Psychology

Interaction between students and the teachers is very important in assisting the students ability to achieve favorable results in class. Scaffolding can be described as a technique used to issue instructions in which case the teacher aspires to model a desirable learning strategy or task with the aim of steadily shifting responsibilities to the students. In general, scaffolding can be defined as the type of assistance accorded by the teacher or peer in support of the learning activity. Proper administration of scaffolding provides a link between what the students already know and what they do not know (Lipscomb, Swanson,  West, 2008). Scaffolding therefore is directly related to cognitive development in human beings. This paper will relate scaffolding and cognitive development in a four year old child and that of a person who is about to graduate from college.

Scaffolding and Cognitive Dev elopement
At four years of age, an individuals cognitive development is exhibited in development of symbolic thought. This refers to the ability of the individual to represent concrete objects, actions, and events based on the mental and symbolic capabilities. At this age, individuals are capable of problem solving, they think about cause and effect relations, and are able to express these ideas to others (Seefeldt, Wasik, 2006). At a time when one is about to graduate from college, the individual is at the formal operational stage of cognitive development. This stage begins at twelve and continues into adulthood.

This stage is characterized by development in abstract thought and therefore individuals can conserve and provide logical thinking in the mind (Huitt,  Hummel, 2003). It is therefore clear that scaffolding will highly be required at four years than when an individual is about to graduate from college. At four years, the teachers have a greater responsibility of molding the child compared to the responsibility of the teachers at college level.

Conclusion
Many pre-school and other educational programs are formulated based on the cognitive development theory of Jean Piaget. Scaffolding is therefore applied based on the principle of cognitive development and parents and teachers in challenging the abilities of the child are not supposed to present materials and information that is not commensurate to the childs level of development.

Disciplining children is good as it teaches them to know what is good and what is wrong so that they grow up making wise decisions and good choices. When a child makes a wrong decision, verbal warnings go unheeded since children are naturally not good listeners (Paintal, 2002). Therefore some form of punishment is the only way of ensuring that a child does not repeat a mistake. The modes of punishing children include time-out, spanking or corporal punishment, physical exercise and many other ways (Grogan-Kaylor, 2004). The efficiency and social acceptability of all methods of punishing children to instill discipline and moral values varies from case to case and place to another. Corporal punishment is so far the most controversial, even banned in some countries.

Corporal punishment, its justification and effectiveness has been a widely debated topic. Some parents believe that since they were spanked at one time during their childhood and they still grew to be responsible adults, then corporal punishment must be effective. The definition of corporal punishment is the infliction of pain on the body and includes such things like spanking, pinching, lashing, forced labor and even in the extreme case, mutilation (National Commission for the Protection of Child right, 2008). The danger with corporal punishment is that it is progressive. This is because as physical pain is continuously inflicted, the body of a child becomes accustomed to it and the child becomes rigid. Instead of correcting a mistake, the child becomes more deviant.

No matter how mild the use of corporal punishment is at the beginning, it eventually leads to abuse (Schneider, Pike, Larson, Sather, Larzelere, 1998). As the child becomes more aggressive and adamant because of the adverse psychological effects brought about by being physically harmed, the parent, guardian or teacher is prompted to increase the level of punishment and the process escalates into battering (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1998). In addition, it teaches the child that violence is permissible in the society and the child could harm its peers or become a bully. Corporal punishment can lead to the child suffering physical injuries as the parent or teacher becomes more accustomed to using this method of punishment. This is a violation of the rights of a child (Paintal, 2007).

Corporal punishment degrades a child and lowers its self esteem. Even though all forms of punishment lower the standing of an individual, being beaten up especially when it is severe lowers the standing of a child among its peers and causes a sense of unwarranted anxiety (Paintal, 2002). This then serves to damage the relationship between the child and its parents, friends and teachers. This is very dangerous as it contributes to the acquiring of anti-social behavior and deviancy, negatively affecting the learning process and the development of interpersonal capabilities.

As said earlier, physical punishment teaches a child that violence is an acceptable way of dealing with differences between people. Instead of taking the risk and jeopardizing the life of a child in the ways listed above, a parent should adopt methods of punishment that correct the mistakes a child commits while building its character (Schneider, Pike, Larson, Sather, Larzelere, 1998). However, it is important that not to bluff while meting out punishments. A parent should be firm but loving and should make sure that any punishment dished out is carried out promptly otherwise the threats lose any respect and meaning. Children are very playful and may take bluffs as meaning that the parent or teacher is always not serious. It is therefore important to establish credibility so that discipline can be enforced.

The debate on emotional development of infants is still a controversial one as many theories are being brought to light. The big question has always remained whether a childs emotions are innate or influenced by the environment. A child will cry in order to get the attention of the mother, caregiver, family etc. In some cases it is a response to the environment (Zeman, 2001). He or she might be afraid, frightened or amused. The emotional development of an infant is therefore influenced by both innate characteristics and environment which the infant grows.

Environmental Influences
The infants overall environment has been termed as crucial to its development (Warhol, 1998). The risk factors that an infant is exposed to earlier in life have an influence in later life. An infant will begin to smile at around seven weeks old (Watson and Rayner, 1920). This is a social smile which comes in response to the immediate environment (interactions and adult smiles). It is normally an attempt by the child to engage in a social act. A positive response from a person that engages the infant in this act creates a cycle where social pleasure in derived by both parties (Lipsitt, 1998). A number of similar situations and more awareness of the environment will lead a child to smile.

Innate Influences
Apart from the environment a childs emotional development is influenced by biology. This is not only crying to get the necessary attention but other activities as well. An infant will cry out of discomfort. It tries to communicate and therefore crying becomes the only means to reach out to the adult world (Zeman, 2001).

Conclusion
It is apparent that both biology and environment influences a childs emotional development. At early infancy for instance communication is solely through crying. As the infant matures it learns to respond to the environment through a number of emotions. Emotional development is therefore a combination of both stimulation and conditioning. The innate feelings of the child too play a central role in emotional development of an infant.

This essay entails psychological testing which is a process of observing over a specified period of time a person performing a certain task that is usually prescribed beforehand hence scores are expected after completion of the task.  These scores are compiled to prepare statistical tables which allow the person evaluating to compare the behavior of the individual being tested to the results of the norm group.  The tests are carried out in form of oral or written interview questions.  The accuracy of the test depends on the keenness and seriousness of the individual being tested.  There are several types of psychological tests which include achievement test, sexological test, attitude test personality test, direct observation test and neuropsychological test.  The personality test is further subdivided into objective test and projective test (Richmond, 1997). The essay show how these tests are used in relations to the managerial issues which covers the processes the organization opt to take and the resources they prefer. Moreover, it show the way these test are applied in evaluating, professional ethic as well as the obligations of the psychologists as they carry out their duties as per their professional code of ethics.

In the past organizations would hire persons who would not work out, they would promote employees into positions for which they were not qualified, they would select executive who fitted poorly in their organizations and they would lose their best employees due to the need for greater challenges from their jobs.  These issues called for the need for the organization to carry out research so as to come up with reasons for the effects and hence form solutions for the same.  The research done proved that in order to ensure competencies in any particular working situation, testing, one of the most valid processes of candidates assessment would accurately predict how the selected persons would perform their jobs.  This enabled the organizations to gain competitive advantage in their businesses industries through finding the appropriate employees.

For any one manager to carry out his duties well, they need to have the best personnel from the market hence psychological tests will enable them to come up with a team that works for the best interest of the company and its stakeholders. For this to happen, managers then should be able to know if the candidates fit the positions and the company best if the candidates are smart enough for those positions if the candidates talents will grow the candidates emotional intelligence to perform their work involving other the development direction best for them as well as do the candidates have personal problem which could be solved.  This helps the managers as well as owners of the business know better about the people they want to hire, coach, promote or counsel.

To achieve this many companies find it wise to use psychologist to asses their candidates and team before they come to a conclusion on whom to carry out the specified tasks.  The psychologists are asked to assess and interview the people and check whether they have what the company needs in terms of talent and potential.  They also have to tell if the candidates have high potential to make developments, if the candidates are ready for promotion, if the candidates are development based in term of their strengths and weaknesses and the reasons why the candidates would perform poorly and hence give guidance.  To start with, the company applies psychological profiling to enable them promote or hire key candidates.  This policy ensure that the psychologist interact with the entire final group of individuals who would be qualified for that specified position in terms of the pay and grade. The application of the policy then ensures that they are in quality control when hiring and promoting people in the company.  The Human Resource Manager receives the report and is entitled to keep it confidential. From the report he make the right decision and gives feedback to the successful candidates.  The information gotten from the psychological profile is also useful in planning and monitoring the individuals growth.  The profile also covers the persons general intellectual levels and their styles of solving problems, their emotional person and maturity, their interpersonal styles, their selling ability, their organizational skills, how they make decisions, their competencies in leadership as well as their aspirations and ambitions.  The psychologists are able to define and recommend the right person by prior getting to know all the characteristics of the person needed and their duties and what the company expects about the person.  The candidates history, setbacks, relationships, responsibilities, career path(s) and previous performances are also considered.  All these profiles for the candidates are made using disciplined behavioral interviews, personality questionnaires and standardized intelligence tests which may take each individual a minimum of four hours and a maximum of half a day (Lakin, 2005).

