Psychology is a science that is concerned with the minds of people and the behaviors that they exhibit. Psychology as a discipline is very diverse. It widely implicates other science areas and uses solvable problems to produce knowledge to the public. For instance, psychology can analyze the interaction of individual persons with the environment that they live in. there are different concepts in psychology and these include motivation, behaviorism and cognition.
Influence of psychology diversity on motivation
As a diverse discipline psychology studies the motivation of human beings. Psychology questions whether motivation as an influence of behavior is secondary or primary. This means that behavior changes can be explained in different ways. For example, it can be by principles of emotions, perception, personality, approach and avoidance. Motivation is believed to be involved in the way in which people’s responses perform.
For instance, a behavior that one has learned only occurs when it is energized. It is motivation that energizes behaviors. Therefore, psychology is used to study the behavior of human beings based on what motivates them to act so (Nevid, 2008). Motivation and emotion can be explained by psychology through the theory of emotion.
Theory of emotion
The theory of emotion explains different aspects of emotion. For instance, emotion is the response that human beings have towards things and this can be observed by the reactions of their bodies. By studying psychology, one is able to study the mind of human beings by observing the way they reacts towards events or acts for example by facial expression. Since emotion involves thoughts, people have the tendency of expressing their thoughts in their outside behaviors. During events, people will experience psychological arousal which they Interprete in their minds and then emotion.
Approach and avoidance
Approach motivation is the behavior direction towards positive stimuli. On the other hand, avoidance motivation is behavior direction away from stimulus that is negative (Elliot, 2006). This approach and avoidance motivation can be studied by use of psychology. For instance, when people experience positive stimuli, they will react in specific ways like displaying happiness. However, when avoiding negative stimuli, people may exhibit anxiety and fear. It is by studying the human mind that a person is able to tell that someone is reacting to positive or negative stimuli.
Influence of psychology diversity on cognition
Cognition focuses on cognitive psychology. In cognitive psychology, explanations are made on the way in which human beings get knowledge about the world (Hogan, 2007). In cognitive psychology, studies are made on the modes through which people think, carry out information processing and engage their minds in problem solving. People exhibit different thinking ways and this is referred to as cognitive diversity. Therefore, this diversity influences the various ways through which people perceive the occurrences in life.
After people have experienced certain happenings, they will think and react. Cognition then refers to varied modes through which people will react and make decisions on how to handle their situations. However, though people will have different perspectives in making decision, cognition shows that when they enter a group, they will tend to come to a cognitive consensus. Through psychological study of cognition, various aspects are studied and these include cognitive dissonance and false memories.
Cognitive dissonance
This refers to a situation in which one has to choose between two contradicting ideas. These may be beliefs, and also choosing between what one knows and a new concept. Such situations keep the human mind in a state of discomfort and conflict. This cognitive dissonance theory is applicable to situations that involve the formation of attitudes and change (Nevid, 2008).
It also finds relevance in solving problems and making decisions. In psychology study, it is recognized that people will be motivated to have a consistency between their behaviors and attitudes. That is why psychology studies cognitive dissonance so as to observe how people behave and the attitudes that they have and how they solve conflicts between the two.
False memories
People will at time have remembrance of incidences that never occurred. These false memories affect the way people live their day to day lives. False memories also implicate on the neuropsychological memory models. Psychologists have been involved in the study of false memories. Through psychology, people learn how simple creation of false memories can be.
Psychology also studies the implications that false memories can have on human beings. For example, one may have memories of abuses they were subjected to in their childhood days. Though they are false memories, they cause a lot of trauma to the subject. Psychologists can thus determine that someone suffers from memory suppression by use of guided imagery or hypnosis. This way, they are able to help the victim overcome the false memories.
Application of motivation and cognition in sociology and the social sciences
Sociology is a discipline that studies the society. Individual persons do not exist in isolation but as part of a larger society. Therefore, their behaviors affect the relationships in the society. Motivation and cognition helps people to belong in a society. For instance, it is the behaviors that people exhibit that will determine the positions that they hold in the society. Motivation and cognition in the social life give people a perspective of social survival within a society (Stets & Turner, 2007).
Conclusion
Psychology is applied in all areas in people’s lives. This is whether in education, health, and work. Through psychological testing, different aspects in the lives of human beings are studied. For instance, the way people react to events and situation, how they make decisions and solve problems.
References
Elliot, A.J. (2006). Journal of behavioral science: The Hierarchical Model of Approach-Avoidance Motivation. Vol. 30 (2). 111-116.
Hogan, T.P. (2007). Psychological testing: a practical introduction. 2nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons.
Nevid, J.S. (2008). Psychology: Concepts and Applications. 3rd Ed. Cengage Learning.
Stets, J.E. & Turner, J.H. (2007). Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions. Springer publishers.
