Name Of Course: Psychology

Course Code: BBA 3763

Semester : 4th
Total Lessons: 11
1. Introduction to psychology
Nature and modern history of psychology
Common sense and psychology
Similarities and differences with other social
sciences; perspectives of psychology.
a. Biological perspective
b. Cognitive perspective
c. Behavioral perspective
d. Psychodynamic perspective
e. Humanistic perspective
f. Socio-cultural perspective
g. Evolutionary Perspective
 Scientific method and psychological research
 Introduction to psychology
• The word psychology was actually derived from the two Greek words
Psyche and Logos. Psyche means ‘soul’ and logos means ‘study’. The word
psychology was literally the study of the soul.

Defining Psychology
 In terms of the study of the soul.
 In terms of the study of the mind.
 In terms of the study of the consciousness.
 In terms of the study of behaviour.

Commenting over the aspects of changing definition, Woodworth (1948) says

“First psychology lost its soul, then its mind, then it lost
its consciousness. It still has behavior of sort.”
Development of psychology- A historical perspective
• Philosophical Stage(Soul/mind)
-Aristotle(384-322), the most influential philosopher of Greece, used the
term ‘psyche’ to refer to the essence of life. He theorized about learning and
memory, motivation and emotion, perception and personality.

-Plato(427-347) another Greek philosopher also supported in defining

psychology as a science of ‘soul’.

-As the word ‘soul’ was criticized, that soul had no physical existence, it could
not be seen, touched or felt, the Greek philosophers began to translate
“psyche” as mind and psychology was then defined as ‘ a study of mind’.

-The word mind was again criticized as having the same difficulty as in
explaining soul. And the definition as the science of mind had many
complications and was rejected with a search for an appropriate replacement
of the word.
 • Structural and Functional Stage(consciousness)
-William Wundt(1832-1920), a German philosopher established the first
psychological laboratory at the university of Leipzig in Germany. He regarded
psychology as the science of consciousness focusing on inner sensations,
feelings, and thoughts.

-Edward Titchner(1867-1927), a strong follower of Wundt worked to determine

the structure of mind through controlled introspection and laid emphasis on a
foundation toward making psychology a true science.

-Wundt and his followers like Tichener, tried to provide a systematic study of
the mind through the study of its structure . Thus they all are said to be belonging to
the school of structuralism
.
-William James(1842-1910), emerged a school of thought known as
‘functionalism’ and described consciousness as having four main characteristics with
criticism to Wundt’s ideas. He defined psychology as the ‘description and
explanation of state of consciousness as such’. His critiques on structuralism as it
does not reveal anything about what the mind really does or how it goes about doing
it.
-In the years of 19th and 20th centuries, ideas propagated by William James
were strengthened on more functionalists like John Dewey, James
Rowland, J.M. Cattell, R.S. Woodworth etc.

-This definition was also rejected as, it has no clear vision about
subconscious and unconscious mind, no study of the consciousness
about the animals and the introspection method (self examination)
proved as the subjective and unscientific .
 • Behavioral Stage(Behavior)
• J.B Watson(1878-1958), the American psychologist, the father of the
behaviorist school, rejected the ideas of structuralism and functionalism and
based his approach to psychology on behavior. He dismissed introspection as a
method to psychology, instead argued on the favor of objective observation and
redefined psychology as the ‘the science of observable behavior’.

• J.B. Watson concluded that the whole idea of consciousness is absurd. It can not
be proved by any scientific test, can not be seen, nor touched, nor exhibited .

• William McDougall, an English psychologist defined “psychology is a science

which aims to give us better understanding and control of the behavior of the
organism as a whole”.

• Behaviorist definition concluded behavior as;

-Objective which can be felt and seen.
- Can be observed and verified.
- Study overt behavior of both animals and human beings.
 • Modern Stage
-Inthe 1960s, psychology began to recapture its initial interest in mental processes
and concerned both with observable behavior and inner thoughts and feelings.

-The new definition came to be introduced about psychology as “the science of

behavior and mental processes.”

-Psychology as an Empirical science that it is systematic and uses scientific

methods, includes measurement, the results can be verified and has
objectivity in explaining behavior.

