Psychology ESP course

End- of - ESP course self- assessment

2008-12-01T09:48:00.000-08:00

Writing (a summary): it was not very difficult task for me because we did it before but I think I should improve my vocabulary to write a summary without grammar mistakes. And I also had troubles with punctuation.

Writing ESP vocabulary tests: I think I performed in this task well, better than in previous term. I think I worked a lot and the task was not so difficult. And modules were interesting to read and to learn.

Writing class dictations (comprehension questions before listening practice): I think I could perform better in dictations, because I cannot be as quick as I should be. I am not a very quick writer so I had difficulties in this task. I think I have problems with my short- term memory so I cannot remember as many sentences as I need to write very quickly. And sometimes I have problems with my hearing to understand words which I have to write.

Listening comprehension in class: it was the most difficult task for me because sometimes I miss some words and do not perform as well as I could. And sometimes I had troubles with my hearing.

Listening to peers‘ power point presentations: I think I performed in this task well because it was very interesting to hear some new information from my peers‘ and refresh my memory. Sometimes I asked some questions or said a good word for making a nice power point presentation.

Making power point presentation: I think I could perform better in this task but I have not enough time to learn my presentation by heart. I read from my papers so it is a very big drawback. But I made a lot of effort to make my power point presentation.

Speaking on ESP themes in class: I think I could perform better in this task but I failed but sometimes I expressed my opinion. I think I had not enough motivation for doing this task.

Kleptomania

2008-11-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows this definition but not everybody can say a clearly description. This definition is met in all dictionaries from medical to psychology.
Definition: kleptomania is an impulse control disorder characterized by a recurrent failure to resist stealing. It is often seen in patients who are chemically dependent or who have a coexisting mood, anxiety, or eating disorder. Other coexisting mental disorders may include major depression, panic attacks, social phobia, anorexia nervosa, bulimianervosa, substance abuse, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. People with the disorder are often called kleptos. Kleptos do not generally steal things of value. This disorder usually begins during puberty and usually lasts until late adulthood. In some cases, the disorder may never stop and lasts throughout the person's life. Studies suggest that 0.6% of the general population may have this disorder and that it is more common in females. Kleptomania was first officially recognized in the US as a mental disorder in the 1960s in the case of the state of California v. Douglas Jones.
Causes: the cause of kleptomania is unknown, although it may have a genetic component and may be transmitted among first-degree relatives. There also seems to be a strong propensity for kleptomania to coexist with obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, and clinical depression. Some research evidence suggests that kleptomania may be linked to problems with a naturally occurring brain chemical called serotonin.
Symptoms: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as used by a majority of professionals, now in its 4th edition, has a five point criterium for diagnosing kleptomania:
• Repeated theft of objects that are unnecessary for either personal use or monetary value.
• Increasing tension immediately before the theft.
• Pleasure or relief upon committing the theft.
• The theft is not motivated by anger or vengeance, and is not caused by a delusion or hallucination.
• The behavior is not better accounted for by a conduct disorder, manic episode, or antisocial personality disorder.
Treatment: Kleptomania has several different treatments. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is recommended as an adjuvant to medication. Some medications that are used for people diagnosed with kleptomania are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, mood stabilizers and opioid antagonists. The only open-trial of medication for kleptomania showed naltrexone significantly reduced the intensity of urges to steal, stealing thoughts and stealing behavior. A similar three year follow-up of patients treated only with naltrexone showed a clinically significant reduction in kleptomanic behavior.
References: Laith Farid Gulli http://www.minddisorders.com/Kau-Nu/Kleptomania.html (2008-12-01)

Self- assessment of ESP learning

2008-05-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

Writing sklls: I think I could perform better in dictations, because I cannot be as quick as I should be. I am not a very quick writer so I had difficulties in this task. Summaries was a new task for me. In my view, I performed quite well. But I should improve my punctuation and register. Contributions to weblogs was an interesting task because the topics were more exciting than in the previous term.So I think, I performed better. In my view, ESP vocabulary tests were more difficult than earlier so I had difficulties in this task because there were a lot of confusing definitions. Making self- designed tests was a new task, I enjoyed it and performed very well.

