The Psychologist and University Pres James Rowland Angell and Others
This week, I decided to talk about the psychologist and university president James Rowland Angell. James Rowland Angell was born on May 8, 1869, and died on March 4, 1949. He played a significant role in rebuilding and reorganizing Yale University during the 1920s and 1930s. During World War I, he contributed to the United States Army's intelligence testing efforts. Later, he authored a book titled "Psychology: An Introduction Study of the Structure and Functions of Human Consciousness."
Angell was particularly interested in functionalism, a school of thought in psychology. He believed that first, functionalism studies mental operations rather than mental elements. Second, it views consciousness in terms of its utility, mediating between an organism's needs and environmental pressures. Third, functionalism regards the mind and body as an inseparable unit. His perspective emphasizes that mental processes are interconnected with physical responses and behavior, focusing on their function in adapting to the environment.
I chose to discuss James Rowland Angell because I am intrigued by his approach to psychology and his perspectives on the mind-body relationship. Unlike other psychologists I studied, Angell believed that the mind and body could not be separated. His focus on functionalism highlights the importance of understanding mental and intellectual operations in relation to behavior. This aligns with my previous thoughts that the mind and body are strongly connected in psychological processes. Angell’s detailed explanation of how functionalism relates to the organism’s needs and environment deepens this understanding and offers a more comprehensive view of mental functioning.
References
Angell, J. R. (1907). The province of functional psychology.
Hermann Helmholtz: Contributions to Physics, Physiology, and Vision Science
Hermann Helmholtz was a prominent scientist whose early education took place at Potsdam Gymnasium, where his father was the headmaster. During his studies, Helmholtz was introduced to Kant's philosophy and Fichte's philosophy of nature, which emphasized the importance of philosophical thinking over empirical data analysis. Initially planning to study physics, Helmholtz shifted to medical school due to financial constraints, as it was free in Prussia for those who completed medical degrees. He also served as an army doctor, which was a conditional obligation.
While working at the Berlin Medical Institute, Helmholtz studied under Johannes Müller. He disagreed with Müller's vitalism theory, leading to the creation of a Berlin Physical Society by students who sought alternative explanations for biological phenomena. Helmholtz contributed significantly to physics and physiology, including his formulation of the First Law of Thermodynamics, which describes energy conservation. Although initially not famous for this discovery, his measurement of nerve impulse speed and development of the ophthalmoscope, which allowed for detailed observation of living eyes, cemented his reputation. His work on color perception theory explained how humans see color, attributing it to activity among different types of visual receptors in the cones of the eye.
References
Kardas, E. P. (2014).
History of psychology: The making of a science.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Psychological Insights into Juvenile Offenders and Stress Management
This week, I examined a journal detailing a study on juvenile offenders and methods to reduce recidivism. The study involved 107 adolescents in South Korea identified as at risk, with roughly half being current offenders and the other half non-offenders. The researchers assessed explicit and implicit cognitions related to violence to understand the root causes of their behavior. The goal was to find early intervention techniques that could modify cognitive responses and potentially reduce violent tendencies.
Explicit cognition relates to conscious mental processes, such as deliberate thoughts and attitudes about violence, measurable through self-report questionnaires. Implicit cognition involves unconscious attitudes and knowledge structures, evaluated through association tasks. The study found that while explicit attitudes towards violence were similar among offenders and non-offenders, implicit acceptance of violence was higher among offenders. This suggests that implicit attitudes play a crucial role in juvenile violence, although social desirability bias could influence self-report accuracy. The researchers concluded that implicit attitudes could be modified through explicit interventions, highlighting the potential for early counseling to alter cognitive patterns and prevent future criminal behavior.
This research intrigued me because it aligns with behaviorism and offers insights into how early psychological intervention might reduce recidivism. It supports the idea that violent tendencies are learned
and reinforced through social and environmental influences. If children grow up perceiving violence as acceptable, they are more likely to act violently as adults. Therefore, providing counseling and alternative perspectives during adolescence could be a vital strategy in reducing future criminal behaviors and fostering healthier social development.
References
Jeon, B., Lee, M., & Lee, J. (2019). Evaluative conditioning-induced implicit attitude change in violent juvenile offenders: A randomized controlled trial.
Psychology of Violence
, 9(1), 28-38. https://doi.org/10.1037/viol
The Concept of Stress and Motivation in Psychology
This week, I explored an article discussing the concepts of stress and motivation within psychology. Stress is often triggered by catastrophic events like floods, earthquakes, and wars; however, personal problems such as divorce, economic hardship, or unemployment tend to cause more daily stress for individuals. The article emphasized that stress manifests in both psychological and physiological forms, depending on the individual's mental and physical resilience. Recognizing these differences is essential for effective stress management.
The article also discussed how motivation influences stress. Motivation, defined as the emotional excitement toward achieving something, can serve as a coping mechanism to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. From my perspective, understanding one's motivation helps in managing stress effectively. For instance, when facing personal challenges, focusing on goals and positive reinforcement can mitigate negative emotional responses. The interconnection between mind and body is evident here, as mental motivation can influence physical health, and vice versa.
Personally, I find that helping friends manage stress often involves empathy and putting myself in their shoes. By understanding their emotional state, I can better guide them toward solutions or coping strategies. Sometimes, I advise them to take actions I myself might hesitate to do, recognizing that psychological resilience depends on both mindset and physical health. This aligns with the idea that the mind and body are interconnected, affecting how individuals respond to stress.
References
Kimble, G. A. (1996).
Psychology: The hope of a science .