necessities and any innovative or novel product immediately gets consumer attention. The apple iPod or iPhone attracted consumer attention with the novelty so innovation as it relates to business has a direct impact on consumer psychology.

2. Branding - Brands indicate social status and many individuals prefer to buy branded products as these products promise quality and enhances social prestige. Women spend thousands on Gucci or Chanel products simply they want to be seen with designer clothes, shoes and accessories. Designer brands apart, regular brands for food products let’s say Kellogs or Nestle are company names which are perceived as brands signifying quality. Consumers are not just interested in innovation and innovative products but they are also interested in familiarity and thus innovative products of renowned/familiar brands or companies are the most successful in the market. Psychologically we are seekers of novelty and we are also seekers of familiarity and a certain amount of routine. Thus both these needs have to be balanced in case of consumer expectations and only then businesses can be successful. Brands are synonymous with company reputation and increase consumer confidence.

3. Performance – Company performance in terms of stock market indications, annual reports, projections of company profits improve consumer confidence and in business performance drives performance. Thus if a company’s prospects are bright and company growth is projected, the business halo effect works immediately and further improves business. When employee psychological factors should be considered to enhance company performance, performance in turn is a factor to meet consumer psychological demands. So business performance is a two way process, it is driven by consumer expectations and drives employee contribution.

Thus consumer psychology which is based on demands and expectations for products and services are guided by these following factors of the extent of innovativeness of a company, the brand or reputation of the company and the performance of the business organization. Employee psychology which in turn is also based on demands and expectations of employees highlights the extent to which they have communication facilities and the extent to which employees are motivated or satisfied in their jobs.

Thus the psychology of business has two distinct branches – that which deals with employee interests and that which deals with consumer interests and although these can at times overlap, the elements are distinct and I have tried to differentiate between the key elements of consumer business psychology and employee business psychology. Thus any composite organizational business psychology will consist of both these aspects of employee personal development through human resource management consisting of elements of motivation/leadership, communication and satisfaction; and expansion of consumer base through organisational goal achievements through performance, innovation and branding.

Apart from the elements discussed here, business psychology involves a whole gamut of psychological aspects considering needs of consumers, employees and the organization in general and this is also closely related with advertising, marketing, and business orientation and objectives of a company. In fact business psychology should also include company strategies as basic elements of an organizational psychology as well. Thus business psychology is comprehensive including consumer needs and employee needs and although these needs may encompass organizational needs, a distinct organizational psychology could well be drawn out from this and I will take this up in a latter discussion of this ongoing series in psychology.

Reflections in Psychology – Part I – by Saberi Roy (2009)
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Psychology – A Science As Well As an Art

April 22nd, 2010

Psychology is commonly defined as ‘scientific’ study of human behavior and cognitive processes. Broadly speaking the discussion focuses on the different branches of psychology, and if they are indeed scientific. However, it is integral in this to debate to understand exactly the major features of a science, in order to judge if psychology is in fact one. There must be a definable subject matter – this changed from conscious human thought to human and non-human behavior, then to cognitive processes within psychology’s first eighty years as a separate discipline. Also, a theory construction is important. This represents an attempt to explain observed phenomena, such as Watson’s attempt to account for human and non-human behavior in terms of classical conditioning, and Skinner’s subsequent attempt to do the same with operant conditioning. Any science must have hypotheses, and indeed test them. This involves making specific predictions about behavior under certain specified conditions.

Science is meant to be objective and unbiased. It should be free of values and discover the truths about what it is studying. Positivism is the view that science is objective and a study of what is real. For example, schizophrenia, when diagnosed as being caused due to excess dopamine, is being studied in a scientific manner. The explanation does not take into account any cultural customs or individual differences that might lead to ‘schizophrenic’ behavior. However, even in scientific research like this the person is doing the diagnosing has his or her own views, and may misinterpret behavior because of his or her own subjective biases. For example, if someone talks about hearing voices, they may be referring to a spiritual experience, but a medical practitioner might well diagnose schizophrenia. So objective, value-free study is not easy, because the scientist has views and biases, and cultural or other issues are perhaps important factors. Some say that a truly objective study is not possible, and that a scientific approach to the study of people is not desirable.

