Psychology

If today would be 05 December 5, 2009 I would be thinking of completing my education, getting a job, finding a beautiful and caring girl and finally settle down with her. I would spend my day and night for my wife and my children to earn bread for them and to make them happy. In the period around 1950’s, a typical family consisted of a wife and a husband having two or three children. The husband would go for work and earning and wife’s duty was to look after children and their nourishment. These views have completely altered in today’s lifestyle. Today children live with divorced parents. Unwed mothers adopt kids and the concept of parenthood has converted. The concept of nuclear family is to some extent finished. The legalized system of homosexual marriages has changed the old phenomenon of family and marriage. This difference is the result of economic engagement of females in modern era. Laura Levin says that in 1950, only 18% of American wives with children were employed which rose to 54% by 1980. There is a lot of difference in marriages and families of 1950’s and today.

Assessment: My data suggest a strong association of Male with Career and Female with Family compared to Female with Career and Male with Family.

Interpretation: The interpretation shown above is described as an association between Female and Career if you responded faster when Female names and Career words were classified with one key and male names and Family words with the other. It is marked an association between Female and Family if you were faster when the same response was used for Male names with Career words, and Female names with Family words. Depending on the magnitude of your result, your automatic association may be described as slight, moderate, strong, or little to no preference.

    The test was quite different form what I expected. I was expecting some kind of MCQ’s. During the test I felt a bit bored because of repeatedly same questions, but consequently it was also forcing me to stay alert and focused. Because of repetition I even ran into some mistakes and got tensed. The thing which I didn’t like in the test is that they separated family with female on one side and career with male on the other, while today females should be more encouraged towards career along with the priorities she has to fulfill.

What is Multisystemic Therapy?
Multisystemic therapy refers to an intensive family and community based therapy program. It aims at controlling and altering the behaviour of teenagers and adolescents, who are at risk of being placed in a special institution for treatment in the form of hospitalization, foster care, correctional institutions or group homes. This form of therapy focuses on the parents’ or primary caregivers’ abilities to identify and change problematic behavior. Multisystemic therapy or MST is based on the belief that parents or primary care givers have the strongest influence on the lives of adolescents.

MST Services Inc. is certified by the Medical University of South Carolina. The therapy program has been in action for more than 25 years now and is found to be effective in controlling antisocial behavior of chronic juvenile offenders, inner city delinquents, juvenile substance abusers, adolescents with psychiatric disorders as well as those with abusive parents (Schaeffer C. M. & Borduin C. M. ,2005). The MST has also focused its attention on adolescents, who may make a threat to themselves or to others. It aims to reduce the need for hospitalization and “out-of-home” treatment for teenagers.

Why is it effective with juvenile delinquents?
MST has a plan consisting of nine stages that is claimed to be the basis of its successful interventions. In addition to this, researchers find that the fact that the MST staff adhere to the plan makes it an effective one. The community based mental health program is quite intensive and it ranges from four to six months. The high level therapists work together with parents, teachers, school counselors, case workers and with the officers assigned to the case. The members of the MST staff offer their services 24 four hours a day, if required, and are flexible in their time-scheduling of appointments with parents and guardians.

Some of the specific MST methods and techniques include family therapy, behaviour parent training and cognitive behavioural therapy. The therapy seeks to identify the core problem that lead to the delinquent behaviour or truancy. It focuses on the positive aspects or strengths of the situation and builds an action plan accordingly. Treatment is planned to give the feeling of responsibility for their behaviour to both teenagers and adults. This is done by providing a supportive environment to the family. Action oriented treatment is devised keeping in mind the existing problems and vigorous efforts are applied to achieve good results according to the set time plan. Intermediate and final goals are set by the family with the guidance of the therapists (Henggeler, S. W., Schoenwald S., Bordun C., Rowland M. & Cunningham.P.,1998).

The treatment is meant for both teenagers and parents or care givers. Sometimes this may require joint counseling or separate counseling. It is ascertained that the treatment and action plans correspond to the teenager’s age and growth. The treatment presupposes that much efforts are applied daily. The success and effectiveness of the therapy are regularly evaluated, so that changes could be introduced if necessary. And finally the therapy is designed to offer long term skills to the adolescents as well as the adults in the family so that they could address family issues and problems in a multiple systemic manner.

The success of MST is based on two basic factors. Firstly, timely treatment and support to the family leads to positive outcomes and behaviour modification. And secondly, strong adherence of the staff to the basic principle of the therapy has made this model of therapy a success.

Employers and employees not only face issues such as, discrimination, glass ceiling, low skill level, and low productivity; but they also encounter one of the most serious problems of Substance Abuse at the workplace. The issue represents the usage of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs by the personnel during their working hours for some complex reasons; or for the purpose of mood-altering (Buddy, 2009). Substance abuse is become more and more common these days in the workplaces; especially in the American Organizations; this issue is viewed by the American employers as a crucial problem in their workplaces.

The survey was conducted in 64 largest cities of the United States relating to the problem; and the respondents were the CEOs, Human Resource executives, Governors, and Mayors. The survey was designed to ascertain the impact of substance abuse on the workplace, the cost that employers bear, and the measures that are being taken to minimize the problem. According to the survey, the issue of substance abuse is a complicated and inflexible one that is even obstructing the measures taken against it. The group of CEOs is pessimistic about the problem because they don’t see the impact of the measures taken to curb the issue; the problem is even increasing.