In any working environment where professional are involved there are certain exclusive moral codes that they are expected to apply in their day to day activities.  They are expected to behave and approach situations in different ways from other professions.  Therefore, behavioral assessments are also used by psychologists for the purpose of the professional ethic whereby they observe persons actions in a natural setting.  The persons behavior is coded quantitatively to check how much of what is required by the professional code of ethics do they put into practice and how well they perform.

Psychologists are required to render competent services to their clients by mastering the professional psychological skills.  In performance of their special assignments they should be knowledgeable about the methods of functioning and the objectives of the organization.  They should strive to ensure that they maintain the best standard of service by objectively collecting the appropriate data and information necessary to effectively work with the workers.  In conducting their duties they should uphold integrity and use appropriate procedures and techniques of assessment to deal with the individual differences.

Employers may also administer tests to current or potential employees to check their fitness to do their duties.  For instance, many companies have introduced the use of psychological tests and lies detector test to determine use of drugs by employees.  This is due to the impact of increased number of workers who test positive for drug and alcohol abuse. These tests are carried out if one is suspected to be a drug user or just a random test for the employees.  Sometimes it is mandatory for some professional to carry out these tests to ensure safety of clients, the personnel and the company as whole.  For people thought to be involved in theft or embezzlement of funds in an organization they may be administered with a polygraph exam to test the truth behind the scandals.  Hence one is disciplined, discharged or discriminated against (Anonymous, 2007).  However it should be noted that labor law specialist require that these tests should directly relate to the job and should be treated with a lot of confidentiality.

Brusman (1996) claim that, application of psychological test in any organization is very significant. Firstly, carrying out psychological tests has enable organization to hire and maintain the exceptional employees for their organizations benefit which is due to competence and determination of the selected workers. Secondly, it has increased productivity due selection of the best candidates for all the positions in the organization.  Thirdly, the management is certain of best performance from the chosen candidates since the tests are highly dependable for predicting the real job performance of any individual.  Fourthly, there is reduced workers turnover and training expenses which reduces the general costs of the organization and eliminate the misery of hiring poor performers.  Finally, the tests have deception scales that enable to evaluators to identify any candidate who would be giving answers to the questions asked in a forthright way.

Tests are significant and hence they should not be supplied ahead of the said date and their responses should be kept private.  Regardless of their importance, employees find test intimidating but they should be allowed a chance for explanations as to why they need them and the impact the tests for the organizations welfare (Associate for Test Publishers, 2007).

Despite attending the same classes, interacting with the same teachers and using the same educational materials, men and women end up receiving totally different educations throughout their educational training. At the time they join elementary classes, girls are as bright, performing as excellent as their male counterparts in almost every field of achievement (Marshall  Reihartz, 1997). However, its worrying that at the time of graduation from college or high school, girls usually show poor performance than the boys. A 1992 American Association of women in University report notes that women were having less positive attention from their teachers unlike the males. The report further indicates that the curriculum in place in the education system then, was male oriented and that gender socialization within institutions of learning is enough evidence that girls are usually shortchanged in educational life (Marshal  Reihartz, 1997).

According to Klein (1985), females are from as early as at the elementary level, made to realize that they are not similar (equal) to the males. Experts warn that lining up or grouping students by gender is enough to communicate that there ought to be different treatments as regards to each sex. For example, when a school administrator fails to address a case of female sexual harassment, then heshe is furthering gender biasness and degradation of the females. Research indicates that many schools tolerate some male behaviors and defend this act with the old saying, boys will be boys. It has been noticed of late that girls are performing exemplary well in educational matters than boys yet classroom experience shows that gender socialization is still in favor of gender inequality (Jones et al, 2000). Teachers have been known to initiate girls socialization focusing on to a feminine ideal. That is, being commented on calmness, cleanliness, quietness and neatness and that popularity counts more than ability and educational performance. On another hand, males are trained to be active, speak up and to reason independently. Males are taunted if they behave in manner similar to females and this communicates a message that to be a girl is worse than to be a boy. A permissive attitude towards female harassment acts such as sexual harassment enhances the notion that girls are inferior (Marshall  Reihartz, 1997).  It is true that, classrooms are microcosms of society, mirroring its strengths and ills alike, it follows that the normal socialization patterns of young children that often lead to distorted perceptions of gender roles are reflected in the classrooms (Jones et al, 2000)   Apart from patterns of socialization, gender biasness extends further into lessons, teacher-student interactions and textbooks.

Interviewing both my parents together, on issues like their marriage and its impact on me and vice versa was a unique idea and all three of us enjoyed this session very much. Though I knew it, after interviewing both my parents together, my belief that they are a very happy couple became even stronger.

I discovered that over the years they have hugely become interdependent on each other. There are certain things like cooking that only my mother can do. So if she is out of town for a couple of days, it is difficult for my father to manage.  Similarly there are certain activities related to the household in which my mother has never taken any interest. Those activities are single-handedly being managed by my father since the very beginning of their married life. A few such activities are bank work, looking after the investment matters, grocery shopping, mowing the lawn etc. My mother articulated her problems when my father has to move out of town even for a couple of days.

Somehow, I didnt find this interdependence on each other a very healthy factor. I feel that the role of a life partner is to provide support to his  her spouse but not make him  her so dependant on oneself that one is not able to cope up with the other ones absence. I reiterated this point in the form of a question to my parents during the interview and both seemed to agree with this viewpoint. My father complained that he had always tried to make my mother involved in bank activities, investment issues, grocery shopping etc., but she never showed an interest in all these. He also pointed out that he had always wanted to be involved in cooking but my mother has always restrained him from doing so because she did not want him to create a mess in the kitchen, whose cleanliness she is very particular about. My mother had no answer to these accusations made by my father, which made it clear that this work divide was created by her. She later added that she will think over this issue and try to change for the better.

Barring this aspect I had a very positive impression of my parents marriage throughout the interview. Until now I had treated them only as my parents but through this interview I got a chance to perceive them as human beings who have a life of their own other than just being my parents. As human beings married to each other, I found them a made for each other couple as they complemented each other in all aspects. They have formed a very beautiful relationship together and just watching their comfort and interaction level with each other during the interview gave me an idea of the warmth of their wonderful relationship. They seemed each others best friends rather than just spouses.

Needless to say, when ones parents share a good relationship with each other, life is like a cakewalk for children. I have seen many children from broken homes. Children who have always seen their parents fighting on trivial matters do not grow up to become happy human beings. They always have some or the other scar on their personality. But I am thankful to God for giving me parents like my mom and dad who have made life so beautiful and secure for me.

Since their marriage is based on love and has a soothing calmness, it has played a very positive role in my personality development. I am very calm and composed from within and my personality oozes out an inner strength that is related to the quality of my excellent family life gifted to me by my parents. I strongly believe that if my parents would have had a troubled marriage I would not have been the individual that I am today. Since there was no trouble at home throughout my childhood, I have lived life to the fullest without any neglect or fear.

However, a good environment at home because of the excellent marriage of my parents has made me accustomed of a cocooned and sheltered life. I think I will not be able to face the hardships boldly as I am not used to the small troubles and tribulations of life. But it is always better to lead a normal life than face troubles in form of fighting parents in childhood. Life throws immense testing times upon us if my parents have managed to be calm without letting me have a feel of those testing times, I think even I will be able to sale across boldly in such situations.

I would like to point out that during their interview they revealed that my siblings and I were a very important binding force for them. My mother said that when we were small both she and my father were young and more hot headed than what they are now. But it was because of us that they were able to get over certain differences in opinion. After our birth, they both started considering themselves first our parents then each others spouse.

My father said that there were many occasions when he used to burst with anger but seeing our innocent faces he used to mellow down because he didnt want to frighten us by fighting with our mother in front of us. Both of them accepted that it was due to us that they got the strength to control their anger. It was our innocent faces that stopped them from being cruel to each other.

They revealed that just like normal couples they had a number of small quarrels but they managed to hide those quarrels from us. Once when they had a fight in front of me, I remember, sobbing out of fear and helplessness. They had felt extremely sorry to have hurt my feelings this way and had mutually decided to keep their childrens interest above their own. My siblings and I have kept them together over the years as they believe that couples can split but parents cant.

This interviewing assignment made me see my parents relationship from a different perspective than what I used to see until now. I was able to look at their lives from an outsiders perspective and not from the perspective of their child. I was really in awe of their integrity of fighting through hard times and fluctuating moods to make me and my siblings feel secure. The interview was a learning experience for me as there were so many things that I had never thought about. It helped me appreciate my parents and respect them even more. The best part is that the professional way in which I conducted the interview, made my parents proud of me. You have become mature and smart, they rejoiced.

Human beings constantly change from conception until death. Mostly due to common psychological and biological make up. Development refers to growth or progression to the stages later in life, in human beings this refers to maturity. Lifespan development refers to cognitive, socioemotional and biological processes from birth to infancy to adolescence followed by adulthood, old age and lastly death. Life span development begins between conception and child birth.

Characteristics of life span development.
Development is dependent on individuals as every individual has unique features.
Development is life long. Each life stage is continuous faced by varying challenges which vary from one individual to another thus there is no age period that is supreme or multidimensional. According to Boyd and Bee (2006), various characteristics set stage for the new born baby as the genetic program without body cell unfolds as the baby emerges in the world. The growing child is also influenced by the world surrounding them leading to alteration in the genetic expression. Development is multidirectional. This means that development is affected by decline or continuous growth.

