0:01  
Hello everybody. My name is Alexis Tremaine and I'm a freshman here at BGSU. Today I'll be discussing how to become a member of the psychology discourse community. I'll also be sharing my journey on how I went from being an outsider to a member of this community.

0:16  
 "So tell me what has been bothering you?" It is a question I've been asked in a typical therapy session. After talking, unlocking memories and feelings that never existed for what feels like an eternity comes a sugar-coated diagnosis. The therapist would summarize my mental state in its simplest terms, something that left me unsatisfied. I want to know every detail about the issue so I can better understand myself. But I was left with the dictionary definition and the option schedule another session and/or to pursue medication. I accepted both those options and decided to do my own research. I yearn to understand the reasoning behind why I and everyone else think and act the way that they do. Still, there was a question to be answered despite the knowledge I acquired. How does a member become competent in the psychology discourse community? First, one must learn the language use between members and shape it around the work produced. Next an understand of the concepts and the reason behind them is needed. Lastly, good communication skills are a must. With all this combined, one will become competent in the world of psychology. 

1:16  
Allow me to begin by explaining this discourse community. Psychology: the study of mind and behavior. That's the definition a dictionary would give you. What the dictionary does not state however, is how vast is that it could be. It does not say how much of a variety the study has. The mind could be anything from birds to dogs to mice to children to elederly to criminals. Behavior could be a fear response or something general like a conversation between two people. This field of research has an impact on communities outside itself. It works alongside pharmaceuticals to create medicinal treatments for mental disorders. It also aids in the criminal justice system by providing information regarding insanity pleas. Some recognizable names in this community are Sigmund Freud, the man behind the idea of the id, the ego, and the super ego, and Ivan Pavlov, who's famous for conditioning a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell. Taking a look into something at a more local level, members of the discourse community all around. In K through 12 education counselors can provide psychological advice for students. Also their counseling centers on college campuses offering free treatment for those in need of better mental well being. A member of this discourse community utilizes the skills they have learned to assist others and themselves. 

2:30  
Psychology is a science and uses terminology that may be uncommon to outsiders. The Vocabulary members have is different from what is used in other communities. For example, when a therapist diagnoses a patient, they will state the disorder refraining from further explanation. They do not try and confuse the patient. Because the patient commonly does not understand the language that would be used. Another example is if a non member were to hear conversations from this group, it may be difficult to grasp what's being discussed. This is why in order to remember the psychology description, maybe one lesson learned the basics of the language, like "compulsions" "heuristic" or "D.I.D." In her article, "Hers She's Your Basic L.O.L. and N.A.D. the Intern Said" Perri Klass describes her first time being a doctor in emergency room. The author explains how she initially had no clue what all these abbreviations and other terms meant. With time, she would say, "I picked up not only specific expression, but also the patterns of speech and the grammatical conventions." With time, she learned the terms and performance improved. The scenario applies to new members of psychology community initially, everything will make no sense but given time, one will learn then they'll be able to communicate and not feel like an outsider. Speaking from personal experience, when I was first introduced psychology, everything went right over my head But soon I picked up on the key terms and now I can understand what my therapist tells me before she says it. 

3:55  
Being be in any type of discourse community, one must understand what goes on in the community. For psychology that is understanding the concepts used and how these ideas came to be. Knowing the work done by the members of this community and knowing the reason behind it is beneficial. If not, one will not be aware of the importance of the work, and it will be just words without meaning. This distinction is key to being a member of community. Because understanding the concept enables one to see like a psychologist. This lens allows for meaningful conversations within the realm of psychology. After having a sense of the terms one can apply that to the concepts in gaining better insight. A stuby by Mayer and Bayman looks into the psychology behind calculator language, comparing novices to experts and how they interpret what the calculator is explaining. The results show "...important differences in people's understanding of calculator language." Looking into this study further, it shows how someone's prior knowledge influences their way of going about something such as a mathematical expression. Sorry about that. Knowledge of certain concepts allows for different interpretations of subjects. Looking at this from a psychological point of view, one has insight into why someone might go about an equation differently than someone else. Being able to see the difference between individuals and understand the reason behind it is beneficial for being a member of this discourse community. The knowledge of concepts discussed allows for more meaningful interactions. 

4:22  
As discussed previously, a member of this discretionary must be competent with the language used alongside the committee's concepts. These two skills allow for better conversations. Communication plays a big role in the day to day life and psychology discourse community members, whether it be with members of the community or outsiders, mums communicate with others on a daily basis. Now a lot of it deals with information being passed along Sally Wiggins, someone who studies Discursive Psychology, sorry for that mispronunciation. A field that uses psychological terms used in discussions, she looks into the idea of how psychology can be applied outside of the community. Her research illustrates the importance the scientific field hasn't others, and why the ideas must be conveyed because "engaging with our fellow researchers, regardless of their discipline, or perspective is a central part of our future development." Interacting with people both inside and outside the community allows for the development of new ideas with like how to be an ambassador of vast field. It can overlap with other discourse communities, having a connection with those communities allows for new ideas to form or improve ones that already exist. This is the idea Wiggins has that applies to more than discursive psychology. Isn't he applies to the psychology discourse community as a whole. Being able to communicate with others insightfully enables each individual to expand ideas they have and help discover new things about themselves and people as a whole. 

6:43  
Some may say that understanding the language is not a requirement to be a member of this group. Individuals can become competent members without understanding the language used, knowing the terminology used tonight as useless as being able to analyze individuals mentality it is a scientific field. So why is language, something unrelated, important? While the language of a discourse community might be overlooked, it is a crucial to understand even a scientific field. A member has to read research articles, and when someone does not know what the research explained, then the entire project is meaningless. When talking to someone outside of the community, if the words used cannot be explained simplistically, the discussion has no meaning too. Language is the foundation of the discourse community from the articles previously discussed. They each use terminology tailored to a specific community. While some of the terms can be deciphered via context clues, others cannot. Having an idea of the terms that cannot be deciphered requires having a grasp of the language, only then can suddenly become a competent member of this discourse community. 

7:47  
To wrap everything up, the discourse community psychology should get more recognition for the way influences other communities. It helps schools design curriculums around the various learning building. It helps pharmaceuticals development medication to treat various disorders. It also benefits the toy industry by giving a guide to how the adolescent mind develops. It is a community that enables others to improve their work due to its various branches. Psychology can be both broad and specific, which is the beauty of it. Even though the media may only focus on the cognitive or clinical aspects of it in movies and television that includes therapists and tend to focus on mental disorders like autism, or dissociative identity disorder. There is more to the field. Psychology can be found in just about everything when one puts their mind to it. 

8:34  
Thank you for listening. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai