Introduction to Psychology

This topic will be discussed according to the

format given below.

 Definition & Concepts

 History
 Scope/branches
 Psychology Today

(Father of Modern Psychology )- William James

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 1
 DEFINITION & CONCEPT
 THE TERM ‘PSYCHOLOGY‘ WAS COINED BY TWO GREEK
WORDS NAMELY, PSYCHE AND LOGOS. THE PSYCHE REFERS
TO SOUL/SPRIT/ MIND AND LOGOS MEANS DISCOURSE

 SO, ACCORDING TO THESE TERMS PSYCHOLOGY IS THE

STUDY OF SOUL/SPRIT/MIND.

 HOWEVER, TODAY THE SUBJECT MATTER OF

PSYCHOLOGY IS NONE OF THESE.

 PSYCHOLOGY IS DEFINED AS A BRANCH OF SCIENCE

THAT DEALS WITH THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF
BEHAVIOR ( HUMAN & ANIMAL BEHAVIOR)

 PSYCHOLOGY IS AN ACADEMIC AND APPLIED

DISCIPLINE INVOLVING THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF
MENTAL PROCESSES AND BEHAVIOR

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 2
 DEFINITION & CONCEPT
 BEHAVIOR IS MULTI DETERMINED.

 THE BASIC LOGIC OR FORMULA IN PSYCHOLOGY IS

B (BEHAVIOR) = H (HEREDITARY) X E (ENVIRONMENT) AND

I (INTERNAL CAPACITIES)

H - REFERS TO ALL THE BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS – ANATOMY,

PHYSIOLOGY, GENETICS ETC.

E - INCLUDES ANY LIFE EVENTS, INTERACTIONS,

SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECTS

I - INCLUDES OUR COGNITION, INTERESTS, MOTIVATION,

CREATIVITY, IMAGINATIONS.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 3
 DEFINITION & CONCEPT
Certain crucial questions answered in psychology are-

 Why an individual behaves in a particular way?

 Why there is an individual difference in the behavior?

 How can I understand ones behavior?

 Can we predict an individual’s behavior?

 Can we control an individual’s behavior?

 In short, the scientific study of the behavior, which is the result of hereditary,
environment and internal capacities, is the subject matter of psychology.

 So, psychology is the science which describes (Description), understands

( Understanding), Predicts ( Prediction) & controls ( Control) the behavior

Description, Understanding, Prediction & Control - 4 goals of science

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 4
 PSYCHOLOGY -HISTORY
 The field of psychology evolved as an independent
discipline –as a result of contributions from Philosophy,
Physiology, Physics, Biology, Psychiatry including from
some of the early writing of Indian philosophy – Vedas,
Upanishads, Geeta and Indian medicine- Ayur –Veda.

 Even though the science of psychology is relatively new

one, man’s search for explanations of human behavior
is not at all new.

 One can trace the history of explanations for human

behavior from the beginning of man’s civilization.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 5
 HISTORY
We can divide the history into three
phases-

I Phase – Pre- scientific era (until 16th

century)

II Phase – Period of renaissance (16th

century to 18th century)

III Phase – Modern scientific era (18th

century to today)

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 6
 Psychology - History
I Phase – Pre- scientific Era (until 16th century)

In West
 The emphasis on demonology.

 Explanation for behavior was spirit, evil and mythology.

 The sources of all knowledge during middle age in

Christian countries were Bible,
church father’s writings and work of Aristotle.
In east

Please Note- In India the knowledge of mind was full

blown during this period.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 7
 HISTORY
II Phase – Period of renaissance
(16th century to 18th century)

Man’s thinking shifted from unquestionable beliefs, faith in

fate to more realistic outlook of universe, observation to the
world and man himself.
FEW LAND MARKS
• Francis Bacon’s inductive method- observation and then
deriving laws
• Rene Descartes - mind- body problem
• Bertrand Russell and John Dewey’s - integrated approach
on body- mind problem

So. towards the end of this period a general conceptual

frame work was emerged according to which both mind and
body will remain as a continuous process in which mind will
remain as mental aspect, body as physical aspect and both
of which can be subjected to scientific study.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 8
 HISTORY
 III Phase – Modern scientific era (18th century to today)

 It is during this period that may branches of science contributed for the
establishment of psychology as a scientific discipline.

 Two such most important contributions are experimental physiology

and psychophysics.

 Whatever may be the contribution, the psychology was recognized as a

separate branch in science only when Wilhelm Wundt established the
first Psychology lab at Leipzig, Germany in 1879.

 Subsequently many schools of thought or systems in psychology were

emerged.

 The modern psychology is the result of such schools.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 9
 SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY
1. Intospectionism/Structuralism/Existentialism - Titchner, E.B.
Looking within - study the nature & structure of the consciousness
Example – sensations, feeling, imagination
School - approach or
system of thought to
know the truth

2. Functionalism- William James (1842-1910)

study the function of the human mind.
Example –Study the abilities/capacities Current Mental testing in
USA is based on this school)

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 10
 SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY
3. Behaviorism- J.B. Watson (1878-1958)

study the observable or Inferential behaviours ( Overt & Covert)

4. Gestalt school – Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), Kurt Koffka

( 1886-1945), Wolfgang Kohler(1887-)

based on perceptual figure ground principle, Gestalt= Whole.

