Identify one mathematical or scientific Gestalt antecedent individual, Gestalt psychologist, psychoanalyst, individual psychologist, or analytical psychologist from this unit’s assigned readings. 

 

Assignment 1 Due Thursday Aug 1 by Noon CST (2 Peer Reviews Due by Saturday Midnight)

· Identify one mathematical or scientific Gestalt antecedent individual, Gestalt psychologist, psychoanalyst, individual psychologist, or analytical psychologist from this unit’s assigned readings.

· Analyze and summarize the individual’s major contributions to scientific or psychological thought.

· Explain how the individual’s ideas adhere to gestalt, topographical psychology, social psychology, cross-cultural psychology, psychoanalytical, individual psychology, or analytic psychology principles

Assignment 2 Due Thursday Aug 1 by 4PM CST. (2 Peer Reviews Due by Saturday Midnight)

Each student will locate and read a peer-reviewed journal article found in the Online Library and published within the past five years that relates to the main points found in this unit’s assigned chapters.
Each student will summarize the article and provide the URL link to where it is located; identify any relationship between the research article and the main points of the assigned chapters; and discuss how it relates to any main point(s) in this unit’s assigned chapters. Article abstracts are not sufficient for analysis of relationships between the article and the assigned readings historical ideas main points. You must read the entire article to come to your conclusions.

Assignment 3 Due Aug 3 Midnight CST

Short Essay

As we have moved throughout this course, I have repeatedly emphasized the fact that psychology’s past led to its present and can be seen all around us. On a daily basis, we are bombarded with the real-life application of psychology’s philosophies and principles. For the bonus activity, you have the opportunity to earn 10 points by completing two of the following activities:

1. Write a short essay on how psychology’s philosophical past influences you today.

2. Write a short essay on how psychology’s philosophical past influences society today.

Essay Rubric

These essays are worth up to 5 bonus points each, which will be assigned based on the degree to which the essays fulfill the following requirements:

1. The essay responds directly and intelligently to the prompt.

2. The essay refers specifically and accurately to assigned texts.

At the discretion of the instructor, points will be taken off any response that does not fulfill these goals.

Running head: WOLFGANG KOHLER’S CONTRIBUTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 1

WOLFGANG KOHLER’S CONTRIBUTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 3

1ST Peer review

Max Wertheimer was a resilient young man. His father ran a business college in Prague where him and his family lived without controversy. That was, until his family was forced out of Germany due to the growing threat of Nazism. Before this, though, Max was able to obtain a traditional education, against his fathers wishes, and take many classes before focusing on philosophy and psychology. When studying at the University of Berlin, Wertheimer worked in the Phonogram Archives. Which was basically a library of music samples recorded onto wax cylinders originating from a vast array of countries. Music had an immense influence on the establishment of Gestalt psychology because of the use of melodies to teach its concepts. For example, a melody exists due to the organization of the notes, not because of the notes on their own-a key theory in Gestalt psychology.

After conducting research on music produced by a Sri Lankan tribe, the effects of brain injuries on speech and language comprehension, and the mathematical thinking abilities of native peoples, Wertheimer moved on (largely by accident) to study apparent motion  This would not only make him famous, but shine light onto the legitimacy of Gestalt psychology. While traveling by train, he noticed that parts of the landscape that were further away appeared to be traveling with the train. He deduced that this perception of moving objects that were clearly not in motion had to be originating in his brain. He then set up shop at the University of Frankfurt where he invented a tachistoscope and tested this phenomenon, later dubbed the phi phenomenon. Thus, designating the official start of Gestalt psychology.

This discovery was much more than just that. Wertheimer attempted to find the physiological causation for the phenomenon and was able to rule out several, older previous explanations. Although the true reasoning behind the phi phenomenon has yet to be discovered, the research that took place in pursuit of that truth paved the way for the branch of psychology as a whole. It is interesting to think where (or if at all) Gestalt psychology would be today if Wertheimer had slept on that train and continued with his vacationing instead.

 

References

Kardas, E. P. (2014). History of psychology: The making of a science. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning

2nd Peer review

For our final Explore Discussion, I am choosing to write about Alfred Adler’s individual psychology. One of the most interesting things about Adler’s childhood is that he was a sickly child and almost died at age 4, which was actually the reason he chose to pursue a doctorate degree. “He did survive and vowed to become a better doctor than the one who treated him” (Kardas, 2014, p. 385). I thought this quote deserved recognition as it shows Adler had determination to be great from a very young age. The text states that Adler struggled with school and his physical limitations, but preserved and became one of the most well know psychologists of his time.