Out of the total respondents, 88% of them believe that the issue is ‘quite significant’ in the country; whereas, 81% have the prediction that the problem will further worsen if solid precautionary measures are not taken by the public sector. Respondents are not happy with the awareness programs being undertaken by the country, and 72% of them believe that the public resources for restraining the problem are inadequate.
Issues related to the Problem
Of course, there is isn’t any single problem attached to the issue of substance abuse; there are several problems that go hand in hand with each other and affect business, employers, employees, and the nation as a whole. Lower class people are not the only victims of substance abuse; in fact, the upper class is also victimized by it. The issues are highlighted as under with respect to the employers/organizations and employees, respectively.

Effects on Employers
Employers are affected in the increasing demands of the employees for their health benefits. Three key problems for the employers are; 1 – There are increased medical claims from the employees. The CEO group says that it costs up to 15% of the payroll to them, which can vary from 1 to 200 million dollars. 2 – Absenteeism is another great concern for the employers; the absence of employees makes it difficult for the company to perform the necessary tasks and achieve the stated goals. 3 – The absence of employees has a direct impact on the productivity of the organization. Since employees get absent and those who are present don’t perform to their potential, hence resulting in the decreased productivity for the company.

Effects on Employees
Of course, employees are the one who are affected first before the company; some major concerns for the employees include; 1 – Absenteeism, it is estimated from the survey that those employees who indulge in substance abuse are likely to get absent around 2 to 6 times more than those who don’t indulge in such activities. 2 – Worksite Accidents, employees often don’t know what they are actually doing. Self-harming due to depression or unconsciousness can lead them to encounter accidents during their working hours. 3 – The patience of employees is poorly affected by the drug usage; they lose their temper quite often, treat their counterparts badly, and violate the disciplinary rules in their workplace.

Other costs of substance abuse include; increased disability benefits, worker’s compensation benefits, time and resources spent to handle disciplinary problems, costs of recruiting, training, and turnover, low work quality, and lower employee morale.

Implications for the Employers, Employees, and Society
Employers are considered to have a great responsibility for the increase or decrease of the substance abuse problem. According to the survey, 74% of the CEO group has formal programs or policies designed to counter the issue; whereas, 15% of them say that such policies are being developed. The programs that are designed include; 1 – Employee assistance programs, and 2 – Employee wellness programs, and 3 – Pre-employment drug-testing. Most of the respondents favor the first activity (mentioned above) as being part of their program.

Cost Management is not practised by most of the employers; only 24% of the respondents possess “preferred provider arrangements for substance abuse” that really helps them to curtail the cots. Moreover, 37% of them use Utilization review (UR), which is the most widely used method to reduce costs or manage the expenses incurred by substance abuse treatment. Many of the employers have adopted the cost management design of shifting the expenses over the employees. The respondents or employers were asked about their satisfaction level, which revealed that they (68% of them) are very satisfied with the way their organization is working against the substance abuse problem.

As far as the implications for the society and employees are concerned, it is the duty of the government to impose certain laws that act as an obstruction in the way of substance issue problem. Survey indicates that around two-third of the CEOs, governors, and mayors are in favor of increasing the educational efforts as compared to activities related to law enforcement. The tangible benefits of solving the problem would include; increased awareness about the issue among the employees would definitely restrain them indulging in such activities; less absenteeism, higher employee morale, higher productivity, higher profits, higher compensation in terms of bonuses, and better satisfaction with the job and workplace. Moreover, the costs of employers would be minimized that would lead to increased efficiency within the organization.

On the other hand, if the issue is not addressed, the consequences could be harsh. Employers would continue to face losses and productivity; employees would further be trapped in the drugs that would lead them to depression, addiction, low morale and hope, poor relationships with others, and increased isolation. If the usage of drugs would increase, then of course, the crime rates such as, rape, theft, and murder would also rise. Policies designed against the level of substance use and its negative impact can mitigate the problems related to health (WHO, 2009).

Therefore, it is the duty of all citizens especially, the government and low enforcement agencies to impose certain laws and increase the budget for education purposes to aware the people about the issue. Such precautionary measures must be taken by the state to reduce the substance abuse problem in order to avoid the expenditure made in billions of dollars to fight against the consequences of substance abuse (Buddy, 2009). Moreover, organizations must be rigid in dealing with the issue and must decrease the salary, health compensation, and other benefits for their addicted employees.

Introduction
Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a type of technology that uses magnetic resonance to aid in viewing/ imaging of objects found inside the body. It is a specialized type of magnetic resonance imaging, used to measure animal and human spinal cord or brain neural activity through changes in blood flow (hemodynamics). (Raichl and Mintun, 2006). This type of magnetic resonance is one among the many examples of this technology which include magnetic resonance spectroscopy, interventional MRI, diffusion MRI, multinuclear imaging etc. The functional magnetic resonance imaging has been seen to gain popularity in brain mapping due to the relatively low risk involved while using it and also its efficiency. This relatively low risks are; lack of radiation exposure, non-invasiveness and also high availability of the technology.

