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Introduction to Psychology

The introductory part of psychology emphasizes on two aspects:

1. Psychology as a science

A Science is defined not by what it studies but by how it studies. Psychologists like any

other scientists systematically observe facts about human beings and organize these facts to

arrive at generalizations. Psychology shares with other sciences certain aims, assumptions, ways

of carrying out research and ways of building and modifying theories.

2. Psychology is a body of knowledge that can be applied to help solve a variety of human

problems. In addition to the contribution in the area of research (developmental, social,

experimental, physiological psychology), there are many other areas of professional applications.

Clinical psychologists work with psychiatrists in a hospital context or with other health

professionals in the community. Educational psychologists work with children and adolescents in

schools, colleges, and nurseries and in the home. They collaborate with parents and teachers to

assess a child’s progress at school and provide help and advice. Counseling psychologists work

with individuals, families, couples, or groups to improve people’s well-being, alleviate distress

and help them solve their own problems and take their own decisions.

Definition and general remark

The word psychology is derived from two Greek words “psyche” and “logos.”

Psyche means soul, mind, consciousness, behavior or self and logos means the study. Thus,

originally psychology was defined as the study of “soul” or “spirit.” But later, philosophers

defined psyche as mind. Because of this, psychology began to be regarded as the study of an

individual’s mind or mental process. Through time, this later definition of psychology was given

up because the mind as an object does not exist and cannot be observed and measured
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objectively. The most widely and accepted definition of psychology is the scientific study of

behavior and human mind.

There are some concepts in the definition of psychology which need further explanations:

The terms are “science” and “behavior.”

What is science?

Science is a group of related facts and principles of a particular subject. In science we

collect related facts by the use of objective methods to develop a theory to explain those facts.

From a given set of conditions, science helps us to predict future happenings.

Example-Biology explains how living things grow and develop. Anatomy describes the

structure of human body. Physiology deals with the function of various parts and systems of the

body.

Similarly, Psychology as a science deals systematically with human behavior, motives,

feelings, emotions, thoughts and actions of men and women. Like other sciences, Psychology

discovers and explains the underlying laws and principles of behavior. Its goals are describing,

explaining, predicting, and finally modifying human behavior.

What is behavior?

Behavior In its broader sense includes all types of human activities.

Example- Motor activities (Walking, speaking)

Cognitive activities (perceiving, remembering, thinking, reasoning)

Emotional activities (feeling happy, sad, angry, afraid)

Behavior is both mental and bodily

 Mental behaviors are thinking, reasoning, imagination and other mental experiences or

processes.
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 Bodily behavior refers to the movements and actions of the body in response to a

situation.

Behavior is the reaction of an individual to a particular environment. The environment

exerts influence on individuals. That influence is called stimulus. The stimulus in turn arouses an

activity from the individual and this is called the response.

Example-A man may be admitted to a hospital for a surgical operation (stimulus). The

man feels frightened and worries because he is uncertain what may happen next (response). This

stimulus response combination constitutes the behavior of an individual.

The human behavior consists of physical responses, feelings, emotions and tensions, and

all intellectual responses, perceiving, thinking, recalling, and reasoning Behavior shows growth

and development from the early years of infancy to maturity and old age. Psychology as a

science studies how behavior grows and develops from infancy to old age and studies behavioral

differences between people.

In general, there are four major facts proposed in relation to the nature of behavior.

These are:

 Behavior has a bodily basis

 Behavior is dynamic

 Behavior varies from person to person

 Behavior is social

Psychologists collect facts of behavior by means of objective methods such as

observation and experiment and predict human behavior.

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Example- a patient may react with anger if his movements are restricted in the ward. If

the health professional has knowledge of scientific psychology, it is possible to predict and

control the patient’s behavior.

At times psychologists study animal behavior. The reasons are:

 The study of animal behavior helps to develop general laws of behavior that apply to all

organisms.

 The study of animal behavior provides important clues to answering questions about

human behavior. For ethical reasons it is sometimes difficult to conduct psychological

experiments on human beings.

Psychology as a science of Soul

Soul is a concept that is familiar to all of us but when we want to describe it precisely,

words fail us. Religiously, we think of soul as present inside us; we believe that if we are alive,

soul remains with us but when we die, it leaves our body. Similar notions of soul have been in

circulation in all ages and times, i.e., soul related to body, but we cannot feel it or see it; soul is

immortal and so on. In the beginning, soul was conceived to be present in all things and

phenomena, but later it was confined to living beings only.

