2022

Abstract Wellness programs are being marketed all over the world as a panacea to preventative medicine leading to good health and longer lives. Wellness is not for people who are already ill, but for those whose intention is to stay well. In this paper we will explore the concept of wellness from a mental health perspective in which wellness and psychology can combine to offer a balanced psychological approach to well-being and long term stability. Introduction: What is wellness per sae? It is the absence of sickness and a feeling of well-being. It is not for people who already showing symptomology for illness, they are candidates for treatment. In a wellness check up, where the person would go through a battery of physical tests, it is only if they pass and are healthy that they are a suitable candidate for a wellness program. If at any point they fail an aspect of good health then they become a patient in the sense of needing treatment for a discovered problem even if that was not evident before the check up. Wellness programs work on the basis that changes to life style and preventative measures can prevent or at least minimise future health problems, this can be seen particularly in DNA testing, used for predictions about faulty genes (those genes that have some fault in expressing or repressing function in the future). This can indicate that you are susceptible to a future probability of a particular disease such as cancer or other functional problems. These are however based at a statistical probability and not a definite prediction. Therefore from a wellness point of view you can enable the person to change certain lifestyle habits in their present functioning to a more healthy option. For example to stop smoking, exercise more and eat a more vegetarian style diet. This may sound obvious to do even if no indicators exist, however the fact that a DNA test reveals a possible predicted health issue can be the motivator to change, even if the gene never actually expresses itself in the predictive manner. For example you may have a high probability for a particular type of skin cancer but live in a northern sunless climate of northern Europe, so it is highly unlikely that exposure to the Sun would enable the expression of the cancer as opposed to living in Australia where the Sun is much stronger, in fact skin cancer is Australia’s number one killer. There for wellness preventative outlook is also about life style choice about where you live as much as how you live! What is wellness per sae? It is the absence of sickness and a feeling of well-being 1. (Myler 2014) So a wellness program is designed to offer advice and medical support to healthy people who want to stay that way. The goal of course is that what you spend today on good healthily practices can enable you to live a long, illness free life or at least minimise the possibility of serious illness. Without a wellness aspect to your planning you risk becoming ill at some point and the cost in terms of time, money and interference to your business and family could be disastrous. Wellness right now is for the wealthy who can afford high quality investigations into their current health status and so enjoy long term illness avoidance. The human body like any finely tuned machine works better and longer if maintained and not ignored. This is particularly true for businessmen whose ability to function on a daily basis, for the good of the company, need to be vigilant about their health. Ill health even in the short term can seriously damage the company they run. In China for example many business owners micromanage the business whether big or small, they are involved in every decision and trust no-one below them. When things go wrong they become highly emotive and stressed, blaming everyone for their problems except themselves. If they have any long term illness their businesses would suffer due to the inability of the staff and managers to make any decisions for them. This means the company would stall business wise until the owner was back to health. Therefore wellness for the Chinese businessman who often chain smokes, drinks alcohol to excess and over eats is a prime candidate for the program to change their lifestyle in order to continue to micromanage the business. Of course the obvious answer might be stop micro managing and learn to be a better leader of others. Psychology & Wellness To a certain extent psychology has been ahead of the curb in wellness for some years. EAP companies that provide counselling, critical incident management and training have been pre-empting mental health problems by offering corporations training in the areas for stress management, management coaching and mental health insights. Although EAP (employee assistance programs) are reactive in the sense of counselling troubled employees with emotional problems they often are asked by company HR departments to provide talks, presentations and workshops on diverse subjects such as: resilience training, conflict resolution, negotiations, leadership and stress management, all wellness orientated in the sense of providing education to workers and staff with information and knowledge useful in preventing a psychological breakdown in the workplace. This insight training can have long term benefits to both psychological wellbeing and physical health. The mind is connected the body more powerfully than the other way around. Hypochondriacs are good examples of the mind creating illness where there are no physical causes. Many illness become reality through the mental exercise of belief just as a placebo can fool a person into thinking they are receiving a medical intervention when in fact they are taking a sugar / salt pill and get better. Another example can be tension brought about through stress that leads to stiff joints, neck and shoulder problems needing chiropractic manipulation in order to readdress the problem that clearly started out as a mental one. Massage spas