Definitions of psychology have changed during its lifetime, largely reflecting the influence and contributions of its major theoretical approaches or orientations. Kline in 1998 argued that the different approaches within the field of psychology should be seen as self-contained disciplines, as well as different facets of the same discipline. He argued that a field of study can only be legitimately considered a science if a majority of its workers subscribe to a common, global perspective or ‘paradigm’. According to Kuhn, a philosopher of science, this means that psychology is ‘pre-paradigmatic’ – it lacks a paradigm, without which it is still in a state of ‘pre-science’. Whether psychology has, or ever had, paradigm is hotly debated. Others believe that psychology has already undergone two revolutions, and is now in a stage of normal science, with cognitive psychology the current paradigm. A third view, which represents a blend of the first two, is that psychology currently, and simultaneously, has a number of paradigms.

With regards to which perspectives are regarded as ‘scientific’, and which are not, the majority lies with ‘scientific’. There are four perspectives that clearly lie under ‘scientific’, the behavioral, cognitive, cognitive-developmental and the physiological. The psychodynamic and humanistic perspectives are argued to be idiographic, in that they look at individual differences, instead of universal laws. The social approach can be seen as an intermediate, as, although it appreciates that there is a strong element of science involved in psychology, for example the treatment of some mental disorders, it focuses on social and environmental factors. For example, the biological perspective is said to be scientific fundamentally because it looks at the biological functioning of every human being and searches for reasons and solutions which can be applied nomothetically. It focuses on biological behavior, which can be empirically tested, and findings generalized. It emphasizes on the importance of the nervous system and the importance of genetics on behavior. These aims are clearly scientific, and the methods used are scientific – empirically measured, hypothesized and nomothetic.

One example of this is the medical approach to mental illness. The biological approach suggests that schizophrenia could be down to several factors, such as genetics or a chemical imbalance. The psychodynamic approach however, as been criticized as being ‘unscientific’. Many of Freud’s theories are not able to be tested, and many of his studies, because empirical measures cannot be applied, remain firmly in theory and cannot be tested, they are difficult to operate – it is impossible to test if the unconscious exists if we are by nature meant to be unaware of it. One could however argue that we cannot prove that it does not exist either. The majority of the approaches suggests that psychology is in fact a science, but within the field of psychology, in order for it to be classified as a science, each of its perspective should be seen as scientific. The humanistic approach, a so-called ‘third-force’ between behaviorism and the psychodynamic approaches, is idiographic, since it studies the individual, and holistic, as it looks at the whole person. A scientific approach for general laws will not capture this active interacting individual, and so the humanistic approach uses methods that are not scientific.

The issue of psychology as a science is cloudy. On one hand, psychology is a science. The subject matter is behavior, including mental aspects of behavior such as memory, and the subject matter is divided up for study. Variables are measured, and carefully controlled to a point. Laboratories are often used in an effort to improve controls – controls are as thorough as possible, so that general laws about behavior can be built.

On the other hand, psychology can be viewed not as a science, as it does not aim at scientific principles to measure the whole world. In many areas of psychology there is no attempt to generalize from some human behavior to all human behavior. The social representation theory focuses on interactions, and the humanistic theory focuses on self-actualization and the individual’s experiences and actions. Where there is focus on interactions between people, and on the individual’s experiences, scientific methods are not useful. Non-scientific methods include case-studies and unstructured interviews. If a method in not scientific, it aims for good validity, in-depth material about someone or a small group, qualitative data and a richness of data that is not found by isolating variables, as in many psychological studies.

Psychology as a separate field of study grew out of several other disciplines, both scientific (such as physiology) and non-scientific (in particular philosophy). For much of its life as an independent discipline, and through what some call revolutions and paradigm shifts, it has taken the natural sciences as its model. Ultimately, whatever a particular science may claim to have discovered about the phenomena it studies, scientific activity remains just one aspect of human behavior. I feel that psychology should be viewed as a science, even if it does not concur with traditional scientific specifications.

Mathew Simond is a journalist and copywriter. He is also a webmaster of many websites including http://www.psychologycolleges.net and http://www.religiousstudiesonline.org He aims to provide healthy information and advice on academic degrees.

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What is Positive Psychology?

April 22nd, 2010

Human psychology is always painted negative and as a study of negative human behavior; basically we perceive psychology as a sign of trouble, and thus attempt to correlate it to such destructive issues like depression, psychosis, unhappiness, mental disorders and mania. Sadly most of the clinical examinations also tend to look at psychology, as something that is a malady and most of the treatment attempts are aimed at treating the disease than stopping them from happening. Thus there is a pressing need for a new, revived way of looking at the old concept of psychology.

