Monday, September 30, 2019

A Model of Image Creation and Image Transfer

Today, although still representing a small percentage of the overall promotional budget, the outlay of rumination dollars for sponsorship castles Is growing rapidly (Parker, 1991; Candler and Shank, 1989; Scott and Chard, 1992). Not only are today's sponsorships more sophisticated (I. E. , more than simply the donation of cash for event production but most firms are expecting a reasonable return on their sponsorship dollar in the form of increased sales (Octahedron and Van Kirk, 1992).While firms enter into sponsorship arrangements with a variety of goals, two of the most important are: to increase brand awareness; and to establish, strengthen, or change brand image Crowley, 1991; Marshall and Cook, 1992; Meghan, 1991; Memorable teal . , 1991). Recently, these goals have been theorized to be important in the development of customer-based brand equity, defined as the differential effect of brand knowledge on the consumer's purchase decision (Keller, 1993).In Seller's conceptualization , brand knowledge (which drives customer-based brand equity) Is a function of both the consumer's awareness of the brand and the Image(s) associated with that awareness. â€Å"In particular, the variability, strength, and uniqueness of the brand associations play a critical role in determining the differential response† (Keller, 1993, p. 8). Brand awareness is achieved by exposing the brand to as many potential consumers as possible (Asker, 1 991 ).Sponsorship activities present multiple opportunities for achieving awareness objectives, and much of the research to Image creation model 145 International Marketing Review, Volvo. 14 No. 3, 1997, up. 145-158. MAC university press, 0265-1335 International Marketing Review date in the sponsorship literature has focused on awareness issues such as sponsor recall (e. G. McDaniel and Kinney, 1996). Regrettably, less attention has been given to event and brand image issues.A number of questions exist regarding the effect of sponsorship promotional activities on brand and event image. For example: ; What factors contribute to an event's image? ; Do consumers associate an event's image with sponsoring brands? ; If there is an image association between event and sponsor, is there a theoretical explanation that can be used to understand this linkage? ; If there is an image association between event and sponsor, what factors moderate (strengthen or weaken) this relationship? How does event image influence attitude towards the brand? Although attempts at measuring the return on the sponsorship investment have been made (e. G. , total event attendance, exit polls, sales following the event, and number of media mentions), an understanding of how sponsorship â€Å"works† has yet to be developed (Octahedron and Van Kirk, 1992; Cavalry et al. , 1994; Memorable teal . , 1991; Parker, 1991). The purpose of this article is to present a model explaining the mechanisms by which brand image may be impacted through sponsors hip activities.Specifically, drawing on the theory of meaning rareness from the celebrity endorsement literature, a model is presented which suggests the factors involved in creating an event's image and the subsequent transfer of that image to the sponsoring brand. Furthermore, several factors are identified that may moderate the relationship between event image and brand image. While the focus of this article is on the conceptual development of image transfer in sponsorship, a variety of research propositions are offered to guide future empirical inquiry.A framework for the transfer of event image Model conceptualization and overview Brand image has been defined as â€Å"perceptions about brand as reflected by the brand associations held in memory' (Keller, 1993, p. 3). Keller suggests that the variability, uniqueness, and strength of the associations are critical to a brand's success. Brand associations are developed from a variety of sources including product use, informational sources (e. G. , advertising, packaging, word-of-mouth), and association with other entities.The â€Å"association with other entities† source is of particular relevance to sponsorship activity. Keller has suggested that when a brand becomes associated with an event, some of the associations linked with the event (e. . , youthful, relaxing, enjoyable, disappointing, sophisticated, elite, etc. ) may become linked in memory with the brand. This transfer of associations is consistent with research in the celebrity endorsement process. Initial research regarding celebrity endorsement focused on the credibility and attractiveness of the message source (I. E. Celebrity) to explain the persuasive nature of endorsers. That is, more credible and attractive endorsers were viewed as more persuasive. However, McCracken (1989), pointing to conflicting research results, suggested that endorsement effectiveness is better explained by the â€Å"meanings† consumers associate with the celebrity endorser and subsequently transfer to the brand. McCracken uses the term â€Å"meaning† to describe consumers' overall assessments of what a celebrity â€Å"represents† based on counterblasts sun as social class, gender, age, personality Ana Testily. In individual characteristics (e. . , regal, trashy, maleness, strong, caring, sexual, irreverent, wise) are integrated to define the meaning of the celebrity. Meaning which has been accumulated through their roles in â€Å"television, movies, military, athletics, ND other careers† is thought to reside in celebrities (McCracken, 1989, p. 315). According to McCracken, the meaning attributed to celebrities moves from the celebrity endorser to the product when the two are paired in an advertisement. That is, meanings associated with the celebrity become associated with the product in the mind of the consumer.To complete the meaning transfer process, consumers acquire the meaning in the product through consump tion. This process is illustrated in Figure 1. 147 Figure 1 . Meaning movement in the endorsement process McCracken (1989) â€Å"meaning† in celebrities is analogous to Seller's (1993) event associations. Following the convention set forward by Keller with reference to brand image, this article uses the term event â€Å"image† to represent the cumulative interpretation of meanings or associations attributed to events by consumers.A comparison can be drawn between celebrity endorsers and events. Just as consumers associate celebrities with certain meanings, so too are events associated with particular attributes and attitudes. It is suggested here that these associations are derived from the event's type, event characteristics, and several individual consumer factors. This is not unlike the meaning attributed to a celebrity being formed by the various roles he or she occupies.For example, event associations attributed to the annual Chicago Blues Festival (a food and mus ical extravaganza drawing over 500,000 people) might include tradition, celebration and civic pride. Extending this concept of meaning transfer from the celebrity endorser literature, it is suggested that events act in a manner analogous to endorsers in the transfer of image to sponsoring brands. The framework presented in Figure 2 theorizes from McCracken celebrity endorsement model to suggest that International Marketing Review 14,3 148 Figure 2.A model of image creation and image transfer in event sponsorship event image is formed from a number of external and internal factors. Through sponsorship, an event's image, which may be relatively distinct for different consumer groups, may be transferred through association to the sponsoring product. As indicated in the figure, several factors may moderate the strength of this image transfer. This discussion leads to the offering of the first research proposition: Pl : Through sponsorship, an event's image will become associated with th e sponsoringDragon ‘s Image. Determinants of event image An event's image is represented by a particular market segment's overall subjective perceptions of the activity. The proposed framework suggests three factors that may impact one's perception of a particular event: event type, event characteristics, and individual factors. Event type . In accordance with the earlier definition, event type can be categorized into at least five areas: sports related, music related, festival/fair related, fine arts related (e. G. Ballet, art exhibit, theatre, etc. ), and professional meeting/trade show related. The type of event impacts event image in a variety of ways. First, it conjures up image associations in the mind of the consumer. That is, most individuals, through past patronage or other forms of exposure (word-of-mouth, television, etc. ) will develop some attitudes (I. E. , positive or negative predispositions towards an event) regarding particular events. These attitudes will se rve to frame the image of the particular event type.Note however, that one's attitude towards an event is only one part of an event's image. One's attitude towards an event represents a summary of experiences resulting in some mineral predisposition to respond to an event in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner. Thus, event attitude is an enduring evaluation (Cohen, 1990). While an event's image will be strongly influenced by one's attitude towards the event, event image will also be impacted by non-evaluative perceptions of an event that are formed through associations held in the consumer's memory (Keller, 1993).In this sense, event image reflects the meaning of the event for an individual, and can be characterized using descriptive labels that represent a summation of one's perceptions. These labels, termed image associations, would include: youthful, mature, carefree, adventurous, educational, social, traditional, exclusive, common, liberal, conservative, high class, f amily oriented, children oriented, cerebral, athletic, artistic, pride, political, etc. Thus, event image can be thought of as a collection of image associations.In addition to past experiences and other indirect exposures, it is likely that new experiences will shape one's perception of event image. In fact, image perceptions formed from the most recent event experiences will likely be the most influential in shaping one's overall event image receptions (Baggage and Warsaw, 1990). New experiences can be divided into two types: the specific activities engaged in or observed; and all interactions with other event attendees/participants and event staff.It is through these two experiences that past event images may be changed or modified and new image associations can be added. The specific activities engaged in or observed may be the same for all participants[l] (e. G. , attendees at a soccer match) or quite varied (e. G. , the individual rides and attractions selected at a local fest ival), depending on the type of event. Regardless of the similarity of experiences, the essential issue is that a given consumer's specific event experiences or observations will shape their perceptions of event image.It is also argued here that the number and type of other participants will have an impact on one's evaluation of the event's image. For example, the number of spectators may impact one's assessment of the success of the event. Perhaps events may be viewed as more successful when they draw more attendees. In Alton, ten under AT participants may Impact perceptions AT crowding, event availability, and wait times. Type of participant† represents the demographic and cryptographic characteristics of others attending the event.The attendees at some events represent relatively homogeneous market segments in terms of social class, family life cycle, age, gender, political affiliation, etc. For example, spectators of professional golf tournaments may be middle aged, white males, with above median incomes. In other cases, events draw heterogeneous types of participants. Just as other customers can have a substantial impact on consumer's perceptions of service firms, so too can other participants have an impact on one's event experiences and bequest assessment of event image (Bitter et al. , 1994).These factors, perceptions based on past experiences, event activities, and the number and type of spectator/participant, constitute one aspect that will serve to shape consumers' overall subjective perceptions of a given event. Based on the above discussion, several research propositions are suggested: 149 International Marketing Review 14,3 150 App: Direct experience and/or indirect information (word-of-mouth, advertising, etc. ) with an event type will influence event image. Pub: The specific activities experienced or observed during an event will influence event image.PC: The number and type of other spectators/participants will influence event image. Eve nt characteristics. Within a given event type (e. G. , music concert series, trade show, etc. ), a number of characteristics will vary from event to event. The â€Å"level† of the following five event characteristics will likely influence consumers' perceptions of an event's overall image: event size, professional status of participants (professional or amateur), tradition/history associated with the event, event venue, and promotional appearance.Event size can be considered along a number of dimensions, including Engel of event, level of media exposure (local, regional, national, international), number of performers (if applicable), and amount of physical space occupied. The same type of event, for example electronic industry trade shows, can vary along all of these dimensions, creating different images for the same event type. Likewise, other event characteristics such as the professional status of performers (professional versus amateur) or the venue in which the event is staged (e. . , temperature, convenience, physical condition, etc. ) will impact one's overall assessment of the event's image. One could theorize that, in most cases, perceptions of quality, legitimacy, and attendance desirability will be higher with long running, large, elaborately staged events, featuring professionals in attractive and convenient venues. The perceived promotional appearance of a brand's sponsorship activities may appear anywhere along a spectrum from advertiser to benefactor.A perception towards the benefactor end of the spectrum may lead to increased feelings of goodwill towards the brand because it is perceived as donating funds to make the event possible (McDonald, 1 ) conversely, tanner may De a negative reaction to ten Americanization of events that have not been sponsored in the past. These events may be perceived as â€Å"selling out† to the corporate world. This has become especially true in the Arts, where some individuals feel that sponsorship (c orporate or governmental) of the Arts leads to censorship Jacobson, 1993; Wood, 1996) .However, due to increasing costs, it has become even more critical for events to obtain outside sponsors in order to continue to exist. To take full advantage of the goodwill aspects, the sponsoring brand may need to educate attendees regarding the beneficial role sponsorship plays in event production. Due to its association with the event, a sponsoring brand's promotional claims can be legitimated, which serves to increase the believability of the promotional message (McDonald, 1991). Additionally, a sponsoring firm may be perceived as making an event possible for the consumer (Chew, 1992; McDonald, 