Analytical summary

"Understanding Psychology" is a coursebook, written by Robert S.Feldman. The first part, which is called "Introduction to Psychology", consists of three themes, which primes a student about the basics of Psychology.
In the first topic "Psychologists at work", author explains the term "Psychology" and what the representatives of this science do in general. The writer describes the subfields of Psychology such as Behevioral neuroscience, Personality or cognitive Psychology and many more. Robert S.Feldman depicts each subfield and what each explores. He presents the areas of employment for psychologists as well.
In the second theme "Ascience evolves: the Past, the Present and the Future" writer tells us about the history of Psychology. Robert S.Feldman introduces the scinentists who furthered the development of Psychology. The author describes the major approaches and different perspectives as well.
In the third theme, which is called "Psychology's key issues and controversies" author writes about the various positions taken by psychologists and distinct points of view. What is more, the author describes what impact culture, ethnicity and race have on behaviour. In the end, Robert S.Feldman informs the reader about the growing public interest in Psychology and the rising perspectives for the representatives of this science.
In conclusion, in the first part "Introduction to Psychology" author gives valuable information for the learners about subfields, history and controversies in Psychology. Futhermore, Robert S.Feldman writes about future and career perspectives for Psychology majors, giving the chance for a learner to know what he can expect in the future.

Learning ESP

To master a foreign language is a difficult task, it requires much time and training, patience and persistency. Learning ESP (English for Specific Purpose) is very alike.
Firstly, reading a literature about the specific subject is a must. Without it, you will not know the fundamental terms of your subject, what is very important. Reading a lot will help you not only to learn them but to understand your subject better and to gain about it more information.
What is more, speaking with other learners about the specific subject is highly advisable too. In this way you will expand your vocabulary and train your speaking skills.
In addition to this, there are many web sites, Tv programmes, which can help in learning too. Web sites are offering you chat rooms or games on your subject, some puzzles and tasks, solving them is not only useful but fun too. Watching Tv programmes about your subject (in English of course) is not so boring as reading books. Moreover, you may better memorize the information while watching than reading.
In conclusion, there are many ways of learning ESP, but the most important is to wish to learn. Then everything is possible and every choice of learning will be suitable and will help.

Self-assessment of success in learning ESP

I was studying ESP for four months. During that period I have not only improved my English skills but also I have learned many new and useful information about Psychology. I would like to analyse my attainment in more detail.

To start with, while writing summaries i have learned to distinguish the main facts from the plenty of information and it was quite a recency for me. In addition to this, I have improved my writing skills as well.

Secondly, I have written a lot of comprehension tests on modules in Psychology. In my opinion, it was the most difficult to fulfil as it required much time and preparation, but on the other hand I have learned many new facts about Psychology and plenty new terms.

Moreover, I have made a power point presentation about drug use. Some new acquirement about drugs reinforced my ill feeling towards them.

Futhermore, during every lecture I had a chance of speaking impromptu and I was very happ y about this, because I had a possibility to improve my speaking skills, which were not very good. I hope that during next lectures there will be even more speaking excercises as I liked them the most.

What is more, I have done some listening practise. This was quite a difficult task for me. In my opinion, I should improve my listening skills as they are quite poor.

In addition to this, I have written contributions to my e-portfolio. This task helped me to improve my writing skills and was quite interesting and very unusual.

In conclusion, the requirements were quite high and it was difficult to accomplish them all, but by courtesy of them I have improved my speaking and writing skills, and what is the most important, I have learned lots of new terms. I hope I will get a chance to improve my ESP during the next semester.

Psychology of kleptomania

The dictionary describes kleptomania as the inability to resist impulses to steal. The things that are stolen are not needed for personal use. They are also not taken for their monetary value. Let's try to look deeper into this problem.
Kleptomania was first officially recognized in the US as a mental disorder only in the 1960s. This is quite a rare condition, studies suggest that only 0.6% of the general population may have this disorder and that this is more common in females.
The exact cause of this mental illness is still unknown, but scientists presume that it is caused by depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders. There is version which says that kleptomania mau be transmitted genetically.
The treating may be various. It may include such therapies as cognitive-behavioral or rational-emotive. There is recommended treatment with various medicaments as well.
In conclusion, at first sight it may seem that kleptomania isn't very serious illness, but in my opinion it is. I think very important is to understand people with this mental disorder and treat them not as thieves but as a having serious mental problems.

Psychology of laughter

Beyond a doubt, laughter is a fundamental part of our everyday life. We are so used to it that we don't give a thought to how important it is. Laughter, it is said, is the best medicine. There are lots of evidence to prove that.

To start with, it reduces pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort. There were done various researches and it was noticed, that the group of patients who were suffering an intense pain, requested fewer tranquilizers and aspirin when they were watching comedies and laughing, than the group, who watched drama.

What is more, laughter reduces blood sugar levels, increasing glucose tolerance in diabetics and nondiabetics alike. It also helps your blood vessels function better. In other words, laughing is good for our heart and brain.

In addition to this, laughter not only cures, but it also improves our job performance, it establishes a positive emotional climate and a sense of connection between two pepole. It can be said, that it unites people.

In conclusion, laughter not only have an impact on our physical health, it also has a great importance in our social life. Many will agree, that it is more pleasant to communicate with smiling people, so let's smile and laugh more frequently, after all it is not so difficult.

Sleep and dreams

"Sleep and dreams" is the 14th module in Robert S. Feldman's coursebook "Understanding Psychology". This module gives a learner valuable information about states of consciousness. Few of them, unarguably, are such states as sleep and dream.

In the first part of the module, author presents the main information about what happens during sleep. The writer clearly describes 4 stages of sleep and specifically pays atention to the REM stage, in another words "a rapid eye movement stage". In addition to this, Robert S. Feldman writes about the importance of sleep and gives some interesting facts about how many hours people need to sleep on average and how it is changing as people get older.

The second part of the module tells about dreams. The writer writes about the function and meaning of dreaming. What is more, Robert S. Feldman presents the learner the main theories about dreams, letting to look at the question from different perspectives. In the end of the module, author gives the reader some advices how to fight with a sleeplessness.

In conclusion, Robert S. Feldman in his 14th module lets the reader to know the main facts about such states of consciousness as sleep and dreams. The author gives many interesting facts, describes researches and various theories, which helps to look at questions from different points of view.

A little about me

My name is Ivona, I was born in Vilnius and I still live here. This year I entered at Mykolo Riomerio university to study Psychology. To say the truth, I can not tell why I have chosen this speciality. I was not dreaming about it from yearly years nor I was so eager to study namely Psychology like most of my group mates are. I was deliberating a lot before choosing and I said to myself: '' Ivona, you do not have any special talents for mathematics or economics and you do not like it. Better do not listen your parents who are advicing you to study something very clever and promising like Law, but listen to yourself". And I thought about Psychology because it seemed to me an interesting and useful speciality, luckilly till now I haven't regret choosing it and I hope I will not. In the future, I think that it is possible that I will work in this field, but I have not decided yet.