Counselling Theories Essay Example for Free

Counselling Theories Essay 1.Explain the concept of nature versus nurture, using yourself as a case study to illustrate the theory. The concept of nature versus nurture is that human behaviour is influenced by genetic information inherited from our parents and also by environmental and social influences. My appearance such as short sightedness and pigmentation (freckles) I inherited from my parents. This means like my father I must wear glasses to drive and many other aspects of my daily life. Being a woman this heightens my social awareness as how others perceive me. Society dictates ‘the body beautiful’. Magazines, Bill-boards, TV and newspapers constantly suggest the need to have a perfect complexion. This influences how I perceive myself and makes me feel I must wear makeup to cover up such blemishes to appear more acceptable and feel good about myself. Thus this influences my behaviour in everyday life as I feel my appearance determines my acceptance by others. 2.Identify one strength and one weakness of the nature versus nurture concept in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour. One strength of the nature versus nurture concept in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour is the ability to explain addiction to smoking, drinking and narcotics. Children see their family and friends behaviour as socially acceptable and so exhibit these behaviours with little question. This often leads to entrenched social behaviour. This suggests that our early experiences can affect our perspective later in adulthood. One weakness of the nature versus nurture concept in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour is that if someone’s behaviour is solely determined by their genes then to what extent are people in control of their lives. For instance people suffering from ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) have the same set of genes but depending on their family, social or cultural upbringing may respond differently to the same situation. 3.Describe Freud’s concept of the ego, id and superego. Explain how the ego,  id and superego interact. Use an example from your own experience. Id: Describes the biological or instinctive response. This is our original personality we are born with and controls responses in the early stage of life. Ego: In this second developmental stage, compromises in instinctive responses to environmental circumstances begin to develop. The ego mediates with the id by considering the rules of the real world and the consequences of actions taken in that world. Superego: This is that part of our psyche that determines how we think we should react in a given situation. This is the development of morals, what is right and what is wrong. It is a further development of control over the id response. An example from my own experience is say when I see a piece of cake on display. My id tells me I want to eat the piece of cake, my ego says are you really that hungry. My superego rationalises the situation and asks if I eat the cake unnecessarily, a possible consequence is I will put on weight and so is this the right thing to do? 4.Identify one strength and one weakness of Freud’s concept of the ego, id and superego in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour. One advantage of Freud’s concept of the ego, id and superego in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour is that it gives a good overall description of development of the human psyche. It recognises the development of personality and physical development stages. It demonstrates the interplay or lack of; between these different aspects of the psychological process and how different outcomes can occur as a consequence of this balance. One weakness of Sigmund Freud’s concept of the ego, id and superego in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour is that not each may be equally well developed. This mix of psyche occurs at different rates for each individual. This can lead to social consequences where individuals will be treated differently causing a hindrance in the future development of the ego and superego. 5. Describe Jean Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development and provide an example from your own experience to illustrate the theory. Sensorimotor (Birth 18 months): During this period the baby begins to  recognise the world around them and so develops refined eye movement, depth vision, and later as they begin to explore further learn to crawl and then walk. They start to use simple language ‘mum’, ‘dad’ and other single word responses.   Preoperational (18 months to 6 years): Here the child increases their vocabulary and recognise some simple symbols and how to deal with certain basic situations. They can understand those near to them and begin to categorise the world around them. ï€ ªConcrete operational (6 to 12 years): At this point language skills increase but are still tied to the real world. The ability to reason increases in seeking to understand the world around them. Formal operational (12 years and over): About this point the child begins to explore abstract or hypothetical situations. There is an attempt to organise thoughts and situations into a logical ordering. From my own experience while I cannot remember the first two stages but I have seen them in my children’s growing up. At the age of 12 my daughter started to explore cooking for herself at first making cakes and more complicated meals. She started to ask such questions regarding instructions on packet mixes before progressing to more complicated cooking such as a bacon, tomato and onion omelette. More recently she has started to explore more complex issues and why people do what they do. 6.Identify one strength and one weakness of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development demonstrate an important connection between physical development and personality stages. A criticism levelled at Piaget however was that he used his own children and others from a well educated and high socio-economic background. This selection is thus not fully representative of all society. Further children from different environment and cultural backgrounds may mature differently. Thus the age classification of the different stages may be much wider with some children developing at an earlier age and some later. 7.List Erikson’s eight psychosocial stages of development. Which stage do you see yourself in and why? (1)Oral sensory (0 – 1 year) (2)Muscular anal (2 – 3 years) (3)Locomotor-genital (3 – 5 years) (4)Latency (6 years – puberty) (5)Adolescence (12 – 18 years) (6)Early adulthood (18 – 35 years) (7)Middle adulthood (35– 60 years) (8)Mature adult (60+ years) I’m at stage 7 according to Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development. I am 40 years old, I have a family, a career and have organized as much as is possible my future life which now includes further education. 8.Identify one strength and one weakness of Erikson’s stages of development in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour. A strength of Erikson’s stages of development in relation to understanding human development and individual behaviour is that it places greater stress in the nature versus nurture debate for the need for both concepts. Further this description is placed across an entire lifespan of a human being. A criticism, however, is that this theory describes the developmental process rather than explaining it.