1991).The perception may be especially strong for small events which often have difficulty securing financial support. In this sense, the consumer does not view the sponsorship as a form of promotion, but rather the sponsoring brand is seen as providing a service to the attendee and a level of dowdily is generated by the firm. Again, the skepticism that can be associated with traditional advertising may be circumvented. Brands that are viewed as â€Å"benefactors† will be seen in a more favorable light. The consumer may even feel the need or desire to reciprocate by purchasing the brand.Following from the above discussion, the following research propositions are suggested: App: Event size will influence event image. Pub: Professional status of participants will influence event image. PC: Tradition/history associated with the event will influence event image. Pad: Event venue will influence event image. Pee: Promotional appearance will influence event image. Individual factors. Because of the large number of factors influencing event image and the unique manner in which participants may interpret those factors, an event may have different images for different individuals. Qualitative research has revealed each sport to have its own individual image, and sponsors will tend to benefit from image transfer accordingly' (Parker, 1991, p. 26). Three individual factors are suggested here that may impact event image: the number of images an individual associates with an vent; the strength of the particular image; and the past history one has with a specific event. This last factor differs from the â€Å"past experience† factor discussed under event type. Past history refers to the unique experiences associated with a specific event, whereas past experiences refers to encounters with a general event type.Events that consumers perceive as having multiple images will be more difficult to associate with a single identity. This will be compounded when the meanings are of a conflicting nature. Thus, an individual with many event associations may have a hafting image of the event, depending on which association is currently most salient. Related to this is that images can be very strong or relatively weak. It is likely that a single strong image will dominat e over several weaker ones. This will cause an event Image to De consistent over time, out Limits ten realness Tanat multiple Image associations would confer.Finally, an individual's personal history with a particular event may have an impact on one's perception of an event's image. A long history will typically lead to a more ingrained and consistent image. An individual that has attended or has been associated with an event for a substantial time period may also have nostalgic feelings that become associated with the event's image. Events that have multiple or vague images pose problems for a firm's sponsorship selection decision because it becomes more difficult to predict the image that may become associated with the event, and ultimately â€Å"transferred† to the product.The above discussion leads to the following research propositions: App: Individuals associating an event with a large number of images will have difficulty identifying a consistent event image. 151 Inter national Marketing Review 14,3 152 Pub: Individuals with a single, strong image association will have consistent event images over time. PC: Individuals with a single, strong image association will have less rich event images. Pad: Individuals with long-term participation in an event will hold a consistent event image for that event.This section has identified three broad areas (event type, event characteristics, and individual factors) that influence the creation of an event's image, although there may be some event image determinants not explicitly discussed in the previous section. It is likely that any unrepresented actors could be accommodated within the proposed areas. The next section discusses constructs that may moderate the relationship between event image and brand image. Moderating variables in the model Potential moderating variables presented in the model are discussed in two sections.In the first section variables potentially impacting the strength of the image transf er from event to brand are discussed. As such, variables pertaining to the formation of strong memory associations (degree of similarity) and exposure to the sponsor's message (level of sponsorship and event frequency) are discussed. The second section on moderating rabbles examines how one's involvement with a product may moderate the impact of the event's image on brand attitude. Attitude towards the event and attitude towards the brand are conceptualized and discussed as being components of event image and brand image, respectively.Although not illustrated in Figure 2, these attitude components should be considered as a part of each of the respective â€Å"image† boxes in the figure. Moderators between event image and brand image This section will discuss three moderating variables impacting the strength of the â€Å"transfer† between an event's image and the image of a sponsoring brand. As indicated above, the basis of the relationship is the meaning transfer betwe en these constructs and it is this process that the moderating variables are proposed to influence.The first moderating factor to be discussed in the image transfer process is the degree of similarity between the event Ana ten sponsor. A product can nave letter Atonally or Image related similarity with an event. Functional similarity occurs when a sponsoring product is actually used by participants during the event. An example of this type of similarity is Valentine's sponsorship of automobile racing. The link is established because, apart room being a sponsor, Valentine's motor oil products are actually used by many of the participants during the event.The second type of similarity is termed image related, and occurs when the image of the event is related to the image of the brand. An example of this type of linkage is Pepsin's sponsorship of the 1993 Michael Jackson World Concert Tour. Here the similarity comes from the youth and excitement orientation of both the music and the pr oduct. Interestingly, some sponsors do not appear to be linked to the events they sponsor. For example, the USAF&G Sugar Bowl combined a large insurance firm with a collegiate football game.It is suggested here that either functional or image based similarities forge stronger ties and help the consumer to link the event image with the brand. Thus, sponsor- event similarity (functional or image based) will enhance image transfer by more firmly anchoring the relationship in the consumer's mind. This assertion is consistent with some celebrity endorsement literature which suggests that â€Å"MIS-matches† between endorser and brand decrease the effectiveness of the endorsement (Katie, 1987). A second factor that may moderate the image transfer from event to sponsoring brand is the level of sponsorship.Sponsorship arrangements can run the gamut from a single sponsor to hundreds of sponsors at many different levels. Multiple sponsors for a given event lessens the probability that a particular brand will be associated with the event, due to the additional stimuli each consumer must attend to and recall (Hutchinson and Alba, 1991). Often, events allowing multiple sponsors will offer different â€Å"levels† of sponsorship. By contributing different dollar amounts to the event, the sponsor can buy enhanced packages. These enhancements include better sign/banner location, more frequent media mentions, and premium kicked and hospitality packages.Exclusive sponsorship, or at least a dominant position, will increase the likelihood of meaning transfer from the event to the sponsoring brand by more firmly establishing the link between event and brand. The frequency of the event will also have an impact on the image transfer process. Events may be on either a one-time or recurring basis. Although a onetime event does not allow recurring event-sponsor associations to be developed over time, some events may be of such a unique nature that they attract a great deal of media attention (e. G. , Hands-Across-America). However, an ongoing event (annual, semi-annual, monthly, etc. Should have the benefit of more firmly establishing a link between the event and the brand due to repeated exposures (Manacling et al. , 1991). The above discussion leads to the following research propositions: App: The higher the degree of similarity (image or functional based) between event and sponsoring brand, the more effective the image transfer between event and brand. Pub: The more exclusive the level of sponsorship, the more effective the image transfer between event and brand. PC: The more frequent the event, the more effective the image transfer between event ND brand.Image creation m Ode I 153 Moderators between event image and attitude towards the brand As discussed previously, one's attitude towards the event will help to shape one's image of the event. Thus, event attitude is a component of event image. Likewise, attitude towards the brand is considered und er this framework as a International Marketing Review 14,3 154 component of brand image. Indeed, recent conceptualizations of brand image include an attitude component (Keller, 1993). As such, the model presented in Figure 2 suggests that event image will have an impact on attitude towards the brand.However, might there be situations in which this relationship is moderated by another factor? Advertising research with endorsers has demonstrated that product involvement level (defined as the level of personal relevance a product has to a consumer, resulting from the perceived level of risk associated with the product's consumption or non-consumption) can impact the attitude formation process (Petty et al. , 1983). â€Å"Specifically, we have shown that when an advertisement concerned a product of low involvement, the celebrity status of the product endorsers was a very potent determinant of attitudes about the product.When the advertisement concerned a product of high involvement, ho wever, the celebrity status of the product endorsers had no effect on attitudes, but the cogency of the information about the product contained in the ad was a powerful determinant of product evaluations† (Petty et al. , 1983, p. 143). Following from this research, level of product involvement should moderate the relationship between event image and attitude towards the brand, such that event image will have a larger impact on brand attitude for a low involvement product.The influence of event image on brand attitude can be understood further by considering the type of persuasion process likely to occur. Petty and Capacious (1986) elaboration likelihood model (ELM) suggests that persuasion can occur along two routes. The central route to persuasion occurs when an individual bases product evaluation on â€Å"diligent consideration of information that a person feels is central to the true merits of an issue or product† (Petty et al. , 1983, p. 144).The second route to att itude change, peripheral, suggests that change may also occur through the association of the object with positive or negative cues (e. G. , expert source, pleasant surroundings, forceful presentation, etc. ). This conceptualization of the peripheral persuasion route is consistent with Seller's (1993) position of links in memory being established between an event and the sponsor. One characteristic of sponsorship that distinguishes it from some other promotional methods is its indirect nature (McDonald, 1991).That is, the sponsorship is, at best, a secondary concern (behind the actual event) for the participant. Furthermore, other than the brand's name and/or logo, seldom is any type of commercial message associated with the firm's products. Thus, sponsorship would appear to operate along Petty and Capacious peripheral persuasion route due to this indirect nature, and lack AT available cognizant International. Emplace tests AT ten ELM model suggest Tanat ten central route to persuasi on is more effective for high involvement goods, while the peripheral route has a higher impact on low involvement goods (Petty et al. , 1983).Theorizing from the ELM, one could conclude that when the sponsoring brand is a low involvement product, event image will be a potent force in determining brand attitude. Conversely, the promotional benefit, in terms of attitude change, for high involvement products appears to be small. Product involvement is only likely to be applicable when the sponsorship is focused at the brand level, as opposed to the sponsorship focus being at the firm level. The discussion in this section gives rise to the following research propositions: App: Brand attitudes of low involvement goods will be strongly influenced by event image.Pub: Brand attitudes of high involvement goods will be weakly influenced by event image. PC: Persuasion processes from event sponsorship take place on the peripheral route. Implications for practice and research Implications for p ractice Several implications for marketing practice can be drawn from the proposed model. First, firms should consider more than simply the number of potential customers their sponsorship signage and other identifiers will reach. It is important to consider the image of the event, as this image may become associated with the brand.An event's image can be assessed through a variety of methods. However, given its potentially ambiguous and transitory nature, qualitative methods in the form of depth interviews, focus groups, and projective techniques, are likely to provide the best view of how consumers perceive a given event. Event organizers might take it on themselves to conduct such studies and use the results to recruit potential sponsors. In the course of such research, event organizers may find that the image of their event is not what they thought.Furthermore, it would be wise for event image studies to take place on a regular basis to assess changes in event image over time. Th is would allow event organizers to take corrective action in a timely manner. The proposed model suggests a variety of event image determinants that could be manipulated to position a given event in a different light. In terms of the sponsoring rand, the model suggests several aspects of sponsorship that should be considered when deciding on potential event affiliations.One aspect that should be considered, in light of image transfer benefits, is the degree of similarity between the event and the brand. Brand awareness benefits are likely to accrue regardless of similarity levels, but it has been argued here that image associations will be more likely when some link exists, either image or functional, in the consumer's mind. Firms looking to add sponsorship activities to their promotional mix should also consider the level of pensioners and frequency of the event.Although most firms will look at these aspects with an eye towards the total dollar commitment, it may also be wise to co nsider the meaning transfer implications. As discussed previously, exclusive sponsorships in events occurring on a frequent basis will likely maximize the image transfer potential of the sponsorship purchase. Finally, firms should consider whether image transfer benefits will actually have any influence on consumers' attitudes towards their brand and ultimately their purchase intention. The model suggests that, in terms of impacting a