Psychology is the study of human behavior, mental conditions and of human emotions in a scientific manner. Further, the job of a psychologist is to apply the principles thus learned to real human subjects, whether in clinical setting, or in any other setting such as industrial psychology. The United States has possibly the best psychology programs in the world, with its top colleges turning out top psychologists every year. Selecting the best program, from the best colleges is not an easy task. You have to select the best colleges from among a long list of universities that offer degrees in psychology. The importance of selecting the right college is even more important in the case of psychology because psychology is one of the costlier programs one can take. Any wrong selection here can cost you a packet. We have sifted through a number of surveys to bring you this list of the best psychology colleges in US. Stanford University Stanford is consistently as the top university for psychology in the United States year after year. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in the university in the year 2010, it is one of the most respected universities in the world, with an unmatched psychology department. Yale University The psychology program of Yale specializes in behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, as well as clinical, developmental and social psychology. University of Michigan The psychology students of this university can gain experience at the clinic at the university, which has therapy programs as well as community outreach services for patients. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Located in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, the psychology program at this university specializes in cognitive sciences and psycho-biology fields. University Of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Apart from other specialties, you can study clinical, quantitative, developmental, and industrial-organizational psychology at this university. University of California at Berkeley The university offers a Ph.D program within the area of Cognition and Development in its Graduate school of Education. The program the students to prepare themselves for a job as a psychologist in public schools, universities, mental health clinics, and other work settings. Harvard With more than 30 faculty members, and past faculty that includes eminent psychologists and researchers such as B.F. Skinner, Gordon Allport, George Miller and Henry Murray, Harvard has one of the most distinguished psychology departments in the world. University of Minnesota (U of M) Areas of specialization at the university include Clinical psychology, cognitive and brain sciences, Counseling, Industrial/Organizational, Quantitative methods, social psychology and Personality etc psychology. University of Pennsylvania The university offers both undergraduate and graduate courses. It is consistently rated among the top psychology programs in the world. University of California in San Diego This is the best school in US if you want to study experimental psychology: program it offers include Behavior Analysis, Cognitive psychology, Developmental psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, and Social Psychology. Source by James August Smithe

When I was a psychology major in college I had big dreams of getting my Masters and PhD and eventually opening my own practice. It is now three kids later and I am ready to begin studying to get an Online Psychology Masters Degree. Somehow that goal got away from me but now with colleges and universities offering online degree programs I am back in the game and ready to go after my Psychology Masters. Before I did not have the option of earning a degree online but things have changed. I have found that there are numerous distance learning Psychology Masters Degree programs available and I want to be certain that the one I choose is accredited and well respected. People used to think going to school online was just a waste of time and that no one would ever get hired with an online degree but now many well respected colleges and universities are offering an online degree option because they realize the benefit of having students study from home. Distance learning is really making a name for itself. If I go to school full time I can earn my Masters Degree in Psychology in approximately 2 years. If I only work on it part time it will take me a bit longer. There will most likely be some portion of the course work that will require me to work in a clinical setting. Because I am aware of the fact that online degrees are available I am quite sure that there is a way to work that out when the time comes. So far the research that I have done on schools with online programs impresses me. There are even ivy league schools with distance learning programs. Part of deciding which school to attend for my Online Psychology Masters Degree also has a lot to do with the program itself. I want my program to focus on Child Psychology so the course selection will have to offer numerous classes with that concentration. It is important for anyone considering an online program to be sure that the course selection meets their needs and goals. The education itself is equally as important as the degree. This is especially true when it comes to the field of Psychology. My Master’s is going to give me all of the knowledge that I need to move on to my Doctorate, Louis Zhang, Accrmasterspsychology dot com Source by Louis Zhang

