Archive for the ‘Psychology’ Category
Forensic Psychology: What is a Forensic Psychologist
What is <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);” href=”http://www.psychologyschoolsu.com/careers/what-is-forensic-psychology.php”>
Forensic Psychology</a> & Just What do Real Forensic Psychologists do?
What is the difference between a clinical psychologist and forensic psychologist? Take this example: There’s a car accident. The passenger is emotionally traumatized and voluntarily hires a psychologist. The treatment is clinical in nature and designed to assist the client in recovering from the trauma. Because of her trauma, she sues the driver. A second psychologist is asked to provide a legal report for the court on the woman regarding the extent of the trauma, and to assess the psychological damage incurred. This second psychologist is providing forensic services.
In forensic psychology, a forensic psychologist is responsible for collecting and assessing factual data related to legal cases. Forensic psychologists may work with victims or criminals, with trial lawyers as a consultants or expert witnesses, with public administrators to formulate public policy on psychology and the law.
Family Court
If you’ve read about family court cases that involved child custody, visitation rights, child abuse, adoption or termination of parental rights, a forensic psychologist was involved in the assessments and evaluations culminating in recommendations to the court.
Civil Court
For civil court cases such as personal injury, sexual harassment and discrimination, worker’s compensation, and competency hearings, forensic psychologists are required to give their expert testimony to the judge could make a qualified determination based on facts.
In civil court cases, psychologists also provide psychotherapy and counseling to individuals affected by trauma related to injury or crime.
Criminal Court
Often forensic psychologists are called upon for pre-trial, pre-sentencing, or probation evaluations of juveniles and adults. Their assessments provide insight into the circumstances and behavior related to the juvenile and adult criminals’ actions. Other criminal court issues forensic psychologists may address include but are not limited to counseling individuals who violate court orders, victims of crimes, and violent offenders.
Studies in forensic psychology begin with an undergraduate degree, but the minimum degree required in this field is a graduate degree in <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);” href=”http://www.psychologyschoolsu.com”>
Psychology Schools</a>.
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Learning How to Handle the Stresses of Athletes Through Sports Psychology
There are many of you have watched television and sports in particular. As you watch these sports programs you will notice that the athletes are only one part of the sports team. To make sure that these individuals are performing to their ultimate level there are numerous other people. These are the trainers and supporters. There are doctors and other people who are all involved in seeing that the athlete has all of the mental, emotional and physical stability that is needed for competitions. Sport psychology plays a part at these various sporting events.
Unlike other branches of psychology, sports psychology deals with the way in which athletes handle the stresses of sports. The psychologists and coaches can work together to bring the athlete’s performance level up to competition status. The information that a coach provides will help the psychologist draw a picture of the mental and behavioral patterns that an athlete displays before an event.
With this information the coach can develop a training routine that will utilize all of the athlete’s performance abilities. Knowing the mind set of the athlete will allow the coach to know what boundaries to set up. Sports psychology is therefore an invaluable tool for coaches as it lets them bring out the best in the athletes and teams who are under their supervision.
To be able to help their charges negotiate the minefield that competition sports becomes it helps if the coach has an understanding about sports psychology. They don’t have to be experts in this field but they should have the ability to see the emotional state that competitions can bring on athletes. The best way to see how sports psychology works is to look at how the various athletes perform in various competitions that last for long periods of time.
In these cases it will become apparent that some athletes are holding up to the strain that being in a sports competition can bring. These individuals are performing to their peak and their endurance level, concentration has not been broken even though they have been performing for some time. These athletes have had the benefit of a coach who has an understanding of sports psychology and how it can help their athletes. The ones who seem to be having trouble concentrating and completing their goals are the ones who have not been given the help of sports psychology.
As with all areas of psychology, sports psychology deals with people who are constantly involved with the participating aspect of sports. Therefore to help athletes gain the best possible advantage in their particular areas of sports it is best if there is someone who can help them by knowing just a little bit of sports psychology.
What Does it Take to Study Psychology at Reputed Universities and Colleges?
While this is a very interesting field to be involved in there are many fantastic areas that you can specialize in after you have finished with your study in psychology. You should look at the different courses that you can study to help you get the degree that you need. Some of these courses are basic ones that every student needs to learn.
For the person who is going to study psychology there are many interesting foundation courses that you will have to go through. Some universities have fieldwork as part of the pathway to becoming a psychologist. This is yet another avenue to study psychology. The person who is thoroughly interested in how human behavior and emotions are tied together will welcome the opportunity to participate in fieldwork.
Fieldwork will give them the opportunity to see the actual working side of psychology. From this area of psychology you can determine which area or field of study psychology wise fascinates you the most. This is probably the point at which you will have enough information to choose the career that you will be following for the rest of our life. It is also the area of study that you will be concentrating on the most.