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Relationship Between Department Essay

Having people know about different language skills will help them to be more knowledge and will help them to be easy understanding around people that are different from themselves. Make sure that we have training regularly about employee cultural differences so employees will finally to cooperation peaceful. Reduce the conflicts and disputes between of them. On the other hand, our company will be provide more money to encourage our employees learn more language s. Enhance their language skill. This plan will not only be able to assist them to strengthen their language and culture and communication skills, but also help in the works. We are the five stars and luxury hotels, most of the guests visiting from different countries, If our employees have excellent language skills after training, so that more in-depth understanding of the needs of customers and provide them with the best service. The second point on how to deal with employee cultural differences is to make sure that people know what the respect is. Ensure that everyone knows that some of colleagues always treat not fair on way. Or does not get special treatment because of their cultural difference. We will also want to make sure that you have something that goes out to remind people that everyone is equal. We can do this either by employee training or meeting; I can have a little presentation in staff training. I just need to make sure that it is addressed so people know that it is ok to have cultural differences in our hotel. However, quick to criticize and condemn the error of employees, and received the award slowly, many managers are always discriminated against ome of the staff, because they are not locals. Part of the local staff will imitate manager. Such discriminatory behavior, only a few people willing communicate with them. Therefore, they increase the pressure and the self-esteem hurt performance directly affects the workers left. On the other hand, if the situation continues, the relationship between employees will become fragmented. More reminiscent of the dictator. Simply dictating to them wh at they could get the job done, but there is no incentive to do it well. Employees are not exactly the same as the standard machine to perform over and over again the same job, if you do not recognize their effort. Their performance has been deteriorating. More modern and progressive workplace goals and reward schemes to motivate employee. In addition, the manager must make a good role model to promote the relationship between the employees become harmonious, happy work. The third point on how to deal with employee cultural differences is if some one is getting picked on because of their culture. You need to make sure that people know that it is not acceptable to treat others differently because of their culture. You will want to make sure that you take some action so that the problem does not continue. The worst thing is to have a unhappy employee because some one else has taken it upon themselves to be rude because of the racial discrimination. The fourth point on how to deal with employee cultural differences is enhance the exchange between employees, a better understanding of each other, I decided to organize more large-scale events in our company in future. For example, some large dinner, outdoor travel, outdoor activities such as football matches, participate to Marathon. These activities can make between employees a better understanding of each other, to establish a good relationship. If the employees between full unity, communication and reduce differences on return to work, they like these movements smooth co-develop team efforts, make excellent performance, driving the company‘s internal and external developments. There will be space for development cannot estimate. Therefore, Outdoor activities and group activities for communication.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Adult Learning Theory

It has been found that children learn because they have to, while adults learn for reasons usually based on self motivated factors or androgogy (Holt, 2011). â€Å"Teaching that transforms: Facilitating life change through adult Bible teaching† by Richard A. Holt (2011), it is stated that it is necessary to bring both concepts of the Bible teaching and contemporary adult learning theories together for the most effectiveness. In the Holt article; it is shown that Biblical explanation and interpretation assist the adult learner in gaining knowledge. The choices one makes gives real world perspective and power can only be obtained by the Holy Spirit. The article discusses the styles in which adult learning makes a difference, whether androgogy, transformative learning or self-directed learning (Holt). Adult Learning Theory for the Twenty-First Century† discusses the goals of educators to better prepare themselves to better deal with adult learners. Over the last 15 years, learning theories have changed very aggressively (Merriam, 2008). As adults continue to develop human physiology changes, thus learning teaching styles have to change to keep up. It has been recognized that with time everything that adults experience is part of the l earning process. It has been further recognized that educators have to increase their tool set to involve creative and artistic modes of teaching to reach a wider audience. Both articles cover the ever-changing dynamics of the human psyche and educational styles and requirements in dealing with adult learning. Educators have to continue to increase knowledge both for themselves as well as those whom they are educating. Where the styles of the teaching process in the Holt (2011) article differ from the Merriam (2008) article, they both recognize the changes in adult learners. It has been recognized over years and will continue for years to come that educators of adults will have to continue honing their skill sets to accommodate the learning styles of adults. Since adults learn differently from children it is important to include the learning styles necessary to maximize the efforts of educators. As adults learning styles change it will be necessary for those educating adults to change also. Reflection After reading both articles and realizing the application in my own life and learning style, I conclude that adults learn differently. There were moments of complete frustration as I was putting my thoughts together as I can tend to be somewhat of a perfectionist. I had the realization that time management and organizational skills are imperative when completing an assignment of any type. The Holt (2011) article caught my attention initially because of how I tend to study and read the Bible in particular. I am coming to understand more and more how I learn and further realize that the concepts of knowledge, choice and power are applicable in my own life. I am intrigued by the concept mentioned in the Holt article and will consider its application to my current Bible study methods. The Merriam (2008) article is interesting in the fact that I had no idea how challenging it is for educators to keep up with the learning curve that is necessary to continue teaching the increasing number of adult learners. Being out of the college environment for so long, I realize it is not as easy to just get things done with all of the demands of life as I know it. I can see how both articles and their teaching styles have a positive impact on dealing with adult learning. With all of the influences of culture, music, art, etc, it is imperative that educators find a way to keep up with the demands of educating the population of adults returning to increase their knowledge to keep up with fast paced American culture. I now have a new respect for teachers on all levels. It is interesting that adult educator’s find is so necessary to effectively reach adults. It is increasingly more common for adults to return to school for a number of reasons, and are driven to succeed for just as many reasons. Thankfully educators realize the change necessary to comprehend the goals of those adults striving for successes related to educating themselves. References Holt, R. A. (2011). Teaching that transforms: Facilitating life change through adult Bible teaching. Christian Education Journal,  8(2), 450+ Merriam, S. B. (2008). Adult learning theory for the twenty-first century. New Directions For Adult And Continuing Education, Volume 2008, Issue 119, 93-98. DOI: 10. 1002/ace. 309 Adult Learning Theory It has been found that children learn because they have to, while adults learn for reasons usually based on self motivated factors or androgogy (Holt, 2011). â€Å"Teaching that transforms: Facilitating life change through adult Bible teaching† by Richard A. Holt (2011), it is stated that it is necessary to bring both concepts of the Bible teaching and contemporary adult learning theories together for the most effectiveness. In the Holt article; it is shown that Biblical explanation and interpretation assist the adult learner in gaining knowledge. The choices one makes gives real world perspective and power can only be obtained by the Holy Spirit. The article discusses the styles in which adult learning makes a difference, whether androgogy, transformative learning or self-directed learning (Holt). Adult Learning Theory for the Twenty-First Century† discusses the goals of educators to better prepare themselves to better deal with adult learners. Over the last 15 years, learning theories have changed very aggressively (Merriam, 2008). As adults continue to develop human physiology changes, thus learning teaching styles have to change to keep up. It has been recognized that with time everything that adults experience is part of the l earning process. It has been further recognized that educators have to increase their tool set to involve creative and artistic modes of teaching to reach a wider audience. Both articles cover the ever-changing dynamics of the human psyche and educational styles and requirements in dealing with adult learning. Educators have to continue to increase knowledge both for themselves as well as those whom they are educating. Where the styles of the teaching process in the Holt (2011) article differ from the Merriam (2008) article, they both recognize the changes in adult learners. It has been recognized over years and will continue for years to come that educators of adults will have to continue honing their skill sets to accommodate the learning styles of adults. Since adults learn differently from children it is important to include the learning styles necessary to maximize the efforts of educators. As adults learning styles change it will be necessary for those educating adults to change also. Reflection After reading both articles and realizing the application in my own life and learning style, I conclude that adults learn differently. There were moments of complete frustration as I was putting my thoughts together as I can tend to be somewhat of a perfectionist. I had the realization that time management and organizational skills are imperative when completing an assignment of any type. The Holt (2011) article caught my attention initially because of how I tend to study and read the Bible in particular. I am coming to understand more and more how I learn and further realize that the concepts of knowledge, choice and power are applicable in my own life. I am intrigued by the concept mentioned in the Holt article and will consider its application to my current Bible study methods. The Merriam (2008) article is interesting in the fact that I had no idea how challenging it is for educators to keep up with the learning curve that is necessary to continue teaching the increasing number of adult learners. Being out of the college environment for so long, I realize it is not as easy to just get things done with all of the demands of life as I know it. I can see how both articles and their teaching styles have a positive impact on dealing with adult learning. With all of the influences of culture, music, art, etc, it is imperative that educators find a way to keep up with the demands of educating the population of adults returning to increase their knowledge to keep up with fast paced American culture. I now have a new respect for teachers on all levels. It is interesting that adult educator’s find is so necessary to effectively reach adults. It is increasingly more common for adults to return to school for a number of reasons, and are driven to succeed for just as many reasons. Thankfully educators realize the change necessary to comprehend the goals of those adults striving for successes related to educating themselves. References Holt, R. A. (2011). Teaching that transforms: Facilitating life change through adult Bible teaching. Christian Education Journal,  8(2), 450+ Merriam, S. B. (2008). Adult learning theory for the twenty-first century. New Directions For Adult And Continuing Education, Volume 2008, Issue 119, 93-98. DOI: 10. 1002/ace. 309 Adult Learning Theory

Friday, September 27, 2019

Intangible Assets Management and Evaluation Essay

Intangible Assets Management and Evaluation - Essay Example The present research has identified that identification of an intangible asset is possible if it attains a specific criterion. The criteria used in the recognition of these assets involve a demonstration by the entity that the item meets the outlined definition of an intangible asset and the recognition criteria. Intangible assets that meet the relevant criteria are measurable at cost, subsequently measured at cost or using the revaluation model and amortized on a systematic basis over their useful lives. However, intangible assets with indefinite useful life are not amortized. Examples of assets that may remain classified as intangible items include trademarks, patents, fishing licenses, and computer software and import duties. An asset is identifiable when it is transferrable separately, rented, exchanged or licensed. An intangible asset is recognizable if there exist probability of expected future economic benefits related to the asset will flow and entity or cost of the asset tha t is measurable reliably. Most often, it is confused how intangible assets can be classified as non-monetary when valuing them in the financial statements. In the definition, items such as cash, bank deposits, and trade receivables are monetary assets and remain excluded. In addition, brand image and goodwill are intangible assets instances that need separate identification before inclusion as business assets. Where there exists external acquisition of goodwill and brands, their cost and existence remain identified and capitalized. Internally generated goodwill is not recognizable as an asset since it is not distinguishable from the business. Moreover, goodwill does not arise from contractual or other legal rights. Its cost cannot remain measured reliably.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Psychological criticism used towards the story The Strange Case of Dr Term Paper

