What is Psychology?

Introduction and Origin of Psychology

Meaning of Psychology

Psychology as the science of the soul

Psychology as a science of mind

Psychology as the science of consciousness

Psychology as a science of behavior

Importance of Psychology

Psychology as a modern discipline aims at understanding the complexities of mental processes, experience, and behavior of individuals located in a socio-cultural matrix .

of mental processes, experience, and behavior of individuals located in a . The central task of psychology is to describe, understand, predict, and control behaviors in diverse situations.

in diverse situations. Psychology attempts to understand the complexities of human nature, identify the regularities and patterns in the way people behave and develop theories and laws about them.

Thus psychology may be defined as the scientific study of mental processes, experiences, and behaviors.

Definition of Psychology

According to Woodworth: “The Psychology deals with the activities of the individual in relation to his environment.”

Skinner: “Psychology is the science of behavior and experience.”

Munns: “Psychology today concerns with the scientific investigation of behavior.”

Crow & Crow: “Psychology is the study of human behavior and human relationships.”

From the above definitions of psychology, we have analyzed that:

Psychology studies the mental processes Psychology deals with behavior Psychologists are interested in the study of the experiences of the people Almost all Psychologists use scientific methods in their studies

Psychology studies the mental processes:

Psychology deals with behavior:

Psychologists are interested in the study of the experiences of the people:

Almost all Psychologists use scientific methods in their studies:

Nature of Psychology

Possesses a body of facts and is able to support it through universal laws and principles. Doesn’t believe in hearsay, stereotype, or superstitions. Believe in cause and effect relationship. Is capable to turn its theory into practice by having its applied aspect. Adopts the method of objective investigation, systematic and controlled observation, and scientific approach. Stands for generalization, verifiability, and modification of the observed results. Helps in predicting future developments. Psychology possesses a well-organized theory that is supported by relevant psychological laws & principles. It has its applied aspects in the form of various branches of applied psychology like industrial, legal, clinical, and educational psychology. It believes that behavior has its roots, factors of its cause, and influence. It emphasizes the search for truth by advocating objectivity, reliability, and validity in the assessment of behavior. The methods and techniques employed in the study of the behavior in psychology are quite scientific.

On the basis of the above characteristics, it may be established that psychology is a science. Its nature is quite scientific and not philosophical or mysterious as well supposed to be in the past.

Scope of Psychology

Developmental processes Cognition Personality Cross-cultural and cultural psychology Comparative physiological psychology Abnormal psychology Clinical and counseling psychology Education and learning process Environmental psychology Industrial and organizational psychology Social psychology Psychological assessment Other fields

Developmental processes:

Cognition:

Personality:

Cross-cultural and cultural psychology:

Comparative physiological psychology:

Abnormal psychology:

Clinical and counseling psychology:

Education and learning process:

Environmental psychology:

Industrial and organizational psychology:

Social psychology:

Psychological assessment:

Other fields:

Download Powerpoint Presentation and PDF Notes of Psychology

What is Psychology? How do we define psychology?

What are the major psychological perspectives?

Psychology as a science

Why study Psychology?

Scientific psychology

How Accurate is the Image of Psychology?

Typical images of Psychology

Where did Psychology come from?

History of Psychology

Structuralism Psychology

Functionalism in Psychology

Psychological Perspectives

Freud contribution

Psychoanalytic Theory

Behaviorism and psychology

Cognitive Psychology

Research and Professional Areas in Psychology

Experimental Psychologists

Applied Psychologists

Psychology Today

The word psychology is originally derived fromSo, originally psychology means the study of soul or science of the soul.Theof psychology was the science of the soul. Philosophers likeinterpreted psychology according to this concept. Soul has been neither measured nor has been seen by anyone, so this meaning of psychology wasPhilosophers in theconsider psychology as the science of mind. But they could not find the location of the mind. Hence psychology as the science of mind could not progress.In the, some psychologists like, and others consider psychology as a science of consciousness. By consciousness, the psychologists meant awareness or wakefulness. A great psychologistobjected to this meaning of psychology. He said that man is only 10% conscious of his activities. Mostly he is unconscious. So psychology cannot be given the meaning of science of consciousness. Hence this meaning wasIt is themeaning of psychology.. Behavior includes all the activities that man does. It includes internal and external behavior, conscious as well as unconscious behavior. Behavior can be observed.Here are some of the few and general definitions of psychology by different authors and psychologists like Woodworth, skinner, crow, and crow, etc.Mental processes are the activities largely taking place in the brain? However, they cannot be considered as purely physiological or bodily activities. They are related to not only the mental representations and neural activities taking place in the brain but are significantly linked with the objects, events, and activities existing in the outer world.Psychologist attends to all forms of behavior. The behaviors may be of short or long duration, simple or complex, verbal or motor, overt, or covert.Psychologist studies personal experiences such as dreams, sleep, or conditions in which consciousness is alerted or any experience which one has in everyday life.Psychologists use scientific methods for studying mental processes, experiences, and behaviors.It is an accepted reality that the nature of the subject psychology is. This fact has been properly recognized by the eminent psychologists and thinkers as may be inferred out of the definitions of psychology (in terms of scientific study or science of behavior).Well... Psychology is chiefly concerned with human behavior. Anything that has a direct bearing on the behavior of an individual can be included in the scope of psychology. The scope of psychology includes its fields of study.It deals with the development of perception, cognition, language, skills, personality, and social relationships of an individual. It also tells us about the stages of growth, principles of growth, and factors of growth.Cognitive psychology deals with the conscious & unconscious mental processes, sensation and perception, conditioning and learning, attention & consciousness, sleep and dreaming, memory and forgetting, reasoning and decision making, imagining, problem-solving, & language.All that is discussed in psychology is ultimately concerned with the psychological concept of personality. Personality can be understood as an umbrella enveloping all the aspects of psychology related to human behaviorIt is the study of the ways in which social and cultural forces shape human behavior and how they too in return are shaped by human behavior.It deals with the study of similarities and differences between the behaviors of various animals.It seeks to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior that is considered strange or unusual. Its main focus is on classification, assessment, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders.The clinical psychologist is a trained practitioner who diagnoses and treats psychological disorders. The counselor helps those with mild problems of social and emotional adjustments.This field is concerned with all aspects of educational problems like learning, teacher training, classroom situation, counseling of children, etc. Psychology also studies the meaning of learning, theories, factors, and principles of learning.This field deals with the interaction between the physical world like noise, heat, humidity, pollution, and crowding, etc. and human behavior.It studies the principles of psychology to the workplace. It tries to investigate the factors that affect people working in an organization.It attempts to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior and thought in social situations.It deals with the assessment of aptitude, intelligence, personality, attitude, values, and many other psychological characteristics.Other fields are military psychology, forensic psychology, rural psychology, managerial psychology, political psychology, etc.