Before you progress further you should know that in your goal to study psychology it will afford you the ability to interact with different people on an intimate level. You should have the necessary emotional strength and ability to distance yourself when the need arises. While this may not seem that important while you study psychology, it becomes very important as you begin your career as a psychologist.
There are some areas of this field that require you to work compassionately with your clients but you should also be able to step back and see how they are interacting with you and society at large. This can also be termed as another way to study psychology as it actually happens.
Since psychology depends on the way that we perceive our lives, our surroundings and our emotions there are many things that need to be taken into account when you are studying people. So when you elect to study psychology you should be aware that it contains many facets of humanity itself. Therefore never rush to make assumptions and judgments – for just as you are studying the way other people react in society so too can some one else be studying you.
Abnormal Psychology by Susan Nolen-hoeksema
Abnormal Psychology is filled with small diagrams of the brain that illustrate the structures that are affected or influenced by the abnormalities. Each and every disorder involves a particular structure in the brain. These diagrams help the students to understand the each and every part of the brain and find out the areas that are related with the psychological disorders. Abnormal Psychology also includes a section ‘Extraordinary People’ where the life of the people who live with psychological disorder is featured. Readers are able to understand how the people with mental disorder live and what the consequences are. The empirical research sections include the studies of the famous researchers with the illustrations (about where the field is proceeding). The fourth edition also includes information on repetitive transcrannial magnetic stimulation. Apart from this there are discussions about gender and culture and its relation with the frequency and type of the mental disorders. The new edition also includes various debates and studies, for example the debate about the influence of culture in the diagnosis of psychological disorders.
Abnormal Psychology also includes the ‘voices’ section in all chapters that contains subjective accounts or testimonies from people who suffer from psychological disorders. For example the autobiography of the psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison (who is under bipolar disorder). These testimonials help the students to have a better understanding of the signs and symptoms and the real effect of psychological disorders in the lives of people. Moreover there are ‘Taking Psychology Personally’ sections where the personal concerns (brought by the students) about abnormal psychology are included. The book also includes various practical approaches and techniques (for example how to search for a better therapist and how to take care of a loved one who suffer from mental disorder). Apart from this, there are case studies that explain the symptoms and treatment details of real time cases. Students are also benefited with the clinical context of abnormal psychology in the book. The book also includes wonderful learning tools that help the readers to catch the important information in the entire text, for example the DSM-IV-TR Tables. There are also the ‘Concept Overviews’ that are the summaries of the key material in the form of figures and tables. This constitutes a visual summary of the entire text. Another unique feature of the book is the ‘FacesInteractive’ section which is a web-based which helps the readers to evaluate the real patients.
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How Psychology Can Transform Your Business Success
Psychology can play a critical role in helping your organisation achieve its goals – real bottom-line benefits – by recognising and releasing the talent in your people. Whether you’re in the private sector, public sector or a charitable organisation, it’s an established fact that highly successful organisations have highly motivated, driven and happier staff. The key to unlocking this potential is through increasing people’s subjective well-being, which is known to be linked to a whole range of organisation-level outcomes (e.g., superior customer/client service, innovative problem-solving, and the other benefits that come with high levels of engagement and commitment, and ‘corporate citizenship’).
However, these desirable psychological qualities do not just emerge spontaneously; they need to be recognised, nurtured and properly managed. But, when achieved, the outcome for the organisation is greater competitive advantage and improved organisational effectiveness.
This short summary of how you can use psychology to transform your people and organisation is aimed at:
Greater staff commitment, engagement, motivation, and job satisfaction
More authentic leadership and strategic vision
Reduced absence, sickness and turnover
Superior customer service
Greater organisational effectiveness
Enhanced ‘bottom-line’ results
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AT WORK
In this section the importance of well-being to a wide range of organisational outcomes is discussed.
What is Well-being?
Well-being is a term that is used in different ways by different people. In psychological terms, it reflects a cluster of work-related processes all tied together by an affective/emotional orientation either to: (a) engagement, motivation, satisfaction and commitment (high well-being); or (b) disengagement, withdrawal and lack of commitment (low well-being).
There’s many sources of well-being, but irrespective of the precise type, years of research show that strong sense of purpose and meaning are important for higher levels of effectiveness.
It’s interesting that being happy by itself is not enough; it is having this happiness directed to a specific purpose. Psychology reveals that the most content people have a ‘mission’ in life – something to believe in and to strive towards (psychologists often refer to be as ‘meaning’ in life). It’s difficult for people to work for any organisation if it does not provide them with this purpose and ‘meaning’.
Why does Well-being Matter so Much?
