Psychology ESP Course

End-Of-ESP Course Self-Assessment

2008-11-27T09:59:00.001-08:00

- WRITING (a summary): This term I have not done any achievements in writing the summary, because there were not a lot of tasks to practice. Anyway, I believe that I will have a chance to improve my writing skills by preparing for the exam.
- WRITING ESP VOCABULARY TESTS: This term we had a lot of modules to read, consequently a lot of new terms and definitions to learn. It was quite hard, because there were a lot of modules including long definitions of the main terms. Anyway I think my performance was quite good.
- WRITING CLASS DICTATIONS: Writing in class was not very difficult, but the main challenge was to be able to write what was said as soon as possible. So we had to write really very fast, but I think it was quite qualitatively writing.
- LISTENING COMPREHENSION IN CLASS: Listening tasks were similar like last year, but I think this term I was much more experienced, so it was much easier than before.
- LISTENING TO PEER' POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS: This year it was extremely interesting, because most of them have chosen very interesting themes. So it was a must but at the same time a pleasure.
- MAKING POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS: This is the most difficult thing to evaluate, because I have made presentation for the audience and they should assess my performance. I think it always could be better, but in my opinion I have made my presentation quite well.
- SPEAKING ON ESP THEMES IN CLASS: This task was the most informal. The talks were quite impulsive. So the progress depends on the all improvement of the speaking and on the amount of the days, when I was in a good mood and easily could talk about my impressions after reading a module.
In summary I would like to emphasize that more or less I have improved all my English skills during this term.

Psychology of kleptomania

2008-11-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

Psychological dictionaries define kleptomania as failure to resist impulses to steal items that are not needed or sought for personal use or monetary value. Kleptomania is not the same as shoplifting because shoplifters plan stealing of objects and usually steal because they do not have money to purchase the items. Items, which are stolen by kleptomaniacs, often are not so valuable or expensive that a person could not afford it. Stealing is usually done without any collaboration with others. People with this disorder would not steal when there is a possibility of immediate arrest. The theft is often unplanned and kleptomaniacs do not take into account the chances of apprehension.
The most important thing in this process is experience of tension before the theft and relief after this. Some lift of adrenaline, heart beating and feeling of being daring and dangerous can be the reasons of doing this too. It is never expression of revenge or anger, rather just desire to feel some high experience.
Kleptomania is more common in females than in males. People with kleptomania often have some kind of mood disorder such as depression and anxiety. There are some evidence that the disorder can be caused by some abnormalities in the brain chemical serotonin. Depression, anxiety, eating disorders and substance abuse disorders are common in individuals with kleptomania.
Kleptomania is usually treated by behaviour modification. Anyway it often goes untreated until results in some legal difficulties.
"Stealing let me feel like I was scoring points against the big, bad city" says a young girl who moved to London and felt unwarranted there. Maybe for the patients it is the way to express themselves as strong and brave, to play some kind of the game with fortune "Would they catch me this time?".

http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/klepto.html
http://allpsych.com/disorders/impulse_control/kleptomania.html
Picture: http://u1.ipernity.com/5/30/21/1823021.a962b8f3.l.jpg

Self- assessment of ESP learning

2008-05-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

WRITING SKILLS
Summaries: We have tried to write analytical and restatement summaries. I found it quite interestning and useful. Generally I understand the structure of the summaries, but I think that I should be more attentive to my spelling and grammar mistakes.
ESP vocabulary tests: I found it easier than last term and my performance was better. The reason of this is that I am trying to understand the meaning of the words or definitions and to explain it in my own words. It helps to remember the words even after writing test.
Self-designed tests: It was really very interesting to create my own intelligence test. It helped to understand how questioner have to be responsible and well-informed . Designing of the tests on modules we have read helped to memorise the new information better, and try to use it in original way.
Dictations: It is always interesting to write dictations, because you can assess your writing abilities in quite confusing conditions (dictating). As last term there was the only one big problem with punctuation.
Contributions to weblogs: The themes for essays in blog were very interesting, especially about artificial intelligence. It was quite unknown field for me, so I had to search for information about it, and it was useful.
SPEAKING SKILLS
Participation in class discussions: I do not think that I was very active in class discussions, but when I had something to say, I was saying.
Presentations: I think that this term my presentation was quite at the same level as last term, but I think that I have made some progress.
Speaking in pairs: Speaking in pairs was easier than in class discussions. Especially about the interesting subjects. When you have some ideas about the topic, it is always very nice to share with partner your point of view.
LISTENING SKILLS
Listening activities in class: Listening was not very difficult, almost every time we were listening twice, so it helped to understand as better as possible. I found it not very difficult.
Listening to podcasts: It was more difficult than listening in class. I found much more easier to listen about interesting topic, than about politics or something like this.
Listening outside class if any: I had a lot of opportunities to listen and use English language outside the class, and again I persuade myself that I can understand quite well, but need to improve my vocabulary and practise more.
READING SKILLS
Home reading: Home reading this term was easier than last. Maybe because of the advance of my English level.
Class reading: More difficult than reading at home. Maybe it was hard to concentrate in the class. When we had only to skip the test, it was more easy to do it in class conditions.
Reading comprehension exercises: It was not so easy as I found it before. Anyway I have a lot to improve.
Computer tasks: Searching for some information online was useful not only for my English but for my as a person.
Generally I think that I have an improvement in my English skills.