Also called “Positive Psychology”, this area is more concerned with the sunnier side of psychology, which is the area of those people, who are happy and move with confidence, wherever they go and whatever they do. Positive psychology may shed more light on why some people behave in such a pleasing manner and how they have developed that trait. Ultimately, this intense study may help us to find a lasting cure for many of our negative psychological conditions and other eccentric behaviors.

Positive Psychology is a new attempt to redefine and readjust the existing disparity or imbalance, to encourage and support psychologists to try and attempt to contribute to positive aspects of human life, not only just perform something about negative things. Being a new branch of psychology, this field is still in its infant stage and is hotly contested for its veracity and advantages, by both detractors and supporters. Some of them tend to neglect this new theory, while others vouch for its authenticity. Many of them never believe in the concept of joy, love, positive talk, optimism and love, while others see a broad daylight in professing the techniques of all good human behavior to cure any psychological malady.

New theories of positive psychology condemns the traditional practice of treating psychological patients as mere numbers or objects, and also the supporters of the new theory disapprove the current methods of approaching a sensitive issue as important as psychology. Many experts who support the positive psychology theory have varied ideas about what actual psychology is and how it can best be researched to solve many perennial problems. However, these experts are united by a view that, normal human beings possess excellent qualities, and that we can still be capable enough to make better choices about what we believe and do, in spite of all those unfortunate events, occurred due to reasons beyond our control or by factors of our genetic disposition.

Positive psychology often relies heavily on the principle of “optimism”, which is a cherished positive parameter of human excellence. There is remarkable evidence that optimistic people are usually happier and highly productive than ultra pessimists. Optimism can also be taught and learned by human beings. According to the new theory, there tends to be a positive flow of things in those people who are highly optimistic and cheerful. This flow is usually not checked in them, in any manner, at any time and thus this set of positive flow causes a person to be tougher mentally and psychologically. Positive psychology and its application may take a while to be universally accepted for clinical practice.

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Humanistic Psychology

April 22nd, 2010

Throughout history many individuals and groups have affirmed the inherent value and dignity of human beings. They have spoken out against ideologies, beliefs and practices, which held people to be merely the means for accomplishing economic and political ends. They have reminded their contemporaries that the purpose of institutions is to serve and advance the freedom and power of their members. In Western civilization we honor the times and places, such as Classical Greece and Europe of the Renaissance, when such affirmations were expressed.

Humanistic Psychology is a contemporary manifestation of that ongoing commitment. Its message is a response to the denigration of the human spirit that has so often been implied in the image of the person drawn by behavioral and social sciences.

Ivan Pavlov’s work with the conditioned reflex had given birth to an academic psychology in the United States led by John Watson, which came to be called “the science of behavior”. Its emphasis on objectivity was reinforced by the success of the powerful methodologies employed in the natural sciences and by the philosophical investigations of the British empiricists, logical positivists and the operationalists, all of who sought to apply the methods and values of the physical sciences to questions of human behavior. Valuable knowledge was achieved in this quest. But if something was gained, something was also lost: The “First Force” systematically excluded the subjective data of consciousness and much information bearing on the complexity of the human personality and its development.

The “Second Force” emerged out of Freudian psychoanalysis and the depth psychologies of Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, Carl Jung, Melanie Klein, Otto Rank, Harry Stack Sullivan and others. These theorists focused on the dynamic unconscious – the depths of the human psyche whose contents, they asserted, must be integrated with those of the conscious mind in order to produce a healthy human personality. The founders of the depth psychologies believed that human behavior is principally determined by what occurs in the unconscious mind. So, where the behaviorists ignored consciousness because they felt that its essential privacy and subjectivity rendered it inaccessible to scientific study, the depth psychologists tended to regard it as the relatively superficial expression of unconscious drives.

“An assumption unusual in psychology today is that the subjective human being has an important value which is basic; that no matter how he may be labeled and evaluated he is a human person first of all, and most deeply.”

Humanistic View of Human Behavior

Humanistic psychology is a value orientation that holds a hopeful, constructive view of human beings and of their substantial capacity to be self-determining. It is guided by a conviction that intentionality and ethical values are strong psychological forces, among the basic determinants of human behavior. This conviction leads to an effort to enhance such distinctly human qualities as choice, creativity, the interaction of the body, mind and spirit, and the capacity to become more aware, free, responsible, life affirming and trustworthy.

