Research Project Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Project - Research Paper Example Many aspects in life eventually influence one’s career choice, including personality characteristics which was dutifully categorised by Holland (1985). Holland (1985) describes six main orientations of individuals that can be predictive of their career choices. While it is not the aim of this paper to present data on the relationships between categorical personality types and career choices, Holland’s (1985) contribution in building the rationale for this paper is his notion that there exists a freedom of choice. This is not true, however, for all individuals and we are familiar of stories from young adolescents who express their lack of control over their career path. This feeling is best defined through the psychological concept, â€Å"learned helplessness,† discovered by Peterson et al. (1993). Research studies have identified the reported strong influence of parents over teachers in the student’s choice of career (Teru 2000; Kniveton 2004). These studies noted the strong implications of these findings for career guidance counselors to facilitate the decision making process of parents and pupils. As discovered by Kniveton (2004, pp.56-57), â€Å"there was little evidence of consideration of the appropriateness of further/ higher education for career choice.† Thus, here rests the gap where guidance or career counselors can fill in to ensure that a substantial number of pupils leave secondary schools with a better perspective of their career choices. The challenge of providing comprehensive information to pupils may be daunting for guidance counselors. In most cases, schools employ psychological testing and career talks for graduating pupils. â€Å"Career education is increasingly present in the curriculum at the lower secondary school level, either as a separate subject or included in another subject† (OECD, 2004, p.12). The inclusion of this policy by the European Commission emphasises the important role of

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Psychology - Essay Example According to Sacks, â€Å"Does the mind run the brain or the brain the mind?† This poses an interesting question regarding the development of mental abilities, which runs parallel to that of the nature vs. nurture debate. Are cognitive abilities the result of the neurology and brain development of the person, or does what a person learns influence brain development? The question is similar to that of the chicken and the egg. Thus, the question of whether our abilities are biologically driven or if they are environmentally driven are laid as a foundation to human growth and development. The compendium of human knowledge and consciousness is seated within our skulls as the brain. The brain is the most vital organ in our body in that it controls everything, both voluntary and involuntary. It is a vast collection of neurons, which work together to rely, process, and send out information. It is organized into different lobes that govern different cognitive tasks that develop with a ge. As a person ages, these parts of the brain become more complex and eventually start working together in order to processes and integrate things together. The conscious and the unconscious merge here with the storage of memory and the performance of cognitive tasks. One of the most unique features of the brain is in its adaptability (plasticity). If a part of the brain becomes injured, it will rewire itself by creating new pathways in order to bypass the damaged tissue. As a person learns, the brain rewires itself in order to make new connections to make the pathways of thought more efficient and complex. However, the reason that a person is able to learn is due to the fact that these pathways have already been created. Even as the brain develops, there is a certain threshold that is met in which the neurons will eventually lose productivity and die off. Because of this learning is hindered, however recent studies show that additional cognitive exercises can keep these neurons al ive longer, thus showing how an environmental, or rather external stimulus, can play a part in being able to alter the physiology of a person. The first basis that psychology looks at is from the biological/physiological standpoint. Innately, humans are born with traits, which are derived from a genetic code. These discrete units, called genes, are passed down from generation to generation. The genetic code, DNA, encodes for proteins and other chemical components in the brain. As a result, some behaviors and physiological functions are affected by errors or mutations in the DNA. These mutations can occur as the result of random probability as well as through interaction of environmental effects. Thus, the behavior of an individual can result from these inherent features, which are determined by biology. For example, in cases of aggression, researchers find that amounts of testosterone in an individual can effect how aggressive an individual is. Both male and female individuals have testosterone in their body (except in the case of some genetic disorders). However, there are factors in which the levels of testosterone in the body can either be abnormally high or abnormally low. Thus, we see deviations from the normal patterns of behavior. From this example, it can be shown that biology and genetics does play a role in influencing human behavior. Another important basis in biopsychology is the development of the