The Explorations of Psychology

Mitchell Aquilina

English III Standard Pd. 6

Mr. Piatak
March 26, 2015

Psychologists aim to help their patients by diagnosing, treating, and studying behavioral
issues with their mental stability and emotions. Psychology is the study of mental process and
behaviors; the three main psychologists that had an immense role in studying this subject were

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Floyd Allport, Charles Darwin and B.F Skinner. Psychology, as a profession, requires different
degrees, specifically based on the area of the field one would like to work. How well one
performs in these different fields could determine their salary and day to day roles and
responsibilities. The path of psychology holds a wide range of opportunities to help in a variety
of solutions, treat patients and help people deal with physical, mental and emotional issues that
they may experience in their personal lives.
Floyd Henry Allport an American psychologist and was born during 1890 in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Floyds family never stayed in one place for long because his parents decided to
move a lot. Floyd Allport eventually graduated Glenville High school after settling down in
Cleveland Ohio. Soon after Floyd graduated, he made his way up to Cambridge MA to enroll
into Harvard, During his undergraduate years at Harvard, he decided to go into the Field Artillery
in WWI. After two years of service in WWI, Floyd came back to Harvard. Still continuing to
learn at Harvard, Floyd eventually got his Bachelor's degree in 1914, later receiving his Ph.D in
1919. Floyd ultimately served as an instructor in psychology from 1919-1922 (Wozniak). In
the long run, Floyd went to North Carolina to study with John Dashiell and work on his social
psychology.
Another great scientist, Charles Darwin. Born in the town of Shrewsbury, England on
February 12, 1809. He grew up as an average boy in school who loved to make observations of
things he thought very interesting, like beetles (Porter). Darwin tried following along and being
like his father and brothers and soon realized it did not suit him. He ended up switching to
Cambridge University in 1827 and in doing so, he attended Cambridge for three more years to
study ministry. Charles Darwin got an offer to sail around the world on the HMS Beagle and he
accepted the geological expedition that went to places like the Brazilian Coast, Argentina, Chile,

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New Zealand and many others where Darwin collected specimens (Normansell). While on the
voyage, Darwin collected evidence which led him to believe that Earth and many of its species
went through a geological change. Darwin then examined fossils and compared them to the
animals in his era and came to a conclusion that the once living formas came from extinct ones
and they have changed over time. The gist of this theory explains that every species has its own
characteristics that applied to their environment at the time, hence when species reproduce they
give a variety of characteristics that would continue to move through the generations (Houck).
When Darwin returned from his adventure, he wrote The Journal of a Naturalist and he then
married his sister Emma Wedgwood and had ten children; sadly only seven children survived
childhood into adult age. Later, he became a member of the Geological Society; also believing
that human emotions could be from our animal ancestors (Bradley). Charles Darwin proved to
be a great contributor to psychology and society as a whole and he brought an entirely new
outlook on humans and our existence in our world (Porter).
Another key psychologist was Burrhus Frederic Skinner. Born in March 20, 1904 in a
little old town named Susquehanna in Pennsylvania. When Burrhus wondered as a young child
he enjoyed the outdoors and liked to build things; Burrhus also enjoyed going to school and
learning. Burrhus attended Hamilton college in upstate New York and received his BA in
English. Even though there were parties and football games to go to, Burrhus did not enjoy them
very much. So in his free time, he wrote for the school paper criticizing the school itself. The
funny thing about Burrhus, he believed in atheism at a school where there was mandatory chapel.
He wanted to become a writer and he wrote many short stories, but they never took off. Burrhus
took a vacation and tried hobbies, but he eventually went back to school; this time to Harvard
where he got his Masters in Psychology in 1930 and eventually his Doctorate in 1931. He stayed

