Procrastination Is It Pure Laziness Or Are We...

Procrastination: Is It Pure Laziness or Are We Predisposed to Putting Things Off? By Janis Rowell | Submitted On July 03, 2011 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Janis Rowell I for one am guilty of procrastination and used to think of myself as lazy. However one evening as I lay on the sofa and I recounted my very busy day in my head - I needed that justification for having not started my very important writing project. I realised†¦show more content†¦This is exactly what I was doing; I wasn t being lazy after all or was I? A procrastinator needs to address why the task is being put off . The identifying reason alone will be the motivating force to take action and complete the errant task In essence procrastination is a thief of time. Time management experts may say write a to do list and tick them off as you go, however if you are like me, I can tick off things and still avoid the one thing that was really important to do, because obviously it can go on tomorrow s list. Yet when tomorrow comes another day dawns, and other things still always seem to take priority. Procrastinators are not born that way. They are made over the course of time. The procrastination habit can be learned within the family and in the school of life. But I believe not directly, it is a learned action more by submitting to a pressure or a fear of failure. Learned behaviours can be unlearned, so procrastinators can change - one small step at a time. Why do we attach no importance to very important tasks? Believe it or not procrastinators actually tell lies to themselves. They do not see themselves in their true light, they say things like I ll feel more like doing this tomorrow. Or I ll work best after a good nights sleep. But in reality they do not get the urge the next day or work best after rest. Plus, they justify themselves by saying thisShow MoreRelatedDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesWorksheet 661 APPENDIX I GLOSSARY 673 683 APPENDIX II REFERENCES NAME INDEX 705 709 713 SUBJECT INDEX COMBINED INDEX xvi CONTENTS P R E FA C E What’s New in This Edition? Based on suggestions from reviewers, instructors, and students we have made a number of changes in the eighth edition of Developing Management Skills. †¢ Added new skill assessments in Chapter 1 and a new case in Chapter 3. †¢ Revised parts of the book to reflect suggestions and feedback from instructors and studentsRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesFeeling Right Now? 98 Self-Assessment Library What’s My Affect Intensity? 104 Myth or Science? We Are Better Judges of When Others Are Happy Than When They Are Sad 107 glOBalization! Should You Expect â€Å"Service with a Smile† All Around the World? 108 Self-Assessment Library What’s My Emotional Intelligence Score? 115 An Ethical Choice Schadenfreude 120 Point/Counterpoint Sometimes Blowing Your Top Is a Good Thing 122 Questions for Review 121 Experiential Exercise Who Can Catch a Liar? 123 Ethical Dilemma

Human Nature Self-Interest Altruism - 988 Words

Human Nature: Self-Interest vs. Altruism A debate encompassing human nature has carried on for centuries, and philosophers throughout history have provided a vast inventory of explanations they deem to be sufficient in understanding the perplex idea of human nature. A question commonly debated regarding human nature is determining whether human beings are naturally self-interested or altruistic. Political philosophers Bernard Mandeville and Francis Hutcheson specifically addressed this question, but each arrived at different conclusions based on personal observation and reasoning. Mandeville, influenced by Hobbesian thought, advocated the belief that human beings were naturally self-interested. Opposing the idea of self-interest,†¦show more content†¦He considers exciting reasons as merely an appeal to self-interest, and â€Å"have nothing to do with moral justification† (1971). Differentiating, justifying reasons â€Å"establish the virtue, moral goodness, or moral obligations of actions† (1971) . This reasoning explains his opposition to Mandeville’s view that moral distinctions derive from self-interest, and declares these distinctions as undoubtedly self-determining. The basis of Hutcheson’s theory expresses that the â€Å"moral sense† tends to be consistent as long as it is not interfered with. Interfering forces such as â€Å"ignorance, mistaken belief, prejudice, or the like† are corrected and addressed by reason (1971). He concludes his statements with an underlying theme which states â€Å"the benevolent one is reasonable and the malicious unreasonable†, based on the approval and disapproval of one’s moral sense (1971, 2004). Although both philosophers theorized about human nature more than two centuries ago, opposition and advocation for both is seen throughout current events. For example, Mandeville’s views can be advocated by the constant confrontation between the Israelis and the Arab world, more specifically the Palestinians. Neither side will