-Psychology studies overt and covert behavior as it observes the overt

activities of people or animals that can be observed directly or measured
through special instruments or techniques like reading, smiling, sweating,
talking, marking exam papers etc.
Similarly, covert behavior includes mental processes that
are the internal subjective experiences from behaviors like sensation, thought,
emotions, feelings and motives that others cannot directly observe.
 Changing definitions of psychology
• Psychology is the science of mental life, both of its phenomena are such things as we call
feelings, desires, cognitions, reasoning, decisions, and the like.
–William James, 1890
• For the behaviorist, psychology is that division of natural science which takes human
behavior the doings and sayings, both learned and unlearned as its subject matter. –
John B. Watson, 1919
• What is man? To this question psychology seeks an answer.
–Edwin Boring, 1939
• Psychology is usually defined as the scientific study of behavior. Its subject matters
includes behavioral processes that are observable, such as gestures, speech, and
physiological changes, and processes that can only be inferred such as thoughts and
dreams.
-Kenneth Clark and George Miller, 1970

• Conceived broadly, psychology seeks to discover the general laws which explain the
behavior of living organisms. It attempts to identify, describe, and classify the several
types of activity of which the animal, human or other, is capable.
-Arthur Gates, 1931 -
Common sense and psychology
 Common sense knowledge is the locally developed knowledge
acquired through the experiences of the people in their daily
life.
 There are many false notions about psychology and
psychologists. Many people carry the common sense of
psychology. Some common misconceptions people hold about
psychology are;
 Psychologists are face readers.
 Some others perceive that psychologists can even read mind.
 Some people consider psychologists as the ones who deal with
mentally ill people only.
 A person feels that psychologists are fortune teller like
astrologers who can estimate character at glance.
 Due to such misconceptions, people often feel uncomfortable
to talk with the persons from psychology.
 But psychology is the one of the most important field that has
arisen in this world which helps us to get an insight into the
glories of human nature through the careful observation of
human behavior.
Then, what is psychology?
 Psychology is the science of behavior and mental or cognitive
processes.
 It uses systematized methods to study behaviors of both
human and animals.
 It studies why individuals behave in the particular way.
 It also focuses on the internal mental processes of an
individual that are supposed to play the role in the behavior
of the individual.
 Psychologists are not mind readers. However they can make
inferences about the mental processes accurately by carefully
studying behavior or through use of certain standardized
psychological tests.
 Though some psychologists work to treat mentally ill people,
not all the psychologists are concerned about treating
mentally ill people only. There are more than 100 branches
of psychology in which psychologists work.
 Defining psychology is not a simple matter because of its
wide scope, broad concern and the philosophical differences
among the practitioners.
 Psyche and science combine to form the word psychology.
Today psychology is defined as the science of behavior and
mental processes. Before arriving to this modern definition,
psychology went to a very difficult period.
 Many controversies, doubt and confusions dominated the
concept of psychology.
Nature/feature/characteristics of psychology
 Psychology is the study of human behavior and mental
process.
 The word ‘psychology’ was coined in 1590 by Rudolf Goeckle.
It is derived from two Greek words psyche and Logos which
means the soul and study or science.
 Scientific psychology began in 1879 when first laboratory was
established and human mind and behavior was systematically
studied.
 Psychology possesses a well organized theory supported by the
relevant psychological laws and principles.
 It has various branches of applied psychology like industrial,
legal, clinical and educational psychology.
 It believes that every behavior has its roots, causing factors,
influencing or nurturing.
 There are different methods to study psychology. Eg, case
study, experiment, scientific observation etc.
 It possesses a body of fact for truth, doesn’t believe in
stereotypes or superstition.
 It emphasizes on the search for truth by advocating
objectivity, reliability, and validity in the assessment of
behavior.
 The methods and techniques in the study of the behavior are
quite scientific and believes in cause and effect relationship.
 The results of the study of behavior may be accepted,
modified or altered according to available data and findings.
 It enjoys universal applicability in practical life, other bodies
of the knowledge and future researches in its own fields
 It makes the trustworthy predictions about the organism in
the light of the studied behavior.
 • Gestalt Psychology
- As a reaction against structuralism and functionalism, in Germany it gave
birth to a new school of thought named as Gestalt psychology quite distinct
from behaviorisms.
- Most prominent members of this school were Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka,
Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Lewin.
- The word Gestalt is a German noun, its nearest English translation is
‘configuration’ or more simply ‘an organized whole’ in contrast to a
collection of parts.
- According to the Gestalt psychology;
 An individual perceives the thing as a whole and not as a mere collection of
its elements.
 The meaning of sensation or perception is always related to the total
situation.
 There lies definitely a sort of organization between the stimulus-response
that helps in forming a new gestalt(an organized whole). For example, when
looking at a tree, what is seen is a tree. It may be that a tree consists color,
brightness and a form.
 The human behavior is characterized as an intelligent behavior rather than
a simple stimulus-response mechanism.
 An individual perceives the situation as a whole and takes the proper
decision in an intelligent way although quite often all of a sudden.
 Gestalt psychology used the term ‘insight’ to describe human behavior and
summarized the behavioral process under the following three steps.
