A silly ice-breaker game I had the misfortune of being involved in last night.

One person volunteers or is chosen to be the Psychologist. It is vitally important that he or she has never heard of the game before. The rest of the group, the patients, sits in a circle, and the Psychologist is supposed to ask people questions one at a time, trying to figure out what their "sickness" is. Everyone has the same ailment, which is that whenever they are posed a question, they must answer it as if they were the person sitting, for example, three seats to the left of them. Of course, since not everyone in the room knows everything about everyone else, if someone is asked a question to which they don't know the answer, they must try their best to guess the answer. If they're wrong, the person sitting three seats to the left calls out "Switch", and all the patients randomly switch seats.

Problems arise when the rules are not described to the patients very clearly: last night, for example, some people thought that they were to respond to their own name, while others assumed that they took on the name of the person they were answering for, resulting in huge inconsistencies. Also, since the Psychologist sat in the same circle as the patients, many people weren't clear on whether or not they were to include him in counting out the three people. The result was that whenever the Psychologist asked questions of people sitting directly to his right, they would continue spouting out bogus answers, while the people to his left whispered to each other, trying to debate which one of them was supposed to say "Switch". It also doesn't help when the Psychologist is an idiot, and takes over an hour and a half to figure out what's going on. While it's funny to see the Psychologist's expressions of utter bafflement at what is going on at first, the game gets old pretty quickly, even for the patients. Never choose an impatient person to be the Psychologist.

There are many types of psychologists. Some of the most common are:

Clinical psychologists specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and behavioral disorders. Some also conduct research in these areas. Most work in clinics, hospitals, and private practice, and many hold professorships at colleges and universities.

Counseling psychologists help people who have adjustment problems {marital, social, behavior), that are less severe than those generally handled by clinical psychologists. They may also provide academic or vocational counseling. Counselors usually work in a non-medical setting such as a school or university, or may have a private practice.

Psychological psychologists, also called neuropsychologists, study the relationship between the psychological processes and behavior. They study the structure and function of the brain and central nervous system, the role of the neurotransmitters and the hormones, and other aspects of body chemistry to determine how physical and chemical processes affect behavior in both people and animals.

Experimental psychologists specialize in the use of experimental research methods. They conduct experiments in most fields of specialization in psychology. They usually work in a laboratory. Many are faculty members who teach and conduct their research in college or university laboratories.

Developmental psychologists study how people grow, develop, and change throughout the life span. Some specialize in a specific age group. Others concentrate on a specific aspect of human development such as physical, language, cognitive, or moral development.

Educational psychologists specialize in the study of teaching and learning. They help train teachers and other educational professionals or conduct research in teaching and classroom behavior. Some help prepare school curricula, develop achievement tests, or conduct evaluations of teaching and learning.

Social psychologists investigate how the individual feels, thinks, and behaves in a social setting-in the presence of others. Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists study the relationships between people and their work environments.

Scientists > Psychologists

Psychologists On E2

This is the Psychologists Metanode, an index of writeups about psychologists (including: psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, etc.) on E2. This is a subnode of the top-level Scientists node, and is a collaborative effort by the usergroup E2science. To suggest additions or alterations, please /msg e2_science or liveforever.


Psy*chol"o*gist (?), n. [Cf. F. psychologiste.]

One who is versed in, devoted to, psychology.

 

© Webster 1913.

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