On how we can use constructive forms of anger against destructive forms of anger to develop better emotional health… Anger is a powerful emotion; it can create havoc in our personal and social relationships and can even sometimes lead to dangerous consequences. So why do we get angry? Is anger constructive in any way or purely destructive? Is it possible to control anger by understanding its deeper psychological causes? Maybe with a proper analysis of an emotion, we can control the emotion instead of allowing the emotion to control us. Many things or events, of great importance or even of least importance can make us angry. If the computer suddenly crashes when you are working on something really important, you can get angry. Similarly if your business partner works against your wishes, that too gets you angry. In fact sometimes the emotions in us become so important that the external event itself that caused the anger somehow recede to the background. Yet anger can be both constructive and destructive. Anger, best defined as a feeling of displeasure, irritation or hostility can have different dimensions with mild to violent responses. Anger management is an important issue as stress, anxiety, irritation are persistent in modern life. Anger being primarily manifested negatively and being directed against someone, it is a social response and have social consequences. Psychological theories consider anger as a response to pain. Thus when we feel a sort of pain or irritation or go through unpleasant feelings along with a realization of a potential threat, we tend to get angry. Thus in anger there are two factors – a feeling of pain or displeasure, followed by a feeling of threat. When a partner says or does something unpleasant, we get angry because we feel pain and we also feel that the situation might threaten or jeopardize the partnership. The need for certain uniformity in life is strong in all of us and whenever we sense a disruption in this ‘structure of life’ that we like to hold on to, we become aggressive and angry. A tool is ‘supposed’ to work, when it doesn’t we get angry. A relationship is ‘supposed’ to work, when it doesn’t we get angry. So anger is largely a reaction against disruption of our preconceptions/presuppositions, we crave stability and security in life. Eastern Philosophy considers anger as a result of ignorance or human folly that is a consequence of worldly attachment. The argument is if we can let go of attachment towards the object of anger, we will fail to become angry. However the fact remains that attachment is a basic truth of life and whenever there is attachment to anything, there is also expectation and breaking down of this expectation leads to anger. Psychoanalysis would consider anger as a form of gratification of the aggressive impulses, so when there is frustration of sexual gratification, anger can result. In fact anger in the form of sadism has been extensively explained by psychoanalysts as a form of sexual gratification through aggression. Aggression could also be related to feelings of narcissism and ego and as manifestation of the threat to our sense of identity. Considering the physiology of emotions, William James has provided a theory and an explanation of what is regarded as the flight-fight response or the body’s automatic response to face or flee from real or perceived threats. However subtle phenomenological differences in different emotions are not always accounted for as we still do not have a complete theory for the science of consciousness that largely controls emotions. James’ theory suggests that any emotion is a response to physiological changes in the body. There are controversies to this theory although the physiological changes in the body during anger are well documented. During anger, the amygdala of the brain sends out signals, body muscles become tense, neurotransmitters and hormones are released in the brain that quickly lead to a state of arousal. Amygdala of the brain being responsible for perception of threats and dangers, hypothalamus of the brain responsible for perception of pain or irritation are activated during anger and we react without the mediation of the cortical or reasoning part of the brain. Strong emotions like anger can be as ‘blind’ as strong emotions of love as both of these represent a state of arousal when our brains are not in a normal chemical or physiological condition, so to speak. Responses or reactions to anger are all that we are concerned about as we may not be able to control the emotion per see, but can control its manifestations. People have different levels of reactions to stimuli and some people react quickly and with intensity to certain things or events whereas some others may react slowly and may not show the same intensity. Some people break glasses or burn objects when angry; some others engage in verbal or physical abuse towards the object of anger or towards a substitute object whereas some others control and suffer depression with aggression turned inwards. Although some amount of display of anger is psychologically healthy as it can prevent feelings of hurt, depression or feelings of self-destruction, overreaction towards an object of anger can be destructive to both the individual who is angry and the object of anger. Anger being reciprocal and contagious can actually create anger in the object of anger as well and so the object reacts aggressively or becomes passive with no reaction despite strong feelings of displeasure and resentment. This leads us to the discussion on anger as a constructive and destructive process and to anger management. Anger management is tapping out the constructive potential of anger. Aggressive impulses are necessary, they help us to stay competitive and become successful by striving and working hard. Without inner aggression, we will never achieve anything in life aggression provides the zeal and life force so anger in measured forms is always good and have a constructive effect. Despite this we have to learn how and where to

