Introduction written with Claude (Anthropic). Voiceover by Lyra at Evernote.
Introduction
After more than 15 years away from formal education, I've returned to college as a non-traditional student at CT State Community College. It's been both exciting and nerve-wracking to dive back into academic life, but I'm finding the experience rewarding as I explore potential new career directions in psychology and mental healthcare. Below are my responses to a recent weekly discussion assignment for the course PSY 1011 General Psychology I, where we are examining different psychological perspectives and key debates in the field. The assignment asked us to choose a psychological perspective to explore, apply it to a major issue in psychology, and reflect on how this knowledge might benefit our academic and professional goals. I thought I'd share my work here.
Discussion Assignment
Question (1) After you have read Chapter 1, choose a psychological perspective of your interest to explore more and discuss and explain its major premises. You will find the five psychological perspectives on the textbook from page 18 to page 21 (20 points).
Response: According to Chapter 1: “Introduction to Psychology” in Feldman (2024), one of the five major perspectives in psychology is the cognitive perspective, the approach that focuses on how people think, understand, and know about the world (p. 20). It emphasizes learning how people comprehend and think about the external world from inside themselves, as well as how people’s ways of thinking about the world influence their behavior. Psychologists using this perspective often compare human cognition to the information processing that occurs inside of a computer—absorbing, transforming, storing, and retrieving information. Psychologists doing research from this perspective ask questions such as how people make decisions and whether a person can do two cognitively demanding activities simultaneously, such as watching television and studying. The cognitive approach also involves an interest in describing mental patterns and irregularities.
Question (2) In the textbook from Page 22 to Page 24 and Figure 3 on Page 23, choose one out of five key issues and share with us your view on the issue using the perspective you choose (20 points).
Response: One of the key issues that is debated in psychology is nature (heredity) versus nurture (environment) (Feldman, 2024, p. 23). Psychology professionals disagree about how much of people’s behavior is determined by their genetics and biological inheritance versus how much is determined by the influences of the environments that people grow up in and live in. There is also debate about how heredity and environment interact to shape behavior.
As shown in Figure 3 (Feldman, 2024, p. 23), the cognitive perspective takes the position that both nature and nurture are influences on people’s behavior. According to the figure, it’s the only perspective that acknowledges both.
My opinion is that the cognitive perspective is the most holistic and integrative perspective. In order to adequately conceptualize how people think, understand, and know the world we must include consideration of the elements of the other perspectives, including neuroscience (biological components), psychodynamic forces (the unconscious), behavioral (observable), and humanistic striving for fulfillment. All of these factors contribute to how people absorb and process information and how they behave.
However, while inherent biological factors clearly influence people’s health, I believe that environmental factors play bigger roles in shaping behavior than biological heredity.
For example, psychological research has indicated that chronically stressful experiences have secondary effects on health. In particular, a lot of research has been done on the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)—potentially stressful or traumatic events or circumstances during childhood. Research has repeatedly found that ACEs are associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes (Alley et al., 2025; Bellis et al., 2025; Hughes et al., 2017; Swedo et al., 2024; Timmins et al., 2025; Zhang et al., 2022). Unsurprisingly, ACEs are also associated with impairments in functioning and behavioral problems (Cooke et al., 2021; Petruccelli et al., 2019), reduced chances of completing higher education and having employment (Metzler et al., 2017), and potentially harmful parenting strategies (Rowell & Neal-Barnett, 2021). These are some reasons why it is important to have strong social services and trauma-informed healthcare, to prevent and mitigate the effects of adversity and chronic stress.
Additionally, some research indicates that parental mental health and genetics is less of a factor in a child's later development of psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) than childhood maltreatment and trauma (CMT), which may be more influential (Mørkved et al., 2025). This is a potential example of nurture being a more important determinant of human behavior than biological heredity.
Question (3) Discuss how knowing the key issue will benefit you in your academic career or life (10 Points).
Response: I am interested in continuing my studies in psychology or other social sciences to do work related to mental healthcare. Knowing the key issue of nature vs. nurture enhances my ability to analyze the multiple factors that influence behavior. Gaining awareness of hereditary and environmental influences supports my academic success, by informing my strategies to optimize my physical and mental functioning, and to modify where and how I study to maximize my learning. This knowledge is also valuable for work in educational settings, perhaps as a professor myself someday! Recognizing the varying determinants of human behavior, as well as uncertainty in the field regarding causation, also strengthens my critical thinking skills. I am more competent to do work in research, education, healthcare, and advocacy.
References
Alley, J., Gassen, J., & Slavich, G. M. (2025). The effects of childhood adversity on twenty-five disease biomarkers and twenty health conditions in adulthood: Differences by sex and stressor type. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 123, 164–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2024.07.019
Bellis, M. A., Hughes, K., Ford, K., Quigg, Z., Butler, N., & Wilson, C. (2025). Comparative relationships between physical and verbal abuse of children, life course mental well-being and trends in exposure: A multi-study secondary analysis of cross-sectional surveys in England and Wales. BMJ Open, 15, e098412. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-098412
Cooke, J. E., Racine, N., Pador, P., & Madigan, S. (2021). Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Child Behavior Problems: A Systematic Review. Pediatrics, 148(3), e2020044131. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-044131
Feldman, R. S. (2024). Essentials of Understanding Psychology (15th ed.). McGraw Hill LLC. https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/Essentials-of-Understanding-Psychology-Feldman.html
Hughes, K., Bellis, M. A., Hardcastle, K. A., Sethi, D., Butchart, A., Mikton, C., Jones, L., & Dunne, M. P. (2017). The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health, 2(8), e356–e366. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(17)30118-4
Metzler, M., Merrick, M. T., Klevens, J., Ports, K. A., & Ford, D. C. (2017). Adverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: Shifting the narrative. Children and Youth Services Review, 72, 141–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.10.021
Mørkved, N., Bryntesen, P. S., Eggen, I. M., Johnsen, E., Kroken, R. A., Bartz-Johannessen, C. A., Huiberts, Å., Burgess, C., Joa, I., Rettenbacher, M., & Løberg, E.-M. (2025). The relationship between childhood maltreatment and trauma and psychosis is not moderated by parental mental health. BMC Psychiatry, 25(1), 766. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-07190-8
Petruccelli, K., Davis, J., & Berman, T. (2019). Adverse childhood experiences and associated health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 97, 104127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104127
Rowell, T., & Neal-Barnett, A. (2021). A Systematic Review of the Effect of Parental Adverse Childhood Experiences on Parenting and Child Psychopathology. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 15(1), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-021-00400-x
Swedo, E. A., Pampati, S., Anderson, K. N., Thorne, E., McKinnon, I. I., Brener, N. D., Stinson, J., Mpofu, J. J., & Niolon, P. H. (2024). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Conditions and Risk Behaviors Among High School Students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023. MMWR Supplements, 73(4), 39–49. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7304a5
Timmins, K. A., MacDonald, R., Beasley, M., & Macfarlane, G. J. (2025). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health at Age 50 Years in the National Child Development Study. JAMA Network Open, 8(8), e2525708. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.25708
Zhang, N., Gao, M., Yu, J., Zhang, Q., Wang, W., Zhou, C., Liu, L., Sun, T., Liao, X., & Wang, J. (2022). Understanding the association between adverse childhood experiences and subsequent attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Brain and Behavior, 12(10), e32748. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2748
