Psychology: Deep Insight

Psychology and Human Mental Processes

Because of its ongoing contribution to the knowledge of human mental processes as well as behavioral causes and effects, psychology has been an intriguing subset of science. Human vision, for example, is a fundamental psychological factor that effects mental perception and understanding, which in turn determines behavioral development and other psychological outcomes. Other aspects of psychology, such as social roles, norms, culture, circadian rhythms, and conditioning, are also critical to understanding psychology (Wade & Tavris, 2017).

The Psychology of Vision

To begin, the psychology of vision is organized around three basic characteristics that determine mental perception and the behavioral responses that follow from seeing. These dimensions are brightness, saturation, and hue. Brightness is the actual intensity of perceived light from a source or reflecting surface while saturation is the quality of light or color which is determined by the variety of wavelengths and the intensity. Hue, on the other hand, is the main color as a result of the dominant primary wavelength in the beam. The hue dimension spans many wavelengths and to the human eye it is characterized by the seven colors between 400nm to 700 nm wavelengths. As a significant sensory organ, the eye utilizes these dimensions in influencing thought and behavior as well as developing an environmental understanding that shapes interactions with human and inanimate surroundings. This may also include the development of norms, roles, culture, conditioning and circadian rhythms (Wade & Tavris, 2017).

Part II

1. The Circadian Rhythm

In the understanding of psychology, the circadian rhythm is a critical biological clock that sheds light on the daily cycles of human physiological behaviors. The circadian rhythm is a 24-hour, biological and physiological processes regulation cycle that is endogenous and regulated by external factors such as natural light and ambient temperature. Although this cycle is typical in many organisms, it is manifested in humans through sleeping, waking up and eating patterns through day and night. This diurnal ’biological clock’ is sustained innately and promotes psychological well-being when adhered to, or leads to abnormal disorders when disrupted. In this way, the mental and physical health of an individual is affected by the working of the circadian cycle where a disruption of the rhythm may lead to gastrointestinal diseases, diabetes, loss of mental alertness, cardiovascular illnesses and neurological problems such as bipolar disorder (Wade & Tavris, 2017). Therefore, in understanding this cycle, the psychological manifestations of such nature can be explained and remedied appropriately.

2. Perception and Sensation

Additionally, the perception and sensation concepts are essential in understanding successive sensory modalities and psychology as a whole. A sensation is the stimulation of sensory receptors resulting in the production of nerve impulses that travel to the brain for interpretation. Perception, on the other hand, is the mental interpretation of impulses through information organization and derivation of its meaning resulting in accompanying behaviors and different psychological outcomes (Walk & Pick, 2013).

Furthermore, the doctrine of specific nerve energies adds insight to the perception and sensation concepts through its proposition that the stimulation of neuronal pathways from sensory nerves can occur from unrelated stimuli of different sensory information leading to a similar perception as from the corresponding stimulus. In this way, the pathway overrides the sensory information such that pressure applied to the eye may lead to a perception of light instead of pressure due to the stimulation of sight neuronal pathways (Wade & Tavris, 2017). This is of paramount importance to psychology through the understanding of such sensory modalities.

Also, synesthesia is a critical phenomenon of understanding perception. This phenomenon explains that sensory modalities can be interrelated in a way that a single stimulus may stimulate not only the corresponding sensory modality but also other unrelated modalities (Walk & Pick, 2013). For example, a particular sound may not only trigger an auditory sensation but also a sensation of color. This concept has contributed significantly to the psychological understanding of sensory modalities and understanding of other phenomena such as stimulated conditioning.

3. Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is the phenomenon of developing response behaviors from associated stimuli that is based on five principles. These are the acquisition, stimulus generalization, stimulus discrimination, extinction, and recovery. In the acquisition process, the unconditioned stimuli (UCS) and the conditioned stimuli (CS) are repeatedly paired to elicit a robust conditioned response(CR). The development of a relationship between the two stimuli constitutes the basis for classical conditioning (Lavond & Steinmetz, 2012).

After the acquisition phase, stimulus generalization and discrimination is common. Stimulus generalization entails the causation of a CR from stimuli similar to a CS while stimulus discrimination is the development of the ability to differentiate between different stimuli and to only respond to the conditioned stimuli (Lavond & Steinmetz, 2012). Stimulus generalization is exemplified in little Albert’s experiment where he showed phobia for all white objects while stimulus discrimination can be understood from Pavlov’s experiment where the dog salivated from the sound of the bell and not light stimuli.

Also, the extinction and spontaneous recovery of CR is a common phenomenon in classical conditioning. Extinction occurs when there is a complete disassociation of the CS from CR and can be achieved through the cessation of the relationship between the CS and UCS. Spontaneous recovery, on the other hand, is the eventual relapse into an earlier conditioning where there is a CR from a CS which happens after a period of extinction (Lavond & Steinmetz, 2012).

Finally, there is the higher-order conditioning which involves the pairing of a previously neutral stimulus with a CS. In this way, the introduced stimulus produces the same CR as the original CS. This ensures that a meaningful association is established between the two stimuli as well as the response (Lavond & Steinmetz, 2012). Nevertheless, this conditioning is weaker than its predecessor and is prone to extinction.

4. Social Roles and Norms

Additionally, the behavior of an individual can be influenced by other people through social roles and norms which are composed of rules that dictate cultural expectations and practices. Social roles refer to the allocated parts that an individual plays as a result of their membership to a particular social group on account of their age, gender or any other cultural distinction. The expected behavior of social groups from these allocated roles constitutes social norms which are defined as the cultural standards that dictate how to behave. In psychology, the behavior of individuals can be predicted through the understanding of the content and conformity to the social influences and the accrued behavioral changes as people transition from one social group to another (Wade & Tavris, 2017). Therefore, social rules which govern a culture are a product of roles that breed social norms and consequently influence psychological behavior through conformity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the study of behavior and mental processes of people involves the understanding of wide-ranging perspectives as discussed above. Various aspects of primary sensory modalities, biological processes as well as internal and external influencers of conventional behavior are of the essence in understanding psychology. In this way, a holistic understanding of psychology is achieved through multiple dimensions and application of a variety of approaches and doctrines.

References

Lavond, D. G., & Steinmetz, J. E. (2012). Handbook of classical conditioning. Springer Science & Business Media.

Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2017). Psychology (12th Edition ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

Walk, R. D., & Pick, H. L. (2013). Intersensory perception and sensory integration (Vol. 2). Springer Science & Business Media.