According to Raichl et al., (2006), it is known that neural activities can be closely linked to changes in blood flow and level of blood oxygen in the brain. This is because active nerve cells have been known to experience increased oxygen consumption preempting them to switch to anaerobic processes glycolysis. This is turn triggers a mechanism that cause changes in the oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin concentration and also the blood volume and flow in the cerebral region. (Van et al, 2009).

In the year 1990 some discoveries concerning MRI were made by Dr. Seiji Ogawa, (Gusnard and Raichle, 2001) he introduced the first basic blood deoxyhemoglobin contrast and also an important tool in brain imaging. He introduced the use of the MRI technology known as Blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD). The Blood-oxygen-level dependent indicates the T2* weighted contrast dependence on the quantity of deoxygenation blood that is a result of various magnetic characteristics of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin. This technology was absorbed by many especially Dr. Kenneth Kwong who applied the technology with MRI on human brain to image the brains activity. Presently BOLD has been seen to gain fame in the diagnostic medical field to establish the exact locations in which the brain activities occur, however it has been faced with challenges of its validity since its indicators are not quantitative hence cannot be easily measured (van et al, 2009).

The fMRI technology has been known to be associated with other various fields of study. Some of these disciplines in which this technology has been known to incorporated knowledge include; physics, psychology in that almost all the studies are psychophysical experiments, neuroanatomy, statistics and electrophysiology (Raichle et al., 2006). These disciplines have contributed to the fMRI to be used as aid to further analysis and diagnostic I the field of science and medicine.

Cognitive psychology
Psychology is a broad field that involves the scientific study of the human/animal mental functions and behaviors. It has been known to have many inputs in understanding human behavior. It takes a closer look into interpersonal relationships, cognition, perception attention, personality, emotion, motivation, and behavior and under it. Cognitive psychology is a discipline within psychology that investigates the internal mental processes of thought such as visual processing, memory, problem solving, and language. This type of psychology is interdisciplinary cross cutting even to human–computer interaction, computational neuroscience and logicians which are tools for studying the minds functional organization and brain activity (Schunk, 2008).
Cognitive psychology has given rise to a study known as cognitivism which specifically bases in how information processing is represented by people mentally. It had its foundations in the work of, who provided a theory of stages/phases that describe children's cognitive development. The works of cognitive psychology are based on the works of other psychologists, Wolfgang Köhler, Max Wertheimer, Jean Piaget, Wilhelm Wundt, and Kurt Koffka, who provided the theory of stages of development/ children cognitive development.

Advantages of fMRI in Object recognition
Object recognition has in the past been study that has demanded a lot of research in to help develop the understanding of the working of the body. To many scientists object recognition using artificial mechanisms has been a challenge especially in recognizing an object that is variant in its appearance. This is because; the variations sometimes can be too complex and minute to be distinguished as different. However, it is known that humans have the ability to recognize an object despite the variation in a fraction of a second with least of effort (Biederman, 1987).

This therefore, has prompted researchers to dedicating their time to understand the mechanisms that have been employed by the biological system in solving this similar problem (Biederman, 1987). These studies have however bore fruits since the clues found have helped develop replicate artificial programs for recognition. Strong recognition systems have been built from this kind of understanding using the few pointers that have been given. Different theories have also been coined in order to come up with an appropriate reason why and how the biological system works. Some of the theories include; Theories of pattern recognition, Template matching theories, feature theories and Problems with template theories.

Due to the longer time scale of the fMRI recognition process, this technology has been found more adequate in measuring object representation than the temporal sequence of computations. However, this technology has been used to find some pointers on virtual processing in combination with psychophysics. Initial studies of object recognition involving fMRI in human beings, identified the regions in the brain that respond specifically to objects and faces (Malach et al. 1995; Kanwisher et al., 1997). After researchers conducted other studies, it was indicated that there is a correlation between the activation in face and object selective regions in the brain and success of recognizing each of them respectively. This therefore, provided conclusive evidence that these regions were involved in object recognition. Further it has been asserted that combination of psychophysics and fMRI could result to derivation of pointers/indicators on the type of visual processing that is employed in specific cortical regions.

. Many studies have indicated the uses of fMRI to study human behaviors and reactions. A study by Moll et al., (2002), on peoples response to different moral claims showed change in the brain activity when the people in the study were subjected to the tests. In this the brain was found to have greater activity in the left medial OFC when subjected to the moral conditions and more in the left amygdale when subjected to the non-moral questions.

Another study by Greene et al., (2001), also took advantage of the technology to study conclusively the moral characteristics and distinction between personal and impersonal moral judgments. This was done through use of fMRI scanning of the test subjects while they were being subjected to tailored circumstances of personal and impersonal moral dilemmas and non-moral dilemmas. In this they found out that response of the two different dilemmas led to different forms of activity in some areas of the brain (Greene, et al., 2001). For instance, impersonal and non-moral dilemmas produced increased activity in areas associated with working memory as compared with personal dilemmas. Little difference was however found between the impersonal-moral and non-moral conditions. Others have also used fMRI to asses the neuromechanisms associated with romantic love.