How Shakespear Makes Act 1 Scene 5 of Rome & Juliet Dramatically Effect

How Shakespeare Makes Act 1 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet Dramatically Effective   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the start of Act 1 Scene 5 the guests at the Capulets’ ball have just finishes dining and Sampson and Gregory, the two head servants, are complaining that a number of the servants, especially Potpan, are not helping to clear up: â€Å"Where’s Potpan that he helps not to take away?† Most of the servants are trying to clean up quickly because they want to have their own party later. The scene then moves on to Lord Capulet inviting all of the guests to come and dance, he is making jokes and the mood seems quite relaxed and jovial: â€Å"You are welcome, gentlemen. Come, musicians play.† This first part of the scene presents the audience with a lively, laid-back and fun atmosphere and is more light-hearted than the previous scenes. It is a complete contrast from the fighting and arguing in the first scene.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the ways Shakespeare makes this scene dramatically effective is the way he portrays Romeos thoughts when he first meets Juliet. Romeo uses very poetic language and appears to be a bit of a romanticist. He likens Juliet to a dove among ugly crows: â€Å"Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear, So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows† Romeo is stunned by Juliet’s beauty. It is a case of love at first sight and Romeo is smitten with Juliet after this first passing: â€Å"Did my heart love till now?† Romeos form of speech is far more poetic then ...