relent to the interests of the other, viewing altruism with the other as being a weakener of their own state. If the Israelis recognize Palestine as a legitimate state, they lose both land and resources, while also fearing further invasion and conflict within Israel.Show MoreRelatedAn Argument Against The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand780 Words   |  3 PagesIn The Virtue of Selfishness Ayn Rand argues that self-interest is the norm of ethics. Perhaps the strongest argument Rand gives for this claim relies on the argument that it is up to every individual to decide what values his or her life needs. Since it is important to know what morals one should have, or if one should even have any. In this paper I will argue that this argument fails because a self-interested person will belittle the interests of others for their own good, therefore damaging theRead MoreAltruism, By Charles Darwin1463 Words   |  6 PagesAltruism is the practice o f selfless concern for the well-being of others, or the behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense. Evidence shows that the act of altruism is unique in the world of animals. The interaction between those who are selfish and those who are altruistic is vital to human cooperation. A small group of altruistic people can give enough motivation to a large number of egotistical to move a mountain. Just as a large number of selfish people could push a smallRead MoreThe Personality Of Personality Psychology Essay1051 Words   |  5 Pagesuntil the moment they die. Yet, some researchers believe that the personality is the one thing about a person that does not change over time. Genetics and environment equally contribute to the development of the personality. This is shown through the nature/nurture principle. The way a person behaves towards others, and reacts towards the world around them is determined by that person’s individual personality. No two personalit ies are alike. This is because a person’s individual personality is made upRead MoreKant And Kant s Theory1368 Words   |  6 Pagesassociated happiness that the action would bring. According to Kantian, there exist two questions, which human beings need to ask themselves before acting. One needs to rationalize, if everyone can act as he/ she proposes to act. If any case one gets no as an answer then such individual should not perform the intended act. Furthermore one also needs to consider whether his / her actions respect the human being goals or just merely using them for own selfish ambitions. In addition, if no is the answerRead MoreEthical Egoism, Ethical Altruism, And Eudaimonia1660 Words   |  7 PagesEthical Egoism, Ethical Altruism, and Eudaimonia are terms adversely mentioned, and used interchangeably, especially in the philosophical field. From a philosophical angle, egoism can take the descriptive or the normative perspective. While taking the ethical egoism angle, the source highlights that for a particular action, it must adhere to the moral requirements to the extent that there is no depriving of the individual’s self-interests. With regards to ethical altruism, there is the tendency toRead MoreHumans Nature - Good or Bad? Essay1132 Words   |  5 PagesHuman Nature Good or Bad? Whether human beings are instinctually good or evil in an elementary natural state is a question that has been boggling the minds of even the greatest philosophers. There is a spectrum of theories that support both good and evil within the human race, each with valid points that explains the range of our interests, being either for ourselves or for others. However, my personal stance is the sensible theory of Altruism. Past experiences and observations allow me toRead MoreAnalysis of Real Altruism Essay1667 Words   |  7 Pagespsychologists interested in understanding the ideas and thoughts behind it. Can this be considered real altruism? Psychologists have been studying this issue suggesting different ideas to explain altruistic behavior. This essay will talk about altruism and some of the real ideas over the thinking that altruistic behavior comes from real altruistic ideas, helping with the goal of benefiting others, without any self-benefit. The discussion over the real thoughts of altruistic behavior is not a new ideaRead MoreWhy Be Moral : A Short Discussion Of Ethical Motivation1697 Words   |  7 Pageson Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author David Mascone Almost by nature, we feel the pull of ethical considerations. If we see someone drop a dollar, most of us run forward and return the dollar to the owner. But why not keep it? What logic or rationale supports our being concerned about the ethics of an action? Why not just follow our self-interest? Why not just keep the dollar and consider ourselves to be lucky. So let s dive into the question. Even thoughRead MoreSummary Of Extending The Ethical Wealth Of Nations 1256 Words   |  6 Pages(372-289 BC) and XunZi (310-235 BC). Both of them had a theories about intrinsic value, which have huge effect in Chinese