Aron et al., (2005), reported in his study that there is activation in the rightventral tegnum area of the brain and right caudate nucleus areas rich with dopamine when one reacts towards a loved one. In this the study also concluded that these areas with dopamine pathways, contributed to arousal rather than emotions. The fMRI has been used to bring out the psychological understanding of peoples reaction to different circumstances and views of different moral illustrations. This has become an eye opener that has triggered more research to be done.

In other aspects, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been found instrumental in providing researchers with a means to use to determine the neural activity patterns associated with stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. Using the fMRI parameters on the fact that the degree of neuronal activity determines blood flow to a particular region of the brain, the prejudice researchers have been able to study the human behavior. These researchers have used the technology to examine the brains activities to asses the Lippmans “pictures in our head”. These studies using the fMRI were first conducted on subject’s whose brain activity was measured while passively involved in viewing individuals from different races e.g. white and black individuals. An example was by assessing the subjects while they viewed unfamiliar faces, in this the reaction of a subject when confronted by Black and a White individuals. This showed significance difference in the quantity of amygdale a component that was discovered in rodents responsible for conditioning (Bechara et al., 1995).

On the other hand, fMRI has not just been used to study the human response and behavior to environmental and social situations but has also been used a a psychological diagnostic tool. Individuals with object recognition problems have been subjected to fMRI studies in order for the physicians to diagnose the underlying problems. An example, Bechara et al., (1995) carried out a determining study on patients with bilateral amygdala damage to assess their capacity to learn in a classical conditioning model. This was done using color shapes with some paired with adverse noise. This was to measure their implicit and explicit learning, this showed changes in nervous activity with different situations of he study.

It has also been used to study individuals who have a problem in identifying closely identical objects and faces. In this individuals subjected to the study, were exposed to faces and objects in different instances for quickly. It was then found out that some of the individuals could not process the information necessary to identify two or more objects as distinct and separate. Imaging scans, indicated little or limited activity in some regions of their brains that are supposed to help in recognition. Men with reproductive problems and schizophrenic patients have been seen to be subjected to the fMRI in order to determine their brain activity in various regions that are responsible for normal function. These neuroscientific methods have been deemed necessary in order for one to relate the functions of the brain and the normal portrayed behavior by an individual (Bechara et al., 1995). It be seen then that introduction of the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, has opened up further the understanding of individual behavior in object recognition in relation to the brains activity.

The following paper is a closer look at the fictional role of Chandler Bing, (played by Mathew Perry), a character that is by far, the most popular and best loved, in the hugely successful TV series FRIENDS. The sitcom that was the brainchild of David Crane and Marta Kauffman, ran for ten, long years and was an uproarious depiction of the life of six friends in Manhattan, New York City. The show was an insightful view into their lives, loves, quirks and eccentricities, and managed to strike a chord with viewing audiences across the world.

Chandler Muriel Bing, with a name that if not for anything else would have been responsible for a panic attack, plays an integral role in the series: at the beginning of his role, he is portrayed as an executive with a large, faceless, multi-national corporation, trudging his way up the corporate ladder, not particularly loving his job, yet raking in the money. The audience can identify with him the most for his failed attempts with women, his social awkwardness, his wry sense of humour, his strained relationship with both his parents and a quality that his friends on the show call, ‘being dead inside’. While Chandler’s character was the most award-winning, and generated the most number of laughs, it was also the one that was most complex and lends itself to a great deal of psychological analysis.

This paper suggests that Chandler Bing, inadvertently suffered from the psychological disorder: Social Phobia. Over the span of a decade, Chandler goes on to display to his audience most of the symptoms of the disorder. Marked and persistent fear of one or more social performance situations Chandler displays on several occasions: in his inability to ask a girl out on a date, his helplessness when cornered by people in positions of power, unable to say no when the situation calls for it, and his persistent fear of marriage and all long-term relationships. Chandler is the centre of several social phobic situations: unable to converse normally on the telephone, make eye contact, dealing with authority, etc. (Stein 5) Another symptom of social phobia is displaying anxiety symptoms that are humiliating and embarrassing: Chandler has several instances of this when he talks about bed-wetting as a method of dealing with his parents’ divorce, and when he openly confesses to hiding behind self-deprecatory jokes when embarrassed. Another characteristic of this disorder is the inability to form social relationships: on the show, Chandler is often ridiculed for having only one friend right through school and college, almost no friends at work, and even those closest to him don’t know what he really does or likes, and even completely forget his birthday, year after year! (Stein 12) Panic attacks are always seen in this disorder: on numerous occasions, Chandler’s panic attacks are on display – when he has to attend an important interview, when he disappears before his wedding, when he’s unable to stay in the same room as his divorced parents and when he’s at the verge of losing the love of his life to another stronger, more masculine character.

Given the above examples of how Chandler fits into the mould of someone suffering from social phobia, it is also interesting to note how his behaviour stems from a past that also fits the mould: his mother is an erotic novelist and overtly intrusive in her son’s sex life, his father is a cross-dressing showstopper at Vegas, and his parents choose Thanksgiving Day to announce to him that they are divorcing. Chandler Bing, also exhibits the symptoms of social phobia at a time when it is most likely to be seen in individuals – typically the onset of which occurs during childhood or adolescence (Heimberg, 143). What ensues is the depiction of a child who fails to react to the world normally, and has his relationships, and social etiquette heavily influenced by the parody that is his childhood.