There are a couple of ways to go when it comes to degrees in psychology. It all depends on exactly what you want to do with that degree. The bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in psychology can assist in either the development or the furtherance of a career. With a Master’s or Doctoral level degree in psychology, a vast array of employment opportunities will be at your disposal. There is something in almost every line of interest available on the subject of psychology including but not limited to: • Research and teaching employed psychologists work in a university setting where they can take everything that they learned and pass it on to another individual equally as interested and eager as them. If research is more your style, the United States government is constantly involved in researching and developing; but there are private practices which are also enlisting researchers with degrees in psychology. • School counselors or school psychologists are another form of psychology in education but with less stress on education and more stress on the actual utilization of the art of psychology. • A forensic psychologist works with trial lawyers and/or supplies expert witness testimony, corrections facilities clinical work, or formulation of public law as it applies to psychology. • Organization/industrial psychology-apply your expertise in the evaluation of the workplace environment and its employees; how they relate to each other. Government agencies, businesses and academic settings for some places that will utilize this type of psychology position. • Sports psychologists work with athletes to evaluate and improve the relationship between an athlete’s state of mind and their best performance. Physical activity and physical fitness and how they relate in terms of an athlete’s psyche; this is where a sports psychologist comes in. Sports teams and an academic setting are where you will most frequently find a person employed in sports psychology. • Health psychology deals with the prevention of illness and the person’s ability to maintain good health and how they relate to each other. A health psychologist can be extremely helpful in programs for weight loss, quit smoking programs and programs that encourage physical fitness. They are employed in public health agencies, hospitals, private practice, medical schools, academic settings, rehab centers and more. • Clinical psychology is used in the assessment and treatment of people with psychological issues. They can be therapists, generalists, treat specific disorders or work with children on disorders more closely associated with the young. Health centers, academic settings, private practice and hospitals are where you will most likely see a clinical psychologist. • Music and art therapy studies the effects of music and expression through art as it relates to the human psyche. Colors, tones, the beat of a song, expression through art and more are involved in this process. Additional courses in the arts will need to be taken in order to perform this branch of psychology. The list goes on and on because psychology is something that is used in almost every field, in almost every realm of society. Consequently there will always be numerous degrees in psychology and there will never be enough psychologists, since the demand for them will more likely than not always be on the rise, even though the schooling is extensive, the job security and income will more than make up for that. Source by Ned D’Agostino

On understanding the motives of bankers and clients in the banking business using the knowledge of psychology… As financial markets are going through rapid changes and considerable turmoil, I thought I must do a psychology of banking. I’ll steer clear of all economics and focus simply on what it means to be a banker or an investor from the psychological perspective. Of course the driving force of banking is money and banks thrive on a consumerist culture. Banks have diverse functions from stabilizing an economy to stabilizing a person’s credit history and banks can have commercial, investment, savings, retail, private or mortgage focus. There are two ways by which the psychology of banking could be framed. One way is to understand the psychology of the banker and the other is getting into the mind of the client or the customer/investor. Banking is like any other business yet the only difference between banking and other businesses is that in case of banking, bankers and clients deal directly and only with money and this can have a significant impact on how much importance they give to their banking operations. Money is something primal and raw, it’s almost like an object stimulating some sort of basic need, and the prospect of dealing with raw money is exciting and intimidating. The Banker: The banker’s psychology is based on his personal, social and political need for money. The banker first and foremost is concerned about his own profits, about how much more he is adding up to his account and it is almost an addiction. Just as a merchant or shop owner is obsessed with the goods available, the banker will be obsessed with the money he is able to lend, borrow or do business with. The dire need for making more money is what drives bankers in the first instance. This could be considered as a ‘personal’ need and craving for money to largely fulfill personal wants. Any investment or commercial banker or broker or anyone in the financial sector will presumably have a healthy or unhealthy personal need for money. Of course, we all need and love money but bankers are more focused on money. Secondly, the banker being in love with money, is focused not just on his money but also on other people’s money. It is essential to understand that money remains the prime object of attention for a banker and the smell of money could make him rather altruistic in focus so there is a general or ‘social’ need to protect and nurture other people’s money as well. Thirdly the banker has a larger political need whether he manipulates/controls his money or other people’s money and this ‘political’ need would stem from understanding the economic condition of the country and a realization that he has an active part to play in stabilizing the economy. Whereas the first personal need for money satisfies basic drives of individuals, the social need to protect other people’s money is rather altruistic and the political need to stabilize a nation’s economy is largely a power need. Money to a banker thus serves his altruistic wants, his power needs and his personal desires. This can almost be explained psychologically with a Maslow’s hierarchical model in which the basic desires come first, followed by power needs and then by altruistic needs. Considering this, any banker would be first interested in his own profits, secondly in the economy and stability of the nation and only lastly concerned about his clients and investors. The Clients: The second aspect of the discussion is on how banking could help in deriving the psychology of clients, customers or investors. There are different types of clients and people have different priorities or expectations from banks and bankers. The customers may have borrowing need, investment need or saving need based on their age or the phase of life they are in. For example, young students and people with lower income are interested in borrowing facilities through credit cards and loans and they consider the banks as a support to hold on to for their financial problems. Of course borrowing is equally important to businessmen and professionals but the motivation may be different. The ‘borrowing’ need arising in turn from personal or professional needs would be the most important reason for banking among young people and young people, students, graduates or people who are between jobs or newly employed will be propelled to banking due to their borrowing needs. So generally, the 18-30 years old are usually less interested in interest rates and more interested in the borrowing facilities they can get on their credit cards or loans during this ‘stepping in’ phase of their life. The young professionals and middle aged individuals are usually more banking savvy and would be looking to increase their already earned money through investments. This is the group focused on better interest rates and better returns on investments rather than direct borrowing unless absolutely necessary. The ‘investment’ need of young and middle aged professionals can overlap with borrowing needs when buying a house or setting up a new business becomes a priority. Yet these are again investments so the 30-55 year old are mainly looking for investments and banking helps to satisfy their investment need during the crucial ‘building up’ phase of their life. The late middle age to old age is marked by a heightened fear of life’s losses and need to save for the future. We are attuned to worry about the future and mainly about old age and dependence. The decline of physical strength and a productive work life being very real, we want to save for old age, which begins after 50 and continues at least until 70. Although this realization should occur to us earlier, we usually don’t seem to manifest our saving needs until we at least reach late middle age. During the late middle age, the banking needs are primarily motivated by a ‘saving’ need and clients in their late middle

Getting into the habit of studying psychology as a parent, a teacher, or anyone who interacts with children is very important. Child psychology articles help us gain new insight on how children are living and the different factors that may affect or influence their behavior, both as individuals or in groups. These articles are important as they help us see things as children see them. They help us understand why they rationalize like they do. Studying these articles on child psychology help us, better understand some of the behavioral traits our children possess. The articles also teach us how to handle problem children, and from constantly reading them, one will know when its time to approach a professional child psychologist for help, based on different factors. We also learn how to communicate with our children. We learn how to speak to them and not at them, we learn the things that are different compared to when we were growing up, and most importantly, we learn of any problems that may exist. Studying these articles teaches us about new approaches to therapy in the field, and explains how they work. They teach us how to make sure the children don’t regress and fall back into old habits or unhealthy behavior. For parents, especially first timers, they understand or begin to see why various problems and issues arise and they know how to look out for them and nip them in the bud. And when it’s gone a step further, the child psychology articles may offer solutions to parents for the various problems their children maybe facing. Source by Peter Gitundu

So how can you utilize the subconscious factors that come into play when people are making decisions. These are some of the more common ones: 1. The Likeability Rule: It may seem obvious, but people will more often say “yes” to someone they know and like, rather than to a complete stranger. Familiarity – through repeated, ongoing contact with someone – increases this, as long as the contact was positive rather than negative. Likeability includes physical appearance, which is why advertisers use beautiful models to sell products, rather than ordinary looking ones. Within your own industry, think of the people who have reached the top of their game, who are liked and respected and known for their ability to persuade other people. What is it about them that attracts other people? Being associated with these people, can have a “halo” effect on those around them. 2. The Reciprocity Rule: one of the most powerful social “rules” is the reciprocity rule, whereby people feel compelled to repay a good turn to someone who has done a good turn for them. There was a an experiment once where sociologists sent out Christmas Cards to complete strangers to test how strongly they would feel obliged to reciprocate and over 95% of them sent cards back – even though the sender was a complete stranger to them. According to sociologists and anthropologists, this rule makes possible the development of continuing relationships and knowledge and resource sharing that is beneficial to society in general. 