Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Psychology and Sociology

Homeless Individuals: Definition and Characteristics

Homeless individuals are defined as isolated persons with minimal economic resources and work stoppage. They lack stable housing, have broken family ties, rely on social institutions for survival, and possess no personal resources to cope with their situation. Two key states characterize their condition:

1. Economic Deprivation: Places them at the lowest level of poverty, with begging as their primary income source. They often experience health deficiencies, including malnutrition and poor hygiene.
2. Relational Uprooting: Results in permanent unsociability, marked by an absence of friendships and only transient contacts focused on obtaining care.

Typologies of Homeless Individuals

The following typologies... Continue reading "Typology of Homeless Individuals" »

Elicited Behaviors and Reflexes

Types of Stimuli

Eliciting Stimuli: These stimuli trigger reflex responses or respondents (e.g., a puncture).

Reinforcing Stimuli: Environmental consequences that follow responses, increasing their frequency (e.g., a child repeating a word for attention).

Discriminative Stimuli: Stimuli that accompany responses without producing them, signaling when it's appropriate to respond (e.g., light).

Neutral Stimuli: Stimuli that have no effect on a particular behavior.

Types of Responses

Respondent Behaviors: Reactions triggered by eliciting stimuli. Automatic reactions.

Operant or Instrumental Responses: Responses emitted spontaneously by organisms, modified by environmental consequences.

Instinctive Behavior

Also called fixed... Continue reading "Understanding Elicited Behaviors and Reflexes in Psychology" »

Basic Components of Development

• Affective Development: The capacity for emotion, controlling emotions, feelings, and passions.
• Cognitive Development: The evolution experienced by a person in notional components, intellect, and personality.
• Social Development: The process by which a person, from childhood, will cultivate skills and knowledge that will make them an active and mature member of their society.
• Moral Development: Achieving their own personal behavior, responsive to values, norms, rules, and customs accepted by the social environment in which the person grows.
• Motor Development: Development that examines changes in human motor skills from birth to old age, the factors involved in these changes, and their relation to other areas of

What is Reason?

Reason is the human capacity that allows us to understand ourselves and the world around us. It enables us to express this knowledge through language. Our language is primarily auditory, relying on our sense of hearing. However, reason depends on other capacities:

• Senses
• Memory
• Imagination
• Will

Emotions and Feelings

Every human being is an individual unit. All we know of reality is perceived through sentient intelligence and emotional affect. Through mutual recognition, we realize our participation in the world of intersubjectivity. True dialogue requires cordial reason.

Emotions: Our capacity to connect with others and integrate them into our lives generates feelings and emotions. These are generally pleasant, but can sometimes be... Continue reading "Understanding Human Reason and Emotions" »

Individual and Society: Tensions and Harmony

Tensions in the Individual-Society Relationship

Rejection

When the majority social group does not accept or recognize certain individuals as full members, it often leads to actions considered deviant from societal norms. Factors motivating social rejection include religious, cultural, and racial differences.

Self-Exclusion

The opposite of social rejection is self-exclusion. This tension arises when an individual does not identify with the community's parameters, feels dissatisfied with their surroundings, and ignores cultural norms. This can stem from incomplete family socialization, severe childhood trauma, or an abrupt societal change.

Marginalization

Resulting from social rejection and self-exclusion,... Continue reading "Individual and Society: Tensions, Harmony, and Human Behavior" »

Current Theories of the Century

Psychoneurological Theory:

This theory proposes studying cognitive processes and brain activity through sophisticated technologies, such as scanners and electroencephalograms. Its proponents are reductionists. The goal of this theory is to explain intelligence in scientific terms. Behind every thought, there is a biological correspondence, and this thought can be observed through science. Every intelligent behavior seeks to understand how intelligence manifests as a thought.

Information Processing Theory:

This theory uses information technology to explain how intelligence is produced. It suggests that we process information like a computer: we receive information, process it, and generate a response. It draws comparisons... Continue reading "Current Theories of the Century: Understanding Intelligence" »

Understanding Intelligence

Intelligence, as described in cognitive perceptual learning, suggests that our behavior is increasingly sophisticated. It explains a part of everything. This perspective posits that it's not always necessary to present stimuli for intelligence to develop. Intelligence involves manipulating symbols abstractly. This is evident in science, technology, art, philosophy, and poetry.

Prominent definitions of intelligence include the work of Alfred Binet, which explains a person's IQ. IQ, calculated by dividing mental age by chronological age and multiplying by 100, doesn't fully represent intelligence. Wilhelm Stern and David Wechsler offered similar definitions, emphasizing intelligence as the operational capability to address... Continue reading "Understanding Intelligence: Cognitive Abilities and Beyond" »

Heredity and Environment

Individuals who do not conform to societal rules face sanctions. This document explores offender classifications and the psychological theories behind criminal behavior.

Classification of Offenders

Characterologic Types

Defined Offenders

• Mentally Ill
• Alcoholics
• Substance Abusers
• Feeble-minded

Undefined Offenders

• Casual
• Circumstantial

Biological Types - Inheritance

• Predominant Constitution (Anthropology)
• Influence of Surroundings

Psychiatry

Sigmund Freud, the Viennese founder of psychoanalysis, explored the human mind. He divided the mind into three areas:

• The Unconscious: Stores traumas, negative experiences, and parental influences.
• The Subconscious: Governs daily life and work, modulated by education.
• The Conscious: Handles everyday

The Pervasiveness of Interviews in Modern Society

Interviews have become deeply ingrained in our society, shaping how we gather information, conduct research, and interact with the world around us. From political polling to market research, educational assessments to healthcare consultations, interviews play a crucial role in understanding individuals' perspectives, experiences, and knowledge. Even the media utilizes interviews extensively, contributing to their widespread presence in popular culture.

The Qualitative Interview in Social Research

Within social research, the qualitative interview holds a prominent position, employed by both positivist (quantitative) and interpretive (qualitative) researchers. While their specific objectives may... Continue reading "Qualitative Interviews: A Deep Dive" »

1 Motor Skills Research

Basic motor skills consolidate, refine, and apply to various motor learning processes. This improves motor tasks, yielding strength, speed, endurance, agility, balance, and coordination. Maturity and effectiveness are seen in inception tasks, breaks, reception, beating, and kicking.

• These are distinct factors of physical fitness.
• Differences between boys and girls are increasingly less apparent.
• Improvement in perceptual-cognitive mechanisms (reaction time, decision making, attention, perception, etc.) is observed.
• Differences found between sexes are often due to socialization and expectations, but the potential for motor learning is equal for both sexes.
• Physical qualities evolve as a result of biological factors and training.