Artificial intelligence

2008-05-01T01:44:00.000-07:00

Artificial intelligence (AI) - is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs which can make similar tasks as human mind. There is a lot of opinions about AI but anyway fact is fact. We can see that computers are becoming smarter and smarter every year, truly every month or even day…
Professor of theoretical physics Michio Kaku presumes that after 15 years quantum computers will achieve the speed of human thought, whereas after 50 years robots can become a little bit dangerous and start to think about taking over the world. Anyway there are two basic problems in artificial intelligence, vision and common sense.
There is no room for doubt, artificial intelligence is becoming true. Our conscious is electric pulses, AI is absolutely the same. But if we ever create a true AI or AE (emotion), we have to consider whether it is artificial anymore at all. Anyhow there is no reason to worry, if AI is 100 years off, AE is about 1 million, at least. We have some additional time to get ready for this!

http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/node1.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW8rgKLPHMg
http://lifeboat.com/images/artificial.intelligence.jpg

Psychology of body language

2008-02-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

   In their book Social Psychology: Understanding Human Action, psychologists Robert A. Baron and Donn Byrne explain: "Information (about other people's behavior) is often provided by 'nonverbal cues' relating to others' facial expressions, eye contact, and body posture... Our current moods or emotions are often reflected in posture, position and movement of our bodies. Such nonverbal cues are usually termed body language."

   In our everyday communication we all use our body language. Starting with walk, body position and completing with our countenance. All this factors indicates our feelings, emotions etc. Considering on the gestures of the person we can understand him even better
than considering  on his verbal intercourse.

    Understanding of the body language is useful in many situations. By understanding the signs we can change our behavior towards the person. For instance, individuals' hand movements - especially vertical one - can indicate a positive interpersonal relationship. Open and wide
shoulders mean "I would like to meet new people". Standing with hands on hips - readiness, aggression. Brisk, erect walk indicates confidence etc.

   It is important remember that some of us are not able to use verbal language at all. So in their
case body language plays a huge role. So we should keep in mind that even without words we can
be complete.

   The main thing in understanding nonverbal behavior is to distinguish the main differences between the signs. When you distinguish the main signs you can use your knowledge and interpret the all
behavior of the person.

http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/psychology/body-language/body-gestures.asp

Restatement summary "Babies shows social inteligence"

2007-12-11T02:33:00.000-08:00

The new research shows that babies are able to socialize since their first month in our world.

Research was held at Yale University by Kiley Hamlin and colleagues. For 12 six-month old and 16 10-month-old babies were represents two characters - positive and negative. Almost all babies reached out to play with the positive rather than with negative one.

This evidence shows how babies without having any foundations of morality are apt to learn basic social skills by their own observations.

Sleep and dreams

2007-11-24T11:23:00.001-08:00

Meaning of the dreams, their importance and secrets have interested the humanity all the time.
Now is known that all the people are dreaming even 4-6 times per night. But not all remember that they have dreamed at all or what exactly they were dreaming. It is thought that people who are not interested in the content of the dream usually do not remember their dreams. But most of us frequently remeber our dreams.
Why do we dream? Do the dreams have any hidden meaning?

The person who has influenced me

2007-11-14T08:16:00.001-08:00

During my life I have met a lot of people and everyone of them have influenced me. Some of that influences were very positive, some of them not. But I very appreciate each of them because they help me to grow up and become who I am.

When I was younger I used to be very associated with my sister. By the time I became a teenager our relationship get a little bit worse as we both were at the same age, and this period wasn't very easy. During the years rapport between us get much better, but actually I think I influenced her more than she influenced me. So I would like to distinguish one my friend Stas and now I'm gonna talk about him.

I met him about three years ago and summarily understood that this person is quite unique. He is a little bit older but so open and warm. When I saw it I get in with him soon.

Stas is one of those people who very easily communicate and I actually can absolutely rely on him. After meeting him my life have changed to the better side! I get a lot of new friends, met people who have a great and very positive influence on me. I have visited a lot of new places and even countries. And I think the most important think is that I have changed my attitude towards many different things.

I am very happy about this friendship and I hope it will go on forever!

