Key Concepts and Theories in Human Development

Factors Influencing Human Development

Human development is shaped by a complex interplay of various factors:

  • Inheritance

    Inheritance: Innate influences on development, transmitted by genes inherited from parents.

  • Environment

    Environment: All non-genetic influences on development, external to the individual.

  • Maturity

    Maturity: The natural sequence of physical and behavioral patterns, often associated with age, including the speed to master new skills.

Types of Influences on Development

  • Normative Influences

    Normative

Read More

Human Memory Systems: Storage, Retrieval, and Forgetting

Understanding Human Memory Systems

Human memory is a complex system responsible for encoding, storing, and retrieving information. It is broadly categorized into three main types:

Sensory Memory (SM)

Sensory Memory (SM) is the initial stage of memory that records sensations and recognizes the physical characteristics of stimuli. It has a large capacity, with a dedicated subsystem for each sense. Its duration is very brief, depending on the sensory modality:

  • Echoic memory (auditory) lasts for approximately
Read More

Personality Psychology Fundamentals: Core Concepts & Approaches

Understanding Personality Psychology: Core Concepts

Goal of Personality Psychology

The goal of personality psychology is to understand and explain individual differences in behavior, thoughts, and feelings, and to explore how these traits emerge and develop over time. It aims to understand the consistency and individual uniqueness in how people think, act, and feel across different situations and over time.

Defining Personality: Funder’s Perspective

Funder defines personality as the individual differences

Read More

University Thesis Essentials: Research, Types, and Success

Undergraduate Thesis: Definition and Purpose

An undergraduate thesis is a research project required and controlled by the university. Its primary aim is to develop knowledge, attain new insights, and adhere to scientific principles.

University Thesis and Scientific Research Relationship

The relationship lies in applying the rules of the scientific research process to university research.

What is Research?

Research is the act of investigating or inquiring, in its natural and generic sense.

Defining Scientific

Read More

Key Concepts in Psychology & Organizational Behavior

Psychology: Understanding Human Behavior

Psychology is a scientific discipline that seeks to understand human behavior through scientific methods and the study of mental processes. Its primary aim is to improve the quality of life. The core goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior.

Psychology encompasses two main areas:

  • Basic Research: Focused on understanding the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of phenomena. Fundamental questions include the nature of free will, the comparison of
Read More

Behavior Therapy Foundations: Conditioning, Social Learning, and REBT

Chapter 8: Foundations of Behavior Therapy

Behavior therapy is based on Ivan Pavlov’s concept of classical conditioning and B. F. Skinner’s work on operant conditioning. Studies on observational learning also provided a background for the development of psychotherapeutic behavioral techniques. Behavior therapists have been able to apply basic principles such as reinforcement, extinction, shaping of behavior, and modeling to help clients.

In behavior therapy, there has been a general trend from

Read More