institutions, but in poles apart. Mencius takes the view that the nature of being is goodness but Xunzi believes it is evil. Mencius advocated the theory of original goodness in human nature. His theory has affected the classical Chinese culture deeply and has been considered the most important theory of his thought. Mencius illustrated that: The feeling of commiseration belongsRead MoreEgoism And Ethical Egoism1291 Words   |  6 Pagesstates that human actions are based on self-interest, even if the action appears to be selfless. It is a theory that all human actions are aimed at avoiding some personal loss or gaining some personal benefit. Psychological egoism is a descriptive theory about how we do behave; it does not tell us how we ought to behave. This theory has goals that are our Strongest Desires, Expected Benefit, and avoiding Misery. We always do what we most want to do and we do what makes us feel good. Altruism†¦. If this

Psychodynamic vs Behaviourist Theory Free Essays

Psychology is not just philosophical speculation and reasoning over the years it has evolved and it is now also recognised as a science, to understand what psychology is all about it is necessary to know it’s origins and the theorist who brought it out of obscurity, Sigmund Freud. He developed the Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytical perspective to enable better understanding of human behaviour these concepts will be discussed further later in this study. After Freud opened the gateway other perspectives and approaches have been developed, now with five main areas of psychology – Cognitive, Behaviourist, Biopsychology and Humanist approaches. We will write a custom essay sample on Psychodynamic vs Behaviourist Theory or any similar topic only for you Order Now For a comparison with the Psychodynamic theory, Behaviourist Theory will be discussed. Psychodynamic theory is referred to in psychological literature more than any other. This is the stereotypical psychology – looking into your past, discovering hidden desires, rummaging through the unconscious. It is the most radical of the five theories, and by far the most criticised – accused of being sexist, seeing the human population as ill, and considering sex and hostility as the only motivation for human actions. However, this theory has proven to be one of the most influential forces in the twentieth century. Sigmund Freud believed that humans are driven from birth by two innate instincts Eros the life instinct – the self-preserving and erotic instinct and Thanatos the death instinct – the self destructive, aggression and cruelty instinct. These are controlled by a free floating sexual energy, the libido and is seen to be the single most important motivating force in adult life, driven from birth to enhance bodily pleasure. There is a lot more to the mind than meets the eye, much like an iceberg – only the very tip is showing. He is the one who came up with the concept of one’s unconscious – the part of the mind where desires and memories are stored, unrecognised, only hinted at through dreams or slips of the tongue or the ‘Freudian slip’ as it is more widely known. Rallying between the conscious and unconscious are the id, ego, and superego – separate and conflicting forces, requiring a balance for mental health and normal behaviour. The id is a person’s animal force, their need to satisfy basic psychological needs. The superego is the ‘ideal’ force, the civilised, competent figure the person strives to be. The ego sort of regulates the two, keeping the id satisfied while staying within the guidelines of the superego. The strength of each individual force is a factor in personality – if a person’s superego is too strong, they are seen as rigid and guilty. If a person’s id is too strong, they are seen as delinquent and antisocial (Boeree, 2000). The psychodynamic theory also established the idea that what happens in a person’s childhood is one of the most important factors in personality development, especially traumatic experiences. The theory states that children who go through such things repress their memories, and this is the cause of adulthood mental disease. In order to further understand how personalities are shaped during childhood, Freud thought up the psychosexual stages. This shows the development of the id and the establishment of pleasure-sensitive areas known as erogenous zones. This also brings about the idea of fixations. Such things are developed in the Oral stage of a child’s development from birth to eighteen months where the mouth is the source of nourishment and pleasure an example of this is seen in a nursing infant and if deprived of nourishment will fixate their pleasure seeking energies on this stage, the need to constantly stimulate the mouth through smoking, biting and chewing. The next is the Anal stage between eighteen and thirty-six months focus on bladder and bowl elimination and is seen as a source of pleasure when the child is able to control them, this is why toilet training usually happens around this