--Original published at Rachelsblog

“Miguel has been struggling with his coursework lately. He has felt very tired in recent weeks and has found it difficult to focus on his studies. Even though he is always tired, he has trouble falling asleep at night, is irritable during the day, and picks fights with his roommate. He is a bit of a perfectionist and gets mad at himself when he makes even tiny mistakes. It’s gotten to the point where he doubts his ability to do anything right.”

Based on psychodynamics, Miguel’s problems are not within his consciousness, but within his unconscious mind. He may not know the root of his issues, which is what psychodynamics is all about. Psychodynamics is the about unconscious mind and desires. He may be desiring something he is unaware of. He may have internal issues he is unaware of as well.

Based on behavioral psychology, Miguel may be fighting with his roommate because he sees others doing this kind of behavior. Behavioral psychology has to do with observable behaviors and if he sees others acting in a sort of way, he will tend to do the same. This can also lead back to his unconscious mind, and he may be unaware of what is causing the fighting.

Based on humanistic psychology, Miguel is struggling internally with personal strength. He may feel as if he is not smart enough for the course load he has been handed, since he is clearly struggling with it. He may have doubts about his personal strength which causes him to lash out.

Cognitive psychology studies the brain and its thoughts. Miguel may be struggling in class because there is a lot of information thrown at him and he may have trouble retaining it all. This may cause frustration and may make it hard for him to do his work if he doesn’t fully understand it.

Cultural psychology is the study of how mental processes and behaviors vary across cultures. Miguel may be struggling at home and bring the tension with him to college. He may be feeling pressured by people he has at home. In his education he may have been very smart and top of his class which set a standard for him that he may not be able to reach at the college level. This may explain his frustration with his course load.

Neuroscience is how the brain and body enable memories and emotions and sensory experiences. Miguel is having a difficult time with his course load and this may be caused by a weak ability to memorize the information his professors are giving to him in his classes. All his problems can relate back to neuroscience, considering it is all about his emotions and brain.

--Original published at Cecilia's Thoughts

Miguel has been struggling with his coursework lately. He has felt very tired in recent weeks and has found it difficult to focus on his studies. Even though he is always tired, he has trouble falling asleep at night, is irritable during the day, and picks fights with his roommate. He is a bit of a perfectionist and gets mad at himself when he makes even tiny mistakes. It’s gotten to the point where he doubts his ability to do anything right.

Based on psychodynamics, his problem is not actually with his roommate, he actually has internal issues going on which is why he is such a perfectionist and gets mad at even himself. Psychodynamics focuses unconscious desires and thoughts rather then his conscious desires.

Behavioral psychology is the study of only observable behaviors, meaning it has nothing to do with thoughts, but just studying a person’s actions. Miguel may have experienced his parents or others around him being irritable and fighting with one another which is why he may act in this way.

Humanistic psychology is a strength-based approach that focuses on personal growth and freedom to choose. Using humanistic psychology, Miguel might be struggling because he feels he has no worth because he is behind with his coursework and with this he then struggles with sleep, and his general mood. He has trouble believing that he can do anything right, which is what humanistic psychology is trying to help, this approach looks for a person’s personal best. Since he has such a negative outlook on himself, this could be the cause of the negativity towards others around him.

Cognitive psychology is an approach that looks at the brain’s processes of memory, learning, and thinking. This approach can be used to describe why Miguel is feeling so behind and overwhelmed. Miguel could have a memory problem, and in college courses, you are given a lot of information that you are expected to remember, this frustration can be the cause of the other problems he is experiencing. Which used cognitive psychology to determine the cause of the problems he is having.

Miguel’s cognitive problems can also be the root of the neuroscientific outlook neuroscience is how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences, so if he has trouble with memory, his problems in coursework can be traced back to neuroscience.  

Cultural psychology is the study of the different cultures and societies and how the differences affect a person’s thinking. Miguel could have been raised in a home and culture where there was a lot of hostility and fighting which would describe why he is fighting with his roommate.