3. The Social Validation Rule: Given few other clues, or limited time in which to make a judgement, the majority of people will react towards others by copying the behaviour of the people around them. If other people act well towards you, then it will encourage the same behaviour from others. An older, less attractive man may compensate for his “shortcomings” by acquiring a “trophy wife” which will increase the man’s perceived value when others see him with an attractive, younger woman. Another example is when a long term unemployed person may negatively viewed by potential employers, even if they are highly skilled and experienced, as people will automatically attribute their lack of employment to some inherent character fault or weakness rather than because of an external situation. At the same time, someone who seems to be in high demand, a CEO of a major company for instance, may effortlessly attract better job offers and bigger pay packets, even if his/her performance is actually rather lacklustre. “Success attracts success” so the saying goes, and when people appear successful, then other people subconsciously look for other positive factors to explain that person’s success, and overlook their faults. 4. The Authority Rule: People are more likely to believe, follow the recommendations or directions of someone they believe is an expert in some way, even if their expertise is in a completely different area to the one that requires a decision. Having a Dr in front of your name, or a PhD after it will also increase your perceived authority, even if is not relevant. Another way of demonstrating authority, is by the outward symbols of it, even if they are not backed up by anything; status symbols in the form of titles, clothes, cars, houses (even post codes) are part of this. 5. The “Rejection-Then-Retreat” Rule: This rule relies heavily on the social pressure which pushes people to reciprocate favours. By asking for an extreme request that you know will be rejected, you can then follow up with a lesser request – the one that you wanted all along – which will be more likely to be accepted. 6. The Public Commitment Rule: When a commitment is made by someone in a way which involves the person actively, voluntarily and publicly, it increases the likelihood that the person will follow up on that commitment. This is largely what weddings are about. Why are they so elaborate and public? Why are the vows exchanged in front of family, friends and witnesses? Why does society require a marriage certificate or contract which is signed by both parties in a public setting? The public and ritualized way in which people get married increases the likelihood that the promises will be kept, because the internal and external pressures will require the married couple to live up to what they promised in public. Equally, during other sorts of negotiations, it’s important to get small commitments agreed and written down, even if they are small steps along the way to the much bigger commitment that you are aiming for. 7. The Scarcity Rule: This can be summarized as “Scarcity breeds Desire”. (see also under “Social Validation Rule”). People tend to assign more value to things when they are perceived to be less available. The use of this principle for profit can be seen in the “limited offer” and “ends today” tactics. On a personal level, by having a unique or uncommon skill or expertise (a “USP”) that makes you something of a rarity, you can create a demand for your product or services, that wouldn’t otherwise exist. Never put your mobile ‘phone number on your business card – this makes it just that little bit harder to contact you and it also suggests that you have so many contacts, you need to restrict your availability to them all. 8. The Reverse Psychology Rule: People use reverse psychology to “trick” people into choosing the opposite of what they really want, by playing on the instinctive human reaction against being told what to do. A real life example of this was used in promoting the classic Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody” which lasts 5 minutes and 55 seconds when played in its entirety. At the time of its release in 1975, most record companies felt that it was far too long to play on the radio, but Freddie Mercury gave a personal copy to his good friend, DJ Kenny Everett with specific instructions NOT to play it, knowing full well that

On the need to focus on childhood events along with the developmental theories for a comprehensive psychology of children Child psychology is associated with the social and personal development of children and a child goes through several stages before stepping into the adult world. The psychology of children has been studied from various perspectives including issues of nature and nurture and whether the child is a product of genes and heredity or a product of society and environment as also different developmental stages of sensory discrimination and perception, emotional expression and learning through language and cognitive development, development of intelligence and the socialization process. The study of child sexuality and sexual and moral development are also very important especially from a psychoanalytic viewpoint. Children are vulnerable and affected easily by all events in the immediate environment. Events which are only trivial or unimportant to adults, may leave deep scars or memories in a child’s mind. A child’s mind is extremely impressionable and changeable and before the child reaches adolescence, certain very insignificant events can have great personal significance in a child’s life. So ‘childhood memories’ and ‘childhood events’ are primary factors in determining adult personality pattern. Some major factors which can affect a child’s later development and have potential long term effects are: 1. Loss or gain of a friend or friends 2. Memorable physical/bodily sensations 3. Separation in the family or divorce of parents 4. Domestic abuse or violence 5. Sexual molestation or abuse 6. Learning experiences either at play or during study 7. Personal experiences/events that evoked strong emotions of fear, joy, sorrow etc. 8. Accidents or illnesses experienced or observed 9. Death of family members, neighbors or close ones 10. Change of residence or relocation 11. Emotional relationships with friends, teachers or family members 12. Personal success or failure in school 13. Influence of films, stories, books or news events 14. War, terrorism, conflicts, bomb attacks etc. 15. Natural calamities like earthquakes, flood, famine etc. The factors here are very general and every child goes through certain very specific events that affect him or her individually although there are certain