age and if not mastered an adult would be seen to be anal expulsive or anal retentive. Phallic stage between age three and five years where sexual energy is focused on the genitals. Oedipus and Electra complex in which the child unconsciously wishes to posses the parent of the opposite sex and rid themselves of the parent of the same sex. The result of this desire in boys would experience castration anxiety which would drive them to identify with their fathers. If there is no male figure in this stage of a child’s development it is thought that the child will have problems with authority figures later in life as he has never had the chance to conclude this stage. Freud’s explanation for the female development claiming that they would experience penis envy (a realisation they do not have a penis) they would eventually overcome by achieving motherhood and having their own baby. Latency stage from six years through puberty here the child will develop their confidence and mastery of the world around them. He believed that during this stage their experiences and excitations of previous stages are repressed and children develop infantile amnesia being unable to remember much of their earlier years. The Genital stage from twelve years upwards to adulthood is the culmination of the psychosexual development and the fixing of sexual energy in the genitals. This eventually directs humans towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of the next cycle of life (Breger, 2009). John Watson a theorist who rejected the idea of introspection and every part of the psychodynamic theory, suggested the Behaviourist view is an objective, experimental branch of natural science who are interested in prediction and control of behaviour, most of the early research was carried out on animals before moving onto humans. This is an approach that believes people are born ‘Tabula rasa’ literally meaning ‘blank slate’, that all human behaviour is infinitely plastic and therefore is ultimately explainable in terms of the experiences that an organism goes through rather than any genetic predisposition of characteristics that the organism possesses. The relationship between the environment and the organism is seen as a straight line, in that the organisms act on their environment, which in turn provides rewards and punishments to determine the future probability of a response occurring. Behaviours are acquired or learned in one of two main ways, these are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Examples of classical conditioning applied to real life are things like, taste aversion, learned emotions, advertising and development of phobias. Use of operant conditioning is referred to as behaviour modification such as in a classroom or therapy settings (Wyman, 2005). Watson suggests that children have three basic emotions, fear, rage and love and attempted to prove that these emotions could be artificially conditioned. The experiment of Little Albert is his most famous and controversial experiment, Watson and a graduate assistant named Rosalie Rayner conditioned a small child to fear a white rat. They accomplished this by repeatedly pairing the white rat with a loud, frightening clanging noise. They were also able to demonstrate that this fear could be generalized to other white, furry objects. The ethics of the experiment are often criticized today, especially because the child’s fear was never deconditioned. Another example of classical conditionning is Ian Pavlov ‘Dogs’, in this experiment he noted that dogs would salivate before the delivery of food. In a series of well-known experiments, he presented a variety of stimuli before the presentation of food, eventually finding that, after repeated association, a dog would salivate (response) to the presence of a stimulus (noise) other than food (Bitterman, 2006). The most influential of all behaviourists is B F Skinner he is famous for his research on operant conditioning and negative reinforcement. He developed a device called the ‘cumulative recorder’ which showed rates of responding as a sloped line. Using this device, he found that behaviour did not depend on the preceding stimulus as Watson and Pavlov maintained. Instead, Skinner found that behaviours were dependent upon what happens after the response, therefore, using positive and negative reinforcement responses can be conditioned to a stimulus, those that are rewarded will increase and those that are not will decrease (Rubin, 2003). Not unlike other perspectives Behaviourism has gone through many transformations in the years since is conception by John Watson, one of the recent extensions in this approach has been the development of Social Learning theory. This theory is most relevant to criminology. Bandura suggests that we learn through observation, imitation and modelling of a significant other, people learn through the outcome of those behaviours and later a person will form an idea which serves as a guide for action. A significant other could be someone one aspires to become, not necessarily