CHAPTER 1

What Is Psychology
• Any knowledge discipline is hard to define because:
(i) It evolves continuously and
(ii) Any one definition cannot capture the range of phenomena involved.
The term psychology is derived from two Greek words psyche meaning soul and logos
meaning science or study of a subject thus psychology was a study of the soul or the mind
but since then psychology has moved away considerably and established itself as a scientific
discipline which deals with the processes underlying human experience and Behaviour.

Range of phenomena psychology studies

Range of
Phenomena

Bases Levels

Dyadic
Biological Social Individual Organisational
group

A discipline is defined both in terms of what it studies and how it studies. So, psychology is
formally defined as a science which studies mental processes, experiences, and behaviour
in different contexts. It uses methods of biological and social sciences to obtain data
systematically.

A. Mental processes
Mental processes are activities of the mind and brain, related to cognition. We use mental
processes when we think or try to solve a problem, to know or to remember something.
However, these mental activities are different from neural activities, though they are
mutually overlapping process. It is a cognitive process. However, brain activities and mental
processes are not the same though they are interdependent.

Mental activities - Thought, dreams, feelings, emotions, perceptions

Brain activities – Reasoning, problem solving, and planning.
 B. Experiences
Experiences can be defined as the learning acquired through everyday life situation. They
are subjective in nature, different for every individual. We cannot directly observe or know
someone’s experience. Only the experienced person can be aware or conscious of his or her
experiences. Experiences are embedded in our awareness or consciousness. Experiences are
influenced by internal and external conditions. Experiences are important because most of
our learning is based on experiences.

C. Behaviours
Behaviours are responses or reactions to a stimulus. Behaviours are simple or complex,
short, or enduring and covert or overt. The overt behaviours can be outwardly seen or
sensed by an observer. For example, laughing. Covert behaviours are internal behaviours
which cannot be outwardly seen. For example, thinking. Both the behaviours are associated
with or triggered by some stimulus in the environment or changes that happen internally.

Difference between mind and brain

Brain
• The brain has a physical structure and has a location.
• The brain activities can be observed using different techniques of brain imaging.
• The brain activities involve planning, problem solving and reasoning.
• It is an organ that functions as the coordinating centre of sensation, intellectual and
nervous activity.
Mind
• The mind does not have a physical structure or a location.
• Mind emerges and evolves as our interactions and experiences in the world get
dynamically organized in the form of a system which is responsible for the occurrence
of various mental processes.
• The part of a person or the way a person thinks, reasons, feels, and remembers.

Psychology as a Discipline
Psychology studies behaviour, experience, and mental processes. it seeks to understand and
explain how the mind works and how different mental processes result in different
behaviours. When we observe others, our own ways of understanding the world influence
our interpretations of their behaviours and experiences. Psychologists try to minimize such
biases in their explanations of behaviour and experience either by making their analysis
scientific and objective or by explaining the behaviour from the point of view of those
experiencing persons because they think that subjectivity is a necessary aspect of human
experience.

The first laboratory of psychology was founded in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany. Psychology is
generally categorized as a social science but psychology as a discipline today has two parallel
streams. One which makes use of the method in physical and Biological Sciences and the
other which make use of the method of social and cultural sciences in studying various
psychological and social phenomena.

Psychology as hybrid science

Psychology as a natural science

Psychology has its roots in philosophy. However modern psychology has developed because
of the application of the scientific method to study psychological phenomenon. Psychology
as a natural science emerged by the development in physics what is called hypothetico
deductive model. This model suggests that scientific advancement can take place if you have
a theory to explain a phenomenon. This approach assumes that all behavioral phenomena
have causes which can be discovered if we can collect data systematically under controlled
conditions.

A hypothesis Is a tentative solution to a problem that helps in guiding research or a theory.

Using this approach psychologists have developed theories of learning, memory, attention,
perception, motivation, and emotion. Psychology is also influenced by evolutionary
approach to explain various kinds of behavioural patterns such as attachment and
aggression. Psychology is also considered as a life science which assumes that all behavioural
phenomena have causes which can be discovered if we can collect data systematically under
controlled conditions. Scientific psychology has always been related to the Physiology.
Recently neuroscience has studied the links between mind and brain. Physicists and experts
in artificial intelligence have started studying consciousness.