Speaking skills: In my view, I participated in class discussions better than in the previous term. I am pleased with myself. I succeeded in making presentations, I got better mark and I enjoyed my topic. Speaking in pairs was the most interesting task. But I think, I should improve my vocabulary.

Listening skills: listening activities in class was the most difficult task for me. In my view, I could perform better. I need more practice because sometimes I miss some words. Listening to podcasts was a new task. It was difficult for me to do this. I need to listen podcasts as much as I can if I want to get more practice and perform better.

Reading skills: the topics were more difficult in this term so I had to read more carefully but I succeeded in doing this task. Class reading was an interesting task I managed to know a lot of new information. It was not a difficult task. Computer tasks were very useful for me because I could learn about everything. I succeeded in doing this.Reading comprehension exercises was an interesting task but sometimes it was quite difficult to understand some new definitions.

Artificial intelligence

2008-04-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

Artificial intelligence is both the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it. The ability to create intelligent machines has intrigued humans since ancient times, and today with the advent of the computer and 50 years of research into AI programming techniques, the dream of smart machines is becoming a reality.
There are many computer programs which give an impression of „talking“ with real human but it is not like you think so.

ELIZA is a computer program by Joseph Weizenbaum, designed in 1966, which parodied a Rogerian therapist, largely by rephrasing many of the patient's statements as questions and posing them to the patient. The last sentence gives the impression of comprehension, but in fact the program is written so that at one point, it modifies the first sentence and applies it as a response.

Using Eliza helps students grasp therapy. Computer-simulated psychotherapy as an aid in teaching clinical psychology. Nevertheless, by interacting with computer-simulated psychotherapy, students can understand the facets of effective psychotherapy by witnessing where computer simulations go wrong. They learn to appreciate the truly human dimension of psychotherapy, as well as explore exactly what beneficial role computers might indeed play in basic counseling and assessment. Computers will never be able to replace humans as psychotherapists.

Body language

2008-03-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

People can not live without each other, we are social beings. As soon as we are in contact with others we are communicating. For this we can make use of spoken and written language. In these ways we make the content of a message clear to each other. However we can also communicate without words. This kind of communication tells us something about the relationship between people. Often this is more important than getting the content of the message across. The communication about this non spoken communication, which tells us something about the relationship between people, is called Meta-Communication.
Body language is a language without spoken words and is therefore called non verbal communication. We use body language all the time, for instance looking someone in the eyes means something different than not looking someone in the eyes. In contact with others it is just not possible to be not communicating something.
Body language is a term for communication using body movements or gestures instead of,or in addition to, sounds, verbal language or other communication. It is an important part of communication which can constitute 50% or more of what we are communicating.
If you wish to communicate well, then it makes sense to understand how you can (and cannot) use your body to say what you mean. It comes in clusters of signals and postures, depending on the internal emotions and mental states.
There are many books and articles how to improve our body language. Improving our body language can make a big difference in our people skills, attractiveness and general mood.

Chimps beats human in memory test.Restatement summary

2007-12-11T00:46:00.000-08:00

An incredible research was made by Kyoto University scientists.There were tested university students and three pairs of mother and baby chimpanzees. The task was to remember the location of numbers on a screen and correctly recall the succession.Researcher Tetsuro Matsuzavura claims that young chimps performed better than the adult humans in a memory task involving numbers. The mothers and young chimps had already been taught to ,,count" from one to nine.Chimps were better than university students in speed and accuracy when the numbers briefly appeared on screen.The researchers claim that young chimps have a photographic memory which allows them to memorise the sequence at a glance.

