Human Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and
behavior. Its goal is to establish healthy principles for the benefit of individuals and
society.
Psychologists attempt to understand the role of
mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological and neurobiological
processes that underlie certain functions and behaviors. Psychologists explore such concepts as perception,
cognition, attention, emotion, phenomenology, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, and
interpersonal relationships.
Some psychologists, such as depth
psychologists, consider the ‘unconscious’ mind in solving their problems. For example people might lie to
themselves unconsciously to conceal an aspect about themselves for various reasons (environmental trauma, parental
upbringing, defense mechanism against other painful truths). Or they could misinterpret their own interior
and appear to be lying. This is goal of Depth Psychology: to help people interpret themselves more
truthfully (eg, psychoanalysis, Gestalt, Jungian).
Other therapies have their own unique approach
to interpretation and analysis: Freudians emphasize the emotional-sexual level; cognitive therapist emphasize
the verbal; transpersonal therapists emphasize the spiritual.
Introduction to Psychology - MIT Lectures (summary)
(PDF file is fully bookmarked for easy subject lookup)
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