 Development is plastic and also dynamic. According to Baltes (2006), human beings have the ability to change positively during environmental difficulties in life. Thus they learn modes of compensation and overcoming difficult periods. Baltes, Reese and Lipsett (1980) define genetic and neuronal plasticity as identification of potentialities based on the neuronal development and genetic expression level this includes other parts of the body and structural features of the brain. There is also societal plasticity which refers to differences in the environment and social contexts. This includes social class, ethnicity or migration. Lastly there is behavioral plasticity which is study of psychological functions and characteristics related to levels of learning or research on rate.

Development is contextual in that human development takes place in accordance to the events in their lives and the timing of those events can determine the development of such individuals. Development contextual therefore leads to shaping of an individuals career, way of life and development. Human beings are mostly vulnerable during transition periods from one age group to another. This is so especially if these transitions take place early or are not anticipated.

Development is multidisciplinary and as a result, development entails all the three domains socioeconomic, cognitive and biological and in order for one to be fully developed all the three domains must be functional. There are other disciplines that also contribute heavily to development. These include the political and social environment and the community at large. Development involves growth, maintenance and regulation. Changes taking place in an individual must be interpreted depending on the causes of those changes and the culture. Importance of human development is linked to the understanding of other disciplines and thus modifications taking place in adults is as important as those modifications taking place in childhood. Development is contextual meaning that development proceeds from what is already there thus improving on what we already are.
                                         
Development Domains
Development domains are classes or categories used by scientists. There are three development domains Biological domain involves growth, bodily changes and maturation. Biological domain is also referred to as physical domain which are changes that take place in humans physically especially from childhood to adolescence. Cognitive domain takes place mentally through knowing thus reasoning, perceiving and problem solving as well as imagining occurs (Blumberg and Lori 2004).

 This shows how learning takes place and explains why memory fades or deteriorates as one continues to age. This includes collecting information, sorting the information out thus the data is used to reason and develop thinking skills. Cognitive development has various areas which includes reasoning, information processing, memory, language development and intelligence (Blumberg and Lori 2004).

 Psychological domain entails expectations, emotions, social interactions and personality. This social domain is adjustable depending on the social stratification and social skills and in cases such as developing relationship. According to Boyd and Bee (2006), the above three domains operate together thus affect each other.

Human development ranges from conception to death or end of life. The periods are prenatal, early childhood, middle childhood, late childhood, adolescence early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. Prenatal human development is also referred to as antenatal development meaning gestation of the foetus from fertilization until birth during pregnancy. This is commonly referred to as fetal development or embryology. Embryo development or embryogenesis starts after fertilization. During the second trimester, hands and feet are well formed, sebaceous glands are formed and sweat glands and they start functioning. Taste buds, eyes and tongue and mouth are completely formed. During the third and the last trimester, the fetus is fully developed and its eventually expelled from the mothers womb.

 Early childhood. Child development vary from one child to another however all children undergo cognitive, emotional and physical or biological growth. By the time children are about 8 to 10 months, they develop fear due to threats. They also show anxiety when separated from the people they are familiar with (Blumberg and Lori 2004).

Middle childhood. (Children of ages 6-8 years old). These children develop social skills as they interact with the world as they join schools thus mental, physical and social skills develop rapidly. They also become confidence through sports friends and schoolwork. Late childhood. (Ages 10-12).during this period children develop rapid transition from childhood to adolescence. There are noticeable changes do begin to occur as after the age of 13. The children have difficulty with their body image and social skills (Blumberg and Lori 2004).

Adolescence. (Ages 13-19) Adolescence is characterized by sexual maturation, and physical growth. Boys tend to develop slower as compared to girls. They develop sense of identity, independence and ability to make decisions there is also heightened sexual interest. Early adulthood. Early adulthood commences from twenty years to thirty five years. Human beings at this stage are generally in good health and are very active and productive.

Middle adulthood. Middle adulthood is the period between thirty five and fifty five years. This is the period where human beings are most productive. Though aging differs from one person to another, some changes seem to take place in almost all human beings these include loss of skin elasticity, heart rate decreases, strength deteriorate with age. Natural fertility in women ends as menopause takes place during this phase. Late adulthood. Late adulthood is also referred to as old age whereby it is associated with decline of physical. Socioemotional and cognitive faculties. Physically the individuals become deaf, toothless, balding, and lameness. Sexual performance also declines. Sense of smell and taste also decreases. Low stomach acid production .thus there is increased weakness gradually leading to death
Contemporary Concerns Related To Life Span Development

There are various contemporary concerns related to life span development. These include Continuity and discontinuity. Boy and Bee (2006), points out that lifespan development whether changes occurring due to age are as a result of types or kinds. Children progress throughout various stages in life gradually, thus this continuity is viable to change. As a child progresses, the friends change, they develop other habits.

The other major controversy is whether the lifespan of a human being is influenced by the genetics or environment, thus the issue lies in whether the lifespan development of a human being depends on ones genetic make up or its under the influence of the surroundings. Thus is development controlled by nature or nurture While human beings changes are as a result of experiences and genetic factor, every individual is unique in genetic phenotype such as personality, physical characteristics, intelligence and genetic disorders.

Conclusion
Darwin began Lifespan development and it still intrigues both psychologists and scientists today human development domains occur throughout all the periods of human development. However human beings change or develop with age.

In todays high paced hectic world people are constantly faced by one form of stress or the other. This gives rise to a lot of disorders like Schizotypal personality disorder. Blessed are the people who dont suffer any sort of personality disorders, for a disorder can work havoc with our life and our relationships.

Persons having Schizotypal disorder keep away from interpersonal relationship. They are confined to themselves. They do not participate in social events. They feel uncomfortable when they are pushed to certain situations where they have to relate to others. The affected individuals are prone to cognitive and perceptual distortions. This leads to the manifestation of variety of eccentric behaviors that others often find confusing.

We can recognize an individual by his bizarre and eccentric behavior. He is confined to himself and is afraid of interacting with a crowd. They prefer to be inward. They choose to be inside a boundary away from interpersonal relationship. Their activities drift aimlessly. They have odd behavior and thoughts. Their speech is normal and coherent, but they talk about something which is not at all important. The other person may get confused and get bored. Their thought process is weird, suspicious, magical and filled with illusions. This may be due to perception distortion, and not able to mingle socially. The reason could be anxiety that develops due to their chosen isolation.

Symptoms
Wrong interpretation of events.
Affected individuals most of the time do not interpret the correct cause and effect of the situation.
They do not know how their behavior affects others.
These individuals may be superstitious. They are often engaged in these odd beliefs since they find solace in them. This is just to cope with their isolation with the social world.
They feel that they posses certain unusual powers to predict events before it happens.
Such people have odd thinking and speech patterns. Their speaking appears strange in structure and phrasing. There is no proper association of words and ideas. Their ideas may be abstract and very confusing. They can not stick to an ongoing conversation.
They are also very suspicious of others and show extreme distrust towards them.
They arent emotional. They appear to be aloof. They do not seem to enjoy their lives. This may be due to social rejection. They may bundle up their feelings for protective reasons.
They have unusual choice of clothing. Their personal appearance is not appealing. The clothes may be too small or large or unclean.
They choose their immediate family members as friends, and shy away from outsiders.

Onset  Dominance

Schizotypal personality disorder generally begins in early adulthood and may continue throughout life.
Theres no cure for schizotypal personality disorder, but psychotherapy and some medications are there for prevention and help.

There are chances that positive childhood experiences can reduce symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder in affected young people.

Since this disorder tends to become deep rooted as people age, its best to seek treatment as early as possible.

The people suffering from personality disorder usually seek help only at the urging of friends or relatives. Hence, if you find that a friend or a family member is behaving in an abnormal manner then please, look more carefully. They could be suffering from Schizotypal personality disorder. Kind suggestions are required to make the person seek medical attention, starting with a primary care physician or mental health provider.

Differential Diagnosis Issues
There are no laboratory tests for personality disorders.
Diagnosis normally comes after a thorough clinical interview.
The doctors ask questions about symptoms and mental well-being, and take a medical, psychiatric and social history.
A physical examination will help rule out other conditions, and a mental health provider will be consulted for further evaluation to confirm the disorder.
The symptoms for this disorder may begin in childhood or teenage showing tendency towards solitary pursuit of activities, poor peer relationships, pronounced social anxiety, and underachievement in school.
Other symptoms that can be present during the developmental years are
hypersensitivity to criticism or correction
Unusual use of language
Odd thoughts, or bizarre fantasies
Children with these tendencies appear socially inactive as compared with peers and often become the object of malicious teasing.
This doubly increases the feelings of isolation.
To conclude on this disorder accurately, there must be the presence of at least four of the above-mentioned symptoms.

The symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder can sometimes be confused with the symptoms seen in schizophrenia. The bizarre thinking associated with schizotypal personality disorder can be mistaken as some psychotic problem and misdiagnosed. There may be small percentage of psychotic episodes occurring in the patient with schizotypal personality disorder, but it is not as pronounced, frequent, or as intense as in schizophrenia. For an accurate diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder, the symptoms for schizotypal cannot occur exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or other mood disorder that has psychotic features.

