Psychology developed in the U.S. from several different perspectives; the first was the acquisition of viewpoints from European perspectives. Gestalt psychology is based on understanding the whole behavioral phenomenon instead of analyzing the individual components of behavior. Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory initially developed by Sigmund Freud through inductive reasoning and qualitative analysis of case studies. Quantitative scientific support for psychoanalysis is lacking. Sigmund Freud spent much of his life developing a viewpoint of consciousness through his work in treating individuals with mental illness. American views of psychology emerged as a unique viewpoint; people like William James, John Dewey and James Cattell provided their own perspectives on psychology. Humanistic psychology also emerged as a school of psychology in part as a reaction to psychoanalysis and Behaviorism (we will cover in Week 5).

• What are the basic principles of Gestalt psychology, and why was it important in the early life of psychology? What areas do you think were the Gestalt principles and avenues of research best suited for in modern psychology? In your opinion, is there a place for Gestalt psychology in current psychological research and application? Why?
• From a scientific perspective, psychoanalysis or psychodynamic views have very little validity. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Justify your answer. Why did Freudian psychoanalysis have such a seemingly dominant influence, not on U.S. psychology development, but on popular culture?
• How did the perspectives of empiricism and structuralism lead to the development of American functionalism? Does American functionalism differ significantly from its European heritage? Why?
• Describe the main factors of humanistic psychology. Compare and contrast their views with those of their contemporaries, such as psychoanalytic. In terms of application, what would make humanistic psychology appealing?

Justify your answers with appropriate research and reasoning. Comment on the postings of at least two peers. Provide an analysis of each peer’s postings while also suggesting specific additions or clarifications for improving the discussion question response.
To support your work make sure to utilize your course and text readings. When asked also utilize outside sources as well. As in all assignments make sure to cite your sources in your work and provide a reference for each citation utilizing APA format.

discuss whether this practice of visualizing successful completion of physical activities is “pop psychology” and mysticism or whether the practice has research-supported underpinnings
All papers in doctoral writing
All papers APA format
All papers have at least 8 references
Doctoral writing
APA FORMAT
Directions followed for each assignment
No grammar or spelling errors
Complete APA paper
needs to be atleast an 8 out of 10 assignment or will not leave payment on table
NEEDS TO have abstract
due 4/3/2015 at 10pm centeral standard
make the titles of the paper have the color it is highlighted in
Details:
The strong dualism position of Descartes suggests that the mind is fully separate from the brain, and that, therefore, there may be no detectable manifestation of representations in the brain. What some note as manifestations are called traces, and their existence has been argued over time. Brain scans suggest that nothing we remember can be physically pinpointed in the brain and that there is no geometrical location for the meaning of the word “baby,” nor is there a pinpoint location for the image of a baseball. Yet, fMRI scans note changes in the brain when an individual is memorizing new words. However, the changes are gross, smeared images with no pinpointing, relative to the scale of neurons or small groups of them. In this assignment, you will make a statement on whether the mind and brain are fully separate or whether they are one entity.
Write an essay (2,000-2,500 words) in which you make a statement and provide support for whether the mind and brain are fully separate or whether they are one entity.
Compare differing conceptualizations of the mind and how the mind is studied.
Address the influence of internal and environmental conditions on what is recalled from certain kinds of memory/representations (e.g., things remembered rote, such as one’s phone number vs. interpreted things like a mother’s affect last time she was seen).
Determine the necessity for a one-to-one correspondence between a specific representation in the mind and a physico-chemical condition in some specific neurons/synapses in the associated brain.
Analyze fundamental differences between representations from: (a) Visual stimuli vs. those from speech stimuli; (b) Experienced stimuli (instantiated; things that happened externally, the last pizza you ate) vs. imagined stimuli (uninstantiated; anticipating-imagining something for dinner that you’ve never had before).
Details:
The relative significance of nature and nurture on the development of human language has been a historical debate spanning decades of cognitive and developmental psychology. For many years, people have debated and discussed the importance of nature and nurture and which has greater significance in human development. In this assignment, you will focus on the roles of nature and nurture in the process of language development.
Directions:
Write an essay (1,750-2,000 words) in which you discuss how the evolution of computer-generated speech affects the nature-nurture debate in the process of language development. In your essay address the following:
The roles nature and nurture have in the process of language development.
Does the successful development of computer-generated speech, which allows computers to communicate with one another, orally, effectively eliminate the nature-nurture debate regarding human language development?
Details:
Much attention was given to mental imagery in athletics (particularly tennis) in the 1960s and 1970s under the heading of visualization as a way to improve personal performance. The idea was to practice specific physical actions and to visualize them being successfully completed without actually doing them.
Directions:
Write a position paper (1,000-1,250 words) in which you discuss whether this practice of visualizing successful completion of physical activities is “pop psychology” and mysticism or whether the practice has research-supported underpinnings.
Using current research, make recommendations for improving the technique, or argue that it now is obsolete.