a) Perception of the situation as a whole.
b) Seeing and judging the relationships between various factors involved in
the situation.
c) Taking an immediate decision and behave accordingly.
Contemporary Perspectives in psychology
Psychology as discussed before was defined and looked with different interests
and explanation about human behavior . Starting from Aristotle to modern
definition, no single point of view has emerged as the correct way of viewing
of human behavior and mental processes.
The major perspectives emerged in contemporary psychology
in explaining behavior is Biological, Cognitive, Behavioral, Psychodynamic,
Humanistic, Socio-cultural and Evolutionary.
BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Every human behavior is related to psychological changes within the body.
The working relationship between the body, behavior, and mental processes
is the focus of biological perspective.
 The biological perspective describes the role of nerve cells in different
aspects of an individual’s behavior in emotion, reasoning, problem solving,
intelligence, speaking etc. and also study neurotransmitters that influences
normal and abnormal behavior. Most drugs influence our emotions and
behaviors by altering levels of these neurotransmitters in the body.
During recent years, psychologists regarding this perspective
are focusing on the influence of heredity on personality
characteristics and abilities and also are concentrating on
behavior genetics to determine how much genes and
environment influence individual differences.
 Karl Lashley especially focused on the continuous activity of
the brain and its interaction with the environment and a
dynamic composite of interacting system. He emphasized
fatigue(extreme tiredness), lower motivation and poorer recall
as the three factors that are important in forgetting.
COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE
 The word cognition covers the higher intellectual processes as
perceiving, believing, thinking, remembering, knowing, deciding,
problem solving etc.
The word ‘cogito’ means I think. Cognition is a mental process in
which the information is obtained, processed, transformed, stored,
retrieved, and used. It examines thinking, how we know and
understand words, solve problems, make decisions, combine
information from memory and current experience, use language, and
communicate our thoughts to others.
 This new school of contemporary psychology is the result of the wave
of intellectualism demonstrating faith in the higher cognitive abilities
of human beings for his adaptation to his environment and struggle
for perfection.
 Cognitive perspective is the newly developed area explaining human
behavior. It studies all about man’s thinking, memory, language,
development, perception, imagery, and other mental processes.
 Cognitive psychology presents a system’s viewpoint in explaining
the behavior mechanism. In this system whatever is conveyed
through stimuli in the environment may work as INPUT. The
cognitive functioning of the human mind as PROCESS and the
result of it as OUTPUT or PRODUCT.
 The cognitive psychology is gaining popularity day by day.
Edward Tolman, Jean Piaget are the most prominent
contemporary cognitive psychologists have contributed in the field
of learning, thinking and creative functioning, and in the study of
development of cognitive abilities.
 Gestalt psychologist working in the field of perception advocated
the study of cognitive processes.
 Psychologists George Miller and Jerome Bruner established
the Center for Cognitive studies at Harvard University in 1960,
and Ulrich Neisser published the book ‘Cognitive psychology’ in
1967 that supports the study of cognitive processes.
 The complicated nature of cognition can be analyzed in
different ways.
 Cognition processes information:
- Information is the raw material for cognition. The information is
obtained from the physical environment through sense organs. The
receptors receive it and then the neutral connections transmit the
information to the particular part of the nervous which is then conveyed
to the effectors giving sense to the information.
 Cognition is active:
-Obtained information from the sensory organs is stored and retrieved
through the process of memory and later on, it can be used in the process
of problem solving, thinking and language.
 Cognition is useful:
Cognition is useful mentally and physically. It helps us in judgment, and
survival processes. A child’s ability to solve mathematical problems,
plan, face humiliating situation of anxiety, appear from cognitive aspect
of his thinking.
 BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE
 In the early 1900s, Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov(1849-
1936) was studying digestion in dogs that work influenced the
American psychologist John B. Watson greatly, who then
opined that human behavior can be measured through
observable behavior, and not by the study of mind or
consciousness. Watson developed and applied these principles
to animals which were later expanded for human beings.
Behaviorism as a method of studying the behavior focused its
attention totally on the overt or observable behavior.
Behaviorist is not interested in the feeling of fear because it is
not measurable but he/she pays attention to the changes in
heart rate and blood pressure which are the effects of fear and
can be objectively measured.
The theory of behaviorism as propagated by Watson based on
the finding of Ivan Pavlov, the propagator of the theory of
classical conditioning.
In his classic experiment, Pavlov conditioned a dog to salivate
at the sound of a bell by substituting that sound for the sight
and smell of meat and concluded that all behavior is a response
to some stimulus in the environment. Watson tried to apply this
approach in the field of human behavior. He made the
experiment to a 11 month old child Albert.
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), the greatest contemporary
psychologist used behavior in a very simple way. He thought
behavior changes as a result of its environmental consequences.
Many of his principles were used to cure diseases and change
behavior of animals and human beings in a variety of settings.
PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE
 This perspective/theory is developed by Sigmund Freud(1856-1939) as a tool to
study abnormal behavior, a treatment procedure to help neurotic disease, and an
‘ism’ to provide knowledge and understanding about the unconsciousness mind.