Psychology as a science of mind

This approach takes psychology as the study of mind. Mind is the sum of a person’s

psychic states, emotions, feelings, conscious and unconscious acts. The way brain reacts or

respond to a stimulus is influenced by mind.

Aspects of Mental Processes

Every mental process has three aspects

I. Cognition II. Conation III. Affection

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I. Cognition: Acquiring knowledge, learning a skill, or knowing other matters is called

cognition. Without cognition we cannot know about anything.

II. Conation: It is called the dynamic aspect of mental processes. The action that takes place in

reaction to some urge or drive is called conation. The desire or impulse to get something is

termed conation.

III. Affection: One’s feelings about some situation, event or thing are called affection. It may be

positive/pleasant or negative/unpleasant.

The nature and significance of these three aspects of mental processes varies from person

to person. However, despite these individual differences, they are present in every person.

Psychology as a science of Consciousness

Consciousness means immediate awareness. If psychology is called science of

consciousness, it will imply that psychology is concerned with an individual’s conscious states

and those experiences about which we are fully aware and don’t need to recall.

Psychology as a science of Behavior

Behavior refers to all the outward acts and actions of living organisms. In other words,

observable acts are called behavior.

Overt Behavior

Overt behavior refers to behavior or actions that are easily and directly observable.

Physical actions like walking, shaking hands with someone, hitting someone, talking, as well as

facial expressions (smile, smirk, frown, etc.) and bodily gestures (nail-biting, tilting the head,

slouching, etc.) are examples of overt behaviors.

Covert Behavior
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Covert behavior refers to human behavior that cannot be observed. Mental processes such

as thinking, reasoning, dreaming, and retrieving memories are covert behaviors. In addition,

these cannot be seen or heard by anyone.

Schools of Thought

1) Structuralism

Structuralism is widely regarded as the first school of thought in psychology. This

outlook focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Major

thinkers associated with structuralism include Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener. The focus

of structuralism was on reducing mental processes down into their most basic elements. The

structuralists used techniques such as introspection to analyze the inner processes of the human

mind.

2) Functionalism

Functionalism formed as a reaction to the theories of the structuralist school of thought

and was heavily influenced by the work of William James. It functioned on the mind's functions

and adaptations and focused on what the mind does and how it does.

3) Behaviorism

Behaviorism became a dominant school of thought during the 1950s. It was based upon

the work of thinkers such as: John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, B. F. Skinner. Behaviorism suggests

that all behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than by internal forces.

Behaviorism is focused on observable behavior.

4) Psychoanalysis 

Psychoanalysis is a school of psychology founded by Sigmund Freud. This school of

thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. Freud states that
personality is composed of three elements known as the id, the ego, and the superego. These
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elements work together to create complex human behaviors. Each component adds its own
unique contribution to personality and the three interact in ways that have a powerful influence
on an individual. Each element of personality emerges at different points in life.

Structure of Personality

I. The Id II. The Ego III. The Superego

I. The Id

The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate gratification of all

desires, wants, and needs. If these needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state anxiety

or tension. For example, an increase in hunger or thirst should produce an immediate attempt to

eat or drink.

II. The Ego

The ego operates based on the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the id's desires in

realistic and socially appropriate ways. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an

action before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses.

III. The Superego

According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at around age five. The superego

holds the internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from our parents and society

(our sense of right and wrong). The superego provides guidelines for making judgments.

The superego tries to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works to suppress all

unacceptable urges of the id and struggles to make the ego act upon idealistic standards rather

that upon realistic principles. 

Levels of Mind

I. Conscious II. Sub-conscious III. Unconscious

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I. Conscious
The conscious mind consists of what we are aware of at any given point in time. It

includes the things that we are thinking about right now, whether it’s in the front of our

minds or the back. If we’re aware of it, then it is in the conscious mind.

II. Sub-conscious

The subconscious holds information that is just below the surface of awareness.

An individual can retrieve such information with relative ease, and we usually refer to

these as memories. the subconscious (or preconscious) is the stuff from which dreams are

made. We can consider it as the storehouse of all remembered experiences.

