Social Psychology - Definition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Psychology - Definition - Essay Example The theoretical postulates in social facilitation help just in identifying and isolating the individual traits concerning the formation and transformation of the individual self. Despite excessive theorizing on the subject there has been a truly articulate wider focus on the phenomenon of social facilitation with a clearer contrast between autonomous individual actions and socially facilitated reflex-based responses. The underlying nuances are obviously delineated to produce a coherent process of development from one premise to the next (Heffernan, 2002). In the first instance when Norman Triplett carried out research into the performance by cyclists taking part in a race, he realized that individual cyclists tended to perform better simply because they were being observed by others. Thus they separately developed a tendency to achieve faster times on the clock in each race (Sternberg, 2003). The critical perception of performance as is based on the cause-and-effect analysis would show that the theoretical parameters developed by Triplett were though original under the circumstances were essentially connected with a body of a priori principles that produce parallel processes of behavioral paradigms among individuals. This causal link is so important in understanding the norm-based behaviors among certain classes of people. In fact in the process of theorizing the psychological perspective on conventional behaviors of the individual and the cognitive perceptive response to external stimuli have been combined together to produce a convergence/divergence contingency model of behavioral response (Baron, & Byrne, 2002). According to the Stanford Prison Experiment carried out by a group of researchers led by Professor Phillip Zimbardo at the University of Stanford in 1971 even before 36 hours lapsed on the experiment at least one prisoner in the experiment group was discovered to suffer from acute tension, continuous crying, anger and incoherent thinking (www.prisonexp.org). The group that acted like authorities in the experiment did not believe him because they felt he was conning to compel them into releasing him. According to drive theory that human organisms have some needs. If and when these needs were deprived the subject person would experience some emotional disturbance or tension. As and when the n eed is satisfied the level of drive diminishes and the concerned organism would function as normally as it was before. However the theory tells that drive would increase as the time goes on (Haney, Banks, & Zimbardo, 1973). This process is similar to a feedback and control mechanism.Psychologists who have studied such creatures like rats and cockroaches have found that their behavioral tendencies in some instances closely resemble that of humans (Davey, 2004). Cottrell was responsible for the Evaluation Apprehension Theory (1972). According to EPT people rapidly learn what social rewards and punishments would be received by subject people for good performance and

Cognitive Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cognitive Learning - Essay Example Many factors that include but are not limited to culture, nurture, education and religion impart knowledge to the individual and influence his/her behavior. Cognitive learning comprises an understanding of the way an individual’s behavior is influenced by the aforementioned factors. The information thus retrieved can be used for formulating learning programmes. Cognitive learning makes an individual gain the necessary knowledge himself/herself by making use of his/her senses. One does not have to be told to learn something particular or behave in a particular manner. Instead, the message is conveyed to the individual without having him/her realize that it was purposefully done. There are numerous ways to achieve this. For example, when a child is appreciated for having behaved in a good manner, he/she will realize that such behavior invites positive response from the adults. So he/she will make it a habit. Likewise, when a child is scolded for having behaved wrongly, he/she wo uld tend not to repeat the act in the future. Companies generally have a reward and punishment system in place to make the employees behave rightly in the workplace. Part 2: Cognitive learning commences as soon as a child begins to gain the sense of the world. In my early childhood days, I was fond of meddling with the switches. Where ever I found a plug, I would put my fingers into it.

Secondary Source Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Secondary Source Review - Essay Example the Russian Empire or within the Russian Army during the Seven Years War; due in part to the fact that most of the battles and exploits of the war did not take place within Russian territory of that time. Nonetheless, the shifts and changes that this level of Western exposure effected on the Russian Empire, specifically upon the military, paved the way for rapid success and development that would be effected during and after Peter the Greats reign as Tsar. The main source of primary material that is utilized was drawn from the art of the era and the sketches of officers and cadets that sought to capture in drawing the changes in tactics, dress, and discipline that were being effected on an army that had otherwise changed very little over the past several centuries. The addition of these sketches is essential in helping the reader t o visualize the changes not only in the way that troops dressed but with respect to the way in which military service was performed and the changes that existed between the new Western models and the older traditional model of military strategy and engagement that had been the staple of the Russian army for such a long period of time. The primary argument of the author is concentric upon the fact that even though most scholarship concerning the Seven Years War has been focused on Western Europe, important changes were also being exhibited within the Russian Empire of Peter the Great; changes that would ultimately lead this newly resilient Russian Empire to defeat the Swedish and claim further territory throughout Northern Europe. Moreover, the author also points to the understanding that it was the Seven Years War, and by extension Peter the Great that ultimately set the stage for Catherine the Great and the era in which this Tsaress would capitalize on the modernizations and improvements in tactics, approach, equipment, and training that Peter the Great had made as a means of expanding the Russian Empire to a degree not previously

Impact of Democratic Principles and Policies Application on War Essay

Impact of Democratic Principles and Policies Application on War Incidence - Essay Example This essay provides a comprehensive analysis in order to establish the specific impact of democracy, as well as economic integration and international institutions, on the prevention of wars. It also aims to establish, how the application of these democratic concepts affects the actual occurrence of war and of any other violent encounters within and among states. Human history has been riddled with various incidents of violence and wars. Wars have had causes, including poverty, social stratification, ethnic differences, as well as political differences. Wars have been seen within states, but mostly, it has involved one or more countries. Liberals argue that various instruments – democracy, economic integration, and international institutions – make wars less likely. They argue that where people have more freedom, they are less likely to take arms against the government or other countries; where they are more economically coordinated with each other, they are also less likely to declare wars against each other; and where international institutions are in place, the incidence of wars can be reduced or even eliminated. Others are however not convinced of these possible preventive measures for wars. Democratic pacifism seems to be the main basis of the contention that democracy makes wars less likely. Its ideas are based on the following premises: democracies rarely if ever go to war against each other; democracies tend to be more peaceful than dictatorships; democracies tend to have less internal violence.