CausesEtiology of Condition
Ones personality is completely responsible for the ways one thinks, feels, behaves and reacts to the environment. Personality forms from a combination of genetics and early life experiences. If a person persistently feels or behaves in an inappropriate way, then that person has a personality disorder.

In normal development, children steps forward through several stages of social awareness and learn to accurately interpret the indications and intentions of others. For people with schizotypal personalities this social cognition is impaired, leading to development of illogical beliefs, magical thinking and paranoid thoughts, such as a nagging suspicion that one is being harassed, persecuted or treated unfairly.

The exact reason or cause of this impairment is unknown. This may be due to childhood abuse, neglect or stress resulting in the brain dysfunction that gives rise to schizotypal symptoms. Both genetics and environmental circumstances appear to play a role in development of the disorder.

A family history may also be the reason behind this disorder. Thus, we see that genes may contribute in the disorder of ones personality. Apart from this, a number of environmental factors such as a neglectful or abusive childhood home may also be the cause of the development of schizotypal personality disorder.

Treatment
This disorder is treated with a combination of therapy and medication. No said medicine is available for the disorder however, doctors may prescribe antidepressant or antipsychotic medications to help alleviate associative conditions such as anxiety, depression or other mood disorders.

Psychotherapy is the best answer. A trusting rapport should be build in therapy which may help people with schizotypal personality disorder contradict the mistrust or discomfort they have with developing interpersonal relationships.

These people need to learn specific interpersonal skills and new behaviors, as they often have difficulty responding appropriately to social indications. For instance, they can learn to express their feelings appropriately or adjust facial expressions and voices in reaction to certain stimuli.

They may respond to exercises that focus on interrupting distortions in thought. This type of therapy may use reasoning exercises to clarify social confusion and overcome self-defeating thoughts, especially in interpersonal situations.

Family support is very important. Treatment can be more effective when family members are involved. Seeking professional counseling as a group may help lessen angry confrontations or emotional distancing in the home. Family therapy may also offer the affected person reassurances of a support structure and a boost in morale.

It was a general belief that once a personality disorder has developed it will last throughout life. However, new research has suggested that the symptoms of conditions such as schizotypal personality disorder may improve significantly over time. Factors that appear most likely to reduce the symptoms of this disorder include positive relationships with friends and family as well as a sense of achievement at school, work and in extracurricular activities.

Although there is no exact definition of generation y, a broad definition generally incorporates over seventy million Americans born after 1977. A narrow perspective of this generation encompasses people between the ages of sixteen and twenty seven due to the notion that as the rate of change in the society increases so does the time period that make up a generation becomes shorter. The members of this generation are young and stylish, constantly use iPods, browse the net and want to dress in flip-flops while in the office. This generation is entering the job market when companies in America are filled with old people. They supervise the older generation, switch jobs and frustrate managers who try to retain an experienced and talented work force. According to Professor Jordan Kaplan of Long Island University, this generation rarely conforms to command-and-control form of management commonly practiced in many organizations in America (Pollak, 2008).
       
Generation y are cleaver in managing their financial resources and after observing economic recession and job insecurity that has affected other generations, they are keen to save for retirement. According to research by New York investment advisors, 37 of generation y saves for retirement before reaching the age of 25, while 49 consider retirement benefits while choosing a job. This age group also tends to chose jobs that are flexible, with options of telecommuting and working part time. They accommodate change and rarely stay in a single job or even career for long period of time. Moreover, they have the ability to multitask and can be compared to generation x on steroids. They not only hold their esteem high but they are also not afraid to drive change in their company (Pollak, 2008). Unlike other generations who are accustomed to annual reviews, Gen Yers is used to constant flow of information and timely review as they practiced in college.

Physical beauty is the awareness of the physical traits of an individual as aesthetically gratifying or beautiful. Its variation is referred to as looks and most anthropologists believe that its an important factor in social relation and can include various implications such as sexual attractiveness and physique. However, physical attractiveness is dependent on three factors universal perceptions common to all cultural backgrounds, social aspects and character subjective preferences. Despite universally held perceptions of beauty in both sexes, men tend to place significantly higher value on physical appearance in a partner than women do. This can be explained by evolutionary psychology as a consequence of ancestral humans who selected partners based on secondary traits. It is worth noting that physical appeal can have a significant effect on how people are judged in terms of recruitment, job opportunities, friendshipmating, sexual behavior and marriage.

However Charles Darwin on sexual selection theory states that certain evolutionary traits can be explained by intraspecific competition. He further defined sexual selection as the effects of the struggle between the individuals of one sex, generally the males, for the possession of the other sex, (Darwin, 1871). According to his statement, it is usually men who fight for female partners or intrasexual selection. On several occasions, intrasexual takes place. This is where one sex competes for another sex leading to intersexual. In most cases, females often prefer to ally with males with external ornaments or exaggerated morphology. These can credibly arise as a result of female preference for some aspect of male attributes that is mostly increased by genetic drift.

Evolutionary psychology is more on knowledge and principles from evolutionary ecology. In real life, it deals with the way of thinking but not the study of visions, reasoning or social attributes. Evolutionary psychology cannot be classified as behavioral genetics interested in the extent to which different people in a given environment can be accounted for by different genes. It is therefore a thinking process where the mind naturally selects and adapts itself with the social behavior exposed to it. Different theories on the origin of man and the ecological adaptations have defined the principles behind certain behaviors. A scholar by the name Charles Darwin made a major contribution in relation to different species he made a bold prediction that, In the distant future, he sees an open field for far more important researches. That psychology will be based on a new foundation, that of the necessary acquirement of each mental power and capacity by gradation, (Darwin, 1871). This further clarifies that psychology is never constant but changes with time and as years turn, various attributes fades out of the society and other social traits are adopted by the society.

To some extent, human beings are ruled by instincts that enable them to reason beyond personal appearance and even in mating process, hence it brings out the difference between human beings and other animals since they can reason and have opposite views. However, William James, he argued that the instincts in man has been found to be highly flexible than the other living organisms, (William, 1895). It is therefore true that instincts helps during the thinking process and decision making. This can further explain why people laugh when receiving a gift and cry when hurt or when they receive a message of death of a close friend. This can be explained in psychological terms as natural feeling that human beings poses that enables them to be judgmental enough and to come up with the solutions of various problems and even in selection of a partner. The ability to see, speak and to be able to differentiate between the beautiful and the ugly can clearly explain to us that psychological views originates from the mind and symbolizes itself as a behavior.

In the modern world, beautiful and tempting facial appearance has evolved many times in relation to mate selection and this explains why most people are attracted by beauty and vocal signals rather than the traits of an individual. Studies however show that both sexes have different tastes and preference in selecting a partner for instance, women prefer men with heavy wide jaws, heavy brows and broad cheek bones (William, 1895 Darwin, 1871). On the other hand, males prefer smooth faced ladies, tall and slim. They also tend to partner with ladies of symmetrical faces and bodies unlike women. Human beauty therefore defines the choice of a partner during the mating process. Health assessment is important in relation to evolutionary views. In the distant past, people were exposed to different diet and drugs that vary greatly with the modern diet and therefore contributing to the physical appearance of an individual in relation to facial, body and olfactory signals. Although beauty standards vary differently both in terms of culture and time, its worth noting that the living standard and the environmental challenges are major factors leading to ones appearance.

Due to exaggerated nature of secondary traits in mate selection, it can prove to be a hindrance to individual chances of partnership thereby undermining quality in a relationship consideration. According to Fisher  Bennett, in the book, The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection, he argued that people who are beautiful are naturally active and have better chances of getting a partner than the ones who are not beautiful though he contradicts the statement by saying that beauty is relative and depends on an individual selection and demands (Fisher  Bennett, 1999). He further claimed that physical attributes such as the breast can be a factor in dating though it varies from one society to another for instance women with big breasts are preferred in western countries as compared to other areas since they believe that they have higher level of sex hormones which promotes fertility. Beautiful people are assumed to be extroverted, famous and happy even though its a self fulfilling theory. On the contrary, physical beauty can have various effects both socially and economically since most people who are so concerned with the beauty tends to spend a lot of money on beauty productscosmetics hence expensive and require one to work for better income as compared to the average earners. Some argue that high income earners are associated with beauty than the poor individuals in the social ranking.

In understanding the theoretical and empirical research in evolutionary psychology, it is wise to first analyze the variables in the society that has led to different changes empirically. One method in use by evolutionary psychologists is using acquaintance of the location of evolutionary adapted ness to produce a hypotheses on possible psychological adaptations evaluated against empirical evidence because little is known regarding psychological adaptations and the evolutionary context in which people developed in regard to population size, structure, eating habit  and lifestyle. In most cases, these factors vary from one society to another and therefore alter with the physical attributes of an individual. Different societies are faced with the selection pressure as a result of the changes that occurs in the society. Many environmental issues have led to these changes such as changing from hunting to farming by our ancestors, sharing, mate choice, interpersonal aggression, child rearing, interpersonal assistance, diseases and a host of other fairly predictable challenges that constituted significant selection pressures.