Introduction
Stress can be defined as a reaction to experiences that tend to make one become upset or an event that brings a threatening feeling to someone (Santrock, 2004). One can also define stress as anything that makes our well being feel challenged or endangered. Stress is a reality of nature involving external forces affecting our well being (Panzarino, 2009).

This essay discusses stress with focus on how people adapt to stress. The work also looks into the various sources and mediators of stress in addition to exploring the likely health effects of stress. A few ways of managing stress are also mentioned.

Adapting to stress
The stress response also known as “fight-or-flight” is an automatic and a swift process of the body reacting to sensed stress. It acts to protect a person from danger since alertness is raised and the biological processes become ready to respond to the stressor. By the body gaining energy and alertness to danger, one gets defense and to this extent, stress is positive to human beings (Lazarus, 1984). Not only does stress response prepare the body for defense but it also cause one to stay awake to life challenges thus influencing someone to attend to positive events in life. For instance, stress may push you to revise for an upcoming exam instead of going for shopping. In the same way, stress may make you meet job deadlines that otherwise would not have been met. Stress may reach a point where it is no longer beneficial and instead causes harm to a person’s health and productivity. At this point, the social life of an individual is also interfered with and relationships are compromised (Santrock, 2004). It is however pertinent to note that stress is neutral, positive or negative to our lives depending on how we view it.

Effects of stress
Although stress tolerance differs from individual to individual due to various factors, stress levels still reach a point where it becomes harmful. Chronic stress brings about several health problems. During stressful moments, the blood pressure increases as well as the heart rate. There is also rapid breathing and the muscles become tense. Insomnia is common due to increased alertness as the digestive system slows (Stress Related Illness, 2009). The immune system also becomes compromised and the individual becomes susceptible to illnesses. The effects of these body responses may include hypertension, heart attack, infertility depression and increased rate of aging. The following diseases are therefore associated with stress: autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular problems, sleep disorders, digestive disorders and obesity. Cancer development is also mentioned in relation to stress (Santrock, 2004).

A stressed person is also prone to anger, burnout, irritability, fatigue and restlessness among other psychological effects. The behavior of a stressed individual is affected such that these individuals may end up having eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa or indulge in alcohol and substance abuse. Moreover, the persons tend to become socially withdrawn.

Sources and instigators of stress
There are many factors that contribute to stress or exacerbate stress. These range from sociocultural factors to environmental factors. Personality factors and work related factors also form a basis for stress development. However, a stressor to one person may not cause stress to another. Some external causes of stress include major life events like getting married, financial difficulties, work issues and relationship problems. Among internal stressors include pessimism, perfectionism and having unrealistic expectations (Medical News Today, 2009). Being too busy can also lead to stress. Some traumatizing experiences such as a miscarriage or loosing a loved one may eventually lead to post-traumatic stress disorders (Santrock, 2004).

Identifying excessive stress
Since people differ in the stress level they can handle, it is crucial to have a personal knowledge of signs of exacerbated stress. It is pertinent to look for changes in behavior and psychological health to be able to identify any deviation (Helpguide, 2009). There is otherwise no single and definitive symptom of stress as one may get emotional, cognitive, physical or behavioral symptoms.

Managing stress
Taking control of stressful events, thoughts and environments becomes important in managing stress. Handling and tolerating stress however depends on a number of factors. A support network helps in dealing with stress just as a person’s sense of control. Knowledge about dealing with a stressful situation as well as preparedness also influences our stress management ability. Our health status and rest amounts also determine our ability to manage stress. Some people find exercise as a way of treating stress while others may prefer to seek professional help to deal with the same (Scott, 2009). Stress management will certainly depend on the type and source of stress. It is also important to treat health problems arising from stress as a way of cutting down stress levels.

Conclusion
Stress as a natural way of the body responding of threats by getting prepared is no doubt an important response in life. With stressors differing from person to person, one should be able to identify excessive stress in order to avoid the social, physical and psychological harm caused by such stress levels. In case one has identified excessive stress, they should be able to manage it depending on the source and nature of stress which if otherwise is not dealt with will cause more harm including developing of post-traumatic stress disorder

Cognitive psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with the dynamics of the mind. It aims to produce explanations as to how the mind performs processes like thinking, remembering, and learning. These processes are explored to enable man to understand and improve our mental abilities.
Cognitive psychology is the product of the so-called cognitive revolution which occurred between the 1950s and 1960s.

There are several fundamental components discussed in the study of cognitive psychology. One of the more basic, and perhaps most studied, is the ability of man to learn. Learning is basically defined as man’s ability to acquire and retain information from his environment. Learning is a part of man’s ability to assimilate and adapt to his surrounding by forming new processes or cultivating the ones he previously learned to fit his present situation. The ability to learn goes hand in hand with one’s ability to perceive and remember various events and experiences; this is explained under the discussion of concept formation and memory. (Vanchevsky & Andrews 2006)

Concept formation and memory is almost inseparable from learning. Concept formation is the mind’s ability to receive and interpret data or images eventually connecting it appropriately to create a sensible string of idea. Memory, on the other hand, is the capacity of the brain to store interpreted images or data. Memory can either be short-term or long-term.

