Psy300: General Psychology: Foundations Of Psychology

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Recommended: Theory of behaviorism, why they think the way they do

Nataly Hill
Foundations of Psychology
PSY300: General Psychology
August 4, 2016
Dr. Pamela Poulos Foundations of Psychology
Psychology is the area of science that studies the mind and physical behavior of the human body. The need for this field of study arose because we cannot physically see mental processes such as memories, thoughts, dreams, and perceptions. There are many schools of thought within the psychology field of study. Some of these schools include structuralism and functionalism, psychoanalysis, and behaviorism (Nordqvist, 2015).
Structuralism is commonly referred to as the first school of thought in psychology. It was created by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener. This area primarily focuses at evaluating and breaking …show more content…

Watson, B.F. Skinner, and Ivan Pavlov. Behaviorism proposes the idea that human behavior can be explained by the environment and other external sources instead of a person’s internal forces. Only observable behavior is studied under behaviorism. Some examples of observable behavior can include classical conditioning and operant conditioning. With the tremendous amount of research done with behaviorism over the years, it has played a major role in influencing the course of psychology and many of these techniques are being used today. This can be seen as aversion therapy and behavioral training are used in behavior modification and psychotherapy programs (Cherry, 2015).
Several advances in the biological foundations of psychology can be linked to behavior. The biological neuroscience approach suggests that all behavior can be explained very simply by what goes on in the body. In another context, behavior can also be changed by altering the physical make-up of a person. This can be done either through medications or surgery. Three primary advances in the biological foundation of psychology include neuroscience, understanding the endocrine system, and knowing how different hormones effect various types of human behavior. (Weebly, …show more content…

The pituitary gland is located in the brain and hangs below the hypothalamus. This gland is also referred to as the master gland since it is responsible for controlling the growth and regulating the activity of the other glands in the body. The pituitary gland is still controlled by the information that is sent to the hypothalamus. Adrenal glands are known to be in charge of modifying energy level, mood, and how a person is able to deal with stress. The adrenal glands release adrenaline and noradrenaline. Adrenaline works by stimulating the organs made up of smooth muscle, such as the stomach, heart, and intestines. Noradrenaline interacts with the liver and the pituitary gland in order to control a large variety of internal body sensations. Since the hormones secreted by the adrenal glands are vital in an emergency situation, they also function and operate as neurotransmitters. Once adrenaline and noradrenaline are transformed into neurotransmitters, they become epinephrine and norepinephrine. Both of these have much faster effects on the body than any other type of hormone released by the other glands within the endocrine system (Weebly,

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