Psychological criticism used towards the story The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde - Term Paper Example In her book Routledge Critical Thinkers: Sigmund Freud, Pamela Thurschwell dwells more deeply on the conception of the human psyche, that is, Freud’s iceberg metaphor. She explains the struggle between the Id, Ego and Superego in the following manner: a. Id: Basic needs - it is all about me. Not reality based. b. Ego: Reality based or alters reality to justify his actions. c. Superego: Social programming - what is acceptable for the character - morality and conscience. (81-83) This particular piece of fiction by Stevenson is most commonly associated with the rare mental condition often referred to as â€Å"split personality† disorder, where there exist two distinct personalities within the same person. This notion is also connected to the so called â€Å"doppelganger† motif, which represents a tangible double of a living person that typically represents evil, a notion which predates Freud’s concept of the repressed, unconscious alter ego. The doppelganger represents the narrator’s attempt to project an inner evil into the outside world, which is exactly the case with Jekyll. This idea has been widely used in literature, ranging from authors and works like Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"William Wilson,† Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s â€Å"The Double† and many others, whose protagonists find their identical nemesis in a psychological self-splitting process. This notion centers on the conception of humanity as dual in nature, even though the readers become fully aware of this in the last chapter, when the true story of Jekyll and Hyde emerges before them. Until the very end of the novella, these two characters seem nothing alike, and one can by no means make the connection between the well liked, respectable doctor Jekyll and the indescribably hideous and disfigured appearance of Hyde: â€Å"He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with  his appearance; s omething displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point. He’s an extraordinary-looking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of the way. No, sir; I can make no hand of it; I can’t describe him. And it’s not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment.† (Stevenson 12) When Enfield relates to Utterson how he watched Hyde trample a little girl underfoot. Utterson asks his friend to describe Hyde’s appearance, but Enfield, as the quote indicates, proves unable to formulate a clear portrait.  This lack of eloquence does not mean that he did not see him clearly. Quite the contrary, the image of Hyde is branded into his mind as he speaks, yet he fails to articulate Hyde’s ugliness and deformity. This creates the impression of Hyde as being almost intangible, m ysterious, beyond words, just as he is beyond morality and conscience. Viewed as an almost supernatural creation, he is not of this world, and correspondingly, he manages to evade the comprehensive faculties of human beings. He represents the evil

Evaluating source material Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Evaluating source material - Essay Example analytical because it states social responsibility refers to action that is accepted by the society using the words, â€Å"an action that society expects.† However, the authors do not state their point clearly. Instead of using the word ‘rather,’ they would have used the term additionally. This term is more analytical than ‘rather.’ The third paragraph is analytical because the author uses the word â€Å"this process, however, is predicated on the interrelationship between business and society where each one is interdependent and responsible together for the outcomes,’ to indicate that the continuity of business ethics depends on the relationship between the society and organizations. The authors have also supported their point using a citation that recognizes the authors who argued that for the development of mutual relationship between the society and businesses (Stevenson, & Wood, 2008). I would like to ask the authors to identify the model of business ethics that they promised to deliver in the introduction. This is because the authors stated that their aim of writing the paper was to provide a business ethics model, which is lacking in previous literature. I would also like to ask the authors how many sources of literature they analyzed to conclude that no one has developed a model of business ethics. I would also ask the authors to explain whether it is only executives who should act ethically in their

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Reporting Results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Reporting Results - Essay Example They represent loans received. The security holder is entitled to repayment of principal and receiving of interest payments. Equity securities reflect ownership of interest and trading securities get a fair value report (Finkler, 2010). For the available for sale securities, they are reported at fair value. Their income excludes the unrealized losses and gains. They are reported as separate equity part that has no effect on the year’s net income. On the hand, not-for-profit health care organizations have all debts and equity reported at fair value (Finkler, 2010). A change in the net assets includes losses and gains. These gains and losses are reflected in the unrestricted net assets unless a donor or law prohibits it. An important feature is that all debt securities are depicted at fair value inclusive of those considered held to maturity by the former group. In this category, focus is not on net income; however, importance is vested on the total available resources. This makes the inclusion of gains or losses in the net income to be

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Climate change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Climate change - Essay Example e glacial formation, which results into movements of the tectonic plates, overwarming and shifting of the ocean beaches and levels (Wlicock, & Hudson 17). A number of catastrophic events have continued to occur because of the climate changes causing devastating damages in properties and lives across the world. These include the Katrina, the earthquakes in different parts of the world, the tsunamis along the beaches of Asian continent and among other events (Wlicock, & Hudson 17). These events have created an urgent need for different world bodies to develop frameworks to mitigate on the causes and develop approaches that can reduce its impacts across the globe. A number of protocols have been ratified by different conventions and most of these are geared towards pushing countries into adopting safe practices that reduces climate change. In this paper, the topic of climate change will be critically evaluated to develop a proper basis of the causes, the impacts and mitigation measures adopted across the world. The paper will also discuss the conventions ratified among them the Kyoto Protocol among others that have aimed to reduce the im pacts of climate change (Scafetta 6). Climate scientists as the major causes of climate change have advanced a number of activities and most of these events are attributed to carefree human activities. On s superficial analysis, climate change can be seen as a situation caused by increased solar energy and radiations from the sun reaching the biosphere and earth surface (Wlicock, & Hudson 17). The movement of such solar energy is dispersed across the globe by oceanic currents, monsoon winds among other means. Climate change causes have been categorized into two classes with the major contributing class being the human causes. The other category of climate change that has remained relatively above human control is the natural causes, mostly resulting from long lasting human activities (Wlicock, & Hudson 19). Greenhouse gas remains

Monday, September 23, 2019

The impact of education on someone who is disadvantaged Essay

The impact of education on someone who is disadvantaged - Essay Example For the poor children, their parents do not have such information or knowledge. In the essay by Welty, she describes the influence her first grade teacher, Miss Duling, had on her life. Although her parents were uneducated, school helped her gain what her parents did not provide. Duling was the kind of teacher that demanded perfection. She describes her as a figure of authority. These are the skills Miss Duling and the other teachers passed to her students. People from poor backgrounds might not have access to such knowledge. However, education, especially their interactions with the teachers, gives them the vita skills that prepare them for a better life. She notes that they learned â€Å"grammar, arithmetic, spelling, reading, writing, geography, physical training, and singing† (Welty, 414). As Welty notes in the essay, Miss Duling had ‘stridden into a larger part of my work than I’d realized until now’ (Welty, 414). Similarly, in the TED talk by Dr. Cana da, he points out that the children of the wealthy have an advantage because their parents know many things. The poor people do not know. Education is the only channel through which the poor can be helped. Poor people do not operate on the same level as the rich. While the rich might be able to enjoy certain privileges, the poor cannot afford these. Through education however, people from poor backgrounds are able to access the same opportunities as the rich. In the video by Dr. Canada for instance, he argues that while the rich will take their children to pre-kindergarten and access the benefits that come with it, the poor do have the chance. Through education however, the poor and the wealthy are equalized. In the essay by Welty, the idea of equality is also brought out. For instance, when the new governor sent her daughter to Davis School, Miss Duling telephoned her and told her that she will simply ‘be plain Rachel here’ (Welty, 414). Although she was from a wealthy

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Hound Of The Baskervilles Essay Example for Free

The Hound Of The Baskervilles Essay Mr and Miss Stapleton claim to be brother and sister and as they live in Merripit House. These are some of the prime suspects as they lived right near Sir Charles- or now sir Henry. At first they seem pleasant folk although when Watson first meets them Mr Stapleton becomes distracted at one point and Miss Stapleton thinking Watson is Sir Henry Baskerville warns him at there first introduction. Go back Go straight back to London instantly This obviously makes Watson of both of them. Even though Holmes knew all along Watson only found out near the end when Holmes told him that Mr and Miss Stapleton werent brother and sister they were married, but Watson must have got the impression before hand because Sir Henry in the end fell in love with Miss Stapleton but every time they went to meet etc Mr Stapleton was always there. As we know Mr Stapleton killed Sir Charles with his hound and he nearly got away with it if it werent for Watson and Sherlock Holmes. Throughout this Miss Stapleton was helpless because when she was going to try and stop the killing of Sir Henry, Mr Stapleton tied her up so she was totally helpless. This creates suspense throughout the novel, as no one knows if they really are what they say they are. Mr and Mrs Barrymore were suspects in this as they were Sir Charles servants and Watson found out while he was staying with Sir Henry that Barrymore went to a room every few nights and gave a signal. In the end they followed Mr Barrymore and found out that the escaped convict on the moor was Mrs Barrymores brother and they were signalling to him so they could go out and give him food. Eventually the hound killed Seldon as he was mistaken for Sir Henry as he was wearing some of his old clothes Mrs Barrymore had given him. Mrs Laura Lyons father is Mr frankland but because she married without his consent he wouldnt have anything to do with her. Sir Charles and her were very close; he helped Laura and lent her money. Laura fell in love with Mr Stapleton though as she thought he wasnt married, he tricked her into saying to sir Charles to meet her at 10 oclock instead Mr Stapleton went there with the hound and Sir Charles died. A few clues were Sherlock Holmes and Watson got all this information from is from a missing boot which was used by Mr Stapleton to find Sir Henry on the moor because it had his scent, Talking to Miss Laura Lyons a lot and obviously there general Knowledge. In conclusion to Conan Doyles- Hound of the Baskervilles I think it was a good book with lots of ups and downs and a whole load of suspense and Dramatic Tension.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Analysis of Critical Psychology Theories