Adler was recognized by Sigmund Freud as a great mind. This is shown in a quote from the text stating, “In 1902, Freud invited [Adler] to join his Wednesday night meetings of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society” (Kardas, 2014, p. 385). Adler had very different ideas from Freud and a completely different approach to psychology. He disagreed with many of Freud’s ideas, including his personality divisions of the id, ego, and superego.

Adler’s individual psychology, as suggested in the name, is focused completely on the individual. “Adler’s approach to personality and psychotherapy focused on human uniqueness, the interaction of people with their environment, feelings of inferiority, and pursuit of… goals” (Kardas, 2014, p. 387). It is both a type of therapy and a section of psychology. This psychology also focused on social aspects of an individual’s life. Adler introduced birth order as an indicator of personality.

One of Adler’s main ideas was called the inferiority complex. This can be described as an extreme state of feeling socially inferior. This diagnoses often led to therapy to help address why these patients felt so inadequate. I chose to talk about this main idea of Adler because I think it is extremely relevant in society today, especially with the increased use of social media. I think that the inferiority complex is so real and affects many people today. Social media is a big reason for this. People can share the best parts of their life with the world without ever showing the bad. This can make others feel inadequate about their own lives. Adler had many great contributions to the field of psychology and many of these ideas are still relevant in society today.

References

Kardas, E. (2014). History of Psychology: The Making of a Science. Belmont, CA; Wadsworth

Cengage Learning.

3RD Peer Review

This week’s article I went with what about our Dreams which Freuds mentioning that dreams are the road to our unconscious thoughts. I came I have always been intrigued by my dreams and sometimes wondered is it that our dreams sometimes tell us something about ourselves or something to be in our life. so, when Freud talks about dreams and the content that they may have its interesting to me, so I looked up information about what dreams meant for Freund. I came across this article called Dream treatment: On Sitting Down to Read a Letter from Freud. In the article in mentions what Freud’s thoughts were on Dreams, then the narrator goes on to describe a dream she’s been having but can’t really grasp the concept of what the dream means. The narrator mentions that the dream is based off Freud sends him a letter explain the notion of dreams. It describes many ways on how dreams are perceived and view thru many individuals’ eyes. One part of the article mentions how dreams can be a gate way to the unforeseen world. According to Royle (2017), “Dreaming is the element most receptive to mourning, to haunting, to the spectrally of all spirits and the return of the ghost (…) The dream is also a place that is hospitable to the demand for justice and to the most invincible of messianic hopes” (p.3). I found this quote fascinating for a very long time I dreamt with my brother who had passed on, carrying full conversations that felt so real and vivid. It always took place in the same area and always around the same time, I get up and I fully remember everything we talked about and I felt a sense of peace. I strongly believe in dreams and that there is meaning towards them, just not sure at times what it is. Overall this article is a good read, then again when it involves Sigmund Freud and his wild thoughts is always a great read. How do you all feel about the notion of Dreams, can they mean something could they be telling us something?

 

Reference:

Royle, N. (2017). Dream Treatment: On Sitting Down to Read a Letter from Freud. Paragraph, Vol. 40 Issue 3. Pages 399-405. Retrieved from 

4TH Peer review

Individuals that suffer from what Psychologists now recognize as Substance Abuse Disorder often suffer from a multitude of other mental ailments and disorders. This makes treatment for these individuals quite difficult. The consequences of the type of lifestyle led by those that suffer from Substance Abuse Disorder often involves difficulties with relationships and financial hardship. Proper treatment for these individuals would include an improvement in their quality of life as well as overcoming their addiction.

The article that I found provided a study that aims to determine alternate therapeutic interventions to approach the broad range of illnesses often suffered by those with Substance Abuse Disorder. The term “lose our mind and come to our senses” is a trademark of Gestalt Psychology, urging followers to leave behind the concepts and ideals of life and find their own awareness. By using Gestalt Therapy concepts, researchers provided therapy to a m an named Ilan that suffered from Substance Abuse Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Ilan came from a loving home but did not have a relationship with his father. He enlisted in the Army at 18 and soon after lost his mother to Cancer. Ilan was discharged a few years later after he witnessed the death of his Commander during a terrorist attack. Once home, Ilan suffered from PTSD and turned to drugs to help him, leading to his dependency.

The goal of using the Gestalt Therapy with Ilan was to get him to recognize the “here and now’ of his life, while dealing with his past and moving forward to the future. The article provided goes in to great detail about the Gestalt Therapy techniques used and discusses actual sessions with Ilan and his road to recovery. Ilan did recover, at least to the extent of the research conducted. I found this article very interesting and it provided great details into the mind of someone that suffers from Substance Abuse Disorder.

References:

Dominitz, V. A. (2016). Gestalt Therapy Applied: A Case Study with an Inpatient Diagnosed with Substance Use and Bipolar Disorders. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 24(1), 36-47. doi:10.1002/cpp.2016