MLO 1
When most people hear the term psychology, a few common names and theories usually
pop up in one’s mind. I can remember back to my first ever psychology course in high school,
with the first lesson being focused on what psychology is and the people who were most popular
in the field. Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the mind and behavior. It is a
complex discipline that includes a series of sub-fields of study areas such as: human
development, sports, health, clinical, and social behavior and cognitive processes. (Ciccarelli &
White, 2009) Among those names mentioned in my first ever lesson back in high school, were
B.F. Skinner, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Carl Rogers, Erik Erikson, and Ivan Pavlov. Little
did I know that the theories and research done by those famous and even not so famous
psychologists would be the focus and main topics I would spend my studies on throughout my
college career as a Psychology student.
Although psychology is a broad topic with many different ideas and individuals, people
always associate Sigmund Freud with the science. Freud’s work supported the belief that not all
mental illnesses have physiological causes and he also provided the idea that cultural differences
have an impact on psychology and behavior. His writings and studies have contributed to our
understanding of personality, clinical psychology, human development, and abnormal
psychology. Although Freud has many significant contributions to the psychology world, his
most famous work is the psychodynamic approach to psychology. The school of thought
focused on the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. Freud believed that the human
mind was composed of three elements, the id, the ego, and the superego. (Cherry)
I attended started my college career at San Joaquin Delta College prior to transferring to
Cal State Monterey Bay, and in the summer of 2010 I took my first college level psychology
course, Introduction to Psychology. Our research project for the semester was to focus on either
one of Sigmund Freud or Erik Erikson’s major theories. My group members and I focused on
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Erickson expanded upon Freud’s theories
and stressed the importance of growth throughout the span of one’s life. We made a power point
presentation that talked about each of the psychosocial stages: Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs.
Shame and Doubt, Initiative vs Guilt, Industry vs Inferiority, Identity vs. Confusion, Intimacy vs
Isolation, Generativity vs Stagnation, and Integrity vs Despair. (Ciccarelli & White, 2009)
Many of my courses throughout the years required me to use the main theories in
psychology on a regular basis whether it was by making power-point presentations, writing
research papers, or by giving oral presentations based on literature findings. Major Learning
Outcome 1: Theory and Content of Psychology means being able to demonstrate familiarity with
major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings and historical trends. One of my
favorite projects done at California State University, Monterey Bay, was one I did in spring
semester 2013 in my Developmental Psychology course. I did an individual project where I
focused on Piaget’s stage theory that described the cognitive development of children. In
Piaget’s view, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later
progresses into changes in mental operations. The four stages Piaget came up with are: The
Sensorimotor, The Preoperational, The Concrete Operational, and The Formal Operational
stages. I have learned that these stages could be the reason for an individual’s actions and
behavior. (McLeod, 2009)
Like I previously stated, there are many sub-disciplines of psychology, many that most
people are not aware of. Psychology is a growing science that is becoming more and more
popular as the years go on. As psychology is becoming more eminent, there are an increasing
number of courses being made available to students worldwide. I personally have taken many
different psychology courses that have expanded my knowledge on many different branches of
this wonderful field. During my years at San Joaquin Delta College I took the following
psychology courses: Introduction to Psychology, Multicultural Psychology, Introduction to
Psychological Statistics, Abnormal Psychology, Sports Psychology, Introduction to Counseling
Skills, and Lifespan Psychology. I have studied the different approaches, theories, and many
arguments surrounding the topic of psychology. Personally, I enjoy studying abnormal, sport
and multicultural psychology the most out of any of the other sub-disciplines.
An important trend I learned during my stay at California State University, Monterey Bay
was the importance of ethics in the field of psychology. Ethics can be considered moral
guidelines; ones that should be followed and respected especially in the field of psychology.
(Babbie, 2004) The ethical codes require that both humans and animals be treated with care,
respect, and when it comes to humans, privacy. It is very important to be ethically correct to the
best of one’s ability.
One particular class that spent a lot of time focusing on ethics was my Research Methods
and Data Analysis class. I took this class in the fall semester of 2013, and found it to be one of
the more difficult, but informational classes I have ever taken. We spent a lot of time learning
about the famous Stanford Prison Study done by Philip Zimbardo in 1971. Zimbardo and his
colleagues set out to create an experiment that looked at the impact of becoming a prisoner or a
prison guard. He was also interested in finding out the impact of situational variables on human
behavior.
The researchers set up a mock prison in the basement at Stanford University’s
psychology building, and then selected students to play the roles of both prisoners and guards.
The experiment was set to last 14 days but had to be cut short after just six days because of what
was happening to the participants. Many guards became abusive and the prisoners began to
show signs of extreme stress and anxiety. The main findings from this experiment show the
power role that the situation can play in human behavior. The guards and participants were
placed in situations they would not normally be in, so they acted in ways they would not usually.
The biggest criticism from this experiment was that it was unethical research. In my Research
Methods class we were required to write a paper on the unethical research done with the Stanford
Prison Experiment. My paper focused on what was wrong with the experiment in the terms of
ethics, and what could be done to make it more ethically correct. (Haney, Banks & Zimbardo,
1973)
In conclusion, it is no secret that psychology is a very broad and evolving science that
will continue to expand and gain more interest in people all over the world. Throughout my
years as an undergraduate student, I have learned the basic concepts and facts of psychology, and
have done extensive research and studying of certain theories and studies. Like anything in life,
I do not know everything about the field of psychology, but I hope that as I continue to grow as a
prospective Psychology graduate student and future worker in the Psychology field, I will learn
more and more about our wonderful science.