III. Unconscious

Unconscious is made up of thoughts, memories, and primitive/instinctual desires

that are buried deep within ourselves, far below our conscious awareness. Even though

we’re not aware of their existence, they have a significant influence on our behavior.

Although our behaviors tend to indicate the unconscious forces driving them, we

can’t readily access the information which is stored in the unconscious mind. Throughout

our childhood, we gathered many different memories and experiences that formed the

beliefs, fears, and insecurities that we carry today. However, we cannot recall most of

these memories. They are unconscious forces that drive our behaviors.

5) Humanistic

Humanistic school of thought developed by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

with a perspective that emphasizes looking at the whole person, and the uniqueness of

everyone. It begins with the existential assumptions that people have free will and are

motivated to achieve their potential and self-actualize.

6) Cognitive
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Cognitive school of thought is the school of psychology that studies mental

processes including how people think, perceive, remember, and learn and major

contributors was Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, Herbert Simon

7) Biological

The biological approach believes behavior to be as a consequence of our

genetics and physiology. It is the only approach in psychology that examines thoughts,

feelings, and behaviors from a biological and thus physical point of view. Therefore, all

that is psychological is first physiological.

8) Gestalt Perspective

Gestalt psychology, school of psychology founded in the 20th century that

provided the foundation for the modern study of perception. Gestalt theory

emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. That is, the attributes of

the whole are not deducible from analysis of the parts in isolation.

Subfields of Psychology

Subfields Description
Social Focuses on interpersonal behavior and the role of social forces in governing behavior.
Psychology Typical topics include attitude formation, attitude change, prejudice, conformity,
attraction, aggression, intimate relationships, and behavior in groups.
Educational Studies how people learn and the best ways to teach them. Examines curriculum design,
Psychology teacher training, achievement testing, student motivation, classroom diversity, and other
aspects of the educational process.
Health Focuses on how psychological factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of
Psychology physical health and the causation, prevention, and treatment of illness.
Physiological Examines the influence of genetic factors on behavior and the role of the brain, nervous
Psychology system, endocrine system, and bodily chemicals in the regulation of behavior.
Encompasses the traditional core of topics that psychology focused on heavily in its first
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Experimental half-century as a science: sensation, perception, learning, conditioning, motivation, and

Psychology emotion. The name experimental psychology is somewhat misleading, as this is not the
only area in which experiments are done. Psychologists working in all the areas listed
here conduct experiments.
Cognitive Focuses on “higher” mental processes, such as memory, reasoning, information
Psychology processing, language, problem solving, decision making, and creativity.
Is concerned with the measurement of behavior and capacities, usually through the
Psychometrics development of psychological tests. Psychometrics is involved with the design of tests to
assess personality, intelligence, and a wide range of abilities. It is also concerned with the
development of new techniques for statistical analysis.
Personality Is interested in describing and understanding individuals’ consistency in behavior, which
Psychology represents their personality. This area of interest is also concerned with the factors that
shape personality and with personality assessment.
Developmental Looks at human development across the life span. Developmental psychology once
psychology focused primarily on child development, but today devotes a great deal of research to
adolescence, adulthood, and old age
Clinical psychologists are concerned with the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of
Clinical individuals with psychological disorders, as well as treatment of less severe behavioral
psychology and emotional problems. Principal activities include interviewing clients, psychological
testing, and providing group or individual psychotherapy.
Counseling psychology overlaps with clinical psychology in that specialists in both areas
engage in similar activities—interviewing, testing, and providing therapy. However,
Counseling
counseling psychologists usually work with a somewhat different clientele, providing
psychology
assistance to people struggling with everyday problems of moderate severity. Thus, they
often specialize in family, marital, or career counseling.
Psychologists in this area perform a wide variety of tasks in the world of business and
Industrial and industry. These tasks include running human resources departments, working to improve
organizational staff morale and attitudes, striving to increase job satisfaction and productivity,
psychology examining organizational structures and procedures, and making recommendations for
improvements.
School School psychologists strive to promote the cognitive, emotional, and social development
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of children in schools. They usually work in elementary or secondary schools, where

psychology they test and counsel children having difficulties in school and aid parents and teachers
in solving school-related problems.