Perception, Learning are two important areas

5. Hormic school - William McDougall (1871-1938)

behaviours are goal directed. Example -Instinct, Drive theories

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

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 SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY
6. Psychoanalytical school – Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Important concepts- Consciousness, Sub-consciousness &
Unconsciousness, psychosexual developments, Structure of the
mind – Id, Ego & Super ego. Libido (life instinct) & Thenatod
(death instinct)

7. Dynamic school- C.G. Jung (1875-1961)

– collective unconsciousness, persona

8. School of Individual psychology-Alfred Adler ( 1870-1937)

behaiour for the urge of mastery & self assertion.

9. Factorial school- Carl Spearman ( 1863-1945)

- Statistical approach- factorial analysis - study the factors like
intelligence, memory, personality

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 12
 BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
Two categories - General field & Applied field.
General Field
study the basic principles of psychology, theoretical aspect of the
psychology

1 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
study of basic principles of psychology ( Theoretical)

Example- Cognitive functions, Personality, Motivation

2 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
deals with behavior disorders and disturbed individuals.
( Theoretical aspects of Clinical Psychology)

Example - researchers might investigate the causes of violent or

self-destructive behavior or the effectiveness of procedures used in
treating an emotional disturbance.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 13
 BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
3 Comparative Psychology/ Animal psychology

- explores the differences and similarities in the behaviour of

animals of different species.
Systematically studies of the abilities, needs, and activities of
various animal species as compared with human beings.

4 Developmental psychology & Child Psychology

- studies the emotional, intellectual, and social changes that occur

across the life span of human beings.
Many developmental psychologists specialize in the study of
children or adolescents.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

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 Branches of psychology
5. Social Psychology –William Mc Dougall concerned with the study
of individual as a member of society.
Example- interpersonal relations, leaderships, attitudes, socio-
cultural studies

6. Cognitive Psychology – deals with the study of cognitive

functions ( Primary & Higher mental functions)– sensation,
attention & concentration, memory, perception, ( Higher mental
functions)- learning, intelligence, thinking& reasoning, & their
relations with other areas like personality, clinical conditions etc.

7. Para Psychology- J.B. Rhine ( USA) & Stevenson ( UK) deals

with ESP, Telepathy (Communication between mind),
Clairvoyance( Visually explaining an event that taking place now
at distance), LAD, NDE

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 15
 Branches of psychology
Applied field
1. Clinical Psychology-
- Practical application 0f theoretical information obtained from
abnormal psychology.
- deals with the understanding, intervention, rehabilitation & positive mental
growth of individuals

2. Educational Psychology – Application of general psychological

principles in the classroom situations, student –teacher interactions
& improve the teaching methods, development of curriculum
& inclusive education
Sub branch :
Special education

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 16
 APPLIED FIELD
3. Industrial psychology/Organizational Psychology –
deals with the Selection of personal, interaction
between employer & employee, improvement of workmanship &
productivity, propaganda etc.
Munsterberg - is the
proponent of this field

4. Psychology applied in crime – causes & prevention of crime,

brain mapping

5. Psychology applied in military affairs – selection for the arm,

mental health of solders etc.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

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 MODERN BRANCHES
In addition to this the American Psychological Association (APA),
officially listed 30 branches. They are-
 Behavior analysis  Medicine
 Critical psychology  Psycho synthesis
 Environmental psychology  School psychology
 Evolutionary psychology  Sleep & Dreams
 Forensic psychology  Sports psychology
 Health psychology  Transpersonal psychology
 Humanistic psychology  Personality
 Music psychology  Psycho-oncology
 Narrative psychology  Psychoanalysis
 Neuro- linguistic programming  Psychobiology
 Neuropsychology  Psychohistory
 Archetypal psychology  Psycholinguistics
 Birth psychology  Psychoneuroimmunology
 Community psychology  Psychosomatic
 Psychology cyberspace  Socionics

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

Clinical Psychology 18
 PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
 The present day psychology is the result
of contributions from different schools.
 Psychologists today do not prefer to call
themselves as the follower of any
particular school.
 The psychology now theoretically can be
viewed with different ‘Perspectives’.
 The major theoretical perspectives are

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

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 PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
Evolutionary
perspective

Humanistic The bio-

perspective psychological
perspective

Human being

The
Cognitive
psychodynamic
perspective
perspective

Behavioral
perspective

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

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 PERSPECTIVES

1.Evolutionary perspective-
study the differences & similarities in behavior across
the species. How a particular behavior evolved from
the origin of the species?
Example: behavioral genetics

2. The bio- psychological perspective

Neuropsychology, Physiological psychology,
Neurochemical explanation of behaviour

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

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 PERSPECTIVES
3. The psychodynamic perspective-
Freud’s theory, Jung’s theory

4. Behavioral perspective
Learning theories, biological correlates of learning.

5. Cognitive perspective
study the mental functions/operations & their
relation with other areas like communication skills,
learning skills, academic abilities etc..

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

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 PERSPECTIVES

6. Humanistic perspective
Phenomenological explanations to the behavior –
subjective & conscious experiences. You give the
freedom to the individual think & act.

The first five objective approach to the study the

behaviour & this is subjective approach
Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-
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 Interactionstic perspective

All the above perspectives are logically &

holistically combined and applied for the
explanation of a the behavior of a given
individual.

Dr. G. Jayarama, Reader & HOD-

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