family, it could be someone famous for instance. If a person sees another being rewarded or punished for a certain behaviour they may or may not copy that behaviour, what is seen as a punishment or reward for one person may not be for another. However, if it is a person they aspire to be children in particular tend to emulate this behaviour either good or bad. Part of this study was the ‘Bobo doll’ experiment, he demonstrated that children learn and imitate behaviours they have observed in other people. The children observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. When the children were later allowed to play in a room with the Bobo doll, they began to imitate the aggressive actions they had previously observed (Green, 2003). Psychology has changed its face over the many years since Freud first introduced the psychodynamic theory putting forward a different way of trying to understand why people behave the way they do, moving onto the Behaviourist approach which completely refutes Freud’s theory by refusing to accept that people are born with natural innate instincts and that consciousness is the subject matter of psychology, who believe that psychology is about behaviour and activities and that the consciousness is not definable. They leave a huge gaping whole in their theory relating to perception, sensations, memories and imagination. Whereas Freud simply focused on his masculinity and the inferiority of the female population, although he can be forgiven for this as his theory came about in the Victorian era and this theory was a major breakthrough in history and is still one of the biggest thinkers and without whom psychologists and the like would not know as much about ourselves as people do. References Breger, L. (2009). From Instinct to Identity: The Development of Personality. 1st ed. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. 1-18. Grieve, K. (2006). A student’s A-Z of Psychology. 1st ed. California: Juta Academic. Hayes, N. (1993). A first course in Psychology. 12th ed. Cheltenham: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. Bitterman, M. (2006). Classical Conditioning since Pavlov. Review of General Psychology. 10 (4), 365-375. Wyman, R. (2005). Experimental anaylasis of nature-nurture interactions. JEZ. 03A (6), 415-421. Boeree, G. (2000). Freud and Psychoanalysis. Available: http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/psychoanalysis. html#Johann_Reil. Last accessed 10 November 2010 Geen, C. (2003). Transmission of aggression through immitation of aggressive models. Available: http://psychclassics. asu. edu/Bandura/bobo. htm. Last accessed 10 Nov 2010. Rubin, J. (2003). From Pavlov to Skinner Box. Available: http://www. juliantrubin. com/bigten/skinnerbox. html. Last accessed 10 November 2010 How to cite Psychodynamic vs Behaviourist Theory, Papers

The Two-Minute Speech free essay sample

The Two-Minute Speech Lasting roughly over two minutes, the Gettysburg Address is one of the best known speeches in American history. In the Gettysburg Address, author Abraham Lincoln puts hope into the hearts of Americans of a new nation brought up from the ashes of the American Civil War and the noble men that fought to preserve its belief in liberty and the equality of all men. Lincolns words deliver a sense of unity and wholehearted purpose among Americans in his Gettysburg Address. In the first paragraph, Lincoln states his belief that all men are created equal, an allusion to the Constitution. He is asserting that reedom of all men, including slaves, is backed by the law of the land. Lincoln never uses the words l or you to address his audience, but instead uses we, our, and us, to establish ethos and connect with the crowd before him and Americans in generalthe North and the South. We will write a custom essay sample on The Two-Minute Speech or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Moreover, he repeatedly says we throughout his speech to emphasize his goal for unity. In the third sentence of the third paragraph, Lincoln uses parallelism in little vs. long and we say vs. they did to make a point that the fght to defend their countrys values of liberty and freedom from their soldiers will not be forgotten. Again he reveres their nobility in the first sentence of the same paragraph , repeating we cannot in front of dedicate, consecrate, and hallow (this ground), using hyphens between each statement to create emphasis. Lincoln builds up to his ultimate message, the climax of the paper: That Americans shall make it their duty to see that the rights of man which Union soldiers so righteously defended shall never again be neglected. He goes on by addressing the great task remaining before [them], which is that we give as much devotion to the cause as those who died for it, that we highly resolve that these dead shall not have ied in vain, and that this nation hall have a new birth of freedom, creating, with this use of anaphora, and intensity that makes his listeners feel proud while also giving them a sense of purpose/cause.