Behavior is our outward actions; mental is our inward actions. We act and think in order to describe, explain, predict, and control the world around us. Psychology helps us to better understand ourselves, others, and the world around us. It is the tool necessary to explain all the questions that float in our heads but that we never really search to discover answers to. What can psychology do for us? It can help us gain understanding, deal with stresses, communicate, learn, and teach us the connection we have between mind and body. Psychology: the true reason each of us is an individual.

Chapter 1 – Gestalt Psychology

Explanation of Topic

Gestalt psychology is a German word that means “good form” or “good figure”. It is a form of psychology that formed into a movement. Many psychologists devoted their work to studying this new perception on how the mind and body work. Basically, gestalt psychology is a psychology that focuses on a comparison between the whole and it’s parts, hence the phrase commonly heard “the whole and the sum of it’s parts”. It states that people interpret information as a whole, not as individual parts. When separate parts are put together in the mind to create a whole, in a comparison of whole versus parts as to which is greater, the whole would overwhelmingly be selected.

Relevance in My Life

Gestalt psychology became my interest focus as a result of a lecture given in my advertising copy and layout class, as well as past art classes. It is a concept widely used in graphic design when discussing media placements. An advertisement is the sum of its parts and out first response is to the effect of the advertisement as a whole; therefore, it is very important that one greatly concentrates and plans placement of each individual object placed, as well as the vehicle for media interaction with the advertisement. Many artists greatly study gestalt psychology to gain a better understanding and knowledge as to how to successfully plan media, advertisements, and personal art pieces in a way that is most pleasing and attractive to audiences. Since I was once a graphic design major, and still currently hold it as a minor in hopes to work later in advertising, it is important that I too study the importance of the whole versus the sum of its individual parts to aid me in my own works.

Chapter 2 – Somatic Nervous System

Explanation of Topic

The word soma stands for body; therefore, is used a lot in psychology, in this case, when referring to the somatic nervous system. The somatic nervous system is responsible for carrying messages from the nerves to the central nervous system and from the central nervous system to the muscles of the body. This allows voluntary muscle movement, or those muscles that are responsible for movement of the skeleton. Although these muscles are referred to as muscles moved voluntarily, stimuli can cause responses, such as reflex responses, that cause the body to move involuntarily. They are referred to as voluntary, though, because they can move at will, but are not limited to only voluntary movements.

Relevance in My Life

The somatic nervous system relates to me through its influence on my life through soccer. I currently play for the Winthrop Women’s Club Soccer Team, as well as for the Rock Hill Soccer League. For this reason, the somatic nervous system is relevant to me more than it may be to others who may not participate competitively in a sport. Most days I can be found jogging campus or practicing on a field somewhere in preparation for the spring season approaching, so an effectively working somatic nervous system is important to my ability to move and to train. I’m a very active person when it comes to soccer and I put my best attempt into it, so if I were unable to move, play, and train, I’d be miserable. I was unable to play when I tore my hip flexor and it was agony to watch my team without me; if my somatic nervous system did not properly work, I can only imagine how bad it would be for me.

Chapter 5 – Positive Reinforcement

Explanation of Topic

Positive reinforcement is a type of response in which, instead of being taught/trained by means of consequences, one is taught by means of gaining rewards/incentives. In positive reinforcement, a consequence is presented dependent on a behavior. The behavior becomes more likely to occur because and only because the consequence is presented dependent on the behavior. Without an incentive, the behavior is not likely to occur. It is also important that the incentive be a valuable one; the more the person/animal desires the reward, the harder they will work towards gaining it. An example of positive reinforcement is when a performance ends and the audience claps in recognition and respect of the hard work and well done job of the performers.

Relevance in My Life

Positive reinforcement becomes relevant to me through my choice of occupation/major. This can actually be applied to integrated marketing communication tactics towards influencing consumers/customers to purchase more of a particular product or at a specific location. Incentives, such as discounts and coupons, are used to influence buyers to shop more at a store or buy more of a product. A lot of times this is to gain revenue, or rather to draw revenue away from competitors. This can be seen as a form of positive reinforcement; their spending behavior is being influenced by an incentive presented to them in order to gain their business and as a way of showing appreciation for their choice in spending.

Positive reinforcement is also seen in my life through rewards in classes. This can come about by professors offering extra credit opportunities to students who have worked hard, or are willing to go the extra mile in class for good grades. This is more direct. An indirect example in my life might be receiving pleasure from doing well in classes as a result of extensive studying. The good grades influence me to try harder and keep working hard towards success in school.

Chapter 9 – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Explanation of Topic

The basis of the theory is that some needs are more basic than others and, therefore, must be fulfilled first. According to Maslow, the lowest (most basic) order of needs is out physiological needs. These are the biological demands our bodies make for things such as food, water, rest, and exercise. He included sex among this list of most basic needs, but in a way that compared it to the continuation of species. Safety is next in the order of needs. By safety needs Maslow talks about such thing as personal security, comfort, and orderly surroundings. Thirdly, Maslow ranks acceptance, also referred to as love and belongingness. At this level, he says we seek out love, a sense of belonging, and an affiliation with others through group memberships. Under Maslow’s hierarchy, one is willing to endure any annoyance or embarrassment or indignity that may occur from uncomfortable situations because of the safety the shelter one is in may provide. Fourth, Maslow ranks self-esteem needs, for which one strives to earn recognition and to view one’s self as being successful in the eyes of others. Everyone, basically, wants to be seen as a winner. Lastly, Maslow feels that self-actualization is at the peak of his chart of needs. He says that people reach self-actualization when we achieve a goal just for the sake of achieving that goal. An example of this might be something like climbing a mountain. You do it so you can say “I did that once”. Some people never achieve self-actualization because they haven’t fulfilled the requirements imposed by lower-order needs.

