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 Child Emotional & Social Development

Separation Anxiety: Meaning, Age, and Explanatory Factors

Separation anxiety is a form of phobic reaction, classified as a separation anxiety disorder, characterized by emotions such as fear, insecurity, or apprehension. This anxiety arises from separation from parental figures or primary caregivers.

Typically, separation anxiety from a caregiver appears between 8 and 14 months of age. During this period, the child's emotional responses, including anger, increase in speed, intensity, and persistence.

The Meaning of "Self": Manifestation in Children and Consequences

Self-awareness involves recognizing one's own moods, resources, and intuitions. It means understanding our emotions, how they affect... Continue reading "Child Development: Emotions, Self-Awareness, and Attachment" »

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" »

Understanding Manipulation & Influence

What is Manipulation?

Manipulation is an indirect form of social influence where one person affects another, aiming to change their belief, attitude, emotion, or behavior.

Defining Power

Power is the capacity to affect or influence the behavior of others.

Types of Manipulators and Their Victims

The Dictator

The Dictator is the manipulator par excellence. They dominate, order, cite arguments from authority, and use any means to subjugate their victims.

The Submissive (or "Little Thing")

The Submissive knows very well how to behave with the dictator: they exaggerate their susceptibility, forget things, listen, and remain silent.

The Calculator

The Calculator aims to control everything. They lie, hide data, and... Continue reading "Workplace Dynamics: Influence, Stress, and Burnout" »

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

Philosophical Theories in Social Work Practice

Functionalism: Objectivity and System Balance

Functionalism asserts the existence of objectivity and a natural balance within systems. Within a set of elements, each serves a specific function. When an element fails, it is considered a pathology and requires correction.

Within this framework, social work is largely dominated by empiricism. This demands an objective and consistent interpretation of data. Furthermore, context and subjectivity are often rejected. The social worker, in this view, is subject to a central authority, focusing directly on problems and resolving them one by one as they arise. Consequently, the perception of context and user needs are often not taken into account.

Marxism: Conflict,

Uniqueness and Giftedness: Bidirectional Concepts

Uniqueness is a term used to describe the characteristics of individuals who show high intellectual ability, as well as those with low capacity. Characteristics of uniqueness include:

• Low Frequency: It appears with low frequency. This includes a small number of defects in relation to the norm; similarly, the frequency of gifted and talented individuals is low within the normal population.
• Difference from the Norm: Exceptional individuals generally possess specific characteristics that differ from those of the normal population. These differences are of two types: quantitative (more or less frequent in their productions) and qualitative (distinct intellectual patterns, more or less elaborate products)

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