Analysis of Critical Psychology Theories Introduction One of the most important bodies of knowledge is psychology. It is through psychology that so many disorders have been dealt with. The disorders referred to here are disorders to do with the state of the mind as well as the environment affecting the well being of the mind of the individual. An example of a disorder that psychologists treat is referred to as sexual compulsive behavior. Many people would still be in problems were it not for psychology. Through psychology, other bodies of knowledge have benefited. As any body of knowledge, psychology has grown to have branches within it and one of them which are relevant in this research paper is critical psychology. This research paper is going to deal with the question; Is critical Psychology essential to clients rights in Mainstream Psychology? This research is going to argue that Critical Psychology is essential to clients rights in Mainstream Psychology. The research paper is going to look at psychology and give an overview of psychology Then move on to critical psychology where it will give a detailed explanation of what critical psychology is all about by looking at how it came to existence and what it is all about then finally relate it to mainstream psychology so as to show how relevant it is in psychology. Critical psychology is a branch of psychology that was developed with the aim of criticizing the mainstream psychology. It also has a goal or a purpose which is to try and put into practice the knowledge that psychology has accumulated into practice and at the same time learning something new without being rigidly constrained within the borders of psychology. Psychology knowledge is used in ways that are progressive under critical psychology. The main focus of critical psychology is the use of social change in its bid to criticize mainstream psychology but also as a tool to treat as well as prevent psychopathology. Many criticism bullets have been shot at mainstream psychology. The most common highlights the manner in which mainstream psychology does not put into consideration or ignores deliberately the way in which the differences in power between the classes as well as the groups of society can greatly have an impact on the well-being of the person in terms of the mind and the physical bodies of either individuals or groups of people. This is very relevant material. A body of knowledge that is not constantly criticized is a body of knowledge that tends not to grow over time. It is just like a life that is never criticized and never examined. Before criticizing, there is examination. When something is examined then that means there loopholes within the existence of something are looked into and the relevance of the thing in todays world. A human being will want to be current with the fast growing world and he or she is always constantly looking at ways in which he or she can improve him or he rself. A human being is always updating him or herself to be current with the world and the changing times. This may explain the reason people do not dress in the olden day fashion styles but embrace what the fashion brings. An employee will take a course in something so as t upgrade him or herself in the field of work a person is. The human beings who listen to criticisms and work on them well always improve themselves and become better people in society but those who done never grow much. It is clear that criticism is a very aspect of growth in todays world. Businesses pay a lot of money in order to be criticized! They do this by asking their customers how their company has served them. They probe consumers with a wide range of questions in a bid to get the worst out of people about the companys product or products. This can be done with the online focus groups that are being used as marketing tools at the end of the day because the product that will emerge will be based on the improvements that the customers said they will want to see. This is the same thing with mainstream psychology. Given the nature of mainstream psychology then it would make sense for there to be a body that looks into psychology as a body of knowledge to identify the things that can be done better and the factors that have to be considered when treating psychopathology. Mainstream psychology has not mentioned the impact that the various social groups and differences we have in society can have o n an individual. Say for example that in a neighborhood, there are those that are doing really well and those that are not doing so well in terms of the financial stability. Most of the times rather than not, the people who are doing very well will come together and form some kind of social group and within this social group, they will have their own way of thinking then in the other group where people are not doing so well, there will be a way of thinking. With time these two groups will always compare themselves. This may explain why some rich people with no happiness and no people to love in their lives envy the genuineness of the love of people in the poor settings and the genuineness of their love for each other. This has an impact on the mental well being as well as the physical well being of a person. One may start to limit him or herself and decide that some things are a certain group of people and some are for a different group of people. There are many people who are a liv ing proof of such influences and have either become very poor as a result or very rich as a result. It is therefore very clear and important on the role critical psychology plays in the application of mainstream psychology. It acts as an update of mainstream psychology as well as a tool to keep mainstream psychology on its toes. It also brings psychology to life as it ensures that it is practical in its approach during the treatment of psychopathology. This is a very important aspect of critical psychology. This is the main reason as to why this research paper is going to look at the relevance of critical psychology in the role of mainstream psychology. Mainstream psychology has to be very grateful to critical psychology as critical psychology gives mainstream psychology life. Overview of Psychology The study of psychology started when the world started to civilize. During this time, human beings got to try and explain the reasons behind almost everything they found into existence. Te civilizations of Egypt, Persia, China, India as well as Greece were the first to try and study the humans as well as try to explain why some humans behaved in a certain way and others behaved in another. The ancient Muslim physicians and psychologists introduced the experimental and clinical approach that psychology has today. They even went ahead to build hospitals to cater for people with psychological problems. More steps were made when the French physiologist who went by the name Pierre Cabanis added the biological aspect of psychology in the year 1802. He had done expensive biology studies and based on the knowledge he had acquired in biology, he explained the human mind from the same perspective. He asserted that the souls as well as sensibility characterize the nervous system. (Levin Troiden, 1988) Psychology had not become a field of study until the German physician whose name was Wilhelm Wundt built the first ever laboratory for the sole purpose of the study of psychology at an institution of higher learning referred to as the Leipzig University. Wundt became known as the father of psychology because of this brave move. It is no wonder that on the very same year that the laboratory was built which was the year 1879, the year was labeled the date psychology was born. An American who was a psychologist as well as a philosopher wrote a book in 1890 which laid the solid foundation son which psychology is built for many scholars of psychology. Hermann Ebbinghaus is also a very crucial contributor to the psychology bode of knowledge that did a lot of research and experimental studies on the memory compartment of the mind. A Russian who was a guru in psychology also contributed to the knowledge of psychology as we know it today. His name is Ivan Pavlov. He cam e up with a process human beings use to learn according to him and is referred to as the classical conditioning. In the mid 20th century, most of the work done by the psychology pioneers mentioned is referred to as experimental psychology as most of this work was concerned with the information that was collected from various sectors and subjects along with the processing of the same information. The information gathered during this time is a subset of cognitive science. This period is seen as a period that brought a revolution because the development made by the various pioneers of psychology answered as well as reacted to the different kinds of ways of thinking that were in existence and at that time, there were two major schools of thought; behaviorism and psychodynamics (Lopez, Schmidt Blanco, 2007). (Syed, 2002) Psychoanalysis is a psychotherapy that was developed by Sigmund Freud who was an Australian physician. His psychology was based on the methods of interpreting of the mind, the observations of patients with mental problems or problems that were related to mental problems and introspection. He concentrated on resolving of the unconscious conflict, psychopathology as well as the mental distress of the human being. The theories that were coined by Freud were popular because they addressed issues of sexuality, the unconscious mind and also repression. The society saw the discussion of the problems Freud tried to tackle as a taboo. He managed to engage society in such discussions and proved to them that such issues could be discussed openly. It helps to deal with issues when conversations about the issues are held then the way forward formulated. Psychoanalysis was criticized and seen not to be efficient enough as it wasnt empirical and had not proven to withstand experimental tests. John B. Watson founded behaviorism. This was inclined towards determinism as well as positivism. Behaviorism was based on the premise that the use of animals to experiment could give a more in-depth understanding of psychosocial behavior such as analysis that is psychonamic in nature. The behaviorists believed the scientific research methods would result in pursuing of the necessary weapons needed to control the problems life presents rather than searching for truths which are seen to be timeless. Behaviorists maintained that much of the components of the human mind are not open to the scrutiny of science and that scientific psychology should rely on the behavior observed. This led to behaviorist analyzing the behavior of humans and relating the behavior with the environment in which the human being exists or interacts with. The behaviorism model of psychology has been challenged and its fall in part paved the way for more models to come into existence (Syed, 2002). (Khaleefa, 1999)In reaction to psychoanalysis and behaviorism, humanism and existentialism emerged in the mid 20th century. Here the whole person was analyzed and not just some parts of the person. Humanism focused on practical human issues such as aloneness, meaning, self-identity, freedom as well as death. Emphasis was not on pathology but on determinism rejection, the positive growth concern as well as subjective meaning. Abraham Maslow an American psychologist played a major role in the development of humanism. There was the formulation of the hierarchy of human needs, client-centered therapy and Gesalt therapy. Existentialism focuses on the human nature as being neutral. It also focused on anxiety and positively assessed it. Existentialism argued that the human themes such as freewill, death and meaning are shaped by existing myths as well as narrative patterns. The human themes are allowed as authentic by the human freewill. (Levin Troiden, 1988) The cognitive revolution gave birth to cognitivism as a strain of thought. Naomi Chomsky is responsible for this. Cognitivism does not support the idea that research and analysis ignoring the innate child contribution to human behavior. Cognitivism had proven to have a practical approach as it assisted in the understanding of weapons operations during the World War II. By the end of the 20th century, cognitivism had taken the psychology world and other related subjects by storm. New concepts to replace the ones that were being used in behaviorism and psychoanalytic strains of thinking were formulated such a subliminal processing and implicit memory. Cognitive psychology did not throw all the work that was done by behaviorists and psychoanalysts but it took the better of the two worlds, made it make sense and incorporated it into cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology comprised of various subfield that deal with psychology such as neuroscience, philosophy of the mind as well as computer science. One cannot strictly follow one school of thought and claim to completely understand the human mind. All schools of thought are very crucial in the understanding of the human mind. Modern psychology has come up with a school of thought that integrates all the other existent schools of thought; the biopsychosocial approach. This is so as to make it clear that any human mental process or behavior is governed by many interrelated biological, psychological as well as other social factors (Syed, 2002). Psychology is a very wide field and so much is yet to be learnt in the psychology field. There exists several subfield of psychology. In other words, we can easily come up with a long list of the psychology topics as well as the disciplines that psychology encompasses. Abnormal psychology as the name suggests involves the study of behavior that deviates from normal behavior. Biological psychology is the study that involves a combination of the biological processes in relation to the state of the mind. Biological psychology is related to cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology as well as physiology. Clinical psychology is a subfield of psychology that deals with the application of psychology knowledge with the aim of solving problems to do with distress, personal development as well as the general well being of humans. Other subfields of psychology include; counseling psychology, cognitive psychology, critical psychology, comparative psychology, forensic psychology, educational psychology, development psychology, evolutionary psychology, legal psychology, global psychology, industrial psychology, health psychology, quantitative psychology, occupational health psychology, personality psychology, school psychology as well as social psychology (Miller, 1983) When professions in the psychology field research, they draw knowledge from other bodies of knowledge so as to understand the psychology phenomena. They can do this by abduction, deduction or induction. In any psychological research project, there is no reliance on only one type of inference but all of them help when used together. There are psychologists that do nothing but research on psychology. They play a very important role in adding to the existing knowledge that psychology has so far accumulated. These researchers make use of controlled experiments, animal studies, quantitative and qualitative research, qualitative and descriptive research methods, survey questionnaires, observations in natural settings, computational modeling, longitudinal studies, animal studies and lastly, neuropsychological methods (Steffens, 2006). Psychology has been criticized to be a fuzzy science. The main reason is because there is no pre-paradigm being that we can base psychology on. Some of the interests in psychology such as well being, thinking, personality, emotion and many more cannot be measured and inferential statistics applied to it. The empirical aspect is not complete as some things cannot be assigned a number value. The testing of hypothesis is normally not up to standard as most psychologists are not adequately train to be able to analyze