 Freud felt the roots of psychological problems are motives of sexual and
aggressive nature which stay at the unconscious level of the mind. The term
psychodynamic is used because these unconscious motives and conflicts
influence our behavior even though we do not know they exist.

 These behaviors are revealed in disguised, symbolic ways such as in dreams, in

slips of tongue and sometimes in psychological problems.

 Freud also focused on early childhood and emphasized that early experiences
have major influences on personality development.

 The psychodynamic perspective is widely known for treating maladaptive(illness)

behavior by bringing the unconsciousness causes of distress to the conscious
level.
 Freud’s Views regarding to psychodynamic
 The world of unconscious:-Freud claimed that there is more to mental life than
consciousness. The conscious part occupies only the one-tenth portion of the
total mental life. Remaining unconscious part remain hidden and usually
inaccessible and contain repressed wishes, desires, feelings, drives etc many of
which relate to sex and aggression.

 Psychoanalytic method:- Freud gave tremendous importance to the long

forgotten or repressed (suppressed) childhood experiences for the
determination of many problems of adult behavior. He put forward the
psychoanalytic method for the solution of the behavioral problems.

 Structure of psyche:- Freud further invented three concepts, the Id, Ego and
Super ego for explaining the structure of psyche and human personality and
basis of his behavior.

-The Id is the deepest and most primitive part of the human personality that
consists of the man’s primitive drives towards sexual satisfaction or pleasure
seeking activities and violence or destruction. it knows no reality, follows no
rules and considers only the satisfaction of its needs and drives.
- The ego develops out of the Id and acts as an intermediary between the sets of
forces i.e. instinctual demands of the realities of the external world and ethical
moral demands of the super ego.
- The super igo is the ethical moral aspect of the psyche. It is idealistic and does not
care for realities. Protection is its goal rather than pleasure seeking or destruction.
- All behavior, according to Freud, can be understood in terms of the dynamic
equilibrium between Id, ego and super ego.

 Psyche sexual development:- According to Freud, sex is the life urge or

fundamental motive in life. All physical pleasures arising from any of the organs
or any of the functions are ultimately sexual in nature. Sexuality is not the
characteristic of only the grown-up, children from the very beginning also have
sexual desires. A child passes through the following different stages with respect to
his psycho social development.

The oral stage:-According to Freud, mouth represents the first sex organ for
providing pleasure to the child. The beginning is made with the pleasure received
from the mother’s nipple or the bottle. Thereafter, it is used to derive pleasure by
putting anything candy, stick, his own thumb etc.
The Anal Stage:- At this stage, the interest of the child
shifts from the mouth to the organs of elimination i.e anus or
the urethra. The child derives pleasure by holding back or
letting go of the body’s waste material through anus or urethra.
This stage generally ranges from two to three years.

Genital Stage:- This stage starts from the age of four years
with the shifting of the child’s interest from the eliminating
organs to the genitals. At this stage children come to note the
biological differences between the sexes and derive pleasure by
playing and manipulating the genital organs.

The Latency Stage:-This period starts from six years in the

case of girls and seven to eight years in the case of boys and
extends upto the onset of puberty. At this stage boys and girls
prefer to be in the company of their own sex and even neglect
or hate the members of opposite sex.
The phallic stage:- Puberty is the starting point of the
phallic stage. The adolescent boy and girl now feels a strange
feeling of strong sensation in the genitals and attraction
towards the members of the opposite sex.
In this way, Freud through his psycho-analysis doctrine put
forward quite new dimensions in the field of psychology.
Humanistic Perspective
 The new school of psychology reflects the recent trends of
humanism in psychology. The personalities like Abraham
Maslow, Cavlar Rogers, Rollo May, Arthur Combs, Gordon
Allport and others have contributed towards its growth.
 Humanistic psychology gives more value to the human beings
by not considering him merely as a sophisticated machine or
the victim of conflict between the ego and id.
 This perspective considers the human as a purposeful being,
capable of adopting himself to his environment and choosing
his own course of action in order to achieve the goals.
 The humanist perspective focuses on freedom in controlling
human behavior. According to them, each person is unique
individual and experiences the world differently.
 One of the most important humanistic principles is that all
human beings have a basic powerful inborn tendency to grow
and improve to their fullest potential, and a desire to take
control of their own lives.
 This thought lays stress on such distinctive human aspects
of personality as the existence of his free will and freedom of
choice and his search for unique goals and values to guide
his behavior and to give a personal meaning to his existence.
Criticism:-
 Least scientific
 Very difficult to investigate
SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
 The way human beings socialize and develop from their life to
old age is explained through a perspective in psychology
known as socio-cultural perspective.
 It explains how our personality, belief, attitudes, skills, and
values are shaped by our culture, ethnicity, gender, religion,
and other important socio-cultural factors.
 It focuses on the influence how behavior and thinking vary
across diverse cultures. Socio-cultural aspects is concerned
with how people interact, are interdependent, and inter-
coordinate with each other to influence and to be influenced.
 It does not only encourage cultural and social factors but also
promotes the understanding of cultural relativity. It leads us to
view differences among people in our diverse world as per the
demands of life.
 It discourages people to be judgmental or analytical to
describe one culture as good or the other bad.
 Janet Hyde and David Matsumoto are the renowned figures
to proceed the socio-cultural perspective on psychology.
EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE
 Evolutionary perspective is based on the work developed by
Charles Darwin who popularized the theory of evolution
almost 150 years ago.
 This perspective focuses on the role of the physical structure
and behavior play in the adaptation process of an organism
to the environment. Darwin, in his theory of evolution,
popularized three basics components: variation, inheritance,
and selection.
 Variation refers to the fact that organisms belonging to a
given species vary in different ways. Every human beings has
individual differences in shape, size, intelligence,
personality, health.
 Inheritance refers to the fact that some of these variations
can be passed from generation to generation.
 Selection refers to the particular behavior the organisms
have adapted to best suit their environment. The strongest or
most fit organisms are more likely to survive and pass on
their characteristics(genes) to future generations.
 Evolutionary perspective focuses on how natural selection
favors traits that promote continuation of ones gene.
 This perspective respond ‘how evolution influences behavior
tendencies and how that behavior or structure aids in
adaptation to the environment?’
 SCIENTIFIC STUDY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
 Psychology is termed as the scientific study of behavior. The behavior in all
its aspects can be studied scientifically through a single technique or
approach known as observation.

 Psychology uses scientific methods for the systematic study of an

organism’s behavior. The scientific methods are used to make observations,
form theories, and refine their theories in light of new observations.

 The scientific study of psychology for the first time was started by Wilhelm
Wundt in 1987 at Leipzig university, in Germany.
 Psychologists use three strategies to describe, predict and explain behavior
and mental processes. They describe behavior using case studies, surveys
and naturalistic studies. They predict behavior from studies that detect
correlation and seek cause-effect explanation through experiments.
 METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Introspection Method
 It is the oldest method known for the study of behavior. In the earlier days
of the evolution of the subject psychology, the behavior was studied only
through a kind of self examination or inner observation called introspection.

 Introspection means looking within or looking inward. It is inner

perception. It is a sort of self observation in which one perceives, analyses
and reports one’s feelings and in fact, every thing that takes place in one’s
mind during the course of a mental act. For example when in the state of
anxiety, fear or anger, one may be asked to discover by one’s own
observation what he sensed, thought or felt at the time of experiencing that
sort of emotion.

 Introspection method is a simple and readily available method. Our mental

processes are always with us and can be introspected at any moment.
 Introspection method provides us an adequate knowledge of the inner or
covert experiences and thus the inner behavior of an individual in the form
of thinking or feeling something can be revealed through introspection.
Criticisms/Limitations
 The state of our mental process is continuously changing. Therefore when
we concentrate to introspect a particular phase of our mental activity that
phase passes off.

 Introspection as a method of study seriously lacks reliability, validity and

objectivity. It is neither sufficiently scientific nor so practicable or simple to
handle.

 Introspection as a method of studying behavior has a very limited scope. It

can only be applied satisfactorily in the case of adult normal human beings.
The behavior of children, abnormal human beings, animals etc. can not be
studied by this method.
Naturalistic Observation Method
 Naturalistic observation came as a criticism against introspective method and
also known as objective observation, systematic observation, or simply as
observation method that includes the collection of data by careful observation of
events in their natural setting.
 It is one of the oldest scientific method widely used in ethnology, social
psychology, child psychology, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology,
sociology, and other areas.
 This method ranges from watching chimpanzee societies in the jungle, behavior
of ants, bees, to parent-child interaction in different cultures, recording student
behavior during lunch time, language development in slum area children etc. It
describes behavior as what people do, how they differ in their behavior and why.
It may use cameras, recordings, questionnaires, while observing the behavior.
 Observation method sets out with certain objectives and hypothesis relevant for
the particular study and sometimes own self participating on the event. For
example, in observing child’s behavior in developing friendship, the psychologist
actively takes part and simultaneously observes the behavior of a child.
 There are certain important steps involved in carrying out the observation
method.
 Observation Of Behavior
 Noting Of Behavior
 Interpretation And Analysis Of Behavior
 Generalization
 Naturalistic observation method occupies a leading role in the study of
human behavior. It is economic al, natural as well as flexible. Particularly in
studying the developmental characteristics of children’s habits, interests and
other similar personality characteristics of individuals, this method is quite
suitable.
Criticism/Limitation
 Influence of personal interest and bias.
 Only overt behavior of the organism is studied.
 Failure in judging the true nature of the individual concerned in cases of
hypocrisy (dishonesty).
 An expensive method and information obtained is very limited.
 Not being able to establish a proper cause and effect relationship.
Experimental Method (Cause & Effect Relationship)
 Experimental method is the most scientific and objective method of studying
behavior that lays emphasis on performing experiments.
 Wilhelm Wundt was the pioneer in this field that he established the first
psychological laboratory in Leipzig university, Germany in 1879.
 Experimental method requires a well planned and facilitated laboratory,
apparatus (structure)
 , and equipments, subject and experimenter, problems, objectives, hypothesis
and design to process towards scientific exploration.
 In this method, experiments are held in psychological laboratory or outside
laboratory in the physical or social setting to study the cause and effect
relationship regarding the nature of human behavior i.e. the effect of anxiety,
drugs or stresses on the human behavior, effect of intelligence or participation
in co curricular activities on the academic performance of students.
 There are three types of variables-independent, dependent and intervening.
Independent variable stands for the cause and dependent for the effect of that
cause and other factors that influence the cause and effect relationship are
called intervening variables.
The following are the essential features of the experimental method
 Psychological experiments performed in this method essentially require two
persons, the experimenter and the subject or the person whose behavior is
observed.
 Psychological experiments are always conducted on living organisms in
contrast to experiments in physical sciences which are generally conducted
on ignorance or dead subjects.
 The key factor in this method is the controlling of the conditions or
variables by which causal relation between two phenomena are observed
keeping all other conditions almost constant.

The various experimental designs used in experimental method for

controlling the variables and measuring their effects.
 The control-Test or Single Group Design
 Control-Group Design
 Multiple-Group Design
 Designs Involving Rotation
A well planned experimental design follows certain steps.

 Raising a problem.

 Formation of Hypothesis.

 Distinguish Between Dependent and Independent variable.

 Controlling the environment of the situation.

 Verification of the Hypothesis by the result of the experiment.

Criticism/ Limitation
 Experimental method advocates the study of behavior under completely
controlled rigid conditions. Therefore it is failed to study the behavior in
naturalistic condition.
 There lies difficulty in exercising actual control or handling of the
independent variable and the intervening variables.
 In experimental method, we often make use of the animals and birds as
subjects for the experimentation. It is debatable whether experimental
results obtained from such sources are applicable to human beings or not.
 Experimental method has a limited scope. All problems of psychology
cannot be studied by this method.
 The dynamic nature of human behavior, does not always allow the
independent variable leading to the change in the dependent variable.
 Experimental method is a costly and time-consuming method. Moreover
handling of this method demands specialized knowledge and skill. In
absence of such expertise this method is not functional.
Clinical Method
 Clinical method is directed towards the study of individual behavior. It is
associated with the health care and treatment of the individuals who come
for advice and treatment of their physical and mental disorders.

 The concept of a clinical method is well contained in the concept of clinical

psychology itself which can be described as,‛ clinical psychology is the art
and technology of dealing with the adjustment problems of the individual.

 The characteristics regarding nature and working of the clinical method are;
a. Clinical method is applicable to an individual case.
b. The individual has some problems.
c. Both method of diagnosis and treatment are employed in dealing with
these problems.
d. Clinical approach is an art as well as a science and technology which
means that everybody cannot treat every patient.
e. The basic element in this method of psychological investigation are the
diagnosis and treatment of the problem or mental illness of an individual.

Method of Diagnosis
 Adequate physical check-up
 Making out the case history
 The clinical interview
 Direct observation of the behavior
 Using tests and measuring devices
Method of Treatment
Diagnosis is to be followed by treatment in order to serve the welfare of the
individual. In case of the behavioral problem treatment, efforts are to be
made to bring about a change in the behavior of the individual in order to
get him/her adjusted to own environment and restore him/her to own
normal mental health.
 Modifying the environment forces
i) The client may be physically removed from one situation and placed in
another.
ii) The attitude of parents, teachers and others toward the client may be
changed.
iii) More adequate recreational facilities, living conditions, work placement
and working conditions may be provided.
 Modifying the client’s attitude
i) Guidance and counseling
ii) Psychoanalysis
iii) Techniques like auto-suggestion, hypnosis, psychodrama and role playing
iv) Therapies like psychotherapy, group therapy, play therapy, occupation
therapy, attitude therapy.
Differential Method

 Differential method is based on individual differences. All the measures

applied to the calculation of individual differences are included in this
method.

 This method is also known as Field Survey method as the investigator has
to go to the field to investigate.

 It differs from experimental approach that here the investigator cannot

intentionally manipulate the variables. Each is studied as an independent
variable.