Humanistic psychology acknowledges that the mind is strongly influenced by determining forces in society and in the unconscious, and that some of these are negative and destructive. Humanistic psychology nevertheless emphasizes the independent dignity and worth of human beings and their conscious capacity to develop personal competence and self-respect. This value orientation has led to the development of therapies to facilitate personal and interpersonal skills and to enhance the quality of life.

Since there is much difficulty involved in inner growth, humanistic psychologists often stress the importance of courageously learning to take responsibility for one as one confronts personal transitions. The difficulty of encouraging personal growth is matched by the difficulty of developing appropriate institutional and organizational environments in which human beings can flourish. Clearly, societies both help and hinder human growth. Because nourishing environments can make an important contribution to the development of healthy personalities, human needs should be given priority when fashioning social policies. This becomes increasingly critical in a rapidly changing world threatened by such dangers as nuclear war, overpopulation and the breakdown of traditional social structures.

Many humanistic psychologists stress the importance of social change, the challenge of modifying old institutions and inventing new ones able to sustain both human development and organizational efficacy. Thus the humanistic emphasis on individual freedom should be matched by recognition of our interdependence and our responsibilities to one another, to society and culture, and to the future.

Methods of Inquiry

All of these special concerns point toward the need for a more complete knowledge of the quality of human experience. Humanistic psychology is best known as a body of theory and systems of psychotherapy, but it is also an approach to scholarship and research, to inquiry informed by a strong sense of purpose. The purpose is to provide a level of understanding that can promote the power of personal choice and the care and effectiveness of social groups.

Humanistic psychology recognizes that human existence consists of multiple layers of reality: the physical, the organic and the symbolic. In considering these components it advocates the use of a variety of research approaches to study their characteristics and intentions. It contests the idea traditionally held by the behavioral sciences that the only legitimate research method is an experimental test using quantified data. It argues for the use of additional methods specifically designed to study the organic and symbolic realms.
Humanistic psychology is strongly supportive of phenomenological and clinical approaches to the study of the human position in the order of life. It also encourages the discovery of new research approaches which seek to further understand the richness in the depth of human being.

The symbolic dimension of consciousness is of special interest. It is in this realm of our lives-a uniquely human realm– that meaning value, culture, personal decision and responsibility are expressed and manifested. The humanities are thus important resources in humanistic psychology research. Another thing the humanistic approach brings into account is the fact that society’s ideas about what count as legitimate knowledge constitutes a certain kind of power over our lives. The assumption that knowledge is confined to what can be directly perceived and publicly measured leads easily to the conclusion that personal values, meaning and decision lack a larger significance or interpretation. The value-based position taken by humanistic psychology implies a commitment to the use of research approaches that provide access to all characteristics of human existence.

Humanistic Psychology Today

During the 1970s and 80s, the ideas and values of humanistic psychology spread into many areas of society in the United States. As a result humanistic psychology is no longer “Humanistic Psychology”. It is, of course, still represented by the Association for Humanistic Psychology and the Journal of Humanistic Psychology , as well as APA Division 32, the Division of Humanistic Psychology. However, it is also represented in a variety of APA divisions concerned with psychotherapy and issues of social concern. And it is in Transpersonal Psychology (Association for Transpersonal, Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, New Age, East-West, the Consciousness Movement, Noetic Sciences); the Growth Center and Human Potential Movements; the Self-Esteem and Addiction Recovery Movements; Family Therapy, Holistic Health and Hospice, and Organizational Development and Organization Transformation. It is philosophically aligned with the post-modern philosophy of science, constructivist epistemology, structuralism, and deconstructionism. We also could include green politics, deep ecology, the feminist and gay rights movements, and the psycho-spiritual wing of the peace movement. Perhaps this is what Rollo May was pointing to when he suggested that AHP has accomplished the mission for which it was founded. This breadth, depth and diversity is representative of the world we live in and takes into account an integrated and balanced view of human nature and maintaining balance and harmony in the grand scheme of existence.

“As the world’s people demand freedom and self-determination, it is urgent that we learn how diverse communities of empowered individuals, with freedom to construct their own stories and identities, might live together in mutual peace. Perhaps it is not a vain hope that is life in such communities might lead to the advance in human consciousness beyond anything we have yet experienced.”

Mathew Simond is a journalist and copywriter. He is also a webmaster of many websites including http://www.psychologycolleges.net and http://www.religiousstudiesonline.org He aims to provide healthy information and advice on academic degrees.

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