Psychology as a social science

Human beings are both biological as well as social beings. The socio-cultural context and
people’s participation in culture make psychology a social science. Psychology as a social
science discipline focuses on humans as social beings and studies it in socio-cultural context.
There are individual differences with regards to various psychological traits. Therefore,
psychology deals with human behaviour and experience in the context of their society and
culture. Thus, psychology is a social science with a focus on the individuals and communities
in relation to their socio cultural and physical environment. Humans are not only influenced
by their social cultural context. They also create them. Thus, to conclude, it can be said that
psychology has become a hybrid science that is concerned with the interrelationship of the
physical, psychological, and physiological aspects of reality.

Understanding mind and behaviour

Mind cannot exist without brain, but mind is a separate entity. It was earlier believed of
scientists that there is no relationship between the mind and the body and that they were
parallel to each other. But studies in neuroscience clearly shows that there is a relationship
between mind and behaviour. It has been shown that using positive visualization techniques
and feeling positive emotions, one can bring about significant changes in bodily processes.
Use of mental imagery, that is, images generated by a person in her or his mind, have been
used to cure various kinds of phobias (irrational fears of objects and situations). A new
discipline called psychoneuroimmunology has emerged which emphasis the role played by
the mind in strengthening the immune system.

Popular notions about the discipline of psychology

The popular theories of human behaviour are based on common sense and may or may not
be true if investigated scientifically. Common sensical explanations of human behaviour are
based on hindsight, that is explanation follows the occurrence of the behaviour. Psychology
as a science looks for patterns of behaviour which can be predicted and not explained after
the behaviour occurs. Scientific knowledge generated by psychology often runs against
common sense. For example, a study performed by Dweck in 1975 on children who gave up
easily when faced with a difficult problem. Common sense knowledge is that giving them
easy problems will increase their success rate and their confidence will go up. Then if difficult
problems are given, they will be able to solve them as they have boosted up their confidence.
But she found in her study that those children who were given easy problems gave up faster
than those children who had a mixture of both difficult and easy problems. This shows that
empirical studies are more valid and reliable.

Evolution of psychology
Psychology as a modern discipline has a short history. It grew out of ancient philosophy. It
emerges as a scientific discipline in the following phases.

Structuralism

It is the oldest school or approach to psychology, and it was proposed by Wilhelm Wundt.
The first experimental laboratory was established in Leipzig, Germany by Wilhelm Wundt in
1879. Psychologists during Wundt’s time analysed the structure of mind through
introspection and therefore were called structuralists. Introspection was a procedure in
which individuals or subjects in psychological experiments were asked to describe in detail
their own mental processes or experiences. They were interested in conscious experience
and wanted to study the building blocks of mind.

Functionalism

It is an approach to psychology developed by an American psychologist William James

functionalists emphasized on what the mind does and the function of consciousness in
adjustment to the environment. According to William James consciousness as an ongoing
stream of mental processes interacting with the environment formed the core of psychology.
John Dewey used functionalism to argue that human beings seek to function effectively by
adapting to their environment.

Gestalt psychology

It emerged against structuralism. It focused on the organization of perceptual experiences

(organisation of what we see). Instead of looking at the components of the mind, the Gestalt
psychologists argued that when we look at the world, our perceptual experiences are more
than the sum of the components of the perception. i.e., We give meaning to perception.
These experiences are holistic.

Behaviourism

It was proposed by John Watson. Around 1910, he rejected the ideas of mind and
consciousness as subject matters of psychology. For him mind is not observable, and
introspection is subjective because it cannot be verified by another observer. He defined
psychology as a study of behaviour or responses to stimuli which can be measured and
studied objectively. He was influenced by Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning and was
interested in the study of learning.

Psychoanalysis

This approach was proposed by Sigmund Freud. He focused on unconscious mind and
childhood experiences. He viewed human behaviour as a dynamic manifestation of
unconscious desires and conflicts of which we are not aware at present. He used
psychoanalysis as a system to understand and cure psychological disorders.

Humanistic perspective or humanism

It was advocated by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. They emphasized on the free will of
human beings i.e., people are free to do whatever they choose to do. The actions are not
predetermined by any force. They said that human beings strive to grow and unfold their
inner potential i.e., what they can do. According to them all individuals have innate tendency
to self actualize and all human activities are goal directed and worthwhile.
Cognitive perspective or constructivism

This perspective is a combination of Gestalt approach and Structuralist approach. This

approach focuses on cognition, i.e., how we know the world through thinking, understanding,
perceiving, memorizing, and problem solving. Jean Piaget and Vygotsky are the pioneers of
this approach. Cognitive psychologists view the human mind as an information processing
system like computer. Mind is considered to receive, process, transform, store, and retrieve
information. Mind is dynamic and human beings actively construct their minds as they
interact with their social and physical environment. Mind is a joint cultural construction and
emerges because of interaction between adults and children.