Human who influence me

2007-11-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

Every person has their authorities by who they are being influenced for some period of life or all the time. It is very good thing to follow somebody‘s perfect example.My mother is the person who influence me mostly. She is my authority. My mother is my best friend. We do not feel the age difference between her and me. I can talk to her about everything. She is very sensitive, sympathetic, outgoing. My mother helps me to decide which way is the best. She always supports my decisions and dreams.
In my view, suggestiveness is the most influential my mother`s feature. She can convince somebody of the truth of the words. She speaks very persuading. But there are more influential qualities which my mother has. She is full of self confidence. She knows that she can handle anything life throws at her. Furthermore, she has an optimistic attitude which helps not to give away.
I cannot forget the fact that my mother helped me to choose my profession. It was very important for me because she supported my decision to study psychology. In my view, I would not reach so much things without my mother‘s helping. She is my supporter in every way. First of all, she influence me to reach the best things that I can get. Secondly, when I am at bad period of my life, my mother do not let me give way to panic. She fulfills me with positive minds. I know that my mother will be authority for me and influence me all the time.

Phobias

2007-11-22T08:58:00.000-08:00

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger.
Eremophobia – defined as a persistent, abnormal fear of being oneself or loneliness, each year this suprisingly common phobia causes countless people needles distress. Fear of lonelines often significantly impacts the quality of life. It can cause panic attacks and keep people apart from loved ones and business associates. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heart beat, sweating and overall feelings of dread.
Like all fears and phobias, being lonely phobia is created by the unconsc ious mind as protective mechanism. At some point in the past, there was likely an event linking being himself or loneliness and emotional trauma. But so long as the negative association is powerful enough. Just like that being lonely phobia is born. Attaching emotions to situations is one of the primary ways that humans learn.
There are a number of treatment approaches for phobias. These are just a few potential phobia treatments:
In exsposure treatments, the patient is exposed to fear object in order to help them overcome their fear. One tipe of exposure treatmen is flooding, in which the patient is confronted by the fear object for an extended length of time without the opportunity to escape. The goal of this method is to help the individual face their fear and realize that the fear object will not harm them.
Another method often used in phobia treatment is counter – conditioning . In this method, the patient is taught a new response to the fear object. Rather than panic in the face of the feared object or situacion, the patient learns relaxation techniques to replace anxiety and fear.

Favourite subfield of psychology

2007-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to work in industrial/organizational psychology. Industrial/organizational psychology is concerned with the psychology of the workplace.
First of all,it is my favourite subfield. After finishing university I would like to work in this subfield because industrial branch is very perspective ad fast developing. So there is a lot of corporations and firms where need hudge amount of employees with such speciality. So I can be calm that I will get a job.
Secondly, business field is well-paid. Money nowadays is important thing due to this employees should be well-paid in this subfield.
Moreover,it is quiet dynamic subfield of Psychology.Synthesizing and evaluating information, thinking critically,these skills are necessary. So I will get these analytical skills after finishing university.

Psychology of colors

2007-09-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

Very interesting subfield of psychology is psychology of colors.The majority of information about the outdoor world people get due to senses. 90% knowledge people get from visible senses. About 8% men and almost 0,5% women do not separate colors. Colors are very important in our lifes. Colors efect our mood and other spheres. Color consultants believe that the colors used in the design of environment can have a significant impact on the emotions and performance of people with in that environment. One study found that weight lifters have more powerful performances in blue rooms, and other study found that babies cry more in yellow rooms. An influence of colors also are used in buisness field. Red is often used in restaurant decorating schemes because it is an appetite stimulant.

Why I have chosen psychology to study

2007-09-30T05:35:00.000-07:00

Oh,well it is very hard to talk about my choice to study this profession.I have chosen psychology to study because it is very useful science,you can help other people to understand himself.I think it would be very useful to understand both other people and my behavior too.I like listening other people,watching their behavior and spelling what they are thinking about.In my opinion,psychology is a very perspective profession,nowadays a lot of people have problems with their minds because the speed of a life is very enormous and there were no time left to pay attention to their minds and their spiritual life.The outward for nowadays people is more important than spiritual.