Alright, listen up, y’all. Today we’re gonna jaw about some of them head doctors, you know, the psychologists. Them folks that try to figure out what’s goin’ on in our noggins. Now, I ain’t no fancy scholar or nothin’, but I heard some things about these fellas, and I’m gonna tell it to ya straight.
First off, there’s this fella, Sigmund Freud. He was a real old-timer, see? Lived way back when. Folks say he started this whole “psycho-somethin’” thing. Sounded complicated to me, but from what I gather, he was all about dreams and stuff. Said our dreams mean somethin’, like, if you dream about a snake, it ain’t just a snake, it’s…well, I dunno, somethin’ else! He also talked about this “id” and “ego” and “super-ego”. Sounded like a bunch of hogwash to me at first, but then I thought, maybe it’s like that little devil and angel on your shoulders, you know? One tellin’ ya to be good, the other tellin’ ya to eat that whole pie.
Then there’s this other fella, Martin Seligman. Now, he’s a bit more modern, I reckon. He ain’t so much into all that dream stuff. He’s all about bein’ happy, y’know? He talks about “positive psychology” and “learned helplessness”. Now, that helplessness thing, I get that. Like when your mule just won’t budge, no matter how much you yell and tug. You just feel helpless, right? Well, this fella Seligman, he tries to figure out how to get folks outta that rut, how to make ’em see the bright side of things.
- Freud – the dream guy
- Seligman – the happy guy
There’s a whole bunch of others too, I hear. Lots of them with big, fancy names and even fancier ideas. Some talk about how we learn, like that fella Skinner, I think his name was. He’s all about rewards and punishments. Kinda like trainin’ a dog, I guess. You give ’em a treat when they do good, and a little tap on the behind when they do bad. Don’t go tappin’ no kids now, I ain’t sayin’ that! Just sayin’ that’s how he thought we learn.
Then there’s them that talk about our “needs”. Like, we gotta have food and shelter first, before we can worry about feelin’ all fancy and fulfilled. That makes sense, don’t it? Can’t be thinkin’ about writin’ poetry if your belly’s rumblin’ and you ain’t got no roof over your head. This fella, I can’t remember his name. Said needs is like a ladder. Gotta start at the bottom rung, with the basics, before you can climb up to the fancy stuff. It’s like when you’re baking a pie, you gotta have the flour, sugar and eggs first before you put fancy design on the top.
These head doctors, they try to put names and labels on everything. They got categories for this and that, all sorts of theories about why we do what we do. Sometimes I think they make it more complicated than it needs to be. But I guess it’s their job, right? To try and understand the human mind.
It’s kinda like lookin’ at a big ol’ puzzle. Each of these psychologists has a piece of the puzzle, and they’re all tryin’ to figure out how it all fits together. Some folks focus on the early years, like Freud, sayin’ what happened when you was a kid shapes who you are now. Others focus on the here and now, tryin’ to make things better in the present. And some look to the future, tryin’ to help folks reach their full potential. They call this reaching your potential ‘self-actualization’ – Lordy, what big words they use!
Now, I ain’t sayin’ I understand it all. It’s a lot to take in, all this talk about brains and behaviors. But I reckon it’s important stuff. Helps us understand ourselves, and maybe even helps us get along with each other a little better. So next time you hear someone talkin’ about psychology, don’t just brush it off. These head doctors, they might just be onto somethin’. After all they been studying for a long time, not like me just hearin’ it from other people.
It’s important to remember that these psychologists, they ain’t got all the answers. They’re just folks, like you and me, tryin’ to make sense of the world. But they’ve given us some tools, some ways of thinkin’ about ourselves and others, that can be mighty helpful. And that, I reckon, is somethin’ worth knowin’. And if you are feelin’ bad, maybe it’s good to go see one of them head doctors to see if they can help ya.
Tags: [Psychology, Famous Psychologists, Freud, Seligman, Human Behavior, Mental Processes, AP Psychology]