In addition to learning and memory, cognitive psychology also involves the study of language acquisition. Noam Chomsky’s Theory of Language further discusses how language is structured acquired and used. (Brown 2006)

As psychologists and researchers seek to improve the methods of the mind, they untangle both the observable differences and the underlying factors involved in cognition. However, cognitive psychologists do not merely utilize visible and noticeable cues in strengthening their theories, but they also use the scientific method and delve into the inner processes of the mind through the use of technology. (Willingham 2006)
Milestones in the development of cognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology is the product of the continuing rise and development of Modern Psychology. Beginning from the establishment of the first psychology laboratory in Germany, psychologists have incessantly studied the human mind and its effects in their aim to improve the quality of the life of men.
The rise and development of cognitive psychology starts with the cognitive revolution. It is one of the well-known periods in psychology, involving the paradigm shift from behavioral to cognitive perspective. Rather than continuing the studies focused on observing physical manifestations, psychologists and researchers began to attempt the unlocking of more mental capacities by seeking ways to produce more precise estimates through psychophysical assessments and the scientific method. (Balota & Marsh 2004)
Psychology is never obsolete as each new finding is connected to an old study and old findings continue to contribute to the improvement of new ideas.

Cognitive psychology differs from behavioral psychology in various ways. Most of the theories that originated from behaviorism base their argument on observable characteristics. Behaviorists claim that there is very little difference between the process that can be observed and the dynamics that occur inside the brain. Behaviorism includes the theories related to classical conditioning and almost completely shuns off the value of introspection in its research.

While behaviorists believe that a "black box" figuratively exists and prevents a total understanding of the brain, the cognitivists refuse to stop there. An effective metaphorical analysis of the brain function is introduced with the progress and productivity of the cognitive revolution. This is also known as the computer metaphor. Cognitive psychologists liken the brain to that of the computer emphasizing man's innate ability to process information much like the way a typical computer does.

However, as the discussion about the methods of information processing continues, it is argued that the human mind does not exactly have the functions compared to that of the computer. It is simply too crude to liken the brain to it because of far more sophisticated human processes that affect how man think and react.
Behavioral observation in cognitive psychology
The advent of cognitive revolution brought about a movement away from behavioral psychology. Attention had been turned to the role played by such factors as memory and problem solving. Behavioral observation, though, is not without its merits.

Behaviorism focuses on those activities which can be observed, as opposed to monitoring mental or internal processes. Behaviorism is concerned with visible stimuli or situations and how they relate to behavior that can be observed.

Voluntary behavior necessitates coming to a conclusion or a decision, and the willingness to elect a choice. Behavior may be based on the evaluation of perils and compensation that may or may not be encountered.
Behavior can be observed by studying how the person solves a problem or how they go after a target or an ambition.

Behavioral observation can also be vital to cognitive psychology. Problem solving, for one, involves attention, memory and learning. How to arrive at a solution entails the use of stored knowledge and the identification of patterns, even though they may be complex.

The pursuit of a goal requires perception, and this can be linked to areas in the brain that may be connected to operations involved with solving problem, passing judgments, and making a choice.
In the end, behavioral observation reflects mental or internal states and processes.

Roger Sperry is a psychobiologist, who discovered that human beings are of two minds. That is, the human brain has specialized functions on both its left and right hemispheres, and each of these regions can operate independently from each other (PBS).

Born on August 20, 1913 in Hartford Connecticut, Sperry had his early education at Elmwood, Connecticut and William Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut. He spent his undergraduate education at Oberlin College on a 4 year Amos C. Miller Scholarship, and graduated with an AB in English in 1935. He stayed for two more years in Oberlin College for an MA in Psychology, and then took his Doctorate degree in zoology at the University of Chicago (Odelberg).

Right after he received his Ph.D. diploma in 1941, Sperry did a postdoctoral research at Harvard University as National Research Council Fellow for a year. Subsequently, he became a part of the Harvard, Yerkes Laboratory of Primate Biology and the National Institutes of Health, where he held various positions. By 1954, he joined the faculty of California Institute of Technology, where he remained for 30 years (Odelberg).
In the early 1960's, Roger Sperry along with his colleagues, conducted profound experiments on epileptic patients whose corpus collosums, the area of the brain that transfer the signals between the right and left hemispheres, have been severed. His research showed that the left hemisphere is normally dominant in aspects of the analytical and verbal tasks, while the right hemisphere is functional for spatial tasks, music and other visual-construction tasks. Eventually, Sperry's groundbreaking experiment on the brain laid the foundation for further understanding human brain lateralization. Because of his contribution, Roger Sperry received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with other notable figures namely David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel (PBS).

Sperry died in April 17, 1994 but, his works and contributions in the field of science remained as one of the most significant discoveries that opened whole new fields in psychological and philosophical perspectives (PBS).

There are as many theories explaining the process of learning as there are theorists. There are those theorists who view learning as a change in the learner’s behavior, others conceptualize it as a restructuring of the internal cognitive processes of the individual while a third school of thought views the process as a desire on the part of the learner to self-fulfillment.

