Psychology has evolved from the Greek word “psyche,” which means “soul” or “mind,” and “logos,” which means speech. It is an academic and applied field concerning the study of the mind, brain, and behavior, both human and nonhuman. Psychology also refers to the practical application of such knowledge to diverse spheres of human activity, including problems of people’s daily lives and the treatment of psychological illness.

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The person-centred approach was developed from the concepts of humanistic psychology. The humanistic approach “views people as capable and autonomous, with the ability to resolve their difficulties, realize their potential, and change their lives in positive ways” (Seligman, 2006). Carl Rogers (a major contributor of the client-centred approach) emphasized the humanistic perspective as well as ensuring therapeutic relationships with clients promote self-esteem, authenticity and actualisation in their life, and help them to use their strengths (Seligman, 2006).

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Historically, in the United States, there has always exist a tension in higher education between the education of the person and the achievement of specific and pragmatic objectives. Liberal arts colleges in the United States have traditionally tilted the balance in favor of educating the whole person. Character building was viewed as equal in importance to intellectual development. The core of the liberal arts experience is a commitment to the excitement of learning.

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Extroverts and Introverts! – Materialist and idealist! – Everyone is either of the two! And some are a bit of both!

The extrovert is usually the one who attains his goal, and gets what he is after, for his eye is always focused on what is outside of himself, namely, his goal and his chosen means to get there! He is also the materialist, preferring material or monetary reward for his efforts to those of a “more subtle nature” and of “undefinable origin”, like his development in educational and/or professional or other talents, as a sudden advancement of newly – discovered appreciation in for instance, art or literature etc. His attainment and its solid rewards, like money and the things it bought for him, rule supreme, and once achieved, are there to be lived for and enjoyed!

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The years following Charles Darwin’s introduction of the theory of evolution were filled with speculations on humans and their place in nature. Since humans were just another type of animal, why couldn’t animals be capable of reasoning and intelligence as well? Wilhelm Von Osten, a German schoolteacher and phrenologist, determined to put this thesis to the test, began an ambitious program of educating three remarkable students: a cat, a bear, and an Arab stallion named Clever Hans whom he had bought in 1900. While the cat and the bear failed to live up to Von Osten’s expectations (the bear’s reaction to flunking out is not recorded), Clever Hans became his prized pupil and quickly became a media star. Having taught the horse to recognize the numbers from one to nine, Von Osten would present arithmetic problems on a chalkboard and Clever Hans would tap out the correct answer. The German Board of Education set up a commission to examine the horse’s abilities in detail but no signs of deception were found. Clever Hans was estimated to have the intelligence of a fourteen-year old schoolboy.

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Mental Health & Positive Happiness

This is really exploratory paper about the movement to make more people happy. In the USA and the UK efforts are being made by psychologists to encourage a more happy outlook in life in the belief that happy people are more productive, live longer, have positive health outcomes and over-all lead a better life. Sounds great – however I am sure the reader can almost sense the word – but!

The Idea

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The early Greek philosophers affected psychology because they challenged the traditional church and began to explore our world with rationality instead of blind faith. They questioned the authority and traditions of their time. They looked for answers that could be observed in the natural world. For example, Hunt (1993) writes, Alcmaeon suggested that the brain, rather than organs such as the heart, is where thinking and processing occur. Hunt also writes that Hippocrates believed that answers regarding mental dysfunction would be found in the natural world instead of within gods, demons and evil spirits. These philosophers have initiated changes and have encouraged the freedom for future scientists to explore our world. Thus, this has enhanced our knowledge base.

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Knowing the copybook model before an analysis could be performed has been a hallmark of handwriting assessment. There are many situations where that knowledge is not possible. Yet, analyses are made. How? Why is it essential to know? That question is examined in this paper with doubt as to its requirement.

Presentation

Action follows being. That phrase will be key to this paper as it symbolizes handwriting analysis and how analysts “see the action (writing) as describing the source (writer)”.

The purpose of this paper is simply to challenge the need to know copybook. There are a number of arguments for this approach and few to continue the “need to know”.

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Nightmares, like other dreams, occur most often during REM sleep (though we dream throughout the entire sleep cycle). Unlike other dreams, however, nightmares usually cause dreamers to wake up.

If you don’t wake up, is it still a nightmare? Well, not technically. You might just want to call it a bad dream.

Nightmares are most often characterized by the following symptoms:

~ a sense of dream dread or fear that may stay with you for hours or even days

~ The physical paralysis, called atonia, that signifies REM sleep (as opposed to the physical arousal common in night terrors), but perhaps with more eye movements than usual and slightly elevated pulse and respiration rates.

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So you want to know why you just abused that guy in the car in front of you within a split second without logic coming in to play? Perhaps you want to know why you are attracted to certain men/women and not others? Or even why your dog does the crazy things he does? It all comes down to the three brain theory, explaining why we humans are the most evolved species on this planet yet still sometimes act like lizards and why we still make irrational decisions when we’re in love, then think they are completely logical.

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