what i think of sigmund freud*

After interpreting and observing Sigmund Freud's study of Little Hans' phobia of horses, I am half impressed, half critical about his ideas of the Oedipal conflict and sexuality. Although he was brave enough to introduce and link little Hans' behavior to sexuality in the Victorian society (that carefully kept sex hidden), his case study was somewhat unrealiable (and hard to generalize in terms of the society), biased, and tended to be in some way or the other--always--linked to sexual issues. I am not sure that his idea of symbolism--the horse falling down representing his mother giving birth and his father falling to his death--is totally accurate--it isn't possible to prove the true meaning concealed beneath the phobia (as this is a limitation of case studies). However, he profoundly interprets events to be linked together in a clever, meaningful way. Overall, I'm happy that, being successful, he influenced our theories on behavior and helped us gain insight into the depths of our minds.

-- yuki

sigmund freud and 20th century events*

Numerous events that occured during the 20th century, ranging from the early 1900s when science was advancing and developing at a very fast pace, to World War I and II, in which technology was used as killing machines that caused massive destruction and disastrous, negative impacts on Sigmund Freud, despite the fact that he wasn't one of the soldiers. After the first war, Freud observed cases of traumatic, disturbed soldiers who had gone through the pains and evils of war, and concluded that it is human nature to be cruel, violent, and evil, and that both our death drive (death wish) and sexual drives account for our behavior--therefore people have difficulty choosing between love and death. In WWII, Freud was affected by Nazism and Hitler's hatred for Jews, as members of his family were captured and even killed, and his ideas were criticized and his books burned. From this, he stated that wars are examples of psychological conflict. Overall, Freud's times were difficult and troubled, causing changes in his ideas about human beings.

-- yuki

best of the century*

Various ideas involving psychotherapy have expanded universally and are now extensively available to people worldwide through media and publicity. Each type of therapy was modified to suit different people from different cultural backgrounds, and more materials supporting psychotherapy have emerged. Activities such as demonstrations, meetings, and group therapy were encouraged, and, also, more support groups for many areas of addiction were constructed. The creation and further development of new types of behavior therapy, including the cognitive approach was popularized, and neurological and biological research regarding emotional disorders advanced. Furthermore, therapists have uncovered more information on influences of religious and spiritual issues on mental disturbances and, in turn, discovered how to aid more people in psychotherapy.

I have selected five of various psychotherapeutic breakthroughs that I believe are to be the most significant and contribute the most to the study of behavior:

Breakthrough 1: Harry Harlow discovered a significant relationship between a mother’s care and love towards a child undergoing early development and the amount of the child’s emotional and intellectual development afterwards. I believe this is very important since it indicates how childhood experiences influence one’s growth in personality, and also supports psychodynamic therapeutic and behavioral studies—if one grows up with a contented heart fulfilled with parental love, one has a greater potential to develop and excel in life. With this breakthrough, it is now easier to understand situations involving patients with disturbing pasts or those who had undergone child abuse and neglect.

Breakthrough 2: Also supportive in the idea of psychodynamic therapy, Martin Seligman put forward that constant unconditional punishment causes severely devastating mental problems that can later develop into depression. I believe this is true because it can take away our morals and confidence, resulting in “learned helplessness”. This significantly confirms the fact that one’s treatment by other people or events helps shape up who we become in the future, and is important because it may aid patients with traumatic childhood experiences.

Breakthrough 3: Ellen Langer showed that to achieve an extended, productive life, one should merely “think”, and keep the mind working all the time. I believe this is very important as it influences people to be more involved in active decision making skills and moves younger people to be occupied with hobbies and activities that could trigger the brain to work harder. Furthermore, I believe that being mindful about the world could benefit ourselves as we challenge our brains more, set ourselves more goals, and become more involved in critical thinking—it gives us something our minds could work for, and we could lead more productive lives. Since our brain processes power our behaviors, this breakthrough may help psychotherapists study how this happens.

Breakthrough 4: The first to recognize psychological stress, Hans Selye, showed that each person have different reactions to stress, resulting in varied moods, illnesses, and actions; some push themselves to work even harder to “deal” with stress, and others sit back and relax peacefully as another way to handle these situations. I see this as a significant breakthrough in psychotherapy because it develops the understanding of issues related to the various possible ways in which a human being responds to surrounding pressures and worries. Also, it influences people not to avoid stress completely, but to live with it—a better way to live a fulfilled life.

Breakthrough 5: The humanistic approach to psychotherapy originated from Carl Rogers, who stressed that the therapist’s willingness, sincerity, and potential for optimism when communicating with a client are crucial to achieving a strong and understanding relationship between the client and the therapist. As I believe that close relationships bring honesty and openness, I think this humanistic approach is a significant step to achieving the maximum results from psychotherapy.stress completely, but to live with it—a better way to live a fulfilled life.

-- yuki

the big issues*

I have a strong belief that nurture is opposed to nature (7), and am in stuck in the middle between change and stability (10). I had predicted that I'd strongly lean towards change, but results turned out that it probably depends on the situation. I am almost in the middle between irrationality and rationality, although the results leaned a bit on the irrational side (11). This contradicted what I thought in the beginning; I'd thought that most people think rationally and that we all do things with reason, however, my results leaned a bit toward irrationality. My predictions with nurture/nature was confirmed, as I strongly believe that our past and experiences determine who we are.

-- yuki

why do we do the things that we do?*

I believe our behavior is most influenced by our past and the society or culture we live in (psychodynamic approach); our personality is shaped up by the experiences and memories that occured during our childhood and our parents' actions. For example, a child abused by his parents is more likely to develop into a troubled, cruel adult who might repeat the same action with his own family. Certain people who encountered distressing, painful pasts that have robbed them of morality are probably more likely to one day become criminals, alcoholics, or victims of mental disorders.

Our surroundings-- the culture we live in, the customs we are bound to practice-- also affect who we turn out to be. If everybody around you expects you to act a certain way and conform to the rules, it is difficult to say 'no' and behave differently, therefore certain groups of people usually--although not always true-- have similar lifestyles, thought processes (cognitive approach), and behaviors. Members of different nationalities and racial backgrounds have varied behaviors-- for instance, as Thais, we often find it very impolite to be totally open about what we really feel about something; westerns are more likely to be more flexible and straightforward. To me, I think these factors affect us more than our genetic inheritance (biological perspective), although this plays a role in determining our actions' causes.

-- yuki

motivations for studying psychology*

"Psychology: the study of behavior and mental processes."

What makes people attain their behavioral characteristics, and what causes the emotions that we feel? One of the reasons I signed up for IB Psychology is to discover the reasons why people act like they act, and think what they think; I want to find out what determines the identity of a person. I often wonder what it would be like to have the ability to delve in others' minds and see exactly what they think. What accounts for the mental depressions and psychoses that certain people undergo? I believe this question is very intriguing and is a well-known topic that I'd like to know more about.

Another area that fascinates me psychology is the things we dream; what do the images actually mean, and how are they created from our subconscious mind? Do they represent anything?

Additionally, psychology is related to every type of career that involves interacting with people, and I hope it will help me understand what peoples' needs are and socialize/cooperate with them well; it could be of help in the future.

-- yuki