The_Four_Goals_of_Phsycology

Running head: THE FOUR GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY The Four Goals of Psychology Mary Smith Arizona University PSY 101 11/10/07 The Four Goals of Psychology Using methods of critical thinking to perform evaluations, psychologists can use the four goals of psychology to help or hurt humanity. The four goals are; Describe behavior, Understand behavior, Predict behavior and Control behavior. The first step is to identify or describe the behavior of a person. Is the individual irritable, aggressive, are they a conformist, do they have mood swings, low self-esteem etc.' After the behavior is identified it can then be understood. What experiences made that person behave like that' Is it from childhood or from youth' A psychologist can predict the behaviors of a person in their transition of becoming an adult based on the description of the behaviors and the understanding of them. Predicting behavior can help to determine what might happened to that individual in the future' How is the person affected and how does their behavior change with knowledge' According to the persons experience and how deep it has affected this person, will determine the ease or difficulty that the psychologist will be able to predict the persons behavior. Once this has been discovered the psychologist and the person can work together to control the person’s behavior since at this point there has to be a deeper understanding of why that person behaves in a particular way. Critical thinking is important in psychology as it helps to ensure the ability to evaluate, compare, analyze, critique, and synthesize information. Critical thinking is also valuable in everyday life. (Vaughan, 2009). On the other hand knowing how to manipulate a person or group of people can be used in a negative way. There has been numerous control experiments that have helped terrorists recruit and brainwash and governments reign in the rights of the people. (Answers.com. 2009). The four goals of psychology can be a helpful tool, but also and unfortunately can be manipulated by the wrong people. References Vaughan, R. (2009). PSY 101 Lecture One. Retrieved November 10, 2009 from: http://angel02.gcu.edu/section/default.asp'id=89841 Answers.com. (2009). How does the goals of psychology become unethical'. Retrieved November 10, 2009 from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_the_goals_of_psychology_become_unethical