Out of these theories, two contradictory views are notable. There are theorists, for example David Hebb, who believe that learning theories have to be couched on neuroscience (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2008). Another school of thought, led by Skinner and his students, is of the view that learning theories can be conceptualized without the inclusion of neuronal or physiological concepts (Altmann & Koch, 2006). Rather, learning theories should concentrate on the behavioral changes observable on the individual.

It is possible to formulate learning theories without including neuronal and physiological concepts in our thinking. This is because, as Skinner posits, learning is more of a function of change in observable behavior than a change in covert behavior of the individual (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2008). Behavior is itself a product of stimuli external to the individual. As such, the changes that occur in the learner’s behavior are a product of the learner's response to stimuli from the environment. This response to stimuli produces a consequence that can be viewed as learning. For example, in the learning process, posing questions to the learner-and the process of the learner answering the questions-is considered to be very important. The learner reacts by responding to the questions. When the responses are correct, this acts as reinforcement for the behavior, and the learner is likely to repeat that behavior in the future. According to Skinner, the process of stimulus and response is very important in the learning process (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2008).

David Hebb, on his part, ignores these observable changes in the behavior of the person and concentrates on the unobservable or covert changes in the person’s cognitive structure. He however acknowledges the arguments posed by Skinner, but argues that the process that takes place within the brain in the duration between stimulus and response is of more importance (Altmann & Koch, 2006). By stating this, Hebb endorses, either directly or indirectly, the idea that it is possible to formulate theories without any regard to the neuronal processes. This is because the stimulus response is central to the process, and even Hebb recognizes this.

Skinner’s ideas have been criticized as been merely descriptive in nature, lacking the most important attribute of explaining the observations made (Altmann & Koch, 2006). Despite this criticism, this idea of learning process is more concrete than the others.There are as many theories explaining the process of learning as there are theorists. There are those theorists who view learning as a change in the learner’s behavior, others conceptualize it as a restructuring of the internal cognitive processes of the individual while a third school of thought views the process as a desire on the part of the learner to self-fulfillment.

Out of these theories, two contradictory views are notable. There are theorists, for example David Hebb, who believe that learning theories have to be couched on neuroscience (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2008). Another school of thought, led by Skinner and his students, is of the view that learning theories can be conceptualized without the inclusion of neuronal or physiological concepts (Altmann & Koch, 2006). Rather, learning theories should concentrate on the behavioral changes observable on the individual.
It is possible to formulate learning theories without including neuronal and physiological concepts in our thinking. This is because, as Skinner posits, learning is more of a function of change in observable behavior than a change in covert behavior of the individual (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2008). Behavior is itself a product of stimuli external to the individual. As such, the changes that occur in the learner’s behavior are a product of the learner's response to stimuli from the environment. This response to stimuli produces a consequence that can be viewed as learning. For example, in the learning process, posing questions to the learner-and the process of the learner answering the questions-is considered to be very important. The learner reacts by responding to the questions. When the responses are correct, this acts as reinforcement for the behavior, and the learner is likely to repeat that behavior in the future. According to Skinner, the process of stimulus and response is very important in the learning process (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2008).

David Hebb, on his part, ignores these observable changes in the behavior of the person and concentrates on the unobservable or covert changes in the person’s cognitive structure. He however acknowledges the arguments posed by Skinner, but argues that the process that takes place within the brain in the duration between stimulus and response is of more importance (Altmann & Koch, 2006). By stating this, Hebb endorses, either directly or indirectly, the idea that it is possible to formulate theories without any regard to the neuronal processes. This is because the stimulus response is central to the process, and even Hebb recognizes this.

Skinner’s ideas have been criticized as been merely descriptive in nature, lacking the most important attribute of explaining the observations made (Altmann & Koch, 2006). Despite this criticism, this idea of learning process is more concrete than the others.

Lifespan can be defined as the period that extends from conception to death. Thus, lifespan development is a process that begins at conception and continuous to death. Lifespan development can therefore be defined as a methodical, intra-individual transformation that is attributed to progressions corresponding to age. The development advances in a way that implicates the level of functioning. As a child grows he exhibits transformations that progresses with time. These may include physical growth, cognitive advancement, and psychological advancement that may entail emotional and social development.

Physical development may directly refer to the increase in body and organ sizes, signs of ageing and motor abilities. Cognitive development is mainly concerned with the manner in which a child thinks or perceives the world. This is brought about by the changes in perception, language knowledge, memory, and problem solving skills. Psychological development entails transformations in personal and interpersonal advancements that are concerned with emotional and social aspects. Emotional development subjects children to certain emotional feelings such as guilt and pride. Social development is mainly concerned with the manner in which children interact, share and relate as friends (Hernandez, 2008).

Characteristics of lifespan perspective
Development is a distinctive feature that largely varies from individual to individual. Life expectancy has been greatly boosted by progress made in nutrition, health and medical knowledge. Development is life-long and thus is not dominated by any age period, it is multi-dimensional. This is because it is concerned with the biological, cognitive, socio-emotional and spiritual aspects. Development can also be said to be multidirectional as some features of development increase while others are decreasing. Another characteristic of development is that it is plastic. It is able to assume different paths depending on the living conditions of an individual. It has the capacity to change. For example, the condition of a child experiencing intellectual retardation may be reversed by the administration of proper diet and positive experience (Hernandez, 2008).