The more engaged and committed your employees, the harder they will work and the fewer sick days they will take. People with higher levels of psychological well-being are also better able to learn new things, are open to new ideas, are less threatened by change and uncertainty, and are better problem solvers. Additionally, they report higher levels of job satisfaction – it has been found that even a minimal increase in the satisfaction of employees can have a major positive impact on the ‘bottom-line’. Meanwhile, low levels of well-being leads to these cognitive processes closing down or being diverted to more interesting things for the employee (e.g., what they are planning to do outside work).
Well-being is not achieved simply by being nice to people; it is more fundamental than that: it’s about really engaging people in their work – what’s in it for them, and not only in monetary terms – and how their goals and those of the organisation are aligned. Well-being is not easy to achieve, and can, in fact, be lowered by some management initiatives that subsequently back-fire. In this regard, it’s especially important to manage the expectations of employees, because if their expectations are not fulfilled then they will quickly become frustrated and disillusioned, and revert to a negative and demotivated state – which also leads to skepticism towards future management initiatives.
Getting organisational and employee expectations and goals in harmony are key: if your people are not on your side, then you are fighting an uphill battle that you are never likely to win. So how can you achieve enhanced levels of well-being in your people? The first important thing is to provide sufficiently challenging goals in the workplace (people like to be stretched, but not too far!); and, secondly, people need to know that they are being supported and are in an environment were failure (within limits) is tolerated. To achieve these end states, it is vital that communication is clear and that employees know exactly what is expected of them and how they must go about achieving their goals. Never assume your employees can read your mind: if you do not communicate to them in clear and unambiguous language, you run the risk of confusing them and, then ultimately, frustrating their (incorrect) expectations of what you wanted (a vicious downward spiral can then develop).
But, Is Employee Well-being Really so Important?
Employee well-being needs to be at forefront of the effective manager’s mind because numerous scientific studies have revealed that it is a key ingredient in motivated, engaged and committed employees. Failing organisations have disgruntled staff, who take disproportionate amount of time off on sick leave, engage in more deviant behaviours, show persistent ‘presenteeism’ behaviour (i.e., they are at work, but not doing much effective work – indeed, they may be spending their time undermining the organisation!), and are much more likely either to go off on long-term absence or simply leave the organisations for more fulfilling positions elsewhere. The associated costs are enormous (e.g., lost productivity, recruitment and training costs, and litigation can reflect poorly on the public image of the organisation).
Below is a list of specific ‘bottom-line’ benefits from having well motivated staff.
Well-being and Productivity
It’s long been said that a “happy worker is a productive worker”. There’s a lot of truth in this statement, but it is easier to say than achieve. Along the way to improving employee well-being there’s many pitfalls awaiting. Also, just being happy does not lead to superior performance. It may be a necessary condition that must exist, but superior performance comes from this psychological state being connected to meaningful and engaging work goals that employees feel motivated to achieve: this is the sufficient condition.
Over many years and many scientific studies, research reveals a clear relationship between well-being and productivity. Organisations can, and are often, transformed by recruiting the right people and then ensuring that they are well motivated and have positive emotional reactions to what they are being asked to do: this is organisational commitment. Once set in process, enhanced individual performance leads to enhanced organisational performance, which then sets-up a virtuous cycle of further increases in well-being and productivity – not to mention a large decrease in costs associated with absence, sickness, resignation, etc.
Well-being and Customer/Client Service and Satisfaction
The key to any successful organisation is to provide first-class customer/client service, leading to high levels of customer/client satisfaction. Satisfied customers/clients are much more likely to be loyal in the future, and will be much more receptive to marketing or informational messages. But, this cannot be achieved if employees are not satisfied: disgruntled, or demotivated, employees are not likely to provide high levels of customer/client service. This is another reason why employee well-being is so crucial for organisational success.
Well-Being: Retaining and Motivating Staff
Retaining talented employees is one of the major challenges facing any organisations. They drive forward organisations, and offer the strategic vision, purpose and commitment needed in successful organisations. Talented people are likely to be head-hunted by rival organisations, or simply leave for better prospects elsewhere if their talents are not recognized and managed properly. High turnover can also lead to a major skill losses within an organization.
Leadership and Strategic Vision
Achieving high-performing leadership is another of the big challenges facing any organisation. This outcome can only be achieved with clear policies on Human Resources and Organisational Development. Leadership does not simply happen, and cannot be taken for granted; it must be nurtured and trained. This is important for sustained performance, and for being able to maintain an open-minded approach, based on high levels of well-being, to be able to meet challenges in a flexible and positive way. Often leaders can become disconnected from the impact that their natural style has on the organisation and it takes a structured intervention, such as a leadership development or a coaching programme, to bring this to their attention, and help them develop a more authentic and emotionally intelligent leadership style.
It’s important for organisations to know about the psychology of leadership; how to recognize and encourage it. There’s also the problem that sometimes charismatic people, who seem at first to have excellent leadership potential, have a ‘dark side’ to their personality, which can lead to their own derailment and subsequently ruin organisations through their narcissistic and psychopathic behaviour (e.g., as is often illustrated in the management literature with reference to the senior executives at Enron).
