2.2 Mental maps One of the maps mentioned in the description of my journey to London is the idea of the ‘mental map’. This concerns the notion that we all carry maps in our heads. When asked for directions to a place, our reply is based on a mental map which may be quite close to a ‘real’ map; or may be quite impressionistic and have more to do with our feelings and senses. Have you ever been misled by directions which told you to turn, say, second left, only to discover that the person who gave the
Starting with psychology
The most ‘important and greatest puzzle’ we face as humans is ourselves (Boring, 1950, p. 56). Humans are a puzzle – one that is complex, subtle and multi-layered, and it gets even more complicated as we evolve over time and change in different contexts.
When answering the question ‘What makes us who we are?’, psychologists put forward a range of explanations about why people feel, think and behave the way they do. Just when psychologists seem to understand one bit of ‘who we are’
The autistic spectrum: From theory to practice
Most of us have a very vague and narrow concept of what autism is, based mainly on such stereotypes as Dustin Hoffman's character in the film Rain Man. In this unit you will discover that there is a wide spectrum of disorders associated with autism, and an equally wide range of approaches to diagnosis and treatment. First published on Tue, 04 Dec 2012 as
Acknowledgements The material below is contained in Social Psychology Matters, Wendy Holloway, Helen Lucey and Anne Phoenix, published in association with Open University Press, 2007. The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under creative commons licence. Grateful acknowledgement is m
3.5 Summary Phenomenologists focus on how bodies are experienced at a subjective and intersubjective (relational) level. Phenomenological psychologists seek to transcend the mind-body dualism, arguing that all we have is an intelligent body, with the body and mind one and the same: not simply biology; we are our body and, through this, perform selfhood. This bodily experience is also often pre-reflective and extra-discursive – we experience and use our body before we think about it. And it is through u
3.2 Consciousness of the body Phenomenological theorists distinguish between the subjective body (as lived and experienced) and the objective body (as observed and scientifically investigated). These are not two different bodies as such (phenomenologists pride themselves on overcoming dualisms!); rather they are different facets of our experience and consciousness. The body-subject, or subjective body, is the body-as-it-is-lived. I do not simply possess a body; I am my body (Merleau-Ponty, 1962
3.1 Lived experience Phenomenologists seek to describe people's lived experience, meanings and consciousness (i.e. the way we perceive, think and feel). They focus on how bodies are experienced at a subjective and intersubjective (relational) level. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), an early existential philosopher, insisted on the primacy of the body, and resisted mind–body dualism, arguing for the unity of mind (or soul) and body: 2.3 Summary Mind–body dualism has been a pervasive problem since the seventeenth century. One consequence of this dualism is the way in which bodies have been treated in psychology. They have generally either been ignored or reduced to biology. However, our bodies are much more than simply biology; at the very least, they are the interface between the individual and the social world or, more radically, they are inherently social objects. There is growing recognition of the interaction between our bodie 2.2 Body as ‘identity project’ In Western culture, television ‘makeover’ shows in which individuals opt for plastic surgery or are given advice on clothes, makeup, diet and exercise have gained considerable popular appeal. It seems that large numbers of people are buying into the idea that lives can be radically changed through such makeovers. Supposedly unattractive people who are unhappy with their lives are transformed into supposedly more beautiful and happy people leading satisfying lives. In reality, however, doe 1 Embodiment Behind your thoughts and feelings, my brother, stands a mighty commander, an unknown sage – he is called Self. He lives in your body, he is your body. (Nietzsche, 1961 [1883], p. 62) At first glance you might be curious about why we're including a unit on bodies, or rather embodiment – the process or state of living in a body – in relation to social psychology. The body has gen Learning outcomes By the end of this study unit you will be able to: demonstrate an understanding of fundamental aspects of the theory and methodology underpinning phenomenological psychology; critique simplistic mind–body, individual–social and agency–structure dualisms and appreciate how the body, self and society are interconnected; describe how phenomenological psychologists conceptualise the body. Acknowledgements The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licencelicence. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: The content acknowledged below is Prop References 5 Further reading Claridge, G. (1985) Origins of Mental Illness: Temperament, Deviance and Disorder, Oxford, Blackwell. A classic text on ‘abnormal’ psychology. Faludy, T. and Faludy, A. (1996) A Little Edge of Darkness: A Boy's Triumph Over Dyslexia, London, Jessica Kingsley. This is the personal account written by Alexander Faludy and his mother, Tanya, of their experiences of understanding and managing Alexander's dyslexia. Miles, T.R. and Miles, E. (1999) Dyslex 3.5.2 Pre-post test studies Another method for evaluating the effectiveness of a therapy is to use a pre-post test design. This is where a group of people is assessed before and after a programme of intervention. Ideally, these people would be matched to a control group who are also tested twice, but do not receive the same (or any) intervention during that period. However, as with randomised controlled trials, there are ethical issues if it becomes clear that the intervention is having an adverse affect on the e 3.5.1 Expectancy versus effect One of the biggest problems in evaluating psychological interventions is that even if a treatment appears to ‘work’ it can still be difficult to ascertain whether the results were a consequence of the treatment itself. The improvement might have occurred anyway, with or without the treatment, or the apparent benefits might have resulted from other factors, such as being able to discuss the difficulties with a professional who understands. Any treatment can lead to expectations of i 3.4 Biological approaches Certain kinds of psychological disturbances may be seen as ‘malfunctions’ of the brain. If a psychological problem has an obvious biological explanation, then it may be possible to direct therapeutic approaches at this level. However, as we have seen, it is difficult to identify precise biological causes for complex psychological phenomena. Even if this were possible, it would not always be practicable to use treatments to change the underlying biological factors. Genetic ‘explanationsâ 3.2 Behavioural approaches Behavioural therapies are based on principles of classical conditioning and operant conditioning (the latter being more properly referred to as behaviour modification therapy). Operant conditioning is about the presentation of a reinforcement being dependent (contingent) on the appearance of a given behaviour. Based on this idea, Skinner (1953) suggested that sometimes ‘abnormal’ behaviour is the result of bad contingency management, where inappropriate behaviours have been 1.2 Definitions of ‘normality’ What do we mean when we say something is ‘normal’? Write down what you would consider to be ‘normal’ for each of the following examples: women's height; Introduction School governors do not work in isolation. This unit will help you to understand how planning for school improvement must take into account the wider education system including government initiatives and the LEA education development plan. You will learn to use techniques such at SWOT and STEEPE to assist in the process of forming a plan for your school.
Activity 1