data. The criticism sometimes comes from one psychologist to another especially when one is research oriented and the other is clinical oriented. One side may argue that the clinical practices are not backed by empirical evidence and the other side may argue that experiments are done in controlled environments which are not the same as the real world situations. There is also concern that the scientific theories of psychology are miles apart from the actual application of ps ychology. It is more like going to school to study something then not applying the same thing in the profession one studied for. Critical Psychology By the fact that the word critical psychology has the word psychology at the very end than this means that it is a branch of psychology. Just the same way you would have people that bear the last name in a family setting, this would tell you that the two children belong to the same father. The word critical is used as it in itself is critical as it tries to bring out the aspects that mainstream psychology has continually ignored or not considered. Its main aim is to criticize mainstream psychology and this was the premise on which this branch called critical psychology came into existence. It points out other factors that may also explain the reason as to why some people think the way they think as well as make us understand the reason as to why some people are not mentally well and why some people are not physically well. Even before getting into the details of critical psychology, it is already clear that the role of critical psychology in mainstream psychology is very important. T he fact that critical psychology provides some kind of checks and balances in the psychology body of knowledge is a very big reason for one to argue that for sure critical psychology plays a major role in mainstream psychology because it acts as a push to mainstream psychology for it to grow and for it to incorporate some of the things that have been hidden from it or may have not been in existence when the body of knowledge was established meaning critical psychology gives life to mainstream psychology. Freie Universitat Berlin is the institution in which critical psychology was started in the 1970s. It is largely based on the existing knowledge that psychology as a whole had accumulated by then but it also at the same time came up with its own theories and explanations as it sees the world at one particular moment. By the beginning of May 2007, there were very few words that had been translated into English. The main root of German Critical Psychology is the post-war babyboomers student revolt which happened during the late sixties. The main spark of the student revolt was the criticism of the political economy by Marx. Berlin was the best spot for the student revolt as it was a free city which was circumference by East Germany. East Germany was socialist. This led to the sociological foundations upon which critical psychology is built to be Marxist. They have not gotten a listening ear from the many figures found in Critical Psychology. Klaus Holzkamp is a very important author in this field as he wrote the book Grundlegung der Psychologie. If the title of the book was to be translated in English then it would read Foundations of Psychology. This book is very sophisticated in the Critical Psychology field. Klaus Holzkamp might just be the man to be stamped the founder of Critical Psychology as far as the theories are concerned. Klaus had already two books which talked majorly about the theory of science as well as the sensory perception. He felt that the book on the foundations of psychology gave psychologists a reason to research as the book explains the solid paradigm upon which psychological research can be done. The book views psychology as a scientific discipline that is pre-paradigmatic. Aleksey Leontyev provides a unique approach to historical psychology as well as activity theory. According to him, the actions of human beings are as a result of the evolution of culture as well as the biological evolution. Leontyev drew from Marxs work where culture and its concepts have been materialized. He emphasized that the cognition of an individual is a subset of social action and social action is mediated by tools which are man-made such as cultural artifacts, social action is also mediated by language as well as systems and symbols that are made by man. Leontyev viewed this as something that provides a clear distinction between human cognition and human culture. Holzcamp in his attempt to give a comprehensive as well as integrated set of categories that were researched by Aleksey Leontyev, he did come up with this sophisticated book. The book was based on the research that Aleksey Leontyev had done as explained. One other theory we see Holzcamp using in his book in the fiel d of Critical Psychology is one that was developed by Lucien Steve; theory of personality. The concept here is of social activity matrices. The matrices are seen as the structure of mediation between individual reproduction as well as social reproduction. With the various theories Klaus Holzkamp is seen to use, he does not forget the works that were done at the institution in which Critical Psychology was born; Free University of Berlin. The works that were done at Free University of Berlin was done by critical psychologists and their works was greatly influenced by Mark, Steve and Leontyev. The materials he used included books that were written on sensory perception, animal behavior or ethology, cognition and motivation. Ideas from Freuds psychoanalysis which is a form of play therapy used to treat disorders and he also incorporated ideas from Merleau-Pontys phenomenology as he explained his approach. Holzcamp did a lot of comparative as well as historical analysis of perception, the human reproductive action as well as cognition. The core finding that he identified the symbolic meaning whether constructed culturally or historically to be structures that are conceptual and specifically useful to be structures that the human being will create in relationships that are close so as to make culture material. They also create the structures in close relationship in a culture that is material within the context of social reproduction that have been formed specifically in history. With this in mind, Klaus Holzkamp had a problem with behaviorism which he referred to as stimulus-response psychology or in short, S-R psychology. He looked at the analysis of the linguistics and he also showed how behaviorism created the illusion that is had scientific objectivity but at the same time behaviorism was not relevant in its understanding of human actions that are culturally situated and intentiona l at the same time. Klaus Holzkamp came up with his own approach that he drew a lot of ideas from a man that goes by the name Kurt Lewin and this he does in Chapter nine of his book titled Foundations of Psychology. This approach was to objectivity as well as generalization. Before Klaus Holzkamp died in the year 1995, he wrote on learning. His work was out in 1993 and he looked at learning from the object side and not the learner. Holzkamp was out to reinterpret the theories that were developed by psychology that was conventional. This means that he looked at the theories from the view of a critical psychologist and the paradigms of critical psychology. The useful insights that were found in conventional psychology were integrated into critical psychology but at the same time picking out and criticizing their implications that were limiting. In S-R psychology, the intentional action and the subject were eliminated. In cognitive psychology, the intentional action as well as the subj ect was taken into account. In the first part of the book, Holzkamp looks into the theories that were there in conventional psychology. The theories he focuses on most are those of learning. He then reinterprets the theories from a critical psychologist point of view. Jean Lave and Edwin Hutchins who contributed to the concept of classroom learning were very useful in the explanation of Holzkamps approach. In the second part of the book, Holzkamp looks at the modern world and the concept of classroom learning as something that is cultural and historical yet has an influence in socialization as well as learning. In the second part of the book, he looks at Michel Foucaults work of Discipline and Punish. According to Holzcamp, the historical way we know classroom learning is limiting to the student in that the ability of a student to learn is constrained to some finite teaching strategies. In his approaches, he strived to look for a way of learning that would make full use of the poten tial of the learner. Holzkamp explains expansive learning in the last part of the book which aims at overcoming the limitations that classroom learning presents. His ultimate plan was to write a book on life leadership but his demise came before he could go past the early stages of developing the book but some of this work was published in form of journals in Forum Kritische Psychologie and Argument. The period 1960s through to 1970s, critical psychology was known as radical psychology but the main reason it went by this term is to discourage the focus on the individual as the main object of analysis. It was also to discourage psychologists not to use the individual only as the only source of psychopathology. The close inspection of the role inspection plays was considered in radical psychology. The role of the society was looked at in the light that it causes and treats problems. Radical psychology looked at the change in society as an alternative therapy skill to treat illnesses of the mind as well as deal with the prevention of psychopathology. Anti-psychiatry was a term that was so common within psychiatry and so the British preferred the use of the term Critical Psychiatry. Up to today, the term Critical Psychology is still used to refer to the branch of psychology that seeks alternative methods of therapy to the conventional methods or forms of therapy that exist in the dis cipline of psychology. It is also against the idea of focusing so much on the individual that the influence the society has in the individual is not considered. In the 1990s, there were more authors writing about Critical Psychology. The one that caused a biggest shake and was most famous for its writings was an edited book and its title was Critical Psychology. This was a book written by Dennis Fox and Isaac Prilleltensky. Many different introductory texts that were written in the United Kingdom and were focused on critical psychology have a particular interest in the discourse. This was argued by different people in critical psychology as being as dangerous as mainstream psychology as it heavily relies on something; language. Heavily relying on one thing in a dynamic world is dangerous when you are supposed to explain something that interacts with so many things and in different ways. In the year 1999, Ian Parker came up with a manifesto that was very influential. The manifesto was on the Annual Review of Critical Psychology as well as the online journal Radical Psychology. In the manifesto, Ian says that Critical Psychology should have th e following components; Close examination in a systematic way of the manner in which various kinds of psychological action as well as experience have more weight over that of others, the manner in which the accounts of psychology which are dominant operate in ideologies as well as the service of the power. The manner in which the different varieties of psychology are constructed in the cultural and historical sense in their study and the manner in which the different kinds of psychology may assert or may refuse the assumptions of ideology of the mainstream psychological models The body of knowledge of the different kinds of the examination and the regulation by the individual himself or herself in day to day life and the manner in which psychological culture works when outside of the boundaries of academic practice as well as professional practice. The detail look at the manner in which mainstream psychology structures the professional work as well as the academic work in psychology and the manner in which day by day activities may provide a foundation for the act of resisting the happenings of the different disciplinary practices that are happening today. There are quite a number of journals that are international and are solely dedicated to Critical Psychology. Some of them include the Annual Review of Critical Psychology as well as the International Journal of Critical Psychology which is no longer being published. The journals lean more to the academic world. The Annual Review of Critical Psychology is an open access journal that runs online. In Britain, the Critical Psychologists and the Critical Psychiatrists have some commonality which they express via the Asylum Collective. Main Criticisms of Conventional psychology Different groups such as psychiatrists and patients as well as the public in general and the industrial lobbyists, or the very rich groups of society and the less rich groups of society, or even psychologists and their clients all have difference in power within the different groups. The psychiatrist is on a different power level as compared to the patient. They have met to discuss the same thing but it is clear that they will not discuss it from the same point of view. With such kind of treatments, the patient will mostly try to resist what the psychiatrist is saying. The psychiatrist and the patient may not agree especially when the patient has some knowledge on the same. Psychologists also have the same problem when dealing with their clients. They normally never have the same ground on which they base their actions. A patient will always want to stay in the comfort zone and what he or she went to do at the clinic is for him or her to be told that he or she is on the right course. The psychiatrist wants to gain millage as he or she interacts with the client but most of the time rather than not this millage are never easy to gain. The people who are very rich in society will definitely be at a very different level of power from the people who are less well-off in terms of finances. There are ideologies that the rich has formed about themselves and there are ideologies that the poor has formed about themselves. There also exist the theories the rich have come up about the poor and those that have come up about the rich. They are so different and I few were to put the two groups in a room there would be so much emotion that would feel the room. This already says a lot about their theories, they are based in the way they feel and not on how things are. Some poor people may have been raised by a mother who highly trained them to be beggars. They grow up not working for what they want in life. In life, you can work for whatever possibility possible that was create d by the creator of heaven and earth. The powers have been given to the human being but instead he or she will sit back and watch as things get out of hand for him o r her then start to blame some past experience or blame some one . As much as it is true that the way we relate with people I our childhood, the things that are said to us during our childhood and the things that are done to us during our childhood are very important in determining how we grow up, there exists so much media from which to learn from and so many people around us to learn from. There is no limitation as to what a human being can do that we are aware of in terms of improving their well being and taking it from one level to another. A human being can always improve himself. A human being can always fight for what he or she wants and still is in a position to wake up, shake the dust off and continue with life stronger than ever. The industrial lobbyists will have an angle from which they argue their points but the general public will always blame them for anything they can possibly utter when it comes Analysis of Critical