Wellbeing and Resilence
Management have a statutory responsibility for supporting their employee in a manner that promotes resilience when work load increases. However, employees also need to know how they should handle stress — they need to be given the tools to recognize the sources of stress and how to avoid its negative consequences. Once again, it comes down to education and knowledge. All too often work pressure comes ‘out of the blue’ (which adds to people feeling they are out of control), but usually, although not always, this is because there has been inadequate planning.
Providing employees with knowledge about the causes and effects of stress is vital. When combined with good working conditions, employees are then be required to manage the degree of pressure then can tolerate and to ask for additional support then they feel their workload is exceeding their ability to cope. It’s not just about management ‘making it easy’ for employees; employees too have to take responsibility, but they can only do this after they have been educated about the work-related pressure and stress.
Preventing stress is so much more preferable to treating its aftermath!
Well-being is the key to so many organisational outcomes and personal health and happiness. Therefore, dealing with stress in the workplace is not only about the need for employers to meet their statutory responsibilities, but it is also about making high-performing, successful organisations that are sustainable and where talented people want to work and where they thrive.
Professor Philip Corr
Dr Giles Burch
Psychology For You Limited
Psychology4biz.com
Do You Think Stock Trading Psychology is Gaining Its Dominance in the Stock Market?
Stock Trading implies accepting financial risk and the better understanding of the stock trading psychology. It is often said that stock trading is based on more psychological factors than methodological, but that does not mean that traders become regardless of the proficient implementation of stock trading method.
A lot of highly successful traders will tell you that the key to success in stock trading is to be able to bear a loss comfortably. In the world of stock market, all skilled traders and investors know that the loss in share market is inevitable, as the market is unpredictable. That is why today stock trading psychology has become the need of hour. Stock trading psychology tells us that a trader before he begins to lose becomes more or less a perfectionist in his dealing.
Many traders opined that in trading, a good day is said to be the day when you have earned lot of profits. But, stock trading psychology experts say that when you are disciplined, focused and have done extensive research and pursued the entire plan in a proper schedule, you have your good day. Thus, when a trader accepts losses and works through them with a well executed plan, then good days are sure to come.
Stock trading psychology experts believe that it is to focus more on what you can control, instead of concentrating on things that are beyond your control and reach. If you look at the short term, you cannot control and compensate the losses incurred but for the long period, you can be well prepared for stock trading with the execution of ideas with utmost dedication and focused vision.
Stock trading psychology experts say that you can control your losses substantially with the research of trading strategies and you have the ability to do so. You have the potential to determine the difference between good and bad days. Thus, by turning the bad days around in good days you will able to generate large profits in stock trading which is the aim of every trader.
Stock trading psychology experts tell the key to success is not professionalism but the rational and realistic approach. There lies the difference between the perfectionist and the realistic traders. Professional traders go strictly by the loss and profits in stock trading. They directly relate a loss with failure. On the other side of the coin, realistic traders understand that stock market can never be stable; it tends to fluctuate. So don’t take things by heart rather take the losses as a part of the trading process.
Stock trading psychology experts say that traders who become obsessed with their losses often have a hard time to bounce back and lose in the end. There are a few tips that you need to pursue while analyzing the stock trading psychology. The first being if you find yourself emotional, just don’t take any action. It is because when you are emotional your decisions are compromised. Whether you are in ecstasy, in anger or frustration, walk away and come back later with a cool and fresh mind.
Lastly, this tip suggests while following a strategy, you must know well how to use and apply the Stock trading psychology and strategy. Every trader and investor must have a clear defined strategy that guides all your decisions.
Careers in Psychology
It is quite rare that you find someone who wanted to pursue psychology as a child. Many a time most people will stumble upon it when picking something to major in, or after taking a few psychology classes, they may decide it’s the way to go. Some people might also use it as a stepping stone to other careers, and not necessarily a career in psychology.
Psychology is the study of human behavior and should not be confused with psychiatry which deals with the emotional and medical aspects of mental illness.
There are many branches of psychology and for a person who is interested in a career in psychology, knowing what you want to do is important so that you pick the correct avenue of education. This is very important because different areas of psychology for example deal with behavior of different ages. the best way to determine which way to go, may be for someone to assess they classes they took, any fieldwork they took part in, and from there, decide on what they want to do.
Child Psychology for example is one branch of psychology that deals with children’s experiences and their responses to these experiences. The role of a child psychologist is to help the child deal with these experiences and help them strike a balance for positive living. A person who picks this branch of psychology will for example have to be a very patient individual and most of all, like children.
For one to have a successful career in psychology, they need to be dedicated, patient and open to new ideas as there is always new research being published.
