The word psychology comes from the Greek “psyche,” meaning life, and “logos,” meaning explanation. It refers to the scientific study of mind and behaviour. This discipline is made up of a number of major subdivisions with unique perspectives, all of which share some ideas and methods that enable them to interlink with each other. Theories involving psychology have evolved over centuries, beginning in 340 B.C. Different approaches are taken today to study and further branch psychology into different aspects. Students of psychology learn how to think critically, and become familiar with the scientific method in order to understand the complexities of human behaviour.
What is the history of psychology?
The earliest psychologists that we know about are the Greek philosophers Plato (428–347 BC) and Aristotle (384–322 BC). Various older philosophers asked the same questions as modern psychologists ask, for example, whether nature equals nurture and whether there is free will. According to Plato, certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn, whereas Aristotle argued that knowledge is acquired primarily through learning and experience.
Throughout the Renaissance, there were philosophers in Europe who continued to explore these fundamental questions. René Descartes (1596-1650), for instance, also considered the question of free will, arguing in his favour and claiming that the mind controls the body through the pineal gland.
Another scientist named Wundt believed that the mind could be studied systematically and that our conscious experiences could be classified scientifically. Wundt founded that the field of structuralism, is a school of psychology whose aim is to identify the "structures" of psychological experience.
William James, was the first American psychologist, who talked about the importance of functionalism in understanding why animals and humans exhibit certain psychological traits.
A theory was developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and his followers to explain human behaviour which focuses on the role of unconscious feelings, memories, and thoughts. He developed his theories about behaviour based on an extensive analysis of the patients he treated in his private practice. According to Freud, many of the problems his patients experienced, including anxiety, depression, and sexual dysfunction, were the result of painful childhood experiences that the person was no longer able to remember.
What are the different types of approaches to psychology ?
Structuralism is the opinion that mental structures are determined by genetic and evolutionary pressures, and that the outcome of human effort is a reflection of these forces. For example, describing an apple.
Functionalism is a theory about the nature of mental states. According to functionalists, mental states are characterized by what they do rather than by what they are made up of. An example would be the way pain would be characterized by functionalists.
Psychodynamics refers to the study of mental or emotional processes and their effects on behaviour and mental states during early development. For example, a 20-year-old well-built and healthy person has an irrational fear of mice.
Behaviouralism is the idea that behaviours are acquired through conditioning, and conditioning is accomplished through interactions with the environment. An example is a way chimps interact with their environment.
Cognitive is the study of internal mental processes, including perception, reasoning, memory, attention, language, problem-solving, and learning, such as thinking, reasoning, and judgment.
Social-cultural influence encompasses the relationship between social and cultural environments. To understand an individual's behaviour, socio culturalists argue that one must understand the cultural context in which the action occurs, such as race and ethnicity.
During the planning and execution of their research, what goals do psychological researchers pursue?
They execute their research in four parts which include description which is accurately identifying and categorizing mental processes and behaviours then they look for explanations such as proposing explanations for mental processes and behaviours. After that they make a prediction (or hypothesis) about how a given condition or set of conditions will affect behaviours and mental processes and lastly they look at what kind of influence something has by using the results of research to solve practical problems that involve behaviour and mental processes.
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Researched by Anjali
Written by Rida
Published by Emmaline
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