--Original published at Jayln's Perspective

Miguel has been struggling with his coursework lately. He has felt very tired in recent weeks and has found it difficult to focus on his studies. Even though he is always tired, he has trouble falling asleep at night, is irritable during the day, and picks fights with his roommate. He is a bit of a perfectionist and gets mad at himself when he makes even tiny mistakes. It’s gotten to the point where he doubts his ability to do anything right.

1. According to psychodynamics, Miguel’s issues with his roommate and his course load are not at the root of what is actually bothering him. Instead, there is an issue that he is harboring within his unconsciousness. This type of psychology deals with problems that arrive as a result of internal conflict. Miguel may have had a relationship with a parent or relative that negatively impacted him in his adolescence, and is now eating away at him.
2. Since behavioral psychology only focuses on observable behaviors, such as fighting with a roommate, it is possible to conclude that Miguel’s negative behavior towards his roommate is a result of observing others conducting themselves in the same manner.
3. According to humanistic psychology, which focuses on personal growth and freedom to choose, Miguel does not feel of value since he is struggling heavily with his course load. This type of psychology could explain why he is so negative towards himself, and as a result, those who live with him.
4. Based on cognitive psychology, Miguel could have issues with paying attention in class. When there is a lot of information being thrown out in a college lecture, the brain must focus on what to pay attention to. As a result, Miguel being unfocused in class could be an explantation of why he is struggling with his course load.
5. According to cultural psychology, Miguel may have been raised in a home where he was pressured to do well in school at all costs. This strict upbringing could explain his need for perfection and validation.
6. According to neuroscience, Miguel’s actions could be a result of behavioral genetics, which are genetic linkages that explain behavior. This means that he could have inherited high levels of stress from a parent. Therefore, this theory could also explain his irritability in class.

--Original published at RachelsCollegeBlog

Miguel has been struggling with his coursework lately. He has felt very tired in recent weeks and has found it difficult to focus on his studies. Even though he is always tired, he has trouble falling asleep at night, is irritable during the day, and picks fights with his roommate. He is a bit of a perfectionist and gets mad at himself when he makes even tiny mistakes. It’s gotten to the point where he doubts his ability to do anything right.

• Based on psychodynamics, Miguel is not irritated about his homework or really upset with his roommates. He is have a conflict from within. This is probably a conflict that Miguel is not even aware of as it is in his unconscious. It could be a event that happened to him as a young child, that involved school in someway.
• Based on behavioral psychology, we are only able to conclude that his is irritable, is picking fights with his roommate and has a difficult time falling asleep. He may be getting these behaviors from watching someone else around him acting the same way.
• Based on humanistic psychology, due to Miguel’s struggle he may feel like he has no worth. That because he is struggling with his course work he doesn’t deserve the love and positivity from others around him. This could be the reason that he is trying to start fights with his roommate.
• Based on cognitive psychology, Miguel may be maladaptive. He is unable to adapt to the situation that is at hand when it comes to his homework. He is lashing out at his roommate. and he venting his anger and frustration on unhealthy ways.
• Based on neuroscience, Miguel could have gotten these behaviors through his genes. His mother or father may have passed some of the genes on to him that is making him so irritable and stressed the way he is about his course work.
• Based on cultural psychology, he my have been brought up in a community that pressured their youth to do well in there coursework, which may also explain his perfectionism. His community may have disapproved of his difficulties he is having. His parents may have also had a part in it, and acted similar then he is acting when they were frustrated or struggling with something.

--Original published at Sydney’s Side

According to psychodynamics, Miguel does not have a problem with his roommate nor is angry that he is not doing his homework right. There is something else that is troubling him in his life, but he is becoming frustrated with other things because he does not realize what is actually wrong. This perspective could explain everything because he is not directly expressing his thoughts, but he is showing them in a different way.

In behavioral psychology, the only thing known for sure is Miguel’s actions and his irritable behavior. He must have learned these actions from someone else around him and when something is not completed according to his standards, he acts out in the way that he has been conditioned to.

