Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Psychology and Sociology

Human Needs Hierarchy

The hierarchy of human needs dictates that once needs at one level are satisfied, new needs and desires at a higher level emerge. These levels are:

1. Physiological Needs: Essential for survival and health.
2. Safety and Security: Reinsurance, protection, love, and stability.
3. Emotional Relationships: Membership and belonging.
4. Esteem: Self-help and the pursuit of exceeding performance.

Psychology's Purpose and Ethics

Psychology has human purposes and objectives, such as social welfare and quality of life. The profession is governed by a code of ethics designed to serve as a pattern of professional conduct. Psychologists respect and promote integrity in science.

Criminology and Forensic Psychology

Gross Hans's criminology suggests that... Continue reading "Human Needs Hierarchy, Psychology, and Disaster Levels" »

Understanding Innate Behaviors

Innate behaviors are fixed patterns to complex vital actions, which appeared during the formation or genesis of a species. The distinctive characteristics of these behaviors are:

1. Specific to the species.
2. Highly stereotyped.
3. Once initiated, they proceed to completion.
4. Not significantly learned.
5. Resistant to change.
6. Triggered by a specific stimulus.

Habituation and Sensitization: Non-Associative Learning

Although innate reflexes are unconditioned, they can serve as a basis for learning new reflexes. Learned patterns, however, cannot be fixed or conditioned. Habituation and sensitization are mechanisms that allow organisms to change their structures and functions through interaction with the environment. Habituation (H) and... Continue reading "Understanding Innate Behaviors, Learning, and Memory" »

Consciousness is a central fact of human existence, because without it, all other aspects of our life (perception, thought, emotion, etc.) are meaningless.

Characteristics of Consciousness

• Involves short-term memory.
• Is independent of sensory inputs (e.g., fantasizing).
• Requires focused attention.
• Has the ability to process alternative interpretations of complex or ambiguous data.
• Disappears and reappears during sleep (deep sleep to dreaming), at least in a changed or disjointed way.

Methods to Investigate Consciousness

• Observing and measuring the actions of an experimental subject, collecting reports of internal experience (e.g., heart rate, breathing, overall brain electrical activity).
• Investigating patients with brain injuries.

Waking vs. Dreaming

Understanding Awareness and Consciousness

Awareness Defined

Awareness is the subjective experience of self-knowledge and reality. It is formed by experiences of the external world and internal mental and emotional experiences.

Altered States of Consciousness

Altered states of consciousness are natural and artificial events that modify our subjective experience. Consequences include:

• Abnormal thinking
• Loss of sense of time
• Loss of control
• Changes in the expression of emotions
• Perceptual disturbances and changes in body image
• Changes in meaning or significance
• Increased suggestibility

The Realm of Sleep and Dreams

The Nature of Dreams

A dream is a state of consciousness occurring during sleep. It is characterized by the individual typically adopting a particular... Continue reading "Consciousness, Sleep, and Learning Mechanisms Explained" »

Profile: Graphic Depictions

A profile provides graphic depictions of the results from a battery of tests or different individual tests.

Control List: Developmental Milestones

A control list refers to a set of tasks or minimal evidence of development expected at a given age.

Evaluating Motor Development

Why Evaluate Motor Development?

Motor development evaluation serves several key purposes:

• Determines an individual's current motor situation and tracks its evolution over time.
• Helps understand the processes that influence an individual's motor responses and how to intervene effectively.
• Enables the determination of appropriate interventions and provides feedback on the effectiveness of pedagogical actions.
• Assists individuals in understanding and diagnosing

What is Personality?

Personality is a combination of temperament and character in a single structure. It consists of a set of psychological characteristics that express themselves in all our actions.

• Temperament is our biological heritage, representing the influence of our encoded physical nature.
• Character refers to acquired characteristics developed through our growth and represents a degree of conformity with social norms.

Key Characteristics of Personality

1. It is not a physical entity.
2. It is the usual behavior of a person.
3. It is produced by the interaction of genetic inheritance, the environment, learning, and personal experience.
4. It develops and changes throughout life.
5. It is individual, social, and cultural.
6. Personal autonomy is the ability of individuals

Phillips 6/6

Obtain a group's ideas on a subject quickly. Understand group concerns. Survey group knowledge on a topic. Summarize, sort, and link ideas.

Whisperer

Review or consolidate previously supplied reports. Designate the topic at hand.

Seminary

Achieve findings and assess any type. Coordinate and actively participate. Cabinet: Concrete conclusions and immediate problem-solving. Make decisions based on facts. Organize groups. Oblige participants to research and document. Start studying a topic or delve into it. Designate a "president" of the table.

Risk

Reduce or eliminate collective fears or risks from certain situations. Guide the group to see the situation calmly.

Rumor

Demonstrate how information is distorted from particular interpretations.... Continue reading "Collaborative Techniques for Group Work" »

Understanding Human Perception

• Perception is an elementary form of psychic behavior, basic to the development of human personality. Perception is, therefore, not a simple mechanical reaction.
• The perception of man always expresses something of oneself (the same thing happens with sight or speech).

Subjectivity and Influences on Perception

• Perception depends not only on external stimuli but also on psycho-social circumstances. As the act of perception involves several subjective factors, the characteristics of perception also depend on social conditions.
• What we perceive is interpreted conceptually in logical or symbolic categories, or values. That is, between the perceived object and our perception, a system of thought emerges that, like a set of

Autism in Kindergarten: Communicating Concerns

Role of the Educator/Guardian

Communicating concerns about a child potentially on the autism spectrum requires great sensitivity. It is often better to initially discuss observations in terms of a communication or developmental difference rather than using specific diagnostic labels like PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), especially before a formal diagnosis. School psychologists or other psychological care professionals can significantly assist the educator or guardian in communicating these observations to parents. The school should be prepared to provide access to a professional team that can support the child immediately.

Developing Educational Programs for Autism

Developing an educational... Continue reading "Autism in Kindergarten: Identification & Support" »

Sociology: Key Concepts and Social Dynamics

Sociology is the science that studies, describes, and analyzes the processes of life in society. Its object of study is human beings and their social relations within human societies.

Objectives of Sociology

• To acquire an overview of all topics related to this discipline.
• To facilitate the student's analysis of the social dimensions of education.
• Understanding of society.
• Familiarization of students with the method of sociological social processes.
• Knowledge of how social influences operate in the classroom.
• Formation of a critical attitude towards the social influences of education.

Key Sociological Concepts

The Family as an Institution: Area of identity, sexuality area, economic area, and ego-strengthening... Continue reading "Understanding Sociology: Key Concepts and Social Dynamics" »