Role of the United States Constitution

Role of the United States Constitution The role of the constitution plays an important part of the everyday life in the United States. It is a part of every person’s life even if they do not realize it. It usually has impacted your life in the past or even at every moment in someone’s life. â€Å"Although the Constitution created a new federal government, it took a courageous, brilliant, and farseeing Supreme Court chief justice to help realize the framers’ vision. † (Microsoft, 2007) The Constitution itself provides that it may be amended to address social and economic changes. There are two main functions that the U. S. Constitution serves. One of main function is the three branches of the federal government which are judicial, legislative and executive. The second main function is to, â€Å"protect individual rights by limiting the government’s ability to restrict those rights. † (Cheeseman, 2007) Power is distributed throughout the branches in time. The executive branch is designated to provide the election of the president and vice president. Both presidents are elected by the Electoral College and not by popular vote like one would think. The legislative branch’s responsibility consists of the Senate and House of Representatives which together are called Congress. Lastly, there is the judicial branch which was created by establishing the Supreme Court. Checks and balances have been created so one branch does not get any more powerful than the others. The judicial branch has authority to examine the acts of the other two branches of government and determine if those acts are constitutional. The executive branch can enter into treaties with foreign governments only with the advice and consent of the Senate. The legislative branch is authorized to create federal courts and determine their jurisdiction and to enact statutes that change judicially made law. Certain checks and balances are built into the Constitution to ensure that no one branch of the federal government becomes too powerful. The Supremacy Clause is considered the supreme law of the land or the highest form of law in the American legal system. State and local laws that conflict with valid federal law are unconstitutional. Another main section of the constitution is the Commerce Clause which, â€Å"grants Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with Indian tribes. (Cheeseman, 2007) This was set in place mainly to foster the development of a national market and free trade among the states. The 10 amendments that are part of the Constitution are the bill of rights. These amendments basically guarantee rights to people and protect these rights from government that might try to get in the way. Over the years 17 amendments have been added with some being abolished slavery, prohibited discrimination, authorized the federa l income tax and given women the right to vote. Probably the most known amendment is freedom of speech which is defined as, â€Å"the concept of being able to speak freely without censorship. (Wikipedia, 2008) This is the one of the most important amendments because all other amendments would basically be meaningless without it. In Minnesota there was a state wide smoking ban that took effect on September 30, 2007. â€Å"The Minnesota law applies to bars, restaurants, and private clubs. † (Brunswick, 2007) This change in the law has affected some of the business in many bars. Recently there have been a few bars that have found a â€Å"loophole† in the Freedom to Breathe Act. The loophole basically states that smoking is allowing in public places as long as there is a theater performance. Mark Benjamin, an attorney from Cambridge who initiated the event, said, â€Å"These people are actors and this is the stage. † (Mille Lacs Messenger, 2008) All the patrons in the bar are considered actors and their cigarette is a prop which is how the loophole works. The smoking ban is an example of how a Constitutional right affects a business and how the legal system is used with respect to recognizing or protecting that right. Yes, the smoking ban might be hurting some bars that are mainly serving beverages, but the rights are being protected by letting people smoke freely everywhere else other than bars, restaurants, and private clubs. Even though many states are starting to ban smoking like Minnesota, more than likely it will never come down to where smoking is completely banned. References Brunswick, M. (2007, September 30). New smoking ban. Retrieved March 17, 2008, from http://www. startribune. com/local/11606746. html Cheeseman, H. R. (2007). The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce: Business Ethics, E-Commerce, Regulatory, and International Issues (5th ed. ). A Pearson Education Company : Prentice Hall, Inc.. Microsoft (2007). Constitution of the United States. Retrieved March 16, 2008, from

Stress and coping....Psychology Free Essay Example, 1000 words

It suggests even going so far as to change jobs – not necessarily a good idea, or a feasible move depending on one’s own circumstances. Secondly, it recommends confronting the stress, and finding ways to mitigate the stressful situation through self-motivational thinking. In other words, think happy thoughts and remind yourself why you are in the situation, like work, and consider the benefits over the While these steps are not harmful to the individual seeking to cope with situational stress, it is clearly the advice of a layperson, and not a professional, because it lacks the clinical direction and the appropriate use of clinical presentation in its advice. The poster also advises that individuals might benefit from professional guidance in coping with stress; and that is best advice this site offers. While most professionals would probably go into greater depth, this site is important, because it is at the top of a world-wide search engine, and is indicative of wha t people find when they search for stress related information. It means that the professional mental healthcare community must work harder and be more proactive in putting out professional and internet search related guidance on situational stress and coping. Mentalhealth. net Paging down on the Google search, one eventually begins to find sites that are more professional in nature and would serve as better tools in coping with situational stress. We will write a custom essay sample on Stress and coping....Psychology or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now One such site is Mentalhealth. net, found online at http: //www. mentalhelp. net/poc/view_doc. php? type=doc&id=692&cn=117. This site is focused on mental and emotional health, has blogs, but also offers professional guidance. Mark Dombeck, PhD. , writes a posted article, A Primer on Coping (and some Holiday applications (2009, found online). Dombeck’s article addresses situational coping, and he begins by identifying some of the precipitators of situational stress this way: â€Å"We put too much expectation on ourselves that we should be happy during the holidays. We compare ourselves to others around us and on the TV who seem like they are happier than we are and we feel badly. Its sort of acceptable to be unhappy at other times of the year, but during the holidays, it seems a special crime to be depressed. We have extra things to do above and beyond our normal schedule (for instance, traveling, going to parties, planning parties, decorating, buying and wrapping presents, etc. ). As a consequence, our normal routines get out of whack and our coping resources (patience, sleep, money, and tolerance) are strained.