What is Psychology?

Why is any knowledge discipline hard to define?

It evolves continuously

The range of phenomena it studies cannot be captured by one definition.

Psychology is defined formally as a science that studies metal processes, experiences

and behaviour at different contexts.

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 Psychologists also study experiences of people.

Experiences are subjective in nature

Only the experiencing person can be aware or be conscious of her or his experiences.
Thus, experiences are embedded in our awareness or consciousness.

Behaviour:
Behaviours are responses or reactions we make or activities we engage in

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 Both stimulus and response can be internal or external.

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 Founding of the first labroratory of psychology in 1879 in Lepzig.

Psychology as a natural science

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 Till date, what approach has been followed for research in psychology usually

Hypothetico - deductive model

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 Psychology as a social science:

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 UNDERSTANDING MIND AND BEHAVIOUR:

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 It is true that mind cannot exist without brain, but mind is a separate entity. there is a
location for brain, but there is no location for mind

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 SOME POPULAR NOTIONS ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY:

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 Evolution of Psychology:

WUNDT

Wundt was interested in conscious experiences and wanted to analyse the

constituents or the building blocks of the mind.

structuralism

studying the structure of mind

Introspection was a procedure un which individuals or subjects in psychological

experiments were asked to describe in detail their own mental processes or
experiences.

But, introspection was not able to to satisfy many other psychologists.

It was considered less scientific because the introspective reports could not be
verified by outside viewers

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 WILLIAM JAMES:

Functionalist approach

Psychology should study what the mind does and how behaviour functions in
making people deal with their environment.

GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY:

Focused on the organisation of perpetual experiences.

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 JOHN WATSON

Behaviourism.

According to him, scientific psychology should focus on what is observable and

verifable.

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 SIGMUND FREUD:

He viewed human behaviour as a dynamic manifestation of unconscious

desires and conflicts.

He found psychoanalysis as a system to understand and cure psychological

disorders.

HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE

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 DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY IN INDIA:

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 BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY:

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 What is the primary concern for developmental psychologists?

How we become what we are

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 What are the areas of interest for a health psychologist

Stress and coping

Relationship between psychological factors and health

patient-docti=or relationship

ways of promoting health enhancing factors.

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 C - causes
T- treatment
P- prevention

What does industrial/organisational psychology deal with?

Workplace behaviour

T - Training employees
I - improving work conditions
D - developing criteria for selecting employees

What background do industrial and organisational psychologists have?

Training in cognitive and social psychology.

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