Psychology Theories Analysis of Critical Psychology Theories Introduction One of the most important bodies of knowledge is psychology. It is through psychology that so many disorders have been dealt with. The disorders referred to here are disorders to do with the state of the mind as well as the environment affecting the well being of the mind of the individual. An example of a disorder that psychologists treat is referred to as sexual compulsive behavior. Many people would still be in problems were it not for psychology. Through psychology, other bodies of knowledge have benefited. As any body of knowledge, psychology has grown to have branches within it and one of them which are relevant in this research paper is critical psychology. This research paper is going to deal with the question; Is critical Psychology essential to clients rights in Mainstream Psychology? This research is going to argue that Critical Psychology is essential to clients rights in Mainstream Psychology. The research paper is going to look at psychology and give an overview of psychology Then move on to critical psychology where it will give a detailed explanation of what critical psychology is all about by looking at how it came to existence and what it is all about then finally relate it to mainstream psychology so as to show how relevant it is in psychology. Critical psychology is a branch of psychology that was developed with the aim of criticizing the mainstream psychology. It also has a goal or a purpose which is to try and put into practice the knowledge that psychology has accumulated into practice and at the same time learning something new without being rigidly constrained within the borders of psychology. Psychology knowledge is used in ways that are progressive under critical psychology. The main focus of critical psychology is the use of social change in its bid to criticize mainstream psychology but also as a tool to treat as well as prevent psychopathology. Many criticism bullets have been shot at mainstream psychology. The most common highlights the manner in which mainstream psychology does not put into consideration or ignores deliberately the way in which the differences in power between the classes as well as the groups of society can greatly have an impact on the well-being of the person in terms of the mind and the physical bodies of either individuals or groups of people. This is very relevant material. A body of knowledge that is not constantly criticized is a body of knowledge that tends not to grow over time. It is just like a life that is never criticized and never examined. Before criticizing, there is examination. When something is examined then that means there loopholes within the existence of something are looked into and the relevance of the thing in todays world. A human being will want to be current with the fast growing world and he or she is always constantly looking at ways in which he or she can improve him or he rself. A human being is always updating him or herself to be current with the world and the changing times. This may explain the reason people do not dress in the olden day fashion styles but embrace what the fashion brings. An employee will take a course in something so as t upgrade him or herself in the field of work a person is. The human beings who listen to criticisms and work on them well always improve themselves and become better people in society but those who done never grow much. It is clear that criticism is a very aspect of growth in todays world. Businesses pay a lot of money in order to be criticized! They do this by asking their customers how their company has served them. They probe consumers with a wide range of questions in a bid to get the worst out of people about the companys product or products. This can be done with the online focus groups that are being used as marketing tools at the end of the day because the product that will emerge will be based on the improvements that the customers said they will want to see. This is the same thing with mainstream psychology. Given the nature of mainstream psychology then it would make sense for there to be a body that looks into psychology as a body of knowledge to identify the things that can be done better and the factors that have to be considered when treating psychopathology. Mainstream psychology has not mentioned the impact that the various social groups and differences we have in society can have o n an individual. Say for example that in a neighborhood, there are those that are doing really well and those that are not doing so well in terms of the financial stability. Most of the times rather than not, the people who are doing very well will come together and form some kind of social group and within this social group, they will have their own way of thinking then in the other group where people are not doing so well, there will be a way of thinking. With time these two groups will always compare themselves. This may explain why some rich people with no happiness and no people to love in their lives envy the genuineness of the love of people in the poor settings and the genuineness of their love for each other. This has an impact on the mental well being as well as the physical well being of a person. One may start to limit him or herself and decide that some things are a certain group of people and some are for a different group of people. There are many people who are a liv ing proof of such influences and have either become very poor as a result or very rich as a result. It is therefore very clear and important on the role critical psychology plays in the application of mainstream psychology. It acts as an update of mainstream psychology as well as a tool to keep mainstream psychology on its toes. It also brings psychology to life as it ensures that it is practical in its approach during the treatment of psychopathology. This is a very important aspect of critical psychology. This is the main reason as to why this research paper is going to look at the relevance of critical psychology in the role of mainstream psychology. Mainstream psychology has to be very grateful to critical psychology as critical psychology gives mainstream psychology life. Overview of Psychology The study of psychology started when the world started to civilize. During this time, human beings got to try and explain the reasons behind almost everything they found into existence. Te civilizations of Egypt, Persia, China, India as well as Greece were the first to try and study the humans as well as try to explain why some humans behaved in a certain way and others behaved in another. The ancient Muslim physicians and psychologists introduced the experimental and clinical approach that psychology has today. They even went ahead to build hospitals to cater for people with psychological problems. More steps were made when the French physiologist who went by the name Pierre Cabanis added the biological aspect of psychology in the year 1802. He had done expensive biology studies and based on the knowledge he had acquired in biology, he explained the human mind from the same perspective. He asserted that the souls as well as sensibility characterize the nervous system. (Levin Troiden, 1988) Psychology had not become a field of study until the German physician whose name was Wilhelm Wundt built the first ever laboratory for the sole purpose of the study of psychology at an institution of higher learning referred to as the Leipzig University. Wundt became known as the father of psychology because of this brave move. It is no wonder that on the very same year that the laboratory was built which was the year 1879, the year was labeled the date psychology was born. An American who was a psychologist as well as a philosopher wrote a book in 1890 which laid the solid foundation son which psychology is built for many scholars of psychology. Hermann Ebbinghaus is also a very crucial contributor to the psychology bode of knowledge that did a lot of research and experimental studies on the memory compartment of the mind. A Russian who was a guru in psychology also contributed to the knowledge of psychology as we know it today. His name is Ivan Pavlov. He cam e up with a process human beings use to learn according to him and is referred to as the classical conditioning. In the mid 20th century, most of the work done by the psychology pioneers mentioned is referred to as experimental psychology as most of this work was concerned with the information that was collected from various sectors and subjects along with the processing of the same information. The information gathered during this time is a subset of cognitive science. This period is seen as a period that brought a revolution because the development made by the various pioneers of psychology answered as well as reacted to the different kinds of ways of thinking that were in existence and at that time, there were two major schools of thought; behaviorism and psychodynamics (Lopez, Schmidt Blanco, 2007). (Syed, 2002) Psychoanalysis is a psychotherapy that was developed by Sigmund Freud who was an Australian physician. His psychology was based on the methods of interpreting of the mind, the observations of patients with mental problems or problems that were related to mental problems and introspection. He concentrated on resolving of the unconscious conflict, psychopathology as well as the mental distress of the human being. The theories that were coined by Freud were popular because they addressed issues of sexuality, the unconscious mind and also repression. The society saw the discussion of the problems Freud tried to tackle as a taboo. He managed to engage society in such discussions and proved to them that such issues could be discussed openly. It helps to deal with issues when conversations about the issues are held then the way forward formulated. Psychoanalysis was criticized and seen not to be efficient enough as it wasnt empirical and had not proven to withstand experimental tests. John B. Watson founded behaviorism. This was inclined towards determinism as well as positivism. Behaviorism was based on the premise that the use of animals to experiment could give a more in-depth understanding of psychosocial behavior such as analysis that is psychonamic in nature. The behaviorists believed the scientific research methods would result in pursuing of the necessary weapons needed to control the problems life presents rather than searching for truths which are seen to be timeless. Behaviorists maintained that much of the components of the human mind are not open to the scrutiny of science and that scientific psychology should rely on the behavior observed. This led to behaviorist analyzing the behavior of humans and relating the behavior with the environment in which the human being exists or interacts with. The behaviorism model of psychology has been challenged and its fall in part paved the way for more models to come into existence (Syed, 2002). (Khaleefa, 1999)In reaction to psychoanalysis and behaviorism, humanism and existentialism emerged in the mid 20th century. Here the whole person was analyzed and not just some parts of the person. Humanism focused on practical human issues such as aloneness, meaning, self-identity, freedom as well as death. Emphasis was not on pathology but on determinism rejection, the positive growth concern as well as subjective meaning. Abraham Maslow an American psychologist played a major role in the development of humanism. There was the formulation of the hierarchy of human needs, client-centered therapy and Gesalt therapy. Existentialism focuses on the human nature as being neutral. It also focused on anxiety and positively assessed it. Existentialism argued that the human themes such as freewill, death and meaning are shaped by existing myths as well as narrative patterns. The human themes are allowed as authentic by the human freewill. (Levin Troiden, 1988) The cognitive revolution gave birth to cognitivism as a strain of thought. Naomi Chomsky is responsible for this. Cognitivism does not support the idea that research and analysis ignoring the innate child contribution to human behavior. Cognitivism had proven to have a practical approach as it assisted in the understanding of weapons operations during the World War II. By the end of the 20th century, cognitivism had taken the psychology world and other related subjects by storm. New concepts to replace the ones that were being used in behaviorism and psychoanalytic strains of thinking were formulated such a subliminal processing and implicit memory. Cognitive psychology did not throw all the work that was done by behaviorists and psychoanalysts but it took the better of the two worlds, made it make sense and incorporated it into cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology comprised of various subfield that deal with psychology such as neuroscience, philosophy of the mind as well as computer science. One cannot strictly follow one school of thought and claim to completely understand the human mind. All schools of thought are very crucial in the understanding of the human mind. Modern psychology has come up with a school of thought that integrates all the other existent schools of thought; the biopsychosocial approach. This is so as to make it clear that any human mental process or behavior is governed by many interrelated biological, psychological as well as other social factors (Syed, 2002). Psychology is a very wide field and so much is yet to be learnt in the psychology field. There exists several subfield of psychology. In other words, we can easily come up with a long list of the psychology topics as well as the disciplines that psychology encompasses. Abnormal psychology as the name suggests involves the study of behavior that deviates from normal behavior. Biological psychology is the study that involves a combination of the biological processes in relation to the state of the mind. Biological psychology is related to cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology as well as physiology. Clinical psychology is a subfield of psychology that deals with the application of psychology knowledge with the aim of solving problems to do with distress, personal development as well as the general well being of humans. Other subfields of psychology include; counseling psychology, cognitive psychology, critical psychology, comparative psychology, forensic psychology, educational psychology, development psychology, evolutionary psychology, legal psychology, global psychology, industrial psychology, health psychology, quantitative psychology, occupational health psychology, personality psychology, school psychology as well as social psychology (Miller, 1983) When professions in the psychology field research, they draw knowledge from other bodies of knowledge so as to understand the psychology phenomena. They can do this by abduction, deduction or induction. In any psychological research project, there is no reliance on only one type of inference but all of them help when used together. There are psychologists that do nothing but research on psychology. They play a very important role in adding to the existing knowledge that psychology has so far accumulated. These researchers make use of controlled experiments, animal studies, quantitative and qualitative research, qualitative and descriptive research methods, survey questionnaires, observations in natural settings, computational modeling, longitudinal studies, animal studies and lastly, neuropsychological methods (Steffens, 2006). Psychology has been criticized to be a fuzzy science. The main reason is because there is no pre-paradigm being that we can base psychology on. Some of the interests in psychology such as well being, thinking, personality, emotion and many more cannot be measured and inferential statistics applied to it. The empirical aspect is not complete as some things cannot be assigned a number value. The testing of hypothesis is normally not up to standard as most psychologists are not adequately train