Evolution of psychology in India

Philosophical roots in the Indian tradition have not influenced the development of modern
psychology in India. The development of the discipline in India continues to be dominated by
western psychology. The beginning of modern experimental psychology at Calcutta
University was greatly influenced by the Indian psychologist Dr. N.N. Sengupta who was
trained in USA in the experimental tradition of Wundt.

1915 – The first syllabus of experimental psychology was introduced, and the first psychology
laboratory was established in the Department of philosophy at Calcutta university.

1916 – The first Department of psychology was started in Calcutta university.

Department of applied psychology was established in Calcutta university in 1938.

1922 – Prof. G Bose who was trained in Freudian psychoanalysis established the Indian
psychoanalytical association.

Departments of psychology in the universities of Mysore and Patna were the early centres of
teaching and research in psychology.

Utkal university , Bhubaneswar and the University of Allahabad where the centres of
excellence in psychology supported by the UGC.

In 1986 Durganand Sinha’s book Psychology in a Third World Country : The Indian Experience
was published. This book traces the developments of psychology in India in four phases.

First phase - Till independence ( Till 1947)

This phase emphasized on experimental psychoanalytic and psychological testing research,

which reflected the development of discipline in Western countries.
Second phase - Till 1960

In this phase psychology was expanded into different branches. During this phase Indian
psychologists showed the desire to have an Indian identity by linking western ideas to Indian
context.

Third phase - Post 1960s – Phase of problem-oriented research, in which psychologists

became more focused on addressing the problems of Indian society.

Fourth phase - late 1970s – Phase of indigenization. In this phase the psychologists stressed
the need for developing and understanding based on framework which was culturally and
socially relevant. Attempts were made to develop psychological approaches based on
traditional Indian philosophy which came from ancient texts and scriptures. This phase is
characterised by development in indigenous psychology.

Psychology in India is now being applied in diverse professional areas like hospitals, schools,
corporate organizations, advertising departments, sports directorates, and IT industry.

Branches of psychology cognitive psychology

It investigates mental processes involved in acquisition storage manipulation and
transformation of information received from the environment along with its use and
communications new line the major cognitive processes are attention perception memory
reasoning problem solving decision making and language

Psychologists conduct experiments in laboratory settings. An ecological approach is an

approach which focuses on the environmental factors, to study cognitive processes in a
natural setting cognitive psychologists often collaborate with neuroscientists and computer
scientists.

Biological psychology

It focuses on the relationship between behaviour and the physical system including the brain
and the rest of the nervous system the immune system and genetics. Neuropsychology has
emerged as a field of research where psychologists collaborate with neuroscientists and
study the role of neurotransmitters in associated mental functions.

Developmental psychology

It studies the physical social and psychological changes that occur at different ages and stages
of life span that is from conception to old age.
They focus on the biological sociocultural and environmental factors that influence
psychological characteristics such as intelligence, cognition, emotion, temperament,
morality, and social relationship. Developmental psychologists collaborate with the
anthropologists, educationists, neurologists, social workers, counsellors, oh and almost every
branch of knowledge where there is a concern for growth and development of human being.

Social psychology

Social psychology attempts to understand the nature and causes of individual behaviour and
thought in social situations it studies individual as social beings and the effect of society and
culture on individual behaviour and vice versa. It also studies group behaviour and
interpersonal relations. Social psychologists are interested in such topics as attitudes,
conformity, obedience, interpersonal attraction, helpful behaviour, prejudice, aggression,
social motivation etc.

Cross cultural and cultural psychology

It examines the role of culture in understanding behaviour, thoughts and emotions it assumes
that human behaviour is also a product of culture along with the hereditary therefore
behaviour should be studied in its sociocultural context.

Environmental psychology

It studies the interaction of physical factors such as temperature, humidity, pollution, and
natural disasters on human behaviour. The influence of physical arrangement of the
workplace on health, the emotional state, and interpersonal relations are also investigated.
In recent years, disposal of waste, alteration in climate, nuclear energy, population explosion
etc. are becoming serious topic of environmental psychology.

Health psychology

This field explores the relationship between body and mind. The areas of interest for health
psychologists are stress and coping. Health Psychology focuses on the role of psychological
factors (for example, stress and anxiety) in the development, prevention and treatment of
illness. The relationship between psychological factors and health, patient doctor
relationship and ways of promoting health enhancing factors are also the area of interest for
the health psychologists.

