Learning About the Social World

Answer

1. Learning About the Social World

   The term psychology simply refers the study of mind and behavior. Learning about the social world is seemed to be a simple experience that requires very limited effort. However, in real sense it is a series of complex psychological processes that involve a series of mechanisms and stage. Therefore, psychological processes that enable us learn about the social world include; cognitive, social, biological and development psychological processes.

   Through the application of psychological knowledge, it will be possible to address various social and psychological challenges that are common in in our daily lives. However, this will greatly depend on the problem in in question and which psychological approach can best explain and address it. Therefore in order to clearly understand how the psychological information can remedy both social and psychological issues, it will better if we look at into each of the psychological processes and how solution to the problems associated by each.

   The most common sub-discipline of psychology is social psychology; this is concerned with how the psychological processes of a person and the factors that surrounds him. Therefore, social psychology must be composed of those factors around a person that are capable of shaping that individual’s behavior and are shaped by the person as well (Burkitt, 1991). Where the term large scale process simply refers to collective values, norms, intergroup relationships, social institutions, and ideologies from politics in the society; the main factor is how the above named influences and individual’s behavior. According to most of social psychologists, it’s hard to understand the behavior of human beings without considering issues of culture, relation, situations and politics that thy constantly interact with. Social psychology therefore offers a unique way of understanding what human psychology is about and gives the possibility of changing it as well. Therefore, the conclusion of most psychologists is that if we can change contexts then it is very possible change people. This idea has aimed to solve a number of problems in the society today for instance in USA the abolishment of institutional structures ethnicity and segregations was historically aimed to intervene and reduce discrimination which brought a significant progress. Looking into culture and what the community believe in regarding food, substance misuse, and also sexual life have greatly helped in changing health behaviors persons in the society.

   The cognitive psychology is concerned with taking and processing information from the senses. The main processes of interest are those that result in us undertaking our usual daily activities. This is mainly concerned with investigation of mental processes. It involves the senses transformation, reduction, elaboration, storage, recovery, and usage. It also involves the processes that occur without the nervous stimuli which could have been imaged or hallucinated. Through this it is possible to identify the stages as well as mechanisms that lead the performance of a given action. It is very possible to identify where the difficulty is using a model. For instance in a patient suffering from anomia; the problem can be found to be a given stage of model which will make it easy to handle the disease. The cognitive psychologists have built different models to account for different tasks. Cognitive psychology therefore enable determine once possibility of multitasking or carrying out different tasks at the same time. This through the investing whether perception, attention, learning and language and wok at the same time which is not possible; this helped in issuing directions especially in dangerous directions especially to drivers avoid talking to phones while driving to avoid the possibility of an accident.

   Biological psychology looks into behavior based on neurology and biology. In order to answer the questions about the behaviors that we possess, the human body and brain physiology is of most concern. It looks into the functioning of both the nervous and hormonal systems affects behavioral activities. It is also concerned with how behaviors such as alcohol drinking, drug taking, and exercise can interfere with both our inward and outward behaviors that we possess. It also explains the difference in genes involving species in attempt to explain what human beings are capable of doing and skills of evolution and how they behave. It can also help identify how the drug works in the human body. This can tell us the type of drug if taken under a longer time can have a longer impact on an on the brain or even result in into addiction. It can also help identify some biological bases of given diseases. Through neuropsychology, biological psychological can be used to monitor stroke patients and determine the degree of plasticity which will greatly aid in administering drugs to them.

   Development psychology is concerned with natural changes one undergoes he grows up from childhood to adult level. During that process, at the age below two year an individual knows nothing and has to just survive on others. At given age an individual’s mind changes and has to undergo some developments. The developments are mainly determined by the environment associated by the individual as nature and nurture. This can best explain the reason for given persons behavior and can greatly aid in providing psychological support to them especially the psychologically impaired patients.