to be able to analyze data. The criticism sometimes comes from one psychologist to another especially when one is research oriented and the other is clinical oriented. One side may argue that the clinical practices are not backed by empirical evidence and the other side may argue that experiments are done in controlled environments which are not the same as the real world situations. There is also concern that the scientific theories of psychology are miles apart from the actual application of ps ychology. It is more like going to school to study something then not applying the same thing in the profession one studied for. Critical Psychology By the fact that the word critical psychology has the word psychology at the very end than this means that it is a branch of psychology. Just the same way you would have people that bear the last name in a family setting, this would tell you that the two children belong to the same father. The word critical is used as it in itself is critical as it tries to bring out the aspects that mainstream psychology has continually ignored or not considered. Its main aim is to criticize mainstream psychology and this was the premise on which this branch called critical psychology came into existence. It points out other factors that may also explain the reason as to why some people think the way they think as well as make us understand the reason as to why some people are not mentally well and why some people are not physically well. Even before getting into the details of critical psychology, it is already clear that the role of critical psychology in mainstream psychology is very important. T he fact that critical psychology provides some kind of checks and balances in the psychology body of knowledge is a very big reason for one to argue that for sure critical psychology plays a major role in mainstream psychology because it acts as a push to mainstream psychology for it to grow and for it to incorporate some of the things that have been hidden from it or may have not been in existence when the body of knowledge was established meaning critical psychology gives life to mainstream psychology. Freie Universitat Berlin is the institution in which critical psychology was started in the 1970s. It is largely based on the existing knowledge that psychology as a whole had accumulated by then but it also at the same time came up with its own theories and explanations as it sees the world at one particular moment. By the beginning of May 2007, there were very few words that had been translated into English. The main root of German Critical Psychology is the post-war babyboomers student revolt which happened during the late sixties. The main spark of the student revolt was the criticism of the political economy by Marx. Berlin was the best spot for the student revolt as it was a free city which was circumference by East Germany. East Germany was socialist. This led to the sociological foundations upon which critical psychology is built to be Marxist. They have not gotten a listening ear from the many figures found in Critical Psychology. Klaus Holzkamp is a very important author in this field as he wrote the book Grundlegung der Psychologie. If the title of the book was to be translated in English then it would read Foundations of Psychology. This book is very sophisticated in the Critical Psychology field. Klaus Holzkamp might just be the man to be stamped the founder of Critical Psychology as far as the theories are concerned. Klaus had already two books which talked majorly about the theory of science as well as the sensory perception. He felt that the book on the foundations of psychology gave psychologists a reason to research as the book explains the solid paradigm upon which psychological research can be done. The book views psychology as a scientific discipline that is pre-paradigmatic. Aleksey Leontyev provides a unique approach to historical psychology as well as activity theory. According to him, the actions of human beings are as a result of the evolution of culture as well as the biological evolution. Leontyev drew from Marxs work where culture and its concepts have been materialized. He emphasized that the cognition of an individual is a subset of social action and social action is mediated by tools which are man-made such as cultural artifacts, social action is also mediated by language as well as systems and symbols that are made by man. Leontyev viewed this as something that provides a clear distinction between human cognition and human culture. Holzcamp in his attempt to give a comprehensive as well as integrated set of categories that were researched by Aleksey Leontyev, he did come up with this sophisticated book. The book was based on the research that Aleksey Leontyev had done as explained. One other theory we see Holzcamp using in his book in the fiel d of Critical Psychology is one that was developed by Lucien Steve; theory of personality. The concept here is of social activity matrices. The matrices are seen as the structure of mediation between individual reproduction as well as social reproduction. With the various theories Klaus Holzkamp is seen to use, he does not forget the works that were done at the institution in which Critical Psychology was born; Free University of Berlin. The works that were done at Free University of Berlin was done by critical psychologists and their works was greatly influenced by Mark, Steve and Leontyev. The materials he used included books that were written on sensory perception, animal behavior or ethology, cognition and motivation. Ideas from Freuds psychoanalysis which is a form of play therapy used to treat disorders and he also incorporated ideas from Merleau-Pontys phenomenology as he explained his approach. Holzcamp did a lot of comparative as well as historical analysis of perception, the human reproductive action as well as cognition. The core finding that he identified the symbolic meaning whether constructed culturally or historically to be structures that are conceptual and specifically useful to be structures that the human being will create in relationships that are close so as to make culture material. They also create the structures in close relationship in a culture that is material within the context of social reproduction that have been formed specifically in history. With this in mind, Klaus Holzkamp had a problem with behaviorism which he referred to as stimulus-response psychology or in short, S-R psychology. He looked at the analysis of the linguistics and he also showed how behaviorism created the illusion that is had scientific objectivity but at the same time behaviorism was not relevant in its understanding of human actions that are culturally situated and intentiona l at the same time. Klaus Holzkamp came up with his own approach that he drew a lot of ideas from a man that goes by the name Kurt Lewin and this he does in Chapter nine of his book titled Foundations of Psychology. This approach was to objectivity as well as generalization. Before Klaus Holzkamp died in the year 1995, he wrote on learning. His work was out in 1993 and he looked at learning from the object side and not the learner. Holzkamp was out to reinterpret the theories that were developed by psychology that was conventional. This means that he looked at the theories from the view of a critical psychologist and the paradigms of critical psychology. The useful insights that were found in conventional psychology were integrated into critical psychology but at the same time picking out and criticizing their implications that were limiting. In S-R psychology, the intentional action and the subject were eliminated. In cognitive psychology, the intentional action as well as the subj ect was taken into account. In the first part of the book, Holzkamp looks into the theories that were there in conventional psychology. The theories he focuses on most are those of learning. He then reinterprets the theories from a critical psychologist point of view. Jean Lave and Edwin Hutchins who contributed to the concept of classroom learning were very useful in the explanation of Holzkamps approach. In the second part of the book, Holzkamp looks at the modern world and the concept of classroom learning as something that is cultural and historical yet has an influence in socialization as well as learning. In the second part of the book, he looks at Michel Foucaults work of Discipline and Punish. According to Holzcamp, the historical way we know classroom learning is limiting to the student in that the ability of a student to learn is constrained to some finite teaching strategies. In his approaches, he strived to look for a way of learning that would make full use of the poten tial of the learner. Holzkamp explains expansive learning in the last part of the book which aims at overcoming the limitations that classroom learning presents. His ultimate plan was to write a book on life leadership but his demise came before he could go past the early stages of developing the book but some of this work was published in form of journals in Forum Kritische Psychologie and Argument. The period 1960s through to 1970s, critical psychology was known as radical psychology but the main reason it went by this term is to discourage the focus on the individual as the main object of analysis. It was also to discourage psychologists not to use the individual only as the only source of psychopathology. The close inspection of the role inspection plays was considered in radical psychology. The role of the society was looked at in the light that it causes and treats problems. Radical psychology looked at the change in society as an alternative therapy skill to treat illnesses of the mind as well as deal with the prevention of psychopathology. Anti-psychiatry was a term that was so common within psychiatry and so the British preferred the use of the term Critical Psychiatry. Up to today, the term Critical Psychology is still used to refer to the branch of psychology that seeks alternative methods of therapy to the conventional methods or forms of therapy that exist in the dis cipline of psychology. It is also against the idea of focusing so much on the individual that the influence the society has in the individual is not considered. In the 1990s, there were more authors writing about Critical Psychology. The one that caused a biggest shake and was most famous for its writings was an edited book and its title was Critical Psychology. This was a book written by Dennis Fox and Isaac Prilleltensky. Many different introductory texts that were written in the United Kingdom and were focused on critical psychology have a particular interest in the discourse. This was argued by different people in critical psychology as being as dangerous as mainstream psychology as it heavily relies on something; language. Heavily relying on one thing in a dynamic world is dangerous when you are supposed to explain something that interacts with so many things and in different ways. In the year 1999, Ian Parker came up with a manifesto that was very influential. The manifesto was on the Annual Review of Critical Psychology as well as the online journal Radical Psychology. In the manifesto, Ian says that Critical Psychology should have th e following components; Close examination in a systematic way of the manner in which various kinds of psychological action as well as experience have more weight over that of others, the manner in which the accounts of psychology which are dominant operate in ideologies as well as the service of the power. The manner in which the different varieties of psychology are constructed in the cultural and historical sense in their study and the manner in which the different kinds of psychology may assert or may refuse the assumptions of ideology of the mainstream psychological models The body of knowledge of the different kinds of the examination and the regulation by the individual himself or herself in day to day life and the manner in which psychological culture works when outside of the boundaries of academic practice as well as professional practice. The detail look at the manner in which mainstream psychology structures the professional work as well as the academic work in psychology and the manner in which day by day activities may provide a foundation for the act of resisting the happenings of the different disciplinary practices that are happening today. There are quite a number of journals that are international and are solely dedicated to Critical Psychology. Some of them include the Annual Review of Critical Psychology as well as the International Journal of Critical Psychology which is no longer being published. The journals lean more to the academic world. The Annual Review of Critical Psychology is an open access journal that runs online. In Britain, the Critical Psychologists and the Critical Psychiatrists have some commonality which they express via the Asylum Collective. Main Criticisms of Conventional psychology Different groups such as psychiatrists and patients as well as the public in general and the industrial lobbyists, or the very rich groups of society and the less rich groups of society, or even psychologists and their clients all have difference in power within the different groups. The psychiatrist is on a different power level as compared to the patient. They have met to discuss the same thing but it is clear that they will not discuss it from the same point of view. With such kind of treatments, the patient will mostly try to resist what the psychiatrist is saying. The psychiatrist and the patient may not agree especially when the patient has some knowledge on the same. Psychologists also have the same problem when dealing with their clients. They normally never have the same ground on which they base their actions. A patient will always want to stay in the comfort zone and what he or she went to do at the clinic is for him or her to be told that he or she is on the right course. The psychiatrist wants to gain millage as he or she interacts with the client but most of the time rather than not this millage are never easy to gain. The people who are very rich in society will definitely be at a very different level of power from the people who are less well-off in terms of finances. There are ideologies that the rich has formed about themselves and there are ideologies that the poor has formed about themselves. There also exist the theories the rich have come up about the poor and those that have come up about the rich. They are so different and I few were to put the two groups in a room there would be so much emotion that would feel the room. This already says a lot about their theories, they are based in the way they feel and not on how things are. Some poor people may have been raised by a mother who highly trained them to be beggars. They grow up not working for what they want in life. In life, you can work for whatever possibility possible that was create d by the creator of heaven and earth. The powers have been given to the human being but instead he or she will sit back and watch as things get out of hand for him o r her then start to blame some past experience or blame some one . As much as it is true that the way we relate with people I our childhood, the things that are said to us during our childhood and the things that are done to us during our childhood are very important in determining how we grow up, there exists so much media from which to learn from and so many people around us to learn from. There is no limitation as to what a human being can do that we are aware of in terms of improving their well being and taking it from one level to another. A human being can always improve himself. A human being can always fight for what he or she wants and still is in a position to wake up, shake the dust off and continue with life stronger than ever. The industrial lobbyists will have an angle from which they argue their points but the general public will always blame them for anything they can possibly utter when it comes