Evolutionary psychologists clarifies that their findings about the past and the present on the mate selection is purely dependent on the aggressiveness, interpersonal relations and ones adaptations in line with the environmental challenges such as pregnancies, food shortage, diseases and famine.

It is therefore true according to Charles Darwin to conclude that psychology is based on new foundation since it depends wholly on ones mental power, environmental challenges and hisher capacity to grade beauty regardless of the quality of an individual. This can therefore mean that most people vary in their way of thinking and thereby have different opinionsjudgment on beauty and other attributes. Most people are influenced by beauty as compared to the qualities of an individual or personal attributes. In the modern society, people tend to ignore certain values such as honesty, respect and intelligence and embark on beauty though beauty may vary from one individual to another. In the early days of dating, people were trained or advised to go for the character rather than the beauty since certain ethics were valued in a society. With the changes and demands in the society, many have concentrated on beauty rather than the traits thereby leading to behavioral degradation. However, humans are intensely sensitive to variations in physical appearance, some theorize for reasons of evolution. Personal appearance therefore varies from genetic, age or disease.

Instability of Diagnosis and Influence of Mental Health Issues on Eating Disorders
For many years people believed that eating disorders were only about girls, only about popular girls like teenagers that had everything going for them.  No one put together the fact that the action could be the symptom of underlying issues in both male and females.  The majority of people diagnosed with eating disorders are adolescence, or at least the onset begins during adolescence, and while a majority of the diagnoses are for females, male diagnoses are becoming more prevalent.

Instability of Eating Disorder Diagnosis
The research group of Milos, Spindler, Schnyder,  Fairburn (2005) conducted a study on three types of eating disorders anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS).  The basis of the study was to understand the diagnosis of eating disorders and to watch how the subjects would change in their diagnoses within a 30 month study timeframe.

The study had 192 female participants that continued with the study for the full 30 months.  The initial interview was given, then a follow up at 12 months and again at 30 months.  The dependent variables that were under investigation included remission, the changing from one type of eating disorder to another, forms of treatment for the disorder, and eating disorder behavior in particular purging.  The study was an applied and quantitative study in that the results could be applied to the field and to patients and the numbers of occurrences were especially important to understand the independent variable of the instability of the diagnoses of eating disorders (Milos, Spindler, Schnyder,  Fairburn 2005).

The results showed that there was low stability in the diagnosis of the eating disorders throughout the 30 months.  Some of this instability was due to remission.  However, the remission was also unstable due to the likelihood of a patient changing from one type of eating disorder to another instead of having a remission or after a remission (Milos, Spindler, Schnyder,  Fairburn 2005).

This study shows that the diagnosis of all eating disorders is extremely hard even for specialist within the eating disorder field.  This study did not focus on any other types of influences, but on the found that there were possible other influences in the diagnosis and understanding of eating disorders (Milos, Spindler, Schnyder,  Fairburn 2005).

Eating disorders in Patients diagnosed with Bipolar
This study was conducted in 2008 by J. E. Wildes, M. D. Marcus,  A Fagiolini and focused on the correlation of bipolar disorders on eating disorders.  The research used 81 subjects from the Bipolar Disorder Center for Pennsylvanians (BDCP).  The average age of the subjects was 43.1 with no significant differences in gender, marital situation and education.  The study included all types of bipolar disorder except for rapid cycling, and the eating disorder assessment had to be a factor for six months prior.

The study was a basic, qualitative study in that the numbers of occurrences were not as important and the reasons or possible reasons for the occurrences.  This was a basic instead of applied because it looked at the causes rather than the solutions of the problem. The study found that the variables of the rate of anxiety and other mental issues may also affect the onset of eating disorders, but the independent variable of bipolar disorder remained in each subject and their diagnosis so that other diagnoses were considered secondary to the bipolar (Wildes et al 2008)

The influence of the bipolar disorders was measured against dependent variables including the types of eating disorders to see which was the most influenced by the bipolar disorder.  The types of eating disorders included Binge Eating Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa and Bulima Nervosa.  The most commonly occurring disorder was the Binge Eating.  However, the other data showed that females were significantly more likely to be diagnoses with Anorexia Nervosa.  These finds support previous studies, but the fact remains that more work needs to be done in the field to gain a better understanding of the DSM-IV Axis I diagnoses influences on eating disorders (Wildes et al 2008).

Early Onset of Axis I Disorders with Diagnosis of Eating Disorders
In 2009, a group of researchers (Sihvola, Keski-Rahkonen, Dick, Hoek, Raevuori, Rose, Pulkkinen, Marttunen,  Kaprio) studied 1,318 twins in a five year period to see if there were any relationships between major depressive disorder (MDD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), as predictive to the onset of eating disorders.  The use of twins allowed for the researchers to control for demographics, and family situations.  The method of data collection was a researcherclinician interview of the twins at the age of 14, and a follow up of a self-administered survey at the age of 17.5 years of age.

Sihvola et al (2009) used a basic, qualitative study in that it the focus was on specific causes of eating disorders rather then on the number of occurrences.  While the number of occurrence was a minor factor the major variables were the diagnosis of MDD and GAD prior to the onset of the eating disorder, and then the reevaluation of the subject to analyze if there was any correlation between those two diagnoses and the diagnosis of some type of eating disorder.

The findings of this study showed that there was a definitive relationship between the onset of MDD and GAD at the age of 14 and the diagnosis of an eating disorder by the age of 17.5 years.  In fact the results showed that most anorexia diagnosis lasted the least amount of time, while bulimia was the second longest and binge eating lasted the longest of the eating disorders.  From these results it can be determined that there are other mitigating factors that create the onset of eating disorders.  While the findings are not conclusive, it does confirm that there is a need for continued studies of this type (Sihvola et al 2009).  

Conclusion
From these studies it seems to be clear that there are many factors that need to be understood as influential to the onset and diagnosis of any type of eating disorder.  The disorders themselves need to be studied more and better understood, but the fact that other DSM-IV Axis I disorders affect the eating disorders in such major ways, the studies must include other factors as well, such as bipolar disorder, MDD and GAD, as well as others.  It is obvious that eating disorders are not created on their own, but seem to be a symptom or reaction to other problems, and thus should be considered in such a way within studies about those other disorders as well.  It is not a singular direction, but both types of disorders seem to feed off one another, and need to be understood in relation to one another.

A research is conducted to learn about the behaviors and attitudes related to body piercing and tattoo. The study is performed to analyze the correlation between tattoos and personality. The research is done to understand whether tattoos and body piercing indicate defective personality. A survey is conducted and a questionnaire is supplied among students to learn the correlation between tattoos and personality.

Questionnaire
Do you have tattoos or piercings in your body
If yes, what was the motivation behind your decision to make tattoos and piercings in your body
Do you participate in risk-taking activities
Is your attitude to people who use alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana and other addictives positive or negative
Have you ever noticed aggressive behavior in you
Do you feel like taking risks sometimes
Do you have any desire to become a model or an image (of being a trendsetter)
Which preferences for music do you have (Goth, Punk, Metal, and Electronica)
Do you have a high tendency to hang out with friends
Do you seek parental guidance in your matters
Are you aware of the potential health risks associated with piercingtattooing
Are you a style-lover
How good are you at academics
What are the extra-curricular activities that you are interested in
Do you want to lessen your attachment with your parents and live independently
Do you adhere to the advice and admonishments of parents and other elders
Have you ever been diagnosed antisocial personality disorder
Do you lead a happy and satisfied life
Do you feel often anxiety or depression
Do you support legalization of marijuana
Do you like entertainment with elements of violence
Do you smoke or use alcohol often
Are you interested in doing activities that are dangerous or forbidden
How confident you are about your future
 Do you have a history of substance abuse, sexual abuse or suicide attempts

Literature review
Body piercing and tattooing show that the teens want to be associated with the experimental and risk-taking community (Papameletiou et al, 2003)
Youngsters desire to piercingtattoo is related to
use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and other addictives (Papameletiou et al, 2003)
desire to take risks sometimes
desire to become a model or an image of being a trendsetter
a preference for particular music genres (Goth, Punk, Metal, and Electronica) (Papameletiou et al, 2003)
a higher tendency to hang out with friends (Papameletiou et al, 2003)

Tattooed youngsters are found to be more extreme in these categories than pierced youngsters (Papameletiou et al, 2003). Piercing is far more common (23 are pierced and further 20 want to be) which starts at age thirteen (Papameletiou et al, 2003). There does not appear to be as much of a barrier to get a piercing as there is with a tattoo (Papameletiou et al, 2003).

Numerous indicate they want a tattoo (21) while currently have 8 have one (Papameletiou et al, 2003).
In the recent years there is a big increase in the number of youngsters with tattoos (who are less than 18 years of age). This is a period in life when parental control is loosened (Papameletiou et al, 2003). Studies show that there is awareness of the potential health risks associated with piercingtattooing, e.g. regular infection, HIVAIDS and hepatitis C are all noted far more frequently by the group either having or wanting these than by those with no plans for getting one (Papameletiou et al, 2003). Majority of the youngsters are unaware of this infection and other health problems. These health matters do not seem to play a role of any significance in the decision to act one way or the other (Papameletiou et al, 2003).

