Task_Type__Individual_Project_Psychology

Task Type: Individual Project Deliverable Length: 3 – 4 pages (APA format) Points Possible: 200 Due Date: 7/9/2010 11:59:59 PM CT Psychological information can be found throughout the media: newspapers, radio, magazines, television, and the Internet. The field of psychology encompasses love, memory, stress, persuasion, perception, creativity, learning, personality, intelligence, sexuality, emotion, and many other topics. Briefly define psychology, biological psychology, and explain what makes psychology a science. What topic within psychology is of particular interest to you' Although some perceptual processes are innate or natural, all people do not perceive the world in the same way. Explain sensation and perception. Are we more aware of some sensations than others' Bergin, A. E. (1991). Values and religious issues in psychotherapy and mental health. American Psychologist, 46, 394-403. Do you often see what you expect, want, believe, or need to see' Discuss how psychological and cultural factors such as individual needs, beliefs, emotions, or expectations may influence perception. Include references as needed to support your assignment using APA format. Please submit your assignment. Click on Student Expectations to view the expectations for this assignment. Biological psychology, of biopsychology, is the application of the principles of biology to the study of mental processes and behavior, that is the study of psychology in terms of bodily mechanisms (New world encyclopedia).†Another way to describe biological psychology is the mind-body effect. The focus is on the brain and nervous system for activities such as learning, thinking, feeling, senses and perception (Britannica). There are several areas of study that encompass biological psychology and those include the physical basis of the reception of stimuli from both internal and external sources (Britannica). Some other areas of interest are the psychological basis for motivated behavior, emotion, learning, memory, cognition and mental disorders. In biological psychology, physical events that affect the nervous system are studied. Those physical events or factors include heredity, metabolism, hormones, drug use, disease and diet (Britannica). History of biopsychology Biopsychology dates back to a physician named Avicenna (980-1037 C.E.). Avicenna recognized that physiological psychology could be used in the treatment of ailments that involve emotion. He developed a system for associating changed in the pulse rate with inner feelings and gave explanations for somatic illnesses. His diagnoses always linked the physical with the psychological. His work with the pulse rate paved the way for the word association test which is still used today in the field of psychology. Biological psychology emerged as a scientific discipline later because of the variety of philosophical traditions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The mind-body problem is approached by philosophy as a prominent issue. Dualism arose as a set of views about the relationship between the mind and physical matter. The earliest dualist ideas are reflected in the writings of Plato and Aristotle but the most well known dualist was Rene Descartes. His book, Meditations on First Philosophy, written in 1641 emphasizes the fact that he mind is a non-extended, non-physical substance. He pioneered the idea that the mind was consciousness and self-awareness and separate from the brain. The next question that Descartes answered was how the different aspects of mind and body can be related. He used physical models of the brain to explain animal and human behavior, explaining that the pineal gland acts as a point of contact between the mind and body. He also provided an explanation for his theory that said the pneumatics of bodily fluids explained the reflexes and motor behavior. The basic assumption of the field of biological psychology is the view that psychological processes have biological and physical associations. One of the earliest textbooks in the field, written by William James in 1890, stressed that the scientific study of psychology should be based on an understanding of biology. This book was called The Principles of Psychology. This assertion by James means that the study of psychology should include a certain amount of brain-physiology. William James and his colleagues underwent a considerable amount of training in physiology. The appearance of both psychology and biological psychology as a legitimate science can be traced back to the appearance of physiology from anatomy and in particular neuro-anatomy. Therefore, biological psychology gradually appeared on the scene as an applied branch of psychology based on the mind-body problem. Important Theorists in Biological Psychology The important theorists in biological psychology are Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel, and Konrad Zacharias Lorenz. Charles Darwin described the nature of evolutionary theory. His theory describes how our bodies and behaviors change through the generations. He suggested the theory of Natural Selection where humans and animals alike develop and change based on “the survival of the fittest.†He pioneered the idea that genetics and evolution play a major role in human behavior. Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) performed breeding experiments on common varieties of the pea plant. His theory was one of genetic inheritance and he formulated the laws of inheritance. Konrad Zacharias Lorenz was an Austrian zoologist, animal psychologist, and ornithologist. He studied instinctive behavior in animals and in particular geese. He rediscovered Douglas Spalding’a original theory of imprinting from the nineteenth century. Konrad Zacharias Lorenz shared a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973 for his discoveries in individual and social behavior patterns with two important eethologists, Niko Tinbergen and Kark von Frisch. Relationship between biological psychology and other fields in psychology and neuroscience Biological psychology deals with the exchange of concepts, information and techniques between psychology and the biological sciences. Humans serve as the subjects in experiments in biological psychology but much of the research is conducted using non-human species such as rats, mice and monkeys. Because rats, mice and monkeys are used in experiments a crucial assumption is that biological and behavioral similarities are shared regardless of the species. This assumption allows biological psychology to be closely related with comparative psychology, evolutionary psychology and evolutionary biology. Biological psychology has classic and practical similarities to neuropsychology. It is because both branches rely heavily on the study of behavior in humans with nervous system dysfunctions. Biological psychologists are interested in measuring biological variables. Those variables include anatomical, physiological, and/or genetic variables. They measure these variables in an attempt to quantitatively and qualitatively relate to a psychological or behavioral variable. Therefore, their evidence is based on practice. Underlying assumptions in biopsychology One major assumption is that mental events lead to biological consequences where as biological events lead to mental consequences. Therefore, both biological and mental processes are closely related to one another and cannot be viewed separately. Some examples of the interrelation of mental and biological processes are: a brain tumor leading to mental retardation, alternative therapies used to help an individual suffering from terminal cancer, Inherited neurological disorders, hormones, neurotransmitters, genes, and the environment. These all have a role to play in determining an individuals behavior and therefore both biological and psychological characteristics of human beings need to be considered in the treatement of physical and biological or psychological ailments. References (2007). Biological Psychology. New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved (14, September 09) from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Biological_psychology Biological Psychology. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: