MSC (jan 2020)

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Psychology Lab
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WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

 The term psychology is derived from the Greek world Psyche.

 Psyche means Mind, Soul ,Spirit.

 The word Logia means Knowledge, Discourse ,Study.

 Psychology is the Systemic ,Scientific Study of the behaviour

and mental process.
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History of Psychology

 The roots of modern psychology can be traced into different

approaches.

 Philosophy

 Physiology

 Philosophy explores and attempts to explain human nature

through introspection or examination of one’s experience.
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Hippocrates:

 There was a close connection between mind and body

 He was the first to say that ‘Mind resides in the Brain’

 He is the Father of Modem Medicine.

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Plato:

 Mind and body were separate and the mind was located in the
brain.

 Reality does not lie in concrete objects.

 They are represented in abstract forms in our minds.

 He is rationalist who believed that the knowledge is gained

through thoughts.
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Aristotle:

 He said mind and the body are one and the same.

 He believes that we can understand the mind by studying the body and that we
rely on observations of concrete object and actions.

 He was a practical person who believed that knowledge is gained by experience,

observation and experimentation

 His view formed the foundation for the empirical, psychological research.
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Rene Descartes:
 He was a French mathematician and philosopher

 He said that interpretations and reflections are investigatory methods

 they are superior to observation.

 He said the only difference in human and animals is that humans have non-
material spiritual mind and material body.

 The human mind and its powers are supreme

 He is known for coining the famous phrase ‘I think, therefore I am’.

 He viewed the mind as superior to the body

 There is a two way interaction between mind and body

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John Locke:

 An English man believed that the interaction between mind and body is an equal
relationship between two aspects of the same unified phenomenon.

 The mind depend on the body through senses for its information

 The body depends on the mind to process and store sensory experience for later
use.

 We are all born without knowledge and subsequently gain knowledge.

 The term he used is ‘Tabula Rasa’(Blank slate) to describe this condition.

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Immanuel Kant

 He is a German philosopher

 Humans have a set of faculty or mental power i.e. senses, understanding and
reasoning. These work together.

 He believed that we should use both, Rationalistic and practical approach

 He said there are two types of knowledge

 1) Posterior knowledge: Knowledge from afterwards(After the fact)

 2) Prior knowledge: Knowledge from before-hand(general knowledge)

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Charles Darwin:

 His book name is ‘History of Natural Selection’.

 Only those organisms that adopt well to live environment thrive

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THE BIRTH OF MODERN PSYCOLOGY

 In the year 1879 Psychology was officially declared as the modern science.

 A German scholar named Wilhelm Wundt was trained in both philosophy and
medicine.

 His first book was on sense perception in the year 1862.

 Book stated that psychology could become science only if it employed

experimental method in studying the working of the mind.
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BMP

 He established the first Psychological laboratory in Leipzig ,German in 1879.

 The focus in his lab was on Sensation, Perception , Imagery and Attention.

 His famous research method was Trained Introspection.

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STEUCTURALISM & FUNCTIONALISM

 An American psychologist named William James developed a comparing

approach which come to be known as Functionalism.

 He said mind is constantly changing so there is no point of experience .

 Instead focus should be on How and Why organism does something.

 It was suggested that psychologists should look for the underlying cause of
Behaviour & Mental Process involved.

 The Causes and Consequences of behaviour has influenced Contemporary

Psychology.
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PSYCHOANALYSIS

 Austrian Physician ,Sigmund Freud he was originally trained in Neurology.

 He become convinced that many of the Patients symptoms had mental rather
then physical explanation.
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What do you mean by Behaviour?

 It is an observable actions or responses in both humans and

animals. Eg, eating, writing, etc. .

 Also the mental process like thinking, feeling ,etc.

 It also deals with verifiable and scientific components of

psychology

 Human being and Animals act to a particular environment in

regards with its emotions and its intelligence.
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BEHAVIOURISM

 This approach emerged in early 1900s.

 The American John B Watson is typically credited as the Father of Behaviourism

 Behaviourism is theoretical perspective that is based on the premise that

scientific psychology should only study the Observable behaviour.

 His article in 1913 is know as The Behaviourist Manifesto.

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COGNITIVISM

 It emerged in 1960s

 The psychologist said that focus should shift towards studying the
interior mental process.

 Using the computer as an analogy.

 Researchers provides important clues and directions in

understanding the human brain.

 How it perceives , stores & organises information .

 How information is used to make decisions and solve problem.

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SUBFILD OF PSYCHOLOGY

 Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental

process.

 Psychology as a discipline aims to Describe , Explain, Predict,

and control or modify some behaviour.

 It considers the mental, attitudinal , motivational and behavioural

characteristic of an individual.