In both cases, there is a strong skew towards females - further confirmation that these are fashion statements - not the Macho symbol that they were in previous generations (Papameletiou et al, 2003).
Youngsters with tattoos and piercing are quite different from other youngsters. The tattooed and pierced adolescents (and even youths) are style-lovers who bother about nothing but appearance. They generally do not perform well in other areas of life. They are highly likely to use drugs and alcohol as well as prefer to lessen their attachment with their parents and desire to live in their own world. What is more, they are less likely to listen to the parents and other elders. Tattoos and piercing are the most popular trends among modern day youngsters. There is a greater number of youngsters who want to have tattoos on their bodies and there is a wide-spread tendency of tattoos within 18-19 age group (Papameletiou et al, 2003). This combination suggests that tattooing is a trend that is still growing (Papameletiou et al, 2003).

Piercing and tattoos can never be appreciated, especially with females who are more likely to suffer from health problems which are directly interrelated with body piercing. Furthermore, many of them are not aware of the health risks they might face in the future. The proportion of youngsters that identify hepatitis C as a potential health danger is low (Papameletiou et al, 2003). Piercings are more popular among youths of 18-19 years old. Even the youngsters of 12-13 years old use piercings and tattoos. 18-19 year olds are more likely (7) to be aware of hepatitis C as a health risk associated with piercing or tattoos than 12-13 year olds (2) (Papameletiou et al, 2003). This awareness is not found to be discouraging to make tattoos. Tattoo users are found to be less happy and satisfied with their lives (Papameletiou et al, 2003).

Other crucial facts related to youngsters who use tattoos and piercings are the following
Youngsters who have or want tattoos and piercings are more likely to feel stressed out (54-57) than average youngsters (46) (Papameletiou et al, 2003).

Youngsters who listen to Punk, Rhythm and Blues and Alternative music are more likely to have or want tattoos (Papameletiou et al, 2003).

Tattoo owners are less oriented towards mainstream style brands (Papameletiou et al, 2003).
Tattoo owners are found to be crying for the legalization of marijuana.
Tattoo owners are more likely to be keen on entertainment with elements of violence (Papameletiou et al, 2003).
Tattoo owners are almost four times as likely to be daily smokers as youngsters in general, and twice as likely to be weekly drinkers of alcohol (Papameletiou et al, 2003).
Tattoo owners are more likely to agree with From time to time I like to do things that are dangerous or forbidden (Papameletiou et al, 2003).
Tattoo owners are less confident about their future ten years from now (Papameletiou et al, 2003).

A student who uses tattoos and piercings has fewer chances to be successful. They would often fall into stress and other psychological problems. An individual with piercings and tattoos on hisher body would not be respected by other individuals. Tattoos and piercings are used by people who are style conscious. They are least interested in other crucial aspects of society. Numerous are the negative effects of using tattoos and piercings. Adolescents who use tattoos and piercings try to get involved in parties and fashion clubs that further take them to deterioration. They do try to alienate themselves from parents and elders which would make them deprived of parents guidance and care. Tattoos and piercing have undoubtedly numerous adverse effects on the lives of youngsters.

1. Using information from the Brock and Lovett articles, as well as the information in Leahey on Old History and New History, explain the change from the old to the new way of regarding the history of psychology. What are the changes involved and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach

It was recorded that psychology was once vividly understood as the practical application of a philosophy. This distinct kind of philosophy was deeply rooted from moralism and religious principles, stressing mans need to be attuned  to his spiritual nature (Leahey 2003). By the end of the 19th century, the newer scientific, rationalistic approach to the subject of psychology emerges in opposition. The emergence of the modern rationalistic approach prompted the study of psychology to break all connections with its philosophical roots and enter a different mileage of definition. As it tries to liberate itself from the traditional philosophical musing and concepts, the history of psychology is being transformed to be the objective, empirical and value-free science of human nature. This shift from the traditional adage is said to be the substitution of the values of scientism (Leahey 2003).

Approaches used in examining the evolvement of the history of psychology include emphasizing the influence of non-psychological factors the utilization of great-person approach which takes into consideration works of individuals such as Plato and Freud and the historical development approach which demonstrates how various individuals or events have influenced the changes in an idea or concepts through the years (Hergenhahn 2008). It has been noted that psychology should not be judged because some its aspects rae deemed to be not scientific or even anti-scientific. The advantage of the given approaches is that it opens up avenues for unlimited inquiry to human nature while their main disadvantage is that they can cement psychology into a certain belief or basis.

2. Discuss why psychology can be described both as a science and as a non-science. Include in your discussion the characteristics of science that both Robinson and Leahey examine.

According to Leahey (2003), the parting of psychology from its philosophical roots does not express the notion that the field of study has become purely rational and objective. The term scientism when applied to the concept of psychology relays the idea that the boundaries of psychology are beyond the scope of scientific inquiry.

Given the tenacity of the concept of neutrality, psychology is subjected to the fundamental issue on how objectivity claimed by science is possible. Psychology as both science and non-science posits the query regarding the reliability of psychological performance such as perception and knowledge and the possibility for validating rational data concerning human nature.

3. In early Greek thought, the debate begins concerning whether knowledge comes solely through the physical world, via the senses, or whether knowledge demands something in addition to sense experience---reason and logic. Using the material from Leahey, chapter two, choose several Greek philosophers who think knowledge comes from sense experience, and choose several who think that sense experience alone is not sufficient. Briefly describe the ideas of each philosopher that you choose, explaining why you think they take one position or the other.

Greek philosophy centered on the role of reason and inquiry. Socrates gave to the world Plato and his theories that focused on the relevance of method of inquiry. Plato can be considered as the philosophers who had examined that knowledge acquired through the sense remains confused and impure and that the contemplatative soul that parts away from the world can obtain the true knowledge. On the other hand, Aristotle, being one of Platos students can be considered as modern empiricist as he placed more value on knowledge gained through senses.

Before the popularity of Socrates came Parmenides, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who proposed that there is an eternal pure being beyond the presence of nature. According to Parmenides, there are two opposing sides of the world. There is the appearance of the world which expresses how things seem to be or how an individual intends to perceive things. But Parmenides emphasized that senses are not to be trusted since they are fallible in nature. Ergo, he extremely favored the rationalism.

4. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Greek philosophy was continued but transformed. Choose three thinkers from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance and explain how they used the ideas of specific Greek philosophers in their own work. Be sure to explain how particular Greek thinkers influenced their ideas.

The term Renaissance is a French word which means new birth (Symonds 2008). It is a period in which great scholars or thinkers who had became humanists, implying a strong admiration for the achievements of the human race. Among the greatest thinkers of the Renaissance period are  Martin Luther, Marsilio Ficino, and Niccolo Macchiavelli.

Luther instigated the establishment of the Protestant Reformation and expressed interest for Aristotle due to his concept of reason and later on realized reason along could not lead men to God so he expressed negation of Aristotles emphasis on reason. Ficino is known as the reviver of Neoplatonism as he was the one how espoused the worlds ensoulment and its integration with the human soul. Macchiavelli adheres to Aristotles virtue ethics in which humans are obliged to live virtuously but admits that living as such does not necessarily lead to happiness.

The study of aggression in psychology is important in the sense that the study of aggression and understanding why people become aggressive help counseling psychologists to develop new treatment methods for people suffering from aggressive behavior disorders, or anger management issues.

Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961, 1963) have studied imitative aggressive behavior in children. They hypothesized that children who witnessed models receiving a positive response to aggressive behavior were more likely to imitate the aggressive behaviors if they were (a) male, and (b) witnessed the model receiving some type of positive reinforcement for the aggressive behavior. They studied 72 preschool children in the first study and 80 preschool children in the second study.

The results of these two studies indicate that children who observe aggressive behavior being modeled are more likely to imitate these behaviors. The chances of imitating aggressive behavior increases if students observe the model being aggressive and being rewarded for their aggressive behavior Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961, 1963) also found that these behaviors changed depending on the reinforcement of the behavior. Finally, the researchers found that male children were more likely to demonstrate imitative aggressive behaviors than female children.

Introduction
Aggression is a serious problem for several reasons. First, aggression can lead to violence and criminal behavior. Second, aggression is an unacceptable method for dealing with and confronting problems. Children who respond with aggression may develop social and emotional problems that may affect their lives in variety of ways. Finally, studying aggression is important in that it demonstrates how behavior can be both modeled and imitated by others.

Imitative Aggression
According to Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961, 1963), imitative aggression occurs when a child sees someone model an aggressive behavior such as pushing, or yelling, and then the child proceeds to imitate that behavior. In a study of 72 preschool students (n36 males, 36 females) Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) hypothesized that, male students that were exposed to aggressive behaviors demonstrated by adult models would be more likely to imitate the modeled aggressive behaviors than students that had viewed a non-aggressive model, or students that had no exposure to either model specifically, if they witnessed the model receiving a positive response for the behavior.. According to Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961), the results of the study indicated that students that were exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to imitate aggressive behaviors. The researchers also found that boys were more likely to imitate aggressive behaviors than girls. This clearly indicated that

In a second study Bandura, Ross and Ross (1963) studied how vicarious reinforcement affects imitative learning. Bandura, Ross and Ross (1963) hypothesized that male children who observed a model that demonstrated aggressive behavior, being rewarded for aggressive behaviors would be more likely to imitate the aggressive behavior than students who witnessed the model demonstrating aggressive behavior without being rewarded. In a study of 80 preschool students (n40 males, 40 females), Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1963) found that students who saw aggressive models receive rewards for aggressive behavior were more likely to imitate the behavior in hopes of receiving a reward themselves. Bandura Ross and Ross (1963) also found that this behavior was more likely to occur in male participants than in female participants.