 There are two types of main approaches or designs used in differential

method.
i) Correlation Approach
ii) The longitudinal and Cross-sectional Approach
 In correlation studies the psychologist takes people and studies what they
do usually without changing the conditions under which they respond to the
tests or perform the desired tasks.
 By the longitudinal approach we mean an approach that is spread over a
long period of time. It is most used in Developmental psychology. Here one
particular individual is taken and is studied for a long span of time.
 In cross-sectional approach, we take many individuals and study them
simultaneously.
 Branches and Fields of psychology
The subject matter of psychology can be grouped into different branches
for the sake of convenience and specialized study. First we divide it into
two broad categories called pure psychology and applied psychology.
 Pure psychology provides the framework and theory. Its contents deal
with the formulation of psychological principles and theories. It suggests
various methods and techniques for the analysis, assessment,
modification and improvement of behavior.
 In applied psychology, the theory generated or discussed through pure
psychology finds its practical shape.
BRANCHES OF PURE PSYCHOLOGY:-
1. General psychology:- It is relatively a large area or field of psychology
that deals with the fundamental rules, principles and theories of
psychology in relation to the study of behavior of normal adult human
beings.
2. Abnormal Psychology:- It is the branch of psychology that describes
the behavior of abnormal people in relation to their own environment.
The causes, symptoms and syndromes, description and treatment of the
abnormalities of behavior are the contents of this psychology.
3. Social psychology:-This branch of psychology deals with the group
behavior and inter-relationships of people with other people. Group
dynamics, likes and dislikes, interests and attitudes, social distance and
prejudices of the people in their personal and social relationships are the
contents of this psychology.
4. Experimental psychology:- It describes the ways and means of
carrying out psychological experiments following scientific methods in
controlled or laboratory situations for the study of mental processes and
behavior. It picks up animals, birds and human beings as subjects for
these experiments.
5. Physiological psychology:-It describes the biological and
physiological basis of behavior. The study of the internal environment
and physiological structure of the body, particularly brain, nervous
system and functioning of the glands.
6. Para-psychology:- It deals with extra sensory perceptions, cases of
rebirth, telepathy and allied problems.
7. Geo-psychology:-It deals with the relation of physical environment
particularly weather, climate, soil and landscape with behavior.
8. Development psychology:- This branch of psychology describes the
processes and products of the growth and development in relation to the
behavior of an individual from birth to old age. For convenience, it is further
sub-divided into branches like Child psychology, Adolescent psychology and
Adult psychology.
BRANCHES OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY:-
1. Educational psychology:- It tries to apply the psychological principles,
theories and techniques to human behavior in educational situations. The
subjects matter of this branch covers psychological ways of improving all
aspects of the teaching learning process including the learner, learning
process, learning material, learning environment and the teacher.
2. Clinical Psychology:-It describes the causes of mental illness or abnormal
behavior of a patient attending the clinic or hospital and suggests individual
or group therapy for the treatment and effective adjustment of the affected
person in society.
3. Industrial Psychology:- It tries to seek applications of the psychological
principles, theories and techniques for the study of human behavior in
relation to industrial environment. It includes the topics or contents that are
useful for improving the ways and means of knowing the taste and interests of
the consumers, advertising and sale of products
Selection training and placing of personnel, solving labor problems,
establishing harmonious relationship between the employee and
employer, strengthening morals of the workers and increasing production
etc.
4. Legal Psychology:- It tries to study the behavior of the persons like
clients, criminals, witnesses etc, in their respective surroundings with the
help of the application of psychological principles and techniques. It
contains the subject matter for improving the ways and means of
detection of crimes, false witnesses and other complex phenomena.
5. Military psychology:- It is concerned with the use of psychological
principles and techniques in the world of military science. How to keep
the moral of the soldiers and citizens high during war time, how to fight
war of propaganda and intelligence services, how to secure better
recruitment of the personnel for the armed forces and how to improve the
fighting capacities and leadership etc are some of the key topics of this
psychology.
6. Political psychology:- It relates itself with the use of psychological
principles and techniques in studying the politics and deriving political
gains. The knowledge of the dynamics of the group behavior, judgment of
the public opinion, qualities of the leadership, the art of diplomacy etc are
some of the key concepts as the subject matter of this psychology.