Phobias

2007-11-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

Phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. Usually phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. Phobic symptoms can occur through exposure to the fear object or situation, or sometimes simply thinking about the feared object can lead to a response. Symphtoms associated with phobia are: dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, a sense of unreality, fear of dying.
There are three types of phobias: Social phobias—fear of social situations; Agoraphobia—fear of being trapped in an inescapable place or situation; Specific phobias—fear of a specific object (such as snakes). Specific phobias are divided as the natural environment - fear of lightening, water, storms, etc; animal - fear of snakes, rodents, spiders, etc; medical - fear of seeing blood, receiving injections, visiting a doctor, etc; situational - fear of bridges, leaving the home, driving, etc.
So, if you feel a chill when you walk by a cemetery at night, do you have coimetrophobia? A little bit of fear is not a phobia. But a person who feels an overwhelming, irrational fear of a certain object or situation may have a condition known as a specific phobia.
People with specific phobias often know that their fears are irrational, but this logic does not prevent them from experiencing high levels of anxiety and even panic attacks when facing, or thinking about facing, their phobias.
Actually phobia can be treated. There are a lot of ways of treating it. For instance, exposure treatments or counter-conditioning. In exposure treatment a patient is exposed to the frear object in order to learn how to coupe with the fear. I counter-conditioning treatment patient is taught to the new reponse to the frear object.
Phobia is a very wide spreaded disorder. As ilustration of this I would mention few famous people who have or had some kind of specific phobias. For example, boxing champion Muhammad Ali suffer from fear of flying, or aviophobia (also known as aerophobia). Tennis star Andre Agassi is arachnophobic, or has a fear of spiders. Adolf Hitler was claustrophobic. Napoleon Bonaparte, who was the emperor of France, suffered from ailurophobia, a fear of cats. There are only few examples.

Many people all over the world suffer from this quite strange and irrational disorder. But it can be treated.

Information: http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/Phobias.htm

Picture: http://www.fiahtherapy.com/phobia-fear.jpg

Psychology of colours

2007-09-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Do you often give thought about the importance of the colours in our life? I suggest that it is quite importat for everyone of us. But do you frequently use the colours deliberately? I am asking this questions becouse there is the psychology of colous, each colour imagines different feelings and emotions.

For example green is the most relaxing and less tiring colour, so it is very suitable for painting the walls of the bedrooms and other areas, where you would like to come loose.
The simbol of peace is white dove, because white is pure strong colour, doctors usually wear white smocks instil trust. Black is opposite of white. It is the colour of power, authority. Frequently gangsters, vampires wear black. Brown is the opposite of black too. It is the colour of warm, friendly, sometimes weak people. But if a person wears grey it means that he or she do not want to be noticed at all. So it is better to stay away from him or her that day. Yellow colour fits best when you are going to meet new people, because it is a colour of openness and freedom. Red colour is very excitening and stimulating colour. 80% flags contain red colour. It is successful colour and is usually used by footbal teams. Blue is reverse red. It is very calm and peaceful colour. this colour is on the flag of the United Nations.

So my recommendation is to keep in mind that colours have a particular meaning.

Picture: http://www.blog.davidairey.com/images/colourwheel.jpg

The most interestning branch of psychology

2007-09-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

There are about twenty branches of psychology. Some of them are concentrated on examining the biological stucture of the mind, others are focusing on the observable behavior. All the branches are very wide and revealing. But in my opinion the most interestning subfield of psychology is Cross-cultural psychology. This way of psychology focuses on the similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across various ethnic groups and cultures.

But as same as in the other subfields the are some advantages and disadvantages. The most important difficulty is in the culture. Different people in the different parts of the world think in the different way. Therefore we can not compare them as the alikely ones. For example in some cultures is normal to teach children to pull out all the stops and reach their destination while in other is normal to say that some of us are more dowered than others. In some parts of the world frequently women ground-floor with men, when in other part of our planet women do not have almost any rights. Those womenfolk have to accept this fact live threir lives in the ordinary way. They event do not dream about education, career and other things like this.

So the most important think for Cross-cultural psychologists is to take in mind the differences between cultures and then would bee easier to understand the psychology of those people.

Why I decided to study psychology

2007-09-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

By ending the school I was thinking about my future and what I would like to study. It was very difficult to me because I never was seriously thinking about my future plans. I just knew that I want to live an interesting and exciting life.

By the time I passed my exams I had to fill the application and it was the hardest part of all. I was contemplating different variants. From the economics up to the history study. Then I saw the studying program 'psychology' in this university, calculated my score and understood that I have a chance to be accepted and I decided to try. This speciality attracted me because I knew that after graduating I could choose the way I want to be in. Then I'll be more grown-up and it would be more easier to make a decission than now. I'm expecting to get a lot of new knowledge of this four years course. Maybe I would even change me life and become more self-confident than I am now. Of course i would like to became more experienced and aware.

Finally I want to help. Help to others and me to live the better way. I suggest that it is not a very unreal dream. I hope it'll become true after some time.