Discussion
Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961, 1963) hypothesized that children were more likely to imitate aggressive behaviors in which the model received a positive response from researchers either by the model being praised, or receiving some other type of reward. Students were also more likely to imitate aggressive behavior if they were male than they were if they were female. The dependent variable in these studies was imitative aggression. The independent variable for both studies was how the researchers responded to the models behavior.

 The main confounding variable in both studies was that real life aggressive behavior could not be predicted in a laboratory setting.  There were several reasons why this was the confounding variable. First, the setting was a strictly controlled laboratory environment. This meant that there were no parents or teachers to interfere by punishing children for imitating aggressive behavior that they saw on television.

Second, aggressive behavior that is viewed on television is rarely imitated because in most television shows the bad guys get punished by the end of the episode. According to Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1961, 1963) children are not as likely to imitate behaviors that they see being punished therefore this type of imitative aggression is not likely to occur.

Finally, much of the aggression on television involves highly technical weaponry, gun fights, and special effects, it can be predicted from Bandura, Ross, and Rosss (1961,1963) studies  that children are more likely to try and imitate realistic aggressive behaviors and they simply do not see this type of aggression on television very frequently.

In some cases it was demonstrated that imitative aggression did not respond as predicted when one factored in the influence of gender. The influence of gender not only had a powerful influence on how the children responded to the aggression themselves, but on the likelihood that they would imitate aggressive behaviors.

The results of these two studies indicate that children imitate the behavior that they see modeled. This can occur under different reinforcement conditions such as conditions of reward, versus conditions of non-reward. The results of these studies also indicate that students may take what they see demonstrated in an aggressive model and expand on the repertory of behaviors that they have observed in a more controlled fashion (e.g. creative aggression) which is learning how to deal with conflict or negative behaviors by utilizing non aggressive strategies to gain what they want.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the studies conducted by Bandura, Ross, and Ross indicate that imitative aggressive behavior is common amongst male children. This behavior is more likely to occur when a child views another person modeling aggressive behavior or modeling aggressive behavior and being rewarded for it. This indicates that children imitate the modeled behavior that they observe. Children may also use imitative aggression in a creative manner and expand their repertoire of aggressive behavior to include behaviors that they did not observe.

FISP  Family Intervention Suicide Prevention (2nd Generation)
Reframe the suicidal episode as maladaptive copingproblem solving

Promote the development and use of more adaptive coping strategies
Reinforce the belief that follow-up treatment is critical for promoting healthier coping and reducing the risk of future suicidality

Develop protective communication and supportive interactions between family members.

Focus on intervention components delivered at the level of the youth and family
Integrations of video and information regarding the seriousness of the suicidal tendencies and the need to adhere to recommendations for follow up treatment plans

Original approach to the crisis therapy session was maintained but additional strategies were incorporated.

Independent Variables
Site A  Level 1 trauma care and pediatric care associated with a psychiatric hospital  race included Caucasian, African American and Hispanic and higher socioeconomic levels

Site B  County General Hospital  race was primarily African American and Hispanic and was of the lower socioeconomic echelons.

Thesis  still in the gathering stage, but believe that the 2nd generation FISP will be able to be used in many different circumstances as well as in the Emergency Room at hospitals around the country.  The study is hoping to show the effectiveness of the FISP in a controlled randomized study.

Psychology has an important role in the life of the person. This is an important component that contributed to the individual being able to redefine his or her life because of psychology and the intervention of the psychologists. Part of the understanding in the field of psychology is the understanding that each and every human being naturally pursues. It can contribute to the health and holistic development of the body. There are faculties found embedded deep in ones personality or characteristic that can help the persona achieve his or her optimum potential. Because of this, people who come for treatment with a psychologist is often encouraged to participate. The individual is assisted in the process of defining life in general, and the meaning of it. In counseling, every unique beliefs, every unique value, cultural characteristics, as well as emotions, thought patterns and behaviors are all put into strong consideration to help the person develop and move on, and this is a strong part of my philosophy in counseling. Counseling and psychology help identify goals and help in achieving them. It is important in building strengths, as well as in assisting in the process of development of different skills important in life and in well being in the long term. All of these things reflect the inclination towards person-centered counseling, a humanistic framework. The whole person is considered alongside its cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual faculties.

Discussion
Rogers person- centered theory the theory from which counseling is provided, the base of conceptualization of cases

The backbone of my philosophy of counseling for this paper is Rogers person-centered theory. This means that the approach to counseling as utilized in this approach is reflective of the tenets, beliefs and courses of actions in counseling as prescribed by the theory on approaching counseling in a person-centered manner as espoused by Carl Roger. In this theory, the patient is allowed to speak out his or her mind. The patient is made to believe that the individual is inside an environment that only has positive regard towards the patients condition, the positive reinforcement - towards the path to being enlightened and not the continued pursuit of the wrong course of action. This is believed to be the important factor as to why in the end of the session the patients feel that the solutions to their problem are clear. More importantly, they are an active and integral part of the effort to find the solution to the problem. Carl Rogers believe that it is important for the individual to be allowed to speak his or her mind regarding the details of the patients life and problems. It makes the individual feel that the process of voicing out is done inside an environment that is not judging the person, but is an environment wherein the individual can turn to for assistance and help.

The assumptions associated with this particular theory
The person-centered theory, also known sometimes as the Rogerian theory, possesses several assumptions regarding the patient and the patients condition. I believe that it assumes that by letting the patient talk is helpful in the recovery or in the solution-finding process. It assumes that what the patient needs is an environment that is not restrictive and without the concept of control and direction from another source besides the individual. Lastly, this theory assumes that the individual can be assisted to find the solution, even the right and suitable solution in a process. The counselor acts as facilitator who, at the end of the session, merely repeats to the patients some key ideas and thoughts like significant and related experiences that will be helpful in addressing the problem and finding a solution.

The limitations of the theory
Despite the efficacy of the person-centered theory, I believe that it also has its own set of limitations and is not the perfect theory to use to approach counseling. Some of its limitations include the dependence on the participation and self examination of the patient (which can be useless if the patient is not the type who talks too much or if the patient does not have the tendency or ability for self examination and realization) and the lack of strong structure since this is a practice that flows loosely and is dependent on the participation of the patient.

Target population
The aspect of the target population is about describing and detailing the particular population to whom the services will be offered to. This paper, discussing the philosophy of counseling, identifies the target population as the community and the people in the community level who are in need of counseling from psychologists but are incapable of finding one or inaccessible to one because of restrictions as well as financial limitations, which is the target I am set at making contact with during practice. The community has many different individuals who have problems that need psychological help and counseling. These dilemmas and conditions can be assisted towards improvement through the use of the person-centered theory and through the effort of psychologists and counselors to pursue civic action. This can be done by practicing not just in private institutions but also in public institutions to assist a significant part of the demographic that are also in need of psychological help and counseling. However, these, often, are not reached by such assistance and the availability of this particular resource.

Ethical controversies associated with treatment using the theory
The psychologists and counselors however should be very careful in the use of the Rogerian person-centered theory to avoid succumbing to or be vulnerable to ethical issues, and this is something that I keep reminding myself. One of the ethical issues is the promise of cure and recovery. Counselors using this approach should be very careful on how they explain to the patient this particular approach or how they create expectations, some of which may not be realized and cause the individual more confusion. In other cases, counselors need to be very attentive to what the individual is saying and make competitive break down and analysis of the situation. The counselor knows the important points to raise, which in turn, can help the individual.

The Rogers person-centered theory why it is appealing to practitioners and psychologist
Opting for the Rogers person-centered theory is not surprising. Around the world, many psychologists are using this particular theory, and like me, they see appealing reasons which I also see and appreciate. There are reasons why many psychologists and counselors find this appealing. One of the reasons for its appeal is that it is not an approach that is very medical. Medical terms, approaches and medical terminologies, in some cases, scare patients away. These make them more confused or intimidate them. This is simply about two individuals talking about the problem. It is effective and yet simple. It allows room for self expression among patients. Many people simply need to ventilate their emotions so that they can see straight again.

The theory and its relevance in the future room for improvement
Rogers person-centered theory and how it is being used in practice today is a scenario that I can describe as sufficient and functional. However, there is also the belief that there are still some improvements that can be incorporated in the theory and in the practice of using the theory to help people in the treatment process during counseling. In the future, practitioners using this theory can develop the theory to provide it with more structure. New discussion and conversation styles and approaches can be discovered especially as a result of studies undertaken regarding the Rogerian approach. Professionals can see the weakness and have it improved, but this shouldnt be a problem since many professionals believe that this theory and approach is ever evolving (Sowers, Thyer, Dulmus, 2008, p. 279).

Conclusion
Carl Rogers created an excellent approach to counseling that many professionals use today, something that I am intent on following as well. The person-centered theory is an ideal philosophy to use in counseling. The theory provides a framework wherein the work of counseling can be rendered at its most efficient. While the theory is, without doubt still imperfect. This theory can be used in the counseling approach to help people. Over time, it has proven that it is nonetheless effective in helping people. Because of that, many counselors and psychologists all around the world resort to this particular approach in treating and curing their patients.