The other characteristic is that development is historically-embedded. This is to mean that historical conditions can influence development. Development is multidisciplinary. Professionals in the field of psychology, sociology, anthropology, neuroscience and medical research are all concerned with human development with a common goal of expanding their understanding of development in the course of the lifespan. It is contextual in the sense that a person incessantly responds to and acts on context. Such contexts may include the biological constitution of an individual, physical environment, and social, historical, and cultural contexts (Hernandez, 2008).

Human Development Domains and Periods
Development domains are categories that are adopted by scientists. Three main domains have been defined and they appear to be related or they appear to affect each other. These domains are biological, cognitive and psychological. Biological domain is characterized by human growth and physical changes in human. This is normally centered on the course of childhood and adolescence. It is normally concerned with maturation and growth. Cognitive domain tends to address the manner by which learning takes place and the reasons for deterioration of memory in the course of old age. Cognitive domain is constituted by the mental processes of imaging, perceiving, way of thinking and problem solving. Psychological domain is concerned with emotions, individuality and social relations and expectations. All these domains appear to be operating jointly and affect each other (Boyd & Bee, 2006).

Human development periods cover the lifetime from conception to death. In total there are eight major periods. These periods include infancy and toddler, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. As long as a person is alive, he/she will pass through each of these stages. In the course of growth of a newborn to a toddler, they portray a characteristic thinking ability, language and personality. In their middle years, great emphasis is laid on family, school, friends in addition to individuality and cognitive skills. When one moves from childhood to adulthood, sexual development is exhibited and the individual is subject to thinking about marriage and career. In adulthood, one cannot avoid thinking about retirement. Theories have been put forward to explain in details how the actual transitions from one period to another occur. Some of these theories include the psychoanalytic, learning and cognitive theories (Boyd & Bee, 2006).

Contemporary Concerns in Lifespan Development
There are two main concerns that are related to lifespan development. These are nature and nurture, and continuity and discontinuity. For the better part of history, researchers thought that transformations in human were due to forces that could have been external or internal. Advancements in the knowledge and experimental factors of biological processes are referred to as nature versus nurture. Proponents of nature harbor the belief that children are born with certain traits that are innate and are inborn biases. These may have arisen as a result of genetics or as a consequence of prenatal environment. In any case children are not born as blank slates. Proponents of nurture argue that the outcomes of certain occurrences depend on how an individual perceive them (Boyd & Bee, 2006).

In the case of continuity and discontinuity, the subject of contention is whether the transformation that comes with age is basically a matter of amount, degree, type, or kind. The number of friends that a child has may vary as his age advances. These changes that come with age can be grouped as universal, group specific and individual changes. Children normally advance slowly through the various stages of cognitive development. There is a possibility of intelligence and individuality in the course of childhood merging at the onset of adulthood. This continuity is not rigid but flexible hence it is subject to change. A child who portrays a high level of intellectual capacity in the course of his childhood may lose this good trait if they are continuously subjected to an environment where they are vulnerable to abuse and are neglected (Boyd & Bee, 2006).

Every human being goes through universal changes. Such changes are a characteristic of certain ages. Group specific changes are a preserve of individuals who share comparable cultural and historical experiences. Individual changes are limited to the person concerned and are attributed to genetic factors and timing of experiences. Everybody is unique, and this is attributed to their genes which dictate their physical appearance, individuality, and intelligence (Smith, 1999).

Conclusion
Development of the lifespan is a matter that begun a long time ago but is still an area that enjoys social and scientific research. Children are normally born, and they grow to develop their understanding and perception of their environment. We realize that lifespan is multidimensional, life-long, multidirectional, plastic, historically-embedded, multidisciplinary and contextual. The major human domains are biological, cognitive and psychological. Lifespan development can be divided into eight major periods that range from infancy to late adulthood. With the expansion of the field, controversies surrounding nature versus nurture and continuity versus discontinuity become more complicated.

Each experience is an opportunity for learning and this course had greatly influenced how I think about the world around me. I have heard something about psychology and how it can help us understand ourselves better but I did not expect the depth of the lessons we had taken up and how it has opened my eyes to human behavior, thought and emotions. I have learned so much from this class that choosing one lesson to reflect upon is difficult but for me, the most important chapter was on stress and health.

The chapter tackled the relationship of stress and health, both bodily and mental health. Stress is said to be part and parcel of human existence and to some degree it is beneficial as it propels us to action. However, when stress becomes too much to bear, when the individual cannot cope with stress effectively, then it becomes a condition called chronic stress which can lead to psychosomatic and medical disorders such as stomach ulcers, migraine, hypertension and others. I also learned that an individual’s lifestyle and personality can also predispose that individual to stress. For example, a perfectionist, a high achiever and workaholic are more prone to stress compared to individuals who are not. I was also made aware that life events or situations can cause stress such as those who have experienced traumatic events like war, violence and abuse. Moreover, each person generally has his or her own way of coping with stress, may it be positive or negative. Most often than not, negative coping leads to more problems.

The most important thing I learned in this chapter was that we cannot do away with stress, it is here for a reason and that there is always a choice in how to cope with that stress. If we have a positive outlook in life, and we view stress as something that we have to deal with then we would not be as affected and develop illnesses that result from too much stress.