Understanding psychology
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Addiction to drugs, alcohol, video games, gambling, and more profoundly affect individuals, families, and society as a whole. How are different types of addiction similar? What causes addiction? How can it be prevented and treated? Mental health experts' opinions on all aspects of addiction vary widely, but all do agree that this widespread problem needs urgent attention.
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People need relationships not only to be happy, but also to be physically and psychologically healthy. Parents, siblings, friends, and romantic attachments are far more important to a person's mental and physical well-being than psychologists once thought. They now know that, in order to thrive, human beings must have a foundation of secure, loving relationships.
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Psychologists have long tried to understand what motivates behavior. Why does one student spend hours studying for a test while another does not? Today it is widely accepted that motivation involves a mix of constantly changing factors essentially ensuring that motivation and behavior will vary in unpredictable ways.
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Psychologists study personality in order to understand individual characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. How does each person develop a unique personality? Can behavior and reactions be predicted from personality traits? These and many other issues are discussed in terms of the five-factor personality model accepted by psychologists today.
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Social psychology demonstrates that self-image is the foundation of all human behavior. Social psychologists research how this sense of self develops and what factors determine how people think and feel about themselves. Self-esteem and confidence are dependent on self-image and often determine a person s happiness, psychological well-being, and life success.
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Sexual orientation (a person s sexual feelings) and sexual identity (a person s sexual self-concept) are closely related and, together, form critical parts of each human s psychological makeup. Scientists know a great deal about their biological and environmental origins, psychosocial development process, and the unique challenges inherent to non-heterosexual identities, but there is still much debate and much to be learned in this fascinating field...
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Human beings are among the most murderous species on the planet. From child abuse to road rage to torture to genocide, people are capable of unspeakable acts of violence. While some violent instincts are rooted in the fight-or-flight response, psychologists believe that humans are especially violent because of their fierce loyalty to their social groups.