very general theories in psychology that have been established through research studies and these theories have highlighted links between success or failure in later life and childhood events. Some of the major theorists of child development are John Bowlby, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg and Lev Vygotsky. Whereas Bowlby emphasized on childhood relationships, Piaget focused on cognitive development of the child through various stages and Freud wrote extensively on sexual development of children. Kohlberg studied moral development of children whereas Vygotsky analyzed the socialization process of children through social contextualism. All these theories on different aspects of child development only prove the immense complexity and the varied number of factors that tend to play a role in the psychological development of children. There are many dimensions to the psychology of children from social, emotional to cognitive, sexual and moral. Here I will provide a brief account of all these different theories and finally provide a comprehensive analysis on how these theories could be used along with the general factors listed above in the study of the psychology of children. John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist, developed the ‘attachment theory’ in which he emphasized the importance of a mother or primary caregiver in a child’s life. He showed in his study that any infant should develop and maintain a warm and intimate relationship with the mother or mother substitute and all maternal deprivation can lead to serious mental health problems in the child later in life. Bowlby’s theory is very true and a mother should develop a strong physical and emotional intimacy with the child by being physically close to the child at least until the child is 2 years old. Doctors around the world have recommended breast feeding and an important part of this is the physical closeness between the child and the mother which is extremely necessary once the child is out of the mother’s womb. When the child is released from the mother’s womb, the first emotion is fear and the mother’s continued physical closeness instills confidence and a sense of security in the child. Orphaned children or children who are separated from their mothers at birth require a substitute or they can grow up as mentally ill or maladjusted individuals. Freud on the other hand provided a complete psychosexual theory and emphasized on what many of us don’t like to believe – the sexual pleasure of children. Freud overturned the concept of childhood innocence and suggested that we are born with our unrepressed basic instincts which are slowly tempered with social adaptation. Freud believed that the inherent pleasure seeking desires that we are born with focus on certain erogenous zones of the body and accordingly there are different stages of psychosexual development from oral and anal to phallic, latent and genital stages. In psychosexual development, the child’s pleasure seeking behavior changes from the mouth as in sucking and biting to the anus through toilet training and then finally to the genitals. Thus the child according to psychoanalysis derives complete sexual pleasure by sucking, biting, playing with genitals and releasing waste by defecation. I do not necessarily endorse Freud’s views on the sexual pleasure of children and the pleasure derived from bodily sensations could be explained in other ways as I will discuss in another article. Jean Piaget, a French-Swiss philosopher established the theory of cognitive development in children and laid out four developmental stages – the sensorimotor period, the pre-operational stage, the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage. The first stage is when the child develops spatial abilities and comes to terms with the world through the senses during the first two years of life. The second stage is about developing and using concepts when children understand meaning of things and this continues until the age of 7. From 7-11 years the child reaches higher cognitive development through concrete operational stage

When you have tried to reason with your ex over and over again after the break up and get no response, then consider trying reverse psychology – you won’t regret it. This method of getting your ex back is so great. No one gets hurt, you don’t have to make any contact with your ex, and the results are really amazing! Also, as the title of this article implies, using this method of reverse psychology to get your ex back is really so simple that it is quite stupid, and you can actually have a little fun while doing it as well. All it takes is for you to do exactly the opposite of what your ex is expecting you to do – that is all. If your ex is waiting for you to behave like a screaming banshee because of the break up, then do all you can to remain calm, patient, and mature. If you see your ex, smile, calmly say hello, and ask your ex how he/she is doing. This totally unexpected reaction from you will have your ex reeling, I promise you! Your ex might also be expecting you to be absolutely shattered by the break up and stay at home in a darkened room to lick your wounds – you guessed it – just do the opposite! Dress as if you really mean business and get out there and party with your friends as if there was no tomorrow. Tell your friends how great it is to be free again! Your ex is going to be the one sitting in a darkened room trying to figure out what the heck is going on! This is when there I a very good chance that your ex will try contacting you. If and when you do get a call or a text message, ignore it. What your ex is expecting you to do is to answer your phone immediately or reply to the text message even before it’s over, so let your ex think that you’re too busy to respond to his/her attempts to contact you. What is bound to happen next is what you’ve been waiting for – your ex really can’t handle it that he/she can’t get hold of you, so has decided to come to your house to speak to you face-to-face. Reverse psychology works – just try it for yourself. Source by Ilona Benes