Changing Views

How your perceptions of psychology have changed since taking this course?

"Tell me Mr. Thomas, what seems to be troubling you today?" "Well you see doctor, I have been hearing voices. . ." Like many of those before me, I too, was uninformed about the true nature of psychology. Upon hearing the word psychology, I would immediately picture a shrink with a patient lying on a couch. To me, psychology meant the study of crazy people. I had no other interpretation or knowledge about the subject except for what I had come across on the television. I was unaware that psychology was such an extremely broad field, encompassing many different approaches to the study of behavior. In fact, psychology did not necessarily just refer to the brain or nervous system but also the information processing theories of the mind. Consequently, my previous perceptions of psychology were almost completely incorrect. Many subjects that I had previously listed under studies such as anatomy and physiology were actually listed and studied under psychology. Thus, this course allowed me to learn the true nature of psychology and all that it had to offer. Even though my perceptions of the scope of the subject have changed, I find myself in awe at the true nature of psychology and all that it encompasses.

On the first day of class, I was given a new definition of psychology. From then on, psychology became known as the scientific study of behavior and mind. So I then asked myself how does such topics such as, human development, sensation and perception, as well as biological processes fall under the same study? As I learned in the following weeks, these topics were actually deeply involved in the subject matter of the mind and behavior. The manner in which humans develop can have a major impact on ones behavior and personality. In terms of development, I thought that most of our changes were predefined and set in stone. However, I learned that the environment helps shape the physical process of growth and can determine its ultimate outcome. Of course I realized that experience played a big part in determining what a person is ultimately like, but I was oblivious to the extreme roles of the social aspects. Who knew that contact comfort played such a big role in the development of a child? It became very clear that personal development, both socially and personally, were extremely important for determining ones behavior.

I assumed that biological processes as well as sensation and perception would fall under more investigative sciences due to their extreme depth and complicity. Quite frankly, my assumptions were dead wrong. Once again, the specific way the mind and its processes work influenced our behavior and perceptions of certain situations. In order to understand the processes used to arrive at a meaningful interpretation of sensations, the brain must be involved. What you see, therefore, is not necessarily a faithful reflection of what the world presents; instead, you see an interpretation, or perception, of the message delivered by the physical world. I didn't think the process was that complicated. Even the simple processes of identifying an object, required me to use my past experiences. In addition, the routine action of moving my arm up and down and sensing the position and movement of my arm was related to the nerve impulses generated by the kinesthetic receptors. I was dumbfounded by the complexity of these otherwise simple activities.

Psychology tends to be eclectic, drawing on scientific knowledge from other fields to help explain and understand behavior. I had always thought that psychology was a fairly simple field of study. All someone had to do was think of a hypothesis, grab some people, and then make up a test that would test the people on their hypothesis. Nevertheless, I now know that the process is much more complicated than that; in order to understand the insane, psychologists must study the sane. However, it is evident that the media and television can have a great influence on public perception, for instance, Dr. Phil's television show. I have seen his show