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at Harvard until 1936, where he continued his studies and research (PBS). During that period, he
moved to Minneapolis to teach college students at the University of Minnesota. After teaching
for some time he met Yvonne Blue, his soon to be wife. The happy couple got married and had
two daughters, their second of which became famous for starring as the first infant used in one
of Skinners inventions, known as the air crib. Burrhus theory; based on operant conditioning, or
the means of operating on the environment. During the operating stage, the organism
encounters a reinforcing stimulus, this stimulus effects the organism to increase their activity.
Imagine a small rodent in a cage and theres a button on the wall. Pushing that button would
trigger something to happen; for example dropping food for the rodent, which then teaches the
rodent that by pushing that button all the time that he will acquire food (McLeod).
Locally, one of the top educational institutions, Western Carolina University offers a
degree in psychology. Their psychology program offers one of the largest undergraduate majors
at the university. They specialize in clinical psychology, developmental psychology, and school
psychology. Their clinical psychology department focuses to prepare students in a scientist
practitioner model and helps students prepare for training in doctoral level clinical psychology.
This two year program for clinical psychology focuses on coursework, research methods/designs
and statistics. In this program, WCU requires 53 graduate hours in coursework. Students that
attend this program are due to graduate in two years. Besides those three undergraduate majors
and minors they offer three graduate degree programs. One is the specialization in school
psychology (SSP), which trains students in a school environment. Another program called the
Masters in Clinical psychology. This program assists students into doctoral programs, and
allows students to become eligible for licensure in North Carolina. Masters; In GeneralExperimental being the last program available trains students into becoming researchers and will

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also help them get in into doctoral programs (L. Alvin Malesky, Jr., Ph.D.) The psychology
undergraduate program currently has 327 undergraduate majors and around 200 psychology
minors. A minor in psychology requires 18 hours total: 3 general psychology credits, and 15
hours of psychology electives. For admission into a graduate degree program one needs a
minimum of a 3.0 GPA and 60 hours on your previous undergraduate work. A general exam can
be heavily recommended, and as a student its recommended to have at least three
recommendation letters from former professors (Western Carolina University).
Eastern Carolina, another great school in North Carolina offers, a great psychology
program like Western Carolina. ECU offers a similar major like the brother school WCU, (BA)
and a minor in psychology. In order to be apart of ECUs BA program, one must have a
necessary 120 total credit hours. Within that, students need 42 hours in ECUs liberal arts
courses, 12 hours of a foreign language and 35 hours in the study of psychology. The
psychology minor needs 24 hours of curriculum in psychology. To declare a major in
psychology, the undergraduates must have a bare minimum 2.3 GPA and 40 hours in the
undergraduate program. Furthermore, each student must have at least one completed semester at
ECU and have earned a C or higher PSYC 1000 or PSYC 1600. ECU offers a wide range of
graduate programs such as Clinical Health, Occupational Health, Pediatric School,
Industrial/Organizational and School Psychology. Clinical health concentration teaches to
educate students in the science of psychology, and qualify them to deliver clinical services in
professional environments; these roles include primary health care teams in hospitals,
rehabilitation, psychiatry, oncology, cardiology, geriatrics, pain clinics, sleep medicine,
pediatrics, and health maintenance organizations. Clinical health concentration graduates will
discover proficiency in knowing biopsychosocial factors influencing an individual's health.

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Graduates will also become experienced in developing psychological interventions that treat
conditions that affect an individuals health. Becoming accomplished with a variety of
psychological interventions and techniques, as well as being able to evaluate clinical treatment
strategies. Also being able to evaluate clinical treatment strategies based on scientific knowledge
and empirical support. OHP (Occupational Health Psychology) educates their students to
succeed in research and inventions that are made to improving overall life and productivity.
ECU expects the students who start this program to punch in to complete a Masters degree in
industrial/organizational psychology, which are strong parts of becoming successful in OHP.
Besides the fact that one must get a Masters degree, ECU strongly recommends beginning an
internship. Internships generally take place during the summer between a students first and
second year and each summer after; this helps with students applying the work they learn in
their classes and apply it to a real environment, plus gain new skills. Careers in OHP usually
result in consulting positions for public or private institutions and organizations. They help
change stressful situations into manageable stress free environments (ECU Department of
Psychology).
ECU and WCU are both great schools but theres some things that separate them
drastically. ECU outweighs WCUs population by nearly 17,000 students. The acceptance rate
varies between the two by 24.5%, WCU generally maintains a 37.7% acceptance rate and ECU
stands at 62.2%. ECU falls around the 45% mark in the USA for their acceptance rate while
WCU stands in the top 10%. The in-state tuition for both ECU and WCU sit around $6,200 per
year. In terms of out-of-state tuition, WCU offers a cheaper out of state tuition at $15,000, with
ECU at $20,000. WCU offers their upcoming freshman 10% more financial aid than ECU. With
the undergraduate aid, WCU again destroys ECU by around 19% more aid. Both schools SAT