Clinical and counselling psychology

Clinical psychology deals with the causes treatment and prevention of psychological
Disorders such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and chronic substance abuse.
Counselling psychologists provide advice and help in everyday functioning and problems of
people. They deal with less serious problems. Clinical psychologists sometimes work closely
with the psychiatry in treatment, prevention and diagnosis; unlike a psychiatrist they can’t
prescribe medicines.

A clinical psychologist has a degree in psychology, which includes intensive training in

treating people with psychological disorders. The cyclist has a medical degree with years of
specialized training in the treatment of psychological disorders.

Industrial or organizational psychology

This field applies the principles of psychology to workplace. It deals with the workplace
behaviour focusing on both the employer and employees. It is concerned with issues such as
leadership, employee motivation, conflict management, group processes and organization
change. Industrial psychologists also train employees and develop criteria for recruitment.

Educational psychology

This field is concerned with all the aspects of learning process. Individual psychologists work
with individual child to evaluate learning and emotional problems.

Educational psychologists help in developing instructional methods and materials used to

train people in both educational and work settings. Educational psychologists are concerned
with the search on issues of relevance for education, counselling and learning problems.

School psychology focuses on designing program that promotes intellectual social and
emotional development of children including special children. They try to apply knowledge
of psychology in a school setting.

Sports psychology

Sports psychology applies psychological principles to improve sports performance in

enhancing the motivation of players and team.

Other merging branches of psychology are aviation psychology, space psychology, military
psychology, forensic psychology, rural psychology, engineering psychology, managerial
psychology, community psychology, psychology of women, and political psychology.

Psychology and other disciplines

Psychology has an interdisciplinary approach in studying brain and behaviour psychology
shares its knowledge with neurology, Physiology, biology, medicine and computer science. In
studying human behaviour in a socio-cultural context, psychology shares its knowledge with
anthropology, sociology, social, political science and economics. In studying mental activities
involved in creation of literary texts, music and drama, psychology shares its knowledge with
literature, art and music. Psychology is related with the following fields.

Psychology is originated from philosophy. Earlier the subject matter of psychology was the
concern of philosophy psychology greatly draws from philosophy particularly with respect to
the methods of knowing and various domains of human nature. Thus psychology and
philosophy are closely linked Thus psychology and philosophy are closely linked.

Medicine

The well-being of an individual is not only physical well-being but mental health is also very
important. A healthy body requires a healthy mind. Psychologist employed in hospitals
prevent people from engaging in health hazardous behaviour and help in adhering to the
prescribed doctor’s advice regarding healthy behaviour. Psychologists also work with the
patients who are suffering from cancer, AIDS, physically challenged, patients in ICU and in
post-operative care to deal with their psychological problems.

Economics, political science and sociology

Psychology has contributed a great deal to the study of micro level economic behaviour,
consumer behaviour, saving behaviour and decision making. Political science uses
psychological approach in understanding issues like exercise of power and authority, nature
of political conflicts and voting behaviour. Sociology and psychology together try to
understand sociocultural basis of behaviour. Sociology studies the society whereas
psychology studies individual in the society.

Computer science

The information processing approach in cognitive psychology to explain memory and concept
of artificial intelligence is highly linked with the computer sciences.

Law and Criminology

Psychological principles explain crime, criminal behaviour, how well a witness remembers a
crime etc. Accordingly psychology is closely related to law and criminology.

Mass communication

The print and electronic media have a major influence on our thinking attitudes and our
emotions. They have reduced cultural diversities and the impact of media on the formation
of attitudes of children and their behaviour is a domain where both psychology and mass
communication has come together. Psychology also helps in developing strategies for better
and effective communication.
Music and Fine Arts

Scientists have made use of music in raising work performance. Different ragas are used in
“music therapy” for curing certain physical ailments.

Architecture and Engineering

Architects must satisfy her or his clients by providing mental and physical space through their
design and satisfy them aesthetically. Engineers take into account of human habits in their
plans for safety. Psychological knowledge helps in a big way in designing mechanical devices
and displays.

Psychologists at work
Refer page #18 of the textbook

Psychology in everyday life

Psychology is not only a subject that satisfies curiosities of our mind about human nature
but it also a subject that offers solutions to a variety of problems. It ranges from person to
family, a community or even national and international dimensions. The solution of these
problems may involve political, economic and social reforms; however, these problems are a
result of unhealthy thinking, negative attitude towards people and self, and undesirable
patterns of behaviour. A psychological analysis of these problems help both in having a
deeper understanding of these problems and also finding effective solutions psychology
enables an individual to understand oneself in a balanced and positive way without being
reactionary, in order to deal with everyday challenges and meet with personal expectations.
Therefore understanding or psychology enables a person to build stronger relationships to
community level and improve individual strength.