Relevance in My Life

I feel that this topic related the most to my life, because it would be hard to find someone that this chart did not embody. Everyone wishes to achieve all their goals in life and to feel that they have a sense of purpose and meaning in life. For me, I have several goals. One of my biggest and most direct goals at the present moment is to do well in school. This is in order to be prepared for the workforce that I will soon enter. Secondly, one of my top goals is to prepare and train during the off season for soccer so that I play at my best ability when the new season begins. Although it is just a sport, I have a passion for it, as well as a close bond with the team that I have met here. I feel like I have adopted a close family through my team, so naturally, we all wish to learn to be patient and accepting of one another, as well as play well so that we are impressive to other members of the team and other teams we play. Our coach always tells us to show up at least an hour early before games to prepare, and when the other team sees our team practicing, he always tells us to give all we have to make a good impression. He feels we can cause an intimidation factor, a strong level of esteem. Many of the lessons that I have learned through soccer I apply to my daily life. The best example of this in relation to Maslow’s hierarchy is my first week of soccer. It might be one of the hardest things I’ve had to overcome in my life. I hurt and wanted nothing more to give up, but not wanting to be a quitter and look weak was a big encouragement to keep going no matter what it took. Now, when we discuss first impressions, my teammates recognize all that I had to overcome and work through to reach the level I am now at.

Chapter 11 – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Explanation of Topic

PTSD is a severe stress disorder that is suffered by people who have been predisposed to an event or situation in their lives that brings back fear or makes them highly uncomfortable when the situation, or one similar, arises. Man

y people suffer from issues such as sleep disorders, problems concentrating, nightmares, and anxiety, but PTSD is much more severe. People with PTSD actually “relive” the moments that cause the stress in their minds. They may actually feel like they are there. If this temporarily occurs, it is called acute stress disorder, but it becomes PTSD once it persists for over a month’s period.

Relevance to My Life

A previous boyfriend of mine developed PTSD at a young age. When he was three, his mother failed to buckle him in his seat or put him in a child’s chair. They had a car accident and he was flung head first through the car and into the windshield, busting his face open. He had many surgeries to repair the damage that was done. Although it did not always occur, there were moments, especially when riding in a car, that he would panic and have to pull over because he would be reminded of that moment and become terrified. It was not so severe, and did not happen often, but it has been something he’s lived with for many years and grown out of it seems more and more, but he does experience these moments from time to time still today at age 21.

Chapter 13 – Altruism

Explanation of Topic

Altruism is defined as helping someone in trouble with no expectation of reward and often without fear for one’s own safety. This type of behavior usually always results in someone feeling good about themselves. Some scientists have said that this occurs because we are more concerned about the better good for all than that of just ourselves, such as a male spider allowing the females spider to eat it, ensuring that their genes will be continued on. Still, though, there is no one answer for some of the extreme situations that have occurred.

Relevance in My Life

When my youngest brother was little, he jumped in the lake not realizing he did not have a flotation device on him still. At the time, he was too young to know how to swim on his own. I jumped in to save him ahead of anyone else in my family, even though I too was very young and not the greatest swimmer. I remember being underwater for a lot longer than I usually was able to. I continued to search despite my lack of air. Finally, I found him in the murky water and brought him to the surface. There, I struggled to hold us both above water at the same time and was beginning to also drown, but was able to hold on long enough to pass him off to someone that could get him out of the water. It was pure instinct that made me jump in, and pure adrenaline, I believe, that kept me underwater long enough to find him.

Chapter 14 – Specific Phobia

Explanation of Topic

A phobia can be defined as an irrational, persistent fear of something. This something might be an object or a situation or many involve social situations. A specific phobia is simply a fear with one clearly defined trigger, an object or situation, which causes great discomfort. Some examples of this, as given in the book, are a fear of dogs or a fear of being in small, enclosed spaces (claustrophobia). Some other phobias include trypanophobia, a fear of needles, odontophobia, a fear of dental work, hematophobia, a fear of blood, and acrophobia, a fear of heights.

Relevance in My Life

Although I might not quite label my case at such an extreme level as a phobia, I have always had an incredible fear of falling. Heights don’t both me at all, but the thought of dropping does. The biggest encounter with this has been with roller coasters. Theme parks today cover the majority of their park with roller coasters, and it always seems that that is what everyone in the group wants to do. Not me. Never did I ever want to try a roller coaster. The very thought made me curl in a tight ball and grab on to something as tight as possible so that no one could attempt to drag me on. It is the one thing I would fight and pitch a fit over, and so, I never was included in parks since I never rode anything anyone else rode. This past summer, I got on my first roller coaster. I don’t know how or why I did it, but as terrified as I was, I finally did it. I remember it being probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life as I stood in line and watched it fly past me. I almost had a panic attack in the seat when the level went down and I was officially strapped in for good. Now though, I have ridden about four different ones, and although I still am very scared, I can tolerate them, and in fact, I almost like them.

Conclusion

I encounter psychology everyday of my life, much more than I ever realized. Psychology is not just a common topic for those “on the edge of your seat” thrillers in the movies, and it’s not just those in our society would are monitored due to the fact that they are mentally unstable, but rather each person thinks of their lives and how each person reacts to their environment. Psychology is in how we feel about ourselves, how we move, what decisions we make, our goals, our dream, our aspirations… it’s all around us. Understanding psychology and how and why each individual reacts in different situations gives us each a better understanding of the world around us, as well as ourselves. We may just learn things about our own individual personalities that we never even knew existed, or why we do the things we do. Psychology is learning about who we are and what makes us each unique.