Miguel’s actions can be explained with humanistic psychology as well because there can be environmental factors that are stopping Miguel from doing his work well. Being a perfectionist keeps Miguel from being the best version of himself because he is imposing conditions of worth upon himself. He wants everything to be perfect and if it isn’t he beats himself up which hinders his ability to make himself better.

Cognitive psychology shows that Miguel is not processing his reality the way that he should be. The reason he is getting upset and acting out is because of the way he is interpreting the situations around him, not the situations themselves.  For example, if he is picking fights with his roommate, perhaps Miguel is interpreting that his roommate is picking fights with him instead.

With neuroscience, Miguel could be genetically predisposed to acting out or having mental health disorders such as insomnia or bipolar disorder. If his condition is further investigated in this field there could be a connection with his DNA and the way he is acting.

Cultural psychology would look at Miguel’s upbringing and how he was raised to process information.  The ideals that Miguel was raised with could shape the way he thinks in different situations. Miguel could also be acting similarly to the way his parents act, because that is what he grew up with.

--Original published at Manami PSY105blog

--Original published at Rachel Bickelman's PSY 105 Blog

Miguel’s struggle with his coursework can be perceived in various theoretical lenses in psychology. Looking at Miguel’s situation from a psychodynamic perspective may indicate there is conflict within his unconscious mind causing his irritability and anger. This conflict in his unconscious mind are likely driving his behavior when the situation is interpreted using the psychodynamic school of thought. Miguel’s feelings of imperfection, the conflict in his mind, contribute to his physical symptoms such as, trouble sleeping, irritability, and lack of focus.

If applying behaviorist psychology, Miguel’s struggles are being magnified by his behavior, his sleep schedule, amount of work done, and fights all of which are measurable. Miguel’s problem is his low energy and lack of sleep behaviors are causing a vicious cycle of irritability and anger. There is no benefit in Miguel’s behavior and thus contributes to his doubt in confidence. A behaviorist psychologist would likely conclude that this anger is also making his feelings of imperfection worse too. In this perspective Miguel is struggling because he has not experienced success with his coursework and feels anger towards himself in making (measurable) mistakes.

Looking at Miguel’s struggles from a humanistic perspective, these struggles would be explained from his feelings of imperfection which can indicate low self-worth. Since Miguel is not getting sleep or engaging in good social contact, his needs are not being met. This explains why he doubts himself. Additionally, because Miguel tends to focus on his imperfections rather than his strengths a humanist psychologist would argue that Miguel’s personal growth is being hindered. Because Miguel is too focused on being perfect and feeling inadequate, he is not focusing on more basic needs such as sleep and social relations.

Cognitive psychology would focus on how Miguel’s struggles have manifested from how he processes information and thinks. Miguel has though distortion evident in his feelings of imperfection. These thinking patterns cause his self-worth to decrease and impact his ability to fall asleep, irritability, and self-confidence. Because Miguel tends to become angry at himself when making mistakes, it likely causes him to ignore his coursework to avoid being angry at himself. Miguel’s desire for perfection likely causes him to become irritable, angry, and stressed when he does not think he had reached the level of perfection.

Biological psychology would explain that Miguel’s struggles are either due to his genetics or evolutionary. Miguel may have a family history of depression which is marked by irritability, lack of sleep, and low energy. In biological psychology it could also indicate a chemical imbalance within Miguel’s brain which is causing his change in mood. Or, in an evolutionary perspective, Miguel wants to be perfect, not just survive but thrive, this adaptive desire to be perfect may actually be hindering his life and causing more harm than benefit.

When explaining Miguel’s struggles with cultural psychology, it may be because he feels the need to meet that standards set by society. Perhaps he was socialized into thinking he had to be perfect. Thus, when Miguel fails to attain what he thinks is perfect, his confidence and mood decrease causing irritability and doubt in himself. Because he is feeling this way he may be more irritable and have troubles sleeping. Miguel’s struggles in this perspective are due to how perfection is understood within his culture.