The paper provides the detailed analysis of a peer-reviewed research article. The summary of the article is provided. The list of independent and dependent variables is discussed. The paper evaluates and discusses the statistical research results.

Moberg, C.A.  Curtin, J.J. (2009). Alcohol selectively reduces anxiety but not fear Startle response during unpredictable versus predictable threat. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118 (2), 335-347.

Summary of the article
Moberg and Cutin (2009) seek to investigate the changes in stress-reducing behaviors in individuals under the impact of alcohol. That alcohol reduces stress in humans is a well-known fact, but those who choose alcohol as the primary element of stress reduction are at risk of developing alcohol use disorders (Moberg  Cutin, 2009). Stress exposure often becomes the major prerequisite of relapse in alcohol use in those, who are considered alcohol dependent (Moberg  Cutin, 2009). Thus, the role of stress in the patterns of alcohol use requires further analysis.

The authors provide the detailed discussion of how alcohol use and stress interact Moberg and Cutin (2009) report that coping with stress is one of the major reasons why individuals choose the use of alcohol. The higher the level of emotion-alcohol regulation in individuals, the more likely they are to subject themselves to increased alcohol use. However, there is a difference in how individuals react to fear and anxiety, and in their research, Moberg and Cutin (2009) hypothesize that a moderate dose of alcohol would reduce anxiety but not fear. For the purpose of the current study, the researchers used a variety of methods to manipulate anxiety and fear in research participants. Predictable and unpredictable shock were used to elicit a fear response to imminent threat. Moberg and Cutin (2009) recruited 32 female participants between 21 and 35 years old, who had recent experience with alcohol but were never diagnosed for alcohol-related problems and did not have a history of such problems. The participants were divided into a placebo and an alcohol group, with the latter receiving a fruit juice mixed with 100-proof vodka in a 31 juice-to-vodka ration (Moberg  Cutin, 2009). Those assigned to a placebo group received a volume-matched beverage consisting of fruit juice mixed with water poured from a vodka bottle in their presence (Moberg  Cutin, 2009). All participants were later exposed to a series of predictable unpredictable shock blocks to measure their shock sensitivity and the impact of alcohol consumption on their shock responses.

Independent and dependent variables
The list of independent variables for the current study includes the amount of alcohol administered among the members assigned to the alcohol group, while dependent variables comprise the level of alcoholic intoxication and the level of startle response in individuals from both groups. It would be fair to assume that the study also includes and is influenced by a set of the so-called extraneous variables these are not directly mentioned by the researchers but produce significant impacts on the quality of the research outcomes. Extraneous variables include the overall shock sensitivity, age, and medical condition of the research participants. As far as the study involved only female participants, it is difficult (although desirable) to estimate the impact of gender on the research results.

Research results
Participants from the placebo group reported the levels of alcohol in their beverages as much lower than those in the alcohol group, but the perceived alcohol content in both groups was far above zero (Moberg  Cutin, 2009). By measuring the startle response in both groups, the researchers concluded that alcohol is associated with a significant suppressive effect on auditory processing and reflexive responding (Moberg  Cutin, 2009). Statistical analysis has revealed no effect of alcohol on predictable shock reaction, whilst unpredictable shock sensitivity was significantly reduced by alcoholic beverages. Regression analysis was used to confirm attention as the element that may potentially mediate the impact of alcohol on startle responses and startle sensitivity attentional startle inhibition in response to unpredictable shock cues became the major source of mediating effects on the startle response in individuals from the alcohol group.

Studies reveal that civilization was witnessed as a result of psychopaths. Studies further points out that civilization occurred on the basis of warfare and slavery which is the cause of high cases of murder. Psychopaths civilization is said to occur in three stages which include using lies to form an army for mass killing, the use of army for enslaving people and controlling their labour force, and finally, using this labour force to enhance brainwashing process which is repetitive (Heath, 2008). Its also said that psychopath is the recent man who has been produced by pressures of evolution found in the current world. Some research also shows that psychopath are people just like any other, though they dont have a soul, which makes them very brilliant and copy emotional words. Unfortunately, their actions dont match their words (Cleckley, 1988).

Psychopathology is further categorized into primary sociopath, that is genetically influenced, and secondary sociopath, which results from environmental victimization (knight, 2003). Psychopaths have managed to build their ancient empires through murderous activities and warfare. Payment of taxes has been considered the worse form of slavery that has for long being used by psychopaths.

 The clear state of psychopathology can be witnessed in a case in military where studies show that out of the many military men, approximately fifteen percent can kill their fellow human beings when put on the front line, while 85 percent cannot kill because there concise has got a lot of regard for human life. A more clear understanding of psychopaths is that they can steal, cause huge harm, and above all kill without any remorse (Heath, 2008).

World health organization manual of mental disorders recommends various ways of diagnosing a psychopath in the following attributes
Lack of concern for other peoples feelings
Continuous telling lies for personal gains
Refusal to abide by society norms
Lack of regard for other peoples safety

In America for instance, psychopaths have been increased by their way of life because psychopathology has become adaptive thus penetrating very fast in the society. Research indicates that many people who were raised in America have been poisoned by the culture of psychopathy through media and education. This has made many people to turn away from reality a factor that can be attributed to ignorance brought a bout a very strong culture that was purposely designed to encourage ignorance (knight, 2003). It is important to note that psychopaths are both interesting and exciting as they always struggle to make their listeners to believe and remain under their control.  In many instances, they will evade the truth as they are known for not answering questions as directed to them and at times they may even phrase things in a way that will be very difficult to be understood (cleckley, 1988).

It is right to point out that psychopaths are born while others are made. For instance the current presidents state is believed to have originated from George Bush because he tried to develop many programs that aimed at changing the normal behavior of human being by installing psychopathic characters. People known of psychopathy have also raised children in a way that will make them become future champions of slavery and massive murder. Psychopathy demand has been promoted for various purposes such as trauma conditioning, cognitive interrupters, among others (Heath, 2008).

Psychopathy has many live examples that they have set in real world situations. For instance the nature and way of conduct of many presidents in most parts of the world is believed to be a by product o psychopathy. Many of them give false promises to their voters so as to lure them to their fold.  What results later is partial or total failure of the elected presidents to carry out duties in relation to the expectations of their people and this has been the trend in many parts of the world. Some eventually come up with quite destructive policies which have put other parts of the world at risk as it was indicated earlier that former U.S president George Bush was the champion of current presidents state of action where many of them have embarked on changing normal behaviors of human into psychopathy (Heath, 2008).

The sending of army into Iraq to maintain law and order after the removal of Dictator Saddam Hussein from power is yet another good example of psychopathy in the current world. Although some people may argue contrary to these observations, it is vital to correct them by noting that security officers are forced to go and maintain peace, some against their will. The worse part of it is that they are instructed to kill any person who violates the law and other rebel groups for the purpose of protecting themselves and as a result in Iraq, millions of Iraqs lost their lives compared to the era of Dictator Saddam Hussein. This has finally created enmity between Iraq and countries like America, Britain and other powers that fought along United States. All this occurs because of the effects of psychopathy which has penetrated into the entire world (Heath, 2008).

The current system of taxation where the poor have been the victims is considered another good example of psychopathy. It is on record that in many parts of the world, the poor have been overtaxed to finance heavy government expenditures which in turn end up being mismanaged due to high rates of corruption and desire to become rich very fast. The worst part of it is that some of these political leaders who rob the countries treasury do not pay taxes legally or as an act of impunity. It is on the basis of this point that it can be argued that there is no difference between slavery which dominates in psychopathy and the current taxation.  Therefore, over taxation is a continuation of psychopathy in modern world.

Similarly, psychopathy management has been made simple in modern world as the current governments come with so many projects that makes their citizens fail to exactly know how finances have been spent at the end of the day. For instance, the government may come up with projects like construction of roads, mosquito net programmes, free education programmes, free provision of health services, setting of commissions to investigate some scandals, allocate huge amount of money in research, among other programmes. All these projects are created with an aim of confusing citizens so that they may not be able to tell if the funds were either mismanaged or well managed hence promoting psychopathy (Heath, 2008).

Likewise, it can be indicated that in current world situation, there is increased rate of media propaganda which has promoted psychopathy. Psychopaths have always been at the forefront answering questions raised through the media to confuse the masses. Their motive is to continue fooling people, a culture that has greatly penetrated into our societies and governments. They give false information simply because they believe that most people are ignorant about what is happening. This is a very wrong conception which needs to be removed in our societies by all means because it does not matter at all giving information to citizens and striving very hard to make sure that citizens remain under the mercy of the leaders (Knight, 2003).

Conclusion
It can therefore be concluded that psychopaths have wrecked our societies and our governments. It has been promoted in different ways and forms like giving false information, slavery, massive killing by army officers, and efforts by people aimed at developing themselves very fast through misappropriation of resources. Psychopathy is said to be either promoted by environmental factors or genetic factors. Culture and competition enhances the use anti-social strategies thus promoting high levels of crimes. It can be learnt that the current corrupt systems of administration in many parts of the world, mass murder, lying, among others are symbols indicating that psychopathy is still penetrating deep into our societies.