Select something you either strongly like or dislike (e.g., reading, competitive sports, flying, snakes, etc.) **** I LIKE COMPETITIVE SPORTS)*****
Drawing on your personal experience, as well as library research, write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:
Briefly describe your like or dislike (one to two (1-2) sentences).
Describe the subfield (e.g., cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, psychoanalytic psychology, etc.) you believe is best suited for providing psychological insight into your preference (the fact that you like or dislike the thing you do) and why you believe it is so.
Discuss how biological bases of behavior (including sensation and perception) have contributed to your preference.
Analyze how engaging in or reacting to your preference (e.g., playing competitive sports or encountering a snake) affects your state of consciousness during that engagement.
Discuss the role that learning has had on the fact that you like or dislike the thing you described.
Competitive sports
Human beings are social animals and have dislikes as well as likes. Something that may interest or may appeal to one person may not appeal to another. These differences in human beings are normal and are so because of various factors. One of my likes or preference is competitive sports.
I like engaging in competitive sports as this allows me to feel satisfaction. Competitive sports I normally enjoy include football and indoor games such as table tennis. These sports require an individual to challenge their competitors to win. The gratification that comes with winning is what motivates me and makes me to give it my best in such competitions.
Developmental psychology is what has played a key role in providing this psychological insight to me. The behaviors exhibited by an individual is mostly related or associated with that person psychology. Developmental psychology is a scientific study that is concerned with the changes n human behaviors from the childhood, to adulthood to ageing (Bjorklund & Pellegrini, 2000). People do change and develop by gaining interest in something and losing interest in others as they grow up. Various factors in their lives form the basis of what they cherish and or fulfilling their life. In my case, I feel developmental psychology has contributed to my likes. The environments I have brought up since my childhood have played a key role in this. The people I grew up with cherished and embraced sports especially football making me to also develop and grow up appreciating these competitive sports. I do believe so because, had I grown or raised up in other environments I would not have developed interest of the competitive sports. This is also explained by the fact that different people raised up in environment that embrace other sports have also grown up cherishing and liking those sports. This is therefore a clear indication that indeed, the way people are brought up determines their choices and things that they engage in their later lives.
To some extent, not just environmental factors contribute to ones preferences but rather the likes are also contributed by biological bases of behavior. Human beings are unique kinds of creatures and therefore behave differently form the way other animals do. The sense, perception and emotions of human beings also contribute in their behavior. In my case, the sensation that the sports triggers also contributed to my preference. Furthermore, my perception about the sports has also continued to motivate me to like the sport. I viewed the sports as important and adored by many people which made me to have positive feelings and imagination about the them.
My state of consciousness when engaging in the sports is stable and elated. When playing the games, I do concentrate and give it my best. I feel that, this is the opportunity for me to do my best and exhibit my love for the game. I would actually do anything just to ensure that that I achieve my goals. I do not leave any thing to chances, as this is my favorite.
Learning has also played a role in my liking of competitive sports. Learning is the process of acquiring skill, knowledge and experiences from others through different avenues. As I grew, I continued to accumulate skills and knowledge about the sports from the people surrounding me as well as from other sources such as books. I do remember reading about a sportsman who earned millions of money through sports. This information also shaped and encouraged me and even made me to like these sports even more.
Reference
Bjorklund, D., & Pellegrini, A. (2000). Child Development and Evolutionary Psychology, Child Development, 71 (6): 1687–1708.