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scores lie almost even with each other at 1500, while Americas average is 1541. The average
ACT score sits perfectly on top of each other at a score of 22. Each school varies with the
amount of majors you can choose from both including over 80. In the top three majors, the
schools, share a similarity with nursing being a top pick. The gender differences at the school
are not huge with both schools having more women over men (Compare East Carolina
University vs Western Carolina University).
A day in the life of a clinical psychologist combines science, theory, and practice to
evaluate disability and discomfort as well as advance human adaption and personal development.
Clinical psychology concentrates on behavioral aspects as well as intellectual and emotional
aspects. Not only is clinical psychology one of the most popular branches of psychology, it is
also one of the most lucrative (Clinical Psychologist Salary and Earnings Information). clinical
psychologists train to apply their knowledge and integrate it with a intellectuals well being.
Clinical psychologists can become tied to research, supervision, consultation and help promote
psychological health in individuals, families and even organizations. These practitioners work
with a variety of ages starting with infants and elevating to adults. Researchers study clinical
psychology and through their research, they document and share the information with their
consultants, while teachers share the information with students, other professionals and
nonprofessionals. Assessment in clinical psychology consists of determining the causes and
effects of personal distress. Examples of these assessments include interviews, behavioral
assessments, and personal characteristics as well of aspects of human experience. Interventions
in clinical psychology aim to prevent and treat emotional conflicts. Examples of interventions
include family therapy, group therapy and cognitive retraining and rehabilitation. One can find
clinical psychologists in an assortment of areas in the United States; including individual

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practice, healthcare organizations, hospitals, schools, government agencies and military services
(Society of Clinical Psychology). By beginning a career in clinical psychology an individual can
expect a starting salary around $48,000 and up to $110,000 (Clinical Psychologist Salary and
Earnings Information).
Counseling psychology consists of focusing on how individuals maintain function
through personal thoughts and in relationships throughout a person's life. This type of career
focuses on emotional, social, work and physical health concerns an individual may have in their
lifespan (Society of Clinical Psychology). The median salary for this career was analyzed by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics and was $72,000 (Careers In The Field of Psychology). The majority
of counseling psychologists meet and talk with their patients every day in private counseling, so
they know exactly what the person is doing and feeling therefore helping them successfully. The
real goal for psychologists nowadays will help the patient overcome the negativity in their
current situation. The effectiveness that goes with this type of therapy makes it very popular
among 2015 .
School psychology, a very important job as it molds the young minds and help the
children that attend counseling. By helping students at a young age can really have an effect on
the individual and can help them prosper into successful adults. These professionals are
responsible for evaluating students for learning disabilities, social problems, emotional problems
and mental problems. School psychologist are great as working with kids with problems that
may be outside of school, like family situations, and abuse. The median salary for this career is
located around $73,000 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Careers In The Field of
Psychology). School psychologist who work in elementary schools and middle schools made
around $81,000. One can find School psychologist in public and private schools, and School

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psychologist work with children of all ages. Some School Psychologist may also work in
juvenile detention centers, day care, and orphanages (Careers In The Field of Psychology).
The path of psychology holds a wide range of opportunities to help people deal with
problems they cannot overcome on their own. Psychologist hold the key to our generations
uprising, by helping young people fix their personal problems at a young age, making anyone
capable of anything. A career in psychology can hold some obstacles, problem solving, and
innovation to move past certain circumstances.

Work Cited
"Compare East Carolina University vs Western Carolina University." East Carolina University
vs Western Carolina University. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
<http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/3055-3155/East-Carolina-University-vs-WesternCarolina-University>.

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"Careers In The Field of Psychology." Careers in Psychology. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

<http://careersinpsychology.org/psychology-careers/>.
"Clinical Psychologist Salary and Earnings Information." Psychology Degrees, Programs and
Schools PsychologyCareerCenter.org.Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.psychologycareercenter.org/clinical-psychologist-salary.html>.
ECU Department of Psychology." Web. 26 Feb. 2015. <http://www.ecu.edu/cs%2Dcas/psyc/>.
Houck, Ryan. "Charles Darwin." Psychology History. May 1999. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/darwin.htm>.
McLeod, Saul. "B.F. Skinner | Operant Conditioning | Simply Psychology." B.F. Skinner | Simply
Psychology. 2007. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/operantconditioning.html>.
PBS. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bhskin.html>.
Porter, Shayla R. "Charles Darwin." Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
<http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/charlesdarwin.html>.
"Society of Clinical Psychology." Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.apa.org/divisions/div12/aboutcp.html>.
Wozniak, Robert H. "Allport." Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.brynmawr.edu/psychology/rwozniak/allport.html>.
"Western Carolina University." Psychology Department. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.wcu.edu/academics/departments-schools-colleges/CEAP/ceapdepts/psydept/index.asp>.