Reflections on Rieber’s Entry on Perception and Schroeder’s Sex and gender in sensation and perception Rieber defines perception in context as, “an experience that results from stimulation of the senses. It can be examined by verbal description and by psychophysical experiment, or it can be related to the processes in the nervous system that accompany the experience.” He also cites Aristotle’s classification of the five senses. Yet, Rieber spends the… Read More
Neuroscience and Consciousness: A Critical Overview of Literature Abstract What follows is a critical overview of key articles from 2001 – 2011 that investigate the intersection of consciousness and neuroscience. While analysis of many of the articles will be addressed from a perspective of humanistic psychology, some articles will not necessarily lend themselves to this approach, and a general critical approach will be… Read More
Reflections on Kretzmann & McKnight’s Building Communities from the Inside Out (pp. 109-170) Kretzmann & McKnight (1993) have codified, more or less what I have done to research necessary information, be it looking for research materials for a report, digging up an obscure musical recording, and especially resources to help individuals with personal or health crises. Here it is codified neatly into one compact place, this time with… Read More
Neuroscience and Consciousness: A Critical Review of Zelinski, et al’s The Happy-Productive Worker Thesis Revisited Zelenski, J. M., Murphy, S. A., & Jenkins, D. A. (2008). The happy-productive worker thesis revisited. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(4), 521-537. Introduction Zelinski, et al (2008) look at over 70 years of research realizing that little has been revealed regarding whether happier workers are more productive. Utilizing a longitudinal literature review and experience sampling… Read More
Reflections on Tomlinson & Aron’s Relationship neuroscience: Where we are and where we might be going and Robbins’ Eugenics and psychiatry: A brief overview and history Neuroscience and humanistic psychology are part of an area of study that I believe is, by definition, designed to help people achieve, in one form or another, their highest possible evolutionary state. Both are part of a long evolutionary process, within psychology, of learning and growth. While Eugenics may be part of that evolutionary process,… Read More
Reflections on Approaches to Quantitative Research and Butler, et al’s Meditation with yoga, group therapy with hypnosis, and psychoeducation for long-term depressed mood and Schenker and Rumrill’s Causal-comparative research designs and Implications for My Own Research While quantitative research is easier to understand after several readings (Locke, et al, 2010; Creswell, 2014), I am still not as comfortable with statistics as I would like to be in spite of two statistics classes and the insistence of a professor that I would eventually understand it. If I utilized any method, be it… Read More
Reflections on Silos in Neuropsychology, Hoffman &Dash’s Using neuropsychology to enhance existential psychotherapy, Motschniig-Pitrik & Lux’s The person-centered approach meets neuroscience, and Taylor’s William James and the humanistic implications of the neuroscience revolution Existentially and in every other way, I see everything as connected. But philosophically? Yes. Since my immersion into the social sciences a few years ago, I have noticed that the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) divide themselves into several divisions each. Even with major philosophical differences, I can still see… Read More
Reflections on Personality Theory, Blatt’s Polarities of experience, Hoffman, et al’s Toward a sustainable myth of self, and Patterson’s Person-centered personality theory What is personality? It is made up of thoughts, ideas, relationships, feelings, dreams, aspirations, environment, even rebellion. At the same time, it is nothing but the figment of our dreams if one takes the Eastern and Buddhist view of existence. The readings here are becoming more fascinating and challenging, though I still find flaws in… Read More
Personal Reflections on My Role within Unconquered Minds and a Critique of Minkler & Hancock’s Community health assessment or healthy community assessment: Whose community? Whose health? Whose assessment? Understanding Health, Community, and Community Health How health, community, and community health are examined, utilized, and defined depend upon the representatives of the community involved. All are key, all are vital, and all are based upon the perspective of key individuals and groups. A politician will obviously differ from a health care provider, a social… Read More
Reflections on Charet’s Consciousness, Earley’s The Social Evolution of Consciousness and Grof’s Revision and Re-enchantment of Psychology Charet’s encyclopedia entry serves as an entry point, a definition, of consciousness. As such, it is aa general introduction, but given the work done by others in this area, including the Buddhists, Jung, and others, this definition barely cover the territory. I concentrated the majority of my analysis on the other two articles. While Early’s… Read More