101557: Reflection on Applying Levels of Analysis to University Life

This essay is a reflection on the application of the 'levels of analysis framework' to the author's experiences of studying and learning at university. The author, an international student, discusses the challenges faced in adjusting to a new cultural environment and academic setting. The 'levels of analysis framework,' encompassing biological, psychological, and socio-cultural perspectives, is used to understand these challenges. The author reflects on how understanding different cultural behaviors, individualistic mindsets, and social interactions within the university environment has aided in adapting and building connections with peers. The essay also touches upon the importance of cross-cultural and cognitive psychology in understanding social behavior, mental abilities, and thought processes. The student also explores using the biological model to infer brain structure and thinking processes to better integrate into the new culture. This reflective piece showcases the practical application of psychological frameworks in navigating real-life experiences.

Running head: REFLECTION JOURNAL
Reflection Journal
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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1. Applying the ‘levels of analysis framework’ to studying and learning at university
The ‘levels of analysis framework’ is considered to be a very important framework for
understanding different things in the society. Accoring to Parker (2014), it helps to understand
the international relations and the human behavior as well. The human behavior in psychology
craves for some important elements like the free will of the human beings, personal growth and
the attempts by which a person would be able to find his or her existence (Binder et al. 2013).
Human beings have just called off the psychodynamic forces and they have always stressed on
the uncontrolled forces that drive them. These forces are generally unconscious by their nature.
The human behaviorism is considered to be one of the most important aspects in the
understanding of this framework compared to the environment (Passer, Smith and Norris 2016).
The humanistic theories can be attributed to the human behavior and this concerned framework.
The human beings are able to nurture their inner behavior when they are in a favorable
environment (Carter 2013). They have to make the self-actualization by all the means.
This ‘levels of analysis framework’ can be discussed in the three levels such as the
biological level, psychological level and environmental/ social level. These different levels help
us to understand the initial things. The biological level can be initiated as the behavior of the
human beings and the animals. This means if the human beings are isolated from each other they
would feel very much depressed. The biological perspectives can provide the information on
how the brain processes and that make proper regulations of the human behavior. The
psychological perspectives focus on the depression of the human beings (Cooley 2017). I feel
that the human beings will suffer from the depression for being isolated and the socio-cultural
perspectives say that the ways in which the changing social settings within our environment can
influence the characteristics of the human behavior, their feelings and thoughts.

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2. How does the ‘levels of analysis framework’ apply to my experiences of studying and
learning?
In this section I will be reflecting upon my experiences as the student due to my
experiences in the university as a student. I have been studying in this university for the past six
months. I have been facing some serious problems because I have come from another country.
The cultures of this university and this entire country are quite alien to me. This is why I am very
concerned how I can face the challenges that I am facing at present. I am facing many difficulties
in coping up with the problems like ways of talking and behaving of the people in my university.
I am not properly accustomed to these people. I decided to use the ‘levels of analysis’ framework
to assess the difficulties and finding out the proper ways to resolve the issues. I decided to mix
with the other people of my university who belong from the diverse cultures.
This would be very much important for me to consult with those people. It would be
helpful for me to understand what their behavior reveals about the. The different types of human
behaviors reveal different types of things (Gazzaniga 2018). I had understood that they believe in
individualism and they stress on the individual success more than the success of the society. This
is why I could not fit into their set of mind. Now I would try to make connections with these two
different mentalities altogether. I have also decided to look into the biological and psychological
issues a swell. I have made friendship with some of those students who belong to my class. I
have interacted with them outside my classes. This has been very helpful for me as well. I have
been benefitted a lot by using this ‘levels of analysis’ framework. If I value the traditions, values,
cultures and other prospects of those people, I would surely be able to communicate with them
properly. I have to understand the cross-cultural psychology depending on this framework. I
have to understand their cognitive psychology as well. This would enable to me understand their

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way of behavior indeed. The social behavior of these human beings could be understood by the
way they talk, eat, their mental abilities and other things (Heine 2015). The biological model
could be useful in this case as well as I would be able to guess about their brain structure and
thinking process. Thus I can make up what are they thinking about and how I can assume the
things in their minds. Then I can fit into their culture.

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References
Binder, C., Hinkel, J., Bots, P. and Pahl-Wostl, C., 2013. Comparison of frameworks for
analyzing social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 18(4).
Carter, I. (2013). Human behavior in the social environment. AldineTransaction.
Cooley, C.H., 2017. Human nature and the social order. Routledge.
Gazzaniga, M., 2018. Psychological science. WW Norton & Company.
Heine, S.J., 2015. Cultural psychology: Third International Student Edition. WW Norton &
Company.
Parker, I., 2014. Discourse dynamics (psychology revivals): Critical analysis for social and
individual psychology. Routledge.
Passer, MW, Smith, RE and Norris, K 2016, ‘The science of psychology’, in T Griffin (ed.)
101557: the individual in society, 3rd edn, McGraw-Hill Australia, North Ryde, Australia, pp. 5-
34.